The Shape of Water (2017)

This is a brilliantly, confidently composed creature/romance movie. It may seem like an odd combination, but Guillermo del Toro knows exactly what he's doing. It works on both levels really well as he waivers on neither front, including an out of place yet appropriate black-and-white dance sequence.  The whole concept derived from an (allegedly real) Islamic poem del Toro remembered coming across is very creative. The beast is a gorgeous, intelligent, godly anthropomorphic sea creature.  He is just a pawn in the context of the Cold War. But to Sally Hawkins's mute janitor, the creature is so much more. They connect on a deeper level beyond the superficial romances Hollywood typically produces. There are a number of amazing underwater shots that I'm assuming must have been computer generated. I don't know how else everything could have been so perfectly suspended in the water. The production design transports the audience to 1960s Baltimore, which contrary to Michael Shannon's villainous words, seems pretty cool. The acting is fantastic all around; shout outs to Hawkins (did she learn sign language?), Jenkins and Spencer.

Call Me By Your Name (2017)

An idyllic setting. A beautiful story about love. Brilliant acting. Incredible subtlety. Interesting shots. Pretty music. And the 80s--that's the fashion.

It's a supremely Italian movie. What do people do in Italy in the summer? It's a whole lot of nothing. Point made. But isn't it just wonderful to do nothing in an Italian villa? Ride your bike into town. Go swimming. Read. Dance. Eat. It's a privileged showy life complete with domestic servants. They read French/German poetry, play piano, and speak three languages (why do they all speak French, the local girls too? It's unnecessarily extra if only to make them seem more pretentious). 

But let's not let that detract from the careful sensitivity of Guadagnino's directing and the performances of young Chalamet, Hammer and accepting father Stuhlbarg. 

Doctor Strange (2016)

The plot is a little convoluted. If you're not in on the whole Marvel universe and on Doctor Strange in particular, it is a little difficult to follow. His origin story is not an easy one. I wish they didn't keep tying all these movies in together. This would've been perfectly fine as a standalone movie. I'm getting really sick of the MCU.

The visual effects in the movie are super cool. They literally bend reality visually. It's not just cheap tricks. It's mesmerizing and imaginative. Benedict Cumberbatch's American accent is kind of funny. It sounds so strange coming out of his very British mouth. It sounds a little unnatural, like when Emma Watson does an American accent. And on Tilda Swinton, she's fine. She's not Asian. But she is the kind of weird that the Ancient One calls for. Should the actor have been Asian? Well, yes. Would that have actually been a kind of stereotypical character for an Asian actor playing an old, wise, kung fu specialist? Yeah, kind of. 

Arrival (2016)

I have been wanting to see Arrival, but I actually didn't intend on seeing it tonight. I went to see La La Land at Cinema Lumiere, where they show films in their original language. And it turns out the Italians don't want to watch La La Land in Italian either, so the screening sold out and I went to see Arrival instead. I was really bummed out because I've been looking forward to La La Land but I was really impressed by Arrival. My mind is totally blown and now I can't sleep thinking about how much I loved this movie. There is a Christopher Nolan-esque twist that I did not see coming, and I think the twist was better executed than Interstellar's, for example.

This is not an average science fiction film. Science fiction often falls victim to a strong start but a weak finish. They usually have trouble tying the loose ends. Arrival faces no such problem. The film comes full circle thematically, narratively, musically (great use of Max Richter) and visually. All my questions were answered. In such a movie with such complex themes, that is a real accomplishment. It requires a lot of thinking. In fact, I think it was dumbed down from the brilliant and creative short story (which gets more into the nitty gritty of the linguistics and science) written by Ted Chiang "Story of Your Life." Arrival is a much worse title if you ask me. Chiang's original title conveys meaning and depth while Arrival sounds like your typical sci-fi fare, which is severely underselling the movie. But Denis Villeneuve thought his movie was so far removed from the original story that the original title wasn't appropriate anymore. I disagree.

Villeneuve's style is evident. He proves himself to be one of the most talented young filmmakers today, following Prisoners and Sicario. This film uses a similarly dull smoky color palate, save for the orange hazmat suits which pop on the screen. He has such restraint, letting the film move at a slow pace, allowing for the viewer to really take it all in and process the complex plot. It is never showy. He brings depth and emotion to the sci-fi genre. When most would brings guns to the alien show, he brings brains and restraint. Amy Adams is fantastic. Her first encounter with the aliens requires the most acting from her, showing fear and apprehension. But as she becomes more comfortable, that apprehension subsides to just fear. But it is never a loud fear, rather restrained subdued fear.

The movie also very astutely predicted our own world's media demise. Living in a world of fake news and alternative facts, we see all too well the consequences of sensationalist media. In the film, the military men watch too much sensationalist TV news and listen to radical radio hosts the way we do in real life. And our own stupidity is a danger to our society.

Then really quickly, the sound and production work is really well done. I always like to see different conceptions of aliens and the designers created unique aliens, scripted language, spoken language, and alien sounds. The thinking work was done by Ted Chiang, but it was made visible by the production design.

Trumbo (2015)

Bryan Cranston proves that he is a master of acting in all mediums. After his unforgettable turn as Walter White in Breaking Bad and a run on Broadway in 2014, he takes on a leading role in a film. I love the scenes when Cranston is in full screenwriting mode at his typewriter, or in the tub literally cutting and taping together lines. In a way, Trumbo is similar to Walter White. Like Walter, Trumbo has to innovate, adapt to survive in a world that is working against him.  Helen Mirren is also fabulous as Hedda Hopper, who is intimidating to even the most powerful men in Hollywood. Louis CK was pleasantly surprising in a role that I wouldn't have pegged him for.

The story is well done, if a bit cliched at times. Sometimes the speeches are a bit too soapbox-y about American ideals and what not. But I do like movies about movies, especially in the classic Hollywood era. And it is a smart movie. The Hollywood Ten were undoubtedly smart, trying to pull one over the House Un-American Activities Committee and subsequently defeating the blacklist. 

Steve Jobs (2015)

This biopic is excellent, thanks to an incredible vision by Danny Boyle, a great script by Aaron Sorkin, and some phenomenal acting from Kate Winslet, as well as Michael Fassbender and Seth Rogen.  This movie shines where the other Jobs biopic from a couple years ago failed.  Danny Boyle made a movie that is the Apple of biopics--it is sleek and gorgeous.

The structure of the film is brilliant.  The biopic is not over ambitious, it does not seek to cover an entire life.  Rather it focuses on just three major product launches in 1984 (Macintosh), 1988 (NeXT) and 1998 (iMac), the ones that Steve Jobs was so famous for.  But what is so brilliant is the pacing of the movie.  It is not about the launch itself, but actually the half hour before each launch when Jobs was preparing for his presentations.  Anticipation and excitement builds until the point we've all been waiting for as if we were at these product launches, and then Danny Boyle skips the presentation itself. This allows for a huge release, letting the audience take a deep breath to prepare for two more product launches.

Each product launch is split into four parts.  At each launch, Jobs has encounters with his daughter Lisa, co-founder Steve Wozniak, CEO of Apple John Sculley and Andy Hertzfeld from the original Mac team.  Lisa gives us a window into Jobs's personal life outside of work at three points in his life.  And the film actually ends with Lisa, humanizing Steve Jobs as a person with a family, not just the visionary businessman.  Jobs's confrontations with Wozniak highlight the interesting dynamics of one of the most important partnerships of the twentieth century.  Through Jobs's conversations with Sculley, we learn about Jobs's background as an adopted child and Jobs at Apple.  The film opens with Hertzfeld being berated by Jobs in an excellent scene dictated by an exhilarating rhythmic beat moving in the background.  And throughout the film, Kate Winslet's Joanna Hoffman is always there at his side with a leading-amount of screen time and she is phenomenal. 

Boyle does not shy away from painting a portrait of a controversial albeit legendary figure, who was allegedly very difficult to work with.  Boyle mentions (with some snark) all of the criticisms of Apple computers as Jobs's doing.  While it was clear that Jobs did not have the spirit of an engineer, he was a businessman and an artist.  Perhaps the most direct criticism came from Wozniak who says "What do you do?"  Wozniak was the tech genius but Jobs had the vision, he was the "conductor."

I got to see an advanced screening of this movie at the AMC Lincoln Square!