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.
Monday, 3 January 2011
2010 in Review - Best Supporting Actress
Of the categories this will, I expect, bring the most comments. Last year when I excluded a particular performance (because it hadn't come out yet) I got a number of comments asking me why. This year I have seen that performance and she wasn't my favourite - can't wait to hear what you have to say.
1. Vera Farmiga as Alex Goran in Up in the Air. Vera walks a tightrope in Jason Reitman's corporate satire, projecting an yearning behind the held together exterior and her final scene on the telephone shows an awareness of the characters strengths and weaknesses few others have matched.
2. Olivia Williams as Ruth Lang in The Ghost. There's a cat-like intensity to the role as portrayed by Olivia Williams, alternately preening over her husband an purring to induce sympathy from Ewan MacGregor's hapless ghost writer. When the final act reveal comes about you can see the tension in every movement. 
3. Mo'Nique as Mary in Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire. She's the villain of the year, certainly, a performance that over powers the film with dread and menace as well as a knock out monologue explaining her own private fears at the end. 
4. Julianne Moore as Charley in A Single Man. It's wildly over the top, but I think that's what makes Moore's Charley so likeable, a prototype fag-hag unable to break away from her reliance on Colin Firth's George and gripped by an unbreakable desire to win him back.
5. Marion Cotillard as Mal in Inception. It's hard to imagine a year when Marion fails to achieve a nod from me for her performances. Given she's purely a construct of Leonardo DiCaprio's fevered mind she manages to give the most consistent performance in the film, always deadly. I really want to see her as a proper femme fatale.
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
Up in the Air
2009. Dir: Jason Reitman. Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman and Amy Morton. ●●●●●
Jason Reitman has a bizarre talent of hitting the zeitgeist. In his last film - Juno - it was largely due to the up-to-the-minute hipster dialogue from Diablo Cody. But in his masterful follow-up we are drawn to the timeliness of the storytelling, and it's connection to the current financial crisis. Reitman is well aware of this, using brief interviews with people who have recently been made redundant, that insight into real lives works well to underline how dramatic and devastating losing your job can be.
Up in the Air cannot be so easily defined. It is a movie about recession and joblessness. The main character Ryan Bingham (expertly played by George Clooney) may work for a company that provide redundancy outsourcing, a firer-for-hire if you will, but it's also about resistance and acceptance of change.
Bingham, in his own way, is wholely resistant to change. He lives his life as detached as possible, spending over two thirds of the year travelling and quietly toting up his air miles (as he aims to achieve a high water mark). During the film he encounters three women who challange his lifestyle in different ways; Anna Kendrick who aims to shake up the company procedure, fellow traveller Vera Farmiga who offers Bingham a glimpse of happiness and sister Amy Morton whose no-nonsense cynicism hits to Bingham's core. It is through the developement of these relationships that Bingham begins to understand his place and his future.
For me the film worked as a quality piece of cinema - I wasn't in tears at the end or desperately wanting to be part of the action - but in a detached way I could see the depth of the filmmaking. The conversations are both humourous, more so than you'd imagine, and deeply true. When Kendrick and Farmiga discuss the qualities they need in a man, and the consequent differences between their demands, there's a believable aspect to it, and the underplaying of the lines really works.
In fact there isn't a weak performance in the film, and certainly the leading trio will heartily deserve the Oscar nods coming their way, especially Clooney deconstructing his own image and Farmiga who nails the tough exec prepared to take the best of both worlds. Their chemistry together is palpable, albeit one that's used as a major plot device.
The editing and cinematography is largely detached, fitting the airport lounge feel of the film, and the design is also suitably spartan.
Overall the film manages to be something we don't see very often, an adult comedy which isn't afraid to address issues that really worry us in the 21st century, as well as being a workplace drama that throwsback to the star-driven studio output of the 1950's. I loved it.
Friday, 15 January 2010
Out this week (15/01/10)
There is a film I want to see this week, it's the one I will recommend, but other than that you have to wonder what's going on with the scheduling. Usually in January we are struggling to find the time to see decent films, but this week is a disaster. There are three other studio releases, none of which look remotely palatable - let alone like they're a decent watch. So, if you like a bit of Clooney then Up in the Air is the film for you, otherwise stay at home.
Aayirathil Oruvan
This Tamil movie is helpfully described as a scientific thriller. The trailer, gives more away, as we see 2 archaeologists (Karthik Shivakumar and Reema Sen) investigate the bizarre stone circles on a remote island, only to awaken evil spirits, and deeply annoy the locals. Looks derivative but could be worth a watch.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
All about Steve
If Sandra Bullock could go back 2 years and choose one project to ditch from her schedule for 2010 it would be this odd stalker "comedy". It's neither the massively popular rom-com nor the massively popular true life tome that may just win her an Oscar nom. It's the other one, the one with Bradley Cooper and Thomas Haden Church, the one that's best avoided.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
The Book of Eli
The end of the world is nigh. Last week we had Viggo showing us how humanity would be stretched to breaking point. This week Denzel shows us we can fight back. I doubt neither film has a good ending, but at least The Road may have some believable characters.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Chance pe Dance
Love story about an out-of-work dancer who with his potential sweetheart helps forge a group of disillusioned schoolchidren into an award winning dance troupe.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
44 inch Chest
Starring a veritable who's who's of middle aged British hardmen (Ray Winstone, Ian McShane, Tom Wilkinson and John Hurt among them) this is a not quite sequel to Sexy Beast from the same writing team of Louis Mellis and David Scinto. Ray's sexy wife run off with a waiter so they kidnap him in revenge. Unfortunately that's where the plan ends and the film starts.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
OSS117: Lost in Rio
Second movie in the french version of Austin Powers, this time he's sent to find a missing professor in Rio (natch). Likeable enough looking comic capers, but nothing to write home about. Jean Dujardin takes the lead role.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Still Walking
Hirokazu Koreeda's film, based on his own novella, follows a doctor and his wife as they return to his childhood home, visit his parents and reminisce on the anniversary of his brother's death. Poignant Japanese drama which received raves at last years Toronto festival.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Up in the Air
Jason Reitman hits the zeitgeist by invoking the spectre of the current financial crisis and the continuous drive to compartmentalize our lives. Getting Clooney to play a warped version of himself is also a major coup.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●●●○
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Tuesday Trailers - Up in the Air
The praise for this from the festival circuit has been deafening. With an Oscar nod for film and Clooney being pretty much in the bag. The interesting thing about Jason Reitman is that each of his films have been radically different yet show an increasing confidence and quality of film making. The timing of this comedy about redundancies, deep within the longest recession since the Second World War, couldn't be more appropriate.
Up in the Air is released on 15 January 2010.
Thursday, 28 August 2008
Coming Soon (maybe)
It's been a quiet week since I last updated any coming soon news but these two stories have interested me a little.
Tintin
There've been a number of rumours about uber-director Steven Spielberg, and his projects, over recent weeks.
First The Trial of the Chicago 7 changed director to Paul Greengrass, although now there appears to be no name attached to it at all. Then Herge announced Tintin was to be directed by Peter Jackson, who's currently attached to the sequels, although this has been denied. Spielberg is apparantly still in the chair. That's good, but I'd rather see him challenge himself with some meaty films.
Up in the Air
George Clooney has igned up to Jason "Juno" Reitman's next project: Up in the Air. It's about a guy trying to collect one million air miles - so far so loopy.
