I usually post an end of the year movie review bonanza, but this year is different. I saw a handful of movies last week, but I am not sure I watched enough movies in 2016 to produce a proper top 10 list. But I did see several brilliant longer than feature length documentaries and a TV series unlike any other, so after a few short reviews I’ll offer a Top 10 Media List.
I’ll play: 1. Empire 2. A New Hope 3. The Force Awakens 4. Rogue One 5. Jedi 6. Revenge of Sith 7. Attack of Clones 8. JarJar #starwars— Pastor Frank (@revfrankdrenner) December 17, 2016
Need to eleviate confusion: #RogueOne is excellent. If I’m grading: Empire A++. New Hope: A+. Force Awakens: A. RO: A-. Jedi: B+. Prequels:😞— Pastor Frank (@revfrankdrenner) December 18, 2016
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsRogue One is great– just not to the level of 1977 or The Empire Strikes Back. And it’s a close runner up to last year’s The Force Awakens. I nudged that one above Rogue One for a few reasons:
- Its scope. It’s the beginning of at least two more movies, but doubtless many more (it grossed more than $1.5B worldwide). This movie had to set a tone with new characters and a plot that moviegoers could invest in for the long term
- Finn, Rey, and Kylo Ren– great performances from the actors, interesting characters
- The idea that the light side of the Force tempts us too– never seen before in a Star Wars film
La La Land
I liked, but didn’t love, the musical La La Land. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are the sweetest actors giving great performances, but I am not sure this is Best Picture worthy, as it is being marketed. I love old Hollywood too, and this is a great, optimistic movie. If you are feeling dread about 2017 and everything else, go check it out. You’ll feel better.
Last year when Oscar nominations were released, #OscarsSoWhite was a trending hashtag on Twitter since no African Americans were nominated in the major categories for the second consecutive year. Fences guarantees that will not happen in 2017. If Viola Davis isn’t nominated for Best Actress– not Best Supporting Actress, Best Actress, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. I haven’t seen Jackie, but I’ve heard Natalie Portman is amazing in it. But this performance in Fences is one for the ages. Denzel is great too, and the supporters, but Viola…
Fences is based on a play, and the movie feels like a play– there’s only one setting, and the actors give long soliloquies. Denzel plays a former baseball player, “third only to Babe Ruth and Josh Gibson,” who never really had a shot at baseball greatness because of racism. Growing up during the Jim Crow era of the American South, he had little opportunities. Fences is about some of the struggles oppressed communities deal with every day, like racism and poverty, and the painful shame they bring. Interestingly, Christy and I were two of only a handful of Caucasian folk in a packed auditorium. I’m not sure why that is. This is a movie everyone should see: it has amazing performances by some of our great actors, and a powerful message for our society.
Black Mirror
I’m kinda late to this party, but Christy and I have been watching Black Mirror on Netflix recently. It’s like a modern Twilight Zone, but the commentary is more focused on the dangers of technology than paranoia over communism. Some episodes are funny, some are serious, some are scary. I love Black Mirror because it isn’t structured like a regular TV show. I’ve been sort of burned out on TV series recently, not wanting to dedicate 22 episodes per season to the same people doing the same things. Black Mirror exists in different times and places, and people share the same technologies, but each episode is its own unique story with its own characters. We’re partly through Season 3, having watched the horrifying haunted house video game episode last night.