Rian Johnson’s marvelous who-done-it (and how’d-they-do-it) all-star murder mystery Knives Out is more than just a witty modern-day riff on a familiar Agatha Christie-like scenario.

Because Condon and Hatcher don’t drop any hints or noticeable clues as to what is going on this character-driven mystery comes perilously close to transforming into a ‘70s-style exploitation thriller for the AARP set, which might have been fine had I felt The Good Liar earned such a pivotal change in tone.

While there’s the high probability that Paradise Hills will grow on me on re-watch, as magnificent as the visual elements are and as strong as the social commentary might be, that’s not near enough to overcome the places where this motion picture falls disappointingly flat.

The Lighthouse is one of 2019’s most uniquely satisfying creative endeavors, and even if I’m still not sure what the point of it all is I just as assuredly cannot wait to head back to the theatre and weigh anchor on a second viewing as soon as possible.

The Death of Dick Long gallops to the finish line with authoritative tenacity, its final moments hitting me like a swift kick to the head from a startled horse I’d made the unfortunate mistake to frighten.

Ad Astra is a daring bit of storytelling subterfuge that will only grow in resonance as time goes by, the final pieces of its complicated puzzle an emotional moonshot of catharsis and fury unlike anything I could have imagined trying to fit together beforehand.

There is a lot to unpack where it comes to Midsommar, and a lot of it is definitely, a defiantly, worthy of additional dissection and debate.

This latest effort to carry the Shaft name isn’t unwatchable but it equally isn’t worthy of a look, either, all of which makes shutting my mouth about its various missteps and shortcomings impossible to do.

While my initial trepidations in regards to Rob Letterman’s latest proved to be somewhat unfounded, it still wasn’t like Pokémon Detective Pikachu won me over entirely.