Monday, December 30, 2019
1. Parasites
1. Parasites
The Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho recovers the talented
narrative pulse of his beginnings with an extraordinary black comedy. Loaded
with tension, surprises and violence, it catches and does not take a breath
until the end, supported by a murky and extreme portrait of social differences.
It is a lesson in film making. The brand new winner of the Palme d'Or at the
Cannes Film Festival is, in fact, the best film of the year. Not surprisingly,
it is signed by South Korean Bong Joon-ho, author of films like Snowpiercer or
Okja, with this film, Parasites, he shares a look at the class struggle and
social inequality. A rich family and a poor family will unite their ties in the
most delusional way possible until the secrets explode through the air and all
that remains is the certainty that this is one of the most lucid and vindictive
filmmakers of today.
.
2. Marriage Story
2. Marriage Story
I have to confess I have a very soft spot for Baumbach’s
films, I love his work!! This film comes to prove that he is reaching his best years
he is delivering this masterpiece.
Inspired “The Meyerowitz Stories”, Baumbach returns to
Netflix with one of the best movies of the year. The story of a divorce, of a
love tragedy, with that tone between drama and comedy that characterizes the
film maker, with a combination of great direction and a great script we learn
how to digest such a really raw movie. The movie is a contemporary version of
films like Kramer vs. Kramer. He stresses the elegant staging but above all,
again, his skillful direction of actors. The two stars, Johansson and Driver,
take advantage of the space that Baumbach gives them to show off and confirm
their great talent. This film represents American author cinema at its best. Noah
Baumbach creates his most adult film yet that gradually crumble between lawyers
and bureaucracy.
This movie is absolutely heartbreaking and real, with great
performances and moments that will remain recorded for a long time (from her
monologue in front of the lawyer to the Sondheim song that he sings, and from
there to a final sublime and subtle scene). This is an essential film.
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Alan
Alda, Ray Liotta ...
3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
3. Once Upon a Time
in Hollywood
By now we should know that Quentin Tarantino always finds a
way to reach our hearts. This time, he has done it especially for moviegoers,
those who dream of the classic Hollywood of the “cowboys” of the West and the
crazy comedies that are shot in artificial settings between cameras,
specialists and a director shouting 'Action!' . He is so in love with that
bubble, that not even the real murders of Cielo Drive, which claimed the life
of a pregnant Sharon Tate, can ruin his function. Portrait of a time of changes
in American society, and a somewhat constipated male friendship (that of
Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt) that still moves mountains, Once upon a time
in Hollywood is an unquestionable masterpiece.
4. The Irishman
4. The Irishman
This is perhaps a formula we have seen before from Scorcese.
Robert de Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci are once again (possibly the last)
under his direction in a film that returns to the gangster tradition of films
like Casino to close a circle in the filmography of the director. A film so
unbeatable (not only because it lasts three and a half hours, but because of
the amount of layers and complexity it has on it) but dazzling as well. It
discusses the idea of a goodbye, but a very glorious one. This bombshell is a
serious Oscar contender.
5. Long Day's Journey into Night
5. Long Day's Journey
into Night
One of the most fascinating films that have been released
this year is this poetic romantic dark drama that has a striking particularity:
the last act is shot to be seen in 3D. The experience is surprising and
sweeping. Far from the conventional narrative, I advise being carried away by
the elegant staging and talent of Bi Gan to create deep, ingenious and
beautiful images. It may be slow; but its impact remains.
The argument of ‘Long Journey to the Night”, like that of
any film that is more a sensory experience than a narrative proposal, it can
transpire a certain banality: Luo Hongwu (Jue Huang) returns to the city of
Kaili, where he was born, in search of a woman he fell in love in the past and
who only retains a name, who knows if it is true. The views are exchanged, the
time lines merge and, when he finds a definite clue about his whereabouts, the
protagonist enters a cinema that transports him to an unreal area, perhaps from
the subconscious, perhaps more reliable than the first half of the movie, and
will continue searching while time finally falls apart.
6. The Joker
6. The Joker
Joaquin Phoenix is beyond normal. And what he does in this
movie, one of the best of the year, is a wild one. The film about the origins
of the most famous villain of Batman shines with its own light as a portrait of
a time of social unrest where we are willing to throw ourselves into chaos in
order to change the situation. The class struggle, the lack of help from the
most vulnerable and the mockery of those who are different are present in this
film. Todd Phillips (Hangover Las Vegas) signs a character study so subjective,
poetic and controversial that it will resonate from here to the 2020 Oscars
(and beyond).
7. Pain and Glory
7. Pain and Glory
I have always been a huge fan of Pedro Almodóvar, I am
positive he is irrefutably one of the great directors not only in Spanish but
of world cinema. This new movie has made us drop more than one tear, too. Pain
and Glory is a reflection on his own career, on his legacy, on everything he
has lived from his relationship with his mother in childhood to his passion for
cinema in adulthood. It is an exciting journey that constantly mixes reality
and fiction, with an absolutely fantastic Antonio Banderas, which by the way
Almodovar is the only the director who can make Banderas really shine, I don’t
like most of his acting jobs except the ones with Pedro. This film you get nominations
for the 2020 Oscars, no doubt.
.8. Knives Out
8. Knives Out
What's new in Rian Johnson? (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) Well,
this film which is a kind of amazingly fun detective story with a political
moral. A murder, a family full of suspects (and celebrities: Chris Evans, Jamie
Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, Christopher Plummer, Don Johnson, Ana de Armas ...) and a French detective (a
delusional parody of Hercules Poirot from the novels of Agatha Christie, with a
Daniel Craig having a great time, who aspires to solve the mystery that has
been created in the mansion. Who will be the murderer? Possibly the most
ingenious and fun movie of the year. It stands out above all the extraordinary
script of Johnson, who plays with the expectations of the public and the topics
of this type of detective stories to offer something original, however much it
smells like classic. A production full of small but delicious details with a
striking and impeccable casting, orchestrated with the usual skill of the filmmaker,
which brings out the best of each performer. An exquisite film, in short, that
you want to see again.
9. Midsommar
9. Midsommar
This is one of the most amazing, stimulating and fun movies
of the year. Yes, fun, because despite being sold as a horror film, the truth
is that the new Aster film is a personal cocktail that plays with elements of
terror but where there are moments of comedy and drama, as well as a reflection
on the couple. It is confirmed that 'Hereditary' was not an accident. The only
"but" that can give to 'Midsommar' is the excessive 147 minutes;
That
said, I am looking forward to discovering what is in that extended three-hour
version (perhaps small details that help digest the footage with more
pleasure).
This new Ari Aster movie may not reach the hereditary malrollism and
terror quotas, one of the best horror movies of the past year (and probably of
the decade), but it doesn't matter: his hallucinogenic journey into the bowels
of a Swedish spring sect is such an appealing mix of comedy and suspense that
we can only fall for it.
10. Ad Astra
10. Ad Astra
The new film from James Gray (Z The Lost City) is a mixture
between Apocalypse Now and 2001: Space Odyssey that exchanges the father figure
for that of God to confront the human being with the vast uncertainty of outer
space.
Brad Pitt is one of the few true movie stars left in Hollywood
and this film certainly proves that, the camera loves him. He does a great job
as well. This film is an impressive space odyssey that curiously fails when it
focuses on the trauma of its protagonist.
Pitt plays "Ad Astra" to Roy, an astronaut who
receives a mission of the most particular: locate his father in space, who has
been missing for several decades but who suspects that he is behind a threat
that could end up destroying the Earth. This film, in classic forms and
grandiloquent messages, is a science fiction prodigy, with some memorable
sequences that we will be remembering for a long time.
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