2010 in Movies: Breakthroughs

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One of the most rewarding aspects of watching movies is seeing the emergence of new talent.  Here are some pleasant surprises from the past year.

With just her second feature, Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone) has emerged as an important filmmaker to watch.  She presented an unflinching look at the Ozark meth dealer subculture without ever resorting to stereotype.  Granik hit a home run with every artistic choice, from the locations to the spare soundtrack to the pacing to the casting.  I’ll be watching for her next film.

20-year-old Jennifer Lawrence is in every scene of Winter’s Bone.  With a minimum of dialogue, she creates a lead character of rarely seen determination.

14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld plays the main character in the Coen Brothers’ True Grit, a girl of unrelenting resolve and moxie.  Without her performance, the movie could not have been the success that it is, and she has no problem standing up to the likes of Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin and Matt Damon.

The Swedish actress Noomi Rapace was new to us Americans when she originated the very original character of damaged, angry, master hacker Lisbeth Salander in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.  Although Rooney Mara will play Lisbeth in the upcoming David Fincher versions, I’m sure that Noomi Rapace will fetch some Hollywood offers.

Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) and Jonah Hill (Cyrus) showed us that their acting ranges are far wider than previously evident.

Mia Wasilova had a very good year in The Kids Are All Right and Alice in Wonderland.  I’m looking forward to see her work in 2011, starting with Restless.

Screenwriter Geoff LaTulippe tried a novel approach in Going the Distance that respected the audience – creating characters like the ones we know in real life, who talk and act like real people do.  And, instead of an implausible set-up, the conflict was the real problem of a bi-coastal romance.  He wound up writing the year’s best rom com.

Edgar Ramirez carries the 5 1/2 hours of Carlos.  I’m sure we’ll see the Venezuelan star soon in a Hollywood vehicle.

Ajami was co-written and co-directed by Scandar Copti, a Jaffa-born Palestinian, and Yaron Shoni, an Israeli Jew.   After seeing the film, I was surprised to learn that it has no trained actors – all of the roles are played by real-life residents who improvised their lines to follow the story line.  Ajami is a unique project, but I hope that Copti and Shoni continue their collaboration.

Touching Home is a little movie with a big performance by Ed Harris  The film was written and directed by and stars the Miller twins, Logan and Noah, who tell the story of their own alcoholic father.  The authenticity of the writing and Harris’ performance make this an exceptionally realistic depiction of alcoholism. The Miller twins made the most of their debut, and I look forward to what they do next.

Tom Hooper: John Adams, The Damned United and The King's Speech

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The King’s Speech was directed by Tom Hooper, who also directed John Adams and The Damned United.  In this interview on NPR’s Fresh Air, Hooper gives us some nuggets about the making of all three films.

The King’s Speech is on my list of the Best Movies of 2010.  John Adams is on my 10 Patriotic Movies.  The Damned United is the best soccer movie on my Best Sports Movies.

2010 in Movies: Worst Movie-going Experience

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The Tooth Fairy

The Winner: On the same airline flight, I watched the two worst films that I saw in all of 2010, Leap Year and The Tooth Fairy.  I had always thought that I could watch the talented and adorable Amy Adams in anything, but the wretchedly written Leap Year proved me wrong.  The Tooth Fairy is remarkable as an especially execrable comedy in a year of bad comedies.

Runner-up:  Down the row from me at a preview showing of The Town (NOT a bad film), a woman had brought her three-year-old son so he could view the armed robberies, abduction, murders, head shattering battery by rifle butt, spraying AK-47s, the two scenes of sexual intercourse and the threatened rape.  Oh, and how about the castration by pistol shot?  And the car torchings – do you really want your three-year old to learn how to set your car on fire?

Note: I don’t have a Worst Ten Movie list because, unlike professional critics, I don’t have to see every movie.  I do see 75-100 new movies each year, but I try REALLY, REALLY HARD to avoid the bad movies.  So my worst movie going experience is always either 1)  on an airline flight when I see a movie that I normally wouldn’t; 2) a hyped art film that disastrously falls on its face and/or really pisses me off (The White Ribbon); or 3) something I find on cable TV while channel surfing (Paul Blart: Mall Cop).  But usually, the culprit finds its way aboard a long airline flight.

2010 in Movies: The Year's Best Movies

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Here’s my list of the best films of 2010: 1)  Winter’s Bone; 2) Toy Story 3;  3) The Social Network; 4) The Secrets in their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos); 5) Rabbit Hole; 6) Black Swan; 7) A Prophet (Un Prophete); 8 ) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; 9) Mademoiselle Chambon; 10) (tie) Ajami and Inception.

(Note:  I’m saving room for some films that I haven’t yet seen, especially Mike Leigh’s Another Year.)

Continuing with my list of 2010’s best films: The Tillman Story, True Grit, The King’s Speech, The Girl on the Train (La Fille du RER), Inside Job, Fish Tank, The Ghost Writer, Carlos, Fair Game, Hereafter, The Fighter, Solitary Man, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work and Sweetgrass.

You can watch the trailers and see my comments on all these films at Best Movies of 2010.

(Further Note:  The Secrets in their Eyes, A Prophet and Ajami were nominated for the 2009 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, but were widely released in the US in 2010.)

Happy Birthday, Kiefer!

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Happy Birthday to my oldest movie buddy.  I remember going with you to see Jaws and The Deer Hunter.  And Logan’s Run (waiting for Jenny Agutter’s flimsy dress to slip off or at least get wet).  We saw The Paper Chase just before I went to law school.  Nuggets like St. Jack.  Every Jack Nicholson movie for a decade (even The Missouri Breaks and Goin’ South, I think).   And, of course, high brow stuff like The Hangover.  Lots of movies, lots of good times.

Now it can be told.  Around 1964, Kiefer wrote a story about an adventurer archaeologist on a quest for the Ark of the Covenant – 17 years before Raiders of the Lost Ark.   It’s now on the Internet, so it must be true!

2010 in Movies: The Year of the True Stories

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Ripped from the headline!  Based on true events!  2010 featured an unusual number of movies based on real people and events, including two of the year’s very best – The Social Network and The King’s Speech.

But there were also Howl, 127 Hours, The Way Back,  Fair Game, Carlos, the Mesrine films, Casino Jack and I Love You, Phillip Morris.

Here is the trailer from Carlos, the 5 1/2 hour miniseries on the 70s/80s terrorist Carlos the Jackal.  Carlos begins as a playboy who thinks it would be cool to fight for the Palestinians,  inadvertently gains some celebrity and LOVES IT.  Carlos has a star making performance by the Venezuelan actor Edgar Ramirez who perfectly captures Carlos’ bravado, audacity, vanity, sexiness, delusion and dissolution. I strongly recommend waiting for the DVD release of the full length version (or watching for it to pop up again on Sundance Channel).

Updated Movies To See Right Now

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Black Swan: Natalie Portman is under a little too much pressure

It’s the Holidays – this is your best chance to see a few excellent films.   I strongly recommend Rabbit Hole, an exquisite exploration of the grieving process with great performances by Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhardt, Diane Wiest, Sandra Oh and Miles Tenner. True Grit is the Coen Brothers’ splendid Old West story of Mattie Ross, a girl of unrelenting resolve and moxie played by 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld in a breakthrough performance, and Jeff Bridges is perfect as the hilarious, oft-besotted and frequently lethal Rooster Cogburn. The King’s Speech is the  crowd pleasing story of a good man (Colin Firth) overcoming his stammer to inspire his nation in wartime with the help of a brassy commoner (Geoffrey Rush).   Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan is a rip roaring thriller and a showcase for Natalie Portman and Barbara Hershey. The Fighter is an excellent drama, starring Mark Wahlberg as a boxer trying to succeed despite his crack addict brother (Christian Bale) and trashy mom (Melissa Leo). Fair Game, the Valerie Plame/Joe Wilson story with Naomi Watts and Sean Penn, is also excellent. I Love You, Phillip Morris is an entertaining offbeat combo of the con man, prison and romantic comedy genres. For some delectable food porn, see Kings of Pastry.

Love and Other Drugs is a passable comedy.

There are some Must See films still kicking around in theaters this week: Inside Job and The Social Network. Both are on my list of Best Movies of 2010 – So Far.

For trailers and other choices, see Movies to See Right Now.

I didn’t pick a new DVD of the Week.  This is the time to catch up on the year’s best, such as Winter’s Bone, Toy Story 3, Inception, The Secrets in Their Eyes, A Prophet, Mademoiselle Chambon, Ajami, The Girl on the Train, The Ghost Writer and Joan River: A Piece of Work, all available on DVD.   For my recent DVD choices (including trailers), see DVDs of the Week.

Movies on TV include Arsenic and Old Lace, My Darling Clementine and The Producers on TCM.

2010 in Review: The Year of Lousy Comedies

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It’s not that weren’t ANY good comedies in 2010 – just not many.  And none made my list of the best films of the year.  The funniest movie was Iron Man 2, a comedy masquerading as a super hero movie.

Going the Distance and I Love You, Phillip Morris were good romantic comedies – a particularly meager genre this year.  Going the Distance was a rarity – a sweet, smart, funny and successful romantic comedy for adults.  Screenwriter Geoff LaTulippe tried a novel approach that respected the audience – creating characters like the ones we know in real life, who talk and act like real people do.  Instead of an implausible set-up, the conflict was the real problem of a bi-coastal romance.  The offbeat I Love You, Phillip Morris was a gay version of the con man, prison and rom com genres, and the risk paid off.

Once, we get past the three best comedies, there were the passable (but not especially noteworthy) Get Him to the Greek, Morning Glory, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Please Give, Get Low, Love and Other Drugs, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Youth in Revolt, Cyrus and Death at a Funeral.

The Locksmith, a funny little movie which won the low-budget award at Sundance, didn’t even get a theatrical release.

It was disappointing, because even the good 2010 comedies didn’t match up with 2009’s really funny and original movies:  (500) Days of Summer, Away We Go, Zombieland, The Hangover, In the Loop, Funny People and I Love You, Man.

This year, we had crappy comedies like Pirate Radio, Date Night and Soul Kitchen.   The worst movies that I saw this year were so-called comedies Tooth Fairy and Leap Year – two films that no one thought were good (but that I was stuck with on a long airline flight).   Not to mention that the most reviled movies of the year included the alleged comedies Sex in the City 2, Valentine’s Day, The Back-up Plan, Due Date, How Do You Know, Yogi Bear and Little Fockers.

So here’s the trailer for a non-lousy comedy (a romantic comedy, even), the original and funny Going the Distance.

The King's Speech

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The King’s Speech is the crowd pleasing story of a good man overcoming his stammer to inspire his nation in wartime with the help of a brassy commoner.  As you would expect, Colin Firth gives a stellar performance as the stuttering king.  It’s a well executed film that establishes itself as major Oscar bait.

It’s a very good cast, featuring Geoffrey Rush as the Aussie speech therapist. Helena Bonham Carter is especially good as Firth’s Queen.   Guy Pearce and Eve Best capture the shallow, selfish essence of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson.

2010 in Movies: The Year of Adult Relationships

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This was the most welcome trend of 2010 – movies that centered on relationships between mature adults.  Hollywood tends to avoid such movies because teen audiences prefer not to imagine that their parents’ peers have thoughts of love and lust (let alone act on them).  And 2010 had films that understand that love doesn’t happen in a vacuum –  people may have pre-existing commitments and actions have consequences.

There was an all-too-rare second chance at love in The Secrets in Their Eyes.  There was the impulsive midlife lust of I Am Love and Leaving.  there was the affair that is NOT rekindled in The Girl on the Train.  We saw the depth and messiness of real marriages Fair Game, Rabbit Hole, Please Give and Another Year.

The year’s best romance was Mademoiselle Chambon. Finding one’s soul mate in middle age, when one may have serious commitments, can be heartbreaking.  Here, the two people are not looking for romance or even for a fling.  He is a happily married construction worker.  She is his son’s teacher.  They meet (not cute) and do not fall in love (or lust) at first sight. He is unexpectedly touched by something she does, and she is touched that he is touched.  Despite their wariness, they fall in love.

The lovers are beautifully acted by Vincent Lindon and Sandrine Kiberlaine in two of the very finest performances of the year.