454. We Need to Talk About Kevin

Dir. Lynne Ramsay

The mother of a teenage boy who committed a terrible crime tries to deal with her grief – and feelings of responsibility for her child’s actions.

MY TAKE

Just talking about the premise of We Need to Talk About Kevin might be a spoiler. Few films withhold information for so long, and still manage to keep you unwaveringly interested. Writer and director Lynne Ramsay has absolute control of her subject matter, while Tilda Swinton delivers an uncompromisingly complex performance of a mother struggling to love her despondent, manipulative and ultimately rotten son. All three actors who portray Kevin through the years are impeccably cast and pull off the rare trick of never breaking the verisimilitude of an aging character.  The cinematography, sound design and art direction are also wildly effective, always striking the perfect balance of being both chilling and beautiful.

351. Sleeping Beauty

Dir. Julia Leigh

A young university student sell herself into a mysterious hidden world of unspoken desires.

MY TAKE

Sleeping Beauty by first-time writer/director Julia Leigh is the very un-Disney-like story of a carefree girl who prostitutes herself out in unusual ways. First as a lab rat, and later as an unconscious sex toy for rich men, Emily Browning’s striking doll-like features seem to be enough reason for every person she meets to treat her like an object. The film is art directed to perfection, but that same plastic-wrapped detachment to character and story results in sometimes brutally pristine images that don’t leave a mark. What begins like Eyes Wide Shut and the purports to enter The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo territory is cut short before it’s able to make a larger point or transform any of it’s characters.

304. 50/50

Dir. Jonathan Levine

A  a 27-year-old learns he has cancer and struggles to beat the disease.

MY TAKE

Movies about cancer don’t exactly represent a genre, but the illness is usually treated as a catalyst for change (One Week, The Bucket List, Biutiful).  50/50 takes a different approach, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt struggling to be normal while his friends, family and lovers each handle it in different ways. Seth Rogan carries more than his share of the comedy, while Anna Kendrick brings back her charm from Up in the Air in a realistic performance you can’t help but root for.  It’s pretty easy to shore up tears with a disease that has touched just about everyone, but 50/50 strikes a nice balance of making you care and making you laugh.

268. Pearl Jam Twenty

Dir. Cameron Crowe

A documentary on the band Pearl Jam that marks their 20th anniversary in the year 2011.

MY TAKE

Cameron Crowe was Almost Famous as a rock reporter for Rolling Stone, which is why he justifies needlessly injecting himself a few times in the Pearl Jam Twenty year career trajectory. That’s more a quip than complaint, because behind the camera he does bring the proper amount of raw energy and grit to this rockumentary (grunge is still a dirty word). The early Seattle stuff is especially interesting, and the film smartly focuses 90% of its energy on the band’s first 10 years. So if you live for 90s rock like me, you’ll want to check it out. Otherwise the film will probably just be a lot of noise.

263. Drive

Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn

A Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a wheelman discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist gone wrong.

MY TAKE

I can’t remember the last time I looked forward to a movie as much as Drive. And for the first 15 minutes, I was not disappointed. The slow, methodic pacing felt like a low revving engine with unparalleled power and potential under the hood. Yet when the film finally hits the gas, it’s more A History of Violence than Bullitt. There are a few rough patches of overly awkward dialogue, but overall this is a vintage model film with a perfect paint job. The 80s music and fonts feel more retro than relevant, but Nicolas Winding Refn’s new vehicle has style to burn and (literally) rides like a dream.

262. Starbuck

A middle-aged slacker is informed that his sperm has fathered 533 children, many of whom are now suing the clinic to meet their maker.

MY TAKE

What makes a perfect comedy? Apparently just 533 kids, a sperm cup and one unwitting father. Starbuck takes an absolutely inspired premise further than you could expect, milking it for laughs in all the right places and somehow growing into a believable and heartwarming coming-of-middle-age story. You can bet the bank (money or sperm) that this will spawn a Hollywood remake, hopefully handled by Judd Apatow.

261. Page Eight

Dir. David Hare

An aging British spy fights to learn the truth about a potential government cover-up involving illegal detainees in the Iraq War.

MY TAKE

David Hare’s dance around a political minefield is layered with intrigue and loose threads that threaten to unravel at any moment. The drama is balanced throughout and Bill Nighy’s composed determination makes you worry on behalf of his character. Less impressive roles for the supporting cast build early interest but become over-simplified by the end. Page Eight is a competent and well-written film, but won’t appeal to anyone not pre-disposed to the genre.

260. The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best

Dir. Ryan O'Nan

A failing singer-songwriter decides to hit the road with a self-appointed music revolutionary.

MY TAKE

Flight of the Conchords meets Little Miss Sunshine might be the best way to describe writer/director/star Ryan O’Nan’s first feature behind the helm. The buddy road trip movie is speckled with cameos, but the relatively unknown leads do a great job carrying the picture through moments of broad comedy and subtle drama. The music is fun, the emotions are sincere, and words like “truth-rapist” (instead of liar) are instantly quotable.

259. Jeff, Who Lives at Home

Dir Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass

When he leaves his house on a banal errand for his mother, Jeff discovers that the universe might be sending him messages about his destiny.

MY TAKE

Man-child experts the Duplass brothers deliver yet another dependable comedy about an adult momma’s boy who needs to grow up. Jason Segal is likable from the first scene, but isn’t the film’s sole focus as the title suggests. Susan Sarandon, playing the mom, has a tangent story arc that is even more effective and believable than Jeff’s, or his brother’s. The humour is less awkward than Cyrus, but pays off with a a big heart and a big finish.

258. The Day

Dir. Douglas Aarniokoski

Five survivors take a stand in what could be humanity’s last battle.

MY TAKE

Post-apocalyptic films are always ruthless about killing off their characters, and The Day is no exception. Uninspired title aside, the film presents a scrappy and empathetic group of survivors escaping an unknown fear to an equally unknown destination. As a result, the plot it little more than kill-or-be-killed, but the mole-in-the-ranks angle keeps the story interesting. Visually, the cinematography depends a bit too much on finding light instead of creating it, and the use of blue tones grows tiresome. Otherwise it’s a competent genre flick.