A Look Back at 2011's 'Take Shelter' ***1/2stars

2011 gave us two apocolyptic films. the brilliant 'melancholia' and it's extremely close runnerup 'take shelter'. a man on the verge of a breakdown as he has visions, dreams, of the impending end of the world. michael shannon who stole 'revolutionary road' from kate winslet, leonardo decaprio and kathy bates, turns in one of the best performances of the decade. he is up and coming and oneday will have an oscar on his mantle. he is simply put brilliant. jessica chastain gives another great performance which is one of many she showed in 2011.

althugh i believe 'melancholia' is the better 2011 apocalyptic films of 2011 his is the more accessible to a wider audience. i can't recommend them enough if you love film.

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'Margaret' ****stars

about a week ago i wrote that 'last night' was a lost gem of 2011. 'margaret' turns out to be the lost masterpiece of 2011. originally scheduled for release in 2007 but held back due to lawsuits and other studio nonesense with the director it was finally unveiled with little fanfare or sceenings in september of 2011. that's the pity. this is a brilliant film about a girl, a bus driver, her mother, her guilt, her conscience. sounds simple? it's not. it's a complex drama that weaves a dramatic spell. and who knew anna paquin was such a great actress. oscar or not for the deadly dull 'the piano' at ten years old who knew. good yes but great? yes! she gives an amazing performance and one of the best of this young century. the rest of the cast delivers. all of them. 

i can't recommend this film enough especially if you are a true fan of the art of film. i would revise my top ten of 2011 and put this in the #1 spot.

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'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' ***stars

'salmon fishing in the yemen' opened earlier this year without much fanfare. it's a shame. despite having one of the worst titles of the year it's a good film. it's a nice accessible film with wonderful performances by emily blunt and ewan mcgregor and a rare comedic turn from the great kristen scott thomas. so don't let the title fool you. sure there is salmon fishing but that's only the starting point for this heartwarming film and romance. rent this charmer, sit back and enjoy a film aimed at grownup audiences.

available at amazon. see sidebar.

'Last Night': A Lost Gem From 2011 ***stars

 'last night' is a universal slice of life story. i can only imagine we have all had a 'last night'. i certainly have. a couple is separated for 24 hours, in this case because of a business trip, and events just unfold. the events being people. one a business associate: the other a former lover. temptation and old feelings surface. different decisions are made. the overriding consequences not immediately known. 

keira knightley shines. sam worthington and guillaume canet are more than effective in their respective roles. the only weak link is eva mendes. really, would anyone cheat on keira with eva? it's like beauty vs a second hand rose. a better looking actress, or at the very least a better actress, would have made a temptation more plausible. but as we all know most men do not think with their heads but rather think from below our waists. that's a fact! 

this one bit of miscasting does not diminish the whole however. this is definitely worth a viewing or two. you may relate. i sure did.

A Look Back At: 'Shame' ***stars

 so i just wrote about what seemed to be michael fassbender's valium induced role in 'a dangerous method'. but i want to give him his due and kudos for his amazing performance in 2011's psycho sexual drama 'shame'. he gives a truly daring performance in a daring film. mr fassbender plays brandon a successful new yorker in a moving intense film. he could be any new yorker you pass on the street. see on the subway. work with. you just don't know the secrets they have. the lonliness they live in. the sexual drama they deal with alone or with others. i saw a lot of myself in the character of brandon. he played me and all the other brandon's well. he gives a grand performance in a tricky art house film. he plays it unashamedly. i believed him. it's not for everyone but i can't rave enough about the film or michael's performance. and he does not mind being totally, yes totally, nude on screen which is just fine by me!

A Dangerous Method' **1/2stars

 'a dangerous method' was a dangerous choice for the talented keira knightley'. she is forced to give us in closeups some of the most bizarre facial expressions i have ever seen on screen in her role as a psychiatric patient in this also bizarre film. but alas ms knightley rises to the occasion. she is quite brilliant actually. courageous too. i wish i could say the same for the film itself. it's a tough watch to say the least. i can only recommend it to fans of ms. knightley. and i must add i do not get michael fassbender in his role. he walks though this role as though he overdosed on valium. so the **1/2 stars i give it are for keira and her performance only. she deserved a better script.

it is now available on dvd and bluray

'Carnage' *1/2stars

it has never taken me this long to see a kate winslet film. it was just the matter of lousy distribution last fall. i now understand why this limited release never quite expanded. it is awful. kate and one of my favorite directors, roman polanski, promised something great. well they did not deliver. this is a boring mess. and did i really need to see kate puke into a vase of tulips? no i did not and neither do you. but i can take heart as ms winslet did not give the worst performance in the film. that dishonor is taken by jodie foster. she is just dreadful. what the hell happened to her talent? christoph waltz is mostly awful. the only 'good' performance is given by john c. reilly who has the thankless job of being married to foster's character. he deserves a quickie divorce. although i admire his performance it can't redeem this piece of garbage. nothing can. mr polanski what the frack were you thinking? but more to the point what the hell were you thinking kate? you always made often great, generally good and somewhat daring choices. but since your oscar win you are going the way of many best actress winners. to performance hell in a hand basket. first you choose the embalmed 'mildred pierce'. now this. you get a brief stay of execution with 'contagion' sandwiched between these two disasters. anyone who reads my blog knows i've championed you for years. they also know i think you are a brilliant talent. i beg of you to get back to the kate of 'the reader', 'little children', 'eternal sunshine of the spotless mind', 'finding neverland', 'hideous kinky' and so many more.  this film is like the carnage of your excellent career. enough already. i forgave you for 'all the king's men'. i can't stand watching you flush a brilliant career with dreck like this.

and mr polanski have you lost your mind?

'Margaret': DVD and Bluray Releases Today

'margaret' was one of the lost films of 2011. although it appeared on many 'best of' at year's end most of us never got to see it. now we get the chance, it releases on disc today. after almost 5 years in litigation hell it was well received when finally released. i'll let you know when my bluray arrives from amazon.

'Dream House' Gets a D

i just caught this on dvd. what a waste. rachel weitz what were you thinking. well at least you got a new husband out of it (daniel craig). don't bother. it's a  predictable mess. go out and enjoy the beginning of spring.

What You May Have Missed

Well the Oscars and every other award of the season are now behind us. it was a pretty good year for film lovers but not a great year. Though I believe most of the films nominated for Oscars this year would never have been considered in another better year. My personal tastes vary so there was enough to satisfy my movie going pleasure.  So as the award season becomes a distant memory and the winners, like them or not, are part of film history it's time to rent or not rent what your may have missed. what did you miss? well with dvd's, blu ray and streaming you can now catch up most of the 2011 movies currently or soon. here's your rental guide to films you may want to finally see. 

Currently available for purchase or rental

''Sarah's Key'': This remains my favorite film of 2011. A secret, a key and a mystery  touches the heart and speaks to the soul. Kristen Scott Thomas shines. What more can i say? Please see it. ****stars

''Melancholia'': Kirsten Dundst gave the best performance by an actress in this film this year. Meryl got the Oscar; Kirsten got the shaft. Melancholy and a planet called melancholia collide as the apocalypse draws near. For film lover's only. ****stars

''Contagion'': I liked this better on second viewing when i finally got into the 'docudrama' style storytelling of a fast acting killer virus across the globe. A great cast in a good film. ***stars

"The Descendants'': This is a gem. Of all the Oscar nominated films it will be most remembered 50 years from now when Best Picture Oscar winner 'The Artist' will be but a footnote in Oscar history. George Clooney shines as a Hawaiian land baron who can't win an argument with a 10 year old. Kudos to all involved. ***1/2stars

''War Horse'': I'm not sure why this bombed at the box office. It's a good film in the grand old epic style set during World War 1 and it's a boy and his horse. It's a big screen film and may get lost with home viewing no matter how big your hdtv. Give it a try non the less. ***stars

''Tree of Life'': A difficult film  but a great film. Like 'Melancholia' it is for film lover's only. Film lover's not movie lover's. There is a difference. It's been reported many many people demanded their money back at theaters not getting this apocalyptic drama. I can understand that. It is not for everyone. Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain are wonderful. ***stars

''Rise of the Planet of the Apes'':  This remains one of the best films of 2011. It is simply wonderful and far better than any of the past 'ape' films. It boasts one of the years best performances by Andy Serkis in 'performance capture' that the Oscar's refused to acknowledge. Shame on them! ***1/2stars

"Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1": The best in the series. If you are into this series of vampires , werewolves and humans it's a must see. If not then just move on. ***stars

''Hugo'': It won five technical Oscars which was fitting as it was a good technical film. It advanced 3D amazingly. And that's about it. A total bore about the history of film that was about 30 minutes too long. If anyone other than Martin Scorsese had directed this it would have been dismissed as the dullest film of 2011. Rent at your own risk as it may be coma inducing. **stars

"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close": What were Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks and director Stephen Daldry ("The Reader", "The Hours") thinking? This is extremely lousy and incredibly awful post 9/11 film. The second worse movie of the year after "Young Adult". Forget about it! *star

''Whistleblower'': One of the lost films of 2011 centers on UN peacemakers complicit in human sex trafficking in post war Bosnia. Rachel Weisz uncovers the truth in this lost gem. It's an important film and as always Ms. Weisz delivers the goods. ***stars

''My Week with Marilyn'' and 'The Iron Lady'' both boast brilliant performances in less than stellar films. They should be seen for the amazing actresses, Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher and Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe, alone. Forget the weak screenplays involved and enjoy the tour de force performances. I give both **1/2 stars

Oscar's Best Picture Winner 'The Artist'' is still in theaters near you and does not yet have a dvd release date.

Coming soon the lesser seen but mostly critically acclaimed films of 2011 released or soon to be released on dvd and blu ray that may or may not have played at a theater near you due to limited releases.

'War Horse' ****stars

'War Horse' is Steven Speilberg's epic anti-war film. From lofty farmlands in Britain to the battlefields of World War 1 France it remains an engrossing and powerful film. This is the best Spielberg has offered in years and will eventually be seen as a classic.

Jeremey Irvine in his film debut is wonderful. He does not miss a beat as the boy who believes in his horse Joey. Together and apart they both become heroes in the messy reality of war.

In one single scene, which is most reminiscent of 2005's 'Joyeux Noel', the frutality of war and the humanity of the men who fight in them touches your heart and senses in a few brief minutes.

Do yourself a favor and get yourself to a theater near you to see this masterpiece. It is meant for big screen viewing as it is a 'big' film. It will certainly be a contender for the best picture come oscar night.

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'The Descendants' ****stars

'The Descendants' is a damn good film. it is a quiet film that delivers a heavy punch to the heart and the soul. George Clooney plays a Hawaiian land baron forced to deal with two daughters he hardly knows after his wife becomes comatose after a boating accident. After the accident he finds out his wife was having an affair from his eldest daughter. Now having to deal with this adultery, parenting and a life-death decision he tries to get his life back and his daughters on track.

George Clooney has never been better and may get a second oscar for his touching quiet yet at times frenetic performance. Shailene Woodley as the eldest daughter will get a well deserved oscar nomination in the supporting category. The rest of the cast delivers the goods as they are all well directed by Alexander Payne also a potential nominee.

The final scene of the film is perfection. There could be no better ending.

This film will stand the test of time and that is what makes a good film a great film.

'Young Adult' 1/2*: A Different Kind of 'Monster'

Charlize Theron deservedly won the 2003 best actress oscar for playing serial killer Aileen Wuornos in 'Monster'. In 'Young Adult' Ms Theron admirably plays a 'monster' of a different sort to no avail.  there is certainly no oscar in her future for this film. it is monstrous bore. Both the film and the Ms Theron's character both have no redeeming value what so ever. there was a lot of good word of mouth about this film prior to it's release. It was all a bunch of garbage. It moves to the top tier of the worst of 2011 film releases. save your money and your time. you are warned.

More with Sandra the Great and 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close'

Sandra on her return to film after her hiatus, her supporting role and why she made this choice.

first up from 'entertainment tonight'

with matt lauer on 'today'

Cinematic Joy 2011

the best of the year in film in review so far

Cinescape 2011

'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close'

the film i most look forward to this season is the yet to be seen, by critics and public alike, is  'extremely loud and incredibly close' starring tom hanks, sandra bullock and max van sydow. the trailer above gives a sign for an emotional journey. it is perhaps the first really important film on the aftermath of the 9/11 events in 2011.  it will open on christmas day and i suspect will be a strong oscar contender in the months to come.

The Year in Film 2011

'Melancholia': ****stars

'melancholia' is not for everyone. it is a dark film revolving around the impening collision of our planet with another. it begins with a wedding whose bride suffers melancholia which is the name of the planet that will collide with earth. it has a good cast well suited to their parts but it is the amazing performance of kirsten dunst as the bride that is the center of it. her sister played by a wonderful charlotte gainsbourg anchors it until the final moments when roles reverse.

kirsten dunst deserves an oscar nom for here portrayal. she has already won best actress earlier this year at the cannes film festival. the question is whether or not academy members will see it. right now the film and ms dunst top my year end 'best of' lists.

Michelle Williams BECOMES Marilyn in 'My Weekend with Marilyn'

coming soon and ms williams will get an oscar nod