Top 5 of January 2018

Today is my first update on my blog since October 2017. After principal photography finished on my short film La Esencia, I took a break from...pretty much everything. A break from existing, being social, really only taking serious time out of the day to eat and sleep. However, it was a much needed vacation from the trials and tribulations that came with making a project as big as La Esencia was.

Since then, school for me has started up again and the new year brings about new challenges. One challenge I set out for myself was to watch a new movie every single day for the whole year. It's part of an effort to expand on my own film vocabulary, watch some of my favorite directors and catch up on good cinema that I've missed whether it be new or old. So instead of releasing a full list of every movies that I watched this month, I thought I would narrow it down to my top five favorites. Here's my top five films that I watched throughout January 2018:

#5: A Serious Man (2009)

Written and Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

I watched a lot of good films this month, and this was a difficult list to make. Nevertheless, it's hard to top the film making genius that is the Coen Brothers. Despite being bittersweet and ending quite abruptly, it goes to serve the film's style that much more. Larry Gopnik's unique struggle throughout the movie is met with a very familiar dread that every viewer can identify with, and it's part of why I love this movie so much. I wasn't born in the 1960's, I'm not a physics teacher and I don't have a wife and kids but the film does a tremendous job of putting you in Larry's shoes and making you feel terrible for a character that you shouldn't feel for at all.

#4: End of Watch (2012)

Written and Directed by David Ayer

This movie completely blew my socks off to say the least. Almost everything about this film is perfect: the gritty cinematography, the chemistry between Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña and most certainly the writing and direction that Ayer brings to the table. It's not like this story hasn't been told before: two cops, a big gang and some serious heat that comes with their adventures on the streets of LA. What makes this film so unique and outstanding is the writing and the performances that come with it. End of Watch is, without a doubt, one of my favorite cop films ever.

#3: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Directed by Michael Gondry

To say that this movie is a mind-fuck is an understatement. Even after critically analyzing the film for an essay and watching it twice with the script at my side, I still can't say I fully understand what's really going on. On the surface, the film is a beautifully depressing love story with a sci-fi twist and an all-star cast. But in an effort to capture the story's essence and what it all meant, I found myself just as lost as Joel Barish (Jim Carrey's character). Once again, the writing in this film is its shining jewel, and with good reason. Charlie Kaufman won the Oscar for Best Screenplay in 2005 and the film to this day stands as an amazing example of storytelling, editing and direction. Jim Carrey, one of my favorite actors for several years, gives one of his greatest performances ever. Kate Winslet is truly amazing as Clementine, and when your supporting cast is Mark Ruffalo, Tom Wilkinson, Elijah Wood, David Cross and Kirsten Dunst it's hard to go wrong.

#2: 21 Grams (2003)

Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu

I'm happy that I can love this film and place my complete trust in Iñárritu. Birdman is one of my favorite films of all time, and The Revenant is a masterpiece in itself. But of his amazing portfolio, this film stands out above all the others. The story is wholly unique and extremely captivating, but what stands out to me is the way the film is edited. The linear story line is cut and broken up into fragments, which by the end of the film all come together to tell an amazing tale about family and true self-sacrifice. And let me not forget to give credit to this amazing cast; Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Benicio Del Toro CARRY this film so hard and push it to its creative limits, creating a wonderful gem of cinema that I will always cherish. But despite this film's brilliance, its expert editing and outstanding performances...it's nothing compared to my #1 film this month.

#1: Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Written and Directed by Stanley Kubrick

I don't even know where to begin with this film. To say that Kubrick has done it again is putting it lightly. This was his final film he created before passing away, just six days after submitting his final cut to Warner Bros. And with his passing, we are left with several questions that come with this film: what is it really about? What was he trying to convey? What is the underlying message of the story? Even if Kubrick was alive to answer such questions, it wouldn't be in his nature to do so. His films are full of purpose, but also full of ambiguity. No image makes it into a Kubrick edit without possessing some serious meaning behind it; and trust me when I say that Eyes Wide Shut is FULL of very...interesting imagery. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman give outstanding performances, continuing their amazing streak of films together and further strengthening their on-screen chemistry. No other film deserves my #1 spot this month more than this one.

I hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts on these wonderful films! It was certainly a tremendous pleasure getting to watch them for the first time this past month. If you haven't seen any of them yourself, I highly recommend you try and watch them however you can. None of the movies here will disappoint you, trust me.

-morgan