#my harrow fan colors are once again shining through

[imminent-danger-came]

SO. THRONE ROOM SCENES AM I RIGHT

I know this.

Bonus:

[echologname]

Murder Drones fan fic: Kindergarten

Site 3's school bus rolled to a halt outside of Door 1 as the morning sun made the fallen snow sparkle and the disarrayed parts from slain worker drones shine. Its passengers, teenage worker drones who had just come back from a harrowing camping trip, began to exist and made their way towards the big metal door to enter their colony's bunker. Uzi turned toward N, "I'm gonna to talk to my dad," she said gesturing behind her, "So, we can meet up later, OK?"

"Yeah, go on ahead!"

"Great! See you!"

She waved and sprinted off. Maybe V would want some company? He wondered. He looked around for his fellow disassembly drone and spotted her talking to her worker friend, Lizzy, a short distance away from everyone else with a slight smile on her face. Oh, she looks busy, I won't bother her then. N stood awkwardly for a moment thinking about what to do when he suddenly noticed Uzi's teacher was silently standing next to him watching his students with a vacant expression.

"Oh, hi Mr. Teacher! Is there anything I can do for you?"

He thought for a moment, "Hmm...now that you mention it, I could use some help with another class."

Soon, the teacher and a bewildered N, stood at the front of a classroom with the alphabet lining the wall behind them watching small worker drones chasing each other with scissors, coloring on the walls, ripping pages out of story books and one was changing their face into various emoticons. The teacher turned to walk away, "Good luck." N watched him leave waiting to see if he would elaborate on this assignment but he simply yawned and closed the door behind him without saying another word. OK…I can do this! There's nothing that can harm them here! He encouraged himself to deter the twinge of guilt gripping his heart from failing to protect several of Uzi's classmates from meeting tragic fatalities. He sprung forward and announced enthusiastically, "Hiya kids! Who's ready for a fun day of learning?" However, the petit drones carried on with wreaking havoc completely oblivious to their substitute. N tried again, "Um, excuse me? Hello?" Still, no response. "Can I have everyone's attention please?" He waited a moment then sighed. Alright then… "Hey watch this!" He said trying to project his voice above the noise and stabbed his hand with his nanite acide filled tail leaving a gaping hole. He peered at his now stunned audience through it. "Now you see it…" he stuck his hand in his mouth and after a little bit revealed the freshly repaired hand. "...Now you don't!" The children oohed in unison then excitedly shouted, "Do it again!", "Again!" Touched with their enthusiasm, N punctured his other hand and healed it. The children giggled and clapped, "Again!" "Again!" He gladly continued to stab various body parts, afterall, it hurt far less than one would imagine. Even his foot, which they all laughed watching him try to lick it. Once he finally got it, he stood and said, "OK, OK, I think that's enough for now." The class collectively awwed in disapproval. "It's OK," N reassured them, "There's plenty of fun things for us to do later! How about we start with getting to know each other? I'm N and I'll be your substitute teacher for today." He then produced a clipboard and pen from behind him, "Now, is Opal here?" A girl in front with a pink face and black hair partitioned into fine braids raised her hand. "Nice to meet you! And Jordan?" A boy with a teal face in the back called out, "Here!" "OK, and Demitri?" The worker with the emoticon face responded by displaying:

(●>ω<) ﾉ"

N looked at the student for a moment, confused. "Oh, it's a wave! Hi!" He waved back and checked Demitri off on the list and continued to call out the rest of the names.

Once finished, N said, Now, how about we go over the ABCs!" The class moaned, "Aww…," "Nooooo," "Do we hafta?"

"Um, sorry but that's what your teacher asked. How about just once and we can have a break for recess?" The responding mumbles sounded reluctantly compliant. "Great!" He put his arms above his head to resemble a pointed arch, "A…" then he turned to the side and made a loop with his arms in front of him and another below with his tail, "...B…" next he moved his arms in an outward arch with his tail mirroring below, "...C…" and then closed the gap, "...D…" The students remained transfixed as their new teacher contorted himself into seemingly impossible shapes to form the alphabet. "...V…" He raised his arms above him at diagonals, "Wait! That looks like a Y!" He sat down and crossed his legs so the deviation of his arms from his torso would be lower to the ground. "There! Now what's next?..." He stared off in thought for only a few seconds when lots of high pitched voices shouted in unison, "W!"

"Oh right! Thanks!"

Uh…how do I make that? He wondered. He made the "A" arch again but this time spread his wings out in upward slants. The children oohed and their eyes widened. N noticed their reaction, "Oh. These are just my wings, I mostly use them for flying."

"Wow! You can fly Mr. N?" Asked one kid in a baseball cap. "I want to fly!" Said another. "Me too!" "Me three!" The class was buzzing with excitement.

"Uh, maybe I can show you when we go outside for recess?" N suggested. Just as those words were spoken, a small boy with glasses stood up, cleared his throat, and politely recited "X, Y and Z." before bellowing, "RECESS!"

In an uproar, the class flocked towards the door, giddy with excitement and flooded the hallway.

"Ah, wait for me!" N called after them.

The midday sun was overcast by dark clouds of yet another storm, typical of a planet inhospitable to organic life. N stood watching his students, some were building a snowman and jamming drone arms into the large middle snowball. Some were climbing an old car and dubbing whoever's on top the "Ruler of the world." Demitri held a head with a, "Fatal Error," notification still displayed on the screen in a dramatic Hamlet pose while making a sad face:

(T⌓T)

The rest were collecting miscellaneous junk and building micro cities with tall skyscrapers. Then N noticed a little girl with shoulder length dark brown hair and a magenta face sitting alone poking the snow with her index finger. He walking towards her, "Hey Allie! What'cha doin'?" She drew a few lines in the snow but the wind swiftly erased them and she groaned in frustration. "Oh, you want to draw! Would you like to doodle with some crayons and paper instead?" She looked up at him and her eyes gleamed, "Yes please!" She stood up and N lead her to the open door where Ron, the worker in charge of guarding it, stood. Behind Ron an old card table was situated donning noticeable weathering and spots of dried oil. N pulled out a chair for her and as she sat down N retracted his hands into his arms and replaced them with a box of crayons and a roll of blank paper. Grinning N said, "Here you go!"

"Uh, thank you?" Allie carefully took the crayons and paper, curiously peering into the mysterious abyss they came from and laid them out in front of her. "Mr. Door Man can keep you company while I supervise your classmates!" He said gesturing to the white faced worker who was politely watching. N turned and gave him a thumbs up and Ron gave one back, "I can watch her for you N! It's no problem!"

"Thanks!" N beamed, filled with the warmth of having a good friend to help him.

They all exchanged goodbye waves before N made his way back. As the play area came into view, his cozy feelings suddenly ran cold at the sight before him. A cou with the car kids raged as two sides fought to usurp the current monarch whacking each other with the arms they stole from the snowman kids, who in retaliation, raided the micro cities and repurposed the junk as ammunition against the car kids. The junk kids with their collection completely depleted resorted to using Demitri as a battering ram, carrying him under their arms as they charged towards the ensuing chaos ignorant of the terror on his face:

(〇_ｏ)

Horrified at the violence, N desperately tried to get their attention to break up the fighting, "Excuse me! Could you all stop please?" To no avail, they continued to hurl fists and insults, "You rusty head! Give those back!" "Rahh!" "May Robo Jesus have mercy on your circuits when I'm done with you!" "For his majesty! Charge!" "Take this and that!" I have to stop this, NOW! But how? He spotted the child closest to him cower as a jagged clump of metal careened towards their head. In a flash, N jumped in front of them and shielded them with his wings. Then utilizing his speed and agility, he swiped projectiles from the air, twirling and tumbling like an acrobat shielding as many kids as he could from further harm. Disturbed snowflakes leapt into the air in a frenzy after him, and clouded the battle field in a tempestuous haze. As they gently drifted back to their place of rest on the ground, arose a looming angelic silhouette accompanied by a growling rumble of not too distant thunder. It was accented with yellow luminescence which pierced the white throng and encircled with every color aglow. Its silver-esque pinions retracted with a metallic, "Shink!" N stood in the freshly fallen snow and frowned at the juvenile soldiers, who were far too hasty to fight a pointless war, as they stared at him stunned. One was frozen mid punch, one had his peer in a choke hold, another looked up from their fetal position on the ground with their hands covering their head, a boy tenderly held his injured arm, another pressed their hand over their cracked face and even though speaking was a great difficulty for him, for once it wasn't just Demitri who had no words:

☉_☉)

The disappointed disassembly drone looked at the rusted scrap in his hand. Charcoal colored liquid invaded the dusky crimson, oozing down its erratic edges and marring the pristine powder below. He effortlessly crushed the dense material and let the bits and pieces trickle to the ground. He hung his head and in a low voice laced with pain announced, "Recess is over." He took a few steps in the direction of the bunker and the children parted for him. The students were overcome with remorse at seeing the lighthearted robot quietly walking away with his tail dragging behind him and obediently followed.

Back at Door 1, Ron was doodling alongside Allie, he looked up when he heard footsteps. "Hey buddy! Recess over already?"

N awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and failed to sound more cheery. "Uh, yeah, I think the kids have had enough play time outside. The storm's getting closer anyways."

Ron knew his friend wasn't himself but wasn't sure if he should ask what was wrong. He noticed the class filing in with solemn faces and an idea popped into his head. "Y'know, there's about 20 minutes left of recess, why don't the kids spend it here? I'll close the door so the storm doesn't get in and they can color, play cards or just take a break." He gave N a reassuring smile and a thumbs up and N reciprocated, thankful for the assistance.

Before long, everyone was drawing and in much better spirits. After some time, N felt a light tap on his shoulder. He looked up from his artwork and noticed the whole class was giving him their attention. "Mr. N…" started Tort, who donned short side swept hair and a wardrobe of yellow, white, purple and black, "...we're very sorry for the trouble we caused."

"We should have used our words, not our fists." Added a boy with long, braided hair and a tie dyed t-shirt.

"Quarrels aren't fashionable anyways." Remarked Ashley, frowning at her large, snuggly fitting, elegantly ruffled white blouse that had suffered a nasty tear and oil stains.

Though Demitri wasn't a willing participant in the skirmish, he still felt a bit contrite over the ordeal:

(｡•́︿•̀｡)

Then a seemingly masculine student by the name of Brianna, who wore a pink, blue and white striped dress stepped forward, "We made you this…" and she revealed a colorful folded piece of paper from behind her back and handed it to her teacher. The front featured an abstract yellow and black figure with a hat and tail forming quite an unnatural, twisted pose and below two yellow circles was a wide upturned line. The character was surrounded with red and pink hearts and smiley faces. N's heart began to swell at the sentiment and opened the card to view the inside. A vibrant dance of colors swirled the pages, scrawled penmanships of every individual student who signed their names around the askewely written message, "WƎ Я $огǝe ☹." Enraptured by the gift, N stood and reassured them, "It's OK, I forgive all of you. I probably shouldn't have left you all alone, even if it was only for a few minutes." Then proclaimed tenaciously, "I promise I'll do better!"

"But Mr. N…" started a boy with teal hair, wearing a matching headband with cat ears, "...you're already SO cool! You're SUPER fast like the blue hedgehog in my video game!"

"Aww, thanks, Michael." N replied smiling.

"And really funny!" Added a kid with their black hair covering one eye and wearing a black jacket with spiked sequins, grinning with genuine joy.

"¡Haces que quiera ser una mejor persona! [You make me want to be a better person!]" Confessed Danny, whose shirt sported green, white and red stripes.

"And not boring like our regular teacher." Pointed out another. Pretty soon everyone was chiming in: "You're amazing!" "You actually like us!" "You're the nicest teacher in the world!" "I didn't know learning could be fun!" Overwhelming with their love and adoration, N, thanked them, "Aww, you all are the best students! Even if you make mistakes, you're all still good kids and I'm still proud of you all!" Then with teary digital eyes, knelt down, held out his arms and cheerily asked, "Group hug?" The miniature drones swarmed him and encapsulation him with their tiny arms. Not comfortable with hugs, Allie, standing on a chair, lightly patted him on the head. As N embrassed them he thought, I guess everything's going to be OK! Even though bad things happened, I now have lots of friends to help me with taking the scary stuff a baby step at a time. He glanced up at the door and under a pink flower magnet, hung the card he gave Ron a while ago to apologize for murdering his colleagues once. Just like that, he forgave me so easily.  These mini workers too! If they can forgive me of whatever big or small thing I've done, maybe I can forgive me too.

At the end of the school day, the friendly murder drone was thoroughly exhausted from a traumatic night followed by a strenuous yet therapeutic 6 hours, some of which was spent applying saliva to the wounded children. He shuffled his feet through the hall hoping to go back where his kind resided, a spire of deceased worker bodies, hang upside down from the top, and take a rejuvenating shut down. Suddenly a door opened and a familiar voice called out, "N?" He looked back to see Uzi staring at him with a confused expression. She eyed him up and down, "You good there?" She was referring to her friend oddly covered in stickers, glitter glue, construction paper bits and multi colored squiggly lines, not to mention a sparkly, colorful trail of such items retraced his steps. N yawned and groggily replied, "Heeey Uziiii! I'm Good...I'm super duper! I'm just going to… go…" He slumped mid sentence and dozed off, his head lights diminished to a faint glow. Uzi gently took his hand and led him through the door she exited. "You can tell me later. For now, take it easy. I have a ceiling rafter with your name on it."

At the end of the bunker, illuminated by the lights above Door 1, surrounding N's apolagy card, hung all the drawings that were created that day, including the one he had been working on. It depicted a yellow halod gangly lad sporting a huge grin while wrapping cartoonishly long arms around a mass of tiny smiling faces with the inscription, "Thank you for loving me."

Noteable Students

Opal

She/her

Named after Black Lives Matter co-founder Opal Tometi.

Demitri

He/him

Mute. There's nothing physically wrong with his speech synthesizer, but there's some disconnect between it and the language processing center on his motherboard.

Allie

She/her

Autistic

Ashley

She/her

Her limbs and torso are of greater diameter than her peers. Named after the plus sized model, Ashley Graham.

Brianna

She/her

Trans, named after trans girl, Brianna Ghey, who was killed.

Tort

They/them

Named after NB environmental activist, Tortuguita, who was also killed.

Michael

Drone personification of N's voice actor, Michael Kovach.

Danny

He/him

Named after Mexican American actor, Danny Trejo.

[letterboxd]

How I Letterboxd #6: Sean Boelman.

Talking 2020 movie trends, the year’s best documentaries, and Elijah Wood’s death-stare with peach emoji lobbyist Sean Boelman.

“Honestly, there’s not much I like to do other than watch movies or go to theme parks, and one of those things wasn’t an option for months.”

In a year like no other for the movie business, it’s still possible to see hundreds of new films if you have the right connections. For professional critics, the downside of missing the in-person festival buzz and tent-pole previews is somewhat offset by the upside of being able to pace out your screenings in the comfort of your own home.

Wondering who might possibly hold the title of “the Letterboxd member who has watched the most new releases so far this year”, we poked around in the server room and found Sean Boelman, who has logged well over 400 films from 2020 in his diary. So far this year, Sean (20) has covered the Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, Florida and Fantasia Film Festivals; he also reviews films via screeners sent through from PR firms. Sean hails from Orlando, Florida, and is the founder of movie review platform disappointment media, which he created to promote a wider range of voices in film criticism.

Park So-dam and peach in ‘Parasite’ (2019), directed by Bong Joon-ho.

How long ago did you join Letterboxd? I joined Letterboxd back in 2015. I attended a film class that summer and the teaching assistant had an account and encouraged all of us to create our own. I’ve been using the app religiously ever since.

You’re our youngest ‘How I Letterboxd’ participant to date. How would you describe your experience on Letterboxd as a teenager? When I was in high school, I was one of the earliest adopters of the app, so I told all of my friends about it and suggested that they use it too. By the time I got to college, it was already in the mainstream within the film community, so I was just the guy with the most extensive account. I love how Letterboxd is a community for film fans to talk about films we love, and with the exception of a few trolls every once in a while, it’s really conducive to good discussions.

Which features have you found the most useful? I’m definitely an obsessive logger. The diary feature is without a doubt my favorite part of the app. I started logging in June 2015 and have logged every feature-length film (and some shorts) I’ve watched since. I made the decision not to retroactively mark everything I’ve seen in my life as watched, because that would be too monumental a task. I also find Letterboxd particularly useful during a festival. It’s interesting to see the buzz about what movies people do and don’t like so that I can adjust my schedule accordingly.

And what’s a feature you wish Letterboxd had? I really loved when you guys changed the stars to flames for Portrait of a Lady on Fire. It would be awesome if you started doing that more regularly for releases that get a sizeable following. Like, give Parasite peaches.

Ivana Baquero and Doug Jones in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006), directed by Guillermo del Toro.

What film kicked off your passion for cinema, and specifically, which films or community of film fans motivated you to watch as many films as you can find for the current year? I’ve loved cinema for as long as I can remember, but the film that I credit with really birthing my love for film as art is Pan’s Labyrinth. When I saw that in theaters at the—probably too young—age of six, I felt like [Guillermo] del Toro transported me into Ofelia’s world, and I then realized what magical capabilities the medium of film has.

As for why I’m motivated to watch so many new releases, I have a bit of an issue with saying no, haha. As a film critic, I’m inundated with requests to review movies, from major studio releases to B-movies most people have never heard of. I’ve done my fair share of adding titles to TMDb. I end up reviewing anywhere from ten to twenty new releases a week, depending on the season.

You’re a film critic, but you only post short summaries on Letterboxd instead of your full reviews. Why share only brief thoughts? Much of this boils down to the fact that when I watch something, it’s still under embargo for full reviews, so I can only log it in my Letterboxd diary and leave a little blurb. I also find that there isn’t as much room for humor in my full reviews, so I like using this platform to get my jokes out.

So, as of writing, you’ve ranked 457 films from 2020. What percentage of your total films seen are from these new ‘Roaring Twenties’? Out of the films I’ve logged on Letterboxd, it seems like about ten percent are listed on Letterboxd as movies from 2020. The actual percentage would be quite a bit lower than that, though, since my Letterboxd doesn’t include anything I watched prior to June 2015.

Before Covid-19 shutdowns, how many of these films did you have the opportunity to see in theaters? Which were your most memorable theatrical experiences of the year? In 2020, I was able to see 29 films in theaters, either paid or in a theatrical press screening, before they shut down. I’ve also gotten to see some since the shutdown in drive-ins or from the Florida Film Festival holding socially distanced, in-person screenings. But I definitely went through a bit of theater withdrawal. I missed the smell of popcorn dearly.

For my favorite theatrical experiences in 2020, seeing The Invisible Man on opening night with a packed crowd was definitely a hoot. I was sad at first to have missed the press screening, but like most great horror movies, it was awesome to see it with an audience and hear them gasp in surprise in the action sequences. Another one was getting to see Weathering with You in 4DX. Normally you wouldn’t think of that as a big, spectacle-driven 4DX movie, but it was super-immersive in all of the Sunshine Girl scenes.

And I have some awesome memories from SXSW 2019. At the world premiere of Us, I was pushed into Elisabeth Moss. I once got a death stare from Elijah Wood who seemed to think I was going to approach him. Don’t get me wrong, I love his work—but I wasn’t going to because of etiquette. I watched Long Shot with one of the world’s leading geneticists and then got to see Boyz II Men perform live. And I laughed hysterically when Robert Patrick said in a Q&A that even he didn’t understand the movie he was in. It’s a fun time. I definitely encourage any cinephiles to attend an in-person festival when things get back to normal.

You have more than seventy films in your 2020 list with five or four and a half stars. Would you describe yourself as a generous rater? I was definitely a lot more generous when I started my Letterboxd than I am now. I’m sure if I rewatched some of those films I logged in 2015 and 2016, they’d get a lower rating today. But I really don’t mind it. I don’t see my purpose as a critic as to tear apart the filmmaker’s art—I want to appreciate it. Maybe I’m a little liberal with my five-star rating, but what can I say? Gosh, I love movies. And for me, a five-star rating doesn’t mean perfect, it means great. I don’t think there’s such thing as a perfect film. A five-star [rating] from me means that it connected with me in an extraordinary way. I reserve the ‘like’ for films that set themselves apart from the rest of the five stars by some virtue. If I give it a five and a like, now that’s something you should definitely not miss.

Tunde Adebimpe in ‘She Dies Tomorrow’ (2020), directed by Amy Seimetz.

Your best film of 2020 so far is Amy Seimetz’s She Dies Tomorrow—it’s also your number three of all time. What resonated so strongly with you about the film? Are you surprised about its divisive reaction? I absolutely adore She Dies Tomorrow. I’ve really admired Amy Seimetz’s work as an actress for a long time, and her work behind the camera on this blew me away. I haven’t seen Sun Don’t Shine yet, but it’s on the top of my list. It connected with me because it really captured some of the anxieties I’ve been going through recently. She obviously didn’t set out to make the definitive Covid film, but that’s what it ended up being. And of course, how could you not love that film’s extraordinary use of color. It looks magnificent. But I’m not at all surprised at how divisive it is. It has a very segmented and unorthodox narrative, and not everyone is a fan of that type of structure. I understand why it hasn’t worked as well for some people.

What are the other most overlooked films of 2020 so far? In terms of overlooked 2020 films, I think the big one is the Russell Simmons exposé On the Record. I think that Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering’s The Hunting Ground is one of the most harrowing documentaries I have ever seen in my life, and On the Record combines a lot of that relevance while also offering a really compelling look at the life of a powerful woman in the music industry. It’s great, and only about one thousand members have logged it on Letterboxd. Watch it on HBO Max!

There are a lot of great movies released in 2020 that are widely available and [fewer than] 5,000 people having logged them on Letterboxd. A White, White Day is a great little revenge thriller from Iceland. But what makes it stand out from the genre is that it’s a lot more understated and character-driven than most. It has similar vibes to You Were Never Really Here, but perhaps even quieter. Maria von Hausswolff’s cinematography is absolutely breathtaking, and Ingvar Sigurðsson gives one of my favorite performances of the year. It’s just a gorgeous film.

Hlynur Pálmason’s Icelandic revenge thriller ‘A White, White Day’(2019).

The Painted Bird is a bit harder to recommend because it is by no means fun, but it’s one of those that you have to watch once and will never want to see again. I described it as “auteur shock cinema”. It’s a three-hour-long Holocaust drama that’s bleak and filled with torture, but it’s powerful, heartbreaking and harrowing. It also features great performances all around, especially from child actor Peta Kotlár.

I think Michael Winterbottom is one of the best directors working right now and I’ve always loved what he did with the Coogan-Brydon combo in his The Trip series, and this year’s entry, The Trip to Greece, is probably the best one yet. Over the course of the decade the series has spanned, Coogan and Brydon have changed a lot, and this series—in which they play themselves—has adapted to reflect that. This one’s a lot more heartfelt, but still features plenty of great impressions and tantalizing food shots. This really is one of my favorite film series of all time, so you should check all four out! Some other overlooked films I can think of are Jasper Mall, Aviva and Sword of God.

Which 2020 films would you say are the most overrated? Any absolute must-avoids? This is going to be a really hot take, but there was a trifecta of homebound horror flicks that came out in July—Relic, The Rental and Amulet—and I didn’t care for any of them. I think all the directors are talented and show a lot of potential, especially Natalie Erika James, but I wasn’t a fan of any of the films. As for ones to avoid, I try not to call out bad movies unless there’s a reason to [do so], and there are only two of those this year: Coffee & Kareem and Elvis from Outer Space. Coffee & Kareem is just offensive, and Elvis from Outer Space tries to be so-bad-it’s-funny and falls flat.

Jahi Di’Allo Winston in ‘Charm City Kings’ (2020), directed by Ángel Manuel Soto.

What films that you’ve been fortunate to preview via screeners or film festivals are you certain will be a big deal once they’re available on general release? Ugh, there are some I wish I could talk about but I’m still under embargo! So I’ll have to talk mostly about festival ones. Alice Gu’s The Donut King is wonderful. It was supposed to debut at SXSW, but obviously that got cancelled. On one hand, it is a food doc about donuts—who doesn’t love donuts?—but it’s also a moving story about the immigrant experience. It scored distribution from Greenwich and should be released soon. Charm City Kings is great, and HBO Max picked that up to be released sometime this year. That’s a really awesome coming-of-age movie with a story by Barry Jenkins. And I saw a work-in-progress cut of this indie called Millennium Bugs made by an up-and-comer named Alejandro Montoya Marín. He was part of the Robert Rodriguez show Rebel Without a Crew. It’s a great little movie about Y2K and the Latinx experience that will be debuting online at Dances with Films and is looking for a distributor after that.

Fill in the blank: “2020 is a great year for ____ in film”. What patterns have you noticed? I really think that 2020 is a great year for documentaries. We thought 2018 was a great year with Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Free Solo, RBG and Three Identical Strangers, among others, but this year is shaping up to be even better. Boys State, The Donut King, On the Record, Rebuilding Paradise, Dark City Beneath the Beat, A Secret Love and Disclosure are all excellent, and that’s just scratching the surface.

I think what makes these documentaries stand out is their ability to make the viewer feel connected to their story. I love documentaries that take a story you might not have otherwise heard of and tell it in a way that feels intensely personal. By taking these stories like the problems inherent in American democracy, the immigrant experience, the California wildfires, the #MeToo movement, and issues with trans representation on screen and telling them in a way that people can relate to them even if they can’t personally identify with their subjects, these documentary filmmakers are making the world a more compassionate place.

What films are you most looking forward to that are scheduled to release in 2020? Any awards season predictions you feel strongly about? In terms of mainstream releases, I’m most excited for No Time to Die, unless it gets pushed to 2021 like some have rumored. I’m a huge Cary Joji Fukunaga fan, so I’m excited to see what he does with the franchise. For indies, I’m really looking forward to seeing Promising Young Woman, The Green Knight, Save Yourselves!, Nomadland and Another Round.

For awards seasons predictions, there are a few I’m pretty confident about based on what I’ve seen. Boys State is an early frontrunner for Best Documentary. I think Eliza Hittman will get some love for Never Rarely Sometimes Always. Dev Patel is a pretty good bet for a Best Actor nod for The Personal History of David Copperfield, even though the movie itself probably won’t get much more love. And there’s an upcoming Netflix movie that has a screenplay nomination in the bag, and maybe a couple other categories too, but shhhh, I’m under embargo on that one so I can’t say more.

Dev Patel in ‘The Personal History of David Copperfield’ (2019), directed by Armando Iannucci.

You keep thorough distributor rankings as well as year and franchise lists—how would you sum up the way each of these recently formed companies inspires you? Obviously A24 and NEON have amassed a pretty big cult following, and for good reason. There’s a particular identity their films have, despite the differences in genre, and I enjoy ranking them because of that. For the streamers, their films are a little more diverse, but I use my lists as a way for people to discover some of my favorite films they can watch at the click of a button. And for Blumhouse, it’s just because I absolutely adore the work Jason Blum does in supporting filmmakers’ voices. I’m usually pretty cool-headed around celebrities because interacting with high-profile people is a part of our job as critics, but I admittedly froze when I met him at SXSW since I’m such a big fan of his. I’ve always said that once I score an interview with him, I can “retire” as a critic, haha.

You’re of Guatemalan descent. Which films do you best relate with your Latino heritage? Of course, Pan’s Labyrinth is a big deal for me given the fact that it was a formative film in my life. [Alejandro] Jodorowsky’s The Holy Mountain is one of my favorite Latino classics. El Mariachi is great because Robert Rodriguez is the epitome of Latino DIY filmmaking and has always been such an inspiring figure. I got to interview him last year for Alita: Battle Angel, and it was an awesome experience. And in terms of more recent films, I think the Netflix doc Mucho Mucho Amor really captures the importance of community amongst Latinos.

What films are highest on your list of shame? I will say that I’ve seen more classics than I have logged on Letterboxd, but there are still a few embarrassing gaps on my list. I love the work I’ve seen from Akira Kurosawa, Brian De Palma, Agnès Varda and Chantal Akerman, and I really want to finish up their filmographies. Probably the most shameful omission I have is the fact that I’ve never seen a film by Ingmar Bergman. I’ve been lightening my workload for my site a bit, so I’m hoping to catch up on some of those soon.

Who are three Letterboxd members you recommend we follow? My friend Camden Ferrell who co-founded disappointment media with me. He’s also very passionate about film and does a lot of reviews for the site. Another one of our contributors is Sarah, who came on to the team during Sundance this year. She’s great and basically started the Portrait of a Lady on Fire fandom. I also want to give a shout-out to Jon Berk who was actually the critic to challenge me to start a blog back in 2016 when he was doing the Doug Loves Movies challenge, and now I’ve gotten to where I significantly outpace him, haha.

Sean’s site accepts story pitches from, and offers constructive feedback to, aspiring writers from under-represented and minority groups. Email Sean to find out more. Check out these 2020 rankings from Letterboxd members who have watched more than 100 releases this year: Orlan Harris, Austin Burke, Jerome, Joey Magidson, Kevin Yang, Jack, Jordan Raup, Matt Neglia, Weather Boy, Julian D, Johann Rucker, Mikey Brzezinkski, Ewan Graf, Denis Eremeev, Aaron King.

[the-story-of-five-lights]

Osaka dome fanaccount 180218

I’m writing this after getting some food in my stomach while sitting under the covers in my hotel room and looking out at the night lights in Osaka. I feel incredibly grateful I got to experience these concerts. I know what it’s like to be sitting at home streaming and wishing you could be there, because that’s usually where I am. And I know this time, even though there was a lot of apprehension, so many people wanted the chance to support SHINee in person. I’m thankful I got that opportunity, and I hope I was able to bring at least a portion of all of your well wishes for SHINee into the Dome along with me.

Today was so much easier. Infinitely easier. I’m sure there are people who won’t feel the same, but I feel lighter and more hopeful tonight than I did yesterday. I’ll try and write about some things I didn’t before so I’m not too redundant.

SHINee had an easier time tonight. I won’t pretend it wasn’t difficult for them or they don’t feel a huge weight of grief, but they smiled and were more at ease and teased at each other and clearly felt better than they did yesterday. Even if some smiles were forced, I don’t believe for a second they all were. Yesterday, pulling that band-aid off, made it impossible for them to hold the pain in, and today was a lot less raw.

Because SHINee seemed to be doing better — and probably because many of us knew what to expect — the mood of the concert was dramatically different. We were able to feed off each other’s energy and be more comfortable. Because of that, I was able to pay much more attention during the high energy and joyful parts of the concert today.

So, on to the concert itself:

The opening VCR is really beautiful. Whoever worked on it did an excellent job.

Colors of the Season was more stable vocally today. SHINee starts out standing in a line on stage with spotlights on them, and I realized it was the only time other than the end that they stood on the flat stage like that. During the song, the stage lifts them up high toward the lights before lowering them back down.

I didn’t talk about this before, but I really liked the medley of songs with the clock ticking in the background they played during the first break. It was a look back, and the way they edited the audio was really haunting. It hurt, because I couldn’t help but think of happier times, but I also don’t want to ever forget those memories. I liked that they had little audio snippets of their history. A reminder.

When they came out and started Stranger, the mood was already better than the 17th. I was seated about 10 feet from the middle track that they traveled down a lot and close to the front stage, so I could see their expressions well. The stage moved out towards the center and Key was faced toward my section. He went up close to the edge of the stage (this always makes me so nervous!!) and hyped us all up a lot. Right before the lights went out, he smiled at us, and I felt something loosen in my shoulders. It was clear that today would be different.

I saw a lot of people say Taemin seemed angry-sad yesterday, and I’d have to agree. I don’t think he was pissed, but he seemed closed off and like he was trying to focus on hitting his marks well. He already seemed more, I guess, normal at this point in the concert. He also started shedding clothes, so. You know. Definitely more back to normal. I saw the other members do something to perk him up a few times in like the first half hour of the concert, but after that he was running well on his own steam.

They had their short first ment, which had the same content as the first night but was nowhere near the same. Yesterday they stood in a stiff line with their hands folded together, often looking down when it wasn’t their turn to speak. Today, Onew smiled softly when he spoke (again, I felt such relief), and Key also seemed to have an easier time.

This next part, the Jonghyun tribute, was of course still hard, but I still found it easier than yesterday. I think this was in large part because I knew what to expect, but SHINee held it together the whole time and I think that also contributed. Kimi ga Iru Sekai was the most heart-wrenching for me. Just the image of them standing around the empty center platform is a lot. I saw Key mouth “I love you” when they turned to face Jonghyun’s spot. I thought I must’ve misunderstood because it definitely looked like I love you in English, but since he said it later I think it really must’ve been. It seems like he was doing that throughout the concert, because other people spotted him doing the same at different times.

If I didn’t love Diamond Sky before, I do now. Making that diamond shape has become absurdly meaningful, and raising up my hand alongside SHINee and the music and all the other Shawols in the crowd was so powerful. It’s not a feeling I want to forget any time soon.

The fanlights all changing color to a medley was next and was so cool. I love these wi-fi controlled lights and hope someone got a video of it for you guys. They did all sorts of cool things throughout the concert, like shifting into the shape of multi-colored stars across the stands and flashing like cameras and turning into a shifting rainbow along to Colorful.

SHINee came back out and performed Sherlock. This is one of the songs I thought would be difficult for them to cover, but they did a really good job both nights.

Love Like Oxygen was next, and I completely forgot about this yesterday but it was one of my favorite parts. They sing up to the bridge and then the music pauses and the lights dim. Some deep blue ones go on and the stage they’re on rises. They stay frozen in place and this eerie, haunting music reminiscent of the earlier “journey through our past” medley plays. Then Jonghyun’s vocals played out so clear and pure and echoed through the whole stadium. Only after that do the lights come back up and they continue on with the rest of the song. It was a beautiful, subtle tribute and indicative of how they did their best to incorporate him throughout the concert.

Hello was a lot of fun, and they were smiley and joking through all of it. Lots and lots of cute fanservice. Same for To Your Heart, and the crowd got really into it.

I wrote yesterday that the Dazzling Girl - Lucky Star - Downtown Baby trifecta was fun and one of the only happy parts of the concert. And I still feel they did a great job with it yesterday, especially in the context of such an emotionally harrowing concert. But today was ENTIRELY different. The girl next to me had also attended the day before, and we kept making big eyes at each other because it felt like we’d stepped into another concert altogether. I can genuinely say I had fun during these songs. After yesterday, I’d kind of been dreading the second day, but suddenly I had this big smile I couldn’t get rid of. SHINee was just out there giving it everything. Taemin was grinning and messing around with fans. He also shouted something at the beginning of one song, and I have no idea what it was but the whole place laughed. Which was really nice <3 Onew was pulling silly faces and waving his arms like crazy at everyone while going around on the carts. At the end of Lucky Star, he moved around the blocks (they got it on Star!) so that they said “Stay” then he hopped up on them and did that one move from Danger with his arms flung behind his back. He stayed like that for a good five long seconds too like a total goof. Key was being so sweet and soft to people he passed by and kept the energy up. He was far away from me the whole time, so I saw less of him sadly. I watched Minho a lot up in his hot air balloon, and he kept pointing to people and telling them to smile and then giving them a thumbs up and a firm, approving nod when they did it. He reminded me of a dad lol. He was really, really emotional and almost serious, kept putting his hand to his heart, and I could feel how much he loves us. Seriously.

Next was the dancers’ solo (which was good!) and then Hitchhiking which is still so. cool. The part where they’re on opposing stages coming closer together and having a dance-off… SO COOL. I was sat right in the middle of it so I got the perfect viewpoint. It’s almost like they’re each daring the other pair to go harder, and they got really into it. I don’t have too much to say about the rest of the songs in this part other than they definitely kept the energy up.

They went away for a while again and we chanted “SHINee”, and then Shaband came out and led us in clapping and starting to sing Sing Your Song. Still love this one at concerts <3 Yesterday, we only sang it a capella once, but today they had us keeping going just “once more” like four times. (Key helped us keep going when we faltered.) It was beautiful. The whole place was full of singing, and they stopped for a while and let us do it alone. Minho took out his in ear to hear better, and Taemin smiled really genuinely. Onew had sparkly eyes. You could tell they all wanted to hear it.

I’m With You was a return to something a bit more solemn. The lyrics have taken on a real poignancy. It almost feels like a message to Shawols.

There was another short ment, and once again they were more at ease than before. There were some small smiles and little laughs from shawols. They introduced the new song, and I’m looking forward to everyone getting to hear it clearly. It’s great and catchy, and I think I liked it even more the second time.

Then came Replay with all the old footage on the screens. It wasn’t just old performances of Replay — they had all sorts of meaningful moments like the first Tokyo Dome concerts, all the way back to debut days. This was still hard for me, and they didn’t look at all happy during it.

SHINee went around and did their bows and once again were smiling and waving soooo much at everyone. Much different from yesterday. They stood and talked, saying mostly the same thing as yesterday with a few additions. But their attitude was very different. They weren’t standing so stiffly in a line (like they were nudging each other and silently communicating things as they normally would more) and they spoke more comfortably.

Key said “I love you” to Jonghyun in English and sent kisses up to the sky. At one point, the others must have thought he was done talking, because they bowed and Key looked at them like “huh? what?” and shawols laughed.

After each one of them was done speaking everyone shouted their names loudly and cheered for an extended amount of time. I think everyone wanted to get across our support as much as we could. The cheers were especially loud for Onew.

Before they went backstage, we started chanting SHINee as loud as we could. Minho took out BOTH of his in-ears to listen and Taemin clapped his hands high in the air in approval. They waved goodbye and the curtain/partition came down to block them.

We kept chanting for them until they came out to perform the last song. As soon as the lights lit up the mic stands, people all over started shouting “Jonghyun”, just like we’d shouted for the others when they finished speaking during the ending ment.

This song will always be a gut punch. I knew by this point that they were singing “I’m by your side” and Jonghyun’s last line was “I’m by your side always”. This song hurt the most and there’s no contest. They performed it beautifully. At the very end, Key began to cry and put his head down. Minho looked at Jonghyun’s empty place while the recording of his voice played. He really had a rough time too, but not until they’d already finished singing. Yesterday we were silent (well, crying) while they put their roses on their stands and left, but today people shouted for them. I heard plenty of people shout “Jonghyun” again.

It’s a hard way to end the concert, although it’s fitting. The lights come up and they start playing other music, and you’re left there in this other headspace. I didn’t talk to anyone for a few minutes while I gathered myself.

So while today may not have been exactly easy as we might’ve used to think of it, it was definitely easier. There was more genuine happiness. Yesterday I was nearly left feeling like I couldn’t see a way forward, but not today. I’m feeling a lot more optimistic.

I’m glad I got to go to both shows. I think we all needed yesterday, even though it sucked. It didn’t feel good at all. But I think maybe we needed to let it out, all together, and I’m including SHINee in that. Having done that, it was like we were allowed to try and be a little happier. Yesterday was straight-up raw, barren, cold pit in the stomach grief. Today still had a lot of sad, but it was at least a little bit more peaceful feeling. There were still moments where I felt pretty scraped up. But we’re always going to have those.

I hope if you were listening along you could feel the energy change. It was really palpable. Shawols were more ready, and SHINee seemed more ready too. They really managed to turn an experience I was dreading — after that first day, I wasn’t sure I could do it — into something beautiful and touching and honestly, genuinely fun for good parts of it.

Please don’t mind me getting a little personal here, but sometimes I have doubts. I trust SHINee a lot, and I find that they’re generally very open and honest with us. But occasionally I’ll have a little niggling doubt that they’re just saying something because they feel like they have to. I know it’s k-pop — I know that’s not uncommon.

But there are a few things I know for a fact after all of this:

They love each other. (Although I never doubted this)

They love us.

They love this group and treasure what it means to them.

I know that’s all true.

I can’t predict the future, and it’s all scary right now. But I can at least hold on to those things. They tried so hard to reassure us through these concerts, and I think they were also trying to reassure themselves. I hope we did enough for them. I don’t know if we can right now. Before they went off stage, Minho and Taemin put up their pinkies in a promise and we put ours up in return. I really want to keep that promise, no matter what.

They did Jjong proud. I didn’t have a lot of expectations one way or another going in to this. I just wanted to be there. But the concert was put together beautifully and thoughtfully. They did this unimaginably difficult thing with so much bravery, and my heart’s full because of it. I think I cried more writing all this up than I did all day today, just because I’m so incredibly touched by what I saw. I keep having images flash through my head of their earnest expressions, and their smiles, and their little moments of communicating with shawols. I’m in awe of what a special, unique thing we have.

I’ll join the streaming crowd next week for the Tokyo concerts. Until then and forever, let’s keep doing what Minho asked and remember Jonghyun, our wonderful, shining diamond in the sky and fifth member of SHINee.

[jakelace]

Marvel Ranked: Part 3 (22-12)

The night of the Spider-Man: Homecoming premier is upon us now, so again Aaron Hahn and I are going through our rankings of all of the Marvel movies since 1998. In case you have missed any of the previous installments, you can read Part 1 here, and Part 2 on Aaron’s blog here. Without any further ado, lets dig into those Marvel films that are just on the verge of being some of the best of all time.

22. THE WOLVERINE

“Eternity can be a curse. It hasn't been easy for you, living without time. The losses you have had to suffer. A man can run out of things to live for. Lose his purpose. Become a ronin. A samurai without a master.”

Jacob: The train scene, Aaron! The train scene! It was moments like that that left me so high after viewing this film. In fact, the first two acts of this film are really great. James Mangold was on his way to directing one of the greatest X-Men films ever! Sure, we can say he’s done that now, but not with The Wolverine. It is really a shame how quickly this film goes downhill once the final battle begins. While the film doesn’t squander all of its goodwill it had with me, it certainly tries by including last minute villains and plot twists that were so obvious they barely felt like twists at all.

Aaron: Yes, yes, the train scene is an innovative and thrilling action scene, as are many of the early samurai-inspired battles, but they’re almost drowned out by the goofy, muddled CGI climax. For the first two thirds of the movie, starting with that harrowing Hiroshima opening, James Mangold’s Noir-influenced character study is a refreshingly nuanced, involving superhero flick. Hugh Jackman is great as always, as are Tao Okamoto and Rila Fukushima. It really is such a shame about the third act being so overblown, but thankfully Mangold and Jackman took this film as a learning opportunity, and fixed those tonal inconsistencies the second time around.

21. X-MEN

“I feel a great swell of pity for the poor soul who comes to that school… looking for trouble.”

Aaron: A lot of the commendation for the original X-Men film is directed towards its significance in the history of comic book adaptations. Fueled by some pitch perfect casting choices that went on to pervade the venerable franchise, including Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and Patrick Stewart as Professor X, X-Men was the first successful superhero blockbusters in the modern era, paving the way for the MCU and more to follow. It’s a significant film, but also a pretty good one. Beyond the excellent cast, the film features plenty of exciting (though dated) action, and there’s a lot of charm in its plot’s embrace of comic-book wackiness. While the X-Men franchise would have better (and worse) entries later on, the original film remains a well-made, enjoyable foundation.

Jacob: Of all the X-Men films, this is the one I’ve seen the most by far. While I would never claim it is the best, there is something to it that I just can’t stop coming back to. I love our introduction to Jackman’s Wolverine, the villains’ oddly convoluted plot, the oddly inconsistent accents of Rogue and Storm, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love the “toad and lightning” line in some dark and twisted part of my soul. That line is absolutely horrible, from the writing to the stilted delivery of it, but I consistently laugh at it every time. Not for the right reasons, mind you, but I still laugh. I think that’s the best way to describe my feelings for this film honestly. It isn’t always good, but it has charmed me to the point where I can forgive its shortcomings and laugh along with it.  

20. ANT-MAN

“Baskin-Robbins always finds out.”

Jacob: Just so everyone knows, it kills Aaron that Ant-Man is this high on the list. I, however, had fallen for Ant-Man the minute the credits rolled. It is flawed, sure, but there is a lot here that works. Paul Rudd is a charismatic lead, Ant-Man’s power set makes for interesting and often times hilarious set pieces, and the bits left over from Edgar Wright’s original vision for the film are sublime. On top of that, it was the first film in the MCU that really made the universe feel like a living, breathing world, and that is no simple tasks. It’s hard to shake the thoughts of how great this film could have been if Wright had stayed on the project, but if you can manage, there is a lot to love underneath.

Aaron: Going in, we both knew this was going to be one of the most contentious films to place, and, yes, I’d personally put it lower. Ant-Man was one of the first films I reviewed for my blog, and I received a lot of flak for my indifferent response to it. Sure, Paul Rudd, the humor, and the set-pieces are great, but all these elements are just loosely strung together by a series of forced emotional beats and clunky “Hey, this will be important later!” dialogues. I like what you said about it making the MCU feel more like an authentic world though, as the film’s small-scale stakes are refreshing (and fitting for the character). It’s noticeably clunkier than your average MCU film (that Falcon detour is so contrived), but hey, that Thomas the Tank Engine gag never fails to make me laugh.

19. AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

“The city is flying and we're fighting an army of robots. And I have a bow and arrow. Nothing makes sense.”

Aaron: Avengers: Age of Ultron’s reception was perhaps unfairly damaged by the inescapable pressure put on it following the all-out success of the first film. It could never have completely recaptured the magic of watching these various heroes unite on the big screen for the first time, but that doesn’t stop it from trying, to marginal success. The quipy writing and excellent chemistry of the all-star cast once again shines, especially in quieter moments that ended up being the best parts of the film, such as the roundtable attempts to lift Thor’s hammer. There’s plenty of cool visuals and dynamic team-up action, and while Ultron’s inconsistent characterization is disappointing, one can’t deny that James Spader was absolutely perfect casting. Age of Ultron can’t help but pale in comparison to its predecessor, but is still a blast for comic-book fans.

Jacob: Speaking of the inescapable pressure of the original, poor Joss Whedon, man. Nearly everything that doesn’t work in this movie can be directly traced back to Marvel mandated content that he had fought against during the film’s production, to the point where it burned him out on working with them altogether (although now he’s with DC, so it couldn’t have burned him out too badly). When this movie shines though, it’s fluorescent. The attempts to lift Thor’s hammer are certainly fantastic, but the moment that shined through the most to me was the introduction to the Barton farm. It’s scenes like those that really prove what Whedon is capable of. He can take characters who we know or care very little for and turn them into some of the most fleshed out and cared for in the series, and that’s really something special...or Thor can take a bath in some cave or something. Not entirely sure what was happening there, but that was in this movie for some reason.

18. IRON MAN 3

“Is that all you've got? A cheap trick and a cheesy one-liner?”           “Sweetheart, that could be the name of my autobiography.”

Jacob: Let’s continue the train of Marvel films Jacob loves that Aaron barely tolerates! Next stop: Iron Man 3! Man, I really dig this movie. From Shane Black’s excellent direction to another show-stopping performance from RDJ, it’s hard for me to believe that people hate this movie. I mean, I even like the parts that people hate, like the Mandarin reveal and the fact that Iron Man is barely in it. This is partially helped by the fact that I love watching films where characters who are out of their element have to find creative ways to solve their problems, and the whole second act fits the bill for me there. On top of that, the finale is bonkers and is everything I wanted from the final solo Iron Man outing. House Party Protocol anyone?

Aaron: Yeah, that “need to find creative ways to solve problems when out of their element” part doesn’t really work. In the first one, Tony Stark is able to create the Mark 1 suit as a captive in a cave in Afghanistan. Here, with access to an entire hardware store, he makes… a electrocuting glove..?  And couldn’t we have traded that annoying kid’s screen-time for more Iron Man action? Nevertheless, I have become a lot more favorable to this film after embracing the fact that this is more a Shane Black film than your typical Marvel one. The humor’s great, the parade of new Iron Man suits is delightful, and the examination of Tony’s PTSD is surprisingly heavy material for a summer blockbuster. The Mandarin twist even adds some fascinating political commentary to the mix. It’s too bad it also leaves us with Guy Pearce’s bland villain.

17. THOR

“Your ancestors called it magic, but you call it science. I come from a land where they are one and the same.”

Aaron: I remember, back before the MCU carried a sense of obligation, being very hesitant to see Thor in theaters, having never been a huge fan of the comic character. However, I ended up loving the film, even more than most, as it still ranks as one of my favorite MCU films. The casting is solid all around, including the charismatic performance of the at-the-time relatively unknown Chris Hemsworth, the gravitas generating presence of Anthony Hopkins, and, of course, the introduction of surprise fan-favorite Loki, played by Tom HIddleston.  From the elaborate costumes to the various unearthly realms, the film is visually fantastic, embracing its colorful comic book roots. Sure, the detour to Earth slows down the film significantly, but when swept up in fantasy drama of Asgard, imbued with the excellent Shakespearean sensibilities of director Kenneth Branagh, the film is magical.

Jacob: Alright, it’s been a while, so I guess it’s time for me to have another confession time: I don’t really like this movie. I think it might have something to do with not really liking Asgard as a setting, but I find it hard to feel connected to this film and its stakes. On top of that, this is easily Hemsworth’s worst go at the character, and I find it hard to put my finger on as to why that is. Perhaps it’s because Thor is really whiny in this movie? Oh yeah, that’s it. As much as I could nitpick at this film, it’s hard to dismiss it entirely. There are some fun moments like anything with Agent Coulson and our short introduction to Hawkeye, and of course this film introduces us to Hiddleston’s Loki, but on the whole, this is a film I’m content to skip when looking through the MCU’s filmography.

16. BIG HERO 6

“Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion.”

Jacob: A Disney team-up was practically inevitable from the moment Marvel was acquired by them. I wasn’t expecting much from this film, but thankfully, Big Hero 6 is way better than it has any right to be. A lot of this is helped by a great voice cast including Scott Adsit as Baymax and Alan Tudyk as Alistair Krei (side note: why is Tudyk so fantastically talented? There’s no reason for that.) This film is gorgeous, hilarious, heart-warming, tear-jerking, and pretty much everything else that we’ve come to expect from this most recent string of Disney films. Thankfully for Marvel they were lucky enough to be along for the ride.

Aaron: I guess I’m the opposite in that I expected great things from this film, and was left somewhat disappointed. The story was far too predictable, and for a film called Big Hero 6, the rest of the team are completely overshadowed by Hiro and Baymax. Still, this imbalance is understandable, given how absolutely hilarious and lovable Baymax is. His antics never fail to make me smile, and Scott Adsit is fantastic in the role. It has the expected gorgeous animation of your standard Disney film, and its exploration of grief and depression represents another emotionally mature, yet still fun for the whole family, effort from Disney. I hope we get a sequel to this wonderful, heartwarming film someday, one that moves us further away from this one’s familiar material.

15. DEADPOOL

“You're probably thinking, ‘My boyfriend said this was a superhero movie but that guy in the suit just turned that other guy into a f***ing kabab!’ Well, I may be super, but I'm no hero.”

Aaron: Deadpool is perhaps the most accurate comic book adaptation ever made. After four failed comic book entries (including #39 on this list, Blade: Trinity), Ryan Reynolds found the role he was born to play, perfectly embodying the manic eccentricities of the anti-hero, uninhibited by the unnecessary muting the character received in X-Men: Origins: Wolverine (#36 on this list!). Mocking everything from the X-Men franchise’s convoluted timeline, to the film’s low budget, to Green Lantern, Deadpool is a riotous blast, with plenty of inventiveness in the action scenes as well. Considering how well it sends up the superhero genre, it is a bit disappointing that it’s clichéd origin story takes up so much of the runtime, but the film packs in enough jokes and absurdities into its brisk runtime to more than make up for all of its shortcomings. Deadpool was a breath of fresh air for the superhero movie genre, and its risk-taking was thankfully rewarded with critical and commercial success.

Jacob: Thankfully is right. Remember when there was a time where Deadpool wasn’t one of the biggest heroes in the world? Well, keep that memory close, because I’m pretty certain we won’t be seeing anything like that again for years to come. Whenever Deadpool is actually being Deadpool in this film, you can’t help but smile from ear to ear. This film is unbelievably gory, raunchy, and hilarious in all of the best ways, but all of that is set to the side for about twenty minutes or so of runtime. While that might not sound like a lot, it’s enough to have you begging for more action, based on the fact that all of it is so good. It’s those twenty minutes that keep this film out of the running for the top ten Marvel films, and that’s no joke. Deadpool is really that good.

14. DOCTOR STRANGE

“Dormammu, I've come to bargain!”

Jacob: It was only a matter of time until the MCU started to dive into the mystical side of the Marvel-verse, and it was a moment I had been eagerly anticipating. Before Doctor Strange was released I did my best to stay away from promotional materials, and I’m thankful I did, because I was completely blown away by what I had seen in that theater. While the story is fairly well- worn in its genre and beyond, Strange differentiates itself by being a spectacle to look at. The way the rooms and cities fold in upon each other all while containing well shot action is nothing less than kaleidoscopic and mesmerizing. That’s without even mention the climax which is the most original in Marvel’s history bar none.

Aaron: The fourteenth film in the MCU, Doctor Strange both adheres strongly to the established studio template, and completely breaks the mold. The story bears strong similarities to the likes of Iron Man and Ant-Man, but, man, those M.C. Escher/Inception-esque kaleidoscopic set-pieces really are just some of the coolest, most visually arresting action scenes ever put to film. There’s also a fantastic cast, with Benedict Cumberbatch doing the type of arrogant genius role he does best, Mads Mikkelsen elevating his underdeveloped villainous role with sheer talent (Man, that “Mr. Doctor” exchange is just sublime), and Tilda Swinton once again proving she’s one of the best actors currently working. And that climactic showdown was fantastically surprising, inventive, and perfectly fitting for the hero. Just wish the rest of the plot had shown that much risk-taking.

13. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2

“He says, Welcome to the frickin' Guardians of the Galaxy! Only he didn't use ‘frickin'.”

Aaron: It’s always hardest ranking the newest entries for a list like this, as they hasn’t been enough time for their impact to be fully gauged. However, it seems like a safe bet to place Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 this high on the list, considering it fully delivers on more of the same irreverent humor, colorful visuals, and rockin’ 70s tunes that made the first film such an unexpected success, even if it is a bit too much of the same. The plot may be a bit sluggish, but that allows the film to spend lots of time further developing the wonderful character dynamics between the fantastic cast, and engaging in extended comedic beats. It doesn’t quite recapture the magic of the first film, but at the end of the day, getting to go on another zany adventure with the endearing Guardians is just an absolutely great time at the movies.

Jacob: I think you’re right in assuming that this placement is somewhat free of a recency bias. Now is it free of my bias for these characters? No…no, it probably isn’t, but man it’s hard to argue against just how much fun this movie is. From the very opening battle to the five (yes, five) after credits scenes I couldn’t help but be fully engrossed in this world and its characters. James Gunn has done such a fantastic job with writing and directing these movies, and though the plot takes a backseat in this entry, it allows Gunn to prove just how much he adores these characters by giving nearly everyone a moment in the spotlight. Oh, and I’ll put the “Come A Little Bit Closer” scene up against nearly any other MCU scene. Don’t @ me.

12. X2: X-MEN UNITED

“The war has begun.”

Jacob: Despite the original X-Men still being quite good and a landmark for superhero cinema, X2 is a quantum leap forward in quality. In fact, a lot of people cite this as their favorite superhero film of all, and while I certainly don’t agree, I can see exactly where they’re coming from. X2 takes the groundwork of the original and builds upon it with great characterization for the series mainstays and newcomers alike (Nightcrawler especially), and well-choreographed action sequences for all of the mutants. Plus, Brian Cox’s Stryker is one of those great villains that I absolutely love to hate.

Aaron: That wicked, intense opening scene of Nightcrawler in the White House is just such a perfect way to kickstart this great movie, and then it’s followed up by that Magneto prison escape, the X-Men Mansion invasion, and that Wolverine/Lady Deathstrike battle? X2 not only contains a plethora of magnificent action scenes, but a lot of strong character work as well, particularly the exploration of Wolverine’s origin (If only that hadn’t felt the need to follow it up with that Origins film…) Plus, Magneto’s betrayal and ultimate master plan is legitimately haunting, helping make X2 not only one of the best X-Men films still, but also one of the best superhero movies ever.

That’s all for today, but be sure to check back tomorrow on https://thiscleverblognameisalreadytaken.tumblr.com/ for the final part of our Marvel Ranked series, where we talk about the best Marvel has to offer in the realm of film.