Movie Minutiae: 2018 In Retrospect
2018:
I’m still processing a lot that happened last year, so it’ll probably be a bit more time before I fully grasp what twenty eighteen meant to me on a larger scale. A lot happened, and the highs and lows were even more extreme than 2017 (I’d like to blame climate change/climate disorder in both the metaphorical and literal sense), but having recently transitioned out of the year, I’d say that overall it was more positive than anything else. For instance:
I went to 6 weddings/wedding receptions (in and out of state) and got to witness several people I love vouch their love for one another.
Two lovely and close friends and couples I know got engaged.
I helped kill Moviepass by seeing “Black Panther” 9 times, “The Last Jedi” 8 times, and several others (#noshame #wakanda4evar) – and after Moviepass decided to rickroll on its promises, I discovered Sinemia and AMC Stubs A-list, all in which solidified my constant presence in movie theaters (before running numbers, it looks like I attended movie theaters approximately 40-60 times throughout the year).
I started taking film classes at USC using my staff benefits, and very quickly discovered that it takes more discipline for me to stop working on film (aka sleep) than it is to get started. I also met some great people and professors who have supported and inspired me to continue.
I had the privilege of attending the first “Women in Animation” symposium.
Tazaki turned two years old!
I got to visit Croatia and Australia, accumulating memories and travel points along the way.
That being said, I would also say that 2018 was an interesting year of thematic foils in cinema – that is, films that addressed the same topic, and had vastly different approaches and effects. This notion stemmed from a close friend (cc: 友利さん）who noted that two movies, “BlackKkKlansman” and “Sorry to Bother You,” both had black protagonists who navigated their worlds with a ‘white’ voice.
I would extend the idea of thematic foils to the following as well:
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse // Black Panther
Vice // Fahrenheit 11-9
If Beale Street Could Talk // Green Book
Won’t You Be My Neighbor // Mary Poppins Returns
Shoplifters // Burning
Destroyer // You Were Never Really Here
Museo // Can You Ever Forgive Me?
I also found several movies that engaged with non-chronological and non-linear storytelling. In some instances, the effect was obvious (e.g. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse) while it was less explicit in others (e.g. If Beale Street Could Talk).
Major regrets that I did not see in theaters include the following:
Widows
Blindspotting
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Once I develop better writing discipline, I’ll get into more details about these cinematic foils and ideas. For now, here are my top cinematic minutiae of 2018 – a list films that have a particular memory and emotion associated with them.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - dir. Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman [14 Dec 2018]
"You're the best of all of us, Miles. You're on your way. Just keep going."
If Beale Street Could Talk - dir. Barry Jenkins [25 Dec 2018]
"When I was growing up, I was trying to make a connection between the life I saw and the life I lived. There are days when you wonder what your role is in this country, and what your future is in it. This is one of them. The thing that tormented me the most was the very thing that connected me to all the people who are alive. I’ll tell you a story if I may."
Vice - dir. Adam McKay [25 Dec 2018]
"I can feel your recriminations and your judgement. And I am fine with it... You chose me and I did what you asked."
Perfect Blue (20th Anniversary Re-Release) - dir. Satoshi Kon [10 Sep 2018]
"You're the one who needs to wake up."
Black Panther - dir. Ryan Coogler [16 Feb 2018]
"How do you think your ancestors got these? You think they paid a full price for it? Or did they take them like they took everything else?"
Shoplifters - dir. Kore-Eda Hirokazu [23 Nov 2018]
"If someone hits you and tells you they are doing it because they love you, they are a liar."
Burning - dir. Lee Chang-dong [26 Oct 2018]
"Do you know Bushmen in the Kalahari Desert, Africa It is said that Bushmen have two types of hungry people. Hungry English is hunger, Little hungry and great hungry. Little hungry people are physically hungry, The great hungry is a person who is hungry for survival. Why do we live, What is the significance of living? People who are always looking for these answers. This kind of person is really hungry, They called the great hungry."
Museo - dir. Alonso Ruizpalacios [14 Sep 2018]
"The men who did this are miserable bastards with no past or future."
Can You Ever Forgive Me? - dir. Marielle Heller [19 Oct 2018]
“I was so tempted to trip you, just now.”
“Wow, you’re ... a horrid cunt, Lee.”
“So are you, Jack.”
Deadpool 2 - dir. David Leitch [18 May 2018]
"What do you get when you take eight feet of chrome, one pinch of courage, a cup of good luck, a dab of racism, a splash of diabetes and a wheelbarrow full of stage 4 cancer? Answer: a family. See? I didn't lie on what kind of film this was. If there's anything you take away today, other than the need to Google "what the fuck is dubstep," it's that we all need to belong to someone."