Duncan Jones, part I: Three year stretch

MOON

Fundamentally perfect sci-fi delivered in a gorgeous package that never quite belies either its pittance of a budget or the inexperience of its director, Moon is a movie for the ages.

2009

Directed by Duncan Jones

Written by Nathan Parker and Duncan Jones

With Sam Rockwell (Sam Bell), Kevin Spacey (GERTY), and Sam Rockwell (Sam Bell)

Spoiler alert: high, in the sense that I describe the basic dynamic of a decade old film's plot, anyway

Stupid Lives Matter

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI

Enormously strong central performances and occasional bouts of directorial excellence manage to weld together a bunch of mismatched parts into something that sometimes almost feels like a coherent whole; and, as easy as it is to talk shit about everything wrong about it (for there's a lot, and, boy, is it easy to talk about it), it's not possible to quite deny its finer qualities, either.

2017

Written and directed by Martin McDonagh

With Frances McDormand (Mildred Hayes), Caleb Landry Jones (Red Welby), Abbie Cornish (Anne Willoughby), Sam Rockwell (Officer Jason Dixon), and Woody Harrelson (Chief Bill Willoughby)

Spoiler alert: moderate

Godspeed you, black emperor

BLACK PANTHER

Okay, the first thing you should know is that I liked it. The second thing is that I get to write about race in American discourse, so... yippee.

2018

Directed by Ryan Coogler

Written by Joe Robert Cole and Ryan Coogler

With Chadwick Boseman (King T'Challa), Lupita Nyong'o (Nakia), Letetia Wright (Princess Shuri), Danai Gurira (Okoye), Angela Bassett (Queen Mother Ramonda), Forrest Whittaker (High Priest Zuri), Daniel Kaluuya (W'Kabi), Winston Duke (M'Baku), Martin Freeman (Everett Ross), Andy Serkis (Ulysses Klaue), and Michael B. Jordan (Erik "Killmonger" Stevens)

Spoiler alert: moderate

Sans soleil

THE DEATH OF LOUIS XIV
La mort de Louis XIV

If you fell asleep, it wouldn't be your fault, but The Death of Louis XIV has better reasons for being boring than the typical exercise in pretension—French or otherwise—and if you don't want to be bored while it's on, well, perhaps try actually looking at it.

2016 (France)/2017 (USA)

Directed by Albert Serra

Written by Thierry Lounas and Albert Serra
With Jean-Pierre Leaud (Louis XIV Bourbon) and Patrick d'Assumcao (Dr. Fagon)

Spoiler alert: if you can't read, then I can't spoil it for you with a written review, can I?

It's pronounced "van gahhhkk"

LOVING VINCENT

Actually, it seems like it's pronounced a whole lot of ways, but no matter what you call him, this tribute to the unforgettable Vincent Van Gogh is a piece of animation history that won't be soon forgotten itself.

2017

Directed by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman

Written by Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, and Jacek Dehnel

With Douglas Booth (Armand Roulin), Chris O'Dowd (Postman Joseph Roulin), Joseph Sessions (Pere Tanguy), Helen McCrory (Louise Chevalier), Eleanor Tomlinson (Adeline Ravoux), Aidan Turner (the Boatman), Saorise Ronan (Marguerite Gachet), and Jerome Flynn (Dr. Paul Gachet)

Spoiler alert: moderate, leaning toward inapplicable

Send me Tony Randall and booze

SEND ME NO FLOWERS

Day, Hudson, and Randall are back, and having explored goofy mid-century sex to their satisfaction and our own, set their sights now upon goofy mid-century death.

1964

Directed by Norman Jewison

Written by Julius J. Epstein (based on the play by Norman Barasch and Carroll Moore)

With Rock Hudson (George Kimball), Tony Randall (Arnold Nash), Doris Day (Judy Kimball), Paul Lynde (Mr. Akins), Hal March (Winston Burr), Edward Andrews (Dr. Morrissey), and Clint Walker (Bert Powers)

Spoiler alert: moderate