Forget about the Oscars, what every filmgoer wants to know is what movie did JOE pick as its favourite for 2011. Thankfully, the wait is over.
5. The Guard
Without doubt the biggest success story in Irish cinema for many a year, The Guard and its titular character are likely to be the first two things to spring to mind when one now considers Brendan Gleeson's legacy. Oh, and it will certainly be essential viewing anyone looking to see Don Cheadle get insulted
as Gaeilge by someone repairing a lamp.
With diametrically opposed stars in the seemingly apathetic Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Gleeson) and bewildered FBI agent Wendell Everett (Cheadle in masterful form),
The Guard is simply one of the finest Irish movies and directorial debuts (John Michael McDonagh, brother of
In Bruges director Martin) we've ever seen.
4. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Let's face it, the idea of rebooting the
Planet of the Apes franchise sounded like a horrible one a year ago, while we admit to mocking the seemingly poor CGI of the apes in question when saw the first trailer. The laughs were on us, however, when we sat down months later and watched the smartest Hollywood blockbuster of the year.
In retrospect, they should've just let the apes take the bridge
With a tight script and an astonishing performance from Andy Serkis (whose motion-captured portrayal of ape Caeser is gaining Oscar buzz),
Rise of the Planet of the Apes works hard for the emotional intensity that punctuates its final act.
In a world where ADD-addled action directors can't go five minutes without an explosion, the film leaves the action aside until the last 20 minutes and instead focuses on a myriad of themes, from animal exploitation to what it means to be human. That's pretty ambitious for a $100m+ project.
3. Senna
As our reviewer wrote earlier this year at the release of this stunning feature: "Who’d have thought a documentary consisting purely of archive footage of the career of a racing driver could be so compelling?"
Pieced together from thousands of hours of raw footage, Senna is the incredible yet tragic story of the F1 legend and is quite simply must-see viewing for everyone, no matter your personal taste in racing.
Both enthralling and ultimately heartbreaking, this painstakingly recreated documentary provides the narrative, pace and memorable moments that any live-action version could hope for, which is probably the highest compliment we can pay to filmmaker Asif Kapadia.
2. The Fighter
Following its Oscar glory (Best Supporting Actor for Christian Bale, Best Supporting Actress for Melissa Leo) in early February, it's easy to forget that
The Fighter hit Irish cinemas very early this year. Hyped as the best boxing movie since
Raging Bull, critics and audiences were quickly won over by a tale of family ties, overcoming the odds and perhaps the most frightening gaggle of sisters in cinematic history.
We believe that Wahlberg downed a can of spinach or two before this scene
While Bale's goggle-eyed scenery-chewing is probably what many will immediately take from their initial viewing of
The Fighter, repeated watches have opened us up to the understated work from Mark Wahlberg - possibly one of the most maddeningly inconsistent actors in Hollywood when you consider his chequered filmography.
It's Wahlberg's performance that helps anchor Bale's sometimes cartoonish approach and it's a shame that he was so resoundingly overlooked in the awards season.
1. Drive
Of all the movies that Ryan Gosling starred in this year (we'd estimate that it was at least 11), he may never top his role in
Drive, where his near-silent protagonist evoked comparisons to the great Steve McQueen.
Making what is in a retrospect a fairly rubbish jacket look good, all to the best film score in years, Gosling's magnetic presence ensured that he would never again be derided by men as "that guy from
The Notebook". An impossibly stylish modern take on the noir genre,
Drive is easily our film of 2011 -
even if not everyone agrees.
