#1
The best film of the first half of 2019 is Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre's deeply moving metaphor "The Mustang," with Matthias Schoenaerts in a powerhouse performance as a Nevada prisoner whose road to redemption runs through a wild horse training program operated by Bruce Dern, who delivers a line here (after Schoenaerts' first failed attempt at mounting his mustang) that instantly enters the pantheon of all-time great movie quotes.
#2-6 (in alphabetical order)
The next five best films of the first half of 2019 are Kent Jones' "Diane," featuring a lived-in performance by the veteran Mary Kay Place as a woman who sublimates her grief for her past and her drug-addicted son (Jake Lacy) with volunteer work for others; Adam Robitel's memorable "Escape Room," an ingeniously constructed puzzle movie with no fewer than three bravura set pieces and, at each step, far more wit, intelligence and humor than others of its genre expend; Stephen Merchant's "Fighting with My Family," the most delightful surprise of the early year, with Florence Pugh as a young woman making her way in professional wrestling and an uproariously funny Vince Vaughn as her hardass trainer; the unfortunately titled "Her Smell," writer-director Alex Ross Perry's best work to date, with a painfully fearless performance by the great Elisabeth Moss as Becky Something, a 90s punk-rock star whose diva behavior has lost its charm twenty years later; and Nuri Bilge Ceylan's "The Wild Pear Tree," the most thoughtful and contemplative film of the year, by a Turkish master whose lengthy works (this one runs 188 minutes) richly reward patient viewers with insight and immersion.
Ten Terrific Documentaries (in alphabetical order)
Apollo 11
The Biggest Little Farm
Echo in the Canyon
Leaving Neverland
Pavarotti
The Proposal
Q Ball
The Serengeti Rules
They Shall Not Grow Old
Wrestle
The Worst Two
There could be no better proof of Dennis Prager's axiom that the left ruins everything it touches than "Late Night," a ghastly, politically correct "comedy" that not even progressives could pretend to enjoy. Dead silence as each of us walked out. Same goes for "Ramen Shop," a would-be piece of Asian food porn. I don't believe the script contains even one three-syllable word. The dialogue sounds like the stilted conversations between strangers on the first day of an introductory language class.
Complete List of Star Ratings (in alphabetical order) - (D) denotes documentary
The Aftermath - 2 stars
Aladdin - 3 stars
Alita: Battle Angel - 1.5 stars
All These Small Moments - 2.5 stars
And Breathe Normally - 2 stars
Apollo 11 (D) - 3 stars
Ash is Purest White - 2.5 stars
The Beach Bum - 1.5 stars
The Best of Enemies - 2.5 stars
The Biggest Little Farm (D) - 3 stars
Birds of Passage - 1.5 stars
Blowin' Up (D) - 2.5 stars
Booksmart - 1.5 stars
The Brink (D) - 2 stars
Carmine Street Guitars (D) - 2.5 stars
Cold Pursuit - 2 stars
Daughter of Mine - 2.5 stars
Diane - 3 stars
Dogman - 1.5 stars
A Dog's Way Home - 2.5 stars
Don't Come Back from the Moon - 2.5 stars
Dumbo - 2 stars
Echo in the Canyon (D) - 3 stars
Escape Room - 3 stars
Fighting with My Family - 3 stars
Five Feet Apart - 2 stars
Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened (D) - 2.5 stars
General Magic (D) - 2.5 stars
Gloria Bell - 3 stars
Great Great Great - 2.5 stars
Greta - 2 stars
Hail Satan? (D) - 2.5 stars
Halston (D) - 2.5 stars
Happy Death Day 2 U - 1.5 stars
The Heiresses - 2.5 stars
Her Smell - 3 stars
Hotel by the River - 2.5 stars
Hotel Mumbai - 2 stars
The Hummingbird Project - 2.5 stars
The Hustle - 1.5 stars
The Invisibles - 2 stars
Isn't It Romantic - 2.5 stars
J.T. Leroy - 2.5 stars
The Kid - 2 stars
Knife + Heart - 2.5 stars
The Last Black Man in San Francisco - 2 stars
Late Night - 1 star
Leaving Neverland (D) - 3 stars
Little Woods - 2.5 stars
Long Day's Journey into Night - 2 stars
Long Shot - 2 stars
Lost & Found - 1.5 stars
Ma - 1.5 stars
Mapplethorpe - 2.5 stars
Meeting Gorbachev (D) - 2.5 stars
Miss Bala - 2.5 stars
The Mustang - 3.5 stars
My Son - 1.5 stars
Non-Fiction - 1.5 stars
Pavarotti (D) - 3 stars
Penguins (D) - 2 stars
Photograph - 1.5 stars
Pig - 2 stars
The Proposal (D) - 3 stars
Q Ball (D) - 3 stars
Ramen Shop - 1 star
Red Joan - 2 stars
Rocketman - 2 stars
Roll Red Roll (D) - 2.5 stars
Sauvage/Wild - 2 stars
Serendipity - 2 stars
The Serengeti Rules (D) - 3 stars
Sharkwater Extinction (D) - 2.5 stars
Slut in a Good Way - 2.5 stars
Sorry Angel - 2.5 stars
The Souvenir - 1.5 stars
The Standoff at Sparrow Creek - 2 stars
State Like Sleep - 2 stars
St. Bernard Syndicate - 2.5 stars
Stockholm - 2 stars
Styx - 2 stars
Theranos: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (D) - 2.5 stars
They Shall Not Grow Old (D) - 3 stars
3 Faces - 2.5 stars
Tigerland (D) - 2.5 stars
The Tomorrow Man - 1.5 stars
Transit - 2 stars
The Unicorn - 2.5 stars
The Upside - 2.5 stars
Walking on Water (D) - 1.5 stars
The Wedding Guest - 2.5 stars
West of Sunshine - 2 stars
What Men Want - 1.5 stars
The White Crow - 2.5 stars
Wild Nights with Emily - 2.5 stars
The Wild Pear Tree - 3 stars
Wild Rose - 2.5 stars
Woman at War - 2.5 stars
Working Woman - 1.5 stars
Wrestle (D) - 3 stars
Total stars: 227
Average: 2.27