Wednesday, March 18, 2020
The slider door is open and I can hear the neighbor kids playing in their backyard.
Everything outside is so quiet at 3 PM; their laughing feels amplified, unreal.
Plink! A whiffleball launches over the fence and it lands under our nectarine tree.
History teacher Adam Bell (as played by Jake Gyllenhaal) has a lot of biblical shit going on, if you look beneath the surface of his life in filmmaker Denis Villeneuve’s “Enemy.” (Photo: A24)
FEBRUARY 2020
Year to date: 14 films in 60 days, or 1 film every 4.28 days
14. Enemy (2013) / dir. Denis Villeneuve
Netflix
13. Honey Boy (2019) / dir. Alma Har’el
Amazon Prime
12. Blade Runner 2049 (2017) / dir. Denis Villeneuve
Fresno County Public Library
11. Oscar-Nominated Short Films 2020, Animation (2019) / various directors
Tower Theatre, Fresno
10. Oscar-Nominated Short Films 2020, Live Action (2019) / various directors
Tower Theatre, Fresno
9. 1917 (2019) / dir. Sam Mendes
Sierra Vista Cinemas, Clovis
I was mesmerized by Hino as the weather girl in Makoto Shinkai’s anime drama Weathering with You. (Photo: GKids)
8. Weathering with You (2019) / dir. Makoto Shinkai
Regal Manchester Stadium, Fresno
7. Mother (2009) / dir. Joon-ho Bong
Fresno County Public Library
6. The Wicker Man (1973) / dir. Robin Hardy
Fresno County Public Library
5. Long Day’s Journey into Night (2018) / dir. Gan Bi
Kanopy
4. Varda by Agnès (2019) / dir. Agnès Varda
Tower Theatre, Fresno
3. The Beach Bum (2019) / dir. Harmony Korine
Redbox
2. Knives Out (2019) / dir. Rian Johnson
Regal Visalia Stadium
1. Exhibition (2013) / dir. Joanna Hogg
Amazon Prime
A wild performance by Adam Sandler in the Safdie Bros. crime thriller Uncut Gems. (Photo: A24)
DECEMBER 2019
94. Uncut Gems (2019) / dir. Josh and Benny Safdie
Sierra Vista Cinemas (Clovis)
93. Queen & Slim (2019) / dir. Melina Matsoukas
Manchester Stadium (Fresno)
92. Little Women (2019) / dir. Greta Gerwig
Manchester Stadium (Fresno)
91. Jane B. by Agnès V. (1988) / dir. Agnès Varda
Kanopy
90. Ash is Purest White (2018) / dir. Zhangke Jia
Kanopy
89. Machete (2010) / dir. Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis
HBO Go
88. The Image Book (2018) / dir. Jean-Luc Godard
Kanopy
87. Waves (2019) / dir. Trey Edward Shults
Edwards Stadium (Fresno)
86. Us (2019) / dir. Jordan Peele
HBO Go
My favorite movie of the year was filmmaker Lulu Wang’s debut feature, The Farewell. (Photo: A24)
TOP 5
Booksmart / dir. Olivia Wilde
The Farewell / dir. Lulu Wang
The Last Black Man in San Francisco / dir. Joe Talbot
Parasite / dir. Joon-ho Bong
The Souvenir / dir. Joanna Hogg
HONORABLE MENTION
Ash is Purest White / dir. Zhangke Jia
Little Women / dir. Greta Gerwig
Ms. Purple / dir. Justin Chon
Queen & Slim / dir. Melina Matsoukas
Us / dir. Jordan Peele
LOOKING FORWARD TO
Portrait of a Lady on Fire / dir. Cèline Sciamma
Varda by Agnès / dir. Agnès Varda
Jefferson Beavers 