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rookie-critic · 1 year

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Rookie-Critic's Film Review Weekend Wrap-Up - Week of 4/24-4/30/2023

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019, dir. David Leitch) This was a good off-shoot for the F&F series. The Rock & Jason Statham feel comfortable as the titular duo and have excellent on-screen chemistry, and the action feels clean and exciting, which is no surprise considering the film was directed by John Wick-veteran David Leitch, who fits the franchise like a glove. I really enjoyed all of the climactic fight scenes with Hobbs' family in Samoa. Honestly, the more Cliff Curtis can be in major feature films, the better. Idris Elba and Vanessa Kirby also make for great additions to the growing franchise. It never really blew my mind like some of the mainline Fast films have, but I don't think it was really trying to. Sometimes a movie is just good, dumb, clean fun, and that's perfectly alright with me. I just hate that this film (along with a multitude of other behind-the-scenes reasons) means that we probably won't be seeing Luke Hobbs in any of the remaining Fast movies.

Score: 7/10

Currently available to rent/purchase on digital (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, etc.) and on 4K, Blu-ray & DVD through Universal Studios.

F9: The Fast Saga (2021, dir. Justin Lin) After the wholly disappointing and, frankly, upsetting misstep that was The Fate of the Furious, I was curious to see if F9 would continue the downward trend, or if it would step its game up to bring some of the franchise's former glory back. When in doubt, trust in Justin Lin, who comes swooping back into the franchise for the first time since Fast & Furious 6 to save the day, with fan favorite character Han Lue in tow. This is biggest, wildest fast film yet, and I mean that as a compliment. That's not to say that it's the best (that honor is still held by Fast Five), but it does return a lot of the wonder and sincerity that Five, Six, and (to a lesser extent) Seven had. Not to mention that it is the first film in the franchise to incorporate Sean, Twinkie, and Earl from Tokyo Drift into the family in a major way since Tokyo Drift (if you don't count a tiny cameo from Lucas Black's Sean in Furious 7). Nothing about F9 feels as baseline or low-effort as the stuff in Fate did. Even the introduction of a mysterious third Toretto sibling that, for some reason, we hadn't heard about for the past eight films feels out of place or shoehorned in. Needless to say, where Fate of the Furious had me wondering if the franchise was receding in quality, F9 has me just as pumped to go see Fast X in May as I was after watching Fast Five.

Score: 8/10

Currently streaming on HBO Max.

Guy Ritchie's The Covenant (2023, dir. Guy Ritchie) I went into this with a lot of apprehension. I was not a huge fan of the last Guy Ritchie film that tried to take a more serious approach to its tone (2021's Wrath of Man). It had a lot of grandstanding machismo bullshit that I hate to see in modern filmmaking. However, Ritchie really surprised me with The Covenant. He has Jake Gyllenhaal acting at the top of his game here with an equally impressive turn from Dar Salim as Ahmed the interpreter. While the story is fiction, it highlights a huge problem in the aftermath of the War on Terror: thousands of Afghani interpreters were hired by the U.S. military and promised special immigration visas for their service; a promise that turned out to be hollow. It sends its message without grandstanding and is critical of the U.S. military without putting itself on a soapbox. The film does tend to get overly self-indulgent during big sweeping climactic scenes and in certain emotional ones, as well. It's the one thing about the film that feels out of place, but even in spite of that, The Covenant is an excellent film and proof that Ritchie is capable of making a more serious-minded, message-oriented film than the humorous heist or caper films he's known for.

Score: 8/10

Currently only in theaters.

Chevalier (2023, dir. Stephen Williams) I'll just say up front that my bias might show a little in my scoring of this one. I have never been the biggest fan of 16-1800's period pieces. I'm not sure what it is, but something about them has just never gelled with me. That being said, there's nothing really wrong with Chevalier. In fact, it is, in my opinion, much better than the average film of this sensibility. The acting is fantastic and it sheds light on an oft-overlook but quintessentially influential figure in both classical music and the French revolution. The music is a huge plus in the film's favor, of course, and the costumes are, as is the case with most film's set in this era, masterfully crafted. I think my biggest qualm with the film is that it stops right as the French revolution is getting started and then tells the audience that Chevalier went on to be a great leader during the Revolution. Maybe it's just me, but I think that sounds interesting enough to make it's own film about. This almost makes me wonder (and I don't ever really feel this way about films) if this would have been better suited as an 6-8 episode miniseries as opposed to a film. We still could have focused a 2-3 episodes on Chevalier's childhood and young adulthood in France's pre-Revolution music scene, but then dedicated an entire half of the show to his accomplishments during the Revolution. Regardless, I don't want that to take away from the fact the Chevalier was quite good, and definitely worth the ticket price. I just think more could have been done with the wealth of untold history that exists within the lifetime of this figure.

Score: 7/10

Currently only in theaters.

Polite Society (2023, dir. Nida Manzoor) This movie absolutely ruled. It gave me all of the frenetic energy of the best Edgar Wright films while also giving me the genre-bending and jaw-dropping off-the-wall attitude of something like Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. This was a film that wasn't afraid to go for it in every way, shape, and form. From campy-but-well-choreographed fight sequences, to plot twist that twist so hard they'll make your head spin, to an unabashed approach to a female-empowerment narrative. Not to mention a story that is very uniquely Indian that touches on the nature of arranged marriages and classicism. Polite Society had everything that I look for in a film, and is a very early contender for the best of 2023 list. I'll save some of my more in-depth thoughts on stuff like the acting, writing, and cinematography for this week's full-length, but just know that if anything I've mentioned above sounds even remotely interesting, make this a priority watch (I don't want to say definitively that this is the best of the weekend's new movies because I haven't seen Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret yet, and I hear that is pretty amazing, as well).

Score: 10/10

Currently only in theaters.

A Good Man (2014, dir. Keoni Waxman) Yikes. Just... yikes. Friday movie nights with my college friends can get pretty wild sometimes. I've never seen a Steven Seagal film before, and maybe this wasn't the best one to start with (or, inversely, maybe it's the best one to start with). Seagal is clearly past his prime here (or, again, maybe in his prime, depending on your perspective), and looks like he's constantly on the verge of passing out. His words come out slurred and mumbled like he's on his deathbed, and his "action" in the film is cut around so heavily you really never see him actually do anything. The story is non-existent and the writing contains some of the most unintentionally hilarious one-liners I have ever heard in my entire life (I'm partial to the one where Seagal utters the baffling sentence "Well, I'm sorry to hear that, because now I'll snatch every motherfucker birthday." No, there's no typo there, that is verbatim what he says. My meme review is that this is great. Real "The Room" caliber stuff, here. My actual review is that obviously Seagal is a lunatic that is just self-funding whatever production he can fart out in an afternoon at this point. Honestly, if you want some quality takes on this, visit the Letterbox'd page.

Score: 1/10

Currently streaming for free with ads on Redbox. Tzi Ma should be above stuff like this.

Sisu (2023, dir. Jalmari Helander) I really wanted to love Sisu. I'm as much a fan of mindless action movies as the next guy, but the truth is I thought it was just ok. It delivers on exactly what it promised everyone in the trailers, one-man army kills the crap out of some Nazis for 91 minutes, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. There are a handful of really fun set pieces and lots of entertaining gore for fans of that kind of thing, but it just felt incredibly hollow. There are no characters in Sisu, only templates of archetypes that things happen to. No one learns anything, there's no journey to be had, merely an avatar quickly making his way through bodies to get to a destination. I'm not implying that every single movie needs to have some grand, elaborate story with deep and complex characters and rich subtext or anything like that, but I would have liked at least some substance to this. There are still things to enjoy in Sisu, and from what I've read I'm a slight outlier in not thinking this is incredible, but it just didn't connect with me. However, don't let that stop you from seeing this in the theater. The cinematography and style alone are worth the big screen experience.

Score: 6/10

Currently only in theaters.

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letterboxd · 3 years

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Love Thy Neighbor.

With her nineteenth-century American romance, The World to Come—starring Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby—screening now, director Mona Fastvold talks to Ella Kemp about the need to create images, striving for ASMR storytelling, and just how much we owe Terrence Malick.

“We’ve seen a lot of movies during this time period in America about what the husbands were out doing… but they had wives who are at home, living their completely separate lives. What were they up to?” —Mona Fastvold

In the American Northeast in the nineteenth century, life for farmers’ wives is physical, lonely, subject to both the extremes of weather and their husbands’ moods. When Abigail (Katherine Waterston) and Tallie (Vanessa Kirby) become neighbors in The World To Come, their lives become infinitely more bearable.

What unfolds is a careful study of the ways affection and understanding can bloom in the most unlikely places. Based on Jim Shepard’s short story of the same name, Mona Fastvold’s desperately romantic film starts where Abigail’s diary also begins: with a new year, and new neighbors. Through lyrical voice-over and closely drawn scenes, Abigail tells of how, in the wake of unimaginable loss, her life is cracked wide open by the arrival of effervescent, free-spirited Tallie. She speaks of grief and exhaustion, but also of astonishment and joy.

Katherine Waterston as Abigail and Vanessa Kirby as Tallie in ‘The World to Come’. / Photo by Vlad Cioplea

It’s a story felt through whispers as much as kisses, framed by the blustery winds of the East-Coast frontier—and by the spectre of their husbands (Casey Affleck as the downcast Dyer, Christopher Abbott as the jealous, disturbing Finney) finding out about their new love. Fastvold gives each character just enough attention to let the relationships that matter most rise up all on their own. She does so with words, poetry that somehow feels alive, and with music—specifically, a stunningly passionate clarinet soundtrack.

The World to Come won the Queer Lion at Venice last August (where it miraculously had an in-person premiere), and won many more hearts at Sundance in January. It’s Fastvold’s second film as director, after 2014’s The Sleepwalker, which also starred Christopher Abbott, and was co-written by Fastvold’s partner (and Vox Lux director) Brady Corbet.

What did you feel when reading Jim’s story for the first time? Mona Fastvold: It was a home I wanted to move into. It was this feeling of thinking, ‘This belongs in my universe, and I belong in this universe.’ And I all of a sudden had a few images that I felt a very strong need to create. The first thing that I felt really compelled to do was creating this physical expression of joy after the first kiss. I had this image of Katherine in this wide shot, completely open and just exposed. And I was really compelled to shoot her in the snow by the grave as well.

I also wanted to frame her being tied to the house with a rope, working her way through the snowstorm. There was a lot of amazing text and maybe fewer images in the script, because it’s written by these two really wonderful writers and authors of novels, not so much screenplays. So it’s not a very technical screenplay, and there were a lot of things left to me to work out, which I enjoyed. But the foundation was this really good text.

Mona Fastvold on the set of ‘The World to Come’. / Photo by Toni Salabasev

The text is so striking, in the way it’s so verbose but never feels stiff. How did you keep the words intact while bringing these emotions to life? I cast some really good actors, so that helps! Then when you’re working with this kind of text, it’s not really a text that you can improvise or play around as much, you really just need to honor it. For me it’s really about finding the movement that will support the beats of the text. I like the edit to be motivated by a gesture, something that says, “I want you to look at this”. I’m trying to make the rhythm more exciting. Ping-ponging back and forth is less exciting to me.

When rehearsing, we’d create movement either physically, or find changes through long pauses already in the text, and then upon finding those organic beats I’d figure out with my DP how we can stay in one take for as long as possible, until we find that moment which motivates a change. I never like there to be a camera movement just for there to be something cool visually. And there’s all this subtext in the text, all these messages Abigail and Tallie are trying to send to each other. When are you being direct? When are you being understood? When are you not?

Particularly in recent years, we’ve been fortunate to have a number of films that reframe period pieces about forbidden lesbian romances. Why do you think we keep coming back to this kind of story? A lot of people feel compelled to say these stories have always been there, and to claim that part of history. It’s not modern, it’s not a new thing, but it’s just that these stories have not been told much. Especially a love story that takes place among farmers. We know a little bit about upper-class stories from some literature, but not that much from that time period. So part of the appeal for me was to say: this is a part of history. Even though it’s not a story about Napoleon, this story about these two quiet, introverted women is still worth exploring. And we’ve seen a lot of movies during this time period in America about what the husbands were out doing. I’ve grown up watching these movies, but they had wives who are at home, living their completely separate lives. What were they up to?

Finney (Christopher Abbott) reads Tallie’s mail. / Photo by Vlad Cioplea

You mention the husbands—I felt watching this film that it was set in a very different world to the likes of Portrait of a Lady on Fire, which a lot of people loved precisely because of how few men were in the film. But here the husbands play a really important part within the story about these two women, helping to convey their frustration and limitations, without taking over. All characters in a story deserve equal counts of love and attention from the writers, directors and actors. It was incredibly important to portray the men with as much nuance as Abigail and Tallie. It makes for a more interesting story for them, that their relationships with their partners are complex—they’re not just these male archetypes who are terrible and awful. Dyer was an interesting character, in that he’s striving to understand even though he doesn’t quite. And he had different ambitions as well, but this is the situation he’s in, and he’s chosen a practical partner who he respects, and I guess loves and cares for. But they’re running a farm together, they’re business partners as well and depend on each other for survival. When he says “I’ll die without you” it’s quite literal, in a way. I wanted to break these characters open and make them more difficult to deal with, for themselves and for the women as well.

Your picture includes a beautiful, and really unexpected score by Daniel Blumberg—particularly in the use of the clarinet, which feels like its own kind of narrative. Can you talk me through the process of weaving that into the story? I brought in Daniel even when I was developing the script and working on casting early on. I kept listening to ‘Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet’ by Igor Stravinsky, and somehow the instrument felt really connected to Katherine’s voice-over. It was important that the voice-over was not slammed on top at the end. It’s there, I hope, to have a bit of an ASMR effect where you feel it draws you really close to Abigail in a hypnotic way. That you feel like you get this intimate experience of that character by having access to her life even if it doesn’t explain things too much.

So we wanted to have the score speaking to the voice-over, which we recorded long before we started shooting as well. We would play it on set and Daniel would come in and play music there. So constantly being in dialogue between the text being read and the music being played was an important part of the process.

It’s time for some Life in Film questions. What is your favorite ‘forbidden love’ story? A film I really love, which inspired The World to Come, is Olivia. It’s from 1951 and it’s directed by Jacqueline Audry, and it was one of the first lesbian on-screen kisses ever captured. It’s a great movie directed by a female director when that wasn’t so much of a thing. It was an important trailblazer for this film.

Marie-Claire Olivia and Simone Simon in Jacqueline Audry’s ‘Olivia’ (1951).

What’s your favourite “Dear Diary” movie, the one that best uses a confessional voice-over? Terrence Malick pretty much cornered that market with some beautiful, beautiful attempts at that. We definitely have to pay our respects! Particularly Days of Heaven is pretty amazing. The voice-over work there is extraordinary.

What is your go-to comfort movie? It’s funny because I was asked that a while ago and normally I would just be like, “Anything Nancy Meyers makes is just so lovely”. She makes these films that are just like candy. But during the pandemic, it’s just too hard to watch these cozy movies, because it just makes you feel depressed. So right now, the film I’ve watched the most in my lifetime is Eyes Wide Shut. I also find it to be a Christmas movie… If it’s on anywhere, I’ll always leave it on, or just watch a little piece of it.

What should Letterboxd members watch after The World to Come? First of all they should watch Olivia if they haven’t seen it, and then the other day I watched Martin Eden—it’s an incredible movie. So beautifully made.

What is the one film that first made you want to be a filmmaker? I grew up watching a lot of movies. My family are cinephiles and I’ve always loved films. I grew up on a steady diet of Ingmar Bergman’s films during my teenage years, and Tarkovsky too. Seeing those films made a really big impression me. But what really inspired me in many ways was seeing Claire Denis’ films. The way she approaches storytelling is so intuitive. It’s so exciting. That resonated with me, and later on I recognized some of that in Lucrecia Martel as well. I just love how she handles time and logic and character.

Related content

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Follow Bleecker Street on Letterboxd

Follow Ella on Letterboxd

‘The World to Come’ is currently in select US theaters, and will be available on demand from March 2, via Bleecker Street.

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moviepitpodcast-blog · 5 years

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My Most Anticipated Movies of 2019

2019 is here! So you know what that means – NEW MOVIES!

Of course, there are a lot of movies coming out this year, and while I’m looking forward to many of them, there are some that stand out among the rest. So here I am, give you my most anticipated movies of the year. It should be noted that of course things could change. For example, movies get shifted around, pulled off the schedule or new movies are put on the schedule that I end up really looking forward to.

So with that said, this list is based off the current schedule that’s out, and they’ll also be done by release date, because it’s just easier that way. Let’s get to it!

Captain Marvel – March 8th

Yes, this list will include Marvel’s big three movies coming out – deal with it! Okay, now that that’s out of the way, Captain Marvel is something I’ve been looking forward to since it was announced. Not only is the movie Marvel’s first female-led superhero movie, it has a pretty damn great cast. Brie Larson plays the titular hero, aka Carol Danvers, an army pilot who gets caught in the middle of an intergalactic war between two alien races – the Kree and the Skrulls. The movie will also be a good introduction to the character to a lot of people who don’t know anything about the character, and that said, Captain Marvel has some good stories to tell. Captain Marvel co-stars Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn, Clark Gregg, Gemma Chan, Lee Pace and Annette Bening.

Us – March 15th

Jordan Peele is back behind the camera with another terrifying story, and this time he’s not hiding the creep factor like he did in the trailer for Get Out. Us follows a family (Winston Duke, Lupita Nyong’o, Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex), who while on a family vacation with friends run into some unexpected visitors. Everyone was talking about the trailer when it dropped on Christmas Day, and it was well worth it, because the trailer starts off innocent and slowly gets weird and creepy until it goes full-on “what the hell is going on?” and just like that, Us, has gone on a lot of people’s Must-Watch List. Us co-stars Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Anna Diop and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

Hellboy – April 12th

As hard as it might be for some – including myself – let’s move pass the notion that we will no longer get a third Hellboy movie directed by Guillermo del Toro. That said, the first trailer for the new Hellboy movie actually had me pretty excited. Directed by Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers, The Descent), the new movie has Hellboy (David Harbour) facing off against an ancient sorceress (Milla Jovovich) named Nimue the Blood Queen bent on revenge. It looks like a Hellboy movie, and seeing Harbour get a lead role in a big movie like this is great. I was a fan of his before Stranger Things and seeing him finally get the recognition he deserves should be awesome to watch. Hellboy co-stars Sasha Lane, Penelope Mitchell, Daniel Dae Kim and Ian McShane.

Avengers: Endgame – April 26th

Arguably, the biggest Marvel film to date, Avengers: Endgame (yes, it’s called Endgame, you figured it out, good for you) finishes the story they started in Avengers: Infinity War. Honestly, I don’t know what to expect from this, and I like it. The story could pretty much go anywhere, and even though we’ve seen set photos, without that context, we’re just talking in the abyss. I always keep my expectations, hype or what-have-you at the door when watching big movies like this, but I don’t think I’ll be able to contain myself watching this in a theater with all the other fans around.

Detective Pikachu – May 10th

Loosely based – maybe – off the game of the same name, Tim (Justice Smith) meets an intelligent talking Pikachu (voiced and also apparently motion-captured by Ryan Reynolds) who help each other as they look into the mysterious disappearance of Tim’s father. I, like many probably reading this, grew up with Pokemon and have a special place in my heart for the property. However, I had my doubts about the movie, mainly because it was going to be a CGI-Live Action hybrid, and those tend to not be that great. But DAMN did the trailer change my mind. The world looks great, the designs of the Pokemon look great too, and might be unexpected; because I know I didn’t envision Pikachu with fur. Detective Pikachu co-stars Kathryn Newton, Karan Soni, Rita Ora, Suki Waterhouse, Bill Nighy and Ken Watanabe.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – May 17th

John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is back again, and this time he’s being hunted down by everyone. At least that’s the impression we got after the ending of John Wick: Chapter 2. The first movie came out of nowhere, and now John Wick is one of the best action series out there. Are they simple (plot-wise)? Sure, but damn there are a lot of fun. John Wick: Chapter 3 co-stars Ian McShane, Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, Lance Reddick, Jason Mantzoukas, Robin Lord Taylor, Mark Dacascos and Anjelica Huston.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters – May 31st

The gigantic sequel follows the agency Monarch trying to control the chaos that is to come when Godzilla battles three new monsters that have been awaken in Mothra, Rodan and the three-headed King Ghidorah. I know the first new Godzilla didn’t get a lot of love, but I personally enjoyed it. Now, not only do we get a sequel, but one that has all of the well-known other monsters we’ve come to know and love/hate. It also helps that the trailers are also great, and it looks epic! Godzilla: King of the Monsters stars Millie Bobby Brown, Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Ziyi Zhang, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Thomas Middleditch, Bradley Whitford and Charles Dance

Spider-Man: Far From Home – July 5th

The last Marvel movie of the year, Spider-Man: Far From Home follows Peter (Tom Holland) and his friends on a summer vacation to Europe, where Peter is recruited by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to stop a powerful threat. Of course, there have been a lot of set photos to come out, and it’s also been revealed that Jake Gyllenhaal’s Quentin Beck aka Mysterio isn’t a villain and will be working with Spider-Man. Other than that, we don’t know much, but given that Homecoming was a great new addition, Far From Home should be good too, right? Spider-Man: Far From Home co-stars Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jacob Batalon and Marisa Tomei.

Fast & Furious presents: Hobbs & Shaw – August 2nd

A spinoff of the Fast & Furious franchise, Hobbs & Shaw follows Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) teaming up with once again with Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham). Despite how you feel about the Fast & Furious franchise – I personally think they are the ultimate turn-off-your-brain/have fun with it movies – the addition of Johnson’s Hobbs and Statham’s Shaw added a much needed boost to the franchise. Plus, the chemistry between Johnson and Statham was one of the best things about The Fate of the Furious, so a spinoff announcement had me onboard. Add on the fact that the movie will be directed by David Leitch (John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2) and have Idris Elba as the villain. Come on, I’m getting in line opening night. Hobbs & Shaw co-stars Vanessa Kirby, Eddie Marsan and Eiza Gonzalez.

Honorable Mentions

Glass – January 18th

The Prodigy – February 8th

The Curse of La Llorona – April 19th

Brightburn – May 24th

Men in Black International – June 14th

Toy Story 4 – June 21st

The Lion King – July 19th

It: Chapter 2 – September 6th

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark – August 9th

Zombieland 2 – October 11th

Are You Afraid of the Dark? – October 11th

Star Wars: Episode IX – December 20th

So, what movies are you looking forward to this year?

#movies #anticipation #captain marvel #hobbs and shaw #us movie #hellboy #avengers endgame #detective pikachu #john wick #godzilla #spider-man far from home #godzilla king of the monsters #coming soon

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f-yeahbendaniels · 6 years

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HONORABLE MENTION | There’s no possible way to separate Alfonso Herreraand Ben Daniels‘ excellent performances in The Exorcist‘s Season 2 finale, so we won’t even try. Instead, we’ll just praise the way the two actors have woven such a strong, warm, complicated relationship between excommunicated exorcist Marcus and his overeager protégé Tomas, and how powerful it was when that relationship came to an end (a pause?) in Friday’s episode. When Marcus forced himself to leave Tomas and their mission, Daniels and Herrera communicated as much — if not more — of the friends’ hurt and grief in the scene’s silences as they did via its dialogue. And the expressions on each of their faces when Tomas pulled Marcus close and called him “hermano”? Saints, pray for us!

#spoilers #ben daniels #the exorcist #alfonso herrera #article #marcus keane #father marcus #tomas ortega #father tomas

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vanessakirbyfans · 4 years

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The COVID-19 pandemic and the piss-poor American response to the virus has really hurt movies in 2020. Not just the industry, but film festivals where everyone gathers in close quarters. COVID-19 killed the SXSW Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, the Telluride Film Festival and has ensured that the Toronto International Film Festival will be all but virtual for all American critics (there will be public screenings for Canadians). One festival unbowed is the Venice Film Festival, which might just be a testament to not only Italy’s resolve but also its discipline. You’ll remember in February, before Coronavirus had made its big mark in the U.S. the following month, Italy was really getting hammered, suffering hundreds of deaths a day, and was actually warning Americans to be careful and about the dangers to come on social media. (Americans being Americans, we really didn’t listen.)

So, fast forward almost six months, and Italy has done such a great job handling the virus and actually listening to experts and maintaining their quarantine, things are under control enough to keep the Lido going. Venice is smaller this year, no doubt. Netflix has taken all its films off the film festival circuit and many studios and filmmakers are simply waiting until COVID-19 passes (nervous laughter). But, while Venice may be low in American fare and big celebrities, there’s still a lot of intriguing films going to be premiering this week. Here are 10 films, plus an extended honorable mention of titles to look out for. – Rodrigo Perez

“The World to Come”

Essentially confined to an empty existence on her husband Dyer’s (Casey Affleck) upstate farm, Abigail (Katherine Waterston) is finding her feelings at odds with her circumstances more and more each day, as she fills up blank journal pages. But come Spring, when a newly arrived couple (Vanessa Kirby, Christopher Abbott) lease a neighboring area of land, she develops a passionate connection with Tallie (Kirby), attracted to both her alluring beauty and blunt nature. The husbands soon become increasingly envious of their wives’ blossoming relationship, and the women question whether there even is a place for their relationship in nineteenth-century society. Based on a short story from writer Jim Shepard’s acclaimed collection of the same name, aspects of The World to Come – the second feature from Norwegian-born, Brooklyn based actor and director, Mona Fastvold (The Sleepwalker) – sound a bit reminiscent of the period works by pioneer feminist filmmakers such as Gillian Armstrong (My Brilliant Career) or Maggie Greenwald (The Ballad of Little Jo). –Andrew Bundy

“Pieces of a Woman”

“Is it possible to survive if you have lost the one you loved the most?” That is the central question filmmaker Kornél Mundruczó wanted to explore in Pieces of a Woman. It’s a question that will be very familiar to far too many, possibly more so than ever in a year like 2020. Based on an unfathomably tragic personal experience, the Hungarian director’s first film in the English language follows a midwife (Molly Parker, Deadwood) charged with criminal negligence charges after a homebirth goes horribly awry. This drastically alters the lives of Martha and Sean (Vanessa Kirby, Shia LaBeouf), Martha finding herself overcome by grief and dealing with conflict from all sides. Featuring an outstanding cast (Sarah Snook, Iliza Shlesinger, Jimmy Fails, Ellen Burstyn, and Benny Safdie) and a score by the legendary Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy), Martin Scorsese was so taken with the emotional power of Mundruczó’s film that he’s attached himself as an executive producer, which is a strong indicator that film lovers should keep their eye on it. – AB

#Vanessa Kirby #The World to Come #Pieces of a Woman #Venice Film Festival

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anerdsmovieblog · 5 years

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Most Anticipated of 2019

This is a little late, because one of these films is already out. But it's a packed year with lots of exciting movies, so here are my top 20 most anticipated movies of 2019, with a few honorable mentions.

Honorable Mentions:

All You Need Is Love

Chaos Walking

Ford v. Ferrari

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Joker

Knives Out

20. Men in Black: International

Release Date: June 14

Directed by F. Gary Gray

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Emma Thompson, and Liam Neeson

19. The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part

Release Date: February 8

Directed by Mike Mitchell

Starring Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, and Tiffany Haddish

18. Artemis Fowl

Release Date: August 9

Directed by Kenneth Branagh

Starring Ferdia Shaw, Miranda Raison, Josh Gad, and Judi Dench

17. Hobbs & Shaw

Release Date: August 2

Directed by David Leitch

Starring Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, and Vanessa Kirby

16. X-Men: Dark Phoenix

Release Date: June 7

Directed by Simon Kinberg

Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, Sophie Turner, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Evan Peters, and Kodi Smit-McPhee

15. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Release Date: October 18

Directed by Marielle Heller

Starring Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi Watson, and Chris Cooper

14. Frozen 2

Release Date: November 22

Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee

Starring Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, and Sterling K. Brown

13. Detective Pikachu

Release Date: May 10

Directed by Rob Letterman

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Karan Soni, Justice Smith, Ken Watanabe, Kathryn Newton, and Bill Nighy

12. Dumbo

Release Date: March 29

Directed by Tim Burton

Starring Colin Farrell, Eva Greene, Danny DeVito, Michael Keaton, Alan Arkin, and Nico Parker

11. Glass

Release Date: January 18

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Starring Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, James McAvoy, Spencer Treat Clark, and Sarah Paulson

10. Jumanji 3

Release Date: December 13

Directed by Jake Kasdan

Starring Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Danny Glover, Awkwafina, Danny DeVito, Alex Wolff, Madison Iseman, Morgan Turner, and Ser'Darius Blain

Welcome to the Jungle was a fun movie while also respecting the first film. Excited to see the third one!

9. How to Train Your Dragon 3: The Hidden World

Release Date: February 22

Directed by Dean DeBlois

Starring Jay Baruchel, America Ferrara, Gerard Butler, Cate Blanchett, Kristen Wiig, Kit Harington, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Craig Ferguson

This series is my favorite by DreamWorks Animation, and I have been waiting for this one since the second one ended.

8. Captain Marvel

Release Date: March 8

Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck

Starring Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, Jude Law, Gemma Chan, Lee Pace, Ben Mendelsohn, Annette Bening, and Djimon Hounsou

Marvel's second Female-led film after Ant-Man and the Wasp, and the first solo female hero movie in the MCU. It's an important film to release and important to see. Plus we get some 90s vibes in the MCU.

7. Shazam!

Release Date: April 5

Directed by David F. Sandberg

Starring Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Djimon Hounsou, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Asher Angel

Being a lifelong lover of DC, I am excited with every new movie we get. Zachary Levi is one of my favorite actors and I can't wait to see him playing this hero.

6. Spider-Man: Far from Home

Release Date: July 5

Directed by Jon Watts

Starring Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal, Cobie Smulders, Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Jacob Batalon, and Michael Keaton

Another Spidey adventure, and Mysterio at last! Need I say more?

5. Toy Story 4

Release Date: June 21

Directed by Josh Cooley

Starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Jordan Peele, Keegan-Michael Key, Keanu Reeves, Patricia Arquette, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, Laurie Metcalf, Kristen Schaal, Bonnie Hunt, Timothy Dalton, John Ratzenberger, Jodi Benson, Tony Hale, Blake Clark, Estelle Harris, and Jeff Pidgeon

Another episode of toys making me cry.

4. The Lion King

Release Date: July 19

Directed by Jon Favreau

Starring Donald Glover, Beyoncé Knowles, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, John Oliver, John Kani, Keegan-Michael Key, Alfre Woodard, and James Earl Jones

A live action adaptation of my second favorite Disney movie. I am there.

3. Aladdin

Release Date: May 24

Directed by Guy Ritchie

Starring Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Will Smith, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, and Billy Magnusson

A live action adaptation of my favorite Disney movie. I am there.

2. Avengers: Endgame

Release Date: April 26

Directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Brie Larson, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, Paul Rudd, Don Cheadle, and Josh Brolin

The end result of 11 years of storytelling. This is beyond amazing that this series has made it to this level.

1. Star Wars: Episode IX

Release Date: December 20

Directed by JJ Abrams

Starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Kelly Marie Tran, Richard E. Grant, Keri Russell, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong'o, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Dominic Monaghan, Matt Smith, Greg Grunberg, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams

The end of the Skywalker Saga. The trilogy I've waited for since I was 16 is ending. And it will be incredible.

0 notes

malte1mj-blog · 6 years

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2016/2017 TV Awards

Best Drama Series: Better Call Saul The Crown The Handmaid’s Tale The Leftovers Stranger Things This Is Us Westworld HONORABLE MENTION: American Gods, Bates Motel, Black Mirror, The Good Fight, Homeland, House of Cards, How to Get Away with Murder, Mr. Robot, Narcos, The OA, Sense8, Shameless Best Actor - Drama Series: Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us - “Memphis” Freddie Highmore, Bates Motel - “Inseparable” Rami Malek, Mr. Robot - “eps2.0_unm4sk-pt1.tc”/“eps2.0_unm4sk-pt2.tc” Wagner Moura, Narcos - “Nuestra Finca” Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul - “Expenses” Justin Theroux, The Leftovers - “The Most Powerful Man in the World (and His Identical Twin Brother)” Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us - “The Trip” HONORABLE MENTION: Kyle Chandler, Bloodline; Mike Colter, Marvel’s Luke Cage; Rupert Friend, Homeland; Anthony Hopkins, Westworld; Ian McShane, American Gods; Dylan Minnette, 13 Reasons Why; Michael Sheen, Masters of Sex; Justice Smith, The Get Down; Kevin Spacey, House of Cards; Dan Stevens, Legion; Dominic West, The Affair Best Actress - Drama Series: Carrie Coon, The Leftovers - “The Book of Nora” Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder - “Who’s Dead?” Claire Foy, The Crown - “Gloriana” Brit Marling, The OA - “Away” Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale - “Night” Emmy Rossum, Shameless - “Requiem for a Slut” Robin Wright, House of Cards - “Chapter 65” HONORABLE MENTION: Christine Baranski, The Good Fight; Lizzy Caplan, Masters of Sex; Claire Danes, Homeland; Herizen F. Guardiola, The Get Down; Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; Taraji P. Henson, Empire; Katherine Langford, 13 Reasons Why; Rose Leslie, The Good Fight; Simone Missick, Marvel’s Luke Cage; Mandy Moore, This Is Us; Ellen Pompeo, Grey’s Anatomy; Kerry Washington, Scandal; Ruth Wilson, The Affair; Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld Best Supporting Actor - Drama Series: Mahershala Ali, Marvel’s Luke Cage - “Manifest” Emory Cohen, The OA - “Paradise” Christopher Eccleston, The Leftovers - “It’s a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World” Ron Cephas Jones, This Is Us - “Memphis” John Lithgow, The Crown - “Assassins” Michael McKean, Better Call Saul - “Chicanery” Jeffrey Wright, Westworld - “The Well-Tempered Clavier” HONORABLE MENTION: Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul; Giancarlo Esposito, The Get Down; Elliot Fletcher, Shameless; Scott Glenn, The Leftovers; David Harbour, Stranger Things; Ed Harris, Westworld; Jared Harris, The Crown; Justin Hartley, This Is Us; Miles Heizer, 13 Reasons Why; Louis Herthum, Westworld; Jason Isaacs, The OA; Joshua Jackson, The Affair; James Marsden, Westworld; Gaten Matarazzo, Stranger Things; Max Minghella, The Handmaid’s Tale; Cameron Monaghan, Shameless; Shameik Moore, The Get Down; Christian Navarro, 13 Reasons Why; Mandy Patinkin, Homeland; Max Riemelt, Sense8; Pablo Schreiber, American Gods; Miguel Angel Silvestre, Sense8; Brian J. Smith, Sense8; Matt Smith, The Crown; Jussie Smollett, Empire; Jeremy Allen White, Shameless; Finn Wolfhard, Stranger Things Best Supporting Actress - Drama Series: Doona Bae, Sense8 - “You Want a War?” Amy Brenneman, The Leftovers - “Certified” Millie Bobby Brown, Stranger Things - “Chapter Six: The Monster” Vanessa Kirby, The Crown - “Pride & Joy” Thandie Newton, Westworld - “Trace Decay” Yvonne Strahovski, The Handmaid’s Tale - “A Woman’s Place” Maura Tierney, The Affair - “Episode 302” HONORABLE MENTION: Annaleigh Ashford, Masters of Sex; Eileen Atkins, The Crown; Madeline Brewer, The Handmaid’s Tale; Emily Browning, American Gods; Carly Chaikin, Mr. Robot; Patricia Clarkson, House of Cards; Portia Doubleday, Mr. Robot; Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale; Vera Farmiga, Bates Motel; Cush Jumbo, The Good Fight; Elizabeth Marvel, Homeland; Kelly McCreary, Grey’s Anatomy; Chrissy Metz, This Is Us; Aubrey Plaza, Legion; Winona Ryder, Stranger Things; Rhea Seehorn, Better Call Saul; Phyllis Smith, The OA; Kate Walsh, 13 Reasons Why; Lillias White, The Get Down; Samira Wiley, The Handmaid’s Tale; Alfre Woodard, Marvel’s Luke Cage; Bellamy Young, Scandal Best Writing - Drama Series: Better Call Saul - “Chicanery” - Gordon Smith Black Mirror - “San Junipero” - Charlie Brooker The Crown - “Smoke and Mirrors” - Peter Morgan The Handmaid’s Tale - “Offred” - Bruce Miller The Leftovers - “The Book of Nora” - Damon Lindelof, Tom Perrotta & Tom Spezialy The Leftovers - “Certified” - Patrick Somerville & Carly Wray This Is Us - “Memphis” - Dan Fogelman HONORABLE MENTION: American Gods - “The Bone Orchard”; Bates Motel - “Inseparable”; Better Call Saul - “Chicanery”; Better Call Saul - “Lantern”; Black Mirror - “San Junipero”; The Crown - “Gloriana”; The Crown - “Hyde Park Corner”; The Crown - “Smoke and Mirrors”; The Get Down - “Where There Is Ruin, There Is Hope for a Treasure”; The Good Fight - “Inauguration”; The Handmaid’s Tale - “Faithful”; The Handmaid’s Tale - “Late”; The Handmaid’s Tale - “Night”; Homeland - “America First”; House of Cards - “Chapter 64”; The Leftovers - “The Book of Nora”; The Leftovers - “Certified”; The Leftovers - “Don’t Be Ridiculous”; Legion - “Chapter 7”; Marvel’s Luke Cage - “Manifest”; Mr. Robot - “eps2.6_succ3ss0r.p12”; Narcos - “Nuestra Finca”; The OA - “Paradise”; Sense8 - “Happy Fucking New Year, Parts 1 & 2”; Shameless - “Requiem for a Slut”; Shameless - “You Sold Me the Laundromat, Remember?”; Stranger Things - “Chapter Four: The Body”; 13 Reasons Why - “Tape 6, Side A”; This Is Us - “The Big Day”; This Is Us - “Memphis”; This Is Us - “The Trip”; Westworld - “Trompe L’Oeil”; Westworld - “The Well-Tempered Clavier” Best Directing - Drama Series: Black Mirror - “Nosedive” - Joe Wright The Crown - “Act of God” - Julian Jarrold The Handmaid’s Tale - “Offred” - Reed Morano The Leftovers - “It’s a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World” - Nicole Kassell The OA - “Away” - Zal Batmanglij Stranger Things - “Chapter Eight: The Upside Down” - The Duffer Brothers Westworld - “The Bicameral Mind” - Jonathan Nolan HONORABLE MENTION: American Gods - “The Bone Orchard”; Bates Motel - “Inseparable”; Better Call Saul - “Chicanery”; Better Call Saul - “Lantern”; Black Mirror - “San Junipero”; The Crown - “Gloriana”; The Crown - “Hyde Park Corner”; The Crown - “Smoke and Mirrors”; The Get Down - “Where There Is Ruin, There Is Hope for a Treasure”; The Good Fight - “Inauguration”; The Handmaid’s Tale - “Faithful”; The Handmaid’s Tale - “Late”; The Handmaid’s Tale - “Night”; Homeland - “America First”; House of Cards - “Chapter 64”; The Leftovers - “The Book of Nora”; The Leftovers - “Certified”; The Leftovers - “Don’t Be Ridiculous”; Legion - “Chapter 7”; Marvel’s Luke Cage - “Manifest”; Mr. Robot - “eps2.6_succ3ss0r.p12”; Narcos - “Nuestra Finca”; The OA - “Paradise”; Sense8 - “Happy Fucking New Year, Parts 1 & 2”; Shameless - “Requiem for a Slut”; Shameless - “You Sold Me the Laundromat, Remember?”; Stranger Things - “Chapter Four: The Body”; 13 Reasons Why - “Tape 6, Side A”; This Is Us - “The Big Day”; This Is Us - “Memphis”; This Is Us - “The Trip”; Westworld - “Trompe L’Oeil”; Westworld - “The Well-Tempered Clavier” Best Guest Actor - Drama Series: Alex Jennings, The Crown - “Windsor” Alex Lawther, Black Mirror - “Shut Up and Dance” Hamish Linklater, Legion - “Chapter 8” Mark Linn-Baker, The Leftovers - “Don’t Be Ridiculous” Gerald McRaney, This Is Us - “The Big Day” John Cameron Mitchell, The Good Fight - “Social Media and Its Discontents” B.D. Wong, Mr. Robot - “eps2.3_logic-b0mb.hc” HONORABLE MENTION: Riz Ahmed, The OA; Reed Birney, House of Cards; Beau Bridges, Masters of Sex; Bill Camp, The Leftovers; Gary Cole, The Good Fight; Corey Cott, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; Stephen Dillane, The Crown; Anthony Edwards, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; Noel Fisher, Shameless; Louis Gossett Jr., The Good Fight; Hal Holbrook, Grey’s Anatomy; Orlando Jones, American Gods; Ron Cephas Jones, The Get Down; Michael Kelly, Black Mirror; Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline; Lars Mikkelsen, House of Cards; Denis O’Hare, This Is Us; Matthew Perry, The Good Fight; Peter Stormare, American Gods; Jonathan Tucker, American Gods Best Guest Actress - Drama Series: Alexis Bledel, The Handmaid’s Tale - “Late” Mackenzie Davis, Black Mirror - “San Junipero” Ann Dowd, The Leftovers - “The Most Powerful Man in the World (and His Identical Twin Brother)” Bryce Dallas Howard, Black Mirror - “Nosedive” Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Black Mirror - “San Junipero” Kelli O’Hara, Masters of Sex - “Topeka” Carrie Preston, The Good Fight - “Not So Grand Jury” HONORABLE MENTION: Khandi Alexander, Scandal; Gillian Anderson, American Gods; Kathleen Chalfant, The Affair; Kristin Chenoweth, American Gods; Renee Elise Goldsberry, The Get Down; LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Grey’s Anatomy; LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Marvel’s Luke Cage; Cloris Leachman, American Gods; Nia Long, Empire; Kelly Macdonald, Black Mirror; Kate Phillips, The Crown; Shannon Purser, Stranger Things; Phylicia Rashad, Empire; Rihanna, Bates Motel; Sarah Silverman, Masters of Sex; Tamara Tunie, Better Call Saul; Cicely Tyson, How to Get Away with Murder; Chloe Webb, Shameless; Lia Williams, The Crown Best Ensemble - Drama Series: The Crown The Handmaid’s Tale Sense8 Shameless Stranger Things This Is Us Westworld HONORABLE MENTION: The Affair, American Gods, Bates Motel, Better Call Saul, Empire, The Get Down, The Good Fight, Grey’s Anatomy, Homeland, House of Cards, How to Get Away with Murder, The Leftovers, Legion, Marvel’s Luke Cage, Masters of Sex, Mr. Robot, Narcos, The OA, Scandal, 13 Reasons Why Best New Drama Series: American Gods The Crown The Good Fight The Handmaid’s Tale The OA Stranger Things This Is Us Westworld HONORABLE MENTION: The Get Down, Legion, Marvel’s Luke Cage, 13 Reasons Why Best Comedy Series: Atlanta Fleabag Girls Master of None Orange Is the New Black Transparent Veep HONORABLE MENTION: Baskets, Better Things, black-ish, Catastrophe, Dear White People, The Good Place, Insecure, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Jane the Virgin, The Last Man on Earth, Mom, One Day at a Time, Search Party, Silicon Valley, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Best Actor - Comedy Series: Anthony Anderson, black-ish - “Lemons” Aziz Ansari, Master of None - “The Thief” Brandon P. Bell, Dear White People - “Chapter III” Ted Danson, The Good Place - “Michael’s Gambit” Zach Galifianakis, Baskets - “Freaks” Donald Glover, Atlanta - “The Big Bang” Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent - “Elizah” HONORABLE MENTION: Kevin Bacon, I Love Dick; Gael Garcia Bernal, Mozart in the Jungle; Thomas Haden Church, Divorce; Rob Delaney, Catastrophe; Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth; Pete Holmes, Crashing; Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley; Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory; Andy Samberg, Brooklyn Nine-Nine Best Actress - Comedy Series: Pamela Adlon, Better Things - “Future Fever” Lena Dunham, Girls - “Goodbye Tour” Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - “Kimmy Bites an Onion!” Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep - “Groundbreaking” Justina Machado, One Day at a Time - “Hold, Please” Alia Shawkat, Search Party - “The House of Uncanny Truths” Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag - “Episode 6” HONORABLE MENTION: Kristen Bell, The Good Place; Logan Browning, Dear White People; Anna Faris, Mom; Jane Fonda, Grace and Frankie; Kathryn Hahn, I Love Dick; Patricia Heaton, The Middle; Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent; Sharon Horgan, Catastrophe; Allison Janney, Mom; Sarah Jessica Parker, Divorce; Issa Rae, Insecure; Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin; Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish; Taylor Schilling, Orange Is the New Black; Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie Best Supporting Actor - Comedy Series: Louie Anderson, Baskets - “Bail” Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - “Kimmy’s Roommate Lemonades!” Jay Duplass, Transparent - “The Open Road” Tony Hale, Veep - “Judge” Brian Tyree Henry, Atlanta - “The Club” Andrew Rannells, Girls - “The Bounce” Timothy Simons, Veep - “Blurb” HONORABLE MENTION: Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine; Ty Burrell, Modern Family; Jaime Camil, Jane the Virgin; Terry Crews, Brooklyn Nine-Nine; Charlie Day, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia; Adam Driver, Girls; Jay Ellis, Insecure; Todd Grinnell, One Day at a Time; William Jackson Harper, The Good Place; DeRon Horton, Dear White People; Glenn Howerton, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia; Jake Johnson, New Girl; Tracy Letts, Divorce; Rob McElhenney, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia; T.J. Miller, Silicon Valley; Kumail Nanjiani, Silicon Valley; John Reynolds, Search Party; Sam Richardson, Veep; Nick Sandow, Orange Is the New Black; Matt Walsh, Veep; Zach Woods, Silicon Valley Best Supporting Actress - Comedy Series: Danielle Brooks, Orange Is the New Black - “Piece of Shit” Olivia Colman, Fleabag - “Episode 6” Kathryn Hahn, Transparent - “Oh Holy Night” Amy Landecker, Transparent - “Off the Grid” Judith Light, Transparent - “Exciting and New” Rita Moreno, One Day at a Time - “Viva Cuba” Samira Wiley, Orange Is the New Black - “(Don’t) Say Anything” HONORABLE MENTION: Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black; Zazie Beetz, Atlanta; Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory; Julie Bowen, Modern Family; Anna Chlumsky, Veep; Isabella Gomez, One Day at a Time; Meredith Hagner, Search Party; Anjelica Huston, Transparent; Cherry Jones, Transparent; Carol Kane, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Jemima Kirke, Girls; Jane Krakowski, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Natasha Lyonne, Orange Is the New Black; Zosia Mamet, Girls; Taryn Manning, Orange Is the New Black; Adrienne C. Moore, Orange Is the New Black; Kate Mulgrew, Orange Is the New Black; Andrea Navedo, Jane the Virgin; Kaitlin Olson, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia; Yvonne Orji, Insecure; Lori Petty, Orange Is the New Black; Laura Prepon, Orange Is the New Black; Jaime Pressly, Mom; Yara Shahidi, black-ish; Molly Shannon, Divorce; Eden Sher, The Middle; Sarah Sutherland, Veep; Lena Waithe, Master of None; Allison Williams, Girls Best Writing - Comedy Series: Atlanta - “The Big Bang” - Donald Glover Better Things - “Only Women Bleed” - Pamela Adlon & Louis C.K. Fleabag - “Episode 5” - Phoebe Waller-Bridge Girls - “American Bitch” - Lena Dunham Master of None - “Thanksgiving” - Aziz Ansari & Lena Waithe Orange Is the New Black - “Toast Can’t Never Be Bread Again” - Tara Herrmann & Jenji Kohan Transparent - “To Sardines and Back” - Faith Soloway & Jill Soloway HONORABLE MENTION: Atlanta - “The Jacket”; Atlanta - “Value”; Baskets - “Bail”; Baskets - “Ronald Reagan Library”; Better Things - “Future Fever”; black-ish - “Lemons”; Crashing - “Warm-up”; Dear White People - “Chapter II”; Dear White People - “Chapter V”; Fleabag - “Episode 1”; Fleabag - “Episode 6”; Girls - “All I Ever Wanted”; Girls - “Goodbye Tour”; Girls - “What Will We Do This Time About Adam?”; The Good Place - “Michael’s Gambit”; Insecure - “Real as Fuck”; It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia - “The Gang Tends Bar”; Jane the Virgin - “Chapter Fifty-Five”; The Last Man on Earth - “The Open-Ended Nature of Unwitnessed Deaths”; Master of None - “First Date”; Master of None - “New York, I Love You”; Master of None - “Religion”; Mom - “Tush Push and Some Radishes”; One Day at a Time - “Hold, Please”; One Day at a Time - “Quinces”; Orange Is the New Black - “The Animals”; Orange Is the New Black - “People Persons”; Orange Is the New Black - “Piece of Shit”; Search Party - “The Captive Dinner Guest”; Search Party - “The House of Uncanny Truths”; Transparent - “Elizah”; Transparent - “Exciting and New”; Transparent - “If I Were a Bell”; Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - “Kimmy Can’t Help You!”; Veep - “Blurb”; Veep - “Chicklet” Best Directing - Comedy Series: Atlanta - “The Jacket” - Hiro Murai Fleabag - “Episode 6” - Harry Bradbeer Girls - “What Will We Do This Time About Adam?” - Jesse Peretz Master of None - “The Thief” - Aziz Ansari Orange Is the New Black - “Toast Can’t Never Be Bread Again” - Adam Bernstein Search Party - “The House of Uncanny Truths” - Sarah-Violet Bliss & Charles Rogers Transparent - “Exciting and New” - Marta Cunningham HONORABLE MENTION: Atlanta - “The Big Bang”; Atlanta - “Juneteenth”; Baskets - “Bail”; Baskets - “Freaks”; Better Things - “Only Women Bleed”; black-ish - “Lemons”; Crashing - “Warm-up”; Dear White People - “Chapter V”; Dear White People - “Chapter VI”; Divorce - “Christmas”; Fleabag - “Episode 4”; Fleabag - “Episode 5”; Girls - “American Bitch”; Girls - “Goodbye Tour”; The Good Place - “Michael’s Gambit”; Insecure - “Real as Fuck”; It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia - “The Gang Turns Black”; Jane the Virgin - “Chapter Fifty-Five”; The Last Man on Earth - “Got Milk?”; Master of None - “First Date”; Master of None - “New York, I Love You”; Master of None - “Thanksgiving”; The Middle - “Thanksgiving VIII”; Mozart in the Jungle - “Now I Will Sing”; One Day at a Time - “Quinces”; Orange Is the New Black - “The Animals”; Orange is the New Black - “People Persons”; Orange Is the New Black - “Piece of Shit”; Search Party - “The Captive Dinner Guest”; Transparent - “Exciting and New”; Transparent - “If I Were a Bell”; Transparent - “To Sardines and Back”; Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - “Kimmy’s Roommate Lemonades!”; Veep - “Blurb”; Veep - “Groundbreaking” Best Guest Actor - Comedy Series: Orlando Bloom, Easy - “Utopia” Daveed Diggs, black-ish - “Good Dre Hunting” Allan Havey, Crashing - “Warm-up” Hugh Laurie, Veep - “Blurb” Haley Joel Osment, Silicon Valley - “The Keenan Vortex” Chris Pratt, Mom - “Good Karma and the Big Weird” Matthew Rhys, Girls - “American Bitch” HONORABLE MENTION: Riz Ahmed, Girls; Shoukath Ansari, Master of None; Fred Armisen, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Raul Castillo, Easy; Clem Cheung, Master of None; Jemaine Clement, Divorce; David Cross, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Daveed Diggs, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Robert Forster, Divorce; Stephen Fry, Veep; Peter Gallagher, Grace and Frankie; Jon Hamm, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Ray Liotta, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Jack McBrayer, The Big Bang Theory; T.J. Miller, Crashing; Peter Riegert, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Peter Scolari, Girls; Adam Scott, The Good Place; Corey Stoll, Girls; Michael Stuhlbarg, Transparent; Fred Willard, Modern Family Best Guest Actress - Comedy Series: Becky Ann Baker, Girls - “Latching” Angela Bassett, Master of None - “Thanksgiving” Laverne Cox, Orange Is the New Black - “Doctor Psycho” Laura Dern, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - “Kimmy Can’t Help You!” Sophia Grace Gianni, Transparent - “If I Were a Bell” Kristen Wiig, The Last Man on Earth - “Got Milk?” Mary Wiseman, Baskets - “Freaks” HONORABLE MENTION: Malin Akerman, Easy; Christine Baranski, The Big Bang Theory; Sadie Calvano, Mom; Laura Dern, The Last Man on Earth; Carrie Fisher, Catastrophe; Dylan Gelula, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Nia Long, Dear White People; Dorothy Lyman, Divorce; Trace Lysette, Transparent; Wendie Malick, Mom; Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Easy; Laurie Metcalf, The Big Bang Theory; Katie Micucci, Easy; Debra Monk, Mozart in the Jungle; Jenny O’Hara, Transparent; Parker Posey, Search Party; Judy Reyes, Jane the Virgin; Maya Rudolph, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Amy Sedaris, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Sarah Silverman, Crashing; Tiya Sircar, The Good Place; Michaela Watkins, Transparent Best Ensemble - Comedy Series: black-ish Dear White People Jane the Virgin The Last Man on Earth Orange Is the New Black Transparent Veep HONORABLE MENTION: Better Things, The Big Bang Theory, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Divorce, Girls, The Good Place, Grace and Frankie, Insecure, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Middle, Modern Family, Mom, Mozart in the Jungle, New Girl, One Day at a Time, Search Party, Silicon Valley Best New Comedy Series: Atlanta Better Things Dear White People Fleabag The Good Place Insecure One Day at a Time Search Party HONORABLE MENTION: Crashing, Divorce, Easy, I Love Dick, One Mississippi, Santa Clarita Diet Best TV Movie/Limited Series: Big Little Lies Fargo Feud: Bette and Joan Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life Looking: The Movie The Night Of The Young Pope HONORABLE MENTION: American Horror Story: Roanoke, The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, King Charles III, The Missing, Sherlock, When We Rise, The Wizard of Lies Best Actor - TV Movie/Limited Series: Riz Ahmed, The Night Of Benedict Cumberbatch, The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses Jonathan Groff, Looking: The Movie Jude Law, The Young Pope Ewan McGregor, Fargo Guy Pearce, When We Rise John Turturro, The Night Of HONORABLE MENTION: Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock; Robert De Niro, The Wizard of Lies; Tcheky Karyo, The Missing; Austin P. McKenzie, When We Rise; Tim Pigott-Smith, King Charles III; Matthias Schoenaerts, Suite Francaise; Tom Sturridge, The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses Best Actress - TV Movie/Limited Series: Carrie Coon, Fargo Lauren Graham, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies Jessica Lange, Feud: Bette and Joan Susan Sarandon, Feud: Bette and Joan Reese Witherspoon, Big Little Lies Shailene Woodley, Big Little Lies HONORABLE MENTION: Rose Byrne, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks; Elaine May, Crisis in Six Scenes; Idina Menzel, Beaches; Mary-Louise Parker, When We Rise; Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Roanoke; Adina Porter, American Horror Story: Roanoke; Emily Skeggs, When We Rise; Michelle Williams, Suite Francaise; Oprah Winfrey, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Best Supporting Actor - TV Movie/Limited Series: James Cromwell, The Young Pope Richard Goulding, King Charles III Alfred Molina, Feud: Bette and Joan Silvio Orlando, The Young Pope Alexander Skarsgard, Big Little Lies Michael Stuhlbarg, Fargo David Thewlis, Fargo HONORABLE MENTION: Frankie J. Alvarez, Looking: The Movie; Murray Bartlett, Looking: The Movie; Hugh Bonneville, The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses; Javier Camara, The Young Pope; Bill Camp, The Night Of; Raul Castillo, Looking: The Movie; Martin Freeman, Sherlock; Sam Jaeger, When We Rise; Toby Jones, Sherlock; David Morrissey, The Missing; Alessando Nivola, The Wizard of Lies; Jeffrey Nordling, Big Little Lies; Scott Patterson, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life; Evan Peters, American Horror Story: Roanoke; Adam Scott, Big Little Lies; Stanley Tucci, Feud: Bette and Joan; Michael K. Williams, The Night Of; Michael K. Williams, When We Rise Best Supporting Actress - TV Movie/Limited Series: Jeannie Berlin, The Night Of Kelly Bishop, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life Judy Davis, Feud: Bette and Joan Laura Dern, Big Little Lies Keeley Hawes, The Missing Sophie Okonedo, The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Fargo HONORABLE MENTION: Amanda Abbington, Sherlock; Annaleigh Ashford, The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again; Kathy Bates, American Horror Story: Roanoke; Judi Dench, The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses; Renee Elise Goldsberry, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks; Keeley Hawes, The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses; Jackie Hoffman, Feud: Bette and Joan; Amara Karan, The Night Of; Diane Keaton, The Young Pope; Zoe Kravitz, Big Little Lies; Sarah Paulson, Feud: Bette and Joan; Michelle Pfeiffer, The Wizard of Lies; Kiernan Shipka, Feud: Bette and Joan; Robin Weigert, Big Little Lies; Liza Weil, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life; Ruth Wilson, Suite Francaise; Catherine Zeta-Jones, Feud: Bette and Joan Best Variety Series: Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Last Week Tonight with John Oliver The Late Late Show with James Corden Late Night with Seth Meyers The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Saturday Night Live HONORABLE MENTION: Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Tracey Ullman’s Show, Watch What Happens Live, Whose Line Is It Anyway? Best Variety Special: The Age of Spin: Dave Chappelle Live at the Hollywood Palladium Full Frontal with Samantha Bee: Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King Jerrod Carmichael: 8 Sarah Silverman: A Speck of Dust The 70th Annual Tony Awards HONORABLE MENTION: The 89th Annual Academy Awards, Amy Schumer: The Leather Special, Bo Burnham: Make Happy, Chris Gethard: Career Suicide, The Comedy Central Roast of Rob Lowe, Deep in the Heart of Texas: Dave Chappelle Live at Austin City Limits, Hairspray Live!, Justin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids, The Late Late Show Primetime Carpool Karaoke Special 2017, Louis C.K. 2017, The 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, Super Bowl LI Halftime Show, Tony Bennett Celebrates 90: The Best Is Yet to Come Best Male Performer - Variety Series/Special: Alec Baldwin, Saturday Night Live Dave Chappelle, Saturday Night Live Harvey Fierstein, Hairspray Live! Tom Hanks, Saturday Night Live John Oliver, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Justin Timberlake, Justin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids HONORABLE MENTION: Aziz Ansari, Saturday Night Live; Tony Bennett, Tony Bennett Celebrates 90: The Best Is Yet to Come; Bo Burnham, Bo Burnham: Make Happy; Jerrod Carmichael, Jerrod Carmichael: 8; Dave Chappelle, The Age of Spin: Dave Chappelle Live at the Hollywood Palladium; Dave Chappelle, Deep in the Heart of Texas: Dave Chappelle Live at Austin City Limits; Louis C.K., Louis C.K. 2017; Stephen Colbert, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert; James Corden, The Late Late Show with James Corden; James Corden, The 70th Annual Tony Awards; Chris Gethard, Chris Gethard: Career Suicide; Jimmy Kimmel, The 89th Annual Academy Awards; Seth Meyers, Late Night with Seth Meyers; Hasan Minhaj, Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King; Lin-Manuel Miranda, Saturday Night Live; Harry Styles, Saturday Night Live; Ephraim Sykes, Hairspray Live!; Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live Best Female Performer - Variety Series/Special: Samantha Bee, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Beyonce, The 2016 MTV Video Music Awards Kristin Chenoweth, Hairspray Live! Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live Tracey Ullman, Tracey Ullman’s Show HONORABLE MENTION: Maddie Baillio, Hairspray Live!; Vanessa Bayer, Saturday Night Live; Samantha Bee, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee: Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner; Beyonce, The 59th Annual Grammy Awards; Aidy Bryant, Saturday Night Live; Ariana Grande, Hairspray Live!; Jennifer Hudson, Hairspray Live!; Leslie Jones, Saturday Night Live; Lady Gaga, Super Bowl LI Halftime Show; Rihanna, The 2016 MTV Video Music Awards; Amy Schumer, Amy Schumer: The Leather Special; Sarah Silverman, Sarah Silverman: A Speck of Dust; Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live; Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live Best Animated Series: Archer Bob’s Burgers BoJack Horseman F Is for Family Family Guy HONORABLE MENTION: The Simpsons, South Park Best Voice-Over Performance - Animated Series: Will Arnett, BoJack Horseman - “That’s Too Much, Man!” Laura Dern, F Is for Family - “Fight Night” Dan Mintz, Bob’s Burgers - “Ain’t Miss Debatin’” John Roberts, Bob’s Burgers - “Zero Larp Thirty” Amy Sedaris, BoJack Horseman - “Best Thing That Ever Happened” Harry Shearer, The Simpsons - “The Great Phatsby, Parts 1 & 2” HONORABLE MENTION: Angela Bassett, BoJack Horseman; H. Jon Benjamin, Archer; H. Jon Benjamin, Bob’s Burgers; Alison Brie, BoJack Horseman; Dan Castellaneta, The Simpsons; Seth MacFarlane, Family Guy; Eugene Mirman, Bob’s Burgers; Amber Nash, Archer; Trey Parker, South Park; Aaron Paul, BoJack Horseman; Kristen Schaal, Bob’s Burgers; Kristen Schaal, BoJack Horseman; Yeardley Smith, The Simpsons; Jessica Walter, Archer; Lucky Yates, Archer Best Reality Series - Competition: The Challenge: Rivals III Match Game Project Runway RuPaul's Drag Race Survivor Top Chef HONORABLE MENTION: The Amazing Race, America’s Next Top Model, The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions, Lip Sync Battle, The $100,000 Pyramid, Project Runway Junior, So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation Best Reality Series - Non-Competition: Catfish: The TV Show Hoarders Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath The Real Housewives of New York City Shark Tank Teen Mom 2 HONORABLE MENTION: Flipping Out, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Teen Mom Breakthrough Male Performance: Elliot Fletcher, Shameless Brian Tyree Henry, Atlanta DeRon Horton, Dear White People Gaten Matarazzo, Stranger Things Christian Navarro, 13 Reasons Why Justice Smith, The Get Down Finn Wolfhard, Stranger Things HONORABLE MENTION: Tremaine Brown Jr., The Get Down; Lonnie Chavis, This Is Us; Brandon Flynn, 13 Reasons Why; Brandon Micheal Hall, Search Party; William Jackson Harper, The Good Place; Pete Holmes, Crashing; Manny Jacinto, The Good Place; Austin P. McKenzie, When We Rise; Caleb McLaughlin, Stranger Things; Toby Onwumere, Sense8; Marcel Ruiz, One Day at a Time; Ephraim Sykes, Hairspray Live! Breakthrough Female Performance: Zazie Beetz, Atlanta Millie Bobby Brown, Stranger Things Herizen F. Guardiola, The Get Down Chrissy Metz, This Is Us Simone Missick, Marvel’s Luke Cage Issa Rae, Insecure Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag HONORABLE MENTION: Hannah Alligood, Better Things; Maddie Baillio, Hairspray Live!; Roberta Colindrez, I Love Dick; Sophia Grace Gianni, Transparent; Isabella Gomez, One Day at a Time; Katherine Langford, 13 Reasons Why; Mikey Madison, Better Things; Yvonne Orji, Insecure; Shannon Purser, Stranger Things; Emily Skeggs, When We Rise Best Documentary Series: Five Came Back - Laurent Bouzereau Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On - Sandra C. Alvarez, Jill Bauer, Ronna Gradus, Rashida Jones & Peter Logreco The Keepers - Ryan White Last Chance U - Greg Whiteley O.J.: Made in America (30 for 30) - Ezra Edelman Vice - Shane Smith HONORABLE MENTION: Divided States of America (Frontline) Best Documentary Special: Audrie & Daisy - Bonnie Cohen & Jon Shenk Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds - Alexis Bloom & Fisher Stevens By Sidney Lumet (American Masters) - Nancy Buirski Casting JonBenet - Kitty Green Hamilton’s America (Great Performances) - Alex Horwitz Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992 - John Ridley Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing - Ricki Stern & Anne Sundberg Mommy Dead and Dearest - Erin Lee Carr Newtown (Independent Lens) - Kim A. Snyder Suited - Jason Benjamin This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous - Barbara Kopple This Was the XFL (30 for 30) - Charlie Ebersol HONORABLE MENTION: Abortion: Stories Women Tell, Amanda Knox, Becoming Bond, Becoming Warren Buffet, Beware the Slenderman, Class Divide, Disgraced, Eagles of Death Metal: Nois Amis, Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You (American Masters), Rock and a Hard Place, Three Days of Terror: The Charlie Hebdo Attacks, We Are Orlando (True Life)

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mchenryjd · 6 years

Text

2017 in Review

Necessarily incomplete, mostly for my personal record. I will probably regret this.

MOVIES

10. mother!

Got to a screening late, had to sit in the third show, could barely tell what was happening and spent most of the movie staring at J. Law’s flared nostrils. An ideal viewing experience.

9. Personal Shopper

Nothing captures the purposeful emptiness of spending time online like Kristen Stewart texting a ghost.

8. Get Out

I kept telling my dad this movie was funny to get him to see it, not realizing he didn’t already know it was a horror movie. Afterwards, he texted me, “that was not a comedy!” Feels like that’s enough a metaphor. Daniel Kaluuya for best actor.

7. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

A Star Wars movie about loving Star Wars movies, which means loving the epic, silly struggle between good and epic, loving the spiral staircase that is John Williams’s force theme, loving it when character always do the coolest possible thing followed by the next coolest possible thing, loving dumb furry creatures and sarcastic slimy ones, loving it when characters kiss when you want them to kiss, loving the hundred-million-dollar sandbox of it all. After the constricted dance steps of The Force Awakens and Rogue One, give me this bleeding freestyle any day.

6. Phantom Thread

Finally, proof that everyone in a serious relationship has lost it.

5. Call Me By Your Name

I refuse to believe that being stuck in rural Italy would be anything other than deadly boring and if my father insisted on turning everything into a lecture on classical art, I would run away. Also, there’s a contrast between the book (vague on the details of place and time, vividly specific on matters of sex) and the film (more contextually specific, sexier, but less horny than the original). Also, who am I kidding, I was moved and unsettled by the force of the thing. *Michael Stuhlbarg voice* Pray you get a chance to fall in love like this.

4. Dunkirk

Having your tense, churning, clanking, thrumming, score transform into Elgar right when the beautiful, imperiled young heroes are reading a stirring speech (and Tom Hardy is heroically sacrificing himself in what looks like the middle of a Turner painting) is a level of craft so deft if feels like cheating, but it works.

3. BPM

A film about a community in danger that acts as both a memorial to and rallying cry for that community. Uncompromising, accommodating, queer in the best way, BPM makes you want to cry and go dancing at the same time.

2. Columbus

The kind of movie that makes you want to get in a car and keep driving until you find something beautiful, it has stuck and expanded in my memory ever since I saw it over the summer. Like the architecture that looms large in the setting, the plot can feel uncomfortably schematic – John Cho wants to leave and gets stuck, Haley Lu Richardson is stuck and gets to leave. The question is how people live within, and blur the edges of, those confines. John Cho has a winning, curdled decency; Haley Lu Richardson gives the hardest kind of performance, in that she often seems unaware of her character’s own wants. I’d watch her quietly assemble dinner for hours on end.

1. Lady Bird

A movie that feels less plotted and more prefigured – every fight between Lady Bird has happened before, every high school landmark lumbers by with inevitability, every boy disappoints in the way you expect. What redeems all this? Paying attention, which is also love, in this movie’s pseudo-religious sense. Between Lady Bird and Marion, between Lady Bird and Julie, between Lady Bird and Sacramento. Watch people closely, as Greta Gerwig does, and they reveal glimmers of themselves (I know so little, and yet everything, about Stephen McKinley Henderson’s drama teacher from a few moments that feel perfect, in the sense of contained, past-tense completeness). It’ll all so ordinary. Fall in love with it.

Honorable mentions: Regina Hall’s speech about friendship in Girls Trip, Sally Hawkins tracing a droplet with her finger in The Shape of Water, Meryl Streep on the phone in The Post, Cara Delevingne in Valerian, Rihanna in Valerian, the part where the ghost jumped off the building in A Ghost Story, the fact that Power Rangers was surprisingly good, the soldier who gasps as Diana whips out her hair in the trenches in Wonder Woman, Ansel Elgort’s jacket in Baby Driver, whenever anyone tried to explain anything in Alien: Covenant, Elisabeth Moss in The Square, Anh Seo-hyun feeding Okja in Okja, Lois Smith being in movies, the kids eating ice cream in The Florida Project, the Game of Thrones joke in Logan Lucky, Vella Lovell in The Big Sick, and finally, most preciously, the moment in Home Again where Reese Witherspoon kissed Michael Sheen and someone in my theater shouted “she’s not feeling it!”

TELEVISION

10. The Good Doctor

Listen, he’s a good doctor.

9. Riverdale

They’re hot. They’re angsty. They do drugs that look like Pixy-Stix. They never seem to do homework. They love to hook-up in weird locations. They have terrible taste in karaoke songs. They love hair dye, and a well-defined eyebrow. They have really hot parents. They’re TV teens! I love it.

8. Insecure

This is just to say that I am far too invested in Molly’s happiness as a person. I would also like to view a full season of Due North.

7. American Vandal

From Alex Trimboli to Christa Carlyle, the best names on TV are on this show. Also the best reenactments, and somehow the most incisive take on what fuels, and results from TV’s true-crime obsession. Jimmy Tatro mumbling!

6. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

More shows should take the opportunity to explode in their third seasons, rocket forward at full speed, diagnose their main characters, and give Josh Groban wonderful, unexplainable cameos.

5. Alias Grace

A show that conjured a performance for the ages out of Sarah Gadon and somehow made Zachary Levi palatable as a dramatic actor, this miracle of collaboration between Mary Harron and Sarah Polley is all the better for being binged. Down it in an afternoon, think of Grace under her black veil, daring you to disbelieve her, for years to come.

4. Twin Peaks: The Return

A show that drove nostalgia into itself like a knife to the chest. Totally absurd. The best revival/exorcism yet on TV.

3. Please Like Me

“Sorry about your life.” “I’m sorry about your life.” In a time when things tend to peter out, what a final season, in which everything goes to shit and then some. Maybe TV’s most prickly comedy, Please Like Me’s heart is of the “stumble along and keep going” sort and never does it test itself as much as it did with this bleak, pastel final statement.

2. The Leftovers

Do you believe Nora Durst’s story? Sometimes I do. Sometimes I think it sounds ridiculous. Sometimes I relax in the comfortable, academic premise that it only matters that Kevin does. It’s a haunting idea, though, this image of world even emptier than The Leftovers’s own, where it’s possible to wander for untold time in darkness. Carrie Coon’s description of it is a kind of journey to the underworld – we’re there with her, maybe, and then we make it back, maybe. The trick of The Leftovers is the wound’s never fully healed.

1. Halt and Catch Fire

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The world changes. People sorta don’t.

Honorable mentions: the twist in The Good Place, the Taylor Swift demon character in Neo Yokio, Claire Foy on The Crown, Vanessa Kirby on The Crown, the stand-up in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Cristin Milioti in Black Mirror, the televised Academy Awards ceremony, the weeks when Netflix didn’t release new TV shows I had to watch, Girls’s “American Bitch,” the fact that Adam Driver is both in Girls and Star Wars, Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys performances on The Americans (and life in Brooklyn), the moments in Game of Thrones that were good enough to make me stop thinking about what people would write about Game of Thrones, season 2 of The Magicians’s resistance to any sort of plot logic, Jane the Virgin’s narrator, Nicole Kidman at therapy on Big Little Lies, Reese Witherspoon’s production of Avenue Q in Big Little Lies, Alexis Bledel holding things in The Handmaid’s Tale, Maggie Gyllenhaal directing porn in The Deuce, Alison Brie’s terrible Russian accent in Glow, Maya Rudolph in Big Mouth, Cush Jumbo miming oral sex with a pen in court in The Good Fight, the calming experience of watching new episodes of Superstore and Great News on Fridays, Eden Sher in The Middle, the fake books they make up for Younger, and Rihanna livestreaming herself watching Bates Motel.

THEATER

10. Indecent

History, identity, community all mangled together in something that’s both excavation and revivification. I’m so mad I didn’t get to see it with my mom.

9. Mary Jane

A nightmare that goes from bad to worse, which Carrie Coon performed with the endurance of a saint.

8. SpongeBob SquarePants

Highlights: The tap number, the Fiddler on the Roof joke, the many uses of pool noodles, David Zinn’s design in general, the arms, the volcano setpiece, the fact that somehow I kept laughing for two-and-a-half hours at something SpongeBob SquarePants. Tina Landau, you’re a hero.

7. Hello, Dolly!

I had a wonderful viewing experience like this, in that I sat alone on an aisle next to an older gay man who turned to me right when the curtain came down on the first act and said, “man, we love Bette.” (Shout out to any and all gags involving the whale.)

6. Groundhog Day

Proof you can dig deeper into the material you’re adapting and still find more. Sometimes, the funniest gags come out of old-fashioned repetition. Andy Karl has the Rolex-like ability to make it all speed by without revealing any of the ticks, and then wallop you in the second act.

5. The Glass Menagerie

A lot of unconventional ideas piled onto each other that go so far into strange territory that they loop back around to being immediate. Maybe distant to some, but enough to unsettle me. I can still smell the onstage rain.

4. The Wolves

A sign of a good play is probably that you remain invested in the characters long after you see it, and I’m going to spend so much time worrying about all the girls on the soccer team in The Wolves for the rest of my life.

3. The Band’s Visit

Katrina Lenk has a gorgeous voice. Tony Shalhoub is restrained to the point that he could move his baton with nanometer accuracy. The songs are transporting. But most of all, The Band’s Visit manages to capture loneliness better than nearly any musical I’ve seen. Everyone, audience included, experiences something together, and then it all, slowly, both lingers and drifts apart.

2. A Doll’s House, Part 2

What, you think I wasn’t going to include a play with a Laurie Metcalf performance? ADHP2 is perhaps clever to a fault in its set-up, but in the right hands, it turns into something both funny and moving – a story about what it takes to become a complete person, in or outside the influence of other people. Nora’s monologue about living in silence near the end is the full of the kind of simple statements that are so hard to act, and so brilliant when done just right.

1. The Antipodes

Both an extended meditation on what it means to run out of stories and a brutal subtweet of Los Angeles, The Antipodes is my kind of play, in that it’s mostly people talking, Josh Charles is involved and very disgruntled, and everyone eats a lot of take out.

Honorable mentions: the music in Sunday in the Park With George, the pies in Sweeney Todd, the ensemble of Come From Away, seeing Dave Malloy in The Great Comet of 1812, Alex Newell’s “Mama Will Provide” in Once on This Island, Cate Blanchet having fun in The Present, Imelda Staunton in the NTLive Follies, Michael Urie in Torch Song, Patti LuPone’s accent(s) in War Paint, Ashley Park in KPOP, and Gleb.

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