#IT TOUCHES ON HIS AND WUS RELATIONSHIP AND HIS STRUGGLES WITH BEING CORRUPTED

[frosted-plasma]

Garmadon compilation because I just finished reading the comics and I am literally OBSESSED

[wastetimeandtype]

KUVIRA WINS STORY/ NEXT AVATAR (SUMMARY)

--I’m not going to finish this. I haven’t touched the story in years. Honestly I just don’t want to write something as bleak as this story anymore, I was in a weird place when I came up with this. However, I am still fond of it, and I think it’s some of my more solid writing (I wrote 25k) if you can forgive the more edgelord elements, but I won’t be finishing it. I will say this was never meant to be tonally similar nor do I want this story to happen in canon, it was just an extreme ending to book 4 I found interesting to explore.

CONTWNT WARNING: This takes an extremely uncharitable view of Kuvira and is overall pretty depressing, so be forewarned that this story summary mentions death and one instance of rape.

So, general backstory:

- The hummingbird suits fail and they don’t manage to enter the colossus. Jinora is seriously injured, and the group try and regroup but are captured.

- Kuvira drugs Korra with the toxin that incapacitated her that time in Zaofu the Red Lotus tried to kidnap her. Kuvira executes Bolin, Varrick and Zhu-Li for betraying her (this story is bleak...)

- Kuvira tries to win Korra over by talking to her and appealing that they’re similar. This doesn’t work, and also Kuvira just executed Bolin. Anyway she eventually gets pissed and tortures Asami and Mako in front of Korra. Korra manages to break through to the Avatar State but as she is poisoined she is not all powerful and Kuvira manages to kill her. Korra dies surrounded by Korra and Asami.

- In the months that follow, Hiroshi Sato and Asami and encouraged to work for Kuvira. Asami is aghast and the two plan an escape. Hiroshi dies in the escape attempt. Asami looks around the cells for Mako, but she can’t find him- at this point, they hadn’t seen eachother since Korra died and he was moved. She leaves Republic City by boat, vowing to take back the city. (note. Hiroshi’s fate was never fully decided, but I didn’t write him into my first draft so i assume I meant for him to be dead).

- Wu, meanwhile, managed to escape the encroaching forces from Kuvira as many of the refugees were evacuated to the Fire Nation just before full control was given. He then lives there in political exile.

- The Fire Nation declares war on Kuvira’s regime after they get confirmation that the Avatar is dead, along with the Water Tribes. Kuvira makes good progress conquering some of the islands, but the Fire Nation manages to make Hummingbird suits which destroys the mecha, and out of desperation starting making their own spirit nukes. This forces the war to a stalemate to aavoid further huge losses. However,  they do not sign a peace treaty, only a cessation of fighting. Kuvira releases some political prisoners like Iroh and the Air Nation as a sign of goodwill but Izumi and the Fire Nation won’t sign a treaty without the return of sovereignty to the United Republic. Kuvira refuses.

- Kuvira renames Republic City to Empire City, because originality, and makes it the capital. She rules the nation under an iron fist. All benders are made to register, with fire and waterbenders being treated the worst.

- MEANWHILE  Kuvira released Opal (airbender) but not the rest of the Beifongs. Opal is PISSED. She teams up with Asami and set up the United Republic Liberation Front, with volunteers from refugees from all over the world.

- Whilst this is happening, Zaheer and the Red Lotus’s ideology sees a resurgence of popularity and Zaheer is broken out of his prison to lead the Red Lotus. So we now have to rebel factions, and the URLF does not trust the Red Lotus because of the whole trying to murder Korra thing, and the Red Lotus doesn’t like that they plan to put Wu on the throne in the Earth Kingdom.

- The Air Nation relocates to the Fire Nation, but some like Meelo join the URLF, and some rejoin the Red Lotus. The Air Nation implicitly opposses the Earth Empire so any airbender is viewed as a terrorist.

- The Fire Nation implicitly support the URLF, the Earth Empire knows it, but the two nations are still at a stalemate due to the spirit nukes.

- Opal and Asami begin a relationship out of shared grief (they have lost their family, friends, and romantic interest (Asami didn’t even get to date Korra). They also vow to try and rescue Mako, as they don’t know what happened to him, but they suspect he’s imprisoned with other lightning benders.

- A young child named Xan is born in the Earth Kingdom. His single mother dies young, so he is raised in an orphanage. He is a talented earthbender, but one day when it’s cold, he warms his hands up with firebending. He is whisked away to Kuvira’s mansion in Empire City. He sees her as a mother figure and is very close with her. Xan, the Avatar, is brought up to be a loyal member of the regime, and doesn’t doubt it otherwise.

STORY PROPER

- Xan is super happy with Unification Day! They celebrate the day Kuvira unified the Empire by conquering Empire City. They even have a play called the Unification Play. Bolin and Varrick are portrayed as evil and duplitious,  propoganda runs rife. He is nearly seventeen.

- Xan is very loyal to the Earth Empire but chafes under the rule. He has mastered Earth and Fire, but struggles with airbending (as they have no teachers) and waterbending isn’t coming naturally either. He runs away from his bodyguard Iseul to have some fun on Unification Day. Iseul is a tall, metalbending soldier woman and around twenty-four. She is very by the book and has a strong sense of justice, and does not go out of her way to terrorise the fire and waterbenders like other members of the metalbending ruling class. However, Iseul is incredibly loyal to Xan, and loves him as a brother.

- Xan is reprimanded by Iseul and Kuvira for running off since he is a massive target for the evil rebels. Kuvira gives a speech to the crowd, but is targeted by an airbending assassin who is shot down by metalbending gaurds. She has insignia from the Red Lotus on her person so she is considered a terrorist. Zaheer is moved up to the top of the most wanted list above Asami and Opal.

- After this is Xan sees a vision of Korra. She has been trying to contact him, but Kuvira tells him to suppress these visions and that spirits are trying to influence him. He has no other education so he believes her. So he continues to ignore KOrra trying to get through to him.

- Xan is also generally an anxious mess and worries about the pressure.

- Xan watches soap operas with Kobi, his loyal servant of a similar age. Xan loves gossip and relationship drama. It’s his major flaw other than being an Earth Empire loyalist. He lives at the Air Temple with lots of guards which Kuvira turned into acomodation for him. Xan’s identity to the public is still kept secret, it’s just seen as more training barracks.

- Xan accompanies Kuvira to watch people being sentenced for being horrible people and also being anti regime. A waterbender is sentenced to a re-education camp, and her look to him strikes a nerve and disturbs him. Xan also visits a spirit weapons facility where they are attacked by a corrupted spirit (like in book 2) as all the spirit vine weaponry is causing the spiritual world to be out of whack and the spirits are angry (not helped by Xan ignoring his spiritual side).

- However Kobi briefly mentions that maybe Kuvira isn’t right all the time which causes Xan to snap at him. Xan is loyal.

- A few days later Kobi sneaks Xan out for some underage drinking but the drinks are actually drugged. Kobi is working for the URLF! Kobi is a trained liar so he evaded the truth seers under Kuvira’s employ. The URLF manage to get to the Air Temple, kidnap Xan in a submarine and take him away. This is the worst part of what I wrote because of how easy it was, and would be revised.

- Anyway Opal is on the submarine and takes Xan to the URLF base which is on a Southern Air Temple island (not the air temple itself, if that makes sense). They have an advanced cave system within the mountain to hideout.

- Opal on the trip is like ‘what up Xan’ and Xan is pissed and enters the Avatar State. They calm him down as he has nowhere to go as he is in a submarine. Xan is like ‘Bolin is shit fuck you’ and Opal hates this little shit. Xan can’t stand Kobi, who tries to say this is for the best and that Kuvira is wrong. Kobi is half a waterbender and hasn’t seen his mother in years as she didn’t register herself and was taken away to a camp, so Kobi joined the URLF. Xan has some sympathies, but can’t trust Kobi as Kobi has demonstrated that he is an excellent liar.

- They get to the hideout where we meet Asami. Asami and Opal are the leaders of the URLF. They imprison Xan for a bit where Korra again appears like ‘what up’ and he’s like go away. Asami lets Xan out of his prison to show him ‘Nuktuk’ because Asami is trying to explain to Xan bias and propoganda. She also offers that they’ll teach him airbending and his freedom around the complex in exchange for open-mindedness to their organisation. It’s better than being in a cell so Xan agrees. Asami also tells Xan that Kuvira killed Korra, and that she tortured Asami and Mako. Xan is disturbed, and also has no information on where Mako currently is. Opal is pretty pissed at Asami for basically doing this behind her back. (They have a slightly strained romance). Xan loves this drama. He is roomed with Kobi as Asami is like ‘you can room with your friend’ forgetting that Xan doesn’t like Kobi. Should be clear that Xan is pretty much trapped on this island as he has no control over the Avatar State and can’t bend water.

MEANWHILE

- Iseul really fucked up and Kuvira admonishes her for being a bad bodyguard. Iseul deeply cares for Xan and asks Kuvira to be allowed to go find Xan and Kuvira agrees (note: i do not like this plot point. I think it makes more sense for Iseul to go anyway despite Kuvira’s refusal).

- Iseul travels to a small town where she knows where rebels have had activity the Earth Empire is trying to stamp out. She decides to integrate with them, get close to the leadership, find Xan. She saves two members from the metalbending police starts to get friendly with the rebels. However they aren’t the URLF, they’re actually aligned with the Red Lotus, but on the ground, in towns, they often function fairly similar. Iseul decides to accompany a small group who are travelling down to another town with URLF contacts. She also meets Chatit, a prominent leader of the URLF. They flirt with eachother a little bit. Iseul wonders what she’s doing. THIS IS WHERE I STOPPED WRITING, THE REST IS PURE NOTES.

- Iseul and the Red Lotus gang get sidetracked by a member along the journey saying they think they found a bunch of lightning benders in a prison. The Red Lotus decides to break them out, Iseul reluctantly agrees to this to prove she is loyal to the cause so she can integrated with the URLF when the time comes. Of course, Mako’s in the prison! With a child named Akane. Iseul rescues Mako personally as he has an injured leg and they start to bond. Iseul also gets along with Akane.

- Akane is the daughter of Akane, another lightning bender Mako fell in love with in prison. She reveals she’s not Mako’s biological daughter, but the product of rape from one of the guards. Iseul is horrified, and does make her doubt the integrity of the regime she loves.

- Chatit decides, ‘hey, let’s go to Zaheer instead! We can get him on side when we go see the URLF and Mako is now a bargaining chip’. Mako is very unamused by this whole situation. He just wants to see Asami and Opal. He also likes Iseul not only for saving him but it’s clear that she doesn’t really believe in Zaheer and he likes that she thinks for herself.

- Chatit brings Mako to Zaheer’s secret camp in the woods and he’s like ‘what up Zaheer I brought you the guy who killed Ming-Hua!’ Zaheer does not give a shit as he is beyond grudges and admonishes a Chatit for not getting their philosophy. However doesn’t mind using Mako as a bargaining chip.

- mako is like to Iseul ‘Chatit is as bad with Zaheer as the metalbendera are with Kuvira’ and Iseul is like wait... that’s ME. She doesn’t say this aloud though but she now thinks Chatit is a complete weirdo because he simps for Zaheer so hard. Iseul’s faith in the regime is still shaken but Iseul is still dedicated to finding Xan and making sure he’s safe.

MEANWHILE (we’d cut back and forth between the two POV’s, so this is all mixed in with eachother).

— Xan struggles to learn airbending as he doesn’t know what true freedom is.

- Wu visits and is like ‘hey let’s party! You guys are so miserable!’ Wu also has a hunky Fire Nation boyfriend now. However Xan gleans from Wu that he intends to regain the throne, and also be the last King. The bloodline dies with him.

- Xan and Kobi have a little dance at this party. Opal and Asami make up. Xan is enthralled.

- Xan starts to make some progress with airbending so Opal and Asami decide to bring him on a boat to the Southern Water Tribe to visit the spirit portal in the hope he’ll be able to reconnect with Korra properly there by force instead of him burying it.

— they get to the Southern Water Tribe by Air Bison. The Souther Warter Tribe is attacked by Kuvira’s forces. Corrupted spirits also attack and wreck havoc amongst the general populace and the forces.

— in the chaos Korra reappears before Xan and he connects with her. She brings him to the moment of her death, and he feels her pain and is horrified, and it confirms the torture side of the story. Xan snaps back, enters the Avatar state and leaves with Asami and Opal.

— this is where the story gets a little shaky, but Xan still tries to believe he might be able to get through to Kuvira.

MEANWHILE

Word spreads that the Avatar has returned! Iseul sends some sort of message to the Earth empire forces to ask if they have Xan back. This is intercepted by the Red Lotus. Mako is horrified as the whole group realised she is a traitor. They move to execute her but Mako does step in since Iseul saved him from the prison, but declares to her to never interact with him and his daughter again. Which is sad as Iseul was getting a big sister bond with Akane. Akane does apologise to Mako but he’s having none of it. He just feels manipulated and he is so, so tired.

— not been clear but Mako’s mental state isn’t great. He’s been in prison for around seventeen years, witnessed the execution of his brother, and murder of Korra. He’s a bit fucked. His leg is also in poor condition and can’t fight well, he’s basically just been used to power lightning for years. Akane is the only thing that keeps him going. He wants to make sure she’s safe with Asami and Opal. Plus he’s also being used as a bargaining chip.

— the Red Lotus finally get to the URLF contacts. They manage to speak to Asami and Opal who are like ‘whooo Mako!’ and agree to a meeting with Zaheer. Xan decides to come too.

— Iseul and Mako are transferred to the URLF. Iseul finally decides to give up some crucial information— the Earth Empire intends to use its spirit weapons again soon, as they anticipate that the Fire Nation will use the comet in years to come to destroy the Earth Empire. They intend to use such an intense, short blast that the Fire Nation can’t respond.

— the URLF and Red Lotus decided they must band together, but they have to get the Fire Nation on side to attack the Earth Empire unexpectedly.

— Xan decides he must speak to Kuvira. Get her to see reason. Everyone tells him he’s delusional so he steals an Air Bison to get himself there before the attack.

— Before they fight, Mako, Opal and Asami have a tearful reunion. Mako can’t fight as he isn’t well, but he does bid them farewell.

— once there, Kuvira will not see reason. They fight and fight and fight, while the Fire Nation ships arrive with a shit tonne of weapons s, and the Earth empire prepares to use its weapons. Xan realised that it’s going to be an all out death battle, mutually assured destruction, so he kills Kuvira in a very long fight where he goes into the Avatar state (at this point he is pretty good at airbending but cannot waterbenders still).

— war is averted. Xan is traumatised and pissed. Korra reminds him that he isn’t some weapon— he’s been told what to do all his life, even by the URLF. So against proper protocol as suggested by Asami, he grabs all the spirit weapons in a big hurricane from both sides, and blows them up, forming a massive explosion (it could form a spirit portal like in book 4, but I don’t want to take Korra’s moment).

— the URLF establish control over Republic City. Asami is appointed temporary president. Wu is named King of the Earth Kingdom. Immediate release from the camps occur and the metalbending police are disbanded. Opal is re-United with her family.

— Zaheer says nothing and does nothing more after removing Kuvira, Though he does nod at Xan after the end— is it respect or a warning? Does Zaheer intend to try and kill the Avatar a second time?

— Asami and Mako enter a relationship, with Opal and Asami continuing theirs. It’s a poly life. Mako doesn’t really forgive Iseul but does tell her he might one day, and Iseul vows to make sure there is true justice for everyone.

— Xan is traumatised and hurt and realised he still has much more to learn. He decides to sneak away to the Northern Water Tribe. Kobi tells him it’s okay if he needs to spend some time alone, but he can have company if he needs it. Xan accepts and Xan and Kobi board a ship to the Northern Water Trube.

The endddd.

* I do realise Kobi has little impact on the plot after he spies for the URLF. He would mostly appear as Xan’s friend in the story and Xan would eventually trust him again. Hinted relationship between the two as he was the only person that Xan was honest with that wasn’t Iseul, and only she did it sometimes.

* I realised a while ago there there was an issue with Mako’s subplot not brought up here, that if Kuvira imprisoned him, wouldn’t she try and use him as bait with Opal and Asami? Or even execute him to send a message. Something. So I did come up with a backstory that Mako escaped prison but was recaptured, and went under a false name. It was only noticed that he was Mako because Iseul studied all the history books and recognised him as valuable during his rescue. None of this was developed beyond my own notes but it solves some logic issues, though is a bit contrived still to make this subplot work.

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior’s Top 25 Movies of 2018!

What a year we’ve been having with all the politics and internet craziness and my own personal life, struggling to survive without a job and very little work, and YET, it was an absolutely fantastic year for movies. There is no arguing that fact when a good percentage of my annual top 25 came from movies I saw at Sundance way back in January. While there may be a few noticeable omissions that appear on many other top 10s, as well as a few movies I liked that were obvious awards fodder, I’m pretty happy with what turned out to be one of my more eclectic top 25 lists with a mix of smaller indies and big budget blockbusters. (In case you’re interested, I saw 248 movies in 2018, and that is only counting the new movies released during the year and not dozens more movies I saw at film festival and hundreds of older films.)

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it…. Or rather, I hope you enjoy reading this because it took me a long time to write it.

25. Stan and Ollie  (Sony Pictures Classics) – One of the recurring trends I saw happening during what was a relatively sucky year was that many of my favorite things from childhood were brought to the big screen. In this case, it’s the story of Laurel and Hardy, as ably played by Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly, as it covers the last few years of their partnership as they’re struggling to fill theaters during a UK tour. The performances by the duo were splendid, as were the two actors playing their respective wives (a hilarious Nina Arianda and Shirley Henderson), the script by Jeff Pope really putting you into the comedy duo’s world and mindset. Kudos to Jon S. Baird for this fantastic biopic, which opens next week in New York and L.A.

24. Annihilation  (Paramount) – Alex Garland’s sophomore film, his follow-up to the excellent Ex-Machina, was a fantastic adaptation of Jeff Vandermeer’s sci-fi novel that should have been as accepted as Arrival, especially with the fantastic premise and performance by Natalie Portman, as well as Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson and Oscar Isaac. Sadly, I didn’t rewatch it on Netflix when I had the chance but this is definitely something I’d buy on blu-ray.

23. Mary Poppins Returns  (Walt Disney Pictures) – Continuing the theme from Stan and Ollie, Disney finally made a sequel to one of my favorite movies as a kid with the wonderful Emily Blunt stepping into the shoes of Julie Andrews, and I was shocked by how much I enjoyed it, especially since I wasn’t a fan of Rob Marshall’s Into the Woods… or Chicago, for that matter. For this one, Marshall perfectly captured the magic I felt first watching Mary Poppinsand listening to the album over and over as a kid, with really fun songs, including some co-written by Lin Manuel Miranda, I believe.

22. Aquaman  (Warner Bros.) – While Aquaman has never been my favorite DC superhero, I had high hopes for director James Wan’s first foray into superheroics, and I wasn’t disappointed. Granted, there was a lot to keep up with, since he fit a lot of story into one movie… I mean, who wouldn’t, considering the chances of there ever being an Aquaman sequel? But yeah, Jason Momoa really sold me on the character, and the way the movie remained faithful to the Aquaman lore and mythos made in the comics, and there was just so much to enjoy that I can’t wait to see it again.

21. Boy Erased (Focus Features) – Another second feature, this one from Joel Edgerton, who adapted, directed and co-starred in this adaptation of Garrard Conley’s memoir of growing up with a preacher father and religious mother who sent him to participate in a gay conversion program run by a zealous fanatic (played by Edgerton).  I thought Lucas Hedges was just fantastic in the lead in this as well as in his father Peter Hedges’ movie Ben is Back, so this year finally put me on the Lucas Hedges wagon despite him appearing in multiple Best Picture-nominated movies over the last couple years. (I also want to point out the Honorable Mention The Miseducation of Cameron Post, which was also quite good as it looked at the problems caused by these gay conversion programs.)

20. Crazy Rich Asians (New Line/Warner Bros.) – I fought tooth and nail against buying into the hype for this all-Asian cast adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s best-selling novel, but I’m a total sucker for romance, especially the romantic comedy genre, and this was a fine one for the ages. My worries about this being seen as Asian wealth porn was somewhat off-base – although there was some of that in there – and this ended up being the perfect movie for one of my fave directors, Jon M. Chu, to finally be taken seriously in Hollywood. Granted, I already loved Constance Wu from Fresh Off the Boat and Michelle Yeoh from a million movies, but I loved what newcomers Henry Goulding and Awkwafina brought to the mix, and I even liked Ken Jeong in this, so yeah, a pleasant surprisw, and one I probably will rewatch again soon.

19. Roma  (Netflix) – Likewise, I finally saw this movie at New York Film Festival after tons of hype out of Telluride, Toronto and Venice, but I immediately was able to relate to the love the kids in the film have for their maid, something similar to my own childhood living in Brazil in the early ‘70s. There’s no denying that director Alfonso Cuaron makes stunning films that leaves your jaw agape in every scene, and what an amazing coup for first-timer Yalitza Aparicio, an indigenous woman who might have had a hard time getting roles if not for Cuaron’s brilliance in casting her. This movie hit me even harder emotionally a second time, although I still wouldn’t place it higher on my year-end list since I thought some of it was noticeable directorial wanking i.e. Cuaron could do these big set pieces merely because he had the ability and money to do so.

18. On the Basis of Sex and RBG (Focus Features / Magnolia) – I’m cheating here a little bit just because this year saw two fantastic films about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, first in the doc by Betsy West and Julie Cohen, which created a beautiful portrait of the amazing woman.  Later in the year, Felicity Jones portrayed Ginsburg in a pivotal point in her career where she goes before the Supreme Court to fight for gender equality. It’s an important case but also an important turning point in our country, and I love how Ginsburg’s relationship with her husband, played by the dashing Armie Hammer, was portrayed.

17. Monsters and Men (Neon) – A movie that was seemingly missed by anyone who didn’t see it at Sundance, and even by many who went to Sundance was Reinaldo Marcus Green’s drama about a shooting by a Brooklyn policeman and how it’s viewed by three different people from the neighborhood. Two of those people are Anthony Ramos’ Manny and John David Washington (from BlackKklansman) as a fairly young policeman dealing with the corruption and racism in the force. It also deals with a young baseball prodigy (Christopher Jordan Wallace) who wants to get involved with the protests against the killing even if it might hurt his chances at getting into a good college. If you have a chance to see this movie, you’re likely to be impressed by Green’s storytelling abilities and how it’s used.

16. Searching (Sony/Screen Gems) – Aneesh Chaganty’s directorial debut was an amazing thriller starring John Cho as a man whose daughter has disappeared and using only what can be viewed on a computer screen. Sure, it sounds like a gimmick, and it’s one that’s been used in films like Nacho Vigalondo’s Open Windows and the Unfriended series, but Cho’s performance is a career-best, and Chaganty finds a way to create a plausible thriller that keeps you invested in Cho finding his daughter. (And I loved the hint I discovered to the movie’s big twist on watching a second time.)

15. Widows (20thCentury Fox) – While I liked 12 Years a Slave just fine, Steve McQueen really blew me away with his foray into the heist genre, starring Viola Davis as the wife of a criminal (Liam Neeson), who dies in an attempt to steal millions from a local Chicago mob boss… and political candidate (Brian Tyree Henry – one of this year’s major MVPs). It seems like a fairly simple plot, but McQueen finds a way to integrate the local politics (incl. amazing performances by Colin Farrell and Robert DuVall), surround Davis with some amazing women (including Cynthia Erivo and Elizabeth Debicki) and create a heist film unlike any you would have seen before, as it was far more unconventional than other heist films, as one might expect.

14. Mary, Queen of Scots  (Focus Features) – Fantastic performances by Saoirse Ronan as the title character and Margot Robbie as her cousin and rival Queen Elizabeth made Josie Rourke’s feature directorial debut quite an amazing film. It wasn’t just another costume drama, and as much as it sadly is being overshadowed by The Favourite, the material told this fascinating story about two feuding queens in such an interesting and exciting way, including an impressive battle sequence, making this very different from other period pieces, including the many that have been directed by men.

13. Instant Family (Paramount) – Another one of this year’s surprises was seeing Sean Anders, the director behind Daddy’s Home and its sequel, take on a more serious comedy based on his own real life. Apparently, he and his wife adopted three kids, so in this very funny, sweet and warm comedy, it’s Rose Byrne and Mark Wahlberg as a couple who take in three Latino kids, including the amazing Isabela Moner, who I think is going to be amazing as Dora the Explorer. But there was so much to enjoy about this film from the easy laughs to some of the sweeter and more touching human emotions on display.

12. Hereditary  (A24) – Another film that premiered out of Sundance (that I missed there) was Ari Aster’s directorial debut, an absolutely horrifying film about a mother (Toni Collette) dealing with all sorts of strange supernatural occurrences after the death of her own mother. A24’s marketing for the film was such a brilliant bit of Red Herring creation that you might go in thinking that Collette’s daughter Charlie (played by Milly Shapiro) was gonna be the main antagonist/conflict… nope! Colette’s amazing performance was countered by a similar one from Alex Wolff, and if you weren’t totally creeped out by this movie’s ending, there’s probably something wrong with you. Aster proves himself to be a fascinating visual storyteller, so I can’t wait to see his next movie.

11. The Citizen (ArtMattan Productions) – Roland Vranik’s Hungarian film that premiered at the Berlin Film Festival all the way back in 2016 finally got a U.S. release thanks to New York’s Metrograph where it played for a number of weeks. After seeing the trailer a bunch of times, I ended up checking it out, and I was blown away by how timely and prescient the story of an African immigrant trying to become a Hungarian citizen related to what was going on in this country over the past year. It’s a wonderful indie film that sadly didn’t get the attention it deserved.

10. Eighth Grade (A24) – Yet another Sundance “discovery” was comedian Bo Burnham’s debut, which featured newcomer Elsie Fisher as 13-year-old Kayla, who is trying to deal with puberty, her last year in middle school and a pesky but lovable father, played by Josh Hamilton. This is just such an enjoyable even if you went to middle school so long ago that you barely remember it. Even so, Burnham found a way to tap into those feelings to create an extremely enjoyable comedy. I’m convinced Elsie Fisher is gonna be a superstar.

9. The Hate U Give (20thCentury Fox) – Probably one of the most underrated films of the year, which thankfully has gotten some critical love in the past few weeks.  I thought this adaptation of Angie Love’s Y.A. novel about a teenager named Starr, played by Amandla Stenberg, fighting with the two sides of her life with the advent of #BlackLivesMatter after watching her childhood friend killed by a white police officer. The cast that producer George Tillman Jr. built around Stenberg was quite impressive, including Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, Anthony Mackie and Common, with many powerful emotional moments that did a good job explaining what young black people in urban areas must deal with daily. It’s a fine return to form from the director of Notorious and Soul Food.

8. Ant Man and the Wasp  (Marvel Studios) – I bet you didn’t expect to see THIS Marvel Studios rank so high while a couple others didn’t even place in my list (or even Honorable Mentions), huh? Maybe I’ve just gotten sick of the whole thing where every movie is basically set-up for the next movie, which has been the case for a while now. Sure, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a sequel to Ant-Man and there was a post-credits Avengers: Infinity War tie-in, but otherwise, this was the Ant-Man movie I had been hoping for after the rather disappointing first movie. Obviously, having Paul Rudd involved in the writing and not working from a previous plot (as was the case with the first movie) helped the characters from the first movie shine. (Also, loved the Ghost as an antagonist.)

7. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse  (Sony) – It was a fairly tight race for my favorite superhero movie of the year, but after seeing this animated take on Marvel’s webbed wonder a second time, it was obvious to me that this was indeed one of the best feature film iterations of Spider-Man outside the comics. Sure, I was a fan of what Brian Bendis had done in the Ultimate comics, maybe not some of the Spider-Verse stuff introduced by Dan Slott, but taking those two disparate things and turning it into a true story about Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore, who should be cast as Miles in a live action MCU movie) and then having Jake Johnson voicing the older “mentor” Spider-Man just made for a fun movie that exemplified all of the previous films directed and produced by Lord and Miller including The LEGO Movie and 21 Jump Street. I’m looking forward to more big-screen animated superhero movies, and yeah, I liked Incredibles 2 just fine but I was never that attached to the Pixar movie.

6. Love, Simon  (20thCentury Fox) – After blowing up the DC Universe via his many CW TV shows, Greg Berlanti returned to the movies with this coming-out coming of age romantic comedy starring Nick Robinson as Simon Spier, a closeted gay teen who discovers that there might be another gay teen in the closet at his high school. This simple plot led to a wonderful high school coming-of-age rom-com that really brightened me up on a miserable day I was having (the first of many this year), and I loved how relatable Berlanti made the story.

5. Bad Times at the El Royale  (20thCentury Fox) – Possibly one of the most underrated films of the year, Drew Goddard’s second film as a director after the similarly excellent Cabin in the Woods, featured a cadre of individuals converging on a mostly-abandoned hotel on the border of California and Nevada. Jeff Bridges plays a priest, Jon Hamm plays a travelling salesman and Broadway star Cynthia Erivo (also in Widows) is a singer who all show up at the same time, as we quickly discover, very little about the El Royale is as it seems. I almost don’t want to reveal too much more, because it’s the way the story unfolds which had many comparing it to Tarantino (both positively and negatively). I felt that so many filmmakers have tried to ape Tarantino and not understood what makes his storytelling style work so well, but Goodard figured it out, and delivered a rich film full of many surprises. I can’t recommend the film more, since I know very few people had a chance to see it in theaters.

4. Mission: Impossible – Fallout   (Paramount) – Considering how much I was disappointed by Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, I expected its direct sequel to be more of the same, and boy, was I wrong. Tom Cruise and McQuarrie pulled out all the stops to create a viable conclusion to the four movies that had been produced along with JJ Abrams and Bad Robot, which included the extraordinary 4thmovie directed by Brad Bird. I was impressed the first time I saw this in IMAX… but then I saw it again… and again… and again. I just couldn’t get enough of the amazing action scenes and the intricate plot (even though I found a few holes in it). I’m so psyched to see what McQuarrie does next, and it successfully reminded everyone why Cruise is the star that he is.

3. Juliet, Naked  (Lionsgate / Roadside Attractions) – The fact that filmmaker Jesse Peretz was able to adapt one of my favorite Nick Hornby novels in a way that’s faithful but not to a fault made this one of my favorite movies of this year’s Sundance Film Festival. If you couldn’t tell from my love for Instant Family, I absolutely love Rose Byrne, and she killed it as Annie, a woman living in a seaside English town with her boyfriend Duncan (Chris O’Dowd) as an avid fan of musician Tucker Crowe. When Annie posts something negative about a newly-discovered Crowe rarity on Duncan’s blog, they break up, but she also ends up having a long-distance relationship with the actual Crowe, played by Ethan Hawke. There’s just something so spot-on about Hornby’s book and this adaptation was just as enjoyable, genuinely warm and very, very funny. I wish more people went to go see it.

2.  A Star is Born  (Warner Bros.) – Believe me, there may be no one more surprised by how far this movie has placed in my year-end list than myself. I’m not a huge Bradley Cooper fan, nor do I particularly like Lady Gaga or her music, but this is a great old Hollywood story that’s perfectly modernized with Cooper playing rock star Jackson Mane who sees Gaga’s Ally performing at a cabaret club and falls for her just as he tries to help her career. It’s a story that’s been told a number of times before, and sure, I can understand why some women might not like the implications that a man might help the woman have success in the movie industry, but Gaga killed it playing a character possibly not too removed from herself. I’ll be thrilled with any and all Oscars this movie earns, especially for Bradley Cooper, making a stunning directorial debut. (And I always love Sam Elliot in anything he does. He’s so deserving of an Oscar here, too.)

1A. Won’t You be My Neighbor  (Focus Features) – As always, I separate the docs from my overall year’s best list just because I tend to like the genre so much that my entire top 10 would be docs if I didn’t separate them into their own category. But yeah, Morgan Neville has done it again with another 10/10 doc following his Oscar-winning 20 Feet to Stardom. Barring some major push by one of the other docs that made the shortlist (and my top 12 below), there’s a very good chance that Neville’s doc about beloved PBS host Fred (Mister) Rogers will win him a second Oscar. Rogers is beloved by adults who grew up watching his show and getting a chance to look behind the scenes made many adults cry, mainly for joy but also for sadness that these trying times doesn’t have a Mister Rogers to help us through it.

1. Green Book (Universal) – Yes, I’m well aware of the controversy and backlash from many black film critics (most of them who write for ShadowAndAct.com, oddly enough) who hate this movie for one reason or another. By the time all that controversy had reared its ugly head, I had already seen the Peter Farrelly historic buddy comedy twice, and I loved it both times I saw it.  If you’re unaware, it stars Viggo Mortensen as Italian stereotype club bouncer Tony Lip, who is hired to drive and safeguard Mahershala Ali’s jazz pianist Dr. Don Shirley on a tour of the Deep South during the early ‘60s when racism still was running rampant.  The growing chemistry built by these two actors through the situations they find themselves in made me far more interested in Shirley and the Green Book of the title, so anyone complaining about the movie should realize that through entertaining humor, Farrelly has opened a conversation that I hope will continue through next year.

Honorable Mentions:

There were so many good movies this year that all of these fine films ended up just outside my top 25…

A Private War (Aviron) Operation Finale (MGM) First Reformed (A24) Lean on Pete (A24) The Rider (Sony Pictures Classics) Collette (Bleecker Street) Cold War (Amazon Studios) The Miseducation of Cameron Post (FilmRise) Leave No Trace (Bleecker Street) Suspiria (Amazon)

TWELVE GREAT DOCS

This was most definitely the year of the theatrical doc, even though, yeah, there’s still a few Netflix docs on here… okay, one. Otherwise, it was important to see most of these movies in a theater, which culminated in Peter Jackson’s 3D WWI doc They Shall Not Grow Old, which just missed my top 12. Sorry, this feature has gotten a little too long or otherwise, I’d write more about each of these, but most of them I wrote about in the weekly column.

1. Won’t You be My Neighbor (Focus Features) 2. Free Solo (National Geographic) 3. Hal (Oscilloscope) 4. Three Identical Strangers (Neon) 5. Minding the Gap (Hulu) 6. RBG (Magnolia) 7. Rock Rubber 45s (Saboteur Media) 8. Crime + Punishment (Hulu/IFC Films) 9. Shirkers (Netflix) 10. Fahrenheit 11/9 11. Far from the Tree (IFC Films) 12. Whale of a Tale (Giant Pictures)

STUDIO OF THE YEAR:

Every year I like rewarding a studio that goes above and beyond both in terms of releasing great, entertaining movies and also being generally decent to deal with. While Universal has the top movie and Warner Bros. is #2 and Fox has a lot of movies on the above list, I think I’ll have to give this year’s award to Paramount Pictures, not only for making the best Mission: Impossible yet, but also with two wonderful surprises in Instant Family and Overlord, which both were far better than their trailers. (They also released A Quiet Place, which didn’t make my list but was still a solid thriller.) But most importantly, they’re the most improved in terms of press/critical outreach, and I greatly appreciate that, especially in the tough year I had.

ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

I always like sharing some of the music I’m listening to each year and though my music budget has been cut rather drastically this year, my favorite album of the year was Metric’s “Art of Doubt,”followed by Buffalo Tom’s “Quiet and Peace”and The Fratellis’ “In Your Own Sweet Time.” I also dug Monster Magnet’s “Mindf*cker,” Ash’s “Islands” and James’ “Living in Extraordinary Times,” but none of this gets me more excited as the prospect for a new Cure album in 2019!

Oh, fine.. I’ll tack on my Terrible 10 for the year, but I don’t feel like revisiting any of these: 10. Kin  9. Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich  8. The Spy Who Dumped Me  7. Before I Wake  6. Truth or Dare? 5. London Fields  4. Head Full of Honey  3. Mandy  2. Aardvark  1. Assassination Nation 

That’s it for this year. Hopefully, I’ll have more to come soon.