Sunday, January 23, 2011

Best of the Decade Challenge

My friend Mike challenged me to give him my best movies of all time list. This seems an impossible task to me. So he said he'd settle for a best of the decade list. This was still difficult but I narrowed it down to my 30 favorite films of the past 10 years, 2000-2009. I put them alphabetically because it's just too time consuming to try and rank them. The list still feels incomplete at 30 but hopefully your Netflix queues will thank me. Or you can judge me—that's equally as fun.

Almost Famous
Amélie
The Aviator

Before Sunset
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Closer
The Dark Knig
ht
The Departed

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Finding Nemo
Garden State
Good Night and Good Luck

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Inglourious Basterds

Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 (I'm counting as one movie)

The Lord of the Rin
gs Trilogy (I'm counting as one movie)
Lost in Translation
Match Point
Memento
Minority Report
Moulin Rouge!
Munich

The Royal Tenenbaums
Snatch
Slumdog Millionaire

There Will Be Blood

Wet Hot American Summer
Zodiac
500 Days of Summer

Saturday, January 22, 2011

2010 Movie Rundown

This is my last post about 2010, which comes almost a month into 2011, but I wanted to share my movie rundown for this year like the last two years. Same categories. Somehow I saw 39 movies this year, as opposed to 41 last year. I need to step up my game clearly. But I am confident that I will have seen all 10 nominees for Best Picture when they are announced next week, after I watch Winter's Bone. So here we go...

Perfection
Inception
The Social Network
Toy Story 3

Excellent
127 Hours
Black Swan
Blue Valentine
Easy A
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World
The King’s Speech

Solid

Cyrus
Cemetery Junction (Netflix)
Despicable Me
Hot Tub Time Machine
How to Train Your Dragon (Netflix)
I Love You Phillip Morris
The Fighter
The Kids are Alright
The Town
True Grit
Waking Sleeping Beauty

Decent
Get Him to the Greek
Shutter Island
The Runaways

Dumb but enjoyable
Due Date
Eat Pray Love
Going the Distance
The Other Guys
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps

Eh
Iron Man 2

Bad
Alice in Wonderland
Death at a Funeral
The Tourist

Shame on me
Burlesque
Frozen (Netflix)
Remember Me (Netflix)
Sex and the City 2
The Wolfman

Wanted to see but didn't be they good or bad
Catfish
Client 9
Hereafter
Howl
I’m Still Here
Love and Other Drugs
Megamind
Never Let Me Go
Nowhere Boy
Please Give
Rabbit Hole
Salt
Somewhere
The American
The Romantics
Rabbit Hole
The Tempest
Waiting for Superman
Winter’s Bone-Watching this weekend. Once I have I'll put it in its rightful place.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Best of 2010: Films

I've struggled with ranking a few of these. I even toyed with the idea of not ranking this year but decided that was a cop out. If everyone else can, so can I. So I give you my ranked list, as much as the ranking part kills me this year. Same rules as last year:

1. The feeling I left the theater with.
2. The film's watchability—would I want to watch it again and again?

Top 10 movies of 2010

Inception
I think Inception got the top spot in this list because of No. 1 there—the feeling I left the theater with. I remember feeling like I had to scoop myself out of the seat and re-enter a world that was different from the one I'd started watching the movie in. Dramatic? Yes. But when was the last time you saw a movie that completely and utterly blew you away? Not just with special effects, that's easy, but with an idea executed so beautifully and that was actually saying something, all the while being incredibly entertaining. After watching this movie I just wanted to shout, "see this is what happens when Hollywood gives money to actual talent!" Debate all you want about if the top stops spinning at the end. The point is, it doesn't matter and Cobb doesn't care. He is where he wants to be. I guess I can relate to that part. In dreams we can be with the people we love. And when in them, it doesn't matter that they aren't real. Kind of like movies.

The Social Network
Here's another one that had my mind reeling after leaving the theater, but for very different reasons. Five powerhouse performances make love to whip smart writing. The actors just destroy the script. I've heard people say Jesse Eisneberg and Michael Cera suffer from the same one-note, one-character sickness. I can't disagree more with that assessment of Eisenberg's performance as Zuckerburg. You can't even compare that deadeye defiant stare he wears throughout this movie with the mawkish, sweet guy he plays in Adventureland. There are also larger issues at work with all the praise the film has garnered. This is a movie completely of our time. Not just society's time as a whole but of my own. Zuckerberg is my age. There are scenes in the movie that show how Facebook spread from college to college. I vividly remember when Facebook hit KU. How it felt to start using it and the obsession it started for so many. It's so rare to see a film that feels so of its moment when you hear Justin . . . er Sean Parker plead with Mark during that scene at the club, "This is OUR time," you know he's talking to our section of the audience. And he is right.

Black Swan
I feel like Black Swan kind of sneaked up on me. I had read very little about it, which is becoming increasingly rare for me. The trailer really did its job this time and, somehow, I ended up excited to go on opening night. After it was over, this was a film that was hard to shake. Natalie Portman absolutely transforms on screen. During the finale, when she finally embodies the Black Swan, you feel like you are watching a completely different person. Despite its moments of cringe-worthy violence, the film is achingly beautiful and not just because of the dances, the costumes or the actors because as bat-shit crazy as it can be, you can still identify with that feeling of wanting to be perfect at any cost.

Toy Story 3
I declare a blanket ban on any more entertainment writers/bloggers being surprised that animation can actually be an effective medium for adults. I have seen Toy Story 3 at least three times and I cried each time. There is something so moving about it, especially the end of the movie. Throughout the film our beloved toys are struggling with their place in the world. Should they accept their time is over and retreat? Should they hope for something more? Who hasn't felt that way? The real piece de resistance is after the toys have made their way back to Andy's, ready to accept their destiny in the attic, they are saved by the boy who they thought had forgotten them. If you can watch that scene when Andy passes his toys on to the next generation without welling up, you are dead inside. It just illustrates so well how growing up is about letting go, and how bittersweet that can be.

127 Hours
I love when movies produce unexpected reactions. I expected to be horrified by the much-discussed arm amputation scene. Would I close my eyes? Would I pass out? Would anyone around me get sick? But when I think back at the movie now, having seen it, it's not the gruesome maybe 15-20 minutes of that moment that I focus on. It's the feeling that washed over me when it was over. But first, let's rewind—the film is a fantastic exercise in the term one-man show. James Franco, as Aron Ralston (a real person who, while mountain climbing in Utah, became trapped when a boulder falls on his hand), holds the whole film on his very attractive shoulders. The drama unfolds as he slowly comes to the realization of what he must do to survive. We watch him wrestle with it, reject it and then come around to it and we as an audience struggle as well. We know what's going to happen but that doesn't make the decision any less fascinating to watch. When he finally musters the resolve, we do too and we watch, and urge the scene to move faster, for him to finally get free and when he does, an incredible feeling washed over me. A feeling that brought me instantly to tears like no other movie I saw this year, tears of pure joy, sadness and relief. Franco's acting has never been more beautiful than in that moment and you've never seen anything like it.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Those that have read this book know there is a section in the middle that is a slog. It makes sense why it is in there but it was frustrating for many readers. Our trio is increasingly isolated from everything they know, including each other, and the chapters that detail this massive road trip serve to showcase just how insurmountable their task is. When they announced they were splitting the book into two, there was relief because it meant we knew we were in for an incredible Part 2 because they'd have a whole movie to spend time on the Battle of Hogwarts. But we knew getting through Part 1 was going to be tough. How do you make this part of the book into a compelling movie? Moving the slow parts by as fast as possible and focusing on our characters, that's how. Has the relationship between these three ever been such a showpiece of these movies? Not until this film and it is completely better for it. These kids can finally act and the film lets them. It's a dark, bleak movie but one that is impossible to take your eyes off of.

The King’s Speech
I was of the opinion that Colin Firth was robbed last year. Yes, I did not see Crazy Heart but come on! I love The Dude as much as the next guy but Colin Firth gave the performance of his career in A Single Man. Until now. The King's Speech, on the surface, seems like a traditionalist in a year of movies that threw abandon to what makes traditional Oscar bait. That doesn't make it any less fantastic. Firth just melts into this character. The relationship between Bertie and his speech therapist is as dynamic as any other couple on screen this year. They meet. They find their rapport. They fight. They make up. It's so refreshing to see a film about male friendship that doesn't rest on child-male humor to get the point across. By the end when title cards tell you about how their friendship progressed as King George's reign, you've just witnessed something truly inspiring and original.

Blue Valentine
This is the movie I was waiting for before making my top 10 for this year. I knew from the moment I read about the casting that this would be something special. I don't think I realized just how awful that something special would make me feel. The "something special" is these two actors (Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling) and their performances. The movie itself examines the destruction of a marriage, pieced together by glimpses of their meet-cute and when reality settled in. I think some pieces are missing in their story but at the end it doesn't matter. It's like a boxing match between them as they tear each other apart. What they create is just so beautiful, so heart breaking and so unabashedly real.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Speaking of original, this one may take the cake for the year. It shares something with The Social Network for me, and it isn’t the “similarity” of the two leading men. Note: I’ll put Michael Cera in this movie up against any moment of Michael Cera in his other movies as an example that though he’s always awkward that doesn’t mean he’s not talented. It’s that those films were made with my generation in mind. When you see the film, its not surprising that some critics felt it was too spastic, unfocused and erratic. I loved every minute of it. I think most people my age did. It just felt like it was made just for us. So when it didn’t do well, we could feel superior in that those stuffy critics and older movie watchers just didn’t “get it.” But fine, it’s not for everyone, and we’ll take it for our own.

Easy A
I struggled with picking the final addition here. I had The Fighter in this spot but I decided what I like about The Fighter wasn't strong enough to push Easy A off this list. The movie itself is pretty standard sports/boxing movie stuff with some drug abuse thrown in. I chose to go with Easy A because, while based on The Scarlet Letter, it is still one of the most original films that was released this year. As I said in a previous post, when I saw the trailer for this, it felt like a breath of fresh air, and the film followed through on that promise. Yes, Emma Stone is the reason this is not your average "teen" comedy. In lesser mortals' hands, say a Hayden Panettiere, the film wouldn't be nearly as fun, funny or even interesting. Although an incredible supporting cast of Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, Thomas Hayden Church, Lisa Kudrow and Penn Badgley buoys her, Stone owns the movie and you can't take your eyes off her.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Best of 2010: Trailers

I love a good movie trailer. They are a significant source for where I find new music. and considering when I can't muster the energy to blog, an amazing trailer seems to suffice. Now what makes a great trailer? Music plays a large role. I also have personal feelings about the use of an announcer, which from my choices, you can guess is not positive. So for 2010 we had some great ones. Some of these have been posted/shared elsewhere. Do yourself a favor and watch them all again.



Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows


Clearly this was the most anticipated film for me this year. So any trailer would have made me even more excited for the film. Then they released this beauty, which covers both Part 1 and 2 and I was blown away. The scenes they chose to show were serious ones. The trailer is bookended by Harry/Voldemort encounters: One expected and one that, while not in the book, looks amazing. In the middle we have a hauntingly beautiful score and title cards that speak the truth and tug on heartstrings of those of us who have lived with this franchise for a decade. By the time that bolt of lightening hits the bottom of the P in Potter my jaw was dropped, my heart was bursting and the days to November 19 and July 15 couldn't go by fast enough.

The Social Network

Remember when you heard that they were making a movie about Facebook? I think the country did a collective eye roll. Then you heard that it was going to be written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher, which made me a little more intrigued but still dismissive. Then the world saw this trailer. The marriage of the creepiest version of "Creep" ever with images of people clearly creeping on people's Facebook pages could have been a great teaser on its own. Then the song continues to play over Jesse Eisenberg's incredible dead-eyed asshole performance. I love the end of the trailer when the quick succession of clips flick by and the music swells. This is a case of a trailer completely changing my perspective of a movie and guaranteeing that I would be there on opening day.

Blue Valentine

Another thing I love about trailers are how they can do so much with so little. This trailer uses the audio of one scene to frame the rest of the trailer. Obviously, if you have a scene of Ryan Gosling serenading Michelle Williams, it will clearly work in your favor to put it in the trailer and allow it to seduce the rest of us. Even though the serenade is adorable, the song itself is heartbreaking and sets us up that this is not a happy movie.

Inception

Now here is a movie that is a hard sell to begin with. How many of you even "got" what it was about from the trailer? The best part is that it doesn't matter. It still completely sucks you in. It shows you all the iconic scenes of the movie but in no way explains anything about them. Why is JGL floating through the air? Why is that city folding on itself? We know nothing?! The most memorable part of this trailer is the foghorn sounds that make it seem like a bad-ass clock is ticking down to something. Ticking down to blowing your MIND.

Black Swan

Speaking of what the hell is going on, how about when Miss. Portman pulls a black feather out of her back? I had heard little about this movie before seeing the trailer, which is rare for me. So I was really blown away by what I saw. It also doesn't give too much away, as I figured that the movie was going to be about her sleeping with her director. Wrong. I also remember being shocked, but happy, that Mila Kunis was in such a serious movie. Lots of crazy shit going on, but it all looks amazing. Sold.

True Grit

Three things make this trailer awesome. 1. Johnny Cash's version of "God's Gonna Cut You Down," which I can not for the life of me find to download (so if you have, give it to me please). 2. Matt Damon's line about Jeff Bridges eye (shows there's some classic Cohen humor in there). 3. Enough of an echo of No Country for Old Men mixed with enough new awesomeness by The Dude means a movie ticket will be purchased.

The Adjustment Bureau

We have a meet cute. We have title cards spouting off lines about free will and fate. We have great music. We have Roger Sterling in a fedora. Later we have Matt Damon in a fedora. It's all good. Very good. I love the shot of them walking into an empty Yankee stadium. Very chilling. I am sad this got postponed until the spring but this trailer suffices for now.

Easy A

This one probably has more to do with my girl crush on Emma Stone, but I watched this trailer at least five times before seeing the movie. You could just tell that it was going to be better than your average teen movie. Perhaps it was the Gaga. Perhaps it was because respectable adult actors kept showing up (Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, Lisa Kudrow). It is probably mostly just due to the fact that it is a great movie and this trailer just showed it off. Plus anytime you can just Emma Stone talking to a camera and it doesn't make you hate her, you've got something good going on.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

The beauty of this lays in the fake out. The beginning makes it seem as though it's another Michael Cera romance where he's awkward and pines. That is true . . . to a point and then POW! It becomes something else entirely. Killer moves. Killer music. Killer casting. The trailer did it's job and made me certain this movie was going to be amazing.

Iron Man 2

And here is the one on the list where the trailer was better than the movie. RDJ's "Yes, dear response in the first clip plus the "You complete me" line remind you why he is the best part of these movies. I had so much hope after seeing this trailer. Mickey Rourke looking absolutely insane—from this it looked like he could have given a Heath Ledger/Joker caliber performance. Instead it turned out he was better in small doses, like in this trailer, than an entire movie where he is ridiculous instead of creepy. Then you have the fast successive clips, which I'm always a fan of, but in this case it just proves that this film was better in theory than in practice. But one mark of a good trailer is that in retrospect, it can still make you forget that the movie itself wasn't what you wanted it to be. The hope that it's going to be awesome survives in the trailer.