Top Ten Films of 2011

Here's my traditional top ten films of the previous year list.    

Honorable Mentions: Source Code, The Muppets, We Need To Talk About Kevin, and The Future.

10. Jeff Who Lives At Home
 9. The Adjustment Bureau
 8. Moneyball
 7. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
 6. Another Earth
 5. Beginners
 4. Midnight In Paris
 3. The Descendants
 2. Win, Win
 1. The Artist

Artist and Models (1955)

To my surprise, this is my first introduction to the comedy duo of Martin and Lewis.  They made 17 films together and I've not seen any of them.   How can that be?  I'll certainly have to check out more of their silly antics because I did enjoy this wacky farce.  Their formula is obvious: Jerry Lewis
bumbles around making goofy faces and talking like a crazy child-man while the handsome Dean Martin woos women with his crooner straight-man style.  The gags are more vaudeville numbers than plot driving devices but that's what helped make these guys huge stars.  For me it's Shirley MacLaine that shines the most, as the model in the Bat Lady suit who wants Jerry to marry her.  Director Frank Tashlin keeps the pace moving and adds just a hint of adult innuendo.  The big question: is this film still funny after all these years?  Some of it is still fresh but most of it feels forced and a little stale.  That's not the film's fault, really, it's all the situation comedies and films I've seen since that borrowed from oldies like these.  My favorite scene is watching Jerry Lewis to up and down various flights of stairs to relay a message to Dean.  It's really a classic moment for a classic dumb comedy.  Grade: B

The Towering Inferno (1974)

Irvin Allen really never topped himself after this grand spectacle.  The King of Disaster films did something no producer had ever done before and which now you see quite a lot: he convinced two studios to co-produce a film.  In fact this dual theme comes up a lot.  The film is a melding of two novels,  The Tower by Richard Martin Stern and The Glass Inferno by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson and a story featuring two heroes staring two of the biggest leading men in film history, Paul Newman and Steve McQueen (and it has two directors too).  For such a thin plot, watch a bunch of characters try to survive a skyscraper fire, it's still an entertaining film.  The all-star cast is an obvious gimmick to sell tickets, but they all deliver decent performances for what they have to work with, which is mostly staring at flames and looking scared.  What's most impressive is that at 165 minutes I never once found myself bored or impatient for it to end.  It still holds up as escapist fare if a little bit of a time capsule too.  Grade: B+

Rocco and His Brothers (1960)

Five brothers from a family of poor Italian farmers move to the city to find work with their mother in tow.  While each brother has a story line it's Rocco and Simon's love triangle with a prostitute named Nadia that consumes most of the film.   Directed by Luchino Visconti with stark realism, I found this film to be brutal and yet satisfying.  Not once does Visconti turn a blind eye to the collapse of this once tight family.  I can see why so many claim this to be a masterpiece.  It really is a powerful film, if a bit depressing.  Grade: A-

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

If Lord of the Rings: Return of the King had too many endings, this first part of J.R.R. Tolkien's prequel has too many beginnings.  But that's really the only fault I can find in this spectacular fun adventure fantasy.  Director Peter Jackson at times equals his creative force from his first trilogy and really does deliver a worthy add-on.  Sure some of the action sequences remind me of a video game but I'm not bothered by it because they're so well done.  We don't really need to see Frodo at the beginning either but it wasn't awful seeing him.  Is it too long?  Yeah, a little, but I can forgive Peter Jackson for giving us those extra minutes.   Really as the first of a new trilogy it's a wonderful journey and should be watched by any who enjoyed the Lord of the Rings.  Grade: A-.

A note on 48fps:  I was fortunate enough to see this in its intended frame rate of 48fps.   I've read a lot of negative reviews on this but I see it as the future of cinema, especially with 3D.  The clarity of the image is remarkable; and, yes, at times almost too perfect but that's only because my eye isn't used to it yet.  I remember when I watched something on my 1080p TV for the first time and I was amazed.   Now I'm so accustom to my TV I can't remember it looking so good.   People are afraid of new improvements.   Someday soon people will just see 48fps as the norm.   Especially for 3D which needs the high frame rate because without it the image blurs too much. 

Revenge (Season 1)

Let's be blunt.  This is not A-Class quality entertainment.  This night time soap opera is about as B- Class as television shows come, but that's not a bad thing.   If you're looking for a really fun guilty pleasure with twist and turns and over-the-top bad people saying over-the-top bad things then this show is for you.  Modeled loosely from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, it follows a young woman named Amanda Clark setting out to revenge the ruin of her family.   It has it all.  Love triangles, secrets identities, rich people acting like rich people and even a big conspiracy to heighten the absurd entertainment value of an addictive story.  I love seeing Madelaine Stowe in this show too, only someone of her caliber could say such vile things and still make us sympathize with her.  Emily Vancamp is also quite good as Amanda, playing a specterum of emotions that make us want to see her succeed without hurting herself.   I don't know what the producers of this show have planned for season 2 but I'm hooked.  Grade: B+     

Top Ten Christmas Specials

Online I keep running into these best Christmas films list only see TV specials mixed in with feature films.   That is just wrong.   So here's a list of my top ten best Christmas TV specials. 

10. Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) - This is my favorite use of Disney's classic characters and it just so happens to be Christmas themed.    

9.  Frosty's Winter Wonderland (1976) - The Rankin/Bass production that continues the story of Frosty with Jack Frost mixed in as a villain. 

8. A Garfield Christmas (1987) - I'm a Garfield fan so this was always one of my favorites.

7. Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988) - The bizzaro version of Scrooge as only the comic geniuses of Blackadder could pull off.  Hilarious. 

6. Rudolph the Reindeer (1964) - This first Rankin/Bass production will always stand out as a classic of the holidays.  It's also a great stop-motion animated gem.

5. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) - Some might say this should be higher and while it is a terrific film, for me it's the soundtrack that stands out the most. 

4. A Christmas Carol (1984) - George C. Scott is amazing in this and in my opinion this is the best adaption of Dicken's book to date.

3. A Wish for Wings That Work: An Opus Christmas Story (1991) - This is one of my favorites because it always made me laugh.  Just the look of Bill the Cat is enough to make me crack up.

2. Frosty the Snow Man (1969) - When I think of Frosty I think of this animated classic first.  I get the chills thinking about the end. 

1. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (1966) - For me this is the best, a celebration of comedy, heart and the Christmas spirit. 

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)

Like a twisted day-dream from a boy more enamored by horror and action films than sentimental trite, comes this creepy, funny and completely zany Christmas film from Finland.  Santa is not a jolly fat man in a red suit, that's a lie, the original was an evil children torturing demon.  Yet now a team of archaeologists have broken into his burial site and only three reindeer handlers and a young boy, our hero, can stop Santa's return  At its heart the movie does have a touchy-feelie plot line too, about a son and father needing to come together, it's just full of other Testosterone trimmings like guns, explosions and zombies.  I loved it!  What more can you ask for on Christmas Eve?  Whenever I find these kind of nontraditional Christmas stories this fun and entertaining, I want to shout it out to the world.  Sure if you get really nit picky there are some pacing problems in the beginning and some of the characters could have been more developed but none of that matters.  This one is a keeper.  Grade: B+

The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)

Leo McCarey's follow-up to Going My Way, with Bing Crosby's Father O'Malley meeting Sister Superior Mary Benedict played by Ingrid Bergman.  Can these two save the inner-city school they both so love?   Will Mary Benedict's faith alone prevail or will O'Malley's sly ingenuity get the job done?   This is not really a Christmas movie, but it does contain an adorable Christmas pageant scene that might be a bit too cute for today's audiences.  What I like about this film is its relaxed approach, telling a story without any forced intensity.  It's just good storytelling with nice people.  Films like this one would never get made today and that's a shame.  Grade: B+

Arthur Christmas (2011)

This might be the best Christmas Animated feature film made.  Santa Claus is not just one man but a dynasty, with each Claus having the job for 70 or so years.   This is the story of the younger brother of the next in line: Arthur a dorky but lovable hero who will do anything to make sure every child gets a gift.  Even get on board the original sleigh pulled by eight reindeer with a retired Grandpa Claus at the reins.  It's a blast to see the film makers answer the question, How does Santa delivery all those gifts in one night?   The answer is a wonder to behold of magical science fiction.  Brilliantly funny with fantastic voice work, I hope this goes down as a Christmas Classic.  Grade: A

A Christmas Tale (2008) 12/21

This French drama about a dysfunctional family coming together for Christmas is a mixed bag.  While there are many intriguing characters and story lines it never gels.   My first impression is that it's a badly edited confusing mess, but this might be because I don't speak French.   You have sibling's who hate each other, a mother who hates her son who hates her back yet she's dying of leukemia and needs his bone marrow or she'll take it from her grandson, and a weird lovers swap between friends.   Catherine Deneuve's talent seems wasted and only Mathieu Amalric turns in a performance worth remembering; too bad he's so unlikeable.  To be blunt I was disappointed and felt I had wasted my time. Grade: C+ 

Christmas in July (1940)

This was Preston Sturges second film as a director and his comic touch is all over it.  Jimmy is an idea man who dreams of making a living as an advertising slogan writer for just about everything.   He has submitted his slogan for the Maxford House coffee ad contest and is waiting to learn the results.  Yet a practical joke goes too far when co-workers of his send him a fake telegram that he won.  Although Christmas is in the title I wouldn't claim this is a holiday movie, but it's a good one nevertheless.  Sturges' wit and gleeful energy makes what could have been a one note joke anything but, this is a very good charming comedy to be enjoyed by any who like screwball comedies from a master of the genre.  Grade: A-

The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson (Novel)

The premise of this book is hysterical.  Annie and Buster Fang are the children of unconventional performance artists Caleb and Camille Fang.  After a childhood participating in their parents "art pieces" which are really publicity stunts performed on innocent bystanders, they've grown up with real character issues of their own.  Only when events in their lives turn upside down and they return home to live with their parents will they be forced to confront who they are and where next they should head in life.  I started reading this book in the bookstore on a lark and before I knew it I had finished twenty pages with laughter rolling out of me every few paragraphs.  What I love about this book isn't just that it's funny but it's well-written with great incite.  I will certainly be looking out for Mr. Wilson's next book.  Grade: A-

Savages (2012)

Oliver Stone directs an adaptation of Don Winslow's book and the result is pretty good.  It glorifies drug use a lot which always bugs me when Hollywood does this because drugs are not cool no matter how hard you slice it.  Breaking Bad does a better job of showing the ugly side of drugs while entertaining its audience.  The core of this story about two brothers trying to survive a buyout from a Mexican drug heiress is a love story threesome.   What will these two brothers do to get back the woman they both love?   In someways this film proves that Mr. Stone is still capable of making a good movie, but it's nowhere near the brilliance of such morality tales like Wall Street and Platoon.   Grade: B

Here Comes The Groom (1940)

Bing Crosby stars as an international news correspondent who returns home from covering a story about WWII orphans with two children he plans to adopt of his own only to learn that his longtime sweetheart, Jane Wyman, is marrying a millionaire instead.   Not wanting to lose both the girl and the two kids, he sets out to prove that she's making a mistake and should marry him.  This oldie has it all, great music numbers, whimsical fun, positive characters without a mean bone in their body and a lot of heart.  It might not be the deepest film ever made but it's great carefree entertainment.   That said, even if this kind of film might not interest you, there's one scene at the beginning of an orphan girl singing to potential parents that should not be missed.  If I ever were to compile the greatest scenes in film history I would do my best to make sure this scene was included.   Sure it's sentimental and a little manipulative but it's glorious to behold.  Grade: B+

The Story of Floating Weeds (1934)

Master director Yasujirô Ozu tells the story of the leader of an acting troop who visits the family he abandoned, sending his jealous lover into a deceitful plan of revenge.  This is classic Ozu and it's about as perfect as a tale of this kind can be. So perfect that I have no idea why he'd want to remake it, although I've read the remake is just as remarkable.   I love old films like these because you forget you're watching an entertainment made in the '30s.  Sure it's black and white with mono sound but the storytelling is as relevant and in many cases better than most films made today.  Ozu made subtle masterpieces about the human condition and they will live on as long as people watch films.  Grade: A+

The Queen of Versailles (2012)

Laura Greenfield somehow is allowed to go with her camera where all of us with curious minds want to go and that is into the household of a super rich family.  The family this documentary follows is the Siegel family.  David Siegel is the founder and president of Westgate Resorts and with his success he pretty much lives like a king with his trophy wife, Jackie, the mother of their seven maladjusted children.  Just as they're in the middle of constructing their dream home, the largest single family home in America (complete with bowling alley and hair salon), the 2008 financial crisis happens, throwing this family into a tailspin where we the viewers get to see how money really can turn people into weak-minded, lazy and confused caricatures.  Some might find this film as a cinematic revenge against the wealthy and some might even feel sorry for these people (although even with the Crash they have more money than the most of us) but I found it an fascinating and entertaining film about misguided principles.  In the beginning of the film David Siegel is asked why he is building the largest home in America and his answer is "Because I can."   Maybe when we as a society learn to act morally with our profits will we truly be able to move forward.   I'm not saying a wealthy couple should never build their dream home, but perhaps what they define as their dream can reasonably fit into their day-to-day lives.   Should they build the largest home in America?   Should they buy whatever it is they want and give their children whatever they want?   I guess so but they'll suffer the consequences as will those that cross their path.  I think we're on this planet to better ourselves and our society.   You can't buy a better soul or ignore the human pain we all must deal with.  In the end money is artificial and this film brilliantly melts away that facade.   Grade: A-

Sidenote:  I've read since that David Siegel tried to sue Greenfield for making this film (this the same nimrod who told his employees they'd lose their jobs if they voted for Obama).  What an idiot.   You can't sue someone for filming you saying something stupid when it is what you said.  I'm sure she edited things to fit a certain narrative that she wanted to focus on but the way this family acts on screen is the way they act on screen.  David could have stopped talking at any moment but be didn't.  I'm sure this film doesn't show everything, but that's not the point of this essay (which documentaries are).  It's not about the whole truth, it's about a single theme.  Greenfield as an artist and storyteller did her job.   A lawsuit isn't going to change anything.   David Siegel will continue to be a rich asshole who thinks he's a great man and people will continue to take vacations at his resorts because he offers a decent service.   No one really cares who owns the resort they're staying at, they just want to relax and rent out the dream (something the Siegel's should consider doing instead of buying).    

Walkabout (1971)

Easily Nicholas Roeg's best film, it's the story of two British children, a sixteen year old girl and her little seven year old brother who find themselves lost in the Australian outback.   Along arrives a sixteen year old Aboriginal hunter out on his own, who takes them under his protective wing and soon they're on a trek through the wilderness as a family unit.  The imagery, symbolism, inventive, editing, and music is like a great poem about life.  I honestly will never forget this film.  It's an  example of how film can be more than just a narrative device to tell a story but also a textural art form capable of its own unique magic.  Grade: A    

Georgy Girl (1966)

Lynn Redgrave stars as the title character, a free-spirited young woman living with her butler father teaching pre-schoolers and trying to be a good friend to a horrible girl friend played by Charlotte Rampling.  Tack on her father's boss played by James Mason trying to make her his mistress and you have the makings of a wonderful British comedy.  Based on a novel written by Margaret Forster and directed skillfully by Silvio Narizzano ( a director who never seemed to make anything as successful) this is one of those delightful films that should not be missed.  It had me entertained and laughing the whole way through.  Grade: A-

Biloxi Blues (1988) -Revisited

Mike Nichols directs an adaption of one of Neil Simon's best plays.  Having these two giant talents collaborating is enough of a reason to watch this delightful look down memory lane as a Jewish writer goes to boot camp.  Matthew Broderick is fantastic as is Christopher Walkens.  I saw this many years ago and wanted to see it again to see if it still held up, to see if it was still as funny as it was the first time I watched it.  It was.  Grade: A-

Cleanflix (2011)

The idea that someone would edit another artists' film without their permission is so abhorrent to me, so insulting that I boil with rage.  Well, that's what various Utah based companies were doing (and probably still doing) to rated-R films to cater to a devote Mormon based clientele.  If someone wants to burn a copy of a film and "sanitize" it themselves for their own use, that would be fine.  But as soon as a third-party tries to profit from another artist's work, that's stealing and censorship all rolled into one.   It mind-boggles me that anyone wouldn't be able to comprehend this logic.  This documentary does a decent job chronicling the history of these censoring thieves while also trying to question Hollywood's refusal to release their own censored versions of their movies. (Maybe because the studios and said production companies simply don't want to undermine the artists they're employing, an answer this film conveniently avoids).  If I wish to follow a strict religious doctrine then I'll follow it without forcing others to bend to my beliefs.  Or watch I'll watch the god damn movie already and accept I'm not really as devote as I think I am.  Grade: B+

Twelve O'Clock High (1949)

Gregory Peck stars in this WWII drama about a General taking over from a burn out Captain of an Air Force base.  Much of the tension deals with the various personalities on base as they adjust to their new leader, a man determined to make important improvements.  Mr. Peck has such screen presence: it's impossible to dislike him and he makes this movie work.  Henry King directs and does a superb job.  This was certainly one of the top films of that year and I'd have rather of seen this win over All the King's Men which took the Oscar that year for Best Picture.  I only question the use of real war footage during the air battle sequences.  I see how it would save the production money but it seems a little disrespectful to the "real" airmen who died fighting for their lives.  Grade: A-

Morning Glory (2010)

This is a flawed film.  I can't put my finger one why, but it is.  It shouldn't be: Rachel McAdams is adorable as a feisty morning show producer taking on the world to make a struggling morning news show less an embarrassment.  Even Harrison Ford delivers as a grumpy Tom Brokaw-like icon forced to co-anchor with Diane Keaton's charming diva.  It starts off well enough but McAdam's struggles become less entertaining and more annoying after awhile.  The love sub-plot with Patrick Wilson is too easy and way unnecessary, almost a distraction.  In the end I wanted to like this film a lot more than I did.  Unfortunately even a talent like McAdams can't keep an unfocused script from floundering.  Grade: C+

Electra Luxx (2010)

Sebastian Gutierrez's sequel to Women in Trouble again stars his wife, the super talented Carla Gugino, as a porn star in a spiritual awakening as she deals with being pregnant and an unknown future.  Most of the cast returns from the first one, although I missed Connie Britton's character and would have enjoyed at least a cameo.  Like the first one, this is an independent film heavy on indulgent dialogue and quirky character motivations.  Certainly a fun film that succeeds on many levels, especially in the acting category.  I've read that Gutierrez wants to make a third film, which would be interesting but I would hope for a stronger plot.  Yet if this is where the story ends, it does seem to conclude all the story lines from the first film and I appreciated that.  Grade: B

Silk Stockings (1957)

The musical remake of the classic Garbo romantic comedy Ninotchka staring Fred Astaire and the beautiful Cyd Charisse is a wonderful entertainment with many great songs by Cole Porter and dance sequences typical of the Golden Age of Musicals.  The story is about a movie producer named Burt hiring a Russian composer in Paris only to have to deal with a Russian Commissioner named Nina come to make sure her country's composer returns home.  The best moment of the film is when Cyd Charisse dances out of her Russian dress and into the more elegant French gown she yearns.  My favorite duet is between Astaire and Janis Paige who sing about film needing to be in Technicolor, Widescreen and use Stereophonic Sound.  While I'd recommend seeing Ninotchka first if you haven't seen it, this is a fun remake to check out.  Grade: B+

The Butcher Boy (1998)

This is one of those movies I've attempted to watch a couple times but would either fall asleep or find myself with a faulty disc.  Yet I kept on and can finally say I've seen this film about Francis Brady, evil twelve year old living in Clones, Ireland in the '60s who slowly turns violently insane over the course of a few years.  Director Neil Jordan adapts from a novel by Patrick McCabe and I have to say this film makes me want to read the book someday.  One of reasons I always had trouble getting into this film was the thick Irish dialect.  But the dialect is important and I'm glad it's difficult to follow sometimes, even if it means having to concentrate that much more.  Many of the surreal moments work so well that I almost wish there was more of them but I guess that could have been a distraction too.  For such a disjointed soundtrack and dark voice over it's easy to see why this film isn't for everyone but in the end I do admire it's unique style and almost underlining tenderness for such a brutal bully.  Grade: B+

Topaz (1969)

Watch Leonard Maltin's interview on this film's DVD featurette and you'd think this is Hitchcock's worst film. (Couldn't the producers of the DVD find a critic who actually liked the film?)  Yet it's actually an impressive work from a storyteller expanding his scope and trying something a little different.  In many ways this adaption of Leon Uris's book is a fine example of Hitchock at his best.  I love the fact that he cast the film without any big names and the overall European-feel of the film.  It's still very much a Hitchock film with many memorable scenes (such as a entire exchange of dialogue muted because the characters are in a sound proof flower fridge).   Its ending is a bit weak but regardless I would recommend this for anyone who enjoys '60s cinema.  Don't listen to the Maltin's of the world, this is a solid film.  Grade: A-

Funny People (2009)

Adam Sandler plays George Simmons a fictional albeit grumpy version of himself in a buddy comedy/ drama about a rich and famous comedian (Sandler) becoming a mentor to a young standup comedian named Ira, played by Seth Rogen,   While there are too many immature jokes about dicks to be believed (I mean really, do male standup comedians talk about their peckers that much?   It seemed that eighty percent of the film's humor dealth with the male reproductive organ) and a run time about ten minutes too long, this is an enjoyable and refreshing comedy.  I just wish it could have been a tad bit tighter.  Grade: B   

L'arnacoeur [Heartbreaker] (2010)

I'm becoming a fan of French romantic comedies and this one is a pretty good one worth checking out.  Romain Duris plays Alex a charmer who gets paid to womanizes brides-to-be before they make a poor decision and marry the wrong guy.   Helping him is his sister and her techno-savy husband.   All is great until he is forced to woo a woman who really is in love (something he doesn't do) because of money he owes.   And as you can imagine, of course, he starts to fall in love with her too.  Funny, charming and certain to be remade by Hollywood, check it out and enjoy.  Grade: B+

The Best Exotic Margold Hotel (2012)

Films based on multiple story lines work if all the character arcs achieve a satisfactory result.  One weak character can unravel the film like a pulled thread from a sweater.   This is why ensemble films like these are rarely done.  In this cast every character and storyline is perfectly fitted together in a rewarding story about rebirth.  A group of English move to a hotel in India to change their lives.  Judi Dench (the film's central figure) is a widower. Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilson are a financially ruined married couple.  Tom Wilkinson is a lawyer returning to find a lost love.  Maggie Smith is the racist old lady needing a hip replacement.  Ronald Pickup and Celia Imrie are searching for spouses.  And then there's Dev Patel the part owner and manager of the hotel they're all staying at who is desperate to prove himself to his mother.  All of these criss-crossing story lines work and achieve a comic yet inspiring celebration of life in all its glory.  Grade: A- 

Argo (2012)

This film staring and directed by Ben Affleck accomplishes a number of surprising things; it's a great history lesson on Iran and U.S. relations, it tells a compelling and thrilling true story about a CIA operative entering hostile territory by faking a movie production to save a group of trapped Americans and it even gives an accurate glimpse of the fashion of the early '70s without making you laugh.  This is a very enjoyable film that squashes any doubt that Mr. Affleck has what it takes to be a director.  What makes this film better than just a typical Mission Impossible kind of story is its authentic and balanced approach to the Iranian culture and the heightened tension during that time period.  I wouldn't be surprised if this film is nominated for best picture.  Grade: A-