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Alita - Battle Angel (2019)

Alita - Battle Angel (2019)

James Cameron hands his long-cherished manga adaptation to Robert Rodriguez, and the result is the most purely enjoyable cyberpunk adventure in years. Critics are lukewarm, audiences are not, and I am firmly with the audiences. 9/10.

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First Man (2018)

First Man (2018)

Damien Chazelle turns the Moon landing inward, into a study of grief and the men who flew sealed tin cans into the dark. Cold by design, immersive when it counts. 8/10.

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The Meg (2018)

The Meg (2018)

A 75-foot prehistoric shark, Jason Statham, and not one ounce of pretension. The critics are sniffy and they are missing the point of the ticket. 7.5/10.

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Mission - Impossible - Fallout (2018)

Mission - Impossible - Fallout (2018)

Six films in, the most reliable action franchise going hands the keys to Christopher McQuarrie and lets Tom Cruise hang off a helicopter for real. The result is the series at its most sustained and most punishing. 8.5/10.

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Solo - A Star Wars Story (2018)

Solo - A Star Wars Story (2018)

A prequel nobody demanded, made through a famously rocky production, that turns out to be a breezy heist-western in space. Lower stakes, better fun than its reputation. 8/10.

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Avengers - Infinity War (2018)

Avengers - Infinity War (2018)

Ten years and eighteen films later, Marvel gathers everyone into one room and then hands the film to the villain. It should collapse under its own cast list, and somehow it does not. 8.5/10.

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Ready Player One (2018)

Ready Player One (2018)

Spielberg adapts Ernest Cline's nostalgia hunt into a breathless chase through a virtual world, and it is far more fun than the snobs will admit. 8/10.

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The Shape of Water (2017)

The Shape of Water (2017)

Guillermo del Toro turns a Cold War monster movie into a love story and gets away with it through sheer craft and conviction. Strange, sincere, beautifully made. 8/10.

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