The Top Tens of 2011

Once again, it's that time of the year when Hollywood's biggest and brightest applaud each other in what amounts to a red-carpet circle jerk. But there's no denying that there have been some truly terrific performances (both in front of the camera and behind it). In a year of sequels, superheroes, vampires, robots, and Michael Fassbender's penis, 2011 turned out to be quite a year for cinema. So, for your reading pleasure, here's my entirely biased list of what was great in theaters (and what wasn't).

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE OF 2011

1. Michael Fassbender as "Brandon Sullivan" in Shame
2. Jean Dujardin as "George Valentin" in The Artist
3. Andy Serkis as "Caesar" in Rise of the Planet of the Apes
4. Brad Pitt as "Mr. O'Brien" in The Tree of Life
5. Albert Brooks as "Bernie Rose" in Drive
6. Christopher Plummer as "Hal" in Beginners
7. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as "Adam Lerner" in 50/50
8. Kōji Yakusho as "Shimada Shinzaemon" in 13 Assassins
9. Patton Oswalt as "Matt Freehauf" in Young Adult
10. Ben Kingsley as "Georges Méliès" in Hugo

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE OF 2011

1. Bérénice Bejo as "Peppy Miller" in The Artist
2. Jessica Chastain as "Mrs. O'Brien" in The Tree of Life
3. Carey Mulligan as "Sissy Sullivan" in Shame
4. Charlize Theron as "Mavis Gary" in Young Adult
5. Melissa McCarthy as "Megan" in Bridesmaids
6. Rooney Mara as "Lisbeth Salander" in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
7. Marion Cotillard as "Adriana" in Midnight in Paris
8. Chloe Grace Moretz as "Isabelle" in Hugo
9. Elizabeth Olsen as "Martha" in Martha Marcy May Marlene
10. Kristen Wiig as "Annie Walker" in Bridesmaids

WORST PERFORMANCES OF 2011

1. January Jones as "Emma Frost/The White Queen" in X-Men: First Class
2. Blake Lively as "Carol Ferris" in Green Lantern
3. Jay Chou as "Kato" in The Green Hornet
4. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as "Carly Spencer" in Transformers: Dark of the Moon
5. Richard Gere as "Paul Shepherdson" in The Double
6. Peter Sarsgaard as "Hector Hammond" in Green Lantern
7. Christoph Waltz as "Chudnofsky" in The Green Hornet
8. Freida Pinto as "Caroline Arahna" in Rise of the Planet of the Apes
9. Laurence R. Harvey as "Martin" in The Human Centipede II: Full Sequence
10. Lucas Till as "Alex Summers/Havok" in X-Men: First Class

FUNNIEST PERFORMANCES OF 2011

1. Melissa McCarthy as "Megan" in Bridesmaids
2. Charlie Day as "Dale Arbus" in Horrible Bosses
3. Kevin Spacey as "Dave Harken" in Horrible Bosses
4. Robert Downey, Jr. as "Sherlock Holmes" in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
5. Seth Rogen as "Kyle" in 50/50
6. Kristen Wiig as "Annie Walker" in Bridesmaids
7. Neil Patrick Harris as "Himself" in A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas 3D
8. Seth Rogen as the voice of "Paul" in Paul
9. David Tennant as "Peter Vincent" in Fright Night
10. Chris Cooper as "Tex Richman" in The Muppets
 
BEST CAMEOS OF 2011 (spoiler alert!)

1. Hugh Jackman as "Logan/Wolverine" in X-Men: First Class
2. Jack Black as "Himself" in The Muppets
3. Jamie Foxx as "Motherfucker Jones" in Horrible Bosses
4. Neil Patrick Harris as "Himself" in A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas 3D
5. Jim Parsons as "Human Walter" in The Muppets
6. Samuel L. Jackson as "Nick Fury" in Captain America: The First Avenger
7. Bob Newhart as "Louis Sherman" in Horrible Bosses
8. Zach Galifianakis as "Hobo Joe" in The Muppets
9. Martin Scorsese as "Photographer" in Hugo
10. Stan Lee as "General" in Captain America: The First Avenger

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST OF 2011

Bridesmaids (Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Jon Hamm, Chris O'Dowd)

BREAKOUT STARS OF 2011

1. Michael Fassbender (Jane Eyre, X-Men: First Class, A Dangerous Method, Shame)
2. Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life, The Help, Take Shelter)
3. Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
4. Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
5. Chris Hemsworth (Thor)
6. Tom Hiddleston (Thor, Midnight in Paris, War Horse)
7. Octavia Spencer (The Help)
8. John Boyega (Attack the Block)
9. Joel Courtney (Super 8)
10. Corey Stoll (Midnight in Paris)

BEST DIRECTORS OF 2011

1. Steve McQueen (Shame)
2. Martin Scorsese (Hugo)
3. Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
4. Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris)
5. Takashi Miike (13 Assassins)
6. Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life)
7. Bennett Miller (Moneyball)
8. Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive)
9. J.J. Abrams (Super 8)
10. David Yates (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II)

BEST MUSICAL SCORES OF 2011

1. Ludovic Bource (The Artist)
2. Cliff Martinez (Drive)
3. Howard Shore (Hugo)
4. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
5. Alexandre Desplat (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II)
6. Michael Giacchino (Super 8)
7. Mychael Danna (Moneyball)
8. Alexandre Desplat (The Ides of March)
9. Alan Silvestri (Captain America: The First Avenger)
10. Hans Zimmer (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows)

BEST ACTION/FIGHT SEQUENCES OF 2011

1. The entire second half of the movie (13 Assassins)
2. The Train Crash (Super 8)
3. The Battle of Hogwarts (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II)
4. The Elevator Fight (Drive)
5. Golden Gate Bridge showdown (Rise of the Planet of the Apes)
6. Harry vs. Voldemort (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II)
7. The Final Showdown (Attack the Block)
8. Thor vs. the Frost Giants (Thor)
9. Howling Commandos montage (Captain America: The First Avenger)
10. The Forest Chase (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows)

WORST FILMS OF 2011

1. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
2. The Human Centipede II: Full Sequence
3. The Hangover Part II
4. The Double
5. No Strings Attached
6. Dylan Dog: Dead of Night
7. Drive Angry
8. Green Lantern
9. Cowboys and Aliens
10. The Green Hornet

BEST FILMS OF 2011

1. 13 Assassins- Just like the classic jidaigeki films of master filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, Takashi Miike's 13 Assassins is a samurai movie of the highest regard: brutal, majestic, disciplined, intelligently crafted, and unrelenting in its intensity. Starting out slowly and patiently, the film's tension grows like a crescendo in a symphony, until it explodes in a climax of magnificent savagery and heartstopping spectacle. 13 Assassins brings an abundance of honor to its predecessors, and sets a new standard for not only its genre, but all films in general.
2. Shame- Michael Fassbender's fearless and devastating performance as a yuppie suffering from sex addiction is the nucleus for director Steve McQueen's bleak, heartbreaking, yet utterly magnetic drama, where we fall witness to man's downward spiral into physical, mental, and emotional self-destruction. Shame not only serves as powerful drama, but a mirror for the viewer to observe their own addictive tendencies and whether or not they're allowing their vices to slowly chip away at their own humanity.
3. The Artist- A joyful, intimate homage to the beauty and grace of cinema's silent era, The Artist marvelously replicates not only the technical aspects of that golden age, but also the earnest, romantic sense of glamour and showmanship made possible without the use of sound. Director Michel Hazanavicius crafts his film with the utmost respect for silent movies and their eternal allure, all while making the film his own.
4. The Muppets- Jim Henson's timeless creations couldn't have made their return to the big screen any sooner, and what a grand return it is. Nostalgic yet timely, hilarious yet tenderhearted, and chockablock with clever humor and a pathos that only puppets made of felt could radiate with such believability.
5. Hugo- A pitch-perfect primer for those interested in the earliest years of film history, Hugo is yet another flawless notch in director Martin Scorsese's belt: a finely crafted and meticulous love letter to the magic of cinema, reminding us that we all have a purpose in life, no matter how broken we might seem to be.
6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II- A decade after the first masterful adaptation of J.K. Rowling's hugely successfully boy-wizard book series was committed to screen, we've finally come to the end with a powerful, exhilarating, and bittersweet coda to one of the best film franchises in history after watching Harry and his friends literally grow up before our eyes.
7. Midnight in Paris- A lighthearted and witty tour of the ever-magical city of Paris, Midnight in Paris is Woody Allen's finest film in years, a superbly executed examination of both modernism and nostalgia, with a whimsical heart reminiscent of his older love letters to New York.
8. Drive- A jarring pastiche of the great crime films of various eras, Nicolas Winding Refn's meditative heist film is a rare juxtaposition of quiet introspection and brutal violence, harkening back to the days of '50s-era noir, '70s-era grittiness, '80s-era flashiness, and '90s-era postmodernism. It also taught us to takes the stairs instead of elevators.
9. Moneyball- A unconventional sports movie where the actual focus is on the business side of the game, Moneyball is buoyed by a fabulous script by Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian and a celebration of not only the underdog, but also those who overcome past disappointments by never giving up.
10. Super 8- Taking a cue from the early works of Steven Spielberg, director J.J. Abrams crafts an alien vistor film with a warmth and sense of realism that only an extremely talented cadre of child actors can bring about. With a terrific cast with brilliant camaraderie, amazing special effects, and a train crash scene to top all train crash scenes, Super 8 celebrates the wonders of filmmaking, the sanctuary it can bring, and the power of true friendship in trying times.
(Runners-up: The Tree of Life; 50/50; Captain America: The First Avenger)

FILMS WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2012

1. The Avengers
2. The Dark Knight Rises
3. Django Unchained
4. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
5. Prometheus
6. The Amazing Spider-Man
7. The Raid
8. The Great Gatsby
9. Brave
10. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Review: "GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE"

There's probably not a bigger or more prolific actor whose acting style and filmography has me on the fence more than Nicolas Cage.

On one hand, his body of work couldn't be more diverse and eclectic. Genuinely talented and possessing ample range that spans various genres, Cage has always managed to make most (if not all) of his roles memorable, even if it wasn't for the right reasons. Some of his best work involved him believably drowning inside the neuroses of his characters, from his Oscar-winning role as a suicidal alcoholic in Leaving Las Vegas and his dual role as screenwriting twins in Adaptation., to his portrayal of an obsessive-compulsive con man in Matchstick Men and his balls-off-the-wall aneurysm of a role as a corrupt cop in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. Cage becomes so committed to whatever role he takes on that it borders on absolute fearlessness.

But on the the other hand, that fearlessness has made him somewhat of a laughingstock in recent years amongst critics. Many of his most recent cinematic outings have been big-budget actioners low on brains, ultimately relying on Cage's penchant for bizarre madness or quirky line delivery. Stinkers like Knowing, Season of the Witch, The Wicker Man, Drive Angry, and Bangkok Dangerous have caused detractors to label Cage a mere "paycheck actor" who's complacent with sleepwalking through bland roles rather than taking on more challenging dramatic parts.

The same went for his role in 2007's supernatural comic book adaptation Ghost Rider, which, while somewhat successful commercially, once again was dependent on Cage's lunacy rather than taking the initiative to create a good story. But alas, the Hollywood gods decided that a sequel was in order, and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance delivers more of the schizophrenic same... though it's tough to determine now if that's a good or bad thing.

After making an ill-advised deal with the Devil (Ciaran Hinds) to save his father's life, stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze's (Nicola Cage) soul was bound to a demon, which transformed Cage into a fiery-skulled, supernatural bounty hunter known as the Ghost Rider whenever he was in the presence of evil. Spiteful of his cursed alter ego, Blaze secludes himself to Eastern Europe, where he tries to keep the Rider in check.

That solitude doesn't last for long, however, when French monk Moreau (Idris Elba) offers Blaze a chance to rid himself of his curse, on one condition. It turns out the Devil is in search of his son Danny (Fergus Riordan), whose mother Nadya (Violante Placido) made a deal with the Devil twelve years earlier to save her life, only if she bore the demon's son. Now the boy's 13th birthday is approaching, a day that the Devil plans to transfer his essence into Danny's body and remain young forever.

With the Devil's hired gun Carrigan (Johnny Whitworth), among others, on Nadya's tail, Blaze agrees to protect Danny and hold back the Devil's forces, only so he can be rid of his own curse once and for all.

First, some disclosure: I've always been a fan of Marvel's Ghost Rider character. Although I haven't consumed his comic book stories with the same intensity that I did for, say, Spider-Man or the Fantastic Four, I've always liked how the character's origin, powers, and even appearance defied the conventional standards that most heroes stuck to. After all, when the character first appeared in 1973, you couldn't really think of many funny-book characters with a "biker-from-hell" motif whose head was, of all things, a skull on fire.

Thus, when I saw the original Ghost Rider flick directed by Mark Steven Johnson, I was unimpressed. For starters, it was PG-13, a safety move on the studios' part that was in direct contrast to the brutal, dark tone that a movie based on Ghost Rider should've had. Even though it had its fair share of violence and spooky visuals, it was no scarier or off-the-wall than your everyday teen horror flick. Second, the story felt uninspired and pedestrian, not breaking any ground or giving us reason to care about what was happening. Finally, the lead performance by Cage surprisingly lacked the nuttiness that we've grown accustomed to, and aside from his Blaze doing "quirky" things like eating jelly beans from a martini glass or listening to the Carpenters, his performance fell flat.

This must've been a bone of contention as well for the sequel's incoming director team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (who both helmed the adrenaline-packed Crank films), because they've clearly told Cage to turn his crazy up several dozen notches. Usually, when Cage's characters are mentally unhinged, the filmmakers try to justify it with an external/internal stimuli (in Bad Lieutenant, it was drug addiction; in Face/Off, it was because he had John Travolta's face on his head). Here, Neveldine/Taylor would like you to believe that Johnny Blaze is going loopy because of the demon inside of him, but naaaaahhh, it's just Nic Cage once again overwhelming a movie with his oddball tendencies.

But the other part of me just can't get enough of it! It's as if Cage's bug-eyed, spastic, "a man possessed" persona (an acting method he's gone on record as calling "Nouveau Shamanic") is a drug of sorts, a demented hurricane that you just can't pry your eyes away from. Nevermind the one-dimensional performances from the rest of the cast (including the usually terrific Idris Elba), the uneven storyline and tone (it goes back and forth between cheesy B-movie and serious drama), or the seeming lack of continuity from the first film or the comics. But in the end, let's not kid ourselves. Movies as earnestly off-the-wall as this don't aspire for Oscar greatness. You're here for the Cage, and for the Cage only.

The psychotic special effects (the best including a climactic motorcycle/car chase) and hyperactive editing only amplifies Cage's manic Red Bull of a performance. Is this just one big joke, and only he's in on it? It's clear that he's having the time of his life, regardless of how good or bad the final product turns out to be. But it's this B-movie style insanity that makes this a far more interesting experience than the previous film. It's unfortunate that Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance didn't attempt to pay more tribute to the original comics, go for R-rated mayhem like it should have, or stick to one consistent style of tone, but I will admit that as a source of pure adrenaline, goofy humor (including a bit involving a Twinkie that made me chuckle, or that part where the Rider pisses fire...yes, that's right), and Nic Cage at his unhinged zenith, Spirit of Vengeance is a carnival ride that may not be the most sophisticated, but still a guilty-pleasure ride nonetheless.

Letter Grade: "C"

Review: "THE ARTIST"

Back in the day when I was a film major with hopes of becoming the next Scorcese or Spielberg, I was primed on the history of cinema with a battery of movie showings from the industry's infancy: from the experimental shorts and nickelodeons of Edison and Méliès to the dawn of the full-length feature, I was dazzled by the amazing innovations churned out by our first filmmakers in a surprising manner of only a couple decades.

My favorite part of those classes, however, was when we got to watch entries from the filmographies of two of my favorite film actors ever: Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Both men were pioneers in various facets of the industry, and their ability to convey pure emotion through only body language and facial expressions (without the need of dialogue) cemented their legacies as true Hollywood icons.

It made me all the more resentful that movies released in my lifetime didn't take chances and emulate the silent era's power to move mountains without the need for words (the closest we got was probably the brilliant first third of Pixar's WALL-E). It's my pleasure, then, to say that Hollywood finally took that gamble with French director Michel Hazanavicius' joyful and terrific homage to silent films, The Artist.

It's 1927, and George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is arguably the biggest film star in Hollywood. Known for his charming, roguish persona and his Jack Russell terrier who appears in many of his films, Valentin has always been a bankable star, much to the delight of his Kinograph Studios boss Al Zimmer (John Goodman), and the chagrin of George's unhappy wife Doris (Penelope Ann Miller).

After the premiere of his latest movie, as he's posing for his adoring crowd, George literally bumps into aspiring actress Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo). After signing her an autograph and posing with her for press photographers (which becomes speculative romantic fodder for the tabloids the next day), George manages to get Peppy a job as an extra in his new film.

But times start getting tough for George. A couple years later, Zimmer introduces George to the new technology of the "talkies", which George laughs off as a fad. But this fad grows into a full-blown revolution, with George's career dwindling, while, at the same time, Peppy climbs the ladder to Hollywood superstardom. As the years pass by and the economy is bludgeoned by the Great Depression, George must reevaluate his career and contend with the changing times his beloved industry faces.

I can honestly say that I felt a rush of nostalgia watching The Artist, which is impossible seeing how the films it emulates existed more than six decades before my birth. But everything about The Artist is just right: from the bombastic, sweeping, Steiner-esque score by Ludovic Bource and the gorgeous period costuming and set design, to the era-appropriate 1.33:1 aspect ratio and the intertitle cards which stood in for dialogue.

But even those intertitles are surprisingly few and far inbetween, as it's clear that Hazanavicius' stellar cast doesn't need dialogue (spoken or no) to tell a beautiful story. Dujardin, with charismatic shades of Clark Gable, is wonderful as the dashing leading man facing a personal and professional downward spiral, doomed to become obsolete when he learns that audiences aren't interested in simple "mugging" for the camera.

Supplementing Dujardin's charisma is an absolutely radiant Bejo as the rising star whose career trajectory is in direct contrast with George's. With a glistening smile and a spunky attitude not unlike the many female stars of the silent era, Bejo is a revelation. The rest of the cast, though clearly overshadowed by the leads, give it their all, including the great John Goodman as the requisite cigar-chomping studio head, James Cromwell as George's trusted driver, and even the dog playing George's terrier is a showstopper in his own right.

The filmmakers would be right to worry about this generation's attention span being at odds with being able to sit through a silent film (with only a smattering of sound effects and audible lines, only used in the right places), but as a card-carrying member of the YouTube generation, I can easily say that with a terrific screenplay, loving direction, and a standout cast, The Artist is not only one of the best films of 2011, but a pleasant reminder that Hollywood still has plenty of respect and admiration for its golden years.

Letter Grade: "A"