#6
Looper
Dir. Rian Johnson
Last year, my list was topped by none other than Nicolas
Winding Refn’s modern masterpiece Drive. If I had to re-rank the list, Drive would still be the best. What does this have to do with Rian Johnson’s
Looper? Well, I think one of the reasons I loved Drive so much was it’s ability to be so
much more than what it appeared to be on the surface. Looper accomplishes something very similar. On the surface, this looks like a pretty run
of the mill sci-fi action film. What you
really get is a thoughtful sci-fi drama with a lot of heart. Johnson and his star, Joseph Gordon-Levitt,
gave a much needed shot in the arm to a genre that seemed to be on the decline. It may be a movie that leaves you with some
questions at the end, but as long as it gets you thinking, it has done it’s
job.
#5
Silver Linings Playbook
Dir. David O. Russell
Despite all the praise this film got coming out of the
Toronto International Film Festival and from other early screenings, I never
really had any intention on seeing it. I
do like David O. Russell and I enjoyed his previous work with Three Kings and The Fighter, but I wasn’t sure this one was for me. Still, when I heard Robert DeNiro was
actually good in this, I had to see for myself that it was true. And, guess what? It was! But it’s not just Bobby D who was great, it
was the whole cast (as evidenced by every major player in the film getting an
Oscar nod). Along with DeNiro, you have
Jacki Weaver earning her second nomination after 2010’s Animal Kingdom. She plays a
mother again, albeit a much less diabolical one and shows she was not just a
one hit wonder. Then you have Bradley
Cooper, who apparently can really act in things other than The Hangover. This was
obviously a stepping stone to a new career direction for him. But, the best of them all has to be Jennifer
Lawrence. If you couple this with The Hunger Games, it’s obvious she has a
lot of versatility. When she wins Best
Actress for this performance (calling it), then she will have officially
cemented herself as one the best actresses working in Hollywood. All these performances add up to make a
really great, charming, and witty film.
With all my initial reservations, I am glad I gave this one a shot.
#4
Rust and Bone
Dir. Jacques Audiard
When
it comes to French dramas, no director does it better than Jacques
Audiard. The auteur last made a picture back
in 2010 with the searing crime epic A
Prophet (very highly recommended, by the way) and now he has returned with
an emotional drama in the vein of Blue
Valentine. As great a job as Audiard
did in crafting this truly unique love story, it couldn’t have possibly been as
good without it’s two leads, Matthias Schoenaerts and Marion Cottilard. This marks the second film on this list
starring Schoenaerts and I think he has cemented himself as the breakthrough
actor of the year. Seeing a few
interviews I have with him, it’s pretty clear that his English is pretty good
also, so it is only a matter of time before we see him in Hollywood. Even though I thought Schoenaerts did an excellent
job, this is really Marion Cottilard’s show.
For what it’s worth (and that’s not anything, really) I thought she gave
the single best performance of any actor in any movie this year. Playing a double amputee cannot be an easy
task, but she completely nails it. I never
even had a moment while watching the film where it occurred to me that she
actually has legs in real life. It’s her
performance alone and the chemistry she has on-screen with Schoenaerts that
make this film worthwhile.
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