Getting so close to the end!!! Here I go! Thanks for coming along!!
At number 4.....
EMILY THE CRIMINAL
Emily (Aubrey Plaza) is in debt and she cannot get out of it. So she decides to start running credit card scams for a scamming underground organization.
I saw this in the theater. There is not much of a better feeling than walking out of a movie theater shocked by how good a film was, after not knowing much about it going in.
This film is so tense. Note Emily is not a good person, or, maybe a good person who is doing bad things out of desperation. Yet, we, the viewer, are cheering her on. Which tells you how great Aubrey Plaza is in this performance. She has us feeling for her.
Also...note, one of the best job interview scenes in film. I felt like standing in the middle of the theater and clapping.
Along with Plaza there is another really good performance by Theo Rossi as Youcef Haddad. What side of the fence is he on?
This film is really good. I believe you can see it on Hulu or Netflix. Do not miss it. You will hold on tighter to your credit cards after watching how it's done lol.
Number 4 for the year 2022....Emily The Criminal.
3
A MAN CALLED OTTO
Otto..spelled O-TT-O (Tom Hanks) is your grumpy neighbor. Who slowly becomes softer after Marisol and her family moves in across the street.
I have to note, I read the book maybe a decade ago, which I liked. Saw the foreign version which I did not like at all. So, I did not have much hope for this film. This worked!!!!!!
The difference maker is Tom Hanks. Are we at the point to recognize Tom Hanks as the best actor ever? Discuss.
Tom Hanks is spot on perfect, often funny, often cringe worthy. His son Truman Hanks, plays the younger Otto, this is where we learn why Otto is the way he is. My Heart!!!!
Surprisingly, new to our country on the big screen, Mariana Trevino who plays Marisol slips in and almost outshines Hanks. There is a scene, without giving away spoilers, when he knocks on her door and she with tears in her eyes gives him a "What For"..that is just fantastic. She is...just..a find. Credit to director Marc Forster.
Well anyway, coming in at number 3 A Man Called Otto...a must see.
2
WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING
Abandoned as a little girl, Kya (Daisy Edgar Jones) raised herself in the marshlands of North Carolina. She opens herself up to two young men.. one is kind..the other not so much. When one young man is found dead the town folks believe it was her ( the Marsh Girl) and it was not an accident.
Part love story.
Part mystery.
Part adventure.
Part courtroom drama.
Now I did read the book, and the film does not follow the book precisely. Still the meat of the story is there with only a few changes. The film really does the wonderful book justice. With the twist at the end.
The highlight of the film are four performances:
-Jones as Kya (by the way British with doing her best Carolina accent); just perfectly cast. She is known in Europe for the short series Normal People, but here yet to really get a juicy part until now and she pulls it off. She says so much without saying a word, heck, she is alone most of the time. She is just fantastic.
-David Strathairn as Tom Milton, a lawyer coming out of retirement to represent Kya. He plays the part so soft and wonderful, I kind of wish he was in the movie more.
J-ojo Regina as young Kya. Wow, she has some heartbreaking scenes which crush the soul and she pulls it off. By the way her first acting gig on the big screen. Just amazing!
-Sterling Macer Jr as Jumpin. He has a small part, but with this small part he owns the screen as Kyas surogat father in a world where black men are treated "less" like Kya is. If I had a complaint, and I understand the time restraints of taking a book and moving it to the big screen, still I wish Jumpin got his due at the end like in the book.
I watched this maybe 5 times ands each time I appreciate it more and spot little clues each time also. Thumbs up to director Olivia Newman who filmed this under tough conditions, in the swamps. Yet, she paid attention to the twists and beauty of the area.
Some say this film is too slow, which tells you a lot about the attention span of movie goers. This film is very good and can be seen I think on Netflix or Hulu.
Number 2 for the year 2022 ..Where The Crawdads Sing.
Now we are down to 1. Come on...you have to know what it is. It's too easy...
From the shadows as always thanks for your time.
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