The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - #3 of 2012

Perhaps I’m just an old man at heart.  For some reason, I just love movies about our older generation finding new paths and experiencing new things in their twilight years.  Cocoon, About Schmidt, The Straight Story, RED, and The Visitor.  These are all fantastic films and I highly recommend seeing them.  And now, I have another fantastic film to add to this list:  The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Now, I will admit.  The title did absolutely nothing for me.  And while stuck on a plane from Frankfurt to Jeddah I almost overlooked it.  However, thankfully, none of the movies featured on the flight excited me much, so I went back and read the synopsis of Marigold Hotel… and the cast alone hooked me right away.  The cast of this movie is a who’s who of Briton’s top veteran actors and actresses:  Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love), Bill Nighy (Love Actually), Penelope Wilton (Downton Abby), Maggie Smith (Harry Potter series and Downton Abby), Tom Wilkinson (In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton), Ronald Pickup (The Mission and Danny, The Champion of the World), Celia Imrie (Bridget Jones’s Diary series), and Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire).

Beyond the amazing cast, the premise of the movie amused me:  A group of seniors burdened by poor economic times ‘outsource’ their retirement to India, moving to what they thought was a newly renovated luxury hotel, run by the enthusiastic and charming Dev Patel.  However, the reality they find once they arrive is a dilapidated and out-of-date hotel serving food too spicy for their English palates.

Furthermore, the story is masterfully told my director John Madden.  Madden has directed Judi Dench to two Oscar nominations and one win for Mrs. Brown and Shakespeare in Love.  The latter co-starred Tom Wilkinson, who also starred in Madden’s latest film, The Debt.  Madden makes very thoughtful films and his work on The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is no different.

Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, and Tom Wilkinson are fantastic playing characters totally in their wheelhouse; however the standouts, in my opinion, are Bill Nighy and Dev Patel.

Bill Nighy is one of my favorite character actors and I’m always excited when I see him popup in a film.  And back in 2005, Serena and I saw The Girl in the Café which features Bill in a leading role… and he was absolutely brilliant.  For me, seeing an actor, who traditionally takes on supporting roles, deliver such a compelling leading performance was very special.  His performance in The Girl in the Café proved that Bill Nighy is more than an evil vampire.  More than an over domineering step-father turned zombie.  More than an aging rock-star.  Bill Nighy is an extremely talented and thoughtful actor.  And his performance in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is nothing short than brilliant and will give viewers a different side of Bill Nighy to adore.

Equally as fun and compelling is Dev Patel.  Still early in his career, I can only really compare him to his performance in Slumdog Millionaire… but his performance in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is so completely different that I can’t help but describe him as ‘refreshing and remarkable’.

In closing, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a must see. 

Best Performances of 2010 - Dynamic List

My ‘Best Performances’ dynamic lists are a lot like my Film lists, but slightly different.  For starters, while every film I see makes it onto my Film lists… only the most noteworthy performance make it onto my Best Performances lists.  Also, I only rank order what I consider the Top 5 Performances of the year.  However, I also maintain an Honorable Mentions list for each category, which is populated by performances that have either been bumped from the Top 5 or performances that are particularly noteworthy but not Top 5 worthy.  The honorable mentions are listed in alphabetical order by last name and are not rank ordered. 

That said, my Best Performances lists is just as dynamic and ever changing as my Film lists.

Best Performances of 2010:

Best Actor

1. James Franco – 127 Hours
2. Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
3. Ryan Gosling – Blue Valentine
4. Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network
5. Russell Crowe – The Next Three Days

Honorable Mentions:

• Jeff Bridges – True Grit
• Steve Carell – Date Night
• Michael Cera – Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
• Michael Cera – Youth in Revolt
• George Clooney – The American
• Rob Corddry – Hot Tub Time Machine
• Russell Crowe – Robin Hood
• Leonardo DiCaprio - Inception
• Zach Galifianakis – It’s Kind of a Funny Story
• John C. Reilly - Cyrus
• Mark Wahlberg – The Fighter

Best Actress

1. Natalie Portman – Black Swan
2. Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine
3. Tina Fey – Date Night
4. Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right
5. Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone

Honorable Mentions:

• Cate Blanchett – Robin Hood
• Dakota Fanning – The Runaways
• Rebecca Hall – The Town
• Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole
• Julianne Moore – The Kids Are All Right
• Ellen Page - Inception
• Mary-Louise Parker - RED
• Emma Stone – Easy A

Best Supporting Actor

1. Christian Bale – The Fighter
2. Michael Shannon – The Runaways
3. Geoffrey Rush – The King’s Speech
4. Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Inception
5. Anthony Hopkins – You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

Honorable Mentions:

• Russell Brand – Get Him to the Greek
• Josh Brolin – True Grit
• Nicolas Cage – Kick-Ass
• Thomas Haden Church – Easy A
• John Hawkes – Winter’s Bone
• Jonah Hill - Cyrus
• Jon Lovitz – Casino Jack
• John Malkovich – RED
• Liam Neeson – The Next Three Days
• Jeremy Renner – The Town
• Mickey Rourke – Iron Man 2
• Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are All Right
• Justin Timberlake – The Social Network
• Stanley Tucci – Easy A
• Mark Wahlberg – Date Night

Best Supporting Actress

1. Melissa Leo – The Fighter
2. Jackie Weaver – Animal Kingdom
3. Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech
4. Amy Adams – The Fighter
5. Marisa Tomei - Cyrus

Honorable Mentions:

• Elizabeth Banks – The Next Three Days
• Irina Bjorklund – The American
• Patricia Clarkson – Easy A
• Emily Meade - Twelve
• Helen Mirren - RED
• Chloe Grace Moretz – Kick-Ass
• Lucy Punch – You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
• Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit

Best Films of 2010 – Dynamic List

The concept of the Dynamic List is pretty simple.  As I see films, they are placed onto the list.  The list is rank ordered from best to worst.  So, films are placed onto the list based on how I liked that film in comparison to others that came out the same year.  Just because a film enters the list at #10 doesn't mean it will stay there… as films enter the list, others will be pushed down to lower rankings, which is why the list is dynamic.  The list is ever changing.  Sure, my focus may be on the films of this year; however that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped watching films from previous years.  And as I do… my previous lists continue to be dynamic!

Films of 2010:

1. 127 Hours
2. Inception
3. The Next Three Days
4. The Social Network
5. The Fighter
6. The King’s Speech
7. Toy Story 3
8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
9. It’s Kind of a Funny Story
10. Exit Through the Gift Shop
11. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
12. Date Night
13. Catfish
14. The Town
15. Robin Hood
16. Black Swan
17. Easy A
18. Cyrus
19. Winter’s Bone
20. The Kids Are All Right
21. Kick-Ass
22. Rabbit Hole
23. Restrepo
24. Twelve
25. The Tourist
26. Hot Tube Time Machine
27. Red
28. 4.3.2.1
29. The American
30. Animal Kingdom
31. True Grit
32. Due Date
33. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
34. How to Train Your Dragon
35. Salt
36. Megamind
37. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
38. Casino Jack
39. Youth in Revolt
40. The Illusionist
41. Despicable Me
42. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
43. The Runaways
44. Blue Valentine
45. Iron Man 2
46. Conviction
47. The Other Guys
48. Buried
49. Nowhere Boy
50. Dinner for Schmucks
51. Devil
52. Grown Ups
53. The A-Team
54. Get Him to the Greek
55. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
56. The Expendables
57. Little Fockers
58. Tangled
59. Gulliver’s Travels
60. Knight and Day
61. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
62. Morning Glory
63. The Ghost Writer
64. Alice in Wonderland
65. Green Zone
66. Greenberg
67. The Book of Eli
68. Valentine’s Day
69. Shutter Island
70. Unstoppable
71. Yogi Bear
72. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
73. Clash of the Titans
74. Tron Legacy
75. The Twilight Sage: Eclipse
76. Jonah Hex
77. The Last Airbender
78. Alpha and Omega
79. The Spy Next Door
80. Sex and the City 2
81. Eat Pray Love
82. The Wolfman

21 Jump Street - #6 of 2012

I am a little torn. 

I really enjoyed 21 Jump Street, however, I’m not sure if my mood and environment at the time of the screening directly influenced my opinion.  There I was… rocking business class on an overnight flight from Washington, DC to Frankfurt, Germany... it was my second flight of the day, the seat was incredibly comfortable, the three course meal delectable, the Malbec delicious, and my personal LCD screen was triple the size of what I normally get in economy.  In short… I was in a very good mood.

So, to keep my mood soaring, I opted to watch a ridiculous comedy during my dinner:  21 Jump Street.

Perhaps it was my mood… my environment… or perhaps it was the fact that I went into this film with zero expectations… however I really enjoyed it and I would recommend it to anyone, especially if you remember the original 21 Jump Street television series.  That said, you don’t have to be familiar with the show; however, you’ll appreciate the movie even more if you are… especially when Johnny Depp and Peter DeLuise make their cameo… which was fantastically brilliant.

Ultimately, I found 21 Jump Street very fresh and oddly original, even for being a remake… and they hooked me in the first 10 minutes when Hill and Tatum get transferred and their Chief says, “We're reviving a canceled undercover project from the '80s and revamping it for modern times. The people behind this lack creativity and they've run out of ideas, so what they do now is just recycle shit from the past and hope that nobody will notice.”

I predict that Jonah Hill is going to be a household name for a very long time.   Not only did Jonah act in 21 Jump Street, he also wrote and produced the picture as well.  And when a comedy makes money while also getting good reviews (85% freshness from Rotten Tomatoes), the man behind the curtain (Jonah) is going to find his stock rising.  In addition, with an Oscar nomination under his belt, for Moneyball, Jonah is now being tapped to work with the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese, as well as maintaining a heavy schedule of comedies, which is totally he wheel house.  Jonah’s versatility could make him the next Robin Williams.

I also have to give props to Channing Tatum.  For the most part I’ve always seen Tatum as just another pretty boy pretending to be an action star and romantic leading man… however… my opinion of him started to change a bit after seeing The Vow.  I’ve also heard good things about Haywire, however I haven’t seen it yet.  But as for 21 Jump Street, this pretty boy ‘heartthrob’ has some serious comedy chops.  Tatum was hilarious.  Almost more so than Hill.  I was really surprised.  I was really expecting Tatum to be Hill’s straight man, trying to keep up, however I would completely wrong.  There was no straight man in this film.  Hill and Tatum were a perfectly balanced team.

All and all, it was a very fun comedy and I would totally watch it again.