Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

[9] Not since 1980's Ordinary People have we had such a genuinely affecting movie about loss and mourning. In Manchester by the Sea, a man with a tortured past discovers he is the legal guardian of his late brother's teenaged…
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

[4] Rogue One is the first of what is sure to be many stand-alone or spin-off Star Wars movies over the next few decades. This maiden venture focuses on the events leading directly into Episode IV: A New Hope, with…
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

[7] J.K. Rowling takes a more firm hand with her franchise moving forward, both screenwriting and co-producing Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The new movie takes place 70 years before the events of the other Harry Potter movies,…
The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

[8] Hailee Steinfeld (Oscar nominee for the Coen Brothers' True Grit remake) stars as a high school girl on the edge of a nervous breakdown when she discovers her best and only friend has begun dating her brother. Writer/director Kelly Fremon…
Arrival (2016)

Arrival (2016)

[7] Amy Adams plays a linguist recruited by the military after aliens (the space kind) make first contact with human beings in twelve separate locations across the globe. Eric Heisserer's non-linear screenplay (based on a story by Ted Chiang) and…
Doctor Strange (2016)

Doctor Strange (2016)

[6] Benedict Cumberbatch stars as a celebrated surgeon who loses the use of his hands in a car accident and then pursues Eastern mysticism which, of course, leads to superpowers and magic and shit. Doctor Strange is another rote effort from…
The Third Man (1949)

The Third Man (1949)

[8] Joseph Cotten uncovers a conspiracy surrounding a deceased friend in The Third Man, a masterfully crafted film noir thriller from author Graham Greene and director Carol Reed. Reed keeps the story moving at a brisk pace, surrounding Cotten's character…
My Bodyguard (1980)

My Bodyguard (1980)

[8] Writer Alan Ormsby and director Tony Bill create a compelling coming-of-age story that avoids two of the greatest pitfalls of the genre: it doesn't talk down to its subjects and it doesn't wallow in sentimentality. Chris Makepeace and Adam…
Pet Sematary Two (1992)

Pet Sematary Two (1992)

[4] Mary Lambert returns to direct the sloppy, uneven sequel about new characters who discover the burial ground with resurrection powers from the first film. She's working with a solid cast that includes uber-baddie Clancy Brown (Highlander, Carnivale), Anthony Edwards,…
The Hotel New Hampshire (1984)

The Hotel New Hampshire (1984)

[6] Intentionally bizarre and overwrought, I'm not sure what to make of this adaptation of John Irving's novel about an extended, eccentric family that moves into a down-trodden hotel. I liked a previous Irving adaptation, The World According to Garp,…