Top 5 of February 2018

It's that time again! I found myself really looking forward to writing this post, mostly because I watched a lot of amazing films this month. However, narrowing all the movies I watched this month down to a top 5 is a challenge in itself. I watched a lot of REALLY awesome and spectacular movies this month, and unlike January I didn't come across one film that I didn't like or couldn't finish.

In case you're curious of my criteria for choosing movies to watch or picking my top 5, it's all purely by personal feeling. I have a long list of films I need to watch, filmmakers I want to study and genres I want to explore. My daily choice is simply from browsing what selection I have and contrasting it with what I need to watch. This list of the top 5 is derived from the films that impacted me the most; movies that I not only want to remember forever, but also reference in my own filmmaking. Without further ado, here's my top 5 films I watched for the first time this last month:

#5: A Ghost Story (2017)

Written and Directed by David Lowery

I had no idea what to expect going into this film. Was it a horror flick? Was was the message it was trying to convey? Is there a message at all? It's a slow paced, beautifully directed and filmed work that makes you ask yourself these questions, but only after the film is over. The visuals and events that the ghost (Casey Affleck) undergoes during the movie are so captivating and intriguing, it's hard to look away or think about anything else while watching. Combined with it's unique aspect ratio and exceptionally long takes allowing the audience to soak in the frame, A Ghost Story comes in at strong at number five on my list.

#4: Arrival (2016)

Directed by Denis Villeneuve

Villeneuve is slowly becoming one of my favorite directors. I also watched Sicario this month, and his style and voice in his work is so powerful yet also so effective. His movies are some of the few that are meant to be watched on the big screen in a huge theater, and Arrival is no exception. Even with it's phenomenal directing, brilliant screenplay and stand-out cinematography, the shining star of this film has to be Amy Adams' performance as the lead character Louise Banks. A language professor grieving over the loss of her daughter is no easy role to get into; and then asking her to interact with aliens and their totally foreign dialect is not easy to pull off. The filmmakers and cast in this film take a crazy sci-fi scenario and pulls it down to Earth, making it extremely relatable and delivering a powerful message about unity and self-discovery.

#3: Babel (2006)

Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu

Few directors can take four different families/stories and cut them together into such an emotional work like Iñárritu. Drawing from his wonderful intercutting techniques on 21 Grams, Alejandro blows my socks off again with a truly unique story and setting in this cinematic masterpiece. The gritty handheld cinematography puts you right into the middle of the action, connecting with four different families simultaneously and exploring their journeys in a way that few other filmmakers could achieve. Of the other films on this list, Babel takes the cake for having the most captivating and intriguing story that grabs ahold of you as soon as the first frame pops on screen, and doesn't let go. One of the film's themes is loss of innocence, and I think I lost a little innocence myself just after watching it once. With a portfolio already including Birdman, The Revenant, 21 Grams and Amores Perros, I just can't wait to see what Iñárritu produces next.

#2: Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Written and Directed by Kenneth Lonergan

Did he overact? Did he underact? I think Casey Affleck nails his role in this film as Lee Chandler, a depressed janitor who tries to fill the shoes of his suddenly deceased brother, while also coping with his own divorce and the loss of his children. How do you portray a man who literally has nothing left to live for? This movie is easily the most emotional film I watched this month, touching on themes like depression, love, loss and acceptance. The whole picture climaxes into a single scene between Casey and Michelle Williams that is, to me, one of the most powerful scenes in cinema ever created. The film's plot, themes and messages are all explored in this one scene leaving the viewer bittersweet but also highly satisfied and eager for more of the Chandler family. Well done Casey and Michelle.

#1: The Tree of Life (2011)

Written and Directed by Terrence Malick

I've always had a soft spot for films that make the viewer think. Very few films make the audience critically think, and even fewer films take their brain and mush it into a pulp. It's this pulp of thought and self-discovery that makes The Tree if Life such an amazing movie, and number one on my list. The movie follows Jack throughout his life, from boyhood to adulthood and even beyond into a dream-like heaven where he discovers things about himself, the meaning of life and what it is to be human in this day and age. There's a lot of messages and ideas being conveyed in the film, and it might require multiple viewings to pick up on everything that the movie is trying to say. With that said, the performances are some of the most captivating and outstanding from the talent on screen. Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and Hunter McCracken (the boy who plays young Jack) take me back to my own childhood and family life while also creating a truly unique cinematic experience. I'm really looking forward to watching more of Malick and his work as a filmmaker.

This month's list was extremely difficult to make. Among these masterpieces I listed, I also watched Sicario, Split, Get Out, (500) Days of Summer, Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2, Silence and V for Vendetta. To not include them on this list was tough, so the least I can do is give them an honorable mention. Thank you so very much for reading, and until next month!

-morgan