Monday, February 25, 2013

Ranking All the 2012 Films I Watched


Ranking All the 2012 Films I Watched

I've become an expert at watching only films that I think will be good and having it turn out that way.  2012 was a great year for good films – not a great year for great film.  I enjoyed nearly every single movie I saw put out last year, a feat I didn't know was possible.  That is why, instead of making a top ten or top twenty list, I decided to rank all of the films I saw from last year.   I will try my hardest to leave at least a couple comments for each film.  And hopefully, in 2013, I will have enough motivation to really start giving full-length reviews for many of the films I see.

Also, to make it more interesting, I've grouped the films in tiers, because I wanted to show which films I thought were elite and which ones I thought were in categories below elite. Here's how my categories work: Tier 1 = elite, Tier 2 = near elite, Tier 3 = very, very good films,  Tier 4 = films that were good but were missing one or two elements to make them great, Tier 5 = slightly- above average films, Tier 6 = average films, entertaining enough but nothing to write home about, Tier 7 = not very good films.  I think it is incredible that it is only Tier 7 movies that I didn't enjoy.  And now my list.

Tier 1

1.  The Master – There is only one really relevant American director working right now:  Paul Thomas Anderson.  He has written and directed the three best films of the past 12 years:  Punch Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, and The Master.  I say he is the best because he is the only American director right now that I would safely say is a true artist in every sense of the word.  A true artist, to me, is someone who knows exactly how to balance the qualities of his or her work:  subtly vs. heavy-handedness, ambiguity vs. explicitness, complexity vs. simplicity, provocation vs. quietness, moralistic vs. pure entertainment, etc.  But most of all a true artist needs to be able to work with tension properly.  Tension between fathers and sons, between family, between friends,  between lovers, and between fellow human beings.  This is where Anderson excels.

The Master also features the best all around acting this year.  My favorite performance this year is Philip Seymour Hoffman as Lancaster Dodd, the L. Ron Hubbard cult-leader character.  He wears every emotion so masterfully (sorry for the pun) in his face.  He is all-at-once compassionate, violent, angry, loveable, quiet, charismatic and energetic.  Which makes his performance a more rounded human one than any other actor this year.

The Master also contains the top four scenes of the year (the department store sequence, the first processing scene, the jail-cell scene and the ending Slowboat to China moments).

But this film will not be for everyone.  The last half of the film can be frustrating and confusing. The lead character, played by Joaquin Phoenix, is not a very likable guy which makes it hard for us to follow him around everywhere.  The ideas explored in the movie are not ideas that are common and/or acceptable to explore.  These things make The Master a challenge to watch. But I love a good challenge. 

 
2. Django Unchained  –  If you loved Inglorious Basterds you should love this movie.  That is really all I have to say.  This movie does what all good Tarantino films do:  they entertain you, put you in an unusual world with colorful characters, mix genres, draw out wonderful performances, excite you, push the boundaries of history and timelines, are wonderfully violent and funny.  In other words Django is more of the same.  But that is not a bad thing in the slightest.

Also, this is probably my favorite Leo Dicaprio performance ever.

 
3. The Dark Knight Rises  – Anyone who knows me knows I'm a Batman fanatic.  I have near 500 Batman comic books.  I wish I had a couple of hours so I could type all of the ways that Christopher Nolan took a half-dozen of my all-time favorite Batman stories and artfully weaved them together into a very, very good film.  This is the best of the trilogy.  There were so many nice touches and so much storyline and characters that were packed into two-and-a-half hours that I am in awe of it.  Sure, I can admit it's flawed.  But no one on planet earth could make a superhero movie that is this incredibly dens, with so much going on, and that is still very entertaining.

Also, as a final note, I was really, very nervous that Ann Hathaway was Catwoman, but she          stole every scene she was in and was one of the best reasons to watch the movie.

 
4.  Compliance – I, simultaneously, want to tell you to watch and to not to watch this film.  This film and Killer Joe are the two movies that will make you so uncomfortable that you might just not trust my judgment in film any longer.  DO NOT WATCH THIS FILM IF YOU DONT LIKE BEING UNCOMFORTABLE. 

Okay, now that I'm finished with the disclaimer, let me tell you why this is my number four film.  I have never had an experience after watching a film the same way that I had with this one.  I literally could not get this film out of my head for three or four days after watching this. The subject matter is so disturbing and not in any pornographic or violent way.  The subject matter is simply the honest expose of the darkest characteristics of humanity.  I didn't understand what “regular” human beings were capable of doing.  And because this story is based on true events it helped me understand some of histories most notorious blemishes. 

Compliance is about a phone call received to a fast food restaurant.  The person on the other end claims to be a police officer and that one of the employees of the restaurant stole some money and that this employee needs to be detained.  Things quickly spin out of control from there.  That is all I'm going to say about the plot.  This film probably would not work as well without the amazing performance by Ann Dowd as the manager of the fast food place.  Hers was probably the best female performance of the year.  

 
5.  Killer Joe – I'm a little sadistic, that is why I loved this William Friedkin film.  The warning from above also applies to this film:  Do not watch it if you don't want to be uncomfortable.  I hate to say it but Matthew McConaughey is becoming one of my favorite actors.  He is really very good as Killer Joe and Juno Temple is also very good in her role as well. 

The premise is that these two hick brothers want to collect on their mom's life insurance so they    hire a man to murder her.  This film is crazy.  It goes places that the mind shouldn't travel.  And that is why I loved it.  (Don't be mad at me if, after watching this film, you never want to eat at KFC again). 

 
6.  Beasts of the Southern Wild – If I have sufficiently warned you away from the last two films, this is the one for you.  This film won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance last year and I can see why.  This film has both style and substance.  It's heartbreaking and happy.  It's bombastic and gentle.  It's old-fashioned but current. 

 I loved this film because I love the movies to take me to new, wonderful places, places that are colorful, exotic, with characters that you love.  Beasts does this.  We are instantly transported just outside the levies of New Orleans in a place called the Bathtub.  It's a story about a very poor but close community of people who try to survive and overcome a very difficult situation. 

 
7. Cloud Atlas – If you haven't noticed, I can be prone to hyperbole.  However, I don't know if I'm exaggerating when I say that this is the most ambitious film ever made.  While I was watching it I couldn't believe that filmmakers could coordinate such an effort.  This had to make it in my top ten list just because it is so ambitious. 

This movie is a collage of six separate but interconnected storylines from six different eras.  The crazy thing about this film is that these six storylines are constantly switching back and forth in the movie, weaving a seemingly impossible single cohesive story.  But it ends up being very cohesive.  This film could have been a disaster, but the fact that the Wachowski's made this work, and work well, is a miracle in and of itself.

 But that doesn't mean that this movie doesn't have its flaws.  There are definitely some stories that are more entertaining than others.  And I really didn't care too much for Tom Hanks as one of the lead actors.  Also, because some of the actors had multiple roles in the movies, their changing faces and hairstyles got to be distracting and would sometimes pull me out of the film.  But I can honestly say that this was very much worth watching and that this is the film that this year that I most look forward to watching again. 

Tier 2

8. Cabin in the Woods – I wrote that The Master had the four best scenes of the year, well, this movie has the fifth best and if you've seen it you know exactly which one I mean.  This was just all-around fun and absurd, with a lot of laughs, frights and surprises.


9. Flight – From the trailer of this film I knew exactly what the ending was going to be.  I knew exactly where this film was going, but boy was I surprised and delighted how it got there.  This could have been a really generic, cookie-cutter, overly-moralistic look about personal responsibility and self-discipline, blah blah blah.  Thank goodness it wasn't and thank goodness it was anchored by probably the best actors on the planet, Denzel Washington.

I really thought that this film was going to be pretty bad, that Robert Zemeckis would show us throughout the entire move footage of the plane crash.  But what was surprising is that the film was never really interested in the crash, it was never interested with the spectacle.  But it was interested in the characters and their demons and struggles.  And that is very unusual for a big Hollywood film.

10. Zero Dark Thirty – I almost feel like this movie has to be on everyone's top ten list.  It just has to.  Kathryn Bigelow just makes such solid films.  She's like the Bill Belichick of movies.  She might not always make the best films of the year, but she's always in the conversation.  For me, I love her moves because of the very interesting ideas she pursues.  The leads in her films have such a drive to accomplish a goal/many goals that when there are no more goals to be accomplished they are left empty and lost.  This is such an interesting idea.

I want to gripe a little though.  Not about the film but the reaction to the film.  Bigelow is not endorsing torture.  This is such a matter-of-fact depiction of the way that America extracted information from captured enemies that it is incredible that idiots would say that this film even comes close to being pro-torture.  It happened, Bigelow documented it, get over it.  Great film.

11. End of Watch – Chemistry is often very vital to the success of a movie.  Often times, in romantically-inclined films, everything hinges on the relationship between the two lovers (or potential lovers).  However, when you can point to the incredible chemistry between two characters in a film not about romance, that is when you know you have a special movie. 

Michael Pena and Jake Gyllenhaal are so good together, there seems to be no doubt in my mind that they are probably best friends in real life.  Often times a film wants you to care about the main characters so that there can be a big emotional payoff at the end.  And often times those films fail.  End of Watch succeeds in spades.  Just please don't dash my hopes that Pena and Gyllenhaal aren't bestest of friends.  Please.

Tier 3

12.Take This Waltz – I started hating this film halfway through it.  I said to myself, “here's another white people, first-world problems indie flick.”  But after the credits rolled, I realized that, although I was mostly right, the film was something much more and hit me on a more personal level.  I would recommend this movie to anyone who has been in a relationship for what they feel like has been a long time. 
The acting is good, but, as usual, Michelle Williams stands out.  And there is also a really creative, unusual and fun sex scene at the end.

13. Secret World of Arietty – My favorite animated film this year.  A really fun premise.  Great execution.  Really good voice-over work.  A story about miniature people (only a couple inches tall), who refer to themselves as “Borrowers.”  These Borrowers try to survive in a hostile home of regular size people.

14. Jiro Dreams of Sushi  –  I love films about people who are really dedicated to their craft.  This documentary shows you the dedication it takes to be the best.  It is really inspiring but also a bit frightening to realize just how far a person has to go to be on top.

15. Your Sister's Sister  –  I love Mark Duplass (I'm obsessed with The League), Emily Blunt, Rosemary Dewitt and Lynn Shelton.  Watching them work and act together was a fun experience.

16. Amour – Michael Haneke makes devastating films and this movie is no exception.  But it feels different than your usual Haneke provocative effort.  In this Palm d'Or award winning film, he examines the arduous and painful effects of helping a loved one as they die.  There are some truly heartbreaking scenes in this one.

17. Ted – This flick has the funniest premise of the year.  A child's teddy bear, who comes to life, grows up with him, becoming his pot-smoking, best-friend roommate.  This was probably the funniest flat-out comedy of the year.

18. Pitch Perfect – I have to admit, I'm kind of a little obsessed about this movie.  It is really good.  Like really good.  Like I wish I had enough balls to move this up higher on my list but I'm too afraid of looking girly.  It's funny.  The A Capella scenes are really entertaining and Anna Kendricks is the coolest, most awesome human being in existence right now.  Okay, okay, let me turn down my fifteen year old self.  But really, if you want to have a good time, rent this movie.

19. Wuthering Heights – This is a hard movie to remember from the haze of my 2012 Sundance experience.  But I think I liked it enough to put it this high on my list. 

20. Looper – My most anticipated movies of 2012 year were as follows:  The Master, Django Unchained and Looper.  Well, I got two of those movies right.  But it's not that I don like Looper, cause I really do.  But I had such high expectations for this film that I was a little let down with the effort.  I mean, did you see the trailer for this thing?  It looked as if it would be the greatest film since Citizen Kane.  But it didn't end up being that. 

But I think I know where this film went wrong.  Everything in the film, the momentum, the action, the excitement, etc etc, seemed to slow down when Joseph Gordon Levitt goes to Emily Blunts farm halfway through the film.  From then on, Director Rian Johnson seemed content to kind of phone this movie in.  I kind of hope that there is some directors cut to this film in the future where the action never stops and slog at the farm is a distant memory.

21.  Moonrise Kingdom – Wes Anderson directed this.  His best film since Life Aquatic.  But since you probably didn't like Life Aquatic like I did, then it is his best film since Rushmore (yes, I don't really care for The Royal Tenenbaums). 

Wes Anderson is like Quentin Tarantino in regards to that both filmmakers are very good at what they do but they really don't try much of anything new.  Anderson is good at coordinating the music, the storyline, the acting, the style, the clothing and dialogue into a perfectly fun and quirky mixture. 

22. Safety Not Guaranteed – The chemistry between Mark Duplass and Audry Plaza shouldn't work on paper but it works excellent here.  I also really liked Jake Johnson in his role.  Just a really fun and funny film.

23.  Chronicle –  Sometimes, during the first few months of the year, I forget that Hollywood knows how to put out good films.  This film was a welcome respite from the dreck that the movie studios were pumping out.  Plus I love superhero movies that aren't really superhero movies (think Unbreakable).

24. Seven Psychopaths – Such a fun movie by the director that gave us In Bruge.  If you like In Bruge but thought it wasn't absurd enough then you will love this film.  Very funny parts.

Tier 4

25. Holy Motors – If I were to watch this again, this might easily make it into my top 10.  The performance by Denis Lavant was so incredible, it might be the best performance of the year (besides performances in The Master).  This film was so unusual that it was jarring and, in the moment, I couldn't make heads-or-tails of things.  Some of the scenes were so incredible (Type “Accordion Holy Motors” into YouTube) that they force you to live those moments over and over in your head.

This is essentially a story of a man who drives around in a limo all day long with a bunch of wigs, makeup and different kinds of clothes and costumes and impersonates different people for a reason that is not at all apparent.  Does it sound kind of strange, well you don't even know the half of it.  
 
26.The Avengers – This is lower on my list because I did not think it was as good the second or third times I watched it.  But it was still impressive that Joss Weedon could coordinate a half-dozen or so Superheros and make it feel like each superhero got his or her day in the sun. 

27.  The Amazing Spider-Man –  I was surprised that I liked this as much as I did.  I'm one of the few, I feel, that really didn't care if they rebooted this superhero or not.  I just hope that one of these days we can have a superhero movie that doesn't have to go through the origin story in the first episode, because the story was just too much like Sam Raimi's first Spiderman.

28. Skyfall – Bond is Bond.  I never get too excited for these films but this one was a pretty good effort with some great actions scenes and really good cinematography.

29.  Premium Rush – This film was really very thrilling.  Who knew that a show about people chasing each other on bikes could be so captivating?  The end was a bit formulaic and corny but the bike chase sequences more than made up for some of the more unbelievable and unimpressive plot.

30.  ParaNorman – I didn't hear a lot of people talking about this one, which is a shame, because it is really very good.  I've already seen in three times and it hasn't even been out a half a year.  Very rewatchable.

31. Chasing Ice – This was a pretty important and shocking documentary.  For all of you that still don't believe that Global Warming (aka. Climate Change) is a real thing.  Please educate yourselves by watching this because it is much more compelling than An Inconvenient Truth.

32. Jeff, Who Lives at Home – I watched this on Netflix and was really surprised about how good it was.  It is a slightly better-than-average comedy in a wasteland (Netflix) of average to less-than-average comedies.

33.  Brave – A middle of the road Pixar film.  I feel that they still need to redeem themselves after the debacles that were the Cars series.  This at least points them in the right direction.

34.  Wreck-it-Ralph – I usually rank animated films pretty high because I enjoy them.  This year seems to be loaded with good animated films but not great ones.  I liked this film mainly because the voice-over work and creativity was really good and also I really like the chemistry between Ralph and Vanellope.  But it could have been funnier.

35. Oslo, August 31st – This should be higher on my list but I feel absolutely no connection to the drug/party/hedonistic/nightclub/young adult Euro-culture that has existed for the last twenty or so years. But it is a really well made film and is a good expose of the effects of those that have lived that lifestyle.

36. L – No one who reads this list will ever see this film.  I watched this film because I really enjoyed the Greek film Dogtooth, whose screenwriter wrote this film movie.  This film isn't as dark or funny as Dogtooth but it has some really good scenes.

Tier 5

37. Argo – I don't understand the hype.  The ending was pretty terrible.  The way the filmmakers forced so much drama made me just shake my head in disbelief of the whole effort.  It was a good story and parts of the film were really interesting – not Affleck's performance though.

38.  Sleepwalk With Me – This is another slightly better-than-average comedy.

39. Bernie – This is an average comedy.  If you can call it a comedy. 

40. 21 Jump Street – A lot funnier than I was expecting.  I would have had this a lot higher on my list if the second half of this film would have match the laughs of the first half.

41. The Hunger Games –  A good adaptation of a pretty average book.  Nothing special though, except for Jennifer Lawrence's performance.

42.  Limitless – There was a lot of plot holes in this film; however, this movie really made me think and raises some really good questions.

43.  Dredd A better action film than the trailer makes it out to be. 

44. Hello I Must Be Going – One of those Sundance films that I remember liking but were kind of lost in the fog of what was festival fatigue.

45.  The Grey – A decent movie about survival.  I really have not liked Liam Neeson very much lately but he is actually the best reason to watch this film.

46. John Dies at the End – Some really, really funny moments, wrapped into a lot of really muddled, not so funny moments.  But the good definitely outweighed the bad.

47. The Pirates:  Band of Misfits – I really liked it but I had thought, going in to it, that it would be better.

48. Robot and Frank – Just a really fun, cute Sundance film.

49. V/H/S – A hit and miss movie.  Some of the horror stories were effective, some were not.  It was pretty damn scary though and it was really fun to watch it at midnight during Sundance.

Tier 6

50. Celeste and Jesse Forever – a good, but not very memorable Sundance flick.  I do really remember liking the unconventional ending though.  If I saw it again I might rank it higher.

51. Frankenweenie – Tim Burton is up to his old tricks.  The film was fun.  But every recent Burton film just seems like average, predictable Burton.

52. Prometheus – I had a fun time with this controversial in the theater but it is not a good thing when six months later I can barely recall anything memorable from the film except for Michael Fassbender's great performance.

53. Queen of Versailles – This documentary seemed to want you to like two really despicable, pathetic people and to understand the plight of the super-rich who have come across a little financial trouble.  Not interested.

54. The Loneliest Planet – This could have been really, really good had it been less than 45 minutes long.  Instead we get long drawn out movie that had two or three really good scenes and nothing else much happening.

Tier 7

55.  The Campaign – Ridiculous.  And not in a good way.

56.  Men In Black 3 – The reviews kind of convinced me that this could be good.  They were wrong.

57.  The Hobbit  – I never fall asleep in the theater but this one had me snoozing.

58.  Simon Killer – Just a really pointless, thoughtless, and laborious film.

Films I wish I would have seen that might have made it high on my list:  Lincoln,  This is Not a Film, The Imposter, Searching for Sugarman, Life of Pi, Footnote, The Gatekeepers, The Law in These Parts, Rust and Bone, The Turin Horse, Once Upon A Time in Anatolia, Cosmopolis.


Best Performances

Here are my top performances of the year.  I call it the MasterNateOrs (Master = master of their craft, Nate = because I get to choose, and Ors = equals actORS).

The Best Male Performance in a Supporting Role:
 
*1 Phillip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
2 Leonardo DiCaprio – Django Unchained
3 Matthew McConaughey – Killer Joe

The Best Female Performance in a Supporting Role:
 
*1 Ann Dowd – Compliance
2 Amy Adams – The Master
3 Anne Hathaway – The Dark Knight Rises

The Best Male Performance in a Lead Role:
 
*1 Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
2 Denis Lavant – Holy Motors
3 Denzel Washington – Flight

The Best Female Performance in a Lead Role:
 
*1 Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty
2 Emmanuelle Riva – Amour
3 Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Bronson

Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring: Tom Hardy
Rated: R
Review by: Sherri
I...Love...Nicolas Winding Refn. He is a brilliant genius of cinema. I LOVED Drive, and...I LOVED this as well.

In the opening scene, Tom Hardy, who plays Charles Bronson, breaks the fourth wall, and addresses the audience, telling that he has found his talent in life, which is, being one crazy-ass dude, the "UK's most violent prisoner". All that Bronson wanted in life was to be famous, and that he was!

I love the style of this film. The way that Refn marries music to scenes in his films is superb. And, Tom Hardy was brilliant at playing insane. I wouldn't be surprised if he is nuts in real life. Another amazing film by Nicolas Winding Refn!


Sunday, February 19, 2012

Gasland

Directed, Narrated and Written by: Josh Fox
Documentary
Review by: Sherri
Ever heard of "Fracking", or hydraulic fracturing? It-is-scary. I didn't have much knowledge on the subject, and it never really bothered me. All I had heard was that it was a process to help free up natural gas that is trapped deep beneath the surface of the earth. Even though I didn't have all the facts I was still leery of it.

This Documentary focuses on the terrible after effects of fracking. I was pretty skeptical during some parts of the film because I was so shocked. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I did some research and there isn't much out there yet, but concerns about this process are rising.

If you are an environmentalist, or even if you are not, you should see this. It is very informative and detailed, and also, given from a first-hand account. The director is at the front line of this problem and he is very involved.

I didn't really have any huge problems with this film, I enjoyed the style of the documentary, but sometimes hated Josh Fox's narrations. But it was worth watching....So go watch it!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Melancholia

Directed By: Lars von Trier
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland
Rated: R
Review by: Sherri




We actually saw this movie quite some time ago..But school and work have interfered with our movie blogging!

This film was about the life of a woman (Dunst) and the depression she suffers from. She and her family are living on earth, when all that they have, and all that they are is being threatened by a new planet called Melancholia.

Let me say, Just as any other Lars von Trier films I have seen, this was fabulous. I left the theater in a haze, almost completely speechless. If you haven't experienced von Trier's films...Check out Dancer in the Dark...One of my favorites (wink wink!!). Nate's favorite is, of course, Antichrist, which is very depressing, and disturbing. This is truly a deep movie, definitely worth a watch.

Von Trier is so powerful in his direction. He is able to take on the world with his films. Kirsten Dunst was wonderful...this was a new type of role for her, and she was brilliant. She received the best actress award from the Cannes film festival, which this film premiered at.

Now, GO SEE IT!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Nate's 17 Best Movies of 2011

What a great year for movies. This has been the best year for film since 2007. My top four movies of this year would easily replace my top four favorite of last year - a pretty bad year. There was such a great diversity of films, from comedies, to superhero movies, to action films, to art house flicks and on and on.
Of course, not being a professional movie critic, I missed many movies that probably could have easily made it on my list (I will include the list of these movies at the bottom). Here's the list of my top sixteen.

17. Cedar Rapids

"Short and Sweet" is the best way to describe this film. I was impressed by how three-dimensional the characters were. And John C. Reilly and Ed Helms are funny as usual.

16. Captain America

There is a lot of flaws in this one but it is also just a good time. My favorite part about this film is that my kid latched onto it and he and I really bonded over it. This movie and Thor really made me excited for superhero movies again. (I also liked Green Lantern even though many hated it).

15. Red State

I woke up at five in the morning to see this at Sundance and it was sure worth it. This film is a mixture of horror, action, comedy and satire that is blended really well. Surprisingly well.

14. Bellflower

What a crazy, violent, insane, fun film. This is truly a story about when love goes very, very wrong. Some of the images of this film are so intense they will never leave me.

13. Winnie the Pooh

Again, another "short and sweet" film. I am really glad to have a kid because it gives me an excuse to see animated films in the theater. This one was so fun and made me laugh out loud several times. And for a nostalgic purposes and overall quality, I would take this film over the new Muppet's movie any time.

12. 50/50

I could never get enough of Seth Rogen. He constantly plays the same character but I never get tired of watching him. This is one of those feel good dramodies which generally really annoy me. But this movie had the comedy/drama balance just right. JGL (as the girls call him) is pretty awesome too.

11. X-Men

Man, what a year for Marvel. Also, what a year for Michael Fassbender. I'm more of a person who pays attention to directors than actors but this guy changes the dynamic of every movie I've seen him in. If anyone else had played Magneto this film would only be half as good.

10. Melancholia

Of course I had to throw a Lars von Trier film into my top ten. Anyone who knows me knows how much I worship this guy. He is probably the best director going and this film does not disappoint. If you want to see an apocalyptic/end of the world film that is actually good this is the one to see. As with every other von Trier film this is beautiful and emotionally/psychologically devastating. I read somewhere that von Trier really wanted to make a movie about what it is like to suffer depression and once I knew this the film made so much more sense and had so much more depth to it. Keep this in mind when you watch it.

9. Rango

The best animated film of the year so far. I couldn't believe how life-like and detailed the creatures were. I really don't like Johnny Depp anymore except he was great in this film. The story was fun and accessible to people of any age. I actually liked it better with repeated viewings.

8. Source Code

I had this farther up my list earlier in the year but the more I think about it I really hated the ending. The acting by Gyllenhaal and Monaghan - two actors I don't really care for - was surprisingly great. And everything up to the last ten minutes or so was really fun and creatively done.

7. Moneyball

Who would have thought a film about statistics and baseball could make such and interesting subject? This is the best performance Brad Pitt has ever given.

6. Bridesmaids

The funniest movie of the year is a movie about a bunch of girls preparing for a wedding? What? Yes, it is true. But this isn't all that surprising because I've thought Kristen Wiig was the best thing to come out of SNL in a while. This movie passes the Bechdel Test with flying colors.

5. Terri

I might have to see this one again but from what I remember this was a really, really good movie. John C. Reilly is one of the few people that can give real depth to wacky characters and he is probably my favorite actor right now. Aside from a really weird scene involving three kids, a lot of booze and a shed this movie was a complete delight.

4. Tree of Life

I know, I know, how pretentious of me to put this in my top five. Well, if I'm going to be completely honest, if there is one movie this year that will pass the test of time this movie is it. But that is what Terry Malick does, he makes timeless movies. There has been much written about this movie, a lot negative and a lot positive, but the fact remains that the middle part - the actual story - is the best told story this year.
Sure this movie is pretentious and sure there might be some fat that needs to be trimmed, but there isn't a more beautiful, honest film that has come out this year. When I mean honest, I mean that Malick's vision of humanity so closely matches actual reality that it makes you feel like you are a part of the family he is depicting.
The thing that impressed me most about this film is its depiction of beauty and strength. Every image and every character is beautiful and strong, gentle and threatening and this is where the tension in the film lies. One of the lasting images that best explains the film for me is one of a waterfall and I kept thinking that this image is not only is beautiful - and therefore could inspire awe and comfort - but it is also powerful - and therefore could do real damage. The characters in the movie are the same just as people in real life are.
The only real false thing about the movie is the last fifteen minutes. But I will pretend for now that those minutes never existed.

3. Super 8

I get so exhausted with the 80's and everyone trying to bite off of it as if it were such a cool time to be alive. Let's face it, the 80's kind of sucked. However, the movies, especially the blockbusters like Star Wars, Back to the Future, Indiana Jones, etc. were some of the best blockbusters of all time. Super 8 does a great job of capturing the feel of the films of that era and for a moment, while watching the film, I was transported back in time to the 80's - the good part anyways.
The acting is great, the characters are charming, the soundtrack is memorable and the story line is fun. What more do you need.

2. Drive

This might be the coolest movie ever made. At least it is the coolest movie since Pulp Fiction. Nicolas Winding Refn is becoming one of my favorite directors (if you haven't seen his film Bronson go check it out. It is on Netflix instant).
I once heard someone say that for a movie to be considered great all it needs is three great scenes and no bad ones. If this is the case, and I believe it is, then Drive is surely a great movie because there are at least three amazing scenes in this film - and definitely no bad ones.
Albert Brooks probably gives my favorite performance of the year. He is not in the film for very long but fills the screen with his calm but ever-threatening presence. This soundtrack will be a classic in cinema for years to come and Nicolas Winding Refn is and will continue to be one of the best directors working.

1. Certified Copy

Oh, come one, of course I had to put a movie that no one has heard of at the top of my list. Well I can't promise that if you do watch this film (also on Netflix instant) that you, too, will like it because it is not a film that jumps out and grabs you. No, no, no. The reason this is the best film this year is because you have to grab it. The director, Abbas Kiarostami, is making you do the work with no promise of any clear cut answers.
The film is just about a man and a woman walking the streets of Tuscany. And all they do is talk, that is it. But as the film develops you simultaneously learn more and less about their relationship until by the end you are so baffled by what Kiarostami has done to your mind you can't help but think about the film for days after. At least that was my experience.
The best film of the decade so far.


Movies I haven't seen but might have made my list: A Separation, The Interrupters, Project Nim, The Artist, The Arbor, Midnight in Paris, Attack the Block, The Descendants, Meek's Cutoff, Margaret, Take Shelter (I actually saw Take Shelter at Sundance but was so deprived of sleep that I couldn't focus on it).

Saturday, October 15, 2011

DRIVE

Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks
Rated: R
Review by: Sherri
I LOVED this movie! When I came put of the theater, I was ecstatically happy. I love good drama, and I love Ryan Gosling!

This film is about a driver, played by Gosling who works at an auto shop, and occasionally drives as a stunt driver/getaway car driver/hero. Gosling was wonderful. He always is. His character is so cool, and collected, and then...

Carey Mulligan plays Gosling's neighbor, and Bryan Cranston (who I can't seem to get enough of lately) plays Gosling's boss. This movie was totally unpredictable to me. I never knew where the next scene would take me, and at the end of the film, I was in a completely different place that I ever though I would be.


The style of the film is one to note. It was a modern story with almost a chincy eighties feel. I loved the music, it fit the film wonderfully. The lighting, and music together, gave the film a stylish lonely, but bold and new feel. However, if you are squeamish at all, this may not be for you. Now go see it!!!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Wendy and Lucy

Directed By: Kelly Reichardt

Starring: Michelle Williams

Rated: R

Review By: Sherri



This film was in a nutshell...Heartbreaking. It was such a simple story, Poor girl traveling across the country in search of a better place. Michelle Williams was stunning. She is my favorite actress right now. She is able to perfectly fit her character, in every movie she is in.

Reichardt did an amazing job. She made the simplest situations seem extremely intense. There was no violence in this movie, but I was hanging on the edge of my seat, pretty much the entire time, biting my nails. Gees!

Nate always teases me that I fall asleep in every movie that we watch together at home ( which isn't true, for the most part. I am usually just "resting my eyes") But I was owl-eyed the whole time in this movie! Definitely one that I recommend. We LOVED it. YOU should watch it.