As for Tree of Life…I personally think it deserves praise. Malick is a director to be cherished. He stretches the boundaries of what the film experience can be, he forces us to slow down and watch, and listen. The movie felt to me like a visual and emotional roller coaster ride (sort of like life itself). The middle hour of the film with the family in Waco is probably the best thing I have seen in American film in decades. Also, the young actor Hunter Mccracken was astonishing and actually carried the emotional weight of the film on his shoulders. I'll never forget his performance.

The Artist was wonderful and charming but no one seems to talk about the pretty dull middle section of the film which dragged on a little too long. The exciting ending barely helps the film recover from the storyline of the depressed and ruined actor.

Thank you for replying to my post.

I know you're not on the "Oscar for Serkis" bandwagon, and I did appreciate Serkis as Golem, and I have read a bit about the process used for Serkis' ape performance, but I still believe that, although he certainly deserves credit for the grueling animation sessions he endured, the performance itself was just adequate. I don't think that an actor should receive an Oscar for a performance, simply because it required a great deal of physical exertion in an animation studio. The performance needs to come out in the film and, as far as I'm concerned, I found all the performances in the film to be risible, though I will admit that Serkis was probably the best thing about the film, for whatever that's worth. But, I also feel that much of the praise he is receiving is for his cloying Spielbergian scenes (e.g. the table scene with Lithgow's fork; the embrace; "Caesar is home", etc.); these scenes are calculated to win over the audiences' hearts, but I found them unbearable.

As for "Tree of Life", yes, a movie can be "good" and "overrated", but I think it's a contradiction to consider it one the year's BEST and overrated. A movie is usually considered overrated if it is receiving undeserved major acclaim. If you think it is garnering more praise than it deserves, how can you count it as the year's best. You're merely adding to its overrated status.

Best recent Paris movies? Have you seen Paris, Je t'aime? Twenty short films, by different directors, one set in each arrondissement. My favorite segment (directed by Alexander Payne, whose The Descendants I just pilloried) features Margo Martindale as an American tourist whose French accent is almost as bad as mine.

Thanks, Nate. Yep, if you hated Melancholia, you are (spoiler alert) going to take issue with my Best List. (And is it overrated? It seems to me it's been largely panned or ignored, perhaps because Trier pissed too many people off with his asinine comments at Cannes.) I don't know, it just worked for me, but I can completely understand the opposing viewpoint. (I doubt there are too many people who are middle-of-the-road in their opinion of it: it's definitely a love-it-or-hate-it film.)

I'm not on the "give Serkis an Oscar" bandwagon, but I did think his performance was the best reason to watch that movie by a country mile. Whether you put it down to Serkis or the animators—and people who understand the technology better than I do think Serkis deserves the credit—I seem to remember a lot more nuance in that performance than you do. (On the other hand, people said the same thing about his performance in King Kong, which I did think was overrated, so I won't argue the point.)

I'll discuss The Tree of Life more on my Best List, but can't something be good and ALSO be ridiculously overrated? The parts of The Tree of Life that I like are enough to qualify it as one of the best films of the year for me (especially in this relatively weak year), but I also think it's far from a masterpiece. Likewise, I really enjoyed The Artist, but when it wins Best Picture—as I'm sure it will—I'm going to be angry.

However, you lose a lot of credibility with me when you admit that "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" "featured an extraordinary performance from Andy Serkis as the chimpanzee Caesar." I believe this to be the most overrated performance of the year. All that was required for this role was that Serkis scowl throughout the entire movie and shout a few angry words at the end. "God, give him an Oscar!" WTF? Unless I see something worse, this ape movie will be my #1 Worst Movie of the Year.

And, how can "Tree of Life" straddle both a Ten Best list and an Overrated List? By placing it on the former, you are perpetuating the reason for it to be on the latter; but, by placing it on the latter, how can you reconcile as one of the year's best?

Great blog, by the way.