Tops from the posse

Every year we invite members of the Arkansas film community to send us lists of their favorite movies of the year. Because people like reading lists and because we have to run something in this section the week after Christmas, when traditionally very few movies open.

Over the years, our roster of correspondents has grown to the point that we aren’t able to fit everyone’s list and comments into one column, so we will continue this list next week and may run more of these later this month either here or on our blood, dirt & angels blog (blooddirtangels.com). The rules are simple. I just ask folks for their favorites, and let them decide how much or little to write about them. (If they write too much, we edit them viciously.)

So here they are, in roughly the order they arrived in my email inbox:

Levi Agee, filmmaker, comedian, father: Frank, Guardians of the Galaxy, Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Nightcrawler, The Babadook, Under the Skin, Starred Up.

“I haven’t seen these but I imagine Foxcatcher and Whiplash will make my top 10 list. I would also probably include Boyhood but I haven’t found three and a half extra spare hours in my busy year yet.” (C’mon, Levi, it’s only 166 minutes.)

Mark Thiedeman, filmmaker, director of Sacred Hearts, Holy Souls: A theatrically-released top 10: 1. Goodbye to Language 2. Stranger by the Lake 3. Whiplash 4. Only Lovers Left Alive 5. Night Moves 6. The Strange Little Cat 7. Nymphomaniac 8. Listen Up Philip 9. Hide Your Smiling Faces 10. The Babadook.

Thiedeman’s detailed comments can be found at blooddirtangels.com.

Philip Vandy Price, critic, reviewsfromabed.net: 10. Interstellar 9. Boyhood 8. The Rover 7. Nightcrawler 6. Get On Up 5. Gone Girl 4. Birdman 3. The Grand Budapest Hotel 2. Whiplash 1. Calvary.

Yet to see: Unbroken, Selma, Top Five

Lauren Wissot, critic, contributing editor at Filmmaker magazine, director of programming for the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, see more at beyondthegreendoor.blogspot.com:

A Shamelessly Partisan List of the Dozen Docs — from the 134 submitted for Oscar consideration — That You Should Not Have Missed at the Hot Springs Documentary and Little Rock Film Fests:

American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs; Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me; Happy Valley; Korengal; Little White Lie; Manakamana; The Overnighters; Point and Shoot; Rich Hill; Virunga; Waiting for August; Evolution of a Criminal.

Ben Fry, general manager of public radio stations KLRE-FM, 90.5 and KUAR-FM, 89.1, professor of film history and criticism, host of “a silly little movie show called Home Fry-ed Movies” on the University Television: Even though I was limited to movies released in Little Rock by Dec. 14, my list still shows what a good year it has been for Hollywood.

1. Birdman — Director Alejandro Inarritu’s technique of making the movie appear as one long take would be enough to get your attention, but the style is matched with bravura performances by Michael Keaton, Edward Norton and Zach Galifianakis, as well as a wicked sense of humor and a bewilderment about what is real and what is not.
2. Boyhood — Not many directors would have the patience to spend 12 years shooting one movie, but Richard Linklater’s longitudinal study of a fictional character and his family is a stunning achievement. I wonder how long the director’s cut will be?
3. Interstellar — The best science fiction movies combine big ideas like interstellar space travel and global catastrophe with intimate moments like the estrangement of a daddy and his daughter. The special effects in Christopher Nolan’s epic take your breath away, but so does the individual cost of saving humanity from itself.
4. Nightcrawler — It’s difficult to look into Jake Gyllenhaal’s eyes as Louis Bloom, a petty criminal who decides to start a career as a freelance news photographer. Gyllenhaal has channeled something eerie and very realistic in this character. He’s both charismatic and repulsive at the same time.
5. Gone Girl — To say much about this movie is to give away the fun of discovery. If you’ve seen it, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, see it as soon as you can.
6. The Grand Budapest Hotel — Watching a Wes Anderson movie is like visiting an old friend. Anderson’s films are populated by many of the same actors, shot in the same quirky style, with mythical story lines. This movie has the added pleasure of Ralph Fiennes in his most delightful role.
7. Guardians of the Galaxy — Even though it’s labeled as a superhero film, this science fiction action comedy is much more. It’s fresh and fun and boasts a musical score of ’70s pop hits that can only be described as “awesome.”
8. Calvary — Brendan Gleeson portrays Father James as a man of authentic faith (“I think forgiveness has been highly underrated”), who still must tread a perilous path in the wake of the Catholic sex abuse scandals. A good man who must pay the price for the sins of others. Sound familiar?
9. Edge of Tomorrow — Most big-budget science fiction films spend so much time demonstrating their special effects that they have no time to explain to you what’s going on. This movie is smart and understandable, and the Groundhog Day-like repetition of the same series of events with slight modifications is exhilarating rather than exhausting.
10. The Lego Movie — Who would think that a movie featuring characters made out of Lego blocks would be one of the funniest films of the year? Like Guardians of the Galaxy, the movie features Chris Pratt and includes a soundtrack with its own “awesome” song.

Karen Martin, MovieStyle founder, CEO of the Home Movies column, closest friend: A Most Violent Year, Big Eyes, Inherent Vice, Locke, Snowpiercer, We Are the Best!, Love Is Strange, A Most Wanted Man, Whiplash, Force Majeure. Runners-up: St. Vincent, Listen Up Philip, Only Lovers Left Alive, The Imitation Game, Ida.

Sam Blair, beloved figure, armchair critic: Year’s best: Boyhood — Richard Linklater’s groundbreaking family drama, filmed over a 12-year period using the same actors, triumphs with a strong emotional pull. This is the Picture of the Year.

Best dozen others:

2.) Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter — A young Japanese woman obsessed with the American movie Fargo quits her job and flies to Minnesota in the dead of winter. Wonderful Little Rock Film Festival discovery, in Japanese.

3.) The Imitation Game — Brilliant mathematician Alan Turing’s breaking the Enigma code was one of World War II’s biggest secrets, and his postwar branding as a criminal one of England’s deepest shames.

4.) Birdman — Michael Keaton is terrific as a washed-up movie star famous for his comic-book action hero role who’s trying to make a comeback on Broadway.

5.) Ida — This quiet film is a Best Foreign Language Oscar favorite, deservedly.

6.) Whiplash — I felt whipped when I came out of this intense movie about suffering for artistic perfection. They can close the books on Best Supporting Actor; it’s over. J.K. Simmons has it locked.

7.) Mr. Turner — Mike Leigh’s bio-pic of J.M.W. Turner is visually dazzling. Every scene is a painted canvas. Great character actor Timothy Spall has the role of his career.

8.) The Railway Man — Colin Firth as a WWII Japanese POW survivor gives one of the year’s best (and most underrated) performances.

9.) Into the Woods — You’ll leave wondering “Is there nothing Meryl Streep can’t do?”

10.) The Theory of Everything — Eddie Redmayne’s portrayal of physicist Stephen Hawking will remind many of Daniel Day Lewis’ My Left Foot 25 years ago.

11.) Unbroken.

12a.) A Most Violent Year — On the Waterfront meets The Godfather.

12b.) The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Honorable mentions: Pride, Foxcatcher, Interstellar, Chef, Gone Girl, Under the Skin, Still Alice, Inherent Vice, Love Is Strange, Wild, A Most Wanted Man, The Babadook.

Joe Riddle, master copy editor, font of cinematic institutional wisdom:

1. Boyhood: Fascinating for its story and production.
2. Birdman: Easily the best screenplay this year.
3. Fading Gigolo: John Turturro writes, directs, stars and gives Woody Allen the best role he has had in years. Hilarious and sexy.
4. Snowpiercer: Sci-fi with a conscience.
5. Pride: History lesson with diverse characters helping one another in dire straits.
6. The Hundred-Foot Journey: Helen Mirren and Manish Dayal make worthy adversaries in the restaurant business.
7. Whiplash.
8. Wish I Was Here: Two powerhouse performances by the supporting characters make this retelling of East of Eden a winner. Kate Hudson and Mandy Patinkin are the raison d’etre.
9. Guardians of the Galaxy.
10. St. Vincent: Bill Murray is the curmudgeon extraordinaire.

Honorable mention: A Brendan Gleeson double feature of The Grand Seduction, Calvary.

Email:

pmartin@arkansasonline.com

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