Image = Best of 2017 & Pre-Oscar Rants

2017 was the worst year of my life because my mom, who inspired my passion for film & theater, died. But a great deal of solace for my grief came from the stellar year of cinema.

My 10 Best Movies of 2017:
  
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
I, Tonya
The Meyerowitz Stories (New & Selected)
The Big Sick

Call Me by Your Name  
The Greatest Showman 
Battle of the Sexes 
Patti Cake$
Dean 
The Insult

Three Billboards is a masterpiece and the Best Picture of 2017. It’s a story about a woman unabashedly demanding justice from the local powers that be. The impact of this film comes from the unapologetic style of writer/director Martin McDonagh, and literally every actor in the cast in addition to the three leads is at the top of their game. Frances McDormand’s performance is simultaneously fierce and restrained and I dare you to take your eyes off her when she is on screen. She is one of the greats and I love that she doesn’t play the Awards Season game (or any other game for that matter) and still wins. She allows her work to stand on its own and gets rewarded for it. Which begs the question – why are there award campaigns at all?

And Sam Rockwell – what can I say? I have loved him since he exploded off the screen in The Green Mile nearly 20 years ago. His performance is insanely complex and to be really honest – it’s just his time.

I, Tonya is miraculous because I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like it. Everything about it is great - cinematography, tone, pace, editing, music and all of the performances. It’s the inimitable vision of director Craig Gillespie who accomplished so very much on a tiny budget. Gillespie created a roller coaster ride of a film that is genre-less. It doesn’t fit into a category because it has elements of all of them. Comedy, drama, love story, cautionary tale, breaking the fourth wall, documentary, mockumentary, etc. I, Tonya has unfortunately not received the credit it deserves apparently because the real-life Tonya Harding media circus in the 90’s has kept people away. What a shame. I believe it should have nominations for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay by Steven Rogers. If nothing else, Allison Janney has collected hardware all season and will have an Oscar soon and Margot Robbie has proven that she is a veritable triple threat by training as a figure skater, starring and producing.

When I saw The Meyerowitz Stories back in October I thought for sure it would be showered with awards – for writer/director Noah Baumbach as well as Adam Sandler, Dustin Hoffman & Ben Stiller. The movie received a standing ovation at Cannes and is the best and arguably most authentic role Sandler has ever played. But something went askew with Netflix and it has been entirely overlooked. It is a crime because aside from Three Billboards and I,Tonya I still think Meyerowitz is one of the finest movies of the year.

Actors who worked their asses off in 2017:

Michael Stuhlbarg – in Call Me by Your Name, The Shape of Water & The Post. What a truly talented character actor. He first amazed me in Trumbo as a desperate, turncoat Edward G. Robinson post McCarthy hearings, and now I am thrilled to see him even in the smallest of roles. Thank you Casting people for giving this actor a ton of work.

Woody Harrelson – in The Glass Castle, an abysmal movie but he is sensationally delusional in it. Then starring LBJ which I didn’t see because of its brief & limited distribution. And then nailing a nomination with his utterly human performance in Three Billboards.

Zendaya – in Spiderman: Homecoming & The Greatest Showman. She’s like Jennifer Lopez but with talent!

Lucas Hedges – in Ladybird & Three Billboards – two totally different parts and he held his own in a car with Dame Frances McDormand. You go baby!

Timothee Chalamet – in Ladybird as a brooding anti-establishment teenager and in Call Me By Your Name as a sophisticated wunderkind falling in love for the first time. And I have to brag that he went to my high school... It’s remarkable that he is the 2^nd youngest nominee ever for Best Actor in a category with heavy hitters like Denzel Washington, Daniel Day Lewis and Gary Oldman. Sorry though Tim – it’s Gary’s turn this year (finally!!!).

A few notes on overly hyped movies:

Ladybird is not on my list because I think it’s a nice little first coming of age indie and that is all. Its greatness has been severely blown out of proportion and I think it’s all because of producer Scott Rudin. Period. If Greta Gerwig wins Best Director, I will have lost all faith in humanity.

I HATED Phantom Thread and don’t understand all its acclaim and the reverence for Paul Thomas Anderson. What is the point of this movie exactly? Why does anyone want to see a psychotic love story? I only saw this film because of Daniel Day Lewis and even he didn’t make it worth the suffering. I am now officially done with PTA’s films.

Now let me end on an upbeat note:

Unlike Ladybird, Patti Cake$ and Dean were distinctive first indie features. Patti Cake$ was nominated for Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards but I don’t understand how they overlooked Danielle MacDonald’s star making turn as Lead Actress. Dean is as unique as writer/director Demetri Martin's stand up comedy, integrating drawings to tell a bittersweet story of grief and ultimately, growth. 

Battle of the Sexes was simply a good solid movie that told a very important story in the history of women's rights. Billie Jean King was a revolutionary at a time when women could not get a credit card without their husbands and both Emma Stone & Steve Carell are on point. I'm also a huge admirer of directors Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris. 

I was thrilled to have access to more foreign films in 2017 than in the past 10 or 15 years. The Midwife, Truman & Happy End were notable and The Insult is incredibly compelling and socially relevant and my pick for Best Foreign Film. Also, director Sebastian Lelio made history by casting the first transgender actress ever (Daniela Vega) in Chile in the heart breaking A Fantastic Woman. Progress!

The Big Sick was definitely the most satisfying experience I had in a movie theater last year. It is so damn good that it reinvented the genre of romantic comedy. I wish it was nominated for Best Picture – and I am thrilled to see Holly Hunter back in action, (and the casting of Hunter & Ray Romano is casting genius!) but I wish Holly was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

I would also have liked to see The Greatest Showman up for Best Picture. It's another notch on the great Hugh Jackman's belt where he put everything he has into the role. All of the movie's acclaim is for the song “This is Me” but it is a gorgeous modern musical, like La La Land. The good news is - we're making musicals again. 

In general I’d like to see more comedies and musicals in the Oscar Best Picture category. 2017 had a lot of female centered films and films about people of color. Who knows? Things may be even more diverse and empowering next year in our new #timesup world.

Image = Best of 2015

Spotlight
Me Earl & the Dying Girl
The Big Short
Room
Grandma
Star Wars
Bridge of Spies
Learning to Drive
Truth
Love & Mercy

Honorable Mention: 
The End of the Tour
Ricki & the Flash
Inside Out
Concussion
The Intern

2015 was not the behemoth for the annals of cinema history that 2014 was – not by a long shot.  But there was still a lot to enjoy this year.  From groundbreaking films like Room to guilty pleasures like Entourage and WAY underrated movies like Ricki and the Flash, there was enough to appease even this film maven.

Strangely, we are at the end of the year and there is still not a clear Best Picture.  I am choosing Spotlight as my best of the year for many reasons: the subject, the exceptional ensemble cast, the writing AND the fact that it is great in an understated way.  

While 2014 was 'The Year of the Actor', this year WOMEN ruled!  Lily Tomlin triumphed in both film and TV (Grandma and Grace & Frankie), Blythe Danner had her first starring role in her 5 decade career (I’ll See You in My Dreams), Charlotte Rampling was masterfully devastating in 45 Years, Brie Larson was heartbreaking in Room, Patricia Clarkson was self-effacingly wonderful in Learning to Drive, Saoirse Ronan came of age (both in the business and onscreen) in Brooklyn, Taraji P. Henson continued to wow us in Empire and on the red carpet, Viola Davis made history with her Emmy win for How to Get Away with Murder, no one on earth had a bigger year than Amy Schumer (Trainwreck, Inside Amy Schumer, hosting SNL, opening for Madonna, etc.) and Jennifer Lawrence continues her reign as the biggest thing in Hollywood (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 and Joy) which completely baffles me, but that’s another story.

{NOTE: I realize that a few of the projects mentioned above are on TV but I feel they are worth including since we are in the second golden age of television when A LOT of high quality stuff is being produced in TV and the streaming space and the line between television and film is becoming more and more blurry}.

On the subject of women and 'women’s movies', I just have to say this.  I don’t understand all the fuss about Carol.  Cate Blanchett is always amazing, but the movie is incredibly slow and borderline melodramatic.  I am a bleeding heart liberal and I felt very little for these women struggling with their taboo lesbian romance because I was so BORED.  And Rooney Mara is incredibly blah to me as an actress.  She doesn’t hold a candle to or the space onscreen with Blanchett the Great.  I enjoyed the movie Truth and Cate’s affecting performance much more in that.

In my next blogpost, I will discuss the upcoming awards season. The nominations so far are all over the place, with very few through lines among the Indie Spirits, SAGs and Golden Globes.  This is both exciting and disconcerting, but may make for a very exciting Oscar race…

Happy New Year everyone!

   

Image = Best of 2014

The Fault in Our Stars
Birdman 
Obvious Child
Whiplash
The Theory of Everything
The Imitation Game
Pride
Magic in the Moonlight
The Skeleton Twins
Wish I Was Here

and this is why...


The Fault in Our Stars is my favorite movie of the year because it was the most satisfying film going experience I had all year.  Fault is wonderful all around - one of the best written films EVER and the performances are simply stunning.  Shailene Woodley is rapidly becoming a seriously great actress and Ansel Elgort seemed to come out of nowhere this year to be both radiantly charismatic & heartbreakingly vulnerable in this film.  It is a beautiful story of first love which was made for 12 million dollars and has already grossed ten times that.  It is proof that real stories about real people, when done well, can perform at the box office.

Birdman is definitely the best picture of the year because there is nothing else like it.  It is a technical marvel.  It deserves Best Picture and Best Director and every technical award it can get.  All the performances are great as well – especially Michael Keaton and Edward Norton.  I love Michael Keaton and would love to see him win an Oscar, but this year Redmayne edges Keaton out.

I wrote a whole blogpost about how remarkable Eddie Redmayne is in The Theory of Everything and how he SHOULD win Best Actor. He simply is THE best actor this year.

Whiplash is the most aptly named film of the year.  It is one of the most distinctive, exciting and unpredictable films I have ever seen.  Everything about it is electrifying, including JK Simmons, who deserves every award for Best Supporting Actor.

Obvious Child is bold, honest & hilarious and I want Jenny Slate to win Best Actress at the Independent Spirit Awards because she is wonderfully dimensional and this is the epitome of a great, low budget, female helmed indie.

The Imitation Game is a gorgeous, very British, tragic period piece and Benedict Cumberbatch does an impressive job in the lead.  Keira Knightley also matured as an actress in her role.  Amazing to me is the fact that Mark Strong is not getting any acknowledgment for his supporting performance.

Pride is the little indie that could.  It’s great.  A true story of the unlikely alliance of an LGBT club and a group of miners.  Wonderful ensemble led by breakout Ben Schnetzer and including Paddy Considine, Bill Nighy, Dominic West and the always superb and underrated Imelda Staunton.  Just see it.

I wrote a blogpost about how special Magic in the Moonlight is.  The best part is the extraordinary script and how Colin Firth commands attention every moment he is on screen.

The Skeleton Twins is another great indie – a dramedy about survival and the resilient connection between siblings.  It was great to see Bill Hader take on more serious material and the whole film, whether it makes you laugh or cry, is emotionally impactful.   

And – after all the hoopla about Zach Braff raising money on Kickstarter, Wish I Was Here is an exceptionally funny and sweet movie about the definition of family and finally growing up in your 30s.

2014 was another great year for films big and small – but mostly small.     

Image = Oscar Nominations Best & Worst

It is finally time to talk about The Oscars!  The good, the bad and the absurd.  Here's my take on the nominees – who & what deserves the acknowledgment and who doesn’t – and who did not make the cut.

THE BEST:

12 Years a Slave – This is simply the best film of the year and my pick for Best Picture.  Great script, wonderful performances, visually stunning and a period piece about a subject of great social significance.  I will be holding my breath to hear the name “Lupita Nyong’o” announced early in the evening because she is the Best Supporting Actress this year.  Also - Michael Fassbender's performance as a sadistic slave owner is one that I will remember forever.  If I was an Academy voter, it would be challenging for me to choose between Fassbender & Jared Leto.   

Philomena – I love everything about this movie.  Compelling true story, wonderful script and inspired performances by both Judy Dench and the incredibly underrated Steve Coogan (who also co-wrote the screenplay).  I am rooting for this film for Best Adapted Screenplay. 

Nebraska –  I love that the Academy is finally honoring small indie films like this.  Nebraska is a totally original and heartwarming film about a family dealing with a crisis in an unusual way.  On the journey, there is both great drama and delightful comedy, featuring two seasoned thespians - Bruce Dern & June Squibb.  It is also great to see Will Forte do something completely different and do it so well.             

Gravity – This film is visually stunning and technically groundbreaking, but I was not impressed with the script or Sandra Bullock.  Gravity deserves every technical award it is nominated for and Alfonso Cuaron deserves credit for helming such a revolutionary film. 

Cate Blanchett – It is about time for this exceptional actress to have a Best Actress statuette and I’m thrilled that Woody is the one to make it happen for her.  Period. 

Dallas Buyers Club – Some reviews of this film said that McConaughey & Leto are great but not the film.  I completely disagree. This is a great independent film about AIDS, which still plagues American society 30 years later.  It also raises critical questions about how much the government harms us under the guise of protection.  Its anti-establishment tone may be why Dallas Buyers Club is not nominated for Best Picture.  And yes - Jared Leto deserves the Oscar because his performance as Rayon is heartbreaking and wonderful.

Matthew McConaughey – It is his year.  Period.  For more on this – see my recent blogpost and this great article from The New Yorker about Matthew's McConaissance: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2014/0/the-mcconaissance.html


THE OVERRATED:

American Hustle – For the second year in a row a David O. Russell film is totally overrated and getting an absurd amount of acclaim.  Last year, Silver Linings Playbook was shoved down our throats and now once again there is outrageous hype over a not that special movie.  The only phenomenal thing about American Hustle is Christian Bale, who completely transforms himself, as usual.  The rest of the movie is all over the place.  It’s mostly serious but with moments of farce that border on ridiculous. The story gets very convoluted in the third act and the movie is at least 20 minutes too long.    

Jennifer Lawrence – How did this idol worship of Jennifer Lawrence happen?  It was intriguing when she was nominated in 2010 for Winter’s Bone.  No one had heard of her and it’s always fun to have a dark horse in the race.  But now – after she won the Oscar last year (which she did NOT deserve) she is a huge movie star and regaled as this brilliant actress and it’s all too much too soon.  She is only 23 for goodness sake.

Amy Adams – Please take a year off, Amy.  You were so amazing in Junebug, Enchanted and even Julie & Julia and since then, you have been churning out films every year and getting nominated over and over and losing over and over.  You are definitely talented but maybe be a little more selective in your career choices and maybe - oh I don’t know – change your hair and your voice every once in a while (your “English” accent in American Hustle does not count).  It seems as if you get nominated for simply making a movie every year and that’s just not what this is all about.

The Wolf of Wall Street – I really hated this movie.  To me, it is one note storytelling with a one note leading performance and it is entirely too long.  There is nothing redeeming about these debauched characters and after a short while the unabashed gluttony is exhausting.  The only shining light is a great breakthrough performance from the gorgeous and talented Margot Robbie.
   

Leonardo DiCaprio – I LOVE Leo, who has definitely been robbed in the past for Oscars (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and The Aviator) but I truly hope the Academy does not give him an owed award.  I hate when they do that.

*Note to Leo – Please take a break from working with Scorsese and maybe consider playing an original but fictional character just for a change of pace.  I think you are in a Marty/real life character rut.

Jonah Hill – WTF?  No one mentioned his name all season and then he gets an Oscar nod out of nowhere?  It’s fishy.     

August: Osage County – What a downer!  This movie was more depressing than 12 Years a Slave!  Wonderful ensemble cast (so great to see the great Chris Cooper again!) but once again I feel like its nominations are based upon hype versus substance.  Julia Roberts is good but not great and Meryl the great is good but a little too much of a caricature.  I enjoyed the Broadway play much more and the Tony Award winning Deanna Dunagan was a powerhouse because I really believed that she was that bitter and evil.  In terms of supporting players, I would have loved to see Margo Martindale honored for her performance.

THE FORGOTTEN:

Saving Mr. Banks – It boggles my mind that this amazing movie got so outrageously overlooked.  Emma Thompson is sensational and Colin Farrell is heartbreakingly wonderful.  It has everything – great script, wonderful supporting cast and the compelling story of a woman healing her childhood wounds through the creation of a beloved children’s book which becomes a huge Hollywood film.  And Tom Hanks is in it too.  What more does the Academy want?  In this stellar year for film, couldn’t they go ahead and make the Best Picture nominations an even ten?

Lee Daniels’ The Butler – This movie has Oscar written all over it.  It’s a slice of American history with a huge ensemble cast (and some ingenious casting) about the civil rights movement with a remarkable performance by Forest Whitaker.  And David Oyelowo deserves some recognition as well.  Maybe it was just released too early in the year?  It’s interesting that Harvey Weinstein didn’t push this one harder for Oscar glory.

All is Lost – This is a completely unique film in every way and Robert Redford kept me engaged throughout despite barely saying a word. Redford is the real deal and it is crazy that he doesn't have an Oscar for acting yet.

Oscar Isaac – I could not take my eyes off the screen when he was on it in Inside Llewyn Davis.  It is one of my favorite performances of the year.  Isaac is captivating in a critically acclaimed film and it is strange that the Oscars did not follow the trend of the enormous amount of praise this film has received all season.   

Who would you like to see take home Academy Awards on March 2?