Halfway: Top Ten (Thus Far) and Best of Miscellania
Tuesday, July 7, 2015 at 10:07PM ½way mark - part 7 of 9
It's list time. [cue catchy as yet unwritten TFE jingle here]. We're nearly done with our "halfway mark - year in review" festivities so here is the top ten pictures and a few more Oscar-ish lists for good measure this fine Tuesday.
Top Ten (Thus Far)
in order of official release in 2015
-You know there are people in this world who go on first dates that are perfectly fine and then they wait awhile before they engage sexually.
-That's disgusting."
Appropriate Behavior (USA) d. Desiree Akhavan
Jan 16th (Screened in January 2014)
Laugh out loud funny and encouragingly specific, it's a shame this Iranian American LGBT romantic comedy didn't break out bigger. It's available for full as a purchase/rental on YouTube.
Shhhh."
'71 (UK) d. Yann Demange.
Feb 27th (Screened in September 2014)
One of the scariest movies I've ever seen, full stop. Jack O'Connell wholly believable as a soldier abandoned in the projects during The Troubles, terrified for his life.
Of Horses and Men (Iceland) d. Benedikt Erlingsson
Mar 11th (Screened in November 2013 - Iceland's 2013 Oscar Submission)
It only took a year and half to make it to the States, but this extremely strange tragicomedy (?) about men and their horses is totally memorable. Somehow, despite expert direction and a unique fully formed sensibility, it's a debut feature?!?
7 more pictures after the jump...
Are you looking for this?
Cinderella (UK) d. Kenneth Branagh
Mar 13th
So ridiculously lux! And since the tale is so familiar the visuals better be eye-popping. On the heels of the often lazy and poorly conceived Maleficent, Disney surprisingly aced their first in a series of attempts to do straight live-action versions of their most famous animated classics. Next up Beauty & The Beast.
What do I need to do to make you admire me. Do I think too much? Huh? Am I too classical? Not liberated like JoAnn?
Clouds of Sils Maria (France) d. Olivier Assayas.
Apr 10th. (Screened in November 2014)
Like Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche), Sils Maria gets trapped in its own head too often but it's still a riveting actressy duet (until it isn't - damn that Majola Snake!) about time, intimacy, the acting process, cultural relevancy, and more.
Ex Machina (USA) d. Alex Garland
Apr 24th.
I don't want to talk about this one anymore until I have a chance to revisit it -- dvd release on July 14th -- but that still above is a seismic and mysterious moment
HE LOOKED AT ME !!! He looked right at me!"
Mad Max Fury Road (Australia) d. George Miller
May 15th
George Miller, still an exuberant iconoclast at 70, schools nearly all of mainstream Hollywood in how to make an action epic. Non stop invention, iconic visual presentation of characters, insanely-well sustained energy, unexpected character beats, weird sideways humor, breath-taking stunts, and real emotional stakes -- not empty "end of the world" CGI mayhem. Popcorn almost never tastes this good. [Full Review]
I'm happy to hear that you're doing fine."
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (Sweden) d. Roy Andersson
June 3rd (Screened in September 2014)
Those long static shots, which get funnier and funnier the more closely you look at them. The sheer absurdity of the tableaus, the repetitions of human folly. The precision and invention of the brutally funny-sad jokes. Andersson is a one of a kind treasure. I regret to inform that this was my first Andersson so I'll be seeking out the others [More from TIFF].
I must have watched this 15 times now because What.The.Fuck?!? I almost put it up on YouTube."
Spy (USA) d. Paul Feig
June 5th
Like most of the key comedy filmmakers of contemporary Hollywood, Feig hasn't yet figured out that comedies should be edited tightly (Bridesmaids, The Heat, Spy all clock in around 2 hours --they're all good and funny but they'd truly ascend with 10-20 minutes shaved off) BUT we're here to celebrate. Feig is three-for-three now with his McCarthy films, which leaves us very excited about what they might do with Ghostbusters. Spy gives all of its actors fun scenes to play, delivers multiple inspired bits, sparks with great co-star chemistry, and manages a genuinely high laugh-per-minute ratio.
These are Riley's memories and they're mostly happy you'll notice, not to brag."
Inside Out (USA) d. Pete Docter
June 19th
Recently discussed on the podcast -- I'm eager to see it again for so many reasons but isn't it lovely that Pixar finally managed a female driven picture post Brave that everyone is responding to so fully? And isn't it silly that people continually doubt that stories about girls can feel as universal as stories about boys?
OTHER LISTS
Consider these starter prep lists for the future Film Bitch Awards (with many more films to threaten their dominance still on the way!) as well as FYCs for awards voters of any stripe.
Director
Roy Andersson is one of Mike Leigh's favorite directors. If you haven't seen his work, you MUST
- Roy Andersson, A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
- Pete Docter, Inside Out
- Benedikt Erlingsson, Of Horses & Men
- Alex Garland, Ex Machina
- George Miller, Mad Max Fury Road
Original Screenplay
- Clouds of Sils Maria
- Dope
- Ex Machina
- I'll See You In My Dreams
- Inside Out
Adapted Screenplay
- Cinderella - nimble upgrades to the very old fairytale
- Far From the Madding Crowd - based on the Thomas Hardy
- Mad Max Fury Road - based on the franchise but steering off in new unexpected directions
- Paddington - based on the famous childrens book character
- Saint Laurent - on the life of the fashion designer
Cinematography
- '71 - Tat Radcliffe
- Ex Machina - Rob Hardy
- Futuro Beach - Ali Olcay Gözkaya
- Mad Max Fury Road - John Seale
- Saint Laurent - Josées Deshaies
Production Design
- Cinderella - Dante Ferretti
- Ex Machina - Mark Digby
- Far From Madding Crowd - Kave Quinn
- Mad Max Fury Road - Colin Gibson
- Tomorrowland - Scott Chambliss
Costume Design
- Cinderella - Sandy Powell
- Far From Madding Crowd - Janet Patterson
- Mad Max Fury Road - Jenny Beavan
- Saint Laurent - Anäis Romand
- Spy - Christine Bieselin Clark
Editing
- '71 - Chris Wyatt
- Ex Machina - Mark Day
- Futuro Beach - Isabela Monteiro de Castro
- Mad Max Fury Road -Jason Ballantine & Margaret Sixel
- Magic Mike XXL - Mary Ann Bernard (aka Steven Soderbergh)
Visual Effects
- The Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Ex Machina
- Jurassic World
- Mad Max Fury Road
- Tomorrowland
Makeup and Hair
- The Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Cinderella
- Far From the Madding Crowd
- Mad Max Fury Road
- Spy
Score
- Blackhat - Harry Gregson-Williams, Atticus Ross, etcetera
- Cinderella - Patrick Doyle
- Far From the Madding Crowd - Craig Armstrong
- I'll See You In My Dreams - Keegan DeWitt
- Inside Out - Michael Giacchino
I can't make a full list so I will happily, nay, greedily devour your choices if you have other suggestions. Scoring is still the toughest film art for me to judge. Sometimes I have to will myself into paying attention to so it helps if I have seen the film more than once or give the tracks a spin without the film.
Sound Mixing
- Blackhat
- Cinderella
- Ex Machina
- Love & Mercy
- Mad Max Fury Road
Sound Editing
- The Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Blackhat
- Ex Machina
- Mad Max Fury Road
- Tomorrowland
25 MOVIES I MISSED
Since I've been sharing my favorites in various categories from the 50ish movies I've seen thus far (released this year), it's only fair to tell you what I have NOT seen from the year's releases. You can't see everything but nevertheless I will hear your pleas for which of these I need to catch up with in the comments.
Age of Adaline, The Boy Next Door, Chappie, Child '44, Danny Collins, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, The Duke of Burgundy, Eastern Boys, Focus, Furious 7, Girlhood, Heaven Knows What, It Follows, Madame Bovary, The Overnight, The Riot Club, Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Slow West, Ted 2, Testament of Youth, Welcome to Me, What We Do In The Shadows, While We're Young, White God, and The Wolfpack
Previously at the Halfway Mark
pt. 1 Oscar Chart Updates - Acting
pt. 2 10 Best Leading Performances
pt. 3 Best & Worst in Animation
pt. 4 Most Ubiquitous - Alicia Vikander
pt. 5 Oscar Chart Updates - Picture
pt. 6 Best Supporting Performances
Reader Comments (34)
I strongly recommend It Follows, Duke of Burgundy and While We're Young.
Oh, and I wish I had time for things like Boy Next Door because it looks so fun, but priorities. But since you manage more movies than me, see that one, too. Live, Nathaniel.
And I agree that still from Ex Machina brings back all the feelings.
I'll gladly backup Mike's recommendations for It Follows and While We're Young (haven't seen Duke of Burgundy yet). I thought both Age of Adeline and Focus were dumb, glitzy fun and you absolutely MUST see Girlhood. I'd also love to know how you feel about Blackhat.
I doooo nottttt get any of the critical love for Cinderella. My brain cannot wrap around it. Obviously La Blanchett is human perfection but to me everything else was so uninspired and lacking in personality. I concede that Sandy Powell was at the top of her game but OY at the screenplay and direction
Did you see Girlhood? It's one of my favorites so far this year. I think it's the kind of movie you might enjoy, so I was surprised it wasn't on the list.
I haven't seen Appropriate Behavior, so I must catch up asap!
So happy to see some love for Appropriate Behavior. It's definitely a movie that deserves a wider audience.
I actually think the score is one of the factor that makes me love Mad Max so much (although admittedly there are many other things that made it stand out as well), as it's loud and energetic, and in my opinion it pushes the plot forward in many of the occasions.
On, Cinderella. Yeah the costumes were grand and Blanchett was fun, but other than that, it was pure mediocrity in my book.
Yes, do see It Follows! I should catch Girlhood also...
I've been good with MoviePass this year: my top five would be It Follows, Mad Max, Ex Machina, Inside Out, and Spy, and the rest of the ten are probably White God (also highly recommended but brutal), I'll See You In My Dreams, Testament of Youth, Love & Mercy, and The Overnight... Clouds of Sils Maria would be an iffy near miss.
I need to see that pigeon movie...
The few things I'm truly excited about in a year-end kind of way are Ex Machina in general, Fury Road's direction and craft/techs, Inside Out sort of (though I think I'm cooler on it than most, which is to say I'm not obsessed with it), Juliette Binoche, Blythe Danner, the Spy ensemble, the song from I'll See You In My Dreams (is it original?? the score was not particularly memorable for me but that song was lovely), and the It Follows & Madding Crowd scores (so different and so exemplary).
Eastern Boys is initially infuriating, then confusing and ultimately more rewarding than I could have expected early on. But I was ready to walk out near the beginning. It's on Netflix Instant now, so you can avoid paying for it in case you can't stomach the first act.
The Overnight had some interesting ideas but in the end it's a mess. Not sure I would recommend it, though the acting is solid. A lot of the humor comes from the expectation that the audience will be a little prudish about certain things, but then the writing expects the opposite at odd moments. It ended up just not being all that successful.
While We're Young was really lovely. Great acting, interesting concepts and even when it veered toward a little cheesy, it did so in a charming way. This was Baumbach's best film overall for me - I know for a lot of people that will be Frances Ha, but this continues that charming streak.
I've heard nothing but great things about The Duke of Burgundy, but I haven't gotten there yet either. Same goes for It Follows. I thought Slow West was a snooze.
The films you should check out (that I've seen) are "Girlhood", "White God", "While We're Young", "Slow West' and my fav on the list, "The Overnight". I'm a sucker for a good sex comedy.
I think this year's only masterpiece so far in Blackhat. It's everything we love about Michael Mann, desperately romantic, visually ambitious and character-driven.
I've felt this already about Miami Vice, and now again with Blackhat. Mann is the closest thing to Wong Kar-Wai America can reach.
Love it.
Watch It Follows! It's just excellent. Really great list here, I especially love the inclusion of Spy - I love all Feig/McCarthy collaborations but this one is my favorite.
Girlhood is definitely one of my favourites of the year, so I echo everyone else there. Just as assured as Tomboy and generous towards its characters in ways that really take it in some interesting directions.
I'd also say It Follows (I'm the same as you in that I find it hard to focus on a film's score, but you won't have that problem here). The film feels like Sofia Coppola was tasked with remaking Halloween. Eastern Boys is also very interesting, with one of the year's most electric supporting performances from Daniil Vorobyov.
I really didn't take to While We're Young, which falls apart rather drastically towards the end and doesn't really know what to do with its women characters, but Naomi Watts makes a very good fist out of it, and it's sort of interesting in the ways it fails. The friends I went to see it with couldn't stop picking it apart afterwards, so there's that.
Never even heard of Of Horses And Men, but that image alone completely sells me. Can't wait to see, thank you!
I haven't seen Pigeon, Ex-Machina or Inside Out - looking forward to all three.
But of what I've seen so far, my Top 10 US releases would be
1. Jauja - which is funny, because after Los Muertos, I had every intention to pretend Lisandro Alonso doesn't exist, but this film was so entrancing and enveloping it made me seek out all of his previous ones I avoided
2. The Salt of the Earth - deeply moving summary of a man whose entire life could be classified as a singular work of art
3. Girlhood - and it keeps rising in my estimation with afterthought, gorgeous rhythms and textures, and riveting character dynamics
4. Clouds of Sils Maria - clunky but endlessly absorbing, and I couldn't take my eyes off Binoche
5. Welcome to Me - Kristen Wiig just inspires more and more awe
6. Mad Max Fury Road - I wasn't quite as blown away as the rest of the world - in fact I found a lot of it incoherent - but definitely some great stuff in here
7. Spy
And I don't really wanna keep going after that.
GIRLHOOD (my number 1 of the year so far), Hungry Hearts, It Follows, Duke of Burgundy, Heaven Knows What, Cobain: Montage of Heck and - not joking - Unfriended would be my favourites of the films you haven't (I'm taking a punt on a couple of those despite you not listing them). You may also like Eastern Boys, although it does get a bit Crash-y towards the end.
Does this mean Amy gets to sit in the movie people section at the Golden Globes?
I'm not the first to say that you have to watch It Follows - but I'll glady repeat what others already have said!
And I'll add that you NEED to watch What We Do In the Shadows. It´s absolutely hilarious and one of a kind.
so no one has any suggestions for Best Score?
See Eastern Boys, It Follows, Slow West, and The Duke of Burgundy, dude. I don't think you'll be sorry about any of them.
Although... I know you're always more critical (I'm not implying this is a bad thing) of horror movies than I am since you're not as easily forgiving of its genre elements as I can be, so you might not forgive It Follows its clunkier elements, which are there. But I adore ben1283's statement that it "feels like Sofia Coppola was tasked with remaking Halloween." TOTALLY.
Of the ones which I've seen and you haven't, I'd definitely say that you must see Welcome to Me and Testament of Youth. The following are worth taking a look at: White God, The Overnight and While We're Young (which you will probably like more than I did, but then I really don't "get" Baumbach at all). Marigold 2 is worth seeing only if you really liked the first one. Finally, The Riot Club should be totally avoided; it's on my worst-of-the-year list, along with Aloha, Tomorrowland and L'enlèvement de Michel Houellebecq.
Oh I didn't realise Eastern Boys was released in the US this year - that's a good one too. A bit limited and self-conscious and just a tad wish-fulfilment-y but mostly pretty convincing and gripping. That would be in my Top 8.
My favorite movie of the year so far is Bruno Dumont's L'IL QUINQUIN, a brilliant black comedy about the bumbling detectives and towns people of a remote French town trying to solve a series of mysterious, possibly unsolvable murders. It's on Netflix now. Don't be put off by the 3 hour runtime - it's the fastest three hours you'll ever spend, and if that still sounds too daunting, the project originated as a French TV series and is broken up into easy to watch 40 minute episodes. Also, Nick Davis would totally have my back on this recommendation, if that helps anyone.
My other favorites from this year (in rough order of preference): Inside Out, Timbuktu, Jauja, Salt of the Earth, Mad Max, A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, Saint Laurent, Blackhat and What We Do in the Shadows.
It Follows! So good. Horror done right. With lots to analyze (I was already projecting my own thoughts about sex and the shame that lingers even tho the director said its not about anything deep like that). And the score is delightfully 80s synth-y. I actually looked it up back when I saw it and the director graduated from my school.
Also suggest Girlhood. It's on Netflix.
I'd love to hear your takes on It Follows, Duke of Burgundy, Girlhood, and White God. I think you'll find something to like in each one.
Also, it's the Maloja Snake. Such a sexy, mysterious name!
Should add: I strongly disliked The Tribe and imagine you would be turned off by its violence (it is absolutely ruthless) but given the strongly positive reaction to it, including from Nick Davis, I'd be interested to know your opinion on it.
Oh crap, Evan just reminded me - The Tribe should be #4 on my list. It's an amazing piece of pure cinema, but it is DEEPLY off putting content-wise.
Nathaniel, I think you would like It Follows more than me. I was a little cool on it because I was convineed by writers I trust that it was much more revolutionary than it was. It's a quiet, subtle indie driven by characters reacting to an absurd premise. Seems like your kind of horror.
"Duke of Burgundy" is top priority. A stunning example of pure cinema, much like "Under the Skin" of last year, it's completely evocative and has a unique poignancy to match. I can't wait to hear what you make of the great use of an all-female world, its use of eroticism without nudity, and it's use of "performance" within the film. It's nuanced and surprisingly funny and I can't imagine it won't leave its mark on the Film Bitch awards.
Bruno Dumont's L'IL QUINQUIN is a TV miniseries. It works so much better this way, since you have to digest its humor, than in one long sit.
Yay for Futuro Beach!
Even though I've watched 54 movies so far this year, only 14 are 2015 releases (Paddington, It Follows, What we do in the Shadows, Clouds of Sils Maria, Welcome to Me, Ex-Machina, Kurt Cobain, Mad Max, Jurassic World, Inside Out, Spy, Love and Mercy, Stray Dog and The Tribe).
My top 3 are:
3. It Follows: great, playful score, original premise even if it doesn't find the best way to sustain it at times. But an impressive achievement nonetheless.
2. Inside Out: it doesn't get more ambitious than this and whether it succeeds or not in veery aspect is almost irrelevant.
1. Stray Dog: Nothings beats a great documentary to me and the opportunity to get to know a human being deeply through the magic of editing.
Bottom 3:
3. Love and Mercy: inconsistent throughout. Paul Dane is very good (if not repetitive, because of the structure of most of his l his scenes), but Giamatti has never been so unbearable, the actors who play the father and Mike Love are awfully written and directed. I kept wanting to revisit Grace of My Heart because of its similarities (a fictionalized account of Carole King, played earnestly by Illeana Douglas) . It's a mess of a movie, but much more fun.
2.Jurassic World: I have honestly no positives on this one
1. The Tribe: Infuriatingly fake. Fake sex scenes, fake fights and a fake abortion (the angle of the tools are going upwards, not inwards). When you attempt realism and don't deliver on that front, that's just impossible to connect with anything or anyone. I didn't believe a second of it and the acting didn't help either.
I missed the call for original score suggestions. It Follows has a great score. I'm big on the scoring in Ted 2, too, though I understand any reluctance to recognize that film for anything. Mad Max: Fury Road is obvious since the score is so vividly incorporated into the action of the film. When Marnie was There has a lovely score, as Studio Ghibli films tend to have. I'm big on the Chappie score, but it's as polarizing as the film.
Dope has a good score, though I doubt it will stand up by the end of the year. Vendetta's in that category, too. The Human Centipede 3 also has pretty good scoring, but that's an unremarkable by the end of the year and a would you really recognize that film exception.
Cal: yes, it was, as noted, made as a TV series, but it played festivals and was released commercially in the US as a feature, and plays beautifully in that form.
I echo all the sentiments for It Follows being considered for Best Score.
My selections for original score so far are
Cinderella
Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
L for Leisure
One-Eyed Girl
Testament of Youth