Honorable
Mentions: Contagion, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,
Rise of the Planet of the Apes, X-Men: First Class, Attack the Block
11
Melancholia
Directed
by: Lars Von Trier
Lars Von Trier's apocalyptic drama was a very cerebral and carefully pieced together film, that despite having moments of uncertainty it still gets the job done. The Film is anchored down by stellar performances by Kirsten Dunst Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kiefer Sutherland that make it very compelling.
Directed by: George Clooney
This
political drama didn't tell us anything new we needed to know about
politics necessarily but that wasn't what it was after. The film uses
politics as its medium for its tale of morality, that tests its
characters (portrayed by a brilliant cast) in more complex and darker
ways than it leads on originally and has undoubtedly one of the
strongest scripts of the year.
9
War Horse
Directed
by: Steven Spielberg
War
Horse is a Film that has more intellect to it that what initially
meets the eye. A film that deliberately strays away from modern
techniques and uses modern flaws (Melodrama, manipulative
scenes,occasional corny dialogue,light coming from one direction when
the sun is in another etc.) to give it a feel of old cinema and to
bring us back to a time where cynicism didn't make its way into
viewers minds as easily as it does today. In addition it has a
stellar cast of bit parts and is incredibly well crafted from a mind
that may be sharper than ever
8
The Muppets
Directed
by: James Bobin
The
Muppets are a beloved franchise and needed special care if a
revival was to be well received by its fan base. And indeed it was
cared for, the script has the fingerprints of Muppet Classics such as
The Muppet Movie with its humor that attracts both children
and adults and its direction is as crisp as it can be. It's
wonderfully executed nostalgic attitude carries the movie and its new
songs are as wonderful as its incorporation of older Muppets songs
such as “The Rainbow Connection” and “The Muppet Show Theme”.
By far the best “Reboot” of a franchise in recent memory.
7
The Adventures of Tintin
Directed
by: Steven Spielberg
Spielberg's
latest fun/adventure film has qualities of the Indiana Jones
and Pirates of the Caribbean film series', respectively but
its better than any combination of the two could be and has a nice
mix of Monty Python essence. The motion capture technology that acts
as the films median both allows actors such as Andy Serkis to add a
bit of depth to their characters (way more so than non Mo-Cap
animation)and with its virtual camera it allows Spielberg to tell his
story in ways he's been dreaming for years by painting a portrait of
brilliant action sequences that is driven by the mystery at hand
throughout circa 1940 England and Morocco among other locations.
6
Moneyball
Directed
by: Bennet Miller
Based
off of Michael Lewis' nonfiction book of the same name (a difficult
source to adapt for the screen)Moneyball has a high power
script by Arron Sorkin (The Social Network) and Steve Zaillian
(Schindler's List) and an incredible and in some spots
meticulous directing aesthetic put together by Bennet Miller. The
film has one of Brad Pitt's best performances of his career, good
minor role appearances by Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Chris Pratt and
a Jonah Hill performance that proves there is a good bit of acting
ability in him. The film also marks a study of both: a group of men
trying to defy the odds and change a system that has been in affect
for decades and succeed and of a man who made a mistake a long time
ago and is in some ways still trying to learn from it.
5
The Descendants
Directed
by: Alexander Payne
A
very complex film thats screenplay is to thank for the nice
structure. The film's key balance of humor and sadness help make it
rather enjoyable, it hits heavy issues that are a theme throughout
but it occasionally has some great humor that takes a load off and
gives viewers more focus on whats coming up. The big buzz going on
with this movie is however George Clooney's performance which I was
skeptical before seeing it but it is in fact great. Clooney sets
aside his constant charm that is visible in all his other movies, but
here he is a man who doesn't have all the answers and actually has to
contemplate for more than 10 seconds before making important
decisions. But he isn't the only one with acting chops here the whole
ensemble is nice but Shailene Woodley gives a great performance as
his teenage daughter and Robert Forster contributes a lot given that
he only has two scenes.
4
Young Adult
Directed
by: Jason Reitman
The
tag line for the straight up black comedy Young Adult reads
“Everybody gets older, not everybody grows up” and as risky as it
is to do so it doesn't lie from the moment it gets started til the
end credits, that theme rings truer and truer. This is by far
Reitman's darkest film and at the same time his smartest and perhaps
his funniest in its mannerisms. A good supporting cast and nice use
of Patton Oswalt's natural personality make a nice addition to
Charlize Theron's incredible performance as Mavis Gary the
intentionally unlikeable “prom queen bitch” that you hated in
high school.
3
50/50
Directed
by: Jonathan Levine
Bringing
comedic touches to darker issues such as cancer is always risky in
film but 50/50 knocks it out of the park with its rhythm of
humor and mix of heavy emotion. Will Reiser's simple yet well written
script is brought to life by Jonathan Levine's Jason Reitman/Hal
Ashby like approach and an amazing cast featuring Joseph Gordon
Levitt is phenomenal as the rather conservative Adam who is diagnosed
with cancer Bryce Dallas Howard shines as a fem fetal like Girlfriend
of his, Anjelica Huston is brief but wonderful as his overbearing
mother, and Anna Kendrick breaks out of her Up in the Air character
and makes a good addition as Adam's therapist. Lets us not forget
Seth Rogen is here basically playing himself but thats what the
script calls for and I like what he brings from a comedic standpoint
and as Adam's loyal flawed best friend. Overall its very funny,
entertaining and heartwarming.
2
Drive
Directed by:
Nicolas Winding Refn
The high
speed prologue and techno soundtrack set the tone of Nicolas Winding
Refn's stylish, car chase thriller. Its an absolute pleasure to watch
and it offers a bit of more than one would think being somewhat of a
“thinking mans action film”. It also has an excellent ensemble
with Bryan Cranston, Oscar Issac, Carey Mulligan and Ron Perlman, lead
by great minimalist work by Ryan Gosling in a “man with no name”
type role and a turn of type for Albert Brooks who turns away from comedic
roles and plays Gosling's vicious foe in a performance that puts him
in contention for an Oscar.
1 The
Tree of Life
Directed
by: Terrence Malick
Yes my
number one is Malick's creative, beautiful and, at some points
haunting drama about the creation of earth, and the struggle of man
between the ways of nature and grace. It also offers career best
performances by Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain as the parents of Jack
who in his younger years is portrayed by Hunter McCracken in perhaps
the best performance by a child actor of all time. But the main
beauty of the piece lies in the amazing exploration of themes in its
nontraditional format and structure which is a journey that is
enjoyable and causes one to contemplate not only their own life's
past, future and meaning but that of life in general.
