The following is my current opinion (subject to change) on the top movies of the year. So, what's best way to tackle this?... Top 5 countdown I reckon. Cliché, I know, but lets just get it over with shall we?
- 5 - Crazy, Stupid, Love
Wedged somewhere ambiguously between rom-com and drama, this movie features an impressive cast who all churn out solid performances. Couple that with an excellent script and a unique approach to an otherwise jaded "couple going through a rough patch" kind of story, throw in Ryan Gosling as an unbelievably suave player, and an interesting turn from the always delightful Marisa Tomei as a bat shit crazy school teacher, and there really was no way this movie could bomb. The funny moments are exceptionally funny (and not just by rom com standards), and likewise the drama is pulled off with a great deal of sincerity. My only complaint about this movie is that it is a good half hour longer than it should be, and that will be apparent to anyone who watches it. But otherwise, it's place in this list is rather justified.
- 4 - Limitless
For some reason, every year, without fail I find myself inexplicably liking a movie that doesn't necessarily deserve an awful lot of attention. Usually it's either an awful comedy or a big budget action blockbuster with no plot (a la "The Expendables"), that really has no business appearing in anyone's Top 5. This year, my guilty pleasure was Neil Berger's twisted yarn "Limitless", featuring a pilled up Bradley Cooper realising his full potential due to the discovery of a performance enhancing drug, which ultimately ends up consuming the people who partake and forcing them to a grizzly premature demise. It's essentially a glorified chase movie, with some funky sequences thrown in to illustrate just how Bradley Cooper's character performs while under the influence. It's nonsense really, but it's a visual feast. But on a side note, DeNiro's pug faced tough guy routine is starting to piss me off.
- 3 - Super 8
Up until a month ago, this movie looked set to sit firmly in the number one spot on my list, and not because it is such a terrific movie or anything... but rather because it just so happens that two of the best movies of the entire year (or any year for that matter) were released within the last month. Super 8 is understandably regarded by many as some kind of a rip-off of the Spielbergian movies of the seventies and eighties, but if we're being fair, it's so much more than that. I think the best way to put it is that it is more of a love letter to fans of those innocent eighties movies than anything else. Does it borrow from templates like E.T and The Goonies? Sure it does... But it had been so damn long since anyone had seen a movie like this, that audiences were practically screaming out for a movie that reminded them of those aforementioned classics, and like it or not, Super 8 is the response to those screams. It had great pace, it looked beautiful, and Spielberg stamped his seal of approval all over that mother, which makes the creative sampling of his work acceptable in my book. I also thought it was great to see Kyle Chandler back on the big screen. For the sake of being balanced, if I was to pick something that I didn't like about Super 8, it would be the ludicrous volume of shots featuring lens flare. JJ needs to just build a bridge already. People didnt like the lens flare in Star Trek...what made him think it would be any more well received here?
- 2 - Drive
The movie that solidified Ryan Gosling as the man to lead the next generation of suave, intense protagonists is also quite possibly one of the single greatest thriller's of the last few years. It's a rare occasion that a character comes along that can be both shit cool and mysterious in equal measure, and it's even more rare that we go the entire movie without discovering the character's name. With very little dialogue from the main character, it's remarkable in retrospect that the movie is as gripping as it is. But the key plot points occur at just the right moments to keep you from losing interest in what's going on, and the pace is such that the entire movie (save a couple of utterly grotesque kill sequences) is an absolute joy to watch. The soundtrack is easily one of the finest of the year too, with some epic synth tracks from the likes of Kavinsky and Lovefoxxx. In essence, if I could sum up "Drive" in one sentence, it would be "Go see it!!!"
- 1 - The Ides Of March
Admittedly, part of the reason this movie ranked so high on my list is probably because it is the most recent. Regardless of whether I re-assess my decision to place "The Ides Of March" as my number one movie of 2011, the simple fact of the matter is, at the moment, this movie is the most gripping, enduring film that I've seen in a good long while. On paper it seems like quite a dull story about a young man who is single handedly keeping the presidential campaign afloat for his candidate, while managing potential scandals and ensuring that they don't make their way into the public domain. At this point, it probably goes without saying that there's a lot more to it than that and once again, as with "Crazy, Stupid Love", this movie succeeds with thanks in no small part to the superb performances from the cast. Clooney has certainly proven his directing chops at this point, and it would not be wise to discount this modern classic from next years Oscar race. Marisa Tomei is terrific in her role as the backstabbing journalist who is looking to sell anyone out for the next big scoop, and similarly, Philip Seymore Hoffman does his job more than adequately, playing the paranoid campaign manager for Clooney's presisential hopeful. But perhaps the one thing to take away from this list, is that 2011 belongs to Ryan Gosling. With three of the best picture's of the year under his belt, he can seemingly do no wrong at the moment, and he has built a serious amount of momentum going into 2012. On a side note, the musical score by Alexandra Desplat is exceptional.
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