Top 5 Movies 2011
By akeller, Assistant Arts Editor
Monday, January 30, 2012
5. Bellflower
A breakup movie for the ages, "Bellflower" proves we need more tortured misogynistic wackos in the indie circuit. This post-apocalyptic mumblecore romance/revenge flick reads like it started with a dare involving fridge magnets, but it turns out to be a lovably overblown and incoherent meditation on man's most intense emotions. What really elevates Bellflower is its uncompromising DIY aesthetic: beautifully made for less than 20 grand, hopefully it'll be a war cry for aspiring filmmakers coming into the new decade.
4. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
If you've still got any Adderall left over from finals, try and figure out this cold and twisty caper from the director of Let The Right One In. Its daintily composed vision of 70s London's atmospheric grit stands toe-to-toe with any of the year's cinematic universes. Out of its ridiculous British cast, star Gary Oldman as MI6 agent George Smiley and Benedict Cumberbatch as his in-over-his-head lackey are the standouts. A delicious motorboat of paranoia and cynicism.
3. Margin Call
How was this not the movie of the moment? Released when the Occupy movement was still gathering steam, this restrained and empathetic portrayal of Wall Street guys (and Demi Moore!) shitting themselves on the day leading up to the financial crisis deserved to be one of the year's highest-profile releases. You'd think newcomer writer-director J.C. Chandor has been making movies for 20 years, but despite the all-star cast most people ignored this one. Don't make the same mistake.
2. Attack The Block
The tagline is Inner City vs. Outer Space – if you're not already onboard, I don't know what to say. Vicious aliens invade the London projects and the hooligans, drug dealers, and white people inside have to band together to survive. An energetic crowd-pleaser that blends laughs, scares, and heart. Watch with subtitles if you didn't go through an embarrassing UK grime phase in high school, or see it at the Film Series on February 10th.
1. Shame
"Aaaagghhhhh" – if you've got a soul, that'll be your reaction to this gutwrenching psychodrama about a sex addict in New York. In the Year of Michael Fassbender, Shame stands above his three other successes; reuniting with Steve McQueen, the director of his breakthrough "Hunger," the instant star gives his best performance yet. Ditto for Carey Mulligan as his nutty sister. McQueen distills Hunger's admirable but scattered artistic ambitions into a haunting poem on compulsion and intimacy. Be warned: Requiem For A Dream-level trauma.
Honorable Mentions: Drive, Moneyball
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