Black Sheep's Top 10 of 2011!

(Click on any highlighted film title for the original Black Sheep review.
Or any highlighted name for the Black Sheep interview.)

Happy New Year everybody! I always take it easy on New Year's Day and look back at the year that was, in film and in general for my life and career. This year was a fantastic year for film and for my career, as it turns out. The films are coming up a bit later but as for my career, I finally feel this year like a real film critic. I am published regularly in Hour Community in Montreal and in Ottawa Xpress. I have been invited to participate in podcasts and am regularly on the air on CJAD 800 Montreal, the city's leading English language talk radio station. I was once again granted accreditation to cover the Toronto International Film Festival, which not only led to a plethora of amazing interviews, but also allowed me to be within 5 feet of Madonna. We didn't speak. Next time.

I took this. On my phone. She was right there!

My job as a film critic is a freelance one. It does not pay my bills. I have a day job for that. In a bank. The opportunities afforded me in my life are not those of your typical banker, I assure you. One of the greatest perks is getting to sit with and speak to filmmakers I admire a great deal. This year I spoke to people I never imagined I would. I started the year speaking with Oscar nominee, Javier Bardem, about the dark and heartbreaking triumph, BIUTIFUL. I finished the year speaking with Oscar hopeful, Michael Fassbender, about the equally exquisite, SHAME. In between, I also spoke with Morgan Spurlock, Ryan Gosling, Elizabeth Olsen, Gus Van Sant, Matthew McConaughey, Antonio Banderas and the director of this year's Oscar front runner, THE ARTIST, Michel Hazanavicius, amongst many others. I think my favourite interview I did all year was with Mike Mills, about his touching film, BEGINNERS. To speak with him about the very personal story that inspired the film was an honour. He has a beautiful soul and clearly the bravery needed to share it with others so freely.

My interviews have even led to a number of cover features for Hour Community and Ottawa Xpress. Here is a sampling (soon to be found framed on my wall).

You may already be familiar with my Top 10 Films of 2011 list, as it was already published in Hour Community. I still had a few films left to see before the end of the year and thought maybe one of those might change the final results, but alas, no. THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN sure came close but still, no. My Top 10 is a mixed bag of the big and the small, the tragic and the delightful, but most importantly, all ten of these pictures genuinely touched me in one way or another. They are all remarkable achievements in their own rights and it is my pleasure to share them with you.

In alphabetical order ... Here is Black Sheep's Top 10 of 2011!

THE ARTIST

Directed by Michel Hazanavicius

THE ARTIST defies all current rule by adhering to the rules of another era. In doing so, it recaptures an innocence and sense of magic that is sorely lacking from most of today's movies. Seeing it embraced is so wonderful because I know that the warmth I felt watching it is being spread to many unsuspecting and appreciative filmgoers.

BEGINNERS

Directed by Mike Mills

I know I said my interview with Mike Mills was my favourite of the year but I assure you I was in love with BEGINNERS before I met him. His musings about love and history are so whimsical yet they hold an unexpected weight of understanding at the same time. A second viewing simply had me basking in what a special film it is.

BRIDESMAIDS

Directed by Paul Feig

I never expected BRIDESMAIDS to make this list. I laughed when I saw it in theatres but was also torn about how realistically it portrayed the damage that permeates today's dating scene only to reinforce that love saves all in the end. I saw it again some time later. I don't know what kind of mood I was in the first time but this time, I lightened the F up and laughed my A off. My wig is off to Kristin!

THE DESCENDANTS

Directed by Alexander Payne

Alexander Payne's first film in seven years, THE DESCENDANTS, is the stuff Best Picture Oscars are made of. Or at least they should be, in my humble opinion. Payne, with the great help of his talented ensemble, let by the schleppiest George Clooney I've ever seen, has found the perfect balance between Hollywood accessibility and independent heart. It is his finest film.

DRIVE

Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

Watching DRIVE was one of the most exhilarating experiences I've had at the movie is my life. The trailer itself gave everything away but I had somehow managed to block all of that out before seeing it. This allowed me to soak in every little morsel of Nicolas Winding Refn's genius style and Ryan Gosling's smouldering intensity. It goes from quiet to completely disquieting in no time and it gets my motor running every time I see it.

MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE

Directed by Sean Durkin

Stop balking at the title and see this movie. Sean Durkin, a first time filmmaker has created a truly disturbing experience with MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE. The way he sees the story, in fractured pieces and bizarre but beautiful angles, draws our attention directly to the breakout performance of the year. Elizabeth Olsen is just mind-blowing in this. I could not stop looking at her nor did I want to.

MELANCHOLIA

Directed by Lars von Trier

This is another title I never expected to figure into this list. I have a complicated relationship with Lars von Trier. I am sure I'm not the only one either. All the same, MELANCHOLIA, which some might call his most accessible work to date, is absolutely breathtaking from beginning to end. It is masterful filmmaking and von Trier strikes an incredibly delicate balance between the bleak, the realistic and the unexpected humour that lies in between.

SHAME

Directed by Steve McQueen

I was so moved by Steve McQueen's HUNGER that when I heard he had teamed up with Michael Fassbender again for his second feature about sex addiction, I was naturally very excited. SHAME isn't an easy experience but such are some people's stories. Fassbender's Brandon has a story some would scoff at but McQueen makes his addiction completely understandable. The fact that he does so without truly diving into Brandon's past is a compliment to Fassbender's incredible depth.

THE TREE OF LIFE

Directed by Terrence Malick

This year is full of surprises. Never have I seen a more polarizing film experience and when I first saw THE TREE OF LIFE, I fully understood both sides. It wasn't until a second viewing that I let the side of me that loved this film take full control and just let it rush over me. Not only is it the most gorgeous looking and sounding film I've seen all year but it is, in the right light, a beautiful poem of epic proportion. Oh, and it also gave us Jessica Chastain. For that reason alone! 

(I reviewed the film twice. The links above are to my most recent review. Click here to read the original review.)

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

Directed by Lynne Ramsay

I always have a hard time finding the words to describe WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN. I definitely need to see it a second time before I can fully appreciate its beauty and depth. In the meantime though, I know how it made me feel, how it sucked me in and really kept me there throughout the film, wondering what had happened and why. Tilda Swinton does it again. That woman knows from cold.

TIFF Take 2 for me! Always unbelievable.

And that's 10, in case you lost count. Thanks for all your support this past year, with your sharing on Facebook and your tweeting and retweeting, and with just your reading of my work in general. I am truly grateful. Soon it will be your turn to tell me your favourites of the year for the Black Sheep Reviews Readers Choice Mouton d'Or Award so keep an eye out for that. The full Mouton d'Or Award nominations will be announced on January 22. In the meantime, I wish you all great success in 2012!

I leave you with a list of five more excellent films from 2011 that didn't quite make the Top 10. They do deserve honourable mention though.

50/50

Directed by Jonathan Levine

PARIAH

Directed by Dee Rees

TAKE SHELTER

Directed by Jeff Nichols

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

Directed by Tomas Alfredson

TYRANNOSAUR

Directed by Paddy Considine

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WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
Written by Lynne Ramsay and Rory Kinnear
Directed by Lynne Ramsay
Starring Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilley and Ezra Miller


Dr. Foulkes: He’s a floppy little boy, isn’t he? But there’s nothing wrong with him.

I know we’re supposed to talk about him but I have a very hard time talking about WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN. (I meant to write this review three weeks ago and just couldn’t do it until now.) From the moment it opens, with a jubilant Tilda Swinton, dousing herself, the people around her and the entire screen in deep red tomatoes and their juice at the Tomatina festival, in Bunol, Spain, I was consumed by the film. The imagery and the intention were so vibrant and alive, it was almost intoxicating. And then it gets drab and ugly and we are thrown into a world where every trace of Swinton’s former life is absent. All that remains is a run down shack on what is clearly the wrong side of town. The red is still there but now its the painted curse words on the front of her home. How did her life go from one extreme to the other? She had Kevin.

Swinton is mind blowing in Lynne Ramsay’s brilliant adaptation of Lionel Shriver’s popular novel. She plays Eva Katchadourian. Once upon a time she was a successful travel agent who would travel to the most exotic of locations with her happy husband, Franklin (John C. Reilley). Like most people, her life changed when she had a baby. Before long, she and her family were leaving New York City for a quiet place in the suburbs, as they do. Eva struggled though to find happiness in her new life. She never seemed to connect with her son, Kevin (played primarily as an adult on screen by the disturbingly lanky, Ezra Miller), and began to fear there was something wrong with him. It doesn’t take too long though before she starts to suspect that Kevin is just being spiteful and directing some fairly disturbing anger solely at her. It gets so callous she can hardly seem to get the words out at some point. She loves him but she also hates him simultaneously. It’s as if she knows she is obligated to love him but cannot for the life of her figure out how to accomplish this. And for as much direct suggestion the title provides, no one ever seems to talk too much about Kevin, when clearly they should.

Ramsay slowly reveals to us in flashback how Eva fell from grace and WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN becomes a modern telling of a familiar horror story. Personally, I find it quite refreshing to see a film about an evil child that isn’t possessed by some spirit or satanic force. Kevin has done something truly horrible but we don’t know what that is, just what it did to Eva’s life and that she never abandoned him despite any of it. The back and forth in time and space, which I loved being lost in, makes it near impossible to situate yourself directly in the narrative for too long at any one time, likely very similar to the blur of Eva’s fractured mind. To piece the puzzle together means having to ask whether or not Kevin’s troubles came from his mother or perhaps whether Kevin is just plain evil. It’s nature vs. nurture but it forces us to acknowledge that if we side with nature, we must not only admit that some apples really are just bad but also remember the trees they fell not too far from.

PS. If you or anyone you know is thinking about having children, you might seriously consider seeing this first (or not).

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Black Sheep's TIFF11 Review

Officially, it has been eleven days since TIFF sucked me into its unique brand of vortex but I've been dedicating my time to the festival for what seems like weeks now. I caught my first pre-TIFF screening on  August 16 and finish today with my 35th and final film. Sure there is a lot of time in a month to see 35 films but more than 20 of them were in the last 10 days alone. Factor in all the writing, all the interviews and all the running around too and it is easy to see why some in the industry describe this festival as an endurance test.

I know a few people in the biz here and there but, for the most part, I keep to myself. I hear things though. I hear other journalists who have been doing this way longer than I have talk about how happy they are that its ending, complaining about everything from the free food to the films themselves. And while TIFF seems like such a burden for them, its like Christmas for me. Sure, its easy for even me to complain when I have six interviews in a day and not one of them seems to start on time, but I am always grateful for the amazing opportunities being part of this festival affords me.

Meeting Roger Ebert at big book signing

This year, I did three times as many interviews as I did last year. I met with filmmakers I admire a great deal, including Gus Van Sant, Steve McQueen and Jean-Marc Vallee. I interviewed actors I love to watch, including Ryan Gosling, Michael Fassbender and Matthew Goode. I met the reigning king of all film criticism, Roger Ebert. I even stood three feet away from the biggest artistic inspiration of my life, Madonna, on her red carpet for W.E.. Sure, I never got to fit in A DANGEROUS METHOD into my schedule and my Jessica Chastain interview was canned at the last second but that's TIFF. You can plan as much as you want, and I assure you I did a great deal of advance planning this time around, but something will always change. You just have to ride it out, wherever it takes you. And if you just sink into the journey, you will have plenty of time to appreciate it.

I took this at the W.E. red carpet. I was shaking a lot.

And now, I would like to run down my 10 favourite TIFF11 films and five least enjoyed, beginning with the latter. (Click any linked film title for the full Black Sheep Review.)


TOP 5 WORST TIFF11 FILMS I SAW
(in alphabetical order)

ANONYMOUS
Directed by Roland Emmerich
Mr. Emmerich tries to break away from the genre he is famous for with this period melodrama about the authenticity of Shakespeare's work but only ends up making yet another disaster movie.

BUTTER
Directed by Jim Field Smith
Any hope of this Jennifer Garner political satire having any bite whatsoever melts away in the first ten minutes. Though the subject is butter carving, this film never takes proper shape.

LIKE CRAZY
Directed by Drake Doremus
This movie about two young people in love and trying to make it work with an ocean between them should have been called "Like Tedious and Insipid".

TAKE THIS WALTZ
Directed by Sarah Polley
I know a great deal of people who loved this movie about a woman torn between two men but I never really saw why other man (Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby) would want the woman (Michelle Williams) in the first place.

TRESPASS
Directed by Joel Schumacher
First of all, Mr. Schumacher has no business at TIFF to begin with. This was the funniest film I saw at TIFF and it's supposed to be a hostage thriller.

Mia Wasikowska and Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs

TOP 10 TIFF11 FILMS I SAW
(in alphabetical order)

50/50
Directed by Jonathan Levine
It'd billed as a cancer comedy but, as I've now told everyone I know, I cried five times watching this. The fantastic cast, led by Joseph Gordon Levitt, make this a must see fall film.

ALBERT NOBBS
Directed by Rodrigo Garcia
Glenn Close gives the performance of her career as a male butler in this fascinating period drama about gender identification and sexuality. She is a shoe-in for an Oscar nod and I hope the film picks up a few more for itself too.

THE ARTIST
Directed Michel Hazanavicius
Everything you've heard about this enchanting black and white, silent film is true. It is a simply told and brilliantly executed celebration of the cinema. You cannot help but feel happy when you see it.

THE DESCENDANTS
Directed by Alexander Payne
I love Hollywood storytelling when it's done right, with heart and intelligence. This George Clooney vehicle is an incredibly unique tale that reminds us that we never know what will happen in our lives that will bring us closer to ourselves and the one's we love.

DRIVE
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
I feel like people are all Drive'd out at this point but I personally want to see this movie again and again. It has an energy and tone to it that you don't often see come out of Hollywood. In time, this will be a cult classic.

Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk about Kevin

MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE
Directed by Sean Durkin
This was the first film I saw for TIFF this year and it remains one of the most disturbing experiences I had throughout the entire festival. Elizabeth Olsen is incredible in her debut and I hope she is able to hold the momentum she has started until she earns an Oscar nod for this.

MELANCHOLIA
Directed by Lars von Trier
I'm not ordinarily a huge fan of this man's work but I was fully absorbed by Lars von Trier's fascinating and visually stunning contemplation on depression set against the end of the world. Somehow, despite its subject matter, it still manages to be amusing.

SHAME
Directed by Steve McQueen
Michael Fassbender will pick up his first Oscar nomination for this incredibly honest look at sexual addiction. Audiences have been somewhat polarized on this but that often tends to happen when the mirror is held up to them with such strength.

TYRANNOSAUR
Directed by Paddy Considine

Actor turned director, Paddy Considine, has written a tale of two people struggling with the misery that has consumed their lives. To say it is dark would be a grand understatement but if you can find the hope in the film, it will move you significantly.

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
Directed by Lynne Ramsay
This is by far one of the most striking and colourful films I saw this year. Tilda Swinton is unbelievable as a mother grappling with the love she feels for her sociopathic son. Bloody brilliant.

That's me with my pass! Always an honour.

I want to thank everyone that made TIFF11 possible for me. First of all, my editors at Hour Community and Ottawa Xpress for sending me. My boss at the bank for giving me the time off to pursue my passion. All the great PR people at Alliance, StarPR, AMPR, Fox Searchlight, Sony and eOne for all their assistance with booking advance screenings and interviews. And of course I need to thank my readers and fellow film enthusiasts for keeping the conversations going on the site, on Twitter and in person during the festival.

TIFF brings film fans from all over the world to Toronto and it is a pleasure to share this experience with everyone who truly appreciates just how rare and amazing it is. I am truly blessed to have had this opportunity for a second year and hope it comes around again next year. Thank you again for all your support and until then, Happy TIFF!

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