Waitsel’s Best Movies of 2010
Grab your popcorn and let's talk.
The Oscars are less than a week away, and before those "amateurs" in Hollywood pick the mediocre films upon whom to bestow their highest honors, I want to get my two cents in. 
So here's my "Best of 2010" movie list. Last year, my readers seemed to like it. I hope you will again. It is a labor of love. Among the values I look for in a film are artistic merit; spiritual, cultural and historical relevance; humanity; and just plain good story-telling.
Going in, let me say that the movies this year were a little short on love and laughs; but they made up for it in drama and action. Most of the laughs were in the family arena. After my list of the top ten best movies from 2010, I offer five more that are worth mentioning, and ten films to look forward to in 2010, with some final reflections on the film industry in general. So, without further adieu, roll the film.
The greatest athlete that has ever lived: the horse, Secretariat - greatest Triple Crown winner (1973) in history
MOST INSPIRING - Secretariat
5 Stars
This is The Blind Side for horseracing, with, again, a strong female lead in Diane Lane (Nights In Rodanthe, Must Love Dogs, Under The Tuscan Sun) who plays the owner of racing's most famous thoroughbred. Unlike the unknown company that produced Blind Side and made their budget opening weekend (and ten times that to date), Disney did this one, with less than spectacular boxoffice results. But I really believe this is a dark horse. It has everything that most discerning filmgoers want in a movie: a bigger-than-life hero (there has never been a greater athlete than the horse, Secretariat), a rivetting story (like most movies about athletes, he is discounted by the people who are supposed to know good horseflesh and overcomes incredible obstacles to prove himself), likable characters (with John Malkovich, as his quirky trainer, Lucien Laurin, stealing the show as usual), and a more than satisfying ending. Plus you get some of the finest racing footage ever shot, Seabiscuit not withstanding. What's really amazing is that this well-made, true-life story of the greatest Triple Crown winner in history has been overlooked by all the major motion picture award ceremonies, including the upcoming Oscars. I guess director Randall Wallace, who wrote Braveheart and wrote and directed We Were Soldiers, would agree with his star, Mel Gibson, that the Oscars are a nothing more than a celebration of mediocrity. I certainly do.
If you've never seen Secretariat run, do yourself the favor of looking at the 1973 Belmont Stakes on YouTube.
PG
Waitsel’s Best Movies of 2009
Grab your popcorn and drink and let's talk.
It's that time of year, when everybody and their brother publishes a "Best of 2009" movie list. It's really becoming annoying. What makes my list different, I hope, is that I try to have a certain amount of objectivity and discernment about it. Just because I personally like certain aspects of a film or certain actors that are in it isn't enough to include it on my list: the film has to have some major redeeming values; which, today, is becoming increasingly more difficult to find. But, there are still some good movies out there, and I hope at some point there will be more. Among the values I look for are artistic merit; spiritual, cultural and historical relevance; humanity; and just plain good story-telling.
I apologize for the length of this article, but it contains a lot of information I think you will find interesting. After my list of the nine movies I liked best from 2009, I offer my comments on six films I was supposed to like but didn't, ten films to look forward to in 2010, and some reflections on the film industry in general. So, here we go.
BEST DRAMA / MOST INSPIRING - The Blind Side - 5-Star Masterpiece
If you don't see any other film from 2009, you have to see this one. Not only is it good drama and even inspiring, Sandra Bullock (The Proposal, Crash, Miss Congeniality) is to die for. She plays Leigh Anne Tuohy, a real-life, very high-mainteance, incredibly focused, tenacious wife, mother and interior designer, living a very wealthy lifestyle with her family in Memphis, Tennessee. One fateful rainy night, the family meets and decides to help a young, homeless black student from their children's private Christian school. He is Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), future All-American and first round NFL draft pick; but at the time, an introverted, poor student with only two qualities that might possibly help him to become a football player: his size and his protective instincts. Leigh Anne, with the help of husband Sean (Tim McGraw), son S.J. (Jae Head) and daughter Collins (Lily Collins), along with coach Burt Cotton (Ray McKinnon), help Michael to see his potential and use it to become, not only a talented football player, but a good student and an honorable man. So that, by the end of the film, he has coaches from all over the South vying for his recruitment.
This is a true story, based on the book by Michael Lewis (The Blind Side: Evolution Of A Game), and directed by John Lee Hancock (The Alamo, Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil, A Perfect World), who also co-wrote the screenplay with Lewis. Country music recording artist Tim McGraw is enjoyable as good-natured husband Sean, and also does the soundtrack. But Sandra Bullock steals the film. I know how good she is because I grew up in a Southern family with interior designers, and they're all high-maintenance, focused and tenacious like that. What makes Bullock's character extraordinary is the courage, heart and vision she adds to those qualities. But she never smiles... until the end of the film, and it's a classic moment. Another terrific scene is when the coaches from different universities are looking at a video of Oher blocking an opposing player that has been antagonizing him all game, and pushing him all the way down the field, into the end zone and over the fence. That's just one of the many times you'll laugh and cry simultaneously. This movie makes me glad there is still a movie industry.
PG-13