Pisserati . . .

...because there's so very, very much to be pissed off about!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Top Ten Films of 2010 (plus honorable mentions and a few "Are-You-Kidding-Me?"s)

My Top Ten, and Why (check back, cause it's still in flux with late releases and films that didn't get distributed to the Asbury Park hinterlands)

1. Rabbit Hole - okay, death, who wants to think about that? but this film handles emotional loss head on, not in comic book fashion or as melodrama, and it succeeds flawlessly, trusting the audience to get it; spot-on performances and storytelling.

2. Mid-August Lunch - because it is beautiful, touching, heart-warming even, and successfully challenges assumptions about the meaning of “a good time.”

3. Made in Dagenham - well, this is an insert, because I saw it after the Oscars. Just imagine, the King's Speech gets best picture, and this film didn't even get distributed in the United States. I guess it better suits the interests of American corporatism to romanticize the British monarchy (king with stutter, almost human, perfect vehicle) than to praise real-life labor movement heroes who made the world a better place for all. It's not that I'm embracing the film for it's political message, but because it's a GREAT film. And it's not that I disliked the King's Speech, but the excessive hoopla for the one and the ignoring of this magnificent film, well, it's outrageous. And Sally Hawkings is astonishing. That she got nominated for Happy Go Lucky, and not for this, well, another outrage. The Academy is a bunch of homogenized idiots.

3. The Kids Are Alright - because it pokes a stick at over-simplified notions of family and the insecurities that drive monogamy and sexual identification; and it made me laugh along the way; flawless performances from the entire cast.

4. The Social Network - because this shit really happened, and recently too, and its re-enactment is believable and compelling and entertaining; flawless directing and performances from the entire cast.

5. Another Year - as quirky as Happy-Go-Lucky and as hauntingly honest as Secrets and Lies. Life-affirming? The answer seems to be, "depends on who you are."

6. 127 Hours - because at first I thought, “I don’t want to watch that,” but then I was completely drawn in and hypnotized even; James Franco, amazing.

7. Winter’s Bone - because, again, this shit is really happening, today, down the street from you probably, and it draws you in, makes you care, with a slow, compassionate anger.

8. Undertow - not heart-wrenching, but heart-ripping. Bring a handkerchief (or two). The scene when Santiago comes and sits on the side of the sofa is seared into my brain as a cinematic tableau that belongs in the Louvre.

9. Easy A - because it pokes a stick at how “sexual exploitation” begins with the self in one of our most under-evaluated institutions, high school; and it made me laugh, uncomfortably, the whole time.

10. Nowhere Boy - a heart-tugging look at the teenage years of John Lennon; great performances, surprisingly authentic, oddly cathartic.

Honorable Mentions:

I Am Love - because it’s relentless and almost even a “feel good” movie in the end, miraculously but honestly; Tilda Swinton, amazing; you want to examine aristocracy or elites? do it like this!

The Fighter - flawlessly made, but I don’t need to see another boxing movie ever, or else it might have made my top ten; I just don’t want to be rooting for a boxer in the last reel, and I’m adamant about it.

The King’s Speech - this film falls victim somewhat to my schtick this year, that content matters; I don’t give a damn about the British monarchy, and I don’t want to be driven into empathy for one of their poor, downtrodden numbers; flawlessly directed and acted however.

Morning Glory - behind the scenes of the TV industry? yes show us more of that, less ballet and cowboys and boxers and kings, more morning anchors and what makes them tick; this is a bit of reality that affects the whole world (see Inside Job above); content matters.

Tetro - Aronofsky, take notes please; maybe Coppola will let you study as his apprentice.

Howl - Wow. Franco amazing again, bringing Ginsberg and a whole era to life.

Toy Story 3 - escapism pure and simple, fabulous entertainment, but less comic book than so many live action films this year.

City Island - hopes, dreams, family, lust; not handled perfectly, but a very admirable and funny attempt.

The Tillman Story - Astonishing! And as with the three other documentaries below, astonishing that despite 24/7 'news' on multiple channels, that so few stories get treated in greater depth after the sensationalism has run its course.

Restrepo - hard to watch. Poor everybody involved. It has stayed with me, resonating over and over.

Inside Job - because “the system” is run by crooks and Mainstream Media doesn’t even hint at the truth. Michael Moore, take some notes here, this shit isn’t funny.

Gasland - really? they're going to industrialize the entire Delaware River Valley for an expendable fossil fuel that'll last a decade tops? this film draws attention to a very important issue.

Films specifically NOT mentioned above:

True Grit - so now violence isn’t what's funny, it’s what's moral? or what? the Coen brothers are so over-rated it’s ridiculous; the stilted lack of contractions is like some joke on the audience (the whole story is told from the girl/spinster’s point of view? but we’re only let in on that at the end? and if not, then the brothers are actually morons); content matters, if I never see another Western or Mobster or Serial Killer or Boxing or Ballet or Coen Brothers flick, it’ll be too soon.

Blue Valentine - Michelle Williams is awesome, but the PA license plates on the front of cars, and Ryan Gosling, are unforgivably annoying.

Black Swan - premise, annoying; Natalie Portman’s character, annoying; psychosexual ballet movie, annoying; content matters.

And now, as if anybody cares what Pisserati thinks, here are some other categories.

Best Actor: James Franco for 127 Hours (and year-long achievement award)
Best Actress: Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole (though it’s a photo finish with Annette Benning and Michelle Williams and Tilda Swinton).
Best Director: David Fincher for the Social Network
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale for The Fighter (though Mark Ruffalo is a very close 2nd).
Best Feature Animation: Toy Story 3
Documentary Feature: Very strong entries all, but I can't pick this category as it'll just get me in trouble.
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo for The Fighter
Best Animated Short: Madagascar (though Lets Polute is a close second).
Best Live Action Short: The Confession
Best Documentary Short: Sun Come Up.
Best Screenplay (Adapted): The Social Network
Best Screenplay (Original): The Kids Are Alright
Best Picture: Rabbit Hole, but since that's not nominated, The Kids Are Alright is the highest of the Oscar nominees (3rd on my list), but I’d be okay with The Social Network (4th on my list) or even The King’s Speech (honorable mention). If either True Grit or Black Swan gets it, yuck.

Disclaimers: These are not predictions of who will win an Oscar. What I predict is that the Academy will probably get it wrong, as they have done so often (No Country For Old Men, The (are you kidding me?) Departed, Crash), failing to even nominate Rabbit Hole for best picture. Also note that this list is subject to change, as I still haven't seen Another Year, Somewhere, or Get Low. And of course, all of this is IMHO. Yeah, right, as if I ever had one of those. :)