Showing posts with label best of lists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label best of lists. Show all posts
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Best of September/October 2015
Movies:
Cinema Paradiso is a movie in love with movies. The screen is bathed in rich colors and takes place in an atmospheric Italian cultural milieu, much like Coppola's Godfather Duology or Leone's Dollars Trilogy. The first third of the story is utterly enchanting, as young Toto is introduced to movie magic. The subsequent romance plot is, to me, less interesting, but it's hard not to get swept up in the nostalgia of the film.
Back to the Future is everything great about the 80's: it's Ferris Bueller and time travel and skateboards and nostalgia and bad special effects and Huey Lewis and the News. In the film, the reason the story is so self-consciously about life in the 80's is because Marty McFly's an ambassador to the past, showcasing the 80's as the Future. Now, it feels like Back to the Future preserved the period in a time capsule, rather than a time machine. In addition, it's blessedly free of the angst of modern teenager films and instead of using the common Disney Parents As Villains trope, it attempts to see life from their point of view. Marty's mom and dad are almost more important than he is to the story.
Cinema Paradiso is a movie in love with movies. The screen is bathed in rich colors and takes place in an atmospheric Italian cultural milieu, much like Coppola's Godfather Duology or Leone's Dollars Trilogy. The first third of the story is utterly enchanting, as young Toto is introduced to movie magic. The subsequent romance plot is, to me, less interesting, but it's hard not to get swept up in the nostalgia of the film.
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Best of July/August 2015
Movies:
For me, July was a fairly meager month, but if I had to pick the movie that left the most impact, I'd say it was the interesting indie flick Marion Bridge. It's not a masterpiece, but it's a gentle, intelligent story, and a good way to pass the time. The story is about three sisters, the youngest of whom has just returned to their small hometown in Nova Scotia. The other two sisters have lived with the ailing mother for some years, and the impending death of the family matriarch is what it took to draw Agnes back from her wild life in the city. There's the usual confronting old demons and making new beginnings, but the writing and acting are accomplished enough to keep in interesting. Also note a cameo from a young, young Ellen Page.
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation was just absurdly fun. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's The Avengers of spy movies (no, I mean, like superhero Avengers, and not the actual Avengers of spy movies), but Rogue Nation may be as perfect as the Mission: Impossible franchise will ever be. Whereas Bond and Bourne lean more towards a Nolan Batman vibe (to continue the superhero similes), this - with its face-masks and "your mission, should you choose to accept it" - is inescapably campy territory. When the franchise tried to be something different (cough, cough, M:I-3) or take its own glamour seriously (cough, cough, M:I-2), it inevitably stumbles. Happily, Rogue Nation strikes just the right balance. Written review - podcast review.
For me, July was a fairly meager month, but if I had to pick the movie that left the most impact, I'd say it was the interesting indie flick Marion Bridge. It's not a masterpiece, but it's a gentle, intelligent story, and a good way to pass the time. The story is about three sisters, the youngest of whom has just returned to their small hometown in Nova Scotia. The other two sisters have lived with the ailing mother for some years, and the impending death of the family matriarch is what it took to draw Agnes back from her wild life in the city. There's the usual confronting old demons and making new beginnings, but the writing and acting are accomplished enough to keep in interesting. Also note a cameo from a young, young Ellen Page.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Best of May/June 2015
Movies:
It Happened One Night was a totally unexpected delight. It's one of the finest road trip romances, and the template for many a romcom thereafter. It starred Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert as a pair of reluctant fellow travelers, on their way to the Big Apple. He's a failing journalist; she's an heiress on the run. When he discovers her secret, they strike a deal: he'll ensure she gets to New York if she'll let him have the story. Inevitably, once the two begin to overcome their prejudices, love finds a way. Made in 1934, the film has held up incredibly well - notably, it won five Oscars (Best...Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, Writing), and even now has a 98% positive rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Monday, May 4, 2015
Best of March/April 2015
Movies:
It's a toss-up for March, but I'm going to have to give it to The Kid Brother over Amelie (which I also loved.) If you think you don't like silent movies, you obviously haven't seen this. Made in 1927, it stars the third member of the silent comedy trio: Harold Lloyd (we now remember Keaton and Chaplin, but Lloyd is mostly forgotten.) It's a hilarious, clever, heart-warming little film which has aged incredibly well. Watch here.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
2014 Top Movies & TV
Top 15 Movies/Top 5 TV Shows
of 2014
Last year's list
Yes, I know I'm late. Since it was over 2014 that I became a real film geek, I managed to see tons of terrific movies - but only a few stuck out as solid, all-time favorites. I mention them first.
Best of January/February 2015
Movies
Gravity had obvious problems. A bombastic soundtrack, little character development, and a penchant for dramatic, gratuitous destruction. But due to some terrific visuals, Gravity managed to sweep me away. I congratulate the main character: space. And boy, George Clooney really is a man of constant sorrow.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance feels like somebody's fan fiction come true - drop Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne down in a Western town, and watch them be themselves. But it's far more than just a rote Western. John Ford sets the story on the brink of civilization, as impending statehood threatens the both the violence of outlaws and the wild, free ways of independent cowboys. What is the difference between the two? That's the question this movie asks. My review.
Gravity had obvious problems. A bombastic soundtrack, little character development, and a penchant for dramatic, gratuitous destruction. But due to some terrific visuals, Gravity managed to sweep me away. I congratulate the main character: space. And boy, George Clooney really is a man of constant sorrow.The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance feels like somebody's fan fiction come true - drop Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne down in a Western town, and watch them be themselves. But it's far more than just a rote Western. John Ford sets the story on the brink of civilization, as impending statehood threatens the both the violence of outlaws and the wild, free ways of independent cowboys. What is the difference between the two? That's the question this movie asks. My review.Thursday, February 12, 2015
Episode 8: Misremembering 2014
Friday, October 31, 2014
Best of September/October 2014
Movies:
I really ought to choose A Room with a View, but I loved Midnight Run. I have no good excuses for that. Am I living in denial? Maybe. My review.
I've heard about The Godfather my whole life. And yes, it's as good as they say. A tragedy cum mafia thriller, it can be shockingly dark at times, but it's shot with extraordinary beauty, and acted with amazing finesse. My livetweet review.
TV:
Inspector George Gently is one of the grittier British crime shows that form a staple of our detective diet, but for the most part, it earns its drama. Martin Shaw brings the perfect mix of street smarts and baritone gravitas to the lead part. This isn't his first foray into investigation, but it has proved the most enduring, beginning in 2007 and filming a new season now. Lee Ingleby is his sidekick, the irrepressible John Bacchus, and while he can prove tedious at times, he adds a welcome dash of uncertainty to the plodding companion role.
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Inspector Lewis is one of the old reliables, cranking out three more episodes every year or two. Still, this scarcity ensures fairly constant quality. This season was no different, and it's always a pleasure to return to the dreaming spires and bloody libraries of Oxford.
My reviews: Entry Wounds, The Lions of Nemea, Beyond Good and Evil.
Hannah Long
I really ought to choose A Room with a View, but I loved Midnight Run. I have no good excuses for that. Am I living in denial? Maybe. My review.I've heard about The Godfather my whole life. And yes, it's as good as they say. A tragedy cum mafia thriller, it can be shockingly dark at times, but it's shot with extraordinary beauty, and acted with amazing finesse. My livetweet review.TV:
Inspector George Gently is one of the grittier British crime shows that form a staple of our detective diet, but for the most part, it earns its drama. Martin Shaw brings the perfect mix of street smarts and baritone gravitas to the lead part. This isn't his first foray into investigation, but it has proved the most enduring, beginning in 2007 and filming a new season now. Lee Ingleby is his sidekick, the irrepressible John Bacchus, and while he can prove tedious at times, he adds a welcome dash of uncertainty to the plodding companion role.My reviews: Entry Wounds, The Lions of Nemea, Beyond Good and Evil.
Hannah Long
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Best of July/August 2014
Movies:
It comes down to the wire between Ernest and Celestine, Becket, and The Dark Knight - three movies that are so wildly different as to make comparison nearly impossible. I'm going to have to go with entertainment value and choose Ernest and Celestine, a slight but lovely tale of friendship, art, and forgiveness. Unusual for the modern children's movie, and despite its palette of light colors, this film has quite a few harsher edges - this world isn't one without pain and death, though it treats them with a comic spin.
A 2 1/2 hour film set in a silent monastery, Into Great Silence (Die Große Stille) is of those movies that really, really ought to be boring, but isn't. It's about silent people, not silence. The rain still patters on the rooftop, feet echo in the dusky hallways, wind whistles in the eaves, ponderous bells mark out the pace with solemn, inevitable regularity. The seasons change. We come to know the faces of these men, so anachronistically pious and dedicated. We come to see their thoughtful faith and sacrificial, unassuming love. It's a transcendent experience. Steven Greydanus's review.
TV:
I probably shouldn't admit it, but I'm a sucker for sitcoms about elderly British people being mean to one another. Like Last of the Summer Wine or To the Manor Born, As Time Goes By makes the most of we're-getting-old humor, but has slightly more gravitas when handling the characters. It isn't afraid of earnestness, and amidst all the whimsicality and sex jokes (not too crass, m'dear, we're British) come intervals of calm sincerity. Also: Judi Dench (ever-elegant) and Geoffrey Palmer (ever-jowly) are terrific. Watch here.
Agatha Christie's Poirot is over. My childhood goes with it. For those wondering (all two of you), I have not yet been able to bring myself to review Curtain. Mix of a) didn't like it as much as I wanted to, b) I haven't watched it again and c) I think I'm in denial. I'm currently nursing myself back to health watching the earliest episodes/David Suchet interviews (always a pleasant experience). Reviews: Elephants Can Remember. The Big Four. Dead Man's Folly. The Labours of Hercules.
Hannah Long
It comes down to the wire between Ernest and Celestine, Becket, and The Dark Knight - three movies that are so wildly different as to make comparison nearly impossible. I'm going to have to go with entertainment value and choose Ernest and Celestine, a slight but lovely tale of friendship, art, and forgiveness. Unusual for the modern children's movie, and despite its palette of light colors, this film has quite a few harsher edges - this world isn't one without pain and death, though it treats them with a comic spin.A 2 1/2 hour film set in a silent monastery, Into Great Silence (Die Große Stille) is of those movies that really, really ought to be boring, but isn't. It's about silent people, not silence. The rain still patters on the rooftop, feet echo in the dusky hallways, wind whistles in the eaves, ponderous bells mark out the pace with solemn, inevitable regularity. The seasons change. We come to know the faces of these men, so anachronistically pious and dedicated. We come to see their thoughtful faith and sacrificial, unassuming love. It's a transcendent experience. Steven Greydanus's review.TV:
I probably shouldn't admit it, but I'm a sucker for sitcoms about elderly British people being mean to one another. Like Last of the Summer Wine or To the Manor Born, As Time Goes By makes the most of we're-getting-old humor, but has slightly more gravitas when handling the characters. It isn't afraid of earnestness, and amidst all the whimsicality and sex jokes (not too crass, m'dear, we're British) come intervals of calm sincerity. Also: Judi Dench (ever-elegant) and Geoffrey Palmer (ever-jowly) are terrific. Watch here.Hannah Long
Monday, June 30, 2014
Best of May/June 2014
While I enjoyed two non-fiction thrillers in Captain Phillips and Valkyrie, it was a third (dubiously historical) film, A Man for All Seasons, that swept me away. Robert Bolt's witty, emotional play is an amazing political fable delivered via fiery, powerful dialogue from a stellar cast of Shakespeareans. I probably just used way too many adjectives, but what the heck, it's great. My review.
For June it's a narrow win for Babette's Feast over 12 Years a Slave. A lovely, meandering Danish film, Babette is one of the purest representations of joy that I've seen in a long time. There's also a lot about art, generosity, God, love, and food. Mostly food. This movie really enjoys food. Set in a gorgeous, barren landscape, Babette shows us those little tinges of grace - purple clouds, elegant cliffs, music, feasting, friendship, artistry. (For those who have seen Ordet, it reunites two cast-members 33 years later.) My review.TV:
While Band of Brothers didn't affect me in the way it should have - emotionally - it's impossible not to respect the immensity of it. An enormous cast, impeccable production values, and gorgeous cinematography allow it to easily rival any big-budget Hollywood WWII flick. The few actors I kept track of among the chaos were superb, and it's fun to spot cameos from future stars (Andrew Scott, Tom Hardy, James McAvoy, Jimmy Fallon...) The neatest thing is that it's all true; the men really existed. My cousin even knew one of them. My review.
Michael Gambon always adds an aura of class to a film, and these atmospheric, charming adaptations of Georges Simenon's Maigret novels are no exception. Shipping English actors overseas to play foreign characters only works sometimes, but this series pulls it off flawlessly, as it also does with the 1950s noir style. Gambon plays Inspector Jules Maigret, a burly, vague, quirky, intelligent sleuth. Like the Maigret of the novels, Gambon doesn't go for the more sleek, sexy attraction of a genius like Holmes, but a quietly endearing Everyman, empathizing with the beleaguered Parisian working classes, seeking justice in a morally gray world.Hannah Long
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Best of March/April 2014
Movies:
The Iron Giant - Brad Bird's first feature film, a creative, innovative story about a boy and his alien robot pal. For an animated movie, it's very visually interesting. While featuring some rather ham-fisted political commentary, it also delves into surprising moral depths, much like his later film The Incredibles, and does avoid caricaturing its bad guys (just).
Ordet - a strange, entrancing German movie from 1955. An instant favorite, but difficult to summarize. Basically, it's about the spiritual journey of a small farming family in the 1920's, and an intriguing representation of rational, intellectual religion versus irrational, powerful faith (though it's not quite that simple). My review.
TV:
Sherlock Holmes - Immensely theatrical, unpredictable, and charming, Jeremy Brett isn't really my image of Holmes. To be fair though, neither is Benedict Cumberbatch's petulant boy-sleuth, or Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron-Man-With-A-British-Accent riff, enjoyable as they are. Brett himself recommended Clive Merrison's radio adaptations and I'd have to agree. All that said, Brett creates a dark, moody man that is a terrific contribution to the canon of on-screen Holmeses. He's nicely balanced by his two Watsons, light-hearted David Burke and levelheaded Edward Hardwicke. Much like Poirot or Morse, this showcased the Who's Who in British acting, including Ciaran Hinds, Jude Law(!), Hugh Bonneville, Robert Hardy, Antony Valentine, James Purefoy, Peter Vaughan and...now I totally feel like a sexist, but there were women too. Anyway, it amounts to one of the monuments of British detective TV, unlikely to ever be surpassed as the most authentic adaptation of Conan Doyle's character.
Endeavour - As a big fan of Inspector Morse, I've tremendously enjoyed this prequel/reboot series, but at this point, it has begun to run entirely on its own steam. How does it perform? Quite well, for the most part. After a while, its slow pace feels a little fatiguing, but the great performances and chemistry between the two leads, Shaun Evans as Morse and Roger Allam as Thursday, salvage even the cornier moments. On the other hand, it ends on a high, with an episode focusing on this relationship. Bring on the third season. My reviews: Trove, Nocturne, Sway, and Neverland.
Hannah Long
The Iron Giant - Brad Bird's first feature film, a creative, innovative story about a boy and his alien robot pal. For an animated movie, it's very visually interesting. While featuring some rather ham-fisted political commentary, it also delves into surprising moral depths, much like his later film The Incredibles, and does avoid caricaturing its bad guys (just).
Ordet - a strange, entrancing German movie from 1955. An instant favorite, but difficult to summarize. Basically, it's about the spiritual journey of a small farming family in the 1920's, and an intriguing representation of rational, intellectual religion versus irrational, powerful faith (though it's not quite that simple). My review.
TV:
Sherlock Holmes - Immensely theatrical, unpredictable, and charming, Jeremy Brett isn't really my image of Holmes. To be fair though, neither is Benedict Cumberbatch's petulant boy-sleuth, or Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron-Man-With-A-British-Accent riff, enjoyable as they are. Brett himself recommended Clive Merrison's radio adaptations and I'd have to agree. All that said, Brett creates a dark, moody man that is a terrific contribution to the canon of on-screen Holmeses. He's nicely balanced by his two Watsons, light-hearted David Burke and levelheaded Edward Hardwicke. Much like Poirot or Morse, this showcased the Who's Who in British acting, including Ciaran Hinds, Jude Law(!), Hugh Bonneville, Robert Hardy, Antony Valentine, James Purefoy, Peter Vaughan and...now I totally feel like a sexist, but there were women too. Anyway, it amounts to one of the monuments of British detective TV, unlikely to ever be surpassed as the most authentic adaptation of Conan Doyle's character.Hannah Long
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Best of January/February 2014
[As a bit of an aid to refresh my memory when "Best of" lists come around next January, here's my pick of the month.]
January's decision is tough, but the only 5-star review I gave was to Life is Beautiful, a funny, earnest Italian film set during WWII. My review.
As for February, it's a toss-up. I think entertainment wins the day (because yes, I am that shallow), so I choose Princess Mononoke over Lawrence of Arabia. The film is practically my first experience of Hiyao Miyazaki, and, though flawed, it's pretty incredible. My review.
TV:
This is pretty much a no-brainer - to January I happily give the gold to Broadchurch, an exquisitely made murder drama about the death of a young boy in a seaside town. My review.
As for February, I'm able to name Sherlock, since the last episode aired on the 3rd. (But if I did put it in January, I'd have to give Broadchurch the edge, by a bit.) I didn't agree with all the decisions made in Sherlock's third season, but still, it's good to be back. My reviews: The Empty Hearse, The Sign of Three, His Last Vow.
Hannah Long
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