I woke up this morning with no internet and no hot water. I've had a few bad breaks lately and the old me would have taken this as a sign that the world was conspiring against me. I would have gone back to bed and stare at the ceiling while I let the crippling anxiety wash over me in a cathartic way. Similar to the days I would skip class if my horoscope was below a 4, it's easy to take something small and let it snowball into a stress monster that can ruin your whole week.
But I called the internet company and I called the plumber and both problems were resolved quickly. Who knew that if you address your problems head on sometimes they come to amicable conclusions quickly?
Something Dean the plumber said though will stick with me.
"Sorry about the water heater man, did you have to come back to let me in?"
"It's ok, I'm actually not working right now. Just sitting around here being worthless."
"No you're not man, you're here and that's all that matters. I was a class A idiot when I was your age. I watched all the people around me get corporate jobs, families, two story homes and I was living in a tiny apartment. I didn't get my act together until I was 40. I started this plumbing company and now I have a reason to get out of bed every day. Something to take pride in. Every time you start to get a little low just remember that you're out here trying to make something happen. A lot of people said 2016 was a bad year, but it was the best year of my career and I'm only looking forward."
Sage words from Dean, my trusty handyman.
But sometimes in order to look forward, we have to look back and with last night's Golden Globes now in our rearview, now seems like an appropriate time for me to share my favorite films of the year with you. 2016, while not an overly strong year in film was an important one and for all those that sometimes look to me for advice on what to check out, well here you go. Hopefully this goes better than my list of best Christmas movies.
10. Moonlight
While it may seem that I am trolling you right off the bat by not having this film higher, I think Barry Jenkins small indie was a good movie that could have been great with a few adjustments. The pacing of the movie felt strange to me in which we see three actors play a growing man over three thirty minute vignettes. The movie also had a very abrupt conclusion which could have been a creative choice or perhaps a victim of budgetary constraints. That said, Moonlight is an important film and while many will point out its importance in LGBT circles, I found the most devastating portion of the film to be the times it was focusing on the cycle of poverty and the despair of addiction. I can't wait to see what Berry Jenkins does moving forward and Mahershala Ali's 15 minutes on screen may have been my favorite performance of the year.
9. Manchester by the Sea
I'm not sure if this would be the best or worst movie to show to a person with depression because no matter how bad you think you have it, I assure you the protagonist in this film has it worse. Famously developed for Matt Damon, scheduling conflicts did not permit him to eventually star so he implored writer/director Kenneth Lonergan to give his friend Casey Affleck a shot. After seeing the finished product, it's hard to imagine anyone else in the starring role. Whether or not you give credence to the accusations that Casey Affleck behaved inappropriately on the set of 'I'm Still Here' one thing is for certain, this guy is a fantastic dramatic actor. Michelle Williams also gives a brief but heartbreaking performance in the Massachusetts based drama. It is a great film but be warned it will take a lot out of you. My mom bought a ticket to this just because La La Land was sold out. I still don't think she has recovered.
8. Fences
Denzel Washington is truly one of the greatest actors of our generation and Viola Davis proves once again that she is a national treasure. What I found truly striking about watching this film is how many issues of the day (the film takes place in 1950's Pittsburgh) are still relevant now over 60 years later. Family tension and how was chose to express ourselves among those we love most is a truly timeless struggle. I very much look forward to the partnership between Denzel Washington and the film's writer August Wilson (adapted from his own play of the same name.) Denzel has agreed to bring 10 more of August Wilson's stories (all plays dealing with African American life in different decades) to the screen. At age 62, Denzel Washington, who also directed the film, is possibly still peaking in his craft.
7. Nocturnal Animals
It was weird. It was meta. It had a chilling score. But those performances. My God. What is it that makes so much Hollywood talent want to bring their A game for a guy who designs eyewear? But I suppose that isn't fair criticism as Tom Ford is now very much 2 for 2 as a director and any time you assemble talent that includes; Amy Adams, Isla Fisher, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Michael Sheen, Aaron Johnson and Laura Linney I'm probably going to have a good time. Artie Hammer was just OK. I'm still not sure I understand the ending, but I'm always going to be a sucker for a film about writing.
6. Hacksaw Ridge
I've always been extremely interested in American History specifically World War II, and I'm also probably the one person in the world who preferred The Pacific to Band of Brothers, this was a movie right up my ally. Furthermore, I've been squarely in Andrew Garfield's corner since I saw the haunting Never Let Me Go seven years ago. You know the story by now, a conscientious objector volunteers for the Army but won't shoot a gun, but it's the second half of the film which largely consists of one sustained battle sequence that really blew me away. Mel Gibson has a long way to go to earn the respect and forgiveness of many, but there is no denying him as an artist. Hacksaw was perhaps the most powerful war film since Saving Private Ryan.
5. Weiner
I enjoy documentaries in the same way I enjoy a podcast. This is some passive entertainment that I can absorb while doing something else with my time, like driving to work or cooking dinner.
Not this film. This had me captivated from the opening scene. As much as we all dove face first into the political machine in 2016, Weiner shows what can happen when a seemingly good guy with personal demons really goes off the rails. I rode a wave of emotion during my hour and a half viewing experience. I'm rooting for him to, actually this guy is a creep...to OMG this clown cost Clinton the election? Required viewing for anyone that has even the faintest interest in political science and a reminder that your 2016 wasn't THAT bad.
4. Hell or High Water
Chris Pine is a lovable anti-hero. Ben Foster is a foul mouthed villain. Jeff Bridges is a grovelly voiced Sheriff. Put this all together and you have a modern day Western/Heist film set against the barren landscape of the sweeping nothingness of West Texas. This film was refreshing for me because I knew absolutely nothing about it going in and proved that you don't always need complex character motivations to drive a story. Sometimes you just need money fast so you rob a bank, or banks in this instance. The film served as a reminder to me of how good writer/director Taylor Sheridan is at playing in a sandbox that combines the classic feel of a Western while updated to Modern Times. Sicario was one of my favorites last year and I am very much looking forward to 2017's Wind River.
3. La La Land
The hot takes are already swarming in about this movie and how overrated it is.
"It's a movie about a guy mansplaining Jazz." "Ryan Gosling can't sing." "Do cell phones not exist in Damien Chazelle's Los Angeles?" "Is Emma Stone's character unaware of how a concert tour works?"
Shut up. All of you. It's a movie about two young adults trying to make something happen for themselves in a city that can simultaneously be so magical and so cruel. Perhaps my plight as a struggling writer living in Venice Beach make me biased. Perhaps the fact that I'm a hopeless romantic who is obsessed with singing and dancing and that blinded me to criticism. Or maybe I saw Emma Stone vowing to stay in on a Friday night before getting dragged out to a party in the hills and I saw every single one of my weekends for the past 5 years. I took issue with the ending, but no one said that in Hollywood everyone lives happily ever after.
2. OJ: Made in America
This feels like a cop out. It is technically a movie and will be eligible for the Oscar come February, but it played out for me like a TV series. That said, it would feel unfair to leave this off my list as OJ Simpson dominated the headlines in 2016, from FX's fantastic dramatic series The People v OJ Simpson to the huge wave of renewed interest in true crime. And whereas I felt unengaged by Pablo Larrain's Jackie (A Jackie Kennedy biopic) because I didn't live through the events, Ezra Edelman's documentary played out in a captivating way showing the rise and fall of a giant; truly an American story. While at times it can feel gross watching the events of a story like this unfold, revelling in the high drama, it serves as a reminder that there is no greater story told than that of real life.
And now with apologies to 20th Century Women, Hidden Figures and Loving (none of which I have seen but I have heard great things!) and further acknowledgements for Arrival, Rogue One and Zootopia (which just missed the list!) we arrive at number one:
1. Sing Street
It was a Tuesday night in April I believe and I was on my couch watching Begin Again for the 7th time. I pulled out my phone to see what Irish writer/director John Carney was up to. He had a new movie apparently: Sing Street. Terrible name, I thought, but it was worthy of checking out the trailer.
Before I had even finished I found the film playing at a local theater at 10:30pm, the only showing of the day. Although I don't typically fancy staying up until 1 am on school nights I couldn't go another day without viewing this film. I was rewarded with perhaps the most charming and hopeful film I saw of 2016. Without giving too much away the story is as such Boy changes schools. Boy meets girl. Boy starts band to impress girl. Chase ensues. Picture School of Rock but set in 1980s Dublin and you should have a general idea of what Sing Street is about. John Carney is consistently putting out films that make me feel something and that is high praise for a medium once thought was meant only to help us escape. At 44 he is just entering his prime as a filmmaker. So do yourself a favor tonight when you get home. Fire up Netflix and then watch Sing Street, I promise you won't turn the soundtrack off for the next couple weeks.
That's it guys! Hope you enjoyed the list, I'll probably be back later in the week to do it for TV which I promise will be a tad more obscure than my film picks.
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