Taylor Swift gets bad news over the phone – one of the star’s many unguarded moments captured by Lana Wilson’s documentary Miss Americana — Taylor Swift gets bad news over the phone – one of the star’s many unguarded moments captured by Lana Wilson’s documentary *Miss Americana*

Miss Americana (2020) by Lana Wilson

February 3, 2020

Review by Michael O’Malley

As tempting as it might be to imagine the muckraking documentary that could have been, these limitations also make up what’s sneakily great about Miss Americana. By never really allowing the documentary to break from Taylor Swift’s perspective, director Lana Wilson creates a movie in which Swift is basically talking to herself about her own thoughts, experiences, and memories. Miss Americana becomes about the dialectic within Taylor Swift: what Taylor Swift thinks about herself.

George MacKay stars in director Sam Mendes’s 1917 — George MacKay stars in director Sam Mendes’s *1917*

1917 (2019) by Sam Mendes

January 27, 2020

Review by Logan Kenny

Mendes has no aim, he has no political foundations other than the idea he should represent “the stories of war” without getting into what they mean, why they mean it, and why these people deserve to be remembered. It is a hollow husk, a decrepit abyss of hamfisted bullshit, that adds no value asides from a bunch of technical feats that don’t even make the movie any better.

Taylor Swift, one star among many populating Tom Hooper’s Cats, here seen drugging the rest of the cast like this is Climax — Taylor Swift, one star among many populating Tom Hooper’s *Cats*, here seen drugging the rest of the cast like this is *Climax*

Cats (2019) by Tom Hooper

January 13, 2020

Review by Cam Watson

When I think of “bad” films, they usually evoke feelings of boredom or problematic messaging, so how do I measure a movie that is never boring and practically has no message?

Little Women (2019) by Greta Gerwig

January 8, 2020

Review by Maggie Frank

Greta Gerwig's Little Women is not the most faithful to this novel, it doesn't have the best Jo, it is not the most fun, it is not the most touching, it is not the first to be directed by a woman, but it does have the most original vision and is the best tribute to the story of Louisa May Alcott.

Adam Sandler stars in the Safdie-directed Uncut Gems — Adam Sandler stars in the Safdie-directed *Uncut Gems*

Uncut Gems (2019) by Josh and Benny Safdie

January 1, 2020

Uncut Gems’s Howard Ratner is one of the most memorably devoted acolytes of capitalism put to screen in the past decade. His total, blind faith in the very acts of spending and making money, in and of themselves, is the engine generating Gems’s labyrinthine forward momentum, and he therefore becomes aligned with the film’s self-annihilatory conscience as the arc of narrative bends back towards inevitable collapse.

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) by J.J. Abrams

December 23, 2019

Review by Zach Dennis

The Rise of Skywalker is a crisis of myth. It’s easy to dismiss it as a by-product of a long-running series, or even more minimally as just a movie but that feels like a disservice to the social impact of the Star Wars series whether you’re a fan or not

Ryan Reynolds stars in director Michael Bay’s 6 Underground — Ryan Reynolds stars in director Michael Bay’s *6 Underground*

6 Underground (2019) by Michael Bay

December 16, 2019

Review by Nick Armstrong

Reynolds and co. bring their established sarcasm that I feared would undermine Bay’s signature style, but said style is so excessively loud that Reynolds’s phony shtick really only highlights the borderline nihilistic destruction that takes place around him.

Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver star in director Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story — Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver star in director Noah Baumbach’s *Marriage Story*

Marriage Story (2019) by Noah Baumbach

December 9, 2019

Review by Maggie Frank

Divorce is exhausting. It's expensive. It's painful. It's brutal. And, like Marriage Story, it is engrossing to watch.

Robert DeNiro reunites with director Martin Scorsese for The Irishman — Robert DeNiro reunites with director Martin Scorsese for *The Irishman*

The Irishman (2019) by Martin Scorsese

December 2, 2019

Review by Logan Kenny

The Irishman will not be the last gangster film, but it feels like the end. After this, it feels like there’s no point to any more of these tales.

Transit (2018) by Christian Petzold

November 25, 2019

Review by Zach Dennis

Why does the swastika become more recognizable than the acts committed by those who wore it? Gone are the swastika, storm-trooper helmets or gray and red uniforms that have become synonymous with the National Socialist movement of Nazi Germany, and instead, we see the word “POLICE” seared on black, padded armor as the officers beat stragglers found among a recently docked train

Doctor Sleep (2019) by Mike Flanagan

November 20, 2019

Review by Nick Armstrong

On a recent re-watch, I found it especially hard to enjoy anything that Kubrick brings to the table in The Shining when so much of his emotionally manipulative and abusive protagonist-turned-antagonist’s actions mirror how Kubrick himself reportedly treated the film’s other star, Shelley Duvall. Immediately following this very uncomfortable rewatch – of a film I’d go as far as to say that I truly despise – is when I realized the potential that Mike Flanagan’s long overdue sequel, Doctor Sleep, had.

Rojo (2019) by Benjamín Naishtat

November 18, 2019

Review by Reid Ramsey

Rojo, although maybe lacking a precise narrative focus, has a wisdom to it that when paired with historical context forms a thriller truly bent on eliciting a deep shudder from audiences.

Cynthia Ervio stars as Harriet Tubman in director Kasi Lemmons’s biopic of the historical figure

Harriet (2019) by Kasi Lemmons

November 13, 2019

Review by Courtney Anderson

Harriet feels less like a movie and more like a video-version of Harriet Tubman’s Wikipedia page.

Gemini Man (2019) by Ang Lee

October 28, 2019

Review by Reid Ramsey

As do many other action movies derided for their nonsensical plots, Gemini Man primarily succeeds through its impressive action and emotional clarity. Only the second feature film shot at 120-frames-per-second, the action scenes possess an unmatched real-world verisimilitude. The image clarity is that of a high-def sports game, and while it may not be a good match for many movies, Lee’s movie was a perfect fit for the form.

Renee Zellweger stars as the legendary Judy Garland in director Rupert Goold’s Judy — Renee Zellweger stars as the legendary Judy Garland in director Rupert Goold’s *Judy*

Judy (2019) by Rupert Goold

October 21, 2019

Review by Miranda Barnewall

To know Judy is to seek out her films, her recordings, and read biographies on her. It’s an active search, and while there were no doubt tragic elements of her life, that’s not why her fans stick around. It’s in those where you find aspects about her that you love and begin to know her, not just the dolled up tragic melodramatic bits cut together in a feature length film.

Tom Hanks stars as the beloved Mr. Rogers in director Marielle Heller’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood — Tom Hanks stars as the beloved Mr. Rogers in director Marielle Heller’s *A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood*

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) by Marielle Heller

October 14, 2019

Review by Nick Armstrong

The film both indulges in and disproves the idea that Mr. Rogers is a saint, an otherworldly figure whose kindness knows no bounds.

Joker (2019) by Todd Phillips

September 29, 2019

Review by Zach Dennis

At its core, Joker would love to be a movie about the mental health system and the lack of attention or funding to actually help those who desperately need it. But that’s all bullshit. The movie just needed something to make it seem much more nuanced so that it could validate its lust for violence and exhalation of the misunderstood misfit.

Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez star in director Lorence Scafaria’s Hustlers — Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez star in director Lorence Scafaria’s *Hustlers*

Hustlers (2019) by Lorene Scafaria

September 25, 2019

Review by Miranda Barnewall

What does money buy for these women? It does buy the things you might expect, but it also buys security, comfort, and opportunity. It ultimately buys power over your own life.

Brad Pitt stars in director James Gray’s long-awaited Ad Astra — Brad Pitt stars in director James Gray’s long-awaited *Ad Astra*

Ad Astra (2019) by James Gray

September 23, 2019

Review / Personal Essay by Logan Kenny

There’s a comfort in knowing that there have been people like me before, in fiction and in reality, desperate for something to cling onto as everything glides through the stars. James Gray’s work behind the camera and the emotional depth he gives his characters has always been remarkable, but the confidence and patience he has here is transcendent.

It Chapter Two (2019) by Andy Muschietti

September 18, 2019

Review by Courtney Anderson

It Chapter Two ultimately feels like a repeat of the first chapter. Only this time, it’s less fun.