Not that I have any respect for the Academy Awards anymore, but the eve of Hollywood's most masturbatory celebration is a good time to reflect on the films of yesteryear.
Travel back with me to a simpler time, a time before the American public was exposed to the atrocity that is Madonna's Cartwheeling Cooter M.I.A.'s middle finger.
The Good
Should be seen, unless you have a particular aversion to the film or genre.
Hanna
Thoroughly exciting, original, and stylized. It is a film that is so engaging from start to finish that a review of it would read like 8 year old me listing the reasons I loved dinosaurs. See it for yourself. Be utterly entertained for two hours.
The Artist
I really love silent films. As a genre of storytelling it is so different from "talkies", and there is a visual language to it that can be stylized and exciting, even without words. It was it's own form of narration that was just abandoned, and the closest we get to it now are awkward and don't properly capture the genre (Guy Maddin comes to mind). "The Artist" however, knows how to use the advantages of the genre. Hyper-real performances (I want Missi Pyle to have her own sequel!), stylized lighting and camerawork all contribute to making this film feel more like a genuine silent film. In other words, I have been wanting to see this done well for a long while. It could be seen as another romantic comedy, and I hate romantic comedies. But in this film, the romance is more of a lengthy flirtation. It takes backseat to the journey of the characters, and the film industry itself. And ultimately, the film is about a female star who uses her power to help a man who must swallow his pride and accept it. It's not terribly complex, but it doesn't have to be, it is done well, and has good performances.
Drive
It would be easy to say this movie is all about Ryan Gosling showing just how good and subtle of a performance he can give. And that would all be true, and enough reason to watch this film. But the movie is well made, and manages to effortlessly blend different genres together around a basic, but well developed plot. The result is just-artsy-enough and just-romantic-enough and just-violent-enough and just-mobsterish-enough to appease almost anybody... If you can stomach people getting their brains blown out... But it only happens a couple times! I wish I could say that I am surprised that this film, and Gosling, were almost completely snubbed at the Oscars... But it's never surprising when the Oscars ignore good, and bold filmmaking.
X-Men First Class
I already reviewed this one here. Basically, it's the X-Men movie this fanboy been waiting to see! That being said, it is pretty sad that any superhero movie is this high on my list of the best movies of the year. I love superheroes, but I'm not about to kid myself and say that superhero films are fine art... Well... Most aren't. This one was awesome, but it is sad that there weren't more better films this year.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Also, already reviewed this here.. A throroughly enjoyable and climactic ending.
Attack the Block
A great addition to the "Alien Invasion" genre of movies. On top of it being well made, and exciting throughout the film, it has a genuine message about alienation, poverty and violence. Its one of those movies could very well have been made by starting with the message, and then deciding to use the backdrop of an invasion to tell the story.
Bridesmaids
Good, smart, wacky comedies, a rare combination to find. Good, smart, wacky comedies starring an almost exclusively female cast, a practically impossible combination to find! Congrats to Melissa McCarthy for her Oscar Nomination for this performance!
The Watchable
Films worth seeing if you have a particular interest in it, but nothing revolutionary or ground breaking here.
Hugo
Though not without it's problems, Hugo is beautifully made. It has sequences depicting some of the most fantastic silent film productions, which are all particularly appealing to me. Especially because the films emphasizes the role of the filmmaker as an artist, and shows the dedication and love that can go into one's work. The way it deals with the connection of an artist to their work really touched me and even made me cry at one point! However, this touching story about a lost artist re-discovering his muse plays second fiddle to a mediocre performance and trite story about a lost orphan boy who "learns the true meaning of family". "Hugo" has one of those plots that are fueled by tension between characters that would be easily relieved had the characters simply spoken to one another instead of being angsty freazoids! It is leading the Oscar race with the most nominations, including Best Picture. Wouldn't have been my first choice, but it is far superior to many Best Picture nominees (and winners) in past years.
Immortals
I reviewed this film in a previous post, see it here. It's well made, and worth seeing if you have an interest in these ancient greek movies. Definitely the best of the new wave of sword and sandal movies.
Weekend
I'm not usually a fan of romance movies (gay or straight), but I heard this one was good, so I checked it out. It is a well made indie romance, though plot-wise it is comparable to almost any other romance. What stood out to me about this one is the perspective and experiences two main characters have had being gay. The main character is solitary, unsocial, and "out" to his close friends (none of whom are gay), but generally not open about things like sex. He always feels on the outside, and while he may be secure in his sexuality, he is insecure of himself on some level. Romance aside, it is a story that I believe, many people could relate to.
Captain America
At this point, I pretty much know what to expect from superhero movies. Captain America isn't spectacular or groundbreaking, though it does manage to pull of a Nazi-Fighting Montage in a way that is both exciting, fun and not too cheesy. Well, cheesy in a way that works for the 1940's feel of it. I also was surprised by how impressed I was with Chris Evans. To play Pre-Cap Steve Rogers, they digitally put Chris Evans' face onto a smaller man's body, a slippery slope indeed. Still, it didn't look as bad as I thought it might, and Evans does a good job depicting the scrappy but courageous Soldier-Wannabe. Then, once Rogers becomes Captain America and grows the pecs and arms he was always meant to have, Evans still keeps that tone of innocence as the unassuming, but powerful Captain America. It was his endearing performance that made this film stand above others like Thor and Iron Man 2. Plus, Hugo Weaving as Red Skull?! YES!
Super 8
Aside from the gratiuitous amount of lens flare and trite Spielberg-isms that are thrown it, "Super 8" is mostly enjoyable. Doesn't always make a lot of sense, but it is simple enough that there isn't much that would ruin the plot. And, what stands out the most, is the group of kids featured in the film. It's hard to have a group of child actors get together and behave like normal adolescents would. There is a fine line of friends tormenting and playing that can come across as forced if pushed too far. But each of the kids is unique, and important, and their interactions all feel very real.
Rango
Cute family film. I mostly watched it because of the animation, which really was amazing. Beyond the animation, there was nothing great about the movie, but nothing overly stupid. It is a good kids movie, and perhaps Johnny Depps best performance in years. Mostly because you can't tell it's Johnny Depp. Not to say that I hate Johnny Depp, I'm just tired of seeing him play a rehashed Jack Sparrow or morose Tim Burton protagonist. It was nice to be reminded of how verastile he can be.
The Future
Huh......... It's weird and I like that... Still... Huh...
Paranormal Activity 3
I get all of the Paranormal Activity movies mixed up in my head. If you like the genre of found footage horror, then you'll probably like it. I also do have to give the series creds for following along the same story for 3 movies!
Thor
Norse Bro is kicked out of Bro-ville. He spend some time bro-ing out on earth before he gets help from some of his other Norse Bros so he can go back and Bro-out in Bro-ville. There are some cool effects and everything else you would expect, some cool fights, a few laughs. If you like superhero movies, it is enjoyable but nothing new. It also has Natalie Portman, who I think is like Bruce Willis in that they make one good films every three or four years and then they suck in everything else. We tapped out our good Porman with "Black Swan" so expect her to be annoying again for the next few years.
The Unwatchable
Movies that I found to be completely not worth seeing.
Super
This film isn't necessarily "unwatchable", it has funny parts and some decent performances in it. I usually enjoy films that look at complicated and real violence (as opposed to simplistic cartoon violence, which is how I see most superhero violence) in an interesting or unique way. The problem I had with this film is that it deals with very graphic violence in such a casual way. This isn't some zombie flick where people are getting torn up left and right, this is a real man, who has a textbook case of schizo-something, committing real acts of violence. People around him die, he never stops to see himself for what he is.... And then he's rewarded in the end. It has one of the most unbalanced moral compasses this side of Zack Snyder I understand that this film has appeal for some people, but I see it as a film that is damaging to a society already obsessed with violence.
Scream 4
I feel like I grew up constant anticipation of which teen actress from 90's WB was going to get gutted by GhostFace next. And going into this one, I didn't want to believe it would be good, but I still thought "Well, it's gotta be better than the third one, right?" ... I was wrong.
The Beaver
This movie ties with "Sucker Punch" as my most hated of the year, mostly because it is completely devoid of creativity. Other than the ploy of the beaver puppet, this movie has nothing remotely original or interesting about it. It is basically "Mrs. Doubtfire" meets "Elizabethtown", but with a puppet.
Sucker Punch
I watched this movie knowing that I loathe Zack Snyder. But I thought it would be funny, and the stylization and action would keep me entertained. I was wrong. This movie has a plot that is more simplistic than most video games, and more plot holes than the entire series of "Lost". And the worst part is that the film thinks that if you give a hot woman a fantasy world, a sexy outfit and a weapon, the juxtaposition of the sexy and dangerous automatically create a feminist icon. Though meanwile in the real world, the women are utterly complacent, putting up barely any resistance against the oppressive men abusing them. This is supposed to be okay because the girls are actually totally badass fighters... Except not really. Only in the imaginary world do they ever stand up for themselves.
(SPOILER: all but one of them gets killed or otherwise permanently penetrated by a man)
Even in part of the "Fantasy" they are all prostitutes in a burlesque house run by their pimp (who is actually an orderly that can somehow get away with murdering mental patients). There is literally a scene in which the lead character "Baby Doll" is standing right next to her step-father and an orderly as they devise a plot to illegaly lobotomize her. Does Baby Doll a) speak up for herself b) make a run for it c) inform the authorities of the plot or d) none of the above, and instead looks at all the pretty girls? Well, Snyder likes pretty girls, so of course his lead stares at pretty girls, even as her fate is being decided by two crooked men. It's basically saying "forget all this lobotomy talk, there's hot chicks to gawk at!" Snyder consistently has the most obvious, trite choice of music. He often chooses good songs, but places them in a context that is so tasteless and devoid of depth that the songs are ruined! To top it all off, the theatrical release of "Sucker Punch" is actually not even a finished version of the awful film that was made... There is more visual vomit to puke on top of this heaping pile of bile. The film has three layers of reality, the "real" world, in which the girls are patients in an asylum, the bordello reality in which they are slave-sex-workers from which the girls leap into their next video game level. In the bordello reality, they are supposed to be burlesque dancers, and they are constantly talking about dancing, and at dance practice... But there's no actual dancing!!! Snyder uses the dance sequences as a springboard from which the girls leap into battle mode. We constantly see them JUST ABOUT to dance, or JUST FINISHED dancing, but there is NO actual dancing... And it comes across as incredibly awkward. Until the end credits, which are a montage of burlesque sequences that were meant to be in the film, and instead are just used as extra crazy-sauce on the tail end of this Mysogyny Sunday. There is a directors cut which includes the dance sequences, which was supposed to be an entire aspect of the film that included several musical numbers. Which may make the film feel less disjointed, but no less atrocious.
