Erie Entertainment’s Best Movies of 2011
By: John C. Lyons
THE TREE OF LIFE (10) - Terrence Malick’s latest is mind-blowing. Awe-inspiring. Epic. A cerebral, spiritual, and metaphysical experience unlike any other. It blew me away. There are popcorn entertainments and then there are films like The Tree of Life. The Blu-ray is sitting on my shelf at home and easy access to transcendent art like this makes me a very happy guy.
DRIVE (9) - A slow burn to a bloody strong finale. Actor Ryan Gosling had a great year and director Nicolas Winding Refn has been put on the map after this one. The Edinboro Film Series is showing Drive next week and I’m very excited to catch it again on a big screen. I’ve been listening to the soundtrack at least once a week since its release. It’s safe to say this one stuck with me. Full review.
HUGO (9) – Put a tool like 3D into the hands of talented filmmakers and you get a movie like Hugo. Not a gimmick, but an experience. A love-letter to film and film preservation. This one was an odd match for Martin Scorsese to direct (the trailer wasn’t that great). Then I saw the movie and now I can’t imagine anyone else telling this story. Its not perfect, and I’m not certain if it will work as well for me without the full-immersion of the 3D theater experience (similar to Avatar which I haven’t been interested to re-watch at home), but in the moment I was loving this one.
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (9) – I saw the original Swedish film starring Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist and thought it was really good. It made my list of Noteworthy films in 2010 (AKA the runner-up list). The Swedish sequels that followed it though…not so much. So I felt an amazing director like David Fincher really had an opportunity to improve on the originals. Fincher’s adaptation starring Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig manages to edge out the first Swedish film in terms of overall quality and execution. His cold perfection puts some viewers off, but its the welcome glue that makes for a more complete work in my opinion. Mara deserves a lot of the credit though. The chemistry between the leads plays out slightly differently as well, dare I say more “playfully”, and I side with the idea to focus more on them than the failing publication. That being said I will gladly own the inevitable “director’s cut” in hopes of more Robin Wright.
13 ASSASSINS (9) – My favorite foreign film of the year comes from Audition director Takashi Miike. I rented this one, intrigued by the director tackling the samurai world, and was absolutely blown away. 13 Assassins feels like a much younger brother to The Seven Samurai. I always expect something notable from Miike, but I was really happily surprised with how well-developed each samurai was – no easy task. And that great, long-running action finale — awesome. I’m looking forward to watching this one again soon as I recently learned there is a lot of cultural symbolism going on I wasn’t aware of on first viewing. You can stream or Blu-ray on Netflix and I highly recommend you do!
PEARL JAM TWENTY (9) – Whether you equate their output quality with album sales numbers or not rock music fans know Pearl Jam is the best live rock band in the last twenty years. OK, so I am a little biased, but one cannot deny the unparalleled access to the behind the scenes footage of this megaband from the first days they played together is. It’s amazing some of the footage director Cameron Crowe got a hold of here to tell the story of their rise (and fall) to fame. Apparently someone knew they were about to create a piece of rock history back in the early 90′s and we all get to reap the benefits here because of it. It’s no secret we love this band at EEc and this was one of the best gifts given in 2011. Best music doc of the year.
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (8.5) - The surprise of the summer. Woody Allen does it again. A writer in love with a city. A man in love with the illusions of the past. A dreaming artist. This film is a real treat and my favorite romance of the year. And what a stellar cast! The script is tight and the performances are top-notch. Welcome back Owen Wilson. Full review.
YOUNG ADULT (8.5) - I really enjoyed Charlize Theron’s performance here. This character is ugly and unlikable and she puts it all out there. We’ve all met people like Mavis (Theron) and it’s hard not to imagine we’re creating more of them with programs like the Kardashians and Kendra as a constant source of “entertainment”. We see so many man-child stories, it’s nice to see some tackle women. A great dark comedy. Full review.
ATTACK THE BLOCK (8.5) – This English-import was on my radar since its early 2011 debut at SXSW and the good amount of internet buzz that came with it. I really enjoyed the energy and style on display. Director Joe Cornish takes the viewer and drops them right into the action on the streets of South London with a teenage lead cast of unknowns. A great monster movie with a contemporary twist. This movie is a whole lot of fun.
HANNA (8.5) – Director Joe Wright continues to rise on my list of favorite contemporary filmmakers. He stood out to me at first because of his signature lengthy and graceful single-shot scenes, and his repeat collaborations with one of my favorite actresses (Kiera Knightley). But now it seems whether he does a period movie or one about a hip teenage assassin, I am always impressed with the results. Star Saoirse Ronan annoyed the hell out of me in Atonement (as she’s supposed to) but here she shows she can hold her own with the likes of Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana. Great Chemical Brothers score too.
ANOTHER EARTH (8.5) – The best true indie of the year. Star Brit Marling got tired of being offered the same roles that most young women in the business get offered (girl getting killed in a horror movie) so she set out to write her own projects and found herself at Sundance a year ago starring in two movies. I haven’t seen Sound of My Voice yet, but Another Earth is a great combination of drama, romance, and science fiction. She’s definitely on my radar now.
THE WOMAN (8.5) – I had no expectations going into this film other than knowing about the infamous exit of a Sundance attendee at its premiere there. I had seen some of Lucky McKee and Angela Bettis’ previous collaborations and found them to range from uniquely odd to good, but I wasn’t familiar with author Jack Ketchum so I called in Zach Owen handle the review duties (great review here) for EEc. I later checked out the film myself and was pretty blown away. Despite going way over-the-top brutal at its climax the rest of the movie stands strong in making its point. Kudos to McKee and Ketchum in making a feminist movie with such balls.
MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE (8.5) – So the Olsen twins have been hiding a younger sister (Elizabeth Olsen) and based on her fearless performance here she is definitely one to watch. I love the flow of this movie and how it runs the past and present storylines in parallel. It’s a slow burn with an ending that annoys some but made me appreciate it even more. Another great supporting effort from John Hawkes too.
CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS (8.5) – Directed by Werner Herzog this movie was shot and presented in 3D, but unfortunately never played near Erie. On Blu-ray the effect is still jaw-dropping as Herzog captures the Chauvet caves of Southern France, featuring the oldest known pictorial creations of humankind in their astonishing natural setting. Amazing doc and a must see!
OTHER NOTEWORTHY FILMS FROM 2011: We Need to Talk About Kevin, Beginners, The Debt, The Artist, Contagion, Bridesmaids, Moneyball, Super 8, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Melancholia, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Trust, The Ides of March, Jane Eyre, The Descendants, Source Code, These Amazing Shadows, 50/50.
THE ONES WE MISSED: A Dangerous Method, Shame, A Separation, Pina, The Muppets, Take Shelter, Project Nim,The Guard.
PEOPLE OF THE YEAR: Michael Fassbender, Jessica Chastain, Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Brit Marling, and Elizabeth Olsen.
BEST INDIE FILMS: Bellflower, Another Earth, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Tucker and Dale vs Evil.
