Pop Culture Favorites of 2018

It used to be really easy to narrow down what I liked in a given year to the arbitrary number of restrictions I made for myself when I started doing this in 2011. Even 15 seemed like a stretch. But the truth for 2018 is that there was a multitude of memorable material, so there has to be a little extra mention of a handful of things:

- The performances in the second season of HBO's The Deuce create the most lived-in characters on TV, and watching this season was one of the richest television experiences of 2018.

- A Neil Armstrong biopic may be a difficult thing to get excited about, as box office numbers reflect, but First Man has some of the most thrilling sequences of any movie in years. It's a restrained, expertly directed and enthralling drama that wisely refrains from genre cliches, like a training montage set to "Spirit in the Sky".

- The Favourite may be the funniest movie of the year. The three leads kill, and Yorgos Lanthimos is  one of the five most fascinating filmmakers in existence, but there was a serious missed opportunity in getting Nicholas Hoult some awards recognition. I will probably soon regret not putting this in the actual list.

- When it comes to TV casts, it doesn't get much better than the gang in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but Tony Shalhoub is on another level. An absolute veteran, Shalhoub looks like he's having the time of his life and is giving one of the best performances on TV today.

Now, then. To the lists.

Singular Experience of 2018

Hereditary

I think Hereditary ruined my life.

By various points in life, you think you know your threshold for certain things. You know what foods you ought to avoid, when weather is too extreme, and generally what bothers you. I'm 29 years old. I thought I had most of those things figured out. We have the world in our pockets. We're exposed to more information on a daily basis than any group of humans that came before us, and desensitization has become a grave concern. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I learned last summer that the ability to have the very fabric of my existence be utterly decimated is something that can still happen.

Perhaps this is not the first time you've read something about Hereditary being the most deeply unsettling experience someone ever had watching a horror movie. If it is, well there you go. It seems that at least once a year, we get bombarded with reviews of some indie horror flick that's a game-changer, and because I've always been someone who seeks to figure out if there's anything that is really going to disturb me, I fall for it every time. Every one of them falls apart somewhere. It Follows is deeply creepy, until it isn't. It Comes at Night is never scary once. The Witch is about as close as we've come lately, but even it is an attention challenge for the most ardent moviegoer. But not Hereditary. I cannot emphasize what this movie can do to you. You must decide for yourself if it is a road you want to go down, because that bridge is getting burnt behind you as soon as you begin. Most disturbing is that maybe I don't know myself as well as I think I do. In the end, maybe such a test is worth taking, for the sake of one's character. For that, I have the utmost respect for this movie. Well played, Hereditary. You got me.

The Pretty Damn Goods of 2018

The quest for the second key in Ready Player One

The source material for Ready Player One is divisive to say the least. Its heart and ideas are there, but the execution leaves a bit to be desired. The Spielberg adaptation is somewhat of a redirect, but not necessarily toward the best result. However, there is a significant plot change regarding the middle portion of the book where the protagonists use their virtual reality avatars to enter the world of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. It's less than 10 minutes of the movie, but an entirely new creation. It clearly exists only to service Spielberg himself. He is a well-documented Kubrick fanatic and was a personal friend of Kubrick in his lifetime. It's a diversion that comes entirely out of the blue to those who read the book, and it's one hell of a head trip for fans of Kubrick and The Shining. The in-theater experience gave me goosebumps and it's something I'll cherish forever.

The birth sequence in A Quiet Place

Almost every minute of A Quiet Place is masterfully directed and acted. Despite my expectations of a dialogue-less mainstream thriller being a miserable theater experience in regard to the audience, seeing this with a late-night crowd was one of the more memorable times in recent years. When a thriller is engaging enough to distract moviegoers from talking to one another, it creates for a unique shared experience in which you become one unit simultaneously reacting to the scares and suspense of what you came to see. The iconic moment that will no doubt live in decades of notoriety is the nearly unbearable birth sequence. Through Emily Blunt's incredible range of emotions and pain, the buildup becomes almost more than any viewer can stand. When she finally lets out her howl of pain, the fireworks go off, and Krasinski hauls ass out of the barn, I got goosebumps the likes of which I'd never gotten from a thriller.

Killing Eve

It wasn't until the Killing Eve mania last spring that I even realized I had access to BBC America. I then watched the first four episodes of Killing Eve in one morning. That isolated viewing experience is in my top five of the year. It is an absolute gas pedal-slamming thrill ride. Jodie Comer's Villanelle performance is pure psychotic joy. It really is bizarre that Sandra Oh got all the awards season spotlight and Comer got virtually shut out in all contests. Villanelle is an incredible, ahem, villain, and she objectively seemed like the full-on standout. There is a question of how Killing Eve can sustain its breakneck pace in future seasons, but this show as it is is certainly worthy of the praise it has received.

"Chapter Seven: Loud, Fast, and Keep Going"

Episode Seven of Season One of Barry

Barry is a solid example of something I hoped might be one of the next great shows exceeding those expectations. It deftly navigates the tricky balance of tones set up by its general premise: Barry, an ex-soldier turned hitman, takes a mark who is an acting student in Los Angeles, and Barry becomes immersed in that scene in the hopes of moving on from his life of violence. Real stakes are established quickly, but the humor of the show kind of softens a lot of those blows. Episode seven, though, is when the gravity of Barry's situation really shows its face. Speaking of faces, Bill Hader's facial expressions are really the star of this show. His ability to convey nervousness, terror and despair are unmatched in the industry. Episode seven has the best acting Bill Hader has ever done, and it's one of the best episodes of television in 2018. 

Season Two of GLOW

One of the underappreciated aspects in the current deluge of television shows is a show whose characters you're happy to spend some time with. There are plenty of heavy-hitting shows that are fulfilling, but they can be emotionally exhausting. GLOW is certainly not one of those shows. Most every one of the ladies and two gentlemen of GLOW has plenty of hardship to overcome in their respective storylines, but the balance of heartwarming humor and human drama on the show are what sets it apart from not only other Netflix shows, but the medium altogether. The scene with Alison Brie and Betty Gilpin in the hospital is as visceral an acting moment as anything else this year. The cast of this show, with the exception of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, is the best in the business.

Favorites of 2018

10. The Haunting of Hill House

Grief is a tricky thing to devote an entire series to. If there's a false note in any of the cast's performances, the entire thing falls apart. Few things are as insufferable as contrived performances and emotions that spiral into the realm of afternoon soaps. Luckily, the cast compiled to bring life to the writing and characters of The Haunting of Hill House succeed in every aspect. An estranged family airing out lifelong grievances and breaking down fences mid-mend is certainly well-trod territory in storytelling. But through the exceptionally talented crew who, from lighting and sound to the cinematographers and set designers, kept the tone thoroughly consistent, this show threw me for a loop in its ability to elicit overwhelming amounts of empathy.

I can't recall any horror movie or show whose primary objective in its use of ghosts wasn't to scare you. There are plenty of jump scares to be sure, but by the time we get to episodes five and six ("The Bent-Neck Lady" and "Two Storms") the presence of one ghost in particular becomes one of the most effective devices of eliciting despair and outright sadness toward a tortured soul that I've ever seen. In these moments specifically, and over the course of the entire show altogether, the juxtaposition of what everyone went through in the past laying over what's going on in the present, and vice versa, is truly masterful. The ride of this show is certainly not built for everyone, but I imagine many of the people who went on it, like me, are grateful.

9. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The Coen brothers are my all-timers. Their body of work is singular in global film. The brilliance of a given film is not always evident at the first watch. Inside Llewyn Davis in 2013 is one such example. I was underwhelmed, disappointed and depressed at the outset, and when I watched it again a couple years later I thought, "Oh, this is actually a masterpiece." Hail, Caesar! in 2016 proved to be another experience that was initially difficult to enjoy. On a rewatch soon after, though, that opinion unfortunately held up. That's the thing about every single Coen brothers movie: they demand multiple viewings.

The Coens and Netfilx is a marriage I never thought we'd see. Netflix's original film catalog is of unusually low quality, so the worries were significant that Buster Scruggs would be a bust. Very soon into the film, you realize that will not be the case. While the bulk of the contents of The Ballad of Buster Scruggs are unusually dour, the trademark Coen tone of voice is as masterful as ever. From the homicidal thesaurus that is the eponymous Buster Scruggs in the opening vignette to the existential final stagecoach ride, this collection of short films stands among the best work they've done. The discussion of "Which one was your favorite?" has been a fulfilling and enlightening conversation across the internet, and a rare experience altogether. True to Coen form, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs provides for a decidedly unusual experience, but it wouldn't feel right if it wasn't.

8. The music video for

"This is America" - Childish Gambino

In the mid-2000s, when the "back when MTV still played music videos" conversation was still pretty fresh, we had no idea that we were still actually being flooded with videos on the music channels of the day. Looking back, it's bizarre how quickly YouTube and its easy accessibility negated the very existence of a music channel. Music videos, prevalent as they still are, were a different animal in the pre-YouTube world. In those days it seemed that the music always came into the world first, and the video was the great exercise of the artist's visual interpretation of said song. Today, a major artist's song release is whenever the video that has already been filmed drops on YouTube, as was the case with Childish Gambino's "This is America".

The release of this video was like both of those music video cultures coalescing. I don't remember a time in my life where a music video was the focal point of the cultural conversation for multiple weeks. The video's foreground is so visually arresting that it took me upward of 20 views to see what all is going on in the background, like people swan diving off catwalks. Credit goes out to Donald Glover's perpetual shooting partner Hiro Murai for a great deal of this triumphant work. The unimpeachable greatness of the video is also a distraction from the fact that the song itself is (hot take?) actually pretty boring. Nevertheless, the period of time where we lived in the immediate wake of this video's release is one I'll remember for the rest of my life. It felt great to have the power of a music video mainlined back into our cultural veins.

7. Mission: Impossible - Fallout

I guess at some point Tom Cruise decided he had no more time for dramatic acting and would fully commit life and limb to being the world's greatest action star. Since Ghost Protocol, we have come to expect the M:I movies to have these "what in the hell will he put himself through now?" stunt centerpieces. In this sixth, and best, iteration of the Ethan Hunt saga, there are multitudes. It really is astounding what Cruise continues to put himself through for the entertainment of the masses. Knowing what we know about his history as a person, I guess it's easy to say his mind isn't like everyone else's.

The execution of the movie itself makes for the best action movie this side of Christopher Nolan or Mad Max: Fury Road. The IMAX cinematography in the giant action scenes is incredible. While there is a James Bond-ish element to these movies, in that you always expect the hero to save the day, the Mission: Impossible series quietly makes the case for the best action film series of all time. What Cruise has done as Hunt, not only at his age, but over twenty years time is the most consistent run of an action character we've ever had. Whenever his vessel tires out, we may never see his like again. Relish it.

6. First Reformed

A movie about a priest whose life is culminating in moral and existential crises does not sound like anyone's idea of a good time. Material such as this is almost never presented in any way other than beating you over the head with cliches. Honestly, First Reformed is kind of a tough hang, but Paul Schrader presents a drama that deftly addresses the grave concerns about what world we will reap and the levels of existential complicity we have as its inhabitants. Here we have characters who toil over these conflicts in a manner we rarely see in cinema. The obsessive despair is reminiscent of John B. McLemore from S Town podcast infamy. What one does when faced with the seeming inevitability that the planet is irreversibly shuffling its feet toward the end of the world is something humanity has not faced with any proximate likelihood until now. We watch the character of Reverend Toller face that test to unforgettable conclusion.

Ethan Hawke's performance is a subtle masterpiece of the art of acting. His performance was the most lopsidedly awarded in any category for the 2018 awards season, and his shutout of the Academy Awards is true robbery. This is one of those movies we'll look back on as a diamond in the rough of its time; it didn't have the style to grab everyone's attention, but it will prove to be a standout of this year, and surely the decade.

5. A Star is Born

At this point, fawning any more over the unexpected greatness of the fourth iteration of A Star is Born is most assuredly dead horse-beating territory. Oh well.

By the very nature of its existence, ASIB owes much of its effectiveness to the decades of its forbears, but nothing can be taken away from what Bradley Cooper and Gaga bring out of this age-old tale. Their chemistry is the triumph of the project. It's full of iconic moments that will live in Hollywood lore forevermore. The slow reveal of the title credits, "La Vie en Rose" in a drag bar, the nose tracing, running on a private plane with your best friend toward a life-changing show, Sam Elliott backing out of the driveway... The moments are endless. The memes have proven that. But this is the Titanic of this generation. Jackson and Ally are Jack and Rose. They are the new star-crossed lovers we'll either be referencing with sincerity or lampooning with ridicule for decades to come.

It's no surprise how good the cast is. What's most disarming is how great Bradley Cooper's directorial eye is. The frame-ups, the editing choices, the immersion of the live music scenes, the intimacy of private moments. The movie can be overwhelming at times, and the very end of it is as blindsiding as any moment in movie history, but there can be no doubt that the 2018 version of A Star is Born is a tale that's built to last.

4. Escape at Dannemora

When I first saw the poster for Escape at Dannemora last fall with the names Patricia Arquette, Benicio Del Toro and Paul Dano headlining the top and “directed by Ben Stiller” below the title, my brain ceased its ability process information. I could not compute that three of the best actors in the business were starring in a show about the New York prison break and that Derek Zoolander was going to helm the entire thing. It was one of the most anticipated TV events of the year, and it delivered in ways that I could never have expected.

Ben Stiller basically directed a character piece that stands alongside the great gritty crime dramas of the 1970s. He immerses you in the everyday, the minutiae of a handful of blue collar lives in northern New York. He gives you a sense of what life is like for residents of the area, for people who go to work and interact and coexist with killers. Patricia Arquette’s disappearance into Joyce Mitchell is a wonder to behold, one that we’ll continue to look back on as one of the great screen performances of all time. In her trip around the awards circuit this year, Arquette continually says she had her mind blown by Benicio Del Toro’s acting choices. One in particular is as wild as I’ve ever seen. You expect Del Toro to be great in everything, but there are layers to his greatness, and this show unearthed one such layer that’d we’d never seen. Swole Paul Dano is frankly outclassed, but he has plenty of moments to shine, such as being the main workhorse of the escape itself. The shock of the show is how incredible Eric Lange is as Joyce’s husband Lyle. He’s so convincing in the performance that I questioned if this person actually had a legitimate handicap, only to find out he’s “that guy” you’ve seen in tons of things, specifically as a Dharma douche in Lost.

Though the prison break is the show’s raison d’etre, it occurred to me in the days after I completed the series that, as terrible as some of her actions and decisions are, the show is as much about Joyce’s personal escape as Matt and Sweat’s physical escape. It’s a taxing journey that doesn’t end well for anyone involved, but it’s a thoroughly satisfying one for the viewer.

3. Roma

It's a great moment when you confirm that the most acclaimed movie of the year is actually the best movie of the year. For a filmmaker whose calling card has become executing large-scale choreographed scenes, Roma is as intimate as anything Alfonso Cuaron could possibly make while still maintaining those grand elements. It's an intimate and personal, yet sweeping and epic ride through a year in the life of a Mexican maid and the family she serves, all conducted by an absolute master at the peak of his powers. It's one of those movies that looks so beautiful at most points that you could pause it, print out that still and hang it as a portrait on your wall. It's full of moments that, even if I never watched it again, I'll remember for the rest of my life.

As Roma was a Netflix release for the majority of the viewing public, I was fortunate enough to have watched it on a decent arrangement. I implore anyone who has yet to see it to not watch it on something like a laptop or, god forbid, a phone. How one watches Roma means as much as anything. It's filmed in crisp, clean, glorious black and white. It bursts with the sounds of everything from bustling city centers to the natural noise of the untamed countryside. Not much more can be said about the greatness of Roma that hasn't already been said. On Oscar night, it could become the first foreign language film to win Best Picture. In recent years, where which movie wins Best Picture weirdly doesn't matter much anymore, the Academy has a chance to get that decision definitively correct. I hope they do.

2. Red Dead Redemption 2

If you were online at all in 2018, it was impossible to ignore the (sometimes excessive) global conversation around RDR2. I'm not really a gamer. I was raised on SEGA Genesis, N64 and the first two eras of PlayStation, but I lost general interest after high school. That is, until I learned they'd made Grand Theft Auto in the old west. After I completed Red Dead Redemption in 2010, I played exactly two games: FIFA 15 and Red Dead Redemption again. The experience of playing RDR1 was the greatest of my life to that point. When the day finally arrived for its sequel, it immediately proved to be a game for the ages.

Knowing full well how many millions of people have played or are playing the same game across the globe, the journey feels like a extraordinarily personal experience. The outcomes are set, but the journey differs for everyone. John Marston in RDR1 is my favorite video game protagonist of all time. That voice is truly iconic, and I'll always have his various inflections in my head. I never thought another character would ever come compare to him, but Arthur Morgan is pretty damn close.

RDR2's greatness cannot be overstated. It is an unimpeachable masterpiece. The scope of the world itself is clearly groundbreaking in the medium altogether. It's a world full of endless discoveries and one we'll all relish in for years to come.

1. "Teddy Perkins"

Episode Six of Season Two of Atlanta

For the sake of spoilers, this may be the shortest number one blurb I've done. But this episode felt straightaway like one of the best television episodes of all time. I immediately watched it again. I went to sleep and watched it again the next morning. It's sensational. It's unlike any episode of Atlanta that came before it, and unlike anything I've ever seen. Before Atlanta ever aired, the word was that the show was going to be "Twin Peaks with rappers." We certainly get scattered moments of that in season one, but season two is full-on Lynch Land, part dream and part nightmare. "Teddy Perkins" falls squarely in the latter.

Pop Culture Favorites of 2017

You know what? 2017 kicked pop culture ass. For the first time since I started doing this, I had an incredibly hard time narrowing things down to the arbitrary parameters I set for myself six years ago. Beyond what I actually narrowed down are at least twenty more incredible entities that I didn't include, but I have stop somewhere. (Shouts to Brockhampton, Lorde, and the last thirty minutes of mother!) It wasn't easy, but I feel good about where I arrived.

The Pretty Damn Goods of 2017

John Wick 2

Often's the time I wish the United States had something equivalent to the regal tradition of knighthood of the UK. If we did have an establishment of American knighthood, Keanu Reeves should be one of the first humans in line. He has major credits in game-changing action movies over the span of four decades. People slept on Keanu through most of the 2000s, but he never went away. In 2014, he came roaring back into the game with John Wick. It borrowed cliché moments from decades of much lesser movies to create something spectacular. Any character who uttered his name immediately conveyed the gravity and power that John Wick the legend and John Wick the man carried. He is a man not to be trifled with.

In John Wick 2, the stakes set from the beginning of the series are elevated even higher. The fight scenes and shootouts are masterpieces of action choreography, and some are outright hilarious. At over 50 years old, Keanu is out there taking licks and dishing bullets to the dome like no one in movie history. This out-of-nowhere franchise has garnered millions of fans who are relishing in its multitude of beautiful brutality, and that’s what you get with a pro like Keanu. He puts on a show that’s an absolute blast, and one you’ll happily revisit forever.

Wind River

One of the best cinematic talents drawing breath right now is Taylor Sheridan. After Sicario and Hell or High Water, it would seem that the writer of such stellar work would be bound to hit a snag sometime soon. Nay. Sheridan’s streak of rural and existential cinematic nightmares continues with the expertly crafted Wind River, his first foray into the director’s chair.

Jeremy Renner stars as a predator hunter who works for the Fish and Wildlife Service patrolling the mountains and treacherous landscapes of Wyoming. He discovers the body of a battered barefoot young woman who fled and succumbed to sub-zero temperatures deep in the Wind River Indian Reservation, well beyond where most anyone could run. Elizabeth Olsen plays the FBI agent tasked with investigating the murder, and she asks for his help in this vast land that's foreign to her. What follows is a deeply troubling commentary on the state of Native American life and treatment, as well as an affecting drama about what it takes to persevere through multiple manners of tribulation.

In Wind River, Renner gives a performance that can stand alongside any of the stoic, legendary performances in the history of American westerns. Clint Eastwood, Kirk Douglas, Gary Cooper. He’s that good. And Elisabeth Olsen is one of the most emotive and engaging actresses in the game today. Her character is out of her element, but she plays a federal agent like Jodie Foster in The Silence of the Lambs. The haunting original music composed for the movie by Warren Ellis and the legend Nick Cave fits the mood and tone of the movie perfectly. Wind River is a thrilling and moving drama that checks off all the boxes for any fan of mysteries or thrillers.

Ozark

Netflix has a bizarre ability to keep most everyone in the dark about a new show’s existence until roughly two weeks before it premiers. Such was the case with myself and Ozark. A foolproof method to get views is to involve Jason Bateman. He has proven to be well capable of layered acting beyond his decades of comedic experience, as proven by his work in 2015’s underrated and fantastic The Gift.

Ozark is just as riveting as it is ridiculous. It obviously borrows elements from other successful anti-hero-centric shows like Breaking Bad. Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald of The Ringer’s The Watch podcast made a good point in that regard, which is rather than seeing a Walter White-type character’s journey to becoming a criminal mastermind again, we’re dropped into a story that’s well set into motion. Ozark is the story of a man who has been putting his family at risk by laundering cartel drug money, and what happens when the shit hits fan blades that are spinning at top speed. Supported by fascinating backwoods characters and solid performances, Ozark exceeded all hopes I held out for it, and was thankfully one of Netflix’s biggest surprises of the year.

American Vandal

One thing… Actually, maybe the only thing that drives me to compose these things for the seventh year now, is that with so much to consume in the culture, it’s hard to know what to spend time watching. Last fall, I kept seeing mention of American Vandal being one of Stream TV’s best kept secrets, and for anyone who still hasn’t seen it, this is something I must pay forward.

I’ve never watched Making a Murderer, but I gather that American Vandal is largely a satire based on it and other shows of its ilk. You don’t have to have seen many true crime docs or Dateline episodes to appreciate the vast brilliance of this show. The nutshell premise is that someone in a high school in California vandalized the cars of 27 faculty members by spray-painting enormous red penises on them. The clear suspect, the hilariously moronic class clown played by Jimmy Tatro, is accused and expelled, but he swears his innocence. Two schoolmates set out to uncover the truth behind the mystery of “who drew the dicks.” On paper, it seems juvenile and absurd, but the depth into which the details of all the events leading up to the incident are delved is incredible. For something that actually happened, this investigative detail would be impressive, and the fact that this is all entirely made up is a display of talent beyond any capacity I can understand. It’s so clever and well-acted, and if you ever start it, the desire to find out who drew the dicks will be impossible to ignore.

Brawl in Cell Block 99

In 2015, a fairly unknown writer/director named S. Craig Zahler quietly made one of the best Westerns of the 2000s, Bone Tomahawk. It was also a horror tale, and it starred Kurt Russell, Richard Jenkins, Matthew Fox and Patrick Wilson. It was kind of an anomaly, in that the movie is one of the most brutal things ever committed to film, yet the dialogue is so expertly composed and tight that it seems as if it was a lost Coen brothers script.

In 2017, Zahler made this equally brutal movie starring Vince Vaughn, Brawl in Cell Block 99. In it, he is sent to prison and set with a seemingly impossible task. What follows is just shy of a literal descent into Hell itself. I went into the movie fairly blind, other than knowing who made it, who was in it, and that something probably pops off in cell block 99. Anyone who hasn’t seen it should do the same. For any fan of gritty 70s and 80s crime or horror, like the works of John Carpenter, this movie is an absolute treat. It’s probably the best work Vince Vaughn has ever done. It must be emphasized though, that like Bone Tomahawk, Brawl in Cell Block 99 is not for the squeamish, but those who find the will to see it through to the end will feel like they ran a marathon without having to get up off the couch.

Favorites of 2017

 10. Baby Driver

He’s not necessarily grouped with filmmakers considered to be great modern auteurs, but over the past 15 years, Edgar Wright’s films are singular and immediately recognizable. His films from Shaun of the Dead through Scott Pilgrim to The World's End all have a specific cadence, a music to them. Ironically, his fifth feature, Baby Driver, is edited around a specifically procured soundtrack in a way we’ve never seen in non-musical cinema.

The characters are all perfectly cast. Ansel Elgort, the titular getaway driver artiste Baby, is a charming lead who’s not trying to brood beyond the reach of his capabilities into unattainable Gosling territory. Lily Collins’ bubbly presence and personality could melt the coldest heart, and the two of them have excellent chemistry. Jon Hamm, who has been weirdly underutilized post-Mad Men, does some of the best work of his career as a grade-A asshat. Jamie Foxx, who’s largely been out of the acting game in recent years, returns to play a disturbingly malevolent villain. And Kevin Spacey, well… Eh.

Filmed and set in Atlanta, Baby Driver is an instant heist classic, full of high-intensity action and perfectly balanced with clever humor and dialogue. In a nutshell, it's just a damn good time.

9. Logan

In what may well come to be known as the greatest trailer of all time, it is made quite evident what Logan will be: the swan song of the greatest character and performance in an industry that came into existence along with Hugh Jackman's first iteration of Wolverine. 2000's X-Men was arguably the first piece of a new cinematic genre, one that has since become its own industry, and Jackman's been here through all of it. Hugh Jackman played Logan for 17 years. That's a bizarre notion to wrap one's head around.  And we know we're in for something entirely different this last time around with the first severed arm and the first impaled head.

In Logan, he is weathered by the generations of life he has lived and observed. We, the voyeurs, oddly wear some of that with him. The perpetually wry Logan carries little of that wit which used to be his standard. Logan is a tremendously sad and at times traumatic experience, but consistently affecting and riveting. In many ways it's unfortunate that we had to wait until Jackman's last time out to see the hard-R this character deserved. In a world where there's so much content, let alone in the comic book world, Logan shows us all that we won't ever forget what Jackman accomplished: a run that will doubtless ever be matched.

8. Lady Bird

Lady Bird is truly special. There have been tales told of high school students on the verge of leaving home or this, or that or the other for decades. Comedies, dramas, romances, you name the genre and there’s a couple hundred coming-of-age teen tales in every direction. As many of them as there are, they don’t all have heart. Lady Bird, in the words of Coach Jimmy McGinty, has miles and miles of heart.

Greta Gerwig’s script doesn’t have an ounce of fat on it. She got the Irish goddess Saoirse Ronan to play the complicated lead. She got the TV queen Laurie Metcalf to play the tough matriarch. She got Chalamet Tha God (more on him later) to pop up a few times, and Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea) to tear violently at our heartstrings a time or two. Lady Bird doesn’t overshoot to try and set itself apart from the scores of movies of its ilk, but when you hire the best, you get the best. Talent produces classics, and I feel sure in the coming years that Lady Bird will prove itself to be just that.

7. Blade Runner 2049

There’s a lot that's confounding about the cult of Blade Runner. After at least half a dozen watches over the years, the GOAT status so frequently applied to it eludes me. The design, score and mood create a haunting atmosphere for 2019 Los Angeles, but the movie leaves me cold and generally empty every time. (Hot take: most Ridley Scott movies do.) Despite general apathy toward the OG, excitement wormed its way into my bones at the mention of a sequel by French-Canadian maestro Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Arrival) starring the god Gosling and Harrison Ford himself. And I’ll be damned if it’s not better than the first one.

Sure, the sequel has the advantage of 35 years of technological advancement in the industry, but so many more ideas regarding artificial intelligence, existentialism, love and life itself are tackled in 2049 than the first time around. Where Blade Runner skirted around the idea of whether or not Deckard was a replicant, 2049 removes any doubt in its first moments. By doing that, Villeneuve and company can tackle meatier subjects and plot points with more focused intensity, as well as showcase some of the most breathtaking set pieces in modern cinematic history. Wallace’s lair, Vegas, the seawall. The production design is unmatched in 2017. Roger Deakins’ cinematography, which by god better get him his unjustly elusive Oscar, is utterly hypnotizing. Acting-wise, it doesn't seem hyperbolic to say that this may be the best acting work of Harrison Ford’s career. In a true supporting role, he flexes acting chops at 75 that we’ve never seen in any of his previous work. It’s reassuring to see that this universally beloved man is not out there strictly cashing checks.

It’s a blessing and a curse that it wasn’t a box office smash, because while we didn’t necessarily know we needed to dive back into the world of Blade Runner, we certainly need to leave this saga at its end with the absolute masterpiece that is 2049.

 6. Big Little Lies

Big Little Lies seems to epitomize much that’s to be despised about American humanity. At the center of everything are upper-class private school parents, judging each other and talking shit behind everyone else's backs. But somewhere between the Californian depiction of the facade of American perfection and fictional satire, brilliance is found.

From the first episode, it seems like it's going to be a knee slapping hilarious lampoon of this abhorrent way of excessive and superficial living, but the first time Alexander Skarsgård bolts up and grabs Nicole Kidman by the arm, it’s clear that things won't be as bright as they started. The universal praise shed upon Big Little Lies is thoroughly justified, though I must say, Nicole Kidman has stolen Reese’s awards spotlight. She’s just brilliant. Jean-Marc Vallée’s (Dallas Buyers Club, Wild) clean but sometimes abrupt directing style fits this tonally oxymoronic endeavor perfectly, and her comfort with his unique and sometimes startlingly abrasive style has resulted in a fascinating partnership.

As ridiculous and hilarious as some moments are, Big Little Lies is ultimately a riveting commentary on the power of misunderstanding, struggles to persevere in abusive relationships, and what happens in the heat of the moment when those things collide. It was a blast to watch along with seemingly everyone in the rest of the country last winter, and it will be as rich an experience to return to in the coming years.

5. Phantom Thread

For the longest time, Paul Thomas Anderson seemed like an enigma. After years of hardly taking part in mainstream interviews, he had a conversation with Marc Maron on his WTF podcast in 2015 that blew my mind. The auteur who made Boogie Nights at 26 years old, who directed Tom Cruise in Magnolia and helped manifest arguably the greatest performance we’ve ever seen in There Will Be Blood, is actually a goofball. The man who made The Master thinks Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore and Big Daddy are comedic masterpieces. The man who brought Daniel Day-Lewis back out of the dark to make Phantom Thread just seems like a regular dude. The ease with which he was so open to talk about his career with Maron went so completely against what I, and certainly other PTA superfans, had built up in my mind. He is nothing like the art he makes.

When the news was coming out that PTA was going to do another movie with DDL about a British guy in the 50s who makes dresses, it seemed like a bizarre use of both their energies. Then, leading into Phantom Thread’s release, DDL made it known that this would be his last movie. That certainly raised universal interest and enthusiasm. Maybe he’ll change his mind one day, but if that ultimately turns out to be true, Phantom Thread is one hell of a last effort for the world’s greatest living actor to go out on.

Phantom Thread is both stoically serious and confoundingly hilarious. Accompanying the movie is Radiohead mastermind Jonny Greenwood’s score, which is bananas. Vicky Krieps does wonders standing toe-to-toe with DDL throughout the entire movie, and was robbed of a well-deserved Oscar nomination. I don’t want to get into specifics of the movie beyond what anyone may or may not already know, because to do that would ruin one of the singular reactions to something I’ve had in my life. Phantom Thread aesthetically hearkens back to romances and dramas of the early 40s and 50s, though in a sense it’s a timeless endeavor. It is of a time that could only really look like that time because someone like Paul Thomas Anderson was here to make it.

 4. Call Me by Your Name

There were a lot of hyped-up movies in 2017. Some of them were massive franchise pieces, many of them awards fodder. Call Me by Your Name is certainly one of the ones at the top of that list. It’s hard to be open in those experiences when hype tends to be unavoidable in the world of the Internet, but at least as far as the content of the movie goes, it’s something that still can be done. Heaped with the praise that it was, and seemingly almost a year before the average moviegoer ever got a chance to see it, Call Me by Your Name is the gem in a given year that seems to meet and exceed my personal expectations.

It’s set in northern Italy in the early 80s, as a family of academics welcomes a graduate assistant in the form of Armie Hammer to do research and stay at their summer home. I wanted to live in the setting of this movie so terribly. Lazing around reading decaying paperbacks and riding bikes through the Italian countryside never looked so alluring. The adult characters are largely insufferable, but the meat of the story lies with their son, played by Timotheé Chalamet (previously referred to as Chalamet Tha God), and Armie Hammer.

I can’t think of another time in my life when I saw someone as young as Chalamet give a performance that you could already put on the Mount Rushmore of romantic movie performances. He taps into some kind of primal, yet adult sense of sexual urge and dramatic emotion that’s seemingly unlike anything someone his age (21 at the time) could have lived. He is given the keys to a role that’s really special, and he just goes full throttle. It’s the best performance I saw in 2017, and my personal favorite. He is going to be something special. Armie Hammer’s no slouch, either. He’s one of those actors whose moment you've been waiting for to really dig into something, and this is it for him.

Call Me by Your Name is not the most comfortable watch out there, and it’s apt to take an emotional toll on you, but it is certainly one of the most rewarding cinematic experiences of last year, or any year.

3. Dunkirk (in 70mm IMAX)

It’s been a personal trend in recent years that I find modern cinematic spectacle quite boring. There’s little nuance when it comes to the extravagance of CGI and visual effects up through 2017. What’s needed is someone with a propensity for analog practicality with modern capabilities. No other filmmaker is capable of producing results in that realm than Christopher Nolan.

Now, I am quick to admit that I’ve developed a notion over the years that Christopher Nolan is kind of overrated. Inception, while a true masterwork, has some eye-rollingly awful dialogue. Interstellar is largely in the same department, though miles from being a masterpiece. And if I get started on The Dark Knight Rises, I won't stop. Even so, Nolan’s films are something to be excitable about, because they are such huge events. He’s one of the last people in the industry we may ever have with the ability and knowledge to shoot something in an overly complicated form, like 70mm IMAX, just to create the best possible experience that could come of his artistic endeavor. Having been fortunate enough to experience Dunkirk in 70mm IMAX, I can confirm that it was one unlike any I’ve had in my life. The width of the frame exceeded the limits of human peripheral vision. Vertically, it seemed as tall as a five-story building. It was completely immersive and an astounding cinematic feat. The clickity-clacks of an actual film projector were also nice to hear again.

Focusing on three, specific realms of the evacuation of the beaches of Dunkirk, you’re right alongside everything and feel like it’s your own life on the line. The characters are largely blank canvases (well, aside from Harry Styles) whose experiences you’re living as they try to survive against incredible odds. When ships list and men fight for last gasps of oxygen, it’s as if you yourself are struggling to draw breath. Hans Zimmer’s batshit musical score never stops and it makes you feel like you’re on the verge of cardiac arrest for 100 minutes. The cinematography is up there alongside any war classic in film history, and there’s a scene at the end that must elicit emotions in Brits akin to what it was like to watch James Bond’s Union Jack parachute open in The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977.  

Dunkirk may be Nolan’s best film yet. It's a nice reminder that while we are relentlessly subjected to the constant onslaught of franchise content, a true pro can swoop in with a spectacle that outclasses them all.

2. Twin Peaks: The Return

I still have no idea what the hell I watched. It feels dumb just trying to formulate semi-coherent thoughts to express how incredible an experience it was to watch Twin Peaks: The Return this summer. Like much of David Lynch’s content, trying to decipher just what the hell is happening in front of you can be an infuriating task at best, but when you let go of the fact that it’s just short of impossible to do, it can be a treat unlike any art in the world. While I'm not an enormous fan of the original series, there was still plenty to admire about Twin Peaks, most of which lies exclusively with Kyle MacLachlan’s equally quirky and hilarious performance as Dale Cooper. This time MacLachlan gets triple duty, and he turned in the absolute best television work of last year.

At the risk of running away with repetitive nonsense, I just want to emphasize that Twin Peaks: The Return was so special because it is such a singular feeling to be lost in David Lynch’s world in 2017. It was a world that evoked every possible emotion one can have while watching a series unfold, from terror or shock, to warmth and bliss. It’s a pleasure to watch an ensemble of actors happily bring that world to life. It’s a world that we may never visit again. If so, The Return will stand as an extraordinary work when we look back on the history of television in the first part of this century. Hyperbolic as I tend to get, of this fact that I have no doubt. David Lynch, an artist who stands alone in modern history, but hasn’t had a prominent work since 2001, has not lost one ounce of his integrity, intensity or bizarre vision. As a matter of fact, like the red wine he so frequently consumes, they have only gotten sharper with age.

1. Shit Town

It's remarkably difficult to convey in words, without being overly cloying or sentimental, just how great a piece of art Shit Town is and the profound effect it had on me. Shit Town is a podcast that begins as a murder mystery instigated by the peculiarities of an individual named John B. McLemore. John B. has lived in Woodstock, Alabama in the same house for his entire life, and he thinks something sinister is happening there. He contacts Brian Reed at This American Life in order to bring someone down to do a story about the corruption John B. senses in the eponymous "Shit Town, Alabama." Once Brian arrives in Woodstock, it becomes clear that John B. is a character with plenty to be studied about himself. There's just something about John and his geographically uncharacteristic intelligence that makes you sense there complicated layers beyond the incident he purports to have happened that's bothering him. As it plays out, Shit Town becomes something completely different and far more interesting, focusing largely on those mysteries that lie deep within John B. himself.

I've rarely been as affected by the account of someone's life than I was listening to that of John B. McLemore. We all have experiences with a shit town, whether it's the one you in which you live, the one from which you hail, or just the idea that epitomizes all that's wrong in the world. In Brian's words, "All the world was a shit town to John, and he bore every disgrace of that world in his heart." You can let your demons overwhelm you, you can fight them or you can learn to live with them. To quote a passage in one of John's favorite works, Brokeback Mountain, "If you can't fix it, you've got to stand it." Unfortunately for so many who would've liked to have known him, John B. McLemore just couldn't stand it.

Pop Culture Favorites of 2016

Welp, glad that's over. No need to dawdle, let's get right to it.

The Pretty Damn Goods of 2016

The Lobster

As the years progress, it seems there’s nothing new or exciting under the sun of a dystopian setting, but Greek writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos assured us last year that such a notion is nonsense with the startlingly original near-masterpiece The Lobster. The Lobster and its cast are so profoundly committed to bizarreness for every single frame. Colin Farrell, a personal top-ten favorite working actor, yet again shows why he perseveres in the film industry by making such a bold choice to play in such an unto-itself movie. The supporting cast, which includes John C. Reilly, Rachel Weisz and Ben Whishaw, add to its unique flavor. While it is most certainly a love-it-or-hate-it movie, regardless of where you fall, once you’ve seen The Lobster, you won’t soon forget it.

"The New KKK" - Episode One of
 United Shades of America

The premise of W. Kamau Bell’s CNN series United Shades of America is noble and concise. As he says, “I’ve made a living finding humor in parts of America I don’t understand. I’m challenging myself to dig deeper. I’m on a mission to reach out and experience all the cultures and beliefs that add color to this crazy country.” It’s certainly not a new idea, but the show sets itself apart from the rest of the doc series multitude by having Kamau speak with members of the Ku Klux Klan. For those unaware, Kamau Bell is black.

His conversations range from shockingly cordial to uncomfortably confrontational. Bell meets every person’s conversation, from a man referring to different races as “beasts of the field” to cracking jokes about lighting a cross, with respect that they surely don’t deserve. He realizes that any argument would be totally unnecessary, as their words are damning enough. He also speaks with other citizens of these towns who decry the actions and beliefs of the Klan.

Culminating in Bell attending the burning of a cross, this first episode of United Shades is an outstanding feat of modern journalism, and it’s carried out by a comedian. The subsequent episodes are all fascinating commentaries on the different “shades” of our country, but this episode is a symbolic achievement unlike any other. His closing line is a quite something to reckon with: “Unlike most of the black people in the history of this country who have been present for a cross burning, I get to leave.”

Season One of Preacher

How many television series, both old and new, do we try each year? With streaming and on-demand services, as well as existing channels, the number of attempts can add up quickly. But when Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg decide to bring a cult classic graphic novel to life, that's a can't-miss scenario. As it turns out, that product, Preacher, was not only a complete blast but one of the standouts of the new TV crop of 2016.

Exceptional experiences like the "Sundowner" episode and the final two episodes of the season are unlike anything else going on in television, let alone like anything that preceded it. Fueled by a eclectic cast of memorable characters and the creative eyes of Rogen, Goldberg and Breaking Bad alum Sam Catlin, Preacher is not only another hit in AMC's excellent slate of drama, it seems poised to continue on its track of exciting and vibrant originality for seasons to come.

O.J.: Made in America

The hype was real. Though it would seem that the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and OJ’s subsequent Trial of the Century is territory that has been tread to oblivion, especially after FX’s The People v. OJ Simpson, Ezra Edelman’s enthralling eight-hour documentary reminds us how much everything that went down still means, and what it shows America about itself. It is endlessly fascinating to see OJ and everything surrounding his post-USC life and trial through the lens of the pre-1994 racial history of Los Angeles. Even knowing the outcome, as we all do, the doc is still thrilling and astounding. Supplied with unforgettable interviewing soundbites and insights, OJ: Made in America stands tall as arguably the best true crime documentary ever made.

 

 

Ryan Gosling

I’m sure most folks would agree there aren’t many (or any) actors the likes of Marlon Brando, Humphrey Bogart or Cary Grant working today. Whatever the reasons may be, more actors in those days commanded audiences’ attentions by just existing on screen. It didn’t really matter what Paul Newman was up to in a particular movie, but taking your eyes off him was hard to do. I believe there is no other actor working today who can carry the mantle of everything we know as a Hollywood legend than Ryan Gosling.

In 2016, Ryan Gosling had perhaps his most unique cinematic year. In The Nice Guys, he plays a haphazard and intoxicated private detective and father to hilarious effect, while also stealing every single scene from the mighty Russell Crowe. It’s really the first role he’s had where he’s allowed to cut loose, and the performance teeters many times on the edge of slapstick. Before 2011, no one would’ve expected Gosling to thrive in a role like this, and he succeeds seamlessly. In the critical darling La La Land, both he and Emma Stone breathe life into two characters who, in the hands of numerous other actors, would have been oppressively vanilla. His singing leaves a little something to be desired, but he lays on the charm with effortless ease and to overwhelming effect

Gosling has the capacities of many legends of the past, like the charm and wit of Paul Newman, the broodiness of James Dean, and the mystery and intimidation of Clint Eastwood. He also has the capacity that a few other Golden Age elites had: to be just a little bit goofy. Even if he doesn’t necessarily receive such praise now, in time, Ryan Gosling will one day be recognized as an icon of American culture.

Favorites of 2016

10. Dave Chappelle/A Tribe Called Quest 
Saturday Night Live — Dec. 12, 2016

Though the cold open was a bit problematic, Dave Chappelle’s first time hosting Saturday Night Live will go down as one of the best episodes in the series’ run, not only as a reaction to the results of the election, but as a belatedly fulfilling performance by one of the most cherished performers in the history of American comedy.

Chappelle was unhinged and reserved, hopeful and cynical, brash and timid. His monologue was hilarious and uncensored, culminating in the most powerful and eloquent moment I’ve ever seen on Saturday Night Live. The way he had the attention of every person in Studio 8H during the closing minutes of his monologue applied to everyone who watched around the country. It made us think for a few minutes that Dave Chappelle has the power to change the world. In his words, it made us hopeful. After that, he made us laugh. I can’t remember a time in my life before this episode that I ever shed tears of joy, but I literally cried during the Walking Dead digital short. On November 12^th, Dave Chappelle, a figure who is simultaneously mysterious and beloved, reminded us that he’s still got it.

 

9. Swiss Army Man

There has never been anything like Swiss Army Man in the history of ever.

Nearing the point of suicide on a deserted island, Paul Dano's character, Hank, notices a body that has washed ashore and is flatulating, played by Daniel Radcliffe. From there the two beings escape their island prison and develop a bromance the likes which have never been seen. Though Swiss Army Man wholly bizarre, there is something reassuring in that fact. There are endless consumers of pop culture who want to see more products like this. That two excellent actors like Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe so willingly threw themselves into a project like this is even more reassuring. The “farting corpse movie,” as it was dubbed early on, has just as much if not more heart than anything out there, and it has some really fascinating and tender ruminations on friendship and love.

Whether or not the viewer like it, Swiss Army Man is a fantastic piece of art, and it deserves a pillar in creative Valhalla for the masterpiece that it is.

8. Season One of Quarry

One of the main reasons, if not the primary reason, I insist on doing these lists every year is because maybe someone reading will check out something thy hadn't heard of or wasn't quite sure about diving into. More often these days, I rely on harbingers of pop culture, like The Ringer's pop culture podcast The Watch with Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald. Last fall, they raved about a new Cinemax show called Quarry, based on a popular book series by Max Allan Collins, and rightly so.

Returning home to Memphis from a second tour in 'Nam in 1972, Mac Conway aka Quarry (Logan Marshall-Green) struggles to adapt to a home in which he is unaccepted by the public for murky reasons by which he himself is endlessly tormented. Long story short, he quickly ends up in a criminal underworld whose vastness is unknowable, carrying out hits and running for his life and the life of his wife, played by Jodi Balfour. Marshall-Green certainly has a Tom Hardy thing going on, but his performance is nuanced and intense. What's more, the secondary and tertiary characters can be just as compelling as the main action of the show. Quarry’s coworker, so to speak, played expertly by Damon Harriman, is first introduced half-naked and alone in a motel room singing a Spanish version of Nillsson’s “Without You.” The mysterious and Southern Broker, the unnamed dealer of Quarry's hits, is played by veteran Scottish actor Peter Mullan.

Quarry, unlike many new shows, is not a slow build. The stakes are set very quickly, and to captivating effect. Once you start it, it would be truly shocking if you don't finish.

7. Season Three of Halt and Catch Fire

Heading into its fourth and final season in 2017, Halt and Catch Fire quietly remains one of the most compelling shows on television. In three seasons, all of which are quite different from one another, both in style and tone, Halt's characters play out a fascinating story without an overly dramatic flair while still being full of emotion and elegant complexity.

The four leads are tremendous. Mackenzie Davis, the goddess Mackenzie Davis, has been steadily giving the most underrated performance on television for the last three years. A big to-do was made about the general shift in tone from the first to the second season, but the overall evolution of the show in terms of which characters were the main focus points at the start compared to where we are now is astounding. Some who were riding shotgun to begin with are now chilling in the backseat, so to speak,  and vice versa, but the characters have never been compromised. That's the special thing about Halt: these characters are so rich, and it's through the abilities of Davis, Kerry Bishe, Scoot McNairy and Lee Pace that bring the richness of these characters to bear.

Eventually, as is unfortunately often the case, when the entirety of Halt is readily available on one common platform of consumption or the other, it will be recognized by the amount of people it deserves as the masterful tale that it is. In terms of both quality and prestige, Halt and Catch Fire is a tech-age Mad Men.

6. The Night Of

The commercials for The Night Of could not have been more vague or mysterious, but when it comes to any sort of upcoming series on HBO, be it a mini or a drama, like most people who have the service readily available and recognize, I'll give it a shot. Along that same line, more and more, HBO shows become a shared social and cultural experience as they unfold every week. As it turned out, The Night Of was one of the more gratifying experiences HBO has produced.

The first episode plays like a waking nightmare of a person who doesn’t belong where they are at any moment, and it’s certainly one of the most riveting episodes of any series ever. Some folks disagree on whether or not the show maintained that level of viewer engagement after the first episode, but an indisputable fact is that Naz, played brilliantly by Riz Ahmed, was the most interesting new protagonist on a show in 2016. His journey and evolution over just eight episodes is more enthralling than many character evolutions over seasons of development. The rest of the cast and the characters they inhabit, from John Stone to Naz’s parents to the cat, are as good as or better than any others out there.

A bad ending can ruin a good or great thing. The inverse of that applies as well; a good or great ending can elevate something that would not have otherwise been memorable. The ending of The Night Of is so spot-on that… Well, let's leave it at that, because not only is it worth your time, you'll remember it long after it's over.

5. Season One of Atlanta

Donald Glover used to seem like someone who is acutely aware of how good he is at everything. From the back-in-the-day Derrick Comedy videos, to writing on 30 Rock, to his standup routine, he was clearly talented and hilarious, but there was something about the way he presented himself that seemed off-putting. In the fall of 2013, though, everything changed. When he published a series of Instagram posts of handwritten notes on Marriott stationary, it became very clear that he felt no different than the rest of us who have our own insecurities, doubts and fears. I myself was naïve enough to think that the way someone behaves on the outside is a reflection of who they truly are, when many times, it’s just the opposite. That apparent shift, perhaps maturity, is no more evident than in the first two episodes of his brilliant original show on FX, Atlanta.

There was no moment I witnessed on television last year as 180-degree jarring than what occurs in the holding cell in the second episode. It let viewers know at the outset the realms of the capabilities of Atlanta: gut-clutching hilarity and heart-wrenching depiction of the human experience. Those two things aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive, and they often occur separately throughout Atlanta’s first season, but a scene like that has rarely shifted from one to the next so abruptly.

Watching Atlanta was such a rich experience, because at numerous points, it's obvious what an original revelation it is, though it never sacrifices some of the laughs we’re used to from a conventional American comedy. Having said that, whether it’s black Justin Bieber or the pseudo-Tavis Smiley talk show episode, it is obvious to anyone that “conventional” is not a word that would ever be associated with Atlanta.

4. Hell or High Water

In any other year, a movie like Hell or High Water would likely pass by as just the quality independent movie that it is. But in 2016, movies that are simply and expertly executed stand out from much of the studio drivel that packs our cinematic multiplexes. Hell or High Water is such a shining exception.


Hell or High Water plays like a timeless American tale of two brothers trying to save what's theirs by any means necessary. It has more re-watchability than any movie I saw in 2016. In my opinion, Jeff Bridges gave the finest cinematic performance of 2016 in Hell or High Water. For the majority of the movie, I found myself thinking that he was just sort of rehashing his Rooster Cogburn character from True Grit, but the banter that he had with his partner, played by Gil Birmingham, was so colorful that it's not very bothersome. It seemed that anyone of a similar age could play the character. Only in the last twenty minutes of the movie did the brilliance of Bridges’ performance become obvious. He is the only actor who could bring all the nuances of that character from the pages of Taylor Sheridan’s magnificent script to fruition.


The wide shots of the landscape are gorgeous. Cinematographer Giles Nuttgens and director David Mackenzie combine to make the desolation of West Texas look like something you'd want to hang on your wall. Coincidentally, Hell or High Water is also a movie that deserves a place on the wall among your permanent collection.

3. Season One of Last Chance U

“They say we just fat-ass, dumb-ass country folk. That’s fucked up, ain’t it?” 

As a Mississippian, maybe I’m biased in my admiration for the feat that was Last Chance U, but I doubt anyone who watched it would feel differently. The technical aspect of the way the documentary is put together is staggering. The cinematography of the game action is peerless in athletic photography. It’s even better quality than the slow-motion NFL footage. If that weren’t enough, the reality of the humans and situations is as enthralling and effortless to invest in as anything out there. The way the story is told and unfolds is completely riveting. Folks from the area surrounding Scooba and EMCC knew full well the infamous incident that transpired at the end of the 2015. It’s all the more astounding that knowing how everything would end didn’t remotely affect the experience of the show.

Like most students or young people under the tutelage of teachers or coaches, you are subservient to the people who are supposed to show you what’s right. They should be the example of the standard human you should aspire to be. Last Chance U has the yin and yang of such humans. Buddy Stephens is one of the worst examples of how to be a human being. Profanity is effective when well-timed and used for emphasis, but Buddy Stephens swears with the frequency of the intake of breath. On the other hand, Brittany Wagner is a phenomenal example of how to be a human being. These real life entities are more riveting in their respective real life jobs than many written and comprised fictional characters. 

Last Chance U is a fantastic documentary series, but more than anything it’s a tragedy. It reminds us that no human is infallible, especially those in charge of others. These young boys are in a place that, by and large, is their last chance to break through their situations. Some of them fail themselves, but it sure seems like more of them are failed.

 

2. Manchester by the Sea

The cinematic hype machine so frequently pumps you only to let you down. Be it early festival buzz or critical ravings, too often we walk into something expecting it to be one thing and leaving feeling like you aren’t on the same page as everyone else (lookin’ at you La La Land). Sometimes, though, that buzz is met. Rarely, that buzz is surpassed. I had that feeling one time this year, and it was seeing Manchester by the Sea. 

It’s understandable that an average person might not want to subject himself or herself to a movie about a janitor taking care of his dead brother’s son for 135 minutes, but it is a rare and fulfilling experience to witness an elegant portrayal of how humans process grief. There is more than that to the story, but to spill it here would be an injustice to the brilliant way Kenneth Lonergan’s screenplay unfolds. The performances are off-the-charts phenomenal, though not in the typical showoff-y way that Oscar performances are prone to be. Casey Affleck’s performance as Lee Chandler is one of the most uniquely reserved I’ve ever seen. For a performance that is as acclaimed as it is, it might be confounding to see how withdrawn it is. His is proof that you don’t have to fall to yell and boo-hoo to be dramatically effective. The wearing of certain emotions can be more powerful than the enacting of them. Michelle Williams does not have much screen time, but what she has is put to some serious use. The scene of the year involves the two of them, and it is utterly unforgettable.

It's not for everyone, but Manchester by the Sea is a testament to the power of cinema and performance, grief and the human experience. It's not the easiest watch, but within it are ample rewards waiting to be found.

1. Season Six of Game of Thrones

(SPOILERS)

 

It just couldn't have been anything else.


Like any other season of Thrones, it had its share of slogs, but unlike the rest, the peaks in season six are too many to count. From the resurrection, to "Hold the door," to "The Winds of Winter," this was unquestionably the series' best season. At season's end, we are poised to perhaps witness the greatest homestretch in modern drama. Has there ever been anything more exhilarating in the history of the medium than the Battle of the Bastards? How amazing is it that Tyrion is going to essentially be the consigliere to the Khaleesi? And how terrible a place to live is King's (Queen's?) Landing going to be under Cersei?

The sixth season of Thrones is the answer to the question many may find themselves asking before diving into any long piece of pop culture: is it worth it? Millions of show-watchers, not to mention all the book-readers, have struggled with that question throughout the consumption of this soul-obliterating show. Fully aware that there are two seasons of stories left to wrap up yet, the answer to the question of “Is Game of Thrones worth it?” to this point is a resounding “You bet your ass.” All of the suffering, while by no means letting up, at least for a little while, has paid off. Finally, after six seasons of talking a big game and teasing its imminent arrival, Winter is here.