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| thefilmstage.com |
The first post of the decade savoring the good to come from decade's end.
10. Weathering With You
Makoto Shinkai is beginning to fall into a pattern with laying on thick production to beat the subtlety out of emotional resonance to sell a Radwimps soundtrack that he may want to start reigning in.
Fortunately, that patterns staleness doesn't overbear an otherwise compelling and emotional narrative of living with the consequences of our actions and the how bad those consequences can be when we don't face our problems in favor of pushing them away.
Weathering with you is gripping, gorgeously animated, timeless, and unique in ways that remind me of why always love flocking to a theater to watch anime on the big screen whenever I get the chance.
9. Dolemite is My Name
In addition to his boisterous and jovial personality, Rudy Ray Moore was also known as a badass contributing to the most technically baffling yet memorable B-movies ever made and who'd have thought that 11 years after his passing, he'd provide us with one more gem from beyond the grave with the dramatization of his story.
"Dolemite is My Name" is a tale of optimism, passion, and perseverence bringing together the underrepresented with the power of cinema and storytelling through a product and genre due for reevaluation and while Eddie Murphy's dramatic return doesn't quite seemlessly recreate all of the charms of Dolemite himself, he nonetheless provides an excellent display of the dramatic range that he's capable when he really puts his heart into it and this is a film teeming with as much heart as humor.
8. Doctor Sleep
A better thematic follow up to "It" than the acutal "It" sequel that released this year, "Doctor Sleep" represents an adaptation of some of the best of Stephen King's work in top form, polished to near perfection.
Through top notch editing and direction, blending tropes of horror, adventure, and even a bit of superhero storytelling, Dan Torrence's tale of regret, self loathing, coping with intense childhood trauma, and turning that pain into something that can better the world rather than self destruct himself is thrilling, emotional, cerebral, and exciting in ways that few blockbusters ever try to be with just enough flash to draw out its substance without overpowering it.
It's a modern masterpiece of its genre that should not have been slept on at the box office the way that it was (no pun intended).
7. Little Women
Greta Gerwig may have been royally snubbed by the Academy this year for best director but that doesn't change how admirable her work with Louisa May Alcott's timeless classic is and how everyone involved with it was worthy of nomination in their own respective categories.
A sharply adapted screenplay and masterful direction turns strong material into a powerful drama spanning years in scope assembled by some of the best editing and performances of the year and commenting on love, passion and the human condition in ways that are powerful but never sinking under portentous weight.
6. Jojo Rabbit
Proof positive that the age of Me Too and the rallying cries for diversity is not the end of quality edgy comedy as we know it, Taika Waititi's tale of a Nazi child growing out of Nazism through the power of love, human connection, and simply growing up, realizing how childish and asinine notions of bigotry are doesn't quite crack the top 5 of the year but is easily one of the most unique movies to release widely all decade.
It turns out you can joke about the dark subject matters. You just need to have talent, heart, timing, and purpose while doing it.
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