Well, last year I made it kind of a goal of mine to watch a lot of movies, and I ended up watching 103 for the year. This year, I backed off that quite a bit, watching only 52 films I hadn't seen before. If you want to see the whole list, and my thoughts on them (though I'm not sure why anyone would), here it is.
That said, it's been a great year for movies. I have plenty of movies I still want to see, but most of my favorite movies were films that came out this year. When thinking back over the year, 8 movies stood out as a cut above the rest (though shout out to Warrior, which just misses the cut, and is well worth checking out on Netflix Instant). So, without further ado, here's the top 8 movies I watched for the first time in 2012.
8) The Raid: Redemption
Absolute insanity, but in the best possible way. It's a pure action movie. Sure, there's a plot in there, some story to hold the thing together, but mostly it's just an excuse to string awesome action scenes together. And awesome they are. Seriously, I cannot overstate how fantastic the martial arts action in this film is. It's fluid, imaginative, and bone-crushing. It's also just a really well put together movie. Director Gareth Evans understands that you can't just have all action all the time. He paces everything extremely well, and maybe the best scene in the movie isn't one of crazy action, but a scene that is as tense as anything I saw in a movie this year.
7) Margaret
Oh Margaret...what am I to make of you? Ostensibly, Margaret is about a girl who witnesses a bus accident and how she processes that. Really though, it's about way more than that. It was filmed in 2007, but the director struggled for 4 years trying to make a final cut. You understand why when you watch the film, there's a ton of stuff going on in here. Anna Paquin plays perhaps the most convincing teenager I've ever seen in film. More than anything else, the movie is a great depiction of the self-absorption and drama that so define being a high schooler. At times, the movie feels like a bit of a mess, but that's forgivable given how epic and sweeping its scope is. Is it the movie I enjoyed most this year? Nope. Is it the movie that burrowed into my brain and had me thinking about it the most? Probably.
6) Adventureland
One of my new favorite comedies. Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart are both perfectly cast as the leads, their understated style working really well with the laid-back feel of the movie. The real stars here, though, are the supporting cast, who are uniformly excellent. Martin Starr is fantastic, and Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig steal every single scene they're in. I saw this on Netflix Instant and decided to check it out, and it was one of the more pleasant surprises of the year for me.
5) Moonrise Kingdom
And speaking of surprises, here's Wes Anderson's latest. When I saw the trailer for this, it seemed like it was going to be Anderson overindulging his worst instincts, just an overabundance of twee quirkiness. To my surprise (and delight), it's absolutely great. It's still unmistakably a Wes Anderson film, but it isn't overindulgent and it works perfectly for the coming-of-age story being told here. Gone is Anderson's usual focus on daddy issues, and in its place is a fantastical tale of young romance. It's beautifully shot, absolutely hilarious, and filled with great performances (the two child leads in particular). Seriously, I was shocked by how much I loved this, it's just great.
4) The Avengers
Look, I wasn't going to not like this movie. It's the Avengers, it's all my nerdy dreams come true on the big screen. More than that, it's directed by Joss Whedon, and if you've read this blog you know that I have no shortage of love for that guy. My expectations for this movie could not possibly have been higher, and it delivered. It's everything I wanted it to be. It's a perfect summer blockbuster film. I saw it 3 times in theaters and loved it every time. It's big spectacle, but it's also genuinely funny and character-oriented. Whedon gets the team dynamics of the Avengers and manages a fantastic balancing act, giving every character their moments. In particular, Whedon gets the Hulk. Both individual Hulk movies are failures on different levels, but here, as part of an ensemble, Whedon and Mark Ruffalo find the heart of the character and really make him work. I could go on and on about this, but I'll stop. It's a movie just chock-full of amazing, memorable moments, and perfect for what it is.
3) Chronicle
And with all that said about The Avengers, it wasn't my favorite super-hero movie of the year. WHAT??? Well, that honor goes to a little movie called Chronicle. I rewatched this recently, and it holds up brilliantly. On multiple viewings, I'm even more forgiving of the found-footage aspect of it, though I still don't think it's completely necessary for the second half of the movie. That's neither here nor there, though. I love that Chronicle doesn't care about how the boys got super powers, it's concerned with what they do with them and how that changes them. The scenes of them playing around with their powers and learning what they can do are fantastic. In particular, the scene where they learn to fly is awesome, just filled with joyous exuberance. Once those scenes are done though, the film is equally successful depicting Andrew's descent into villain-hood, finishing with an Akira-inspired, building-destroying telekinetic battle. On the whole, it's a brilliant twist on two genres which have felt stale and overdone in recent years (found-footage and super heroes) that feels fresh and exciting.
2) Looper
I came out of the theater twice this year feeling like I'd just witnessed a new classic of the genre. I'll get to the other in a second, but Looper genuinely feels like a new sci-fi standard. First of all, it builds a convincing and interesting world. The world of Looper is both familiar and strange, gritty and fantastical. Like the best sci-fi/fantasy, it feels deep, like there are other stories going on in this universe and we're just seeing one of them. I love Joseph Gordon Levitt and he's great, but the real stars here are Emily Blunt and Jeff Daniels (who makes great use of his screen time). And then there's Pierce Gagnon, who gives an absolutely stunning performance for a child actor. There's so much to love here, it's a smart, well-made, wildly entertaining piece of sci-fi. I've made no secret of my love for director Rian Johnson, and this is another home run for him. He's one of the best directors working right now. If you want to jump on, there's still space on the bandwagon :).
1) The Cabin in the Woods
Gosh, this film is so good. I said above that I felt like I'd seen two new genre classics this year, Looper and this one. The thing is, I'm not even sure Cabin in the Woods is a horror movie. I mean, it is a horror movie, but it's more than that, it's both a love letter to horror films and at the same time a deconstruction of the genre. I'm not much of a horror fan, but I adored this movie. For one, it's absolutely hilarious. Fran Kranz's stoner character is one of my favorite things in film this year, with several scenes that had me just dying. It's also filled with some genuinely freaky, scary stuff, and the end is just a glorious explosion of craziness. The whole movie is wildly inventive and ballsy. It's a movie with a twist, but it isn't a "gotcha" twist, it's a twist that is gradually peeled back in the most awesome and engaging way. Honestly, I can't recommend this highly enough. Even if you don't like horror movies, there's so much here to love.
Showing posts with label My Year in Film. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Year in Film. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
My Year in Film: Part 3 - My Top 10 Movies
Wrapping it all up, here's my list of the top ten favorite movies that I saw this year. As with parts 1 and 2, here is the list of movies I saw this year.
The Best Movies I Saw This Year
I saw a lot of movies this year, and this is an attempt to list my top ten. It slants a bit towards films I've seen more recently, and it could be different tomorrow, but here it is today.
Honorable Mention: Tintin, X-Men: First Class, Horrible Bosses, Death to Smoochy, Goodfellas, Dear Zachary, Black Snake Moan, Network
10) Tucker and Dale vs Evil: I just had to watch this when it popped up on Netflix Instant. It's gotten a lot of buzz from the film geek community, and it's got Alan Tudyk. How could I resist that? It's a great premise, turning the slasher genre on its ear and milking it for tons of laughs. Tudyk and Tyler Labine have tremendous chemistry, and even though the film doesn't quite stick the landing, the two leads at the movie's heart keep it consistently hilarious.
9) Dark City: I've cooled on Dark City a bit since I first saw it. On the first viewing, I was blown away by how well structured the film was, how the puzzle gradually unravels until what seemed so strange at the start is completely clear. I still enjoy it a lot, but it didn't hold up quite as well after a few rewatches. There are parts that feel really dated, particularly the big fight scene. The Strangers are pretty great though, and plenty of the movie works well enough to be a favorite.
8) Attack the Block: Such an awesome little movie. The design of the aliens is really clever, and is a good way to work around the low budget. They're iconic and terrifying. The movie takes the kids seriously, it lets them be jerks and it lets them get killed. It also lets them be complete action heroes too, particularly John Boyega as Moses. The accents are a bit tough to adjust to, but you really should check it out. It's a slick, funny action film that feels completely unique.
7) Before Sunrise/Before Sunset: It doesn't feel right to consider these movies separately. They're just such a perfect pairing. Before Sunrise is the perfect film for the hopeless romantic, whereas Before Sunset finds the two leads having realized that youthful romance doesn't last forever. The movies form a pair of perfectly realized moments that feel completely authentic. Delphy and Hawke are quietly fantastic. These are small movies told not in broad, big strokes, but in the small moments, and the two leads excel in those moments.
6) How to Train Your Dragon: There's a sheer joy to this movie that is infectious. I think this is the first Dreamworks movie I've liked better than the Pixar movie of the same year (Toy Story 3). The animation of Toothless is really great, it's a very emotive character that you end up falling in love with. Love everything about this. It's got heart, humor, and the guts to have some consequences for the characters. One of my favorite animated movies.
5) Carrie: Surprised by how much I loved it. It's very much a spiritual predecessor to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which you all know I like a little bit :). The entire sequence leading up to the pig blood scene is equal parts moving and heart-breaking. You see Carrie's joy at standing up to her mother and coming out of her shell, but you also know what's coming, and the build up is excruciating. It's a really great high school drama which then just happens to turn into a crazy supernatural horror movie at the end.
4) Young Adult: I haven't been a huge fan of Charlize Theron until this film. She gives a fearless performance as a thoroughly unlikeable character. I love the guts that the movie has, making Mavis completely unredeemable. It's a great character piece, but it's also hilarious. It's filled with laugh out loud moments, and small touches (chugging Diet Coke, watching the Kardashians, etc.) that make it consistently funny. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending until I see it again, but I really loved the movie as a whole.
3) The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters: I listed Black Snake Moan as my most pleasant surprise of the year, but this one could have easily taken that spot. It sounds ridiculous: a documentary about a guy who sets the world record in Donkey Kong. How could that possibly be interesting? Every time I tell people how great this movie is, I get that "really?!?" stare. It is a great movie though. I've watched it more times than any other movie this year, and everyone I've shown it to has enjoyed it. The filmmakers stumbled into a fascinating world of competitive gaming, and they found a fantastic villain in Billy Mitchell. Really, you should check it out, you won't regret it.
2) Drive: Strangely compelling. That's the best description I can give of Drive. There are long stretches where not a lot happens, and there isn't much dialogue, but I never lost interest, it had me from the word go. It has such a unique visual aesthetic and kinetic soundtrack that it's constantly interesting. Ryan Gosling does a tremendous job without saying much of anything. He's believable as the quiet, sensitive guy wooing Carey Mulligan, but he's also believable as the stone-cold badass who efficiently and ruthlessly takes care of business. Stylish, entertaining, and unlike anything I've ever seen before.
1) Inglorious Basterds: I really enjoyed it the first time I saw it, but I LOVED it the second time. What I'd forgotten is just how crazy funny it is. Brad Pitt is hilarious, but Cristoph Waltz steals the show with his ability to be both scary and ridiculously funny ("That's a Bingo!"). The movie is just a constant parade of fantastic scenes and great performances. In addition to Pitt and Waltz, there's the always great Michael Fassbender and a truly fantastic turn by Melanie Laurent. Just wall-to-wall greatness.
The Best Movies I Saw This Year
I saw a lot of movies this year, and this is an attempt to list my top ten. It slants a bit towards films I've seen more recently, and it could be different tomorrow, but here it is today.
Honorable Mention: Tintin, X-Men: First Class, Horrible Bosses, Death to Smoochy, Goodfellas, Dear Zachary, Black Snake Moan, Network
10) Tucker and Dale vs Evil: I just had to watch this when it popped up on Netflix Instant. It's gotten a lot of buzz from the film geek community, and it's got Alan Tudyk. How could I resist that? It's a great premise, turning the slasher genre on its ear and milking it for tons of laughs. Tudyk and Tyler Labine have tremendous chemistry, and even though the film doesn't quite stick the landing, the two leads at the movie's heart keep it consistently hilarious.
9) Dark City: I've cooled on Dark City a bit since I first saw it. On the first viewing, I was blown away by how well structured the film was, how the puzzle gradually unravels until what seemed so strange at the start is completely clear. I still enjoy it a lot, but it didn't hold up quite as well after a few rewatches. There are parts that feel really dated, particularly the big fight scene. The Strangers are pretty great though, and plenty of the movie works well enough to be a favorite.
8) Attack the Block: Such an awesome little movie. The design of the aliens is really clever, and is a good way to work around the low budget. They're iconic and terrifying. The movie takes the kids seriously, it lets them be jerks and it lets them get killed. It also lets them be complete action heroes too, particularly John Boyega as Moses. The accents are a bit tough to adjust to, but you really should check it out. It's a slick, funny action film that feels completely unique.
7) Before Sunrise/Before Sunset: It doesn't feel right to consider these movies separately. They're just such a perfect pairing. Before Sunrise is the perfect film for the hopeless romantic, whereas Before Sunset finds the two leads having realized that youthful romance doesn't last forever. The movies form a pair of perfectly realized moments that feel completely authentic. Delphy and Hawke are quietly fantastic. These are small movies told not in broad, big strokes, but in the small moments, and the two leads excel in those moments.
6) How to Train Your Dragon: There's a sheer joy to this movie that is infectious. I think this is the first Dreamworks movie I've liked better than the Pixar movie of the same year (Toy Story 3). The animation of Toothless is really great, it's a very emotive character that you end up falling in love with. Love everything about this. It's got heart, humor, and the guts to have some consequences for the characters. One of my favorite animated movies.
5) Carrie: Surprised by how much I loved it. It's very much a spiritual predecessor to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which you all know I like a little bit :). The entire sequence leading up to the pig blood scene is equal parts moving and heart-breaking. You see Carrie's joy at standing up to her mother and coming out of her shell, but you also know what's coming, and the build up is excruciating. It's a really great high school drama which then just happens to turn into a crazy supernatural horror movie at the end.
4) Young Adult: I haven't been a huge fan of Charlize Theron until this film. She gives a fearless performance as a thoroughly unlikeable character. I love the guts that the movie has, making Mavis completely unredeemable. It's a great character piece, but it's also hilarious. It's filled with laugh out loud moments, and small touches (chugging Diet Coke, watching the Kardashians, etc.) that make it consistently funny. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending until I see it again, but I really loved the movie as a whole.
3) The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters: I listed Black Snake Moan as my most pleasant surprise of the year, but this one could have easily taken that spot. It sounds ridiculous: a documentary about a guy who sets the world record in Donkey Kong. How could that possibly be interesting? Every time I tell people how great this movie is, I get that "really?!?" stare. It is a great movie though. I've watched it more times than any other movie this year, and everyone I've shown it to has enjoyed it. The filmmakers stumbled into a fascinating world of competitive gaming, and they found a fantastic villain in Billy Mitchell. Really, you should check it out, you won't regret it.
2) Drive: Strangely compelling. That's the best description I can give of Drive. There are long stretches where not a lot happens, and there isn't much dialogue, but I never lost interest, it had me from the word go. It has such a unique visual aesthetic and kinetic soundtrack that it's constantly interesting. Ryan Gosling does a tremendous job without saying much of anything. He's believable as the quiet, sensitive guy wooing Carey Mulligan, but he's also believable as the stone-cold badass who efficiently and ruthlessly takes care of business. Stylish, entertaining, and unlike anything I've ever seen before.
1) Inglorious Basterds: I really enjoyed it the first time I saw it, but I LOVED it the second time. What I'd forgotten is just how crazy funny it is. Brad Pitt is hilarious, but Cristoph Waltz steals the show with his ability to be both scary and ridiculously funny ("That's a Bingo!"). The movie is just a constant parade of fantastic scenes and great performances. In addition to Pitt and Waltz, there's the always great Michael Fassbender and a truly fantastic turn by Melanie Laurent. Just wall-to-wall greatness.
Monday, January 2, 2012
My Year in Film: Part 2 - Assorted Awards
Continuing from yesterday's post, I'm detailing my year in watching movies. Yesterday, I listed my favorite scenes from movies I watched this year. In this post, I'm going to list some other random superlatives, as well as the 5 worst movies I watched this year. As with yesterday's post, these all come from the list of movies that I watched for the first time this year, which can be found here.
Most Disappointing Movie
Punch Drunk Love - Just to be clear, Punch Drunk Love is not a bad movie. There are a handful of really great scenes and stunning visuals, but it doesn't connect as a whole. I'd heard great things about it, and I really liked Hard Eight, the other movie I watched this year from Paul Thomas Anderson. I'd heard it compared to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, since they're both quirky romances from auteur directors starring zany comedic actors in dramatic roles. Eternal Sunshine is my favorite movie of all time, and this just didn't come anywhere close to it. It's so heightened and surreal that I just couldn't get invested in the characters, there's nothing real to ground the film. It's not bad, but I was expecting greatness instead of interesting, loosely connected scenes.
Most Pleasant Surprise
Black Snake Moan - Who knew that a movie about a sex addict, a soldier stricken by panic attacks and a recently divorced man could end up being so joyful? It's not fun, fun, fun all the time certainly, but Craig Brewer keeps the movie from getting bogged down in some pretty dark material. So, rather than being a dreary slog, we get a vibrant movie steeped in Southern culture that finds answers to sin and struggles in faith and commitment. Christina Ricci gives a fearless performance of incredible physicality that was one of the best I saw all year.
Best Performance
Michael Fassbender: X-Men:First Class, Hunger, Inglorious Basterds - I cheated a little bit on this one, picking Fassbender for his whole body of work I saw this year. I went from having never seen a Fassbender movie to considering him one of my favorite actors working today. You could hardly find 3 more different roles than the ones above, but he crushes all of them. In particular, his performance as Magneto in X-Men totally carries the film. It's a hard thing to follow Ian McKellen, but Fassbender totally nails the passion and intensity at the heart of the character. Fassbender's career is exploding right now, so get on the bandwagon now.
Honorable Mentions: Ryan Gosling (Drive), Christophe Waltz (Inglorious Basterds), Saorise Ronan (Hanna), Sissy Spacek (Carrie), Christina Ricci (Black Snake Moan)
Movies I'm Looking Forward to in 2012
Looper - Two of my personal favorite movies are Brick and The Brothers Bloom, both by director Rian Johnson. Looper is Johnson's next effort, about a time traveling hitman. It features a fantastic cast (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt and Jeff Daniels), and Shane Carruth (Primer) consulted on the film. I couldn't be any more excited about this.
The Avengers - It's a freaking live-action, big budget AVENGERS MOVIE!!! That alone would be enough to warm a young nerd's heart, but add the fact that it's directed by Joss Whedon? Sign me up for that right now.
The Dark Knight Rises - I don't really need to explain this one, do I?
The Hobbit - Ditto.
Prometheus - Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner) returns to sci-fi with this prequel(?) to Alien. I wasn't completely sold until the amazing trailer came out last month. The cast includes Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba and Guy Pierce. Oh yeah, it's also got that Fassbender fellow, who I kind of like.
5 Worst Movies I Saw This Year
5. Wonder Boys - I saw this on Netflix Instant and was so excited about it. Robert Downey Jr., Michael Douglas, Frances McDormand, Tobey McGuire, how could it not be good? Lots of actors I like, all in service of a really crappy movie. Unfunny, overwrought, and full of completely unlikeable characters. Ugh. There are apparently a lot of people that really like this, but I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why.
4. Push - The worst thing about Push is that it could be good. The world it creates is interesting, and I thought Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning did a good job in their parts. The story is just so dull though. If only this idea had been given to a stronger writer, or a director who could have injected some energy into the proceedings. Instead, it's just dull and stupid. A waste of good worldbuilding.
3. Freejack - This movie features Mick Jagger in a prominent role. He is exactly as good an actor as you would expect. Campy, nonsensical and all-around terrible. Its saving grace is that it's so bad it occasionally circles around and becomes watchable again. It's not bad enough to be a "so bad it's good" fixture though, mostly it's just awful.
2. Chaos Theory - Look, Ryan Reynolds is not a great actor. He's not a movie star who can single-handedly carry summer blockbusters. He is, however, an incredibly charismatic individual who can be charming and affable in even the worst movies. The worst movies, at least, other than this one. In addition to being dull, bland and dumb, the movie manages to make Reynolds boring and unlikeable. Ugh.
1. Killers - You know, Mr and Mrs Smith isn't a great movie. It's a decent film, but the reason it's so fun and watchable is because Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have CRAZY good chemistry. I mean, you watch that movie, and they just burn up the screen together. It takes an ok movie and makes it super-entertaining. Well, Killers is like that, only the complete opposite.
If you missed it, check out Part 1 of My Year in Film, and check back in later for Part 3
Most Disappointing Movie
Punch Drunk Love - Just to be clear, Punch Drunk Love is not a bad movie. There are a handful of really great scenes and stunning visuals, but it doesn't connect as a whole. I'd heard great things about it, and I really liked Hard Eight, the other movie I watched this year from Paul Thomas Anderson. I'd heard it compared to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, since they're both quirky romances from auteur directors starring zany comedic actors in dramatic roles. Eternal Sunshine is my favorite movie of all time, and this just didn't come anywhere close to it. It's so heightened and surreal that I just couldn't get invested in the characters, there's nothing real to ground the film. It's not bad, but I was expecting greatness instead of interesting, loosely connected scenes.
Most Pleasant Surprise
Black Snake Moan - Who knew that a movie about a sex addict, a soldier stricken by panic attacks and a recently divorced man could end up being so joyful? It's not fun, fun, fun all the time certainly, but Craig Brewer keeps the movie from getting bogged down in some pretty dark material. So, rather than being a dreary slog, we get a vibrant movie steeped in Southern culture that finds answers to sin and struggles in faith and commitment. Christina Ricci gives a fearless performance of incredible physicality that was one of the best I saw all year.
Best Performance
Michael Fassbender: X-Men:First Class, Hunger, Inglorious Basterds - I cheated a little bit on this one, picking Fassbender for his whole body of work I saw this year. I went from having never seen a Fassbender movie to considering him one of my favorite actors working today. You could hardly find 3 more different roles than the ones above, but he crushes all of them. In particular, his performance as Magneto in X-Men totally carries the film. It's a hard thing to follow Ian McKellen, but Fassbender totally nails the passion and intensity at the heart of the character. Fassbender's career is exploding right now, so get on the bandwagon now.
Honorable Mentions: Ryan Gosling (Drive), Christophe Waltz (Inglorious Basterds), Saorise Ronan (Hanna), Sissy Spacek (Carrie), Christina Ricci (Black Snake Moan)
Movies I'm Looking Forward to in 2012
Looper - Two of my personal favorite movies are Brick and The Brothers Bloom, both by director Rian Johnson. Looper is Johnson's next effort, about a time traveling hitman. It features a fantastic cast (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt and Jeff Daniels), and Shane Carruth (Primer) consulted on the film. I couldn't be any more excited about this.
The Avengers - It's a freaking live-action, big budget AVENGERS MOVIE!!! That alone would be enough to warm a young nerd's heart, but add the fact that it's directed by Joss Whedon? Sign me up for that right now.
The Dark Knight Rises - I don't really need to explain this one, do I?
The Hobbit - Ditto.
Prometheus - Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner) returns to sci-fi with this prequel(?) to Alien. I wasn't completely sold until the amazing trailer came out last month. The cast includes Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba and Guy Pierce. Oh yeah, it's also got that Fassbender fellow, who I kind of like.
5 Worst Movies I Saw This Year
5. Wonder Boys - I saw this on Netflix Instant and was so excited about it. Robert Downey Jr., Michael Douglas, Frances McDormand, Tobey McGuire, how could it not be good? Lots of actors I like, all in service of a really crappy movie. Unfunny, overwrought, and full of completely unlikeable characters. Ugh. There are apparently a lot of people that really like this, but I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why.
4. Push - The worst thing about Push is that it could be good. The world it creates is interesting, and I thought Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning did a good job in their parts. The story is just so dull though. If only this idea had been given to a stronger writer, or a director who could have injected some energy into the proceedings. Instead, it's just dull and stupid. A waste of good worldbuilding.
3. Freejack - This movie features Mick Jagger in a prominent role. He is exactly as good an actor as you would expect. Campy, nonsensical and all-around terrible. Its saving grace is that it's so bad it occasionally circles around and becomes watchable again. It's not bad enough to be a "so bad it's good" fixture though, mostly it's just awful.
2. Chaos Theory - Look, Ryan Reynolds is not a great actor. He's not a movie star who can single-handedly carry summer blockbusters. He is, however, an incredibly charismatic individual who can be charming and affable in even the worst movies. The worst movies, at least, other than this one. In addition to being dull, bland and dumb, the movie manages to make Reynolds boring and unlikeable. Ugh.
1. Killers - You know, Mr and Mrs Smith isn't a great movie. It's a decent film, but the reason it's so fun and watchable is because Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have CRAZY good chemistry. I mean, you watch that movie, and they just burn up the screen together. It takes an ok movie and makes it super-entertaining. Well, Killers is like that, only the complete opposite.
If you missed it, check out Part 1 of My Year in Film, and check back in later for Part 3
Sunday, January 1, 2012
My Year in Film: Part 1 - The Best Scenes
As I posted last year, I've become a big movie geek in the past few years. As I wrote about in my last post, Netflix Instant Watch has provided easy access to tons of films, so this year I managed to see 103 movies that I hadn't seen before. This year, I kept a pretty accurate list (I may have missed 1 or 2) and wrote a little synopsis for each one. If you want to check that out, you can see it here.
I like to write about movies, so "My Year in Film" is going to come in three parts. This post is about the best scenes I saw in movies this year, so be prepared for a lot of embedded videos. Also, there's a little language and a little violence in some of these scenes, so consider yourself warned. With that said, here, in no particular order, are my 10 favorite scenes from that list of movies that I saw for the first time this year.
My Favorite Scenes From 2011
The Michael Caine-Off - The Trip: Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan play characters who are essentially themselves in this little road trip movie. The highlights of the film are when the two gifted impressionists show off their dueling impressions. Of those contests, the best is when they take on the oft-imitated Michael Caine.
The Bar Shootout - Inglorious Basterds: Our first entry from the "Michael Fassbender is Awesome" category, this scene is one of several I could have pulled from Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece. After being outed as a British spy, Fassbender switches from imitating a German officer to being very, very British. He then, in the face of death, calmly downs his scotch before the entire bar explodes in gunfire.
(from 3:35- 4:50)
Calculating Troops - In the Loop: The hilarious British political satire is at its best in this scene, where James Gandolfini, playing a US general, calculates troop numbers on a kiddie computer. It's a small joke, but it totally had me in stitches the first time I watched it.
The Restaurant Scene - Goodfellas: It's one of the more famous shots in cinema history. Scorsese is the master of the long tracking shot, and this is the foremost example of that. The camera follows Henry and Karen as they enter the restaurant through the backdoor, and in one unbroken, three minute take, we get a firsthand look at the privileges Henry's life affords him. Beautiful to watch and technically incredible. The best quality version on YouTube won't embed, so here's the link to it.
The Dance of the Black Swan - Black Swan: Even if you don't enjoy his movies, one can't deny that Darren Aronofsky is, if nothing else, a brilliant visual artist. His films feature some of the most striking and beautiful images I've ever seen. Here, Aronofsky shows Natalie Portman's Nina embracing her dark, passionate side by literally having her become the black swan. The mix of dancing and seamless technological wizardry results in a sequence that is both disturbing and beautiful (also, the sound design is excellent, as it is throughout the movie).
(2:50-5:00)
Dialogue with the Priest - Hunger: The majority of Hunger is without dialogue. It's a stark piece of visual storytelling that is deeply unsettling. In the middle of it, though, is a 20 minute dialogue between Fassbender's Bobby Sands and his priest. The dialogue is sharp, funny at parts, but gradually growing more and more intense. It doesn't just set up the second half of the movie, it tells you who this character is, and why he's willing to go through such hell.
(Part 1 is embedded here, click for parts 2 and 3)
Expectations vs Reality - (500) Days of Summer: For the most part, (500) Days of Summer is an ok movie that coasts on the charisma of its star (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). In this scene, though, the film does something extremely clever, but (and this is important) not simply clever for the sake of being clever. JGL's character goes to a party thrown by the girl he can't get over (Zooey Deschanel). The scene plays out in split-screen, one side showing his expectations of what would happen while the other show what is really happening. It's something I think everyone can relate to (I know I certainly can), and provides a powerful emotional moment in the middle of an otherwise forgettable film.
The Elevator Scene - Drive: Perhaps no scene on this list better captures the essence of the entire film better than this one. Drive is a strange movie, telling its story more with visual style and music than it does with dialogue. It's about the slow-burn romance between Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan, but is filled short bursts of hyper-violence. The elevator scene encapsulates all of that. Wordlessly, it couples one of the most intense romantic moments of the year with on of the most violent moments of the year.
Composing the Requiem - Amadeus: In this scene from the end of the film, Salieri must help his rival, the ailing Mozart, compose his final requiem. As they do so, we hear the music that the men are hearing in their minds, the beautiful sound of Mozart's final piece. In this scene, we see the difference between the two composers clearly. Salieri clearly has a brilliant musical mind, with the talent to follow along as Mozart explains the music to him. He is not, however, the genius that Mozart is. He has the curse of being able to recognize true greatness, but being unable to create it himself.
Magneto the Nazi Hunter - X-Men:First Class: And here we have our third appearance from the acting powerhouse that is Michael Fassbender. This scene made me wish we'd gotten a whole movie of Fassbender's Magneto traveling the world hunting Nazis. Seriously, if you didn't know who he was before, you should start paying attention to Fassbender. The guy can do anything, and he's quickly becoming my favorite actor.
So, there you have it. Those are ten of my favorite scenes from movies that I saw for the first time this year. Obviously, because it isn't limited to 2011 movies, it's a bit of a strange list, but there it is. Check back later for parts 2 and 3, where I'll be listing my favorite and least favorite films I saw, as well as some other superlatives.
I like to write about movies, so "My Year in Film" is going to come in three parts. This post is about the best scenes I saw in movies this year, so be prepared for a lot of embedded videos. Also, there's a little language and a little violence in some of these scenes, so consider yourself warned. With that said, here, in no particular order, are my 10 favorite scenes from that list of movies that I saw for the first time this year.
My Favorite Scenes From 2011
The Michael Caine-Off - The Trip: Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan play characters who are essentially themselves in this little road trip movie. The highlights of the film are when the two gifted impressionists show off their dueling impressions. Of those contests, the best is when they take on the oft-imitated Michael Caine.
The Bar Shootout - Inglorious Basterds: Our first entry from the "Michael Fassbender is Awesome" category, this scene is one of several I could have pulled from Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece. After being outed as a British spy, Fassbender switches from imitating a German officer to being very, very British. He then, in the face of death, calmly downs his scotch before the entire bar explodes in gunfire.
(from 3:35- 4:50)
Calculating Troops - In the Loop: The hilarious British political satire is at its best in this scene, where James Gandolfini, playing a US general, calculates troop numbers on a kiddie computer. It's a small joke, but it totally had me in stitches the first time I watched it.
The Restaurant Scene - Goodfellas: It's one of the more famous shots in cinema history. Scorsese is the master of the long tracking shot, and this is the foremost example of that. The camera follows Henry and Karen as they enter the restaurant through the backdoor, and in one unbroken, three minute take, we get a firsthand look at the privileges Henry's life affords him. Beautiful to watch and technically incredible. The best quality version on YouTube won't embed, so here's the link to it.
The Dance of the Black Swan - Black Swan: Even if you don't enjoy his movies, one can't deny that Darren Aronofsky is, if nothing else, a brilliant visual artist. His films feature some of the most striking and beautiful images I've ever seen. Here, Aronofsky shows Natalie Portman's Nina embracing her dark, passionate side by literally having her become the black swan. The mix of dancing and seamless technological wizardry results in a sequence that is both disturbing and beautiful (also, the sound design is excellent, as it is throughout the movie).
(2:50-5:00)
Dialogue with the Priest - Hunger: The majority of Hunger is without dialogue. It's a stark piece of visual storytelling that is deeply unsettling. In the middle of it, though, is a 20 minute dialogue between Fassbender's Bobby Sands and his priest. The dialogue is sharp, funny at parts, but gradually growing more and more intense. It doesn't just set up the second half of the movie, it tells you who this character is, and why he's willing to go through such hell.
(Part 1 is embedded here, click for parts 2 and 3)
Expectations vs Reality - (500) Days of Summer: For the most part, (500) Days of Summer is an ok movie that coasts on the charisma of its star (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). In this scene, though, the film does something extremely clever, but (and this is important) not simply clever for the sake of being clever. JGL's character goes to a party thrown by the girl he can't get over (Zooey Deschanel). The scene plays out in split-screen, one side showing his expectations of what would happen while the other show what is really happening. It's something I think everyone can relate to (I know I certainly can), and provides a powerful emotional moment in the middle of an otherwise forgettable film.
The Elevator Scene - Drive: Perhaps no scene on this list better captures the essence of the entire film better than this one. Drive is a strange movie, telling its story more with visual style and music than it does with dialogue. It's about the slow-burn romance between Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan, but is filled short bursts of hyper-violence. The elevator scene encapsulates all of that. Wordlessly, it couples one of the most intense romantic moments of the year with on of the most violent moments of the year.
Composing the Requiem - Amadeus: In this scene from the end of the film, Salieri must help his rival, the ailing Mozart, compose his final requiem. As they do so, we hear the music that the men are hearing in their minds, the beautiful sound of Mozart's final piece. In this scene, we see the difference between the two composers clearly. Salieri clearly has a brilliant musical mind, with the talent to follow along as Mozart explains the music to him. He is not, however, the genius that Mozart is. He has the curse of being able to recognize true greatness, but being unable to create it himself.
Magneto the Nazi Hunter - X-Men:First Class: And here we have our third appearance from the acting powerhouse that is Michael Fassbender. This scene made me wish we'd gotten a whole movie of Fassbender's Magneto traveling the world hunting Nazis. Seriously, if you didn't know who he was before, you should start paying attention to Fassbender. The guy can do anything, and he's quickly becoming my favorite actor.
So, there you have it. Those are ten of my favorite scenes from movies that I saw for the first time this year. Obviously, because it isn't limited to 2011 movies, it's a bit of a strange list, but there it is. Check back later for parts 2 and 3, where I'll be listing my favorite and least favorite films I saw, as well as some other superlatives.
Friday, December 31, 2010
My Year in Film, Part 2
Continued from Part 1.
My last post featured some random thoughts on the movies I've seen this year, as well as the 5 worst movies I've seen this year. For this post, I'll be listing my top ten movies that I saw this year. Some of them will be films from this year, some will be older, but they're all films I saw for the first time this year. So, without further ado, my top ten list.
Narrowly Missed: Brick, Starship Troopers, Heat, Phone Booth, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
10: When Harry Met Sally - From 1987 to 1995, Rob Reiner made 6 movies, and 5 of them were great, with a few legitimate classics. Has he made anything worthwhile since then? Man, what happened to that guy? Anyway, when Harry Met Sally is everything that a romantic comedy should be. Billy Crystal absolutely owns the movie, and you can count on one hand the number of on-screen couples in the past 20 years who rival the chemistry of Crystal and Meg Ryan. It's a movie about the difficulty of being friends with the opposite sex, and how friendship and attraction can get mixed up. It works because Crystal and Ryan are so believable as friends and as a couple. The movie is funny and sweet and doesn't rely on the kind of ridiculous, contrived situations that
romantic comedies so often fall back on.
-Available on Netflix Instant Watch
9: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - The first thing you'll notice is how gorgeous this movie is. Even if there were no plot behind it, the film is as beautifully cinematic as anything you'll ever see. Every shot seems worthy of being printed off and framed. The second thing you'll notice is the acting. This movie is like a masters class in acting, with some of Hollywood's best (Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell, Jeremy Renner) giving great performances. It won't appeal to everyone. It's slow-paced, taking time to let the story breath and develop, and it demands that you pay attention and engage with it. It's worth it though, because the story told is powerful and character-driven, and the film is a joy to look at.
8: 12 Monkeys - A post-apocalyptic time travel movie by Terry Gilliam starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt? Sign me up. A really fun sci-fi movie with great performances by the two leads. This is the first movie where I really realized just how good an actor Brad Pitt is, as he does fantastic work as a completely unhinged crazy person. Gilliam always brings the fantastic and the imaginative, and his take on sci-fi is as entertaining as it is unique. The script is fantastic, twisting and turning and never quite showing its hand. Is Bruce Willis actually a time traveling convict, or is he just crazy? What is the army of the 12 Monkeys? Can history be changed anyway? It's a heck of a ride, with a brilliantly constructed story and some marvelous performances.
7: Inside Man - A good heist movie isn't about the what or the why. It rarely matters what the thieves are stealing, and why they're stealing it is often pretty straightforward. No, as Clive Owen's character states at the beginning of Inside Man, what matters is the how, "and therein, as the Bard would tell us, lies the rub." Inside Man is all about the how, and not just how the heist is done, but how the story is told. The movie has an energy to it, always interesting, always building tension, always adding new angles and new motivations. You shouldn't be rooting for the crooks, what with Denzel Washington being the good guy and all, but Clive Owen manages to be so charming that you just can't help it. One of my favorites to recommend, because it's just so entertaining. Honestly, I just can't see anyone not liking this movie, it's just great entertainment
6: The Brothers Bloom - I wrote a review of this movie here, so I won't spend too much time rehashing it. Writer/Director Rian Johnson (whose debut feature Brick just barely missed this list) weaves a fantastical fairy tale about two con men and their quest for the perfect con. While Brick is probably Johnson's more audacious, technically impressive film, Brothers Bloom is just so much fun. It's overflowing with joy and adventure, and seems to get better with each viewing.
5: Alien - I do not like horror movies. I don't get the point. Jump scares and gore just hold no appeal. That said, I love Alien. It's a sci-fi movie, sure, but it's undoubtedly a horror movie as well, and it's great. Even though it was made 30 years ago, it looks just as good as most modern sci-fi movies. The reason is that Ridley Scott had a consistent vision of a dark, grimy, industrial future that remains distinctive among all the shiny, clean sci-fi films we see every year, and because the creature design is so brilliant. Sure, today the alien could be made with CGI, and chase crew members through the halls, but Scott's alien is all the more effective because we hardly see it. More than anything, the word I would use to describe the film is "atmospheric". You literally feel like you're on this cramped ship with the walls pressing in on you. Also, a facehugging alien with acid for blood is downright terrifying already, but then...*shudder*.
4: Groundhog Day - A classic. Hilarious throughout, but surprisingly dark and philosophical at times. The screenplay is great and there are some great supporting characters, but the genius of the movie is Bill Murray's performance as Phil Connors. As one of my favorite online film reviewers puts it, Murray manages to be "sleazy but lovable at the exact same time." The thing is, we know Phil is a jerk and a sleazebag, but he's so darn charming that we're rooting for him to get the girl anyway. It's also layered with so many jokes and gags and little details that you'll probably pick up something new on each viewing. Is it ironic that a movie about a guy repeating the same day is also infinitely rewatchable?
- Available on Netflix Instant Watch
3: Inception - The top 3 films on this list changed places several times, and they're basically interchangeable. Inception is the kind of smart, thoughtful, idea-filled movie that we rarely get as a summer blockbuster. Despite its high concept, it isn't a hard movie to follow for the most part, and the credit for that goes to Christopher Nolan's direction. The editing is masterful, weaving together together the four different levels of dreaming in such a way that you never lose track of what's going on. There's no way a van falling in slow motion should be as suspenseful as it is, but the constant flashes to it work much like a clock counting down. It's both action-packed (the gravity-shifting hallway fight is as good as anything from the Matrix) and cerebral. The performances are uniformly excellent, with Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, and the criminally underrated Joseph Gordon-Levitt as standouts. It's an epic, powerful and entertaining look at hopes, dreams, and the lies we tell ourselves. One of my favorite moments in a movie this year is the scene where Cobb tells the dream version of his wife "I can't imagine you with all your complexity, all you perfection, all your imperfection. Look at you. You are just a shade of my real wife. You're the best I can do; but I'm sorry, you are just not good enough. "
2: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - If this list were simply which movie I will rewatch the most, this one would be number one with a bullet. Laugh out loud hilarious from beginning to end, and likely the closest thing you'll ever see to a comic book on screen. Director Edgar Wright (he of the hilarious Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead) edits the movie with a frenetic energy, and it just moves like no other film I've ever seen. I left my first viewing of it thinking that this was a very singular experience. There is nothing quite like it out there. It isn't a movie for everyone, but it's like Wright has a direct pipeline to my brain, everything just works for me. Practically everyone in this gives a great performance, but I have to highlight Kieran Culkin's turn as Scott's gay roommate Wallace as the funniest character I've seen this year. In a movie filled with hilarity, his moments are always highlights.
1: The Social Network - If you dismiss this as simply "that movie about Facebook", then you're missing out on a one of the most terrific, and timely, dramas in recent years. The combination of Aaron Sorkin's writing and David Fincher's direction is really kind of brilliant. Sorkin, who wrote A Few Good Men, The American President, and created The West Wing, is a master wordsmith. There's a beauty to well-written dialogue, and Sorkin's script just hums. The thing is though, it's easy for a movie like that to be just talking heads and people walking down hallways. The genius of pairing him with Fincher, one of the most exciting visual filmmakers working today, results in the most exciting movie you've ever seen about people talking. The film is non-linear, flashing back and forth between the story of Facebook's founding and the two depositions about whether or not Mark Zuckerberg stole the idea. It's a great framing device that makes the story really dynamic. The film is certainly never boring. Like most of these films, it's filled with great performances. I mentioned Jesse Eisenberg in the last post, and he's definitely the standout, but Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake and Armie Hammer (playing both the Winklevoss twins) are both great. From the fantastic opening scene to the close, with Zuckerberg refreshing the screen again and again, The Social Network is brilliant at every turn.
My last post featured some random thoughts on the movies I've seen this year, as well as the 5 worst movies I've seen this year. For this post, I'll be listing my top ten movies that I saw this year. Some of them will be films from this year, some will be older, but they're all films I saw for the first time this year. So, without further ado, my top ten list.
Narrowly Missed: Brick, Starship Troopers, Heat, Phone Booth, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
10: When Harry Met Sally - From 1987 to 1995, Rob Reiner made 6 movies, and 5 of them were great, with a few legitimate classics. Has he made anything worthwhile since then? Man, what happened to that guy? Anyway, when Harry Met Sally is everything that a romantic comedy should be. Billy Crystal absolutely owns the movie, and you can count on one hand the number of on-screen couples in the past 20 years who rival the chemistry of Crystal and Meg Ryan. It's a movie about the difficulty of being friends with the opposite sex, and how friendship and attraction can get mixed up. It works because Crystal and Ryan are so believable as friends and as a couple. The movie is funny and sweet and doesn't rely on the kind of ridiculous, contrived situations that
romantic comedies so often fall back on.-Available on Netflix Instant Watch
9: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - The first thing you'll notice is how gorgeous this movie is. Even if there were no plot behind it, the film is as beautifully cinematic as anything you'll ever see. Every shot seems worthy of being printed off and framed. The second thing you'll notice is the acting. This movie is like a masters class in acting, with some of Hollywood's best (Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell, Jeremy Renner) giving great performances. It won't appeal to everyone. It's slow-paced, taking time to let the story breath and develop, and it demands that you pay attention and engage with it. It's worth it though, because the story told is powerful and character-driven, and the film is a joy to look at.
8: 12 Monkeys - A post-apocalyptic time travel movie by Terry Gilliam starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt? Sign me up. A really fun sci-fi movie with great performances by the two leads. This is the first movie where I really realized just how good an actor Brad Pitt is, as he does fantastic work as a completely unhinged crazy person. Gilliam always brings the fantastic and the imaginative, and his take on sci-fi is as entertaining as it is unique. The script is fantastic, twisting and turning and never quite showing its hand. Is Bruce Willis actually a time traveling convict, or is he just crazy? What is the army of the 12 Monkeys? Can history be changed anyway? It's a heck of a ride, with a brilliantly constructed story and some marvelous performances.
7: Inside Man - A good heist movie isn't about the what or the why. It rarely matters what the thieves are stealing, and why they're stealing it is often pretty straightforward. No, as Clive Owen's character states at the beginning of Inside Man, what matters is the how, "and therein, as the Bard would tell us, lies the rub." Inside Man is all about the how, and not just how the heist is done, but how the story is told. The movie has an energy to it, always interesting, always building tension, always adding new angles and new motivations. You shouldn't be rooting for the crooks, what with Denzel Washington being the good guy and all, but Clive Owen manages to be so charming that you just can't help it. One of my favorites to recommend, because it's just so entertaining. Honestly, I just can't see anyone not liking this movie, it's just great entertainment
6: The Brothers Bloom - I wrote a review of this movie here, so I won't spend too much time rehashing it. Writer/Director Rian Johnson (whose debut feature Brick just barely missed this list) weaves a fantastical fairy tale about two con men and their quest for the perfect con. While Brick is probably Johnson's more audacious, technically impressive film, Brothers Bloom is just so much fun. It's overflowing with joy and adventure, and seems to get better with each viewing.
5: Alien - I do not like horror movies. I don't get the point. Jump scares and gore just hold no appeal. That said, I love Alien. It's a sci-fi movie, sure, but it's undoubtedly a horror movie as well, and it's great. Even though it was made 30 years ago, it looks just as good as most modern sci-fi movies. The reason is that Ridley Scott had a consistent vision of a dark, grimy, industrial future that remains distinctive among all the shiny, clean sci-fi films we see every year, and because the creature design is so brilliant. Sure, today the alien could be made with CGI, and chase crew members through the halls, but Scott's alien is all the more effective because we hardly see it. More than anything, the word I would use to describe the film is "atmospheric". You literally feel like you're on this cramped ship with the walls pressing in on you. Also, a facehugging alien with acid for blood is downright terrifying already, but then...*shudder*.
4: Groundhog Day - A classic. Hilarious throughout, but surprisingly dark and philosophical at times. The screenplay is great and there are some great supporting characters, but the genius of the movie is Bill Murray's performance as Phil Connors. As one of my favorite online film reviewers puts it, Murray manages to be "sleazy but lovable at the exact same time." The thing is, we know Phil is a jerk and a sleazebag, but he's so darn charming that we're rooting for him to get the girl anyway. It's also layered with so many jokes and gags and little details that you'll probably pick up something new on each viewing. Is it ironic that a movie about a guy repeating the same day is also infinitely rewatchable?
- Available on Netflix Instant Watch
3: Inception - The top 3 films on this list changed places several times, and they're basically interchangeable. Inception is the kind of smart, thoughtful, idea-filled movie that we rarely get as a summer blockbuster. Despite its high concept, it isn't a hard movie to follow for the most part, and the credit for that goes to Christopher Nolan's direction. The editing is masterful, weaving together together the four different levels of dreaming in such a way that you never lose track of what's going on. There's no way a van falling in slow motion should be as suspenseful as it is, but the constant flashes to it work much like a clock counting down. It's both action-packed (the gravity-shifting hallway fight is as good as anything from the Matrix) and cerebral. The performances are uniformly excellent, with Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, and the criminally underrated Joseph Gordon-Levitt as standouts. It's an epic, powerful and entertaining look at hopes, dreams, and the lies we tell ourselves. One of my favorite moments in a movie this year is the scene where Cobb tells the dream version of his wife "I can't imagine you with all your complexity, all you perfection, all your imperfection. Look at you. You are just a shade of my real wife. You're the best I can do; but I'm sorry, you are just not good enough. "
2: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - If this list were simply which movie I will rewatch the most, this one would be number one with a bullet. Laugh out loud hilarious from beginning to end, and likely the closest thing you'll ever see to a comic book on screen. Director Edgar Wright (he of the hilarious Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead) edits the movie with a frenetic energy, and it just moves like no other film I've ever seen. I left my first viewing of it thinking that this was a very singular experience. There is nothing quite like it out there. It isn't a movie for everyone, but it's like Wright has a direct pipeline to my brain, everything just works for me. Practically everyone in this gives a great performance, but I have to highlight Kieran Culkin's turn as Scott's gay roommate Wallace as the funniest character I've seen this year. In a movie filled with hilarity, his moments are always highlights.
1: The Social Network - If you dismiss this as simply "that movie about Facebook", then you're missing out on a one of the most terrific, and timely, dramas in recent years. The combination of Aaron Sorkin's writing and David Fincher's direction is really kind of brilliant. Sorkin, who wrote A Few Good Men, The American President, and created The West Wing, is a master wordsmith. There's a beauty to well-written dialogue, and Sorkin's script just hums. The thing is though, it's easy for a movie like that to be just talking heads and people walking down hallways. The genius of pairing him with Fincher, one of the most exciting visual filmmakers working today, results in the most exciting movie you've ever seen about people talking. The film is non-linear, flashing back and forth between the story of Facebook's founding and the two depositions about whether or not Mark Zuckerberg stole the idea. It's a great framing device that makes the story really dynamic. The film is certainly never boring. Like most of these films, it's filled with great performances. I mentioned Jesse Eisenberg in the last post, and he's definitely the standout, but Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake and Armie Hammer (playing both the Winklevoss twins) are both great. From the fantastic opening scene to the close, with Zuckerberg refreshing the screen again and again, The Social Network is brilliant at every turn.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
My Year In Film, Part 1
In the last couple years, I've started to become a bit of a movie buff. That started a while ago when I stumbled upon a film website I really like reading, and found out I could buy DVDs cheap off of Craigslist. It continued this semester, since I'm living with my grandparents, and my grandpa watches a lot of movies. All told, I've watched 73 movies this year that I hadn't seen before (at least, those are the ones I recorded. I've probably missed a few). I'm not going to post the full list here, because that would be ridiculous, but if you're interested in seeing it, here it is.
I love writing about movies, so I'm gonna take this chance to write about the movies I saw this year. Some will be from this year, some will be much older, but they're all movies I saw for the first time this year. Be aware, this post is going to be massive, so consider yourself warned. Without further ado, my year in movies.
Best Bad Movie: Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus - I'll be listing some of my least favorite movies of the year later on, but you will not find this movie on it. That's because Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus is hilarious. I have a soft spot in my heart for terrifically bad movies, and this one joins the pantheon beside hall-of-fame bad movies like The Room and Troll 2. I would describe the plot of the movie, but frankly, all you need to know is right there in the title. Also, it includes the greatest scene in cinema history.
Biggest Disappointment: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - This one wasn't disappointing because I thought it would be good. On the contrary, I was confident that they would screw up this adaptation (since I didn't particularly like the first two movies). However, since this was my favorite Narnia book, I was hoping that it would at least be the best of the 3 movies. Nope. Not even close. It's as generic an adventure story as you're likely to find, and filled with the worst kind of lazy storytelling. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why you would take a beloved children's story from one of the 20th century's greatest writers and then feel the need to completely change huge chunks of it. The movie speeds along at a breakneck pace, hardly ever spending time to develop the characters. There's a scene near the end where Caspian refers to Edmund and Lucy as his only family, but it feels completely false because they have nothing even approaching a meaningful conversation, and in the previous movie Caspian spends all his time interacting with Peter and Susan. Things just happen because the story needs them two, and on several occasions characters pop up simply for the purpose of spouting off exposition, then disappear, never to be seen from again. At least it's interesting visually, with some dynamic sweeping shots of the Dawn Treader, and some pretty great creature design on the giant sea serpent at the end. The other bright spot is Simon Pegg as the voice of Reepicheep. He brings a noble, heroic spirit to the character that makes him easily the best thing about the movie. If only the rest of the movie had that same sense of adventure, maybe it could have been special. Instead, it's not so much a bad movie as it is mediocre and bland, and in a lot of ways, that's even worse.
Best Performance I Saw This Year: Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network - I haven't seen many of the performances people are raving about this year (Natalie Portman, Colin Firth, James Franco), but Eisenberg is really brilliant here. He absolutely sells the antisocial, hyper-nerdy portrayal of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. He's twitchy and uncomfortable, but also haughty and superior. It's a great performance, and one that I'm not sure anyone but Eisenberg could have pulled off. Out of several memorable moments, this is the one that will stick with you most once you leave the theater.
Best Scene I Saw This Year: This one. If I have to explain why...
Top Five Worst Movies I Saw This Year:
5) The Fifth Element - I think I was more forgiving when I first watched this movie, but looking back on it, I have absolutely no desire to ever revisit it. It should have been a great movie. A Sci-Fi action movie by the director of The Professional starring Bruce Willis, Ian Holm and Gary Oldman. Instead, it's a plotless slog that seems entirely designed to show off character designs. It's loud, annoying, and has absolutely no logic to it. Ugh.
4) Knowing - There's nothing quite like Nicholas Cage playing crazy, over-the-top parts. This movie featured a scene where Cage's character witnesses a plane crash, runs into the flaming wreckage, sees a survivor running away while on fire and yells "WAIT!" Um...what? It's an illogical movie that really makes no sense. It's terrible, but at least it's terrible in a humorous, entertaining way.
3) The Squid and the Whale - I watched this movie without really knowing what it was about, because I had seen it highly regarded on a movie website I frequent. Ugh. It's a "rich people with problems" movie, which is tough to pull off at the best of times. The actors give good performances, but the whole thing is so twisted and depressing that the movie is just a slog. I don't know, maybe I'm just not the intended audience. It's not a totally inept movie, but it's so joyless that it's a task to sit through.
2) The Notebook - I should be an easy mark for this movie. I actually kind of enjoy chick flicks if they're funny and charming and at least mildly competent. I love Rachel McAdams, and Ryan Gosling is a solid actor. Lots of people love this movie. I'm not looking for much in a movie like this, just something resembling a coherent story and solid chemistry between the leads. It at least gets the second part right, and the sheer charm and magnetic presence of McAdams almost single-handedly makes the film watchable. Almost. The story, however, is flimsy, predictable and so blatantly manipulative that it boggles the mind. Characters simply disappear or die off because the script has no use for them anymore. For example, Noah's father is killed off in the narration, not because he had an illness or we saw a gradual decline in his condition, but simply because the story needed Noah to be living alone. The actors aren't so much playing characters as they are plot devices. When the terrible storytelling causes you to giggle throughout the movie, it just kills the movie and keeps it from reaching any kind of emotional depth.
1) Ultraviolet - Ultraviolet is like a seizure put on screen. The other movies on this list are bad, but at least they won't give you a headache simply by watching them. The fact that this was made by the same director who made Equilibrium is incomprehensible. I would try to explain the plot to you, except I have no idea what it was. It's in the future, and there are these vampires, only they aren't really vampires, they're just really strong and fast. Vampires can infect other people, but it's not really clear how (is it airborne? Bloodborn? We have no idea), and it's unclear why this would be a bad thing. Milla Jovovich steals a package that happens to be a young boy whose blood contains pathogens to do...well, that's not really clear. Cue much running around, fighting people (including some soldiers whose armor appears to be made of glass), and Jovovich's character apparently develops a deep maternal connection to this boy in the course of 24 hours. We're really not sure why she keeps running around and what the final goal is. I'd say that there are plot holes, but that requires a plot for there to be holes in. All of this would at least be tolerable if the visuals were good. To put it lightly, they are not. All the scenes are intensely bright in a way that makes everything washed out and indistinguishable. The fight scenes and chases are just a series of shots without any kind of overall sense of what is happening. Worst of all, the CGI looks like it was pulled from a bad Playstation 1 game. It's atrocious, and carries none of the simple elegance that made Equilibrium so great. The plot is nonexistent, the acting is awful, and the visuals will make your head hurt. It's a perfect storm of terrible.
To be continued with my top 10 list in Part 2
I love writing about movies, so I'm gonna take this chance to write about the movies I saw this year. Some will be from this year, some will be much older, but they're all movies I saw for the first time this year. Be aware, this post is going to be massive, so consider yourself warned. Without further ado, my year in movies.
Best Bad Movie: Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus - I'll be listing some of my least favorite movies of the year later on, but you will not find this movie on it. That's because Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus is hilarious. I have a soft spot in my heart for terrifically bad movies, and this one joins the pantheon beside hall-of-fame bad movies like The Room and Troll 2. I would describe the plot of the movie, but frankly, all you need to know is right there in the title. Also, it includes the greatest scene in cinema history.
Biggest Disappointment: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - This one wasn't disappointing because I thought it would be good. On the contrary, I was confident that they would screw up this adaptation (since I didn't particularly like the first two movies). However, since this was my favorite Narnia book, I was hoping that it would at least be the best of the 3 movies. Nope. Not even close. It's as generic an adventure story as you're likely to find, and filled with the worst kind of lazy storytelling. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why you would take a beloved children's story from one of the 20th century's greatest writers and then feel the need to completely change huge chunks of it. The movie speeds along at a breakneck pace, hardly ever spending time to develop the characters. There's a scene near the end where Caspian refers to Edmund and Lucy as his only family, but it feels completely false because they have nothing even approaching a meaningful conversation, and in the previous movie Caspian spends all his time interacting with Peter and Susan. Things just happen because the story needs them two, and on several occasions characters pop up simply for the purpose of spouting off exposition, then disappear, never to be seen from again. At least it's interesting visually, with some dynamic sweeping shots of the Dawn Treader, and some pretty great creature design on the giant sea serpent at the end. The other bright spot is Simon Pegg as the voice of Reepicheep. He brings a noble, heroic spirit to the character that makes him easily the best thing about the movie. If only the rest of the movie had that same sense of adventure, maybe it could have been special. Instead, it's not so much a bad movie as it is mediocre and bland, and in a lot of ways, that's even worse.
Best Performance I Saw This Year: Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network - I haven't seen many of the performances people are raving about this year (Natalie Portman, Colin Firth, James Franco), but Eisenberg is really brilliant here. He absolutely sells the antisocial, hyper-nerdy portrayal of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. He's twitchy and uncomfortable, but also haughty and superior. It's a great performance, and one that I'm not sure anyone but Eisenberg could have pulled off. Out of several memorable moments, this is the one that will stick with you most once you leave the theater.
Best Scene I Saw This Year: This one. If I have to explain why...
Top Five Worst Movies I Saw This Year:
5) The Fifth Element - I think I was more forgiving when I first watched this movie, but looking back on it, I have absolutely no desire to ever revisit it. It should have been a great movie. A Sci-Fi action movie by the director of The Professional starring Bruce Willis, Ian Holm and Gary Oldman. Instead, it's a plotless slog that seems entirely designed to show off character designs. It's loud, annoying, and has absolutely no logic to it. Ugh.
4) Knowing - There's nothing quite like Nicholas Cage playing crazy, over-the-top parts. This movie featured a scene where Cage's character witnesses a plane crash, runs into the flaming wreckage, sees a survivor running away while on fire and yells "WAIT!" Um...what? It's an illogical movie that really makes no sense. It's terrible, but at least it's terrible in a humorous, entertaining way.
3) The Squid and the Whale - I watched this movie without really knowing what it was about, because I had seen it highly regarded on a movie website I frequent. Ugh. It's a "rich people with problems" movie, which is tough to pull off at the best of times. The actors give good performances, but the whole thing is so twisted and depressing that the movie is just a slog. I don't know, maybe I'm just not the intended audience. It's not a totally inept movie, but it's so joyless that it's a task to sit through.
2) The Notebook - I should be an easy mark for this movie. I actually kind of enjoy chick flicks if they're funny and charming and at least mildly competent. I love Rachel McAdams, and Ryan Gosling is a solid actor. Lots of people love this movie. I'm not looking for much in a movie like this, just something resembling a coherent story and solid chemistry between the leads. It at least gets the second part right, and the sheer charm and magnetic presence of McAdams almost single-handedly makes the film watchable. Almost. The story, however, is flimsy, predictable and so blatantly manipulative that it boggles the mind. Characters simply disappear or die off because the script has no use for them anymore. For example, Noah's father is killed off in the narration, not because he had an illness or we saw a gradual decline in his condition, but simply because the story needed Noah to be living alone. The actors aren't so much playing characters as they are plot devices. When the terrible storytelling causes you to giggle throughout the movie, it just kills the movie and keeps it from reaching any kind of emotional depth.
1) Ultraviolet - Ultraviolet is like a seizure put on screen. The other movies on this list are bad, but at least they won't give you a headache simply by watching them. The fact that this was made by the same director who made Equilibrium is incomprehensible. I would try to explain the plot to you, except I have no idea what it was. It's in the future, and there are these vampires, only they aren't really vampires, they're just really strong and fast. Vampires can infect other people, but it's not really clear how (is it airborne? Bloodborn? We have no idea), and it's unclear why this would be a bad thing. Milla Jovovich steals a package that happens to be a young boy whose blood contains pathogens to do...well, that's not really clear. Cue much running around, fighting people (including some soldiers whose armor appears to be made of glass), and Jovovich's character apparently develops a deep maternal connection to this boy in the course of 24 hours. We're really not sure why she keeps running around and what the final goal is. I'd say that there are plot holes, but that requires a plot for there to be holes in. All of this would at least be tolerable if the visuals were good. To put it lightly, they are not. All the scenes are intensely bright in a way that makes everything washed out and indistinguishable. The fight scenes and chases are just a series of shots without any kind of overall sense of what is happening. Worst of all, the CGI looks like it was pulled from a bad Playstation 1 game. It's atrocious, and carries none of the simple elegance that made Equilibrium so great. The plot is nonexistent, the acting is awful, and the visuals will make your head hurt. It's a perfect storm of terrible.
To be continued with my top 10 list in Part 2
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