A movie that showed Hollywood it’s still possible to ‘make em like they used to’. And of course it took a pair of wiseass, cinephilic, (former)-enfant-terribles to do it and not some steady-pair-of-hands studio man. The Western is a fascinating genre in that we can see it’s life played out across the decades from birth, the establishment of ground rules with Stagecoach in 1939, the form perfected by Ford and Hawkes in the 40s and 50s, torn apart by Leone and Peckinpah in the 60s and then it’s carcass picked over solemnly by Robert Altman and various other revisionists over the years including Eastwood himself on the other side of the lens.
So whilst every now and then you get someone still trying to make that post-Western Western that’s been done to death, actually the Coens are smart enough to know the best place to go is back to the heyday. This film is played right by the rulebook of the Golden Age but with the Coens trademark acerbic wit to make it all feel just modern enough. The fact this did such solid box office must have meant at least one memo got passed round the studios saying ‘Maybe we don’t need another Eddie Murphy movie. Why don’t we try something good?’.
9. Black Swan
This is the first Aronofsky film I’ve actually enjoyed. It being a mash-up of two faves of mine, Repulsion and The Red Shoes sure helps. Felt like a hint of Suspiria was lurking in the DNA too. Plus there’s the basic joy of seeing Mila Kunis go down on Natalie Portman. I mean, if you can’t appreciate that on at least some level, then really why the fuck do you go to the movies? I also loved going to a completely packed-out cinema to see a movie about BALLET.
I still get the feeling that Aronofsky doesn’t make movies as clever as he thinks they are, this feels like middle-brow pop-art being elevated to high art status merely by dint of the excrement surrounding it at the multiplex. And did we need another movie where EVERY female character was batshit nuts and the lone male character was super awesome and in control and all knowing and hey lets fuck? Um, this was meant to be a positive critique of the film. Well, let’s just say I did like it but with major caveats.
10. Monsters – I liked this maybe more for what it’s not than for what it is. The posters suggest a Cloverfield style action packed creature feature but what you get is actually a pretty subtle and low-key romantic drama with aliens as a mere backdrop. But there presence is always felt lingering over the picture, creating an uneasy, brooding atmosphere complimented by the incredible natural light photography in Mexico.
9. The Headless Woman – One critic called it ‘Haneke lite’ which is kinda true but also a little unfair as the film has a very unique air of yellowed unease, each scene dripping with musty, dusty dissonance. Its a vague mystery about whether a wealthy woman in Argentina ran over a poor child or not and it refuses to provide any clear answers to the questions it throws up. (Boy, Im really selling it to you, right?)
8. Dogtooth – I like movies about dysfunctional family units and this is one of the most bizarre I’ve seen. A factory owner, aided by his dutiful wife, keeps his three 20 year old ‘children’ housebound and hidden from the world, telling them all manner of strange stories to keep them from going outside. Its a film full of games and rituals and makes us question the ones we find in our own lives and also who we rely on for ‘truth’.
7. Inception – I pretty much agree with all the complaints made about this film – that its full of leaden exposition, that it is the most un-dreamlike film about dreams ever made, that it has many action movie cliches etc. But much like The Dark Knight, I cant help but admire it as a big fat summer entertainment that cost $200 million and is still well made, gripping and thoughtful. I think Nolan is incapable of making an emotional impact but he does construct good Rubiks cube movies.
6. Never Let Me Go – I feel like I need to see this again as I watched it on an airplane, so some of the problems I felt the film had may well disappear on viewing it properly. But despite my misgivings over the pace, structure and credibility, I still found this to be a haunting and moving film that made me think and yes, cry! Its one of those where the less you know about it the better it will be so I’ll just say that Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield show here exactly why they are two of the most sought after actors around. But the very last line of the picture kinda killed the vibe for me, being too on the nose and making sure even the people in the backrow ‘get it’.
5. Somewhere - I usually balk at a film with no plot but this is one of those movies where you just enjoy hanging out with the characters and soaking up their lives. As another depiction of a lonely and lost movie star living in a hotel netherworld, this is no new ground for Sofia Coppola but it manages to be a worthy sunkissed companion piece to Lost in Translation.
4. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World – A film with ‘cult folly’ written all over it and almost impossible to sell to mainstream audiences, much like Grindhouse, I think this should have been made for half the budget and used lo-fi special fx instead of top-of-the-line CGI. Especially as the most appealing aspects of this film are the wonderful cast and the razor sharp script. Its also incredible to think that its taken some 20 years of computer game inspired movies before someone made one that actually did what computer games do – give you one ups and bonus levels and make your enemies explode into coins.
3. Enter The Void – Ive already written about this here so I’ll just say this is the most fascinating and boring, original and inept ‘film’ I’ve seen in a long time.
2. A Prophet – The best gangster film since Goodfellas and the best prison film since, what – Midnight Express? If a film requires it’s main character to appear in every single scene, the choice in casting that role is of utmost importance and one that must be nerve-wracking to make. Here the choice of the previously unknown Tahar Rahim proves practically miraculous as he holds your attention and sympathy for the whole 3 hours.
1. The Social Network – The prospect of a film about Facebook filled me with some apprehension. But thankfully this is as much about Facebook as There Will Be Blood was about oil. And like that film what lies at its heart is an examination of the kind of men that prosper in the goldrush of an age and how ambition and desire so easily turn to greed and betrayal. The two films also succinctly highlight the disparity across 100 years of America – how the physical and tangible reality of the oil field has now made way for the ephemeral digital world. The Social Network seems important to me in capturing the zeitgeist, not just in terms of the digitalisation of social life but of the kind of person that makes such a thing possible – todays saviour is a socially crippled, desperately awkward nerd. That such a lamentable chap is responsible for a global phenomenon designed to find and interact with friends is the ironic charge fueling the whole film.
And the trailer for the film is one of the best of the year too…
1. Secret Agent – Netsky – Hospital (Like your fave game on the Commodore 64 jamming whilst it’s loading.)
2. Climax – Camo & Krooked – Hospital (Holy shit, I’m at the Berlin Love Parade!)
3. Fearful Symmetry – High Contrast – Hospital (You know that thing I opened up with at Matter that was like 90% done? Well now it’s 95% done hah! But at least it now has a name.)
4. You Do Scribble – Underworld & High Contrast – ? (What more can I say?)
5. Penamana - Taxman & Original Sin – Ganja (Savage halfstep jungle biz. Hilarious track name!)
6. New Technique – Nu:Tone & Logistics – Hospital (‘Sounds like 1993 to me.’ That was one of my old MCing lyrics. Peyow!)
7. Stronger - Sigma – BBK (They’re back with a stormer.)
8. Life & Music – ASMA – ? (Cool thing Roni Size sent me, an orchestral stomper.)
9. Tomorrow Like Today – S.P.Y. & Illskillz – ? (Heavy bassline groover with stepping breaks. No, really. I haven’t just inserted random buzzwords like on a promo sheet.)
10. Badred / Surprise – Culture Shock – Ram (Both sides of this 12″ deliver the goods. Really think it should be called Surprise Surprise for extra win.)
After much deliberation, here’s my favourite flicks of oh nine. It’s a bizarre mix of kids films and gut-punchers; arthouse and mainstream. Full contrast ahead.
10. The Hurt Locker
Too much shaky cam but still pulls off many a tense set piece of bomb disposal and the whole thing just feels hella authentic. Review here.
9. Where The Wild Things Are
The best movie without a plot all year. Jonze and Eggars have perfectly adapted a ten page childrens book into a feature length film without artificially adding some quest for treasure or some capitalist baddie who wants to knock down the hero’s neighbourhood. They’ve miraculously managed to just enlarge the essence of what was originally there, like some fractal experiment. And created their own individual work at the same time, something Watchmen perhaps should have strived for.
There’s so many hot tracks around right now I feel compelled to make a top ten to name check the good chaps behind the music.
1. Full Circle – Bloke4d : A new duo that have a bunch of great tunes, most quite techy but this one is just pure emotional dnb. When I heard it I got straight on to the Hospital head honchos and hopefully this will come out on the NHS.
