2017 list

2017 Muriel Awards

Ryan Swen Lists Tags: , Leave a comment

Best Feature-Length Film

  1. On the Beach at Night Alone
  2. The Work
  3. Faces Places
  4. Princess Cyd
  5. Good Time
  6. Baahubali 2: The Conclusion
  7. The Post
  8. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
  9. 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute)
  10. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Best Lead Performance

  1. Kim Min-hee, On the Beach at Night Alone
  2. Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
  3. Rebecca Spence, Princess Cyd
  4. Vicky Krieps, Phantom Thread
  5. Cynthia Nixon, A Quiet Passion
  6. Robert Pattinson, Good Time
  7. Jessie Pinnick, Princess Cyd
  8. Kristen Stewart, Personal Shopper
  9. Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
  10. Tim Robbins, Marjorie Prime

Best Supporting Performance

  1. Hong Chau, Downsizing
  2. Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute)
  3. Elizabeth Marvel, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
  4. Robert Pattinson, The Lost City of Z
  5. Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip
  6. Lesley Manville, Phantom Thread
  7. Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
  8. Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
  9. Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World
  10. Lois Smith, Marjorie Prime

Best Direction

  1. Josh & Benny Safdie, Good Time
  2. Bertrand Bonello, Nocturama
  3. Eduardo Williams, The Human Surge
  4. Steven Spielberg, The Post
  5. Paul W.S. Anderson, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

Best Screenplay

  1. Hong Sang-soo, On the Beach at Night Alone
  2. Stephen Cone, Princess Cyd
  3. Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
  4. Noah Baumbach, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
  5. Matías Piñeiro, Hermia & Helena

Best Cinematography

  1. Sean Price Williams, Good Time
  2. Darius Khondji, The Lost City of Z
  3. Janusz Kaminski, The Post
  4. [no credit], Phantom Thread
  5. Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Call Me by Your Name

Best Editing

  1. Nocturama
  2. Wonderstruck
  3. Ex Libris – The New York Public Library
  4. Lady Bird
  5. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Best Music

  1. Oneohtrix Point Never, Good Time
  2. Jonny Greenwood, Phantom Thread
  3. Carter Burwell, Wonderstruck
  4. Jon Brion, Lady Bird
  5. Bertrand Bonello, Nocturama

Best Documentary

  1. The Work
  2. Faces Places
  3. Ex Libris – The New York Public Library

Best Cinematic Moment

  1. Heartbeats, The Work
  2. Digital magic, The Florida Project
  3. Webcam transition, The Human Surge
  4. Projector breakdown, By the Time It Gets Dark
  5. Face dissolves, Félicité
  6. Photographs, A Quiet Passion
  7. Miranda’s monologue, Princess Cyd
  8. Questions with father, Hermia & Helena
  9. Dream memory, Call Me by Your Name
  10. Swan boat, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion

Best Youth Performance

  1. Millicent Simmonds, Wonderstruck
  2. Brooklynn Prince, The Florida Project
  3. Oona Laurence, The Beguiled

Best Cinematic Breakthrough

  1. Vicky Krieps
  2. Tiffany Haddish
  3. Rian Johnson
  4. Timothée Chalamet
  5. Greta Gerwig

Best Body of Work

  1. Sean Price Williams
  2. Nahuel Pérez Biscayart
  3. Robert Pattinson
  4. Buddy Duress
  5. Damien Bonnard

Best Ensemble Performance

  1. Lady Bird
  2. 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute)
  3. The Post
  4. Marjorie Prime
  5. Mudbound

Other remarks:
If it were eligible, Twin Peaks: The Return would take up most of the spots on this ballot.

10th Anniversary Award, Best Feature Film 2007

  1. Death Proof
  2. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
  3. Hot Fuzz
  4. The Darjeeling Limited
  5. Persepolis

25th Anniversary Award, Best Feature Film 1992

  1. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
  2. Rebels of the Neon God
  3. The Last of the Mohicans
  4. Raising Cain
  5. The Story of Qiu Ju

50th Anniversary Award, Best Feature Film 1967

  1. The Young Girls of Rochefort
  2. Dragon Inn
  3. Wavelength
  4. La Chinoise
  5. Playtime

Top 19 of 2017

Ryan Swen Lists Tags: , Leave a comment

2017 was, to put it mildly and flippantly, an utter oddity of a year in so many ways. When I look at my list, the overall quality of the films themselves was perhaps no poorer than in the monumental selections of the past two years, but there was a certain bewilderment, a malaise that put me at a distance. With the exception of Twin Peaks: The Return, there was practically no film where my love was not complicated in some way, and it seems equally due to the films as it is to the year at large.

The following list is formed from the reds, oranges, greens, and blues (plus a few more) that I have seen at time of writing that were commercially released in New York City in 2017. It is a snapshot rather than a permanent fixture.

no1

1. On the Beach at Night Alone (Hong Sang-soo)

no2

2. The Work (Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous)

no3

3. Faces Places (Agnès Varda & JR)

no4

4. Princess Cyd (Stephen Cone)

no5

5. Good Time (Josh & Benny Safdie)

no6

6. Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (S.S. Rajamouli)

no7

7. Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)

no8

8. The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (Noah Baumbach)

no9

9. Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson)

no10

10. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (Paul W.S. Anderson)

no11

11. The Son of Joseph (Eugène Green)

no12

12. 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute) (Robin Campillo)

no13

13. Marjorie Prime (Michael Almereyda)

no14

14. Call Me by Your Name (Luca Guadagnino)

no15

15. The Post (Steven Spielberg)

no16

16. Hermia & Helena (Matías Piñeiro)

no17

17. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Rian Johnson)

no18

18. The Human Surge (Eduardo Williams)

no19

19. Downsizing (Alexander Payne)

My Top 10 Discoveries During 2017 (for first-time viewings of films made before 2000)

  1. A Touch of Zen (1971, King Hu)
  2. The Terrorizers (1986, Edward Yang)
  3. Rear Window (1954, Alfred Hitchcock)
  4. Rio Bravo (1959, Howard Hawks)
  5. A New Leaf (1971, Elaine May)
  6. Ashes of Time (1994, Wong Kar-wai)
  7. Surviving Desire (1991, Hal Hartley)
  8. Do the Right Thing (1989, Spike Lee)
  9. The Unbelievable Truth (1989, Hal Hartley)
  10. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974, Tobe Hooper)

2017 “Senses of Cinema” Ballot

Ryan Swen Lists Tags: Leave a comment

Hypothetical ballot for the 2017 Senses of Cinema World Poll. Mostly based on 2017 New York City commercial releases.

1. Twin Peaks: The Return (2017, David Lynch)

2. On the Beach at Night Alone (2017, Hong Sang-soo)

3. Three Films From Ten Seconds Into the Future:
The Human Surge (2016, Eduardo Williams)
By the Time It Gets Dark (2016, Anocha Suwichakornpong)
Kékszakállú (2016, Gaston Solnicki)

4. Humanist Documentaries
The Work (2017, Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous)
Faces Places (2017, Agnès Varda & JR)

5. Independent Breakthroughs:
Princess Cyd (2017, Stephen Cone)
Good Time (2017, Josh & Benny Safdie)

6. Auteurist Franchise Works
Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017, S.S. Rajamouli)
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016, Paul W.S. Anderson)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017, Rian Johnson)

7. “American” Histories:
The Post (2017, Steven Spielberg)
Phantom Thread (2017, Paul Thomas Anderson)
The Lost City of Z (2016, James Gray)

8. Family Dramedys
Lady Bird (2017, Greta Gerwig)
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017, Noah Baumbach)
The Son of Joseph (2016, Eugène Green)

9. French Sensuality:
120 BPM (Beats Per Minute) (2017, Robin Campillo)
Personal Shopper (2016, Olivier Assayas)
Nocturama (Bertrand Bonello)

10. Old Masters:
Ex Libris – The New York Public Library (2017, Frederick Wiseman)
Song to Song (2017, Terrence Malick)

2017 Seattle Film Critics Society Nominations Ballot

Ryan Swen Lists Tags: Leave a comment

Best Picture

  1. On the Beach at Night Alone
  2. Faces Places
  3. Princess Cyd
  4. Good Time
  5. The Post
  6. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
  7. 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute)
  8. Lady Bird
  9. Phantom Thread
  10. The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)

Best Director

  1. Josh & Benny Safdie, Good Time
  2. Bertrand Bonello, Nocturama
  3. Eduardo Williams, The Human Surge
  4. Steven Spielberg, The Post
  5. Paul W.S. Anderson, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

Best Actor

  1. Robert Pattinson, Good Time
  2. Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
  3. Claes Bang, The Square
  4. Adam Sandler, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
  5. Ben Stiller, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)

Best Actress

  1. Kim Min-hee, On the Beach at Night Alone
  2. Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
  3. Rebecca Spence, Princess Cyd
  4. Vicky Krieps, Phantom Thread
  5. Cynthia Nixon, A Quiet Passion

Best Supporting Actor

  1. Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute)
  2. Robert Pattinson, The Lost City of Z
  3. Tim Robbins, Marjorie Prime
  4. Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
  5. Dustin Hoffman, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)

Best Supporting Actress

  1. Elizabeth Marvel, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
  2. Lois Smith, Marjorie Prime
  3. Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
  4. Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip
  5. Julianne Moore, Wonderstruck

Best Ensemble Cast

  1. Lady Bird
  2. 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute)
  3. The Post
  4. Marjorie Prime
  5. Mudbound

Best Youth Performance

  1. Millicent Simmonds, Wonderstruck
  2. Oona Laurence, The Beguiled
  3. Brooklynn Prince, The Florida Project
  4. Valeria Cotto, The Florida Project
  5. Ahn Seo-hyun, Okja

Best Villain

  1. The texter, Personal Shopper
  2. Fei and Lin, The Ornithologist
  3. Rose, Get Out
  4. Dr. Isaacs, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
  5. James Murray, The Lost City of Z

Best Screenplay

  1. Hong Sang-soo, On the Beach at Night Alone
  2. Stephen Cone, Princess Cyd
  3. Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
  4. Noah Baumbach, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
  5. Matías Piñeiro, Hermia & Helena

Best Animated Feature

  1. Your Name.
  2. My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea

Best Documentary Feature

  1. Faces Places
  2. Ex Libris – The New York Public Library
  3. Starless Dreams
  4. Escapes
  5. Rat Film

Best Foreign Language Film

  1. On the Beach at Night Alone
  2. Faces Places
  3. 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute)
  4. The Son of Joseph
  5. Nocturama

Best Cinematography

  1. Sean Price Williams, Good Time
  2. Darius Khondji, The Lost City of Z
  3. Janusz Kaminski, The Post
  4. [no credit], Phantom Thread
  5. Ed Lachman, Wonderstruck

Best Costume Design

  1. Phantom Thread
  2. Nocturama
  3. Princess Cyd
  4. Good Time
  5. Lady Bird

Best Film Editing

  1. Nocturama
  2. Wonderstruck
  3. Ex Libris – The New York Public Library
  4. Lady Bird
  5. Thirst Street

Best Original Score

  1. Oneohtrix Point Never, Good Time
  2. Jonny Greenwood, Phantom Thread
  3. Carter Burwell, Wonderstruck
  4. Jon Brion, Lady Bird
  5. Bertrand Bonello, Nocturama

Best Production Design
N/A

Best Visual Effects
N/A