Movie – Booksmart
Jenni Holtz: Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut Booksmart is an incredibly fun take on the classic end-of-high-school-hoorah movie. The best friend duo of Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) decide to let loose on their last night of high school. They spent the past four years dedicated to school, swearing off parties for the sake of grades. So they plan to make up for it by going out — pepper spray in hand — to see what they’ve been missing.
Like most comedies, it gets bittersweet toward the end, culminating in a fight between Molly and Amy. The way it works out, though, feels genuine and satisfying. Booksmart is a party movie for people who are tired of party movies: it’s got all the silly antics, pool scenes, and exciting firsts of classic party flicks like Animal House and Superbad without the overt sexism. People can watch Booksmart and truly walk away feeling good.
Movie – Joker
Amy Smith: I had a feeling that I would like Joker just from the advertising campaign for being a completely different comic book film from what we were used to seeing in this day and age. I absolutely fell in love with Joker watching it for the first time, and I managed to appreciate it even more in a second watch.
The editing and cinematography are incredibly smart. Presenting not only a beautifully haunting story of a man being broken down and turning into a monster, but also telling it from his perspective which is unreliable and leaving the audience to decide what is true and what isn’t.
Movie – Ford v Ferrari
Justin C: Ford v Ferrari was based on the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race, where Ford built a race car to try beat Ferrari. This might sound boring to people who are not car racing fanatics, but no knowledge on car racing is needed to watch the movie as it was very enjoyable, action packed and exciting.
Marco Beltrami’s score was amazing as it really makes you feel like you are at the race ground. Phedon Papamichael’s cinematography captured the racing sequences brilliantly, in a way that makes you anxiously involved with what is happening.
The movie also had extraordinary performances from Christian Bale and Matt Damon, who had great chemistry. Bale is always a chameleon and gives a lot of dedication to every role he plays, this time reported to have lost 70 pounds from his previous role as Dick Cheney in Vice, to play grumpy and lean Ken Miles. Nice to hear Bale with his native British accent in a movie. Ford v Ferrari is a crowd pleaser for all moviegoers. Watch it if you still had not and it’s best seen in the multiplex for all the sound effects and cinematography which make the experience even better.
Movie – Us
Jenni Holtz: Jordan Peele’s sophomore feature Us is an instant classic. Peele showed the world with Get Out that he knows how to blend social commentary, classic horror, and a perfect score to make an effective horror film. Though some critics felt Us did not live up to the standard of Get Out, it is a highly original story told in an extremely entertaining way.
In Us, we follow a family of four as they meet their doppelgangers and learn the terrors of their dark intentions to change the world as we know it. The metaphor is larger than life, read by some as a class struggle, by others as a tale about failed government programs, and sometimes understood as being about both.
What the film lacks in clarity of meaning, it makes up for with incredible performances. Lupita Nyong’o shines in a dual role as Adelaide Wilson and her tethered, Red. Nyong’o crafts two distinct characters who share scenes so bone-chilling, you forget she’s playing both roles.
Movie – Her Smell
Jenni Holtz: Elisabeth Moss shines in the grungy, glitter-coated Her Smell. It’s not for everyone, but if Her Smell is for you, it’s really for you. The film is difficult to watch at times, as the washed-up punk rockstar Becky Something (Moss) goes through the high-highs and the low-lows of drug and alcohol addiction, all under the close-watching eye of the paparazzi and her fans.
The film alternates between two high intensity moods: the electrifying live performances of the band Something She and the painful backstage life of Becky filled with the pitfalls of living with addiction. Her Smell checks in with Becky at a few points in her life, highlighting only the highest and lowest points, making their differences all too noticeable. The gritty and glamorous movie is viscerally effective and emotionally resonant character study for anyone who has personal connections to alcohol or drug addiction.
Movie – The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Jeremy Robinson: The Last Black Man in San Francisco is such a special movie, which was sadly underseen this year even though it’s one of the most powerful films that came out in 2019. Under the guidance of director Joe Talbot (In his film debut), the film is a haunting, ode to the city of San Francisco told from the point of view of two black men who are on the outside looking in. The film touches on themes such as displacement and class systems told through a beautiful lens with touching performances.
One of the main set pieces of the film comes from probably the best musical moment in any film is the moody, and soulful of San Francisco (Be Sure to wear Flowers in your hair) as performed by Emile Mosseri. Mosseri’s voice adds to the film’s power which fully encapsulates the love and spirit of the city. In the film he plays a man singing on the street, and his presence evokes the idea of the lost people forgotten or marginalized in the city which includes the film’s main characters. It’s a power moment where you are able to bask in the rich beauty and melancholy of the film, and it haunts you afterwards as the credits role by.
Movie – Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Jenni Holtz: Céline Sciamma’s historical drama tells the story of two women’s growing forbidden love. Marianne (Noémie Merlant) and Héloise (Adèle Haenel) are brought together by circumstance; Marianne is hired to paint Héloise’s portrait without her noticing. Their relationship is built on understanding, passion, and the painful reality that they can not stay together.
The backdrop the French shoreline provides a gorgeous landscape for their love. Every single element of Portrait of a Lady on Fire — from the costumes to the impeccable acting — is executed with care, making every shot a crucial piece of the story. Though their love is central to the plot, Marianne and Héloise are fully fleshed-out characters; each with rich backstory and motivation for their actions. By the end of the 2-hour film, the audience leaves feeling the same things they feel: love, heartbreak, and, above all, longing.
