But it's like, being yourself is, like, not changing yourself to impress someone else.
I know I am a bit late to the party, but Bo Burnham was my favorite discovery of 2018. I caught this movie pretty early in the summer on the back of its critical acclaim and for most of the year it was my favorite film. It led me into Burnham's standup and viral videos and what I found was new, fearless, hilarious, and downright brilliant.
Eighth Grade is about the trials and tribulations of Kayla, an introverted (but not really) awkward teen who is on the verge of that most strange of transitions from innocence to high school. It is note-for-note perfect in its translation of the reality of this stage while still maintaining the artfulness of the cinematic craft. This would be a daunting task for an experienced filmmaker, but this is Burnham's first film as both writer and director. If you take into account his obvious maleness and his private school, two parent upbringing, it is astounding that this 28-year-old artistic phenom pulled this off. It is a downright shame that Eighth Grade, its young star (Elsie Fisher), and its first time director won't be getting their just accolades on Oscar night. Once again, the Spirit awards get it right while mainstream Hollywood is stuck awarding mediocre biopics...
I never thought I'd be able to do any of this stuff. But I can. Anyone can wear the mask. You can wear the mask. If you didn't know that before, I hope you do now. Cuz I'm Spider-Man. And I'm not the only one. Not by a long shot.
Immediately after leaving the theater all manner of hyperbole flew through my head: "Greatest Superhero origin story", "Greatest Spider-Man movie", "Greatest Animated Super-hero movie", "Greatest Marvel Movie", maybe even.... dare I say.... "Greatest Comic Book Movie"? I don't know... maybe? For know, I will leave those statements to ferment for a bit and let time tell. What I am comfortable saying right now though is that this movie is proudly, passionately, and purposefully unafraid. It isn't afraid of screwing up the continuity of the MCU. It isn't afraid of breaking the rules of movie-making. Most of all, it isn't afraid of being labelled a comic. book. movie.
For decades, we have been inching closer to this realization without ever quite getting there. The early comic book franchises (Batman, Superman, X-Men) just felt like it was enough to make a movie using comic book characters. As much as I liked these movies (some of them at least) they always just felt like the filmmakers were trying to emulate other movies rather than truly translate the feel of the comic art form. The MCU movies made a giant leap by actually telling comic stories and not being afraid to use true-to-source costumes and characterization, but their adaptations still pale a bit to the books they translate. Into the Spider-verse completes this journey by just plain getting it all right. This film is more comic than movie, more heart than head, and more graphically beautiful than CG impressive. Top all of this off with the origin story of Miles Morales, perhaps the most universally relatable (age, race, attitude) superhero to grace the screen to this point, and you have an absolute gem of a movie... I mean comic....
"What would Fred Rogers do"? It's not a question that you can answer. The most important question is, "What are you going to do?"
So many things to write about here..... Do I write about how the Oscars mean so much to me and this movie's lack of a nomination was the biggest snub of the 21st century? Do I write about how I had to change my contacts after this movie because I cried so much? Do I write about how Mr. Rogers is the greatest role model of the modern age? Do I write about how much I value my upbringing without cable television and how my family measured time in segments of PBS programming (1 hour=Sesame St., 30mins=Mr. Rogers, 15mins=Neighborhood of Make-Believe)? Do I write about how as Mr. Rogers said, "love is the root of everything - all learning, all parenting, all relationships..."? I think I'll just cede my space to the most powerful moment in this film:
From the time you were very little, you've had people who have smiled you into smiling, people who have talked you into talking, sung you into singing, loved you into loving. So, on this extra special day, let's take some time to think of those extra special people. Some of them may be right here, some may be far away. Some may even be in heaven. No matter where they are, deep down you know they've always wanted what was best for you. They've always cared about you beyond measure and have encouraged you to be true to the best within you. Let's just take a minute of silence to think about those people now.
The images that come to my mind are many: parents, teachers, friends, coworkers, students, family members, parishioners, and strangers that showed you love for as little as a few seconds. Now, as the quote says above, "What are you going to do?" Mr. Rogers doesn't simply want you to think about those people. If he did, he wouldn't ask you to silently reflect for a literal minute. He wants you to be inspired by how they made you feel. Mr. Rogers wants us to live every moment, in all that we do, carefully and consciously to be that person, to be that force for love for someone else.
We are alone. No matter what they tell you, we women are always alone.
Major movie studios should be shaking in their boots... Netflix (and other streamers) are coming for them. For the second year in a row, Netflix has produced and marketed one of the best films of the year (for 2017 it was Mudbound by the way). Sure, it would've been nice to have seen this with an audience on the big screen, but more likely I would've been alone on a Tuesday afternoon. Not to mention taking a family of four to see a movie would pay your Netflix bill for three months. Still, just because movies are more accessible doesn't mean you shouldn't be meticulous with your choices. It pains me to see folks falling all over themselves for run-of-the-mill meme generators like Bird Box when movies like this are out there on the same platform.
With Roma Alfonso Cuaron deconstructs many of the elements that have made his films so groundbreaking (Gravity, Children of Men) and gets to the essence of central human emotion. He ditches even technicolor as he literally returns to his roots to tell a story based on his childhood that is able to capture true love, heartache, loss, and family. Roma never feels like a movie so much as it is an invitation into the life of this very specific native housemaid. I see this film as a jumping off point if you are hungering for more challenging movies. There are no car chases, superheroes, or jump scares here, just true empathy and loving cinema.
The difference between me and you is... I ain't no killer. I ain't no killer.
Daveed Diggs is living his best life. Born in Oakland to an African American father and Jewish mother, he was recruited and went to Brown University where he broke the schools record for 110m hurdles and earned a BA in Theater. He performed for a few years in experimental theater until he was discovered by Lin-Manuel Miranda and debuted the roles of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in "Hamilton" (for which he won a Tony and a Grammy). After a handful of other credits, he returned to Oakland to write and star in "Blindspotting" with his friend Rafael Casal.
Diggs' determination and talent aren't the only thing that makes this film brilliant. He tells the story of a young man of color who is trying to come back from a stint in prison in a world of gentrification, racism, and violence. "Blindspotting" delicately, hilariously, and effectively deals with these tough and timely issues. This is the most criminally underseen movie of 2018 (and, as of this writing, my favorite).
Remember, love is what brought you here. And if you’ve trusted love this far, don’t panic now. Trust it all the way.
I admit it.... I wasn't on board with "Moonlight". I liked it, it was beautiful, but it fell prey to that curse so many movies stumbled into during my life: winning an Oscar over my favorite film of the year. Don't get me wrong, the movie is visually stunning, but I just felt that Barry Jenkins writing did not live up to the moving storyline and artistic presentation.
"Beale St." solves that problem by starting with source material from James Baldwin. Jenkins visual style meshes perfectly with Baldwin's poetic prose. From start to finish, this films sits ups straighter and holds its head higher than other movies. This will be the first of a handful of entries to my "best of" that tackles race-related issues, but "Beale St." is so much more than that. This isn't a beautiful black film, a moving political statement, or even a masterful period piece. "If Beale Street Could Talk" is a beautiful, moving, masterpiece. It transcends the labels that we put on films. I cannot stress how gorgeous this film is. I wanted to feel the sunshine coming into the windows of the loft, I yearned to embrace the characters during their times of struggle, and I hungered to share in the love that fueled this little family. The next best thing I can do to satiate myself is to love as much as I can, in all the ways that I can, all the people that I can.
Academy members have their Oscar nominations ballots in hand so maybe they'll click on a random blogspot and I can convince them of a few crazy picks. I have plenty more films to see, but if I were filling out a nomination sheet for 2018, this is how it would look:Best Picture: BlindspottingBest Actor: Ethan Hawke, First ReformedBest Actress: Elsie Fisher, Eighth GradeBest Supporting Actor: Armie Hammer, Sorry to Bother YouBest Supporting Actress: Thomasin McKenzie, Leave No TraceBest Animated Feature: Spiderman: Into the Spider-VerseBest Cinematography: RomaBest Costume Design: Mary Poppins ReturnsBest Director: Bo Burnham, Eighth GradeBest Documentary Feature: Won't You Be My NeighborBest Film Editing: Sorry to Bother YouBest Foreign Language Film: RomaBest Makeup and Hairstyling: AquamanBest Original Score: First ManBest Original Song: "Not a Game", BlindspottingBest Production Design: Sorry to Bother YouBest Sound Editing: Spiderman: Into the Spider-VerseBest Sound Mixing: BlindspottingBest Visual Effects: Ready Player OneBest Adapted Screenplay: BlacKkKlansmanBest Original Screenplay: Eighth Grade
Best Animated Short: One Small Step
I'll try to get some "Best of '18" reviews up soon!
