Note: Films like "Margaret," "Undefeated," "A Separation" and "Pina" will be in contention for my Best of 2012 list as a result of their significant 2012 theatrical presence.

----

There is a word you will hear a lot between now and Billy Crystal's opening monologue on Oscar night. That word: nostalgia. Oscar pundits and Hollywood-backed bloggers will continue to make the case that 2011 was a year which cried for things to "return to normal."

Yet 2011 was really quite the opposite.

In a time when news headlines were filled with the terms "SOPA" and "piracy," Tinseltown was pretty much shitting its pants for most of the year. Yes, in a sense, they're still making money at the box office (When a 3D ticket is nearly $20 a person in some cities, how could they not?) but they do feel that storm coming...the same way Michael Shannon's Curtis felt it in "Take Shelter." A new wave of cinema, both macro and micro, is upon us. On a macro level, commercial audiences are consuming their commercial fare in new ways: through Redbox pick-ups and Netflix streaming. Gone are the family trips to the New Releases sections at Blockbuster or overpriced concession stands at the multiplex. On a micro level, more indie filmmakers are finding new ways to attract audiences (if you still don't know what Transmedia is, you're a relic). They are also vigorously branding themselves online, sans an agent or agency.

The textbook relevance of the Hollywood model, the Hollywood backbone, is fading. That's why a charming, yet totally non-compelling movie like "The Artist" is the shoo-in to win the Best Picture Oscar. Eh, fuck it.

**

Mine--as usual--is a year-end "Best Of" list that celebrates the films that were audacious enough to take risks, move audiences and announce their staying power.

Like previous years, 2011 offered harmless films like "Super 8" and "50/50." More alarming were the film releases that were subpar, considering the mammoth talent behind the camera. Consider these titles--all "good" films but nowhere near the tier of greatness that these directors have put out before: "War Horse," "The Descendants," "Terri," "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo," "The Ides of March," "Hugo," "Drive," "Melancholia," "Jane Eyre" and "We Need To Talk About Kevin." Then there were those films that seem poised for failure and yet somehow pleasantly surprised: "The Adventures of Tintin," "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "Everything Must Go," "Real Steel," "Warrior," "X-Men: First Class" and "Bridesmaids." Finally, there were those gems that came out of nowhere like "Win Win" and "Martha Marcy May Marlene."

The problem with compiling Top Ten lists is that you can never really honor all the films that need to be sought out for year-end praise. So here go the ten films that tied for my 11th place: "Attack The Block," "Beats, Rhythms & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest," "Contagion," "Into The Abyss," "I Saw The Devil," "Marwencol" (pictured above), "Midnight in Paris," "Rango," "The Skin I Live In" and "Take Shelter."

And now, without further adieu, the Top 10 Films of 2011:

 10. "Mysteries of Lisbon" Directed by Raoul Ruiz

To say that the late Raoul Ruiz was a prolific Director would be the understatement of the century. With his "Mysteries of Lisbon," a historic, continent-spanning, generational drama, Ruiz forces us to lean closer to the screen to participate in his game of pick-up clues and manipulation of dramatic devices. Perhaps his most entrancing film since 1979's "The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting."

 9. "Here" Directed by Braden King

King's wonderful--and I mean wonderful!--"Here" feels like an Antonioni road movie that was left in the editing room with Stan Brakhage and Jonas Mekas. Ben Foster stars as a cartographer and Peter Coyote steals the show as the voiceover storyteller for the video art/video installation sequences that seamlessly embed themselves in the film's straightforward narrative.

8. "Day Is Done" Directed by Thomas Imbach

"Day Is Done" is a benchmark example of what I refer to as the "new cinema." It's storytelling 2.0 on a bold scale. Imbach, both the filmmaker and screen character, simply films the landscape outside the window of his apartment and for the next two hours we are given a glimpse into an artist's inner spirit via time-lapse footage and personal answering machine messages that were compiled over several years. This film is not for everybody.

7. "The Interrupters" Directed by Steve James

The best documentary of the year, hands down. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that it WASN'T nominated for the Best Documentary Oscar. James, as he did in "Hoop Dreams," simply observes and commits to the arc of the lives of his subjects. A meditation on how violence permeates throughout a city, its inhabitants. A powerful visualization of patience, hope and resilience.

 6. "The Robber" Directed by Benjamin Heisenberg

Here is the lone-criminal film that "Drive" only wished it was. Heisenberg's hypnotic drama takes the form of a ritualistic film, stringing along sequences that brush across a canvas of doomed fate for its antihero. I haven't been that moved by an ending to a crime film since Mann's "Heat."

 5. "Shame" Directed by Steve McQueen

Contrary to some critics' opinions, "Shame" isn't the epitome of 'British miserablism.' Leave it to video artist McQueen to construct a visually beautiful and internally gut-wrenching masterpiece. This one is going to be around for a long time. Michael Fassbender has etched his name onto the walls of acting glory.

 4. "Life In A Day" Directed by Kevin Macdonald

A crowdsourced film that played out with more spontaneity and overwhelming insight than most Hollywood screenplays in recent memory. Haters be damned; a new wave of storytelling is already here.

 3. "Moneyball" Directed by Bennett Miller

The irony here is that "Moneyball" is more classic Hollywood than "The Artist." Brad Pitt delivers the kind of performance that Golden Age movie stars churned out. Pitt is in almost every scene of the movie. It's a performance that emotes handsomeness, charm and unexpected pathos. It's too bad that most people who read the synopsis of "Moneyball" won't make it past the "sports movie" label. Brad Pitt deserves the Oscar and it'll be a shame if he loses it to a guy who mimes along with his cute dog (i.e. "The Artist").

 2. "Beginners" Directed by Mike Mills

"Beginners" does a miraculous job of steering clear of any cliches it sets up for itself. It deconstructs its cute dog by providing it with subtitles. It sidesteps any stock-queer-jokes once Christopher Plummer's characters comes out of the closet. The subplot involving an early romance doesn't introduce an archetypal third wheel villain or tacky slow motion scene. Maybe this is all due to Mills'--a visual artist--decision to construct his film around the nonlinear, imperfect beats of (his and our) real life.

 1. "The Tree of Life" Directed by Terrence Malick

Overwhelming. Problematic. Ambitious. Polarizing. Timeless. All valid descriptions of great cinema. Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" went through similar early stages of audiences being puzzled. But look at how revered that film is today. Malick's film is positively enthralling, on all scales. From the year's best cinematography to the year's best film editing, "The Tree of Life" humbles us with its scope of life, the universe and the guilt an older brother can feel after bullying his younger brother with a BB gun air rifle. A masterpiece, no matter which way you slice it.

The New Cinema--in my opinion--won't rest entirely on a new batch of independent (digital) filmmakers simply working outside the mainstream Hollywood "system" in order to create a sustainable new media industry. The other key component to the forthcoming New Cinema will be in the reinvented screen language and the new dynamic editing styles. New digital filmmaking tools--like the Flip cam, iPhone camera, HDSLR video, etc.--are rebuilding the visual canon for the new artist. The days of the big clunky and sometimes cumbersome "studio" cameras are behind us. With these small, efficient filmmaking instruments, we're finding ourselves shooting and shooting and--shooting.

The "setups" and "tear downs" are not going to refer to mammoth crews carrying around production equipment on sets. The new "setup" will be more organic for the independent filmmaker. An artist with the ability to shoot more liberally, without the constraints of "painting a pretty picture" for the hell of it, can now react more truthfully to the environment around him or her.

This new practice should not be viewed as a clash to "form" or "method." Filmmaking--good filmmaking--always comes down to the truthfulness behind the storytelling. Is what I'm watching viable, endearing, startling, engaging, moving or even challenging on some level? And did this uncompromising vision come from the artist--or from that artist's notion of what a movie "should" look like?

Underground cinema, with its counter-narrative demeanor and fearless sensibility, can be the gateway to introduce this "New Cinema."

Let's get out there and start shaking some bushes. And maybe our cameras too.

It's no secret that I think of the cinema of Terrence Malick as being one of the more important bodies of work in American moviemaking. Malick's use of natural light (no lighting truck here!), his patience for working out scenes with his actors (to the points where they can change parts of the script) and his Salingeresque manner of being notoriously secret and camera shy have only added to his holy status among true cinephiles.

And now his long-awaited "The Tree of Life" is only a couple of months away from national release. After the beautiful and stirring trailer premiered back in December, we have been void of any more content from the film.

Until now.

Check out these candid set photos and try not to salivate on your computer keyboard. 

What was film in 2010? Well...

As usual, crowds of people lined up for the "Twilight" sequel, while other groups showed how easily they were turned off by their favorite franchise ("Sex And The City 2," "Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage Of The Dawn Treader," etc.). There were some films that weren't as bad as we feared ("Iron Man 2"), others as lukewarm as they first promised ("Robin Hood") and some that fit the tragic bill of collapsing under unbelievable hype ("Kick-Ass"). As with any year, if the moviegoer could navigate past all the red carpet glam, Monday box office figures and bandwagon reactions on their Facebook feed, they might learn a thing or two. Some were even moved by what they saw.

I won't go into exhaustive detail about EVERYTHING I saw in 2010--and let me tell you, it's A LOT--but I'll list a group of films first (more to provide a listing of titles you may have missed) that were watchable, and sometimes quite good: "Morning Glory," "Edge of Darkness," "The Crazies," "Going The Distance," "Frozen," "No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson," "My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done," "Countdown To Zero," "Moving To Mars," "The Town," "Solitary Man," "I'm Still Here," "Plastic Bag (short film)," "Wild Grass," "Freakonomics," "I'm Here (short film)," "Monsters," "[REC] 2," "Somewhere," "Toy Story 3," "Hereafter," and "The American."

This is the point where I have to come out and say that current Oscar faves like "True Grit" and "The King's Speech" unfortunately didn't do it for me--and thus will be absent from this next batch of films which I like to call "Fuck, We Were So Close To The Top 10." There is some real strong work here and these flicks should be sought out before you watch "Inception" for the seventh time on your Blu-ray player: "Fish Tank," "The White Ribbon," "Mother," "El Baile De La Victoria," "Restrepo," "The Secret In Their Eyes," "Sweetgrass," "The Killer Inside Me," "The Kids Are All Right," "I Am Love," "Winter's Bone," "Greenberg," "Black Swan," "Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer," "127 Hours," "Mississippi Chicken" (which is pictured above) and "The Ghost Writer."

And now the individual awards:

Best Music Soundtrack: "Blue Valentine" (songs by Grizzly Bear)

Best Editing: "Problema"

Best Original Score: "Shutter Island" (this is not cheating, since Robbie Robertson's assemblage and orchestration of music samples and sounds adds up to an unforgettable experience)

Best Cinematography: "Enter The Void" (Benoit Debie, director of photography)

Best Documentary: "Exit Through The Gift Shop" (Directed by Banksy)

Best Director: Jacques Audiard ("A Prophet")

Best Supporting Actress: Jacki Weaver, "Animal Kingdom" :: Runner-up: Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, "The Fighter" :: Runner-up: (tie) Andrew Garfield, "The Social Network" and Niels Arestrup, "A Prophet"

Best Actress: Aggeliki Papoulia, "Dogtooth" :: Runner-up: Michelle Williams, "Blue Valentine"

Best Actor: Tahar Rahim, "A Prophet" :: Runner-up: Leonardo DiCaprio, "Shutter Island"

The Top 10 Films of 2010 -- 

10. "Shutter Island" Directed by Martin Scorsese

Scorsese directs the hell out of this sometimes faulty, always exhilarating story about what reality means to the individual and then what the schematics of a "real" facade mean to an institution--and ultimately a society itself. A harrowing performance by DiCaprio anchors this beast of a film.

9. "Never Let Me Go" Directed by Mark Romanek

Romanek's film direction has grown exponentially since his debut with "One Hour Photo." This quiet movie is much more dramatic, romantic and scary then it appears to be the first time around. Working with today's best young British actors, "Never Let Me Go" will make your spirit soar if you're currently in love--or it will floor you if you've already let your love for that special someone slip away.

8. "Blue Valentine" Directed by Derek Cianfrance

In a strange way, a companion piece to "Never Let Me Go." Where the characters in Romanek's film yearned for the chance to actually love someone, Cianfrance's film splices open the relationship of a couple well on their way to falling out of love. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are unforgettable and they cement their work as two of the more indelible performances of the past decade.

7. "The Fighter" Directed by David O. Russell

Perhaps David O. Russell's most accessible film ever, "The Fighter" is a paint-by-numbers story (the underdog, a story about boxing, a flowering romance and on and on) that is layered with so much heart it practically pulsates on the auditorium screen. Easily the best ensemble cast of the year, the film turns to its peripheral players for more than just stolen moments; "The Fighter" reminds Hollywood movies that behind every Rocky, there's a fucked up family background. The analogy should stick more often.

6. "Enter The Void" Directed by Gaspar Noe

Don't die. It's pretty much the exhaustive, yet oddly stirring warning that Noe's latest film seems to insist. A landmark cinematic feat in both ideas and technical prowess, Noe dares (yet again!) to challenge our perception of the world. This time he uses the subconscious--or is it the spirit?--of his protagonist who aimlessly floats and is forced to watch his world unfurl in the streets and rooms beneath him. Unlike anything you've ever seen. (On a side note: Isn't the opening credit sequence to this film just awesome?!)

5. "Animal Kingdom" Directed by David Michod

The best crime film of the year, Michod's brooding Australian drama sticks close to a family of crooks who are more dangerous to each other than they are to the seedy policemen of their territory. Ben Mendelsohn's turn as Uncle Pope could send the shivers down the spine of the Uncle Teardrop character from "Winter's Bone."

4. "Dogtooth" Directed by Giorgos Lanthimos

Greek cinema is revived with Giorgos Lanthimos' "Dogtooth"! An insanely disturbing tale about a family so disconnected from the outside world that the act of incest is less frightening than a plane flying over the skies above. This film has to be seen by any filmmaker who aims to be "an auteur."

3. "The Social Network" Directed by David Fincher

Fincher will probably win his first Best Director Oscar for this lean and near perfect drama that works as both as a classic tale of betrayal and also as a survey warning to how the social media revolution has cost (most of) us all the imperfections and nuances that come with actually physically poking someone. Aaron Sorkin's cerebral screenplay is unmatched in 2010. This is the best American film of the year.

2. "A Prophet" Directed by Jacques Audiard

Funny how crime films tend to be lauded in cinema. From "Goodfellas" to "City of God," we just can't seem to find more potent content to extend our own fears, prejudices, desires and secret attractions toward. Here is a film that has the emotional scope of "The Godfather" and the oddities that come with obscure coming-of-age stories (an invisible friend/ghost that no one else can see, the crooked surrogate father-son dynamic). It was that rare film in 2010 that left viewers saying, "Wow, I really saw something." A masterpiece, through and through.

1. "Problema" Directed by Ralf Schmerberg

Part documentary. Party video art. Part experimental film. Yet completely original in its vision. Schmerberg somehow managed to put together a collage of moving imagery that serves as a timetable testament to the human experience in this still infant new millennium. There is simply nothing else like it.

And he distributed it online for free.

How's about that for new cinema?

As we near the end of 2010 and head into the new year, independent filmmakers and artists who consider themselves to be part of this emerging new media movie industry have to be aware of the following fact: the story behind your movie is just as valid and important as the story within your movie's narrative. In other words, sharing your film from its original concept (when the idea arises in your head) via a blog post, Twitter page or any useful online platform is no longer an option--it's a must. Audiences these days are more sophisticated, aware and tech-savvy than ever. Considering that the audience for your film is right on par with familiarizing themselves with new mobile platforms (e.g. Apple's iPad) and are looking for intuitive new ways to be engaged with movie content, it is only logical that you--the independent artist--utilize free platforms, like Cinefile.com, to share both your work and the story behind your work.

The thing about loving the cinema while growing up is that once you ever get around to actually making movies yourself, you tend to lose an immediate awareness of how seriously embedded that particular niche area of cinema is in your mind, heart and eyes.

(Left: "Ad Hominem" - Right: "Eyes Wide Shut")

The other day I was revisiting Stanely Kubrick's final feature film "Eyes Wide Shut" and I was struck at how some of its city night scenes were pulsing with wet streets, damp air and a sort of surreal quality (something that failed to hit me upon initial viewings). Then I began to realize that my surreal/dream short film "Ad Hominem" articulated those same environments in its exterior sequences. In other words, during most of my productions I was filming with the hands and eyes of my champions of cinema--without really knowing that I was doing so.

(Left: Me filming Julie Crylen close up - Right: Lynch filming Laura Dern close up)

Soon after, I began revisiting my still young filmography and started looking for key traits of the masters of cinema that I adore. An interesting bit I came across was a behind the scenes photo of me filming actress Julie Crylen for an uncomfortable (for the audience) close up of her eyes/upper face in "Ad Hominem."

David Lynch, the surrealist king, was apparently running and gunning it in similar fashion for some shots of his awesome "Inland Empire" a few years ago.

(Left: A lost soul inside of a train - Right: A lost soul on top of a freight train in "Stalker")

As of late, it's apparent that the strong work of Andrei Tarkovsky has been surfacing in much of my content. The last short I made, "Makeshift Correct," which was a video art-experimental mish mash of sights and songs, featured an eerie section of actor Carson Jones, aimlessly riding inside of a CTA train cart looking on as the train pulled him toward a fate that was murky. In Tarkovsky's often overlooked "Stalker" there's a railroad sequence where these men are sitting on top of a train that is pummeling forward. Tarkovsky (and coincidentally me) ended up photographing our subject(s) in more of a profile shot and we let the camera just sit for a sec; this allowed an awkward examination of watching the actor nerve out a natural performance of ambivalence and ambiguity.

Obviously, any independent filmmaker can dissect his or her work into recognizable frames or archetypal scenes from probable historical film influences. But for me, this cinematic catharsis was more of a necessary step forward in knowing what I really want to put up on the screen next.

After all, there's a reason we emulate our masters: We want to preserve what we consider art, what we consider vital.

Nelson Carvajal on IMDb

After you watch this second demo reel be sure to visit the Blip TV page by clicking here.

In a shameless plug, here's an opportunity for you to influence some New York City architecture! That's right, through Movie Hatch, you can vote for Nelson's unmistakable mug to appear in Times Square! All you have to do is click on the image above (hell, or even here) and vote with your email address!

I am proud to present to you Cinefile.com, a new website that I am a writer, videographer and editor for. Please set up your free Cinefile account today by clicking on the image above.

OUR MISSION: TO SUPPORT, GROW AND SUSTAIN A NEW INDEPENDENT FILMMAKING INDUSTRY!

"We exist to support and to help grow an emerging New-Media Movie Industry by connecting it to a passionate, world-wide movie audience and at the same time, provide a powerful network through which Industry Professionals can network and interact."

Maria Niro has definitely surfaced as a leader in the video art scene. Her official site (www.marianiro.com) is full of great content. Check out her work titled "Glitch Telemetry" below.

I especially like the multiple frames within the frame, something I flirted with in a music video I directed earlier this year.

Begin that journey here.

Easily mistaken for nightclub wall material, a video like "Video Art" by Marcus Curtis on Vimeo can go by without its rightful praise. That praise should be aimed directly at the first 1:07 of this piece. The rest of the video is fine, but Curtis does something sublime with the Monroe footage at the beginning. He gets us smiling--not wincing, which a lot of video art can inflict on the viewer.

 

Tony and Sheriff are pretty shocked to hear this piece of news. The idea that Lewis has been rotting in a Malaysian jail cell since their departure years ago is baffling. Further, Tony and Sheriff have moved on with their lives. Tony is engaged and ready to be married to a beautiful woman. Sheriff has carved himself a career as a limo driver. The days of Malaysian shenanigans are behind them. Why do they each have to sacrifice 3 years of their lives?

A film like "Return To Paradise" succeeds largely because we in the audience are searching within ourselves for an answer. Could we actually do this? Turn ourselves in and go to jail for 3 years? In another country?

Especially effective in this film are the performances by the principle actors. Light years before his blockbuster-molding persona as the frat pack funny guy, Vince Vaughn plays Sheriff as equal parts vulnerable and assured. Between Tony and Sheriff, Vaughn makes Sheriff the film's quiet hero. He may not be as accomplished as Tony but Sheriff has a value system that isn't fully formed until the film's close and this makes him tremendously accessible to the audience. Tony on the other hand may come off villainous in his reasoning but to paint him solely in that color would be unfair. Tony makes valid points regarding responsibility, reality and how the two can't be chosen at once. The juxtaposition between these two characters highlight the film's raw power; it isn't about good vs. evil but rather an ethical argument of right vs. wrong.

Joaquin Phoenix is absolutely devastating as Lewis. It's an Oscar caliber supporting turn (a performance the Academy acknowledged by giving him a nod for the ridiculous "Gladiator," two years later) that is expertly written. Other "courtroom dramas" would have a character like Lewis bounce around for gimmicks, trying to play up the victim role. Phoenix--who is seen very little in the film--delivers cries, whimpers and words that are all from the gut. Nothing is forced. When Lewis speaks into a camera for a video that will be sent to Tony and Leiws, Phoenix makes it such a physical delivery that every word seems like it could be his last. Truly devastating moments are created.

Heche does her best work here. To go into depths about her character's being would mean revealing a crucial plot development. Let me just say that Heche, in every scene really, is challenged with letting her character fall into the one-note seductress or high-brow power figure. She rises above those shortcomings gracefully. To watch her scenes with Vaughn, especially in the third act, are truly rewarding. In a late scene she reaches her hand out to Sheriff and he holds her hand. The two look at each other without saying anything. That moment is great.

But enough for now. Go out and Netflix it or hit up the Blockbuster. And then share it with your friends. You won't be sorry.

First, here go films that were watchable: "Coraline," "Limits of Control," "Up," "The Class," "La Americana," "Knowing," "Adventureland," "Drag Me To Hell," "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire," "Duplicity," "Haunting in Connecticut," "The Hangover," "Invictus," "Sherlock Holmes," "Paranormal Activity," "Rudo y Cursi," "Made In China," "Up In The Air" and "The Girlfriend Experience."

This next batch obviously didn't make the Top 10 List but are considerable films nonetheless: "Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno," "Looking For Eric," "Hunger," "In The Loop," "Tokyo," "Humpday," "Mary and Max," "Antichrist," "Tyson," "The Informant!," "A Serious Man," "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," "Food, Inc.," "An Education," "Sugar," "Gomorrah," "Public Enemies," "Sin Nombre," "New York, I Love You," "Treeless Mountain," "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men," "Moon," "THE BAD LIEUTENANT Port of Call: New Orleans," "Two Lovers," "Il Divo," "The Box," "(500) Days of Summer," "Wendy and Lucy," "The Brothers Bloom" and "Brothers."

Now, I realize how underwhelming a cluster of movie titles can appear, so I thought it would help if I offered some of my personal "awards" to these and other films of the year as well:

Most annoying movie of the year: "Away We Go"

Secret favorite movie of the year: "New York, I Love You"

Best scene of sheer joy: the post-sex, spontaneous dance/music number from "(500) Days of Summer"

Best scene of pure fright: the torture/destruction of Willem Dafoe's penis and other body parts in "Antichrist"

Best single tracking shot in a movie: the dance hall sequence in "Il Divo"

Best scene in a film: the super scene in "Waltz With Bashir"

Best scene in a film--that I didn't see coming: Frankie Faison's soliloquy in "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men"

Best movie soundtrack (songs): "Where The Wild Things Are"

Best movie soundtrack (score): "Fantastic Mr. Fox"

Terrific opening sequence: Iconic detectives prove to be superheroes in "Sherlock Holmes"

Terrific closing sequence: A family mends frayed bonds without being hokey in "Looking For Eric"

Best feature debut: "Sin Nombre"

Movie destined to be a cult classic: "The Box"

Special jury prize: "THE BAD LIEUTENANT Port of Call: New Orleans"

Most underrated movie: "The Brothers Bloom"

Most overrated movie(s): "Avatar" (plus "District 9" & "Star Trek")

Best male performance I didn't see coming: Tobey Maguire ("Brothers")

Best female performance I didn't see coming: Michelle Williams ("Wendy and Lucy")

Best music video: "Ambling Alp" Directed by Radical Friend (for the band YEASAYER)

Best short film: "Good Advice" Directed by Andreas Tibblin (Sweden)

Best cinematography: "Tetro" (photographed by Mihai Malaimare Jr.)

Best supporting female performance: Charlotte Gainsbourg ("Antichrist")

Best supporting male performance: Michael Fassbender ("Inglourious Basterds")

Best female performance: Tilda Swinton ("Julia")

Best male performance: Benicio Del Toro ("Che")

And now, for the best films of 2009. These films coincidentally explored the Holden Caulfield type individual in various environments. Whether it was a child escaping a household he didn't understand on a boat headed for wild things or the revolutionary Che Guevara not finding solace in his family home and choosing instead to walk toward his own death in premature revolution Bolivia, 2009 showed the restless individual with a relentless fervor. It's no wonder why most of these films won't find their way to Oscar glory. Most people don't like to examine themselves (or life for that matter) so they instead will root and vote for 12-foot blue people in 3D. "So it goes."

10. "Where The Wild Things Are" Directed by Spike Jonze

It took me repeated viewings to see where Jonze was going with this hard-to-swallow interpretation. Give it a few viewings and then try not to be touched by the wordless closing minutes as young Max learns that life won't get any easier.

9. "Goodbye Solo" Directed by Ramin Bahrani

Here we have a stasis of the American indentity: William, the hard-bitten old white guy and Solo, the selfless African immigrant taxi driver. The foreigner (Solo) wants acceptance, social status and career success. The American wants to kill himself. Bahrani is one of the great modern directors and here never strikes a false note. The climatic, wordless exchange between the two leads is the stuff of great cinema.

8. "Inglourious Basterds" Directed by Quentin Tarantino

Here, the film's most important character (and who also is the radical individual versing the establishment) is Writer/Director Quentin Tarantino. Not only is he rewriting history, "Basterds" is also his exorcism of film knowledge, film adoration and film catharsis (hello, the movie theatre is blown to bits at the end). A whopper of an entertainment.

7. "Julia" Directed by Erick Zonca

Tilda Swinton may have won the Oscar for "Michael Clayton" but this is the performance by her that will be studied by future actors and film historians. The movie is a thriller that will endure--about an alcoholic who is both the film's angel and monster. Shame on you if you haven't seen it yet. It's one of the great performances. You won't be able to shake it off.

6. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" Directed by Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson has made his best film since "The Royal Tenenbaums." How important is that? Let's put it this way: no one wanted anything to equate "Tenenbaums" with. George Clooney, as the voice for the title role, is sublime in his performance. Forget "Up In The Air"--Clooney's acting nod should come with this gem of a movie. The film has one of the best ending lines/salute/toasts in recent memory: "To survival."

5. "The Hurt Locker" Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Jeremy Renner turned some heads with his work in "Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" back in 2007 and here he cements himself as one of Hollywood's strongest actors. A war film that doesn't cry war; it exists in a purgatory-state of intrepid satisfaction. A man would rather defuse bombs in the middle east than fix the shingles on the roof of his home. Staggering in its editing, sound mixing and photography; enlightening in its position and honesty.

4. "Dear Zachary" Directed by Kurt Kuenne

The best documentary of the year. A filmmaker begins to make a personal documentary in an effort to pay tribute to his recently murdered friend. When the murderer turns out to be the slain friend's girlfriend, the film is heart shattering in its examination of the faltered law system and the post-modern depiction of David vs. Goliath: Goliath usually wins.

3. "Che" Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Soderbergh's two-part historical epic is the kind of film we hardly see anymore. Yes, it has production design but it's not waving at us. Yes, it has costumes but they're not glistening for our attention. It also has a hero who keeps to himself--yet, through Soderbergh's direction, we can't help but follow him into the abyss of ambition. Del Toro won Best Actor at Cannes for this. No wonder.

2. "Waltz With Bashir" Directed by Ari Folman

Fusing flash animation, with computer effects and some traditional animation, Folman creates the best war film of the year and one of the best of the last twenty years. It's not so much about the conflict of the war as it is about the conflict of the individual--running from reality, running from pain and running from his own guilt.

1. "Tetro" Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Watching this film is like receiving an unexpected present from the Cinema Gods.  Don't know how that feels usually? It's why it's #1. Strange, beautiful, imperfect and pulsating with an affectionate heart, Coppola has returned as a master of film. The much maligned Vincent Gallo has the acting chops here to match any current big players. When this movie is on DVD I think I'm going to hold the disc close to my chest--like Tetro holds his writings and works close to his.