GeneralKong

Excellent, don't need to say much more than that. Really hope it does well in wider release. A

A The Farewell A- The Last Black Man in San Francisco Booksmart B+ High Life Us Luce Rocketman Spider-Man: Far from Home Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Ready or Not Avengers: Endgame Gloria Bell How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World B The Art of Self Defense Midsommar Under the Silver Lake The Peanut Butter Falcon John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum Captain Marvel Crawl B- IT: Chapter Two Hobbs & Shaw Child’s Play C+ Alita: Battle Angel C The Lion King

I am a thoroughly disillusioned adult, but this film still managed to leave me grinning and giggling as if I were much younger. I went to see it three times before the new year, so....yep, I loved it. A

Just like with Moonlight, it's a film that I cannot imagine watching outside of a theater...and I mean that in a good way. A

Eh. It's fantastic from a technical standpoint and excellently acted, but it somehow manages to feel both overlong and underdeveloped. 6/10

A very effective revenge film, with enough stylistic flourishes and "yep, it went there" moments to make one forget about its weaknesses as a satire.

Tier 1 & 2 (10-8.5) First Reformed Beast Annihilation Sorry to Bother You Hereditary You Were Never Really Here Thoroughbreds Tully Disobedience A Quiet Place Unsane Blindspotting Mission: Impossible - Fallout Black Panther Oh Lucy! Revenge Tier 3 (8) Deadpool 2 Love, Simon Upgrade Ant-Man and the Wasp Isle of Dogs Game Night Tier 4 (7-7.5) Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot Avengers: Infinity War Gemini Mom and Dad Flower Tier 5 (6-6.5) Ocean's 8 Entanglement Tier 6 (5-5.5) Ready Player One

1. Beast (A) 2. Annihilation (A) 3. You Were Never Really Here (A) 4. Thoroughbreds (A-) 5. Tully (A-) 6. Disobedience (A-) 7. A Quiet Place (A-) 8. Unsane (A-) 9. Black Panther (A-) 10. Deadpool 2 (B+) 11. Love, Simon (B+) 12. Upgrade (B+) 13. Isle of Dogs (B+) 14. Game Night (B+) 15. Avengers: Infinity War (B) 16. Gemini (B) 17. Mom and Dad (B) 18. Flower (B) 19. Entanglement (C+) 20. Ready Player One (C) It's been a while since I last updated this, so I didn't put new entries in bold.

Gemini (listed as 2017 on IMDB due to delays, but it's actually a 2018 release)

A Annihilation A- Black Panther Thoroughbreds Unsane B+ Love, Simon Isle of Dogs Game Night B Blame Mom and Dad Flower C+ Entanglement Ready Player One

Eh. The film certainly has its nostalgic charms, but the severely underwritten characters and rushed plotting prevent those charms from taking on greater emotional significance. 6/10

I had been experiencing a case of teen-centered coming of age dramedy fatigue as of late, but the positive responses convinced me to take a chance on this one. I had some issues with it during the exposition phases, primarily due to the presence of my biggest genre gripe (verbal acceptance of upper-middle class two-parent household trappings as normal by default) and the contrived nature of the initial Martin set-up. However, once it got past the 20 minute mark, I found myself won over. The film definitely tapped into some emotions, to say the least, as a person who has recently started to realize how little they know about their own identity. Thankfully, I went with a friend, so I was able to get some thoughts out after stifling the urge to tear-up towards the end and as the credits rolled. The earnest and empathetic underpinning sensibilities definitely resonate on a deeper level, genre trappings and all, a credit to the work put in by the cast and the various surrounding creative voices. Overall grade: 8/10

A Annihilation Isle of Dogs A- Black Panther Thoroughbreds B Love, Simon Blame Mom and Dad B-/C+ Entanglement

A Annihilation Isle of Dogs A- Black Panther Thoroughbreds B Blame Mom and Dad B- Entanglement

A The Shape of Water Call Me by Your Name Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Lady Bird Blade Runner 2049 Get Out Phantom Thread The Florida Project BPM (Beats per Minute) Columbus Dunkirk A Ghost Story Good Time Lady Macbeth Detroit Personal Shopper A- I, Tonya The Disaster Artist The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) The Square It Comes at Night It Logan Raw The Killing of a Sacred Deer Stronger Brawl in Cell Block 99 Thor: Ragnarok B+ (this section has a lot) Ingrid Goes West Coco Star Wars: The Last Jedi Wind River Baby Driver mother! Professor Marston & the Wonder Women Logan Lucky American Made Better Watch Out War for the Planet of the Apes The Lost City of Z John Wick: Chapter 2 Okja The Blackcoat's Daughter (if it counts as a 2017 release) The Big Sick Last Flag Flying Wonder Woman Colossal T2 Trainspotting I Don't Feel at Home in this World Anymore Spider-Man: Homecoming The Beguiled Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Norman Band Aid The Little Hours The Villainess Beatriz at Dinner Their Finest Sleight Brigsby Bear The Void B Atomic Blonde Free Fire Molly's Game Kong: Skull Island Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie Life Happy Death Day XX Kuso B-/C+ Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets The Belko Experiment The Babysitter Annabelle: Creation Beauty and the Beast Ghost in the Shell C- Alien: Covenant

I'm having trouble rating this film. It isn't especially boring and has some great acting, but nothing about it really sticks out. Sorkin's writer instincts hinder the direction, with the narration often restating information that had already been established visually. Also, the stuff with the dad becomes rather trite in the third act and the film would have been better off cutting out most of Costner's scenes altogether. Eh.

B Blame Mom and Dad

I think that this might be Kathryn Bigelow's best film yet, and I am really disappointed about its lack of press attention. Given how Hollywood likes to omit uncomfortable details when depicting troubling events in relatively close historical proximity (50 years in this case), it is great to see a film that does not undermine itself by diluting the horrors at the core of the lingering injustices that it seeks to shed light on. A

Following a mid-career misfire in Fast Food Nation, Richard Linklater has managed to put any notion of a decline to rest with over a decade's worth of solid work. In comparison to his last couple films, this one feels like a slight step down, but it's still very good nonetheless. It tries a bit too hard to be a buddy comedy at times, with some rather forced early 2000s-centric jokes thrown in. Even so, the film has a fantastic ensemble and still manages to imbue itself with the authenticity that we have come to expect from Linklater. B+

One of those rare films where I eagerly awaited the chance to rent it on iTunes, and I can say that the final product proved to be money well spent. It honors the sensibilities of its grindhouse predecessors, while still finding a way to stand out on its own by imbuing the brutal proceedings with an impressive amount of seriousness.

My favorite film of the year so far, and I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up staying that way. The visual attention to detail is a sight to behold on its own, as expected for a Guillermo del Toro film. However, the empathetic sensibilities that underpin it and the terrific efforts of the ensemble are what ultimately set it apart, making for a work that succeeds on multiple levels. My expectations were already high, but del Toro somehow managed to surpass them. A

It's an effective critique of a particularly negative period in 20th century politics, with energetic direction that also makes it a great vehicle for Cruise to do some of his best scene-chewing in a while. 8.5/10

A Get Out Dunkirk A Ghost Story Detroit Good Time It Comes at Night Personal Shopper It Logan A- mother! Wind River Baby Driver Logan Lucky Ingrid Goes West War for the Planet of the Apes The Lost City of Z The Big Sick The Lego Batman Movie Wonder Woman John Wick: Chapter 2 B+ The Blackcoat's Daughter (if it counts) Okja Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 T2 Trainspotting Colossal Spider-Man: Homecoming I Don't Feel at Home in this World Anymore Norman The Beguiled Atomic Blonde Beatriz at Dinner Their Finest Sleight Brigsby Bear The Void B Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie Kong: Skull Island Life Free Fire Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets XX Kuso B-/C+ Annabelle: Creation The Belko Experiment Beauty and the Beast Ghost in the Shell C Alien: Covenant

A Get Out Dunkirk A Ghost Story Detroit It Comes at Night Logan Personal Shopper A- Wind River Baby Driver War for the Planet of the Apes The Lost City of Z The Big Sick The Lego Batman Movie Wonder Woman John Wick: Chapter 2 B+ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 T2 Trainspotting The Blackcoat's Daughter (if it counts) Okja Colossal Spider-Man: Homecoming Atomic Blonde I Don't Feel at Home in this World Anymore Beatriz at Dinner Their Finest Norman The Beguiled The Void B Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie Kong: Skull Island Life Free Fire Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets XX Kuso Annabelle: Creation B- The Belko Experiment Beauty and the Beast C+ Ghost in the Shell C Alien: Covenant

A finely executed effort from a technical and structural standpoint, with an effectively developed atmosphere and enough tension to sustain general interest. Still, I found it a bit underwhelming, ultimately feeling that the film kind of coasts along while not really doing much to transcend or productively leverage genre tropes. In simpler terms, it's a thoroughly competent effort that doesn't really do much to make itself stand out. B/B-