BEST OF THE DECADE 2016-2017

2/18/2020

2016

What an… eventful year? Thankfully there are a lot of the things that happened in the film world so we don’t have to talk about politics. First off, Leonardo finally won his Oscar. Does anyone care? I’m sure some people do. Disney continued to cash in on live action remakes of their classics (such as the excellent Jungle Book, and raked in the top five grossing films of the year. Speaking of remakes, there was a Ghostbusters all-female reboot. That wasn’t as good. But, the worst film of the year would have to be Suicide Squad. What…a… disaster. Alas, there were many other great films that we took notice of:

Jocelyn Illing - President

Swiss Army Man (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, USA)

Hands down my favourite film of all time. Everything about this film is totally unique. Who would have thought that a film about a man becoming friends with a corpse and riding him like a jetski could be equally hilarious and heartbreaking? The film showcases the outstanding talents of Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe, who, I must say, is having an incredibly interesting post-Harry Potter career. I cannot wait to see what he does next.

Jacob Bews - Crash/Cut Editor

The VVitch (Robert Eggers, USA)
O father, we watch yon family suffer the trials of an unkind wilderness. Mercy comes to them not. Instead, a shadow passes over their homestead. Puritans cast out from ‘civilized’ people. Twins giggle a rhyme about a black goat. A father prays. A daughter faces the wrath of fearing parents. The breakdown of a house in the midst of the silent trees. He waits in those woods with her. But who is she?

Nicole Betts - Crash/Cut Editor

Arrival (Denis Villenueve, USA)
I have nothing but praise for this movie, from the way that the plot is set up to the fact that anyone could have been placed in the leading roles and it wouldn’t have impacted the movie at all. It didn’t matter that the leading roles were male and female, it could have easily been two women, or two men and the movie would have been the exact same. There was almost no focus on gender, everyone was treated as equal humans. As well, I had never before this, and haven’t since, seen a movie where linguistics was the centre focus, and I loved it. The exploration of languages and the different interpretations that happen during translation, it sets up a fascinating and very informative premise I thoroughly enjoyed. I always worry that science-fiction movies are going to make me feel stupid, but this one brought me along every step of the way, and I left feeling I not only understood everything that happened, but that I learned from it as well.

Elias Stang - Poster Designer

Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, USA)

Moonlight is nothing short of perfection. One of, if not the strongest drama of A24, Moonlight delves deep into themes of sexuality, identity, and masculinity with such raw passion and beauty that it demands to be seen. We follow Chiron, a young African American man through three critical stages of his life: childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Along the way we grow with Chiron, referred to as ‘Little’ in his childhood, living with an addict single mother and his introduction to Juan, a local drug dealer who fills the role of a father figure. In adolescence Chiron discovers Kevin, a friend and early crush as he learns about his sexuality while struggling to cope in school. Finally in adulthood, Chiron, aka ‘Black,’ follows in the footsteps of Juan, while reconnecting with Kevin, his first love. The film is visually stunning with its use of blues and purples coupled with intimate and moving shots throughout, embracing its characters' vulnerability and allowing for sympathy. The simplest lesson that can be taken from this beautiful and poignant examination of sexuality and the deconstruction of masculinity in a young man's life is this: don’t imitate who you idolize, no matter how tempting it may be. Don’t sink to the level of your enemies, those who try to change or depress your true self. Become better, embrace who you are and don’t fight it because you are the only person that will see you through your entire life.

“At some point you gotta decide for yourself who you gonna be. Can’t let nobody make that decision for you.”

Juan

Lucia Gonzalez - Cinema Politica Assistant

Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, USA)

This film is also one of my favourite! Every single aspect of this film is beautiful and perfect! If you haven't already, go watch it!

Anton Carpentier - Cinema Politica Coordinator

HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE

Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople tells a very humorous but tragic story about loss and belonging. Waititi’s films distil complex human emotions through humour in such a welcomed and necessary warmth. Suffering is unavoidable, but laughter certainly makes it easier. Taika Waititi proves in this film that he as profound as he is funny.

2017

The year that the Me Too movement took off, starting with the exposure of the widespread sexual-abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein in early October. This movement has sparked a major change in not only the world of Hollywood, but in the music industry, sciences, churches, academia, politics, etc. It also was used as a platform for men to discuss their own stories of abuse and harassment, notable celebrities such as Terry Crews and James Van Der Beek. Star Wars: The Last Jedi was the highest grossing film of 2017, but was beat out by Split for the year’s most profitable film, as it generated 2000% return on investment. 2017 was also a record year for non-Hollywood foreign films in the Chinese market as they accounted for 72% of the years foreign film box office revenue. It was also the first year since 1958 that had the top 3 highest grossing domestic films be female led (Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Beauty and the Beast, and Wonder Woman). In world news, Donald Trump was sworn in to be the 45th president of the United States, blessing us with tweets such as “covfefe”. It was also the year the Mueller investigations began, a travel ban was put into place, and the nuclear threat between the United States and North Korea increased rapidly. In October, the Las Vegas massacre occurred, the deadliest mass shooting committed by an individual in the history of the United States. There was also the total solar eclipse, the first since 1918, and it was a particularly brutal hurricane season with three major storms; Harvey, Irma and Maria.

Nicole Betts - Crash/Cut Editor

Dunkirk
I love war movies, I always have, and this one managed to climb its way to the top 3 of my favourite war films. It did this a couple ways. First, as weird as it sounds, there is almost no gore in this movie. This is unusual for a war film, and it was a nice change of pace to not watch severed arms fly into the camera. It allowed me to enjoy the work done to tell the story of this event without feeling physically ill or like I was ripped off with cheap shock factor effects. Second, the music is unreal and the only way I can describe it is a never-ending anxiety attack, the “Shepard tone” is used brilliantly and adds to the intensity of each scene. Third, I love how the three different stories of heroes and survivors of Dunkirk twist and weave around one another to tell the full story of that fateful battle.

Anton Carpentier - Cinema Politica Coordinator

GOOD TIME

The Safdie brothers reinvented the crime film in this exhilarating and kinetic movie. The brother’s eye for movement is unlike anything being made right now. It’s American Indie filmmaking at its best. After this movie, you’ll feel like you just had the most intense night of your life.

Jacob Bews - Crash/Cut Editor

Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villenueve, USA)
A shadow city bursting with neon from the seams. Cacophonies of blues, pinks, and greens. Where are the humans? Everywhere. Nowhere. Living amongst them, a replicant, Agent K, searches for a mysterious child. Could replicants conceive? Bring new life into the world? Is there a difference? Surrogate memories. Inhuman drones. The rotting carcass of a decadent class sustained by wires and magnetic code. Black waves on a digital shore.

Lucia Gonzalez - Cinema Politica Assistant

Sueño En Otro Idioma (Ernesto Contreras, Mexico)
The plot is of this movie is uncommon in Mexican cinema: it's not about narcos and drugs, it's not about poverty and violence, and it's not about people in the city. This movie is about identity, diversity and acceptance, and I really like that.

Elias Stang - Poster Designer

Spiderman: Homecoming

This is one of my top 5 favourite MCU films and tied with Spiderman 2 for the best Spiderman films made over the years. This film has everything this lifetime fan could ever hope for. This film perfectly cements Spiderman into the cinematic universe titan after his arrival in Captain America: Civil War. It seamlessly blends high school, coming of age comedy with superhero spectacle wrapped around the most believable portrayal of Peter Parker yet, played to perfection by Tom Holland. Michael Keaton steals the show as the iconic Vulture (one of my top 3 favourite Spiderman villains), with his believable and intimidating performance and motivations, quickly becoming one of the strongest MCU villains (e.g. with a low and menacing growl; "Good ol' Spiderman," the traffic light which has just turned green coats Keaton's face -- Chills). What is an MCU film without mention to Tony Stark, the foundation to which the MCU stands. However prevalent Stark's presence is in this film, one wouldn't refer to it as an Iron Man sequel. One wouldn't state that this film is "Tony Stark taking on a young protege to replace his role once he inevitably retires" rather "a young and naive superhero learns to balance regular life with superheroism, facing challenges seemingly too large and threatening but guided by the words of a veteran and an idol." As Parker's first solo outing as the newest (at the time) member of Marvel's historical conquest, Homecoming truly feels like a Spiderman film.

Thwip thwip y'all.

Jocelyn Illing - President

Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig, USA)

We love films about females, by females, for females. Lady Bird was a breath of fresh air. It presents the strong female relationships between a high school student, her mother and her best friend and all of the ups and downs she endures as a teenage becoming a young adults in a way that puts emphasis on their connection rather than that of a boy. Rather than being a teen flick about young romantic love, Lady Bird explores the deep love between two friends and a daughter and mother, and all of the mischief and heartbreak their endure on the road to becoming adults.

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