*Written by guest contributor Evan Stevens*
The top 5. These are movies that I thought just had that little it extra. Some more time, care, character and life. The performances are all spot on, the stories memorable and the acting in most just that much tighter.
5) Rise Of the Planets of the Apes
Thought that X-men was the only redemption story this year? Think again. After one of the worst blockbusters in recent memory, putting a huge black spot on Tim Burton’s otherwise great career, the Mark Wahlberg led 2001 reboot shot down all hopes of salvaging a franchise that had all but disappeared on the big screen. Then comes 2011. Rise is a breath of fresh air, using eye-popping special effects via motion capture technology as well as a very smart script and story to tell one of the best block busters this year. 2010 saw the release of Inception, a movie that asked us to think along with its fast-paced visual story telling. Rise does something similar, giving us all the spectacle we could ask for as well as getting us to think more about what is going on around us- look at what we are doing in the medical fields and how we define emotion. Andy Serkis, best known for playing Gollum in the Lord of the Rings, delivers one of the most intriguing performances of the year as the head chimp Caesar.
His performance is entirely motion-captured, making the emphasis on how he moves and his body language. With almost no speaking parts, Serkis does wonders in conveying the emotion and distress of the chimp through his movement. There is a huge Oscar push for Serkis to be nominated- and it is totally warranted. For fans of the original movie, there are tons of little hints to the previous films (ie- the lost mission to Mars) that help to bring everything together. Not a true reboot to the long standing franchise, but more of a prequel of sorts, this is one flick you should be sure to check out.
4) Rango
Who knew animated movies could appeal more towards an adult audience directly and not have Pixar slapped somewhere on it? Breaking all sorts of animated film rules, Rango forgoes the much set-in-stone laws that animated movies are made for kids and have a few themes or jokes that only adults will get to keep them interested. Although it passes with a PG rating, it flirts dangerously with the PG-13 crowd. Spectacular animation that is wholly original and perfectly fits the grimy, dilapidated western setting and bolstered by strong voice performances by Johnny Depp, Ned Beatty and Bill Nighy, Rango is a true animated marvel. There are a ton of references to the golden age of Westerns and the likes of Eastwood and John Wayne, as well as some fun references to past Depp roles like Raoul Duke from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
t has blood, strong language, adult situations and just enough spectacle to keep the children entertained even if they don’t get the subtle jokes and innuendos that Rango presents. In a year when Pixar finally had an off year (see Cars 2), we are treated to one of the freshest animated movies conceived.
3) 50/50
The other “C” word. Cancer has always been a hard subject to sell in Hollywood. Making a good movie without making it too sappy is hard. Making a comedy about cancer is out of the question. Yet, here we are, with one of the best movies of the year. Writer Will Reiser liberally applies he true story of his experience with cancer to this Seth Rogan and Joseph Gordon-Levitt comedy. Films about cancer usually focus on evoking pity and sadness through family strain, heart break and death with the use of panning shots of hospital rooms, softly spoken words of love on a death bed and sappy music. 50/50 succeeds in telling a much more blunt and human story. Its true, cancer happens, death happens, but life doesn’t stop. It can still be fun, you can still have your friends around you, you can still be you.
Gordon-Levitt delivers one of his finest performances as the conflicted cancer patient Adam. He has that sad emptiness behind his eyes at times to evoke a certain amount of self pity, and at times there is a wild youthful hopefulness that just wants to make you smile. And Rogan’s unexpected turn from an obscenity spewing, shoulder-punching jerk to his true fundamental decency grows steadily over the film. It has a great ending scene that just makes you want to break out into a “why can’t I hold all these feels” moment.
2) Drive
This ultra-stylized throwback to the 70s/80s divided much of the general public due to its shocking violence and brutal story telling, but that does not make it a bad movie. On the contrary, up until a week ago it was by far my favourite of the year. Danish Director Nicolas Winding Refn, coming off one of the oddest and visually artistic works in Valhalla Rising, proves he has mastered his craft. Using his signature ultra-stylized film making, he creates possibly the coolest movie of the year. Ryan Gosling’s stellar performance of the epitome of “talk softly but carry a big stick” is possibly the best of his career as he plays the Driver, caught up in a mob hit when he falls for his neighbour played by Carey Mulligan. Cold, calculating, and playing by his own set of moral rules, the Driver is a man of ice, his heart beat never changing in the most intense situations.
Winding Refn gets strong supporting performances out Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman, and Albert Brooks, some of their best work in the past few years. Although it does have one of the best car chases in any action movie, drawing comparisons to the likes of the late Steve McQueen films, it is more about the depth of violence that one can sink to to protect that which is important to them. Damn, I want his jacket. So friggin’ cool.
*Come back tomorrow to see what landed at number 1*
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I admit, I giggled at "The other C word"