Movies I've Seen 2016

5/5 An incredible and majestic experience that is as abstract as it is emotional. Movies don't get more original, unpredictable, or ambitious than this. Denis Villeneuve orchestrates all the visual and sonic elements of cinema to captivate and transport audiences in a way few directors can. Arrival is likely to go down as my favorite movie of the year and as one of the best sci-fi movies ever.

The wonder and awe of extraterrestrial life is extremely fascinating on screen when done right. Spielberg has certainly achieved it with Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Denis Villeneuve is right on par with this film. It isn't one big crescendo like that film is, instead revealing the aliens towards the beginning, and building concept and story after. Arrival starts off as an awe inspiring experience and only goes up from there. The director's last film Sicario kept topping itself off, scene after scene, even when you think the last one can't be beat, and Arrival does the same, but on an even larger scale.

One scene involves the characters entering the ship, where they travel up a lift and into a vertical cave with a white wall at the end that the aliens are behind. This scene is way longer than it could be, but it's done with such intensity and suspense to really make you feel like you're traveling with the characters into unknown territory, and it's beautiful.

The atmosphere is so powerful from scene to scene, from the fog stretching over the mountains in the Montana location to the interior of the spacecraft. Johann Johannson's score is other-worldly, unsettling, creative, and majestic, adds a lot to the atmosphere without ever feeling intrusive. It often resembles the low moans of the aliens and the dark abyss of space.

Amy Adams's character carries a lot of the emotional weight of the film without going for tears or obvious emotion. For how abstract and philosophical the film can get, it miraculously keeps itself grounded in reality and in humanity in a way most audiences should be able to connect to. It achieves exactly what Interstellar wished it did, and captures the same epic-ness of that film while mostly taking place within a square mile. There is political subtext about fear of foreign life that could easily be applied to the immigration and refugee conversations we're having today, about language and perspective, but even greater is the multidimensional lesson about our human condition. I would elaborate, but I certainly don't want to spoil anything.

This film unfolds in such a surprising way, it's among the most unpredictable and surprising movies I've seen, and the trailers certainly show very little. It reaches out so far and comes back with so much, managing to ground what it grabs in humanity. It's also surprising on a surface level, with twists that may shock you, but not in a way that draws attention to itself being a twist. The story takes you on a roller coaster and gives you absolutely everything you could ask for within its runtime, which is a concise two hours.

Arrival has been getting a good share of critical praise, but I still feel like it's underwhelming compared to the experience I had. In every way, Arrival is the best of what cinema has to offer, and it's difficult to think of a film so simultaneously ambitious, thrilling, and emotional since Gravity. It gives you cinematic cake to eat up while you're watching, and afterwards gives you a lot to think about and discuss. One of the best of this decade so far.

5/5 A completely bizarre philosophical treat that surpassed my expectations in every way.

What most people know about the film is that Paul Dano uses a farting corpse played by Daniel Radcliffe to get home from a stranded island, but it's a lot more than that, and so is Radcliffe's corpse. I am not a fan of fart jokes, I hate typing the word fart, but for the sake of this movie and its message, I have to do it. I didn't expect to be a fan of the crudeness of this movie, and the crude jokes weren't my favorite part, but they are unbelievably justified in such an unexpected way that it turned a mirror on me and my own disdain for fart jokes. I can only applaud a film that makes me reconsider my own reaction to its first ten minutes.

While I found this movie to be extremely thought provoking, it's also flat out entertaining and fun. Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe are funny and have a very deep chemistry together. Watching this film follow its own rules and be so strange is not only fun, but triumphant because it's a celebration of oddness. I was surprised with the amount of heart the movie has, making it an emotional treat as well as an intellectual one.

The film is a very ambitious exploration of themes such as life and death, fear and love. The philosophical ambition recalls some of my favorite movies like The Tree of Life and Synecdoche New York, and the film's many ideas come together with masterful consistency. Not to say that this is one of my all time favorite movies, but it is rare that a film feels like it contains its own philosophical manifesto in the way that Swiss Army Man does.

It's a kind of transcendental experience in many ways, reflecting on what life really is and the fears that society creates about being gross or weird even when it's really just authentic. It reveals the restrictions societal norms place on our happiness. It's beautiful to see Hank and Manny embrace their true beings in the isolated forest, unafraid of judgement, happier than they've ever been.

This film being weird is itself is actually it embracing its own ideas. If you are repelled by it, or if you cringe at the crudeness, you're not listening. I cringed, but I listened, and then I understood, and it was fantastic. Nothing in the film is weird for the sake of being weird, either. Manny's body (Daniel Radcliffe) isn't just a funny talking dead body. Rather, the character represents the perspective of death, but not in a morbid way. Much of the film follows Hank (Paul Dano) as he tries to explain to Manny the ways of society as the two travel back home. On their journey, they reconsider what society really is, what it means to be human, and if society is really the best place to be human.

I found Swiss Army Man to be about a lot of different things, and yet all of its ideas come together in a coherent whole. The lines between life and death are blurred throughout the film, where Hank's character is learning the beauty of death and incorporating that perspective into living a better life, while Manny learns of the fear that society creates about living this way. The meshing of these two states brings up questions about how this fear of judgement is often what keeps love out of our reach. The very act of fear, of avoiding rejection or death, is ironically what left Hank where he was at the film's beginning, with a noose around his neck, afraid of life without love. Hank and Manny begin to reject these fears, seeing what a beautiful world there is beyond them. In realizing the beauty of death, they are able to create love and therefore live life.

Swiss Army Man is an inspiring and transcendent journey. Even though the world Manny and Hank dream of will never exist, the film gives us a glimpse of that, making it a unique, must see experience.

5/5

5/5

5/5 This micro-budget debut from Trey Edward Shults is one of the most powerful and humane movies in recent memory. This is a "holy *beep* movie unlike anything you've ever seen that is absolutely worth taking a chance on.

Krisha is that member of the family who struggles to have her life together. She is addicted to alcohol and are dealing with many emotional problems and self loathing. In short, she's a complete mess. The reasons for this are mostly ambiguous, and though that leave some curious, it serves to generalize Krisha's character. The film takes place around Thanksgiving, when she hopes to redeem herself to her family after a long hiatus of what she calls self healing.

This is a film of remarkable empathy, and it only makes sense that the film is based on Trey Edward Shults' real family, with actual family members having roles. Shults even plays Krisha's son with his own name. Shults is able to place you deep inside of the skin of the Krisha, and through his masterful control, we feel all of her fears, anxieties, and self loathing. The film no less than captures what it's like to be the *beep* up of the family *beep* up. Only through a deep and intricate understanding of that kind of person can a filmmaker put the audience in her shoes, and that's exactly what Shults does. Never has a movie made me feel so much like I was experiencing what the protagonist was experiencing. Truly, you may come out of the theater a better, more empathetic person.

The beautiful cinematography features long tracking shots, long static shots, slow zooms, montage, all kinds of styles completely different from one another, but all of which work together seamlessly for tremendous effect. Brian McOmber's score works in the same way: it's jittery and syncopated when Krisha feels anxious towards the beginning, and more luscious and full during emotional scenes towards the end. Through the editing we see how she thinks or how she plays back a recent conversation in her head through her personal filter. When the editing is disjointed, time blends together to create the mental state of Krisha, and the emotional impact can be devastating. Every artistic choice from every area of production is perfectly orchestrated to make the audience feel the pain and disorder Krisha feels, even if that's something they've never experienced before.

Of course, the film wouldn't be what it is without Krisha Fairchild, who plays Krisha. Her performance is unreal in its authenticity. It's a performance with all the anxiety of Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream or Essie Davis in The Babadook, but without all the sweating and screaming. Fairchild doesn't need to do that to show us that she's messed up, all she needs to do is show us how she's human. As absent of likable traits as her character is, we are meant to empathize with her, even to go beyond empathy into complete understanding- maybe not of what she's been through, but how it feels to be her in these moments. We feel what it's like to be a victim of one's own past, of addiction, of anxieties, and of one's self, trapped in a body and a circumstance that is impossible to escape from.

The film acts as a love letter to Krisha and others like her. This movie is their hug, and after watching it, you'll know why they need one. Krisha has no achievements or qualities that make us like her, but Shults shows us that we don't need any of that to empathize with her. We just need to know what it feels like to be her, and that's what this film achieves. Just like the audience, Krisha's family sees little reason to have her around at times, and she may be a burden, but they love her and hope for her best. Krisha's low self esteem blinds her to this truth, and it's heartbreaking as an audience member to see the love people unconditionally have for her, and for her not to recognize it.

This movie was an unforgettable little miracle that puts you on an emotional roller coaster. It's only March, but this is certain to be one of the year's very best films.

5/5 The film follows an improv comedy group of adults in their twenties, whose realize it's time to enter "real" adulthood. What makes this film unique is that all the characters are experiencing this transition point in different ways. The film understands that there is no one way to live your twenties, or to transition into your thirties. Everyone experiences things differently, and it's refreshing to see a movie acknowledge this, considering many films create worlds where there's one solution for everyone.

Most of the characters hope to be on the movie's version of SNL, Weekend Live. It's difficult for many of the characters to accept the flow their lives are headed in, because for most, it's not quite where they hoped it would go.

One area where the film succeeds is in its character development, and how each characters' unique experience contributes to a similar whole. Jack makes it onto Weekend Live, Miles still hopes to at least land a writing role although he's in his mid 30s, and Samantha isn't sure she wants anything but to stay where she is. There is no one direction the characters move in, but all share the struggle of finding out where they're going in life, even as that means giving up on old dreams and accepting change.

The film describes the beauty of improv as creating a moment, in the moment, that will never occur again. Mike Birbiglia's direction and the performances contain a lot of improvisation, and give the film a sense of spontaneity that mirrors the flow of the characters' lives.

Like many millennials in arts schools today, the characters chase lofty dreams that probably won't come true, and although that sounds really negative, this film shows how it isn't. I think this movie is about chasing your dreams while you can chase them, and accepting signs that your life is not meant to go there, if those signs come. Don't Think Twice is a very optimistic movie that trusts in the universe to place you where you're meant to be, whether that's where you thought it would be, or not. The beauty in life, after all, is the spontaneity.

5/5 A powerful drama that humanizes the refugee experience and explores themes of free will and circumstance, all leading up to an incredibly powerful climax. It's a relevant, politically minded film, but a universal story above all else thanks to Audiard's emotionally motivated direction. The two lead actors as well as Vincent Rottiers give quiet, perfect performances. Nicholas Jaar's ambient score is also beautiful and worthy of mention as a fan of his music. I'd say the Palme D'or was well deserved.

5/5

4.5/5 A movie about 80's baseball bros that, as it turns out, is subtly beautiful. Richard Linklater's latest is similar to many of his films in its lack of a structure, and as always, he uses that to enhance the meaning of his films. With Everybody Wants Some, we never want the film to go anywhere because it's just so much fun to be in, and that's precisely the point of the movie.

On the surface, this is just a plain fun movie even if you have no 80's nostalgia. Every though there's little progression to the story, each scene keeps the energy high with witty dialogue, partying, and a fun gang of characters who we really come to like. Everyone feels like a real, unique individual, even though most are not very deep. This isn't a bad thing. Most artists write struggling, deep characters with emotional turmoil, but Linklater avoids that here. He celebrates life lived in the moment, without worry. It's a rare tribute to people who only want to have fun, something artists tend to condescend to.

For the most part, Everybody Wants Some is out to entertain. Much of the film is fun for fun's sake, most of the dialogue entertaining simply to be entertaining. However, Linklater slips in a few deep lines here and there that keep you thinking about what the movie is trying to say. In many ways, it's about self discovery and identity. Identity changes between different types of parties as the characters go with the flow of their surroundings. At first, I found it curious that this wanted to be a film about knowing one's self, yet the self changes so much and there's really no introspection. However, this is no ordinary self discovery film. What the film is really saying is that to know yourself is to feel that you're alive, and this film convinces you of that just by how fun it is.

4.5/5

4.5/5

4.5/5

4.5/5

4.5/5 A surprisingly insightful look at modern systemic and covert racism and sexism, and the lie of the American dream that's also really fun and has great characters.

4.5/5 Lots of great tension throughout pays off emotionally at its abstract and perfectly ambiguous climax. Kind of like Close Encounters, maybe almost too much like close encounters.

4.5/5

4.5/5 An excellent portrait of how religion can be abused to protect one's view of their past.

4.5/5

4/5

4/5

4/5

4/5 Compelling and thought provoking spiritual movie

4/5

4/5

4/5 An intense and often terrifying experience. Don't Breathe is unrelenting for most of its runtime with tension and scares without using any supernatural elements or knives. You'll find yourself sinking into your seat, making as little noise as possible.

Part of what makes the film work is its atmosphere. The cinematography really makes you feel like you're in a dark, unfamiliar house at night. Many films fail to capture darkness without it feeling artificial. The score is excellent, pulsing with the rhythm of the film's tension. Fede Alvarez's direction allows the audience to experience what it's like to be in the house with these characters, making the film scary as it is.

It's also very inventive and smart with its premise. Unlike many horror movies, you always understand why the characters are doing what they're doing. When they decide to go in the basement, you're like, "good idea". That's an achievement.

Don't Breathe is a roller coaster because it goes in a ton of different places with its fairly bare bones premise, and you're on board the whole way. It also sets up its characters very well. The film doesn't get bogged down with flat character development, but it helps us to feel the stakes, understand their intentions, and want them to live very much. Even 30 minutes in, you hope they'll make it out a door even though that would cut the movie short, just because you want them to get the hell out so bad.

The tension is kept high for very, very long periods of time. It's practically unrelenting the entire time they're in the house. The film is very careful not to repeat itself and knows how to keep things rolling. There is a scene towards the end of the movie however, that felt unnecessary, didn't fit in with the tone, and just wasn't as scary as other parts. The film could have wrapped up a little earlier, since the end isn't as exciting as the rest.

The film mostly does an excellent job of burning all bridges, but there was one moment where they burned a bridge, then kind of took it, and I couldn't shake how it bothered me, even though it was small.

Don't Breathe is one of the most intense horror movies I've seen, and that's pretty much all I could have asked for going into it.