The Reel Critic - 1/13/11

Top 10 Films of 2010

Simran Bhalla:

The annual moment for our greatest cultural argument — the cause of many divorces and probably some religious schisms — is here: the Top 10 movie list. My judgment is admittedly insignificant (though I imagine my recommendation for Black Swan will send legions racing to the theater) and it is subject to mood and moment. It may say something about the state of cinema today that I found it difficult to think of 10 movies that deserved a Top 10 distinction, but it may also say something about which movies garner the attention of a few important critics and producers, and thus, our viewership. So, tentatively, and only kind of in order, my Top 10:

11) A Single Man: This honorary eleventh spot is an endorsement for a film that came out in 2009, but deserves more praise. It was constantly confused with its (also excellent) fraternal twin, A Serious Man. It takes place in Southern California in the sixties, drenched in deep colour, and is maddeningly stylish — I would want to be in it if it weren’t a deeply sad story of lost love and friendship. In the new canon of highbrow gay cinema, it is more devastating and less obvious than Milk or (bold claim coming up) Brokeback Mountain, and more honest and far less obvious than The Kids Are All Right.

10) Four Lions: A slight work, very rough around the edges, but with bold purpose — a reversal of the fear instilled in us of terrorist masterminds lurking in tricked-out Bond villain caves near Marja, with a reminder that terror can be perpetrated by ordinary buffoons in modern metropolises. Carried out with gleeful insolence, it’s difficult to say whether Lions is actually good or just unabashedly offensive in an enjoyable way. It was reminiscent in its British political cynicism of last year’s In the Loop. I always knew jihadists were hilarious.

9) True Grit: Though far less inventive than the better half of the Coen brothers’ output, True Grit is a solid, well-told story (almost too traditional in its narrative) with another fantastic performance by Jeff Bridges. The Dude keeps knocking it out of the park, though he can also currently be seen in Tron: Legacy, which will not be making an appearance on this list.

8) Toy Story 3: This film was undeniably great; heartwarming and truly touching, even for someone who spent their childhood identifying with Woody Allen and not Woody the cowboy action figure.

7) Inception: Though Inception is emotionally cold and its puzzle problematic, the discussion it provoked rages on, and its visual dreamscape is more sophisticated and — this is the only appropriate word — awesome than anything most of us can conjure for ourselves when the lights go out.

6) I Am Love: Prepare for my description to sound like a commissioned blurb, but: this lushly filmed, unapologetic melodrama brought the word “prawnography” into my vocabulary. Every shot overflows with sensation, heightened by John Adams’ fantastic score.

5) The King’s Speech: Obvious Oscar bait? Yes. That doesn’t negate the fact that it’s tightly crafted, perfectly acted and ultimately uplifting — something that can’t be said for the shaky-cam high art aspirants about “Important Political Issues” that clutter our theaters today (though some of them are good, and on this list).

4) Black Swan: Lurid, campy and viscerally affecting: bad taste done well. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Go see it!

3) Winter’s Bone: This incredibly bleak thriller about inbred criminals in the Ozarks had one of the best performances of the year, by Jennifer Lawrence, and presents rural American poverty in a way that has rarely been shown on screen.

2) The Social Network: Dispassionate and thrilling at once -— Aaron Sorkin may not get Facebook, but he gets ambition, power and betrayal. Guess what’s more interesting?

1) Exit Through the Gift Shop: So much more than a mockumentary (if it is one) or a grand art prank. Exit is a fascinating, as-yet-unsolved mystery about the true nature of art, imitation and reality.

I’m still waiting to watch these, and expecting them to be good: Restrepo, Sebastian Junger’s Afghanistan documentary, the depressing marriage breakdowns Blue Valentine and Rabbit Hole, Ben Affleck’s The Town, finance industry exposé Inside Job and the French prison thriller A Prophet. Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere looks good, but in my experience, all her films ever do is look good.

Overrated: The Kids Are All Right, Greenberg. Upper middle class angst, overtly referential humor and unpleasant oral sex? Over it.  Some congratulated Kids for portraying a lesbian couple just like a straight one — that didn’t make their relationship any more interesting, nor did it make the social observations of the film particularly profound.

Props: Easy A — a revelation for a high school rom-com with fresh humor and a protagonist I didn’t want to punch in the face. Keep an eye out for Emma Stone in 2011.

Brad Becker-Parton

After the New Year, movies get about as quiet as a snowy winter night. The Oscar darlings all came out in December, summer blockbusters seem like centuries ago and a new crop of indie darlings are right around the corner at Sundance. For the first few weeks of January, it’s movie dry season or, The Season of the Witch. Luckily, with a plethora of great films to see over winter break and it being the time of year for lists, we can reminisce on the best films of the past year while we wait for this year’s good ones. A top 10 list, why not?

10) Tiny Furniture: The epitome of mumblecore, Lena Dunham does everything she can to make you hate her by playing a terribly grating version of herself in this post-grad dramady. However, considering she made this when she was 22, right out of Oberlin, for only 50K and with a cast and crew of her friends and family and then won SXSW, I’d say it’s an incredibly impressive feat and one that I am terribly jealous of.

9) True Grit: When armed with a good script, beautiful scenery and great actors playing quirky characters, the Coen Brothers are unstoppable. Jeff Bridges shines as Rooster Cogburn, but until the last minutes of the film I felt as if I was almost lulled into liking this movie. It took very few risks both visually and within the story but as an homage to the Western it is definitely an enjoyable movie experience albeit one that I wanted to be a bit grittier.

8) Exit Through the Gift Shop: Often referred to as “the Banksy movie,” this film was the headliner in a year where documentary and reality were constantly blurred. It is still unclear what the trick is in this movie but either way, Banksy captures an endlessly interesting character in Thierry Guetta, and Guetta captures the process of some of the most interesting street artists.

7) Inception: The highlight of the summer’s blockbusters, Inception seemed to take everyone into its dreamy labyrinth. It was one of those movies that I loved while I was in it but that broke down every time I thought about it afterwards. That said, Christopher Nolan’s almost airtight control over one of the most complicated stories ever and the endless amount of theorizing this movie allowed for makes it a perfect big-budget film experience.

6) Toy Story 3: I’ll say it: besides Black Swan this was the most affecting movie I saw this year. Decidedly not a kid’s movie, it perfectly captures the experience of growing up in a way only Pixar possibly could. The fact that I truly believed that it was possible Woody and the gang were actually going to end the movie by getting incinerated in a garbage dump is a testament to the quality and maturity of this film.

5) Animal Kingdom: The Grand Jury Prize winner for World Cinema at Sundance last year, this Australian crime drama was a pleasant end of the year surprise for me. Centered on a powerfully creepy performance as the family matriarch by Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom shows a stark difference from American crime movies in its slow pacing and long, lingering shots. It is successfully both intense and moving in its portrayal of characters in the Melbourne underworld.

4) The Town: Full disclosure: I’m a huge sucker for heist films so The Town didn’t have to do much to win me over. That said, it did do a lot, lead by its surprisingly competent director Ben Affleck. For those of you who have yet to see this or his first directing turn Gone Baby Gone, let me tell you, Ben can direct. In a complicated, multilayered action film that could have spiraled downward any second, Affleck maintained a vice-like grip on the film keeping it tight, to the point and visually pleasing. This is a movie that just works.

3) Winter’s Bone: With any name recognition whatsoever, this story of meth addiction and deep familial bonds in the Ozarks would have been the critical darling of the year and the far and away Oscar favorite. Relegated to indie darling territory, this film is receiving tons of attention (and rightfully so) for the performance of its lead, Jennifer Lawrence. Armed with one credit to her name (The Bill Engvall Show, I’m serious), Lawrence dominates the viewers attention for the entirely of the film, carrying it on her back as she does her family in the movie. Desaturated and bleak, Winter’s Bone beautifully captures a terrifying slice of Americana.

2) The Social Network: My “I told you so” movie of the year is maybe this high on the list because I expected it to be. Long before the critics took over and “the Facebook movie” was the still the butt of many jokes, fellow Reel Critic Simran Bhalla and I both were correct in predicting the success of this film. Great directing, acting and writing go along way in making a film enjoyable, obviously, but what was most impressive here was how engaging and accessible this film was without being pretentious or overly self-important (and it definitely could have been)

1) Black Swan: The year’s best movie, in my opinion, was certainly a divisive one. Some people were very put off by Aronofsky’s over-stylized and over dramatic foray into the world of ballet. Rather, this film is a nearly flawless character study into a world of incredibly flawed characters. Unlike in some of his other films, Aronofsky knows when to dial up the style to best serve an engaging plot. Working with a below average script, he and the actors were both able to turn this into a gripping, intense and heavily affecting story.