Insert "Profound Movie Quote" Here - The Best of 2018

Insert “Profound Movie Quote” Here

TOP TENs OF 2018

My Annual (?) Best of Stuffs Lists

By Ernest M Whiteman III

Once gain, I take pen in hand to writ for you my selections of various media “best of”.

Honestly, my schedule gotten so busy I lost track of writing this. Now, I find it even funnier that I am putting this out nearly a year later. Enjoy!

BOOKS of 2018

This has been another good year for me, book-wise. I was able to read a lot more this year and I have had my mind and eyes opened through reading for the first time in a long time. Is that not the purpose of books to begin with? Unfortunately, due to all the added reading, I have read “Three Kingdoms” only once last year. So, what did I think were the best things in books this past year? I have been able to buy more books this year than last, which is great. SO here is the list of books I have gotten or re-read in the order of the newest first:

The Art of War Illustrated Edition – Attributed to Sun Tzu (Barnes & Noble Edition) – I look out for any copy of this. AN illustrated edition is always good to get.

African Samurai – Thomas Lockely & Geoffrey Girard (Galley Copy Publishing date April 30, 2019 - Read) – I enjoyed this but it was light on the story of Kasuke, the titular samurai.

Lonesome Dove – Larry McMurtry (Re-read): reading this again, I am surprised just how much the famed mini-series got WRONG. It especially sell the character of Woodrow Call short. It is Call that makes his own realizations of how he treats Newt and that Newt is a living reminder of his own failures towards Maggie. Also, it completely foregoes Call’s tenderness and affection towards Newt in favor of machismo-ism and faux-manlinessof the TV series. Call mentors Newt extensively throughout the book. Too bad this is lost. Also, Gus is kind of a bully in the book. It is a great tale overall. But the vaunted miniseries really sells the characters short.

Go Set a Watchman – Harper Lee (Read): One of my favorite books of 2018. I wrote a short review of it here.

Moon of the Crusted Snow – Waubgeshig Rice (Read): A great little story about a long winter that knocks out all the electricity in the country and the Annishinabe Tribe’s fight for survival.

Future Home of the Living God – Louise Erdrich (read): Why hasn’t Erdrich ascended to the Top Native American Writer after the fall of Alexie. I guess we just wanted another make Native to speak for us, Huh? This is a great read.

Heart Berries – Marie Terese-Mailhot (Read) – A tough read. But well worth it. Check it out.

Killers of the Flower Moon – Gunn (Read) – A good over view of the Osage Massacre but heavy on the White Saviors trope.

It’s Superman! – Tom Dehaven (Re-read) – one of my all-time favorite books. Here, Clark Kent grows up in Depression Era Kansas.

Invisible Natives: Myth and Identity in the American Western – Armando José Prats (Re-read) – the book I use in my class and the most influential on my perspective of Native American representation. Many people I recommend this too do not read it because a Native American did not write it. Because you cannot usurp Native American cultural authority from a Cuban academic I suppose.

Trail of Lightning – Rebecca Roanhorse (read) – pretty good if muddled story. It is the first part of a multi-part series. You would think that a Native woman writer writing about a Native woman protagonist would get more lauds. Shame. This one has seen controversy over the depictions of Navajo spirituality. Which I can understand. But we need to work harder to protect our spirituality. Maybe we should stop giving people permission to write about it all the time?

The Journey of Crazy Horse – Joseph M Marshall III (Re-read) – Still the best biography on Tasunke Witko. Hands down.

“Three Kingdoms” Luo Guanzhong, translated by Moss Roberts (Still Reading) – You must be so tired of this. Read it if you can. I am still updating my reviews of the various editions of “Three Kingdoms” that I did back in 2011. Some newer editions have come out and some other media versions will be included, such as comics, films, and video games. Yep, I am going there.

Now, on to music:

MY MUSIC of 2018

Here is what I got last year:

Alabama Shakes – Boys and Girls: Got this once I heard Britany Howard sing on a tribute to Levon Helm. That turned me towards “Hold On” by the band. Later I bought the CD and have not listened to it once. Weird.

Janelle Monáe – Dirty Computer (online): I would hear a sample of this during the intermission times at the theater I work at.  I remembered Monáe from “Moonlight” and did not know she was a musical artist. I looked up the album on YouTube and enjoyed the music a lot. Still would like to buy the CD.

So, that does it for music. Not much but I don’t listen to the radio anymore and am often surprised by what is popular in music these days. Let’s look at what I got on home video this past year.

MY DVDs of 2018

Doctor Who: Complete Peter Capaldi Set (B&N Sale – 60%): This was the last DVD set I got myself for 2018. I have never been a big fan of Doctor Who. Let me rephrase that – I have never been a fan of the David Tennent and Matt Smith “Doctor Who”. I cut my Dr. Who teeth on Christopher Eccleston. Once he left after the first series, I wasn’t interested. But the show went on without me. Then, when Peter Capaldi takes over

The Magnificent Ambersons (Criterion, Gift) – Welles considered this superior to “Citizen Kane”. But studio interference changed the ending. You can tell. Welles also spoke of a 12-minute tracking shot. Man. What could have been. Still, it is a very good film.

The Hero (Criterion, 50% B&N Sale): The cover and the story intrigued me. It seemed to be Ray’s version of “8 & ½”. I watched once I got it home and happy at how good it is. Check it out.

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (Criterion, B&N 50% Sale) – Got this based on the Criterion trailer. Very good story and filmmaking. Check it out.

The Tree of Life (Criterion) – The first Malick film I ever saw.

Hidden Fortress (Criterion, B&N 50% Sale) – Who doesn’t own this one?

Tremors – One of my favorite horror-comedies. While folks go on about Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward give a great performace, as does the entire ensemble. It’s just not about Bacon in this one.

Dragon Inn (Criterion) – King Hu’s classic. I first noted this one on “Goodbye Dragon Inn” about the closing of a movie theater. I got his “Come Drink with Me” and “A Touch of Zen” both are really good and this one fits right in. His propensity for women heroes makes his films ahead of their time.

Thank goodness for sales, resell shops and a whole lot of patience. Let’s move on to movies on the big screen. But first a look back at what I was looking forward to last year:

LOOKING BACK: The Top Ten Films I WAS Looking Forward to in 2018

Proud Mary:  Finally saw this on DVD. It was a fun romp and just a simple action movie. It opened in January 2018 and was almost immediately forgotten. But during its run in the theater I work, it was huge with the ladies of the community. They flocked to see this and we ran it an extra two weeks after.

Black Panther: SEE TOP TEN LIST.

Early Man: I still have not gotten to see this.

Ocean’s 8: SEE TOP TEN LIST.

Incredibles 2: SEE TOP TEN LIST.

Scarface (Joel and Ethan Coen): Never happened.

Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse: SEE TOP TEN LIST.

Creed 2: SEE TOP TEN LIST.

HIDDEN GEMS THAT I MISSED:

The Favourite? Nope. Boring.

TOP RE-SCREEN & SPECIAL EVENT SCREENINGS OF 2018

From the looks of it, I saw a lot of repeat screenings and special event screenings. Look out; there is a LOT of Orson Welles on this list. Besides being one of my favorite film directors, you have to admit, in his later years, there was a LOT of Orson Welles wherever he went! Ha!  Here is what I saw as a re-screening or special event this year:

Rifftrax Live: Space Mutiny – a re-riffing of one of their classic episodes. I barely remember the new jokes mostly due to the old jokes being on my mind throughout. Check it out.

The Killer (Music Box) – John Woo’s classic on the big screen with a 35mm print at the Music Box. No one really takes in movies any more. We react to movies now. This was a great experience of a great movie. Too bad the reactor generation laughed at the whole thing. I guess I’m just old now.

My Neighbor Totoro (Ghibli Fest) – Finally saw this on the big screen and thought it was okay.

Doctor Who Series 11 Premiere – “The Woman Who Fell to Earth” was a great way to start off the new series and Doctor. I don’t know why anyone is losing their shit over this.

Wings of Desire (Gene Siskel Center) – last movie of the year I saw was Wim Wenders’ classic tale of an angel falling to grace, rather than from it, by becoming human. Great film.

OTHER NEW MOVIES I SAW IN 2018:

A Quiet Place – This was a good concept that sort of falls apart on repeated viewings.

Avengers: Infinity War – I was so bored with this one. Really. Just bored.

Solo: A Star Wars Story – This was a surprisingly fun caper film. Wish it were better acted though Donald Glover was great as Lando. So much so, he should have been the one with the spin-off film. FanBoys hated it because a robot with a female voice was in it.

Ant-man and the Wasp – A more fun and coherent movie than the first, it still suffered from forgettable villains and too much Michael Douglas.

Mission Impossible: Fallout – This is a great action caper film. The Tom Cruise can sure churn these out.

Bohemian Rhapsody – After thinking on this so long, Freddie Mercury deserved better.

Widows – So so.

That takes care of all the new films that did not make the Top Ten. I hope hearing about them helps.

So, lets take a look at the year ahead as it just gets started:

Looking Forward to in 2019:

GLASS – I already have my ticket bought for this. I hope it live up to expectations. I really think “Unbreakable” never needed a sequel. I hope this doesn’t do callbacks

CAPTAIN MARVEL – Just to see all the anti-SWJ heads explode because “devoomin”.

US – the trailer for Jordan Peele’s latest looks really creepy!

JOHN WICK 3 – Chapter Two was not as good as the first, nothing really is.

JOKER – I am very interested in the direction they seem to be taking this. Could be “The Dark Knight” for the Joker. If that makes sense.

THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER, THEN THE BIGFOOT – Interesting title, starring Sam Elliot. What can go wrong?

“Maybe’s” of 2019

Avengers: Endgame  - Was so bored with the last one.

Dark Phoenix – I dunno, I may not get to see this.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Tarantino’s ninth film. I hope it’s good. “The Hateful Eight” was pretty good.

“Why Bother” of 2019

Star Wars Episode IX – I am tired of Star Wars. I never thought I would say that.

Shazam! – I am sooo tired of the DC Universe films. Schlocky actioers that fans think are improving.

So here we are at last:

EW3'S TOP TEN MOVIES of 2018

This time I will try to keep it to first-run, brand new movies, and not include re-screenings or special event screenings. I was surprised with how many really good, smaller, independent films that were out and no one was paying attention to at all. I must admit, looking back on the string of films, that 2018 was not a strong one for movies, at least, for me. Nothing really held my interest in particular.

So here we go with what I thought were the best movies of 2018. It does come down to my own personal taste:

Special Mention: Daniel Day-Lewis in “The Phantom Thread” – Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson: This is not the strongest role that Day-Lewis should retire on. But it is always a joy to watch him. You know that there has not been a rash of great films for the year when I place a Paul Thomas Anderson film on the list, except for “There Will be Blood”, which is more a mark of Daniel Day-Lewis’ work in the film rather than Anderson’s. Here, Day-Lewis plays a clothier who falls in love with a younger woman. It was a good movie. I can say that. All the actors were very good and the twist (sigh, why does there always have to be a twist) was fitting. Still, I attribute the greatness more to Daniel Day-Lewis than Paul Thomas Anderson, whose subtle performance is what makes these Anderson's films …"great".

Just the subtlety of his acting in this, from the "What was I thinking?" reactions to the way he goes on about cream and porridge. Masterful. Lewis is my favorite actor and I hate to see him go. One day, maybe, I'll make the movie that lures him back into acting. Maybe. I also got to make a very "Phantom Thread" joke with Bonnie one time that made her laugh, which warmed my heart.

10: The Incredibles 2 – Directed by Brad Bird (Formerly #9) Bao – Directed by: Honestly, I don’t know why this is on the list. I never thought “The Incredibles” needed a sequel and this one plays out the same story beats. What saves it is “Bao” the animated short that ran before it. Yes, a short film is one of the Top Ten Films of 2018 for me!

9. Mary Queen of Scots – I did enjoy this film because it angered me so. The political intrigue over the fact that the leader of the country is a woman. “Mary Queen of Scots” is a historical film with the same message of how women must work in the world of men. Here we follow the two queens as they maneuver against one another and their own courts. Very interesting and showed me that things barely change in how men view women in charge.

This film caught a bit of flak for casting people in color in historically non-POC roles. But to the director Josie Rourke’s credit, felt giving POC actors an opportunity to act was of more importance. This was written by Beau Willimon and based on John Guy's biography “Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart”.

8. Ocean’s Eight – Directed by Gary Ross: (Yes, this beat out “Phantom Thread”! How dare I!) I am a huge fan of the Soderberg-directed "Ocean's Eleven" and its cast and characters as it struck the right note between caper and story, character and tone. Here, we find sister Ocean, Debbie, herself a conman, er, con-person, and also just released from prison, going on to pull a heist of jewels from a MET Gala. Familiar, right?

To do so, she must recruit other women ("Because women get ignored and we need to be ignored") and what a crew she recruits. This truly follows in Soderberg's "Eleven"'s footsteps while making the path their own. It is by no means a heavy film much like its predecessors. But it is a joy to watch because all of the characters, especially Anne Hathaway playing a version of herself that was obviously informed by how people see her, keeps the scheme fresh and the pace and fun going. Of course it is more style than substance, it is supposed to be, but it happens to have a cool caper at the center of it.

Of course, the heist is fraught with tension, switches, and a twist. The characters are engaging and funny and really sell the team aspect. I enjoyed this from beginning to end. Of course, it has the obligatory cameos from the first film. Plus, they do something truly brave to set it apart from the other "Ocean's" film. Let's just say, it involves drinking a martini in toast.

Every character is correctly cast and the caper is satisfying, and the romp is fun, fun. I have no problem at all with this (Some do, though I cannot fathom why.) and indeed, have been looking forward to it since it was announced. I can only paraphrase the best line, "There is an 8-year-old girl out there, dreaming of being a criminal. Let's do it for her." (Which got the biggest laugh and applause. And yes, I added this to be #8 on this list.)

7. The Black Panther – Directed by Ryan Coogler: Ryan Coogler is breaking boundaries in a more direct way than ever has been before. A lot of people I know hate this movie. It did not help that it was nominated for Best Picture. "Black Panther" has had to accomplish many things for being the first film about the titular character - it needed to establish its place in the pantheon of the MCU, it needed to connect to the overall story orc of that MCU, it needed to tell the origin of the current holder of the Black Panther mantle, it needed to present characters that are fresh, its own story that is engaging, introduce a villain that is compelling, and, almost unfairly, it needs to be a voice for an under-represented people. It needed to speak to topics as varied as drugs and over-policing in urban areas to political isolationism, and racial identity. That is the weight that this film, its cast and crew, and especially its director, seems almost proud to carry.

For me, it accomplishes all of these, magnificently.

This movie has probably one of the tightest Marvel scripts I have seen in some time for its genre. It give enough background information on Killmonger and T'Challa to show their conflicting ideologies. It deftly tells us how Killmonger is adept at destabilizing countries and exploiting resources through tight dialogue and throwaway lines. It is not impossible for him to take over a country, especially in a comic book movie.  One of the complaints was why did it have to show the country of Wakanda warring with itself in the end. This is what Killmonger does, sets factions against one another to destabilize. It was all very clear to me.

The only minor weakness was the great Andy Serkis. When actors do comic book villains these days, they will do either Jack Nicholson's Joker, or Heath Ledger's. There appears to be no more nuance to villains - there is no subtle, middle ground. To see him ham it up was lightly distracting, at times fun. But him taking a second-banana role to Michael B Jordan's excellent Killmonger is all right by me and not too much of a distraction.

Which raises another question, why didn't Killmonger recruit more War Dog spies? Found the many disenfranchised or forgotten ones and built a crew. That would have been interesting to see Wankanda come to terms with its isolationist policy when the spies come home to roost. All in all, this was a very strong Marvel movie, if not, one of their strongest.

Just to see the impact it had on audiences was great. From the adults in colorful cultural dress, to CPS schools taking students to see it(!), to the little kids in Black Panther cosplay. IT is a true cultural touchstone, to see themselves represented as heroes, yet, flawed heroes nonetheless. It is a great film that can encompass all of this and still be fun and entertaining.

I also love how, suddenly, many non-African American people are suddenly African Cultural and Political experts in defending why they dislike this movie. That is hilarious. People, it's okay to not like this movie, it is a Marvel movie after all. But never think for one instance that your opinion erases the experience that many people have had with this movie.

Natives need a film like this. And I'm going to give it to them...

6. Creed II – Directed by Steven Caple Jr.: went to watch the latest in the Saga of Rocky Balboa, in this case, titled "Creed II" because it also involves Apollo Creed's illegitimate son. But is more about tying up old Rocky Movie threads rather than forging a new path with Adonis Creed-Johnson. Things mostly just happen to Adonis - he wins the championship, takes the undesirable fight, loses, trains harder, then wins. But the drama of the win is stolen because the focus falls squarely on the return of Ivan Drago and his son. Yes, there is a tie between the Dragos and Creed, the death of Apollo Creed, yet the film is so focused on making Ivan forgivable that Adonis loses out once more in the series named after him.

First it was Rocky’s illness, now it is Drago’s redemption. Yet, there is no shame for Drago in killing a man in the ring. Nothing. It is as if Apollo’s death is swept under the rug so we can see Ivan come to terms with his own son. The problem is that Drago was never a three dimensional character. So when you add pathos to him, he overshadows our main character.

It is as if the producers do not know what to do with Adonis. Look, I enjoyed this at the Fan Level - but tugging at the back of my mind, why does Adonis lose out to the white mans’ redemptions? Twice, in this one since Rocky has to have an arc too. I did enjoy it very much because Michael B Jordan, Tessa Thompson and the rest bring game to this. I just wish the Creed Series involved Creed more. Still, despite these criticisms, still one of the best films I saw last year that I liked much more that the previous four films on this list. Chalk that up to the Power of Balboa.

5. BlackKklansman – A Spike Lee Joint; This is an adaptation of the book by Ron Stallman, the African-American police officer who became a member of the kkk. This delves a whole lot into racism, as it must, a bit more than the book does, I’ve heard - but it retains a lot of Lee's early confrontational edge that has been missing in his later oeuvre. This is a one of Lee's best and he has a lot of best movies. It punches as hard as possible and works to make sure it hammers it message home, without apology, just a Lee should have.

4.  Sorry to Bother You – Directed by Boots Riley: this one is a fucking kick to the head. It is really good. Where to begin with this one? Whew! Here Riley takes on a lot of huge societal targets in the guise of a young man, Cassius Green’s (Lakeith Stanfield) rise at his telemarketing job just as his co-workers work to form a union.

People have been calling this one an "alternate-universe" but I can see many of the issues happening now. Armie Hammer is great, as is Tessa Thompson, and the rest of the cast. It weighs issues and humor perfectly. It goes into some dark territory, which is punctuated with humor in such a correct way you cannot believe you laughed at the situation, such as, Cassius' rap at the party.

I kept thinking that I had a lot to say about this but amazingly, this is one of those very few films of late that can actually speak for itself! That puts it on my Best Of list. When we left the theater, Bonnie and Char could not stop thinking about it. I still do from time to time. Maybe, it will leave you in the same space of thought. Go, check it out. Plus, the soundtrack is awesome.

3. Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse – Directed by Bob Persichetti & Peter Ramsey; The first film of 2019 was one of the best of 2018! Char and I had planned to see this once we both saw the first trailer. When she came home for the holidays, it was instantly placed on our itinerary. We even went to my workplace to get the great Atmos sound system and recliner seats for this. Sony Animations has delivered one of the best animated films - a classic that must be placed alongside “Snow White”, “The Incredibles”, “Ghost in the Shell” and I am not dealing in hyperbole.

Young Miles Morales, in the middle of dealing with being a teen, must then deal with being bitten by a radio-active spider and taking on his shoulders the duties of the Spider-Man. While, his teen-aged world begins to fall apart with this huge responsibility, so does his literal world as a super particle accelerator threatens to rip the multiple dimensions apart. Luckily, he finds a mentor in an alternate universe’s Spider-man, an aged and disgruntle Peter Parker must overcome his own issues to lend a guiding hand to the newest member of the Spider-heroes.

This has such a great animation style, but more important, it has a great heart. It tells a story of generations and of family strength. Every time I did screen checks at the theater I found myself taken in once again with the story, characters, animation, and heart. I still feel pride, when Miles takes his leap of faith - it feels earned for him. If you have not seen this yet, do not let the fact that it is an animated film deter you. Otherwise you will miss out on one of the best films of 2018.

2. If Beale Street Could Talk – Directed by Barry Jenkins: I was completely mesmerized by Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight”. I loved the story, the acting, the cinematography, as well as his being influenced by the great Wong Kar-wai and his “In the Mood for Love”, another of my favorites. Based on the novel by James Baldwin “If Beale Street Could Talk” about a young woman’s struggle to free her partner and father of her coming child from jail due to a false accusation. It is touching and once again, shot beautifully.

I had seen a few scenes from this while working at the theater. The scene in which the families meet to announce the child, it was powerful and emotional. Regina King is so spectacular in this that she deserves every award. Every time I saw this scene, I would near tear up. I still did when we three saw it in the theater. I still did the whole time it was screening at ICON. I am a great fan of films that have great mother characters. “Ixcanul” comes to mind - where the mother, regardless, comes to support her child in the most dire of times. Regina King deserves all the awards. I have read the novel and am amazed at how much Jenkins captured in his great film.

1. Roma – Directed by Alfonso Curán: Everyone got mad at me because I didn’t choose the standard white person plays royalty movie. The best movie I have seen in 2018 is Alfonso Curán’s “Roma”, a quasi-autobiographical film about his childhood growing up in the middle class section of Mexico City called Roma. This tells the story of Cleo, a young maid from the rural countryside, possibly indigenous, played with grace by Yalitza Aparicio. It is clear that to the children, Cleo is more than the maid or nanny, they love her dearly and express thoughts to her and come to depend on her.

The splitting of the family happens in the shadow of the splitting of the county – as revolutions and student protest explode we find Cleo at the heart of it all. She is the heart of the film as well as the family. She does get into situations but faces them with more grace than the family she cares for does their own troubles.

It contains one of the most harrowing scenes that I teared-up openly, in which Cleo faces her own situation. It broke my heart.

It is stunningly filmed and looks beautiful. Also, this has to be the best sound designed movie I have heard. We held some press screenings at ICON using the Atmos sound system but I was not able to view or hear it. I remember really wanting to see it once I saw how beautiful it looked. While it was released on Netflix later, I still went to see it at the Landmark Cinema to get a theater sound system and for the limited 7.1 they had, it was still an amazing mix.

I am aware of the representational issues of the film – I noticed that while they all loved Cleo, in the end, she is still The Help. Also, there was the New Yorker Review about how Cleo needs a political voice because she appears to the non-POC reviewer to be just a stoic observer. But he missed the point: that her very presence is her political voice. You need to be a POC to understand why.

I really dislike how non-Natives overly-romanticize the politico-identity of Indigenous peoples. It is as if only they can recognize it and we have to be grateful to them for pointing it out as they teach it. But when we have the right to own our own voice, our own culture, even our own images, then, the authorship of expertise will no longer trump indigenous experience.

Speaking of Presence/Absence, we all kind of forgot about Yalitza Aparicio already, didn’t we?

So, tune in again next year to see if my opinions match yours or if yours are so much better in musical and movie tastes.

Until next year….

2019 Ernest M Whiteman III

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