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[eggymovies]

Favorite Movies of 2019

Last year I used this space to post a list and short write-up of my favorite movies of 2018. This year, I’ll be doing the same a bit. I’m not much of a writer, just someone who likes movies and wants other people to like them too.

I went to the movies 101 times and watched about 250 movies in total between the theater and home viewings. Two highlights of non-2019 movies that I discovered for the first time this year and haven’t stopped thinking or talking about: Teddy Bear (10 timer til Paradis) (available on Amazon Prime)

Somewhere (rent it on iTunes, Amazon, or anywhere)

I’d also like to use this space to praise Cold War, which was distributed after my 2018 list came out but would have made it to the top 5 of the year. An achingly romantic epic (though only 88 minutes in length) directed by Polish master-filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski, who won the best foreign film Oscar for 2013′s Ida, Cold War depicts the tragic love story of two musicians spanning multiple decades in post-WWII Europe. It’s available for free on Amazon Prime.

Alright... here is my top 20 films of 2019 list, which changed yesterday, will change a little tomorrow, and will look completely different in a year: 20. Toy Story 4

A perfect end to a near-perfect franchise. I’m not sure anyone believed this would be more than a cash-grab, but Pixar employed it’s flagship franchise and characters to explore ideas about growing up and letting go. That might sound like a rehash TS3, but the fourth installment proved itself unique and worthy of addition to the canon. Let’s just hope Disney/Pixar ends things here. 

19. Wild Rose

One of the strongest performances of the year, Jessie Buckley is enough to vault this pretty good movie into my top 20. A troubled young woman recently released from a Scottish women’s prison attempts to follow her dream of becoming a famous Nashville country singer. If that’s not enough to compel you to watch this film (streaming on Hulu), at least watch the music video for Glasgow, an original song from the film that is also one of my favorite songs of the year. 

18. Triple Frontier

If you know me at all, you should have seen this coming. Oscar Isaac, Ben Affleck, Charlie Hunnam, Garret Hedlund and Pedro Pascal (whom Netflix is smart enough to not hide behind armor and a helmet) are former Special Forces soldiers who team up to rob a South American crime boss. What seems like a typical heist movie about one more job surprises half way through by turning into a film about survival at any cost. The Metallica needle-drop as a helicopter flies over a South American highway and mountain range all but cemented this movie’s place on this list. I have no shame.

17. Us

The first time I saw Jordan Peele’s follow-up to 2017′s breakout hit Get Out, I liked it a lot and ached for a second viewing to pick up on all the easter-eggs and deeper meaning behind his choices. On second viewing every choice was cheapened and I found that I liked it less, saddened by what I saw as shallow metaphor and an ending that ripped of Karyn Kusama’s The Invitation. Over the next month or so I found myself telling people that Us was a blast, and that it’s intention was not to be read more deeply, but simply enjoyed as a brilliantly crafted and visually stunning modern horror masterpiece. Then I forgot about it for a few months. I don’t know exactly how I feel now but I know I want to watch it again and that I think about it frequently. 

16. 1917

A lot has been said about the filmmaking and “one-take” effect employed by Roger Deakins (cinematographer) and Sam Menders (director), which is impressive and worthy of the praise it’s received, but I won’t belabor that point. What worked for me was the chemistry between the film’s stars, George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman, who help turn a WWI epic into a tender story about friendship and family. A necessary breath of fresh air before the film becomes a somewhat oppressive and stressful POV take on the horrors of war. 

15. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

All hail Mariel Heller, who managed to direct America’s Dad as America’s Friendliest Neighbor without being overly saccharine or sentimental. Vanity Fair’s Kam Collins pointed out that “Close-ups on fred rogers hit different”, which was spot on. Rogers was always seen and felt from a distance, and while we spend a lot of time with him here, Heller’s film isn’t about him but rather his disarming effect on people who met and knew him. Taking the POV of the journalist who is profiling him works wonders.

14. Paddleton

This Netflix film starring Mark Duplass and Ray Romano went mostly ignored or unwatched in 2019 as far as I can tell, but I happened upon it one evening (thanks, algorithms) and was moved by it’s tenderness and Romano’s remarkable performance playing against type. Fans of Duplass’ early career as a mumblecore king will feel at home in this two-hander about best friends and neighbors navigating life as one of them is diagnosed with a terminal illness and plans for assisted-death. Me loving a move about male emotion and processing grief? Shocker. 

13. Midsommar

Speaking of grief, Midsommar hit the zeitgest in July and I’m sure if you’re reading this you already saw it or determined that it wasn’t for you. Someone on a Ringer podcast used the mixed-metaphor “Fish out of water getting shot in a barrel” which perfectly distills the events that transpire when a group of college students travel to Sweden for a midsummer festival that turns into something much, much scarier. It’s not a spoiler, you fucking know things aren’t what they seem. I could go long on Florence Pugh but she’s the performer of the year in my mind. Midsommar, Fighting With My Family (which rocks), Little Women (see below), and in late 2018 in Park Chan-wook’s adaptation of The Little Drummer Girl for AMC which was remarkable and as good as almost any film on this list. 

12. Under the Silver Lake

David Robert Mitchell followed up 2017′s excellent It Follows with this wonderfully weird paranoia soaked Los Angeles neo-noir stone flick. This film shares so much DNA with Chinatown, The Big Lebowski and Inherent Vice, but is it’s own strange exploration of the meaning (or meaningless) of life and art and the world that surrounds us. I’m still not sure I understand what the point was, if there was any at all, but I think that was also the point? You’ll understand what the means after watching the film. Or maybe you won’t. I don’t know, it’s a fun one. 

11. Atlantics

To say much about the plot of Mati Diop’s brilliant debut film Atlantics would be a disservice to anyone who hasn’t seen it. Seriously, it’s on Netflix right now and is a stunning and spooky original story that demands your attention. I can’t stress this enough, the less you know the better. Prepare to be surprised in the best way possible. 

10. Transit

Christian Petzold’s Transit is an unsettling tale about identity and one man’s struggle to find human connection while in the midst of a chaotic attempt to escape a fascist state. Franz Rogowski is hypnotic and Petzold’s choice to film this WWII story set in France without period signifiers has a dizzying effect. Watch it on Amazon Prime right now!

9. Once Upon A Time in Hollywood

There’s been enough discourse around this movie and enough writing on it that I don’t need to get into it. It’s Leo, Brad, and Robbie. It’s LA in 1969. It’s Tarantino. It’s excellent. 

8. Ad Astra

A space movie starring Brad Pitt directed by James Gray. Do I need to say anything else? A movie about a sad man who goes to space to deal with his feelings, much like my favorite film of 2018. 

7. Little Women

Set across two timelines and jumping back and forth between them, Greta Gerwig brings her uniquely nimble and manic energy to this adaption of the classic Louisa May Alcott Novel and it works perfectly. I was disappointed to hear that Gerwig’s follow-up to her perfect debut (Lady Bird) with another hollywood adaptation of Little Women but her take on the store is one of a kind. The murderers row of talent top to bottom doesn’t hurt.

6. The Irishman

I can’t believe I doubted Scorsese after seeing the first trailer for The Irishman. How stupid of me and anyone who thought his latest epic wouldn’t be necessary and singular. A brilliant and tender take on the gangster film, Martin Scorsese crafted a film that acts as a sorrowful conversation with his own life and work and the careers of the three men at the center of this story. De Niro and Pacino are incredible, but Pesci is otherworldly. Lost in the brilliance of those three titans is Stephen Graham’s hilarious and devilishly mean and charismatic supporting performance.

5. Parasite

Nearly unanimous praise has been showered on Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, and this masterpiece is somehow still underrated. It’s funny and thrilling and perfect. I don’t need to convince you, you’ve already heard it all. If you haven’t seen it, go now. If you have seen it, see it again.

4. Pain & Glory

Pain & Glory is a brightly colored and tender reflection on the director’s childhood and ouvre. Banderas’ awe-inspiring turn as a stand-in for the director, master Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, is smart and sweet and devastating.

3. Marriage Story

I love Noah Baumbach’s films (Frances Ha, Meyerowitz Stories, Kicking and Screaming), unless I hate them (Greenberg, Mistress America, Margot at the Wedding). And even when I hate them, I revisit them constantly and think about them with more frequency than many movies I love. He already made one of the best divorce films ever (The Squid and the Whale) and redirects his acerbic wit and cynical view of people’s motivations and love toward the process of uncoupling (and to some extent, the city of LA). There’s something ultimately hopeful and light about Baumbach’s view of humanity and love here, even as we watch both deteriorate through most of the film. Driver and Johansson are terrific. 

2. Uncut Gems

A24 made a movie starring Adam Sandler centered around the outcome of a 2012 Boston Celtics playoff game that co-starred Lakeith Stanfield. If you didn’t know this movie existed, you’d think it came from a dream I had. It did not. Tense, tight, terrifying and hilarious, I saw this twice in theaters and will see it again. This is the Josh and Benny Safdie’s Goodfellas, and they will win an Oscar in 20 years for a movie that is less daring and less original and we will all look back on this year as the moment we failed to realize the torch had been passed. 

1. The Farewell

The Farewell starts by announcing it is “Based on an actual lie” and from those opening frames you know you’re in masterful hands. A heart-wrenchingly sweet and somber film filled with humor and honesty, it is the story of a family choosing to hide the matriarch’s cancer diagnosis from her so she can live out her final days without the anxiety and stress of knowing. Awkwafina, in a wonderful performance playing against type, is the Chinese-American granddaughter who struggles to find her place in the narrative her family is creating, torn between her ties to her Chinese heritage and American identity, feeling like the other in both worlds she inhabits. I have been unable to shake many moments in this film from my mind and would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone and everyone I know. It will not disappoint.

[eggymovies]

The Eggcademy Awards

Skip to the last paragraph if you want the guidelines and list of winners/runners-up.

But if you wanted to hear some thoughts...

I promise this won’t be a post about how First Man was snubbed in every category (though it’s absence from Best Original Score is an actual affront to every movie and piece of music ever created). I was going to post about my reaction to the Oscar snubs (Ethan Hawke in First Reformed) or pleasantly unexpected inclusions (Cold War in director and cinematography, Nicole Holofcener in adapted screenplay) but I’ve decided to leave that to the pros, and since many of my feelings would be personal anyway, I’ve dedicated my energy to picking my winners for every major category.

Every year, while watching the Golden Globes and Academy Awards, I make my predictions and post them publicly. These are not what I want to win, or how I would have voted, but what I think will win. This is usually based on my own feelings and opinions as well as all the awards prognostication media (articles and podcasts) that I consume. 

If you skipped ahead, here is where you wanna start reading.

This year, along with my predictions for winners (which I’ll post the day of the Oscars) I’ve decided to give out my own awards, The Eggcademy Awards. I’ll be choosing a winner and anywhere between one and five runners-up (I’m gonna freak what I feel, okay?). I’m not a film expert. I understand a bit, but at the end of the day I just like what I like. Some major categories were left off because I just didn’t feel strongly enough to pick definitive winners. I probably forgot some things too, and this definitely changes every day. 

Best Picture (read here for my top 20 of the year, which includes these the top 3)

1. FIRST MAN*

2. MINDING THE GAP*

3. ROMA 

Best Score (Spotify links to favorite pieces included)

1. Justin Hurwitz FIRST MAN

“The Landing”

“Docking Waltz”

2. Nicholas Britell IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

“Eden (Harlem)”

“Agape”

Best Director

Alfonso Cuarón ROMA

Best Actress

1. Carey Mulligan WILDLIFE

Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie LEAVE NO TRACE

Regina Hall SUPPORT THE GIRLS

Olivia Colman THE FAVOURITE

Yalitzia Aparicio ROMA

Joanna Kulig COLD WAR

Best Actor

1. Ethan Hawke FIRST REFORMED

Tomasz Kot COLD WAR

Jin Ah-Soo BURNING

Best Supporting Actress

1. Regina King IF BEALE STREE COULD TALK

Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz THE FAVOURITE

Best Supporting Actor

1. Steven Yeun BURNING

Brian Tyree Henry IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

Nicholas Hoult THE FAVOURITE

Best Documentary

1. MINDING THE GAP

FREE SOLO

SHIRKERS

Best Cinematography

1. The Rider

Roma

Cold War

[eggymovies]

Every movie I watched in January

* = in theaters

^ = Movie I’ve seen before

Sollers Point (Matthew Porterfield) Mary Poppins Returns (Rob Marshall)* Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese) Edge of Tomorrow (Doug Liman) The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow)^ Support the Girls (Andrew Bujalski)^ Spider-man: Into The Spiderverse (Bob Perischetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman)*^ Whiplash (Damien Chazelle)^ Crazy Rich Asians (Jon M. Chu)^ Hale County This Morning, This Evening (RaMell Ross)* Destroyer (Karyn Kusama)* Shirkers (Sandi Tan) Afternoon Delight (Jill Solloway) Ida (Pawel Pawlikowski) The Dawn Wall (Josh Powell, Peter Mortimer) Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (Damien Chazelle) You Were Never Really Here (Lynn Ramsay)^ Cold War (Pawel Pawlikowski)* Roma (Alfonso Cuarón)*^ I Love You, Man (John Hamburg)^ Glass (M. Night Shyamalan)* Good Time (Josh and Benny Safdie)^ Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel and Ethan Coen)^ Serenity (Steven Knight)* True Grit (Joel and Ethan Coen)^ Burn After Reading (Ethan and Joel Coen)^

[eggymovies]

Movies Watched in 2018

Here’s a list of every movie I watched in 2018 at home or in theaters, in order. Re-watches are listed as well so some things will appear move than one.

Mr. Roosevelt (Noel Wells) Call Me By Your Name (Luca Guadagnino) Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson) Jumanji (Jake Kasdan) Split (M. Night Shyamalan) Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (David Yates) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (David Yates) The Post (Steven Spielberg) Good Time (Josh and Ben Safdie) I, Tonya (Craig Gillespie) Paddington 2 (Paul King) The Big Sick (Michael Showalter) Get Out (Jordan Peele) The Greatest Showman (Michael Gracey) Coco (Lee Unkrich) Black Panther (Ryan Cooler) Creed (Ryan Coogler) Black Panther (Ryan Cooler) Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson) Annihilation (Alex Garland) Thoroughbreds (Cory Finley) Before Sunrise (Richard Linklater) Before Sunset (Richard Linklater) A Wrinkle In Time (Ava Duvernay) Tomb Raider (Roar Uthaug) Justice League (Abrams/Snyder) Before Midnight (Richard Linklater) Game Night (John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein) Love, Simon (Greg Berlanti) Columbus (Kagonada) Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson) Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig) Ready Player One (Steven Spielberg) Pacific Rim: Uprising (Steve S. DeKnight) A Quiet Place (John Krasinski) Free Fire (Ben Wheatley) The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Yorgos Lanthamos) The Lovers (Azazel Jacobs) Blockers (Kay Cannon) Home Again (Hallie Meyers-Shyer) You Were Never Really Here (Lynn Ramsay) Lean on Pete (Andrew Haigh) It Comes at Night (Trey Edward Shultz) Eighth Grade (Bo Burnham) Beirut (Tony Gilroy) Avengers: Infinity War (Anthony and Joseph Russo) The Rider (Chloé Zhao) Kodachrome (Mark Raso) Tully (Jason Reitman) Rampage (Brad Peyton) Breaking In (James McTeigue) Life of the Party (Ben Falcone) Let the Sunshine In (Claire Denis) Book Club (Bill Holderman) Beast (Michael Pierce) Deadpool 2 (David Leitch) First Reformed (Paul Schader) Solo: A Star Wars Story (Ron Howard) The Seagull (Michael Mayer) On Chesil Beach (Dominic Cooke) Training Day (Antoine Fuqua) Upgrade (Leigh Whannell) Tully (Jason Reitman) The Beguiled (Sophia Coppola) The Social Network (David Fincher) Beatriz at Dinner (Miguel Arteta) Burnt (John Wells) Hereditary (Ari Aster) Ocean’s 8 (Gary Ross) Won’t You Be My Neighbor (Morgan Nelville) American Animals (Bart Layton) Hearts Beat Loud (Brett Haley) Incredibles 2 (Brad Bird) Tag (Jeff Tomsic) Faces Places (Agnes Varda, JR) Set It Up (Claire Scanlon) Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (J.A. Bayona) 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick) Sicaro:Day of the Soldado (Stefano Sollima) Mamma Mia (Phyllida Lloyd) The Last Movie Star (Adam Rifkin) The First Purge (Gerard McMurray) Uncle Drew (Charles Stone III) Four Weddings and a Funeral (Mike Newell) Leave No Trace (Debra Granik) Ant Man and the Wasp (Peyton Reed) Coco (Lee Unkrich) Sorry To Bother You (Boots Riley) Three Identical Strangers (Tim Wandel) Skyscraper (Rawson Marshall Thurber) Killing Them Softly (Andrew Dominik) Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (Brad Bird) The Equalizer 2 (Antoine Fuqua) Mamma Mia 2 (Ol Parker) Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot (Gus Van Sant) Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (Christopher McQuarrie) Hot Summer Nights (Elijah Bynum) Sleeping With Other People (Leslye Headland) Mission: Impossible 3 (JJ Abrams) Kicking and Screaming (Noah Baumbach) Jaws (Steven Spielberg) Mission: Impossible - Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie) A Star Is Born (Frank Pierson) Enough Said (Nicole Holofcener) Blindspotting (Carlos López Estrada) Eighth Grade (Bo Burnham) Christopher Robin (Marc Forster) Set It Up (Claire Scanlon) The Witch (David Eggers) The Spy Who Dumped Me( Susanna Fogel) Under The Tuscan Sun (Audrey Wells) Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig) The Miseducation of Cameron Post (Desiree Akhavan) Margot at the Wedding (Noah Baumbach) Out of Sight (Steven Soderbergh) Puzzle (Marc Turletaub) Never Goin’ Back (Augustine Frizzle) Crazy Rich Asians (Jon M. Chu) Like Father (Lauren Miller Rogen) Reality Bites (Ben Stiller) Before Sunrise (Richard Linklater) Gattaca (Andrew Niccol) Mission: Impossible - Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie) Please Give (Nicole Holofcener) Everybody Wants Some (Richard Linklater) We The Animals (Jeremiah Zagar) Before Sunset (Richard Linklater) Support the Girls (Andrew Bujalski) Juliet, Naked (Jesse Peretz) Operation Finale (Chris Weitz) Searching (Aneesh Chaganty) Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón) The Wife (Björn Runge) Before Midnight (Richard Linklater) Paterson (Jim Jarmusch) Columbus (Koganada) The Predator (Shane Black) Girls Trip (Malcolm D. Lee) Madeline’s Madeline (Josephine Decker) Black Panther (Ryan Cooler) The Land of Steady Habits (Nicole Holofcener) Edge of Seventeen (Kelly Fremon Craig) Slice (Austin Vesely) Wonder Woman (Patty Jenkins) True Romance (Tony Scott) Blaze (Ethan Hawke) 20th Century Women (Mike Mills) A Simple Favor (Paul Feig) Colette (Wash Westmoreland) A Star Is Born (Bradley Cooper) The Old Man and the Gun (David Lowery) Free Solo (Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi) Private Life (Tamara Jenkins) Y Tu Mama Tambien (Alfonso Cuarón) Venom (Ruben Fleischer) First Man (Damien Chazelle) Blue Valentine (Derek Cianfrance) Bad Times at the El Royale (Drew Goddard) Wildlife (Paul Dano) Beautiful Boy (Felix Van Groeningen) Halloween (David Gordon Green) Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel and Ethan Coen) mid90s (Jonah Hill) Suspiria (Luca Guadagnino) Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Marielle Heller) Bohemian Rhapsody (Bryan Singer) Boy Erased (Joel Edgerton) A Private War (Matthew Heineman) Burning (Lee Chang-dong) Green Book (Peter Farrelly) The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Joel and Ethan Coen) Blood Simple (Joel and Ethan Coen) Border (Ali Abbasi) Widows (Steve McQueen) First Reformed (Paul Schrader) Hail Caesar (Joel and Ethan Coen) Creed II (Steven Caple Jr.) The Front Runner (Jason Reitman) A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen) Thunder Road (Jim Cummings) The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Joel and Ethan Coen) Ralph Breaks The Internet (Rich Moore, Phil Johnston) At Eternity’s Gate (Julian Schnabel) The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos) Copenhagen (Mark Raso) Roma (Alfonso Cuarón) Brad’s Status (Mike White) Shoplifters (Hirokazu Kore-eda) Minding The Gap (Bing Liu) La La Land (Damien Chazelle) Mary Queen of Scots (Josie Rourke) The Mule (Clint Eastwood) Minding The Gap (Bing Liu) Bumblebee (Travis Knight) Let The Sunshine In (Claire Denis) Spider-man: Into The Spiderverse (Bob Perischetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman) Crazy, Stupid, Love (Glenn Ficarra) Love, Actually (Richard Curtis) In Bruges (Martin McDonaugh) Momentum Generation (Jeff and Michael Zimbalist) If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) Aquaman (James Wan) Before We Go (Chris Evans) Vice (Adam McKay) Jackass 2 (Jeff Tremaine)

[eggymovies]

2018-A Year In Review

I sat down and watched a movie 206 times this year. Of those, 118 were in a movie theater. I’ll spare you the long essay about what movies mean to me and why I go to the theater. Simply put, I love it. I thought I might suffer from fatigue this year as I committed to my goal of seeing 100 movies in theaters and 200 total including movies viewed at home. I didn’t at all. I’m still as excited for my next trip to the theater as I was a year ago. Thanks to anyone who recommended a movie, or talked to me about a movie, or went to the movies with me this year.

My top 20 is listed below, with some notes and photos, getting more detailed from 15-11 and again from 10-1. This list has changed constantly, even today as I added the final touches. It will change again, but the top 10 feels fairly secure. I loved so many more movies than just 20 this year. I’ll share a full list of everything I saw soon, but for now, here are my 20 favorite movies I saw in a theater in 2018.

20. Hereditary (Ari Aster)

19. Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Marielle Heller)

18. Set It Up (Claire Scanlon)

17. Suspiria (Luca Guadagnino)

16. Free Solo (Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi)

15. Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse (Peter Ramsey, Robert Persichetti Jr., Rodney Rothman)

The cure for the common comic-book movie, which seems counterintuitive when praising as the first major-studio comic book movie to properly utilize the medium it’s adapted from. Refreshing, rich, diverse characters in a fun, tightly written and brilliantly voice acted 120 minute film that feels like 80.

14. A Star Is Born (Bradley Cooper)

Hollywood myth-making and storytelling bordering on parody, but so self assured it succeeds. That the audience believes and cares about Brad Cooper as a 2018 country-esque rock star getting drunk at a drag bar and discovering/falling in love with a Gaga-esque star played by Lady Gaga is a miracle. Except it’s not. It was by design. Cooper’s design.

13. The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos)

A three-headed monster of devilish humor and deceptive charm. Olivia Colman should (and probably will) win an Oscar to match her academy-award winning costars who are equally brilliant. Rachel Weisz is equally brilliant. Also, it’s hard to be a massive movie star AND a generational acting talent, Emma Stone is somehow both, with ease, and she’s just getting started.

12. Paddington 2 (Paul King)

The antidote to whatever ailed you in 2018. A monstrously charming and disarming delight. Just too damn enjoyable and uplifting to not include here. Hugh Grant and Brendan Gleeson are shockingly committed in what could have otherwise been mailed-in performances for a quick paycheck. You’ll fall in love, I assure you.

11. Black Panther (Ryan Coogler)

“I’m just feelin’ it”-Erik Killmonger

TOP 10

10. Burning (Lee Chang-dong)

Lee Chang-dong adapted an 11-page Murakami story into a 2 1/2 hour movie, creating a world and character view point so lived in and fully realized that the mystery taking shape at the center requires no flash or flare to thrill. And good lord does it thrill. I suspect this will move higher with a second viewing. Steven Yeun has received worthy praise, but Yoo Ah-in gives this movie it’s point of view and captures the mystery and tension building throughout.

9. Support the Girls (Andrew Bujlaski)

One of the most heartfelt, empathetic, funny, and purely pleasurable movies I saw all year. An “everything that can go wrong will go wrong” day in the life of the manger at Double Whammies, a Hooters-esque sports bar. Regina Hall is stunning in one of the year’s best performances by far. Haley Lu Richardson has as much (or more) charisma than any actor currently working. More of both, please.

8. The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs (Joel & Ethan Coen)

I have many thoughts and feelings about the Netflix distribution model but being able to watch The Coen Brothers, an anthology of death set in the American West, 3+ times since it was released only two months ago has been a treat. Each chapter is so darkly funny and sharply written that I fail to keep a consistent ranking of all six in my mind, though “All Gold Canyon” and “The Mortal Remains” are usually around the top. The latter has some of the best dialogue the Coen’s have scripted, which is impressive considering their filmography. Watch it now. Watch it whenever!

7. Lean On Pete (Andrew Haigh)

A gorgeously written film about determination as a result of, and in an attempt to avoid, one’s grief. Slow and controlled, with a deeply moving conclusion that has not left me. Charlie Plummer is wonderful, and Sevigny+Buscemi disappear into their roles with such ease. 

6. Beast (Michael Pearce)

When I walked out of Beast I tweeted: “Watching BEAST felt like holding a stick of dynamite, lighting the fuse and being so mesmerized by the spark, you forget it’s going to explode... until it finally does.” Haven’t thought much about the film since, but sometimes it’s just about the thrill of the moment, which this movie gave me.

5. Mission: Impossible - Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie)

A masterclass in movie entertainment so absurdly enjoyable that, during my SECOND viewing, I consistently laughed out loud from sheer surprise at how genuinely thrilled I was. McQuarrie and Cruise’s prime objective is to entertain, and though the latter may legitimately die trying, they continue to achieve their goal in breathtaking fashion. Between Edge of Tomorrow (written by McQuarrie), and MI:5 (Written and Directed by McQuarrie) these two are on a tear and I hope they never stop.

4. First Reformed (Paul Schrader)

Delicate and destructive. A deliberate and direct story about the damaging physical and emotional violence humans inflict on each other, themselves and the world in acts of self-preservation. How can we fix the damage we have done? Is there a god, and will he forgive us? Can we forgive each other? Ourselves? This movie sits with me every single day, and I can’t shake it. Ethan Hawke is transcendent. 

3. Roma (Alfonso Cuarón)

Astonishingly gorgeous portrait of one year in the life of an upper-middle class Mexican family, told through the eyes of their nanny; a micro story told with macro sensibilities and massive scale. Equal turns heartbreaking and life-affirming. Cuarón (who was his own cinematographer) imbues each frame with more beauty than most movies accomplish in their full run time.

2. Minding The Gap (Bing Liu)

I’m still struggling with how to talk about Minding the Gap, a film about young men, skateboarding, generational cycles of abuse, and trying to grow up and survive in a dying suburban America. That may sound lofty and overly ambitious, but Bing Liu’s honesty, empathy, and vulnerability as a filmmaker and subject make this one of the most moving and surprising films I’ve seen in years. Watch it on Hulu right now.

1. First Man (Damien Chazelle) 

Stories about space, especially the moon, have always made me emotional. They fill me with as much wonder as they do dread, simultaneously evoking connection and isolation in extremes. Damien Chazelle’s focus in this film is on the man, not the mission. We all know what Armstrong said when he touched down and I can’t stop thinking about that in relation to this movie. The moon landing was a collective achievement, a crescendo, witnessed by the entire world, marking the culmination of technological advancements and evolution millions of years in the making. Neil Armstrong was a hero, an avatar for the entire human race, but what he experienced was solitary. He was alone in that moment, and perhaps long before. This movie is the story of someone so sad and desperate for a moment of peace and quiet that he risks his life and goes to the moon for it. I wept openly with mouth agape for 20 minutes at the end. This movie will eventually be realized as the masterpiece it is. Chazelle is special, and the Justin Hurwitz score is incredible. I'll be watching this movie for the rest of my life.