An assortment of films that I've enjoyed and I hope you will too.
1. Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
Starring a grizzled Sam Neill, this is a beautiful and side-splittingly funny movie that helped me understand the nature of love and the real significance of family.
2. The Lobster (2016)
The ultimate juvenalian satire. A macabre breakdown of dating culture and the society surrounding relationships, all based in an absolutely ridiculous scenario to point out that a lot of our social constructs surrounding relationships are pretty ridiculous themselves.
3. The Nice Guys (2016)
A hilarious but still captivating neo-noir, playing on the awesome chemistry between Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. Also, Shane Black goes all out stylistically, to great effect.
4. The Sixth Sense (1999)
I first saw this film this past year, and wow, I didn’t expect the twist at all. But it’s rather beautiful how director M. Night Shyamalan turns a paranormal premise into an amazing, emotionally powerful story.
5. Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
This movie is incredibly underrated. The animation in this movie is gorgeous, and so much so because it’s actually stop-motion. But it’s also a really interesting drama that becomes more powerful with every minute.
6. Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)
Oftentimes animated superhero films will pander to their audiences with mindless action. Not this one. I actually was nearly brought to tears when the credits rolled, just because of how it ended. It’s legitimately a great film, and I watch a lot of movies.
7. Spotlight (2015)
A respectful, captivating, and sometimes disturbing account of the Boston Globe’s investigation of child abuse and molestation in the Catholic Church, Spotlight is perhaps a must-see. It’s not political, it’s just an exposition of the events how they played out, and Tom McCarthy’s screenplay effectively portrays the scandal with utmost respect.
8. Rosewater (2014)
Gael García Bernal provides a fantastic performance in this film about Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari’s imprisonment after reporting on the Iranian election. Jon Stewart’s directorial debut is well-composed and a good character study.
9. Carnage (2011)
Roman Polanski’s Carnage follows two sets of parents trying to negotiate after their respective sons get in a fight on the school playground. Ironically though, the parents end up escalating the conflict. As the runtime continues, the brilliant cast serves up new revelations about the characters, and what started out as plainspoken civility turns into a shouting match wherein everyone is left insulted and angrier than before. It’s claustrophobic and sporadic, perfect in its uncomfortable atmosphere.
10. The Big Short (2015)
I was wondering how comedy director Adam McKay, known for his Anchorman films, would approach adapting an account of the 2008 housing crisis. Well it turns out, he did it hilariously, self-awarely, and rather brilliantly. This movie has one of the best screenplays I’ve ever seen, and I loved every minute of this movie, even though I definitely need to watch it again to fully understand the inner workings of the economic crisis that McKay depicts.
11. Arrival (2016)
Denis Villeneuve is a director I’ve been watching for a while, utterly wowing me with his films Prisoners (2013) and Enemy (2014), both of which are nothing like a conventional science fiction film. Arrival, however, is intelligent, gripping, and patient, and while I see how one could be disappointed with it, I loved it all the way through, up to its final twist. It slowly lets the viewer take in the wonder of its pretenses, and at a point, it was hard for me to deny how beautiful the film truly was, how all of the movie until that point converged into an amazing revelation. It’s a wonderful movie.
