Welcome to 5 Favorites. Each week, I will put together a list of my 5 favorites (films, performances, whatever strikes my fancy) along with commentary on a given topic each week, usually in relation to a specific film releasing that week.
Christmas Day often sees some of the most important holiday releases as it often a time of great success with the box office and it’s one of the last weekends of release prior to the end of the year, thus qualifying for the Academy Awards. This year, there are no fewer than seven wide releases that will be available on Christmas Day. Three of them will have opened that same day, while the others opened on the 22nd. Rather than focusing on every release over the holiday weekend, I decided to isolate this week’s selections to films that released exactly on Christmas Day. While that narrowed my options quite a lot, there was no shortage of viable selections. I picked out five titles, three of which were big Oscar players, one of which should have been, and one that never would have contended no matter how good it is and it is definitely fun.
Galaxy Quest (1999)
In terms of enjoyment, Galaxy Quest is the most enjoyable film on this list. While the others are great films, they aren’t as entertaining as a sci-fi comedy spoof on the Star Trek brand. The film stars Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, and Sam Rockwell play actors whose careers have stalled as they work the fan convention circuit following the success of their 1980s sci-fi adventure television series. Allen plays the show’s captain whose selfishness grates on his former co-stars as he’s the only one happy with the fan adulation.
When a group of real aliens show up to seek Allen’s help in dealing with a dangerous enemy, the entire crew is brought into a save-the-universe adventure of their very own with aliens who believe the TV series is actually a documentary and not a fictional tale. The friendly jabs at the cast of the original Star Trek along with its wink-and-nod lampoon of similar programs makes this a rather enjoyable time if you happen to be a fan of that type of thing.
No Original Review Available.
Children of Men (2006)
Based on mystery novelist PD James’ post-apocalyptic science fiction novel, Children of Men, director Alfonso Cuaron captures the gritty defeatism at play in the novel’s storyline of a former activist turned bureaucrat (Clive Owen) who embarks on a dangerous mission to protect a young woman who has become pregnant in spite of a global pandemic of infertility. The film co-stars Julianne Moore, Clare-Hope Ashitey, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Charlie Hunnam.
The film takes a few liberties with James’ original novel, but remains faithful to its stark realism, a depression-soaked Great Britain where the military has established martial law while the public remains frustrated and despondent over the lack of reproductive capabilities. Owen and Ashitey are terrific at the heart of the film’s narrative, but the star of the film is Cuaron’s taut direction, the thrilling slow boil narrative, and Emmanuel Lubezki’s tremendous photography.
Selma (2014)
Following up on the critical success of her sophomore feature Middle of Nowhere, Ava DuVernay brings along that film’s star David Oyelowo to play the role of Martin Luther King Jr. as he struggles to empower the Black community in the face of growing disillusion and violence enacted upon them by intolerant racists. The film’s primary focus is detailing the events leading up to the pivotal march King led from Selma, Alabama towards the state’s capitol in Montgomery and the aftermath of the violent assault conducted on the marchers by the Alabama state troopers.
A significant and galvanizing event in the progress of Black rights in the United States as well as the catalyst that would force Lyndon Johnson to force the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in congress, enshrining into law the prohibition of discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. This poignant film takes us from the devastating bombing of a church in Birmingham that killed four Black girls all the way to the horrifying events that took place on the Edmund Pettis Bridge during the march. DuVernay evoked a sense of despair, frustration, and ultimately hope as King Jr.’s legacy is ultimately vindicated. While it might have been a more powerful film if his estate had permitted the use of his most important speeches, but what DuVernay and screenwriter Paul Webb manage to craft instead is still potent stuff.
Little Women (2019)
What might well be one of the best adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s seminal young adult literary classic, Greta Gerwig took the book and rearranged its contents so as to draw a parallel between persevering protagonist Jo March and the real life attempts by Alcott herself to become a published author. Remaining faithful to the spirit of the book, Gerwig’s film features strong female characters in situations that demand their swift adaptation to challenging situations and environments.
Aiding her with her creation of a feminist masterpiece, Gerwig brings in some of the finest working actors to play roles that seem tailor made for their personalities. The highlights in the cast include Saoirse Ronan playing the fearless Jo with a dollop of doubt that helps strengthen her characters otherwise stalwart persona, Florence Pugh inhabiting the plucky Amy, Laura Dern infusing Marmee with warmth and confidence, and Chris Cooper delivering one of his finest late-career performances as the March’s compassionate neighbor Mr. Laurence. There are so many glowing things to say about the film that its profile should rise in the coming years to declare it as it should be one of the finest works of cinema the 21st Century has so far produced.
Promising Young Woman (2020)
Not to be outdone by Gerwig’s pinnacle achievement, actor Emerald Fennell steps behind the camera with this scathing look at toxic masculinity from the female perspective. She could find no better muse for her persistent heroine than Carey Mulligan who delivers her single greatest performance in a sea of terrific ones. Mulligan plays a young woman, formerly a doctoral candidate who has taken it upon herself to catch men behaving despicably and show them the error of their ways.
Dismantling nearly every excuse that too many men make in defending their actions as sexual predators who would take advantage of a drunken woman, Fennell’s script ably demonstrates not just how pervasive the problem is, but that even how horrifically real these kinds of situations are. Perhaps the film’s finale is too perfectly constructed to make a point, but so is the nature of the situations women face on a daily basis. When their assaulters can go scot free in criminal trials and perhaps even become a Supreme Court justice or President of the United States while facing little to no effective scrutiny, it’s all too clear that the reality is more disturbing than the fiction on screen in this film.
Beyond just its thematic relevance, Fennell shows the inventive skill and creative eye of a young master whose future work can’t help but excel should she pursue that career path. It’s a gorgeously mounted film with musical cues and symbolism-laden shot compositions that would put to shame many of the male filmmakers who would be considered her compatriots and certainly as much gift as some of her recent forebears. This is expert filmmaking and any chance I have to sing its praises, I will take.
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