I don't feel the need to write too much about why I chose the films that for me define 2010, instead (where possible) I have linked to my review. Each one of these films has been important to my year, and I would recommend catching up with all of them if you haven't done so already.
I don't however pretend to be anything more than a casual film watcher with my own set of biases and as open to media influence as the next man. Indeed it could be argued that I'm just following a trend with my top pick. If you disagree with any of these choices, please feel free to tell me in the comments and if you think I've missed anything particularly special then tell me and I'll look into it.
The Film of the Year:
1. The Social Network Directed by David Fincher. Read my review here.
And the rest:
2. Up in the Air Directed by Jason Reitman. Read my review here.
3. Precious: Basd on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire Directed by Lee Daniels. An extraordinary telling of a bleak novel which in spite of it's Dickensian journey of the protagonists maintains haelthy optimism for her future. No review.
4. Shutter Island Directed by Martin Scorsese. Read my review here.
5. Tetro Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Read my review here.
6. The Way Back Directed by Peter Weir. Read my review here.
7. Inception Directed by Christopher Nolan. Read my review here.
8. Brothers Directed by Jim Sheridan. Read my review here.
9. The Ghost Directed by Roman Polanski. Read my review here.
10. The Last Station Directed by Michael Hoffman. A delightful period film with solid performances and easily digestible morals. A lot better than it's reputation would have you think. No review.
Friday, 7 January 2011
2010 in Review: Best Film
Thursday, 6 January 2011
2010 in Review: Best Actor
The Leading actor choice this year was easy, whilst I remain ambivalent about the film few could deny the power and commitment in the lead performance, indeed it should have won the Oscar last year (and yes I did see Jeff's work). Maybe they'll make up for it this year.
1. Colin Firth as George Falconer in A Single Man. I expect you guessed it from the intro. Colin gives one of the most convincing portrayals of grief in screen history, using the British stiff upper lip and the homophobic worldview as excuses to hide his emotions they are there and leak out in poignant and realistic ways throughout the movie. 
2. Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerman in The Social Network. In the race to heap laurels on The Social Network by American critics it's surprising that more kudos hasn't been given to Eisenberg's central role. Taking on such a infamous character must have been a daunting task for the 27 year old but he manages to capture the essence of a man who needed to create Facebook.
3. Leonardo DiCaprio as Teddy Daniels in Shutter Island. Leo had two opportunities this year to present characters obsessed with their ex-wives in movies that aren't all they first appear to be. It's the sweaty claustrophobia of his role in Shutter Island that works the best for me, and the final line delivered to Mark Ruffalo on the steps of the Asylum is delivered perfectly.
4. George Clooney as Ryan Bingham in Up in the Air. I think many people wrote off this performance as George Clooney playing himself. But ask yourself this: could any other actor carry off this blend of self assurance and disguised contempt for his life over this sort of character arc?
5. Alden Ehrenreich as Bennie in Tetro. From the moment Ehrenreich appears in his ill-fitting naval uniform you know that here is a star in the making. He carries the film rising above the petty squabbling of his family and slowly realising the truth about his brother.
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Shutter Island
2010. Dir: Martin Scorsese. Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingley, Max von Sydow and Michelle Williams. ●●●●○
I'm not much of a reader. Sure, like anyone I can devour an airport paperback in a couple of sittings, but these are few and far between. I spend much more time between books, with dogeared classics drifting around my desk waiting for the first chapter to be tried agian. Occasionally though I make a bit of effort. It could be because I love the author's style (Michael Chabon, J.G Ballard) or because I've heard great things (The Time Traveler's Wife, Curious incident of the dog in the night-time) OR because I hear there's going to be a movie made form it. Which how I came to read Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island.
I hated it.
But that negative experience meant that I could, when the film came out, watch it with a understanding of where the plot was going and pre-warned about the style. Lehane, who specialises in adult crime thrillers (Mystic River and Gone, Baby, Gone have both been sucessfully adapted to the big screen), set out to write a genre piece, a gothic mystery with a dramatic twist. As a novel I felt it didn't work as the ending was too neat, too cliched to be true. Of course it's a film cliche, anyway, so naturally it works better in that medium.
As the film starts we see a ferry coming out of the mist on it's way to the titular island and its maximum security institute for the criminally insane. Before we've had a chance to fully register the characters Marshalls Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (geddit???!!! - Mark Ruffalo) are being thundered away from the dock in an open top jeep to a soundtrack of intense classics.
The plots own macguffin is escaped prisoner Rachel Solando who's miraculously squeezed through her bars and disappered into the inhospital island, and the Marshalls have been called to help track her down. Not that that's the only thing on DiCaprio's mind. Whilst he's there he must find out the truth about the secret mind drugs that sinister phychiatrist's Ben Kingsley and Max von Sydow are dishing out and avenge the murder of his fragile wife Dolores Chanal (Michelle Williams) by the arsonist Andrew Laeddis who may also be, unregistered, in the island. Meanwhile he's suffering from violent headaches, dreaming about his wife's murder, suffering from flashbacks to World War 2. And, to top it all off, there's a big storm coming.
If all of this combined makes it seem like there's an awful lot going on, you're right. But remember most of these events are red herrings. The film is packing in incident and characters to confuse you, to obscure the truth from your vision. Like the fog in the opening, we aren't meant to understand the full implications of the search until that thrid act reveal. Although you could read those last two paragraphs and in effect solve the entire mystery.
Marty knows what he's doing with the story, in what must be his most satisfying film since Goodfellas. The sensibility of the novel and the genre is a ball that Scorsese is more than happy to pick up and run with. Every underlined clue, every musical cue, every jumpy edit seems to be perfectly judged to reinforce the storys central conceit. It is both a pastiche and a modern response to the melodrams of the 40's and 50's where the heroine (usually) begins to doubt her own security and sanity The Spiral Staircase, Gaslight and Sorry, Wrong Number all come to mind.
To that end we also completely forget it's a Scorsese picture, wih it's use of a classical soundtrack and heavy handed symbolism it's about as far away from his past masterpieces as you can imagine. Only the concentration camp shoot out with it's relentless tracking shot is a clue to who you're working with.
In the lead role DiCaprio continues to grow as an actor, able to convey much with a look or a throwaway line. Even the more outre choices - like the completely gonzo scribbling - seem to fit with the characters arc. The way he plays the final scene by the doors of the asylum is incredible, a massive awareness of his situation combined with a confidence about the path he must follow.
I expect in 10 years time we'll look back at this period in DiCaprio's career (with this Inception and Clint Eastwood J. Edgar Hoover biopic) when he truly matured into the greatest actor of his generation
Ben Kingsley also givs a rare performance as the doctor in charge, slipping from playfulness through exasperation to dismissive sometimes within a single speech.
As you would expect in a Scorsese picture the design is solid, with Dante Ferretti's (Casino, Interview with the Vampire) production design inside Robert Richardson's (Inglorious Basterds, Powder Keg) lens meaning every frame is a piece of art.
Overall this is a wonderful throwback to the films of yore, only let down by it's lack of ambition, with no commentary about the world outside of the film.
Saturday, 13 March 2010
Out This Week (12/03/10)
Only 5 films out this week. But what a selection of 5 films. Even the one I'm least likely to support would be a contender for being the film of the week in a normal period. I would even go as far to say if I had a lot more money and a lot more time I'd be camping out at the cinema this weekend in order to see all 5 of them. Nevertheless a choice has to be made and, perhaps inevitably, my film of the week is Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
It is extremely rare for a foreign language film to pick up 5 blobs on the excitometer so listen up. This is the first part of the cinematic adaptation of Steig Larsson's acclaimed thriller trilogy, which sees washed up journo working with enigmatic hacker to solve a 40 year old disappearance. The visuals look breathtaking and it's getting fantastic reviews. Worth a watch.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○
Green Zone
Matt Damon is a bomb hunter sent into Iraq following the 2003 invasion to hunt for WMD, the lack of evidence found leads him to investigate a shadowy conspiracy which bureaucrat Greg Kinnear may just want covered up. This could be the unofficial Bourne 4 due to the reteaming of Damon with Paul Greengrass, as well as a repeat of the techniques and feel to those film. Amy Ryan, Jason Isaacs and Brendan Gleeson co-star.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○
Hachi: A Dog's Story
If you can buy Richard gere as a maths professor then you can probably also believe the central conceit of this loyal doggie tale. Lasse Hallstrom directs a film designed purely to have you reach for the tissues when the later montages kick in.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●○○○○
The Kreutzner Sonata
Danny Huston, who I persoanlly beleive is one of the most underrated actors of his generation, reteams with Ivansetc director Bernard Rose for another modern re-telling of a Tolstoy classic. As with all the works of the Russian great it concerns failed ambitions and covert affairs, but given the female lead is a pianist (and the title is also a major clue) there will be some stunning music. Danny's sister Anjelica gets a supporting role.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Shutter Island
Scorsese's true pulp movie (based on the very pulpy Dennis Lehane novel) has divided critics, with many saying great directors should only concentrate on making great films and not the disposable trash like this. I am still on the edge of my seat with anticipation. After all who else can ratchet up so much tension with an acute camera angle and gothic score. Leonardo DiCaprio leads an all-star cast.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Tuesday Trailers - Shutter Island
I've been waiting for this for a very long time, ever since it was originally mooted as Martin Scorcese and Leonardo DiCaprio's fourth collaboration. Since then I have read the book which reduced my anticipation a little, but I still suspect it will a superb experiment in style and suspense. Judge for yourself with the first trailer.
Shutter Island is released on 12 March 2010.
Friday, 1 January 2010
20 for 2010 - Numbers 17 to 20
It seems hard to believe that I've been blogging so long that I'm returning to a theme I've already covered, that of the films I'm most looking forward to in 2010. In case you don't remember (or more likely weren't reading last year) on 1st January 2009 I counted down the top twenty films I was anticipating.
In retrospect it wasn't a great list. I have, so far, seen 11 of the films and only one of these made the top ten of films I actually saw - admittedly it was the final number 1 - Where the Wild Things Are. Therefore 10 were just not good enough. Of the remainder I'll be seeing The Lovely Bones and Brothers in January, Whatever Works has no sign of a UK release date, My Own Love Song has disappeared and Hachi looks like it's going striaght to video. The rest have been bumped into 2010 schedules and will be listed below as part of the countdown.
You could extrapolate that experience and try to second guess which of the top 20 will move to 2011 or drift off (I already know that one of the list has a UK release date in Jan '11), alternative you could tell me in advance which of these will make the year end top ten. There will actually be a competition later in the rundown with a bag of minstrels as the top prize (It's my cinema snack of choice).
The rules are simple.
1. I use the US release dates and schedules. I know this flies in the face of the way I do my top ten, but it's impossible to estimate how long it will take between releases here and there and it's often easier to find those details in the states. This means that It's Complicated and Precious aren't eligible even though I will see both of them.
2. On IMDB the filming must have started, and it must be recorded as a 2010 film. It's arbitrary I know, but it helps to reduce the likelihood of a film slipping into next years schedule.
3. (New Rule Alert) Films that made the list last year will be shunted to the back of this years list no matter how excited I am about them. I call this the Shutter Island rule because last year Shutter Island was the top film and I am still looking forward to it more than any other film on this list - but it wouldn't be fair to lead 2 years in a row so that, and all the other projects that have been delayed are at the back.
So, with that in mind, here are the films 20 to 17 that I am most looking forward to seeing in 2010.
17. Shutter Island Dir. Martin Scorsese. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley and Michelle Williams.
18. Love Ranch Dir. Taylor Hackford. Starring Helen Mirren, Joe Pesci and Sergio Peris-Mencheta. (No, I couldn't find any decent screen pics apart from the one I used last year)
19. The Tempest Dir. Julie Taymor. Starring Helen Mirren, Russell Brand and Djimon Hounsou (below as Caliban).
20. Biutiful Dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu. Starring Javier Bardem, Rubén Ochandiano and Blanca Portillo.
If you want to know a little more about why I was interested in these films then take a look at the labels below and you'll see last years posts.
Look out for number 16 in the 20 for 2010 countdown tomorrow.
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
Leonardo DiCaprio
Happy Birthday to
Leonardo DiCaprio
35 today
As a man and as I actor Leo just keeps on getting better. In 2010 he has 2 films coming out which should both be massive box office releases. I'll be queueing up to see both Shutter Island and Inception.
Friday, 10 April 2009
Max von Sydow
Happy Birthday to
Max von Sydow
80 today
To have one iconic cinematic image is something to be treasured but to have 2 (playing death at chess and arriving to exorcism the demons) is surely incredible - so much so I can't think of anyone else with two - feel free to disagree. Next up for Max is Scorcese's Shutter Island, as I remember the role requires sitting in a big armchair and sounding sinister - that sounds like von Sydow to a tee.
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
20 for 2009 - Shutter Island
Or, Now Marty's got an Oscar is he going to let rip or will this be his way of getting one for Leo?
How can I be so cynical. This is my number one choice for 2009. Against the anticipation for Shutter Island all other films look pasty and irrelevant.
There is little I can actually say to really defend why I'm interested in this film. The novel is hokey with the ending telegraphed so clearly my dogs guessed what was happening. It also doesn't have the depth of story that Scorcese is used to dealing with. But maybe that's why I'll be there. It's simplicity will mean that Martin will need to make a great film to get away with it.
Seriously if you need me to tell you why I'm excited then you probably never will be anticipating this one.
Monday, 14 July 2008
Jackie Earle Haley
Happy Birthday to
Jackie Earle Haley
47 today
Jackie was a child actor, (see The Bad News Bears or Breaking Away) who had almost disappeared by the mid nineties. He returned to film in 2006 with an oscar nominated performance as the peadophile in Todd Field's Little Children. I amactually not a fan of the performance - not a subtle as the Ronnie McGorvey from the book - however it's been a great opportunity for Jackie to return to film. Look out for him in the highly anticipated Watchmen adaptation and in Scorcese's Shutter Island next year.
