Ranking the 2011 Best Picture Nominees...
"Andy's going to college. Can you believe it?"
Even for a consistently-reliable studio like Pixar, the notion of Toy Story 3 seemed risky due to the time-honoured tradition of part threes being unnecessary and below-par. The Godfather: Part III, Lethal Weapon 3, Batman Forever, Terminator 3, Alien 3, Jurassic Park 3 and Superman III are a few examples of "threequels" which took a drastic nose-dive in quality after two solid forerunners. But Toy Story 3 is not an addition to this list. Not even close. The folks over at Pixar Studios have done it again; extending their unparalleled streak of success stretching all the way back to the original Toy Story in 1995 (their feature-length debut). Arriving 15 years after the first film and 11 years after the sequel, Toy Story 3 is every bit as brilliant as its predecessors and one of the best movies of 2010.
Full review here
"Hey there, Aron! Is it true that you didn't tell anyone where you were going?"
In mid-2003, Aron Ralston developed into a media sensation when he became trapped in a canyon for 127 hours, and was forced to amputate his arm in order to save his life. Ralston's physically and spiritually transformative experience was chronicled in his 2004 book Between a Rock and a Hard Place, and has now been dramatised to harrowing effect in Danny Boyle's 127 Hours; the director's follow-up effort to his Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire. Unflinching in its depiction of what constitutes the will to live, 127 Hours is at once ruminative and frenzied, intimate and vast - it's a thoughtful, compelling character study, yet it's as energetic as its protagonist. Although the film bears little resemblance to Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours was largely created by the same crew: Boyle co-wrote the script with Simon Beaufoy, Anthony Dod Mantle contributed to the camerawork, and Indian composer A.R. Rahman wrote the score. It's a testament to the talents of these men that - superior craftsmanship notwithstanding - you would not guess the connection between the films unless you had prior knowledge.
Full review here
"If I am King, where is my power? Can I declare war? Form a government? Levy a tax? No! And yet I am the seat of all authority because they think that when I speak, I speak for them."
Essentially the Rocky of speech impediment movies, The King's Speech is an engaging, well-made period piece featuring excellent performances, sublime character nuances, a touch of wit and top-notch production design, and it was all stitched together by Tom Hooper's consummate direction. Not to mention, the film delivers solid drama with a rousing climax, and it manages to be a both highly satisfying and uplifting picture which achieves its dramatic potential without sacrificing historical accuracy. In short, it's precisely the kind of Oscar bait that's distributed each December, but it is nonetheless one of the most accessibly entertaining and satisfying films of its kind to be released during 2010.
Full review here
"If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you'd have invented Facebook."
2010's The Social Network is a two-hour motion picture consisting almost entirely of dialogue that's about nerdy guys from Harvard who write computer code, get rich and sue each other. Literally, that's The Social Network in a nutshell. And yet, this is easily one of the most exciting, enthralling and compulsively watchable movies of 2010. How does that work, I hear you think? It's simple: great actors, great screenwriting and great filmmaking. Written by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing) and directed by David Fincher (Zodiac, Fight Club), the film manages to flesh out a gallery of fascinating characters while chronicling several key events in the development and growth of the popular social networking site Facebook. Additionally, through mining Facebook's origin story, Sorkin and Fincher have produced a motion picture that's about far more than its ostensible subject matter.
Full review here
"I'm just grateful to be here and have the shot for the title."
From Rocky to Raging Bull to Million Dollar Baby, boxing films have existed as Oscar staples for decades. Suffice it to say, it's challenging - if not impossible - to find anything new or fresh to mine in the frequently-exploited genre. Hence, 2010's The Fighter does not flourish as an original offering of filmmaking since it's both an underdog story of boxing glory as well as a tale of brutes in a harsh working class corner of Boston. The Fighter retrieves inspiration from deep within its heart, though, as it dissects the true-life story of Irish boxer Micky Ward and his brother Dicky. Much like its real-world inspiration, this is an agitated picture which possesses overwhelming spirit to overcome its dreary familiarity. Plus, freed from any real narrative suspense, a viewer is given the chance to focus on what's fresh and new: the matter-of-fact filming style, the lived-in atmosphere, and a handful of absolutely exceptional performances courtesy of an unbelievably talented cast.
Full review here
"I had the craziest dream last night about a girl who has turned into a swan, but her prince falls for the wrong girl and she kills herself."
Emerging from the imagination of filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan is a psychological thriller pervaded with insanity and madness which is juxtaposed with the graceful, gilded world of professional ballet. Unfolding with palpable intensity and nightmarish logic, the movie denotes the continuation of Aronofsky's study into the resilience of the human body which was kicked off by his stunning 2008 picture The Wrestler. Additionally, just as The Wrestler was primarily a character study, Black Swan is a competitive ballet tale on the surface only, as Aronofsky instead exhibits more interest in exploring the corrosion of reality than the everyday routine of a ballet dancer. Originally, Aronofsky planned for Black Swan and The Wrestler to be one film. Because of this, Aronofsky considers Black Swan to be a companion piece to his earlier flick.
Full review here
"You're asking me for Inception. I hope you do understand the gravity of that request."
The critical mind boggles when confronted with the challenge of reviewing Inception. It's not that this is a particularly difficult movie to review, but it's tough to pen a critique of the film due to the subjective nature of reviews. So far, severe hostility has been expressed towards any critic who has written anything negative about writer-director Christopher Nolan's 2010 project, and therefore it's hard to be fair. Certainly, there's a lot to admire about Inception - it's a lavish, intricate mind-fuck exhibiting the filmmaking excellence that Nolan is renowned for, and it's a must-see for those who enjoy a solid, intelligent blockbuster. Despite the technical virtuosity, the conceptual scope and the phenomenal visuals, Inception is as emotionally stimulating as an early-morning lecture, and it's hampered by a number of issues.
Full review here
"You go for a man hard enough and fast enough, he don't have time to think about how many's with him; he thinks about himself, and how he might get clear of that wrath that's about to set down on him."
Joel and Ethan Coen often utilise western conventions for their movies, but 2010's True Grit is the brothers' first attempt at crafting a true, old-fashioned western. While based on a novel by Charles Portis, True Grit is most likely best known as a John Wayne western vehicle from 1969; the film which earned The Duke his one and only Academy Award. However, the Coens Brothers' True Grit is touted as less of a remake and more of a closer adaptation of the source material, though both films are still the same story with the same basic story beats and a lot of the same dialogue. True Grit is definitely a well-made, compelling motion picture at surface level, but it nonetheless remains somewhat of a disappointment. The Coens are renowned for slyly expanding upon and subverting each genre they tackle, but True Grit is merely a rote western that lacks the touches we've come to expect from the talented brothers.
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"I'd be lost without the weight of you two on my back. I ain't going anywhere."
Reminiscent of 2009's The Road and Precious, the moviemakers behind Debra Granik's Winter's Bone were incapable of realising the distinction between profundity and plain old bleakness. Thus, Winter's Bone is yet another textbook implementation of the misplaced belief that "gritty, grim and real" automatically means that a film is a masterpiece. While Granik's picture indeed features a plethora of focused performances and a handful of gripping moments, nothing else exists to sustain interest or to prevent the narrative from descending into boredom and tedium. Plus, a number of hokey, contrived factors lethally hinder the "realism" approach. With the above in mind, I guess it's unsurprising that Winter's Bone earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, since it's long, boring, drawn-out, dull, and provides little enjoyment and thus minuscule replay value.
Full review here