What do you do with the mad that you feel?

A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Too good in certain limited ways to dismiss, and way too easy to forget to wholeheartedly recommend.

2019

Directed by Marielle Heller

Written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster (based on the article "Can You Say... Hero?" by Tom Junod)

Spoiler alert: mild and virtually inapplicable anyway

King Week: You taste like whiskey

In which we arrive at the true purpose of this Stephen King mini-marathon, a film that I have some serious issues with, yet still could not recommend enough, particularly given how few of us went to go see it when we should have.

DOCTOR SLEEP

2019

Written and directed by Mike Flanagan (based on the novel by Stephen King—and, y'now, the screenplay, by Stanley Kubrick and Diane Johnson)

Spoiler alert: moderate

The night is short, walk on boy

LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT

80 minutes of some of the more artful, emotionally-intuitive filmmaking that 2019 had to offer versus 60 minutes of pure clunking ego.

2018 PRC/2019 USA

Written and directed by Bi Gan

Spoiler alert: moderate

King Week: He who kind of chills out and doesn't get too worked up about it behind the rows

In which Halloween-related marathoning has resulted in reviews of several spooky movies from the mind of the world's favorite horror author, Stephen King.

IN THE TALL GRASS

2019

Written and directed by Vincenzo Natali (based on the novella by Stephen King and Joe Hill)

Spoiler alert: moderate

King Week: Total eclipse of the heart

In which Halloween-related marathoning has resulted in reviews of several spooky movies from the mind of the world's favorite horror author, Stephen King.

GERALD'S GAME

2017

Directed by Mike Flanagan

Written by Jeff Howard and Mike Flanagan (based on the novel by Stephen King)

Spoiler alert: moderate

King Week: Everyone's a critic

In which Halloween-related marathoning has resulted in reviews of several spooky movies from the mind of the world's favorite horror author, Stephen King.

MISERY

1990

Directed by Rob Reiner

Written by William Goldman (based on the novel by Stephen King)

Spoiler alert: high

Don't be stupid, be a smarty

JOJO RABBIT

For all your Nazi dramedy-with-a-heart needs, assuming you needed that for some reason.  Personally, I liked it, though there's a point at which this movie clearly doesn't know what it's doing anymore.

2019

Written and directed by Taika Waititi (based on the novel Caging Skies by Christine Leunens)

Spoiler alert: moderate

It's in your nature to destroy yourselves

TERMINATOR: DARK FATE

It's not quite the triumph one might have cautiously hoped for when they heard that both Cameron and Hamilton were coming back, but at least Terminator: Dark Fate still understands what the series was about in the first place.

2019
Directed by Tim Miller
Written by David Foyer, Justin Rhodes, Billy Ray, Charles H. Eglee, Josh Friedman, and James Cameron

Spoiler alert: moderate, though I suppose the movie itself would have it as "high"

An old man and the sea

THE LIGHTHOUSE

Psychohorror with a vintage twist, The Lighthouse transfixes effortlessly—which is a sign of how artful it is, since no movie this hypnotic and controlled was likely to have been "effortless" at all.

2019

Written and directed by Robert Eggers

Spoiler alert: moderate

Not presented in Smellovision

PARASITE

Aka Gisaengchung

Ultimately a little deflating, Parasite is such a controlled work of production design and split-second caper timing—not to mention anti-capitalist fury—that it's worth forgiving some modest third act problems in favor of everything that's great about it.

2019

Directed by Bong Joon-ho

Written by Han Jin-won and Bong Joon-ho

Spoiler alert: moderate