Brian Truitt

The cast is superb, especially King.

Whether together or solo, Blunt and Miranda are endlessly charming.

Even with its flaws and struggles with originality, Aquaman is reminiscent of the early Marvel movies in its storytelling, best when taking wild swings instead of being an earnest superhero jam.

Unfortunately, there’s not much room left for fleshed-out personalities or narrative depth, making the whiz-bang wonder often feel too empty.

Roma is an elegiac and moving work driven by Aparicio’s understated and nuanced performance.

It’s a slightly insane, hilariously daring and often touching mashup of everything that makes super-flicks so darn popular with the introduction of a Spider-Man who's ready-made for today’s generation of kids.

As hilarious as it is, The Favourite doesn’t skimp on impressive costuming and production design, and the film gamely tackles class and gender themes, as well as partisan politics, in its tale of women behaving badly and men being nitwits.

If the original “Creed” was a straight-up knockout from bell to bell, the sequel takes its time with body blows – from all directions – to ultimately get you right in the feels.

While the new “Ralph” falls short of the original’s brilliance, any adventure with the big oaf and his glitchy BFF is #winning.

It’s easy to fall for these “Widows” when themes of class, religion, grief, gender, injustice and race are married to terrific action sequences and a gang of looting ladies stealing the show.

It’s the master class put on by Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali that powers this moving and often hilarious work and gives it mass appeal.

Old-school Potterheads will rejoice, though fans of the charmingly quirky group of heroes from the first “Beasts” may lament their do-gooders getting lost in a growing magical landscape.

At least we have a winning Lisbeth. Now let’s put her in a situation that’s all her own and not just a placemark for a caped crusader or a dapper secret agent.

You’ve heard of an October surprise. This is a November disappointment.

The 21-year-old actor holds his own in the emotional project opposite a couple of heavyweights, Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe. Just as deft in his work is writer/director/co-star Joel Edgerton, who's crafted a touching look at the darker sides of evangelical belief and parental judgment.

An ambitious love letter to the original. It's also as polarizing a picture as last year’s “mother!” – which shares a commitment to blood and insanely audacious climaxes – and thoughtfully explores feminine strength amid the proudly self-possessed carnage.

As it turns out, “Bohemian Rhapsody” the song is a sonic masterpiece and Bohemian Rhapsody the movie is just a conventional rock flick, one all too ordinary for a man and a band that exemplified the extraordinary.

Splendidly directed by Marielle Heller, Can You Ever Forgive Me? feels worn and lived in – in a good way – with a world of musty vintage tones and bar-room desperation given emotional life through McCarthy and a super supporting turn from Richard E. Grant.

By staying true only to the initial narrative, this Halloween solidly ranks as the best chapter since the first – not exactly the highest bar – mostly by making Laurie (a remarkable Jamie Lee Curtis, whose last appearance in the series was 2002's "Halloween: Resurrection") anything but a victim.

In his previous works, Chazelle mined the flawed soul of artists in tales that were notably personal, while First Man is a story of an introvert that too often feels distant.

One of the rare important teen films that needs to be seen by everybody.

Simultaneously an immersive concert film, enchanting romance and tear-jerking rock fantasy, A Star Is Born is a dynamic multifaceted showcase for Gaga and Cooper, who makes his directing debut a thing of melodic, masterful beauty. Together, they form an electrifying duo in one of the best movies of 2018 and the finest musical since 2002’s “Chicago.”

Night School surprises by being an unexpectedly empathetic look at learning disabilities.

Life Itself is a real downer when it comes to death: A few are so out-of-nowhere that it’s like the hipster version of the “Game of Thrones” Red Wedding.

A B-movie at its heart with big-budget ambitions. Full of rampant goofiness, extreme gore, a jumbled narrative and hyperactive pacing, The Predator is also funnier and more clever than you would expect, though at the same time it’s an '80s film that doesn’t realize it’s 2018 in terms of political correctness.

White Boy Rick works better as a working-class father/son drama than a cautionary tale about the American judicial system, though it never comes together satisfactorily as either.

A mix of slow-burn religious mystery and old-school adventure that egregiously fails to utilize its greatest hit: Bonnie Aarons’ terrifyingly freaky villainess of the cloth.

Stuffed full of rampant badness, the scattershot comedy isn’t nearly as clever or subversive as it thinks it is.