Aguirre: The Wrath of God

A couple of years ago I was floating down a ferry boat through the misty forest of Vancouver Island; it was a three hour trip across the river. The day was cloudy, cold, and dark, we were expecting rain, yet the scenery was eerily beautiful. There were heavy mountains on both sides of the river, all covered with forest greens, and light fog gliding through the tops of them. It was a serene and peaceful trip, but the picture of nature that day made it look foreboding. At times it felt as if we were the only boat on the river, and an uneasy feeling of isolation gripped me. What I was remembering in my head were the images I had seen in "Aguirre: The Wrath of God"; the same greyness in the air, the same haunting dreamy quality, a beautiful nightmare of madness personified.

"Aguirre: The Wrath of God" isn't usually qualified as a horror movie in the strictest sense, but it fills me with the sense of dread and doom for its characters as any one could. Only the horror in this film seems much more real, it's main character must surely be one of the greatest monsters in movie history. The horror here inhabits the madness people are driven to as they try to obtain power and glory.

The story is set in 16th century Peru as it follows a Spanish Expedition's quest to find the ancient city of El Dorado. The opening shots of the film show the explorers struggling in the jungle, they must carry with them, horses, a cannon, and two ladies in waiting. They have Indian guides to help them, and one black slave; but it all seems so futile, they are not fit for the jungle. The leader of the group can see this, he doesn't see much point in going on, still he selects a small group of men to carry on the expedition up river, perhaps with the hope of more luck. He puts a Spanish nobleman named Don Pedro de Ursua in charge, with his second in command being Aguirre (Klaus Kinski). Other people in the group will consist of a priest, who keeps a diary throughout the journey, Ursua's mistress, and Aguirre's young daughter.

As the journey begins there is almost no question of the doom, the group has in store for them. They divide eachother into three rafts, one of which gets caught in a whirlpool, and they can't snare themselves free, Ursua makes the gesture of sending a party to save them, but it is all for naught. As the morning approaches, all the people in the raft are dead.

Soon mutiny is in the air, lead by Aguirre, Ursua is wounded, and Aguirre nominates a glutinous soldier named Guzman to be their new leader. Aguirre is still second in command, but it's obvious, he is the one pulling the strings, he will not relent in the journey.

Other things happen along the way, there are attacks by natives, a run in with some cannibals, and soon starvation, fever, and death. This was a destiny that was pre-written for them at the very beginning; a lost cause, which is driven by men's mad determination to defeat nature.

At the heart of this film is the character of Aguirre played with mad vigor by Kinski (Kinski himself has had flights of madness in his lifetime on many occasion). Aguirre is perhaps the most dangerous of men, a madman with power, and an insane quest of obtaining more. He is ruthless with his men, not caring what it takes to reach his goal; the only creature he cares for is his daughter, with whom he carries an incestuous affection for. The close-ups of Aguirre are all you need to know what he's thinking, Kinski gives him a walk that is somewhat lop-sided, that reminds one of Shakespeare's "Richard III". Aguirre can be thought of as the personification of all powerful, and evil men who have sacrificed innocents in their mad search for glory, and or immortality.

The film was directed by Werner Herzog, who is definitely one of the greatest living filmmakers we have today. Many his films deal with characters who's madness either bring them to the brink of destruction, or destruction itself."Aguirre" was his first important film, and perhaps still his greatest, it's more a film about images, and atmosphere, than one about people. Aguirre is mainly a man of evil than anything else, I'm not sure there is anything else there, Herzog makes that known, particularly with the final images.

I remember seeing the film at a young age, and not quite grasping what it all meant. I had heard of a movie about a journey to find El Dorado, expecting maybe a harrowing adventure tale, but instead I got a deeper, unsettling experience. There are moments in the film that feel like they are out of a dream, and occasionally Herzog captures nature's beauty throughout all the dread, but perhaps that comes from the delusion that the men will actually find their city of Gold.

"Aguirre: The Wrath of God", continues to haunt me, with it's mood, it's atmosphere, and the face of Klaus Kinski. It's a fierce film that doesn't let you go, it's a whirlpool, a nightmare, but it's hypnotic in a strange and beautiful way. I can say without exaggeration, its images have stayed with me, and they can lock me into its world like no other film.

Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule Test

) Favorite movie featuring nuns
Black Narcissus

2) Second favorite John Frankenheimer movie
The Train

3) William Bendix or Scott Brady?
No Opinion

4) What movie, real or imagined, would you stand in line six hours to see? Have you ever done so in real life?
I think I would stand in line for any film festival involving Buster Keaton, The Marx Brothers, Yasujiro Ozu, or anything that sounds like fun. I stayed overnight at a theatre at the premier of Episode one The Phantom Menace. Nothing like camping out in a big city.

5) Favorite Mitchell Leisen movie
According to IMDB the only movie of his I've seen is "Easy Living" which is a film I love. Now I want to see more of his films.

6) Ann Savage or Peggy Cummins?
Peggy Cummins

7) First movie you remember seeing as a child
An American Tail. Whatever happened to Don Bluth?

8) What moment in a movie that is not a horror movie made you want to bolt from the theater screaming?
As a child and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, as soon as he enters the temple. I was 8 and didn't know what to expect, the only time I left a movie early in fear.

9) Richard Widmark or Robert Mitchum?
Mitchum

10) Best movie Jesus
Willem Defoe.

11) Silliest straight horror film that you’re still fond of
The Return of Doctor X

12) Emily Blunt or Sally Gray?
Emily Blunt

13) Favorite cinematic Biblical spectacular
Probably still the parting of the red sea in The Ten Commandments, that film had a huge impact on me as a child.

14) Favorite cinematic moment of unintentional humor
Perhaps again in "The Ten Commandments", the self-important narration by Cecil B. DeMille or when Yul Breynner says out "His God, is God".

15) Michael Fassbender or David Farrar?
Michael Fassbender

16) Most effective faith-affirming movie
"The Decalogue"

17) Movie that makes the best case for agnosticism
"A Serious Man"

18) Favorite song and/or dance sequence from a musical
"Never Gonna Dance" from "Swing Time"

19) Third favorite Howard Hawks movie
"Only Angels Have Wings" I think. First two are "Rio Bravo", and "Ball of Fire"

20) Clara Bow or Jean Harlow?
Jean Harlow

21) Movie most recently seen in the theater? On DVD/Blu-ray/Streaming?
Theatres: The Three Stooges
DVD: Stage Door

22) Most unlikely good movie about religion
Quo Vadis

23) Phil Silvers or Red Skelton?
Phil Silvers

24) “Favorite” Hollywood scandal
Fatty Arbuckle

25) Best religious movie (non-Christian)
A Serious Man

26) The King of Cinema: King Vidor, King Hu or Henry King? (Thanks, Peter)
King Vidor

27) Name something modern movies need to relearn how to do that American or foreign classics had down pat
Flow.

28) Least favorite Federico Fellini movie
Of the ones I've seen I'd say Armacord, although that's not to say it's bad.

29) The Three Stooges (2012)—yes or no?
coitenly

30) Mary Wickes or Patsy Kelly?
Mary Wickes

31) Best movie-related conspiracy theory
Chinatown

32) Your candidate for most misunderstood or misinterpreted movie
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

33) Movie that made you question your own belief system (religious or otherwise)
The Three Colors Trilogy

The Seventh Seal

How often now do we get films that ask such existential questions such as "What happens to us when we die?" "Does God exist?" and "What's the meaning of life?" Do we still ask these questions within ourselves? Do we demand it in our films to ask them for us?

In 1957, Ingmar Bergman made his landmark film "The Seventh Seal" which dealt with issues such as life and death head on. There is no irony in the film, although today you can't help but think of the many parodies or homages other people have made of it. However, all that aside, "The Seventh Seal" has remained a powerful film, not only is it a deeply personal, and reflective work on life's great mysteries, it is also a scathing indictment of religious persecution upon God-fearing citizens.

The film begins at the edge of a desolate beach. A Knight named Antonius Block(Max Von Sydow) has returned home after ten years of fighting in the Crusades to a plague ravaged countryside. It is at this beach he sees Death (Bengt Ekerot) appear before him. Antonius' time has come to an end, but he is granted a reprieve from death as he challenges him to a game of chess; as long as they are still playing, Antonius will get to live.

The film then follows Antonius and his squire Jons (Gunnar Bjornstrand) across the plague filled land. The early images of the film are filled with cold and empty landscapes, and shadows of death haunt the frame. The first sign of life is a man leaning against the rock, but when Jons goes to him to ask for directions, he discovers that it is only a rotting corpse, a terrible omen indeed.

They get to a village, and we meet other characters in the film, a kindly actor named Jof (Nils Poppe) and his wife Mia (Bibi Andersson) along with their newborn child. Their lively performance in the village is cut short by the arrival of a religious caravan, and a God-fearing Monk who warns the villagers of the impending death coming to them and their only hope of redemption is if they repent. Bergman does not relent on the religious imagery in this scene, and how it is used to strike fear in the villagers. There is also a young woman seen in the village who has been captured and is scheduled to be burned at the stake for having relations with the devil; some accuse her of being the cause of the plague around the village. However, we see later, that even though she believes she is possessed by the devil, it's mostly due to her becoming mad with the fear of dying.

Now despite the thought of death hovering over the entire film, it should be said that "The Seventh Seal" isn't a depressing or even hopeless film. Bergman paints his film with sparse scenes of comfort, and warmth brought on by the goodness in humanity. Although Antonius is haunted with thoughts of death, he is given a peaceful tender moment with Mia and Jof where they sit at their camp enjoying life. "I shall try to remember this moment", Antonius says, it's statements like these where Bergman does see a point to life, enjoying the little bright moments that are given to us, because you never know how much time you got.

Bergman also plays with light comedy in the film, mostly coming from Jons, the squire, who makes up the antithesis of Antonius' frame of mind. Jons is seen as a cynic, who although he fears death like Antonius, does not take any pains to seek any answers of an afterlife. He is able to see the hypocracy of the church, which he sees as an institution that dwells on death more than anything. There is a scene where Jons has an amusing discussion with a religious artist. The artist has been commissioned to paint on the church walls, but they are images of death, Jons points out that it doesnt seem very cheery, but the artist says it's to remind people that they all die, therefore should repent before it's too late.

Jons also voices his complaints about the Crusades (A war which was started based on religion) and how futile it all was; but in contrast Antonius struggles more to find an answer. Antonius does not completely give up his faith and his pursuit in the movie is finding proof of the existence of God. But God remains silent in the film and Antonius' struggle becomes more and more futile as he asks more and more questions, all that is certain is Death.

But the film is never preachy or dismal, it remains entertaining, Bergman sometimes plays upon the type of superstition he discredits in the film to create a very atmospheric horror look to it. The film looks great in its highly stylized black and white, the use of dark shadows, dense fog and smoke add to the impending dread of the characters, it mostly resembles an old fashioned ghost story.

But like all great films, "The Seventh Seal" rises above any genre trappings, to become a great work of art. Ingmar Bergman was a man who grew obsessed with death and mortality in his films, but he was also a storyteller, and was able to work his themes into his films so they could be enjoyed to a broad audience.

For me personally, I've only just recently embraced Bergman's films, maybe it was because he dealt with such deep issues I would avoid him, but I found myself interested with his work more and more. Now I find his films much more accessible and not just for intellects who felt his themes important. Bergman made movies for everyone to enjoy on some level, they were never depressing because they were from the heart and emotion. "The Seventh Seal" shows that even though a man can be obsessed over death, doesn't mean he's not in love with life.

Rashomon

A film like "Rashomon" has become like comfort food to me, it is a film I watch when I want to be told a story, and it keeps my interst from beginning to end. "Rashomon" is a great story about one isolated incident, it's compact in its nature, and classical in its period, you feel it will be a story with a very traditional structure but that's when the wool is pulled from under you. "Rashomon" took leaps and bounds from past films by telling the same story through different points of view. In a way each scenario is true, and each one is false, but as one character points out in the film "I don't care if it's a lie, as long as it's entertaining."

The scenario in question has to do with the interaction between a samurai, his wife, and a bandit in the forest. The samurai is killed, but each person involved gives a different testimony at the trial as to what really happened. The film begins after the trial with a woodsman who, as the only witness to the death gives his own account, and a priest contemplate over what has transpired. After being joined by a drifter, they reveal to him the different testimonies of each person.

We see the scenario take place through flashbacks, first it is by the bandit's point of view as we see him kill the husband with cocky bravado after he rapes the wife. The wife's story is set up differently; her account shows the bandit leaves after she is raped, and after seeing her husband's look of shame, she seems to be overtaken by an uncontorllable urge and she kills him. The husband is able to tell his version through the possession of a medium, he is the one who ends up killing himself after seeing the wife wanting to leave him for the bandit. The woodsman's story is told last, as it bring about elements of all three previous stories together, but even his honesty is questioned after he is caught in an earlier lie about not actually witnessing the murder.

Since "Rashomon", we have seen films done through various points of view before, so much so it's almost become cliche. American films have adopted this technique for genre films mostly in the mystery/suspense mode, but unlike "Rashomon", they come out with a logical conclusion that can be thought of as "the truth". "Rashomon" keeps its real truth uncertain, it's an allegory about the dark side of human nature, how the truth can become clouded through our natural sense of embelleshing it. How can we know what is true and what is a lie in a world full of lies? How can we trust people when we are all prone to lie in order to protect ourselves?

The ending of the film offers an optimistic outcome, with the priest and the woodsman, as their faith in humanity is re established by a small act of kindness, yet we are still left with some of these uncertain questions.

When I first saw "Rashomon", I probably didn't fully understand what the film was all about. I was about fourteen years old and arthouse cinema was still new to me. "Rashomon" was among the first foreign films I did see along with "The 400 Blows", and "8 and a half", and it had a tremendous impact on my life even then. For me it was an opening up to a whole new culture, and a new form of storytelling. It was directed by Akira Kurosawa who has proven himself to me to be one of the master storytellers of cinema. "Rashomon" was a stepping stone for Kurosawa winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival which helped usher in arthouse cinema to popular culture.

Seeing "Rashomon" today is like looking at the definition of what a great movie should be, it's multi-faceted, commenting on human nature, and understands the use of storytelling. I can sense myself ease into its world, and feel its grasp on me, that's when I know I'm sucked in. It seems quiet and meditative at points, at others it's full of heightened drama and suspense, a woven tapestry of feelings and emotion.

I couln't help but think, as moviegoers, we naturally crave being told a good story, with "Rashomon", we have the same story told to us four times and it remains enthralling, and it looks so simple, so effortless, I can see how some people may think we have lost this in films being made today. Rashomon makes a simple thing like changing the point of view of a story seem like magic, as if it was by a flick of the wrist, how quickly everything changes, and how it could make a whole new world open up for you.

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

We assume it's in modern times when "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" begins. We hear the voice over of Dr. Watson (Colin Blakely) talk about over the years he's chronicled the many cases of Sherlock Holmes. But then he mentions that there were other cases, we get the impression that they were of a much more personal nature, and they shall not be revealed until fifty years after Watson's death.

It seems we all know the stories of Sherlock Holmes, even those of us who haven't read the books know the legend about the man who was a master at deduction. He liked to play his violin, smoke his pipe, and on occasion have a seven per cent solution of heroine.

Most films about Sherlock Holmes even before or after this one have only eluded to his personal habits, because it's mostly the mystery that's most important. But it always begged the question just what was the world's greatest detective like? Really? Isn't that the mystery that most people want to find the solution to?

"The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" is in my mind the definitive filmed version for Holmes affectionados, it's an original story not adapted from a book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but it respects the source material and the man. There is a mystery involved, but there are more personal things at stake than usual.

The original script written by Billy Wilder and his long time writing partner I.A.L. Diamond was much longer than the finished film that is left for us. It was over three hours long and consisted of more adventures involving Holmes and Watson all of which I assume dissects the Holmes mystique even more. Even though I'd be curious to see the full film, the final two hour version feels like a full story on its own.

The film focuses mostly on the main mystery in Wilder and Diamond's screenplay concerning a young woman named Gabrielle (Genevieve Page). She appears on Watson and Holmes' (Played here with wonderful wit by Robert Stephens) doorstep one night, cold, wet, and suffering from amnesia. The next day, she is able to come to her senses and tells them that her husband went missing. This leads them to an investigation which will later concern a mystery involving a trip to Loch Ness, government secrets, and German spies. The plot may sound convoluted, and perhaps it is, but it takes a rather surprising and even tragic turn, and makes it into one of Billy Wilder's most poignant films.

I can see why a man like Wilder would be attracted to a character like Holmes in the first place. Both men could be thought of as cold perfectionists, Wilder has often been criticized for being too cynical for his own good, with scripts that may be clever but too calculating. Holmes is a perfectionist as well, a brilliant mind who could be thought of as isolated from the rest of the world. Wilder probably saw a bit of a kindred spirit in Holmes, but also a character that was too good to be true, which wouldn't be to his liking. I couldn't see Wilder make a straight Holmes movie with the mystery taking centre stage over the man, he always has to make his characters flawed and more human, and you can see the fun he has in his mythical makeover.

The beginning of the film has fun with the relationship between Holmes and Watson. Holmes is invited to a ballet where he is propositioned by famous ballet dance to father her children, her reason being he is a brilliant man so she wants brilliant children. Holmes deflects the issue by implying to her that he has carried on an intimate relationship with Dr. Watson for "five wonderful years". This of course has been the running joke in much of the history between Holmes and Watson, the idea of two bachelors sharing living quarters for such a long time without any question to their sexual preference can boggle the mind. Of course it never is settled, but is soon deflated by Watson's own response to the accusation, and later Holmes' growing relationship and fondness for the mysterious Gabrielle.

The film mostly focuses on two aspects of Holmes' legend that again has only been eluded to, his relationship towards women and his constant drug abuse with heroin. The heroin is first introduced in the film for Holmes when he is bored, there isn't a case for him worth solving and it's something to dull his senses. Watson mentions in voice over how there is nothing he can do but wait it out when he's on one of his drug binges. But then Gabrielle shows up and that's when things start taking shape. Almost right away, Holmes seems intrigued with this woman, in many ways, she is his equal. As a character, Holmes is sometimes thought of as a misogynist, something he debunks right away to Watson "I don't hate women, I simply don't trust them." With Gabrielle, comes a character who challenges him, and we see a growing fondness between both of them.

It's in fact Gabrielle who holds the key to the mystery at the end, and which ultimately becomes Holmes' greatest failure on a professional and personal nature. The ending of the film is one of Wilder's greatest, it should be known just as well as the endings he has for "Sunset BLVD", "Some Like it Hot", and "The Apartment", in that it leaves you with just the right note, and shows that at its core, it really is a rather melancholy film.

The more I see "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes", the more I love it, it was made by Billy Wilder soon after his golden period had ended. Since "Double Indemnity", Wilder was a hit maker all the way through the sixties, but by the time he made this film in 1970, Hollywood had become overrun by a younger generation. "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" has a more traditional look to it than the contemporaries made at that time, and it wasn't a huge hit, but it remains one of Wilder's great films, and one that will hopefully be rediscovered in years to come.

Movie Review: The Artist

Yes, yes, yes, this is the way movies should be made, this is how they were made all the time, back in the day. You know the time I'm talking about, the time where people like Orson Welles, Hitchcock, and Billy Wilder were making movies. Back when Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin had the creative freedom to make any movie they wanted, back when Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced along great art deco of the 1930s, back before all this digital technology, even before the days of television or that infernal Internet thing.

It's no doubt "The Artist" will bring up feelings for the biggest movie lover of that longing for the good old days when movie projections were bigger than life, I got that feeling right at the opening credits, and the beautiful black and white imagery that I saw. "The Artist" was a treat for the eyes, it captures that feeling of glossy Hollywood very well, complete with a tender love story and a lovable dog.

But that's where the similarities end, I was pleased by it's look, it's grandeur, it's charm, but I realized as I was watching it, what I was longing for were those real classic films that were made way back when, the ones that on more than one occasion took my breath away. What I can say for "The Artist" is, it's not without it's charm, it's an affectionate homage, but at times it feels too self-conscious to bring about that same old feeling we want from movies. At it's best, it succeeds some of the time but not all of the time.

The story of "The Artist" comes right out of the greatest Hollywood hits like "Singin in the Rain", "A Star is Born", and "Sunset BLVD". Jean DuJardin plays George Valetin a matinee silent star who falls for young ingenue Peppy Miller (Berenice Beju). As Hollywood moves from silence to sound, George's star falls, while Peppy's rises, yet the two were meant to be together.

Unlike the films "The Artist" attempts to emulate, the story doesn't resort to edgy satire or the bitterness of Hollywood life, it keeps its happy go-lucky tone throughout. Even when George attempts suicide in his apartment, it's never grim, not as long as he has his plucky dog to go out and find help. This type of film works up to a point, you soon realize it's going to be a happy ending, it has to be, although in my opinion it feels more tacked on than anything else, but perhaps that was another homage to old Hollywood as well, back when movies dealing with alcoholism or suicide were forced by the studio to have it end happily.

For their parts DuJardin and Beju are priceless together, they certainly have the type of charm and charisma to carry this type of conciet a long way, and you root for them to be together. The best scenes for me come near the beginning where they're courtship begins, George is attracted to her right away, they have a couple of charming dance numbers and they both seem to perform on the same wavelength not unlike Astaire and Rogers did.

The best scene for me comes when Peppy sneaks into George's dressing room, and she has a nice playing moment with his dinner jacket, of course George comes in and catches her, it's moments like those where the film seems to have its own personality rather than an homage.

The supporting cast is having fun too harking back to that old style of movie acting, particularly John Goodman who plays a big Hollywood mogul, James Cromwell who plays Georges faithful chauffeur, and Penelope Ann Miller who plays his long suffering wife. Miller in particular is underused, and she gets some of our sympathy which hints that maybe George isn't all he's cracked up to be, instead she's conveniently tossed aside in order to focus on the real love story between Peppy and George.

I was indeed happy to see "The Artist" on the big screen, it gives off that certain feeling of being in an old movie theatre and being in the golden days of movie making, perhaps a cartoon and a newsreel at the beginning would've heightened the experience even more. But the more I thought about it, the more I wasn't entirely fulfilled, all it made me feel was deep nostaliga for those real classic films I could watch to no end.

"The Artist" was charming but I don't believe it deserved Best Picture, for me that honor would go to Woody Allen's film "Midnight in Paris", a charming film itself, but far more contemporary and actually uses satire to make a point about the past it reflects. "The Artist" seems more like a film of the moment, and much like the past itself, it's something that is fleeting.

The Absolutely Positively No Doubt About it Best Films of 2011

And so we have reached the finale, the best films according to me, I've taken much time to deliberate and it is clear in my mind, that these ten films are by far the ten best experiences I had at the movies. Of course every person's top ten films are different, and had I been given to opportunity to see more, this might've looked completely different, but this was what was given to me. So now here we go.

1. Midnight in Paris Perhaps not a shock to some of you, I've heralded this film's praises, back when I first saw it on a warm summer day in July. Woody Allen's tribute to Paris was by far the most entertaining film I saw, full of wit, wisdom, and winning performances. Some films feel like they were made just for you, and that's the feeling I get when I watch this film, it's one of those special ones I can directly relate to, so why not make it the best of the year?

2. Certified Copy Famous Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami creates one of the most romantic mysterious films I've ever seen. Juliet Binoche and William Shimell play two people who, at the beginning look like they have just met, but the film takes a different turn, and then they start acting as if they are husband and wife. The film never makes it quite clear what their relationship really is, but it plays on the ideas about love, and art, and if the copy can be just as good as the original.

3. Meek's Cutoff Minimalist director Kelly Reichardt creates a vivid portrait of pioneer life. Most westerns are seen as epic stories, this keeps a quiet tone about a small wagon train of three families who struggle everyday to find a settlement. They begin to suspect their guide (Bruce Greenwood) is leading them off course on purpose. The film plays like a novel, with an involving plot, and high stakes, it ends abruptly but perfectly as nothing is quite resolved, but it's one where you realize, they're lives hang in the balance of the decisions they make, and the people they trust.

4. PoetryA South Korean film about a woman faced with the first stages of Alzheimer's, along with finding out her grandson committed a terrible crime. But she find solace and purpose in a poetry class she has just enrolled in. A very moving film about one woman struggling to find beauty and meaning in non sensical world.

5. Tree of Life Terence Malick's poetic opus, was probably this year's most ambitious. Starting off with the creation of the universe, and finding meaning in existence, the film is part philosophical and part a coming of age tale. It takes risks on film narration, focusing on rather than usual linear structure. Like the universe itself, it's full of questions and assumptions, an intriguing film.

6. Moneyball Based on the true story of Oakland A's manager Billy Bean (Brad Pitt) and the re-shaping baseball, by using computers and number crunching to create a championship team. Pitt has never been better, the script by Steven Zallian and Aaron Sorkin is punchy, and witty, the most complete mainstream film of the year.

7. The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo A vast improvement over the Sweedish version from last year, thanks largely to the direction of David Fincher. He makes the film a wonderful visceral experience starting from the opening credits. I found myself much more involved with the actual investigation in the film, and the relationship between Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig is handled with a more assured hand. A wonderfully entertaining, pulpy film.

8. 13 Assassins: An updated version of the Samurai film, using Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" as a framework. This tells the story of 13 shogun who are hired to kill an evil corrupt emperor who's obsessed with killing, and mutilation. It all comes down to the amazing bloody battle which lasts for almost an hour, amazing filmmaking.

9. The Ides of March George Clooney's underrated political film about the inside of an American campaign. Clooney plays the candidate, while Ryan Gosling is the young ambitious campaign manager hellbent on getting him elected. The film is full of twists and turns, and some really great filmmaking from Clooney and a top notch ensemble cast working with a great script.

10. Our Idiot Brother Paul Rudd's wonderful comedic performance brings this film to a different level. A comedy about family, relationships, and how being an honest person can get you into trouble. Rudd makes his hippy dufus character both lovable and memorable.

Other films that just missed the list in no particular order would be Brad Bird's "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" featuring some of this year's best action pieces, Steven Spielberg's epic "War Horse", the lady comedy "Bridesmaids" featuring Kristen Wig's brilliant comedic performance, Johnny Depp in "Rango" the psychedelic lizard western, Martin Scorsese's ode the old cinema "Hugo", and Clint Eastwood's intriguing bio "J. Edgar".

Some films I failed to see that I wish I could've "The Help, "The Artist", "Margaret", "A Dangerous Method", "Uncle Boonmee who can recall his Past Lives", "Shame", and "Melancholia."