Funny Games

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. Michael Haneke’s new film Funny Games is anything from funny. Instead, it is one of the most twisted, unbearable, torturous films that I have ever seen. There is nothing entertaining about this film, its concept is devious and its delivery is gruesome. So why then, for the life of me, can I not get it out of my head? I tend to let go of the wicked rather quickly, but Funny Games, with its devilish antics, is a modern work of art. It’s morbid yet subtle, disturbing yet intriguing haunting. But it is also, not for everyone.

A beautiful family (Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, and their 10-year-old child played by Devon Gearhart) drive in their beautiful car to their beautiful lakeside home to spend a beautiful week away. On the drive, they listen to beautiful operas, playing a harmless guessing game of what is being heard. Suddenly, without any hint or warning, heavy death metal blasts from the theatre speakers. There is screaming and shrieking as big, huge, monstrous words in red appear on the screen. Welcome to our opening credits. Welcome to hell.

The family hasn’t been at their home for an hour before a nice, overly polite young man (Brady Corbet) comes to the door, asking for eggs. Dressed in his tennis whites, including eerie white gloves, the conversation unfolds much like the gas station scene in No Country for Old Men. It doesn’t take long for us to know something could be, or is about to be, seriously wrong. Of course, creepy events unfold as the young man’s partner in crime shows up and they terrorize the family.

My generation has been raised on the Saw’s and Hostel’s and other torture-porn garbage to expect the worst. More carnage, more blood and guts and guns and knives. The beauty of Funny Games is that it throws all that right in our faces, almost literally. Haneke is recreating his own 1997 Austrian film of the same name in a shot-by-shot adaptation. He has said that the original film was a way to ask people why they watch the things they do. But now, 11 years later, that idea is much more prevalent. Haneke isn’t afraid to throw American-entertainment-snuff-violence in our faces. Why do we enjoy stuffing our faces full of popcorn while some teenaged girl runs for her life, then gets captured, raped, hung, and whatever else the filmmaker has in store for us? Why, as a society, do we watch a journalist get decapitated in a grainy video, or a man in an airport get tasered to death on CNN.com?

The point of Funny Games is to ask, or possibly ridicule, audiences who enjoy and put themselves through this kind of gratification. This is the same question last month’s Untraceable asked, just in a plain, forgettable way. Haneke has a different approach. In his film, most of the violence occurs off-screen. You hear a gun shot, or a person getting stabbed, or a man getting hit with a gold club, but you don’t see it. We are forced to watch painfully long shots in which actor’s bound with duct tape and rope, try to scramble free. And then, most mockingly, every so often the main assailant (a deeply affecting Michael Pitt) will look directly into the camera, asking the audience questions, teasing them for a response.

Watts is one of the best actresses around. She hinted at her talent in Mulholland Dr. proved it in 21 Grams and has solidified it recently with Eastern Promises. Here, she gives a bravado performance, which includes spending the majority of the picture in her underwear. She and Roth make the film convincing, they carry emotional strain with such believability that it is engrossingly marvelous.

This isn’t an easy film to appreciate. The young crowd going for a torture-horror movie, and the art house crowd going for something new, will both be revolted. I was initially appalled when the film ended. But after you let it marinate, and by keeping an open mind, you see what Haneke is trying to say, and although you may not agree with his delivery, it’s hard to keep it our of your head, for the right reasons. A

Vantage Point

A crime occurs, and over the course of the next hour, we witness the crime from about eight different points of view. Each person’s view opening new doors and discoveries into the mystery. By the end, we have come full circle on the crime, uncovering all the clues and hints to form a rational motive.

That was the plot of NBC’s brilliant but short lived show Boomtown which ran for one season in 2002. Boomtown (which critics loved, but audiences never found) was a greatly unique idea, it encompassed network TV originality, it was a black sheep of tired, old sitcoms and outdated crime shows.

Mix Boomtown’s concept with a little bit of 24’s narrative and you get the mess that is Vantage Point. First-time director Pete Travis gets an impressive, Oscar approved cast to fill the seats, but God help him if they can keep you there.

I rolled with it for the first half hour. We get a story, which runs for about ten minutes, then stop, rewind, and view that same story again, from a different perspective. It isn’t that it gets old, it just gets plain ridiculous. You’ll be looking at your watch long before the sixth segment, when the film completely ditches its entire concept and then decides to act as a regular movie, jumping from person to person, narrative to narrative.

Had they stuck with the single-perspective theme throughout the picture, then they may’ve had something. But instead, we’re left with a jumbled, convenient, unbelievable muddle that I can’t even begin to explain. For those that care: the President (William Hurt) is giving some speech in Spain about anti-terrorism efforts, when he is gunned down by an unknown assassin. A bomb goes off far away, and then the stage where the President was talking, explodes. Journalists, secret service agents, tourists, the President and the bad guys give us their take on the whole thing.

Save yourself the trouble (and the headache) of sitting down with this. Put Boomtown on your Netflix queue, its time much better spent. D-

The Other Boleyn Girl

If you’re not up to date with your history, let director Justin Chadwick’s film cloud it for you. I’m not sure how much leisure The Other Boleyn Girl is having with its historical references, but I suppose nothing can be an exact replica of the past.

King Henry VIII (Eric Bana) needs a male heir to his throne that his wife Katherine of Aragon cannot produce. The Duke of Norfolk convinces his sister, Elizabeth Boleyn to let one of her daughters vie for the King’s attention. Sleek, resourceful, quick-witted Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) is given the task to bed the King, give him a son, and make her family prosperous. Simple enough, a little medieval adultery never hurt anyone.

But the King has his eye on Anne’s innocent, shy, earnest sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson). Jealousy, regret, anger and revenge fuel what is to follow. There are so many (not-so-clever) twists and turns, that the viewer may spend too much time trying to catch up and ask “Why”.

Portman has no problem proving to us that she is one of the finest actresses of her generation. A squint of her eyes refers to pure narcissistic rage that embodies her Anne. Portman is great at being devious; she outshines the rest of the cast by a long shot.

The quiet demeanor of Mary is something Johansson has tackled before and better in Girl with a Pearl Earring, but she gives the little that is demanded of her, making the best of sparse material. And Bana, a fantastic actor, has fun with his constant screaming and throwing of objects, but his performance, along with most the film, falls flat.

Another issue to discuss is the once-so-secure line of the PG-13 and R ratings. Films like Beowulf, The Kite Runner and now The Other Boleyn Girl are seriously blurring a line in the ratings system. These are not light films, and while I would never argue for the MPAA, I am very surprised at what heavy, sexually-themed content is allowed to pass for kids under 14 to see.

There are better historical films to see. Start with Girl with a Pearl Earring. But fans of Portman’s will be in for something new, a talented, young actress stretching a little past her comfort zone, and nailing it. C

U2 3D

Half the fun is the experience. I’m convinced that no matter what is on the screen, anything in 3-D is made fun. Fortunately for audiences, we get the best of both worlds in the dazzling new film, U2 3D. While Bono and company rock out, we are given a first person account of one seriously entertaining ride.

The camera gracefully floats around the stage in front of Bono’s face, as he looks directly into the lens, reaching out to us from behind his trademark sunglasses. Suddenly, we’re in the crowd, amassed in the epic, thunderous group of people, singing along, splashing water, sitting on top of each other’s shoulders. You’ll have to remind yourself that you’re not actually there with them.

Because the experience is so unique, you don’t have to be a fan of U2 to enjoy the show. But if you are as big a fan as I, then the sound of the music along with the breathtaking images will floor you.

There are several highlights in the musical numbers. While the crowd is silent during an ode to human rights, a woman on a large, big-brother screen, explains the importance of the issue when suddenly, the first few chords of “Pride” are plucked, and chills are sent running up your spine.

The flawless, almost spiritual emotion of the event is captured in its full essence when the lights come on during “Where the Streets Have No Name” and you get to witness the sea of people, floating in their beauty.

But the best is saved for last. During the unparalleled masterpiece “With or Without You”, you’re face will flush with delight, your body lifted from the theatre, put right into the atmosphere of the show. Forget where you are; sing at the top of your lungs, along with everyone else in the theatre. A

The Bank Job

Don’t let the plain title fool you, The Bank Job is a heavy dose of refreshing filmmaking buried in the pile of spring season film waste.

It must be hard for filmmakers to keep the heist film alive, some fail and submerge themselves in clichés, but director Roger Donaldson keeps his film afloat, full of life.

The film tells the true story of the robbing of a London bank in 1971. Surrounded with ulterior motives, political conspiracy and a royal sex scandal, this is not your typical bank job. Plans are put in motion by some pretty important people to hire some chums to knock off a bank, get into the safety deposit boxes and retrieve some potentially damaging pictures. The thieves are allowed to keep whatever loot they recover, but they must return the photographs. Easy right?

No heist movie is complete without a series of hiccups to alter plans and change courses of action. Talented actor Jason Statham leads the bank robbing pack. His Terry is fused with a handsome mix of wild charisma and street-level smarts.

The Bank Job has its flaws. It expects the viewer to remember the real story. It leaves some things out, assuming everyone has a clue what the film is referring to. The film also has several characters, all highly developed, all trying to get their own side-story. Donaldson makes the best out of a complicated and cramped script, but some subplots could’ve been left out.

Aside from its few shortcomings, The Bank Job is a funny, clever as all hell, entertaining ride that successfully grabs hold of you, and barely lets up. A-

In Bruges

In Bruges is one of those rare movies that will get some of you laughing. Out loud. In the theatre. Ashamed that you are bellowing tremendous roars of delight, while few others around you are.

Famed stage director Martin McDonagh has crafted a hilariously bold feature-film debut. Through his devilish screenplay, McDonagh isn’t afraid to openly discuss hot-button issues as a source of character development.

Ken and Ray are two hitmen hiding out in the quiet, beautiful Belgium town, after a job gone very wrong. During their long-winded bickering chats, the men engage in riotous tirades, constantly poking fun at one another. This is where it gets racy. The men, mostly the young, ambitious, troubled Ray, aren’t afraid to have a laugh at the expense of the mentally and physically handicapped, Dwarfs, minorities, Americans, the Dutch and whatever else pops into their heads.

Ray, played with expert bravado by Colin Farrell, uses his black-as-night dark humor to hide his insecurities, to make up for the void in his life. Farrell has never been better. His humor is spot-on, his emotions are triggered brilliantly. Farrell shows that he has something here; with In Bruges, he reminds us of his supreme talent.

The other half of the dynamic duo is played by fantastic character actor Brendan Gleeson. Gleeson has dazzled us with supporting turns in Gangs of New York, 28 Days Later, and the Harry Potter films, but In Bruges is his finest accomplishment. If there is a reason to give the man a leading role, this film is it. Few other actors can effectively portray such a multitude of emotions on their face at the same time. His Ken is a warm-hearted man, plagued with ultimatums, most of which are delivered by his menacing boss, Harry.

By the time Ralph Fiennes gets onscreen he will have knocked you flat on your ass with his wild bantering. His Harry is a psychologically demented man, with strong morals to boot.

There is no use in describing the plot. It’s too unique. McDonagh echoes Tarantino and Scorsese with his sharp words and (at times) heavily violent content. It is an original piece of work, that shows much promise from a new voice in the world of film.

It’s important to acknowledge that what these people are saying is offensive, but these people lead offensive lives. Much in the way of Borat, there is no greater feeling then having to clamp your hands around your mouth, in an attempt to shut yourself up, trying not to ask yourself “Should I be laughing at this?”. A-

Best Lines of 2007

10. "Yeah, I mean I'm already pregnant, so what other kind of shenanigans could I get into?"- Ellen Page, Juno

9. “Forget you ever met people like me.”- Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

8. “Here we are! Oh please, please be real!”- Christian Bale, Rescue Dawn

7. “I drink your milkshake. I DRINK IT UP!”- Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood

6. “Do I look like I am negotiating?!”- George Clooney, Michael Clayton

5. “I am McLovin.”- Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Superbad

4. “Call it.”- Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men

3. “‘Cunt’”- in a letter written by James McAvoy, Atonement

2. "When I got older, I always thought that God would come into my life. And he didn't."- Tommy Lee Jones, No Country for Old Men

1. “I’m finished.”- Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood


What'd I forget? Tell me your favorites.

My 2007 OSCARS

If I was the sole member of the AMPAS, then this is what this year’s nominees and winners would look like. Winners are in bold, comments are in italics.

BEST PICTURE
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
Rescue Dawn
There Will Be Blood

Best film of the year. Period.

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson- There Will Be Blood
Joel and Ethan Coen- No Country for Old Men
Werner Herzog- Rescue Dawn (criminally underrated)
Sean Penn- Into the Wild (the year's biggest snub)

Julian Schnabel- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Toss up between the two innovative westerns created by Anderson and the Coen brothers. The Coens are long overdue; Anderson will be back up here soon.

BEST ACTOR
Christian Bale- Rescue Dawn (can the man get a nomination already?)
George Clooney- Michael Clayton
Daniel Day Lewis- There Will Be Blood
Tommy Lee Jones- In the Valley of Elah
Gordon Pinset- Away from Her (Christie has been getting all of the accolades, but without Pinset, you are missing half of a heartbreaking relationship)

While Bale is one of our finest (and most underrated actors), Lewis’ performance was a revelation in the film medium.


BEST ACTRESS
Julie Christie- Away From Her
Rosario Dawson- Descent (if you have a very very very strong stomach, then check out Dawson's brutally frank portryal of a victimized woman)
Marion Cotillard- La Vie En Rose
Ellen Page- Juno
Tang Wei- Lust, Caution

Wei’s performance is as shocking, haunting, candid, explicit and memorable as any film debut that I’ve ever seen.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck- The Assassination of Jesse James
Javier Bardem- No Country for Old Men
Paul Dano- There Will Be Blood
Philip Seymour Hoffman- Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
Steve Zahn- Rescue Dawn

He’s just that good. I dare you to call it another way.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett- I'm Not There
Jennifer Jason Leigh- Margot at the Wedding
Kelly Macdonald- No Country For Old Men
Amy Ryan- Gone Baby Gone
Tinda Swinton- Michael Clayton

She would be a lock if she hadn’t won three years ago for The Aviator, but here, as Bob Dylan, Blanchett has never been better.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Wes Anderson- The Darjeeling Limited
Noah Baumbach- Margot at the Wedding
Diablo Cody- Juno
Tony Gillroy- Michael Clayton
Kelly Masterson- Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

I’m still at a loss about how this marvelous film did not pick up a single nomination.


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson- There Will Be Blood
Joel and Ethan Coen- No Country For Old Men
Andrew Dominik- The Assassination of Jesse James
Sean Penn- Into the Wild
James Vanderbilt- Zodiac

Even in its silences, Anderson’s brilliantly paced screenplay resonates.

BEST EDITING
Atonement
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

The order of these scenes takes balls. The film still gets crap for its perfectly structured final act. If you had paid attention, you would get it.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Roger Deakins- The Assassination of Jesse James
Roger Deakins- No Country for Old Men
Eric Gautier- Into the Wild
Rodrigo Prieto- Lust, Caution

Robert Elswit- There Will Be Blood

Deakins is one of the greatest eyes behind the camera, but Robert Elswit’s fluid movements and long takes were highlighted in the tour de force that is There Will Be Blood.

BEST SCORE
Dario Marianelli- Atonement
James Newton Howard- Michael Clayton
Carter Burwell- No Country for Old Men
Klaus Badelt- Rescue Dawn
Jonny Greenwood- There Will Be Blood

Greenwood’s eerily haunting score was a fitting part in a modern-day masterpiece.

My Favorite Scene: Babel

Warning: Critical plot details will be divulged in this post.

Director Alejandro González Iñárritu uses a perfect blend of mercy, hope, and desperation to fuel his masterpiece, Babel, into an emotional powerhouse. No scene is more evident of such brilliance than the one in which Cate Blanchett’s character is evacuated from a local Moroccan village.

After being struck by a stray bullet, Blanchett is taken to a nearby village to be cared for by her husband, Brad Pitt, along with a compassionate tour guide (first-time actor Mohamed Akhzam).

Pitt tries frantically to get help from the local and US governments, and embassies; from virtually anyone who can get them out and to a hospital.

Throughout the picture, Akhzam helps Pitt by getting him a phone and medical attention for his wife. Yet Pitt constantly battles Akhzam, taking all of his pain and frustration out on the only man willing to help. After hours of struggle, a rescue helicopter finally arrives. At the sight of the helicopter, a beautiful guitar piece plays over the soundtrack, the Kronos Quartet’s "When Are Wings Are Cut, Can We Still Fly?"

As the guitar strings are plucked frantically, Iñárritu uses very fast cuts to heighten the confusion. The chopper lands and dozens of people scatter around, dusts flying through the crowds, but amidst the chaos, Blanchett’s injured body is put on board.

The moment to look for is when Pitt, following his wife on the chopper, turns around and embraces Akhzam, hugging him, demonstrating his most earnest thanks. Once they separate, Pitt reaches for his wallet and pulls out a wad of money, handing it over to Akhzam. With their voices inaudible as the song continues, Akhzam puts up his hands and refuses to accept the cash. Pitt tries a second and third time, begging the man to take what he deserves. When Akhzam refuses for a last time, Pitt puts his hands down, staring at his friend.

If there has ever been any doubt in your mind that Brad Pitt cannot act, then watch this scene. Watch his eyes when he tells the man thank you.

The scene lasts for only half a minute, but its impact is enormous. In a film filled with intense and disheartening moments, you will instantly feel the goodness that man can accomplish.

Lets Talk Oscar

The first post of several to dissect the decisions of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Here is a breakdown of how today’s nominations succeeded, failed and are just plain stupid.

Best Picture
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

This is the best that the big race has looked in a long time. It is unusual for the Academy to embrace originality so openly. Michael Clayton may have taken a spot for Into the Wild, but I don’t think there was one major snub to complain about, each film deserves to be here.

Actor
George Clooney: Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis: There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp: Sweeney Todd
Tommy Lee Jones: In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen: Eastern Promises

If In the Valley of Elah had to have just one nomination, I’m glad it’s for Tommy Lee Jones, who delivered a career-best performance in this underrated marvel.
Although he did a nice song and dance, Depp doesn’t deserve to be here. After his joke nomination for Pirates of the Caribbean (his first), it seems like they nominate him for anything. Emile Hirsh (Into the Wild) or Gordon Pinsent (Away From Her) would fill out the fifth slot much better.

Actress
Cate Blanchett: Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie: Away From Her
Marion Cotillard: La Vie en Rose
Laura Linney: The Savages
Ellen Page: Juno

It is silly to nominate Blanchett twice. Why waste a slot on someone that is a lock in another category? Tang Wei from Lust, Caution gave such an implosively powerfully performance, brilliant debuts like hers should not go unrecognized. Hell, past nominees and/or winners Keira Knightely (Atonement), Angelina Jolie (A Mighty Heart), or Nicole Kidman (Margot at the Wedding) would fit the bill nicer.

Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem: No Country for Old Men
Hal Holbrook: Into the Wild
Philip Seymour Hoffman: Charlie Wilson's War
Tom Wilkinson: Michael Clayton

Why not nominate someone for the best work of their career? Philip Seymour Hoffman could’ve been nominated for three different films, and they chose the least impressive of the bunch. Nominating him for Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead would’ve been magical.

Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett: I'm Not There
Ruby Dee: American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan: Atonement
Amy Ryan: Gone Baby GoneTilda Swinton: Michael Clayton

Amy Ryan has the swan-song story, but this is really Blanchett’s show. Her uncanny take on Bob Dylan marks a milestone in cinema.
I’d replace Ruby Dee’s bitch-slap of a nomination with Kelly Macdonald, who stole most of her scenes as Josh Brolin’s distraught wife in No Country For Old Men.

Director
Julian Schnabel: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman: Juno
Tony Gilroy: Michael Clayton
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen: No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson: There Will Be Blood

Reitman and Gilroy are worthy surprises, but Sean Penn deserves to be here. Passion bled into every frame of his Into the Wild. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Coen brothers and Anderson cancel each other out and Schnabel’s visionary eye snags him the prize.

Original Screenplay
Diablo Cody: Juno
Nancy Oliver: Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy: Michael Clayton
Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco: Ratatouille

Tamara Jenkins: The Savages

The best quality about Juno was its quick-witted, fast-paced flush of words. But Gilroy delivered a fantastic throwback to 70s cinema with smart, clever, incisive dialogue.
Kelly Masterson’s script for Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is one of the biggest sins of omission this year.

Adapted Screenplay
Christopher Hampton: Atonement

Sarah Polley: Away from Her

Ronald Harwood: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Joel Coen & Ethan Coen: No Country for Old Men

Paul Thomas Anderson: There Will Be Blood

These are all great, but, if not given a director nod, Sean Penn’s omission for his Into the Wild script is inexcusable.
Would it have been terrible to give David Fincher’s marvelous Zodiac at least one nomination?

Cinematography

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Atonement

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
No Country for Old Men

There Will Be Blood

This is the hardest category to call. The look of each of these films was beautiful and poetic. Roger Deakins has two chances with Jesse James and No Country to finally win the prize that has eluded him for his entire career. As one of the best living eyes behind a camera, he is long overdue.

Now, Let’s Talk Oscar Stupid
The Academy is notorious for finding rash reasons to exclude films from particular categories. The fact that Jonny Greenwood’s musical score was left out the Score competition due to a technicality is just plain idiotic. This is the biggest mistake committed by Oscar this year.

Greenwood’s score for There Will Be Blood is like nothing you have ever heard. Powerful, embracing, and completely haunting, it shifts the film’s focus, scene by scene.

Likewise for Eddie Vedder’s original songs for Into the Wild, or the foreign language category leaving off Romania's 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days and France's Persepolis.

But all and all, Oscar is getting better. They are nominating and awarding bolder, more courageous films, but it’s about time for the Academy to stop bitching and moaning and to start embracing daring aspects of great films.

Top 10 of 2007

10. Paris, je'taime: Twenty short films make up this wildly entertaining movie. Each filmmaker given a different part of the city to tell a six-minute love story. None better than the finale segment, Alexander Payne’s extraordinary piece about a middle-aged woman finding herself in the city of love. You’ll be floored by the emotional arch of the character, discovering wondrous realizations that you never thought possible in six minutes. A tour-de-force.

9. Zodiac: David Fincher’s fantastic, in-depth analysis about the San Francisco Bay Zodiac killer felt like a real investigation. Jake Gyllenhaal leads one of the best casts of the year as cartoonist turned author Robert Graysmith whose obsessions over the case nearly got him killed. Fincher is a master of dark cinema, thrilling us with Se7en, and Fight Club, but his direction has never been better in this morbid examination into the minds of people tracking a killer.

8. Into the Wild: Passion evokes itself in every frame in Sean Penn’s stunning film. A true story about Chris McCandless, a young man who gave up everything, only to reap the harsh drudges of the wild. Emile Hirsch gives a stunning, career-making performance. Great supporting turns by Catherine Keener and Hal Holbrook, but it’s Penn’s show, who fuses his own remarkable style in a highly memorable film.

7. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead: Veteran filmmaker Sidney Lumet’s devious return to form. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke have never been better as brothers living with the guilt of a crime gone very, very wrong. Kelly Masterson’s screenplay offers a fresh narrative in storytelling.

6. Atonement: The war-torn, romanance gets a much needed tune-up. Keira Knightley and James McAvoy light up the screen with their commanding chemistry. A poignant story with marvelous technical achievements to boot.

5. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: Brad Pitt’s passion project is one of the most subtly astonishing film of the year. Casey Affleck steals the show as a man haunted by his obsessions, long after the killing occurs. Cinematographer Roger Deakins beautifully uses vast landscapes to tell a story of isolated men.

4. Michael Clayton: From its breathtaking, mile a minute opening monologue, to its inspirational closing credits, this is a true classic. A smart, witty and immensely enjoyable throwback to 70s era cinema.

3. No Country for Old Men: A great return for the Coen brothers, who have been stuck in a quirky-comedy rut. Jarvier Bardem, hair and all, will go down as one of the all time great villains in cinema history. A terrific, literal adaptation from one of our best living authors, Cormac MaCarthy.

2. Rescue Dawn: A remarkable true story, harrowing in every frame. A triumphant film fueled by career-best performances by Christian Bale and Steve Zahn. One of Werner Herzog’s very best films. Criminally overlooked by virtually every major award competition, proves that the best films don’t always go on to win awards.

1. There Will Be Blood: Bold, brilliant, haunting, powerful. This is a film so unmatched by anything else this year that it stands on its own. Anchored by a classic Daniel Day-Lewis performance, this is the most shockingly original piece of filmmaking this year. Filled with the perfect blend of music and revolutionary camera work, There Will Be Blood is Paul Thomas Anderson's modern-day masterpiece.

And Ten More, for good measure (alphabetically):
Away From Her
The Darjeeling Limited
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Eastern Promises
Gone Baby Gone
Grindhouse (namely Death Proof)
In the Valley of Elah
Juno
Lust, Caution
Sicko

There Will Be Blood

Before a single word is spoken, There Will Be Blood has you. During the first few moments of the film, we are presented with a speechless montage of clips that establish the severe power of what is to come. Much of this is due to the blazingly cryptic musical score, sending chills up our spines, demanding our attention. But most of all, these beautiful opening shots serve to introduce a character that will forever stay etched into our brains. This, is Daniel Plainview.

In There Will Be Blood, writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson creates a brand new style that we never knew he had from watching his previous masterworks, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch-Drunk Love. In the turn of the century, Plainview goes from town to town, convincing its residents to let him drill for oil there. He goes in, sets up shop and benefits largely. His sales pitch is flawless and direct, using his young son H.W. as a selling tool. He is charismatic, charming, sincere and completely ruthless.

After Plainview is visited by a young man who offers him information about oil in a town, Plainview moves across state and begins his system. He buys up all the land he can, begins drilling and soon hits oil. But no one stays on top forever.

Soon Plainview begins to feud with members of the local church, and he is forced to come to terms with a tragedy very close to him. His perfect, flawless life is stopped dead in its tracks. Everything is put to a halt, and so begins his brutal plunge into lunacy.

Daniel Day-Lewis is one of the best actors to ever be on screen. His intensity is unmatched. Watching There Will Be Blood, you will not for a second think that this is the same man who won an Oscar for My Left Foot, or haunted audiences with his emotional reverence in The Name of the Father, or most recently owned the streets of the Five Points in Gangs of New York. Day-Lewis isn’t himself playing Daniel Plainview, he is Daniel Plainview. This is the best work he has ever done. Not since Taxi Driver has a film and actor captured one man’s slow descent into the madness of his own mind.

Paul Dano (the silent kid from Little Miss Sunshine) will floor you as an evangelical preacher who uses his sermons like weapons of mass deliberation. Don’t be fooled by his soft face and gentle features, Dano is a real player, going toe to toe with Day-Lewis where so many other actors have failed to do so.

The film is filled with remarkable supporting turns, namely the young H.W. played by first time actor, Dillon Freasier. Freasier is incredible at matching Day-Lewis’ silence for thought, especially when his character hits a new emotional arch.

Anderson has taken all the best parts from Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil! and molded it into a deeply personal and affecting film. Radiohead front man, Jonny Greenwood provides the miraculous, pulse-pounding music that is unlike anything you’ve ever heard. Greenwood fuses in sounds reminiscent to 2001 and Psycho while remaining inexplicably original. Likewise for Robert Elswit’s bold cinematography, which proves that his ability to film in long takes is damn near unmatched by anyone else in the industry. Where Children and Men and Atonement have been accused of using special effects tricks, Elswit leaves the technical crap behind, letting Anderson’s words play out in their respected way.

Each scene of this film is a flawless, majestic work of art with equal parts camera work, music, acting, writing and directing. The fact that it has come so late in the year and is already receiving such high accolades proves that American audiences are ready for something real, something intense, something monumental.

When Citizen Kane was released in 1941, it was slammed by audiences and critics alike. But today, it is considered by many to be the best American film ever made. Decades of hindsight allow people to acknowledge that Citizen Kane was made well before its time. By using narrative techniques that hadn’t been discovered yet, all while being anchored by a brilliant screenplay. There Will Be Blood is similar in this way. Not everyone is going to get it. In fact, you will either absolutely love it, or detest it. But in recognizing what Anderson is trying to achieve, you acknowledge a classic. There Will Be Blood, dare I say, is the Citizen Kane of the 21st century. A+

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Juno

The quirky, teen-sex comedy has never been this good. Ellen Page, (unbelievably good in 2005's Hard Candy, her only other major role) carries this stimulating little film into geek perfection. A bored night with best friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera, fresh off his Superbad mojo) turns into a life-changing, baby-toting accident.

Her parents (a never better J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney) are supportive in their own, odd way, while Juno tries to find a family to take her soon to be child. Jennifer Garner (giving something here) and Jason Bateman (stepping outside a little) are the couple in need as worlds collide and words are used as weapons of comic bliss.

Director Jason Reitman (son of Ivan) uses great, indie-funk tunes to fuel the movie right along, but it’s Diablo Cody’s refreshing screenplay that's the real star. Each actor delivering their lines with brilliantly timed perfection, each one-liner better than the one before, Juno uses words better than most films this year.

A highly entertaining, and original piece of comedy, Ellen Page proves after two roles that she is one of the most gifted actors of her generation, and Cody announces herself as a real Hollywood player. A

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Renowned painter Julian Schnable only makes movies about artists. His frank depiction of the life of poet Reinaldo Arenas in Before Night Falls was a bold, sleeper hit in 2000. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is Schnabel’s new venture into the unknown as he tells the true story of Elle magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who suffered a massive stroke, that left everything but his left eye paralyzed.

Schnable’s immaculate style serves as the film’s storytelling technique. For a majority of the movie, we see life through Bauby’s sole, unfocused, blinking eye. The unique look is due in large part to cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (a Spielberg vet), with words from a snappy screenplay by Oscar winner Ronald Harwood (The Pianist), but enough credit can’t be given to Schnable for crafting such a deeply personal look into a fallen life. Could be a surprise Oscar contender. A

Margot at the Wedding

Wealthy, successful, liberal New Yorkers sit around and complain about the dysfunctions of life and the tragedies of family. Sounds like writer-director Noah Baumbach’s first film, The Squid and the Whale. Although both films share several similar qualities, Baumbach doges a sophomore slump, delivering a fresh take on what feels like used material.

Nicole Kidman is great as the cranky, possessive, narcissistic Margot who travels with her teenage son to attend her sister Pauline’s wedding. Fireworks are set in motion long before Pauline’s not-so-impressive fiancé (Jack Black) is late to pick Margot up from the bus station.

After years of not speaking with one another, Pauline (an excellent Jennifer Jason Leigh) and Margot do their best to remain civil. But civility only goes so far when your sister is such a domineering control freak. Events are set in motion that lead to a disastrous weekend, in which each of the characters will question why they are in their current state, and how the let themselves get there.

Baumbach uses dark exteriors and mostly natural light to fuel his subtle work. His words are sharp and coarse, as the actors flow from screaming matches to ironical laughter. Kidman gives one of her best performances, nailing each unfriendly nuance of a flawed woman. Margot knows her faults, but she’ll be damned to come to terms with them. But it’s Leigh (who is married to Baumbach) that steals the picture. Usually typecast as a prostitute or vagrant, Leigh gets to flex her acting muscle with the utmost form. The Academy should note such powerfully, subtle work. A-