That's My Dad.

The Intouchables - 

Flat out, the most charming french film since “Amelie”, the funniest buddy flick/tragedy since “50/50” and the most endearing piece of cinema of the decade thus far: Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano’s “The Intouchables”. (10/10)

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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - 

Tragically unaffecting and emotionally gimmicky, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a poorly crafted melodrama, both from a directorial and actors standpoint, that makes for an intellectually gutted rendition of its source material; investing in exterior emotions rather than those internal. (4/10)

We Need to Talk About Kevin - 

To say I liked this film, wouldn’t be appropriate. While emotionally torturous and almost bordering horror as a drama, We Need to Talk About Kevin is not meant to be enjoyed or favored, but works as a piece of art designed to be consumed, appreciated and discussed; not to mention, disturb you relentlessly. (8/10)

The Artist - 

Welcome to the year’s most celebrated film in cinema: The Artist.

In case you haven’t heard about this film, The Artist is a silent black-and-white film telling a very classic Hollywood tale of the death of the silent era and the birth of the talkies.

If there’s an undeniable attribute of The Artist, it’s how many bold statements it makes towards Hollywood, decline in mainstream media and the art of cinema and storytelling, among various other aspects.

The Artist worships everything Hollywood has ever culturally stood and how it directly the human spirit at a vulnerable time in it’s history. Of course, expectedly, the film celebrates and glosses up a long lost age of glamour in popular culture, not to mention art style. A daunting task The Artist takes on is recall classically structured stories and the way they play out. You don’t even have to bother to check for authenticity, this thing plays out like something Cecil B. Demille would have made. For a film like this, that’s the biggest compliment imaginable.

Another great value of the film is how it speaks to its current surroundings in 2011 cinema. The Artist presents cryptic layers of psychological and artistic frustrations it seems to have with the characters moving from the silent era to the “talkies”, but, in modern context, The Artist addresses current films growing consistently shallow for entertainment while neglecting the concept of telling a wholesome story. It’s cheesy when it comes down to it, but no color, language or explosions are ever required to win the hearts of audiences in a theater.

Yet The Artist makes such a bold mark in modern cinema, it’s hard to call it a masterpiece when it’s core story leaves much to be desired. Classics like Sunset Boulevard or Singin’ in the Rain applied more vigor towards building a well-rounded tale of the human spirit, where The Artist falls short and feels a little too gentle for its own good.

When all is said and done, The Artist is a cinematic achievement and one specifically built to charm Hollywood and, almost definitely, the Oscars.

This film was my mom. (8/10)

Here’s the renovation the sports genre needed. 

Moneyball is not a story about the human spirit, like nearly every sport-based film. Moneyball is a story about the loss of human spirit and what happens when something needs to take its role. Gone is the basic underdog story structure and inspirational messages which almost always follow. There is no ultimatum, no fulfilling success, no sincere overcoming. There is pure bleakness in every corner of this tale and a marvelous means of strategy that is willing to destroy American standards, traditions and beliefs. Throughout history, sports has philosophically constructed itself to serve many dignified purposes that strengthen the human condition. Here’s the film that refuses all of what sportsmanship ever stood for and starts from the ground-up.

Moneyball is majorly the creative work of screen-writer Aaron Sorkin and actor Brad Pitt. Their distinct artistic touch is heavily responsible for the film’s asethetic quality. Sorkin produces a sharp, well-crafted and bold script which succeeds on multiple levels; humanistically and prolifically. Every scene keeps so many human emotions and complexities in check that you can’t help but admire the wordsmanship at work here. Sorkin yet again delivers a script that proves himself as one of the greatest screen-writers of this generation.

The major tour-de-force in this film, by a long-shot, is Brad Pitt’s performance. Pitt’s unflinchingly honest and beautifully immediate performance creates an atmosphere around himself, giving the entire film a completely different personality; one unlike any other sport-based film. This is, without question, Pitt’s most seasoned and developed performance from his career (this is coming after The Tree of Life); certainly my bet for the Best Actor Oscar win.

Co-starring with Pitt comes also one of the biggest surprises this year: Jonah Hill’s performance. Delivering a heart-breakingly cold post-modern flavor to the film, Hill blows himself out of the water with a remarkable performance that channels Sorkin’s recent work, The Social Network, for a genre so accustomed to the likes of Field of Dreams or Rudy.

Moneyball is an intelligent and devious force in a grounds loaded with biased attitudes towards an incorrect blend of competition, success and human nature.  It’s a sophisticated ”fuck you” to a massive portion of America’s knuckle-headed stubbornness. This is how our generation should be thinking.

This film was my dad.

There’s something harrowing about the inevitable. Something utterly heartbreaking about the end.

50/50 is a portrait of the complications in facing death; being diagnosed with cancer and being able to resonate with what’s left with life. Delivered an unusual and challenging balance of humor in tragedy, this is a tale that couldn’t get closer to the heart of such concepts.

Our protagonist is a straight-forward and ideal post-modern guy in his youth named Adam; played by Joesph Gordon-Levitt. He’s public radio writer with only a best friend and a girlfriend in his life; clearly not fulfilled with anything, but he sighs each day and makes do. There is no dramatization, no build-up or exaggerated emotional release. Everything around him fades away when hears the “C-word” and his own name used together. Almost as if it were a mistake. Surely, it can’t be him. Of course not. There must be some mistake. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. Denial.

We experience Adam’s stages through each blistering moment, each heartbreak, each upset, each flicker of hope right alongside him. As life molds out the shifts Adam’s life has taken, we experience the vulnerability he wears on his sleeve, the silent torment, the detached approach to his world. What makes 50/50 so powerful is how intimate we are with Levitt’s character and especially how Levitt, as an actor, portrays Adam through each layer. 

There’s always been a remarkable quality in every one of Levitt’s performances. From setting high standards in romance and comedy for his generation, much like Jack Lemmon did for his, all the way to producing visceral and disturbing characters of his own. Levitt colors himself in over and over again dramatically throughout his films ranging from the likes of (500) Days of Summer and 10 Things I Hate About You to Mysterious Skin and Brick. Levitt reveals himself in a completely new light with 50/50, displaying a very conscious individual, fully consumed by his own tragedy and desperate to seek refuge through life’s sense of humor.

That’s the main focal point 50/50, its complexion of humor and death. This is not a dark comedy. 50/50 delivers the exact idiosyncratic nature of how comedy effects one engulfed in sadness. No matter how much you could make Adam laugh or make him feel loved, he kept being snapped back into reality. Especially when his surroundings treated him poorly, it’s just even worse. 50/50 is not an easy film to swallow; this is the most challenging comedy I’ve ever watched. 

50/50 is a work of affection and pure honesty. The ups and downs of cancer and the true understanding of the value of the human spirit. This is not just an emotionally tormenting film, but a rare feat in blending challenging genres to beautifully match with those of reality. You will never see a film of this emotional magnitude with comedy. It attacks you with silence, crushes your heart with laughter and buries you with heartache.

This film was my dad.

Ten Films You Need to See This Year. 

Contagion

Drive

Moneyball

50/50

The Ides of March

The Rum Diary

Like Crazy

My Week With Marilyn

Take Shelter

Martha Marcy May Marlene