The Many Faces of Rochester

by Kimberly Lindbergs | August 6, 2011

Categories | Actors, Movie Morlocks, Michael Fassbender, TCM, Orson Welles

Top: Colin Clive and Orson Welles
Bottom: George C. Scott and Michael Fassbender

First I want to apologize for the lack of original content lately. I haven’t been feeling well and my computer’s been acting up so I’ve been neglecting Cinebeats. Hope to post a few more updates soon.

In the meantime I recently watched the latest film adaptation of Jane Eyre (Cary Fukunaga; 2011) starring Michael Fassbender who is becoming a household name. It’s been fascinating and fun to watch him go from obscurity to super stardom so quickly. I can still remember doing a Google search for Fassbender’s name after seeing Hunger (Steve McQueen; 2008) and finding next to nothing about him online. What a difference a few years has made! He deserves all the recognition he gets but he seems to be taking any and every role that comes his way. Hope he gets a bit more selective soon. I enjoyed Michael Fassbender’s performance as Rochester, the brooding romantic hero of Jane Eyre, but he didn’t seem particularly invested in the part. It’s a beautiful production though and well worth your time. After watching Fassbender’s interpretation of Rochester I started thinking about all the other actors that have portrayed the character over the years. I decided to compile a little collection of clips featuring some of the most notable actors who have played Jane Eyre’s love interest for the Movie Morlocks this week. As always, follow the link if you’d like to read more.

- The Many Faces of Rochester – Jane Eyre’s Romantic Hero @ TCM’s Classic Movie Blog

Comments Off

A Decade of Fear

by Kimberly Lindbergs | December 20, 2010

Categories | Rants & Raves, Horror, Modern Mondays, Tadanobu Asano, Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, David Cronenberg, Louis Garrel, Jim Jarmusch, Danny Boyle

It’s taken me a year but I’ve finally managed to compile a list of my Favorite Films of the Decade: 2000-2009 so I thought I’d share it. My introduction echoes some earlier thoughts about fear and cinema that I shared during Halloween and wanted to expand upon. Besides my alphabetical list of 50 Favorite Films of the Decade I also compiled a list of 10 Favorite Documentaries, 10 Favorite Animation Films and 15 Favorite Female & Male Performances. Naturally I haven’t seen every film produced between 2000 and 2009 so this list is limited to what I have seen and what made a lasting impression on me.

Letʼs just talk about fear. Fear, after all, is our real enemy. Fear is taking over our world. Fear is being used as a tool of manipulation in our society. Itʼs how politicians peddle policy and how Madison Avenue sells us things that we donʼt need. Think about it. Fear that weʼre going to be attacked, fear that there are communists lurking around every corner, fear that some little Caribbean country that doesnʼt believe in our way of life poses a threat to us. Fear that black culture may take over the world. Fear of Elvis Presleyʼs hips. Well, maybe that one is a real fear. Fear that our bad breath might ruin our friendships. Fear of growing old and being alone. Fear that weʼre useless and that no one cares what we have to say.
- Colin Firth in A Single Man; 2009

So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself
—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address; 1933

The decade began with a bang heard around the world.

I’m always a little surprised when people write about how “shocked” they were by the events that occurred on September 11, 2001. 9/11 didn’t shock me at all but it did horrify and sadden me. As soon a George Bush Jr. was crowned President I was fully aware that we were in for a shit storm of epic proportions that was going to rain reign down hard on us all. What did surprise me was the way that Americans responded to the events that took place on September 11, 2001. At first there seemed to be a genuine sense of unity and compassion among friends, family and strangers. But unity soon turned to fear and compassion transformed into distrust. Fear seemed to spread like a cancer and it ate away at the very fabric of the country while hindering progress of any kind.

The “Naughts” as they’ve been labeled were years when fear seemed to replace reasonable debate and logical arguments. Fear became the weapon of choice for politicians and media outlets trying to sell ideas and products. We were told to fear our neighbors, fear our food, fear teachers, fear doctors, fear plane travel, fear France, fear new ideas and finally to fear ourselves. Whether we want to admit it or not, the terrorists did what they set out to do on 9/11. They terrorized Americans and turned many of us into skittish creatures that jump when we see our own shadow and mistrust the motivations of just about everyone we come into contact with.

During the naughts people over the age of 60 seemed to disappear from public viewing. They were rarely seen on American TV or in Hollywood films except as figures of ridicule and humor. Old age is the last stage before death and people wanted none of it. We ran away from old age and death as if our own demise was somehow avoidable. Plastic surgery became commonplace. What was once a luxury for the incredibly wealthy or a medical procedure for those with debilitating scars suddenly became a beauty option that everyone should consider. It didn’t seem to matter that plastic surgery made most people look like aliens from another planet just as long as it masked their real age. In other words, looking like something from another world was far better than looking like an elderly person here on planet earth.

While we attempted to avoid the inevitable onset of old age we naturally began to obsess over our appearance. Image became everything. The naughts was a decade obsessed with physical beauty but often completely devoid of intellectual curiosity. American’s apparent obesity epidemic got lots of news coverage while anorexia was glamorized or swept under the rug. We were encouraged to shun overweight people and embrace silicon boobs. And no news outlet wanted to cover the rising poverty and hunger occurring in America throughout the decade. Starving children are not easy to talk about or pleasant to look at and you can’t make jokes about them. Where’s the fun in calling malnutritioned kids lazy and stupid?

In this kind of environment the medical, diet and beauty industries thrived like never before while selling their snake oils in-between episodes of Extreme Makeover, Make Me a Super Model and The Biggest Loser. But it wasn’t just our bodies that needed fixing. Our minds were also in desperate need of a makeover and pharmaceutical companies fed on our fears. Having a hard time getting out of bed in the morning? Hate your job? Feeling trapped in an unhappy relationship? Got a bad case of the blues? Take a pill! Over-the-counter drug pushers made record profits in the naughts while praying on people’s depression during one of the countries most depressing decades. There seemed to be a pill made for everything and people bought what the drug companies were selling. Is it any wonder that legal drugs appear to be killing more people than illegal drugs these days?

School systems continued to crumble and the dumbing down of the nation not only became unavoidable, it was celebrated. Everyone became a critic. Everyone started to blog (yours truly included) or visited chat forums where they could express their opinions no matter how vile or ignorant. Whenever they were confronted by something that didn’t fit within their comfort zones they often lashed out with hostility. It quickly became apparent that there were a lot of angry and miserable people sitting at home behind their computers and they all seemed to want to point the finger at someone, something or anything but themselves.

Lots of documentary filmmakers also seemed to enjoy using fear as a tool to win attention and forgo good filmmaking. What they lacked in ideas and information they made up for in scare value. Did you know that gorging yourself daily on McDonalds’ food will make you ill and probably kill you? Were people really unaware of this simple fact before Super Size Me (2004) was released? I guess so because for some strange reason the movie was nominated for countless awards and endless imitators have followed Morgan Spurlock’s lead. Ignorance is killing us and fear sells.

But there was some benefit to all this fear peddling. After two decades of scant thrills and very little chills horror movies finally got scary again. Really scary. They also got really good. Thanks to the rising popularity of Asian horror movies in the late ’90s as well as a new wave of independent horror cinema the naughts began as a decade ripe with possibility and the horror genre blossomed. Hollywood may have kept its head in the clouds while it regurgitated tired scripts and remade classic films into easily forgotten entertainment, but outside of Hollywood and in other countries many filmmakers never let us forget that we were living in extremely scary times. Government sanctioned torture, suicide bombers, environmental disasters, serial killers, domestic violence, police brutality, sexual predators, date rape drugs, mental illness, increasing isolation, infectious disease. . . The list of terrors lurking around every corner grew endless and horror films gave us an unblinking look at them all.

I’ve appreciated the extremely graphic nature of horror films made during the last decade. Americans weren’t allowed to see the dead bodies of soldiers killed in an illegal war fought in our name but we could experience some catharsis through the movies we watched. I identified with the victims and sympathized with their plight because they were reflections of us all and our own fears. I also found myself occasionally stunned by the smart, scary and creative ways in which so many directors were able to infuse the tired genre with life. Violent, chaotic, bloody red and uninhibited life, but life nonetheless. Horror cinema was willing and able to tackle the very real terror that seemed to engulf the planet in the last decade and it also offered up the only constant critique of it. Directors around the world found inspiration in the horror films of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s that were often politically motivated and socially conscious. But like the horror films that came before them it will probably take another 10 or 20 years before these recent horror movies are fully understood and appreciated.

You’ll find that many of the films on my “Favorite films of the Decade” list are horror films made by talented directors like Danny Boyle and Brad Anderson as well as Gaspar Noe, Béla Tarr, Gus Van Sant and Claire Danes. Now I know what you’re thinking. Horror Films?! Most of those directors make art films, not horror film! But my response to that is bullshit poppycock. Film is an evolving art form still in it’s infancy. Thinly defined genres are always changing and assumed boundaries should constantly be re-imagined and tossed aside. If you lack the imagination to see films like Irreversible, Werckmeister Harmonies, Elephant and Trouble Every Day as horror films it’s your loss. Not mine. I embrace these films because of their darker nature and their ability to explore and unmask our fears. So to the horror films of the last decade, I salute you! I’m extremely thankful for all the directors that made my favorite film genre interesting and exciting again.

I’d like to write more in-depth about all of these films in the future and expand on the ways in which horror cinema challenged us and entertained us during the last decade, but that could easily turn into a book length article. I did link to a few articles I previously wrote for some films in 2009 during my “Modern Monday” updates.

50 51 Favorite Films: 2000-2009
Title/Director/Year/Country or Main Countries of Origin
1. 28 Days Later (Danny Boyle; 2002) UK
2. American Psycho (Mary Harron; 2000) US
3. The Bank Job (Roger Donaldson; 2008) UK
4. Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku; 2000) Japan
5. Before the Fall (F. Javier Gutiérrez; 2008) Spain
6. Bright Future (Kiyoshi Kurosawa; 2003) Japan
7. Bright Star (Jane Campion; 2009) Australia/UK
8. Calvaire (Fabrice Du Welz; 2004) Belgium/France
9. Capote (Bennett Miller; 2005) US
10. Cecil B. DeMented (John Waters; 2000) US
11. Cloverfield (Matt Reeves; 2008) US
12. Control (Anton Corbijn; 2007) UK
13. Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier; 2000) Denmark
14. The Devil’s Backbone (Guillermo del Toro; 2001) Spain
15. The Dreamers (Bernardo Bertolucci; 2003) Italy
16. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry; 2004) US
17. Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff; 2001) US
18. Ginger Snaps (John Fawcett; 2000) Canada
19. Gus Van Sant’s Death Trilogy (Gerry, Elephant, Last Days; 2002-2005) US
20. High Tension (Alexandre Aja; 2003) France
21. Hunger (Steve McQueen; 2008) UK
22. I’m Not Scared (Gabriele Salvatores; 2003) Italy
23. Ichi the Killer (Takeshi Miike; 2001) Japan
24. Innocence (Lucile Hadzihalilovic; 2004) France
25. Irreversible (Gaspar Noé; 2002) France
26. Last Life in the Universe (Pen-Ek Ratanaruang; 2003) Thailand/Japan
27. Left Bank (Pieter Van Hees; 2008) Belgium
28. Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson; 2008) Sweden
29. Limits of Control (Jim Jarmusch; 2009) US
30. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola; 2003) US
31. Love Songs (Christophe Honoré; 2007) France
32. Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay; 2002) UK
33. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch; 2001) US
34. No Country For Old Men (Ethan & Joel Coen; 2007) US
35. Oldboy (Chan-wook Park; 2003) Korea
36. OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (Michel Hazanavicius; 2006) France
37. The Piano Teacher (Michael Haneke; 2002) Germany/France
38. The Proposition (John Hillcoat; 2005) Australia
39. The Quiet American (Phillip Noyce; 2001) Australia/US
40. [Rec] (Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza; 2007) Spain
41. Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky; 2000) US
42. A Single Man (Tom Ford; 2009) US
43. Session 9 (Brad Anderson; 2001) US
44. Shadow of the Vampire (E. Elias Merhige; 2000) US
44. Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright; 2004) UK
45. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson; 2007) US
46. This Is England (Shane Meadows; 2007) UK
47. Trouble Every Day (Claire Denis; 2001) France
48. Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr; 2000) Hungry
49. Wonder Boys (Curtis Hanson; 2000) US
50. Zodiac (David Fincher; 2007) US

Honorable mentions: Sunshine (Danny Boyle; 2007), The Prestige (Christopher Nolan; 2006), In Paris (Christophe Honoré ; 2006), Antichrist (Lars von Trier; 2009), Summer Hours (Olivier Assayas.; 2008), Hostel Part: II (2007), Suicide Club (Shion Sono; 2001), Vinyan (Fabrice Du Welz; 2008), The Wind That Shakes the Barley (Ken Loach; 2006) and Puffball (Nicolas Roeg; 2007).

10 Favorite Documentaries: 2000-2009
Title/Director/Year/Country or Main Countries of Origin
1. 51 Birch Street (Doug Block; 2005) US
2. Capturing the Friedmans (Andrew Jarecki; 1003) US
3. Children Underground (Edet Belzberg; 2001) Us/Romania
4. Chris & Don: A Love Story (Guido Santi and Tina Mascara; 2007) US
5. Crazy Love (Dan Klores and Fisher Stevens; 2007) US
6. The Fog of War (Errol Morris; 2003) US
7. Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog; 2005) German/US
8. Gumby Dharma (Robina Marchesi; 2006) US
9. In the Realms of the Unreal (Jessica Yu; 2004) US
10. Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis (Mary Jordan; 2006) US

10 Favorite Animation Films: 2000-2009
Title/Director/Year/Country or Main Countries of Origin
1. Blood: The Last Vampire (Hiroyuki Kitakubo; 2000) Japan
2. Chicken Run (Nick Park; 2000) UK
3. Metropolis (Rintaro; 2001) Japan
4. The Powerpuff Girls Movie (2002; Craig McCracken) US
5. Ratatouille (Brad Bird; 2007) US
6. Samurai Champloo series (Shinichirō Watanabe; 2004-2005)
7. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki; 2001) Japan
8. The Triplets of Belleville (Sylvain Chomet; 2003) France
9. Vampire Hunter D (Yoshiaki Kawajiri; 2001) Japan
10. Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman; 2008) Israel

16 Favorite Female Performances: 2000-2009
1. Asia Argento (The Last Mistress)
2. Maria Bello (History of Violence)
3. Ellen Burstyn (Requiem for a Dream)
4. Abbie Cornish (Bright Star)
5. Béatrice Dalle (Trouble Every Day)
6. Julie Deply (Before Sunset)
7. Cécile De France (High Tension)
8. Eva Green (The Dreamers)
9. Naomie Harris (28 Days Later)
10. Isabelle Huppert (The Piano Teacher)
11. Katharine Isabelle & Emily Perkins tie (Ginger Snaps)
12. Nicole Kidman (Birth)
13. Eline Kuppens (Left Bank)
14. Julianne Moore (Blindness)
15. Samantha Morton (Morven Callar)
16. Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

16 Favorite Male Performances: 2000-2009
1. Tadanobu Asano (Ichi the Killer)
2. Christian Bale (American Psycho)
3. Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men)
4. Min-sik Choi (Oldboy)
5. Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
6. Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road)
7. Michael Douglas & Robert Downey Jr. tie (Wonder Boys)
8. Michael Fassbender (Hunger & Fish Tank - tie)
9. Colin Firth (A Single Man)
10. Louis Garrel (Love Songs)
11. Stephen Graham (This Is England)
12. Viggo Mortensen (History of Violence)
13. Bill Murray (Lost In Translation)
14. Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later)
15. Sam Riley (Control)
16. Jason Statham (The Bank Job)

Comments (14)

Oscar 2010

by Kimberly Lindbergs | March 6, 2010

Categories | News, Rants & Raves, Oscars, Michael Fassbender

Oscar night will soon be here and just like last year I plan on “Tweeting Live” during the show. If you want read my off-the cuff remarks during the Academy Awards you can follow my Oscar commentary on Twitter or read my Twitter updates as they appear here on my blog under “Twitter Updates.”

There are only a couple of awards that I’m really excited about this year. Out of the movies that I’ve seen that are nominated for Best Picture I think that A Serious Man is probably the best of the bunch but I’ll be rooting for Inglourious Basterds to win for one simple reason; I hope that the cast will be allowed on stage and I’ll get a good view of Michael Fassbender in a tux. I realize that’s a rather silly reason for wanting Inglourious Basterds to win Best Picture but I don’t watch the Oscars for much more than fun and pleasure. Seeing Michael Fassbender dressed to the nines will probably be the best moment of the Academy Awards as far as I’m concerned.

I’d also like to see Colin Firth or Jeff Bridges take home the Best Actor award. I’ve liked both actors for a long time and neither of them has won an Oscar before. I haven’t seen either of the films they appeared in but I really want to see A Single Man since the clips that I’ve seen look terrific. I also really like Christopher Plummer so I’ll be rooting for him to win Best Supporting Actor even though the odds are not in his favor. Christoph Waltz will probably take home the award for his role in Inglourious Basterds and I thought he was really good in the film so I can’t complain if he wins. I would especially like to see the Oscar for Costume Design go to Janet Patterson for Bright Star. I think it’s a shame that Bright Star didn’t get more nominations since I would have liked to have seen Jane Campion nominated for Best Director but it would be nice if the film took home one award.

And finally, if you’re throwing an Oscar party or just plan to enjoy a nice evening at home with family and need some last minute party tips or snack suggestions check out my latest update at Mid-Century Living. You’ll find links to lots of helpful sites that offer fun ideas for Oscar parties including cocktails and hors d’oeuvre recipes.

On with the show!

March 8th Update: As is often the case, I thought last night’s Oscar show was dull and predictable but I watched, had fun “Tweeting Live” and hoped for the best. The two hosts never really made me laugh. Sadly, even the montages were poorly executed. I didn’t hear any drunken speeches but I did see lots of bad dancing. The only Basterds in attendance were Oscar winner Christoph Waltz along with Eli Roth and Melanie Laurent. Apparently Michael Fassbender’s seat was given to Miley Cyrus. Even the red carpet parade was unrewarding. The fashion? Very ’80s! Lots of bright colors and ruffles. Maybe that was in support of the John Hughes’ tribute? Jack Cardiff, Jennifer Jones and Karl Malden died in 2009 but they make time for a John Hughes’ tribute? I just don’t get it. At least they let Roger Corman and Lauren Bacall attend even though they didn’t receive their Oscars on stage. Two awful things from last year were repeated. Someone sang over the memorial tribute (this time it was James Taylor - last year it was Queen Latifah) and before the best actor and actress’ awards were handed out there were some awkward speeches made by their costars. At least last year the awkward speeches were made by acting legends that I cared about even if they had nothing to do with the film. I’m not a Kathryn Bigelow fan (she’s made one movie I like - Near Dark) and I wasn’t overly impressed with The Hurt Locker but it was nice to see a woman finally receive the Best Director award. Highlights of the evening for me? Seeing Barbara Streisand deliver the Best Directer award to Bigelow and Jeff Bridges’ Best Actor win. Funniest moment? The bit between Robert Downey Jr. & Tina Fey before they handed out the Best Original Screenplay Oscar. Best dressed guy in the audience? Colin Firth.

Comments (0)

A Look Back at 2009

by Kimberly Lindbergs | February 25, 2010

Categories | Movie Reviews, Modern Mondays, Michael Fassbender, Jim Jarmusch

2009 was an interesting year here at Cinebeats. It was the first year that I wrote about films made after 1979 and my blog traffic rose considerably because of it. While I appreciated the interest in my “Modern Monday” posts, I’m not planning on continuing with them in 2010. I do plan on sharing a complete list of my favorite films of the last decade soon and I’ll occasionally try and post a collection of my thoughts about recent films when I find the time but I want to focus more of my attention on older movies again.

My favorite blogging moment of 2009 occurred when I got the opportunity to interview the British actor Shane Briant by email who I’ve admired for a long time. Briant appeared in many of my favorite Hammer films and I was thrilled that he took the time to answer some of my questions. I also enjoyed spending a lot of time writing about the 1968 film Girl On A Motorcycle in honor of the director and cinematographer Jack Cardiff who passed away last year. The post that seemed to generate the most blog traffic from visitors last year was my very personal piece about the actor Klaus Kinski titled “Stalking Klaus Kinski or How I Worshiped a Madman.” I suspect that the provocative title was partially to blame for the high-level of interest.

As I mentioned to Adam Hartzell in his recent piece for SF360, I didn’t have the opportunity to see many new films when they were initially released. I’ve only recently caught up with a lot of 2009 films on DVD but I wish I had been able to see more of the films I enjoyed in a theater. I think 2009 was a terrific year for new movies so I thought I’d share a list of my favorites.

Favorite Films of 2009 (listed alphabetically):

Charlotte Gainsbourg and friends in Antichrist (Lars von Trier; 2009)

Antichrist (Lars von Trier; 2009)
I first experienced Lars von Trier’s work in the mid ’90s after a friend suggested I watch the horror series he made for Danish television called The Kingdom. I’ve admired the director ever since and I was excited to learn that he had decided to return to the horror genre with Antichrist in 2009. This haunting atmospheric film is beautifully shot and well acted by Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe but it’s Lars von Trier’s direction that was really the star of the film for me. Von Trier was able to conjure up some truly eerie imagery in Antichrist and there’s an otherworldly feel to the film that seems to permeate every frame. I found the negative and reactionary critical response to the movie really surprising but Lars von Trier is often a target of ill-informed critics. I appreciate the complicated nature of his work and I thought Antichrist was one of the director’s most challenging efforts.

Ben Whishaw & Ambie Cornish in Bright Star (Jane Campion; 2009)

Bright Star (Jane Campion; 2009)
Bright Star does an incredible job of detailing the relationship between the British romantic poet John Keats and his ladylove Fanny Brawne. Anyone familiar with 18th century Britain will be impressed with the way the social customs and quirks of the period were handled. It was wonderful to see a romantic figure like Keats played by such an earthy actor like the talented Ben Whishaw, but actress Ambie Cornish managed to steal the film as Keats’ love interest in the movie. Cornish is unforgettable as the young and passionate Fanny Browne and if I had my way she’d win the Oscar for best actress this year. I loved the way she was able to make Fanny into a smart and forward-thinking young woman without removing any of her inherent charm. So many historic biopics rely much too heavily on melodrama and histrionics. Bright Star doesn’t shy from the romantic aspect of Keats’ life and poetry as well as the tragedy that befell his relationship with Fanny, but the film never succumbs to the overacting and theatrics that plague so many similar productions. I’ve admired Keats’ poetry for years and when I was in London I made the trek to the home that Keats and Fanny Brawne shared together. My expectations for Bright Star weren’t particularly high since I’ve had mixed reactions to Jane Campion’s work in the past but I fell in love with the movie. I think Bright Star is her finest film and one of the most beautiful movies I’ve seen in years.

A scene from District 9 (Neill Blomkamp; 2009)

District 9 (Neill Blomkamp; 2009)
District 9 really surprised me. I didn’t know anything about the movie before I saw it and I really liked the way the material was handled. Especially considering the budget, the relatively unknown actors, etc. It reminded me of an ’80s science fiction flick loaded with plenty of action and thrills. But District 9 also contained a lot of unexpected social and political undertones. I probably could of done without the parent/child alien relationship that got in the way of the plot at the end, but overall I thought District 9 was an entertaining movie.

Michael Fassbender reaches out to Katie Jarvis in Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold; 2009)

Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold; 2009)
This potent coming-of-age drama presents a surprisingly bold look at young lust and uninhibited passion. The film stars newcomer Katie Jarvis who is terrific as an angry young woman named Mia trying to make sense of the world and her place in it. The handsome and charming Michael Fassbender becomes an object of obsession and desire for young Mia (who can blame her?) and their complicated relationship is what really drives the film.

Eva Green & Sam Riley in Franklyn (Gerald McMorrow; 2008)

Franklyn (Gerald McMorrow; 2008 - was not available to see in most American cities until 2009)
I’m surprised that this involving fantasy film hasn’t gotten more attention. If I didn’t know any better I might assume that Franklyn was scripted by Neil Gaiman and directed by Dave McKean, but it’s actually an original film from first-time director Gerald McMorrow. The movie features solid performances from all of the actors involved but I especially liked watching the romantic relationship unfold between Eva Green and Sam Riley. I think they’re two of the most beautiful and charismatic actors working today so it was just mesmerizing to watch them perform together. Franklyn isn’t without some problems and I think the film was trying to do too much with too little but I also thought it was an impressive first effort from director Gerald McMorrow.

Michael Fassbender & Rory Mullen in Hunger (Steve McQueen; 2008)

Hunger (Steve McQueen; 2008 - was not available to see in most American cities until 2009)
Incredibly haunting and troubling film impeccably directed by Steve McQueen. This slow-moving meditation on martyrdom is not easy viewing. It’s one of the most brutal movies I’ve ever seen and if you’re familiar with my viewing habits you know that I don’t make that claim lightly. But among all the filth and human suffering depicted in the film there are also some truly beautiful and transcendent moments that make Hunger not only one of the best movies I saw in 2009, but also one of the most important and memorable films that I’ve seen in the last 10 years.

Diane Kruger & Michael Fassbender in Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino; 2009)

Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino; 2009)
I’m probably one of the few people in the world who thinks Quentin Tarantino is becoming a better filmmaker as he gets older. His deep affection for old and often obscure films seems to be morphing into something more than just mere homage lately and I like the direction he’s taken in the last few years. He just needs to learn how to trust his audience more and I personally wish he’d hire a composer to score his films. I think Tarantino will probably make his masterpiece when he’s 60 or even 70 years old. Inglourious Basterds is Tarantino’s best looking film and I appreciate the way he writes his female characters. I was also impressed with the performances he got out of his actors, in particular Diane Kruger, Christoph Waltz, Mélanie Laurent and my favorite basterd, Michael Fassbender.

Isaach De Bankolé in The Limits of Control (Jim Jarmusch; 2009)

The Limits of Control (Jim Jarmusch; 2009)
Along with Antichrist, The Limits of Control is easily one of the most critically maligned and misunderstood films of 2009. At least Lars von Trier has a lot of loud and smart defenders but it’s not easy to find thoughtful critics who are willing to go to bat for Jim Jarmusch over this film and that’s a pity. If there’s another working American director who is less appreciated and more misunderstood in his own country I can’t think of them at the moment. This brilliantly deconstructed political thriller is a feast for the senses. You’d have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to appreciate the pure beauty of the film, which was photographed by Christopher Doyle. Jarmusch uses his wit and incredibly dry sense of humor to pay homage to classic existential crime films such as Point Blank (John Boorman; 1967) and Le Samouraï (Jean-Pierre Melville; 1967) but if you don’t appreciate those movies you probably won’t be able to appreciate The Limits of Control, which I happen to think is Jarmusch’s best work since Dead Man.

Sam Rockwell in Moon (Duncan Jones; 2009)

Moon (Duncan Jones; 2009)
This impressive debut from Duncan “Zowie Bowie” Jones borrows a bit too much from every science fiction film made before it (2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, Silent Running, etc.) but it kept my interest thanks to Sam Rockwell’s impressive star performance and Clint Mansell’s wonderful score. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Duncan Jones does next.

Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious Man (Ethan & Joel Coen; 2009)

A Serious Man (Ethan & Joel Coen; 2009)
The Coen brother’s strike gold again with this funny and thoughtful look at man’s never-ending quest for answers to unanswerable questions. It’s also the best Woody Allen film I’ve seen in 20 years even though Woody Allen had nothing to do with it.

The cast of Thirst (Park Chan-Wook; 2009)

Thirst (Park Chan-Wook; 2009)
This uneven vampire film has gotten mixed reviews but I personally thought the good outweighed the bad. The story involves a priest (Kang-ho Song) who accidentally gets turned into a vampire while taking part in a medical experiment. The first half of Thirst is flawless and contains some truly memorable moments and breathtaking cinematography. Unfortunately the story suffers when the focus of the film changes. I wish the director had explored the religious implications and spiritual aspects of the priest’s personal plight more but the film’s creative ending almost makes up for the film’s flaws.

There are still a bunch of films on my “must see” list that I wasn’t able to watch before compiling my list including 35 Shots of Rum (Claire Denis; 2008), An Education (Lone Scherfig; 2009), Air Doll (Hirokazu Koreeda; 2009), Chloe (Atom Egoyan; 2009), Love Exposure (Shion Sono; 2008), A Single Man (Tom Ford; 2009), The Young Victoria (Jean-Marc Vallée; 2009) and The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke; 2009. There’s a high probability that one or more of these movies might have made it onto my list if I had the opportunity to see them.

Comments (10)

Favorite Actor of 2009: Michael Fassbender

by Kimberly Lindbergs | December 30, 2009

Categories | Actors, Favorite Films of 2009, Michael Fassbender

I’m still working on compiling a list of my list of Favorite Films of 2009 but my favorite actor of the year is Michael Fassbender. I was originally impressed with his performance in director Steve McQueen’s deeply moving film Hunger (2008) and like many US film critics I didn’t have the opportunity to see Hunger until this year. Hunger has easily made it onto my list of Favorite Films of 2009 and it will probably end up on my list of Favorite Films of the Decade. Fassbender’s grueling and unforgettable role as Bobby Sands in Hunger is one of the films many high-points and remains the best performance from any actor that I’ve seen in 2009.

If Michael Fassbender’s role as Bobby Sands wasn’t enough to win me over, I recently watched Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds (2009) where Fassbender plays a British film critic turned solider. Fassbender’s Lt. Archie Hicox was easily my favorite character or “basterd” in the film and like many of his fellow bastereds I don’t think he got enough screen time. But Fassbender is terrific in his brief role and he’s also a lot of fun to look at. He’s got charm, charisma and classic movie star good looks which seem to be in short supply these days. He’s also one hell of an actor. I suspect Michael Fassbender’s name will become much more widely known and even celebrated in the next decade. For now Michael Fassbender wins my vote for best actor of 2009 and I look forward to seeing him in more films.

Update 02-25-10: Finally saw Fish Tank and loved it! That makes three great films and three terrific performances from Michael Fassbender in 2009. Since posting this it seems that critical interest in Fassbender has grown so I suspect we’ll be seeing lots more of him in 2010.

Comments (17)