The Beach Bum (2019)

Matthew McConaughey in the role he was born to play: the stoner poet Moondog. Harmony Korine's latest is a hilarious stoner movie. Harmony Korine's distinctive style is pleasantly out of place for a stoner movie. Snoop Dogg and Jonah Hill (in a hilarious faux Southern accent that's so bad it's perfect) are obvious choices for the supporting cast. Isla Fisher, Zac Efron (with now infamously ridiculous tiger facial hair) and Martin Lawrence are inspired. There are some glaring pot holes, but honestly, who cares? This is a rollicking good time.

Serenity (2019)

One minute into the movie, I went "Oh damn, is this a fishing movie?" I walked in knowing nothing about this movie. And I was not ready for a fishing movie. This turned out to be much worse than a fishing movie. There is a small nugget of inspiration in the idea but it's done so poorly. It could have had interesting things to say about free will and consciousness but it doesn't go there. The writing is god awful. And the acting by ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS is embarrassing; they must have paid Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey quite a bit of money. This has The Room written all over it. Maybe one day this will become a cult classic known for being bad.

Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

This has been an excellent year for animation, and in an off-year for Pixar at that (Finding Dory was good but uninspiring). And amid all these excellent animations, this one is surely the most beautifully done. This stop motion has some very impressive visuals, and it is rightly on the shortlist for the Oscar for Best Visual Effects It plays on the theme of origami and you could only imagine how difficult it must be to do stop motion in origami. There is a seamless combination with computer generation that you legitimately cannot even tell the difference.

On top of that, I love the music. Kubo plays his two-stringed instrument with magic powers. The Italian translation incorrectly titles the film Kubo and the Magic Sword, but it's not about the sword at all. What makes it so special is that his weapon is a beautiful cultural instrument. This film embraces Japanese culture and puts it on display in a beautiful homage.

The imaginative story is wonderfully complex, and unexpectedly sad and powerful. The range of emotion is Pixar-level, bombarding these kids with more than might understand. Maybe Laika will pick up the torch of creativity where Pixar left it and become the new cornerstone for the medium.

Interstellar (2014)

Christopher Nolan makes some really special movies.  The unique ideas that he comes up with are always thrilling, mind blowing and thought provoking.  This is no exception.

Interstellar presents some really ambitious, out-there science fiction (in science fiction, you just have to roll with it).  Granted, some of the ideas are unbelievable, especially as you get further into the movie, but I feel like I followed it up to the last 20 minutes or so.  Without giving too much away, the story falls apart a bit at the conclusion.  Nonetheless, the film triumphs at integrating powerfully emotional scenes and human drama with a confusing and complex plot.  

On the creativity front, I was most impressed by the conception of the planets that they visit.  It's hard for us to imagine what the environment of other planets might be like, and Nolan shows us two interesting, well conceived theoretical planets.  The robots are not anthropomorphic, rather they are made up of four bars, that can arrange into different useful formations.  Perhaps the wackiest creative freedoms were taken in the physical representation of higher dimensions.

The visuals are stunning and are especially incredible in the IMAX 70mm format.  The visual effects, especially when in the emptiness of space, or in the unreal environments of the planets, or looking in a black hole or a worm hole, are breathtaking.

Hans Zimmer, as always, has composed a magnificently fitting score for the film.  With the backdrop of empty space, or the varied environments of the different planets, or the expansive corn fields on Earth marred by dust storms, Zimmer's score adapts and shines.

Interstellar features a star-studded cast, from frequent Nolan collaborator Michael Caine, to Hollywood's current it-man Matthew McConaughey.  McConaughey's character and dialogue resemble the soft philosophical ramblings that we've come to know him for in the Lincoln ads and True Detective. Anne Hathaway is also excellent, though she has way too much makeup for someone going to lonely outer space.  I appreciated the casting of Mackenzie Foy as a young Jessica Chastain.  The resemblance is uncanny and Foy proved to be a very capable young actress.

In summary, despite some problems with the plot and the science, Interstellar is a solid film that truly embodies the magic of the movies, featuring imagination, spectacle, and pure entertainment.

True Detective: Season 1 (2014)

True Detective is not just an average mystery.  It is half detective gothic, half rich character development, and its the latter half that really lets Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson shine.  McConaughey is widely considered a front-runner (along with Bryan Cranston) in the Emmy race and rightly so, but Harrelson holds his own and does not let his costar overshadow him one bit.  If it had not been for McConaughey's momentum fresh off his Oscar win, I think Harrelson would be right up there with him.  His character might not be as mysterious or philosophical, but he has equal depth and range.  Together, their brilliant dialogue reinforces the intense atmosphere and dark style set by the Louisiana bayou.  T Bone Burnett backs that up with a fittingly ominous and gorgeous soundtrack.

We watch the characters evolve as well as the mystery unfold over a twelve year period.  In terms of storytelling, the format of the show allows for the story to unfold slowly, keeping the viewer transfixed.  Multiple timelines reveal different stages of the detective-work sometimes out of order, letting the viewer piece it together.