7) Mary Poppins Returns (dir. Rob Marshall)
I was going to rephrase some things here and there, but I found that this paragraph from my review does the job just as well, so give it a read:
With little changes here and there, Mary Poppins Returns does a fair enough job making the classic’s formula its own. Though not one part of it surpasses the 1964 Julie Andrews film (which would certainly be no easy task), its electrifying song-and-dance numbers, a blend of tenderness and somberness from star Emily Blunt, and even a delightful display of old school animation, makes Mary Poppins Returns the most magical movie the Mickey Mouse company has put out in a long time.
6) A Star Is Born (dir. Bradley Cooper)
Who would have thought that a story on its third or fourth go-around would be one of the year’s most touching? For a film whose tale is about an up-and-coming star, it’s joyous to see similar stories in its production, specifically with its two leads.
Bradley Cooper as a first-time director proves more than capable of carrying a tune, as well as delivering a series of electric concert sequences, AND getting the most out of his all-star cast (hopefully Sam Elliott will be getting some nominations soon).
Then there’s Lady Gaga, who steals the show as Ally, a show which in the end, seems perfectly suited for her. Hopefully we’ll be seeing a lot more of Cooper behind the camera, and a lot more of Gaga in front of it in the future.
5) Mission: Impossible – Fallout (dir. Christopher McQuarrie)
If we’re talking full picture of what an action movie could and should be (that is, a category combining stunts with execution, and thrills with joy, etc. etc.), Mission: Impossible – Fallout is the best action movie I’ve ever seen. It’s rare that a production with so many moving parts has hardly any faults.
It was either the fourth or fifth time I saw it in a theater – which would have been well into its three-month-long run – that the audience I was a part of cheered and applauded after each of the film’s breathtaking, unbelievable, and dare I say, impossible stunts. Of course, that showing ended with a standing ovation and it was the greatest movie-going experience I’ve ever had.