Panther Pictures' Ten Best Films of 2019

Ah, 2019. The Year of the Pig on the Chinese Zodiac, and the year Jeffrey Epstein didn’t kill himself. Things were a lot more exciting out there in the world than they were in my little town. Oh, Panther Pictures did things, but we were sure a boring corner of Hollywood Land. Nevertheless, it was a massively productive year in entertainment. I'm glad I only really try to keep up with actual feature films.

Speaking of that, coming back around to Awards Season has been sort of sudden. I mean, I just did this, right? I have more important things to attend to, like pre-production on the latest short film on the docket. But I still love the movies, and I still love the validation of strangers, so Eric Player the award-winning filmmaker is here again with his favorite flavors of ice cream. Read the 2016 disclaimer on these, if you must.

So--until the other guys say theirs longer and louder than Panther Pictures ever could--here are my pics for the #TenBest films of 2019. #PPLLCTenBest2019 #TenBest2019

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Ford vs. Ferrari

Conscious or not, much of how we react to others has to do with how we feel about our parents. “Don’t you talk about my mama!” … and so on. Ford vs. Ferrari is the story of a friendship between two very talented car guys, the relationship of one of those men to himself, his son, and his own demons, and—obviously—super cool race cars. Finally, the entire movie is pushed through based upon Henry Ford's relationship to his father and grandfather, both dead. When Ford makes a bid to buy Ferrari, Enzo Ferrari rejects him with comments about his cars, his employees, and a comparison of Henry Ford The 2nd to his father. Guess what bothered him the most? With that one insult, Ford authorized an entire “money is no object” program with car designer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles. The object? To make a better race car than Ferrari, and beat him at the Le Mans race in France. When Shelby takes Ford out in the GT 40 he has built, Ford breaks down and cries. At first the audience thinks he is crying because he’s been scared shirtless, but in fact he is crying because his father never lived to experience what he just did. It’s a profound, and moving, quiet moment. In a film full of fast cars, fantastic loud noises and very cool crashes, the nuts and bolts are the relationships.

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Toy Story 4

In 2016, I listed The Angry Birds Movie as one of my Ten Best Films of the year. It’s true. I must have been the only guy who did, because Jason Sudeikis retweeted the list. This year, I wanted to add Angry Birds Movie 2, I really did. Well, I watched it, and what is also true is that it was NOT as good a sequel as the Toy Story franchise makes. Toy Story 4 just might be the last film in the series (*snicker*), but—of the sequels—it is definitely the best. Every time a Toy Story film closes, it feels like all the plotlines have been strapped down and there is nothing more to say. And every time, the team at Pixar find something more. This time, it could be just as over as it ever was, and that is extremely okay. Woody’s journey about who he is as a toy—the through-line of each movie—feels complete now, and not a moment in all four of them was wasted space. Bravo Woody and Bo, Bravo Buzz and Jesse. Bravo Sporky. See you all next time.

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Dark Waters (2019)

Dark Waters shares its name with at least three horror movies, and a paperback about the Titanic. Honestly that was the first thing I noticed about it when watching the trailer, I really didn't think about the subject matter. But the more time went on the more I wanted to see it. However, since it was limited to a mostly arthouse run, I didn't think I'd get to. Then a little ritual known as Thanksgiving came around and I found myself in a city that was actually showing it. It establishes a point of view right away, engaging you on a personal level in the way this kind of story needs to, through the eyes of the main character. After living in the chemicals industry as sort of an abstraction, Robert Bilott starts caring when members of his family become involved. Through him we latch onto the story, and for the same reasons: this could happen any of us, and if the science behind the film is sound (appears to be), then in a way, it has.

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The Red Sea Diving Resort

Basically an Israeli Argo. Except this time it's Ethiopian Jewish refugees, and the agents sneaking them out are Israeli, not (just) the CIA. Captain America plays an Israeli agent. Roll that around in your tongue a few times. Considering our foreign policy it seems like the perfect fit. The movie tells the true story of the evacuation of native Jews during civil unrest in Ethiopia in 1979. Civil unrest is putting it mildly. These are real people and real suffering, faithfully told. I won't give the details here because it is intense and kind of disturbing, but it's a great film. Perhaps a few too many F words in it--honestly I can't believe that Israeli agents are that fluent in American cursing--but if the movie had any real problems, they were technical ones. Problems of the sort that a lot of low budget films have these days: Being shot on a digital camera, it basically looks like a car commercial. It's always frustrating seeing any film that could have looked 20 times better if the cinematographer had only applied a simple Adobe Camera Filter to the whole thing. But the distraction didn't last and I enjoyed rooting for the good guys. In large part because this all really happened. It's the kind of thing we should reflect on now and then: How good we have it, how bleak the world often is beyond us, and how maybe life would be a little bit better if the comfortable ones reached out to those in need.

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Knives Out

There's an old documentary from the 70s where they interview Alfred Hitchcock and cover his career. It's mostly him sitting in front of his desk and drawling about his films, and his inspirations for making them. It's a good movie. In it, he talks about his theory of suspense. He calls it the Bomb Theory. Essentially, it is that real suspense is achieved by knowing what's going on, rather than by not knowing. Nobody cares about a bomb threat they haven't heard. Knives Out understands this. Writer and Director Rian Johnson really internalized that theory, and came up with a cracking good yarn. This is a movie that interviews and squirms and flashes back with the best of them. However, we know exactly what happened within the first 20 minutes. Most of today's police detectives have the answer to who did what in the last 10, but this approach is way is better. And considering where the story is going, it is also more interesting. I love the performances in this. The actors that I knew, and there are a lot of them, but also and especially the few I didn't know. Particularly Ana de Arma, playing the nurse at the center of it all. It is nice to watch a guileless character that isn't stomped on. Also, mainly as a side note, I get the feeling that Daniel Craig has been doing these American movies in the last few years simply for the fun of exercising his accents. He's getting very good. Just ask Chris Evans.

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1917

It's been over a hundred years since The Great War, and many films are starting to reflect on it again. Yet while today's audience may expect (at best) a rehash of All Quiet on the Western Front, the movie to really compare it to is Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory. Both that and this film are vivid enough to make you smell the mud. 1917 is a story of trying to get a vital message from headquarters to the field. In doing so, it has an impressive ability to relate small stories and small deeds to the greater madness of World War I. In the straightforward story, Sam Mendez finds hope in a piece of history that was a crucible of despair. I'm sure it comes from his connection to this particular tale. The actions of one person make a difference, in ways that surprise no one as much as they do the person making the difference.

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The Last Black Man In San Francisco

"I should have told you the truth, but it just felt so good." Joe Talbot has made a film that is essentially about nostalgia for something that we never had in the first place. We are all familiar with the theme of looking back on our lives with roses coloring our eyes, and all of us do it. I'm pretty sure high school was not the way I remember it. For Jimmie Fails (played by a young actor named Jimmie Fails) that past is represented by a house he is restoring; a restoration taking place against the will of the current owners. But to paraphrase a character in the story, "Nobody ever owns anything." As Jimmie tells it, the house he is fixated on was built by his grandfather; taking care of it is just what he does. When the current residents catch him painting their window trims, he leaves, but tells them, "Water those plants in the backyard, or I'll do it myself." The image of an actor being booed off the stage with produce is terribly fitting, for Jimmie is living through a stage play of his own that he doesn't want to close. And when those current residents move out, his best friend Montgomery supports him in all his projects regarding the "family home." Eventually, they too collide over the history of the home, during an ACTUAL stage play, and Jimmie has to finally come to terms with why he does what he does. "People aren't only one thing," he says to Montgomery, and the past isn't either.

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Marriage Story

That was me up there. I've been through a divorce. I'm also happily married. The pain of Charlie in trying to salvage something of his child during a process he couldn't understand and couldn't control, was definitely the roughest moment for me. And all the platitudes he was told, the same ones I once heard, about "time is on your side" and "it will get better" and "your son will have his own opinions someday," only amounted to society getting him used to the idea of skipping his son's life between 8 and 18. That stung. All in all, it moved me in a way a movie hasn't in a long time. A couple of the true pieces were the lawyer working out her own issues through Nicole, and the milquetoast lawyer for Charlie who was really nice but ineffective. I cried four times, but probably not the same four times as you will.

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JoJo Rabbit

Nazis and comedy may not seem like the right combination unless you're Mel Brooks, but that's the genius of who Taika Waititi is. He takes a subject that hasn't been tackled like this in 20, possibly 50, years (or you know since the last Tarantino movie) and fills it with heart, humor, and just a pinch of serious drama. What else would you expect from the man who made Hunt For The Wilderpeople, which is about a foster child getting lost, and Thor Ragnarok, which took a property that was extremely self-serious (in its own pseudo-Shakespearean way, not a Nazi way) and found the fun in it. I'm more than tickled to put a movie directed by such a man on my 10 best list three years running. I'm sure a zillion critics and wannabe filmmakers feel this way, but he makes the kind of movies I'd like to think I would make if I had his canvas. He communicates the ideas in his stories so profoundly and universally and ridiculously. JoJo is a scared little boy who finds out the world he's in is not as simple as he thought it was. So JoJo is all of us.

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Apollo 11

I thought I'd seen everything there was to see, or at least understood everything there was to understand, about America's moon landing. I've seen all the Tom Hanks stuff, read most of the speculative fiction, seen all of the news reel documentaries. My dad had an old LaserDisc of archival footage from the final trip, Apollo 17. In those days you watched one show over and over, and I watched that one a lot. Heck, I even have an old 45rpm vinyl record with astronaut radio transmissions on it. So I wasn't expecting to be captivated by such an old subject. But of course I should have expected nothing less; the trip to the moon is the most spectacular thing human beings have done, ever. When it comes to technological achievements anyway. This was a full-scale movie, with special effects and gripping dialogue, only pieced together in documentary form. I've been sort of disenchanted or shall I say disinterested in space travel for a few years now. A bunch of robots are interesting but not emotionally captivating. I'm captivated again. We should go back to the moon as soon as we can, and I'd like to come.

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Honorable Mentions:

Avengers: Endgame

You gotta give props to the capper on a 20-something-movies franchise.

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

It doesn't come out for three more weeks, but I mean, you gotta right? You just gotta. Besides, it will probably be good.

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And there they are. my pics for the best (American) movies of 2019. I'll probably change my mind, but what's done is done.

As always, Eric C. Player is an independently poor filmmaker, and the president of Panther Pictures, LLC, which he is shuttering in 2020 thanks to California's lovely new Uber laws. He is a father, fan, storyteller, "Picker," substitute teacher* and a graduate of BYU & Chapman University film schools. His films have played in theaters all across the United States, Europe, and Asia, and movies to which he was a contributing writer or producer are available on Netflix and Amazon. He has written and produced film and video content for nearly twenty-five years, and has been writing Chapter-Fiction since the sixth grade. His 2016 short, Moment of Anger, received multiple honors including Best Short and Best Director at the Road House International Short Film Festival 2016 in Santa Monica, California. his 2018 short UndercoverUp garnered a "Best Ensemble" nod from the Top Shorts Film Festival. Eric C. Player on Imdb.

*High School and Elementary School. No interest in Middle School.
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Ten Best Films of 2018

2018 was a busy year over here at Panther Pictures, LLC. There weren't many published posts (at least on this blog; feel free to scroll our Instagram), but our production company accomplished a lot in 2018. Two new Shorts were released and put into Post-Production, UndercoverUp and The Fruit. We're staying busy enough to stave off the "I wish I had an Oscar" malaise.

Speaking of, the Golden Globes are coming up soon, but I have deliberately stayed away from knowing the nominees as I finish this article. So--as long as we still have time until the Globes really make whatever Panther Pictures has to say irrelevant--here are my pics for the #TenBest films of 2018. #PPLLCTenBest2018 #TenBest2018

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I've had less Daddy Issues this year than last year. But this year I've been all about the whole Midlife Crisis thing. The American movies that get to me lately aren't so much about parenting as they are about life experiences. And, you know, cars.

"See The Standard Disclaimer about my choices that I make every year."

As always, my list is my own. As subjective as everything else in this business is. Like who's in and who is out, and where the hippest french fries are sold. (Portillos, BTW.)

2018 went by like a blur. Several projects distracted me more than usual. Because of that it seemed like the movies really piled up. But I was able to figure out exactly which movies I wanted to take time out for, cross referenced with which titles would make me seem most relevant. You know, like every other critic this time of year.

The movies you should tell your friends you liked are:

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The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs was, as always with the Coen brothers, both disturbing, a lot of fun, and soaked in meaning. I can't recall if they've ever made a straight out Western before, though many of their past offerings, Raising Arizona, No Country for Old Men, and Hail Caesar! for example, took place in the West. The vignettes presented here were unpredictable--when you consider the story of Buster Scruggs himself--and highly entertaining. The stories of The Girl Who Got Rattled and The Meal Ticket especially came across thus, in that we became very attached to the point of view of our leading actors before the end of their tales. It's a toss-up between which of those stories I found the most....subversive (I believe that word is the least spoilery) but considering my hopes for her I would say the title goes to The Girl Who Got Rattled. It was hands down the most emotionally resonant of the tales. All Gold Canyon, based as it was on an earlier story which the Coens did not write, clearly had the happiest ending. I don't think I'd want to be a player in any of the vignettes, but I would have liked to participate in the lively stagecoach conversation of The Mortal Remains.

The combination of the Coens and Netflix is something I would definitely like to see again.

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Won't You Be My Neighbor
As a child, I watched Mister Rogers' Neighborhood religiously. As an adult, I find the Fred Rogers of Won't You Be My Neighbor to be exactly the kind of man my young mind unconsciously expected was under that sweater. Not that this was only a gab session about how great and revolutionary in the field of children's programming he was (and he was), it was mainly an emotionally resonant plea for more people in the public eye to be like him. People who genuinely want for others to be their best selves, and who live their lives trying to give their best in return. Praise Be for Fred Rogers.

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BlacKkKlansman
A striking thing about BlackkkKlansman was that while most people in the world of the film were insensitive to the point of cluelessness, few of them were actively racist. There were a lot of passive racists--almost Trader Horn-level passive racism (think King Kong, but with more patronizing and infantalizing of women. And racism)--but few truly active ones. This was the simple world of a Colorado police department--some good people, some bad people, and a whole lot of neither hot nor cold ones.

Except for the KKK. That organization was lousy with overt racists. (Someone should do something about that.) Of course, that makes them even easier to skewer, and doing so becomes a lot more fun. And even though director Spike Lee re-used his opening hook from Malcolm X, he knew just how to set the tone for what was to come. I have never seen anyone else tow the line between serious, awful, and ridiculous the way he can. It's that swing between them that the laughs usually come from. Also, I was personally touched by the depiction of Adam Driver's Jewish Cop. His line, about never really thinking deeply concerning his heritage until the events of the film, really resonated with this Alaskan Mormon.

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Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Out of all the movies made about genetically engineered dinosaurs, this was one of them. Bonus: If you like this film, you really stand out as an oddball.

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Lean on Pete
Usually when a coming-of-age story is built around an external support like an animal or event, you expect some sort of lesson or moral. Triumphant music, and a conclusion. Really good ones like The Black Stallion can do it without words or an awareness of the lessons learned. The first time I saw it, pretty much the only thing I learned from The Black Stallion was how effective luxurious photography of a horse can be. It is with subsequent viewings that the power of that film comes across. That seems to be the way most horse racing stories go actually.

And then there is Lean On Pete. The simplest way to describe it is as a coming of age story crossed with the depressing realism of what The Electric Horseman would be if the plot played out in real life. It is worth it.

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The Death of Stalin
There are certain events in history that make me believe that the only way to understand them is to see them through the lens of a cinematic eye. Just reading a history may get you inside the events, but seeing them gets you into their world. The Death of Stalin is horrible, foul, full of cursing, and makes light of an atrocity larger than the one perpetrated by Hitler. A line that Armando Iannucci, like Spike Lee, was able to walk deftly. I didn't find it funny, so much as strangely compelling. Pretty much as I imagine it was. And probably will be at the death of Putin.

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Isle of Dogs
A big belly-rub of a movie; full of red, gold, loyalty and Taiko drums. It even made me sympathetic to Yoko Ono, no small feat. Several of the dog arcs, including Duke's, were easy to predict (if I'm being honest, only in retrospect), but the characters themselves were so great that I didn't care. And I challenge any dog owner who enjoys a good scratch session with their canine to not get choked up during Young Master Atari's first introduction to his bodyguard Spots. Recommended.

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Mission Impossible: Fallout
Someday, Tom Cruise is going to kill himself making one of these films. But that is not this day. The wildly uneven MI series remains on my list because the photography and stunts are unabashedly and stubbornly and breathtakingly real, and in this day of digital superheroes that is as scarce as a Common-Sense-O-Matic in a spy movie.

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Black Panther
Marvel always seems to make its way into my list, and this year they had three offerings, but my definite favorite was Black Panther. Black Panther wasn't just a movie, It was a statement about what we want our movies to be. I have to admit, I stood in line for the first screening in my area, and you know what? It was okay. I thought it was a little slow in parts. But I was only the incidental audience. It arrived under a huge payload of expectation, and spoke to the community of viewers who where always there, but without a positive reflection of themselves in the movies. Give the people what they want, and they'll show up. It's one of those movies like 1950's No Way Out--more of a milestone for what it sets out to do as a film than for what it accomplishes as entertainment. And besides, there's nothing wrong with making a movie that reflects what people want to see, what people need to see, now and then.

It was awesome and I want to see it again and again.

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Adrift
I was all set to watch this film with a sneer. Yet another story of pretty people enduring massive hardship in a situation they pretty much caused themselves. (Nobody goes on a boat by accident, unless they are pillaged by pirates.) But in the end I was drawn in by the flashback-heavy (or was it flash-forward?) script and the theme: The people we are closest to can and do continue to affect the course of our lives, no matter where we are, or where they are. We are each other.

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Honorable Mentions:

Eighth Grade
I haven't seen it. I hear it's good. Most likely because everyone hates eighth grade.

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Bohemian Rhapsody
I haven't seen either of my Honorable Mentions. A man I trust said he liked this one. Plus, if I help raise its reputation we'll all get a bunch more Queen recordings remastered.

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And there they are. my pics for the best (American) movies of 2018.

Eric C. Player is an independently poor filmmaker, and the president of Panther Pictures, LLC. He is a father, fan, storyteller, "Picker," Car Guy* and a graduate of BYU & Chapman University film schools. His films have played in theaters all across the United States, Europe, and Asia, and movies to which he was a contributing writer or producer are available on Netflix and Amazon. He has written and produced film and video content for more than twenty years. His 2016 short, Moment of Anger, received multiple honors including Best Short and Best Director at the Road House International Short Film Festival 2016 in Santa Monica, California. Eric C. Player on Imdb.

*Meaning 1965-69 Chevrolet Corvairs. No interest in working on any others.
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Ten Best Films of 2017

With the #NationalBoardOfReview doing their own list, the time has come again for our founder, Eric Player, talk about his #TenBest favorite movies. The ol' #TenBest2017.

EDIT 2:58 PM - The National Board of Review announced their slate about an hour and a half after we published ours on this site, and it is gratifying to find that they took so much that we had to say into consideration. Where we differ will simply have to be viewed as an acknowledgement that the #NBR is, after all, only human.

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This has certainly been a year. I hear some time has passed. You know, since last year. And some stuff has happened since then. Yeah. So--

"The Best From Hollywood" will always be my broad statement to mean the American Film Industry. It is what I have been a fan of my entire life; No disrespect to the movies coming out of other nations, or the endless spider web of television production that streams in an unending wave you will never catch (go ahead, try to catch it all), but that just isn't what I study or follow. As diverse as I get is 'Movies in English,' so if you film in Germany but speak so I can hear, maybe I'll catch you.

Like usual, my list is my own. Everything in this business is, as always, subjective. Subject to who hasn't been booted out for being a wanker, mostly.

2017 wasn't a bad year; for movies, anyway. I did need to seek out about half of what I watched (legally) online this year, and half in the traditional theater. That was more about my own availability from work and personal influences, though.

Now then, in no order except what I think makes for a nice dramatic reveal, here again are the movies you should tell your friends you liked.

'I Am Not Your Negro' - "Not everything that is faced can be changed but nothing can be changed until it is faced." I haven't been this affected by a documentary in a long time. A powerful film that reminds you that everything that you try to put neatly in the past is still splattered all around you right in the here and now. Naturally a lot of the Civil Rights and racial tensions of 2015 onward enter into my interest in this film, and no doubt into the interests of the filmmakers in making it, but I have always had a certain fascination with the 1960s and with the Civil Rights era. And like ‘The Silmarillion,’ ‘A.I.,’ and ‘A Film Unfinished’ before it, the unfinished masterpiece aspect of this film, drew me to it.

Also, I love how the poster looks like an old 1960s nonfiction paperback.

Wind River - This film works on more levels than a Wes Anderson Establishing Shot. First off, it’s sort of a modern, Revisionist Western retelling of The Searchers, being that it is the third script in Taylor Sheridan’s trilogy about the American Frontier, and the first he has directed. Second, it is an Avengers side-story (for the casting, only). Thirdly, it is a powerful indictment of life without a cell tower nearby. Last, seriously, and most topically it is a stand-in for all the sexual assault and harassment claims that are going through business and government today, between its plotline on celluloid and the behind-the-scenes negotiations that went forward on behalf of the native tribes who funded the film to get Harvey Weinstein away from it. Also it destroyed me emotionally as a father.

Logan Lucky - So much to recommend this film. How “Ocean’s 11” might have looked if Danny Ocean had a seven year old daughter. And was robbing NASCAR. With the help of a hillbilly James Bond. While being pursued by a boxing champ FBI agent who was herself a million-dollar baby. And dagnabbit it destroyed me too as a father.

Thor Ragnarok - I’m kinda tickled that a director from a film I had on my list last year, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, is back directing a Marvel movie this year. Taika Waititi apparently got the gig on this one even before 2016 (makes sense), but I didn’t know who he was then and I’m happy to see the arc of my instincts, as it were. Thor’s exploits under Waititi remind me of 1980’s Flash Gordon, and I want to be very clear of the kind of compliment that is. DIIIIIIIVE into this raging fire. Fun is alive! It's a friend from work!

Baby Driver - Violence as music. Nice to see some of my adolescent fanboy music considered obscure and hip now. As for the violence, I would say maybe it is even a little too gory for what it is. But some folks like that sort of thing. And their requisite F-bombs, though this one made sure they only threw in just enough to get over the ‘legal limit,’ such as it is in the States, or on Kevin Spacey films. Also, I noticed the UPMs and Second Unit Directors got top billing in the end credits above anyone else. As it should be; those people did wonders in this movie.

Kong: Skull Island - A Monster Movie as Vietnam War Commentary, and that's why the helicopters kept attacking the monkey, in case you were wondering. I also loved the way the whole film played with the legend and the assumptions of the first film--because even in the 1930s the heroes were getting Kong's motivations all wrong, back then they were less immediately aware of it, however. In fact, you could say the entire film has a “USA Hubris” subtext. Men and nations are still throwing helicopters at monkeys that just want a banana and a nap.

Storks - Released last September (2016) but originally meant to come out in Feb. 2017, the same weekend as Get Out, essentially as counterprogramming to the Jordan Peele thriller. Instead, Warner Brothers, which also owned LEGO Batman, decided to go with that film. But releases early in the year being so fluid, and this being my list, I'm still counting it. It's better than any other animated theatrical release this year, yes I even liked it better than DM3, Cars3, or LEGOs Batman/Ninjago. It teaches the value of friendship, family, safe driving, and there's even a bit of magic and anti-consumerism thrown in for good measure. Also it seems pretty clear that as a dad, I am easy to reach and destroy emotionally. Do you agree? I agree.

Prevenge - A better Girl Power movie than that other 2017 release, and maybe I’m just being belligerent, because we all know the one I mean, but having 5 kids (and so seeing 5 pregnancies from the outside) and having sympathized if not empathized with 5 (and actually, with my cousins and sisters, many more) different losses of agency over the mother's body, I am picking this one instead. Though I must say, in regards to the ending, and the ultimate reveal regarding the nature of her condition: Yeah, that's something I occasionally thought to myself regarding my own significant other about her attitude/stresses, not that I'd ever say it out loud. I ain't got no death wish.

Get Out - Of all the choices on this list, it's of course been the longest since I sat down and watched this one, but what stayed with me about this movie was the way it communicated a sense of feeling completely out of place in the most ordinary of surroundings. I don't pretend to be able to relate on a racial level to the experiences of the main character, but having lived my entire life in a religious minority, one that I find outsiders alternately indifferent, hostile, or fascinated by, I could definitely relate to those elements where a day goes from ordinary to comical to uncomfortable, such as the "being paraded for the neighbors" scene.

Hostiles - I’m picking this one on faith, since it won’t be out for 3 more weeks. On the one hand, it looks like Unforgiven meets Silverado meets 3:10 to Yuma meets The Revenant. On the other, it has a Bond Girl (Rosamund Pike), a Batman (Christian Bale), guns, and hair!

Honorable Mentions:

Dunkirk - For the record, the only reason I didn't include Dunkirk on my main list was that I didn't see it in the theater, and haven't seen it yet. Both huge strikes against any man producing a personal Ten Best List, wouldn't you say? Not for lack of interest--I planned entire vacations around the release schedule of Nolan's World War 2 epic. I wanted to see it very badly, but properly. In the end, as has been mentioned, I could not swing it because, first and foremost, I'm a daddy.

The Post - The Kings and Queens of Hollywood and their teams signed on, rewrote, shot, and edited this for release in under eight months. It only misses my top ten tier for two reasons:
(1) It looks incredibly boring, and acted/edited with all the luster of a Golden Globes skit.
(2) See point #1*

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So that's it. Seriously. Those are the best movies Hollywood put out, or will, this year. 2017.

In my opinion, of course.

Eric C. Player is an independently poor filmmaker, and the president of Panther Pictures, LLC. He is a father, fan, storyteller, "Picker," and a graduate of BYU & Chapman University film schools. His films have played in theaters all across the United States, Europe, and Asia, and movies to which he was a contributing writer or producer are available on Netflix and Amazon. He has written and produced film and video content for more than twenty years. His 2016 short, Moment of Anger, received multiple honors including Best Short and Best Director at the Road House International Short Film Festival 2016 in Santa Monica, California. Eric C. Player on Imdb.

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*If any of the very powerful people who moved heaven and earth to make The Post read this, understand that I am riffing, and you DID make the list, after all. ;)

Ten Best Films of 2016

It's that time of year again. Time for every newspaper, critic, and blogger in the #FirstWorld to race to see who can influence the rest of them into copying each other's lists and saying, "I liked that movie too!" Well now:

My name is Eric C. Player, I am an award-winning Film Producer/Writer/Director. My list is here. My list is my own. (Copyright Panther Pictures, LLC.) I saw what you were squawking about, I might have even watched it in all it's pixelated Pixar or TiFF glory; but now you'll have to react to MY opinion, Mister Lady Person. I made mine first.

To start off with, I'll re-purpose some of what I say every year:

"The Best From Hollywood" will always be my broad statement to mean the American Film Industry, those folks in California (and Georgia, and Toronto) that make stories in two-hour segments. It is what I have been a fan of my entire life; No disrespect to the movies coming out of other nations, or the endless spider web of television production, but that just isn't what I study or follow. (Though 2016's list is a little broader, encompassing 'Movies in English.')

And again, remember that my list is a reflection of myself within the industry. What has resonated with THIS PERSON this year? Everything in this business is subjective. Subject to who got free screeners, mostly.

2016 was a pretty good year; for movies, anyway. As I understand it attendance has been down at your local Main Street Theater. Of course, with lower attendance comes lower prices--about 2% lower this year overall, everywhere except Regal Cinemas. Maybe they'll go down too if people continue to stay away.

So, I don't mind. I'll watch, you guys read. Here then, in no order except my own musing, are the movies you should tell your friends you liked.

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The Angry Birds Movie
Watch on Netflix Buy Now

Maybe it was because I had absolutely no expectations for this one, I mean, none. But it made it on my Ten Best of 2016 list with craft, heart, and genuine fun. The story of Red, an outcast who can't control his temper--and who also can't really see anything wrong with his temper except that everyone ELSE has a problem with it--was not just a lesson for the kids watching in how to control (and embrace) one's personality in service of society, it was also a lesson to the rest of the movie industry about how to successfully translate a brand. Plus the actors were game and the jokes genuinely funny. Watching Bomb pretend he wasn't disappointed that he couldn't hang out with Red has made my "Movie Clip" rotation.

Hell or High Water
Buy Now

Here was a movie that made me feel like I was watching a novel, if you follow me. At the same time it was a better Western than I have seen in some time. It captured the American Experience and the ethos of the frontier better than any other movie that came out this year. Its tropes are something of a standard that movies after it are going to be measured against. And like all good Westerns it came with a deadly cool standoff in the end. (And I don't mean on that ridge with all the cars.) The cherry on top was Jeff Bridges pulling out his John Wayne impression from True Grit.

The Magnificent Seven
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It was over-long, over-violent, and a remake of two superior films. It was also a Western and a movie I watched in-theater with my son. One of the best of 2016; End of Line.

Star Trek: Beyond
Buy Now

Movies are more than the experience in the theater, even if that is what puts some of them on the list for me this year. They are a development process, from script to screen, with an army of collaborators. Yes, each individual film needs to stand on its own--no "homework" involved or the film is a failure--but they all undeniably carry the baggage of what came before, in terms of genres, cliches, franchises, actors. Everything that appears on the screen has weight. Star Trek: Beyond makes my list this year not only because it is a rip-roaring good time all on its own, but because for the first time since the series "reboot," and arguably for the first time since the original cast left the screen in Star Trek Six (or Generations, if you're into that sort of thing), the people in charge of shepherding the Star Trek Universe towards the multiplex remembered what was at the center of that universe: a family.

Hunt for the WilderPeople
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Foster kids, rebellion, old men, a manhunt. Ricky Baker would say its like The Lord Of The Rings, but I kinda enjoyed it as though it was On Golden Pond--if Norman and his grandson had gone fishing for Walter, and just decided to stay gone (and then the police came after them). With jetpacks. And pretty girls.

Arrival
Order

The first "adult" space alien story since, what, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? Amy Adams picks quality projects. Maybe that's why she makes a great Lois Lane. She works hard, and she plays hard.

Passengers
Order

It occurs to me that I have two Chris Pine and two Chris Pratt films on this year's list. Does that say something about me, Hollywood, or their agents? Probably more about me, because I could just as easily call this one a Jennifer Lawrence film. In any case, I've been looking forward to this one all year, and while I am putting forward my ranking solely based on teasers and ComiCon clips, I think I am in safe territory predicting nominations and quality all around and, based upon all the other movies I've seen in 2016, a place on my "Ten Best" of 2016.

UPDATE 12/31/2016 - Having had the great pleasure of watching the film in its entirety, it remains firmly on the list. I've been made aware of the controversy surrounding it, and it seems to me much of that controversy misses the point of the story. Or suffers from what I like to call Alternate Writers Syndrome. It is not a fair criticism of any film to simply point out what you would have done differently. Are the characters' motivations true? Is everything resolved in a way that makes sense? Then the film succeeds, and this one succeeds beautifully.

Doctor Strange
Order

Marvel generally makes it on to my "Ten Best" list, but usually with an Avenger or somebody from outside their galaxy entirely, guarding it. This time they scored taking a character I knew best as a parody of himself on The Venture Bros., and made the world believe that Benedict Cumberbatch could . . . well okay, these days it's not so hard to believe that Benedict Cumberbatch could be anybody or do anything, but with a little tutoring from the White Witch, apparently, he can bend the world.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Order

It doesn't come out until December 18. Goin' out on a limb here: Yeah. Awesome.

UPDATE 12/31/2016 - Yeah. Awesome.

Hail Caesar!
Buy Now

This movie really divided audiences after it premiered in Berlin. I watched it in a nearly empty theater with my boy, and spent the whole screening grinning from ear to ear. James Brolin made a great studio "fixer," and maybe the entire movie was just an excuse for the Coens to send their cameras from Classic Hollywood Moment to Classic Hollywood Moment, but I still maintain that the entire 107-odd minutes is worthwhile for George Clooney's Danny Kaye Back-Shaving Speech 71 minutes in.

Honorable Mentions:

Deepwater Horizon
Order

Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg make us feel hot, wet, and sad for the men who were trapped on the oil platform in the Gulf in 2010.

The Journey Within
Trailer

A documentary--my first in the time I have spent recommending films at the end of the year--about a music show in Pakistan and what it means for the people involved. An unforgettable visual and aural delight that must be experienced to be understood.

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So that's it. Seriously. Those are the best movies Hollywood put out, or will, this year. 2016.

In my opinion, of course.

Eric C. Player is the president of Panther Pictures, LLC. He is a father, fan, storyteller, "Picker," & graduate of BYU & Chapman University film schools. His feature films and shorts have played in theaters all across the United States and worldwide. He has written and produced film and video content for twenty years. His latest short, "Moment of Anger," received multiple honors including Best short and Best Director at the Road House International Short Film Festival 2016 in Santa Monica, California. Eric C. Player on Imdb.

In Response To "John Cleese" And The Revocation Of Independence

SUBJECT: NOTICE OF REVOCATION OF INDEPENDENCE

To the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:

We welcome your concern about our electoral process. It must be exciting for you to see a real Republic in action, even if from a distance. As always we're amused by your quaint belief that you're actually a world power. The sun never sets on the British Empire! Right-o chum!

However, we regretfully have to decline your offer for intervention. On the other hand, it would be amusing to see you try to enforce your new policy (for the 96.3% of you that seem to have forgotten that you have little to no real power). After much deliberation, we have decided to continue our tradition as the longest running democratic republic. It seems that switching to a monarchy is in fact considered a "backwards step" by the majority of the world.

To help you rise from your current anachronistic status, we have compiled a series of helpful suggestions that we hope you adopt:

1. Realize that language is an organic structure, and that you aren't always correct in your pronunciation or spelling. Let's use your "aluminium" example. Sir Humphrey Davy (an Englishman) invented the name "aluminum" (note spelling) for the metal. However, in common usage the name evolved into "aluminium" to match the naming convention of other elements. In 1925 the United States decided to switch back to the original spelling and pronunciation of the word, at which point we dominated the aluminum industry. We'd also like to point out that the process of actually producing aluminum was developed by an American and a Frenchman (not an Englishman).

However, we'd like to thank you for the Oxford English Dictionary. It's an interesting collection, considering that over 10,000 of the words in the original edition were submitted by a crazy American civil-war veteran called Dr. William Charles Minor.

2. Learn to distinguish the American and Canadian accents, and then we'll talk about the English and Australian accent issue.

3. Review your basic arithmetic. (Hint 100 - 98.85 = 1.15 and 100 - 97.85 = 2.15)

4. If you want English actors as good guys, then make your own movies. Don't rely on us for your modern popular culture. We liked "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels", "Trainspotting", and "The Full Monty". We've also heard good things about this "Billy Elliot". But one good movie a year doesn't exactly make a cultural powerhouse. However, you're doing pretty well with music, so keep up the good work on that front.

5. It's inefficient to have a national anthem that changes its title whenever your monarch dies. Let's not forget that your national anthem has an extremely boring tune. We suggest switching to that Rule Brittania ditty, it's toetapping. Or maybe Elton John could adapt "Candle In The Wind" again for you guys.

6. Improve at your national sport. Football? Soccer? This just in: United States gets fourth place in men's soccer at the 2000 Summer Olympics. United Kingdom? Not even close. By the way, impressive showing at Euro 2000. You almost managed to get through the tournament without having your fans start an international incident.

7. Learn how to cook. England has some top notch candy. Salt 'n' Vinegar chips are quite yummy. However, there's a reason why the best food in your country is Indian or Chinese. Your contributions to the culinary arts are soggy beans, warm beer, and spotted dick. Perhaps when you finally realize the French aren't the spawn of satan they'll teach you how to cook.

8. You're doing a terrible job at understanding cars. The obvious error is that you drive on the wrong side of the road. A second problem is pricing, it's cheaper to buy a car in Belgium and ship it to England than to buy a car in England. On the other hand, we like Jaguars and Aston Martins. That's why we bought the companies.

9. We'll tell you who killed JFK when you apologize for "Teletubbies".

Thank you for your time. You can now return to watching bad Australian soap operas.

P.S. — Regarding WW2: You're Welcome.

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The preceding was written in 2001 as a joke regarding the 2000 election, and copy and pasted from a Snopes article originally published in 2003. The "John Cleese" call to revoke American Independence that it responds to was written a year prior and not in fact written by him.

The Revocation article has been circulating in reference to the 2016 election. And so I provide the response here.

Writing Exercise: The Fruit

"Go ahead, Ted. Do it."

Ted Wilson stood looking down at the basket of fruit at the counter of the Gulp'n Go. He didn't particularly like fruit. And most of it in the basket looked like it was about three days too old. The bananas especially looked as though they had been resigned to showing up in a bread recipe about 48 hours ago. Really, all he'd come in for was the candy bar.

But as much as he was disinterested in the fruit, he was more interested in annoying the Blaarg. The Blaarg behind him was making that "trilling" sound they all made. It was waiting its turn, but it really seemed like it wanted the fruit. Ted hated Blaargs. Was it hate? No maybe not hate, he just didn't trust them. Ever since they showed up in those goldish silvery tube things promising peace and prosperity to the people of Earth, he'd just never had a really productive or satisfying day. This is peace? Nothing has ever fit the same--these alternative-fabric-renewable-cotton-what-the-heck-whatevers that they call clothing now . . . Margot says it's in his mind but they itch, and all the fasteners are in the wrong places!

The little voice in his head spoke again: "So just Do it, Ted. Go on."

The girl behind the counter was a little impatient: "Just the candy? Is this all for you?"

Ted decided to go for it.
"No, I'd like the fruit, please."
"Which ones?"
"All of them."

The Blaarg behind him made a sound like a cat with a bag over its head having its tail squeezed. He was right. It wanted the fruit. Somehow, knowing a Blaarg would be disappointed in this way made Ted Wilson feel extremely satisfied. He was tired of caring what they thought and when he got home he would tell Margot exactly that.

Ted paid for his fruit and his candy bar and left the Gulp'n Go. Outside, his motorcade was waiting. As was Bob, who was ALWAYS waiting and watching.

"Did you find what you needed, Mr. President?"

"And more, Bob. Thanks for the detour. Sorry for the delay--ggaahh.."

President Wilson's final words were choked in his throat by the Blaarg, a bulbous, tentacled species who communicate through a series of whoopee-cushion-like muscle contractions. This one no longer felt like talking.

The Blaarg fleet was also about 17 1/2 times larger than they claimed when they arrived. With much more advanced weapon systems than originally thought. The people of Earth would spend the next 27 years dealing with these revelations, until an alliance with the Gruuun finally ended the Blaarg War.

The Gruuun did not eat fruit.