A brief disclaimer before I continue:
I got a fair amount of flak for what people considered to be a low charting for The King's Speech at #15.
If you read what I had to say on it, I did like that movie quite a bit. I think this is one of the strongest years for movies in a while--though 2007 is pretty legendary too--so to be in the top 25% is still pretty damn good. I'm not really a period-piece guy to begin with, but it was still enjoyable. It goes without saying that Colin Firth was dynamite as King George VI.
So again, I thought The King's Speech was quite good, I just liked 14 movies better than it. And to be honest, everything from #40 on has at least a redeeming quality or two about it.
Forward towards the end...
#12: The Kids Are All Right
When one grows up in uber-liberal Madison, Wisconsin with two parents heavily involved in theater, the concept of a successful lesbian couple is not mind-blowing material. Though, I can't imagine it being all that hard to conceptualize for an audience in the first place.
You'd be surprised though. A few years back, a buddy of mine and I were en route to X-Men III and he jokingly tussled my hair at a stoplight. The woman in the car over launched into this speech about "Oh, I'm so happy to see you guys are partners. I'm from a small town in northern Minnesota and I don't see that up there."
And I'm not saying I'm more qualified to see this movie than anyone else. The point that director Lisa Cholodenko tries to make stick is that this is a family, and just like any other family there are resistant teens, quirky habits and marital problems.
The always-great Annette Bening wears the pants in the relationship as Nic, the bread-winning physician and consummate control freak. Her better half is Jules (Julianne Moore, robbed from an Oscar nod in my opinion), a new-agey stay-at-home who is trying to get her landscaping business off the ground. Then there are the kids, who both share the same sperm donor but were birthed by different mothers. Joni belongs to Nic and Laser belongs to Jules, and the resemblances in demeanor are pretty evident; Joni is an over-achieving A student and Laser a skateboarding aficionado. It's now the summer before Joni heads off to college, and she pulls Laser aside and tells him they should meet their donor. Enter the scruffy, open-button down shirt wearing Mark Ruffalo. He's everything cool and male that they could never have: He owns a hip restaurant, rides a motorcycle and bags beautiful women. He comes over for dinner and they all hit it off, deciding as a family that they want him involved in their lives. Things spiral from there.
This is a really well-written movie that feels legitimate, definitely one of the best screenplays of the year. There are many quotables. Nic goes off the handle about organic trends, saying "If I hear one more person say how much they love heirloom tomatoes, I'm going to punch them in the face." Jules says to her "Take it easy on the wine," to which she replies "Same goes for the micro-managing." I also remember laughing at Annette Bening's delivery on "They wouldn't even write thank you notes if it wasn't for me. If it was up to you they'd just send out good vibes." Every family has their differences, and every family family makes it work, even if it's tough as hell sometimes.
#11: Toy Story 3
In my sleep apnea days (up until this past December) I would occasionally pass out in dark, comfortable movie theaters. Especially if it was the day time. Especially if it was in the summer and the air conditioning was the perfect temperature. Especially after I stuffed my face on the first leg of our field trip at Old Country Buffet.
All of those things led to my missing 20 minutes of Toy Story 3, a key 20 minutes at that. I knew I liked it, but I wanted to make sure I saw it again before the Oscars.
I'm glad I did. Pixar's track record (not counting the woeful Cars) is borderline absurd. Conceptually this film was ingenious- Andy prepares to head off to college and has to figure out what to do with all his toys. I'm not sure if any of us still had a toy chest still lingering in our room at age 18, but I decided to roll with it.
In a mix-up, the gang finds their way off the curb just before they are thrown out and ends up instead in the back of the station wagon, being donated to the Sunnyside Childcare Center. Once the kids leave for recess, the rest of the toys come alive and are abuzz with excitement at the prospect of new toys. They are welcomed by Lotso, a stuffed bear who is the leader of the faction of Sunnyside toys. He welcomes them with open arms and then has them distributed to the Caterpillar room, where they proceed to get beaten to high heaven by the toddlers after they return from recess. They are smashed, rubbed in paint, sat on, drooled on. Abused.
The ever-loyal Woody is convinced the best thing to do is find Andy, and ends up separated from the group, where he ends up on a little adventure of his own. From there, he determines he should rescue his friends from the daycare and Lotso's evil grasp.
The plethora of vocal talents add depth to what is already a great and well-constructed film. The sight gags--particularly when Mr. Potato Head becomes Mr. Tortilla head--are fantastic. This is a franchise that went out with a bang.
#10: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
We all know how much of a commercial juggernaut the Potter franchise is, but will it ever be considered legitimate movie-making? When Cedric Diggory gets clapped by Voldemort in Goblet of Fire the mood of the whole series changes; it becomes decidedly more adult. David Yates, who has directed since Order of the Phoenix, has handled the transition of our characters from bickering adolescents to responsibilty-wielding (and bickering) adults really well.
And that said, I hope that when the eighth movie comes out later this year, the big three of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson get a little more credit for their acting. Not only have we watched them grow up as characters, we've watched their skills progress as well. All of them were real and believable in their roles and they carried the movie on their shoulders with ease. Though, the franchise has always been a who's-who of phenomenoal British actors, and the supporting cast once again does not disappoint.
The Deathly Hallows has to deal with tragedy almost immediately. As far as stories go, it's very much last man standing, and not everyone gets to be so lucky. I was happy that Yates did not hold back in that regard when it came to the adaptation--us Potter fans were a little bummed at the lack of stick-to-the-script in Half-Blood Prince. And because the big three are on the run throughout, there is a lot of sitting around and getting frustrated and gameplanning, but somehow it never feels slow. The effects were great, especially early on when they attempt to disguise seven people as Harry Potter when Ron is forced to destroy the locket that somehow brings his worst fears to life. Even though it was sad, it ended in the perfect spot. It's only going to get better from here.
#9: Animal Kingdom
We begin Animal Kingdom on a couch. 17-year old Josh's mother is sitting calmly next to his mother, who has just OD'd from heroin. He calls his grandmother to let her know hey, I just might be staying with you for a while, and the world slows down as the paramedics burst through the door and try to revive his mother.
Such is the reality for our protagonist, who moves into a house inhabited by a family of criminals. There's his grandmother Janine (Oscar-nominated Jackie Weaver), the terrifyingly tranquil matriarch and her sons, the loose-cannon Craig and surfer-cool Darren. They're pals with local crime boss Barry Brown, who ends up popped pretty early on. And there's a third son too, who goes by "Pope". He's without a doubt the most sociopathic and vicious of the bunch, even though he doesn't live at home with mom any longer. Janine has a habit of pulling her young ones in for full-on kisses on the lips, so sensual that it's incredibly creepy.
Josh witnesses the boys do a pretty terrible thing, and detective Leckie (Guy Pearce) moves in quick to exploit it. With things careening out of control on both fronts, Josh has to choose who to side with. And before he does, all types of mayhem goes down.
This is director David Michod's first feature-length film, and he just nails it. The tension is outrageous and handled perfectly, the use both of sound and silence is very effective, and the performances are outstanding.
***
...I've got a lot of ground to cover between now and 7 PM tomorrow, so stay tuned!!
No comments:
Post a Comment