My best of list is coming shortly but for now enjoy the select morsels of hidden gem that you may have missed at the cinema. Prehaps you could pick them up on DVD or wait til their actual cinema release next year?
The Genre-Giant's Hidden Gems of 2010
The Christmas tale of tradition gets a bit dark and a little twisted in this Finnish macabre tale where Santa really wants to eat bad children instead of giving them presents. Entertaining and a refreshing change for Christmas films, complete with a gut busting finale. It’s worth checking out around this festive time.
From an independent cinema employees eyes, The Millennium Trilogy was the biggest world cinema release of the year. The first film, Dragon Tattoo, is a perfectly paced and tense thriller that doesn’t shy away from the dark sides of human nature. However, its two sequels dampened the original’s glow and its TV roots horribly showed. I’m looking forward to seeing what Fincher and Craig do with the English version but I still recommend this one for any detective story lovers out there.
We had many men on mission movies this year. A-Team, Expendables, Red. So many. The best one is the one that didn’t expect much attention from anyone. Based on the comic book, The Losers was breezy entertainment. A great cast that gave everyone a chance to shine from Jeffery Dean Morgan to Idris Elba to Chris Evans – even to Jason Patric. It didn’t have anything to prove and it reaps the benefits with this nice Saturday night actioner.
Carlos (Five Hour Version)
Last year I was quite fond of Vincent Cassel’s epic tale of crime with Mesrine that spanned two films. Carlos was in a similar vein, charting the mysterious political terrorist over his rise and fall in the late 70s and early 80s. Spanning five and a half hours, this dramatized biopic was propelled by a great performance by Edgar Ramirez (who incidentally attended the screening I went to and was kind enough to sign the back of my ticket) as Carlos embodying charisma, boldness and sleaze as the hypocritical terrorist. There is a three hour version out there for those not too fussed by all the details but it’s a must watch for European crime cinema.
I saw it for the first time in 2008 at the London Film Festival and loved it. However well recieved though, it shockingly took two years for it to get an UK release but Rian Johnson’s second film is just as entertaining as his breakthrough Brick. Great performances and a great score makes this tale of conmen in Europe always entertaining to watch.
Everything Must Go (2011)
Not many people will stretch past the idea of Will Ferrell doing nothing but man child comedies. He dabbled a bit with straighter comedy in the surreal Stranger Than Fiction and he did again with Everything Must Go. A bittersweet comedy about one man’s collapse through alcoholism was helped by Ferrell’s presence. Injecting some of the depressing turn of events with a sympathetic edge and likeability as its protagonist, Everything Must Go was a refreshing change from Ferrell’s usual bout of shouting like a girl. It’s out in 2011 at cinemas, hopefully, and it’s recommended.
In an age where spoofs and satires mostly consisted of Vampires Suck. At least someone, out there, tried to take it back to the good days. Michael Jai White (you know, Spawn) came up with the idea of Black Dynamite, a 70s afro crime fighter that’s superbad and knows kung-fu. It’s loving send up off everything Jai White loves in blackploitation and it’s funny. Very funny. From intended hiccups in filming from changing a stunt man, to boom shots, to the utterly insane plot diversion to Kung-Fu Island. Black Dynamite is something fans of blackploitation and spoof fans will enjoy.
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