Best of the year....so far

After watching only 17 films theatrically, I hardly think 2010 has been a banner year for cinema. Eight months in and we've suffered through the likes of bad 3-D, Knight and Day, and Avatar: the Last Airbender. Regrettably, 2010 has left me totally unsatisfied. By this time last year, The Hurt Locker, Up, and 500 Days of Summer (my very first review…awwww). Tsk, tsk 2010. So, with more disappointments than surprises, I’ve cobbled together a list of 5 of my favorite films of the year. Here's to a better next six months...

5. Shutter Island

Picture courtesy http://www.filmjunk.com/2010/05/20/shutter-island-on-top-of-the-world/

Why do I feel like I'm on a ledge when I say that I liked Shutter Island? It has gotten a little love from critics, but it essentially dropped off the radar in a mere couple of weeks to audiences after its release. Atmospherically, I think this is among the best Martin Scorsese has put out.  His throwback to the thrillers of Old Hollywood with a psychological approach provides some awesome visuals and frightening performances. It is so genre specific and exhibits an old master still doing some interesting things in a time where movies seem to look increasingly the same. "Visceral" handheld shots appear to be Hollywood's standard these days and while not without function tend to lump together aesthetically. Shutter Island reminds us that the camera and atmosphere can tell a story just as much as 30 years ago. 

4. Cyrus

Picture courtesy http://blog.originalalamo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Cyrus.jpg

Speaking of hand-held, Cyrus, the comedy from the Duplass brothers, features this same aesthetic throughout this creepy, awkward, yet hilarious story of a Shrek-like John C. Reily attempting to find his happily ever after with Molly, played by Marisa Tomei. Except Tomei's 21 year-old son is cock-blocking pretty hard. Cyrus succeeds in being extremely earnestly absurd in their portrayal of the classic love-triangle gone weird. It’s the acting that propels this film into something laudable, especially Jonah Hill. The Duplass brothers inject this tale with a matter-of fact dealing of the ridiculous and connecting the relatable to the absurd.

3. Inception

Picture courtesy http://www.filmcritic.com/assets_c/2010/07/Inception-cropped-proto-filmcritic_reviews___entry_default.jpg

Definitely love some Inception. As I said earlier in my blog, it is far from a perfect movie, but it is definitely a film that brings something new to the summer blockbuster. It is an intellectually engaging film with some awe-inspiring shots throughout that are so imaginitive that they very much belong in a film about dreams. This is the rare movie that demands more than a passive attention to the beats of the story, more than we're generally required in a film opening in July to more than 3,000 screens. Nolan crafts a perplexing yet cerebral approach to dreams and the subconscious not typically presented. Plus everybody dresses really nicely, a quality I like in a film.

2. Toy Story 3

Picture courtesy http://screencrave.frsucrave.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/inception-toy-story-3-29-7-10-kc.jpg

I thought Toy Story 3 was totally unnecessary and borderline dangerous when I first heard about the project. Sequels have never really been too common at Pixar, and who really needed to see another Toy Story movie. I was completely wrong. Toy Story 3 gave me one of most fun experience in a theatre in quite awhile. The screenplay is so well structured and never cuts a corner. In almost every Pixar movie, there’s  a moment where you wonder, “How are thing dig themselves out of this?” Those moments where you wonder how they can plausibly bring all the characters back together or resolve the peril. Toy Story 3 is chock full of those moments. Plainly put, this is yet another winner.

1. Winter's Bone

Picture courtesy http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/images/winters-bone.jpg

Winter’s Bone is an interesting mashup of film noir and a mob flick. Following the story of 17 year old Ree Dolly, the film picks up as a bail bondsman informs her that her estranged father has skipped bail and put the house up as collateral. Now, she must must find her father before she loses her house and risk separating the rest of family , her two younger sisters and mother. She’s thrusted into the meth infested underworld of the Ozarks. The elements of neo-noir and the starkly blue muted tones of this film really provide a unique and descriptive introduction into this world. The setting is the film’s strongest point providing an in-depth look into life in the Ozarks, a place not often portrayed on film. It’s easy to forget in a tech driven word the parts of the world who are just getting by. And it’s much easier to forget about those who live in the U.S. There are some really soul-stirring scenes, particularly one in which Ree discusses her future with an Army recruiter. And the last 20 minutes of the film will stick with you way after you hop in your car and start to drive home. I really can’t say enough good about this film. Please go see Winter’s Bone. 

Happy Trail-ers

Remember the days before the internet when you could actually see a trailer for the first time in theaters? That magical moment where you get your first glimpse of a new movie and those butterflies that erupted in your tummy. These days, trailers are posted to the internet almost simultaneously or even weeks before they are attached to film, totally negating the experience of taking in a film's first unveiling on the sexy silver screen.

Admittedly, I watch most trailers for the first time online so I don't have that opportunity to take it in on a big screen. Now you may ask, "Well, why don't you just wait until you see the trailer in theatres?" to which I'd reply "That would require self-discipline, which my ample thighs can corroborate I have none." But in any case, I'm happy to say that we are in a golden age of trailers. You may have some clunkers here and there, but the Inception teaser is evidence alone of a trailer done right. Sure it’s easy to throw a deep voice across some killer shots and lace it with an epic soundtrack. Still, there is that precarious balance a trailer seeks between showing too much or showing too little. Like a woman's skirt, it should be short enough to arouse interest but long enough to cover the essentials. A good trailer captures the tone and gives you a taste of what to expect from the movie. So let me unveil 5 of what I think are the most enticing trailers in the last couple of years.

5. Cloverfield (2008)

In one of the most entertaining viral campaigns in ages, Cloverfield's trailer gave us what is truly a rarity these days, a surprise. Originally entitled 1-18-08, the trailer debuted in front of Transformers to a big "huh?" to everyone who saw it. J.J. Abrams and crew did an awesome job of keeping this trailer under wraps in a time where it is increasingly difficult to keep a movie secret with the 24-hour news cycle. This trailer kinda simmers for the first 30 seconds, establishing the hero at his going away party. Things are pretty ordinary; that is until the lights go out and the sky falls. For the element of surprise and seeing the Statue of Liberty's head torn off and thrown into a Manhattan neighborhood, you've got to give it up to Cloverfield for sparking some serious interest. 

4. Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

Featuring the song "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire, this trailer surely upped the amount of itunes downloads as soon as it debuted.  It's such a delight to see movies that find a song that really "gets" what they are talking about. And the trailer uses the song beautifully. In first couple seconds where Max rides the back of Carol, you're immediately transported into another world. And those graphic cuts at 1:29 just provide the short with a new life going so perfectly to the song. It has this sort of jaunty, upbeat feel that really calls up feelings of being a kid. The trailer certainly taps into the feelings of nostalgeia we all had in reading this book and the trailer takes advantage, not in a sleazy way though.

3. The Incredibles (2005)

Pixar does something pretty awesome with their trailers. They usually make footage expressly for their teaser and release it before the preceding movie; so you always have something to look forward to for next year. This teaser is a little one note, but expressly captures the themes the film deals with. Nostalgeia. Feeling over-the hill. Recapturing youth. They meld it all into this funny little short, where Mr. Incredible receives a call to defeat the evil-doers of the world. But first he has to get on his belt. Again, Pixar I tip my hat.

2. The Dark Knight (2008)

So The Dark Knight. Yep. Yes it is a modern classic. The trailer perfectly primes you for the main attraction of the film, Heath Ledger's Joker. By the time this trailer was released, people were fiending for a taste of his performance. And they were not disappointed. I can't tell you how many times I watched it in the 14 billion months it took for it to come out. Supported by his lip-smacking voice-over, the reveal at :33 is just an excellent to show The Joker in all his creepiness.

1. Up in the Air (2009)

I don't have much to say about this one. The silhouettes. The overhead shots of lonely cities. The cloudy long shots. And George Clooney's voice over provides an introspective introduction to the film's ideas about lonleiness and human contact. The song "Genova" just sets this mellow, yet gloomy rhythm. Again, it just kinda works. The movie is awesome too by the way.

Honorable mentions go out to The Social Network, Watchmen, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Happy Trails...