GeneralKong

January 20th Century Women - A Silence - A Paterson - A A Monster Calls - A- Moana - A- Fences - A- Patriots Day - B+ Hidden Figures - B- February The Red Turtle - A John Wick 2 - A- The LEGO Batman Movie - A- I Am Not Your Negro - A Lion - B- Get Out - A Elle - A March Personal Shopper - A Logan - A Kong: Skull Island - B The Belko Experiment - B- T2 Trainspotting - A- Ghost in the Shell - C+ Life - B Beauty and the Beast - B- Land of Mine - B+ April Your Name - A Free Fire - B The Lost City of Z - A- Norman - B+ May Colossal - B+ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - A- Baby Driver - A Alien: Covenant - C June Wonder Woman - A- Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie - B It Comes at Night - A Beatriz at Dinner - B+

A Get Out Logan Baby Driver Personal Shopper A- The Lost City of Z Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 The Lego Batman Movie Wonder Woman T2 Trainspotting John Wick: Chapter 2 B+ Colossal Norman I Don't Feel at Home in this World Anymore B Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie Kong: Skull Island Life Free Fire Beauty and the Beast XX B- The Belko Experiment C+ Alien: Covenant Ghost in the Shell

January 20th Century Women - A Silence - A Paterson - A A Monster Calls - A- Moana - A- Fences - A- Patriots Day - B+ Hidden Figures - B- February The Red Turtle - A John Wick 2 - A- The LEGO Batman Movie - A- I Am Not Your Negro - A Lion - B- Get Out - A Elle - A March Personal Shopper - A Logan - A Kong: Skull Island - B The Belko Experiment - B- T2 Trainspotting - A- Ghost in the Shell - C+ Life - B Beauty and the Beast - B Land of Mine - B+ April Your Name - A Free Fire - B The Lost City of Z - A- Norman - B+ May Colossal - B+ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - A- Baby Driver - A Alien: Covenant - C+ June Wonder Woman - A- Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie - B

I loved the first half, but the final hour or so kind of ruined it for me. From the halfway point onward, Scott succumbs to the same narrative pratfalls that derailed Prometheus, setting up contrived situations that rely on character stupidity to move the plot along. The final 30 minutes were particularly difficult for me to enjoy, with Scott ruining an exciting battle by throwing in a cheap cut-away for franchise-continuation purposes and incorporating an overdone horror movie trope (shower sex scene gone wrong) that would have been more effective in a film that didn't take itself so seriously. On the positive side, I did feel that it was an improvement over Prometheus overall (on account of the promising start) and am holding out hope that future installments can build off of its strengths. C+

A Get Out Logan Baby Driver (early screening) Personal Shopper A- The Lost City of Z Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 The Lego Batman Movie T2 Trainspotting John Wick: Chapter 2 B+ Colossal Norman B Kong: Skull Island Life Free Fire Beauty and the Beast XX B- The Belko Experiment C+ Alien: Covenant Ghost in the Shell

A Get Out Logan A- Personal Shopper The Lost City of Z The Lego Batman Movie T2 Trainspotting John Wick: Chapter 2 B+ Colossal Norman B Kong: Skull Island Life Free Fire Beauty and the Beast XX B- The Belko Experiment Ghost in the Shell

A Get Out Logan A- Personal Shopper The Lost City of Z The Lego Batman Movie T2 Trainspotting John Wick: Chapter 2 B Kong: Skull Island Life Free Fire Beauty and the Beast XX B- The Belko Experiment Ghost in the Shell

January 20th Century Women - A Silence - A Paterson - A A Monster Calls - A- Moana - A- Fences - A- Patriots Day - B+ Hidden Figures - B- February The Red Turtle - A John Wick 2 - A- The LEGO Batman Movie - A- I Am Not Your Negro - A Lion - B- Get Out - A Elle - A March Logan - A Kong: Skull Island - B The Belko Experiment - B- T2 Trainspotting - A- Ghost in the Shell - B- Life - B Beauty and the Beast - B (forgot to include it in last post) Land of Mine - B+ (forgot to include it in last post) April Your Name - A Free Fire - B The Lost City of Z - A-

January 20th Century Women - A Silence - A Paterson - A A Monster Calls - A- Moana - A- Fences - A- Patriots Day - B+ Hidden Figures - B- February The Red Turtle - A John Wick 2 - A- The LEGO Batman Movie - A- I Am Not Your Negro - A Lion - B- Get Out - A Elle - A March Logan - A Kong: Skull Island - B The Belko Experiment - B- T2 Trainspotting - A- Ghost in the Shell - B- Life - B April Your Name - A

My favorite film from this year so far. The main thing that really stuck out to me was Peele's timing, using humor to throw the viewer off while still building up naturally to each plot point. The social commentary works on a wide variety of levels, but the high level of storytelling from a creative standpoint is crucial in allowing it to register amidst the wide variety of genre tropes that Peele employs. One of the most impressive directorial debuts to come around in recent memory. A

A Get Out Logan A- Personal Shopper The Lego Batman Movie T2 Trainspotting John Wick: Chapter 2 B Kong: Skull Island Life Beauty and the Beast XX B- The Belko Experiment Ghost in the Shell

January 20th Century Women - A Silence - A Paterson - A A Monster Calls - A- Moana - A- Fences - A- Patriots Day - B+ Hidden Figures - B- February The Red Turtle - A John Wick 2 - A- The LEGO Batman Movie - A- I Am Not Your Negro - A Lion - B- Get Out - A Elle - A March Logan - A Kong: Skull Island - B The Belko Experiment - B T2 Trainspotting - A-

A Get Out Logan A- The Lego Batman Movie T2 Trainspotting John Wick: Chapter 2 B Kong: Skull Island The Belko Experiment XX

With the addition of Hacksaw Ridge, I finally have all of the Best Picture nominees checked off.

January 20th Century Women - A Silence - A Paterson - A A Monster Calls - A- Moana - A- Fences - A- Patriots Day - B+ Hidden Figures - B- February The Red Turtle - A John Wick 2 - A- The LEGO Batman Movie - A- I Am Not Your Negro - A Lion - B- Get Out - A Elle - A March Logan - A Kong: Skull Island - B

Tier 1 Manchester By the Sea Moonlight I Am Not Your Negro La La Land Silence Arrival Paterson The Red Turtle 20th Century Women Jackie Hell or High Water The Lobster Elle Kubo and the Two Strings Loving The Handmaiden Love & Friendship Don’t Think Twice Everybody Wants Some!! Train to Busan Zootopia A Monster Calls Very good to great/Tier 2 Moana The Nice Guys Fences The Jungle Book The Edge of Seventeen Green Room Captain America: Civil War Deadpool The Witch Sing Street Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Eye in the Sky 10 Cloverfield Lane Swiss Army Man Don’t Breathe Hail, Caesar! Southside with You Cafe Society Finding Dory Midnight Special Good/Tier 3 Hacksaw Ridge Captain Fantastic Patriots Day Nocturnal Animals Sausage Party Star Trek Beyond Denial Pete’s Dragon Deepwater Horizon Ouija: Origin of Evil Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Ghostbusters Lights Out The Neon Demon The Conjuring 2 Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping Keanu Decent/Tier 4 Lion Hidden Figures Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Hardcore Henry Meh/Tier 5 Blair Witch Bad Moms Just plain bad/Tier 6 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Batman vs. Superman

A- Get Out The Lego Batman Movie John Wick: Chapter 2

January: 20th Century Women: A Silence: A Paterson: A A Monster Calls: A- Moana: A- Fences: B+ Patriots Day: B+ Hidden Figures: B- February: The Red Turtle: A John Wick 2: A- The LEGO Batman Movie: A- I Am Not Your Negro: A Lion: B Next: Get Out

January: 20th Century Women: A Silence: A Paterson: A A Monster Calls: A- Moana: A- Fences: B+ Patriots Day: B+ Hidden Figures: B- February: The Red Turtle: A John Wick 2: A- The LEGO Batman Movie: A- I Am Not Your Negro: A Next: Get Out

January: 20th Century Women: A Silence: A Paterson: A A Monster Calls: A- Moana: A- Fences: B+ Patriots Day: B+ Hidden Figures: B- February: The Red Turtle: A Next up: John Wick 2, The Lego Batman Movie, Lion

January: 20th Century Women: A Silence: A Paterson: A A Monster Calls: A- Moana: A- Fences: B+ Patriots Day: B+ Hidden Figures: B- Next up: Lion, The Red Turtle, Split

A thoughtful, powerful masterpiece from a director who continues to reach new heights of artistic inspiration after 50+ years in the business (rather than the meh-good-excellent cycle that directors like Woody Allen are good for by this point in their careers.) Additionally, as a history buff, I was amazed by Scorsese's attention to detail (even by the lofty standards established in his past works), with the epilogue being especially emblematic of his meticulousness. A

The performances are fantastic, but the film ultimately tries to do way too much by condensing a mini-series' worth of material into two hours. As a result, two of its three highly talented leads, Monae especially, are left with arcs that warranted further development than that allowed by the limitations of its script. Additionally, the film's inspirational genre trappings and running time limitations cause it to fall into the cliche trap of using the dramatic speech and subsequent montage to resolve conflicts at certain points, to its overall detriment. Even so, it is still an entertaining movie-going experience with potential use as a tool for the fostering of meaningful dialogue, flaws and all. 6.5/10

Tier 1 1. Manchester By the Sea 2. Moonlight 3. La La Land 4. 20th Century Women 5. Silence 6. Arrival 7. Jackie 8. Hell or High Water 9. The Lobster 10. Kubo and the Two Strings 11. Loving 12. Don’t Think Twice 13. Zootopia 14. A Monster Calls 15. Everybody Wants Some!! Very good to great/Tier 2 Moana The Nice Guys Fences The Jungle Book The Edge of Seventeen Green Room Captain America: Civil War Deadpool The Witch Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Eye in the Sky Hail, Caesar! Cafe Society 10 Cloverfield Lane Swiss Army Man Doctor Strange Finding Dory Don’t Breathe Good/Tier 3 Patriots Day Nocturnal Animals Sausage Party Star Trek Beyond Denial Pete’s Dragon Deepwater Horizon Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Ouija: Origin of Evil Ghostbusters Lights Out The Neon Demon The Conjuring 2 Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping Keanu Decent/Tier 4 Hidden Figures Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Hardcore Henry Meh/Tier 5 Blair Witch Bad Moms Just plain bad/Tier 6 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Batman vs. Superman

1. Manchester By the Sea 2. Moonlight 3. La La Land 4. Arrival 5. Hell or High Water 6. The Lobster 7. Kubo and the Two Strings 8. Loving 9. Everybody Wants Some!! 10. Zootopia Honorable mentions/Tier 2 (8.5-9/10) The Edge of Seventeen Green Room The Jungle Book Captain America: Civil War The Nice Guys Deadpool Cafe Society Hail, Caesar! The Witch Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Doctor Strange 10 Cloverfield Lane Swiss Army Man Finding Dory Don’t Breathe Good/Tier 3 (8/10, 7-7.5/10) Nocturnal Animals Sausage Party Star Trek Beyond Denial Pete’s Dragon Deepwater Horizon Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Ouija: Origin of Evil Ghostbusters Lights Out The Neon Demon The Conjuring 2 Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping Keanu Decent/Tier 4 (6-6.5/10) Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Hardcore Henry Meh/Tier 5 (5-5.5/10) Blair Witch Bad Moms Just bad/Tier 6 (4.5 or less) Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Batman vs. Superman