Best of 2011 - Film (Better Late Than Never)

Jessica Chastain in Terrence Malick's THE TREE OF LIFE (aka the best film of all time)

2011 = The Year of Chastain. 

Jessica Chastain in THE TREE OF LIFE
who takes up 4 spots in the
Best Supporting Actress list

TOP FILMS OF 2011

1. THE TREE OF LIFE
2. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
3. MELANCHOLIA
4. THE ARTIST
5. DRIVE
6. SHAME
7. HUGO
8. THE HELP
9. BRIDESMAIDS
10. 50/50

Michael Fassbender in SHAME

TOP 10 BEST ACTORS

1.     Michael Fassbender in SHAME

2.     Jean Dujardin in THE ARTIST

3.     Michael Shannon in TAKE SHELTER

4.     Ryan Gosling in DRIVE

5.     George Clooney in THE DESCENDANTS

6.     Brad Pitt in MONEYBALL

7.     Michael Fassbender in A DANGEROUS METHOD

8.     Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 50/50

9.     Ryan Gosling in THE IDES OF MARCH

10.  Leonardo DiCaprio in J. EDGAR

TOP 10 BEST ACTRESSES

Glenn Close in ALBERT NOBBS

1.     Glenn Close in ALBERT NOBBS

2.     Kirsten Dunst in MELANCHOLIA

3.     Charlize Theron in YOUNG ADULT

4.     Viola Davis in THE HELP

5.     Keira Knightley in A DANGEROUS METHOD

6.     Rooney Mara in THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

7.     Michelle Williams in MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

8.     Tilda Swinton in WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

9.     Elizabeth Olsen in MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE

10.  Berenice Bejo in THE ARTIST

TOP 10 BEST SUPPORTING ACTORS

Christopher Plummer in
BEGINNERS

1. Christopher Plummer in BEGINNERS
2. Patton Oswalt in YOUNG ADULT
3. Armie Hammer in J. EDGAR
4. Brad Pitt in THE TREE OF LIFE
5. Albert Brooks in DRIVE
6. Nick Nolte in WARRIOR
7. Corey Stoll in MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
8. Ben Kingsley in HUGO
9. Hunter McCracken in THE TREE OF LIFE
10. Tom Hardy in TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

Jessica Chastain in
THE HELP

TOP 10 BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESSES

1. Jessica Chastain in THE HELP
2. Jessica Chastain in THE TREE OF LIFE
3. Octavia Spencer in THE HELP
4. Janet McTeer in ALBERT NOBBS
5. Carey Mulligan in SHAME
6. Shailene Woodley in THE DESCENDANTS
7. Jessica Chastain in TAKE SHELTER
8. Marion Cotillard in MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
9. Jessica Chastain in THE DEBT
10. Melanie Laurent in BEGINNERS

TOP 10 BEST DIRECTORS

1. Terrence Malick for THE TREE OF LIFE
2. Michel Hazavinacius for THE ARTIST
3. Steve McQueen for SHAME
4. Lars von Trier for MELANCHOLIA
5. Nicolas Winding Refn for DRIVE
6. Woody Allen for MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
7. Martin Scorcese for HUGO
8. Jason Reitman for YOUNG ADULT
9. David Fincher for THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
10. J.J. Abrams for SUPER 8

Marion Cotillard, Alison Pill, Owen Wilson,
and writer/director Woody Allen from
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

TOP 10 BEST ORGINAL SCREENPLAYS

1. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
2. YOUNG ADULT
3. MELANCHOLIA
4. THE ARTIST
5. BEGINNERS
6. BRIDESMAIDS
7. THE TREE OF LIFE
8. 50/50
9. WIN WIN
10. SHAME

TOP 10 BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAYS

1. DRIVE
2. THE HELP
3. THE IDES OF MARCH
4. HUGO
5. MONEYBALL
6. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
7. THE DEBT
8. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART TWO
9. A DANGEROUS METHOD
10. ALBERT NOBBS

TOP 10 BEST ENSEMBLES

1. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
2. THE HELP
3. BRIDESMAIDS
4. THE ARTIST
5. TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
6. WIN WIN
7. CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE
8. THE IDES OF MARCH
9. THE TREE OF LIFE
10. DRIVE

TOP 10 BEST CINEMATOGRAPHERS

1. THE TREE OF LIFE
2. THE ARTIST
3. MELANCHOLIA
4. DRIVE
5. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
6. SHAME
7. HUGO
8. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
9. WAR HORSE
10. CONTAGION

Jessica Chastain & Sam Worthington
in THE DEBT

TOP 10 BEST COSTUME DESIGNERS

1. A DANGEROUS METHOD
2. THE ARTIST
3. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
4. MY WEEK WITH MARILYN
5. WAR HORSE
6. HUGO
7. ALBERT NOBBS
8. TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
9. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES
10. MEEK’S CUTOFF

TOP 10 BEST SCORES/SOUNDTRACKS

1. DRIVE
2. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
3. THE ARTIST
4. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
5. THE TREE OF LIFE
6. HUGO
7. THE DESCENDANTS
8. MELANCHOLIA
9. SUPER 8



Jessica Chastain
in TAKE SHELTER

10. WAR HORSE

TOP 10 BEST VISUAL/SPECIAL EFFECTS

1. SUPER 8
2. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
3. HUGO
4. WAR HORSE
5. CAPTAIN AMERICA
6. MELANCHOLIA
7. THOR
8. TAKE SHELTER
9. DRIVE
10. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Oscar Predictons: Who Will Win?

Tonight the Oscars are on and here are my annual predictions. Also, I include who I would have voted for had I been an Oscar voter.

Best Motion Picture of the Year: THE ARTIST
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius for THE ARTIST
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin in THE ARTIST
Best Actress: Viola Davis in THE HELP
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer in BEGINNERS
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer in THE HELP
Best Original Screenplay: MIDNIGHT IN PARIS by Woody Allen
Best Adapted Screenplay: THE DESCENDANTS by Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Best Animated Picture: RANGO
Best Foreign Language Film: A SEPARATION
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki for THE TREE OF LIFE
Best Editing: THE ARTIST
Best Art Direction: HUGO
Best Makeup: THE IRON LADY
Best Original Score: THE ARTIST
Best Original Song: THE MUPPETS
Best Sound Mixing: HUGO
Best Sound Editing: HUGO
Best Visual Effects: RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
Best Documentary: PINA
Best Short Documentary: THE TSUNAMI AND THE CHERRY BLOSSOM
Best Short Animated Film: THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR. MORRIS LESSMORE
Best Short Live Action Film: THE SHORE

* * *

Now, for my fake Oscar Ballot:

Best Picture: THE TREE OF LIFE
Best Director: Terrence Malick for THE TREE OF LIFE
Best Actor: Gary Oldman for TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Best Actress: Glenn Close for ALBERT NOBBS
Best Supporting Actor: Nick Nolte in WARRIOR
Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain in THE HELP
Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen for MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Best Adapted Screenplay: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon for THE IDES OF MARCH
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki for THE TREE OF LIFE

Best of 2009: Top 10 Performances by a Supporting Actor

2009 really was full of great performances throughout most of the films, especially in the supporting categories. In my opinion, to be legitimate supporting actors, you have to have that one scene that often steals the show from the other cast members.

For example, in "The Hurt Locker," two actors (Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty) not only took their roles in brave directions from the screenplay, but also stole a few scenes from lead actor Jeremy Renner. Mackie's final scene in the film is both heart-breaking and inspiring. It could have fallen flat but he added multiple dimensions to the scene. Geraghty - while having a smaller role - really embodied the soldier who just can't take anymore. His final scene is also his greatest moment in the film. Another scene-stealer is Woody Harrelson in "The Messenger." For most of the film, he allows hardly any emotion to emit, but near the end, we see a different, pained side - a human quality.

Some of the actors completely channel the roles from either page or real life. In "The Last Station," Christopher Plummer is a joy to watch as the famous Russian novelist, Leo Tolstoy. There is a moment in the film when Plummer speaks to James McAvoy about his life as a young man and how he longs for that now as an old one. This scene, amoung the high grass and sun, takes the audience into the world of the film's and character's past, something we do not see on the screen. From page to screen, youngster Kodi Smit-McPhee is the exact replica of the son I imagined when I read "The Road." Quiet, clingy, and sort of whiny, but loyal to his father and often sad.

Then there are two actors from the same film: "A Single Man." Matthew Goode is riveting, astounding and completely likeable as the dead boyfriend to Colin Firth's character. All Goode has to work with are flashbacks (and there are only a handful of them), but he brings such life, happiness and eminent doom to these scenes, certainly stealing them away from Firth who is a powerhouse in the film. The other actor in the film, Nicholas Hoult, is in the present plot as Firth's college student and possible love interest. Hoult exudes art, cinematic chemistry, California, and the '60s. If that's not enough, I don't know what is.

The final batch of supporting, scene-stealing actors are all the villians (or at least the antagonists). First off, there's Alfred Molina (who was incredible on Broadway in "Red," by the way) as Jenny's father in "An Education." He is the force always in the back of Jenny's mind as she experiences life outside her home, and also in the back of the audiences mind. His role resonates with us even when he's not on screen. Stanley Tucci plays the psychotic killer in "The Lovely Bones"; while the film is self-indulgent and over-the-top, Tucci's performance is a knock-out that would have deserved the Oscar and every other award if it were not for our final actor. Christoph Waltz, an unknown German actor, completely steals - I mean the biggest bank robbery in history - the show from every incredible actor in "Inglourious Basterds." He was funny, insane, despicable and loveable - and he was a Jew-hunting Nazi! Brilliant.

The Top 10 Performances by a Supporting Actor for 2009 are:

10. Brian Geraghty as Specialist Owen Eldrige in THE HURT LOCKER

9. Nicholas Hoult as Kenny in A SINGLE MAN

8. Kodi Smit-McPhee as the Boy in THE ROAD

7. Alfred Molina as Jack in AN EDUCATION

6. Christopher Plummer as Leo Tolstoy in THE LAST STATION

5. Anthony Mackie as Sergeant JT Sanborn in THE HURT LOCKER

4. Matthew Goode as Jim in A SINGLE MAN

3. Woody Harrelson as Captain Tony Stone in THE MESSENGER

2. Stanley Tucci as George Harvey in THE LOVELY BONES

1. Christoph Waltz as Colonel Hans Landa in INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Up

Up
Voiced by Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson & John Ratzenberger

The tenth film released by Disney/Pixar with its minimalistic title, "Up" does just that - brings a simple, ordinary life into the unbeleivable. Carl Fredricksen (Edward Asner) is a lonely, grumpy, and sad old man who has kept his property the same for decades, even though the contemporary, skyscraping battles unconditionally against him. He - like every human being - has a story, and his story is told in a ten to fifteen minute montage of his life and his amazing, exuberant wife, Ellie. This chonological mostly-silent section of "Up" takes the audience on a roller coaster of ups and downs. Carl and Ellie were in love the second they met, when they were kids, and always had high hopes of living a beautiful life together, a life of adventure. Yet, all doesn't go as planned, which is life, but Ellie and Carl make the best of what they have. Now a widow, Carl has nothing. Or so he thought.

Pete Docter's script is full of heart and soul, while we watch a grandiose adventure of a lifetime with the hero being a box-shaped senior citizen. Carl's life reaches new heights as he escapes the city in search of Ellie's dream land - South America. And he doesn't take a plane; Carl flies by the only thing he's ever known: balloons. Thousands and thousands of balloons. However, when a pudgy boy scout named Russell (Jordan Nagai) accidentally comes along the ride, Carl is forced to face the facts that this persona of the grumpy old guy is just that - a persona.

Talking dogs, crazy species of birds, and Carl & Ellie's life long hero ensue our story, but the heart of it remains through all the craziness, which is why I will forgive Pixar for selling out a bit with their dog dogfight just to gain membership in the 3-D club. "Up" is another of Pixars amazing line-ups teaching children and adults that life's too short, to love, and to live.

Grade: B+

And just for fun, I'm ranking the 10 films produced by Pixar starting with my favorite:
1. Toy Story
2. Finding Nemo
3. Ratatouille
4. Wall-E
5. A Bug's Life
6. Monster's, Inc.
7. Up
8. The Incredibles
9. Toy Story 2
10. Cars