Culture Editor Brian Lee's best films of 2010. (Posters courtesy of their respective studios)
(In Alphabetical Order)
127 Hours
127 Hours is based on the inspiring autobiography ‘Between a Rock and a Hard Place’, which documents mountain climber Aron Ralston’s confounding decision to amputate his own arm with a dull knife during a 2003 hiking accident. Director Danny Boyle fresh off his Directorial Academy Award for Slumdog Millionaire succeeds in his ability to film awe inducing experiences and exhilarant landscape sequences. Actor James Franco’s transcendent performance is similar to that of Emil Hirsch in Sean Penn’s Into the Wild.
A Prophet (Un prophète)
Director Jacques Audlard crafts one of the best gangster films of the past decade with A Prophet (Un prophete). A Prophet portrays a young man Malik who is seemingly imprisoned on the basis of faulty evidence. Audlard provides a thorough examination of the protagonist Mailk in which existentialist questions of absurdism and morality are raised.
Exit Through The Gift Shop
Exit Through the Gift Shop can be viewed in the same vein as the complementary pseudo documentary I’m Still Here. The latter documentary dubiously follows enigmatic actor Joaquin Phoenix’s one-year foray into the hip-hop scene. The issue of authenticity also bores heavily over Exit Through the Gift Shop. The work is an entertaining look at the street art movement that prominently features the elusive ‘Banksy’ individual. Banksy dwells in the art world in which debauchery and excess run rampant. Exit Through the Gift Shop is deliberately vague on the distinction between hype and talent.
Inception
Director Christopher Nolan’s anticipated follow up film to the neo-noir Dark Knight did not disappoint eager moviegoers. Nolan presents an original vision with the hopes of challenging the intelligence of viewers about the idea of perceptive dream states and multilayered plot structures. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio’s stellar performance is one of the film’s standalone features.
Mother (마더)
Auteur South Korean Director Boon Joon-Ho delivers a murder-mystery masterpiece rivaling the great Alfred Hitchcock. Mother is a modern adaptation of the Greek tragedy ‘Oedipus’ that frequently treads between a black comedy and sheer suspense. Actress Kim Hye-ja received the Best Actress accloade at the 4th Annual Asian Film Awards for her performance in the film.
The Secrets In Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos)
Director Juan Jose Campanella is a profound storyteller demonstrated in his ability to weave a murder mystery with a sprawling love story. One of the more poignant moments of the film includes a bedazzling action sequence. The Secrets in Their Eyes can be appreciated for its social commentary and onscreen chemistry that is created between actor Ricardo Darin and actress Soledad Villamil.
Black Swan
The Wrestler received universal critical acclaim; specifically a Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for the affable Marisa Tomei. Director Darren Aronofsky takes viewers into the psyche of performers in the low performance art of professional wrestling. Aronofsky’s balances his appreciation of low performance art with a modern retelling of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Swan Lake.’ Black Swan is alluring in exhibiting the cinematic nuances of actress Natalie Portman and the wicked score of the Chemical Brothers.
The Social Network
The Social Network is a stunning portrait of the conception of Facebook and a profile of the website’s enigmatic creator Mark Zuckerberg. The film’s plot progression and visceral music score is aided by the collaborative efforts of director David Fincher, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, and composer Trent Razor, respectively. The Social Network serves as a commentary on the rise of tyrannical computer programmers exalting an entrepreneurial desire in the digital age. The film can also be viewed as an existentialist tale of friendship and intimacy in the social media contingent of our world.
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3-marked Pixar Animation’s 11th feature length film and quickly became the highest grossing animated film of all time. The introduction of Toy Story in 1995 fundamentally altered the landscape of animated films. Toy Story 3 borrows heavily from the dynamic characters and innovative technology of its predecessors and manages to expand upon it. The film is rewarding for those who grew up with the series (read this reviewer) and those who are being introduced to it.
Winter’s Bone
Winter’s Bone and young upstart actress Jennifer Lawrence received a standing ovation and Best Film Award at the revered Sundance Film Festival. Lawrence deftly portrays a seventeen-year-old girl Ree from the Ozarks who is dealt the task of tracking her convict father. Director Debra Granik tackles contemporary themes of ‘broken homes’, housing foreclosures and political bureaucracy with a degree of sensitivity. Ree is unknowingly drawn into the nefarious world of amphetamine drug dealing and power struggles. Lawrence’s chilling and resolute performance is a lock for a Best Actress Oscar nomination at the 83rd Academy Awards next February.
Honorable Mention
Blue Valentine
Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams play angst-ridden lovers in the romantic drama Blue Valentine. The film tracks the evolution of the couple’s relationship over a cross-section of time periods. Grizzly Bear provides the score for this charming film.
Buried
Buried is an indie gem that features a simple plot of a U.S. contractor Paul who is being buried alive in Iraq. The film divulges into a barrage of emotions including fear, relief and sorrow that are deflected to viewers. Ryan Reynolds can be lauded for his nail biting performance.
Somewhere
Somewhere received the prestigious Golden Lion Award at the 67th annual Venice Film Awards. The film is a touching story of a downtrodden Hollywood actor who reexamines his life after his estranged 11-year-old daughter visits him. Stephen Dorff is uncanny in his performance of a man taking a redemptive path.
The Town
Director Ben Affleck’s sophomore follow up to Gone Baby Gone adds to his growing reputation as an auteur in the crime drama genre. Jon Hamm of Mad Men fame and Jeremy Renner of the Hurt Locker rounds out an all-star cast.
Anticipated Films to be Released in December
The Fighter
The Fighter is a biopic of controversial Boston boxer ‘Irish’ Micky Ward and his brother Dickie Eklund. The film combines the talents of Director David O. Russell, actor Christian Bale and actor Mark Wahlberg. The Fighter is being touted as Christian Bale’s chance to receive his first Oscar nomination (Best Supporting Actor) for his performance in the film.
Tron Legacy
Tron Legacy is the remake to Tron 28 years in the making. The sequel reunites original actors Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner and original Director/Writer Steven M. Lisberger as a producer for this film.
True Grit
The Coen Brother’s continue a recent torrid streak (read No Country for Old Men, A Serious Man, Burn After Reading) with the bold western drama True Grit. True Grit is a remake of a John Wayne classic of the same name with a veteran cast and ample storytelling.
