If I do it, it will be sooner than later, so that I can get back to my old format. Those types of articles tend to do the best for me, readership-wise, and I have more places to advertise them, i.e. my various movie-related groups online, especially the horror ones. So, we'll see.
I also had some ideas in mind for a franchise review or a possible Director's oeuvre review, a la the one I did with Quentin Tarantino- I was leaning towards either David Cronenberg or John Carpenter. Chances are, I'll wait and do that stuff in April, so I can do a solid month of the old columns.
If you have an opinion either way, let me know in the comments section below at the bottom of the page, or via social media. Either way, looking forward to getting back to it. I may also need to take a brief bit of time off before too long- I will let you know as soon as I know more. Thanks for all your patience- I know things have been spotty as of late, but hopefully, things will get better soon!
Now, on with the show...
10. Avengers: Endgame
Bringing home a film series is never easy, but I'm not sure I can think of a larger endeavor than the ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe, of which this was the whopping twenty-second entry. It also marks the penultimate entry in the so-called "Phase Three," aka "The Infinity Saga," which concluded in earnest with last year's Spider-Man: Far From Home. ("Phase Four" will begin with the upcoming Black Widow spin-off flick, and will also feature new entries in the Doctor Strange, Spider-Man and Thor series.)
I certainly don't envy the people who have to keep up with all this stuff, and it's a remarkable achievement that they managed to stick the landing on this sucker in and of itself, and garner some pretty solid reviews in the process, in a subgenre that has definitely had its up and downs amongst critics, to be sure. Good thing, as the film was reportedly one of the most expensive films ever made, costing some $356 million!
It grossed nearly $2.8 billion (!) at the box office, officially making it the highest-grossing film of all-time, and breaking all sorts of other records in the process. Does that mean it's the best movie of all-time? Hardly. As you can see, it only made it to #10 on my list, in spite of all those impressive records. But, I'll allow, I've been suffering a bit of superhero burn-out as of lately, so that's probably why.
I go into more detail about my overall feelings about the film in my expanded review, which you can read by clicking on the title above, so I won't get into specifics, but I will say that I quite enjoyed the film, and look forward to seeing it again, and perhaps even, someday, rewatching the entire series, once I've had a little time to play catch-up with other things. (I'm way behind on the TV/streaming contingent of some of these superhero shows, so that alone will take some time.)
9. Hustlers
I certainly don't envy the people who have to keep up with all this stuff, and it's a remarkable achievement that they managed to stick the landing on this sucker in and of itself, and garner some pretty solid reviews in the process, in a subgenre that has definitely had its up and downs amongst critics, to be sure. Good thing, as the film was reportedly one of the most expensive films ever made, costing some $356 million!
It grossed nearly $2.8 billion (!) at the box office, officially making it the highest-grossing film of all-time, and breaking all sorts of other records in the process. Does that mean it's the best movie of all-time? Hardly. As you can see, it only made it to #10 on my list, in spite of all those impressive records. But, I'll allow, I've been suffering a bit of superhero burn-out as of lately, so that's probably why.
I go into more detail about my overall feelings about the film in my expanded review, which you can read by clicking on the title above, so I won't get into specifics, but I will say that I quite enjoyed the film, and look forward to seeing it again, and perhaps even, someday, rewatching the entire series, once I've had a little time to play catch-up with other things. (I'm way behind on the TV/streaming contingent of some of these superhero shows, so that alone will take some time.)
9. Hustlers
I gather this one ruffled some feathers in the whole sexist "incel" crew, who grumbled how, if this movie was about a group of men doing the same thing, it would have been roundly bashed as misogynist and so forth, but newsflash: men who roofie women don't tend to do so to rob them, which is precisely why the very thought of such a film is repugnant.
The simple truth is that men have been watching variations of the heist film for ages, and something like Ocean's 8 notwithstanding, such films rarely have a big female presence, which is why this movie stands out. Besides, the guys bitching about this one probably don't have anywhere near the kind of cash to even been considered as a target by these women IRL, so get over yourselves. If men can have antiheroes, why not women?
Also, the film is careful not to take sides, and not to judge the women involved too harshly. We get a few priceless reaction shots from the often-underutilized and always-welcome Julia Stiles- here playing the reporter that brought the story to light in New York magazine, as it is indeed based on a true story- but that's about it. Otherwise, the film leaves it to us, the viewers, to pass judgment, which is really how it should be.
Kudos to writer/director Lorene Scafaria, who brought a distinctly feminine viewpoint to the proceedings, showing how someone could get caught up in such nefarious dealings, bringing to mind something like Molly's Game, but with a group of women instead of just the one. I like how the film takes its time to let one get to know the characters before things went awry, and moreover, how deftly it shows how things went off the rails and how it could have been avoided, had the girls not gotten so greedy.
The simple truth is that men have been watching variations of the heist film for ages, and something like Ocean's 8 notwithstanding, such films rarely have a big female presence, which is why this movie stands out. Besides, the guys bitching about this one probably don't have anywhere near the kind of cash to even been considered as a target by these women IRL, so get over yourselves. If men can have antiheroes, why not women?
Also, the film is careful not to take sides, and not to judge the women involved too harshly. We get a few priceless reaction shots from the often-underutilized and always-welcome Julia Stiles- here playing the reporter that brought the story to light in New York magazine, as it is indeed based on a true story- but that's about it. Otherwise, the film leaves it to us, the viewers, to pass judgment, which is really how it should be.
Kudos to writer/director Lorene Scafaria, who brought a distinctly feminine viewpoint to the proceedings, showing how someone could get caught up in such nefarious dealings, bringing to mind something like Molly's Game, but with a group of women instead of just the one. I like how the film takes its time to let one get to know the characters before things went awry, and moreover, how deftly it shows how things went off the rails and how it could have been avoided, had the girls not gotten so greedy.
After all, they might have gotten away with it, at least for a longer period of time, had they not ended up going off on their own, with ringleader Ramona (a never-better Jennifer Lopez, as the most fappable 50-year-old ever) opting to cut out the middle-man, aka the clubs in which the girls worked as strippers; then, to make matters worse, they began preying on men who weren't as rich as their typical marks, and thus, had nothing much more to lose in reporting them.
Had they avoided these pitfalls, they might have gotten away with things, given that, as noted in the film, most of the men were too embarrassed to admit they'd been fleeced by a group of women. But these bad decisions, as well as at least one of the men getting hurt (albeit by his own actions), led to their downfall. It's a pretty fascinating ride to behold, with an energy that manages to sustain itself over the course of nearly two hours, with few down spots, which is pretty impressive.
Constance Wu, so likeable in Crazy Rich Asians and funny in TV's just-concluded Fresh Off the Boat, is the real star here, and though Lopez knocks it out of the park, Wu's the real beneficiary as well, given the boost this gave her career, particularly in terms of garnering her more solid and grounded work. Although, as you might have heard, she kind of shot herself in the foot on that end, by grousing in public about certain missed opportunities she had to pass up on account of her TV show.
Still, given that the woman's in her late thirties, you can hardly blame her for wanting to strike while the iron is hot- just ask Naomi Watts, another late bloomer. With Boat done, count on her becoming a real contender in earnest now, with two more Crazy Rich Asians flicks on the horizon- the films are based on a series of books- and a leading role in another acclaimed book-turned-movie, Goodbye Vitamin. In spite of her online misstep, she's very likable in her many talk show appearances, and was the subject of a fantastic, fascinating, extended interview on the Direct TV series Off Camera with Sam Jones.
Other notable stars in the film include brief-but-memorable turns from rapper/singers Cardi B and Lizzo, solid supporting roles by Riverdale star Lili Reinhart (aka "Betty"- she's also a dead ringer for the late Brittany Murphy, with some similarly impressive comedic timing), former Scream Queen and current talk show host Keke Palmer, and one of my favorite burgeoning character actresses, Madeline Brewer, of Orange is the New Black and Cam fame. The soundtrack is also nothing short of fantastic, and helps propel the movie along like gangbusters.
Although ostensibly a heist film, really, this is just as much a "hangout" film, featuring a host of characters you actually want to hang out with- at least to a point. While some of them do indeed go off the deep end, and do some very questionable things, even at their worst, it's still hard to hate them, and given that most of their "marks" are rich douchebags, you actually still sympathize with them even after they do go down the wrong path.
It's only when they really cross the line and start legitimately hurting people that things take a turn for the worst, and the director wisely knows when to say when and end the film before things get too "real." As such, even though what some of the characters do is admittedly reprehensible, the "incel" crowd aren't wrong about one thing: roofie-ing anyone to take advantage of them is wrong, no matter what one gets up to.
That said, it's remarkably hard to outright hate any of these women, and the film doesn't shrink away from them at their worst, so I don't really see what the fuss is about. Like I said, there have been plenty of films about men doing horrible things that people love, especially men themselves, so what's the big deal? Is it simply because women are doing it now, too? If so, get over it.
We could use more of this sort of thing, especially at this level of entertainment value. There have admittedly been some stinkers, in terms of action/comedy flicks aimed at women, featuring a prominent female cast- but this isn't one of them. In fact, it's easily one of the year's best. You go on with your bad self, J-Lo. Age ain't nothing but a number, indeed.
Had they avoided these pitfalls, they might have gotten away with things, given that, as noted in the film, most of the men were too embarrassed to admit they'd been fleeced by a group of women. But these bad decisions, as well as at least one of the men getting hurt (albeit by his own actions), led to their downfall. It's a pretty fascinating ride to behold, with an energy that manages to sustain itself over the course of nearly two hours, with few down spots, which is pretty impressive.
Constance Wu, so likeable in Crazy Rich Asians and funny in TV's just-concluded Fresh Off the Boat, is the real star here, and though Lopez knocks it out of the park, Wu's the real beneficiary as well, given the boost this gave her career, particularly in terms of garnering her more solid and grounded work. Although, as you might have heard, she kind of shot herself in the foot on that end, by grousing in public about certain missed opportunities she had to pass up on account of her TV show.
Still, given that the woman's in her late thirties, you can hardly blame her for wanting to strike while the iron is hot- just ask Naomi Watts, another late bloomer. With Boat done, count on her becoming a real contender in earnest now, with two more Crazy Rich Asians flicks on the horizon- the films are based on a series of books- and a leading role in another acclaimed book-turned-movie, Goodbye Vitamin. In spite of her online misstep, she's very likable in her many talk show appearances, and was the subject of a fantastic, fascinating, extended interview on the Direct TV series Off Camera with Sam Jones.
Other notable stars in the film include brief-but-memorable turns from rapper/singers Cardi B and Lizzo, solid supporting roles by Riverdale star Lili Reinhart (aka "Betty"- she's also a dead ringer for the late Brittany Murphy, with some similarly impressive comedic timing), former Scream Queen and current talk show host Keke Palmer, and one of my favorite burgeoning character actresses, Madeline Brewer, of Orange is the New Black and Cam fame. The soundtrack is also nothing short of fantastic, and helps propel the movie along like gangbusters.
Although ostensibly a heist film, really, this is just as much a "hangout" film, featuring a host of characters you actually want to hang out with- at least to a point. While some of them do indeed go off the deep end, and do some very questionable things, even at their worst, it's still hard to hate them, and given that most of their "marks" are rich douchebags, you actually still sympathize with them even after they do go down the wrong path.
It's only when they really cross the line and start legitimately hurting people that things take a turn for the worst, and the director wisely knows when to say when and end the film before things get too "real." As such, even though what some of the characters do is admittedly reprehensible, the "incel" crowd aren't wrong about one thing: roofie-ing anyone to take advantage of them is wrong, no matter what one gets up to.
That said, it's remarkably hard to outright hate any of these women, and the film doesn't shrink away from them at their worst, so I don't really see what the fuss is about. Like I said, there have been plenty of films about men doing horrible things that people love, especially men themselves, so what's the big deal? Is it simply because women are doing it now, too? If so, get over it.
We could use more of this sort of thing, especially at this level of entertainment value. There have admittedly been some stinkers, in terms of action/comedy flicks aimed at women, featuring a prominent female cast- but this isn't one of them. In fact, it's easily one of the year's best. You go on with your bad self, J-Lo. Age ain't nothing but a number, indeed.
8. Knives Out
I'm a sucker for a good murder mystery, but these days, you typically only see that sort of thing on TV. Well, thanks to his success on the Star Wars front, writer/director Rian Johnson was able to resurrect the subgenre, and bring it into the modern age, with excellent results. This intricately-plotted flick features a to-die-for cast and a fantastic resolution that should resonate with those of us that can only dream of working for the idle rich instead of actually being one of them. Even more so, if you're an immigrant in such a position for real.
The exquisite Ana De Armas- who I wrote about at length here (she's #5 on the list)- has been slowly but surely rising in the ranks in Hollywood, after doing her time in Spanish-language soaps and indie films in her younger years. She relocated to LA in 2014, and subsequently landed roles in high profile gigs like Eli Roth's Knock Knock and the mystery Exposed (both with Keanu Reeves), Hands of Stone (alongside Robert DeNiro), War Dogs and Blade Runner 2049.
Though all of those films underperformed at the box office, she finally hit pay dirt with this film, which was an unqualified hit by any definition, grossing a whopping $309 million worldwide on a mere $40 million budget, which I'm guessing was only as high as it was because of the high-profile cast, which also includes Daniel Craig as the Southern-fried private detective Benoit Blanc, Lakeith Stanfield (Get Out) as the lead detective on the case locally, and such luminaries as Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette and Katherine Langford (13 Reasons Why) as suspects in the murder of mystery novelist Harlan Thrombey (Oscar winner Christopher Plummer, Beginners).
Armas plays the nurse in charge of looking after the wealthy Thrombey, which, of course, makes her a prime suspect, after he is found with his throat slit in his room. Though initially ruled a suicide, it becomes clear that many of his family members had good reason to want to knock him off, notably because he had just cut many of them off financially, but had yet to make it official. However, what they didn't know is that he had already made a few tweaks to his will that will definitely have quite an impact on them in the years to come- and might just lead to another murder.
The end result is a film that manages to split the difference between an old Agatha Christie locked-door murder mystery, and something more in the vein of screwball comedy like the cult classic Clue. It's not as silly as the latter, but it's absolutely intricately-plotted like the former, with a rock-solid script by Johnson that landed him his first Oscar nod for Best Screenplay. Craig and Armas were also nominated for the Golden Globe for their respective performances, as was the film itself, which landed on many critics' end-of-the-year Top 10 lists- including this one, obviously.
7. Booksmart
I'm also a sucker for a solid teen comedy, and this was one of the best I've seen in years. As I've reviewed this one before, I'll keep it short, but suffice it to say that it marks an excellent motion picture directorial debut for actress Olivia Wilde, who confines her presence off-screen for this one, with excellent results from a cast mostly made up of newcomers, who may well end up being big stars on down the line.
In the leading roles are sitcom vet Kaitlyn Dever, of Last Man Standing fame, and Beanie Feldstein, of Lady Bird fame, whose brother Jonah Hill also cut his teeth on teen flicks, with his big breakthrough being the classic Superbad, which also launched the careers of many talented people. The two are already moving up in the world, with Dever landing the lead in the critically-acclaimed Unbelievable, which earned her a Golden Globe nod, and Feldstein is scheduled to play the plum role of Monica Lewinsky, in the forthcoming season of Ryan Murphy's American Crime Story.
Dever and Feldstein play two longtime friends, Amy and Molly, that have put partying on hold to earn perfect GPAs and SAT scores so that they can get into a good college. It works, but then Molly discovers, in spite of all their own partying, that many of her fellow seniors have as well. She also discovers that it may have actually been her and Amy's somewhat stuck-up attitudes that kept them from being accepted by their peers. In other words, Amy and Molly only have themselves to blame for being outcasts.
Determined to make the most of the little time they have left, the two make a pilgrimage to the big Graduation Day eve blow-out, but don't quite know where it is, so they get into a lot of shenanigans along the way, not unlike the plot of Superbad, only with two women in the lead. The end result is a lot of fun, but also surprisingly moving as well, thanks to a keen-eyed script by a host of talented ladies: Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silberman.
The excellent cast also includes comedy vets Jessica Williams (2 Dope Queens), Will Forte (SNL), Lisa Kudrow (Friends) and Jason Sudeikis (SNL), who also happens to be Wilde's significant other IRL. Add to that talented newcomers like Molly Gordon (Good Boys), Diana Silvers (Ma), Skyler Gisondo (The Royal Gemstones), Noah Galvin (The Real O'Neals), and the scene-stealing Billie Lourd (Scream Queens) and you have a pretty to-die-for comedic ensemble.
I just loved this movie, and will definitely be revisiting it over the years to come. It's an excellent "hang-out" film, with lots of memorable characters, but it also has something to say about female friendships, inclusivity (without being preachy about it- no mean feat, that) and the positives of sowing one's wild oats while they can- having fun need not mean tanking your future in the process, for one thing. It's a modern-day teen comedy classic, and easily one of the best films of the year.
6. Us
As with the superlative Get Out, writer/director Jordan Peele once again shows why he, perhaps better than anyone before him, is able to find a way to reflect the black experience within the horror genre in ways quite unlike anything I've ever seen before.
Don't get me wrong- he wears his influences on his sleeve: Get Out clearly owes a debt to both The Stepford Wives and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, among others; and this film features a nod to the underappreciated cult classic C.H.U.D. right there in the opening shot, while also drawing from Twin Peaks, The Time Machine, Funny Games, The Shining and A Nightmare on Elm Street.
And yet, I wouldn't at all accuse it of ripping off those sources- it's definitely its own thing. As with Get Out, it explores themes of race, class, social strata, and the struggle between the haves and the have nots, which was a common theme this year- and on this list, for that matter. To say nothing of similar struggles IRL, where the line between the rich and poor has never been so sharply divided.
It's kind of a miracle that people haven't tried to overthrow the government, with all the ugliness going on, particularly in regards to this administration and the Republican Party in general, which, more than ever this year, showed how they were willing to put party over country in even the most extreme of circumstances.
In Us, however, the downtrodden are mad as hell and they aren't going to take it anymore- it's revolution time, people. By using literal through-the-mirror-darkly representations of ourselves, Peele brilliantly peels off the layers of society to reveal the dark underpinnings underneath. We have met the enemy, and it is literally us. That's an unnerving premise, and it really hits home- literally- as one family's doppelgängers rises up from the depths of the underground to take back what they feel is theirs.
Calling this a home invasion film is like calling The Purge a fun night out on the town. It's so much more than that, and its way more layered than Get Out, IMHO, and definitely rewards rewatching and paying attention to detail, particularly with that late-in-the-game twist. Peele is the real deal, and this film is infinitely more scary than his last endeavor. It makes perfect sense that he was tapped to reboot the classic Twilight Zone series, and the recently-released Hunters and the forthcoming Lovecraft County look interesting, both of which he produced.
I can't wait to see what he does next within the horror genre, as no one does it quite like him. His reimagining of the cult classic Clive Barker story Candyman is coming soon, which he produced and co-wrote, and is reportedly a sequel of sorts that looks pretty promising. As it stands, Us is easily one of the best horror films of the year, but also one of the best films, period, which is why it ranks so high on my list. Believe the hype, if only for once.
5. Under the Silver Lake
I was pretty on the fence about writer/director David Robert Mitchell's last film, It Follows. On the one hand, I dug the retro John Carpenter-esque cinematography, which was some of the best use of the widescreen format in horror in many a moon, and the score, by Disasterpiece (aka Richard Vreeland) was pretty great, also in a retro way. The film had its moments, but the plotting was way spotty and the ending was like something out of a Scooby Doo episode, minus the denouement, which, naturally, left the door open for a sequel.
On the plus side, in spite of having plot holes so big one could drive tractor trailers through it, Mitchell was at least savvy enough to make the "rules" ambiguous, and to have them delivered by a fairly unreliable source to buy himself some time to retcon the whole shebang on down the line, so there's that. He also gets credit for postponing doing that film's sequel right away, which would have been easy money, in favor of doing something else entirely, with a completely different vibe and in a totally different genre.
Under the Silver Lake is one of those films that only comes along once in a blue moon, and is the sort of thing that will be discussed and debated for many moons to come- it's basically Mitchell's stab at making a David Lynch type film, only with a completely different feel to it. The film is sort of like a colorful, California-based noir black comedy conspiracy-thriller, which is just about as overwhelming as it sounds the first time around. In a way, it's like a better version of what another three-name director, Paul Thomas Anderson, was going for with his Inherent Vice, which is pretty impressive, considering that this is only Mitchell's third film.
The plot is deceptively simple: an aimless thirty-something, Sam (former Spider-Man Andrew Garfield) becomes fixated on a new neighbor, the sexy Sarah (Riley Keough, one of the most interesting actresses around these days, choice-wise- she's perhaps best-known for Mad Max: Fury Road and the TV version of The Girlfriend Experience). The two end up hitting it off, even though she catches Sam spying on her from his balcony, Rear Window style.
However, when Sam comes over to meet Sarah for a date the next day, he finds that she's disappeared without a trace, along with her roommates and friends. Adding mystery to the proceedings, there's a weird symbol on her wall. Sam becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her, which leads him on a long, strange journey to get to the truth. He eventually gets to the bottom of things, but the answers are decidedly not what he- and perhaps the viewer- were hoping for, leaving the ending somewhat up in the air.
By which I don't necessarily mean that it leaves the door open for a sequel, a la It Follows, but rather, the answers themselves don't lead to the typical happy Hollywood ending, which is why I suspect reviews were somewhat mixed overall. But sometimes, it's all about the journey, not the destination, and boy, what a trip this movie is. The film- and the main character- is completely fixated on subliminal messages, codes and ciphers, and features a whole host of them, even in the credits.
If ever there was a film that rewards paying closer attention to, it's this one, as there are hidden messages all throughout the film, recalling the movies Open Your Eyes and especially its remake, Vanilla Sky. For instance, Sarah's fixated on an old Marilyn Monroe film, How to Marry a Millionaire, and there are clues attached to that all throughout the film: Sarah has two roommates, making for a group of three, just like in the film; Mitchell recreates the famous scene of Marilyn in the pool from her last, uncompleted film Something's Got to Give at one point, and the plot of Marry is mirrored in the plot of the film, albeit in an upside down way.
That's just one example of the many allusions in the film, which also include backmasking (aka playing records backwards to find hidden messages within a song), numeric codes, subliminal messages hidden in commercials and advertisements, government conspiracies, urban legends and plenty more where that came from. If ever there were a film that rewards multiple viewings, it's this one, and my loyal readers will know that that is one of the things I value most in a film: its level of rewatchability.
I'd say that, even though the vibe is very different, this may well be the best film of its kind since Lynch's much-beloved Mulholland Drive, with which it shares many sensibilities. It's not quite as weird overall as a Lynch film- what film is? But damned if Mitchell doesn't come within spitting distance of it, and that's pretty impressive in my book, as a die-hard Lynch fan. Of all the films on my list, this is the one I actually anticipate rewatching the most, and that's high praise, coming from me.
Indeed, some may wonder why it didn't top the list, if I feel that way. The main reason is, even though Mitchell knocks this one out of the park, in terms of being inherently interesting, it's still a bit disjointed in places and the pacing is off a little here and there. In short, you can tell it was made by someone still honing their craft, rather than someone working at the peak of their powers, or damn close to it. The films ranked higher on this list do meet that criteria, in my book.
Still, it's well-worth seeing, even if the movie has its faults. I dug the cast, the cinematography (by Michael Gioulakis, who also did the honors on It Follows, as well as several other films on this list, including Us and Glass) is first rate, the soundtrack is great, as is the score (also by Disasterpiece), and the cast is fantastic, including such well-respected character actors as Topher Grace, Jimmi Simpson, Don McManus, Jeremy Bobb and Patrick Fischler, as well as David freaking Yow, of the band Jesus Lizard fame, as "The Homeless King"!
There's also many lovely up-and-coming ladies, as befits a movie about Hollywood gone wrong, like Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria), Grace Van Patten (Netflix's Maniac), Laura-Leigh (The Client List), Summer Bishil (The Magicians) and Sibongile Mlambo (MTV's Teen Wolf), among others.
But make no mistake, this is Garfield's show, as he is front and center throughout the film. Keep your eyes peeled for all the clues to the secondary mysteries throughout the film, i.e. the identity of the "Dog Killer" and what's going on with the "Owl's Kiss" killer. There's a lot to digest in this film, to say the least, and that's why it makes the top 5 for me.
4. Joker
Honestly, I wasn't that interested in seeing this one, simply because, did we really need another film involving the Joker, after the whole Jared Leto debacle, to say nothing of the fact that both Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger had both already pretty much nailed it previously? Turns out we did.
If ever there was a film of the moment, it's this one. As funny as SNL star Melissa Villaseñor's epic takedown of so many of the year's Oscar contenders being examples of #whitemalerage was, there's no denying that this one absolutely nailed that, but in a more layered way than perhaps it was given credit for doing, i.e. it's actually about the way lower class people are treated by the rich, for instance, rather than simply a white male rage thing.
As many have noted, this is basically the sort of film that Martin Scorsese would have made if he had hopped on the whole superhero- or, in this case, supervillain- bandwagon. It's Joker by way of Taxi Driver, down to including the man himself, Robert DeNiro, albeit as a Johnny Carson-esque talk show host, which may also be a bit of a nod to Scorsese's still-underrated King of Comedy. Of course, the real irony is that the film came in a year in which Scorsese himself went on record bashing the whole superhero subgenre as hollow.
He has a point- a lot of them are a lot of flash (sometimes literally) and no underlying substance- but they've also come a long way since their fairly humble beginnings. While I'm the first to admit a certain level of burnout on the subgenre, you'll note that several of them made my list, and a few others- notably Shazam! and Captain Marvel- came awfully close. I actually skipped this one altogether in theatres, but people kept talking about it, and once Joaquin Phoenix started winning awards left and right, I finally gave in and went and watched the film.
It just goes to show you: there's nothing a talented filmmaker can't make vital again, if he has the goods to do it. While director Todd Phillips has made his fair share of bro-tastic flicks, many of which are pretty shallow and sophomoric (looking at you, Hangover trilogy, though I'll allow I quite enjoyed Road Trip and Old School at the time they were released), there's always been a glimmer of something more there, and with this film, he ascends to the top level of filmmakers currently out there, although he came close with the enjoyable War Dogs prior to this film.
Phillips has gone on record himself, lamenting the fact that it's hard to even do comedy anymore, in this post-"woke" culture, and he's not wrong. As much as I still love a lot of the films I grew up with, it's in spite of, not because of some of the admittedly problematic material that crops up in a lot of our most beloved past comedies, i.e. some of John Hughes' output- especially Sixteen Candles- the American Pie films, Revenge of the Nerds, Animal House, Ace Ventura ...the list goes on.
In that light, then, it's easy to see Joker for what many have claimed it is: Exhibit A of the aforementioned white male rage. But, in actuality, it's more nuanced than that. Main character Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) isn't raging against the machine because he hates women, a la the "incel" contingent- he actually has a sweet-natured crush on a next-door neighbor (the indispensable Zazie Beetz, of Deadpool 2 fame) that helps both ground the film and the character as sympathetic. No, Fleck is upset because of- you guessed it- the dynamic between the haves and the have nots, a recurring theme in film this year.
He's jumped by several Wayne Enterprises- yep, THAT Wayne- douchebags that may as well be named Chad, if you know what I mean, and he has several run-ins with the cultural elites, notably Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen), who may or may not be his father via an affair with his beloved mother (Frances Conroy), Wayne's former secretary; as well as Murray Franklin (DeNiro), who he and his mother love, but later cracks wise about Fleck when a video of him stumbling through a stand-up set goes the early 80's version of viral.
All of these incidents end up coalescing and sending Fleck over the edge, as he goes on a murderous rampage, eventually unwittingly becoming a source of inspiration and hero worship amongst a group of angry young men, who rise up, Network-style, to wreak havoc on the society they feel has wronged them. In short, Fleck kind of becomes the de facto leader of the incel faction, without really intending to, as his real gripes are about the way society treats the poor and the mentally ill, not his lamenting about being a single man and/or a loner.
Obviously, it's impossible to not view this through the lens of what's going on in society today, and it's not just white men that are angry about the way they're treated by society. It's minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, women and pretty much anyone that feels sidelined by the rich and powerful. It would have been nice if the film had spotlighted those groups a bit more, but point taken- we're all mad as hell and many of us are sick of taking it anymore.
Is it only a matter of time before people rise up and take matters into their own hands? Hard to say. We've seen the positive repercussions of such things in the mass protests in light of the nefarious Trump's election and the various, seemingly never-ending misdeeds by him and his Republican cronies, but also the negative fallout of such things in all the mass shootings and various attacks on all the aforementioned groups in light of Trump and other like-minded people's evil rhetoric. So, it can obviously cut both ways.
We're all so divided right now, it's hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel, but it's certainly fascinating to shine one on the various examples of outcasts that have taken matters into their own hands, whether for the good of society or because they want to burn it down completely. Most of us may not get what would push someone to commit such violent acts, but movies like Joker certainly go a long way towards trying to explain it to those of us confused by such things. For that reason, Joker is undeniably one of the best of the year.
3. Midsommar
Speaking of people committing violent acts, they don't come crazier than the Midsommar clan, which starts out dark, gets a hell of a lot darker, then somehow manages to miraculously end on a high note, against all odds. By the end of the film, it's not just the characters that have been through it, but the viewer, and yet, one does feel better from the experience. Or maybe that's just me.
Honestly, though, I don't think it is. Given the horrors of the last few years, I suspect that a lot of us have felt traumatized- some certainly more than others, depending on your status and your own circumstances- but, nonetheless, a lot of us are feeling a bit shell-shocked. So much so that it's had a deadening effect, leaving us all a bit numb, to the point where it's tough to feel much of anything.
Well, it's that sort of feeling that Midsommar makes its home inside. In fact, it's that feeling of being so overwhelmed by negative emotion that one can hardly function that actually serves as the launching point for this amazing film, and it definitely gets worse before it gets better. Midsommar is basically the film equivalent of a trial by ordeal, or, in other words, an experience which separates the good from the bad.
Now, to be sure, one could argue against whether some of the people in question are truly bad- most of just simply flawed human beings, like most, if not all, of us- to say nothing of who died (literally, in some cases) and made those determining it the judge and jury of such things? And are they any better than the ones on metaphorical trial here? In other words, iffy things are done by both sides.
Midsommar is definitely one of those films that inspired fierce debate, not in the least as to whether or not it was even a good film in the first place, or a bit of a wallow in someone's grief for nearly two-and-a-half-hours (or even more in the 20-something minutes longer Director's Cut, which I haven't seen as of yet). Some thought it was interminable and boring- much like an actual Swedish film, lol. Others accused it of inciting xenophobia, much like the somewhat similar Hostel films. But few that saw it will soon forget it.
The simple fact is that the film is full of some pretty unforgettable scenes, and is actually more of a reimagining of the old-school horror classic The Wicker Man, and I mean the Christopher Lee one, not the camp cult favorite starring Nicholas Cage. Director Ari Aster has made a small cottage industry out of taking similar premises from other films- i.e. plundering the Paranormal Activity series for his also much-loved/much-debated debut, Hereditary- and making them his own. Love him or hate him- and he has ruffled some feathers along the way with his brash interviews and iffy public remarks- Aster is an indelible talent that is undeniably one to watch.
I've gone into detail about Midsommar elsewhere- click on the title for more- so I won't go on at length here, but I will say that I dug this film way more than Hereditary and I look forward to seeing whatever Aster does next. He may be divisive, but he sure is fascinating, and his films are even more so.
And regardless of what you think of this film, there's no denying that star Florence Pugh gave one of the best performances of the year, bar none, no matter the lack of awards recognition, which is nothing new for the horror genre. For those reasons and plenty more, Midsommar ranks as one of my favorites of the year.
2. The Irishman
Although it was roundly and inexplicably snubbed by a lot of the major awards shows, The Irishman was undeniably one of the highlights of the year, and absolutely ranks among director Martin Scorsese's best ever. I think that the reason it was overlooked was because, on the surface, at least, it seems like Scorsese is treading similar waters as he's done before on multiple occasions. After all, it's a gangster film, with Scorsese regulars Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel and Joe Pesci, as well as newcomer-to-the-fold Al Pacino, all in top form. Aside from the addition of Pacino, Scorsese's been there, done that.
And yet, with Netflix providing Scorsese with the budget he needed and the wherewithal to commit to celluloid one of his most ambitious and sprawling narratives ever, there's also no denying that this one was something special- basically it's Scorsese's magnum opus, the film we always knew he had n him, and that's saying something. Yes, as many have joked, it's very, very long, but we're also living in the binge-watching prime of our lives, where people think nothing of watching hours of serial TV to such an extent there's a whole lexicon around it- witness the whole "Netflix and chill" thing.
So, yeah, when you think of it that way, is three-and-a-half hours of movie that big of a commitment when all is said and done, in an era in which people binge an entire season of a new show in a day, or over a weekend? Hardly. Especially when we're talking about one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation, and arguably one of the best of all-time, period. This is Scorsese working within his wheelhouse, doing what he does best, with the cast that he's most comfortable with, fleshed out with some solid supporting players to boot.
The much-discussed de-aging process is nothing short of remarkable, and despite some people grousing about it seeming a bit off (again with the "uncanny valley"), I honestly forgot about it almost instantly, save in a few instances where I remembered that I was watching much older actors pull off not just looking like they were years younger, but acting like they were, in an undeniably convincing way. It's one thing to look young, but to act young is another thing altogether, and I thought all concerned pulled it off masterfully.
The film is not without fault. I did end up having to watch it over the course of two nights, on account of time restraints at the time, but I thought it lent itself well to that approach. If anything, maybe it would have been better served by intentionally breaking it down into installments, a la what Netflix did with The Hateful Eight, but with the intent of always doing it that way instead of simply randomly breaking it down like that, much like an old-school miniseries. If they had done that, I'd bet money that there would have been far less complaints about the length and that people would have happily binge-watched the whole thing.
In addition, I was sort of let down a bit by Scorsese's use of the women in the story. Yes, I'll allow that it's a movie about men and the way they conduct themselves and their business and approach their families in a certain way, but Scorsese typically does a good job of handling the women in his films, i.e. Cathy Moriarty in Raging Bull, Lorraine Bracco in Goodfellas and Sharon Stone in Casino.
With the notable exception of maybe Kathrine Narducci as Carrie Bufalino, the women's roles don't amount to much here. I mean, why hire an Oscar-winning actress like Anna Paquin if she's barely allowed to even speak? I don't blame her for taking the role- hell, it's Scorsese, after all, and who doesn't want that on their resume? But you'd think he give her a little more to do than glare at De Niro a lot. So, yeah, that was a little disappointing, least of all in such a long film.
But those mild concerns aside, this is epic Scorsese, and it's hard to complain about watching a movie that so clearly has him fully in his element. There are scenes here that rank amongst his best (Hoffa's speech, the courtroom scene, the assassination of Hoffa), and the film itself is the best thing he's done since at least The Departed, if not Casino. I would certainly rank it closer to the top of his resume than the bottom, that's for sure, though there's still a few films of his I've yet to see (his first two movies, as well as Kundun and Silence, his last film).
Whatever the case, there's no denying that this was appointment watching at its highest level. Everyone may have made jokes about it, but they still made it a point to watch it (over seventeen million people worldwide on the first day alone- it's currently Netflix's fifth most-viewed movie ever), and I didn't really hear much in the way of negative comments about it, beyond the length. It's got a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and garnered a host of nominations for various awards, including 10 Oscar nods, though, as aforementioned, it didn't win much during awards season.
Be that as it may, it definitely feels like a film that's not only more than the sum of its parts- many have noted that it serves as a sort of summation of Scorsese's overall career, particularly in regards to his crime films- but a fantastic meditation on the toll being a part of an inherently violent enterprise has on the families of all concerned, as well as the people themselves. This is no exploitation film- it hits home, and it hits hard. These people pay a price for the lives they lead, and some would say it was hardly worth it, especially De Niro's character.
All in all, the only thing that kept it from the top spot was that it could be bit deadening at times, not unlike Midsommar but in a completely different way. Whereas in that film, the main characters didn't really have a lot of choice in their respective fates, beyond making some iffy decisions along the way, the characters in The Irishman knew full well what they were getting into, and that it likely wouldn't end well: just look at all the ill-fated people the film highlights along the way that died a grisly death, to say nothing of the ones we see with our own eyes.
But this is a minor complaint- it's definitely one I can see myself watching time and again over the years and enjoying on an altogether different level each time, and that to me is the signifier of a great film. Coupled with some of the best performances of the year, a great script with some unheralded laughs along the way- loved the bit about fish in the car, for instance- and you've got yourself what is easily one of the year's best.
1. Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood
Well, I can't imagine anyone is surprised by this choice, given that I spent over a month reviewing Tarantino's entire oeuvre in the run-up to the film's release. Tarantino's films are always an event for me, as I've been a fan since Reservoir Dogs, and have seen all of his films in the theatres since, some multiple times. That said, The Hateful Eight left me a bit cold, so it was a relief to see QT back in top form for this one, which even converted a few naysayers that don't typically like his films because of the violence and language and so forth.
Granted, there is that ending, but even there, there was a method to the madness, and a surprisingly touching denouement, that even QT's detractors had to admit was something new: who knew that, underneath all the bluster, Tarantino was such a softie? And I mean that as a compliment, as this was far and away his most personal and affecting effort to date.
It's impossible to watch this and come away not knowing that Tarantino has a longing for the past, and fully realizes that he's as much of the past as the characters he revels in. He truly was born in the wrong era, and you can feel that nostalgia for the past he just missed by the skin of his teeth throughout the film, in all of its fetishistic attention to detail, and I'm not talking about QT's by-now well-documented affection for women's feet, lol.
The way Tarantino was able to recreate Old Hollywood during its peak late 60's era was nothing short of incredible, and if some grumbled that the film featured a little too much in the way of driving and music and a little too little in the way of substance, they were kind of missing the point.
This was really a hang-out film, one in which you get to know and love the characters and enjoy spending time with them- and I truly loved these characters. Brad Pitt's is one for the ages, and, contrary to criticism, Margot Robbie's take on Sharon Tate feels real and lived in, and I cherished every moment I spent with her. Tate might have died before my time, but I get fan worship of late celebrities- I still miss Brittany Murphy terribly, for instance.
Even DiCaprio's character, as much as it was on the nose, in terms of capturing the inherent insecurities of aging actors past their prime, still feels real, thanks to the actor's deft touches, which includes the scene where his Rick Dalton freaks out in the trailer, the rare case of QT letting someone improvise and go off script. Indeed, it's one of the best in the film.
There are so many scenes I already love and find myself coming back to time and again: the controversial-but-fun showdown between Bruce Lee and Pitt's character, Cliff Booth; Tate watching herself on-screen in a movie, which itself was an actress watching the real-life counterpart of the person she was playing in an actual movie she was in- so meta!- the scene where Dalton discusses the book he's reading with a Jodie Foster-esque child actress (the indispensable Julia Butters); the entire bit at the Spahn Ranch with the Manson Family, which is like a film within a film; the rundown of Dalton's time in Italy, also meta as hell; and, of course, the final showdown at the end.
The length of Scorsese's The Irishman felt about right, as long as it was, but I'll be damned if I'm not looking forward to seeing the uncut, extended version of this one, and that's saying something for a film that nearly clocks in at 3 hours as it is. But that's just a testament to the strength of these characters and the fact that, yes, I'll admit it here: I would 100% watch considerably more of Brad Pitt tooling around LA blaring old 60's rock on a car stereo while running errands and picking up and flirting with comely hitchhikers even though he should know better. Bring that shit on, QT. Can't wait to see more driving or anything else with these characters.
I've done an in-depth look at this one before- click on the title to read it- so I'll quit while I'm ahead, except to say this: if Scorsese is one of the best directors of his generation, then Tarantino is definitely one of the best directors of mine, more or less, at least in terms of the era in which he's been working, circa the 90's to now, as he's a good bit older than I am. But for Gen X-ers and older Millennials, he's one of the best we've got, that's for sure. So, yeah, bring on that extended driving footage, lol. 🚗💨 😎
Well, that about wraps it up! Thanks for reading, and be sure to let me know what your own Top 10 is in the comments below or via social media! See you at the movies...
I'm a sucker for a good murder mystery, but these days, you typically only see that sort of thing on TV. Well, thanks to his success on the Star Wars front, writer/director Rian Johnson was able to resurrect the subgenre, and bring it into the modern age, with excellent results. This intricately-plotted flick features a to-die-for cast and a fantastic resolution that should resonate with those of us that can only dream of working for the idle rich instead of actually being one of them. Even more so, if you're an immigrant in such a position for real.
The exquisite Ana De Armas- who I wrote about at length here (she's #5 on the list)- has been slowly but surely rising in the ranks in Hollywood, after doing her time in Spanish-language soaps and indie films in her younger years. She relocated to LA in 2014, and subsequently landed roles in high profile gigs like Eli Roth's Knock Knock and the mystery Exposed (both with Keanu Reeves), Hands of Stone (alongside Robert DeNiro), War Dogs and Blade Runner 2049.
Though all of those films underperformed at the box office, she finally hit pay dirt with this film, which was an unqualified hit by any definition, grossing a whopping $309 million worldwide on a mere $40 million budget, which I'm guessing was only as high as it was because of the high-profile cast, which also includes Daniel Craig as the Southern-fried private detective Benoit Blanc, Lakeith Stanfield (Get Out) as the lead detective on the case locally, and such luminaries as Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette and Katherine Langford (13 Reasons Why) as suspects in the murder of mystery novelist Harlan Thrombey (Oscar winner Christopher Plummer, Beginners).
Armas plays the nurse in charge of looking after the wealthy Thrombey, which, of course, makes her a prime suspect, after he is found with his throat slit in his room. Though initially ruled a suicide, it becomes clear that many of his family members had good reason to want to knock him off, notably because he had just cut many of them off financially, but had yet to make it official. However, what they didn't know is that he had already made a few tweaks to his will that will definitely have quite an impact on them in the years to come- and might just lead to another murder.
The end result is a film that manages to split the difference between an old Agatha Christie locked-door murder mystery, and something more in the vein of screwball comedy like the cult classic Clue. It's not as silly as the latter, but it's absolutely intricately-plotted like the former, with a rock-solid script by Johnson that landed him his first Oscar nod for Best Screenplay. Craig and Armas were also nominated for the Golden Globe for their respective performances, as was the film itself, which landed on many critics' end-of-the-year Top 10 lists- including this one, obviously.
7. Booksmart
I'm also a sucker for a solid teen comedy, and this was one of the best I've seen in years. As I've reviewed this one before, I'll keep it short, but suffice it to say that it marks an excellent motion picture directorial debut for actress Olivia Wilde, who confines her presence off-screen for this one, with excellent results from a cast mostly made up of newcomers, who may well end up being big stars on down the line.
In the leading roles are sitcom vet Kaitlyn Dever, of Last Man Standing fame, and Beanie Feldstein, of Lady Bird fame, whose brother Jonah Hill also cut his teeth on teen flicks, with his big breakthrough being the classic Superbad, which also launched the careers of many talented people. The two are already moving up in the world, with Dever landing the lead in the critically-acclaimed Unbelievable, which earned her a Golden Globe nod, and Feldstein is scheduled to play the plum role of Monica Lewinsky, in the forthcoming season of Ryan Murphy's American Crime Story.
Dever and Feldstein play two longtime friends, Amy and Molly, that have put partying on hold to earn perfect GPAs and SAT scores so that they can get into a good college. It works, but then Molly discovers, in spite of all their own partying, that many of her fellow seniors have as well. She also discovers that it may have actually been her and Amy's somewhat stuck-up attitudes that kept them from being accepted by their peers. In other words, Amy and Molly only have themselves to blame for being outcasts.
Determined to make the most of the little time they have left, the two make a pilgrimage to the big Graduation Day eve blow-out, but don't quite know where it is, so they get into a lot of shenanigans along the way, not unlike the plot of Superbad, only with two women in the lead. The end result is a lot of fun, but also surprisingly moving as well, thanks to a keen-eyed script by a host of talented ladies: Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silberman.
The excellent cast also includes comedy vets Jessica Williams (2 Dope Queens), Will Forte (SNL), Lisa Kudrow (Friends) and Jason Sudeikis (SNL), who also happens to be Wilde's significant other IRL. Add to that talented newcomers like Molly Gordon (Good Boys), Diana Silvers (Ma), Skyler Gisondo (The Royal Gemstones), Noah Galvin (The Real O'Neals), and the scene-stealing Billie Lourd (Scream Queens) and you have a pretty to-die-for comedic ensemble.
I just loved this movie, and will definitely be revisiting it over the years to come. It's an excellent "hang-out" film, with lots of memorable characters, but it also has something to say about female friendships, inclusivity (without being preachy about it- no mean feat, that) and the positives of sowing one's wild oats while they can- having fun need not mean tanking your future in the process, for one thing. It's a modern-day teen comedy classic, and easily one of the best films of the year.
6. Us
As with the superlative Get Out, writer/director Jordan Peele once again shows why he, perhaps better than anyone before him, is able to find a way to reflect the black experience within the horror genre in ways quite unlike anything I've ever seen before.
Don't get me wrong- he wears his influences on his sleeve: Get Out clearly owes a debt to both The Stepford Wives and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, among others; and this film features a nod to the underappreciated cult classic C.H.U.D. right there in the opening shot, while also drawing from Twin Peaks, The Time Machine, Funny Games, The Shining and A Nightmare on Elm Street.
And yet, I wouldn't at all accuse it of ripping off those sources- it's definitely its own thing. As with Get Out, it explores themes of race, class, social strata, and the struggle between the haves and the have nots, which was a common theme this year- and on this list, for that matter. To say nothing of similar struggles IRL, where the line between the rich and poor has never been so sharply divided.
It's kind of a miracle that people haven't tried to overthrow the government, with all the ugliness going on, particularly in regards to this administration and the Republican Party in general, which, more than ever this year, showed how they were willing to put party over country in even the most extreme of circumstances.
In Us, however, the downtrodden are mad as hell and they aren't going to take it anymore- it's revolution time, people. By using literal through-the-mirror-darkly representations of ourselves, Peele brilliantly peels off the layers of society to reveal the dark underpinnings underneath. We have met the enemy, and it is literally us. That's an unnerving premise, and it really hits home- literally- as one family's doppelgängers rises up from the depths of the underground to take back what they feel is theirs.
Calling this a home invasion film is like calling The Purge a fun night out on the town. It's so much more than that, and its way more layered than Get Out, IMHO, and definitely rewards rewatching and paying attention to detail, particularly with that late-in-the-game twist. Peele is the real deal, and this film is infinitely more scary than his last endeavor. It makes perfect sense that he was tapped to reboot the classic Twilight Zone series, and the recently-released Hunters and the forthcoming Lovecraft County look interesting, both of which he produced.
I can't wait to see what he does next within the horror genre, as no one does it quite like him. His reimagining of the cult classic Clive Barker story Candyman is coming soon, which he produced and co-wrote, and is reportedly a sequel of sorts that looks pretty promising. As it stands, Us is easily one of the best horror films of the year, but also one of the best films, period, which is why it ranks so high on my list. Believe the hype, if only for once.
5. Under the Silver Lake
I was pretty on the fence about writer/director David Robert Mitchell's last film, It Follows. On the one hand, I dug the retro John Carpenter-esque cinematography, which was some of the best use of the widescreen format in horror in many a moon, and the score, by Disasterpiece (aka Richard Vreeland) was pretty great, also in a retro way. The film had its moments, but the plotting was way spotty and the ending was like something out of a Scooby Doo episode, minus the denouement, which, naturally, left the door open for a sequel.
On the plus side, in spite of having plot holes so big one could drive tractor trailers through it, Mitchell was at least savvy enough to make the "rules" ambiguous, and to have them delivered by a fairly unreliable source to buy himself some time to retcon the whole shebang on down the line, so there's that. He also gets credit for postponing doing that film's sequel right away, which would have been easy money, in favor of doing something else entirely, with a completely different vibe and in a totally different genre.
Under the Silver Lake is one of those films that only comes along once in a blue moon, and is the sort of thing that will be discussed and debated for many moons to come- it's basically Mitchell's stab at making a David Lynch type film, only with a completely different feel to it. The film is sort of like a colorful, California-based noir black comedy conspiracy-thriller, which is just about as overwhelming as it sounds the first time around. In a way, it's like a better version of what another three-name director, Paul Thomas Anderson, was going for with his Inherent Vice, which is pretty impressive, considering that this is only Mitchell's third film.
The plot is deceptively simple: an aimless thirty-something, Sam (former Spider-Man Andrew Garfield) becomes fixated on a new neighbor, the sexy Sarah (Riley Keough, one of the most interesting actresses around these days, choice-wise- she's perhaps best-known for Mad Max: Fury Road and the TV version of The Girlfriend Experience). The two end up hitting it off, even though she catches Sam spying on her from his balcony, Rear Window style.
However, when Sam comes over to meet Sarah for a date the next day, he finds that she's disappeared without a trace, along with her roommates and friends. Adding mystery to the proceedings, there's a weird symbol on her wall. Sam becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her, which leads him on a long, strange journey to get to the truth. He eventually gets to the bottom of things, but the answers are decidedly not what he- and perhaps the viewer- were hoping for, leaving the ending somewhat up in the air.
By which I don't necessarily mean that it leaves the door open for a sequel, a la It Follows, but rather, the answers themselves don't lead to the typical happy Hollywood ending, which is why I suspect reviews were somewhat mixed overall. But sometimes, it's all about the journey, not the destination, and boy, what a trip this movie is. The film- and the main character- is completely fixated on subliminal messages, codes and ciphers, and features a whole host of them, even in the credits.
If ever there was a film that rewards paying closer attention to, it's this one, as there are hidden messages all throughout the film, recalling the movies Open Your Eyes and especially its remake, Vanilla Sky. For instance, Sarah's fixated on an old Marilyn Monroe film, How to Marry a Millionaire, and there are clues attached to that all throughout the film: Sarah has two roommates, making for a group of three, just like in the film; Mitchell recreates the famous scene of Marilyn in the pool from her last, uncompleted film Something's Got to Give at one point, and the plot of Marry is mirrored in the plot of the film, albeit in an upside down way.
That's just one example of the many allusions in the film, which also include backmasking (aka playing records backwards to find hidden messages within a song), numeric codes, subliminal messages hidden in commercials and advertisements, government conspiracies, urban legends and plenty more where that came from. If ever there were a film that rewards multiple viewings, it's this one, and my loyal readers will know that that is one of the things I value most in a film: its level of rewatchability.
I'd say that, even though the vibe is very different, this may well be the best film of its kind since Lynch's much-beloved Mulholland Drive, with which it shares many sensibilities. It's not quite as weird overall as a Lynch film- what film is? But damned if Mitchell doesn't come within spitting distance of it, and that's pretty impressive in my book, as a die-hard Lynch fan. Of all the films on my list, this is the one I actually anticipate rewatching the most, and that's high praise, coming from me.
Indeed, some may wonder why it didn't top the list, if I feel that way. The main reason is, even though Mitchell knocks this one out of the park, in terms of being inherently interesting, it's still a bit disjointed in places and the pacing is off a little here and there. In short, you can tell it was made by someone still honing their craft, rather than someone working at the peak of their powers, or damn close to it. The films ranked higher on this list do meet that criteria, in my book.
Still, it's well-worth seeing, even if the movie has its faults. I dug the cast, the cinematography (by Michael Gioulakis, who also did the honors on It Follows, as well as several other films on this list, including Us and Glass) is first rate, the soundtrack is great, as is the score (also by Disasterpiece), and the cast is fantastic, including such well-respected character actors as Topher Grace, Jimmi Simpson, Don McManus, Jeremy Bobb and Patrick Fischler, as well as David freaking Yow, of the band Jesus Lizard fame, as "The Homeless King"!
There's also many lovely up-and-coming ladies, as befits a movie about Hollywood gone wrong, like Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria), Grace Van Patten (Netflix's Maniac), Laura-Leigh (The Client List), Summer Bishil (The Magicians) and Sibongile Mlambo (MTV's Teen Wolf), among others.
But make no mistake, this is Garfield's show, as he is front and center throughout the film. Keep your eyes peeled for all the clues to the secondary mysteries throughout the film, i.e. the identity of the "Dog Killer" and what's going on with the "Owl's Kiss" killer. There's a lot to digest in this film, to say the least, and that's why it makes the top 5 for me.
4. Joker
Honestly, I wasn't that interested in seeing this one, simply because, did we really need another film involving the Joker, after the whole Jared Leto debacle, to say nothing of the fact that both Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger had both already pretty much nailed it previously? Turns out we did.
If ever there was a film of the moment, it's this one. As funny as SNL star Melissa Villaseñor's epic takedown of so many of the year's Oscar contenders being examples of #whitemalerage was, there's no denying that this one absolutely nailed that, but in a more layered way than perhaps it was given credit for doing, i.e. it's actually about the way lower class people are treated by the rich, for instance, rather than simply a white male rage thing.
As many have noted, this is basically the sort of film that Martin Scorsese would have made if he had hopped on the whole superhero- or, in this case, supervillain- bandwagon. It's Joker by way of Taxi Driver, down to including the man himself, Robert DeNiro, albeit as a Johnny Carson-esque talk show host, which may also be a bit of a nod to Scorsese's still-underrated King of Comedy. Of course, the real irony is that the film came in a year in which Scorsese himself went on record bashing the whole superhero subgenre as hollow.
He has a point- a lot of them are a lot of flash (sometimes literally) and no underlying substance- but they've also come a long way since their fairly humble beginnings. While I'm the first to admit a certain level of burnout on the subgenre, you'll note that several of them made my list, and a few others- notably Shazam! and Captain Marvel- came awfully close. I actually skipped this one altogether in theatres, but people kept talking about it, and once Joaquin Phoenix started winning awards left and right, I finally gave in and went and watched the film.
It just goes to show you: there's nothing a talented filmmaker can't make vital again, if he has the goods to do it. While director Todd Phillips has made his fair share of bro-tastic flicks, many of which are pretty shallow and sophomoric (looking at you, Hangover trilogy, though I'll allow I quite enjoyed Road Trip and Old School at the time they were released), there's always been a glimmer of something more there, and with this film, he ascends to the top level of filmmakers currently out there, although he came close with the enjoyable War Dogs prior to this film.
Phillips has gone on record himself, lamenting the fact that it's hard to even do comedy anymore, in this post-"woke" culture, and he's not wrong. As much as I still love a lot of the films I grew up with, it's in spite of, not because of some of the admittedly problematic material that crops up in a lot of our most beloved past comedies, i.e. some of John Hughes' output- especially Sixteen Candles- the American Pie films, Revenge of the Nerds, Animal House, Ace Ventura ...the list goes on.
In that light, then, it's easy to see Joker for what many have claimed it is: Exhibit A of the aforementioned white male rage. But, in actuality, it's more nuanced than that. Main character Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) isn't raging against the machine because he hates women, a la the "incel" contingent- he actually has a sweet-natured crush on a next-door neighbor (the indispensable Zazie Beetz, of Deadpool 2 fame) that helps both ground the film and the character as sympathetic. No, Fleck is upset because of- you guessed it- the dynamic between the haves and the have nots, a recurring theme in film this year.
He's jumped by several Wayne Enterprises- yep, THAT Wayne- douchebags that may as well be named Chad, if you know what I mean, and he has several run-ins with the cultural elites, notably Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen), who may or may not be his father via an affair with his beloved mother (Frances Conroy), Wayne's former secretary; as well as Murray Franklin (DeNiro), who he and his mother love, but later cracks wise about Fleck when a video of him stumbling through a stand-up set goes the early 80's version of viral.
All of these incidents end up coalescing and sending Fleck over the edge, as he goes on a murderous rampage, eventually unwittingly becoming a source of inspiration and hero worship amongst a group of angry young men, who rise up, Network-style, to wreak havoc on the society they feel has wronged them. In short, Fleck kind of becomes the de facto leader of the incel faction, without really intending to, as his real gripes are about the way society treats the poor and the mentally ill, not his lamenting about being a single man and/or a loner.
Obviously, it's impossible to not view this through the lens of what's going on in society today, and it's not just white men that are angry about the way they're treated by society. It's minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, women and pretty much anyone that feels sidelined by the rich and powerful. It would have been nice if the film had spotlighted those groups a bit more, but point taken- we're all mad as hell and many of us are sick of taking it anymore.
Is it only a matter of time before people rise up and take matters into their own hands? Hard to say. We've seen the positive repercussions of such things in the mass protests in light of the nefarious Trump's election and the various, seemingly never-ending misdeeds by him and his Republican cronies, but also the negative fallout of such things in all the mass shootings and various attacks on all the aforementioned groups in light of Trump and other like-minded people's evil rhetoric. So, it can obviously cut both ways.
We're all so divided right now, it's hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel, but it's certainly fascinating to shine one on the various examples of outcasts that have taken matters into their own hands, whether for the good of society or because they want to burn it down completely. Most of us may not get what would push someone to commit such violent acts, but movies like Joker certainly go a long way towards trying to explain it to those of us confused by such things. For that reason, Joker is undeniably one of the best of the year.
3. Midsommar
Speaking of people committing violent acts, they don't come crazier than the Midsommar clan, which starts out dark, gets a hell of a lot darker, then somehow manages to miraculously end on a high note, against all odds. By the end of the film, it's not just the characters that have been through it, but the viewer, and yet, one does feel better from the experience. Or maybe that's just me.
Honestly, though, I don't think it is. Given the horrors of the last few years, I suspect that a lot of us have felt traumatized- some certainly more than others, depending on your status and your own circumstances- but, nonetheless, a lot of us are feeling a bit shell-shocked. So much so that it's had a deadening effect, leaving us all a bit numb, to the point where it's tough to feel much of anything.
Well, it's that sort of feeling that Midsommar makes its home inside. In fact, it's that feeling of being so overwhelmed by negative emotion that one can hardly function that actually serves as the launching point for this amazing film, and it definitely gets worse before it gets better. Midsommar is basically the film equivalent of a trial by ordeal, or, in other words, an experience which separates the good from the bad.
Now, to be sure, one could argue against whether some of the people in question are truly bad- most of just simply flawed human beings, like most, if not all, of us- to say nothing of who died (literally, in some cases) and made those determining it the judge and jury of such things? And are they any better than the ones on metaphorical trial here? In other words, iffy things are done by both sides.
Midsommar is definitely one of those films that inspired fierce debate, not in the least as to whether or not it was even a good film in the first place, or a bit of a wallow in someone's grief for nearly two-and-a-half-hours (or even more in the 20-something minutes longer Director's Cut, which I haven't seen as of yet). Some thought it was interminable and boring- much like an actual Swedish film, lol. Others accused it of inciting xenophobia, much like the somewhat similar Hostel films. But few that saw it will soon forget it.
The simple fact is that the film is full of some pretty unforgettable scenes, and is actually more of a reimagining of the old-school horror classic The Wicker Man, and I mean the Christopher Lee one, not the camp cult favorite starring Nicholas Cage. Director Ari Aster has made a small cottage industry out of taking similar premises from other films- i.e. plundering the Paranormal Activity series for his also much-loved/much-debated debut, Hereditary- and making them his own. Love him or hate him- and he has ruffled some feathers along the way with his brash interviews and iffy public remarks- Aster is an indelible talent that is undeniably one to watch.
I've gone into detail about Midsommar elsewhere- click on the title for more- so I won't go on at length here, but I will say that I dug this film way more than Hereditary and I look forward to seeing whatever Aster does next. He may be divisive, but he sure is fascinating, and his films are even more so.
And regardless of what you think of this film, there's no denying that star Florence Pugh gave one of the best performances of the year, bar none, no matter the lack of awards recognition, which is nothing new for the horror genre. For those reasons and plenty more, Midsommar ranks as one of my favorites of the year.
2. The Irishman
Although it was roundly and inexplicably snubbed by a lot of the major awards shows, The Irishman was undeniably one of the highlights of the year, and absolutely ranks among director Martin Scorsese's best ever. I think that the reason it was overlooked was because, on the surface, at least, it seems like Scorsese is treading similar waters as he's done before on multiple occasions. After all, it's a gangster film, with Scorsese regulars Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel and Joe Pesci, as well as newcomer-to-the-fold Al Pacino, all in top form. Aside from the addition of Pacino, Scorsese's been there, done that.
And yet, with Netflix providing Scorsese with the budget he needed and the wherewithal to commit to celluloid one of his most ambitious and sprawling narratives ever, there's also no denying that this one was something special- basically it's Scorsese's magnum opus, the film we always knew he had n him, and that's saying something. Yes, as many have joked, it's very, very long, but we're also living in the binge-watching prime of our lives, where people think nothing of watching hours of serial TV to such an extent there's a whole lexicon around it- witness the whole "Netflix and chill" thing.
So, yeah, when you think of it that way, is three-and-a-half hours of movie that big of a commitment when all is said and done, in an era in which people binge an entire season of a new show in a day, or over a weekend? Hardly. Especially when we're talking about one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation, and arguably one of the best of all-time, period. This is Scorsese working within his wheelhouse, doing what he does best, with the cast that he's most comfortable with, fleshed out with some solid supporting players to boot.
The much-discussed de-aging process is nothing short of remarkable, and despite some people grousing about it seeming a bit off (again with the "uncanny valley"), I honestly forgot about it almost instantly, save in a few instances where I remembered that I was watching much older actors pull off not just looking like they were years younger, but acting like they were, in an undeniably convincing way. It's one thing to look young, but to act young is another thing altogether, and I thought all concerned pulled it off masterfully.
The film is not without fault. I did end up having to watch it over the course of two nights, on account of time restraints at the time, but I thought it lent itself well to that approach. If anything, maybe it would have been better served by intentionally breaking it down into installments, a la what Netflix did with The Hateful Eight, but with the intent of always doing it that way instead of simply randomly breaking it down like that, much like an old-school miniseries. If they had done that, I'd bet money that there would have been far less complaints about the length and that people would have happily binge-watched the whole thing.
In addition, I was sort of let down a bit by Scorsese's use of the women in the story. Yes, I'll allow that it's a movie about men and the way they conduct themselves and their business and approach their families in a certain way, but Scorsese typically does a good job of handling the women in his films, i.e. Cathy Moriarty in Raging Bull, Lorraine Bracco in Goodfellas and Sharon Stone in Casino.
With the notable exception of maybe Kathrine Narducci as Carrie Bufalino, the women's roles don't amount to much here. I mean, why hire an Oscar-winning actress like Anna Paquin if she's barely allowed to even speak? I don't blame her for taking the role- hell, it's Scorsese, after all, and who doesn't want that on their resume? But you'd think he give her a little more to do than glare at De Niro a lot. So, yeah, that was a little disappointing, least of all in such a long film.
But those mild concerns aside, this is epic Scorsese, and it's hard to complain about watching a movie that so clearly has him fully in his element. There are scenes here that rank amongst his best (Hoffa's speech, the courtroom scene, the assassination of Hoffa), and the film itself is the best thing he's done since at least The Departed, if not Casino. I would certainly rank it closer to the top of his resume than the bottom, that's for sure, though there's still a few films of his I've yet to see (his first two movies, as well as Kundun and Silence, his last film).
Whatever the case, there's no denying that this was appointment watching at its highest level. Everyone may have made jokes about it, but they still made it a point to watch it (over seventeen million people worldwide on the first day alone- it's currently Netflix's fifth most-viewed movie ever), and I didn't really hear much in the way of negative comments about it, beyond the length. It's got a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and garnered a host of nominations for various awards, including 10 Oscar nods, though, as aforementioned, it didn't win much during awards season.
Be that as it may, it definitely feels like a film that's not only more than the sum of its parts- many have noted that it serves as a sort of summation of Scorsese's overall career, particularly in regards to his crime films- but a fantastic meditation on the toll being a part of an inherently violent enterprise has on the families of all concerned, as well as the people themselves. This is no exploitation film- it hits home, and it hits hard. These people pay a price for the lives they lead, and some would say it was hardly worth it, especially De Niro's character.
All in all, the only thing that kept it from the top spot was that it could be bit deadening at times, not unlike Midsommar but in a completely different way. Whereas in that film, the main characters didn't really have a lot of choice in their respective fates, beyond making some iffy decisions along the way, the characters in The Irishman knew full well what they were getting into, and that it likely wouldn't end well: just look at all the ill-fated people the film highlights along the way that died a grisly death, to say nothing of the ones we see with our own eyes.
But this is a minor complaint- it's definitely one I can see myself watching time and again over the years and enjoying on an altogether different level each time, and that to me is the signifier of a great film. Coupled with some of the best performances of the year, a great script with some unheralded laughs along the way- loved the bit about fish in the car, for instance- and you've got yourself what is easily one of the year's best.
1. Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood
Well, I can't imagine anyone is surprised by this choice, given that I spent over a month reviewing Tarantino's entire oeuvre in the run-up to the film's release. Tarantino's films are always an event for me, as I've been a fan since Reservoir Dogs, and have seen all of his films in the theatres since, some multiple times. That said, The Hateful Eight left me a bit cold, so it was a relief to see QT back in top form for this one, which even converted a few naysayers that don't typically like his films because of the violence and language and so forth.
Granted, there is that ending, but even there, there was a method to the madness, and a surprisingly touching denouement, that even QT's detractors had to admit was something new: who knew that, underneath all the bluster, Tarantino was such a softie? And I mean that as a compliment, as this was far and away his most personal and affecting effort to date.
It's impossible to watch this and come away not knowing that Tarantino has a longing for the past, and fully realizes that he's as much of the past as the characters he revels in. He truly was born in the wrong era, and you can feel that nostalgia for the past he just missed by the skin of his teeth throughout the film, in all of its fetishistic attention to detail, and I'm not talking about QT's by-now well-documented affection for women's feet, lol.
The way Tarantino was able to recreate Old Hollywood during its peak late 60's era was nothing short of incredible, and if some grumbled that the film featured a little too much in the way of driving and music and a little too little in the way of substance, they were kind of missing the point.
This was really a hang-out film, one in which you get to know and love the characters and enjoy spending time with them- and I truly loved these characters. Brad Pitt's is one for the ages, and, contrary to criticism, Margot Robbie's take on Sharon Tate feels real and lived in, and I cherished every moment I spent with her. Tate might have died before my time, but I get fan worship of late celebrities- I still miss Brittany Murphy terribly, for instance.
Even DiCaprio's character, as much as it was on the nose, in terms of capturing the inherent insecurities of aging actors past their prime, still feels real, thanks to the actor's deft touches, which includes the scene where his Rick Dalton freaks out in the trailer, the rare case of QT letting someone improvise and go off script. Indeed, it's one of the best in the film.
There are so many scenes I already love and find myself coming back to time and again: the controversial-but-fun showdown between Bruce Lee and Pitt's character, Cliff Booth; Tate watching herself on-screen in a movie, which itself was an actress watching the real-life counterpart of the person she was playing in an actual movie she was in- so meta!- the scene where Dalton discusses the book he's reading with a Jodie Foster-esque child actress (the indispensable Julia Butters); the entire bit at the Spahn Ranch with the Manson Family, which is like a film within a film; the rundown of Dalton's time in Italy, also meta as hell; and, of course, the final showdown at the end.
The length of Scorsese's The Irishman felt about right, as long as it was, but I'll be damned if I'm not looking forward to seeing the uncut, extended version of this one, and that's saying something for a film that nearly clocks in at 3 hours as it is. But that's just a testament to the strength of these characters and the fact that, yes, I'll admit it here: I would 100% watch considerably more of Brad Pitt tooling around LA blaring old 60's rock on a car stereo while running errands and picking up and flirting with comely hitchhikers even though he should know better. Bring that shit on, QT. Can't wait to see more driving or anything else with these characters.
I've done an in-depth look at this one before- click on the title to read it- so I'll quit while I'm ahead, except to say this: if Scorsese is one of the best directors of his generation, then Tarantino is definitely one of the best directors of mine, more or less, at least in terms of the era in which he's been working, circa the 90's to now, as he's a good bit older than I am. But for Gen X-ers and older Millennials, he's one of the best we've got, that's for sure. So, yeah, bring on that extended driving footage, lol. 🚗💨 😎
Well, that about wraps it up! Thanks for reading, and be sure to let me know what your own Top 10 is in the comments below or via social media! See you at the movies...
No comments:
Post a Comment