Jordan’s Top 20 of 2011: Picks 20-11

It’s hard to believe that the predicted apocalypse is nearly upon us. Looking back though, it wouldn’t be a bad note to go out on, with so many quality films making their way to theaters around the globe this year. Not surprisingly, several titles tackled the topic of the end of the world (most notably the beautifully bleak Melancholia and the horrifically realistic Contagion), while others looked at the grim realities of life and decided that a brighter future is just around the bend (the youthful confusion of In A Better World and the depressingly sensual Burning Man).

This year, an adept assemblage of master auteurs put forth some of their greatest work to date, while an abundance of newcomers by the likes of Tristen Patterson, Sean Durkin, Richard Ayoade and Jason Eisener caused quite a ruckus in the film world with their magnificent debut efforts. Each with distinct voices and clear cut styles, whether they be punk influenced authenticity, or blood spattered, B-grade goodness, excellent young filmmakers were in abundance, and thanks to them, it looks like cinephiles have a lot to look forward to in the coming years. Keep an eye out for Jonathan Teplitzky’s devastating look at the fallout in the wake of cancer in Burning Man, and, though it didn’t make the top 20, Jessica Yu’s concerning doc on the incoming water crisis, Last Call at the Oasis, to make a splash in the coming year. That is, if we make it that far.

20) 13 Assassins
Takashi Miike has slowed down a bit over the years from making three or four films a year to only about two, still much more prolific than your average director. The extra time seems to have allowed Miike to let his projects breathe, and 13 Assassins is a slow builder with more more class than anything Miike has done up to this point. The film is basically an updated take on Kurosawa’s masterpiece, Seven Samurai, but it is an artfully crafted, surprisingly tasteful representation. Plus, the final 45 minute battle sequence is a must see action set piece that is pure insanity. I would never have expected that this came from the creator of Visitor Q and The Happiness of the Katakuris.

19) Hobo With A Shotgun
Following the inclusion of Jason Eisener’s fake trailer with the Tarantino/Rodriguez Grindhouse double feature, Hobo With A Shotgun became an actual feature with its young creator at the helm and Rutger Hauer in the leading role. Paying homage to the blood oozing ridiculousness of exploitation’s past, Eisener found the sweet spot between admiration and emulation. Knowing full well that the envelope needed to be pushed to the absolute brink while giving the lead a likable, emotional core, this joy ride of over the top gore and outrageous humor is a refreshing filmic experience that breathes new, sanguine life into midnight cinema.

18) The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
After watching the original Swedish series, I honestly didn’t see much point in creating an American remake, but if anyone was to attempt such a thing, David Fincher was the man to do so. As expected, he condenses the story with constantly overlapping dialogue and on screen action at a blistering pace with elegance and effortless style. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross low fairly loss this time around while Rooney Mara takes center stage in an absolutely commanding performance. There are tweaks and omissions to the story abound, but the film as a detached entity is a near flawless thriller, and I couldn’t ask for anything more.

17) Contagion
Steven Soderbergh’s newest is a terrifying examination of how people might react to a modern day plague. What makes it the best horror film of the year is that this could potentially happen in real life. A fluke crossover of viruses and the entire human race could be at risk within days. Soderbergh’s big budget, trenchant vision is ice cold. We don’t get to know its sprawling A-list cast of characters. They are mere vehicles of fear and adaptation. We just watch the chaos unfold as the world descends into panic. Hypochondriacs beware. This is not the film for you.

16) Shame
Other than The Tree Of Life, there was no other film this year that had to live up to more expectations than Steve McQueen’s follow up to his astoundingly good debut Hunger. Though the story itself is almost your run of the mill addiction case, Michael Fassbender’s fearless performance as Brandon and McQueen’s reserved directorial prowess come together once again, culminating in a hard to watch film that aims to prove sex addition is just as life ruining as any other addiction. Brandon’s life revolves around sex, but despite his confident swagger, striking good looks, and ease in bed, McQueen makes it crystal clear that there is nothing sexy about Brandon’s affliction.

15) Submarine
Somewhere along the line, Richard Ayoade’s debut picked up many comparisons to the works of Wes Anderson, but his film has much more in common with the same early works that influenced Anderson’s sense of humor; those being The Graduate and Harold & Maude. Craig Roberts plays Oliver Tate, a tortured teen who obsesses about dying and is infatuated with a girl in his class. Direct influences can be spotted throughout, but Ayoade’s youthful creation has a quirky spunk all its own. It’s full of awkward comedy, both spoken and physical, while remaining honest in its thorougheart trial and error first relationship depiction.

14) Nostalgia For The Light
Chilean filmmaker Patricio Guzmán accidentally crafted a non-fiction version of The Tree of Life with his newest masterpiece, connecting interstellar archeology of astronomers in the Atacama Desert with the local tragedies that continue to haunt Chileans in the wake of Augusto Pinochet’s brutal military coup of 1973. The frame is continuously filled with gorgeously meditative extended shots that allow us to ponder the questions Guzmán poses. With love for his country on his sleeve, he acknowledges the grand expanse above our heads and urges us to gaze skyward and to the past for reflective insight.

13) In a Better World
As its young lead in William Jøhnk Nielsen bashes the head of a fellow classmate with his bike lock, you get the sense that anything could happen in this story of broken homes and departed parents. Loosing a parent as a child can be incredibly tough, and director Susanne Bier lets Nielsen look over the edge, literally, before bringing him back to reality. The film plays out between two distinct cultures, a suburban village in Denmark where most of the action plays out, and a harsh refugee camp in Sudan where a doctor (one of the boy’s father’s) treats poor warlord victims part time, complimenting and exaggerating the situation back in Denmark. The film is an exquisitely intense pot boiling examination of what is right and what is wrong.

12) Incendies
Canada is not the source I would expect to be the home of a film dealing with Arab unrest in the Middle East, but Denis Villeneuve’s disturbing dissection of family secrets was a (un)pleasant surprise. Taking cues from Oldboy, a family’s lineage is unearthed after the passing of a mother sends her kids to look for the father and brother they didn’t know existed. Cultural discovery and detachment are at the forefront of this exquisite family drama that is sure to leave you with something akin to a bitter beer face as the credits roll.

11) How To Die In Oregon
Sadly stuck within the confines of a small screen HBO release, this Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning doc is an intensely personal and politically poignant look at the impact of Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act that allows terminally ill people to end their own lives with a prescription from their doctor. While getting seriously intimate with death, director Peter Richardson manages to remain sensitive to his subjects and their heartbrokenly understanding families. I highly doubt I will ever see that many people crying in a movie theater ever again.