My Favorite Films of 2011

My Top 19 Films of 2011 

Got caught up on my movies, so had to update my list.

19. Of Gods and Men: Lambert Wilson; Michael Lonsdale

18. Midnight In Paris: Owen Wilson; Marion Cotillard; Rachel McAdams

17. Margin Call: Kevin Spacey; Zachary Quinto; Paul Bettany; Stanley Tucci
16. The Trip: Steve Coogan; Rob Brydon
15. Crazy, Stupid, Love: Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone
14. Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, Part 2: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson
13. Like Crazy: Anton Yelchin; Felicity Jones
12. Bill Cunningham - New York: Documentary
11. Warrior: Joel Edgeton Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte
10. The Help: Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer
09. The Artist: Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo; John Goodman
08. 50/50: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogan
07. Rise of the Planet of the Apes: James Franco, Frieda Pinto, Andy Serkis
06. Moneyball: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill
05. Drive: Ryan Gosling; Carey Mulligan; Albert Brooks
04. The Descendants: George Clooney; Shailene Woodley
03. Bridesmaids: Kristin Wiig; Maya Rudolph; Melissa McCarthy
02. Win Win: Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale
01. Beginners: Ewan McGregor; Christopher Plummer; Melanie Laurent

My Favorite Films of 2012

Posting this very late, but here is my list of favorite films from 2012.

My Top 20 Films of 2012

20. The Perks of Being A Wallflower: Logan Lerman; Emma Watson, Ezra Miller

19. The Master: Joaquin Phoenix; Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams
18. Les Miserable: Hugh Jackman; Russell Crowe; Anne Hathaway
17. Arbitrage: Richard Gere; Susan Sarandon; Tim Roth
16. Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence In The House of God: Documentary
15. Life of Pi: Irrfan Khan; Suraj Sharma
14. Skyfall: Daniel Craig, Judy Dench, Javier Bardem
13. Silver Linings Playbook: Bradley Cooper; Jennifer Lawrence, Robert DeNiro
12. End Of Watch: Jake Gyllenhall, Michael Pena, Anna Kendrick
11. The Avengers: Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans
10. Moonrise Kingdom: Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand
09. Oslo, August 31st: Anders Danielsen Lie, Malin Crepin, Aksel M. Thanke
08. Argo: Ben Affleck, Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman
07. How To Survive A Plague: Documentary
06. Django Unchained: Christoph Waltz, Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio
05. My Sister’s Sister: Emily Blunt; Mark Duplass; Rose Marie Dewitt
04. The Impossible: Naomi Watts, Ewan MacGregor, Tom Holland
03. Looper: Joseph Gordon-Levitt; Bruce Willis; Emily Blunt
02. Zero Dark Thirty: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clark, Kyle Chandler
01. Lincoln: Daniel Day Lewis, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones

My Favorite Films of 2013

It's that time of year again...Here are Tim's Favorite Films of 2013

20. “The Hunger Games": Catching Fire”: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland

19. “The Way, Way Back”: Sam Rockwell, Toni Collette, Steve Carrell, Liam James, Allison Janney, Maya Rudolph

18. “The Spectacular Now”: Shailene Woodley, Miles Teller, Kyle Chandler

17. "Inside Llewyn Davis": Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman

16. "Before Midnight": Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke

15. "Enough Said": Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini

14. “The Wolverine”: Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen, Rila Fukushima

13. “This Is The End”: Seth Rogan, James Franco, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill

12. “Dallas Buyers Club”: Matthew McConaughy, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner

11. “Blackfish”: Documentary

10. “Nebraska”: Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb,

09. “The Place Beyond The Pines”: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes

08. “World War Z”: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos

07. “Don Jon”: Joseph Gordon Levitt, Scarlett Johanssen, Julianne Moore

06. “Prisoners”: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Terrance Howard, Melissa Leo

05. “Fruitvale Station”: Michael B. Jorden, Melanie Diaz, Octavia Spencer

04. “12 Years A Slave”: Chiwetel Ejiojor, Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt

03. “American Hustle”: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence

02. “Her”: Joaquin Phoneix, Scarlett Johanssen

01. “Gravity": Sandra Bullock, George Clooney

Note: If there's a favorite movie of yours you don't see on my list, that may be because I haven't yet seen it (e.g. "Captain Phillips", "Blue Jasmine"); or I saw it, and it just didn't quite make the cut for me (e.g. "The Wolf of Wall Street", "Philomena"). Hopefully you'll see something worth checking out yourself. Cheers.

My Favorite Films of 2014

It's that time again! Below you will find my 4th Annual "Favorite Films of the Year" List. This year's list includes my top 20 movies from 2014. Your results may vary. In reverse order, they are as follows:

20. Fury: Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, Shia LeBeouf, Michael Pena

19. Snowpiercer: Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell 

18. X-Men (Days of Future Past): James McAvoy, Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender

17. The Skeleton Twins: Bill Hader, Kristin Wiig, Luke Wilson

16. Obvious Child: Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy

15. Pride: Paddy Considine, Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West

14. Captain America (The Winter Soldier): Chris Evans, Scarlett Johannson 

13. Locke: Tom Hardy

12. Guardians of the Galaxy: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper

11. Whiplash: Miles Teller, J. K. Simmons, Paul Reiser

10. St. Vincent: Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts, Chris O'Dowd

9.   The Drop: Tom Hardy, James Gandolfini, Noomi Rapace

8.   Wild: Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Thomas Sadowski

7.   Birdman: Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Edward Norton 

6.   The Imitation Game: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kiera Knightly, Matthew Goode

5.   Force Majeure: Johannes Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Kristofer Hivju

4.   Chef: John Favreau, John Leguizamo, Sofia Vergara, Scarlett Johannson

3.   The Grand Budapest Hotel: Ralph Fienes, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody

2.   Selma: David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, Carmen Ejogo

1.   Boyhood: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke

There are still some promising movies I have not yet seen (American Sniper, Inherent Vice, A Most Violent Year), and others I've seen, but which did not make my top 20 (Into The Woods, Unbroken, Gone Girl). Hopefully my list will inspire you to check out a film that wasn't on your radar, or help you augment your Netflix queue! And feel free to let me know if there something you think I've missed.

You can also see my "Favorite Films" from 2013, 2012, and 2011 which I've compiled on my blog:
http://better-left.blogspot.com/

Happy Moviegoing in 2015! 

Welcome to the Funhouse

Okay...I admit it. I've become a little bit obsessed with P!nk over the past week. I've actually been a fan for a while. Loved her edgy pop rock singles going all the way back to "Get The Party Started" and "God Is A DJ," but it was her album "I'm Not Dead" that turned me into a fan.

Last Sunday, P!nk performed at the 2010 Grammy Awards, and for those of you who were lucky enough to see this performance, you knew as she was singing that you were witnessing a moment. It actually doesn't happen all that often. But every once in a while a performer experiences this. A moment when their talent is showcased before a global audience, and they transfix an audience and knock it out of the park. P!nk's performance of her song, "Glitter In The Air" at the 2010 Grammy's was just such a moment. The music, her voice, her look, and presentation -- which was intimate, sophisticated, and somehow both restrained and a spectacle all at the same time -- all came together in this moment.



Accompanied by piano and guitar, P!nk walks slowly down stage alone, draped in elegant white hooded silk, singing a contemplative ballad that showcases the rich beauty of her scotch and honey voice. She proceeds off the stage and into the aisle mid way through the audience. Then in a simple move sheds the silk robe revealing a spare, shimmering body suit, and climbs a platform to sit in a white swing if silk fabric which lifts her into the air spinning slowly. By the song's end she has been dipped into a pool of water, is lifted high over the audience spinning gracefully like a wind chime, dripping glittering water over the rapt crowd, and continuing to sing this heartfelt ballad live, all the while. At the songs conclusion she is returned softly, like an angel, the the stage. And this jaded audience of music industry professionals who have seen it all rises to their feet with looks of stunned, smiles of amazement.

Even sitting in my apartment watching this on TV, I could feel the collective "Wow" occurring across the nation from anyone who witnessed this performance.

For those who mainly knew P!nk as the husky-voiced, tough girl, rocker chick who shouted girl power anthems, she revealed a new vulnerability and tenderness, as well as amazing vocal chops, never mind the amazing acrobatics. For those of us who were already fans, and knew this incredibly talented singer and performer always had many layers, it was simply wonderful to know that millions of people were now in on our secret.

Lady Gaga had just opened the show with a rousing mash-up of "Speechless" and "Your Song" with Elton John. Beyonce had just torn up the stage with a cadre of black-clad storm trooper/back-up dancers singing a mash-up of "If I Were A Boy" and Alanis Morrisette's "You Oughta Know." How the hell could any performer top these two performances. Yet the artistry of P!nk's refined, sumptuous and soaring (literally) ballad stole the show (in my book anyway).

I wasn't the only one who felt this way. Oprah Winfrey was so moved by the performance that she had P!nk on her show a few days later to talk about this "moment." As Winfrey said, sometimes you see a talented individual deliver such a powerful performance that it inspires you yourself to try to be a better person. And I completely recognized this feeling. After watching P!nk, I remember thinking, how does someone get that good? How does someone deliver on so many levels in front of such a daunting audience so flawlessly? And what do I need to do to raise my own level of performance in what I do in my own life?

And just to show that her Grammy performance was no fluke, P!nk performed live on the Oprah Winfrey show singing another gorgeous ballad, "I Don't Believe You" from her album "Funhouse." This time playing guitar surrounded by candles. And again, delivers another unbelievable performance.




And if you know the back story of P!nk's tumultuous romance, marriage, break-up and reuniting with motocross/motorcycle racer Carey Hart, which informs many of the songs on her album Funhouse, the emotional resonance of this moment only deepens. So yeah, I'm a goner for Alecia Moore. Consider me officially obsessed.
And color me P!nk.

Elfistad: A Seasonal Call To Action

I've been concerned about Elves lately.

You know, those little people who work for Old St. Nick. I've never actually seen an Elf in person, mind you. Most of my knowledge is second hand from those quaint Rankin-Bass Christmas specials made in the 60's and early 70's. Granted my source material is somewhat tainted. Most of those shows no longer air because they were later deemed politically incorrect. If you don't know what I mean, just YouTube the stop action animation version of "The Little Drummer Boy." It didn't exactly cast our Arab brethren in a favorable light. And that pissed off Casey Kasem, who's Lebanese. For someone who spent most of his career giving voice to Shaggy on the Scooby Doo cartoons and dedicating treacly Journey power ballads on behalf of lovelorn fourteen-year-olds on The American Top 40, Kasem is well connected in Tinseltown. And that's why you haven't seen "The Little Drummer Boy" on TV for the past two and a half decades.

But let's get back to Elves. I've always wondered what Elves did the other ten months of the year. Cause in November and December, when all the Christmas specials air, they were always shown working. Let's face it, Santa runs a company town. He has a major manufacturing operation on his hands. He needs cheap labor. He gets Elves. And Santa works them non-stop. Remember the Elves feeding packages hand-to-hand to fill Santa's sleigh, like a sand bag brigade in a sleepy, rain-soaked hamlet on the Mississippi? The work is constant; regimented; an assemply line -- kinda like a GM plant, only without the Union. Santa needs those Elves too. I don't remember ever seeing Santa actually make a toy in any of those shows. It's the Elves. Santa's just a glorified FEDEX guy with food issues. But somehow he's harnessed the artistry and industriousness of the entire Elf community.

Santa calls the shots. At the North Pole, if you're born an Elf...you work for Santa. I mean, where else are they gonna work? I know its tough to swallow, but even I don't think Starbucks has yet opened their North Pole franchise. Even the mere suggestion of pursuing alternative employment marks you as an outcast. Rudolph's pal Hermy shows some entrepreneurial spirit...wants to hawk dental floss to other Elves...and whammo -- he's on the first ice shelf to the land of misfit toys (By the way, I don't know about you, but I always thought the idea of a squirt gun that shoots grape jelly was pretty cool).

Who am I kidding? We all know what the Elves are doing the other ten months of the year. They are still working for Santa. It's twenty-four/seven, baby. What was I thinking. You ever run into an Elf on vacation? Ever see an Elf skiing in Vail, digging their nubby toes into the sand in Boca, or placing twenty on red at the Bellagio? No! Cause Elves don't get vacations.

I'm not even convinced Elves are getting paid at all! Think about it. The only clothing you ever see an Elf wear is the Elf uniform. And they all wear basically the same uniform. You think they buy that stuff a Forever 21 or H&M? Gap for Elves? Of course not. I guarantee you even Elves wouldn't dress like that unless they were forced to. Those goofy hats which only accentuate their pointy ears; those humiliating curly-toed shoes which only accentuate their pointy ears; the unsettling combinations of red and green which -- well, you get my drift. The only people with more embarrassing uniforms are these poor Food Court schleps at Hot Dog On A Stick.

And where do Elves live? I don't recall seeing a little Elf town anywhere near Santa's estate. There probably tucked away in some Elf barrio in South Central North Pole, with little Santa-run liquor stores on every corner foisting mulled wine forty-ouncers on the Elf populace. Or more likely they live somewhere in the depths of Santa's Manor crammed forty to a room in row after row of little bunks.

And don't throw the Keebler Elves in my face. They no more counter, nor make more palatable, the truth of Elf history than Aunt Jemima or Uncle Ben did for another human tragedy.

So let's review. Elves aren't allowed to work outside of Santa's workshop. They have nothing to wear but Santa's degrading felt frocks. And they are forced to live on Santa's property. They weren't employed so much as enslaved.

There, I said it. Santa's a slave owner.

It's not clear where Elves originated. Perhaps Santa hired some Norse thugs to pillage a Celtic enclave, capture a band of leprechauns and haul them to the North by ship. Or maybe Elves are really an indigenous Eskimo people who welcomed the white man "Santa" to their community only to have their trust betrayed, their lands annexed, and their Zhou Zhou and Webkin building skills exploited. Promised a better future and a few nips of schnapps, they now walk around with bells on their shoes so Santa can keep track of them..

I know what you're thinking, "But they seem so happy on the Christmas shows." Look behind the smiles. Sure, they are usually shown singing cheerfully as they labor in Santa's workshop. But it's almost a manic cheerfulness these Elves display, isn't it? All singing the same sugary tune in unison through gritted teeth. Their waxy smiles unnatural and forced. You sense that to exhibit an emotion even two degrees south of "Jolly" would bring down Santa's cold, hard wrath.

Yes, Santa wants us to believe they're happy Elves. They're happy to be working sixteen hour shifts building toys for the entire world (another myth actually, since Santa's delivery routes are heavily skewed to Anglo-European communities). Meanwhile Santa's parked in a Barcalounger watching the Weather Channel and sucking down hot toddy's, sweet potatoes and slices of glazed ham. Those happy, entertaining little Elves. Why they're the Step 'N Fetchit of the Arctic Circle.

Well I bet Elves are angry. I bet Elves carry the rage of generations. You can see it emerging in the toys they make. These days every other toy is a facsimile of a weapon, or a shoot-em up game about conquering an evil overlord (guess who-ooo?). They are fueling their rage into the toy designs and Santa doesn't even see it. He's too busy brushing pumpkin pie crumbs out of his beard, trying to figure out how the little snow-kickers turned a block of wood into Jenga.

It won't be long before the uprising. It'll just take one Elf to patiently dig a candy cane out of Mrs. Claus' gingerbread house, suck on it til it's as sharp as a shiv and unleash a thousand years of Elf fury.

We can abide Elfpartied no longer. I'm not gonna play Snow City. I call on you to boycott gift giving. Do not proffer you love and generosity to others through the blood, sweat, and tears of Elves. Walk your Children past storefront Santa's. Call for sanctions. Write your Senators. Write Santa himself demanding that Elves be freed. Take action before Elves are forced to take action themselves.

And this Christmas, to mark the plight of Elves, I ask you to celebrate your own freedom. Freedom of assembly. Freedom of religion. Freedom of movement. Freedom of expression. Even the freedom to write a holiday greeting that some may find patently offensive.

For in this season, what greater gift is there than freedom.

Merry Christmas!

Tim Dolan

Fiona is the greatest

I'm visiting my niece Fiona and we're learning how to blog.