The End of 2025
Greetings all,
So, we once again come to the end of a year. It is a time when we can look back at the cinema presented to us either in theaters or on our home screens. There were some really great films made and many more that were totally forgettable. I would have thought that more people would have come back to theaters after COVID, but that pretty much has not been the case.
Most of us have been to a mostly empty theatre. I don't think it's the films that are the problem; I think it's us.
During COVID, we got used to watching and watching and watching. Watching is not what it used to be. When we go to a theater, it has our full attention. During COVID-19, we watched screening services that occasionally created work that deserved our full attention but now mostly create shows that are not memorable in any way. Netflix once created shows with prestigious directors, but now it is primarily full of glossy shows that look alike, and they are there not to demand our attention but to keep us subscribed. Netflix has become the TV wasteland.
But worse, it has trained our brains to think that watching cinema does not require our full attention. Netflix shows have the characters describe what they are doing, so if you are only listening, you can follow. And how much of what you have seen on a streamer is worth remembering. There was a time when each service wanted to have prestige material, but now they are just another tile.
Sometimes, I feel like an old fogey.
But there were some great films this year. Here are my favs for best film. My selections are films that I think are important, not the ones that will win (I will leave that to Elijah). All of these give me hope that there is a future for cinema. Most of these films went to places I was not expecting and had many lean-forward moments.
My list starts with "The Brutalist," which is long, complex, and compelling. "Nickel Boys" expands on the visual language RaMell Ross developed in his documentary "Hale County: This Morning This Evening," a film fest fav. The film uses point of view in a new and compelling way. I was partial to "Sing Sing" before I saw it because I know and respect Clint Bentley, one of the writers, but I was not prepared for the emotional depth of the film (it will be on Apple TV+ soon).
Other films on my not-very-listy list are "Emilia Perez," "Anora," "Flow," "Memoir of a Snail," "Queer," "A Real Pain," and "The Last Showgirl," with a fantastic performance from Pamela Anderson.
It was a great year for documentaries. One of my favs was "Separated." We did an episode of the pod with an interview with Erroll Morris, and you can hear that here. Others include "Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat," "Union," "Zurawski v Texas," "Striped for Parts -American Journalism on the Brink," "Piece by Piece," the doc about Pharrell done with Lego, and of course, "Devo," which really does not count because it was not really released this year.
One more important film to add to this list is "No Other Land," made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective that shows the destruction of the occupied West Bank's Masafer Yatta by Israeli soldiers and the alliance that develops between the Palestinian activist and Israeli journalist. At one point in the film, the activist (Basil) says to his Israeli friend that this destruction needs to be filmed so the world can see what is happening, which is true for many of these documentaries, which are so critical in a world where the truth is taking a beating. It is playing on Mubi.
Sadly, most of these documentaries will not be available on a streaming service near you soon. One exception is the great doc "Porcelain Wars," which will play at the Violet Crown Theater. The film follows three artists who have to become soldiers in the Ukrainian war against Russia.
Go out and see "Nosferatu" on a large screen. "A Clockwork Orange," one of my fav films in college, is playing at the Alamo next week. The Texas Theatre is showing "Taxi Driver," "The Hunger," and the influential classic "The Wages of Fear." Which is my Texas Theatre show of the week.
Have a great NEW YEAR, and please be safe on New Year's Eve, and don't drive if you have had too much to drink.
I will be at a film fest in Bay St Louis next weekend. That should be fun. And hey, if you read and enjoy this newsletter, please consider an end-of-the-year donation here.
-Bart
Howdy,
I've watched so many movies recently that have not been hitting as hard as I want them to. Something about the cycle of tracking them, rating them, writing some quippy review on Letterboxd or Twitter is leaving me a bit cold. Looking forward to the new year, I'm considering some new ways to track my media consumption.
Some of my favorite experiences of the year have not even been in the theater, but on my PlayStation. Video games as a narrative format is literally in its infancy and with a much longer length and interactive elements, are expanding the bounds of visual storytelling. Grand Theft Auto 6 comes out next year and will probably be the biggest video game, maybe the highest grossing media of all time and I think that’s really going to be an inflection point.
Still, throughout this year I've seen some really great films. Interestingly, looking over this list, several of them are challenging the format of movie making. Some are even meta-narratives reflecting in on themselves.
My 10 favorite movies of the year:
"A Different Man" is about an actor with facial differences who gets the chance to reinvent himself with surgery that makes him look like a typical guy. Things become fraught when a woman he knows writes a play about their lives. Brings up lots of questions about changing yourself, using diversity as a crutch, and who can tell someone else's story.
"Sweethearts" is a direct to HBO Max movie about two college freshmen who decide to break up with their high school sweethearts. It's the funniest rom-com I saw this year with some pretty outlandish jokes and a big heart. I think it’s destined to be a teen classic.
"Emilia Perez" is maybe the most hated film of the year, but also one of the most beloved. It's the story of a Mexican drug lord who transitions to a woman named Emilia Perez, trying to leave behind her crime-ridden past and her family, but finds that it's hard to change who you are. It's also a musical featuring one of the best performances of the year from Zoe Saldana and one of the worst from Selena Gomez, whose monotonous acting is perfectly suited to this strange movie.
"Queer" is the first movie from Luca Guadanino on my list, an adaptation of the short novella of the same name. It's just as beautiful as any of his movies with a sweaty performance from Daniel Craig and a stunning drug-fueled dance scene.
"Alien: Romulus" is my favorite blockbuster of the year. This is Disney's first attempt at the Alien franchise since acquiring 20th Century and it was originally intended to go straight to Hulu. There are some really cool space kills, and it looks just as good as the original one.
"Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play." is a documentary about the play "Slave Play" made by the playwright Jeremy O. Harris. He's reflecting on his own script, the reaction to it, and of course the making of the documentary itself. Meta upon meta upon meta. He's so very pretentious but he's got the talent to back it up.
"I Saw the TV Glow" is a reflection on media and how we perceive culture and our own lives as time goes on. It also has the best soundtrack of the year, with all original new songs by a ton of great indie bands.
"La Chimera" is about an archaeologist and tomb raider played by Josh O'Connor who ventures through Italy trying to make some money. It's so beautiful and has been on many "best of" lists this year because once you see it, you realize how stunning it is.
"Challengers" is another film by Luca Guadanino, and the second one starring Josh O'Connor, so maybe I have a bias. It's a fun, high-paced tennis drama, with a love triangle at the center that people online have been making fan cams and memes about all year.
"The Sweet East" is probably my favorite movie of the year. It's a very strange odyssey through various extremist groups in the United States. There's religious cultists, actors, neo-Nazis who all come in contact with Talia Ryder. I love this so much.
At the Modern this weekend we have the Cannes favorite film “All We Imagine as Light” which was skipped over by India as that country’s submission to the Oscars. I’ve only heard good things about this. Check out the trailer below and have a happy new year. Looking forward to January where we will get our first look at all of the Oscar nominations and awards season can really begin.
-Elijah