KYLE SMITH: From a long- ago war to an animated allegory, an homage to humanity. The more movies sell themselves with spectacle and sizzle, the more it matters to ground the characters with something resembling genuine human dilemmas. Our annual Best of L.A. For starters the best action movie of the 21st Century is: FLASHPOINT directed by Wilson Yip and starring Donnie Yen. Other movies left out the list that should have. The best films of the year — even the one about the aliens, the one about the dragon and the one about the bunny — devised artful and satisfying ways of reminding us how ennobling some of our most emotionally expensive choices can be. In the magnificent “Arrival,” Amy Adams’ linguist decodes alien language in an effort to save the human race — but that’s just the sci- fi topping on a deeply moving story about relationships, which turns on one of the greatest twists in movie history. Director Denis Villeneuve has crafted one of the best sci- fi films ever made. What’s startling about Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester by the Sea” is that it resists the Hollywood mandate that the main character must change. This anguish- laden family drama brings with it a freight of almost unbearable sorrow, but one emerges from it rededicated to cherishing loved ones and holding them dear.“Patriots Day” and “Deepwater Horizon,” both dramatizations of horrific recent events directed by Peter Berg and starring Mark Wahlberg, are reminders of how enthralling it can be when a skilled filmmaker situates you in a place you may never have been to or experienced in anything but a superficial way. On the other hand, overprivileged white guys learned critical lessons about arrogance and decency in both “Doctor Strange” and a hilarious documentary about a guy so strange he needs a doctor, “Weiner.”SARA STEWART: A generous look at identity beats out glitz and glamour at the movies. We often call movies an escape, and that’s never felt truer or more necessary than this year. In contrast to the endless series of sucker punches that was the news cycle, cinema’s best offerings were mostly thoughtful, leisurely and generous of spirit. There are no gunfights in this list, no kingdoms that rise or fall, there’s nary a car chase or even a grand romantic gesture (I remain unmoved by critical favorite “La La Land,” an ode to the self- regard of Los Angeles). Here are 1. 0 stories that turn not on conflict between heroes and villains but on the inward struggle of identity. What does it mean to be human? Let’s take a look at the biggest and best action movies of 2016 with a Top 20 countdown. It’s another huge year for superhero movies ( We’ve discussed our favorite films of 2016. We’ve talked about our favorite shows, scenes, musical moments, performances, horror films, documentaries, animated. How do you become a decent one? What if who you are isn’t what the people around you want you to be? How do you build bridges that connect you to others?“2. Century Women,” my top choice, takes a joyful philosophical dive into the intersection of feminism and masculinity, while “Arrival” puts the question of humanness on a much larger scale: How might we learn to communicate with the ultimate other — a visitor from another world? The dystopian satire “The Lobster,” meanwhile, takes dead aim at our cultural obsession with coupledom.“Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” which should finally put New Zealand director Taika Waititi on everyone’s radar, is the comic story of a tough- talking, love- starved foster kid on a nature foray with a reluctant father figure. Yeah, it’s funny: That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take it seriously.“American Honey,” the most unruly film on my list, is a nearly three- hour travelogue about a vanful of working- class teenagers selling magazine subscriptions, which manages to zoom in close on American poverty and make Shia La. Beouf likable. I struggled with including “Manchester by the Sea,” whose star, Casey Affleck, has been dogged by stories of past alleged mistreatment of women. Should an actor’s reputation affect how you view his work? I have argued that it should, but I can’t deny this devastating drama a place on this list — it’s that good. There’s another man here whose moral failings are indisputable, and that would be the subject of “Weiner.” How on earth did documentarians Elyse Steinberg and Josh Kriegman finagle this much inside access to the meltdown of a once- promising political dynamo? Sheer hubris, of course, and their film is a brilliant monument to it. Finally, “Hidden Figures” is a much cheerier monument to three unsung heroes of NASA’s glory days: African- American women once known as “computers in skirts” who did the math that enabled us to get into space.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
August 2017
Categories |