The 6th Annual 'Bamboo' Awards: Panda's Top 20 of 2019 (List is COMPLETE!)

[DAJK]

Yessss I adore the Rocketman love

[The Panda]

 

Honey Boy

Directed by Alma Ha'rel

 

"Make me look good, Honey Boy."

 

Most Valuable Player: Shia Labeouf for Writing and Acting

Box Office: 2.9m DOM

Metascore: Shia LaBeouf

Synopsis: From a screenplay by Shia LaBeouf, based on his own experiences, award-winning filmmaker Alma Har'el brings to life a young actor's stormy childhood and early adult years as he struggles to reconcile with his father through cinema and dreams. Fictionalizing his childhood's ascent to stardom, and subsequent adult crash-landing into rehab and recovery, Har'el casts Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges as Otis Lort, navigating different stages in a frenetic career. LaBeouf takes on the daring and therapeutic challenge of playing a version of his own father, an ex-rodeo clown and a felon. Artist and musician FKA Twigs makes her feature-film debut, playing neighbor and kindred spirit to the younger Otis in their garden-court motel home. Har'el's feature narrative debut is a one-of-a-kind collaboration between filmmaker and subject, exploring art as medicine and imagination as hope.

Critic Opinion: "“Shia LaBeouf left a bomb at Whole Foods,” dishes one character to another in the recently released third season of Netflix’s Big Mouth. “I bet it’s, like, an art project,” comes the eye-rolling reply. Such were the spectacles of eccentricity, pretension, and even violence conjured by the Transformers star in the past decade-and-a-half—every last one breathlessly reported by the media—that the 33-year-old actor, like many other former child stars, is now arguably more famous for his off-screen antics than his on-camera work. That context can make the semi-autobiographical Honey Boy, which LaBeouf wrote in court-ordered rehab and stars in as a version of his own bullying father (the names are changed to protect the innocent and otherwise), sound self-pitying and self-exculpatory. But LaBeouf is so revelatory as both writer and actor that the film defies cynicism about its second purpose as celebrity image management. It just makes you excited about the work." - Inkoo Kang, Slate

User Opinion: I can't find any lol

Reasoning: With her directorial debut, Alma Ha'rel creates a tight and moving picture from Shia's autobiographical screenplay.  The film is a marvelous character piece on many different levels, despite having no real driving plot, the film never feels aimless and keeps you enriched and entertained throughout the whole ordeal.  As the film works its way towards its conclusion it manages to paint a vividly rich and loving portrait of an incredibly terrible parent, and the film is able to sit in that contradiction splendidly.  It leaves you excited to see what Alma Ha'rel and Shia will be able to come up with next.

 

 

 

Edited December 30, 2019 by The Panda

[MOVIEGUY]

I Lost My Body is great, also my favorite animation of 2019 that I've seen so far. Agreed on whoever did that hand animation killing it. I can barely draw a decent looking hand let alone animate one.

[The Panda]

 

1917

Directed by Sam Mendes

 

"If you fail it'll be a massacre."

 

Most Valuable Player: Roger Deakins for the Cinematography

Box Office: N/A yet

Metascore: 80

Synopsis: Schofield and Blake, two young British soldiers during the First World War, are given a seemingly impossible mission. With time against them, they must deliver a message, deep in enemy territory, that will stop their own men, and Blake's own brother, walking straight into a deadly trap.

Critic Opinion: "The light is a drama in itself, enhancing the feel of every scene, changing from the deep shadows in the room where Blake and Schofield get their orders, to deceptively bright skies, and eventually a huge plume of fire glowing orange against a pitch-black night sky. In addition to American Beauty and the underrated Jarhead, set during the Gulf War, Mendes has directed the last two James Bond films, Skyfall and Spectre. His experience with all that Bond action is put to good use in 1917, which for all its intimacy is laced with spectacular set pieces, with plane crashes and escapes while under enemy fire.  1917 is a tribute to sacrifice and heroism, but it is not naive about the brutal motives that are sometimes behind combat. Mark Strong, a captain along the heroes’ route to the front, advises that if the message is actually delivered, “Make sure there are witnesses,” so the order to stand down can't be ignored. “Some men just want the fight,” he says. More often, Mendes resists philosophising and lets the action – explosively around the heroes and subtly on their faces – express the fraught, complicated, terrifying condition of war." - Caryn James, The BBC

User Opinion: "Technically it looks and sounds fantastic. Gonna be amazing to see on a PLF screen." - @Plain Old Tele

Reasoning: I didn't actually post a full review of 1917 as a I saw it last night, so there may be quite a bit of recency bias in how high I am ranking this one (or maybe not and I'll like it better with age).  1917 is a technical marvel, even if the whole one take thing is a bit of a gimmick.  The film gives you a feeling as if you're playing Uncharted set in trenches, or something along those lines, the dialogue is direct to the point and the entire thing moves focused toward its final direction.  Yet despite that sounding like it shouldn't make for a compelling film, it manages to somehow succeed and even leave you fairly moved by the time the madness ends.  It doesn't do anything entirely unique for a war film, but I'm not sure it really has to in order to be an effective and compelling film.  1917 is brilliant technical work, and is serviceable enough in the other areas to make for a rather compelling complete package.

 

 

[Plain Old Tele]

“The film gives you a feeling as if you're playing Uncharted set in trenches, or something along those lines...”

 

Yes. 

[The Panda]

For this next category I am putting an * by Brad Pitt and Florence Pugh, as I'd like to go ahead and recognize them for their performances in Ad Astra and Midsommar as well.  I just decided to pick my favorite of the two roles to make room to recognize a few more in the lead categories.

 

 

 

[Plain Old Tele]

1 hour ago, The Panda said:

 

No Bob Ducsey for KNIVES OUT editing?

 

 

[Madhuvan]

Isn't it amazing when VFX guild/association themselves acknowledge the work of Avengers Endgame and Lion King but you can't as it will make your awards less credible. 

 

@The Panda your lists are very good but it's also true you are hesitant to acknowledge blockbuster movies just for the sake of it.

 

[TMP]

4 minutes ago, Madhuvan said:

@The Panda your lists are very good but it's also true you are hesitant to acknowledge blockbuster movies just for the sake of it.

It's a subjective list, just because he doesn't agree with the guilds doesn't mean he's posturing 

[The Panda]

 

Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood

Directed by Quentin Tarantino

 

"Give me evil, sexy Hamlet."

 

Most Valuable Player: Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt as Rick Fucking Dalton and his stunt double Cliff

Box Office: 141.1m DOM

Metascore: 83

Synopsis: Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood visits 1969 Los Angeles, where everything is changing, as TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) make their way around an industry they hardly recognize anymore. The ninth film from the writer-director features a large ensemble cast and multiple storylines in a tribute to the final moments of Hollywood's golden age.

Critic Opinion: "Tarantino has long said his tenth film would be his last, a self-imposed limit meant to send the director off at the height of his powers rather than in the twilight. He credits “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” as his ninth, and watching it in that context – as the possibly penultimate work from a man who loves movies as much as Tarantino does – makes the film play all the more bittersweet.  And it’s the first of his films this decade that has really found its rhythm and nailed its tone since the 2010 death of his of longtime editor, Sally Menke. This isn’t an artist creatively spent, but one hitting a new groove." - Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic

User Opinion: "I pretty much loved this, Tarantinos best-looking movie along with Basterds and Kill Bill 1&2. Brad Pitt and DiCaprio are just a delight to watch. Its very slow paced, but i never felt bored for a second, kinda like Jackie Brown.  If i would have to complain its that i fee like you could cut out 1 scene of Margot Robbie. But overall, the handling of her and the Manson murderers went in a direction that was really satiesfying so really ... i cant really complain. Just a great movie from a great filmmaker." - @Brainbug

Reasoning: A movie that seemed to get a lot of complaints from our forums from feeling aimless I ended up digging precisely for those reasons.  Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a quilt of fantastical golden age goodness, I could have sat and watched Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth stroll around Hollywood doing their stuff all day long.  It's packed with gif worthy moments, and it ends up dropping one killer of an ending on you that elevates the film to an entirely new level.  Quentin Tarantino delivered one of his better works with this one, and it'll be a real shame if this really is his second to last feature given how consistent he has been.

 

 

 

[Eric Atreides]

15 minutes ago, Madhuvan said:

Isn't it amazing when VFX guild/association themselves acknowledge the work of Avengers Endgame and Lion King but you can't as it will make your awards less credible. 

 

@The Panda your lists are very good but it's also true you are hesitant to acknowledge blockbuster movies just for the sake of it.

 

lol

[The Panda]

 

Ad Astra

Directed by James Gray

 

"In the end, the son suffers the sins of the father."

 

Most Valuable Player: Hoyte van Hoytema for the Cinematography

Box Office: 50.2m DOM

Metascore: 80

Critic Opinion: "Like many of the more intimate, less ostentatious science fiction films, Ad Astra never loses sight of either the wonder of venturing beyond Earth and the danger inherent in doing so. This isn’t the first time Gray has taken a hero on a journey into the unknown. His previous feature, The Lost City of Z, feels a little like an Earth-based dress rehearsal for Ad Astra. The new movie is superior in every way except perhaps highlighting the color green. The film’s geography takes us on a cross-solar system journey but the real trajectory is deep into the human experience – finding meaning in life and coming to grips with being left behind. The ultimate message is arguably presented a little too explicitly in a line of dialogue late in the film but it’s an easily forgiven indulgence since the odyssey of getting there is so mesmerizing." - James Berardinelli

User Opinion: "Friendship ended with Stanley Kubrick. Now James Gray is my best friend." - @CoolioD1

Reasoning: Ad Astra is beautiful gem of a movie that slowly sinks you into the journey through space Brad Pitt takes in searching for his father.  The film has so many really cool moments, even if there is a random rabid space monkey within it.  The scenes on the Moon are incredible to watch, that entire moon buggie chase sequence was one of the more riveting action sequences of the year.  It's absolutely gorgeous to take in, backed nicely with a building score from Max Richter.  Brad Pitt remains central in the film, with a powerfully subdued performance as he learns to let go of what was never there and receive the good in his life that he had all along.  Another great effort from auteur James Gray.

 

 

 

[The Panda]

 

[The Panda]

Any of my top 6 likely would have won out the year if they were released in 2018, or at least been an easy number 2 pick.  It was a really competitive year and hard to figure out an order for them!

 

 

Us

Directed by Jordan Peele

 

"We're Americans."

 

Most Valuable Player: Lupita N'yongo as Adelaide and Red

Box Office: 175m

Metascore: 81

Synopsis: In order to get away from their busy lives, the Wilson family takes a vacation to Santa Cruz, California with the plan of spending time with their friends, the Tyler family. On a day at the beach, their young son Jason almost wanders off, causing his mother Adelaide to become protective of her family. That night, four mysterious people break into Adelaide's childhood home where they're staying. The family is shocked to find out that the intruders look like them, only with grotesque appearances.

Critic Opinion: "Before two hours have passed, there will be a survival battle that will chill the blood, boggle the mind, send rabbits scattering and forever alter your take on the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” and N.W.A.’s “F--k Tha Police.” You might also want to rethink any planned purchase of those newfangled home-listening devices.  You’ll appreciate Peele’s assured sense of direction and his team’s mastery of the camera movements and sound design of classic horror films, where more than just jump-scares sustains the mood. Peele’s comics instincts are likewise well deployed, especially regarding Gabe’s buffoonish antics with a wonky new boat that even manages to frustrate his evil twin." - Peter Howell

User Opinion: "Holy shit this movie is a masterpiece.  Absolute perfect blend of horror and comedy (it's astonishing how well Peele tows this line) and some of the most genuinely satisfying payoffs in any movie I've seen for a long time.  I can't wait to watch this a thousand more times." - @That One Guy

Reasoning: Jordan Peele delivers again with his sophmore effort, and this time he gets to up the production value a few antes as well.  Us is one of a dying breed of original blockbusters, but man does it show how desperately we need more clever, original tentpoles.  Us is wildly entertaining from the start to finish and truly feels like something refreshing.  With a brilliant lead performance by Lupita N'yongo, Us is a film that will etch itself into your memory.  While the movie isn't quite as tight as Get Out, and it does leave the viewer scratching their head in a few places, it still delivers in all other regards and gives Hitchcockian theatrics that you'll be desperate for more of once it all finishes.

 

 

 

[Fancyarcher]

Loved Us. So glad to see it high on your list.

Edited December 30, 2019 by Fancyarcher

[The Panda]

 

Midsommar

Directed by Ari Aster

 

"It's a bear."

 

Most Valuable Player: Ari Aster for Writing and Directing

Box Office: 27.4m DOM

Metascore: 72

Critic Opinion: "Midsommar" isn't just a great horror movie, or proof that director Ari Aster is a budding auteur who likely has a bright future ahead of him. It is also one of the best movies ever made about living with mental illness.  This isn't mere subtext; it is front and center throughout the entire plot. When the audience is first introduced to protagonist Dani Ardor (Florence Pugh), she is taking Ativan to treat an anxiety condition so severe that her boyfriend Christian Hughes (Jack Reynor) is emotionally exhausted and his friends Josh (William Jackson Harper), Mark (Will Poulter) and Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren) are urging him to dump her. While he seems ready to do so, he also feels guilt-tripped into staying after Dani's sister and parents die in a murder-suicide. While Dani's mental health problems had already been established as pretty severe, the trauma of this turn of events makes them exponentially worse.

 

There is a moment in these early scenes that sets the thematic tone of the movie that follows. When Christian picks up his phone and first learns about the family deaths from Dani, she is unable to use words to communicate what has happened. Instead she wails, over and over again, to Christian's exasperated consternation. The scene could have been employed as a dark joke — Christian and his friends had just discussed how it seemed like one crisis after another with Dani, and here we go again  — but it actually foreshadows the payoff of the movie's premise. When Dani joins Christian and his friends on a trip to Sweden's Hälsingland — ostensibly taken so that Josh can write his thesis about a cult that lives there — the horror sets in as most of the characters must try to survive the cult's various evil rituals." - Matthew Rozsa

User Opinion: "Pretty much liked all of it.  I don't think it needed to be 2.5 hours long and I think some of the decisions the characters make are questionable and more in tune with what Friday the 13th characters would do (like at one point I was expecting some of them to say "I'll be right back").  But other than those small complaints, it's a terrific horror movie.  It develops the characters and it allows you to get to know them to the point where you love or despise them so that when the messed up stuff does happen you empathize and feel for what they go through.  I didn't care for Hereditary, not because Ari Aster didn't do some good things in it but because the story and the plot and the ending especially, were just way too dumb for me.....Midsommar rectifies all of that.  I'd recommend this to everyone.  It's violent and brutal and I enjoyed all of it. " - @baumer

Reasoning: BURN THE BEAR!  What a riveting film that's a great date night film, definitely watch it with your significant other.  Florence Pugh is magnificent in the lead role, it's a really cathartic take on getting over mental illness, overcoming grief and burning the toxic significant others in your life.  Midsommar is simply a cinematic experience and experiencing it in a theater with a horrified and confused audience was a glorious experience.  The ending of the film is one of the top 5 scenes of the decade and my favorite of the year, absolutely glorious! A24 delivered true art and won the summer with this brilliant horror film.  Midsommar is a testament for why we should just give auteurs money and let them go wild, so we can get pure art such as this!

 

 

 

[Plain Old Tele]

14 minutes ago, Fancyarcher said:

Loved Us. So glad to see it high on your list.

what

 

oh no

[Ethan Hunt]

1 minute ago, Plain Old Tele said:

what

 

oh no

oh you grump (and Runner up in fantasy football )

 

[Plain Old Tele]

7 minutes ago, Ethan Hunt said:

oh you grump (and Runner up in fantasy football )

 

It’s bad, Ethan. Almost as bad as my performance today. 

[The Panda]