Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has heretofore not acknowledged the Insties as a major reason for the popularity of the company's streaming service.

The ceiling over the Culture Blues auditorium opens up and a shower of hand-shredded red Netflix envelope ticker-tape descends. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, given a seat of honor in the front row, catches a piece on his tongue. Fans wave their sponsored red towels over their heads, chanting “queue it up! queue it up!” And also, this is made up.

Jeff Hart:  Welcome to the 2^nd Annual Insty Awards, where we celebrate the most remarkable films from the last year of The Instant Movie Club.

Jeremiah White:  Today's ceremony is brought to you in part by Qwikster. Coming to you soon wherever bad ideas are still available.

Jeff Hart:   I’m happy to say that this year’s field of Instant Movie Club selections was an extremely competitive one. Some philistines out there might wonder how we can build an awards show around a mere 50 movies that we selected with a minimum of forethought over the last year. Isn’t it capricious and arbitrary to choose from such a small selection of the massive Netflix streaming library?

Jeremiah White:  Welcome to the world of award shows and the internet.

Jeff Hart:  Exactly. Anyway, let’s hand out some highly prestigious fake awards.

Jeremiah White:  The Supporting Actress field features our first two-time nominee, Melissa Leo, who lost out to critical darling Tilda Swinton in last year’s Best Actress field. Will the second time be the charm for Leo? The nominees are:

Best Supporting Actress
Neve Campbell, Panic
Melissa Leo, Red State
Liana Liberato, Trust
Liza Minnelli, Arthur
Claire Sloma, Myth of the American Sleepover

Jeremiah White:  And the winner is… Liana Liberato!

A typically emotional response from an Insty winner.

Jeff Hart:  Melissa Leo goes 0-2, while Liberato takes home the prize for her nuanced and heartbreaking portrayal of a teen preyed on by an online predator.

Jeremiah White:  Despite such heavy subject matter, Liberato avoids histrionics and expertly portrays a vulnerable and confused young woman doing her best to make sense of the unthinkable.

Jeff Hart:  Next up, Best Supporting Actor!

Best Supporting Actor
Ted Beck, All American Orgy
David Dorfman, Panic
Colin Farrell, The Way Back
Tim Roth, The Hit
Vince Vieluf, The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle

Jeremiah White:  I love that David Dorfman was nominated here.

Jeff Hart:  I know. If there was a category for Best Child, I would give that award to David Dorfman every year. We’d run out of Dorfman movies.

Jeremiah White:  But he’s not going to win.

Jeff Hart:  No, sorry. The Insty goes to Tim Roth for his role as an overeager and majorly unhinged assassin in The Hit. It’s Roth’s big screen debut so, just like Dorfman, he’s just a baby! A baby with no problem breaking a bottle across the face of some Eurotrash.

"What's an Insty, love?"

Best Couple
Ginger & Barry, Barry Munday
Kyung-chul & Soo-hyun, I Saw the Devil
Linda & Arthur, Arthur
Maria & Matthew, Trust
Tucker & Dale, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil

Jeff Hart:  Tucker and Dale are such a strong pairing that their couple-hood even features in the name of their film.

Jeremiah White:  I don’t know that they really work well as a couple, though. The title should really be Dale Takes a Journey of Self Discovery, Sometimes Hangs Out With Tucker.

Jeff Hart:  Too long. Anyway, if we look at Best Couple from the perspective of ‘hey, which of these characters really complement each other?’ then I would give it to the pair from Trust. They’re freaking adorable.

Jeremiah White:  But what about a couple that brings out the worst in each other?

Jeff Hart:  Now that, my friend, is truly rare. Which is why the Insty goes to those two psychos from I Saw the Devil for playing out their perverse game of serial killer cat-and-mouse.

Jeremiah White:  Why don’t you two just admit that you’re in love with each other?

They're sort of a dysfunctional couple.

Jeremiah White:  The Insties are nothing if not a groundbreaking awards show concept. In the past, non-human performers have been honored right alongside their Homo sapien counterparts. The innovation continues this year with the first non-animal nominee. The murderous rubber tire from Rubber joins a mercenary, a samurai, a master martial artist and a hobo with a shotgun. Here are your nominees for Biggest Badass:

Biggest Badass
Barney Ross, The Expendables
Hirayama, 13 Assassins
The Hobo, Hobo With a Shotgun
The Tire, Rubber
Yuda, Merantau

Jeremiah White:  And the Insty goes to… Yuda. Throughout the course of Merantau, Yuda brutalizes gang members in countless innovative ways.

Give that man his Insty.

Jeff Hart:  His dominance is not only a testament to actor Iko Uwais’ skills, but also the exemplary stuntwork on display. None of the other nominees were as consistently badass as Yuda stoically punching, kicking and judo-tossing his way through an army of thugs.

Jeremiah White:  This marks the second year in a row when a martial artist known for battling multiple opponents at once has taken home Biggest Badass.

Jeff Hart:  Let's give out the Insty for Best Actress which, if you ask me, is a real two-woman race.

Best Actress
Lena Dunham, Tiny Furniture
Judy Greer, Barry Munday
Chloe Moretz, Let Me In
Adrienne Shelley, Trust
Michele Williams, Wendy & Lucy

Jeremiah White:  Greer, Moretz, and Shelley turn in solid performances, but they aren’t pantheon level like Williams and Dunham.

Jeff Hart:  With Dunham vs. Williams, we get into the issue of comparing comedy to drama. It’s not easy. Williams turns in a quiet and heartbreaking performance, whereas Dunham’s performance is loud but also startlingly open. It’s a close one, but the Insty goes to Dunham!

Jeremiah White:  Finally, comedy triumphs over drama.

Try to contain your excitement, Ms. Dunham.

Jeremiah White:  Last year, Patton Oswalt won our next award for his performance in Big Fan, a clear indication that the Insty committee is willing reward outstanding performances found in unexpected places. Will that tradition continue? This year’s field features highly divisive performances as well as some universally lauded ones. Here are the nominees for Best Actor:

Best Actor
Anthony Mackie, Night Catches Us
Joaquin Phoenix, I’m Still Here
Adam Scott, The Vicious Kind
Terrence Stamp, The Hit
Patrick Wilson, Barry Munday

Jeremiah White:  And the winner is… Joaquin Phoenix. Casey Affleck’s hoax-umentary seemed to have fans and detractors in equal measure. While the specifics of what is real and what is not, and if such questions are important in the consideration of art, will lead to speculation and debate for years to come, one thing that’s impossible to deny is that Joaquin Phoenix committed to the role of Joaquin Phoenix with everything he had.

Jeff Hart:  He put his public image, his career, and possibly a bit of his sanity on the line. As far as the IMC is concerned, he won big.

Enjoying a celebratory smoke.

Jeremiah White:  Let's take a break from honoring movies and performances we actually liked this year and look at the films that should disappear from Netflix Instant and the world in general. Your nominees for Worst Picture:

Worst Picture
Hobo With a Shotgun
Limitless
Passion Play
Trespass
White Irish Drinkers

Jeff Hart:  Those are some truly terrible films. I wish they all could win.

Jeremiah White:  I’m going to let Hobo With a Shotgun and Trespass off the hook because, on some level, I think they understand their own limitations. They’re not necessarily bad on purpose, but they’re certainly not trying to be good.

Jeff Hart:  White Irish Drinkers is a misfire on almost every conceivable level, but it’s more forgettable than it is outright heinous.

Jeremiah White:  Which leaves Passion Play and Limitless.

Jeff Hart:  I’m disturbed to live in a world where an insidious piece of shit like frat-fantasy-wealth-porn-capitalist-handjob Limitless can have a 59 on Metacritic. It should have a 0. Fuck that movie, it’s the worst.

Discussing how to make a truly reprehensible movie.

Jeremiah White:  Two unknowns, Andrew Gurland and Huck Botko, hoisted last year’s Best Director Insty for Mail Order Wife. History will likely not repeat itself as this year’s field is dominated by well known names. The nominees are:

Best Director
Casey Affleck, I’m Still Here
Darren Aronofsky, The Fountain
Francis Ford Coppola, Tetro
Kelly Reichardt, Wendy & Lucy
David Russo, The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle

Jeremiah White:  And the winner is… David Russo!

The road to Insty glory is paved with neon blue butt fish.

Jeff Hart:  The no-name domination of the Best Director category continues.

Jeremiah White:  While all of these directors brought a unique vision to the screen, none juggled disparate elements more so effortlessly. Little Dizzle mixes the familiar with the boldly experimental to create a cohesive, funny, thought-provoking and undeniably one-of-a-kind cocktail.

Jeff Hart:  Let's get to the big one! The Insty for Best Picture.

Jeremiah White:  A really strong field this year. Perhaps the strongest in Insty history.

Best Picture
The Hit
I’m Still Here
Tiny Furniture
Toy Story 3
Wendy & Lucy

Jeff Hart:  These are all exceptional films that everyone with a Netflix account should sit down and watch as soon as possible. However, only one of them really encapsulates the idea of The Instant Movie Club, where we find these hidden indie gems or movies that were unfairly ignored when they were originally released. That movie is I’m Still Here.

"And now, I rap."

Jeff Hart:  I remain convinced that Casey Affleck’s mockumentary turned documentary is one of the best critiques of modern celebrity in existence. Over time, it will be remembered as something truly special.

Jeremiah White:  It was all worth it, Joaquin! A pair of Insties!

Jeff Hart:  His career is officially back on track.

Next week, the race for the 3rd Annual Insties begins! The Instant Movie Club checks out If A Tree Falls, a documentary about supposed environmental terrorists the Earth Liberation Front. It's nominated for Best Documentary at this year's Oscars. 

On his way to the Insty Awards!

The editors of Culture Blues, Jeff Hart and Jeremiah White, are proud to announce this year’s field for the 2^nd Annual Insty Awards. The Insties celebrate a year of achievements in The Instant Movie Club by doling out arbitrary awards to a small selection of films that were pretty much randomly selected based on what movies the editors felt like writing about on any given week.

“Where else but The Insties could I find myself up against luminaries like Francis Ford Coppola and Darren Aronofsky?” asked Best Director nominee David Russo, whose film The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle is nominated for a pair of Insties.

Steven Spielberg, director of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, did not respond to requests for comment on his Insty snub.

Whereas last year’s Insty Awards saw Mail Order Wife score a record six nominations (although only one win), no single film distinguished itself this year. Four films – I’m Still Here, The Hit, Barry Munday, and Wendy & Lucy – lead the pack with three nominations each.

Melissa Leo, a best Supporting Actress nominee for her role in Red State, became the first person to receive two Insty nominations in consecutive years.

“What the fuck is an Insty?” asked Leo, before stubbing out her menthol cigarette and slamming the door of her lakefront trailer.

The 2^nd Annual Insty Awards will be held on Monday, February 6^th.

Becoming an Insty icon.

Best Picture
The Hit
I’m Still Here
Tiny Furniture
Toy Story 3
Wendy & Lucy

Best Director
Casey Affleck, I’m Still Here
Darren Aronofsky, The Fountain
Francis Ford Coppola, Tetro
Kelly Reichardt, Wendy & Lucy
David Russo, The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle

Best Actor
Anthony Mackie, Night Catches Us
Joaquin Phoenix, I’m Still Here
Adam Scott, The Vicious Kind
Terrence Stamp, The Hit
Patrick Wilson, Barry Munday

Best Actress
Lena Dunham, Tiny Furniture
Judy Greer, Barry Munday
Chloe Moretz, Let Me In
Adrienne Shelley, Trust (the romantic one, not the one about pedophiles)
Michele Williams, Wendy & Lucy

Best Supporting Actor
Ted Beck, All American Orgy
David Dorfman, Panic
Colin Farrell, The Way Back
Tim Roth, The Hit
Vince Vieluf, The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle

Best Supporting Actress
Neve Campbell, Panic
Melissa Leo, Red State
Liana Liberato, Trust (the one about pedophiles)
Liza Minnelli, Arthur
Claire Sloma, Myth of the American Sleepover

Biggest Badass
Barney Ross, The Expendables
Hirayama, 13 Assassins
The Hobo, Hobo With a Shotgun
The Tire, Rubber
Yuda, Merantau

Best Couple
Ginger & Barry, Barry Munday
Kyung-chul & Soo-hyun, I Saw the Devil
Linda & Arthur, Arthur
Maria & Matthew, Trust (the romantic one)
Tucker & Dale, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil

Worst Picture
Hobo With a Shotgun
Limitless
Passion Play
Trespass
White Irish Drinkers

This week we’re watching The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, about a team of night janitors who become the unwitting subjects of an experiment with mind-bending cookies.

Next week:  The 2nd Annual Insties!

SPOILERS BELOW!

How would you rate the weirdness of The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle?

Jeremiah White:  It’s extremely weird. The title, the bizarre side effects of eating highly addictive, chemically enhanced cookies, and the frequent trippy animation sequences are enough to separate Little Dizzle from most movies. The thing that makes it most unique, however, is that all this experimental spirit is balanced by a familiar, lucid narrative and some hallmarks of the dreaded mainstream. It’s an art house movie for everybody. Dory’s discovery of meaning in his janitor job and his new coworkers could take place in anything from a studio comedy to Oscar bait. Vince Vieluf’s catchphrase-friendly janitor/philosopher would be a hit with a much larger audience than just people who look for strange little indies on Netflix Instant. For all its psychedelic craziness, Dizzle eschews the opaqueness and ambiguity of its “weird movie” brethren in favor of accessibility. People will leave it savoring the characters and moments, allowing the themes and symbols to settle in, rather than trying to “figure it out.” That’s extremely unexpected from a movie in which men defecate luminous blue fish.

Jeff Hart:  It’s definitely a credit to Little Dizzle that the weirdness never overwhelms the narrative. However, I’m not as confident as Jeremiah that the film would appeal to an audience larger than us Netflix indie trawlers. Ignoring the bombardment of trippy and unsettling imagery, not to mention the fluorescent butt-fish, this is still a film about characters very much inhabiting the fringes of society. I don’t think Dory and his crew of fellow janitors would be particularly sympathetic to a mainstream audience. They don’t have to be. Little Dizzle is a film for the open-minded and experimental amongst us. It tells a compelling and effecting story with a dark sense of humor and visual flair to spare. It’s extremely weird, maybe even a little alienating, but it’s also a total success.

What does writer/director David Russo have to say about organized religion?

Jeremiah White:  Religion is a frequent and easy target for filmmakers. Little Dizzle takes a few predictable shots at religion (the slick televangelist, the horrible girl that Dory goes off on at the beginning having Jesus hanging up in her cubicle). But overall, Russo seems less interested in disparaging religion than he is in deflating it. Dory’s rapid-fire test-drives of the major religions is a search for meaning. He doesn’t talk about his experiences, and we only see glimpses, but there is no indication that he finds anything sinister or even particularly distasteful about them. They just don’t feel right. The fact that Dory finds the meaning he is looking for in his job as a night janitor could be viewed as a slight against religion, but I view it as a reflection of Dory’s character. In Little Dizzle, religion isn’t a spiritual calling or a way of life, it’s just another hobby.

Jeff Hart:  Although Russo certainly makes light of nearly every organized religion in existence, I didn’t view Dory’s spiritual sampling to be a critique. Dory’s a lonely young man groping not just for meaning in life, but for a source of human kindness. All religions ostensibly preach to love one another, which is all Dory seems to want from the world, but after every brief conversion he finds the people around him unchanged. When he finally ends up rocking his Nietzsche inspired “God is Dead” shirt, it’s both comical and tragic. It’s no coincidence that his butt-fish comes soon after.

Daddies.

What about corporate America? What does Russo have to say about that?

Jeff Hart:  Russo might avoid criticizing organized religion, but the same certainly can’t be said about corporations. At best, working in an office is portrayed as the kind of soul-crushing life-waster that causes otherwise normal young men to jump up and down on their cube-mate’s cell phones. Dory’s rant about phones breaking apart the brotherhood of man can be broadened into a charge against all corporate culture. The idea that a cookie company can operate in such an insidious fashion, toying with our bodies without repercussion – I’m particularly fond of when Dory begins hallucinating ingredients like high fructose corn syrup on his shower walls – could seem screamingly paranoid. And yet, it all had the ring of truth to me. Beware the cookie makers and their gentle acronyms for intestinal parasites.

Jeremiah White:  The “oven fresh” cookies are intended to remind consumers of family and childhood. To make them feel warm, fuzzy and safe. The company is exploiting our fears about the big, scary world out there and our desire for safety and stability. That seems representative of Russo’s feeling about corporate America as a whole. The cookies don’t hold any nostalgic power over Dory, however; his mom never made cookies like this. It’s only the instant gratification and the addictive chemicals that appeal to him. Much like the regular paychecks are all that appeal to him about office work. Dory isn’t a straight shooter with upper management written all over him. He scoffs at the initial offer of janitorial work, but quickly swallows his pride, and ultimately finds more fulfillment cleaning offices than working in them. In Russo’s world, corporate employment is a drug, the effects of which hide its true ugly, artificial nature.

What would you do if you gave butt-birth to a Little Dizzle?

Jeff Hart:  Start working on a Little Dizzle sibling. Don’t want the little guy to be lonely.

Jeremiah White:  I'd flush it down the toilet. I don't hold onto anything that comes out of my butt.

Go ahead and jump.

Jeff is spraying a pint of Ben & Jerry's Karamel Sutra with a fire extinguisher when Jeremiah walks in.

Jeremiah White:  What are you doing?

Jeff Hart:  The office freezer is full again and my B&J's is melting! It's a travesty!

Jeremiah White:  So you're trying to keep it cold with a fire extinguisher?

Jeff Hart:  Yes. I saw it in Man on a Ledge. Don't you remember?

Jeremiah White:  Yeah, but I think that was supposed to be a fire extinguisher they had filled with liquid nitrogen, or something.

Jeff Hart:  Like Terminator 2?

Jeremiah White:  If that helps you. Whether Man on a Ledge was playing epically fast and loose with the facts or just asking its audience to connect dots that aren’t on the same page, either way, what you're doing isn't going to save your dessert.

Jeff Hart:  This wouldn't even be a problem if I had a Reverse Microwave™.

Jeremiah White:  Can we please have one workday that goes by without a discussion of the Reverse Microwave™?

Jeff Hart:  But if we can heat things up fast, why can't we de-heat them down fast?

Jeremiah White:  I know, I know.

Jeff Hart:  Fine, let's not talk about the most important hypothetical invention of the 21st century. Would you rather talk about Man on a Ledge?

Jeremiah White:  Sure. It sucked.

Jeff Hart:  It sure did. I’d compare it to a movie like Phone Booth. It’s got a bad case of “wouldn’t it be cool if?” syndrome. Wouldn’t it be cool if we built an entire movie around a dude threatening to jump off a ledge?

Jeremiah White:  It is easily one of the most implausible movies ever. It would be a waste of time to recount all the ways that it obliterates credulity.

Jeff Hart:  MoaL starts with a dubious premise: Sam Worthington threatening suicide to distract people from his real plan. And from that point on, director Asger Leth’s film displays no internal logic. In almost every scene, laws (natural and manmade) bend in service to that initial premise.

Jeremiah White:  I'll give screenwriter Pablo F. Fenjves this much, MoaL charts a fairly straightforward course from the first frame to the last. That's kind of refreshing for a movie meant to offer twists in the final act. It follows a linear timeline, outside of the flashback that constitutes the entire first act. They never attempt any major “gotcha” moments that make the movie into something else. And they don't cheat in terms of what information they give the audience, with one significant and very predictable excep...

Jeff Hart:  I told you it was the father!

I have redacted Jeff's reckless comment in case anyone reading actually cares about the plot of Man On a Ledge.

Jeremiah White:  And how about the semi-star-studded cast?

Jeff Hart:  The mind boggles that any actor with a choice in projects would set down this script and be like “get me in this movie!” I guess it makes sense for Sam Worthington. This is the kind of vehicle he deserves. Elizabeth Banks and Ed Burns – what are you doing here? I hope their check cleared promptly.

Jeremiah White:  Yeah, but Ed Harris' pronunciation of "Chihuahua" should win some kind of an award, right?

Jeff Hart:  Obviously. And Titus Welliver is in it, and surprise! He's playing a corrupt cop.

I don't know why I bother. We ALL know how Welliver's character is going to turn out.

Jeff Hart:  It's actually kind of funny that it's called Man on a Ledge when Worthington's character is so passive for much of the movie. It's really about the screw-up doof who has to get his shit together and pull off a remarkably sophisticated heist to save his big bro.

Jeremiah White:  Yeah, but Sunnyside Townie In a Jewelry Vault With His Testy Lingerie Model Girlfriend doesn't have the same ring to it.

Jeff Hart:  That is a mouthful. Is there anything left to say about MoaL?

Jeremiah White:  I think that Leth actually knew how ridiculous this whole project was and just wanted to make a fun movie in spite of that. In a way, he succeeded. I submit MoaL as a near perfect candidate for the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment. There's so much to make fun of, from the famous faces and the implausibility to the stiff/bizarre line readings and confounding representation of New York. Other bad movies wish they were this much fun to mock.

This week we’re watching Tiny Furniture, the indie debut of writer/director/actor Lena Dunham, which was good enough to score her an upcoming Judd Apatow-produced TV series on HBO.

Next week:   The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle – A team of night janitors become the unwitting subjects of an experiment with mind-bending cookies. Also, there might be talking poop.

SPOILERS BELOW!

After watching Tiny Furniture, are you more or less interested in Lena Dunham’s upcoming HBO series Girls?

Jeff Hart:  More interested! Tiny Furniture is really funny – way funnier than most of the films that get slapped with the “mumblecore” label. It ends very abruptly, as these arty slice-of-life-crisis movies tend to do, and I was left wanting more. I think Dunham’s comedy, her characters (many of which appear to be making the jump from film to TV), and her storytelling are better suited to the small screen than the big. Also, it’ll be a nice change of pace from the douchey lifestyle-porn comedies HBO usually relies on.

Jeremiah White:  I agree that it will be a nice change of pace from the "douchey lifestyle-porn comedies," specifically How To Make It In America. Much of Tiny Furniture plays like a more realistic take on the same world as How To Make It. If Girls can tap into that same spirit of twentysomething New Yorkers scraping by at lousy day jobs in between gallery openings and hipster house parties without the gangsters and rags-to-designer-rags contrivances, it could be a lot of fun, and dramatically engaging.

Dunham cast her mother and her sister as her mother and sister respectively, in roles superficially very much like themselves. What effect does this have on the onscreen product?

Jeremiah White: I wasn’t aware they were all related before watching, but Dunham and her family have a chemistry that is evident onscreen. Not necessarily in terms of witty repartee, but in a physical closeness and in the way they effortlessly handle the low-key “make-up” scenes, which nicely counter and neutralize the melodramatic arguments that precede them.

Jeff Hart:  I didn’t realize this was the case until after watching either. In retrospect, it makes the whole Tiny Furniture experience creepily voyeuristic. Also, if you’re making a no-budget indie, it must be really helpful if you can rely on your real life mom and sister to deliver smart and naturalistic performances.

Analyze Dunham’s use of long, static shots.

Jeremiah White:  The last time I remember noticing unbroken shots like these was in last year’s Shame. In Steve McQueen’s film they are gimmicky interpretations of individual scenes. They are conspicuous in their plainness and, honestly, seem kind of lazy. But in Tiny Furniture, they are used frequently and help give the film a simple and cohesive visual style. They are inconspicuous and more immersive than that other low-budget staple – the shakycam.

Jeff Hart:  Unlike McQueen, Dunham knows when to call cut on a long take. Honestly, I didn’t really pick up on the long shots during my viewing. Thinking back, one of my favorite scenes, where Dunham’s character throws a tantrum directed at her mom while her sister looks on, is an unbroken take. It definitely adds to the awkwardness and humiliation, stuck there while Dunham loses it.

Just another post-gallery visit to the sex pipe.

You guys are twenty-something New York residents! Did Tiny Furniture have the ring of truth?

Jeff Hart:  Just like the twenty-something malaise movies Judd Apatow’s been working on for the last 10 years, there are feelings and situations in Tiny Furniture that I recognize and sympathize with. That said, unlike Apatow, I don’t think Dunham is trying to speak for an entire generation. Rather, she’s examining – and, I’d argue, sometimes satirizing – a very particular subset: city-raised rich children attracted to the art scene. She sure nails them.

Jeremiah White:  Tiny Furniture spoke more to the 22 year old recently graduated Jeremiah than the New York City Jeremiah. In that sense, it definitely rang true. I agree that Dunham is partially satirizing rich art kids, and as someone who finds those types kind of ridiculous, Tiny Furniture also nicely meshed with my particular point of view.

White American life crisis movies – is it enough already?

Jeremiah White:  Before Tiny Furniture, I would have said “absolutely.” So many movies have been made tackling these age-specific dilemmas, which usually don’t end up feeling very age-specific, that even the good ones can be filed under “more of the same. “ Tiny Furniture isn’t quite enough to completely change my mind, but Dunham’s film separates itself with its female focus, and an atmosphere of confusion more than angst or malaise. It would be a shame to skip Tiny Furniture based on movies that have preceded it, but my interest in the genre hasn’t been renewed.

Jeff Hart:  I think Tiny Furniture separates itself successfully from the white-crisis movies, the twenty-something malaise comedies, and the mumblecore movement. It’s funny, its focus is a bit more narrowed, and Dunham is more pitiless and ruthless (especially with her own body) than directors of these films normally are. She has every opportunity to go precious and yet never does. I agree the film sometimes crosses into tired “wahhh white people” territory, but overall I found Tiny Furniture refreshing and look forward to more.

Magneto would never find himself in this position.

Jeff rolls into Jeremiah’s office enclosed inside an Atlasphere.

Jeff Hart:  American Gladiators reference!

Jeremiah White:  Okay, great. So you’re ready to review Haywire.

Jeff Hart:  I am! Going into Haywire, it’s important to understand that Steven Soderbergh is no longer making serious movies. He’s entered a phase of his career where he can secure money and talent for whatever weird diversionary project he wants to spend his time on. I admire that. It’s exciting to see a filmmaker undertake random exercises in genre, but it also makes Haywire feel a bit frivolous and slapdash.

Jeremiah White:  Soderbergh mixes the spy thriller with some retro elements, some exploitation elements, and it mostly works. Except, he blows his best action sequences in the first 40 minutes.

Jeff Hart:  Yeah, there are definitely diminishing returns on the fight scenes. Soderbergh keeps things interesting with some really compelling shot choices in the later acts, but he never matches the adrenaline rush of the first couple fights.

Jeremiah White:  Anyway, enough about Soderbergh. Haywire is a vehicle for CRUSH!

Jeff Hart:  Like Sasha Grey in the heinously boring The Girlfriend Experience, MMA fighter and former American Gladiator Gina Carano is Soderbergh’s latest fixation. Haywire hinges on her fighting skills.

Jeremiah White:  Which are considerable. Carano’s ability to credibly perform the physical feats asked of her makes the action much more brutal and the viewing experience much more immersive.

Jeff Hart:  She’s great at emoting, but not so great at reading lines. She could be, like, the female Steven Seagal for this generation. Except, would a Carano action vehicle be half so interesting if not directed with Soderbergh’s verve?

Jeremiah White:  Half as interesting? Perhaps, but there’s no doubt that unless she continues teaming with auteurs and star-studded casts, Carano is destined for low-budget kung fu flicks where she is the only real attraction. That might sound bleak, but in truth very few martial arts experts ever surpass that and achieve legit Hollywood stardom.

Jeff Hart:  I don’t usually bother with the press notes for films, but there are a couple Soderbergh quotes I want to highlight.

Jeremiah White:  Go for it.

Jeff Hart:  Intern, break out the formatting!

“In [early Bond films], you get to know who the characters are instead of just what they do. In more recent espionage-action films, there isn’t a lot of time spent developing the supporting characters. I wanted to revisit the early Bond films. Their ratio of story to action is very much like ours.” – Steven Soderbergh

Jeff Hart:  I feel like he’s taking a shot at the Bourne films there. Which is weird, because Haywire more resembles a Bourne movie than it does an early Bond flick.

Jeremiah White:  Yeah, Bourne is the standard bearer of action completely eclipsing any sort of character development. And Haywire plays exactly like a stripped down, looser version of a Bourne movie… only with a chick.

Jeff Hart:  Great segue! Next quote - this one is in reference to Haywire not being overtly feminist.

“It’s rarely brought up that Mallory Kane [Carano] is a woman. It’s just a fact, and people make assumptions about her that turn out not to be true.” – Steven Soderbergh

Jeff Hart:  I suppose this is true in that characters rarely bring up Carano’s gender directly.

Jeremiah White:  Channing Tatum never screams “Oh God, I’m getting beat up by a girl!”

Jeff Hart:  But her lady-ness is a huge part of the filmmaking and one I think it’s almost disingenuous to try and play off. The sneak attacks against Carano – and there are many – all play as particularly shocking because they’re done against a female. Her gender also factors into nearly every fight scene; whether it be a random male bystander jumping in on her behalf or Carano locking Michael Fassbender in the cunnilingus-deathlock. I actually really like how Soderbergh didn’t just shoehorn a badass lady into a male action star part and, instead, made a legit female action star whose gender is a defining part of her personality. Even if Haywire left me lukewarm, that’s still worth acknowledging.

Jeremiah White:  Absolutely, but make no mistake, go see Haywire for a couple of awesome fights, not the feminism.

This week we’re watching Trespass. Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman star in this critically derided home invasion thriller. Is it really as bad as everyone seems to think?

Next week:  Tiny Furniture - We check out Lena Dunham's well-regarded indie about twenty-something existential crisis. It's the film that landed Dunham a Judd Apatow produced comedy on HBO, so it has to be good, right?

POSSIBLE SPOILERS (AND NIC CAGE MELTDOWNS) BELOW

Why?

Jeff Hart:  Really good question. So much of Trespass is absolutely baffling. I don’t mean plot-wise – the plot is about as simple as it gets, with plenty of flashbacks to comfort slow viewers that might be confused by the predictable twists. What is baffling is this film’s very existence. Why would Joel Schumacher agree to helm such a generic thriller? I guess probably because he has such a rich history of directing generic thrillers, but still, shouldn’t Schumacher have his pick of shitty scripts? Why would A-listers like Nic Cage and Nicole Kidman (particularly Kidman) sign up? The answer to all those questions, the reason Trespass exists, is money. My theory is that Trespass was financed by some Bernie Madoff type as beat-off material.

Jeremiah White:  Money is the obvious answer. But I think that Cage and lead baddie Ben Mendelsohn relished the opportunity to embrace their crazy sides. What Kidman and Schumacher got out of this? I have no idea.

Home invasion movies like Panic Room rely on a game of schemes and counterschemes. Trespass is considerably less tactile. Discuss the action of Trespass.

Jeremiah White:  I count the relative lack of plot in Trespass as one of its strengths. The bad guys never have much of a plan, and the family doesn’t do much except refuse to play ball. This also isn’t some psychological chess game. I mean, Mendelsohn tries a few different rhetorical strategies to break Cage, but he quickly gives into his fiery temper and Trespass is reduced to a bunch of mentally unstable people yelling at each other. And frankly, that’s when the movie is at its best. Like when Mendelsohn and his brother are arguing about the pills, an argument Mendelsohn ends by mocking his brother’s fake swallowing of the pills, and then throwing them all in his face. You’re just not going to see that in other home invasion movies.

Jeff Hart:  What Trespass wants to do is pit a white-collar master negotiator like Cage against a blue collar, street smart hustler in Mendelsohn. That'd be an interesting idea, I suppose, if white-collar scumbag Cage didn't end up looking like some kind of capitalist martyr. He loves his family, you guys! The class warfare cat-and-mouse was played with 100 times more tact and intelligence in Brett Ratner's Tower Heist. That's right; Trespass compares unfavorably to Brett Ratner. Wrap your head around that. Anyway, like Jeremiah said, Trespass is mostly just psychos yelling at each other. We're probably lucky a lot of the film's themes are buried under all that noise.

Oscar winner Nic Cage

As we’ve come to expect, Nic Cage comes unhinged quite often in Trespass. What was your favorite instance of Cage losing his shit?

Jeff Hart:  I love Cage. Him flipping out never really gets old for me. Trespass gets him frothing at the mouth as quickly as possible, so at least it gets points for that. I particularly enjoyed Cage repeatedly calling his assailants “shitholes,” an insult that isn’t used to describe people nearly often enough. Also good was Cage blaming Kidman’s “filthy lust” for causing the home invasion.

Jeremiah White:  Shitholes got a big laugh from me. “Filthy lust” was actually a bit disappointing. I knew about the line beforehand and I expected a much crazier reading of such a crazy line. My favorite freak-out came early on, when Cage tried to convince them to let his wife go. It includes “You hit the motherload!”, the “Get your people in line” mini pep talk, and “No! No no NO!”

Millennium Films employed an unusual distribution method for Trespass, with a limited theatrical run in major markets, a simultaneous on-demand release, and a DVD in stores less than 3 weeks later. How does this model suit Trespass?

Jeremiah White:  Extremely well. The limited theatrical run is basically just a formality because in 2011, you can’t have a Joel Schumacher movie starring Nic Cage and Nicole Kidman that goes straight to DVD. But Trespass is a B movie with some A list window dressing. It’s made for lazy weekend afternoon viewing, and perfect for on-demand services, Netflix Instant and an inevitable run on TNT. People who paid $12 to see it in theaters were probably disappointed. Those who watch it on the couch largely as a result of boredom will have much lower standards.

Jeff Hart:  Too bad they didn't spend B-movie money on this piece of shit. Courtesy of Box Office Mojo, the budget for Trespass was $35 million. It grossed about $25K in its theatrical run. If you factor in foreign receipts - it did huge business in Brazil for some reason - Trespass is still $30 million shy of breaking even on its budget. There's no way they recouped that through VOD sales. In terms of quality of film, Trespass definitely got the distribution method it deserved. But, assuming Schumacher and company didn't intend to set a bunch of money on fire, I'd consider everything about Trespass, right down to distribution, to be an unmitigated disaster.

This week we’re watching Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine star as a pair of lovable hillbillies that are mistaken for inbred psycho killers by a group of preppy college kids.

Next week:  Trespass. Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman star in this critically derided home invasion thriller. How crazy will Cage get? We’re hoping super-crazy.

SPOILERS BELOW!

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil riffs on horror movies, but is this a movie for horror fans?

Jeremiah White:  Not really, and that’s not just due to a lack of scares or suspense. The deaths are not particularly inventive or gory (at least not in the graphic way that delights many horror fans). The premise is a nice reversal of slasher tradition, but it’s not especially clever. The horror/comedy of errors plot machinations are a novel idea, but they’re never all that convincing or funny, and they’re dropped about halfway through. There just isn’t any love of horror movies evident in Tucker and Dale. And the pat “don’t judge a book by its cover” and “have self-confidence” life lessons feel more like Legally Blonde than Shaun of the Dead. Ultimately, Tucker and Dale is much less self-aware and inside joke-y than one might think based on its winky premise. At least they got one thing right; I guess you really shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

Jeff Hart:  Are you nuts? Of course it’s a movie for horror fans! Who else could Tucker and Dale possibly appeal to? Not to deride horror fans – they’re my favorite group of genre fans out there – but they’re the only ones that could have the patience necessary to endure the redundant schtick of this film. Granted, I feel like discerning horror fans won’t enjoy Tucker and Dale, but there are definitely points for effort in the horror community. Even though it doesn’t fully succeed at sending up the slasher genre, that doesn’t mean horror fans won’t welcome the attempt.

How do Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine function as a comedy team?

Jeremiah White:  They’re both capable comedic performers and they wring some laughs out of pretty thin material. The friendship between the slim, smarter, more ambitious Tudyk and the rounder, sensitive, idiot savant Labine is a bit of a cliché, but they make it work. Tudyk and Labine can’t save this project, but the only blame they can really be assigned is attaching themselves to such a lackluster script.

Jeff Hart:  Total nerd-bait, right? Tudyk and Labine are both actors with cult followings, which see some big time overlap with horror fans. I like them both and, like you said, they definitely do their best with the material. We’re sort of trashing Tucker and Dale here, but it isn’t an unendurable experience. It’s short, has some laughs, and is mostly watchable because of the chemistry between its leads. The film is just short on ideas.

Durp!

Let’s play armchair screenwriter. How could Tucker and Dale have been improved?

Jeff Hart:  Like we’ve already complained, the horror-comedy of errors joke gets run into the ground pretty early, peaking right around when that one frat boy does a header into the wood chipper. I kept expecting them to make a transition toward a more traditional slasher flick, with the owner of the creepy summer home returning and forcing our lovable hillbillies to join forces with the annoying college kids. This sort of happens down the stretch when Psycho Frat Boy completely loses it, but by then the rest of the college kids have been completely wiped out. When the film does finally give us a villain that isn’t dumb luck, it briefly regains some momentum with Dale turning himself into “super-hillbilly.” However, just when it seems like the writers are finally going to let loose, they turn the whole uber-Leatherface montage into a throw away punchline, leading to an anticlimactic final fight that hinges on a tea allergy. Basically, they should’ve let loose and had more fun in slasher territory.

Jeremiah White:  I would throw in more direct references to other movies. The idea seems to be that these kids have seen slasher movies (and Deliverance) and therefore expect Tucker and Dale to be dangerous rednecks. There's no need to shy away from the influence pop culture has on them. Similarly, their plans for defeating Tucker and Dale should have been based more on their knowledge of films. They could have set a trap based on a killer's tendency to show up mid-coitus, for example, rather than just charging in with spears. This would put them in danger of treading too much on the "rules" ground that Scream mined so well, but when your whole premise is based on subverting horror conventions, there really isn't any reason to resist making overt references.

Pop Quiz: Provide 3 snarky alternative titles for Tucker and Dale vs. Evil.

Jeremiah White:  Tucker and Dale vs. Largely Accurate Stereotypes.

Tucker and Dale vs. My Patience.

Tucker and Dale vs. A Big Misunderstanding.

Jeff Hart:  Tucker and Dale vs. The Same Joke Over and Over.

Tucker and Dale vs. That Chick From 30 Rock.

Tucker and Dale vs. One Really Smart College Kid With An Understandable Axe To Grind.

(10) Fast Five

Jeremiah White:  What a way to kick off the Top 10!

Jeff Hart:  VROOM VROOM!

Jeremiah White:  Reuniting characters from the previous four installments, Fast Five felt like more than a shameless retread, it felt like a celebration of the thrill seeking franchise’s success, and excess. Everything about Fast Five is bigger than its predecessors: the stunts, the cast, the score, the biceps. In many summer blockbusters, that would mean a bloated, unenjoyable mess, but in the case of Fast Five, bigger is better.

Jeff Hart:  I know I bitched yesterday about the inclusion of 30 Minutes or Less as a credibility destroyer and Fast Five definitely sits outside my personal Top 10, but c’mon. It was awesome. Who cares about artistic merit when The Rock is spitting out shards of glass and power-slamming Vinny-Dees? Sometimes you just want to shut off your brain.

(9) Another Earth

Jeff Hart:  Here’s the third part of this year’s trio of cataclysm movies, along with Take Shelter and Melancholia, and it was the only one to make your list. Why?

Jeremiah White:  I was taken with the effortless and simple storytelling, and the lack of schmaltz despite a plot that could have been drenched in it.

Jeff Hart:  Another Earth is a poignant blending of science fiction with drama. Here’s this world-changing event, another planet just like ours hanging in the sky, and yet all the big sci-fi repercussions are cleverly handled through background noise and television broadcasts. Against this high concept backdrop we get a very relatable story of grief, penance, and redemption.

(8) Young Adult

Jeff Hart:  I was wary of Young Adult going in mainly because of the presence of screenwriter Diablo Cody. I was worried that the dialogue would be cute to the point of inhuman, like a retread of Juno.

Jeremiah White:  Definitely not. Cody left all the home-skillets out of this one.

Jeff Hart:  Jason Reitman surely knows that male midlife crisis movies are still all the rage, yet it’s rare to get a female equivalent. Charlize Theron has the range to really pull this role off, going from despicable to funny to vulnerable to pathetic. Thanks to Theron, Young Adult is bursting with those Curb Your Enthusiasm type moments of awkwardness so painful you want to turn away. Her relationship with Patton Oswald, who is quietly becoming a reliable dramatic actor, is sweet and human without ever becoming overly sentimental.

(7) The Tree of Life

Jeremiah White:  It’s difficult to talk about Tree of Life as one complete movie. The various sections of Terrence Malick’s 2 hour 20 minute epic could be easily divided and presented separately, and the scope is so large (creation of life to present day) that it can feel a bit unwieldy. However, the early section, which is basically a video art installation about the evolution of life, features such a variety of images, and is so packed with grandiose beauty, that it’s simply impossible for the eye to grow bored. And then the middle section, which focuses on a family in the 50s, brings the past to life with remarkable detail and manages to be completely engrossing with only the slightest traces of exposition and plot. It’s pure experience.

Jeff Hart:  Tree of Life has the unique honor of being the first Malick film I’ve been able to watch in a single sitting without falling asleep.

Jeremiah White:  Congratulations.

Jeff Hart:  Thanks. Look, there were points during the middle section where I thought this could be the best movie of the year; that its artistry elevated it above anything else I’ve seen this year and maybe beyond. That section is gripping, the editing is masterful. It’s the closest approximation to swimming through another person’s memory that you’re likely to find on film. But then Malick insists on closing on an overtly spiritual note, bombarding viewers with all the most hackneyed visual metaphors for an afterlife in existence. A beach? A mysterious white light filled doorway? A bridge? Come on. Did he credit the series finale of Lost for inspiration? That final misstep kept it out of my Top 10.

Jeremiah White:  That Lost bit is a low blow.

(6) Warrior

Jeremiah White:  Director Gavin O’Connor is fond of describing Warrior as “intervention in a cage.” There’s no doubt that a smart script, compelling characters, and powerful lead performances from Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton make Warrior great. But it’s ostensibly about an MMA tournament, and it’s a first rate sports movie in its own right.

Jeff Hart:  It’s too bad this came on the heels of last year’s overrated The Fighter, because Warrior is definitely the superior film. It might be the best sports movie since Rocky. There’s a certain amount of suspension of disbelief necessary to get us into the final showdown, but that comes easy thanks to strong performances from Hardy, Edgerton, and Nick Nolte.

Jeremiah White:  I was particularly impressed with how exciting the tournament was, despite a relatively small number of fighters. Every bout is different and memorable, with hard-hitting action and an attention to strategy. The use of two main characters makes the tournament results much less predictable, and the final match is genuinely suspenseful.

(5) The Guard

Jeff Hart:  Superficially, if you believe the spotty American marketing, The Guard is a fish-out-of-water buddy cop comedy starring Don Cheadle as an American FBI agent forced into working with Brendan Gleeson’s eccentric small town Irish cop. It nails down all the important elements of that genre with relative ease.

Jeremiah White:  They're a great pair, and the evolution of their relationship from antagonistic to cooperative to friendly feels natural and earned.

Jeff Hart:  But the real star here is Gleeson who, along with writer/director John Michael McDonagh, has created the latest entry in the pantheon of great detectives. Gleeson’s character is fully-formed, unique in his worldview, and just enigmatic enough that I’m dying to see another of his misadventures. This is probably how people felt after reading the first Hercule Poirot novel or something. Except Gleeson is hilarious.

(4) Attack the Block

Jeremiah White:  I don’t think I had more fun watching a movie all year. Ill-equipped humans battling alien invaders is a frequent occurrence in Hollywood, but when a British street gang takes on wild animals from outer space in Attack the Block, the action and humor feel organic despite such a contrived premise. While Super 8 may look every bit like a Spielberg movie, Attack the Block may be the more fitting tribute as it sparkles with imagination and adventure.

Jeff Hart:  I don’t think Attack the Block’s youth gang has the necessary sense of wonder to really fit the Spielberg tribute mold. Spielberg would never dare begin in such a cynical place. But Attack the Block does reflect some of those early Spielberg projects – like Gremlins and Goonies – that were more about rollicking adventure than sentimentality. I grew up on those movies. Attack the Block, while more targeted at grown-up kids like us, could still end up being one of those monster adventure favorites for the new generation. At the very least, it’s an instant cult classic.

(3) Martha Marcy May Marlene

Jeff Hart:  This was my #1 movie of the year for the very simple reason that weeks after seeing it, I still want to talk about it. I’ve had so many conversations about M4 over the last few weeks and each of those conversations has revealed a different way of interpreting the film’s events. The way the narrative floats along, blending present with memory and reality with paranoid fantasy, makes for a captivating experience. I was constantly ill-at-ease during M4, and yet I didn’t want it to end. I think that’s one of the biggest compliments I can pay the film; that I wanted another 30 minutes. Also, Elizabeth Olsen? Wow.

Jeremiah White:  Yeah, she’s great. You might describe her performance as a revelation, if that revelation is that a member of the Olsen family is actually talented.

Jeff Hart:  Zing. Olsen deserves Best Actress consideration. Sarah Paulson and John Hawkes really bring it as well.

(2) Drive

Jeff Hart:  As cool as it gets, right?

Jeremiah White:  Totally. Let me pull on my leather typing gloves while staring stonily into the distance.

Jeff Hart:  Drive proved to be a really divisive film this year, disappointing a lot of people suckered in because they thought they’d be getting car chases and maybe Ryan Gosling tearfully embracing Carey Mulligan on a beach. Instead, they ended up with Nicholas Winding Refn’s moody 70s exploitation tribute, with its weird retro music and horrifying ultra-violence. It still amazes me that a movie like Drive, which might have more style than substance but is still very much an art-house flick, got such a major release.

(1) Super

Jeremiah White:  What a shocker!

Jeff Hart:  I did not see that coming!

Jeremiah White:  Even as I was putting the finishing touches on my list, I didn’t expect to be putting Super at #1. But ultimately, Super is the movie that I feel the most passionately about recognizing. It’s a sharp piece of entertainment, with smart super hero humor and engaging action sequences. But there’s so much more to unpack! Writer/director James Gunn shines a harsh light on the super hero fantasy. What kind of a person would deem themselves worthy of acting as judge and jury? Who has the stomach to willingly enter into a world of constant violence (represented onscreen by a mix of splatter film gore and visceral brutality)? In this case, the answer to both questions is a self-pitying, ineffectual dimwit with a moral superiority complex, played expertly by Rainn Wilson.

Jeff Hart:  The answer is also a hyperactive super-fan with delusions of invincibility as played by a maniacally intense Ellen Page. She’s the kind of person that Super would ostensibly appeal to: the Kick-Ass worshipper that relishes casual violence and lives for escapist fantasy. Gunn’s film is so energetic and colorful, so poppy and free-wheeling, that it’s extremely disquieting when the realization finally hits just how fucked up this twisted idea of super heroics is. All of a sudden, you realize you’ve been watching a genre critique.

Jeremiah White:  In the midst of a super hero fad entering its second decade, and with many interpretations opting for grittier, more psychological approaches, and movies like Kick-Ass espousing a sort of “we can all be heroes” philosophy, Super feels incredibly timely. It’s a dynamic, bold, thoroughly entertaining and surprisingly thought-provoking oddity. Nothing made me more excited about filmmaking in 2011.

In the interest of full disclosure, here are our editors' Top 20 lists along with the point totals they assigned each film:

Jeremiah's Top 20:
1) Super (30)
2) Drive (25)
3) Attack the Block (23)
4) The Tree of Life (22)
5) Martha Marcy May Marlene (21)
6) The Journals of Musan (19)
7) Warrior (19)
8) Another Earth (17)
9) The Guard (17)
10) Young Adult (16)
11) Win Win (15)
12) Fast Five (15)
13) 30 Minutes or Less (12)
14) Blackthorn (10)
15) Cedar Rapids (9)
16) The Future (8)
17) Beats, Rhymes and Life (8)
18) Carnage (5)
19) Midnight in Paris (5)
20) We Need to Talk About Kevin (4)

Jeff’s Top 20:
1) Martha Marcy May Marlene (29)
2) Drive (26)
3) The Guard (25)
4) Warrior (23)
5) Super (22)
6) Attack the Block (22)
7) Young Adult (20)
8) Another Earth (19)
9) Take Shelter (18)
10) We Need to Talk About Kevin (17)
11) The Tree of Life (15)
12) Meek’s Cutoff (14)
13) Melancholia (12)
14) Shame (10)
15) Fast Five (8)
16) Midnight in Paris (6)
17) Beginners (6)
18) Win Win (3)
19) Blackthorn (3)
20) Rubber (2)

Jeff Hart:  Let's do a brief introduction!

Jeremiah White:  Go for it.

Jeff Hart:  2011 was a weird year for films. The usual end-of-year Oscar bait films really sort of suck this year, so we ended up with a lot of strange stuff on this list; indies that haven't gotten their due, mostly. Overall, there were a lot of really great movies, but nothing that really jumped out to me as a surefire Best Movie of the year.

Jeremiah White:  We both got behind The Social Network last year. This time, we didn't have a consensus #1. I think that made for a more provocative list. I can almost guarantee that no other site on the entire internet will share our Best Movie of the Year.

Jeff Hart:  The prevalent theme in film this year seemed to be the end of the world. There are three films on my list that deal explicitly with a literally Earth-changing event, and a bunch of others that are powered by smaller world-shattering tragedies. Filmmakers be nervous, yo.

Jeremiah White:  That's not so much a pattern on my list. I'm noticing I leaned toward genre tweaks this year. Some filmmakers played in familiar territory this year and really got it right. Those were my favorite movies.

(20) Shame

Jeff Hart:  I had a lot of problems with Shame. The shaggy long takes employed by director Steve McQueen often left his actors looking lost and the film ultimately charts a very predictable addiction narrative, but Michael Fassbender’s performance is too brave to ignore. It won him our title of Badass of the Year. It isn’t a film I could see myself sitting through again. That might be a compliment.

Jeremiah White:  I’ll second your gripes, especially with an ending that seems to undo the nuance of the first two acts. Still, for much of its runtime, Shame is an intriguing portrait of addiction and disconnect in the 21^st century. And yes, Fassbender is great.

(19) Midnight in Paris

Jeremiah White:  Woody Allen’s 2011 entry may not end up being particularly noteworthy in a legendary career that has spanned six decades, but it’s extremely easy to like. It’s attractive, charming and funny, and smartly wastes no time on the why’s and how’s of Owen Wilson’s time traveling. It’s a straightforward love letter to Paris, the artistic minds of the 1920s, and romanticism in general.

Jeff Hart:  At times, that love of romanticism makes Midnight in Paris a bit too precious, but the thrill of gallivanting with Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald makes up for it.

Jeremiah White:  Too precious, huh? Maybe you’d prefer the cynicism of Whatever Works?

Jeff Hart:  Don’t be stupid. WHO WANTS TO FIGHT?

(18) 30 Minutes Or Less

Jeremiah White:  Maybe I’m overcompensating for the critic disdain and audience apathy, but I really liked 30 Minutes. A lot.

Jeff Hart:  You’re probably overcompensating. Every year you have one of these credibility destroying picks that undermine our entire list. Last year it was MacGruber.

Jeremiah White:  Ah, one of my proudest moments as a critic. I’m fine with overcompensating on the behalf of Ruben Fleischer’s sophomore effort. It balances action and comedy better than anything in recent memory, the five leads all deliver, and references to the best 80s action movies abound.

Jeff Hart:  Yeah yeah, and even at 83 minutes long, the first act feels like filler. I enjoyed 30 Minutes as much as… well, pretty much anyone who isn’t you, but this isn’t a landmark cinematic achievement.

Jeremiah White:  That’s exactly what they told Will Forte.

(17) Melancholia

Jeremiah White: Basically, any movie with Kirsten Dunst nude moon-bathing was assured to make your Top 20, right?

Jeff Hart:  Well, yes. If Spider-Man 3 had featured 200% more Dunst staring moodily into the ether without a shirt on, it would’ve been my movie of the decade. Baser inclinations aside, this latest entry in the Lars Von Trier catalog of manic depressive horror shows is as visually enthralling as it is unsettling. Melancholia is a crushingly hopeless affair for much of its runtime, something to wallow in, which makes the feeling of optimism generated by its apocalyptic conclusion bafflingly wonderful.

Jeremiah White:  Eh. Nothing about Melancholia felt remotely human to me. As usual with Von Trier, the characters seem like nothing more than vehicles for his depression.

(16) Blackthorn

Jeremiah White:  Back in April, Blackthorn looked like a shoo-in for the year’s best Western. But 2011 was still young, and that title might ultimately belong to the film that landed one spot higher. Still, if you’re looking for a traditional Western, this little bit of revisionist history that imagines an elderly Butch Cassidy coming out of retirement is the best the past year has to offer.

Jeff Hart:  Plus there’s Jaime Lannister as a Robert Redford era Cassidy for Game of Thrones fans!

Jeremiah White:  There is, and beautiful landscapes, a gruff but likable protagonist, a few pulse-quickening action sequences (including one showstopper of a centerpiece), and some heavy themes like mortality and the inexorable march of time.

(15) Meek’s Cutoff

Jeremiah White:  So we learned this year that the Oregon Trail is a lot worse than the computer game would have us believe.

Jeff Hart:  No kidding! Although it seems natural to call Meek’s Cutoff a Western and compare it to its neighbor Blackthorn, Kelly Reichardt has made a film that doesn’t naturally fit into any genre. Meek’s Cutoff is probably best described as a bleak feminist existential thriller.

Jeremiah White: They should put that on the poster.

Jeff Hart:  It’s a slow moving experience that certainly won’t be for everyone. If you can handle the pacing, Reichardt’s barren vistas drip with atmosphere and the characters, despite having little dialogue, are exceptionally well drawn.

(14) Win Win

Jeremiah White:  Admittedly, Win Win is the kind of feel good movie I usually avoid. The troubled teenager, the economically strapped family that takes him in, the elderly character suffering from dementia. But it manages to be warm and fuzzy without feeling manipulative or melodramatic. Plus, the comedy of Paul Giamatti, Jeffrey Tambor and Bobby Cannavale as high school wrestling coaches is worth the price of admission alone.

 Jeff Hart:  Yeah, this is a serious case of feel-goodery, but sometimes that can be a good thing. Like you said, the cast is strong, and the script is tight enough that the happy ending feels earned. There's enough of an edge to Giamatti and newcomer Alex Shaffer's performance to keep things interesting. Also, the wrestling scenes are good.

(13) Take Shelter

Jeff Hart: The other the-end-is-nigh entry on this half of the list, Take Shelter is much more accessible than its companion Melancholia. Anchored by a forceful performance from Michael Shannon, Take Shelter takes the fear and uncertainty strangling Middle America and turns it into nightmarish visions of a coming apocalypse. Instead of joining The Tea Party, Shannon builds a bunker.

Jeremiah White:  I don’t want to spoil the ending as hopefully Take Shelter will find a larger audience soon – it’s definitely a film worth seeing – but it left me disappointed. So much of the film is spent by the audience trying to get into Shannon’s head. The process of determining whether he’s a madman or a prophet is integral to the experience. I didn’t like having the answer spelled out for me.

Jeff Hart:  I agree with that. Take Shelter would’ve been a much more intriguing film had it ended right after Shannon and Jessica Chastain (also excellent, good year for her) decide whether or not they should emerge from the bunker. I mean, that dimly lit bunker blow-up was maybe the most nail-biting scene of the year for me. Everything that follows is a touch much, but it’s still great and I’m looking forward to more from director Jeff Nichols.

(12) Journals of Musan

Jeremiah White:  Journals of Musan was easily my favorite viewing experience of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. It’s a dark and depressing look at a North Korean defector who finds himself friendless and broke in South Korea. I never felt that writer/director/star Jung-bum Park was punishing the audience, as there is humor and excitement to break things up, but undoubtedly its greatest achievement is in conveying the depth of Park’s loneliness and isolation.

Jeff Hart:  I also really enjoyed Musan, but it wasn't something that jumped out at me when I was making my final list. Unfortunately, I just don't remember much about Musan. Truly great films will stick with you.

Jeremiah White:  Yeah. Like 30 Minutes or Less.

(11) We Need To Talk About Kevin

Jeff Hart:  Never has a young mother throwing her poopy-pants toddler against the wall felt so cathartic!

Jeremiah White:  That’s dark.

Jeff Hart:  Seriously. In a year that saw a lot of dreamlike puzzle-box films, Kevin is a freaking nightmare. Tilda Swinton is excellent as usual as a mother grappling with the world’s worst case of nature vs. nurture after her demonic offspring commits a heinous act of violence. Unsettling literally from its opening frame, Kevin is the kind of movie that I love because it’s artful, dark, and begs for further discussion.

Jeremiah White:  Rarely do art and horror mesh so well. For all the vileness in it, Kevin avoids exploitation. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s worth it.

CONTINUE TO #10-1