Just because it’s an excuse to make another list, I was looking over my list of films I have watched over the past twelve months and realized there was a lot of really great stuff in there that should be recognized. Besides trudging through sleet, snow, rain and wind to get to a theater for the big release of the week, I do a lot of Netflixing over the course of the year (both physical discs and streaming). It’s what I do. So just because I can, here’s a quick list of the ten best/favorite movies I saw for the first time this past year that were NOT official 2010 releases…
10) The Naked Prey
In an effort to get through all of my Criterion Collection, here was an early entry in that series. For those that like movies with minimal dialogue, but maximum intensity and grittiness, look no further than The Naked Prey. It’s a chase movie; simple as that. You can almost feel the sand in your toes as you watch the desperation of a man literally running away from the murderous death that is running him down. Sort of a dryer, less flashy version of Apocalypto in a lot of ways.
9) Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Mostly on this list for simply defying expectations. Certainly one of the more bizarre animated films to be released in the past few years, the environments alone are something to marvel at while simultaneously furrowing your brow and shaking your head in blissful bewilderment.
8 ) Tigerland
What I thought was going to be a cheap, straight-to-DVD version of Saving Private Ryan actually turned out to be a very thoughtful look at the Vietnam war from the perspective of a wise-ass draftee making his way through boot camp. It’s got a similar feel and message to the first half of Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket, but instead of ditching that commentary and going for actiony war nonsense, it sticks with its message and gets more and more interesting as it goes along. Oh, and it’s shot surprisingly well.
7) Buffalo ’66
One of those movies that year after year I would pick off the shelf at the video store, take a look at and then ultimately put back. I’m glad I did that because I’m not sure that the younger version of myself would’ve found the movie as interesting and captivating as I do in my thirties. Vincent Gallo makes himself into an extremely interesting and captivating character that in some ways just about everyone can relate to (I repeat, in some ways). It’s an uncomfortable film and really well designed movie. Buffalo ’66 really surprised the heck out of me for its artful direction and storytelling. And after one viewing pretty much assured I’d see anything Gallo is a part of from now on.
6) Le Samourai
After announcing my love for The American (my #7 movie of 2010), people were quick to recommend Melville’s Le Samourai. And for good reason. It’s an atypical, slow burn, European arthouse movie about a lone, cold assassin in Paris. The style alone is worth watching but there are some magnetic (and really nicely shot) moments of action along with some quietly intense moments of sort of spy vs. spy material. Great performances with striking characters and an ending that is to die for. A late entry in my Criterion completist endeavor.
5) Insomnia (1997)
Not much of a fan of the Christopher Nolan remake of this film starring Pacino and Robin Williams. But I went back to (another) the Criterion release of the Swedish original and was wow’d by the style and panache of this film. The remake strips all of that out and you’re left with a hollow shell of the depth of the original. The characters are fleshed out so well and we can really feel the reason for the sweat constantly dripping from Stellan Sarsgaard’s brow. I actually paused the movie several times just to wallow in some of the nicely laid out shots.
4) Nanook of the North
This dude is harsh. It’s a less than 80 minute documentary on how an Eskimo braves and defeats the elements just with his wits, wisdom and “true grit.” You ever seen a guy build an igloo in about ten minutes complete with a sun roof and windows? It’s freakin’ radical. There’s a walrus hunting sequence that is both harrowing and hysterical at the same time. The history and back story involved with the making of the film and its release just helps to solidify how awesome this movie is. Sheer awesome from start to finish.
3) Birth
We talked about it endlessly in the a couple of the final Cinecast episodes in 2010. It’s a masterpiece of a film with atmosphere and tone that seemingly conjures the spirit of Stanley Kubrick. It’s a great story that really keeps the audience guessing and on their toes. It couples these interesting characters with great performance from loads of recognizable actors and a score from Desplat that just keep on giving. The opening, one-take sequence was enough to instantly hook me.
2) Mary and Max
Biggest surprise and most overlooked film of 2008/9 probably. I am absolutely shocked that I had never heard of this film until a week before it was recommended to me in late August. How this picture wasn’t on several top ten lists is frustrating as all hell. Clearly it was not marketed or properly released despite the voice casting of Eric Bana, Toni Collette and the almost unrecognizable, but simply amazing (as always) Phillip Seymour Hoffman. It’s a claymation style film that’s almost in black and white with smatterings of color here and there for dramatic and visual effect and the details throughout are stunning. But most importantly is the subject matter it tackles. It runs the gamut of everything from anorexia to suicide to mental health (just for starters!) and it’s all wrapped up in a perspective from both a child and an adult through written correspondence. And somehow it still manages to remain fairly lighthearted despite all of its heavy subject matter. Do yourself a favor and pick up this movie now. It’s available on Netflix instant as well as DVD and Blu-ray. Why no one is talking about this movie is beyond me.
1) The Secret in Their Eyes
Oscar winner for best foreign language film a few years back. And it’s easy to see why. A brutal murder, a love story, some absolutely stunning camera work, action, humor, mystery and drama. This movie has got it all and told with an almost Almodovar flair for the darkly absurd. It’s a captivating movie that grabs you and then slowly tightens its grip until you simply cannot let it go.
Don’t worry, Mary & Max was certainly on my Top 10 list of last year. What a great film. I love how it manages to be so sweet and touching without every sacrificing it’s off kilter, often incredibly morbid sense of humour.
You should also check out Harvey Krumpet, Adam Elliot’s Oscar Winning claymation short from 2003. Very similar to Mary & Max in style and tone. It’s on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouyVS6HOFeo
I caught Gallo’s latest at TIFF, I think it was my least favorite of the fest… Buffalo 66 is not representative of what follows… I am a huge fan of it as well, but Brown Bunny and Written in the Water are to separate degrees not good. Written in the Water is ok, there is a great dance sequence, and a hilarious scene where Gallo keeps repeating a piece of dialogue, like 20 times, with different inflections, but I didn’t get much out of it at all.
my top ten discoveries of 2010:
1) The Last Picture Show
2) Nights and Weekends (Joe Swanberg mumblecore masterpiece)
3) Double Indemnity
4) Los Angeles Plays Itself
5) Hannah Takes the Stairs (Swanberg again)
6) House of the Devil
7) Stray Dog (Kurosawa)
8 ) The Staircase
9) Dersu Uzala (Kurosawa)
10) Come on Children (Allan King doc)
It’s just weird not hearing anyone talk about M&M since it was so fantastic on so many levels.
Rot, nice on Double Indemnity. Would definitely be in my top ten the year I discovered it. Still haven’t gotten around to The Last Picture Show. If I remember I’ll try to make it a priority this coming weekend.
I watched a bit of Five Easy Pieces and I see the complaints Jandy was making, also not a big fan of Easy Rider, so I probably will not buy the BBS boxset, even though it looks tempting, and instead buy Last Picture Show separately.
I just cracked the BBS set the other day and watched “Head” (looks great, some good moments, some not so good moments, but I loved the enthusiasm where they just threw anything at the screen) and looking forward to diving into the rest (I haven’t seen any of the others). Haven’t started the Allan King set – sigh, hopefully in the next few months.
I babbled about my favourite non-2010 films of the year on my own blog, but I’ll just pick out 10 random faves (unordered):
Fanny and Alexander (5 hour version)
Red Beard
Only Yesterday (Studio Ghibli film Disney hasn’t released)
Love Exposure
The Headless Woman
Bride of Chucky / Seed of Chucky
Pushover (from the Columbia Noir box set #2)
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Mad Monkey Kung Fu
Sita Sings The Blues
Oh, and thanks for mentioning “Mary and Max” – I still haven’t seen it, but you reminded me I need to. been on the list for awhile. I did just see “My Dog Tulip” (another animated film from this year) that, although slightly odd in its pacing, is quite wonderful in how it depicts the relationship between a man and his dog.
I have watched Come On Children and Glendale of the Allan King set, both are great… very much looking forward to revisiting A Married Couple.
Mike, Five Easy Pieces has kind of grown on me a little in my head since I watched it, but I think only because of those few scenes that I did like. I can appreciate what they were going for with it, but I simply didn’t like watching it at all. The Last Picture Show is great all around, though, and gets better every time I see it. As does Double Indemnity. I need to finish up Los Angeles Plays Itself – I found a copy of it, but have only watched half so far.
Bob, I watched Head last year, too, when I first started the New Hollywood marathon. I had no idea what to make of it, so I didn’t write anything about it at all. Heh.
My top films seen in 2010 but not from 2010:
Le samourai
In the Mood for Love
Playtime
Sansho the Bailiff
The Long Goodbye
Nashville
True Romance
Woodstock
McCabe and Mrs. Miller
Badlands
You can see what decade I concentrated on this year, huh?
I’ve been trying to write up some of them on my blog, but haven’t gotten through very many, what with busy holidays and all.
Let me know how you got a copy of Los Angeles Plays Itself, I so want to own it.
And I so want to see it…I had a ticket to the screening of it at Cinematheque about a year ago and actually made it all the way down to the theatre when I had to turn around and go back home for other reasons. I didn’t think it would ever get to DVD, so I assume this is a, uh, non-studio release…B-)
The Secret In Their Eyes blew my balls out. Not only was the ending astonishing, but it also felt like a re-birth for me. It felt so fresh.
Insomnia kicked my ass when I bought it used at a broken down Hollywood Video for about 5 bucks on Criterion.
Maybe it’s just because it’s 1:34 in the AM and I’m tired while just having finished my first cup of coffee, but this entry is so expansive that it’s a reminder of just how beautiful of an experience film watching can be. Wow, I’m not even drinking and yet I feel like a twat as I’m typing this.
Kudos, Andrew.
I thought the Secret in Their Eyes was great too, but in a different way than you describe. I didn’t find it ‘fresh’ so to speak, it seemed to be treading old ground. I simply liked it because it did it so well.
That scene in the football stadium was insane though – that was one hell of a long take. There must have been a hidden cut in there somewhere – definitely bridging between the birds eye view of the stadium to the two guys, but I couldn’t spot any others later on.
Yeah there’s that cut just as the camera goes over the crowd. But I’m not sure if there’s any other cuts in the chase through the tunnels. When that camera falls off the cliff though it’s amazing – I’m sure there’s a cut in there somewhere.
As I’m sure you’ve noticed I just posted my full review too. Got kindly sent a copy to review just before Christmas so it was well timed you bringing the film up so soon before I posted it.
SO rewatched Los Angeles Plays Itself, I love this documentary. Thom Anderson’s snarky commentary on everything from Death Wish 3 to Grand Canyon is so funny and surprisingly insightful for what could have been a mundane topic, Los Angeles in the movies. And Kurt, lots of Chinatown insight in here, as well as a massive dose of Double Indemnity.
I saw Double Indemnity for the first time last year as well and it instantly vaulted into my top movies of all time. It is absolutely brilliant; dark and funny, truly the epitome of film noir and eminently re-watchable as I have now viewed it three more times in an attempt to bring its awesomeness to those friends of mine who have not yet seen the film.