My top ten includes my favourite theatrical releases of 2011, but due to
film festival goodness this year at TIFF and LFF not the best films I
have actually seen and you can look forward to in 2012. At LFF I was
blown away by Steve McQueen’s second feature,
Shame, a film that delves into the world of sex addict Brandon (Michael Fassbender).
Chicken with Plums comes from the creators of
Persepolis and
is an adaptation of another of Marjane Satrapi’s award-winning graphic
novels. It is a beautiful melodramatic story about how art sometimes
comes from a painful place.
Comedy was strong at TIFF this year, the
Duplass brothers returned with
Jeff, Who Lives at Home which has one of the funniest opening scenes I have ever seen. Jason Segel, Ed Helms and Susan Sarandon star.
The Oranges is dark comedy from Julian Farino in his debut feature, whose name may sound familiar from the TV show
Entourage. I
was worried too, but it is a total change of pace as he explores the
family dynamics of suburbia. It boasts a fine cast including Hugh
Laurie, Allison Janney, Catherine Keneer, Oliver Platt and Alia Shawkat
(Maeby from
Arrested Development).
You can read my top ten over on Cinetalk
here.
