2019 Sundance Film Festival

February 6, 2019

Festival Coverage by Jessica Peña

We’ve all been young at some point. We’ve all probably loved something, someone, lost touch with ourselves, regained ourselves. To come of age can mean to relinquish your pains, trade them for new beginnings, and even let them simmer in the hopes that you’ll eventually figure this all out. It can mean finally putting yourself first, forgiving the past that’s shaped you, or finding common ground with others through mischief. Five distinctively unique films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival explore those desires and pains. From Chicago to a snoozy beachside town in Uruguay, these five films are examples of our evolving human experiences.

Olivia Coleman stars in director Yorgot Lanthimos’s The Favourite — Olivia Coleman stars in director Yorgot Lanthimos’s *The Favourite*

The Favourite (2018) by Yorgos Lanthimos

February 5, 2019

Review by Diana Rogers

Sometimes the women don't look fabulous while they're going about the business of being complicated and fascinating. Sometimes they're middle aged and overweight, un-corseted, gout-ridden and wearing eye makeup that makes them look like a badger. Some of the most celebrated male roles are those that revel in their characters' flaws, their actual human-ness. It shouldn't be so uncommon for women to feature in similar parts, yet somehow it still feels revolutionary, because it happens far too infrequently.

Velvet Buzzsaw (2019) by Dan Gilroy

February 4, 2019

Review by Reid Ramsey

Upon reflection, what first appeared to be a self-congratulatory commentary on art reveals itself to simply be a five dollar gore-fest; and the movie is all the better for this reason.

Best Hidden Gems of 2018

January 28, 2019

By Zach Dennis, Logan Kenny, Andrew Swafford, Jessica Pena, Lydia Creech and Diana Rogers

**NOTE** This is not in ranked order

Glass (2019) by M. Night Shyamalan

January 24, 2019

Review by Nadine Smith

M. Night Shyamalan has given us many twists over the past two decades. But there’s another twist waiting in the wings. M. Night Shyamalan got your attention and your dollars with Split, and instead of fulfilling your expectations or building a new cinematic universe, he’s used it to make one of the strangest studio movies of the last decade, a superhero movie that is everything superhero movies aren’t supposed to be.

Rami Malek stars as Freddie Mercury in director Bryan Singer’s Bohemian Rhapsody — Rami Malek stars as Freddie Mercury in director Bryan Singer’s *Bohemian Rhapsody*

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) by Bryan Singer

January 22, 2019

Review by Logan Kenny

This movie should have been something more, something uplifting and beautiful, but it is not, and all we can do is speak out about its problems together, to not stay silent.

Best Foreign Films of 2018

January 21, 2019

By Zach Dennis, Logan Kenny, Andrew Swafford, Malcolm Baum, Jessica Carr, Nadine Smith and Michael O’Malley

**NOTE** This is not in ranked order

Rhys Fehrenbacher stars as J in director Anahita Ghazvinizadeh’s They — Rhys Fehrenbacher stars as J in director Anahita Ghazvinizadeh’s *They*

They (2017) by Anahita Ghazvinizadeh

January 17, 2019

Retro Review by Ash Baker

I would love to have seen a movie about the struggle a young trans/non-binary person faces when they realize their body doesn’t necessarily match their mind. I would love to have seen a movie about how the world behaves in binaries even when some of us don’t fit into them—democrat or republican, gay or straight, male or female, Friends or Seinfeld.

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ALTERNATE TAKE: If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) by Barry Jenkins

January 16, 2019

Review by Courtney Anderson

Everything about If Beale Street Could Talk shows that Barry Jenkins’ ultimate goal is to show how much he loves these characters and the Black people who inspired them. And he picked the perfect story to show that love.

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) by Barry Jenkins

January 15, 2019

Review by Rilwan Balogun

At the close of this movie, you don’t leave warm and fuzzy because they got him out of jail. But you sit with feeling uncomfortable and sad. This is the point.

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Best Blockbusters of 2018

January 14, 2019

By Zach Dennis, Logan Kenny, Andrew Swafford, Malcolm Baum, Jessica Carr, Reid Ramsey, Michael O’Malley, Robyn C., and Lydia Creech

**NOTE** This is not in ranked order

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Best Comedies of 2018

January 7, 2019

By Zach Dennis, Logan Kenny, Andrew Swafford, Malcolm Baum, Jessica Carr, Reid Ramsey, Michael O’Malley, Lydia Creech, Jordan Smith and Nathan Smith

**NOTE** This is not in ranked order

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Cinematary's Top 25 Movies of 2018

January 5, 2019

In all actuality, making a list of the best movies of 2018 to cap off 2018 is misguided. We should really be looking back three years later to gauge the cultural impact that films have made on a grander level rather than compiling some group together to feed an insatiable need to fit into what qualifies as film criticism today.

That being said, here are 25 films that the group here at Cinematary have come up with.

Cinematary's Best Writing of 2018

December 31, 2018

This is not merely a list of movie recommendations.

This list includes video essays that took months to construct, festival coverage that required dozens of hours and thousands of words, powerful essays about writers’ personal identities and societal oppression, formalist analysis working out how movies are crafted visually, sharp critiques of the capitalist superstructure that the movie industry works within, a whole article structured around homemade .gifs, and much more. We hope you take some time to explore this list and catch up on some of the writing you may have missed this year. It would mean the world to us.

Matt Dillon stars in director Lars Von Trier’s The House That Jack Built — Matt Dillon stars in director Lars Von Trier’s *The House That Jack Built*

The House that Jack Built (2018) by Lars Von Trier

December 24, 2018

Review by Logan Kenny

Is The House That Jack Built the cinematic form of the manipulation that follows abuse? A work with the pretense of self-examination that is actually just another reminder of the pain that many women have went through? Or is it a genuine apology, a work of intense self loathing, an abuser longing with existential suffering and a desire for death because he can’t achieve the catharsis in this life anymore?

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman

December 17, 2018

Review by Zach Dennis

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse shows not only the endless visual prospects of the comic-book genre, but also the natural inclusion of diversity and representation that felt less like a business plot and more of a reminder that the hero’s identity is fluid because anyone can be behind the mask.

Hailee Steinfeld stars in director Travis Knight’s Bumblebee — Hailee Steinfeld stars in director Travis Knight’s *Bumblebee*

Bumblebee (2018) by Travis Knight

December 10, 2018

Review by Andrew Swafford

Knight seems to be bringing Laika’s humanistic sensibility to a franchise heretofore so concerned with militaristic hardware and mechanics.

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Widows (2018) by Steve McQueen

December 5, 2018

Review by Courtney Anderson

To me, watching Widows felt like I was watching the outline of a potentially fantastic script.

Princess Vanellope meets the full Disney princess canon in a scene from Ralph Breaks the Internet — Princess Vanellope meets the full Disney princess canon in a scene from *Ralph Breaks the Internet*

Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston

December 3, 2018

Review by Michael O’Malley

For Disney, self-critique is only useful for the extent to which it makes Disney look good. And a sequel is only as good as the value it adds to the company stock.

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Creed II (2018) by Steven Caple, Jr.

November 29, 2018

Review by Zach Dennis

Creed was so aspiring not only because of the impeccable directing by Ryan Coogler (who returns to this movie in a producing role only) but by Coogler’s incredible focus on the nuances of modern masculinity. The frustrating part of this second Creed is that it picks up this beat again, but lacks the subversion that its predecessor possessed.