Best Opening Scene: Shame. Subway Scene opens the film to no dialogue spoken with Michael Fassbender’s sex addict Casanova sharing eye-sex with a female across from him. The musical score during the scene elevates the mood perfectly as we see this man and woman fantasizing to the point of near orgasm before her face overcomes with “shame.” As she walks off, we notice she has a wedding ring. Beautiful piece of directing, using only facial expressions and eye movement for words with a great musical backdrop to set the tone of the film. Fantastic opening. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afYwRO3aJYw
Best Closing Scene: Insidious. (SPOILER ALERT) DO NOT READ further unless you want to know this ending. The horror movie genre has taken a hard toll for the worse over the last decade or more. Insidious, despite those who may feel otherwise, was a pleasant surprise and worthy of a true “creep show.” The ending was the icing on the cake. As the husband who saves his son from the demonic creature and returns back to the real world, all seems happy as can be. Until the psychic old lady takes his picture revealing his dark past came through with him. He shockingly murders her in an unforeseen rage. The wife walks into the room, picks up the photo only to turn around and stare blanking into the camera as she hears the voice of her husband, and the movie cuts off. BRAVO.
Best Soundtrack: DRIVE. This was not even close. One of the longest rotations in my mp3 player all year was this soundtrack. 3 epic songs in particular that everyone should download (Nightfall, Under Your Spell, and the epic A Real Hero). The musical score wasn’t bad either, but the 3 80s style, neo-noir pop songs were essential to the films success and atmospheric tone. Here's the link to the closing song i must have played well close to 100 times this year, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DSVDcw6iW8
Most Adrenaline Pumping Action Sequence: The opening AND closing to FAST FIVE. Both scenes could be argued to be the best in all 5 films combined. The ridiculousness was threw the roof, however it certainly was breathtaking watching a car heist gone wrong off a moving train. Only to cap it off with an even more ridiculous chase scene by two cars pulling a bank sized safe down the street and highway. THIS was what HDTVs were made for watching.
Biggest Tearjerker Moment: Last scene of Moneyball. THIS IS NOT A SPOILER due to the fact the last scene gives away nothing to the film. After returning from a job interview that would pay him the largest GM salary in baseball, and still unsure of his decision, we watch Brad Pitt’s Billy Beane character driving in his SUV listening to the song his daughter made for him earlier in the movie. We watch his eyes swell up with tears as the lyrics play and the film then reveals through words on the screen the decision he made. Wonderful moment.
(a distant second, but deserves noting is the ending to Real Steel. Cheesy, corny flick but it did have a resounding end chill-moment that was enough to win me over slightly)
Most Overhyped/Let Down Movie: Hangover 2. And we all saw this one coming a mile away. It didn’t help the fact the filmmakers made the exact same story as the first but in another country. Awful
Most Unexpected Surprise Movie: Rise of the Planet of the Apes. There were actually SEVERAL choices equally deserving of this (Source Code for one). But I had to put Apes due to how certain I was a James Franco led prequel to a tiring old franchise would be awful. It certainly was anything but that. That’s why we watch.
Favorite Scene All Year: Elevator moment in DRIVE. SPOILER ALERT if you havent seen the film. It wasn't enough after watching this scene, that it took a good 2-3 minutes to pull my jaw back up off the floor. The entire moment was a perfect example of exactly what made Drive so different than any other movie I saw this year. It sold itself like an action movie, but had more "artistic" showmanship than any action movie would ever try to attempt. The scene in the elevator shows you all of that in one moment, followed by a shocking display of anger and gruesome violence. With the director's use of lighting going from light to dark back to light again, Gosling, Carey Mulligan, and another man are all that stand in the elevator. Gosling, in a move similar to that of a lion protecting his cub, moves her ever so slightly behind him, turns around and the two share their first on screen kiss. The light dims to give off a feeling as if the moment were "frozen in time", which many first kisses often have that affect when true emotion is involved. Gosling pulls away, light returns to normal, and he just begins to wail on the man in the elevator to the point of bashing his skull to a bloody pulp that there is no more head to bash on the elevator floor. Doors open, his love walks out scared out of her mind as to what transpired, Gosling's face is full of a rage and love at the sametime. If there is ever an expression that can display both its in that moment as the doors open. Its a gruesome scene that showed just how artistic Drive was even while parading as an action movie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_wlyIHRJT4
Best Assembled Cast: Ides of March. Riveting political thriller from director George Clooney wasn't just enough. He went ahead and got an all-star team of A-list performers who all brought the best in each performance, including Clooney himself. Gosling, Paul Giametti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Marisa Tomei. Even the lesser knowns that many people will pick up from several movies/shows who always act so well, Jeffrey Wright (Shaft, Source Code), Gregory Itzin (shady President Logan of 24), and Evan Rachel Wood (True Blood, The Wrestler). Excellent cast helped propel this immensely intriguing story to life. Probably none better a watch than Gosling's dark turn from good, honest politician into the evil web of lies, deceit and betrayal we all know politicians to be. Marvel for the eyes.
Best Performance of the Year (actor): Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling. Pitt had the best single acting job of the year for Moneyball. Absolutely slaughtered that role of Billy Beane GM of the Oakland As. But Gosling had THREE movies this year and was a knockout in every single of one of them (all 3 made it inside my top5 of the year). I’ve been calling Gosling the next Leonardo Dicaprio all year. His level of character development and depth is unmatched right now.
Best Performance of the Year (actress): Rooney Mara (Dragon Tattoo). I seriously doubted anybody out of Hollywood would be able to top the Swedish actress that played Lisabeth in the original Dragon Tattoo. Rooney Mara completely obliterated the role. A roller coaster performance to say the least. Her role alone made the 160-minute watch worthwhile. A sparkplug for future roles to come for sure.
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