10.
Bellflower
Two guys worship at the altar of The Road Warrior and set out to build a flamethrower and a fire-breathing muscle car. This is the introduction to a romance dealing with the darkest corners of our imagination all in an effort to help one man cope with a broken heart. Bellflower is a truly unique film that seems to split those that have seen it, but is one I think you should seek out and experience for yourself. In fact, you can buy it at Amazon right now.
Read my full review of Bellflower right here.
9.
Moneyball
I didn’t know what to do with Moneyball when it came to making this list. It’s a very enjoyable film and one I would watch again without complaint. In fact, I have, and both times I really enjoyed it. How good is it though? It’s a film where I have a feeling I’m giving it too much praise and yet both times I watched it I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed it.
Perhaps this is all because director Bennett Miller made it all seem so easy. Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill were excellent opposite one another and the fact Miller, along with screenwriters Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, were able to tell a baseball story that wasn’t about baseball simply won me over. On top of that, the cinematography by Wally Pfister and Mychael Danna‘s score are excellent takeaways.
Read my full review of Moneyball from the Toronto International Film Festival right here.
8.
Tyrannosaur
The final 10-15 minutes of Tyrannosaur are extraordinary and much like A Separation there’s a revelation that turns the whole story on its head. However, I felt the revelation in A Separation was something of a cheat, whereas here, it advanced a theme that’s hinted throughout the entire film and then delivered with a massive gut punch at the end. And that’s even before you start drawing your own moral lines of right and wrong.
Carried by powerful performances by both Olivia Colman and Peter Mullan this is a film few have yet had the chance to see, but it will gain a lot of attention for first time feature director Paddy Considine once it hits rental shelves.
Of all the films that made my top ten list this is probably the toughest one to watch, but also one of the most rewarding. It would be a tough one to revisit, but at the same time one worth revisiting.
Read my full review of Tyrannosaur right here.
7.
The Adjustment Bureau
The Adjustment Bureau is a perfect example of less is more. I’ve seen people complaining about the role the hats played in this sci-fi romance, but I’d rather a fedora be used to help a group of fate manipulating “angels” rather than some snazzy sci-fi electrical device zapping them here and there. It’s a goofy premise no doubt, but at least it’s different. And yet, the hats don’t even matter. The point of the film isn’t the gadget that explains the narrative, but the narrative itself.
With The Adjustment Bureau you are dealing with one of the most preposterous stories I’ve seen in a long time, but the way the story is told and the chemistry between Matt Damon and Emily Blunt turned it into one of the best throwbacks to Hitchcockian storytelling I’ve seen in some time.
Read my full review of The Adjustment Bureau right here.
