The best movies of the past decade (2010s) - Part 2 - The top 10

Before we get to the top 10, I want to start with the best short film of the decade...

Best short film: 
Inside No. 9 - The 12 Days of Christine (season 2, episode 2)

Technically this is a show and not a movie, but every episode of this show really can work as a self contained movie. This is a masterful drama, where you see a one day snapshot of 12 years of Christine's life, through all her triumphs, happy moments and optimism to her crushing disappointments, tragedies, and things in life that didn't pan out the way she hoped.

And that ending...fuck. Look, it may not be the most original twist, but here's my thing on twists. There's a difference between a twist that's all, "ha I tricked you!" vs. how it makes you feel. And no twist gutted me emotionally like this one. And while many twists don't quite stand up to scrutiny postmortem, this twist ending makes you think back to the episode, and absolutely everything holds up under scrutiny; in fact, it strengthens the entire episode.

Okay, now on to the top 10...

10. Tangled

Never did I imagine that an animated movie based on the age old fairy tale of Rapunzel of all characters, would one day end up on my best movies of the decade list, but here we are. It came out the same year as Toy Story 3, and when I wrote my top 10 list, I had Toy Story 3 ranked higher. Since then, I've maybe re-visited Toy Story 3 one more time; Tangled I've re-visited a good 5, 6 more times. If I'm flipping through channels and Tangled is on, I gotta watch that shit till the end. It's simply one of the most entertaining, delightful, beautifully animated movies and I think it's criminally under-rated when it comes to its comedy writing. Even its musical numbers don't get enough appreciation, from the delightfully hilarious "I've Got a dream" to "I see the light" which may one of the most scenes ever.

Rapunzel is the most charming, lovable, hilariously neurotic protagonist of any Disney movie. The evil godmother is a wicked villain and hilarious in the way she passively aggressively puts Rapunzel down. You have to love lines like, "How'd you find me?" "Oh, I just listened for the sound of complete and utter betrayal and followed it." Flynn is so full of witty one liners, and I absolutely bought into the romance between Rapunzel and Flynn.

When Flynn gets brought back to life, his first line of dialogue...that is inspired comedy writing that most Disney writers would never think up. Tangled is probably the #1 best case of a movie with mediocre source material that transcends it every way imaginable.

9. Temple Grandin

90% of the time, biopics are just meh for me. Despite how different so many people's lives were, they all often tend to feel exactly the same and go through the same formulaic beats. Going into a biopic about a woman I had never heard of before...then reading a synopsis on how Temple was an autistic woman who revolutionized slaughterhouses to be more humane for animals...can't say that excited me much. But, HBO makes good movies, it got good reviews, so I gave it a chance.

As you can see, this is my #1 highest rated biopic of the decade. It's so refreshingly original compared to almost every mainstream biopic. No movie out there explains autism in a more informative, fascinating, visually interesting way than Temple Grandin, with a style of directing that puts you in the head of an autistic person, to see the world the way they see it. Hell, even slaughterhouse efficiency and the reason why cows moo was fucking interesting. The struggles that Temple went through, seeing both sides of how autism was both a massive hindrance, but also a gift was wonderful. What I also love is the focus on her mother, a woman who had very little knowledge of autism at a time that no one really got it, and the tough choices she had to make for her daughter.

Now we know a lot more about autism, and Temple and her mom really are to thank for the wealth of knowledge. The movie's happy ending may be among the best of the decade, and absolutely well earned.

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpkN0JdXRpM

8. The Voices

Marjane Satrapi directed Persepolis, an autobiographical story about herself - a rebellious girl growing up in the Islamic revolution in Iran in the 1970s and how a rebel like herself had to escape such an oppressive society ruled by fundamentalists. She then went on to direct The Voices which just might be the most fucked up, deranged, darkly hilarious serial killer movie ever made. Kudos to her for going from Persepolis to this. It's like..."Now that I got my life story out of the way, here's the batshit crazy ass stories I really want to tell!"

I'm not exaggerating when I say that The Voices makes the show Dexter look like a Disney show. Ryan Reynolds gives easily his best career best performance as a psychotic man who really is trying his best to live a normal life, but when he's off his meds, all bets are off. You have never seen a human - pets friendship like a psychopath off his meds with his cat who's the evil, scolding character and his dog who's the dumb and loyal optimist. Hell, even conversations with decapitated heads isn't off the table. The Voices is definitely not everyone's cup of tea, but for those of you who really love the darkest, most fucked up gallows humour, there is no other movie like The Voices. Leave it to a woman to make the craziest serial killer movie of all time. On another note: this film also has the best musical number of the decade; the fucking audacity of this movie!

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hQpV9Q0A7E

7. Short Term 12

Maybe the rawest, emotionally gut punching, but in a completely realistic, non-sentimental un-Hollywood drama. There's a lot of tears to be shed, and it all feels so real. While it's a work of fiction, it feels so authentic. Brie Larson gives the best performance of her career (she won an Oscar for Room, but I still think this one is better), and re-watching the trailer, I didn't realize that Rami Malek and Lakeith Stanfield were in this movie, but who knows if Short Term 12 was their launching pad?

I have no clue what it would be like living in a group home, but for this movie, you experience it all, and you feel everyone's pain. And then you learn about the past of the couple running the group home, and your heart aches for them too. But in all its rawness, Short Term 12 still manages to end on an uplifting note. They've been through a lot, but maybe life has a lot of promise for their future. Love, compassion and people in your life who truly give a fuck can go a long way.

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhS6tvSb0UQ

6. Leaves of Grass

Leaves of Grass accomplishes a lot. It manages to explore classical philosophy while poking fun at the pretentious of academia, a Coen Brothers-esque crime thriller with a wickedly dark sense of humour, but better than any Coen Brothers' crime thriller, and my pick for the best stoner comedy. Just thinking about the plot and the master plan that is pulled off and I have to applaud the audacity of the plan. Crime thrillers where characters fuck up their plan up badly has made for some comedy, but I challenge you to find a fuck up that's funnier than one pulled by Edward Norton and Tim Blake Nelson in Leaves of Grass. Right, I haven't even gotten to Edward Norton playing twins, and the best example of one actor playing two roles just behind Nicolas Cage in Adaptation. He completely disappears into the twin brothers: both the highly accomplished philosophy professor who lives a very structured life vs. the hedonistic hillbilly pot grower who runs "The Taj Mahal of hydroponics", but also creates a storm of chaos for himself and everyone around him.

A special mention to I think one of the most under-rated actors: Tim Blake Nelson. He loves playing dumb hillbillies and he's amazing at it and he even has such a redneck name...but the dude also wrote, directed and produced this movie. Here he plays yet another hillbilly, in a funny, but also thoughtful, nuanced performance. Despite all the violence he's involved in, you just can't help but love the guy by the end of the film.

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpgLWZn5XgQ

5. Doctor Strange

This movie has fallen a bit down the chart from before. I will admit to being very stoned when I saw Doctor Strange in Imax 3D and declared it one of my favorite movies of all time. A few re-watches later (still stoned), it's not quite as good as the first time, but...this movie still fucking rules!

I imagine this conversation in my head with the studio and the director: "Alright, here's a giant fuckload of money. Now deliver something absolutely fucking epic, blow people's minds and make them trippy crazy balls too."

When action scenes are done with such creativity, there's nothing better. Inception teased at having a city fold onto itself, but then did nothing with that. Doctor Strange said...fuck it, if Inception, couldn't do shit with it, we're gonna take that and go absolutely balls to the wall. Then as action scenes follows action scene, it feels like they're trying to top the last scene, and you just never know what you're gonna get. People's souls fighting in a hospital? Why the fuck not? And Rachael McAdams pulls off a masterful comedic performances in that scene. "And how do we top the stuff we did before? How about a giant battle scene where time moves backwards." While some films are guilty of putting their best shit too early in the movie and the rest of the movie suffering, Doctor Strange just gets better and better as it goes along.

Yes, the script has its fair share of bad writing. Some of its drama is poorly written (though Rachael Mcadams is so fucking good with her mediocre dialogue), but when the writing is good, it's really fucking good.

So Doctor Strange reads a forbidden book with super powerful, dangerous sorcerer spells. He casts a spell, then the librarian and his teacher catch him in the act and scold him:

Mordo: "Tampering with continum probabilities is forbidden"
Doctor Strange: "I was just doing what it said in the book"
Wong: "What did the book say about the dangers of performing that ritual?"
Doctor Strange: "I don't know. I haven't gotten to that part yet."
Mordo: "Temporal manipulations can create branches in time. Unstable dimensional openings. Spatial paradoxes! Time loops! You want to get stuck re-living the same day over and over forever or never having existed at all?!"
Doctor Strange: "...They should have put the warnings before the spell"

Come on! That dialogue is absurdly delightful and hilarious!

4. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

If I had to pick the best theatrical experience of the past decade; a movie that you absolutely fucking missed out on by not going to the theatres, it's Into the Spider-Verse in Dbox 3d (the chairs that move and vibrate according to what's going on in the movie). Okay fine, yes, I was very stoned, but that was the most fun, entertaining, tripping the fuck out ride of an experience. On top of that, an extremely creative script, and just absolutely on the point comedy writing.

Miles Morales and Peter Parker would have such great comedic chemistry. Nicolas Cage playing Spider-Man Noir... please make a fucking Spider-Man Noir movie and cast Nic Cage, god damn it! Hell, Spider-Ham would be great too. This movie has so much fun with the spider-verse characters, the awkward teenage stuff with Miles is hilarious, the relationship with his dad has surprising dramatic depth, hell, Miles relationship with Peter Parker and the way it ends up changing Peter's outlook on his own life is so well done.

Into the Spider-Verse has such a grand, epic plot that's so refreshingly different than any other spider-man movie or superhero movies in general. I wish Into the Spider-Verse could be brought back to Dbox theatres. I've yet to watch it on a regular TV, but I'm sure it'll still be great. While its trippy visuals are a huge part of its appeal, the script is every bit as good.

3. The Grey

This is the best example ever of a mis-marketed movie. The trailers made it look like a Liam Neeson karate kicking wolves in the face survival movie from Joe Carnahan, the director of the god awful A-Team. To say I had low expectations for this was an understatement, but great trick by the marketing team to tease a big dumb Hollywood movie and actually deliver an intense, powerful, existential, thought provoking, and poetic movie about coming to terms with death, and what truly matters in life. To quote Wael Khairy's review, "The Grey explores man's most frightening questions, the reason we're on this planet, if there's an afterlife or if 'dead is dead'. What makes this film so scary to me aren't the wolves, but the fact that it encapsulates so much of what we fear as human beings, our fear of heights, flights, drowning or dying alone."

Liam Neeson's performance in The Grey easily stands out to me as the best performance of the decade and the biggest robbery in the history of the Oscars. From the beginning of the movie when he's given up on life and attempts suicide to the moment he talks a dying man through his death to the moment that he yells at God (which could have gone so unintentionally hilariously bad), this movie is full of such powerful moments that have never left my memory, and I can't think of any actor that could have done it better than Neeson.

I also have to point out how refreshingly different this is from your standard survival movies. One of the biggest cliches is the giant douchebag character. We've seen enough survival movies to know how he'll fuck with other people's shit, selfishly cost people their lives and meet a horrible fate as karma for being a douchebag. The Grey decides to tease the audience with this character, but the arc that he goes through is so beautifully written.

On top of all that profound shit, it's an entertaining, thrilling survival movie. The entertainment factor is just the icing on the cake of one of the most surprisingly powerful dramas of the decade. 

2. Before Midnight

In 1995, Richard Linklater released a very unconventional romantic comedy titled Before Sunrise, a romance that had almost no structure, very little conflict, and simply followed two strangers who meet on a train, and spend the day in Venice together before they have to part ways. I imagine that any producer, agent or screenwriting teachers would have told Richard Linklater this film will bore the audience to tears. But, audiences just fell in love with these two characters falling in love, the chemistry was electric, their conversations were interesting as fuck, and it just felt magical. Then spawned into the best trilogy in the history of cinema. A rare trilogy where each installment gets better and better.

With that said that brings us to Before Midnight, which takes place 18 years after their initial meet cute moment on the train. Before Sunrise perhaps had more interesting philosophical conversations than the sequel Before Sunset, but I'd say Before Sunset was a more complete, emotional movie with more at stake; once all the pleasantries were exchanged, we learned that their lives were kind of fucked up from that one magical night and things were not okay.

Before Midnight really is the best of both predecessors. Linklater, Delpy and Hawke were very profound, intelligent people 18 years ago, but they've only gotten deeper, more mature, and more intelligent with age, and the screenplay truly shows that. It has the most interesting conversations (the lunch scene is maybe the best dialogue scene of any of the trilogy, and that old lady's speech about "just passing through"...just wow), and Before Midnight has the most at stake. Their honeymoon period is way the fuck back in the past, and now we see all the cracks and complications that come with time. As much as I loved watching the characters fall in love, their half hour long argument scene truly is something else. It's not easy to sit through, it's uncomfortable, and emotionally gutting, but find me a better argument scene in any other movie. This is maybe why the big argument in Marriage Story was kinda meh for me.

I know some people who loved watching this couple fall in love were not quite as keen on seeing how sour things got, but it's realistic. It's life.

1. It's Such a Beautiful Day

My pick for #1 not only had by far the smallest budget, but probably seen by the least amount of people. I want so badly for more and more people to discover this gem. A 60 minute stick figure animated movie is not only the best movie of the past decade, but one of my favorite movies ever. A screenplay that is wildly eccentric, an animation style that is at times bare bones and at other times absolutely fucking bonkers, original, stylistic, and brilliant at conveying the fucked up shit going on in its protagonist's head. Don Herdzfeldt clearly follows no rule book in this movie.

At the beginning, Bill is the most basic stick figure drawing. By the end, I feel like I went on a journey with Bill, felt his pain, his disappointments in life, the banal moments that he realizes has consumed so much of his life, his struggle with mental illness, coming to terms with his mortality, and the beauty he discovers about the world around him as his end comes closer and closer. I hope I don't make this sound like a grim as fuck movie; it's also fucking hilarious.

It's Such a Beautiful Day not only has a wonderfully dark sense of humour, but the comedy writing is just so quirky and eccentric. The way it can go from high brow to low brow so seamlessly is wonderfully done. It captures the every day socially awkward moments of life in a funnier way than any other movie. As the movie goes back through Bill's family tree to kind of explain the people that preceded him that explain the way he is...that's some funny ass shit.

It's Such a Beautiful Day manages to be extraordinary in telling a story of an otherwise ordinary man. In a brief 60 minute runtime, I felt like I went on a life journey with Bill, and I felt like I went on a spiritual journey. Absolutely amazing to pull off this kind of depth once again...with fucking stick figures is astonishing. This movie takes #1 by a landslide.

This is not an easy movie to find, but here's a vimeo link to watch it. Rent it. Buy it. This dude deserves to make more money.

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/itssuchabeautifulday


And that is all folks. I hope you enjoyed the read, and I hope you take some of my recommendations.

The Best movies of the decade (2010s) - Part 1 - #20 to #11

Here's part 1 of my list #20 to #11 - best movies of the past decade. #11 to 1 should be up next week. Without further ado, let's get on with it...

Honorable mentions:

The World’s End, Flipped, The Raid: Redemption, Birdman, Life in a Day, The Impossible, A separation, Blade Runner 2049, How to Start an Orgy in a Small town, Lone Survivor, Interstellar, La La Land, Maggie's Plan

20.   Mom and Dad

I'm sure it goes through all parents' minds. They love their children and would do anything for them, but sometimes they kinda want to murder their kids too. And from that sentiment is a horror/comedy, about a curse that makes all parents want to murder their kids, and NOBODY could have possibly been more well casted as a dad trying to murder his kids than Nicolas Cage. Sometimes when Nic Cage can turn his batshit insane acting up to 11, there is simply nothing better in cinema, and not only is this movie absolutely fucking hilarious, its brutal violence is kind of delightful, and it's simply the most fun horror movie of the decade. Honorable shout out to another great horror/comedy YOU'RE NEXT which is also fucking hilarious, but I give the edge to Mom and Dad.

19. Cold Weather

Ah, the mumblecore movies. It's all about being realistic and capturing authenticity of life and the way people really talk, with much more focus on character development and relationships, but this subgenre often results in movies that are devoid of an actual plot.

Cold Weather is the answer to that. Low budget mumblecore meets Sherlock Holmes; easily my pick for my favorite detective movie of the decade. Warning, this movie will test a lot of people's patience as the first 40 mins go at a very leisure pace, as the movie depicts the mundane lives these characters live and a protagonist who's brilliant, but kind of wasting away his life. Once the mystery begins, a mumblecore style mystery is actually really refreshing different and so rich with comedy. I just loved this brother sister team detective team and not enough movies focus on sibling relationships. When it's time for the movie's climax, it results in one of the most suspenseful chase scenes without any big budget special effects (though a soundtrack reminiscent of Punch Drunk Love definitely does help); all it took was for us to really know, follow and fall in love with these characters and then the intensity and suspense is palpable. I love this movie and it's been quite an influence on the current script I'm working on.

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyryVzQWQWI

18. Mei Ren Yu (The Mermaid)

I think this is the funniest movie to ever come out of China, so if anyone disagrees, please point me in the direction of a funnier movie. I've seen quite a lot of Stephen Chow as an actor and director, and this is his best. I'd maybe kinda describe it as Avatar with hilarious cheesy effects meets Monty Python. There's so much creativity and energy to the comedy, whether it's physical comedy, absurdness, intentionally preposterous plot points, or that scene when the billionaire walks into a police station to report that he'd been kidnapped by mermaids; I knew it would be funny, but I wasn't expecting one of the single funniest scenes in the history of comedy. I think any aspiring comedy directors need to study this film about how to think outside the box when it comes to directing comedy.

17. The Secret In their Eyes (The 2010 Argentina version, please do not mistaken this as a review of the god awful Hollywood remake with Julia Roberts and Chiwetel Ejiofor)

What starts off as a murder mystery turns into one of the most powerful dramas. While this movie is definitely famous for its breathtakingly amazing one take in the soccer stadium (while a bit of a deux ex machina, I'll forgive it for how fucking amazing of a shot it was), it has probably the most powerful ending of any film this past decade that will stick with you for a long time. Instead of being a standard catch a killer crime thriller, this movie is more concerned about its characters, and exploring the power of love (the good and the bad), obsession, our inescapable passions, regret, the chances we should have taken in life, and about being prisoners of our past. Please watch this one and DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THE GOD AWFUL HOLLYWOOD REMAKE!

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtrWxaygpYA

16. Unfriended

This is a rare movie where I will say, the best way to watch it is on your laptop, with headphones, by yourself in a darkened room. A horror movie that completely takes place on a skype chat seemed like a risky approach that could have ended disastrously. I think what we ended up getting is not only one of the most creative horror films in many years, but I think the best pure horror film of the decade; the Skype approach is actually successful in making things more tense and suspenseful. Once the movie really gets going, it doesn't give you a single minute to relax. I can't name one thing the movie could have done better with its approach. From its shocking opening to the character reveals at the end, it's great to get a horror movie that actually has a point to make about cyber bulling, about the way we treat each other, and puts into question what truly makes a good person.

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q72LWqCx3pc

15. Whiplash

What a decade for director Damien Chazelle! Whiplash, La La Land and First Man could be the most impressive resume of the decade. But, it is Whiplash that makes my list. While this definitely felt like Full Metal Jacket applied to music school, I take Whiplash any day over Full Metal Jacket.

It's fitting that a movie about an absolutely obsessive pursuit of greatness just grabs you by the balls and never lets go. Absolutely fucking intense from beginning to end, almost every Hollywood action movie failed to raise my pulse and grip me the way Whiplash did. While Miles Teller is great, I rank JK Simmons's work here as maybe one of the top 5 best performances of the past decade and one of the funniest performances too (Okay. I love myself some politically incorrect humor).

14. Zoom

The #1 movie to come out of Canada this past decade. It's kind of cool that I discovered this movie by accident. I came home, turned on the TV and it just happened to be on TMN and I don't know what it was about this movie that caught my attention, but once I started watching, I was glued. I have since seen it twice.

Maybe best described as a combination of Inception, Waking Life, Stranger Than Fiction, and Young People Fucking? An ensemble film juggling 3 stories, and the way the stories connect is quite a meta-mindfuck. It's the best case of high brow meets low brow; an arthouse film mixing different styles of filmmaking with its different stories with the most raunchy low brow sense of humour imaginable. Zoom is unlike anything else out there, it feels very Canadian and the movie is just so much fucking fun, and it may make your brain hurt a little bit trying to put all the pieces together.

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFRUtSbNp6g

13. Coco

Easily the most powerful movie to come out of Pixar this past decade. What started as a seemingly mediocre movie turned to something profound with it a big plot point, of how characters in the land of the dead disappear when the last person that remembers them dies and there's no more memory of them on Earth. Damn. Now Pixar has its fair share of tear jerking moments, from Andy giving his toys away to the opening 6 minutes of UP, but none of them compare to that final moment with Miguel and his grandma. There are movies that make you cry, and then there's Coco where I had to sit through the entire end credits (long credits might I add), because I couldn't stop.

For people that lost someone really close to them, I don't know yet if Coco is good as a therapeutic movie, or if would just utterly gut them. I'm curious for someone to weigh in on this. 

12. The Big Sick

I'm a huge fan of Judd Apatow and what he's done to the romantic comedy whether he's directing or producing. The Big Sick however is the best movie to come out of the Apatow school of romcoms. It's the first Apatow production worthy of an Oscar; hilarious, but its dramatic material is stronger than its comedy.

It's almost an injustice to just call it a romcom. It's also a wonderful friendship movie, a hospital drama, and an interesting exploration of culture clashes between the older traditional generation of a Pakistani family vs. the younger, Westernized generation, and it seamlessly juggles all these stories with hilarity and authenticity. While the chemistry is electric between Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan, as she falls into a medically induced coma and her parents show up, the friendship he strikes up with her parents is the most memorable aspect of the movie, not only providing some of the best comedy, but the most touching moments. Kumail has phenomenal comedic chemistry with Ray Ramano and Holly Hunter.

I actually went into the movie having no idea it was based on a true story, written by the couple that lived the experience. It must have been the most horrible time of their lives, but sometimes the most painful life experiences can make for the best stories. 

11. The Death of Dick Long

This movie wins for the twist of the decade. This is a movie barely anyone has seen, but the #1 movie I'm dying to see people's reactions for. I almost wish there were hidden cams for audience reactions. Nothing will prepare you for a dark comedy like this one.

When you watch the trailer, it looks like a FARGO type movie. A mysterious death, with his friends trying to cover it up. I know this formula, and I thought I knew the kind of crime thriller I was in for, and I'm glad to say I was completely wrong. Dick Long is such a refreshingly original film. For one, I think it may have the best ensemble cast of unknown actors. Every single performance is so fucking good. Its depiction of small town life in Alabama where everyone knows each other feels authentic. I have so much respect for this movie because it's fucking hilarious, yet the movie never once feels like it's trying to be funny. All the comedy feels like completely natural reactions to the shitstorm the characters find themselves in, and the hilarious stupid ways they try to cover up their crimes. But hey, I can laugh at these characters, but if I found myself in a situation where I had to cover up a crime, would I be any smarter? I don't know.

Especially if you're tired of the same old shit and want something different, watch this. It's one I'm so eager to discuss and know how you reacted to it and know just how much your jaw dropped. 

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGBe8xsWGlo

Top 10 best movies of 2018

Wow. And to think that one year from now I'll be writing a top 10 best movies of the decade. Boy has time flown by. But, let's look at now. 2018 is in the bag, and looking at my top 10, pretty good fucking year! When I get around to writing best of the decade, my pick for #1 this year may have very high spot on that list.

What a fucking year for Nicolas Cage!

Although no documentaries made my top 10, this was a remarkably good year for documentaries and I'll write a little bit more about some of the best that I saw.

And it was also a great year for trippy as fuck movies.

First off:

Honorable mentions:
A Spy Gone North, Searching, The Hate U Give, Fahrenheit 11/9, Antman and the Wasp, Upgrade, Three Identical Strangers, Mom and Dad, First Man, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, The Clovehitch Killer


10. Clara ****1/2

I saw 4 space movies at TIFF this year, and while I quite enjoyed First Man, the best space movie goes to Canada. It's also shocking to learn that the screenwriter of this movie was only 18 when he first wrote the script. No 18 year old should be this smart, god damnit! This movie juggles many things, but it all forms into a cohesive whole: a fascinating as fuck science fiction about a lonely man's obsession to find life on other planets (and the science about how he goes about searching is fascinating as for the lack of better words...fascinating as fuck), a drama about dealing with tragedy, a love story about the girl that enters his life and helps him on his search, and also manages to be philosophical and for a low budget Canadian film, it has shockingly great space visuals. If there's a slight weakness, some of Clara's dialogue is fucking cheesy (the character Clara, not the movie as a whole), but Akash Sherman was really young when he wrote this, and I'm sure his dialogue will improve with his future movies.

Last year, Coco was the one movie that had me balling my eyes out through-out the entire end credits. This year, it's Clara. The final shot of this movie is the single best ending of any movie this year, and Patrick J. Adams puts on one of the best performances of the year. Akash Sherman might be the most exciting person to look out for in Canadian cinema.

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we3O4mRB_qE&t

9. Welcome to Marwen ****1/2

This is the #1 movie that rottentomatoes got very wrong, and to think I almost listened to them and skipped out on this movie. Regardless of whether this movie took creative liberties with the true story of Mark Hogancamp (I'm guessing that's a big criticism of people who loved the documentary), this is one of the most visually stunning movies of the year. When it comes to fantasy dramas about characters that escape into a fantasy world to shield themselves from the pains of reality, no movies transitions and jumps from fantasy to reality and back more seemlessly and with more style than this one and that's fucking difficult for a movie that has to transition between live action and stop motion animation with dolls for fuck's sakes! That is impressive! I know this won't get a best picture nod, but at least give it best visual effects!

The action scenes involving the dolls are way fucking better than you'd expect. The drama about a guy dealing with PTSD and how he needs this fictional fantasy world to deal with the unbearable pain of the worst hate crime anyone can experience is so well done, and I think an Oscar worthy performance by Steve Carrell. His pain is real, and the friendships he has with the women in his life (and appear in his fantasy world of Marwen) have so much charm and heart. Perhaps the female characters aren't the most 3 dimensional, but their interactions are always fun and there's something different and funny about each friendship.

Despite the sad subject matter, this is an uplifting movie. Some of life's greatest pain makes for the best art and that's exactly what Mark Hogencamp did. It's an inspirational story about overcoming adversity and although the dramatic courtroom speech is one of Hollywood's oldest cliches, damn I couldn't hold those tears back!

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6dy7xQ8NeE

8. Green Book ****1/2

On paper, this looked like such formulaic, cliched Oscar bait. I had zero interest in it, but then it won the audience choice award at TIFF. Since its wide release, reviews haven't been quite as glowing. Yes, it is another movie where the black guy is the supporting character, there to make the white guy learn the error of his ways. In the movie's defense, the screenwriter is the son of Tony Lip, so obviously he'll be able to write a far more 3 dimensional character of his dad than Don Shirley who he probably met, but didn't know all that well. I appreciate though that in a movie dealing with racism in the deep south, they chose a comedic roadtrip approach which is actually kind of refreshing.

To me, Green Book was simply the bromance of the year and shockingly one of the funniest movies of the year. It's an absolute joy to see the growth of a friendship between real life characters Tony Lip and Don Shirley and the comedic chemistry between Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali is among the best I've seen this year. Once the two of them hit the road, there's not one dull moment. I'm trying to think back to other roadtrip movies that came out this past decade; I'm hard pressed to think of one I liked better than Green Book.

7. Annihilation ****1/2

What a follow up to Ex Machina by Alex Garland. First he makes a very smart mind fuck of a movie about artificial intelligence and now he tackles DNA with a bigger budget, even more mindfuckery and giving zero fucks about pleasing the mainstream Hollywood crowd. 

This is one insane mindfuck of a movie; an absolute trip.  At times brutally violent, horrifying, abstract, at times stunningly beautiful, and so creative with what it does with the small piece of land where evolution works in a very different way and where the DNA of any life form can mix with any other. Especially for those people bored with the absolute mediocrity of Ridley Scott's recent Alien movies, this is the breath of fresh air we're looking for. 

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89OP78l9oF0

6. Blindspotting ****1/2

I feel like this is the best movie of 2018 that captures the voice of the Black Lives Matter movement (though The Hate U Give is also an excellent movie and a good companion piece to this one). When you have people angry about NFL players kneeling during the national anthem, this is the movie they have to watch to understand the outrage.  

It could be all gloomy, but I love how Blindspotting weaves its message around a very entertaining buddy comedy about a black man who’s on parole and the friendship with his trouble making criminal White friend, quite possibly the last person he should be hanging out with if he wants to stay out of trouble.  Despite addressing gentrification, the movie even gets some good laughs out of black neighborhoods being taken over by Hipsters, ie: a burger joint that serves vegan burgers…you have to actually ask for a beef burger if you want one.

The film is directed with a lot of creativity and I applaud the director for some huge risks. The climax is probably the most talked about scene as it has been very divisive. I understand the people who didn't like it, but I applaud the director for thinking way outside the box and going for broke. Blindspotting to me is the Do the Right Thing of the 2000s. 

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9-HBqVbtTo

5. Mandy ****1/2

I think there needs to be no discussion of Oscar race for best actor. It's simple. Nicolas Cage in MANDY. It just may be Nic Cage's most batshit insane performance which is saying a lot, seeing how MOM AND DAD came out the same year (also a great movie), and let's not forget the Cage's being on crack, seeing dancing dead bodies and pulling guns on old ladies performance in Port of Call: New Orleans. But his work in Mandy tops them all, and when Cage is on his A game, taking performance up to 11, there's simply nothing better. 

Mandy is one hell of a batshit insane, trippy as fuck, avante garde, super interesting color palette gorgeously shot, violent as fuck with each death getting more and more fucked up revenge film. This is a beautifully directed film and extremely stylish, even mixing in animations at times. But back to Nicolas Cage...

When it comes to great performances, no acting this year tops the one scene of Nic Cage after he's just escaped from his captors, bruised and bloodied; he's in a lot of physical pain, but he just saw his wife get murdered by a cult. He pours alcohol on his wounds, chugs down the hard liquor and screams in unbearable pain. No performance made me feel a character's pain quite like this scene and no actor could have pulled this off like Nicolas Cage.

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI054ow6KJk

4. Thoroughbreds ****1/2 

If you have a fucked up, twisted sense of humour like me, dark comedies don’t get much better than this.  This is one hell of a twisted coming of age/friendship movie. It has easily the best comedic dialogue writing of the year.  Olivia Cooke who had been seemingly typecasted as a sweet girl suffering from a disease pulls a complete 180, playing a girl who is incapable of experiencing any emotions. The fact that there's absolutely no Oscar talk of her performance shows that the Oscars are still very inside the box and won't embrace anything that out there. It's a shame. 

Let's not forget Anya Taylor-Joy who seems like the normal girl, but there is some dark shit going on in her mind too.  The two of them have phenomenal chemistry and it’s the most memorable relationship of any movie this year. It never tries to be sentimental.  Its tone is dark, cynical and bad ass from beginning to end, and I never knew where the story would take me.  Might I add, it's very interesting the way this movie is shot. 

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPcV_3D3V2A

3. Eighth Grade ****1/2

I had expressed jealousy of Akash Sherman's intelligence for Clara, but multiply that jealousy by 11 when it comes to Bo Burnham. No 18 year old should have been coming up with stand-up comedy as brilliant as his.  No 27 year old making his directorial debut should be able to make a movie as flawless as this.  I expected a good movie with perhaps structural problems, self indulgence or attempts to be too quirky, but none of those issues arised.  I have almost nothing to criticize about this movie whatsoever.  What the fuck?!  His first crack at a feature film is better than most people's experienced directors' best work. 

  

Eighth Grade is wonderful.  Heartbreaking, authentic, low key and funny movie, where the humour feels so natural where many indy directors try too hard to be quirky.  Everything about it feels so accurate and realistic about the lives of eighth graders today, in this social media controlled life. Elsie Fisher has rightfully been in the discussion for an Oscar nomination, but let's not forget a best supporting actor nod for Josh Hamilton playing one of the most likable dads ever in a movie; trying his best to be a good single dad, but at times clueless. Boy does he shine in that campfire scene. 

I agree with a friend of mine that this is the movie LADY BIRD tried to be. I will also add, I think a far better coming of age movie than BOYHOOD, and I'll even add that it captured the heart and teenage insight of one of my favorite novels - The Perks of Being a Wallflower better than that actual movie adaptation of that book. But Bo...now that you're a great filmmaker, please don't quit your stand-up comedy.  You can do both! 

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnesHAtSHzs&t=

2. Paddington 2 ****1/2

To get the first question out of the way, no I wasn't stoned when I saw this movie, but I will be when I re-visit it. I should also add that this is the #1 rated movie on rottentomatoes. A true definition of a family movie, where adults will get just as much out of the movie as the kids. 

I thought Paddington 1 was an over-rated, generic comedy.  This may be one of the best sequels of all time, absolutely superior to its predecessor in every way imaginable. It's like the complete opposite of the Mary Poopins Sequel. Some people may say I was really harsh for calling Mary Poppins Returns a piece of shit, but Paddington 2 is how you properly do a magical, delightful family film that improves upon its predecessor. 

One thing that must be stressed…this is a good fucking comedy, with some very creative physical comedy that we don’t see enough of these days. Paddington's brutal honesty, his inability to know that sometimes honesty can be hurtful also leads to some great comedy. Despite how many times Paddington fucks up, he’s so well-intentioned, and has such a heart, you can’t help but love him. Hugh Grant does his funniest work in years, playing a super narcissistic, master of disguise burglar, and in my opinion the best villain of 2018.    

The majority of Hollywood movies have feel good endings, but very few movies left me in such a euphorically uplifted mood like this one. On my list of all time greatest feel good movies, Paddington 2 is definitely up there. 

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52x5HJ9H8DM

1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse *****

I'm not a comic book nerd. I still think there's waaaay too many super hero movies and I'm tired of seeing the same super heroes rebooted over and over again. Imagine my shock that once again, a Marvel super hero movie has once again topped my list (last time was Doctor Strange). But hey, I like to be entertained, and when a movie has me tripping the fuck out and saying, "Hoooooly fucking shit!!" repeatedly through-out the entire movie, absolutely dazzled by a movie's energetic, colorful and fresh comic book style of animation, there's nothing better. I don't know how this movie will translate to a TV screen, but seeing it in theatres in Dbox 3-D is a unique movie going experience like no other. It's such an immersive experience, a true escape into this absolutely bonkers universe. 

An absolute trip could have been enough, but the movie also happens to come with a great script. Very creative story, a really fun range of Spider-characters from various parallel universes, and really good character relationships with great humour and gravitas not only between Miles and his dad, but a wonderful teacher/student relationship with Miles and Peter Parker.  

And Nicolas fucking Cage once again absolutely kills it, easily the funniest voice acting in years, playing Noir Spider-Man. Spider-Verse is fucking hilarious, from physical comedy to awkwardness to really witty dialogue. It never tries too hard to get its laughs. The over-rated Deadpool 2 could really learn from Spider-Verse about writing clever meta humour.

As I've said before, I typically prefer Indy films, but when a mainstream blockbuster gets a big budget with an extremely creative vision, nothing is better. This movie is an experience. I can't think of too many things more fun than sitting through this movie...ON WEED! 

Other notable awards:

Actor of the year:
Nicolas Cage

Not only did he have the performance of the year in Mandy, but one of the funniest performances ever in a horror movie in Mom and Dad, and if there was an Oscar for best voice actor in an animated movie, he easily takes it for his hilarious work playing Spider-man Noir in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. 

Trippiest movie of the year:

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Very worthy runners up:

Ant-Man and the Wasp, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Mandy, Annihilation

Best Use of 3-D:
Tie: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and Antman & the Wasp

Runner up: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Best ending:

Clara

Best Cinematography:
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Runner up: Mandy

Best Actor and Best Actress:

Nicolas Cage in Mandy (runners up: Patrick J. Adams in Clara, Ryan Gosling in First Man)

&

Olivia Cooke in Thoroughbreds (runners-up: Amandla Stenberg in The Hate U Give, Elise Fisher in Eighth Grade)

Best villain:

Hugh Grant in Paddington 2 

Best super-hero movie:

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Runners up: The criminally under-rated Teen Titans Go!: To the Movies, Ant-man &the Wasp

Best Animated movie:

Okay, this is a no brainer. I don't even need to say it.

If the Oscars give best animated film to Pixar's Mediocres 2, they have officially lost all credibility. Though a runner up worth mentioning is: Teen Titans Go! to the movies. This was my pick for best animated movie in a year of weak animated movies until Spider-verse came along. 

Best Foreign Language Film:

A Spy Gone North (South Korea)
It's the most captivating spy movie in years.

Runners up: Husband Material (absolutely delightful Bollywood movie), Shadow (China)

Best horror:
Mom & Dad

(Nic Cage wins maybe one of the funniest performances ever in a horror movie)

Documentaries:

Damn good year for documentaries. To name a few: 

Three Identical Strangers is intriguing, thought provoking and more and more fucked up as it goes along. 

Screwball which I saw at TIFF...who knew a baseball documentary could be so fascinating, hilarious and stranger than fiction, in its exploration of the doping scandal involving A-Rod and the all the morons involved including the MLB themselves. 

Shirkers, it's on Netflix, folks. Most mystery documentaries are about murder or disapperance; how about a mysterious filmmaking teacher who befriends his students, makes a movie with them, then disappears. And then it turns out he's done this to many people? This movie explores one of the strangest real life villains and it's really fascinating.

Minding the Gap...talk about a filmmaker using the medium of a documentary as therapy; as a form of exploring his pain and the pain of his friends growing up with abusive parents and the psychological scars it leaves on them. In the midst of it all, they have skateboarding as their outlet and the skating is really well shot.

Won't you be my Neighbor?: Not as good as the docs I listed above, but still very touching and interesting insight into a TV personality who truly had a great heart and truly wanted to make the world a better place with his show. I'm glad that the show Kidding came out the same year. Let's hope Mr. Rogers didn't have any of Jeff Pickles's demons though. 

But...if I had to pick a favourite...

I'm going with Fahrenheit 11/9, far better than its predecessor. Simply put, I think it's the most important documentary to come out this year. It presents everything that's fucked up about our political climate today, but has inspirational moments, showing the young people, their energy and ambition and ability to change the world around them. It's a call to everyone that this is what's fucked with the world, now go out and do something about it! 

The Top 10 best movies of the first 3/4 of 2018

Fuck the pretentious introductory paragraph about my observations of 2018 movies. Let's just get on with the list, shall we?

Honorable mentions:
Upgrade, American Animals, Game Night, Unsane, Red Sparrow, The Insult, The In between, The Death of Stalin, Nobody Famous, The Avengers: Infinity Wars

10. Searching ****

What a birthday gift! Released in Canada on my birthday, watched it on my bday. While the approach of seeing a movie primarily through the protagonist's computer screen, I believe this is a first for a mystery thriller. It's an effective, creative approach, not only to see what life is like for the family for an emotional connection, but also effective in showing the mindset of the protagonist. He's like a computer nerd Sherlock, solving all the clues and finding everything out through social media, and learning more about his daughter, a girl he really didn't know all that well.

By the end of the movie, I was a little disappointed at myself for not seeing the ending coming. It is to the movie's credit that they drop clues that maybe should have given it away, but then misdirect, and when it comes full circle...it's kind of brilliant. While most Hollywood movies are content to entertain, but be forgotten after the credits roll, I found myself really appreciating the story after the credits and putting all the pieces of the puzzle together in my head. This is not just a captivating mystery, but quite an emotional one as well.

9. Antman and the Wasp ****

I may be the only person saying this, but this is the best super hero movie of the year.    I’m shocked to say this is the absolute trippiest movie of the year, and hands down the best 3-D movie so far.  Especially the scenes where characters are shrunk to the size of cells and attacked by body bacteria in 3-D…Absolutely tripping balls!  This movie is just so energetic, so much fun, it’s creative especially with its car chases, and shocked to say this…just a delightful movie.    

8. Three identical Strangers  ****

Can you imagine if you were adopted, then one day you find out that you have two identical twins living in other parts of the country?  This documentary had my attention from the first minute to the end.  What starts as a feel good story about these three people who have a new found joy and love in their lives unravels into a truly fucked up, unbelievable, poignant, sad story.  

7. Mom and Dad ****

For every 6 to 8 horrible Nic Cage performances where his over the top acting is laughably horrible, there’s always 1 where his over the top acting makes the movie, and you can’t possibly picture any actor doing it better than Nic Cage.  Well, this is the case, in a horror movie about a curse that makes all parents homicidal maniacs trying to murder their children, no one could possibly have been better casted than Nic Cage as a homicidal dad trying to murder his children.  He delivers some of the best monologues in the history of monologues.  This is my single favorite performance of the year.  Give Nic Cage an Oscar, god damnit!  Such a fun dark comedy/horror that never takes itself seriously.  

6. A Spy Gone North ****1/2

Spy movies just aren’t my thing.  If they don’t have a shitload of action or comedy, a 2+ hour spy movie with a convoluted plot…I don’t know, I just don’t generally enjoy them.   So going into a 2.5 hour South Korean spy movie described as a completely anti-James Bond/Mission impossible and where I have to read subtitles for 2.5 hours sounded fucking boring.  

I’m very pleasantly surprised to be including this in my top 10.  Despite almost no action, this movie is at times intense as fuck, as there’s so much at stake.  Its plot is captivating from beginning to end, and what starts as a kind of simple story about a spy from South Korea infiltrating the North to find out if they have nukes turns out to be so much more, where the line of good guys and bad guys is blurred, politics plays a big role, and despite being on opposing sides, friendships can still happen as regardless of where we’re from, we are united by morality and compassion, and a key friendship in this movie kind of had me in tears.  

I still won’t pretend like I completely understand the relations between North & South Korea, but I feel like I understand it better, and this is the best spy movie to come along in quite some time.

5. Annihilation

This is one motherfucking mindfuck of a movie; an absolute fucked up trip.  At times brutally violent, at times stunningly beautiful, and so creative with what it does with the small piece of land where evolution works in a very different way.  Especially if you’re bored with Ridley Scott making a new mediocre Alien movie every few years, this is a movie that couldn’t possibly be more out there.  

4. Blindspotting

I feel like this is the movie that captures the voice of the Black Lives Matter movement (there are two more movies about unarmed black people getting shot by the police coming out this year, so it’ll be interesting to compare them to this one).  When people are outraged by NFL players kneeling during the national anthem, they need to watch this movie to understand what the protest is all about.   

I love how Blindspotting weaves its message around a very entertaining buddy comedy about a black man who’s just gotten out of jail, serving his final week of parole and the friendship with his trouble making criminal White friend, quite possibly the last person he should be hanging out with if he wants to stay out of trouble.  Despite addressing gentrification, the movie even gets some good laughs out of black neighborhoods being taken over by Hipsters, as the movie has some fun taking shots at hipsters. 

The film is directed with a lot of creativity and the director Carlos López Estrada takes some huge risks.  The climax will divide audiences, but I applaud him for thinking way outside the box.  

3. Thoroughbreds ****1/2

If you have a fucked up, twisted sense of humour, dark comedies don’t get much better than this.  This is one hell of a twisted coming of age/friendship movie. It has easily the best comedic dialogue writing of the year.  Olivia Cooke who had been seemingly typecasted as a sweet girl suffering from a disease pulls a complete 180, playing a girl who is incapable of experiencing any emotions, and I'm starting a best actress Oscar campaign for her. Let's not forget Anya Taylor-Joy who seems like a normal girl, but there is some dark shit going on in her mind too.  The two of them have phenomenal chemistry and it’s easily the most memorable relationship of any movie this year. It never tries to be sentimental.  Its tone is dark, cynical and bad ass from beginning to end, and I never knew where the story would take me.  Might I add, throw in some interesting avante garde filmmaking while we’re at it.  I’m still torn between the placement of this movie and my #2.  I could see this movie up higher at my end of year list after a re-watch.  

2. Eighth Grade ****1/2

I am insanely jealous of Bo Burnham's talent.  At 18, he was already coming up with better stand up/performance comedy than almost any comedian out there.  Now he's 27, and no 27 year old making his directorial debut should be able to make a movie as flawless as this.  I have almost nothing to criticize about this movie whatsoever.  What the fuck?!  It’s not fair for the rest of us aspiring artists that Bo is this damn good at such a young age.   

Eighth Grade is simply a wonderful movie.  Heartbreaking, authentic, low key and funny movie without resorting to quirkiness or over the top characters!  Everything about it feels so accurate and realistic about the lives of eighth graders today, in this social media controlled life.  

I agree with my friend who says this is the movie LADY BIRD tried to be. I will also add, I think this a better coming of age movie than BOYHOOD. Final addition: I think it captured the heart and teenage insight of one of my favorite novels - The Perks of Being a Wallflower better than that actual film adaptation of that book. But Bo...now that you're a great filmmaker, please don't quit your stand-up comedy.  You can do both!  

1. Paddington 2 ****1/2

To get the first question out of the way, no I wasn't stoned when I saw this movie, but I will be when I re-visit it. I should also add that this is the #1 rated movie on rottentomatoes. A true definition of a family movie, where adults will get just as much out of the movie as the kids. 

I thought Paddington 1 was an over-rated, generic comedy.  This may be one of the best sequels of all time, absolutely superior to its predecessor in every way imaginable.  Paddington 2 is simply the most fun I had at the movies all year; the most delightful movie of the year.  

One thing that must be stressed…this is a good fucking comedy, with some very creative physical comedy that we don’t see enough of these days. Paddington's brutal honesty, his inability to know that sometimes honesty can be hurtful also leads to some great comedy. Despite how many times Paddington fucks up, he’s so good intentioned, and has such a heart, you can’t help but love him. Hugh Grant does his funniest work in years, playing a super narcissistic, master of disguise burglar, and in my opinion the best villain of 2018 so far.    

The majority of Hollywood movies have feel good endings, but very few movies left me in such a euphorically uplifted mood like this one. 

The top 10 best movies of 2017...

Welcome to the best top 10 list out there. I've included trailers for the lesser known movies.

Like usual, there's honorable mentions, my top 10 and my special awards at the end.

There's one tie in this top 10. Now some of you may complain and say, "There shouldn't be 11 movies in a top 10! You don't know what the fuck you're doing", to that I say, "It's my top 10, I'll do what I want, dickwad. Also in that tie, one "movie" isn't technically considered a movie. But, it's 72 mins long, it still does work as a movie if you watch it on its own, so fuck it. This "movie" was better than 90% of other actual movies out there.

Honorable mentions:
I Don't Feel at Home in this World Anymore, Creep 2, The Square, Wonder Woman, Wind River, Shimmer Lake, John Wick: Chapter 2, Kong: Skull Island, Heel Kick,

10. The Devil's Candy ****1/2

Best horror movie of the past 2 years; takes a massive shit on IT. It may not be a purely scary horror movie, but it's directed with such creativity and originality. How often do we get an artsy horror movie, let alone a heavy metal horror? We've seen many haunted house horrors, but none like this. I love the concept of an artist getting haunted through his paintings, where a demonic force takes over his mind, making him paint really fucked up shit. 

Beyond the artsyness, the movie is intense as fuck. It's not just a haunted house horror, but also a slasher movie with one hell of an unforgettable villain. The scene with the daughter duct taped in the bathroom is one of the most suspenseful scenes in recent memory. Give us something original, and give us characters that are well developed, that we actually give a shit about, and the suspense will work.

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpRnCZQWqDU&t=

9. The Kingsman: Golden Circle ****1/2

Talk about a ballsy, batshit insane mainstream action movie. This movie goes down some dark fucking places you don't expect from a popcorn action flick, but I have a fucked up sense of humour, so I fucking loved it. The wood chipper scene in FARGO is almost tame in comparison to the first scene where we meet Julianne Moore who has one of those ground beef grinders as her disposal. She has so much fun playing the most twisted villain of any movie this year. For a spy movie, I found the plot actually quite refreshing and creative. You have to love a scene where a spy calls his girlfriend to tell her that he must cheat on her and have sex with this hot girl to save the world, but he doesn't have time to explain. 

When it comes to spy franchises, fuck Bond. Fuck Bourne. I want more Kingsman as long as Matthew Vaughan stays on as director. Matthew Vaughan really has to be put up there as one of the best action movie directors of our time. Stardust, Kick-Ass and Kingsman 1 and 2? Name an action movie director with a better resume than that. Okay, maybe you can name a few, but not that many! 

8. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ****1/2

What a surprise to see a movie with such a morbidly dark sense of humour, and such politically incorrect language to win the people's choice award at TIFF.

This is the best dark comedy of the year. You have to hand it to Martin McDonagh; when it comes to making a tragedy out of a storyline of a grieving, angry mother, who can never again live a normal life after her daughter was raped and murdered and the killer was never caught, you don't read that storyline and say, "I see this being the funniest movie of the year"; yet I struggle to think of any other movie that had me howling with laughter more than this one. Frances Mcdormand puts on the most memorable performance of the year; hilarious without ever trying to get laughs. She's simply that way because of horrible life circumstances that made her that person.

With all that being said, the movie still pulls off the very difficult job of balancing such opposing tones of comedy with such a tragic storyline. These are very well developed characters and it's a joy to see them grow and develop. There are no true good guys and bad guys. No one is completely good, nor is anyone completely evil. They're driven by anger, by the circumstances that life gave them that put them in that place. This could have been a typical murder mystery, but McDonagh opted for something more mature and thoughtful. I think I still prefer McDonagh's IN BRUGES, it was funnier, but I don't know. This one had more depth to it.

Best Trailer of the year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jit3YhGx5pU

7. Okja ****1/2

When it comes to movies about a friendship between a child and a giant creature that the bastard adults want to take away from the child, I'm hard pressed to think of a weirder, more outlandish, darkly funny, gorgeous looking, and awesome movie than OKJA, and what a follow up this is to SNOWPIERCER; any movie to come from Bong Joon Ho truly is an event movie. 

This movie is kind of like CHARLOTTE'S WEB on steroids, crystal meth, and weed combined (replace the cute little pig with a super pig). I can't recommend it enough. Like I mentioned, the cinematography is stunning, it's darkly funny, it has its social commentary, and my god are some of the action scenes absolutely thrilling and so well captured. Best CGI creature of the year goes to Okja, the unforgettable super pig.

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjCebKn4iic

6. Columbus ****1/2

What a charming movie; the ultimate friendship movie of 2017. I loved this movie in the same ways that I loved Lost in Translation, except this one was better.

This movie absolutely should win for best cinematography. It has the most stunning shot compositions of any movie this year which is fitting for a movie about architecture. Speaking of archiecture, this movie is very likely to permanently turn you into an architecture nerd and make you far more observant of just about any building you see from the outside and inside.

But besides all that, it's just a beautiful low key movie about two strangers who meet under undesirable circumstances. They're both going through rough times in their lives and the friendship that happens at just the right time to help them both move on and become better human beings.

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3dcnV6Z9Zs

5. Colossal ****1/2

This was definitely my favorite movie at TIFF last year. It may be the most absurd movie of the year and really requires a suspension of disbelief. If you cannot accept the movie's premise then it will be hard to get into. It was easy for me, because I admired the movie's audacity to pull off a premise like this. Absurdity + comedy + originality works for me, and if you're going to go absurd, go all the way and don't hold back.

This is the movie for people who utter that annoying phrase, "Everything's been done. There are no original ideas." For those that seem to be getting bored of the big creature movies of the same CGI orgies of giant creatures destroying shit, along comes Colossal, a movie that's best described as Godzilla meets Being John Malkovich. Now that's a combination I never expected to see. Hell, maybe throw in a little Rachael Getting Married (though not nearly as depressing), as this is Anne Hatheway's best performance since that movie, and her character will remind you of her character from that movie.

Instead of summarizing the plot, just watch the trailer. As much as I've talked up the movie's absurdness and weirdness, it still is a good character study, showing the lives of small town people, not really going anywhere in their lives and their battles with alcoholism; Anne Hatheway gives an Oscar worthy performance, Jason Sudekis is great, and Tim Blake Nelson is so under-rated as an actor who is never not hilarious every time he's on screen. He loves to play a dumb Hillbilly despite being one of the most profound directors. The emergence of the Godzilla monster, unknowingly controlled by Anne Hatheway can be seen as metaphor for alcoholism, but to me I just enjoyed it as a very original, outrageous, and one of the funniest movies of the year. Even the fact that the CGI and visual effects are all for comedy is also a refreshing change from every big creature feature.

Earlier I said, if you're going to go absurd, then go all the way; just when you thought the movie couldn't be any more absurd, the climax happens, and I couldn't have asked for anything better.

Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqcZtz8VXXE

4. TIE: Blade Runner 2049 and Black Mirror Episode - USS CALLISTER

Blade Runner 2049 ****1/2:
I have no clue how a movie like this got a massive $150 million budget. When the studio read the script, someone must have said, "Mainstream audiences are going to hate this!" Someone had to know this movie was going to lose money. But, I'm grateful at the studio's lack of business sense, because we truly got a movie that's the best of both worlds: An arthouse script with a mainstream budget. Let's get one thing straight, this movie wouldn't have been nearly as good with the budget of Deus Ex Machina, Primer, or The Fountain. It's $150 million was truly put to amazing use, and just an absolutely jaw droppingly stunning, beautiful movie to look from the breathtaking sets to the best visual effects of any movie this year.

Listen, I understand how huge the original Blade Runner was back in the day, how influential it was, bla bla bla. But, watching these back to back now, no fucking contest, 2049 is such an inspired sequel and far superior to the original. Ryan Gosling makes for a better protagonist, where every single discovery he makes and every twist he encounters, you feel his confusion, but most importantly his pain. I love the story, I love how unpredictable it is, and when I thought I knew where it was going, it surprised me by delivering something far smarter. This is kind of like an AI existentialism movie. At what point do we value an AI's rights as much as ours? If they are built by us, but are conscious beings with actual emotions, are not as human as we are?

It's intriguing, it's beautiful, its set pieces are amazing. I heard a lot of people complain about the close to 3 hour runtime. Despite how long it is, I didn't feel bored for a single minute and I wouldn't lose any of that movie.

Black Mirror - USS Callister ****1/2

Yes, this is a Black Mirror episode. Technically speaking this is show, not a movie, but damnit it's 72 minutes long which is a movie length, and really does stand on its own as a self contained movie. Viewers can watch this as its own story having no knowledge of Black Mirror or having seen any other episode. Therefore, I'm counting it.

In a year that gave us some very entertaining space operas like The Last Jedi and Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2, leave it to Black Mirror to deliver a space opera/sci-fi that may not have the budgets of those movies, but boy did it deliver something 10X more intense, with one of the most interesting ideas for a villain, and bit of an existential mindfuck too, when you really put deep thought into the characters' journey.

I love how it starts coming off as a spoof of a really cheesy Star Trek wannabe. Then, we see reality and find out that this cheesy space opera is a virtual reality game, and that the main character escapes here to escape the harsh reality of life. Then the story gets a whole fucking lot darker, and it almost feels like Charlie Kaufman was asked to write a Star Trek type script and was given 100% creative freedom and we got this dark, intense, creative and original as fuck, thought provoking mindfuck. It's every bit as edge of your seat entertaining as it is thought provoking. I don't know why I'm not giving this 5 stars. Maybe one of the solutions at the end is not 100% believable. I don't know. I can't get myself to rank this higher than Blade Runner, even though down the road, I may hold this in higher regard. But, this is easily my favorite Black mirror episode, and I'll take this any day over any space opera out there.

3. Imax - Dream Big: Engineering Our World *****

I am a huge fan of going to the Ontario Science Centre for 40 minute Imax documentaries for its breathtaking cinematography, but from a pure storytelling standpoint I think DREAM BIG may be the best of them all. It's not only the most inspirational Imax movie of all time, but it's easily the most inspirational movie of any movie in the top 10. To all the dreamers out there, regardless of whatever industry you're chasing, watch this movie! You may have shed a few tears here and there too.  

It's a great celebration of smart engineering ideas that have changed the way we live our lives, saved lives, and solved massive worldwide problems. The ideas they present are absolutely fucking brilliant and at times mind blowing. This will give you a sense of awe at the ingenuity, and creativity of engineers.

This also tugs at the heart strings, as it tells very human stories as well about ambitious engineers, of varying ages and varying dreams. The most touching stories were the bridge building in Cairo and the highschool robotics team competing against the top colleges. I took my dad to see it and he observed that every single story in this documentary really could have been their own full length documentary movies. Agreed, but all the stories are equally fascinating.

DREAM BIG should be required viewing for science classes in elementary school, highschool, hell, show the movie to first year engineering students in college. This is a movie that will fire people up about science and we need young minds to feel inspired to change the world, because there's going to be a shitload more problems in the future; but first they have to dare to dream big. Yeah I know, that was cheesy, fuck off.  

Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huVNsT8BIM8

2. Coco *****

Of all movies, none transcended my expectations like this one. I thought Pixar's best days were in the past. I am so happy to be wrong. I think I'll rank this as the 3rd best Pixar movie behind Nemo and Incredibles.

40 minutes in, I felt like I was watching yet another Pixar B movie; a kid ends up in the land of the dead and can talk to and see dead people; we've seen this done better in ParaNorman. Then the movie introduces a new plot point that is a complete game changer. All of a sudden it goes from an adventure movie to something really profound. Then at some point I'm like, "Ha, I saw that coming. So predictable" and shortly after my smart ass thought, the movie hit me a new plot twist that was completely unpredictable and shut down my smug mind. 

And then the final unpredictable thing happened...as the credits rolled, I sat there and I cried through the entire end credits. Don't get me wrong, I heard a lot of crying in the theatre, but I don't think anyone was hit as hard as I was. I did not expect most powerful fucking drama of the year from fucking COCO. Don't get me wrong, it's a fun adventure movie, but it ends up being so much deeper than what you would expect from it; a meditation of life and death and the legacies we leave behind long after we're gone. Toy Story 3 has one of the most tear jerking endings, and the opening of UP is also loved, but COCO has its one key dramatic moment at the end that might be Pixar's best. If you claim that one scene didn't bring you to tears, you're full of shit!! 

1. The Big Sick *****

I knew when I saw this movie it was going to be my #1 pick, though Coco did give me 2nd thoughts briefly. Is not "just another Judd Apatow" movie. Yes, it was produced by him and it may share a similar raunchy sense of humour, and it's another movie with stand up comedians, but this is the first Apatow movie that deserves a best picture Oscar. Interestingly, I didn't even know it was based on a true story when I went in, but what a story. Often painful experiences make for the best art, and comedy is our medicine to get through the worst shit in life.

How fucked must it be to break up with a girl, then find out soon after that she's in the hospital in a medically induced coma. And it's beautiful how it's the time he spends with her parents, as they share each other's pain and anxiety where a true friendship forms, and he realizes how dumb he was to let her go. As good as the movie is as a romance and as electric as the chemistry is between Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan, the true heart of the movie is the friendship he forms with her parents while she's in a coma, played by Ray Romano and Holly Hunter who both deserve supporting Oscars. Their characters are given plenty of depth, with their fair share of flaws and marital problems.

Big Sick is just so good at making you feel empathy for the situation. Every piece of bad news the hospital gave, I felt as devastated as the characters on screen, and when Holly Hunter's character contemplates moving her to another hospital, it's powerful stuff when Kumail screams at the father for being weak and not standing up to his wife. As bad as her decision seems, it's love, and sometimes we just never know what's the right thing to do.

Then you also have Kumail Nanjiani's family, their constant attempts to set him up with a Pakistani girl, and all the lies he tells his parents to keep them happy. I've always been fascinated by stories about culture clashes between generations, the traditional parents vs. the Westernized kids and trying to find a middle ground. But, his parents are very set in their ways, and just yet another obstacle this romance must break through.

The Big Sick just works on every level. I laughed a lot, I cried a lot, and I just fell in love with all the characters; I think it's the finest ensemble cast, and hell, they even got Bo Burnham in there. I would call it the best romance since Before Midnight, but it's also so much more than just a romance.

Other Various awards from I:

Trippiest movie of the year & Best use of 3-D: 

The Great Wall in Imax 3D. 

The battle scenes were like Lord of the Rings with House of Flying Daggers colour palette. People were too harsh on this movie. It was so visually stunning!

Trippiest scene of the year:

Beauty and the Beast - Be our Guest musical number in Imax 3-D. Ooooh my god, what a spectacle this scene was. It took the animated version and multiplied the epicness by 11.

Best Cinematography:

Columbus 

Best Visual Effects:

Blade Runner 2049 

Most Inspirational movie:

Imax: Dream Big: Engineering our World

Biggest Tear Jerker:

Coco. Holy shit! 

Shoot em Up Award for Most ridiculously awesomely absurd action scene:

John Wick: Chapter 2 - Keanu Reeves and Common trying to discreetly shoot each other in a crowded area. I laughed my ass off at the audacity of this scene.

Most Memorable monologue:

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - Frances McDormand tearing the priest a new asshole about who he associates himself with

Best Ensemble Cast:

The Big Sick (I know it won't happen, but god damn it, all 4 leads deserve an Oscar nod. If I could only pick one, maybe Holly Hunter, but they're all so fucking good)

Best Screenplay: 

The Big Sick

Best Social Commentary on Humanity:
The Square

Kudos for taking Unsuspecting people's money and shocking the living shit out of them:
Mother! (Seriously, kudos to Paramount for releasing THAT nationwide in over 3000 theatres. I don't blame the mainstream audience for detesting the movie. I'm glad Paramount did it though. Take the mainstream crowd out of their comfort zone every once in a while. I wish I could have been in a theatre to hear the gasping, unsuspecting crowd having no clue a Jennifer Lawrence movie would be this fucked up)