#5 - Changeling (Clint Eastwood)
I thought Changeling was pretty powerful and told an intriguing story. Angelina Jolie is underrated in my opinion, I think she is one of the best american actresses working today. Her portrayal of Christine Collins, a mother who's son goes missing and the police won't act for 24 hours, is heartbreaking and strong. When they reunite Christine with her son, she knows its not her child and the story gets crazier from there. Amy Ryan, John Malkovich, and Jeffrey Donovan stood out as great Supporting actors and I think it was a well acted film. Based on a true story, it does go down an intense emotional road but overall I'm give this movie a high 7 low 8 out of ten.
#4 - Appaloosa (Ed Harris)
2 films in a row directed by an actor/director. Ed Harris has always been a favorite of mine and I was excited for this one for months. The Story is about Virgil Cole (Harris) and his partner Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) who are hired to be the new law in a small western town called Appaloosa. The town is troubled by a man named Randall Bragg ( Jeremy Irons) and the duo fights to clean up the town and take down Bragg and his men. This was so fun and classic feeling, I loved the way they shot it with such authenticity to the genre. It wasn't too flashy and polished it was rugged and beautiful. Renne Zellweger played the object of affection for both of the leading men but was very unlikeable to me. My one real complaint would be the casting of her. My rating for this one would be a solid 8.#3 - Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen)
First of all I love Woody Allen and I think he understands not only women but human relationships better than most. I think his style is very unique and works against him in some of his less imaginative work but this was by far some of his best. This film centers around 2 best friends as the title suggests that head to Barcelona for a life changing summer. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) was my favorite of the characters, she was very intelligent and sensible and rational, more than anything she was the perfect actress for Woody Allen to direct and I was so impressed with this relative newcomers performance. Cristina's journey to Barcelona gets a little more interesting though as she enters into a relationship with a man she meets (Javier Bardem) who's ex Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz) is slightly neurotic and completely love sick for Juan Antonio. The three of them quickly enter into a relationship of desire and conflict. This fun tale of love and young adulthood was a clever and entertaining film. Penelope was the shit p.s. I give a 8.5 out of ten.
#2 - WALL-E (Andrew Stanton)
Oh my God!!!! WALL-E is definitely the cutest movie I've ever seen. Also a classic love story in many ways, and contains one of the most positive messages I think I've ever seen in a children's film. WALL-E is a robot who lives on an uninhabited earth to clean up the massive amounts of human waste so we can live on our planet again. All of the humans have been on a space voyage for years, waiting to return to a green earth. But our little robot friend soon falls for a lady robot named EVE. Eve was sent to find plant life and WALL-E is smitten. This journey goes from earth to space and is just so much fun. I can honestly say that it is arguably the greatest animated film of all time. Miyazaki's masterpiece of his career was Spirited Away to me and this film might be as good if not better but I love them both separately. However I feel that WALL-E is the same in that Pixar has been making amazing movies for years now with Disney but this one is by far at the top of the list! Its magnificent and I can honestly give it a 9.5#1 - The Fall (Tarsem)
My favorite one!! The Fall is one of the most beautifully stunning films I've ever seen. It shocks and surprises and shows you things in such a cool way. The story is about Roy (Lee Pace) Who's in the hospital after hurting himself trying to do a film stunt to impress a woman he loves. While recovering he meets a little girl named Alexandria (Catinca Untaru) Who fell picking oranges and is also staying there. The 2 bond quickly as Roy begins to tell her an epic story which she vividly imagines and you are transported back and forth between a hospital and an epic tale set in India. Roy's intentions are different then they initially appeared as he falls deep into depression and loses his desire to live. But the pair bring out the best in each other and although seems like a fun happy story has really dark and intense moments to it. I think the imagination of the director brought this story to an elevated place of pure entertainment. The underlying story of violence in film was genius and The 2 leads stole my heart and Impressed me with great performances. The Fall is the best movie I've seen this year and I will give it a 10!One close call that almost made the list was Burn After Reading (Coen Bro's) which was a lot of fun, however i found more issues with it than changeling so it didn't quite make it. See all of these films if you haven't. Check back soon for more reviews, recommendations, and rankings that I'll make.
No comments:
Post a Comment