Here are our top ten picks of movies produced this year. Were the list any longer, we would have added movies such as, Olivia Wilde’s ‘Don’t worry Darling‘ and Nikyatu Jusu’s ‘Nanny‘, but the list only allows for ten.
Triangle of Sadness
Ruben Östlund
Plot: The fashion celebrity couple and influencers, Carl and Yaya, are invited on a luxury yacht cruise exclusively for the top 0.9% in the wealth hierarchy. Onboard they will meet some interesting characters: Dimitry, the Russian oligarch and his wife Vera, the elderly British couple Clementine and Winston the arms dealer, and the lonely tech billionaire, Jarmo. At the helm of the crew and yacht is the rather unbalanced Captain Smith. What initially appears instagrammable ends catastrophically, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island and fighting for survival.
Our Opinion: A comedy of the absurd and grotesque that knows how to capture it in an intelligent, appealing and deceivingly rational way.
The Wonder
Sebastián Lelio
Plot: It is 1862, after the Great Famine, Lib Wright, a nurse, leaves England for Ireland to observe what some see as a medical anomaly and others a miracle, namely, that a girl, Anna, has survived without food for months. In a remote cottage, Lib must watch over the girl in shifts, alternating with a nun, appeasing the town inhabitants who are skeptical of science. Tourists flock to see 11-year-old Anna O’Donnell, and a journalist has come to cover the sensation as two strangers transform each other’s lives in a story of love pitted against evil.
Our Opinion: We recommend this movie. It is well written, and will grab your attention in its suspenseful build-up. Florence Pugh is ideal in the role as the stoic nurse. There are no cutting corners.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Eric Appel
Plot: Exploring every facet of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic’s life, from his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like ‘Eat It’ and ‘Like a Surgeon’ to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle, this biopic takes audiences on a truly unbelievable journey through Yankovic’s life and career, from gifted child prodigy to the greatest musical legend of all time.
Our Opinion: Moronic, silly, senseless…. We so enjoyed it!
Causeway
Lila Neugebauer
Plot: Lynsey returns home after her deployment in Afghanistan, severely injured, with amnesia, and PTSD. Readjusting to her old life requires that she overcomes a number of obstacles.
Our Opinion: Will it be a blockbusting hit movie? Perhaps it won’t, but we think it is more than recommendable. This is one good movie. Not to mention the masterful performances given by Jennifer Lawrence and Billy Tyree Henry, which are probably some of the best we have seen this year.
The Stranger
Thomas M. Wright
Plot: Two men who meet on a bus and strike up a conversation that turns into friendship. For Henry Teague, worn down by a lifetime of physical labor and crime, this is a dream come true.
Our Opinion: This film is good, going on very good. It knows how to play, seduce and entertain all at once. We definitely recommend it.
RRR
S.S. Rajamouli
Plot: A young girl kidnapped from her village; the village leader venturing out to rescue her; a traitorous soldier; two childhood friends meet again; the Independence of India; a love story. If you put all these events into the mix, add loads of music and rhythm to it you get RRR.
Our Opinion: We loved it. We had a great time watching it. It is novel to us, and we do not know if it will go down in movie history as one of the greats, but we can assure you that it has a lot of merit on a technical level, well beyond the theatrics of it all. Wow! Enjoy an incredible carnival of music, dance, action and color.
Crimes of the Future
David Cronenberg
Plot:
Humans adapt to a synthetic environment, with new transformations and mutations. With his partner Caprice, Saul Tenser, celebrity performance artist, publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances.
Our Opinion: A unique piece that takes an extraordinary narrative turn – and it is that turn that will have you not forget this film (it has to do with plastic). With its dark aesthetics it is not a comfortable viewing experience, after all it does depict a dystopia. The performances are near perfection, and somehow Cronenberg has an ability of saying what he wants to say and leave a mark.
All Quiet on the Western Front
Edward Berger
Plot: Paul Baumer and his friends Albert and Muller, egged on by romantic dreams of heroism, voluntarily enlist in the German army. Full of excitement and patriotic fervor, the boys enthusiastically march into a war they believe in. But once on the Western Front, they discover the soul-destroying horror of World War I.
Our Opinion: Here we have a small wonder of a movie brought to us by Netflix. If you are in the mood to watch a movie that is masterfully produced, based on a classic that seems to never get old, unfortunately, and be left impacted ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ is the movie for you.
Stars at Noon
Claire Denis
Plot: In present-day Nicaragua, a headstrong American journalist and a mysterious English businessman strike up a romance as they become embroiled in a dangerous labyrinth of lies and conspiracies and are forced to try and escape the country.
Our Opinion: This is a story full of bitterness, perhaps a failed thriller, perhaps a romantic drama that has no resolution, never really finding its genre. It is an interesting movie that shines for the good direction behind, and the fantastic performances of the two lead actors.
Emily the Criminal
John Patton Ford
Plot: Emily, who is saddled with student debt and locked out of the job market due to a minor criminal record, gets involved in a credit card scam that pulls her into the criminal underworld of Los Angeles, ultimately leading to deadly consequences.
Our Opinion: Original and peculiar, it will be to the liking of quite a few viewers, especially those seeking cinematic novelty.
