Everyone makes lists. This year I thought I'd make my own. It's the TOP ELEVEN BEST FILMS that have resonated with me this year. Why eleven? Because I made the list and refused to leave off one film. So suck it up. All the heavy-hitter Oscar Contenders have yet to arrive, so the list will ultimately fluctuate. This list is comprised of the films that hit from January 1st until September 14th.
Be warned. Lots of SPOILERS abound.
1) UP IN THE AIR directed by wunderkind Jason Reitman and starring Cary Grant's modern Avatar George Clooney. I know, this one doesn't come out until November but I was fortunate enough to see it with Reitman sitting two rows behind me at the first ever public screening. Reitman was nervous but good nervous. The film plays. Clooney is devastatingly suave. An almost effortless performance or at least he makes it seem like it. It's a Career best in what has been a series of off the beaten track roles for him. Still want to see him killing again a la DUSK T'Ill DAWN. Anyhow, UITA is so prescient and current that it will have people in tears. The ending confirms just how much Reitman loves his family. The ending is an ode
to family. Mark my words, this is the one to beat.
2) DISTRICT 9 directed by Neil Blomkamp would've been my favorite film of the year if I hadn't seen UITA. Alas, it currently holds position 2. Great story, great effects and all done on a reasonable budget for a film of this magnitude (30 Million). Much like the MATRIX, it borrowed from several classic films to create a new beast that was both compelling and original. And the ending, caught me so off guard. SPOILERS SPOILERS... I mean it. When Wikus is seen in video footage talking about his wife and what an angel she is to him and we cut to Wikus in Prawn-form making a junk-metal rose for her (she still wants to believe he's alive), well, I was shaken. Even now I get the goosies just thinking about it. The most tragic ending of the summer. Powerhouse film that came out of nowhere and kicked unholy ass. Reminded me of when I saw MATRIX for the first time. I had no idea what to expect and came out of there blown to bits. I can't wait for DISTRICT 10!
3) INGLORIOUS BASTERDS by QT. His best film since PULP FICTION. Divided people sharply and I can see why. It makes the Jew Rebels into sadistic maniacs. But damnit, I wish there was a group of blood-hungry Jews that went around bashing Nazi heads. A sort of Jewish-Gollum Boogeyman that would strike terror in the hearts and scalps of the Nazi regime. This is the ultimate wish fulfillment film. Even the crazy German with the Chaplin stash gets it good in the end. It's the biggest surprise of the film. Like all great Tarantino flicks, he breaks screenwriting conventions. There is no main character. I would say Pitt's Aldo Raine is 3rd lead. The lead, if there was one, is the greatest German Detective in the world, Hans Landa aka the Jew Hunter (Christophe Waltz). Fucking Hans will win the Best Supporting Actor Award. Hands down. All others need not apply. The opening scene on the dairy farm, as he sips milk and compares rats to squirrels, asserting that rats are a bushy tail away from being hand-fed is priceless. The Jew Hunter is the pure personification of evil. And Shoshana's story is heartbreaking. It's a film about the power and love for films. Powerhouse film.
4) MOON by Duncan Jones. Made for 5 million but looks like it cost 10 times as much. If you mixed Kubrick's 2001 and Soderbergh's SOLARIS the baby would be MOON. Sam Rockwell should get a Best Actor Nod. He's on a solo mission on the moon for 3 years... by himself and begins losing his mind or so we think. The scene when he realizes what's really happening on the moonbase and he finally finds a way to phone home. The way it plays out and what he realizes destroys me. He has one devastating line (during the phone call home) that completely had tears jutting out of my sockets. Great performance by the one man show of Sam Rockwell.
5) WATCHMEN by Zach Snyder. Very divided and controversial film. It's way ahead of it's time and will be appreciated in the future just like Blade Runner was. Yes, I called WATCHMEN this generations BLADE RUNNER. This film is so beautiful that sometimes I turn down the volume and just watch the images. The whole 20 minute Doc Manhattan origin sequence is breathtaking and pitch perfect, from the music, to the editing to the very melancholy voice-over by Billy Crudup. And to those idiots who wanted a giant squid to destroy the world at the end. Get real. The world needed an otherworldly threat to unite them. DR. Manhattan who was God-like and otherworldly fit the bill and stayed thematically close to the seminal graphic novel. Zach Snyder did an incredible job with this film. A true visionary who respected the source material.
6) HURT LOCKER by Kathryn Bigelow. This is not a movie for pussy's. This is the summer's most muscular action movie. It was like sucking on an adrenaline popsicle for two hours. Jeremy Renner owned every scene and it was a difficult role. A single-minded bomb defuser who cares more about the thrill of bomb defusion than himself or his family. Never seen someone quite like him on screen. The story is thin but the film plays, the tension is thick and the performances and direction are insanely good. Give Bigelow a superhero franchise NOW.
7) ADVENTURELAND by Greg Mottola. How did I miss this one on first run. Saw it on DVD and not on the big screen and truly regret it. Finally, a film that doesn't make fun of the 80's. This is an honest with no tongue in cheeks depiction of what life was like in 1987. I laughed. A lot during this film. The ball-puncher Dude cracked me up every single time he sucker-punched the lead in the balls. You root for everyone in this film, even the bad guys. Bella Swan is in it and she's quite good as well. This film felt like stepping into a time machine while wrapping myself in my favorite warm blanket. And it has a killer... and I mean killer soundtrack.
8) 500 DAYS OF SUMMER directed by Marc Webb. The anti-romantic comedy. After all the bulshit rom-coms this is the anti-dote. A shot of real life romance right to the heart. Zoey is enchanting and Joseph-Gordon Levitt (who should play the Joker in the next Batfilm) is a movie star in this film. We watch as Joseph desperately attempts to keep this relationship afloat. This film is cruel... but true. Especially at the end of the film. Levitt and Zoey's final conversation on the park bench was quasi-sadistic but in a subtle manner. A very effectively sad film that portrays downtown LA in a very flattering light. 500 Days of Summer is funny even when it cuts you.
9) STAR TREK by JJ ABRAMS. Best opening scene of any film this summer. The death of Kirk's dad, as he hears his son being born on the intercom is heart-shattering. Had my wife in tears and my throat lumping. Never thought I'd say that about a Trek film... well not since Spock died in KHAN. Perfectly cast. I mean if you change one person in the cast the whole deck of cards will fall. The story has some glaring plot holes but the cast is so pitch perfect and the film zips by so quick you don't notice the problems. Chris Pine as Kirk establishes his star credibility. Spock is great. The best of the summer blockbusters. In a season of big movies that failed to deliver, Star Trek delivered big time. Can't wait for the next one, just tighten the script next time JJ.
10) FUNNY PEOPLE by Team Apatow. Still can't figure out how this one failed to connect with audiences. It died at the box office. I guess no one wanted to see the Adam Sandler is dying film. It's the Sandman's best performance. Ever. Mature, measured and low key. I got to see a super-early test screening that was much longer than the theatrical cut and the audience was busting a gut. I was too. I laughed a lot. Loved Rogen in it. Schwarzman played a great Douche-bag. Eminem and Ray Romano had awesome cameos. And the casting director who cast the Swedish Doctor who looks like Hans Gruber's brother in DIE HARD really earned their dough that day because that guy was both funny and creepy. Great film that deserved a better fate.
11) GIJOE by Stephen Sommers. Yup, GO JOE gets a pass from me because it never hid what it was: A big fun summer movie with no artistic pretensions and a short runtime. Unlike that movie with Robot cars that had giant testicles that took itself way too seriously, GI JOE has no such delusions of grandeur. It's like an action-packed day at Six Flags with your best friends. It was worth the admission price for the Snake Eyes vs Storm Shadow confrontations alone. In fact, I wanted more Snake Eyes but I digress. I had a great time watching this live action cartoon. And Sienna Miller was great in her fetish gear.
Honorable mention should go to Jim Carrey's I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS which hasn't come out yet and still has no distributor. It's basically a very gay version of CATCH ME IF YOU CAN. It's the craziest story you'll see this year (if it ever gets a release) and it's based on a true story to boot. Carrey hasn't been this funny in ages and Ewan Mcgregor is great as Carrey's lover. Yup, OB1 and Ace Ventura get it on, in a very graphic fashion. I don't think I laughed harder this year at the movies. The film is hilarious but it also has a heart. I hope to see it again soon. The first 20 minutes are comedy gold.
Of course my list will change. I expect AVATAR to move into the top 3... maybe even into position 1. The 15 minute 3D preview was mind-blasting. Fucked my eyes proper. What can I say, I'm a sucker for Big Jim Cameron. CAN'T WAIT FOR AVATAR!!!
That's all for now.
Your friend,
D.
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