Cinewise

1971 ... What a Year!

2012-01-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

It's 2012. And I'm far too behind in my quest to finish these by the end of 2011. So, what does a wannabe-film-blogger do? He gives himself an extension. This will be done in 2012, folks. Believe you me.

So 1971 - what did you give us cinematically? But, less importantly (but no less interestingly), what happened in 1971 that had nothing to do with films? Shall we?

Idi Amin becomes president of Uganda. I don't have anything funny to say about that. Wait ... The Last King od Scotland. That'll do.
Rolls-Royce goes bankrupt. The CEO is forced to drive a Cortina.
UK and Ireland goes through decimilisation. People are confused.
Something important happens in Malaysia.
Democratic Republic of Congo is renamed Zaire, which will revert back to its former name after a few decades. Pointless, really.

Yep. Boring year.

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The Descendants (2011)

2012-01-22T06:31:00.000-08:00

In this age of sequels, prequels, triquels, remakes, rehashes, reimaginings ... (you get the idea), we should cherish a film like The Descendants. OK, it was based on a novel, so it's not strictly speaking 'original', but it has its own voice, a somewhat consistent style and it doesn't rely on any given gimmick (3D, a non-actor leading (wo)man, shot in realer-than-real HD etc). Because of this and its other intangibles (A-list actor, critically acclaimed director-screenwriter), The Descendants is considered one of the leading 'prestige' releases of 2011 (2012 if you're in the UK). The problem, though, is that it is as safe, daring and interesting as the autobot testicles from Transformers 2.

But I digress.
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Top 50 (What?!) Films of 2011

2011-12-17T05:13:00.000-08:00

Yes, this is a mammoth task. And perhaps a little bit excessive - surely, I haven't seen 50 new films that merit praise and adulation?

I haven't. And don't call me Shirley.

However, except for a small number of films in the tail end of this countdown, I am pretty confident of this list.

But I hear you saying: why not make a more concise list of films (top 10, 20, 30, 40, 49 etc) and turn this into a more legitimate countdown than a pathetic attempt at showing yourself as an attention whore / web traffic seeker / unashamed populist / laughable show off (delete as necessary)?

I don't have an answer to that question other than the fact that I just wanted to extend this list to 50. Or as one internet meme so eloquently puts it: "Because fuck you, that's why!"

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Romantics Anonymous (2011)

2011-12-11T01:53:00.001-08:00

What happens if you mix Chocolat and Amélie? It's certain that Romantics Anonymous doesn't happen. Despite a juicy set-up (two clinically shy people fall in love and hilarity ensues), it falls criminally short of anything good. The worthy efforts of its two leads (Isabelle Carré and Benoît Poelvoorde) do nothing to save this flat film from falling face down in the mud.
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Wuthering Heights (2011)

2011-11-19T08:29:00.001-08:00

Andrea Arnold's take on Emily Brontë's beloved novel of the same name is an assured and mesmerising piece of cinema. It often hits hard and low, hell-bent to knock you off your comfort zone. Relying solely on ambient sounds and intrusive camerawork, it leaves the viewer panting for breath. It has its flaws, for sure (and they are plenty), but the positives almost always overcome its shortcomings.
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25 Non-English Language Horror Films You Need to Watch

2011-10-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

If you haven't yet decided what to watch this Hallowe'en, here's a late list of suggestions for films that will not only scare you, but will make you read a little. Without much preamble, let's get the rules straightened out: the primary language cannot be English (if it is a silent film, then the original language of the intertitles cannot be English). I have taken some liberties with the definition of horror here, as some of these films may classify as drama (or some other genre) on the surface. But one thing they have in common is that they will scare you on some level.

Fair warning: some of the following images contain fake blood.

Enjoy!
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We Need to Talk about Kevin (2011)

2011-10-30T03:30:00.000-07:00

We really need to talk about We Need to Talk about Kevin, because it is truly an exceptional film with a central performance that will put many to shame. Coming off a wave of postivie buzz, the film was a critical hit at this year's Cannes - so much so that it looked like it would walk away with all the big gongs. Sadly, it wasn't so. Perhaps as a consolation, it won the top prize at this year's London Film Festival - an event that despite all the local hoopla fails to draw as much attention as Cannes, Toronto, Berlin or Venice. Regardless, the film's victory is not to be underestimated. We Need to Talk about Kevin is a brilliant film.
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1970 ... What a Year!

2011-10-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

We're entering another decade and I still have 40 more of these until Cinewise's end-of-year countdown. Obviously my plan hasn't worked out - I was hoping to do one of these per week until the Top 20 of 2011 ... oh well. I like a bit of a challenge and I can't wait to power my way through 40 more of these in the remaining couple of months and change.

Right, where were we? Or, more precisely, when were we? 1970. Saying goodbye to the decade that no one remembers, we're entering a decade that everyone remembers ... fondly. This decade also marks another 'golden age' for cinema as the Hollywood auteurs that we worship still to this day have crashlanded into our lives. I'm talking about Spielberg, Scorsese, Coppola, Lucas, De Palma, Bogdanovich, Ashby, Altman, Malick, Cimino, Beatty ... at least 2 of these names must have stirred something in the nether parts of your body already (which 2 will depend entirely on each reader).
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Melancholia (2011)

2011-10-14T08:14:00.000-07:00

Melancholia is Lars Von Trier's homage to time.

How? Let me elaborate.

The sudden appearance of a celestial object, hurtling at mind-blowing speed to Earth throws in an extra element to how we measure time. As Earth winds his way around the Sun and the Moon does the same around the Earth, time moves in an unstoppable crash-course to infinity (technically speaking it is a finite infinity, but for practical purposes we shouldn't really worry about the inevitable end of the Sun). Von Trier injects a new variable into this equation by the name of Melancholia - the hitherto unknown planet, hiding behind the Sun (let's just put science aside for a minute).
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1969 ... What a Year!

2011-10-08T04:48:00.000-07:00

Nearing the end of a decade of hazy malaise, we arrive at the sexiest year of the century. Was it a coincidence that the Academy's first X-rated Best Picture nominee was released in 1969? Maybe. But for the purposes of my argument, let's pretend that it wasn't. Let's say it was a deliberate attempt to sex it up.

But was it all about love in 1969?

Led Zeppelin
Apollo 11
Woodstock
Sesame Street

1968 ... What a Year!

2011-10-02T05:50:00.000-07:00

Obviously, 1968 never happened. No one remembers it. But, for the sake of argument, let's pretend that it did and imagine what it may have offered as cinematic entertainment. But, as before, let's recap on the imaginary things that may or may not have happened in the world.

Protests. Everywhere.

So, what imaginary films were not released in 1968? Here's what failed to make the Bru's Top 3:

If ..., in which Malcolm McDowell is awesome.
Once upon a Time in the West, in which Charles Bronson pretend-plays a harmonica.
The Party, in which Peter Sellers is Indian.
Planet of the Apes, in which damned apes are dirty.
William Wilson, in which Alain Delon is awesome.

Killer Elite (2011)

2011-10-02T03:09:00.000-07:00

Jason Statham's husky voice, Clive Owen's glorious 'tache and Robert 'God' De Niro cannot save this mess of a film. You expect to see an Expendables-lite action-fest where Stath goes against the 'tache, taking DeNiro's shaggy beard along the way, instead you get a trailer that runs just short of 2.5 hours. It refuses to slow down to reflect on a scene, a quip, or a plot twist. There are plenty of those, but the shambolic editing and an inability to tell a decent story quickly exhaust one's patience. This is by far the worst film I have seen all year.
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Jane Eyre (2011)

2011-09-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

Jane Eyre is an incredibly well-made period drama. It is also one of the most hauntingly beautiful films of this year. There is an emphasis of enunciation and mannerisms in the adaptations of Victorian literature, both on television and in film. Director Cary Fukunaga's version of the tumultuous love in the rainy, gloomy northern England, however, emphasizes the story and the mood. I can't think of a better costume drama than this Jane Eyre which captures the dark and eerie undertones of the source novel perfectly. This also bodes well for Andrea Arnold's the upcoming Wuthering Heights, which looks amazing.
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1967 ... What a Year!

2011-09-18T04:21:00.000-07:00

All right, moving on to the dawn of New Hollywood as American cinema enters a new era. Some of the superstar directors that we still admire today are graduating from film schools and are about to take cinema by storm. 1967 was the beginning. For many, the true New Hollywood never really took off beyond a couple of years after its inception, for some the seeds were planted then for the Masters to sow them in the next decade as the era of Blockbusters take over. Whatever it was, 1967 was the beginning of a great era for film and no one can deny that.

Before we go on to the cinematic highlights, let's remind ourselves of the state of terra firma in 1967:

The Doors break on through to the others side.
The Pack win the first ever Super Bowl. The slots for Super Bowl commercials are sold at 1c per 30 seconds.
Malaysia wants to get in on the act so something important happens there.
First Boeing 737 flight. Hold on ... are they that old?!

Tomboy (2011)

2011-09-18T03:33:00.000-07:00

Céline Sciamma's latest film is light-hearted and easy on the senses. It is a linear, quiet depiction of a rather odd little tale about a young girl passing herself as a boy to his new friends at a Paris suburb they have just moved to. Why she resorts to that is never explained (all the better for it), but even before the big reveal, the androgyny of Laure (Zoé Héran) will keep you second-guessing as to her gender (the name is the reveal ... and no this is not a spoiler, it happens about 10 minutes in).

Nothing much really happens, as Laure (now called Mikael to 'his' new friends) learns to play football like a boy, to fight like a boy and in one hilarious scene moulds herself a penis using play-doh (for the sake of simplicity I will use the feminine third person pronoun throughout). Her breasts still not formed, she can take off her shirt and be one of the boys.
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Kill List (2011)

2011-09-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

Having gone to this with the least amount of expectation despite the glowing reviews, I bow down and admit my ignorance and prejudice: this is every bit as good as it's made out to be. Not only is this one of the best hitman films I have ever seen, it is also a cracking horror.

Jay (Neil Maskell), 8 months since his return from Iraq, is reluctant to return to his pre-war occupation, mostly because of his ailing back. His beautiful wife Shel (MyAnna Buring) thinks it's all in his head and frequently reminds him that they are running out of money. They fight constantly, but theirs is not a relationship to be rocked by a global financial crisis. Not only held together by their devotion to their young son, they are well and truly in love with each other. But times are tough and Jay needs to take care of his family. Enter Gal (Michael Smiley), Jay's comrade-in-arms and best friend. After a double date dinner night at Jay and Shel's home (and a rather nasty argument between the hosts), Gal convinces Jay to join him for a "job".
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Troll Hunter (2010)

2011-09-15T13:37:00.000-07:00

I'm just sick of it. I've had it up to here with these "found footage" films. It's a gimmick that grows tired faster than I can type this sentence. And I can type fast.

What could have easily been a cult-in-the-making, Troll Hunter is buried under the obligation to look and feel real. This verisimilitude creates an atmosphere where viewers are forced to appreciate the shaky camera, the docu-style narrative and the inconsistent dramatic pull. It forces the viewers to place themselves behind another fourth wall, so to speak. Not only are we supposed to be entertained, we are also asked to be objects of an historical / sociological / scientific / psychological (delete as necessary) experiment. We are merely reflecting on a supposed fact, when in fact what happens on the screen is unadulterated fun. It's a shame, because Troll Hunter could easily have been one of the best genre films of the last few years. Alas, it falls incredibly short.
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1966 ... What a Year!

2011-09-10T08:03:00.000-07:00

So, on to 1966.

This is a good year, though personally there were 3 truly outstanding films and some not so outstanding films. Before the cinematic successes of the year, let's remind ourselves of what transpired in 1966 elsewhere:

Luna 9 lands on the moon. Hooray!
While Venera 3 crashes on Venus. Hooray!
First televised Parliament session in the UK, which coincides with the public realising that they had voted in a bunch of lying, thieving scumbags.
Of course, another important thing happens in Malaysia.

1965 ... What a Year!

2011-09-10T07:22:00.000-07:00

It occured to me while walking in the about-to-be-soaked streets of Richmond that I haven't done one of these in a while. As I slalom my way along the crowd, I was trying to figure out which year it was that I stopped (no, I don't have a 'smart' phone, thank you very much).

So to remedy the huge gap, I will post a couple of these today.

To start off, we're going all the way back to 1965 ... what a year it was!

Before we go deep in the cinematic highlights, let me remind you what was going on on our planet in the year of 1965:

Maple leaf is introduced to the Canadian flag. It was aboot time.
The Gambia becomes independent. No, that's actually a country, not a hipster band/
Something important happens in Malaysia, which leads to other important events.
Bob Dylan goes electric, still boring.

The Guard (2011)

2011-08-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

Brendan Gleeson's comic timing is nothing new, but in The Guard he truly shows his abilities to deliver a deadpan line and make the audience roar with laughter. There were plenty of laughters yesterday at the cinema as Gleeson's smart-or-dumb Garda delivers one racist joke after another. The characters that crowd his small world try too hard to keep up with him, but he takes the film away and carries it on his broad shoulders.

Yet, something is amiss ... and that's the story. Despite the jokes, Gleeson's performance and the idyllic (and rainy) Irish setting doesn't make this more than a TV movie that is a little above average.
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The Big Picture (2010)

2011-08-10T00:14:00.000-07:00

Romain Duris, who should really be in every film, stars in this French thriller that never really takes off. Despite the best efforts of its lead and a stellar supporting cast, it dies a slow death before we are even done with the first act. The problem lies with the story.

Paul Exben has it all: he is a young, wealthy junior partner of a Parisian law firm. He lives in a lovely big house, with two lovely children, and a pretty blonde wife. He is good at his job, so much so that his mentor / boss / partner Catherine Deneuve is willing to transfer all her shares to him once she steps away to live her last days with terminal cancer. Although this news seems to rattle Paul, his main problem lies at home.
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Arrietty (2010)

2011-08-07T02:52:00.000-07:00

The latest from Studio Ghibli comes with an awesome 2D hand-drawn animation that puts any 3D, pixel-heavy animation to shame. Regardless of how lifelike they try to make the majority of animated films, they are missing the point - if I wanted to watch a life-like film, I'd watch one that is actually life-like, with living and breathing actors (at least living and breathing while they were filming it). So, it is a blessing indeed that the films of Studio Ghibli have been picked up by Disney so that we can get to watch them on the biggest of screens.

Arrietty is based on Mary Norton's beloved children's book "The Borrowers". While the semi-Dickensian 1950s British setting is transferred to modern day Japan and like the previous Ghibli classics like Kiki's Delivery Service, Grave of the Fireflies and Porco Rosso, there is a sense of a universal familiarity mixed with an eerie sense of an alien, idyllic world. It's as much fantasy seeped into reality as reality seeped into fantasy.
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Beginners (2010)

2011-07-31T01:29:00.000-07:00

Written and directed by Mike Mills, Beginners is a film about loneliness. It is about people who seek loneliness, who are also looking ways to alleviate their loneliness. Evading love and human touch, they finally give in and embrace what life offers in companionship and loyalty. Theirs is a life of contrasts.

Thematically, Beginners works really well, but its execution ocassionally fails. And that is because it is too self-aware and clever for its own good. Mills' stylistic touches more often than not fail to hit the mark and the film (and the premise) feels gimmicky and pointless.
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1964 ... What a Year!

2011-07-02T14:06:00.000-07:00

On to 1964 - a good year. A solid year with plenty of classics, some of which are undoubtedly favourites of many.

Before the silver screen enlightens us with all the goodies, what did happen elsewhere on this third rock from the Sun in the year 1964?

Beatlemania comes to the US. This coincides with the invention of the term "Boy Band".
The Italian government admits that the Tower of Pisa is leaning. They changed its name to the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
The Great Train Robbery happens, which inspires the great folk-metal song "The Great Brain Robbery" by Skyclad.
Something important happens in Malaysia.

You know ... the usual.

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Incendies (2010)

2011-07-02T10:01:00.000-07:00

The Academy Award nominated Incendies is a handsome and poetic drama with haunting images and some pretty (dare I say?) incendiary scenes. Often brilliant, it is let down by a contrived plot and a twist that is powerful, but too convenient for its own sake. Still, you will leave the cinema with a feeling of having watched a film that is a spot-on representative of our current cultural and national conflicts.

Québécois twins Jeanne and Simon Marwan find out during the reading of their recently deceased mother's will that they have a brother and a father back in their mother's homeland, Lebanon. Simon (Maxime Gaudette) is reluctant to find their extended family, but Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) is more than eager to embark on a mission to unearth their mother's past. From this moment on the film oscillates between the Lebanese Civil War and the present time.
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1963 ... What a Year!

2011-06-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

Right, it had to come to this. A year that doesn't really deserve a What a Year post. But we will soldier on, overcome the obstabcles. Even though 1963 was short on films lacking the firepower of the years gone by, it still presented a considerably interesting bunch of films. And one absolute classic, which is number one. Obviously.

So, what else happened in the world in 1963 other than disappointment on the big screen. Here's the lowdown:

Mona Lisa is exhibited for the first time in the US, paving the way for the turd that was "The Da Vinci Code"
Female suffrage is enacted in Iran. Years before Switzerland. Somehow this did not have a happy ending.
The Alcatraz Island penitentiary closes, paving the way for umpteen shitty films.
ZIP codes are introduced in the US. Order is restored.
Lamborghini wheels out first car. We are not worth it.
First episode of "Doctor Who" is aired. No apology from BBC for the turd yet.

Potiche (2010)

2011-06-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

François Ozon's latest über-French romp Potiche has the tongue pressed so hard against the cheek, it actually pierces through it. It is consistently hilarious, painfully sarcastic and, just like his previous 8 Women (2002), simply wonderful. Staying close to its origins as a stage play, the film never really tries to make the characters or the story believable or relatable - this looks like a 70s porn with a heart of gold.
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1962 ... What a Year!

2011-06-18T09:54:00.000-07:00

1962 is an interesting year in film with a mixture of art-house classics and crowd pleasing blockbusters. French New Wave was still going strong, Hollywood epics got even more epic, and scratching films became an artistic expression ... somehow.

What else was going on in the world, then? Here's a lowdown:

Ranger 3 is launched to study the Moon ... it overshoots by about 4.5 Mount Everests. Somebody loses his/her job.
Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points in a game. No decisions were made afterwards.
Ranger 4 reaches the Moon ... in pieces.
Something important happens in Malaysia.
The first Wal-mart opens. America will never be the same again.
Marilyn Monroe dies. Beauty becomes a relative term.
Cuban missile crisis. Otherwise known as "Whose dick is bigger?" contest.
Big Freeze in Britain. Meanwhile, in 2011 Britain is going through the Big Moist.

1961 ... What a Year

2011-06-12T03:52:00.001-07:00

1961 is a strobogrammatic prime number, which means if you reverse the number on both x and y axes, you will get the same number. Here's how you do it:

Alongside this numerical wonder of 1961, it was a particularly vintage year in cinema, with some exceptional art-house classics.

1961 was also a year in which:

China bought grain from Canada and dished out $60m in the process. The world would repay by buying everything from China in years to come (and come).
The Beatles perform in the Cavern Club for the first time. This coincides with the introduction of the word "overrrated" into the English language.
Something important happened in Malaysia.
Construction for Berlin Wall commenced and a young Roger Waters began contemplating on a metaphor.
The first "Fantastic Four" was released and the Marvel Universe was born. Marvel are still shitting these out in chronic diarrhea.
"Catch-22" was published after the English-speaking world asked for more ways to use the word "overrated."
A little skirmish began in Vietnam that would have absolutely no effect on popular culture or politics. None whatsoever.

1960 ... What a Year!

2011-06-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

Moving on to another decade (or does the decade start at '1' ... it think it does, but who cares?).

1960 ... what a year!

Another stellar year with a handful of all-time greats. Which ones made the top 3? Which ones are bubbling under, so to speak?

Before we celebrate the dawn of the '60s (or not), let's refresh our amnesiac minds with a crash-course in non-cinematic 1960:

Jacques Picard (Jean-Luc's great-great-great-massively great grandfather) and Don Walsh reach down to touch the Mariana Trench … OK, they don't actually touch it, but you get the idea.
CERN particle accelerator begins operation. Geekdom rejoices.
Tuanku Abdul Rahman ibni Almarhum Tuanku Muhammad, 1st Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, dies in office. He is replaced by Hisamuddin Alam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Alaeddin Sulaiman Shah, Sultan of Selangor.
Brazil has a new capital, creatively named Brasilia.
First TV broadcast in New Zealand, sowing the seeds for "Flight of the Conchords".
Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah, Sultan of Selangor and 2nd Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, dies in office. He is replaced by Tuanku Syed Putra, Raja of Perlis.
Cassius Clay wins first pro fight. Bees and butterflies rejoice at the impending fame.

1959 ... What a Year!

2011-06-06T12:41:00.000-07:00

Amother strong contender for the Greatest Year in Cinema, 1959 is not short on all-time classics. But before we celebrate 1959 the year in film, let's refresh our memory about some of the main events of 1959:

The US flag earns a couple of stars as Alaska and Hawaii become states. Good for them.
Cuban Revolution ends as Castro and his friends kick Batista out of the island once and for all.
Music dies on a January day
First Barbie dolls are rolled out to teach little girls how to conform to the gender role society has imposed on them.
Leakeys discover Australopithecus in Tanzania. This is the day god dies.
M1 opens in the UK. First gridlock occurs about 5 minutes later.
Antarctica is declared a military-free zone ... wait ... really? {runs to the bedroom to pack bags}

Senna (2010)

2011-06-05T04:42:00.000-07:00

The problem with most documentaries is that they are not very "visual". This may go against what they are trying to achieve, which is to raise an issue to public consciousness. Yet, even though the manner with which they are made is visual, the majority contain talking heads and posthumous reflections on an event, person or concept without having anything visually interesting. Senna doesn't belong to this group. Without a single talking head or a dramatic voice-over to add pathos, Asif Kapardia only uses the extensive archive footage from Senna's career as a Formula 1 driver.

If you don't know who Ayrton Senna is, you are probably not aware of Formula 1. Though, knowledge of Formula 1 or motor racing are not prerequisites to enjoy this film, which left me in tears at least twice during its brief 2 hours of running time. I could have stayed in that dark room and continue watching for hours on end.
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1958 ... What a Year!

2011-06-04T14:23:00.000-07:00

Following 1957 was going to be a struggle, so 1958 (personally) fails to live up to its predecessor. But, still ... 1958 ... what a year it was!

Outside cinemas Brazil was busy winning its first of a thousand World Cups, Britain was busy installing its parking-meters which subsequently led to a spike in murder rates throughout the country, and "Lolita" was published without any controversy.
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1957 ... What a Year!

2011-06-04T01:41:00.000-07:00

1957 ... what a year it was.

This was indeed an excellent year in film, in which a bridge was blown to pieces after being painstakingly built by British POWs, Shakespeare's "Macbeth" went to medieval Japan and three French soldiers were tried for desertion.

Elsewhere, the Cavern Club opened its doors for the first time, "In God We Trust" appeared on US money, and the Soviets launched Sputnik, carrying Laika the dog.
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1953 ... What a Year!

2011-06-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

Because I have been busy watching some classics on the big screen, I really did not have time to see anything new at the cinema lately - and honestly, the latest Pirates debacle will take some time to recover from.

Having previously only experienced these films on television screens of varying sizes, they were even more impressive this time around. Surely, despite the convenience home viewing provides, nothing beats seeing a film at the cinema. I could have written reviews or some reflections on these cinematic pilgrimages, but I didn't for a couple of resons:

What can I possibly add to what has already been said about Earth, Man with a Movie Camera, Taxi Driver or Apocalypse Now?
I am not feeling particularly inspired to write anything that doesn't read like it came out of my left nostril after a heavy night of drinking.

Concept Albums That Should Be Films

2011-05-26T13:48:00.000-07:00

Concept albums. I like them. A lot.

Sure there have been a few stinkers over the years. Quite a few of them actually. But when they get them right, Valhalla indeed.

Which got me thinking: concept albums (either those with a story or an overarching theme), would make some pretty awesome films.

The key word here is "would". The Wall comes to mind. And then you start singing "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2" in your head. Then you blank out (at least I do).

So what gives?

Which got me thinking: which concept albums would make good films?
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Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

2011-05-22T13:07:00.000-07:00

There is hardly anything strange about this that is worth the admission price. Johnny Depp is reliably brilliant as Captain Jack Sparrow, but that's to be expected. That's not strange. I can't personally say the same about the rest of the film. This is lazy, by-the-books film-making that we have come to expect during this time of the year. And I had close to no expectations when I sat in the auditorium with those stupid 3D glasses on my face, but I still left with a bitter taste when I left the cinema to cycle back home.
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Julia's Eyes (2010)

2011-05-22T02:12:00.000-07:00

Julia's Eyes is another presented-by-Guillermo-del-Toro horror that derives too heavily from genre clichés. However, just like The Orphanage before it, this is a highly entertaining and effective film, with a final 30 minutes of pure adrenaline-inducing madness.

Belén Rueda (also from The Orphanage) plays the eponymous Julia, whose eyesight is preogressively getting worse. She is mourning the suicide of her twin sister (Sara), who was suffering from the same degenerative disease. Yet, Julia feels (rightly so) that there is something iffy about the whole suicide scenario, starting with the question of why she would kill herself now. Her amateur investigations reveal an important detail that she was not aware of about her sister: a new boyfriend. Who is he? And why doesn't anybody know anything about him, other than that he somehow exists?
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Getting Ready for the Rapture

2011-05-20T22:16:00.000-07:00

The end is nigh, apparently. And by the end of today folks like me are to be left to rot on Earth, while god-fearing kind will be vacuumed up to some place nicer. As a responsible blogger, I felt it was my duty to give you some final film recommendations - films that will not only get you in the mood for the painful rapture that is due at 6pm somewhere, but will also give you a preview of what is about to befall us. Happy times.

The following is a list of 5 apocalyptic, end-of-worldy films of varying quality, from sublime to wasted opportunity. But they have one thing in common - it's the end of the world as we know it and we should all feel fine.
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Soundtracks of My Life

2011-05-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

No long preamble necessary, what follows is a list of 10 of my favourite film soundtracks. This is by no means an exhaustive list, more like a first-come-first-served basis of a randomly ordered soundtracks. No pop compilations here, just scores.

And one final thing - some of the following videos will have spoilers, you've been warned.
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Red Hill (2010)

2011-05-15T05:33:00.000-07:00

Red Hill is an imitative Western from Australia (perhaps it should be called Antipodean?). The Morricone-like arpeggios fill the soundtrack, while shots of a lone rider in pale moonlight are used in many a transition shot. There is also an umnistakable Coen-esque feel to it, especially that of No Country for Old Men

Yet, despite all these deliberate attempts at creating a genre movie that we have all been accustomed to, Red Hill is a taut thriller, with no plot thread left dangling. Its protagonist appears to be absent from the main action through a good chunk of the middle, but that's just a minor quibble in an otherwise (dare I say it?) great film.
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Pina (2011)

2011-05-08T10:46:00.000-07:00

This Wim Wenders 'written' and directed homage to Pina Bausch is exactly what 3D is for. Despite the efforts of many an action film that Hollywood projectile-vomits towards us in the name of an extra dimension, none have so far gone beyond what is essentially a gimmicky premise. I may be on the losing side of this war, but I am still to be convinced that a narrative fiction can be told using 3D technology.

Of course, 3D has been in use in non-fiction narrative for quite some time and the results are usually impressive, but still they are limited to the forces of nature that mankind look up in awe: impassable mountains, giant waves, impenetrable jungles ...

Another genre, if you will, that 3D is somewhat advantageous over your run-of-the-mill 2D is in the cinematic representations of performance art: concerts, opera, theatre ... these benefit from 3D, because by their nature we always have experienced these events in 3D. So, a two-dimensional representation always falls short.
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13 Assassins (2010)

2011-05-07T12:36:00.000-07:00

Taksahi Miike's latest (although it's hard to keep a tab on his output as he is inhumanly prolific) is a remake of a 1963 film of the same name and owes a tad too much to the Kurosawa classic, Seven Samurai - perhaps the greatest of all samurai films, a benchmark with which every other jidaigeki is a unfairly measured. Unfair, because Seven Samurai is an indelible classic of grandiose action film-making.

13 Assassins offers a more than satisfactory action sequence, which eats up one half of the movie, in which cattle-on-fire, elaborate booby traps, and insane sword fighting ensue. This is the centrepiece of the story, in which 12 samurai and ronin, plus a wayward rambler-hunter, face a violent lord and his 200-strong personal army in a remote village in rural Japan.
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Meek's Cutoff (2010)

2011-04-17T03:40:00.000-07:00

That, ladies and gentlemen, was the best film I have seen all year.
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Hanna (2011)

2011-04-13T16:40:00.000-07:00

Hanna is a rebellious action thriller with an artist’s soul, and as such constantly strives to defy your expectations. A coming of age story about a trained teenage assassin hell-bent on destroying her mother’s killer, Joe Wright’s film is a high-concept globetrotter with a punk attitude. It’s violent, it’s funny, it’s thrilling and it’s engaging. It’s also underdeveloped and incredibly messy. Like Duncan Jones’ Source Code, it gets high marks for being different. But is being “different” really enough?

Source Code (2011)

2011-04-06T13:57:00.000-07:00

Source Code is an emotional drama masked as a sci-fi thriller. On the surface it appears to be about a man who basically time travels back to the same spot over and over again in an effort to prevent a bomb from decimating the city of Chicago. Each time he finds himself inhabiting the body of a man he’s never met, on a train 8 minutes from exploding. Soon he’ll realize he’s plugged into The Source Code, a magical mystery device that allows him to access the last 8 minutes of someone’s memory.

Somehow, while in this memory, he’s allowed to move around independently, go places this man has never gone, and possibly change the future. It’s an utterly absurd and unexplained movie device; a Groundhog’s Day meets The Matrix approach to the war on terrorism. If you try hard enough, you might be able to convince yourself that the “science” of the film works. It doesn’t. And it doesn’t really matter.
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Oranges and Sunshine (2010)

2011-04-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

Following his father's footsteps, Jim Loach's debut feature is a socially aware drama that boasts three exceptional performances and a script that is surprisingly subtle - those who were expecting a film-of-the-week weepie, look away. The tears are not delivered by a cheesy music like in the trailer, but by a story that is quite different to what I was expecting.

Emily Watson plays the Nottingham social worker Margaret Humphreys, who through two serendipituous incidents was made aware of a mass deportation of children from Great Britain to Australia from the 1940s all the way to the 1970s. In 1986, when the film takes place, Margaret makes it her life's mission to find out why these kids, all from disadvantaged backgrounds, were forcibly sent to live in Australia, lied to about their parents' deaths, and lived their lives in essentially slave labour.
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Essential Killing (2010)

2011-04-04T12:49:00.000-07:00

Essential Killing is a taut, slow, and contemplative war film; heavy on introspection, light on action, it is a film rewarding for a lot things. Yet, it leaves you with a hollow feeling. Despite all the effort evident on its surface, it fails both as an action film and an important drama with serious things to say about war, innocence/guilt, and survivial.

Vincent Gallo is Muhammed - the taliban warrior taken as prisoner by the American military and taken to an interrogation camp in rural, icy Poland, where he is waterboarded for information. During a transfer, the van carrying Muhammed careens off the road. In the melee, Muhammed manages to escape into dense woodlands, with soldiers in pursuit.
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Sucker Punch (2011)

2011-03-28T10:46:00.000-07:00

I wanted to like Sucker Punch. I really did. With every critic I’ve read tearing the film apart, I entered the theater with a rebellious “screw those guys! what do they know?” attitude, determined to find something they missed. Some underlying and redeeming silver lining.

I still haven’t found it.

Sucker Punch isn’t exactly a cinematic disaster, but it is a messy and oddly constructed entanglement of influences and ambitions. Like the obscure covers, re-mixes and musical mash-ups that pump through its soundtrack, the movie is an odd but interesting undertaking; an exploration of an over-sexed geek culture masking a modern tale of female empowerment. But this is also, ultimately, a crock of shit – writer/director Zach Snyder’s film is a barely coherent and unbearably unbridled attack on your senses, built to tease everybody and please nobody.

Limitless (2011)

2011-03-22T10:01:00.000-07:00

Limitless boasts the rebellious self-improvement spirit of Fight Club, ironically crossed with the “greed is good” monstrosity anthem of Wall Street. It’s a movie about changing perspective, about taking control of your life and achieving a 21st century enlightenment. Oh, and looking cool. It’s definitely about looking cool.
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Submarine (2010)

2011-03-20T06:22:00.000-07:00

Richard Ayoade's directorial debut openly references and riffs on Wes Anderson and Michel Gondry in style. In several scenes, it blends two of cinema's most famous endings: The 400 Blows and Don't Look Down. It even borrows the iconic red coat from the latter film - the garment with which one of the main characters can be seen throughout. The protagonist's room is adorned with drawings of French cinema, from My Night with Maud to Le Samouraï. There is even a pencil-drawn portrait of Woody Allen by his bedside.

Yet, despite these obvious and subtle nods to films of days past, Ayoade's script manages to remain orginal, engaging and mostly interesting until the very end. There may be one or two indie songs too many (a Garden State influence, perhaps?), but this is a highly assured introduction to a first-time filmmaker's surprising maturity.
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Battle: Los Angeles (2011)

2011-03-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

Battle: Los Angeles is a surprisingly competent and impressive production, and not only because it doesn’t suck. Sure, you can highlight its shortcomings – the character clichés, the cheesy empowerment moments, the awkward “maybe I can help, I’m a veterinarian” beats and the occasional logic bumps. But Jonathan Liebesman’s film is also a “retreat hell” action flick with a committed cast and a secret weapon – the ability to, in a well-worn alien invasion sub-genre, feel remotely original.

Not Your Average Noir, Part 1 - Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

2011-03-11T12:24:00.000-08:00

I love noir. Of all the sub-genres and niches we use to categorize and organize our beloved warehouse of film, it is perhaps my favorite. Draped in shadows both external and internal, the seedy side of cinema is dangerous, mysterious, sexy and cool. But for all the darkness it exudes and the corruption it proclaims, there is, inherently, an inner light, a beacon battling the shadows and the sinners with a basic, humanistic understanding of what is right. Even when the hero loses, or falls victim to the corruption (as in 1974’s Chinatown, or 1944’s Double Indemnity) there is still an underlying theme of hope, of the realization of “good” and its ongoing battle with “evil”. Noir is a bleeding heart romantic, a masochistic champion of the belief that through suffering we may find triumph.

And I love it. I connect with it. And I can trace that connection all the way back to my childhood, filled with repeat viewing of Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
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The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

2011-03-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

The Adjustment Bureau is a pleasant film, and quite often to its own detriment. Billed as a “romantic thriller”, it isn’t especially thrilling, or honest in its romanticism. But it tries hard and it means well, and occasionally that’s enough.
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Archipelago (2010)

2011-03-06T09:35:00.000-08:00

This strictly art-house film, the second from Joanna Hogg, lingers long after it's over. The title's metaphor loses its subtlety once you watch the trailer, but there is no denying the nuances and the little touches that make Archipelago my favourite film of the year so far.

First shown at last year's London Film Festival to rave reviews, it is the story of a family reunion. As expected, underneath the trivial, banal regularity of their lives lie tumultuous and strained relationships. Things remain unsaid, emotions remain trapped beneath a stiff veneer of an upper middle class existence. If you throw knives at these people, they will simply ricochet off them.
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Paul (2011)

2011-03-06T04:42:00.000-08:00

Paul is a fugitive. A celebrity. A slacker. A joker.

And most importantly, he's an alien. Possessive of spaceman balls that is the envy of all humankind. His contribution to arts and sciences knows no boundaires.

Even Mr. Spielberg calls him up for his best ideas.

Paul has everything going for it. The comic duo of the 21st century leading a cast of some of the best actors in comedy today: Kristen Wiig, Jon Hader, Jason Bateman, Joe Lo Truglio and Seth Rogen's lungs. It even has a small role for Norm "Son of a" Gunderson as a bible-toting hillbilly.

Do you see where I'm going with this?
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Hall Pass (2011)

2011-03-01T09:26:00.000-08:00

Last week on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, brothers Peter and Bobby Farrelly praised the Hall Pass script they initially received from writer Pete Jones. “It was a really great script” Peter said, “so Bobby and me and our writing partner Kevin Barnett rewrote it.”
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Tom Hooper - Best Director?

2011-02-27T20:46:00.001-08:00

Howl (2010)

2011-02-27T04:25:00.000-08:00

When I first read Howl back at university, it filled me with an incredible need to rise up and raise my fist to the Man, defy the establishment, defy the conformity, defy the convention.

I wanted to talk about it in a non-academic environment with people of my age, over a few drinks, in a dingy dive bar ...

What can you say? I was a hopeless romantic. An idealist dreaming of a university experience that I only read about in books, where I can meet an Andre Breton. In many ways I still am.

My university life consisted of drinking Red Bull vodkas and going to terrible night clubs, celebrating our youthful energy. I hated it then. I hate it today.

That's why the first few minutes of Howl brought back an imagined reality that I never lived. I felt like an old man, yearning for a youth I never had - I'm 28.
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Unknown (2011)

2011-02-23T10:46:00.000-08:00

Unknown is a manipulative and clumsy thriller that nevertheless does enough right to succeed as a generally adequate suspense flick. And that’s about the nicest thing I can say about Jaume Collet-Serra’s movie (or any of his movies, since the best thing he's done on film was kill Paris Hilton in 2005’s House of Wax).
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Biutiful (2010)

2011-02-20T11:07:00.000-08:00

Alejandro González Iñárritu's latest film comes without all the hoopla of the other Oscar favourites that grace UK cinemas this time of the year. It is always interesting to see some mind-numbingly awful kiddie films and more adult-oriented films being released around the same time (of course, adult-themed here does not mean pornographic).

Biutiful is different to its contemporaries in that it is only nominated in two of the major categories: Best Actor for Javier Bardem and Best Foreign Language Film as a representative of Mexico. On both counts, I don't see a reason why it should be denied them.

And nobody talks about it.
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Justin Bieber - Never Say Never (2011)

2011-02-20T10:24:00.000-08:00

Yes, i really did.

And, yes it was awful, but for reasons far beyond the fact that he was in it - if humanity were a pair of undies, Justin Bieber would be the skidmark.

Why is it awful? We'll get to that. But first, let me give you a bit of a background as to why I went to see the excrement that they are promoting as film.

Two Cinewisers 'wisely' dared me to see the Bieber Fever in action early last week. Hello, Manas and Becky. Because customer service comes first at Cinewise (yeah, right!) I immediately jumped at the chance, only to regret it about a millisecond later. I had to be true to my word and to show how far I can go and torture myself without going all emo.
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Oscars 2011: The Should-Winners

2011-02-19T15:48:00.000-08:00

My BAFTA predictions were quite off the mark and the main reasons for that debacle were the mushy heart and the myopic vision of the BAFTA members in giving The King's Speech awards in categories that it truly did not deserve - no one can tell me with a straight face that David Seidler's script (decent as it is) deserves more credit than Inception or Black Swan or The Fighter or even The Kids Are All Right.

Either way, good for The King's Speech - at least it's a film partially funded by the UK Film Council and when it wins a plethora of awards come next Sunday, David Cameron's cabinet will have made yet another ill-judged cut in their hands. But, this is not a political blog, so let's get back to film.
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Cedar Rapids (2011)

2011-02-15T09:51:00.000-08:00

Director Miguel Arteta has a knack for capturing the endearing eccentricities of Middle America. You can see it in his television work, in shows like Freaks and Geeks and The Office. But it’s even more evident in his film career, where the likes of Chuck and Buck, The Good Girl and Youth in Revolt bolster his resume. Whereas the majority of pop culture tends to focus on the accessibility of city life and suburban dreams, Arteta’s work mines the people, stories and towns that slip through the cracks. There’s something honest and sort of charming in that choice… something peculiar and engaging.
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BAFTA 2011

2011-02-13T05:45:00.000-08:00

It's an awards show! What's not to like? Perhaps understandably, BAFTAs get the smelly end of the big awards hoopla, mainly because they are not held in the glitzy Hollywood, but in the drizzly London. Looking outside the window, I'm pretty sure the celebs are re-thinking their wardrobe choices.

The location of the awards play an important part in BAFTA Awards' desperate attempt at being relevant, which is why I have a rather dubious perspective. And here's my point - in a year when UK Film Council is no more, it is a slap in the face to have an awards show that instead of giving priority to local output, it acts as a dress rehearsal for Hollywood's big do in a couple of weeks' time.
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Never Let Me Go (2010)

2011-02-13T04:13:00.000-08:00

It would be superfluous of me to ignore comparisons (both direct and tangential) to Kazuo Ishiguro's novel of the same name, which Mark Romanek's new film is based on. Yet, it should be noted that this is not a critique of the adaptation, but rather what Never Let Me Go the film could (and definitely should) have been.

This is the story of a love triangle, involving 3 people who are clones harvested for their organs. Their purpose in life is to give up their organs once they reach adulthood. By their 3rd or 4th donation, they "complete".

Izhiguro's novel is a marvel of science fiction - carefully and masterfully avoiding cliches, the story is told in a cunningly clever way, in which the rules and laws of this alternate reality are given in small breadcrumbs in a taut narrative. Ishiguro's language make this post and this writer red-faced with shame.
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127 Hours (2010)

2011-02-08T11:37:00.000-08:00

A colleague recently expressed to me his disdain for 127 Hours, lamenting the time he spent watching a movie in which he believes nothing actually happens. “It’s boring. There’s no story. The guy gets stuck. The guy gets out. I already know what happens. There’s already a book. Why should I watch the movie?”

I was dumbfounded. The very essence of my understanding of this man – my respect for him as a fellow cinephile, based on countless hours of discussion and debate of everything from Exit Through the Gift Shop to Grownups - was destroyed. Why would you watch the movie? Why SHOULDN’T you watch the movie?
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Film on TV - Misfits

2011-02-06T03:22:00.000-08:00

British television shows tend to suck. The main reason behind this suckiness has got nothing to do with the talent involved - the British talent export more than often outshine the competition. So much so that the lines tend to get blurred, especially in North America.

The material is also not an issue - on more than one occasion British shows were remade elsewhere in the world, with varying success. Even if the material is not adapted to the local market, on their own some British television shows will compete and kick others' backsides, hands down.

This is especially true when it comes to comedy: "Fawlty Towers", "Only Fools and Horses", "Spaced", "Father Ted" ... the list goes on.

But the aforementioned classics are just drops in a massive ocean of unwatchable dung.

The problem in most cases is not the material, but the moolah.
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The Mechanic (2011)

2011-02-02T11:41:00.000-08:00

The Mechanic is a remake of a 1970s Charles Bronson flick, and it’s released in January – expectations should be tempered. But it also offers Jason Statham, continuing his work as the most reliable tough guy of his era, and Ben Foster, as the most reliable dangerously off-kilter nut job. Both men excel in a limited but useful niche, and The Mechanic is a familiar stomping ground.
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The Company Men (2011)

2011-01-27T12:18:00.000-08:00

As the latest film to take on this modern financial crisis and its societal impact, The Company Men makes for an excellent companion piece to 2009’s Up In the Air. A careful and diligent character piece, John Wells’ film approaches the massive layoffs and power shifts (in Boston, circa 2008) from the view of the once successful, now unemployed – confident men with handsome features and distinguished ideals forced to reevaluate everything they thought life was meant to be. It is a movie of crisis, and more specifically, a movie of wealth in crisis. And as such it may seem not entirely appealing – who wants to watch the haves complaining about having not? Still, the movie manages to create sympathy from our empathy, concentrating not on the materials but the people who purchase them, the people who are, more or less, just like “us”.

The 83rd Academy Award Nominations - Picks and Reactions

2011-01-25T09:59:00.000-08:00

The nominees for this year’s Academy Awards were announced this morning. Hearts were spirited or broken, producers pleased or pissed… and now four weeks into 2011, we may finally begin to close the door on 2010.

Here’s a rundown of the nominees, as well as some off the cuff reactions and quick picks (which I reserve the right to change until the week… the day… the hour… the minute before the Oscars go live...)

Of Gods and Men (2010)

2011-01-23T03:29:00.000-08:00

This based on true events story of a group of Trappist monks in rural Algeria is incredibly haunting and will leave you nailed to your seat long after the credits roll. It may be a little too sentimental and unsubtle to the point where it hamers in its centrepiece scene with an elaborate cinematic trick, but it is a brilliant film from beginning to the truly exceptional finale.
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The Green Hornet (2011)

2011-01-19T09:58:00.000-08:00

Seth Rogen is not a leading man, and he is certainly not a superhero. For the most part his film, The Green Hornet, understands this, and occasionally it thrives upon that understanding. The idea of Rogen as a dashing playboy who one day decides to use his wealth and power to fight crime is ludicrous. So instead we get a slim but still oafish party animal who one day decides to use his wealth and power to do some crazy hero type shit with his cool new toy, Kato. It’s a take that’s so obviously handicapped it’s almost brilliant. Unfortunately, The Green Hornet is “almost” a lot of things.
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The King's Speech (2010)

2011-01-17T12:32:00.000-08:00

This year's sure-fire Oscar-bait for all of the acting categories (except for Best Actress), The King's Speech is a watchable, well-acted but an ultimately flat film. Throughout, one question kept nagging me: am I really interested in anything that happens here, other than the scenes with a stammering royal and a failed actor who try to outdo one another? No, I wasn't.Read More

Blue Valentine (2010)

2011-01-16T07:25:00.000-08:00

Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams star in this heartbreakingly bleak and poignant tale of two people fiercely falling in and out of love in the lifetime of a young girl. If the trailer have misled you to a Once-like sweet romantic meanderings of two people that are meant to be together, but can't, then you will be disappointed. If you go by the happy-go-lucky poster where the leads are smooching against a blue sky (not the one shown here), then you will be disappointed too.Read More

True Grit (2010)

2011-01-12T09:34:00.000-08:00

In a time when sequels and remakes are so largely bemoaned and debated, why is it a recreation of the iconic John Wayne western True Grit – the only movie for which the beloved actor ever won an academy award – is so widely anticipated, and subsequently appreciated? Because it is a Coen Brothers film, of course, populated by the pedigree of Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and James Brolin, championed by execs, critics and audiences alike. This updated take on True Grit is a film built to succeed, and succeed it does.
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This Is France Calling: The Refuge (2009)

2011-01-09T04:09:00.000-08:00

Paris - the city is buzzing with energy. Metro rattles the bridges over the banlieux homes, the headlights of the rush hour are sparkling on the Seine.

The city is alive, but it looks and feels dead.

It's getting dark and a teenage boy is walking on a residential street. He goes into a building, goes up a few floors and in through the cracked-open door. It is a large flat, barely furnished. He looks around to see the person that buzzed him in. We then hear a twang from a guitar from one of bedrooms - very Ry Cooder. Somebody sniffles.
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Rude People and Rancid Smells: A Rant on the Modern Movie-Going Experience

2011-01-05T11:04:00.001-08:00

What better way to ring in the New Year than to head to the movie theater to catch up on some of the upcoming Oscar nomination hopefuls… or so this was our thought on New Year’s morning as DubMC and I gradually shook off our hangovers. With so many great options out there, it was hard to choose which lucky film(s) would begin our year.

Our first big screen treat of the day was True Grit, playing at our standard mega-chain theater. In the famous last words…what could POSSIBLY go wrong? Well let me tell you…

The All Cinewise Top Ten of 2010

2011-01-05T10:23:00.000-08:00

As voted by you, the movie-loving people of Cinewise, what follows is our first annual All Cinewise Top Ten, counting down from the honorable mentions to the hands down favorite film of the year that was.

Each film on this list received at least two votes. Votes were weighted based on the rankings of the Top 10 lists our critics and readers submitted (i.e. a film in the number 3 slot received more points than a film in the number 7 slot). For those of you who chose not to rank your choices, each of your picks received equal point values.

Questions? Concerns? Last minute changes? Too bad. Here we go.

2010 in Review, Part II (DubMC)

2011-01-04T13:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I worked through 36 of the 56 movies I saw this year. What follows is the remaining 20, ranked lowest to highest for either their viewing pleasure, their cinematic accomplishment, their rewatchability… or whatever it is we use to determine such rankings. For goodness sake, rewatchability isn’t even a word.

Anyway, here we go…
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2010 in Review - Part I (DubMC)

2011-01-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

It’s officially 2011, but I still haven’t seen all I’ve wanted from 2010. There are a few tasks left unchecked, a few more holidays I’d like to take off, and a few more people I’d like to enjoy them with. And most importantly for our purposes here, a few more films I’d like to enjoy before putting the year that was into the books. I still haven’t seen 127 Hours, Rabbit Hole, Exit Through the Gift Shop, The Kids Are Alright, Blue Valentine, or The Company Men (fortunately I did manage to avoid Yogi Bear). But alas, the new year is here, and we must move on.

All in all I saw 56 movies at the theater this past year, a number that must be close to my record high. I enjoyed at least 75% of them at least 25% of the time. For some, I ducked into the theater for a second viewing if I had some time to kill (Inception, Harry Potter, Scott Pilgrim). And for only the second time in my movie going history, I walked out of a theater before the credits rolled (The Last Airbender)… and then I did it twice more (Saw 3D, The Tourist). It’s probably against some unread Critic’s Code to do such a thing. I stuck with them as long as I could, deep into the second or third acts. But when you’re seeing 56 theater releases a year, you can’t afford to waste time.

And on that note, I’ll waste no more of yours. What follows is an in depth run down of my 2010 movie going experience, with the films listed not chronologically, but preferentially, working our way down to my Top 20 films of the year. After all, you’ve gotta work your way through the mud to get to the gold…or at least that’s what I keep telling myself.

At times it seems ridiculous to rank films one above the other – invariably the list will be ripe with time-proven inaccuracies. So, I’ve grouped the weakest entries in the 2010 catalogue by theme…

10 Best of 2010 (DuranDurand)

2011-01-02T11:55:00.000-08:00

I have not seen Toy Story 3, so let’s just get that out of the way shall we. I hear nothing but the best things about it. I’m sure it’s great. I’m sure it should be on this list. It’s not. I’m not here to claim that the films below are THE best of the year, only that they were my personal favorites and I didn’t see everything out there. I’m ok with that, and I hope so are you. I mean, I don’t need to see The Tooth Fairy to feel rather confident in asserting it does not belong on a best of 2010 list. That being said I did see The Social Network. I liked it. I didn’t think it was all it was cracked up to be. I also couldn’t quite get over Sorkin’s penchant for falling in love with his own voice at the expense of his characters. Any way, it’s not on the list so stop looking for it.

In my opinion it’s been a pretty weak year for film. For the first time in years I found I’ve had an easier time singling out exceptional performances rather than exceptional films. There were some great films though, so here you go. I hope you enjoy (in no particular order).

Top 20 Films of 2010 (The Bru)

2011-01-01T13:02:00.000-08:00

There was laughter, there were tears. There was blood, there were goosebumps. Minds were blown, shoulders were shrugged in indifference. Films were loved, films were loathed. There were great comebacks, some burned out, some rusted. We fell in love with a new face, had enough of someone else. We lost some great faces, welcomed new faces whose names we had to memorise ... all in all it was just like any other year.

How to celebrate the end of another cinematic year and anticipate the new one? By a retrospective list, of course.

What follows is the Top 20 Films by one half of Cinewise, The Bru. Having to adhere to the idiotic release dates on the Left Side of the Pond, some of the following films may have already been released where you are in the last couple of years. So, if we go by the imdb release dates, this will look like a celebration of the last few years. It's not - these are the films that were released to the general public in the UK within the last 12 months (barring a few that had limited festival releases prior to that).

Some will agree, most will not. Bear this in mind: this is just an opinion piece, not the last word. This is a conversation-starter - a testament of 20 films that I thoroughly enjoyed within the last 12 months in a dark room with an alternating group of strangers.

Enough of this, let's get right to it. Here are the Top 20 Films of 2010 according to The Bru (click on the titles to read our reviews).

Love and Other Drugs (2010)

2010-12-30T11:22:00.000-08:00

I wanted to see Love and Other Drugs for three reasons:

1) I really liked the title.

2) I think both the leads are gorgeous and talented.

3) In a radio interview, I heard Jake Gyllenhaal confess that he and Anne Hathaway would discuss and study the kinds of things that turn them on in bed as part of rehearsal.

Upon finishing the movie, all three things delivered. The title, the acting, and the sex scenes were climactic. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie was a buzz kill.
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See this, Not That – Tron Legacy(2010) / The Tourist(2010)

2010-12-28T09:42:00.000-08:00

A lot of people find themselves with some extra time off towards the end of the year, with a little more opportunity to catch up on the season’s blockbuster moneymakers and awards contenders. But even with the vacation days and bonus dinero from Grandma, Joe and Jane Moviegoer can’t see them all.

Black Swan (2010)

2010-12-15T09:28:00.000-08:00

Directed by the talented but persistently depressing Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, Requiem for a Dream), Black Swan is a psycho-sexual thriller about a ballerina pushed to the brink of madness, only to look back and realize she’d crossed that line long ago. Heavily dramatized and thematically blunt, it is a powerful exploration of the strive for perfection, and the casualties of life often found in its wake.

The Fighter (2010)

2010-12-10T16:47:00.000-08:00

Directed by cinematic wild card David O. Russell, The Fighter is a bristling family drama with a sneaky battle strategy – it lulls you in with the promise of underdog sports heroics, chides you into dropping your guard with surprising comedic geniality, then lands a powerhouse punch on your movie-loving soft spot, that solar plexus of cinematic adoration occupied by childhood favorites, modern classics, and repeat viewings
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Tangled (2010)

2010-12-07T16:13:00.000-08:00

Tangled is a fresh take on the classic Rapunzel tale, about a wayward princess trapped in a tower with nothing but her overbearing mother and her very long, very magical hair. Although it’s digitally animated and cleverly 21st century conscious, it is simulatenously a throwback to the Disney ways of old, to the days of Aladdins and mermaids and even Snow Whites, when all a good fairytale needed was bright young princess with dreams, a dashing young man to help make them come true.
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Film on TV - The Untimely Death of Terriers

2010-12-06T12:59:00.000-08:00

Today FX cancelled Terriers, a whip smart Private Eye show executive produced by Shawn Ryan, the guy who brought FX The Shield, and successfully raised them from the second-run movie channel graveyard. But in TV, loyalty is a fickle thing, for executives and audiences alike.

Monsters (2010)

2010-12-05T04:17:00.000-08:00

BBC special effects wiz Gareth Edwards' shoestring debut is as accomplished as any science fiction with a bazillion-dollar budget. Comparisons with previous smash hits Cloverfield and District 9 are apt and justified, but contrary to those well-received films, Monsters has a much more interesting story and on-screen chemistry that is unseen in today's star-laden films.
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Faster (2010)

2010-11-30T12:35:00.000-08:00

“Slow justice is no justice” goes the tagline for the movie Faster, the latest vehicle for action star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. And if that’s true, then Faster offers very little in terms of “justice”… or anything pertaining to entertainment, for that matter.
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London Boulevard (2010)

2010-11-28T03:48:00.000-08:00

Well, that was quite shit.
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This Is Germany Calling: Atomised (aka The Elementary Particles) (2006)

2010-11-25T12:33:00.000-08:00

Michel Houellebecq's novel was always going to be a tough adaptation, not only for its explicit sex or its angry, angular language, but also for its meandering narrative that relies on lengthy monologues and philsophical debates. So, it's no surprise that Oskar Roehler-written-and-directed film fails on so many levels, despite featuring the creme de la creme of the current German acting talent.
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

2010-11-21T20:54:00.000-08:00

It seems almost unrealistic and unfair to expect the Harry Potter series to continue with the consistency in quality that it has, yet it continuously does, not just maintaining its standard, but frequently transcending it. No single cinematic series has remained this remarkable over this many films, and at the same time saved the best for last. But Harry Potter has, and the last has now begun.

Another Year (2010)

2010-11-21T04:52:00.000-08:00

Another year and it's another Mike Leigh film. Just when I think the man canot surprise me anymore, he comes up with another wonderful gem. Decidedly less saccharine-filled than Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), Another Year boasts a troupe of Leigh regulars, who play regular folk, talking regular-folk stuff, doing what regular folks do. Sounds boring, right? In someone else's hands, this would have turned out to be a exactly that, but in Leigh's hands it feels wonderful and just staged enough to get over its presumed similarity to real life.
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We Are What We Are (2010)

2010-11-21T04:26:00.000-08:00

"Tupi or not Tupi".

Brazil and Mexico had differing pre-, during, and post-colonial experiences, so drawing the above maxim from Oswald de Andrade's Cannibal Manifesto and applying to Jorge Michel Grau's disturbing cannibal drama may be misleading. But Grau must have been all too aware of de Andrade's manifesto when he picked the title of his debut feature which never asks why people resort to cannibalism, but that they just "are".
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Skyline (2010)

2010-11-17T09:06:00.000-08:00

Skyline is the no fun, no smarts version of Independence Day (1996), but with technically better special FX, and less enjoyable aliens. You should never see this movie… unless you are looking to watch a really terrible, “so bad it’s good… at being bad” contender, or are screening for the Razzie awards.

Then it might be worth it.

But then again, probably not.
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Remakes - A Rant

2010-11-10T23:19:00.000-08:00

Branding a remake-crazy Hollywood as lacking ideas is demagoguery of the highest degree. Some of the most celebrated films of all time were either remakes, rehashes, adaptations, or plain forgeries. We are all right with the fact that The Godfather, one of, if not the, most celebrated films of all time is an adaptation of a pulp novel. We are all right that two of the greatest epics of 1950s were remakes of previous and very successful predecessors - bearing the same name (Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandments).

So why dislike the new crop of Hollywood remakes, such as the Dragon Tattoo films and the recently released, Let Me in? Here is why.
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7 Reasons Why Due Date (2010) Wasn't Really a Good Film

2010-11-10T23:01:00.000-08:00

Due Date wasn't really a good film. Because ...

1- Chemistry: Let's face it, most of us didn't like it in high school. Those of us who did, utilised it well enough to carve a good life out of it. Not jealous one bit. But, it is unanimously accepted that it is an integral part of films. No chemistry and your disbelief's suspension extends beyond acceptable limits. Due Date lacked chemistry between two actors, who are independently at the top of their game. Neither their enmity, nor their fundamental differences communicated well because of that. As for when they become best buds … awkward!
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Due Date (2010)

2010-11-10T08:54:00.000-08:00

Due Date is not an enjoyable movie, and for a comedy that’s a huge problem. Essentially a Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) re-hash, the film stars Robert Downey Jr. as Peter Highman, an uptight, soon-to-be family man traveling cross country with an overweight oaf named Ethan Tremblay, and played by Zach Galifianakis. There are no trains involved, but you’ll find many of the same jokes and stabs at masculine endearment, as well as the jerk-idiot dynamic most recently updated in Dinner for Schmucks (2010). But the story’s familiarity and repetitive nature are problems good movies can overcome… and Due Date doesn’t.
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