And on that note lets dive right in!
#8. Black Swan
Black Swan is insane. Seriously. There's really no other way to sum it up. It's a psycho trip into the mind of a very naive and damaged girl. Nina, played by Natalie Portman in a spell-binding performance, is a girl in a woman's body. Coddled and emotionally abused by her mother, she spends all her time dancing. She is a terrific dancer. Technically perfect. So, when her company decides to stage a production of Swan Lake, she is an immediate choice to play the sweet, virginal White Swan. But she doesn't have the inner fire to play the White Swan's evil twin, the Black Swan. This is when Nina's dark journey begins. It's a haunting, frightening and enthralling journey, and due to Darren Aranofsky's effective hand-held direction we are placed right in the middle of it. Natalie Portman is flawless here. She's in nearly every scene and she completely carries the film. Barbara Hershey gives a terrific and terrifying performance as Nina's mother. The rest of the cast is strong as well. A couple weak points toward the end are the film are forgiven and forgotten quickly, but other scenes stay with you for days. This is like a horror movie for the mind made by a terrific film maker and it is thoroughly effective.
#7. Catfish
This will likely be my most controversial pick for anyone who saw it. This small documentary was released this fall with one of the most enticing trailers I have ever seen. This trailer has been the center of much scorn heaped upon the film. The claim is that it was false advertising. This is incorrect. Yes, the trailer may be slightly misleading, but it does not misinform. This is a true documentary. Everything on screen happened. This is not, as people believe, a film about the dangers of modern technology and internet relationships. This is a meditation of humanity and how we deal with lonliness. The lengths we go to and the lies we tell ourselves to hide how we feel when our lives doesn't transpire the way we wanted. The last forty minutes of this film are some of the saddest, most poingnant, most fascinating, and most touching moments I've ever seen in a film. I felt this way because I am a deep fan of real human emotion and this movie displayed it to me. It is much more than just a a story of someone who claims to be someone their not online. This is the story of someone who hides behind lies so they don't have to face the depression of the truth. This is wholly human and this narrative is wholly powerful.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
The script for this kinda-true story zings, mesmerizes and captivates for the duration of this two hour film. Aaron Sorkin, the writer, is the true star of this movie which is saying A LOT for a movie directed by David Fincher, scored by Trent Reznor, and starring Jesse Eisenberg, Spiderman and Justin Timberlake. The Social Network is likely going to win the Oscar for Best Picture (among a slew of others) and that is all because of this script. That's not why its winning this award. It wins this one for the dialogue. Wicked fast and razor sharp. Sorkin is a master at wordplay and he outdoes himself here.
Best Original Screenplay: Christopher Nolan, Inception
No one who saw a movie this year could disagree with this pick. The brainchild of Christopher Nolan who spent ten years developing this script. It paid off. This project is wholly original and overwhelmingly complex. The feature is a jigsaw puzzle being put together piece by piece. It is wildly inventive and profoundly moving at the same time. Nolan is about the only director living who can still make blockbuster films that are awards contenders as well. His films are suffused with creativity and humanity yet still find time to blow stuff up in style. He's one of the greatest working today and clearly one of the greatest writing too.
Tomorrow will bring two more picks on down the list. Also I will list my picks for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. Catfish is available on DVD. I suggest you rent it.
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