4. Delightful Surprises
No wait, *this* is my largest category. These were movies where I went in going “ehhhh?” and came out going “WOW!” As satisfying as it can be to see a movie that lives up to high expectations, I also really love when a movie surprises me.
1917
I have a really hard time with war movies. It’s a completely foreign language to me. I don’t understand the maneuvers, I don’t understand the ranks, and I just cannot follow what is going on in most of these movies. Exceptions include movies like this, where we spend most of our time with just a handful of characters and see everything from their point of view. 1917 follows two soldiers who are tasked with getting a message to another regiment that is about to mount an attack that they don’t know is going to be an ambush. Telephone lines have been cut, so these two guys have to deliver this message by hand or 1,600 soldiers will die in the failed attack. I still had a *little* trouble following some scenes, and I’m skeptical of whether the last moments of trying to get the message to the right people were really that much of a close call in real life. But this was outstanding. You’ll hear a lot about this movie as “one long take” -- technically, it’s not, but it’s shot to (mostly) look like it is, which puts you so close to the central characters it’s not possible not to be terrified for them. Also, EVERYONE is in this — Sherlock *and* Moriarty/HotPriest, Robb Stark and Tommen Baratheon (as brothers), Merlin/Septimus, the One True Mr. Darcy, and the theater version of Harry Potter, among others. (In limited release; opens wider on January 10.)
Apollo 11
This is a documentary about the 1969 Apollo 11 mission to the moon and it is like nothing I’ve seen before. It consists entirely of archival footage, some of which has never before been publicly released, and has no interviews or talking head segments. No narration. Just the footage and the sound of transmissions between the command center and the space vessel. You’ve probably seen that moon landing hundreds of times at this point, but never like this. This is truly spectacular and the definition of authentic. (Available on Hulu and for rent on other streaming services.)
The Art of Self-Defense
This was a brilliant movie tackling toxic masculinity. It has a sort of mock-serious tone that lends itself well to the inherent absurdity of the uber-machismo the protagonist is trying, for his own survival, to emulate. I saw the reveal coming long before it revealed itself, but it was still effective. And the end is incredibly satisfying. I wholeheartedly agree with Alan Cerny that this is a much better version of Joker (though I still kind of liked Joker!). (Available on most streaming services.)
Atlantics
This is a Senegalese ghost story, but I wouldn’t call it a horror movie. It starts with a group of construction workers, building a big tower for a rich businessman, who haven’t been paid for months. Late one night, they decide to cross the sea to another country to try and find a better life, but they are never seen again and are presumed dead. The film mostly follows the lover of one of them, Ada, who is engaged to another man but still pines for Souleiman, who left her behind. Slowly, the people in the town start to become possessed by the spirits of the dead workers, most of whom haunt their former employer for the money he owes them. Souleiman, however, only wants to be with Ada. I had some questions about agency in this movie, as “possession” stories are rife with those issues, but other than that I found this beautiful and heartbreaking. I love when there’s a situation that can’t be explained because no one will believe it, and then people are *forced* to believe it because they’ve seen it with their own eyes. This was genuinely great. (Available on Netflix.)
Bacurau
A Brazilian “weird western” with a touch of The Most Dangerous Game. Sonia Braga is #HBICgoals in this movie and Udo Kier is always a welcome presence. I was reminded a bit of Lagaan and even more of the second half of Death Proof in that the villains have no idea who they’re messing with. There are some silly elements, but overall I really loved this. (Opens in March.)
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
This movie is not what I expected, in the best way. There’s a weirdness that feels appropriate to a story about Fred Rogers, especially as he is seen through the eyes of the actual protagonist of the movie, Lloyd Vogel, a journalist based on Esquire’s Tom Junod. Tom Hanks is phenomenal and really the only actor who had sufficient audience goodwill to play Rogers. I liked last year’s documentary about Mr. Rogers a lot, but it did leave me wanting a bit more, and I wonder if there is anyone who loved that movie that didn’t already love Mr. Rogers. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is more impressive to me because it starts from a place of skepticism and you can see how life-changing it is for Vogel to meet Rogers. I was hooked just a few minutes in, after hearing Mr. Rogers give the most incredible description of forgiveness that I have ever heard. And I love that Hanks plays Rogers not just as some perfect human, which no one is. It might be hard to see, but there’s a defensiveness there, especially in one scene where Vogel is needling him about his sons, that was honestly kind of refreshing to see. (In theaters.)
Bombshell
However you feel about Fox News and its personalities, there’s no denying that Gretchen Carlson and the other women who came forward about Roger Ailes — many of whom won't even call themselves feminists — were at the forefront of #metoo and #timesup. It was nice to be reminded that, whatever I could say about their politics (and I could say a LOT), they were human beings in a terrible situation. Charlize Theron is rightly being praised for her performance as Megyn Kelly, but I feel like the heart of this movie is Margot Robbie’s Kayla, who is an amalgam of several women who came forward and who has some especially great scenes with Kate McKinnon (a closeted Democrat and lesbian who applied to lots of news outlets, but Fox was the only place who offered her a job, and now she can’t get a job anywhere else because she works at Fox). It’s Robbie’s scene with John Lithgow’s Roger, though, that’s the film's centerpiece and is truly upsetting to watch. (In theaters.)
Brittany Runs a Marathon
It’s hard to sell what movies like this are really like, and maybe you shouldn’t give so much away before people have seen your movie, but this was so much more than a hilarious “watch this human disaster try and accomplish an unrealistic goal” story. It reminded me of Trainwreck a bit, but I think it’s actually better. And it doesn’t tie the character’s growth to a romance, which is nice. Jillian Bell is phenomenal in the title role, but I also really loved Michaela Watkins as the neighbor who first gives her the idea to start running. This is a good ladies-helping-ladies movie, but it’s an even better ladies-helping-themselves movie. These kinds of movies always have a third-act setback and ensuing struggle to get back to where the character was, but Brittany’s is especially heartbreaking, relatable, and ultimately uplifting. (Available on Amazon Prime and for rent on other streaming services.)
Crawl
I wasn’t expecting much out of this, honestly, but it was a really effective creature horror movie. It can be easy to look at the situations and character decisions in this movie and say “lol Florida,” but I was reminded how in real life these people know their own land better than outsiders and they have a better idea of what’s too dangerous or what’s survivable than people watching on the news. I saw this movie in one of those fancy enhanced sound theaters and got at least one good jolt when the seat rumbled to indicate a nearby croc. Legitimately scary, with ridiculous but compelling stakes. And the dog lives! (Available on most streaming services.)
The Farewell
I avoided this when it was in theaters because it came out in the summer and it just didn’t feel like a movie I would best appreciate in the summer, when I want to see mostly fun stuff. So I caught it over Thanksgiving and I’m glad I did. It’s really hard for me to relate to the situation here, though, and I’m so on Billi’s side in this. I can’t stand the idea of lying to someone about something like having cancer, especially when so many things like medication and doctor’s visits revolve around that reality. I appreciate the notion that telling the person sometimes makes it worse because the patient gives up, but dude, sometimes they fight back and get better! I did love, however, the reasoning that the family is taking on the grief so that the grandmother doesn’t have to bear that burden. I just wonder how long that charade can last, even given what we learn in the film’s closing moments. (Available on most streaming services.)
Hail Satan?
Okay, this is legitimately a good movie, but I was raised Southern Baptist and the idea of liking a movie that portrays real-life Satanists in a positive light makes me nervous. Still, it is utterly fascinating and a great tonic to the Satanic Panic nonsense. These people don’t worship Satan — they don’t even believe he exists in any real sense — but he serves as their avatar, as the ultimate troll. They use the “church” as a vehicle for political activism, mostly in support of separation of church and state (especially when it comes to public display of Christian symbols in/near government buildings), but also women’s bodily autonomy. I could have done without the chanting, though. For people who claim they don’t worship Satan, they sure do chant his name a lot. But I suspect that’s part of their trolling, because they know it will freak people out. (Available on Hulu and for rent on other streaming services.)
Hustlers
If you didn’t see this you probably heard about it, but the hype is definitely real. Jennifer Lopez has never been better and plays her personal notoriety to her advantage, making her character larger than life. The relationship between her and Constance Wu is wonderfully complex and serves as the emotional core of the film. That scene with the fur coat tells you everything you need to know. And the movie manages to make what they did to these guys complicated — there’s no question that what they’re doing is wrong, and we’re shown how it hurts people, but it’s also hard not to cheer them on when some of these guys are just absolute monsters. (Available for rent on most streaming services.)
Jumanji: The Next Level
I didn’t see the previous Jumanji film because I wasn’t terribly excited about it, and while I remember liking the original from the 1990s it wasn’t super iconic for me. So I was in no rush to see this. But I ended up seeing this with a friend and it is SO GOOD and I need to make plans to see the first one soon because these characters and their avatars are great. And even though I hadn’t seen the previous movie, I had no problem following this. A huge part of the movie’s charm is in seeing the avatars of Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Jack Black and Kevin Hart play these different characters and play them so well that you know exactly who they are. Johnson as Danny DeVito is … okay, but the other character who plays his avatar (kind of a spoiler to say who) is amazing. And Kevin Hart doing Danny Glover is off-the-charts great. I was a little nervous when Jack Black had to do “Fridge,” but he’s very careful not to slip into parody and plays the character remarkably well (still, I was glad when everyone got in the “right” avatars and Jack Black was the omg teen girl, which I’m guessing he was in the first movie). So funny, with high stakes and characters you care about. If you’ve been avoiding this or the previous one because it looks dumb, it’s MOST CERTAINLY NOT. Check it out. (In theaters.)
Long Shot
I don’t know why I continue to be surprised when Seth Rogen creates something sensitive and heartwarming. He does it nearly every time, though this might be the first time (that I recall) that that sweetness doesn’t revolve around a bunch of guys. Charlize Theron in this movie gets to be brilliant and strong but not unapproachable (at least once you get past her security detail). And Seth Rogen is not just some burnout here; he’s really smart and principled, and you can absolutely see why she falls for him. If you saw the trailers for this and thought it was just another amazing-woman-falls-for-schlubby-loser movie, you should give it a shot. I think it will surprise you in the best way. (Available on most streaming services, but only to buy.)
The Peanut Butter Falcon
I sat on this one for most of the year, because something about the title put a version of it in my mind that did not interest me and, ultimately, had ZERO to do with the actual movie. Zack Gottsagen, an actor with Down syndrome, plays Zak, a man with Down syndrome who is forced to live in a senior citizens’ facility because there’s no other place in town to put him, even though this facility can’t really address his needs. He escapes one night and soon teams up with Tyler (played by Shia LaBoeuf in his other great performance this year), and the two of them get their Huck Finn on as they try to get Zak to a wrestling school to meet his idol and pursue his dream of becoming a professional wrestler. This movie is an absolute delight and like no other movie I’ve seen about a person with special needs. (Available on most streaming services.)
The Perfection
This has some problematic elements, but I LOVED it. If you like DePalma movies (this isn’t one, but it’s a lot like them), you will like this. It is similarly trashy to peak DePalma films, and I mean that as a compliment. A former cello prodigy (played by Get Out’s Allison Williams), who had to stop studying to take care of her sick mother, goes back to her old conservatory, where another student has become the star. The two catch up (and hook up) and decide to go on a road trip together until wackiness ensues and someone starts puking bugs and someone’s arm gets cut off and there’s all kinds of reveals and reversals that I can’t even begin to get into here. It starts out kind of Black Swan, but ends up more like Boxing Helena. It’s amazing. (Available on Netflix.)
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
I don’t know if I’d be as into this if I hadn’t played a lot of Pokémon Go on my phone and recognized the different varieties of Pokémon and had at least a minimal understanding of levels and whatnot. In any case, I really dug this. Ryan Reynolds does a lot to make this work, and the juxtaposition of his voice on that adorable Pikachu is magical. I loved seeing Justice Smith from The Get Down in this as well. There’s no reason for this to be as good as it is, but here were are, and that’s one of my favorite kinds of creative endeavors. (Available on HBO and for rent on other streaming services.)
Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street
A lot of people feel like Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2 is the bane of the franchise, but I feel quite differently. (I’m sorry, but Freddy turns into an actual motorcycle to kill someone in Part 5, which is just about the worst thing I’ve ever seen, so don’t come at me about Freddy’s Revenge.) Mark Patton, who played the lead in Part 2 (a very rare male scream queen), took the brunt of the blame for why it didn’t work, with many people (including the movie’s screenwriter) saying he made it “too gay.” The backlash ruined Patton’s life for a long time, and he only just stepped back in the spotlight a few years ago, making appearances at cons and appearing in another documentary about the Elm Street series as a whole. This movie gave him a chance to confront the screenwriter and sort of make peace with his place in the franchise — a place that, not for nothing, has been enthusiastically embraced by a lot of fans, particularly LGBTQ fans. (Not yet released; date not set.)
Shazam!
I remember seeing part of the old Captain Marvel serial at BNAT 5 and liking it, and I wanted to see this if only for Zach Levi and the asthmatic kid from It. It was so much better than I was expecting. All of Billy’s foster brothers and sisters are amazing (especially tiny Darla who is the LITERAL BEST). This was such a cool version of the power/responsibility arc and I loved that they committed to the importance of Billy’s foster family and didn’t just forget about them to focus on the superhero shenanigans. And the moment when all the kids … err, spoilers, but if you’ve seen it YOU KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT … was legitimately one of my happiest moments in a movie this year. (Available on HBO and for rent on other streaming services.)
Waves
I’ve seen some people who don’t like the flashy filmmaking on display here and the different aspect ratios, but this movie took my breath away. What starts as a story of a young man who makes a series of bad decisions in response to increasing pressure from several angles in his life turns into an amazing story about healing. All of the performances in this are stellar. Sterling K. Brown is getting most of the attention here, but Taylor Russell and Kelvin Harrison Jr. are both incredible as the brother and sister and alternating protagonists of the film. And I can’t BELIEVE more people aren’t talking about Renee Elise Goldsberry in this, because she is out of this world. It is so good, and I was so afraid that there was one more tragic thing waiting for me at the end, but thank goodness this movie doesn’t play those games. (Still in some theaters.)
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