Leave No Trace

Captain Fantastic gets winter boned in this endearingly desperate familial survival tale. Story structure that’s as off the grid as its characters generates a refreshingly breathy stray from the civilized cinematic path. Foster parent provides a rivetingly tortured performance that serves as perfectly cracked foundation for Thom’s Thom’s independent dependence.

Eighth Grade

Burnham matures magnificently, skirting hammy wordplay schtick, instead igniting the screen with this brilliantly raw and incredibly empathetic slice of life for a deeply unique every-girl. Fisher catches eyes and hearts with her perfectly uncomfortable heroin. Serves as a perfect time capsule into the future for children of previous generations.

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

Though Lord Miller supplied the building blocks, in the hands of less expert craftsman, the result feels piecemeal at best. Painfully disjointed opening vignettes could’ve used a bit of cohesive glue, and a few clever self-referential gags and reversals of cinematic expectation in third act don’t compensate for schizophrenic storytelling.

They Shall Not Grow Old

Colorful three-dimensional updates to archive footage stand in stark contrast to otherwise mundane treatment of World War One. Jackson simultaneously personalizes and distances soldiers by focusing solely on them without ever emphasizing any particular one in voice or image. Feels more like a tour through a museum than a movie.

The Strangers: Prey at Night

Strangers gets stranger title and fascinating musical and editorial decisions to match. Expansion of scope results in plot holes large enough to drive a truck through, but otherwise the franchise maintains its intense and devastating tone. Nuanced character development and clever horror innovations fall prey to cliché on final drive.

Incredibles 2

Naturally super sequel puts fam-tastic five in credible danger both from the gender role reversal of Holly job-Hunter and kid’s Coach Nelson and from timely manipulative machinations of the media. Heavy reliance on infantible insanity only mildly undermines maturity, while keenly cliched villain does cast doubts on sustainability of super-genre.

Searching...

A mundane murder mystery made unique by adherence to a gimmick, and wonderful through the impressive performances of its cast. Masterful integration of writing and effects lend a bizarrely personal element to the most impersonal of premises in a movie that’s stylistically new but will leave novel narrative seekers searching.

A Simple Favor

Gone Bridesmaids pairs an odd couple of genres into a magnificently sexy if periodically problematic relationship. Blake goes deadly as she chews through scenery as a bitch perfect, bent on demonizing a delightfully mousy Kendrick. Pays diabolically clever homage to inspirations but diverges to drown in a messy third act.

Hold the Dark

Saulnier holds onto chromatic themes as he slides into an even more existential premise. Highlights include brilliant, subdued performances and unpredictable plot, but both do little to add warmth to bizarrely distant and off-putting film. Splashes of violence deliver an impressive brutality that gives tension and drive to slower segments. 

The Bad Batch

Bad Bax populates a stereotypical post-apocalypse with unpredictable action and mold-shattering roles for incredible array of actor characters. From the disarming opening to the mind-altering middle, this trek is perpetually intriguing, but struggles to supports its story as the freshness ultimately can’t carrey the weight of a weakly built world.