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1917
Legendary screenwriter William Goldman once said of the film industry, âNobody knows anything,â and this is still mostly true, with one exception: If cinematographer Roger Deakins shot the movie, that movie is worth seeing on the biggest screen possible. Even if 1917 were solely the most impressive work of Deakinsâ remarkable careerâwhich it isâIâd be recommending it. But the World War I movie is also one hell of a stunning storytelling experience from director Sam Mendes, co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns, and editor Lee Smith. (Now playing, various theaters) BOBBY ROBERTS
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2001: A Space Odyssey, Baraka, Dunkirk, Phantom Thread, and Total Recall on 70mm
Title kind of says it all, huh? (Through Wed Jan 8, Hollywood Theatre)
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Itâs unusual to witness real cinematic magic these days, but the Fred Rogers biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood absolutely has it. Director Marielle Heller (Diary of a Teenage Girl, Can You Ever Forgive Me?) wisely avoids the visual slickness one might expect from a Tom Hanks-centric melodrama, instead employing a lived-in style and scene transitions that consist of miniature cities harkening back to the opening of Mister Rogersâ Neighborhood. (Now playing, various theaters) SUZETTE SMITH
Bombshell
Margot Robbie, Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Alice Eve star in a dramatization of Fox Newsâ one billion sexual harassment scandals. (Now playing, various theaters)
Cage Uncaged
A tribute to the greatest actor of this or any generation, with 35mm prints of Wild at Heart, Valley Girl, and Vampireâs Kiss. Need more Cage? Good, because upcoming screenings include Red Rock West (with director John Dahl in attendance!) and Cageâs latest epic, Color Out of Space. Cage! (Wild at Heart Sat Jan 11 & Sun Jan 12; Valley Girl Sun Jan 12; Vampireâs Kiss Mon Jan 13, Hollywood Theatre)
Cats
Everyone who saw the HUMAN FACE/CAT BODY NIGHTMARE that was the first Cats trailer balked at the weirdly flat faces that seemed to slide off the castâs half-humanoid, half-feline, all-horny bodies. Some thought Universal Pictures might cave to fan pressure, much like the Sonic the Hedgehog brouhaha that unfolded last spring, and manage to stick those faces on by Christmas. They did not, and as a result, Cats is a horrorshow of computer-narrowed cat chins that canât support singing, human-sized mouths. (Now playing, various theaters) SUZETTE SMITH
Dark Waters
As infuriating and horrifying as the subject matter of Dark Water isâitâs based on âThe Lawyer Who Became DuPontâs Worst Nightmare,â a 2016 New York Times Magazine story by Nathaniel Richâit is, in many ways, another paint-by-numbers, based-on-a-true-story legal thriller. Here, Robert Bilott (Mark Ruffalo), a corporate lawyer with a history of representing chemical companies, switches sides to reveal DuPontâs decades of catastrophic malfeasance. But Portland arthouse director Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven, Carol) oversees things here, and he captures Dark Watersâ sickening story in chilly blues and jaundiced yellows while figuring out exactly how to get the most from his cast. (Now playing, various theaters) ERIK HENRIKSEN
Ford v Ferrari
If youâre a lover of car-racing movies, you should probably check out Ford v Ferrariâbecause this film is likely to be one of the last of its kind. A biopic about the late â60s rivalry between failing racecar company Ferrari and the âwants to be sexy soooo badâ Ford Motor Company, F v F is about how corporations canât help but crush the passion and innovation they so desperately need. But itâs impossible to ignore the two elephants in this room: The fetishization of white male toxicity and car culture. (Now playing, various theaters) WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
The Grudge
Another remake of the 2002 Japanese horror flick Ju-on. Donât watch that VHS tape! No, wait. That was The Ring. Which was a remake of Ringu. This one is... a haunted house? Yes! A haunted house. The lady from GLOW is in it. (Opens Thurs Jan 2, various theaters)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I
Young Harry Potter rushes to defend his good friend after Professor Trelawney discovers Ron Weasley in a compromising position with his patronus. Having used the Time-Turner to more quickly advance to legal drinking age, Hermione blacks out at the Three Broomsticks. (Fri Jan 3-Thurs Jan 9, Academy Theater)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
In a climactic battle that brings a thrilling close to the saga of young Harry Potter, the students of Hogwarts team up with Voldemortâs Death Eaters to brutally slaughter the Wizarding Worldâs true villain, Newt Scamander. While attempting to have his way with Scamanderâs corpse, Kreacher the house-elf is interrupted by a shocking revelation from Luna Lovegood. (Fri Jan 10-Thurs Jan 16, Academy Theater)
A Hidden Life
The jaw-droppingly gorgeous first half of Terrence Malickâs A Hidden Life stacks up with some of the best work the legendary director has ever doneâright up there with Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, and Tree of Life. The second half, though, feels a lot more like... uh, whatâs the term for Malickâs more recent movies, like Knight of Cups, and that one about music, and that one with Ben Affleck? NĂź-Malick? Letâs go with nĂź-Malick. Anyway, A Hidden Lifeâs flat, weary second half would be easier to sit through if A Hidden Life wasnât three hours long. (Now playing, various theaters) ERIK HENRIKSEN
The Informer
Joel Kinnaman plays a dude going undercover... in a prison. On the downside: Joel Kinnaman (Suicide Squad, RoboCop). On the upside: Ana de Armas (Knives Out) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl). This didnât screen for critics, so youâll have to do your own research to make an informed decision. Eh? Eh? Shut up, itâs January, nobody cares. (Opens Fri Jan 10, various theaters)
Just Mercy
Michael B. Jordan plays civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson. Costarring Jamie Foxx and Brie Larson. Stay until after the credits for the stinger, when Captain Marvel fights Killmonger and Electro! (Opens Fri Jan 10, various theaters)
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Knives Out
Rian Johnson knows his shit. Ever since Brick, the writer/directorâs brilliant neo-noir from 2005âand on through his conman caper The Brothers Bloom, his sci-fi action flick Looper, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which somehow managed to both deconstruct all the Star Wars movies to date while also being the best Star Wars movie to dateâJohnson has played with genre in ways few filmmakers can. Both a devotee of formula and a guy who canât resist ripping formulas apart, Johnson makes movies thatâre simultaneously comforting and surprisingâoffering a warm rush of the familiar, chased by the acidic sting of the new. Knives Out, Johnsonâs phenomenally enjoyable riff on a murder-mystery whodunit, is no different. (Now playing, various theaters) ERIK HENRIKSEN
Like a Boss
Like a Boss is barely long enough to qualify as a feature film, clocking at an hour and 23 minutesâwhich makes total sense, considering there's not much meat on this story, aside from a couple of central themes: the evergreen dilemma of choosing between a career and motherhood, learning how to spot frenemies, and evolving for the sake of a valued friendship. Thankfully, the hilarious castâwhich includes Tiffany Haddish, Rose Byrne, and Salma Hayekâmakes this mediocre movie watchable. (Opens Fri Jan 10, various theaters) JENNI MOORE
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Little Women
I loved Greta Gerwigâs Lady Bird so much that I went into Little Women with trepidation. Making a follow-up to a movie everyone loved is tricky! And every hater on my block asked why we needed another Little Women movie when the 1995 version is âperfectly fineâ and âhas Winona Ryder in it.â The answer: You donât know how good you can have it! You donât know how good Little Women can be, you poor fools! (Now playing, various theaters) suzette smith
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Thomas Jerome Newton wasnât the first role David Bowie playedâheâd been hiding behind characters like Major Tom and Ziggy Stardust since the beginning of his music careerâbut The Man Who Fell to Earth was Bowieâs first major film role, and itâs so ideally suited that itâs difficult to tell where the actor ends and Newton begins. (Fri Jan 3-Thurs Jan 9, Academy Theater) NED LANNAMANN
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Marriage Story
In 2005, Noah Baumbach wrote and directed The Squid and the Whale, a movie that dug deep into what it feels like to be a kid in a family thatâs pulled itself past its breaking point. Baumbach captured the emotions that riot at the core of a divorce so accurately, so sharply, that it was impossible not to feel the movie like a punch to the gut. Almost 15 years later, Baumbachâs written and directed Marriage Story, a movie that digs deep into what it feels like to be a husband and a wife in a family thatâs pulling itself past its breaking point. Marriage Story is brutal and sharp, but itâs also funny and sweet, and captures something thatâs impossible to put into words: The feeling of life as it changes, and the feeling of stories as they come to an end. (Now streaming, Netflix) ERIK HENRIKSEN
The Outsider
Novelist Richard Price is one of the writers behind HBOâs miniseries adaptation of Stephen Kingâs 2018 book. (Starts Sun Jan 13, HBO)
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Parasite
Parasite is director Bong Joon-ho at his very best. At turns hilarious and deeply unsettling, itâs a departure from the sci-fi bent of his recent movies (the post-apocalyptic Snowpiercer and the factory-farming-themed Okja), though itâs no less concerned with the state of society. (Now playing, various theaters) JASMYNE KEIMIG
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Queen & Slim
Queen & Slim may be the bestâand is almost certainly the Blackestâfilm of 2019, and is perhaps most poignant for its gorgeous, complex, and multifaceted portrayal of the Black experience, where sparks of joy and love exist alongside pain, struggle, and oppression. For 48 hours after seeing this movie, I couldnât stop thinking about it. (Now playing, various theaters) JENNI MOORE
Rebel Without a Cause
James Dean stars in a movie that is roughly half as good as its reputation would imply. (Fri Jan 10-Thurs Jan 16, Academy Theater)
Richard Jewell
Clint Eastwood (wow, still alive!) tells the story of Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser), the security guard falsely accused of being behind the bombing at the 2016 Olympics in Atlanta. (Now playing, various theaters)
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
I found The Rise of Skywalker, the last film in the Skywalker saga, boring. And it was not even a long movie, and Iâm a fan of the directorâs (J.J. Abrams) work (particularly Mission: Impossible IIIâthe best in that franchise), and many of the visual effects are impressiveÂâparticularly the haunting business of bringing the late Carrie Fisher back to life. But all together, the film is burdened by too much sentimental family stuff (you are my granddaughter, you are my son, you killed my parents, and so on), and its end did not know how to end for a very long time. (Now playing, various theaters) CHARLES MUDEDE
Uncut Gems
With an excellent turn as Howard Ratner, a jeweler and an asshole, Adam Sandler rarely leaves the screen in Uncut Gems, and the plot is basically Howard and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. That isnât a shock, considering Uncut Gems comes from brothers/writers/directors Josh and Benny Safdie, who party-crashed arthouse theaters with 2017âs twitchy, electric Good Time (in which Robert Pattinson was the one playing an asshole having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day). Uncut Gems is larger in scope, but like Good Time, its deadened core is a moral vacuum. (Now playing, various theaters) ERIK HENRIKSEN
Underwater
The main source of tension in Underwater isn't the claustrophobic fate of a small crew of oil workers trying to fend off bloodthirsty sea monsters after their drilling rigâstationed seven miles beneath the oceanâis destroyed. It's waiting to see when and if this thriller from director William Eubanks and screenwriters Brian Duffield and Adam Cozard will completely fall apart. (Opens Fri Jan 10, various theaters) ROBERT HAM
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Waves
To explain much of the plot of Waves would be a disservice. Even a quick description of writer/director Trey Edward Shultsâ storyâa uniquely American, character-driven drama about a Florida familyâs idyllic bubble burstingâfeels like too much of a reveal. As with its title, you need to give yourself over to the filmâs turbulent narrative and see where it takes you. (Now playing, various theaters) ROBERT HAM