Second to Last Row on the Right

Best Movies of the Year where Mahershala Ali Plays an Untraditional Father Figure for about 10 minutes of the movie

Moonlight, Kicks

Thank god for “Moonlight,” a film that has been written about so much that I do not know what I can bring to the conversation at this point. Without it, people may be left to try to salvage Nate Parker’s ill-begotten “Birth of a Nation,” as the obligatory black film of the year that it was positioned as at Sundance back in January of last year. But, “Moonlight” should not be considered a token of a film. Its rise to the top through think pieces and word-of-mouth speaks to how it was able to naturally build its base of spectators. “Birth of a Nation,” on the other hand, struggled to connect partially due to its controversy but also to its haphazard “Braveheart” style hero narrative and questionable use of victimhood especially that of rape. “Moonlight” is cinema at its best. It is a passport to a world, a mindset, an experience that is not readily available. It is empathy.

While “Moonlight” has dominated the conversation, Justin Tipping’s “Kicks” has been barely touched upon. It has been spoken so little of that since I saw it I have questioned my love of this small film. Tipping riffs on “Bicycle Thieves,” in which an African American teen, Brandon, gets his brand-new sneakers stolen in a city right on the outskirts of Oakland. This allows for Tipping to breeze through the neighborhood as Brandon and his two buddies searches for the men who stole his shoes. It’s a small film that screams that this is a first feature, but the style is so assured. Tipping is not afraid to take risks, allowing for flourishes of style and metaphors (there is a motif of an astronaut that aggressively highlights Brandon’s alienation for the things around him) that many more conservative filmmakers would not bother to entertain. Like “Bicycle Thieves” the plot is simply an excuse to explore a post-world II Italy, the plot here is an excuse for Tipping to explore the neighborhoods that has been forgotten about in film since the early 90’s. These characters are so richly drawn beyond what could easily be caricatures. If “Boyz in the Hood” gave a glimpse to life in “the hood,” “Kicks” is a portraiture. Also, best Mahershala Ali performance this year.

Best Movies of the Year where the Central Theme is that Grief is a Motherfucker

Manchester by the Sea, Jackie

There are horror movies which relies on jump scares. Like a roller coaster these momentary jumps are fun but ultimately has no lingering effects except for a scratchy throat. That is exactly the same way I feel about tearjerkers. Movies like “Lion” or “Beaches” live on sentimentality and tears. Like a superficial thrill ride, these films have a purpose and place. But, then there is a film like “Manchester by the Sea.” The film is filled with little moments that prove that Kenneth Lonergan is one of the great humane dramatist working today. Sadness and grief seeps into you like water slowly draining into the ground. But, what is so illuminating about the film is how the film portrays people dealing with grief; with anger, ambivalence. These characters are simply living. I have a friend, unfamiliar with Lonergan’s works and what struck as well was how funny the film was. That’s because even when our closest love ones are gone that does not mean that life stops going.

What happens, though, if someone’s life is defined by a person who dies? Pablo Larrain is one of the most exciting filmmakers working today. In “Jackie,” he takes what could have been a maudlin drama and with an incredible score by Mica Levi, creates a horror film. The monster for Jackie Kennedy is the weight of legacy, purpose and the American ideal. Is this what the real Jackie Kennedy went through in the immediate aftermath of JFK’s assassination? Probably not. But, what historical fiction does is to draw a parallel with these pristine historical figures with everyday living. What struck me most with “Jackie” was the amount of decisions that had to be made immediately after the tragedy. The same with “Manchester.” Jackie Kennedy mourns while also keeping up appearances in a role that has been bestowed upon her. She is the first lady of America, after all. She can’t be seen too sad, angry, or drunk. The real-life piece that is written about her weeks after JFK’s funeral which is fictionalized here as a framing device, was instrumental in sculpting that image. It sculpted a Camelot.

The Best Movies of the Year Where Coming-of-age is Manifested as a Monster

Closet Monster, The Fits

Not enough movies talk about how scary it is to become an adult. I’m in my early twenties, on the precipice of doing adult things like getting a full-time career and job and I still go to sleep at night in the fetal position. So, it is no wonder that puberty, adulthood and burgeoning sexuality has been portrayed in films as some sort of monstrosity. “Closet Monster,” a small Canadian film that I do not know anyone who saw, creates a monster in a teenager who is discovering his sexuality for the first time as he goes off to college. But, the complexity of this film from first time director, Stephen Dunn, comes from the fact that he is not defined by his burgeoning sexuality. Rather, this stress is compounded by the facts of adolescence. Pressure come from his single-parent father, whose self-destruction comes from the loosening of his grasp of his child, his artistic ambitions while confined in a small Canadian suburb, and the trauma from the abandonment of his mother. The monster in the on-the-nose title is not just one of repressed sexuality, but rather repression in all fronts. It’s no wonder that the violent act that occurs in this film is not because of sexuality at all.

The monster in “The Fits,” another small film by a first-time filmmaker, Anna Rose Holmer, also rides the line of imagined or real. Her characters are on the precipice of teen-hood. This is the time when divisional lines are truly cemented, especially gender norms. Her protagonist starts off in a boxing gym, filled with males but is drawn across the hall to an all-female dance troupe. Insecurities are never immediately present especially from those who are feeling it. It usually comes with a look. Especially for a teenager, there is no greater currency than a sense of belonging. “The Fits’s” ability to hone in on that central need in a way that is not pedantic really creates a powerful image. The final shot of bliss as Royalty Hightower finally embraces the monster that would make her belong is one of the great cinematic images of 2016.

The Best Horror Movies Where the Little Girl is the Most Terrifying Things about It

The Wailing, The Eyes of My Mother

To be fair, little girls are terrifying. It probably has something to do with the corrupting of something innocent that gets into the crawl of everyone’s skin. “The Wailing” is a Korean epic of a possession movie. And like the best Korean films, there is fluidity with genre in this film. The film readily goes from horror to police procedural mystery to comedy. Horror films are best when it comes from an assured hand and Na Hong-Jin is certainly assured in his skill and style. He slowly paces out the film with mood, atmosphere and uncertainty. At 2 ½ hours, each layer is lovingly paced. Not all the best movies have something to say in the undercurrent of the film. Some can just be plain scary and fun.

From the epic nature of “The Wailing,” comes the efficiency of “The Eyes of My Mother.” Nicolas Pesce’s first feature runs at a little under an hour and 20 minutes, and will undoubtedly become a cult film in which high schoolers show their friends to revel in how fucked up it is. Once again, this film thrives on the assured hand of Pesce’s direction. The black and white photography, the loving reconstruction of a minimalist household and the combination of aspects of image, costuming and setting creates a total cinematic experience. This film is informed by many in the past. The black and white images is reminiscent of early David Lynch and the economy of violence reminds me of the European art-house horror from Bunuel to Franju. Eyes plays a big role in horror films. It is scary to not be able to see and sight is connected to something so fragile and disposable. The camera is our eyes to this particular world. And the film works with the whole image. In one scene, we saw our hero/monster washing dishes and it is what we see through the window that is grotesque and haunting. These are images, that will not escape anybody who will eventually discover this film.

The Best Movies Where the Traditional Notions of How We Fall in Love is Questioned

The Lobster, The Love Witch

Love is overrated. Well, the way most people think about love is overrated. “The Lobster,” from Greek satirist Yorgos Lathimos, skewers our societal pressure on people to find a partner. The film’s dystopic setting strips away all that feels human so that all that is left is a kaleidoscope view of human interactions. Here, people decide that they are perfect for each other because of the most artificial of reason; short-sightedness, nose bleeds and beautiful hair. Everything is played pitched perfectly to dry deliveries anchored by Colin Ferrell at his best. Oh, and if I was had to be turned into an animal I would be a turtle. They have a portable shelter and could be proficient on both land and water.

I took a B-movie class at SUNY (Inset NY state city here) and the films we saw was a mish mash of exploitation with some rising to the top with subtle feminist’s ideology. But, for most of them, they are pure sexploitation of the woman’s body. Anne Biller lovingly recreates this subgenre of 60’s sexploitation film to create the defining feminist statement of the year. Everything is so acutely detailed that you might get distracted by the immersion into the world. The colors are in technicolor splendor, the clothes are beautifully retro and the acting is purposefully stilted that requires levels of acting that Brad Pitt will never reach. Yet, underlying all this is a story of a woman, a witch, who because of societal pressures keeps changing to what a man wants. She is the fantasy of every man but no man ever becomes the subject of her fantasy. In a genre that is often defined by superficial satisfactions of the id, Biller is able to create a nuanced film while not only embracing all the idiosyncrasies of a form from a bygone age, but by upending them.

Movies that follows the day in the life of its protagonists that eventually leads to drunken screaming and crying

Blue Jay, Krisha

The way people get excited about Marvel Movies is the way I get excited by the latest Mark Duplass joint. His latest film is a micro-budget film with Sarah Paulson that follows the familiar trope of two people walking and talking for a day that had been perfected by Linklater in the “Before Trilogy.” But, what it does with that trope is create an intimate film about lost love that becomes unpredictable. You question why are two central characters are doing what they are doing until the end makes it crystal clear. “Blue Jay” deserves to be watched twice just for the nuances that Paulson is able to portray that will not be clear the first time through. As if anyone needs any reminder that Sarah Paulson was a great actress.

In another micro-budget indie, Trey Edward Shults’ first feature does not even have any actors of note in it. In fact, everyone in the film is played by members of his own family about a story that is based on events from his life.  “Krisha” is truly a family affair. Everyone knows the anxiety of coming back home for a big family dinner. Here, Shults films it as if it was a sweeping epic film. The way Terrence Malick films the fields in “Days of Heaven,” is how Shults moves his camera through the big open house as Krisha comes back home after stints in rehab. To call Krisha self-destructive will be an understatement. Here Stults captures moments of family that feels too close to home. With specificity comes relatability; Krisha prepares herself before she goes into the house, children running around with no care for the adult conversations, courtesy small talks with family members who no one cares for. In the end, it is the conflict of hope and shame family has for Krisha that makes the film unforgettable.

Movies in which Adam Driver plays a character who is unsure of himself

Silence, Paterson

Quentin Tarantino has always said that he was afraid about the complacency old age might bring him with his directing. Well, Martin Scorsese has not grown complacent. With “Silence,” Scorsese proves to be as vibrant, self-reflexive and edgy as he was in the 70’s. This film will be the definitive mark of his greatness. “Silence,” is the nearly three-hour epic about Jesuit priests facing persecution for their faith in Japan. The film becomes a meditation of faith in all kinds of obstacles. And as an early-twenties American living in the 21st century with no religion to call my own, I identified with the plight of the people longing for Catholicism and the priests that bring them. Scorsese creates a total cinema that is more sensory than any artificial 4D can create. The theater melts away and you become immersed in 17th century Japan. The first two hours are physically brutal but the genius is with the emotionally brutal last hour when the form of storytelling changes, ending in a beautiful final shot.

Best dog of the year goes to the now departed Marvin, whose presence in “Paterson” puts him in the pantheon of great dogs in cinema alongside Toto and Uggie from “The Artist.” I don’t know how to explain this film to people except to say that it is the exactly what you expect from Jim Jarmusch. He has not made a film like this in a while; a poetic meditation of a bus driver in Paterson, New Jersey. Much of this film was influenced by the poetry of William Carlos Williams and the film moves like a poem. There is a structure but not a traditional story structure. The film ambles along like a NJ Transit bus and characters move in and out. Adam Driver as Paterson warns at one point, before he reads his poems, that it does not rhyme. I feel like I have to preface this film the same way. But, I like my films like that. Jarmusch instead populates the film with colorful characters, including a couple that cyclically fights and breaks up and a gang in a convertible warning about dog-jackers.

Documentaries that subvert the form

Kate Plays Christine, Cameraperson

I love meta explorations into the form of films and why we watch them. So, to see Robert Greene continue to question why people watch film while also making his audiences question what is real brings me pure bliss. Here, Greene follows actress Kate Lyn Sheil as she prepares to play Christine Chubbuck, a real-life reporter who committed suicide on live television in the 70’s. There is no role for Sheil, just the process. But, through the process in which we see her try to get into the head of a person who suffered through manic depression, Greene and Sheil begin to question our obsession with these figures. Chubbuck fought against the increasing exploitation of violence on the news and her senseless violence has since made her into a cult figure that has seen people desperately searching for the video of her death like it is the holy grail. It’s unclear what parts of “Kate Plays Christine” is real but the questions certainly are.

What we learn from that film and “Cameraperson” is the camera is inherently subjective. We see what the camera person wants us to see. And we know based on what images are put together and what sequence they come in. Kristen Johnson has been a longtime cinematographer for some of the greatest documentarians from Michael Moore to Laura Poitras. Through those films, she has saved plenty of footage and compiled a film that is a diary of sorts. Through the montage of out of context footage, we get a story of who Johnson is, despite the fact that we barely see Johnson. The only times we do is when she shows footage of her mom and she documents her struggles through Alzheimer’s. It is an amazing way of presenting self and highlighting the power of the form. Also, it is strangely satisfying to see the philosopher, Derrida, casually crossing a street in Manhattan.

Movies in which little trinkets given to the main character serves as important character development

Kubo and the Two Strings, American Honey

Laika takes a Studio Ghibli approach to filmmaking. Their films take time and persistence to make, not just because of their intricate animation style but because so much attention is put to little humane moments. Animation has the distinct advantage of being able to do the impossible, but the best of animation comes when the human moments are recreated amongst the impossible. “Kubo” is Laika’s crowning achievement in their young history and it is a shame that more people did not see it. It’s an exploration of grief and how people deal with it but it never stops being a children’s film. It achieves the sublime beauty of storytelling and art. This the type of movie that kids will be drawn to because of its beauty and action and watch again to realize the complexity of emotions it is tackling with. Here as an unnecessary dig, “Kubo and the Two Strings” does more for the genre of animation than all of Illumination films combine.

9. Nightcrawler

In his last few films, Jake Gyllenhaal has been on a creative hot streak due to finding a good collaboration with a variety of filmmakers. Here he is working with first time filmmaker, long time screenwriter, Dan Gilroy. For his first feature, Gilroy directs Nightcrawler assuredly, take influences from the neo-noir style of Michael Mann, lavishing in the LA’s nighttime cityscapes and synthpop. Although the commentary on broadcast news has been done before with Network and Broadcast News, the magnetic nature of the film anchored by Gyllenhaal’s performance is hard to resist. Gyllenhaal as Lou Bloom is more sociopathic in a Patrick Bateman way, saying more about the type of people who succeed in business than it does about news. Very rarely does the film set place in the day time and that darkness haunts the film just as it did me when I left the theater.

8. Boyhood

There have been enough think pieces, awards and accolades that have expressed why Boyhood is one of the best films of the year. What I can do is express how it made me feel. While it is a film about a white teenage boy, it made me feel closer to my mother. The power of Boyhood is that it was able to be universal without generalizing and condescending. The mother, played wonderfully by Patricia Arquette is both my mother and not. They captured a feeling in Arquette’s character that made me realize could be an inkling into my own mother; a feeling and expression that I have never been able to put my finger on beforehand. This film is great because it is a Rorschach Test. Every person has come out of this film taking different things from it because it is so expansive. And that ambition by Richard Linklater is going to keep this film lingering on the consciousness of cinema for years to come.

7. Life Itself

This documentary is probably the most personal film on the top list for me. The film is well made but even if it was terrible I am not sure I would have been able to critically evaluate this film objectively. Life Itself is Steve James’ documentary on the influential film critic Roger Ebert. What surprised me about this film is how much it was allowed to reveal about Ebert. This is an authorized biographical film, as James had help from both Chaz and Roger in the film. But, the film did not shy away from Ebert’s critics, saying that he devalued the film criticism medium by simplifying it to “Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down”, and Ebert’s own alcoholism. The film also unflinchingly looked at Ebert’s struggles with cancer as it captured his final months and unfortunately the only film we see him reviewing is the terrible A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III. By the end of the film I was sobbing because Ebert was truly a hero of mine and probably the first hero of mine to have gone. James really captures his importance and more importantly his spirit and love for the movies.

6. Whiplash

I first heard of Damien Chazelle after seeing Chicago Tribune’s Michael Phillips’ top ten list a few years ago in which he lauded Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench. As one critic put it, the film was a wonderful combination of “Cassavetes in a Jacques Demy musical”. I loved that film and the young Chazelle became a filmmaker that I knew I have to look out for. This is just a convoluted way for me to brag, “Hah, I knew about this up and coming director first”. Whiplash was a really great film. It is less a movie a about music as it is a movie about achieving greatness. The two central characters feed off each other in a Mellvillian type of relationship. They are both obsessed with musical genius that is literally killing Miles Teller. In a year in which we have biopics about people who are achieved greatness from one scene through the next without process, this film really shows the downside of that dynamic. The ending is a litmus test thanks to the smartly placed ambiguity that really gives a sharp crescendo to the whole film. Chazelle paces his film like a musician and it is wonderful to watch.

5. We Are the Best!

This Swedish film is about three preteen Swedish girls from the 1980’s trying to start a punk rock band and I felt like they were telling my story and I am a college aged Asian American of this millennium. We Are the Best! and Boyhood both captures the age of their protagonists really well. Here the three central characters get into petty fights over boys, complain about things as nonsensical as sports and find a passion in something they are not particularly good at. It’s a beautiful sentiment to film. This is truly a coming of age film in which the character is still exploring who they are by trying to be different. That is the most punk rock thing about them. The Swedish girls start a rock band but they are terrible at it which perfectly encapsulates the mood of punk and adolescence. More importantly, this film, like punk rock, is fun and endearing. I love Bobo.

4. The Tale of Princess Kaguya

A lot of people have been complaining about The Lego Movie being snubbed from the animated film category at the Oscars but I was dancing for joy because they were able to recognize the wonderful The Tale of Princess Kaguya. The film is directed by isao Takahata of Graves of the Fireflies fame. It is a beautifully crafted piece that comes straight out of the imagination of Studio Ghbili. This film really proves why hand drawn animation is still the best. The backgrounds are beautiful water color landscapes and there is one dream sequence in which the film devolves into streaks and lines that is one of the best films of the year. The film is split into three parts, forming something akin to a three course meal. Each part comes at us wonderfully blending together into a movie about living up to your parent’s expectations. This is Takahata’s first film for the animation studio in 15 years and he still knows how to manipulate the audience emotions. Maybe I shouldn’t use the word manipulation because he earns every single tear that is shed. This is a movie that could be shown to children and adults but not in the condescending way that bad mid 2000’s Dreamworks was. He does so by creating three dimensional characters with stakes and emotions. By the time Buddha comes down from the heavens, you had to struggle to hold back the tears.

3. Selma

Selma is the rare biopic or historical film that really captures process. Too often this year, the other films like The Imitation Game skipped out on the process on how their central character becomes the person they are. In one moment Alan Turing is thinking of the code cracking machine and then suddenly a smash cut to the machine running. Selma does things differently and in doing so pay respect to the importance of all the people involved in the Selma marches as well as demystifying Martin Luther King. It is too easy to have a figure of King as this icon because that is what he is. But, in that process he is not human. He is simply the person who had fought for Civil Rights and got it while going to jail a few times. This film sees all the politicking, struggle and pain involved with civil disobedience. It is not easy to contain anger in such a hostile environment and Ava DuVernay so deftly captures the pain in watching other people get physically harmed. There has been controversy about LBJ being villainized in the film but that is further from the truth. He is shown as a politician who cares but has many problems to deal with while King only had this struggle to focus on. This dynamic is brilliantly captured on film. Selma is the beautiful example of Hollywood mythmaking while still staying true to reality. Selma is a film about the past but a film of the moment and is the most important American film of 2014.

2. Like Father Like Son

I compared Love is Strange to Ozu earlier in this piece but the clear descendant of Ozu is the Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda. His film from 2014 was Like Father Like Son and it is a great film. The plot in any other hands would become a sickening drama with too much score and condescending attitudes. But, Koreeda is deft at what he does. He lets the emotions of each scene linger. His character process each new information or awkward moment. The film is about the model Japanese family who finds out that their son was switched at birth with another child. Koreeda focuses on the central conflict of whether or not being a son means being born or being raised. The characters struggle with that too. Koreeda never gives a clear answer, instead lets his characters play out. It is up to the audience to decide. Like Ozu, Koreeda is very minimalist in his scenes. His shots are calculated and there is at no point do you feel that you are not being handled with tenderness. By the end, I felt that emotional clump in the center of my chest because the movie is beautiful. Parenthood is more complicated than nature vs nurture and that makes it beautiful.

1. Force Majeure

 12.The Babadook

 Great horror films often serve as allegories for something more universal. Jennifer Kent decided to make her film about the struggles of grief and single motherhood because after the third sleepless night of taking care of a child, that child will begin to become a monster as well. Anchored by a strong central performance by Essie Davis, Kent really makes the film unpredictable by changing the source of the monster. Single motherhood is scary enough on its own but add a shadowy figure with a top hat brings it horrifying.

 13. Blue Ruin

 Jeremy Saulnier wanted to make No Country for Old Men but with an incapable protagonist. The result is a wonderful thriller that has the Coen Brothers-esque humor intact. Blue Ruin’s entire premise is that of a standard revenge film done by a regular person led by the more than capable Macon Blair. But, rather than a comedic farce, although it still has those moments including one involving an arrow, Saulnier is able to find a wonderful balance of melancholy and humor. Either way, this is the revenge thriller that proves that all the tired retreads are simply boring because of incompetence because when done with passion and skill, you will get something like Blue Ruin.

 14. Calvary

 The first scene in Calvary is probably one of the best scenes in the year. It is a simple close up shot of Brendan Gleeson’s face, as a priest in a confessional, as he receives some interesting information from the person that is confessing. That person is going to kill him in seven days. What movie has a better cold open then that? What follows is a contemplative character piece about the necessity of priesthood as the moral center for this town with a lack of. Some may find that to be didactic but this is directed by John Michael McDonagh. He is subtle with his themes while adding on the forefront dirty language and stylized dialogue. It is a surprisingly potent combination.

 15. Chef

 I love films that are black and white about the meaning of life in which there is approximately 20 lines of dialogue with beautiful scenery, dissolves and general cinematic innovation. Then there are films like Chef. This is simply just a pleasant, fun film. There is food porn, great music and fun performances all around led by the director and writer Jon Favreau. Besides a slight foray into commentary that without a doubt is a commentary on Hollywood, Favreau just creates a pleasurable film that is sometimes desperately needed.

 16. Citizenfour

Rather than making a film reflecting on the NSA and Edward Snowden affair, Laura Poitras had the rare opportunity to be making her film during the whole duration of the happenings.  This is as close to a primary document we can have about this situation and will become a standard companion to the history books. It’s also a great film. The stakes are high and the danger is real. Each phone call feels likes a life or death tense situation way more than any Bourne film. Poitras’ film is one of the most important films of the last decade.

 17.Dear White People

 Justin Simiean’s first feature is a fresh voice that gets to a matter of the race issue that is sometimes overlooked. It starts from a place as moldable as college in which being a part of a group is so important and what is an easier way to formulating a grouping, a tribal formation as race. Simiean makes poignant observations of the role of race in belonging as well as the affects of micro aggression in a college setting. His voice loud and powerful owes as much to Ingmar Bergman and Woody Allen as he does to Spike Lee. In a year with turbulent race issues as 2014 Dear White People is the satirical media that was needed.

18. Finding Vivian Maier

 I have an affinity for documentaries about artists, especially niche artists. Vivian Maier is that type of personality. She was not a famous person in life as she worked as a nanny to survive but her hobby was to take incredible photographs. It also helps that this film is essentially a mystery trying to discover this gem of an artist only made famous by death. She was an eccentric, an abuser and most importantly, enigmatic. This is a terrifically tight documentary that proves that sometimes documentaries can be better than fiction.

 19. Godzilla

 Godzilla is the big summer blockbuster that I could stand behind. The characters are just drawn out enough, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is just enough or a person to support what this film is really about; motherfucking Godzilla. Director Gareth Edwards uses to his full advantage anticipation, leaving the audience longing to see Godzilla. And then when the King of All Monsters reveals himself it is an orgasmic moment of action and beautiful cinematography. This is my favorite blockbuster of the year.

 20.The Immigrant

 James Gray’s The Immigrant is a call back to old fashion melodrama and it is wonderfully over the top. Marion Colltiard is operating on a high level of emotions that matches perfectly with the sentiment of superficial American Dream. This is another piece of work that knows what it is, harkening back to the melodramas of Douglas Sirk, masking the resonant issues of the struggles of immigration with some lewd entertainment. It is also a look at the downfall of a self-made man in the Joaquin Phoenix character which is a theme for this year in movies.  

 21. Only Lovers Left Alive

 Only Jim Jarmusch could make a vampire film like this. In dealing with creatures that have eternal life, Jarmusch explores the nature of art, both as a producer and as a consumer. The artist, Hiddleston, is a tortured soul who is on the verge of vampiric suicide. The consumer, Tilda Swinton, is a happy go lucky type of person who believes in human potential. Add on the classic themes found in all Jarmusch films about culture clash and alienation then there is a vampire movie that I could believe in. It’s a beautifully nuanced film that more people should see.

 22. Snowpiercer

 Bong Joon-Ho really made a masterwork in science fiction and world building with Snowpiercer. Filled with fun performances from Tilda Swinton to Alison Pill, he infuses each train with a different type of setting. Although the message could be a little didactic and on the nose, it is indicative of the film’s style in order to create substance mantra. This is the type of film that really puts a damper on all the droll Hollywood blockbusters for not being creative or at least filled with passion as Bong Joon-Ho did with Snowpiercer.

  23. Two Days One Night

 Two Days, One Night, like all the other Dardenne Brothers films, follow a simple premise; Marion Colltiard, a mother and wife who is suffering from depression has to ask all her co-worker to vote for her to keep their job in lieu of forgoing their bonus. The key to this film is minimalist style and Colltiard’s performance. There is very little soundtrack to this film but as she goes to the next coworker the tension is ramped up. Even better is that the Dardennes are just making these profound films about humanism which always connect with my heart.

 24. Under the Skin

 Not only is Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin is a film that stops you in its tracks but it has also produced some of the best film writing for the year. Very rarely is each scene as memorable as the next, from the first black pool sequence to the beach and the baby. The film plays as a reversal of gender roles in the predatory sense as Scarlett Johansson continues her streak of good film roles. This film plays well in a double feature with Her as this film as both films feature a non human entity finding it as the film progresses. Glazer has created an original piece of sci-fi that should be rewatched.

 25. Winter Sleep

The first big film roles for Pine was in “Chick” flicks. He played the love interest for Anne Hathaway in Princess Diaries 2 and the love interest for Lindsay Lohan in Just My Luck. Both of these roles were entirely thankless roles in which he just had to be a pretty face in a wish fulfillment fantasy. But, after Just My Luck and before Star Trek, Pine was virtually unrecognizable as a crazed assassin in Smokin’ Aces. He had a manic energy in that film and it is the same that he continues to show in Horrible Bosses 2 and Stretch.

His three films this year are a play on the same character. He, on the outset is a handsome man, but on the inside is completely different than what is perceived. In Horrible Bosses 2 and Stretch he plays a rich, unpredictable sociopath, allowing him to not be the lead and play supporting player. Into the Woods, him in an ensemble, is him playing on the trope of the Prince Charming, a character he has played before. This tongue in cheek performance is exactly just him playing handsome. In the musical number “Agony” he egregiously rips open his shirt to display his chiseled chest. The musical number is amazingly shot as a display of masculinity.

I am fascinated by this Chris Pine. I believe he is less like Baldwin but more like Brad Pitt. If you look at the early stages of Brad Pitt’s career, he was a thankless pretty boy. But, you get a sense that he longed for more. He did roles like 12 Monkeys, Burn After Reading and Snatch which allowed him to play crazy and try to earn him some acting street cred. In Fight Club, he works because Tyler Durden is almost a play on the masculine ideal that Brad Pitt represents. But, in between those films, Pitt plays the pretty boy leading actor in something like Meet Joe Black, Seven Years in Tibet and Spy Game.

DuVernay’s film is not necessarily about Martin Luther King, the figure. Instead is about the struggle that it takes to formulate a movement and protest. Like Spielberg’s Lincoln, the film focuses on the pressure and politics surrounding the historical event. In this case, it is about the famous march from Selma to Birmingham in 1965 in order to get the Voting Rights Act to pass.

Selma’s power comes from the immediacy of the actions that occurs in the film. You feel the tension and the pent up rage of all the African Americans featured in the film. Take a look at the first three scenes that DuVernay tightly plays with. These scenes help situate the context of the film. The opening scene takes place in Sweden in which David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for his Civil Rights work. The second is of four little girls talking about Coretta Scott King’s hair like little school children do. DuVernay sets you at a lull as you are introduced to these girls. She cuts a montage of their hands, feet, and all of them together as they go down the stairs of their church. And then a bomb goes off. We all know the story Church Bombing that killed those girls but she doesn’t telegraph it or let a news clipping describe it or see the bomb go off at a distant. No, she lets us know these girls for a while. The next scene is of Oprah Winfrey playing Annie Lee Cooper. She plays hesitant as she tries to register for a vote. She is nervous and her speak quivers but she is strong. But, of course, due to unfair rules she is denied once again her right to vote.

The reason I wanted to talk about these three scenes that opens the movie is because of what it serves for the picture. We never see Annie Lee Cooper directly talk to King. King mentions the bombing once or twice. But, that’s because they serve as a way to set up the context of the film and create something outside of King himself. Too often movies about great individuals have characters that only serve the person rather than serve the purpose. In The Imitation Game there is no gravity to what the codebreakers are doing. We see at one point planes being shot at and people hiding in bomb shelters, but those are unnamed people. One character conveniently has a brother on a ship that is going to be bombed. But, this character is so secondary to the story that his only purpose is to serve as superficial stakes for the character.

In Selma you feel all of the stakes are high because DuVernay does not shy away from the people involved or the hard work it takes. You see SCLC, not just Martin Luther King, discuss the planning and strategies, weighing all the possibilities. Then there is the police brutality. Like last year’s 12 Years a Slave, the director juxtaposes the beauty of the composition with the brutality of the violence. And she does not shy away from the violence, allowing each blow of the club to be as impactful as possible.

The portrayal of King is a nuanced one as well. There is glorification of King here. The relationship between King and Coretta Scott is one of the most nuanced relationships in this film. Their love is without a doubt but strained in understandable ways. The matriarch is beaten by the emotional tolls of being married to a leader of the Civil Rights Leader as much as the protesters were beaten by the police. Their relationship feels like a being wrinkled and worn with stress. Death also looms every moment King is onscreen. It is mentioned often because his end is known by everyone. Yet, it is never more than a sad shadow that looms over the great orator. It gives each scene even more tension because of it.