Mike Ryan

Dune: Part Two is certainly up there with some of the best science fiction movies I’ve ever seen.

It’s one of the most, if not the most, immersive superhero stories going, pushing far beyond the boundaries of what superhero stories should and could be.

Chadwick Boseman does not appear in this movie, but he’s felt in every single scene. It feels like a way to say goodbye. And, in that, it very much succeeds … while also being a rip-roaring Black Panther movie. Again, this movie is a miracle.

Simply put, Mission: Impossible – Fallout is the best action movie you will see this year. You’ll probably leave the theater overcome with an urge to go jumping from building to building.

This is an excellent, poignant, and amazing film that will stick with you. I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s a must-see, even though watching it is a very difficult thing to do.

This is how “blockbuster” movies should be done.

Call Me By Your Name is a triumph of humanity.

You should see Lady Bird...and, when you do, savor its delightfulness because this is a tougher and tougher commodity to find.

There’s something whimsical and magical about the whole thing. It is designed to make the viewer feel good.

Roma is a special movie that needs that all-encompassing experience. Alfonso Cuarón has made yet another movie that will transport you to another time and place. You will feel like you’re living it.

What Bradley Cooper has done here as an actor and director is truly remarkable.

What Dee Rees has done here is remarkable. The themes of racial injustice alone would make this movie “important,” but what she’s done with her film makes it an epic.

The footage, from the Krafft’s archives, is stunning. This truly is a remarkable film.

The plot of this movie doesn’t matter because it barely has one, even though it’s incredibly entertaining.

This is just David Fincher making a bloody, fun, gritty movie about an angry assassin. The name of the movie is The Killer and our lead character very much does that.

Blinded by the Light features scenes of the most pure, unadulterated joy I’ve seen on screen in quite a while.

Like In Bruges, The Banshees of Inisherin is a dark movie that is often downright hilarious.

This is a very fun movie . . . but Indy’s arc is poignant and also sad.

Since theaters basically ceased to exist, there’s been a few movies I’ve watched screeners at home and have really, really enjoyed. But this is the first that made me feel like I was back in a theater. This felt like a real event. That I got those chills down the back as I watched something I’m just loving for the first time of what will be many times.

Here are the last eight months all laid out for us, and it’s infuriating.

This is a film that’s hilarious, sad, and for some reason features an entire montage set to Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5.”

The result is a truly suspenseful film with a powerful, emotional ending. Again, it’s one of Shyamalan’s best.

Look, I was skeptical of a new Road House movie. This new version certainly isn’t trying to replace the first. But it’s a worthy edition to the Road House family and captures the spirit of what a movie like this should be.

This animated movie has more heart and emotion than most live actions films of this genre. If you give it a chance, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse will knock your socks off.

The Irishman is terrific.

Spider-Man: Far From Home is a heck of a lot of fun. And I can’t get over how great of a Mysterio movie this is.

It’s kind of hard to write about Won’t You Be My Neighbor? as a film. It’s exceptionally well-made, mind you – which shouldn’t be a huge surprise coming from Morgan Neville, who won an Academy Award for directing 20 Feet From Stardom – but beyond being a film, it’s an experience of earnestness we don’t see or hear much anymore, to the point that it’s a bit of a jolt to the system.

Glass Onion is just a great time watching a movie. It’s a rare movie (especially at a film festival where I have places I have to be) in which I wished it were longer. I would have gladly spent more time with these characters, played by actors who are all obviously having a wonderful time. I already miss them. Make more movies like this. What fun.

What’s important in The Last Jedi is what happens to, and what we find out about, all of these characters along the way. In retrospect, The Force Awakens feels like a short introduction to these characters. After The Last Jedi, I feel like I’ve gone on a week-long road trip with them all.

It feels like a movie that could have easily come out in 2006 as opposed to now, which is what makes Incredibles 2 so fun. It doesn’t belong to a time, so ten years from now both of these installments will just seem like they’ve always just kind of been here. Incredibles 2 will now take its rightful place alongside the first film in the “family canon.”

This is a Spielberg classic.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story isn’t trying to be Walk Hard, strangely. It’s trying to be a movie co-written by “Weird Al” Yankovic and there’s just a certain THING about his comedy that’s hard to pinpoint but it’s actually weird, not “oh, this is the epitome of comedic genius.”

Honestly, I’m kind of in awe of Barbie and I would love to read the meeting notes of every conversation Gerwig had with someone at Mattel.

If you’re looking to nitpick historical accuracy, Napoleon is going to drive you bonkers. But good gosh is it entertaining. And funny. Don’t forget funny.

With Nope [Peele's] proven he knows how to make an unbelievably entertaining summer alien movie that can draw the masses … while at the same time warn people about the nature and danger of spectacle.

Samberg and Milioti are great together.

First Man is a movie to see in full IMAX because in that first scene after Neil and Buzz open the hatch, the whole screen suddenly blurts alive filling the whole IMAX screen, the sound goes away, and for a couple of seconds you can convince yourself that this is what it would have looked and sounded like.

It’s literally a party. It’s an all-encompassing experience that McQueen directs with the same urgency of his other, more inherently intense films – the urgency that has made him one of the best directors today (and one of my own personal favorites, if not just plain “favorite”).

Ford v Ferrari is almost as much about having to navigate having multiple bosses at a large corporation as it is winning a car race.

Don’t go into Western Stars expecting to see The Boss. That guy is on a break. What we get instead is Bruce Springsteen, a human being who seems a lot less sure of himself than The Boss ever did. Springsteen’s book gave us some details, but Western Stars looks straight into his soul.

I’m glad this movie exists if, for nothing else, to introduce new generations to Sharon Tate. And, frankly, I include myself in this. What Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood does best – and most importantly – is frame Sharon Tate as a human being we should get to know.

Nomadland will almost physically take you places. It’s a beautiful, absolutely gorgeous motion picture.

What a debut film it is. She gets just the right amount of tension and angst out of these four actors in a way that still makes it believable they might all still be friends or want to hang out together in the first place. It’s a movie about agendas.

Like the first movie, the technical wizardry won me over and (again, having just rewatched the first movie) the story is deeper and richer.

It’s obvious Ryan Coogler didn’t direct Black Panther to make an action movie. Instead, it’s a dense movie about family, community, internal struggle, and external struggle. And it’s a movie with a lot on its mind.

Thor: Ragnarok is by far the most unusual of the Marvel movies – a crazy, colorful, ambitious, hilarious ride through the cosmos – even surpassing the Guardians of the Galaxy movies as the former holder of that title. And it’s by far the funniest.

The relationship between Carell, Fishburne, and Cranston feels genuine. It’s weird, they really don’t click at first – like, I suspect, a lot of people wouldn’t after having not seen each other in 30 some years – but by the end these three very different people have a bond. And it culminates with a pretty heartbreaking scene.

There’s a humanity in Gosling’s K we haven’t quite seen before in this world of frowning people and weirdos. And it’s those little, subtle inflections that makes Blade Runner 2049 a success.

It never gets convoluted or caught up in itself like movies with meta-sounding titles sometimes tend to do. It’s a ’90s style, R-rated action movie that just keeps moving, with very little fat, and delivers some true applause moments.

Sicario: Day of the Soldado is an intense, at times morally ambiguous, and gritty thriller that will leave you wanting more. And, now, Benicio del Toro finally has a franchise of his own.

The big standout here is Bill Burr.

Like John Wick himself, this third chapter feels like a lean, mean, fighting machine – and, yes, it’s the best film of the franchise so far, even surpassing the first film. There are moments in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum where I thought to myself, “Well, I’ve never seen that before.”

This is Jake Gyllenhaal’s show.

This feels like the definitive Flash movie.

Creed III does serve as a nice springboard to whatever future movies Jordan wants to direct. He’s done a really great job here. And it, of course, allows Jonathan Majors another chance to emote. Right now, Majors has to be the king of emoting. He is truly great at it. What’s interesting about this movie is a viewer can see both sides of the conflict between Adonis and Dame, at least to a point.

Avengers: Endgame is, without a doubt, the most confusing and convoluted of any of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, yet it’s also unbelievably satisfying – and, yes, does act as an endpoint for many major character arcs.

The sheer brute force of Egerton holds it all together. And despite some darker themes, Rocketman is still quite a ride. It plays more as a musical than a standard biopic.

Monsters and Men is at the once depressing and hopeful. And for the life of me, I can’t believe Reinaldo Marcus Green had the guts to make this.

No matter how bizarre Sorry to Bother You becomes (and it goes in some very strange directions), it doesn’t entirely lose its focus.

I think Spaceman itself is maybe just a couple tweaks away from being something truly special. But, as is, it’s kind of this oddball movie that I’m glad exists and I truly think Sandler is really terrific.

Late Night is going to wind up being one of the best comedies of 2019.

What’s kind of impressive here is Fair Game does have a lot to say about gender dynamics in a “boy’s club” work environment, but it doesn’t get bogged down in that to the point we are watching a lecture. Like I said in the first sentence, this is a very entertaining movie.

Bumblebee is a total delight.

What makes Lisa D’Apolito’s Love, Gilda special is that D’Apolito has a secret weapon: Gilda Radner herself.

The Lion King is a monumental achievement of technological advancement. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

By the end of A Quiet Place Part II my stomach literally hurt. There’s no way I could have done another 20 minutes because it is too intense. That’s one of the best compliments I can give it.

After you see The Fabelmans you realize this man will never stop making movies. It truly is his life. And, here, he is inviting us in to see how and why that all happened.

So what we have here is a coked-out bear on a murder spree and, honestly, it’s literally everything I would want from a movie called Cocaine Bear.

It really is joke after joke after joke, most delivered wonderfully by Eichner. And they sure landed in front of this big audience, but I do wonder how all that will play in a more subdued environment.

James Gunn bets big that you love each and every one of these Guardians. It’s a movie about friendship and the love these characters have for each other and risking everything to help the people you love. Without that bond to these characters, this movie doesn’t work. It’s still a funny movie with some cool action scenes and a lot of nonsense going on, all glued together by this really powerful emotional core.

After Shazam! ended I said out loud, “What a fun time at the movies.” You know, isn’t that all we need sometimes? A reason to leave the house and also not regret leaving the house? That is a tough combination to pull off...It’s just one of those movies that feels like a communal event. In the end, it’s about family. It’s just a nice movie to watch with other human beings.

It’s a movie that feels like hope as actual hope stares us smack in the face. We are almost there. In the Heights didn’t ask for this responsibility, but it will forever be remembered as the right movie for the right time. It’s the kind of movie that will make you want to dance in the streets. And after this year we’ve all had, we all deserve to have our moment dancing in the street.

The best thing about this documentary is that every singe member of The Go-Go’s is in “no fucks” mode. They are all at an age where they are going to be open and honest about what happened and not sugarcoat the details.

The Sisters Brothers is a much more introspective movie than it leads on to be, but isn’t that surprising when you factor in that it’s directed by Jacques Audiard, making his first film in English.

There’s a sense of personality and life in the Turtles in Mutant Mayhem that the other movies just seem to try and force.

If you do open yourself up, there’s something wonderful to find in this movie. You won’t watch A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and learn more about Fred Rogers, but you will learn more about yourself. And it might not be easy, but, again, as Mister Rogers would say, “and that’s okay.”

We basically just get our orders and go. But I get the sense this is Mendes’ point. His goal is to put us in World War I for two hours. And, no, it’s not a pleasant experience. But what the movie is trying to do absolutely works. 1917 wants to take us to hell and back, and, in that, it succeeds.

Honestly, it’s kind of remarkable what Marvel let Raimi get away with, but all that doesn’t really kick in until maybe an hour into the movie, and it becomes a much better movie once that happens.

The Batman isn’t revolutionary. It doesn’t upend the superhero movie dynamic. Heck, people used to the recent superhero movies getting more cosmic and playing around with alternate timelines might not even like this more back to basics approach. But I, for one, found it refreshing. A nice little breather amidst the chaos. And proof that a good story with good characters can go quite a long way.

It’s the giving season, so, sure, give us some fan service. But the story is still there (though the second act does start to feel a bit long) and I felt some actual emotion, even with all this chaos swirling around. And in the end Spider-Man: No Way Home somehow finds a way to keep it all together.

Look, I’m not a scientist, but, again, chances are, during this movie, you will just run out of adrenaline. Your body will say, “sorry, tapped out, you’re on your own.” So my advice is you might want to pre-schedule in some time for a nap right after. Please make more movies with real stunts. Please make more movies like Ambulance.

Both McGregor and Hawke seem to be having a nice time with each other. Part road trip movie, part “watch these two knuckleheads do wacky things because of their anger and grief,” they contemplate each other well, to the point I hope they make more movies together.

A lot of Mission: Impossible movies have a lot of exposition and can be complicated. Brian de Palma’s first movie (still my personal favorite, with Fallout a close second) is pretty complicated! But a terrific finale can cure all of that. And Dead Reckoning Part One has a really great sequence on a train to close the movie out.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is a two-hour mental break when a lot of people could need a mental break. If this sounds like I’m being condescending to this movie at all, I promise you I am not. I mean this as a huge compliment. It’s so lighthearted and everyone in the movie is so darn pleasant and they all seem to like each other, it kind of feels like the most fictitious Marvel movie to date.

A down and dirty Predator movie that rivals the first movie as a simple film about a Predator on a hunt.

Love and Thunder doesn’t feel as tight as Ragnarok, but it’s still so much fun it doesn’t feel like a lot.

The Suicide Squad is the polar opposite of the movie that came before. Just the fact it’s, again, “competent,” and also “entertaining,” alone put it in direct opposition to its predecessor.

That’s the thing about Borat 2, it’s not shocking anymore. Because it certainly should be. There’s certainly a lot of hilarious things that happen . . . . But over the last 14 years, things have drastically changed enough where “shocking” is no longer a relevant emotion to these movies.

For the first time ever, I cared about Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett. And for the first time, yes, I hope some more Bad Boys come for me. Whatcha gonna do? Well, I’d watch them! Happily, for once.

What’s remarkable about Good Joe Bell is Wahlberg plays the role in such a nuanced way, by the end of the movie you want that rousing speech. But it never comes.

Wonder Woman 1984 is pure sugar. There’s little nutritional value. But we all deserve dessert right now.

Though I will warn you, if you haven’t cared for Matthew Vaughn’s more recent efforts, it’s unlikely Argylle is going to change that for you. It’s like he pays attention to what his detractors despise, then decides, “Well, what if I gave you more of that.”

For me (no, I didn’t have to pay for it, so keep that in mind), it felt legitimately fun to watch. It wasn’t quite the feeling you get in a theater, but it just felt good to watch a new huge would-have-been-a-blockbuster movie, even at home.

Scoob! is basically a really fun Scooby-Doo episode.

What’s smart about Frozen II is, instead of trying to just recapture its past glory, it decides to be interesting. And when making a sequel to a cultural phenomenon, “being interesting” seems both pretty rare and the best we can hope for.

It’s a movie about hidden family secrets, with a comical amount of twists, and it plays more as melodramatic schlock. And I just happened to really be in the mood for melodramatic schlock.

This movie, hot damn. It just does not care. I can’t help but respect all of this. Please create an honorary Oscar for The Beekeeper.

I’m not sure who a faithful adaptation of The Call of the Wild would even be for in 2020. Instead, we get a pleasant movie about Harrison Ford having a nice time, laughing it up with his dog pal – and I really can’t imagine a better way to tell this story than that.