Up in the Air is one of those films that really surprised by how much I liked it. It's hard to explain what really made this great to me. The casting is perfect, the story is just smart enough to never be boring or contrived, and it just feels like a breathtaking look at the struggle of working so hard you forget what you're living for. Reitman's direction is assured and the script is sharp. Clooney's performance is nuanced in…

Avengers: Infinity War begins the ending of the first decade of Marvel movies in a glorious fashion. It doesn't really stand on its own, and a solid fourth of the movie is dull. The rest of the movie more than makes up for it, delivering awesome setpieces and the character moments that have always made the MCU worth sticking around for. It also surprisingly has a thematic point of contention, a first for the Russos to put in their movies,…

The Nice Guys is ridiculously fun. There's no other way to describe it. It's a solid two hours of non-stop enjoyment, even with a couple of flaws here and there. Before talking about those issues though, let's dwell for a bit on what makes this a truly brilliant summer blockbuster - or at least, what would make it so if audiences had embraced it. Instead, it will have to be happy with being an underseen gem.

The fun of The…

La La Land is a wonder. After a brilliant mainstream debut in Whiplash, Damien Chazelle has matured impressively. He directs with a precision of a orchestra conductor. His films feel like the jazz that they represent, spontaneous, energetic and pleasant. The way he stages the musical numbers never fail to make you smile, and he brilliantly constructs the film to drop out the singing again and again, just making you feel the beautiful music.

Stone and Gosling are both marvelous…