STAN AND OLLIE (2018)

Written by Jeff Pope



Directed by Jon S. Baird



Where & When: Arclight Cinemas. Hollywood, CA.  January 7, 2019  4:45 PM



Laurel & Hardy were a popular Hollywood comedy team who began during the early silent film era and enjoyed success until the early 1950's. This is where the sturdy yet undernourished dramatization, "Stan and Ollie" begins as the men are trying to revive their flagging careers with a live tour throughout England. The director Jon. S. Baird captures some of the duo's comic routines and wacky charm that made audiences fall in love with them but there isn't much of a compelling story to make this loving tribute appealing, particularly to a younger generation who probably have never seen their comedies. We have Steve Coogan playing Stan Laurel and John C. Reilly as Oliver Hardy who, with the assistance of exceptional make-up created by Mark Coulier, deliver absolutely amazing, pitch-perfect performances as these comic legends.

Hal Roach, the early Hollywood producer who is best known for the "Our Gang" comedy shorts, is responsible for bringing Laurel & Hardy together. Each actor was under individual contract with Roach's studio and appeared in many of his productions until he decided to team them up in 1927. Laurel & Hardy went on to make over one hundred shorts and feature films together. And Roach was the reason why the team had a brief yet bitter break-up.

The film begins in 1937 with Laurel not wanting to renew his contract with Roach (played by Danny Huston) as he refused to properly compensate them financially despite Laurel & Hardy's worldwide fame. Stan wanted Ollie to join him but he was still committed to Roach under a separate contract. So Laurel leaves the studio and Hardy is paired with another actor in a movie, creating some tension between the the comedy team.

Years later in 1953, Laurel convinces Hardy to participate in performing live at several small halls until they can begin shooting their comeback film which will be a spoof on Robin Hood. The tour proves to be grueling and they are playing to near empty rooms. Their theatrical manager, Bernard Delfont (Rufus Jones) doesn't seem to make the team a top priority as he is more interested in his new, younger client.

But the situation turns around when Delfont suggests something fairly obvious; the boys need to get out and promote that they are on the road with a show. So Laurel and Hardy begin appearing in newsreels, judging wacky contests and even the arrival of their wives to London becomes an entertaining photo-op. And soon the venues start filling up with enthusiastic crowds.

Stan and Ollie had chosen to not speak about their falling out years ago while on this tour but it soon becomes unavoidable. Their ultimate blow-up, long-simmering over money and business betrayal, feels slight, no more important than a marital squabble. And that is the major problem with "Stan and Ollie". There isn't much noticeable tension between the men and the script lacks a significant motivation for this particular story needing to be told. The film is a little too leisurely paced and Baird, while he does a competent job as a director, is unable to breakout of the overly familiar beats of a biopic. But "Stan and Ollie" looks great thanks to the impressive camerawork of Laurie Rose and the period perfect details of the production design by John Paul Kelly and costumes by Guy Speranza.

With the appearance of the women in these men's lives, "Stan and Ollie" finally gets some much needed juice. We have Oliver's wife, Lucille (Shirley Henderson), a former script girl he met on one of his movies who may be small and shrill yet will be heard especially when it comes to the welfare of her frail husband. Then there is Ida Kitaeva (an excellent Nina Arianda), Stan's spouse, a former Eastern European actress who freely speaks her mind and does not suffer fools gladly. These very different women are hardly friends and simply just tolerate each other. But they both realize, much like their husbands, that they must endure a civil relationship with each other in order for the business partnership to run smoothly.

“Stan and Ollie” doesn’t offer anything particularly fresh or interesting to say about Laurel & Hardy, in fact the film is a fairly predictable dramatic exercise. Perhaps the goal was to simply put a warm spotlight on this largely forgotten comedy team. Yet the film’s focus is almost entirely on the time when the men were near retirement age and ill health while audiences had moved on to newer screen stars. We barely see the men in their glory days and sadly watch as they struggle to get people to pay attention as they do their classic comedy bits. I must admit I was never much of a fan of Laurel & Hardy (I personally preferred the edgier Abbott & Costello) but I certainly think they should be recognized for their comedic gifts and contribution to cinema. It's just that "Stan and Ollie" does not give them fully the proper honor they deserve.

18 MOVIES TO SEE AT THE 2019 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

Year after year, the Sundance Film Festival, which begins today and runs through February 3rd, has become an increasingly important showcase to first screen some of the most interesting and exciting new indie and documentary films that will be seen in the upcoming cinema year. There will be a total of one hundred and twelve movies from around the globe that will be shown at the Park City, Utah event. Emily Yoshida and Bilge Ebiri, film critics for New York magazine, have kindly revealed eighteen movies that they are highly anticipating to see at the fest.

Some that caught my eye from the list include "Velvet Buzzsaw", Dan Gilroy's eerie look in to the art world that re-teams the stars of his feature "Nightcrawler", Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo; "The Souvenir", a coming-of-age tale made more intriguing as it features Tilda Swinton and her real-life daughter, Honor Swinton-Byrne and Naomi Watts playing a freaked-out woman living in a far more dangerous New York during the 1970's in "The Wolf Hour"

Click below to read the article:

18 Movies We Can't Wait to See at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival

2019 RAZZIE AWARD NOMINATIONS

With the Oscar nominations for the best in cinema just announced, it's now that time to honor the worst films from 2018 with the Razzie Awards. "Gotti", "The Happytime Murders", "Holmes & Watson"  all tied for the most nominations with six including Worst Picture. "Robin Hood" and "Winchester" round out the Worst Picture nominees. The documentary, "Death of a Nation" was also honored with six nominations and I'm glad to see our President getting the proper recognition he deserves for his appearances in this film and "Fahrenheit 11/9". I'm sure he will show up to collect his award if he wins (fingers crossed).

Here is the complete list of the 2019 Razzie Awards:

Worst Picture:

"Gotti"
"The Happytime Murders"
"Holmes & Watson"
"Robin Hood"
"Winchester"

Worst Director:

Etan Cohen, "Holmes & Watson"
Kevin Connolly, "Gotti"
James Foley, "Fifty Shades Freed"
Brian Henson, "The Happytime Murders"
The Spierig Brothers, "Winchester"

Worst Screenplay:

Dinesh D’Souza & Bruce Schooley, "Death of a Nation"
Niall Leonard, "Fifty Shades Freed"
Leo Rossi and Lem Dobbs, "Gotti"
Todd Berger, "The Happytime Murders"
Tom Vaughan and The Spierig Brothers, "Winchester"

Worst Actress:

Jennifer Garner, "Peppermint"
Amber Heard, "London Fields"
Melissa McCarthy, "The Happytime Murders" and "Life of the Party"
Helen Mirren, "Winchester"
Amanda Seyfried, "The Clapper"

Worst Actor:

Johnny Depp (Voice Only), "Sherlock Gnomes"
Will Ferrell, "Holmes & Watson"
John Travolta, "Gotti"
Donald J. Trump, "Death of a Nation" and "Fahrenheit 11/9"
Bruce Willis, "Death Wish"

Worst Supporting Actress:

Kellyanne Conway, "Fahrenheit 11/9"
Marcia Gay Harden, "Fifty Shades Freed"
Kelly Preston, "Gotti"
Jaz Sinclair, "Slender Man"
Melania Trump, "Fahrenheit 11/9"

Worst Supporting Actor:

Jamie Fox, "Robin Hood"
Ludacris (Voice Only), "Show Dogs"
Joel McHale, "The Happytime Murders"
John C. Reilly, "Holmes & Watson"
Justice Smith, "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom"

Worst Screen Combo:

Any Two Actors or Puppets, "The Happytime Murders"
Johnny Depp & His Fast-Fading Film Career, "Sherlock Gnomes"
Will Ferrell & John C. Reilly, "Holmes & Watson"
Kelly Preston & John Travolta, "Gotti"
Donald J. Trump & His Self Perpetuating Pettiness, "Death of a Nation" and "Fahrenheit 11/9"

Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel:

"Death of a Nation"
"Death Wish"
"Holmes & Watson"
"The Meg"
"Robin Hood"

2019 OSCAR NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

"The Favourite", a dark comedy about Queen Anne’s court in the 18th century with Yorgos Lanthimos receiving his first nomination as Best Director, and "Roma", Best Director nominee, Alfonso Cuarón's drama loosely based on his childhood which was also acknowledged for Best Foreign Language Film, led the field of the 2019 Oscar nominations with ten each, including Best Picture. There were a total of eight films selected for Best Picture this year and they also include "A Star Is Born," "Vice" and "Black Panther" (the first super-hero movie EVER nominated) which each scored a total of eight nominations; "BlacKkKlansman" which received six nominations; "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Green Book" with both scoring five nominations.

Kumail Nanjiani (an Oscar nominee for Best Original Screenplay for "The Big Sick") and Tracee Ellis Ross (who I don't think has ever been in a feature film) announced the nominations today and while they had a nice chemistry, their banter was hardly humorous and seemed to only make each other laugh. Perhaps they really were delirious from getting up so early which was all they seemed to talk about.

Anyway, back to the nominations. There were certainly some unexpected nods that nobody saw coming which we have come to expect from the Oscars. One was Willem Dafoe's nomination for his portrayal of troubled painter, Vincent Van Gogh in "At Eternity's Gate" which hadn't gotten much buzz or box-office. Another was Pawel Pawlikowski for Best Director for his beautiful work in "Cold War". The Best Actress nomination for first-time performer, Yalitza Aparicio and Marina De Tavira for Best Supporting Actress for their performances in "Roma" were pleasant surprises. The biggest upset, to me, was the omission of "Will You Be My Neighbor?" for Best Documentary. This film about the life of Fred Rogers was not only one of the best non-fiction films but it was one of the best movies of 2018.

And there were a few nominations that recognized some veteran talent long overdue for award attention. Sam Elliot received a career first nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his moving performance in "A Star Is Born", the noted writer of "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull", Paul Schrader has inexplicably just been honored for the first time for Best Original Screenplay and Spike Lee has shockingly received his very first nomination for Best Director.

The 91st Annual Academy Awards will be broadcast on February 24, 2019 from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Due to the Kevin Hart controversy, there is no host planned for the ceremony at this present time.

Here is the complete list of the 2019 Oscar nominations:

Best Picture:

“Black Panther”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“The Favourite”
“Green Book”
“Roma”
“A Star Is Born”
“Vice”

Best Director:

Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”
Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War”
Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”
Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”
Adam McKay, “Vice”

Best Original Screenplay:

Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara, "The Favourite"
Paul Schrader, "First Reformed"
Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie and Peter Farrelly, "Green Book"
Alfonso Cuarón, "Roma"
Adam McKay, "Vice"

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”
Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”
Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"
Barry Jenkins, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters, "A Star Is Born"

Best Actress:

Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”
Glenn Close, “The Wife”
Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Best Actor:

Christian Bale, “Vice”
Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”
Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

Best Supporting Actress:

Amy Adams, “Vice”
Marina de Tavira, “Roma”
Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

Best Supporting Actor:

Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

Best Cinematography:

Lukasz Zal, "Cold War"
Robbie Ryan, "The Favourite"
Caleb Deschanel, "Never Look Away"
Alfonso Cuarón, "Roma"
Matthew Libatique, "A Star Is Born"

Best Film Editing:

Barry Alexander Brown, “BlacKkKlansman”
John Ottman, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Patrick J. Don Vito, "Green Book"
Yorgos Mavropsaridis, "The Favourite"
Hank Corwin, "Vice"

Best Production Design:

Hannah Beachler, "Black Panther"
Nathan Crowley and Kathy Lucas, "First Man"
Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton, "The Favourite"
John Myhre and Gordon Sim, "Mary Poppins Returns"
Eugenio Caballero and Bárbara Enrı́quez, "Roma"

Best Foreign Language Film:

“Capernaum” (Lebanon)
“Cold War” (Poland)
“Never Look Away” (Germany)
“Roma” (Mexico)
“Shoplifters” (Japan)

Best Documentary Feature:

“Free Solo”
“Hale County This Morning, This Evening”
“Minding the Gap”
“Of Fathers and Sons”
“RBG”

Best Documentary Short Subject:

“Black Sheep”
“End Game”
“Lifeboat”
“A Night at the Garden”
“Period. End of Sentence."

Best Animated Feature:

“Incredibles 2”
“Isle of Dogs”
“Mirai”
“Ralph Breaks the Internet”
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”

Best Animated Short:

“Animal Behaviour”
“Bao”
“Late Afternoon”
“One Small Step”
“Weekends”

Best Live Action Short Film:

“Detainment”
“Fauve”
“Marguerite”
“Mother”
“Skin”

Best Original Score:

Terence Blanchard, “BlacKkKlansman”
Ludwig Goransson, "Black Panther"
Nicholas Britell, "If Beale Street Could Talk"
Alexandre Desplat, "Isle of Dogs"
Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, "Mary Poppins Returns"

Best Original Song:

“All The Stars” from “Black Panther”; Written by Kendrick Lamar, Al Shux, Sounwave, SZA and Anthony Tiffith
“I’ll Fight” from “RBG”; Written by Diane Warren
“The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns”; Written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman
“Shallow” from “A Star Is Born”; Written by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice
“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”; Written by Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch

Best Sound Editing:

Benjamin A. Burtt and Steve Boeddeker, "Black Panther"
John Warhurst, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan, "First Man"
Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl, "A Quiet Place"
Sergio Diaz and Skip Lievsay, "Roma"

Best Sound Mixing:

Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor and Peter Devlin, “Black Panther”
Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Ai-Ling Lee and Mary H. Ellis, “First Man”
Skip Lievsay, Craig Henighan and José Antonio García, “Roma”
Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Jason Ruder and Steve Morrow, “A Star Is Born”

Best Costume Design:

Mary Zophres, “Ballad of Buster Scruggs”
Ruth E. Carter, "Black Panther"
Sandy Powell, "The Favourite"
Sandy Powell, "Mary Poppins Returns"
Alexandra Byrne, “Mary Queen of Scots”

Best Hair and Make-Up:

Göran Lundström and Pamela Goldammer, “Border”
Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks, “Mary Queen of Scots”
Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney, “Vice”

Best Visual Effects:

Dan DeLeeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl and Dan Sudick, “Avengers: Infinity War”
Christopher Lawrence, Michael Eames, Theo Jones and Chris Corbould, “Christopher Robin”
Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm, “First Man”
Roger Guyett, Grady Cofer, Matthew E. Butler and David Shirk, “Ready Player One”
Rob Bredow, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Dominic Tuohy, “Solo: A Star Wars Story”

MY LEAST FAVORITE FILMS OF 2018

Whenever I go to see a movie, I am filled with excitement and optimism for the story I'm about to be completely immersed in. Yet sometimes I leave the movie annoyed, resentful or discouraged. Any movie that created those emotions for me in 2018 had a very good shot at making this list of my least-favorite movie of the year:

"ANNIHILATION"

The movie that was the biggest disappointment for me last year, without a doubt, was "Annihilation".  Alex Garland's follow-up to his excellent 2014 directorial debut, "Ex Machina" sounded intriguing; Natalie Portman plays Lena, a military professor whose soldier husband (Oscar Isaac) is the only person who has ever returned from investigating a growing, intergalactic force-field caused by a meteor that crashed on Earth. But her husband doesn't remember what happened and then mysteriously falls very ill. Lena volunteers to join an all-female crew of scientists and soldiers (which includes Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson and Jennifer Jason Leigh) on a research expedition to get some answers on what they call "the Shimmer". While investigating, the women experience several trippy visions and dangerous, mutated animals while losing their grip on reality. However, this journey moves at a sluggish pace and concludes with a jumble of sci-fi incoherence. I know there were some critics who really loved this movie and even had the nerve to place it on their best-of-the-year lists. But the only list I would put "Annihilation" on would be "Movies to Avoid".

"A WRINKLE IN TIME"

Another disappointment I'm sad to say was Ava DuVernay's big-budget adaption of Madeleine L'Engle's 1962 sci-fi children's novel, "A Wrinkle In Time". While the film impressively features a positive message on diversity and female empowerment, DuVernay seems to spend too much time focusing on the colorfully extravagant visual effects and not enough on capturing a satisfying emotional connection. The screenplay by Jennifer Lee ("Frozen") is surprisingly flat and overloaded. Our story involves Meg (Storm Reid), a bright thirteen year old who is struggling due to the unexplained disappearance of her scientist father (Chris Pine). She lives with her mother (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and younger brother, Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) and one day he lets a strange woman named Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon) in to their home. The children are soon introduced to her friends, Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) and Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey) and they reveal themselves to be supernatural travelers. Meg, Charles Wallace and Meg's classmate, Calvin (Levi Miller) are whisked off on a magical journey through time and space in order to save the world and find the children's missing father. The biggest problem is that DuVernay seems restrained by the Disney movie-making machine and "A Wrinkle In Time" comes across as lifeless and generic. The film really needed more of the innovative, personal touch that the director has given to her indie films.



"BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE"

"Bad Times at the El Royale" is the latest film as a director by celebrated screenwriter, Drew Goddard ("The Martian", "World War Z") and he fills the screen with an impressive line-up of actors. Yet they are not enough to distract from this clunky, rambling and unnecessarily bloated mystery-thriller. The El Royale is a hotel situated between the California and Nevada borderlines. Set in 1969, we see the arrival of some of the guests which seems like a set-up for a bad joke. There is a salesman (Jon Hamm), a singer (Cynthia Erivo), a couple of hippie chicks (Dakota Johnson and Cailee Spaeny) and a priest (Jeff Bridges) who all check in with the hotel's only employee (Lewis Pullman, son of character actor, Bill). They are each keeping a dark secret and none of them are actually who we think they are. And the punchline comes in the sexy form of Chris Hemsworth who plays a cult leader that seems unable to button his shirt and adds more weirdness and violence to our story. Mr. Goddard's screenplay ventures in to Tarantino territory but his script lacks the wit and bite you would find in even a modest effort from our man Quentin.



"VENOM"

First let me say that I am sick to death of these super-hero movies that don’t aspire to be anything more than a cash grab, filling the screen with monotonous, CGI-enhanced battles that are barely held together with a flimsy plot to create an illusion of an engaging story. And that leads me to "Venom", a poorly executed, mess of a movie. Based on the Marvel Comics anti-hero character, Tom Hardy plays Eddie Brock, a journalist who is investigating a bio-engineering company, run by Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), that is rumored to be doing human trials by injecting people with an extraterrestrial life-form in order to create a super-human. It turns out to be true and none of these unwilling human subjects survive. But one of the alien specimen escapes, latching on to Brock. He becomes a super-powered hybrid of two separate forms sharing one body. This makes him very appealing to Drake and he sets out to capture "Venom". The director Ruben Fleischer ("Zombieland") seems unsure of exactly what type of movie he's trying to make. He has elements of comedy, action-adventure and science-fiction yet none of it is done well. Poor Michele Williams, who appears in the woefully underwritten role of Brock's fed-up girlfriend, is unable to shake the look of "No paycheck is worth having to do this shit" off of her face throughout the movie. But at least Mr. Hardy seems to be having a great time here. The British actor gets the chance to do some physical comedy while delivering an exhausting, manic performance. Too bad he’s the only one having fun.

MY FAVORITE FILMS OF 2018

Despite super-hero adventures and horror flicks continuing to dominate the box-office while Netflix has moved even more aggressively in to swooping-up interesting indie and foreign-language films that they rarely show in a theater, the year in cinema for 2018 still managed to be exceptional with theaters displaying a wide variety of bold and exciting films, particularly with non-fiction features. Here are my selections of my favorite films of 2018 in no particular order:

"ROMA"

Alfonso Cuarón, the Academy Award wining filmmaker, decided to look back on his life and has masterfully created a beautiful and meditative drama inspired by his experiences as a child. "Roma" tells the story of Cleo (in an amazing performance by first-time actress, Yalitza Aparicio), who works as a maid for a family in the Colonia Roma neighborhood of Mexico City during the 1970's. The mother of the family, Sofia (Marina de Tavira) is having some serious marital problems with her doctor husband, Antonio (Fernando Grediaga) and is trying to keep it from her four young children. Cleo is casually dating Fermín (Jorge Antonio Guerrero), a young local boy and soon finds herself in the family way. Cuarón (who produced, wrote and photographed the film in stunning black & white) has crafted an intimate and loving tribute to a seemingly simple servant who selflessly helped keep the lives of an unraveling family steady while she struggled to keep her own life on solid ground.

"IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK"

"If Beale Street Could Talk", the beautifully rendered yet emotionally devastating story of love and commitment by writer/director, Barry Jenkins, is surprisingly one of the very few books by the masterful writer, James Baldwin that have been adapted for the big screen. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a cinematic renaissance of Baldwin's work. This 1970's set film tells the story of Fonny (Stephan James) and Tish (KiKi Layne in her first major role) who are young and in love. But their happiness is interrupted when Fonny is falsely accused of a horrific crime and placed in jail. Tish's parents (Colman Domingo and Regina King) help find a lawyer to work on Fonny's case however the situation becomes more urgent when Tish discovers she's with child. Mr. Jenkins effectively uses lush colors and expressive visuals to enhance Baldwin's powerful narrative. And with only his third feature (following his Best Picture winner, "Moonlight"), Jenkins proves to be one of the most vital filmmakers working today.

"THE FAVOURITE"

"The Favourite", Yorgos Lanthimos' outlandish historical dramedy, was certainly not expected from this Greek film maker. He is best known for his surreal and experimental works like "Alps", "Dogtooth" which received a Best Foreign-Language Film nomination in 2010 and "The Lobster" that earned Lanthimos a Best Original Screenplay nod. Working for the first time with a script he didn't write (and it's a great one from Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara), the director has made his most conventional film to date while still managing to deliver his brand of deliciously wicked humor and peculiar dramatics. Based on real-life members of the eighteenth century British royal court yet far from factual, our story involves Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), a sickly and eccentric royal, who is advised and comforted by Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz), the Duchess of Marlburough. Sarah's cousin, Abigail (Emma Stone), a poor relation who has fallen on hard times, comes seeking to be of service but she's only made a servant. Seeking a better opportunity, Abigail finds a way to get closer to the Queen which leads to a brutal battle between the cousins for her affections. These three actresses are all at the top of their game and help make "The Favourite" an unforgettable experience.

"SORRY TO BOTHER YOU"

With his feature film directorial debut, "Sorry To Bother You", musician Boots Riley has cleverly merged some serious issues of capitalism and racial politics with outrageous dark comedy and a touch of oddball sci-fi. In his first major starring role after many impressive supporting performances, Lakeith Stanfield plays Cassius "Cash" Green, a young African-American slacker from Oakland living in his uncle's (Terry Crews) garage with his performance-artist girlfriend, "Detroit" (Tessa Thompson). "Cash" struggles at his new job as a telemarketer until an older co-worker (Danny Glover) explains to him that in order to succeed, he needs to create a "white voice". As he successfully moves up the business ladder, "Cash" is torn between joining the fight against the company's poor labor practices and enjoying the good-life of the corporate elites headed by the smooth CEO, Steve Lift (Armie Hammer). "Sorry To Bother You" is provocative, hilarious and just plain weird, making it one of the most innovative films of 2018.
 
"THE SISTERS BROTHERS"

The western, a genre known for its macho posturing and brutal violence, is slightly turned on its head with "The Sisters Brothers". This dark comedy, adapted from a novel by Canadian writer, Patrick deWitt, features John C. Reilly as Eli Sisters and Joaquin Phoenix as his younger, hot-headed brother, Charlie. They are hired hit-men in Oregon who work for a ruthless man only known as The Commodore (Rutger Hauer). While tracking down their latest target, a chemist (Riz Ahmed) with a valuable invention that makes gold detectable in water, the brothers are intercepted by a detective (Jake Gyllenhaal) in his capture. They soon catch-up with each other and unexpectedly wind up working together with a plan to split the profits from the gold they find. What makes "The Sisters Brothers" really stand out in a wonderfully unpredictable way is that in between the robbing, shootings and killings, we have these men being vulnerable, sharing their feelings and forming actual friendships. "The Sisters Brothers", which is the first English-language film directed by the acclaimed French filmmaker, Jacques Audiard, did not get nearly enough attention in theaters that it deserved, so I highly recommended you seek this extraordinary film out.

"CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?"

Anchored by two amazing performances by Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant, the comedy-drama, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" looks at the real-life story of failing writer, Lee Israel and the desperate measures she takes to make a living and remain creative. Israel (McCarthy) was a one-time successful author but her alcoholism, writer's block and bad attitude has put her in a serious financial bind. She comes up with a scheme to write and sell letters that were supposed to have been written by deceased famous authors, playwrights and actors. Israel gets away with it for a while, with some help from fellow con-man, Jack (Grant), until people become suspicious and contact the F.B.I. The director, Marielle Heller has made a deceptively, charming film rich with witty humor and touching emotions.

Click here to read review: "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"

"RBG", "THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS", "FREE SOLO"

This was an incredible year for some great documentaries and people turned out in impressively large numbers to see them in theaters. Three of my favorites were "RBG", which stands for "Ruth Bader Ginsberg" and before she became an admired Supreme Court Justice, she was a law professor and went on to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court six cases regarding gender discrimination. "Three Identical Strangers" examines the crazy and cruel story of a set of identical triplets that were each adopted to families separately and no one was told that the others existed. And rock climber, Alex Honnold is profiled in "Free Solo" with his dangerous (and definitely crazy) quest to perform a free solo climb of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.





"WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?"

Out of all the films I saw last year, "Won’t You Be My Neighbor?" is the one that moved me the most. This profound documentary by Morgan Neville is a profile on Fred Rogers, the amiable host of the children's television program, "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood". His goal was simple; to teach children to be kind, compassionate and empathetic to others. And yet in our society, it always seemed to be a difficult challenge but Rogers never lost faith in the message or in the basic goodness of humanity. As we go through our troubled times, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" serves as a timely reminder to make that extra effort to listen and try to understand our fellow neighbor.

Click here to read review: "Won't You Be My Neighbor?"

"COLD WAR"

"Cold War (Zimna wojna)" is a dazzling musical love story involving a passionate yet volatile couple set shortly after the second World War in Poland. Inspired loosely on the relationship of director, Paweł Pawlikowski's parents, Wiktor (Tomasz Kot), a musical director in charge of the selection of local folk musicians to create a touring troupe to revive Poland's rich cultural history through music and dance. He falls hard for the beautiful yet troubled, Zula (Joanna Kulig), a singer he hires and the couple begin a torrid affair. But soon politics and propaganda are forced upon the ensemble and Wiktor wants to have more creative freedom. While touring Germany, his plan is to defect to East Berlin with Zula to start a career making jazz music in Paris but ultimately he goes off alone. Yet over the years the couple's paths keep crossing and their desire for each other never wanes. Shot in glorious black & white by Łukasz Żal (who also did the nominated cinematography for Pawlikowski's Oscar-winning 2014 Best Foreign-Language feature, "Ida"), "Cold War" is a mesmerizing and haunting film enhanced by the radiant performances of Mr. Kot and Ms Kuling.

"BLACK PANTHER"

There is a reason why "Black Panther" became the highest grossing film in the U.S. last year and is the ninth highest-grossing film of all time with over 1.35 billion in ticket sales worldwide. And it's not only because it is the first major super-hero movie to feature an African-American actor in the lead along with the majority of the impressive supporting cast. It is because under the direction of Ryan Coogler, he has guided a thoughtful and thrilling adventure that manages to deliver fully-developed characters and an engaging story that is appealing to everyone. After the death of his father, King T'Chaka of the African nation, Wakanda, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), who is also known to the world as the hero, "Black Panther", claims his place on the throne. But he is challenged by his American-born cousin, Erik "Killmonger" Stevens (Michael B. Jordan) for the crown. T'Challa is shockingly defeated and as the new King, "Killmonger" plans to aggressively announce the isolated Wakanda to the world and start a global revolution. But it will take Black Panther and the help of his younger sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright) and Wakanda's all-female special forces led by Okoye (Danai Gurira) to stop him. "Black Panther" shifts the super-hero movie in an exciting new direction while still delivering all the fun and entertainment you expect from these films.

"EIGHTH GRADE"

"Eighth Grade" perfectly captures all of the anxiety and struggles of being a teenager in today's world. Elsie Fisher, in an incredible breakout performance, plays Kayla, a shy and awkward eighth grader finishing her final week of middle school. She records her thoughts to motivate others and posts them online yet no one watches them. Kayla desperately wants to fit in with her fellow classmates while secretly having a crush on a boy at school that's she's willing to do anything to get his attention. And her single father (Josh Hamilton) struggles to connect with his daughter and tries to convince her to not spend so much time on the Internet. Bo Burnham, a comedian who makes his directorial feature debut, has made a film that brilliantly handles the modern challenges of adolescence with honesty and sensitivity.



"VICE"

I would never have imagined wanting to sit through a movie about Dick Cheney, the sinister and despicable Vice-President during the George W. Bush presidency. But in the hands of Adam McKay (who did similar magic with the 2008 U.S. financial crisis in "The Big Short"), the writer/director has made his political satire, "Vice", detailing Cheney's climb from drunken derelict to becoming one of the most powerful Vice-Presidents in America's history, in to a fascinating and thoroughly entertaining film. Christian Bale completely transforms in to Cheney (with the aid of make-up and some serious weight-gain) and delivers one of the best performances of his career while the always reliable Amy Adams is deliciously commanding as his Machiavellian wife, Lynne. The rest of the cast is terrific with Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld, Sam Rockwell perfect as Bush, Alison Pill and Lily Rabe as the Cheney daughters and Tyler Perry (!) playing Colin Powell. And while it is clear that McKay is certainly left-leaning, he did make some effort to present the Republican Cheney and his story in a way that is fairly well-rounded.



"MARY POPPINS RETURNS"

It has been fifty-four years since Walt Disney brought P. L. Travers' beloved British nanny, Mary Poppins to the big screen. And when I heard about the idea to do a sequel, it was hardly anything I was anticipating. Yet I was delightfully surprised and enchanted by "Mary Poppins Returns". The director, Rob Marshall ("Chicago", "Into The Woods") has successfully managed to pay loving homage to the first film while taking this musical-fantasy forward in a way that's appealing to a modern audience. Emily Blunt plays the magical title character (and she's perfect in practically every way) who returns to the Banks household during the Great Slump in 1930's England. Michael (Ben Whishaw) is a widower trying to raise his three young children in his childhood home with the help of his sister, Jane (Emily Mortimer) and the family's long-time housekeeper (Julie Walters). Mary takes over to offer support, discipline and some fantastical fun to the children's lives. But an unscrupulous banker (Colin Firth) threatens to repossessed the Banks' home if an overdue loan is not repaid. Lin-Manuel Miranda takes his shot at a cockney accent as a lamplighter and Meryl Streep appears as Topsy, Mary Poppins's eccentric cousin. Perhaps a little too much care was taken not to disturb the legacy but "Mary Poppins Returns" is an absolutely joyful and moving experience.



Honorable Mention: "BlacKkKlansman", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Crazy, Rich Asians", "First Man", "First Reformed", "Green Book", "Happy As Lazzaro", "Hearts Beat Loud", "Incredibles 2", "Operation Finale", "A Private War", "A Quiet Place" , "Revenge", "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse", "Widows" , "Wildlife"

50 MOVIES TO SEE IN 2019

With 2018 barely over and award season is about to seriously kick-off with the Golden Globes being handed out this weekend, it must be time to look over what to expect in cinema for 2019.  Vulture have selected fifty upcoming films which will reach theaters over the course of the year.

Some of these features that hold particular interest to me include "Us", Jordan Peele's horror-thriller follow-up to his smash horror-satire, "Get Out"; Wes Anderson's return to live-action film making with "The French Dispatch" which features his cast of regulars in a setting of a 1950's American newspaper bureau in Paris; "The Goldfinch", a movie adaption of the Pulitzer-Prize winning novel by Donna Tartt and has Ansel Elgot, Sarah Paulson, Jeffrey Wright and Nicole Kidman in roles; the return of Quentin Tarantino with his examination of Hollywood and the Manson family murders in "Once Upon a Time In Hollywood"; "Rocketman" is not a biopic on Kim Jong-un but on the life of the flamboyant rock-star, Elton John; Martin Scorsese reunites with Robert DeNiro again in "The Irishman" which looks at a union official (played by DeNiro) with a connection to the mob and his involvement in the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa who will be played by Al Pacino; and "Avengers: Endgame" that continues the shocking conclusion of "Infinity War".

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50 Movies We Can't Wait to See In 2019

UNDER THE RADAR IN 2018

With the U.S. box-office reaching an incredible number of 11.9 billion in ticket sales (and over 41 billion globally which is another record set) in 2018, it is quite clear that people still left their homes and went to the movies despite the rise of streaming networks. And with so many films released in theaters, there were bound to be some really great films, particularly indies, that might have been overlooked. The Los Angeles Times have eight of their film critics put a spotlight on five little-seen-yet-wonderful features or documentaries from last year that they highly recommended you might want to check out. Plus, they share their thoughts on what they would like to see more and what they would like to see far less of in cinema.

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Movies Under The Radar 2018