MY FAVORITE FILMS OF 2010

In the past year, I saw roughly about 104 films in a theater and while sitting in the dark, I have witnessed the following: a tough bisexual chick with a mohawk and a very large tattoo, an anti-social computer nerd, imaginary worlds inside imaginary worlds, remakes of international films, remakes of Hollywood films, film versions of television programs, films inspired by a true story, films set in Boston, lesbian mothers, gritty cowboys, unbalanced ballerinas, animated animals seemingly jumping off of the screen and of course, lots of sequels. 

Hollywood, as it has always done, has stuck with the tried and true with the least amount of risk as possible but fresh and creative managed to sneak in from time to time. This was certainly a wild and weird but fascinating mix of cinema which I enjoyed very much (except for those 3D cartoon animals flying at my face which is a fairly disturbing trend).

There are still a few films that I haven't seen yet, such as "The King's Speech", "Another Year" "127 Hours" and "Blue Valentine" that could have possibly made this list but I think this is still a fairly complete and accurate review of the movies that have made me laugh, made me cry and made me simply very happy over the past year:

"THE FIGHTER"

It took over five years for actor Mark Wahlberg to bring to the screen "The Fighter", the true life story of boxer Micky "Irish" Ward but it was very well worth the wait. David O. Russell brilliantly directs this story of Ward who boxes to help support his family but he wants to do it on his terms despite living in the shadow of his older half-brother, Dicky Eklund who had a promising boxing career but lost it all due to his addiction to crack and trouble with the law. Christian Bale gives an amazing performance as Eklund plus very nice turns by Amy Adams as Micky's salty but sweet girlfriend and Melissa Leo as the tough mama of the brothers who is more interested in arranging Micky's fights than being his mother.

"THE SOCIAL NETWORK"

The well-deserved accolades keep piling up for "The Social Network". This masterful film by David Fincher in this story about whether it was college student, Mark Zuckerberg's (Jesse Eisenberg) own idea to create a website for fellow students to communicate with each other which later evolved in to this very lucrative global sensation or did he actually steal the idea from other individuals and cheated them out of their rightful part of the Facebook revolution? With a solid script by Aaron Sorkin, this film has also brought to Hollywood's attention such talented new young actors as Rooney Mara, Arnie Hammer, Andrew Garfield, Max Mingella and Justin Timberlake (!) that I'm very sure we will be seeing much more of them in the future.

"THE GHOST WRITER"

Despite whatever you may think about director, Roman Polanski personally, as a film maker, he is still at the top of his game. His latest film, "The Ghost Writer" is a tense political thriller about a writer (Ewan McGregor) assigned to complete the memoirs of a former Prime Minister (Pierce Brosnan) after the previous writer has died under mysterious circumstances. A terrific film full of suspense and intrigue with great performances by Mr. Brosnan and Olivia Williams as the puzzling wife of the Prime Minister.

"THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT"

In "The Kids Are All Right", Annette Bening and Julianne Moore play the lesbian parents of their two children who decide to seek out their sperm donor father (Mark Ruffalo) which only complicates and disturbs this family. Lisa Cholodenko co-wrote and directed this warm, funny and very moving film which features a sensational performance from Bening who should finally get that Oscar that she has been previously robbed.

"WHITE MATERIAL"

Iconic French director, Claire Denis and legendary French actress, Isabelle Huppert have teamed up to make "White Material". This beautifully poetic film about a coffee plantation owner in an unnamed country in Africa who refuses to leave even though the country is in the middle of a civil war with the rebel soldiers quickly approaching. Huppert, as usual, is electrifying and you cannot take your eyes off of her.    

"WINTER'S BONE"

In a breakthrough performance, Jennifer Lawrence plays a poor seventeen year old, living in the Ozarks, caring for her incapacitated mother and two younger siblings. She is in a desperate search to find her meth dealing father who put their home up as his bail bond or else the family will end up losing it. We are taken into a world that is bleak, dangerous and terrifying but is powerfully moving movie. "Winter's Bone" is a quiet and very natural feeling film that you should definitely check out.

"ANIMAL KINGDOM"

I didn't know what to expect from this little Australian film but I was completely blown away by "Animal Kingdom". This story of a family of criminals that is loosely based on the 1988 Pettingill case in Melbourne. This confident debut film from David Michod is filled with unexpected twists, shocking turns and superb performances, most notably by Jacki Weaver who plays the mother with a sunny exterior but a very dark interior.

"THE TOWN"

Ben Affleck returns to the director's chair for the second time with "The Town",  a taunt, well-crafted crime thriller. It certainly proves that Mr. Affleck's 2007 first first, "Gone Baby Gone" was no fluke. Set in Boston, the story of four life-long friends who also happen to be bank robbers make the mistake of taking a hostage (Rebecca Hall) and one of the robbers (Affleck) winds up falling in love with her. This brings the gang some unwanted attention from the F.B.I. A great cast that include Chris Cooper, Jon Hamm and Jeremy Renner.


"EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP", "JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK" and "BASQUIAT: THE RADIANT CHILD"

The only thing these documentaries have in common is that I loved them all. "Exit" is a fascinating (but questionable) film about photographer, Thierry Guetta who documents his life and becomes obsessed with street art, "A Piece Of Work" follows veteran comedian, Joan Rivers as she struggles to remind people that she is still funny and "The Radiant Child" features filmmaker, Tamara Davis's lost interview with artist Jean-Michel Basquiat that she builds a touching remembrance around on his life and work.



"THE MILLENNIUM TRILOGY"

The three Swedish-language films, "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" are based on the best-selling books by the late Stieg Larsson. Noomi Rapace plays Lisbeth Salander, a troubled computer hacker who teams up with magazine reporter Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) to solve a mystery involving a corrupt industrialist that include sex, drugs and murder. The strongest film of the group is "Dragon Tattoo" but they are all well done and entertaining and although these films are currently getting the Hollywood treatment, I highly recommend you see these original films first.

Honorable Mention: "TRUE GRIT", "EYES WIDE OPEN", "UNDERTOW", "FAIR GAME", "NOWHERE BOY", "CONVICTION", "GREENBERG", "SOLITARY MAN", "HEREAFTER", "PLEASE GIVE" and "I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS"

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT (2010)

Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg


Directed by Lisa Cholodenko


Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA.  July 20, 2010  7:45PM



The definition of what a "family" is has evolved over the years. Today, people are more open to the idea that parents can consist of something beyond a man and a woman, which brings us to the comedy-drama from Lisa Cholodenko, "The Kids Are All Right".

Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore) are a couple, together for over twenty years, who each gave birth to a child using the sperm of the same anonymous donor and they have raised their children together in Los Angeles. Nic is a very busy doctor while Jules stayed at home to care for the kids but now that they are older, she wants to get back to work and start a landscaping business. While Nic is tough, no-nonsense and the breadwinner which makes her more like a father figure of the family and Jules is the more maternal one, yet both bring a decidedly feminine approach in regards to the raising of their children.

Joni (Mia Wasikowska), Nic's daughter, is about to turn eighteen and go off to college and Jules's son, Laser (Josh Hutcherson) is fifteen and has had his fill of a house full of estrogen. Laser asks his sister to put in an inquiry about their biological father so he could meet him. Joni is not particularly interested in doing this and she is concerned that it might hurt both of their mother's feelings but reluctantly agrees.

It turns out that their father is very interested in meeting them and they arrange to meet at his restaurant. Paul (Mark Ruffalo), is lighthearted, an environmentalist and a confirmed bachelor. After their initial meeting, Paul hopes to stay in contact with his kids. Laser was unimpressed with him but Joni really wants to form a relationship with him but both decide to keep this from their mothers, at least, for a while.

After a misunderstanding about his sexuality, Laser winds up telling his moms that he had met his father. They are both surprised and a little upset but decide that they should at least meet this man if the kids are going to continue contact with him. Although Nic is a little icy towards Paul, they all have a nice dinner together and later Paul even decides to hire Jules to design the back yard of his house.

Paul certainly shakes up the household with the kids liking their father's loose and easy-going attitude compared to their more strict house rules while Jules enjoys all of the attention he gives her that Nic has been too busy to do. Unfortunately, Paul's desire to force his way in to this ready-made family and his lack of boundaries effects the family in a way that could potentially tear them apart.

"The Kids Are All Right" is hilarious, charming and features some well defined characters with all the emotions and flaws that people recognize and can relate to. It wisely chose not to deal with the political aspects of the issue of gay parenting, keeping the focus strictly on the relationships within this family.  I found it so refreshing that this film deals with the lives of gay people and yet these characters being gay is not the focus of the story.

I was thrilled that two of my favorite actresses were in the same movie together and they make a terrific team. Bening, who has given many fine performances over her film career, is the stand out here. Her Nic shields herself with a sharp tongue and steely exterior but underneath lies a sensitive and vulnerable woman. Bening may have the more showy part but Moore's Jules is the emotional center of their family. She is very good as Jules is trying to rediscover herself after many years of happily giving her life over to her family but is desperate for a little recognition from her partner. Both of these ladies should be remembered during Oscar season.

To be honest, I hadn't given too much thought before about Ruffalo although I was fully aware he was a solid performer with his roles in "You Can Count on Me", "13 Going on 30" and "Zodiac". But in this film, the actor is seen in a way we don't normally get to see him. Funny, magnetic and very sexy, Ruffalo effectively plays Paul as a man who has always used his seductive charm to his advantage and usually unconcerned about the potential damage he can cause in the process.

This is a great cast and all of the actors here bring their very best which includes "America's Next Top Model" runner-up, Yaya DaCosta who gives a nice performance as Tanya, Paul's employee/sleep-over buddy. But the real revelation in this film is Wasikowska. She has nice little moments throughout but I found her deeply moving as she silently holds back tears watching her family drive away after she's been dropped off at college. Her recent lead performance in Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" from earlier this year has only given audiences just a small taste of what she is capable of as an actor and I'm certainly interested in what Wasikowska will do in the future.

Cholodenko has made some very intriguing, yet not fully realized films like "High Art" and "Laurel Canyon". But with "The Kids Are All Right", the director has certainly reached a high point as a filmmaker. I think she is helped greatly with the writing what you know philosophy in this semi-autobiographical screenplay she co-wrote with Stuart Blumberg and together have crafted a warm, witty and emotionally honest story. I cannot possibly praise "The Kids Are All Right" enough. I feel certain that people in the major cities will appreciate the charm and humor of this film but I just hope that the folks in rural America will also be open to give this movie a chance.