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thestray · 4 years ago

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The 62 2020 Movies Releases I Watched During 2020 Ranked

Like the awkward title says, I’m going to rank (and talk about) all the 2020 movies I watched in 2020. This is not meant as any empirical list of what was best, it’s ranked by what I liked the least to the most, and my main criteria is what kind of impact it had on me and/or how much I enjoyed the experience of watching it.

Little bit about myself, I went to art school for animation, then after art school I went to a community college where I studied screenwriting. Never ended up pursuing either thing professionally, but I still write screenplays in my free time and read screenwriting books and listen to screenwriting podcasts. I'm the type of person that loves special features, seeks out behind the scenes information and director interviews, and watch youtube videos analyzing films. I love film, and thinking about film and talking about film and sharing the films I like, and maybe one day making films of my own, who knows.

Ranking and reviewing 62 movies was a more ambitious and challenging task than I anticipated, I rearranged this list swapping titles back and forth so many times, and then I’d remember a movie I forgot I watched and have to add that and figure out where it ranks. I started this on January 1st and am just now ready to post it on the 17th, I was still switching rankings right up until posting this. Even looking at it now there are some kinda want to switch but I’ve accepted that this is more or less arbitrary, lol.

The more I learn about film and what goes into creating a movie the more lenient I am about them. It’s not like I’m never critical of films, but I try to consider both the good and the bad of a movie instead of thinking in a binary of films are either amazing or trash. Some of these films aren’t great, but I typically still enjoyed them to some degree. Except Mulan, lol. I’m sorry Mulan. Speaking of Mulan...

62. Mulan

I'm going to try to say something nice about all these movies even if I didn't like them at all. So... I like the cast, and there are some nice visual moments. I actually was looking forward to this movie before reviews started coming out, it has 2 of the martial arts G.O.A.T.s in it, Donnie Yen and Jet Li, and also Jason Lee as the bad guy, so I figured it might at the very least have some decent action, but they were all underutilized. There’s not a single moment in the film where I felt anything at all. I think all these Disney live-action remakes are doing is making a case for how effective animation is for storytelling.

61. Color Out of Space

I heard a lot of good things about this movie, and it’s really cool visually, and I love Nicolas Cage always, but I really couldn’t get into it. I guess my main issue is that it starts off already too campy for any of to the Lovecraftian horror to really hit. It felt like a B-movie with great production value, and maybe that’s what they were going for? I really wanted to like this but I really just did not feel invested in anything going on, did not relate to anyone in the family, so I don’t think I got much out of it besides the cool visuals.

60. Bloodshot

I think the main flaw of this movie is that is that Vin Diesel was a producer on it, and Vin Diesel should be kept away from making creative decisions on movies. How Did This Get Made did a great podcast episode on this movie. It’s absolute nonsense, it has a couple of cool sequences and special effects in it, and Lamorne with a British accent is great, he’s the main redeeming value of this movie.

59. The Midnight Sky

It seems like this movie wants to be Interstellar, it’s structured in a very similar way, but it just didn’t quite have that same emotional punch. It looks very good, it’s well-acted, it has it’s moments.

58. The New Mutants

It's not as much of a trainwreck as people make it out to be in my opinion, I think the cast is good and it has some good character interactions, but it mostly suffers from the fact that it's way too predictable, from the beginning you're way ahead of the characters, and it doesn't help that they're in this confined setting so there's not a lot for them to actually do. But I appreciate the attempt at using mutants to do a horror breakfast club thing, good concept.

57. Vampires vs The Bronx

Vampires as a gentrifiers taking over the hood, great idea. Mero is in it, the brand is brolic. It was a fun set up, but it was neither funny enough or scary enough in my opinion. The vampires die so easily it's like okay whatever. It's like a really long Goosebumps episode.

56. Freaky

I don't think the execution lived up to the great concept, but Vince Vaughan was really great in those sincere moments playing a teenage girl. Horror fans will appreciate the gory kills. I'm not going to spoil anything but I do think there are some narrative issues that keep this from being stronger than it could've been. If you made the killer a creepy janitor at the school or even one of the teachers, then I think that would've created more interesting situations.

55. Eurovision

I love Will Ferrell, I even love some of his flops like Casa De Mi Padre and Kicking and Screaming, and even the House I think had a lot of really funny moments. This was definitely one of the least funny movies he's done to me. I think the director David Dobkin couldn't commit to being silly the way Adam McKay can cause there's a lot of this movie that just has no jokes, and the movie is over 2 hours long which isn't normal for comedies so you spend a lot of time watching unfunny scenes and extended musical numbers.

54. The Wrong Missy

I'm not a big fan of most Happy Madison movies, the jokes are very hit or miss for me. I'm a big fan of Lauren Lapkus though so I watched it to support her, and she plays an absolute psycho in this. It's so over the top it's like this character is not a human being, but I have to admit there are a few moments where she made me laugh pretty loud. I'd never watch this movie again, but maybe I'd look up certain parts on youtube.

53. The Platform

High concept dystopian sci-fi horror. Reminds me of the Cube. It's one of those things that makes you think about what you'd do in the same situation. It's a very on the nose allegory, so by the end of it my only takeaway was "Yeah, it really be like that."

52. Archenemy

Another high concept movie. Joe Mangienello is good in it, but Glenn Howerton and Paul Scheer are my favorite parts of the movie, it's fun to see comedy actors play bad guys. My main problem with the movie was that I did not find the teen character to be interesting or relatable at all, in fact he can be kind of obnoxious. In his introductory scene he's REALLY bothering this random guy minding his own business, not respecting his boundaries at all. Then the rest of the movie is about him exploiting a homeless man and being really pushy for likes on some app, and he doesn't really have a character arc. Also wasn't a big fan of the animated sequences but I forgive that knowing this was a low budget movie and those sequences were done by a team of just 3 people.

51. Power

Jamie Foxx is great. I think he makes almost anything he's in watchable to some degree. The idea of this movie is fun but I think the action sequences are kinda underwhelming, but Jamie makes it worth watching in my opinion.

50. Birds of Prey

This movie was all style and absolutely no substance. When your main character doesn't have a solid purpose or goal you're really just watching shit happen, and that can be okay if the shit that's happening is occassionally fun or funny, but it doesn't really make for a memorable story in my opinion.

49. Wonder Woman 84

The most panned movie of 2020 maybe? It's got flaws for sure and some narrative choices I just can't understand why they made. It has some fun performances though and I ultimately appreciated that our superhero wins not by using her fists but by appealing to goodness. I feel like you rarely see that kind of idealism any more. It may not be realistic but I think that's one of the things fantasy is good for, showing us a way things could be better to strive for. But yeah, the Steve Trevor things was fucking weird, why'd they do that? And neither Steve or Diana seem concerned with about this random guy's fate. I'd probably rate this film higher if they had Steve simply appear out of thin air, I mean why not? It's magic. But I loved Kristen Wig and Pedro Pascal in this. Pedro is performing with his whole body, did he film this after season 1 of the Mandolorian? Maybe being under that helmet for a season made him want to be really expressive. The films overall kinda campy but I didn't necessarily mind that.

48. Peninsula

Sequel to the already classic Train to Busan, this film decides the up the scale, which is what sequels often do, but I think it was a mistake in this instance. This is more of an over the top action movie than a character-driven horror film like the first. There's a climactic Mad Max-esque car chase scene that is almost entirely CGI. I don't think it was a bad movie, it's an okay popcorn flick, but it definitely doesn't live up to the original.

47. The Old Guard

In terms of action I don't think it did anything interesting, but I like how they explored how horrific and heartbreaking it would be to be immortal. Coming to terms with your own mortality is a tough thing to do, but we often don't consider the idea that death is a blessing we take for granted.

46. Sputnik

A Russian sci-fi thriller about a young doctor being tasked with trying to figure out how to separate an alien parasite from a Cosmonaut that's returned from earth. Good performances, creepy vibe, and lots of interesting questions about ethics. It has a sort of epilogue ending with a reveal I didn't quite understand the significance to the story, but didn't take away from either. Solid.

45. The Invisible Man

Fun sci-fi thriller about toxic abusive relationships and gaslighting. Elizabeth Moss is great in it and my favorite sequences are before her character actually catches on and you have moments where the camera is just focusing on a random place, very creepy and effective.

44. Sonic the Hedgehog

Personally I would've preferred a fully animated film taking place in Sonic's world. I don't know why they always feel like they need to make these movies about human characters and then spend a lot of time having to hide your CG character and having people do comical reactions to them. It feels very played out to me. BUT Jim Carrey is great in this, of course. Jim Carrey is the reason to watch this movie. He makes the movie. And it goes without saying thank God they changed that character design.

43. 2067

What I liked about this dystopian future is that the cause was basically everything. War, famine, ruining the environment, pandemics, just all our collective fuckery has resulted in a world where the human race is on the verge of extinction, plants are extinct, and oxygen is synthetic. Enter time travel, a young man is tasked with traveling into the future to bring back the solution to saving the human race. Very timely obviously. I liked it.

42. Monsters of Man

Some asshole tech bros let some killer robots loose on a remote southeast asian village as a trial run. It has lots of flaws but I give it some leeway because this is the first film of a guy who wrote, directed and was the cinematographer by himself, he didn't have a huge budget or much experience, so it's hard to expect perfection. My biggest criticism is that the film centers a white guy living in this village and some westerner medics, not the actual Asian people of the village. Could've been so much more of interesting commentary about racism and eurocentrism dropping these robots in a village of brown people no one will miss just for practice. That aside though I think it was a solid enough thriller and the robots looked pretty good.

41. Family Romance LLC

An interesting movie about a Japanese entrepreneur who has a business where he'll play whatever role in your life you need. Father, husband, coworker, etc there's a scene where someone even pays him to be scolded in his place by his boss. The main thrust of the film though is him playing the role of a girl's absentee father, pretends to reconnect with her and take her out on the town for activities. It's shot very documentary style, and there are a mixture of first time actors and non-actors. Sometimes there are long awkward conversations that feel just as awkward as real life. I really liked the premise, and the only thing that keeps it from being higher on my list is it doesn't have a strong enough conflict nor does it really have a satisfying conclusion.

40. Over the Moon

Directorial debut of animation legend Glen Keane, I really liked this visually. It was sufficiently enjoyable, but it doesn't have that emotional gut punch that Pixar or Disney films tend to have. But I guess cartoons don't NEED to make you bawl your eyes out to be good. I think there were some missed opportunities narratively, like I guess this is spoilery so just scroll ahead if you don't want to know, but she gains a step brother that she doesn't like and doesn't want to spend time with, once the adventure starts on the Moon they get separated very early on, and don't ge reunited until towards the end, but she somehow now cares about him and considers him her brother. I didn't feel like that was really earned, they should've been together throughout the adventure getting to know each other. But I otherwise liked the story aside from that nitpick. Loved the colors of this movie, almost everything in the moon world is luminescent which provides some nice visuals. Hope to see Glen direct more in the future.

39. The Croods 2

Nothing revolutionary but it has some solid physical comedy and great voice acting. All of Nicolas Cage's overacting is perfect for animation, and I liked Peter Dinklage as Mr. Betterman as well. There's a lot going on thematically but it all works pretty cohesively.

38. #ALIVE

Another Korean zombie thriller. I really liked this because I felt like as far as zombie outbreaks go this is the most realistic scenario. Once you realize what's going on you will just stay in your house rather than risk going outside and fighting zombies. But that poses the problem of a limited supply of food and water. The main thrust of the movie is not how this character survives though it's about him trying to retain his will to live. It's the perfect pandemic isolation allegory.

37. Love and Monsters

It looked kinda corny but I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I like Dylan O'Brien, I love Tom Holland as Peter Parker but I've always felt like Dylan O'Brien would've been a great choice too, he has a good everyman relatable quality. There's also a dog in the movie that I loved. Put a dog in peril in a movie and I will be on the edge of my seat guaranteed. It's a fun movie with some interesting creatures in it and a solid character arc for our main protagonist.

36. Extraction

I love the trend of stunt coordinators directing films. That's the main reason why the John Wick series is so good, and the reason why this also has some very solid action. Nothing crazy here in terms of story or themes, everything is an excuse for Chris Hemsworth to fuck people up and it delivers on that. There's one scene where he slaps around some kids attacking him that I found hilarious as well. Fully welcoming an Extraction 2.

35. Save Yourselves

A couple decides to take a break from social media and get away to a cabin outside the city. While they're disconnected from the world an alien invasion occurs, furry little basketball sized poofs. This movie was pretty funny. I'm a little ambivalent about the ending but I enjoyed these hipsters arguing about what to do about aliens.

34. Bill and Ted Face the Music

A most bodacious movie. Fun gags and a robot that steals the show. It's not as good as the first 2 but I don't think that's any surprise. I think it borrows a little bit too much from the previous films, like the collecting legendary musicians thing, could've done without that. It was a fun movie though, and the daughters really worked.

33. An American Pickle

Seth Rogen playing an orthodox Jew who's been preserved in pickle juice for 100 years and his modern day app developer grandson. I think this may be Seth Rogen's best acting role, as silly as this movie is he's kind of endearing as this character from 100 years aro, and as the grandson he's a lot more understated than he usually is in movies.

32. Tenet

Tenet! Is it controversial that this is not higher up on the list? I really like Nolan's films, actually been a fan since watching his first film Following in a film class. Nolan likes playing with time in his movies so it was inevitable that he'd do something that addresses it very directly eventually. I love the time travel genre and I think this is one of the most ambitious and unique approaches to it to ever done. I actually braved theaters to see this because I did not want to miss the opportunity to see it on the big screen. I did it as safely as possible and booked a reserved seating theater where I knew I wouldn't be sitting by anyone, had a mask, gloves, antibacterial gell on deck, sanitized my seat with wipes, etc, there only 2 other people in the theater all of us sitting way for from each other. Weirdest moviegoing experience I've ever had but glad I saw it on the big screen because the visual spectacle of this is excellent. The reason it's not higher on the list is because as conceptually cool as it is as I did not feel invested. Just on a story level having a character we know very little about pursuing a goal he knows very little about for no clearly defined reason makes it feel like... we're just watching events unfold as opposed to watching a character-driven story. There's a moment at the end that you can tell was meant to be an emotional moment, but I felt nothing. They try to introduce some emotional stakes with the female character, but idk, since it wasn't tied to the inciting incident it felt more like a b-plot than fundamental to the story. So it was a really fun cool looking puzzle, more like watching a cool Rube Goldberg machine, but not something I really thought much about after it was over.

31. Guns Akimbo

I really have been enjoying Daniel Radcliffe's post-Harry Potter career, he'll do some solid dramas he seems to prefer doing fun weird shit like Swiss Army Man, Horns, his role on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, etc. This is in that vein of fun weird shit, a guy who gets guns bolted to his hands and is running around the city in a robe trying to survive essentially a real life video game. A lot of the movies lower on this list had fun concepts but were lacking in execution, but this is one that is just as fun as the idea sounds, even more fun actually, it's funny, the action is good, and there are some great visuals. I found it all around enjoyable.

30. Let Them All Talk

Glen Close as a celebrated author who invites her nephew and 2 estranged best friends on a cruise with her. It's a very light-hearted movie with some underlying conflicts that the characters are afraid to address head on. Glen Close is great, obviously, she plays this pretentious self-important woman with affectations but is still likable and warm. It's a fairly pleasant almost slice-of-life until the 3rd act where everything comes together. To me it was a movie about communication, saying what you mean, saying what you feel, and those unspoken assumptions of what those around you are thinking or feeling about you. I know I can relate to the idea of wanting an apology from someone who might not even be cognizant of the fact that you feel slighted by them, or vice versa finding out someone's had a long standing problem with you when you thought you were cool. One sided grudges do no one any good.

29. True History of the Kelly Gang

I've heard of Ned Kelly, but I've never seen the Heath Ledge or Mick Jagger movies about him and I don't know much about him other than he's a famous Australian outlaw and something of a folk hero to some. The performances and cinematography if this are great. George MacKay from 1917 is the lead and he's amazing, sometimes vulnerable and soft, other times a madman. It spends a lot of time in his childhood and the child actor who plays Ned is great as well. It's gritty and sometimes surreal in it's imagery. From what I can gather previous films seemed to focus more on what happened with him and his gang, while this movie seems to focuses more on everything in his life that led up to him becoming who he is and forming that gang. Like a 3rd of the movie is spent in his childhood, and once the gang is actually formed things move at a pretty brisk pace, seemingly skimming over the exploits of the gang to the conclusion. The film feels very raw and gritty and very fuck the police which I always appreciate.

28. Lucky Grandma

A stubborn grandma in New York's chinatown gets her fortunte read and is told that she's going to be very lucky and come into a fortune, she then comes into possession of a bunch of money that belongs to a gang and she decides to try to keep it feeling it's owed to her by the universe. A funny crime drama with the unlikeliest of protagonists.

27. Da 5 Bloods

Spike Lee is an icon but he can honestly be a little hit or miss for me. I don't always enjoy every choice he makes, for instance he uses real footage of war attrocities in this, and it's really upsetting to see REAL people, including children, be killed, when you're not expecting that. I understand it's meant to be upsetting, but it does make the movie something I'll probably never rewatch. Spike Lee's films to me can also feel at times heightened to the point that it feels a little cheesy (Miracle At St Anna), and there moments in this that kinda took me out of it to be honest, but overall I enjoyed it. The performances were great, Delroy Lindo in my opinion is one of the most underrated actors of all time, he's just always good no matter what he's in, everyone else in it is good too, but of course I have to mention Chadwick Boseman who was great. At the end of the day it gave me a lot to think about in terms or race, war, America, forgiveness, trauma and so many other things.

26. The Devil All The Time

There's a LOT going on in this movie, maybe a little too much, it's like 2 or 3 movies smashed into one, but... I really liked it, and that's probably because Tom Holland is so good in it. Really liked Robert Pattinson in it too. I can’t really think of more to say about it say I won’t. Next movie.

25. Bad Education

A true crime movie about school district officiala who stole from the budget of a highschool. Hugh Jackman is great in this. I loved Jackman as Wolverine, but now that he's done with that I'm excited to see him other stuff cause he's always interesting to watch; The Fountain, Prisoners, The Prestige, he's always solid. I enjoyed this, it was done with nuance, it doesn't let them off the hook for what they did but it doesn't paint them as absolute monsters either. I really have to ask myself, if I could get away with stealing money that no one would miss... I don't know, I think I'd not do it out of fear not altruism, lol.

24. My Octopus Teacher

This is a documentary on Netflix about a diver who immerses himself in the world of underwater life and documents the life of an octopus. It's really beautiful, both in terms of visuals and in content. There's not a lot to talk about because it's fairly straightforward, but it was really fascinating to learn about this octopus and see the bond they mutually formed, and again I can't talk about how great this movie looks, it's like you're in a different world. This is something I could put in and mute while I draw just for the ambiance.

23. Kajillionaire

A quirky dramedy about a family of really obtuse poor scam artists. As absurd as their behaviour is I can totally imagine a trio of weirdos like this living in Los Angeles ( I can say that cause it's my hometown and where I lived most of my life. It's Evan Rachel Wood's best role, I never would've imagined her doing something like this but she's great as "Old Dolio". It's funny, at time sad but not in a hammy melodramatic way, and I feel it had the perfect ending.

22. The Gentleman

Guy Ritchie doing what he does best. It's fun, stylish, witty, has layers and twists and reveals. Everybody's good in it. It doesn't have anything poignant to say, but it's fun to watch the entire time

21. Run

A thriller about a wheelchair bound teen who suspects her mother is drugging her and tries to get to the bottom of it. You can tell this director is a Hitchcock fan because it definitely has that Rear Window vibe but takes it a step further, and in many ways it's even shot and paced like Hitchcock. The lead actress is actually wheelchair bound herself so it really adds to the realism of all the things she does in this film. Oh, and Sarah Paulson is the mom, when is Sarah Paulson ever not good?

20. Horse Girl

Alison Brie is an awkward neurotic woman getting over recent grief and a history of mental illness in her family, she starts to have weird dreams and then notices people from her dreams in real life, starts blacking out and having gaps in time, and starts to believe it's due to alien abduction conspiracy. Is she losing her mind or is it really happening? Alison Brie is really really good in this, and she co-wrote it too, it has a lot of moments where you really feel sorry for her or scared for her and you start to question what's real yourself.

19. Swallow

I found this movie really fascinating, it's like what if you turned one of those My Strange Addiction episodes on TLC into a movie. It's about this woman who ostensibly, at least from appearances, has the perfect life (at least by societal standards), she came from nothing and is now housewife to a rich successful man, and behaves almost like a Stepford wife. Then develops a compulsion to swallow inedible things, like marbles and batteries and thumbtacks, which is a real condition called pica. Its the kind of movie that gives you a lot to think about but no easy answers.

18. Time to Hunt

A Korean heist thriller set in the near future. A bunch of childhood friends rob the wrong person and have an Anton Chigurh-esque killer sent after them to retrieve the money and kill them. It's a really tense cat and mouse thriller with good performances. The ending seemed to turn a lot of people off based on a lot of youtube comments I read, but I didn't mind it. My only real gripe is that they set this in the near future but aside from some imagery in the beginning it doesn't seem to come into play that much, this all could've taken place in modern day or even the past with no alteration of the story. I think the future setting was more just for some social commentary that maybe went over my head a little bit because I'm not from Korea, but I think if they were going to do near future they could've added some futuristic weapons or something. But that's just nitpicking, while the future setting didn't add to the story much it didn't take away from it either.

17. Tigertail

As I get older one of my worse fears is making decisions that I will regret for the rest of my life, so this movie really hit home as a cautionary tale. It's a kind of quietly devastating movie. There's no huge tragic horrific even, just a huge miscalculation. Decades of your life of work and unhappiness go by and all you can do is wonder what things could've been. I also especially appreciated the cinematography and music of this film.

16. Mother

It's been a while since I hated a character this much, but this titular mother really pissed me off. She's a neglectful mother who only sees her son as a tool, but he sticks by her cause he loves her. It's definitely not a fun movie to watch, but it made me feel a lot and meditate on the idea of love and whether it in itself has innate value.

15. Call

I went into this movie cold, having no idea what it was really about other than that it was a thriller that revolved around a woman getting mysterious calls. I'm glad I had seen no trailers and did not know the gist of the plot becuase it went places I really was not expecting. One of the most fun thrillers I've seen in a while. So, I'm not going to talk about the movie but what I will say is that Jeon Jong-seo, who played the woman in Burning is in this, she was great in Burning and she's great in this. After watching it I googled her to see what else she's been in that I can watch and this is only her 2nd film. Apparently Burning was her first audition EVER and she BOOKED IT! Like, one a million success story right? But she deserves it cause she's great and I look forward to seeing what else she does.

14. Possessor

This was directed by Brandon Cronenberg, the son of David Cronenberg, big shoes to fill, and I think he's going to fill them fine cause this is already a cult classic in my opinion. The visuals in this, which look like they were mainly created with practical and in camera effects. There is some very graphic very realistic violence in this. The movie is about an assassin who works for an organization and uses some type of scientific process to "possess" people to carry out hits. When she's in a body for too long who's in control starts to blur. It's really fucking trippy, like a fucked up Black Mirror episode.

13. Borat 2

Been a fan of Sacha since the old Da Ali G Show days when Borat was just a side character. I'm amazed with out Sacha can stay in character the way he does, especially when later on in the movie he shelters in place with some Qanon conservatives with who knows how long staying in character. Maybe they'll reveal they were paid actors who knows, but whatever I fucking laughed a lot at this movie. There's a black woman in this movie that I hope to god was not an actress cause I loved her and her reactions so much. It was a breath of fresh air to watch something that's just goofy in 2020 because it wasn't a good year for comedy. As much as I love film sometimes I got a little fatigue from watching so many things with very heavy themes, this also had heavy themes it was satirizing, but also chimp pornstar jokes, so.. a fun time.

12. A Sun

A drama about a family's eldest son going to juvenile detention for his involvement in a violent crime. We see how his father, his mother, his brother and his pregnant girlfriend all deal with this. I found it very engaging. My only gripe is that there are some moments of levity where they use this really generic comedy music score it and it really takes you out of the film. No music at all is better than bad generic music. Other than that I really loved it and the ending is great. I really thought this would end up in my top 10 but the following films just had more personal relevance or were more fun to watch.

11. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

R.I.P. Chadwick Boseman, this movie is like an acting showcase for him, he has so many great monologues here, the ending really took the wind out of me. It's also packed with really still relevant commentary on race.

10. Onward

You already expect a Pixar movie to make you cry, but this came from angle I was NOT expecting and I bawled hard at this. This movie was so applicable to my life experience it's like they specifically engineered it to make me personally cry. Honestly there are better movies lower on this list, but movies are just like any other art, when a song touches you on a personal level it doesn't need to have complex instrumentation cause it's how it made you feel that matters.

09. Palm Springs

A comedy released during a pandemic about trying to find stimulation and meaning when every day is the same thing? Ya don't say! Another take on Groundhog Day, which at this point I feel like it's its on genre with the amount of times the concept has been done, but I'm not complaining, I typically enjoy a good time loop movie (or show; Russian Doll). I don't know what else to say besides that it's really funny and Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti are both charming and great in it.

08. Scare Me

This movie was funny, creepy, the performances were great, and it's just really unique and clever. Written, directed, produced, and starring Josh Ruben, who I know primarily does really idiosyncratic "impressions" on instagram. It's 2 people alone in a cabin telling each other scary stories, they don't cut away to the stories you just watch them act it out. 4 people in the cast, one location, and it still manages to be a fun ride of a movie and manages to touch on some good themes in the overall story. I really hope to see Josh Ruben direct more films because I think he's really creative.

07. Ride Your Wave

A romantic comedy about a woman trying to find joy and purpose in her life. I often go into movies very cold, so I didn't know much about what this movie was about, just knew that it was from an animation studio and director that I really respected. It's very beautiful, very grounded, until it's not. Kind of movie that breaks your heart so it can uplift you later.

06. Uncle Frank

I really did not expect a lot from movie, not that I thought it would be bad, I just thought it be your middle of the road movie. It's about a teenage girl who really looks up to her uncle who she learns is a closeted gay man, in an era where that was potentially dangerous to be. They go on a road trip home when his father dies and learn about each other and themselves, it sounds kinda cookie cutter, but it really surprised me. Paul Bettany is so very good in this, and it made me cry. Easy way to get on high on this list is to make me cry lol.

05. Children of the Sea

This film had to be in my top 5 because I'm an animation nerd and this is one of the most beautiful animated films ever. Ever. It's right up there with Akira and the Ghibli catalogue, and the works of Satoshi Kon, and all the Disney movies and everything else. It focuses on details and nuances in a really gorgeous way. The story is VERY ambiguous and gets very metaphysical towards the end, the climax is like watching an acid trip. It's about a girl who meet 2 young boys who have adapted to living underwater, and they form a bond, and then... uh... there's no way I can concisely explain it. The creator has said it's not supposed to be understood logical, instead it's supposed to be felt. There's a lot of symbolism and metaphor, it's very philosophical and explores themes of connection and the cycle of life. It's produced by Studio 4°C, which is my favorite animation studio because they really push the envelope, they're responsible for Mind Game, Tekkonkinkreet, and the recent Mutafukaz, and other, if you've never heard of any of those definitely look them up, they're unlike any anime you've ever watched before. Anyway, beautiful movie and the cryptic plot allows for you to rewatch it multiple times and take different things away from it. I can't wait to own it on blu-ray.

04. 37 Seconds

I saw this very early in the year and love it. It's about a young woman with cerebal palsy who is also an aspiring hentai artist trying to get laid. Her mother who takes care of her like a child smothers her, so it's not only about trying to get laid but trying to have some independence. Firstly the performance of this woman who actually does have cerebral palsy and is a first time actor is so natural and endearing, secondly there are things they portray with an uncomfortable amount of realism and awkwardness that it really draws you in to the nitty gritty of her reality and what it can be like for someone who is wheelchair bound to try to have sexual experiences. I like that there were 2 films this year about characters in wheelchairs that used unknown actresses that face the same things their characters do, it adds to the authenticity of either film. Films like this are why I think diversity in film is not just about doing something for the demographic you're depicting but also giving everyone else not of that demographic new unique stories and perspectives.

03. Soul

I guess spoilers if you haven't seen this because it's easier to talk about why I liked it if I talk specifically about the plot. I wasn't expecting much from this when the initial trailer dropped, it made it seem like it was going to largely take place in this imaginary soul place with these blue things, and for most of the first act it seemed like that's what it was going to be, but when they come back to earth and the story really starts I really started enjoying it. This movie tricks you into thinking the film is about finding or fulfilling your purpose, only to throw a curveball that living life in and of itself is the "purpose", and this movie resonated so much with thoughts that were already on my mind. I relate so much to Joe as a creative person myself with so many unfulfilled dreams, at 36yrs old, having to put many of my goals on the backburner just to survive, and generally having that feeling that I'm still waiting to live life because I'm not fulfilling my "purpose". Sure reaching for goals is great, but I think our culture breeds this idea that happiness is a destination, an accomplishment, a certain amount of recognition, a monetization of your passion. I really loved how the film depicted that there's a dark side to focusing on your passions and how it can become a source of stress and unhappiness. This movie is just about savoring life itself, which people have been expressing through platitudes since forever but this film illustrated it in a way that words fail at, and that's what makes film such a great form of art.

02. Sound of Metal

This movie had one of the best trailers of 2020, I couldn't wait to watch this movie. FIrst of all I love RIz Ahmed and think he's an underrated and underutilized actor, he's fucking amazing in this, he needs an Oscar nom FOR SURE. His frustration is so palpable and he feels so natural in this movie. It follows a metal punk drummer who loses his hearing and goes to stay in a deaf community to acclimate. One thing I think is absolutely brilliant about this movie is the sound design. I'm not deaf so I can't speak from any type of experience, but they try to replicate what going deaf sounds like, what the audiologist tests sound like, what hearing aids and cochlear implants sound like, it's very immersive. I almost think of it like a companion piece to Soul, cause I had almost the same take away, it's just coming from it at a different angle.

01. I'm Thinking Of Ending Things

Okay, so I’m going to have a lot to say about this movie.

Maybe a very controversial pick for my number one because so many people absolutely hated this movie, lol. I am biased given that I'm a huge fan of Charlie Kaufman, he's my favorite screenwriter, and his films have only gotten weirder and weirder, so I know to expect the unexpected when going into one of his films. I can understand how this would be an offputting experience if you're expecting the conventions of normal narrative structure. It was surprising and perplexing to me how this film unfolded but I've watched non-narrative and experimental films before so I was intrigued rather than frustrated. You think it's about a woman who is thinking of breaking up with her boyfriend as they head to meet his parents. Once we get to his childhood home things start getting surreal, and that surrealism just escalates to the point where you realize this film is not at all attempting to depict reality and doesn't even have any continuity. This is the most a movie has ever felt like one of my dreams. I don't know how other people dream but this was so much like every weird nightmare I've ever had where I feel trapped in a situation.

There's a scene where the family is talking about art, the dad says he hates abstract art because it takes no skill, he prefers paintings that look like photographs because that takes real skill, the son asks why make a painting look like a photograph when you can just take a photograph, the woman states she paints pictures of landscapes and tries to imbue them with a sense of interiority, capturing the way she feels, the dad asks how can a landscape be sad if you don't have a person in it looking sad. I felt like this was a bit of meta commentary on the film itself. After I watched this movies I had my own theories, I watched some analysis videos on youtube that confirmed a lot of my ideas and gave me insight on other parts of the film, I watched the film again and formulated more ideas, it's so dense with things to project meaning onto and interpret it. I went on instagram and ended up having lengthy discussions about what the film meant both with people who loved it and hated it. Everybody I spoke with had slightly different interpretations and takeaways. One woman who initially did not like it came away with an appreciation for it after we had a lengthy discussion about it's meaning.

All of this is why it's my favorite film of the year, not only did I relate to it on a personal level because I'm in a stage of my life where I'm approaching middle ages and afraid I'm going to end up like the guy in this film, but I can't remember the last time a film led to such meaningful conversation about life, death, love, mental health, loneliness, trauma, etc. So like the scene where they're talking about art, I think this movie is neither intended to be abstract or realistic, it's supposed to be imbued with a sense of interiority. I know I sound way pretentious right now, but I just really appreciated Charlie Kaufman for making something unabashedly expressionist and serving it up to mainstream audiences. I really feel like I grow as a person and an artist every time I watch one of his films.

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So there ya go. That’s it. That concludes this arbitrary exercise in ranking the movies i saw last year, thank you for wasting your time on this, lol. I think it was a very good year for movies.

If there was a movie you were expecting to see on the list and it’s missing I just didn’t get to it in 2020, I may do an unranked follow up list of 2020 movies I missed in 2020, maybe.

That’s it.

End of post.

Bye.

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karihighman · 5 years ago

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Chicago PD recap

Here are my thoughts on the Chicago PD midseason finale “Absolution” :

Upstead

Chicago PD surprisingly kicked off their episode with some subtle Upstead flirting. Hailey has followed Jay to see where he had been sneaking off to (turns out it was to help out Marcus West’s family).

She warned him about his mission, but he reassured her that he’d be okay. Yeah, if only he knew what was to come.

Because not soon after, Jay had to bail on a crime scene to go see Angela (Marcus’ wife) again. Hailey, being the nice partner that she is, covered for him, so he could leave. When Voight asked her what was up, she told him Halstead was simply working some things out.

Later in the day when Jay doesn’t show up for court, Platt comes up to the district to ask where he is. Voight immediately checks with Hailey first, as being the one Jay is closest to, she may know his whereabouts. She had no idea where he was, as she had just gotten done leaving not one or two, but three voicemails on his phone.

I personally enjoyed her line of at two “I’m annoyed”; but 3 “I’m worried.” She’s such a work wife I love that for her.

But anyhow. So they find Halstead’s car, and after Upton tells Rojas to check it (because obviously she knows Jay’s truck hehehe), they find he went under without telling anyone. They go inside the house to find lots of blood, but no Jay. And no Angela. Yikesarama, as Jesse Lee Soffer would say...

Well, Hailey knows she needs to come clean, so she tells Voight about who Angela really is. Armed with this new info, they go to work to track down people involved with Angel, & that are connected to the drug dealer who was tortured in their earlier call (the one Jay left from in a hurry).

They start putting pieces together, which unsurprisingly lead to Darius Walker. Voight makes a deal and Darius agrees to infiltrate Kevin with Pedro, the guy they know helped run the drugs. Pedro lets Kevin (undercover name, Keyshawn) talk to Jay (known as “Jimmy” to Angela) so we know he’s okay for now.

All the while, wherever the heck Jay and Angela are, he’s trying to keep her spirits up. Things get pretty painful fast though, not only physically (Angela’s stabbed in the abdomen; Jay is bleeding profusely from his head & his face has been beaten), but emotionally too in terms of conversation.

Jay finally came clean and told Angela how he really met Marcus. In prison. Because he’s the cop who arrested him. Cue the dramatic music...

An important scene

Despite this slightly good prospect, the team still has to do the exchange of Angela and Jimmy (Jay) for the drugs. Kevin meets with Pedro, who — big shock (note the sarcasm please) — doesn’t have Angela or Jay to trade off.

A shootout ensues, which led Voight to taking down one guy with a shot to the leg (which I always find entertaining when he shoots someone up. He just never ever hesitates. He gives zero fucks).

Hailey Upton tackles him down, demanding to know where her partner is. “You better hope to God he’s alright,” she scowls at the suspect. Yeah, remind me never to mess with Hailey Ann Upton. She is a freaking badass. Love it!

They play another move in their little chess game by bringing Pedro’s son in. But a significant scene happens right before then that really solidified what Rick Eid said about Hailey’s feelings surrounding Jay’s kidnapping.

Hailey is seen on the phone, wondering where the heck the boy is. You can hear her voice breaking on the end of the call with the lockup people; and you can feel her desperation when she chucks her coffee mug in the sink in frustration.

Adam heats the commotion and comes to lend a shoulder — cough cough, how it should have been in 602, but I digress - and reminds Hailey that they are gonna find Jay.

“Gotta do something,” she says sadly. You see her wipe some tears away and run a hand over her eyes, signaling just how much this is weighing on her.

When the boy shows up; they use him as leverage against the dad and they get what they need. An address. Jay, they’re coming for ya buddy!

The shocking end

What truly made Chicago PD stand out amongst the rest of the finales was their twist ending.

Jay had managed to wrangle himself free of his piped restraints & gave Angela a weapon to protect herself while he took down the offender upstairs.

Remember when Jay confessed his real identity? Fans waited on pins & needles, but thankfully Angela did not sell him out. But hold on, we’re not done yet.

Outside, Intwlligence is trying to find a way inside the stash house. The only one who can get in? A teeny tiny Tracy Spiridakos (no seriously, she squeezed through a hole in the window like, yay big...dang). So up goes Hailey — alone, mind you. She’s offline, she’s gone dark. I’m over here worried something’s gonna happen to her. (But it doesn’t).

The good news? SHE FINDS JAY! Hailey runs to her partner, her voice pleading with him to be okay as she asks. Her eyes don’t really wanna know the answer though as she looks him over. Jay looks at her, and you see a literal sigh of relief on his face that she’s here. Because she means safety. She means he’s getting out of there alive.

“Hey.”

“Hey, are you okay?”

He nods, but remembers Angela. He tells her to stay here (such a good work husband he is!), but that he has to go get Angela from downstairs. Hailey remains upstairs while the camera follows Jay down.

What ensues is something I didn’t see coming. Like seriously not in a million years.

Angela, armed with a gun somehow now, shoots Jay. It’s unclear if it’s in the shoulder or more on his chest, but either way, he goes down for the count.

And that — yes THAT — is how the episode ends. A “to be continued” flashes across a black screen & I am a bucket of emotions. Don’t even get me started on that promo.

And that concludes my semi professional recap of Chicago PD. Now allow me to express my fangirl emotions below:

OH MY FUCKING GOD I CANT BELIEVE ANGELA SHOT JAY AND THAT HE WAS RIPPED AWAY FROM HAILEY YET AGAIN AND SHE DOESNT EVEN KNOW HES BEEN SHOT YET MY UPSTEAD HEART CANT TAKE THIS!!!!

Seriously though, can someone give Jesse Lee Soffer an Emmy? Also nominate Tracy Spiridakos for one too please. Thank you. They deserve it.

I just — Hailey’s look she gave Jay before he left. It was the purest most genuine form of love there is. Like it’s not really so much about what kind of love it is; but more so that it happened at all. In all my years of watching this show, I can’t remember a time when Erin gave him that kind of look. Sure, she was relieved when he was alive in 301; but this, this was different.

Hailey was pouring all her emotions into that look. Just like she always has with Jay. And he was doing the same with her. Because that’s what works between them. And this episode showed everyone (like legit, everyone in Intelligence) how much Hailey cares for Jay. Not just in a partner way. But a “I’m gonna do whatever it takes to get him back because I need him in my life as more than that” way. Because it’s true. She needs him. She loves him. And he needs and loves her too. So that’s why Jay has to be okay — because he needs to get back to Hailey so all can be right in the world again. That’s all I can say.

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tocinephile · 5 years ago

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The Morning After - The Year the Oscars Got it (mostly) Right Edition

The 92nd Academy Awards kicked off looking an awful lot like the Grammy’s with a splashy musical performance by Janelle Monae and Billy Porter, the first of a night’s performances/presenters/commentary designed to include all the groups it seemingly excluded in it’s nominees list. Meant to poke fun at themselves or a gesture delivered a little too overt and a little too late? Either way, I think in the end, the artistry of the South Korean-made foreign language film that swept the night’s awards won one back for every group that was overlooked.

Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite took home awards for Best Original Screenplay, Best International Feature, Best Director, and Best Picture, making it the first South Korean film to win in all these categories. To do it all in a single evening is astounding.

Here’s a look at all the winners of the night:

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Best Picture:

“Ford v Ferrari” — Walt Disney “The Irishman” — Netflix “Jojo Rabbit” — Fox Searchlight “Joker” — Warner Bros. “Little Women” — Sony Pictures Releasing “Marriage Story” — Netflix “1917” — Universal/Amblin Partners “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” — Sony Pictures Releasing “Parasite” — Neon (WINNER)

Most deserving win of the night!!! Of course many of us hoped Parasite could be the underdog to win it all, but a more realistic prediction to win would be 1917. Thrilled to be wrong on this one.

Also, while I liked 1917 (more for its execution than story), even if Parasite had not been in the mix, I would have been rooting for The Irishman to win.

Lead Actress:

Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet” Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story” Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women” Charlize Theron, “Bombshell” Renée Zellweger, “Judy” (WINNER)

I am also in full agreement with this category and with Renee sweeping this category this awards season as well.

I have not seen Harriet, but if Renee hadn’t been in the race, Charlize would have been the best of the bunch.

Lead Actor:

Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory” Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Adam Driver, “Marriage Story” Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker” — (WINNER) Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

Again, no question this was the right winner. If only every win didn’t mean we’d have to roll the dice to see what kind of acceptance speech we’d have to endure... While I didn’t appreciate being chastised for adding milk to my coffee, Joaquin closed out his remarks by quoting his late brother River and I thought that was beautiful.

Director:

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman” Todd Phillips, “Joker” Sam Mendes, “1917” Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite” — (WINNER)

Another category that I thought the Academy would give to Sam Mendes, but nonetheless put my bets on Bong Joon-ho. Some big competition in this category (except Phillips... sorry, I’m not saying he’s bad, but he has yet to prove to me he’s a contender).

Original Song:

“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4” “I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman” — (WINNER) “I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough” “Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2” “Stand Up,” “Harriet”

Talk about a year of forgettable film songs. I think I left the room for every one of these performances except Elton’s. Did I miss anything?

Original Score:

“Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir — (WINNER) “Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat “Marriage Story,” Randy Newman “1917,” Thomas Newman “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams

As part of the montage for this category, the orchestra accompanies with each film’s original score. This segment, as they proudly pointed out, was being conducted a female for the first time in Oscar history (I’d like to shallowly add that she was also wearing the most amazing gold jacket to do it!). Now I don’t know if she also arranged it or whether she was just conducting, but I have to say, I don’t think the arrangement did the scores any justice whatsoever.

Luckily they were not being judged on this particular performance, and Hildur Guonadottir once again took home the accolade for Joker. I agree with this win. Little Women and 1917 also had impressive scores. Marriage Story didn��t particularly catch my attention, and while Star Wars’ themes will always be among my all time favourites, The Rise of Skywalker wasn’t particularly outstanding out of the saga.

Best International Feature Film:

“Corpus Christi,” Jan Komasa “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov “Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly “Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodóvar “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho — (WINNER)

If anyone else had won we would have rioted right?

Makeup and Hair:

“Bombshell” — (WINNER) “Joker” “Judy” “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” “1917”

Got this prediction correct, while not the most obvious frontrunner perhaps, a lot of subtle effort was put in to transform cast into their characters.

Visual Effects:

“Avengers: Endgame” “The Irishman” “The Lion King” “1917” — (WINNER) “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

It’s naive of me, but seeing 1917 win for Visual Effects almost takes away from my appreciation of the film in some ways because in my head, I’d still like to think of all films outside of fantasy and sci-fi as largely real. I know it’s not the case and that even your average period drama is created largely with effects these days, it can’t help but ruin the magic a little.

Also I had guessed Avengers: Endgame would win.

And we all think that The Irishman is on this list for de-aging technologies alone right?

Film Editing:

“Ford v Ferrari,” Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland — (WINNER) “The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker “Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles “Joker,” Jeff Groth “Parasite,” Jinmo Yang

This entire list is on par with each other I think, with Ford v Ferrari just edging out the rest. Also the editing is what made the film so dynamic, there was little room for a bad cut, whereas the others might have little bit more room to err.

Many might disagree but I think Little Women should have been considered in this category. The film’s editing choices was one of its main criticisms, but I think it actually made the film much more dynamic and differentiated it from previous adaptations. (If only they’d used a bit more of The Irishman’s aging/de-aging effects)

Cinematography:

“The Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto “Joker,” Lawrence Sher “The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke “1917,” Roger Deakins — (WINNER) “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson

Agree! Cool camera work in 1917 for sure.

Sound Mixing:

“Ad Astra” “Ford v Ferrari” “Joker” “1917” — (WINNER) “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Um ok, if you’re going to split the sound categories between two films. I would’ve said Ford v Ferrari for both.

Sound Editing:

“Ford v Ferrari,” Don Sylvester — (WINNER) “Joker,” Alan Robert Murray “1917,” Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” Matthew Wood, David Acord

Agree. Hopefully everyone who wanted to see this film caught it in theatres, the sound was a huge contributing factor to the enjoyment of this film.

Supporting Actress:

Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell” Laura Dern, “Marriage Story” — (WINNER) Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit” Florence Pugh, “Little Women” Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

Little surprise when Laura Dern swept this category, even though I maintain she wasn’t better than the rest. That said, I’m not sure who I would pick in her place, I say share the love between Laura Dern, Scarlett Johansson, and Florence Pugh (yes, I just said Amy March should get an oscar... I see the irony of this too)

Best Documentary Short Subject:

“In the Absence,” Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone,” Carol Dysinger — (WINNER) “Life Overtakes Me,” Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas “St. Louis Superman,” Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan “Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix

I didn’t see any of the shorts this year, my bad. The winner sounds hella interestering!

Best Documentary Feature:

“American Factory,” Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar — (WINNER) “The Cave,” Feras Fayyad “The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa “For Sama,” Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov

I only saw American Factory and The Cave and I actually liked The Cave better. That said I felt strongly that American Factory had the edge, for starters it was backed by the Obamas’ production company. I didn’t love American Factory but I do feel it’s a timely piece that shows two sides of the story, inevitable prejudices based on what we’ve become conditioned to physically, mentally, socially, and also how important it is that we try to overcome or build a bridge to find solutions for the greater good.

Costume Design:

”The Irishman,” Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson “Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo “Joker,” Mark Bridges “Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran — (WINNER) “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips

For a historical drama, I really didn’t find the costumes of Little Women to be that spectacular (I’m having visions of The Age of Innocence when you say Best Costume), though a part of me knows the period films win more often than not. While I think Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is strong contender, Jojo Rabbit should have won.

Production Design:

“The Irishman,” Bob Shaw and Regina Graves “Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova “1917,” Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling & Nancy Haigh (WINNER) “Parasite,” Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram and Cho Hee

Yes! Once Upon a Time was a bit overrated (sorry Quentin) but this was one category where it really deserved to win, from the western sets, film studio lots, to the wardrobe and streets of the 60′s, lots of fun and spirit captured in the production design.

Best Live Action Short Film:

“Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur “Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat “The Neighbors’ Window,” Marshall Curry — (WINNER) “Saria,” Bryan Buckley “A Sister,” Delphine Girard

Adapted Screenplay:

“The Irishman,” Steven Zaillian “Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi — (WINNER) “Joker,” Todd Phillips, Scott Silver “Little Women,” Greta Gerwig “The Two Popes,” Anthony McCarten

I love that Taika Waititi is an Oscar winner. Also shouts to Greta Gerwig for making Little Women almost tolerable in her script! The Two Popes could not have been an easy adaptation either. Now can a comic book expert please tell me, how much of Joker is really from existing stories in comics, and how much was filled in by the writers? I understand why it was an adapted screenplay, but I feel like material like this almost completely open to interpretation and could easily be written anew as an original screenplay.

Original Screenplay:

“Knives Out,” Rian Johnson “Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach “1917,” Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho, Jin Won Han — (WINNER)

Just for fun, my ranking of the original screenplay nominees from best to alright:

1) Parasite, 2) Knives Out, 3) Marriage Story, 4) 1917, 5) Once Upon a Time

Animated Short:

“Dcera,” Daria Kashcheeva “Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry — (WINNER) “Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan “Memorable,” Bruno Collet “Sister,” Siqi Song

I keep hearing great things about this short!

Animated Feature:

“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” Dean DeBlois “I Lost My Body,” Jeremy Clapin “Klaus,” Sergio Pablos “Missing Link,” Chris Butler “Toy Story 4,” Josh Cooley — (WINNER)

I clearly didn’t watch any animated films this year because I didn’t even know there were new How to Train Your Dragon and Toy Story films released.

Supporting Actor:

Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes” Al Pacino, “The Irishman” Joe Pesci, “The Irishman” Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” — (WINNER)

Overall, if Brad Pitt sweeping this category means I get to hear at least one great speech per awards, then I’m ok with this. My personal ranking:

1) Al Pacino, 2) Joe Pesci, 3) Tom Hanks, 4) Brad Pitt, 5) Anthony Hopkins. I had to debate over Pacino and Pesci’s performances, I feel like this is one of the best problems in the world.

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Prior to the start of the show, I made a mess of notes about who I thought would win, who I thought should win, and shared my Oscar Pool Picks which were based on a mix of the two... My Oscar pool are an extremely knowledgeable bunch, and with 18/24, it only put me in a 3-way tie for third place (there were also three winners who split the winnings), I need to move back to the baby leagues!

If you were following my Twitter (or care to check in hindsight...@palindr0me) I also shared a little additional commentary and photos of some of my favourite dresses of the evening.

My personal top 3 moments during the Awards Ceremony were:

1) Every time Parasite won an award - Give this man all the statues he wants! lol

2) Billie Eilish’s rendition of Yesterday (I wish this was an actual recorded track so I could play it over and over)

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3) When Eminem took the stage at the end of a montage to perform “Lose Yourself” and my phone exploded with all these messages of “ Whaaat is happening???” LOL! Believe me friends, I was as confused as you were.

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Aaand, that’s a wrap on awards season! Looking forward to a new year and new decade in film!

#oscars #oscars2020

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sneek-m · 5 years ago

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Monthly Listening: November 2019

I should probably catch up on big albums of the year that I’ve still not touched, like the new Lana Del Rey album. But it’s tough for me to get inspired to do so for just the sake of a review, especially when there are still exciting new releases dropping. Are you putting together a best-of list?

Here is this month’s playlist!

2019 albums

Alcest: Spiritual Instinct

Allison Moorer: Blood

Andy Stott: It Should Be Us

Anna Meredith: Fibs

AOA: New Moon

Baby Keem: Die for My Bitch

BabyTron: Bin Reaper

BBHF: Family

Becky G: Mala Santa

Bill Callahan: Shepherd in Sheep Clothing

Blawan: Many Many Pings

Blood Incantations: Hidden History of the Human Species

Boylan: 2 Hrs Sleep

BVNDIT: Be!

Carla dal Forno: Look Up Sharp

Carpainter: Future Legacy

Chiaki Sato: Planet

Clipping.: There Existed an Addiction to Blood

Coldplay: Everyday Life

Counterparts: Nothing Left to Love

DJ Haram: Grace EP

DJ Richard: Eraser EP

Doja Cat: Hot Pink

Earl Sweatshirt: Feet of Clay

Eill: Spotlight

Emiri Kanou: Green Pop

EMPiRE: The Great Journey

EXO: Obsession

Floorplan: Supernatural

Galcher Lustwerk: Information

Genie High: Genie High Story

Giant Swan: Giant Swan

Hakushi Hasegawa: Air Ni Ni

Have a Nice Life: Sea of Worry

Hoodrich Pablo Juan: DMV

IU: Love Poem

Jubilee: Call for Location

Kamaal Williams: DJ-Kicks

Kanye West: Jesus Is King

Lee Gamble: Exhaust

Levon Vincent: World Order Music

Lil Tjay: True 2 Myself

Madeon: Good Faith

Mamamoo: Reality in Black

Maria Usbeck: Enveciendo

Miranda Lambert: Wildcard

Mono No Aware: The Irreplaceable

Moor Mother: Analog Fluids of Sonic Black Holes

Nature: Nature World: Code A

Night Tempo: Night Tempo

Nitroday: Premonition of Kids EP

Noah: Thirsty

Ozuna: Nibiru

PEDRO: Thumbsucker

Qrion: Waves EP

Shanti Celeste: Tangerine

ShittyBoyz: 3-Peat

She Is Summer: Wave Motion

Skee Mask: Iss004

Sleep D: Rebel Force

Snoh Aalegra: Ugh, Those Feels Again

Space Dimension Controller: Love Beyond the Intersect

Steve Hauschildt: Nonlin

Sudan Archives: Athena

Sui Zhen: Losing, Linda

Sunn O))): Pyroclasts

Tinashe: Songs for You

Triad God: Triad

Twice: &Twice

Vagabon: Vagabon

VaVa: VVorld

VICTON: Nostalgia EP

VIDEOTAPEMUSIC: The Secret Life of VIDEOTAPEMUSIC

Visible Cloaks: FACT mix 735

Wiki: OOFIE

WJSN: As You Wish

Yamaneko: Spirals Heaven Wide

Yeule: Serotonin II

ZICO: Thinking Part 2

Ziur: Ato

Zonal: Wrecked

Non-2019 albums

Aira Mitsuki: Plastic

Justin Bieber: Journals

Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man

Lil Peep: Hellboy

Living Colour: Time’s Up

Max B & French Montana: Coke Wave

Mitsume: Sasayaki

Noizegarden: Noizegarden

PARTYNEXTDOOR: PARTYNEXTDOOR TWO

Plan B: House of Pleasure

Swishahouse: The Day Hell Broke Loose 2

Tricot: The

Whitest Taino Alive: Donde Jugaran los Cueros?

Wisin y Yandel: Pa’l Mundo

#Monthly Listening

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thesinglesjukebox · 6 years ago

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PARK HYE JIN - I DON'T CARE

[7.30]

We care that she doesn't care.

Crystal Leww: The comparisons to Yaeji are going to come for both good and bad reasons for Park Hye Jin, so let's break it down: musically, the sparse house production and mixture of English and Korean singing and rapping really works -- similar to Yaeji. Aesthetically, Yaeji put everything together into the most assured live show I saw in 2018, and it's clear that her vision for her music is the picture perfect, movie version ideal of what nightlife in New York City is supposed to look and feel like. I'm hoping that Park Hye Jin is able to string it all together in the same way because this really pops off in a different way -- a dreamy, eyes half closed sway but feet still moving for the 6am come down. The rave is rising through windows at the rave, but this makes it feel boundless. [7]

Pedro João Santos: A stunning primer for Hye Jin's EP, one that's cerebral yet light, placing deadpan vocals against unrelenting beats and flourishing harmonies. It's transparent and oxygenated to taste. [8]

Iris Xie: There is a feeling of a slow, wakening emergence with the intro of this song. The pulsing beats, the chimes and twinkles, and Park Hye Jin talking about how she doesn't care, and continually restates it even underneath the pressure of a murmuring and judging crowd. The song builds on that environment, and it ends up being a mesmerizing and motivational cadence: "In my life I can hope for anything/I believe in myself, I believe in myself." In contrast with other future-aesthetic productions that use aggressive and obnoxious synth arrangements to demonstrate a take-charge attitude (similar to Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head"), Park Hye Jin chooses a restrained elegance to convey her firm, quiet defiance. Specifically, when the cymbals and pulses come in louder and swirl around her chants, the interplay between her voice and the instruments creates a steady, hypnotic repetition that pulls you into her atmosphere. Additionally, the sparse instrumentation allows her vocals to breathe and echo, and it flows coolly like water over the production, creating an energy of quiet defiance. Even as the instruments fill in to become more bold, the ease is never diverted from its course. There's no need to question if the future is coming -- you're enjoying it already, without concerns, because it's a future of your own making. "I don't care, it's my life." [8]

Thomas Inskeep: Hot-shit Korean deep house, with lots of tricky little touches and a protracted, long intro. Jin is one to watch, for certain. [8]

Ryo Miyauchi: Park's voice is sort of snappy, a bite more reinforced through the song's crisp four-on-the-floor kicks, but it also deflates with doubt. The faint synths pace back and forth, as if caught trying to work through some heavy thoughts. "I Don't Care" overall hangs on to confidence as a way of self-defense but not without revealing some of the insecurity underneath it, and its mood lies lies in a grey area that sounds more true to how one might feel trying to embrace the song's titular phrase. [6]

Tim de Reuse: It's awfully sparse, which irked me on first listen, but I can't say that it feels unfinished. It's sparse as a deliberate, stylistic choice: an exercise in fine-tuned production over a scant handful of elements that it really wants you to feel. And, yeah, I feel it, for the most part; I love the obnoxiously wide stereo effect on the hats, the relative dryness of the vocals, and how shy that twinkly descending synth line stays even when it's thoroughly in the background. When all the elements are in lock-step underneath Park Hye Jin's infectiously straightforward delivery, you can see exactly what she was going for, and you can see that she more or less nailed it, even though I might have preferred a shorter runtime overall. [7]

Alfred Soto: House can accommodate singers with personality burst to overflowing. It also accommodates singers who sound like every other person who experiences loneliness, fear, lust. "I Don't Care" on first listen has the stolidness of carved wood. Then Park Hye Jin murmurs suggestive lyrics; the result is sultry and intoxicating. Give it time in the living room, though. [7]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Deep house like this is always impossible to deny, even if every single element is well-trod and overly familiar. Still, Park Hye Jin's able to make "I Don't Care" alluring because of its conceit. The intro finds her repeatedly stating that she's going to do what she wants, and she delivers such lines in manners both irritated (as if provoked by someone else) and calm. Throughout the track, the repeated recitation of these and other phrases ("I believe in myself, I believe in myself...") acts as a reminder that the dancefloor is a welcome host to all suffering, insecurity, and desire. As the warmth of the synth pads blanket the thudding kick drums, Park takes on a more firm tone, ensuring that every syllable is clearly heard. In her deliberate vocalizing is a familiar sound: that of the Asian woman who's tired of being perpetually undervalued, of never being taken seriously. [6]

Ramzi Awn: The synth pad on "I Don't Care" has a way of elevating your body chemistry, and Park Hye Jin's voice is soft and hard at the same time. The sound is so subtle, it's more a vision than a song. Ambient, deep house and organic-market pop all at once. [9]

Will Rivitz: The obvious comparison point to Park Hye Jin's rising star, on the surface, is that of New York's Yaeji, in that both are female Korean DJs and vocalists tenaciously making waves in a deep house world that, by and large, is markedly neither female nor Korean. In this case, however, the thinly-veiled bigotry that leads to boxing musicians in more by race and gender than by sound happens to broken-clock its way into a twice-a-day accurate observation. "I Don't Care," like Kathy Lee's best work, is a lushly lo-fi four-on-the-floor banger, moody synth work tied to this physical plane by biting drums and vocals. The rasp and crunch of Park's kicks and hi-hats breathes life into otherwise flat chords, ensuring that the song's proper place remains the dancefloor. [7]

[Read and comment on The Singles Jukebox]

#Park Hye Jin #house #electronic #music #music review #writing

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sportsleague365 · 7 years ago

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GROUP A EGYPT – Trezeguet Nicknamed after the French striker due to an apparent likeness – which takes a leap of faith – Mahmoud Hasan has actually already earned 23 caps for Egypt. But the Kasimpasa midfielder is now pushing for a starting place in Hector Cuper’s side. He’s been linked with a move to Leicester City to replace Riyad Mahrez. URUGUAY – Rodrigo Bentancur Joined Juventus from Boca Juniors in 2017, which unsurprisingly also saw him established within Uruguay’s first team. Still only had six caps, but likely to start every group stage game and can basically do any job required in midfield. This kid could be the business. RUSSIA – Anton Miranchuk Alexander Golovin is the next Russian star to move to western Europe, but only eight players in Russia’s squad have more caps so he misses out. Miranchuk only made his Lokomotiv Moscow first-team debut in April 2017, but was fast-tracked into the senior international set-up and made his debut only five months later. SAUDI ARABIA – Abdullah Al-Khaibari The youngest player in Saudi Arabia’s squad, Al-Khaibari missed out on the sponsored trip to La Liga at the end of last season, which is probably a good thing. Probably won’t start, but a potential game-changer from the bench. GROUP B SPAIN – Álvaro Odriozola The most notable aspect of Julen Loptegui’s time in charge of Spain is his willingness to give chances to unfamiliar players, particularly those who progressed through his Under-21 squad. Odriozola was Dani Carvajal’s back-up, and it was his Champions League final injury that gave the youngster a chance to impress against Switzerland. He only went and scored the opening goal. PORTUGAL – Gonçalo Guedes Portugal’s Euro 2016 young stars have almost as one failed to kick on, with Renato Sanches the poster boy for that decline. The same looked to be true of Guedes, who joined Paris Saint-Germain in January 2017 for a fee of close to £30m and then barely got a game. He then signed on loan for Valencia last summer, and promptly demonstrated why PSG was so keen. Made his senior international debut in 2015, but he still has only nine caps and is still only 21. MOROCCO – Achraf Hakimi Hakim Ziyech is Morocco’s best player, but he’s got 17 caps and is now 25, so does not qualify. Hakimi has been at Real Madrid since the age of eight and finally progressed to the first-team squad this season. Played nine times in La Liga, twice in the Champions League and made his senior international debut last October. Doesn’t turn 20 until November. IRAN – Saman Ghoddos Only seven caps by the age of 24, but Ghoddos gained notoriety this season after providing both assists in Ostersunds’ 2-1 second leg victory over Arsenal in the Europa League. Want another fun Saman Ghoddos fact? He’s also scored a senior international goal for Sweden. Let’s face it, he is unlikely to face them in this tournament. GROUP C FRANCE – Corentin Tolisso Unlikely to start the tournament having made his competitive debut in October, but there are noises – and those noises are boos – that Paul Pogba could be left out of the starting XI and Tolisso start in Russia. The only one of France’s last eight games that they lost was the one Tolisso didn’t play. DENMARK – Kasper Dolberg Ajax’s next big thing has scored 22 Eredivisie goals in two seasons despite still being just 20, but has yet to break out on the international scene. Made his debut back in November 2016 but still only has five caps and a single goal. That should change in the next fortnight. He’s better than Nicklas Bendtner, for goodness sake. PERU – Miguel Araujo South America is producing some bloody good young central defenders, and Araujo is the cream of Peru’s crop. Linked with a move to Europe at the end of this tournament, he is likely to start in central defence in Russia having marked Lionel Messi out of a qualifier in Buenos Aires in October 2017. AUSTRALIA – Daniel Arzani The youngest player at the World Cup also has a belting first name. Born in Iran, Arzani was named in the A-League Team of the Season after bursting onto the scene for Melbourne City. Expect him to be sold to Manchester City and then immediately loaned to Girona. GROUP D ARGENTINA – Cristian Pavon Will not start given the attacking options Jorge Sampaoli has at his disposal, but with Manuel Lanzini and Angel di Maria both preferring to drift infield, Pavon offers something that no other player in Argentina’s squad can: Natural width in attacking areas. CROATIA – Duje Caleta-Car Might not start in Russia, but Caleta-Car has made himself a fixture in the Red Bull Salzburg team that reached the Europa League semi-final this season. Could be the subject of transfer rumours linking him to the Premier League this summer. Southampton, Newcastle or Everton are our best guesses. NIGERIA – Tyronne Ebuehi Only 22, Ebuehi would have completely avoided my radar had he not joined Benfica on a five-year deal last month having impressed in the Eredivisie with ADO Den Haag. Introduced at half-time against England last week, the right-back was one of the reasons that game turned on its head. Another reason was that England went shite. ICELAND – Albert Guðmundsson Very few options here, so Gudmundsson sticks out like a goalscoring thumb. Scored a hat-trick against Indonesia as a substitute and will hope to push his way into PSV’s first-team plans next season. Albert’s great-grandfather was former Milan and Arsenal striker and later Minister of Finance Albert Guðmundsson, Iceland’s first professional footballer and Arsenal’s second foreign player. Find yourself someone who is impressed by that last sentence, and marry them. GROUP E BRAZIL – Fred Difficult pick, this. Brazil have four outfield players in their squad with fewer than ten international caps. One of those is 32 (Pedro Geromel), one is 29 (Fagner) and another is 30 (Taison). That leaves a 25-year-old who has been in the news once or twice recently for joining Manchester United for £52m and will be Jose Mourinho’s catalyst. Fred has eight caps, and could be the surprise star of this World Cup if he can force his way past Paulinho or Casemiro. Good luck, fella. SWITZERLAND – Manuel Akanji This isn’t a campaign against Johan Djourou, but there must be a way that the team ranked sixth in the world can avoid picking him as their central defender. That ‘way’ might be Akanji, who joined Borussia Dortmund from Basel in January for just north of £15m. He started against Spain last week, which is a good start. SERBIA – Sergej Milinković-Savić A phenomenal talent and one of the standout stars in Serie A, and yet not a certain starter for Serbia. If that sounds a bit mad, it’s worth remembering that Serbia have typically produced battling, physical, ugly sides and are slightly unnerved by an attacking midfielder that demands an attack being built around him. Still to play a competitive game for his country, but boy do we hope that changes in Russia. COSTA RICA – Ian Smith He’s one of only two players under the age of 25 in the squad, so pickings are slim. But he was born in Costa Rica, plays in Sweden and is called Ian Smith. Lovely. GROUP F GERMANY – Timo Werner He’s already scored seven international goals, but Werner could be the breakout star of the entire tournament. This is Germany’s first World Cup since 1998 without Miroslav Klose, but in Werner, Jogi Loew may have finally found his replacement. Werner will start in Russia, allowing Thomas Muller to deut the raum around him. Given Germany’s likely route to the quarter-finals, either of the two looks a good bet for the Golden Boot. MEXICO – Hirving Lozano Sarah Winterburn is president of the Edson Alvarez fan club, but I’m ignoring Mexico’s right-back in favour of Lozano, who could genuinely be a contender for the Best Young Player award. He’s been magnificent at PSV, and while he does strictly have too many caps to be considered here, only three players in the squad have fewer and Lozano is still only 22. SWEDEN – Emil Krafth Nobody in the Sweden squad is aged under 23 and nobody in the Sweden squad plays in Sweden. Instead, let’s go for Emil Krafth and lay out some puns to use this tournament: Learning his Krafth, Krafth work, Krafth-manship, Krafth-y wank. SOUTH KOREA – Lee Seung-woo Wrote the majestic Winterburn, S in her No 10s feature: ‘He is only 20 and he marked his South Korean debut with an assist against Honduras just last month. Recently relegated with Hellas Verona but Barcelona have a buy-back clause that they may well exercise this summer if he excels in Russia.’ That’ll do for me. GROUP G BELGIUM – N/A It sounds like a cop out, but nobody likely to start for Belgium in Russia has fewer than 20 caps. Youri Tielemans and Leander Dendoncker were options and Adnan Januzaj a surprising selection for the squad, but it would be odd if any got more than a smattering of minutes. Sorry, but the problem with having a Golden Generation is that we know them all already. ENGLAND – Jordan Pickford I’ll get told off for not picking Trent Alexander-Arnold, but I just don’t see him getting enough minutes. Pickford, meanwhile, looks to have the No. 1 spot sewn up despite only having three caps. Play well this summer and he can keep it for the next six or seven years at least. TUNISIA – Ellyes Skhiri Only committed to Tunisia earlier this year and therefore has just three caps, Skhiri is likely to play as a defensive midfielder in Russia but might not necessarily start. But could he impress when he does? Ellyes! PANAMA – Michael Amir Murillo Is already being linked with a move to Europe even before the World Cup begins, thanks to impressive displays in MLS and the CONCACAF Champions League. Murillo has 21 caps, but is still just 22 years old. In an ageing squad, that youth is appreciated. GROUP H COLOMBIA – Davinson Sanchez Already a Premier League star after an excellent debut season in England, Sanchez is still to fully make the grade at international level. Has nine caps, but is likely to be trusted by Jose Pekerman to form a central defensive partnership with Yerry Mina. There won’t be many younger pairings than Sanchez (22) and Mina (23). SENEGAL – Ismaila Sarr Keita Balde is just too experienced to get the nod, but Sarr could be Senegal’s suber-sub in Russia. He’s already getting admiring glances from outside France after impressing at Rennes alongside international teammates Diafra Sakho and Abdoulaye Diallo having reportedly turned down an approach from Barcelona. Only turned 20 in February, so potentially quite a talent. POLAND – Dawid Kownacki Is never going to start given the presence of Robert Lewandowski and Arkadiusz Milik, but Kownacki moved to Sampdoria last summer from Lech Poznan and is highly rated in Italy. Won his first league title in Poland and inevitably struggled under the weight of the ‘new Lewandowski’ tag, but is a possible game changer from the bench. Has played almost 150 senior career games despite only turning 21 in March. JAPAN �� Naomichi Ueda Both the youngest player in Japan’s squad and the player with the least number of caps, Ueda is a European-style central defender (pacy, powerful, good in the air) of whom Japan expects big things. Still playing in his home country, a successful tournament might accelerate a move to Europe. A successful tournament might just be avoiding finishing bottom of Group H. Daniel Storey Source link The post Time to shine: One breakout World Cup star per country appeared first on 10z Soccer. #WorldCup #InternationalCaps #DanielArzani

#WorldCup #InternationalCaps #DanielArzani

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kasl24 · 7 years ago

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Running for Representative.

Do you ever feel very prepared for something, but when you get up there, you forget everything? Every word, every movement you planned; everything that you planned out so perfectly in your head—forgotten. Imagine how much worse it could be, when you only feel prepared (you’re not actually), and you stand up on that stage. It had happened to me, alright, and that was a time I only want to experience once. As horrible as it was, it was good for me, because the experience led to a very important lesson. If you truly cherish the success of something, then you should work hard, and prepare hard for it. Do not under prepare or underestimate the length you need to get to, to achieve success. The bell for 8th period rang, and my classmates filed out of the cafeteria where we had our Chinese class. Packing up my stuff, I shakily stood up, for it was nearly time for my speech. The nerves started kicking in, and I suddenly wished I had prepared more thoroughly with my speech. Maybe writing it word for word as what I’ll say might have helped. I didn't have time to worry about that that now, though. I had to hurry over to the Triton House for my speech, because I was in the Main Campus. On the way over to Triton House, I practiced my speech over and over in my head. Hi everyone. As you guys know, my name is Kitty Lee, and I’m one of the running candidates for 12yo representative. The reason why I want to be a representative for the 12yo, is because I believe that with our amazing and unique ideas, we can make Student Council better, and their events better. Speaking of events, I’m sure we’re all pretty excited for— I cut myself off. For what? What events could we possibly be excited for? I thought it over in my head, and decided to change up the sentence a bit. How about this; Speaking of events, we all know that I've been to tons of them. I’ve been at this school for 9 and a half years, been to a lot of events, and I know what is best for every one of them. I know what we can fix, what we can keep and I know what we want. Having been with this class for a long time, I’ve seen people come and go, but I’ve also seen what we want. Like more food in the vending machine, or more events for us, not just the elementary. I think that together, we can make a pretty big change in the Student Council, and to the events at QSI. Vote Kitty Lee for representative, thank you. I furrowed my eyebrows a bit. That sounds about right. Checking off the mental list in my head of the short topics that I have to talk about, I nodded my head in approval. That’s what I need to say. Those words are the words to my ‘success’. If only I could repeat that word for word on stage. Exhaling deeply, and resumed walking at a faster pace, so I would be there in time. Wouldn't want the actual candidate late, now would we? I smiled slightly to myself, before starting to run. When I got to the hallway, it was crowded with students, which was ironic, because I remember that we were instructed to go straight back to our classrooms since we had the representative’s speeches. Quickly slipping through the door to my classroom, I shut it, sighing, and looked up. Everyone was shouting to their friends about whatever conversation they were having, but I did not concentrate on that. Instead, I concentrated on the words in my head. My name is Kitty Lee. I’m a representative for— No. Not that. I am a running candidate for 12yo representative. I believe that with our ideas, we can—No. I have to say why I’m running for representative. The reason why I want to be representative is because I believe that with our amazing and unique ideas, we can make Student Council better, and their events. Speaking of— My chain of thoughts were interrupted by Mrs. Thorniley telling our class to be quiet. “Ok, you guys. For today, we are going to hear three representatives’ speeches that are 2 minutes or less. They are in the order of: Kitty, Richard—” Pedro giggled next to me. I could no longer hear Mrs. Thorniley’s voice, I was focusing on the rush of blood flowing in my ears, but I knew what she was going to say. Sally was after Richard, because of the way names are printed on the ballot, and we had to vote for another auditor. I couldn't remember who was running for auditor, but at that point, I could only focus on my heart pounding. My heavy breathing. Along with my speech that was right in front of me, yet the words made no sense at all. “So, Kitty. You’re up.” This was it. This was my chance to show them. Show them that they could trust me. It was so close, yet so out of reach too. I stood up from my chair, and stumbled to the podium, which by coincidence, was right next to me. Clearing my throat, I looked out to my class. Katelyn was looking at me expectantly, Elly was wiggling her eyebrows at me, and Pedro was making faces at me, presumably trying to make me feel less nervous. It didn’t. Once the clapping of my friends subsided, I took a deep breath, a glance at my paper with the speech on it, and began my speech. “Hi, my name is Kitty Lee, and I’m one of the people running for representative. The reason why I wanna be a representative is because I think the Student Council can do better with the events. We have amazing ideas, and I know that because I’ve been with this class for a long, long time.” I heard Elly begin to chuckle down there, but I held in my laugh, and continued. “Nine and half years.” “Woah..” Pedro dramatically put in, which didn't necessarily help with the nerves, because I just got interrupted. “Well, um. So I know we have amazing ideas, and suggestions. If we share them with the Student Council, I’m sure the events would be much better than they are. Or, I don't know, make some new events.” I paused. I messed up. I definitely messed up. Okay, calm down. If you don’t show that you messed up, they won’t know that you messed up, and you’ll be fine. I gave them a tight lipped smile, and took another deep breath before continuing. “Um, I’ve been at a lot of events, ‘cause nine and a half years is a long time. So I know how things work around here; I know what we can fix, what we can…..make better.” I broke off with a slight laugh. Okay, I was majorly screwing up. Plan B. Go with the flow, don't think about the speech you planned, just think about the points. THINK ABOUT THE POINTS. “Um, I also know a lot of you, except for the new students, but I’d like to get to know you all new students, and uh, know people that I don't already know.” I shut my eyes for a second, mentally scolding myself for being an idiot. That didn't make sense at all! “Um, but like I’ve said, I have bonds with a lot of you, and I know what we like. Like for example the vending machine.” “Yes!” I heard Pedro quietly say. Finally, I get some reaction out of these guys. “I’m pretty sure we all want some food. Um…and…..” Some other class across us started cheering, and because of that, my class started cheering as well, for some reason. I was really worried. I lost my place in the notes, and have no idea where I left off, or what I’ve covered already. After the cheering died down, I restarted somewhere I was pretty sure I hadn't talked about yet. “This is also the first year that Student Council is giving the middle schoolers a chance for representatives.” The cheering started up again, and I lost my place there. I was growing more and more anxious by the second. I had no idea what to do. All this is counting into my minutes and I don't know if I’ll have time to finish my speech. When the cheering died down again, I resumed talking, presumably where I left off. “I do not want to screw this up, and I will not. I will do my best to give our suggestions out to Student Council, so please vote for me. Thank you.” They all began clapping and cheering, whether because I was done with my speech, or because I actually did do a good job, I do not know. All I know is that I screwed up, very badly. I couldn't concentrate on the others’ speeches at all. All I could think about was how I messed up, big time. Time flew by since I was so concentrated on my own mistakes, that before I knew it, I was handed my ballot. I checked the box with my name in it for the representative, and chose some random person for auditor. After turning it in, and sitting there for a while, I realized that it had passed. It had passed, and I can't do anything about the result, so why not just relax. The bell rang, and we left the classroom since none of us had a chance to pack up yet. People came by my locker to tell me I did a good job, but I really doubted that. My friends just wiggled their eyebrows at me, laughing, and I really couldn't tell if they were laughing at me messing up my speech, or if they wee just doing weird things because they were weird people. I smiled a bit, because it didn't matter. I was finished; I was over. I was fine. Whether I got the position or not, this experience taught me a pretty big thing of my life. Don't under-prepare for something that you might find important. If you truly find it important, you should fight for it, and prepare thoroughly. Don’t procrastinate, or put it aside, thinking you can do not later. It won’t help. Preparation is needed for success.

I think for a 12 year old at that time, I did a pretty nice job because I described the event pretty well. I’m really thankful that Peter Kim had recorded it for me, because even though I had my notes down in complete speech form, I still made a couple changes here and there. Personally, I think I could’ve done a bit better with explaining what I actually felt because in the essay, I said I was nervous a lot. I understand that I was nervous, as I wasn’t very well prepared, and I didn’t know how to persuade people, but I definitely could have used some better word choices than “nervous”. The piece was probably considered a good piece back then because I taught an important lesson to myself; that heavy preparation is always needed to gain success, and I think I expressed that pretty well in the essay.

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footballreview · 8 years ago

Text

FA Cup 5th Round

Here is my round-up of all the games in the 5th round of the FA Cup:

Burnley 0-1 Lincoln City

Premier League Burnley were stunned at home by non-league Lincoln in a physical battle that many would have expected the Clarets to dominate. One of these physical battles was between Burnley’s returning hero Joey Barton and the Imp’s number nine Matt Rhead which involved elbowing, diving and plenty of words. The match was won in the 89th minute by Lincoln;s Sean Raggett who had been gifted a free header at the far post by the Burnley defence who had already shown some signs of weakness in a home side that was missing Jeff Hendrick, Stephen Ward, Matt Lowton and Johann Berg Gudmundsson, the latter of which was substituted early on after a rash challenge from Alan Power.

Despite being understandably disappointed, the Premier League side showed class in defeat with Man of the Match James Tarkowski giving the Imps goal scorer his champagne. This game just goes to show what can happen when a Premier League side underestimates the physicality and hunger of a lower league side on the rise.

What can the quarter-finals hold for Lincoln?

Middlesbrough 3-2 Oxford United

League One Oxford travelled to Premier League Middlesbrough for their attempt to overturn a top flight opponent and began well, looking bright early on with Martinez being denied. Boro captain Grant Leadbitter also looked up for the game as he had an attempt saved. Leadbitter then put his name on the scoresheet as he converted a penalty that had been won by Steward Downing after he burst into the Oxford penalty area. Oxford’s answer came minutes later as Hennings’ shot ran through from the edge of the box but the goal was disallowed as it was judged that Middlesbrough defender Espinosa had been fouled after the shot was taken. Rud Gestede then extended the lead in the 34th minute with a nicely taken overhead kick from an Adama Traore knock down as Boro full-back Fabio sent an early cross steaming towards the penalty area. The game was almost put to bed before half time as Stewart Downing had a shot but it was saved by the Oxford goalkeeper. Oxford’s come back ignited in the 64th minute was Maguire slammed home a free kick that was simply too well taken for Boro keeper Brad Guzan to save. A minute later, Oxford levelled the scoring as Martinez, who had come close earlier in the half, slid the ball into the Middlesbrough goal on the break. Oxford’s dream was then crushed as Christian Stuani tapped the ball into the goal at the far post with four minutes left to play, sending the Premier League relegation battlers through to the quarter-finals.

Huddersfield Town 0-0 Manchester City

Championship Huddersfield came up against Premier League Man City in a tie that was played in front of a record attendance in a football game at the John Smith’s Stadium. Early on, City’s Spanish wide man Jesus Navas was denied off the line by Mark Hudson and then Aguero failed to keep the ball low enough to trouble the goalkeeper from the break. Later in the first half, Rajiv Van La Parra also forced a save from Claudio Bravo. It was a surprising fact that this entertaining meeting ended a goalless draw but we shall have to see what the replay will hold at the Etihad.

Millwall 1-0 Leicester

The reigning Premier League champions seemed to be struggling in the league as they fight to stay in the top flight of English football but they seemed to be doing well in the FA Cup, wrangling a 3-1 win in a replay against Derby in the previous round after extra time. They travelled to Millwall who would surely be up for a battle against a Leicester side that, if they were caught on a bad day, could definitely be beaten. Leicester attackers Shinji Okazaki and Ahmed Musa were denied early on in the same first half that saw a Ben Chilwell cross deflected for a city corner. Both keepers were forced into numerous saves throughout the first half, meaning the affair was still goalless after 45 minutes. In the 52nd minute of the game, Millwall’s Jake Cooper was sent off for a second bookable offence leaving the League One side with only 10 men. Not long after the sending off, Okazaki was once again denied by Jordan Archer in the Millwall goal from point blank range. The game was won in the 90th minute by Shaun Cummings as he latched onto a Lee Gregory through ball and slid the ball past Ron-Robert Zieler to send the Lions into a tie against Spurs in the quarter finals.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 Chelsea

Championship side Wolves faced off with a Chelsea team that are flying in the League and look certain to take first place in the Premier League yet they looked resolute early on as they the post from a rocket strike from George Savile. Willian was then denied well by Carl Ikeme between the Wanderers sticks. It was an uncomfortable first half for the Premier League leaders but they looked better in the second period as Diego Costa almost converted a shot from a tight angle as he was set up well by Willian. The scoring was opened in the 65th minute by Pedro who got on the end of a Willian cross as he was allowed a free header at the far post. The game was then sealed by Diego Costa as the Spanish striker smashed an attempt, in the final minute of normal time, into the far side of the goal to send the Blues into the next round.

Fulham 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur

Christian Eriksen was denied early into the clash by Fulham keeper Marcus Betinelli. In the 16th minute, Harry Kane stretched to get onto the end of an Eriksen cross that began with a quick throw in from Kieran Trippier to send the Premier League side into the lead and give Kane his 17th goal of the season. Fulham were almost gifted an equaliser as Michel Vorm in the Spurs goal but the shot was fairly tame and the Dutch keeper was able to save the attempt. The championship side’s failure to close down the North London team almost gave them a two-goal deficit when Harry Kane was deemed to be offside as he set up Harry Winks for a nice finish. The next goal came in minute 51 as Harry Kane got his second of the game with a volley through the legs of the Fulham keeper with the assist again coming from Christian Eriksen. Dele Alli missed his chance to add his name to the scoresheet as he fired a volley inside the area over the bar but this was soon followed by Fulhams first notable attempt on goal but the header was sent over the crossbar and into the crowd behind. The match was put to bed in the 73rd minute when Kane got his hattrick as he slid the ball past Betinelli from a Dele Alli assist and getting his fifth hattrick for Spurs and his second of 2017. In the dying embers of the game, Son was denied the chance to score the fourth goal of the game as he missed a free header at the back post.

Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Manchester United

An early shot from Blackburn’s Marvin Emnes was comfortably saved by Sergio Romero who was taking David De Gea’s place in the Man United side but it was Emnes who supplied Rovers’ Danny Graham with a lovely pass to open the scoring for the East Lancashire club in the 17th minute of play. United’s Ander Herrera tried to fire in an equaliser but it was saved by Steele in the Rover’s net. Not long after though, the Red Devils managed to find a reply to the Graham opener when Henrikh Mkhitaryan hit a sumptuous pass, in the 27th minute, with the outside of his boot to Marcus Rashford who took the ball past the keeper and slid it into the goal for his third goal of the FA Cup campaign. Craig Conway’s attempt was sent flying over the bar as he was almost clean through on goal late in the 1st half but the best chance of the game came with Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s would-be first touch as he almost slid onto the end of a Herrera cross that would have ensured a 2-1 lead if he had got a touch. The game was won by that same man, Ibrahimovic, in the 75th minute has he took his shot inside the box after a beautiful assist from Paul Pogba who sent the ball all the way into the box from his own half all the way into Ibrahimovic who slipped the ball beneath Steele and into the goal. Blackburn almost found an equaliser however late on as a flurry of shots were sent towards Romero and Anthony Stokes put one into the goal but the linesman flagged for offside to give United a 2-1 win and a passage into the quarter-finals.

Sutton United 0-2 Arsenal

Premier League giants Arsenal travelled to non-league Sutton in the final game of the 5th round and Sutton were hoping to emulate the success of fellow non-league side Lincoln by beating a stiff Premier League opponent. Sutton started brightly as they didn’t sit back and defend, but launched themselves headfirst into the tie. The deadlock was broken, however, by Arsenal’s Lucas Perez who’s 26th-minute cross wriggled its way through a crowded box and straight into the Sutton goal. United did not lie back however as they went in at half time 1-0 down but still fighting for their place in the next round of the FA Cup after a late shot by Alex Iwobi was placed the wrong side of the post, keeping the non-leaguers in the match. The best chance of the half came for Sutton who had a shot by Adam May, sent wide after a misplaced David Ospina pass. 10 minutes into the second half, Theo Walcott was given the opportunity the bag his 100th goal for the Gunners as he was able to latch onto a cross at the far post and slot the ball in from close range. Despite being two down, Sutton still battled to keep their dreams alive and their captain, Jamie Collins, was almost able to pull one back was she got his head on a corner but it was sent over the bar for an Arsenal goal kick. Sutton’s next best chance came not long after as star player Roarie Deacon hit a perfect shot that struck the crossbar leaving Arsenal still with the clean sheet and into a quarterfinal tie with another non-league side, Lincoln.

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