10. Side Effects/Behind the Candelabra:
I guess its technically cheating to put down two films for my number ten slot, but I feel that it's important to highlight what might possibly be the last two films from director Steven Soderbergh. The past few years of Soderbergh's career have yielded his best work by far, and I'd put both of these films up there as well. Side Effects is a Hitchcock-like story using dangerous side effects of medication as a jumping off point for a murderous mystery. Behind the Candelabra tells the story of the life of Liberace through the eyes of his lover, Scott Thorson. Both films couldn't be more different from each other, and yet they are both so clearly Soderbergh films. His pacing, cinematography and direction allow each of his stories to unfold as they would naturally. He has never been a flashy director, and that's what I've always loved about his work. He picks great scripts, casts them perfectly, and lets them go. If he does in fact retire from feature films, it will be a shame. But I guess the silver lining is his entry into scripted television for cable next year. I can't wait to see what he does with a complex, nuanced television series.
9. The Great Gatsby:
Baz Luhrmann is such a divisive director. He's never been one to go for the subtle approach. That's why matching him up with material like The Great Gastby is so brilliant. The term re-imagining is thrown around a lot when marketing either a remake or adaptation, and I don't think it's ever been more appropriate than with this film. There is not a frame of this movie that isn't Luhrmann's. It's very rare to have a director put that kind of stamp on a film, and it kept me enthralled throughout multiple viewings. Gatsby is based on the classic novel about the roaring twenties, and in particular a mysterious millionaire and his long lost love. The movie is over-the-top, in your face, and melodramatic. Which is exactly what the material calls for. It's use of 3D only heightens this intention. Luhrmann also makes the brave choice of using contemporary music in the film, something that could have easily backfired, but instead highlights the boisterous party scenes and romantic montages better than a twenties themed score could have. It's quite a fun and interesting look into the mind of one of the more eccentric directors working today.
8. The Conjuring:
A horror film for people who don't like horror films, The Conjuring reminded me on more than one occasion of The Sixth Sense. Like that film, The Conjuring is about a family in crisis, and how an impossible supernatural occurrence brings them together. Yes, this film is very unnerving in its ability to make you terrified by things that aren't there, but none of that would be worth anything if the characters weren't as compelling as they are. Based on supposed true events, the film tells the story of a married pair of paranormal investigators that try to help a family rid it's home of a ghostly presence. The direction by James Wan feels confident and clear. He knows what great actors he has in Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, and Lili Taylor, and he allows them to make the terror feel completely real. The film contains very little in the way of blood and gore, and instead relies on the viewer to fill in the holes, something I've always found not only more inventive, but also much more effective.
7. This is the End:
Oh how this movie could have gone horribly wrong, and instead it's a modern comedic triumph. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg write and direct this story about a Hollywood house party that just so happens to take place during the apocalypse. The film stars a multitude of comedic actors, all playing exaggerated versions of themselves. It could have come off as a self indulgent mess, but Rogen and Goldberg are smart enough to keep the tone and actors in check and on point for the entire film. It's crude, shocking, and relentless. Exactly what a great comedy should be.
6. Frozen:
Disney's latest animated film is their best since The Lion King. And that's not just a matter of diminishing returns on their part, but rather a sign that the days of great storytelling in animation are back. The film tells the story of two princesses, one of which was born with the power to create ice and snow with her hands. The only trouble is that she is unable to control it, and casts the kingdom in an eternal winter. While I would have been content with a simple Disney storybook musical, the script takes this film to places that I didn't see coming, and brings about themes rarely seen in films such as these. It becomes about sisterhood, with the male characters really pushed to the back burner. This surprised me given the way the film is marketed, and Disney's track record. It's a story that teaches girls that you don't need to wait on a guy to save you, you need to save yourself. Oh, and did I mention it's hilarious, and the songs are great? It's a new animated classic.
5. Lone Survivor:
Peter Berg is a director that is constantly surprising. When he works on films-for-hire such as Battleship or Hancock, he turns in movies that just outright awful. But when he is allowed to take the reigns of the story, like in both the film and tv series Friday Night Lights, his work is nothing short of incredible. My hope for the future is that Berg only does films for which he is passionate. Films like Lone Survivor. Based on a real life mission during the Iraq War, the film centers on four SEALs forced into an impossible battle against a Taliban army. The film is intense and unrelenting. However, just like how Friday Night Lights isn't really about football, this film isn't really about war. It's about the people caught up in it, and the bravery and integrity each of them demonstrates. It's one of the best films about the Iraq War I've seen, and Berg's ability to ground it in reality is what makes it so effective.
4. The Bling Ring:
If pop culture enthusiasts were asked to sum up the youth of America in the 2000s, no movie does it better than Sofia Coppolla's The Bling Ring. Based on the real life burglaries by a bunch of teenagers who brazenly walk into celebrities homes and take what they please, the film takes a firm stance in its complete takedown of not only these people specifically, but celebrity culture in general. It's very clear that Coppolla is making the case that this obsession with wealth and fame, regardless of talent, has created an environment where these kids have no concept of right and wrong. She allows the camera to linger on them texting, taking pictures and doing drugs, never making it look cool, but always sad and empty. By allowing the audience to sit and just watch these kids, it makes their vapid, repetitive lifestyles all the more deplorable. But don't get me wrong, this is not just some boring morality tale. Coppolla smartly keeps the pace of the story moving with a whip smart script that is funny in its absurdity, as well as a soundtrack that at one moment is satirical, and the next, brilliant.
3. Afternoon Delight:
Satire can be an incredibly difficult genre to pull off, and yet Jill Soloway's script for Afternoon Delight makes it seem so easy. This dramedy follows Rachel, a stay at home mom, who feels her life completely falling apart. In an effort to be the post-modern feminist she thinks she is, she takes her husband to a strip club where she meets a young girl, seemingly in need of some help. The next day, Rachel goes back to the club and asks the girl if she'd like to live with her family as their nanny. It's at this point that you'd assume the movie would go off into some sort of slapstick comedy of errors. Instead, Soloway creates an incredibly smart and darkly comical take on what it really means to be a feminist, and the idea that if a woman is working in the sex industry, she must be broken. Kathryn Hahn gives a devastatingly brilliant performance as Rachel, specifically in a later scene with the women of the neighborhood over a bottle of wine. It's some of the funniest and most honestly heartbreaking acting I've ever seen. This is a small movie, one that didn't get nearly the attention it deserved when it was released this summer. It comes out on DVD next month, my hope is it will be discovered there. There's way too much goodness going on here for it be missed.
2. American Hustle:
The most fun I had with a film this year. It's David O. Russell's 70s opus of music, excessive hair, excessive clothes, and incredibly excessive personalities. Loosely based on the ABSCAM scandal in the late 70s, Russell has smartly decided that the facts aren't important, he even opens the film with the title card "Some of this actually happened." He instead focuses on the characters. And I use the word characters very deliberately, since I fail to see any actual people in this movie, instead the actors are let loose in this playground of crazy. Russell's cast, lead by four of the best working actors today, are clearly having the time of their lives. Especially Jennifer Lawrence, who continues to prove what an incredible talent she really is. I can't wait to watch her career continue to evolve.
1. Philomena:
Impeccably scripted, beautifully acted, Philomena is a film that really took me by surprise. In her most funny and emotional performance, Judi Dench stars as an elderly Irish woman searching for her long lost son who was taken from her when she was forced to live in a convent after becoming pregnant out of wedlock. She is aided by a down on his luck reporter for the BBC, who takes the story on, even though he seemingly has nothing in common with Philomena. This is a film that can be enjoyed on a multitude of levels. You can decide to watch it simply for its fascinating true life story, and see where this mystery leads. Or if you're like me, you'll quickly realize this is a film that offers the viewer much more than that. At it's core, it's a film about the ability to separate the institution of religion from ones own personal faith. The ideas that are brought up never feel preachy, or heavy handed. As Paul put it after our viewing, it's a film that is about the human condition.
And now for the honorable mentions:
Saving Mr. Banks: A charming movie about the making of Mary Poppins that centers around the relationship between Walt Disney and author PL Travers. The structure is very effective, as is the great performance from Emma Thompson.
Blackfish: The best documentary of the year. It exposes the incredibly horrifying treatment of killer whales by SeaWorld, and how they seemingly put their trainers lives on the line for the sake of profit and saving face. It's a tough film to watch, especially when the footage of the accidents are shown, but it's an important film, and one that has already started real world change.
August: Osage County: An adaptation of a southern gothic melodrama, this film features some of the best performances by the best actors around. There's so much Meryl Streep here, but I've never found that to be a bad thing. Ever.
And finally, the worst of the worst:
Kick Ass 2: If you are going to make a sequel to one of my favorite action comedies, I'd hope that it would at the very least be fun. And fun, this is not. It feels completely haphazardly slammed together at the script-level to the point where entire plot lines make absolutely no sense, and large sequences of the film are filled with exposition filled narration to try and smooth it all out. And to top it off, the action sequences are some of the worst I've seen since A Good Day to Die Hard (also a film that needs to be forgotten immediately).
