A Decade of Films, 2018

We are at the penultimate! Which is great because I’ve pretty much closed in on my top 10 of 2019 (or at least as close as I will get until I manage to see certain hard-to-find things).

I did do a top 10 of 2018 this time last year, I don’t think I blogged it but it was definitely up on my Instagram and maybe Facebook.
But that doesn’t matter because this list is different!
Why? I’ve seen more of the 2018 films in the intervening year and, as I’ve had time and space to think on the films I saw earlier, surprising things have stuck with me while others have faded out a bit.

• A Quiet Place: A novel idea for a horror film, expertly executed. I’m looking forward to the sequel this year. Apart from the killer monsters with excellent hearing, it’s also about the importance of family, forgiveness, and sacrifice. And does anyone else have the hots for ingenuity in films? I love watching characters come up with resourceful solutions. It reminds me of when I obsessively read and reread Robinson Crusoe as a child.
• Hereditary: One of the best horror films of the modern era, more artful and deep than A Quiet Place.  It has a lot of shock value on the first watch but is so multi-layered that it really rewards rewatches and interpretation.  One of my favorite things about it is that even though the characters try to make the smart decisions, the non-stupid-horror-movie-character decisions, it’s not enough to save them.
• The Favourite: We talked about Yorgos Lanthimos yesterday, and, oh look, he made a psychologically twisted, erotically loaded costume drama. In other words, he made a film specifically for me.
• Spiderman: Into the SpiderVerse: It’s exciting, it’s fun, and it’s astoundingly beautifully animated.
• Bad Times at the El Royale: Weirdly prescient of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, down to similar soundtracks (Hush by Deep Purple is one of my favorite songs ever no lie), locations (Nevada/California), time periods (60s/70s), and plots (I see a murderous hippy cult leader).  But if what you associate with Tarantino is non-stop violent action, this one is more Tarantino-y, despite not being the Tarantino film. Quite weird, quite overlooked. Look for Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Bridges, Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, and Dakota Johnson.
• BlackKklansman: A suspenseful day comedy about a black man infiltrating the KKK. I’m going to marry both John David Washington and Adam Driver. And also Spike Lee. How was this only Spike Lee’s first Oscar win?
• Annihilation: A sci fi where the alien invader isn’t a ‘who’ so much as a ‘what’.  Centered on women. With beautifully disturbing visuals and jarring perils.
• To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before: A very warm and fuzzy-feeling teen drama that put Noah Centineo on the map. I believe this is another one that is getting a sequel this year.
• Game Night: Smart modern comedies are few and far between, but Game Night proves that when you get a good one it can be really really good.
• Upgrade: Wikipedia is describing this film as ‘cyberpunk action body horror’, which I’m not going to try to parse. Long story short, a paralyzed man goes on a revenge mission with a little help from a piece of implanted tech that allows him to move again- except of course that can’t be all that it does. Long story short, it’s excellent.
• Shoplifters: A Japanese drama film about the ties that bind a makeshift petty criminal family, it’s members assembled by need and necessity rather than by blood.  It pulls your heart in all the best ways.

Honorable Mentions: Bohemian Rhapsody, Black Panther, Crazy Rich Asians, The Hate U Give, If Beale Street Could Talk, First Man, Incredibles 2, Eighth Grade, Ca You Ever Forgive Me?, Tully, Searching, Wild Rose, American Animals, Blindspotting, The Tale, Girl.

Haven’t Yet Seen:

Review: Moviepass and Recent Movies

Moviepass and I have a love/hate relationship.  It is hard to rationally hate a program that allows you to see 4 movies a month (or a movie a day, depending o your plan) for a fraction of the regular cost.  And yet.
Most people who have Moviepass, myself included, still somehow manage it.

Why?
Because the customer service is straight out of the seventh circle of hell.  Imagine the speed of the DMV and the helpfulness of, well, something extremely unhelpful.

I’ll share my own personal story, but if you want details there are tons of anecdotes online of various customer service fails.

Having heard about Moviepass while in France, I was very excited to sign up when I returned to the US.  As I understood it, Moviepass was a risky business venture that would allow one to see a film a day for a fixed price (approximately $10).  My guess is that they operate this way in the hopes of raising theater attendance enough the theaters come to rely on the new influx of viewers, and are willing to give into Moviepass’ demands. A cut of the ticket or concessions sales, perhaps?
Anyway, I have no idea how that’s working for them or even if it is actually their planned course of action.

When I got back to the states Moviepass had just stopped offering one-a-day passes in favor of four movie a month passes and access to some radio channel.  The two plans are approximately the same price.  When I first saw this on the Moviepass website, I emailed asking if it were no longer possible to sign up for the film-a-day option.  After a week and a half with no answer, I subscribed to the only plan available to me- the four film a month one.  It has been just over a month since my account was activated (ten days later, when I received my card).  I have never used my radio account (as pretty much expected).  Maybe another week later, around the time I got the Moviepass card, I received an email back from a customer service representative, telling me that they had checked my account and I was subscribed to the four-film option. No shit, Sherlock. That’s because I didn’t receive a response for more than half a month.
Shortly thereafter, Moviepass beginning offering the unlimited option again. I emailed explaining my position and saying that I would like to switch plans.  After another rather extended wait, I was told that that was not recommended and that I could wait until my three months of plan had elapsed and then could switch.  If you cancel your plan before it is completed, you must wait something like nine months before you can sign up again.
So yes, Moviepass, super bad customer service.
Also, not my complaint, but the complaint of many others- they have a tendency to change the conditions of your contract without giving you the option to opt out, without forewarning, without any price change.
Meh.  It’s a first world problem to the tenth degree but it’s frustrating and rude.

Films I’ve seen since I got home:

No spoilers.

A Quiet Place: I wasn’t super into the trailer but heard so many good films I had to see it. They were all true, it’s amazing.  And worth seeing in a theater, the eerie and tense silence of everyone in the audience is a really interesting atmosphere.

Solo: Not so great, guys.

Deadpool 2: I liked Deadpool better, in large part because it was such a breath of fresh air and had never been done before. Of course, a sequel doesn’t have that advantage. The humor was still good, if you liked Deadpool the first you’ll probably like this, and it was a fun watch, but I don’t need to see it again.

Will You Be My Neighbor?: Mr. Rogers is a prince among men and we should all emulate him.

American Animals: I have very mixed feelings about this film and it’s subject: the true story of four college freshmen who plan and execute a heist on one of their campus’s rare book library.  They’re both disgustingly entitled and kind of sympathetic. The soundtrack is great.  Some interesting film and narrative choices are made that slow down the action and pull you out of the story a bit, but they ultimately make the film much more unique and interesting and give it more depth.

Hereditary: An amazing amazing film. Scary, yes. But there are so many layers to it, so many readings and so much subtle foreshadowing that you only notice in hindsight. Ultimately a viewing experience that left me feeling respected by all involved in the filmmaking process, which is pretty rare. And it’s a film for which close-watching really pays off. Like you feel rewarded watching it by all of the little ties you notice. Brilliant.

Coming up next?

Incredibles II.

 

Links and Things

After a short hiatus that coincided with finals period and stress and projects, I am back in the US of A and home in Boston where there are cats and vegan food and gardens that need working it.

And a smallish backlog of links.

• All about the three-person committee that approves (and rejects) baby names in Iceland.
• “When you’re feeling frisky, try slow dancing in your kitchen with a healthy twenty centimeters of clearance in between your torsos.” and other sex advice from a woman in a Cialis commercial.
• The Problem with “Not Caring” about Pop Culture: relevant, revolutionary stories can come from anywhere — even a makeover show.
• Insert Millennial joke about Etat Libre d’Orange making a fragrance specifically for me [here].
• Yale University advancing the science of smell.
• This short story made me tear up… nice to be given back some faith in humanity.
• Very extra background extras– even better than Part 1.
• Just over here learning about The Dutch Angle.
• The story tellers who read aloud to Cuban cigar rollers. Wow.
• The story of the pilot who landed the Southwest Airlines flight.
• Cardi B is changing how black women are pregnant in public.
• Eight decades of royal British corgis are at an end.
• An analysis of The Simpsons and the Problem with Apu. Just jump right in here at Part 2.
• And a whole lot of exciting trailers: Solo, The Meg, The Incredibles 2, Mary Shelley, Hot Summer Nights (Heyyy, Timothee Chalamet!), Hereditary, Three Identical Strangers.

Friday Links 2/2

Let’s just roll right in…

• A super powerful spoken word/poem by singer Halsey about sexual abuse.
• University of Washington says if you swat mosquitoes they may learn to avoid your scent. Can we put that in a perfume, please?
• Casey Affleck pulls out of presenting the best actress Oscar. Probably a good idea.
• But if Gary Oldman wins best actor, will he be the presenter backing out next year?
• There’s going to be a sequel to The Shining.
• “This is not normal.” Nutella riots hit France.
• Ten to watch from Sundance, courtesy of Alicia Malone! I’m super excited for a bunch of the new films. Possible list coming?
• Ignore the clickbait title. Instead: “There are a million ways to say no, and we need to stop ignoring them. We need to make “enthusiastic consent” our mantra and keep it in mind whenever we might have sex.” Read it.
• How Netflix personalizes its services for every person. Pretty intense.
• A great read: The female price of male pleasure.
• Is this going to be the big under the radar horror film of the year?
• There’s going to be a new royal baby (I missed this somehow)! British bookies are taking bets on baby names.
• I’ve been having a bit of imposter syndrome recently, and this piece on the ‘friendship complex’ was a reassuring read.
• Why people are eating tide pods? 1) I’m officially old, now that I’m having to google this kind of internet fad thing. 2) Gen Z is screwed.
• Two fashion industry tops under fire after a racial slur leads to the rediscovery of past homophobic and transphobic comments. Superficial apologies ensue.
• And to wrap up on a lighter note: Four teddy coats to look like a faceable Paddington Bear. As if Paddington wasn’t already incredibly sexy. Mmm, marmalade.