Hamilton

2020 has not been the kindest year to the United States of America. As everyone knows, the country leads in COVID-19 cases and deaths, which as of this writing are at 2.8 million and 132,000, respectively. The ensuing recession has been like none before it, with unemployment reaching at least fifteen percent and then eleven percent, where it currently is. Fierce outrage over the murders of George Floyd, Aumaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and others have led to massive protests in all fifty states. These protests and conversations have also resulted in the removal (sometimes by force) of statues and paintings glorifying slavers, racists, and traitors from previous centuries.

During this pandemic, and one that takes place as the country's citizens grapple with its past, normal acts of patriotism and celebration during this holiday are misguided, at best. Perhaps Disney+, of all things, offers a slightly less problematic way of learning about U.S. history in the form of the most famous musical in recent times. Hamilton, the enormously successful musical about Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, has made its way to the screen earlier than planned due to the pandemic. And instead of a new adaptation, which would have been the more predictable route, this is simply a filmed version of the Broadway production. 

Filmed in June of 2016 (which, in retrospect, was such an innocent time), Miranda's musical famously casts a diverse group of actors to tell a story of famous white men. It was inevitable that some form of the original cast's production would hit the screens, as the actors have since become quite busy. Some examples: Miranda has worked with Disney several times, writing Oscar-nominated music for Moana in 2016 and co-starring in Mary Poppins Returns in 2018. Leslie Odom, Jr. (who plays Aaron Burr, one of Hamilton's arch rivals) was in Harriet last year; Daveed Diggs (Thomas Jefferson and Marquis de Lafayette) wrote, directed, and starred in the 2018 film Blindspotting. Jonathan Groff (King George III) has appeared in the Frozen movies and as the lead in the Netflix crime series Mindhunter. If an adaptation was to be made, it would be tricky getting the band back together. So perhaps it's for the best that the stage show is now streaming on Disney+, as (like Fiddler on the Roof decades before it), the music is starting to get a little overplayed and the cast has moved on.

Hamilton is a long show, but it moves quickly. (Apparently, it would last four to six hours if it went at the pace of most other Broadway shows.) So quickly, that when it finally takes a moment to slow down, it becomes a bore. The show starts with the amazing number "Alexander Hamilton", followed by "Aaron Burr, Sir" and then "My Shot", so within just a few moments we've been rapidly given much of his story. I don't blame Miranda for trying to cover so much ground in such little time; it takes biographer Ron Chernow, whose 2004 biography served as the inspiration for this musical, about a hundred pages to finally make his book at least somewhat interesting.

During the war, Hamilton (played by Miranda) becomes an assistant to George Washington (Christopher Jackson), despite a rocky relationship between the two due mainly to the fact that Washington won't (at first) allow Hamilton to command during battle. After the war, once Washington becomes the first President of the United States, Hamilton becomes the first Secretary of the Treasury. Cabinet battles between Secretary of the Treasury Hamilton and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson over topics regarding the power of government and whether or not to aid France are depicted in rap battles. He also marries a woman named Eliza (Philippa Soo), but also gets himself involved in the country's first sex scandal, all while accumulating quite a few enemies, namely Aaron Burr (Odom, Jr.), who is engaged in increasing competition and rivalry with Hamilton.

I first saw the musical in London two years ago (though I probably wouldn't have if I had known it would be available on streaming at a much more affordable price a year and a half later), and I remember my stomach slightly clenching as King George III slowing walked onto stage wearing mockingly ostentatious attire, thinking to myself that there would be copious amounts of palpable tension and awkward silence from the crowd. This wasn't the case, fortunately. George III is played by Jonathan Groff, and it's his scenes that I like the best. He opens the show as the announcer asking attendees to turn off their phones. "Enjoy my show," he tells the audience. It doesn't matter if it makes sense or not for him to be there. Hamilton never met George III. In the musical, he doesn't serve much of a purpose. But his three numbers, all following the same tune (that of a '60s Britbop, as the New York Times called it), are wonderful comic relief. King George is written and played kind of as a sophomoric and manipulative ex-boyfriend, warning the Americans that they'll soon come crawling back to him once they see how difficult it is on their own. Groff relishes every syllable as he sings "'Cause when push comes to shove, I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love" as he immediately shifts to a long da-da-da-da-da segment that brings the number to a close. There's a few chuckles throughout the rest of the musical, but nothing as funny as these scenes.

The Brits may have been okay with how one of their former leaders was depicted and lampooned, but I was surprised that a show described as "revolutionary" by the Wall Street Journal would treat Thomas Jefferson and George Washington with such kid gloves. They may have been Founders, but more importantly they were slavers, and it's odd to watch such generous treatment towards these figures in a time when the nation is grappling with how much praise (if any) should be given to them. This isn't a new thing; it would have been just as necessary five years ago to be critical towards these two.

Much of this show is about not simply one man but of the complicated and painful history regarding race in this land. So it is frustrating that since it became famous, Hamilton has sort of served as a litmus test for white liberals who want to prove how woke they aware. But there is an uncomfortable dichotomy that white liberals would rather not talk about: this is a brown show that plays for white audiences. Like, all white. (Apparently, Art Garfunkel was one of the rather disruptive ones.) Rian Johnson even poked fun at this last year when a white character in his comedy Knives Out quotes the musical and says, "Immigrants, we get the job done," before informing the other person (who has no idea what he's talking about) that he saw Hamilton on stage. Additionally, as many have pointed out, one of its numerous criticisms is the fact that gender parity is low here. There are only three female characters who have speaking lines, and all of them only exist in the narrative because they revolve around Hamilton, the great man of this show. There is only one scene in which the three have a conversation with each other about something other than Hamilton. If Miranda and his team were bold enough to cast people of color as the the founders of the U.S., why then couldn't they have cast women in these roles, as well? Miranda has since said he is okay with the idea, but it's perplexing that he didn't think of it then.

Of his music, though, there is nothing quite like it. Miranda has been deservingly showered with a variety of awards for Hamilton: the show won eight Drama Desk Awards, eleven Tony Awards, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Hell, he even rescued Alexander Hamilton from historical non-relevance, as Hamilton was saved from being removed from the $10 bill after the popularity of this musical became apparent. His singing may be a bit noticeably nasally, his storytelling might have an issue or two (if you require an engaging plot and character development, this musical might not be for you), and the story and how we view it, as Siddhant Adlakha has brilliantly described, has changed so much since 2016. As Adlakha put it, "It was made for a different America." But Miranda's music will live forever. Hamilton has changed how we think of musicals for the better, and if you can tolerate the problems with the show, it will be an enjoyable, less problematic, and safer way to enjoy the Fourth of July.

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Da 5 Bloods

Five years ago, the New York Times reported on how reconciliation might truly be taking place in Vietnam, as Vietnamese veterans of the "American War" sat and joined their former enemies (U.S. veterans) while eating chili and chicken wings to celebrate the Fourth of July. Almost 90 percent of young Vietnamese (at least as of 2015) have a favorable opinion of the United States, with many studying in the U.S., while many U.S. veterans have moved back to the country they once fought, often trying to help with charitable causes, like to help the victims of Agent Orange effects. "We have closed the door on the past," one of the Vietnamese veterans says.

Da 5 Bloods, the newest film directed by Spike Lee, focuses on four U.S. veterans of the Vietnam War; for them, the door to the past is not yet closed. They, too, find themselves back in Vietnam, now cosmopolitan and entirely different than when they left. Two former Vietcong members buy them some drinks. The four strut across the dance floor (all pretty well) and argue about Trump. (Paul, the veteran played by Delro Lindo, wears a MAGA throughout the film.) They raise their glasses in a toast with the former VC. "The American War is over," they declare. All four are together, and they will soon be joined by a fifth. "Amen," they say as they cheer.

So why are they back in Vietnam? The veterans–Paul (Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Eddie (Norm Lewis), and Melvin (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.)—fought together in the war under their squad leader, "Stormin' Norman" (played in flashback scenes by Chadwick Boseman). Norman was their Malcolm and their Martin, we are told. With Norman, they learned a lot about politics and history, like how Crispus Attucks was the first American to die in the Revolutionary War. Without Norman, though, they are cast adrift in modern Vietnam. Despite a happy initial reunion, they head back into the jungle and things start to go awry. The impetus for going back to the battle scenes is to retrieve literal treasure they buried there during the war. The five were under instructions to provide gold to the Lahu people on behalf of the U.S. government as payment for helping them fight the Vietcong, but they decided to bury it and retrieve it years later to help their community.

The flashback scenes don't serve the film well, mostly due to that this is Lee's first war film. Also at fault is the composer, Terence Blanchard, whose music is mostly fine throughout the rest of Da 5 Bloods, yet odd and distracting in these battle scenes. So, too, is the fact that Lee keeps Lindo, Peters, Lewis, and Whitlock as they are with minimal makeup effects. There are no Irishman-esque de-aging effects in this Netflix film. It's neat at first, but it becomes a distraction. But fundamentally, the problem is that directing war scenes is not Lee's strength. None of these flashback scenes are interesting. He pays his respects to Apocalypse Now and Platoon, but doesn't seem to have learned anything from them.  

Just when you think Da 5 Bloods is veering into the realm of being too predictable, there are numerous surprises thrown your way. Some may cause you to roll your eyes and say, "Oh, come on." Indeed, the kind of film it ends up becoming is wildly different than the kind of film it started in the beginning, with the final product feeling like a hybrid of Richard Linklater and Quentin Tarantino. This may or may not contribute to the overall clunkiness of the film's pace. The ungainly tempo continues into the epilogue of the film, which is often the most memorable moments of the films Lee directs, like Malcolm X and BlackKklansman. At first it seems that will be the case with Da 5 Bloods, but then it kind of shifts around a bit and it draws some conclusions that seem misplaced.

The film itself doesn't retain its initial excitement. It's a worthwhile ride, with other noteworthy performances by a diverse cast that includes Jonathan Majors, Johnny Trí Nguyen, Mélanie Thierry, Jasper Pääkkönen, Paul Walter Hauser, Veronica Ngo, and Jean Reno. But you definitely owe it to yourself to watch it to witness the acting of Delroy Lindo. Lindo goes all in for his portrayal of this Trump-supporting veteran who sees ghosts and struggles through PTSD that was never treated. It is his reaction to these situations and his inability to heal deep personal wounds that really start to complicate the group's efforts to be successful. Despite what they tell themselves in the beginning, the war is in fact not yet over, at least for Paul, and Lindo makes all the right moves to demonstrate it. The other characters are given arches, but none of them are as intriguing as Paul's. If the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences didn't hate Black artists so much, he would be considered the frontrunner for Best Actor at this point. Let's all hope he bucks history and gets it.

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Emma.

Tales of matchmaking usually are lackluster. That is certainly true in Emma., the new adaption of the famous 1815 novel by Jane Austin directed by Autumn de Wilde, in her debut, with a screenplay written by Eleanor Catton. Trying to ride on the coattails of the immensely successful adaptation of Little Women directed by Greta Gerwig last year, De Wilde and her team, particularly production designer Kave Quinn and costume designer Alexandra Byrne, do an exceptional job at recreating early nineteenth century English estates, but alas, there are people (boring people) whose stories are told here, making for an uninteresting film.

Anya Taylor-Joy is Emma Woodhouse, whom Austin described as "handsome, clever, and rich." (The film's poster reminds us of this.) Taylor-Joy, who has been on a roll since her debut in the 2015 horror film The Witch, certainly fits the part, doing as good a job as possible leading a cast that doesn't succeed in keeping up with her. Emma becomes a companion of a young orphan named Harriet Smith (Mia Goth), and she decides to steer Harriet towards an ideal man. This is despite the fact that a young farmer has asked for Harriet's hand in marriage. For a reason that's unclear in the film (indeed, most of Emma's motivations throughout the story don't make any sense), Emma convinces Harriet to deny the farmer's hand in marriage and instead try to woo the local vicar, Elton (Josh O'Connor). Elton, however, is infatuated with Emma, not Harriet, and he makes quite a show when she turns him down, and cares not if he has hurt Harriet's feelings.

As for Emma, despite frequently screwing things up for the young orphan she's supposed to look out for, she starts to fancy Frank Churchill (Callum Turner), the stepson of Emma's former governess. Despite that infatuation, she will soon start to fall for George Knightley (Johnny Flynn), a young estate owner whom she often banters with. That, however, proves to be yet another problem, as Harriet starts to fall in love with George after he rescues her from being alone without a dance partner at a local ball. This is a very simplistic summary of what happens, as within twenty minutes of the film, there will be so many names to keep track of that you might want to consider bringing a pen and paper for notes.

Old novel or not, this is not an interesting plot. In fact, nothing is interesting about this story or adaptation. Why? Plot and acting, neither of which are noteworthy. Aside from Taylor-Joy, most of these performances aren't that interesting to watch. Flynn is fine as George, but Bill Nighy as Emma's father, the biggest star in the film, does essentially what he does in the majority of his performances, moving his arms about and chortling in a way that's admittedly hard to mimic but not so impressive at this point of this illustrious actor. Much, if not most, of the actors do a sort of physical comedy that seems better suited for a high school play, in which audiences would only laugh due to parental pride and remarkable kindness. I've never seen another movie in which the act of standing up and sitting down was thought to be funny, but it appears to be that that was the aim here. Chewing food and drinking tea isn't particularly funny, either, but this film seems to disagree with me.

One example of someone trying too hard is O'Connor as Vicar Elton. O'Connor has already amazed audiences with his versatility (he played one of the leads in God's Own Country and currently plays Prince Charles on The Crown). But while some of his previous work has demonstrated his ability to gain an audience's sympathy for the characters he plays, here he is mismatched. Vicar Elton is a vile character, prone to temper tantrums and not much of a man of God as he's supposed to be. There is nothing sympathetic about Elton, and so it's almost as if O'Connor is not sure what to do. He can screech and whine to decent effect, but the other scenes are just him raising his eyebrows as if O'Connor really, really wants us to know that Elton is up to no good. 

Miranda Hart, though, it must be said, is a joy to watch. In a scene in which Emma insults Miss Bates at a picnic, one really feels for her. And her shouting to her hard-of-hearing mother at a dinner scene that she "must sample the tart" is the film's sole memorable moment.

It's a pity that a film like this has turned out to be so surprisingly dull and insufferable. It is at least wonderful to listen to its score by Isobel Waller-Bridge and David Schweitzer. Byrne's costume design is also stupendous and worthy of praise. I liked these elements of Emma., but virtually nothing else. Maybe it's because I've never read the famous novel, or because I haven't seen the 1996 version, or because I barely remember Clueless, which was loosely based on this story. All I can tell you is that I was bored out of my mind, and I hope I never have to watch Emma. again.

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The Best Movie Songs

Songs have a unique ability to affect movie scenes in a profound way. Some films can exist without any music (The Birds being a notable example), and if it works, then it works. But the twenty films listed below would not have lasted as long as they have in the public imagination without the power of songs. Just as Star Wars would not be Star Wars without John Williams' unforgettable score, all of the following films would have been undoubtedly weaker without their famous songs.

I've decided to restrict this only to songs originally from movies. Thus, beloved movie songs like "As Time Goes By", "Singin' in the Rain", and "Everybody's Talkin'", all of which came out years before they were immortalized in Casablanca, Singin' in the Rain, and Midnight Cowboy, respectively, are not included. You also won't see any musical numbers that originated in theater. I don't know why the American Film Institute for their list of the best movie songs in 2004 used a song like "The Sound of Music", which wasn't originally for the film, when they could have used the song "Something Good", which was originally written for the movie (and is far superior). (At any rate, as fantastic as "Something Good" is, it's not on this list, either.) The same goes for a few unforgettable songs by rock stars. For example, you'll find a Prince song on this list, but you won't find any of the great songs by Pink Floyd from the film The Wall, the 1982 musical that used songs from their 1979 album.

The best movie songs are:

21. Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (Monty Python's Life of Brain)
"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", from the 1979 comedy Monty Python's Life of Brian, is perhaps the best musical representation of the British "stiff upper lip" attitude there is. It is certainly a song, with its advice to chin up and keep going (even if you're being tortured by Romans), that has endured; Eric Idle, who wrote the song and performs it during the final scene of the film, even sang it at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. These days, it's especially popular at funerals. "Galaxy Song" from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life is also delightful.

20. Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)
Memorably sung by B.J. Thomas, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" is written by the songwriting team Burt Bacharach and Hal David, who both won the Oscar for Best Original Song; Bacharach also won for Best Original Score. Bacharach won another Oscar for co-writing the song "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)". It's an unusual song for a Western, but Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is an unusual Western. As good as the radio version is, it's something else to watch the complete version with orchestration as Paul Newman charmingly rides around on a bicycle, pursued by an ox.

19. Take My Breath Away (Top Gun)
Written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock and performed by the band Berlin,
"Take My Breath Away" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1987. The 1980s in cinema have often been lampooned for the gratuitous (and fake-looking) lovemaking scenes, and the love scene in Top Gun between Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis is pretty random, but "Take My Breath Away" elevates the scene above the rest. The rhythm by Mororder (nicknamed "the father of disco") is iconic; ten years ago, Saturday Night Live had some fun with it (with a little help from Paul McCartney).

18. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away (Help!)
Written and sung by John Lennon, "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" is not the best Beatles song, but that just reminds us how great most of their music was. (At least it's one of their fifty best.) For a film as cluttered and dull as Help! is, it's a breath of fresh air when the Fab Four pause for a moment, relax in their room, and sing a song that has nothing to do with the plot (if that word can be used) of the film. It's a great tune, one you've likely often heard on the radio, and it features Lennon channeling his inner-Bob Dylan.

17. Let's Go Crazy (Purple Rain)
"Purple Rain" may have been the song more widely associated with Prince, but the chart-topping "Let's Go Crazy", which opens the album and the film, is the superior one. (It certainly wasn't played ad nauseam after the star's death in 2016.) A eulogy for "this thing called life", "Let's Go Crazy" is an energetic masterwork from an artist at the top of his game. All of the songs on this album are terrific, and "Let's Go Crazy" is the perfect way to start it. Prince's songs "Trust" and "Partyman" for the Batman soundtrack are likely honorable mentions on this list.

16. Stayin' Alive (Saturday Night Fever)
"Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees is the coolest song on this list. It was a huge success for the group, and they would eventually tie the Beatles with six consecutive number-one hits (before Whitey Houston beat them both with seven). John Travolta strutting down the streets of New York to this song is him at the peak of his coolness, and the only time he has come close to matching it was when he and Uma Thurman danced to "You Never Can Tell" in Pulp Fiction. Travolta was already a star from television, but Saturday Night Fever made him a superstar, earning him an Oscar nomination. The song was not nominated. It has, however, literally saved lives. Last year, a man used the information he learned from a hysterical episode of The Office regarding "Stayin' Alive" to save a woman's life.

15. 9 to 5 (9 to 5)
Widely celebrated as one of Dolly Parton's most popular songs, "9 to 5" feels like a call-to-arms and tribute to workers everywhere. Parton wrote and sung the song for the comedy of the same name that starred her, Jane Fonda, and Lilly Tomlin as three office workers who team up to overthrow their sexist manager, played by Dabney Coleman. Particularly with lines like "they just use your mind and they never give you credit," "9 to 5" also has a strong feminism bent to it. It was even used by Elizabeth Warren during her recent campaign for president. Earning an Oscar nomination, it reached the number-one spot on three Billboard charts. As Wikipedia puts it, the project "launched her permanently into mainstream popular culture."

14. Mona Lisa (Captain Carey, USA)
The wonderfully calm "Mona Lisa" originally comes from the 1950 film noir Captain Carey, USA, starring Alan Ladd. It was written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, the songwriting team who also wrote "Silver Bells", the Oscar-winning "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)", and the theme music for Bonanza. "Mona Lisa" earned Livingston and Evans an Oscar for Best Original Song. The original version in the film is performed by Charlie Spivak, but the most well-known version has been Nat King Cole's, whose rendition topped the charts for five weeks in 1950 and was featured in the film of the same name in 1986, starring Bob Hoskins and Michael Caine.

13. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Meet Me in St. Louis) 
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" can always be heard on the radio at Christmastime, but many have forgotten that it is originally sung by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis, directed by Vincent Minnelli. Written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane, it's a song about persevering and "muddling through" at a time that often can be difficult for many; it stands in contrast to many holiday songs that are overly sappy. The Frank Sinatra version is fine, but it contains a line that should be more controversial: The story goes that Sinatra was going to include it on his album A Jolly Christmas, and he asked Martin to "jolly up" the line about "we'll have to muddle through somehow." Martin stripped the song of its necessary melancholy by changing it to "hang a shining star upon the highest bough." Stick with the Garland version; it's better.

12. Be Our Guest (Beauty and the Beast)
Sung with such an apparent sense of fun by Jerry Orbach, Angela Lansbury, and others, this song really took Beauty and the Beast completely into the realm of enchantment. After all, the silverware are singing songs about French dining. The song was written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken; they were also nominated for the song "Belle" earlier in the movie. Both songs lost; the winner was the film's title song, also written by Ashman and Menken. Ashman and Menken won the same awards for The Little Mermaid two years before Beauty and the Beast. After Ashman died, Menken continued writing songs and music for Disney animated films, winning four more Oscars for Aladdin and Pocahontas.

11. Theme from New York, New York (New York, New York)
Possibly the best-known song about New York City, we have Robert De Niro, in his third collaboration with Martin Scorsese, to thank for this song, as the songwriters John Kander and Fred Ebb have claimed that De Niro criticized their original theme, thus sending them back to start from scratch. While the film was not as much of a critical success as others directed by Scorsese, "New York, New York" the song will last forever. And while the version by Liza Minnelli, the star of the film, is fantastic, this song has since been closely associated with Frank Sinatra, who recorded a version just after the film was released, and is probably the best version.

10. (I've Had) The Time of My Life (Dirty Dancing)
Composed by Frank Previte, John DeNicola, and Donald Markowitz, this iconic climactic scene would not be nearly as unforgettable without the song and the vocal performance of Jennifer Warners and Bill Medley. The title of the film had apparently concerned Previte that he had walked into the wrong kind of movie, but he became convinced that the movie would change his life, so he took it. In addition to winning a Grammy, it won Best Original Song at the 1988 Oscars. It also was number one on the Billboard Top 100. According to Patrick Swayze, the team had turned down 149 songs before finally settling on "(I've Had) The Time of My Life", and even though they had already shot that final dance scene with another song playing, they re-shot it to the new one. 

9. Unchained Melody (Unchained)
Like "Mona Lisa", the original version of this song might surprise you when you hear it, for it sounds remarkably different than the more famous version. It's originally from a 1955 prison film called Unchained and was written by Alex North and performed by Todd Duncan. The song was nominated for Best Song but lost to "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" from the film of the same name. "Unchained Melody" has since been recorded my more than 670 artists in several different languages, with the most famous version being by the Righteous Brothers in 1965. That version was used in a very sensual scene between Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze in the 1990 hit romance-horror-comedy flick Ghost, which also incorporated it into its musical score by Maurce Jarre to great effect.

8. White Christmas (Holiday Inn) 
Irving Berlin's nostalgic holiday song and its many cover versions are frequently heard around Christmas. Berlin was Jewish, so reportedly it was not a simple task for him to write a song about Christmas nostalgia. He did, though, and it's a notably secular song, one that has been immensely popular for the past seventy years. The lyrics, as everyone knows, are about someone dreaming of having a snow-filled Christmas like the ones they used to remember, of children singing and Christmas cards and all that fun stuff. With a positive wish that everyone has a merry and bright Christmas, it's a very soothing tune, especially Bing Crosby's version.

7. Lose Yourself (8 Mile) 
Widely regarded as one of Eminem's best (if not his best) raps, "Lose Yourself" was the first hip-hop song to win Best Original Song at the Academy Awards, an award it richly deserved. Eminem wrote the lyrics in between takes during the filming of 8 Mile, and other than the "Mom's spaghetti" line, it works. So, too, does the combative tone that will stay with you. Eminem was not at the Oscars to accept his award in 2003, but he did make a surprise appearance at this year's awards to sing it, delighting everyone (except, it seemed, Martin Scorsese, although his daughter later insisted that her father actually really liked the performance).

6. Don't You (Forget About Me) (The Breakfast Club)
The 1985 teen comedy-drama film written and directed by John Hughes has definitely been re-evaluated in recent years, but the song is just as well-loved today as it was back then. Written by Steve Schiff and Keith Forsey, who produced the film's soundtrack, "Don't You (Forget About Me)" is sung by the Scottish band Simple Minds. Despite some of their early reservations about it (partly because they didn't get it and partly because it wasn't one of their own songs), the song would eventually reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It has become practically the theme song of '80s teen films and was predictably used to pay tribute to John Hughes after his death.

5. When You Wish Upon a Star (Pinocchio) 
"When You Wish Upon a Star", written by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington, is from the fascinating and frightful 1940 Disney animated film Pinocchio (as everyone knows). The first Disney song to win an Oscar for Best Original Song, it is widely regarded as Disney's best. In some countries, it's even a Christmas song. Cliff Edwards as Jiminy Cricket opens the film with his celestial singing in a way few others have been able to do. There's a reason why this film has come to symbolize what Disney would prefer us to think of when that corporation pops into our head. It's a song about dreams, and that no matter who you are, no aspiration is impossible.

4. Mrs. Robinson (The Graduate) 
Easily one of Simon and Garfunkel's most recognizable singalong tunes, "Mrs. Robinson" became the duo's second chart-topper and the first rock song to win Record of the Year at the Grammys. Originally titled "Mrs. Roosevelt", Paul Simon pitched the song to director Mike Nichols (who liked it very much), and the song was changed to "Mrs. Robinson", Ann Bancroft's character in the film. It's a cheerful antithesis to "The Sound of Silence" from two years earlier, which was used to open The Graduate.

3. Nobody Does It Better (The Spy Who Loved Me)
"Nobody Does It Better", written by Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager and sung by Carly Simon, is perhaps the Bond song most unlike what audiences expect from a Bond song, and yet it's undoubtedly the best. The Spy Who Loved Me is the tenth official Bond film, and other than the Paul McCartney rock 'n' roll song for Live and Let Die, no other song had taken such a noticeable departure from the heaviness of the previous tunes (other than Madonna's song for Die Another Day, but that doesn't have to be mentioned). It's been covered numerous times, from Julie Andrews to Radiohead, whose lead singer Thom Yorke declared it "the sexiest song that was ever written." It was also used to pay tribute both to Bond actor Roger Moore and Desmond Llewelyn, who played Q, after they died in 2017 and 1999, respectively. Its orchestra and Simon's smooth vocals make it such an enormously comforting, if vain, song.

2. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now (Mannequin) 
The teen romcom Mannequin has easily been forgotten, but the Jefferson Starship Oscar-nominated power ballad "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" is immortal. Written by Albert Hammond and Diane Warren, you're guaranteed to hear this one at prom or a wedding. (Some couples have even impressively danced to it as their first dance.) With all due respect to "(I've Had) The Time of My Life", "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" should have taken home the prize in 1988. (Warren has been nominated for eleven Oscars, including as recently as 2020, but has never won.) This song is perfect.  

1. Over the Rainbow (The Wizard of Oz) 
The lists that the American Film Institute used to do years ago were quite terrible, but one they got right was identifying "Over the Rainbow" as the greatest movie song in American cinema. This song is nostalgia supreme. Composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg in a classic scene featuring Dorthy and her dog, Toto (and directed by the uncredited King Vidor), it's a song that will likely spark so many emotions. What really makes it a stunning song is Judy Garland's voice. At just the age of 16, she seemed to become the calm voice of a world heading into a second world war and struggling through the Depression. What makes it all the more remarkable is that she was abused repeatedly during this time, including being slapped by director Victor Fleming when Burt Lahr's antics were making her laugh. Her story is further proof that how Hollywood has treated women is nothing new.

In these trying times, as the world faces another crisis, struggling to contain a massive pandemic and survive another possible economic depression, "Over the Rainbow" is likely a song that can offer at least a bit of an attempt to alleviate many who are anxious about the state of affairs. The song will last far longer than any calamity thrown our way.

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The Land Before Time

Surprisingly or not, dinosaurs were part of children's imaginations long before Jurassic Park. Dino-obsessed kids of the 1980s likely were exposed to neat and inventive productions about fearfully great lizards even before the hit ABC series Dinosaurs. For example, there was the 1985 TV segment Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs (in which Gary Owens turned into a prehistoric creature), and the 1987 educational short starring Fred Savage called Dinosaurs: A Fun-Filled Trip Back in Time! (as well as the cool song "Mesozoic Mind" that accompanied it). But even after all that, in 1988, young dinosaur fans were gifted with the animated feature The Land Before Time.

Wondrous, pre-Disney renaissance animation accompanied by James Horner's wonderful score is how The Land Before Time commences, and what a start it is. Horner's score is among his very best, particularly in those opening moments, signifying with that dominant brass and celestial choral arrangement that you're really in for a treat with this film. Executive produced by George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall, The Land Before Time was directed by Don Bluth, the animator behind several well-regarded animated films of the era, including The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, and All Dogs Go to Heaven.

Pat Hingle as the narrator tells us that our story is "in the time of the dinosaurs." But something is clearly wrong. Everything seems so dark and apocalyptic, and there is little food to eat. Trees are dying, and the leaf-eaters are starving. The sky is all sorts of dismal colors. It's like the dinosaur scene in Fantasia, only slightly less terrifying. There's a new young Apatosaurus named Little Foot (voiced by Gabriel Damon), who joins his grandparents and mother on a journey to the Great Valley in search of a better life and more food. However, there are all sorts of obstacles in their way, starting with a giant "earth shake", as the young ones call it, or clashing of the continents, as our narrator explains. This earthquake causes Little Foot to be separated from his mother.

Also separated from their families are Cera (voiced by Candace Hutson), a Triceratops, and Ducky (voiced by Judith Barsi), a Saurolophus. Little Foot is depressed and Cera is overly stubborn, but the three of them eventually decide to band together and make their way to the Great Valley. Little Foot knows the way, for his mother told him. Fortunately for him, the directions are pretty simple: it's something like they have to keep walking until the great ball of fire in the sky reaches the ground and then they'll eventually find it. Along the way, they find two more members to join their band: Petrie, a Pteranodon who can't fly, and a new-born Stegosaurus named Spike who doesn't talk. Petrie is voiced by Will Ryan, the only adult among them, and whose choices I found distracting compared to the natural voices of the younger actors; to me, his voice acting sounded like a bad Robin Williams impression.

One of their obstacles is each other, as their parents tell them things like "three-horns never play with long-necks." They'll have to overcome their differences. (Incidentally, this was criticized by Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, who wrote about how one of the songs used in a sequel was the articulation of what he called "liberal multiculturalist ideology", while also noting the irony of having a song celebrating differences in a movie where dinosaurs eat each other, but I digress.) Beyond their squabbles and the swamps and the lack of food and the platonic shifts, though, is a mighty T-Rex (because of course there is), whom they call "Sharp Tooth", constantly chasing them.

Despite apparently against the wishes of most who were involved (as they had nothing to do with the following films), the success of The Land Before Time resulted in a whopping thirteen sequels, as well as a TV series and fourteen spin-off games. I think I only have seen one of them (the 1994 sequel, The Great Valley Adventure, which for some reason we watched in my second-grade class, but that's Catholic schooling for you). The Great Valley Adventure found its way onto Total Film's list of the fifty worst kids movies. It was also this sequel that started incorporating musical numbers into the franchise. None of the cast returned, either, except for Hutson, who provided the voice of Cera for a total of four times, including the fourth film, which is her last acting credit. Unfortunately, tragedy struck the same year The Land Before Time was released when young Judith Barsi was the victim of a double murder-suicide at the hands of her father. The film All Dogs Go to Heaven, in which she provided the voice of Anne-Marie, is dedicated to her.

Regardless of Zizek's critique, The Land Before Time is, for better or worse, remarkably simple, but it works. It is able to successfully pull the emotional strings almost as deftly as its competitor Disney films before and after did. It can be a bit repetitive at times, with Cera acting bratty and Sharp Tooth chasing after them being familiar notes, but I'm a sucker for stories of friendship and survival. Thus, The Land Before Time feels rather apt these days. It's a great watch for parents who might want to introduce part of their childhood to their young children during these uncertain times.

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Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Never Rarely Sometimes Always, the new film written and directed by Eliza Hittman, her third movie, feels sort of like the anti-Juno. I didn't not like Juno, the 2007 comedy with slightly similar story, but it's fair to say Juno might not have been as concerned or grounded in reality as Never Rarely Sometimes Always is. Juno was a pleasant teen romance comedy; there is nothing whimsical in Never Rarely Sometimes Always, a film that can be quite difficult to watch a times.

Sidney Flanigan plays a 17-year-old named Autumn. She's a bit reserved but musically talented, living in rural Pennsylvania. She's in every scene in the film, and in the first, she is playing the guitar and singing a song, presumably at her high school's talent show. She is interrupted by a male teenager you calls her a slut. No one reprimands him or comes to her defense, and the others' silence is deafening, as they say. Autumn is fazed, but she continues her song. Characters who are determined and resilient do not have to be featured only in superhero films.

Things are not going well for Autumn. Her father describes her as "always in a foul mood." Suspecting that she is pregnant, one day Autumn goes to a clinic before school to take a pregnancy test. The test confirms that she is pregnant; ten weeks, she is told. She asks if it's possible if the test could be wrong. "A positive is always positive," the doctor tells her.

She wants an abortion but is shown an anti-abortion video and given a pamphlet. The doctor mentions to her that she could consider giving the baby to a family for adoption. After failing to terminate the pregnancy on her own and receiving no assistance from the clinic, she eventually reveals the truth to her cousin, Skylar (played by Talia Ryder). They gather some money and catch a bus to New York City, a city in which they've never been and where they don't know anyone. It's not as complicated getting to the clinic for the procedure as it could be, but there are numerous complications along the way. Hittman has described the story as following a hero's journey structure.

The most obvious use of this form is what Joseph Campbell called "Road of Trials". Viewers likely will get the impression that Autumn and Skylar have never taken the bus to New York and probably have never even been to New York. They both pack their things into a gigantic suitcase that they have to lug around the fast-moving city, and yet they never have a place to change their clothes. They have plenty of time, though. For different reasons, Autumn's appointment has to keep being delayed. All of these trials are where we seen the finest acting from Flanigan and Ryder, both of whom make their film debut and whose performances are exceptional.

Some might argue that this is a very political film. I don't see it that way. While Never Rarely Sometimes Always revolves around a subject that has been heatedly debated for decades and remains at the forefront of the culture wars, the film is not so concerned with ideology. True, it does take a side, and its hope is that audiences who might be less likely to consider the position women sometimes unexpectedly find themselves in with unplanned pregnancies would be more understanding. However, it would be difficult to argue that this film is not fair and realistic, and it certainly demonstrates Hittman and her cast and crew's talent at procuring empathy from their audience.

Various scenes, one after the other, prove this. Whether it's painful moments in which you will possibly turn your ahead away from the screen or thought-provoking subtleties that are not essential to the plot but that the film doesn't seem to mind if you ponder, Hittman is worthy of much praise. For example, one major point is left very ambiguous. If an answer had been given, it might have shifted audience members' understanding of the point of the film; a weaker filmmaker might not have recognized how important it was to instill the film with this enigma. Hittman and her team handle these delicate subjects about as tactful as filmmakers can. You owe it to yourself to see it.

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Dark Waters

Dark Waters is a "grown-up movie" at a time when grown-ups can't agree on anything. Like half a dozen films before it, it focuses on the the pursuit of justice against a corporation polluting people. It should sound at least a little familiar because it's practically a remake of the 1998 legal film A Civil Action, while also sharing similar DNA to Erin Brokovich and other films. (There's even a sequence of the main character organizing a never-ending collection of files that looks straight out of All the President's Men.) In Dark Waters, the villainous corporation is DuPont, maker of Teflon. They may be poisoning everyone without their knowledge, but they're "good people", as we're told, being the community's largest employer.

Dark Waters is likely to find, though, that in the twenty-plus gap between this film and A Civil Action, hyper-partisanship has risen so much that many viewers simply won't buy the film's arguments. The political gap between the left and the right has risen by more than twenty points since 1994. This is not inherently a bad thing, but it inevitably will make the film seem less urgent and less relevant. 

Mark Ruffalo, deliberately flabbier than his Hulk days, is the real-life environmental lawyer Robert Bilott. He is an attorney for the Ohio-based law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister, where a prominent portrait of Ohio senator Robert Taft, son of William Howard Taft and one of the firm's most prominent lawyers in its history, hangs in the reception. One day, a meeting is interrupted by a West Virginia farmer named Wilbur Tennant (Bill Camp), who knew Robert's grandmother. Tennant is desperate for help, as his cows appear to have been poisoned; they have black teeth, enlarged organs, and are dying of cancers. Tennant's farm has become a grave yard for almost two hundred dead cows. Those that still live have become violent. Bilott takes some convincing, but he eventually decides to help Tennant by representing him. It is the beginning of a rather timely pursuit, one that will take more than a decade.

Camp is given heavy eye brows and free rein to make some noticeable choices. "Ya blind, boy?" is one line that is really hammed up by the usually much more reserved Camp. Victor Garber plays the DuPont executive dripping with banality of evil until he yells "hick!" at Robert when confronted and sued to make the audience really despise him. Tim Robbins, who plays the senior partner at Taft and Robert's supervisor, does a mostly decent job; his character basically supports Robert's quest to bring justice, but then he delivers an annoying speech featuring wannabe calls-to-action that seems so out of line with the film's reasonably measured approach that maybe Robbins, notoriously liberal, wrote it himself.

But the biggest disappointment in this film's decisions for its cast is to give Anne Hatheway a throw-away role. She plays Sarah, Robert's wife, who gave up her own legal career to take care of their house and raise their three boys. The film may think it's giving Hatheway a lot to do and "agency", but it isn't. Sarah is the same as virtually every wife portrayed in this type of film: supportive, but only until it starts to put a strain on their relationship. Robert starts to become obsessed with his work, barely speaking to the boys, and taking pay cuts. She's there to lecture him about this, but the film doesn't really care about her perspective, for we are meant to sympathize with our persistent, low-key hero. Her character only adds to the personal stakes the male protagonist faces. "How'd it go?" she dutifully asks him, as he places his defeated head on her shoulder and cries. Dark Waters is clearly a "great man" film, focusing almost solely on the work of one environmental lawyer and minimizing every other contributor in the fight. This makes it less appealing than it could have been.

Dark Waters is more or less a smart movie with an accurate condemnation of self-regulation and the evil acts corporations can commit, but there's a lot of liberal-splaining in this film, as expected, and while it is an important message, many audiences will likely turn away in these hyper-partisan times. The challenge for the studio was to present it to conservative members who could buy into the call for action. This is possible; just look at how toxic sludge killing their dogs turned many senior citizens in Florida into eco-warriors. But the movie passes on the challenge, or at least fails it. Some moments will make certain audience members' blood boil, and yet those same moments will make other audiences roll their eyes. One way or the other, you will likely Google PFOA and other forever chemicals and wonder if they're in your water and blood. Whether or not you do much else beyond that might be a measure of how successful this film is.

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Atlantics

"Ocean is more ancient than the mountains, and freighted with the memories and dreams of Time."
-H.P. Lovecraft

Construction is everywhere in the opening shots of Atlantics, directed and co-written by Mati Diop, taking place on the coast of Dakar, Senegal. To the left, there are numerous buildings that appear as if they will never be finished; to the right is a futuristic-looking, prodigious tower that looks like something out of Dubai or Manama. There are plenty of cows wondering around, as well. The tower seems omnipresent, or at least the consequences of its construction are. There is the ocean, of the natural world, and the tower, man-made; both are potent and destructive forces in this tale, which won the Grand Prix at last year's Cannes Film Festival. In the first scene of Atlantics, there are also exhausted, frustrated men working in unbearable conditions building this tower without pay for three months.

Diop has discussed in interviews that this is a story of a generation of lost youth. "Times are tough," one character says here. She's right. Senegal's average monthly salary is about $100. A young man from the West African country was quoted in Reuters as saying, "The only thing we know is migration. Migration equals success." Thousands of Senegalese would agree with this, as thousands have fled for Europe. Many have failed. One of the workers in this story who has been without pay and thus must migrate is Souleiman (Ibrahima Traoré). He is in a relationship with Ada (first-time actress Mame Bineta Sané), but Ada is to wed Omar (Babacar Sylla), a wealthy businessman from a pious family. (Ada's parents are traditionalists, too, and they surely would not be happy if Ada were to dishonor them by leaving Omar for Souleiman.) "God is testing you," Ada is warned by a friend. "He put Soulemain in your path."

Ada discovers that Souleiman and some of the other men who have not been paid have decided to take the risky voyage from Senegal to Spain in hopes of finding work. Ada's story is wed to this subplot, a supernatural addition late into the film revolving around the new tower, its rich owner, and the men he's refused to pay and who have fled to Spain. But even if audiences might come away with these moments stuck with them, it's Ada's story that really drives this film. She goes through with the wedding, despite how miserable she knows the marriage will make her, but a fire starts and all events start to unravel in a most mysterious fashion. The police get involved, as it is very unclear as to how the fire was started, and this is where the film decides to be unlike most you've ever seen.

Soon it becomes apparent to the viewer that this will not be the story of Souleman but of Ada. That's the first of many turns this film takes, not simply in plot but in genre. It starts as a romantic tale of a cute young couple in which the woman is to be wed to a man she does not love. Then it becomes a mystery, then a drama, with a dash of horror and magic realism, all the while commenting on the troubles Senegalese people face; its "eat the rich" mentality puts it in good company with some of last year's most talked-about films, such as Joker, Hustlers, Parasite, and Knives Out. The topics Diop and her team seem to be commenting on, at least to me, are toxic masculinity, cultural conservatism, and capitalism.

Aside from Diop's fantastic storytelling skills, one particularly praiseworthy element of Atlantics is the score by Fatima Al Qadiri. Al Qadiri, a Kuwaiti musician based in Germany, is a member of the group Future Brown, and this is her first score for a full-length feature film; its eeriness might remind some of the music in Stranger Things. When Ada finally marries Omar, it is Al Qadiri's music that adds to the unsettledness. Fine, too, are the cinematography of Claire Mathon (who also shot Portrait of a Lady On Fire) and the cast, most of them non-actors. The most noteworthy is Sane, who was discovered by Diop walking down the street. Her natural performance is reminiscent of similar films, like Whale Rider, Wadjda, and Roma. She is able to convey a clear message with only her eyes, and she helps give Ada increasing agency as the film progresses, even as others stand in her way.

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(Most Of) The 2020 Oscar-Nominated Films Ranked

It would be difficult, dare I say impossible, to argue that 2019 was a great year for movies. But whether I like it or not, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences trudges on with a variety of nominations. Most are, at the very least, sufficient; some (or perhaps many) are frustrating.

Much ink has already been spilled over the disappointment that the Academy, despite giving more consideration to international features in less-discussed categories, has continued to select a nearly all-white list of nominees for the acting categories. As they have done in the past, the Academy has nervously tried to shift the blame to Hollywood, pleading with those who are angry that if only Hollywood would produce more diverse content featuring more diverse talent, they would gladly reward them. But while Hollywood still has a way to go (people of color are still underrepresented on every industry employment front), there have been notable improvements. Numerous US and international films starred actors that could have easily been nominated this year, such as Samantha Mugatsia, Sheila Munyiva, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Taika Waititi, Jennifer Lopez, Eddie Murphy, Awkwafina, Zhao Shu-zhen, Song Kang-ho, Ana de Armas, and Lupita Nyong'o. None of them were nominated. Instead, Cynthia Erivo is the sole person of color among the nominees. Additionally, despite possible nominations for directors Greta Gerwig, Lulu Wang, and Lorene Scafaria, all the nominees for Best Director are men.

Most of the films on the list below tell stories of straight white men, as has been the history of films rewarded at the Oscars. The Academy needs to do better. I agree with April Reign, who coined #OscarsSoWhite and who wrote in Variety, "I believe in meritocracy; cast a wide net, nominate the most talented and qualified individuals, and the best person should win. But if you aren't viewing the films, then you cannot be sure that you have actually seen the most talented and qualified."

Of the films that are nominated, some of them are certainly ones you ought to see. I'd say that I highly recommend the top fifteen or so. With that rant aside, here is my ranking of (most of) the 2020 Oscar-nominated films:

(Note: I have not seen Ford v Ferrari, Bombshell, Richard Jewell, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Frozen II, Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl), St. Louis Superman, Corpus Christi, Les Misérables, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Breakthrough, Daughter, Sister, A Sister, or Saria.)

38. Ad Astra
Best Sound Mixing (Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson, Mark Ulano)

I fell asleep watching Ad Astra on a plane, and I have no intention of finishing it.

37. I Lost My Body
Best Animated Feature (Jérémy Clapin, Marc du Pontavice)

This traditionally drawn French film is very...French. Proudly philosophical and not for young children, it might prove to be frustrating to many audience members. The animation is beautiful, but the film itself is overly dull and bleak.

36. The Lion King
Best Visual Effects (Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, Elliot Newman)

What works really well in The Lion King, the latest remake in Disney's money-hungry quest to re-imagine all of their animated classics, is what works really well in the original 1994, and it is simply copied and spat out here. But that, of course, is why these remakes are so frustrating. It's like a big cheat by a company that, in these cases at least, seems primarily concerned with money and less so with art. True, the art is there. Its Oscar-nominated effects are spectacular, and some of the voice talent (among them Chiwetel Ejiofor, Donald Glover, John Oliver, and others) do a good job, but it feels like an uninspired carbon copy, one that you will likely forget 30 seconds after finishing it.

35. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Best Supporting Actor (Tom Hanks)

Tom Hanks plays Mr. Rogers (because of course he does), but the more interesting performance is Matthew Rhys as a cynical journalist essentially representing the audience. If you want a Mr. Rogers experience, you should instead view or revisit Won't You Be My Neighbor?, the documentary about him and the best film of 2018. There's only an ounce of the same magic in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a movie almost unbelievably hoaky.

34. Judy
Best Actress (Renée Zellweger)

Judy, featuring the comeback performance of Renée Zellweger in the title role of Judy Garland, is a standard biographical film. Zellweger really carries the film, as there's virtually nothing else memorable in it. Her performance, which will likely win her her second Oscar, is an imitation without feeling like an imitation. But the ending of the film featuring Judy's final performance of her tour is both the best and worst moment of the movie, and totally eye-rollable.

33. Missing Link
Best Animated Feature (Chris Butler, Arianne Sutner, Travis Knight)

There's a lot to like about this stop-motion animated film by Laika, the company that brought us Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings. The cast (which includes Hugh Jackman, Zach Galifianakis, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Fry, Timothy Olyphant, and Emma Thompson) is great, the animation is majestic, and the story is adventurous. And yet...I don't know. It just didn't speak to me. Critics often say that kids may enjoy "kids movies" but that adults who should know better have a responsibility to introduce their children to better films. Missing Link is probably in the latter, but yeah, it just wasn't for me.

32. Klaus
Best Animated Feature (Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh, Marisa Román)

An animated film meant to be a slightly more realistic version of who Santa is and how he came to be, Klaus features a voice cast that includes Jason Schwartzman, J.K. Simmons, Rashida Jones, Norm Macdonald, and Joan Cusack. It has more heart than Missing Link, and it's traditional animation in an era of computer-generated dominance is refreshing. (I don't think a few years ago, people would have predicted that a stop-motion film and one that is traditionally drawn would be the front-runners over two CGI animated films, especially one from Pixar and one from Disney Animated Studios.) Still, my thoughts are similar to Missing Link: Klaus is positive and commendable art, namely for children, but it wasn't for me.

31. Avengers: End Game
Best Visual Effects (Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Matt Aitken, Dan Sudick) 

There were moments in this tediously long blockbuster that I did enjoy, namely the climatic battle and the showdown between Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Thanos (Josh Brolin). But most of these Marvel Cinematic Universe movies run on way too long, and this movie, at three hours in length, is no exception. Virtually every character who ever appeared in these movies shows up yet again here, and it makes it feel even more taxing than it should. I wish they had simply stopped at Avengers: Infinity War.

30. Jojo Rabbit
Best Picture (Carthew Neal, Taika Waititi, Chelsea Winstanley), Best Supporting Actress (Scarlett Johansson), Best Adapted Screenplay (Waititi), Best Production Design (Ra Vincent, Nora Sopková), Best Costume Design (Mayes C. Rubeo), Best Film Editing (Tom Eagles)

The strongest parts of Jojo Rabbit are the performances of the young actors (Roman Griffith Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, and Archie Yates) and the comedic performance of the writer and director Taika Waititi as young Jojo's imaginary friend, who also happens to be a very childish Adolf Hitler. The weakest parts of the film are everything else, from the weird adaption of the source material and most of the other adult actors. 

29. Joker
Best Picture (Bradley Cooper, Todd Phillips, Emma Tillinger Koskoff), Best Director (Phillips), Best Adapted Screenplay (Phillips, Scott Silver), Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix), Best Cinematography (Lawrence Sher), Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Nicki Ledermann, Kay Georgiou), Best Costume Design (Mark Bridges), Best Editing (Jeff Groth), Best Score (Hildur Gudnadóttir), Best Sound Editing (Alan Robert Murray), Best Sound Mixing (Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Tod Maitland)

Joker is the movie that I have, for better or worse, thought the most about throughout the year. Who can blame me? It has the most Oscar nominations this year and was probably the most talked about and debated film of last year. After having watched most of it again a second time, my views are unchanged: I liked parts of it, namely the performances and different elements such as the score, production design, and cinematography. Still, my main beef with the film is that it is a comic book movie that kind of smugly thinks it's too good to be one. But I will say this: I don't agree that the movie is "divisive", as some have said. Phoenix is fantastic, the movie made a ton of money, most critics like it, and it has the most Oscar nominations. Divisive it is not.

28. The Neighbor's Window 
Best Short Film (Live Action) (Marshall Curry)

The Neighbor's Window stars Maria Dizzia and Greg Keller as a married couple and parents of three young children. Their lives have become sort of predictable, boring, and not as exciting and meaningful as when they were younger. Soon, they start noticing the late-night activities of their younger neighbors across the street, and they become envious while trying to avoid admitting it. It's an interesting, if forgettable, short piece, and Dizzia is quite good.

27. Walk Run Cha-Cha
Best Documentary Short (Laura Nix, Colette Sandstedt)

Walk Run Cha-Cha is a short documentary directed by Laura Nix and distributed by The New York Times about a Vietnamese-American community and their love of passionate dance. It focuses on a husband and wife whose delightful dance (even if it is set to the Carpenters) serves as the best moment. It's an intimate, low-stakes story whose un-ostentatious simplicity may not be for everyone, but those who like dance, immigrant stories, and tales of every-day people should check it out.

26. Kitbull 
Best Short Film (Animated) (Rosana Sullivan, Kathryn Hendrickson)

The traditionally animated Pixar short is about the adorable blossoming friendship between a stray kitten and a dog being raised to fight. Available on Disney+ and YouTube, audiences of all ages would likely be moved by it, especially as the two characters start to trust each other and become pals. It's not Pixar's most unforgettable work, but it's not bad, either.

25. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Best Score (John Williams), Best Sound Editing (Matthew Wood, David Acord), Best Visual Effects (Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach, Dominic Tuohy)

Critics were a little too harsh on this final installment of the Skywalker saga. (It is the second-lowest rated film on Rotten Tomatoes of all the nominees.) It is true that this is the least imaginative Star Wars film ever, and it kind of wobbles its way through a long slog before getting to a more engaging final act. Some of the nominations are unnecessary. (I like John Williams music as much as the next human being, but it seemed like all of the music was recycled from previous films.) Still, it is a fun movie, more or less, one that I will likely watch again.

24. Pain and Glory
Best Actor (Antonio Banderas), Best International Feature

Pain and Glory stars Antonio Banderas as a writer and director in Spain, and it's written and directed by Pedro Almodovar (so it's a bit autobiographical). The film will require a large bucket of patience, but fortunately it gets better as it progresses. Most people should be moved by at least one scene or another in the film, and this is all the more likely due to Banderas' really compelling performance, his finest ever, one that is a masterclass in conveying fulfilled messages with few or no words.

23. Hair Love
Best Short Film (Animated) (Matthew A. Cherry)

Hair Love is the most talked-about animated short of the year, namely because of the emotional tone of the film and the fact that there has been yet another incident of a school telling a Black student to cut their natural hair. (The Texas student, Deandre Arnold, who was told he would not be able to walk at graduation unless he cut his dreadlocks, has been invited to the Oscars by the Hair Love team.) Thus, Hair Love is a vitally important movie for our times in which young Black people are being directly and indirectly told to be ashamed of their natural hair.

22. In the Absence 
Best Documentary Short (Yi Seung-Jun, Gary Byung-Seok Kam)

In the Absence is a powerful documentary about the sinking of the Sewol ferry that killed over 300 people, most of them children on a school trip. The film pays particular attention to the government's mishandling of the response to the accident. (Korea's president, Park Geun-hye, was eventually impeached on charges related to influence peddling, and in Korea, they have this funny thing where if you're impeached, you're removed from office.) Its difficult subject matter might make it unwatchable for some, but it's available for free on YouTube and is worth the watch.

21. Life Overtakes Me
Best Documentary Short (John Haptas, Kristine Samuelson)

Depicting refugee children in Sweden suffering from Resignation Syndrome, which apparently is not as common outside of Sweden, Life Overtakes Me is an important film that you owe yourself to see. Like In the Absence, Life Overtakes Me can be difficult to watch, especially as parents try their best to treat their young children in a coma-like state. But it will stay with you.

20. Harriet
Best Actress (Cynthia Erivo), Best Song ("Stand Up") (Joshua Brian Campbell, Erivo)

The best parts of Harriet are that it's a biographical film of one of the most important Americans in history (though some seem to disagree) and the performance of Cynthia Erivo, which is astounding. But it is frustrating that in such an important film, so many liberties are taken, namely the fact that many of these characters and situations are made up, simply because Hollywood is Hollywood. The industry should trust audiences enough to know a good story without throwing in such creations.

19. Mémorable
Best Short Film (Animated) (Bruno Collet, Jean-François le Carre)

Hair Love might be the one that wins, but Memorable from France is the best animated short film nominated. About an artist suffering from dementia and his wife taking care of him, this stop-motion effects film is the most captivating of the five nominees.

18. Brotherhood
Best Short Film (Live Action) (Meryam Joobeur, Maria Gracia Turgeon)

Shot in rural Tunisia, the story of an oldest son returning from the fight in Syria with his new wife while facing the suspicion and anger of his father is a film that will stay with you. Despite it being a short film, it is a patient one, as well, calmly taking its time and not revealing many of its cards even as it approaches its conclusion. You will likely be greatly intrigued from start to finish.

17. Nefta Football Club 
Best Short Film (Live Action) (Yves Piat, Damien Megherbi)

My favorite of the short films and also from Tunisia, this is about two young brothers who find a drug mule and decide to improvise. (At least the older brother does; the younger brother often complicates things.) This is a drama but there are plenty of humorous moments sprinkled throughout the film that really work.

16. The Edge of Democracy 
Best Documentary (Petra Costa, Joanna Natasegara, Shane Boris, Tiago Pavan)

The Brazilian documentary The Edge of Democracy is directed and narrated by Petra Costa and details Brazil's decade-long shift from Lula to Dilma to Bolsonaro. American viewers might find it difficult keeping track of this house-of-cards cast of characters, but they will surely react to much of what is depicted. Conservatives and liberals will view the same events depicted in this film and come away with different conclusions. While Costa's narration (available both in Portuguese and English) can sometimes be slightly distracting, her documentary definitely presents its case in a convincing manner.

15. For Sama
Best Documentary (Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Waats)

For Sama, filmed and narrated by Waad Al-Kateab, feels like Hearts and Minds meets Dear Zachary. It is a harrowing documentary about the tragedy of Aleppo as Syrian and Russian forces bomb the city and hospital in which Waad's husband works and where she shoots much of her footage. While some viewers may have conflicted feelings about the motivations of Waad and her husband to stay in Aleppo, her brave journalism is incredibly admirable and skillful. The scene in the hospital involving a newborn baby through caesarian section is unforgettable.

14. The Cave
Best Documentary (Ferras Fayyad, Kristine Barfod, Sigrid Dyekjaer)

"No one can imagine the things we have seen." This is what Amani, the doctor at the focus of the film, states at one point in The Cave, utterly exhausted after desperately trying to save patients in impossible situations as the war in Syria rages on. It has obvious similarities to For Sama, namely that it focuses on women trying to improve the desperate conditions in war-torn Syria; most of the scenes in both films, additionally, are shot in hospitals. So as with For Sama, if it is too difficult seeing children and other patients suffering from the effects of war (and in this case, the effects of chemical attacks), then both films might be too challenging for you. For several reasons, namely the way the documentarians really connect us with these medical professionals, I think The Cave is a slightly better documentary than For Sama.

13. The Two Popes
Best Actor (Jonathan Pryce), Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Hopkins)

Directed by Fernando Meirelles, the Netflix film The Two Popes works best if one can suspend one's disbelief enough. The conversations between then-Cardinal Bergoglio (and now Pope Francis), played by Jonathan Pryce, and Pope Benedict XVI, played by Anthony Hopkins, are bogus but thought-provoking. Some viewers will either be delighted or irritated in the film's treatment of Benedict; it didn't impact me in any particular way. But I really enjoyed these two performances, especially Hopkins, and I'm happy that Pryce has finally been nominated for an Oscar. If it weren't the year of Brad Pitt and his charm offensive, the Oscar could have very likely gone to Hopkins.  

12. Rocketman 
Best Original Song ("I'm Gonna Love Me Again") (Elton John, Bernie Taupin)

It's impossible not to compare Rocketman to Bohemian Rhapsody because of all the similarities, but when one views it in that light, Rocketman becomes more enjoyable. Taron Egerton as Elton John and providing his own singing is quite good, and it's a shame he wasn't nominated. (Did Leonardo DiCaprio really need yet another Oscar nomination?) As a big Elton John fan, I'm rooting for him to win. "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" is not his best (or even among his fifty best), but it's more or less a fun song. I'm especially happy for his lyricist, Bernie Taupin, who has until now not received many awards. Indeed, their Golden Globe win in January was the first award they won together.

11. Toy Story 4
Best Animated Feature (Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen, Jonas Rivera), Best Song ("I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away") (Randy Newman)

Toy Story 4, as everyone has said ad nauseam, is the least necessary Pixar film ever. But it is still rather enjoyable. In addition to the themes of finding one's purpose and fighting the terror of non-existence, it has never stopped being a delight to hear the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts et al as well as those joining the cast, like Christina Hendricks and especially Keanu Reeves as Duke Caboom in his best year ever. Toy Story 4 is the best animated film of 2019, though it is unlikely to win that prize.     

10. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Picture (David Heyman, Quentin Tarantino, Shannon McIntosh), Best Director (Tarantino), Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Supporting Actor (Brad Pitt), Best Original Screenplay (Tarantino), Best Cinematography (Robert Richardson), Best Costume Design (Arianne Phillips), Best Production Design (Barbara Ling, Nancy Haigh), Best Sound Mixing (Christian P. Minkler, Michael Minkler, Mark Ulano), Best Sound Editing (Wylie Stateman)

Quentin Tarantino's love letter to Hollywood feels a little bloated and features a schismatic ending, but if you have liked Tarantino's other films, particularly Jackie Brown, you will probably like this one (and root for it to win Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor, which it is favored to win). The best parts of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood are the performances of its stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, who work perfectly together. Pitt will likely win his second Oscar and first for acting. (He won for producing 12 Years a Slave.)

9. 1917
Best Picture (Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Jayne-Ann Tenggren, Callum McDougal), Best Director (Mendes), Best Original Screenplay (Mendes, Krysty Wilson-Cairns), Best Score (Thomas Newman), Best Cinematography (Roger Deakins), Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Naomi Donne, Tristan Versluis, Rebecca Cole), Best Production Designer (Dennis Gassner, Lee Sandales), Best Sound Editing (Oliver Tarney, Rachael Tate), Best Sound Mixing (Mark Taylor, Stuart Wilson), Best Visual Effects (Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler, Dominic Tuohy)

The World War I thriller 1917 possesses production value and direction that will leave you in awe. This film will most likely sweep the Oscars; it will most certainly win most of its nominations in the technical categories and most likely will take home the biggest prize, as well. (The only thing that could possibly stop it is the Academy's usage of ranked-choice voting, which may help an underdog like Parasite). As a film, it is mostly good and surprisingly tense, particularly the almost unbelievable obstacles these two British solders have to go through in order to get a vital message to another unit.

8. American Factory
Best Documentary (Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert, Jeff Reichert)

A documentary about a Chinese company purchasing an American factory that had shut down and the immense difficulty in navigating two very different work cultures to make the project work, I especially liked American Factory because it takes place in Ohio (where I grew up) and China (where I lived for nine months). While the second half of the documentary is considerably less interesting than the first half, it remains a strong contender for the Oscar. Part of voters' motivations could be because it is distributed by Higher Ground Productions, the film company of the Obamas, and the Academy might be aching to annoy the easily annoyable Donald Trump.

7. The Irishman
Best Picture (Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, Emma Tillinger Koskoff), Best Director (Scorsese), Best Supporting Actor (Al Pacino), Best Supporting Actor (Joe Pesci), Best Adapted Screenplay (Steve Zaillian), Best Production Design (Bob Shaw, Regina Graves), Best Cinematography (Rodrigo Prieto), Best Costume Design (Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson), Best Film Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker), Best Visual Effects (Pablo Helman, Leandro Estebecorena, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Stephane Grabli)

The Irishman, which should have kept the source material name (I Heard You Paint Houses), is the movie event everyone was waiting for. Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro's first collaboration on a full-length film in almost twenty-five years, the first pairing of Scorsese and Al Pacino (and the fourth film featuring both De Niro and Pacino), and the first live-action film with Joe Pecsi in nearly a decade, The Irishman turned out to be...good. Well, pretty good. There were some legitimate complains about the de-aging effects and the lack of women on screen, but it is still a highly recommendable film, an American epic.

6. Parasite
Best Picture (Kwak Sin-ae, Bong Joon-ho), Best Director (Bong), Best Original Screenplay (Bong, Han Jin-won), Best International Feature, Best Production Design (Lee Ha-jun, Cho Won-woo), Best Film Editing (Yang Jin-mo)

Parasite is among the most successful films in director Bong Joon-ho's accomplished career. Like many films by Bong, Parasite, about two very different families, changes course rapidly. It's mainly a dark drama mixed with black humor and a dash of horror, with one scene giving me (I think) a nightmare. But the most unforgettable scene is the climatic birthday party, perhaps the best sequence of any of these films. The acting from its cast has been widely acclaimed, with the group winning Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the Screen Actors Guild Awards last month (the first non-English movie to do so).

5. Marriage Story
Best Picture (Noah Baumbach, David Heyman), Best Actor (Adam Driver), Best Actress (Scarlett Johansson), Best Supporting Actress (Laura Dern), Best Original Screenplay (Baumbach), Best Score (Randy Newman)

Marriage Story features probably the best performances I've seen of Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Laura Dern, who will likely win for Best Supporting Actress. Other than Driver's big, random musical number at the end, the other scenes that are the most engaging feature the lawyers, particularly Alan Alda's kind, fatherly portrayal and the epic courtroom battle between Ray Liotta and Dern. Additionally, Baumbach's screenplay is great and Randy Newman's score is delightful. (His cousin Thomas is also nominated in the same category for 1917.)

4. The Lighthouse
Best Cinematography (Jarin Blaschke)

The Lighthouse, the second film directed by Robert Eggers, features some of the same DNA as his previous film, The Witch, and its Oscar-nominated cinematography might remind you of eerie films from the 1960s, like The Ghost Ship, for example. That being said, The Lighthouse is quite unlike any other film before it. About two suspicious lighthouse keepers (played by Robert Pattinson and a brilliant performance by Willem Dafoe), The Lighthouse is bizarre, funny, chilling, confusing, allegorical, frustrating, and indelible.

3. Honeyland
Best Documentary (Ljubomir Stefanov, Tamara Kotevska, Atanas Georgiev), Best International Feature 

The only film in history to have been nominated for both Best Documentary and Best International Feature, Honeyland, about a beekeeper, her elderly mother, and their nomadic neighbors in rural Macedonia almost feels like it's not a documentary. Honeyland trusts its viewers to empathize with the subjects and understand their situations and struggles. The film decides not to take the easy way out for its non-Macedonian audience members; indeed, we only find out it's from Macedonia when we hear that country being mentioned on a radio the subjects are listening to.

2. Knives Out
Best Original Screenplay (Rian Johnson)

Knives Out is just about the most fun you could have out of any of these movies. If you have even an ounce of fondness for Clue, Murder She Wrote, or any Agatha Christie novel, this entertaining whodunnit is a must-see. Rian Johnson, who also directed the film, deserves a lot of credit for the writing, but this category is basically a horse race between Parasite and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. With an all-star cast that includes Ana De Armas, Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Chris Evans, Toni Collette, Christopher Plummer, and Frank Oz, Knives Out is good, old-fashioned fun.

1. Little Women
Best Picture (Amy Pascal), Best Actress (Saoirse Ronan), Best Supporting Actress (Florence Pugh), Best Adapted Screenplay (Greta Gerwig), Best Original Score (Alexandre Desplat), Best Costume Design (Jacqueline Durran)

There are virtually no flaws in Little Women, the adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic book written for the screen and directed by Greta Gerwig. The cast, including Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Laura Dern, Timothée Chalamet, Meryl Streep, and others, is stupendous, and while Dern is great in Marriage Story, I would have preferred if she had been nominated for this film. She's absolutely amazing in it. There is so much joy exuding from this film, with such pleasant, wonderful moments; I enjoyed it from start to finish. It is certainly the best film of all those nominated this year; it is the best film of the year.

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