Every 2018 Oscar Nominee, Ranked

A smart-ass Alec Baldwin in the body of a baby who wears suits and orders sushi is one very bad joke extended for 97 interminable minutes.

Hugh Jackman embodies circus maestro P.T. Barnum with as much razzle-dazzle as he can summon in the fact-averse musical. Watch Freaks instead for a dose of real sideshow action.

A tonally imbalanced, ham-handed legal thriller, Roman J. Israel, Esq. is the latest Denzel Washington movie that doesn’t live up to his talents and is far inferior to his own 2016 directorial effort Fences.

The absurdly reverent Winston Churchill biopic Darkest Hour (even by the standards of biopics) has no reason for existing other than 1. no one did it before, and 2. so Gary Oldman can get his Oscar.

Speaking of reverent, it’s still unclear why anyone would want an essentially shot-for-shot live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast with garish CGI, but they did to the tune of more than $1 billion, so it’s here.

Judi Dench hams it up as Queen Victoria (again!) getting schooled by an Indian servant in Victoria & Abdul, which is about as subtle in its depiction of class and leadership as a royal wedding.

Oscar loves a sentimental tearjerker, and Wonder, about a disfigured boy seemingly sent from heaven to make the rest of us better people, fits the description

A paint-by-numbers courtroom drama delving into one of Thurgood Marshall’s earliest cases, Marshall at least benefits from Chadwick Boseman’s forceful performance.

Ridley Scott’s overwrought direction in the ripped-from-the-headlines story of John Paul Getty III’s kidnapping seems more interested in the '70s costumes than the questions about wealth and moral imperative

Animating Vincent van Gogh’s life in the style of his paintings is asking for trouble, but the painter’s remarkable story carries the movie.

Jessica Chastain ably handles Aaron Sorkin’s verbal gymnastics, but Molly’s Game lacks the urgency and visual deftness of his other movies (directed by other people)

An undercooked adaptation of a children’s book about a pacifist bull that was already adapted by Disney in 1938 to more interesting effect.

A play that’s not a play written by a Brit set in a fictional Midwestern town that feels more like Alabama featuring characters who speak in op-ed talking points about the criminal justice system, Three Billboards might be the greatest fraud of the newly socially conscious and self-congratulatory Hollywood.

The genius stroke of casting John C. Reilly and the impressive visual effects are enough to make this half-baked King Kong reboot actually worth watching.

Much like Ghostbusters II, the Guardians sequel ups the budget and scare factor while offering diminishing returns in humble elements like narrative, humour, and enjoyment.

A pat rom-com in a modern package, Kumail Nanjiani’s autobiographical movie thrives on the tension between him and his hospitalised girlfriend’s family, including a phenomenal Holly Hunter as the mum.

Christopher Nolan’s technical virtuosity is undeniable at this point, but the meandering plot of Dunkirk is just the latest evidence that he needs to hand writing duties over to someone else.

A respectable extension of Ridley Scott’s universe, 2049 is, like its predecessor, overstuffed with ideas and perhaps too in love with its set design, but thanks to cinematographer Roger Deakins, it sure is nice to look at.

Using a character’s hearing condition as an excuse to turn a car-chase picture into a music video (no, that is definitely not how tinnitus works), Baby Driver is a mostly hollow exercise in style. But it’s so fun to watch Jon Hamm play pure villain.

A totally rollicking Star Wars entry with innovative visual effects that doesn’t take itself too seriously and is about as memorable as a ride on Space Mountain. Still, it was good to see Catfish Dude again.