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<\/p>\nThe end of the year really snuck up on me this year! I’ve actually had end of the year posts started since January that I meant to just add to throughout the year and then have an easy time of it in December. I, uh, did not do that. So I quickly threw this together based on last year’s awards-style template but didn’t have time to make pretty graphics and stuff like I did in the past. Sorry!<\/p>\n
Here’s a brief look at what I’ve been enjoying this year:<\/p>\n
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These supporting or bit roles stole the show!<\/p>\n
BB-8 in Star Wars: The Force Awakens<\/em> (2015)<\/b> – this little guy was just endlessly adorable and stole every scene he was in, which was a lot! Androids, AI, moral gray areas, unusual cinematic approaches, interesting entries in a director’s filmography – for whatever reason, these films held my attention and kept me pondering for a long time after seeing them.<\/p>\n Her<\/em> (2013) <\/p>\n Films that have been on either my List of Shame or are ones my peers can’t believe I haven’t seen.<\/p>\n High and Low<\/em> (1963) Great cinematography, great camera work, great art direction, great design choices – all those go here.<\/p>\n Mad Max: Fury Road<\/em> (2015) I’ll do some detail on these, just to clarify which scenes and why.<\/p>\n Colleen Moore telling her boyfriend off in Why Be Good?<\/em> (1929)<\/b> – after a whole movie of putting up with slimy guys at the club and her boyfriend’s dad who thinks she’s a loose woman, Colleen Moore finally lets loose on her boyfriend when he starts following his dad’s way of thinking, and it is awesome – my favorite scene in any movie this year, no question Crazy plot twists, wacky characters, bizarre tone, whatever – these films are here because they struck me as being weird and (mostly) wonderful.<\/p>\n
\nTallulah Hope (Una Merkel) in Don’t Bet on Women<\/em> (1931)<\/b> – the spunky and sexually liberated best friend is a staple of Pre-Code comedy, and Tallulah Hope is one of the greatest ones I’ve ever seen.
\nThe Stranger (Peter Lorre) in Stranger on the Third Floor<\/em> (1940)<\/b> – part intruder, part exaggeration of our hero’s imagination, and part stalker, Lorre’s role is almost silent but highly effective.
\nGuitar Hero in Mad Max: Fury Road<\/em> (2015)<\/b> – you wouldn’t think a desert warlord would need a guitar shredder with giant loudspeakers in his gang of war boys, but you’d think wrong; this guy is emblematic of Fury Road<\/em>‘s unabashedly OTT aesthetic.
\nRommel (Erich von Stroheim) in Five Graves to Cairo<\/em> (1943)<\/b> – pretty big coup on Billy Wilder’s part to get Erich von Stroheim in his second film, but it was worth it; he’s not quite as memorable as he was in Grand Illusion<\/em>, but it’s pretty close.<\/p>\nMost Thought-Provoking<\/h2>\n
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\nEx Machina<\/em> (2015)
\nWinter Sleep<\/em> (2014)
\nNightcrawler<\/em> (2014)
\nHigh and Low<\/em> (1963)
\nLa Notte<\/em> (1961)
\nFedora<\/em> (1978)
\nThe Decline of Western Civilization<\/em> (1981)<\/p>\nMost Glad to Finally Watch<\/h2>\n
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\nSerpico<\/em> (1973)
\nThe Rocketeer<\/em> (1991)
\nCool Runnings<\/em> (1993)
\nA Corner in Wheat<\/em> (1909)
\nQuantum of Solace<\/em> (2008) – this one mostly because it almost re-completes Bond for me, heh<\/p>\nBest Looking<\/h2>\n
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\nHer<\/em> (2013)
\nStranger on the Third Floor<\/em> (1940)
\nThe Informer<\/em> (1935)
\nMad Love<\/em> (1935)
\nWinter Sleep<\/em> (2014)
\nThe Big Parade<\/em> (1925)
\nFive Graves to Cairo<\/em> (1943)
\nThe Boxtrolls<\/em> (2014)<\/p>\nFavorite Scenes<\/h2>\n
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\nThe dream in Stranger on the Third Floor<\/em> (1940)<\/b> – a fever dream of Expressionist lighting and Freudian imagery that remains a large part of the reason this film is my favorite of the year
\nMicrowave scene in American Hustle<\/em> (2013)<\/b> – Jennifer Lawrence just kills this scene involving a malfunctioning microwave
\nOpening of Crack-Up<\/em> (1946)<\/b> – noir films often have fantastic openings, and this is no exception, as a man crashes into a museum and starts busting stuff up for no reason; the rest of the movie struggles to live up to it (aside from a great sequence on a train), but this opening is an instant attention-getter
\nFalstaff’s rejection in Chimes at Midnight<\/em> (1965)<\/b> – if you’ve ready Shakespeare’s Henry IV and V plays, you know what happens to Prince Hal’s drinking buddy Falstaff once Hal becomes King Henry V, but that doesn’t make it any less powerful or moving, especially in Welles’ capable hands
\nFalling off the cliff in The Grand Budapest Hotel<\/em> (2014)<\/b> – there are a ton of great parts of this movie, of course, but the brief moment that made me laugh out loud and rewind the DVD is when M. Gustave is about to be stomped off a cliff when out of nowhere Zero comes and pushes the bad guy right over; the timing and editing is impeccable
\nOpening credits of The Blob<\/em> (1958)<\/b> – whoever knew The Blob came with its own sock hop theme song?
\nThrough the woods in The Big Parade<\/em> (1925)<\/b> – when the boys finally get to actual war in The Big Parade<\/em>, there’s a fantastic long sequence as they move through the woods toward the front lines – first empty forest, then passing the bodies of fallen comrades, then finally into gunfire and the German lines; it’s terrifying and brilliant
\nOpening of Forbidden<\/em> (1932)<\/b> – this was a frustrating movie overall in many ways, but the opening with librarian Barbara Stanwyck getting fed up and threatening to burn down the whole town (and you believe her, too) is an awesome start
\nThe beard mafia in Where Danger Lives<\/em> (1950)<\/b> – at one point during their attempted escape, our lead couple ends up in a small town where Robert Mitchum is chastised for being clean-shaven during their annual beard festival or whatever – totally random and weird and great
\nBureaucracy in Jupiter Ascending<\/em> (2015)<\/b> – I unabashedly loved Jupiter Ascending<\/em>, but my favorite part was easily the section where they’re trying to get Jupiter recognized as queen and there are untold levels of hilarious bureaucracy to go through first
\nLucy on the phone with her mom in Lucy<\/em> (2014)<\/b> – much of Lucy<\/em> requires Scarlett Johansson to walk around in an emotionless daze, but that breaks down when she calls her mom as she realizes she’s losing her humanity and struggling with what that means; great stuff
\nCentral discussion with wife in Winter Sleep<\/em> (2014)<\/b> – this film is mostly conversations between the main character and someone else, but the one that stood out is the one between him and his wife, which really brings home for the audience if not quite for him, the kind of prison his mostly benevolent rule over her has kept her in
\nLong-distance fast-speed running in Kung Fu Hustle<\/em> (2004)<\/b> – this is a ridiculous movie, and it’s really this scene that provides the litmus test of whether you’re on board or not; I totally was! It’s this scene<\/a>.<\/p>\nMost Whackadoodle<\/h2>\n
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