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Michael Curtiz’s Casablanca – as of the time this article was written – is 75 years old. It is considered by film historians, film critics and general film fans as one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, film of all time. What makes a film like Casablanca age like the fine wine served in Rick’s Café? Is it its ensemble cast of memorable characters: Renault, Ferrari, Ugarte, Sascha and Sam, all interacting in such a sprawling and unique location such as the aforementioned Rick’s Café? Perhaps! Is it its suspenseful story of refugees trying to find their way to America while dodging the Nazis? That’s a great argument as well. But what I believe makes Casablanca stand out amongst the crowded lists of “The Greatest Movies of All Time” is its masterful characterization of Rick Blaine, and his inner conflict throughout the film, and how his experiences with love drives his every decision. Many of us who have experienced love, and then lost it, can relate to what Rick is going through. Being heartbroken is one of the most powerful emotions anyone can feel. The love of his life left him, and he can’t help but feel resentment and bitterness towards that person. It’s making yourself vulnerable to the person you love, and having them run away with it leaving you cold. Forcing you to close the door on said vulnerability, you decide to lock it away so no one could possibly hurt you that badly again. This is what shapes Rick as a character entirely. He’s so hesitant with helping anybody, because he doesn’t want to open himself up to being heartbroken once again. I think we can all relate to that in one way or another. There’s one scene in Casablanca that in my opinion sums up the emotional core of the entire film. Soon after Ilsa and Victor arrive at Rick’s Café, Ilsa tells the piano player Sam to play, “As Time Goes By”. This was an important song in the relationship of Rick and Ilsa, so when Sam starts playing it, Rick naturally gets upset and tells Sam to stop playing. That’s when he first sees Ilsa again. The combination of the performances by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, the music swelling as they lock eyes, and the cinematography framing the two looking at each other says SO much about what the characters are going through, without saying anything at all. That is one of the most impressive beats of visual storytelling I’ve ever witnessed in film, and I can see why the film is revered as such a classic. Casablanca is purely the complicated relationship of Rick and Ilsa, and how powerfully it’s told. It’s complicated, yet relatable, and that’s what makes the film so timeless. Jeremy Kolodziejski Jeremy is younger than he looks, and has passionately studied the art and craft of filmmaking for as long as he can remember. He is currently a freelance wedding videographer, and is also heavily involved in Competitive Fighting Games. IG: jeremyko95 #JeremyKolodziejski #Review #Newsletter #Casablanca #Love

Jack, Robert and Mike take on the "Fast and Furious" franchise, one film at a time, leading up to the release of the newest installment, "The Fate of the Furious." Join them for the ride, but buckle up or something. Make sure you have enough gas. Double check your windshield wiper fluid. Come to full stops. #Newsletter #Podcasts #TheFastandtheFurious #QuarterMileataTime #VinDiesel #PaulWalker #RobertAnderson #JackKolodziejski #MikeBurdge

David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of The Fly has undoubtedly seated itself firmly amongst the classic horror films of the 80’s. Among contemporaries like, The Thing, Reanimator, and Evil Dead, The Fly, used practical effects to shock its viewers with gruesome visuals. The Fly sets itself apart, however; underneath Cronenberg’s horrific portrayal of a man slowly and horrifically transforming into a monstrous man-fly, lays a genuinely touching love story. The tragic tale is old as time: boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, and girl watches boy’s fingernails and ears fall off as he mutates into an unsightly abomination. Erm...let me explain. From the film’s very first scene, Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis’s characters are on screen together. For the entirety of its runtime, the two are rarely apart. Davis plays Veronica Quaife, a reporter for a scientific journal that has attended a conference in search of a new story. In the opening moments of the film, she’s found chatting with Goldblum’s Seth Brundle, a somewhat quirky physicist that breathlessly explains how he believes he is on the edge of a discovery that will change the world, as they know it. Brundle is clearly flirting here, attempting to use his scientific prowess as a way to earn Veronica’s attention. While she seems initially tentative about Brundle’s somewhat awkward advances, she eventually agrees to see what he’s got to show. The pair’s relationship begins to bud from the moment they set off from the conference together. Brundle clearly inhabits the role of the socially scientist, with every word uttered in Veronica’s presence filled with a nervous energy. His idea of flirting ranges from regaling Veronica with tales of how he becomes motion sick at even the slightest of speeds, to wordlessly serenading her via piano as soon as they arrive at the apartment. Veronica seems initially cautious, clearly unable to take Brundle’s goofball persona seriously, but still holds out hope that she can find a story. Cronenberg builds the tension of an uneasy pair divided in their intentions, with Brundle hoping to impress, and Veronica just attempting to do her job. The two eventually agree to work together, as Veronica is amazed that Brundle’s teleporter actually works and she immediately hopes to publish a story on the discovery. Brundle, however, pleads with Veronica to hold off until he can perfect the machine and successfully teleport living subjects. The two agree to an exclusive book deal on their second awkward date (over burgers at a diner). The first act of the film works quickly to establish a connection between the two, with the breezy pacing typical to 80’s horror, swiftly moving through the initial phases of courtship. As they work together, we see that Brundle fills the caricature of the unsocialized physicist, with only the company of his two baboons and a closet full of identical outfits. After a failed attempt to teleport to one of the baboons, Brundle himself admits that his invention cannot move living specimens because it lacks a fundamental understanding of the flesh. He too, admits that he similarly lacks this understanding, and proposes that he must learn himself in order to complete his machine. It’s a somewhat corny yet endearing metaphor to signify how Brundle is able to achieve his eureka moment by building a relationship with Veronica. Seth and Veronica share a simultaneous scientific and emotional breakthrough, as Brundle is successful in his next attempt at teleporting a living specimen. As the two celebrate this miraculous discovery, Veronica suggests that they take off on a vacation together. Brundle meets this reaction with surprise, as the once professional relationship has now fully transformed into a romantic affair. He is elated at this realization, at once filled with energy and excitement for both the success of his life’s work and his newfound love. The film’s rapid pacing does not allow the romance to persist for long, however; just as the two begin to celebrate, the story begins to veer towards tragedy. Veronica has been harassed by a creepy former lover, (and current editor), who threatens to publish Brundle’s story against her will. In an effort to stop him, she hastily leaves Seth’s apartment just as the champagne is uncorked. Seth, now alone with a bottle and Chinese food for two, is distraught that his newfound lover has run off to see another man. It is his drunken paranoia that leads him to brazenly test his teleporter on himself. He does so without truly understanding if his invention is safe, and is too blinded by jealousy to stop himself. This, of course, is when the transformation begins, after Brundle’s DNA is merged with that of a fly. The transformation changes Brundle both physically and mentally, as the awkward, mild mannered Brundle that Veronica originally fell for gives way to a manic, arrogant Brundlefly. From the first kiss they share post-teleportation, Veronica seems hesitant, as if she can tell that something has changed. The changes come swiftly as Brundle’s mutations manifest, as he finds himself with seemingly unlimited strength and stamina. But the same mutations that allow him to perform an Olympic gymnastics display also cause him to speak like a coke-addled maniac as he downs sugar at an alarming rate. Even before his physical mutations manifest, Seth pushes Veronica away with his deranged ramblings. He believes that teleporting himself has unlocked his true potential, but in reality it has changed everything that brought he and Veronica together. Despite his changes, Veronica refuses to abandon Seth. Even as he tries to force her to teleport against her will, she cannot help but worry for her lover. Surging with lust and power, Seth quickly turns from Veronica to find someone who WILL teleport. He picks up a floozy from a local bar that he then attempts to convince to teleport after a night of sex. Even after this betrayal, Veronica shows only concern that Seth is sick and desperately needs help. It’s here that Cronenberg’s use of gore, (now commonly referred to as body horror), is so effective. Seth’s change is gradual at first, with tiny insect like hairs sprouting from his back and pockmarks appearing on his face. As his skin starts to ooze secretions and his fingernails begin to shed, Brundle realizes that something has gone wrong and reaches out to Veronica for help. She returns to a trashed apartment inhabited by a severely mutated Brundle. His skin now oozes with broken pustules, his hair is falling out, and he can only walk with the support of canes. At this point, Brundle is becoming a monster. Despite his ghastly appearance, Veronica stays by his side. She does not respond to his mutated appearance with fear or resentment, instead embracing him in sympathy as he begs for help. She is tearful and terrified for her lover’s safety. Such a tragedy is a tale that can mirror real life romance. Awkward courtship, a deeply romantic honeymoon phase, and a tragic turn, marred both by Brundle’s unflinching commitment to his work that is fueled by hubris. His reason for pushing on to test the machine on himself stemmed from the jealousy he felt, his vulnerable state leading him to make a rash decision. Then, as his work consumed him and his genetic affliction took over, he only pushed his love away, becoming blind to the passion they once had. Veronica, simultaneously, is the scorned lover that cares too deeply to turn away. She is too committed to Seth to abandon him even when he threatens and betrays her. Even as his physical form mutates and decays, she wants only to help him, rather than turning her back on him out of fear or anger. She sees a flawed, scared, desperate man that she loved. Much like the tragedy of Frankenstein or Swamp Thing, Cronenberg has created a monster movie that evokes pathos for its unfortunate characters. He breaks the mold of monster cinema by creating a relationship that is sweet and pure, before quickly destroying it with unfortunate circumstance. Though Seth’s human-fly hybrid monster is grotesque and unsightly, he demonstrates care for Veronica until the bitter end. He is desperate and afraid, yet realizes that he will eventually lose control and cannot bare the thought of hurting his lover. He struggles against the fly portion of his DNA, the part that schemes to use the teleporter to fuse with Veronica and become more human. As his mutations rapidly progress, he becomes unrecognizable from his human self, yet moments of humanity continue to shine through. This is never more apparent than in the final moments of the film, where after a confrontation with the fully mutated Brundlefly, Veronica stands over what once was her lover with a shotgun. She is emotionally devastated; even as she looks down at the horrific monster crawling to her feet, she cannot bring herself to pull the trigger. She still holds a semblance of love for Brundle, and is too distraught to finish him off. In his final show of humanity, it’s Brundle that helps Veronica raise the gun to his head and end his misery. The effectiveness of Seth and Veronica’s love story is what makes these final moments so resonant, as the film’s finale allows the viewer to become fully empathetic to the lovers’ tragedy. Their fleeting but sweet romance is destroyed almost as soon as it began; yet the pair never gives up on each other. Cronenberg has created a pitiful monster with the Brundlefly, one that despite becoming completely grotesque still evokes some amount of sympathy rather than fear or disgust. Jack Kolodziejski Jack makes drugs for a living, but not necessarily the fun kind. He enjoys international travel and discussing music, movies, and games in excruciating detail. #JackKolodziejski #Newsletter #TheFly #Brundlefly #Review #JeffGoldblum #GeenaDavis

(Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Lobster.) Movies can be fairly easy to categorize and label. Writers and directors in the movie biz often stay warm and cozy in their lucrative little genre homes. Quentin Tarantino has a pulpy, revenge story mansion, JJ Abrams has a few old sci-fi homes that he’s flipped using lens flare and M. Night Shyamalan owns a little horror cabin that constantly drips "twists" from its ceiling into a little bucket. Though these creators are masters of their genres, (and even stray outside of them from time to time), we as audience members perpetuate the constant categorization of this visual medium. Filmmakers may set out to make a genre specific flick, but in most cases they are just creating something and we as the audience try to make sense of it by shoving it into various boxes. Every once in a while there are films that come along that are deep and complex, taking from multiple genres that cannot necessarily be put into just one box. Usually for those we label the flick as a “drama” and throw an Oscar at it. In the case of a little darling called The Lobster, this is a film that maybe fits into many genre boxes, as well as none of them at all. The Lobster, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, is a story that follows the newly single David, played by Colin Farrell, as he is sent to a hotel where if you don’t find a suitable mate by the end of your forty-five day stay, you are turned into an animal of your choosing. The film’s world is a strange future or side step from our own. The way characters speak to each other is dry and monotone, devoid of exclamations or emotion. They usually state exactly how they feel, not having the luxury of being coy. These characters are not self-aware. No one questions the strange logic of, “Well, if you can’t fall in love you should probably be a horse or something.” They all appear to understand this consequence as a necessary evil, regardless of some character’s rejection of the hotel and its practices. Value isn’t something that can be achieved by the individual; instead you are only deemed fit for society once you are coupled with another person. The film has a cruel caste system of only two classes: humans and animals. Humanity isn’t something you’re entitled to, and the most humane way to deal with those who can’t be rehabilitated from bachelor life is to turn them into animals. One of the many genres attached to this film is that of a “dystopia.” Though the film never indicates any big fallout of the previous society or explanation of how things became the way they are, the film’s IMDB page states the synopsis as, “In a dystopian near future…” However, there are references to our actual world. On the eve of a character’s last day in the hotel, she is asked what she’d like to do, and she responds, “I want to watch the movie Stand by Me.” Her logic being that she won’t be able to watch it as an animal. The ingredients of your sci-fi dystopia are all there. Scenes in the world’s major city, only ominously referred to as The City, feature a police force whose sole purpose is to find single citizens and ask if they have their relationship status papers. In the beginning of the film we see David being screened before getting sent to The Hotel. They ask him questions like: how long was his last relationship, clothing size and sexual preference. In this scene, we learn there are no half steps. David asks if they have his shoe size in a half size, or if he could choose a bisexual option before getting sent to the hotel, and we learn that he cannot; he must make choices and choose binaries. Clearly there is some kind of regime in this film. And what kind of dystopia would it be if we didn’t have a rebel sect? The Loners, escapees from The Hotel who live in the woods, are the other major “faction” in this film. Hotel guests are forced to hunt these Loners with tranquilizer rifles, and for every Loner they catch, they earn an extra day’s stay at The Hotel. David eventually defects to The Loners, only to learn that love is simply not allowed within their little community. These characters are also dry and emotionless. They just don’t want to be turned into animals and this is literally their only other choice. The Loner’s leader, played by Lea Seydoux, seeks to not only exist outside of The Hotel, but to also play devil’s advocate to its philosophy. In the later portion of the film The Loners go on a mission to break up the various couples in The Hotel, either by revealing their harsh personal truths, or making them prove that one could live without their spouse. The world of The Lobster can be viewed as a dystopian binary where love doesn’t exist. Coupling is made efficient by the world’s regime, and those who reject that regime choose to live without coupling all together. There is no room for love or emotion in this world. Though this film can be viewed as a dystopian film, its Wikipedia summary adds an extra word to the synopsis that most accurately describes the film; the website refers to it as “an absurdist dystopia.” Absurdism is a philosophical school of thought that began to come into existence in Post-World War II Europe. Absurdism states that humanity’s inherent search for meaning is useless; there is too much unknown, making any sense of certainty impossible. This school of thought also permeated the world of theatre during the same time, and is simply referred to as, “Theatre of the Absurd.” In 1960, Martin Esslin coined, “Theatre of the Absurd” in his essay of the same name. This term was a designation for a series of plays written in the 1950’s that were considered Absurdist fiction. The authors of some of these plays are Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco. Their plays feature characters with no backgrounds, and dialogue that appears broken, often not achieving complete coherency. The plays are impossible to predict because they have no concrete destination. You are left with a sense of disorientation, watching a world that doesn’t make sense through the lens of characters that have no meaning. This is Theatre of the Absurd. Esslin states in his essay: “The dissolution, devaluation, and relativization of language is, after all, also the theme of much of present-day depth psychology, which has shown what in former times was regarded as a rational expression of logically arrived at conclusions to be the mere rationalization of subconscious emotional impulses. Not everything that we say means what we intend it to mean.” Absurdism deems language as a tool no longer able to actually express meaning. As much as Theatre of the Absurd is about the devaluation of language, The Lobster seems to be about the devaluation of love. The film may be able to fit into another box: a love story. When characters are sent to The Hotel, the phrase “love” or “romance” doesn’t seem to be in any of the character’s vocabulary. They are instead replaced with words like “match.” During the film’s latter half, David falls for a woman in The Loner group, who is only referred to as “The Short Sighted Woman,” played by Rachel Weisz. Both she and David are short sighted, which becomes the groundwork for their love. They are the first and only characters that have any chemistry in the film. When The Loner leader catches wind of their love, she blinds The Short Sighted Woman, trying perhaps to challenge David’s love for her, or to eliminate it all together. The film ends with David leaving The Short Sighted Woman at a table in a diner to go blind himself, hopefully reestablishing their connection. The last scene of the movie we see is David never returning to the table. The Lobster is trying to say something about the way we love one another, the way we seek relationships. Love is a devalued idea in the world of this movie, if it even exists at all. At The Hotel, people are shoved into dances and romantic situations like cattle. They seek to find their mate as a survival tactic, not because they actually like the person. We view romance like puppets pantomiming the act of being in love. Even when we witness characters whom might actually love each other, (no matter what the status of their eyesight), that proves to be false. Perhaps the film is trying to tell us that love is an absurd notion all in and of itself. People search for love as much as they search for the meaning of life, and if we use the absurdist definition in the same way, then the search for love is quite the fruitless endeavor. Albert Camus, a founding father of absurdist philosophy, wrote about a figure in Greek mythology known as Sisyphus. Sisyphus is doomed to roll a boulder up a hill for eternity, just for the boulder to keep rolling back down the hill. He is trapped in a loop. Camus states, “The struggle itself […] is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus to be happy.” Is The Lobster saying that love is a boulder we constantly attempt to push up a hill? Do we as humans get the same fulfillment searching for love rather than actually finding it? To that point, is love even real at all? The film functions on many levels, and this is only one interpretation. It is indeed one part dystopia, one part absurd-drama. Another quote from Esslin’s article speaks to the audience of Absurdist Theatre: “The spectators of the Theatre of the Absurd are thus confronted with a grotesquely heightened picture of their own world: A world without faith, meaning and genuine freedom of will.” This statement rings true with how we, the audience, watch The Lobster; we are given a heightened world where the characters fight for their own agency, but even they themselves don’t fully grasp the concept. I don’t fully buy into the absurdist philosophy. I see Theatre of the Absurd and The Lobster as warnings of what our lives could become: cold and meaningless. I think it’s an admiral endeavor to search for meaning and love. So, try to live a little more like Sisyphus, because you just might actually get that boulder to the top of something. Robert Anderson Robert has a degree in Screenwriting and Playwriting and works in multiple genres. He's just your typical man-child who enjoys most things nerd culture. You can follow him on Twitter @RoBaeBae #RobertAnderson #Review #TheLobster #Newsletter

Mike and Stamper discuss the underrated/overrated modern romantic classic from Nick Cassevettes. They also discover they are both obsessed with James Marsden in slightly unhealthy ways. #Overdrinkers #TheNotebook #KatelynStamper #MikeBurdge #BabyGoose

With our 2nd SHH event happening this weekend, what better time to share with you exactly what the hell goes down at one of these events! But first a little backstory: over the past two years, Story Screen has worked as a pop-up exhibitor, showing several films at our secret outdoor location in Beacon, including: First Blood, Predator, Legend and even an Evil Dead 2/Army of Darkness double-feature, all utilizing local businesses and friends to create our Beacon Backyard BBQ Bash series. Live DJ’s and tasty burgers, as well as kegs donated by local bars and restaurants kept us going all night at these events until the bonfires died down. We want to build off these successful outdoor occasions and start incorporating local businesses from Beacon with unique spaces, molding them to create different atmospheres. We want to take the film experience off the screen, surrounding everyone in the audience with the movie itself - whether through props, staging, food, drink and a host of other special surprises - throughout the entire evening’s screening. So we created SHH (Something’s Happening Here), the special exhibition arm of Story Screen. Our staff has been working hard to make sure our guests get the very best experience out of each and every SHH event. The lovely people at Denning’s Point Distillery joined our family, as we turned their once-car-garage-now-liquor-distillery into the warehouse from Reservoir Dogs, complete with bloody aftermath. We created the setting of the film’s location AFTER the events of the film had occurred, showing the warehouse, as it would now be considered a crime scene. Harry’s Hot Sandwiches delivered fast food style burgers and fries for our 50+ audience members, and More Good supplied us with all the delicious craft syrup sodas we could ask for. And of course, delicious brews and cocktails from Denning’s Point never went out of style the whole night, as we projected the Quentin Tarantino classic directly onto the white brick wall of the warehouse. Afterward the film finished, we raffled-off gifts, such as: unique posters designed by local artists just for the event, as well as vinyl records, books, movies and other fun surprises. Everyone walked away happy though, as each and every guest was awarded a Story Screen Playbill, complete with an article written by Story Screen Writer, Robert Anderson (which you can read here), as well as a pair of black sunglasses and a Story Screen keychain made by FabHaus, connected to a black, 3-D printed ear, made especially for us by our friends at Hatch Abstraction. It was a monumental night. Our next screening will turn Oak Vino Wine Bar into a speakeasy for our presentation of Casablanca. Our guests will be treated to amazing wine, live music, delicious food and treats, as well as gifts and several surprises throughout the night. For more information on that screening, check out Casablanca SHH Event Page. Tickets are going fast! Included below are some photos taken by our very own Jordan Roque, throughout the night at our Reservoir Dogs screening, where you can see just how crazy cool the evening really was. We hope to catch you at any of our upcoming screenings in and around Beacon, NY in the upcoming months. So to make sure you never miss out on a Story Screen event, sign up for our Newsletter (you can do so at the bottom of this page!) Thanks again! -The Story Screen Family #Articles #Newsletter #ReservoirDogs #SHH #RobertAnderson #HarrysHotSandwiches #DenningsPoint #MoreGood #JordanRoque

Podcasting heads Jack and Robert take on Mr. Diesel's franchise return in their first Hot Take! Give it a listen, ya badass! #Podcasts #JackKolodziejski #RobertAnderson #xXx #VinDiesel #SoBadass #HotTakes

It's our first podcast! Rejoice! Starting things off, Jack, Robert, Bernadette and Mike tackle their favorite films of 2016 - from Deadpool to Moonlight or Rogue One to The Lobster - in this special two part episode of: Story Screen Presents. Each guest selected three films that really stuck with them throughout the year, and the table discusses each film, roundtable style, allowing tangents to lead where they may. Someone even brings up Daredevil. (No, not that one. The OTHER one). Be on the lookout for more podcasts coming to this site in the coming months, as we reveal several series that will continue to scratch those audio needs of you film lovers out there. Listen below and be sure to subscribe to our Soundcloud channel so you never miss our voices. #2016 #RobertAnderson #JackKolodziejski #BernadetteGorman #MikeBurdge #Newsletter #Podcasts #StoryScreenPresents

I love “Top Lists.” It may be the opposite of what most film critics and film lovers will say - demeaning the value of some truly great works in vain of others, based entirely on personal opinion, experience and knowledge - just to get to write a little more about the films that made life worth everything over the past year. Yeah, I love that. However, like the act of watching movies itself, it’s hard to know when to stop making your list. I normally never stay at Top 5’s or Top 10’s, but since there’s a 16 in the name, there ya go. “Well, why not a 20??” you may ask then? Don’t push it. I will say this for 2016: most people seemed to not like it. I didn’t like it too much, but I have to admit I personally have had a great year. I’ve built, I’ve loved, I’ve gained a new family in my friends here at Story Screen, and I’m just getting started. WE'RE just getting started. Of course, obvious things made the year quite rough, but if you were a cinephile, 2016 was a damn good year for movies. Almost too good. There are tons of movies that did not make this list that are very much worth your time. You can find a list of those at the bottom of this article. I hope you enjoy them just as much as I did, maybe even a bit more. And of course, if something isn’t on the list and you JUST CAN’T BELIEVE IT, please let me know about it in the comments section so I can watch it, ya big jerk! Unless it’s Batman v Superman. Then I judge you and I judge your motivations. 16. Kubo and the Two Strings Everything you can look for in a good ol’ adventure kid’s movie is firmly on display in Kubo. A big movie came out recently that started getting people saying, “They don’t make ‘em like that anymore!” That’s true for Kubo. A fun kid’s movie with deep themes and heart-pounding action, a mythology that feels real, and a lesson in love and confidence that everyone can benefit from. I cannot wait to watch this movie again and again and again. 15. Tickled Probably one of my most anticipated movies of 2016 was the rumored “Competitive Endurance Tickling Documentary,” a lot of my peers were talking about. No one seemed to know if it was real or fake or a combination of the two? But I’m here to tell you it is 100% real, and crazy and silly and hilarious and haunting and dark and twisted and fucking brilliant. A breadcrumb following nail biter that deepens tension with such surgical precision it’s hard to remember that this is all actually happening. It just may also have one of the greatest final scenes in a documentary ever. Watch it. 14. Hush In a great year for movies, no genre was represented more in terms of quality and originality than Horror, and Hush takes one of the most played out sub-genres, the home invasion, and creates a dazzling new experience by following the rules when it should, and breaking the rules when it can. Unfortunately, like another horror film higher on my list, it’s hard for me to talk about anything pertaining to Hush without giving away the very thing that makes it so special and engaging: what the hell is going to happen next? So I will leave you with simply this: in a genre that is filled to the brim with disposable, stupid victims, Hush transcends cliché by making every single character - from our victims to our hero to our villain - fully capable and competent people, and that just makes it all the scarier for all the right reasons. 13. Krisha Dario Argento would be proud. If you know what that means, you don’t need to read anymore of this. Go watch the damn movie, you sicko. But for the rest of you out there, Krisha is a reality-bending gem that is as hard to watch as it is deeply missed when it ends. Using members of his real family, newcomer director Trey Edward Shults, (awesome name, dude), paints the portrait of an uncomfortable family Thanksgiving and the dark things we carry that we wish we could just leave in the past if it wasn’t for their cruel, tight grip around our necks. It is a rollercoaster of emotion and a masterpiece of filmmaking. I am very excited to see what else Shults has up his sleeve. 12. In a Valley of a Violence An absolute treat of a surprise, this flick knows what the fuck it is doing. As an homage piece to the older styles of filmmaking of the spaghetti westerns, it works. As a 21st century revenge-western, it works. As a John Travolta movie, surprise, it works. With a very small cast of recognizables, the film walks at its own pace, never falling into the trappings of most homage attempts, and coming out looking like a thief. Director Ti West shakes off the horror tropes (mostly) for a beautiful, innocent good ol’ violent romp through the deserts of the Old West, and delivers one of the most fun times I’ve had watching a movie this year. 11. Joshy While not a perfect film, Joshy executes what it sets out to do perfectly. With an insanely misleading ad campaign that makes it look like The League: The Movie (ouch), Joshy is one of the most touching films and by far the funniest on this list. The actors are all charming, the story is basic enough and the quality in which it was made mirrors the tenacity of its characters. For anyone who hurts, this movie would like to buy you a beer. 10. Hunt for the Wilderpeople Complain all you want about having to wait for another Edgar Wright movie. We’re all chillin’ over here with Taika Waititi and having a blast. A movie that is overflowing with comedy, drama and heart, it is a genuine marvel to watch the balancing act both the director and the actors are performing right before your eyes. It is beautiful and fun and loving. It is majestical. 9. High-Rise High-Rise is definitely not for everyone. But it should be. With breathtaking designs and phenomenal performances, not to mention a near-perfect score, the film can seem like an endurance test at times, and that adds to the tension and confusion it breeds. A look at the dangers of too much comfort, from an era that was defined by the modernization of convenience, High-Rise is one of those movies you’ll either love or hate, but you’ll think about regardless for a long, long time. And trust me, it’s going to be considered a neo-classic in twenty years, just like 2013’s Snowpiercer. 8. The Fits The story and themes at the heart of this movie are enough to entertain, but it is the sheer confidence on display from first time director Anna Rose Holmer that is the highlight of this wild ride, at times heartwarming and encouraging, and other times terrifying to an almost otherworldly level. There is a true artist at play behind every shot of the film, behind every spoken word and beyond every cut. Isolation is the name of the game when you’re a young teenaged girl, and The Fits demonstrates that terror and anxiety with a naturalistic craft that will shock you with its believability. 7. The Lobster The philosophy of love and relationships. The selfish need we all have, but can never properly speak about. The deception that togetherness is better, that loneliness is failing and that everyone is keeping score. The unavoidable feeling that love, by its very natural purpose, will always be artificial. The Lobster has a lot it wants to discuss with you, and fortunately for you, it’s got tons of laughs and heartbreak to mix things up a bit. Somebody give Rachel Weisz a high-five for me, please? 6. Green Room Green Room is a miserable movie. It’s angry and violent. I’m fairly certain it has a drinking problem. And it definitely wouldn’t like your punk-ass if you ever met. As far as crowd-pleasing movies go this year, Green Room takes the Alt-Right cake. A healthy follow-up to the directors previous go, Blue Ruin, the film is a 101 lesson in constructing and deconstructing tension with relief and terror. While more of a thriller than a horror, you can still bet your bottoms that after watching Green Room you won’t be looking at a machete the same way anytime soon. 5. Blue Jay Ho, boy. What a movie. Blue Jay is magic. The style in which the filmmakers chose to approach telling this tale of two old lovers reconnecting over the course of a single night is a controversial one. The mumblecore black and white small movies of the early 2000’s are gone, and for good reason. Many of them didn’t have the longevity needed to transcend the ironies of the time they took place. Many of the film’s own condescension becomes laughable when removed from the immediate now. (Just look at Garden State. LOOK AT IT!) But Blue Jay effortlessly rises above it all and tells the story of a type of connection each and every one of us has felt and know deeply, not because we learned it once but because we continue to learn it everyday. 4. La La Land I’m a huge sucker for musicals. I fall for them. And this movie is excitingly not disappointing. There is so much at play, and the film successfully juggles many, many different ideas and themes and general reasons for it to exist. Is it a musical? Is it an homage? Is it a critique of modern love? Is it a pep talk to the ones out there who dare to follow their dreams? Is that pep talk a positive or negative one? The outlandish idea that you could make a musical in 2016 that had the secret to enjoying the movie engrained within the dialogue and themes and make it successful? Especially when the secret to its success and your enjoyment of it is to let go of your cynicism and join them in a fantasy that worships hope and joy and creativity? It’s an insane undertaking. Now, before you get all riled up, I’m not saying that if you didn’t enjoy La La Land that makes you overly cynical. I’m saying that being overly cynical is probably why most people won’t. Which is sad because it really is such a joyful film, filled with charm and love and a level of devotion that is normally not seen in film these days. And that is not going overlooked, as the film continues to make a mess of what we think musicals can be. 3. Moonlight Across the board, Moonlight is a triumph. While many movies on my list this year touched me, nothing had the impact of the third act of Moonlight. It is so sweet and so vulnerable, as if you could actually unknowingly hurt it as a viewer at any time. The attention to visuals of loneliness and the hard realizations we need to accept and instill in others isn’t just breathtaking, it’s like being stuck underwater. When people talk about certain films as experiences, they are talking about movies like Moonlight. It is a deeply human coming-of-age story that has never been told, and is now available to help heal the world, one screen at a time. 2. The Invitation It’s quite ironic that The Invitation would center around a dinner party, as the process in which it slowly reveals information, either lifesaving or deadly, works a lot like the courses of a meal. It’s very enjoyable and misleadingly straightforward, and it’s right up there with Green Room on two fronts: expert level tension building, and crowd-pleasing goodness. This is a movie that will shut your friends up. And, like Hush, it’s very difficult to discuss what I love about the film without ruining the whole thing for you. The characters feel real; their relationships seem honest and lived-in, and John Carroll Lynch is still the scariest looking motherfucker in the world, and this movie knows that’s how we feel. If a film is like a dance partner to its audience, The Invitation takes the lead immediately and you won’t even realize you’ve stopped spinning until long after the music has faded. 1. Swiss Army Man Not often do you come across a film like Swiss Army Man. It’s one of those experiences that sticks with you, from the first time it grabs you, to all the times you may revisit it for the rest of your life, either in memory or reviewing. The film functions on so many levels it's hard to know where to start, or whether some are even worth discussing. Like the obstacles our two heroes face, the metaphors and themes within this film force us to examine what it means to be a human being, and to hopefully overcome these truths, changed for the better. It’s become a staple of mine. I quote it often. I whistle the music. Swiss Army Man is an instant classic, timeless and preserved, and people will be enjoying it just as much as I do, long after I’ve become a farting corpse myself. Honorable Mentions (seriously, what a year!!): The Neon Demon, The Nice Guys, Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, The VVitch, Captain America: Civil War, Frank and Lola, Manchester By the Sea, Zootopia, Elvis and Nixon, The Shallows, De Palma, Café Society, Don’t Think Twice, Hail, Caesar!, Blair Witch, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Hell or High Water and I Am Not A Serial Killer. Mike Burdge Founder of and programmer for Story Screen. Lover of stories and pizza in the dark. When he isn't watching movies, you can find him reading things about people watching movies. He lives in Beacon, NY with his cat who is named after Kevin Bacon's character from Friday the 13th. #2016 #Newsletter #Articles #MikeBurdge #Top16

2016 was a polarizing year for many film fans, and I’ve witnessed a lot of negativity and scorn surrounding certain films. Some justifiably, like Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad, and others less deservedly, like Rogue One. I’ve been getting real sick and tired of all this negative movie talk, so here on Story Screen, let’s get positive and talk about my ten favorite movies of the year. I wouldn’t call this list the “best” films of the year, on a technical level. These are the films that affected me the most, both on a technical and emotional level, whether it would be making me belly laugh to the point where I’d be on the floor, tense up in my seat to the point where I’m chewing the skin off my fingers in anxiety, or leaving me teary-eyed and somber. Either way, these are the ten films that stuck with me the most this year, and will continue to do so for years to come. 10. Zootopia Non-Pixar Disney films, while they are technically impressive and a good time, never really stick with me besides humming a song or two from the soundtrack on occasion. Zootopia, however, really impressed me because it was a Disney film that had a genuine opinion and took a stance on a real issue. Big studios like to play it safe, and they don’t like to risk alienating audiences, so you don’t generally see such entertainment juggernauts tackling sensitive subjects like racism, profiling, gentrification, and general discrimination often, if at all. Zootopia offers a reflection on the ugly aspects of how we treat our fellow human beings through the lens of anthropomorphic zoo animals. It’s not the subtlest of social commentaries, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s a lesson worth presenting to all ages. At the same time, Zootopia is a terrifically funny film, offering clever jokes at light speed pace with plenty of likeable and well-realized characters that were easy for me to root for. This is the best animated film Disney has put out in years. 9. 10 Cloverfield Lane Around this time of year, a lot of movie blogs put out lists of their most anticipated films of the coming year. That’s all well and good, but I could never do that, because my most anticipated films are the ones that I don’t expect, like the films that come out of nowhere and blow me the hell away. Films like 10 Cloverfield Lane. It’s a truly claustrophobic rollercoaster of a movie, anchored by a terrifying performance from John Goodman. It’s the kind of performance that keeps you on edge because he’s not immediately a full-blown psycho like Walter in The Big Lebowski. He’s a ticking time bomb, slowly and calmly filling the tiny bomb shelter with suffocating tension. You never feel as though the protagonists are safe at any moment from Goodman’s character, and that tension never lets go in its 90-minute runtime. Hell, I even like the ending! 10 Cloverfield Lane is a promising debut for director Dan Trachtenberg, and I’m excited to see what he does next. 8. The Neon Demon Nicholas Winding Refn certainly tends to get a rise out of people, doesn’t he? Except for Drive, I guess, discussions of his films are usually split one way or another, and there is never a unanimous agreement on whether his films are good or not. When it comes to The Neon Demon, I lean towards the film being awesome. I was hypnotized by the dreamlike atmosphere presented by Cliff Martinez’ haunting score, and Natasha Brier’s colorful cinematography, as well as its use of symbols and visuals to tell its bonkers story of a teenage girl getting in way over her head into a world she doesn’t fully understand, and then descending into hell. It’s not a film for everyone, but it was definitely for me. The film also has a surprisingly awesome and weird performance by Keanu Reeves, so it gets bonus points for that. 7. The Nice Guys If Shane Black could turn the amount of pure style that he puts into his films and convert it into a food source, he’d be able to solve world hunger. This is even more apparent in The Nice Guys, a purely concentrated pulpy noir-comedy set in the backdrop of a nostalgic 1970’s Los Angeles. There’s not as much Christmas as you’d expect in a Shane Black film, but there’s more than plenty of quotable banter between the unlikely duo, convoluted mysteries, unpredictability, and just pure tight direction and execution of scenes. You don’t see zippy mid-budget action comedies like this anymore. If this were to come out in the 90’s, Russell Crowe’s character would be played by Bruce Willis and Ryan Gosling’s would be played by…Woody Harrelson maybe? Anyway, I’m glad Shane Black hasn’t lost his style, because he created one of the funniest and exciting films of the year. 6. Hell or High Water The lesson I get out of these terrific modern day westerns is that “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” You could copy and paste the story of this film and set it in 1856, and I doubt much of Taylor Sheridan’s excellent screenplay would change. However, the film is set in modern day and it feels incredibly relevant. Set in economically desperate small towns of rural Texas, this film shines a light on how the modern day economy has left many small towns in that area desolate and scrambling to get by, and serves as a unique backdrop for our protagonists and antagonists. Speaking of which, what I love about this film is that it smartly doesn’t present the thief protagonists (Chris Pine and Ben Foster), and the State Trooper antagonist as straight good or evil. Both sides have reasonable motivations you can get behind, and no one is really a bad person, so the interpretation of who the protagonists and antagonists really are is up to the viewer. It’s an excellent modern western full of great performances that I would recommend to everyone, and I’m glad it’s getting the award recognition it deserves. 5. The Invitation Now, admittedly, this isn’t one of the best movies that have come out in the past year on a technical level, but goddamn did this movie leave me devastated. Maybe it’s because I empathize with the subject matter; I’ve witnessed something like this happen first hand, but god damn, did it still hit me hard. It was like an emotional flash bang went off next to my ear. It didn’t hit me in a manipulative way, like a Lifetime movie would try to do. It’s superbly effective at grabbing you by the neck in the very beginning of the movie, slowly tightening its grip as it moves along to the point where you can’t breathe, let’s you go at the very end, and then punches you in the gut. It’s bleak, suspenseful, heart wrenching and a terrific film all around. I don’t really want to mention what it’s about because I believe it will be more effective going in blind. It’s on Netflix and it’s absolutely worth giving a watch, and it absolutely deserves a spot in my top 5. 4. Green Room If you’re familiar with the programming of Story Screen, you’ll know this is a film that’s been shown in the past, and you know, it could be shown again and again and again, and I would be all for it. Of all the films that are on this list, Green Room is the movie that I’ve watched the most, and it holds up tremendously with each viewing - from the details in the environment that make it feel alive and genuine, to the subtleties of performances from Sir Patrick Stewart, Macon Blair, and the late Anton Yelchin, as well as the film’s powerful use of violence. This is a film that does so much in such a small setting that it would be criminal not to give Jeremy Saulnier and crew the proper credit they deserve. If you wanna know more about what Green Room does so well, read my brother’s article about it on this very website here. 3. The VVitch This was one of the first movies I remember seeing in the theater in 2016. After walking out as the credits rolled, I knew right then and there that this was going to be a hard movie to top. Holy shit, I could go on and write multiple articles dissecting how much of a miracle this film is. It seems like there’s a lot of A24 films on this list, and that might make it look like I’m biased towards them, but I’m really not. They just happen to fund and produce excellent films! I really have to thank them for taking the chance with first time director Robert Eggers to fund and distribute his film, because he somehow created a horror masterpiece on his first try. What The VVitch gets so right that most horror films get wrong is the consistent sense of paranoia and dread throughout the story. You never know who’s going to turn on who, who’s going to snap first, and if what they’re afraid of is actually real or a product of their hallucinations due to isolation. Much like The Invitation, it grabs you by the throat at the beginning of the film and doesn’t let go until it ends. What sets it above The Invitation, is its high quality of acting across the board, especially from child actors Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, and Lucas Dawson, as well as its authentic 1630’s New England setting, delivering an eerie and paranoid tone. People have complained that horror has gone downhill in recent years. To that, I say: watch The VVitch; it is probably the best horror film released since The Shining. 2. Arrival I firmly believe Denis Villeneuve is one of the best new filmmakers of the 21st century. Every film he’s directed (Incendies, Prisoners, Enemy, Sicario) has blown my mind in one way or another, and Arrival is no exception. Take a premise that’s as old as filmmaking itself: Aliens visiting Earth, and mix it with a haunting, poetic, and beautiful story about the potential of humanity, and what it can accomplish when it works together to achieve a common goal. Arrival gave me a new outlook on communication and language, what it means to communicate with one another, how we do it, WHY we do it, and it accomplished telling its story with grace and maturity. Its cerebral ideas kept me up at night, while its emotional core – anchored by the layered performances of Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, as well as a chilling score by Johann Johannson – kept me invested and moved by the characters and their actions. Not many films have accomplished both of those at the same time, not even 2001: A Space Odyssey, in my opinion. I recommend Arrival to anyone and everyone. It’s a beautiful film that I’m sure will be referred to as a Science Fiction classic for years to come. 1. Swiss Army Man I’ve never seen anything quite like Swiss Army Man. While the rest of my Top 10 are tremendous films in their own right, they also fit into their respective genres. The VVitch is a terrific horror film, Arrival is a terrific Sci-Fi drama, The Nice Guys is a terrific Action Comedy, etc. But where should I put Swiss Army Man? Is it a Comedy? Is it Fantasy? Is it a Surrealist film? Is it a Musical? It’s all those genres and best of all, it’s completely original. I’m not giving it high praises just because it’s original, however. I’m giving it high praises because it affected me in so many ways. It made me think about what it means to be alive, and what you can do with your short amount of time on this earth, even if that means just making an impact on one other human being’s life. It brought up excellent points about what it means to be “weird” and strange. Why does society demonize those that just want to be different? Why does being “weird” have to be such a bad thing in the eyes of others? Why can’t we just embrace new ideas? Why does society make you feel so alone for being different? These are all aspects of my own life that I’ve struggled with since I was a little kid obsessed with shows, movies, and other offbeat shit that my peers were perplexed by, and Swiss Army Man emulates those feelings through Hank and Manny so goddamn perfectly. Swiss Army Man made me laugh hysterically, tear up either through joy or sadness, and feel genuine excitement with what was going to happen next. I didn’t want Hank and Manny’s journey to end. Sure, it’s a bit (okay, a lot) different to a lot of people’s sensibilities when it comes to movies, but isn’t that exactly what movies are about? Taking a creative vision and applying it through visuals and sound to create a story? Why can’t a film be about a farting corpse? What rules say that can’t work? In Swiss Army Man’s case, it works perfectly, and it is my favorite film of 2016. If you want to read more about this wonderful film, please read Mike Burdge’s article from a couple months back here. Jeremy Kolodziejski Jeremy is younger than he looks, and has passionately studied the art and craft of filmmaking for as long as he can remember. He is currently a freelance wedding videographer, and is also heavily involved in Competitive Fighting Games. IG: jeremyko95 #JeremyKolodziejski #Newsletter #Articles #Top10 #2016

2016 was rough. It knocked me down more times than I would like to remember. And in times of strife, I often go to the movies. The films of 2016 helped me deal. While some allowed me to escape, others reminded me of my own sadness and allowed me to cope (or not), along with the movie’s main characters. There are common themes between the movies in my “Top Ten” for 2016: grief, loneliness, friendship, love, hope and “growing up.” But while these quantifiers of the human experience prevail, there are also the films of 2016 that were just plain terrifying. Here we go: 10. The VVitch Part of what makes Robert Eggers’ The VVitch so scary is its isolation. A family shunned from society, living on the outskirts of a desolate wilderness in Puritan times is terrifying enough. Now add baby snatching and a goat named Black Phillip. Anya Taylor-Joy shines as Thomasin, the daughter accused of witchcraft. 9. The Lobster I am including The Lobster, in my group of “just plain terrifying” films of 2016. With an amazing cast – John C. Reilly and Ben Whishaw are both painfully hilarious – the film starts out with an extremely dry sense of humor, but by the its end, you are destroyed by the potential fates of main characters played by Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz. 8. Kubo and the Two Strings Laika Animation’s latest is a dark tale. Kubo, a one-eyed Japanese boy, takes care of his ailing mother, who occasionally shows signs of her former self while retelling stories of his father, a great warrior. There is a palpable loneliness and earnest dedication to the character of Kubo, watching his mother grasp at her fading memories. To raise money he busks in the local village, but his mother warns that must return home before nightfall or else his grandfather, the Moon King, (along with Kubo’s terrifying twin Aunts) will return for his other eye. The stop-motion animation in Kubo is amazing, demonstrated when its title character, playing a guitar-like shamisen, brings origami to life. The musical score by Dario Marianelli is complex and beautiful, and features Regina Spektor’s cover of the Beatles, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” 7. Joshy Based on the trailer alone, Joshy looks like a hysterical film about a friends weekend of drinking and debauchery. It features a great ensemble cast, including: Nick Kroll, Jenny Slate and Thomas Middleditch, as Joshy. The actual movie is way more sobering, as Josh’s friends try to help him forget the circumstances that ended his recent wedding engagement. His two friends, played by Adam Pally and Alex Ross Perry, do a pretty terrific job of stealing the show. But it is Middleditch as Joshy, who really delivers, with his best performance since All’s Fair. 6. Don’t Think Twice I’m a huge Mike Birbiglia fan. More so than hilarious at standup, Birbiglia is an excellent storyteller. His previous film, Sleepwalk With Me really lent itself to his first person narration. In Don’t Think Twice, he takes control as solo director, in this film about an Improv group. While the movie focuses primarily on the stories of Samantha (Gillian Jacobs) and Jack (Keegan-Michael Key), the rest of the troupe each has their own plight, struggling to make it big, or “grow up” and realize different goals. 5. Manchester By the Sea This film is sad, but not over the top, dramatic; it’s real life sad. This is best displayed by Casey Affleck’s understated performance as main character, Lee Chandler. Asked to take care of his nephew, Patrick (in a standout performance by Lucas Hedges), after his brother dies, Lee must return to his old hometown to handle funeral arrangements and deal with his past. Affleck plays Lee as a shell of a man. We see fragments of his former self told through flashbacks, spliced throughout the story without warning. As we glean more and more information, we are finally confronted with why Lee is the way he is. But despite the intense sorrow, the film is peppered with scenes of hilarity and everyday normalcy, as Lee spends time with Patrick, a boy with, “two girlfriends and a band.” The scenes between Lee and Patrick are some of my favorite in the movie. And although the characters in Manchester are never totally healed, we see progress, and recognition of the fact that everything may not be okay. 4. Hunt for the Wilderpeople I love director Taika Waititi. Do yourself a favor and start watching all his films: Boy, What We Do in the Shadows, and now, Hunt for the Wilderpeople. With a larger budget, Waititi shoots in his native New Zealand, showing off amazing scenery, an awesome soundtrack and legendary Sam Neill, as Hec, the crotchety, adopted “uncle” to Julian Dennison’s Ricky Baker. A city kid wanted by Child Protective Services, Ricky flees to the New Zealand bush and quickly realizes he can’t make it on his own. Hec finds him and adventure ensues. This movie made me laugh out loud the most times of anything I saw in the theater in 2016. Like I said before, do yourself a favor. 3. Moonlight Moonlight is intense. As it chronicles the life of Chiron, we witness three different actors portray him at various points in his life. Chiron is often silent and thoughtful, allowing more to be said by a glance than a whole string of dialogue. Although he is only in the early part of the film, Mahershala Ali is amazing as the drug dealing father figure to Little, (the youngest version of Chiron), whose own mother, (played by an equally excellent Naomie Harris), is an addict. Little knows he is different. As he ages, we see teenage Chiron come to the realization that he is gay through an encounter with a friend he has known since childhood. In that moment, we feel as Chiron feels: not alone. What happens next shapes the portrayal of adult Chiron (now known as Black). The tenderness and longing we see in each incarnation of the same character as he struggles to grow up and find his place in the world is devastating. 2. La La Land A good musical stays with you days after you see it. Humming songs you don’t yet know all the words to, or tapping your fingers to their rhythms. After seeing La La Land a second time, its original songs have become fairly cemented in my mind. Damien Chazelle builds off his previous film, Whiplash, and uses jazz as a way to translate love and hope. He does his best to recreate the fabulous movie musicals of the golden age of Hollywood, down to their long takes and color palette. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are neither professional dancers nor singers, but their performances are earnest and heartfelt, as lovers who push each other to realize their dreams and be their best selves. But the music is what ties it all together, haunting you long after the film is over, and dang, composer Justin Hurwitz does the job. 1. Swiss Army Man Paul Dano plays Hank, a lonely man on the verge of suicide, and Daniel Radcliffe is Manny, the farting corpse that saves his life. This movie starts out as one big fart joke but the Daniels, (directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert); create a beautiful, deeply affecting movie. The soundtrack, which incorporates singing and sound effects made by its two main characters, adds to the epic experience of this film. It’s no surprise that the Daniels have a background in creating music videos when you watch sequences like the one during the song, “Montage.” The film tackles the message that love is possible when you can be yourself, and that you’re finally able to be your most honest self when you are loved. Daniel Radcliffe was quoted in an interview as saying, “We lure them in with farts and then we attack them with heart!” A truer statement could not be made. Diana DiMuro Besides watching movies, Diana likes the great outdoors, drawing and reading comics, and just generally rocking out. She has a BA in English Literature and is an art school drop out. IG: @dldimuro #Articles #Newsletter #2016 #Top10 #DianaDiMuro

Let's talk about what a “Top 5” list means: first, the distinction between “best” and “favorite” is very important. There is no perfect movie. There are movies that venture close, but none can truly be perfect by nature; they are art and art is subject to opinion. Now let’s talk about “favorite.” The reasons why I choose to like, love, hate or despise a movie is complicated, and most likely derives from deep-seeded complications with my childhood or love life. What I’m trying to say is: these are some of my favorite cinematic experiences of this year. Everyone likes a movie for different reasons, and you’re all entitled to your opinion. Unless you think Batman v Superman was a good movie, in which case I am judging you and think you are an insane person. Alright, let's get into it… Honorable Mention: The Jungle Book The 1967 cartoon version of The Jungle Book was never my childhood favorite. I watched it like everyone else did growing up, but young little BaeBae was more about The Lion King and Aladdin. After seeing director Jon Favreau’s interpretation of the story, this has become one of my favorite Disney movies. Idris Elba’s Shere Khan is one of the best on-screen villains I’ve ever seen. All of the characters, excluding Mowgli, are digitally created, and the quality of their design is unprecedented. The Jungle Book is a movie that grabs you from the very beginning and doesn’t let go until the credits. This movie gives me faith in Disney’s live-action reimagining of Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King in years to come. 5. Don’t Think Twice For full disclosure: one of my many passions in life is Improv Comedy. I’ve been taking classes at Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) for the past year and have fallen in love with the art form that encourages being a dingus on stage. Don’t Think Twice boasts a great cast of UCB alums and is a painfully accurate portrayal of what this comedy culture is like. It’s both a very accessible movie, for newcomers to the art of Improv, and a movie for people like me, an aspiring improviser. 4. Arrival Arrival’s execution is immaculate. The plot is huge. First alien contact is a tried and true trope, but its scope is narrow; we experience the entire story through Louise Banks’ (Amy Adams) point of view. The film is all about communication and language. There’s no giant space battles here, and that’s why I enjoyed the film so much. It was an intimate sci-fi story. The major “twist” of the film is excellent, and will make you want to view it again and again. 3. Rogue One I feel strange throwing this movie on the list, not because it wasn’t amazing or deserving of its acclaim, but did I love Rogue One, or do I just love Star Wars? Have I become poisoned by its nostalgia? Regardless of my existential crisis on the matter, I really did feel like a ten year-old watching this movie and that’s hard to do. Our benevolent leader here at Story Screen, Mike Burdge, likes to call movies like this “popcorn.” You get what you get and you know what you’re getting even before you get it. It's how you get it that's important. This Star Wars flick had things I’ve always wanted to see in this universe. A side-step in the typical Skywalker family drama that gives us a war film. A dark, brutal war film. 2. Swiss Army Man Swiss Army Man is a movie I’ve always wanted to exist, but never thought would. When I heard the mumblings of a movie featuring Daniel Radcliffe playing a farting corpse, I was smiling from ear to ear at the premise. The movie successfully stays aloof and strange while also grounding the action of the film in real human emotion. It’s a ridiculous notion, to make an audience empathize with a corpse for an hour and half, but that’s exactly what this movie is, ridiculous. 1. The Lobster Though it came out towards the end of 2015 in Ireland, we here in the States didn’t get to see the flick until 2016, so I’m throwing it on the list because: ‘Murica. Yorgos Lanthimos’ absurdist look into the idea of love is one of the most viscerally uncomfortable movies I’ve ever sat through. After viewing the flick, I left feeling like someone tore my heart out and calmly said, “Welp, you’re not gonna need this anymore.” This is exactly why it’s the number one movie on my list. One of the objectives of a film is to elicit emotions from a viewer. The Lobster makes you feel dread, despite being a story about love. Without spoiling the film, I will say that there is a moment of hope for these characters, but even then it is painfully stripped away by the film’s conclusion, leaving you with your jaw to the floor and in need of a hug. Robert Anderson Robert has a degree in Screenwriting and Playwriting and works in multiple genres. He's just your typical man-child who enjoys most things nerd culture. You can follow him on Twitter @RoBaeBae #2016 #Top5 #Articles #Newsletter #RobertAnderson