10th Anniversary TLDR: The Martian (2015)
I'm the greatest botanist on this planet.
Plot: During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
Direction: Everybody loves at least one Ridley Scott movie: Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Prometheus, Thelma & Louise. Hell, maybe you're a big fan of The Counselor. The Martian is mine. He makes movies for everyone and he's still doing it well into his 80s.
Screenplay: Andy Weir's novel can be...taxing. It's obviously clever, both in terms of the science and the humor, but I can't even begin to tell you how many chapters start with, "Well, I'm screwed." It has to be at least a dozen. Reading it in anticipation of my latest rewatch, I thought to myself, "At least the movie will just be the best parts." That's true, Drew Goddard's screenplay does the best of the best, but I actually did find myself missing some stuff from the book.
Performances: Matt Damon is so perfect for the character, I couldn't help but picture him in my head when reading Weir's novel. It's a match-made. As for the rest of the cast, every five minutes they'll introduce another great actor as if the movie isn't stacked enough already: Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Peña, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Mackenzie Davis, Kristen Wiig, and Donald Glover.
Cinematography: Dariusz Wolski is the highest-grossing cinematographer of all time, thanks to his involvement in the Pirates of the Caribbean films and his partnership with Scott since Prometheus. He's got a lot to handle here, but he takes it all on like a true pro. He's not a household name (how many cinematographers are? Could he ever be with the name Dariusz Wolski?), but he's a sneaky great one.
Best Moment: I can't pick. I saw this at a revival screening recently and sat up straight, literally on the edge of my seat, for the last hour.
Fun Fact: The external scenes on Mars were filmed in Jordan because that's what people imagine when they think of Mars, but most sand dunes on Mars are actually black - look it up!
Imaginary Accolade: Best Cinematic Use of David Bowie Music Ever - sorry, Life Aquatic, you really gave them a run for their money.
Everything is too long! Is it too long? I could watch 10 hours of this. I wasn't the biggest fan of the book, but they had to cut a lot of good stuff!
Rating: This pretty much sums it up.
Credit: Plot synopsis from Letterboxd via TMDb.