-Thor-
Is it perfect? No, but I still find this movie so damned charming. "Charming" seems like a strange word to use when describing a Nordic-inspired yarn about a lunkheaded alien prince (Chris Hemsworth) who gets exiled to Earth courtesy of his jealous, snotty brother, falls for an adorable astrophysicist (Natalie Portman) and finally learns how to grow up while simultaneously pounding the crap out of a fire-breathing alien robot. Silly, right? This should have sucked eggs, but it works. It successfully widens the scope of the Marvel Universe in a way that no previous film has before it, all while indulging in grand theatricality (thanks to the Shakespearean background of director Kenneth Branagh) and laced with witty humor (from uncredited rewrites by Joss Whedon). And the cast! Did I mention charming? Everyone, from the great star-making performance by Hemsworth, to all of the supporting characters (Odin, Dr. Selvig, Darcy, Agent Coulson, Heimdall, Xena, Jackie Chan, Robin Hood, etc), to the dastardly villains, to Stan Lee, all are imbued with a sense of fun and earnestness which Marvel certainly does better than DC and all of their forced attempts at dark grittiness. While "Spider-Man 2" or the original "Iron Man" may be the most well made movies in the Marvel library, "Thor" was the one I've popped into my Blu-Ray player most often. Until "The Avengers" came along, that is.
-The Debt-
2011 brought us a couple of great spy tales. While "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" provided the recommended daily allowance of popcorn, movies like "The Debt" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" gave us more subdued, realistic, dramatic thrills. I dug "Tinker", but prefer "The Debt". And not just because Jessica Chastain is in it - it's all good. It's the story of three Israeli spies who infiltrate East Berlin on a mission to extract a Nazi war criminal who's now posing as a normal, everyday gynecologist. Of course, things go terribly wrong. The story unfolds in parallel timelines - as the mission is happening in the 1960's, where the young agents are played by Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington and Marton Csokas, and over 30 years later, with the characters now portrayed by Helen Mirren, Ciaran Hinds and Tom Wilkinson. The entire cast is excellent, but I have to give kudos to Jesper Christensen as the Nazi doctor. He's easily one of the best villains of 2011 - he's a detestable character, yet still very much a human being - and that's frightening. Director John Madden has a tight grip on the reins and knows how wring every ounce of suspense from each situation, and also how to orchestrate powerful moments of drama without pouring on the sap. This little tale of truth, and the costs we incur by denying it, is well worth anyone's time.
-Battle: Los Angeles-
Sure, it's chock full of both war movie and alien invasion movie cliches, but I've watched this one too many times to disregard its inclusion on my list. I make no excuses, I love this movie. Then the summer of 2012 came along and the good qualities of "Battle: Los Angeles" were thrown even further into sharp relief. Why, you ask? A stinking turd named "Battleship". It's the same damn movie, only it's bad. Both are about water-obsessed aliens invading Earth. Both feature protagonists in the military (Marines in "B:LA" and Navy in "BS"). Both films nobly set out to honor our veteran soldiers. And both are riddled with cliches. It's "B:LA", however, which wins on all battlefronts. Better special effects, better actions sequences, better musical score (Brian Tyler rules), better acting (Aaron Eckhart is great, even when spouting awkward dialogue), more involving drama (if you can overlook the cliches), and weirder, cooler aliens foes. There's only one thing "Battleship" does better - it features a kick-ass supporting role played by real Iraq war veteran and double amputee Greg Gadson. Frankly, the movie should have centered around him. Instead, he's pushed off to the side and we're stuck with those other boring bozos. "B:LA" has some real veterans in its cast too, and is a better ride. Even if it does seem a little too familiar.
-Hugo-
This was not what I expected when I first saw it in theaters. I was merely expecting to see was a kids-oriented movie directed by Martin Scorcese. While the movie can certainly be viewed by tykes, what I ultimately got was a tribute to fantasy films of the silent era with a special emphasis on the works of George Melies. If you haven't noticed by now, I'm a film lover. In particular, I enjoy films in the science fiction, fantasy and horror vein - you know, the stuff of dreams. In college I studied film history and focused much of my attention on the life of film pioneer Melies. He was, arguably, the first and most influential fantasy filmmaker of all time and I found his story to be fascinating and quite inspiring. Cut to the holiday movie season of 2011: I'm nearly halfway through my first theatrical viewing of "Hugo". Throughout the movie, some nagging, nebulous thought kept nibbling at the memory core of my brain - certain details in this movie seemed familiar to me. . . then came the scene where the automaton drew the picture of the rocket hitting the eye of the man on the moon, and everything clicked into place. Melies! For the rest of the movie, Scorcese and I were on the same page sharing the same passion for the same works of art, celebrating together the life of a master filmmaker and bringing his tale to light for those unfamiliar with the man and his legacy. Simpatico, baby. And that's why "Hugo" is one of my favorite movies of 2011.
-I Saw the Devil-
Okay, here's a movie that I have trouble sitting through. Is it a bad movie? Hell no. It's a movie by South Korean master craftsman Kim Jee-Woon, whose previous flick "The Good, the Bad, the Weird", an action-packed comedic Western, made it onto my 2010 list. He makes good, quality cinema. It's just that this particular one is so dang disturbing. So why have I watched it so often, you ask? Because some horror movie fans have become jaded and feel that the scary stuff of today has lost all of its power and can no longer frighten them - this is the movie I bring out to wipe those smarmy little grins off of their faces. The plot is one we've seen many, many times before - a cop's wife is murdered by a serial killer, so the cop goes rogue and hunts the guy down, intent on making the killer feel the pain his victims felt before they died. Lee Byung-Hun turns in another fantastic performance as the cop, and Choi Min-Sik is the killer. In a brilliant move, Choi plays the killer as completely evil without any redeeming human qualities. Still, by the end, you start to feel a bit for this guy and what he's going through, and that's really saying something! It's got jump scares, suspense, gross-outs, and deeply, deeply disturbing bad behavior. On the other hand, it's finely crafted, beautifully photographed, and not without its moments of wicked dark humor (like when the killer hides out with his friend, who happens to be a cannibal). Watch if you dare, but prepare to be disturbed.
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