Best Pictures #104: 2023 (96th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee: Barbie

by A.J. 

Best Pictures #104: 2023 (96th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Barbie

“You guys ever think about dying?”

Is there a more unlikely subject for a unique and artistic movie with wide commercial appeal than the most famous doll in the world, Barbie? I wonder if Warner Bros. and Mattel executives knew what kind of movie they were getting when they hired Greta Gerwig to direct the Barbie movie, but we should all be so thankful that they did. A big budget movie with this high of a profile typically ends up being a film by committee, fiercely overseen by executives protective of the product or brand no matter who the writer or director is. That may have been true with Barbie as well, but it still feels like Gerwig got one by the suits. Her Barbie movie is funny, dramatic, subversive, strange, satisfying, ridiculous, timely, socio-political, and wonderfully entertaining all at once. This is one of the most surprising and best movies of 2023.

Margot Robbie stars as Barbie–could it have been anyone else?–or to be more specific, she plays Stereotypical Barbie, who lives in her dream house in Barbieland, with all of the other Barbies who each have their own dream house, having the perfect day every day and every night is girls’ night. There are also the Kens, who are, you know, there. The narrator, voiced by Helen Merrin–could it have been anyone else?–tells us that Ken (Ryan Gosling), whose job is “beach,” not lifeguard or surfer, only has a great day if Barbie looks at him.

Her perfect days and nights come to a halt when she begins having thoughts of death, finds cellulite on her perfect form, and her feet change shape from perfectly designed for high heels to flat. Knowledgeable and eccentric Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), who got that way from being played with too hard, tells Barbie that she must venture to the real world, find the girl that is playing with her, and set things right. The Barbies believe that they have solved all of the real world’s problems regarding sexism and gender equality, so Barbie is in for quite a shock when she journeys to the real world.  

It’s no shock that the early Babieland sequence is the most fun part of the movie. Seeing a large scale version of the dreamhouse, all the different Barbies and Kens, the plastic aesthetic of everything, even the ocean waves, is a real treat for the eyes. It is also no surprise that the equally eye-catching production design and costumes have each received Oscar nominations. Both are not only vibrant and fun, but they also help define the characters. 

Margot Robbie is excellent as Barbie, not just because she looks the part but because she deftly handles the broad comedy and real emotions that Barbie didn’t even know she could experience. She fits comfortably into the flamboyant and fantastical aesthetic of Barbieland and is great as a fish out of water in the “state of Los Angeles.” When she stiffly flops over in despair we enjoy a small laugh but she has all of our sympathy. There are many things that go right in Barbie, but Margot Robbie is the keystone. 

Like Robbie, Gosling is broad but just what the movie needs. His Ken is an over excited puppy, eager for Barbie’s attention and eager to be taken seriously and seen as cool. He tags along on Barbie’s trip to the real world, learns about patriarchy, and turns Barbieland into Kendom. The sweetness of Gosling’s performance, as much as Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach’s screenplay, keep the audience from ever feeling like Ken becomes a villain. 

Perhaps the concessions that Gerwig made to Mattel were to not dig too hard at the corporation. Will Ferrell gives a hilarious performance as the Mattel CEO, maybe the most benevolent CEO ever on film. Mattel itself is portrayed as its own version of Barbieland, unreal and off kilter. Still, the screenplay gets a lot of laughs at the less successful versions of Barbie that crashed and burned like Midge the pregnant Barbie (played by director Emerald Fennell in a cameo) and perpetually overlooked Allan played wonderfully by Michael Cera. 

It is at Mattel that Barbie meets Gloria (America Ferrera), an aspiring Barbie designer, who goes with Barbie to set things right in Barbieland. Ferrera, who has received an Oscar nomination for her performance, becomes a sort of conduit for bridging the emotions of the real world and Babieland. Thankfully, the movie has no problem moving from being a live action cartoon into more dramatic, emotional moments, and even dealing with social and gender issues because of the great cast and the great skill of director Greta Gerwig. If her previous films, the Oscar nominated Lady Bird (2017) and Little Women (2019), haven’t already established Gerwig as a serious filmmaker and auteur then Barbie is one more major point in her favor.

This movie is fun and playful but also meaningful. It earns every laugh, every tear, every comment on the patriarchy and society. Barbie is certainly offbeat but there are things in it for every audience member to enjoy; many, many have already. This turned into the biggest movie of the summer, earned much critical acclaim, and now is nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture. It is rare these days for a big budget studio movie to feel so singularly ambitious and inventive and be so incredibly pleasing and well done, but Barbie is that movie. After all, Barbie can be anything. 

Summer Under the Radar Preview 2016

by A.J.

Summer doesn’t officially start until about a month from now, but it has been summer at the movies since the first weekend of May. Summer at the movies is synonymous with the big budget blockbuster movies (usually superhero movies) that you’ve known were premiering this summer whether you are interested in them or not (Captain America: Civil War, X-Men Apocalypse, Ghostbusters, Star Trek Beyond). There are also some smaller scale movies coming out this summer that not everyone may be aware of, but which I think will be a nice break from epic CGI action:

May 20^th

The Nice Guys

Ryan Gosling takes a break from his roles in more experimental films to star with Russell Crowe as a pair of mismatched detectives in this action-comedy film noir set in 1970s California. The Nice Guys is written and directed by Shane Black, who wrote the screenplays for Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout (to name a few) and has directed Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (another great noir comedy about a mismatched pair of detectives) and arguably the best Marvel movie, Iron Man 3. So far, his track record as writer/director has been very good and, hopefully, The Nice Guys will continue his streak of clever, quality cinema.

May 27^th

Love & Friendship

This is the movie I have been looking forward to the most this year. The films of writer-director Whit Stillman have been described as "comedies of manners” that follow privileged WASP types, but the way I describe his movies when recommending one to a customer at the video store is: it’s like mixing a Woody Allen movie and a Wes Anderson movie together. His latest film, an adaptation of a Jane Austen story, is the moment when critics and fans realized that Stillman has been making modern day Jane Austen stories this whole time. Kate Beckinsale stars as widow Lady Susan who, while staying with her in-laws, seeks to find a husband for her daughter, and one for herself, too. Love & Friendship has already been released in select cities and received many positive reviews. It opens in Austin, TX on May 27^th and I can’t wait.

June 24^th

The Neon Demon

This is the most hesitant I’ve been about seeing any movie for quite a while. Writer-director Nicolas Winding Refn made one of my favorite movies of this decade so far, Drive. He followed that up with one of the most boring and excruciating movie experiences I’ve ever had with Only God Forgives. I’ve watched some of his other films and it seems like Drive might be the fluke in his filmography. However, the casting of Mad Men's Christina Hendricks got me to watch the trailer for The Neon Demon and the trailer is pretty intriguing. Elle Fanning stars as an aspiring model that finds herself in potentially dangerous surroundings. IMDB.com classifies this movie as Horror/Thriller and if the coin flips one way, an intense, psychological thriller along the lines of Black Swan might be in store; if the coin flips the other way, this movie might just be very pretty and very frustrating. I’ll wait for reviews for The Neon Demon come in before I venture out the theater, or just stay home and watch Drive again. Here is the trailer, which, on its own, I highly recommend watching.

July 15^th

The Infiltrator

Bryan Cranston finds himself in the world of illegal drugs again in The Infiltrator. This time he is on the side of the authorities, U.S. Customs to be exact, in this movie based on the true story of a drug and money laundering sting aimed at apprehending Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. Cranston is paired with John Leguizamo and they have to go undercover in the dangerous world of the drug trade. The trailer plays up the action, but I’m interested to see what Cranston does with this material.

August 5^th

The Founder

I’m surprised The Founder isn’t being released later in the year, during Oscar season, since this seems like a movie the Academy would look favorably upon. Michael Keaton plays Ray Kroc, the founder (but not creator) of McDonald’s. Kroc finds the small, but fast burger restaurant run by the McDonald brothers (played by Nick Offerman and John Carrol Lynch) and expands their business into a larger and larger franchise. It’s not exactly what the brothers thought they were getting into, but Kroc is determined to make the business as big and successful as possible, and he's not going to let anyone get in his way. The Founder has an interesting subject and a great cast, so I am on board.

August 12^th

Café Society

It’s the new Woody Allen movie, so this might as well be required viewing for me. Allen’s last two films, Irrational Man and Magic in Moonlight, were way under par in just about every aspect, but Allen just keeps churning out film after film and hopefully the odds are in our favor for Café Society. As always, this Woody Allen movie features a talented cast including Jesse Eisenberg, Steve Carell, Kristen Stewart, Cory Stoll, and Parker Posey. Eisenberg plays a young man from the Bronx who movies out to Hollywood to help his uncle, who is a powerful agent (Carell), and falls in love with his uncle’s secretary (Stewart). It’s a period film, set in 1930’s Hollywood, so even if this wasn’t a Woody Allen movie I would still be very excited to see it in theaters.

Best Pictures #12: 2015 (88th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee, The Big Short (2015)

by A.J.

2015 (88^th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

The Big Short (2015)

The Big Short is a sharp comedy that assembles a strong cast to tackle an important, but complicated true story. It stars Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt, but the actors share little screen time with each other. In fact, Bale’s storyline does not cross paths with any of the others. Bale plays Dr. Mark Burry, an eccentric fund manager whose bosses don’t take seriously because he wears shorts, goes barefoot in his office, and gets his hair trimmed at Supercuts. In spite of his appearance, Burry is smart enough to figure out, in 2005, that the housing market is headed for disaster…and that there is a way to profit from the impending collapse. Ryan Gosling, as Deutsche Bank bond salesman Jared Vennett, most closely resembles the stereotype of a slick Wall Street executive, but is still seen as an outsider by his co-workers; he is also our narrator. He partners up with Mark Baum, played by Steve Carell, another hedge fund manager and Wall Street outsider who is trying to maintain independence while working within the system and dealing with his loathing for the Wall Street way. He and his team (Hamish Linklater, Rafe Spall, and Jeremy Strong) also notice the housing bubble about to burst and see a way to make a profit. John Magaro and Finn Wittrock play two young investors from Colorado who are eager to make it big—and move their hedge fund out of their garage—so they seek out the help of a retired banker, contentedly approaching hermit-hood, played by Brad Pitt. There are good performances from the ensemble all around, but only Bale snagged an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. I didn’t think that there was a clear stand out of cast, but I was impressed at how close all the actors came to going over the top without actually go over.

The Big Short has to explain a lot of dense, complicated exposition about credit default swaps, synthetic CDO’s, bonds, and other things that people take college classes to understand and finds some interesting ways to do that, some more effective than others. Gosling’s character tells the audience that explaining financial stuff can be boring and complicated, so in order to keep our interest we are shown scenes of celebrities explaining clearly and simply rather dense concepts. All of those expository segments are quick and fun and liven up the movie, in addition to actually explaining bonds and synthetic CDO’s. The first of these scenes, Margot Robbie in a bubble bath drinking champagne, is the least effective because unlike the segments with Anthony Bourdain making fish soup and Selena Gomez playing blackjack, Robbie’s actions and setting don’t help to illustrate the thing she is explaining. Several characters break the fourth wall and address the audience directly, sometimes explaining that a scene didn’t exactly happen the same way in real life; more often they tell us that a ridiculous, unbelievable thing really did happen.

Carell’s character is one most likely to strike a chord with audiences because his loathing for Wall Street turns to outrage when he uncovers the stupidity, corruption, and fraud rampant among the big banks and the complete lack of concern for how these actions will affect the country and the world. Carrell is also not afraid to say as much to the people he meets, no matter their standing, or even interrupt a speech at a conference with an annoying, but completely reasonable and legitimate point. He really did that, Gosling assures us. We can like these characters, despite that their goal is to profit from the collapse of the U.S. economy, because each one has a scene where they try explaining what they’ve discovered and are ignored by the people who should be most concerned. We can’t help but root for these guys because that is what we are used to doing when characters in a movie are smart or insightful, but are ignored by the stuffy, arrogant old guard. Pitt’s jaded ex-banker makes a point to damper the excitement of his young protégés by telling them that they “just bet against the American economy;” if they’re right, they will profit greatly, but many people will lose their jobs and homes as well.

Director Adam McKay has received an Oscar nomination for his direction of The Big Short and commentators cannot help but point out that this the same director who made the broad comedies Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and The Other Guys. The Big Short is different in tone than his previous films, but it is ultimately still a comedy despite its serious and true subject matter. There are some stylistic choices in this film that didn’t quite work for me. There are montages of images from pop culture—a rap video, people buying iPhones, etc. that are meant to show what American culture was obsessed with while the economy was beginning to crack and crumble, but felt more like a failed passage-of-time montage. I understood the purpose, but I didn’t feel the intended effect. In a film where actors will look right at the audience and explain what everything means, these montages are the one thing which are not given a clear definition or purpose. Another thing that bothered me must be mentioned, minor though it is: the multitude of bad wigs. It seems like each actor was made to pick out a wig and apply it themselves. Pitt’s beard, real or not, looks like a wig on his face.

What The Big Short does well is deliver facts about an incredibly important and unfortunate chapter of American history in a high energy, entertaining movie; but it never gives us more fun than frustration over the absurdities which hold up the American economy. The Big Short at times feels like an episode of Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm, in which a fairly average person is confronted by an absurd, bizarre character or situation and can’t understand how this could be happening. Adding to the absurdity and frustration is that we already know the results; so when, as the perfect sour cherry on top, Gosling tells us that nobody learned anything and nothing changed, it comes as no surprise. The same material in The Big Short is covered in the documentary Inside Job (2010), which is a sharp, rage-inducing look at the financial collapse which also explains clearly and simply what happened and why. Inside Job won the Academy Award for Best Documentary and should be sought out by anyone who hasn’t seen it yet; however, if I ever want a refresher on the hows and whys of the 2008 financial collapse, I will revisit The Big Short. A little levity–and seeing characters share my repulsed reaction to the behavior of the banks– goes a long way to help digest such a stomach churning material. 

Nominees: Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Producers

Director: Adam McKay

Screenplay: Adam McKay and Charles Randolph, based on the book by Michael Lewis

Cast: Christian Bale, Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling

Production Companies: Plan B Entertainment, Regency Entertainment

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Release Date: December 11^th, 2015

Total Nominations: 5, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Director-Adam McKay, Supporting Actor-Christian Bale, Adapted Screenplay-Charles Randolph, Editing-Hank Corwin

A Few Highlights of 2013, So Far...

by A.J.

The year 2013 is slightly more than half way done. Though I haven’t been to the movies as much as I would have liked, there have been some highlights and here are three.

If I had to distinguish one movie as “best of the year, so far” it would be:

The Place Beyond the Pines

This is an excellent multi-character, generational family drama of the kind that you might have seen on a semi-regular basis 20 or maybe even 10 years ago. It’s becoming a cliché to say that good character based dramas are rare these days, but it is true; and The Place Beyond the Pines is this year’s rarity. Spanning 15 years and 4 central characters this movie feels bigger in scale than I’m sure it’s budget could allow. This movie is essentially 3 different stories about fathers and sons and criminals and cops with overlapping characters. Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling are great, as you might expect, but seeing them work with material that is truly worthy of their talents is especially satisfying.
The Place Beyond the Pines comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray on August 6th.

Trance

Danny Boyle’s Trance is an excellent example of a “Neo-Noir” film. Film Noir is the distinction applied to crime dramas from the 1940’s and 50’s that were dark in subject matter and style. They usually concerned criminals or detectives and unsavory schemes. The definition of a film noir is as detailed as it is changeable, depending on who you ask. If you ask me, the noir style goes beyond the classic noir period of the 40’s and 50’s. Plenty of films made since qualify as noirs since the central elements of a film noir are timeless. Trance is about a group of art thieves trying to recover their recent theft from their inside man, an art auctioneer played by James McAvoy, who is unfortunately suffering from amnesia after double crossing them. The leader of the thieves, Vincent Cassel, goes along with a plan to have a hypnotherapist, Rosario Dawson, help him recover his lost memories. The plot twists and turns as memories are recovered and we learn more about the characters and just exactly why McAvoy’s character decided to double cross his gang in the first place. There are maybe one too many twists and turns, but this is still an entertaining noir fueled by the energetic style of director Danny Boyle.

Danny Boyle's Trance comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray July 23rd.

The Heat

So we’ve seen plenty of mismatched buddy cop comedies, more than a few of them have been good, but it’s been a long time since we’ve seen one about female buddy cops. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Sandra Bullock in a decent comedy, too. Luckily, The Heat is a hilarious movie. Bullock plays a straight-laced FBI agent in pursuit of a drug kingpin who crosses paths with Melissa McCarthy, playing a wild card Boston cop in pursuit of the same drug kingpin. They partner up despite their differences and hilarity ensues. I know, it’s a formula, but all the correct variables were put in the right places: comedic director Paul Feig, funny actresses Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, and a script by Katie Dippold that is more concerned with making sure the characters are funny people than bashing us over the head with “Hey, look! Women can be funny!” A quote from Paul Feig, who also directed Bridesmaids, has been circulating around the internet: “[I want] men to come away from it going, like, ‘I’m not afraid of two women being funny’… These are just two very funny people and you’re just going to laugh for almost two hours.” It’s true. You’ll laugh for about two hours if you watch The Heat.

The Heat is currently in theaters.

My Favorite Performances of 2011

by Lani

It is awards season in Hollywood and everyone with an opinion about film is chiming in with their "best of the year" picks. To continue the tradition I began last January, I've compiled a list of my favorite performances from all the films I saw during the previous year. My list comes with the caveat that I have not seen every notable film of 2011; however, when the statuettes are handed out at Sunday's Golden Globes and next month's Oscars, I hope to see awards in the hands of the actors listed below.

Favorite Male Performance: Brendan Gleeson, The Guard

The success of this film rests squarely on the burly shoulders of its lead character, a gruff, eccentric policeman in a small Irish village. Sgt. Gerry Boyle is selfish and caustic. He antagonizes anyone who gets in his way and purposely annoys his superiors. However, he may be the only person who really knows what he's doing. If Gleeson's performance didn't work, the movie wouldn't work. So it's a good thing he is brilliant.

Favorite Female Performance: Charlize Theron, Young Adult

Theron's character Mavis Gary, a depressed novelist who returns to her hometown in a desperate attempt to rekindle her high school romance, is not a likable person and she remains irredeemable throughout the film. It is to Theron's credit that Mavis does not come off as a one-dimensional bitch. I wasn't exactly rooting for Mavis - she's trying to break up a happy marriage; but as her behavior became more and more deluded, I was hoping for her to at least see the error of her ways. The subject matter can get a little dark, but Theron proves to be adept at comedy, striking just the right tone. I love a good sneer (see Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network, 2010), and the look of disgust on Theron's face as she drives down her hometown's main drag pretty much clinched her a spot on this list.

Favorite Ensemble - Male: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

With a complex plot and characters who traffic in secrets and deception, this film couldn't afford to have one performance out of step. The story isn't told so much through dialogue as through tone of voice, body language, and eye contact. Led by a perfectly understated Gary Oldman, the cast shows you everything need to know and leaves you wanting more. And kudos to Tom Hardy for once again showing up mid-film, releasing a musky blast of charisma, then returning us to our regularly scheduled program (see Inception, 2010).

Favorite Ensemble - Female: Bridesmaids

I could single out Kristen Wiig's dexterous physical comedy or Rose Byrne's deft restraint or Melissa McCarthy's manic energy, but the cast was great across the board. In an ensemble comedy like this, there are usually a couple characters who get all the jokes; however, each cast member, from the late Jill Clayburgh as Wiig's dotty mother to Melanie Hutsell as a hapless tennis partner (with no lines!), got a laugh from me.

Favorite Dog, TIE: Uggi, The Artist and Cosmo, Beginners

In each of these films, the dog isn't just there to look cute in reaction shots (though they are both quite adorable); these dogs are integral supporting characters who add heart and charm to each of their films. Yes, maybe Uggi and Cosmo (pictured, right) were thinking of sausages rather than "acting," but how can I say no to that face...you're such a good actor, yes you are...

Favorite Silent Performance: Jean Dujardin, The Artist

It is Uggi's co-star Dujardin who does the emotional heavy-lifting as a silent movie actor struggling against the advent of sound. I cannot confirm whether Dujardin was also thinking of sausages during crucial scenes, but if he was that technique is really working.

Favorite Near-Silent Performance: Ryan Gosling, Drive

Gosling's unnamed driver doesn't say much, but he doesn't have to when a look will suffice.

Favorite Swedes: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Most of the actors in this film aren't actually Swedes, they just play them in the movies. The mystery at the heart of this film is the hook that got me to buy a ticket, but the assemblage of fantastic actors in small roles - including Stephen Berkoff, Donald Sumpter, Joely Richardson, Julian Sands, and Goran Visnjic - kept me enthralled.

Favorite Enchanting French Woman: Marion Cotillard, Midnight in Paris

Cotillard, playing a fashion designer in 1920s Paris, defines the word "lovely." In this role being beautiful and charming would have been enough, but Cotillard brings thoughtfulness and depth as well. It is easy to understand why every man she meets is entranced.

Runner-up: Mélanie Laurent, Beginners

I was captivated by Laurent in Inglourious Basterds in 2009, and she is just as interesting here (albeit in a wildly different film) playing an independent-minded actress who tentatively falls in love.

Special Award for Stealth Acting: Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method

Viggo the Shark strikes again. Mortensen's performance as Sigmund Freud illustrates his ability to glide through a scene with a quiet, strong presence. He doesn't seem to be doing anything special, then suddenly, he goes in for the kill and you realize he's been sizing you up the whole time.

MVP of the Year: Christopher Plummer, Beginners and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Christopher Plummer has been acting for almost 60 years, but it wasn't until late in life that he started to get really juicy roles. He got his first Oscar nomination in 2009; I hold out hope that he'll earn another this year for his graceful performance in Beginners. He gets my MVP award for that performance, as well as his strong work in Dragon Tattoo.

Runner-up: Mark Strong, The Guard and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

The first time I noticed Mark Strong I dubbed him "British Andy Garcia;" however, after a string of excellent supporting performances I've learned his name and I'm not likely to forget it.

Others of note: Keira Knightly, A Dangerous Method; Corey Stoll, Midnight in Paris; Giovanni Ribisi, The Rum Diary; Kathy Burke, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; Patton Oswalt, Young Adult; Albert Brooks, Drive; Vincent Cassel, A Dangerous Method; James McAvoy, X-Men: First Class

My Favorite Performances of 2010

by Lani

The Golden Globes will be given out this Sunday. As every year, some of the nominations are a bit mystifying (was The Tourist supposed to be a comedy?), but I was happy to see that a few of my favorite films of 2010, like Inception and The Social Network, are in the running. The arrival of award season always inspires "best of" lists, and I am not immune. Since I have not seen every notable film of the year, rather than make a list of the best films of 2010 I have been thinking about which individual performances made the biggest impressions on me. Here's my list of favorites (not necessarily the best), in no particular order:

Tom Hardy, Inception
One thing I'm sure of after watching Inception? You don't want to be in a scene with Tom Hardy - that is, unless you're okay with him stealing it right out from under you. Hardy plays Eames, a "forger" recruited for Leonardo DiCaprio's dream-team. But he isn't there to make fake passports; within a dream, people can be forgeries, too. Among a cast with charisma to spare, Hardy was the standout for me.

Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Jesse Eisenberg is not an actor whom I would usually describe as having an expressive face, but this trait is to his advantage in the role of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, a character who keeps his emotions and motivations largely to himself. But then, with slightest curl of his upper lip, Eisenberg conveyed operatic levels of bitterness, contempt, and betrayal. If there were an award for best lip-acting of 2010, Eisenberg would be a lock.

Armie Hammer, The Social Network
In The Social Network, director David Fincher used cutting-edge technology to create the characters of identical twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss by filming actor Armie Hammer opposite a body double, Josh Pence, then digitally grafting Hammer's face onto Pence's body. The effect is seamless, but it works so well because Hammer makes each of the brothers a distinct, separate character - allowing the audience to just believe him when he says "I'm six-five, 220 pounds, and there are two of me!"

Kim Hye-Ja, Mother
Though she has been acting in South Korean film and TV for 30 years, Kim Hye-Ja was basically unknown to American audiences until her starring role in director Bong Joon-Ho's noirish suspense film, Mother. As a single mother determined to clear her adult son of a murder charge, she is engaging and exasperating from minute to minute. She faces the world with an expression of innocence and naivete, but by the end of the film you wonder just how much she has chosen to forget.

Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
I praised Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams a couple of months ago, and despite all the great films I've seen since then, their performances as the troubled couple at the center of Blue Valentine are still at the top of my list. As Roger Ebert noted in his review of the film, it is one thing for an actor to age onscreen from 24 to 60 - old-age makeup and physical tricks can do a lot of the work. It is much more difficult to show someone at 24 and then at 30. The physical differences are subtle, the real changes occur within. Critics have been singling-out Williams's performance, and I would love to see her win an Oscar for it; however, I can't help thinking of Gosling and Williams as a unit - one performance couldn't exist without the other.

James Franco, 127 Hours
As with Williams and Gosling, I have praised James Franco in a previous posting, but this list would not be complete without mention of his intense portrayal of a hiker stuck between a rock and a hard place in 127 Hours. After his hilarious role in The Pineapple Express (2008), an impressive supporting performance in Milk (2009), and this one-man showcase - I am convinced that Franco can play anything and I can't wait to see his next film.

Honorable Mention: Rosamund Pike, An Education and Made in Dagenham
An Education is technically a 2009 film, but I didn't see it until February 2010, which makes Rosamund Pike's performance as dumb blonde, Helen my first "favorite" of the year. The character is meant to be a contrast to the precocious, plain Jenny (played by Carey Mulligan); but Pike took what could have been a stock "bimbo" role and made her more surprising, warm, and real than I ever expected. Later in the year, I took notice of Pike again in a small, but memorable role as an upper class housewife who befriends a striking auto worker (Sally Hawkins) in Made in Dagenham.

Others of note: Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone; John Hawkes, Winter's Bone; Hilary Swank, Conviction; Sam Rockwell, Conviction; Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech; Emma Watson, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1