Ah these lists of the best movies.
What makes mine any different? Because I don't buy into the garbage that critics have been salivating over. Shit such as "The Shape of Water," "Lady Bird" or "Three Billboards..." I rank movie based on what is watchable and has reason to be. No high-fallutin' actin' shit either. Because, let's face it actor vote on this shit and things like "Moonlight" win over entertainment. There are obviously darker movies to choose but I had to whittle it down to 10 so forgive me for cramming some in, because it's been an awful year. Also, sorry for you assholes who attempted to slide a movie just for Oscar consideration and were too pussy to put up against "The Last Jedi." "Phantom Thread" and "The Post" come to mind.
10. "Wait For Your Laugh"
dir. Jason Wise
While it's true I was involved in the making of this movie, here is a story of a working entertainer that EVERYONE who works in this business should watch. It is about...working. And the reason Hollywood didn't embrace this is because they're phony garbage people who say they want to celebrate strong women, then ignore them. Here is Rose Marie, a woman who started BEFORE Shirley Temple and not only outlived her in life but in career as well. Every one working in entertainment should be so lucky.
9. "Dunkirk"
dir. Christopher Nolan
The story of victory in defeat is a slow slog. That is life. While many will not appreciate this sentiment, other movies and stories from this point on have stolen from it including..uh..every fucking "Star Wars" movie. It's well made, and hypnotic. Obviously it's not going to wow you like "Saving Private Ryan" with its violence, but it still remains a testament to filmmaking in the traditional sense.
8. "I,Tonya"
dir. Craig Gillespie
This movie is brilliant in the re-telling of over-sensationalized trash. The type of shit we can't not figure out. Though it rests on Margot Robbie's brilliance as Tonya to really get to the vulnerability of someone who is as huggable as a cactus. If Allison Janey doesn't get Best Supporting Actress Oscar, this business can suck my dick. Right, Tonya?
7. "Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle"
dir. Jake Kasdan
This movie is fun. Fuck you. Its musical score WILL remind you of Alan Silvestri, and the Universal movies (even though this was Sony) of the mid-80's. Everyone is charming in the flick.
6. "The Florida Project"
dir. Sean Baker
Let's be honest, the only actor in this movie was Willem Dafoe, and MAN is he good. I felt such enormous pity for a man who just wanted to get through his day. These feral kids eat him up and yet...the citizens of the extended stay motel are so ungrateful. Is it easy to watch? No. There is great darkness in the land of sunshine. But a movie that is about getting through the day and embracing childhood hope is engaging. VERY engaging.
5. "Wonder Woman"
dir. Patty Jenkins
Sorry, I can watch Gal Gadot read a phone book in Jerusalem. You KNOW I dig her. "Wonder Woman" is a machine movie. But they did it so well, you forget it's been done and overdone. The acting is...rough. They tend to declare things. And Gadot as Diane is pretty damn corny. But so was "Superman" (1978). Can they please just say "Truth, Justice and the American" way so at least the redneck women have a hero as well?
4. "Murder On The Orient Express"
dir. Kenneth Brannagh
Okay, if you know the story you know the story. So what..the murder isn't the fun part, it's the journey. And the frankness that world famous detective Poiret is. Shot in massive framed 65mm film, this feels like the epic should be. The days of "Lawrence of Arabia". If you love cinema, this is the movie you should watch.
3. "Hostiles"
dir. Scott Cooper
Yes folks, they combine a road movie and a western and wide open beautiful spaces with painful angry hate and reseentment. Can an ordinary trip fix the history of pain lead by a war-broken person?
"Hostiles" goes a bit long but just when it thinks you are no longer involved, it throws in some other people who this fractured party has to endure. It's mentally brutal to the participants. And sometimes illogical. But it is the frontier, that in small doses is far more toxic than a grand party. The fact that you can have this much leathery faces without Tom Hardy is a testament to the material. Also, these are the faces you're looking for over that dumb costume party Leo DiCaprio in "The Revenant." That guy couldn't get out of the Hotel Marmont with a Cheyenne guide.
2. "Get Out"
dir. Jordan Peele
Wow was this a shocker. I mean...it wasn't the spoof of a movie or anything. It creeps slowly on you then delivers a message you think about for a week. Then you want to tell a bunch of people but don't want to ruin it. Director Peele outdid M. Night Shamalan in the same vein as "The Sixth Sense" It's creepier because it grounds itself in THIS world. It works as a non-political statement as well. Because it's not preachy but allows our own prejudices to stew or a while. It's an amazing blend of all the great things about 70's horror. It's all psychological. And isn't our society attempting these things now. Wonderful movie that I still think about now and shudder.
1. "Coco"
dir. Lee Unkrich an Adrian Molina
Family. Without going into too much more detail. It's all you need to know. The push and pull of us against our family's best interest. You can replace Miguel's musical drive with our filmmaking drive and still come up with similar conclusions. That is, following your own spirit will lead you to your own history as long as you remember the blood that you share with the past. I love this film because it is a lighter touch to today's Trump mean world. Both sides deeply hate each other for views that probably don't exist unless one wants to punish the other. In "Coco" it isn't political at all. It's about your own individual path and the path made for you. It's lovely heart-swelling movie we all need now. And it's REALLY entertaining.
So that's it. I really wanted to put "The Killing Of A Sacred Deer" in this list because it is pretty damn amazing the movie even got made. Only lingering a little longer on it did I see the artistry in enduring a meandering frustrating film. It's sweaty and itchy and...oh shit it made you actually sense things rather than feel something. Director Yorgos Lathimos transcended Smell-O-Vision without using anything physical at all. He really broke the code Stanley Kubrick tried. But it's not entertaining in the least. So there's that.
Happy New Year!
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