Ewan McGregor Joins 'Snowtown' Director Justin Kurzel's John Le Carré Adaptation 'Our Kind Of Traitor' NEWS BY KEVIN JAGERNAUTH JANUARY 17, 2013 9:40 PM (INDIEWIRE)

First announced last spring, "The Snowtown Murders" director Justin Kurzel's adaptation of John Le Carré's "Our Kind Of Traitor" has been moving slowly. There was a brief flick of life in November when it was reported that Mads Mikkelsen, Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain were rumored for roles. But now it seems the first actor has come aboard, and it's none of those names.

According to the usually plugged-in Baz Bamigboye, Ewan McGregor has joined the picture in an unspecified lead role. The film, penned by Hossein Amini ("Drive," "Snow White and the Huntsman"), follows an English couple who get mixed up with a Russian businessman who turns out to be an oligarch, and one of the world's biggest money launderers. They get caught up in his plans to defect and are soon positioned between the Russian Mafia and the British Secret Service, neither of whom they can trust. We presume McGregor is one half of the English couple.

READ MORE: http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/ewan-mcgregor-joins-snowtown-director-justin-kurzels-john-le-carre-adaptation-our-kind-of-traitor-20130117

Robert Pattinson Teaming Up With Carey Mulligan For James Marsh's Hold On To Me 0 Comments published: 2012-10-16 15:47:45 Author: Eric Eisenberg (CINEMA BLEND)

If Carey Mulligan isn't careful she is going to earn the jealousy of women worldwide. Just last year she got to star alongside both Ryan Gosling and Michael Fassbender in Drive and Shame, respectively, and now she's going to get the chance to work alongside yet another one of Hollywood's biggest heartthrobs. Robert Pattinson, who has the final film in the Twilight franchise due out next month, has been cast alongside Mulligan in the drama Hold on To Me.

Deadline has learned that the project is being sold at the American Film Market, and the project has Academy Award winning filmmaker James Marsh attached to helm. Based on a true story, the movie will have Mulligan playing a "femme fatale who with her boyfriend kidnaps and ransoms the town’s richest man." The plan, however, goes horribly wrong and they have to bury the body. Pattinson will be playing Jimmy, the "woman’s life love." Brad Ingelsby, who wrote the upcoming Scott Cooper thriller Out of the Furnace, is writing the screenplay.

READ MORE: http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Robert-Pattinson-Teaming-Up-With-Carrie-Mulligan-James-Marsh-Hold-Me-33602.html

BAFTA Nominees for 2012 (Yahoo)

LONDON (AP) — It's spry versus spy as frothy silent movie "The Artist" and moody thriller "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" lead the race for the British Academy Film Awards, Britain's equivalent of the Oscars.

"The Artist" received 12 nominations and "Tinker Tailor" 11, with each film up for best picture and director, and best actor nominations for leading men Jean Dujardin and Gary Oldman.

The other best-film nominees, announced at a ceremony Tuesday by actors Daniel Radcliffe and Holliday Grainger, were "The Descendants," ''Drive" and "The Help."

In a diverse field not dominated by any single film, there are also multiple nominations for "Hugo," ''My Week With Marilyn," ''The Iron Lady" and "The Help."

The nominations are another feather in the cap of "The Artist," a black and white French film about a silent screen star's fall with the rise of talkies.

And they are a boost for "Tinker Tailor," an atmospheric adaptation of John le Carre's espionage classic that has received rave reviews but has so far been snubbed during the U.S. awards season.

"Tinker Tailor" producer Tim Bevan said the film was a "particularly British cultural phenomenon. It's great that it's being recognized at the BAFTAs but that it hasn't at the Golden Globes is not surprising."

"'The Artist' seems to be the film with the momentum, and rightly so," he said. "It's been an OK year but not a brilliant year for movies, and 'The Artist' defines what cinema should be. It's brave, different, it's got a great shot."

The best actor contest pits Oldman and Dujardin against Brad Pitt for "Moneyball," George Clooney for "The Descendants" and Michael Fassbender for "Shame."

The best actress category includes two performers playing real-life icons — Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in "My Week With Marilyn" and Meryl Streep as former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady."

The other nominees are Berenice Bejo for "The Artist," Tilda Swinton for "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and Viola Davis for "The Help."

The prizes will be awarded at a ceremony at London's Royal Opera House on Feb. 12. They are considered an important indicator of prospects at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles two weeks later.

In recent years, the awards, known as BAFTAs, have helped small British films gain momentum for Hollywood success.

In 2010, Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" won seven BAFTAs, including best film; it went on to take eight Oscars. Last year "The King's Speech" won seven BAFTAs and four Oscars, including best picture.

"My Week With Marilyn," the story of the movie legend's time shooting an ill-starred comedy in England, received six BAFTA nominations, including a supporting-actor nod for Kenneth Branagh, who plays Laurence Olivier.

He is up against Christopher Plummer for "Beginners," Jim Broadbent for "The Iron Lady," Jonah Hill for "Moneyball" and Philip Seymour Hoffman for "The Ides of March."

The supporting actress category features Carey Mulligan for "Drive," Jessica Chastain for "The Help," Judi Dench for "My Week With Marilyn," Melissa McCarthy for "Bridesmaids" and Olivia Spencer for "The Help."

The multinational best-director contest pits Denmark's Nicholas Winding Refn, for the turbocharged "Drive," against France's Michel Hazanavicius for "The Artist," Sweden's Tomas Alfredson for "Tinker Tailor," Britain's Lynne Ramsay for "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and Martin Scorsese of the United States for "Hugo."

The best British film category contains "My Week With Marilyn," racing documentary "Senna," sex-addiction drama "Shame," family tragedy "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy."

Steven Spielberg's equine adventure "War Horse" was overlooked in the major categories but gained five nominations including cinematography, visual effects and music.

http://news.yahoo.com/artist-tinker-tailor-uk-film-awards-093221493.html

Tom Hardy: HUGO, Martin Scorsese, Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain: Nevada Film Critics Winners (Alt Film Guide)

Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Warrior

Steve Montgomery | Jan 14, 2012

The Nevada Film Critics Society, not to be confused with the Las Vegas Film Critics Society, has announced its Best of 2011 list. Martin Scorsese's period adventure fantasy Hugo was voted Best Picture. Scorsese was the Best Director and Asa Butterfield the Best Child Actor.

The Best Actor and Best Actress choices were the Nevada Critics' biggest surprises: the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises' Tom Hardy was selected as the Best Actor for his performance as a boxer in the little-seen Warrior. Jessica Chastain has been winning awards everywhere, but in the Best Supporting Actress category. The Nevada Critics chose her as the year's Best Actress "for her outstanding work in several films of 2011 including The Debt, The Help, The Tree of Life, Take Shelter."

With Chastain out of the way, the Best Supporting Actress Award went to Janet McTeer for her butch lesbian in Albert Nobbs. Albert Brooks was cited for his work as a mean gangster in Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive.

Tate Taylor's sleeper hit The Help won for Best Ensemble (in addition to Chastain, the film's cast includes Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sissy Spacek, Octavia Spencer, Mary Steenburgen, and Cicely Tyson). Rooney Mara (for her Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Elizabeth Olsen (for her problematic character in Sean Durkin's Martha Marcy May Marlene) tied for the Best Breakthrough Performance of 2011. Chris Miller's Puss in Boots, featuring the voices of Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek, was the Best Animated Feature. Curiously, the Nevada Critics don't hand out award for Best Foreign Language Film.

If you hadn't heard of the Nevada Film Critics Society, don't despair. They're a brand new (and apparently quite small) group, founded last year. Below is the full list of the Nevada Critics' choices.

Best Film - Hugo
Best Director - Martin Scorsese (Hugo)
Best Actor - Tom Hardy (Warrior)
Best Actress - Jessica Chastain (The Debt, The Help, The Tree of Life, Take Shelter)
Best Supporting Actor - Albert Brooks (Drive)
Best Supporting Actress - Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)
Best Ensemble Cast - The Help
Best Child Actor - Asa Butterfield (Hugo)
Best Breakthrough Performance (tie) – Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy Mae Marlene) and Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
Best Animated Film - Puss in Boots

Via Awards Daily
Tom Hardy/Joel Edgerton/Warrior photo: Lionsgate Films
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More information about: Albert Brooks, Albert Nobbs, Chris Miller, Drive, film awards, film awards 2011, Hugo, Janet McTeer, Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton photos, Martin Scorsese, Nevada Film Critics Awards, Nevada Film Critics Awards 2012, Puss in Boots, Take Shelter, The Debt, The Help, The Tree of Life, Tom Hardy, Tom Hardy photos, Warrior, Warrior photos

Toronto Film Critics Awards 2007

St. Louis Film Critics Awards 2006

Oscar 2009: Hollywood & Highland Photos

2005 European Film Award Winners

Oscar 2010: Honorary Awards Relocated

Amy Adams, Kate Hudson, Ashton Kutcher, Zoe Saldana: Golden Globes 2010 Presenters

Text © 2004-2011 Alt Film Guide and/or author(s). Not to be reproduced without prior written consent.

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Critics Choice Awards - 'The Artist' wins best picture (CBS News)

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From left, director Michel Hazanavicius, actress Berenice Bejo, actor Jean Dujardin and producer Thomas Langmann, winners of the Best Picture Award for "The Artist," pose in the press room during the 17th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards on Jan. 12, 2012, in Los Angeles.

(Credit: Getty)

(CBS/AP) Updated 10:38 p.m. ET

"The Artist" waltzed off with the most awards at Thursday's 17th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards, including the night's top honor.

The black-and-white silent film directed by Michel Hazanavicius led winners with four honors, earning trophies for best picture, score, costume design and director.

"I don't like to speak so much," Hazanavicius admitted during his best picture acceptance speech, before inviting the actors on stage to celebrate the win.

Southern drama "The Help" also came out a big winner, with best and supporting actress honors for Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer and a best acting ensemble win for the cast.

Other winners in the acting categories included George Clooney as best actor for "The Descendants," Christopher Plummer as best supporting actor for "Beginners," and Thomas Horn as best young actor for "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close."

"The Artist" beat out "Hugo," "The Descendants," "Drive," "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," "The Help," "Midnight in Paris," "Moneyball," "The Tree of Life" and "War Horse" to win the best picture category. Hazanavicius also earned directing honors for the homage to silent film.

Other winners included "Bridesmaids" as best comedy movie (producer Judd Apatow put the censors to work by dropping a series of F-bombs while accepting the award), "Drive" as best action movie, "Rango" as best animated feature, "A Separation" as best foreign film and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" for best makeup and best sound.

The evening started off as a face-off between "The Artist" and "Hugo," Martin Scorsese's sweeping 3-D family film, with 11 nominations each. The awards were handed out at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, in a ceremony hosted by comedians Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Olivia Harrison presented Scorsese with the Critics' Choice Music + Film Award, with a special musical tribute from Bob Dylan. Dylan was the subject of Scorsese's PBS documentary "No Direction Home," and in 1976 the director captured his performance at the Band's "Last Waltz" concert.

Clooney presented Sean Penn with the fifth annual Joel Siegel Award, which the actor and humanitarian accepted via satellite from Haiti. The award, which honors those who understand that celebrity is a platform to do good works for others, pays homage to the late "Good Morning America" film critic Joel Siegel. 

BFCA members voted on films that were released in 2011 for Thursday's awards show. Last year, the ceremony served as a predictor of the Academy Award nominations as well as winners, with all four of the acting category winners - Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale and Melissa Leo - accepting awards at the Critics' Choice as well as at the Oscars.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-57358289-10391698/critics-choice-movie-awards-the-help-takes-an-early-lead/

Oscar, don't forget these films and their actors, directors (USA Today)

By Claudia Puig, USA TODAY

Updated 12h 35m ago

In 2010, a low-key, low-budget film that opened the previous summer to good word-of-mouth but earned only $12.6 million made it past all the hurdles to win the best-picture Oscar. The trajectory of that movie, The Hurt Locker, reinforced the notion that a worthy gem can find its way to the top — even up against Avatar, the Goliath of blockbusters.

While this year doesn't exactly have an Avatar, it does have plenty of low-key, nomination-worthy gems. In the thick of movie awards season, however, it can be hard to distill the finest fare amid the clamor.

As the year's most indelible performances and noteworthy films are debated, certain candidates gain traction, while others of equal worth are mysteriously left out of the equation. Handsomely financed marketing campaigns play a big part in the process.

To remedy that, USA TODAY film critic Claudia Puig examines some of the less-discussed, less-seen movies, filmmakers and actors who should not be overlooked by Oscar voters when Academy Award nominees are announced Jan. 24.

PICTURE

Last year, the main contest seemed to center on The King's Speech vs. The Social Network. This year's race is more wide open, though terrific movies from late in 2011 such as The Artist and The Descendants will surely figure into the mix. Here's hoping that academy members also remember these smaller films:

 

•Win Win. This cleverly written and superbly acted gem sadly wasn't seen by enough people, making just $10 million. A deceptively modest chronicle of a family told with humor and tenderness, it may not center on a startling tragedy like The Descendants does, but it is no less moving in its incisive portrayal of complex human behavior. Anchored by Paul Giamatti as a cash-strapped lawyer who makes questionable decisions, the film, written and directed by Tom McCarthy, avoids predictability.

•Beginners.Writer/director Mike Mills weaves an inventively structured, semi-autobiographical tale of a thirtysomething son (Ewan McGregor) whose 75-year-old widowed father (Christopher Plummer) reveals he is gay and has terminal cancer. While the film is wistful and melancholy, it also has a sense of wonder, celebration and wit as the son comes to terms with love's possibilities after his father joyously embraces his final years of life.

•50/50. This film addresses the humor in a cancer diagnosis with surprising finesse and heart, bringing to life characters who feel authentic and in whom we easily invest our emotions. The sweetly funny story is based on writer Will Reiser's own experiences of an illness transformed by friendship. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen are terrific, funny and believable as best friends.

DIRECTOR

The year's end featured movies by Hollywood's heaviest hitters, including Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, but there were a variety of stellar filmmaking achievements last year that rivaled or outshone War Horse, Tintin and Hugo:

•David Yates, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Yates has directed the last four films in the Potter franchise with assurance and technical acumen, but the swan song of the bespectacled boy wizard has the most thrills and visual dazzle of them all. It's impossible not to be swept up in the exquisitely staged battle scenes.

•Asghar Farhadi, A Separation. The Iranian director illuminates the complexity of family relationships and keeps a consistently suspenseful tone as a couple in a dissolving marriage in a repressive regime face unexpected consequences. Farhadi weaves this intricate tale with clarity and a remarkable even-handedness.

•Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive. In fashioning the year's most stylish action-thriller, Refn creates a striking blend of hypnotic images and graphic violence that comes off as artistic and gritty. He also constructs a deliberately paced but taut thriller that stars Ryan Gosling as a Los Angeles driver for hire who falls in love with a single mom (Carey Mulligan). While consistently suspenseful, it's more cerebral than most action films.

ACTOR

It's tough to compete with George Clooney or Brad Pitt, but these actors gave superlative performances in little-seen films, and their substantial talents should not go unrecognized:

•Michael Shannon, Take Shelter. Shannon's portrayal of Curtis, a loving husband and father and a foreman for a sand-mining company, is intriguingly ambiguous. At times he seems strangely savvy, other times just daffy. As he unravels, Shannon's anguish and spiraling panic keep us mesmerized.

•Demián Bichir, A Better Life. As Carlos, a hardworking immigrant gardener confined to the margins of society, Bichir is superb. The Mexican-born actor brings nuance, a hardscrabble dignity and heart-wrenching sadness to the part of a stoic father determined to make a better life for his teenage son.

•Brendan Gleeson, The Guard. Playing an oddball small-town Irish cop with a sly sense of humor, he gives an offbeat and likable performance, upon which the darkly comic story of drug trafficking and murder hinges. His character joins forces with a straitlaced FBI agent (Don Cheadle), and the pair clash over methods and morality.

ACTRESS

While it has been a notable year for memorable performances by well-known actresses such as Meryl Streep, Glenn Close and Viola Davis, these lesser-known portrayals all have remarkable layers of dignity, depth and dimensionality:

•Amy Ryan, Win Win. As Jackie, the down-to-earth and loving wife of the distracted and stressed Mike (Paul Giamatti), Ryan is strikingly natural and unmannered. She nails the character's innate decency and serves as the film's moral compass, without ever coming off as smug.

•Brit Marling, Another Earth. A Sundance breakout sensation last year who also co-wrote the script, Marling has a range matching that of higher-profile contemporaries. She plays Rhoda, a young woman accepted into MIT who is forever altered by a single life-changing moment. Crippled by guilt in the aftermath, she is haunted and speaks few words but communicates volumes with small gestures and expressions.

•Mia Wasikowska, Jane Eyre. The Australian-born actress delivers possibly the best portrayal of Charlotte Brontë's heroine. She brings the character to life in a more personal and immediate way, palpably conveying Jane's strength and resolve to surmount her terrible childhood. We believe her capable of powerful, but rigidly contained, passions. She adroitly captures the character's quiet intensity and fierce intelligence.

SUPPORTING ACTOR

While front-runners range from venerable veteran Christopher Plummer in a plum role to Jonah Hill in his first serious part, these less-discussed performances are equally worthy:

•Charles Parnell, Pariah. His haunting but understated performance as an NYPD detective, husband and father is complex, fascinating and unpredictable. As Arthur, he is charismatic, alternately affectionate and aloof. He clearly loves his 17-year-old daughter but is in denial about her budding maturity and independence. There is so much that goes unspoken between father and daughter, but Parnell communicates it in the nuances of his character.

•Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Serkis offers one of the year's most mesmerizing and under-appreciated performances. With the aid of motion-capture CGI technology, he brings emotional life and dramatic heft to Caesar, a chimp raised from infancy by Will (James Franco), a scientist seeking a cure for Alzheimer's. Largely because of Serkis' convincing performance, we believe the loving bond between him and Will.

•Patton Oswalt, Young Adult. He nearly steals the movie from Charlize Theron's Mavis Gary with his witheringly witty lines and outwardly cheeky portrayal. Oswalt takes a role that could have been one-note — Matt, the overlooked geeky guy who is quick with a wisecrack and whose locker was next to the popular Mavis' — and gives it dimension, intelligence and poignancy.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

This category has a host of lesser-known or up-and-coming names competing, notably Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer in The Help and Bérénice Bejo in The Artist. But a couple of veterans deserve their due, too:

•Maya Rudolph, Bridesmaids. Co-star Kristen Wiig had the showier role as Annie, but Rudolph's Lillian — the bride over whom all the fuss was about — is superb in a fully fleshed role of an unswervingly loyal friend, convincing in her overall decency but never a pushover.

•Maggie Smith, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. When Smith waves her wand and brings to life the statues around Hogwarts, exclaiming with dignified exuberance, "I've always wanted to do that," we're reminded how much the character of Professor Minerva McGonagall is a magical cornerstone of the series. Smith has been a consistent delight as the strict but kindhearted champion of Potter and his wizardly pals, and in the final installment, she is a highlight.

•Vanessa Redgrave, Coriolanus. The British actress stands out amid the noise and clatter of this updated Shakespearean tale, nailing the character of an almost diabolically ambitious mother. Her determination to make a politician of her son (Ralph Fiennes) is the film's best performance.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/movieawards/oscars/story/2012-01-11/movies-that-deserve-oscar-nominations/52509598/1

The 2011 Hit List: The Best of the Rest (Movie Blog)

By Andrea Miller and Emma Badame

So far we've run through the top movies, interviews, blockbusters, trailer, posters and breakthrough stars of 2011. But what of all the other note-worthy big-screen moments? Surely we have to address those somewhere, right? Well you've come to the right place. This handy-dandy list of randomness is our look at what we like to call 'the best of the rest': a somewhat tongue-in-cheek tribute to the other highs, lows and everything in between.

From scene-stealers to soundtracks to strategic f-bomb usages, we've covering a wide gamut of creative subjects to wrap up our look back of the best of the year. Take a look at the stand-outs below then be sure to comment and let us know which moments stood out for you on-screen in 2011!

The Wind Beneath My Wings Award: Rose Byrne

The Australia beauty has been making movies for almost two decades and while she is mostly known for dramas and thrillers (Wicker Park, Sunshine, 28 Days Later), she showed an affinity for comedy with her work in last year’s Get Him to the Greek but really came into her own as the icy Queen of Cool Helen in Bridesmaids. As the interloping, best-friend-in-waiting, she added new meaning to the idea of killing with kindness and always chose the most cutting bon mot to simultaneously insult and back-hand-compliment Kristen Wiig’s inept Annie. It’s never been more fun to watch someone so seemingly perfect have it all crumble in the 11th hour.

Scene-Stealer of the Year: Michael Sheen

Woody Allen loves to humiliate and rib the pseudo-intellectuals that often appear in his films, and Michael Sheen's bearded braggadocio-prone know-it-all Paul serves as the perfect foil to Owen Wilson’s insecure, wannabe writer Gil in Midnight in Paris. Sheen commands every scene he’s in and imbues Paul with an unearned arrogance that includes correcting the museum guide (a gorge Carla Bruni) and continually spouting facts and figures to assert his supposed intelligence. His character is played for big laughs and Sheen’s timing and delivery are impeccable.

The Soundtrack You Wanted to Download Before You Left the Theatre: Drive

I have yet to meet someone who left their seats after experiencing Nicolas Winding Refn’s brutal neo-noir and didn’t immediately jump on Google to find out who put together the pulsating beats, ‘80s-soaked synths and dramatic, beautiful tracks that made up the Drive soundtrack. A few clicks later and we all knew the name Cliff Martinez, the film’s music composer, and the song Real Hero by College Featuring Electric Youth. A must-listen that added to the film’s power and narrative in a compelling way.

Best Movies You Didn’t See: Take Shelter, Beginners

Michael Shannon makes use of his bug-eyed appearance to play Curtis, a father and husband struggling to make sense of apocalyptic visions haunting him, while spending his family’s savings and skipping work, all while trying to build a bomb shelter strong enough to save his family from the biblical storm he believes is on the way. Take Shelter is powerful, nervy, doesn’t let the audience off the hook for even a second and is bravely unlike any other movie that came out in 2011.

Beginners stings, delights, taunts and tickles and most of that can be chalked up to Christopher Plummer’s pitch-perfect performance as Hal, a recent widow who comes out of the closet and starts the living the life he was never able to. His taciturn son Oliver (Ewan McGregor) takes up with a free-spirited French actress (Melanie Laurent) and tries to live by the new example his father is setting, just as he learns his dad is dying of cancer. Heavy stuff, yes, but Beginners is buoyed by Mike Mills’ quiet direction and exceptional, honest performances by all.

The Jude Law Award for Ubiquity: Ryan Gosling

Yes, The Gosling was arguably EVERYWHERE this year but we aren’t complaining. From his ab-tastic turn in Crazy Stupid Love to a million memes (Hey Girl...) and then Time Magazine bestowing upon him the title Coolest Person of the Year (for whatever it’s worth), Gosling’s movie choices elevated his profile by a zillion percent and scored him major critical acclaim along the way in the form of two Golden Globe nominations (for The Ides of March and Crazy Stupid Love). While we enjoyed him most as the quiet anti-hero prone to bouts of ultra-violence in Drive, more Gosling is always a good thing.

Honourable mention: Michael Fassbender. Points for being the most, ahem, exposed (Shame) but also for starring in a big franchise prequel (X-Men: First Class) a sexy classic (Jane Eyre) and another movie about, well, sex (A Dangerous Method) during the past 12 months.

Best Euphemistic Use of Feathers: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1

The baby-makin’ scene that was the stuff of Twi-hard fantasies involved pleading, a broken bed, bruises and, most of all, a storm of feathers, all standing in for the deed that produced Edward and Bella’s half-human, half-vamp spawn. Early marketing teased what was to come with feathers, strategically placed on pillows, floating near Bella and Edward’s almost-touching faces, all hinting toward their marital copulation that was not so much shown as alluded to, thanks to an explosion of baby soft white feathers.

Best Use of Sarcasm or Deadpan Delivery - Adam Scott

Be it on the the big screen or small, no one delivers a line of dry wit quite like Mr. Scott. Though not yet a well-known name for the majority of movie fans (though many may know him as the fantastically slimy Derek in Step Brothers), indie flick and television aficionados who have seen his star turns in The Vicious Kind, Passenger Side, "Parks and Recreation" and "Party Down" know what I'm talking about. It came as no surprise to those of us in the know then that Adam Scott, master of the craft of deadpan befuddlement and sarcastic frustration, stole the show from comedy heavyweights like Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks and Steve Coogan in August's Our Idiot Brother.

Through his insanely spot-on line readings and well-timed eyebrow raises, the lighthearted flick got a well-needed shot of that little something extra. No mean feat there. Look for his star to rise even further this year as he takes centre stage in the romantic comedy Friends With Kids, co-starring Kristen Wiig, Jon Hamm, Maya Rudolph and Chris O'Dowd, due in theatres in the spring.

Most Ironic Celebrity Hashtag - #winning

Love him or hate him, Charlie Sheen was everywhere in 2011. From his controversial exit from his television show "Two and a Half Men" to his critically lambasted one-man show, it was hard to turn on the TV or open a paper without seeing a Sheen-related headline. Through-out it all, the troubled actor's main mode of communication to fans and critics alike was his Twitter feed. His thoughts came fast and furious, some intelligible, some not so much. But through it all there was one constant...his hashtag #winning. While most observers would probably argue Sheen's year has been anything but flawless victory, you can't say that Sheen isn't one hundred percent convinced his year has been anything else.

Best Use of a Curse Word in a Swear-free Franchise - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Not surprisingly, given its target audience, the wildly popular Potter series has been completely void of less than savory language thus far - that is if you don't count some of the wizarding world's more insulting usages ('mudblood', for example). All of that changed in a climactic scene in this summer's explosive finale when Mrs. Weasley let loose at big bad Bellatrix Lestrange. Channeling Ripley from Ridley Scott's Alien, the matriarch of J.K. Rowling's most famous red-headed family slid into protective mothering magic mode and took down the evil witch as she did in the novel - by casting a couple of well-placed spells and by dropping one well-placed b-bomb. "Get away from my daughter, you b***h" indeed.

Honourable mention: X-Men: First Class. To keep the film's PG-rating in tact, the filmmakers behind one of the year's most successful comic films had to be very strategic with their use of language. Despite multiple scenes of violence and tragedy, they managed to keep the dialogue of the main comic characters swear-free, which meant they could save the film's sole f-bomb for a certain hirsute hero's brief cameo. Hugh Jackman's fan-favourite Wolverine has only one line and for fans of the franchise and of the character, it couldn't have been more perfect. For this hilarious big-screen moment, Jackman also earns our Best Cameo of the Year Award too.

The We Didn't Know We Missed You Award - Wilson Phillips

Bridesmaids was one of this year's very best films. It made us laugh, it made us tear up, it made us sit up and take notice of a cast of amazing actors and it even made us rediscover our love of '90s pop trio Wilson Phillips. To be honest, we'd pretty much forgotten about them completely until the opening strains of Hold On came blasting at us via the theatre sound-system. Turns out we can still sing along with Carnie, Wendy and Chynna as we still remember all the words, though we're sadly lacking the impressive dance moves of Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig. We're working on them though!



http://www.cineplex.com/News/The-2011-Hit-List-The-Best-of-the-Rest.aspx

Canada picks their favorite films of 2011-Top 10 Films of the year, according to the Canadian Press. (Crave On Line)

YOU ARE HERE:

By Jennifer Cox

January 01, 2012

The editors and writers of the Canadian Press have chosen their top 10 films of the year. Here's a quick sum-up.

50/50
Based on writer Will Reiser's own experience with cancer, director Jonathan Levine struck a chord with viewers as well as the Canadian Press in this flick that is both funny and sad, and extremely heartfelt. CP calls it "one of the cinematic wonders of the year - filled with tiny, miraculous moments that sneak up on the viewer again and again."

Beginners
Writer-director Mike Mills tells an honest and comedic story of an ill father who reveals he's gay at the age of 75. It stars Canadian heavyweight Christopher Plummer along with Ewan McGregor and Melanie Laurent.

Bridesmaids
One of the biggest comedies of the year, this chick-flick (that's funny enough for guys to enjoy too) stars "Mike & Molly" lead Melissa McCarthy as well as Kristen Wiig (who not only appeared in the flick but helped to write it too), Maya Rudolph, and Wendi McLendon-Covey.

Crazy, Stupid, Love
Who doesn't have a soft spot for funnyman Steve Carell? The romantic-comedy "Crazy, Stupid, Love" follows a father of two who discovers his wife is having an affair. The supporting cast is a star-studded one with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.

Drive
Another Gosling film (it won't be his last), "Drive" is an action-drama that CP said, "the graphic violence... punctuates some intense scenes, [and] those looking for something resembling the typical mainstream popcorn flick but with some creative edge got it in 'Drive.'"

Ides of March
Put together an all-star line-up with George Clooney, Gosling (his third time on this list), and Paul Giamatti, mix in a great story about politics in America, and you've got all the ingredients for a hit. It's no wonder "Ides of March" has been nominated for four big Golden Globe awards including Best Picture.

Midnight in Paris
What top 10 films of the year list would be complete without a Woody Allen movie? Screenwriter and star Owen Wilson "rediscovers his passion for the pen when he travels back in time in Paris... Wilson is simply endearing as his character, Gil, encounters a never-ending stream of esteemed authors and artists on his magical midnight escapades through the city's heady 1920s. His signature naturalistic style wrangles the huge ensemble cast into a cohesive tale packed with wit and charm," the CP said.

The Muppets
Classic in its heyday decades ago and making a major comeback, Kermit, Miss Piggy, and whole puppet gang are back and bigger than ever. "The gags are silly and the story is largely predictable but the sheer enthusiasm and heartfelt affection writer/star Jason Segel brings to this vibrant reboot is infectious and more than welcome in an era when most family fare is driven by heavy CGI and snarky pop culture jabs."

Take Shelter
"Take Shelter" is a psychological thriller starring Michael Shannon as a man with pent-up emotions as anxieties, real and imagined, increasingly take hold of him. Terrifying with twists and turns, this movie has a "headlong embrace of both simple naturalism and mind-bending sci-fi-esque imagery."

War Horse
Opening in theatres across the country on Christmas Day, Steven Spielberg's latest creation is a World War One-era tale of a British boy and his horse. The cinematography and details of the film are what truly grab the viewer.


http://www.craveonline.com/film/articles/180477-canada-picks-their-favorite-films-of-2011

‘Drive’, ‘Tinker Tailor’ top London critics’ nominations (The Cliff Edge)

Posted on December 20, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett

US crime thriller “Drive” and UK espionage mystery “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ claimed six spots to top the nominations for the 32nd London Film Critics’ Circle Awards.

Nominations for “Drive”, released in the UK by Icon, included best film and best director for Denmark’s Nicolas Winding Refn plus best actor for star Ryan Gosling (pictured), best supporting actor for Albert Brooks, technical achievement for composer Cliff Martinez, and best British actress for Carey Mulligan, who also was cited for “Shame”.

Nominations for “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”, released here by StudioCanal, were for film, British film, actor and British actor for Gary Oldman, screenwriter for Peter Staughan and the late Bridget O’Connor, and technical achievement for production designer Maria Djurkovic.

This story appears in Cue Entertainment

Artificial Eye had two films with five nominations apiece. Iran drama “A Separation” picked up five nominations: film, foreign-language film, director and screenwriter for Asghar Farhadi, and supporting actress for Sareh Bayat.

Domestic drama “We Need To Talk About Kevin” received nods for British film, director for Lynn Ramsay, actress and British actress for Tilda Swinton, and technical achievement for sound designer Paul Davies.

Entertainment’s silent black-and-white comedy “The Artist” earned four nominations: film, director and screenwriter for Michael Hazanavicius, and actor for Jean Dujardin.

Momentum’s story of sex addiction in New York, “Shame”, also picked up four: British film, actor and British actor for Michael Fassbender, plus Mulligan.

George Clooney rounded out the best actor category for “The Descendants” while Kirsten Dunst (“Melancholia”), Anna Paquin (“Margaret”), Meryl Streep (“The Iron Lady”) and Michelle Williams (“My Week With Marilyn’) also were nominated for best actress.

London Film Critics’ Circle Chairman Jason Solomons praised what he termed “the breadth, intelligence and style” of the choices: “This is the surely classiest set of nominations around this year with truly superb work reflected in the directing and foreign language categories.”


The winners will be named at a ceremony at BFI Southbank on Jan. 19. A complete list of nominees follows:

FILM OF THE YEAR
The Artist (Entertainment)
Drive (Icon)
A Separation (Artificial Eye)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)
The Tree of Life (Fox)

The Attenborough Award:
BRITISH FILM OF THE YEAR
The Guard (StudioCanal)
Kill List (StudioCanal)
Shame (Momentum)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)
We Need to Talk About Kevin (Artificial Eye)

FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Mysteries of Lisbon (New Wave)
Poetry (Arrow)
Le Quattro Volte (New Wave)
A Separation (Artificial Eye)
The Skin I Live In (Fox/Pathé)

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (Picturehouse)
Dreams of a Life (Dogwoof)
Pina (Artificial Eye)
Project Nim (Icon)
Senna (Universal)

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Asghar Farhadi – A Separation (Artificial Eye)
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist (Entertainment)
Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life (Fox)
Lynne Ramsay – We Need to Talk About Kevin (Artificial Eye)
Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive (Icon)

SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Asghar Farhadi – A Separation (Artificial Eye)
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist (Entertainment)
Kenneth Lonergan – Margaret (Fox)
Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash – The Descendants (Fox)

The Virgin Atlantic Award:
BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH FILM-MAKER
Richard Ayoade – Submarine (StudioCanal)
Paddy Considine – Tyrannosaur (StudioCanal)
Joe Cornish – Attack the Block (StudioCanal)
Andrew Haigh – Weekend (Peccadillo)
John Michael McDonagh – The Guard (StudioCanal)

ACTOR OF THE YEAR
George Clooney – The Descendants (Fox)
Jean Dujardin – The Artist (Entertainment)
Michael Fassbender – Shame (Momentum)
Ryan Gosling – Drive (Icon)
Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)

ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Kirsten Dunst – Melancholia (Artificial Eye)
Anna Paquin – Margaret (Fox)
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady (Fox/Pathé)
Tilda Swinton – We Need to Talk About Kevin (Artificial Eye)
Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn (Entertainment)

SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Simon Russell Beale – The Deep Blue Sea (Artificial Eye)
Kenneth Branagh – My Week With Marilyn (Entertainment)
Albert Brooks – Drive (Icon)
Christopher Plummer – Beginners (Universal)
Michael Smiley – Kill List (StudioCanal)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Sareh Bayat – A Separation (Artificial Eye)
Jessica Chastain – The Help (Disney)
Vanessa Redgrave – Coriolanus (Lionsgate)
Octavia Spencer – The Help (Disney)
Jacki Weaver – Animal Kingdom (StudioCanal)

BRITISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Tom Cullen – Weekend (Peccadillo)
Michael Fassbender – A Dangerous Method (Lionsgate), Shame (Momentum)
Brendan Gleeson – The Guard (StudioCanal)
Peter Mullan – Tyrannosaur (StudioCanal), War Horse (Disney)
Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)

The Moët & Chandon Award:
BRITISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Olivia Colman – The Iron Lady (Fox/Pathé), Tyrannosaur (StudioCanal)
Carey Mulligan – Drive (Icon), Shame (Momentum)
Vanessa Redgrave – Anonymous (Sony), Coriolanus (Lionsgate)
Tilda Swinton – We Need to Talk About Kevin (Artificial Eye)
Rachel Weisz – The Deep Blue Sea (Artificial Eye)

YOUNG BRITISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
John Boyega – Attack the Block (StudioCanal)
Jeremy Irvine – War Horse (Disney)
Yasmin Paige – Submarine (StudioCanal)
Craig Roberts – Submarine (StudioCanal)
Saoirse Ronan – Hanna (Universal)

The Sky 3D Award:
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Manuel Alberto Claro, cinematography – Melancholia (Artificial Eye)
Paul Davies, sound design – We Need to Talk About Kevin (Artificial Eye)
Maria Djurkovic, production design – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)
Dante Ferretti, production design – Hugo (Entertainment)
Alberto Iglesias, original score – The Skin I Live In (Fox/Pathé)
Chris King & Gregers Sall, editing – Senna (Universal)
Joe Letteri, visual effects – Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Fox)
Cliff Martinez, original score – Drive (Icon)
Robert Richardson, cinematography – Hugo (Entertainment)
Robbie Ryan, cinematography – Wuthering Heights (Artificial Eye)

The Dilys Powell Award:
EXCELLENCE IN FILM
Nicolas Roeg



http://www.thecliffedge.com/?p=2895

The Best Films of 2011 (DCist)

 

There appears to be a lot of random grousing in the comments sections of movie posts all over the internet about how 2011 was a lackluster year for the movies. That's hardly notable, since, with all apologies to DCist's esteemed commentariat, comments sections are generally where the unhappy naysayers live, especially when it comes time for year-in-review posts.

But for some reason that complaint particularly irks me this year because it's not just a case of it being a pretty much normal year and that some people will never be happy. It's that this was an extraordinary year for film, and I just can't fathom anyone who cares about movies looking at this year's roster—admittedly, making sure to look past many of the wide releases—and not being ecstatic at what they see.

This was a year in which filmmakers weren't afraid to throw out our expectations and play with the form. Terence Malick inserted a 40-minute film about the evolution of the universe and life on earth into a family drama; Clio Barnard made a documentary that found actors lip-syncing interviews with real people; Asif Kapadia, Steven Soderbergh and Andrei Ujica all made documentaries entirely out of archival footage, without shooting a single frame themselves; many filmmakers felt no requirement to offer traditionally satisfying or loose-end-tying endings. Not every experiment succeeded, but watching someone walk a tightrope and fall is far more thrilling than seeing someone walk a well-traveled, safe sidewalk.

If I made this list tomorrow, or the next day, or the next, it'd be different each time. I'm a huge fan of all of them, as well as the rest of the ones (pictured above) that kept trying to jockey for position as I made this list.

One quick note about where you can watch these now; if I mention rental streaming below, you can find out exactly where it's available to watch via CanIStream.It, a great free informational site that compiles the home viewing statuses of a number of streaming services in one place.

10. Submarine: In addition to his debut feature film, British director Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd) also directed the Pulp Fiction/My Dinner with Andre-homage episode of Community this season. What I love about both films is the same: Ayoade deftly takes cultural references and makes them work in entirely new ways to not just make jokes, but to reveal real character detail about the people in his story. So if one watches the coming of age story in Submarine and feels that they're seeing the marriage of Catcher in the Rye, Harold & Maude and the 400 Blows, all of those references (and more) are entirely intentional. But don't confuse quirk for a lack of heart, because this film has plenty, and the in-your-face cinematic devices Ayoade employs may initially seem like showing off how proficient a filmmaker he is (and that's quite proficient), but they're all in service of getting at the heart of who our slightly egomaniacal (but actually insecure) hero Oliver really is. This is a film that I liked a lot when I first saw it; the longer it's been with me, the more and more I love it.

This one's out on DVD and Blu-ray, and is also available for streaming rental via a number of services.

Read my full review here.

9. Hugo: Like Submarine, I enjoy Martin Scorsese's film about loving film more the more it sits in my head. When I initially reviewed it, I had problems with some of the more kiddie-elements of the first half, which I didn't feel meshed as well as I'd have liked with the film's second half. But it's nitpicking when the film's second half is such a glorious tribute to the medium. I had tears in my eyes as Scorsese puts the images of early silents that Hugo and Isabelle are reading about in a book onscreen; the director captures in just a few minutes the flood of wonder in that moment of discovery when one realizes all the limitless potential of film. It's just as surely a tribute to the act of creation as Malick's "origin of the universe" sequence in The Tree of Life.

Still out in plenty of area theaters, in both 3-D and standard form. I say go for the 3-D; I can count on one hand the number of films that actually merit paying the extra charge for the glasses, and this is one of them.

Read my full review here.

8. The Tree of Life: And, speaking of The Tree of Life, I loved that there was a film this year this hugely divisive, that movie fans could argue so passionately about its merits or lack thereof. I realize that it doesn't work perfectly 100 percent of the time: yes, the dinosaurs hit the nature vs. grace points just a little too squarely on the head, and the Sean Penn sequences might have been developed a little more fully. But there hasn't been a major American film this ambitious, this willing to tackle subject matter this knotty and difficult to put onscreen, in many years. It's a gorgeous, jaw-dropping, sometimes maddening work that I'm sure I'll be returning to many times, and I'm sure feeling differently about it each time I see it.

This film has been out for a while now on DVD and Blu-ray, and the high-definition version is pretty stunning to watch even at home. Available for rental streaming as well.

Read my full review here.

7. Beginners: This was a film I didn't really have high hopes for going in. Mike Mills' previous feature, Thumbsucker, was fairly forgettable, and all I could think after the trailers was that the scruffy subtitled dog seemed awfully precious, and not necessarily in a good way. I wasn't prepared for a film that affected me quite as deeply as it did, as Mills manages to marry some of those more quirky aspects, like the dog, or a meet-cute where only one half of the couple can talk due to a case of laryngitis, with the more poignant story at its core. That tale is drawn from Mills' own life, and is about a thirty-something artist whose septuagenarian father comes out of the closet not long before being diagnosed with terminal cancer. The details of how that event, as well as his parents' entire flawed marriage, affects his entire approach to life and relationships cuts straight through the twee. Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregor both put some of the best work of their careers on display as father and son. Meanwhile, Mills' technique of use striking narrations from McGregor's character alongside rapid-fire collections of images is the sort of thing that ought to create distance, and instead made me feel more emotionally connected to the material.

Out now on DVD and available for rental streaming.

Read my capsule review here.



6. We Need to Talk About Kevin: Lynne Ramsay is far from prolific, this being only her third feature since her beautiful 1999 debut, Ratcatcher. Of course a large part of that time was taken up by a failed attempt to make The Lovely Bones, and one of the first things I thought after seeing her adaptation of Lionel Shriver's reputedly unfilmable novel, is that it's a shame Peter Jackson ended up making it instead of her. Ramsay takes difficult material—a story with a disjointed timeline, telling the entire life story of the titular boy, hinting around at and leading up to a horrific and disturbing event -- and renders it sensitively without ever softening its impact. A deeply unsettling film that stays with you for a long time afterwards.

The film hasn't hit D.C. yet, but is set to be released locally on Jan. 27.

5. A Separation: This film, hopefully a shoo-in for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nod, starts out seeming like it might be an Iranian Kramer vs. Kramer. What unfolds is more than just a drama about the breaking of a family, but a sharply written, thoroughly engrossing examination of the conflicting forces at work in Iranian culture today. If that sounds a little self-consciously high-minded, never fear: those examinations are embedded deep within a story so full of twists, turns, and who-did-whats that at times it almost feels more like a thriller.

Opens in D.C. on January 20.

4. Martha Marcy May Marlene: If this year's often vague and incomplete endings aren't your thing, you may have found Sean Durkin's debut feature particularly maddening. But the way to the film's big closing question mark, Durkin creates a quiet psychological thriller of identity and mind control, as we see Martha's time spent in an upstate New York cult in flashback as she tries to assimilate back into "normal" life, always with the fear that they might come to take her back at any moment.

Elizabeth Olsen is mesmerizing as a young woman unsure of everything, including who she is or should be, and John Hawkes is as frighteningly charismatic here as he was in last year's Winter's Bone, with a softer, more insidiously creepy turn than in that film.

This is currently in the limbo between theatrical run and home video; it'll be available for the latter on Feb. 27.

Read my full review here.

3. Bill Cunningham New York: Richard Press' profile of the The New York Times' longtime street fashion photographer is hardly the most innovative documentary of the year. But even using the standard tools of the genre—interviews, following the subject around in his daily life with a camera—Press is able to make one of the most inspired and inspiring movies of the year. And, with all due respect to Press for his contributions, a lot of the credit lies with the subject: Bill Cunningham is one of the most lovable characters in movies this year.

Potentially hokey motivational phrases like "follow your dream" and "do what you love" feel like nothing but the sagest wisdom ever devised when one witnesses Cunningham quietly, modestly doing exactly those things. For a movie that's about the city of New York as much as it is just about this one man—because he's spent so long chronicling the daily life of the city—it might come as a surprise that this film is so resolutely free of irony or hardness of any kind. It's a feel-good film that never cheats, and earns every inch of the wide smile you'll have chiseled on your face once you're done watching.

Out now on DVD, available on Netflix streaming, and on iTunes for rental streaming.

Read my full review here.

2. Meek's Cutoff: In last year's best-of list, I felt compelled to throw out an honorable mention to a film that I'd seen at a festival in 2010, and would have certainly made that list if it had seen a theatrical release. A year later, the power of Kelly Reichardt's quiet, unusual take on the western hasn't diminished one bit. From her commitment to accurately reflecting the monotony of life for settlers on the wagon train west, to the nearly imperceptible incremental increases in dread and desperation as this group realizes that Stephen Meek's shortcut has gotten them hopelessly lost in the dusty interior of Oregon, to the inventive ways in which Reichardt uses framing, sound, and even the film's aspect ratio to examine what it was like to be a woman on these grueling journeys, every piece of this film is meticulously crafted and note-perfect. Michelle Williams is going to get an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn, and she is, as always, fantastic in that film; but the award should really be for the subtle and emotional work she does here.
Out now on DVD, available on Netflix streaming, and on iTunes for rental streaming.

Read my full review here.



1. Drive: There were three D.C. press screenings of Nicolas Winding Refn's quietly violent neo-noir. I went to all three, under the guise of wanting to bring different friends who were all interested in seeing the movie as my plus-one. But the fact is, I'd have gone all three times even if I was going alone. Refn's film is, like all his work, relentlessly stylized, and just barely on the opposite side of reality from where we stand. This seemed to put off some people who found the languorous pauses in conversation between Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan's characters self-consciously unrealistic, or who were bothered by the unnatural length of that final, brilliantly constructed elevator ride down to the the very, very bottom.

But every shot and every angle here is constructed with the utmost care by Refn. Like most great noirs, this is the most generic of dime-store novel shorelines, but it's elevated by an uncommon attention to tone and mood that leaves Refn in absolute control of the emotions of anyone willing to submit to it. Every single time I saw Drive, my reaction was the same as it is when I step off a terrifying roller coaster: I want to do that again, as soon and as many times as possible.

http://dcist.com/2011/12/best_films_of_2011.php