Movies

Here's the trailer for Spaceman. Hope it's awesome.

Awesome new series on Netflix - Stranger Things. A sci-fi throwback to the 80s with hints of ET, Goonies, Stand By Me, but much darker and scarier. Winona Rider is the mom and she's brilliant but the kids are even better. And the soundtrack is a huge bonus. I'm halfway through and will finish up today. Currently has a 9.3 on IMDB.

This show is going to be so awesome.  After watching episode 1, I cannot wait for more.  I have the movie on my watch list too.

It's been a weak year for films, but the remaining slate (including two in theaters now) seems exceptionally strong. Here's a pretty comprehensive list.

The first five columns should be self-explanatory ("For." is Foreign). "Rel" is whether it's a Wide or Limited (possibly ramped up to wide later) release. "Stu" is the studio type: Major, Mini-Major, Subsidiary (major studio distribution of indie film), or Indie. Distributor is for true film geeks (A24, for instance, is a new-ish indie distributor with a tremendous track record, e.g. Room and Green Room). Finally, for films that have played festivals or opened internationally, the number of Rotten Tomatoes Reviews, their Average Score, and the IMDB rating for films with 1,000 votes or more.

Arrival is my most anticipated film of the last half-dozen or so years (partly because I'm friendly with the author of the story it's based on, but it also has amazing buzz). I'm seeing The Handmaiden Wednesday (unless there's a game 7) and Moonlight next Monday. As you can see by the ratings, Manchester by the Sea and La La Land (the current Best Picture favorite) have huge buzz, and I adore the previous films by their directors. I'm also very psyched about Loving, Nocturnal Animals, Jackie, Passengers, A Monster Calls, Toni Erdmann, 20th Century Women, and Paterson. And then you have the three studio tentpoles (Marvel, Harry Potter, Star Wars) which should be solid fun, and major films from nearly a dozen big-name directors.

Date Title                        Genre        Director        Know For        Rel Stu Distributor RT# RTS IM
21-Oct The Handmaiden                Drama        Chan-wook Park        Oldboy                Lim Mini Amazon     100 8.2 8.0
21-Oct Moonlight                Drama        Barry Jenkins        [2nd film]        Lim Ind A24        106 9.0 8.6
4-Nov Doctor Strange                Superhero Scott Derrickson Sinister        Wide Maj Walt Disney 88 7.3 8.1
4-Nov Loving                        True Drama Jeff Nichols        Take Shelter        Lim Sub Focus         46 7.5
4-Nov Hacksaw Ridge                True War Mel Gibson        Braveheart        Wide Mini Lionsgate 26 7.5 8.6
11-Nov Elle                        Drama        Paul Verhoeven        Total Recall        Lim Sub Sony Classics 54 8.1 7.3
11-Nov Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk War        Ang Lee                Crouching Tiger ... Wide Maj Sony         17 4.9
11-Nov Arrival                        Sci-fi        Denis Villaneuve Prisoners        Wide Maj Paramount 51 8.7 8.5
18-Nov The Edge of Seventeen        Dramedy        Kelly Fremon Craig [1st film]        Wide Mini STX         13 7.8
18-Nov Nocturnal Animals        Drama        Tom Ford        A Single Man        Lim Sub Focus         10 7.6 7.9
18-Nov Manchester by the Sea        Drama        Kenneth Lonergan You Can Count on Me Lim Ind Roadside Attr. 41 8.7 8.6
18-Nov Fantastic Beasts and Where ... Fantasy        David Yates        Harry Potter 5 - 8 Wide Maj Warner Bros
18-Nov Bleed for This                True Sport Ben Younger        Boiler Room        Wide Mini Open Road 12 5.6
23-Nov Rules Don’t Apply        Dramedy        Warren Beatty        Reds                Wide Maj Fox
23-Nov Allied                        War        Robert Zemeckis        Forrest Gump        Wide Maj Paramount
23-Nov Moana                        Animation Clements / Musker Alladin                Wide Maj Walt Disney
25-Nov Miss Sloane                Drama        John Madden        Shakespeare in Love Lim Mini Europacorp
25-Nov Lion                        Drama        Garth Davis        [1st film]        Lim Mini Weinstein 24 6.6
25-Nov Evolution                For. Horror Lucile Hadzihalilovic [2nd film]        Lim Ind IFC         30 7.3 6.2
2-Dec Jackie                        Bio        Pablo Larrain        No                Lim Sub Fox Searchlight 27 8.2
2-Dec Things to Come                For. Drama Mia Hansen-Love        Goodbye First Love Lim Ind Sundance Select 40 8.2 7.1
9-Dec La La Land                Musical        Damien Chazelle        Whiplash        Lim Ind Summit         52 8.8 8.6
9-Dec Office Chrsitmas Party        Comedy        Gordon / Speck        Blades of Glory        Wide Maj Paramount
16-Dec Neruda                        For. Bio Pablo Larrain        No                Lim Ind The Orchard 24 8.2
16-Dec The Founder                Bio        John Lee Hancock The Blind Side        Lim Mini Weinstein
16-Dec Collateral Beauty        Drama        David Frankel        The Devil Wears Prada Wide Maj Warner Bros
16-Dec Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Sci-fi        Gareth Edwards        Godzilla        Wide Maj Walt Disney
16-Dec The Space Between Us        Sci-fi        Peter Chelsom        Serendipity        Wide Mini STX
21-Dec Patriots Day                True Drama Peter Berg        Lone Survivior        Lim Mini CBS
21-Dec Julieta                        For. Drama Pedro Almodovar        Talk to Her        Lim Sub Sony Classics 84 7.5 7.2
21-Dec Passengers                Sci-fi        Morten Tyldum        The Imitation Game Wide Maj Sony
21-Dec Sing                        Animation Garth Jennings        The Hitchhiker's Guide  Wide Maj Universal
23-Dec A Monster Calls                Fantasy        J.A. Bayona        The Impossible        Lim Sub Focus         48 7.4 7.7
23-Dec I, Daniel Blake                Drama        Ken Loach        Kes                Lim Ind Sundance Select  60 7.7 8.2
23-Dec Silence                        Historical Martin Scorsese        Taxi Driver        Lim Maj Paramount
23-Dec Why Him?                Comedy        John Hamburg        I Love You, Man        Wide Maj Fox
25-Dec Hidden Figures                True Drama Theodore Melfi        St. Vincent        Lim Maj Fox
25-Dec Live By Night                Crime        Ben Affleck        Argo                Lim Maj Warner Bros
25-Dec Toni Erdmann                For. Dramedy Maren Ade        Everyone Else        Lim Sub Sony Classics 37 8.3 8.3
25-Dec 20th Century Women        Dramedy        Mike Mills        Beginners        Lim Ind A24         16 8.4
25-Dec Fences                        Drama        Denzel Washnington The Great Debaters Wide Maj Paramount
25-Dec Gold                        Drama        Stephen Gaghan        Traffic                Wide Mini Weinstein
28-Dec Paterson                Dramedy        Jim Jarmusch        Down by Law        Lim Mini Amazon         36 9.1

Gotta see it. I thought they did a very solid job on the last one, getting back to compelling characters over f/x. Like you, I'm less impressed with the glitz (although I do appreciate good cinematography), and much more with complex, relatable (or fascinating) characters.

I stumbled on Black Mirror this past week and I agree. There are a couple duds but for the most part the entire series is amazing.

I just want to point out that there's an outside shot that Deadpool gets nominated for Best Picture after being so nominated by the various guild award and the Golden Globes after you took me to task for opening the thread with the trailers.

Ironically, I haven't even seen it yet.

 With your recommendations I have watched Black Mirror and also come to the same conclusion, some good some not so good episodes.
 Just finished watching all 12 episodes of "Travelers" on Netflix. Both my girlfriend and I give it a solid B+ and will be looking forward to season 2. Good story line and good acting for the most part. Only 1 episode was a bit boring.

This has been an incredible deep year for film so far. I count 37 titles that a film buff could absolutely give an A- or better grade to, or ****1/2 out of *****, or call "extraordinary," or give a 9 grade at IMDB. I've done so for 29 of them myself, and there are four more that just missed and four more that worked better for others.

This Quora answer of mine ranks the year's best 52 movies so far based on the consensus of critics and film buffs. It has 73K views and 138 upvotes, so you have no excuse not to click on it now!

The lists therein include 22 of my top 29 (Blade Runner 2049 gets an A+ and those ranked 2 through 11 get an A), so all of those films are recommended without any hesitation, if you have broad tastes. Ditto for the four B++ films, ranked 30 to 38 (my other B++ films were a trio of documentaries, Obit., Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, and Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2; and a great combination zombie film and sci-fi puzzle movie, The Girl With All the Gifts).

The four films with consensus scores of 8.2 or better that I didn't love include War For the Planet of the Apes (which I still thought was a must-see and a satisfying conclusion to the series, whose second installment I adored) and two documentaries, Kedi and (from the supplementary list) City of Ghosts. Both are tremendous in terms of content (cats and Syrian heroes), but the former ended up less than the sum of its parts for me, while the latter just missed a "loved it" because the documentary storytelling could be a bit stronger.

And then there's Logan, the consensus #7 film so far and my #71 (of 75). I simply started tuning it out the umptieth time Wolverine put his claws through a bad guy's head. I maybe need to see it again when I'm in a different mood -- extreme violence usually doesn't bother me.

Further down the list are movies from various genres that I don't love but that I found 100% entertaining, e.g. It and John Wick: Chapter 2.

Now, here are the consensus ratings plus my ranking for the seven films that got an A- or better from me, but are not consensus faves.

7.8 Maudie (my #26)
7.6 Brigsby Bear (20)
7.4 mother! (3)
7.2 Colossal (11)
7.2 Personal Shopper (16)
6.2 The Bad Batch (18)

(supplementary list)
7.4 Marjorie Prime (17)

I'll 100% defend each one of these films as being better (and usually much better) than the consensus rating.

mother!, Colossal, Personal Shopper (which I had to see twice to understand and love), and especially The Bad Batch were all widely misunderstood by audiences and some critics, largely because they're arthouse movies that were sold as straight genre fare.

Maudie would be on the list if some critics hadn't gone in assuming it would be overly sentimental and seen the film they expected to see instead of the one on the screen, and some others didn't believe Ethan Hawke playing 100% against type (so much so that I couldn't place which familiar actor I was watching. I thought whoever it was, was tremendous). Audiences love it (7.7 at IMDB).

Critics loved Marjorie Prime (pure arthouse sci-fi) but it hasn't found its audience yet. And too many critics missed the point of Brigsby Bear (it's not nearly as sentimental as they think), but audiences really like it (7.5 at IMDB). My ranking is a bit higher than it deserves because it's very much about the power of story, a theme I love ... it would make a great quadruple bill with Pan's Labyrinth, The Fall, and A Monster Calls, especially because it has more laughs and hugs than the other three combined. By a factor of maybe 10.

I have brief reviews for a bunch of these which I might post later.

And there's still highly acclaimed stuff I haven't seen yet and great stuff coming up.

I've got to see "Blade Runner." The original is still a masterpiece of sci-fi and film noir.

"Wind River" is excellent. Terrific acting and character-driven, with some sublime cinematography.

The new Blade Runner is probably in the top 5 films of all time in the category "see this in the movie theater and don't wait for the disk." I think it's still playing in a few places. You should really hunt it down. If you can find it in IMAX (and hence its full aspect ratio), all the better.

I've been working on an all-time top 40 science fiction films list, trying to get the ranking as fair as possible by looking at everyone else's collective opinion before adding my own. I said from the beginning that the challenge was to determine which film is #3, because 2001: A Space Odyssey is obviously #1 and Blade Runner is #2. And i said that this might never change, because I'm including influence in the ranking, and  it's going to be hard to come up with a new film that could change the landscape of sf cinema the way those two films did.

This may well be true. But I've swapped my top 2. #1 is now the combination of the two Blade Runners. Because they are seamlessly integrated thematically (as well as visually, which was the expected part), and the combination is more clearly than ever an exploration of Philip K. Dick's original thematic concerns in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. The original screenplay was a passion project of Hampton Fancher, who loved the novel, but it was unclear from the first movie just how smitten he was the philosophical content versus the story (which is also terrific).

The question asked by PKD in the novel is, what does it mean to be truly human? The answer Dick always gave was, true humans have empathy for others. But PKD's genius was not confined to using sf as a tool to explore questions like these (his other two big ones being "what is the nature of reality?" and "how should we deal morally with evil?"). He was also a visionary about the actual future. This is a guy who wrote, in the early 60's, about people being harangued by small drones with personally targeted advertising messages! In the novels, the messages are always personally embarrassing. He was accurately satirizing things that would not happen for another fifty or sixty years.

But Dick died before the science of AI advanced very far. Unlike his advertising drones, his androids are fundamentally symbolic rather than hard science fiction. Hampton Fancher asked the question, if Phil Dick were alive and following the science of AI, would he have a second answer to the question "what does it mean to be truly human?" Blade Runner 2049 is about that answer, and it's completely brilliant about it.

There's a major plot point directly related to the new thematic question that I didn't get until my third viewing.  I rushed back to see it a 4th time (and the 3rd time in 8 days) to see how the movie played wit this knowledge (and ended up refining my take on just what was going on).

I'll be busy or out of town until 12/5, but if I can find the film still playing when I come back (or in Palm Beach, FL), I think I'll see it again. The last time I saw a film 4 or 5 times in the theater, it was The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and I think of Fancher's and Denis Villaneuve's accomplishment here is in a similar vein. Both are based on supremely great literature and both are insanely better than I dared hope.

I will take that advice and look for an IMAX.

One of my favorite stories as a kid was Philip Dick's early short, Imposter. I know they did the Sinise vehicle, but I never saw it. The short story was perfect enough. At some point I'm going to read "A Scanner Darkly," which was a good film, but which I think must be a better novel.

In the AI vein, I liked both "Her" (which I thought was a terrific prediction for the evolution of AI), and "Ex Machina," which despite a few plot holes, was quite good and sufficiently disturbing.