Annual: The Films of 2018 - Part II
Welcome back, you fabulous blood-sucking heathens
EVERYTHING I'VE SEEN IN 2018
#50 - 41
** Most unjustifiable 100% on Rotten Tomatoes:
#50. Leave No Trace
The Bottom Line: Many Traces Were Left.
Ight, I’m not one to swear by the Tomatometer here, but this shit is one of the rare wide-ish releases of 2018 to sit at a 100% on Rotten. A ONE-HUNDRED PERCENT.
And on the one hand, sure there are excellent aspects and themes to a film like LNT. It sprouts from trauma and tackles drama between parent and child; Writer-Director Debra Granik bulldozes down the emotional barrier between independence, fleshing out both said father (Ben Foster) and said daughter *checks notes* (Thomasin McKenzie) to a degree where both characters through their bonding experience have transformed by the end of the film and therefore provide quality character development for its audience. The problem is that all the morals are fleshed out within the first forty minutes and then never truly evolve beyond that. Ben Foster’s talent aside (and the man really deserves some love one of these days), the script presents the themes of change and struggle (and presents them well) and leads the audience down familiar trails before they even happen.
For a movie called Leave No Trace, Granik is leaving PLENTY.
+100 points to Foster
*Eh 100 might be too many
-50 points for leaving too many traces
Grade: C
Grade: C
** Best luchador in a film:
#49. Lowlife (2018 US Release)
The Bottom Line: An Unhinged Tarantino Love Letter (On Crack)
To a slim degree, Lowlife breathes an obnoxiously forced tone. Between a wrestler who (for reasons unknown) is never allowed to remove his luchador mask, and between an ex-con with a swastika tattooed on his face, this is a film that dares to be “edgy.” Too often have we seen outrageous characters portrayed as Tarantino imitators and so little has it ever actually worked out, but the folks in Lowlife aren't just present to be outrageous. Ironically the only aspect more shocking than the violence is the legitimate story arcs and character development between these folks. The characters are colorful in all kinds of ways, and all their loose threads tied together via time jumping and by means of a villainous drug lord-kingpin who masquerades as a taco shop owner. Everything boils down to a showdown, and the entire thing ends in blood. Really precious stuff here, folks.
The one thing Lowlife is honestly lacking is a sense of fun. I know it sounds weird calling situations involving crackheads, skinheads, kidnappings, all tied together with grotesque violence, as "fun" but it's what truly separates director Ryan Prows (a very cleverly ambitious filmmaker no doubt) from a master like Tarantino.
*10 points to luchadors
Grade: C-
Grade: C-
#48. Hold The Dark
The Bottom Line: More like COLD The Dark, AMIRITE???
AKA: A film so beautifully crafted, yet meticulously lifeless enough, it could only be a Netflix Original Movie
The fact that director Jeremy Saulnier (director of goddamned 'GREEN ROOM') is deeming his latest film as “Snow Country For Old Men” is just plain ballsy.
To be completely fair, HTD is an at-times brilliant film which hits hard with its grim undertones and blunt violence but it also doesn’t amount to much of anything. The shots of snowy Alaska painted as a colorless palette of death keep the visual to a literal medium of film with metaphorical imagery of the film’s wicked spirit; the haunting score so creepy and ominous, allowing the film to breathe as an at-times true horror movie; none of it ever actually builds to a story worth telling. HTD is ultimately frustrating because visually and thematically it appears as if there is an impeccable amount of quality takeaway. The violence is graphic and unafraid to hold back on the uncomfortable sense of realism. There’s a police shoot-out scene that’s one of the most brutal and well-crafted I’ve ever seen on screen. The film constantly tip-toes as a thriller that’s about to go full-blown horror, and for all the wolf imagery there’s a whole bunch of well-staged murder scenes, and some even dare to challenge the likes of Michael Myers. Ultimately I can’t fault Dark for pushing a two-hour run time where it seems like almost nothing happens, because ultimately there’s a lot of interesting resolution that’s incredibly anti-Hollywood, especially with that ending. The last moments of the film will be frustrating to some no doubt, but with the anti-climactic climax, that wolf imagery just starts to pay off enough that it doesn’t just seem like a loud metaphor.
*5 points to Jeffrey Wright
*10 points to Saulnier
*25 points to wolves
Grade: C+
Grade: C+
#47. Apostle
The Bottom Line: Another Netflix Original Movie that’s admirably dark, but dares to make audiences yawn
With cult followed ‘Raid’ director Gareth Evans taking charge of the latest Netflix vehicle Apostle, one would expect some form of greatness from, if nothing else, an action/thriller perspective. Least be said, Apostle is a film with excellent ideas and isn’t afraid to get not just dark but sometimes f**king BLEAK. Set in 1905 and almost entirely taking place in a small village on a remote island where religious cult members keep some horrific secrets, I mean. Sick. Who wouldn’t love that? Even better, the film gets a little bizarre with its supernatural elements. Sounds pretty nifty, right? Except for Apostle to dabble with as much weird, dark shit as it attempts throughout, the film never takes full advantage of the wacky plot developments which had SERIOUS potential to push this into some outstanding territory on a horror level; even on a genuine suspense level. The lack of weird plot that the film so strongly hints at is what holds it back from being excellent, rather then being genuinely underwhelming.
The film honestly feels like There Will Be Blood mixed with The Village, sincerely; not just in story and setting but in mood. It’s the deadly serious tone of Blood that Evans seems to go for, but he can’t help but tease some legitimate camp, as expressed in Village. With his feet in both territories, audiences can never take him too seriously, nor can they embrace the nutty plot-twists. Evans clearly has talent, and lots to go around. He’s just a lot more respectable than the film Netflix gave him.
*10 points to Evans for trying
*5 points to Michael Sheen - GOOD TO SEE YOU, OLD FRIEND
Grade: C+
Grade: C+
** Most frightening use of a spider puppet:
#46. Possum
The Bottom Line: How does one make a spider even more unsettling than a spider already is?
How about a giant, spider puppet that haunts your dreams?
Still not unsettling enough?
How about a f**king BLANK, BALD, PALE, LIFELESS DOLL FACE FOR A HEAD?
Yeah, no thanks.
How about a giant, spider puppet that haunts your dreams?
Still not unsettling enough?
How about a f**king BLANK, BALD, PALE, LIFELESS DOLL FACE FOR A HEAD?
Yeah, no thanks.
For good measure, Possum is an unknown directorial debut of UK comedy filmmaker Matthew Holness, and Possum is the FURTHEST thing from comedy.
Shot on lush 35mm film and set in the dingy landscapes of Norfolk, mostly in an old house that’s falling apart, Possum is designed to look not just like an old British 70s movie, but a bleak, dirty, rusty disgusting one at that. This of course is an advantage for Holness to create what is essentially a warped psychological horror piece, which is strung along by a narrative that contains literal nursery-rhyme type dialogue, and it generates some of the moodiest, eeriest, most atmospheric gloom of nearly any other film in 2018. Sean Harris is continues to be criminally underrated, and spends much of the film literally carrying around his baggage. To boot, said baggage also heavily features a f**king GIANT PUPPET SPIDER. And if spider-puppets aren’t frightening enough, the grotesque performance of Alun Armstrong is a mean and ugly one. Possum is a remarkably crafted piece that feels ripped from a British bygone era of dark, moody filmmaking; like a brooding spin-off from Withnail & I, even if the effective eeriness doesn’t linger. Sure the ambiguous nature of the film’s childlike metaphors are nightmarish and intriguing, but the simplistic nature of it all makes one wonder if the film’s nursery-rhyme themes would have been doubly effective had this been the length of a nursery rhyme.
*5 points to creepy-ass spider puppets
*10 points to Sean Harris
Grade: C+
Grade: C+
** Biggest waste of a clever premise:
#45. How To Talk To Girls At Parties 2018 US Release)
The Bottom Line: WHO WAS THIS MOVIE MADE FOR
1970s UK punk era? Yep.
Babes dressed in tight leather? YEP.
F**king ALIENS? MOTHER F--KING YEP.
With a premise surrounding alien colonies disguised as young women in 1977 England, you’d think with that specific of source material, a film like Parties would at the very least be outlandish and over-the-top, but even with its comedic first act, the outrageous moments of shock and bizarre; even with its psychedelic mind-f**kery of visuals; even with a GODDAMNED MUSICAL NUMBER, the whole thing fizzles out, which is a shame because the cast has a lot of potential.
I mean. Nicole Kidman shows up doing her best David Bowie Goblin King from Labyrinth (really though). Fanning is adorable as the innocently misled extraterrestrial Zan who is discovering human intimacy for her first time. The film's love story is sweet even if it is just an extraterrestrial take on Romeo/Juliet, but by the third act all the chemistry is practically fried to a crisp.
John Cameron Mitchell is a wonderful director who perhaps just never had a clear vision. When the movie works it’s weird and it works superbly. When it loses steam, it’s absolutely bananas and not in a good way. Perhaps Parties will earn that cult following down the road but for now it needs to find its audience and lay low for a while. Above all else, despite its wacky flaws, HTTTGAP deserves any sort of creditability if not because of its undeniable charm then solely due to its pure originality. And for movies to be original today, that’s really saying something.
+5 points to Fanning
Grade: D+
Grade: D+
** Most satisfying reunion:
#44. Best F(r)iends: Vol. 1 (2018 US Release)
The Bottom Line: More fiend than friend, this film is still a cinematic occasion
(But if you’re looking for a Room fix, this ain’t it)
Aside from splitting this glorious re-Room-ion up into two full-length feature films, the strangest contradiction to Best F(r)iends being an actual movie at all is just how charismatic Wiseau actually is as the part of masking mortician Harvey. Being real-life best friends, Sestero clearly wrote the role in a way which caters to all of Tommy’s weird-ass mystery baggage that he carries in person, and so it is to this degree that Wiseau, rather than feeling creepily miscast as a lead in a romantic drama (rather than a foreign, vampire, B-porno flick), he oddly feels right at home. That said, it’s important to remember that Sestero isn’t trying to make a sequel to The Room at all, and that’s the key element to enjoying the film. The film exists upon Greg writing a fitting part for Tommy, which until now felt impossible.
There’s definitely a weird, unexplainable, legitimate chemistry between Greg and Tommy, but there’s also a giant Lisa-Denny-Claudette-Hi-Doggy shaped hole in this movie’s heart.
*50 points to Greg
*50 points to Tommy
Grade: C
Grade: C
#43. Never Goin' Back
The Bottom Line: BROAD CITY Jr. or 2 Broke Little Girls
(A Tender Tale of Two, Young, White Women)
[And a tutorial of how to not shit your pants as an ádult]
That "We'll never be royals" song is basically the theme song of this movie.
Writer-director Augustine Frizzell taps into the exact obnoxious behavior that countless millennials live and breathe, if not represent every single stereotype, down to even the most raw details; from the slang and clothing attire, down to the new-age hip-hop (not yer daddy’s NWA here). 16-something-year olds Angela and Jessie, played by Maia Mitchell and Camilla Morrone respectively, channel their best Abbi and Ilana as trouble making Broad City clones; their behavior toxic; their language the utmost foul; their respect long gone; their thrive to get f**ked up and party. In short: They are disgusting white girls, and akin to the babes of Broad City, Angela and Jessie are also insanely lovable characters. Also. The fact that the film has a congruent theme of struggling to drop a deuce in public as much as it does learning the values of healthy lifestyle goes to show that Frizzell is CLEARLY masquerading a “coming of age” film as a moral about not shitting your pants, and that sometimes we all need a ride-or-die to keep us from shitting our pants. Really beautiful stuff here, folks.
*5 points to the whole YOLO thing. This movie wears that slogan proudly.
*10 points to not shitting your pants
*20 points to Mitchell and Morrone
Grade: C
Grade: C
** More evidence that Evan Peters is insanely talented:
#42. American Animals
#42. American Animals
The Bottom Line: Irrational Treasure
AKA: American Idiots (White Animals)
What American Animals boils down as a story is that four, young, privileged, white males hatched a plan to rob their college campus library; a plan that sounded easy to pull off on paper but come the big day, things went horribly south. What American Animals boils down as a FILM is that while the Transy Book Heist of ‘04 was one of the most audacious heists in the history of the FBI, this was simply a movie that nobody needed, albeit there’s a fair amount of talent here to go around. While the performances range from fine, to placeholder, to Barry-Keoghan-bottled-up-aggression, this is Evan Peters’ movie from beginning to finish. Peters’ ability to go from mischievous pal to questionable maniac takes a raw talent that requires an energy that someone of this caliber can handle. Not that Peters’ acting chops outshine anything but he portrays scarce moments of frightening brilliance (notably during the heist) that echo Malcom McDowell’s unhinged Alex in A Clockwork Orange.
Moral: white boys be crazy
*10 points to Peters
*10 points to Peters
*5 points to Ann Dowd who’s a f**king peach in everything she touches
Grade: B-
Grade: B-
** Most recognizable Big Lebowski rip-off:
#41. Under The Silver Lake
The Bottom Line: Under the Ugly, Unfathomable Film Noir
(Under the Misogynistic Wannabe Lebowski)
(AKA: A philosophized formula for a new generation of stoned college kids)
Following up his cult-horror B-movie It Follows, writer-director David Robert Mitchell decided it was time to tackle his Big Lebowski; his Inherent Vice; his magnum opus of a crime film for a new generation of stoned college kids who delve with philosophy and dream of other realms of spiritual existence. Comparisons to any nods of the film noir elements are inevitable, except where The Coens' and Anderson's films are filled with a brilliant levity throughout their bizarre happenings, Mitchell's film is often an empty, ugly picture filled with detestable characters. Robert Mitchell packs his film with every kind of nuance to something greater happening within the plot, which while his greatest advantage in keeping things engaging is also the very downfall that outweighs any of the essence as to why we should care about any of the film’s outrageous shenanigans.
Don’t mistake the over abundant nature of Mitchell’s ambiguity; the guy’s got serious talent and there are remarkable pieces to his high horse of a wacky film noir, but he doesn’t justify why his film gets so weird and even worse what makes sitting through 139 minutes worth. There’s clear reason WHY the film will develop a cult following, but where the writer-director aims for the seductive mystique of Mulholland Drive, Under the Silver Lake lands at the muddling skull-f**kery of Southland Tales.
Take it or leave it, this is still one of the most ambitious pictures of 2018
*10 points to DRMitch
