It's the end of June, which means this year is half way over, there have been an awful lot of movies that have come out, for my money way too many have been trash, some of it good trash, and others I haven't even bothered to see. All this being said, Hollywood hasn't really dished out a lot of great movies this year, I think they've been too busy promoting their new 3-D toy in films that didn't necessarily need the upgrade. If you want my advice, I say stay away from the multiplexes and perhaps seek out quality at your arthouses, or if you live like me, you might just have to wait for the DVDs to come out. I myself still have to catch up on films like "Fish Tank", "Ghost Writer", and "Girl with the Dragon Tatoo" which are all films I want to see. But since this is 2010's hump month, I thought I would just share films with you I've seen that are worth mentioning.
1. Plastic Bag: The future of film isn't in 3-D, it's probably nowhere near your multiplex, it's on DVD, on your computer, on Youtube. I scan Youtube almost daily and I've seen some pretty inventive short films or documentary series that have kept my interest. I have to say the best film I've seen so far this year is the 18 minute short "Plastic Bag". The film directed by Ramin Bahrani (Goodbye Solo) and narrated by the legendary Werner Herzog is the story of the lifespan of a plastic bag as it goes searching for its master after she abandons it. In the precious 18 minutes, we see the bag struggle with loss, love, despair, and finally its own immortality. This is one of the most surprisingly moving films I've ever seen and proves that length in film is irrelevant.
2. Shutter Island: In my opinion, this is the best of the Martin Scorsese/Leonardo DiCaprio collaborations. In many ways a throwback to 1950s film noir, and psychological horror, but Scorsese always puts his personal stamp on his projects. In this case we see a hero trying to solve a missing person's case inside a mental asylum, but he's also struggling to overcome a guilty past. Scorsese has learned from the masters like Nicholas Ray, Anthony Mann, and Douglas Sirk by using genre to explore darker issues hidden underneath, "Shutter Island" is Scorsese's best film in a long time.
3. Toy Story 3: Although I wouldn't say this is as strong as the last few Pixar outings, "Toys Story 3" proves once again that its studio is still the one to beat when it comes to animation. There are many things to admire in this latest outing from the Pixar franchise. Woody, Buzz must go through seeing their owner Andy grow up and leave home. The last third of the film was most effective for me as the toys must face their own mortality in one of Pixar's darkest scenes ever involving a garbage incinerator, and just try to hold the tears back in the last moments.
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