10.
I didn't watch the old show but as someone who idolized Bruce Lee as a kid, I was always aware of it. The only time I actually saw the Green Hornet in action before this movie was in a cameo on the Adam West Batman television show.
This new rendition, directed with a creative flair by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Be Kind Rewind) takes the masked vigilante story in a new direction that feels incredibly fresh, and like last year's Kick-Ass, the movie doesn't shy from a few easy laughs. A spoiled Paris Hilton-esque son of a media mogul, played by Seth Rogen, battles crime with associate Kato (Jay Chou, more on him later) a former assistant for his now dead father. I came into this movie with higher expectations than some. It had a great cast and a director I personally admired, and luckily, it did not disappoint. This is an entertaining romp, with a hilarious cameo from James Franco, a unique bad guy played by Christopher Waltz, and quite a few really good camera tricks. Even Cameron Diaz managed to transform the most forced part of the movie (the love triangle) into a few scenes that are naturally funny.
9.
I grew up reading the comic and loved the journalist from Belgium and his little dog Snowy going on all kinds of adventures around the world, along with all his goofy associates. Coincidentally, the movie produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Steven Spielberg is an adaptation of the first Tintin comic I ever read...
In The Adventures of Tintin, the character models are relatively close to their two dimensional counterpoints yet they appear eerily realistic, right down to the pores on Thomson and Thompson's bulbous noses. The animation in this movie is splendid, especially Captain Haddock, played by Andy Serkis, who also did an amazing job as Caesar in the new Apes movie. This is easily the best Indiana Jones movie I have seen in the last ten years. What's that about Crystal Skulls and ...Shia LeBuff? Never heard of it.
8.
I think Midnight in Paris was the only romantic comedy I saw this year, but I'm betting it's still one of the best. Embracing a nostalgic view of Paris in the 1920s while telling a grounded story is a difficult tightrope to walk, but Woody Allen does it well. An engaged couple played by Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams are visiting Paris with the bride to be's parents, hijinks ensue and secrets are slowly revealed. It's a story about divorcing fantasy and preconceived notions from the reality of our relationships and it has a lot of great cameos of people playing everyone from Dali and Hemingway to Gertrude Stein and Zelda Fitzgerald.
7.
I only saw Rubber once and I think that's all I'll ever need, but damnit what an experience! A meta audience watches on as a tire becomes sentient, soon discovering it has the power to make bottles, small animals, and even human heads explode. It's a potent exhibition of the powers of "no reason" that seem to drive so much cinema, grabbing the audience by the collar and forcing them to become an active participant, even as we inhabit the perpetually passive role. Oh, and it's got a groovy soundtrack. Check out the hilarious introduction of the movie below.
6.
Just kidding. It's the Muppets of course!
I love the Muppets. I grew up watching the movies and the show, so this really just had to not suck and it would probably end up somewhere on this list. Luckily, this is better than good, it's positively overflowing with gee-shucks hucks and a refreshingly, indomitably positive spirit. "Life's a happy song!"
5.
Attack the Block is one of the few movies on this list I have seen multiple times, and for good reason. First, I had to get the hang of the characters' lingo, and second, this is just too good of a sci-fi monster romp to pass up. It's got a big cast that drives the movie as a large apartment complex is overrun by ravenous, man-eating monsters from outer space. If you missed this, grab some popcorn and some friends and see it right now!
4.
Hugo and Tintin have a lot in common. Both are kids film adaptations of children's books directed by prominent American directors, and both were heavily marketed in 3D. But whar separates Hugo is its uncanny focus in channeling the 3D technology and really using it to tell the story. Tintin is arguably just as effective in two dimensions, but I really can't imagine seeing Hugo any other way, even though I hate those stupid glasses. It's a story about an orphan boy living in the clock tower of the Paris train station who slowly uncovers a wonderful secret about a cranky toymaker with a special secret, played perfectly by Sir Ben Kingsley. Sacha Baron Cohen also does a good job as the station's security guard. It's a sweet movie not just about uncovering secrets, but also how the little happy circumstances of our lives slowly push people into each other's arms. This was worth it just to see the work of George Melies in 3D.
3.
Beautifully hand-animated, Winnie the Pooh wins the award for really making me feel like a kid again. I don't think any other movie except maybe Rubber made me laugh this hard. All the creatures of the 100 Acre Wood are back in full effect, telling a simple story with a few songs sprinkled in for good measure. This is classic Disney in every sense of the word, and it's too bad it didn't get seen by more families around the globe.
2.
I'm not a particularly religious person, but Tree of Life got me pondering some of the bigger questions concerning life and the universe. A movie that has polarized audiences, I predict this is one of those rare films that will affect you completely differently upon revisiting (which I still haven't done, but hope to soon). It's gorgeous, everybody is seamless in their roles and the movie just sits in this ethereal haze that hovers between Christianity and metaphysical musings.
1.
Unlike Tree of Life, I saw this movie several times, first on my television, and then with a bunch of friends at the local Bijou, and I will probably see it again. Even with a third act that is almost an hour of no-holds-barred, balls to the wall action, 13 Assassins is director/auteur Takashi Miike's most subdued film to date. The opening scene depicts a man committing seppuku in protest against a sadistic lord's unruly behavior. While a lesser director would have shown the piercing blade in all its gory detail, Miike focuses on the man's face as he cringes in pain, eyes crinkling with a burning determination. The simple premise and slow, tense build as the various assassins are enrolled may put some people off, but the setup and the stiff camera work in the earlier scenes are essential to setting the tone and explaining the rationale behind these warriors' actions. While some of Miike's more unpleasant visual tendencies rear their head in the first act, they are worth it just to witness the astounding finale. This movie is a potent commentary on the nature of violence, the horror of perceiving such inhumane acts as spectacle, and the degree to which we will go to fight against the oppression such violence creates. This is right up there with Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai as an epic human story about a select few who dedicate their very lives to the battle against injustice. It's exciting, sickening, thought-provoking, and it deserves to be seen on a big screen.
In retrospect, I would have put Midnight in Paris a lot higher on the list. It's my favorite Woody Allen movie since Manhattan, and I saw it with a good audience and a great date.
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