Clint Eastwood’s Magnum Opus View this email in your browser
A daily digest of things to discuss over drinks
December 24, 2018
Ahead is a roundup of V.F. critics’ favorite films and TV shows of the year, led by Barry Jenkins’s lush melodrama If Beale Street Could Talk. The Golden Globe–nominated story of love defying injustice is a triumph, our critic writes, with powerful performances from Regina King and KiKi Layne.
With multiplying timelines and a loopy theory of everything, The Good Place has found a way to make the sitcom feel fresh. Every new plot twist in the weekly struggle between morality and death is a reminder of the show’s innovative way of upending comedy rules.
The surreal period piece about a stranded Spanish officer finds pathos and grim humor in colonial South America. You don’t watch Zama so much as you wander through it, our critic writes, taking in some of the most unusual depictions of colonialism.
The comedian’s first stand-up special in 15 years is powerful and moving—and hard-earned. She, of course, is funny, dancing and joking about mundane experiences—but she also intentionally, carefully underscores that her life is nothing like those of the people who have come to see her.
The dark Coen brothers comedy may have underlying tones about the inevitability of death—but it also tackles some great American myths, with stories that are equal parts bemusing and morose. Teasing out that fine line is half the fun.
It’s never bad to escape for a bit, and V.F.’s Richard Lawson wholeheartedly recommends the charming, buoyant sequel to the smash-hit 2008 film, Mamma Mia! Meryl might be gone, but Cher is the arch delight the ABBA-scored film provides for uncomplicated joy in complicated, despairing times.
Check out our lists of the 10 best films and TV shows of the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment