Top 5 of November/December 2018

eustress : noun : a positive form of stress having a beneficial effect on health, motivation, performance, and emotional well-being

This is outrageous! Blasphemy! What on Earth is this? A combination post of two months? This is unfair to the other ten months of the year!

To be completely honest, the only thing more valuable to me than money nowadays is time. This past term in Vancouver has kept me busier than I've ever been before in my life and the experience has been exhilarating...and exhausting.

Above are two pictures from projects I took part in over the last month of school. Of the twelve different short films I worked on, these two I am most proud of to have been a key role on (Director and Cinematographer respectively). Despite the immense amounts of preparation and lack of sleep, I had an amazing experience and the time spent working and collaborating on set has me itching and yearning for more of the same.

With that said, my time spent watching new films over the last two months has been less than stellar. I watched only three new movies in the entire month of November, and this December I managed to catch up and watch eight for a total of eleven new movies. All things considered, I'd say that's a pretty good haul.

Although I've only watched eleven new movies over the last two months, the quality of the cinema I've ingested hasn't gone down at all. I couldn't have asked for better movies to finish this year with and I'm very pleased to share with you the top five movies I watched for the first time at the end of 2018:

#5: Filmworker (2017)

Directed by Tony Zierra

Ever heard of Leon Vitali? No? If you've seen a Stanley Kubrick film then you've probably also seen the immense work and contribution of Leon Vitali, Kubrick's assistant and right-hand man. In order to make a film, Kubrick did copious amounts of research and reading in order to create the most authentic film experience possible. Alongside him was Vitali helping him with his research, pre-production, development and finishing. This incredible documentary tells Leon's story; his acting career, working with Kubrick on his 1975 masterpiece Barry Lyndon and assisting him on every project after that until Stanley's death in 1999. Even today, Leon continues to work on remastering Kubrick's films for digital and blu-ray.

#4: The Danish Girl (2015)

Directed by Tom Hooper

I've forged a soft spot for Tom Hooper and his unique style, following The King's Speech in 2010 and Les Misérables in 2013. In his most recent feature film Hooper tells the story of Lili Elbe, an artist and transgender pioneer in the mid-late 1920's. Starring Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander, the story of Einer Wegner's transformation is both inspiring and heartbreaking and showcases amazing performances from both the lead and supporting cast members. The film also brings to light the very serious and troubling state of transgender people in our society and how, after nearly a hundred years after Lili Elbe's life, they are still making progress and gaining the foothold they deserve in modern society. The Danish Girl is a truly beautiful film bringing many themes and morals to light that I haven't seen any other film ever really touch on.

#3: Love & Mercy (2014)

Directed by Bill Pohlad

Rarely does a person go through their life without hearing about The Beach Boys. Love & Mercy tells the story of the musical genius behind the band, Brian Wilson, and how he came to develop one of the most influential rock albums of all time. The film intercuts with Wilson's life in the 1960s developing "Pet Sounds" and his life in the 1980s as a sick and confused man under the supervision of a shady therapist. The two storylines together tell the story of a man of great success and how that same fame bought about a deep depression and psychosis later on in Wilson's life. With stellar performances from John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks and Paul Giamatti, the film puts you right next to Wilson and the Beach Boys fighting and struggling on the cusp of a new age of music.

#2: Phantom Thread (2017)

Written and Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Upon a first viewing, you wouldn't guess that Phantom Thread was made by the same man that directed Boogie Nights, The Master, Magnolia and There Will Be Blood. Nevertheless, PTA delivers a stellar and captivating film with Vicky Krieps and Daniel Day-Lewis right at his side. Phantom Thread tells the story of an obsessive dressmaker and how he learns to be humble and properly focused through his newfound muse and lover. The end result is an incredibly complex and detailed film, full of dozens of elaborate nuances that service the story of a truly complicated relationship. Daniel Day-Lewis is a masterful actor and delivers an incredible performance once again as the dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock and with this film has earned his spot in the stars among the greatest talent the film industry has ever seen.

#1: Roma (2018)

Written and Directed by Alfonso Cuarón

In addition to writing and directing this film, Cuarón was also director of photography and a producer on this truly incredible work of art. To take on so much and to create something so beautiful and touching as a film like Roma is truly inspiring as an viewer and a filmmaker. Roma is the story of a middle-class Mexican family in the early 1970s. It's a film with extremely heavy themes and incredibly powerful visuals that spikes your curiosity and anxiety from beginning to end. It's full of visual metaphor and will probably take me several more viewings to fully and truly understand it all.

With Roma topping my final monthly list of 2018, it further solidifies my opinions on the recent filmmakers coming out of Mexico. Alfonso Cuarón, Emmanuel Lubezki, Rodrigo Prieto, Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Guillermo del Toro are among the best in the business right now when it comes to work behind the camera. Not only is the quality of their cinema outstanding, but the craft behind the camera is impeccable as well. I've never been more excited to see what these guys work on next and what they have in store for their audiences.

And with that final note, I conclude my monthly top five reviews for 2018. Although I couldn't fully fulfill my resolution to watch something new every day this year, I was glad to take the challenge on and push myself to watch new and exciting cinema. I don't know what challenges or new adventures 2019 will bring, but I'll still try and watch and absorb as much new film as I possibly can. As a filmmaker, one of the best ways to improve your craft and learn from working professionals is to watch and analyze their creations.

I'll be writing and releasing a comprehensive review of my Top 10 of the whole year soon. Look for that in the coming days! Thanks so much, as always. for reading and I'll see you all soon!

- morgan