Our favorite 10 films from the past year.
by Haley Cullingham


1. In Bruges – Written and directed by Martin McDonagh
Politically incorrect for some, hilarious for others. Obesity, midgets and blow have never been so funny as they are in Belgium.


2. The Class (Entre Les Murs) – Directed by Laurent Cantet

Set in a tough multicultural neighbourhood in Paris, real-life teacher and novelist Francois Begaudeau plays himself, illustrating the difficulties of teaching students who are juggling course-work with real world, adult struggles. Watch him spar with loud-mouthed ladies with iPod nanos clipped to their braids, and tough guys who refer to the principal’s office as guantanamo and question their teachers sexuality. The intelligence, honesty and intensity of this film will surprise you.


3. Joy Division – Directed by Grant Gee

Veteran documentarian Grant Gee (Radiohead: Meeting People is Easy) turns his lens to ’70’s New Wave heroes Joy Division, whose success was cut short by the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis. Band members from the original Joy Division and it’s post-Curtis incarnation, New Order, lend commentary to the film, as well as his mistress, Annik Honore.


4. Milk – Directed by: Gus Van Sant

Sean Penn plays gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk with sincerity and conviction; an oscar worthy performance that will reincarnate this hero with much deserved contemporary notoriety.

Let us rewind to 1969 New York City:The Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village spark the birth of the Gay Liberation movement, and Harvey Milk – on the brink of forty, begins life again; this time with a strong sense of purpose. With a provocative pass made on the steps of a NYC subway stop, Milk, immediately entranced with stranger Scott Smith (James Franco), titillates the young hot man back to his apartment to celebrate an otherwise lonely 40th birthday. Playful in bed, the two men become fast lovers and within a short time decide to travel cross country and plant their roots in hippie land; San Francisco. Supposedly the liberal mecca of that time, they are shocked to encounter prejudice – and especially so in the vibrantly gay Castro District. What begins as a casual gathering of likeminded folk at Milk and Smith’s camera shop, quickly gains momentum and the business of selling cameras takes a back seat to a passionate political movement. A pivotal point in history, this is an important film, that will hook you from the beginning, not just with Milk’s life, but with the rich characters that surrounded him. MILK captivated audiences and brings to life a vivacious time period that exerted absolute energy.


5. Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist – Directed by Peter Sollett

Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist is every bit as smart, funny, and sweet as Juno, Michael Cera’s other coming-of-age movie starring a sassy brunette. If Juno was a slow wander through adolescence, Nick and Norah is like a never-ending night driving under the stars with your head out the window: a fast-paced, quirky love story that is as hilarious as it is heartwarming. Every element of this movie, including the fact that Nick (Michael Cera) and Norah (Kat Dennings) don’t drink, is cheesy, charming, high school hilarious. Plus, Andy Samberg makes a cameo as a homoerotic hobo. BEST NIGHT OF OUR LIVES!


6. Doubt – Directed by John Patrick Shanley

We could watch Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman talk about wet cement for three hours and be engaged, so when they lash out at each other about child molestation in the Catholic Church we are absolutely shaken to the core.


7. Rachel Getting Married – Directed by Jonathan Demme

After nine months in rehab, needy and over analytical little sister Kym returns home for her older and more together sister’s wedding. Family dysfunction at it’s most delicious.

The house is busy with musicians practicing, bridesmaids fitting dresses, cleaning, decorating, flower arranging – and all that other shit, when little sister Kym (Anne Hathaway) slams through the door smoking and disrupting everyone with longwinded babble and insecure lashes for attention. Things escalate into complicated when Kym rages about not being Maid of Honour, and gives a very inappropriate and awkward speech amongst soon to be in-laws. It’s a terrific film from the get go, but then dives six levels deeper when ghosts from the past appear and the audience begins to understand the family dynamic through a devastating history. You will laugh at the familiar family chaos, snappy dialogue and sisterly confrontation, and you will also feel pained by the existing grief that tore the family apart. Remarkable – in every way.


8. Valentino: The Last Emperor – Directed by Matt Tyrnauer

Valentino, The Last Emperor, follows the Italian King of Couture in his last year designing for the legendary fashion house. Centred around his 45th anniversary party outside the Roman Coliseum, the film follows Valentino and his business partner, old friend, and sometimes lover Giancarlo Giametti through a circus of fittings, fashion shows, fabulous parties, and calling each other fat. The protaganist and those that surround him, including Andre Leon Talley and Karl Lagerfeld, are rendered with humour, honesty, and respect.


9. Vicky Christina Barcelona – Directed by Woody Allen

Two American girls, Vicky and Cristina (respectively played by talented newcomer Rebecca Hall and classic beauty Scarlett Johansson) arrive in Barcelona for a summer of much learning and unpredictable adventure. While dining quietly in a restaurant, they are approached by dark and handsome stranger; Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem). The confident artist proposes the three of them to fly with him to Oviedo for a weekend of great food, culture and lovemaking. Amongst the night time guitar strumming, wine sampling, and hushed historical secrets in the picturesque seaside escape; a somewhat awkward love triangle forms. Both girls succumb to Antonio’s charms-with drastically different results.

Up the ante drama arrives on time when fiery and suicidal ex-wife Maria Elena enters the picture. To find a beauty that trumps Johansson is a difficult task, but instant competition forms when teary eyed, tussled hair Penelope Cruz arrives with perfectly pouted lips, and riveting cleavage. The dynamic between Juan Antonio’s exotic ex-wife and new muse is delicious to watch.

In the hands of the lusty trio of Johansen, Hall, and Cruz, the drama and intensity pushes right up against the screen. Titillating friction and sparking energy come across with authenticity.


10. The Wackness – Written and directed by Jonathan Levine

NYC in the 1990’s was all about the shrink couch, hip hop, crime crack down and pure dopeness. Luke Shapiro (played by newcomer Josh Peck) is finishing his final year of high school but is more successful at pushing his weed cart through Washington Square and making mad cash while listening to Notorious B.I.G. Feeling sexually frustrated, apathetic, and socially awkward he finds solace and a peculiar friendship with his Psychiatrist (played by Ben Kingsley) who offers up free Freudian bull shit and quasi hippie spiritual advice in return for some hits on the bong and a quarter ounce of weed. Shapiro becomes enamoured with Dr. Squires sultry step daughter Stephanie (played by JUNO babe, Olivia Thirbly) and a hot summer quest to lose his virginity and go steady sparks.