There are 365 films that I watched for the first time in 2018, and a good chunk of those were released in 2018, so I have opinions on the quality of a few of them, and I thought I'd leave them here.
Before I start, I would like to say that, even though I saw dozens of 2018 films in 2018, I still missed several that have been highly acclaimed (and several more that are on everyone's 'worst' lists), or have not yet had the chance to see some because Australia gets everything last (seriously, If Beale Street Could Talk is one of my most anticipated movies that came out this year and it doesn't get released until next February here). If there's anything on here among the best that you think I missed, tell me, I'm always happy to watch new films and see where they take me.
The Best Movies that are actually 2017 movies but Australia gets everything last.
These are the movies that had wide release in 2017, were made eligible for awards in 2017, and ended up on everyone else's 'Best of 2017' lists, but didn't get to Australia until all of that happened. Each of these movies is fantastic, and absolutely deserving of a watch, but I didn't want to include them on the list of the best of 2018 because most of them could easily fit and I wanted that list to focus on movies that received wide release and recognition in 2018.
Call Me By Your Name
Lady Bird
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Honourable Mentions
As always, there are movies that didn't quite make the top cut, and this year was especially difficult because of just how many really good movies came out this year; from wacky and provocative original concepts to examinations of careers that have influenced genres, writing, and culture, to some surprisingly excellent conventional work, this year has been chock full of good film, and though I don't feel these are the absolute peak, they are still some of the best movies given wide release in 2018.
Annihilation
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
BlacKkKlansman
First Reformed
Leave No Trace
Sorry to Bother You
Upgrade
Won't You Be My Neighbour?
The 5 Best Movies of 2018
What that title doesn't tell you is that this is where my biases for Horror and Animation show themselves once more.
5. Mandy
I've watched this four times and I'm still not tired of it. The definition of style over substance (or, depending on your perspective, substance via style), with the most engrossing visuals, the most haunting soundtrack, and a career-defining performance from Nicolas Cage that show the very best of this incredible horror mood-piece.
4. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
This movie could have earned a spot on this list for its animation alone, but the film is so much more than that. The sheer creativity of blending both the story and the animation with comic book style, as well as the emotional resonance with which the story expresses itself, puts this film close to the top of its genre, and similarly close to the top of this year's films.
3. Hereditary
Essentially proof that classically-styled horror can still work in this day and age, Hereditary is leaps and bounds ahead of what most of the genre is doing right now, combining the old with the new and really hammering home the concept of what horror is at its best: allegory for something else that's so real it's more uncomfortable than the actual horror.
2. Paddington 2
This is basically perfect, so see it. If you don't, you'll know the discomfort of a judgmental stare from a teddy bear.
1. Roma
I don't throw out the term 'masterpiece' lightly (unless I'm being hyperbolic, which I'm not in this case). It's the sort of thing that cuts to the heart of verisimilitude in the cinematic experience in a way few films do, and it is utterly enthralling because of it.
Dishonourable Mentions
Not every bad movie is the worst, and there's far less here than among the good movies, but these are still movies bad enough it felt worth mentioning them, but not quite so bad that I want them commemorated as part of the worst of the year.
Alien Predator*
Extinction
Lake Placid: Legacy*
Life Itself
Mute
The Titan
Truth or Dare
*These were both cheap B-movies so forgettable I almost forgot to put them on this list, so as bad as they are, I can hardly remember a thing about them, nor did I actually expect anything from them.
The 5 Worst Movies of 2018
I don't often like to be negative about movies, because they're such a magical means for us to tell stories and they've produced some of the most incredible visual experiences of my life; they're captured pieces of our imagination shown to the whole world to give us a chance to feel every emotion, from sheer delight to utter horror to complete fury. That said, some films fail at this spectacularly, and sometimes those terrible experiences are memorable enough to worth mentioning.
5. The Cloverfield Paradox
A cheap excuse to throw a million scary ideas at the wall and see if any of them stick couple with cynical name branding for easy recognition that's only worsened by the weak and pointless attempts to connect the events of the film to Cloverfield.
4. The Predator
A movie that might one day be good with a director's cut, but until then is one of the most painful examples of horrible editing I've ever seen, made all the worse in my experience by my adoration of the franchise and my hope for its future being dashed against the rocks of studio meddling.
3. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
On the other hand, this is what happens when a studio can't tell its writer to reign things in and that writer believes far too much in their own hype. The Crimes of Grindelwald is two hours of non-story designed to excite the audience for another movie that fails spectacularly because it's too concerned with hiding information from the audience for the sake of a few insanely stupid twists and doesn't seem to care for theme or characterisation.
2. Fifty Shades Freed
I don't feel like ice cream anymore.
1. Holmes and Watson
This was somehow both lifeless and aggressively unfunny, without single well-executed idea and painfully boring at almost all time; essentially the antithesis of good comedy in every way.
Published December 30th, 2018, Happy Birthday to me.
Saturday, 29 December 2018
365 Days of Film: The Full 2018 List
In 2018, I decided to try my goal, for a third year running, to watch one film I'd never seen before for every day of the year. Here's the list of movies I watched in full, along with the ratings I ended up settling on for them by the end of the year.
1. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) - 8/10
2. Collateral (2004) - 7/10
3. Pitch Perfect 3 (2017) - 5/10
4. Jeepers Creepers (2001) - 5/10
5. The Guard (2011) - 7.5/10
6. Keeping Up with the Joneses (2016) - 4/10
7. An American in Paris (1951) - 8/10
8. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) - 5/10
9. District 13: Ultimatum (2009) - 6.5/10
10. Sense and Sensibility (1995) - 8/10
11. The Handmaiden (2016) - 8.5/10
12. Them! (1954) - 7.5/10
13. Call Me By Your Name (2017) - 8/10
14. The Shape of Water (2017) - 8.5/10
15. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) - 8/10
16. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) - 8/10
17. The Post (2017) - 8/10
18. Chicago (2002) - 8.5/10
19. Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017) - 4/10
20. Ferdinand (2017) - 6/10
21. Jigsaw (2017) - 4/10
22. Vampires (1998) - 5/10
23. Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) - 6/10
24. The Greatest Showman (2017) - 5.5/10
25. Last Flag Flying (2017) - 7/10
26. Carrie (1976) - 8/10
27. Lights Out (2016) - 6/10
28. Sabrina (1954) - 8/10
29. I, Tonya (2017) - 7.5/10
30. Species II (1998) - 2/10
31. Jack Frost (1997) - 4/10
32. Darkest Hour (2017) - 7/10
33. Chef (2014) - 7/10
34. Superman III (1983) - 3.5/10
35. Beyond Skyline (2017) - 5/10
36. The King of Comedy (1982) - 8.5/10
37. Phantom Thread (2017) - 9/10
38. The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) - 3.5/10
39. Daddy's Home (2017) - 4/10
40. 2-Headed Shark Attack (2012) - 1/10
41. 3-Headed Shark Attack (2015) - 2.5/10
42. Lady Bird (2017) - 10/10
43. Bad Words (2013) - 6/10
44. On the Beach (1959) - 7/10
45. Superman IV (1987) - 2/10
46. Black Panther (2018) - 8/10
47. Mudbound (2017) - 9/10
48. Invasion of the Astro-Monster (1965) - 5/10
49. Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1998) - 6/10
50. Coco (2017) - 8/10
51. Run the Tide (2016) - 3.5/10
52. Finding Your Feet (2017) - 5.5/10
53. Falling Down (1993) - 6.5/10
54. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997) - 1/10
55. Game Night (2018) - 7/10
56. Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966) - 4/10
57. Mute (2018) - 3.5/10
58. Battle Royale (2000) - 8/10
59. Superman Returns (2006) - 6/10
60. The End of Evangelion (1997) - 8/10
61. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) - 6/10
62. Raising Arizona (1987) - 7.5/10
63. Son of Godzilla (1967) - 4/10
64. Macbeth (2015) - 7.5/10
65. Red Sparrow (2018) - 6/10
66. A Silent Voice (2016) - 7.5/10
67. The Illusionist (2006) - 7/10
68. Destroy All Monsters (1968) - 5.5/10
69. Brick Mansions (2014) - 5/10
70. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) - 7.5/10
71. Batman and Harley Quinn (2017) - 3/10
72. Annihilation (2018) - 8/10
73. Tomb Raider (2018) - 5/10
74. Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla (1974) - 5/10
75. The Wind Rises (2013) - 8/10
76. Notorious (1946) - 9/10
77. Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018) - 5/10
78. Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) - 6/10
79. Rushmore (1998) - 8/10
80. Brick (2005) - 9/10
81. Ready Player One (2018) - 5/10
82. The Terminal (2004) - 6/10
83. Sahara (2005) - 5/10
84. Funny Games (1997) - 7/10
85. Funny Games (2007) - 5/10
86. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) - 4/10
87. The Wild Bunch (1969) - 9/10
88. A Quiet Place (2018) - 7.5/10
89. Return of the Killer Tomatoes (1988) - 5/10
90. Phantom of the Opera (2004) - 5/10
91. The Director and the Jedi (2018) - 7/10
92. The Witches of Eastwick (1987) - 6.5/10
93. Almost Famous (2000) - 8.5/10
94. Godzilla's Revenge (All Monsters Attack) (1969) - 2/10
95. Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) - 5/10
96. Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) - 5/10
97. Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) - 4/10
98. Terror of MechaGodzilla (1975) - 5.5/10
99. Good Time (2017) - 7/10
100. Mission: Impossible III (2006) - 7/10
101. Isle of Dogs (2018) - 8/10
102. Rampage (2018) - 6/10
103. I'm Still Here (2010) - 5.5/10
104. You Were Never Really Here (2017) - 8.5/10
105. Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) - 6.5/10
106. The Crazies (2010) - 6/10
107. Deep Blue Sea 2 (2018) - 2/10
108. Final Destination (2000) - 5/10
109. Love, Simon (2018) - 7.5/10
110. Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) - 6/10
111. Why We're Here: 15 Years of Rooster Teeth (2018) - 6.5/10
112. I Saw the Devil (2010) - 7/10
113. Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) - 7/10
114. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - 7.5/10
115. Russian Ark (2002) - 8.5/10
116. Brazil (1985) - 8.5/10
117. Save the Tiger (1973) - 7.5/10
118. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) - 9.5/10
119. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) - 7/10
120. Jailhouse Rock (1957) - 7/10
121. Paddington 2 (2017) - 10/10
122. Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994) - 5/10
123. Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) - 2.5/10
124. The Lady Eve (1941) - 8.5/10
125. Alligator (1980) - 5.5/10
126. Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (2018) - 6.5/10
127. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) - 5.5/10
128. Final Destination 2 (2003) - 5/10
129. Not Another Teen Movie (2001) - 4/10
130. The Sting (1973) - 8/10
131. 12 Angry Men (1997) - 7.5/10
132. Final Destination 3 (2006) - 5/10
133. Lake Placid 3 (2010) - 1/10
134. The Final Destination (2009) - 3.5/10
135. Final Destination 5 (2011) - 5/10
136. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015) - 7/10
137. Deadpool 2 (2018) - 7/10
138. Soldier (1998) - 4/10
139. The Lady From Shanghai (1947) - 8/10
140. Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) - 6.5/10
141. The Condemned (2007) - 3.5/10
142. Fallen (1998) - 6/10
143. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) - 6.5/10
144. Fifty Shades Freed (2018) - 2/10
145. Early Man (2018) - 6.5/10
146. The Brothers Grimm (2005) - 6/10
147. Ong Bak (2003) - 7/10
148. Leatherface (2017) - 4/10
149. Constantine (2005) - 6/10
150. A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) - 4.5/10
151. Videodrome (1983) - 7/10
152. Hereditary (2018) - 9/10
153. Blue Jasmine (2013) - 8/10
154. UHF (1989) - 5/10
155. A Wrinkle in Time (2018) - 5/10
156. Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) - 3/10
157. Midnight in Paris (2011) - 7.5/10
158. Encounters at the End of the World (2007) - 8/10
159. Incredibles 2 (2018) - 8/10
160. Earth Girls Are Easy (1988) - 6/10
161. Upgrade (2018) - 7.5/10
162. F the Prom (2017) - 1/10
163. Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000) - 5.5/10
164. Rio Bravo (1959) - 8.5/10
165. Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) - 6.5/10
166. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) - 6/10
167. Modern Times (1936) - 10/10
168. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) - 3.5/10
169. Macbeth (1948) - 7/10
170. The Crow: City of Angels (1996) - 3/10
171. The Hills Have Eyes (1977) - 6/10
172. The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) (2011) - 1/10
173. Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988) - 6/10
174. Smiley (2012) - 1/10
175. Ninja Assassin (2009) - 4/10
176. In the Fade (2017) - 7/10
177. Iron Sky (2012) - 6/10
178. Terminal (2018) - 4/10
179. Sweet Country (2017) - 8/10
180. Deep Cover (1992) - 7.5/10
181. Flash Gordon (1980) - 7.5/10
182. The Brothers Bloom (2008) - 7/10
183. The Defiant Ones (1958) - 7/10
184. The Road (2009) - 7.5/10
185. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) - 7.5/10
186. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) - 6.5/10
187. The Visit (2015) - 5.5/10
188. Truth or Dare (2018) - 3/10
189. Island of Lost Souls (1932) - 7.5/10
190. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) - 8.5/10
191. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) - 8/10
192. Insidious (2010) - 5/10
193. Skyscraper (2018) - 5/10
194. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) - 9/10
195. The Stepford Wives (1972) - 5.5/10
196. The Stepford Wives (2004) - 4/10
197. The Great Dictator (1940) - 9/10
198. Holiday Inn (1942) - 7.5/10
199. Live a Little, Love a Little (1968) - 4/10
200. Iron Monkey (1993) - 8/10
201. Platoon (1986) - 9/10
202. Hitchcock/Truffaut (2015) - 8/10
203. Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) - 5/10
204. Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004) - 1/10
205. Blockers (2018) - 6.5/10
206. Rambo (2009) - 5/10
207. The Tunnel (2011) - 7/10
208. In the Name of the Father (1993) - 8/10
209. Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018) - 4/10
210. Extinction (2018) - 3.5/10
211. Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (2014) - 6/10
212. Geostorm (2017) - 2/10
213. Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) - 7/10
214. Badlands (1973) - 9/10
215. Edge of Darkness (2010) - 6/10
216. Night of the Living Dead (1968) - 9/10
217. Detroit (2017) - 7.5/10
218. Hostel (2005) - 5/10
219. Take Shelter (2011) - 8/10
220. To Have and Have Not (1944) - 8/10
221. The Trial (1962) - 8.5/10
222. Gamera, the Giant Monster (1965) - 4/10
223. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) - 8.5/10
224. People Places Things (2015) - 7/10
225. Street Fighter (1994) - 4/10
226. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li (2009) - 1.5/10
227. Slither (2006) - 6.5/10
228. BlacKkKlansman (2018) - 8.5/10
229. Nazis at the Centre of the Earth (2012) - 2.5/10
230. The Meg (2018) - 5.5/10
231. Carrie Pilby (2016) - 5.5/10
232. Southland Tales (2006) - 5.5/10
233. The Game of Death (1978) - 5/10
234. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) - 8/10
235. Elevator to the Gallows (1958) - 8.5/10
236. Boar (2017) - 3/10
237. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) - 5/10
238. Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992) - 2/10
239. Universal Soldier (1992) - 4/10
240. The Hurt Locker (2009) - 8.5/10
241. Solaris (2002) - 7/10
242. Bowfinger (1999) - 7/10
243. Without a Clue (1988) - 5.5/10
244. 13 Going on 30 (Suddenly 30) (2004) - 6/10
245. Magic in the Moonlight (2014) - 5/10
246. Crazy Rich Asians (2018) - 8/10
247. Blood Fest (2018) - 5/10
248. Non-Stop (2014) - 6/10
249. The Titan (2018) - 3.5/10
250. Lake Placid vs. Anaconda (2015) - 1.5/10
251. Lake Placid: Legacy (2018) - 2/10
252. Ocean's Eight (2018) - 6/10
253. The Predator (2018) - 3.5/10
254. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) - 5/10
255. The Producers (1967) - 8/10
256. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) - 4/10
257. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) - 3.5/10
258. Mandy (2018) - 8.5/10
259. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) - 2/10
260. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) - 5.5/10
261. Halloween: Resurrection (2002) - 1/10
262. The Green Inferno (2013) - 3.5/10
263. Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015) - 5/10
264. Salvador (1986) - 7.5/10
265. Chimes at Midnight (1965) - 8.5/10
266. Session 9 (2001) - 6/10
267. Alien Predator (2018) - 2/10
268. Red State (2011) - 5.5/10
269. Once Upon a Time in China (1991) - 7/10
270. He Got Game (1998) - 7/10
271. The Mechanic (1972) - 5.5/10
272. The Mechanic (2011) - 5.5/10
273. A Star is Born (1937) - 7.5/10
274. A Star is Born (1954) - 8.5/10
275. A Star is Born (1976) - 5/10
276. Venom (2018) - 5/10
277. Top Gun (1986) - 7/10
278. Primeval (2007) - 3.5/10
279. Paper Man (2009) - 5/10
280. 48 Hrs. (1982) - 7/10
281. The Spirit (2008) - 4/10
282. The Wicker Man (1973) - 8/10
283. Insidious: The Last Key (2018) - 5/10
284. Miller's Crossing (1990) - 8/10
285. The Garden of Words (2013) - 8.5/10
286. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) - 8.5/10
287. Enemy (2013) - 7.5/10
288. The Philadelphia Story (1940) - 8.5/10
289. A Star is Born (2018) - 8/10
290. The First Purge (2018) - 5/10
291. A Night at the Opera (1935) - 8/10
292. Elf (2003) - 6.5/10
293. Tequila Sunrise (1988) - 6/10
294. Road to Perdition (2002) - 7/10
295. In the Mouth of Madness (1994) - 6.5/10
296. The Great Train Robbery (1903) - 8/10
297. The Other Side of the Wind (2018) - 8/10
298. Never Hike Alone (2017) - 6/10
299. The Boxtrolls (2014) - 7/10
300. The Phantom (1996) - 6/10
301. Suspiria (2018) - 6.5/10
302. Coraline (2009) - 8/10
303. The Darjeeling (2007) - 7/10
304. Elvis (1979) - 7/10
305. Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) - 6/10
306. The Station Agent (2003) - 8/10
307. First Man (2018) - 8/10
308. Halloween (2018) - 7.5/10
309. Hotel Artemis (2018) - 6/10
310. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) - 3/10
311. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) - 8/10
312. Jack and Jill (2011) - 1.5/10
313. The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918) - 6/10
314. First Reformed (2017) - 8.5/10
315. Waterworld (1995) - 6/10
316. The Intouchables (2011) - 6.5/10
317. Total Recall (2012) - 5/10
318. Wonder Wheel (2017) - 5/10
319. Moonrise Kingdom (2012) - 7.5/10
320. The Proposition (2005) - 8/10
321. Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (2007) - 7/10
322. Sorry to Bother You (2018) - 8/10
323. The Lost World (1925) - 8/10
324. Paprika (2006) - 8/10
325. Creed II (2018) - 7.5/10
326. Apostle (2018) - 6.5/10
327. 5 Centimetres per Second (2007) - 7.5/10
328. Possum (2018) - 7/10
329. A Most Wanted Man (2014) - 7/10
330. The Ice Storm (1997) - 8/10
331. Scream 3 (2000) - 5/10
332. The Crow: Salvation (2000) - 4/10
333. Wild Wild West (1999) - 3/10
334. The Lone Ranger (2013) - 4/10
335. Scream 4 (2011) - 5.5/10
336. To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018) - 7/10
337. Overlord (2018) - 6.5/10
338. Infernal Affairs (2002) - 8/10
339. The Transporter (2002) - 5.5/10
340. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) - 9/10
341. Transporter 2 (2005) - 6.5/10
342. Transporter 3 (2008) - 5.5/10
343. Eighth Grade (2018) - 8/10
344. Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018) - 6/10
345. A Simple Favour (2018) - 7/10
346. Bodied (2017) - 8/10
347. Candyman (1992) - 6.5/10
348. 8 Mile (2002) - 8/10
349. Life Itself (2018) - 3.5/10
350. Under the Silver Lake (2018) - 6/10
351. Johnny English Strikes Again (2018) - 4/10
352. The Bourne Legacy (2012) - 6.5/10
353. Roma (2018) - 10/10
354. Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988) - 6/10
355. Widows (2018) - 8/10
356. Showgirls (1995) - 5/10
357. Mr. Church (2016) - 4.5/10
358. Won't You Be My Neighbour? (2018) - 8.5/10
359. Holmes and Watson (2018) - 1.5/10
360. Leave No Trace (2018) - 8.5/10
361. The Collector (2009) - 5/10
362. The Dictator (2012) - 6/10
363. Aquaman (2018) - 6/10
364. Johnny Mnemonic (1995) - 3/10
365. Bird Box (2018) - 6/10
As a piece of trivia that I thought was fun, here's the total number of individual ratings I gave to movies this year:
1/10: 8
1.5/10: 4
2/10: 10
2.5/10: 3
3/10: 8
3.5/10: 14
4/10: 25
4.5/10: 2
5/10: 45
5.5/10: 21
6/10: 40
6.5/10: 22
7/10: 41
7.5/10: 28
8/10: 52
8.5/10: 25
9/10: 12
9.5/10: 1
10/10: 4
Published December 30th, 2018
2. Collateral (2004) - 7/10
3. Pitch Perfect 3 (2017) - 5/10
4. Jeepers Creepers (2001) - 5/10
5. The Guard (2011) - 7.5/10
6. Keeping Up with the Joneses (2016) - 4/10
7. An American in Paris (1951) - 8/10
8. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) - 5/10
9. District 13: Ultimatum (2009) - 6.5/10
10. Sense and Sensibility (1995) - 8/10
11. The Handmaiden (2016) - 8.5/10
12. Them! (1954) - 7.5/10
13. Call Me By Your Name (2017) - 8/10
14. The Shape of Water (2017) - 8.5/10
15. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) - 8/10
16. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) - 8/10
17. The Post (2017) - 8/10
18. Chicago (2002) - 8.5/10
19. Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017) - 4/10
20. Ferdinand (2017) - 6/10
21. Jigsaw (2017) - 4/10
22. Vampires (1998) - 5/10
23. Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) - 6/10
24. The Greatest Showman (2017) - 5.5/10
25. Last Flag Flying (2017) - 7/10
26. Carrie (1976) - 8/10
27. Lights Out (2016) - 6/10
28. Sabrina (1954) - 8/10
29. I, Tonya (2017) - 7.5/10
30. Species II (1998) - 2/10
31. Jack Frost (1997) - 4/10
32. Darkest Hour (2017) - 7/10
33. Chef (2014) - 7/10
34. Superman III (1983) - 3.5/10
35. Beyond Skyline (2017) - 5/10
36. The King of Comedy (1982) - 8.5/10
37. Phantom Thread (2017) - 9/10
38. The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) - 3.5/10
39. Daddy's Home (2017) - 4/10
40. 2-Headed Shark Attack (2012) - 1/10
41. 3-Headed Shark Attack (2015) - 2.5/10
42. Lady Bird (2017) - 10/10
43. Bad Words (2013) - 6/10
44. On the Beach (1959) - 7/10
45. Superman IV (1987) - 2/10
46. Black Panther (2018) - 8/10
47. Mudbound (2017) - 9/10
48. Invasion of the Astro-Monster (1965) - 5/10
49. Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1998) - 6/10
50. Coco (2017) - 8/10
51. Run the Tide (2016) - 3.5/10
52. Finding Your Feet (2017) - 5.5/10
53. Falling Down (1993) - 6.5/10
54. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997) - 1/10
55. Game Night (2018) - 7/10
56. Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966) - 4/10
57. Mute (2018) - 3.5/10
58. Battle Royale (2000) - 8/10
59. Superman Returns (2006) - 6/10
60. The End of Evangelion (1997) - 8/10
61. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) - 6/10
62. Raising Arizona (1987) - 7.5/10
63. Son of Godzilla (1967) - 4/10
64. Macbeth (2015) - 7.5/10
65. Red Sparrow (2018) - 6/10
66. A Silent Voice (2016) - 7.5/10
67. The Illusionist (2006) - 7/10
68. Destroy All Monsters (1968) - 5.5/10
69. Brick Mansions (2014) - 5/10
70. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) - 7.5/10
71. Batman and Harley Quinn (2017) - 3/10
72. Annihilation (2018) - 8/10
73. Tomb Raider (2018) - 5/10
74. Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla (1974) - 5/10
75. The Wind Rises (2013) - 8/10
76. Notorious (1946) - 9/10
77. Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018) - 5/10
78. Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) - 6/10
79. Rushmore (1998) - 8/10
80. Brick (2005) - 9/10
81. Ready Player One (2018) - 5/10
82. The Terminal (2004) - 6/10
83. Sahara (2005) - 5/10
84. Funny Games (1997) - 7/10
85. Funny Games (2007) - 5/10
86. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) - 4/10
87. The Wild Bunch (1969) - 9/10
88. A Quiet Place (2018) - 7.5/10
89. Return of the Killer Tomatoes (1988) - 5/10
90. Phantom of the Opera (2004) - 5/10
91. The Director and the Jedi (2018) - 7/10
92. The Witches of Eastwick (1987) - 6.5/10
93. Almost Famous (2000) - 8.5/10
94. Godzilla's Revenge (All Monsters Attack) (1969) - 2/10
95. Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) - 5/10
96. Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) - 5/10
97. Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) - 4/10
98. Terror of MechaGodzilla (1975) - 5.5/10
99. Good Time (2017) - 7/10
100. Mission: Impossible III (2006) - 7/10
101. Isle of Dogs (2018) - 8/10
102. Rampage (2018) - 6/10
103. I'm Still Here (2010) - 5.5/10
104. You Were Never Really Here (2017) - 8.5/10
105. Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) - 6.5/10
106. The Crazies (2010) - 6/10
107. Deep Blue Sea 2 (2018) - 2/10
108. Final Destination (2000) - 5/10
109. Love, Simon (2018) - 7.5/10
110. Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) - 6/10
111. Why We're Here: 15 Years of Rooster Teeth (2018) - 6.5/10
112. I Saw the Devil (2010) - 7/10
113. Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) - 7/10
114. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - 7.5/10
115. Russian Ark (2002) - 8.5/10
116. Brazil (1985) - 8.5/10
117. Save the Tiger (1973) - 7.5/10
118. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) - 9.5/10
119. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) - 7/10
120. Jailhouse Rock (1957) - 7/10
121. Paddington 2 (2017) - 10/10
122. Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994) - 5/10
123. Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) - 2.5/10
124. The Lady Eve (1941) - 8.5/10
125. Alligator (1980) - 5.5/10
126. Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (2018) - 6.5/10
127. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) - 5.5/10
128. Final Destination 2 (2003) - 5/10
129. Not Another Teen Movie (2001) - 4/10
130. The Sting (1973) - 8/10
131. 12 Angry Men (1997) - 7.5/10
132. Final Destination 3 (2006) - 5/10
133. Lake Placid 3 (2010) - 1/10
134. The Final Destination (2009) - 3.5/10
135. Final Destination 5 (2011) - 5/10
136. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015) - 7/10
137. Deadpool 2 (2018) - 7/10
138. Soldier (1998) - 4/10
139. The Lady From Shanghai (1947) - 8/10
140. Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) - 6.5/10
141. The Condemned (2007) - 3.5/10
142. Fallen (1998) - 6/10
143. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) - 6.5/10
144. Fifty Shades Freed (2018) - 2/10
145. Early Man (2018) - 6.5/10
146. The Brothers Grimm (2005) - 6/10
147. Ong Bak (2003) - 7/10
148. Leatherface (2017) - 4/10
149. Constantine (2005) - 6/10
150. A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) - 4.5/10
151. Videodrome (1983) - 7/10
152. Hereditary (2018) - 9/10
153. Blue Jasmine (2013) - 8/10
154. UHF (1989) - 5/10
155. A Wrinkle in Time (2018) - 5/10
156. Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) - 3/10
157. Midnight in Paris (2011) - 7.5/10
158. Encounters at the End of the World (2007) - 8/10
159. Incredibles 2 (2018) - 8/10
160. Earth Girls Are Easy (1988) - 6/10
161. Upgrade (2018) - 7.5/10
162. F the Prom (2017) - 1/10
163. Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000) - 5.5/10
164. Rio Bravo (1959) - 8.5/10
165. Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) - 6.5/10
166. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) - 6/10
167. Modern Times (1936) - 10/10
168. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) - 3.5/10
169. Macbeth (1948) - 7/10
170. The Crow: City of Angels (1996) - 3/10
171. The Hills Have Eyes (1977) - 6/10
172. The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) (2011) - 1/10
173. Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988) - 6/10
174. Smiley (2012) - 1/10
175. Ninja Assassin (2009) - 4/10
176. In the Fade (2017) - 7/10
177. Iron Sky (2012) - 6/10
178. Terminal (2018) - 4/10
179. Sweet Country (2017) - 8/10
180. Deep Cover (1992) - 7.5/10
181. Flash Gordon (1980) - 7.5/10
182. The Brothers Bloom (2008) - 7/10
183. The Defiant Ones (1958) - 7/10
184. The Road (2009) - 7.5/10
185. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) - 7.5/10
186. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) - 6.5/10
187. The Visit (2015) - 5.5/10
188. Truth or Dare (2018) - 3/10
189. Island of Lost Souls (1932) - 7.5/10
190. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) - 8.5/10
191. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) - 8/10
192. Insidious (2010) - 5/10
193. Skyscraper (2018) - 5/10
194. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) - 9/10
195. The Stepford Wives (1972) - 5.5/10
196. The Stepford Wives (2004) - 4/10
197. The Great Dictator (1940) - 9/10
198. Holiday Inn (1942) - 7.5/10
199. Live a Little, Love a Little (1968) - 4/10
200. Iron Monkey (1993) - 8/10
201. Platoon (1986) - 9/10
202. Hitchcock/Truffaut (2015) - 8/10
203. Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) - 5/10
204. Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004) - 1/10
205. Blockers (2018) - 6.5/10
206. Rambo (2009) - 5/10
207. The Tunnel (2011) - 7/10
208. In the Name of the Father (1993) - 8/10
209. Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018) - 4/10
210. Extinction (2018) - 3.5/10
211. Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (2014) - 6/10
212. Geostorm (2017) - 2/10
213. Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) - 7/10
214. Badlands (1973) - 9/10
215. Edge of Darkness (2010) - 6/10
216. Night of the Living Dead (1968) - 9/10
217. Detroit (2017) - 7.5/10
218. Hostel (2005) - 5/10
219. Take Shelter (2011) - 8/10
220. To Have and Have Not (1944) - 8/10
221. The Trial (1962) - 8.5/10
222. Gamera, the Giant Monster (1965) - 4/10
223. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) - 8.5/10
224. People Places Things (2015) - 7/10
225. Street Fighter (1994) - 4/10
226. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li (2009) - 1.5/10
227. Slither (2006) - 6.5/10
228. BlacKkKlansman (2018) - 8.5/10
229. Nazis at the Centre of the Earth (2012) - 2.5/10
230. The Meg (2018) - 5.5/10
231. Carrie Pilby (2016) - 5.5/10
232. Southland Tales (2006) - 5.5/10
233. The Game of Death (1978) - 5/10
234. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) - 8/10
235. Elevator to the Gallows (1958) - 8.5/10
236. Boar (2017) - 3/10
237. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) - 5/10
238. Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992) - 2/10
239. Universal Soldier (1992) - 4/10
240. The Hurt Locker (2009) - 8.5/10
241. Solaris (2002) - 7/10
242. Bowfinger (1999) - 7/10
243. Without a Clue (1988) - 5.5/10
244. 13 Going on 30 (Suddenly 30) (2004) - 6/10
245. Magic in the Moonlight (2014) - 5/10
246. Crazy Rich Asians (2018) - 8/10
247. Blood Fest (2018) - 5/10
248. Non-Stop (2014) - 6/10
249. The Titan (2018) - 3.5/10
250. Lake Placid vs. Anaconda (2015) - 1.5/10
251. Lake Placid: Legacy (2018) - 2/10
252. Ocean's Eight (2018) - 6/10
253. The Predator (2018) - 3.5/10
254. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) - 5/10
255. The Producers (1967) - 8/10
256. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) - 4/10
257. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) - 3.5/10
258. Mandy (2018) - 8.5/10
259. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) - 2/10
260. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) - 5.5/10
261. Halloween: Resurrection (2002) - 1/10
262. The Green Inferno (2013) - 3.5/10
263. Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015) - 5/10
264. Salvador (1986) - 7.5/10
265. Chimes at Midnight (1965) - 8.5/10
266. Session 9 (2001) - 6/10
267. Alien Predator (2018) - 2/10
268. Red State (2011) - 5.5/10
269. Once Upon a Time in China (1991) - 7/10
270. He Got Game (1998) - 7/10
271. The Mechanic (1972) - 5.5/10
272. The Mechanic (2011) - 5.5/10
273. A Star is Born (1937) - 7.5/10
274. A Star is Born (1954) - 8.5/10
275. A Star is Born (1976) - 5/10
276. Venom (2018) - 5/10
277. Top Gun (1986) - 7/10
278. Primeval (2007) - 3.5/10
279. Paper Man (2009) - 5/10
280. 48 Hrs. (1982) - 7/10
281. The Spirit (2008) - 4/10
282. The Wicker Man (1973) - 8/10
283. Insidious: The Last Key (2018) - 5/10
284. Miller's Crossing (1990) - 8/10
285. The Garden of Words (2013) - 8.5/10
286. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) - 8.5/10
287. Enemy (2013) - 7.5/10
288. The Philadelphia Story (1940) - 8.5/10
289. A Star is Born (2018) - 8/10
290. The First Purge (2018) - 5/10
291. A Night at the Opera (1935) - 8/10
292. Elf (2003) - 6.5/10
293. Tequila Sunrise (1988) - 6/10
294. Road to Perdition (2002) - 7/10
295. In the Mouth of Madness (1994) - 6.5/10
296. The Great Train Robbery (1903) - 8/10
297. The Other Side of the Wind (2018) - 8/10
298. Never Hike Alone (2017) - 6/10
299. The Boxtrolls (2014) - 7/10
300. The Phantom (1996) - 6/10
301. Suspiria (2018) - 6.5/10
302. Coraline (2009) - 8/10
303. The Darjeeling (2007) - 7/10
304. Elvis (1979) - 7/10
305. Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) - 6/10
306. The Station Agent (2003) - 8/10
307. First Man (2018) - 8/10
308. Halloween (2018) - 7.5/10
309. Hotel Artemis (2018) - 6/10
310. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) - 3/10
311. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) - 8/10
312. Jack and Jill (2011) - 1.5/10
313. The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918) - 6/10
314. First Reformed (2017) - 8.5/10
315. Waterworld (1995) - 6/10
316. The Intouchables (2011) - 6.5/10
317. Total Recall (2012) - 5/10
318. Wonder Wheel (2017) - 5/10
319. Moonrise Kingdom (2012) - 7.5/10
320. The Proposition (2005) - 8/10
321. Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (2007) - 7/10
322. Sorry to Bother You (2018) - 8/10
323. The Lost World (1925) - 8/10
324. Paprika (2006) - 8/10
325. Creed II (2018) - 7.5/10
326. Apostle (2018) - 6.5/10
327. 5 Centimetres per Second (2007) - 7.5/10
328. Possum (2018) - 7/10
329. A Most Wanted Man (2014) - 7/10
330. The Ice Storm (1997) - 8/10
331. Scream 3 (2000) - 5/10
332. The Crow: Salvation (2000) - 4/10
333. Wild Wild West (1999) - 3/10
334. The Lone Ranger (2013) - 4/10
335. Scream 4 (2011) - 5.5/10
336. To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018) - 7/10
337. Overlord (2018) - 6.5/10
338. Infernal Affairs (2002) - 8/10
339. The Transporter (2002) - 5.5/10
340. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) - 9/10
341. Transporter 2 (2005) - 6.5/10
342. Transporter 3 (2008) - 5.5/10
343. Eighth Grade (2018) - 8/10
344. Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018) - 6/10
345. A Simple Favour (2018) - 7/10
346. Bodied (2017) - 8/10
347. Candyman (1992) - 6.5/10
348. 8 Mile (2002) - 8/10
349. Life Itself (2018) - 3.5/10
350. Under the Silver Lake (2018) - 6/10
351. Johnny English Strikes Again (2018) - 4/10
352. The Bourne Legacy (2012) - 6.5/10
353. Roma (2018) - 10/10
354. Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988) - 6/10
355. Widows (2018) - 8/10
356. Showgirls (1995) - 5/10
357. Mr. Church (2016) - 4.5/10
358. Won't You Be My Neighbour? (2018) - 8.5/10
359. Holmes and Watson (2018) - 1.5/10
360. Leave No Trace (2018) - 8.5/10
361. The Collector (2009) - 5/10
362. The Dictator (2012) - 6/10
363. Aquaman (2018) - 6/10
364. Johnny Mnemonic (1995) - 3/10
365. Bird Box (2018) - 6/10
As a piece of trivia that I thought was fun, here's the total number of individual ratings I gave to movies this year:
1/10: 8
1.5/10: 4
2/10: 10
2.5/10: 3
3/10: 8
3.5/10: 14
4/10: 25
4.5/10: 2
5/10: 45
5.5/10: 21
6/10: 40
6.5/10: 22
7/10: 41
7.5/10: 28
8/10: 52
8.5/10: 25
9/10: 12
9.5/10: 1
10/10: 4
Published December 30th, 2018
Friday, 28 December 2018
2018 Film Review: Aquaman (2018)
Directed by: James Wan
Written by: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Will Beall, Geoff Johns, James Wan
Starring: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson
IMDb Link
Aquaman has a little bit of everything I love: a kaiju, laser sharks, a hidden world at the centre of the Earth filled with dinosaurs, Dolph Lungdren, etc., and despite the fact that these are largely used for a few fleeting moments of spectacle, the ambition of said moments and the skill that executes them is enough for me to appreciate this movie despite the film's other shortcomings.
Arthur Curry, the Aquaman (Momoa), now in the habit of saving people after the events of Justice League, fights against the destiny thrust upon him. Princess Mera (Heard) and Vizier Vulko (Willem Dafoe) come to him in dire urgency, pressing upon him the chance to lead the Atlantean people and prevent a war between the land and sea lead by his half-brother King Orm (Wilson), but Arthur doesn't believe he will be accepted by a people who killed his mother and only see him as a half-breed mongrel. It's a fairly standard hero's journey that packs in the scant details of the convoluted history of the Atlantean people and the increasingly violent political machinations of Orm between the steps Arthur takes to being the person the world needs him to be.
Each beat of the story is punctuated with incredible set-pieces filled with a child-like glee for the ridiculous. Groups of Atlanteans on giant, armored sea horses fight other groups of Atlateans riding sharks equipped with guns that turn water in to lasers (yes, that's the literal in-movie explanation), who also fight crab people that use giant crabs as catapults, all directed with surprising clarity and momentum that keeps it exciting. A chase through a Sicilian village involving big laser eyes is stylised with long takes that slide smoothly between two escapes that feature two different yet equally tense paces. Another chase where Arthur and Mera must run from mutant fish monsters is reminiscent of director Wan's early work in horror. Each moment of action is not only insanely fun as a concept, it's also expressed with considerable talent.
That said, as good as it looks, none of the action feels weight because of the unexceptional story behind it. The convoluted mass of reasons for everything that happens that gets layered on top of the simple conflicts between Arthur and Orm and within Arthur himself are given far too much uninteresting exposition to be the main thrust of getting invested in the action scenes, so even though the skilled hand that moves them makes the action exciting, it is often in spite of the way the film contextualises it, rather than because of it. There's not a lot to really care about in the broader strokes of the Atlantean conflict, and Orm isn't given much in the way of characterisation in these scenes, so he comes across as little more than a cartoon villain with mother issues. Arthur himself is given what he needs to have a functional character arc, but he too often fluctuates between trying to make us laugh and trying to make us feel, and while Momoa approaches both with equal aplomb, it's never more than enough for things to things to work.
The Short Version: While the story and characters are mostly forgettable, the pure scale, skill, and imagination on display in the set-pieces still make it worth watching. Aquaman is a big, dumb, cheesy superhero movie of epic proportions and ambition, and I had a good time watching it.
Rating: 6/10
Published December 29th, 2018
Written by: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Will Beall, Geoff Johns, James Wan
Starring: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson
IMDb Link
Aquaman has a little bit of everything I love: a kaiju, laser sharks, a hidden world at the centre of the Earth filled with dinosaurs, Dolph Lungdren, etc., and despite the fact that these are largely used for a few fleeting moments of spectacle, the ambition of said moments and the skill that executes them is enough for me to appreciate this movie despite the film's other shortcomings.
Each beat of the story is punctuated with incredible set-pieces filled with a child-like glee for the ridiculous. Groups of Atlanteans on giant, armored sea horses fight other groups of Atlateans riding sharks equipped with guns that turn water in to lasers (yes, that's the literal in-movie explanation), who also fight crab people that use giant crabs as catapults, all directed with surprising clarity and momentum that keeps it exciting. A chase through a Sicilian village involving big laser eyes is stylised with long takes that slide smoothly between two escapes that feature two different yet equally tense paces. Another chase where Arthur and Mera must run from mutant fish monsters is reminiscent of director Wan's early work in horror. Each moment of action is not only insanely fun as a concept, it's also expressed with considerable talent.
That said, as good as it looks, none of the action feels weight because of the unexceptional story behind it. The convoluted mass of reasons for everything that happens that gets layered on top of the simple conflicts between Arthur and Orm and within Arthur himself are given far too much uninteresting exposition to be the main thrust of getting invested in the action scenes, so even though the skilled hand that moves them makes the action exciting, it is often in spite of the way the film contextualises it, rather than because of it. There's not a lot to really care about in the broader strokes of the Atlantean conflict, and Orm isn't given much in the way of characterisation in these scenes, so he comes across as little more than a cartoon villain with mother issues. Arthur himself is given what he needs to have a functional character arc, but he too often fluctuates between trying to make us laugh and trying to make us feel, and while Momoa approaches both with equal aplomb, it's never more than enough for things to things to work.
The Short Version: While the story and characters are mostly forgettable, the pure scale, skill, and imagination on display in the set-pieces still make it worth watching. Aquaman is a big, dumb, cheesy superhero movie of epic proportions and ambition, and I had a good time watching it.
Rating: 6/10
Published December 29th, 2018
Thursday, 27 December 2018
2018 Film Review: Holmes and Watson (2018)
Directed by: Etan Cohen
Written by: Etan Cohen
Starring: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Rebecca Hall
IMDb Link
I'm almost glad this movie exists, because now it's easy to pick the worst movie of the year.
With Ferrell as Holmes and Reilly as Watson, this movie tries and fails to be a send-up of Sherlock Holmes. The movie lifts visual style from the Downey Jr. movies, and generally tries to make fun of the sometimes convoluted nature of mystery stories, but does so with all the finesse, commitment, focus and energy of a depressed sloth. Ideas for jokes and story threads are introduced and dropped without much thought; the comedic juxtaposition of Lestrade as the competent Police Officer whom no-one listens to, while Sherlock prattles away to the only people dumber than he, is essentially forgotten about after the first act, along with Sherlock's considerable sexual attraction to Lestrade (yes, that's a thing they decided to include and then forget about; why they did either of those things is a mystery). Anything that does manage to carry all the way through the mind-numbing story is inconsistent and painfully boring, with Sherlock's intellect always as outlandishly high or low as it needs to be for the plot, Watson's nothing of a self-esteem issue obscured by a deluge of cheap jokes about medicine in that era, and the testing of the relationship between the two so artificial and poorly exerted it's a wonder they even bothered. On top of that, between the sensual autopsy (you read that right), the out-of-place musical number, and the constant anachronistic pop culture references, including a finale involving the Titanic and a cameo from Billy Zane (not a character, just the actor Billy Zane), this movie has all the makings of the likes of Epic Movie or Meet the Spartans. Why this film exists as it does, I have no idea.
The Short Version: This is a career-low for everyone involved.
Rating: 1.5/10
Published December 28th, 2018
Written by: Etan Cohen
Starring: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Rebecca Hall
IMDb Link
I'm almost glad this movie exists, because now it's easy to pick the worst movie of the year.
With Ferrell as Holmes and Reilly as Watson, this movie tries and fails to be a send-up of Sherlock Holmes. The movie lifts visual style from the Downey Jr. movies, and generally tries to make fun of the sometimes convoluted nature of mystery stories, but does so with all the finesse, commitment, focus and energy of a depressed sloth. Ideas for jokes and story threads are introduced and dropped without much thought; the comedic juxtaposition of Lestrade as the competent Police Officer whom no-one listens to, while Sherlock prattles away to the only people dumber than he, is essentially forgotten about after the first act, along with Sherlock's considerable sexual attraction to Lestrade (yes, that's a thing they decided to include and then forget about; why they did either of those things is a mystery). Anything that does manage to carry all the way through the mind-numbing story is inconsistent and painfully boring, with Sherlock's intellect always as outlandishly high or low as it needs to be for the plot, Watson's nothing of a self-esteem issue obscured by a deluge of cheap jokes about medicine in that era, and the testing of the relationship between the two so artificial and poorly exerted it's a wonder they even bothered. On top of that, between the sensual autopsy (you read that right), the out-of-place musical number, and the constant anachronistic pop culture references, including a finale involving the Titanic and a cameo from Billy Zane (not a character, just the actor Billy Zane), this movie has all the makings of the likes of Epic Movie or Meet the Spartans. Why this film exists as it does, I have no idea.
The Short Version: This is a career-low for everyone involved.
Rating: 1.5/10
Published December 28th, 2018
Sunday, 23 December 2018
2018: A Week of Movies - December 17th to December 23rd
Only eight films to go, and I will have done this for a third year in a row. What have I learned in that time? I guess I'll have to think with all the free time I'll have next year when I'm not spending every other moment watching movies.
350. Under the Silver Lake (2018) - December 18th
I can't recall the last time I watched a movie so skillfully made and yet barely worth experiencing. The visual style is incredibly well-realised and heavily reminiscent of noir films, with occasional blatant references to films like Rear Window. Meanwhile, the story is a self-serious mess of half-baked conspiracy theories and masochistic self-righteousness wrapped in convoluted plot twist after convoluted plot twist barely held together by a committed performance from Andrew Garfield. It's almost interesting that the story starts because of a lack of agency in the main character's life, that he throws himself in to every step of this insane conspiracy because he finds himself with nothing better to do, but the film buying in to everything the character discovers for the sake of a few senseless twists about rich people transcending life with a fantasy harem as an attempt at societal critique is as ambitious as it is mind-numbing. I'm impressed with the film's visual strengths, and that the filmmakers would even attempt to tell this story, but not with the story itself, or any other attempt by the film to be engaging. - 5.5/10
351. Johnny English Strikes Again (2018) - December 18th
This a sadly flaccid attempt to continue the continue to somewhat shaky Johnny English saga, containing none of the minor moments of wit that made the first two palatable despite their fairly obvious lampoonery. Rowan Atkinson plays the role as impressively as ever, the lifeblood of what makes the first two consistently watchable, but the overt attempts at satire of the proliferation of technology and the modern incompatibility of classic spy stories are somehow even more bland than they were in the previous film. It's a shame, too, because the introduction of English in this movie, as a school teacher secretly giving his students lessons in spy work was so joyful I wouldn't have minded if it was the whole point of the movie, but everything else is so bland and inoffensive that it can't make an impression even when it's competent. - 4/10
352. The Bourne Legacy (2012) - December 19th
The legacy isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's still quite good, following the same sort of action fare but with a style lacking the shaky camera work that defined the trilogy, and Renner is a serviceable if not particularly memorable lead, which can also be said for much of the movie's plot. The story fares a little better, almost adding enough to Renner's performance for me to care about him once the action is over, but it's buried underneath the convoluted swath of espionage and intrigue the plot throws on top. - 6/10
353. Roma (2018) - December 19th
Watching so many films often leads to a stream of them passing right through me, barely a thought put to them afterwards as they become just another number I add to my list. However, some films are indelible. Usually there are aspects of films that I've become accustomed to that tell me by film's end I'll never forget them, and as I find more films that evoke the same ideas These films become unforgettable by proxy. A couple of years ago I slowly went through Roger Ebert's final "Sight and Sound" list, describing what he thought to be the ten greatest films of all time, one of which was Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story, a film that applied distinct techniques to tell a very personal story with a climax so quiet and unassuming I'd scarcely notice it if it weren't for the fact that I had unwittingly become enthralled by the film. Tokyo Story is deservedly considered the best film of all time by many, and two years on from my single experience with the film and I still can't stop thinking about it. So while it's been but a few days and therefore normally far too early for me to tell if a movie's impact upon me will be something that I'll think about in the future, much of Roma feels reminiscent of Tokyo Story to me, for reasons I haven't wholly been able to grasp yet (aside from the familial focus of both films), but still distinctly its own thing that allows Alfonso Cuaron's particular style and technique tell a story in a way only he could. I don't know if it's more effective now to say that Roma is a masterpiece in every regard, or to say that it reminded me of Tokyo Story in a way no other film has. My full review can be found here. - 10/10
354. Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988) - December 21st
Or: Mad Max as a harem anime. Where most post-apocalyptic movies deal with scarcity of necessities like water, or toy with things people treat as necessities like fuel, this film deals with another scarcity altogether: sperm. The movie is literally about the fact that radiation has rendered most of the world infertile, and a drifter apparently so unaffected by it and so prodigious that he's tracked by a trail of pregnancies he leaves in his wake. It's like the plot to a porno, but without any actual sex and a surprisingly decent effects budget. Still, the film knows exactly how silly it is, making enough fun of its premise that it feels like some of what Kung Fury was trying to emulate. When Sam Hell, played with just the right attitude by Roddy Piper, responds to a proposition from an enamored frog woman by holding up a burlap sack for her to wear, when a frog majordomo wears a white suit and a red fez, when the lead woman characters have names like "Spangle", and "Centinella", it's hard not to enjoy a film that so vehemently refuses to take itself seriously. - 6/10
355. Widows (2018) - December 21st
A beautiful, sprawling and messy film, carried by a myriad of strong performances and an ever-twisting plot. My full review can be found here. - 7.5/10
356. Showgirls (1995) - December 22nd
As bad as this is, it's so cynical, so obviously trying to be satire, and so often made me laugh with its merciless jabs at the "star is born" formula, that I just can't hate it. At the best of times I actually really enjoy it, such as when the film turns a formulaic scene where the "star" is approached by people who knew who her when she wasn't, but the dialogue is all twisted and disgusting; the beats of the scene are all the same, even down to the dramatic pauses for emotional effect, but instead of having something sweet to say, the best (by which I mean, most revolting) a character can offer is "Must be weird not having anybody cum on you." The film seeks to offend and bring to light the nauseating realisations of the cutthroat world of show-business that only seeks to sexualise and expend, as a counter to all the work that glamourises it, and when it manages to get a point across it's actually fairly effective criticism, not even flinching when it turns from sexual to brutal and tries to hammer home that every single person in the world is garbage, but so much of the film seems to lack a real focus, like the filmmakers were mad at the celebration of an industry that chews people up and spits them out as the height of humanity, but didn't know exactly how to turn that anger in to coherency, instead lashing out at everyone and everything and being distasteful as possible the whole time to get attention. - 5/10
It's weird looking at this movie in 2018 and hearing about all of the critical re-evaluations this film has had in the 23 years since its release while comparing it to the panning the film received at that time. Much of what the film actually says was summarily ignored in favour of lambasting the film (not undeservedly so) for how it says it, but since 1995 much of that conversation has petered out, and what's left has turned to the themes and satire abundant in the film, attempting to get beyond the unpleasantness that is the experience of the film itself so that people can examine what the film means to be about. I kind of commend anyone who can disregard or even incorporate hilariously awkward conversations about "nice tits," or sex scenes where a character spins about like a propeller, in order to discuss the actual criticisms at the heart of the film, and I understand the need to do so: this a Paul Verhoeven film, after all, who has never played it straight and always attempted to criticise with his work. That said, I don't entirely buy this myself, like I said this isn't co-ordinated enough to be as effective a satire as it means to be. Still, there is enough to the film that the conversation about the text beneath the texture is worth having, if you can stomach watching it.
357. Mr. Church (2016) - December 23rd
Eddie Murphy deserves a better movie. His performance is really solid, understated and natural compared to the rest of what the film offers, like snippets of reality in a film that's otherwise confused about how to achieve it. The rest of the film is bland melodrama; if it weren't so shallow, I might have felt something, but between choosing to take the perspective of someone other than the man the film is titled after and every other scene feeling like an after school special, I couldn't invest myself in a lot of what was going on in the film. The story is sad, but tries to force emotion through the sentiment and the tragedy of the situation, as opposed to showing real depth and development to make the characters feel like the real people they're based upon. Even the eponymous Church, as well performed as he is, has any depth of character hidden from the audience as a function of the story, so for much of the movie it's simply Murphy's considerable dramatic strengths that kept me going through this movie. - 4.5/10
Re-watches
69. Spy (2015) - December 17th
This was the movie that made me believe in both Melissa McCarthy and Jason Statham. Aside from Allison Janney, who is always the best thing about whatever she's in, McCarthy and Statham are the funniest aspects of the film, both separately and together. McCarthy shows considerable range for a comedic role, able to evoke awkward, self-deprecating humour off as easily as the angry, abusive stuff that made her the show-stealer of Bridesmaids, while still being the film's emotional core; she doesn't land every line or action perfectly, but she's relatively consistent in how well she plays off of everyone around her. Meanwhile, Statham goes in the complete opposite direction, taking the role of self-parody to delirious new heights; just about every line he utters is as ridiculous as it is hilarious, his self-awareness and willingness to laugh at himself on full display, each moment funnier than the last. These two are enough to make Spy one of the funnier films of the last few years; while the rest of the film is merely serviceable, the fact that the comedy lands so consistently is enough for this to be worth the time. - 7/10
Published December 24th, 2018
350. Under the Silver Lake (2018) - December 18th
I can't recall the last time I watched a movie so skillfully made and yet barely worth experiencing. The visual style is incredibly well-realised and heavily reminiscent of noir films, with occasional blatant references to films like Rear Window. Meanwhile, the story is a self-serious mess of half-baked conspiracy theories and masochistic self-righteousness wrapped in convoluted plot twist after convoluted plot twist barely held together by a committed performance from Andrew Garfield. It's almost interesting that the story starts because of a lack of agency in the main character's life, that he throws himself in to every step of this insane conspiracy because he finds himself with nothing better to do, but the film buying in to everything the character discovers for the sake of a few senseless twists about rich people transcending life with a fantasy harem as an attempt at societal critique is as ambitious as it is mind-numbing. I'm impressed with the film's visual strengths, and that the filmmakers would even attempt to tell this story, but not with the story itself, or any other attempt by the film to be engaging. - 5.5/10
351. Johnny English Strikes Again (2018) - December 18th
This a sadly flaccid attempt to continue the continue to somewhat shaky Johnny English saga, containing none of the minor moments of wit that made the first two palatable despite their fairly obvious lampoonery. Rowan Atkinson plays the role as impressively as ever, the lifeblood of what makes the first two consistently watchable, but the overt attempts at satire of the proliferation of technology and the modern incompatibility of classic spy stories are somehow even more bland than they were in the previous film. It's a shame, too, because the introduction of English in this movie, as a school teacher secretly giving his students lessons in spy work was so joyful I wouldn't have minded if it was the whole point of the movie, but everything else is so bland and inoffensive that it can't make an impression even when it's competent. - 4/10
352. The Bourne Legacy (2012) - December 19th
The legacy isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's still quite good, following the same sort of action fare but with a style lacking the shaky camera work that defined the trilogy, and Renner is a serviceable if not particularly memorable lead, which can also be said for much of the movie's plot. The story fares a little better, almost adding enough to Renner's performance for me to care about him once the action is over, but it's buried underneath the convoluted swath of espionage and intrigue the plot throws on top. - 6/10
353. Roma (2018) - December 19th
Watching so many films often leads to a stream of them passing right through me, barely a thought put to them afterwards as they become just another number I add to my list. However, some films are indelible. Usually there are aspects of films that I've become accustomed to that tell me by film's end I'll never forget them, and as I find more films that evoke the same ideas These films become unforgettable by proxy. A couple of years ago I slowly went through Roger Ebert's final "Sight and Sound" list, describing what he thought to be the ten greatest films of all time, one of which was Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story, a film that applied distinct techniques to tell a very personal story with a climax so quiet and unassuming I'd scarcely notice it if it weren't for the fact that I had unwittingly become enthralled by the film. Tokyo Story is deservedly considered the best film of all time by many, and two years on from my single experience with the film and I still can't stop thinking about it. So while it's been but a few days and therefore normally far too early for me to tell if a movie's impact upon me will be something that I'll think about in the future, much of Roma feels reminiscent of Tokyo Story to me, for reasons I haven't wholly been able to grasp yet (aside from the familial focus of both films), but still distinctly its own thing that allows Alfonso Cuaron's particular style and technique tell a story in a way only he could. I don't know if it's more effective now to say that Roma is a masterpiece in every regard, or to say that it reminded me of Tokyo Story in a way no other film has. My full review can be found here. - 10/10
354. Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988) - December 21st
Or: Mad Max as a harem anime. Where most post-apocalyptic movies deal with scarcity of necessities like water, or toy with things people treat as necessities like fuel, this film deals with another scarcity altogether: sperm. The movie is literally about the fact that radiation has rendered most of the world infertile, and a drifter apparently so unaffected by it and so prodigious that he's tracked by a trail of pregnancies he leaves in his wake. It's like the plot to a porno, but without any actual sex and a surprisingly decent effects budget. Still, the film knows exactly how silly it is, making enough fun of its premise that it feels like some of what Kung Fury was trying to emulate. When Sam Hell, played with just the right attitude by Roddy Piper, responds to a proposition from an enamored frog woman by holding up a burlap sack for her to wear, when a frog majordomo wears a white suit and a red fez, when the lead woman characters have names like "Spangle", and "Centinella", it's hard not to enjoy a film that so vehemently refuses to take itself seriously. - 6/10
355. Widows (2018) - December 21st
A beautiful, sprawling and messy film, carried by a myriad of strong performances and an ever-twisting plot. My full review can be found here. - 7.5/10
356. Showgirls (1995) - December 22nd
As bad as this is, it's so cynical, so obviously trying to be satire, and so often made me laugh with its merciless jabs at the "star is born" formula, that I just can't hate it. At the best of times I actually really enjoy it, such as when the film turns a formulaic scene where the "star" is approached by people who knew who her when she wasn't, but the dialogue is all twisted and disgusting; the beats of the scene are all the same, even down to the dramatic pauses for emotional effect, but instead of having something sweet to say, the best (by which I mean, most revolting) a character can offer is "Must be weird not having anybody cum on you." The film seeks to offend and bring to light the nauseating realisations of the cutthroat world of show-business that only seeks to sexualise and expend, as a counter to all the work that glamourises it, and when it manages to get a point across it's actually fairly effective criticism, not even flinching when it turns from sexual to brutal and tries to hammer home that every single person in the world is garbage, but so much of the film seems to lack a real focus, like the filmmakers were mad at the celebration of an industry that chews people up and spits them out as the height of humanity, but didn't know exactly how to turn that anger in to coherency, instead lashing out at everyone and everything and being distasteful as possible the whole time to get attention. - 5/10
It's weird looking at this movie in 2018 and hearing about all of the critical re-evaluations this film has had in the 23 years since its release while comparing it to the panning the film received at that time. Much of what the film actually says was summarily ignored in favour of lambasting the film (not undeservedly so) for how it says it, but since 1995 much of that conversation has petered out, and what's left has turned to the themes and satire abundant in the film, attempting to get beyond the unpleasantness that is the experience of the film itself so that people can examine what the film means to be about. I kind of commend anyone who can disregard or even incorporate hilariously awkward conversations about "nice tits," or sex scenes where a character spins about like a propeller, in order to discuss the actual criticisms at the heart of the film, and I understand the need to do so: this a Paul Verhoeven film, after all, who has never played it straight and always attempted to criticise with his work. That said, I don't entirely buy this myself, like I said this isn't co-ordinated enough to be as effective a satire as it means to be. Still, there is enough to the film that the conversation about the text beneath the texture is worth having, if you can stomach watching it.
357. Mr. Church (2016) - December 23rd
Eddie Murphy deserves a better movie. His performance is really solid, understated and natural compared to the rest of what the film offers, like snippets of reality in a film that's otherwise confused about how to achieve it. The rest of the film is bland melodrama; if it weren't so shallow, I might have felt something, but between choosing to take the perspective of someone other than the man the film is titled after and every other scene feeling like an after school special, I couldn't invest myself in a lot of what was going on in the film. The story is sad, but tries to force emotion through the sentiment and the tragedy of the situation, as opposed to showing real depth and development to make the characters feel like the real people they're based upon. Even the eponymous Church, as well performed as he is, has any depth of character hidden from the audience as a function of the story, so for much of the movie it's simply Murphy's considerable dramatic strengths that kept me going through this movie. - 4.5/10
Re-watches
69. Spy (2015) - December 17th
This was the movie that made me believe in both Melissa McCarthy and Jason Statham. Aside from Allison Janney, who is always the best thing about whatever she's in, McCarthy and Statham are the funniest aspects of the film, both separately and together. McCarthy shows considerable range for a comedic role, able to evoke awkward, self-deprecating humour off as easily as the angry, abusive stuff that made her the show-stealer of Bridesmaids, while still being the film's emotional core; she doesn't land every line or action perfectly, but she's relatively consistent in how well she plays off of everyone around her. Meanwhile, Statham goes in the complete opposite direction, taking the role of self-parody to delirious new heights; just about every line he utters is as ridiculous as it is hilarious, his self-awareness and willingness to laugh at himself on full display, each moment funnier than the last. These two are enough to make Spy one of the funnier films of the last few years; while the rest of the film is merely serviceable, the fact that the comedy lands so consistently is enough for this to be worth the time. - 7/10
Published December 24th, 2018
2018 Film Review: Widows (2018)
Directed by: Steve McQueen
Written by: Steve McQueen, Gillian Flynn
Starring: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki
IMDb Link
I wasn't surprised to learn that this film was based on a book; it's so packed with plot and character details and is told from so many different perspectives that it's sprawling and a little bloated. However, the main story thread is incredibly thrilling, filled with twists and turns that are made that much stronger by a series of excellent performances from the entire cast.
The film follows four women brought together by tragedy, three of them widows of thieves who had been brutally shot by the police during a heist gone wrong. These women are pressured by a local crime boss campaigning for alderman to find replacement for money that had burned up in the heist, and turn to the next and last job planned by one of the widow's husbands. Meanwhile, the crime boss goes head to head in his campaign against a political dynasty, and attempts to recover and tie up loose ends with excessive force, while the next-in-line for this dynasty grapples with the drudgery of the political game. If that sounds like a lot, it is; the film only barely manages to squeeze in enough time to give careful enough consideration to each story and character thread to be successful. That said, all of it is ultimately worth it despite the constant shifting around, as even scenes that don't seem particularly relevant to the plot are still interesting and thematically appropriate revelations of character that further provide depth to much of the cast.
As for the cast itself, this film is a powerhouse of an ensemble, with everyone offering a strong impression. Davis is an obvious highlight, her cold, dispassionate exterior as well realised as the pain, sadness and anger she hides with her persona, her public and private expressions both informing and supporting the effect of one another. Rodriguez and Debicki are also excellent, each appearing initially as obvious choices for their roles before revealing the depth of their respective characters, and ultimately pulling off strong against-type work that each make good counters to Davis. Most notable among the smaller roles, however, is Daniel Kaluuya as the brother and enforcer of the crime boss. The man immerses himself in such a small and simple role, becoming for a few brief moments one of the creepiest and most memorable psychopathic villains of the year, his abhorrent detachment from reality enough to make him as creepy simply standing around as he is stabbing the legs of a paralysed man for fun. He has no more than a handful of scenes, but manages to enthrall with every bit of material he's given.
Of course, a director like McQueen knows what material to give. While moving from scene to scene can be a little disorienting for how often the film changes story threads, each scene is as compelling visually as it is due to its performances. There's some really neat experimentation with long takes here, from slight twists on more conventional (but still very skillful) takes winding around characters, flowing and fluxing to emphasis changes in the intensity of the scene, to more intriguingly shot scenes such as a conversation on politics that we only hear, played against the goings-on of the neighbourhood as the characters involved ride in a car. Whether it's the visuals or the performances, each scene manages to be interesting on its own, even if the connections between them are not always immediately apparent.
The Short Version: A sprawling and messy but exhilarating and sometimes captivating thriller that has the cast and the style to make up for its mild shortcomings. The work from Davis and Kaluuya is alone more than enough for me to recommend this.
Rating: 7.5/10
Published December 23rd, 2018
Written by: Steve McQueen, Gillian Flynn
Starring: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki
IMDb Link
I wasn't surprised to learn that this film was based on a book; it's so packed with plot and character details and is told from so many different perspectives that it's sprawling and a little bloated. However, the main story thread is incredibly thrilling, filled with twists and turns that are made that much stronger by a series of excellent performances from the entire cast.
The film follows four women brought together by tragedy, three of them widows of thieves who had been brutally shot by the police during a heist gone wrong. These women are pressured by a local crime boss campaigning for alderman to find replacement for money that had burned up in the heist, and turn to the next and last job planned by one of the widow's husbands. Meanwhile, the crime boss goes head to head in his campaign against a political dynasty, and attempts to recover and tie up loose ends with excessive force, while the next-in-line for this dynasty grapples with the drudgery of the political game. If that sounds like a lot, it is; the film only barely manages to squeeze in enough time to give careful enough consideration to each story and character thread to be successful. That said, all of it is ultimately worth it despite the constant shifting around, as even scenes that don't seem particularly relevant to the plot are still interesting and thematically appropriate revelations of character that further provide depth to much of the cast.
As for the cast itself, this film is a powerhouse of an ensemble, with everyone offering a strong impression. Davis is an obvious highlight, her cold, dispassionate exterior as well realised as the pain, sadness and anger she hides with her persona, her public and private expressions both informing and supporting the effect of one another. Rodriguez and Debicki are also excellent, each appearing initially as obvious choices for their roles before revealing the depth of their respective characters, and ultimately pulling off strong against-type work that each make good counters to Davis. Most notable among the smaller roles, however, is Daniel Kaluuya as the brother and enforcer of the crime boss. The man immerses himself in such a small and simple role, becoming for a few brief moments one of the creepiest and most memorable psychopathic villains of the year, his abhorrent detachment from reality enough to make him as creepy simply standing around as he is stabbing the legs of a paralysed man for fun. He has no more than a handful of scenes, but manages to enthrall with every bit of material he's given.
Of course, a director like McQueen knows what material to give. While moving from scene to scene can be a little disorienting for how often the film changes story threads, each scene is as compelling visually as it is due to its performances. There's some really neat experimentation with long takes here, from slight twists on more conventional (but still very skillful) takes winding around characters, flowing and fluxing to emphasis changes in the intensity of the scene, to more intriguingly shot scenes such as a conversation on politics that we only hear, played against the goings-on of the neighbourhood as the characters involved ride in a car. Whether it's the visuals or the performances, each scene manages to be interesting on its own, even if the connections between them are not always immediately apparent.
The Short Version: A sprawling and messy but exhilarating and sometimes captivating thriller that has the cast and the style to make up for its mild shortcomings. The work from Davis and Kaluuya is alone more than enough for me to recommend this.
Rating: 7.5/10
Published December 23rd, 2018
Friday, 21 December 2018
2018 Film Review: Roma (2018)
Directed by: Alfonso Cuaron
Written by: Alfonso Cuaron
Starring: Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira, Diego Cortina Autrey
IMDb Link
Roma is much like the main character it portrays: quiet and observant, the true impact of their existence not realised until you consider them wholly.
At first it seems so simple, a year in the life of a maid, Cleo, played with incredible subtlety by Aparicio, as she serves a middle-class family in Mexico City in 1970. The film lulls you in to a sense of monotony and security, silently watching the actions of the characters in their daily lives, almost as a sort of unfeeling, impartial observer, content to relax and take things as they come, no matter how slowly or seemingly uneventful. However, once time has passed and we find ourselves in the same position we started, the little details this observer took in begin to topple over one another like dominoes, straining the lives of Cleo and her family again and again, the occasionally sharp word or long glance instantly far more meaningful than it seemed to be before, as the chaos of life continues to thrash all around them, the world continuing to move forward even though Cleo needs the world to stop for a moment just so that she can properly take in everything that's happening to her and get a handle on it. The shift from calm monotony to chaotic, painfully realistic drama is a slow and unyielding one, starting so softly you might miss it, but never stopping once it does.
What's particularly fascinating and incredible about this film is how Director Cuaron chose to present it. His work here strives to achieve a state of realism above all else, to make the characters here feel like real people, and the world they live in a snap-shot of a real time and place, and Cuaron's techniques work beautifully to that end. His camera rarely moves, slowly when it does, and always with purpose: everything is set up around deliberate frames that convey specific ideas, such as the distance between characters because of class or troubles, and the barriers that disappear when they open up to each other and come together. Even then, the camera never rushes, always moving exactly where and as fast as it means to, and always with the goal of taking things in without forcing intimacy for the sake of emotion, letting the events speak for themselves through the characters, and the background holding it all in place, distinct images appearing like clear memories, creating an intriguing juxtaposition between the reality of the events put on display, the meticulous touch with which they are presented, and the emotions that they draw out because of it. This extends to things the film makes notable as well, such as the sound design in the film. Every sound in the film is diagetic, from the music the plays over the radios to dogs barking in the street, there's considerable detail in the sounds of the world around the characters, giving it this very natural, lived-in feeling that captures the essence of the idea of life moving forward all around us. It's a sublime expression of real life as memory, offering a window in to an experience that is both real and someone's perspective, and the effect of Cuaron's visual techniques and the film's sound design upon this idea is palpable.
Of course, the film is made that much better by its performances. As I've stated, Aparicio is very subtle as Cleo, much of her impact in the film felt in waves as the weight of her minor expressions all build upon one another, and break her down as she finally lets herself process the events of her life. Supporting such natural work is a cast that includes a fiercely energetic and easy to hate performance from Jorge Antonio Guerrero as Fermin, who, put succinctly, is a dick, and a performance that flies effortlessly between the stoic and explosive from Marina de Tavira, in her role as matriarch of the family Cleo serves. Everyone offers an extension to the quiet or the gut-punch to the emotional, hammering home or offering the humanity within each scene, their very real performances the final aspect that assembles this film in to a masterpiece.
The Short Version: In Roma, Cuaron applies his distinct technique and style to a deeply intimate story with a strangely impartial touch, as if he's observing memories from a time and place long gone and looking for meaning within them. This is nothing short of a masterpiece; an unusual, quiet, thoughtful, strangely aloof and yet honest and heartfelt masterpiece.
Rating: 10/10
Published December 22nd, 2018
Written by: Alfonso Cuaron
Starring: Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira, Diego Cortina Autrey
IMDb Link
Roma is much like the main character it portrays: quiet and observant, the true impact of their existence not realised until you consider them wholly.
What's particularly fascinating and incredible about this film is how Director Cuaron chose to present it. His work here strives to achieve a state of realism above all else, to make the characters here feel like real people, and the world they live in a snap-shot of a real time and place, and Cuaron's techniques work beautifully to that end. His camera rarely moves, slowly when it does, and always with purpose: everything is set up around deliberate frames that convey specific ideas, such as the distance between characters because of class or troubles, and the barriers that disappear when they open up to each other and come together. Even then, the camera never rushes, always moving exactly where and as fast as it means to, and always with the goal of taking things in without forcing intimacy for the sake of emotion, letting the events speak for themselves through the characters, and the background holding it all in place, distinct images appearing like clear memories, creating an intriguing juxtaposition between the reality of the events put on display, the meticulous touch with which they are presented, and the emotions that they draw out because of it. This extends to things the film makes notable as well, such as the sound design in the film. Every sound in the film is diagetic, from the music the plays over the radios to dogs barking in the street, there's considerable detail in the sounds of the world around the characters, giving it this very natural, lived-in feeling that captures the essence of the idea of life moving forward all around us. It's a sublime expression of real life as memory, offering a window in to an experience that is both real and someone's perspective, and the effect of Cuaron's visual techniques and the film's sound design upon this idea is palpable.
Of course, the film is made that much better by its performances. As I've stated, Aparicio is very subtle as Cleo, much of her impact in the film felt in waves as the weight of her minor expressions all build upon one another, and break her down as she finally lets herself process the events of her life. Supporting such natural work is a cast that includes a fiercely energetic and easy to hate performance from Jorge Antonio Guerrero as Fermin, who, put succinctly, is a dick, and a performance that flies effortlessly between the stoic and explosive from Marina de Tavira, in her role as matriarch of the family Cleo serves. Everyone offers an extension to the quiet or the gut-punch to the emotional, hammering home or offering the humanity within each scene, their very real performances the final aspect that assembles this film in to a masterpiece.
The Short Version: In Roma, Cuaron applies his distinct technique and style to a deeply intimate story with a strangely impartial touch, as if he's observing memories from a time and place long gone and looking for meaning within them. This is nothing short of a masterpiece; an unusual, quiet, thoughtful, strangely aloof and yet honest and heartfelt masterpiece.
Rating: 10/10
Published December 22nd, 2018
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