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Darrel’s Dozen 2018 – One Writer’s Top Films

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Amandla Stenberg stars in Twentieth Century Fox’s THE HATE U GIVE. Photo Credit: Erika Doss.

It’s time for Darrel’s Dozen (or so) favorite films from 2018. First let me say that this was a really good year to sit in the dark and let the light dance across the screen. The films I include in my year end list this time around are all astounding, but there were plenty of others that were well worth the time. My totals for the year are 232 films, including 38 shorts. And my top films (with links to my reviews if available) are:

  1. A trio of films dealing with racism in American society: The Hate U Give, Green Book, and If Beale Street Could Talk. Each of these films is worthy of being on any year end list, but the way they complement each other makes combining the three of them as my #1 film a powerful statement for us to consider. The Hate U Give deals with a young woman who witnesses the police shooting of her unarmed friend. There are competing forces working on her as she tries to deal with the event. Green Book is the story of a white man discovering what black have had to deal with and adapting his life. It is the most hopeful of the three films in that we see possibility of change. If Beale Street Could Talk is a love story that shows the cost of unjust incarceration to families and communities. Jim Wallis has called racism and white privilege “America’s Original Sin.” This trio can help us begin to confront that sinfulness.
  2. The Rider. An injured Lakota cowboy faces a future of not being able to ride, when that is all he has ever wanted. The film is beautiful, poetic, and spiritual as it looks at the healing that everyone needs and few can fully access.
  3. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Although many may have written off this biographical doc of Fred Rogers as nothing more than nostalgia, it serves as a powerful witness to the ability of kindness to touch lives, young and old. Reverend Rogers (yes, he was an ordained Presbyterian minister) was not flashy in his TV show, but he was truly a friend to all who watched.
  4. Roma. Alfonso Cuarón’s “love letter to the women who raised” him. It is a beautiful, moving, at times intense set of memories from Cuarón’s childhood centering on the family’s Mixtec maid.
  5. Shoplifters. Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, this film continues Hirokazu Kore-eda’s examination of family. Can one choose a family? Is that better than being born into a family? Just what makes people a family?
  6. Black Panther. A rare mixture of popcorn and power. It is the kind of film you enjoy for its entertainment value, but it also runs much deeper—challenging us to consider what it means to live as a society of different tribes and people. And finally what responsibilities do we have to each other?
  7. First Reformed. Paul Schrader brings his Christian background to this story of a pastor in a crisis of faith. It is not so much a story of a pastor losing his faith as discovering the limits of his faith. It also gives some insight into the ways the church coopts itself to accommodate culture and those who pay the bills—the church’s own crisis of faith.
  8. Isle of Dogs. A film that entertains and makes us think at the same time. Wes Anderson brings a stop-action animated tale of a boy looking for his dog in what is essentially a canine concentration camp. But in the process the boy, the dogs, and others take on the government that is trying to rule by fear. Humorous, touching, and challenging all mixed together.
  9. BlacKkKlansman. Spike Lee has found interesting ways to talk about race throughout his career. In this comedy we see an African-American detective in the 1970s infiltrate the KKK. The satire looks at both Black Power and White Power and the ways they are the same, but different. In a time when White Supremacy seems to be in ascendancy, this is a powerful film.
  10. Eighth Grade. Adolescence is hard. Most of us have probably forgotten how hard it was to be at that awkward place between childhood and adulthood. But this film takes us there with such sympathy and authenticity that we begin to remember. This look at coming of age shows a bit of what it takes to struggle to become an adult in today’s world.
  11. Ready Player One. In a dystopic world, virtual reality has become the means of escape. (Is that the movie or reality?) This often feels way too close to home for a culture that spends so much time staring at screens, interacting more online than face to face. In the end we know that we must reintegrate with the people and the world around us.
  12. RBG. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has become an icon for those who hold to progressive ideas. This documentary may be a bit of hagiography, but it is also informative and challenging. It focuses on ideas and on the courage to stand, when necessary, against the powers that be.

Among the other films that could have been included in this list, I also recommend (in the order I saw them):

Brady Jandreau in THE RIDER. Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

 

 

Mission Impossible – Fallout: The World Needs Ethan Hunt

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The sixth installment of the Mission Impossible films, and the second directed and written by Christopher McQuarrie (Rogue Nation), arrived this weekend with a fat 98% Rotten Tomatoes ratings, the Justice League-impacting Henry Cavill mustache, and the promise of more death-defying stunts by the ageless Tom Cruise. But haven’t we seen it all, already?

Blame Lorne Balfe’s score, the Michelle Monaghan dreams, or the return of Solomon Lane, but this is not the same old thing you’ve seen before. This is the best M:I film to-date.

IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) teams with Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rhames) to go after plutonium and The Apostles – the remaining members of the The Syndicate after Hunt arrested Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) previously. [One of the best parts of the film is that it seems to give the sidekicks more meaningful things to do than before – a throwback to the old show.] Complicating matters are Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) who might be the love that Hunt has been missing since he separated from his wife (Monaghan) to keep her safe, several movies ago. But things are complicated when the broker, White Widow (Jessica Kirby), demands that Hunt re-acquire Lane from the French government in exchange for missing plutonium.

The storyline is complex, thanks to the meddling of various governmental agencies (led by Alex Baldwin and Angela Bassett), and the presence of CIA watchdog/assassin August Walker (Cavill, who literally towers over Hunt). But the action is kept moving by the best motorcycle pursuit since The Great Escape and the best use of helicopters since Airwolf. [Seriously, I am not inclined to ‘best’ anything, but the film was that entertaining.] I could also point out that it’s as if McQuarrie watched Cliffhanger, Die Hard, the complete Sean Connery 007 collection, and Terminal Velocity while he was daydreaming about what to do to Ethan Hunt next, and stole the best looks of each to Frankenstein the highlight of the 2018 summer season.

And then there’s this: haunted by what he’s lost and what he could lose, Hunt’s emotional reverie about his (ex-) wife counts the cost of a one-man war against terrorism. But throughout the film, people keep seeing more or less the same thing: we all need Ethan Hunt because Hunt cares about the individual, the little person (no pun intended, Tom), the greater good never outweighing the life of the few. Sure, there’s one almost touching interaction with a French Genderarmie, but it’s more than that: Hunt’s morality never replaces his love of neighbor.

Having wrestled with this for the majority of the day, I have to say it: Mission Impossible – Fallout is more wildly entertaining than the sixth film in a chronological series should be and it dares to remind us that we can’t lose sight of the person next to us while in pursuit of the goal. We must remain empathetic, and compassionate, gentle and tender, even while fighting the world’s battles.

Ultimately, Fallout implores us all, to be more like Ethan Hunt.

Special features include commentary tracks by Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie, McQuarrie and editor Eddie Hamilton, and composer Lorne Balfe. Audiences can also watch the film with score-only, enjoy the making of documentary, and unpack deleted scenes. 

#ROXY: A modern take on an old nose… I mean classic.

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A modern take on Cyrano de Bergerac, #Roxy is a movie about Cyrus Nollen (Jake Short), a boy with a big nose who is very tech savvy and feels he can’t be loved because of his physical appearance. He is in love with his best friend, Roxy (Sarah Fisher), one of the more popular girls in school. However, Roxy likes the new boy in school, Christian (Booboo Stewart), the school’s stereotypical ‘dumb jock’ who likes her as well. After finding out that Christian has feelings for Roxy, Cyrus helps his new friend by using his technological skills to pose as Christian to Roxy. Their plan goes well up until Roxy and Christian meet face to face, where Roxy eventually realizes she has to decide if their relationship will survive.

#Roxy is a fairly enjoyable film that speaks about some modern topics, such as self-image and bullying. Throughout the film, Cyrus wants to confess his feelings for Roxy but is too afraid because of the size of his nose. Self-conscious about the way he looks, Cyrus feels like his nose is what is blocking him from finding love. His cousin, Bronwyn, keeps trying to tell him that “girls don’t care” about his nose, but he continues to put up a wall of doubt. In doing so, the film reminds us that, if someone you like judges you based on your physical appearance then it wasn’t meant to be. Your true partner will love you for who you are on the inside.

Another important topic within the film is its exploration of bullying. Although almost everyone in the school is too afraid to speak about Cyrus’ nose, the football team uses his nose to bully and make fun of him, not caring what he will do in return. At one point in the film, Cyrus is mocked in the library because of his appearance. However, instead of cowering, he uses different book genres to make even more j0kes about his own nose. Here, Cyrus turns the table on his attackers and takes the power back for himself. Moments like this serve as a reminder that, the more one can accept their flaws, the less chance others have to bully you.

At the beginning, #Roxy is an entertaining film and draws you in fairly quickly. Although the story and dialogue do become more confusing as it goes on, there are some positive lessons to be learned, especially for today’s teens.

The Sentence: How Do We Discuss Justice?

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“This call is from a federal prison.”

In 2001, Cindy Shank was dating a man who began dealing drugs, who was later murdered. Six years later, she was married to a man with whom she’d have three young girls and working as a responsible part of the community when federal prosecutors rang the doorbell at 6:30 in the morning. Shank was arrested, charged and sentenced for conspiracy to her former boyfriend’s crimes, a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years.

Rudy Valdez, the cinematographer and documentarian behind The Sentence, wants to use HBO’s feature film to help raise awareness about overcompensatory sentencing, in Shank’s case, “the girlfriend problem.” Those moved by the documentary, which shows the way that Shank’s three young girls and her marriage suffered.

“This call is from a federal prison.”

Like Boyhood, Valdez’s film allows the viewer to see the development of the children and their father, Adam, through the years. The brother-turned-filmmaker refuses to flinch when his own father cries or the girls ask questions that will break your heart. He documents his sister’s divorce from her husband while she’s behind bars, and the way that her daughters anticipate what it will be like when their mom return home. It is heartbreak on heartbreak that can’t help but move the audience.

Is Shank guilty? Maybe. How did her boyfriend die and why? We’re not told. But neither question seems relevant to the narrative that Valdez shares, while the fact remains that six years after a crime someone else committed, Shank was charged and sentenced to fifteen years for non-violent crimes… that she may or may not have had anything to do with. There are no easy answers here, only questions about what justice looks like, about what we do in the evaluation of crime and punishment, and how we might change our perspective to make sure that children don’t grow up without mothers or fathers.

Ocean’s 8: A New Beginning?

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Ocean’s 8 steals a play from the Star Wars playbook, setting up a Sandra Bullock-driven standalone story in the world of Danny Ocean (George Clooney) of Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen. As Debbie Ocean, Bullock’s character sets out to rob the Met Gala in New York City, with a band of enterprising female criminals (and criminals-to-be).

While Danny Ocean is a lovable loser, a crafty criminal, and a leader of men, Debbie proves to be all three … for the first ten minutes of the film. In a sequence that involves her thwarting the Parole Board’s best intentions, and subsequently finds her cleverly ripping off a department store, Bullock’s criminal is every bit what Clooney’s was. But the film’s paint-by-numbers recruitment of first Debbie’s right hand woman, Lou (Cate Blanchett), a la Clooney sucking in Brad Pitt, is immediately followed by the subsequent additions to the team (Mindy Kaling, Rihanna, Sarah Paulson, Helena Bonham Carter, etc.) It’s simply a question of taking a formula that worked with men in the first two movies (the third one is “meh”) and trying to force-feed in these women, checking ‘boxes’ of categories perfunctorily, which is a shame.

Gravity (ironically co-starring Clooney) might be the last big hit Bullock had, five years ago. Eleven was smack in the middle of a run Clooney had that included The Perfect Storm, O Brother Where Art Thou?, and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. But it’s not just that Clooney was at the height of his starpower – Brad Pitt was on a run that included Fight Club, Troy, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and Snatch; Matt Damon was in the midst of The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Departed, and the Jason Bourne films. This isn’t the same thing – three actors at the top of their game – when it’s Bullock, the more artsy Blanchett, and then a significant drop. (Nevermind that Gary Ross is no Steven Soderbergh, or that the original had a budget of $85 million and seventeen years later, that 8 had a budget of $70 million.)

Instead of the attempt at Ghostbusters-like remake (which at least had ghosts and looked like it belonged in the same universe), the film would have benefitted from a lack of pressure in name only. Adding in a Tina Fey, Melissa McCarthy, Amy Poehler, Amy Schumer, Kristen Wiig, Sarah Silverman – or getting the whole crew a la Bridesmaids, would have given the film the panache it needed to stand on its own … with a funnier script. Those original movies were clever and slick, and the men looked they were having fun.

By the close, I half-expected Bullock to hide behind a yawn, when pouring the celebratory bubbly that never felt in danger. Next time, here’s hoping they have more fun, we feel more tension, and it becomes more than just a very naked shot at revenge. Somehow, I doubt this was equality we are fighting for in Hollywood.

These women deserved more. But maybe they’re just getting started.

Special features on the Blu-ray combo pack include “A Heist in Heels,” “Ocean’s Team 3.0,” “Reimagining the Met Gala,” and deleted scenes.