Phantom Thread (2017)

An established -- but rather staid -- fashion designer dates and dumps a series of women, with his sister enabling him, all in the service of his work. He meets his match when he falls for Alma. There doesn't seem to be much to her, but she is more strong-willed than expected and is determined not to be tossed aside.

This movie was, in a word, distasteful. Yes, there was some good acting and it was definitely an original story, but ecccch. I left the theater feeling pretty grossed-out.

I dearly hope this isn't Daniel Day Lewis's last film as he has announced. It would be tragic for this to be the last thing he does.

C

All the Money in the World (2017)

When 16-year-old John Paul Getty III is kidnapped, his billionaire grandfather refuses to pay the ransom. This is based on the true events that took place in the early '70s, and it kind of felt like a movie that would have been made back then, too. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it wound up being very linear and not at all surprising.

C+

Call Me By Your Name (2017)

A lot of the time I wasn’t exactly sure how the two men at the center of this love story were picking up on each other’s signals -- they each seemed to be kind of shunning the other. Which, I guess, was the signal? I don’t know. Regardless, I found the film to be pretty good most of the way through.

What will stick with me, however, are the final moments -- where this movie elevated itself to “hauntingly beautiful.” Both the father consoling his son with his own confession and the son's tear-stained face perfectly conveyed the joy and pain of lost love.

A-

Molly's Game (2017)

This was a really good movie except for the Sorkin speak. Though it gets on my nerves in West Wing, it’s almost more forgivable there since I can imagine that those people are all geniuses, and also very close to each other and -- conceivably -- could have honed their speech patterns to match each other's.

“I say something witty.”
“Now I say something equally witty back way faster than I should.”
“I play off your witticism also extremely quickly.”
“I don’t even have to think about what you just said, I quip instantaneously.”

That’s not to say that the dialogue isn’t great, it’s just not in any way realistic. But the story? Fantastic.

B+

I, Tonya (2017)

Let me get this out of the way first: who thought that Robbie was gonna be able to pass for 15 years old? Because that person is nuts.

The movie was weirdly fun, but way too often I felt like the takeaway was “Ha Ha -- poor people are ridiculous,” which didn't sit too well with me. I came away thinking that skaters should be given a uniform and be required to slick their hair into a bun so that the talent could shine, just like it does in almost every other sport. Someone's outfit/hairdo is a ridiculous metric to include when judging sport.

B

The Girl on the Train (2016)

Not quite as good as the book, and the book was only just that kind of story that keeps you reading -- not because you don’t know what’s going to happen, but because you DO know what’s going to happen but it’s still fun to get there.

Blunt acquits herself well, but the story is ultimately “bad guy ruins several lives and almost gets away with it.”

B-

Life (2017)

It's set on the space station, so the constant floaty/dis-orientedness of the action really made me nauseous -- so glad we didn’t see this in the theater.

It's basically just a monster movie with one really decent death scene. I’m still kind of confused about how their “final plan” went awry.

C+

The Post (2017)

This was very much like 42 and Marshall in that all three are compelling stories told in the most square way possible. It was so dry and so talky during the first 45 minutes or so -- I just thought "blah." It did pick up when it was climax time, but Spielberg ham-fistedly tried to force BIG MOMENTS where they didn’t fit naturally, e.g. when Streep descends the courtroom steps off to the side and there are ONLY women in that section and they all turn to look at her adoringly. Was stair-segregation a "thing" in the '70s?  And then there was a watergate postscript. Give me a break.

Be better.

C+

Mudbound (2017)

White family buys a farm with black sharecroppers working it while WWII rages. Well, it’s more accurate to say that white man buys a farm and drags his meek wife and their two daughters along to a muddy hellhole so he can feel like a big strong man.

He’s an asshole. His father’s an asshole. The blacks are noble. The wife is sympathetic and kind but still white and entitled… just your basic “life used to be so much shittier than it is now, so take Trump in stride” film, I guess.

B-

George Michael: Freedom (2017)

Wow. We love his voice, but were unaware of how beloved George Michael is in the music community and of the way he fought to change the music industry. We were impressed and inspired.

Also, I'd always considered myself a casual fan of his, but it turns out I knew the words of every song featured in this stirring documentary -- except for those from “Older” because, come on. Who knows those?

B

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)

Lazy. Nothing new here at all.

D