RobertHilburnOnline.com
  • HOME
  • ABOUT BOB
  • PAUL SIMON: THE LIFE
    • PAUL SIMON: THE LIFE PRESS
    • WHY PAUL SIMON?
  • JOHNNY CASH: THE LIFE
  • CORN FLAKES WITH JOHN LENNON
  • SPRINGSTEEN
  • ROCK N ROLL TIMES
    • TROUBADOUR
    • PULITZER WORTHY
    • RARE DYLAN CASH
  • ALBUM OF THE WEEK
  • PHOTOS
  • CONTACT

MY FAVORITE FILMS of 2010

1/18/2011

0 Comments

 
    MY FAVORITE FILMS of 2010 (in order of preference)

1. The King’s Speech


    “The Social Network” is getting the most year-end raves, but “The King’s Speech” is the more lasting and superior work. “Network” is a deftly told look into the world of high-stakes corporate entrepreneurship—the legal, economic and psychological tensions between participants. The film’s pace is so sharp and its script so lively that there isn’t a wasted scene. Yet it reminds me more of the outstanding work being done on cable TV these days than the best moments in film history. One of “Network’s” chief strengths is its timeliness—the way it brings us behind today’s headlines. For that reason, I think “Network” is its most powerful today. It isn’t likely to be as commanding a year or, more significantly, a decade from now because that literalness and timeliness will be reduced. It simply lacks the eloquence and timeless grace common to most great films.  By contrast, “The King’s Speech” is blessed with the vision and superb acting that will make it every bit as compelling long into the future. Colin Firth, who should have won the Oscar last year for “A Single Man,” is again superb as the king and Geoffrey Rush is ideal as the eccentric therapist. Tom Hooper’s direction and David Seidler’s script also contribute greatly to the movie’s timeless, majestic feel.

2. The Social Network

 
The Runners-up:

    The Secret in Their Eyes—This is a rare blend of the light-hearted charm Alfred Hitchcock put into his most entertaining films and the tension of the best psychological thrillers. That’s a powerful combination. The mystery at the heart of the Argentine film unfolds in surprising and increasingly striking ways, suggesting the importance of human intuition in problem-solving. “The Secret” is the work of writer-director Juan Jose Campanella and it won the Oscar last year for best foreign film.  

    Another Year
—Director Mike Leigh takes us through four seasons in an older British couple’s life--Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen--as they tend their garden and host family and friends in good times and bad. The heart is one of the friends—a sad, fragile woman (played by Lesley Manville) who unravels as she sees any chance for happiness slowly slipping through her hands. Very moving.

    Winter's Bone--A stark, unsettlingstory of a teen-age girl struggling to confront a dark, dangerous criminal element in  her bleak, Ozark backwoods in hopes of holding her fragile world together. The movie assumes such a raw, documentary feel at times that it reminds you of the accomplishment of “Hurt Locker.” The director is Debra Granik. 

    Inception--More brilliance from director Christopher Nolan, aided by the charismatic Leonardo DiCaprio. Nolan takes our imagination on a magic carpet ride, dazzling us with screen wonders, while slowly raising questions about the underlying, ethical issue involved—mind control.

    The Fighter—Christian Bale, Melissa Leo and Mark Wahlberg anchor the year’s finest ensemble performance in a film that isn’t so much about the prize ring, but a dysfunctional family—and the limits of loyalty and blood. 

    White Material--In this tale of a West African nation’s struggle to deal with its bloody past and uncertain future, director Claire Denis chronicles a descent into madness that is horrifying in its unrelenting savagery and detail.

    ShutterIsland—DiCaprio again, this time with director Martin Scorsese. And here, too, DiCaprio (and the audience) is seen fighting to discover what is real and what is imagined in his life. More straight-forward than “Inception,” but still haunting.


    ALSO RECOMMENDED


Mesrine: Killer Instinct

Animal Kingdom

A Prophet

The Kids Are All Right

Black Swan

Get Low

Ghost Writer

Mesrine: Public Enemy

Easy A

Cyrus

A Funny Kind of Story

Morning Glory

Salt

The Switch

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Book of Eli

Soul Kitchen

Due Date

Hereafter

The Town      

    CAUTION FLAG   

The Tourist

True Grit

I Love You Phillip Morris

The Illusionist

Secretariat

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

The Other Guys

Death at a Funeral (U.S. version)

Cop Out

The Disappearance of Alice Creed

Made in Dagenham

The Expendables

Iron Man 2

The Killer Inside Me

The Next Three Days

Kick Ass

Love and Other Drugs

My Dog Tulip

Date Night

Green Zone

It’s Complicated 

    AVOID

A Solitary Man

Catfish

The Girl Who Played with Fire

Edge of Darkness

The Takers

How Do You Know

Faster

The Runaways

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

From Paris with Love
0 Comments

Book: "The Big Payback" and Movies: "True Grit," "The Illusionist" and "Make in Dagenham"

1/10/2011

0 Comments

 
BOOKS

   DAN CHARNAS’ “The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop”
√ Bob Recommended
    It is usually wise for music journalists to focus on artists rather than businessman, but Dan Charnas reverses things in this massive, 645-page look at the businessmen (and women) who helped rap evolve from a New York street sound into an international cultural phenomena—and the result is remarkable. A former writer for The Source magazine as well as an executive in the music industry, Charnas writes about the East Coast wing of hip-hop with such dogged detail that you virtually find fascinating revelations on every page—many of them correcting long-standing music biz myths. Though the book chronicles such key steps in rap as Sugar Hill Records, MTV’s early rap shows and Roc-A-Fella Records, the primary thread is the interactions of Russell Simmons, Rick Rubin and Lyor Cohen. They were responsible for Def Jam Records, which was the seminal outfit in establishing rap as a viable commercial and critical force. In one sense, Charnas may have been better off focusing the book entirely on Def Jam because the attempt to cast a wider net and serve as the “history of the business of hip-hop” will leave many readers frustrated. That’s because the book devotes little time to the West Coast rap world of Interscope Records, which—through the music of such figures as Dr. Dre, Tupac, Eminem, Snoop Dogg and 50-Cent—was largely responsible for expanding rap to a massive, mainstream stage. Even without the Interscope story, “The Big Payback” is an invaluable book. But the omission makes it feel like an incomplete one. A possible Volume II?


MOVIES

   “TRUE GRIT”
The usually reliable Coen Brothers play it far too safe.

    From the film noir gem “Blood Simple” to the comic brilliance of “Fargo,” the Coen Brothers have been wonderful storytellers who deliver works that are smart and risky enough to be hailed as both demanding and sophisticated. But almost everything here in this remake of the John Wayne movie of the late 1960s—from the endlessly broad humor to cartoonish the raw violence—feels so carefully calculated to win a mainstream audience’s approval that you feel betrayed. The western’s best scene is when newcomer Hailee Steinfield, as the smart and savvy 14-year-old heroine Mattie Ross, verbally duels a veteran horse trader and comes away with both the bully’s money and pride. But the main reason you’re going to hear so much praise about Steinfield is that the other leads are immensely disappointing. Matt Damon is miscast as a Texas Ranger, Jeff Bridges is hopelessly one dimensional in Wayne’s role of the grizzly, booze-soaked Rooster Cogburn and Josh Brolin is wasted as a killer on the run. Lots of laughter in the theater, I admit, but it felt too cheap for a Coen Brothers production.

    “THE ILLUSIONIST”
So classy, so charming…so unfulfilling
    After giving us one of the most exquisite animated films ever in “The Triplets of Belleville,” Sylvain Chomet takes a surprise step sideways this time out by basing his new animated film on a never filmed script by French actor-director Jacques Tati. But the melancholy story of an aging magician slowly losing his place in the world juxtaposed against a young woman suddenly finding her future feels simply too minimal. We are never allowed to get inside either the magician or the woman, which makes everything on the screen feel just out of reach. With “Triplets,” we felt part of the film. With “Illusionist,” we are just outsiders.

    MADE IN DAGENHAM”

Nothing horribly wrong, but very slight.
    There are some engaging touches in this story about some English female factory workers bonding together in the late-1960s to get equal pay with men—notably the acting of Sally Hawkins and the always reliable Bob Hoskins—but the script is so straight-forward that the movie feels too thin for the big screen. Despite the upbeat tale, there so little insight and surprise that you end up feeling let down.
0 Comments

Movies: "The King's Speech", "The Fighter", "How Do You Know" and "I Love You Phillip Morris"

1/5/2011

0 Comments

 
“THE KING’S SPEECH”
√ Bob Recommended
   Though I still have a few more highly-touted films to see this year, this splendid tale of a maverick speech therapist helping King George VI find his voice (in more ways than one) moves past “The Social Network” on my list of favorite/best movies of 2010. Colin Firth, who should have won the Oscar last year for “A Single Man,” is again superb as the king and Geoffrey Rush is ideal as the eccentric therapist. There are some overly sentimental moments, but the overall vision and execution have a timeless, majestic feel. Excellent direction and script.

 “THE FIGHTER”
  √ Bob Recommended    
  
Your feelings about this surprisingly daring film may rest largely on whether you believe Christian Bale’s super-charged performance as Mark Wahlberg’s older, crack-addicted brother and trainer. For much of the saga of junior welterweight prizefighter Mickey Ward, Bale seems to be on the verge of spinning out of control, but his manic, wild-eyed antics are vindicated in a video clip shown over the final credits. In it, we see that Ward’s brother, Dickey, was every bit as relentlessly theatrical as Bale’s portrayal. Melissa Leo’s turn as Wahlberg’s pushy, dominating mother is equally inspired. Given these acting fireworks, it’s a wonder that Wahlberg is able to also stand out even though his character, Ward, is far less colorful. Then again, the real story here is Ward’s dysfunctional family, not his ring exploits—and it is Wahlberg’s nicely disciplined performance that ultimately gives the “The Fighter” its humanity and heart.

“HOW DO YOU KNOW”
 Slow, disjointed, senseless
   Reese Witherspoon is in top form, but even her considerable charm isn’t enough to overcome the slow pace and implausible plot. She is cast as a young woman whose life has just been shook by disappointment and who is trying to regain her balance and confidence by choosing between two totally unsuitable beaus. Owen Wilson is fun as a spoiled, girl-crazed major league pitcher, while Paul Rudd seems rudderless as a man fighting against being manipulated by his wealthy father (nice, if predictable, part for Jack Nicholson). The thing you keep asking yourself throughout the long movie is why she is wasting her time with either guy—and you never get an answer. The end comes like a thud. What ever happened to James L. Brooks’ touch?

  “I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS”
Nice Jim Carrey performance isn’t enough.
   Just because it’s a true story doesn’t make it interesting. In fact, this chronicle of a flamboyant con-man’s transformation from suburban husband to a white-collar corporate whiz is pretty standard, agreeable cinematic stuff if you strip away the romantic bond between Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor.  The only real strength is an engaging performance by Carrey.
0 Comments
    Picture

    Robert Hilburn

         I was pop music critic and pop music editor of the Los Angeles Times from 1970 through 2005, and am writing books.  A memoir, "Corn Flakes with John Lennon" was published last fall.  The paperback is due in October.  I am now working on a biography.
    Photo by Jeff Amlotte, copyright 2009.

    Picture

    Archives

    February 2012
    January 2012
    July 2011
    April 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    May 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture

HOME

CONTACT

Copyright © 2019