#George Wilson best watson adaptation award

[weekendwarriorblog]

Weekend Warrior Extra: What to Watch Over the Holidays!

Since this is the last column of the year, and honestly, I have no idea if I’ll be able to continue this into another year, I’m going to change things up a little. I’m not even sure if anyone is reading anything I write about repertory or limited releases anyway, so we’ll see how I feel about continuing to write all that stuff for free.

1917 (Universal)

One of my favorite movies of the year is Sam Mendes’ absolutely brilliant World War I epic, following the journey of two soldiers, played by George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman, as they’re sent on a mission to the frontlines to deliver a message to hold off an attack on the Germans. I already reviewed the movie for ComingSoon.net, so I won’t say too much more about it, but it is a movie that works well on repeat viewings just because every aspect of the filmmaking is so masterful, particularly the decision to make the film a single shot. There’s a lot to talk about the technical aspects of the film from Roger Deakins’ cinematography to the breath-taking production design and gorgeous score by Thomas Newman, but I want to draw special attention to the screenplay by Mendes with Kristy

Wilson-Cairns, which I feel is being overlooked in favor of the technicality of the film, maybe since there are so many stretches without dialogue. Don’t let that fool you. It takes a great deal of research and description in a screenplay to lead to a movie this good, and the writing that forms the backbone of Mendes’ latest and greatest should not be ignored. 1917is easily one of the year’s best film, and though it only opens in New York and L.A. on Christmas Day, it will be nationwide on January 10.

KNIVES OUT (Lionsgate)

I also reviewed Rian Johnson’s comedic whodunnit right here, so I don’t have a ton more to say about it, but I’m so happy that it’s continued to do well since opening over Thanksgiving. If you haven’t seen it and want a fun couple hours at the movies, Johnson’s movie can provide that, but it’s also quite a brilliant twist on the ensemble whodunnit that I’ve generally been a fan of as a kid, and the movie definitely stands up to repeat viewings.

BOMBSHELL (Lionsgate)

I also highly recommend Jay Roach’s “workplace drama,” which is about the Fox News sex scandals, mainly surrounding the news corp’s founder Roger Ailes, as played by John Lithgow. The movie stars Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly, Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson and Margot Robbie as “Kayla Pospisil,” as a composite character, the story following the three FOX News employees as they navigate the difficult Venn Diagram of politics and sexuality (or sexualization). Most of the events take place around the 2016 Presidential Election and Donald Trump’s grilling by Kelly about his statements about women, something that backfires for the anchor. At the same time, Carlson is moved to an afternoon slot, and she decides to fight back against Aisles’ demotion (and her subsequent firing) by getting lawyers and accusing Aisles of sexual harassment. As we learn from Robbie’s character, Aisles gets up to much worse, and I loved what her character brought to the mix, particularly her relationship with Kate McKinnon’s character. I’m thinking the movie hasn’t gotten nearly as much traction with critics because it’s written and directed by men, in the former case, Charles Randolph, the Oscar-winning writer of The Big Short, but we have to give some credit to the amazing female cast assembled and what they were able to bring to the material to make the film far less dreary than it might have been despite the yucky nature of the Fox News world. I also think that attention should be paid to John Lithgow’s performance as Ailes, which is a lot more than a good make-up job. Lithgow is such a nice person so for him to play such an oily, slimy character so well makes me think he shouldn’t be overlooked in the awards conversation. This is now playing in about 1,500 theaters across the country, and hopefully, it will be in even more over the coming weeks.

LITTLE WOMEN (Sony)

Sort of related to Bombshell in that it explores women’s issues from a very different standpoint, that of Louisa May Alcott’s classic piece of coming-of-age literature set post-Civil War. Greta Gerwig ably tackles far more difficult material for her second feature as a filmmaker, proving that Lady Bird was no fluke. It reunites Gerwig with that film’s Oscar-nominated star, Saoirse Ronan, playing Jo March, the writer who is trying to make her way in life and through her career as a writer.  I’m not a huge fan of the source material but Gerwig and Ronan have created such a marvelous bundle of joy in this film that follows the journey of the four March girls, but does so in a non-linear way that forces to pay close attention. Ronan is wonderful, as always, but I was equally and maybe even more impressed by Florence Pugh, who plays the super-dramatic Amy in a way that makes her far more convincing as the younger and older versions of her character than some of the other young actresses.  I think Emma Watson as Meg might be somewhat the weak link of the movie but she isn’t terrible and I did enjoy some of her scenes. Gerwig’s movie is rounded out by wonderful performances from the likes of Laura Dern, Timothée Chalamet (fantastic as Theodore Lawrence), Chris Cooper, Tracy Letts and others.  Actually, I really loved all of the interactions between Chalamet, Ronan and Pugh, three fantastic actors who I’m sure we’ll continue to see more great things from over the next few decades. I haven’t seen enough of the adaptations of Alcott’s book to really know how this stands up, but it’s the first time I really was interested in these characters and their story, and that’s quite an achievement.

CLEMENCY (NEON)

Although Warner Bros’ JUST MERCY (see below) is getting a ton more attention and marketing, personally I preferred Chinonye Chukwu’s CLEMENCY (NEON), which premiered at Sundance way back in March but just had a much more lasting impact. It stars Alfre Woodard as a prison warden where the pressures of death row executions have started to take a toll on her personal life, especially with the impending execution of Aldis Hodge’s Death Row inmate, who claims his innocence. This is a really tough drama to watch at times, but with such amazing performances by Woodard and Hodge that it pulls you in and keeps you riveted to what might happen next. I’m a little bummed that Chukwu isn’t getting more attention for her brilliant work writing and directing the film vs. other films like the recent Queen and Slim.  She’s a great filmmaker and I can��t wait to see her next film, A Taste of Power.

UNCUT GEMS (A24)

I’m not as big a fan of the works of Ben and Josh Safdie as many of my fellow critics are, but this crime-comedy (of sorts?) starring Adam Sandler, helped make me see their crazy mode of filmmaking in a new way. While I recommend this with reservations, I do think that Sandler’s role in the movie as Howard Ratner, a New York jeweler merchant to the stars, could help the Safdies break out to a new audience as they certainly seemed to have refined their mode of filmmaking with Uncut Gems, and the mix of characters and situations really make the movie something unlike anything else you’re likely to see this year.  The gist of the story is that Howard gets his hands on a valuable gem from Africa and that seems to change his luck as a chronic gambler where everything seems to be going right for him… until it doesn’t.  Much of the story involves him trying to get the rock back from basketball player evin Garnett (played by himself) who borrows the valuable gem and then won’t give it back.  All-in-all, it’s a pretty entertaining film with an absolutely amazing last act that will expand nationwide on Christmas Day.

THE TWO POPES (Netflix)

In case you don’t want to go out in the cold this week, you can also stay home and watch some of the great films now on Netflix. While I assume you’ve already seen The Irishmanand Marriage Story, I hope you’ll also check out this wonderful two-hander written by  Anthony McCarten (Darkest Hour), which explores the relationship between Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins) and his successor Pope Francis (Jonathan Pryce), as they try to get along even though they don’t see eye-to-eye on how the Catholic Church should be won. I was a little surprised how much I enjoyed this movie, but it reminded of a little-seen 2016 movie called The Journey, a two-hander starring Timothy Spall and Colm Meaney as two sides of the war in Northern Ireland trying to come to an accord while driving to the airport from talks that have fallen apart.  I’ve long been a fan of Pryce but playing the Argentine cardinal who would become Pope is a fantastic role that allows him to show so much more depth as an actor, but we also learn a lot about Pope Francis’ past and the regrets he has about his involvement with the government’s anti-religious actions. Hopkins is also great, and for a movie that’s mainly two men talking, it’s perfectly captivating.

Although it’s been out for a while now and has already been losing theaters, I also recommend checking out Marielle Heller’s It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers, if it’s still playing anywhere near you, because it’s a really wonderful story about a journalist whose spotlight of Mr. Rogers turned into a way that he can find redemption in his own family issues.

I’ve actually seen a lot of the other movies opening in limited release this weekend, including the doc WHAT SHE SAID: THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL  (Juno Films), which opens at New York’s Film Forum on Wednesday. If you’re even remotely interested in film criticism and its origins through the story of one of the most respected and beloved critics, you definitely should check this one out. I haven’t seen it since Doc-NYC back in 2018

As mentioned in my write-up of Clemency above, I wasn’t nearly as crazy about Destin Daniel Cretton’s JUST MERCY (Warner Bros.), which is a different movie with similar elements, this one starring Michael B. Jordon as Bryan Stevenson, a young civil rights attorney who is trying to free a wrongly-convicted Death Row inmate, played by Jamie Foxx. Cretton’s good luck charm Brie Larson (they first teamed for Short Term 12) is also in the movie, but I don’t feel she’s nearly as good, and there was just something about the movie that really didn’t click with me. Even so, it will also be nationwide on January 10 and maybe I’ll try to give it another chance before then.

I was semi-excited about Donnie Yen’s return in the title role of Wilson Yip’s grand finale, IP MAN 4: THE FINALE (Go USA Films), which has the martial arts master who trained Bruce Lee (and whose first name, I only just realized, is “Man”) comes to San Francisco in the late ‘60s to back up his pupil’s desire to teach non-Chinese martial arts. Along the way, he gets into issues with the local martial arts masters as well as the Marines, who believe that Japanese judo is the only proper martial art. As with some of the other movies in the series, this one is mainly good for Yen’s performance and his martial arts scenes, although Kwok-Kwan Chan is also excellent as Bruce Lee in one particularly good fight scene, and there are a few others as well. My main issue with this, as with may martial arts film from China, is that the American actors are written terribly and the performances they’re giving (particularly by regular offender Scott Adkns) are just terrible. It’s a classic case of over-villifying the non-Asian characters to the point of them being a joke, and there are few surprises about who is going to win in most fights. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the other chapters, and martial arts fans will probably like parts of this, but it’s not a particularly good movie when all is said and done.

A movie I liked quite a bit more is François Girard’s historical drama THE SONG OF NAMES (Sony Pictures Classics), produced by Robert Lantos (Barney’s Version), another terrific Canadian film that deals with Jewish issues. It stars Tim Roth as Martin Simmonds, a young British man whose family took in a Polish Jew named Dovidl, who was also a violin virtuoso, to live with them just before the start of WWII. The night of Dovidl’s anticipated 1951 live concert debut in London, he vanishes, and years later, Martin, starts to track down his old friend to find what happened to him. It’s a pretty amazing movie, partially due to Roth’s performance, but also the two young actors playing Martin and Dovidl, since so much happens in the past. Like much of Sony Classics’ output, this will probably appeal more towards older audiences, but it’s another original story set during the period of the Holocaust that puts its own spin on the times with the musical element, which plays such a large part in the film. (Clive Owen plays the older Dovidl, but it’s a fairly small role compared to the others.)

I’m very excited that The 21st Annual Animation Show of Shows (ACME Filmworks)is returning to the Quad Cinema on Christmas Day, and while I was hoping to write something more extended about this, I just haven’t had the time. There’s an amazing line-up of films from a lot of different countries including Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Belgium and more, but there’s also a couple doc shorts about the filmmakers among the films. The Czech Republic film Daughterwas recently included on the Oscar shortlist for animated shorts, but otherwise, it’s a fairly strange mix of films, including the very disturbing Kids.

I haven’t seen Wayman Boone’s horror film Apparition (Vertical Entertainment), starring Mena Suvari and Kevin Pollak, but apparently, it’s another horror movie involving an APP that connects to the user to the dead. It’ll open this Friday.

A few other things on Netflix over the next couple weeks including John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch special, which looks like more quirky fun from one of my favorite stand-up comics. That opens on Christmas Eve i.e. today, while a couple new series begin on Netflix on New Year’s Day, The Messiah(starring the wonderful Michelle Monaghan) and Spinning Out.

I decided to take a much-needed break from the repertory stuff this week, but we’ll see what happens with that going into the New Year, and I’ll have my annual Top 25 to share with you all next week!

[mikeyscomics]

Best Short Story

“The Comics Wedding of the Century,” by Simon Hanselmann, in We Told You So: Comics as Art (Fantagraphics)

“The Dark Nothing,” by Jordan Crane, in Uptight #5 (Fantagraphics)

“Good Boy,” by Tom King and David Finch, in Batman Annual #1 (DC)

“Monday,” by W. Maxwell Prince and John Amor, in One Week in the Library (Image)  

“Mostly Saturn,” by Michael DeForge, in Island Magazine #8 (Image)

“Shrine of the Monkey God!” by Kim Deitch, in Kramers Ergot 9 (Fantagraphics)

Best Single Issue/One-Shot

Babybel Wax Bodysuit, by Eric Kostiuk Williams (Retrofit/Big Planet)

Beasts of Burden: What the Cat Dragged In, by Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, and Jill Thompson (Dark Horse)

Blammo #9, by Noah Van Sciver (Kilgore Books)

Criminal 10th Anniversary Special, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)

Sir Alfred #3, by Tim Hensley (Pigeon Press)

Your Black Friend, by Ben Passmore (Silver Sprocket)

Best Continuing Series

Astro City, by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson (Vertigo/DC)

Kill or Be Killed, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)

The Mighty Thor, by Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman (Marvel)

Paper Girls, by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang (Image)

Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image)

Best Limited Series

Archangel, by William Gibson, Michael St. John Smith, Butch Guice, and Tom Palmer (IDW)

Briggs Land, by Brian Wood and Mack Chater (Dark Horse)

Han Solo, by Marjorie Liu and Mark Brooks (Marvel)

Kim and Kim, by Magdalene Visaggio and Eva Cabrera (Black Mask)

The Vision, by Tom King and Gabriel Walta (Marvel)

Best New Series

Black Hammer, by Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston (Dark Horse)

Clean Room, by Gail Simone and Jon Davis-Hunt (Vertigo/DC)

Deathstroke: Rebirth, by Christopher Priest, Carlo Pagulayan, et al. (DC)

Faith, by Jody Houser, Pere Pérez, and Marguerite Sauvage (Valiant)

Mockingbird, by Chelsea Cain and Kate Niemczyk (Marvel)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8)

Ape and Armadillo Take Over the World, by James Sturm (Toon)

Burt’s Way Home, by John Martz (Koyama)

The Creeps, Book 2: The Trolls Will Feast! by Chris Schweizer (Abrams)

I’m Grumpy (My First Comics), by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (Random House Books for Young Readers)

Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea, by Ben Clanton (Tundra)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 9-12)

The Drawing Lesson, by Mark Crilley (Watson-Guptill)

Ghosts, by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic)

Hilda and the Stone Forest, by Luke Pearson (Flying Eye Books)

Rikki, adapted by Norm Harper and Matthew Foltz-Gray (Karate Petshop)

Science Comics: Dinosaurs, by MK Reed and Joe Flood (First Second)

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)

Bad Machinery, vol. 5: The Case of the Fire Inside, by John Allison (Oni)

Batgirl, by Hope Larson and Rafael Albuquerque (DC)

Jughead, by Chip Zdarsky, Ryan North, Erica Henderson, and Derek Charm (Archie)

Monstress, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Image)

Trish Trash: Roller Girl of Mars, by Jessica Abel (Papercutz/Super Genius)

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (Marvel)

Best Humor Publication

The Further Fattening Adventures of Pudge, Girl Blimp, by Lee Marrs (Marrs Books)

Hot Dog Taste Test, by Lisa Hanawalt (Drawn & Quarterly)

Jughead, by Chip Zdarsky, Ryan North, Erica Henderson, and Derek Charm (Archie)

Man, I Hate Cursive, by Jim Benton (Andrews McMeel)

Yuge! 30 Years of Doonesbury on Trump, by G. B. Trudeau (Andrews McMeel)

Best Anthology

Baltic Comics Anthology š! #26: dADa, edited by David Schilter and Sanita Muizniece (kuš!)

Island Magazine, edited by Brandon Graham and Emma Rios (Image)

Kramers Ergot 9, edited by Sammy Harkham (Fantagraphics)

Love Is Love, edited by Marc Andreyko (IDW/DC)

Spanish Fever: Stories by the New Spanish Cartoonists, edited by Santiago Garcia (Fantagraphics)

Best Reality-Based Work

Dark Night: A True Batman Story, by Paul Dini and Eduardo Risso (Vertigo/DC)

Glenn Gould: A Life Off Tempo, by Sandrine Revel (NBM)

March (Book Three), by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf)

Rosalie Lightning: A Graphic Memoir, by Tom Hart (St. Martin’s)

Tetris: The Games People Play, by Box Brown (First Second)

Best Graphic Album—New

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, by Sonny Liew (Pantheon)

Black Dog: The Dreams of Paul Nash, by Dave McKean (Dark Horse)

Exits, by Daryl Seitchik (Koyama)

Mooncop, by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly)

Patience, by Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics)

Wonder Woman: The True Amazon, by Jill Thompson (DC Comics)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint

Demon, by Jason Shiga (First Second)

Incomplete Works, by Dylan Horrocks (Alternative)

Last Look, by Charles Burns (Pantheon)

Meat Cake Bible, by Dame Darcy (Fantagraphics)

Megg and Mogg in Amsterdam and Other Stories, by Simon Hanselmann (Fantagraphics)

She’s Not into Poetry, by Tom Hart (Alternative)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

Equinoxes, by Cyril Pedrosa, translated by Joe Johnson (NBM)

Irmina, by Barbara Yelin, translated by Michael Waaler (SelfMadeHero)

Love: The Lion, by Frédéric Brémaud and Federico Bertolucci (Magnetic)

Moebius Library: The World of Edena, by Jean “Moebius” Giraud et al. (Dark Horse)

Wrinkles, by Paco Roca, translated by Erica Mena (Fantagraphics)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, by Sonny Liew (Pantheon)

Goodnight Punpun, vols. 1–4, by Inio Asano, translated by JN PRoductions (VIZ Media)

orange: The Complete Collection, vols. 1–2, by Ichigo Takano, translated by Amber Tamosaitis, adaptation by Shannon Fay (Seven Seas)

The Osamu Tezuka Story: A Life in Manga and Anime, by Toshio Ban and Tezuka Productions, translated by Frederik L. Schodt (Stone Bridge Press)

Princess Jellyfish, vols. 1–3, by Akiko Higashimura, translated by Sarah Alys Lindholm (Kodansha)

Wandering Island, vol. 1, by Kenji Tsuruta, translated by Dana Lewis (Dark Horse)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips (at least 20 years old)

Almost Completely Baxter: New and Selected Blurtings, by Glen Baxter (NYR Comics)

Barnaby, vol. 3, by Crockett Johnson, edited by Philip Nel and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)

Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy, Colorful Cases of the 1930s, edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press)

The Realist Cartoons, edited by Paul Krassner and Ethan Persoff (Fantagraphics)

Walt & Skeezix 1931–1932, by Frank King, edited by Jeet Heer and Chris Ware (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books (at least 20 Years Old)

The Complete Neat Stuff, by Peter Bagge, edited by Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)

The Complete Wimmen’s Comix, edited by Trina Robbins, Gary Groth, and J. Michael Catron (Fantagraphics)

Fables and Funnies, by Walt Kelly, compiled by David W. Tosh (Dark Horse)

Trump: The Complete Collection, by Harvey Kurtzman et al., edited by Denis Kitchen and John Lind (Dark Horse)

U.S.S. Stevens: The Collected Stories, by Sam Glanzman, edited by Drew Ford (Dover)

Best Writer

Ed Brubaker, Criminal 10th Anniversary Special, Kill or Be Killed, Velvet (Image)

Kurt Busiek, Astro City (Vertigo/DC)

Chelsea Cain, Mockingbird (Marvel)

Max Landis, Green Valley (Image/Skybound); Superman: American Alien (DC)

Jeff Lemire, Black Hammer (Dark Horse); Descender, Plutona (Image); Bloodshot Reborn (Valiant)

Brian K. Vaughan, Paper Girls, Saga (Image)

Best Writer/Artist

Jessica Abel, Trish Trash: Roller Girl of Mars (Papercutz/Super Genius)

Box Brown, Tetris: The Games People Play (First Second)

Tom Gauld, Mooncop (Drawn & Quarterly)

Tom Hart, Rosalie Lightning: A Graphic Memoir (St. Martin’s)

Sonny Liew, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (Pantheon)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team

Mark Brooks, Han Solo (Marvel)

Dan Mora, Klaus (BOOM!)

Greg Ruth, Indeh (Grand Central Publishing)

Francois Schuiten, The Theory of the Grain of Sand (IDW)

Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)

Brian Stelfreeze, Black Panther (Marvel)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)

Federico Bertolucci, Love: The Lion (Magnetic)

Brecht Evens, Panther (Drawn & Quarterly)

Manuele Fior, 5,000 km per Second (Fantagraphics)

Dave McKean, Black Dog (Dark Horse)

Sana Takeda, Monstress (Image)

Jill Thompson, Wonder Woman: The True Amazon (DC); Beasts of Burden: What the Cat Dragged In (Dark Horse)

Best Cover Artist (for multiple covers)

Mike Del Mundo, Avengers, Carnage, Mosaic, The Vision (Marvel)

David Mack, Abe Sapien, BPRD Hell on Earth, Fight Club 2, Hellboy and the BPRD 1953 (Dark Horse)

Sean Phillips, Criminal 10th Anniversary Special, Kill or Be Killed (Image)

Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)

Sana Takeda, Monstress (Image)

Best Coloring

Jean-Francois Beaulieu, Green Valley (Image/Skybound)

Elizabeth Breitweiser, Criminal 10th Anniversary Special, Kill or Be Killed, Velvet (Image); Outcast by Kirkman & Azaceta (Image/Skybound)

Sonny Liew, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (Pantheon)

Laura Martin, Wonder Woman (DC); Ragnorak (IDW); Black Panther (Marvel)

Matt Wilson, Cry Havoc, Paper Girls, The Wicked + The Divine (Image); Black Widow, The Mighty Thor, Star-Lord (Marvel)

Best Lettering

Dan Clowes, Patience (Fantagraphics)

Brecht Evens, Panther (Drawn & Quarterly)

Tom Gauld, Mooncop (Drawn & Quarterly)

Nick Hayes, Woody Guthrie (Abrams)

Todd Klein, Clean Room, Dark Night, Lucifer (Vertigo/DC); Black Hammer (Dark Horse)

Sonny Liew, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (Pantheon)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism

The A.V. Club comics coverage, including Comics Panel, Back Issues, and Big Issues, by Oliver Sava et al., www.avclub.com

Comic Riffs blog, by Michael Cavna and David Betancourt, www.washingtonpost.com/new/comic-riffs/

Critical Chips, edited by Zainab Akhtar (Comics & Cola)

PanelPatter.com, edited by Rob McMonigal

WomenWriteAboutComics.com, edited by Megan Purdy and Claire Napier

Best Comics-Related Book

blanc et noir: takeshi obata illustrations, by Takeshi Obata (VIZ Media)

Ditko Unleashed: An American Hero, by Florentino Flórez and Frédéric Manzano (IDW/Editions Déesse)

Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White, by Michael Tisserand (Harper)

The Life and Legend of Wallace Wood, vol. 1, edited by Bhob Stewart and J. Michael Catron (Fantagraphics)

More Heroes of the Comics, by Drew Friedman (Fantagraphics)

Best Academic/Scholarly Work

Brighter Than You Think: Ten Short Works by Alan Moore, with essays by Marc Sobel (Uncivilized)

Forging the Past: Set and the Art of Memory, by Daniel Marrone (University Press of Mississippi)

Frank Miller’s Daredevil and the Ends of Heroism, by Paul Young (Rutgers University Press)

Pioneering Cartoonists of Color, by Tim Jackson (University Press of Mississippi)

Superwomen: Gender, Power, and Representation, by Carolyn Cocca (Bloomsbury)

Best Publication Design

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, designed by Sonny Liew (Pantheon)

The Complete Wimmen’s Comix, designed by Keeli McCarthy (Fantagraphics)

Frank in the Third Dimension, designed by Jacob Covey, 3D conversions by Charles Barnard (Fantagraphics)

The Realist Cartoons, designed by Jacob Covey (Fantagraphics)

Si Lewen’s Parade: An Artist’s Odyssey, designed by Art Spiegelman (Abrams)

Best Webcomic

Bird Boy, by Anne Szabla, http://bird-boy.com

Deja Brew, by Taneka Stotts and Sara DuVall (Stela.com)

Jaeger, by Ibrahim Moustafa (Stela.com)

The Middle Age, by Steve Conley, steveconley.com/the-middle-age

On Beauty, by Christina Tran,  sodelightful.com/comics/beauty/

Best Digital Comic

Bandette, by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover (Monkeybrain/comiXology)

Edison Rex, by Chris Roberson and Dennis Culver (Monkeybrain/comiXology)

Helm, by Jehanzeb Hasan and Mauricio Caballero, www.crookshaw.com/helm/

On a Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden, www.onasunbeam.com

Universe!, by Albert Monteys (Panel Syndicate)

[weekendwarriorblog]

Weekend Warrior Extra: What to Watch Over the Holidays

Since this is the last column of the year, and honestly, I have no idea if I’ll be able to continue this into another year, I’m going to change things up a little. I’m not even sure if anyone is reading anything I write about repertory or limited releases anyway, so we’ll see how I feel about continuing to write all that stuff for free.

1917

One of my favorite movies of the year is Sam Mendes’ absolutely brilliant World War I epic, following the journey of two soldiers, played by George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman, as they’re sent on a mission to the frontlines to deliver a message to hold off an attack on the Germans. I already reviewed the movie for ComingSoon.net, so I won’t say too much more about it, but it is a movie that works well on repeat viewings just because every aspect of the filmmaking is so masterful, particularly the decision to make the film a single shot. There’s a lot to talk about the technical aspects of the film from Roger Deakins’ cinematography to the breath-taking production design and gorgeous score by Thomas Newman, but I want to draw special attention to the screenplay by Mendes with Kristy

Wilson-Cairns, which I feel is being overlooked in favor of the technicality of the film, maybe since there are so many stretches without dialogue. Don’t let that fool you. It takes a great deal of research and description in a screenplay to lead to a movie this good, and the writing that forms the backbone of Mendes’ latest and greatest should not be ignored. 1917is easily one of the year’s best film, and though it only opens in New York and L.A. on Christmas Day, it will be nationwide on January 10.

KNIVES OUT (Lionsgate)

I also reviewed Rian Johnson’s comedic whodunnit right here, so I don’t have a ton more to say about it, but I’m so happy that it’s continued to do well since opening over Thanksgiving. If you haven’t seen it and want a fun couple hours at the movies, Johnson’s movie can provide that, but it’s also quite a brilliant twist on the ensemble whodunnit that I’ve generally been a fan of as a kid, and the movie definitely stands up to repeat viewings.

BOMBSHELL (Lionsgate)

I also highly recommend Jay Roach’s “workplace drama,” which is about the Fox News sex scandals, mainly surrounding the news corp’s founder Roger Ailes, as played by John Lithgow. The movie stars Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly, Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson and Margot Robbie as “Kayla Pospisil,” as a composite character, the story following the three FOX News employees as they navigate the difficult Venn Diagram of politics and sexuality (or sexualization). Most of the events take place around the 2016 Presidential Election and Donald Trump’s grilling by Kelly about his statements about women, something that backfires for the anchor. At the same time, Carlson is moved to an afternoon slot, and she decides to fight back against Aisles’ demotion (and her subsequent firing) by getting lawyers and accusing Aisles of sexual harassment. As we learn from Robbie’s character, Aisles gets up to much worse, and I loved what her character brought to the mix, particularly her relationship with Kate McKinnon’s character. I’m thinking the movie hasn’t gotten nearly as much traction with critics because it’s written and directed by men, in the former case, Charles Randolph, the Oscar-winning writer of The Big Short, but we have to give some credit to the amazing female cast assembled and what they were able to bring to the material to make the film far less dreary than it might have been despite the yucky nature of the Fox News world. I also think that attention should be paid to John Lithgow’s performance as Ailes, which is a lot more than a good make-up job. Lithgow is such a nice person so for him to play such an oily, slimy character so well makes me think he shouldn’t be overlooked in the awards conversation. This is now playing in about 1,500 theaters across the country, and hopefully, it will be in even more over the coming weeks.

LITTLE WOMEN (Sony)

Sort of related to Bombshell in that it explores women’s issues from a very different standpoint, that of Louisa May Alcott’s classic piece of coming-of-age literature set post-Civil War. Greta Gerwig ably tackles far more difficult material for her second feature as a filmmaker, proving that Lady Bird was no fluke. It reunites Gerwig with that film’s Oscar-nominated star, Saoirse Ronan, playing Jo March, the writer who is trying to make her way in life and through her career as a writer.  I’m not a huge fan of the source material but Gerwig and Ronan have created such a marvelous bundle of joy in this film that follows the journey of the four March girls, but does so in a non-linear way that forces to pay close attention. Ronan is wonderful, as always, but I was equally and maybe even more impressed by Florence Pugh, who plays the super-dramatic Amy in a way that makes her far more convincing as the younger and older versions of her character than some of the other young actresses.  I think Emma Watson as Meg might be somewhat the weak link of the movie but she isn’t terrible and I did enjoy some of her scenes. Gerwig’s movie is rounded out by wonderful performances from the likes of Laura Dern, Timothée Chalamet (fantastic as Theodore Lawrence), Chris Cooper, Tracy Letts and others.  Actually, I really loved all of the interactions between Chalamet, Ronan and Pugh, three fantastic actors who I’m sure we’ll continue to see more great things from over the next few decades. I haven’t seen enough of the adaptations of Alcott’s book to really know how this stands up, but it’s the first time I really was interested in these characters and their story, and that’s quite an achievement.

CLEMENCY (NEON)

Although Warner Bros’ JUST MERCY (see below) is getting a ton more attention and marketing, personally I preferred Chinonye Chukwu’s CLEMENCY (NEON), which premiered at Sundance way back in March but just had a much more lasting impact. It stars Alfre Woodard as a prison warden where the pressures of death row executions have started to take a toll on her personal life, especially with the impending execution of Aldis Hodge’s Death Row inmate, who claims his innocence. This is a really tough drama to watch at times, but with such amazing performances by Woodard and Hodge that it pulls you in and keeps you riveted to what might happen next. I’m a little bummed that Chukwu isn’t getting more attention for her brilliant work writing and directing the film vs. other films like the recent Queen and Slim.  She’s a great filmmaker and I can’t wait to see her next film, A Taste of Power.

UNCUT GEMS (A24)

I’m not as big a fan of the works of Ben and Josh Safdie as many of my fellow critics are, but this crime-comedy (of sorts?) starring Adam Sandler, helped make me see their crazy mode of filmmaking in a new way. While I recommend this with reservations, I do think that Sandler’s role in the movie as Howard Ratner, a New York jeweler merchant to the stars, could help the Safdies break out to a new audience as they certainly seemed to have refined their mode of filmmaking with Uncut Gems, and the mix of characters and situations really make the movie something unlike anything else you’re likely to see this year.  The gist of the story is that Howard gets his hands on a valuable gem from Africa and that seems to change his luck as a chronic gambler where everything seems to be going right for him… until it doesn’t.  Much of the story involves him trying to get the rock back from basketball player evin Garnett (played by himself) who borrows the valuable gem and then won’t give it back.  All-in-all, it’s a pretty entertaining film with an absolutely amazing last act that will expand nationwide on Christmas Day.

THE TWO POPES (Netflix)

In case you don’t want to go out in the cold this week, you can also stay home and watch some of the great films now on Netflix. While I assume you’ve already seen The Irishman and Marriage Story, I hope you’ll also check out this wonderful two-hander written by  Anthony McCarten (Darkest Hour), which explores the relationship between Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins) and his successor Pope Francis (Jonathan Pryce), as they try to get along even though they don’t see eye-to-eye on how the Catholic Church should be won. I was a little surprised how much I enjoyed this movie, but it reminded of a little-seen 2016 movie called The Journey, a two-hander starring Timothy Spall and Colm Meaney as two sides of the war in Northern Ireland trying to come to an accord while driving to the airport from talks that have fallen apart.  I’ve long been a fan of Pryce but playing the Argentine cardinal who would become Pope is a fantastic role that allows him to show so much more depth as an actor, but we also learn a lot about Pope Francis’ past and the regrets he has about his involvement with the government’s anti-religious actions. Hopkins is also great, and for a movie that’s mainly two men talking, it’s perfectly captivating.

Although it’s been out for a while now and has already been losing theaters, I also recommend checking out Marielle Heller’s It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers, if it’s still playing anywhere near you, because it’s a really wonderful story about a journalist whose spotlight of Mr. Rogers turned into a way that he can find redemption in his own family issues.

I’ve actually seen a lot of the other movies opening in limited release this weekend, including the doc WHAT SHE SAID: THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL  (Juno Films), which opens at New York’s Film Forum on Wednesday. If you’re even remotely interested in film criticism and its origins through the story of one of the most respected and beloved critics, you definitely should check this one out. I haven’t seen it since Doc-NYC back in 2018

As mentioned in my write-up of Clemency above, I wasn’t nearly as crazy about Destin Daniel Cretton’s JUST MERCY (Warner Bros.), which is a different movie with similar elements, this one starring Michael B. Jordon as Bryan Stevenson, a young civil rights attorney who is trying to free a wrongly-convicted Death Row inmate, played by Jamie Foxx. Cretton’s good luck charm Brie Larson (they first teamed for Short Term 12) is also in the movie, but I don’t feel she’s nearly as good, and there was just something about the movie that really didn’t click with me. Even so, it will also be nationwide on January 10 and maybe I’ll try to give it another chance before then.

I was semi-excited about Donnie Yen’s return in the title role of Wilson Yip’s grand finale, IP MAN 4: THE FINALE (Go USA Films), which has the martial arts master who trained Bruce Lee (and whose first name, I only just realized, is “Man”) comes to San Francisco in the late ‘60s to back up his pupil’s desire to teach non-Chinese martial arts. Along the way, he gets into issues with the local martial arts masters as well as the Marines, who believe that Japanese judo is the only proper martial art. As with some of the other movies in the series, this one is mainly good for Yen’s performance and his martial arts scenes, although Kwok-Kwan Chan is also excellent as Bruce Lee in one particularly good fight scene, and there are a few others as well. My main issue with this, as with may martial arts film from China, is that the American actors are written terribly and the performances they’re giving (particularly by regular offender Scott Adkns) are just terrible. It’s a classic case of over-villifying the non-Asian characters to the point of them being a joke, and there are few surprises about who is going to win in most fights. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the other chapters, and martial arts fans will probably like parts of this, but it’s not a particularly good movie when all is said and done.

A movie I liked quite a bit more is François Girard’s historical drama THE SONG OF NAMES (Sony Pictures Classics), produced by Robert Lantos (Barney’s Version), another terrific Canadian film that deals with Jewish issues. It stars Tim Roth as Martin Simmonds, a young British man whose family took in a Polish Jew named Dovidl, who was also a violin virtuoso, to live with them just before the start of WWII. The night of Dovidl’s anticipated 1951 live concert debut in London, he vanishes, and years later, Martin, starts to track down his old friend to find what happened to him. It’s a pretty amazing movie, partially due to Roth’s performance, but also the two young actors playing Martin and Dovidl, since so much happens in the past. Like much of Sony Classics’ output, this will probably appeal more towards older audiences, but it’s another original story set during the period of the Holocaust that puts its own spin on the times with the musical element, which plays such a large part in the film. (Clive Owen plays the older Dovidl, but it’s a fairly small role compared to the others.)

I’m very excited that The 21st Annual Animation Show of Shows (ACME Filmworks)is returning to the Quad Cinema on Christmas Day, and while I was hoping to write something more extended about this, I just haven’t had the time. There’s an amazing line-up of films from a lot of different countries including Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Belgium and more, but there’s also a couple doc shorts about the filmmakers among the films. The Czech Republic film Daughter was recently included on the Oscar shortlist for animated shorts, but otherwise, it’s a fairly strange mix of films, including the very disturbing Kids.

I haven’t seen Wayman Boone’s horror film Apparition (Vertical Entertainment), starring Mena Suvari and Kevin Pollak, but apparently, it’s another horror movie involving an APP that connects to the user to the dead. It’ll open this Friday.

A few other things on Netflix over the next couple weeks including John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch special, which looks like more quirky fun from one of my favorite stand-up comics. That opens on Christmas Eve i.e. today, while a couple new series begin on Netflix on New Year’s Day, The Messiah(starring the wonderful Michelle Monaghan) and Spinning Out.

I decided to take a much-needed break from the repertory stuff this week, but we’ll see what happens with that going into the New Year, and I’ll have my annual Top 25 to share with you all next week!