Listmania 2018: Movies and TV

Here is the general disclaimer, information, what-have-you preceding all my lists. It is abundantly clear that I am a list fiend-- the sheer concept of making a list of my all-time, top one hundred anything excites me beyond belief. Spending hours debating the minutiae qualifying one piece of art above another is kind of what academia and the voices in my head demand of me; however, I find that each end of year, somehow, critics have found dozens, even hundreds of pieces to evaluate and rank due to the flooding of the proverbial airwaves with content. It becomes somewhat of a wasteland to navigate, and to extend the metaphor, most of it is really garbage. In two hundred years, nevertheless five,  we won't remark how 2018 was the year of the 27 musical masterpieces or the 14 best films ever made. It just won't happen. So I am going to parse down my lists to five, that's right, a mere five pieces in each category with a brief review. Of course, may posterity and your own (however misinformed) subjective opinion be your guide.

This category is actually much too large, so I felt it necessary to do a few honorable mentions.
Movies: Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, First Man, A Quiet Place, Crazy Rich Asians, RBG; I, Tonya; Searching, Three Identical Strangers, Into the Spider-verse
TV: Glow Season 2, Great British Baking Show Collection 6, The Rain Season 1, Making A Murderer Season 2, Superstore Season 4, Fear the Walking Dead Season 4, Orange is the New Black Season 6, The Good Place Season 3, The Sinner Season 2

Following is my list of the five best new movies and series I watched.

5.  Bohemian Rhapsody

Some critics and rock biography purists have panned Bohemian Rhapsody, which I am not sure I understand, and I am coming at this film as someone who spends hours upon hours reading music criticism, memoir, and biography. When I read non-fiction, I am looking for the facts, accuracy, as well as entertainment, but when I am watching a biographical movie, I am looking if the story is based in fact, which this one most certainly seems to be. Additionally, I am looking for plot structure, script writing, verisimilitude, and performance. This film delivers on all of those levels. Rami Malek's Freddie Mercury captivated me. Though sometimes factually out of order, based on conjecture, or simply adapted to drive plot to the next major event, the film captures a version of Mercury that is captivating, emotional, and in a spirit meant to both pay tribute and display the man as he really was. It is, by far, the best performance I have seen thus far in the crop of 2019 Oscar-eligible performances.

4. Won't You Be My Neighbor?

I grew up with Mr. Rogers. It's what everyone twenty years older and ten years younger than me says. I say no different. The documentary about the genuine kindness of a regular man who was able to see and embrace others for their differences despite his own convictions and religious beliefs all while championing public television and education for children brought me to literal tears, which is not a common occurrence. Seriously, I cry maybe twice a year. The documentary follows Fred Rogers from his humble beginnings on public access in Pittsburg through his advocation for funding for PBS and children's programming to his honest programs relating to death, race, equality, divorce, and many other topics that other adults so often avoid with children. Most real-life heroes let you down. Mr. Rogers never did.

3. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 2

Amy Sherman Palladino finally has a platform where her characters can curse. Thank God. I watched both seasons shortly after their release and moved through them at breakneck speed which often can lead to problems in me remembering what happened in the previous season, but Maisel is so memorable that despite more than a year in between viewings, I felt like the characters never left me. I was right back with Midge, Joel, Susie, and the rest of the gang. The lightspeed banter, obscure references, and charming oddness of Palladino are all here, including Alex Borstein's character toting around a plunger she develops an emotional attachment to for several episodes. The hilarity of Mrs. Maisel's continually improving standup routine remains in staunch opposition to her messed up life. I do feel like there were some things that Palladino was just hellbent on doing, such as sending the story to Paris and Catskills, which wasn't necessary and does perhaps distract somewhat and slow Midge's plotline, but some of the most hilarious scenes do occur because of these locations. It also seems that the writers are vying for even more awards in the form of more statues for Tony Shalhoub, and rightfully so. He is incredible in the second season. I cannot wait for season 3, which has gratefully already been announced.

2. Call Me By Your Name

And the winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture of 2018 goes to . . . What? Seriously? Are you kidding me? Did we do the envelope mix up thing again? Gone are the days of Oscars being awarded on merit. Last year's ceremonies were a blatant display of awards handed out to people who had "paid dues" in the vast majority of categories, or so it seemed to me. There was, however, no category more glaringly misawarded than best picture. Call Me By Your Name was a masterfully crafted story with breathtaking performances by the ensemble and namely Timothee Chamolet and Armie Hammer. The writers trust the audience to come on the journey, instead of the heavy-handed, paint-by-number adventure that most movies seem to be any more. The trust it also must have taken in the actors to show their characters' emotions instead of ever heavily implying through dialogue and outright statement was bold but led to an incredible performance-driven story. After watching the film, it stuck with me for weeks. I would think of the moments from the film: the moment when Elio plays piano in the different styles, the moment when the two lovers finally give in to the unspoken, and especially the moment between Elio and his father, when his father gives open acceptance and love to his son. The story is exquisite and gorgeous.

1. The Handmaid's Tale Season 2

I was leery of season two of The Handmaid's Tale. I mean, they were out of source material. I worried that the spirit of the story's message would become convoluted, yet somehow, they found a way to continue to strengthen the themes that were already in the novel and the first season. After all, we don't really know what becomes of Offred between the end of the story proper and the epilogue (and even most of those details remain sketchy). They have continued to tell a very plausible tale of what might have happened next to Offred (aka June). Just when I think I am beginning to like a villain, the rug is always yanked from beneath me, and just when I think a character is irredeemable, she gains traction to redemption. The cliffhanger(s) left claw marks in my couch. In fact, I am still dug in. The messages behind the oppression of women and an authoritarian government ring frighteningly true these days. Never has a story been more apropos for the times. The performances, writing, and production value of this show alone were so stellar that I was convinced that the line between a feature film and a series has all but disappeared due to multi-platform media. This show is as good as if not better than anything the film industry is trying to crank out in order to compete. It basically inspired me to do one list of things I watched instead of separating movies and TV (whatever that means these days). Also, props to the show for continuing to employ Margaret Atwood as a Consulting Producer. Her input is obviously invaluable.