Jojo Rabbit – 2019 Waititi
Jojo Rabbit is part Borat, part Moonrise Kingdom and part Roberto Benigni’s Life is Beautiful but confirms Waititi as a brand and auteur (how refreshing that a marvel film has a unique artistic stamp-- this
Knives Out – 2019 Rian Johnson
Precise, captivating and confident- Rian Johnson is in full control hereIt entertains, yes, but there’s high storytelling and acting craft on display as well, and the film has something to say on wealth, immigration, inheritance
What About Bob? – 1991 Oz
A spectacular vehicle for Bill Murray’s talent—a total showcase. Sketch after sketch of his trademark mania before his Wes Anderson/Jarmusch/Sofia Coppola deadpan era. For director Frank Oz it’s another success and good pairing with 1988’s
Secrets & Lies – 1996 Leigh
Winner of the Palme d'Or and Best Actress (for Brenda Blethyn) at Cannes—Mike Leigh’s rich characterizations (with an incredible stable of actors), and trademark bittersweet take on realism transcends the soap opera trappingsUnlike Leigh’s previous
Naked – 1993 Leigh
This is Leigh’s fourth archiveable film but there’s little in his three previous (all very solid) efforts that would make you think he’s capable of this. This is a stylistic visual atom bomb on top
High Flying Bird – 2019 Soderbergh
Soderbergh will finish the 2010’s decade with 7 archiveable films—a decade in which he retired. I love how prolific he is and can’t wait to see what he does in 2020—but I don’t think any
The 117th Best Director of All-Time: King Vidor
Vidor. King Vidor to be specific (not Charles Vidor who directed Gilda) is the #117 best director of all-time. His strength is his depth of quality in his body of work- especially having 6 films
Us – 2019 Peele
Viewing 1.0 March 2019 A film that’s ambitious in ideas and script, but not overly ambitious in film as art or filmmaking if you willThere are a couple of really nice shots—one of them is
The 116th Best Director of All-Time: James Whale
Whale. James Whale’s strength is he was a major auteur in the 1930’s. His output includes four films that land in the top 100 of that decade. His filmography ranks him out at #122 overall
Ford v. Ferrari – 2019 Mangold
Movies that are this easy to watch (this is 152 minutes that absolutely fly by) don’t come along every year. Ford v. Ferrari boasts master craft acting and writing of the highest caliber It’s not
The 115th Best Director of All-Time: Peter Jackson
Jackson. Obviously Jackson isn’t on this list without The Lord of the Rings but the momentous achievement of that masterpiece cannot overlooked. I count The Lord of the Rings as one film in the same way I count Dekalog
Silence – 2016 Scorsese
An intellectual deliberation on sin, doubt, yes- God’s silence, persecution and cruelty/evilIn one of the opening scenes with Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver and Ciarán Hinds there’s a very nice shot of an empty cathedral and