I watch a lot of movies. Usually one every Wednesday, especially during the winter months. Admittedly, a lot of what I see isn’t all that good. But some of them are!
Here’s a list of the best movies I’ve seen this year. What’s on your list?
Booksmart
This is really one of the better entries in the ‘teen movie’ genre. And it has the genuinely funniest scene I’ve seen in a long time. No spoilers, but it involves a high school principal, a rideshare service, and porn. Actually, the opening scene of the movie is really funny, too. But like most good teen movies, it draws attention to particular issues faced by teens in the year/era it was made. This one’s about very smart young women dealing with pressure to not fuck up and the cultural baggage they carry as a result.
Fighting With My Family
There aren’t many good movies about professional wrestling. Professional wrestlers have starred in some very bad movies, like Suburban Commando. And they’ve starred in some inexplicably good movies, like They Live. But you don’t see much that’s about the experience of becoming a professional wrestler. This movie is the rare exception. It’s about a young women rising through the ranks of ‘lady wrestling’ and, in fact, changing what it means to be a woman in professional wrestling. It performed badly at the box office, which is a tragedy.
Gloria Bell
This is a remake of a recent Chilean-Spanish film called Gloria. Normally this isn’t a great idea, but Sebastián Lelio made both films and this one is wonderful. Julianne Moore stars, and she perfectly plays the role of a divorcee struggling through periods of loneliness and alienation. The main character’s romantic relationship also reflects a lot of what I’ve heard from older people trying to date again after a long break.
Non-Fiction
I have a notable weakness for two kinds of movie topics. The first is upper-middle class people dealing with psychological issues. Kubrick, anyone? The second is French people dealing with French issues. And this movie does both things, so it was kind of a foregone conclusion I’d love it. In fact, I did love it. The actual title is Doubles Vies, which better translates to ‘Double Lives’. It’s about a variety of people in the literary world struggling with the switch from print to digital publication. Some characters are authors. Others are publishers. And, of course, one is a socialist political consultant. It’s one of the few movies I’ve seen in recent years discussing substantive issues in a substantive way without being trite or dull.
Us
I suppose if you’re reading this blog, you’ve probably already seen Us. If you haven’t, go do it. Jordan Peele is doing great work, and this is as good as his debut, Get Out. I won’t say a lot about this one, except to note that the ending bears a strong similarity to a certain Simpsons Treehouse of Horrors episode. Peele himself has spoken about the film as a commentary on privilege in the US. And that’s fine. I see those themes. I think there are also underlying themes here of connection with, and disconnection from, one’s past.
