The Revised Top 10 films of 2011

The Top 10 of 2011

  An article by Frederick Cholowski

So it’s list time again, time for some fun. I have started revisiting my lists after Oscar time every year because of the fact that I don’t have a chance to see some of the films I wanted to see before the year is over (not being a paid critic and not having access to press screenings doesn’t help). Despite this I still haven’t had the chance to see two movies that might have maybe made this list, Shame and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (witch when seen will be considered for the 2012 list). So here we go the new, improved (hopefully) best of 2011.

Honorable mentions (films that made the first list but got booted out of the new one): The Adventures of Tintin, Harry Potter 7 part 2, J Edgar, Super 8

10. Midnight in Paris

Woody Allen returns to form with a delightful romp through the wonders of classic Paris. Owen Wilson charms and the city Paris dazzles in this pitch perfect feel good film. Let’s hope this film sparks a streak Allen’s best kind of film, charming feel good comedies with fun inventive scripts.

9. Rango

The only mainstream animated film not offered in 3D also happened to be the best. Surprised? Rango was crazy fun with references of old westerns, fantastic action sequences, and a script that appealed more towards an older crowd. Unique and fun Rango manages to be the best non Pixar animated film that has come around in a long time.

8. Margin Call

One of this year’s little indie films that could Margin Call provided an intense look into a company on the verge of financial collapse. Driven by A list talent (Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Irons to name a couple) and a tightly woven script Margin Call is an excellent example of what first time directors can achieve.

7. Take Shelter

Yet another example of an indie film that turned out to be fantastic. Fueled by a fantastic performance by Michael Shannon and from master direction from Jeff Nichols give take shelter a frightening intensity. The film is easily one of the most intense thrillers and interesting case studies to come out in 2011.

6. Hugo

Easily the best family film to be released this year, Hugo is a wondrous and charming experience. The look, the feel, and yes the 3D all contributed to a fantastic film headed up by the greatest living director Martin Scorsese; Yes a Martin Scorsese film without killing, the mob or Robert De Niro, and yet it is still fantastic. Times have certainly changed.

5. Martha Marcy May Marlene

Despite having a title that doesn’t quite roll of the tong Martha Marcy May Marlene is a thriller that cannot be forgotten. Elizabeth Olsen gives the best female performance this year and first time, writer, director Sean Durkin delivers a tightly woven script and fantastic direction that make this film so mesmerizing. The intensity of this film is off the charts and it builds to an ending that left me absolutely breathless. Frightening and exciting Martha Marcy May Marlene must not be missed.

4. The Descendants

Alexander Payne delivers yet another slice of Drama-Comedy goodness. The script, the acting, and the beautiful cinematography help flesh out what could have been just another film in Hawaii. Payne never fails on giving us a blend of beautiful drama and black comedy and he hasn’t started with this fantastic piece of film making.

3. Drive

Drive is what happens when an action film actually tries to be unique and, well, good. Cult Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn delivers with a brutal action thriller that also has time for characters and plot. It’s refreshing to see an action film that spends its first 40 minutes making room for the things that matter. That doesn’t detract from the action though as it each sequence is pulse pounding and intense. That mixed with the best score of the year (who knew techno pop would make such a compelling soundtrack) creates the best action movie of the year.

2. The Artist

What is left to say about this film that someone else hasn’t already said? Compelling and unique The Artist takes an Idea that has been dead since the era it is replicating and makes it cool again. It also has the best male performance of the year given by the French comedian Jean Dujardin who looks sounds and feels like a silent movie star. My message is don’t be scared of the silence or the black and white because if you do you are missing out on a magical piece of film making that no one should miss.

1. The Tree of Life

Ambitious, powerful and challenging, there is no other film this year like the Tree of Life. The film is an absolute feast of creativity and style all the while challenging the way stories can be told in mainstream media. Mixed in between is a wonderful coming of age story told through memory like wisps of sight and sound. While there are many wonderful films in 2011 none are as masterful or ambitious as The Tree of Life.

Catching up on DVD: Drive Review

Ryan Gosling is performing maintenance on cars in Drive

Drive

A+

A Review by Frederick Cholowski

Action movies have had an identity crisis over the last decade. The genre has been tarnished by over reliance on special effects and little reliance on characters or a comprehensible plot. Then there is Drive, an action movie from cult Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn that hits all the right notes. It’s fast paced and action pact but at the same time takes its time to do the most important things such as develop characters and set up a plot.

  

 Drive follows the unnamed, silent protagonist simply named Driver (Ryan Gosling) who is a movie stuntman by day and a criminal getaway driver at night. He soon becomes friends with a neighbor Irene and her kid Benicio (Carey Mulligan and Kaden Leos) and continues to work with his right hand man Shannon (Bryan Cranston). During a heist gone wrong Irene’s husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) is shot and Driver has money that belongs to two high class gangsters Bernie and Nino (Albert Brooks and Ron Periman). This starts a cat and mouse like chase between Driver who is trying to keep his new found family and Shannon safe and Bernie and Nino who will stop at nothing to get what they want.

  

 The magic of Drive is that the first forty minutes is devoted to developing the characters. By the time the big events go down the characters are developed enough to the point that we truly like them and hope they come out on top. Another great thing about Drive is its constant levels of suspense that build throughout the film. You never know if Driver is going to live or end up six feet under so the film keeps you on your toes the whole way through.

Once the action starts it is brutal and uncompromising. Refn has a certain edge to the violence that is reminiscent of Tarantino and Rodriguez. The best part is that Refn also leaves a bit up to the imagination making for some truly brutal possibilities.

While Gosling isn’t all that big or muscular he is probably one of the best silent action heroes in many years. He doesn’t say much but his performance is described by his facial expressions and his actions. He doesn’t use a gun but the way he kills is uncompromising and brutal; and being a drama star Gosling is able to give a fine performance when not on the prowl. Mulligan is great and provides an innocence to the role she is given. The rest of the supporting cast works as well with Cranston, Brooks, and Periman all giving solid supporting performances.

Technically Drive looks, sounds and moves fantastically. The opening six minutes of the film (arguably the best part) is a pulse pounding heist scene that involves much planning and precision. The scene uses beautiful establishing shots of LA mixed with close almost claustrophobic shots of Gosling. In all the movie also has a very 1980’s feeling with hot pink titles, stylized action, and one of the best techno pop scores I have ever heard.

All in all Drive is an amazing action movie and one of the best films period to be released in 2011. The mix of pulse pounding action and character development all melds together in one flashy package. Drive is a fantastic film and is one action movie that shouldn’t be ignored.

Year End 2011 part 2: The Top 10 of 2011

The Top 10 of 2011

An article by Frederick Cholowski

The year of 2011 is over! Time to countdown the absolute best that film had to offer this year. Now this list is not “complete” because there are films I have yet to see that could be potential contenders and I usually revisit this list come Oscar time when I’ve caught up. For now though here are my top 10 films of the year 2011.

  

10. The Adventures of Tintin

Like Scott Pilgrim last year Tintin is the movie on this list that I had a ton of fun watching. From the creative action sequences, to the fun mystery plot, to the fantastic score by the legendary John Williams Tintin had it all. Steven Spielberg managed to channel the feelings I had while watching an awesome adventure movie. Above all though Tintin feels like it has a timeless quality making it a film that families may be enjoying for years and years down the road.

9. Midnight in Paris

It is easy to see why Midnight in Paris is Woody Allan’s highest grossing film. It is a charming film if I have ever seen one. The gorgeous setting of Paris in different time periods and the characters that are easy to fall in love with that make this movie light up. Not to mention the great witty writing that is present throughout. Midnight in Paris is a fantastic motion picture about life, one that kept me smiling the whole way through.

8. Rango

The best animated film of the year Rango is something truly special, an animated film that caters more to adults than to kids. From the obscure references to classic westerns to the seemingly constant use of jokes that kids wouldn’t get for the life of them Rango applied more to the parent than to the kid. Rango is also the surprise of the year for me as it delivered an experience like no other animated film had before it and I loved every second of it.

7. Super 8

J.J. Abrams’s homage to the Steven Spielberg films of old is one of this year’s best. The magic of this film is the ability to capture all the wonder and imagination of early Spielberg blockbusters while blending it with a great modern day sci-fi thriller. It finds the perfect mold of darkness and lightheartedness while telling a great childhood “coming of age story”. It’s an homage to film making at a young age, one that strikes all the right cords.

6. J Edgar

After a couple of interesting steps Clint Eastwood returns to being on top of his game in J Edgar. Leonardo DiCaprio and Armie Hammer deliver two of the best performances of the year in this film as they recreate two of the United States most powerful historic features. What truly pushes J Edgar forward though is not the plot it is the tension between the characters. There is an emotional power here that is very subtle and truly fantastic, one that makes J Edgar one of the most powerful films of 2011.  

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

After 7 books and 8 movies the Harry Potter franchise has come to an end, and did it ever go out on a bang. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is the best Harry Potter film by far and one of the better fantasy films in recent memories. There are big set pieces and large emotional roller coasters that all lead to the ultimate show down between Harry and Voldemort. Most of all though the 8^th Potter film is the one that is the most finely crafted, it’s a lesson in story and character development on the fly. It even almost makes me forget about the massively disappointing first part of the Deathly Hallows, almost.

4. Margin Call

 Now to the movie no one watched. Margin Call is a fantastic thriller about a company on the verge of collapse. The all star cast featuring Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, and Zachary Quinto and first time feature director J.C. Chandor’s fantastic script and direction make this film a much watch for anyone who loves a good dialogue driven thriller. If he keeps making films that are this good J.C. Chandor has a great career ahead of him.

3. The Descendants

  George Clooney teams up with great director Alexander Payne in this fantastic drama about the American man on the verge of collapse. Alexander Payne’s signature blend of comedy and drama mixed with great performances by George Clooney and Shailene Woodley make for a film that is super engaging and powerful. There is never a dull moment in The Descendants making this a 2011 film that can’t be missed.

2. Hugo

      Martin Scorsese director of Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, and Goodfellas making a family film in 3D? And it’s fantastic? Tell me that before I saw Hugo and I wouldn’t have believed you. Having seen the film it gives me great pleasure to say that Hugo is a magical film that is one of Scorsese’s best. The mix of the whimsical nature of the plot, the gorgeous cinematography and the love of film that is present in this film make Hugo one of the greatest experiences of the year. Did I mention that this film has the best 3D in any film yet? Even better than the 3D in Avatar. Scorsese poured his heart and soul into Hugo and man dose it ever show. 

     

    1.The Tree of Life 

Without a doubt my film of the year this year is the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life is both challenging and powerful achievement in film. It is also the most ambitious and original film I have seen in a long time combining a coming of age story and the creation of the universe. It dares you to challenge what film can truly be. It is a fantastic film that still resonates with me after multiple viewings and is the only film this year that had a great impact on me. Abstract, challenging, and powerful Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life is by far 2011’s best film.

Year End 2011 Part 1: The End of the Year Awards

The end of the year Awards

An article by Frederick Cholowski

Well it’s the end of the year time. Time to look back at all the good the bad and the ugly of the last year. Kicking us off is my fun little awards ceremony where I give out some fun little awards. Part two will be the top ten of the year (as of now I also try and go back during Oscar time and do another list because by then I have seen more of the movies I’ve wanted to). Part three will wrap things up with a look back at the year as a whole (kind of an editorial of sorts…). Now to kick us off here are the end of the year awards for 2011.

Most disappointing

Winner: Cars 2

 We are starting off this list with some positivity! While I never thought the original Cars was a great effort for Pixar, Cars 2 just fell flat. It was overlong and had no heart to it. The film felt like Pixar was taking a step in its maturity level as well by giving us a message that felt forced and unnecessary. Cars 2 was in every sense of the word disappointing. Hopefully going back to an original concept next year will put Pixar out of its funk.

Runner Up: Sucker Punch

Best Action Scene

Winner: AHH I’m climbing up the tallest building in the word: MI4

 Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol has a bunch of fantastic action scenes but none better than the Dubai sequence; especially in IMAX. You feel as if you are climbing the building with Tom Cruise. The scene may be the best edited of the year as it zooms in and out on Cruise to give you the scope and scale of the moment while managing to keep it decisively personal. No shots are fired or punches are pulled but it is the most intense and exciting scene of the year by far.

Runner Up: The ultra tracking shot of doom: Hannah

Most overlooked/underrated/unseen

Winner: Margin Cal

 Why did no one watch Margin Call? Because no stupid studio would pick it up for a long while, and when one finally did the film had a limited theater run. This is a shame because Margin Call is a fantastic film with an A-list cast and a great script. Anyone who likes interesting thriller dramas will love Margin Call. Now go rent/buy/find some way legal to watch it!

Runner Up: The Adventures of Tintin

Most Overrated

Winner: X Men First Class

While I think this is a good film I don’t understand why some people thought it was so great. I didn’t even like it as much as the first X Men films. Sure it was fun and had good action but it lacked focus and a solid plot. The film was more about getting to the end rather than the meat in the middle. Anyhow I still think this is good but not as good as everyone says it is.

Runner Up: Sucker Punch

Best Trailer

Winner: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

 Due note I haven’t been able to see this film which is terrible because the two trailers for this movie are awesome! The first is a punch you in the teeth quick cut trailer that is backed by an amazing cover of The Immigrant Song in the background. The second is a slower, creepier trailer focusing on the mystery at hand. Any way you slice this these trailers make The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo look awesome, and that’s what counts.

Runner Up: The Dark Knight Rises

Best TV Show

Winner: Breaking Bad

Anyone who knows me knows that this was an easy pick. Breaking Bad had its best season this year and that is saying something. It’s a show that is unpredictable fueled by fantastic writing and acting. Brian Cranston and Aaron Paul are absolutely fantastic in their respective roles and Giancarlo Esposito is a fantastic villain. I could go on and on about how amazing this show is but I will wrap it up by saying you need to watch this show!

Runner Up: Game of Thrones

Worst film of the year

Winner: Transformers 3

You saw this one coming. While I haven’t seen all the bad movies of the year (I can’t even watch all the good ones mind you the horrid ones) but in my mind nothing could be worse than Transformers 3. It’s big, loud, and super stupid and in all is one crappy package

Runner Up: Sucker Punch

The best of the year coming up in the top ten…

The Descendants Review

George Clooney and Shailene Woodley on a road trip in The Descendants

 The Descendants

A+

A review by Frederick Cholowski

Alexander Payne seems to know a lot about the American man. He’s depicted lives on the downturn in About Schmidt and Sideways. This time around in the Descendants he takes mega star George Clooney and the beautiful island of Hawaii and does it all over again. What comes of it is a masterpiece about a human under extreme stress. It also blends together the best of both comedy and drama to create a truly compelling film.

Matt King (George Clooney) is going through hard times. His wife is in a coma and is dying from a boat accident, he has to take care of his two daughters who he had never spent much time with (Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller), and he also has inherited a large piece of land on the island of which he has to decide, with the pressure of his extended family breathing down his neck, what to do with. On top of all this his eldest daughter Alexandra tells him that his wife had been cheating on him before the accident. Matt, along with his two daughters and Alexandra’s idiotic boyfriend Sid (Nick Krause), begin to play amateur detective while driving around Hawaii telling family members of his wife’s condition.

The Descendants has a fantastic plot filled with rich writing and fantastic characters. This could have turned into an average road trip movie with a Hawaiian background. Instead it is a rich and detailed examination of a man’s life on the decent. This has a lot to do with the fantastic script co-written by the director Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash. It always seems to strike the perfect balance of comedy and drama. Another great thing about this film is its pacing. The film takes time to slow down and allow for great character moments while never bogging down the overall pace of the film.

This might be the best role George Clooney has ever had, period. Clooney tones it way down for this film and is subtle and mature. It’s a definite change of pace for and actor whose roles are usually large and flashy. Shailene Woodley also needs serious awards consideration for her role as King’s eldest daughter Alexandra. This is a quiet breakout for the young actress who shows off many sides of her emotional range in this film. The rest of the cast is also really solid, and by none of them really being familiar faces really sink into their characters.

Another large character in this film is Hawaii itself. The location is used quite well with beautiful shots spread out through the film. The best part about this is that Payne never overdoes it. Most of the shots blend in with the main plot itself and he never exploits the location, something that could have been very possible. The score mixes in some traditional Hawaiian with more modern music and is constantly there to bring us into the setting that these characters live in.

The Descendants is easily one of the best films of 2011. Its perfect mix of comedy and drama along with fantastic performances make it a much watch for film lovers. It also engages the brain, and hey any movie that does that in this age of film gets a glowing recommendation from me.

Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol Review

Tom cruse climes really high in Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol

Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol

B+

 A Review by Frederick Cholowski

After three films, the Mission Impossible franchise is reinventing itself again. This time with director Brad Bard at the helm, new members added to the crew, and about 20 minutes worth of footage shot in IMAX. The result is a fun action movie that feels more a kin to a James Bond movie than to the previous Mission Impossible films.

As in prior films MI4 follows Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) an IMS spy. This time after stylishly breaking out of Russian Prison Ethan and his team are framed for the bombing of the Russian Kremlin. This leads to the entire IMF being labeled as terrorists. His team this time round consists of the computer guy Benji (Simon Pegg), the tough female Jane (Paula Patton) and the “research guy” Brandt (Jeremy Renner). Their mission (if they chooses to accept it) it to hunt down the man who bombed the Kremlin, Hendricks (Michal Nyqvist), take the nuclear bomb codes away from him, and clear their names.

The plot is very standard for this kind of spy film and it allows for a lot of globetrotting and big action set pieces. The problem with the film is that it’s a little too long. The film starts to wear out its welcome in the last twenty minutes. As well the ending (despite the awesome final set piece) feels a little sloppy. Another small problem is that the film in its 133 minutes doesn’t give a lot of character exploration. What characters we get are subpar, and while I’m not expecting overly deep and complex characters in an action film I would like a villain who speaks more than about 6 lines of dialogue (poor Michal Nyqvist is terribly underused).

Acting wise this film is solid. Tom Cruise seems to be on autopilot here and is solid as Ethan Hunt. Paula Patton, who manages to get most of the emotional scenes, is fine here as well. Jeremy Renner acts as a kind of second super spy to Tom Cruise and Simon Pegg provides some welcome comic relief. As for the villain Michal Nyqvist, as mentioned earlier, is horribly underused and never has time to make Hendricks all that menacing.

The visuals are where this film truly shines. This film looks gorgeous in IMAX with the few key sequences that are shot in IMAX being the standouts. One in particular that takes place on the tallest building in the world in Dubai is absolutely stunning. I have never felt more tension and excitement in a single action. It actually feels like you’re up on the building with the character. The score is standard spy affair with a variety of different tracks to go with each location. It’s big and bombastic but never takes away from the film.

Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol is a very solid action movie. It is fast paced and a lot of fun from start to finish. Sure it is long and sometimes sloppy, but when the action scenes are this breathtaking and the set pieces so fantastic, the shortcomings can be forgiven; at least for most of the film.



Hugo Review

Hugo and Isabelle investigate an automiton in Martin Scorsese's Hugo

Hugo

A+

A Review by Frederick Cholowski

Martin Scorsese directing a family film, those are two things you don’t hear in a sentence very often. Yet here we stand in 2011 and the director of masterpieces such as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas is doing just that with his latest film Hugo; a visual treasure that takes its place among Martin Scorsese’s growing list of masterpieces.

Hugo follows title character Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield), a young orphan who secretly tends to the clocks of a train station in 1920’s Paris. His father (played in flashbacks by Jude Law) died in a fire and the last connection Hugo with his father is a broken automaton that they found at a museum. All the while Hugo must constantly escape the clutches of the station inspector (Sacha Baron Choen). Hugo soon bumps ways with the mean old man who runs the toy booth (Ben Kingsley) and meets his charming young god daughter Isabelle (Chloë Grace Mortz) whose heart shaped key may be the key to finding the message hidden inside the automaton.

There is not all that much plot to be had here, but what is works extraordinarily well. The story is the personal Martin Scorsese has directed yet as he injects some of himself into the protagonist. There is also a throwback to the silent film era, one that is near and dear to Scorsese’s heart. It is also interesting that the goings on at the train station are almost a little silent film in themselves and they create a colorful, sometime hysterical backdrop for the events that transpire. These create a sense of wonder while never taking away from the overall plot.

The overall plot in itself is quite slowly paced for a family film. The pacing feels more a kin to the traditional Scorsese drama than to the fast paced family films of today. This is welcome as the film takes its time to set up the atmosphere and the characters that are vital to the overall experience.

Martin Scorsese has had many great performances in his films. Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, Joe Pesci in Goodfellas and Jack Nicholson in the Departed just to name a few. In Hugo he gets spectacular performances out of Asa Butterfield and Ben Kingsley. Both performances are spot on and magical. The relationship both their character’s share is full of tension at the beginning but slowly eases off as the film moves along. As for the supporting cast Mortz is charming as Isabelle a wondrous child whose head is constantly in adventure books and Sacha Baron Choen often is great comic relief.

The true winner here though is the visuals. This is the best use of 3D in a major motion picture I have seen; even better than the 3D in Avatar. The attention to detail here is fantastic as the 3D is not used as a gimmick instead as an extension to Scorsese’s creative vision. Everything from the sweeping shots of Paris to the Goodfellas like tracking shot through the train station is jaw dropping. I could go on and on about different scenes in this film and how gorgeous they are. Evan the restored silent films peppered throughout look fantastic. Visually, this is Scorsese’s greatest achievement to date.

After so many years of being proclaimed a master of film it is refreshing to see Martin Scorsese continue to try new things. Hugo is a film that well pulls from Scorsese’s roots, is something radically different. Hugo is also a magical piece of visual art and storytelling. One that deserves to be held at the same level as Scorsese’s many great films.