Review: N/A Trailer: Click Here!
Where You Can Watch It: Netflix
I’m a casual listener of Beyoncé at best, but I don’t think you have to be a fan to appreciate what is being done with this documentary/concert film. If it was simply just a showcase of her 2018 performance at Coachella performance, playfully nicknamed as “Beychella,” then it would still be a cool concert film. The choreography is outstanding, and the way the film cuts between the different songs and performances is stunning to see, the costumes are spectacular, and the instrumentation with the marching band brings a compelling new touch to classic songs. What the documentary does that puts it over-the-top is how it emphasizes the importance of the concert, and the elements that Beyoncé choose to focus on in order to give the concert greater historical significance. It’s not just that she is the first black woman to headline Coachella, it’s also the way she used her platform to pay homage to HBCUs, black history, and the empowerment of black women. The joy and energy on display is absolutely infectious.
Review: Click Here! Trailer: Click Here!
Where You Can Watch It: Will be available on Amazon Prime on February 7th
Shia LaBeouf cuts deep with this one. Working alongside director, Alma Har’el, they create a cinematic memoir that has Shia interrogating his past, and examining his relationship to his father, and how the effects of his father’s actions led him to where he is now. Can he forgive his father? Is he even worthy of forgiveness? Does he have the capacity and emotional maturity and reflection necessary to forgive at all? The film is arguably a touch clumsy and messy, but it’s clumsy and messy in a loud, personal, screaming-into-the-void kind of way. There is so much raw, brutal honesty in this film; it’s easy find aspects of these characters in people you know in real life. I know I do. It doesn’t provide easy answers in how to deal with the trauma you inherit from your parents, but once you recognize the feelings you have, whether they make sense or not, it can form a path to finally find some healing.
Review: N/A Trailer: Click Here!
Where You Can Watch It: DVD, VOD, Hulu
At no point in Honeyland does it feel like you are watching a documentary. There are no talking head interviews, no archival footage, no narrations, or any kind of direct exposition, or even any sense that there is a camera crew observing the lives of a North Macedonian beekeeper and her new nomadic neighbors. Shot over four years, and with hundreds of hours of footage, not only does it put together a compelling narrative, it also provides a story that surprisingly doubles as an interesting allegory about the relationship between people and nature, and the delicate balance that is required to keep ecosystems stable. You act as an unassuming observer at first, but as things go along, you’d be surprised by how connected you are to what’s going on, and it builds to some especially heartbreaking moments. It is one hell of an accomplishment.
Review: Click Here! Trailer: Click Here!
Where You Can Watch It: DVD/Blu-ray, VOD
Writer/director, Lorene Scafaria, had more to say about society than the other notable Scorsese riff to come out this year, and yet Hustlers barely made a dent in awards season. I wonder why. Is it that the voters in these award ceremonies don’t take stories centered on women all that seriously? Or is it that Hollywood has generally had a low opinion on sex workers, and seeing a film that gives them power and agency and humanity is pushing them too far out of their comfort zones? I guess we’ll never know. Either way, Hustlers remains a fascinating look at the effect that the 2008 financial crisis had on the working class, and the all too brief catharsis that comes out of seeing rich, Wall Street dudes get their just desserts. It’s sharp, the cast is ridiculously electric, the costuming is fantastic, and the needle drops are inspired. It’s a complete package from top to bottom.
Review: Click Here! Trailer: Click Here!
Where You Can Watch It: Netflix
If it were not for Diamantino, I Lost My Body would take the cake as the most out there release I’ve seen in 2019. Taking a story that is metaphorically about a man trying to find himself, and his place in the world…and turning it into a very literal story about the guy’s disembodied hand trying to find his way back to the man he belongs to; facing various obstacles through the cracks and rat infested crevasses of Paris. It’s ultimately a very simple movie, but it overwhelms you with feeling. A feeling of yearning, of melancholy, of isolation, all of which are enhanced by a dreamy score that lulls you into its own twisted logic. The experience of watching it feels like if you’re trying to recover a memory of a dream from long ago, and it’s a dream worth revisiting again and again.
Review: Click Here! Trailer: Click Here!
Where You Can Watch It: VOD
OK…so maybe I Lost My Body and In Fabric would tie for the most out there film of 2019 after Diamantino. This one’s about a killer dress. The idea sounds ridiculous, and the film acknowledges it with some delightfully playful performances and flourishes while still bringing a thoroughly sinister and retro Euro-horror sensibility that has come to define the works of Peter Strickland with his previous work like Berberian Sound Studio and The Duke Of Burgundy. I adored every weird, funny, trippy, and horrifying second of this film. While I mostly enjoy it for its aesthetic and stylistic touches, it also acts as a satire of consumerism and corporate culture, with some moments even feeling like it was inspired by the likes of Office Space. It’s truly a wild experience, and one that fits neatly into so many of my own personal tastes.
Review: N/A Trailer: Click Here!
Where You Can Watch It: Still in theaters, check your local listings.
The film has been described as a melodrama, and while the basic premise, and the beginning half hour might feel like it’s setting up something more heightened, Karim Aïnouz ultimately takes the story in a direction that feels more grounded and real as it goes along, while retaining the emotional core. Invisible Life follows the lives of two sisters who have been separated, and yearn to reunite, but due to certain circumstances, usually do to actions made by the men in their lives, are unable to do so. Carol Duarte and Julia Stockler do a beautiful job in painting this lively portrait of sisterhood. With only a short amount of time in the beginning, they showcase an immediately endearing connection that carries for the entire film as your heart aches for them to see each other again. It’s an enriching watch that has its own groove as you settle into the different lives these two women lead, and the payoff at the end is one that packs one hell of an emotional punch.
Review: N/A Trailer: Click Here!
Where You Can Watch It: Expected to hit Amazon Prime soon, no date confirmed.
If I could use one word to describe this film, it would be “primal.” The film sees its characters reduced to all their animalistic instincts as all the men in a small Indian village try to capture an escaped bull. That is really all there is to it, and it’s an exhilarating and visceral exercise that assaults your senses through its chaotic chases and rambunctious rampages. It’s a savage allegory about what happens when humanity is stripped away from man, and all the base desires begin driving them toward single goal. The craftsmanship is immaculate, with numerous extended tracking shots, a pulsating score, and several sequences where you sit there wondering how it was constructed without accidentally killing most of its cast. It’s a white knuckled, grab-you-by-the-throat ride that sucks you in with its relentless vigor, and it won’t let you go until it finally ends with the already fine line between man and beast being removed.
Review: Click Here! Trailer: Click Here!
Where You Can Watch It: DVD/Blu-ray, VOD, HBO
While Jallikattu shows what can be accomplished with minimal resources and ingenuity, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum shows how Hollywood can utilize all its resources to craft a genre spectacle that is built on a foundation of doing as much grunt work in front of the camera at every possible opportunity, stretching the capabilities of human body through stunts, clever staging, complex choreography, and a story that is fitted to play up the strengths of its cast and crew. A masterclass in character-driven mythmaking where its cinematic reference points range from the likes of silent comedies of the 20s to the technicolor musicals of the 50s, creating a symphony of bloodshed and motorcycle chases and gun fire and knife fights. A total indulgence of genre filmmaking that also serves as a showcase of all the potential that cinema has to offer, further cementing Keanu Reeves as one of the greatest movie stars. I mean…he killed a dude with a book. A book!
Review: Click Here! Trailer: Click Here!
Where You Can Watch It: Netflix
Easily one of the best Christmas films to come out in recent years that also brings to mind the kind of classics that Disney brought to many childhoods during their renaissance in the early 90s. There’s a timeless quality to the story, which – on the surface – sounds like something that wouldn’t be all that interesting, given it’s essentially an origin story about Santa Claus, and yet, through clever humor, endearing characters, and beautiful, inventive animation, it leaves a lasting impression that brings out all the feelings you would want from a Christmas movie. It’s arguably a touch too conventional, but it understands the fundamentals of telling a story like this, and nails all of them. “A true act of goodwill always sparks another.” That’s a message that I think will always be important and necessary, and not just for kids.
Review: Click Here! Trailer: Click Here!
Where You Can Watch It: Still in theaters, check your local listings. DVD/Blu-ray will be released on February 25th.
Rian Johnson loves turning genres inside-out, interrogating the tropes, and retooling them in ways that are fresh, while still celebrating everything that made the same genre so resonating in the first place. I don’t know if I would even necessarily consider Knives Out among my favorite of Johnson’s films, my review did cover what I feel to be a bit of a big flaw, but it still has so much of the personality, wonder, detail, and craft that I adore about his work. Sometimes an artist just connects with you on a level where it seems like their taste and style was formed just so it can appeal to your own personal sensibilities, and Rian Johnson has been one of those artists for me ever since I saw Brick. The way Knives Out touches on politics, the whodunnit genre, and works with its endlessly talented cast is just an endless delight. By the time Daniel Craig gets to doing a monologue about donuts with his absurd Southern drawl, I knew this was going to be something great.
Review: Click Here! Trailer: Click Here!
Where You Can Watch It: DVD, VOD, HBO
It feels weird to say that I loved a four hour documentary that is literally just two guys talking about how they were sexually abused by the biggest pop star of all time. Formally speaking, there is nothing all that interesting going on here, it’s mostly talking heads and archival footage, but that is beyond the point. It’s about confronting harsh truths head on, covering the manipulation, emotional baggage, self-loathing, and trauma that victims face, and it’s not rough. In our culture, we connect so much of ourselves in what we consume. We define ourselves by the art and artists we like, but when it turns out our heroes weren’t exactly who they say they were, it can be difficult to deal with. I genuinely feel bad for all the people who write terrible things online about the subjects of this doc and the filmmakers behind it, calling them liars, organizing protests. My heart broke when I first heard about what Louis CK did, the disappointment I felt was beyond measure, but it is what it is, and you have to come to terms with that. Sorry, MJ fans, it is what it is.
Review: Click Here! Trailer: Click Here!
Where You Can Watch It: Still in theaters, check your local listings.
While I don’t have much attachment to neither the original source material nor previous adaptations, the experience of watching Greta Gerwig’s take on the material was like receiving a warm hug and spending time with an old friend. There’s such a deep affection for the characters that you become less like an observer and more like another member of the family. The smile I had the entire time watching it was only ever interrupted by the points where I was wiping the tears away. It really sneaks up on you. I recall when Saoirse Ronan is doing her big monologue, and that moment comes when she takes a brief pause, and ends by saying, “and I’m so lonely.” It comes out of her less like she’s being declarative, and more so out of pure desperation. It hit so close to home. I still think about it. Also, a surprise Bob Odenkirk appearance is always welcome.
Review: Click Here! Trailer: Click Here!
Where You Can Watch It: DVD, VOD, Hulu
One of 2019’s most overlooked films, and also one of the most damning critiques of America’s healthcare system and the lack of real, accessible options we provide people living in poverty, and how many of those problems are accentuated when you are a woman. Nia DaCosta takes a careful and measured approach to the material that allows Tessa Thompson and Lily James to really shine. Like Invisible Life, Little Woods is also a tale of two sisters with lives made complicated by the men around them. The only difference being that the two estranged sisters are brought together by circumstances beyond their control, and the way they have to try and figure out how to solve their problems further adds nuances to not only their characters, but also what the film ultimately has to say about how the world treats people in their position.
Review: Click Here! Trailer: Click Here!
Where You Can Watch It: Blu-ray, VOD
The power of Mica Levi as a composer is how she is able to make seemingly mundane or ordinary environments almost otherworldly. Be it the Scottish backdrop of Under The Skin, the political offices in Jackie, and the Colombian mountaintops in Monos. At times, despite our terrifyingly young and human characters, the atmosphere that Alejandro Landes creates is like we’re witnessing something on another planet. I guess such is the lives of the child soldiers at the center of the story, who have been forced to deal with conditions that most adults on this planet, much less kids, would ever come close to understanding. While you spend so much time with them, you don’t necessarily know what it is they are fighting for, and perhaps, to a degree, even the kids don’t fully know either. It’s numbing, haunting, and occasionally even amusing, and it will surely stick with you long after you see it.
Review: Click Here! Trailer: Click Here!
Where You Can Watch It: DVD/Blu-ray, VOD
For as much of a stir this film caused, I found it to be the most relaxing moviegoing experience I’ve had all year. It’s the kind of film that I can see myself putting on, and leaving it go while I do other things, and occasionally take a break to watch scene, or three. Like a hazily remembered dream, it evokes a specific and idiosyncratic vision of Hollywood in 1969 that touches on some of the things that I grew up watching. There’s also something so deeply charming to me about the idea of Quentin Tarantino making a film that is basically about the type of character actor that he would hire for one of his movies. It’s the film I’ve seen the most in theaters last year, and it’s purely because I love to luxuriate in the details, the homages, and the costumes. While there are elements that I have mixed feelings on, the care that was put into everything still wins me over. It has become my new favorite of his, just edging Jackie Brown, which had a similar hangout vibe. And for as irreverent as most of the it is, there’s a heart to it that fully comes alive with Sharon Tate. And every time I hear the voice in that intercom in the end, I can’t help but tear up.
Review: N/A Trailer: Click Here!
Where You Can Watch It: VOD, Shudder
This scrappy, little Japanese zombie comedy understands the significance of a good setup and payoff better than most movies I’ve seen that have hundreds of millions of dollars behind them. It’s admittedly a rough start, the opening tracking shot, while impressively long, is incredibly awkward. But if you stick with it, the film reveals itself to be far more charming and clever and inventive than you could have ever imagined it to be. Is it the most elegant picture of the year? Hardly. You can tell the filmmakers had few resources to work with, but the perseverance and creativity they had to pull off something so weird and different is downright inspiring. It’s an unabashed celebration of filmmaking. This is what it’s all about. This is why I love movies. If you haven’t seen this, it’s an experience that truly is worth going into knowing absolutely nothing.
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