#bong Cabrera | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

tothemaxxx · 5 years ago

Text

My Favorite Films and Performances of 2019

As per, I did’t get to watch everything. But these are the films that did the most for me in 2019. If it’s not on here, I either didn’t have the opportunity to see it or I just plain didn’t dig it.

TOP 5, loosely ranked. I love these deeply.

1. ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, Quentin Tarantino

2. PARASITE, Bong Joon-ho

3. UNCUT GEMS, Josh and Benny Safdie

4. PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE, Céline Sciamma

5. MONOS, Alejandro Landes

The rest of the Top 20, in alphabetical order. I loved these.

THE AMAZING JOHNATHAN DOCUMENTARY, Ben Berman

BEANPOLE, Kantemir Balagov

THE FAREWELL, Lulu Wang

A HIDDEN LIFE, Terrence Malick

IN FABRIC, Peter Strickland

THE IRISHMAN, Martin Scorsese

KNIFE + HEART, Yann Gonzalez

KNIVES OUT, Rian Johnson

THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO, Joe Talbot

THE LIGHTHOUSE, Robert Eggers

LORDS OF CHAOS, Jonas Åkerlund

MARRIAGE STORY, Noah Baumbach

MIDNIGHT FAMILY, Luke Lorentzen

THE SOUVENIR, Joanna Hogg

TRANSIT, Christian Petzold

—————

I also enjoyed, some with reservations:

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, Ad Astra, Arctic, The Art of Self-Defense, Ash Is Purest White, Atlantics, Birds of Passage, Climax, Dark Waters, The Dead Don’t Die, Diamantino, Diane, Dolemite is My Name, Downton Abbey, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, Ford v Ferrari, Gloria Bell, Greta, Her Smell, High Flying Bird, High Life, Hotel By The River, Hustlers, I Lost My Body, Les Misérables, Little Women, Midsommar, The Mustang, Non-Fiction, Pain & Glory, Peterloo, Ready or Not, The Report, The Standoff at Sparrow Creek, Us, Waves, Wild Rose

And these documentaries:

Amazing Grace, Apollo 11, David Crosby: Remember My Name, The Great Hack, Hail Satan?, Honeyland, The Kingmaker, Knock Down The House, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, One Child Nation, Well Groomed

—————

Did anyone ask for my favorite movies of the decade? No. Will I list them now, allowing only one title per director? Yes.

Carlos, Dogtooth, Force Majeure, Green Room, Inherent Vice, Mad Max: Fury Road, Mandy, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Parasite, Shoplifters, The Social Network, Toni Erdmann, Under The Skin, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Wild Tales

—————

My favorite performance of the year:

Adam Sandler as Howard Ratner in Uncut Gems

—————

Dynamic Duos:

Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton & Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Valerie Pachner as Franziska Schwaringer & August Diehl as Franz Jägerstätter in A Hidden Life

Robert Pattinson as Ephraim Winslow & Willem Dafoe as Thomas Wake in The Lighthouse

Vasilisa Perelygina as Masha & Viktoria Mironshnichenko as Iya in Beanpole

—————

Favorite Ensembles:

Climax, The Dead Don’t Die, Dolemite Is My Name, The Irishman, Knives Out, Les Misérables, Marriage Story, Monos, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Parasite, Peterloo, Uncut Gems, Us

—————

So many memorable performances:

Alan Alda as Bert Spitz in Marriage Story

Christian Bale as Ken Miles in Ford v Ferrari

Antonio Banderas as Salvador Mallo in Pain and Glory

Paula Beer as Marie in Transit

Annette Benning as Senator Dianne Feinstein in The Report

Juliette Binoche as Selena in Non-Fiction

Damien Bonnard as Ruiz in Les Misérables

Jessie Buckley as Rose-Lynn in Wild Rose

Sofia Buenaventura as Rambo in Monos

Tom Burke as Anthony in The Souvenir

Julie Butters as Trudi Fraser in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Honor Swinton Byrne as Julie in The Souvenir

Louis Cancelmi as Sally Bugs in The Irishman

Chang Hyae-jin as Chung-sook in Parasite

Cho Yeo Jeong as Park Yeon-kyo in Parasite

Ana de Armas as Marta Cabrera in Knives Out

Laura Dern as Nora Fanshaw in Marriage Story

Wayne Diamond as High Roller in Uncut Gems

Julia Fox as Julia in Uncut Gems

Kevin Garnett as Kevin Garnett in Uncut Gems

Rebecca Gayheart as Billie Booth in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Jon Glaser as Mark in Hustlers

Adèle Haenel as Héloïse in Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Julie Hagerty as Sandra in Marriage Story

Tim Heidecker as Josh Tyler / Tex in Us

André Holland as Ray Burke in High Flying Bird

Isabelle Huppert as Greta Hideg in Greta

Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Sheila in In Fabric

Karl Johnson as Lord Sidmouth in Peterloo

Lee Jung-eun as Gook Moon-gwang in Parasite

Martha Kelly as the Evaluator in Marriage Story

Ted Levine as John Brennan in The Report

Ray Liotta as Jay Marotta in Marriage Story

Jennifer Lopez as Ramona in Hustlers

Jonathan Majors as Montgomery Allen in The Last Black Man in San Francisco

Idina Menzel as Dinah Ratner in Uncut Gems

Noémie Merlant as Marianne in Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Fatma Mohamed as Miss Luckmoore in In Fabric

Julianne Moore as Gloria in Gloria Bell

Elisabeth Moss as Becky Something in Her Smell

Eddie Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore in Dolemite Is My Name

Julianne Nicholson as Doctora Sara Watson in Monos

Alessandro Nivola as Sensei in The Art of Self-Defense

Lupita Nyong'o as Adelaide Wilson / Red in Us

Al Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa in The Irishman and as Marvin Schwarz in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Joe Pesci as Russell Bufalino in The Irishman

Mary Kay Place as Diane in Diane

Florence Pugh as Dani in Midommar

Keanu Reeves as Keanu Reeves in Always Be My Maybe

Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Franz Rogowski as Georg in Transit

Taylor Russell as Emily in Waves

Andy Serkis as Parker Wembley in Long Shot

Wesley Snipes as D'Urville Martin in Dolemite Is My Name

Song Kang-ho as Kim Ki-taek in Parasite

Tilda Swinton as Zelda Winston in The Dead Don’t Die

John Turturro as Arnold in Gloria Bell

Zhao Shuzhen as Nai Nai in The Farewell

... and Sayuri the pit bull as Brandy in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

—————

Favorite older film I saw for the first time in 2019:

War and Peace, Sergei Bondarchuk, 1965

—————

THE END!

10 notes · View notes

jezfletcher · 5 years ago

Text

The Oscars 2020

The last two years (2018 and 2019), I've managed to watch every single Oscars feature film, partially at least due to being in the US in the lead up to the Oscars, so being able to capture those last few films that seem to be nowhere else in the world besides a few bespoke cinemas in New York or Los Angeles.

This year, however, I knew well ahead of time that I wouldn't be able to do this, and as a result, my completist tendencies were broken enough to make me not even bother seeing all the films I could see. In fact, this year, I missed 7 films, 3 of which I couldn't find by any legitimate means, and 4 of which I could have seen but just went "eh...". Missing from the former category are the foreing films Corpus Christi and Les Misérables, plus Richard Jewell, which infuriatingly comes out in cinemas here in Australia on Thursday. The films I actively decided to skip were Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (I'd subjected myself to the first one, which was enough for me), the "live action" remake of The Lion King, Frozen II (only up for Best Song), and Breakthrough, an evangelical Christian film again only up for Best Song. I feel comfortable with my choices here.

I also, as usual, watched the short films, which I'll talk about at the end. This time, I watched all the Live Action and Animated films, and 3/5 of the short documentaries. The other two I couldn't find before the Oscars.

I'll probably be a bit briefer in my write-ups of some of these films than I usually am, mostly due to time pressure. But some which deserve it (both good and bad), I'll give the regular treatment to. Anyway, let's get started:

1. Knives Out

Topping my Oscars list this year is Knives Out, which was an absolute delight of a film. Often times, I enjoy finding the hidden treasures in the Oscars list: films like Away From Her, First Reformed, On Body & Soul or The Broken Circle Breakdown. But this year I have to give Best Film to one of the actual Best Film nominees. Because this was just a brilliant piece of filmmaking. At times, it delivers the best whodunnit story of the past decade, at others it feels like it's lampooning every whodunnit since Agatha Christie, but it's done with such joy and love with every frame that I couldn't help but watch this with a permanent grin on my face. It's an excellent cast they've assembled here, and you could talk about the pitch perfect performance from anyone, but you have to single out Ana de Armas as MArta Cabrera, the suspect who throws up when she tells a lie (I mean, what a concept), and Daniel Craig as the "southern gentleman" detective Benoit Blanc (I will watch a hundred movies revolving around him solving cases, please make this a franchise). What's more, the film kept me guessing right up to the end, thanks to a whip-smart script from writer-director Rian Johnson, one of the most inventive and exciting directors working at the moment. I wasn't exactly sure, before I started this writeup, what would actually end up at #1 this year, but seeing Knives Out at the top of the list I realise it should have been obvious.

2. Little Women

Another truly wonderful film this year was Greta Gerwig's Little Women. I'd seen Gillian Armstrong's adaptation from 1994, and loved it, but this is better. Taking the smart choice to tell the tale in non-linear time, it manages to cleverly pull together contrasts between the youth and early adulthood of the characters, and play on our sympathies in new and revelatory ways. In many respects, this film makes you see the story in a different light to any adaptation that's come before it, and it's a rare thing to be able to do that with such a canonical text; the result is honestly very moving in a way I'd not found from this story before. The performances throughout are excellent, of course, Saoirse Ronan is always very strong, of course, but I also loved the support, especially from Florence Pugh and Emma Watson, who is genuinely putting her early-years-of-Harry-Potter far behind her. Timothée Chalamet honestly always feels like he's playing the same character to me, but somehow it continues to be charming on screen. All up, an excellent, affecting film. Oh, and can we just mention how hard done by Gerwig can feel for not getting a Best Director nod? Hmm?

3. The Lighthouse

Thirdly, we have The Lighthouse, a nightmarish comic horror, which is completely predicated on being compelled by Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson. And I'm only human, so of course this worked for me. The two leads are brilliant here: Dafoe's lighthouse supervisor is a thrilling antagonist, with enough mystery to engage you. Pattinson's newcomer is unsettled in a way that mirrors the audience, especially as the film progresses. It's shot in stark, wonderful black-and-white, with a cinematic style that dovetails perfectly with the desolation and destruction of the film, while the 1:1 aspect ratio adds to the overall sense of claustrophobia. It's a quite singular film, one of the most original and interesting pieces of cinema I've seen in many years.

4. For Sama

Topping the documentary stakes this year is For Sama, a film set during the siege of Aleppo, from the point of view of a mother narrating the early life of her young daughter, born as the regime forces encircle, and ultimately recapture the city. It's quite a brilliant, emotional and affecting piece of filmmaking; one, I must admit, that I had to pause half way through to get myself together again. There are scenes here that are stark and harsh, such as the parents exiting the city for Turkey, avoiding the encircling army via back roads, all with Sama strapped inside a baby carrier on her father's chest. It was a beautiful exposition of life under siege, because it brought to the fore that shared human experience. It was an extremely powerful film, and one which I truly hopes ends up taking out the award in its category.

5. Pain & Glory

Next up we have a truly excellent film from Pedro Almodóvar, his best in many many years. Helming the performances is Antonio Banderas as an aging director dealing with a lack of creativity and a degredation in his health. Reconnecting with the actor with whom he most famously collaborated, he takes up heroin, and reminisces about his early life as a young boy, and the discovery of his sexuality. It's such a rich film, without an easy narrative. It's a film that, like life, shows the many turns and dead-ends that lead us to the present. Like I said, I think this is one of Almodóvar's best, and for a director with such a rich oeuvre, that's no small thing.

6. Parasite

Eveyone in the world seems to have been absolutely blown away by this film, in a way that I was not. That's not to say that this isn't a good film, because here it sits at #6 in my list of Oscar movies. But this feels like another entry in what's a really strong cinematic tradition coming out of South Korea at the moment. It doesn't help that I find Bong Joon-ho one of the less subtle directors from the country (for example, I deplored Snowpiercer, admittedly, a much, much worse film than this one). But even compare this film against another Korean film from last year, Lee Chang-dong's Burning, and this feels like an almost cartoonish portrayal of similar themes. I know, this writeup talks mostly about not-this-film, but I'm probably mostly talking about how much better Korean cinema is than this one example. Anyway, when Parasite inevitably wins Best Internation Feature this year, it will hopefully get more people interesting in the excellent cinema coming out of this country. And that's nothing but a good thing.

7. The Two Popes

I honestly found this film to be thoroughly engaging and amusing, and found myself rapt in the machinations of the elections of Pope Benedict and Pope Francis, as well as the theological debates between the two when Benedict was considering his resignation. It helps that the pairing of Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins is perfect, with each an ample match for the other. And the script sparkles with a cleverness that often wrings a wry smile from your lips. I very much enjoyed it—and while it feels like the kind of film which just rounds out the numbers come Oscars time, I hope that it will have the longevity it deserves.

8. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Another charmingly unassuming film, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood follows the story of an investigative reporter, known for being hard on his subjects, who gets assigned the task of interviewing beloved children's entertainer Mr Rogers. In this latter role, Tom Hanks is brilliant: so warmhearted and human that you get a sense of Mr Rogers both on and off screen (subtly different but no less magical in either). It's perhaps fair though that Best Supporting Actor is this film's only nod. Otherwise, it's fairly straightforward, but no less affecting for it.

9. Harriet

I was really pleasantly surprised by this film: a biopic of abolitionist Harriet Tubman from Kasi Lemmons, which has been received in fairly lukewarm terms by critics more generally. It follows something of a standard biopic format, but it always manages to ensure the story ticks along. I was thoroughly engaged throughout the film, and always enjoyed wherever the film was taking me. At least part of the appeal comes from the strong central performance from Cynthia Erivo (an O away from an EGOT, I'll point out), who presents the strength of Tubman with a human realness. A much better film than you've probably heard, if you've heard about it at all.

10. Marriage Story

Another very affecting film, that explicates the trauma that divorce can be, even when undertaken in the most amicable situation imaginable. It's the kind of film which feels a bit like an emotional workout. There are good performances throughout, especially, I feel from Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver in the leads, and weirdly, less so from Laura Dern, who actually gets a nod for Best Supporting Actress here (she was better in Little Women). She’s the short priced favourite to actually win it though, so good for her I guess.

11. 1917

Apparently the front-runner to take out Best Picture, this is indeed a good film, and a technically excellent one. It tells the tale of an impossible mission of two young men sent from the trenches into enemy territory, and does so in a carefully edited way to make it look like one continuous take. As a result, it gains a senss of immediacy and power that other films lack (especially ones which rely on rapid fire cuts to capture the madness of a battle). It's honestly one of the best war films I've seen in, well, probably ever. It's not a genre I generally like all that much, but the fact that this managed to find itself so high on this list is a testament to its quality.

12. Klaus

I found this an utterly charming animated film. It's from a new studio, created from ex-Disney animators whose goal apparently is to see if they could capture what traditional animation would have become had the big studios not all switched to computer animation instead. The answer is that it is quite beautiful, in particular the way they integrate the characters and the scenery. The film itself tells an alternative origin story of Santa Claus, and a redemptive tale of a rich playboy sent to prove his worth in the world (which doesn't work out exactly as you might expect). It's honestly just a lovely piece of film making. It perhaps feels like it's from a different age, and that's both to its advantage and disadvantage. But there's certainly something worthwhile in it. I'll honestly look forward to what Serio Pablos does next.

13. Toy Story 4

Hot on the heels of Klaus is Toy Story 4. You know the deal by now. Just when you think there's a nice easy place for ending the Toy Story franchise, they come up with another way to extend it, and it fits perfectly. Where 3 explored the themes of what happens to toys when their children grow up, 4 explores what happens when toys get lost or forgotten altogether. It also amusingly touches on the whole concept of toys becoming alive—what is a toy, and what is garbage becomes a key question of the film. It's also beautifully animated, with a level of detail which is exquisite—and yet it still feels like it's suitably within the style of the franchise overall. A good film. I feel like Toy Story as a whole could finish here happily. But I've felt that since the first film, and I've always been proven wrong. So, Toy Story 5, have at me.

14. American Factory

An interesting film, about a Chinese corporation which opens a factory in the midwest USA, thereby bringing back the vaunted manufacturing jobs to working class America. The conflict comes from the cultural disconnects between the expectation of the corporation and the workers, especially as there are moves to unionise the workforce. There's a lot to unpack here, especially when you consider the incentives that were given to the corporation to open where they were. But it's not overly political either—rather, it is, but it's presented in such a way as to appear neutral; letting you the audience make up your own mind. The fact that this is the first film produced by the Obama's production company is not lost on me.

15. Ad Astra

I'm honestly surprised this is as high as it is, because in many ways this is a bad film. There's some truly shockingly poor science and plot points in this, and the emotional connection of the film is weak. But what I honestly loved, and which I kept coming back to, is the world building. As we move out through the solar system, we see the wilder and less civilised reaches of space come through piece by piece. From the genteel comfort of a Virgin Galactic flight to the moon, to the rough and rugged outpost of Mars, to the isolation of a solo flight to Neptune. There's something so believable and meditative about it. But, like I said, the brilliance of this doesn't eradicate the bad parts, and if you don't particularly enjoy what I did in this film, it's easy to focus on jumping between spaceships through Neptune's rings using a door as a shield. I mean, jeez.

16. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

I really, really wish that Tarantino would realise what he's really good at as a filmmaker. And it's not violence or shots of women's feet, like he thinks it is. He is truly excellent in managing to extract tension and drama from otherwise benign and potentially overextended conversational set pieces. It's most infuriating in this film, because in so many ways, this film is excellent: one of his best, right up until the last sequence, when you feel as though Tarantino lost the will to resist his natural urges. It's such a shame, because it could have been the moment when you feel like Tarantino has matured as a film maker. But no, let's have a flamethrower, yeah?

17. I Lost My Body

An interesting animated film about a young man in Paris finding his own path in the world, juxtaposed with the bizarre counter story of a dismembered hand searching for its body again. It's beautifully animated, and actualyl quite emotional when it gets to its conclusion. Not the best animated film this year, but another that shows the interesting places animated film can go.

18. Rocketman

Another fairly straight forward biopic, but I feel one which does its job admirably. It's honestly a fairly intriguing story, and one which director Dexter Fletcher tells admirably. Especially good is the integration of the music into the picture, which is often something that feels janky, or else cops out by ensuring that all music is diegetic. Anyway, I thought a pretty good film all up.

19. The Edge of Democracy

Another good documentary, this one explicating the fight for democracy in Brazil, in particular the threat of corruption tainting otherwise socially responsible politicians, and the rise of the far-right in recent years. There are a lot of parallels to be seen in this film and other western democracies, and the story of Brazil is told to be both personal and universal.

20. Jojo Rabbit

I was honestly more disappointed in this than anything else, because the premise is wack, and I trusted Taika Waititi to pull it off. But it's tonally very odd, in a way that is obviously intentional, but which often means that its impact is blunted. I really wanted to be pummelled between the extremes of the humour and the horrors of the end of the Nazi regime, and this film feels like it pulls its punches at every turn, possibly because each element numbs the other. It's not all that funny, nor is it that emotionally impactful as a result, as much as it probably wants to think it's both. Anyway, it's a shame, because I wanted more from this.

21. The Irishman

Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of Martin Scorsese. But I can appreciate his craft, and there's certainly something to be said for a film like this, which is genuinely very much the kind of picture he was making in his heyday. It's also a fine moment to get Pacino and De Niro back together, as well as a technical achievement in their de-aging, which is seamlessly done. But what you'll find I'm not talking about is the plot, or the characters. They're fine, but they don't grip me on a human level, and while it's kind of fun to watch the endless stream of gangsters arrive and depart, they leave very minimal impact. That's generally my problem with it, I guess. Epic in scope, but no space for real human connection.

22. Judy

A reasonable biopic, documenting the latter period of Judy Garland's life, leading up to her last marriage and death. It's a sympathetic portrait, in particular when engaging with Garland's early years (told in flashbacks). The main draw, of course, and the sole nomination it receives here, is Renée Zellweger in the lead, who can be quite challenging as an actress to me, but who here completely disappears into the role of Garland. The rest is only so good, but it's a fair nomination for Best Actress.

23. Ford v Ferrari

This film honestly has some things going for it, and I'm going to probably malign it unfairly for being too much of a banal historical drama in the way that biopics often can be. Partly, the choice of story is poor, because there's a true sense that Henry Ford Jr the Fourth or whoever he is, is a really nasty piece of work, and for too long in the story he is at least the force behind the protagonists, if not the protagonist himself. That really put me off to some extent, and managed to completely detach me from any true emotion in the story. Otherwise, it's a fairly straightforward, stock-standard success-against-the-odds underdog story. There's a place for that, but not a place near the top of my list.

24. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Eh, the discourse has already covered this for me hasn't it? This was a disappointing end to the Star Wars trilogy, especially after Rian Johnson had managed to inject something meaningful into the previous episode. But, there's still at least the spectacle to be had, and there's always something intrinsically enjoyable about spending time in this universe, even when it's done as blandly as this.

25. How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

I'm honestly not a huge fan of this franchise, although I have a soft spot for this particular film now, as it's the first film I've managed to watch all the way through with my son Hal (he is now an avowed fan of all things Toothless). This particular outing sees the village grappling with the question of what is truly best for the dragons themselves, especially as Toothless starts to find himself enamoured of a female Night Fury. It's perhaps an interesting place to take the film, thematically, but as with all of these films, what happens in between the big strokes of the idea is largely interchangeable.

26. Honeyland

It's probably actually a bit surprising that this is so low, because this is a very much acclaimed documentary, about a woman who lives off the land in North Macedonia, in particular using traditional techniques for gathering wild honey. The conflict arises when a nearby family tries to modernise the process, thereby damaging the natural hives on which the woman relies. There's things to enjoy about it, but aside from the obvious thematic elements, I found the film rather dour and tired. It's one of those films which has merit for merely showing that there are stories everywhere in life. But that wasn't enough for me this time around.

27. Joker

I was quite ambivalent about this film when I first saw it, but my ambivalence has turned one way rather than the other as time has passed, so it finds itself down towards the bottom of this list. Firstly, the good: Joaquin Phoenix is always a compelling presence on screen, and even when his characters are inscrutable as Arthur Fleck, there's something engaging about watching him doing his thing. But thematically, this film is a mess, especially in its engagement with violence, and its questions about the underlying discontent in the populace at large. You could read this as an indictment of the masses' willingness to be spurred to evil through a charismatic leader and bit of misinformation. But I'm more inclined to believe that director Todd Phillips just doesn't really know what he's doing, and so the film is unintentionally ambiguous on this. I haven't even gotten into the fact that plot-wise, it, shall we say, "borrows liberally" from Scorsese's The King of Comedy (actually, one of his best, despite my lukewarm Scorsese appreciation above). So yeah, in the end, the more I thought on this film, the less I liked it. Betting wise, you'd be a fool to go against Phoenix to take home the award though.

28. Bombshell

I was quite surprised at how much I didn't like this film, because I feel as though there was the potential for this to be a wonderfully astute indictment of a whole world. But instead, this took the very disappointing route of taking down Roger Ailes and not what he represents. There's a sense at the end of the film that everyone can dust off their hands and say "good job, sexism is solved forever". And this is not something that they engage with in this film—that is to say, they don't examine the fact that this is a potential interpretation. In fact, at the end of the film, the tone is more celebratory because "yeah, we won! The good guys won!". It makes the film feel overall very shallow or hollow.

29. Missing Link

Lowest of the Best Animated feature films, is this very underwhelming stop-motion number. Animation-wise, it's quite nicely done, and technically very strong. But the plot and the characterisations are very bland. Zach Galafianakis's sasquatch is annoying to the point of tears, and the other characters are stereotypes. There's not enough that's interesting in the film. That's the problem. I do feel a little bit bad for the film, because this was also an amazing box-office bomb. And it feels more like it just "wasn't for me" than it feels like it deserved to fail spectacularly. But, to be honest, I do think it has itself to blame for both.

30. Avengers: Endgame

A perennial entry towards the bottom of my Oscars list is the latest Marvel film, in particular the Avengers films. The problem with all of the Avengers films is that they cannot at all give enough screen time to any character to warrant their inclusion in the film, and as a result the whole film feels pointless. This is never more obvious than in Endgame, where they're attempting to both wrap up an entire era of the Marvel enterprise, and include all of the characters they've introduced to this point. I really, really, don't get the appeal, and I honestly think this is one of the messiest examples of the Avengers films. I would have thought the time travel aspect would have given me something to enjoy at least. But, no.

31. The Cave

Bottom of the list this year is a very surprising entry, but one which ultimately I felt I could justify being this low. It's another film from Syria, again telling of doctors working in a beseiged region of the country, this time Ghouta, as the forces of Bashar al-Assad bomb and attack. But this film was honestly, so unbelievably dull. It very much has the philosophy of "point a camera at something and see what happens", but very much misses out on constructing anything interesting from the resulting footage. There's a sense of, yes, claustrophobia and anxiety as the bombs come ever closer. But there's almost no narrative thrust. There's no human connection. There's not enough focus on any character to feel like you're connecting with them. I was unsurprised after this film, when I discovered that its director also directed Last Men in Aleppo, a documentary short I watched a couple of years ago, which also managed to turn what should have been an excellent idea into something boring. I think it's extremely telling that when there are two films covering such similar ground in the same year (as For Sama above does), one can be so emotionally devastating and one can be so dull.

Anyway, that's it for the features. As always, I also attempted to watch the short films. I didn't manage to see all of them this year, as two of the documentary shorts (St. Louis Superman and Learning To Skateboard In A War Zone (If You’re A Girl)) weren't available before the Oscars telecast. But the rest I'll present in order here from favourite to least favourite. But as always, all of these are excellent, and all (maybe apart from the bottom) worthy of your time:

1. Une Soeur (A Sister) (Live Action) 2. In the Absence (Documentary) 3. Hair Love (Animated) 4. Sister (Animated) 5. Brotherhood (Live Action) 6. Life Overtakes Me (Documentary) 7. Nefta Football Club (Live Action) 8. Memorable (Animated) 9. The Neighbors' Window (Live Action) 10. Saria (Live Action) 11. Daughter (Animated) 12. Walk Run Cha-Cha (Documentary) 13. Kitbull (Animated)

And, last, but not least, is my annual Oscars ballot. How would I vote if I could, and the only things I could vote for are the nominees? Read on:

Best Picture: Little Women Best Actor: Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory) Best Actress: Cynthis Erivo (Harriet) Best Supporting Actor: Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) Best Supporting Actress: Florence Pugh (Little Women) Best Animated Feature: Klaus Best Cinematography: The Lighthouse Best Costume Design: Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood Best Director: Sam Mendes (1917) Best Documentary Feature: For Sama Best Documentary Short: In the Absence Best Film Editing: Parasite Best International Feature: Pain and Glory Best Makeup & Hairstyling: Judy Best Original Score: Little Women Best Orignal Song: "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from Rocketman Best Production Design: Parasite Best Animated Short: Hair Love Best Live Action Short: A Sister Best Sound Editing: Ford v Ferrari Best Sound Mixing: 1917 Best Visual Effects: The Irishman Best Adapted Screenplay: Little Women Best Original Screenplay: Knives Out

And we're done. See you again next year.

0 notes