So here's some movies that I liked! The ranking is arbitrary (sort-of). Missed a bunch this year like #SULLY. Sue me!
Honorable Mentions: She’s Allergic to Cats, I Am Not A Serial Killer, Love and Friendship, Don’t Think Twice, Sing Street, Certain Women
(No Spoilers I Think)
10 (Tie). Swiss Army Man / The Fits
I love watching first features because A) they motivate me as a filmmaker and B) they often represent the director's purest vision, unadulterated by money or studio influence. #10 is a 2-parter—Swiss Army Man by Daniels (yes its two guys both named Daniel) and The Fits by Anna Rose Holmer—both first features.
Swiss Army Man is a movie about a farting corpse named Manny (Daniel Radcliffe) who saves Hank (Paul Dano) from a desert island. And damn if it isn't an emotional trip! The Daniels have created this new genre I'd call "Body Humor" (as opposed to Cronenberg's Body Horror) which explores the strangeness of the human body. But Swiss Army Man is ultimately a movie about body positivity and self acceptance. Hank is very repressed and needs Manny, who's free from society's judgmental eye, to rescue him physically and emotionally. The film sort of undoes itself in the last act, but Daniels have created something silly and heartwarming and unique (If you want to see a short film by these guys watch "Interesting Ball", you won't be dissapointed).
The Fits is an ethereal coming of age drama about Toni, a young tomboy. Toni decides to quit the boxing team (of which she is the lone female) and join the other girls on the dance team, embracing her womanhood. It reminds me a lot of Celine Sciamma's work but far more sinister. The Fits turns quasi-thriller when one by one the girls on Toni's dance team start to have convulsions. Not only is this a first film for Anna Rose Holmer, but a first performance for the lead Royalty Hightower. Killer stuff.
9. La La Land
Time to take a ride on the hype train! Damien Chazelle of Whiplash fame is back with a musical about...Hollywood!!! Before you roll your eyes, let me sell it a little better. Aside from its lush cinematography and excessive Hollywood nostalgia, La La Land is an ode to the star system of the 1940s. That's where it shines. When I saw Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in the underrated rom-com Crazy Stupid Love, I noticed their chemistry. Here we are 5 years later. It's a pleasure to watch them interact, fall in and out of love. What the film lacks in conflict and character development, it makes up for in pure charm.
8. Tower
I would be remiss if I didn't include a doc on my list this year. And boy did Keith Maitland deliver with Tower. The film documents the 1966 University of Texas Clock Tower shooting in a stunning animation style. Interviews with survivors of the shooting were re-enacted and rotoscoped to create a historical account that seems modern and alive. Tower is unfortunately all too relevant in the current climate of school shootings. I got to see the screening at Fantasia Film Festival introduced by a survivor of the 2006 Dawson College shooting. Very moving.
7. The Handmaiden
Park Chan Wook has revived a genre that many though had died a painful death in the late 90s: The Erotic Thriller. Well...The Handmaiden is erotic. And it's thrilling. Sook-hee is hired to pose as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress. Little does she know she is caught in a complicated web of deception. The set and costume design of the film is almost as intricate as its plot. Gorgeous cinematography captures the opulence of Japanese-occupied Korea. What's so refreshing about The Handmaiden it's is whimsical nature, it's ability to jump from genre to genre without losing sight of itself. It's sexy and gripping, somehow both really disturbing and comical.
6. Hunt For The Wilderpeople
New Zealand's Taika Waititi caught my attention in 2009, when he was raising money on Kickstarter for a film called Boy (which turned out to be an absolute blast). Next year he's directing the new Thor movie. I'm genuinely happy his career has flourished so much. He proved me right again this year with Hunt For The Wilderpeople, a wild buddy adventure film between a boy and his foster uncle through the New Zealand bush. This is maybe the funnest film I saw in theaters last year. The bond that Waititi develops between Ricky and Hector is truly touching. Wilderpeople fuckin rocks.
5. Moonlight
4. Little Sister
