Central Pictures Corporation
If you were one of the 9 million people who illegally downloaded “Fast Five,” it might not occur to you that 2011 was a magnificent year at the movies. And you wouldn’t be interested in any of the myriad 10-best lists, let alone one you’re about to read from some obscure critic. This is not about fancy art films with subtitles being more legitimate than Hollywood blockbusters. If you pride yourself on being a movie buff, you would insist on seeing “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol” in Imax. Then you would agree that 2011 was indeed awesome. But since you already know movies like “Hugo,” “A Dangerous Method,” “The Tree of Life,” “Melancholia” and “The Descendants” to be great, this list champions films that need a little cosmic extra push.
Continue reading “When ‘Pirates’ Becomes the Pirated” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Beginners (2011)
Focus Features
Sober and unsentimental, “Beginners” matter-of-factly dissects the life traps of a commitment phobe through his fuzzy recollections of childhood trauma and his late father’s coming out. But precisely because of its earnestness, the film is easily one of the most moving moviegoing experiences this year alongside the equally fascinating “The Arbor.” Coincidentally, both involve unloving families leaving their members scarred for life. But these films aren’t as bitter and cathartic as one might expect. In fact, they reach the kind of epiphanous wisdom that generally seems only attainable through years of therapy.
Continue reading “After a False Start, a Second Chance at Love” »