The 1st Annual Salties (Best Movie Candidates)

1. Take Shelter

(Jeff Nichols)

A mesmerizing portrait of a man's descent into madness. Or is it a man's journey to revelation? Whichever it may be, it solidifies Michael Shannon as one of the best actors alive, and the overbearing dread that permeates the entire film sticks with you for weeks afterward.



2. Fast Five

(Justin Lin)

The best action movie in years. No film has delivered on its intent, surpassed its expectations and escaped its precedent with greater aplomb than Fast Five. Noisy, excessive and absurd; it is blockbuster cinema at its best. The Vin Diesel vs. The Rock fight scene that feels like it has been coming for a decade is as good as non-martial arts fights get and the climatic chase scene is one for the ages.



3. Martha Marcy May Marlene

(Sean Durkin)

Much like Take Shelter, Martha Marcy May Marlene delves into the psyche of a deeply troubled individual, and much like Take Shelter, the film is notable for its ability to load seemingly normal events with a haunting sense of foreboding. Unlike Take Shelter, Martha Marcy May Marlene uses its psychologically damaged protagonist as a lens to scrutinize traditional familial roles and values. The always excellent John Hawkes should get an Oscar just for his rendition of Marcy's song, seen in the trailer.



4. Rango

(Gore Verbinski)

2011 will be remarkable for many things; political upheavals, the deaths of dictators, and social revolutions forced monumental changes in the way the world operates. But all of these events seem borderline predictable when compared to the fact that Pixar was dethroned as the best animation studio on the planet. No one saw this coming. The trailer made it look horrible. Gore Verbinski was directing it (I guess the first Pirates of the Caribbean was okay.) And no studio besides Pixar and Ardman had ever made a truly noteworthy feature length film. But low expectations aren't responsible for the following praise. Rango is an absolute joy. Equal parts western and adventure movie; it toys with genre expectations and cinematic maxims to deliver one of the best movies of the year.

The gorgeous animation doesn't hurt it's case either.



5. 13 Assassins

(Takashi Miike)

One of the most abhorrent linguistic trends in recent memory is the devastatingly inappropriate overuse of the word "badass." With that said, Takashi Miike's ferrocious samurai flick is the most badass thing I have ever seen. Hyperbole notwithstanding, this is what the word "badass" is reserved for. It's not "badass" when you get a good grade on a test, nothing you do in Call of Duty makes you a "badass." A forty five minute battle scene where 13 samurai take on a corrupt ruler's entire legion of soldiers is fucking badass.

But the film isn't just hollow badassery, there is very little action until the final battle, and the film takes its time building a sense of respect for the titular heroes and a powerful loathing of the villain. All of which adds up to an incredible sequence that packs an emotional punch that even the most well-regarded dramas would do well to match.

As a side note, the film contains one of the greatest Chekovian call-backs of all time. I've never heard some many people in an audience utter, "OH SHIT" at once.




Honorable Mention:


Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - A terrifically crafted Cold War thriller that just can't quite overcome the enormous volume of minutiae inherent to its source material. See the full review here.

Drive - I'll probably get a lot of flack for this, but Ryan Gosling wasn't right for the lead role in Nicolas Winding Refn's neo-noir. He looks barely 25, and just isn't believable as a troubled getaway driver bubbling with restrained menace. It's a great movie though, just barely not cracking the top five, and an excellent capper to "The Summer of Gosling."

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - SO, SO, SO much better than it had any right to be. This is, like, the definition of "Being better than it had any right to be." The Planet of the Apes series has always been rather blatant about its absurdities, but somehow Rupert Wyatt manages to carve intense emotion out of a fairly ridiculous concept, with plenty of help from a terrific Andy Serkis and a team of Weta animators. Although, I'm beginning to suspect that a lot of performances would look oscar worthy if they were next to James Franco.

Hanna - A weird mish-mash of gothic fairy tale and espionage thriller, Hanna plays like Paul Greengrass directing a script by M. Night Shyamalan and Quentin Tarantino, and has the year's best villain (Cate Blanchet, almost making up for Kingdom of the Crystal Blech).

Captain America - Another one that came dangerously close to cracking the top five. A seriously enjoyable pulpy adventure that harkens back to a bygone era of cinema. Even the ugly CG backdrops have a certain charm to them, as they only reinforce the movie's aura of 1940s adventure. If only they hadn't ruined the concept with the inevitable Avengers set up at the end.

50/50 - A funny, touching look at a very serious time in a young man's life; it's charming proof that the Seth Rogen machine still has plenty of gas in the tank (even though The Green Hornet was proof of that - woefully misunderstood, it almost made this list).