Brian Truitt

Ridley Scott’s 1982 classic Blade Runner popularized the cyberpunk movement (a gritty mix of neo-noir and hardcore sci-fi) back in the day, but 2049 perfects it. Super-stylish and deeply human — even with androids and holograms around — the spectacular follow-up takes the detective story of the first film and turns it into a grand mythology of identity, memory, creation and revolution.

American Made points out an unfortunate time in our history when government shenanigans ran amok internationally and people did bad things in the name of greed and power. But hoo-boy, does Tom Cruise have fun with it.

Battle of the Sexes is less an issues movie and more an entertaining history lesson, with Stone and Carell proving they're a winning match.

Lego Ninjago sparkles with humor and kung fu style, yet it’s a few pieces short of greatness.

Impressive in its ambition, mother! doesn’t quite reach the heights of Aronofsky’s Black Swan in terms of bizarre masterpieces, yet endless conversations about what the heck you just saw will surely be born and raised.

The infamous clown is plenty freaky, though it’s the youngsters, bursting with hormones and one-liners, who make It one of the better Stephen King adaptations.

For the cinematic dregs of late August, the earnest and quirky Leap! is charmingly en pointe.

The combination of the two showcases fun chemistry and antics, although surrounded by a formulaic narrative that action junkies have all seen before.

Seemingly fueled by Mountain Dew and Hostess pies, the delightfully berzerk Logan Lucky is a love letter to backwoods ingenuity and, at a time with a deep divide between red and blue states, a universal dose of hillbilly hilarity.

The Glass Castle offers up a movie clan to beat in terms of complete dysfunction, though the brutal and heart-wrenching film is in its own way just as much of a mess.

Renner, in one of his best roles, lends a weathered depth to Cory but also surprising intelligence to the character deemed “Sherlock Snow.”

This is a fantastical faceplant, and though Elba tries his hardest, what could have been the tale of an iconic gunslinger is a big miss.

Take out the cool retro tunes, neon everything and the formidable woman of action, and Atomic Blonde tends more bland than Bond.

Dunkirk is also one of the best-scored films in recent memory, and Hans Zimmer’s music plays as important a role as any character. With shades of Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations, the melodies are glorious, yet Zimmer also creates an instrumental ticking-clock soundtrack that’s a propulsive force in the action scenes.

While at times bleak, A Ghost Story isn't devoid of hope. More essentially, the best film so far this year is a thought-provoking, singularly special masterpiece about love, mortality and how our heart keeps beating even after it stops.

The magic of Homecoming is that it belongs more to the John Hughes cinematic universe than the Avengers’.

Though ultimately gratifying, the ambitious Okja struggles throughout with its pinballing tonal structure, beginning as a family-friendly adventure then shifting to screwball farce and later to an emotional drama involving animal cruelty and slaughterhouse horror.

When all cylinders are pumping, Baby Driver is an enchanting experiment that puts the pedal to the metal. And even a few off notes can’t stop the beat of Wright’s fast and furious symphony.

The satisfying and heart-wrenching climax is a last reminder that Caesar’s new adventure is one of this summer’s best.

Writer/director Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled showcases good manners and bad deeds, though it lacks the necessary edge to make it a satisfying revenge thriller.

Even if you love alien robots punching each other while tossing out insipid one-liners, it’s a painfully long two and a half hours where the biggest problem isn’t a lack of plot but way too many of them.

At times it feels like a good thing but way too often reminds you that you’re trapped for an hour and a half.

Cars 3 at least tries to put a little extra in the tank this time around.

A well-crafted, albeit entirely bleak exploration of paranoia and fear.

The Mummy is a tomb full of action-packed guilty pleasure that owns its horror, humor and rampant silliness equally.

This Baywatch has its share of hilarious moments but never fully commits to the absurd, and even the cleverest jokes get so many callbacks, they’re beating a dead seahorse.

Johnny Depp’s drunken Captain Jack Sparrow stumbles into yet another seafaring adventure, which has its rocky moments but also offers an engaging tale with family legacies, above-average swashbuckling and a fantastic new villain courtesy of Javier Bardem

When it comes to memorable personalities, humans and aliens alike take a backseat to Fassbender, who is magnificent in his dual robotic roles.