The Year in Movies: 2016

  2016

Number of Movies I've Seen: 78

Number of Movies from my original top 365:  ended in 2011

Oscar Winner:
Moonlight -  I dig this movie.... but... it will forever be the movie that broke my heart on Oscar night. More on that with the next post.

Box Office Winner:
Finding Dory - I am actually surprised how forgettable this Pixar entry has been. I was pretty neutral with it until the emotional bombshell (Dory's parents' rocks).

My Top Ten:
1. NEXT POST!

2. Hacksaw Ridge - I know... I know... Mel Gibson isn't the greatest human, but if you've learned anything on my blog, you've seen that I am pretty adept at separating the art from the artist. This movie was made for me. A war film about pacifism. I adore this movie.

3. Lion - (PICTURED ABOVE) A moving true-story for the modern age. Go see this movie!

4. Fences - Having just watched Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, I can pretty confidently say I think I want all of August Wilson's plays adapted for the screen. 

5. Captain Fantastic - Sometimes I have an urge to simply run away and live in the woods. The family in this film follows that fantasy to its conclusions both beautiful and terrifying.

6. Your Name - Makoto Shinkai draws pretty. He also understands the pure magic that is falling in love in a unique way. It doesn't get much more unique than this mystery romance. This is the highest grossing anime movie of all time. I can pretty much guarantee you will see why if you give it a shot.

7.  Kubo and the Two Strings  - Probably my favorite movie from Laika studios (the sadists who are still doing frame by frame miniature motion capture animation). A must see for anyone who loves the hero's journey, Japanese culture, and gorgeous imagery.

8. Sing Street - Grossly underseen movie about music and young love. Original songs and heartfelt performances make this one pure magic.

9. Everybody Wants Some!! - Richard Linklater attempts a "spiritual sequel" to Dazed and Confused. Its good but doesn't quite compare to his best work.

10. Midnight Special - Jeff Nichols is a very interesting director. He also holds the distinction of employing my fellow Grifton Bulldog Neil Moore. Each of his movies are unique and enthralling. This is his strangest and possibly my favorite.

Best of the Year: 2006 - Bobby

 

Quite possibly the most critically panned of my "favorites", but it's my list. I think my love for this movie has more to do with my love for progressive idealist American democracy than Emilio Estevez's filmmaking talent. The Kennedy brothers attempted to bring decent anti-corporate populism to the people of our country and were killed for it. My post from ten years ago.

" This is a time of shame and sorrow. It is not a day for politics. I have saved this one opportunity to speak briefly to you about this mindless menace of violence in America which again stains our land and every one of our lives. ... Why? What has violence ever accomplished? What has it ever created? No martyr's cause has ever been stilled by his assassin's bullet. No wrongs have ever been righted by riots and civil disorders. A sniper is only a coward, not a hero, and an uncontrolled, uncontrollable mob is only the voice of madness, not the voice of the people." - Robert F. Kennedy

The Year in Movies: 2006

 2006

Number of Movies I've Seen: 80

Number of Movies from my original top 365:  22!

Oscar Winner:
The Departed -  Probably the most entertaining Scorcese in my opinion. This is a really fun crime story. I always meant to get around to watching the original Hong Kong Infernal Affairs, but, alas, I still haven't seen it.

Box Office Winner:
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - Why, oh why, didn't they just stop with one....?

My Top Ten:
1. NEXT POST!

2. The Astronaut Farmer - Quite possibly the sweetest, most hopeful movie you've never seen.

3. Shortbus - Whenever I talk about this movie I worry about someone stumbling across it and then, "tYeR! yOu MaDe Me WaTcH pOrN!" I just checked the internet and it isn't available to stream, so I guess the only way to watch it is by borrowing my DVD. So I guess I'm safe.  ;)

4. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - On the other hand... this movie is on Amazon Prime. It is about a young man in 18th Century Paris who "uses" beautiful women in quest to develop the perfect fragrance. It is a trip.

5. Little Miss Sunshine - (PICTURED ABOVE) Easily could have been my favorite of the year. It includes my most impactful scene of the 00's ("colorblind"), but it just falls apart in the last act for me.

6. Stranger than Fiction - Probably the best Will Ferrell movie. Genuinely wish he would focus more on good movies rather than Anchorman 6.

7.  Amazing Grace  - I get so tired of "Christian" movies. The ones made by southern megachurches and sold at Hobby Lobby. I'm sure they begin with the best of intentions, but they come off as white privilege cash grabs. THIS is what I wish "Christian" movies looked like: heartfelt studies that exhibit the fault in humanity and the grace of the Lord.

8. Clerks II - This movie is nearly 15 years old. For perspective, Clerks was only 12 years old when this movie came out.... Man... I am old....

9. The Departed

10. Southland Tales - This movie is far from perfect. What it is is a strange, meandering study on what the near future/end of the world could look like. It doesn't quite predict the dawn of facebook or Trumpism, but it is still a pretty interesting ride.

Best of the Year: 1996 - Independence Day

 I think my pick for this year says way more about me than 1996. When I was 14-15 years old, I flirted with the idea of becoming a science-fiction writer. I "workshopped" a series of novels that would center around an alien species testing humanity. Many of our historical events were actually accomplished by aliens masquerading as humans (Charles Lindberg) or humans working for aliens (Jack Ruby). My main idea was to have the aliens perform the ultimate test by blowing up Washington, D.C. during a presidential inauguration. So it was with excitement and a little bit of jealousy that I saw the first trailer for Roland Emmerich's Independence Day that contained the classic image in the pic above. Who knows how my life would have been different if this hadn't beaten me to the punch. ;)

As for the movie, it's just plain fun. Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, and Randy Quaid make for an unlikely but purely entertaining action team. You can say this movie is silly, dated, sexist, or corny, but you simply cannot say it isn't a good time.

My original post.

The Year in Movies: 1996

 1996

Number of Movies I've Seen: 39

Number of Movies from my original top 365:  8

Oscar Winner:
The English Patient -  What a strange sleepy movie...Beautifully crafted both visually and thematically. Still, I found myself wishing the film was about Juliette Binoche's Hana and Naveen Andrews' Kip rather than it's central characters. I was not sold on the "love" between Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas, and I felt that Fiennes' character especially was pretty unlikable.

Box Office Winner:
NEXT POST!

My Top Ten:
1. NEXT POST!

2. Fargo - (PICTURED ABOVE) I know, I know... I really need to watch the series. I have heard nothing but great things. But....  I just worry that it has made folks forget how great this movie is. Such a perfect little slice of strange crime in such an unlikely location with unique heroes and reluctant villains. This isn't my favorite Coen brothers movie, but I think it may be the best.

3. Sling Blade - Billy Bob Thornton's pet project is a gem that riffs of the Forrest Gump theme and plays it so much more brilliantly.

4. Romeo + Juliet - Making emo/goth/alt kids fall in love with Shakespeare since 1997.

5. Trainspotting - "Choose life"

6. Bottle Rocket - Wes Anderson's debut film. You could see what was coming from him and boy has it been good.

7.  Hard Eight  - Paul Thomas Anderson's debut film. You could see what was coming form him and boy has it been good.

8. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills - The first in a series of three HBO documentaries about a gruesome murder, wrongfully convicted teenagers, and the justice system that can destroy the lives of the innocent.

9. Waiting for Guffman - The first of the Christopher Guest mockumentaries (I don't count Spinal Tap). They would get way better (Best in Show is probably the best), but this one still holds some charm because of its scale and general weirdness.

10. In Love and War - An okay historic-romantic-drama-lite that will always hold a special place for me because it was probably the first movie that I ever watched while cuddling. To be sixteen again....

Best of the Year: 1986 - An American Tail

 

So.... I haven't really felt up to blogging lately, but thinking about my favorite movie from 1986 has gotten me a bit inspired:

I'm not sure what prompted it (probably the desire to get out of the house with a screaming one-year-old), but for some reason in the summer of 1986 my Daddy decided to take me to a double-feature at the movie theater. I don't really remember much about the second movie (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock) and I allegedly fell asleep, but I definitely remember the first (I'm pretty sure my dad fell asleep!). I like Disney movies, but I didn't really fall in love with them until well into my teenage years during the 90s Disney renaissance. For me, it was all about Don Bluth. My childhood favorites included The Secret of Nimh, The Land Before Time, and, of course, An American Tail.

It's probably strange to say, but An American Tail was formative for my patriotism. It exemplifies everything that wish our country to be: a haven for those against atrocities, a country of opportunity where we work together for the good of all, and a place where, despite our differences, despite how very far apart we are... we can be unified in the knowledge that we might be wishing on the same bright star.

The decision to use the actual child actors' rather than vocal replacements in the song featured below was pure genius. The truth, pain, and hope behind their breaking voices will never cease to completely wreck every emotion I have.

The Year in Movies: 1986

  1986

Number of Movies I've Seen: 17

Number of Movies from my original top 365:  7

Oscar Winner:
Platoon -  The year the Oscars got it right. Of all the glut of 70's and 80's era Vietnam movies, Oliver Stone's is the only one for me that avoids glorification of violence and misplaced patriotism while telling a human story that is timeless beyond those that lived its truth.

Box Office Winner:
Top Gun - Hollow, meaningless, cool-as-ice fighter jet fun.

My Top Ten:
1. NEXT POST!

2. Platoon 

3. Castle in the Sky - Probably my favorite from Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki. Just don't watch the dub!

4. Stand by Me - On a recent rewatch I dug this one so much more after seeing the love story that I didn't notice as a kid

5. Aliens - Alien is due all the credit for creating this universe, but this is easily the best stand-alone film in the saga.

6. River's Edge - I really need a rewatch of this one. Crispin Glover and Keanu Reaves in full 80's teen darkness.

7.  Hannah and Her Sisters  -  Many films feel like 20 minutes of content stretched to 2 hours. Allen's films somehow squeeze 10 hours of content into 90 minutes. Every character is alive, dynamic, real, and interesting. This film is also notable for quick "pre-fame" cameos from Lewis Black, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and John Turturro all in a quick 30 second scene.

8. Hoosiers - Racial optics aside, this movie will always be one of my favorite sports movies. I love basketball... I just wish my genes did too.

9. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - My favorite of the Star Trek series mainly because it was the first one I saw as a cinematically aware person. Also, save the whales!

10. Short Circuit - I loved these movies as a kid. On rewatch, I realized that most of the things I loved were actually from the sequel.  Oh well...

Best of the Year: 1976 - All the President's Men

 

Isn't it adorable that only 45 years ago something as innocent as breaking into your political opponent's campaign headquarters was enough to bring down a president. An incident that should have united the country against political corruption instead prompted a corruption arms race that can always be explained away with the excuse "Well everybody else is doing it!" Iran/Contra, CIA regime change, Iraq War, drone strikes against US citizens and foreign civilians, Emoluments scandal, Russian election scandal. All of these are arguably a much bigger deal than Watergate and yet no President was forced to resign. Believe it or not, there was a time when many politicians put ethics over partisanship. It'd be pretty cool if we could bring that back.