News 
Jan 23 2012
(Directed by Lars von Trier)
It's 2012, and as apocalyptic thoughts seep into the collective unconscious, some of our cinematically elected representatives have chosen to explore the strange meaning of existence. While the metaphysically-inclined Terrence Malick earned raves for his new age obscurantism in Tree of Life, aging enfant terrible Lars von Trier returned with another gut-wrenching melodrama that stayed closer to home and hit harder. Beginning with an elaborate marriage and ending with the end of the world, Melancholia is largely the story of two sisters: Justine (Kristen Dunst) and Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg). Entering a marriage she can't handle, Justine eventually succumbs to depression and enters into the care of Claire and her workaholic husband, John (Kiefer Sutherland), which coincides with the passing of a planet named "Melancholia" through the Earth's orbit. The antidote to Malick's cosmological navel-gaze, with Melancholia, Von Trier remains as confrontational as ever, violently swinging his camera, Dogme-style, zooming in so close it burrows into his subjects' souls. As is his hallmark, he elicits remarkable performances across the board from his stacked cast, and while Dunst rightfully garnered praise for her mentally and physically naked portrayal of the cracked-up Justine, earning her a spot in the pantheon of great Von Trier tragic heroines, Charlotte Gainsbourg surprisingly owns, subtly moving from sensibly static to shell-shocked as the impending doom becomes apparent. It's a testament to Von Trier's skill that there is such palpable tension for what is essentially a forgone conclusion. Whether or not Von Trier is the finest contemporary filmmaker may be up for debate (hint: he is), but his work remains inarguably rigorous, divisive and always unique. (eOne)
Bjorn Olson
2. The Tree of Life
(Directed by Terrence Malick)
More than any other widely released film in recent memory, Terrence Malick's masterful mediation on the beauty and insignificance of life is an astounding achievement in cinematic art. A traditional drama this is not; it uses the scale of all creation to emphasise the incredible process of evolution, leading to each unique life, and then spins a deeply personal coming-of-age story to depict how those lives are shaped by personal experience. Regardless of its '50s setting, the character-defining moments of a boy traversing the pitfalls of adolescence, learning to question the unyielding attitudes of his domineering father and his mother's passivity hobbled concern are presented with such honesty that they'll resonate across generations. Respecting his audience to make connections without explicit exposition, Malick's poetic philosophizing is imbued with a sense of reverence by the consistently stunning cinematography, special effects that eschew easily dated computer graphics, in favour of microphotography composites depicting the creation of life as we know it, and a rich classical score welling with non-denominational spirituality. The Tree of Life is more an emotional sensory experience than proper narrative, jumping through time and memory to remind us why every moment of our ephemeral existence, from the psychological wounds of growing up and naïve curiosity of exploring the borders of our moral values to the joy of an infant's laughter, a mother's smile, a father's pride and even the bustle of modern industry, is something to be cherished. (eOne)
Scott A. Gray
1. Drive
(Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn)
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. This intoxicating, minimalist action film is the type of trance-inducing exercise in style that calls to mind Pauline Kael's appraisal of Band of Outsiders: "It's as if a French poet took a banal American crime novel and told it to us in terms of the romance and beauty he read between the lines." More than anything, Refn finds ways to visually articulate the sensual pleasures of the tacky and mundane without ever crossing into irony. How many other films could make a scorpion-emblazed jacket, a Kavinsky techno song and scraggly character actors like Bryan Cranston and Ron Perlman so beautiful? As an unnamed stuntman-by-day/escape-car-driver-by-night, Ryan Gosling's onscreen persona is distilled to its barest essence of (here comes that dreaded word) cool. Refn's nocturnal Los Angeles, all inky blacks and neon pinks, is as atmospheric and beautiful a depiction of the city as I've ever seen. And then there's Albert Brooks, whose incredible performance as a small-time gang boss isn't just stunt casting; he's so scary and right that he might be better suited for this type of role than the nebbishes he usually plays. Drive is technically a thriller, and its story of a getaway driver double-crossed on assignment provides some conventional thrills. However, the power of Refn's sounds and images, and the magnetism of his ensemble cast, makes Drive a mood piece – an immersive blanket of cool. This isn't simply a case of style over substance: in Drive, style is substance. (Alliance)
Will Sloan
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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?
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