Yesterday things got ugly. But you know what the great thing about this industry is? When you pay for a movie and it sucks, you’ve earned the right to complain about it. But today, we’re going to journey to the happier side of Hollywoodland as we celebrate the films that achieved the rare feat of doing more right than wrong. And since these lists are always asterisk-ridden, I should preface this with mine. I haven’t seen The Hateful Eight (going to see it in 70mm when I get a shot). I haven’t seen Spotlight (bored to tears by the script). And I haven’t yet seen Sicario or Joy (both of which I’m dying to see). There’s a chance one or two of these would’ve made the list had I seen them. With that in mind, let’s begin!
10) The Revenant – I will never see this movie again. Actually, I don’t even know if I can call this a movie. Over time, audiences have become hip to the plot beats that dictate a story. When the score dips and the close-up comes, and the plot machinations start getting spouted – we’re very hip to how all that works. And in a way, it’s comforting, that we’re being led along so politely. But there is no moment like that in The Revenant. Every remnant of plot is stripped away to give us the impression that we’re really out here in the middle of nowhere with these men. Conversations are left dangling, characters break into random thoughts, a fucking bear could attack you at any moment. This movie is anti-structure, and it works because Innaritu is such an amazing visionary. My only complaint is that it’s too brutal, too real at times. And after awhile you start to wonder if the experience is worth it. But there’s no doubt that you’ll never forget this film as long as you live. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime movie.
9) Beasts of No Nation – “Beasts” gets my vote for “biggest surprise” of the year. I expected to be bored out of my mind with this one. It looked way more like a history lesson than a piece of entertainment. For those of you who’ve assumed the same, I challenge you to watch the first ten minutes of the film. It’s a wholly original and beautiful little sequence where a group of poor kids use a stripped-down television to put on made-up shows in an attempt to “fool” the local militia into buying the TV. I’ve never fallen in love with characters faster. Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix, said of “Beasts,” “This wasn’t a film that was audience tested.” And you can feel that. This is a movie where they trusted the writer and director. It gives you hope that outlets like Netflix will change the way movies are made, maybe ushering in a new killer director class who rebel against Hollywood oversight.
8) Inside Out – Pixar continues to achieve this amazing feat. They manage to build their story around heart, yet never devolve into the cheesy over-the-top after school special version of heart that is so commonly seen from everyone else. And the way they do this is by balancing the heart with darkness. You see it in Toy Story 3 (the toys are being left behind forever). You see it in Up (the first ten minutes sets up a man losing the love of his life) and you see it here in Inside Out… pretty much everywhere. Having to say goodbye to your childhood, to your imaginary friend forever? A young girl battling a mix of anger and depression. Tally that on to the most original Pixar premise to date, and there’s no question why this has become one of the best movies of the year.
7) It Follows – It Follows was this year’s number one victim of post-celebratory internet backlash. I do think It Follows starts to fall apart a bit once you begin dissecting its screenplay. Regardless of that, this is a “Best Movies of the Year” list. Not a “Best Screenplays of the Year” list. And there’s no question that director David Robert Mitchell is a true auteur. His haunting 360 degree snail’s pace pans were the perfect call for a film where anybody could’ve been the next follower. Not to mention, Mitchell could introduce a character using only music and imagery and have you feel like you’d known them your whole life. I read scripts every week that can’t establish a clear character after giving them a six page monologue. This guy is doing it with a girl wearing a cast in a backyard swimming pool. It Follows is a messy film, but it’s messy in all the right ways. A lot like The Revenant, there are no overt plot beats being dictated to the audience. Everything’s seamless and natural. And that’s what makes this film feel unlike anything else you’ve seen in 2015.
6) Steve Jobs – Boy do I get some extreme reactions on this one. One person will tell me they absolutely loved Steve Jobs. The next is threatening to find every print of the movie and dump them in the nearest volcano. Here’s the reality of the situation. Steve Jobs is a very screenwriterly-like script. It’s overtly structured. It’s dialogue heavy. The visuals of this world are non-existent so that all the focus can be on the characters. And that artificiality turned a lot of people off. But to me, I thought Michael Fassbender’s performance was amazing. He really brought Jobs to life. And I love how Sorkin found a way to infuse a personal slant to it all, with Steve’s imperfect relationship with his daughter. I thought that was genius and the key to the movie working. But this will always be one of those movies that Hollywood people go see and the average Joe is confounded by. Which I totally understand. But since I’m in the former category, I loved it.
5) The Martian – Ridley Scott, you’re my hero. This movie was both a cinematic and screenwriting feat. There were so many interesting challenges with the script (how do you keep things urgent with a 4 year timeline?) and Drew Goddard conquered them all. I also loved the rags-to-riches story of the writer, Andy Weir, who wrote the original novel and released it for free! Only to have it gain recognition on quality alone before becoming a national bestseller. How could you not root for this film to do well? The only issue I have with The Martian is one that’s come with time. Matt Damon’s performance wasn’t that memorable. I mean when you compare him to Tom Hanks in Cast Away, it’s like a minnow swimming in the shadow of a shark. And that minnow just got speared by a bearded bad-ass Tom Hanks. But he does a good enough job to sell what needs to be sold, and other than a certain awakening that involves a certain force, this is the must-see “event” movie of the year.
4) The Force Awakens – What??? Carson, you’re not making The Force Awakens number 1? I thought you looooovvvved it. Calm down, calm down. I still love this movie. But I’m not saying it doesn’t have flaws. It’s clear to anyone who watches the movie that the screenplay was written too fast, and we see the results of that. Han Solo’s been looking for his ship for 12 years and just happens to bump into it the second our characters fly it off their planet? And since when does Han Freaking Solo lose the Millennium Falcon?? But even with its flaws, The Force Awakens is, without question, the most enjoyable movie of the year. It’s just so darn fun! Let me give you an idea of how big of an impact this film has had on people. I’m a closet sports geek and I spend a little too much time listening to sports talk radio podcasts. In every one of these podcasts I’ve listened to, these big macho sports dudes have dedicated segments to reviewing Star Wars. Which have nothing to do with sports at all! And they all loved it! In a world with hundreds of channels and thousands of TV shows and billions of websites, there’s no such thing anymore as a movie that captures the entire nation’s attention. And yet The Force Awakens did it. Praise J.J.
3) Fury Road – If Force Awkaens was non-stop joy, Fury Road was non-stop awe. Who even attempts to make a film with a 100 minute car chase that contains 100 cars? George Miller, have you gone insane? Have you been around too many pigs and penguins? To me, Fury Road is the best action movie ever. Usually you can point to one cool original action sequence in a movie. Here, there are a dozen. The amount of creativity and imagination and originality and pushing the limit that went into this film is just staggering. My only issue with it is the lack of chemistry between Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. There was something missing between those two that stripped the movie of that “personal” connection that a film like Steve Jobs was able to find. That kept this from being the number 1 film of the year.
2) Wild Tales – This was the most delightful surprise of the year. It’s so rare for me to go into a movie not knowing anything, even what language it’s in, and that movie turn out to be great. What’s so surprising about this film, which is actually a series of short films, is that each story is so good. Usually with these things, someone has a good idea for a short, and then they try to come up with several other ideas to stretch the thing out to feature-length. I dare you to watch this film and not fall in love with every single short. The first one, which occurs on an airplane where something very strange starts happening to all the passengers, is so weird and so wild, you immediately know you’re about to experience something different. And then you get the road rage short, and the poison short. It’s so good, guys. I’m wanting to talk about this but not spoil it in the process so I’ll just say, go rent this movie. It’s not just a great film, but a great study in how to use suspense and mystery in your screenplays.
1) Room – There was no question after I came out of Room that it would be my favorite film of the year. I have not seen better acting… maybe ever. There is something so real, so honest about this movie, that it isn’t a movie. It’s reality. It’s us in this room with this mother and child. The clincher for me (spoilers) was the moment the child who has never been to the outside world, must escape into the outside world and get help to save himself and his mom. Everything about it, from the decision the mom makes to potentially sacrifice her son – the only thing in this world she loves – to have a chance at escaping. To trying to explain to a 6 year old child who’s never been outdoors before what he will need to do once he’s outdoors in order to save them. To the child only knowing this little room and therefore not even wanting to escape. To the clumsy nerve-wracking edge-of-your-seat escape itself. I mean that escape is better than any action scene I saw in Mission Impossible, Furious 7, James Bond, or Star Wars. It was so raw and so infused with love and depth and complexity, it was everything that movies are supposed to make you feel. If Brie Larson doesn’t win the Oscar for her performance her, fuck movies. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the kid is in the running for an Oscar as well.
Either Tomorrow or Thursday – My Favorite Amateur Scripts of the Year!
