Saturday, April 11, 2020

The Films of 2020 (B.C.)

(D) denotes documentary.

1.) LIKE A BOSS 2 stars (2)
2.) BAD BOYS FOR LIFE 2 stars (4)
3.) THE LAST FULL MEASURE 2 stars (6)
4.) THE GENTLEMEN 2 ½ stars (8.5)
5.) GAUGUIN FROM THE NATIONAL                 2 ½ stars (11)
            GALLERY, LONDON (D)
6.) THE ASSISTANT 3 stars (14)
7.) THE TRAITOR 2 ½ stars (16.5)
8.) INCITEMENT 2 ½ stars (19)
9.) JOSÉ         2 ½ stars (21.5)
10.) DOWNHILL         2 stars (23.5)
11.) ORDINARY LOVE 3 stars (26.5)
12.) AND THEN WE DANCED 3 stars (29.5)
13.) THE TIMES OF BILL CUNNINGHAM (D)    2 ½ stars (32)
14.) EMMA.         2 stars (34)
15.) STANDING UP, FALLING DOWN 2 ½ stars (36.5)
16.) THE WOMAN WHO LOVES GIRAFFES (D) 3 ½ stars (40)
17.) CORPUS CHRISTI 2 ½ stars (42.5)
18.) THE WHISTLERS 2 stars (44.5)
19.) GREED         2 ½ stars (47)
20.) THE JESUS ROLLS 2 ½ stars (49.5)
21.) BLOOD ON HER NAME 3 stars (52.5)
22.) THE INVISIBLE MAN 1 ½ stars (54)
23.) BURDEN         3 stars (57)
24.) BIRDS OF PREY AND THE FANTABULOUS                  2.5 stars (59.5)
             EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN
25.) SORRY WE MISSED YOU 3 stars (62.5)
26.) YOUNG AHMED         2 ½ stars (65)
27.) QUEEN OF PARADIS (D) 3 stars (68)
28.) THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY 3 stars (71)
29.) FIRST COW         2 ½ stars (73.5)
30.) HOPE GAP         2 stars (75.5)
31.) THE WAY BACK 3 stars (78.5)
32.) NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS 3 stars (81.5)
33.) BALLOON         2 ½ stars (84)
34.) BACURAU         2 ½ stars (86.5)
35.) LOST GIRLS 2 stars (88.5)
36.) BIG TIME ADOLESCENCE 3 stars (91.5)
37.) McMILLION$ 3 stars (94.5)

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

The Best and Worst Films of 2019

The ten best feature films of 2019:
1.) Uncut Gems
2.) American Woman
3.) The Mustang
4.) Waves
5.) Marriage Story
6.) Good Boys
7.) Escape Room
8.) Genèse
9.) Anna
10.) Her Smell
The best documentaries of 2019:
1.) 63 Up
2.)-18.) They Shall Not Grow Old / Apollo 11 / Wrestle / Leaving Neverland / The Biggest Little Farm / The Serengeti Rules / Echo in the Canyon / The Proposal / Q Ball / Pavarotti / 5B / Maiden / Honeyland / This Changes Everything / Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel / Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice / To Be of Service
The ten worst feature films of 2019:
1.) Late Night
2.) The Sound of Silence
3.) Before You Know It
4.) Greener Grass
5.) Ramen Shop
6.) Aga
7.) The Souvenir
8.) The Hustle
9.) The Beach Bum
10.) The Art of Self-Defense

Complete Star Rating Guide to the Films of 2019


(D) denotes documentary.

Abominable - 2.5 stars
Ad Astra - 2.5 stars
The Aeronauts - 1.5 stars
After the Wedding - 2.5 stars
The Aftermath - 2 stars
Aga - 1 star
Aladdin - 3 stars
Alita: Battle Angel - 1.5 stars
All These Small Moments - 2.5 stars
American Woman - 4 stars
Anna - 3.5 stars
And Breathe Normally - 2 stars
Apollo 11 (D) - 3 stars
Aquarela (D) - 1.5 stars
The Art of Self-Defense - 1.5 stars
Ash is Purest White - 2.5 stars
At War - 2 stars
Atlantics - 2 stars
The Beach Bum - 1.5 stars
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood - 3 stars
Before You Know It - 1 star
Being Frank - 1.5 stars
The Best of Enemies - 2.5 stars
The Biggest Little Farm (D) - 3 stars
Birds of Passage - 1.5 stars
Black and Blue - 1.5 stars
Blink of an Eye (D) - 2.5 stars
Blowin' Up (D) - 2.5 stars
Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes (D) - 2 stars
Bombshell - 2 stars
Booksmart - 1.5 stars
The Brink (D) - 2 stars
Brittany Runs a Marathon - 2.5 stars
By the Grace of God - 2.5 stars
Carmine Street Guitars (D) - 2.5 stars
Cats - 2 stars
The Chambermaid - 2.5 stars
Citizen K (D) - 2.5 stars
Clemency - 3 stars
Cold Case Hammarskjold - 3 stars
Cold Pursuit - 2 stars
Cunningham (D) - 1.5 stars
The Current War - 2 stars
Cyrano, My Love - 2 stars
Dark Waters - 2 stars
Daughter of Mine - 2.5 stars
David Crosby: Remember My Name (D) - 2 stars
Diane - 3 stars
Dogman - 1.5 stars
A Dog's Way Home - 2.5 stars
Don't Come Back from the Moon - 2.5 stars
Dumbo - 2 stars
Echo in the Canyon (D) - 3 stars
End of the Century - 2 stars
Escape Room - 3.5 stars
A Faithful Man - 2.5 stars
The Farewell - 2 stars
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw - 2.5 stars
Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles (D) - 2.5 stars
Fighting with My Family - 3 stars
5B (D) - 3 stars
Five Feet Apart - 2 stars
Ford v. Ferrari - 3 stars
Framing John DeLorean - 2.5 stars
Friedkin Uncut (D) - 2.5 stars
Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened (D) - 2.5 stars
General Magic (D) - 2.5 stars
Genese - 3.5 stars
A German Youth (D) - 2 stars
Gloria Bell - 3 stars
Good Boys - 3.5 stars
The Good Liar - 1.5 stars
Great Great Great - 2.5 stars
Greener Grass - 1 star
Greta - 2 stars
Hail Satan? (D) - 2.5 stars
Halston (D) - 2.5 stars
Happy Death Day 2 U - 1.5 stars
Harriet - 2 stars
Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel (D) - 3 stars
The Heiresses - 2.5 stars
Her Smell - 3 stars
Honey Boy - 2.5 stars
Honeyland (D) - 3 stars
Hotel by the River - 2.5 stars
Hotel Mumbai - 2 stars
The Hummingbird Project - 2.5 stars
The Hustle - 1.5 stars
Hustlers - 3 stars
"I Do Not Care if We Go Down in History as Barbarians" - 2.5 stars
In the Aisles - 2 stars
Invisible Life - 2.5 stars
The Invisibles - 2 stars
The Irishman - 3 stars
Isn't It Romantic - 2.5 stars
Jay Myself (D) - 2.5 stars
Jojo Rabbit - 2.5 stars
J.T. Leroy - 2.5 stars
Judy - 3 stars
Just Mercy - 1.5 stars
The Kid - 2 stars
The King - 2 stars
The Kitchen - 2 stars
Knife + Heart - 2.5 stars
Knives Out - 2.5 stars
The Last Black Man in San Francisco - 2 stars
Last Christmas - 2.5 stars
Late Night - 1 star
Leaving Neverland (D) - 3 stars
Les Misérables - 2.5 stars
Light from Light - 2.5 stars
Light of My Life - 3 stars
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice (D) - 3 stars
Little Women - 1.5 stars
Little Woods - 2.5 stars
Long Day's Journey Into Night - 2.5 stars
Long Shot - 2 stars
Lost & Found - 1.5 stars
Love, Antosha (D) - 2.5 stars
Luce - 3 stars
Ma - 1.5 stars
Maiden (D) - 3 stars
Mapplethorpe - 2.5 stars
Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love (D) - 2.5 stars
Marriage Story - 3.5 stars
Meeting Gorbachev (D) - 2.5 stars
Mickey and the Bear - 1.5 stars
Midnight Family (D) - 2 stars
Mike Wallace Is Here (D) - 2.5 stars
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (D) - 2.5 stars
Miss Bala - 2.5 stars
Most Likely to Succeed (D) - 2.5 stars
The Mustang - 3.5 stars
My Son - 1.5 stars
1917 - 2.5 stars
Non-Fiction - 1.5 stars
Official Secrets - 2.5 stars
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood - 2 stars
One Child Nation (D) - 2 stars
The Other Story - 3 stars
Pain and Glory - 2.5 stars
Parasite - 2.5 stars
Pavarotti (D) - 3 stars
Penguins (D) - 2 stars
Photograph - 1.5 stars
Pig - 2 stars
Portrait of a Lady on Fire - 2.5 stars
The Proposal (D) - 3 stars
Q Ball (D) - 3 stars
Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins (D) - 2.5 stars
Ramen Shop - 1 star
Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project (D) - 2 stars
Red Joan - 2 stars
The Report - 2.5 stars
The Reports on Sarah and Saleem - 2.5 stars
Richard Jewell - 2 stars
Rocketman - 2 stars
Rojo - 2.5 stars
Roll Red Roll (D) - 2.5 stars
Rosie - 3 stars
Sauvage / Wild - 2 stars
Sea of Shadows (D) - 2.5 stars
Serendipity - 2 stars
The Serengeti Rules (D) - 3 stars
Sharkwater Extinction (D) - 2.5 stars
Shooting the Mafia (D) - 2 stars
63 Up (D) - 3.5 stars
Slut in a Good Way - 2.5 stars
The Song of Names - 2 stars
The Sound of Silence - 1 star
The Souvenir - 1.5 stars
Sorry Angel - 2.5 stars
The Spy Behind Home Plate (D) - 2 stars
St. Bernard Syndicate - 2.5 stars
The Standoff at Sparrow Creek - 2 stars
State Like Sleep - 2 stars
Stockholm - 2 stars
Styx - 2 stars
Tel Aviv on Fire - 1.5 stars
Temblores - 2 stars
Theranos: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (D) - 2.5 stars
They Shall Not Grow Old (D) - 3 stars
This Changes Everything (D) - 3 stars
3 Faces - 2.5 stars
Three Peaks - 1.5 stars
Tigerland (D) - 2.5 stars
To Be of Service (D) - 3 stars
The Tomorrow Man - 1.5 stars
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (D) - 2.5 stars
Transit - 2 stars
The Two Popes - 2.5 stars
Uncut Gems - 4 stars
The Unicorn - 2.5 stars
The Upside - 2.5 stars
Varda by Agnes (D) - 2.5 stars
Walking on Water (D) - 1.5 stars
Waves - 3.5 stars
The Wedding Guest - 2.5 stars
West of Sunshine - 2 stars
What Men Want - 1.5 stars
What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael (D) - 2.5 stars
Where'd You Go, Bernadette - 2.5 stars
Where's My Roy Cohn? (D) - 2.5 stars
The White Crow - 2.5 stars
Wild Nights with Emily - 2.5 stars
The Wild Pear Tree - 3 stars
Wild Rose - 2.5 stars
Woman at War - 2.5 stars
Working Woman - 1.5 stars
Wrestle (D) - 3 stars
Yesterday - 2.5 stars

Totals: 211 films / 492 stars / Average Star Rating: 2.33

Monday, June 10, 2019

The First 100 Films of 2019: The Best and Worst

#1

The best film of the first half of 2019 is Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre's deeply moving metaphor "The Mustang," with Matthias Schoenaerts in a powerhouse performance as a Nevada prisoner whose road to redemption runs through a wild horse training program operated by Bruce Dern, who delivers a line here (after Schoenaerts' first failed attempt at mounting his mustang) that instantly enters the pantheon of all-time great movie quotes.

#2-6 (in alphabetical order)

The next five best films of the first half of 2019 are Kent Jones' "Diane," featuring a lived-in performance by the veteran Mary Kay Place as a woman who sublimates her grief for her past and her drug-addicted son (Jake Lacy) with volunteer work for others; Adam Robitel's memorable "Escape Room," an ingeniously constructed puzzle movie with no fewer than three bravura set pieces and, at each step, far more wit, intelligence and humor than others of its genre expend; Stephen Merchant's "Fighting with My Family," the most delightful surprise of the early year, with Florence Pugh as a young woman making her way in professional wrestling and an uproariously funny Vince Vaughn as her hardass trainer; the unfortunately titled "Her Smell," writer-director Alex Ross Perry's best work to date, with a painfully fearless performance by the great Elisabeth Moss as Becky Something, a 90s punk-rock star whose diva behavior has lost its charm twenty years later; and Nuri Bilge Ceylan's "The Wild Pear Tree," the most thoughtful and contemplative film of the year, by a Turkish master whose lengthy works (this one runs 188 minutes) richly reward patient viewers with insight and immersion.

Ten Terrific Documentaries (in alphabetical order)

Apollo 11
The Biggest Little Farm
Echo in the Canyon
Leaving Neverland
Pavarotti
The Proposal
Q Ball
The Serengeti Rules
They Shall Not Grow Old
Wrestle

The Worst Two

There could be no better proof of Dennis Prager's axiom that the left ruins everything it touches than "Late Night," a ghastly, politically correct "comedy" that not even progressives could pretend to enjoy. Dead silence as each of us walked out. Same goes for "Ramen Shop," a would-be piece of Asian food porn. I don't believe the script contains even one three-syllable word. The dialogue sounds like the stilted conversations between strangers on the first day of an introductory language class.

Complete List of Star Ratings (in alphabetical order) - (D) denotes documentary

The Aftermath - 2 stars
Aladdin - 3 stars
Alita: Battle Angel - 1.5 stars
All These Small Moments - 2.5 stars
And Breathe Normally - 2 stars
Apollo 11 (D) - 3 stars
Ash is Purest White - 2.5 stars
The Beach Bum - 1.5 stars
The Best of Enemies - 2.5 stars
The Biggest Little Farm (D) - 3 stars
Birds of Passage - 1.5 stars
Blowin' Up (D) - 2.5 stars
Booksmart - 1.5 stars
The Brink (D) - 2 stars
Carmine Street Guitars (D) - 2.5 stars
Cold Pursuit - 2 stars
Daughter of Mine - 2.5 stars
Diane - 3 stars
Dogman - 1.5 stars
A Dog's Way Home - 2.5 stars
Don't Come Back from the Moon - 2.5 stars
Dumbo - 2 stars
Echo in the Canyon (D) - 3 stars
Escape Room - 3 stars
Fighting with My Family - 3 stars
Five Feet Apart - 2 stars
Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened (D) - 2.5 stars
General Magic (D) - 2.5 stars
Gloria Bell - 3 stars
Great Great Great - 2.5 stars
Greta - 2 stars
Hail Satan? (D) - 2.5 stars
Halston (D) - 2.5 stars
Happy Death Day 2 U - 1.5 stars
The Heiresses - 2.5 stars
Her Smell - 3 stars
Hotel by the River - 2.5 stars
Hotel Mumbai - 2 stars
The Hummingbird Project - 2.5 stars
The Hustle - 1.5 stars
The Invisibles - 2 stars
Isn't It Romantic - 2.5 stars
J.T. Leroy - 2.5 stars
The Kid - 2 stars
Knife + Heart - 2.5 stars
The Last Black Man in San Francisco - 2 stars
Late Night - 1 star
Leaving Neverland (D) - 3 stars
Little Woods - 2.5 stars
Long Day's Journey into Night - 2 stars
Long Shot - 2 stars
Lost & Found - 1.5 stars
Ma - 1.5 stars
Mapplethorpe - 2.5 stars
Meeting Gorbachev (D) - 2.5 stars
Miss Bala - 2.5 stars
The Mustang - 3.5 stars
My Son - 1.5 stars
Non-Fiction - 1.5 stars
Pavarotti (D) - 3 stars
Penguins (D) - 2 stars
Photograph - 1.5 stars
Pig - 2 stars
The Proposal (D) - 3 stars
Q Ball (D) - 3 stars
Ramen Shop - 1 star
Red Joan - 2 stars
Rocketman - 2 stars
Roll Red Roll (D) - 2.5 stars
Sauvage/Wild - 2 stars
Serendipity - 2 stars
The Serengeti Rules (D) - 3 stars
Sharkwater Extinction (D) - 2.5 stars
Slut in a Good Way - 2.5 stars
Sorry Angel - 2.5 stars
The Souvenir - 1.5 stars
The Standoff at Sparrow Creek - 2 stars
State Like Sleep - 2 stars
St. Bernard Syndicate - 2.5 stars
Stockholm - 2 stars
Styx - 2 stars
Theranos: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (D) - 2.5 stars
They Shall Not Grow Old (D) - 3 stars
3 Faces - 2.5 stars
Tigerland (D) - 2.5 stars
The Tomorrow Man - 1.5 stars
Transit - 2 stars
The Unicorn - 2.5 stars
The Upside - 2.5 stars
Walking on Water (D) - 1.5 stars
The Wedding Guest - 2.5 stars
West of Sunshine - 2 stars
What Men Want - 1.5 stars
The White Crow - 2.5 stars
Wild Nights with Emily - 2.5 stars
The Wild Pear Tree - 3 stars
Wild Rose - 2.5 stars
Woman at War - 2.5 stars
Working Woman - 1.5 stars
Wrestle (D) - 3 stars

Total stars: 227
Average: 2.27

Friday, January 11, 2019

The Best (and Worst) Films of 2018

My top ten films of 2018. (D) denotes documentary.
1.) Lean on Pete
2.) The Dawn Wall (D)
3.) Won't You Be My Neighbor? (D)
4.) Can You Ever Forgive Me?
5.) Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot
6.) Leave No Trace
7.) Who We Are Now
8.) Outside In
9.) Ready Player One
10.) Pick of the Litter (D)
My "second ten": the honorable mentions of 2018 (in alphabetical order): "Bad Times at the El Royale" / "Bathtubs Over Broadway" (D) / "Burning" / "Den of Thieves" / "Destroyer" / "Green Book" / "Science Fair" (D) / "Where is Kyra?" / "Widows" / "The Wife"
And the seven I crossed off to come up with that list: "Bohemian Rhapsody" / "Crazy Rich Asians" / "The Death of Stalin" / "Hal" (D) / "The Mule" / "The Rider" / "Viper Club"
I now see only films I hope I will, and believe there is a reasonable chance I will, enjoy. This resulted in a low number of films seen (212) and an unprecedented high average star rating (2.38). The worst two films of 2018:


All Summers End
The Year of Spectacular Men

Mary Poppins Returns, Second Act, Cold War, On the Basis of Sex, Vice, Holmes and Watson, Welcome to Marwen, Stan & Ollie, Destroyer, Shirkers

Mary Poppins Returns

Second Act

Cold War

On the Basis of Sex

Vice

Holmes and Watson

Welcome to Marwen

Stan & Ollie

Destroyer

Shirkers