2018 MOVIE GUIDE
4 STARS
“Green Book” – Viggo Mortensen & Mahershala Ali shine in a reverse “Driving Miss Daisy”
“Black Panther” – Chadwick Boseman & Michael B. Jordan shine in Coogler’s cultural moment
“A Quiet Place” – John Krasinski directs an instant horror classic with a silent monster movie
“A Star is Born” – Bradley Cooper directs Lady Gaga to prove that this tragic tale is evergreen
“First Man” – Ryan Gosling is Neil Armstrong in reunion with “La La Land” director Chazelle
“Three Identical Strangers” – Downright shocking documentary on triplets separated at birth
“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” – Mr. Rogers documentary is emotional, educational, profound
3 1/2 STARS
“Roma” – Alfonso Cuaron (“Gravity”) tells personal story of growing up in 1971 Mexico City
“Tully” – “Juno” filmmakers reunite as Charlize Theron’s sleepless mom hires a night nanny
“BlacKkKlansman” – Inspired by true story, this is Spike Lee’s most inspired work in years
“Blindspotting” – “Hamilton” alum Daveed Diggs writes/stars in look at gentrified Oakland
“If Beale Street Could Talk” – Barry Jenkins follows “Moonlight” by adapting James Baldwin
“Eighth Grade” – Bo Burnham dissects modern teenage life with a sympathetic Elsie Fisher
“Cold War” – Pawel Pawlikowski follows “Ida” with Poland’s Oscar nominee for Foreign Film
“Widows” – Viola Davis stars in clever crime thiller by Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”)
“Crazy Rich Asians” – This delightful rom-com features the first all-Asian cast in 25 years
“The Wife” – Glenn Close should finally win her Oscar as the wife of a Nobel Prize recipient
“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” – Melissa McCarthy blends comedy, drama in true forgery tale
“First Reformed” – Ethan Hawke plays priest debating eco-terrorism to save God’s creation
“Stan & Ollie” – Steve Coogan & John C. Reilly nail portraits of comedy duo Laurel & Hardy
3 STARS
“Bohemian Rhapsody” – Rami Malek shines as Freddie Mercury in infectious Queen biopic
“Avengers: Infinity War” – Shocking blockbuster culminates 10 years of Marvel superheroes
“Free Solo” – Documentary explores the first rock climber to free solo Yosemite’s El Capitan
“Vice” – Christian Bale is uncanny as Dick Cheney in Adam McKay’s flashy V.P. takedown
“Christopher Robin” – Disney delivers a charming live-action remake of a children’s classic
“Creed 2” – Apollo Creed’s son faces the son of the man who killed his father, Ivan Drago
“The Front Runner” – Hugh Jackman recreates Gary Hart’s doomed 1988 presidential race
“Mary Poppins Returns” – Emily Blunt does her best Julie Andrews in this magical sequel
“Halloween” – Jamie Lee Curtis returns to battle Michael Myers 40 years after 1978 original
“Ant-Man & The Wasp” – Paul Rudd offers a fun family reprieve after the heavy “Infinity War”
“Ocean’s Eight” – Star-studded, all-female spin-off of “Ocean’s 11” is an entertaining caper
“Incredibles 2” – Pixar’s superhero sequel explores gender and addiction to digital devices
“Beirut” – Jon Hamm shows a new side as a U.S. diplomat in Tony Gilroy’s political thriller
“Isle of Dogs” – Wes Anderson returns to stop-motion animation after “Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“Ready Player One” – Steven Spielberg is magically meta in virtual reality action fantasy
“I Feel Pretty” – Amy Schumer wakes up from accident to have a much higher self esteem
“Bird Box” – Sandra Bullock blindfolds herself in Netflix streaming hit similar to “A Quiet Place”
2 1/2 STARS
“Hereditary” – Toni Collette shines in a near horror masterpiece that stumbles in final act
“Annihilation” – Natalie Portman stars in the latest sci-fi flick by the director of “Ex Machina”
“Beautiful Boy” – Steve Carell helps his teen son Timothee Chalamet grapple with addiction
“Thoroughbreds” – Olivia Cooke & Anya Taylor-Joy play disillusioned teens plotting murder
“Tomb Raider” – Alicia Vikander shines as Lara Croft as script recycles “The Last Crusade”
“Deadpool 2” – Ryan Reynolds returns as Marvel’s R-rated superhero in raunchy sequel
“Adrift” – Shailene Woodley shows survival instincts lost at sea in this romantic adventure
“Solo: A Star Wars Story” – Unlike “Rogue One,” Han Solo origin story is scared to fly solo
“A Wrinkle in Time” – Ava DuVernay adapts children’s novel into magical, confusing flick
“Life of the Party” – Melissa McCarthy goes back to college to graduate with her daughter
2 STARS
“The Favourite” – Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz star in erotic period piece that really drags
“Sorry to Bother You” – Boots Riley’s wild sci-fi flick lacks the horsepower to go the distance
“Red Sparrow” – Jennifer Lawrence stars in oversexed spy thriller with very graphic scenes
“Aquaman” – Jason Mamoa (“Game of Thrones”) swims through waterlogged superhero flick
“Life Itself” – “This Is Us” creator interweaves multiple generations of interconnected families
“Skyscraper” – The Rock does his best “Die Hard” impression, but this skyscraper crumbles
“The Meg” – Jason Statham battles a giant shark in this tonally inconsistent “Jaws” wannabe
“The Predator” – Shane Black reboots the 1987 sci-fi/action classic with a tone-deaf script
“The Girl in the Spider’s Web” – Claire Foy play the third Lisbeth Salander in the past decade
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” – Part 5 is a step backward with all dinosaurs all the time
1 1/2 STARS
“Rampage” – The Rock is the only thing that makes this dumb monster movie watchable
“The Nun” – Fifth installment of “The Conjuring” converts stellar franchise into a bad habit
“Fifty Shades Freed” – Anna & Christian reach disappointing climax in trilogy’s final chapter
Reviews from Past Years:
