The Wasteland Reviewer

The Wasteland into the Past: 2019

Welcome to The Wasteland into the Past! Join this journey backwards in time as I take a cinematic look at years past. Each article will focus on a singular year and my Top 5 films from that year. Turn back the clock with me…and let’s get started! 

2019

Jojo Rabbit

Who would have ever thought of a film like Jojo Rabbit beside Taika Waititi? He sure Polynesian washed Hitler in this wild WWII comedy/drama about a boy and his imaginary friend…Adolf Hitler. Waititi’s film follows a young boy who starts as a staunch Nazi youth and so becomes connected with a young Jewish girl hiding out in his home. This film has a wild sense of humor (like Waititi always has). This goes as far as finding the humor in the absurdity in the performance of formality. How many times can you possibly hear “Hail Hitler” in a single minute? The answer is a lot. Then you also have plenty of deeply emotional moments. I cannot remember being so triggered emotionally by a pair of shoes in my whole entire life. The inclusion of Waititi’s Hitler is absurd and hilarious but how his presence evolves in the eyes of Jojo is one of the most impactful aspects of the film. Then you have the cathartic and fun dance that is just a wonderful exclamation point to this film. But the cast is one of the best elements of the whole experience. Roman Griffin Davis is a shining star as Jojo and his buddy Yorki who is brought to life with great charm and humor by Archie Yates. Thomasin McKenzie delivers another strong and empathetic performance as her star keeps rising. But this film is a true showcase for Scarlett Johansson who is incredible. That might be an understatement. She is hilarious and tragic all at the same time. Her performance is truly dynamic. Sprinkle in the likes of Sam Rockwell and Stephen Merchant and you have a dynamic, hilarious, and impactful cast for a film that perfectly threads the emotion and humor.

1917

How great is Roger Deakins? The easy answer is that he is the greatest cinematographer of all time. But his collaborations with Sam Mendes have been fantastic and 1917 is a technical feat that will blow your mind. The ability to trick the audience into thinking that this film is basically one shot is a miraculous achievement. The visuals of this film are stark and breathtaking. The flaming city is one of the most gorgeous and poignant looking set pieces in recent cinema. The battlefield is so detailed and engrossing to the point that you can smell the blood, guts, and death. When you cannot blink (the cuts of the films), you are forced to gaze upon the destruction and consequences of war. We have two young men who we go on this journey together and we are there with them. Dean-Charles Chapman and George MacKay are great in these roles and bring great empathy to these simple yet authentic characters. There is a who’s who of great British character actors who shine in their small roles from Colin Firth, Andrew Scott, Mark Strong, and Benedict Cumberbatch. The authenticity of the time through the production design, costuming, and the make-up makes this film feel so real. Between the camera work, the production, and the acting, this is a film that creates such an engrossing and immersive experience. 1917 has entered that conversation for one of the greatest war films in the history of cinema. You might not have the depth of characters like other war films but the pure filmmaking that goes into it makes for an incredible experience possible.

The Lighthouse

How many films have farting, masturbating, screaming, sea shanties, and Greek mythology in them? Yeah…probably one. Robert Eggers is a skilled historian who brings so much detail and passion into his films. The Lighthouse is a film that fully embraces what it is and that is a thriller caught on an isolated island with two men operating a lighthouse. There is a creeping and foreboding nature that completely engulfs you in a towering atmosphere. The black and white cinematography is crisp and gorgeous while capturing the time so well. The sound design is engrossing with the foghorn is always presence and unnerving as the film goes on. The imagery is haunting at times with Greek mythos creeping into reality. The haunting light from the keep is penetrating. The use of seabird (including the brutal destruction of one), tentacles, mermaids, and the like make this such a surreal experience from start to finish. But if it wasn’t for Robert Pattinson and especially Willem Dafoe, this whole experience would fall to pieces. The bubbling anger, discomfort, and paranoia that Pattinson conveys singes you through the film. The towering presence of Dafoe is mesmerizing. The close-ups do even more justice to the intensity that Dafoe brings. The speeches he makes are engrossing and captivating even if you don’t understand all of it (that authentic language and dialect is impressive). This haunting folk horror leans into all the impressive mythos built around the sea and lighthouses while injecting in layers of Greek mythology as well. Prometheus be damned…Johnny will go through it as well.

Parasite

How did Parasite become one of the most unlikely films to win Best Picture? Bong Joon Ho has built up an impressive filmography from Memories of Murder to Snowpiercer and now with Parasite. This film swept things up at the Academy Awards for a reason. Many people are starting to consider this one of the greatest films ever made thanks to its incredible cast, rich themes, dark sense of humor, great tension, and a narrative that has plenty of unexpected shocks along the way. The story of a lower-class family putting the grift on a wealthy family certainly will strike a chord with many on a deeper level but the twists and turns that complicate their scheme is what pulls the rug right out from under the audience. There is a complexity to the narrative that opens the door for impactful performances and some serious unnerving moments of tension. When the central family must hide from the wealthier family, coming home will get you on the edge of your seat. But what lies beneath shocks you even more. Even the finale of this film will shock you in ways that you will not be able to see coming. The filmmaking is incredibly meticulous with Ho capturing so much symbolism in every shot. The long sequences of the central family walking down to the depths of this city to the tiny home they inhabit just captures the horrible class divide that Parasite explores. Song Kang-ho is one of the biggest actors to come out of Korea and has been a significant fixture in the works of Ho so far. He brings so much depth to the patriarch of this family and leads a cast full of incredible performances from the likes of Cho Yeo-jeong and Choi Woo-sik. This is a modern classic and it gained that status for most almost immediately. This is a shocking film that we are so lucky to have.

Knives Out

Who doesn’t love a good whodunnit? Writer/director Rian Johnson sure does as he breathes some fresh life into this old school film genre with Knives Out. This is a story of a murder(?) of the patriarch of a rich, privileged, and spoiled family. Legendary actor Christopher Plummer plays a renowned writer whose success has made his whole family predatory and honestly a bunch of assholes. But southern twanged private investigator, Benoit Blanc, is on the case. Daniel Craig is an absolute delight with his thick and deep south drawl that makes him such a fun time to watch on screen. His overall enthusiasm for all things mystery makes him the right man for this strange case packed with crazy characters and incredible performers. This cast is packed to the gills with talented and famous actors. Ana de Armas is one of the hottest new rising stars in film and she is so empathetic as Marta, the nurse of Plummer’s writer. She is dunked into a tank full of sharks which includes the hilariously cruel Ransom (Chris Evans), the cold and steely Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis), the shaky and uncomfortably intense Walt (Michael Shannon), the slimy and flirtatious Richard (Don Johnson), and the boisterous and ditsy Joni (Toni Collette). This cast is outright incredible with so much star power and perfect character work. The mystery will keep you on your toes too with its twists and turns. Nathan Johnson big and bold mystery score goes a long way in building that tension too. But it is Rian Johnson’s writing that is so sharp, clever, and hilarious that makes this a fixture of modern murder mysteries for a new era.