Friday
Feb032017
Podcast: Top Ten Lists
Friday, February 3, 2017 at 4:00PM 
Nick and Nathaniel and Joe compare their top ten lists for the year -- only two movies are on all three lists.
Index (42 minutes)
00:01 Nick & Nathaniel talk Fire at Sea, The Lobster, Right Now Wrong Then, La La Land, allergies to directors and "delight" at the movies
14:00 Joe joins in for The Witch, Little Men, Ixcanul, and Francophonia
23:00 Annette Bening's miracle performance and the bliss of watching 20th Century Women
28:30 More divisive films: The Handmaiden and American Honey
38:00 Things to Come and wrap-up
You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you?
Reader Comments (22)
Yaaas to 20th Century Women, The Lobster, and Moonlight. It's a damn shame that Roger Neill's evocative score (for 20th Century Women) wasn't nominated for an Oscar. It's right up there with Mica Levi's (for Jackie) and Nicholas Britell's (for Moonlight).
Nice to see there's so much overlap here, including in Joe and Nathaniel's acting nominees! I'd love to see Nick's too to see who'd make all three of your shortlists there.
Looking forward to this podcast. I'm just on my way home (London) after having seen a preview of 20th Century Women, which I really enjoyed, and then a live Q&A with Annette Bening, who was very eloquent about her work.
Hey, Nat, a suggestion... what if you considered the oscar foreign submissions for the calendar year. That way, you could nominate embrace of the serpent for 2015. Its just a suggestion, your top ten is amazimg and insightful nonetheless.
I am happy that joe included The invitation in his favorites.
The only movie that i missed being nominated is Krisha. Did the team experience not liked it?
Nathaniel, try watching Sang-soo Hong's film The Day He Arrives: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1922561/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Here is the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nuet1q58z8
Oddly the trailer is in colour, while the film is in black & white.
This is, arguably one of his best movies (along with Woman on the Beach, Night and Day, The Power of Kangwon Province, The Turning Gate, Night and Day).
He has made 22 films so far and because he is so prolific sometimes he makes turkeys like Oki's Movie and Hill of Freedom, & Like You Know It All.
Keyframe discusses The Day He Arrives here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsvkZtSbMtU
And Right Now, Wrong Then is very good as well.
I'm right there for all praise to The Lobster and The Handmaiden, movies that I'm dying to see again (and again and again...) Nick's words about Fire at Sea reminded me what's so great about it, and how important it's become lately.
But I was most interested by his description of Francofonia, which I saw and mostly hated, but now want to rewatch.
Nick - on point on Things to Come. My #1 of the year as weel.
Nathaniel, I'm elated you included Embrace of the Serpent. Thanks for being one of the few critics who didn't forget it come year-end.
And I hope this doesn't mean it's too late for Nick to release his Fifties, ha!
Awesome! I really need to see 20th Century Women.
Thanks so much, guys!
Love the enthusiasm for 20th Century Women. Sad to hear no mention of Elle!
I'm taking my ex to see both of them tomorrow. First time for them, fourth time seeing both of them for me!
Despite being one of the most trying times of our times politically and socially, 2016 is far and away my favourite film year this decade. And I still have a few films left to see before I assemble my final lists.
I'm sad that no one mentions Shia when discussing American Honey! I thought he was frankly remarkable.
Finally saw 20th Century Women. What a beautiful film.
I saw Elle last weekend and it only compounded my 20th Century Women grief.
Seriously—Elle is overlong, plodding, indulgent crap. I expected a taut, crackling, darkly comedic thriller. That's what critics set me up for, anyway. Maybe if it had been edited down by 40 minutes it'd be a good film. Men and their violent fantasies about women can't be rushed, I guess. I was stunned by how much I disliked it—and I don't have a weak stomach for dark themes.
20th Century Women is a miraculous movie by comparison.
Great picks. Really love the love for 20th Century Women! Hope you guys will have more podcasts coming up!
@Roger
American Honey was my first Shia LaBouef movie and he's frankly astonishing in it. I'm not the biggest Andrea Arnold fan (skipped Wuthering Heights, was mixed on Fish Tank, positive on Red Road) but thought she got so much right about AH and did so many things astonishingly well that I'm basically a fan for life now. But LaBouef was Keough's equal every step of the way.
@Nathaniel
How long are the podcasts "allowed" to be? Because you have some that are an hour+ and those are among my favourites.
I remember last year, with Katey, how no film appeared on all four lists, but three films (Carol, Son of Saul, Mad Max) appeared on three (Joe was the only one who had all three, interestingly). I'm curious if Katey would be the odd person out re: 20th Century Women OR Moonlight). Secret hopeful about the former - I liked it, but not THAT much (it's very amorphous)
Arkaan --the type of server/software we're on only allows for certain size of files which is why the podcasts are never longer than 43 minutes. I wish we could do one hour but i cant figure out a way of reducing the files beyond how they're already reduced.
So THE HANDMAIDEN DVD removes the dual subtitles entirely, so that detail is completely lost on someone viewing it the first time at home. Hopefully when it hits Amazon streaming it will be the theatrically subtitled version. :'-(
Chris -- WHAT? That's terrible. That's such a big part of it, given all the role-playing the characters are doing.
I have zero reason but a hunch for saying this, but the whole Handmaiden DVD (with, I believe, no Blu Ray?) is so bare-bones and arrived to market so quickly that I'm suspicious a more appropriately deluxe set will arrive before long from Criterion or somebody. Similar to what happened with Inside Llewyn Davis, etc.
Nick and Nathaniel - yes no blu-ray, and to add insult to injury the picture quality was pretty subpar. Wish I'd made me rewatch on a streaming platform
Yes dear readers, avoid the Handmaiden DVD especially if you haven't seen it yet!
Very interesting choices, especially from Nick! I wasn't too sold on you making case for "The Handmaiden"'s no. 2, though :)
I am very interested where would "Demon" land in your list, had you seen it. I heard about it thanks to Nick's Flick Picks and I think it's pretty fascinating. It would make a great double feature with "Ida" (although it couldn't be more different), as it gets ideas from the same dark parts of polish history.
Arkaan - I am just catching up with this podcast now, but you can hear Katey's top 10 on her other podcast, Fighting in the War Room. IIRC all three hosts there included Moonlight in their top 10s; however; I don't think any, including Katey, included 20th Century Women.