Eight films crossed the $1 billion mark in 2019, and most of those successes belonged to Disney. Martin Scorsese released a film through Netflix, with his one request being that viewers approach it with attention rather than as background noise on a phone. Several long-running superhero sagas reached conclusions—some satisfying, others less so. But one … Read more

Little Women (2019) Director: Greta Gerwig Screenwriter: Greta Gerwig (based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott) Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timothée Chalamet, James Norton, Louis Garrel, Meryl Streep, Tracy Letts Greta Gerwig’s 2019 adaptation of Little Women arrives as a fresh, contemporary take on Louisa May Alcott’s … Read more

Cats (2019) Director: Tom Hooper Screenwriters: Lee Hall, Tom Hooper Starring: Francesca Haywood, Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, Laurie Davidson, Rebel Wilson, Judi Dench, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, James Corden, Jason Derulo, Ray Winstone My reaction to the opening ten minutes of Cats was immediate and physical: a sense of unease that lingered through most of … Read more

In 2019 the superhero movie landscape shifted noticeably. Major studios balanced tentpole blockbusters with smaller, riskier projects, producing one of the most varied years for the genre in recent memory. Nine major feature releases from six studios gave audiences a mix of billion-dollar hits, darker character studies, horror-tinged experiments and the MCU’s first female-led origin … Read more

Marriage Story (2019) Director: Noah Baumbach Screenwriter: Noah Baumbach Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Ray Liotta, Julie Hagerty, Merritt Wever, Alan Alda Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story examines love, family and divorce with frankness and tenderness. The film moves between quiet intimacy and legal ferocity, tracing how a marriage that once brimmed with creative … Read more

Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) Director: Jake Kasdan Screenwriters: Jake Kasdan, Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Danny DeVito, Danny Glover, Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Ser’Darius Blain, Madison Iseman The sequel picks up after the surprising success of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, returning to the video-game world … Read more

Tokyo Godfathers (2003) Directors: Satoshi Kon, Shôgo Furuya Screenwriters: Satoshi Kon, Keiko Nobumoto Starring: Tôru Emori, Yoshiaki Umegaki, Aya Okamoto, Kyôko Terase, Hiroya Ishimaru Christmas is often imagined as a season of warmth and family, yet for many it magnifies isolation and hardship. Tokyo Godfathers asks us to consider what that holiday looks like from … Read more

The Holiday (2006)Director: Nancy Meyers Screenwriter: Nancy Meyers Starring: Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, Eli Wallach, Edward Burns, Rufus Sewell Nancy Meyers’s The Holiday (2006) is a warm, broadly appealing romantic comedy built around the familiar holiday-movie formula: two women unhappy with their lives make a radical change and, in the process, … Read more

Hi, I’m Annice, and for the longest time I hadn’t seen Die Hard. In 2018 I watched Home Alone for the first time and loved it. That experience inspired me to catch up on another iconic film I’d somehow missed: Die Hard. Before I pressed play, there were only two things I thought I knew … Read more

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) Director: J.J. Abrams Screenwriters: J.J. Abrams, Chris Terrio Starring: Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Kelly Marie Tran, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill When Lucasfilm needed to steady the ship after the mixed reaction to Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi and the commercial failure of Solo, Kathleen … Read more