Grade: A- Ari Aster’s superb debut horror film “Hereditary” is so methodically stretched out-- using every second and minute of its runtime to ratchet up suspense and generate terror. It’s relentless but in a subdued and quietly unnerving way. From the very beginning, the movie grabs you by the neck and holds you in a state of stress and uneasiness, not letting go until the final credits. Even the most mundane domestic scenes have an atmosphere of unshakable menace hanging over them. Aster constantly keeps you on edge; you’re always waiting for something bad happen. Yet, when the bad th ..read more

Grade: C+ Ron Howard’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (the second spinoff/prequel “Star Wars” film following “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” from a couple years ago) is a thoroughly unremarkable picture—a mildly entertaining and safe prequel/origin story that has little to say about its iconic protagonist and therefore has little reason to exist. Which is a shame because “Solo” moves at such a swift pace. It may be the shortest two hour and fifteen minute movie I’ve ever sat through. Leaving the theater, I didn’t feel beaten down and fatigued like I would during a “Transformers” movie. But two ..read more

Grade: B+ I wouldn’t want to mess with Joe, the protagonist of Lynn Ramsey’s feverish, psychological crime flick “You Were Never Really Here.” He’s got a large, bushy beard and long hair that he often keeps in a bun. His body is bulked up and covered in scars. A former war vet, Joe (played by Joaquin Phoenix) now works as a tough guy for hire—mostly rescuing little girls from underground sex clubs. Wielding only a hammer, Joe dishes out pain with such mechanical finesse; he’s been around enough violence for it to just bounce off of him. Yet, I also spent much of the film wishing I could ..read more

Grade: B- Prolific chameleon director Steven Soderbergh’s latest feature, “Unsane” is a wild, ambitious and altogether delirious ride. Writers Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer manage to pack a lot into a tight pulpy genre movie mold while Soderbergh (acting as his own director of photography) captures the mayhem with only an IPhone--alternating between gritty “shot-on-the-fly” style coverage and more impressionistic, hypnotic horror movie shots. “Unsane” is at once a disturbing, absurdist indictment of institutional corruption and abuse and an unabashedly sleazy old school slasher mov ..read more

Grade: C+ Roar Uthaug’s “Tomb Raider” (based on the popular videogame series) is a reboot; an origin story for archeologist/ treasure seeker/athlete/badass Lara Croft. That sounds like a good idea. After all, we like to learn how our superheroes came to be. Unfortunately, Uthaug’s film is remarkably simple and breezy--often generic but light on its feet and never flat out wretched. The action is occasionally gripping. For being just under two hours it goes by very quickly. Overall, Tomb Raider” plays like a thoroughly mediocre (with splashes of fun) one off action flick. That sounds like ..read more

Grade: B+ Through the advent of science we’ve been able to rationalize a number of processes and events that have happened (and continue to happen) regarding the development of life but we still haven’t been able to answer the “big questions.” Why is there life? Is it all a matter of dumb luck or was there some intelligent force out in the universe that caused the dominos to fall? And if so, why did this intelligent force set all of this into motion? Writer-director Alex Garland indirectly addresses this profound dilemma regarding the meaning of life and the limitations of science in his ..read more

Grade: C- In their new Western “Hostiles,” Director Scott Cooper and co writer Donald E. Stewart effectively deromanticize the American West and depict it as a place of casual violence and conquest. During the opening scene, set on a calm prairie out in the frontier, an unsuspecting homestead is attacked by a band of quietly terrifying Commanches. Children, including an infant are massacred with little fuss. Somehow, the movie only gets bleaker from there. It’s overflowing with violence, death and suffering. Through this extreme gloominess, “Hostiles” is primarily two things: an explora ..read more

Grade: B+ “Call Me By Your Name” is a warm, romantic film that derives much of its romance from a gorgeous setting and a laid-back summer vibe. The action primarily takes place on a heavenly Villa tucked away somewhere in Northern Italy, near a quaint little village complete with old stone architecture. The property is dotted with fertile peach and apricot trees. An ornate, stone pool sits off to the side. A secluded river is within walking distance and an azure lake is only a quick drive away. Paradise. It’s here that seventeen-year-old Elio (Timothy Chalamet) spends his summer with his ..read more

Grade: B- What if, at the end of Universal’s classic monster flick, “Creature From The Black Lagoon,” instead of being killed, the titular creature was captured and brought back to America? And what if he was kept in a top-secret government laboratory where he was deeply misunderstood and neglected? And what if he also fell in love with a human woman? That’s one way to think about “The Shape of Water.” Written and directed by Guillermo Del Toro, “The Shape of Water” is an intriguing, sometimes messy genre mashup of creature horror, cold war espionage thriller and of course interspecies ..read more

Grade: B Steven Spielberg signed on to direct “The Post” (a film about the immediate events leading up to the publishing of the Pentagon Papers by the Washington Post) in March of this year. He read the script and concluded that this story needed to be told immediately. And, well, he’s right. With news organizations shutting down around the country (due to shrinking revenue) and the Trump administration continuing to wage war on honest journalism, “The Post” is the most urgent film of the year. It’s a polished, well-acted picture about the first amendment being threatened as well as a ce ..read more