As I move toward the Top 20, it gets harder and harder to rank these films in order. On any given day, I could tweak the order here and there. Let’s just say that all of these films are worth seeing and I enjoyed them for a variety of different reasons. This batch has quite an assortment of films low-budget indies, to big blockbusters… career making performances to quirky international fare. Let’s take a look.
#21) We Strangers – Carefully constructed examination of race and culture in the midwest features an excellent performance by Kirby Howell-Baptiste (The Sandman) as a young woman named Ray, helping to support her mother and sister, while cleaning houses in a privileged white community. When Ray is recommended to the high-strung neighbor next door by the doctor for whom she works, she is amused to find the neighbor is fascinated by psychics. When Ray mentions as an aside that she can do that too… hear ghosts and what not, things take an amusing turn. Darkly funny and insightful, the micro aggressions are subtle… until they’re not. And Ray doesn’t just let them slide.
#22) The Fantastic 4: First Steps – Marvel made a good decision to tap Matt Shakman, show runner for their innovative WandaVision series, to direct The Fantastic 4: First Steps. While the film has its share of high-intensity action sequences that are de riguer for superhero flicks, it spends a fair amount of time developing the characters in a way that seemed natural.
It’s nearly a perfect Fantastic Four adaptation for me, with very little to quibble about. To be fair, The Fantastic Four is my favorite comic book at the moment, and has been for quite a while. And The Invisible Woman, one of the members of this superhero team is my all-time favorite comic character when written well. The characterization in the film was great, the focus on family was much appreciated (true to the comic). The casting was terrific. It wasn’t just a big, dumb action movie, like most comic book movies. The humor felt natural, not shoe-horned in. There were some nice surprises not spoiled in the trailer. Susan was just great, and Vanessa Kirby portrayed her beautifully. Pedro Pascal captured a really accurate portrayal of a genius on the spectrum, yet somehow still empathetic Reed.
#23) The History of Sound – Critics have called this movie boring, but I found it beautiful and moving, with muted, gentle performances, and lovely look at the history of folk music, and gorgeous cinematography. Set during WWI the film follows Lionel (Paul Mescal) who leaves his family farm in Kentucky to attend the New England Conservatory of Music. He meets David (Josh O’Connor) in a pub, and the two begin a physical relationship. As they grow closer, David is drafted into the war, and Lionel returns home. Two years later the two are reunited when David returns home and begins work at a college in Maine where he is to travel around rural America capturing folk songs on wax cylinders. David and Lionel rekindle their relationship, only to party ways again. for decades.
This gentle story is buoyed by Paul Mescals nuanced, internalized performance, stunning cinematography, and some really lovely music. The languid pace and melancholy tone suited the subject matter for me, and I enjoyed the film very much.
#24) A Traveler’s Needs – Prolific filmmaker Hong Sang-soo, who seems to make at least two feature films a year, brings in an international heavy-hitter for A Traveler’s Needs, by adding Isabelle Huppert into the mix. Huppert’s Iris is travling in South Korea for an indeterminate amount of time, and scrapes by by teaching people how to speak French. She develops unusual, somewhat intimate relationships with her adult students, yet reveals very little of herself to them or the audience.
Hong Sang-soo creates such fascinating, quirky-yet-real characters, and it’s a joy to watch the ineractions between the studnets and Iris, and her unusual teaching style. The film is witty and light-hearted, even while exploring the human condition in a languid, poetic manner.
#25) If I Had Legs I’d Kick You – How many horror movies are based on motherhood? And make no mistake this film is horrific in a powerful, if somewhat blunt way. The intensity if unrelenting, despite welcome bits of black humor. Rose Byrne is a force to be seen. For all intents and purposes, a single mom (husband is a ship’s captain who is rarely at home) Linda is caring for a young daughter with an undisclosed health condition that requires multiple doctor’s visits, and a lot of in-home care. Linda is also a therapist, and the stresses on her family life are starting to impact her ability to do her job. To top it off, her boss — played with infuriating emotional disetance by Conan O’Brien — is also her therapist. When her ceiling collapses due to a flood, she and her daughter are forced to move into a nearby motel and the stress just keeps mounting.
Director Mary Bronstein is unrelenting in painting the challenges must face, and in fact, all monthers must face. Rose Byrne is simply remarkable in her portrayal of this woman on the verge, and the supporting cast is terrific as well. While it’s a tough ride, and possibly not for everyone, I found IF I HAD LEGS, I’D KICK YOU a compelling and utterly satisfying film.
#26) Is This Thing On? – What this feel-good divorce movie lacks in bite, it more than makes up with with heart and good acting. Having gone through something somewhat similar to this, ending a long relationship between people who still care deeply for one another, I found it beautiful grown-up and is immensely aided by strong performances by Will Arnett, and especially, the always terrific Laura Dern.
It’s the first of Bradley Cooper’s directorial efforts that I liked, and he does a nice job telling this story. Sure, it has a typically Hollywood wrap-up moment, but I felt it was well-earned. Cinematographer Matthew Libatique (who won a Chlotrudis Award for his early work for Darren Aronofsky’s PI) captures both New York City, and the people involved in this story really nicely. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I was absorbed and enjoyed this 2-hour plus film.
#27) Weapons – A film where the execution is almost as good as the premise! You know I’m not a fan of horror movies, but every now and then one intrigues me enough to see, and this one didn’t let me down.
One night at 2:17 am, in a quiet suburban town, every child from Justine Gandy’a third-grade class except for one, ran out of their house and vanished into the night. When days go by with no clues as to what might have occurred, town suspicion’s are running high especially as directed toward Justine. One father in particular, Archer, takes investigations into his own hand. Meanwhile, we take a look in on young Alex Lilly, the one child who did not vanish, and the unusual goings-on in his home.
With a wonderfully bravura performance that won her an Oscar, from Amy Madigan, Weapons kicks off with an eerie visual of a mysterious night flight, and ends with a visceral horror that serves as a much-needed release. A surprisingly effective and entertaining film.
#28) Sorry, Baby – Debut film from writer/director/lead actor, Eva Victor, is a somber, dramaedy, about a young woman struggling with a traumatic past event that she can’t seem to shake, despite her best efforts to put it behind her. Teaching in the small New England University from which she graduated, Agnes lives a fairly solitary life; her best friend and former college roommate has moved to New York City and they see each other sporadically. She is also one of the few people in Agnes’ life who knows what happened.
“Victor tells her story with an unusual cadence, first introducing her main characters in a more light-hearted reunion, so as not to have the past events overshadow their lives, despite the fact that a it does. I actually found the first quarter of the film somewhat off-putting with little to connect to, but once the meat of the story started to kick in, and the narrative began to jump around in time, I fell into Victor’s unusual story-telling rhythms and the film found its pace. The high point for me was a very strong scenes between Agnes and Pete, a grumpy townie with whom she has an initially unsettling encounter. Victor plays Agnes with a quirky sensibility that also came across in the post-film Q&A, so I suspect it’s part of her own personality. It would have been an interesting experience to see her film told with a different actor playing the lead. Lucas Hedges has a lovely supporting role, and John Carroll Lynch nails it as the grumpy Pete.
#29) Peacock – Matthias works for a company that hires out ‘companions,’ friends, partners, family members, whatever you need for your given circumstance. Need a date for an important event? Need a son to show what a good father you are? Need someone to practice arguing with so you can stand up to your sometimes unreasonable husband? Matthias is your man. Matthias is so agreeable, that he doesn’t seem to have any options of his own, in fact, his girlfriend isn’t even sure he’s a real, three-dimensional person anymore.
“When confronted with this, Matthias is stunned, and tries to figure out what’s wrong. The film explores several directions that are both funny and cringe-worthy, eventually spiraling to a grand finale that is an apt conclusion, but doesn’t truly resolve anything.
“I was left a little bit underwhelmed immediately after seeing the film, but it has grown on me with time. First time feature writer/director Bernhard Wenger has constructed an amusing dark comedy that explores the things we give up to make others happy or comfortable. and lead actor Albrecht Schuch is pretty remarkable and entertaining as the beleaguered Matthias.
#30) Misericordia – This curious, oh-so French film from filmmaker Alain Guiraudie, explores how the residents of a small village react to the return of a prodigal for the funeral of his mentor. Jérémie returns to his hometown to attend the funeral of a former boss. With no plan on where or how long he will stay, he accepts an invitation to stay with the boss’ widow. His return affects the small community from the widow’s son, an old friend and neighbor, the village priest and the widow herself, as Jérémie’s charismatic presence eventually inspires a moment of violence that involves the local police.
This dark comedy verges into Dupieux territory with deadpan, absurdist humor and rampant, unexplained desire. Félix Kysyl embodies the enigmatic Jérémie perfectly, and it was lovely to see Catherine Frot (from Lucas Belvaux’s THE TRILOGY) as the widow. A big step up (for me) from Guiraudie’s much-lauded STRANGER BY THE LAKE.