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The Top Ten Films of 2019

One hundred and fifty. That’s the final tally for new release movies I’ve seen this year as of writing this here article. The shot clock is up. The endpoint to officially putting my selection for the top ten films of 2019 is kaput. The decision is written into stone. Out into the ether. That means I had to give the old Thanos snap to 140 movies in the process and this year’s selection sumo-wrestling was just as painstaking and awful as any other. The things I do for clicks. ‘Twas a fine year for film with a smattering of highlights, from magic rock dramas to alligator horror, anime blockbusters to feminist comedy, with critical darlings and box office hits often coming from the least expected of corners. Oh and Disney cleaning up at the bank per usual. Read More

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High-Schooler’s Slow-Motion Self Destruction Vividly Captured in ‘WAVES’ 

Waves is a film in two parts, at once as connected and severed as a man following a trip to the guillotine. In a sense, it’s almost a story and sequel in one package. One whose first and second parts have alternating sets of lead characters, battling tonality, and wildly diverse cinematography, though its hip-hop-saturated musical through-line binds its saga together as does the overbearing sense of cause and effect that ripples throughout the Williams family’s lives. Waves moving outwards and growing in intensity, born of the smallest pebble dropped in the pond, grow to towering surf, stretched over devastating undertow.  Read More