Actors are the most instantly recognizable part of any movie. They are the ones that appear on the poster. They are the ones that are talked about the most when the movie comes out. They are the ones that people focus on most come awards season. A movie can live or die on their performances. The best actors can elevate a product to heavenly heights. The worst can sink a movie like it was the Titanic. 2010 had plenty of bad, even terrible performances, from lame action heroes, to lifeless muses, all capped off with one of the worst performances by a child actor ever. But, I'm not here to talk about that. That's no fun. We need some catharsis in this time of change. I know. It's difficult. Cheer up, damn it! So, with the intention of lifting your spirits, here are the MVP actors of the year. Seriously! Cheer up!
Before we go on, I want to address some people who don't make the short list, but are just as worthy of recognition. Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network). Armie Hammer (The Social Network). Vincent Cassel (Black Swan). Richard Jenkins (Let Me In). Jeff Bridges (True Grit). Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit). Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter). Allison Pill (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World). Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech). Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are All Right, Shutter Island). Mia Wasikowska (The Kids Are All Right). Emma Watson (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1). Kristin Stewart (The Runaways).
Movie soundtracks are awesome, aren't they? They usually do a lot to heighten and intensify the experience of watching a film, and, as a plus, you can take them with you wherever you go, thanks to Apple and their ever present desire to conquer the world! 2010 had some winner soundtracks, and some that just fell flat, and some that didn't stand out or bring anything new to the table at all. The best soundtracks, however, were spectacular. More than any other year, to my recollection, we had popular artists moving over to scoring films, and it paid off wonderfully. Here are the Top 5 Best Soundtracks/Scores of 2010!
5. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Beck and Others)
Gonna be honest here, any other soundtrack could have found a place at number five. The top four really spoke to me, but I was left out in the rain searching for a fifth. I eventually settled on SPVTW, which boasts songs written for the film from the likes of Beck, Broken Social Scene and Metric. That's all well and good, but what seals the deal is that this movie is the only one to my knowledge to have the theme song from The Legend of Zelda in it. That's hard to beat.
4. Black Swan (Clint Mansell)
WHAT? IT'S NOT ELIGIBLE FOR BEST ORIGINAL SCORE CONTENTION? BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!! No, really. I'm steamed about that. Though it is based on the actual music of Swan Lake - and it makes sense that it would be - Mansell's score is a truly original piece of work. Beautiful and haunting, it really evokes the craziness and madness that Nina is experiencing. Plus, listening to classical music while someone freaks the hell out is just creepy as balls! That's gotta count for something.
3. Inception (Hans Zimmer)
A traditional-esque score needed to show up on this list at some point, and there was no traditional-esque score this year better than Hans Zimmer's amazing score for Inception. Taking everything he did well with The Dark Knight, and then turning it to 11, Zimmer has crafted a score that is exciting to listen to, giving off a very epic feel, while still feeling shockingly intimate and subdued. Oh, and he has Johnny Marr on guitar. What's not to like?
2. The Social Network (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross)
This is something really special. Trent Reznor has made some weird music in his time, and, I gotta admit, a lot of it doesn't really appeal to me; I'm not the world's biggest Nine Inch Nails fan. But, I have to say, what Reznor does with Atticus Ross for David Fincher's film is brilliant. When listening to it out of context, you can't fathom how it will fit with Mark Zuckerberg's tale of the founding of Facebook. When paired with the movie though, it fits seamlessly! Evoking such scores as The Dark Knight and Fincher's own Se7en, the music of The Social Network makes the rest of the movie seem a whole hell of a lot grimmer than it actually is. Which is the way it should have been done! Good job Trent!
1. Tron: Legacy (Daft Punk)
Now, this is perfect! Just perfect! Daft Punk's brilliant score for Tron: Legacy not only fits the film like a well worn glove, but it is also the only soundtrack this year that can be listened to outside of the film and still be a complete experience. Mixing traditional, symphonic scoring with their trademark electronic beats and mixes, Daft Punk have crafted a score that's unlike any I've heard. It's truly marvelous!
Well, that does it with the superficial stuff. Now we get into the real meat of The Retrospect. Tune in tomorrow for MVPs of the Year (Actors). It's gonna be lovely! See you then little ones. Get some sleep.
At every movie you go to, there's that one moment that sticks in your mind as you walk out of the theatre. You know, that one scene that just wowed you with whatever excellence it was displaying? You know what I'm talking about. Picking the Top 5 Scenes of a year is always a hard task, since there are so many to choose from. But, I persevered for you like the savior I've deluded myself into thinking I am. Here are the Top 5 Scenes of 2010! (Warning: Possible Spoilers)
5. "Rub the furry wall!!" (Get Him to the Greek)
Easily the funniest sequence of any film this year, this ten-ish minute scene comes right at the beginning of Act 3. Sergio has cornered Aldous and Aaron at some elaborate hotel in Vegas. He proceeds to "mind-fuck" them into oblivion so that they continue on their journey to the Greek Theatre. What follows is a chaotic stew of gunfire, arson, sodomy, adrenaline rushes, all capped off with a mad chase through the hotel hall ways. Funny stuff!
Audio's a little funky on this one...
4. Nina's Freakout (Black Swan)
The punchline before the punchline, if you will. The night before her big opening, Natalie Portman's Nina finally loses any remaining sanity that she had. Starting with a crazed hallucination of a woman stabbing herself in the face, Nina descends into a crazed freakout, seeing pictures move, hallucinating that people are following her, and, to top it off, imagining that she painfully morphs into a massive swan in her room. It's terrifying and memorable scene.
Can't find a clip of it, so here's the trailer, which will suffice.
3. The Lightcycle Battle (Tron: Legacy)
The action scene that gives most other action scenes a run for their money. Though it comes early on in the film, it sets the bar high, and is not topped for the rest of the runtime, despite the fact that everything that comes after it is visually astounding. Once Sam is outed to the world as a user, CLU throws him into the Lightcycle ring, forcing him to engage in heated combat against programs far more powerful than him. It's a beautifully made scene, exciting, with an aesthetic touch unlike anything out there.
Quality on this one's not the best...
2. The Creation of Facemash (The Social Network)
We've all been dumped, I'm sure. It's never a good feeling. We usually retreat to our respective fortresses of solitude, wallow in self pity, until someone comes along an slaps us in the face and tells us to get a grip. Well, most everyone does that. Mark Zuckerberg, on the other hand, goes back to his dorm room, gets drunk, and proceeds to build a website rating the hotness of his female classmates. He'll narrate for us, showing off how much of a hacking genius he is, while many of the girls he is rating are off partying up a storm. Oh, and it'll be set to a song written by Trent Reznor, and it will be one of the most enthralling scenes of the year.
Can't find the actual scene, but this one's pretty cool...
1. The Hamster Wheel Hallway (Inception)
Well, duh! It's the most exciting sequence of the most exciting movie of the year. Cobb and the rest have entered the third level of the dream, leaving Arthur on the second to guard them. Unfortunately, Yusuf's driving on the first level is making this difficult. Yusuf is suddenly forced down a hill, causing the van to tumble wildly. Since the environments of each dream level are effected by the preceding level, this causes the hallways on the second level to suddenly start spinning. Arthur enters into a heated fistfight with a projection in the middle of all this. Pure! Amazing! Awesomeness!
Ignore Jimmy. He's not welcome...
I'm enjoying these. Aren't you? Tune in tomorrow for the Top 5 Soundtracks/Scores of 2010, and be sure to refresh yourself on all the Black Hole's opinions regarding the year that was with 2010: The Retrospect. See you tomorrow younglings. Listen to Yoda.
Day 3 of 2010: The Retrospect is gonna focus on the most popular part of a film's advertising, the trailer. It's the thing that gets people most excited about upcoming movies, and the aspect of a films production that many film bloggers avoid like it's the plague... or Battlefield Earth. People like going into movies blind, and they have every right to. I, on the other hand, love trailers. Not only do they lovingly tease me with what I'm going to experience, but they also help me decide whether or not I should go see a film. You didn't see a review of Burlesque from me, did you? Maybe its lame trailer had something to do with that. There have been some amazing trailers this year, but only five can make the cut. Sit back. Enjoy.
5. Tron: Legacy (Comic-Con Footage)
It's not an official trailer, doesn't delve into plot at all, and doesn't reveal anyone involved with the film with the exception of Jeff Bridges. But, that's all technicalities. Even though it wasn't played in theaters, this is the one that got me über excited to see the return of Flynn and all that it would bring. It may be cheating, putting Comic-Con footage on my list of best trailers of the year, but, since when have I played by the rules. Got a problem with it? Talk to the caribou outside. He's wise.
4. The Tourist
So, apparently, the movie actually sucked. Well, that's a shame, because this trailer kicks ass. It's kind of awesome, looks cool, and all that, but you all know why I love it. It's the Muse track that's playing in the background. Oh, advertisers. You have a key to my heart, and I love you so! It's a weird thing though. The last film to have a Muse song in its trailer was disappointing as well, despite having talented people working on it. LE GASP!!! Maybe Muse is cursed... Oh, whatever. Here's the trailer.
3. Inception
Oh, please. What did you expect? The most exciting action movie of the year. Of course the trailer would show up on this list. The music is epic! The imagery is epic! It beautifully tickles you with plot elements and character motivation, while still keeping most everything a mystery. For an example of quality advertisement for a pop product, look no further than this.
2. The Social Network (IM Trailer)
This one inches past the competition because of its totally bitchin' idea. No characters are shown. No scenes from the film are shown. Just dialogue, shown via a Facebook chat. That's brilliant. It got me excited for the film, and adequately showed how friggin' boss the dialogue of the film was.
1. Sucker Punch
I could tell you, but why would I do that, when I could show you?
Hope you enjoyed that. Tune in tomorrow for Top 5 Best Scenes of 2010, and be sure to refresh yourself on everything that 2010 had to offer with the Black Hole's 2010: The Retrospect. See you tomorrow kids. Eat your vegetables.
In which Dylan, James, and I shoot the shit on Tron: Legacy, talk Kevin Smith's new film, and play some Remember the Time. It was a lot fun being on the cast again, and can't wait to do it for real again come summer. Take a gander.
Day 2 of 2010: The Retrospect. Today, we're going to look at what 2010 had to offer us in cinematic still images (how's that for oxymoron?). That's right. That crucial, but short lived, act of advertisement, the poster. 2010 had some winner posters, some awesome (Black Swan), some not so much (The King's Speech). These are the creme de la creme of 2010 posters.
5. Let Me In
Brilliantly evoking the dark and scary atmosphere of Matt Reeves' brilliant film, this poster is quite a sight to behold. Very moody, it's sparse use of color is really striking. The image of Abby lying in a pool of blood is terrifying. Look closer, and see how sad she looks, and it becomes almost heart wrenching, like the movie. Normally, I'd say it overdoes it on the black, but since the image of Abby is that much clearer because of it, I'd say an overabundance of black is a good thing. Plus it just looks sick!
4. Get Him to the Greek
Fine, the movie may not hold up all that well, but this poster is still hilarious! Effectively capturing the insanity of the movie, it's also just a funny thing to look at. Russell Brand is all kinds of crazy and depraved, throwing up those horns as Dio were on the other side of the picture and he wanted to impress him. Jonah Hill's terrified and confused expression is the perfect counterpart to this. All in all a hilarious poster for a pretty funny movie.
3. Buried
Didn't see the movie. Yeah, I know, you can't believe. How could I reference a movie in my 2010 retrospective without seeing it. Well, I have seen the poster, so, put a sock in it! Evoking a Hitchcockian motif, this is a very haunting and off-beat poster, effectively capturing the claustrophobia and abject terror of the scenario into which Ryan Reynolds' character is thrown. Now, I've heard that the film wasn't all that. Oh well. At least the poster was pretty effin' boss!
2. Predators
Now that's awesome! Who knew something as simple as a solitary Predator standing with its wrist blade extended could so brilliantly set up a balls to the wall action movie. The minimalist use of color sets up the grim world and tone of the film very well, while the viciousness of the monster's blade and his stance alludes to something far more brutal. The fact that we only see have of the creature gives off a sense of ambiguity. We ain't never seen Predators like this before. What else is gonna be new? This is a poster I would be proud to have hanging in my room.
1. Inception
This is a poster I have hanging in my room. This was, quite simply, the best example of one sheet advertisement to come out this year. Not only is it an artistic achievement in its own right, it expertly sets the tone and feel of Nolan's film. This poster is positively sick! I mean, come on! How can you not look at the picture and walk away impressed? Nolan's film is a mind trip. This poster is a mind trip. In a year full of hundreds of one sheets, this is the one that best fit the film it was attached to. That and, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is holding a really big gun. What's not to like?
Well, that was fun. Tune in tomorrow for Top 5 Best Trailers of 2010. Cya tomorrow children. Don't drive without the lights on.
I'm kicking off my ten day retrospective of 2010 with a fun one.
Line delivery is one of the oft-ignored aspects of a performance. A script can suck hard, but a talented actor can hide that fact with great line delivery. Day one of 2010: The Retrospect focuses on just that. Here are the Top 5 Best Lines of 2010 as decided by me and my committee of one from the black hole!
5. "Gator needs his gat, you punk ass bitch!" (Will Ferrel from The Other Guys)
Sure, The Other Guys wasn't that great, but there were some winner lines in it, the best of which is delivered by star Will Ferrell. After having his gun confiscated for performing a "desk pop", Ferrell's Allen Gamble walks around for the entire film carrying a wooden pistol, and then loses that in favor of a rape whistle. Eventually, he's had enough, and, once he's found enough evidence on the huge case he's been working on, he storms into his captain's office, slams his whistle down on the table and... well, you know!
4. "Dating you is like dating a stairmaster!" (Rooney Mara from The Social Network) In a film that prided itself on stinging dialogue, this line, delivered by Rooney Mara's Erica Albright in the opening moments of the film stung the most! It's a brilliant line, in and of itself, and Mara delivers it beautifully. It really set the bar high, and the film spent a lot time trying to match it. I can't find the actual clip, but here's a segment from the same scene, that adequately shows off her awesome timing!
3. "Not that I care, but you should go talk to her before she's gone. And I really don't care." (Allison Pill from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World)
Allison Pill's Kim Pine is the master of the deadpan. There were so many good moments from SPVTW that showed off her fantastic timing, that I was hard pressed to pick just one. This one is interchangable with any of her lines from the film, but, this one is the best!
2. "Ok you c**ts. Let's see what you can do!" (Chloe Moretz from Kick-Ass)
Ordinarily, a line like this wouldn't cause more than a smirk from me. But, a line like this isn't usually said by an 13 year old girl. In a year where Chloe Moretz surpassed pretty much everyone, her vulgar and depraved performance as a miniature death dispenser made a lot of people take notice. Like I said, it's not every day you hear a minor use language such as that.
1. "Machete don't text!" (Danny Trejo from Machete)
Nuff'' said.
I hope you enjoyed that. There's still plenty more to come. Tune in tomorrow for Top 5 Best Posters, and be sure to come back all week for more of 2010: The Retrospect. See ya then, kids. Always drink your Ovaltine.
