The best movie I have seen this year is Somewhere. The year's greatest spectacle, however, is Inception. The best direction is a tie between Brooklyn's Finest and Somewhere.
visuals
The best visual effects can be seen in Inception, and the best production design can be seen in Death At A Funeral... the interior of that home is wonderful. The best editing can be seen in The Kite Runner. The best opening credits sequence is in Up in the Air.
miscellaneous
The best adventure movie is Prince of Persia, the best horror Call Back, while the most painful is The Magdalene Sisters. The funniest is Get Smart, and most enchanting is Alice In Wonderland. The best action direction is in Takers.
The best narration can be found in the most bizarre movie of the year, Sita Sings the Blues, and there was nothing more moody than Anamorph.
The best sound is a tie between Up in the Air and Somewhere.
acting & characters
There were so many enjoyable performances this year that I could not clearly decide who was better than who, and here's an attempt:
The year's most favorite performance:
- a tie between Stanley Tucci & Patricia Clarkson (Easy A)
- Ron Perlman (The Job)
- homo guy (Woman On Top); John Cleese (Spud); friend (Lottery Ticket)
In the category of best male performance, Woody Harrelson (The Messenger) comes on top.
As for best female performance, we have Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice.
My most favorite character is the admirable Nelson Mandela (played by Morgan Freeman) in Invictus.
The best child performance was by the girl playing the daughter in (Somewhere), followed by title character in Spud.
The best cast is that of Calendar Girls.
The best cast of children can be found in Spud, while the year's best villain is that played by Hades in Clash of the Titans (also the year's most fearsome character).
The most desirable character list follows:
- Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air) and Lois character (Superman)
- lover (Last Tango in Paris); Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)
- bride (Mamma Mia); huge eyes (Outsourced)
- police lady (Holy Water)
The most miserable character was that of Philip Seymour Hoffman in Synecdoche, New York, which isn't very surprising since such characters are his trademark. He's followed very closely by Marlon Brando's in the disturbing Last Tango in Paris.
The best character design is the villain in Clash of the Titans, and the most charming character is the cat in Secret of Kells. Also, its eyes reminds me too much of a woman I intensely obsessed over some years ago.
The most perfect gentleman is the oh-so-perfect groom character in Our Family Wedding.
The koolest guy is Mark Wahlberg's in Date Night.
Here's a list of most painful/touching scene:
- hate for a dead wife (Last Tango in Paris) -- leads one sympathising with the otherwise unpleasant character
- expression of love between cop and prostitute (Brooklyn's Finest)
The best dance scene is the dark, yet enchanting puppet mastery sequence in Chicago. The best sci-fi set is the white ship interior in Resident Evil Afterlife, the best warfare is in Centurion, the best story concept is Inception.
Each repeat of a movie is a different experience, hence this category of best first-time viewing experience. This year, it is won by Iron Man 2, which failed on the rewatch value department.
'old' movies
This section is meant to give a chance to movies I have watched before this year to appear in this review, for one reason or another.
Of those, the best experience was offered by Smokin' Aces, which has now been elevated to a masterpiece. Runner-up is Reservoir Dogs, which remains fresh and exciting after all these years... a rare quality for a movie indeed.
The fall from glory award goes to:
unpleasantries
The most boring movie this year is A Brighter Summer Day, followed by Afterwards (no pun intended). The most overrated movie is Shane (dull and lame), followed by Up, which doesn't live anywhere near the high expectations worthy of animated movies of its stature.
For a complete list of the movies I reviewed for the year, visit this tag.