Tuesday, August 09, 2016

Number One, Top of the Heap

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I'm a little disappointed in the Film Society of Lincoln Center for releasing the full Main Slate of titles for the 2016 New York Film Festival here on a Tuesday afternoon - don't they know this is when I do my "Siri Says When" posts and I'd have just done a list of five movies? Because now this is going to feel redundant, me listing the five movies from this year's fest that I am most looking forward to. Oh well! We'll pretend we're Buzzfeed or something and we're really into making lists for the day. You can see the entire list right here - below are the five titles I am most looking forward to seeing...

20th Century Women -- I would be looking forward to this movie if its only claim to awesomeness was having been directed by Mike Mills, whose film Beginners was an unexpected joy back in 2010, but the fact that it stars Greta Gerwig and Elle Fanning and Annette Bening really carries it past the finish line, around the globe a couple of times, and across the finish line again.

Certain Women -- Movies with "Women" in the title for the win! Not to mention movies about ladies, y'all! Ladies loving ladies! This one's the new movie from Kelly Reichardt and it stars Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, and Kristen Stewart in "a lean triptych of subtly intersecting lives in Montana" which I am guessing means these astonishing actresses don't really share time on-screen together, which makes me a little sad, but not really because Kelly Reichardt fucking rules.

Julieta -- I haven't read any reviews of this new Almodovar movie (it's been out in Spain for a few months already) but I don't believe an Almodovar movie's been at NYFF since 2011 (when The Skin I Live In was the centerpiece film), which was the first year I was properly covering the fest. Anyway Almodovar, sign me up.

Manchester By the Sea -- People basically rolled around the aisles in ecstasy over Kenneth Lonergan's new film at Sundance - it stars Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams (her again!) and Kyle Chandler in a story about an orphaned kid getting taken in by his uncle. Lonergan's only made three films but the other two are You Can Count on Me and Margaret so he's like a shining star in heaven already.

Personal Shopper -- Oliver Assayas has made multiple enjoyments for me over the years, but his last movie was Clouds of Sils Maria, which I absolutely adore with every fiber of my being. This one reunites him with Kristen Stewart, who was so good in that earlier film, and it is a haunted house horror movie! I mean talk about wooing me personally.

Other titles I am excited about include Ava DuVernay's documentary and Charlie Hunnam of course, but wait, I can hear you thinking, what about...

... Paul Verhoeven's Elle!!!

Yes they are indeed showing it, and yes indeed I am excited to see it... again. That's right, in case you missed it in the side-bar column, I have already seen Elle! I saw it last week, and I plan on reviewing it any minute now. So stay tuned for that. (ETA Here's that!) And remain assured that if the folks at the NYFF actually gets the man the myth the pervert himself Mr. Verhoeven here in NYC for the fest I will become human fireworks, pow pow pow, all over the place.
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1 comment:

Dan said...

All these films sound AMAZING. It feels like Michelle Williams has been away for years & years, so I'm so excited there are two new incoming films of hers!