The Morning News Tournament of Books. Caille Millner: First, I’d like to say how moved I am by the fact that the two finalists, Homegoing and The Underground Railroad, both address American slavery. It shows the importance of that subject’s continuing historical and social importance in this country. But that doesn’t make it an easy subject to write about.

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Search our New Zealand movie database, find what's on near you. Caille Millner: First, I’d like to say how moved I am by the fact that the two finalists, Homegoing and The Underground Railroad, both address American slavery.

The best fiction is laser- focused on the specifics of someone’s humanity; how do you square that imperative with an evil system that was designed to erase the humanity of an entire people? Yaa Gyasi does it in Homegoing by situating individuals in a specific moment and asking readers to fill in the blanks with the grand sweep of history she covers. Colson Whitehead follows a single protagonist, Cora, as she explores the varieties of horror each slave state had to offer. Both are alive with history and remarkable stories, but unfortunately, Cora was thinly drawn, and The Underground Railroad suffers for it. I needed to be fully invested in Cora as my guide through this American house of horrors, but she never quite came alive to me—I couldn’t hear her voice in my mind, or picture her face, or sometimes even understand her motivations for taking action.

Gyasi doesn’t always give each of her characters enough time to fully develop, but she gave each one of them enough individuality to make an impression as living, breathing people locked into a horrific thread of history. My Rooster winner is Homegoing. The Underground Railroad. Homegoing. 01. Aaron Bady: Homegoing is a remarkable first novel, but The Underground Railroad is the kind of book that only an artist at the height of their craft could pull off, merging speculative fancy and the horrible realism of fact in the same, singular imaginative gesture.

It could have gone off the rails at so many places, and yet it never does, not even once. The Underground Railroad. Homegoing. 11. Reyhan Harmanci: I have a coworker who often describes TV and film creators as “world- builders,” a word that seemed laughably LA at first but now just normal, even good, as a description. Yaa Gyasi and Colson Whitehead would certainly count as world- builders.

In constructing sprawling set pieces that offer humor as well as horror, these two writers made mincemeat of the competition this year. But which is the best? Forced under deadline to pick a favorite, I have to declare The Underground Railroad to be the winner. This is disappointing, I know. You WANT to choose a wildly talented first- time novelist as the champ. I certainly do! Sadly for underdog fans, The Underground Railroad is just too good to deny. Whitehead’s imagination is matched by his narrative control, the kind of evolution in craft that rewards loyal fans.

I can’t imagine that this war of the world builders is over, though; one of these books is already in production for Amazon. Can the other be far behind?

The Underground Railroad. Homegoing. 21. Will Chancellor: Colson Whitehead’s collapsed time (South Carolinian skyscrapers, Great Society ideals, elevators, Tuskegee biopolitical brutality) or Yaa Gyasi’s expanded time (to me, Marcus’s deep- time thesis was an on- the- nose description of Homegoing)? Gyasi’s astonishing chapter on the convict leasing system (“H”) that nails the bullshit of the 1.

Amendment, textually linking being a slave to being a criminal, or Whitehead’s North Carolina which, horribly, is not that far from black exclusion laws in northern states? Both books are Rooster- worthy.

But I’ll choose The Underground Railroad for the brilliance of its final third and the lasting horror of the attic. The Underground Railroad. Homegoing. 31. Rahawa Haile: Both are tremendous works with disparate narrative aims. However, the very structure of Homegoing champions world- building over character development.

This is intentional, and considering the nature of the world being constructed, is heavy, necessary work. But it means that investment in time and place trumps investment in characters. If anything, horror is the novel’s true central figure. The resulting vignettes make for an outstanding short story collection, but a somewhat skeletal novel. The Underground Railroad.

Homegoing. 41. Susannah Cahalan: I’m still recovering from the brutal magic of Cora’s odyssey. I’m with Oprah: The Underground Railroad has my enthusiastic vote. The Underground Railroad. Homegoing. 51. Tim Rinehart: Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad has a unique voice and brilliant narrative that is undeniably powerful. I read it months ago, which made Homegoing the challenger in this matchup.

Both are amazing books that tackle broad, ugly topics. Strong spiritual connections and surprising intimacy make slavery and its legacy uniquely, terrifyingly accessible. But the scope that Yaa Gyasi tackles in Homegoing is epic.

I found that the intervals between chapters gave me time to breathe and let go before pressing onward. Both are worthy of the Rooster, but I’m voting for Homegoing.

The Underground Railroad. Homegoing. 52. Bim Adewunmi: I want to make it clear that this is an utterly wretched decision. I received precisely equal amounts of pleasure and horror and (slivers of) joy from each of these finalists. The stories Whitehead and Gyasi have told here are so horribly, intimately intertwined that it feels utterly wrong to pick one over the other.

In the end, I chose the more surefooted storyteller. In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love The Underground Railroad. Ugh, the Tournament of Books.

The Underground Railroad. Homegoing. 62. Pamela Ribon: I read The Underground Railroad in just under a blink and I haven’t truly caught my breath since. Colson Whitehead spends not one second easing the reader into brutality, making every page ache with reality and humanity. While I loved taking my time through the gorgeous prose and compelling characters of Homegoing, and appreciated the quiet moments of love and hope in a story filled with tragedy, it is Cora’s journey that left a permanent mark on my heart. The Underground Railroad. Homegoing. 72. Isaac Fitzgerald: Look.

I love Homegoing. I love it. It was one of my best books of the year in 2. I literally interrupted Tamron Hall so I could shout it out on the Today Show. If you haven’t read it, read it. It’s a riveting, gorgeous debut with an interesting structure that gathers a powerful head of steam over the course of the book, as other judges have mentioned.

But, as I stated in my judgment, The Underground Railroad isn’t just one of my best books of 2. It was, in my opinion, the best book of 2.

Sometimes your favorite book isn’t the book getting all the love; sometimes you’re rooting for the underdog. Watch Anguish HD 1080P. But when it comes to The Underground Railroad, I think Oprah got it right and the New York Times got it right and the National Book Awards got it right and my mom got it right.

Winner: The Underground Railroad. Best book of the year. The Underground Railroad. Homegoing. 82. Nicole Chung: I devoured Homegoing in one long Sunday afternoon, unable to put it down—I loved the multigenerational story, the interwoven voices, the touchstone of the necklace. The Underground Railroad took me closer to a week to finish, as branches of Cora’s flight kept worming their way back into my brain, prompting me to go back and re- read whole chapters before I could move on.

I put this decision off until the last possible moment because I loved both these novels equally, but I’m going with The Underground Railroad: I had to work just a little harder for it, which made it all the more satisfying to reach the end and see the whole trail laid out behind me. It’s such a beautifully crafted map of a novel, and I am and forever will be in awe of it. The Underground Railroad.

Best Movies of 2. The movie year is just about over, and a review of the past twelve months makes clear that cinephiles have been spoiled with sterling movies, from blockbuster superhero sagas and low- budget horror thrillers to bizarre dystopian comedies and politically oriented foreign imports. With our late- year binge- watching now complete, our final assessment—which still only scratches the surface of everything worth watching—proves that, whether at the multiplex or the art house, filmgoers were blessed with a bounty of great offerings in 2. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids. Jonathan Demme's acclaimed career may include numerous beloved dramas and comedies—from Something Wild and Married to the Mob to The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, and Rachel Getting Married—but he's also the world's foremost music- concert documentarian. In the grand tradition of Stop Making Sense and Neil Young: Heart of Gold, Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids is a thrilling showstopper focused on its headliner as he completes his two- year 2.

Experience World Tour with two final shows at Las Vegas' MGM Grand (in January 2. Tennessee Kids. Demme captures Timberlake's multifaceted talents in a collection of rousing greatest- hits numbers, which place a premium on in- the- moment artistry. In the way his camera pans in long unbroken takes between Timberlake and his fellow on- stage singers, guitarists, keyboardists and horn players (as well as frames him amidst a sea of adoring arena fans) Demme subtly celebrates the joyous collaborative spirit that guides Timberlake's infectious shows—and elevates him above his pop- star peers. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. Don't worry if you haven't seen the 2.

Hong Kong- Chinese import (also known as SPLII: A Time for Consequences)—aside from their titles, the two films share no relationship. And don't worry if you can't follow its myriad crime- saga plot strands, which involves a dying Hong Kong gangster (Louis Koo) who sells organs on the black market and plans to kill his brother so he can steal his heart, a Hong Kong undercover cop (Wu Jing) intent on infiltrating this kingpin's gang, and a Thailand prison guard (Tony Jaa) trying to save his daughter who is dying of leukemia. What matters here is that director Cheang Pou- soi's film features the finest hand- to- hand skirmishes of the year, with Wu Jing demonstrating deft martial- arts skills and Jaa—he of Ong- Bak: The Thai Warrior fame—bringing the concussive thunder via his trademark elbow drops and flying knee attacks, which peak with him leaping, knees first, through the windshield of a moving bus. The film's melodrama and comedy (including a subplot involving a Down's Syndrome- afflicted teen texting with a dying child via emojis) are overcooked, but Jaa and Jing's fighting prowess make this a must- see for genre aficionados. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. Just about everybody agreed that 2.

Ouija, based on the popular contact- the- dead board game, was a dud. But this Halloween season's follow- up, Origin of Evil, is an altogether different beast—a sterling '6. In this case, those are a mother and two daughters who, while running a séance scam out of their home, wind up in real supernatural trouble when the youngest of their clan (Lulu Wilson) makes contact with what she initially believes is the spirit of her dead father.

Another superb chiller from director Mike Flanagan (Oculus, Hush)—mainstream horror's best new filmmaker—about the peril that can come from grieving lost loved ones, this stylish work is a throwback in terms of not only its setting, but also its preference for hold- your- breath suspense and unforgettable otherworldly imagery over cheap scare tactics. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. Kaili Blues. A lyrical import about the circular relationship between the present and the past, Kaili Blues heralds an exciting new filmmaking voice in debut director Bi Gan. In this haunting, elliptical tale, a physician travels to his hometown to rescue his nephew, who's been unceremoniously dropped there by his disreputable gambler father.

Gan sets up this story in an oblique fashion, full of subtle allusions and offhand implications. Once the proceedings move to the protagonist's rural childhood stomping ground, the director captures his action via a 4. This tour- de- force sequence, in which numerous characters and relationships are introduced and developed, is powerfully attuned to its subjects' uneasy circumstances, even as it self- consciously calls attention to itself (via bobbing and weaving movements that suggest the director's own just- off- camera presence).

The result is a uniquely mesmerizing portrait of people caught in a purgatory between what came before and what's still to come. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. Director Fede Alvarez proved he was a gifted technician with his 2. Evil Dead remake, but it's his latest thriller that establishes him as more than just a look- at- me behind- the- camera showman. Alvarez's latest concerns three kids (Dylan Minnette, Jane Levy, Daniel Zovatto) who, desperate to get out of their working- class circumstances, decide to rob a blind man (Stephen Lang) reportedly in possession of a stash of money hidden in his dilapidated home. Their plot, however, goes awry when that sightless individual turns out to be far more capable—and lethal—than anticipated, leading to a perpetrators- become- the- victims nightmare that the director orchestrates for maximum tension.

Even when it eventually turns to third- act bombshells, Don't Breathe is a work of superbly sustained suspense, employing its gorgeous widescreen visuals to deliver a bevy of heart- pounding thrills—and one that also, subtly, doubles as a commentary on the literal, emotional, and psychological decay that's overtaken modern- day Detroit. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. South Korean auteur Park Chan- wook has made a name for himself with deliriously violent, sexually deranged revenge tales like Oldboy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, and 2. English- language Stoker (starring Nicole Kidman and Mia Wasikowska). Thus, The Handmaiden finds him back in familiar terrain, given that it charts a con man's scheme to use a young female pickpocket to help him marry, and then commit to an insane asylum, a mentally unstable heiress—a ruse that gets hopelessly complicated the further it progresses thanks to a series of didn't- see- that- coming twists. Rearranging characters around his narrative playing board like a devilish chess champion, Park stages his material with serpentine sensuality and playfully grim wit, all while presenting a vision of femininity that, true to his prior form, is seductive, sinister and empowered.

Come for the luxurious period décor, uninhibited carnality and ominous atmosphere, and stay for the octopus. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below.

Joachim Trier isn't a household name in America, but the Norwegian filmmaker's first two features—2. Reprise and 2. 01. Oslo, August 3. 1st—were startlingly incisive dramas about young men struggling with issues of adulthood, responsibility, and regret.

His third feature, and first in English, is this sterling work about a teacher (Gabriel Byrne) and his two sons, married Jonah (Jesse Eisenberg) and disaffected high- schooler Conrad (Devin Druid), trying to come to terms with the death of their famous photographer matriarch Isabelle (Isabelle Huppert). That woman's shadow, and the secrets she took to her grave, loom large over their present, fraught- with- friction circumstances, which Trier investigates with a novelist's attention to his character's interior lives.