One Line Review's Top Ten Movies and Noteworthy Achievements 2015

TOP TEN 2015 (alphabetical)
Ant-Man (d. Peyton Reed)
The Avengers: Age of Ultron (d. Joss Whedon)
The Big Short (d. Adam McKay)
The Hateful Eight (d. Quentin Tarantino)
Mad Max: Fury Road (d. George Miller)
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (d. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon)
Mr. Holmes (d. Bill Condon)
People Places Things (d. Jim Strouse)
Spotlight (d. Tom McCarthy)
Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens (d. J. J. Abrams)


NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Best Film: Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant

Best Actress: Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Jason Leigh in The Hateful Eight

Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone in Creed

Best Original Screenplay: Bridge of Spies

Best Adapted Screenplay: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Best Director: George Miller for Mad Max: Fury Road

Honorable Mentions:

Best Film: Ant-Man.

Best Actor: Michael Fassbender in Steve Jobs; Michael Keaton in Spotlight; Jason Mitchell in Straight Outta Compton; Jason Segel in The End of the Tour.

Best Actress: Juliette Binoche in Clouds of Sils Maria; Bel Powley in Diary of a Teenage Girl; Kate Winslet in Steve Jobs.

Best Supporting Actress: n/a

Best Supporting Actor: BB-8 in Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens; Steve Carrell in The Big Short; Walter Goggins in The Hateful Eight; Tom Hardy in The Revenant; Samual L. Jackson in The Hateful Eight; Michael Pena in Ant-Man; Seth Rogen in Steve Jobs; Stanley Tucci in Spotlight.

Best Original Screenplay: The Hateful Eight, People Places Things.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Ant-Man, The Big Short, Mr. Holmes.

Best Director: Peyton Reed for Ant-Man.

2015 Movie Year-End Wrap-Up

33 films vie for my top ten of 2015, which I'll announce tomorrow (i.e. must-see and recommended titles). As I didn't have over ten films in my "must-sees" (only 2!!) this constitutes a weak year (in my opinion a VERY weak year).

As always, I've viewed 60 films this year; below are my one-line commentaries on each:

Must see [2]:

Ant-Man. The best summer movie, a surprise hit that gets the humor right and manages to cover the origin story without getting dull.

 Mad Max: Fury Road. I’d love to see the storyboards!

Recommended [33]:

Avengers, The: The Age of Ultron. Exciting start to the summer movie season.

Big Short, The. Well-paced and well-acted.

Bridge of Spies. Good story, good production all around.

Clouds of Sils Maria. Pretentious as all out, but intriguing and well played by its two leads.

Creed. A solid shot for a sentimental Oscar for Sly.

Danish Girl, The. Sensitively acted and told, if just above average.

Diary of a Teenage Girl. Evocative of its time: the era and life stage.

The End of the Tour. Easy to overrate but nonetheless watchable; Jason Segel is quite good.

Ex Machina  Keeps you engaged and not just with its ample nudity.

Get Hard. Hart and Farrell make a good team and Ferrell’s character is funny, but it does get repetitive.

Hateful Eight, The. Violent western-cum-mystery, with a great Morricone score, is exactly the kind of Christmas present you'd expect from Tarantino.

Hunger Games, The: Mockingjay, Part 2. Slick, if not too frequently inspired.

Intern, The. Surprisingly enjoyable; perfect ending.

Listen to Me Marlon. Illustrates that Marlon was full of shit, like all of us, but trapped, like all of us, by our emotions.

Maggie. Somber and depressing and not much happens but not without merit; probably would have been better as a book.

Martian, The. A plotline that’s a string of “problems” and “fixes” with music cues, but a nice commercial for Mars exploration.

Me and Earl and The Dying Girl. Quirkier than thou, but still, enjoyable.

Mr. Holmes. Pleasant mystery befitting both Sirs Arthur Conan Doyle and Ian McKellen.

Paddington. Wes Andersonesque: colorful, funny, diverting.

People Places Things. Sweet, character-driven comedy about life’s frequent confusions.

Revenant, The. A decidedly guy movie, is a showcase for both DiCaprio and Hardy.

Room. Of the “see once” variety; takes the story just far enough to feel complete.

San Andreas. Unabashed, campy, crazy action from start to finish.

Second Best Marigold Hotel, The. Soapy; mild; lovingly filmed.

Sicario. Buoyed by its trio of stars.

Spotlight. Engrossing if not very originally told; some good acting work here.

Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Mostly nostalgic trip is a good show, if somewhat lacking in very many 'wow' moments.

Steve Jobs. Flashy film and performances.

Straight Outta Compton. Lengthy, engrossing; however the real footage during the end credits illustrates how much more vivid the film should have been.

Trainwreck. Wobbly and too conventional, but with just enough laughs for a thumbs-up.

What We Do in the Shadows. Many funny moments, if slight. 

Skippable [22]:

Brooklyn. Hallmarkish and therefore good, but not much happens.

Carol. Doesn’t engage you enough emotionally.

Cinderella. Beautiful costumes, but not much more then the same old story.

Daddy’s Home. A few chuckles and a lot of product placement.

Divergent Series, The: Insurgent. A lot fo fake-outs.

DUFF, The. Likeable lead girl does help this out a bit.

Fifty Shades of Gray. I laughed a little anyway.

Furious 7. Loss of co-star Paul Walker is handled well, but little else is.

Gift, The. Conventional.

Hitchcock/ Truffaut. Cinefiles delight, but as a film more “To Catch a Thief” than “Rear Window.”

Inside Out. Loses its originality in about 5 minutes, then it just goes through the motions.

Irrational Man. Another Woody morality tale that should have stayed in the drawer.

Jurassic World. A real grab for cash, but it has little to live up to after all.

Kingsman: The Secret Service. If you’re looking for a silly spy movie with gadgets galore and a cartoonish body count, this movie is for you.

Macbeth. Slow moving, meditative.

Man From U.N.C.L.E., The.  Not enough humor; goes on way too long.

Minions. Excruciatingly “cute.”

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. The last one was much better.

Shaun the Sheep. Gives you that trapped-in-a-Jacques-Tati-movie feeling.

Terminator: Genysis. A good effort that incorporates Arnold well, but the action sequences were dull.

Trumbo. A bit light dramatically, but a good survey of the era if not enough of the man.

Youth. Its arty-fartyness works in its favor, but only in terms of keeping interest.

Avoid [4]:

Anomalsia. Terrible no matter what the critics say; an audio book.

Chappie. Dumb.

Hot Pursuit. Wow.

SPECTRE. Derivative; and a waste of its cast; the worst James Bond movie ever made.

Spy. Unfunny film relies on Melissa McCarthy to swear a million times to “create” humor.

One Line Review's Top Ten Movies and Noteworthy Achievements 2014

TOP TEN 2014 (alphabetical)

Edge of Tomorrow (d. Doug Liman)

Ida (d. Pawel Pawlikowski)

Interstellar (d. Christopher Nolan)

Locke  (d. Steven Knight)

Nightcrawler (d. Dan Gilroy)
Only Lovers Left Alive (d. Jim Jarmusch)

Selma (d. Ava DuVernay)

The Skeleton Twins (d. Craig Johnson)

Whiplash (d. Damien Chazelle)

X-Men: Days of Future Past (d. Bryan Singer)

NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Best Film:

Whiplash

Best Actor:

J. K. Simmons in Whiplash

Best Actress:

Caity Lotz in The Machine

Best Supporting Actress:

Rene Russo in Nightcrawler

Best Supporting Actor:

Ethan Hawke in Boyhood

Best Original Screenplay:

Dan Gilroy for Nightcrawler

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Christopher McQuarrie and Jez & John-Henry Butterworth for Edge of Tomorrow

Best Director:

Damien Chazelle for Whiplash

Honorable Mentions:

Best Film: n/a (!)

Best Actor: Bradley Cooper in American Sniper; Michael Keaton in Birdman; David Oyelowo in Selma; Ralph Fiennes in The Grand Budapest Hotel; Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler; Bill Hader in The Skeleton Twins; Tom Middleton in Only Lovers Left Alive; Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything; Miles Teller in Whiplash. 

Best Actress: Felicity Jones in The Theory of Everything; Tilda Swinton in Only Lovers Left Alive; Agata Trzebuchowska in Ida.

Best Supporting Actor: Marco Perella in Boyhood; Tyler Perry in Gone Girl; Tom Wilkinson in Selma.

Best Supporting Actress: Sofia Vergara in Chef; Tilda Swinton in Snowpiercer; Jennifer Lawrence for X-Men: Days of Future Past; Mia Wasikowska in Only Loves Left Alive.

Best Original Screenplay: Paul Webb for Selma.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Damien Chazelle for Whiplash.

Best Director: Dan Gilroy for Nightcrawler.

2014 Movie Year-End Wrap-Up

30 films vie for my top ten of 2014, which I'll announce tomorrow. As I didn't have over ten films in my "must-sees" this constitutes a weak year (in my opinion a VERY weak year).

As always, I've viewed 60 films this year; below are my one-line commentaries on each:

Must see [7]:

Edge of Tomorrow. Rare film where you enjoy the ride while you're wondering about the mystery (rather than just waiting for the end).

Ida. Beautifully shot film that gets more interesting and complex as it goes along.

Interstellar. Slow (and very M. Night) start leads to some fascinating places.

Nightcrawler. Kooky, creepy character piece.

Only Lovers Left Alive. Tonally fine and quite funny at times.

Selma. Excellent production, manages to successfully layer in several points of view.

Whiplash. Composed brilliantly in multiple senses of the word.

Recommended [23]:

American Sniper. Solid filmmaking, if much seems to be left out of what is clearly supposed to be a character study.

Big Hero 6. Nice visuals and an enjoyable character in Baymax.

Birdman. Worth it for the way it captures theater life/art, but the material is well-worn.

Boyhood. Ambitious and unique, although it misses the bullseye and often seems forced (particularly with the cultural references).

Chef. Formulaic, but a nice change of pace summer movie that's sure to please most.

Fury. Never dull but pretty standard fare.

Imitation Game, The. Seems to relish in dramatic license.

John Wick. Loved the reloading, which you never see; decent actioner was overrated because no one expected it to be anything.

LEGO Movie, The. Multilayered (but not deep) enjoyment, with many cute moments.

Locke. Artistically satisfying.

Lucy. Sure the science is nonsense, but it's an easily palatable ride with a modest running time.

Machine, The. Lead actress Caity Lotz distinguishes this little film that, to its credit, packs a lot into 90 minutes.

Maleficent. Well-mounted Disney production.

Neighbors. Pretty funny but basically a 30-minute movie replayed three times.

Non-Stop. Surprisingly entertaining high concept film.

Obvious Child. Nice to have on in the background while you read your Sunday New York Times.

Raid 2, The. Ambitious, with two solid action sequences at the end, but pretty gory and less organic than the first.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. As with the 300 sequel, Eva Green supplies the goods (in more ways than one), but unlike the 300 sequel the style here still has a freshness if the film itself gets repetetive.

Skeleton Twins, The. Slight dramedy with two actors who are brilliantly compatible; and quite a few laughs throughout.

Snowpiercer. Farfetched, but one of the easiest movies to recommend this year.

Theory of Everything, The. Beautifully shot and scored, with fine performances, but lacks in creating enough dramatic tension.

Under the Skin. Handled less "artistically" it might have been more effective, as it does have merit.

X-Men: Days of Future Past. Another clever installment in the franchise, with a standout Jennifer Lawrence.

Skippable [26]:

22 Jump Street. Summer movie fun.

300: Rise of an Empire. Eva Green adds spark, but the novelty of the original is gone.

Amazing Spider-Man 2, The. Decidedly mainstream entertainment is well done on that level.

Bad Words. Mostly a missed opportunity.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I counted two great action sequences and far too many scenes explaining what was going on.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Great effects, but straightforward, with quite a few treacly moments.

Divergent. A mad-dash through all of the book's plot points.

Draft Day. Good cast but dramatically mild.

Fading Gigolo. Very New York Film Festival.

Fault in Our Stars, The. Slavishly adapted from the novel, it's appealing, but no classic.

Godzilla. Good effects, but standard fare all the way.

Gone Girl. A much better book.

Grand Budapest Hotel, The. Weakly plotted with an amateurish lead performance in the young lobby boy.

Guardians of the Galaxy. Good-natured.

Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1, The. A few sparks here and there but mostly exposition for Part 2.

Into the Woods. Just beautiful and bland enough to nab a Best Picture nomination.

Maze Runner, The. For once a genuine adaptation of a popular book, although the result is not much more than a "B-movie."

Monuments Men, The. Mild, nearly Disneyesque in its approach.

Muppets Most Wanted. Harmless; many fun cameos, references, and songs.

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. About a millimeter deep.

November Man, The. Nice pairing of Pierce and (gorgeous) Olga, but pretty dull stuff otherwise.

Other Woman, The. Uber-chick flick falls apart in the second half after a promising start.

Ride Along. Grows on you, but only a little.

Robocop. Intellectualized remake is a noble effort.

St. Vincent. Cute kid, cute cat, Bill Murray.

Wild. Sincere, but flat.

Avoid [4]:

Foxcatcher. Goes nowhere, except apparently in tricking Academy voters.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Using old-time movie reviewer parlance: a turkey!

Magic in the Moonlight. Woody these days bounces from masterpieces to catastrophes: this one put the audience I saw it with asleep, and I was at a matinee!

Still Alice. Barely passable as a TV movie with A-listers, with outrageous product placement.

One Line Review's Top Ten Movies and Noteworthy Achievements 2013

TOP TEN 2013 (alphabetical)
American Hustle (d. David O. Russell)
Before Midnight (d. Richard Linklater)
Blue Jasmine (d. Woody Allen)
Enough Said (d. Nicole Holofcener)
Fruitvale Station (d. Ryan Coogler)
Gravity (d. Alfonso Cuaron)
Her (d. Spike Jonze)
Hunger Games, The: Catching Fire (d. Francis Lawrence)
Hunt, The (d. Thomas Vinterberg)
This Is the End (d. Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen)


NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Best Film:
Her

Best Actor:
Christian Bale in American Hustle

Best Actress:

Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine

Best Supporting Actress:
Scarlett Johansson in Her

Best Supporting Actor:
Alec Baldwin in Blue Jasmine

Best Original Screenplay:
Spike Jonze for Her

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, and Richard Linklater for Before Midnight

Best Director:
Woody Allen for Blue Jasmine

Honorable Mentions:

Best Film: American Hustle; Blue Jasmine; The Hunt.

Best Actor: Barkhad Abdi in Captain Phillips (I consider him a "lead"); Pilou Asbaek in A Hijacking (as with Abdi, I consider him a lead); Bruce Dern in Nebraska; Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street; Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips; Mads Mikkelsen in The Hunt; Hugh Jackman in Prisoners; Joaquin Phoenix in Her; Soren Malling in A Hijacking.

Best Actress: Amy Adams in American Hustle; Sandra Bullock in Gravity; Adele Exarchopoulos in Blue Is the Warmest Color; Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Enough Said.

Best Supporting Actor: George Clooney in Gravity; Joel Edgerton in The Great Gatsby; Harrison Ford in 42; James Gandolfini in Enough Said; Jonah Hill in The Wolf of Wall Street.

Best Supporting Actress: Elizabeth Banks in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; Nicole Beharie in 42; Octavia Spencer for Fruitvale Station.

Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen for Blue Jasmine; Nicole Holofcener for Enough Said; Tobias Lindholm and Thomas Vinterberg for The Hunt.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Michael Ardnt (deBruyn) and Simon Beaufoy for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Best Director: Spike Jonze for Her; David O. Russell for American Hustle; Thomas Vinterberg for The Hunt.

2013 Movie Year-End Wrap-Up

It looks like my new schedule (announcing one week after the Oscar nominations) is working out; I've seen my quota of '13 movies.  There was really only one movie that slipped past me in my move to small town America— Philomena (it did play, but I was not settled yet to travel the distance to see it).  But I've got it down now.  They'll be a lot of driving far distances in my future to get to the smaller movies: but it's doable; and most of the big, commercial releases play in town.

30 films vie for my top ten of 2013, which I'll announce tomorrow. As I didn't have over ten films in my "must-sees" this constitutes a weak year, although my must-see/recommended total is much higher over-all then in most years.

As always, I've viewed 60 films this year; below are my one-line commentaries on each:

Must see [8]:

American Hustle. In a way something of a hustle on the audience too, but another dynamite cast and original script from David O. Russell makes it irresistibly entertaining.

Blue Jasmine. Great characterizations and performances, led by a stellar Blanchett.

Enough Said. Adult, funny; Louis-Dreyfus and Gandolfini lovely in understated performances.

Fruitvale Station. Effective and affective.

Gravity. An event film.

Her. Clever, contemporary; speaks volumes about the human condition.

Hunger Games, The: Catching Fire. Well adapted and produced sequel, only suffers from being a "middle entry."

Hunt, The. Dramatically solid, with some truly heartbreaking moments (if not an easy film to recommend due to subject matter).

Recommended [22]:

42. Not a home run, but a solid double; Harrison Ford scenery-chewing fun to watch.

Before Midnight. Content-wise everything this third installment should have been, admittedly though it comes off as a filmed stage play.

Blackfish. Makes you sad for the whales as much as the human victims.

Captain Phillips. Solid filmmaking with flawless casting.

Dallas Buyers Club. Interesting story is a series of small dramatic beats but no wallops; showy performances.

Despicable Me 2. Irresistibly cute, structurally loose.

Elysium. Good message, but requires quite a few "Independence Day"-like moments of suspension disbelief.

From Up On Poppy Hill. Attractive animation with a nice story— a good movie for a Sunday afternoon.

Frozen. Perfectly pleasant (and Broadway-ready), helped greatly by delightful snowman comic relief character Olaf.

Great Gatsy, The. Not wholly satisfying (Tobey Maguire as a narrator eventually grates), but employs modern filmmaking nicely; Conan look-a-like Joel Edgerton a standout as "Tom Buchanan."

Hijacking, A. Less action-oriented but no less potent than "Captain Phillips"; both films offer some of the best acting of the year.

Identity Thief. A fun mall movie.

Iron Man 3. Manages to update itself just enough to seem original; one of the (very) few franchises for which I would welcome a fourth installment.

Machete Kills. The inspired moments come mostly in the last third and in the promise of a hilarious final installment.

Man of Steel. Well-mounted reboot with great effects, that manages to keep interest despite the necessity of the umpteenth superhero-origin stroy retelling.

Oz The Great and Powerful. Modern backstory is probably as good as could have been hoped for, with a solid story of how Oz came to be.

Saving Mr. Banks. "Prestige picture" of the year gets better as it goes, if never reaching the depth to which it aspires.

Stories We Tell. Warmly told.

This is the End. A fun, crazy little movie, with some admittedly obvious black comedy, that's nonetheless outweighed by the sheer audacity of the plot.

Upstream Color. The narrative is obscure and it's definitely not for all tastes, but it's a film for the 21st century, a bizarre but modern filmic trip.

Warm Bodies. Didn't distinguish itself beyond the clever premise, but worked well within it.

Wolf of Wall Street, The. ... if best seen as a crazy goof, with some entertaining-to-watch performances.

Skippable [27]:

12 Years A Slave. Widely-praised film doesn't get deep enough into characterization and is mostly a series of meant-to-be shock scenes.

Blue Is the Warmest Color. A contemporary love story with a remarkable leading lady is too slight plot-wise for its length, with unnecessarily graphic sex scenes.

Conjuring, The. Good, if not terribly original, old-fashioned spookfest with a nice eye on time & place.

Gangster Squad. Choppy.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. More like Hansel & Gretel: Inept Witch Hunters; if, an OK time waster.

Kings of Summer. Nicely filmed, but underdeveloped.

Lee Daniel's The Butler.  Old-fashioned; lengthy.

Mud. Lengthy story keeps your interest and is buoyed by a young-love romantic subplot, but it fades in the memory.

Nebraska. A little too determined to be a "small" movie.

Olympus Has Fallen. Equally implausible but dramatically better of the two similar '13 releases, the trade off is it's less "popcorn" fun than "White House Down."

Pacific Rim. The conceit was cool, but it was clumsily put together and quite hokey.

Parkland. Inherently interesting story is realistically filmed, but lacking flair.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. Pretty derivative this go-round; corny jokes don't help.

Place Beyond the Pines, The. Material that would have been better suited to a novel or miniseries; pay-off just wasn't there.

Prisoners. Somber, lengthy procedural with a bit of a Scooby-Doo ending.

Room 237. Hard to know if it's actually taking the interviewees' thin readings of "The Shining" seriously— but it does suggest that that's the actual point: we bring so much of ourselves into any movie experience.

Short Term 12. Never fully moves you, even if it comes close.

Side Effects. Not a bad little thriller, although I couldn't quite go along with the wrap up.

Spring Breakers. Messy.

Star Trek: Into Darkness. Hooey.

We're the Millers. Kinda inexplicable sleeper hit.

White House Down. Popcorn entertainment has forced plot points, but the set pieces are decent.

Wolverine, The. Bullet train action sequence is nearly enough in itself for a recommendation, but genre mixing is just too odd.

World War Z. Paint-by-numbers.

World's End, The. Original and energetic, but gets far too crazy to drive its meaning home.

Avoid [3]:

Good Day to Die Hard, A. Well, it used to be the perfect franchise.

Hangover, Part III, The. So good.

Instructions Not Included. I have to be honest: it's hopelessly sugary sweet, with a few oddly-timed "telenovela"-like moments.

One Line Review's Top Ten Movies and Noteworthy Achievements 2012

TOP TEN 2012 (alphabetical)
Django Unchained (d. Quentin Tarantino)
Frankenweenie (d. Tim Burton)
Moonrise Kingdom (d. Wes Anderson)
Prometheus (d. Ridley Scott)
The Raid: Redemption (d. Gareth Evans)
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
(d. Lorene Scafaria)
The Sessions (d. Ben Lewin)
Silver Linings Playbook (d. David O. Russell)
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2
(d. Bill Condon)
Zero Dark Thirty (d. Kathryn Bigeow)

NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS

Best Film:
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Best Actor:

Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook

Best Actress:
Noomi Rapace in Prometheus

Best Supporting Actor:
Leonardo DiCaprio in Django Unchained

Best Supporting Actress:
Sally Field in Lincoln

Best Original Screenplay:
Lorene Scafaria for Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Best Adapted Screenplay:
David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook

Best Director:
Wes Anderson for Moonrise Kingdom

Honorable Mentions:

Best Film: Moonrise Kingdom; Silver Linings Playbook.

Best Actor: Jack Black in Bernie; Steve Carell in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World; Mark Duplass in Your Sister's Sister; Hugh Jackman in Les Miserables; Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln; John Hawkes in The Sessions; Joaquin Phoenix in The Master.

Best Actress: Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty; Judi Dench in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel; Helen Hunt in The Sessions; Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook; Emmanuelle Riva in Amour; Naomi Watts in The Impossible.

Best Supporting Actor: Larry David in The Three Stooges; Robert DeNiro in Silver Linings Playbook; Ezra Miller in The Perks of Being a Wallflower; Martin Sheen in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World; Michael Sheen in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2; Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained.

Best Supporting Actress: Charlize Theron in Prometheus.

Best Original Screenplay: Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola for Moonrise Kingdom; Rian Johnson for Looper; Ben Lewin for The Sessions.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Tony Kushner for Lincoln; Chris Terrio for Argo.

Best Director: David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook; Lorene Scafaria for Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.

2012 Movie Year-End Wrap-Up

Happy New Year’s Eve!

11 films vie for my top ten of 2012 (not a lot of suspense!), which I’ll announce tomorrow. I didn't think it was a particularly good movie year, especially disappointing were the year-enders. I had just 24 films on my must see/ recommended lists.

As always, I’ve viewed 60 films this year (plus two 3-D re-releases); below are my one-line commentaries on each:

Must see [11]

1. Dark Knight Rises, The. The "Lawrence of Arabia" of comic book movies.

2. Django Unchained. Although it has serious themes, just a lark really, but its tapping of a generally avoided period of American history and Tarantino's knack for crowd-pleasing brings it to the winner's circle level.

3. Frankenweenie. Its self-consciousness actually works in its favor.

4. Moonrise Kingdom. Irresistibly cute, with nice summer outdoorsy flavor.

5. Prometheus. Yes, it's B-movieish plotwise, but it's an exciting ride (cool in 3-D), with strong performances by its leading ladies: Charlize Theron and especially Noomi Rapace.

6. Raid: Redemption, The. Worthy.

7. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. Quietly original.

8. Sessions, The. Romantic, moving.

9. Silver Linings Playbook. Unusual, contemporary, a lot of screaming, great ensemble acting.

10. Twilight Saga, The: Breaking Dawn, Part 2. Surprisingly effective finale on several levels (including its own self-awareness/ potential camp nature) that leaves you with a high school graduation feeling.

11. Zero Dark Thirty. Solid docudrama with fine ensemble.

Recommended [13]

1. 2 Days in New York. An above-average quota of laughs puts this little bon-bon over the top.

2. Amour. Not enough coeur.

3. Argo. Good story and period detail.

4. Avengers, The. Iron Man/Stark and Hulk/Banner have the best moments in a movie that admittedly doesn't go beyond popcorn.

5. Flight. Well-executed morality piece, hampered by a sugary aftertaste.

6. Grey, The. An unsatisfying downer, but somewhere in there had something to say that stays with you.

7. Haywire. Great January genre piece with each member of the cast contributing.

8. Hitchcock. Smart, intimate.

9. Hunger Games, The. Close-up heavy and action light, still a worthy adaptation: a B+ movie of an A- book.

10. Lincoln. Well-produced history lesson with solid work by Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field.

11. Looper. Well-imagined time travel piece has a good message.

12. Skyfall. Literate Bond adventure is a truer series reboot, as well as delivering one of the more dramatic entries to the canon.

13. Snow White and the Huntsman. Creates a complete world but has an episodic narrative that holds it back.

Skippable [35]

1. 21 Jump Street. Third act was an absolute calamity.

2. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Simplistic.

3. Amazing Spider-Man, The. Garfield surprisingly effective, but this is a slow-moving, cornily-scored movie we've already seen.

4. American Reunion. R-rated "Return to Mayberry."

5. Battleship. Corny, but alright.

6. Beasts of the Southern Wild. The narrative is just far too obscure.

7. Bernie Took until the last third before you knew what it was all about; this needs documentary treatment.

8. Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The. Lovely, pleasant.

9. Brave. Unusual story is handled well but has an also-ran quality alongside Pixar's greats.

10. Cabin in the Woods, The. Unfortunately another glorified "Twilight Zone" episode dragged out to feature length.

11. Campaign, The. Repetitious but amusing enough for fans of the stars.

12. Chronicle. Makes-no-sense silliness, with a big, splashy ending nonetheless.

13. Dark Shadows. Doesn't pull it off.

14. Dictator, The. Half-baked.

15. Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. Only gets going after its (heavy handed) message becomes clear; many corny songs.

16. End of Watch. Dramatically sound, but doesn't offer much "take-away."

17. Hope Springs. You saw the trailer, right?

18. Impossible, The. Straightforward but well-done.

19. Jeff Who Lives at Home. Pleasant enough, but a little too small, and has a muddled message.

20. Les Miserables. Technically fine musical epic translates emotion through close-ups and pronouncements that may turn off a viewer not imminently attuned to them.

21. Life of Pi. Ambitious, but light on dramatic highlights.

22. Master, The. Gets tiresome; Joaquin Phoenix is uncannily Montgomery Clift-like.

23. Men in Black III. Not bad.

24. ParaNorman. Great animation, but has a weak story and a drawn-out conclusion.

25. Perks of Being a Wallflower, The. Seemed forced.

26. Safety Not Guaranteed. Sweet little indie that has a goofy ending.

27. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Hallmark-y, but trio of stars— Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor, and Kristin Scott Thomas— shine brightly.

28. Seven Psychopaths. Nice L.A. atmosphere, but screenwritery.

29. Star Wars: Epsiode I 3-D: I really wanted to like it, but it was deja vu all over again.

30. Ted. A guilty-pleasure at best.

31. Three Stooges, The. Leads good, but the only real inspiration was Larry David as a nun.

32. Titanic 3-D. The 3-D adds nothing; the movie, however has aged well.

33. Total Recall. Passable Hollywood entertainment.

34. Wreck-It Ralph. Although above par, it has that contemporary animated movie sameness.

35. Your Sister's Sister. More appropriate for the stage, but good, particularly nice work by Mark Duplass.

Avoid [3]

1. Holy Motors. The emperor has no clothes.

2. Take This Waltz. Like living it, but who wants to?

3. To Rome with Love. None of the melange of stories can sustain its length.

One Line Review's Top Ten Movies and Noteworthy Achievements 2011

TOP TEN 2011 (alphabetical):

The Artist (d. Michel Hazanavicius)

Dogtooth (d. Giorgos Lanthimos)

Drive (d. Nicolas Winding Refn)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (d. David Fincher)

Hugo (d. Martin Scorsese)

J. Edgar (d. Clint Eastwood)

Midnight in Paris (d. Woody Allen)

Moneyball (d. Bennett Miller)

The Muppets (d. James Bobin)

My Week with Marilyn (d. Simon Curtis)

NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Best Film:

The Artist 

Best Actor:

Jean Dujardin in The Artist

Best Actress:

Berenice Bejo in The Artist

Best Supporting Actor:

Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn

Best Supporting Actress:

Alison Pill in Midnight in Paris

Best Original Screenplay:

Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Steven Zallian for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Director:

Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist

Honorable Mentions:

Best Picture: Hugo, Midnight in Paris

Best Actor: George Clooney (The Descendants), Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar), James McAvoy (X-Men: First Class), Brad Pitt (Moneyball), Owen Wilson (Midnight in Paris).

Best Actress: Aggeliki Papoulia (Dogtooth), Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), Charlize Theron (Young Adult), Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn).

Best Supporting Actor: Adrien Brody (Midnight in Paris), Albert Brooks (Drive), Brad Pitt (Tree of Life), John C. Reilly (Cedar Rapids), Jeffrey Wright (Source Code).

Best Supporting Actress: Kathy Bates (Midnight in Paris), Judi Dench (My Week with Marilyn), Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids), Octavia Spencer (The Help).

Best Adapted Screenplay: n/a

Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris).

Best Director: Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris), Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive), Martin Scorsese (Hugo).

2011 Movie Year-End Wrap-Up

Happy New Year’s Eve!

14 films vie for my top ten of 2011, which I’ll announce tomorrow. I've been badmouthing this year all late November and early December, but when I finally got around to seeing the year-end movies, this turned out to be, in my opinion, one of the better movie years. My quota has been 65 in years past but I've reduced it by 5, so I’ve viewed 60 films this year; below are my one-line commentaries on each:

Must See [14]

Artist, The. Eight reels of joy.

Descendants, The. Quiet little movie manages to stay just this side of too depressing.

Dogtooth: Bizarre film is edge-of-your seat fascinating.

Drive. Dreamlike, retro, David Lynchian, love in a brutal world; has a catchy song too (!)

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The. Slick movie is everything you'd want in the novel's adaptation, although it comes off a bit as cold as it's locale.

Hugo. Magnificent ode to cinema, a delight in 3-D.

Iron Lady, The. Sympathetic character study, almost incidentally includes politics and policy, with a fine performance by Streep.

J. Edgar. Dense and well-directed, makes you want to know more.

Midnight in Paris: A breath of fresh air; a charmer.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. How often does an audience spontaneously burst into applause at an action sequence well done?

Moneyball. Story-driven film with excellent performances; maybe could have used a little Frank Capra in the final analysis.

Muppets, The. The magic is back (even if the cameo star-power wasn't).

My Week with Marilyn. The performances reel you in.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. The boys are back in another colorful, location-hopping adventure.

Recommended [19]

Adjustment Bureau, The: Nice little generic Matrix-type.

Bad Teacher. Surprisingly funny little film; Diaz, a bit too old for this kind of thing, to her credit, pulls it off.

Bridesmaids: Funny, but wildly uneven.

Captain America: The First Avenger. A great popcorn flick that offers a few happy surprises and a nice eye for the era it depicts.

Cedar Rapids: Funny film peopled with perhaps two-dimensional characters, but ones with which you’re happy to spend 87 minutes.

Contagion. Solid, well-paced, star-studded genre piece.

Hangover, Part II, The: Critically lambasted sequel actually delivers the laughs; in terms of believability makes the first film look like a documentary.

Help, The. Feels like ‘80s-era Oscar bait: prestigious, not-too-deep, and a little long, overall though, a good night at the movies.

I Am Number Four. Entertaining sci-fi adventure, with action-packed finale.

Ides of March, The. Very 1970s Robert Redford.

Just Go With It: Throwback comedy is idiotic but makes you happy; cheesecake outweighs beefcake by a factor of about 1,000,000.

Limitless: Wraps up a bit too pat, but a very interesting ride and something that does make you think.

Lincoln Lawyer, The: Solid story and acting, but wouldn’t call it a classic.

Paul: Delightful little nothing, has its script problems, but the laughs put it over.

Separation, A. As interesting as the story became there was something distant, perhaps this would have been a better novel, or maybe there is just something about dramas where everyone loses that make for this kind of reaction.

Thor: Surprisingly well done comic book epic has great dramatic tension and a few laughs but could have used even more comic relief.

Water for Elephants: Well done adaptation of the popular book, offers very little cinematic surprise.

X-Men: First Class: Nicely cast and plotted backstory entry nonetheless lacks in any true depth.

Young Adult. Grows on you; Theron— looking decidedly Michelle Pfeifferish, feels real.

Skippable [20]

50/50. Despite it's best effort, morose.

Adventures of Tintin, The. Wavers between Raiders-lite and who cares.

Battle: Los Angeles. The action is a long time coming

Conan the Barbarian. Truly never a dull moment (not a down second), but pretty cheesy and suffers from the fact that it's just impossible to erase Arnold from memory.

Cowboys Vs. Aliens. A reasonably entertaining summer flick, offers little originality outside of the premise.

Fast Five: Only has its outrageous finale to recommend it, which of course results in not a single civilian casualty.

Green Hornet, The. Considering the director, not much; Rogen and Chou do their best.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Eyefilling finale (especially in 3D) lacks in any real suspense and has far too many "explaining" scenes; trio of stars still shine brightly.

Horrible Bosses: Pleasant and nicely cast but a little too ‘stupid’ and farfetched and far too reminiscent of a movie with a real plot: ‘9 to 5.’

Mr. Popper's Penguins. Old-fashioned to a fault.

Rango. Amusing western send-up with bevy of unusual creatures to sustain it, if barely.

Rio: Cute and colorful, I would have preferred more screen time for the ‘humans.’

Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Lacks true depth, and doesn't really come together until the sequel set-up sequence during the credits.

Source Code: Widely overpraised fantasy is never dull, but hardly worth a second look; Jeffrey Wright was genius, however, as the genius.

Super 8: Nice atmosphere is however overplayed and takes far too long to show its hand.

Tower Heist. Silly time waster is entertaining enough but has a really dumb finale.

Tree of Life, The: Pitt is excellent, but the style just didn’t come off: did at least get better as it went along.

Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, A. Mild.

War Horse. War Horse is hell— okay, not really, but couldn't resist the pun: it's just a perfectly pleasant prestige picture.

Win Win: One of those “gems” that you really don’t need to bother with, but you couldn’t pan either.

Avoid [7]

Dilemma, The: Surprise, it’s a drama!

Green Lantern, The: The weird nemesis— a blob— is just the beginning of its problems.

Hanna: A film produced by location scouts.

London Boulevard. Mish-mosh.

Shame. Plays out like the off off Broadway show your friend is in so you're forced to see it.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon. A lot of effort, but as with the previous films, seems to think a relentless assault on the audiences' senses (and in this case never ending and downright exhausting) equals entertainment.

Twilight: Breaking Dawn— Part 1. Finally becomes a movie toward the climax, up until then a ping pong match between music cues and dialogue.