I've already said that 2018 was perhaps the worst year for Hollywood cinema in recent memory, and the recent Oscar broadcast only confirms that. Bohemian Rhapsody was a VH1 special masquerading as a meaningful biopic; Green Book tried way too hard to preach about the race relations in America; and Black Panther is, without a doubt, the MOST BORING superhero ever made - and yet it nabbed a nomination for Best Picture when the likes of The Dark Knight and Wonder Woman could not (Hollywood politics work in mysterious ways). Of the top nominees, only The Favourite, A Star is Born and Roma represented quality cinema in a mostly forgettable year, and neither walked away with the biggest award. But alas, I digress...
It is, once again, March 2019, and just like the year prior, I needed to give myself extra time to see everything there was to see before I could give my final verdict. These ten films stood out to me more than any other. If you have seen any of them, do seek them out soon. I doubt you'll be disappointed.
1. Won't you be my neighbor? (Director: Morgan Neville)
For those of us who didn't grow up in America during PBS' timeless children's show Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, which aired from 1968 to 2001, this timeless documentary gave us an unforgettable insight into the former-minister turned children's entertainer. Never afraid to explore dark topics, such as death and assassinations of certain political leaders during the Civil Rights years in ways that children could comprehend, Rogers was a pioneer of shaping the minds of American youth without ever compromising his core beliefs and ideals. We've never seen the likes of him since, and I'm afraid we never will again.
2. A Star is Born (Bradley Cooper)
A story about two musical artists, one on her way up, and the other heading waaaaay down, was the most emotionally resonant movie of 2018. Bradley Cooper proves to be as impressive of a director as he is an actor (make no mistake, this was the best performance by an Actor last year), and Lady Gaga, well... she certainly holds her own. The songs in this third (and by far the most superior) remake (after the 1937, 1954 and the 1976 A Star is Born versions) are memorable; the romance between the two leads is genuine and touching, and the drama authentic and heartbreaking. If you're not crying after the final act, then you may just have to check your pulse. This was the best movie-musical of the year, and not the overrated and amateurish Bohemian Rhapsody.
3. Roma (Alfonso Cuaron)
There is little doubt that Alfonso Cuaron is one of top three directors working on the planet today. In a span of few decades, he's tackled a variety of genres - astronauts lost in space; horny teenagers coming of age; post apocalyptic England where children can no longer be born; even a Harry Potter installment (coincidentally the best one of the bunch) - and has impressed each and every time. In Roma, he pays homage to his Mexican upbringing during the early 1970s, and the result is a lyrical, poetical journey through one woman's inner struggles, as she deals with a scorned lover and a frustrated, upper class family that employs her. Black and white cinematography has rarely looked this good, especially in a movie where not a whole lot is said, but where so much is conveyed.
4. Hereditary (Ari Aster)
Part Rosemary's Baby, part The Omen, and all pure, authentic frights, Hereditary was the most impressive horror feature debut in many a year. In creating a tale of a family whose descendants have some questionable worshipping choices, first-time filmmaker Ari Aster has helmed a feature that will haunt its viewers long after its last frame has perished from view - but it'll stay in their subconscious for many sleepless nights thereafter. It's a genuine nightmare disguising in a dysfunctional family's struggle to overcome a late matriarch's recent passing, and it features the best work of Toni Collette's career. That's no small statement.
5. Zimna Wojna (Cold War) (Pawel Pawlikowski)
You won't see a more beautifully composed and shot (in classic B&W, like Roma) movie any time soon (and yes, it is prettier than Roma; sorry Cuaron fans). Pawel Pawlikowski follows in the footsteps of his 2013 gem Ida, and creates another classically photographed masterpiece about two star crossed lovers in post World War II Poland and examines their on-and-off romance over the next decade and a half, following them around France and former Yugoslavia, through the good times and bad. Every single scene and composition could be a giant photograph worthy of a world-class museum exhibition; Pawlikowski is clearly the modern day Krzysztof Kieslowski, but with a much better eye.
6. Mandy (Panos Cosmatos)
Greek filmmaker Panos Cosmatos' blood-soaked vengeance movie, in which a mad-as-hell Nicolas Cage plays a lumberjack who goes after a crazy cult after they brutally murder his wife, Mandy. Led by their sick, twisted leader, Jeremiah Sand (an excellent Linus Roache), the cult group is a strangely disturbing portrayal of lost souls beyond redemption. Mandy looks - and practically feels - like a psychedellic LSD experience, and proves that, once again, Cage can be an effective actor, if cast in material that can maximize his sometimes larger-than-life on screen persona.
7. The Cakemaker (Ofir Raul Graizer)
Thomas is a gifted baker in Berlin whose relationship with an Israeli businessman ends abruptly when the latter is killed in a car accident. When the German eventually travels to the Middle East to meet his former lover's wife and child, old wounds are opened again, but not without exceptional, uncompromising drama. A quiet, subtle film whose moments are composed mostly of glances and gestures, The Cakemaker will make you crave all things pastry, while melting your heart in the process.
8. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Coen Brothers)
This anthology Western of six vignettes about the Old American West was probably one of the more purely entertaining movies that the Coen Brothers have made in over a decade (perhaps even longer, but who's counting). Featuring the likes of James Franco, Liam Neeson, Tom Waits and Tim Blake Nelson, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs charms us immediately with an unexpected opening number where a charismatic cowboy duels his way through an unnamed town, before being fatally shot by another "top dog" gunslinger. Each story here represents a different iconic aspect of the Cowboy genre: bank robbing, gold prospecting, and even a wagon trail over the American West. It's unfortunate that its final vignette, "The Mortal Remains", is the least memorable one; but when a movie this artistic and rich with so many ideas and characters blows your mind early on, its
9. Western (Valeska Grisebach)
German constructions workers arrive in a Bulgarian country side, and soon they are at odds with each other, the lack of materials necessary to complete their project, and most of all, the locals with whom they have a major language barrier. Valeska Grisebach's movie may as well be a documentary that's quietly observing a clash of two different cultures while presenting the Balkans as an area where little economic progress has taken place in the last thirty or so years. The leading actor, Meinhard Neumann, has the face and demeanor of an average every-man, and his friendship with the local Bulgarian Adrian is touching and authentic, despite the two men's cultural differences. Western's subtle approach may not be for everyone, but deep down it is an insightful exploration of Western Eueope meeting Eastern Europe, composed entirely of silent moments rather than loud, bombastic confrontations.
10. The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos)
Second film on this list by a Greek director, The Favourite plays like the darkest of comedies, as two women (Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone) compete for the affection of an often ailing Queen Anne of England (Olivia Colman). The movie is exquisitely shot and lit, and it utilizes the ultra-wide lens more than any movie I can recall. Weisz and Stone are both terrific, but the this film clearly belongs to Lanthimos (his best work thus far) and Colman, who, at long last, is the most deserving Best Actress Oscar winner of the 21st century. And that's saying something.
No comments:
Post a Comment