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As November rapidly approaches, we are getting into peak award season. Studios are slowly trodding out more of their movies they think can win an Oscar, Golden Globe, etc. So not everything great is out yet (Moonlight, for example, is just now starting in limited release), but here are my favorite five movies of the year, with a few more mentions too.
This might not be the best movie of the year from a traditional critical standpoint, but it's my favorite by far. Most unique and original horror movie I have seen in many years. It strives to be as authentic to the Puritan 1600's colonial America as it can be, right down to the olde English being spoken. It's so authentic that you really, really should see it with subtitles. The sense of dread is in this movie is off the charts, as you just know things are not going to go well for this family. The end is as intense, cool, subversive, unnerving and different as I've ever seen. Anya Taylor-Joy is a revelation in it, and Ralph Ineson is great as the dad who has the weight of the world on his shoulders bc of what he's done to his family. Highly recommended, part. right now as Halloween approaches. Perfect movie for the season.
The studio that put this out is A24. These people have had an amazing track record since starting in 2013: Spring Breakers, Spectacular Now, Under The Skin, Locke, Obvious Child, A Most Violent Year, While We're Young, Ex Machina, Slow West, The End of the Tour, Room, Mojave, Krisha, Green Room, The Lobster, De Palma, Swiss Army Man & Moonlight just to name a bunch. It's to the point where you can almost certainly trust anything they put out.
Otherwise known as Avengers 2.5. A very worthy follow-up to the fantastic Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Way better Avengers movie than Age of Ultron was. This does everything that the DC movies haven't been able to thus far. The Russo brothers juggle all the characters perfectly, with everyone getting just the right amount of screen time. The movie overall is just SO MUCH FUN. Especially the airport scene, which is arguably the best superhero action scene we've seen. Just pure fanboy overload, with a great balance of drama, high stakes, comedy & development for Rogers & Stark.
This caught me off-guard. I heard it was good of course, but wow...so powerful and not what I expected. This covers the return of a long lost family member on Thanksgiving. Wikipedia says "Krisha returns for Thanksgiving dinner after ten years away from her family, but past demons threaten to ruin the festivities." It gets VERY dark. Directorial debut for Trey Edward Shults, and it's a semi-biographical story, dealing with the demons in his own family history. Very impressive for a first movie. Krisha Fairchild stars as the family member returning, and is the director's actual aunt and one of the few trained actors to start in it. She is fascinating in the role.
Took a nice long lunch at work a few weeks ago and walked over to the Sunshine on Houston Street and watched this. Deals with a highly educated & well rounded dad (and a bit of an anarchist) who has raised his 6 kids in the woods completely away from society, teaching them himself. An event forces him to bring his kids back around the rest of the family back in the real world. You'll laugh & you'll cry equally. The characterization is top notch, and you will absolutely care deeply about all of the children. It's shot beautifully as well, with beautiful cinematography in the woods of Oregon I believe. Just a really beautiful, heartwarming (not cheesy though at all) movie that makes you think about yourself and how you relate to modern society.
This might be the best "child comes back from big city to hometown to deal with his family's shit" movie you'll ever see. It's a semi-biographical comedy/drama written & directed by Chris Kelly, one of the main writers on SNL. Hopefully this is the role that catapults Jesse Plemons into bigger things. I've never seen Molly Shanno in anything serious, and she is amazing too (could see a Supporting Actress nomination for her role as the mother dying of cancer). If you've had cancer in your family like I have, you'll be cryin' hard most likely.
Other Notables:
Green Room- (this was in my top five until I watch Other People)....intense, dark thriller about a punk band who gets booked onto a show at the last minute, and it turns out to be a skinhead show. Things go downhill fast for them. Patrick Stewart goes against type as the skinhead leader.
Weiner- this documentary about Anthony Weiner's 2013 mayoral run had a level of inside access to a campaign that is never really seen. And then when things start crashing down around everyone bc of yet another dick pic scandal, we see what really happens to a candidate and those around him. It's even more relevant now after his latest scandal and his now ex-wife's continued relevance in Hillary's campaign.
Moonlight- didn't see yet but this is shaping up to be a big nominee come award season. Deals with a gay black man at 3 different points in his life.
Little Miss Stevens
Little Prince
Swiss Army Man
Blue Jay
The Shallows (Blake Lively can act yo)
De Palma
Popstar
The Lobster
13th
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Originally Posted by Swykk
