It wasn’t the best year for movie-going. Iron Man 2 was a disappointment, Harry Potter wasn’t half as good as it could have been, and apparently the new Narnia film wasn’t too hot either. Big surprise. All the re-tread summer action stuff and cg animation just kind of slipped past me without notice, and when I finally saw Toy Story 3 on DVD I was underwhelmed. Even the art cinema down the street hardly played a single film that sounded interesting. Thus, most of my movie viewing this year was classic and from the library.
That being said, I did find myself in the cinema a few times this year, often for repeat viewing of the same films, and these are the best I saw.
1. Inception
I reviewed this a few months ago, and I must stress once again that it’s not a great movie, but it might just be Nolan’s best so far. What really drew me in for repeat viewings–I saw it three times–was not so much the clever sci-fi elements as the deeply emotional twist that the main character faces. It’s maybe one of the most breathlessly tragic twists in cinema, and the fact that it’s revealed amongst a terrifying web of dream worlds and frenetic action makes it that much more powerful. I’ve rarely felt so moved by an “action” film. Even the subplot, involving a son and his unloving father puts a lump in my throat. Obviously, Hans Zimmer’s earth-shattering and eery melodramatic score helps, but I think the main power of this film lies in its audacity to force its viewers to confront the terror and sadness of death and the sense of loss it brings to the living. Truly a powerful and bewitching downer.
2. The Social Network
I keep trying to decide what exactly I liked about this film. It’s a dreary tale about lost innocence and broken friendship, and the main character is led astray and corrupted, so it’s definitely not the happiness factor that attracts me. I guess it’s the breezy way it’s told, through fun, rapid-fire dialog and stimulatingly intelligent editing. The acting is also superb, and though I know these characters are more fiction than fact, I’m still led to believe they exist and I’d love to meet them. I think one of the greatest powers of cinema is how it shows the viewer a world they’ve never experienced, and The Social Network does this superbly. I’ve never attended a prestigious college like Yale, neither have I witnessed the beginnings of a technological and social revolution. I don’t have super-brilliant friends who cunningly betray me and I’ve never been sued by spoiled rich twins who are also olympics athletes. I know I’m being overly specific, but it’s still true; I’ve never seen a world like this, and it’s a fascinating and contagiously interesting one. The story ends sourly but not without hope, and I was left wanting to know what happened next. That’s definitely the sign of a good story and a solid film.
3. Karate Kid
Having now seen the 1984 version I can say with confidence that this is the better film. Though not as classic as the original, it’s a far more dramatic and believable film with a stronger moral tone and longer, more complex training sequences that make the title character’s transformation from weakling to martial arts master much more believable and exciting. The best choice the directors made was to cast a younger Karate Kid. Small and wiry and only twelve, Jaden Smith is a good actor and makes for a likable yet flawed hero who needs to learn as much about respecting his elders as he does fighting skills. Jackie Chan also delivers a powerful performance as a humble yet wise martial arts master with a deeply tragic past. The setting, which has been moved from L.A. to Beijing really raises the stakes. Not only does Jaden’s character have to survive attacks by vicious bullies, but he has to find his place in a completely alien culture that isn’t very accepting or tolerant. The stakes are also raised in the final competition sequence, which is probably twice as long as the original’s and builds tension that is much stronger. The audience I sat with applauded at the end and I joined them.
4. Devil
Another film I’ve already reviewed here, this was definitely a welcome surprise. After reading mixed reviews, I wasn’t expecting much. The truth is, Devil is an exceptional thriller that executes a classic premise. A group of strangers are trapped in an enclosed space and one of them may be more than he seems. Though the film is violent, instead of devolving into sadistic slasher shock, it tells a complex story with a steadily unfolding mystery that leads to a truly surprising conclusion and a nice dramatic twist. The actors were all solid and the characters they portrayed were both complex and interesting. Though the theology is laughable, the religious themes are purposeful and lead to an inspiring message about the existence of God and the importance of forgiveness. This was definitely a return to form for M. Night Shyamalan, who both created the story and produced the film. Hopefully he can return to directing with the same quality.
5. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
My first Woody Allen film seen in a theater, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger was cringe inducing, but in a good way. After seeing Woody Allen’s last film, 2009’s Whatever Works, I was ready to write my favorite director’s new work off as being unrealistic in the toxic way it affirms immoral pleasure seeking, but his newest film proves that Allen was merely deviating, possibly in self-parody, from his otherwise mostly consistent philosophical course. In You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger selfish pleasure seeking is once again mocked and deceit leads back to ironic tragedy. Not his most memorable film, Stranger still presents an interesting cast of characters living in London who are all miserable wrecks. They deceive and hurt one another while pursuing selfish ends, but are always finally brought to ironically humorous justice. One character in particular, played by the great Anthony Hopkins, stands out as a seventy-something man who leaves his faithful wife to pursue a loose woman forty years his junior, played both viciously and sympathetically by Lucy Punch. The scenes between these two are cringingly awkward and desperately sad. It is clear that this woman is using Hopkins’s character for his money, but you still feel sorry for her and the horrible life she leads. This is in stark contrast a similar relationship in Whatever Works that was played only for laughs. There’s nothing to laugh about here, and when Hopkins finally comes to his senses, it’s a deeply tragic scene. I left the theater saddened but also entertained. Allen is a master of portraying human life in all its disrepair, and the inevitable justice all wrongdoers must face. It’s a great pity he has no knowledge of Christ and His redemptive grace. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is Allen’s solid return to moral filmmaking, and I look forward to his future work.
So, those are my five favorites for 2010. I also recently saw True Grit and Tron. Both were good but neither stood out as favorites to me. I’ll review both soon.