Fearless Oscar predictions 2019

Well, I can at least guarantee you that none of these predictions will be played during the commercial break.

I'm not sure whats up at the ol' Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences lately. They've grown rather flip-floppy. A while back they announced they would add another category for best popular film -- a brazen attempt to curry mainstream favor by giving out nominations to blockbuster hits. Quickly dubbed the "Black Panther Award," it was wisely withdrawn.

Then Kevin Hart was tapped as host, then he wasn't, then maybe he was again, and now there will be no host at all.

Finally, barely more than a week out from the festivities, the Academy said they planned to give out four awards during the commercial breaks -- including cinematography. Ludicrous. Outside of the director and screenwriter, the director of photography is (not really) arguably the most important member of the creative team.

Again, wiser heads prevailed... begging the question of where they were to begin with.

So here are my annual picks and predictions for the Oscars. As always, I provide my prediction of who will win, and my pick of who I think should win. And, in a tradition I think is unrivaled for pure chutzpah, I cross out the names of some nominees who I deem undeserving and replace them with better candidates -- the dreaded (and desperately in need of a © mark) "Chris Cross."

Best Picture

The Nominees: 
“Black Panther”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“The Favourite”
“Green Book”
“Roma”
“A Star Is Born”
“Vice”

The Chatter: I'm sad to say this year has become a "Roma" train, and nothing's going to slow it down. Three top rivals -- "A Star Is Born," "Green Book" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" -- have all faced backlash campaigns.

For "Star," I think there's an anti-Lady Gaga resentment out there. Hollywood likes for stars to stay in their lane. Don't try to be the biggest singer in the world and a movie star, too, goes the thinking.

"Rhapsody" exaggerated the extent to which the members of Queen were estranged from each other and moved up the year when Freddie Mercury found out he had AIDS. Pretty standard historical fudging, by Hollywood standards.

The criticism of "Green Book" is less coherent. First it was a "magical Negro movie," then it was a "white savior movie," then director Peter Farrelly got #MeToo'd for showing his wang on the sets of his gross-out comedies in the '90s, then co-star Viggo Mortensen said the n-word during the press tour, then the co-screenwriter (the real-life son of Viggo's character) retweeted something he wasn't supposed to, then Don Shirley's family resented the movie's implication they weren't very close. (Hint: Shirley said so himself.)

It was my favorite movie of the year, and I'm confused and vexed by the attacks on it. The film is like an actual screen -- people are projecting their own biases and distortions on it instead of judging the movie for what it is. It's the ultimate irony for a story all about individuals growing beyond their own bubble.

My thoughts on "Roma" are known -- it's the sort of movie critics and other filmmakers love and audiences have to endure. The first hour is pure death, and the character of the maid never gets any kind of interior.

Still, if there's a stalking horse, it's "Green Book." The film's treatment has been so unfair, there's a bit of a backlash building against the backlash. Plus industry people are a bit worried about giving their top prize to a streaming service movie that got a barely-there theatrical run.

"Vice" is an unabashed hatchet job that tries to steal the M.O. of "The Big Short" but forgets to be funny. "Black Panther" is, at best, the third-best superhero movie of 2018. “BlacKkKlansman” is Spike Lee's best movie in a decade but doesn't deserve a spot alongside "Malcolm X" and "Do the Right Thing." Lots of better choices out there.

Prediction: "Roma"

Pick: "Green Book"

Chris Cross: I'll replace "Vice," "BlacKkKlansman," "Roma" and "Black Panther" with "The Hate U Give," "Avengers: Infinity War," "The Wife" and "Cold War."

Best Actress

The Nominees: 
Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”
Glenn Close, “The Wife”
Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

The Chatter: I'm glad to say Glenn Close has this thing locked up, as she should. The Best Actress award has historically favored young ingenues, whereas Best Actor has a tradition of "it's his time." This year Hollywood is aching to give glory to an actress who's been very good for a very long time, nominated for six Oscars prior without winning.

Plus, she's simply the best. "The Wife" is a masterful performance, one mask inside another.

Lady Gaga was solid, deserves the nomination but not the award. It's hard to believe the most famous person in the world as a nobody, and she convinced me. Melissa McCarthy was terrific in a career-changing turn few people actually saw.

I'm embarrassed by the inclusion of Olivia Colman and Yalitza Aparicio. The former, because it's clearly a supporting performance and this rampant category-hopping has got to stop somewhere. The latter, because she's a non-actress and it shows.

Prediction: Glenn Close

Pick: Glenn Close

Chris Cross: I'll replace Yalitza Aparicio and Olivia Colman with Rachel Weisz -- from "Disobedience," not "The Favourite" -- and Nicole Kidman from "Destroyer."

Best Actor

The Nominees: 
Christian Bale, “Vice”
Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”
Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

The Chatter: This one appears to be Christian Bale's to lose, and I'm fine with that despite my overall distaste for "Vice." It's such a mesmerizing transformation that after a few minutes you don't even question that it's Dick Cheney. The look, the speech, the mannerisms -- spot on.

Plus, Hollywood loves nothing more than to demonize a Republican.

Personally I'll take Bradley Cooper. I thought he gave a very subtle, heartfelt performance as a man who everyone thought had it all, but felt empty and lost inside. A close third would be Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury -- someone I would've called inimitable until Malek did it. He's been courting aggressively on the awards circuit, so he could sneak in with a win.

Mortensen was great, though Mahershala Ali was a co-equal lead -- I think relegating him to the supporting category is part of the grievance against "Green Book." I was glad to see Willem Dafoe sneak in for the tiny, lovely "At Eternity's Gate."

Hard to knock anyone out of a very deserving field, though I would've liked to see Ethan Hawke recognized for "First Reformed." He's in the midst of the richest part of his acting career, though in smaller films few people see.


Prediction: Christian Bale

Pick: Bradley Cooper

Chris Cross: I'll replace Dafoe with Hawke. I'd also like to see Jason Clarke from "Chappaquiddick," but I can't find a spot for him.

Best Supporting Actress

The Nominees: 
Amy Adams, “Vice”
Marina de Tavira, “Roma”
Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

The Chatter: The ridiculousness of having Emma Stone, the main character in "The Favourite," in this category is galling. You could make an argument that Weisz is a supporting performance -- I'd swing against it, but it's a reasonable position. But calling Stone's character anything other than the protagonist is a strike against credulity.

But it's become a favored tactic, campaigning for the lower category for a better shot at winning, and one that's worked. See: Viola Davis in "Fences."

Regina King will win, and deserves to. She's the best thing about "If Beale Street Could Talk," a gorgeous film whose two main characters don't really connect with the audience.

Prediction: Regina King

Pick: Regina King

Chris Cross: I'll replace Amy Adams and Marina de Tavira with Nicole Kidman from "Boy Erased" and Olivia Colman, putting her where she belongs.

Best Supporting Actor

The Nominees: 
Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

The Chatter: Historically this has been one of the most competitive categories, but the field is a little thin this year. Mahershala Ali has nearly run the table on the preliminary awards and seems slated for another win. I still think it's a leading performance, but he was put here because the studio doesn't want him to compete with his co-star, Mortensen.

Richard E. Grant was also very good, so I'd dub him the closest competition. I'll take him as my pick as the best of the actual supporting performances. I'm a big Sam Elliott fan and think he got screwed last year for "The Hero," but he only really has one substantive scene in "A Star Is Born."

The one nomination here that really rubs me the wrong way is Sam Rockwell. He was doing a "Saturday Night Live"-level impersonation of George W. Bush, played for broad laughs. Steve Carell had a much meatier part, and made the most of it, in the same movie.

Ironically, the one actor I really wanted to see here was Jonah Hill. He's received a couple of nominations I don't think he deserved, and then he pulled out a real humdinger in a non-comedic role in "Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot." Can't wait to see what he does next.

Prediction: Mahershala Ali

Pick: Richard E. Grant

Chris Cross: I'll replace Mahershala Ali, Sam Rockwell and Sam Elliott with Jonah Hill, Steve Carell and Russell Hornsby from "The Hate U Give."

Best Original Screenplay

The Nominees: 
“The Favourite,” Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
“First Reformed,” Paul Schrader
“Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly
“Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón
“Vice,” Adam McKay

The Chatter: This category could go any which way. Typically original screenplay has been used to recognize a small film by up-and-comers. None of the nominees really fit that mold. "Eighth Grade" would be a prototypical winner, and took the Writers Guild Award, but it's not even nominated here.

If you can believe it, this is the first Oscar nomination for the 72-year-old Schrader, the scribe behind "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull" and other iconic films. I'd love to see him win, but "First Reformed" is a pretty out-there choice. The last act probably seems bonkers on paper, but I think it rings emotionally true.

Nick Vallelonga of "Green Book" has been tainted for retweeting Trump, so that's out. Cuarón is going to win at least three Oscars already -- Best Picture, Best Foreign Language film and Best Director -- so Academy voters will be tempted to spread the love. Plus, there's about a page-and-a-half of actual story there.

"The Favourite" would be the safest choice, a period costume drama. But it has a lesbian angle, so that will be enough to make it an edgy choice. I think it's 9/10ths of a great script that failed to stick the landing. It doesn't end, it just stops.

Prediction: "The Favourite"

Pick: "First Reformed"

Chris Cross: I'll replace "Vice" and "Roma" with "Chappaquiddick" and "Sorry to Bother You."

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Nominees: 
“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen , Ethan Coen
“BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee
“Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
“If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins
“A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

The Chatter: "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" was a surprise winner at the WGAs, so it's got a shot. It's a terrific tale -- the blackest sort of comedy. I think people like "Beale Street" but recognize it's not as good as "Moonlight."

There seems to be a real effort to praise Spike Lee. He's not going to win best director so people want to see him win somewhere else. He's been in the wilderness for the last 20 years after a strong career start, so I think he has a good shot.

Normally I'd say "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" has the Netflix taint, but it doesn't seem to be hurting "Roma."

For my pick it comes down to "Forgive Me" and "A Star Is Born." I could swing either way, so let's.

Prediction: "BlacKkKlansman"

Pick: "A Star Is Born"

Chris Cross: I'll replace "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs," "BlacKkKlansman" and "If Beale Street Could Talk" with "The Wife," "The Hate U Give" and "Love, Simon."

Best Director

The Nominees: 
Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”
Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War”
Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”
Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”
Adam McKay, “Vice”

The Chatter: I've pointed this out in other venues, but if Cuarón wins as expected, it would mark nine out of the last 10 times the best director award has been a person of color, a woman or a foreign-born person. Take that, diversity mavens.

Cuarón has run the table on the other awards, including the Directors Guild Award, which is so predictive it's easier to count the number of times the DGA winner didn't take the Oscar than did.

I'm not a big fan of this field. I loved seeing my favorite foreign language film, "Cold War," being recognized here and in cinematography. But I wouldn't have kicked out Bradley Cooper for his slot.

Yorgos Lanthimos, the king of kooky auteur projects, was brought in as a hired hand for "The Favourite" and mostly contained his penchant for excesses, other than a few fish-eye lens shots. McKay's "Vice" never could see around the writer/director's bile to tell a real story.

For my money, the best directed movie of the year was Debra Granik's "Leave No Trace," a film of pure stillness and empathy.

Prediction: Alfonso Cuarón

Pick: Pawel Pawlikowski

Chris Cross: Screw it. I'll kick the whole field and swap them out with Peter Farrelly for "Green Book," Bryan Singer (and the guy who finished the film) for "Bohemian Rhapsody," George Tillman Jr. for "The Hate U Give," Debra Granik for "Leave No Trace" and Bradley Cooper for "A Star Is Born."

Best Documentary Feature

The Nominees: 
“Free Solo,” Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
“Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross
“Minding the Gap,” Bing Liu
“Of Fathers and Sons,” Talal Derki
“RBG,” Betsy West, Julie Cohen

The Chatter: I haven't seen "Hale County" or "Of Fathers and Sons." "RBG" was my favorite doc. I also really liked "Shirkers." Despite the outcry, I don't mind seeing "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" left off this list -- like Mr. Rogers and his show, I found it nice, and a little dull. "Free Solo" has a strong shot to win, though I found it hard to connect with its subject, a witless man/child who risks his life for no reason.

Prediction: "RBG"

Pick: "RBG"

Chris Cross: Trade the rambling "Minding the Gap" for "Shirkers."

Best Documentary Short

The Nominees: 
“Black Sheep,” Ed Perkins
“End Game,” Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
“Lifeboat,” Skye Fitzgerald
“A Night at the Garden,” Marshall Curry
“Period. End of Sentence.,” Rayka Zehtabchi

The Chatter: I didn't get to see any of these this year. The only one I hear buzz about is "Black Sheep."

Prediction: "Black Sheep"

Best Animated Feature

The Nominees: 
“Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird
“Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson
“Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda
“Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

The Chatter: Could this be the year the non-Disney or -Pixar film actually wins? They've taken the prize 10 out of the last 11 years and their two entries are both subpar sequels.

The animated feature game has been lackluster for a few years now. They really struggle to fill out this category with five worthy nominees.

Prediction: “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”

Pick: "Isle of Dogs"

Chris Cross: I don't have replacements, but neither "Ralph Breaks the Internet" or "Incredibles 2" deserves to be here.

Best Animated Short

The Nominees: 
“Animal Behaviour,” Alison Snowden, David Fine
“Bao,” Domee Shi
“Late Afternoon,” Louise Bagnall
“One Small Step,” Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas
“Weekends,” Trevor Jimenez

The Chatter:Disney/Pixar almost always runs the table in this category.
 
Prediction: "Bao"

Pick: “One Small Step"

Best Live Action Short

The Nominees: 
“Detainment,” Vincent Lambe
“Fauve,” Jeremy Comte
“Marguerite,” Marianne Farley
“Madre,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen
“Skin,” Guy Nattiv

Prediction: "Madre"

Pick:"Skin"

Best Foreign Language Film

The Nominees: 
“Capernaum” (Lebanon)
“Cold War” (Poland)
“Never Look Away” (Germany)
“Roma” (Mexico)
“Shoplifters” (Japan)

The Chatter: Other than ordained winner "Roma," this is actually a really good list. "Cold War" is my favorite but I also adored "Shoplifters" and "Capernaum." There's a slight chance "Cold War" could win since "Roma" is going to collect bigger prizes.

Prediction: "Roma"

Pick: "Cold War"

Chris Cross: Let's translate "Roma" into "Let the Sunshine In."

Best Cinematography

The Nominees: 
“Cold War,” Lukasz Zal
“The Favourite,” Robbie Ryan
“Never Look Away,” Caleb Deschanel
“Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón
“A Star Is Born,” Matthew Libatique

The Chatter:  I won't deny the extraordinary beauty of "Roma," despite how I feel about it. Interesting to have four foreign films, including three foreign language ones, out of five.

Prediction: "Roma"

Pick: "Cold War"

Chris Cross: I'll stand pat with this list.

Best Film Editing

The Nominees: 
“BlacKkKlansman,” Barry Alexander Brown
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Ottman
“Green Book,” Patrick J. Don Vito
“The Favourite,” Yorgos Mavropsaridis
“Vice,” Hank Corwin

The Chatter: It's interesting that Alfonso Cuarón didn't get nominated here, since he edits his own films and previously won an Oscar for "Gravity." But there really isn't much editing in "Roma," which largely consists of long, panning shots.

Tough call here. None of these are action-oriented films that get a chance to show off fancy editing.

Prediction: "Vice"

Pick: “Bohemian Rhapsody”

Best Sound Editing

The Nominees: 
“Black Panther,” Benjamin A. Burtt, Steve Boeddeker
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Warhurst
“First Man,” Ai-Ling Lee, Mildred Iatrou Morgan
“A Quiet Place,” Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl
“Roma,” Sergio Diaz, Skip Lievsay

The Chatter: Time for my annual primer on sound editing vs. sound mixing: sound editors are responsible for selecting or creating all the sounds you hear in a production, while a sound mixer assembles it all together. Editors do most of their work during production, while mixing is a post-production role. Don't feel bad if you don't understand the difference; most Academy voters don't, either.

Prediction: "First Man"

Pick: "Bohemian Rhapsody"

Best Sound Mixing

The Nominees: 
“Black Panther”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“First Man”
“Roma”
“A Star Is Born”

Prediction: "Bohemian Rhapsody"

Pick: "Bohemian Rhapsody"

Best Production Design

The Nominees: 
“Black Panther,” Hannah Beachler
“First Man,” Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas
“The Favourite,” Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton
“Mary Poppins Returns,” John Myhre, Gordon Sim
“Roma,” Eugenio Caballero, Bárbara Enrı́quez

The Chatter: This category often comes down to science fiction vs. costume drama, and the latter usually wins.

Prediction: “The Favourite"

Pick: “Mary Poppins Returns"

Best Original Score

The Nominees: 
“BlacKkKlansman,” Terence Blanchard
“Black Panther,” Ludwig Goransson
“If Beale Street Could Talk,” Nicholas Britell
“Isle of Dogs,” Alexandre Desplat
“Mary Poppins Returns,” Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

The Chatter: I loved the weird, moving, atonal score for "If Beale Street Could Talk." I think Alexandre Desplat gets nominated every year; he's the new John Williams.

Prediction: “If Beale Street Could Talk”

Pick: “If Beale Street Could Talk”

Best Song

The Nominees: 
“All The Stars” from “Black Panther” by Kendrick Lamar, SZA
“I’ll Fight” from “RBG” by Diane Warren, Jennifer Hudson
“The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns” by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman
“Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice
“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

The Chatter: The cowboy song from "Buster Scruggs" is oddly the most singable of the bunch. Lady Gaga seems destined to notch another letter on the way to her EGOT.

Prediction: "Shallow"

Pick: "Shallow"

Best Makeup and Hair

The Nominees: 
“Border”
“Mary Queen of Scots”
“Vice”

The Chatter: This usually goes to the biggest physical transformation, especially turning a lean, beautiful person into an old, fat one. Odd that "Stan & Ollie" didn't get a nod; John C. Reilly's transformation was at least as impressive as Christian Bale's, and he didn't even gain weight for the role.

Prediction: "Vice"

Pick: "Vice"

Chris Cross: Only three nominees here so no need to cross anyone out to add "Stan & Ollie."

Best Costume Design

The Nominees: 
“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Mary Zophres
“Black Panther,” Ruth E. Carter
“The Favourite,” Sandy Powell
“Mary Poppins Returns,” Sandy Powell
“Mary Queen of Scots,” Alexandra Byrne


Prediction: "The Favourite"

Pick: "Mary Queen of Scots"

Best Visual Effects

The Nominees: 
“Avengers: Infinity War”
“Christopher Robin”
“First Man”
“Ready Player One”
“Solo: A Star Wars Story”

The Chatter: The best superhero flick of the year will get its due.

Prediction: “Avengers: Infinity War”

Pick: “Avengers: Infinity War”

Top 10 Films of 2018

The year 2018 was a terrible one for me professionally, and with more than a few setbacks personally, too.  Politically it was a smoking crater. Cinematically it was somewhat above average.

I found myself often at odds with other critics this year, particularly my friends and comrades in the Indiana Film Journalists Association. Things that blew them away I found mildly amusing ("Paddington 2") or borderline unwatchable ("Roma"). Movies I loved were greeted with ambivalence or outright hostility by other critics.

S'ok.

It's the breaks of the game. Any critic who is afraid to sometimes stand apart from the crowd isn't worth reading, imho. In the same vein, critics who give into the urge to always be outside the mainstream, clinging to their contrarian mantle, are more interested in themselves than the movies they're writing about or the audience they're supposed to be writing for.

Last year's list was notable for its preponderance of tiny indie films. There are plenty represented here too, though not as heavily. My unabashed critical credo is "I likes what I likes." I try to approach every film with an open heart and mind. I don't care the genre, country of origin, budget, studio, stars or filmmakers involved -- if it moves me to adoration, I will shout it from the hilltops.

So here's my top 10 for 2018, along with the collection of also-rans and disappointments.

#1: Green Book

I admit to being baffled by the pushback to this film, which has often crossed over into sneering antagonism. To me it was the most uplifting movie of the year, the true (or at least based on) story of two men who had every reason to hate each other and wound up forging a lifelong friendship. Sentimental? Sure. A carefully bookended view of racial dynamics in the early 1960s? That's true too, but all movies simplify and distill to tell their tale. People also seem angry that the story is told from the perspective of the white character. So what? It was his kid who, for decades, nursed a dream of making a movie about his father's friendship with a celebrated jazz musician. If you've noticed, children of famous people don't make movies about their parent's friendship with nobodies. Is it because Mahershala Ali is being pushed for a supporting role during the awards cycle instead of leading, where he belongs with co-star Viggo Mortensen? Welcome to the rampant world of category-hopping prevalent today. Hating "Green Book" is like despising Mother Theresa. It hasn't a mean bone in its body. Honestly, I think its reception has been greeted in the context of our vicious tribalism, where people can't look past their own groups/bubbles and accept people and things as they are. If this movie hadn't come out in the Trump era, it'd be the horse to beat for the Best Picture Oscar.

#2: Bohemian Rhapsody

Another movie I feel I have to defend rather than extol. "It's just another rock 'n' roll biopic." No. It. Is. Not! I already loved the songs of Queen before the movie came out, but its determination to not just be The Freddie Mercury Story is what put it over the top for me. By including all the inner dynamics of the band and not just being "Freddie and the Other Guys," it was a step above the genre. Plus, all that great music. I get a smile just thinking about this movie.

#3: The Hate U Give

Marvelously acted, and possibly the best drama about race in America since "Do the Right Thing" nearly 30 years ago. The counterpoint to "Green Book," a film that disturbs rather than unites. The IFJA gave this our top award for the year, and I was proud to do so.

#4: A Star Is Born

Why does this work so well? I can't say. Maybe because I haven't seen the 1950s or '70s version of the story, only the 1930s original. Lady Gaga will get most of the buzz and awards, and she's quite good, but it's Bradley Cooper's performance that blew me away. The voice -- brazenly borrowed from co-star Sam Elliott -- the haunted stare, the subtle way he uses his hearing loss to ingratiate himself with strangers -- it's just a masterful piece of character-building.

#5: Avengers: Infinity War

Who knew that a superhero movie could have so much depth, so many surprises, such a looming sense of inevitable tragedy? That sound you heard this summer was millions of people scraping their jaws off the floor of the theater. Yes, it'll all (or mostly) get hocused-pocused back to square in next year's "Avengers: Endgame." But for now, it's amazing that mainstream movies can be this bold.

#6: The Wife

Glenn Close is my pick to win the Academy Award for Best Actress, playing the long-suffering spouse of a famous author with a secret. Even if you guess what it is before the end, or have it spoiled for you, it's still an indelible portrait of a woman who has embraced compromise all her life, and is now chafing under its weight even as she seemingly is reaping all the spoils.

#7: Cold War

The best foreign film of the year, based loosely on director Pawel Pawlikowski's own parents' doomed romance. Aesthetically is it rather similar to "Roma," shot in gorgeously bleak black-and-white... except it actually has a story to tell.

#8: Chappaquiddick

Another movie I think was written off because it doesn't align with Hollywood's present political panic. Jason Clarke is terrific as Teddy Kennedy, in a movie that seeks to explore his character in the face of tragedy, rather than just condemn him as an evil boogeyman like "Vice."

#9: The Favourite

This one could've been much higher on the list if it could have stuck the landing. Or had one. I'm not a big fan of movies that simply stop at an arbitrary, unsatisfying point. Filmmakers like to think of it as embracing ambivalence. (How very European!) But I think they just can't come up with a good way to end the story, so they decide to omit one entirely. Fortunately, before this literal last-minute stumble came perhaps the best costume drama about the miscreant doings of a royal court since "Dangerous Liaisons." And three of the four best performances by an actress this year, all in one movie. Alas, the awards groups can't seem to figure out in which categories the actresses belong. Calling Emma Stone, who plays the main character, a supporting actress is absurd. Ditto for giving top billing and leading status to Olivia Colman, whose wastrel queen is the object upon which the subjects act. Rachel Weisz' character is up for some debate, though I'd come down for her as leading as well.

#10: Leave No Trace

This very quiet, still film has grown on me steadily since I saw it mid-year. Debra Granik is my pick for the best director of the year, though I fear this tiny indie will be overlooked. It's the story of a wounded father raising his preteen daughter in the woods, almost completely cut off from the rest of society. The movie is much less interested in the why of how this situation came to be as the how it plays out in the relationships in this tiny family unit. Ben Foster may just be the best character actor working today.

Best of the Rest

Most years I struggle to finish the top 10, juggling several films around for the last few spots. This year it was fairly easy to make the cuts. I was still amazed by all these movies on some level. Presented alphabetically.

Alpha
At Eternity's Gate  -- Actually makes you feel how Van Gogh's madness and genius where intertwined.
Beast -- Jessie Buckley is mysterious and beguiling. I'd love for Hollywood to figure out something to do with her.
On the Basis of Sex -- Stolid biopic/court drama that offers few surprises but does what it does very well.
Ben Is Back -- Love seeing Julia Roberts in a role with sweetness and snarl.
Capernaum
Disobedience -- Rachel Weisz continues to be on a roll in small movies most people don't see.
First Reformed -- Ditto Ethan Hawke.
Hearts Beat Loud
Juliet, Naked
Love, Simon -- A lot of heavy-handed movies about gay youths this year. This one actually has brains, heart and a sense of humor.
Ready Player One -- Has the ever been a movie to more quietly earn a half a billion dollars?
RGB -- My favorite documentary of the year. The filmmakers are clearly in love with their subject but still offer a balanced portrait.
Shirkers 
Shoplifters -- A surprisingly sentimental choice for the Cannes Palme d'Or prize. Reminds me a lot of Kurosawa's "Dodes'ka-den."
Sorry to Bother You -- Offbeat, silly, vexing, angry, brashly original.
Welcome to Marwen -- I am crushed by this film's poor critical reception and box office death. Maybe just a little too weird to get people off their couch. Hopefully it'll be rediscovered as a gem a few years down the road like "Lars and the Real Girl."

The Disappointments

These aren't necessarily bad movies, but ones that left me underwhelmed. Listed alphabetically.

Ben Is Back  -- This is a Very Important Movie. And it really wants you to know it is a Very Important Movie.
Black Panther -- Funny how people who were swooning last March about this being the end-all, be-all superhero movie are much quieter now. Once it got out to a wider audience people saw it for what it is: a middling Marvel Comics Universe movie.
Eighth Grade -- Good, not great.
Hereditary -- She's a witch!
If Beale Street Could Talk -- Gorgeous looking and my favorite musical score of the year. Regina King is terrific as the mom. Main characters are kinda tuneless. Classic example of a good movie that could've been great.
Minding the Gap -- I admit my patience for feature films about skateboarders is very low. It eventually gets somewhere else... eventually. 
Paddington 2 -- A perfectly serviceable sequel to a wonderful family picture. And nothing more.
A Quiet Place -- A decent thriller/horror. Still can't figure out why they didn't just pitch tents next to the waterfall and live there, since it's the one place the sound-eaters can't find them.
Roma -- What a deeply flawed concept for a movie: Alfonso Cuarón tells the story of his family in 1970s Mexico City from the viewpoint of the family maid, but forgets to give her a character.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse -- I can't believe how people are swooning for this pleasing, imaginative but puddle-deep flick. Not even close to the best superhero or animated movie of the year.
Suspiria -- I am so over the "Tilda Swinton is such a chameleon, so let's give her 3+ parts in our movie" thing.
Vice -- Just a nasty, nasty takedown of Dick Cheney. Lies all over the place. Ugly and unnecessary. Actually made me feel more sympathy for the veep than I had going in.
Won't You Be My Neighbor? -- Even as a 4- or 5-year-old, I found Mr. Rogers' show a bit dull. Ditto the documentary about it.

Review: "Bohemian Rhapsody"

Freddie Mercury was a beautiful, beautiful man. He had the voice of an angry angel and the strut of a smirking devil. The songs he created with his band, Queen, have already entered the hall of ages. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is an exuberant celebration of the man and the music.

But not just Mercury himself.

One of the things I appreciated about the film, directed by Bryan Singer from a screenplay by Anthony McCarten, is that’s not a simple biopic of the lead singer. The other three members of the band -- lead guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee), drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) and bassist John Deacon (Joseph Mazzello) -- are fully represented as living, breathing people and not just “the other guys.” They regard Mercury as a brother and equal, and aren’t shy about calling out his self-centered behavior.

Rami Malek embodies the soul of Mercury, capturing his ineluctable showmanship onstage and retiring nature off it. For the songs, the filmmakers combined Malek’s vocals with those of Mercury and Marc Martel, a professional sound-alike. It’s an effective innovation, sounding like Mercury’s own voice while authentic enough to not seem like just canned playback.

The story follows Mercury for about 15 years, from a kid of Persian ethnicity who moved from Tanzania to the U.K. as a teenager, to the height of his fame and ego. It’s a mesmerizing, bravura performance by Malek, one that I hope is remembered during the awards season.

We witness Queen evolve from a college pub band into something more, selling their touring van to pay for studio time to cut an album. Born to conservative parents and with a protruding overbite caused by extra teeth, Mercury hungers to break out of his assigned role.

He wanted to play for the weirdos in the back of the room, because he was one.

Fame and fortune soon followed, but Mercury was kept grounded for many years by the companionship of Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton), his onetime fiancé and for whom he wrote “Love of My Life.” Eventually he came out to her as bisexual, which ended their romance but not their friendship.

Queen deliberately blurred gender lines in their act, slapping each other’s bums and dressing in drag for a music video. At a time when being openly gay could literally be fatal, they toyed with our proscribed notions of attraction and thereby made breaking them seem less dangerous.

The movie contains many of the hallmarks of the rock movie -- shady producers, spats between the band, a sycophantic personal manager (a slimy Allen Leech) who worms his way into the star’s life and sows the seeds of dissension.

But the film never feels rote or predictable. We celebrate the live recreation of Queen performances -- if you don’t inadvertently start stamping your feet during “We Will Rock You,” you can’t be helped -- and marvel at the collaborative creativity that went into making them.

We don’t just feel like we’re observing Queen, but have been invited inside the bubble.

(Note: Singer was fired with two weeks left in production and replaced by Dexter Fletcher; however, the Director’s Guild awarded him sole credit.)

There are two mirrored shots near the beginning and end that encapsulate the film. They chronicle the moment when Queen was about to take the stage for the massive Live Aid concert in 1985, which was their big reunion after a split of several years. Both follow Mercury as he strides from his trailer through the backstage area and then prepares to leap out of the curtains to a live crowd in the hundreds of thousands, and a television audience of over a billion.

In the first, the camera follows Mercury alone from behind. We appreciate his singular flamboyant personality and eagerness to bask in the wave of adulation. In the second, the rest of the band follows him as together they take the stage as a group. In the first, he is Freddie, a virtuoso; in the second he is part of Queen, a legend.

That’s the lesson of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Even those blessed with superstar talent need others to reach their ultimate potential. Freddie Mercury found his onstage by joining his abilities with others, and offstage by looking to people who cared about him as a person rather than just as a rock god. I can’t wait to watch this movie again, and again.