Joe says:
My film critic son Nick Kelly presents his annual list of the top ten (or so) motion pictures of the last year for your viewing pleasure. Take it away, Nick!
10. 3:10 to Yuma
Isn’t it nice to see a Western? They don’t seem to make those anymore. This is a thrilling, action-packed movie that recalls a time, not only in American history, but film history, that has long since gone. Russell Crowe gives a great performance as an outlaw and Christian Bale is terrific as the man bringing the outlaw to the train that will take him to prison. Their character relationship, implausible though it may be, is one of the best in any movie this year.
9. The Kite Runner
I love it when a movie not only deals with serious issues but deals with them well. This story of two boys in Afghanistan and the terrible event that will change their lives forever has many connections to today, mostly the role of the Taliban. The movie, based on the bestselling novel, is well-crafted and structured. It keeps you interested for all 120 minutes of its running time. The kite flying scene is the most visually amazing sequence of any movie this year. This film will make you think of Afghanis as people rather than body counts on the news.
8. The Simpsons Movie
We all know how Comic Book Guy would describe this movie: “Best. Movie. Ever.” If you aren’t singing, “Spiderpig, Spiderpig” for weeks after seeing this movie, then there is something seriously wrong with you. This was easily the best of the summer blockbusters. Sure, it may seem like an extra episode of the TV show, but what’s wrong with that? Forget about plot or any other movie conventions. Just sit down next to Spiderpig (or Harry Plopper), grab a Duff, and get ready to laugh. Okilly-dokilly?
7. The Great Debaters
One of the genres that Hollywood has forgotten to make well is the uplifting underdog movie. Oh, they make a lot of them (too many, as a matter of fact), but they’ve forgotten to make good ones. This is based on the true story of a debate team from a small African-American collage in Texas that takes on Harvard, the debate champions. Yes, the “based on a true story” thing is a cliché, but when the film works, the clichés don’t matter. Denzel Washington is great in front of the camera and behind the camera as director.
6. The Darjeeling Limited
Wes Anderson is one of our greatest living directors. He never conforms to conventional filmmaking, and he puts everything into each film that he makes. He has never made a throw-away movie. No doubt many viewers will be lost in the meandering Darjeeling Limited, but one of the great joys of cinema is to be completely lost with a great story and great characters. The story is about three brothers on a spiritual quest through India, but it doesn’t quite go according to plan. The actors immediately make us care about the characters. Anderson adds some of his trademarks, but you do get the sense that he’s trying to break free of the standards set by his previous films. You may have to leave your logical brain at the door when you see The Darjeeling Limited, but make sure to keep the part of your brain that enjoys intelligent comedy because you will need it.
5. Across the Universe
This is one of the weirdest and most beautiful movies you’ll ever see and a must-see for Beatles fans. It’s a musical that only uses Beatles songs, starring Jim Sturgess and Evan Rachel Wood as lovers during the Vietnam War, who get caught up in the anti-war movement. The movie does hit a low point with “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” (sung by Eddie Izzard), but it is redeemed by such performances as Wood’s rendition of “If I Fell”, Sturgess’ “I’ve Just Seen a Face”, and T. V. Carpio’s version of “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.” This movie has a great sense of joy and wonder that is missing in so many recent films.
4. Rescue Dawn
If only this movie had come out in December, then Christian Bale would be given Oscar consideration. Bale gives one of the best performances of the year as Dieter Dengler, an American pilot in the Vietnam War whose plane is shot down over Laos in 1965. He is captured and put into a Vietcong prison camp. With the help of the other prisoners, he devises a plan to escape. But escape is just the beginning. Director Werner Herzog takes his time developing the story. It begins with an explosive action scene as Dengler’s plane is shot down, but this is not an action-packed war movie. This is the most commercial movie that Herzog has done, but it is by no means conventional. Christian Bale gives us a good sense of the excruciating ordeal that his character went through in the camp and the jungle, but he is able to inject some humor into the character which keeps the story alive. We can see that he is intelligent, but isn’t going to let his ordeal bring him down. It’s also nice to see a “PG-13” rated war movie, that doesn’t depend on people’s brains being blown out.
3. No Country for Old Men
This film could have been turned into another routine action picture, but because of some great writing and terrific performances, this is a chilling and effective thriller. Josh Brolin plays a hunter who finds a satchel of money in the Texas desert. Little does he know he is being pursued by a psychopathic killer who might be Death himself played by Javier Bardem. Unlike most Southerners in the movies, Brolin is smart and able to stay one step ahead of Bardem, who creates one of the best villains in recent cinema. Tommy Lee Jones plays a sheriff a few steps behind the trail of the killer and who gives some wise insight into a crazy world. No Country for Old Men is an unforgettable movie experience.
2. Michael Clayton
How long has it been since you’ve seen a really intelligent movie, a movie that doesn’t depend on constant action, special effects, or romance to be interesting? Michael Clayton is made up mostly of dialogue and character development, but there is never a dull moment. George Clooney gives a great performance as the title character. He is a fix-it man for a law firm. Whenever there’s a problem, the firm sends him to fix it. But, he may have found a problem that even he can’t fix. One of the firm’s lawyers (Tom Wilkinson in an Oscar- worthy performance) goes mad when he has a sudden realization that his law firm is on the wrong side of a lawsuit. Clooney’s relationship with his family is great, especially with his son. I loved the connection with the fantasy book that his son is reading (I’m kind of a fantasy nerd). There are many good movies these days that have problems along the way, but every frame of Michael Clayton works. This movie is very confusing, but it all comes together, in the end. It leaves you thinking about it for weeks after you’ve seen it. This is a perfect film.
1. Once / Juno
I realize that I’m cheating by having a tie for the best film of the year, but I just didn’t have the heart to rank either one of these extraordinary films over the other. Juno stars Ellen Page as a sixteen-year old who gets pregnant. She decides to have the baby and give it up for adoption. This could be turned into melodramatic material, but, instead, it is one of the funniest movies in recent memory. It's also the most realistic high school movie I've ever seen. Page is generating a lot of Oscar buzz for her performance and she deserves it. No actor or actress has given a more memorable performance this year. Michael Cera is also good as the boy who gets her pregnant. The Oscar-worthy script by first-timer Diablo Cody is one of the best in recent years.
This has been a big year for musicals and the best one is Once. It was made in Ireland for less than a million dollars and there hasn’t been a more charming movie in years. In fact, to call this movie charming would not be enough. No description is fitting. The film is about a street musician (Glen Hansard from the Irish band The Frames) who meets a Czech immigrant (Markéta Irglová). He plays guitar and she plays piano. The first time they sit down and play music together is one of the best music scenes in cinema history. It seems like they are going to fall in love, but she has a husband and he has a girlfriend in London. He is going to leave for London, but before he leaves he asks the Czech woman to record some music in a studio with him. This is a beautiful romance and a musical with a terrific soundtrack. In a year with so many big blockbusters, the best films were the smaller ones.
