Films of 2011 Part 2: 90-81

Well now that I'm in full countdown mode, I imagine very little introduction is required. So I shall simply kick on with the next block of ten. Eh?

90. Hud (1963, Martin Ritt)

Ah, Paul Newman. He makes men's clothes fall off just by looking at them. Which is why this film was quite a pleasant surprise, to find him playing a troubled, reckless and potentially irredeemable youth stuck in a small town that doesn't want him. The main trouble I had with this film is, firstly, I have such trouble detaching myself from Paul Newman's charm that I can't fully suspend disbelief when he's in this character. Secondly, it was a little bit slow in the middle. Aside from that it's worth checking out for his performance.

#89. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004, Wes Anderson)

I am quite a fan of Wes Anderson, and while this particular less-acclaimed of his works was a bit over-ambitious and befuddled at times, it remains a good romp. I think by this stage I've seen enough of Bill Murray doing depressed and middle-aged, but solid support comes from Cate Blanchett and the great Anjelica Huston (who will crop up again later in this post I'm sure). There are some very funny Wes Anderson-esque lines ("Don't shoot him. He's an unpaid intern") and a fast-enough pace to carry this over the line. Nevertheless, I was actually a bit surprised this wasn't lower on the list.

#88. Animal Kingdom (2010, David Michôd)

It was a big surprise to me to hear that a small-budget Australian film was doing the box office rounds in the US earlier this year, with Jackie Weaver subsequently receiving an Oscar nod. However, knowing the success of the Underbelly series, it seems that we Aussies do gritty crime pretty well. And this was no exception. A subdued wash over the film gives it an air of simmering tension, and while the muted performance of James Frecheville seemed a bit alienating at first, the whole thing gets a big pay-off in the end. It's hard to talk about why this film is good without spoilers but all I can say is it's worth sticking it out if you're bored at any time.

#87. Out of Sight (1998, Steven Soderbergh)

Okay, this is the first of the films I watched purely on the recommendation of Filmspotting which has a love affair with Soderbergh and puts this film in their 'pantheon' with such classics as Citizen Kane and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Why? Well, I'm still not sure. This is a fun crime heist with a surprisingly good chemistry between Clooney and Lopez, but even with the Don Cheadle factor thrown in, it's still just a fun crime heist. It's entertaining, at least.

#86. The Fighter (2010, David O Russell)

Okay, I really wanted to hate this film. It's an Irish Raging Bull. Or, really, it's every 'poor kid grows up in the wrong environment yet still makes good' film since, I don't know, Rocky? I'm sure even further back than that. Trouble is, you put David O Russell at the helm and throw in Christian Bale, Amy Adams and a wonderful Melissa Leo and not even Mark Wahlberg himself as the lead and foil can ruin it. There's ultimately nothing particularly innovative about this and I'm kind of disappointed that this was Russell's latest choice for a film, but it's a good, reliable boxing movie.

#85. Scarface (1983, Brian De Palma)

This is obviously one of the films I really needed to catch up with, this late in life. I mean, I've already missed the stage of my early 20s where you can run around yelling "Say hello to my little friend" and for it still to be cute. If I can mislead you down the garden path for a second, this film was everything I expected it to be. Which is to say, it was alright. I found Tony Montana to be vile enough that I stopped caring what happened to him about halfway through the film (even before you're meant to) and when you've got half of a three-hour film to get through without caring, it will end up as #85 on your list. A lot of people have this at the top of their 'all-time favourites' list.

#84. The Battle of Algiers (La Battaglia di Algeri, 1966, Gillo Pontecorvo)

Part of my top 250 catch-up, this down and dirty look at the events leading up to the Algerian push for independence from France manages to be both tense and epic at the same time. We're not given much of an insight into character as it's told more as a sequence of vignettes about freedom fighters/terrorists (depending which side of the Mediterranean you're on) doing what they do - namely blowing shit up. It didn't excite me as much as it could have, which is why it's as low down as it is, but intrinsically it's excellently put together and definitely worth a look.

#83. Devdas (2002, Sanjay Leela Bhansali)

One of two Bollywood films I caught on SBS2 this year, this seemed at first to be going in conventional romantic love-story directions before alcoholism, marital abuse and prostitutes starting being blended in (also, is there always a prostitute? What's with that?). This film is quite insultingly long, but I appreciated the grand scale of it and it definitely had me mostly gripped throughout. Plus, Bollywood music and dancing is just joyous, isn't it? Can I get an amen on that?

*Crickets*

#82. Mansfield Park (1999, Patricia Rozema)

Now, I'm preparing to check my testicles at the door when I admit that I can be partial to a well-told Austen story. And while this film adaptation of 'the comedy Jane Austen loved best' would have benefited from having a Colin Firth in it (ideally the Colin Firth), it was cute and mostly fuzzy, adeptly capturing the mood of the age, and the casting and performances were pretty much great across the board. Can I just say as well in its defence, who wouldn't love a story about a poor girl trying to marry her cousin?

*Crickets*

#81. 50/50 (2011, Jonathan Levine)

So I know this film hasn't made it into Australian theatres yet (Whoo for totally legitimate online streaming sources) so I'll try not to spoil it too much *cough The Butler did it cough*. While this is undoubtedly a charming pathos-filled comedy, it fell down a bit for me by the fact that it was so aware of itself as a charming pathos-filled comedy. Gordon-Levitt plays the young man who is diagnosed with a rare form of spinal cancer, and his performance is deliberately muted throughout as he tries to deal with the news. My favourite part here was - as with Steve Zissou - the wonderful Anjelica Huston as his mother, while I didn't wholly care for Seth Rogen as his best mate. He's just playing Seth Rogen, but to be honest the bro-chemistry (bromistry?) didn't quite mesh for me.

So that's the second chunk done. I hope you all have a very enjoyable Christmas Eve and I will be back with a surprise present for you all tomorrow (hint: it's #80-71).