By Brett Blake After having been dramatically underwhelmed by 2018, 2019 rebounded and produced a crop of very fine films. Character dramas, crime thrillers, science fiction spectacles, comic book adaptations, and other assorted genres were well-represented this year, and even though I’m only selecting ten movies to highlight here, the next tier right below them is large and full of good stuff. In the interest of full disclosure, here are some of the notable films from 2019 that I haven’t yet seen: 1917, UNCUT GEMS, LITTLE WOMEN, RICHARD JEWELL, PARASITE, JOJO RABBIT, A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 10. AVENGERS: ENDGAME (Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo) Purely for what this movie represents -- the culmination of 11 years of interconnected storytelling across 20+ films -- it deserves a spot here. That it was able to (mostly) stick the landing and provide both genuine thrills and genuine character work is impressive. 9. US (Directed by Jordan Peele) While US is unquestionably weaker on the script level than Peele’s previous, GET OUT, it’s also better-directed, with Peele showing a real flair for crafting effectively tense suspense sequences. Lupita Nyong’o, in a dual role, delivers some of the best acting of 2019, as well. 8. DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE (Directed by S. Craig Zahler) A brutally uncompromising crime drama, this is perhaps the most deliberately provocative film of the year, offering up a bleak interpretation of the classic “cops and robbers” genre that punches you in the face and presents no easy answers or platitudes. 7. TOY STORY 4 (Directed by Josh Cooley) A heartfelt epilogue for the already-perfect TOY STORY franchise, this is so much better than it probably should have been (and certainly could have been). Funny and utterly sincere, this is just a delightful confection. Quality cinematic comfort food. 6. MARRIAGE STORY (Directed by Noah Baumbach) Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson turn in two of the year’s very best performances, and in conjunction with Baumbach’s very sharp writing, they present a nuanced and unexpectedly warm portrait of divorce in which all of the parties are presented in extremely sympathetic ways. 5. AD ASTRA (Directed by James Gray) Some legitimately stunning science fiction visuals underlined by some big (if familiar) ideas in service of a fascinating character study. Its themes are fairly classic sci-fi fodder, but they’re presented here in a fresh, incisive, and even quite artful way. 4. FORD V FERRARI (Directed by James Mangold) An often thrilling movie that supplies not just a crowd-pleasing sensibility, but also some genuine depth. The editing, cinematography, and (especially) sound are all Oscar-worthy, and I also think a case must be made for Christian Bale’s performance as one of the year’s strongest. This is a big, glossy, satisfying slice of studio filmmaking. 3. JOKER (Directed by Todd Phillips) A stark, harsh, and extremely hard-hitting picture of a city in a state of utter decay and one increasingly-deranged individual who wants to see it pushed over the edge. Joaquin Phoenix is a powerhouse here, charting his character’s journey from mentally-unwell to full-on maniac in a way that is chilling and magnetic. 2. THE IRISHMAN (Directed by Martin Scorsese) Scorsese’s definitive final statement about organized crime and the ultimately devastating and soul-damning effects it has on those who come into contact with it. A host of terrific performances and excellent pacing (especially for a 200+ minute movie) contribute to this being unquestionably a powerful and engrossing work that perfectly closes the book on Scorsese's crime films. 1. ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD (Directed by Quentin Tarantino) A film that’s grown on me continuously since my first viewing, I now find this to be Tarantino’s most sentimental, bittersweet, and funny film. It’s constantly engaging on nearly every level -- the performances (Brad Pitt, particularly), the writing, the visual approach -- and as its title implies, it showcases an almost fairy tale-like vision of a bygone Hollywood era. It’s simply a fabulous entertainment, and Tarantino remains one of the few filmmakers whose new movies are still truly “events.”
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By Brett Blake Billed as “The End of the Skywalker Saga,” this ninth Episode of the STAR WARS franchise has taken on the responsibility of attempting to satisfy multiple groups of fans and pay-off decades-long storytelling in something at least approaching a satisfying way. So does it? I’d say it does more than it doesn’t, though there are some quite serious weaknesses baked into this cake. To honor the spoiler-averse out there, here’s the officially-released synopsis of the film: “The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once more in the final chapter of the Skywalker saga.” It’s kind of interesting that the description doesn’t even mention this installment’s most central characters by name, so without getting too specific, it can also be said that Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe (Oscar Isaac) lead the charge for the Resistance, which puts them at odds with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), now Supreme Leader of the dreaded First Order and the fallen heir to the legacy of the Skywalker family, and a final battle will ensue for the fate of the galaxy. Much has been written (too much, probably) about the controversial previous Episode, THE LAST JEDI, which hit theaters two years ago. For some, it was a stunning and impressive tale that provided them substantial depth. For others, it was an empty and too-cute-by-half detour that squandered some of the potential of its characters. Two years later, I fall more in that second camp than I do the first; Rian Johnson’s choices in that film were gutsy and worthy of respect... but none of his swings for the fences connected with me. So with that preface out of the way, what can absolutely be said in THE RISE OF SKYWALKER’s favor is that director/co-writer J.J. Abrams is really trying (very, very hard) to position this movie as a more straightforward STAR WARS adventure that wants to be an all-around crowd-pleaser. I think he’s probably trying too hard. Now, to Abrams and co-writer Chris Terrio’s credit, the story takes its responsibility to conclude the tale of the Skywalker family very seriously (in contrast with THE LAST JEDI, which -- in my view -- kind of pushed the “family fable” element off to the side and wanted to make them kind of irrelevant to this trilogy). While constrained by various factors out of their control (Luke Skywalker dying in THE LAST JEDI and Carrie Fisher passing away in real life), Abrams and Terrio clearly understand that these nine films -- as one large, epic tale -- hinge on the fortunes of the Skywalker family, and they do deliver something that feels (basically) appropriate in concluding that. As such, perhaps the most pleasant surprise for me is that, ultimately, Kylo Ren is truly the pivotal figure here; whereas the marketing has focused almost entirely on Rey and friends, this story really does equally belong to Kylo, and as the last in the Skywalker family line, that feels appropriate. The major characters and their performers themselves extremely well. Abrams seems to be quite aware of various criticisms that have been leveled at Rey’s characterization, and the screenplay does challenge Rey in a more pronounced way that in either of the previous two films (where, frankly, she wasn’t challenged much at all, either philosophically, emotionally, or physically); here, Rey is battling insecurity, she’s fallible, and frightened by the implications of her power, and Daisy Ridley carries that off with subtlety, grace, and an extremely appealing “I just want to do the right thing” spirit. I liked Rey after THE FORCE AWAKENS, but this is the first time I’ve truly rooted for her. I love how her arc is handled in this... with one major exception that I can’t discuss at this time! Oscar Isaac and John Boyega have such a natural and infectious chemistry together that any time they’re sharing a scene, you can feel some of that intangible STAR WARS magic happening. And credit to Anthony Daniels, as well, who gets more to do as C-3PO than in any movie since RETURN OF THE JEDI. But to me, as I hinted at above, this is really Adam Driver’s show. Driver is asked to sell some outlandish and kind of ridiculous things, honestly, but his great skill makes those things plausible. The story would utterly collapse if the audience doesn’t buy into what’s being done with Kylo Ren, and (by some accounts) plenty of people apparently aren’t buying in, but I did in a big way, and that’s pretty much all because of Driver’s extremely nuanced and complex work. This is his best performance of this trilogy, and it’s one of the best performances of the whole Saga. The various action sequences provide the sort of adventure thrills you’d want from a STAR WARS movie (a lightsaber duel between Rey and Kylo amidst wreckage and ocean waves is certainly the best battle of this trilogy), and there are plenty of cheer-worthy moments, alongside a couple of emotional resolutions that do manage to land with some heft. And as composer, John Williams once again demonstrates that he’s indispensable to these movies; his score for THE RISE OF SKYWALKER is powerful, both grandiose and delicate, and he closes out the series in high style. And yet the film as a whole, from a storytelling perspective, is deeply flawed. Structurally, the screenplay is an absolute mess, bouncing the characters from planet to planet to planet (to planet...) without a particularly deft feel for pacing. It does have a kind of enjoyably breathless energy (which Abrams’ previous, THE FORCE AWAKENS, certainly had), but it also has the effect of making much of the exposition (and there’s a lot of it in the first half) feel particularly clunky. It’s a lot of “We have to go to a place to get a thing to find a guy to do a thing that will take us to another place where there’s another thing...” stuff. Too much stuff, really, which renders some of the narrative needlessly and aggressively convoluted. It’s trying to do so many things, service so many characters (both old and new), that only a few end up being handled in a way that feels truly elegant or organic. It’s overstuffed, like a couple of movies spliced together and cut down into one, and that’s a problem. There’s also one HUGE aspect of the movie, relating to a certain returning villain, that is not explained anywhere near as well as it needed to be. Abrams relies far too much on the audience filling in the blanks, and he also resorts to some pretty hackneyed and borderline-insulting story “tricks” to attempt to make it all work. It’s basically inexcusable that this aspect of the plot is handled the way it is. The ultimate issue is this: it seems pretty clear (to me, anyway) that Abrams felt the need to provide something of a rebuttal to the controversial LAST JEDI. It doesn’t ignore the decisions made in that film, but in several cases, it bends over backwards to sort of rework those decisions to suit a very particular story that Abrams and Terrio seem to have been dead-set on telling. As such, the first act of this film is comprised of a lot of convoluted plot machinations that are necessary to set-up where they want to take the eventual second half of this story. They end up having to invent a host of new plot ideas because (evidently) they didn’t feel that THE LAST JEDI left the Saga in a position from which they could get to the ending they wanted without putting a bunch of new wheels in motion. And in some ways, I’m extremely sympathetic to that, as somebody who didn’t love THE LAST JEDI. I can understand feeling as though you have no choice but to jump through hoops in order to follow it up. But it’s just not done here with any particular grace at the writing level. But really, at the end of the day, my honest reaction to this movie is that I felt satisfied... enough. I felt as though my emotional connection to these films, which I was introduced to as a kid and have enjoyed (as an overall “thing,” if not necessarily every individual movie) for most of my life, was honored and respected and (mostly) paid-off. That doesn’t excuse where the movie falls short, but it does provide enough of an optimistic lift to top off the story of the Skywalker family in a way that is modestly fulfilling. By Brett Blake As we hit the end of the decade, it seems fitting to look back at the highlights of those years. Before I unveil a list of my favorite films from 2010 through 2019, I wanted to build up to that with a bit of an appetizer, and as a huge movie score fan, picking out my favorite scores from that period seems like a good way to ease into the retrospective. First, however, a brief word about the scores of 2019. Honestly, I don’t think it’s been a very good year for the medium, and even the scores that truly excited me could be boiled down to a few choice selections. I have high hopes for the upcoming STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER score from John Williams, but other than that, I have no qualms sharing my favorites of the year right now (albeit in a more brief form than I usually do). In no particular order... • AVENGERS: ENDGAME (Alan Silvestri) -- “The Real Hero” • HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD (John Powell) -- “The Hidden World Suite” • GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS (Bear McCreary) -- “King of the Monsters” • SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME (Michael Giacchino) -- “Far From Home Suite” • AD ASTRA (Max Richter, Lorne Balfe, Nils Frahm) -- “Says” • US (Michael Abels) -- “Anthem” • CAPTAIN MARVEL (Pinar Toprak) -- “I’m All Fired Up” • CHILD’S PLAY (Bear McCreary) -- “Theme from Child’s Play” • DARK PHOENIX (Hans Zimmer) -- “Reckless” Okay, let’s move on to my favorites of the decade. Some honorable mentions: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (John Powell), STEVE JOBS (Daniel Pemberton), GODZILLA (Alexandre Desplat), SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (John Powell), THE WITCH (Mark Korven), THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND (Michel Legrand), THOR: RAGNAROK (Mark Mothersbaugh), FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (James Newton Howard), LA LA LAND (Justin Hurwitz), THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN (John Williams), PASSENGERS (Thomas Newman). And now, my ten favorites, in alphabetical order. Be sure to check the links embedded in the text for additional cues from each score! EVIL DEAD (Roque Baños, 2013) The finest horror score of the decade, featuring deeply chilling choral and string writing which conjure up a truly hellish and nightmarish atmosphere. Do not listen at too high a volume! THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG (Howard Shore, 2013) While the HOBBIT trilogy may not be at the same level of quality as THE LORD OF THE RINGS, Shore’s music for this second installment is just as dense, thematic, and rich as his work for those earlier movies. INSIDE OUT (Michael Giacchino, 2015) Possibly Giacchino’s best score to date, featuring two terrific, catchy main themes that beautifully underline the emotional undercurrents of the story. He also employs some evocative and ethereal instrumentation and orchestration at strategic points. INTERSTELLAR (Hans Zimmer, 2014) Potentially Zimmer’s masterpiece. With piano and organ at the forefront, Zimmer gets directly at the heart of what is Christopher Nolan’s most sentimental film in a powerful way. The feeling of awe and scale he creates is extremely impressive, too. THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (Daniel Pemberton, 2015) A delightful homage to jazzy, snazzy espionage scores of the 1960s, Pemberton announced his presence to the film score world with this thoroughly entertaining pastiche. His influences are clear, but he somehow puts them together in a fresh package. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION (Joe Kraemer, 2015) In the running for the finest pure action score in many years, Kraemer goes BIG and blows up the classic MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE theme into countless variations. It’s a score packed with personality, as well, which (unfortunately) is a rarity for action music. SKYFALL (Thomas Newman, 2012) Newman fuses together the characteristically big James Bond “sound” with his own skills for exotic texture and moody ambiance, which gives the film a unique flavor that has one foot in the past and another in the present. STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (John Williams, 2015) Williams’ return to the world of STAR WARS is nothing short of a triumph. It establishes a collection of very strong new themes that sit seamlessly alongside of the roster of his original melodic ideas, and it also delivers the scale that a STAR WARS episode needs. TRON: LEGACY (Daft Punk, 2010) Heavily electronic and intensely moody. While there is a primary theme, this score is much more interested in evoking a particular sort of half-mysterious/half-introspective feeling, which it does very well. WAR HORSE (John Williams, 2011) One of the finest scores Williams has ever written, and featuring a handful of superb themes, WAR HORSE is intensely emotional, charting a musical journey from innocence, through hardship, and finally to powerful catharsis. |
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