While his official 'breakout' has been pretty recent, former Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson has actually been delivering strong turns consistently over the last few years, with the whammy of 2017 - 2019 being just a particular highlight. Here's some of his best performances.
HM: Bel Ami
A period where I feel he was still in the process of transitioning between pretty boy star and serious respected actor, I wouldn't consider this one of Pattinson's most assured performances, with touches of inconsistency and he's a tad overshadowed by some of his co-stars, especially Christina Ricci, but does an admirable enough job as the infamous womaniser Georges Duroy in this flawed adaptation or the 19th century novel. Also there are hints of how he'll do as Bruce Wayne which is pretty cool.
10. Maps to the Stars
Another weird David Cronenberg film that ends up being a bit too disconnected for its own good, Pattinson arguably gives the most grounded performance in the film as essentially the everyman looking into the madness of Hollywood. The role doesn't stress his talents too much but he's very charismatic and endearing, with just the right touch of naivety to his limo driver with big dreams and not much capability to achieve them.
9. Water for Elephants
A surprisingly affecting film which again doesn't really stress Pattinson's talents too much, just requiring him to be the quietly charming doctor who goes to work at the circus, and have chemistry with his onscreen love interest Reese Witherspoon (a rather odd onscreen combination to be sure). Well he delivers on the charm, the chemistry is nice if not too notable, and it's a good performance that showed potential for his future work to come.
8. The Lost City of Z
I only wish he were in the film more, which on the whole I did admire although like with most of James Gray's films, I did not love. Pattinson is a delight in a very different role to his usual sorts, a fairly quirky and offbeat fellow expedition-er to Charlie Hunnam's more classical adventure hero. He gives the film much needed energy in his scenes and is a highlight I wish was more frequently utilised within it.
7. The Childhood of a Leader
An interesting, if not altogether successful, cinematic experiment with some interesting performances across the board, with Pattinson's portrayal of perhaps the most significant direct influence on the titular child's life as this charming yet low-key insidious 'father figure'. I really like how Pattinson utilises his charismatic presence to create technically quite a 'bad' influence on the child while also making sense of how he could be so influential on the child's life.
6. Damsel
With a very colourful accent fitting for a very colourful character in this offbeat Western, Pattinson is clearly having a ball here as the earnest pioneer Samuel Alabaster. Once again he works well with Mia Wasikowska, and once again he delivers a great energetic turn and brings a real uniqueness to a role that's been done before but never quite this way. I will say I don't like what the film does with his character eventually but that's hardly his fault.
5. Cosmopolis
A weird yet weirdly compelling, if not flawless, thriller/satire features a perfectly cast Pattinson as a young billionaire moving through Manhattan in his cushy limousine and interacting with a long line of oddballs. Pattinson is consistently off-putting in his approach which is entirely the point here as he creates the unnervingly artificial style of his character's self-destructiveness so effectively, and makes the often unwieldy dialogue work for the most part. It's a very good performance I wish would have been in a better film.
4. High Life
An utterly bonkers weird sci-fi film about an expedition to a black hole with experiments and sex-fest galore en route. In a strong ensemble, Pattinson gives a captivating portrayal of a convict sent into depths completely out of his element. He anchors the film in the right way even as heads explode and masturbatory sessions are conducted and no matter how odd everything gets acts as the film's emotional core, reflecting each loss and odd circumstance so well in his terrific reactionary performance. 3. The Rover
This Australian dystopian flick is for the most part an acting showcase for Guy Pearce, but Pattinson is not to be forgotten for his equally compelling portrayal of the slow-witted Reynolds who Pearce's mysterious Eric takes as a hostage. Pattinson delivers an incredibly moving portrayal of a man for who has become numb to the harsh realities of the world which has passed him by, and is particularly great over the course of the film in showing how the burdens weigh upon him. It's a heartbreaking, sympathetic portrayal that adds so much to Pearce's grand performance. 2. The Lighthouse
I'll be discussing his performance more in detail alongside co-star Willem Dafoe in a few months' time but this is astonishing work that really delivers in creating his character's burgeoning madness. 1. Good Time
In many ways the antithesis to the usual 'rogue hero saves the day' crime thriller, Pattinson's Constantine 'Connie' Nikas, a bank robber on the run who gets his mentally disabled brother into a seriously messed up ordeal, is a real shitbag, to the extent that it really took me aback the first time I watched the film. Pattinson gives a fantastic performance as this completely amoral sort of criminal who thinks he's doing the 'right' thing and brings such a grungy, compelling energy to each of his character's manipulative actions. It's a star turn that really showed me what Pattinson has to offer as an actor beyond just being a charismatic leading man, as he is that in this but also so much more.
Bold indicates my prediction for the winner; * indicates films I've already seen.
Best Picture
1917 The Farewell* Ford v Ferrari The Irishman* Jojo Rabbit Little Women Marriage Story Once Upon a Time in Hollywood* Parasite* The Two Popes
With how eclectic these last two years' Best Picture lineups have ended up in terms of not just style and genre, but also quality, audience appeal and critical reception, all bets are off this year for the Best Picture race so it seems. I wouldn't even say any of these films are 100% locks at this point besides Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which I'm pegging for the win. Relatively safe bets seem like the perennial ambitious war picture in the form of 1917, the little indie that could in The Farewell, the TIFF crowdpleaser of Jojo Rabbit, the distinct period pieces of Little Women and Ford v Ferrari, and recent years have shown a more welcoming attitude to including foreign language films in lineups which bodes well for the incredibly well received Palme D'Or Korean critical darling Parasite. Netflix has itself three horses in the race this year with the prestige picture The Two Popes, domestic drama Marriage Story and gangster picture The Irishman, so it remains to be seen if they'll campaign intensively for all three or choose two, or even one to focus upon.
Potential dark horses can be found in the likes of A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood*and Judy*if the Academy leans more towards honouring the stars of entertainment with Mr Rogers and Judy Garland, or The Report and Bombshell if they want to play the timely agenda cards. And who knows, Joker could just as likely get in as many of the current ostensible contenders; it's been a divisive film but the positive reviews have been glowing, it's gotten awards success already and could be a strong player in many categories. As always, we'll need to see how the rest of the award season plays out, box office, the cultural impact, think pieces and whatever potential controversies will come out. Personally out of the big contenders, I've liked (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) to loved (The Farewell) to LOVED (The Irishman and Parasite) what I've seen so far. Here's hoping this year will be a stronger lineup than last year (where the only films I really had much enthusiasm for out of the lineup were Roma, The Favourite and A Star is Born).
Best Director
Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
Sam Mendes, 1917
Greta Gerwig, Little Women
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman* Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood*
I'm not vouching Tarantino as the dead cert for Best Director even if Once Upon a Time in Hollywood becomes the big player in awards season - Director/Picture splits have become increasingly common in recent years. QT has never won this achievement but maybe the Academy will call it a day with rewarding the film and his writing. I could easily see them awarding Scorsese again since while his win for The Departed was very, very deserving there was a touch of 'consolation award' to it, so this could very well be their chance to 'properly' award him. I could easily see Gerwig making it in again for Little Women if she conjures up another Lady Bird-esque universal crowdpleaser, Baumbach seems primed for a 'welcome to the club' nomination, and Mendes a 'welcome back to the club' nomination with his first nom since American Beauty. Don't count out Bong Joon-ho though who may well rocketeer his way to a nomination with Parasite's insanely huge critical acclaim and hype.
Best Actress
Awkwafina, The Farewell*
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women Renée Zellwegger, Judy* I'm constantly second-guessing myself for this lineup, not least because I've left out what could be a potential winner in Charlize Theron for playing Megyn Kelly in Bombshell. That's easily the sort of 'transformative' biopic performance the Academy do love which is exactly what will get Zellwegger in for Judy. Harriet has received relatively lukewarm but not negative reviews which means that Cynthia Erivo still has a shot, though no longer the runaway winner some have been predicting her to be. I actually think Awkwafina is a pretty secured for a nomination for The Farewell provided that A24 mount a strong enough campaign for the film, hopefully I won't jinx it. That leaves Johansson who's been getting raves and whom I could easily see winning for that and other reasons I'll get into later on, the overall success that awaits the film from acting accolades perspective; and Ronan who I believe as long as Little Women performs strongly will earn her fourth nomination. Best Actor
Robert De Niro, The Irishman* Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood* Adam Driver, Marriage Story Joaquin Phoenix, Joker* Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes The big question mark here is Phoenix whose prickly awards season reputation and his film's divisive reception could lead him anywhere from being completely left out of the awards conversation to being nominated to winning the whole thing. I'm not as big on the performance or film as a lot of its advocates nor do I have any vitriol towards it so I'll be interested to see how it all plays out. DiCaprio seems pretty assured of another nomination at this point though I doubt he'll win, De Niro seems like a safe enough bet too and will be deserving, and Driver has been carving out a strong play for the win with critical reception and also the banner year him and Johansson are having. Pryce is my choice for the predicted winner on account of the prestige of the role - playing the Pope of all people -, being the overdue veteran, he's got the reviews, it should all add up but this could easily be a very unpredictable category, with the likes of Cannes winner Antonio Banderas for Pain & Glory*, Taron Egerton for playing Elton John in Rocketman*, and even Eddie Murphy for Dolemite is My Name all having received strong acclaim across the board that could lead to them making their own splashes in the category. Best Supporting Actress
Annette Bening, The Report Laura Dern, Marriage Story Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers* Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit Shuzhen Zhou, The Farewell* The two nominees I have seen - Lopez's dynamic turn in Hustlers and the heartbreaking performance of Zhou in The Farewell - are meaty roles that should make their way in, the former even if her film doesn't make an impact on the awards scene otherwise, but at this point it does feel like the Bening v Dern show with Lopez being a potential upset. I'm pegging Johansson to ride the momentum of her banner year with another nomination in another big potential awards player and like Jamie Foxx back in 2004, using it to springboard her way to a win. Of course I could just as easily see McKenzie, who's gotten her fair share of acclaim for Jojo Rabbit, getting in instead, Florence Pugh who also has a very promising character to work with in Little Women and is also having her own mainstream breakthrough of sorts, and unfortunately Margot Robbie who despite barely getting anything to do in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood might ride along as a coattail nominee (though maybe she'll be in contention for Bombshell instead?) Best Supporting Actor
Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse* Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood* Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes Al Pacino, The Irishman* Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood* I'm actually fairly confident in Pacino's chances. He's won before, that's true, but like Scorsese that was sort of a 'consolation 'award', and this is a very juicy role with a knockout performance that'll be very much in the voters' wheelhouse. Moreover, his biggest competitor at this point, Pitt, won't be campaigning plus he has less of a typical awards-friendly role, though he does have the benefit of category fraud on his side. Dafoe is in a very niche/weird film but he's made it in two years in a row as the sole nominee of his films, the Academy clearly loves him and The Lighthouse has received raves. I could see Hanks breaking his nearly two decades long drought at the Oscars - though I doubt he'll heavily campaign - , and likewise for Hopkins, as these two veterans have very juicy roles that should form the centrepieces of their respective films' award campaigns. Potential spoilers could come in the form of Sterling K. Brown who's received a fair share of acclaim for Waves, Shia Labouef if he chooses to campaign in supporting for his semi-autobiographical portrayal of his father in Honey Boy, Jamie Foxx who's apparently the highlight of Just Mercy, and finally Christian Bale who I'd actually have put in my predictions if they hadn't been so wishy washy about which category placement, he might be placed in lead now but honestly I think supporting is his best shot. And as for my other predictions: - Best Adapted Screenplay A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood* The Irishman* Jojo Rabbit Little Women The Two Popes Best Original Screenplay Bombshell The Farewell* Marriage Story Once Upon a Time in Hollywood* Parasite*
Best Cinematography
1917 The Irishman* Joker* The Lighthouse* Once Upon a Time in Hollywood*
Best Costume Design
The Irishman* Judy* Little Women Once Upon a Time in Hollywood* Rocketman*
Best Editing
1917 Ford v Ferrari The Irishman* Marriage Story Once Upon a Time in Hollywood*
Best Production Design
1917 The Irishman* Jojo Rabbit Once Upon a Time in Hollywood* Parasite*
Best Sound Editing
1917 Ad Astra* Avengers: Endgame* Ford v Ferrari Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Best Sound Mixing
1917 Ad Astra* Avengers: Endgame* Ford v Ferrari Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Best Animated Feature
Abominable Frozen II Klaus How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World* Toy Story 4*
Having seen a range of very good (The Personal History of David Copperfield and A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood) to great (The Lighthouse and A Hidden Life) films this London Film Festival, last night's live broadcast of The Irishman put it at the top of the lot quite easily (though I didn't manage to catch a lot of my equally anticipated films of the festival). Marty Scorsese's depiction of the life of Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) as enforcer for the Bufalino crime family and the part he plays in the darker shades of American history continues his great recent form. with aplomb.
The Good:
- Martin Scorsese on top form and this may well be his best directed film of this decade so far, which is really saying something as he pulls out every trick in his playbook with a few new stylistic additions coming into play, and they all pay off marvellously. In particular his editing collaboration with Rodrigo Pietro and Thelma Schoonmaker leads to some incredibly tense and funny payoffs with the visuals and pacing, whether it be a darkly comedic visual gag or a clever juxtaposition of scenes between the criminal and the 'proper' life our characters lead.
- One of my issues with The Wolf of Wall Street which I do love otherwise is that the ending does feel like it maybe...glorifies Jordan Belfort a bit (though maybe that's the nature of the story?) The Irishman, like Goodfellas, does no such thing. This is a blunt, resoundingly told story where crime certainly doesn't pay even if it seems like it does.
- All the three principals are phenomenal. Robert De Niro has perhaps the least flashy role as the titular Irishman but is a great lead to follow throughout and in the final act of the film surprisingly heartbreaking, giving his best work since...wow, Goodfellas really (though I've liked him a lot in Jackie Brown, Stardust and American Hustle). Joe Pesci makes a resounding return with a wonderfully low-key and poignant portrayal of Russell Bufalino, a gangster who's always trying to ensure things go over smoothly. And on the other end Al Pacino is a hoot as Jimmy Hoffa himself, but with his quieter scenes showing the man behind the public image equally powerful as his loud histrionic cussing and rabble-rousing sequences
- The whole cast, at least those who get to do something, are phenomenal. Special mention to Ray Romano's wholesomely sleazy lawyer and Stephen Graham (who has proved with this, Boardwalk Empire and Public Enemies to truly be a master of disappearing into gangster roles) as the hilariously petty yet menacing Anthony Provenzano.
- Some of my favourite production and costume design of the year so far, methinks, never drawing attention to itself, but everything from the sunglasses of each character to their holiday getup says so much about them.
- Soundtrack is great but I mean, what do you expect? It is a Martin Scorsese film.
The Bad: - Some of the cast - Jesse Plemons and Anna Paquin in particular - are a bit wasted, though they're good in their respective roles, but I certainly wouldn't have minded more time with them. Especially considering how important Paquin's Peggy Sheeran pans out in the end. But with such a long running time of 200 minutes I can see why they perhaps left a bit out on the editing room floor though it's a bit of a shame we don't get a strong outsider's perspective like that of Lorraine Bracco's Karen Hill in Goodfellas.
- That's about it...really. One thing I'll note is that it does befit a Netflix viewing because you will probably need a LOT of toilet breaks in between the 3 + hour runtime.
The Ugly: - The much discussed VFX ageing for the actors, in particular De Niro, is noticeable in maybe 2 or 3 scenes? But overall I thought it did not detract at all from the experience, just remember the point is not to recreate a 70s De Niro but rather a younger or middle-aged Frank Sheeran.
Conclusion: One of my favourite films of the year, possibly my favourite, and once again the master Scorsese does not disappoint. I've loved all of his recent films so really this was not a surprise, but I was surprised by how much I loved it. Watch it when it comes out on Netflix though I will say a cinema experience with it was quite wonderful too.
Not going to lie - with that trailer and the reviews, Gemini Man isn't looking like a great prospect for my next cinema trip. But while some of Ang Lee's latest endeavours haven't really tickled my fancy, he's still a fantastic director who's crafted many strong films. Here's my ranking of his films.
Note: have yet to get around to Pushing Hands and Eat Drink Man Woman
11. Hulk ✭✭
This is an interesting failure of a comic book film which really tries to replicate everything about the medium onto the silver screen. What results is quite the interesting concoction of a considerable amount of cheesiness - including one of the most hilarious death scenes ever put to screen - while taking the whole idea of the Hulk quite seriously, best represented by Eric Bana's overly morose performance. It's a strange blend that never comes together but the least that can be said for it is that it has an original vision and daring, even if the execution is very flawed.
10. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk ✭✭
Tempted to switch between these two for the 'bottom' slot as this was much more of a disappointment than Hulk for me, personally. In what should be a somewhat emotionally potent tale of US soldiers coming back from Iraq and a particularly intense firefight to a publicity tour across the States, we follow a frightfully bland lead character in a story that never quite kicks off despite throwing every cliche in the book at you. It's not a film entirely without merit - there's a couple of interesting supporting turns from the likes of Steve Martin and Chris Tucker, the extra high frame rate while distracting for the most part does lend an interesting visual palette - but on the whole it's a maudlin
9. Taking Woodstock ✭✭ 1/2
Not a particularly bad nor good film, just a very average by the numbers dreamed with some mildly amusing performances. The story of the Woodstock festival does seem like it has potential for more that isn't really realised here, but as it is it's not a terrible type of this sort of film. It could've perhaps used a bit more focus, as it feels like it tries to grapple with too much with the festival, the protagonist dealing with his hiding his homosexuality, and a wide group of perhaps too many characters, in fact one aspect of the film involving the protagonist's Vietnam veteran buddy does seem like it has potential but it's too rushed as well.
8. Ride With the Devil ✭✭✭
An Ang Lee Civil War western sounds like a great proposition for a film. Well, this isn't a great film, but it is a decent one with some genuinely great scenes in the midst of it all. What really needed work here was some editing to relieve the slog of the midsection, and tightening of focus, as the whole idea of following guerrilla soldiers and outsiders to the Civil War is pretty interesting, despite some slightly weak acting by some of the supporting players. The dynamic between German-American immigrant (Tobey Maguire) and the freed slave (Jeffrey Wright) is one element that could've had a film entered around it, but as it is it's a good film with some particularly striking costume design and action set pieces.
7. The Wedding Banquet ✭✭✭✭
A slight but satisfying 'US-Asia-cultural-differences-comedy', this is an entertaining, cute and at times rather affecting film about a gay Taiwanese immigrant who has to hide his relationship from his parents when he undertakes a fake marriage with a Mainland Chinese woman. It's a very well made comedy of manners so to speak with just enough depth to resonate, and even though it ends perhaps a little too neatly, it's still a thoroughly enjoyable flick worth catching.
6. The Ice Storm ✭✭✭✭
70 suburban drama isn't necessarily my favourite genre but this is a pretty solid example of it, with Lee really getting some substance out of the genre by a uniformly strong ensemble - with Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Allen, and very young Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci and Elijah Wood giving terrific performances - and capturing a real sense of community and distance within the two neighbouring families at its centre. It's not the easiest watch, particularly its exploration of sexual frustration and a particularly upsetting ending, but a worthwhile one.
5. Life of Pi ✭✭✭✭ 1/2
Adapting this novel to the silver screen was always going to be a nearly impossible task, and credit must go for just about pulling it off. With a fantastic leading performance by Suraj Sharma who's acting opposite a CGI tiger for the most part, it's a poignant survival tale with stunning technical elements, particularly the cinematography and score. Lee creates a very intimate yet grand scope with his directorial vision in a film that I'll admit I don't love, but I certainly like it a great deal.
4. Brokeback Mountain ✭✭✭✭ 1/2
First and foremost just a phenomenal acting showcase for both Jake Gyllenhaal and the late great Heath Ledger, this romantic Western just hits all the right sweet spots for such an old-fashioned sort of tearjerker. I'll admit that certain segments while the two main characters are apart are a bit less interesting, but any scene with them together is just fantastic as we see two characters grow together and apart in such a heartrending fashion, directed with such nuance by Lee. Bonus points for that ending which is one of the best scenes of both his and Ledger's career.
3. Lust, Caution ✭✭✭✭ 1/2
Quite literally a film of two halves, an espionage thriller and erotic romance all in one, in which you can tell Lee is having a lot of fun playing with the contrasting styles with. The leads Tang Wei and Tony Leung Chiu-wai sizzle with chemistry in every scene, with the latter actually giving something of an underrated performance in his line of work, in this tale of a university student who goes undercover to seduce a Japanese collaborator. Though it's a divisive film I'd confidently refer to it as one of Lee's very best, escalating the tension and emotional stakes with equal aplomb.
2. Sense and Sensibility ✭✭✭✭ 1/2
One of the very best Jane Austen adaptations, lovingly adapted to Oscar-winning by Emma Thompson her in giving her Oscar-nominated turn, and playing the iconic Dashwood sisters to perfection. The whole cast is perfectly cast down to the smallest role, with particular mention to Alan Rickman's incredibly moving portrayal of Colonel Brandon, but what's particularly worthy of note is how Lee manages to in his first entirely English-language production capture the essential British-ness of the source material and time period with such dexterity. It vibes along with such a great sense of time and place while telling its timeless story with such style and is just a fantastic novel adaptation overall.
1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ✭✭✭✭✭
Lee's masterpiece well deserving of the hype at the time, and really features everything there is to love about a great Ang Lee film. The technical elements are all great but really great on an altogether different level with regards to the regal score, the sumptuous set design and costumes, the great cinematography and action choreography. The story is simple and straightforward but carried so well by the vividly realised characters and performances, and whether it's leaping through the trees, skulking across the palace grounds, a desert flashback or a passionate declaration of love, Lee creates a martial arts extravaganza like no other.
With the first episode of the record-breaking 14th season coming up, what I consider to be the greatest television comedy of our time, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, has had so many amazing episodes. Here's my choice of the 30 best ones which was a very, very tough process.
HM: 'Charlie Catches a Leprechaun' (Season 11, Episode 8)
A fantastic episode I hate to leave off the list among many others, just for Sweet Dee's ridiculously stereotypical Crazy Paddy persona and Dennis' obsessive dealings with the customers he wants to offer an 'authentic Irish experience' to. 30. 'Hundred Dollar Baby' (Season 2, Episode 5)
One of the earliest examples of really letting Kaitlin Olson and her comedic sensibilities loose - with Dee's iconic delivery of 'I will eat your babies bitch' being a particular highlight of the show letting her in on the fun - the whole episode is just hilarious subversion of the usual boxing tropes, with the rest of the gang acting as the world's worst trainers and the ending a darkly hilarious subversion of Million Dollar Baby. 29. ‘Mac and Charlie Die’ Parts 1 and 2 (Season 4, Episodes 5 and 6)
Definitely a take it or leave set of episodes, but these are a pair of hilarious episodes which feature some of the best Charlie and Mac hijinks as they ineptly try to fake their deaths, as well as one of the most inappropriate yet funny fake funeral tributes, plus Dennis and Frank trying to go all 'European' and Andrew Scott Cummins as Luther is always a more than welcome presence. 28. 'Thunder Gun Express' (Season 7, Episode 11)
It's an episode that goes on random wavelengths with the cast in their race to get to a screening of the latest Thunder Gun movie on time, but a good example of that where everyone gets a chance to shine, especially Dennis' self-appraisal of his sex tape recordings in the car and Frank's oddly sweet and hilarious recounting of the gang's escapades when masquerading as a ship captain which is a highlight of Danny Devito's time on the show.
27. 'The Gang Goes to Hell'' (Season 11, Episodes 9, 10)
Really just a retread of the gang's greatest hits, from Mac dealing with religion and his sexuality so ineptly to Dee revealing her own D.E.E. system to Dennis finally showing his creeper antics in full actions. It's wonderful until they get locked into the ship's chamber where it become a random yet so enjoyable series of skits, the best of which is Mac's fake dinner party and Dennis and Dee's warring impressions.
26. 'The Gang Broke Dee' (Season 9, Episode 1)
Just a fantastic showcase episode for Kaitlin Olson as Sweet Dee is really taken through the ringer, awful standup routines and hilarious groaning and all that. She's the centrepiece of the episode, but everything else is top notch Sunny too, with the final switcheroo is surprisingly dark and built up too marvelously thanks to the cast all being particularly on point.
25. 'Mac is a Serial Killer' (Season 3, Episode 10)
Admittedly a bit of a dated episode in some regards, this is still a great episode of misunderstandings with the first taste of Charlie as an incompetent bird lawyer, Dennis taking a crack at Chris Hansen and the beginnings of his serial killer obsessions, and that darkly hilarious twist ending which is never brought up again.
24. 'Dennis Reynolds: An Erotic Life'
The titular shennanigans involving a particularly weird cameo from Sinbad are worth the price of admission alone, but what makes this classic Sunny is everything involving Sweet Dee and Charlie switching places as we get to see the first of Dee's 'dry heaves' which is just some phenomenal psychical acting.
23. 'The Gang Dines Out' (Season 8, Episode 9)
A great bottle episode where Dennis/Mac, Frank/Charlie and Dee cause chaotic situation after chaotic situation in the restaurant playing off the perfect straight man in Michael Naughton's nameless Waiter, with glorious moments such as the staring contest between Charlie and Mac thrown into the mix.
22. 'The Gang Buys a Boat' (Season 6, Episode 3)
A fairly low-key episode all things considered, with the highlight of course being the glorious 'The Implication' scene which is simply one of, if not the, best acted scenes in the whole series with Glenn Howerton and Rob McElhenny perfecting the differing wavelengths of Dennis and Mac with regards to seafaring etiquette. The rest of the episode is solid sunny of course, particularly Dee's dance moves and Charlie and Frank's antics, but 'The Implication' is what truly stands out.
21. 'Gun Fever Too: Still Hot' (Season 9, Episode 2)
Note: I do enjoy the original 'Gun Fever' episode which is a good example of pre-Frank Reynolds Sunny. This however takes the discussion of the gun issue up a notch with hilarious scenes such as Dennis and Dee failing miserably at purchasing guns, Frank getting creepy Uncle Jack to help him promote the gun issues, and Charlie and Mac trying to implement their own brand of vigilante protection to a middle school.
20. 'The Gang Wrestles for the Troops' (Season 5, Episode 7)
An absolute bonkers episode with such classic moments such as Frank's iconic salute to the troops to Seal, to the memorable guest appearance by Roddy Piper and best of all, Rickety Cricket and Frank Reynolds going head to head as the ultimate heel 'Talibum', and the 'villain' turned Hulk Hogan superstar The Trashman.
19. 'The Gang Gives Back' (Season 2, Episode 6)
The Gang doing community service goes as well as expected as this is another one of the crazy converging episodes that results in a particularly riotous basketball match finale. Everything from Franks' Vietnamese gambling buddies, the incompetent coaching techniques of Dennis, Mac and Dee, and Charlie's downwards spiral into increasing depravity with his obsession over the waitress.
19. 'The Gang Reignites the Rivalry' (Season 5, Episode 12)
The Gang at their pettiest as their 'underdog story' of trying to win at 'Flipadelphia' is a hilarious sports movie subversion of sorts. We get a taste of how Dennis' alpha status may well be a fabrication with his unfortunate encounters with a university frat culminating in some of Glenn Howerton's greatest breakdowns on the show, and the climax is one of the funniest scenes in the whole show, hands down.
18. 'The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award' (Season 9, Episode 3)
This incredibly meta episode - subtext being the inexplicable lack of Emmy nominations for the show over the years - involves the Gang trying and failing miserably at making Paddy's Pub more 'appealing', which results in glorious mess after glorious mess, the highlights being Mac's awful attempts at being the 'cordial' barman and Charlie's glue-inspired spider song.
17. 'Mac and Dennis Break Up' (Season 5, Episode 9)
A classic Dennis and Mac-centric episode as we watch the 'break up' and eventual restoration of the bromance (that might be a little more than just that). It's just so funny to watch the two clash off one another over Jason Statham's physique, Dennis bothering Dee with his juvenile requests for an apple to be peeled, and some more of the usual nonsense with Charlie dealing with a cat stuck in the wall, as you do.
15. 'Chardee Macdennis: The Game of Games' (Season 7, Episode 7)
The Gang devising a game that only their frenzied minds could possibly conceive for a boring day in is another great bottle episode, where it's again all about characters clashing with one another to hilarious effect. The most famous and indeed the most hilarious being 'Dennis is asshole, why Charlie hate?' and the subsequent response, but really every scene in this episode is comedy gold.
14. 'Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack' (Season 4, Episode 10)
From start to beginning this is one of the great Sunny episodes, though you really need to have watched every other episode beforehand to get the full measure of its greatness, as we watch each character deal with 'improving' their lifestyle. Whether it's Frank losing his mind and culminating in a great reference to one of his earliest and most notable film roles, Dennis and Dee's attempts to get 'fit' that results in them turning to substance abuse, and Mac and Charlie working at an office which results in Charlie Day's finest scene on the show with 'Pepe Silvia'.
13. 'Making Dennis Reynolds a Murderer' (Season 12, Episode 5)
A fine parody of programmes such as Making a Murderer and The Jinx, this episode takes on this procedural format for the 'mystery' surrounding Maureen Ponderosa. It moves from that concept into a frankly hilarious deconstruction of Dennis' psychopathic psyche with the highlight being his thousand-yard psychopath stare, though there's a lot of other stuff to love about the episode from Mac's awful Borat impressions to Frank's Robert Durst-esque confessions, and a welcome few appearance as always from Bill Ponderosa.
12. 'The Aluminium Monster vs Fatty Magoo' (Season 3, Episode 5)
A crowning episode for early season egotist Dennis with more than a few classic moments here as he tries to make it big in the fashion world, with the iconic 'I haven't even begun to peak' scene, his ridiculous mistreatment of a model, and taking matters into his own hands with Judy Greer's Fatty Magoo. The rest of the episode is fantastic too with Frank and Mac co-ordinating a legally dubious garment factory/sweatshop and Charlie and Dee's terrible fashion designs.
11. 'The Gang Hits the Slopes' (Season 11, Episode 3)
An amazing subversion of 80s skiing films, down to the mocking of their often rather dated view on sexual antics and Glenn Howerton going full on 80s villain to aplomb. It's classic Sunny in all regards despite taking a very different approach in fulling embracing the parody, and is particularly notable in having Charlie as the 'straight man' and giving him his own 'hero speech' which just makes things even funnier.
10. 'Frank's Pretty Woman' (Season 7, Episode 1)
Alanna Ubach's criminally underrated guest appearance as Frank's favourite prostitute Roxy is just the icing on the cake to a brilliant episode which takes into different directions before cohering into a surprisingly moving yet also darkly funny finale. We have on one hand Charlie conjuring up the stupidest possible plan to find Frank the 'right woman', and on the other hand Dee trying to help rehabilitate Roxy to hilarious effect, and to top it all off the first appearance of Fat Mac and Dennis' attempts to prove 'I'm healthier than you bro'. It covers everything from crack addiction to Tiger Woods in such a glorious fashion.
9. 'Sweet Dee's Dating a Retarded Person' (Season 3, Episode 9)
One of the best episodes just in terms of the laughs quota alone. The title conflict is hilariously drawn out and actually never quite oversteps the line, in my opinion, with Dee and Dennis' 'competition' and Lil Kev's comeback being pretty darn great moments. There's also the music show which allows us our first insight into the Nightman and Dayman, culminating in one of my favourite scenes of the whole series where Dennis and Charlie create the beginnings of a masterpiece.
8. 'Dennis and Dee Go On Welfare' (Season 2, Episode 3)
Dennis and Dee falling down into the ultimate low points is always a recipe for success for any given episode, but none has done it better than here where in the words of Frank, they become literal crackheads. It's amazing how quickly the cast and Devito clicked with regards to chemistry as in this episode we already get such amazing moments, from Frank's cunning entrepreneurial instincts playing off Mac and Charlie's idiocy and Dennis and Dee's 'plan' that goes all awry.
7. 'The Gang Misses the Boat' (Season 10, Episode 6)
The gang breaks up - for awhile. The idea behind this episode is straightforward yet great in its simplicity. Mac trying to become a ladies' man, Frank finding a new gang for his schemes are all hilarious. Dee and Charlie trying to reinvent themselves for the better is a delight, particularly their cafe conversation as they struggle to understand one another. And Dennis dealing with his anger management issues is just brilliant, as is the return of everyone's favourite slab of ham.
6. 'Mac & Dennis Move to the Suburbs' (Season 11, Episode 5)
A fascinating atypical episode which is almost entirely a two-man show of Glenn Howerton and Rob McElhenny, and boy is it glorious. Watching the two vitriolic best buds trying to adapt to the suburban lifestyle, overly pleasant neighbour Wally, Mac's Famous Mac N' Cheese, highway traffic, and more is just a treat. It features perhaps my favourite Dennis breakdown of all as he channels Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith all in the manner of great comedy. Plus, killer soundtrack.
5. 'Dee Gives Birth' (Season 6, Episode 12)
Probably the sweetest episode in the whole series, though don't get me wrong it's still incredibly funny in every regard. Charlie and Mac's interrogation of all of Dee's former flings, from Pondy to Rickety Cricket and more to track down the father are all hilarious, as is Dennis having to deal with his sister's needs at the hospital (with another great monologue), plus you get random yet hilarious interactions like the exchange between Ben the soldier and Z. And that ending, especially with the real-life subtext of Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson's baby, is just lovely.
4. 'Charlie Work' (Season 10, Episode 4)
Back off True Detective this is where television one-shots are at (hell we even have the Golden God's take on 'alright alright alright'). Honestly though this is an ingenious episode as we get to see a day through Charlie Kelly's eyes as he tends to his janitorial duties against time. It's surprisingly tense, immaculately directed, and consistently funny particularly when you begin to see his concoction of a plan come into action. Bonus points for Danny DeVito covering himself in paint and flushing his shoes down the toilet for no reason.
3. 'The Gang Solves the Gas Crisis' (Season 4, Episode 2)
An episode where everything just clicks together perfectly even when the plan doesn't. One of the Gang's flat-out most entertaining schemes of selling gas door-to-door involves some particularly hilarious exchanges between Dennis, Charlie and Mac with regards to the fallout of their plans, and Dee getting waterboarded by Frank is a particularly dark yet memorable bit of black comedy. The best part is their self-commentary on the gang dynamic throughout the episode in particular Charlie as the compromising 'wild card'.
2. 'The D.E.N.N.I.S. System' (Season 5, Episode 10)
Here we have Dennis on top form with Glenn Howerton giving one of the great monologues in history, period. There's endless payoffs to gags set up by Dennis' system, especially with regard to Mac's subsequent sloppy seconds system and Dr Mantis Toboggan and his magnum dong, no one is left out of the fun, with even Dee's bits are a hilarious bit of shennanigans involving her suspecting the really awesome Ben the Soldier of 'Dennis-ing' her, and Mae Laborde as the Old Lady/Dennis' 'ailing mother' (who incidentally features in both my top episodes) just adding to the delights.
1. 'The Nightman Cometh' (Season 4, Episode 13)
The grand finale to Season 4 features so many iconic Sunny moments it's hard to pick one out. All of the musical numbers are sublime, of course the 'Dayman' song which is just glorious, the Troll Toll song which is truly peak Danny DeVito, the incestuous duet by Dennis and Dee, Charlie's encore that no one asked for...they're not just great for a parody musical, they're just amazing, period. Then you get little touches like Mac implementing his karate moves into the Nightman character, old lady Gladys' little asides, and all the little bits in the rehearsal scenes which all add up to a masterpiece about a masterpiece.
Quentin Tarantino once again takes a revisionist paintbrush to history, his canvas this time around being 1969 Hollywood where former television star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) struggles with alcoholism and to make his impact as a fringe actor in Hollywood while his more content buddy, former stunt man and chaperone Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) gets into a series of hijinks which lead him to the infamous Manson Family, and Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) moves in next door to Rick as her career blossoms... The Good:
- The heights of Tarantino's sleight of hand is as evident as ever here with regards to many of his stylistic choices. The choice of soundtrack this time round is not only as catchy as always but if anything, embodies the time period better than any of his previous works. The cinematography is excellent throughout, and the costumes, set design, are all pitch-perfect both in terms of accuracy towards the period will granting their own very QT-esque style. I will also say that aside from one reservation I'll get to later on that he definitely delivered on them with a lot more nuance than one might expect.
- Acting is, as per usual, strong on the whole and I love that QT found so many talented actors to play relative bit-parts that add so much to the overall picture. Highlights from the supporting cast would be Mike Moh's pitch-perfect Bruce Lee, Margaret Qualley's somewhat loveable, somewhat insane hippie Pussycat, and Julia Butters as precocious yet very endearing child actor Trudi Fraser.
- DiCaprio and Pitt are a fantastic combo. DiCaprio once again proving that perhaps comedy is where his true calling is with a hilarious portrayal of a down-on-his-luck wannabe superstar whose pursuit of acting perfection is both pathetically funny but also somewhat moving. And Pitt giving his best performance in quite sometime as the mysterious, soft-spoken and for lack of a better word, badass Cliff who is easily the highlight of the bonkers third act. And their chemistry together is fantastic.
- Some of QT's best individual scenes ever - I'll keep mum for fear of spoilers, but his handling of the action sequences and the 'fake film' interludes are some of his finest work to date. It's also arguably his most wholesome film to date which makes for a nice change of pace.
- Handles what could've been some major 'ehhhh' factors very sensitively and with maturity that you might not expect of QT. The Manson Family are genuinely quite creepy but the way they are depicted is in a way that does not exploit the original tragedies.
The Bad:
- Margot Robbie is lovely as Sharon Tate but I wish she'd had a bit more to do acting-wise. As it is her subplot is more of just a set-up for the third act.
- Absence of truly memorable dialogue I'd say, which is odd for a QT film as for all the reservations one might have with Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight, there were certainly loads of memorable lines from those. It's still a great screenplay but perhaps less memorable.
- The film is deliberately aimless in its overarching tone which is fine, but there are several sequences I do feel could've been cut out, if not altogether excluded. The pacing is a bit off here and you do feel the extra length of the film which is not a problem I had with say, The Hateful Eight which I felt kept its breakneck momentum sustained throughout the whole nearly three hour runtime.
- QT really needs to stop using the narration motif in his films. It worked for Kill Bill and Inglorious Basterds and somewhat for The Hateful Eight but here despite getting Kurt Russell to do it, it feels forced.
The Ugly:
- This film will ultimately be quite divisive, as with any QT film, when looked at against certain topics and critiques, particularly with regards to gender roles, its treatment of Bruce Lee, its treatment of real-life events, liberties taken with real people...personally, I'm giving it all a bit of room to breathe before giving more thought. I will say that I definitely have issues on these fronts, as with any of Tarantino's filmography, but not necessarily on the negative side, but I do think a debate in this regard is necessary.
Conclusion:
Having thoroughly loved his last three films, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is probably my least favourite of his most recent work in the past decade or so. However, it's still a strong, occasionally amazing, film from one of the industry's most unique voices, and I was thoroughly entertained throughout.
How does one follow up something like Avengers: Endgame? A whole lot of everything, apparently.
Black Widow - 1st May 2020 (film) directed by Cate Shortland
L - R: Florence Pugh, O.T. Fagbenle, Rachel Weisz, Scarlett Johansson
L - R: David Harbour, Florence Pugh, O.T. Fagbenle, Cate Shortland
Confirmed cast:
Scarlett Johnasson, reprising her role as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
David Harbour as Alexei
Florence Pugh as Yelena
Rachel Weisz as Melina
O.T. Fagbenle as Mason
Hype level: B
Given the events of Endgame this is clearly expected to be a prequel, and the MCU has assembled quite the cast for this one, with the incredibly talented Pugh's inclusion being particularly intriguing. It'll be interesting to see what direction they go with this one, if it'll be a change of pace and a smaller, more intimate story given that it doesn't need to deal with added ramifications/more buildup for the MCU and can afford to be a more self-contained story, and we may well find out what REALLY happened in Budapest... The Falcon and the Winter Soldier - Fall 2020 (Disney+ Series)
L - R: Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie
Confirmed cast: Anthony Mackie, reprising his role as Sam Wilson/Falcon Sebastian Stan, reprising his role as Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier Daniel Brühl, reprising his role as Helmut Zemo Hype level: B - Mackie and Stan have shown incredible chemistry both on and offscreen so hopefully this will be a good continuation of this, although I have to admit I really hope they do give ol' Bucky Barnes a proper break at some point, he's gone through a really long rough patch, and I hope the series doesn't fall into the trap into making them too much of a cutesy joke duo. Adding in the return of Zemo, who was one of the first MCU villains to properly break through the mould of underwhelming antagonists, and the experimentation with the miniseries format for a Marvel scale story, piques my interest. An unknown quantity but one I'm nevertheless anticipating. The Eternals - 6th November 2020 (film) directed by Chloé Zhao
L: Chloe Zhao L - R (back row): Lauren Ridloff, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani (front row): Brian Tyree Henry, Lia McHugh, Don Lee
Confirmed cast: Richard Madden as Icarus Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo Lauren Ridloff as Makkari Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos Salma Hayek as Ajak Lia McHugh as Sprite Don Lee (a.k.a. Ma Dong-Seok) as Gilgamesh Angelina Jolie as Thena Hype level: B Kudos to Marvel for embracing diversity in the right way, as this is a pretty intriguing mix of actors, and hopefully is also a sign that the MCU will continue to go bonkers with the Celestial/cosmic side of things. Zhao is also a brilliant director as evidenced by her breakthrough The Rider, hopefully her still will translate to a big-budget production like this. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - 12th February 2021 (film) directed by Destin Daniel Cretton
L - R: Destin Daniel Cretton, Simu Liu
Confirmed cast:
Simu Liu as Shang-Chi
Awkwafina as ???
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as The Mandarin
Hype level: A -
Well talk about some major throwbacks, as we go back to the very beginning with the Ten Rings, the terrorists essentially responsible for spring boarding Tony Stark's journey into Iron Man, and his antagonist in Iron Man 3 the Mandarin - but this time for real, and pitted against the MCU's first Asian hero. Liu seems like a good casting choice, I like Awkwafina, but I have to say the biggest boon here is casting the legendary Leung in a role I hope they'll give the required complexity and nuance to. Plus this is being released on my birthday. Hype, for sure. Loki - Spring 2021 (Disney+ Series)
Tom Hiddleston
Confirmed cast:
Tom Hiddleston, reprising his role as Loki
Hype level: C -
Hey, I love Loki as much as anyone else, and Hiddleston certainly delivered throughout each of his appearances, smaller or more substantial, as the God of Mischief. I do however, think that he got the perfect sendoff in Infinity War and frankly, that exploring more of the Loki who goes AWOL in Endgame in the '2012 alternate timeline' doesn't really pique my interest. I'm all for exploring the multiverse but honestly, I don't know how much more Loki has to offer as a character especially if he's going to be removed from the Thor storyline. Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness - 7th May 2021 (film) directed by Scott Derrickson
L - R: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen
Confirmed cast:
Benedict Cumberbatch, reprising his role as Doctor Stephen Strange
Elizabeth Olsen, reprising her role as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
Hype level: A
Now the idea of making a Doctor Strange horror film is a fantastic idea, given how some of the best elements of the first film verged into this territory and Derrickson's background in the genre. All bets seem to be off if you're going to blend the powers of Strange and Scarlet Witch together (though don't forget Wong, and maybe Karl Mood will be back), as visually speaking this may be even more of a trippy affair than the first film. And honestly there's no better individual to explore the multiverse concept now than the Master of the Mystic Arts. WandaVision - Spring 2021 (Disney+ Series)
L - R: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany
Confirmed cast:
Elizabeth Olsen, reprising her role as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
Paul Bettany, reprising his role as Vision
Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau
Hype level: B-
I'm not quite sure what to expect from this, except that it'll definitely be quite experimental in nature, which is a good thing, but could potentially feel a bit extraneous in the overall MCU canon. I'm all for getting Olsen and Bettany back to reprise their roles, though, and I'm sure that this will find some way to bring some more meat to one of the more thinly sketched MCU relationships. What If...? - Summer 2021 (Disney+ Series)
Jeffrey Wright
Confirmed cast:
Jeffrey Wright as the voice of The Watcher And featuring the vocal reprisals of - Haley Atwell as Peggy Carter Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther Josh Brolin as Thanos Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark David Dastmalchian as Kurt Michael Douglas as Hank Pym Karen Gillan as Nebula Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster Sean Gunn as Kraglin Chris Hemsworth as Thor Djimon Hounsiou as Korath Toby Jones as Arnim Zola Neal McDonough as Dum Dum Dugan Natalie Portman as Jane Foster Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye Michael Rooker as Yondu Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk Stanley Tucci as Dr Abraham Erskine Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier Chris Sullivan as Taserface Taika Waititi as Korg Hype level: B A series exploring a series of hypothetical 'what if'-scenarios over the MCU chronology, in an episodic Twilight Zone style format sounds intriguing. It seems like the kind of format where the MCU can afford to be hit and miss and be a bit daring since there's no risk at all. And Wright's voice as an omniscient overseer seems pitch perfect. Hawkeye - Fall 2021
Jeremy Renner
Confirmed cast:
Jeremy Renner, reprising his role as Clint Barton/Ronin/Hawkeye
??? as Kate Bishop
Hype level: C
I'm all for seeing more of Jeremy Renner onscreen and him getting those hefty Disney pay checks. However, the direction they seem to be going in with this series - exploring more of the Ronin phase of the character in between Infinity War and Endgame...I don't know. It doesn't sound particularly intriguing to me on paper, and I kind of like how the film left much of it to the imagination. Nevertheless, I'll approach it with an open mind. Thor: Love and Thunder - 5th November 2021 (film) directed by Taika Waititi
L - R: Taika Waititi, Natalie Portman, Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson
Confirmed cast:
Chris Hemsworth, reprising his role as Thor Odinson
Tessa Thompson, reprising her role as Valkyrie
Natalie Portman, reprising her role as Jane Foster
Hype level: A+
Okay, that title is what gets me halfway there in terms of excitement, as it seems that they're really ready to let Taika Waititi loose with whatever he wants to do with Thor the character and Thor the story. Overjoyed for the reprisals, and though Jane Foster wasn't the best written character in the previous films, I'm sure that choosing to develop her story arc into 'female Thor' could result in something quite special and exciting (plus Portman's adeptness at comedy has often been overlooked - take a look at her SNL appearances).
Mahershala Ali will play Blade
L - R: Kevin Feige, Maheshala Ali
A very good casting choice for the role, although he had a really thankless character in Alita: Battle Angel the whole aesthetic was basically a prevision to how he'll probably look as Blade. Wesley Snipes was iconic in the role but I'm sure Ali will find a way to own it and make his mark. Black Panther 2, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Captain Marvel 2, Fantastic Four, Mutants in the works
More details will probably be announced at next year's Comic-Con. Particularly excited to see who they cast as the new Fantastic Four.
Sources: Reddit, IGN, Variety, Entertainment Weekly
