20. Safety Not Guaranteed
Most of you probably didn't see this little indie comedy, and a lot of you wouldn't have even heard of it. It's a shame, really, considering this film's subtle, deadpan humor, and its heart. The story follows Darius (Aubrey Plaza) and a few co-workers as they investigate a strange classified ad posted by someone who claims he can travel through time.
The laughs are consistent in this film as the author of the ad (Mark Duplass) appears to truly believe this, taking the audience along for the ride. Plaza shines in the main role, emerging as a talent to watch, and her easy chemistry with Duplass is reason enough to see this film.
19. Trouble with the Curve
Clint Eastwood's first acting role since 2008's brilliant Gran Torino was considered by many critics to be a disappointment and I'm not certain why. Eastwood plays Gus, an aging baseball scout who has one last chance to cement his legacy, but needs help from his daughter (Amy Adams), whether he admits it or not. Films about Eastwood aging, since Unforgiven, have been overwhelmingly good, and while this doesn't compare to the two aforementioned films or Million Dollar Baby, there is a lot this has to offer.
Amy Adams was marvelous as Gus's daughter Mickey, one of the better performances of the year (and I think her best, though the Academy would disagree). Her chemistry with Eastwood is so real that you almost feel like she's known him all her life. Justin Timberlake is also in the film as a new scout trying to pick up a few pointers from Gus. He played a really good character.
This film may not have a whole lot to offer in terms of baseball insight, but its script presents three great characters who yield to quite good performances. This isn't a baseball movie so much as it is a story about getting older and of forgiveness.
18. Haywire
This movie succeeds for one reason and one reason only: Gina Carano. The MMA fighter may not be able to act much, but she is beautiful and she can kick ass, which she does plenty of in her film debut.
This film, directed by Ocean's Eleven's Steven Soderbergh, surrounds Carano with great veteran performers including Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, and Michael Douglas. While the film knows how to treat its rookie actress, it's the action that steals the show.
This spy film has some of the best scenes of hand-to-hand combat I've ever seen, rivaling any Bourne or Bond film. It's exhilarating, suspenseful, and exciting as hell.
17. Django Unchained
Quentin Tarantino's latest film is a revenge film, comedy, slavery drama, and ode to the spaghetti western all in one. This was the film we had wanted to see QT do for quite sometime, but I do consider it somewhat of a disappointment.
There were some flat-out excellent things about the film, I should say. Christoph Waltz's performance as Dr. King Schultz, well worth the Oscar nomination, was my favorite aspect of the film, as it was hilarious and at times dramatically fulfilling. Leonardo DiCaprio was also excellent as Calvin Candie, a horrible slave owner and antagonist of the film. Both these characters are incredibly interesting and some of the best scenes involve these two interracting.
Django (Jamie Foxx) himself is a mere stock character, similar to the ones Eastwood or Bronson would play in Leone films, but Foxx's performance comes as close to elevating it as possible.
As for the bad in this movie, I'd have to complain that it went on far too long. I was thoroughly entertained for the first two hours or so, but got pretty bored ironically when the film became an action-packed gore fest. I didn't feel like the shootout was properly led up to, as the dialogue was always the most interesting part of the film. I appreciate a good action sequence, though, and this contained more than a few.
This is worth seeing for anyone who can handle a little bit of eccentricity and a hell of a lot of violence.
16. Goon
The best thing to come out of Canada since Zap Rowsdower, this sports comedy starring Sean William Scott truly surprised me at how well done it was. A few of the jokes didn't work and it was needlessly vulgar at times (what do you expect from a script written by Jay Baruchel and Evan Goldberg, among others?) this film had a surprising amount of heart and more than a few laughs.
At the heart of the film is Doug Glatt (William Scott), a bouncer who gets his chance on the rink after beating the shit out of a hockey player in the stands. He's a goon - a hockey player who is to do nothing other than hit people and get in fights to please the fans. It's an interesting concept for a film and Sean William Scott is somehow able to make this guy who's capable of beating the hell out of anyone he lays eyes on likable.
The laughs keep coming in this incredibly violent (easily the goriest sports film I've ever seen) slapstick comedy.
15. The Hunger Games
I didn't know what the hell was happening for a good portion of The Hunger Games. But there was Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen to make the film's emotions understood to me, and once it got going, it was quite the entertaining film. It's poorly directed and I heard it's not a great adaptation of the novel, but it's entertaining and emotionally involving.
The best scene of the movie was right when the Hunger Games started and a bunch of teenagers started murdering each other, with no soundtrack if I remember right. It let the shocking violence sink in as disgusting and wrong to the audience without bashing the viewer over the head (pun intended).
14. Flight
While Flight features an outstanding, Oscar-nominated script, I think it might be safe to say that this movie is nothing without the performance of Mr. Denzel Washington. He's so incredibly believable in his role of addicted anti-hero and is absolutely electrifying onscreen.
Robert Zemeckis's first real movie (fuck Beowulf) since Cast Away is mostly a success; there's not a dull moment in it. Washington plays Whip Whitaker, a pilot who wakes up barely in time for his flight and snorts cocaine to stay awake before drinking on flight and having one of the engines fail. He makes a remarkable crash-landing, injuring many but saving dozens of lives.
Whitaker is looking at life in prison, with cocaine and alcohol in his blood, unless he can get his shit together. A great deal of the film doesn't even focus on the pending trial, but on his continuing struggle with alcohol dependency. Along the way he meets another addict in Nicole (Kelly Reilly) and they become emotionally involved.
Flight is a hard movie to watch, but it's also rewarding. Washington is at the forefront of one of the best acted films in recent memory, with memorable performances from Kelly Reilly, John Goodman, and Don Cheadle.
13. The Dark Knight Rises
Despite its being more ripe for nitpick than almost any movie I've ever seen, TDKR is a pretty good movie. Its huge scale is impressive and gripping, as are many of the performances and characters.
Christian Bale plays Batman, in the first movie in which the viewer grows accustomed to care about the titular hero. In the past it was just cheer for Batman because the Joker is evil; here, he has to overcome all his injuries as well as fight with the police and public who have been told to wrongly accuse him of murder. On the other side is Tom Hardy as Bane, a menacing and worthy adversary even if you can't understand a word he says and his accent keeps changing. Somewhere in between is Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle, the best performance of the entire film.
I found myself on the edge of my seat many times in the theater during this movie and I don't think there's a dull moment in it. It's not as good as The Dark Knight but it's still a good movie.
12. Arbitrage
Arbitrage is Richard Gere's movie, from start to finish. It's partially a thriller and partially a complicated character study on someone who would break the law to protect his family and ultimately harm them.
Robert Miller (Gere) is a multi-billionaire whose mistress dies in a Chappaquiddick-like incident. Seeing a way out, Miller flees the scene and is thus under investigation from Detective Michael Bryer (Tim Roth) and his exaggerated accent. This is why I hate casting British people in roles like this, but whatever.
The audience can almost feel the guilt build on Miller, who is doing everything he can to sell his company so that no one discovers the missing money which he paid his mistress. His daughter (Brit Marling) discovers the discrepancy and is immediately suspicious.
From the investigation by Detective Bryer to the investigation by Miller's daughter, this film is intense and gripping. Gere does a great job, as does Nate Parker as Gere's young getaway driver from Harlem. It's certainly worth a watch.
11. Les Miserables
Anyone who has a heart will be touched by this movie. In addition to having some of the greatest music ever recorded, it has some of the greatest characters in literature, performed by some of the greatest actors out there today. What's not to love?
Hugh Jackman is astounding as Jean Valjean, and "Valjean's Soliloquy" was when I first realized just how much emotion these actors were able to convey in their songs. This increases exponentially in Anne Hathaway's songs as Fantine, easily the highlight of the film.
I must complain about Tom Hooper's direction here, as it's the biggest drawback of the film. The film looks great, the music is great, and the acting is great, but the direction simply isn't. Nevertheless I'd recommend this film to just about anyone. It's easily the best musical since Chicago.
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