3. Hugo
This is why I do this every week. My opinions fluctuate, and over the last two weeks my adoration of Martin Scorsese's Hugo has only increased. The film is essentially one man's warm embrace of cinematic history, from the pioneering early days to now, hidden in the middle of a rich fairy tale about a boy's quest to receive one final message from his late father.
2. Shame
The NC-17 rating is going to instantly turn some people away from Steve McQueen's dark examination of sexual addiction, but those people are doing themselves a disservice and missing out on one of the best movies of the year. Michael Fassbender gives a tour de force performance as Brandon, a New Yorker who has completely given in to his desires in a quest to fill the emptiness in his life. Carey Mulligan is as good as she's ever been as his equally troubled sister, who turns his life upside down by her arrival in town. Shame is a tough film to watch, unflinching and at times a little claustrophobic, but the experience is well worth it.
1. The Descendants
Hey, it's been #1 for four weeks now. If you haven't run out to see what I think is the best movie of the year, with the singularly finest performance of the year by George Clooney, then what the heck are you doing?
DVD Pick of the Week: The Help
Every gorgeous frame, every moment of The Help screams authenticity and an unquenchable love for every inch of southern fried Mississippi. Based on the best selling novel by Kathryn Stockett, her childhood friend Tate Taylor earnestly adapts her story from the viewpoint of the African-American "help" and the institutionalized racism they face daily while taking care of the homes of rich white women. Emma Stone, in her most successful film of the year(of which she was in many) plays Skeeter, a rebellious, forward thinking wanna journalist who seeks to try and right some of these wrongs by writing a tell all book of the maids' experiences. The beauty of The Help is in it's charm and use of comedy to present serious issues without any easy answers. Also, the ensemble cast including Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Jessica Chastain is superb.
