Top 15 Films – Page 4 – The Reel Countdown

Posted on February 7, 2015 by mistertowle2

Top 15 Films of 2014, No. 12 – Calvary

Calvary is an Irish drama written and directed by John Michael McDonagh. The film follows Father James (Brendan Gleeson), the local Irish parish’s priest. At a confessional, a member of James’s parish reveals that he was once molested by a now-deceased priest, and because of this, he will kill Father James in one week’s time—he tells Father James that killing a good priest as opposed to a bad priest would be more disconcerting for the Catholic church. James then proceeds over the next week to continue helping and supporting his delicate daughter (Kelly Reilly) and the members of his parish with their own personal problems, all the while trying to figure out who is planning to kill him. These ominous and disturbing circumstances cause Father James to question whether he has the courage to face his own Calvary.

Despite a cast composed of notable actors, this film is as independent as they come. Before seeing this movie, I was not aware of its director, McDonagh. It turns out, he has only written and directed one other feature before Calvary, an Irish comedy called The Guard, also starring Brendan Gleeson. Only after watching this movie did I learn that The Guard is one of the most critically acclaimed films in Irish cinema, and it is also the biggest box-office success in Irish history. Needless to say, McDonagh is a big name across the pond, despite the fact that I had never heard of him. After seeing Calvary, I am going to do whatever it takes to track down The Guard because McDonagh is an incredible writer and director. Character studies make for some of the best films, and McDonagh has carefully constructed one of the better ones I have seen in a while. You follow Father James throughout the entire film, and as he faces struggles, you feel that struggle on an intimate level. Yes, the film required a riveting performance from Brendan Gleeson, but the sheer emotion and empathy surrounding Father James’s character is the product of a remarkable screenplay and outstanding direction.

Calvary is first and foremost a dramatic film, but the more surprising (and paramount) feature of the movie is its unique comedic tone. Black comedies are always a riot because they mix some sincerely sinister, dark hilarity with the classic aspects of an emotional drama. McDonagh adds some hilarious dialogue into the Irish parish members’ conversations with Father James, which plays out hysterically ironic considering Father James is an upstanding religious figure in the town—Father James even proceeds to curse along with his churchgoers in some scenes, revealing a more humanistic nature not usually associated with members of the clergy. Making Father James more relatable to his parish members is an intricate storytelling device that ensures the viewers will feel emphatic with his plight.

As mentioned earlier, Calvary is a character study if there ever was one, and Brendan Gleeson (an accomplished actor with a filmography that would make even Tom Hanks jealous) gives one of the year’s most tantalizing performances. It is no wonder he won the award for Best Actor at both the Irish Film and Television Awards and the British Independent Film Awards. Gleeson definitely pulls his weight in this movie, and his performance alone is reason to check Calvary out. I was not entirely on board with Kelly Reilly’s acting in her role as Father James’s daughter Fiona, but her utterly forgettable performance is made up for thanks to a couple of memorable supporting performances. The always-hilarious Chris O’Dowd (the Irish guy from Bridesmaids) and Aidan Gillen (Mayor/Governor Carcetti from The Wire and Lord “Littlefinger” Baelish from Game of Thrones) both provide the funnier scenes in the movie, and they definitely stick out as a highlight from this film. If you are looking for a great movie that is off the beaten path from the average American blockbuster, I highly recommend this one. Calvary is rated R for sexual references, language, brief strong violence and some drug use.

Calvary trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGM5rq_vX4U

Academy Award nominations for Calvary:

NONE

Previous movies on the countdown of the Top 15 Films of 2014:

Interstellar
Gone Girl
The Lego Movie

Posted on February 6, 2015February 6, 2015 by mistertowle2

Top 15 Films of 2014, No. 13 – Interstellar

Interstellar is a film directed by Christopher Nolan with a screenplay by Nolan and his brother Jonathan Nolan. The film is set sometime in the future when Earth’s agricultural society is rapidly descending towards its ultimate demise due to crop blight. In order to save mankind from the destructive fate it faces, a group of astronaut explorers seek to travel through a wormhole to find new planets with the capabilities of sustaining human life.

There is no way around it—Interstellar is a complex film. If you are not into movies that make you think throughout their entire duration, then this one is not for you. But, if you are well accustomed to Christopher Nolan’s movies, then the intricacy of Interstellar should come as no surprise. I was anxiously awaiting the release of Nolan’s newest feature for quite some time, as I am a longtime admirer of his work. Not only does Nolan’s filmography boast the single greatest series of comic-book films of all time (The Dark Knight Trilogy), but he also has a range of movies, like Interstellar, that qualify as epic “thinkers” (Memento, The Prestige, and Inception). Although I personally think that his newest effort ranks near the bottom of Nolan’s résumé, it is still an amazing cinematic achievement (this is simply a testament to Christopher Nolan’s incredible career as a filmmaker). Despite the density of the film’s plot, Nolan still carefully crafts the story in a way that never bores and never holds back. He directs his cast superbly (as if we would expect anything less), and this lends to the success of a film that could have easily resulted in a failed endeavor in the vein of “biting off more than one can chew.” Nolan’s cinematic fingerprints are all over this movie, and in his quest to construct a sweeping science-fiction epic, he has succeeded.

Even if you watch this movie and decide that you do not like the story, it will be an impossible task to simultaneously contend that the film is not a visual work of genius. The worlds in which Nolan constructs on Earth and in the galaxies beyond are so vividly detailed and realistic. Even though the new planets the astronauts journey to are never-before-seen landscapes to the viewers, I still use the word “realistic” to describe their visual depiction because the level of detail used in their construction is still something fathomable. By far the greatest visual and technical achievement is the delineation of the wormhole, black hole, and the “tesseract” towards the end. For those who are not well versed in the cerebral scientific know-how of convoluted space features (like myself), the illustration of these incommunicable concepts is still, pardon the pun, out of this world. For a movie that immerses itself in complicated space jargon, it definitely backs it up by packing a severe punch of, wait for it, interstellar special effects (thank you…I will be here all month). It is no wonder that four of the five Oscars that Interstellar is up for are technical awards of merit. I had the pleasure of watching this film in IMAX (a theater experience that Nolan has been pioneering for quite some time), and I have never had such a mind-blowing experience in a theater in my life.

Along with the stunning visuals, the film still features an important maxim of good filmmaking: marvelous acting. Matthew McConaughey does a spectacular job of bringing the film to life in his role as Cooper, a former NASA pilot turned rural farmer, and if you have seen McConaughey’s ad for Lincoln, it will be blatantly obvious that this cinematic Rubik’s Cube provided the perfect platform for his out-there way of thinking. Although I joke about his philosophical views, it is still undeniable that McConaughey delivers an emotionally riveting performance. Jessica Chastain, as Cooper’s daughter Murph, also conveys a star performance, and it is of no surprise considering she is by far the most talented actress in Hollywood. Additionally, Anne Hathaway also gives a solid performance in her role as one of Cooper’s co-astronauts Amelia. My favorite performances, were those of TARS (voiced by Bill Irwin) and CASE (voiced by Josh Stewart). These characters are the coolest depiction of futuristic robots that I have ever seen, and they added an extra “umph” to the science-fiction nature of the film. Interstellar is rated PG-13 for some intense perilous action and brief strong language.

Interstellar trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vxOhd4qlnA

Academy Award nominations for Interstellar:

Best Original Score: (Hans Zimmer)

Best Production Design: (Nathan Crowley and Gary Fettis)

Best Sound Editing: (Richard King)

Best Sound Mixing (Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker, and Mark Weingarten)

Best Visual Effects (Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter, and Scott Fisher)

Previous movies on the countdown of the Top 15 Films of 2014:

Gone Girl
The Lego Movie

Posted on February 5, 2015February 5, 2015 by mistertowle2

Top 15 Films of 2014, No. 14 – Gone Girl

Gone Girl is a film directed by David Fincher with a screenplay, based on the novel of the same name, by Gillian Flynn, the author of the book version. The film examines the marriage of Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) and his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike). On his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick reports to the police that Amy has gone missing. Amy is a renowned public figure due to a series of children’s books written about her by her family, and her disappearance causes a tumultuous media frenzy. With cameras and the police constantly causing stress upon him, Nick finds his story of a harmonious marriage to Amy on the verge of collapse due to his mendacity and peculiar behavior. Everyone suspects Nick of killing his wife; thus, the big question is: did he?

For those of you that follow my blog annually, you will know already that Gone Girl was ranked No. 1 on my list of movies that I was most anticipating during the fall film season. Notwithstanding its position on my year-end list, the movie still lived up to the hype (thus, its No. 14 rank says less about the success of Gone Girl and more about the strength of the year’s other movies). I was most intrigued by Gone Girl because of its lead-man behind the camera, David Fincher—I am a devout fan of anything he is involved with. Not only are many of his pictures part of my personal film collection (e.g., Seven, Fight Club, Panic Room, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), but also I am a committed fan of the Netflix original series House of Cards, which is executive produced by the visionary. Gone Girl is well constructed by Fincher, and its subtle hints of dark humor, ominous tone, and inimitable inscrutability are all obvious elements of a classic Fincher film. Although I do not believe this is in the top five of Fincher’s filmography, it is still a movie that I greatly enjoyed and will continue to watch over again for years to come.

Many of you that have seen Gone Girl (and even some of you that have not) have probably additionally read Gillian Flynn’s novel of the same name. I happen to be one that has not, which is why I was elated that she also penned the screenplay for the film adaptation; this direct and significant involvement in the film’s construction leads me to believe that anything that was vitally important and of note from the book would be included in her script. At times, the dialogue was awkward, though, but the talent of the film’s actors helped make it flow as best as possible. Having known nothing about the plot going into my viewing of the movie, I was blown away by her ability to craft the preeminent thriller. The movie’s twists and turns were never foreshadowed in any sort of heavy-handed way, and for that, the climax was as surprising as one could imagine.

Back in August when I wrote about my expectations for Gone Girl in my fall preview post, I mentioned that I was looking forward to the performances by an anomalous assortment of actors and actresses that were cast in the various roles. Casting Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris, Casey Wilson, Missy Pyle, and Emily Ratajkowski was a bold move, and those casting decisions paid dividends—everyone played their part spectacularly, and I can finally say that I was not brutally annoyed by the creator of the horrendous Madea character. Also, it is definitely worth noting that Missy Pyle, in her role as Ellen Abbott (a TV host depicted in the same vein as the ever-despicable Nancy Grace), was incredibly spot-on in her performance—it was brilliant.

Ever since The Town, I have become more and more impressed with Ben Affleck’s acting abilities (in addition to his superb filmmaking talents), and I felt like he serviced his character well. It was not a performance that blew me out of the water, but it was well acted enough to make me engage with Nick. The highlight of the film was Rosamund Pike. I have been familiar with her work over the years in films like Die Another Day, Fracture, An Education, and The World’s End, but in her debut role as a true leading lady, Pike absolutely killed it. She was in rare form, evoking so many emotions at once out of a single character; at times I found her incredibly attractive and empathized with her plight, and at other times I wanted to bash (figuratively) her head in. Amy is an incredibly complex character, and Rosamund Pike gave, in my opinion, the year’s most outstanding performance by an actress—her Oscar nomination is quite deserved. Gone Girl is rated R for a scene of bloody violence, some strong sexual content/nudity, and language.

Gone Girl trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esGn-xKFZdU

Academy Award nominations for Gone Girl:

Best Actress: (Rosamund Pike)

Previous movies on the countdown of the Top 15 Films of 2014:

The Lego Movie

Posted on February 3, 2015February 3, 2015 by mistertowle2

Top 15 Films of 2014, No. 15 – The Lego Movie

The Lego Movie is a film written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. The film follows an ordinary Lego minifigure named Emmet (Chris Pratt). Emmet is an average Lego—he always follows the rules and gives into the mindless lifestyle that is demanded of him. However, when he is mistaken for an extraordinarily special person that has been prophesied to save the world, he is thrust into a thrilling quest with a band of Lego strangers to take down the evil despot, Lord Business (Will Ferrell).

Traditionally, I am not a huge fan of animated features. My feeling is that most of the modern animated films, with only a few exceptions (e.g., most Pixar films), are senseless, poorly written stories that are meant to simply target children and achieve immense box office success through that exploitation. I have no issues with this business tactic by the animation studios, but my point is only that it does not make for good film. However, The Lego Movie breaks the mold for modern animation storytelling. It does an incredible job of appealing to young kids who play with Legos with its music, humor, and positive story, but I was most impressed, as a twentysomething, with the film’s ability to appeal to adults. The jokes, plot, and character arcs are obviously appropriate for children of all ages, but they seem hilariously crafted with those of my age group in mind. Additionally, the story ever so gradually tugs at the heartstrings of anyone that has ever played with the world-famous toys in their life. It not only allows children to see their favorite toys on the big screen, but it also brings back a wealth of memories from days gone by from adults’ (and specifically, my) creative adventures with Legos. The film has won a number of awards already for being the Best Animated Feature of 2014, which is why I am appalled that it was snubbed by the Oscars in that category. In recent memory, this is the worst snub the Academy has made.

Everything discussed in the previous paragraph is directly attributable to the well-crafted script and the exceptional direction from the film’s creators, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. This duo has a unique filmography, writing and directing Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and directing both 21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street. Their experiences with animated films (they also wrote the script for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2) is starkly different to that of their R-rated Jump Street comedies, but the Lord-Miller team gets the best out of both worlds for The Lego Movie. It is a remarkable achievement that has already garnered its creators a series of spin-off films that are in the works, not to mention a sequel to The Lego Movie. These guys are becoming a staple in the world of animated film, and we are all luckier for that.

The script is as solid as it gets, but naturally, it still needs a group of talented actors to breathe life into its characters. Voice acting is always a unique challenge, but Lord and Miller put together an all-star cast for the task. The film has a wide range of standout performances from its actors, including Chris Pratt as Emmet, Will Ferrell as Lord Business, Elizabeth Banks as Wyldstyle, Will Arnett as Batman, Nick Offerman as Metal Beard, Alison Brie as Princess Unikitty, Charlie Day as Benny, Liam Neeson as Bad Cop, Good Cop, and Morgan Freeman as Vitruvius. Make sure to check this one out if you are looking to see a perfect comedy—it is by far the year’s best. At the very least, you will be left with one of the greatest songs in film history stuck in your head…”Everything is awesome!!!” The Lego Movie is rated PG for mild action and rude humor.

The Lego Movie trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj4GeCk5SBk

Academy Award nominations for The Lego Movie:

Best Original Song: “Everything Is Awesome” (Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson)

Posted on February 2, 2015February 2, 2015 by mistertowle2

The Best Films of 2014 – Honorable Mentions (16-20)

Oscars season is back, and that means it is time to break down the best movies from the past year. Over the next few weeks, I will be revealing each of the movies on my “Top 15 Films of 2014” list, but today I am announcing my five “Honorable Mention” films. Now, I present you with the five films that just missed cracking my Top 15 list:

No. 16 – Edge of Tomorrow

Edge of Tomorrow is a science-fiction film directed by Doug Limon with a screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, and John-Henry Butterworth. The film takes place in the not-so-distant future and follows Major William Cage (Tom Cruise), a public relations officer in the military, who is forced into battle against a deadly alien race. His mission is essentially suicide, but Cage is thrown into a time-loop and is sent back to the day before the battle each time he dies. With help from Special Forces Sergeant Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), Cage is able to improve his warrior skills to take down the enemy in the repeated days. After Cruise’s science-fiction failure last year (Oblivion), I was not expecting much from this movie, and truthfully, I had no interest in seeing it. But when I finally did sit down and watch it, I was more than impressed. The storyline is somewhat similar to that of Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day (1993), but it blows its “predecessor” away with its incredible action-packed plot. The visual effects are as top-notch as you will see, and the acting is spot-on. The on-screen relationship between Cruise and Blunt is vitally important for this story to work, and their chemistry was vastly evident—these two take an incredibly unique storyline and knock it out of the park. If you are looking for a solid Redbox movie on a Friday night, this one is well worth a watch.

No. 17 – Into the Woods

Into the Woods is a film directed by Rob Marshall, an adaptation of the critically acclaimed Broadway musical of the same name. I am a huge fan of musicals, but for some reason, I not once had any interest in seeing this movie. However, when the Oscar nominations were released, I was forced into seeing it because Meryl Streep was nominated for her role as The Witch (which was well-deserved)—I am sure glad I saw it. The storyline is such a unique conglomeration of a number of classic fairytales, and the music is as catchy as you can imagine—I literally kept singing some of the songs long after I watched it. I was also impressed with the acting and singing from the film’s starring cast. Even though the film was full of superstar talent (Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep, Chris Pine, Christine Baranski, Anna Kendrick, and Tracey Ullman), I was most impressed by James Corden (the Baker) and Emily Blunt (the Baker’s wife)—they did not look like your typical on-screen couple, but the chemistry was apparent and the singing/acting performances by this duo were enchanting. If you are a fan of musicals, this is one of the best I have seen in quite some time.

No. 18 – A Most Violent Year

A Most Violent Year is a film written and directed by J.C. Chandor. This movie follows Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac), the owner of an oil company in 1981 whose business is being tainted by a severe outbreak of violent corruption during the most crime-ridden year in New York City’s history. This is only Chandor’s third film, but he has built up an expertise in multiple storytelling techniques. He can build a film that centers on plot and dialogue (Margin Call), and he can also create a tried-and-true character study (All Is Lost)—with A Most Violent Year, Chandor does an amazing job of combining these two methods. The film is shot spectacularly, and it includes a foot-chase scene for the ages. Although Oscar Isaac does a solid job in the starring role, the best performance in the movie is from his co-star, Jessica Chastain. Chastain plays Abel’s wife Anna, and the critically acclaimed actress (the most talented in Hollywood, in my opinion) stole every single scene she was in. The film is tense, dark, and thrilling, and it is definitely one of the standout movies from a great year in cinema.

No. 19 – Two Days, One Night

Two Days, One Night is a Belgian-French-Italian drama written and directed by acclaimed Belgian brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne. The movie is about Sandra (Marion Cotillard), a laborer at a solar-panel manufacturer in Liege. After taking some time off from work due to a nervous breakdown, Sandra returns to find out that management has offered her sixteen co-workers a €1,000 bonus if they vote to let Sandra go from her position. After Sandra pleas with management, her boss agrees to take a new vote on Monday about her fate; thus, Sandra has only one weekend to visit each of her sixteen co-workers to plead her case. There is not much I like more than a well-written, well-acted, well-shot foreign-language film, and Two Days, One Night definitely meets that criteria. The story is a dilemma that any one of us could imagine being in, and Cotillard’s incredible dramatic performance evokes a heightened level of empathy with this tough situation. This film is as simplistic as it gets, but at the same time, it is a tremendously depicted human-nature drama.

No. 20 – The Drop

The Drop is a mob drama directed by Michaël R. Roskam and written by Dennis Lehane. This movie was No. 6 on my “Fall Preview 2014” post, and although it did not make my list of the Top 15 films of the year, it still stands out as one of the year’s most noteworthy movies. I am a huge fan of several film adaptations of Dennis Lehane’s novels (Gone Baby Gone, Mystic River), and given that this was his first screenplay attempt, I was greatly anticipating the film’s release. As a mob-related drama, the film’s potential success hinged upon a dark, thrilling storyline and believable acting performances—The Drop certainly satisfies these requirements. This was the final appearance in a feature film by James Gandolfini, and given his experience as Tony Soprano on the HBO show The Sopranos, it was not difficult for the late actor to excel in his role as Cousin Marv—it was a spectacular swan song for a talented artist like Gandolfini. Naturally, though, the movie hit its highest points because of the star performance by Tom Hardy. Over the past couple of years, Hardy has become one of my favorite actors, and if you want the chance to see him excel in a role, make sure to check out The Drop.

Posted on February 28, 2014 by mistertowle2

Top 15 Films of the Year, No. 1 – 12 Years A Slave

12 Years A Slave is a film directed by Steve McQueen, with a screenplay by John Ridley. The film is adapted from Solomon Northup’s 1853 memoir of the same name. It tells the true story of when Northup was abducted and sold into slavery during the pre-Civil War era, despite the fact that he was a free man.

12 Years A Slave is an epic tale about the bitter reality of American slavery and the resilience one man had to withstand such brutal obstacles in order to one day reach his family again. I have heard many great things about Steve McQueen’s filmmaking abilities, but prior to 12 Years A Slave, I had never personally seen any of his work. But based purely on his effort here, the British director has made me a dedicated believer in his talented artistry. The subject of slavery in America has never been displayed on the silver screen before in such a straightforward, viciously honest nature, and when asked in an interview with Entertainment Weekly why there have not been more films in America about slavery, McQueen responded, “it’s a question it took a Brit to ask.” McQueen gives Solomon Northup’s story justice on the screen and not by sugarcoating any part of this heroic story—he is candid at all times, no matter how atrocious the circumstances are. McQueen has created one of the greatest films of all time, and this is the first time since The King’s Speech won for Best Picture that I have so deeply believed that a film deserves the Academy’s most coveted award.

This epic tale is packed with astoundingly crafted acting performances, and this is just another reason why 12 Years A Slave stands tall among the rest of 2013’s cinematic exports. Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Solomon Northup, and his take on the real-life man is viscerally remarkable. There are some horrifying scenes involving Ejiofor’s character, but he handles them with an experienced level of dignity. Ejiofor admitted in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that he found the most brutal scenes the easiest to perform because “it allows for another level of legitimacy in the pursuit of someone’s story, somebody’s life.” Ejiofor devoted the time and effort in preparing for this role with commitment and resolve, and for that, the story of Solomon Northup receives the respected amount of attention that it deserves.

Lupita Nyong’o also gave one of the most incredible performances of the entire year in her portrayal of Patsey, an iron-willed slave woman. Her character is one of the more innocent figures in the film, but she has some of the harshest realities of pre-Civil War slavery, namely the sexual sadism she is subjected to from her slave owner. Nyong’o is a newcomer in Hollywood, but the performance she gives is more analogous to a veteran performer on the verge of a Lifetime Achievement award. Her wisdom in terms of acting is beyond her years, and in this film, she gives a performance that will long be remembered as one of the best 2013 had to offer. With every crack of the whip during her gruesome beating scene, Lupita Nyong’o becomes immersed even deeper into her character, and even though the scene is one of the hardest to watch, her realism knocks it out of the park.

The film’s other actors also give outstanding supporting performances, especially Paul Dano and Sarah Paulson. But aside from Ejiofor and Nyong’o, no performance is more memorable than Michael Fassbender as the vicious slave-owner, Edwin Epps. At first glance, the character seems blandly one-dimensional, but Fassbender’s exhaustive construction of the character brings out so many other previously unearthed qualities. Ever since I first saw Fassbender in Inglourious Basterds, I knew he had a unique gift in regards to acting, but never before has he been so instinctive and appalling as he is in 12 Years A Slave. If any other skilled actor were to take on the role of Epps, the film would probably still be a solid “A.” But Fassbender’s terrific performance takes this movie to another level, and McQueen is most assuredly thankful for this collaboration.

All in all, this film is by far the best of the entire year. It touches every single emotion a viewer could possibly have, and the acting is something to behold. McQueen has beautifully created one of the most important films of modern cinema, and for that, it deserves every single honor available in this industry. 12 Years A Slave is rated R for violence/cruelty, some nudity, and brief sexuality.

12 Years A Slave trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z02Ie8wKKRg

Academy Award nominations for 12 Years A Slave:

Best Picture (Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, and Anthony Katagas, Producers)

Best Actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor)

Best Supporting Actor (Michael Fassbender)

Best Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong’o)

Best Costume Design (Patricia Norris)

Best Director (Steve McQueen)

Best Film Editing (Joe Walker)

Best Production Design (Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Alice Baker)

Best Adapted Screenplay (John Ridley)

Previous movies on the countdown of the Top 15 Films of the Year:

2. Short Term 12

3. The Hunt

4. Frances Ha

5. The Wolf of Wall Street

6. The World’s End

7. American Hustle

8. The Spectacular Now

9. Nebraska

10. Captain Phillips

11. Her

12. Philomena

13. Fruitvale Station

14. The Place Beyond the Pines

15. Dallas Buyers Club

Posted on February 28, 2014 by mistertowle2

Top 15 Films of the Year, No. 2 – Short Term 12

Short Term 12 is a film written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. The film tells the story of Grace (Brie Larson), a twenty-something supervisor at a short-term foster facility for at-risk teenagers called Short Term 12. On a daily basis, Grace fraternizes with her fellow counselors, breaks up fights between kids in her charge, helps talk kids through their many problems, but most of all, positively impacts each and every foster kid’s life in such a spectacular way.

A creator of mostly short films, Destin Daniel Cretton has completely broken out and created one of the most touching stories you will ever come across in modern cinema. This film was based off of a short film he completed for his senior project while in film school, and it is his passion for this narrative that exemplifies itself on the screen so superbly. Each character in the film has a very different story to tell, but in so many ways, they are all the same—Cretton’s marvelous script gives each of these characters a voice, and they are all written with veteran elegance.

The best part of this well-crafted independent film is Brie Larson’s breakout performance as Grace. She has become somewhat better known thanks to supporting roles in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), 21 Jump Street (2012), and The Spectacular Now (2013), but Larson fully releases herself into this lead role, and the results are absolutely, unequivocally astonishing. Larson’s performance is so incredibly transparent, and even though I was aware of her, I completely lost sight of the fact that it was actually Larson on the screen—her immersion into the character is that good. The character is much more complex than initially meets the eye, and the emotionally wrenching circumstances of Grace’s life are epitomized by Larson’s award-worthy character construction. It is sheer acting talent on display in Short Term 12, and it makes me very excited about what Larson will continue bringing to the table in films to come.

Aside from Larson’s breakout role, the film features two utterly amazing supporting performances from Kaitlyn Dever as Jayden and Keith Stanfield as Marcus, two teens housed at Short Term 12. Dever has previously played supporting parts in Bad Teacher (2011) and The Spectacular Now (2013), but her portrayal of the complicated Jayden in Short Term 12 is mind-boggling, considering she is just 17-years-old. Even though her exterior is that of a punk, dismissive girl, the film reveals how her inner anger and heart breaking past threaten Jayden’s survival; Dever plays this convoluted character to a tee.

Keith Stanfield also gives a menacing performance as the about-to-graduate Marcus, a 17-year-old with the epitome of a troubled past. Stanfield does an excellent job of delineating his character’s emotional roller-coaster ride at Short Term 12, and this gripping portrayal made Marcus one of the most intriguing characters from the film. My favorite scene from the entire movie was when Marcus performs a rap song he wrote about his mother. The song is crude, profane, and angry, but with every despicable insult about his mother, you begin to empathize with Marcus for the harsh life his mother forced him to live—it is a breathtaking moment, and it is just one example of the subtle way Short Term 12 takes you into the delicate minds of its characters. Short Term 12 is rated R for language and brief sexuality.

Short Term 12 trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8QxAYxNRgs

Academy Award nominations for Short Term 12:

NONE

Previous movies on the countdown of the Top 15 Films of the Year:

3. The Hunt

4. Frances Ha

5. The Wolf of Wall Street

6. The World’s End

7. American Hustle

8. The Spectacular Now

9. Nebraska

10. Captain Phillips

11. Her

12. Philomena

13. Fruitvale Station

14. The Place Beyond the Pines

15. Dallas Buyers Club

Posted on February 27, 2014May 10, 2014 by mistertowle2

Top 15 Films of the Year, No. 3 – The Hunt

The Hunt is a Danish film directed by Thomas Vinterberg, with a screenplay co-written by Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm. The film tells the story of Lucas, a former teacher who is trying to get his life back on track after a divorce. Lucas’s life is flipped upside down, though, when he is wrongfully accused of sexually molesting a child at the local kindergarten. When this nasty rumor is started, it sends the entire village into mass hysteria, and Lucas rapidly becomes the subject of everyone’s disparagement.

After hearing about this movie from a weekly film podcast I listen to, I became fascinated with the subject matter of the film, and thus, I had to see it. Upon the first viewing, I was blown away. From the moment the horrifying rumor is first started by a young schoolgirl, the film promptly shifts from festive and exultant to tense and shocking. Vinterberg’s cinematic style is truly captivating, and he expounds upon this contentious subject matter through subtle nuances and forthright passion. For the viewer, the story seems so utterly definite and concrete, but Vinterberg deliberately delineates this complex narrative with a remarkable sense of ambiguity—you will definitely be watching some scenes through your hands as the plot grows thicker and thicker with intensity.

Despite the impeccable script and alluring filmmaking, the film would not be the success that it is without extraordinary acting, and in The Hunt, Mads Mikkelsen leads the way with a transfixing portrayal of the scorned Lucas. Even though Mikkelsen is an established Danish actor, he is well known in the States as well, thanks to his role as Le Chiffre in Casino Royale (2006) and his portrayal of the titular character in NBC’s Hannibal TV series. The performance Mikkelsen gives in The Hunt is truly spectacular, and I believe his gripping depiction of a man ostracized by his tight-knit community over a false rumor was clearly one of the year’s best. Lucas’s life and his dignity are on the line with every move he makes, and Mikkelsen depicts this solitude in such a competent manner. At times, Lucas is calm and relaxed because he knows that he has done nothing wrong, but at other moments, he lets his anger get the best of him as members of the community protest his existence. Two scenes that most elucidate the tense social extradition of Lucas are his confrontation with a series of grocery store employees and his outburst at the Christmas Eve church service—as the latter scene commenced, my eyes opened wide with anticipation and fear.

If you have not seen this film yet, I cannot recommend it to you enough. It will be one of the tensest movie-watching experiences you will ever have, that much I can guarantee. I know a number of people do not enjoy watching films with subtitles, but honestly, this film is so incredibly well executed that you will forget all about the movie being in Danish by the time the plot starts to coagulate. To put it simply, this is a film that you flat-out do not want to miss. The Hunt is rated R for sexual content including a graphic image, violence, and language.

The Hunt trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK9cO7QN8Ak

Academy Award nominations for The Hunt:

Best Foreign Language Film (Denmark – The Hunt)

Previous movies on the countdown of the Top 15 Films of the Year:

4. Frances Ha

5. The Wolf of Wall Street

6. The World’s End

7. American Hustle

8. The Spectacular Now

9. Nebraska

10. Captain Phillips

11. Her

12. Philomena

13. Fruitvale Station

14. The Place Beyond the Pines

15. Dallas Buyers Club

Posted on February 26, 2014 by mistertowle2

Top 15 Films of the Year, No. 4 – Frances Ha

Frances Ha is a film directed by Noah Baumbach, with a screenplay written by Baumbach and Greta Gerwig. The movie is a character study about Frances (Greta Gerwig), an aspiring dancer in New York City who must learn to live her life independently of her best friend Sophie (Mickey Summer), who decides at the beginning of the film to move in with her own boyfriend. Frances encounters a variety of life-impacting obstacles, but her constant joy and cheerfulness allows her to keep striving for her dreams, despite the many hardships she faces.

This is my first encounter with director Noah Baumbach, but after seeing the film, I want to make sure it is not my last. Ranking this film so high on my list is definitely a hipster move, but the first time I watched Frances Ha, I was thoroughly impressed with the work. Baumbach and his leading lady Greta Gerwig wrote one of the funniest scripts of the entire year, although it strikes the comedic chords in such a subtle, but entertaining manner. I enjoyed following Frances through the city as she attempted to make something of her life, and with the passing of every moment, I began to like her more and more. I credit this to a wonderfully developed screenplay.

Speaking of Greta Gerwig, she does a phenomenal job as Frances. The character represents the epitome of awkwardness, but her clumsiness is so quirky and innocent. Frances is a complicated character, never seeming too high or too low at any given moment, but Gerwig’s innate charisma allows the brightest characteristics of Frances to constantly shine through. Frances is a careless individual, and this is exemplified in a scene where she travels to Paris by charging the flight to a credit card that she knows she does not have the funds to pay for—Frances does what she wants but always regrets her decisions when the consequences come calling. Her journey throughout the film is characterized by her relationship with her best friend Sophie and the way in which that friendship becomes strained after Sophie moves in with her boyfriend. Frances has never learned to live an independent life, and her constant money problems and failed romantic relationships (one friend continually refers to Frances as “undateable”) seem to be a direct result of her disconnect with Sophie.

This film has a lot less to say about it than most of the films on my year-end list, but that is because it is so incredibly simple. This utter simplicity is one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much, and it is one that I would not mind watching a hundred times over. Frances Ha is rated R for sexual references and language.

Frances Ha trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBn5dgXFMis

Academy Award nominations for Frances Ha:

NONE

Previous movies on the countdown of the Top 15 Films of the Year:

5. The Wolf of Wall Street

6. The World’s End

7. American Hustle

8. The Spectacular Now

9. Nebraska

10. Captain Phillips

11. Her

12. Philomena

13. Fruitvale Station

14. The Place Beyond the Pines

15. Dallas Buyers Club

Posted on February 26, 2014 by mistertowle2

Top 15 Films of the Year, No. 5 – The Wolf of Wall Street

The Wolf of Wall Street is a film directed by Martin Scorsese, with a screenplay written by Terence Winter. The film tells the true-life story of Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), a New York stockbroker in the late 1980s who makes a rapid rise to Wall Street royalty with the founding of his brokerage firm, Stratton Oakmont. However, Belfort reaches this skyscraper affluence through greed, corruption, and downright illegalities. Before long, the entire world comes crashing down on Belfort and his securities fraud posse.

Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, and over the years, he has particularly become the king of mob movies. Between Goodfellas and The Departed, two of my all-time favorite films, Scorsese has developed a top-flight reputation in this genre. In The Wolf of Wall Street, he adds to his decorous list of accomplishments a film with more sex, drugs, and crime (the white-collar variety, mostly) than any of his before. The film itself has been on the receiving end of a wide assortment of controversies, ranging from complaints about his glorification of such a dreadful subject matter to uproars about the excessive nudity and foul language. For me personally, none of those things bothered me one bit when I watched this movie in theaters—in fact, I went back and saw it a second time! In many films, the overload of sex, drugs, and F-bombs might be too overzealous, but Scorsese makes it work. He does not include sex and nudity just to include sex and nudity; Scorsese meticulously weaves these elements into the story to advance the plot and make the film more realistic. For that, I will never bat an eye.

Every single actor throughout the entire movie gives a well-crafted performance, and this greatly benefits the fluidity of the film. Leonardo DiCaprio gives one of the grandest performances of his entire career as Jordan Belfort, and I was utterly pleased to see him receive some Oscar recognition. This is Leo’s fifth collaboration with Scorsese, beginning with Gangs of New York in 2002, and their partnership is one of the best in the business. DiCaprio is an insanely talented actor, but his best work always seems to come out of Scorsese flicks, and his portrayal of the drug/money-addicted Belfort is absolutely astounding, in all the best ways. My favorite scene from the entire film features Leo high on Quaaludes attempting to reach his car from the country club doors—if you have not seen this film, this scene alone makes it worth the watch. Jonah Hill also gives a wonderful performance, and even though he broke out in the Oscar world with 2011’s Moneyball, this is by far the best job Hill has ever done in a film. In many interviews, Hill credits this as his dream role because his favorite actor is Leo and his favorite director is Scorsese; however, he never seems star struck on the screen, and his portrayal of Donnie Azoff is absolutely hilarious and riveting.

The hidden gem in this movie is the breakout supporting performance by newcomer Margot Robbie as Belfort’s wife Naomi. Robbie, an Australian native, absolutely nails the Brooklyn accent, and if you had no clue of her Aussie roots, you would NEVER believe she was not from New York—her accent is THAT good. Aside from the accent, Robbie gives a stellar performance, and I hope to see a lot more from her in the near future.

Terence Winter took the wild and outlandish true story of Jordan Belfort’s rise to the pinnacle of Wall Street and turned it into one of the finest screenplays of 2013. Winter’s incredible script, along with Scorsese’s genius filmmaking and the ensemble cast’s award-worthy performances, has made The Wolf of Wall Street one of 2013’s finest exports. The Wolf of Wall Street is rated R for sequences of strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language throughout, and for some violence.

The Wolf of Wall Street trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iszwuX1AK6A

Academy Award nominations for The Wolf of Wall Street:

Best Picture (Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joey McFarland, and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Producers)

Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio)

Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill)

Best Director (Martin Scorsese)

Best Adapted Screenplay (Terence Winter)

Previous movies on the countdown of the Top 15 Films of the Year:

6. The World’s End

7. American Hustle

8. The Spectacular Now

9. Nebraska

10. Captain Phillips

11. Her

12. Philomena

13. Fruitvale Station

14. The Place Beyond the Pines

15. Dallas Buyers Club