Ed Hu Random Musings

Food, movies, TV, etc.

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2022 Annual List of Favorite Film & TV Experiences

Happy new year!  

2022 brought back some semblance of normalcy. Highlights include: virtual Sundance Film Festival seeing 16 films in 4 days in January, my first in-person Super Bowl and seeing the LA Rams win in February, return after three year absence of my special fundraiser dinners that I cook (back-to-back nights of a 16 course dinner focused on Shanghai & Sichuan cuisine) in April, attending my 35th college reunion in May, helping to celebrate the life of dear friend and colleague Ted Walch at the end of summer, and in November, going on my first global travel since the pandemic on a work trip (postponed from March 2020) that took me to Sydney, Singapore, Jakarta, Tokyo, and Kyoto. And on the family front, we continued our weekly Sunday family Zooms which began at the outset of the pandemic, still going strong at 146 weeks and counting.

Hope you have had a safe and healthy holiday season and all the best for a fabulous 2023!

Cheers, Ed

And greetings from my girls Freddy and Maxie, aged 10 and 9 respectively.

Now on to this year's compilation of my favorite film and other streaming experiences. I’m still limiting my visits to the movie theater with off-peak visits, so my most of my film intake is still via streaming. Please let me know your thoughts!

Best of the Year

Everything Everywhere All At Once

One of the trippiest film experiences ever! My first question after my initial viewing was "What drugs were the Daniels (as the directors are collectively known) on when they wrote this film? And what kind of pitch did they make to get it made? One of the most original, absurdly outlandish, and description-defying films in recent memory. What seemingly starts as a Chinese immigrant family drama centered around harried traditional mother (Michelle Yeoh), rebellious lesbian daughter, and sweet, endearing father (Ke Huy Quan of Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) quickly turns into a bonkers, multiverse journey to save the world. Along the way, laundromat owner Yeoh’s embattled audit brings her face-to-face with a delightfully droll Jamie Lee Curtis as meticulous IRS bureaucrat with hilarious interludes involving googly eyes, hot dog fingers, dildoes, butt plugs, and everything bagels. For those of you thoroughly confused, EEAAO does boil down to a story of redemption and reconciliation between mother and daughter and finding joy and meaning in the things that matter in our hectic, fractured daily lives…told in an absurdly funny and crazy way and gets even better after multiple viewings. Trailer: https://youtu.be/wxN1T1uxQ2g

Black Comedies Set on Islands…With Donkeys

Triangle of Sadness

This Cannes Palm d’Or winner intrigued me with its trailer which evoked a luxury yacht-based White Lotus-esque send up of the wealthy, but this dark dramedy threw a completely unexpected curveball, desert-island third-act that stuck with me long after I left the theater. There’s very sharp writing and performances—the verbal jousting over a dinner check, Woody Harrelson’s hilarious Marxist captain trading drunken barbs with a manure-selling Russian capitalist guest, and the ship’s Filipina toilet manager portrayed by a commanding Dolly De Leon who is largely responsible for the memorable third act. The film continues to grow on me with repeated viewing. FYI, this film is not safe for the emetophobic, as there is an overlong scene with projectile vomiting, the likes of which have not been seen since Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life. Oh, and be warned that there is also a donkey-beating. Trailer: https://youtu.be/VDvfFIZQIuQ

The Banshees of Inisherin

Great to see the In Bruges duo of Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson back together, this time as best friends whose friendship is abruptly cut short by one party which results in ever-increasing, devastating consequences in this bleak but humorous and deeply affecting black comedy from writer-director Martin McDonough. Oh, and Jenny the donkey deserved better. Trailer: https://youtu.be/uRu3zLOJN2c

N.B. It seems to be quite the year for donkeys. I am excited but have yet to see EO, Poland’s Academy Award entry, about the adventures of a donkey named EO.

Pretentious Rich People Getting Their Comeuppance…On An Island

The Menu

As a fan of food, I really enjoyed this comically dark film with Ralph Fiennes playing to perfection the mad genius chef of the Hawthorn, a fictional restaurant on a remote Pacific Northwest island. With a fine ensemble cast directed by Mark Mylod (Succession) and with helping hands from the creator of Chef’s Table as well as the Michelin-starred chef Dominque Crenn, an exclusive $1,250 a head night at the Hawthorn turns into a twisted horror/satire of elevated food experiences and those who partake. Trailer: https://youtu.be/C_uTkUGcHv4

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

If you liked Knives Out, you'll thoroughly enjoy Glass Onion, which gleefully brings back Daniel Craig as dandy Southern super-sleuth Benoit Blanc, this time for a murder mystery party on an island presided over by tech billionaire played by Edward Norton with his friendly band of disruptors including Janelle Monae, Leslie Odom Jr, Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahn, and Kate Hudson. Trailer: https://youtu.be/gj5ibYSz8C0

Films About Musical Royalty

Tár

While I thought this might go down the road of a #metoo or #cancelculture themed movie, this is actually a towering, slow-burn character study with an intense and sensational Cate Blanchett as the fictional Lydia Tár, the EGOT-winning, brilliant and demanding world-class conductor of the Berlin Symphony whose trail of manipulation, abusive behavior, and hubris eventually catches up with her and the resulting finale is…well, I’ll just leave that for you to watch and react. All the accolades for her tremendous performance are well deserved. Trailer: https://youtu.be/Na6gA1RehsU

Elvis

A sensational Austin Butler brings the King back to life on the big screen. Butler truly embodies Elvis in his heartfelt performance. Baz Luhrmann’s film is not so much traditional biopic as it is a musical that captures the spectacle and cultural phenomenon of Elvis, bringing America out of the innocence of the 1950s, as seen through the eyes of Elvis’s notorious manager Col. Tom Parker (Tom Hanks)—and Luhrmann does it in the grand, dazzling style that only he can do. Perhaps a bit garish and bombastic for some, as an unabashed Luhrmann fan, I loved it. Trailer: https://youtu.be/wBDLRvjHVOY

Action Epics Based on Real Life Rebels

RRR

Wow. I was not expecting to be totally enthralled by S.S. Rajamouli’s Tollywood (Telugu language) film. Hands down, RRR (which stands for Rise Roar Revolt) will be the most glorious, hyperbolic, action-bromance-musical political epic spectacle you'll see all year. The laws of physics-defying action scenes are reminiscent of the operatic violence and stylized fight scenes of 300 and John Woo films. Taking place in 1920s British colonial India, the story centers on two men (loosely based on real life rebels), one a tribal warrior and the other an Indian policeman working for the British forces, who become friends, then enemies, and then eventually friends again and team up as Indian revolutionaries against the British Empire in action sequences that are just bonkers. And to top it all off, there are the exuberant Indians vs. Brits dance-off scene and the joyful credits dance number celebrating Indian freedom fighters (check out the extra links below). Don't miss it. Trailer: https://youtu.be/NgBoMJy386M

Naatu Naatu Dance Sequence: https://youtu.be/OsU0CGZoV8E

Solay Credits Sequence: https://youtu.be/2cyzCReoNgU

The Woman King

Based on the true story of a fierce all-woman warrior unit in the West African kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century, Viola Davis’s powerful performance and Gina Prince-Bythewood’s confident directing elevates this to a full-blown epic with warmth and inspiration. Trailer: https://youtu.be/3RDaPV_rJ1Y

Nope, Not Your Typical Horror Films

Nope

Yup. Jordan Peele has done it again, this time with a UFO pic that raises questions about our society’s fascination with spectacle, as well as obsession in the pursuit of the perfect shot. With stunning visuals (much of the film was shot on IMAX to create a totally immersive feel) and tingly suspense, Peele has created a film whose meaning you can debate all day—Erasure of Black and marginalized people from history? Dangers of taming nature or exploiting trauma for profit? But at the end of the day, Peele has created yet another impressive and indelible piece of work. Trailer: https://youtu.be/In8fuzj3gck

Bones and All

A film about cannibalism? Yup. I was intrigued with where the appeal in this would be. But seen as a metaphor for queerness and addiction, Luca Guadagnino has actually created a tasteful (pun intended) and surprisingly tender romantic cannibal road pic—a flesh-eating Bonnie and Clyde-like trek across Reagan-era middle America. Guadagnino superbly depicts outcasts living on the edge of society, searching for identity and place. Not for the faint of heart, as it does not shy from the gruesomeness of their addiction. Strong performances from Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet, and Mark Rylance with memorable cameos by Chloë Sevigny and an almost unrecognizable Michael Stuhlbarg. Trailer: https://youtu.be/0Nu7Z9AxGNg

More Global Cinema

Decision To Leave

An engrossing, enigmatic slow-burn noir detective mystery with heavy dose of seductive romance and obsessive longing and tinges of Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Winner of the 2022 Cannes Best Director award, Park Chan-wook steps aside from the violence and sex of his earlier films and masterfully pulls you into this intricate web of intrigue, and just when you think you've figured out the tricky complications between the obsessive married insomniac detective and the wife of an apparent suicide victim he’s investigating, Park takes you in a different direction and ultimately to its devastating end. Trailer: https://youtu.be/9aMHyTqvIvU

All Quiet on the Western Front

An impressive and truly stunning German adaptation of the famous German novel about the horrors of war as idealistic and naive boys get swept up in nationalistic fervor only to find the stark realities of being on the front lines of the Great War. A memorable performance by Felix Kammerer in his screen debut as lead character Paul Bäumer, as he experiences the unending hells of war in intimate and personal ways. WWI’s trench warfare with flamethrowers, hand-to-hand combat, and surging tanks is terrifyingly and vividly experienced by Bäumer and indelibly depicted. This epic rivals Sam Mendes's 1917 in its beautifully shot, immersive portrayal of the bleak and brutal wretchedness of pointless war and perhaps the best war film since Saving Private Ryan. Trailer: https://youtu.be/hf8EYbVxtCY

Bullet Train

Ok, this is not an international film, but it does takes place on a Japanese bullet train. High-octane, fun thrill ride of a comedic crime film with code-named hired guns like Ladybug, Tangerine, and Lemon, each with quirky traits, all crossing paths on a Shinkansen in pursuit of a silver briefcase. The smart-alecky, joyful, and fun cast is led by Brad Pitt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Bad Bunny, and Sandra Bullock. Enjoy the ride. Trailer: https://youtu.be/0IOsk2Vlc4o

AND OTHER ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCES

Top Gun: Maverick, The Fabelmans, Cha Cha Real Smooth; Good Luck to You, Leo Grande; The Batman, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Exiles, Downfall: the Case Against Boeing, Wildcat, My Policeman, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (Nicolas Cage playing himself), Navalny, Turning Red, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

IN THE QUEUE

Empire of Light, Women Talking, Till, The Whale, Avatar: The Way of Water. Bardo, She Said, Emancipation

FAVORITE STREAMING EXPERIENCES

Heartstopper—LOVE LOVE LOVE this sweet, charming, and adorable story of first love between two British school boys based on the bestselling YA graphic novels. For those who need a total antidote to Euphoria, this is it. Trailer: https://youtu.be/FrK4xPy4ahg

Young Royals—Take Heartstopper, add a large dose of The Crown, and plunk it down in an elite Swedish boarding school and you get this gripping drama involving a teen prince and his love interest from the other side of the tracks. Teen drama that feels real and natural. Trailer: https://youtu.be/rHmw87EpGIM

The Bear—Superbly intense and stress-inducing drama that I couldn’t stop watching, revolving around a young fine dining chef (Jeremy Allen White) who returns home to run his late brother’s Chicago hot beef sandwich eatery and oversee its colorful cast of employees that comprise a dysfunctional “family.” And if, like me, you’ve worked in a restaurant, The Bear is fully capable of giving you PTSD, especially the one-take episode 7. Trailer: https://youtu.be/y-cqqAJIXhs

The White Lotus—Season 2 in Sicily surpasses the first and brings back Jennifer Coolidge!! Trailer: https://youtu.be/Baflc_0XVfY

1899—From the folks who brought you Dark—this time trippy things happen on a cruise ship at the end of the 19th century.  Trailer: https://youtu.be/ulOOON_KYHs

Slow Horses—If you like Gary Oldman, you’ll love this spy drama where he runs an outfit of MI5 castoffs. Trailer: https://youtu.be/O9ZJChzPn0U

The Old Man—Another spy vs. spy drama, this time it’s in America with the CIA, pitting Jeff Bridges vs. John Lithgow. Trailer: https://youtu.be/xDu1Q9r6HDo

The Righteous Gemstones—I’m not sure how I missed this when it first came out, but this hysterical series is the mega-church version of Succession led by patriarch Eli Gemstone played by John Goodman and two sons played by Danny McBride and Adam Devine. It’s an absurd hoot. Trailer: https://youtu.be/t383UpoLV5k

Abbott Elementary—Top notch mockumentary style workplace sitcom that gets teachers and schools with a great cast. Trailer: https://youtu.be/cO-_7oi-61Y

Euphoria—Not for faint of heart. I thought season one was fine, but season two went to a whole different level. Zendaya is amazing. Some of the most realistic and gritty portrayal of addiction and its ripple effects. Trailer: https://youtu.be/0BG3c1ika48

House of the Dragon—For the GOT crowd. Love the dragons! Trailer: https://youtu.be/DotnJ7tTA34

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2021 Annual List of Favorite Film Experiences

Happy Holidays!

Lots of gratitude to and appreciation for friends, family, and felines whose presence and support helped get through another unusual year. Like many of you, Maxie and Freddy are ready for the year to end. Their reactions below pretty much sum up the past year. Here’s to a better 2022!

Hope you have a safe and healthy holiday season and all the best for a fabulous 2022!

Cheers, Ed

Now on to this year's compilation of favorite film and other streaming experiences.

TOP OF THE HEAP

The Power of the Dog

It’s best to go into the film not knowing much about it, like I did. Westerns are not my favorite genre, so this didn't seem appealing on the surface. But it turns out to be a psychological thriller, taking place against the beautiful backdrop of 1920s Montana (actually shot in New Zealand). It’s an intense and gripping slow-burn tale of manliness and masculine sexual repression, sibling rivalry, psychological cat/mouse cold war, and ultimately, revenge. Outstanding performances by Benedict Cumberbatch (a far cry from his kind, gentle turn in another favorite of the year, The Electric Life of Louis Wain—a must-see for any cat-lover), Kirsten Dunst, and an unusually mesmerizing Kodi Smit-McPhee. The Jonny Greenwood score heightens the sinister, suspenseful tension.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/LRDPo0CHrko

Mass

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more profoundly affecting and extraordinary ensemble acting performances this year: Martha Plimpton, Jason Isaac, Ann Dowd, and Reed Birney. While it feels like a play, this is the impressive writing and directing debut of veteran actor (and HW alum) Fran Kranz. I first saw Mass at virtual Sundance in January, and it remains the most indelible viewing experiences of the year. The entire film revolves around the meeting of two sets of parents several years after a school shooting—one set whose son was killed in the shooting and the other, the parents of the shooter. An emotionally powerful, intense, and nuanced story of the aftermath of this tragic event with its subsequent grief, redemption, and ultimately, forgiveness.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/WgvsfKhGdgI

The Hand of God

Paolo Sorrentino’s masterful and deeply personal autobiographical coming of age tale takes place in Naples in the 1980s and focuses on teenager Fabietto (a terrific Filippo Scotti), a fan of both Fellini and Maradona. In the first half, we are introduced to an array of vividly eccentric family members through humorous and rambling vignettes, but then tragedy turns the second half into a beautiful and evocative parable of fate, love, loss, and the eventual birth of a filmmaker.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/i_1VW_0i6vo

The French Dispatch

What can I say? I just love myself some Wes Anderson. The ultimate visual stylist presents an anthology film that is meticulously composed of several discrete stories, structurally brought together like a magazine chock full of idiosyncratic articles and colorful characters. It’s an ode to the writers, illustrators, and editor of a fictional New Yorker-type magazine of a bygone era. Funny and delightful in that uniquely Wes Anderson manner.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/TcPk2p0Zaw4

The Mitchells vs. The Machines

SO MUCH FUN. This is one charmingly fantastic film not to be missed. I think it flew under the pandemic radar with its Netflix release back in March. The kooky and dysfunctional yet loveable oddball Mitchell family is kind of the anti-Incredibles who find themselves having to work together to save the world from the robot apocalypse. The combination of 3-D and 2-D animation is beautiful and inspired (from the people who brought you Into the Spider-Verse). The storytelling is delightfully funny, hip, silly, sweet, and heartfelt. Guaranteed fun for the whole family!

Trailer: https://youtu.be/_ak5dFt8Ar0

LOCKED IN A VAULT SINCE THE SUMMER OF ’69

The Beatles: Get Back

Peter Jackson’s three-part, seven-plus hour opus is a must see for Beatles fans. Carefully pieced together from nearly 60 hours of an abandoned documentary and over 150 hours of previously unreleased audio, you are a fly on the wall during the Beatles’ recording sessions for the Let It Be album and their 42-minute live Saville Row rooftop concert, which turned out to be their last ever performance together. Edited at an extremely leisurely and relaxed pace, you feel like you’re just hanging out with friends, who just happen to be John, Paul, Ringo, and George…and Yoko. When I finished it, I really started to miss them. If you’re a Beatles fan, you will fall in love; if not, this might feel like a tedious, directionless livestream. Get Back captures many magical moments, as songs you’ve listened to countless times are birthed out of casual strumming, as well as revealing the brotherly love, tension, charm, and intimate moments of creative geniuses just having fun.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/Auta2lagtw4

Summer of Soul (. . . Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

This is an essential piece of history never before seen. In the summer of 1969, while Woodstock was happening upstate, something else was cooking in New York City: the Harlem Cultural Festival. Compiled from found footage of a concert series that took place in Harlem (including blues to rock to gospel to soul), this amazing and powerful documentary by Questlove is absolutely thrilling, capturing an important cultural moment that hasn’t previously been a part of the historical narrative of the Summer of Love.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/1-siC9cugqA

BROADWAY PRODIGIES: SONDHEIM TO LARSON TO MIRANDA

West Side Story

Spielberg + Kushner + Rita Moreno + original Bernstein & Sondheim (aged 27 when he wrote the original lyrics for the 1957 Broadway production) = superb revisioning of the 1961 classic film. The brash Technicolor-look makes it feel like 1950s, but Kushner’s touch with more character background and context and contemporary casting is a 21st century upgrade. And I loved seeing David Alvarez, who I last saw on stage in his Tony-winning title role of Billy Elliott when he was 14, in the role of Bernardo.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/A5GJLwWiYSg

tick, tick...BOOM!

Energetic, propulsive, and emotionally moving tribute to the struggle and elation of the creative process with a terrific Andrew Garfield as the pre-Rent 31-year old Jonathan Larson. Lin-Manual Miranda’s direction of Larson’s autobiographical one-man show is a must see for Broadway musical fans—and there’s one not-to-missed number that is Larson’s homage to Sondheim filled with legendary Broadway cameos.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/YJserno8tyU

In The Heights

Director Jon M. Chu’s (Crazy Rich Asians) own immigrant experience (and love of musicals) made him the perfect person to direct the filmed version of Lin-Manual Miranda’s first Broadway musical (which he produced at age 28, giving Latinos a voice on the Great White Way). This energizing and kinetic musical is a thrilling, joyful experience. With rap and hip-hop, salsa and merengue, and Busby Berkeley in a pool combined with tradition Broadway fare, the crowded apartments and streets of Washington Heights explode with dizzying colors, song, and dance in vibrant pursuit of a dream.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/U0CL-ZSuCrQ

WHAT DID I JUST WATCH?

Titane

This gender-bending, sci-fi, horror, love story is a bold and dark genre-defying experience. Julie Ducournau become only the second female director to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes in her sophomore outing. Prior to seeing it, I read three separate descriptions of the film, only to be further intrigued and confused as they seemingly described three completely different movies. Beyond the automobile sex (to clarify, that’s with, not just in), serial killer on the run, identity theft of long lost missing child, and the gore, this is a provocative and and uncomfortable tale of loneliness, the need and search for both love and family that will linger with you long after you’re finished watching it.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/Q5_w2W5G9OM

Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself

One of the most unusual viewing experiences of the year. Totally mesmerizing documentary, or rather, recorded document of conceptual magician Derek DelGaudio’s performance (stitched together from multiple shows), an existential and almost mystical experience. Trying to describe it will not do it justice, other than to say he explores the question of identify through card tricks, illusion, storytelling, and profound mentalism. While the filmed version isn’t quite the same as experiencing it in person, it’s a unique and very intriguing watch.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/_62BeXxd_jo

DON’T MISS OUT

Val

Fascinating and incredibly revealing documentary about oft-misunderstood actor Val Kilmer. You’ve seen him as Batman, Jim Morrison, Iceman, and so many other memorable characters—now see him as himself. Heartbreaking, candid, and touching, I never expected to be inspired by him, but I was. Little known is the fact that he has been documenting his entire life with a video camera—in fact, he needs a warehouse to store all the videos! Revealing his inner thoughts on his extensive career, including the present day voiceover help of his son (whose voice is uncannily like his dad’s) as throat cancer has ravaged his ability to speak. An intriguing watch.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/YqNnhgEyQCU

CODA

This is the feel-good film of the year. It was a Sundance Film Festival favorite and deservedly so. With a truly winning cast (particularly Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur as the protagonist’s parents), CODA (child of deaf adults) is the heartwarming and sweet story of a girl who is the only hearing member of her hard-scrabble, Gloucester-based fishing family who wants to break away and pursue her passion for singing in college. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll love CODA.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/C6R7eI_HhvU

Try Harder!

Asian students + Asian parents + high pressure public school = great documentary about the hyper competitive world of college admissions process as played out at San Francisco’s Lowell High School.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/8mxwsLslSHs

AND MANY OTHER ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCES

Being the Ricardos

Belfast

Cruella

Don’t Look Up

Dune

The Electric Life of Louis Wain

Exterminate All the Brutes

The Green Knight

King Richard

The Lost Leonardo

Licorice Pizza

Promising Young Woman

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Spencer

This is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist

The Truffle Hunters

In the Queue

Drive My Car, Flee, The Lost Daughter, Nightmare Alley, Parallel Mothers, Passing, Pig, Red Rocket, The Tragedy of Macbeth

AND SOME OF MY FAVORITE STREAMING EXPERIENCES IN 2021

1. Succession (HBO Max)—Can’t get enough of these despicable people! This full-blown Shakespearean tragi-comedy is the best show.

2. Money Heist (Netflix)—With the season 5, the series comes to a truly satisfying end.

3. Crash Landing on You (Netflix)—My first foray into the K-drama realm—and I absolutely fell in love with all these characters!

4. Squid Game (Netflix)

5. Ted Lasso (Apple TV)

6. The White Lotus (HBO Max)

7. Colin in Black and White (Netflix)

8. What We Do In the Shadows (Hulu)

9. Mare of Easttown (HBO Max)

10. Hacks (HBO Max)

11. WandaVision (Disney+)

12. Ramy (Hulu)

13. The Other Two (HBO Max)

14. The Great (Hulu)

15. Sex Education (Netflix)

16. Elite (Netflix)

17. Lupin (Netflix)

18. The Chair (Netflix)

19. Never Have I Ever (Netflix)

20. Imposters (Netflix)

21. FBoy Island (HBO Max)—I don’t understand these people at all, but I’m fascinated.

[ewh111]

Annual List of Favorite Film Experiences: The 2020 Pandemic Version

Happy new year! So happy to finally arrive at 2021! All the best for a much better new year!!

What a year it was. Since March 12, I've spent 98% of my time within the confines of my condo. The good thing is that as a natural introvert, I have not yet gone stir crazy. I get plenty of social interaction via Zoom. And as a type-2 diabetic, I have been especially careful, staying at home, going out only for essential work or errands, like groceries. I'm grateful that my extended family connected more through the pandemic via weekly 90 minute Zoom family check-ins.

After just two months of work from home, I surpassed the longest time I hadn't been on a plane in over 15 years. (In 2019, I took 42 flights--15 of them international; in 2020, just eight, all prior to the first week of Feb.) As someone who typically travels a lot for work, it's strange to be so stationary. But I'm not complaining. Without the daily commute, travel, and regular schedule of evening and weekend events, I've quietly appreciated the ability to get more sleep, find time to exercise, and even lose some weight. As I reflect upon the past year, I choose to look at the silver-lining and see this period as a positive, massive macro re-balancing of my life.

When things do get back to some semblance of normalcy, the ones who will have the most difficulty adjusting will be these two girls, Freddy and Maxie, who have been so spoiled with attention over the past 10 months.

Now onto this year's favorite film experiences.

What a strange year for film. The last time I experienced a communal movie-going experience was at the Sundance Film Festival back in January. Since 2020 will be remembered as the year of an uber-significant election and home confinement, it seems appropriate to begin this year's conversation with these two themes: democracy and geography, aka places we couldn't travel to.

LESSONS IN DEMOCRACY

Boys State

One of most riveting experiences is my favorite film from the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. This documentary follows four participants in the Texas edition of the week-long Boys State program. The filmmakers lucked out by selecting four boys whose journeys turned out to have fascinating dramatic arcs during the week. What unfolds is a totally engaging microcosm of the political dynamics in the rising generation of voters in America. Trailer: https://youtu.be/E1Kh_T5ZBIM

Hamilton

What a delightful escape from confinement and inability to see live theater by revisiting the stage musical phenomenon via the viewpoints of multi-cameras. It was a new way to appreciate the words, the music, the choreography, and staging of this remarkable work about Alexander Hamilton and his fellow founding fathers. Trailer: https://youtu.be/6s9sNvkjpI0

What the Constitution Means to Me

Missing live theater? Here's another gem to take in. Fast-paced, funny, deeply personal, and defiant, playwright Heidi Schreck plays herself in a mostly one-person show, revisiting her days as a teenager debating the meaning of the Constitution in dingy American Legion halls, linking her personal family history to our country's founding document. Trailer: https://youtu.be/P2zSRdVanDY

Crip Camp

Incredibly inspiring and engaging documentary about Camp Jened, a Catskills summer camp for teens with disabilities in the 1960s and 70s, which prepared many members to become leaders in the movement that eventually led to the passage of the ADA. An important piece of lesser known history and fight for social change and equity. Trailer: https://youtu.be/XRrIs22plz0

TRAVELING WITHOUT LEAVING THE COUCH

My Octopus Teacher (South Africa)

A truly meditative and surprisingly moving documentary. In a kelp forest off the coast of South Africa, a noted underwater photographer documents his, dare I say "friendship," with an octopus whom he visits every day over the course of a year. Trailer: https://youtu.be/b-lbIJHlmbE

76 Days (China)

New York-based filmmaker Hao Wu worked with two journalists in China who recorded harrowing, fly-on-the-wall footage inside four Wuhan hospitals at the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, a clearly risky endeavor unsanctioned by the Chinese government. While this may seem unappealing to watch as we still struggle with the crisis, this apolitical, humanizing, compassionate, and ultimately uplifting film documents and honors the courageous doctors and nurses and their relationships with patients and family members grappling with the unfolding crisis over the course of the full 76 day lock-down in Wuhan. Trailer: https://youtu.be/x_f6-jhbsR4

Your Name Engraved Herein (Taiwan)

The highest ever grossing LGBTQ film in Taiwan, as well as its most popular domestic film in 2020, this is a sensitive, poignant, slow-burn story of coming out and first love in an all-boys Catholic school in a still socially-repressive Taiwan immediately after the lifting of martial law in 1987. Trailer: https://youtu.be/mzfVBg54BGw

A Sun (Taiwan, again)

Driven driving instructor father + marginalized night-club hairstylist mother + high achieving, golden child # 1 son + disowned black sheep younger son serving time in juvenile prison = unhappy family. This multiple winner of Taiwan's version of the Oscar, A Sun is an intricate, engaging, character-driven family drama full of disappointment, redemption-seeking, and tragic setbacks, but uplifting in the end. Trailer: https://youtu.be/LBogLcE2wNQ

Gunda (Norway)

An unusual viewing experience, I did not expect to be so drawn in and highly moved by this intimate, up-close and personal barnyard portrait. A totally mesmerizing and beautifully filmed, black and white, wordless and scoreless documentary (only ambient farm sounds with no humans in sight)--just a sow named Gunda and her piglets with interludes by a one-legged rooster and herd of cows. And yes, there's a subtle message. Trailer: https://youtu.be/05Gc2lANyTQ

The Painter and the Thief (Norway, again)

An intriguing and fascinating documentary about the strange and complicated story of a female Czech artist, whose two most important paintings are stolen from an Oslo art gallery in broad daylight, and the thief who turns out to be an addiction-addled male nurse who she unexpectedly befriends during the trial. Trailer: https://youtu.be/LKBiKDZSf_c

Mucho Mucho Amor (Puerto Rico)

The story of the iconic fortune-teller with millions of followers in the Spanish-speaking world: the bedazzled and caped, effervescently flamboyant, gender non-confirming, Puerto Rican television astrologer Walter Mercado. Disappearing from the airwaves without a trace in 2007 after decades of daily uplifting telecasts, no one knew what happened or where he had gone. Until these filmmakers tracked him down. Here, they tell his story in this loving portrait of the legend, in time to participate in an exhibition dedicated to his 50 year career at a Miami museum before his death last year. Trailer: https://youtu.be/XEJqiucxyrs

Welcome to Chechnya (Russia)

A gut-wrenching and chilling documentary about courageous activists who help LGBTQ individuals flee the repressive regime of Chechnya where violent, homophobic beatings and executions play out regularly and whose leader denies the existence of gay people in his republic. The doc plays like a menacing thriller with the filmmaker going to great lengths to protect the identities using elaborate digital facial disguises. Trailer: https://youtu.be/GlKkj_aHMXk

Tenet (Russia, the Amalfi Coast, Oslo, the future, and the past, among other places)

This is not an easy film to like. One of the most anticipated on my list of "must sees," but the pandemic delayed my viewing till its recent VOD release. Was it worth the wait? Well, it was almost incomprehensible for the first third. But it is here because I'm still thinking about it long after watching and is high on my list to rewatch. To enjoy on first viewing, you should stop trying to figure it out and just let it wash over you and enjoy the ride--it will eventually make (some) sense. Despite all its complexities, Christopher Nolan's ambitious concept boils down to a simple plot: rich Russian bad guy (Kenneth Branagh) wants to end the world and an unnamed secret agent-type guy known only as the Protagonist (John David Washington) tries to stop him. Oh, and there's reverse entropy. And inverted time. And yeah, there are spectacular scenes with time moving forward and backwards at the same time. Like its title, the film is one giant palindrome. Trailer: https://youtu.be/AZGcmvrTX9M

Apollo 11 (Space)

Watching this documentary is like witnessing Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin's mission unfold before your eyes live, in real time. Put together from previously unreleased, stunningly crisp, and beautiful archival footage and communications audio from NASA, this is a breathtaking experience that captures the awe of the achievement without talking heads or commentary. Trailer: https://youtu.be/tpLrp0SW8yg

HOW TO DEAL WITH DEATH

Soul

This time out, Pixar tackles existential questions, like what it means to be alive and what is the "before life" in this metaphysically jazzy and terrifically "soulful" film featuring a predominantly Black cast. Trailer: https://youtu.be/xOsLIiBStEs

Dick Johnson is Dead

One would not expect a filmmaker's decision to document her father's descent into old age and dementia to be such an enjoyable and amusing ride. The result is a uniquely comic and bittersweet approach on how to handle his mortality, including envisioning and staging various ways he might accidentally hasten death. Her inspired choice to embrace the time left with her father in this way is endearing and touching without being sentimental. (And the director happens to be a college classmate: Kirsten Johnson, Brown '87.) Trailer: https://youtu.be/wfTmT6C5DnM

AND THREE MORE

Mank

David Fincher masterfully tells the tale of Herman Mankiewicz, the writer of Citizen Kane. Part social history, part examination of the underbelly of Hollywood's Golden Age, part homage to Orson Welles and Citizen Kane, the film is beautifully and evocatively shot in lush black and white with standout performances by Gary Oldman as Mank, Amanda Seyfried as Marion Davies, and a screenplay by Fincher's late father, Jack. Trailer: https://youtu.be/aSfX-nrg-lI

David Byrne's American Utopia

An exhilarating and spirited concert film by Spike Lee who beautifully captures the exuberant grey-suited, bare-footed David Byrne and his similarly wardrobed bandmates on a minimalist stage--a perfect remedy for home-confined and connection-starved human beings during these unusual times. The Byrne-Lee pairing perfectly "makes sense" as you take in the penultimate number, a cover of Janelle Monáe’s "Hell You Talmbout." Trailer: https://youtu.be/lg4hcgtjDPc

Sound of Metal

A character study of self-discovery and emotional truths, Riz Ahmed gives a riveting performance as a heavy metal rock drummer who suddenly loses his hearing. The immersive experience is enhanced with the film's amazing sound design. Trailer: https://youtu.be/VFOrGkAvjAE

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (perhaps the film most representative of the craziness of 2020), Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (great performances by Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman), The Personal History of David Copperfield, Da 5 Bloods, The Way I See It, The Invisible Man, Trial of the Chicago 7, I Lost My Body, The Life Ahead, Wolfwalkers, The Bee Gees: How Do You Mend A Broken Heart. 

In the Queue

Minari, Nomadland, Bacurau, Small Axe, Beanpole, The Forty Year Old Version. 

2020: THE YEAR OF NON-STOP STREAMING

Honestly, given the lack of traditional theatrical releases, I did spend an inordinate amount of time streaming shows than I normally would. It has made me wonder about the challenges of narrative storytelling in the 90-120 minute format vs. the longer episodic format which is so much more conducive to storytelling and character development.

MY TOP 30-SOME FAVORITE PANDEMIC STREAMING EXPERIENCES 

In descending order of bingey-ness--is that a word?--i.e., inability to stop watching episode after episode. (And occasional commentary...)

Dark (Netflix)--I gave this German series a special shout-out last year (Twin Peaks + Stranger Things + The Wire + time travel), and season 3 finally arrived this summer. So good, I devoured it twice in one week. Complex, mind-bending, and addictively dense storytelling with time travel that makes sense (Tenet, take note) and super satisfying series finish. Ultimately unraveling the intertwined family tree of all the time-traveling characters will make your head spin for days. 

Money Heist (Netflix)--I needed something to replace my addictive need after Dark, and four seasons of this Spanish heist/thriller fit the bill perfectly. Plus, I think the series is rich in lessons on organizational behavior and leadership development/dynamics. Dissertation, anyone?

The Umbrella Academy (Netflix)--Not a genre I typically find appealing (superheroes), but I loved the combination of family dysfunction, sibling rivalry, humor, and more time travel. After finishing the two seasons, I really missed the characters and can't wait for next season. And as a JFK assassination buff, I loved that season 2 took place in Dallas,1963.

The Queen's Gambit (Netflix)--Girl survives car crash in which mom dies, grows up to be charming woman who is addicted to alcohol and does chess.

The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)--Girl survives car crash in which dad dies, grows up to be charming woman who is addicted to alcohol and serves first class. But not anything like The Queen's Gambit.

The Great* (Hulu)--Wickedly dark comedic period piece (Catherine the Great's 18th century Russia) with colorblind casting where scheming powerful people plot to get out of loveless marriage.

Bridgerton (Netflix)--A light romantic period piece (Regent era England) with colorblind casting where scheming powerful people and debutantes try to get into marriage and maybe find love.

Tiger King (Netflix)

The Crown (Netflix)

Sex Education (Netflix)

The Last Dance (Netflix)

Better Call Saul (Netflix)

Never Have I Ever (Netflix)--Best narrator ever!

Ozark (Netflix)

Watchmen (HBO Max)

Ugly Delicious 2 (Netflix)--David Chang is back with interesting take on food and culture. The classism of steak-eating?

Flavorful Origins (Netflix)

The Great British Baking Show Season 11 (Netflix)

Pen15 (Hulu)

Mrs. America (Hulu)

The Good Place (Netflix)

Ted Lasso (Apple TV)

Alex Rider (Prime)

Love, Victor (Hulu)

Giri/Haji (Netflix)

Ratched (Netflix)

The Undoing (HBO Max)

Lovecraft Country (HBO Max)

Zerozerozero (Prime)

Industry (HBO Max)

The Boys (Prime)

What We Do In the Shadows (Hulu)

We Are Who We Are (HBO Max)

Pose (Netflix)

Normal People (Hulu)

Indian Matchmaking (Netflix)

Middleditch & Schwartz (Netflix)

Schitts Creek (Netflix)--Don't be put off by this comic treasure being so low on the binge scale. The series gets better with each season, and I'm slowly watching it because I know the end is coming, and I don't want it to end.

[ewh111]

Annual List of Favorite Film Experiences of 2019

Happy New Year! All the best to you for a fabulous 2020 and new decade! 

2019 was a busy year of traveling. Work took me back to China (three times), Japan, Korea, and first time visits to the Czech Republic and Australia. 

I had the opportunity of a lifetime when I helped lead a group of Harvard-Westlake faculty members on a culture and food themed trip to China with James Beard Award-winning food writer/chef Fuchsia Dunlop. As a big fan of hers, I invited her to join us as our culinary tour guide and she accepted, leading us through three regions of China with distinct cuisines (Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Shanghai). Over ten days, she curated 19 meals with over 300 different courses! For more, go to my first annual food post: https://ewh111.tumblr.com/post/189972112494/2019-food-lists

And now, here are my favorite film experiences of the past year. 

Cheers, Ed

The Best and The Favorite of the Year

Parasite

The less you know before viewing this metaphorical, fiercely dark, genre-bending comedy/horror/social satire of haves and have nots where everyone is arguably a parasite, the better. Korean filmmaker Boon Joon-ho creates a memorable, twisty, thought-provoking film experience with exquisite storytelling, stunning visuals, sudden tonal shifts, unexpected turns, and a terrific cast. Just take the journey and enjoy this masterful work that may be the best film of the year. Trailer: https://youtu.be/isOGD_7hNIY

Jojo Rabbit

Appealing to my affinity for the quirky, this one is my favorite film of 2019. Who knew that a story during the waning days of WWII about a 10 year old Hitler Youth, his imaginary friend Adolph Hitler, and his single mom who is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic would be so sweet and funny. While an absurdist witty satire on the surface, it’s really an anti-hate, coming-of-age story as we experience the world through the eyes of 10 year old Jojo as he confronts and reconciles “the other” he’s been taught to hate in the world around him. Delicately balancing whimsy and seriousness, Jojo Rabbit is a beautiful and soulful film thanks to a great cast, including a terrifically endearing Scarlett Johansson (while likely to garner more attention for Marriage Story, this is the more memorable character to me), the audacious Jewish-Polynesian director Taika Waititi as the sophomoric Hitler bestie, Sam Rockwell as an SS officer with a heart, and a wonderful Roman Griffin Davis in the title role. Trailer: https://youtu.be/tL4McUzXfFI

Racing Against Time

1917

Wow. Daring and bold filmmaking in one of the most realistic and visceral war film experiences since the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan. In a role that may be overlooked during awards season, George MacKay is a standout as one of the two soldiers sent on an impossible mission through No Man’s Land to deliver a message to prevent British forces from entering a massive German ambush. Oh, and via pure movie magic, director Sam Mendes and master cinematographer Roger Deakins tell this story in what seems like one continuous shot. I was totally drawn in by the Gallipoli-esque race against time, the real-time pacing of 24, and the immersive POV of a video game. The result is breath-taking as the camera dances around the soldiers, trenches, bunkers, and towns in a beautifully choreographed dance without distracting from the gripping storytelling. Trailer: https://youtu.be/gZjQROMAh_s

Ford v Ferrari 

An exhilarating, high octane, crackling thrill ride. The story of two obsessively passionate crazies, ex-racer and car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and British race car driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale), who join forces with American corporate titan Ford to defeat Ferrari at the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1966. It’s pure adrenaline that non-racing enthusiasts can enjoy because of the well-crafted story and performances. Trailer: https://youtu.be/I3h9Z89U9ZA

Unforgettably Creepy and Disturbing

Joker

Joaquin Phoenix disturbingly and completely transforms himself into the pathologically deranged, downtrodden, and delusional part-time clown/aspiring comic Arthur Fleck in this origin story of Batman’s arch nemesis. Joker is a deeply disturbing character study of how an emotionally fragile individual on the fringes of society gets pushed deeper and deeper into the downward spiral of insanity to the breaking point.  Dark, edgy, and unsettling, Joker is not for everyone. But there’s no denying Phoenix’s brilliant, tour de force performance. (Unfortunately, my edginess was heightened in my screening by an audience member who was similarly laughing inappropriately like Phoenix’s character, which had me looking for the closest exit in the event of a disturbance). Trailer: https://youtu.be/zAGVQLHvwOY

Us

In his sophomore directorial effort, Jordan Peele has gone beyond the horror and social commentary of Get Out, and into even deeper, more chilling existential territory. In Us, Peele has created an All-American family terrorized by a creepy scissor-wielding doppelgänger family and spirals into more terrifying and mysterious terrain with a fabulous dual performance by Lupita Nyong'o. Who is Us? Is Us them? I’ll leave the metaphorical debate for later. Trailer: https://youtu.be/hNCmb-4oXJA

**Midsommar deserves notable mention in the creepy category–a slow-burn, dark tale of a young American couple’s vacation in the remote Swedish hinterland at a once-in-lifetime summer festival that goes creepily and morbidly wrong. Trailer: https://youtu.be/1Vnghdsjmd0

Masterworks by Tarantino and Scorsese

Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood

Perhaps Quentin Tarantino’s most mature film, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood beautifully captures in painstaking detail a specific moment in time: Hollywood, 1969. A passionate homage and love letter to Los Angeles and the Hollywood scene, Tarantino blends a concoction of history and fantasy (a la Inglourious Basterds) in a buddy movie with Leonardo DiCaprio as declining TV hero/star and an endearing scene-stealing Brad Pitt as his stalwart stunt double/best friend whose lives fatefully intersect with Sharon Tate and the Manson family. While at times meandering (it’s less plot and more a series of vignettes), it is also at times spellbinding (an on set encounter between DiCaprio’s character and a fellow 8 year old child actor; Margot Robbie’s Sharon Tate watching herself on screen inside Westwood’s Bruin Theater). As the title implies, this is a quintessential Tarantino fairy tale: funny, yet warm, and, of course, violent. Trailer: https://youtu.be/ELeMaP8EPAA

The Irishman

An epic, career-capping entry into Martin Scorsese’s mob-themed oeuve, The Irishman appropriately brings De Niro, Pacino and Pesci together in this elegaic saga, complete with de-aging technology to tell the story of mob hitman Frank Sheeran (De Niro) through multiple flashbacks. And for those of us old enough to remember, the story helps to answer the unsolved question, what happened to Teamster head Jimmy Hoffa. Trailer: https://youtu.be/RS3aHkkfuEI

Family Dramas

Marriage Story

Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver are top-notch in this raw, yet poignant, and ultimately life-affirming journey through the disintegration of a marriage and the logistical mechanics of the divorce process and custody fight seen from both sides as each struggles to reestablish priorities in their lives and redefine family. Trailer: https://youtu.be/BHi-a1n8t7M

The Farewell

We are told the film is “based on an actual lie” in the film’s opening titles; director Lulu Wang’s heartfelt, deeply personal, and charming film stars Awkwafina as a young woman whose grandmother (in China) has been diagnosed with terminal cancer but the entire family has decided to keep it a secret. Under the guise of a hastily planned family wedding, the family gathers to say goodbye to grandma. Capturing the uneasy tension between Chinese and American culture, questioning where one belongs and the role of family in our lives, Awkwafina shines in her first dramatic role, as does the rest of the supporting cast.  Trailer: https://youtu.be/RofpAjqwMa8

Little Women

Director Greta Gerwig follows up Lady Bird with another achievement, giving the classic 19th century Louisa May Alcott period piece a thoroughly modern feel with an effervescent cast and 21st century non-chronological storytelling. Saoirse Ronan leads a fantastic cast. Trailer: https://youtu.be/AST2-4db4ic

Two Funny Smart Girls, Two Religious Guys, and Only One Baby Per Family, Please

Booksmart

More than just a female version of Superbad, Booksmart is an impressive directorial debut for Olivia Wilde with the fantastic duo of Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein (HW ‘11) as the “study hard” academic besties on a mission to “play hard” on the last night before graduation. Also memorable is the scene-stealing Billie Lourd (HW ‘10). This very funny and delightful coming-of-age pic stands out in the pantheon of teenage comedies not only for its quirky and smart tone, but for its inclusive and diverse three-dimensional characters, including LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming teens whose sexuality don’t define who they are. Trailer: https://youtu.be/Uhd3lo_IWJc

The Two Popes

I didn’t expect a film that is essentially an extended conversation between two people would be so intriguing and gripping. The imagined conversation in 2012 involves two very different men, one the sitting pope who finds himself standing increasingly in the way of progress, and the other, his eventual successor looking to retire from an institution he is increasingly frustrated with. But with spot-on casting and terrific performances from Jonathan Pryce as the ABBA-humming future Pope Francis and Anthony Hopkins as the stoic, humorless intellect Pope Benedict XVI, The Two Popes is a joy to watch. Trailer: https://youtu.be/T5OhkFY1PQE

One Child Nation

This one’s a doc. From 1979 to 2015, China instituted the “One Child Policy” as a means of population control to stave off mass starvation. Documentarian Nanfu Wang, herself an exception to the policy and now a first-time mother, explores the enduring ripple effects of the policy that included forced abortions, sterilizations, abandonment of baby girls, and child trafficking. This powerful and devastating documentary looks at the multi-layered trauma–how it was carried out and the heartbreaking human and societal toll it has taken. Trailer: https://youtu.be/gMcJVoLwyD0

**Other documentaries to check out: Cold Case Hammarskjold, Where’s My Roy Cohn, The Biggest Little Farm, Leaving Neverland.

All Out Pure Fun Movie Experiences

Knives Out

An enthusiastic bundle of joy, Knives Out is Rian Johnson’s stellar, intricately crafted, Agatha Christie-like whodunit with a stellar cast who seem to be having as much fun as the audience. Trailer: https://youtu.be/qOg3AoRc4nI

Rocketman

Can’t help but compare this to Bohemian Rhapsody, but Rocketman is the superior and more entertaining musical biopic (using the term loosely). It’s bold, magical, and fantastical, as befits Elton John. Trailer: https://youtu.be/S3vO8E2e6G0

Other notables: The King, Avengers: Endgame, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Honey Boy, Yesterday, Velvet Buzzsaw.

In the queue: Pain & Glory; Uncut Gems; Bombshell; Richard Jewell, The Last Black Man In San Francisco.

Favorite Binge-worthy TV Shows

Dark, Succession, When They See Us, Chernobyl, Mindhunter, Barry, Veep, Sex Education, Silicon Valley, Stranger Things 3, Don’t F**k with Cats

Special Shout Out to Dark

With elements of the mysterious strangeness of Twin Peaks and Stranger Things (minus the humor and camp) and the intricate intertwined storytelling and compelling characters of The Wire, Dark is the story of four families who live in a tiny German town situated next to a nuclear power plant (add a little of Chernobyl) who are inextricably connected through some strange cosmic phenomenon. Oh, and throw in a big dose of time travel. Dark is incredibly compelling and addictive. It is hands down the most complex and thoughtful (i.e., sophisticated and makes sense) time travel-themed story I’ve seen. Do yourself a favor and resist Googling anything about the show to avoid spoiling the experience. Just watch. There are two seasons worth at Netflix. And one more on the way. Trailer: https://youtu.be/S3vO8E2e6G0

[ewh111]

2019 Favorite Food Lists

In addition to my movie list (https://ewh111.tumblr.com/post/189987788669/annual-list-of-favorite-film-experiences-of-2019), people have asked that I share a similar list for food. Given the amount of travel this year, it seemed like an appropriate time to start such a post. 2019 took me to China, Korea, Japan, Czech Republic, and Australia, mostly through work-related travel. One international experience is highlighted below. But one doesn't have to go far in Los Angeles for a good meal, so I’m sharing some favorite food experiences.

Favorite Meals from China Food Adventure

This summer I had the incredible opportunity to help lead a trip with 18 Harvard-Westlake faculty members on a culture & food themed trip to China with one of my idols, British food writer/chef Fuchsia Dunlop. I have her cookbooks, read her memoir, and watched her on food shows. She accepted my invitation to join us as our food tour guide, and she curated all our meals in three distinct regional cuisines. Over the course of 10 days, we had 19 meals with over 300 courses in Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Shanghai. Here are a few highlights.

Dinner at Dragon Well Manor, Hangzhou

Fuchsia Dunlop introducing the lunch at Xijie Wangshi in Dujiangyan 

Fuchsia Dunlop at Qing Cheng Jia in Dujiangyan

And Back in LA

Favorite Mapo Tofu Dish: I don’t like tofu. But believe it or not, I’ll jump at the chance to have these versions of the classic Sichuan dish. 

Hunan Mao Jia, Rosemead

Xiang La Hui, Alhambra

Chengdu Taste/Sichuan Impression, Alhambra

Other Favorite SGV Dishes

Steamed fish head with chilis, Hunan Mao Jia (photo below)

Boiled fish with rattan peppers, Sichuan Impression (the Alhambra branch, not the West LA store)

Any dumpling dish, You Kitchen

Favorite Japanese, Non-Sushi

Aburiya Raku

Tsubaki

Favorite Sushi

Sushi Zo

Asanebo

Shunji

Sushi Ginza Onodera

Nozawa Bar

Unusual New Dishes

Mapo Tofu Lasagna, Nightshade (photo below)

Radicchio XO salad, Angler

Lobster Bisque Roll, Found Oyster

Some Memorable Meals

Bistro LQ/Chef Yu Bo Duo French/Sichuan White Alba Truffle 19 course dinner (see menu below)

Tasting menu, Somni

Short Rib, Majordomo

Omakase, Sushi Ginza Onodera

Whole King Crab, Angler (photo below)

Favorite comfort food

Din Tai Fung

Pho Cafe

Silver Lake Ramen

Haidilao Hot Pot

Some favorite cravings

Spicy shrimp & pork wontons, Din Tai Fung

Fried clams with bellies or soft shell steamers, Connie & Ted's

Chicken tarna wrap, Zankou Chicken

Mushroom cheesesteak with provolone, Boo's Philly Cheesesteak

Favorite Fried Chicken

Kyochon, Ktown

Crack Shack, Century City, Pasadena, Las Vegas

Bavettes, Las Vegas

Favorite new finds

Needles, Silver Lake (tiny place with great char siu and white cut chicken)

Found Oyster, East Hollywood (New England seafood joint)

Ceviche Project, Silver Lake (photo below)

Kato, West LA (Taiwanese/Japanese tasting menu)

Angler, Beverly Center (seafood)

Nightshade, Downtown LA (modern LA w/Asian foundation)

Sushi Note, Sherman Oaks

[ewh111]

2018 Annual List of Favorite Film Experiences

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I hope you’ve been having a great holiday season. It’s been another fun year in film, television, and streaming. It felt like a particularly good year for diverse voices, visions, casts, and storytelling. While I still feel like I’m catching up on year-end releases, here’s my annual list of the ones that have entertained, moved me, provoked thoughts, or just plain stuck with me the most with their story-telling and artistry (In no particular order).

All the best for a wonderful 2019!

Cheers, Ed

Indelible (But VERY Different) Cinematic Experiences

Roma—I wasn’t sure what the hype was about for the first hour which leisurely unfolds before you, but it’s just the build-up as Alfonso Cuaron’s beautiful and powerful film slowly draws you in, and then suddenly grabs you with unexpected emotional impact. An intimate, yet sweeping story of a maid who holds together a crumbling family as her own life combusts. Based on the director’s own life and the woman who raised him, Roma is a complex multi-layered domestic/social/political drama with some truly haunting and indelible sequences. Some may be challenged by the pacing and seeming lack of narrative. Be patient and stick with it; it’s worth it.

Sorry to Bother You—Audacious, original first film and new vision from rapper/hip hop musician Boots Riley starring a terrific Lakeith Stanfield as down on his luck young man who gets a job as a telemarketer and advised by veteran caller Danny Glover to use his “white voice” to become a power caller. The story then takes a twisted wackadoodle turn that truly defies description. This bold and outrageous absurdist social satire/surreal anti-capitalist black comedy also stars an excellent Armie Hammer in a bizzaro role.

A Full House of Documentaries: A Pair of Giants of Our Time and Three of a Kind

Won’t You Be My Neighbor—Celebrating a true hero, it’s a warm and loving look at this pioneer of children’s television who became a role model of kindness and compassion for generations. Little did I realize when watching him as a child the bold and courageous manner in which he addressed the social issues of the day. And it is worthwhile to see the full six-minute video of Fred Rogers Senate testimony that saved funding for public television: https://youtu.be/fKy7ljRr0AA.

RBG—An inspirational telling of the brilliant legal mind who shaped America’s legal landscape on gender equality and women’s rights and became a pop culture icon. 

Three Identical Strangers—Fascinating documentary that starts as a “can’t believe it’s true” tale of separated-at-birth triplets who miraculously find each other as young adults, and then takes a very dark turn as the layers of the story are revealed, raising some real ethical questions about research and the debate about nature vs. nurture.

Additional Docu-series to watch: The Staircase (a gripping and powerful docu-series that is an intimate and detailed look at our criminal justice system as seen through the eyes of a man accused of murder who claims the death of his wife was an accident); The Fourth Estate (a fascinating behind the scenes look at the NY Times and their reporters as they cover the beginning of the Trump administration).

Historical Dramedies

The Death of Stalin—Dark and bitingly funny, this relevant political satire by Armando Iannucci of Veep portrays the intrigue surrounding the flock of sycophantic bureaucrats who vie to become the next Soviet leader after the sudden stroke and death of Stalin. A masterful historical farce with a great cast that includes Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor, Michael Palin, and Jason Isaacs. And it’s worth noting that the most absurd moments actually did take place (e.g., a rerun concert just to make a recording for Stalin; the alcoholic and meglomaniacal son of Stalin who lost the entire national hockey team by ordering their flight into a snowstorm and then replacing the dead players in hopes his dad wouldn’t notice).

The Favourite—While I decidedly did not care for filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos’s much acclaimed The Lobster, this is a much more accessible outing. A highly original period/costume piece with an amazing trio of performances from Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, and Emma Stone, The Favourite is a dark and wickedly humorous look at the conniving palace intrigue, love triangles, and back-stabbing world of Queen Anne’s court, complete with fops, duck races, pigeon shooting, and rabbits that rule the roost. 

Vice—Not your typical biopic. From the man who brought you The Big Short, Adam McKay delivers an entertaining dark dramedy. Christian Bale wholly transforms into the enigmatic Dick Cheney in this boldly told tale (including a faux Shakespearean pillow talk bit and a mid-film happily-ever-after credit sequence) of a ne'er do well who becomes the most powerful man in the world, all “in the service of the people.” With a very strong supporting cast of Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney, Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush, and Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld.

BlacKkKlansman—Director Spke Lee and the producers of Get Out deliver the unbelievably true buddy-cop tale from the 1970s of a black man who goes undercover to infiltrate the KKK by phone while his white Jewish partner stands in for him in face-to-face meetings. Told in a funny and entertaining manner, it’s one of Spike Lee’s best film in years, though it’s unfortunate how little the racial issues have changed over time.

Odes to Stan Lee and the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Black Panther—This is not just another Marvel superhero movie. This is what every origin story should be: a totally immersive world is created with a sophisticated and impressively well-told story, balancing big themes, character development, action, mythology, and strong messaging, including female empowerment. Black Panther is perhaps the best (and most political without being heavy-handed) entry in the MCU while leaving a very large cultural footprint on Hollywood.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse—I really didn’t think we needed another entry into the Spidey world, but this one was truly fantastic, perhaps the best of the bunch. With visually stunning animation unlike anything I’ve seen before, it’s the most trippy, inclusive, and soulful Spider-Man ever, and the one most true to its comic book roots.

More Fantastic Animation, Stop Motion, and CGI

Isle of Dogs–I am an unabashed fan of Wes Anderson, and here he creates a masterful stop motion universe, much more sophisticated and intricate than his last one, the wonderful Fantastic Mr. Fox. Taking place in a fictional dystopian Japan, he creates yet another Andersonian obsessively detailed world, infused with Japanese culture and canines. On the surface, it’s a simple story of a boy seeking his pet dog in a world where dogs have been banished to a trash-filled island, but it works on so many other levels, existential and political. A great cast of voices infuse each character with individuality and nuanced personalities, including Brian Cranston, Edward Norton, and Bill Murray. 

Ready Player One—An unexpectedly wild and entertaining journey, this Spielberg film that takes place in a dystopian future steeped in the nostalgia of the 1980s (video games, movies, music) where its citizens find salvation and escape in a virtual world called the OASIS. The central story of a teen in a whirlwind contest seeking control of the OASIS is a visually stunning and thrilling ride combining live action and CGI that is thoroughly satisfying (though I feel I need to go back to take in all the pop culture references that whirl by).  

Incredibles 2–Well worth the wait after 14 years. Just what you would hope for in summer film. Well-developed characters, action, and story with amazing animation and a terrifically snazzy Michael Giacchino soundtrack.

Other Enjoyable Film Experiences Worth Mentioning

22 July, A Quiet Place, Beautiful Boy, Boy Erased, Crazy Rich Asians, Eighth Grade, Green Book, Love, Simon, Mary Poppins Returns, Mission Impossible: Fallout, Paddington 2, The Price of Everything, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Science Fair, Searching, The Hate U Give, Tully, Victoria & Abdul

In the Queue

A Star Is Born, Burning, Cold War, First Man, First Reformed, Free Solo, The Frontrunner, If Beale Street Could Talk, Shoplifters

Binge-Worthy Television

The Americans, Barry, Succession

For the Foodie Set

Fat Salt Acid Heat, Ugly Delicious

Favorite Theater Experience

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child--if you’re a HP fan, it’s like being reunited with old friends. Great story and incredible stagecraft. 

Trailers

Black Panther: https://youtu.be/xjDjIWPwcPU

BlacKkKlansman: https://youtu.be/0vWHEuhEuno

Incredibles 2: https://youtu.be/i5qOzqD9Rms

Isle of Dogs: https://youtu.be/dt__kig8PVU

RBG: https://youtu.be/biIRlcQqmOc

Ready Player One: https://youtu.be/cSp1dM2Vj48

Roma: https://youtu.be/6BS27ngZtxg

Sorry to Bother You: https://youtu.be/PQKiRpiVRQM

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: https://youtu.be/g4Hbz2jLxvQ

The Death of Stalin: https://youtu.be/kPpXFnHoC-0

The Favourite: https://youtu.be/SYb-wkehT1g

Three Identical Strangers: https://youtu.be/c-OF0OaK3o0

Vice: https://youtu.be/jO3GsRQO0dM

Won’t You Be My Neighbor: https://youtu.be/FhwktRDG_aQ

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2017 Annual List of Favorite Film Experiences

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

With each passing year, I find it harder to keep up with new release films, as well as the growing queue of ones on my “To See” list. On the other hand, it feels like quality films are sequestered till the end of the year (nothing against summer blockbusters, but with a few exceptions, many are forgotten by the time you get back to your car) and the growing appeal and abundance of quality television fostered by its broader canvas for in-depth storytelling and character development is another distraction. 

But that brings me to one of my favorite things about the holiday season in Los Angeles. The last six weeks or so of the year is filled with many appealing options as films jockey for exposure ahead of the awards season. And I have a great deal of appreciation and gratitude (and a bit of jealousy) for the many artists and others who have the passion to make these visions come to life for us to enjoy.

All the best for a wonderful 2018 and hope that you get a chance to see some of the films below that moved me in some way, sometimes filling me with emotion or awe, or provoking long-lasting thoughts, or just trigger the desire to re-experience and see it again. So, here they are, in no particular order.

Cheers, Ed

P.S.–I’ve gotten many requests to also review favorite meals of the year, so that might come in another post. :)

Indelible Coming of Age Tales

Call Me By Your Name — Northern Italy, summer, 1983. Having read the André Aciman novel, this was my most anticipated film of 2017. And it did not disappoint. This beautifully told and lushly shot coming of age romance features a remarkable and revelatory (and perhaps best of 2017) performance by newcomer Timothée Chalamet (also in Lady Bird), who achingly captures the universal yearning, passion, heartache, and torment of first love. Kudos also to Armie Hammer and director Luca Guadagnino. While many moments stand out, including the empathetic and compassionate speech by father Michael Stuhlberg (also in Shape of Water) that is the dream of every LGBT kid, it’s the minutes-long reactive close-up on Chalamet as the credits roll and song of yearning plays that devastatingly endures. My favorite of 2017.

Lady Bird — Sacramento, 2002. A semi-autobiographical coming of age in the suburbs tale featuring the humorous, turbulent, and affecting relationship between mother and daughter by Greta Gerwig in her directorial debut. With a fabulous performance by Saoirse Ronan as the head-strong teen who calls herself Lady Bird, a terrific Laurie Metcalf as her mom, and HW alum Beanie Feldstein ’11 as her best friend, this is the rare comedy that is smart, witty, and endearing.

Compelling Period Piece True Stories 

Dunkirk — Dunkirk, France, 1940. A visually and viscerally compelling piece of filmmaking about the miraculous evacuation of 300,000 British troops from the doomed beach at Dunkirk, masterfully crafted by director Christopher Nolan via three intertwined timeframes (a week on the beach, a day by sea, and an hour in the air) that intersect and fold back and ultimately, come together in the end. 

The Post — Washington, DC, 1971. Spielberg + Streep + Hanks = a highly timely and relevant telling of the Washington Post’s saga to publish the Pentagon Papers. Resonant on so many levels with urgent themes of today—the need for a free press, the role of women in a man’s world, and a judicial branch independent from an overreaching executive branch—all told with briskly entertaining and thrilling pace. 

All the Money In The World — UK/Italy, 1973. I’ll admit that I was initially attracted to this pic to see how director Ridley Scott erased Kevin Spacey and recast Christopher Plummer in the role of billionaire J. Paul Getty and reshot major portions of his film six weeks before its release date. Hats off to him for pulling off a very engaging thriller depicting the notorious kidnapping of Getty’s grandson. Michelle Williams is spot-on as the mother who goes toe-to-toe with her infamously frugal father-in-law who refuses to pay ransom for her child. 

Dark Master Works By An Irish Playwright and a Black Comedian 

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri — Ebbing, MO, present day. Loved this very dark dramedy whose story emanates from a tragic event in a small town. There’s plenty of levity and wonderfully drawn characters via Martin McDonagh’s clever screenplay that mixes revenge, redemption, and moral ambiguity, featuring a trio of tremendous performances by raging mother of deceased raped daughter Frances McDormand, small town police chief and target of McDormand’s ire Woody Harrelson, and racist, violent, alcoholic mama’s boy police officer Sam Rockwell. 

Get Out — Suburban countryside, present day America. A creepy, twisted, funny, scary, and subversive version of “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” crossed with a little bit of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” for the post-Obama era. A brilliant, provocative, and unnerving nexus of sophisticated horror, comedy, and extremely biting social satire by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut.

Strange and Untraditional Love Stories 

Phantom Thread —London, circa 1950s. I love Paul Thomas Anderson, and he’s made one strange but riveting movie here. A gorgeous Jonny Greenwood score swings from elegantly jazzy to intensely haunting, setting the mood for this darkly humorous film featuring hard to describe relationships (I hesitate to call it a love story) between an obsessively demanding and fastidious fashion designer (Daniel Day-Lewis supposedly in his last film role), his muse, and his ever-lurking sister/business partner and their respective emotional/psychological (and ultimately perverse) gamesmanship. And one may not listen to water-pouring or toast-buttering, or mushroom omelet eating in the same way again. 

The Shape of Water — Baltimore, circa 1962. Mix in a large dose of Cold War thriller and Creature from the Black Lagoon, plus a little Busby Berkeley, and you either get a political allegory (marginalized “others” whether mute, black, gay, or non-human vs. the Man) or romantic fairy tale. Leave it to Guillermo del Toro to bring us the more “romantic” one in this strange love stories category, an oddly beautiful and enchanting interspecies romance between two mute and isolated beings, one a cleaning woman (a wonderful Sally Hawkins) and the other a Creature From the Black Lagoon-inspired merman kept in a top secret government facility. Arguably, the “monster” in this story is the intensely sadistic government agent played with gusto by Michael Shannon. 

Bizarre Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction Tales 

I, Tonya —  Portland, OR, 1994. A stellar Margot Robbie plays the hard scrabble, trailer-trash, and ultimately disgraced Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding in this unbelievably crazy but true story of her life leading up to the infamous incident before the 1994 Winter Olympics. Told in zippy mockumentary style that is fun to watch, Allison Janney as her zany, abusive mother leads a supporting cast of inept characters involved in Tonya’s dysfunctional life. Directed by Craig Gillispie who also directed the offbeat gem, Lars and the Real Girl. 

The Disaster Artist — Hollywood, 2003. Another bizarre, but true real life story about the enigmatic writer/director Tommy Wiseau who made one of the most absurdly bad films ever that eventually turned into a cult classic (The Room). Humorously portrayed by James Franco, who also directed this offbeat but unexpectedly poignant movie about making a movie, though it’s ultimately more about the importance of friendship, having dreams, and America’s fascination with celebrity and movies. (And the side-by-side comparison of scenes from the actual The Room and recreations in Franco’s film are hysterical.)

Docs About Felines and Cheating Russians 

Kedi — Yes, this a documentary about cats, but it’s not just about cats. Rather it’s a meditative and heartwarming look at the community of felines that inhabit the streets of Istanbul, delving into their centuries-long symbiotic relationship with humans in the old city. The city is teeming with cats that are neither feral or domestic, each with different personalities and lives they share with the people they adopt. And therein lies the heart of this film, as the locals share their bonds and therapeutic experiences with these complex creatures, ranging from the mundane to the profound. 

Icarus – Putin + mysterious deaths + performance-enhancing drug conspiracy = A fascinating and crazy documentary that plays like a spy thriller. It starts out as an odd personal experiment by the filmmaker/amateur cyclist mimicking Lance Armstrong’s doping regimen, but through sheer dumb luck and serendipity, he develops a friendship with Gregory Rodchenkov, the affable, eccentric, and charismatic camera-loving head of Russia’s Anti-Doping Lab…and, as it turns out, the country’s mastermind behind its decades-long state-sponsored doping program. It then becomes a terrifying race to uncover the world’s biggest sports conspiracy, implicating everybody including the Russian president (resulting in the NY Times exposé) while trying to save whistle-blower Rodchenkov’s life from the clutches of Putin. 

Docs about Life and Death 

Obit. —While it may sound morbid, this behind-the-scenes look at the NY Times’ obituary staff writers is enlightening and fascinating, and in fact, quite lively (even its peek into the “morgue,” the paper’s clipping archive). Beyond celebrities and notables, who makes the editorial cut in the pages of the NY Times obit section? And how does one get appropriately celebrated in death, warts and all. Now you can find out.   

Chasing Coral – A wake-up call to the accelerating world-wide death of entire coral reef ecosystems by “coral bleaching.” This remarkably emotional doc follows a team of biologists, including a self-proclaimed “coral nerd” in a race against time to document this die-off with powerful visual evidence, and the result is an inspirational eco drama that moves you to act before it’s too late. 

Others Worth Mentioning 

Baby Driver (the soundtrack and editing alone are worth the thrilling 112 minutes of this stylish heist story about a young getaway driver); It (I don’t generally like horror films, but this retelling of Stephen King’s classic was one of the most engaging and well told of its genre); Star Wars: The Last Jedi (my favorite of the series); Loving Vincent (every frame of the film was hand-painted in the style of Van Gogh); Mudbound; Spider-Man: Homecoming (loved Tom Holland as the new Peter Parker); Beach Rats; The Big Sick; War for the Planet of the Apes;The Only Living Boy in New York; Wonder Woman; Spielberg; Battle of the Sexes; Stronger 

In the Queue

Coco, Darkest Hour, Detroit, Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool, Downsizing, Molly’s Game, Florida Project, Victoria and Abdul.

Binge-Worthy Television

13 Reasons Why, Stranger Things 2, The OA, Mindhunter, Big Little Lies, Grace and Frankie 

Trailers

All the Money in the World: https://youtu.be/KXHrCBkIxQQ

Call Me By Your Name: https://youtu.be/Z9AYPxH5NTM

Chasing Coral: https://youtu.be/b6fHA9R2cKI

The Disaster Artist: https://youtu.be/cMKX2tE5Luk

Dunkirk: https://youtu.be/F-eMt3SrfFU

Get Out: https://youtu.be/sRfnevzM9kQ

I, Tonya: https://youtu.be/OXZQ5DfSAAc

Icarus: https://youtu.be/qXoRdSTrR-4

Kedi: https://youtu.be/w9fwhVx9zR0

Lady Bird: https://youtu.be/cNi_HC839Wo

Obit.: https://youtu.be/BgpMNerK9cU

Phantom Thread: https://youtu.be/xNsiQMeSvMk

The Post: https://youtu.be/nrXlY6gzTTM

The Shape of Water: https://youtu.be/XFYWazblaUA

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri: https://youtu.be/Jit3YhGx5pU

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2016 Annual List of Favorite Movie Experiences

Happy New Year! Best wishes for a fabulous 2017! 

Here is my annual list of favorite movies experiences from the past year. 

Cheers, Ed

Category 1: Indelible Narrative Storytelling

Manchester by the Sea—This family drama from writer/director Ken Lonergan packs a wallop; a deeply layered and complexly emotional film led by a superb wounded-soul performance by Casey Affleck and great supporting roles by Michelle Williams and newcomer Lucas Hedges.

Moonlight—Poetic, intimate, and personal, this elegiac masterpiece sensitively and tenderly portrays the life of a man as a boy, a teen, and then as grown up, a portrait that powerfully addresses the nature of masculinity, manhood, and gay identity in a slice of Black America.

La La Land—A dazzlingly vibrant and original musical about two Angelenos (a musician and an actress, of course) chasing after love with its requisite ups and downs while trying to “make it.” Writer/director Damien Chazelle’s follow-up to Whiplash is a wonder to behold with outstanding performances by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. From its exuberant and audacious opening song & dance number on the traffic-jammed 105/110 interchange to its tour de force climax (and a soundtrack that I’ve been playing non-stop), La La Land is a beautiful, brilliant, jazzy thrill ride.

Hell or High Water—A contemporary Western cops vs. robbers tale with a moralistic twist. Great performances by lawman Jeff Bridges + brothers-in-crime Chris Pine and Ben Foster + Taylor Sheridan screenplay (who wrote last year’s Sicario) elevates this genre pic through its authentic and rich characters and intricate storytelling.  

Special Mention

Indignation—I’m highlighting this adaptation of a Philip Roth novel just for that scene: an 18-minute long argumentative tête-à-tête between college administrator Tracy Letts and student Logan Lerman.  You may not see anything as intense or gripping on stage or in film this year.

Category 2: Documentaries: Who Are We, America?—Putting a Mirror Up to Ourselves

Two incredibly compelling companion-piece documentaries feel especially timely and important in 2016 and rate as must-sees.

OJ: Made in America—Just when you thought you knew everything about O.J. and “the trial of the century” (especially with the parallel release of the engrossing FX Network narrative miniseries The People v. O.J. Simpson), this nearly eight-hour epic doc reveals a totally mesmerizing socio-cultural history of race relations from the time young O.J. appeared on the national scene in the mid-60s to present day America.

13th –Ava DuVernay’s powerful doc on the sad state of race affairs in America since the passage of the 13th amendment covers a broad swath of territory, weaving graphics, archival footage, and talking heads in an eloquent and persuasive manner.

Category 3: Animation That Leaves You Awed for Very Different Reasons

Kubo and the Two Strings—I love LAIKA pics (Coraline, ParaNorman), and Kubo sets a new artistic standard as a masterful piece of story-telling through stunning visuals and stop-motion animation. This epic fantasy/action/comedy adventure tale set in ancient Japan finds a young boy named Kubo on a mystical quest to solve the mystery of his fallen samurai warrior father with the help of his magical instrument, a wise monkey, and warrior beetle.

Sausage Party—Yes, a sunny Alan Menken musical number opens the film, but this is not for kids—it comes out of the twisted and hallucinogenic mind of Seth Rogen and others who brought you This Is The End.  Funny, offensive, and ultimately, sweet, this adults-only feature with anthropomorphized foodstuff (complete with ethnicities and sexual orientations) is not what I expected. Yes, it was jaw-droppingly raunchy and profane (warning: food orgy), but I did not expect the subversive and oddly thought-provoking storylines with existential and religious overtones. The question running through my mind while watching this was: who was asleep when the green light was given by the studio? (But I’m glad they did.)

Category 4: Quirky Off-The-Grid Tales

Captain Fantastic—An inspired Viggo Mortenson plays a fanatical dad raising his six children in a demanding survivalist Pacific Northwest outpost, educating them equally in the rigors of the outdoors as well as the intellect. A family tragedy forces the whole free-thinking, iconoclastic clan (who celebrate Noam Chomsky Day instead of Christmas) to confront the “real” world, raising the question of whether the dad is a good parent or irresponsible loon. An engaging dramedy with a wonderful cast of impressive young actors.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople—New Zealand outback meets Wes Anderson and a little Thelma and Louise. This is an amusing and charming off-beat tale about a rotund troubled “gangsta” kid named Ricky who’s been in and out of foster homes and finally finds a “home” on a remote New Zealand farm. A tragic turn finds him and his grumpy foster dad (a terrific Sam Neill) the subjects of an absurd national manhunt, chased by an overzealous, humorless welfare services officer. Thirteen year old Julian Dennison who plays Ricky steals the movie.

Category 5: For Those of You Looking for Dark and Twisted Tales

Elle—Paul Verhoeven’s provocative thriller/mystery tale of power dynamics, splashed with some very dark humor, features a steely performance by Isabelle Hubbert as a woman raped who refuses to be a victim. Hubbert is a thrill to watch.

Nocturnal Animals—If you like a little dark and a little twisted (as I do), you’ll like Tom Ford’s highly stylized follow-up to A Single Man. With its David Lynchian opening title sequence, you know you’re in for a quite a ride with this neo-noir tale that intricately weaves together parallel stories of revenge featuring Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Category 6: More Docs—The Bizarre and Unbelievable

Weiner—Wow. It’s amazing to be a fly on the wall in this incredible “why did he agree to this access” documentary. Watching the repeated downfalls of the politician Anthony Weiner is cringe-inducing and depressing, but absolutely riveting.

Tickled—A New Zealand journalist’s simple inquiry into a bizarre online fetish video about endurance tickling competitions results in a strangely ludicrous homophobic written response with bullying threats from its owner. Intrigued, he embarks on a fascinating and courageous pursuit to expose this manipulative and abusive shadowy figure who ruins the lives of people who engage him.

Category 7: And Something For Foodies

Sour Grapes—An entertaining look at a bizarre counterfeit scandal that rocked the high-end wine world a few years ago. Out of nowhere, a young Indonesian man with impeccable connoisseur’s knowledge spills onto the wine auction scene. He then spawns an elaborate con, spending crazy amounts of money accumulating and then selling rare and expensive bottles of wine…so rare, in fact, that they included vintages that didn’t exist.

Ants on a Shrimp—Watch as Rene Redzepi of Copenhagen’s NOMA moves his restaurant to Tokyo for a five week pop-up stint. (If Redzepi or NOMA don’t mean anything to you, you won’t care about this doc.)

Others worth mentioning

Arrival, Deadpool, Sing Street, Zootopia, Moana, Lion, The Little Prince, Jim: The James Foley Story.

Still in the queue: Toni Erdmann, A Birth of a Nation, Jackie, Hacksaw Ridge, Loving, Silence.

Television shows: Stranger Things, Westworld, Transparent, This is Us, Making a Murderer, Mr. Robot, Ray Donovan.

Stage: Go to Broadway and catch Dear Evan Hansen and see the terrific Ben Platt HW ’11.

Trailers for Films Mentioned Above

13th: https://youtu.be/V66F3WU2CKk

Ants on a Shrimp: https://youtu.be/ipaT8mNmEUs

Captain Fantastic: https://youtu.be/D1kH4OMIOMc

Elle: https://youtu.be/gM96ne-XiH0

Hell or High Water: https://youtu.be/JQoqsKoJVDw

Hunt for the Wilderpeople: https://youtu.be/n8Xvsjy57X0

Indignation: https://youtu.be/ELKsrUssyQE

Kubo and the Two Strings: https://youtu.be/p4-6qJzeb3A

La La Land: https://youtu.be/0pdqf4P9MB8

Manchester by the Sea: https://youtu.be/gsVoD0pTge0

Moonlight: https://youtu.be/9NJj12tJzqc

Nocturnal Animals: https://youtu.be/juFmTNbFh8g

OJ: Made in America: https://youtu.be/HrB3rOcrJxg

Sausage Party: https://youtu.be/WVAcTZKTgmc

Sour Grapes: https://youtu.be/FptMIqilXOE

Tickled: https://youtu.be/uIYsHicn5XU

Weiner: https://youtu.be/nJ4FIGnJknk

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2015 Annual List of Favorite Entertainment Experiences

Category 1:  Live Theater

Some of the most compelling entertainment this year was seen on stage, so let me start there:  two musicals need to be seen by everyone—for very different reasons.  

I’m not sure I’ve ever been more thrilled (and elucidated) by live theater than by Hamilton.  Yes, I’m obsessed.  There’s so much hype; yes, believe it!  It’s a Broadway game-changer.  Who would have thought a musical about an American founding father could pack so much history, intrigue, and emotion into its words & music. The answer lies in the brilliant Lin-Manual Miranda who makes history come alive by telling the story of yesterday with a mostly non-white cast that looks like America of today while masterfully incorporating rap, hip-hop, R & B, and jazz with contemporary Broadway. Not to be missed. (If you can’t get a ticket, at least listen to the soundtrack.)  

At the other end of the spectrum is Dear Evan Hansen, which I caught in WDC and goes to Off-Broadway this spring.  A touching, funny and endearing coming-of-age tale set in today’s social media-obsessed landscape.  It packs an emotional wallop due in large part to the performance of HW alum Ben Platt ’11; it begs to be seen by all parents and their teenage children.  

Category 2:  Films Based on Reality

The Big Short—Anchorman writer/director Adam McKay + Michael Lewis’s bestseller + fantastic cast of Steve Carell, Christian Bale, Brad Pitt, et. al. = entertaining and tragically funny film that simplifies the complexities of credit-default swaps and CDOs of the housing credit bubble that burst in 2008.

Straight Outta Compton—Brash, bold, and powerful origin pic of N.W.A. with a terrific cast, including Ice Cube’s doppelganger son.

Steve Jobs—Tremendous performance by Michael Fassbender (and also Kate Winslet) in this seriously under-appreciated Aaron Sorkin written/Danny Boyle directed biopic that feels like an intimate, talky three-act play.  

Sicario—OK, not based on reality in the traditional sense…or at least that we’re aware of.  Don’t miss this utterly intense and gripping moral kick- to-the-stomach starring a great Emily Blunt as an idealistic FBI agent in an amorphous interagency operation against the Mexican drug cartel.  Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro are equally good.

Category 3:  Tales of Survival:  Extraterrestrial, Terrestrial, and Other

While totally different, these are visually stunning films about survival in harsh but beautiful settings.  

The Martian—Ridley Scott is back in top form, directing a terrific Matt Damon stranded on the Red Planet in this entertaining and at times, humorous, tale of survival.  

The Revenant—This is one truly brutal and harsh yet beautiful film from Alejandro G. Iñárritu.  Inspired by true events, Leonardo DiCaprio fights off arrows, snow storms, freezing rapids, team betrayal, and a particularly brutal bear attack to avenge family and find redemption.  (I’m sure Mars is colder than Canada, but DiCaprio sure looked colder than Matt Damon.)

Mad Max: Fury Road—I’m not sure what world or planet this is on, but Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa takes us on one terrific, non-stop, post-apocalyptic thrill ride. This is a vividly imaginative spectacle that caught me off guard with its heart and (feminist) soul amid its wildness.  

Category 4:  Some Heart and Soul

Inside Out—A beautiful, emotionally satisfying, and sophisticated winner from Pixar/Disney about those voices in your head.  Kids love it, but adults will love it more.  

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl—A funny/teary, appealing little film that’s a quirky take on the coming-of-age movie that avoids genre clichés.

Category 5:  Queer Period Pieces (1920s, 1950s, 1960s)

The Danish Girl—Poignant film about the true story of Einar Wegener/Lili Elbe, one of the first recipients of sex reassignment surgery.  Touching performances by the ever-morphing Eddie Redmayne as Einar/Lili and especially Alicia Vikander as his soul-bearing wife (you should also catch her in the sleek, cat-and-mouse A.I. tale Ex Machina).  

Carol—Todd Hayne seductively and lushly captures an era (early 1950s) and a love that dare not speak its name with outstanding performances by Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara.  

Best of Enemies—Couldn’t resist putting this doc with Vidal in this category.  Totally enthralling and spell-binding doc about the towering public intellects of their day, Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley, Jr, as their ten live televised debates through the 1968 political conventions changed TV forever and gave rise to the political punditry of today (which lacks the legitimate intellectual firepower of these two egos).

Category 6:  Something Outrageous:  A British Spy Caper, a Western, and Some Argentinian Loco

Kingsman:  The Secret Service—Just a fun, entertaining film with a particularly over-the-top climax that evokes early James Bond in a subversive and stylish way. Good-guy Colin Firth and bad-guy Samuel L. Jackson as you haven’t seen before.

The Hateful Eight—As an unabashed Quentin Tarantino fan, his 8th film admittedly starts slowly (including a 3 minute overture and 12 minute intermission), but this carefully crafted tale of bounty hunter/prisoner/sheriff/hangman/ confederate and others trapped in a mountaintop stagecoach stopover during a blizzard doesn’t disappoint in the end.  

Wild Tales—Crazy, wacky anthology of six short tales. Each exquisitely told story begins mundanely and quickly unravels into sudden, black comedic insanity.  The less said, the better. If you’re looking for something off-beat and darkly humorous, this Argentinian film is for you.  

Category 7:  Documentaries

The Jinx:  The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst—OMG.  Totally mesmerizing six-part truth-is-stranger-than-fiction doc about the billionaire scion Robert Durst, his missing wife and 2 dead bodies.

Finding Vivian Maier—Fascinating doc about one of the greatest street photographers who ever lived…and whose work was never seen (and often never even developed) during her lifetime. This detective tale unravels the mystery of this obscure photog nanny whose work was only luckily uncovered in a storage-locker auction.

Listen to Me Marlon—An intimate look into Brando’s tormented life, narrated by Brando himself, culled from archival video, photos and, most fascinatingly, his hours of audio recordings that served as his self-analysis.    

City of Gold—A special treat for foodies, this doc about Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold is an ode to the city of Los Angeles and its vast bounty of ethnic foods and restaurants.  

The Search for General Tso—A decidedly personal choice as one who grew up in a Chinese restaurant.  Ever wonder about the origin of the popular dish General Tso’s Chicken?  People in the famous general’s Hunan hometown have no idea.  While you get find the answer, you learn about the history of Chinese-American food in America.

Category 8:  Worth mentioning and other guilty pleasures

Great performances by HW alums Jason Segel ’97 in the soulful The End of the Tour and Jake Gyllenhaal ’98 in Southpaw.    Other movies include Bridge of Spies, Going Clear, Joy, Star Wars: Episode VII, Spectre, St. Vincent, Chuck Norris vs. Communism. 

And on TV:  How to Get Away With Murder, Transparent, Black Orphan, Homeland, Veep, Silicon Valley, Ray Donovan, Game of Thrones, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, A Bite of China. 

Film queue:  Spotlight, Brooklyn, Room, Anomalisa, The Walk, Where to Invade Next, Son of Saul and in TV queue:  Mr. Robot, Scandal, Hannibal, Narcos.  

#favoritemovies2015

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Supreme Court Ruling Makes Same-Sex Marriage a Right Nationwide

In a long-sought victory for the gay rights movement, the court ruled, 5-4, that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage.

Wow. Even though the prevailing winds of the last couple of years were blowing this way, it is still stunning to see this happen. Justice Anthony Kennedy's appointment to the Supreme Court preceded my coming out by a couple of months in 1988. I never thought I'd see this issue decided affirmatively by the Supreme Court in my lifetime. But with his majority decisions in the Romer (1996), Lawrence (2003), Windsor (2013) cases and now Obergefell, I have lived and witnessed a sea change I didn't think possible as a young 20-something.

I haven't said this to many people, but I made a conscious decision as a 2nd grader not to recite the Pledge of Allegiance (although I did mouth it so as not to stand out). Why? I didn't believe in those last few words, "with liberty and justice for all." I didn't think I was included in the "all." As an 8 year old! At first, it was because I felt an outsider as US-born child of immigrants, and later it was legalized discrimination as a gay person.

Today, as someone who has been an American citizen my entire life, I finally feel more "American." Thank you Anthony Kennedy and all the people over the years who stood up to make a difference.

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Some favorite dishes from 2014.

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My Favorite Movie Experiences of 2014…and other guilty pleasures

In no particular order…

The Auteurs

The Grand Budapest Hotel—Possibly my favorite of the year, this beautifully Wes Anderson-crafted gem is an offbeat, zany, imaginatively zippy caper film following the saga of a legendary concierge, M. Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes), his faithful lobby boy, and the pursuit of a priceless painting bequeathed by a dowager guest.  Also features a wonderful array of pre-WWII mustaches. 

Boyhood—Twelve years in the making, Richard Linklater’s gamble pays off big time as you watch Ellar Coltrane miraculously grow up before your eyes without digital trickery.  What could have been one big gimmick is simply a captivating, groundbreaking portrayal of an everyday/ordinary journey from boy to young adulthood with all its requisite bumps and joys. 

Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) —A dazzling, exhilarating, audacious tour de force of a black comedy featuring Michael Keaton as Riggan Thomson, a washed-up superhero star making a comeback via a pet Broadway project based on a Raymond Carver short story.  Driven by a percussive Antonio Sanchez score, Thomson careens toward a disastrous opening night while his fresh from rehab daughter (Emma Stone) and majestically self-absorbed ass of a last minute stand-in (a terrific Edward Norton) challenge the fragile psyche of the fading megastar.  The film pokes fun at celebrity/stardom, Hollywood vs. Broadway, art vs. commerce.  While Keaton is terrific, the real stars are director Alejandro G. Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki whose camera zooms and swoops through Broadway’s St. James Theatre in what seems like one continuous 2-hour take. 

Documentaries

Jodorowsky’s Dune—Fascinating doc about the most influential film never made—avant garde filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky’s passion project to bring the classic sci-fi novel Dune to the big screen, convincing people like Orson Welles, Salvador Dali, Mick Jagger to star and Pink Floyd to score. Legendary cartoonist Moebius, f/x expert Dan O’Bannon, and artist H. R. Giger’s visual designs and story boards would go on to influence seminal films like Star Wars, Alien, Terminator, Blade Runner and The Matrix, forever changing the language of the sci-fi genre. 

The Case Against 8—Fascinating and emotional journey of the California Prop. 8 gay marriage ban case on its five year journey to the Supreme Court with its two plaintiff couples plus the extraordinary coupling of the conservative legal star Ted Olson and liberal David Boies (rivals in Bush v. Gore).  A riveting & moving opportunity to see history unfold before your eyes. 

Spinning Plates—As a foodie who grew up in a small family restaurant, this is a decidedly personal favorite which resonated with me—an interwoven story of 3 very different restaurants, from Michelin star chef Grant Achatz’s Alinea in Chicago to 150 year old community institution Breitbach’s in Iowa to a fledgling Mexican restaurant in Arizona bound together by passion for food as a way of building community as well as survival and overcoming adversity. 

Crazy People

Nightcrawler—“If it bleeds, it leads.”  Creepy and mesmerizing performance by Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou Bloom, a loner on the sociopathic fringe of society scraping his way toward his version of the American dream.  A black, black comedy/character study that explores the underbelly of exploitative news journalism while taking a walk on the seedy, dark side of Los Angeles at night. Will make you think, do you know where your news comes from? 

Whiplash—Ambitious young drummer + tyrannical, sadistic music teacher at Julliard-like music school  = a powerful, brutal, and adrenaline-driven jazz thriller.  An impressive feat by writer-director Damien Chazelle with terrific performances by Miles Teller and JK Simmons; poses (without answering) the question, what does it take to achieve greatness?  A 2014 Sundance sensation. 

Two Cantabrigian Geniuses

The Imitation Game—The tragically true story of wrongly dishonored math genius and social misfit Alan Turing, the father of modern computing whose prototype defeated the Nazi’s Enigma code and saved millions of lives in WWII.  Benedict Cumberbatch’s incredible performance captures Turing’s oddly endearing, socially awkward, and ultimately repressively tragic persona in a time when homosexuality was a crime.  Terrifically entertaining tale told via jumps between the code-breaking war years at Bletchley Park, his formative boarding school years, and the 1951 post-war interrogation for “acts of indecency.” 

The Theory of Everything—While the film is a bit glossy and conventional, Eddie Redmayne is soulfully phenomenal as he totally embodies the real-life genius astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, now 72 years old.  Felicity Jones is also terrific as his wife Jane who married him when he was 21 and given two years to live. 

The Animated Ones

Big Hero 6—I had no idea what to expect.  Was that the Michelin Man crossed with the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man?  No, it’s Baymax.  What is that?  Trust me—just go see it.  This was a truly delightful and poignant film—visually stunning and fun. 

How To Train Your Dragon 2—I’m a big fan of the original and the sequel didn’t disappoint, taking the main characters to new and deeper emotional territory and maintaining the visually stunning animation. 

The LEGO Movie –“Everything is Awesome,” the aptly catchy theme song says everything.  This is just pure fun for all ages. 

Others worth mentioning

Into the Woods—Despite the absence of a critical song, this is a highly entertaining adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical fairy tale mashup that translates remarkably well onto the big screen. Wonderful performances by the entire cast including Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, and James Corden.   

The Voices—I don’t know if this movie has a distributor yet, but I saw this at Sundance and can’t forget it.  It’s as dark, funny, psychotically loopy and demented as anything I’ve ever seen, starring a great Ryan Reynolds (in a clearly risky role) as low-level factory worker with a pets who talk to him, including an abusive, foul-mouthed, Scottish-accented cat Mr. Whiskers who convinces him to kill.  Directed by Marjane Satrapi, the Persian woman who directed Persepolis, and also starring Anna Kendrick, Jacki Weaver and Gemma Arterton.  Not for everyone. 

Honorable mention films:  Gone Girl, Guardians of the Galaxy, Snowpiercer, Edge of Tomorrow, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Interstellar, Inherent Vice, Pride, Life Itself.

In the queue to see:  Selma, Big Eyes, American Sniper, A Most Violent Year, Unbroken. 

Other Guilty Pleasures:  TV & Stage

I can’t say enough about the new series Transparent, starring Jeffrey Tambor as a 70-something patriarch who makes the transition from man to woman.  Incredibly good writing and character development dominate this sensitive and poignant story steeped in authenticity, warmth, and dysfunction.  I took in the whole series in under 24 hours.  Another binge-watching revelation was BBC America’s genre-defying Orphan Black with a terrific Tatiana Maslany portraying the main character and her many clones.  On stage, I was blown away by the Broadway production of The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time, a hyperkinetic, powerful portrayal of a spectrum-y teen and his singular pursuit of the truth about the death of a neighbor’s dog.  Other treats included seeing Neil Patrick Harris in Hedwig and the AngryInch and Bryan Cranston as LBJ in All the Way.