Best Movies of the Year

This year’s best film is clearly “ROMA.” The great Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron has given us a masterpiece in the story of a maid who deeply made a dierence in his life growing up in the Roma district of Mexico City. The maid is played by first-time actress Yalitza Aparicio. She is stunning. The cinematography by Cuaron is memorable. The film is on Netflix. So turn off all phones and pretend you are in a movie theater.

My favorite film of the year is “GREEN BOOK.” It is the story of a famed African-American pianist, Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) touring the segregated Jim Crow South. He has hired a New York bouncer (Viggo Mortensen) of Italian heritage to be his driver. So we have persons of different backgrounds learning from each other in ways you would not first assume. Sure, it is a “road trip” and “feel good” movie, but it is one of the best you will see this year or any year.

The third re-make of “A STAR IS BORN” directed by Bradley Cooper is an outstanding movie. Who knew that Lady Gaga is such a fine actress as she plays the rising star? Cooper is excellent as the declining star who brings the Lady Gaga character up on the stage to fame and fortune. Whether it is called a musical or a drama, it is an excellent film.

“FIRST REFORMED” is a small film with darkness all around and some hope toward a mystical experience osome sort at the end. Ethan Hawke gives a stand-out per- formance of a priest in a small Protestant parish in up-state New York. He is struggling with his faith and the actions of others. A key character in the story is played by Amanda Seyfried. This is a film of great acting and lots of questions.

Glenn Close gives a subdued but powerful performance as “THE WIFE.” She is married to a Nobel Prize winner for Literature. The couple is in Sweden to receive the award. She has put her own career to the side for the sake of her husband. At the ceremony we see what has really happened in her life.

“BLACKKKLANSMAN” is based on a true story about Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), the first black policeman on the Colorado Springs’ police force. By phone he finds himself in a major case with the KKK. Adam Driver plays Ron when he has to go to KKK events. Spike Lee as director gives us a fascinating film.

“CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?” is a bit of a “downer,” but it shows how great an actress Melissa McCarthy is. Her character is struggling to get by and eventually resorts to forging letters written by famous people. Richard E. Grant plays her partner in crime.

Fred Rogers lived in the Jewish neighborhood in Pittsburg where congregants were killed recently while at prayer in their synagogue. The documentary “WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?” is mainly the story of his many years on television. It is well worth seeing. Rogers, an ordained Presbyterian minister, wanted television for children to be an educational and enjoyable experience.

Robert Redford at age 82 appears as a gentleman-bank robber in “THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN.” It is possibly his last film. This is a charming caper film with Sissy Spacek as a love interest who is not sure what to believe.

“RBG” is the wonderful Documentary of the life of Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It is better than the big Hollywood production “On The Basis Of Sex” which focuses on a famous case in RBG’s career. The negative characters in that film are over-the-top. “RBG” gives a fuller treatment of her life. A fine film.

Any choice of best films is affected by the films the critic was able to see and reflect upon. The films presented here are for older teens and adults.