Favorite Films of the Year

It’s time for some favorites of the year! More specifically, my favorite movies of the year. Thanks to a good friend named AMC A-list, I’ve seen a total of 49 movies in theaters this year (so far). I obviously have to get one more. Maybe I’ll sneak a little Wonka in there right before New Years if I’m feeling frisky. Let’s do this.

The Royal Hotel

Seen @ Telluride. I loved Kitty Green’s last movie, “The Assistant”, and this had something similar to it. She’s mastered the art of making the audience shit their pants without knowing why. “The Royal Hotel” follows two young women working at a hotel in rural Australia. From there, everything builds until it hits the fan. What boggles my mind is how Green directs it so that for much of the runtime, everything is mostly okay until it suddenly isn’t. A must-see.

How to Blow Up a Pipeline

A gripping, deeply political thriller. I was on the edge of my seat. I can’t believe that this movie was able to get made? And that it was in theaters? I’m glad both are true. Without spoiling anything, this movie lowkey encourages the audience to engage in illegal climate activism, and I’m shocked that the FBI did not interfere and pull a J. Edgar Hoover. 

The Holdovers

They don’t make ‘em like this anymore! A deeply nostalgic “unlikely friendship” movie, that is very good outside of anything having to do with Christmas. You know those movies where a director writes a part for an actor that allows the actor to do what they do best but do it to 100%? That’s what this is for Paul Giamatti. He’s doing his usual thing but to the max level, full steam ahead.

Dicks: The Musical

I felt like I was on drugs. A play on “The Parent Trap”, this is perhaps one of the most insane movies I’ve seen that had me laughing my ass off. It does not hold back. Leave the kids at home. 

Thanks for reading.

Rudolph