News 
Jan 23 2012
(Directed by Michael Hazanavicius)
Nestled among 2011's shield-wielding superheroes, grizzled politicians and explosive bridesmaids, who would have ever dreamt that a film about the dying days of silent cinema would make so much noise? Michel Hazanavicius's largely silent The Artist speaks volumes about a beloved era of Hollywood that may be gone, but is far from forgotten. In 1927, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), a silent film star, is at the apex of his career in an industry he believes is here to stay. Vehemently opposed to the encroaching trend of "talkies" – films with sound – he only notices his star fading when the silent roles become sparse and, suddenly, no one will hire an actor who won't talk. When the career of Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), a struggling actress Valentin once took under his wing, suddenly takes off, coinciding with the increased demand for talkies, the soon penniless and jaded Valentin must come to terms with the reality of a foundering genre. You won't find 3-D gimmicks or tired plots; The Artist is a true original, and it's not just about the novelty of a silent film in 2011. French actor Dujardin gives the performance of his career as a man forced to change or get left behind – something many of us can relate to in today's economic climate. Paired with Ludovic Bource's buoyant, award-winning score, The Artist is an innovative ode to a bygone era. Fresh from winning the Golden Globe for Best Picture (Comedy or Musical), we'd all do well to enjoy the sound of silence this awards season. (Alliance)
Manori Ravindran
6. Beginners
(Directed By Mike Mills)
Noted mostly for its standout supporting performance from Christopher Plummer, as a 78-year-old man that comes out of the closet just as he's diagnosed with terminal cancer, Beginners is one of those quiet, personal films that sneaks up unexpectedly and packs a profound emotional punch. More than a story of Oliver (Ewan McGregor) coming to terms with the death of his father, this dramatic comedy of human doubt and contradiction links annihilation anxiety to personal signifiers, relating fears of rejection and inevitable complacency to the whimsy and excitement of a nascent romance. Why should Oliver commit his future to the intelligent and free-spirited Anna (Mélanie Laurent) when all he has to draw from is past relationship failures and a marriage of convenience between his parents? It's not an unreasonable question, which writer/direct Mike Mills handles with complex acuity, making an idiosyncratic, yet entirely accessible, film about how the past relates to projections of the future, ultimately grounding the present in assumptions and personal ideologies. He even manages to integrate stock footage of past cultural events, drawing this context comically into the narrative through the trajectory of historical graffiti factoids, making Oliver's struggle with hope somewhat universal. Of course, since this intimate depiction of what it means to be alive draws on issues of an individual and personal nature, rather than those that are political or global, its quiet significance and power can be easily overlooked. But that would be a mistake, since so few films manage to capture the pains of being human with such beauty and honesty. (Alliance)
Robert Bell
5. Take Shelter
(Directed by Jeff Nicholas)
For cineastes turned off by the divisiveness of Tree of Life and Melancholia, just look to Take Shelter for an easier to digest take on cinematic existentialism. It's a film transplanted from the '90s, an ambitious, rigorous domestic drama about paranoid psychosis, with brain-teasing philosophical themes, full of creepy imagery and genre-defying narrative twists, imbued with the power to broaden the mind as deep as Malick or Von Trier's exercises. Michael Shannon, who is becoming this generation's Christopher Walken, again turns in another deranged, but inspired, performance, as off kilter family man Curtis La Forche, whose nagging nightmares seem to invade his physical reality. As Curtis goes through the process of diagnosing paranoid schizophrenia, his delusions of building a storm shelter threaten to bankrupt his family. Jeff Nichols shows some brawny skills in scare cinema, generating some of the freakiest, most terrifying moments on screen this year – none more startling than the storm sequence where Curtis and his daughter, in their home, find themselves in the heart of a raging tornado, a storm so violent it lifts the furniture into the air for an extended moment of pure shock. But the most frightening aspect of the film is Curtis's real-world descent into paranoid schizophrenia, treated delicately, with realism, and without any genre-based superficiality. The warmth of Jessica Chastain, also motherly to the point of saintly in Tree of Life, is a comforting presence; her eventual commitment to Curtis's insane endeavour is the heart and soul of the film, and representative of its prevailing theme – a spiritual obligation to something intangible and a feeling that you are doing the right thing. Despite comparisons to Tree of Life and Melancholia tonally, Take Shelter compares best to M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable. Nichols' carefully paced narrative simmers before paying off the tension with some superlative dramatic scenes, then blindsides with the mind blowing finale scene. (Mongrel Media)
Alan Bacchus
4. Shame
(Directed by Steve McQueen)
Towards the end of Steve McQueen's second feature film, Shame, we watch Michael Fassbender's Brandon engage in a threesome. The long, quiet scene is quite possibly the most un-erotic threesome ever filmed, but it's not meant to be sexy. Brandon looks less like a human being engaged in pleasure and more like a dying skeleton trying to purge his sins via ejaculation. The result is melancholic, and if you'll forgive the pun, a mind-fuck. Shame haunts the neuroses of the audience long after they've left the cinema for these very reasons. The sex addiction portrayed is beyond the societal laws of morality, and is all the more meaningful, potent and gloriously pungent for it. Brandon's relationship with his sister, Sissy (played by a somewhat miscast Carey Mulligan), introduces further psychological poison into the Shame cauldron, as their relationship screams incestuous undertones that are never fully addressed. As we fill in the gaps, the seats we occupy become all the more uncomfortable; the mirror is suddenly turned inward and our personal shames are illuminated. The film, with its green tint (indicating a deathly decay), gut-rumbling musical score (by Harry Escott, which is put to good use, particularly during scenes on the dark NYC subway) and McQueen's penchant for long, unbroken sequences establish a psycho-sexual trickery that far surpasses predecessors Last Tango In Paris or the more recent Lie With Me. The line between pornography and genuine intimacy may have been crossed long ago, but Shame exquisitely reminds us that we may never be released from those talons. It is all the more likely we will die in their clutch. And if you're going to die, might as well go out with a "bang." (Alliance)
Christine Estima
« Page 1 | Page 3 »
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-01-23 08:43:49Drive is certainly a worthy #1, and a successful reinvention of the car-chase genre. I think the main film it pays homage to though is 1978's The Driver starring Ryan O'Neal and Bruce Dern. Check it out.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-01-23 09:20:20It's shocking how many people were sucked into Drive's vacuity.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-01-23 09:59:45How is Drive a worthy #1? It was easily the most affected and vapid films of the year. Well done, exclaim writers! Way to get sucked into ragingly insincere horseshit. Don't quit your day jobs.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-01-23 10:14:39Why are Bridesmaids and Drive on this list? And the better question: Why on Earth is Drive listed at #1? Way to go Exclaim.... you really dropped the ball on this list.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-01-23 10:39:08I wanted to love Drive but it left me empty. Forgot about it the second I left the theatre. Tree of Life was beautiful but bored me to tears. Oddly enough, Melancholia, which had a similar opening sequence in ways to Tree of Life, haunted me for days afterwards. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Take Shelter was amazing and didn't get it's due. Nice to see it recognized here.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-01-23 23:13:08I have successfully seen none of these films.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-01-24 13:41:19I liked Attack the Block and Bellflower too, but obviously I just have bad tastes.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-01-25 08:51:33"Yes, Nicholas Winding Refn's Drive is an homage to '80s car-chase cheese like To Live and Die in
L.A, but it's more than just nostalgia or empty coolness."
No, no it really isn't. In fact, that's all it is. I think you summed it up perfectly with the terms "nostalgia" and "empty coolness"
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-01-30 17:20:07Good list, but where is Moneyball? Warrior?
SHARE IT! 
