ViewtifulJC
Banned
1. Mad Max: Fury Road - A goddamn miracle. A legit contender for top 3 action movie of all-time. A towering achievement in all elements of craft concernging big budget blockbuster filmmaking. Seen it five times, its just as fresh, weird, vibrant, exciting, and beautiful. Best film of the year, best film of the decade so far.
2. Carol - The other damn near perfect film of the year. Every acting, editing, directing, lighting, costume, score, and production design choice is so absolutely right. Any other way would have been wrong. Execeptional usage of all the tools of craft to create a sensual and sophisticated piece of cinema. Cold yet compelling and richly humanist. Earns the hell out of an ending it really shouldn't, sticks with you long after the credits.
3. 45 Years - A quietly devastating drama with the best screen acting of the year. The rare film starring old people that's not about dying, but about living. Rich in metaphor about how secrets of the past can haunt the present and taint everything about one's perception of life. If Charlotte Rumpling doesn't get nominated at the Oscars, they can eat a HUGE bag of dicks.
4. Anomalisa - Perfectly marries its form to its function to tell an ordinary story in an extraordinary way. Witty as hell, fantastic vocal performances. The most honest depiction of sex in American cinema in many a year. Maybe the best score in the year from Carter Burwell(who also did excellent work on Carol).
5. Son of Saul - Like being caught a hurricane, a rush of sounds and sights just out of view scarier than ever seeing it. Ticks along like a thriller, with a sole focus on a man trying to grasp some form of faith and life in the most desperate of situations. Incredible use of sound design, impressively shot, and a fantastic lead performance Geza Rohrig, holding the audience gaze in a descent into madness.
6. Creed - Takes the old Rocky formula and re-contextualizes in a modern milieu. Coogler's feel for authentic people of color comes through in a story about self-worth and absent fathers. Like the original '76 classic, its not just a boxing movie; its a lowkey character drama about lonely people coming together to form those all important human bonds. A big crowdpleaser that made yours truly tear up four fuckin times.
7. Diary of a Teenage Girl - Wholly unique coming-of-age drama. A wonderful character creation in our protagonist played by Bel Powley. Mixes multiple media and aesthetics with flair. Creates a tangible sense of place. Confronts adolescent female confusions head on, with a honest but not judgmental eye.
8. Inside Out - Clever, beautiful, fast paced, with family friendly themes that hit hard for kids and adults alike. Its everything you wanted from an original Pixar film. Michael Gianchino's score destroys mere mortals. RIP Bing Bong ;_;
9. What We Do In Shadows - Straight up the funniest damn movie of the year. A mockumentry about vampires living in New Zealand. Great characters that you want to hang out with, but every scene has a electricity to it. Goes through all its ideas with apolmb and ends in a tidy 90 minutes, a modern miracle for comedy.
10. Chi-Raq - The most Spike Lee ass Spike Lee movie of all time. The power of Lee's convictions is undeniable, his love for musicals never so fully on display. Preachy, boisterous, LOUD, vibrant, confrontational, self-indulgent, sexy, important, vulgar, and absolutely essential, unmissable cinema.
and here's 10 I'm most anticipated for this year of 2016. Lets see how wrong I am in 365 days!
1. The Light Between Oceans
2. The Nice Guys
3. Hail, Caesar!
4. American Honey
5. The BFG
6. Bourne
7. La La Land
8. How to Talk to Girls At Parties
9. Midnight Special
10. Green Room
2. Carol - The other damn near perfect film of the year. Every acting, editing, directing, lighting, costume, score, and production design choice is so absolutely right. Any other way would have been wrong. Execeptional usage of all the tools of craft to create a sensual and sophisticated piece of cinema. Cold yet compelling and richly humanist. Earns the hell out of an ending it really shouldn't, sticks with you long after the credits.
3. 45 Years - A quietly devastating drama with the best screen acting of the year. The rare film starring old people that's not about dying, but about living. Rich in metaphor about how secrets of the past can haunt the present and taint everything about one's perception of life. If Charlotte Rumpling doesn't get nominated at the Oscars, they can eat a HUGE bag of dicks.
4. Anomalisa - Perfectly marries its form to its function to tell an ordinary story in an extraordinary way. Witty as hell, fantastic vocal performances. The most honest depiction of sex in American cinema in many a year. Maybe the best score in the year from Carter Burwell(who also did excellent work on Carol).
5. Son of Saul - Like being caught a hurricane, a rush of sounds and sights just out of view scarier than ever seeing it. Ticks along like a thriller, with a sole focus on a man trying to grasp some form of faith and life in the most desperate of situations. Incredible use of sound design, impressively shot, and a fantastic lead performance Geza Rohrig, holding the audience gaze in a descent into madness.
6. Creed - Takes the old Rocky formula and re-contextualizes in a modern milieu. Coogler's feel for authentic people of color comes through in a story about self-worth and absent fathers. Like the original '76 classic, its not just a boxing movie; its a lowkey character drama about lonely people coming together to form those all important human bonds. A big crowdpleaser that made yours truly tear up four fuckin times.
7. Diary of a Teenage Girl - Wholly unique coming-of-age drama. A wonderful character creation in our protagonist played by Bel Powley. Mixes multiple media and aesthetics with flair. Creates a tangible sense of place. Confronts adolescent female confusions head on, with a honest but not judgmental eye.
8. Inside Out - Clever, beautiful, fast paced, with family friendly themes that hit hard for kids and adults alike. Its everything you wanted from an original Pixar film. Michael Gianchino's score destroys mere mortals. RIP Bing Bong ;_;
9. What We Do In Shadows - Straight up the funniest damn movie of the year. A mockumentry about vampires living in New Zealand. Great characters that you want to hang out with, but every scene has a electricity to it. Goes through all its ideas with apolmb and ends in a tidy 90 minutes, a modern miracle for comedy.
10. Chi-Raq - The most Spike Lee ass Spike Lee movie of all time. The power of Lee's convictions is undeniable, his love for musicals never so fully on display. Preachy, boisterous, LOUD, vibrant, confrontational, self-indulgent, sexy, important, vulgar, and absolutely essential, unmissable cinema.
and here's 10 I'm most anticipated for this year of 2016. Lets see how wrong I am in 365 days!
1. The Light Between Oceans
2. The Nice Guys
3. Hail, Caesar!
4. American Honey
5. The BFG
6. Bourne
7. La La Land
8. How to Talk to Girls At Parties
9. Midnight Special
10. Green Room
