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<\/a>I found, though, that as the year went on, it became much harder. I ran into the same problem that I ran into in 2014, namely that it\u2019s really hard to determine overall quality. It\u2019s the same reason reducing a movie to a simple grade is so hard. It\u2019s why I\u2019ve come to appreciate websites whose reviews lack star or letter ratings.<\/p>\n
What makes you \u201clike\u201d or \u201clove\u201d a movie? I\u2019ve found almost invariably that most of the movies that are regularly considered the \u2018best\u2019 of the year are movies with which I don\u2019t have a huge emotional connection. I was totally engaged throughout \u201cSpotlight,\u201d for example, and there were moments where I was horrified and moments where I felt triumphant. If it does go on to win Best Picture at the Oscars, I\u2019ll be totally onboard, because I know intellectually that it did everything so well.<\/p>\n
But then I watched \u201cSpy,\u201d \u201cTrainwreck,\u201d and \u201cWhat We Do in the Shadows,\u201d three great comedies that made me laugh constantly throughout. Are they all as technically accomplished as \u201cSpotlight?\u201d No, and of course none of them have subject matter as important as \u201cSpotlight.\u201d But if \u201cKingsman: The Secret Service\u201d made me ache with laughter and stunned me with its ridiculously over-the-top, colorful, exhilarating action sequences, is it really that bad that I ranked that above \u201cSpotlight,\u201d \u201cCarol,\u201d \u201cBrooklyn,\u201d \u201cThe Hateful Eight,\u201d and most of the other big Oscar nominees?<\/p>\n This especially becomes a problem when I consider movies that I didn\u2019t really like, but which showed a clear creativity and ambition. \u201cThe Gift,\u201d though very acclaimed, felt shapeless and confusing. In my review, I called it \u201cadmirable in its unconventionality but jarring in ways that negate its intelligent ideas,\u201d and I stand by that. \u201cThe Gift\u201d had an abundance of fascinating ideas that made me want to see more from writer-director Joel Edgerton, especially compared to a clich\u00e9, forgettable movie like \u201cThe DUFF\u201d or even \u201cTrainwreck.\u201d And yet \u201cTrainwreck\u201d was my #11 movie compared to #44 \u201cThe Gift,\u201d and even the predictable \u201cThe DUFF\u201d managed to pass \u201cThe Gift.\u201d<\/p>\n So \u2018liking\u2019 something is such an ambiguous term. If you judge quality on originality and innovation, some of your least favorite movies of the year might be some of the best, but if you judge it on the strength of emotional reaction alone, some of your favorite movies might be the worst. I tend to rely on what the movie provokes in me emotionally, so I end up with the suspense of \u201cSicario\u201d and the tear-jerking \u201cBrooklyn\u201d high above the slightly clinical, understated \u201cCarol,\u201d though there was a lot I loved about that movie.<\/p>\n Same goes for \u201cClouds of Sils Maria,\u201d which has a duo of great performances and so many thought-provoking ideas but failed to elicit more than vague interest for me. Having heard about the plot beforehand, I thought the movie would resemble Bergman\u2019s \u201cPersona\u201d or Aronofsky\u2019s \u201cBlack Swan,\u201d two movies that had the emotional punch of psychological horror. Instead, though, it was more patient and exploratory in its themes. It felt like a movie adaptation of a classic work of literature; I\u2019m sure somebody could write a whole book analyzing the movie, but I would\u2019ve traded that for a bit more of an emotional connection.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n