I started this in July of 2002 and I've updated it once (July 2013), with two movies getting bounced out, so I'm back at it. As of right now, before even looking, Paddy Considine's Tyrannosaur is tied for 10th with The Secret In Their Eyes. Juan of the Dead is in 8th and Kick-Ass, yes really is in 8th and is the last movie I saw when updating the list. I should note that as much as I love Silver Linings Playbook, I just can't get myself to say it's better than Crazy Stupid Love, so it's getting left off, despite being incredible. I also apologize to the utterly brilliant and overlooked Juan of the Dead, which is by far the second best zombie film ever made (NOTLD is #1).
10. Stoker - Park's brilliant American debut, features the beautiful and strange Mia Wasikowska in a role that I thought would have her in every movie imaginable thereafter, but it doesn't seem that my love for this film has caught on. Nicole Kidman, who is usually quite bland is the epitome self-centered behavior and shows how purely evil it is. Matthew Goode bursts onto the scene an plays a Hitchcockian villain. Wentworth Miller's script is brilliant and thankfully captured perfectly. Oh and that piano scene!
9. Crazy Stupid Love - Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in one movie? This is almost to much for my heterosexual and homosexual side to handle. All kidding aside, I think if the world were perfect, these two would be a couple and I would be their best friend. Well at least film their sex tape. Add Steve Carrell, Julianne Moore, Marisa Tomei and Kevin Bacon and you've got comic and sincere magic. The story of a down and out soon-to-be divorcee who really wants nothing more than to get the old spark back with his wife. Along comes the debonair Gosling to help him out. One problem, he's infatuated with the man's daughter. Like some of the classic relationship comedies, this one oozes sincerity and it actually works. Even I'm a sucker sometimes.
8. Lincoln - Is it possible to keep a Daniel Day Lewis movie off a top ten list? OK, so it's a little long, but it feels like an hour and a half. Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones and DDL deliver epic performances and without ever getting sappy, it is truly a feel good movie. The only reason for it's lower end of this list is it's not the kind of movie you'll watch twice.
7. Django Unchained - The one Tarantino movie I was sure was going to be a bust, surprised me more than ever. Jamie Foxx, who is good in absolutely nothing is good, but it's Christopher Waltz who, like in Inglorious Basterds, steals the show. A killer soundtrack and perhaps, DiCaprio's best performance, albeit in a supporting role rockets this film into the top ten.
6. Let Me In - An almost scene by scene remake of the Swedish great, this stars Chloe Grace Maretz once again and Kodi Smit-McKee as the youngsters. A vampire tale like none other, it's almost as good as it's predecessor, lacking only the surprise factors. If you've yet to see the foreign film, see this if you want and you won't miss much. Richard Jenkins is brilliant in the small role as Moretz's caretaker. It's truly a sad, beautiful film about outsiders and that horrible reality that some of us are actually alone in the world. On aside note. I recently saw Moretz on Letterman and while she is only a child, I have a feeling, as I did with Portman, that this beautiful young lady will one day be one of the biggest attractions in Hollywood.
5 Argo - Ben Affleck's tale of the rescue of six diplomats from Iran during the infamous Iran hostage crisis, is a near perfect film. Rarely is there a film with no surperfluous scenes. The movie, despite everyone knowing the story, recreates the tension, albeit with some creative freedoms, but never loses the imortance of the moment. Affleck is also wonderful on the other side of the director's chair as the movie's star, but the supporting staff, especially John Goodman and Alan Arkin truly raise the bar.
4. Shame - Rarely does a movie come along where you find yourself sexually aroused and filled with tears within minutes. Shame does this to you. Michael Fassbender, let's it all hang out (literally) in this depiction of a successful young man with a dark secret. Sexual addiction. One might laugh at this "disease," but Fassbender plays the role so brilliantly, you start to fear the sex scenes. You begin to question, just how far is this film going to go with it. Carey Mulligan, who was equally brilliant in Blue Valentine, plays his sister. A down on her luck cabaret singer who needs a place to stay, but in doing so, make Fassbender hide his addiction and bring out his pain. There is a scene in the film where he goes to see his sister sing that is absolutely incredible and says so much, without ever actually saying anything.
3. The Help -Emma Stone is the female version of Ryan Gosling. Everything she is in turns to gold and The Help is no different. The tale of a white southern belle, eager to escape the clutches of her stereotypical upbringing, she writes a book about the black women who feed, clean and essentially raise these white girls, who all end up just like their mothers. The acting is perfect. Each scene, a tear evoking journey. Stone is wonderful, but it's Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer who truly shine as the women who perform the jobs she writes of. The movie is so careful not to understate their importance, while never understating these women's knowledge and almost respect for their positions. I challenge any man to make it through this film without wiping a way a tear. Special kudos to Sissy Spacek for the line of the movie and Allison Janney with two of the best scenes in the film.
2. The Artist - Rarely does a movie move you to tears both through joy and laughter. This movie did so from start to finish. The take of a silent film star at the top of his game, who is faced with the harsh reality that his time may be up due to the advent of "talkies." The woman who he got started excels, while his career fades, never knowing she owes it all to him and never forgets. Jean Dujardin plays George Valentin (an obvious homage to Valentino), the debonair star. Berenice Bejo plays his early muse who skyrockets to fame, but all she ever really wants is to care for Valentin. She has one of the greatest scenes in recent memory, co-starring a tuxedo jacket. Beautiful, sexy and touching all at once. The movie is a love story, both for people and film. The greatest aspect of this film might not be the facts it's in black and white or that it's silent. It may be the third best actor in the movie is a lovable and loyal dog. I know most will pass over when hearing of it's nature, but to miss this is to miss what acting is truly all about, telling the entire story, without ever saying a word.
1. Winter's Bone - one of the grittiest films I've ever seen. The movie plays almost like a Bergman film in it's pace and build up, but it's filmed with such an eye, that we are never sure where it will take us. When I first saw this film, I had no idea who Jennifer Lawrence was. When I saw her stunning beauty at the Oscars, I was floored. You do not lust over Ree in the movie, but you empathize with her. She is only a teen, but has been given the responsibility of an adult. She has to care for her child and make sure her deadbeat father makes a court date. Along the way, she has to contend with a group of vicious women, who don't want her snooping around. John Hawkes, once again is brilliant as the unassuming leader of the area. The movie is one that is physically draining and any movie that can make me feel like I've just experienced a workout, is pretty damn good.
10. Stoker - Park's brilliant American debut, features the beautiful and strange Mia Wasikowska in a role that I thought would have her in every movie imaginable thereafter, but it doesn't seem that my love for this film has caught on. Nicole Kidman, who is usually quite bland is the epitome self-centered behavior and shows how purely evil it is. Matthew Goode bursts onto the scene an plays a Hitchcockian villain. Wentworth Miller's script is brilliant and thankfully captured perfectly. Oh and that piano scene!
9. Crazy Stupid Love - Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in one movie? This is almost to much for my heterosexual and homosexual side to handle. All kidding aside, I think if the world were perfect, these two would be a couple and I would be their best friend. Well at least film their sex tape. Add Steve Carrell, Julianne Moore, Marisa Tomei and Kevin Bacon and you've got comic and sincere magic. The story of a down and out soon-to-be divorcee who really wants nothing more than to get the old spark back with his wife. Along comes the debonair Gosling to help him out. One problem, he's infatuated with the man's daughter. Like some of the classic relationship comedies, this one oozes sincerity and it actually works. Even I'm a sucker sometimes.
8. Lincoln - Is it possible to keep a Daniel Day Lewis movie off a top ten list? OK, so it's a little long, but it feels like an hour and a half. Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones and DDL deliver epic performances and without ever getting sappy, it is truly a feel good movie. The only reason for it's lower end of this list is it's not the kind of movie you'll watch twice.
7. Django Unchained - The one Tarantino movie I was sure was going to be a bust, surprised me more than ever. Jamie Foxx, who is good in absolutely nothing is good, but it's Christopher Waltz who, like in Inglorious Basterds, steals the show. A killer soundtrack and perhaps, DiCaprio's best performance, albeit in a supporting role rockets this film into the top ten.
6. Let Me In - An almost scene by scene remake of the Swedish great, this stars Chloe Grace Maretz once again and Kodi Smit-McKee as the youngsters. A vampire tale like none other, it's almost as good as it's predecessor, lacking only the surprise factors. If you've yet to see the foreign film, see this if you want and you won't miss much. Richard Jenkins is brilliant in the small role as Moretz's caretaker. It's truly a sad, beautiful film about outsiders and that horrible reality that some of us are actually alone in the world. On aside note. I recently saw Moretz on Letterman and while she is only a child, I have a feeling, as I did with Portman, that this beautiful young lady will one day be one of the biggest attractions in Hollywood.
5 Argo - Ben Affleck's tale of the rescue of six diplomats from Iran during the infamous Iran hostage crisis, is a near perfect film. Rarely is there a film with no surperfluous scenes. The movie, despite everyone knowing the story, recreates the tension, albeit with some creative freedoms, but never loses the imortance of the moment. Affleck is also wonderful on the other side of the director's chair as the movie's star, but the supporting staff, especially John Goodman and Alan Arkin truly raise the bar.
4. Shame - Rarely does a movie come along where you find yourself sexually aroused and filled with tears within minutes. Shame does this to you. Michael Fassbender, let's it all hang out (literally) in this depiction of a successful young man with a dark secret. Sexual addiction. One might laugh at this "disease," but Fassbender plays the role so brilliantly, you start to fear the sex scenes. You begin to question, just how far is this film going to go with it. Carey Mulligan, who was equally brilliant in Blue Valentine, plays his sister. A down on her luck cabaret singer who needs a place to stay, but in doing so, make Fassbender hide his addiction and bring out his pain. There is a scene in the film where he goes to see his sister sing that is absolutely incredible and says so much, without ever actually saying anything.
3. The Help -Emma Stone is the female version of Ryan Gosling. Everything she is in turns to gold and The Help is no different. The tale of a white southern belle, eager to escape the clutches of her stereotypical upbringing, she writes a book about the black women who feed, clean and essentially raise these white girls, who all end up just like their mothers. The acting is perfect. Each scene, a tear evoking journey. Stone is wonderful, but it's Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer who truly shine as the women who perform the jobs she writes of. The movie is so careful not to understate their importance, while never understating these women's knowledge and almost respect for their positions. I challenge any man to make it through this film without wiping a way a tear. Special kudos to Sissy Spacek for the line of the movie and Allison Janney with two of the best scenes in the film.
2. The Artist - Rarely does a movie move you to tears both through joy and laughter. This movie did so from start to finish. The take of a silent film star at the top of his game, who is faced with the harsh reality that his time may be up due to the advent of "talkies." The woman who he got started excels, while his career fades, never knowing she owes it all to him and never forgets. Jean Dujardin plays George Valentin (an obvious homage to Valentino), the debonair star. Berenice Bejo plays his early muse who skyrockets to fame, but all she ever really wants is to care for Valentin. She has one of the greatest scenes in recent memory, co-starring a tuxedo jacket. Beautiful, sexy and touching all at once. The movie is a love story, both for people and film. The greatest aspect of this film might not be the facts it's in black and white or that it's silent. It may be the third best actor in the movie is a lovable and loyal dog. I know most will pass over when hearing of it's nature, but to miss this is to miss what acting is truly all about, telling the entire story, without ever saying a word.
1. Winter's Bone - one of the grittiest films I've ever seen. The movie plays almost like a Bergman film in it's pace and build up, but it's filmed with such an eye, that we are never sure where it will take us. When I first saw this film, I had no idea who Jennifer Lawrence was. When I saw her stunning beauty at the Oscars, I was floored. You do not lust over Ree in the movie, but you empathize with her. She is only a teen, but has been given the responsibility of an adult. She has to care for her child and make sure her deadbeat father makes a court date. Along the way, she has to contend with a group of vicious women, who don't want her snooping around. John Hawkes, once again is brilliant as the unassuming leader of the area. The movie is one that is physically draining and any movie that can make me feel like I've just experienced a workout, is pretty damn good.
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