The Dead Zone & Videodrome

In The Dead Zone Cronenberg takes Stephen King's sprawling, episodic novel – captures its essence, tightens it up to tell a sad, moving story of a man who comes out of a coma and discovers that he has a gift -- but to what purpose? It's a supernatural thriller with a philosophical slant. Christopher Walker was ideal casting – with those haunted eyes of his, and the feeling that he carries a great weight on his shoulders. Despite Martin Sheen's cartoonish villain -- The thought-provoking story, crisp direction, and Walken's tragic yet sympathetic character keep the film centered.

Videodrome is classic old-school Cronenberg. It's one of the most disturbing, maddest movies I've ever seen. Described as "Techno-surrealism", it tells of a scummy TV programmer named Max (James Woods) who stumbles upon a scrambled station that shows snuff films. As he probes deeper into its origins, he uncovers a conspiracy of mind control. Tomatoes summarized it as "Visually audacious, disorienting, and just plain weird," and adds that its, "musings on technology, entertainment, and politics still feel fresh today." I agree: While the FX is 80s-style low-budget, they are icky and effective. And the story is prophetic, especially through the character of Professor O'Blivion, who refuses to appear on TV, unless he's shown through a TV and with a fake "TV" name. He predicts that "Soon all of us will have special names." Avatars and fake names? Hmm, that sounds… familiar

While the final reel is difficult to make sense of, the film is so overall effective in creating an unsettling feeling that I'm okay with that. Sometimes it's not important that everything is completely understood, it's enough simply to experience it. That's a big part of surrealism; it's cerebral and humorous, but it is also about sensation -- evoking mood and feeling even at the expense of logic. Cronenberg was one of the best of the ‘New Surrealists’ -- joining David Lynch and Terry Gilliam -- who took up the mantle from Fellini, Buñuel and Cocteau.

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2019

Parasite (Director: Bong Joon-ho)
Nominees: I Lost My Body, No.7 Cherry Lane, The Irishman, The Lighthouse, Corpus Christie, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Pain & Glory, A White White Day, House of Hummingbird

Oscars pick: Parasite
Nominees: Ford v Ferrari, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Little Women, Marriage Story, 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Parasite is a devastating polemic... one that features the Joon-ho swerve in full force (often his movies zig, when I'm expecting a zag).

The South Korean maestro opens his film as a bright comedic satire about a lower-class family, who worm their way into jobs for a rich couple - then, at the halfway point, he executes a sharp pivot that plunges the viewer into darkness. The morality tale turns savage, themes of class division, capitalism, inequality, and empathy (or lack thereof) for the suffering of others, become soaked in blood and violence. And just who are the parasites? That is called into question by the end, as everybody's using someone, in some way.

Few directors could manage a tonal swerve of that magnitude, and only a madman or a genius would even attempt it. Saying that, it's important to note that while unconventional, Bong Joon-ho is extremely focused, precise, and in command. There's not a hair out of place in this film, it all works to perfection, from the technique to characterization and story, which acts as a damning commentary on social and economic issues (and perhaps shines a light on the plight of the fallen middle-class in South Korea, as this FP.com article suggests).

Oscar and Felix agree, Parasite, and its maker, deserved every accolade and award it, and he received this year.

I only wish the Academy had been as progressive with their animated feature award. Toy Story 4 was fine, but Jérémy Clapin's I Lost My Body was, borrowing the words of Peter Debruge in his Variety review, "One of the most original and creative animated features I've ever seen." It was a close second to Parasite as my overall favorite.

My top films on the year

🎭Turning to acting - there were more than I knew what to do with here, from Zellweger to Theron, Julianne Moore to Matthew Rhys, Erivo to Marianne Jean-Baptiste. Bale, Hanks, Johansson, Sandler, Pitt, Fails & Majors, Lesley Manville, Keira Knightley, and on and on and on. So who earned my awards?

My top actor (Paul Walter Hauser) could be seen as a dark horse, and at the start, it does appear as if he's simply doing a riff on his I, Tonya character. That kind of gung-ho delusional Bubba type, whose over-eagerness winds up working against him. However, we soon see him branch out beyond that. While comedic in parts, with moments that had me wincing over how socially awkward Richard was, Hauser also displays this wounded humanity that adds depth and emotion to the performance. We see him hurt, angry, in tears and painfully aware of the disrespect... the condescension and cheap jokes thrown his way. Truly a layered, breakout performance.

Best actress - Wild Rose (about a talented but troubled young Glasgow country singer with a dream of Nashville - and two children, who keep her anchored far from that dream) rises on the strength of its star, Jessie Buckley. From the look of guilt etched on her features over not being there for her children, to the joy in her performances when she's on stage - Jessie's golden. I loved her crooked smile, her accent, and most especially, that expressive, powerful voice. When she sings, Buckley is electric, she sends a charge right through you.

Other acting aces include.... Danny Glover (Last Black Man in SF), Joe Pesci (The Irishman), Margot Robbie & John Lithgow (Bombshell), Rockwell, Bates & Hamm (Richard Jewell), Lorraine Toussant (Fast Color), Julie Walters & Sophie Okonedo (Wild Rose), Rebecca Ferguson (Doctor Sleep), Nisrine Arradi & Lubna Azabal (Adam), Samara Weaving (Ready Or Not), August Diehl & Valerie Pachner (A Hidden Life), Florence Pugh (Fighting with My Family), Wang Jingchun & Yong Mei (So Long, My Son), Song Kang-ho and the cast of Parasite.

Best Actor: Paul Walter Hauser, Richard Jewell
Honorable Mentions: 

Adam Driver, Marriage Story * Eddie Murphy, Dolemite Is My Name * George MacKay, 1917 * Joaquin Phoenix, Joker * Antonio Banderas, Pain & Glory * Robert De Niro, The Irishman * Robert Pattinson, The Lighthouse * Luca Marinelli, Martin Eden * Bartosz Bielenia, Corpus Christie * Ingvar E. Sigurðsson, A White White Day 

Best Actress: Jessie Buckley, Wild Rose
Honorable Mentions:
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women * Octavia Spencer, Ma & Luce * Alfre Woodard, Clemency * Mary Kay Place, Diane * Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Fast Color * Kacey Rohl, White Lie * Sarah Bolger, A Good Woman Is Hard to Find * Elizabeth Debicki, Vita & Virginia * Ana de Armas, Knives Out * Awkwafina, The Farewell * Nina Hoss, The Audition

Supporting Actor: (tie) Al Pacino, The Irishman & Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse (pictured)

Supporting Actress: Thomasin McKenzie, Jojo Rabbit

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