2) Winter's Bone - I cannot recommend this movie enough. Despite a limited release, Winter's Bone went on to receive Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Actor. Filmed on location in some of the poorest counties in Missouri, Winter's Bone tells the story of Ree Dolly, who is forced to locate her meth-cooking father, dead or alive, in order to save her family's house. A rural Gothic tale, centered on incredible performances by Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes, Winter's Bone proves the power of realism and setting in creating an excellent story. This is a must see.
3) Trust - Despite its R rating, many a young teenager would benefit from seeing Trust. The film's main character, Annie, is an intelligent high school student who grows close to who see thinks is a young man her age on the Internet. The two agree to meet, but the boy Annie thinks she is meeting is not what she expected. The remainder of Trust focuses on Annie's downward spiral following the encounter and her father's obsession with locating the man who assaulted her. A heartbreaking and cautionary tale, Trust is carried exceptionally well by veteran actors Clive Owen, Viola Davis, Catherine Keener, and Liana Liberato as Annie.
4) Goon - Goon will bring back memories of one of the greatest sports movies of all time - Slap Shot. Just as goofy but with more heart, Goon tells the story of Doug Glatt ( played by Sean William Scott), a small town bouncer whose vicious punch contrasts with his shy and kind personality. After knocking out a hockey player who climbs into the stands to attack Doug's friend, the coach of the home team recruits him to be the team's enforcer. Doug makes up for his lack of hockey prowess with his skills as a fighter. Complete with a potential romance and veteran enforcer Ross Rhea, played memorably by Liev Schreiber, Goon is a feel-good movie with plenty of laughs and more than enough good fight scenes.
5) Cold Weather - You have to be a very patient person to make it through Cold Weather, but if you don't require constant action and a traditional movie formula, you will be rewarded. This film is slow-paced and takes a while to get going, which has more to do with the use of realistic characters who will surely remind you of people you know. Cold Weather focuses on Doug and Gail, a brother and sister living in Portland, Oregon. Doug studied forensics for a time in college but dropped out due to reasons that are never really specified. He now lives with his sister and works a minimum wage job in an ice factory, where he becomes friends with the equally aimless Carlos. The movie gains momentum when Doug's old girlfriend, Rachel, visits from out of town and promptly disappears. What follows is a mystery that grips your attention and is magnified by the mysticism that seems inherent in the Pacific Northwest. The ending leaves something to be desired, but the ride is worth it.
6) The Innkeepers - This is the kind of horror movie I love. Though not filmed in the handheld style made popular by The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity, The Innkeepers similarly employs the theory that hearing things go bump in the night is much scarier than a special effects show, blaring music, and hyper-stylized gore. This is a good old fashioned ghost story with several chilling moments and a terrifying climax interspersed with several humorous scenes.
7) Enter the Void - You've never seen a movie remotely like Enter the Void, a nearly three hour acid trip from Argentinian filmmaker Gaspar Noe. Shot almost entirely from the point of view of a hovering spirit and set in Tokyo, Noe takes advantage of the bright and colorful neon lights that pervade the city to create one of the most visually stunning films I have ever seen. If you want a truly unique movie-viewing experience, you can't go wrong with Enter the Void. Be sure to watch the trailer.
8) Fish Tank - On occasion, an actor or actress comes out of nowhere to deliver a powerhouse performance. Such is the case with Katie Jarvis in Fish Tank, a British film from director Andrea Arnold. Arnold discovered Jarvis after seeing her in a shouting match with her boyfriend at a train station, and Jarvis seems to have an endless amount of anger to draw on for her role as Mia, who lives in a housing project in Essex with her young, vulgar, inattentive mother and little sister. When Mia's mother begins dating Connor, played by Michael Fassbender (Magneto in X-Men: First Class), Mia finds herself very attracted to him. Connor doesn't do much to discourage Mia's advances, and I'll leave it to you to see where the tension between the two leads. Fish Tank is a grim and gritty film, and Jarvis carries it effortlessly.
9) Trucker - Michelle Monaghan is a star in the making, and her role in Trucker solidifies this notion. Playing Diane Ford, a single woman who spends her days driving a truck and avoiding any complications or relationships outside of one night stands in cheap motel rooms. Her listless existence is threatened when Peter, the 11-year old son she abandoned years ago, is thrust into her care when his father is hospitalized with a serious illness. The plot may not sound original, but the writer and director do a fantastic job of avoiding cliches. The young boy is filled with anger at his mother, and she shows little interest in abandoning her lifestyle in order to take care of him. Trucker is worth seeing for Monaghan's performance alone.
10) The Last Rites of Joe May - Dennis Farina gives a career performance in The Last Rites of Joe May, the story of an aging man who has spent his whole life looking out for number one. The movie starts with Joe May returning home from a lengthy stay in the hospital only to find a young woman and her son living in his apartment. Because no one knew what happened to Joe, the landlord assumed he had died. Sympathizing with Joe's plight, the young woman, Jenny, allows Joe to move in if he helps pay the rent. Filmed on location in a cold and desolate Chicago, where Farina once served as a police officer, The Last Rites of Joe May is a touching film of a man seeking redemption in the final act of his life.
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