Toy Story 4 (2019)

Toy Story 4 is one of the best films of 2019.

5B (2019)

Honoring the doctors and nurses who willingly put themselves on the front lines in the opening years of the AIDS epidemic, 5B is an emotional documentary that shares new stories from a tragic period in recent history.

Michael WardJune 14, 2019Alison Moed Paolercio, Cliff Morrison, David Denmark, Mary Magee, Sasha Cuttler, Lorraine Day, Rita Rockett, Hank Plante, 2019, Documentary, 5B, Paul Haggis, Dan Krauss

The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019)

A marked improvement on the first film, The Secret Life of Pets 2 proves to be a slapdash series of scenes and vignettes loosely tied to its predecessor.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

Big beasts break things in the dark in this loud, empty-headed sequel to 2014’s Godzilla.

Rocketman (2019)

I’ll see your Bohemian Rhapsody and raise you Dexter Fletcher’s Rocketman…

Michael WardMay 30, 2019Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard, Gemma Jones, Steven Mackintosh, Tom Bennett, Kit Connor, Matthew Illesley, Charlie Rowe, Tate Donovan, Celinde Schoenmaker, Ophelia Lovibond, 2019, Musical, Rocketman, Dexter Fletcher, Lee Hall

Booksmart (2019)

The much-anticipated Booksmart instantly stakes its claim as one of the best high school movies of recent memory and one of 2019’s best films.

The Most Dangerous Year (2019)

Vlada Knowlton’s powerful and important film,The Most Dangerous Year, documents the effort to eradicate the rights of transgender individuals in the State of Washington in 2016.

Michael WardMay 17, 20192019, Documentary, The Most Dangerous Year, Aidan Key, Joe Fain, Cyrus Habib, Tiffany Dolmseth Kelly, Vlada Knowlton, Annabelle Knowlton, Huddle Morris Blakefield, Meghan Hebert-Trainer, Ryan Trainer, Kevin Hatfield, Asaf Orr

Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019)

If you are familiar with Pokémon, then Pokémon Detective Pikachu is for you. For everyone else, good luck - You can come on by, but you really weren’t invited to the party.

The Hustle (2019)

The talents of Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson are wasted in this lackluster and disappointing remake of Steve Martin and Michael Caine’s Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Michael WardMay 10, 20192019, Comedy, The Hustle, Anne Hathaway, Rebel Wilson, Alex Sharp, Ingrid Oliver, Nicholas Woodeson, Chris Addison, Jac Schaeffer, Dale Launer, Stanley Shapiro, Paul Henning

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Avengers: Endgame serves as a nearly perfect final chapter to the existing phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Family (2019)

While it may end up at a Gathering of the Juggalos, the serio-comic journey getting there is where Family really shines.

Michael WardApril 26, 20192019, Family, Comedy, Taylor Schilling, Bryn Vale, Brian Tyree Henry, Eric Edelstein, Allison Tolman, Kate McKinnon, Jessie Ennis, Blair Beekin, Matt Walsh, Fabrizio Guido, Karan Kendrick, Peter Horton, Laura Steinel

The Russian Five (2019)

Timely and insightful, hockey documentary The Russian Five looks at five Russian players who defected to America to play for the Detroit Red Wings and the National Hockey League in the late-1980s.

Michael WardApril 26, 2019Sergei Federov, Jim Devellano, Igor Larionov, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Viacheslav Fetisov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Scotty Bowman, 2019, Documentary, SIFF, The Russian Five, Joshua Riehl, Keith Gave, Jason Wehling

Missing Link (2019)

I felt pure, unmitigated joy from start to finish watching Missing Link, the latest stop-motion animation success from the resilient Laika Studios.

Michael WardApril 12, 20192019, Comedy, Animation, Family, Acventure, The Missing Link, Hugh Jackman, Zach Galifianakis, Zoe Saldana, Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry, David Walliams, Timothy Olyphant, Matt Lucas, Amrita Acharia, Chris Butler

Mary Magdalene (2019)

Well-acted and earnest in its attempts, Mary Magdalene fails to create much faith and/or conviction with its overall approach.

Michael WardApril 12, 20192019, Drama, Mary Magdalene, Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tahar Rahim, Ariane Labed, Denis Ménochet, Tchéky Karyo, Ryan Corr, Garth Davis, Helen Edmundson, Philippa Goslett

Dumbo (2019)

Though the main character is an irresistible CGI/motion capture creation, Tim Burton’s Dumbo is a bleak, somewhat cynical take on the Disney animated classic.

Hotel Mumbai (2019)

The visceral and unrelenting Hotel Mumbai walks us through the events of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks in haunting detail…

Us (2019)

Jordan Peele’s second feature, Us, is a searing, diabolical, cerebral horror film that features twists, turns, and an astonishing performance from Lupita Nyong’o.

Michael WardMarch 22, 2019Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Anna Diop, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon, Madison Curry, 2019, Horror, Us, Jordan Peele

The Hummingbird Project (2019)

Two cousins come together to try and outwit a savvy businesswoman, in their hopes to build a cross-country fiber optic line in dense drama The Hummingbird Project.

Michael WardMarch 21, 2019Jesse Eisenberg, Alexander Skarsgård, Salma Hayek, Michael Mando, Jonah Heldenbergh, Sarah Goldberg, Ayisha Issa, Frank Schorpion, 2019, Drama, The Hummingbird Project, Kim Nguyen

Out Of Blue (2019)

A metaphysical police procedural? Out Of Blue gives us a murder mystery of galactic proportions in Carol Morley’s intriguing and head-scratching whodunit.

Michael WardMarch 21, 20192019, Suspense/Thriller, Out Of Blue, Patricia Clarkson, Toby Jones, Mamie Gummer, Jacki Weaver, James Caan, Devyn A. Tyler, Yolonda Ross, Aaron Tveit, Jonathan Majors, Brad Mann, Todd Mann, Bri Collins, Carol Morley, Martin Amis

Mapplethorpe (2019)

Controversial, polarizing artist, Robert Mapplethorpe, has his story reduced to an unimaginative paint-by-numbers biopic in the gravely disappointing Mapplethorpe.

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