My Top 10 Films of 2013

1. Frances Ha

A raw yet delightful late twenties coming of age story reminiscent of French New Wave, a little Woody Allen and slightly less pretentious than HBO's Girls.  Dialogue borders between clever and obnoxious.  Awkward humour aplenty.  But really it's about that scary, confusing and exciting time when one transitions from youth to adulthood.

2. Spring Breakers

This was probably the most polarizing movie of the year. I went in skeptical expecting to hate it but when the end credits rolled I walked out of this neon drenched bacchanal shaking my head in WTF-was-that disbelief and awe.  There are some seriously "blurred lines" between exploitation and satire here.  There is no one to root for and every character is despicable and yet it's the perfect reflection of North American society and its consumerist culture.  

3. Her

It's rare to see a "sci-fi" movie that doesn't involve superheroes, explosions or alien invasions. Her is melancholic, depressingly romantic with an aesthetically pleasing futuristic production design and a lot of feelings.  It's a beautiful story of an ill-fated romance between man and machine and a commentary on our society's ever increasing misanthropic reliance on technology.

4. The Act of Killing

A gripping and unique documentary about the reenactments of the 1960's Indonesian genocide murders by the very perpetrators aka death squads who committed the killings. Disturbing but powerful stuff.

5. Only Lovers Left Alive

An existential love story  between two vampires (Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinton) set in modern day Detroit and Tangier.  Beautifully shot, droll and eccentric. Persian rugs aplenty, musical instruments and books messily askew, night drives through the motor city's derelict locales, I fell in love with this romantically dystopian world. 

6. Before Midnight

Love is hard and the unrealistic expectations we place on relationships backfire.  In the final chapter of this trilogy the two lead characters walk around beautiful locales, talk endlessly and bicker realistically, and it is all charming and fascinating to watch. 

7. Blue is the Warmest Color

The most striking aspect of the film are the naturalistic performances and the intimate cinematography. Once the film starts, one forgets the outside world and is totally immersed in this heartbreaking and passionate love story. It is mesmerizing to watch.

8. 12 Years a Slave

This is an important and powerful film.  Though it does not stray from conventional storytelling, it is the most interesting film about slavery (sorry Amistad).  Fassbender, Ejiofor and Nyong'o are phenomenal.

9. Inside Llewyn Davis

I'd like to preface that I don't like folk music but this story of the trials and tribulations of a folk musician in 1960's had me enchanted from the start.  It strips the glamour from the romantic ideal of a struggling artist at least for the audience but it's something the main character still has to come to terms with.  Funny, offbeat, thoughtful and steers clear of sentimentality.

10. Stranger By The Lake

A sexy beach murder mystery at a lakeside gay cruising spot. Equal parts nature film and Hitchcock thriller, with the emphasis on cock-ian.

Honourable Mentions:

Matthew McConaughey continues to impress with the haunting coming of age Mud and the solid Dallas Buyers Club.  Very moving and impressive were tiny indie films Short Term 12 and Museum Hours (thanks Karl for the reco). I was also intrigued by the melo-documentary Stories We Tell and the unconventional Leviathan. The comic interaction of the leads in the The Heat and the meta-comedy This Is The End cracked me up.  I had high hopes for Gravity and although it is remarkable filmmaking, after the adrenaline wore of, I felt irked by the clichéd dialogue and backstory as well as the overdone spiritual themes; but go see it in 3D anyhow.  Ari Forman's follow up to Waltz with Bashir, The Congress had an interesting story but I found it too trippy and disjointed.  Upstream Colorwas beautiful and absorbing but I'm still trying to understand it. Fans of Dogtooth should check out the equally bizarre and darkly funny Borgman.  

If I missed any musts, please let me know.  At the time of compiling this list I have't seen the following though I hear they are excellent: In A World, Broken Circle Breakdown andAll Is Lost.

Fin!

ps. Apologies for the misplaced or lack there of commas and semicolons.

My Top 10 Films of 2011

Oscars are just 2 nights away and naturally I leave this list to the last minute. Not that the Oscars even matter anymore. When you have a movie like Hugo as one of two front runners, you lose all hope. Futhermore, the fact that Tilda Swinton or Michael Fassbender weren't even nominated, is a travesty. However, another reason I procrastinated in compiling the list is because silly me wanted to give Madge's latest effort a chance. While is W.E. is not as bad as critics will have you believe, it's like Madonna went to film school for a month and afterwards wasn't sure which director to emulate, which resulted in a cacophony of different styles. But I was in a funny mood that day, and quite enjoyed looking at pretty things onscreen and Wallis Simpson is an interesting persona to me, so I ate it up. Finally, W.E. teaches you that it's ok to spike your friends' champagne cocktails with benzedrine to get a party started.

But enough about Madge, here are some of my favourite films this year:

1. Drive

This neo noir, artsy actioner had me falling in love at first sight as soon as I heard the synth soundtrack during the opening heist scene. Too sleek and cool for its own good and wonderfully ultra violent, it's the beautiful brutality of the elevator scene that has made this film the most memorable of the year.

2. The Tree of Life

I can't even begin to articulate my thoughts on this ambitious film because I'm still reflecting on it. Difficult to convey my feelings in words, it made me reflect on my childhood and life in general, yanking on my heart strings, but in a pleasant way. Its poetic and non-traditional narrative had me entranced.

3. Melancholia

From the breathtaking opening scored by Wagner's 'Tristan and Isolde', to the dysfunctional wedding melodrama and ending in an anxiety inducing but strangely uplifting apocalypse finale, this has become my favourite Von Trier film.

4. A Separation

If you had said to me, "Hey babe, let's go see this movie about a contemporary Iranian couple getting a divorce and tensions run high", I'd be quick to dismiss it. And this is where my ignorance can be problematic. ie. I can't bring myself to watch Pina because I loathe contemporary dance, actually, all dance. A Separation was probably the biggest surprise of the year. Nothing short of brilliant in the way that it blends topics such as offspring obligations, marital roles and government bureaucracy and wisely shows that truth is seldom black and white.

5. We Need to Talk About Kevin

The premise is as follows: I gave birth to the Devil child, what happens now? This story follows Tilda Swinton, in an astounding performance, as a mother dealing with an atrocity committed by her son. This is perturbing look into a parent's worst nightmare. I enjoyed how a straightforward story like this could be so cinematic, be it the symbolism in the oversaturation of the colour red, the constant flash-backing storyline, and even the music selections.

6. The Kid with a Bike

A naturalistic cinéma vérité style story about a young boy's loss of innocence that doesn't descend into schmaltz. Beautifully acted and well paced, you forget you are watching a movie.

7. The Skin I live In

A modern day Frankenstein tale. At times its so bizarre you think, how much weirder can this get. But it's never boring, and because it's Almodovar, you just accept it. Never overexplanatory , nor does it slip into the "too vague" category, the ending is strangely poignant.

8. Midnight in Paris

As much as I enjoyed the crowdpleaser The Artist, I think Midnight in Paris is a better film when it comes to the best whimsical category. And not just because I enjoy watching Rachel McAdams playing cunty roles, but as a fellow nostalgist, I loved the clever dialogue and the historical literati come to life. Also, Paris in the rain. 'Nuff said.

9. Kill List

At first I was confused because I thought this was supposed to be horror film, and I thought I was watching a Mike Leigh film. And then it started to turn into a heist story. And then strange things begin to happen and every single scene in this movie drips with ominousity (Yes I realize that's not a real world) until it explodes in the WTF ending. In short, don't miss this. Also, I suggest the use of subtitles, because I'm not up to date on english slang.

10. Weekend

This story of a two night stand between two men is probably the most romantic movie I saw this year. A very improvised looking story with long takes, it's honest and real. You get to know the characters as they get to know each other. A wonderful gem.

Honorable Mentions:

The moody and haunting Take Shelter, the existential crisis of Cafe De Flore, the meditative nature of eating a potato in The Turin Horse, Tinker Tailor Solder Spy for being doused in cigarette smoke and tweed, Shame because we are all addicted to something, the hilarity of Bridesmaids, Margin Call for telling a a depressing story so well, Le Havre for being such a delightful pleasure to watch, Martha Marcy May Marlene for inspiring so much dread, Snowtown because it got under my skin, and finally Hanna for being so much more than some silly assassin flick and because Cate Blanchett is amazingly nutty in it.

Disappointments:

How a movie about sex and sexual frustration be so boring, I can't understand. I'm looking at you A Dangerous Method. The redeeming factor was the production design and all the boats featured, especially Jung's cherry wood sailboat. I'm not even joking.

Also, although an interesting concept I was let down by Dogtooth's successor, Alps.

Better than expected:

The Killer Elite has Robert DeNiro, Jason Statham and Clive Owen sporting a glass eye. It's quite enjoyable in the same vein that Taken was a few years ago.

A movie to watch while ironing.

Sometimes when I'm doing chores like ironing I like to multitask and so I just want to put on a movie that is not even remotely good for fear you may disrespect it by not giving it your full attention. You also don't want to put on anything too stupid because it will just agitate you. You just need good filler noise. I suggest to you, Tresspass starring Nicholas Cage and Nicole Kidman and directed by Joel Schumacher. Yes, it's silly, and you don't even have to pay too much attention to the story, it's just background noise. Also, Cam Gidget is in it and I'm strangely drawn to him.

Anyhow, that's it. Enjoy, or not, the Oscars.

Fin!

ps. Apologies for the misplaced or lack there of commas and semicolons.

My Top 10 Films of 2010

As with every past year, I procrastinate with this list since I want to make sure I can view all the films that I’ve been hearing through various channels are worthy of seeing. I was about 90% done 2 days ago but glad I got to sneak in one more film that had a huge effect on me. So without further ado, here we go.

1. The Illusionist
Maybe it was the fact that I watched it in a Parisian cinema, or that fact that the story was originally created by one of my favourite auteurs, Jacques Tati, but this charming, heartfelt and often sad story of a Monsieur Hulot-esque magician was one of the most touching films I’ve ever seen, animated or not.

2. Incendies
Best Canadian film I’ve seen in a long time. Flashbacks interwoven with a present day story lead to a devastating family truth and heartbreaking ending. A masterpiece.

3. Enter the Void
Probably the one film to polarize audience, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I was hooked from the seizure inducing opening credits. With its experimental shaky camera work and the omnipresent POV, this trip is beautifully intoxicating.

4. Black Swan
An unforgettable blend of many genres, everything from horror to a little genre I like to call; bitches going craaaazy (ie. Repulsion, Baise-Moi, Girl, Interrupted), who would have thought a movie about an emotionally stunted ballerina would end up like this. This movie haunted me for days. Natalie Portman delivered the most accomplished performance of her career. Just lay off the rom-coms Nat.

5. Carlos
Set to a mostly new wave soundtrack, this 5 ½ hour epic traces the life of the legendary Carlo the Jackal. Terrorism hasn’t looked this sexy or glamorous ever since.

6. My Joy
A tragic journey of an unlucky truck driver that takes several bad turns as he navigates through the Russian hinterlands. Bleak but sometimes filled with dark humour and with that impending sense of doom, I couldn’t peal my eyes from the screen. Or maybe it just hit too close to home.

7. White Material
Thought-provoking, perplexing and at time ominously beautiful, it’s about holding on to stubborn perseverance and last shreds of sanity around escalating chaos.

8. The Ghost Writer
An elegant looking smart political thriller with suspense, mystery and just the right touch of paranoia that has you guessing till the end. It’s also about watching Ewen McGregor hang out in a really cool house.

9. Dogtooth
Lets just say you will be glad your parents raised you they way they did. Disturbing and uncomfortably funny and very original, it’s also an allegory for what can happen to individuals in authoritarian societies any day.

10. Winter’s Bone
Redneck Noir. Gloomy, yet riveting mostly due to it’s lead star Jennifer Lawrence. Family ties bring out the best and worst in people.

Honourable Mentions: Animal Kingdom, I Am Love, How I ended this Summer, Exit through the Gift Shop, Buried

Haven’t seen so I can’t comment: Another Year, Barney’s Version, Four Lions

The Rest: I liked Inception but I thought it was a tad overrated. With the exception of Poetry, I wasn’t that impressed with the Asian films this year. But I have yet to see Japan’s Confessions. The gayest film I’ve seen this year and I obviously don’t mean that maliciously, was Restrepo, a documentary about soldiers stationed in one of the most dangerous regions of Afghanistan. There is a particular scene with an impromptu dance party where the boys jump around to a remix of Samantha Fox’ ‘Touche Me’ and you can just cut the sexual tension with a knife. The well-acted Blue Valentine was real and sad but nothing revolutionary. Cyrus and Please Give succeeded where Greenberg failed. I enjoyed Somewhere for all the wrong reasons but wish Coppola would go back to her Virgin Suicides roots.

Feel free to start a fight with me demanding why The Social Network or True Grit isn't on here.

Fin!

ps. Apologies for the misplaced or lack there of commas and semicolons.

Top 10 Films of 2009

As usual, I've been procrastinating in putting this list together, mostly because this wasn't a very strong year for films. In my opinion, there just wasn't anything of high calibre like No Country For Old Men or There Will Be Blood or even Brokeback Mountain. I'm going to sort of cheat and include a movie in my Top Ten that I had as a runner-up in the last year's list. That should tell you something. I say 'sort-of' cheat because even though I viewed The Hurt Locker in 2008, it wasn't released theatrically until 2009. Usually, I wouldn't double dip but it's been slim pickings. Internationally, it's a different story . Although I was disappointed by Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces, there were several strong contenders from Germany, France, Argentina and England. More on that later.

The films that make it onto the list have to be engaging. That is my only criteria. Basically, if I'm thinking what I want for breakfast, it's not a good sign. Here we go.

1. (500) Days of Summer. This was a charming, flawless movie from start to finish. Not your typical love story. It's about a couple who breakup and and how they got to that point. It's both sad and funny and features Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the two leads. I have to say that besides James Franco, Gordon-Levitt is my favourite actor right now. I even sat through G.I. Joe. The man continues to make interesting film choices. In any case, it may appear a strange choice for #1 but I absolutely loved this film.

2. Fish Tank. Shot in cinema-vérité style, this is a fascinating look at a teenage girl living in the Essex projects who is determined to be a dancer despite various obstancles her way. Gritty, raw and powerful -- this ain't a Hollywood picture. If it were, it would be more along the lines of Precious.

3. A Prophet. I really enjoyed this French prison gangster story. Gripping story until the end. If Hollywood remakes this one, I hope they get Scorsese to give it a The Departed treatment.

4. The White Ribbon. Beautifully shot in black & white, it takes place in a German village just before the start of WW I. Sinister things starts to happen and the village residents begin to turn on each other. Children have rarely been this creepy. As with most Michael Haneke films, don't expect a neatly wrapped ending.

5. The Hurt Locker. A movie about Iraq that finally gets it, although I suppose it could be about any of the recent wars. Smart and suspenseful, it avoids most war movie cliches. Best thing about it was that I didn't find it preachy.

6. The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans. If you are not familiar with Werner Herzog, I suggest you rent his earlier work like Fitzcarraldo, Aguirre, Wrath of God or even Woyzeck, Bad Lieutenant is pure madness and a crazy ride. Nicolas Cage is perfect as the drug abusing cop determined to go about his job at any cost. Give this a look and it would not be a Herzog film if it didn't have dancing iguanas.

7. Inglourious Basterds. Tarantino's best film since Pulp Fiction. A very entertaining alternate history of WW II with several intertwining stories. Christopher Waltz as the Nazi villian Col. Hans Landa deserves a best supporting Oscar. My only complaint is that at times Tarantino's verbose buildups were a tad long, but that is his trademark.

8. Avatar. A very entertaining journey and a feast for the eyes. I recommend everyone see it in 3D at the theatre. I'm not sure how well this experience will hold up in 2D at home. When you take away the special effects, this is still a cliched story with occasionally cheesy dialogue. Despite this, I admire James Cameron for proving all the haterz and critics wrong and making it a box office phenomenon. However, I'd be disappointed in seeing this movie pick up the Oscar statue for Best Picture. My thoughts are best summed up by Roger Ebert: "The Hurt Locker is the year’s best film. Should Avatar snatch that Oscar away, it will be because it grossed zillions of millions, not because it’s better. Avatar is an enormously effective experience, an awesome technical achievement, a universal success, but a great film, it’s not. If it were, we’d still be on the floor of the theater."

9. Mary and Max. Clay-mation genius. I didn't anticipate how great this adult cartoon would be. Hilarious and at times tragic. Overall, this was a very strong year for animation and this gem was just slightly better than Up, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Coraline, and deserves equal exposure.

10. Moon. For the last film on the list I was torn between the sci-fi of Moon and District 9. I was impressed by the low budget of District 9 and how great it looked as well as its allegorical overtones. (Starship Troopers it ain't) But I was more moved by the themes of loneliness and self-discovery in Moon. Closer to the cerebral sci-fi variety of films such as 2001 or Solaris, it was an interesting concept if a little predictable half way. What saved the film was the amazing performance by Sam Rockwell as the sole actor performing against himself.

Runners Up: Polytechnique is hauntingly beautiful and my top Canadian film this year. A Single Man is gorgeously shot and I am not afraid to say that the stunning grainy film stock is like porn to me. An Education is worthy of accolades especially in Carey Mulligan but I felt like I've seen this coming of age story before. The Argentinian film The Secret in the Eyes is a very impressive murder mystery drama with one of those epic Se7en type endings. I would not be surprised if it upstages The White Ribbon and takes the Best Foreign oscar home. A film that kind of slipped through the cracks as it was released early in the year is Two Lovers. It wasn't what I was expecting (but in a good way) and it features an amazingly captured club scene. Yes, great music in movies has a tendency to sway me. And finally, I really enjoyed the South Korean thriller Mother with an astonishing performance by Kim Hye-Ja and it's kind of a travesty that she is not even nominated, but I digress.

The Rest: I had high hopes for The Road but I'm still trying to figure out why it didn't quite work. Some books just don't work as movies I guess. Up in the Air was decent but I couldn't relate to the awesomeness that everyone else was seeing. I felt the same about A Serious Man. Great ending but I just didn't care for the characters in the film. No one to root for. But maybe I missed something. Sherlock Holmes was better than expected thanks to Guy Ritchie and In the Loop had some of the best dialogue this year.

And finally, I would also like to recommend the british Red Riding trilogy. It's three films but I believe they were shot for british TV so technically they don't really fit into this list. But since they left quite an impression on me, I though I'd share. I'm also not ashamed to admit that I had to watch these films with the subtitles on since the northern slang is sometimes too incomprehensible.

Hot Chip "One Life Stand"

Hot Chip released their forth album One Life Stand this month and in my opinion, it is their best work so far. I was unsure about the title single, but it grew on me. The album is pure synth-pop heaven and it reminds me of Cut Copy's In Ghost Colours. Every track on this album is gold; no fillers here. It's going to be one hell of a soundtrack to summer. Hot Chip plays Toronto April 20th at The Sound Academy.

Video Single "One Life Stand"


Top tracks:

Hot Chip - We Have Love
Hot Chip - I Feel Better

Also, Alexis Taylor talks about Susan Boyle's influence on the new album

Essential Foreign Cinema

During the course of my usual web surfing I recently came across The Movie Fanatic's post on 50 Essential Foreign Films 2000-2008. The usual fare of films like Amelie, Das Experiment, The Diving Bell & the Butterfly, and Downfall is featured. But it looks like I missed a few over the years. I'm eager to see This is London, Red Road, Napola and The Counterfeiters which has been taking up space on my harddrive for quite some time. So many movies, so little time.

Discovering the Classics: "The Apartment"

Once in a while, I get hooked on a director and try to ingest everything they create until my eyes can take no more and I move on the next guy/girl. I'll go through phases of auteurs like Tati or Fassbinder but last year it was all about Billy Wilder. Which is strange to me because I never really considered him an auteur but rather a director the Hollywood studios employed to turn out their projects. I re-watched Double Indemnity and then moved onto the classics The Lost Weekend, Stalag 17, the amazing Sunset Boulevard and finally Some Like it Hot. But the one that really stood out for me was The Apartment. I cannot believe that I waited this long to see this gem. It's one of the cutest rom-coms out there and I don't usually like 'romantic' movies. I just wish the studios today who produce the crap out there, paid a little more attention to these older classics. And how adorable is Shirley MacLaine in this flick? I'll spare you the synopsis which you can find on IMDB.
Mad Men alert! From the opening shots of the company office space in The Apartment, you can see where inspiration for the offices of Sterling Cooper came from.

"Close Up and Private"

Let me just start off by saying that I love Menswear. Womenswear, not so much really. I'm just not one of those girls that gets excited over Christian Louboutin pumps or girly clothes. Exceptions such as something like this YSL apply of course. Thankfully, when he's not chilling in a tee and jeans, my better half has a slightly off-beat dandy-ish style and I live vicariously through his bowtie donning on the occasional night out.
Why am I sharing all this, you ask? Well, this leads me to a very interesting photo-blog project by Ukrainian born photographer Sergei Sviatchenko called Close Up & Private. His latest Spring Summer 2010 lookbook came out last month and this time around almost all his photos are up close shots of boys who adhere to the dandy-ish/ivy league style. Most importantly, I love how he also features girls in ties, ascots, bowtie. Don't get me wrong, I love me some chambray shirts and baracuta jackets, but I just adore this oldschool style of herringbone, tweed and oxford shirting on a woman. It's not often I stumble upon websites that feature men's clothes on women so if anyone knows any, shoot some blogs my way.

Check out an interview with Sergei Sviatchenko in Components of Enthusiasm.

autumn-winter 2009 lookbook

Photos below from Close Up & Private. See the website for a lot more...

Little Red Riding Hood re-imagined

Slagsmålsklubben - Sponsored by destiny from Tomas Nilsson on Vimeo.

Growing up in Commie Poland, I have fond memories of staying up late reading into the night. Maybe because of it's sinister plot, I always loved the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Here is a very cool animated re-interpretation by Tomas Nilsson. The song is 'Sponsored by Destiny' by swedish band Slagsmålsklubben. I usually go mental at about 0:47. Crank it.

A bike trip out of town

One of the drawbacks of living downtown-ish and not owning a car, is not having the opportunity to just jump in the car and hit the open road. So when GO Transit expanded it's train route from Toronto and added a Niagara Falls stop on weekends and holidays last summer, my better half and I jumped at the chance to get out of the city for a few day trips with some friends. We would bike down to Union Station and take the 9:30am train, place our bikes in one of the train cabs and take in the sights through the window. The train was never too crowded. Once arriving at the Niagara Falls train stop, we simply hopped on the bikes and rode the 25 km trail north along the Niagara River to the quaintness that is Niagara-On-The-Lake. This trail is in the opposite direction of the Falls, which I'd seen enough times and it simply doesn't have the same effect on me as it does on the tourists.
The best part about the trip is the series of wineries along the trail. Our pattern involved riding for about an hour and then once reaching the wineries area, stopping every 20 minutes for a glass of vino and then continuing on. On our route we stopped by Riverview Cellars, Inniskillin, and Reif Estate. The town has other big wineries such as Jackson-Triggs, Stratus and Peller. Further west, past St.Catherines you have Tawse, Hillebrand, Cave Springs and countless other smaller estates equally as good, but unfortunately it is just too out of the way by bike. On the first trip, we simply sampled too much wine and almost resulted in missing the train on the way back, because we had to race for about 2 hours against the wind direction. So I advise against hitting the bottle too early in the trip. I'm not a daily bike commuter, infact I was afraid the hills might prove too much for me, but the trail is pretty even and my 3-speed cruiser performed just fine. The air is fresh and the greenery very pretty to take in, not to mention the gorgeous houses with their pristinely sculpted lawns. Also, the folks here love to take their fancy cars out and often, beautiful vintage convertibles passed us by. At one point we took a break and walked around the Butterfly Conservatory. These are not shy insects.