1. The Ghost Writer
I absolutely adore this film and saw it twice in the cinema. Ewan is reliably hilarious - he is a man of a thousand facial expressions (the antithesis of Keanu Reeves), all of them rather silly (plus I'm always thinking of his bitching about how his satellite phone wouldn't work in Mongolia in his Long Way Round book). Whatever location they found to stand in for Martha's Vineyard is very good, though they did make up the towns of "Old Haven" and "Edgartown Vineyard," some of the island geography is a bit suspect, and their ferries are a lot nicer than the SSA's. However, the PM's house would totally fit in out in Katama. The attention to detail in the production design is admirable and they did throw in a few shots of the Bourne Bridge. The attention to detail all around, in fact, is incredible, and all the performances are top-notch, as is the script. There are some genuine laugh-out-loud moments, many thanks to either Ewan or cracks about the British, plus the story was genuinely interesting and suspenseful. The music however, is quite bad. All in all, The Ghost Writer is a satisfying, entertaining grown-up thriller.
2. Repo Men
A really interesting, thought provoking film that is a lot deeper than I was expecting it to be. At the end it reveals itself to have much in common with eXistenZ and Vanilla Sky. This is a film that truly warrants a second viewing (even though I have yet to make that happen) once the twist is known. Liev Schriber is fantastic in his role, as is the more-enjoyable-by-the-day Jude Law, who is clearly revisiting familiar territory. Something about Jude makes him particularly suited to the Futuristic Dystopia genre. In appearance he is similar to his role in AI, and indeed there is something robotic and almost too perfect about him in a shirt buttoned all the way up to the collar, yet when the buttons come undone the humanity and feelings within him start pouring out. Another subtly powerful performance from one of my favorite actors.
3. I Am Love
Gorgeously shot and acted. Tilda Swinton deserves all the acclaim she has received for this role, with the food and scenery filling the top supporting roles. Also, this film had the best score of the year: a lovely, lush, retro soundtrack that perfectly complemented the imagery and action.
4. Red Riding Trilogy
Over the five hours these films took to watch I drank 32 ounces of water, nearly inhaled a small popcorn, polished off a large bag of Maltesers, and ate half a mozz & tomato sandwich as well as the mozz out of the other half of the sandwich. I can't tell if it was good to see all three films in one go. On one hand, all of the interconnectedness was very evident and the stories definitely fed off of one another. On the other hand, it was difficult to judge each film on its own merits. The third film seemed to be the best, but that might just be due to the fact that it was building on the momentum of the other two. Though I have to say that I now feel that the first film is the best film on its own merits without having to rely on the others at all (but is that just because it's first and can't rely on the others?). The characters in the first film are most compelling (the first installment of my 2010 Andrew Garfield trifecta) and the shoot-em-up ending makes it the most entertaining of the trio. It is more of a traditional thriller, while the other two are more preachy and bleak. However, the third film is fulfilling because it brings all of the plot threads to a resolution, even though due to this, it is also the most brutally appalling. I had the killer pegged during the second film. The trilogy fits nicely with Fish Tank and Harry Brown in the genre of gritty, realistic, working-class British drama, which seems like something that is in revival or somewhat new, at least for American audiences. I tend to think of British films as feel-good types, and had assumed this proclivity was due to the need for an escape from the bleakness of working-class life. Also, Americans tend to romanticize Britain, as I know all too well. This trilogy is the opposite of feel-good, yet it is satisfying in its own way.
5. Never Let Me Go
The film is excellent and didn't let down my high expectations as a lover of the book. I went to just a normal screening on the day after the film opened, but before the previews began, a small pixie-ish blonde stood down in front of the screen and said "Hi, I'm Carey..." and sure enough, it was Carey Mulligan in the flesh! She flew into town the night before and was there to see the film with a regular audience for good luck or what-have-you. She explained that the film was really a love story and instructed us to ignore anything about it being science fiction. She also said she hoped we would enjoy the film. I adore Carey Mulligan.
The film is truly beautiful, though not quite as powerful as the book. However, the cinematography is wonderful an the lighting and colors are actually very close to those that I imagined when I read the book. This is the second of the Andre Garfield trifecta; he is spectacular - a truly fine actor, which I knew the moment I saw him in Parnassus last year and instantly fell in love with him and his talent, which easily stood up to the other fine actors in that film. I don't usually like Kiera Knightly that much, but she is indeed perfect for the role of Ruth. This film is full of lots of gorgeous shots of beaches and trees and fields and little everyday objects, but rather than these quiet moments being boring and tedious (see: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), they were subtley beautiful and served to underscore the simplicity and isolation of the characters's lives. It was in these moments that the book and the film seemed closest, as if they exist to facilitate quiet reflection and let all that is said in the book, but sometimes merely implied in the film, sink into the viewers and bring them into this alternative world.
6. The Social Network
Andrew Garfield with the hat trick! JTim was rocking it too, as was Armie Hammer (double your pleasure, double your fun), and of course
7. The Town
Possibly tied with Good Will Hunting as my favorite Boston movie. There are so many good Boston details and funny lines and moments in the first half of the film, and then in the second half, there is well-done, edge-of-your-seat suspense. It was a nice coincidence that I had just been at Fenway for a Red Sox game a couple weeks before I saw this film - it made the final heist that much more thrilling. Ben Affleck proved himself to be a genuine badass by the end of the film, though I have to agree with the Boston Globe that ironically his accent sounded the most forced. I think Chris Cooper wins the most authentic accent Chowdah Pot prize. Jeremy Renner is full of coiled intensity and rage, and Blake Lively turns in a surprisingly gritty performance. John Hamm, meanwhile, continues to remind me of a Deputy Dog-like cartoon character, not helped by the ridiculous expression on his face in one of the last scenes of the film.
8. The Company Men
Great performances from Ben Affleck (who has somehow managed to surpass Matt Damon in all categories this year, see The Town above), Chris Cooper, and Tommy Lee Jones. A well made film with cinematography that echoed the themes of the story. The men are often shot from behind and/or in silhouette, so that they are faceless forms of men without identity, reflecting how in losing their jobs, they have also lost their identities, ceasing to know who they are. The audience slowly re-learns/finds their identities with them. Some of these solitary shots were so heartbreaking and deeply affecting. A solid, well-made film that manages to be effective despite its flash-in-the-pan timeline. It may seem at first glance that this film belongs to 2008, the year in which it is set, yet it manages to have resonance in today's economic and social climate.
9. London Boulevard
An unapologetically enjoyable film. In the tradition of Get Carter and Layer Cake, London Boulevard is defeatest in that oh-so-British way. Colin Farrell is at full swagger in some beautiful, perfectly tailored suits. The soundtrack, centered on The Yardbirds's "Heart Full of Soul," is terrifically swingin' 60s. Also, there is a sweet Rolls Royce. Men, guns, cars, and rock'n'roll. Can't ask for much more than that.
10. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
In turns enjoyable and difficult to watch. Yet in the end, it is empowering and inspiring. Joan's agent had a great line that "you can't get hit by lightening if you don't stand out in the rain." I love my slogg through the rain quotes, another being Dolly Parton's "If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." Power to the surgically enhanced blondes! Also, Joan Rivers has the best fur coats ever.
11. Inception
Good, but not great. Mainly, it hurt my eyes and brain. I spent much of my time second guessing what was going on, assuming that Nolan was going to pull a fast one, and he sort of did with the unnecessarily ambiguous ending. The music was non-stop and repetitive and sort of annoying because of that. Give it a rest, Hans Zimmer. Seeing the film in IMAX was especially intense; I spent as much brain power concentrating on processing the moving image as I did on keeping tabs on the action and timelines. I was very conscious and aware that I was WATCHING A MOVIE the entire time, and that isn't the best thing to be aware of necessarily. I literally felt like I couldn't see and take in everything that was on the screen, which was a disconcerting feeling. I thought that maybe it was due to the size of the IMAX screen, where I was sitting, and corrective eye-wear, but I encountered the same problem when seeing it at a regular cinema in an ideal seat with my usual eye-wear.
All of that said, Inception is a very clever and well made film from every standpoint other than editing (Oh hi, egregious, super-quick cuts!). The layers of dreams and multiple timelines are handled well and believably and were much easier to follow than I expected. Joseph Gordon Levitt and Tom Hardy were both especially fabulous. I much preferred this version of widower Leo to the one in Shutter Island, and Ellen Page wasn't too annoying, perhaps because her character was little more than a shell and didn't really have that much to do. The film is a refreshing mix of low-brow blockbuster tropes and very clever intellectual plotting. And I do love the zero gravity hotel scenes.
12. Fish Tank
Really fine, deft performances and lovely subtle direction - it all seemed so real and believable without being grity or grim, but also without being mundane. Michael Fassbender turned in another of his stellar performances and the girl who played Mia was an equal match for him. The whole film did an astounding job depicting a facet of British society that is often overlooked, by film in general and especially on this side of the pond.
13. Piranha 3D
A genuine B-movie; so bad, it's damn good. Also, I had a large glass of Maker's Mark before the film, so that might have increased my enjoyment slightly. It certainly seems to have prevented the 3D from giving me a headache as it usually does. The acting was terrible - I am pretty sure Elizabeth Shue and Adam Scott had to work extra hard to make their performances so horribly over the top. There was plenty of T&A for the sake of T&A, and there was tons of blood and gore. As the boys on 35mm Heroes like to say, this film does what it says on the tin. The audience at the screening I went to was really into the film, laughing at all the right (which were sometimes very, very wrong) places. I had a lot of fun watching this movie. It was refreshing that it delivered exactly what I expected - no more and no less. There was a nice moment at the beginning where Richard Dreyfus was out in a row boat fishing and singing the "Wanna Go Home" ditty from Jaws. Most of the audience totally got the reference, which was pleasing to me as a pretty hard-core Jaws fangirl. Definitely one of the more memorable films of the summer.
14. Hereafter
Tears actually came to my eyes in the final scenes of this film, even though it wasn't really doing that much for me during the first two thirds or three quarters of the movie. The young boy at the center of the London story line is a very good actor - he totally got to me, despite Matt Damon's clunkiness and the general slipshodness of the other storylines. You can't underestimate Clint though; the man may be tough as nails, but when he comes down to it, he knows how to jerk a tear.
15. The Killer Inside Me
Disturbing. Violent. Spacious. Claustrophobic. Well acted. Unforgettable.
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