2010: The good, the bad and the ugly in film
Encore was asked by Matt Riviera to provide its list of the Top 10 films released theatrically in Australia in 2010 and, even though our specialty as a publication is local productions, it was a pleasant surprise to look at our final list and see two Australian films (and one with a considerable amount of Aussie talent) that deserved a spot in it. It wasn’t a pat on the back for the local industry, but a genuine recognition of the power of their stories and the skill of its execution.
The public is slowly starting to recognise it too; the top 10 highest grossing Australian films of 2010 made $45m at the box office, a figure that has brought optimism to an industry in desperate need of reassurance from the audience it serves.
This is the list Encore has contributed – and probably the only one topped by Toy Story 3, as animated films (especially those that no matter how critically acclaimed, are still considered ‘family’ movies) are often dismissed at the end of the year by more ‘serious’ material.
- Toy Story 3
- Animal Kingdom
- The King’s Speech
- Winter’s Bone
- The Loved Ones
- The Social Network
- Boy
- Inception
- Let Me In
- Micmacs
Our purely Australian Top 10 films are:
- Animal Kingdom
- The Loved Ones
- The Waiting City
- Bran Nue Dae
- Tomorrow, When the War Began
- Triangle
- The Tree
- Daybreakers
- Beneath Hill 60
- South Solitary
So as the year comes to an end, we look back at all the major Australian releases of 2010. But remember, no matter what Encore or other critics may think about the films in their lists, what is really important is for people to give them a chance so they can make up their own minds… and to watch as many movies (legally) as possible, and for the selection to be as diverse as possible!
Please note, we did not get a chance to see the following films, and therefore, we are unable to rate them and provide an opinion: Being in Heaven, The Horseman, Summer Coda, Road Train, Bad Behaviour, Girl Clock!, The Wedding Party, Playing for Charlie and The Tumbler. Our apologies to the filmmakers.
JANUARY
Bran Nue Dae divided opinions, but its uniqueness, tongue-in-cheek humour, catchy music, beautiful scenery and easily-digestible social criticism made it an unlikely hit. Lessons to be learned: Local pop stars are a good way to attract audiences; stage musical adaptations are an untapped source of stories in Australia.
FEBRUARY
Daybreakers, like most horror films, underperformed in Australia but was a moderate hit worldwide. The Spierig brothers demonstrated what they can do with a decent budget, and their take on vampires was highly original – although maybe a little too ‘serious’. It would be great to see the concept developed as a TV or film series.
APRIL
Beneath Hill 60 made $3.2m, yet the ANZAC Day release failed to live up to its patriotic potential. Sims created a great-looking low budget films about an obscure episode in Australian history, but struggled with the romantic flashbacks that ultimately damaged the film.
Accidents Happen was full of good intentions and fantastic 80s-influenced visuals, but it drowned in the dangerous waters of dramedy – the forced American setting and Geena Davis’ face (which no middle class suburban housewife of the time would have had without surgical enhancements) didn’t help it either.
Triangle failed in the UK and its distributor decided not to take chances here, with a limited three-screen release. It’s a shame, because this puzzling psychological thriller is the type of film that would have audiences talking and discussing its time cycle puzzle for days.
MAY
I Love You, Too was a harmless attempt at a home-grown romantic comedy, but ultimately failed to offer anything new to the genre. You know something is wrong when a subplot – Peter Dinklage’s charming storyline – steals the spotlight from your main couple.
The Kings of Mykonos: Wog Boy 2 may have been a formulaic paint-by-numbers comedy, but a) its target audience LOVED it; and b) it looked stunning, expensive, confident and sexy at an internationally competitive level. The industry needs more crowd pleasers like this – and perhaps more sequels.
JUNE
Animal Kingdom… hard to say something that hasn’t been said before. A terrific script elevated to an even higher level by Jacki Weaver’s evil Smurf.
Lou, another example of how a high profile name (John Hurt) is not enough to sell a deeply personal drama that dealt with potentially controversial issues – a man with dementia bonding with a granddaughter he thinks is his wife – that couldn’t attract an audience. That being said, its star Lilly Bell-Tindley has a brilliant future.
JULY
The Waiting City was criminally underrated. A fantastic film set entirely in India, which managed to capture the culture shock and the beauty of the country, as well as the pain of a couple trying to forgive each other and start a family. Powerful performances, tremendous cinematography work, and a director with a natural instinct for creating an unforgettable emotional journey.
South Solitary was another one that divided opinions. Slow and with an anti-climatic ending, it is an ultimately rewarding experience that is also gorgeous to look at.
AUGUST
Matching Jack, Twentieth Century Fox and director Nadia Tass failed to convince audiences that it wasn’t a depressing film about a sick child. Perhaps it would have worked better as an inspirational daytime tele-movie.
SEPTEMBER
Tomorrow, When the War Began might have been cheesy at times – just like its source material – but it proved that Australia can make a blockbuster film for a relatively low budget. Hot boys and girls, explosions, this is what regular people WANT to see at the cinema. Bring on a sequel, ASAP.
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole didn’t deliver the results one might expect from a Hollywood-backed stereoscopic CGI animated film, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its merits. It brought Australian animation to a new level of technique and artistry, but its dark tones alienated children and possibly destroyed the possibility of an ongoing franchise.
The Tree was an interesting co-production, with French director Julie Bertucelli showing a great understanding of Australian culture, and a touch of magical realism that is lacking from our local cinema. Another fantastic discovery: its child star Morgana Davies.
NOVEMBER
The Loved Ones, the horror masterpiece that festival audiences have loved for over a year, yet failed at the box office. Obviously not for everyone, but genre fans loved Lola, Daddy and their highly stylised world of pain. Perhaps its release was pushed back too long, or the title and the campaign didn’t connect with the target audience. Hopefully, more people will find it when it’s released on DVD here and overseas.
Red Hill was a good experiment; creating a modern western on a low budget, yet its over-the-top ‘villain’ and extremely bland protagonist made it hard to believe in the revenge story it was telling. It lost us after the ‘death by boomerang’ scene.
At Encore, we expect 2011 to be as diverse as this year. We have already seen a couple of upcoming releases that, we must admit, we thought were pretty bad – hopefully audiences will disagree!
We’ve also seen one that was fantastic, Griff the Invisible. We’ve defined it as Kick Ass meets Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and we hope it will be successful.
And there are many others that we haven’t seen or haven’t even been completed, but we look forward to films like Red Dog, The Cup, Snowtown, Here I Am, Sanctum, Bait, The Eye of the Storm and Mad Bastards, etc.
May 2011 be a good movie year for everyone!
Miguel Gonzalez
Editor – Encore
My top Aussie films of the year were The Tree, Animal Kingdom, Triangle, The Horseman, The Waiting City, The Loved Ones, Tomorrow and Bran Nue Dae. Such a wonderfully diverse mixture of titles there. Unfortunately, stuff like South Solitary, Beneath Hill 60 and Girl Clock were quite poor.
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South Solitary was fantastic! You’re obviously not the target audience, Glenn!
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How can you say you are a specialist in local productions if you haven’t even seen them all ? It isn’t as if there are that many!
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Bill, most of the films I mentioned had extremely limited releases and in most cases we were not given an opportunity – by the filmmakers and publicists – to view them. Girl Clock, for example, only screened in Brisbane; The Wedding Party has only played at MIFF.
This list was written by me, the editor, and represents my honest opinion. Part of this honesty implies warning readers that I haven’t been able to see everything, which many other journalists would probably not be willing to admit publicly.
An example would be Playing for Charlie, top industry critics including Stratton and Shembrie,and others noted the merits of this film, which has also screened at over 20 international film festivals , and has played in Sydney and Melbourne theatres, in Melbourne for a month. Surely a magazine that claims to specialise in local productions would have seen this film. You really are out of touch.
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Each to their own.
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Apparently Sanctum is a pile.
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Sanctum was really dissapointing. Badly cast except for the guy playing the son.
It was a shambles with a thin script. 3 d production values cant make up for a lousey story and bad acting
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