2010

——The Essentials——

INCEPTION (Christopher Nolan)

The monster of modern mind-benders, this epic has it all. Big stars, awesome special effects and a big concept that rivals them all. You can go for the ride without leaving your brain at home. Already a respected filmmaker, Christopher Nolan went into the pantheon with this one.

THE SOCIAL NETWORK (David Fincher)

The saga of Mark Zuckerberg and the creation of Facebook gets the “A” treatment from David Fincher and company. Scorches its way along with a sizzling Oscar-winning script by Aaron Sorkin. Great performances from its young cast headed by Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake. A modern movie for modern times.

The double-disc DVD features an exhaustively complete look at the making of the film. It is a virtual master class in how to make a movie. That is, if you have the energy and endless creative curiosity of a David Fincher.

——Jeff’s Picks——

INSIDE JOB (Charles Ferguson)

One of the best documentaries of modern times, it investigates the global financial crisis of 2008. In addition to a thorough examination of how it happened and the assortment of players who brought it on (in Politics, Finance and Academia), this film serves as a chilling reminder of just who runs the show, and therefore our lives. Are we doomed to repeat the same mistakes again, only with slight variations? Is greed and hubris just too locked into the human condition to prevent it? These are just some of the questions raised by this superb documentary. Narrated by Matt Damon.

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT (Lisa Cholodenko)

The perfect Indie movie? Top performances by Annette Bening, Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo in this neat little comedy drama of a lesbian couple raising two teenagers. The domestic balance is skewed by the introduction into their lives of the biological father of the two kids. Sometimes heavy, sometimes light. Sometimes both at the same time. Just like life.

LET ME IN (Matt Reeves)

This American remake of the 2008 Swedish film, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is effective in its own right. Adhering to the original’s storyline, it creates a mood all its own. Changing the locale to a snowy New Mexico, we follow the 12-yr old protagonist Owen and his lonely, unhappy life. Bullied at school and neglected at home, Owen meets Abby. Being a vampire girl, Abby has difficulties of her own. An uneasy romance is born.

Beautifully acted by the leads Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Grace Moretz, the film manages to be scary, touching and funny …… occasionally at the same time.

SHUTTER ISLAND (Martin Scorsese)

A neat psychological thriller that delivers even after you figure out what the plot “secret” is. Harkening back to Hitchcock and the 40’s (Spellbound, The Spiral Staircase, etc), Scorsese always seems to know how to strike the right tone. Even when he’s experimenting. DiCaprio is his able partner in crime.