Lists: The Top Fives of 2011 Film
05 Jan 2012 6 Comments
in List, 2011, 2011 List Tags: Underrated, List, Film list, 2011, The Housemaid, 2011 list, Hanna, Jane Eyre, Certified Copy, Incendies, In a Better World, The Double Hour, Source Code, Insidious, I Saw the Devil, Choi Min-sik, The Green Hornet, Tom Hollander, Midnight in Paris, Bridesmaids, Terri, Cracks, The Trip, Bobby Fischer Against the World, Senna, The Sleeping Beauty, Kung Fu Panda 2, The Skin I Live In, Take Shelter, Hugo, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Drive, Melancholia, Tyrannosaur, The Ides of March, Albert Brooks, Jessica Chastain, Cold Fish, Warrior, Shame, Black Death, Young Adult, Michael Stuhlbarg, Gary Oldman, Characters, Worst, Endings, Beginnings, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Rooney Mara, Elisabeth Olsen, John Boyega, Ezra Miller, Oscar Isaac, Ludivime Sagnier, Eva Green, Melanie Lynskey, Brie Larson, Corey Stoll, Collette Wolfe, Kathy Baker
Everyone has pretty much already posted their Top Ten’s for the year. I like to go list crazy in summing up the year in film and go beyond the standard 10 ‘best’. I go over this again and again, but it’s all about subjectivity for me and what I considered my favorites. And in going through the year in film, there are a lot of different facets I like to recognize. Everyone comes away with a new batch of films to hold near and dear to their hearts, myself certainly included. This particular post will recognize things like types of performances, characters, beginnings, endings, character dynamics and more. For my attempts at judging technical aspects of film, my eventual Dream Oscar Ballot will cover that particular ground. The two films I will be seeing before posting my final Top 30 of the year (yes, I do Top 30, not 10; I am in no way, shape or form a Top Ten purist) are A Separation and Love Exposure. By the time I see Mysteries of Lisbon, Margaret, Into the Abyss, The Interrupters and others, my lists will be posted.
Like last year, the upcoming posts that will get more time dedicated to them (and will be posted within the next week and a half) are:
Top 10 Worst Films of the Year (which will really be Least Favorite, but nobody will search for a ‘Least Favorite’ list, so I will conveniently name it ‘Worst’.
Top 10 Song Usages
Top 20 Scenes in 2011 Film
Top 20 Performances in 2011 Film
Top 30 Films of 2011
This first post is supposed to be pure harmless superficial fun. I have seen 133 films from 2011. I will list them at the bottom so readers will know what was considered. Beware of spoilers in the Top 5 Romances regarding Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy for those who have not seen it. These preliminary posts will give some hints as to my favorite films of the year, a group that may not be particularly original, but that I am nonetheless proud of and happy with. The year in film has already been picked apart with collective themes of identity, nostalgia and more running deep. There are many who think this was a weak year for film. From an awards standpoint I would agree. But from an overall standpoint, I wholeheartedly disagree.
On to the 1st Annual Cinema Enthusiast Awards! Being a huge fan of The Film Experience’s Film Bitch Awards, I borrowed a few categories from there.
Top 5 Beginnings:
1. Melancholia
2. Incendies
3. Kung Fu Panda 2
4. Contagion
5. Drive (The Driver’s opening speech)
Top 5 Use of Title Card/Opening Credits
1. Drive (Title Card/Opening Credits)
2. Hanna (Title Card only)
3. Insidious (Title Card Only)
4. Outrage (Title Card Only)
5. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (Title Card/Opening Credits)
Honorable Mention: The Adventures of Tintin (Title Card/Opening Credits)
Top 5 Endings:
1. Hanna
2. Melancholia
3. Warrior
3. The Housemaid
4. Take Shelter
Honorable Mention: The Skin I Live In, Moneyball, The Trip, Of Gods and Men
Top 5 Ensembles:
1. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
2. Midnight in Paris
3. Melancholia
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
5. Hugo
Honorable Mention: Margin Call
Top 5 Underrated Films in 2011:
1. The Sleeping Beauty (that other Sleeping Beauty film not directed by Julia Leigh, but by Catherine Breillat)
2. Bobby Fischer Against the World
3. Black Death
4. Terri
5. The Green Hornet
Note: Underrated could mean anything. But seeing what films get attention in the blogosphere, with critics, from a box office standpoint and from a year-end list perspective, these are the films I felt did not get enough attention from at least two of the aforementioned considerations.
Films That Started Strong But….
1. Source Code
2. Insidious
3. The Double Hour
4. Cold Fish
5. Crazy, Stupid, Love (Where the other films are on this for their final thirds, my last choice appears only for that final speech. It did not entirely dampen the experience and is still ranks among the better films I saw this year)
Top 5 Newcomers:
1. Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2. Jessica Chastain – The Tree of Life, Take Shelter, The Help, The Debt (the ones I’ve seen her in)
3. Elisabeth Olsen – Martha Marcy May Marlene
4. John Boyega – Attack the Block
5. Ezra Miller – We Need to Talk About Kevin
Honorable Mentions: Oscar Issac (Drive, Sucker Punch), Asa Butterfield (Hugo)
Note: I realize this is not the first year some of these actors have been in significant parts. But I’d call all of these actors newcomers this year relatively speaking.
Top 5 Underrated Performances
1. Ludivine Sagnier – Love Crime
2. Eva Green – Cracks
3. Melanie Lynskey – Win Win
4. John C. Reilly – Terri
5. Brie Larson – Rampart
Top 5 Film 2011 Limited Performances (characters with only a few scenes/a limited role)
1. Oscar Issac as Standard – Drive
2. Corey Stoll as Ernest Hemingway – Midnight in Paris
3. Michael Stuhlbarg as Rene Tabard – Hugo
4. Collette Wolfe as Sandra – Young Adult
5. Kathy Baker as Sarah – Take Shelter
Top 5 Worst Performances:
1. Lauren Petre as Miss Hindle – The Woman
2. Sean Bridgers as Chris Cleek – The Woman
3. January Jones as Emma Frost– X-Men: First Class
4. Mickey Rourke as Nate Poole– Passion Play
5. Vanessa Hudgens as Linda – Beastly
Top 5 2011 Film Scores:
1. Hanna – The Chemical Brothers
2. Senna – Antonio Pinto
3. The Skin I Live In – Alberto Iglesias
3. Jane Eyre – Dario Marianelli
5. Take Shelter – David Wingo
Honorable Mentions – Contagion, Moneyball, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Attack the Block
Top 5 Film 2011 Characters:
1. Charlize Theron – Mavis Gary – Young Adult
2. Kristen Wiig – Annie Walker – Bridesmaids
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman – Paul Zara – The Ides of March
4. Eva Green – Miss G – Cracks
5. Ryan Gosling – The Driver – Drive
Honorable Mention – Michael Shannon in Take Shelter and Jonah Hill in Moneyball
Top 5 Character Dynamics: (this could be any kind of dynamic between 2 or more characters whether adversarial, based in friendship, etc.)
1. Juliette Binoche and William Shimell – Certified Copy
2. Carey Mulligan and Michael Fassbender – Shame
3. Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman – Tyrannosaur
4. Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon – The Trip
5. Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt – Young Adult
Honorable Mentions: Choi Min-sik and Lee Byung-hun – I Saw the Devil, Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph – Bridesmaids, William Jøhnk Juels Nielsen and Markus Rygaard – In a Better World
Top 5 2011 Film Villains:
1. Tom Hollander as Issacs – Hanna
2. Albert Brooks as Bernie Rose – Drive
3. Choi Min-sik as Kyung-chul – I Saw the Devil
4. Gary Oldman as Lord Shen – Kung Fu Panda 2
5. Ezra Miller as Kevin – We Need to Talk About Kevin
Honorable Mention – Ralph Fiennes – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Top 5 Film 2011 Romances:
1. Kristen Wiig and Chris Dowd – Bridesmaids
2. Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender – Jane Eyre
3. Tom Cullen and Chris New –Weekend
4. Ewan McGregor and Melanie Laurent – Beginners (less for the material the two are given and more for the chemistry between McGregor and Laurent which, for my money, was the strongest of perhaps the last few years)
5. Mark Strong and Colin Firth – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Honorable Mention: Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone – Crazy, Stupid, Love
List of 2011 Films Seen: 13 Assassins, 50/50, A Better Life, A Dangerous Method, Albert Nobbs, American Grindhouse, Another Earth, Attack the Block, Beastly, Beginners, Being Elmo, Bellflower, Bill Cunningham, New York, Biutiful, Black Death, Bobby Fischer Against the World, Bridesmaids, Buck, Cameraman: the Life and Work of Jack Cardiff, Captain America: The First Avenger, Carnage, Cars 2, Caterpillar, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Cedar Rapids, Certified Copy, Cold Fish, Cold Weather, Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop, Contagion,, Cracks, Crazy, Stupid, Love, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, Dream Home, Drive, Edge of Dreaming, Hanna, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Hesher, Hobo with a Shotgun, Horrible Bosses, Hugo, I Saw the Devil, If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, In a Better World, In Time, Incendies, Insidious, J. Edgar, Jane Eyre, Kung Fu Panda 2, Last Night, Le Quattro Volte, Love Crime, Margin Call, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Meek’s Cutoff, Melancholia, Midnight in Paris, Mildred Pierce, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Moneyball, My Week with Marilyn, Of Gods and Men, Outrage, Page One: Inside the New York Times, Passion Play, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Poetry, Project Nim, Rampart, Rango, Red Riding Hood, Red State, Redline, Retreat, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Rubber, Scream 4, Senna, Shame, Sleeping Beauty, Source Code, Submarine, Sucker Punch, Super, Super 8, Tabloid, Take Shelter, Terri, The Adventures of Tintin, The Arbor, The Artist, The Debt,The Descendants, The Devil’s Double, The Double Hour, The Future, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Green Hornet, The Help, The Housemaid, The Ides of March, The Last Circus, The Lincoln Lawyer, The Mill and the Cross, The Muppets, The Rite, The Roommate, The Skin I Live In, The Sleeping Beauty, The Thing, The Tree of Life, The Trip, The Ward, The Woman, Thor, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, TrollHunter, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Tyrannosaur, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Unknown, War Horse, Warrior, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Weekend, Win Win, Winnie the Pooh, X-Men: First Class, Young Adult, Your Highness, Yves Saint-Laurent: L’Amour Fou
Like this:
List: Top 20 Film Posters of 2011
08 Dec 2011 11 Comments
in 2011, 2011 List, List Tags: 13 Assassins, Black Death, Certified Copy, Cold Weather, Drive Angry, Film Posters, Gainsbourg, Hobo with a Shotgun, I Saw the Devil, Le Havre, List, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Movie Posters, Poster Art, Posters, Rubber, Shame, Shit Year, Sleeping Beauty, The Devil's Double, The Future, The Muppets, The Skin I Live In, We Need to Talk About Kevin
If you have eyes, then I’m guessing you’re sick of seeing the same images again in again with different actors acting as various ciphers. There’s Photoshopping galore, some it truly sad. Each genre has its own set of expectations. They have all become tired; heaps of tragically unaware self-parodies plastered everywhere. Each year we can lament and question; where has the magic of movie posters gone?
Well, it’s not entirely gone. Hopefully my choices this year will emphasize that periodically something aesthetically worthy comes along. I cannot lie though; the countless mediocre/pitiful posters I had to go through to get to these is more than a little disheartening. I would go through 100 posters before anything stuck out.
The ‘Worst Posters’ list will soon follow. But I prefer this list this year. Why? Because there have been a few Worst Posters list to come out already and I must admit that after doing my own research, they hit the nail on the head for nearly all of them. Which means that my list and theirs will be very similar.
What were your personal favorite posters of the year? Here are the 20 film posters of 2011 that represent mine. The rule was only 1 poster per film. I do not claim these to be the best; just the ones that caught my eye the most and that I find myself most drawn to. I have seen 14/20 of the films here. A few of these films I’m not really a fan of but a great poster is a great poster regardless of the quality of the film it represents (and I won’t be getting into which films those are here). Off we go.
20. Shit Year
Here, we get Ellen Barkin, whose presence seems to be single-handedly melting the watercolors (Watercolors? Inked water? I suck). She looks like a clown, has a cigarette hanging out of her mouth and the title indicates this was not a very good year for her. This poster makes me want to find out why.
As the list continues, you will see a lot of ‘it makes me want to know more’. That is what a poster should do. It is first and foremost an advertisement. If it can do this in a way that is not tired or a simple rehash of the ten stock images we get from posters these days, it is a success.
19. Hobo with a Shotgun
Last year I had a couple of posters on my list that evoked the exploitation era. Hobo with a Shotgun, coming from Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse trailer contest, follows suit in what has now become a welcome trend. Creases, lots of action overlapping with each other, a self-aware tagline; it’s all there.
You will see as we go through the list just how represented Magnet releases are (five total). They do some of the most consistent poster work out there and they deserve their due for presenting advertisements in a way that promotes creativity.
18. Drive Angry
Again with the Grindhouse inspired kind of look. This just works on every level for me from the font size to the artificial messiness of it. It is unfortunate that this poster was not the one mainly used, but such is the case; even the few great posters exist to be largely unused.
17. The Devil’s Double
An in-your-face concept that goes for the jugular as far as poster concepts go. It goes to an extreme to make its point and for that, it deserves major props. The only thing working against it is the oddly misrepresentative tagline; a minute irritation. I still say Dominic Cooper looks more like Michael C. Hall here than Dominic Cooper. I can’t be the only one that sees this; can I?
16. The Muppets
Out of all the imaginative send-ups for the return of the Muppets, I chose a sparse Kermit-centric one, the only reason being that I have a soft spot for Kermit the Frog. Any poster with his head on it earns a spot on this list. Just look at that smile; oh how it melts my heart.
15. The Future
It is hard to articulate what it is about this poster that I find so memorable. The centered upside-down photo with the font contained within has an unexpectedly long-lasting effect on the mind. There’s just something about it….
14. I Saw the Devil
I was so happy to be able to get this on here as it really stuck with me throughout the year. This is a haunting use of space with the victimized yellow car illuminating the shadowy figure just enough to get a sense his weapon but not his identity. Those who have seen the film will recognize this as a reference to the opening sequence.
13. We Need to Talk About Kevin
There is suspicion and paranoia afoot as Swinton’s temperament towards her child is shown with this image. I love posters that have this purple-brown hue to them. Just look at I Saw the Devil’s poster for further proof. I don’t know how else to describe it so there you go; purple-brown hue. My description skills are clearly tops.
12. Martha Marcy May Marlene
A case of the fuzzies. I can’t help it; I love out-of-focus images on posters. This really captures Jody Lee Lipes’ cinematography on the film which is still my personal favorite of the year. The poster provides a hook; why is she running away? Who from? Does she make it? Coincidentally, it is almost a reverse shot of the Margaret poster which was the last I cut for this list. And both have ‘M’ names. Weird.
11. 13 Assassins
A marvelous illustration for yet another Magnet release. Busy but not too busy, and positively engaging.
10. Black Death
I flat-out love this bleak and foreboding poster for a film that unfairly went under the radar. For those counting, this is the fourth Magnet release on the list. That endlessly hopeless feel the Middle Ages have (at least for me) is truly represented here. I think I caught the Plague just looking at it.
9. Gainsbourg
It goes without saying that Serge Gainsbourg equals suave. A poster for this biopic needs to be able to capture the personality we all think of when we hear the French lady killer’s name. This version adds the perfect touch in capturing his demeanor through the cool blue and lusty red. Just looking at this makes me want to listen to “Histoire de Melody Nelson” for the billionth time. In fact….
8. Rubber
….yeah, I put the album on; I couldn’t resist.
This graphic brings you front and center to the leering eye of a tire; a directly anthropomorphized illustration. It advertises its unconventionality, wearing it on its sleeve, begging onlookers to dig deeper into the unknown.
7. Certified Copy
I almost went with the equally impressive color-splatter poster for the film featuring the same image. The grey in this one allows Juliette Bincohe’s startling paleness to stick out as well as the ruby red of her lips and earrings in this important moment from the film.
6. Le Havre
In addition to having an irresistible illustration that is at once sparse and full of intrigue. I want to know more about what I am seeing. Who are the players and how do they relate to each other?
5. The Skin I Live In
What strikes me most about this poster is that it looks like a mid-twentieth century middle school textbook. Would it actually be found in a classroom? Who knows? But it gives off that kind of educational vibe with an artistic twist that really drew me in.
4. Shame
The poster for Shame evokes with its ruffled bed sheets an immediate context of the film’s title. It is slightly confrontational with its placement of the title smack dab in the middle; this film is not tiptoeing around its subject matter. Whether you have seen the film or not, the poster says a lot about the kind of experience it provides. Well, that quote does not exactly scream subtlety as an allusion to the film’s content. Either way; we get the idea.
3. Cold Weather
There is an exquisite use of patterning going on and I love the placement of the actors. Even the font kills. It’s just perfect.
2. Sleeping Beauty
Emily Browning’s porcelain exterior blends right in with the beautiful embroidered couch behind her. The poster’s color palette is gorgeous. Her supposed vulnerability is being subverted just like in the film (although the film is questionably successful at this). What we would expect to be a pleading look is actually a stern stare-down daring us to pass judgment on her.
1. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
As soon as I saw this poster, I knew it would be likely impossible that another poster would take its place at the top of the pack. Designed by Chris Ware, best known for his visually complex graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth, everything here is absolutely captivating. Ware also designed the equally impressive poster for 2007’s The Savages. The color scheme, the symmetry, the jellyfish-like middle, the water, trees; there is so much happening and it is all done through abstraction. So many aspects of the film are emphasized here, but you don’t have to know that to appreciate this masterful work on display.
Like this:
Review: The Skin I Live In (2011, Almodovar)
02 Nov 2011 10 Comments
in 2011, Film Review Tags: 2011, Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Horror, Melodrama, Pedro Almodovar, Spain, The Skin I Live In
Pedro Almodóvar made a horror film? Oh the possibilities! Well, apparently not. The Skin I Live In feels like any other Almodóvar film, which is always a great thing, but in this case is also a bad thing, and it culminates as a missed opportunity. You can expect all the delicious goodies that one of his outings has to offer; a film entirely dependent on melodrama complete with plot twists, interweaving storylines, time jumps, stylish pop-infused décor, lustful sexual exploits and themes of obsession, desire, fate and identity. It is all there in spades. This work may be able to shed the absolutely inconsequential Broken Embraces, but it does not quite qualify as top-tier Almodóvar by any means.
I fully admit I may just hold the director up to the impossible standards that he has set for himself. That he accomplished one of the great directorial streaks in film history with All About My Mother, Talk to Her, Bad Education and Volver can account for that. Hell, I would even throw 1997’s Live Flesh into that streak, his most underrated output. The Skin I Live In is a largely missed opportunity, where the groundwork for a great film lays (and certainly pops up from time to time within the finished product), but it never reaches that level of success we come to expect from him.
A review for this is nearly impossible without going into spoilers, and indeed an insightful dive into the inner workings of the picture will be largely avoided in reviews marking its theatrical release (including mine). When enough time passes to be able to really get into the thick of it, the meaningful analysis of the film will really come into play. For now, reviews can only be vague. This will sound like a largely negative review when it is not meant to be. This is because what I loved about the film almost entirely involves a reveal that radically alters audience perspective. I will not be divulging it here, but it is the resulting thematic implications that make up my admiration.
The basic plot involves an innovative plastic surgeon (Antonio Banderas) who has a kept woman (Elena Cruz) in his house against her will. The audience enters this situation in media res, of what looks like a dynamic that is years into its existence. The film starts out vague and eventually falls into a flashback which explains the circumstances of the why, when and how it all came to be.
A big reason the unmentioned reveal works, despite being able to figure it out before its disclosure, is because it lends some much needed layers to the proceedings. The first third is meant litter the audience with questions; to hook us into wanting to know what is going on, and how this situation that has clearly been normalized by the characters, came to be. That element of intrigue never grows organically out of these scenes and they misuse critical time that could have been spent truly grabbing the audience and establishing meaningful characterization. With that, the film gets off to a rickety start.
An example of a scene that does not do what it could is a set-piece that takes place about half an hour in. Marisa Paredes plays a shady matriarchal figure (in what could have been a much juicier role for one of the filmmaker’s great regulars) whose son Zeca (Roberto Alamo) pays her an unexpected visit. Without giving anything away, the way this scene plays out should have slowly ratcheted suspense before giving way to the set-up’s conclusion. It could have had the audience on the edge of their seats akin to the opening scene inInglourious Basterds (not to insist that the set-piece should have been exactly like that, but it provides an example of a situation that slowly reveals itself simultaneously to the audience and characters and finds suspense through that alliance). Instead, the scene, while interesting, just sort of plays out without reaching that sense of suspense that it clearly means to have.
Another major factor of disappointment is the way it essentially wastes former male muse Antonio Banderas. Granted, to see him back in action with the Spanish director that helped catapult his career back in the day is an unbridled joy. Banderas was always usually given darker characters to play in their collaborations and this case is no different. The actor does a wonderful job with what he is given to work with, but unfortunately it is not much. His character somehow gets lost amidst everything and we never get a sense of him. His actions suggest some potentially incredible characterization but the filmmaker never goes there. Banderas’ more than capable star presence is depended upon too much to carry his character through.
If only Pedro Almodóvar had stepped outside of his comfort zone a bit. His aesthetic will always be a feast for the eyes and will more than carry its weight in worth and skill. But there is a twinge of sadness that he did not branch out even slightly within the horror territory. In fact, The Skin I Live In hardly even feels like a horror film. For some this will be a great thing, showcasing how he can make any kind of material his own. That is fine, and without having hoped for something too dissimilar, I still was optimistic for a fusion between melodrama and horror that does not exist here.
There is a lot to admire here, and even a disappointing film by this director is more than worth seeing. Elena Anaya as Vera Cruz give a smashing performance in a really difficult part as she emotes through her self-consciously porcelain beauty. The sharp use of strings in Albert Iglesias’ score is perfection and perfectly in tone with the film. He uses a different sound that evokes “Twin Peaks” during a fabulous scene featuring windy back roads (this is the music used in the trailers). The way Almodóvar uses nudity and sexual assault are unprecedentedly remarkable. It is thematically rich and on that level has a lot going on and does not disappoint. It is sprinkled with greatness throughout despite missing the mark as a whole.
In many ways, it demands one sees it twice. A film should be able to carry its weighty impact on a first viewing, but it almost feels like there cannot be a true assessment on general thoughts without seeing it again. In fact, it is probable that the film would mean more if one knows what is going on and I fully acknowledge that.
Despite its misgivings, the film holds throughout, goes to some pretty fantastically implicit territory and features the filmmakers’ reliable skill level. A lot of expectation comes with a Pedro Almodóvar film and he falls short here of creating a great work, though inklings of it can be seen. Ultimately The Skin I Live In feels somewhat hollow; too obsessed with surface beauty to get under the skin of the title, and into the meat of things.
Like this:
Screening Log: October 16th-October 31st
01 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in 2011, Weekly Screening Log Tags: 2011, Alice Sweet Alice, Brian De Palma, Broken Embraces, Dario Argento, Day of the Dead, Doctor X, Dressed to Kill, Funny Games, George A. Romero, Giallo, Horror, J-horror, Jeff Nichols, Lucky McKee, Mask of Fu Manchu, Michael Haneke, Pedro Almodovar, Pre-Code, Ringu, Slasher, Svengali, Take Shelter, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, The Company of Wolves, The Last Circus, The Skin I Live In, The Vanishing, The Woman
304. The Vanishing (1988, Sluizer): A-/B+
305. Day of the Dead (1985, Romero): B
306. Dressed to Kill (1980, De Palma): C+
307. Funny Games (1997, Haneke): B
308. The Company of Wolves (1984, Jordan): B+/B
309. Alice, Sweet Alice (1976, Sole): A-/B+
310. Mask of Fu Manchu (1932, Brabin): C-
311. The Woman (2011, McKee): C
312. Doctor X (1932, Curtiz): C+
313. Take Shelter (2011, Nichols): A
314. The Last Circus (2011, de la Iglesia): A-/B+
315. Svengali (1931, Mayo): B-
316. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970, Argento): B
317. Broken Embraces (2009, Almodovar): C+/C
318. The Skin I Live In (2011, Almodovar): B-
319. Ringu (1998, Nakata): B+/B
Like this:
List: Top 30 Anticipated Films of Fall 2011
02 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in 2011, List, To See Tags: 2011, 2011 films, A Dangerous Method, A Separation, Albert Nobbs, blog, Carnage, Cinema Enthusiast, cinenthusiast, Contagion, Coriolanus, Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel, Drive, Fall Movie Season, Films to Watch Out for, In Time, J. Edgar, List, Love Crime, Love Exposure, Margaret, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Melancholia, Most Anticipated Films, Outrage, Pariah, Restless, Sleeping Beauty, Take Shelter, The Artist, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Ides of March, The Monk, The Muppets, The Skin I Live In, The Woman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, To See List, Tyrannosaur, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Fall Movie Season has arrived again. Hello folks! It has been a while. Between a trip to Korea that I will forever cherish and getting settled into my 2nd semester at Simmons, I have not had time to review or post anything here. While grad school will likely take up most of my time, I will be posting reviews in the upcoming months. This weekend I am seeing Senna, which ranked in my top 5 most anticipated Summer releases. There will be a review up next week.
Fall Movie Season is always jam-packed with hyped prestige releases and this year is no different. There is a lot of releases in the US to look forward to in the upcoming months. From a director’s perspective, new films from Steven Soderbergh, Lars von Trier, Kenneth Lonergan (yes, after more than a few years, Margaret is finally getting released), Martin Scorsese, Alexander Payne, Gus van Sant, Pedro Almodovar, Beat Takeshi, Sion Sono (Love Exposure finally getting official release in the states!!!!!), Tsui Hark, Tomas Alfredson, Roman Polanski, David Fincher, Lucky McKee, Steven Spielberg, Lynne Ramsay, Nicolas Winding Refn, Clint Eastwood and David Cronenberg are expected to make waves. And that’s just a taste. Listed below the Top 30 are the other films this Fall I would like to see. I tend to include films I am indifferent to on this list. Any film that instills a reaction of “yeah I’d see that” can be found there. Thus, there are films I am genuinely excited for in that long alphabetized list (The Descendants) and films I don’t care about but would see (Machine Gun Preacher). The only films not on the list are the ones I really have no active interest in. Films like Bucky Larson, New Year’s Eve, Happy Feet 2 and I Don’t Know How She Does It are the kinds of films not present here.
Which films are you most excited for this Fall? There are a lot to choose from! I will keep this list updated with films that secure distribution dates after this list is posted.
30. Coriolanus
29. Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel
28. Restless
27. Love Crime
26. Pariah
25. Albert Nobbs
24. The Artist
23. Outrage
22. The Muppets
21. The Ides of March
20. In Time
19. Margaret
18. The Woman
17. Contagion
16. J. Edgar
15. Carnage
14. Sleeping Beauty
13. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
12. The Monk
11. A Separation
10. The Skin I Live In
9. Drive
8. A Dangerous Method
7. Tyrannosaur
6. Take Shelter
5. Love Exposure
4. Martha Marcy May Marlene
3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2. We Need to Talk About Kevin
1. Melancholia
The Rest:
50/50
The Adventures of Tintin
American Teacher
Anonymous
Apollo 18
The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu
Being Elmo
The Big Year
Burke and Hare
The Catechism Cataclysm
The Descendants
The Darkest Hour
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
Dirty Girl
Dream House
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Factory
Genius on Hold
Hell and Back Again
Hugo
I’m Glad my Mother is Alive
In the Land of Blood and Honey
The Iron Lady
Killer Elite
Like Crazy
Machine Gun Preacher
The Man Nobody Knew
Mission Impossible IV
Moneyball
My Joy
My Week with Marilyn
Paul Goodman Changed My Life
Pearl Jam Twenty
Puncture
Red State
The Rum Diary
Shaolin
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
The Sitter
Straw Dogs
Tanner Hall
Texas Killing Fields
The Three Musketeers
Three (Drei)
The Thing
Thunder Soul
Tomboy
Trespass
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
W.E
Warrior
War Horse
We Bought a Zoo
We Were Here
The Whale
Young Adult
Like this:
Weekly Trailer Round-Up
10 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in 2011, Weekly Trailer Round-up Tags: 2011, 2011 Film Trailers, blog, Buck, Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff, Cinema Enthusiast, cinenthusiast, Colombiana, Conan the Barbarian, Film Trailers, Final Destination 5, Green Lantern, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Octubre, Page On: Insde the New York Times, Project Nim, Reel Steel, Saviors in the Night, The Future, The Ledge, The Road to Nowhere, The Skin I Live In, The Trip, Thunder Soul, Trailers, Weekly Trailer Round-up
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff – B: This is one of my most highest anticipated films of the summer. Jack Cardiff is one of the all-time great cinematographers. This looks like it will be a purely celebratory tribute to the man, and that is exactly what I am looking for in this case.
Page One: Inside the New York Times - B: A fascinating topic that hopefully assumes we are all somewhat aware about the state of journalism, as opposed to using it as an introduction to the hard facts. I am banking on this being well-done, but the question is; will it be as meaningful and insightful as it clearly wants to be? Hard to tell from the trailer.
Buck – B+: This documentary is yet another of the docs I am highly anticipating. It looks like the kind of inspiring story I can actually get behind and want to engross myself in. The way others relate with other animals is something that greatly interests me. It is part of the reason Project Nim is my favorite film of the year so far.
Octubre – B: Really liking the purposely off-kilter nature of the trailer. Even though there is no indication as to what the it is about, this left me wanting to know a bit more.
Saviors in the Night – C: This does not looks like it stands out in any way from the many WWII-era films. The tagline at the end is way too overstated, just like the rest of this trailer.
Thunder Soul – B-: While this comes off more like a reality show special than a documentary film, I definitely want to see this, especially to learn about the original incarnation of the band. Overall, this looks like a fun time.
The Road to Nowhere – C-: This trailer is telling me I should be really excited about this film coming out. But outside of Hellman’s involvement, nothing here pops at all. The trailer takes the ambiguous route which can only work when the images are compelling, leaving us wanting more; this does not.
The Ledge – C-: We get way too much set-up here, telling us not only why Hunnam is on the ledge but giving us all of the backstory leading up to it. Gives away too much and looks mundane and rote to boot.
The Trip – A: Having seen The Trip, the trailer is somewhat unrepresentative, but aren’t they all? Smartly puts an emphasis on what we know of Coogan and Brydon’s personalities. Banter will be ever-present as will impersonations. It does not, and probably for the best, go into the more uncomfortably self-reflexive elements of the film. It also misrepresents itself as ‘the trip of a lifetime’. In fact, its the opposite. Nothing out-of-the ordinary happens in the entire film. The ‘my name’s Michael Caine’ and ‘Gentlemen to bed!’ scenes are the highlights and it also smartly shows each of these. Excellent work. Love this film.
Martha Marcy May Marlene – A+: When trailers like this come around, it reminds us how predictable most trailers are nowadays. This causes us to realize just how predictable the films themselves are nowadays. This looks like something entirely original, telling a story that treads unfamiliar ground. Yes, it can be loosely described as a thriller, but the main character looks like a refreshing brand of unstable and the trailer’s structure thankfully gives little away. If the film is as good as this trailer, and its festival run suggests, we are for something great here. Its time for this Olson sibling to shine in the spotlight.
Green Lantern – B: Pretty much everyone who watched the first trailer to Green Lantern was majorly disappointed. While there is nothing anyone can do to make me all-out stoked for this film, I am happy to report that this new trailer is a massive improvement. It’s light on the humor, heavy on the epic scale. Sarsgaard alone is enough to get me to see this. The effects look top-notch as well.
Conan the Barbarian – F: I feel like I need to take a shower now. Not sure what else I expected from a film directed by Marcus Nespiel, but there you have it. Everything about this looks filthy and nauseating. Count me out for this one.
Colombiana – C-: Honestly, after the near-brilliance and violent exhaustion of I Saw the Devil, any vengeance themed film needs to bring something seriously new to the table to spark my interest. This looks like it will bring absolutely nothing new. Zoe Saldana kicking ass is always a good thing, and I’m happy that she has a star vehicle (she deserves it). Yet, it looks like there is nothing this has to offer.
Project Nim – A-: This is my favorite film of 2011 so far. The trailer ultimately makes a very wise choice; it only shows footage from the first half hour. This way, Nim’s story will be a surprise to all that see the film because they will not have been spoiled by a trailer that could have easily given an overview of Nim’s entire life. Unfortunately, the trailer loses all the levels of depth that the film carries and merely looks like a documentary that only works on a surface level. The film is so much more than that and while the trailer sacrifices that sense, it was the right decision.
The Future – A-: This is a film I have seen that is not entirely successful. The first half of the trailer makes everything a little too upbeat, giving it that ‘indie’ feel without acknowledging the true originality of July’s voice. The Future has a lot of humor, but it’s all very droll. Once Beach House kicks in, this trailer becomes everything I wanted the film to be. It highlights a lot of the best things about it and the feel of the song gives everything a sense of existentialist wonder that should have come through a lot more in the film itself.
The Skin I Live In – B+: This is a quick jolt of a teaser that focuses on one scene. Without a doubt, one of the most anticipated films of 2011 for most film buffs. Cannes reactions will soon give us some quotes we can all hang off of. Almodovar is delving into outright horror territory, a genre I love when it proves itself. The teaser itself really is just that; a tease. He is clearly taking some notes from Franju’s Eyes without a Face, a great personal favorite.
Final Destination 5 – B-: Something that I enjoy about the Final Destination series is how ridiculous their set-ups are. And that’s what this series is all about. They spend an awful lot of time setting up their kills, because it is all about the extreme circumstances that are wrapped up in the characters’ ‘destiny’. Their inventiveness in this regard can be quite fun and even, dare I say it, effective. They seem to know how amusing it is that this franchise has lasted as long as it has and I won’t begrudge them the fun they are having with it. Plus, Emma Bell is in it and she is great. I will take a moment here to plug Adam Green’s. Frozen. Also; Tony Todd!
Reel Steel – C-: A sci-fi variation on the boxing movie has potential, but Reel Steel looks contrived on arrival. The characters seem uninteresting, especially Jackman’s down-and-out protagonist. The kid looks tiresome and all that’s left are the robots, in which case I could just watch the new Transformers film.
