Eyewear's Best Film of 2011

Eyewear should probably vote with its higher purposes, and recommend The Tree of Life, which is one of the great American films of all time - however, as readers of this blog will know, no film moved or thrilled me so much this year as Drive, whose ultra-stylish 80s take on Shane made it an instant classic, in its own right, and turned slim-hipped, toothpick-toting, six-packed Ryan Gosling, Canadian, into a Paul Newmanlike icon for the new decade. So, Drive it is. Please note, The Artist has not opened in the UK yet, as of time of writing. Honourable mention must go to gross-out chucklefest Bridesmaids, a clever genre-busting buddy movie meets chick-flick that also had heart.

Other comedies I enjoyed this year include Mr. Popper's Penguins (slight but zany), Cedar Rapids, Bad Teacher, and Horrible Bosses. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, an early favourite, has, in memory, paled somewhat, as beautifully filmed, but slow and ponderous, with little character development or mystery, despite a fine performance from Eyewear favourite Gary Oldman.

There were some fine art-house films - such as Canadian Incendies and Algerian thriller Outside The Law (on DVD this year). In terms of actioners, sly stylish retro comicer, Captain America, managed to leap above its origins and become a truly stirring, witty, and at times, touching, film; Unknown was a very good thriller; The Way Back didn't quite become the grand epic it meant to be, but as far as prison break-wandering across Siberia flicks go, it was splendid. Other good films this year included Barney's Version, Limitless, The Lincoln Lawyer, Source Code, and Attack The Block. Disappointments included over-egged Take Shelter, and all-wet Water for Elephants. The Hangover II left a bad taste in the mouth for cynicism and cruelty. Films of note I have yet to see yet include Wuthering Heights, Kill List, Contagion, Midnight In Paris and Melancholia, which are sure to be on many top lists of 2011.

Comments

Nikki said…

I have yet to see The Tree of Life, but Melancholia was definitely a highlight of 2011. Additionally I recommend Jane Eyre, which was a lovely adaptation; conventional, yet personal and contemporary. And Troll Hunter was a tremendous surprise.

Wed Dec 14, 04:50:00 pm 2011

CLIVE WILMER'S THOM GUNN SELECTED POEMS IS A MUST-READ

THAT HANDSOME MAN A PERSONAL BRIEF REVIEW BY TODD SWIFT I could lie and claim Larkin, Yeats , or Dylan Thomas most excited me as a young poet, or even Pound or FT Prince - but the truth be told, it was Thom Gunn I first and most loved when I was young. Precisely, I fell in love with his first two collections, written under a formalist, Elizabethan ( Fulke Greville mainly), Yvor Winters triad of influences - uniquely fused with an interest in homerotica, pop culture ( Brando, Elvis , motorcycles). His best poem 'On The Move' is oddly presented here without the quote that began it usually - Man, you gotta go - which I loved. Gunn was - and remains - so thrilling, to me at least, because so odd. His elegance, poise, and intelligence is all about display, about surface - but the surface of a panther, who ripples with strength beneath the skin. With Gunn, you dressed to have sex. Or so I thought. Because I was queer (I maintain the right to lay claim to that

IQ AND THE POETS - ARE YOU SMART?

When you open your mouth to speak, are you smart? A funny question from a great song, but also, a good one, when it comes to poets, and poetry. We tend to have a very ambiguous view of intelligence in poetry, one that I'd say is dysfunctional. Basically, it goes like this: once you are safely dead, it no longer matters how smart you were. For instance, Auden was smarter than Yeats , but most would still say Yeats is the finer poet; Eliot is clearly highly intelligent, but how much of Larkin 's work required a high IQ? Meanwhile, poets while alive tend to be celebrated if they are deemed intelligent: Anne Carson, Geoffrey Hill , and Jorie Graham , are all, clearly, very intelligent people, aside from their work as poets. But who reads Marianne Moore now, or Robert Lowell , smart poets? Or, Pound ? How smart could Pound be with his madcap views? Less intelligent poets are often more popular. John Betjeman was not a very smart poet, per se. What do I mean by smart?

"I have crossed oceans of time to find you..."

In terms of great films about, and of, love, we have Vertigo, In The Mood for Love , and Casablanca , Doctor Zhivago , An Officer and a Gentleman , at the apex; as well as odder, more troubling versions, such as Sophie's Choice and Silence of the Lambs . I think my favourite remains Bram Stoker's Dracula , with the great immortal line "I have crossed oceans of time to find you...".

E Y E W E A R, THE BLOG - FREEDOM MEANS BEING UNAFRAID TO WRITE WHAT YOU THINK

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