I present my tentative list. Although I still plan to see Blue Valentine and Somewhere, among others, I doubt I’ll have a chance to do so before the end of the year. A Prophet was the best movie I saw in 2010, but I decided to exclude it because of its 2009 release date in France. Besides, Jacques Audiard’s crime epic is in a class of its own compared to the other movies of the year. Past blog entries with my thoughts on some of the films can be found here and here.
1. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright)
2. The Social Network (David Fincher)
3. The Ghost Writer (Roman Polanski)
4. 127 Hours (Danny Boyle)
Director Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire is style over substance, a film that hides its lack of anything to say with a hyperkinetic aesthetic more fit for a music video than a story about poverty in India. Boyle puts his stylistic strengths to great use in 127 Hours, a movie that manages to take a life-affirming true story and present it with brutal honesty, a sense of humor and filmic energy. James Franco’s performance as Aron Ralston, a self-isolated adventurer who survives 127 hours at the bottom of a narrow canyon with his arm jammed under a rock, is both beautifully emotional and grippingly visceral. There are moments when Boyle’s stylistic flourishes border on excessive, but ultimately the playfulness of the filmmaking matches the protagonist’s life outlook and vivid imagination. An aching sense of nostalgia and a sense of hope for the future keep Aron going, and these revelatory flashbacks are what make this movie more than just an edge-of-the-seat survival tale. A lot of very good movies make me excited about going to the theater. This is one of the few that left me feeling happy to be alive.
5. Inception (Christopher Nolan)
6. True Grit (Joel and Ethan Coen)
This brilliantly-executed Western admittedly lacks the ironic Coen brothers touch. From a narrative standpoint, it’s relatively straightforward by their standards, but that does not make it any less impressive. The film doesn’t focus on cruel landscapes like their cold masterpiece No Country For Old Men but rather the worn and peculiar faces of the West. Jeff Bridges once again proves himself to be one of our greats as the mumbling, drunken U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn. But perhaps even more impressive is Hailee Steinfeld as 14-year-old Mattie Ross, the girl out to avenge the death of her father. While No Country For Old Men was an uncompromisingly violent thriller, True Grit is a character-driven drama. Cogburn and Hailee are strikingly different in many ways but also spiritual siblings with a shared sense of determination, or perhaps stubbornness. The storytelling and character development are at the forefront here, proving that the Coens are in fact capable of writing great linear stories. (Click here for list of all of their features.)
7. Let Me In (Matt Reeves)
Confession: I have not seen Let the Right One In. But Matt Reeves’ take on the tale of young vampire love is great in its own right, sweet yet haunting. Chloe Moretz once again proves herself to be a great talent as Abby, the bloodthirsty but somehow lovable vampire. The young actress manages to capture the aged sadness of her character’s spirit and also the girlish sweetness of the body she is trapped in. The atmosphere here is mostly understated, making the violent scenes in the film feel all the more pronounced. And there are several memorable images: Abby’s reaction to walking into a home uninvited, a POV shot during a car accident and pools of blood forming in a school swimming pool. What makes this movie so tragic is its look into the world of broken homes and bullying. In today’s social climate, the film can possibly be seen as an indictment of harassment based on sexual orientation. (Keep in mind the way in which Abby asks young protagonist Owen if he would still like her if she wasn’t a girl.) The Swedish version has been canonized as a contemporary classic, and I truly hope this apparently overlooked gem stands the test of time.
8. Tangled (Nathan Greno and Byron Howard)
Disney’s best feature since Aladdin, this delightful take on Rapunzel really impresses with its sincerity and charm. It’s the artistic comeback the studio thought it had with last year’s traditionally animated The Princess and the Frog, a fine but not great effort. The 3D is superfluous, but the combination of admirable performances from Zachary Levi and Mandy Moore, gorgeous computer animation and several genuinely funny moments makes this a near classic. Also, the sequence with the birthday lanterns is breathtakingly beautiful.
9. Shutter Island (Martin Scorsese)
10. The Crazies (Breck Eisner)
Additionally, here are reviews of movies I have seen since my last update. And yes, they are listed from favorite to least favorite. Keep in mind, these are NOT the runner-ups for my top 10.
Winter’s Bone (Debra Granik)
I probably need to see this again. In this atmospheric mood piece, Jennifer Lawrence’s Ree Dolly goes on an eerie journey to find her missing father in the Ozark woods. Her investigation allows the film to examine rural drug violence, broken families living in poverty and a young woman’s determination against all odds. Director Debra Granik does a masterful job of establishing a sense of dread and danger bubbling just under the surface, but the film’s slow burn admittedly feels paced a bit too carefully at times.
The King’s Speech (Tom Hooper)
As far as the performances are concerned, you can’t ask for anything more from this film. Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter all give masterful performances. The interaction about Firth and Rush as student and teacher, king and subject is full of wit and social insight. Where the film occasionally suffers is with its script, full of Oscar night-ready one-liners. (“Why should I waste my time listening to you?” “Because I have a voice!”) And although the film does a fine job of positing the king’s speech impediment as a personal obstacle, it is much lazier in examining rhetoric as a tool to mobilize the masses. The use of a newsreel about the Third Reich towards the end of the film says too little too late, draining the titular climax of larger significance. In any case, I’m nitpicking because this really is a good film, essential viewing for Firth fans.
Jackass 3D (Jeff Tremaine)
I can’t admit to being a huge fan of the Jackass franchise, but the gang’s latest effort is truly the best use of 3D since Avatar. I wouldn’t go so far as Jon Stewart, who compared Johnny Knoxville and company to silent comic genius Buster Keaton, but the way these guys sacrifice their bodies (and any shred of dignity they still have left) is strangely artful. These guys exploit 3D as the cheap gimmick it usually is and create a hysterical collection of sketches.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (David Yates)
Not quite as good as Order of the Phoenix or Prisoner of Azkaban, but still pretty solid. The fractured storytelling of this entry in the series highlights the loss of direction for the characters. School no longer exists as the organizing principle of their life. They are out in the open, left to face all of the trials that come with facing reality. There is a sense of emotional honesty throughout the movie, most poignant when Harry and Hermione awkwardly dance together. This scene is indicative of the movie because it exhibits the true chemistry between the actors after nine years of these movies, yet it stands out compared to the viciously cold atmosphere of the rest of the movie. The movie pulls no punches with its most intense scenes, including a run-in with Voldemort’s serpent Nagini. The tale of the Deathly Hallows is gorgeously told through animation, and although well-executed, this scene feels a bit out of place. I can’t personally imagine another way that this story could have been told, but the sequence nonetheless feels too tidy in a movie that’s otherwise jarring. Also, Helena Bonham Carter continues to be psychotically brilliant as Bellatrix Lestrange, overshadowing the younger actors in the film. When she is onscreen, I can’t help but wish that the adult actors could somehow play a bigger part in the film. And of course, the ending: Part I probably could not have concluded any other way, but it still feels so abrupt. The film attempts to go out with a big bang but doesn’t really succeed. It’s a cliffhanger reliant on a villain absent for almost all of the film, set up to have little no cathartic payoff.
TRON: Legacy (Joseph Kosinski)
There isn’t much to say here. This 3D extravaganza is pretty stupid, but it’s a lot of fun. The action sequences in the grid are intoxicating, making up for the fact that the script poorly attempts to establish a grandeur mythology full of existential questions. I just can’t imagine this movie being worth the time if it’s not in IMAX 3D.
Black Swan (Darren Aronofsky)
Not the worst movie of the year, but this pretentious half-dull, half-crazy effort is easily the most overrated and a true disappointment. This movie should have been officially titled BLACK SWAN, as it does absolutely everything in broad strokes. The movie is constantly scratching for some deeper meaning under the surface of its wild theatrics, but it ultimately comes up empty. Sure, it tackles technique versus passion in art, showbiz paranoia and the psychology of a creator, but never in way that allows viewers to actually think or ask themselves questions. Natalie Portman’s performance is impressive, but it’s mostly so in the context of what she’s already done. She stuns with her intensity and physicality, a side of her we haven’t really seen before, but the character on the screen has no depth. Now, I’ll admit: the final act of the film is great. It delves into a nightmarish vision that is valuable in and of itself for its technical prowess. However, the chaos only comes after an hour or so of exposition that suffers from poorly fitting Cinema verite aesthetic and forgettable supporting performances. Aronofsky’s latest is middlebrow trash that does an admittedly good job of disguising itself as art-house beauty.
Love and Other Drugs (Edward Zwick)
Anne Hathaway proves two things with this strange movie: 1) she’s really comfortable being naked onscreen, and 2) she can really act. Her turn as a Parkinson’s Disease patient is moving and surprisingly not condescending. Additionally, she and co-star Jake Gyllenhaal have tremendous chemistry, and they look great on the screen together. Unfortunately, just about everything else about this movie is disastrous. It has no sense of tone whatsoever, mixing elements of “gross-out” humor, frankly sexual romantic comedy, heavy disease drama and the list goes on. The film is at its best when it deals with the complexities of relationships, benefiting from the strength of the leads, but even then it doesn’t do anything substantial.
