It's Oscar weekend, so I figured now is as good a time as any to announce my ten favorite movies of 2019. There's not a whole lot of science that goes into my process; it's mostly gut feeling that determines what goes into this list and how I'm arranging it. The emotional response is the … Continue reading Top That! My Ten Favorite Films of 2019
#darkcomedy
Uncut Gems
Release: Christmas Day 2019 →Theater Written by: Ronald Bronstein; Josh and Benny Safdie Directed by: Josh and Benny Safdie If they have proven anything in their last two movies it's that few filmmakers stress you out quite like the New York born-and-bred Safdie brothers. Uncut Gems is, in a word, intense. This is a very aggressive mood piece that … Continue reading Uncut Gems
Paddleton
Release: Friday, February 22, 2019 (Netflix) →Netflix Written by: Mark Duplass; Alex Lehmann Directed by: Alex Lehmann It's not often that the Duplass brothers make a heavy movie. Darting in and out of the so-called mumblecore scene and playing with time in pleasantly nostalgic trips down memory lane (Blue Jay) or lurching ahead into the future with spirited … Continue reading Paddleton
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Release: Friday, November 9, 2018 (limited) →Netflix Written by: Joel Coen; Ethan Coen Directed by: Ethan Coen; Joel Coen For a fleeting moment The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, the new Coen brothers film -- a big shiny red apple waiting to be plucked from the ever-growing Netflix tree -- was also available for more traditional consumption in theaters. But who … Continue reading The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Anomalisa
Release: Wednesday, December 30, 2015 (limited) [Redbox] Written by: Charlie Kaufman Directed by: Charlie Kaufman; Duke Johnson Someone please give Michael Stone a hug. I'm starting an online petition to see if we can get Michael Stone just one good hug, because he really, really, really, really, really needs one. Either him or writer-director Charlie Kaufman, I'm not sure … Continue reading Anomalisa
The Fundamentals of Caring
Release: Friday, June 24, 2016 (Netflix) [Netflix] Written by: Rob Burnett Directed by: Rob Burnett A long time ago I made some comment to the effect of being frustrated by how easily I'm tricked into watching movies starring Paul Rudd. This knee-jerk reaction was inspired by a viewing of the terrible 2012 comedy Wanderlust which paired him with Jennifer Aniston. … Continue reading The Fundamentals of Caring
The Lobster
Release: Friday, May 13, 2016 (limited) [Theater] Written by: Yorgos Lanthimos; Efthymis Filippou Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos Outré black comedy The Lobster might be likened to a religious experience for those looking for their fix of anti-Valentine's Day sentiments. If you look hard enough you could even find enough evidence to validate its romance label as well, but it's so weird and so … Continue reading The Lobster
Demolition
Release: Friday, April 8, 2016 [Theater] Written by: Bryan Sipe Directed by: Jean-Marc Vallée Jake Gyllenhaal has played a variety of oddballs in his time. He's navigated his way carefully through a maze of mental illness -- including, but certainly not limited to, sociopathy, obsession and depression -- and often bravely inhabited characters who we're almost dared to embrace at … Continue reading Demolition
The Hateful Eight
Release: Wednesday, December 30, 2015 [Theater] Written by: Quentin Tarantino Directed by: Quentin Tarantino Quentin Tarantino isn't softening in his old(er) age. The Hateful Eight might be one of his most vicious pieces yet, an ode to the frankness of life on the frontier as filtered through the perspectives of some of the meanest, nastiest sumbitches this side … Continue reading The Hateful Eight
Kill Me Three Times
Release: Friday, April 10, 2015 [Netflix] Written by: James McFarland Directed by: Kriv Stenders Simon Pegg embraces his inner baddie and Kill Me Three Times is somewhat better because of it. 'Somewhat' is the operative word here as Pegg, even in a killer role (e-hem), isn't enough to make the film worth watching. Too choppily paced to be considered an intentional … Continue reading Kill Me Three Times
