Of the obligatory duties associated with this job, the making of lists ranks up there with the silliest. Not that I mind making them; it's not difficult to come up with names or titles and a line or two justifying their inclusion in whatever subset I'm defining. It's just that I have trouble taking myself seriously when I pretend to authority -- sure, I can give you a list of the best movies of the first half of 2015, but I know that 15 minutes later I'll think of a film I left out. I don't really think about movies in ways that can be reflected by hierarchical rankings. I don't even like grading systems.
That said, it's obvious that some movies are better than others. But I wouldn't recommend White God, which may very well be the "best" movie I've seen so far in 2015, to my friends who are sensitive to the plight of fictional animal characters. If you hate the Beach Boys album Pet Sounds, you probably can skip Love & Mercy. I'm quite prepared to believe adults who tell me they found Inside Out remarkably moving. (I thought it was brilliant in its best parts, but that there was an awful lot of fan service for really young viewers. But then, I don't need to use the film as a babysitter.)
My point is, none of us ever see the same movie. (And none of us watch the same movie twice.) That doesn't mean we can't productively discuss what's going on onscreen, only that we have to consider what we bring with us into the theater. Your visceral response to a film is your response -- you can't really deny it if a movie makes you laugh or cry or leap in your seat. Watching movies changes us; as we become familiar with the tropes and conventions of the form, we might be harder to surprise or delight.
But on the other hand, people generally watch movies because they want to, because the images on the screen provide them with sustenance. Someone who watches a lot of movies is not someone who is bored by the movies, even though they have a deep understanding of the formulas employed by filmmakers. While I might be more critical of movies than someone who goes to two or three movies a year, it's very rare that I'm bored by a film. There's always something going on, a way of lighting or a character actor's trick, on which I can focus my attention. (While it's well-known that you can develop an epicurean taste for bad movies, even routine ones repay attention.)
So this is my Best-of list at the moment, in no particular order. (And if it seems like I've seen a lot of movies, you should be aware that there's quite a few I haven't seen. I've only seen half of Ex Machina. I have yet to see Dope. What We Do in the Shadows is up next in the DVD queue.)
The Best Movies of 2015 So Far
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter -- I've written a lot about this wondrous film, one of the best of 2014, although it didn't get a real theatrical release until earlier this year. So I'll shut up about it now except to say it's available On Demand and will soon be out on DVD.
Mad Max: Fury Road -- This film is a little overrated, with people like me making too much of its superficial feminism and perhaps not enough of how director George Miller frames the action as a constant onrushing of freaky athletes. Still, it's fun.
Clouds of Sils Maria -- It's not often that I want to watch a film a second time, but I feel that way about Olivier Assayas' carefully calibrated essay on feminine friendship. It has the added benefit of demonstrating something I've believed for a long time -- Kristen Stewart can act.
Love & Mercy -- On second viewing, the movie doesn't quite retain its majesty, and the long beats staring into emptied rooms seems a bit mannered, but not every movie needs to be seen over and over. The soundscape is inventive and at times terrifying, and the scenes with Paul Dano as Brian Wilson in the studio are as thrilling as the scenes of John Cusack as Brian Wilson in recovery are affecting.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl -- I get why this is a divisive film, but if we're going to continue to adapt young adult literature into movies for alleged grown-ups, let's make them with the care and sensitivity of the delicate mortality tale.
Timbuktu -- What I wrote here when this film opened: "a better distillation of the cultural struggle between freedom of expression and the urge to repress than any documentary collage of talking heads and archival footage could ever be." I stand by that. There are times when a painting is more powerful than a photograph, and Timbuktu is a powerful indictment of the moral idiots who mean to enforce their theocratic notions.
While We're Young -- Noah Baumbach's brilliantly cast film about facing midlife dilemmas is his best movie since he made Kicking and Screaming 20 years ago. While the movie is ostensibly about a Gen-X couple falling under the facile spell of earnest and aspiring millennials, keep your eye on sly old Charles Grodin as the baby boomer not quite willing to cede center stage.
Far From the Madding Crowd -- While this version of Thomas Hardy's 1874 classic is unlikely to make anyone forget John Schlesinger's 1967 film (which starred Julie Christie, Terence Stamp, Peter Finch and Alan Bates), Carey Mulligan makes a fine Bathsheba and Mathias Schoenaerts a sturdy Gabriel Oak. Danish director Thomas Vinterberg, one of the founders of the back-to-basics Dogme 95 movement, gives us a naturalistic take on the period romance that feels rooted in the earthy loam of Hardy's Wessex.
White God -- An allegory about human cruelty featuring hundreds of dogs rescued from Hungarian shelters who rise up against the "white gods" who have brutalized them. (The title is a reference to Sam Fuller's widely misunderstood anti-racism parable White Dog.) No animals were hurt during the filming; the violence is simulated and all the dogs were found homes after the production.
An Honest Liar -- James "The Amazing" Randi is the 86-year-old honest liar of the title of Justin Weinstein and Tyler Measom's remarkable documentary. An extraordinary magician and a fierce and articulate advocate for rational skepticism and scientific inquiry, Randi sees only one legitimate use for magic -- to entertain. And so for decades, he has crusaded against those who hold themselves out as able to communicate with the dead or heal the sick through the laying on of hands. And he's got a secret.
There are others I thought about -- King Jack, Applesauce, H. and Turbo Kid were all part of an outstanding Little Rock Film Festival; at Tribeca, I was impressed with Far From Men and Mojave (though I'm not sure the latter was supposed to play as an over-the-top comedy). No doubt there are movies I've temporarily forgotten. And the calendar lies. The movie year isn't close to half over yet.
Email:
pmartin@arkansasonline.com
www.blooddirtanagels.com
MovieStyle on 07/17/2015