Movies of 2011

Time to take stock of this year’s movies. This was the year that the Netflix bosses’ greed nearly brought down the franchise. Despite this, I stayed loyal – while dropping back to a 1-disc-in-the-mail contract – as the service remains invaluable in bringing off-beat indie, foreign and documentary films to western New York. I kept up my regular correspondence with the managers of the local cinemas in the hope that my solo hectoring might encourage them toward more edgy programming. Finally, let me recommend the “Doug Love Movies” podcast, hosted by comedian Doug Benson and featuring a panel of fellow movie-loving comics discussing the latest releases and playing the legendary Leonard Maltin game.

Here were the ones that I enjoyed most in the dark this year:

1. Win Win – Tom McCarthy’s latest miracle of a movie starred Paul Giamatti as a small town lawyer and Amy Ryan as his wife who take in a young waif who revolutionizes Giamatti’s high school wrestling team. It dealt honestly and with humor with the issues that face most American families today.

2. In a Better World –This Danish drama Oscar winner posed the question that underscores a lot of the problems in this world – how to combat violence both in one’s life and on the larger stage. Two fathers with two very different answers try to steer their sons in the right direction with varying degrees of success. It’s a fascinating two hours.

3. Beginners – In Mike Mills’ autobiographic effort, Ewan McGregor stands in as Mills as he suffers the loss of his mother and then faces up to his father (Christopher Plummer) coming out of the closet after fifty years of seemingly happy marriage. There’s just enough humor – largely centered a subtitled Jack Russell Terrier – to leaven the heavy stuff.

4. The Trip – It’s a deceptively simple premise: two brilliant British comic actors – Steve Coogan and Rob Bryden – tour some of the most beautiful spots in the north of England, all the while eating at some of the best restaurants in Britain and practicing their Michael Caine impressions. Hilarious from beginning. Get the DVD for over an hour of extra footage!

5. The Descendants – It’s been far too long since Alexander Payne’s last movie – Sideways. In this George Clooney vehicle based in Hawaii, he doesn’t disappoint. The setting and soundtrack are beautiful and Clooney has never put in a more nuanced and honest performance.

6. Miral – Julian Schnabel’s new film about the Palestianian/Israeli conflict caused a real ruckus in NYC when it first came out and no wonder! It is an unflinching look at Israel’s human rights record and the struggle of Palestinian women against occupation since 1947.

7. Meek’s Cutoff – Michelle Williams plays the lead in a group of some of the most ill-equipped pioneers on the Oregon Trail in the mid 19th century. The bleak cinematography and ominous score tip the viewer off to their inevitable fates. Stunning.

8. Winter in Wartime – Occupied Holland is the backdrop for this compelling WWII drama featuring a young boy who takes up the role of secreting away a downed British flyer behind enemy lines. The film asks viewers to question whether they would have risked life and limb to do the right thing in extremely fraught circumstances.

9. Incendies – This French drama features two young kids who are challenged by their mother’s will to travel back to their Lebanese ancestral homeland to uncover the secrets of their family. What they find is both tragic and explosive.

10. The Greatest Movie Ever Sold – Morgan Spurlock’s latest documentary rests on a fascinating question – can he get corporations to fund a movie that’s critical of the manipulative practice of product placement.

Notable Others:

• Bobby Fischer Against the World
• Cedar Rapids
• The Conspirator
• Circumstance
• Everything Must Go
• The Future
• The Help
• Hot Coffee
• Jane Eyre
• Life in a Day
• The Lincoln Lawyer
• Moneyball
• Of Gods and Men
• Page Eight
• The Perfect Host
• When We Leave
• Young Adult

Disappointments:

• The Ides of March – A political drama directed and starring George Clooney, alongside bevy of Hollywood talent (Gosling, Hoffman, Giamatti, Tomei). So, why is this such a boring unappealing effort?

• Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen stuffs more clichés about “The City of Lights” into one movie than one would think possible. I won't spoil the main hook to the movie just in case some of you want to suffer through this one.

• Red State – For month’s there was festival buzz about Kevin Smith’s new thriller about a gun-toting cult. It starts promisingly but spins wildly out of control in the final reel.

• Tree of Life – Terence Malick’s new film is quite baffling at first. It’s opening half hour is almost National Geographic in its presentation of cosmic images. In the end, Malick’s exploration of his Christian faith is an artier version of Mel Gibson’s epics.

Ones That Haven't Made it to Fredonia Yet:

• The Artist
• The Iron Lady
• Melancholia
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy