The Best Films of 2010

1. LOURDES (Jessica Hausner, 2009)

LOURDES asks what a miracle is, on whose terms one should be determined, and who is deserving of such a blessing. A marvelous Sylvie Testud plays a woman with severe multiple sclerosis who is healed while on a pilgrimage in the southwestern French town. Director Jessica Hausner observes with detached amusement and seriousness how this seeming miracle changes the individual and the crowd in typical and unexpected ways. LOURDES shows reverence to the mystery while skewering how people try to divine it.

2. INCEPTION (Christopher Nolan, 2010)

Dazzling in its conception and execution, INCEPTION continues Christopher Nolan’s reign as the maker of Hollywood’s brainiest and eye-popping films. This multi-layered leap into the dream world electrifies with its visual and narrative construction. Perhaps INCEPTION’S commercial and critical success will plant the idea that blockbusters don’t always have to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

3. TRUE GRIT (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, 2010)

Joel and Ethan Coen settle into a vintage western remake that also has room for their signature quirks and humor. TRUE GRIT may be the most classical Hollywood film the brothers have made, but they’ve invested it with a great deal of craftsmanship and personality too. The performances are outstanding across the board. Hailee Steinfeld carries herself well with the immature certainty of youth while while Jeff Bridges’ Dude-ified Rooster Cogburn keeps the laughs coming.

4. FOUR LIONS (Chris Morris, 2010)

Comedies don’t get any nervier than director Chris Morris’s FOUR LIONS, which is built on the exploits of bumbling Islamic terrorists in a cell near London. Boldness in and of itself in a comedy doesn’t mean the material is actually humorous; however, FOUR LIONS is packed with razor-sharp wordplay and glorious slapstick that make it an explosively funny and unsettling film.

5. EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP (Banksy, 2010)

The brash and hilarious survey of the street art scene in the documentary EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP is enough to put one’s head spinning. Banksy, a celebrated graffiti artist and the film’s director, presents a quick history of this underground. Then he turns things around to discuss the nature of art, authorship, commerce, and hype. You never know when the rug will be pulled out below you in this thought-provoking and highly entertaining film.

6. HADEWIJCH (Bruno Dumont, 2009)

HADEWIJCH delves into its study of religious ecstasy and confusion with uncommon thoughtfulness. Julie Sokolowski delivers a great performance as a young woman working to make her proud displays of faith more humble, especially after she is sent from a cloistered life back into society. Her religious belief and assurance is powerfully examined as a lifelong dialogue instead of a simple choice that ends the conversation.

7. TOY STORY 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010)

The well is usually long dry by the time of the third film in a series, but the creative minds at Pixar again prove themselves an exception to the rule. TOY STORY 3 brings what should be a fitting conclusion to the adventures of Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the crew in this breakneck action picture and affecting meditation on family.

8. NEVER LET ME GO (Mark Romanek, 2010)

Spanning 1978 to 1994, NEVER LET ME GO tracks three special children who grow up together in a boarding school. In his skillful adaptation of the fantastic Kazuo Ishiguro novel, screenwriter Alex Garland reveals the secret about these characters basically from the outset, yet the underlying science fiction aspect is treated as a canvas for the relationships and emotional turmoil instead of being the main focus. NEVER LET ME GO can be about the soul, technological innovation, media messaging, or any number of things beyond what the plot spells out. Still, the main story regarding love and purpose plays as its own kind of beautiful heartbreak.

9. THE TILLMAN STORY (Amir Bar-Lev, 2010)

THE TILLMAN STORY is a tough and principled documentary about a family’s loss, their persistent search for the truth, and the manufacturing of myths and heroes. Pat Tillman did the unthinkable for a professional athlete. Months after the September 11, 2001 attacks, he left a lucrative career in the National Football League to become an Army Ranger. Tillman refused to explain his motivation for the choice. After he was killed in action, the official report told of a heroic battlefield death that didn’t mesh with the covered-up facts. Tillman became a symbol for the war that he never wished to be. In telling the story of his family’s pursuit for answers, director Amir Bar-Lev also explores our need for unquestionable heroes and how creating them is a disservice to them.

10. MARWENCOL (Jeff Malmberg, 2010)

The documentary MARWENCOL reveals the imaginative creations that bloomed out of tragedy and need for one man. After being assaulted Mark Hogamcamp lost his memory and turned to a unique way of rediscovering his identity and trying to recover. In his yard Hogancamp builds a World War II-era Belgian town he dubs Marwencol and fills its with dolls that function as the the alter egos of himself and those important to him. Director Jeff Malmberg provides a deeply empathetic view of loneliness and powerful evidence of art as an outlet. He also exercises restraint and displays respect for Hogancamp as he freely and frequently talks about the pain of being alone. This artist born out of necessity discusses his Marwencolian representation and imaginary world with a depth of feeling that most would reserve for real acquaintances. Some of the documentary’s most touching portions provide insight into the expressive and healing properties of the art on the creator.

2010 in Film: The Honorable Mentions

BLACK SWAN (Darren Aronofsky, 2010)

BLACK SWAN merges the sexual hysteria of Roman Polanski’s REPULSION with the ballet drama of Powell and Pressburger’s THE RED SHOES and throws in a generous dollop of Cronenberg-like body horror for good measure. Director Darren Aronofsky’s lurid mixture of high and low art makes for an often intoxicating film about creative risk and personal development. Natalie Portman’s performance thrills with how she manifests her ballerina’s psychosis, swinging from delicate technical precision and emotional repression to bold, forceful expressions.

CARLOS (Olivier Assayas, 2010)

Although five and a half hours long, Olivier Assayas’s CARLOS is a brisk and absorbing study of the infamous Venezuelan terrorist known as The Jackal. A magnificent setpiece recreating the 1975 raid on OPEC headquarters in Vienna and Edgar Ramirez’s magnetic lead performance are among the treasures in a biopic stocked with plenty to unpack regarding global and personal politics and how their tides shift.

CATFISH (Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, 2010)

Whether CATFISH is or is not a documentary--I don’t think it matters--it stands as a compelling look at the thrills and pitfalls of living in the social media age. The film follows its subject, one of the directors’ brothers, as online communications lead to emotional investment with a family hundreds of miles away and romance with one of the daughters. As doubt creeps in about the truth of the situation, the filmmakers make a surprise visit to find out who they’re talking to. The answers they find have a lot to say about what we’re seeking when we reach out to make connections over the internet.

EVERYONE ELSE (ALLE ANDEREN) (Maren Ade, 2009)

The exquisitely made EVERYONE ELSE is a painfully observed exploration of a relationship and each person’s culpability when it frays. In watching how people interact when they are alone, especially two who want to break away from the pack, the film is astonishingly keen in its intimate insights. As the couple, Birgit Minichmayr and Lars Eidinger do an extraordinary job of conveying the small ways people test and hurt the ones they love.

THE FIGHTER (David O. Russell, 2010)

In THE FIGHTER director David O. Russell tells the true story of underdog welterweight boxer Mickey Ward as part dysfunctional family comedy and part inspirational sports movie. A stellar supporting cast featuring Melissa Leo, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams often swipes scenes from Mark Wahlberg’s understated main character. Humming with humor and working class determination, THE FIGHTER finds that the most important sparring matches often occur outside the ring.

THE GHOST WRITER (Roman Polanski, 2010)

Co-writer/director Roman Polanski fashions THE GHOST WRITER as a '70s-styled potboiler bubbling with paranoia and conspiracy. This isn't CHINATOWN level work from Polanski, but THE GHOST WRITER still succeeds as an above-average thriller that dabbles in the political and the personal. A ghost writer's purpose is to tell someone else's story in that person's voice. As co-writer and director Polanski gets to speak for himself through the film, but for all of it's mirroring of real life circumstances, THE GHOST WRITER'S shrouded revelations are ever transitory.

GOING THE DISTANCE (Nanette Burstein, 2010)

GOING THE DISTANCE is a consistently funny romantic comedy, which is rare enough. It also possesses the wisdom to explore the natural challenges in Drew Barrymore and Justin Long’s bicoastal romance rather than contriving conflicts. Although the set-up is familiar, the film’s warmth, vulnerability, emotional truth, and raunchiness distinguish it from the pack of so-called love stories.

GREENBERG (Noah Baumbach, 2010)

Writer-director Noah Baumbach’s dramedy GREENBERG is a deeply felt observation of flawed individuals trying to cope with life’s problems. Ben Stiller does some of his finest cinematic work as the prickly and self-sabotaging title character. The performance requires looking beyond the surface to see a wounded soul who believes he can only feel better by making others miserable. Greta Gerwig matches Stiller’s performance with a turn that shows how awkward and unguarded optimism can survive among disappointment and sadness.

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT (Lisa Cholodenko, 2010)

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT overdoes it in laying out its themes in the final act, but nevertheless, writer-director Lisa Cholodenko and co-writer Stuart Blumberg have crafted a funny and generous film about family ties. Although gay spouses anchor the film, it illuminates the universal strains that come with coupledom and parenting rather than speaking to anything specific to sexual orientation. THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT finds gentle laughs among and enormous sympathy for the trials of family.

MOTHER (MADEO) (Bong Joon-ho, 2009)

MOTHER co-writer and director Bong Joon-ho assembles an expertly constructed thriller with a surprisingly deep well of emotion and ribbons of humor. Kim Hye-ja’s remarkable performance speaks to the fierce devotion and love that a parent can exhibit when protecting a child.

PLEASE GIVE (Nicole Holofcener, 2010)

Writer-director Nicole Holofcener’s PLEASE GIVE humorously grapples with the problems of the fortunate, particularly those burdened with white liberal guilt. PLEASE GIVE shares a comedic sensibility with Woody Allen’s films while taking a female perspective on ordinary family problems, fear of mortality, self-image issues, and the illusion of control one has in life.

SHUTTER ISLAND (Martin Scorsese, 2010)

SHUTTER ISLAND is Martin Scorsese’s sublime version of a 1950s Hollywood thriller. It’s a treat to see one of the all-time greats having fun with a genre film. Scorsese utilizes the overheated tone and vivid colors produced in Robert Richardson’s cinematography to ratchet up the suspense unlike few can.

THE SOCIAL NETWORK (David Fincher, 2010)

THE SOCIAL NETWORK is as elegant and brilliant as a well-written line of code. Director David Fincher and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin's fictionalized account of Facebook’s founding dives into some of today’s big questions brought about by technological advancements and boasts a complex and masterful lead performance from Jesse Eisenberg. The script provides the foundation for a hugely entertaining drama that has a fair share of big laugh lines. Fincher’s smooth direction guides us through complicated legal proceedings and a social world not nearly as neatly organized as a social media tree.

SOMEWHERE (Sofia Coppola, 2010)

Although SOMEWHERE throbs with dissatisfaction and longing for purpose, writer-director Sofia Coppola’s film reveals itself as a dryly funny meditation on being adrift in Hollywood. Coppola sympathizes with a movie star’s burdens while observing the inherent absurdity of the profession. Elle Fanning shines as the daughter who helps routine-stuck father Stephen Dorff emerge from his privileged and suffocating cocoon.

WILD GRASS (LES HERBES FOLLES) (Alain Resnais, 2009)

When WILD GRASS was released, French director Alain Resnais was 87 years old and 48 years removed from when his classic LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD debuted, yet his ability to confound hasn’t dimmed. In this puckish and unpredictable romantic comedy-drama-mystery, meaning is elusive as ever, but WILD GRASS is a delight from beginning to end, especially the inscrutable ending.

WINTER’S BONE (Debra Granik, 2010)

Co-writer/director Debra Granik captures an outstanding sense of place yet never condescends in the Ozarks noir WINTER’S BONE. Jennifer Lawrence gives a terrific lead performance as a teenager who embarks on a harrowing journey in search of her no-good father so as to save the family’s house.

The Worst Films of 2010

1. THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE (FIRST SEQUENCE) (Tom Six, 2009)

The most notorious film of 2010, at least among cinephiles on the internet, was also the year’s worst. Like a carnival barker, THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE entices the adventurous with the promise of a repulsive display that begs to be seen but fails in its delivery of gory one-upmanship. The film’s most shocking quality is it’s capacity to bore. THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE is a repellent film, but that's exactly the condemnation it needs to advance its reputation as a transgressive work. Being disreputable is the film's only distinguishing characteristic, even if in this case its offenses have been overhyped to Barnum-esque proportions successfully enough that a sequel is in the works.

2. TRASH HUMPERS (Harmony Korine, 2009)

TRASH HUMPERS, from cinematic agitator Harmony Korine, is a tiresome example of shock for shock’s sake. Shot on VHS and edited to resemble a weird, grubby found videotape, it’s a bunch of performance art nonsense with the director and others in old people masks humping garbage and vandalizing. Just because it’s outré doesn’t mean it’s profound or artful.

3. ENTER THE VOID (Gaspar Noe, 2010)

French provocateur Gaspar Noe’s ENTER THE VOID certainly doesn’t lack ambition. This psychedelic, first person perspective of a young drug dealer’s death, voyage into the hereafter, and rebirth is artistically indulgent in the worst way. With the camera floating around Tokyo, watching ENTER THE VOID is like seeing a sexed-up two and a half hour loop of the old Dolby Digital Broadway promo while on heavy depressants and hallucinogens.

4. JONAH HEX (Jimmy Hayward, 2010)

The adaptation of the graphic novel JONAH HEX was the most ineptly made major studio film of the year. Like PUSHING DAISIES' Ned without the delicious pie-making skills, Josh Brolin's disfigured anithero can resurrect and speak with the dead for a few moments, but making the film comprehensible at all is beyond his powers or anyone else’s powers. JONAH HEX isn’t merely bad; it’s flat out incompetent.

5. THE BLACK WATERS OF ECHO’S POND (Gabriel Bologna, 2009)

That the Z-grade horror film THE BLACK WATERS OF ECHO’S POND managed to swing a theatrical release is something of a miracle. This is more like a cheap knock-off found in the DVD bargain bin than a multiplex. A despicable group of young, bland, and obnoxious people are stuck on an island playing an evil board game that predictably leads to most of them being killed. The murky visuals and number of scenes reliant on ponderous dialogue show every bit of its low budget on the screen.

6. THE VIRGINITY HIT (Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland, 2010)

The hugely off-putting teensploitation comedy THE VIRGINITY HIT purports to be a documentary about a hateful group of friends seeking to document the last of the bunch having sex for the first time. The premise itself isn’t drastically different from other teen sex comedies, but what makes it truly insufferable is the conceit that these are real home videos of their adolescent shenanigans. For these characters, personal privacy and intimacy are just obstacles to putting every experience on YouTube.

7. THE WARRIOR’S WAY (Sngmoo Lee, 2010)

THE WARRIOR’S WAY mashes up genres and styles in an unlikely and catastrophic manner. Imagine a martial arts western as directed by a Prozac-addled Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Imagine how terrible that sounds, even with some late arriving ninjas. That’s THE WARRIOR’S WAY.

8. THE NUTCRACKER IN 3D (Andrey Konchalovskiy, 2010)

The hideous poster for THE NUTCRACKER IN 3D practically promised that it would be one of the year’s worst. Call it truth in marketing, even if that surely wasn’t the intent. Unfortunately this adaptation of the classic ballet is just a dull, badly conceived, effects-heavy farrago than the amusingly terrible movie I’d hoped for. Still, it does have Nathan Lane playing Einstein, or someone suspiciously close to him, and an impending toy holocaust that is sure to horrify any kids with the bad luck to see it.

9. CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE (Brad Peyton, 2010)

I can’t imagine any poor souls were holding their breath for nine years in anticipation of a CATS & DOGS sequel, but 2010 produced this inessential follow-up anyway. As the titles suggests, CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE is a lame spy movie parody with talking animals. Does it recycle all the tired cliches one expects? You bet.

10. SEX AND THE CITY 2 (Michael Patrick King, 2010)

SEX AND THE CITY 2 takes self-absorption in front of and behind the camera to new levels. The comedy represents all of the worst stereotypes of Americans at home and abroad. It’s an amazingly tone deaf film with the audacity to pat the nation’s mothers on the head when two of the spoiled characters bemoan the weight of parenting without a nanny. The critics heaped scorn on SEX AND THE CITY 2, and it was all deserved. But never mind that. SHOES!!!

Somewhere

SOMEWHERE (Sofia Coppola, 2010)

Holed up in the famous West Hollywood hotel Chateau Marmont, movie star Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) floats through his days with an abundant supply of cigarettes, alcohol, and women wanting to sleep with him. Occasionally work interrupts his unhurried daily routine, but posing for publicity photos, fielding inane interviews questions, and sitting for a prosthetic mask fitting aren’t the most demanding or energizing tasks.

Johnny is in a rut, and the circumstances encourage him to stay in it. He’s acquired enough fame and money that he can have whatever he wants. By all appearances he doesn’t get much pleasure out of his good fortune, but there could be worse problems to have.

One day his willowy eleven-year-old daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) is dropped off at his door. When her mother will return for her is uncertain. Johnny isn’t an uninterested father, but the impression is given that he doesn’t play the role of parent on a regular basis. As he and Cleo hang out, the emptiness in his life becomes more apparent to him.

SOMEWHERE writer-director Sofia Coppola’s body of work explores lives in suspended isolation. This marks her third consecutive film about privileged people living in gilded cages. So it’s fitting that SOMEWHERE opens in the desert with Johnny driving his sports car in circles. The image is an obvious one, yet it’s still an effective and efficient way of conveying the existential crisis nagging the protagonist. Whether it’s the career or race track, Johnny has the means and the horsepower at his service to venture off the courses he’s found himself on. Nevertheless, he can’t or won’t get out of the infinite loops.

Although the film throbs with dissatisfaction and longing for purpose, SOMEWHERE plays as a dryly funny meditation on being adrift in Hollywood. Coppola sympathizes with a movie star’s burdens while observing the absurdity of the profession. Johnny’s presence at the junket roundtable with foreign press seems almost unnecessary as they pepper him with stupid questions yet barely wait for his equally pointless answers. His photo shoot with a co-star puts him through the indignity of being propped up on a board to reach her height. Additionally, both of them have to smile their way through being in close proximity and fake enjoying one another’s company when she clearly resents how he treated her.

The peak of “I get paid for this?” ridiculousness comes as Johnny must sit still for forty minutes while he’s slathered with goop that he waits for it to harden into a mold of his head. The medium shot of him sitting there encased in it highlights the absurdity of it all.

Johnny’s connection with Cleo becomes his life raft and throws into sharp relief how he relates to the women around him. Almost without exception the women he encounters bend over backwards, literally and figuratively, to please him regardless of if he’s shown an interest in them. They don’t need him to be anything more than what they’ve seen on movie screens and in magazines. He doesn’t ask of them to be something beyond outlets for his sex drive.

Cleo’s presence doesn’t erase this behavior in himself or those offering themselves to him, but Johnny slowly awakens to the harmful example he may be setting for the girl who is counting on him to be more than a movie star. In a strong supporting performance, Fanning fills Cleo with unconditional affection for Johnny. It’s possible to understand how the innocence and love beaming from her could shake him out of his static life.

SOMEWHERE doesn’t really earn its ending. Whether it’s the screenplay’s small scale view of the character, Dorff’s limitations, or a combination of both, the resolution feels as though it’s been arrived at too quickly and easily. Regardless, SOMEWHERE finds Coppola mining similar territory and discovering new elements.

Grade: B+

Blue Valentine

BLUE VALENTINE (Derek Cianfrance, 2010)

Two people don’t enter into a relationship with the expectation that it will develop into something in which both parties are unhappy, but inevitably that’s how some of them turn out. The drama BLUE VALENTINE crosscuts between the beginning of a romance between Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) and a few years into their rocky marriage.

When they meet he works for a Brooklyn moving company while she is a student with an eye toward becoming a doctor. The future seems full of potential. Years later Dean is a painter, a job that affords him the freedom to start the day with a drink, she’s a nurse, and they have a daughter. In what feels like an attempt to reignite a marriage whose passion and hope has been nearly extinguished, Dean books a room in an out-of-town theme motel to take them away from the problems at home.

BLUE VALENTINE’S structure sets up comparisons and contrasts of the way they were and how they are. While this stylistic choice allows for acknowledgment of the most glaring examples of how Dean and Cindy have changed, by eliminating the messy in between days, the film skips the crucial journey from happy times to marital dissatisfaction. Neither half is instructive regarding the other. Knowing where the relationship is headed lends bittersweet notes to the scenes from the past, but the conclusions BLUE VALENTINE draws ultimately feel pat.

It doesn’t help that scenes from the start of their relationship suggest that they were never an ideal pair. The seeds of a romance that will turn rancid are visible early on. The film often seems less than charitable to Cindy and favorable toward Dean, which doesn’t add up if it is director and co-writer Derek Cianfrance’s intention.

Gosling and Williams deliver good, full-bodied performances that make BLUE VALENTINE impossible to dismiss completely. Dean playing his ukulele and singing to Cindy while she humors him and his proud presentation of a song that can be exclusively theirs show the tenderness and charm these two are capable of. The contrast is especially jarring when seeing them as hardened shells of individuals alone together and going through the motions of a loving couple in a cheap motel room. Gosling and Williams work hard to depict how much these people have fallen out of love. If only the screenplay had provided more of a foundation for sharing the pain in their crumbling relationship.

Grade: C

Marwencol

MARWENCOL (Jeff Malmberg, 2010)

The documentary MARWENCOL reveals the imaginative creations that bloomed out of tragedy and need for one man. On April 8, 2000 five men assaulted Mark Hogancamp outside a bar in Kingston, New York. He suffered brain damage, needed to have his face rebuilt, and was in a coma for nine days. Hogancamp also lost his memory of life before the incident.

Unable to afford therapy, he developed a unique way of rediscovering his identity and trying to recover. In his yard Hogancamp builds a World War II-era Belgian town he dubs Marwencol and fills its with dolls that function as the the alter egos of himself and those important to him. Hogancamp invests these dolls with his fantasies and photographs the scenes.

MARWENCOL provides a deeply empathetic view of loneliness and powerful evidence of art as an outlet. Director Jeff Malmberg exercises restraint and displays respect for Hogancamp as he freely and frequently talks about the pain of being alone. This artist born out of necessity discusses his alter ego and imaginary world with a depth of feeling that most would reserve for real acquaintances. Of course, the people in his one-sixth scale artistic fantasies do exist, but like his past, they cannot be accessed in the ways that he often desires.

Perhaps in a different vein Hogancamp’s channeled energies might come off as bordering on creepy, but within the context of self-therapy it seems like a healthy way to work out his demons. Some of the documentary’s most touching portions provide insight into the expressive and healing properties of the art on the creator. One storyline in his miniature world mirrors his attack. While it’s clear that the assault still haunts him, the Marwencol plot lets him manage his anger in a constructive way. The same applies to a secret revealed later on--and also echoed with his alter ego--that allows Hogancamp to feel more at ease about what makes him him.

A viewer of Hogancamp’s art remarks that the work distinguishes itself with its lack of irony. Malmberg’s documentary takes a great deal of care to duplicate that perspective on its subject. Hogancamp is not presented as a whimsical outsider with a monopoly on the answers to life’s problems or as an eccentric tortured genius. He’s simply a traumatized individual trying to do the best he can to pick up the pieces in a way that works for him and also happens to speak to others.

Grade: A

No Strings Attached

NO STRINGS ATTACHED (Ivan Reitman, 2011)

To Adam (Ashton Kutcher) the proposal sounds too good to be true. Longtime acquaintance Emma (Natalie Portman) suggests that they become, to use a euphemism, friends with benefits. As the film’s title explains, they’ll have sex with no strings attached. They won’t go on dates or take vital roles in one another’s lives. Developing feelings, like post-coital cuddling, isn’t just discouraged but is strictly forbidden. They’ll use each other for sex. That’s it.

The pact seems ideal for Adam, who receives this offer after coming off a bender inspired by learning that his ex-girlfriend Vanessa (Ophelia Lovibond) is now sleeping with his dad (Kevin Kline). After such an emotionally traumatic experience, he can limit his vulnerability if involved with Emma in a purely physical way. Plus, he’s been interested in her since they attended summer camp together as kids.

As with most deals that defy belief, being best sex friends is more complicated than Adam anticipated. He feels jealous of a co-worker who pays her attention and begins to crave something akin to a dating relationship. Emma rebuffs the idea and encourages him to sleep with another woman so they won’t become too dependent on each other. Inevitably, though, Emma regrets pushing him into someone else’s embrace while remaining uncertain of what she wants.

NO STRINGS ATTACHED entices with its libertine premise about the joys of relationship-free sex, but the come-on is really just a lusty tease for a standard romantic comedy. Aside from an early montage of Kutcher and Portman coupling in beds, showers, and storage closets, Elizabeth Meriwether’s screenplay ditches the central conceit to get down to the business of making the leads acknowledge their love for each other.

The problem isn’t that NO STRINGS ATTACHED resolves itself in traditional moral terms but that it lacks the conviction to explore the very basis of the plot. A better version of the film might still arrive at the same conclusion while also considering the dynamics of a sex-based relationship free of emotional ties. NO STRINGS ATTACHED doesn’t allow room for such reflection. Rather, it sees two attractive people and decrees that they should be together happily ever after. Leave it to Joe Swanberg or the French to examine hook-up culture.

Then again, maybe a more thoughtful approach wouldn’t have worked because Portman’s character verges on having a full-blown personality disorder. Her refusal to develop close connections to anyone indicates issues beyond a mere desire for casually indulging in pleasures of the flesh. Emma is written crueler than Portman seems capable of playing her, which makes for a lighter film and a fine bit of irony with NO STRINGS ATTACHED coming on the heels of BLACK SWAN. She and Kutcher make an appealing on-screen pair, although not one with much spark or color. They seem like nice but boring people.

The more interesting characters are hidden in the margins, and director Ivan Reitman gets his money’s worth when briefly giving them the spotlight. Stuck in the sidekick zone are Greta Gerwig, Mindy Kaling, and Guy Branum as Emma’s fellow doctors and roommates, Olivia Thirlby as her engaged sister, and Jake Johnson and Ludacris as Adam’s pals. NO STRINGS ATTACHED tends to perk up and be funnier when the extensive supporting cast chimes in with their opinions about the predicament Adam and Emma have boxed themselves in. It even produces a greater sense of romantic longing missing in the main couple when the attention shifts to the hesitant and flirtatious interactions between Adam and his infatuated co-worker Lucy (Lake Bell).

Reitman guides NO STRINGS ATTACHED with an old pro’s workmanlike abilities, but when it comes to love, sex, or just a couple hours at the movies, achieving efficient competence isn’t the most satisfactory outcome.

Grade: C

The Dilemma

THE DILEMMA (Ron Howard, 2011)

Best friends and business partners Ronny (Vince Vaughn) and Nick (Kevin James) are in the middle of a major project that could make or break their auto design company when Ronny sees Nick’s wife Geneva (Winona Ryder) kissing another man. Ronny knows that Nick is already under a lot of pressure at work, so rather than drop the news on his friend, he attempts to fix the situation by talking to Geneva about it first.

When he confronts her, she threatens to to tell Nick about a one night stand she had with Ronny in college before she met her husband-to-be and lie about Ronny making advances on her for years. Due to the circumstances, Ronny can’t tell his longtime girlfriend Beth (Jennifer Connelly) what he knows, so his secretive behavior makes it appear as though his gambling problems have resurfaced.

Rather than the rollicking comedy that the ads make it out to be, THE DILEMMA is more along the lines of THE BREAK-UP, another dramedy starring Vaughn that took a tougher look at trust in relationships than most of its cinematic brethren do. Although not without laughs, THE DILEMMA seriously examines the movie cliché of swallowing a burning secret and the ill effects suffered from doing so. Consider it a corrective to the hundreds of films in which a simple misunderstanding or problem could be cleared up if one person would simply speak up.

In this case, Ronny doesn’t have an easy choice. Withholding the information is ruining Ronny’s peace of mind and relationship with his girlfriend, but if he tells Nick, particularly at this sensitive point in time, the truth could wreck their friendship and company. Plus, it comes to light that Nick and Geneva’s picture perfect marriage may not be as unblemished as it seems from the outside.

The barbed humor comes in observing the smooth-talking Vaughn take his lumps as he tries to figure out the right thing to do while backed into a corner. THE DILEMMA requires a director willing to indulge the dark comedy to its fullest. One name that style doesn’t bring to mind for the job is Ron Howard, yet that’s who is at the helm. Howard tries to tame the film into becoming more agreeable and leaven the discomfort with good cheer and silliness.

The clash in tones reaches its apex with Ronny’s awkward speech at the anniversary celebration for his girlfriend’s parents. The train wreck of a monologue could have been a terrific summation of the film’s theme, but the harsh and misguided sincerity in it has to be exaggerated to the point that no one would blurt out the things Ronny finds himself saying.

In spite of its commendable aspiration to put a nuanced spin on the value of truth-telling in relationships, THE DILEMMA struggles to be honest with itself as to its sober nature.

Grade: C+

Central Ohio Film Critics Association 2010 Awards

For the 9th annual Central Ohio Film Critics Association awards party, I put together this piece featuring the winners and runners-up. The group's site also lists the 2010 winners, but this short delivers the information with a little more pizazz.

Country Strong

COUNTRY STRONG (Shana Feste, 2010)

In COUNTRY STRONG country music star Kelly Canter (Gwyneth Paltrow) gets yanked early from her rehab facility and put back on the road to perform a trio of comeback concerts across Texas. Kelly’s drunken antics on a Dallas stage resulted in a public relations fiasco, not the least of which is because the pregnant singer lost her baby in the incident.

Her husband-manager James (Tim McGraw) is eager to get Kelly back in front of her fans and push aside the tabloid covers. Joining her on the road are up-and-coming singer-songwriter Beau Hutton (Garrett Hedlund), a rehab worker Kelly became familiar with, and precocious beauty queen Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester).

COUNTRY STRONG is essentially a TNN or CMT original production with a bigger star than would appear in a TV movie. With her regal bearing, Paltrow might seem miscast, but since Kelly is more countrypolitan than down home, she acquits herself well enough in the thinly conceived role.

Even with Paltrow headlining as a Shania Twain-type superstar, writer-director Shana Feste seems uncertain just exactly who the film is about. Kelly influences much of what develops, yet she’s off screen for long stretches and incidental to the major thread regarding Beau and Chiles’ complicated but thoroughly uninteresting relationship.

Is COUNTRY STRONG a cautionary tale about the burdens of Kelly’s fame? Is it a catty backstage drama about the rivalry between a potentially falling and rising star? Is it merely a glimpse at the inner workings of the industry from the perspective of newcomers Beau and Chiles? Like an electronic gadget that can perform multiple tasks but none of them well, COUNTRY STRONG attempts to address a variety of pitfalls in the entertainment business but doesn’t deal with any of them satisfactorily. Feste needed to make a choice rather than cramming three movies into one.

With so many storylines battling for supremacy, COUNTRY STRONG never conveys who these people are and is often inconsistent in portraying them. Kelly speaks of how love and fame are incompatible, yet the film does little more than give glancing acknowledgement of the necessity of placing publicity above personal well-being. Beau is supposed to be a rebel with artistic integrity, but he is easily and willingly coopted by the machine. Chiles is established as an ambitious careerist, yet she’s far too passive and uncalculating in chasing the golden ring.

Among its muddled subplots COUNTRY STRONG credibly features a lot of music. Since none of the actors seem destined for the Grand Ole Opry, it doesn't hurt that they are essentially performing pop with pedal steel guitar than being called on to pass as hardcore country and western artists. Adopting a twang and putting on the right clothes help them look and sound the part, but without a more focused screenplay better grounded in the industry, they're really doing nothing more than playing dress up.

Grade: C-

Ranked 2011 Film List

I attempted to keep two screening logs on this blog in 2010. The chronological list proved too daunting to keep up with, especially come the Cleveland International Film Festival, but I did manage to maintain the ranked film list. So this year I'm going to chuck the former and stick with the latter. It's probably more useful anyway.

Ranking of older films is more for informational purposes. It may or may not have any real apples-to-apples value.

Last year I experimented with the 100-point scale and liked it enough that I will stick with it. Letter grades will remain the official evaluations--it's what I use on the TV show--but I discovered that also using points allowed me to sort out the degree of my feelings about the films in question.

For what it's worth, 60 points equals the lowest total that still equates to a positive review.

A range=80-100, B range=60-79, C range=40-59, D range=20-39, F=0-19

Unrated means either that I felt I was too tired during the viewing (and may have dozed off) or that I did a sloppy job of record keeping and don't have a number available.

Last update: December 31, 2011
Total features: 331 (2011 qualifiers: 213)
Total shorts: 21

2011 Films

The Tree of Life - 96
Certified Copy - 92
Margaret - 90
Source Code - 87
Super 8 - 87
Take Shelter - 87
Melancholia - 85

Tabloid - 78 
50/50 - 77
The Descendants - 77
Martha Marcy May Marlene - 75
Of Gods and Men (Des hommes et des dieux) - 75
War Horse - 75
Contagion - 74
Putty Hill - 74
Arthur Christmas (3D) - 73
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (3D) - 73
Hanna - 73
Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, a Tale of Life - 73
The Ides of March - 72
Beginners - 71
Crazy, Stupid, Love. - 70
The Interrupters - 70
J. Edgar - 69
Meek's Cutoff - 69
Midnight in Paris - 69
Senna - 69
Terri - 69
The Trip - 69
Cold Weather - 68
Project Nim - 68
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - 68
Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest - 67
Drive - 67
Friends with Benefits - 67
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (3D) - 67
The Robber (Der Räuber) - 67
The Arbor - 66
Buck - 66
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff - 66
Fright Night (3D) - 66
The Guard - 66
The Human Resources Manager - 66
Moneyball - 66
X-Men: First Class - 66
The Devil's Double - 65
The Help - 65
Hugo (3D) - 65
The Muppets - 65
The Thing - 65
Dolphin Tale - 64
Margin Call - 64
The Mechanic - 64
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol - 64
Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles - 64
Submarine - 64
The Adventures of Tintin - 63
Hobo with a Shotgun - 63
Potiche - 63
Rubber - 63
Arthur - 62
Captain America: The First Avenger (3D) - 62
The Debt - 62
Everything Must Go - 62
Rampart - 62
We Bought a Zoo - 62
Winnie the Pooh - 62
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark - 61
The Green Hornet (3D) - 61
Heartbeats (Les amours imaginaires) - 61
The Housemaid (Hanyo) - 61
Puss in Boots - 61
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - 61
Water for Elephants - 61
The Adjustment Bureau - 60
African Cats - 60
Another Earth - 60
Footloose - 60
Limitless - 60
My Week with Marilyn - 60
Our Idiot Brother - 60
Paranormal Activity 3 - 60

Queen to Play (Joueuse) - 60
Real Steel - 60
Trust - 60
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil - 60
Win Win - 60

The Conspirator - 59
The Dilemma - 59
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - 59
Jane Eyre - 59
The Rum Diary - 59
Young Adult - 59
Cars 2 (3D) - 58
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy - 58
Like Crazy - 58
The Lincoln Lawyer - 58
Page One: Inside the New York Times - 58
A Somewhat Gentle Man (En ganske snill mann) - 58
Weekend - 58
Attack the Block - 57
Bridesmaids - 57
Glee: The 3D Concert Movie - 57
The Oscar Nominated Shorts 2011: Live-Action - 57
Restless - 57
Kung Fu Panda 2 - 56
Rio - 56
Machine Gun Preacher - 55
Sarah's Key (Elle s'appelait Sarah) - 55
Something Borrowed - 55
Tower Heist - 55
Cracks - 54
Rango - 54
Born to Be Wild (IMAX 3D) - 53
The Big Year - 52
The Eagle - 52
Larry Crowne - 52
Straw Dogs - 52
Warrior - 52
I Am Number Four - 51
Immortals - 51
Fast Five - 50
The Hedgehog (Le hérisson) - 50
I Don't Know How She Does It -50
Miral - 50
Point Blank (À bout portant) - 50
Scream 4 - 50
Uncle Boonme Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Loong Boonmee raleuk chat) - 50
Life in a Day - 49
Paul - 49
POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold - 49
The Princess of Montpensier (La princesse de Montpensier) - 49
Special Treatment (Sans queue ni tête) - 49
Bad Teacher - 48
Jack and Jill - 48
Mars Needs Moms (3D) - 48
No Strings Attached - 48
The Skin I Live In (La piel que habito) - 48
Unknown - 48
What's Your Number? - 48
Your Highness - 48
Film socialisme - 47
Green Lantern (3D) - 47
Happy Feet Two - 47
Life, Above All - 47
The Rite - 47
The Beaver - 46
Blank City - 46
Carancho - 46
Cedar Rapids - 46
Incendies - 46
The Sitter - 46
Soul Surfer - 46
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas - 46
Gnomeo & Juliet - 45
In Time - 45
I Saw the Devil (Akmareul boatda) - 45
Last Night - 45
Mozart's Sister (Nannerl, la soeur de Mozart) - 45
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (3D) - 45
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (3D) - 45
Cowboys & Aliens - 44
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (Di Renjie) - 44
In a Better World (Hævnen) - 44
Super - 44
Take Me Home Tonight - 44
The Three Musketeers (3D) - 44
A Little Help - 43
Mr. Popper's Penguins - 43
Sucker Punch - 43
Texas Killing Fields - 43
Anonymous - 42
Black Death - 42
Delhi Belly - 42
Drive Angry (3D) - 42
Hall Pass - 42
The Hangover Part II - 42
Horrible Bosses - 42
A Lonely Place to Die - 42
One Day - 42
The Smurfs - 42
30 Minutes or Less - 41
The Art of Getting By - 41
Columbiana - 41
Dream House - 41
Final Destination 5 (3D) - 41
Insidious - 41
Johnny English Reborn - 41
Kaboom - 41
Mia and the Migoo (Mia et le Migou) - 41
Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure - 41
The Future - 40
Hop - 40

Shark Night (3D) - 39
The Change-Up - 38
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - 38
Abduction - 37
Red Riding Hood - 37
Season of the Witch - 37
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 1 - 37
Thor (3D) - 36
Killer Elite - 35
Spy Kids: All the Time in the World (4D) - 35
Priest (3D) - 33
Conan the Barbarian (3D) - 32
Beastly - 29
The Roommate - 26
Zookeeper - 26
Just Go With It - 20

New Year's Eve - 19
The Darkest Hour (3D) - 17
Apollo 18 - 15
Bellflower - 9
Battle Los Angeles - 2

Festival Films (undistributed/to-be-distributed)

The Loneliest Planet - 88
Goodbye First Love (Un amour de jeunesse) - 83

Life Without Principle (Dyut meng gam) - 79
Your Sister's Sister - 78
Damsels in Distress - 77
Crazy Horse - 76  
The Redemption of General Butt Naked - 76
This Is Not a Film (In film nist) - 75
I Wish (Kiseki) - 74

Trishna - 69
From Up On Poppy Hill (Kokuriko-zaka kara) - 66

Miss Bala - 66
The Raid - 61

Killer Joe - 58
You're Next - 58
Oslo, August 31st (Oslo, 31. august) - 52
Outside Satan (Hors satan) - 48
Twiggy (La brindille) - 47
Keyhole - 45

Natural Selection - 43
(818) - 42
Twixt - 41

Girl Model - 35

Faust - unrated

Shorts (2011)

Small Fry - 69
Scrat's Continental Crack-Up: Part 2 - 57
I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat - 44
Hawaiian Vacation - unrated


Older Films

After Life (Wandâfuru raifu) (1998) - 100
City Lights (1931) - 100
Modern Times (1936) - 100
Metropolis (1927) - 100
Maborosi (Maboroshi no hikari) (1995) - 98
WarGames (1983) - 91
Badlands (1973) - 90
The Far Country (1954) - 90
A Matter of Life and Death (1946) - 90
Hadewijch (2009) - 88
The Kid (1921) - 88

Marwencol (2010) - 87
The House of the Devil (2008) - 84
The Thing (1982) - 83
Limelight (1952) - 80

Monsieur Verdoux (1947) - 78
Black Swan (2010) - 77
Days of Heaven (1978) - 77  
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) - 77
Back to the Future (1985) - 76
The Man From Laramie (1955) - 76
The New World (2005) - 75
Somewhere (2010) - 75
Umberto D. (1952) - 75
Adventures in Babysitting (1987) - 73
The King of Kings (full road show cut) (1927) - 73
Me and Orson Welles (2008) - 73  
Another Year (2010) - 72
I Am Love (Io sono l'amore) (2009) 72
Rabbit Hole (2010) - 71
Secret Sunshine (Milyang) (2007) - 71
The Docks of New York (1928) - 70
The Way Back (2010) - 70
Barney's Version (2010) - 69
Island of Lost Souls (1932) - 69
The Illusionist (2010) - 68
Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey (1994) - 68
The Ugly Duckling (Gadkiy utyonok) (2010) - 68
Back to the Future Part III (1990) - 67
The Great Dictator (1940) - 67
Waste Land (2010) - 67
I Love You Phillip Morris (2009) - 66
Shoah (1985) - 65
Hamilton (2006) - 64
A King in New York (1957) - 64   
Louder Than a Bomb (2010) - 64 
Copacabana (2010) - 63
White Material (2009) - 63
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936) - 62
Stalker (1979) - 62
Leaves of Grass (2009) - 61  
Vengeance (Fuk sau) (2009) - 61
The NeverEnding Story (1984) - 60
Only You (1994) - 60

All Good Things (2010) - 59
Made in Dagenham (2010) - 58
Win/win (2010) - 58
A Woman of Paris (1923) - 58
Autumn Gold (Herbstgold) (2010) - 57
Ne Change Rien (2009) - 57
Big Trouble in Little China (1986) - 52
Blue Valentine (2010) - 51
Weird Science (1985) - 50
Back to the Future Part II (1989) - 49
Tiny Furniture (2010) - 48
Summer School (1987) - 47
A Small Act (2010) - 46
City Beneath the Sea (1953) - 45
The Last Boy Scout (1991) - 44  
Country Strong (2010) - 43
The Last Starfighter (1984) - 43
Inspector Bellamy (Bellamy) (2009) - 42
Biutiful (2010) - 40

Hayfever (Febbre da fieno) (2010) - 39
Nénette (2010) - 39
Almost Kings (2010) - 38
My Dog Tulip (2009) - 38
The New Protocol (Le nouveau protocole) (2008) - 36
The Black Hole (1979) - 35
RoboCop 2 (1990) - 35
Permanent Vacation (1980) - 34
The Transformers: The Movie (1986) - 33
Unmade Beds (1976) - 28  
Cremaster 3 (2002) - 22

My Science Project (1985) - 11
Amer (2009) - 9
The Aztec Mummy vs. the Human Robot (La momia azteca contra el robot humano) (1958) - 0
Pepperminta (2009) - 0

Close-Up (Nema-ye Nazdik) (1990) - unrated
Diary of a Country Priest (Journal d'un curé de campagne) (1951) - unrated
The Gold Rush (1925/1942) ("daddy" version) - unrated
Kuroneko (Yabu no naka no kuroneko) (1968) - unrated
Onibaba (1964) - unrated
Ran (1985) - unrated

Shorts

God of Love (2010) - 90
The Idle Class (1921) - 90
A Dog's Life (1918) - 74
Pay Day (1922) - 73
Scrat's Continental Crack Up (2010) - 72
The Pilgrim (1923) - 65
Shoulder Arms (1918) - 65
A Day's Pleasure (1919) - 61

Sunnyside (1919) - 57
Na Wewe (2010) - 56
The Crush (2010) - 52
Atlantiques (2010) - 50
Night Falls on the Ménagerie (2010) - 49
Wish 143 (2009) - 44
The Confession (2010) - 42
Hungry for Health: A Journey Through Cleveland's Food Desert (2010) - 42

Paradise Hotel (Hotel Rai) (2010) - 35

Four Lions

FOUR LIONS (Chris Morris, 2010)

Comedies don’t get any nervier than director Chris Morris’s FOUR LIONS, which is built on the exploits of bumbling Islamic terrorists in a cell near London. By all appearances the group’s levelheaded leader Omar (Riz Ahmed) wouldn’t be involved with such a bunch. He has a comfortable middle class life with a loving wife and admiring son, yet there he is telling a bedtime story attempting to recast THE LION KING as a tale of jihad and groaning over the numerous outtakes from videos supposed to present them as fearsome ideological warriors.

Omar and the easily malleable Waj (Kayvan Novak) depart England for a training camp in Pakistan, but they make a hasty return home after demonstrating their ineptitude with artillery. During their absence, Barry (Nigel Lindsay), a blowhard incapable of keeping a low profile, meets a kindred spirit in Hassan (Arsher Ali), who tries to make a point about prejudice toward Muslims by pretending to be strapped with explosives at an Islamic relations panel. Barry invites Hassan to join him and the sheepish Fessal (Adeel Akhtar) in plotting some kind of attack.

The desire to put belief into action becomes more urgent when Omar and Waj reconnect with the others. They just need to determine the proper target, and no, it won’t be the mosque, no matter how much Barry insists that blowing it up will inflame their spiritual brothers to fight the heathens.

FOUR LIONS is merciless in its mission to find humor where few would dare seek it. Morris and co-writers Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, and Simon Blackwell present these modern boogeymen as buffoons and hold them up to ridicule for their vanity and tortured logic. The film’s point is neatly summarized in the scene with Omar contorting himself to convince his confused accomplice Waj that killing innocent civilians and themselves to promote their cause is a good thing that he wants to do. From an outside perspective, such talk would sound clearly insane, and it’s not simply because individual bombers in the group are dressed as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and a guy riding an ostrich. In letting the characters accept such philosophical views as wise and noble, Morris and company highlight the absurdity of these positions to devastating comedic ends.

It may not seem very risky for the filmmakers to take potshots at terrorists. Who’s going to object? In FOUR LIONS the courage comes in putting front and center the disquieting notion that terrorism is as simple as any group of fools with the ability and desire to assemble and detonate rudimentary bombs. It’s easy enough to find the hilarity in those who would do us harm hurting themselves. It’s something quite different to be reminded that militaries and intelligence agencies aren’t necessarily fighting brilliant or deeply pocketed opponents. FOUR LIONS allows the audience to laugh at these dimwits, which has enormous cathartic power, yet in not sparing the deadly consequences of their beliefs and actions, the film adds an extra layer of resonance regarding what’s at stake in this clash of worldviews.

Boldness in and of itself in a comedy doesn’t mean the material is actually humorous; however, FOUR LIONS is packed with razor-sharp wordplay and glorious slapstick that make it an explosively funny and unsettling film.

Grade: A

Black Swan

BLACK SWAN (Darren Aronofsky, 2010)

BLACK SWAN ballerina Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) finally gets her shot at being a star, but the pressures may be more than she can handle. Nina comes off as quiet and unassuming, which makes her ideal for the virginal white swan in a new production of SWAN LAKE, but the director (Vincent Cassel) has doubts that she can also embody the bold and lusty black swan, qualities that she must show if she is to play the Swan Queen.

To claim the leading role, Nina takes actions that surprise the director and herself, which may be the first signs that she’s losing her mind. The paranoia increases when Nina suspects that Lily (Mila Kunis), the newest dancer in the company, is angling for her treasured lead role.

BLACK SWAN merges the sexual hysteria of Roman Polanski’s REPULSION with the ballet drama of Powell and Pressburger’s THE RED SHOES and throws in a generous dollop of Cronenberg-like body horror for good measure. Director Darren Aronofsky’s lurid mixture of high and low art makes for an often intoxicating film about creative risk and personal development.

At the center of it is Portman delivering a tour de force performance that conveys BLACK SWAN’S dualities. The tiny actress looks the part of a fragile dancer, like one that could adorn the top of a music box. She’s every bit mommy’s little girl, from having her mother (Barbara Hershey) undress her and clip her nails to inhabiting a child-like bedroom in her parent’s apartment. Nina acts and is treated like a pretty little princess. Portman wears this sheltered quality as though it is a comfortable straitjacket.

When Nina’s shadow self thrashes to escape this coddled existence, Portman’s transformative acting is thrilling in how it manifests the psychosis. Delicate technical precision and emotional control gives way to bold, forceful expressions, particularly in the SWAN LAKE scenes that conclude the film on a dizzying high. Aronofsky is completely serious about the fever dream that is BLACK SWAN, which is how he’s able to pull off material that is inherently unserious.

Grade: B+

Love & Other Drugs

LOVE & OTHER DRUGS (Edward Zwick, 2010)

LOVE & OTHER DRUGS opens in 1996 with charismatic electronics salesman Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) out of a job due to his influential way with women, especially one he shouldn’t be charming. He transitions into a job as a pharmaceutical salesman for Pfizer and is assigned to sell Zoloft in the Ohio Valley.

While posing as an intern and trying to persuade a doctor to switch from prescribing Prozac to the pill he’s pushing, Jamie meets Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway). Initially she is angered that Jamie violates her privacy in the doctor’s examination room, but his persuasiveness and mutual desire for a commitment-free relationship win her over while she also keeps him at arm’s length. Maggie has early onset of Parkinson’s and doesn’t wish to be obligated to anyone or anything long term.

Among the medications involved in LOVE & OTHER DRUGS is a certain little blue pill that Jamie sells like gangbusters when it reaches the marketplace. Strange how for a movie about a Viagra salesman, we don’t see the growth of the characters. Several featured scenes in the bedroom leave Jamie and Maggie’s physical chemistry undisputed, but evidence of their emotional attachment and development is far less obvious. Jamie begins to change because the screenplay demands it. Maggie opposes any deviations in their arrangement because the script insists so.

The film’s central relationship wouldn’t feel so prescribed if LOVE & OTHER DRUGS weren’t pitched at a sitcom level. Rather than allowing two non-conformists to find their own way, director and co-writer Edward Zwick makes sure they are altered to fit the formula. Gyllenhaal looks and feels too young for the role and seems too eager to please for the incorrigible type he’s supposed to be.

Whereas Gyllenhaal is all surface level, Hathaway suggests a flesh and blood being dealing with a multitude of issues spoken and unspoken. Performance-wise she fares better, perhaps because Maggie functions as the redeemer than the redeemed. The role is more complicated than the usual dreamgirl. Unfortunately the film is more interested in her slick, straightforward other half. LOVE & OTHER DRUGS is a cutesy love story tempered by an illness and a smidgen of commentary about pharmaceutical sales in the United States.

Grade: C-

Faster

FASTER (George Tillman Jr., 2010)

Identified simply as Driver, Dwayne Johnson's protagonist stews during his time behind bars as he plots his revenge in FASTER. The tag references his getaway vehicle driving duty with his brother’s bank robbing crew.

Driver’s skills behind the wheel help them elude the police, but their misdeeds catch up with them when a rival group of thieves invade their home to take the stolen money. They kill Driver’s brother and leave him for dead with a gunshot wound to the back of the head. Miraculously Driver survives the point blank shot and emerges from the injury with a nasty star-like scar, a metal plate, and a prison sentence.

Upon his release, Driver hunts down those who did him wrong and takes justice into his own hands. In pursuit are drug-addled cop (Billy Bob Thornton) and an assassin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) hired to take out Driver.

If FASTER were made 35 years ago or by the French or Japanese, it would be one of those grimy, long forgotten films you expect Quentin Tarantino to be touting. In the beginning this lean piece of revenge cinema looks like it might be that kind of rough around the edges B-movie whose fun derives from its no-nonsense approach and hard-hitting action. It’s streamlined to the point where most of the main characters don’t have names, just descriptors.

Johnson and Thornton lead a surprisingly strong cast, which also includes Carla Gugino as Thornton’s by-the-books co-investigator and Tom Berenger as the warden. For something that otherwise resembles countless direct-to-video titles, there’s a lot of talent on screen.

FASTER has collected the right pieces, but director George Tillman Jr. and screenwriters Tony and Joe Gayton struggle to assemble them properly. FASTER’S set-up feeds on the guilty pleasure of vengeance, yet it resists giving in to that impulse. The reason for the solemn tone eventually becomes clear and reveals the film to have more going on than expected, but with so much of FASTER dedicated to righteous rage, withholding visceral satisfaction weakens the action and the message.

Muddling matters is the three part structure divided among Driver, Cop, and Killer. The assassin’s scenes seem to belong to another film altogether and merely take away time and urgency from the main story. FASTER also could use a healthy dose of humor to lighten the burdened tone.

Ultimately FASTER is a film at conflict with its own nature. Too contemplative to indulge its pure screaming id and too vicious to be swayed by the bigger philosophical questions it proposes, FASTER doesn’t satisfy the appetite for enlightenment or destruction.

Grade: C-

The Next Three Days

THE NEXT THREE DAYS (Paul Haggis, 2010)

In THE NEXT THREE DAYS John and Lara Brennan’s happy marriage is shattered when Pittsburgh police turn up at their front door one morning to arrest her for murder. Lara (Elizabeth Banks) is convicted to a life sentence, but John (Russell Crowe) holds out hope that the appeals process will ultimately free his wife. Eventually he realizes that the legal system will not overturn her conviction, so he plots to break her out of prison and escape out of the country with her and their son.

John’s singular focus and dogged mission planning propels THE NEXT THREE DAYS for a considerable amount of the running time. He’s a man obsessed with doing whatever he can in the hope of reuniting his family. The film hums from his intensity and the detail-oriented approach, even if it passes along as truth the MYTHBUSTERS-busted technique of using a tennis ball to unlock a locked vehicle.

Crowe delivers a lived-in, no-nonsense performance that has come to define his body of work. Although in comparatively few scenes, Banks is good at conveying her character’s weariness through this ordeal.

THE NEXT THREE DAYS co-writer and director Paul Haggis succeeds at exploring the psychological burdens of this situation while leaving some of the more interesting questions untouched. The audience may take it on good faith that Lara is innocent and wrongly imprisoned, but the film is less clear about that for an astonishingly long time yet doesn’t factor it into the equation. John is warned that he should be prepared to leave his son behind, but that doesn’t feel like a choice the film is ever committed to make.

The bulk of THE NEXT THREE DAYS consists of the build-up to the escape plan, which is probably just as well since this is a thriller surprisingly light on thrills. THE NEXT THREE DAYS mostly works as a dramatic study, but for a movie with a daring prison break, it needs more sizzle in the action.

Grade: C+

Unstoppable

UNSTOPPABLE (Tony Scott, 2010)

An unmanned runaway train carrying toxic materials speeds across Pennsylvania, and it’s up to Denzel Washington and Chris Pine to stop it in UNSTOPPABLE. Washington is Frank, a longtime engineer, and Pine plays Will, a relatively new conductor with family matters on his mind more than the job at hand. Once they discover that there’s a virtual missile on the tracks heading south toward their hometown, they commit to a risky plan to stop the train.

UNSTOPPABLE takes a simple premise and spins it into an entertaining film surging with pure energy. Director Tony Scott’s manic style is perfectly suited for this propulsive piece of action filmmaking. In addition to its exhilarating speed, UNSTOPPABLE’S efficiency is also an asset. The characters are introduced quickly and provided with a few key details to flesh them out. Washington and Pine are engaged in action hero work, not character studies, so getting the brushstrokes of their backstories is perfectly acceptable. Frank’s near the end of his career, Will’s near the end of his rope. That’s enough. And oh, by the way, they’re trying to stop a speeding train.

The performances hinge on the personalities of the actors, not their character’s origins, and the two leads work well together. Washington’s unflappable nature and Pine’s solemn determination complement each other when things get down to the nitty gritty.

Likewise, UNSTOPPABLE appreciates the spectacle of this tale, but it keeps the stakes high and takes them seriously, perhaps in a tip to its roots as a true story. The film climaxes with an audacious, last ditch attempt to bring the train to a stop that seems all the more exciting because there’s a real engine hurtling down the line.

Grade: B

Megamind

MEGAMIND (Tim McGrath, 2010)

What’s a supervillain without a superhero?

In MEGAMIND the eponymous evil genius discovers that he has lost his purpose after defeating his square-jawed nemesis Metro Man. Like Superman, the Will Ferrell-voiced Megamind and Brad Pitt-voiced Metro Man are sent to Earth to escape destruction on their home planets. Their paths diverge when a young Metro Man’s pod lands in a mansion while wee Megamind’s is deposited in a prison.

As adults they square off repeatedly, usually due to Megamind’s abduction of TV reporter Roxanne Ritchie (Tina Fey), until Megamind bests his foe. Left to indulge his every whim, Megamind loses his zest for evildoing and schemes to create a new hero so he can get his mojo back.

The blue-skinned, wrong syllable emphasizing Megamind is less immediately sympathetic than Gru from this summer’s DESPICABLE ME. Consequentially, it’s harder to laugh at his diabolical antics. Megamind is established as a figure capable of causing real harm. While the film isn’t as dark as it seemingly sets itself up to be, it suffers from the miscalculation of centering a CGI-animated kids film on what appears to be, at least superficially, The Bad Guy.

Naturally, MEGAMIND tries to sweep this under the rug as fast as possible, but the damage has already been done. MEGAMIND is a visually sleek film, especially when viewed in 3-D. The sparkling, futuristic design combines with terrific depth of field to conjure a world in which good and evil do battle in and above the streets, but the look of the film is the main thing going for it.

MEGAMIND is dramatically and comedically inert. It fails to distinguish itself from other tongue-in-cheek superhero and supervillain cartoons mainly because the characters don’t impress as being all that unique. Simply put, MEGAMIND isn’t funny or interesting enough.

Grade: C

Conviction

CONVICTION (Tony Goldwyn, 2010)

Hilary Swank has gravitated to roles in which her character has a singular purpose and is vigilant in staying on course. In the fact-based CONVICTION she’s found another determined woman to add to her roster. Swank plays Betty Anne Waters, a high school dropout who makes it through a rough upbringing with her brother Kenny (Sam Rockwell).

Kenny has his share of encounters with the Ayers, Massachusetts police, but things get serious in 1980 when he’s brought in for questioning about a local murder. Three years later he is convicted of the crime despite his protestations of innocence. Betty Anne believes her brother and vows to get all of the necessary education to prove that he didn’t do it, no matter how long it takes.

CONVICTION’S title refers more to the dedication of Betty Anne Waters than the judgment rendered against Kenny. The film isn’t anything fancy and doesn’t contain much in the way of surprises, but it wields an enormous amount of power in depicting the bottomless love and devotion that a sister has for her brother. After Kenny was convicted Betty Anne earned her GED, Bachelor’s, Master’s, and law degrees and located the key evidence presumed to have been destroyed years earlier. All in all, it took around twenty years for her persistence to pay off.

Swank plays the role with a quiet intensity that beautifully conveys the selflessness and personal cost that such an endeavor must require. Director Tony Goldwyn and screenwriter Pamela Gray don’t shy from showing the toll Betty Anne’s decisions have on her life, but like Swank, they don’t oversell the sacrifices or thickly apply sentimentality.

This unassuming film features a moving story that’s well-told and well-performed. Instead of concerning itself with slick legal maneuvers and courtroom grandstanding, CONVICTION is unashamedly straightforward in showing how a lot of hard work and sheer willpower was able to correct an injustice.

Grade: B