WORLD’s FAVORTIE FILMS

25 July 2010

The week’s top favorite films consist of bellwether movies with a Marquee Stars Satisfaction Rating of 60 - Above Average or better (giving equal weight to both aggregation popular and aggregation critical responses) as ranked by their estimated global box office weekly gross.

Favorite Mainstream Films

Leonardo di Caprio invades dreams for hire in 'Inception'

Favorite Niche Films

Arietty in the Japanese reinterpretation of Mary Norton's 1952 kid tale 'The Borrowers'

Favorite Arthouse Films

Aspiring songwriter Jonah Hill disapproves of his mom Marisa Tomei's new romance with film editor John C. Reilly in 'Cyrus'

2010 Marquee Stars Encores

World’s Favorite

ENCORE PICTURE SELECTIONS

encores-left1 encores-right1 With the mainstream media basking in the cinematic achievements of Best Picture The Hurt Locker, as well as with all the individual Oscar winners, Marquee Stars also looks back at the films of 2009. Our purpose, however, is to present a more complete perspective on current world cinema, on what draws audiences and what inspires audiences, than may be afforded by a focus on artistic and technical merit.

Below, the Marquee Stars Encore Picture Selections highlight the world’s favorite films - those pictures at the crossroads between box office performance, aggregated critical appeal and aggregated audience satisfaction. Our selections have been statistically generated into four broad categories: International Favorites, Genre Favorites, Demographic Favorites and Circuit Favorites.

FAVORITE TENTPOLE PICTURE

Avatar - alternate world adventure science fiction - 13+
Psychically linked to a remote-controlled biological body, or “avatar,” wheelchair-bound ex-Marine Jake (Sam Worthington) joins a scientific expedition led by Dr. Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) on planet Pandora to make peace with the native humanoid inhabitants to enable the mining of a precious ore. He falls in love with the daughter (Zoe Saldana) of a tribal chieftain.

FAVORITE MAINSTREAM PICTURE

Star Trek - speculative-future thriller science fiction - 13+

Inspired by Capt. Pike (Bruce Greenwood), a troubled young James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) enters Starfleet Academy and soon crosses swords with Vulcan officer Spock (Zachary Quinto) over command of the USS Enterprise during their battle with the time-traveling Romulans who killed Kirk’s father.

FAVORITE GENRE PICTURE

Crank 2: High Voltage - crime thriller action - 17+ A onetime hitman (Jason Statham) awakes to find that a Chinese mobster (David Carradine) has replaced his real heart with an artificial organ. He must recover his real heart and have it surgically reinserted before his artificial heart gives out.

FAVORITE ARTHOUSE PICTURE

Up in the Air - relationships romance drama - 13+ A corporate downsizing consultant (George Clooney) leads a happy-go-lucky life traveling the country to orchestrate lay-offs, living out of a suitcase, and enjoying no-strings relationships. Then his lifestyle comes under threat when a hungry young professional (Anna Kendrick) devises a new way to do his job, and he meets a sexy traveling companion (Vera Farmiga) who unexpectedly rocks his world.

FAVORITE OVERSEAS PICTURE

Hachiko: A Dog’s Tale (Hachi) - domestic true-to-life drama - 0+ American adaptation of a Japanese true story about an abandoned dog’s devotion to a college professor (Richard Gere).

FAVORITE NON-ENGLISH PICTURE

Broken Embraces (Los Abrazos Rotos) - Spanish language noir romance suspense - 17+ A movie director (Lluís Homar) begins a steamy off-set romance with his leading lady (Penélope Cruz) until a car accident takes his sight and her life. He suspects the son (Rubén Ochandiano) of her rich ex-boyfriend (José Luis Gómez) may be responsible.

ACTION

Fast & Furious 4 - crime suspense action - 13+
An on-the-lam street racing legend (Vin Diesel) joins forces with former nemesis undercover-cop-turned-FBI agent (Paul Walker) to bring down heroin smugglers and avenge his girlfriend’s (Michelle Rodriguez) murder.

ANIMATION

Up - road trip adventure animation - 7+
Tying thousands of balloons to his condemned house, a retired balloon salesman sets off to fulfill his and his deceased wife’s lifelong dream of travelling to the wilds of South Africa. He soon learns that an 8-year-old boy has inadvertently stowed away .

COMEDY

Hangover, The - vacation situation comedy - 17+
Three groomsmen (Bradley Cooper, Zack Galifianakis, Ed Helms) search Las Vegas for the missing groom (Justin Bartha) after a drunken overnight adventure.

ROMANTIC COMEDY

Proposal, The - relationships comedy romance - 13+
A pushy NY book editor (Sandra Bullock) forces her young assistant (Ryan Reynolds) to marry her in order to avoid deportation to Canada.

DOCUMENTARY

This Is It - song & dance performance documentary - 7+
The late ‘King of Pop’ (Michael Jackson) prepares for his final sold-out tour.

DRAMA

Invictus - sports biographical drama - 13+
As the first post-apartheid President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) lends his considerable support to the national rugby team, lobbying for South Africa to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup. He also reaches out personally to the white team captain (Matt Damon) in hopes of inspiring the team to improve its losing record sufficiently to give the nation a common reason to root for their country.

FANTASY

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - magical adventure fantasy - 7+
In his 6^th year at Hogwarts School, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) finds a book of spells that belonged to the “Half-Blood Prince” and begins to unlock Voldemort’s secret past and dark agenda.

HORROR

Drag Me to Hell - supernatural thriller horror - 13+
A bank loan officer (Alison Lohman) finds herself on the wrong side of a demon curse when she’s ordered to evict an old woman from her home.

ROMANCE

Time Traveler’s Wife, The - relationships sci-fi romance - 13+
Born with a genetic disorder that causes him to time-travel when stressed, a Chicago librarian (Eric Bana) struggles to build a strong marriage with the love of his life (Rachel McAdams).

SCIENCE FICTION

SUSPENSE

Män som hatar kvinnor (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) - Swedish language crime thriller suspense - 13+
A disgraced financial journalist (Michael Nyqvist) and a Goth computer hacker (Noomi Rapace) are hired by a wealthy patriarch to investigate the cold case disappearance of his niece. In the process, they uncover dark family secrets with links to grotesque murders and political intrigue.

demographic-favorites

CROSSOVER FLICK

Public Enemies - crime biographical drama - 17+
The final years and downfall of Depression era bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) at the hands of FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale).

CHICK FLICK

(500) Days of Summer - relationship romance drama - 13+
Sentimental greeting card company employee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) pursues an attractive co-worker (Zooey Deschanel) who does not believe in true love. They have a friends-with-benefits fling until he becomes too serious and she breaks it off only to find true love with someone else.

FAMILY FLICK

Earth - wilderness topical documentary - 0+
Four animal families follow separate migratory paths and encounter natural wonders along the way.

GUY FLICK

Terminator Salvation - speculative-future action science fiction - 13+
After Skynet’s machines have destroyed most of the civilized world in a nuclear holocaust, John Connor (Christian Bale) becomes leader of the human resistance but questions his decisions when mysterious stranger Marcus (Sam Worthington) shows up to help keep the machines from finishing the job.

KID FLICK

Where the Wild Things Are - personal adventure fantasy - 13+
A disobedient 9-year-old boy (Max Records) gets sent to his room by his mother (Catherine Keener) where he runs away, sails across the sea to the land of huge, hairy wild things who crown him king.

YOUTH FLICK

Uninvited, The - supernatural drama horror - 13+
After a stint in a mental hospital following her mother’s death, a young woman (Emily Browning) returns home to her much missed sister (Arielle Kebbel) only to find her full recovery jeopardized by her cruel new stepmother (Elizabeth Banks), detached father (David Strathairn), and ghostly happenings.

ANGLO-AMERICA

Blind Side, The - domestic true life drama - 13+
Proper well-to-do Southern homemaker (Sandra Bullock) takes in a homeless African-American teenager (Quinton Aaron) and, through determined parenting and a strong family ethic, transforms him into a hot prospect for the best collegiate football scholarships.

INDIEWOOD

Up in the Air - relationships romance drama - 13+
A corporate downsizing consultant (George Clooney) leads a happy-go-lucky life traveling the country to orchestrate lay-offs, living out of a suitcase, and enjoying no-strings relationships. Then his lifestyle comes under threat when a hungry young professional (Anna Kendrick) devises a new way to do his job, and he meets a sexy traveling companion (Vera Farmiga) who unexpectedly rocks his world.

ETHNIC/URBAN

Precious - personal true-to-life drama - 17+
Repeatedly raped by her father and abused by her mother (Mo’Nique), a 350-pound teenager (Gabby Sidibe) terminates all contact with her toxic family and focuses on building a life for herself and her two small children despite being diagnosed as HIV positive.

BOLLYWOOD

3 Idiots - Bollywood nostalgic melodramatic comedy - 7+
Two buddies (Madavan Rangahathan and Sharman Joshi) decide to go on a quest to find their long lost third buddy (Aamir Khan), a charismatic rebel who transformed their view of life. As they search for him, they relive their college adventures together, their tyrannical teacher (Boman Irani) and their buddy’s romance with the spunky Pia (Kareena Kapoor).

CHINESE

Red Cliff 2: The Decisive Battle (赤壁（下）) - Chinese language epic drama action - 13+
Gorgeous princess Sun Shangxiang (“Vicki” Wei Zhao) infiltrates power-mad warlord Cao Cao’s (Fengyi Zhang) camp and sends back military reconnaissance to General Yu (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) by carrier pigeon, while General Yu’s wife (Chiling Lin) - whom Cao Cao has long lusted after - arrives behind enemy lines to delay Cao Cao’s attack a little longer by distracting him while her husband commences the Battle of Red Cliff with a surprise attack by sea.

DUTCH

Komt een vrouw bij de dokter (A Woman Goes to the Doctor) - Dutch language medical romance drama - 13+
When his wife (Carice van Houten) is diagnosed with advanced breast cancer, a young successful professional (Barry Atsma) finds solace in the arms of a sultry beauty (Anna Drijver).

EAST EUROPE

Kochaj i tancz (Love and Dance) - Polish language song & dance comedy romance - 13+
While preparing for her wedding to Slawek (Wojciech Mecwaldowski), rookie journalist Hania’s (Izabella Miko) first assignment takes her into the world of Warsaw’s dance stage where she discovers her long-lost father (Jacek Koman), a legendary dance trainer, and becomes enthralled by a handsome young dance rebel (Mateusz Damiecki).

FRENCH

Coco before Chanel (Coco avant Chanel) - French language period biographical drama - 7+
Frail and slender ten-year-old orphan girl Gabrielle Chanel (Audrey Tautou), known as “Coco” to her friends, uses an outspoken aggressiveness to rise from obscure beginnings to the blinding lights of the Parisian fashion world.

GERMAN

Soul Kitchen - German language business situation comedy - 13+
A down-on-his-luck restaurateur (Adam Bousdoukos), his recently paroled ex-burglar brother (Moritz Bleibtreu) and a newly hired gypsy cook (Birol Unel) must pull together to enliven their cuisine and save the restaurant from financial ruin.

ITALIAN

Italians - Italian language travelogue adventure comedy - 13+
Three Italians around the world each confront their problems: a truck driver, a car thief and exporter to Dubai, his young apprentice and a technician who emigrated to Russia for work.

JAPANESE

Rookies: Graduation (ルーキーズ -卒業-) - Japanese language sports action drama - 13+
Rookie Japanese teacher (Ryuta Sato) at the notorious Futakotamagawa High School inspires the school’s baseball team to work together and pursue a national championship.

KOREAN

Haeundae (Tidal Wave; 해운대) - Korean language disaster sci-fi suspense - 13+
While preparing to propose to his longtime girlfriend (Ji-Won Ha), a sushi shop manager (Kyung-Gu Sol) receives a ten-minute warning about a super-tsunami headed straight for his coastal city of Haeundae.

PORTUGUESE

Se Eu Fosse Você 2 (If I Were You 2) - Portuguese language domestic fantasy comedy - 7+
Workaholic Claudio (Tony Ramos) refuses to take time off for an Italian holiday, and his wife Helena (Gloria Pires) is on the verge of divorce until, suddenly, they switch bodies again and see life from the other’s perspective.

RUSSIAN

Maximum Security Vacation (Каникулы строгого режима) - Russian language recreational situation comedy - 7+
When a wrongly imprisoned government official (Dmitriy Dyuzhev) finds himself under threat from the inmate population, he and a goofball buddy (Sergei Bezrukov) escape and hide out posing as counselors at a children’s pioneer camp.

SPANISH

Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces) - Spanish language noir romance suspense - 17+
A movie director (Lluís Homar) begins a steamy off-set romance with his leading lady (Penélope Cruz) until a car accident takes his sight and her life. He suspects the son (Rubén Ochandiano) of her rich ex-boyfriend (José Luis Gómez) may be responsible.

TURKISH

Nefes: Vatan sagolsun (Breath) - Turkish language wartime suspense drama - 13+
Loosely based on true events, a military recruit (Ozgur Eren Koc) helps his stern commander (Mete Horozoglu) successfully defend their strategically important communications outpost against Kurdish extremists on the mountain border with Iraq.

World's Favorite Films 2010

World Favorite Foreign Language Films 2010

Yip Man 2 (Chinese)

My Name Is Khan (Bollywood)

Nodame Cantabile 2 (Japanese)

Blood Brothers: Secret Reunion (Korean)

L'arnacoeur (French)

Doraemon: Mermaid Adventure (Japanese)

Little Big Soldier (Chinese)

La rafle (French)

Io, loro e Lara (Italian)

Liar Game (Japanese)

Our Rossiya (Russian)

Younger Brother (Japanese)

Housefull (Bollywood)

Harmony (Korean)

Go Lala Go (Chinese)

Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf 2 (Chinese)

Chico Xavier (Portuguese)

Kandahar (Russian)