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
Sometimes I personify movies. It's weird but I think a movie can be like a friend, something you have a personal connection with. That's how I felt with Zach Clark's Little Sister. When I saw it at Fantasia, I connected with its heart. Little Sister follows Colleen a nun-to-be who, right before taking her vows, gets called home because her brother has returned from the hospital. Colleen's brother was wounded in the Iraq War (The film takes place in 2008) and has a badly disfigured face that makes him a reclusive and ashamed. After Colleen's return home, we witness a slow transformation in her: she dyes her hair (see above picture), hangs out with her old friends, and sheds the prudishness of her religious life. Little Sister is a charming look at family and the different chapters of our lives.
3. The Lobster
The films of Yorgos Lanthimos are of a completely different breed. Whether or not you like them, they are a beast of their own. The Lobster is the epitome of Lanthimos style so far. It is a satire equal parts horror and comedy set in a dystopic world that looks a lot like our own. The premise: All single people, including our protagonist David (Colin Farrell), are brought to a hotel where they must find a mate by 45 days or they are turned into an animal of their choice. The Lobster is a fascinating vision of romance and relationships a binary world: you can only be heterosexual or homosexual, there are no half shoe sizes—David must choose. You get paired with someone only if you share a "defining characteristic". Sound familiar? The feeling of despair in a Lanthimos film is tangible but darkly funny. Eventually David meets a woman played by Rachel Weisz who is also near-sighted like him. Match made in heaven???
2. Manchester By The Sea
I was born and raised in the Boston area. So I guess I'm predisposed to liking this one. Despite the great reviews I heard going into it, Kenneth Lonegan's Manchester By The Sea still blew me away. When did Casey Affleck get this good??? He plays Lee Chandler, a man steeped in grief who is forced to becoming his nephew's guardian after the death of his brother. Also Lucas Hedges who plays Patrick the nephew is absolutely killer. And he has a rare perfect Boston accent!!! I'd say even if you don't usually go for "downer" movies, give this one a try. The emotions are so honest you're bound to come out of it feeling ok. Even though the film drops one emotional bomb after another, the writing and pacing is so precise and thoughtful that we never shut our eyes.
1. Krisha
Ok I started with some first features and I'm gonna end with one. Swiss Army Man and The Fits are noble efforts that show a lot of promise. But Krisha is different. First timer Trey Edward Shults made this film for less than $30,000 (aka nothing) and used his family for actors. And its fucking riveting. Krisha is a family drama turned thriller in which the titular Krisha returns home for Thanksgiving after battling addiction and realizes her problems aren't going away any time soon. Shults confidence in directing is far beyond his years. The film oozes with style and the frantic editing really captures the insanity of family get-togethers. If you've ever had a hectic Thanksgiving you will relate to this intensely. Krisha showed me you don't need money to make a masterpiece, just a really good idea.
very interesting
ReplyDeletegreat blig! interesting points
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