The 9 Best Foreign Language Films of the Year (Info)

According to the Oscars, there are 9 films that have a chance of being nominated for Best Foreign Film. Here is the information, posters, and reviews of each.

A Separation:
 

Country: Iran
Rotten Tomatoes: 99% (74 Critics)
Expectations: Winner
Rating: PG-13
Run Time: 120 Minutes
Genre: Drama
IMDb: 8.6/10

Pina:


Country: Germany
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% (62 Critics)
Expectation: Nominee
Rating: PG
Run Time: 100 Minutes
Genres: Documentary, Musical
IMDb: 7.6/10

Bullhead:


Country: Belgium
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
Expectation: Nominee
Rating: R
Run Time: 124 Minutes
Genres: Crime, Drama
IMDb: 7.6/10

In Darkness:


Country: Poland
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% (10 Critics)
Expectation: Nominee
Rating: R
Run Time: 145 Minutes
Genre: Drama
IMDb: 7.2/10

Footnote:


Country: Israel
Rotten Tomatoes: 86% (7 Critics)
Expectation: Possible Nominee
Rating: PG
Run Time: 103 Minutes
Genre: Drama
IMDb: 7.5/10

Monsieur Lazhar:


Country: Canada
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% (2 Critics)
Expectation: Possible Nominee
Rating: PG-13
Run Time: 94 Minutes
Genres: Comedy, Drama
IMDb: 7.9/10

Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale:


Country: Taiwan
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
Expectation: Little Chance of Nomination
Rating: N/A
Run Time: 276 Minutes
Genres: Action, Drama, History
IMDb: 7.9/10

Omar Killed Me:


Country: Morocco
Rotten Tomatoes: 0% (1 Critic)
Expectation: Little Chance of Nomination
Rating: 14A
Run Time: 85 Minutes
Genre: Drama
IMDb: 6.7/10

SuperClasico:


Country: Denmark
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
Expectation: Extremely Small Chance of Nomination
Rating: N/A
Run Time: 99 Minutes
Genre: Comedy
IMDb: 6.7/10

Anymore info I should add? Leave it in the comments!

Top 10 Movies of 2010

I know it's a little late, but hey, it's better late than never!

Honorable Mentions (No Order):


The Kings Speech:


Great Movie, but lacks anything extraordinary to make it on the list.

The Social Network:


Same thing as The Kings Speech, except it's not exactly timeless.

The Fighter:


The main character lacks personality, but the film itself is very enjoyable and well written.


10. Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster











A film with such great action and character development, this HAS to make the list!

9. The Illusionist


Well animated, and very mature, but with a sense of humor.

8. The Beast of Bottomless Lake


A brilliantly hilarious film, with one of the best endings of 2010.

7. Black Swan


Disturbingly elegant. Best two words to describe this movie right there.

6. Tron: Legacy


The most entertaining movie of the year, with a good story to go with it.

5. How to Train Your Dragon


Inspirational and with some great flying scenes. Also, an outstanding story.

4. Toy Story 3


The best animated movie this year. Great characters, great plot, so simple yet so dramatic.

3. 127 Hours


Very emotional and it all comes in at you at once. Danny Boyle, you done it again.

2. True Grit


One of the first westerns I've ever seen, and I loved it. Great action, great story, great performances, just all around awesome.

1. Inception


It's like The Matrix except way more fun, with way better characters and actors, and one of the best endings in the history of film. Ladies and gentlemen, Inception is our #1.

What movies do you think I missed?

UPDATE: Best Foreign Language Film Predictions

Well, the Oscars are almost upon us, and late last year, I predicted 10 movies that would most likely be nominated. Well, an official list of 9 films that have a chance of being nominated very recently. Here's my predictions earlier on:
1. A Separation
2. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
3. Monte Video: God Bless You
4. Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
5. Pina
6. Bullhead
7. Le Havre
8. Tilt
9. Black Bread (A.K.A, the reason "The Skin I Live In" wasn't Spain's foreign film this year)
10. Jose and Pilar

Here's the 9 movies, in no order, that now have a chance:

Movies I Predicted:
A Separation
Pina
Bullhead

Movies I Didn't Predict:
Monsieur Lazhar
SuperClasico
Footnote
Omar Killed Me
In Darkness
Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale

So, with the 9 films announced, here's my updated list:

1. A Separation (Iran)
85% Chance of Winning

2. Pina (Germany)
6% Chance of Winning

3. Bullhead (Belgium)
3% Chance of Winning

4. In Darkness (Poland)
3% Chance of Winning

5. Footnote (Israel)
1% Chance of Winning

6. Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
1% Chance of Winning

7. Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (Taiwan)
0.4% Chance of Winning

8. Omar Killed Me (Morocco)
0.4% Chance of Winning

9. SuperClasico (Denmark)
0.2% Chance of Winning

My Final Opinion:
A Separation is definitely the best one to pick, with such acclaim to it. Pina is in second, almost as popular and almost as liked as A Separation. If they won't pick those, Bullhead and In Darkness should have a chance at taking the prize. Footnote and Monsieur Lazhar should only have a chance if one of the better movies get's disqualified. The rest shouldn't even have a chance at nomination.


What movies missed the cut:
The Skin I Live In should have had a chance, but Spain picked Black Bread instead. Also, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia should have been there instead of SuperClasico. Finally, Le Havre instead of Omar or Warriors.

The Nominees and Winners I Want:

Winner:
A Separation (Iran)

Other Nominees:
Pina (Germany)
Bullhead (Belgium)
In Darkness (Poland)
Footnote (Israel)
(And if one of these get's disqualified, Monsieur Lazhar should be the other nominee)

What do you think about the 9 films that will have the chance of being nominated? Leave you opinions down below!

The Great Ziegfeld Review

This has got to be one of the most dazzling, likable, extraordinary, fun, life changing, and well made musicals of all time. It's entertainment at it's finest, with excellent songs, brilliant choreography, cool story, likable and creative characters, excellent editing, and just overall best experience of classic cinema that I know of. The movie is basically a biography of Florenz Ziegfeld, played by William Powell. It shows his days as a small entertainer, all the way to his final breaths. On screen, Ziegfeld is just as interesting as he is on paper. It develops the characters well, giving everyone a colorful personality, so you're never bored with any scene that's just characters speaking to each other. Also, the musical numbers make the stage seem much more bigger, with so many people on the stage dancing and singing at the same time. In fact, more than 120 people were used in one musical number alone, with only about 100 even visible! You can tell this movie is detailed when there are people you can't even see on the stage. Also, in another musical number, they actually have DOGS on stage with the dancers, and they even trained the dogs to move at the whim of the dancers. In fact, I did some research, and the whole movie cost 2 million dollars! For the time, that was a LOT, and what's even more shocking is that the same musical number that had 120 people in it cost $250, 000! So, as a technical film, it passes with flying colors, but it also does excellent with entertainment values as well. You love watching the colorful characters interact, and when the musical numbers start coming fast than ever... Oh boy. So, I can't just sit here blabbing about why I love this film, let's get to "The Best and Worst of The Great Ziegfeld". The best is obviously the musical number I've been talking about all night, costing $250 000 and having 250 people, yup, that one. The title is called "A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody". When I was watching this for the first time, I thought "Oh, this is pretty cool, you get a singer, some dancers, singing clowns, people playing piano - OH MY GOSH IS THE STAGE RISING??? IT'S GETTING HIGHER!!! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" So yeah, it got me pretty excited. It has so much work put into it, and the song and dancing itself is outstanding, so it works in both the technical aspect of film and the entertainment aspect. The worst for me would probably be the female lead, Myrna Loy. No, wait, she did great, but the writing for here made her seem almost like a teenager! Sure, she has some great scenes, but she just seems extremely needy and whiny, and I didn't care much for her. But besides that, nothing is flawed. This is an outstanding picture that shall stand as a classic throughout the ages, no matter the opinions of thy critical reviews or thy haters. I would recommend this to anybody who has a decent opinion of film, so basically everyone who's not a 12 year old that hates black and white and/or silent pictures.

5/5

The Kids Are All Right Review

This was a good film, with the writing being some of the best I've seen EVER, but the plot has a lot of filler, and the most the characters do for the length of the movie is whine and whine and WHINE! So yeah, this movie can get very annoying at times, but it still has some great acting, great writing, and great direction. First let me explain the plot. It's about the children of two women of the same gender, as the children seek out the sperm donor. After that, it just shows the life of these people. It leads to lots of filler and very long and pointless scenes, where whining is mostly what the main characters do during these scenes. It gets boring after a while and really becomes a major flaw. So yeah, the plot is a little to simple, but what about the acting? Well, Moore, Ruffalo, Wasikowska, and Hutcherson all do well, but Bening steals the show. She delivers her lines very well and the relationship between her and her wife almost seems real. Look, I don't care that Portman really did well and that she was amazing in Black Swan, BENING DESERVED BEST ACTRESS. Also, the characters were pretty good, even though I felt Mark Ruffalo's character deserved a little bit more development and/or personality. Well, since I can't think of anything else to mention, I guess it's time for "The Best and Worst of The Kids are All Right". The best is obviously the writing. It's not over dramatic, in fact at times it seems comical, and it makes the movie seem more like an experience. The worst is, no doubt, the characters whiny attitude towards everything. "Oh, Paul said something egotistical, we should complain about it for the next 20 minutes to fill up time"! Enough said there. But seriously, this movie may have some major flaws, but does that mean you should skip out on it? No. The flaws are annoyances, sure, but the overall experience itself is memorable and enjoyable. Sure, it's not a great movie, but you will not forget the cleverness and experience of this film. I would recommend it to everybody that's both old enough and mature enough to watch it.

3.5/5

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace Review

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace is probably the weakest of the main 6 Star Wars movies. It seems to only focus on minor aspects of a film, like the special effects, the atmosphere, etc, but it fails horribly at things like story, characters, action, and memorability. It's a shame too, as it was directed by George Lucas himself, who directed the original film, which is my favorite of the entire series. Also, I'm stumped to say THIS was the first Star Wars movie released in 3D. Come on, what happened to the originals? Aren't they some of your best films, Lucas? Surprisingly though, there were some things I liked that everyone else hated, but I'll get into that later. First, the story... It sucks. It's confusing, yet not in a good way that makes you think, just horribly put together. OK, Obi-Wan and this one guy nobody cares about go to some weird thing called Jar-Jar Binks, and then something happens, which leads them to a slave kid and his mother, and then they try to free him... That's my best explanation. It's impossible to follow and many questions are never answered. It's a mess of a story and you should just ignore it. The acting was not very good. McGregor sucked, Neeson sucked, Portman sucked, you get the picture. The only two people I really thought did a good job was Frank Oz as Yoda and Pernilla August as Anakin's mother. Now, I shall say my most controversial quote in any of my reviews ever, so stand back, you might just explode..... I thought Jake Lloyd did OK. He's a child, what do you expect? But FOR a child, he pulled off a decent amount of emotion and in my opinion, he wasn't all that bad. Well, except for when he says "This is Tense"! That was horrible. Now, what about the characters? Well, Anakin is a good character, and so is his mother, Yoda had some good lines, but Obi-Wan wasn't all that good, and everyone else was just AWFUL. Oh, and Jar Jar Binks. Ugh. I mean, he's not the worst character I've seen in a film, but he's just annoying and unnecessary. So, with all that said, "The Best and Worst of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace". The best is probably the special effects. Sure, they're not nearly as amazing as the Star Wars of the past, but as CGI goes, they look pretty cool, especially on Blu-Ray. Surprisingly, I thought the special effects in here were better than Episode II! Now, the worst. Well, Liam Neeson sucked, Jar Jar sucked, but the story is the worst. Like I said, it's just so uninteresting, I find it hard to call it a Star Wars film, as the story in the original three were planned out so well, and so easy to follow, it's outstanding. This is just a mess. So, final verdict: It's a bad movie, but it at least adds a few cool plot points to the Star Wars universe, the special effects are nice, a few action scenes, like the pod race, are decent, and a few actors actually do well. So, even though it's a bad movie, because of the special effects and action scenes, when the 3D release comes out, I do recommend watching it, as long as it's cheap and you don't expect much.

2/5

Top 100 Films of All Time, Decided By Me and Several Others

A couple months ago, I decided to do sort of a contest thing, where I'd get several of my friends to send me their Top 50 Movies lists. I'd give #1 3 points, #2-25 2 points, and #26-50 1 point. In the end, I tallied up all the points, and out of those, I had about 200 movies with 2+ points. So, I used IMDb to eliminate the most unpopular and hated of the movies with two points, and when I was completely finished, I had the Top 100 Movies. Now, instead of putting all the movies here now, I'll put one a day, or at least everyday I'm not busy, and put several of my friends opinions of that film with it. So, check this post out everyday to see the next movie on the list! Let's begin!:

100. Office Space (1999)


"One of a Kind Movie!"
"...The Ultimate Cult Movie."
"The Best Office Comedy and Very Hilarious."
"A Very Funny Film"
"Mike Judge is an Incredibly Talented Director."
"Really Hilarious."

99. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)


"Love This Movie!"
"A Terrific, Well Crafted Film That's Very Funny, Original, and Refreshing."
"Smart and Goofy, Tender and Laugh-Out-Loud Funny"
"This Is Such a Great Film."
"...One of My Favorites Now."
"I Laughed Really Hard and Often."

98. Beauty and the Beast (1990)



"This is an Excellent Film."
"...One of Disney's Best Films."
"Brilliant"
"...Beautifully Made and Perfectly Plotted"
"Really Charming"
"...One of the Best Animated Films of All Time."

97. The Secret In Their Eyes (2009)


"Great! Incredible!"
"The Actors All Do An Amazing Job and Believably Age With The Help of Skilled Makeup Work."
"Amazing Sensation!"
"...You Never Get Bored"
"...The Script is Incredible."
"The Story, Told Through Many Flashbacks, Holds Your Attention With A Forward Momentum."

96. Finding Nemo (2003)


"A Great Film"
"An Amazing Story"
"A Thing of Beauty, Hugely Entertaining and Way Cool."
"Probably My Favorite Animated Film"
"One of the Best Movie(s) of the Year!"
"...One of Pixars Best Films"

95. Glory (1989)


"Everyone Should See This Movie & It Should Be Shown In Schools(.)"
"This is the All Time Best War Film of All"
"Emotional!"
"...One of the Finest and Most Well-Made Films about the Civil War."
"...This Film is Perfect"
"The Supporting Actors Are Brilliant"

94. Big Fish (2003)


"A Beautiful Movie!"
"Tim Burton's Best Film"
"Tim Burton Has Made Possibly The Best Film He Has Ever Made."
"Tim Burton Strikes Again"
"Big Fish is One of Tim Burton's Best Films."
"...Such a Terrific Story"

93. Amores Perros (2000)


"Very Good and Realistic"
"Epic"
"Very Relevant"
"Emotional"
"Very Engaging."
"Emilio Echevarria Gave the Best Performance"

92. The Sea Inside (2004)


"Beautiful, Poignant"
"Exceptional"
"(The) Music is Perfect"
"Wonderful."
"Superb"
"Outstanding"

91. Harold and Maude (1971)


"The Funniest, Sweetest, Most Touching and Relatable Film Ever Made!"
"I Absolutely Love This Movie"
"A Pure Delight."
"...Beautiful"
"An Unusual, Often Hilarious Yet Touching and Heart-Warming Gem"
"I Highly Recommend This One."

90. Casino (1995)




















"Love It..."
"...A Terrific Film"
"One of the Most Incredibl(e) and Well Made Films Ever"
"Can Scorsese Make a Bad Film?"
"Every Minute of It Is Genius."
"...Exceptional"

89. Life of Brian (1979)


"...So Very Funny."
"The Pythons Are All In Top Form"
"Impossible to Say Anything, Just Laugh, Laugh, Laugh."
"Hilarious"
"...Hilarity"
"(Python's) Best Work"

88. Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972)


"(One of the) Greatest Films Ever Made."
"Perfect"
"...Kinski's Best Performance"
"...Herzog's Best Film"
"...Visually Stunning"
"...Haunting"

87. The Hustler (1961)

"This is an Absolutely Brilliant Character Study."
"...Gorgeous"
"I Can't Recommend This Enough"
"...Really Timeless Stuff."
"The Music is Also Quite Wonderful."
"...Great."

86. The Night of the Hunter (1955)


"A Really Good Thriller"
"Robert Mitchum is Amazing"
"...Impressive Cinematography"
"The Style, Direction, and Acting is Really Good."
"...Oozes Very Many More Ideas, Ideas That Beg For Multiple Viewings."
"Memorable"

85. The Princess Bride (1987)


"Beautiful Movie"
"...Flawless"
"I Absolutely Love This Movie!"
"Possibly One of the Most Brilliant Movies Ever"
"Funny, Funny Movie. And Full of Great Adventure."
"I Think Almost Everybody Likes This Movie, and For Good Reason."

84. Good Will Hunting


"One of My All Time Favorite Films."
"Definitely Worth A View."
"A Strong, Brilliant, Touching, Well Rounded Film!"
"Incredible Cast"
"I Truly and Honestly Love This Film."
"Really Moving'

83. 8 1/2


"I Absolutely Love This Movie!"
"A Very Brilliant Film"
"One of the Greatest Films of All Time"
"An Artistic and Cinematic Achievement"
"The Story is Perfect"
"Breathtaking"

82. The Lives of Others (2006)


"One of the Decades Best Films"
"A Superb, Brilliant, Magnificent, Masterpiece of a Film."
"Stunning"
"One of the Best I've Ever Seen."
"A Brilliant Story"
"You Absolutely MUST See This Film!"

81. Mystic River (2003)


"The Movie is Powerful, Sizzling, and Utterly Shocking"
"Great Thriller From Clint Eastwood!"
"It's a Work of Dramatic Brilliance"
"One of My Favorite Films!"
"A Must See."
"Fantastic"

80. Casino Royale (2006)


"Best of All The Bond Films."
"Daniel Craig IS James Bond."
"A Pure Adrenaline Filled Rush From Start To Finish."
"Truly, A Great Film!"
"The Best Bond Movie Ever Made."
"Genius"

79. Planet of the Apes (1968)


"It's Truly Amazing"
"A Fantastic Sci-Fi Movie"
"A Brilliantly Constructed Film"
"Honestly One of the Greatest Films of All Time."
"Superb"
"I Enjoyed Every Moment"

78. Changeling (2008)


"A Phenomenal Film"
"Riveting, Astounding, and Compelling"
"Wonderful Performance by Angelina Jolie"
"A Big Thumbs Up"
"One of the Greatest Movies I Have Seen In a Long Time."
"Grim, Yet Fascinating"

77. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)


"An Original Work of Art"
"One of the Best Romantic Movies."
"Brilliant"
"A Must See Film."
"The Acting was Top Notch"
"So Perfect!"

76. The Apartment (1960)


"A Wonderful Satirical Dramedy"
"This Movie is Hilarious, Dramatic, and Romantic as well"
"A Great Find"
"Early Romantic Comedy at its Best"
"This is Perfection"
"First Class Performances"

75. Donnie Darko (2001)


"One of the Truly Great Movies in Recent Years"
"One of the Most Original Films Ever"
"Very Interesting and Thought Provoking"
"I Love This Movie. It's in my Top 5 Favorites. A True Masterpiece"
"Jake Gyllenhaal was Absolutely Amazing"
I Could Watch it Over and Over Again"

74. The Elephant Man (1980)


"Sad, True, Lonely, Beautiful"
"Superb Movie"
"Very Moving"
"Timeless"
"The Performances are Superb, as in Lynch's Directing."
"So Well Done"

73. Requiem for a Dream (2000)


"One of the Few Films I Can Recall that I Loved, but Never Want to Watch Again"
"Too Good for Words to Describe"
"A Realistic Take at the Anatomy of Drug Addiction"
"Classic"
"Extremely Amazing Cast"
"A Superb Directing Job"

72. Amadeus (1984)


"A Masterful Poem of Music and Lust"
"A Perfect Movie"
"A Must See"
"One of the Greatest Films You Will Ever See"
"A True Epic"
"Fantastic, Involving"

71. Life is Beautiful (La Vita e Bella) (1997)


"Sad and Triumphant"
"One of the Best Foreign I Have Seen"
"Flawless"
"A Fantastic and Dramatic Film"
"He (Benigni) Directs This with a Passion"
"Very Emotional"

70. Coming July 12, 2012!