(As a brief disclaimer, I wasn’t able to see everything, but I think I put in a good effort. Here is a quick list of some notable films I was not able to catch in 2008, which should help explain why any one of them is not present in my list: W, Vicky Christina Barcelona, Rachel Getting Married, Gran Torino, The Changeling, Mamma Mia, Kung Fu Panda, The Wackness, Religulous, Let the Right One In, Happy-Go-Lucky, Seven Pounds, Hancock, Waltz With Bashir, Australia, JCVD, American Teen, Pineapple Express, Bolt, Time Crimes, Surfwise, The Bank Job, Cadillac Records, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, I’ve Loved you So Long and The Class.)
Without further ado, we jump right in at #20…
20. IRON MAN
Robert Downey Jr. is back. While I like the fact that the academy is bold enough to nominate him for a movie as goofy as Tropic Thunder, I can’t help but disagree with the nomination. But Downey Jr. is instrumental in putting Iron Man on his shoulders. While it helped raise the bar dramatically for ‘superhero’ movies, Iron Man is still a movie with its flaws and for my money, is buried in the shadow of The Dark Knight.
19. TRAITOR
Flying just under the radar this year, comes another cleverly plotted thriller about espionage, terrorism and the middle east (see also #14 below). Traitor is a fun ride, that will be even more fun the less you know going in. We’ve got Cheadles!!! What more can you ask for?
18. THE VISITOR
A really small film that’s totally worth looking into. A grumpy college proffessor returns home to a New York City condo that he’s hardly used since the death of his wife to find a pair of illegal immigrants living in it. From Tom McCarthy, the writer-director of The Station Agent comes a terrific starring vehicle for Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under, Step Brothers, Burn After Reading) to finally shine as a leading man. One of the best performances of the year.
17. TRANSSIBERIAN
Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer play an American couple on a train journey from China to Moscow. As the couple travels through a foreign and seemingly lawless land, they become involved in an investigation of drug smuggling and murder as a Russian narcotics detective – played by Ben Kingsley – boards their train. Transsiberian works a perfect balance between cleverly conceived plot and beautifully painted characters.
16. DOUBT
A movie I really wanted to love that just fell a little short for me, Doubt features a handful of homerun performances to be expected from the likes of Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. But perhaps it was the marketing of the film that doesn’t allow it to be a complete success. I felt like I left the theatre without seeing anything more than I had seen in the film’s 30-second TV spots. While it was all very good, I can’t really place my finger on it except to say that I had hoped for a little more.
15. THE DUCHESS
Studying a bizarre love triangle and the gender-politics of 18th century England, The Duchess is a movie I enjoyed exponentially more than I presumed I would. Keira Knightly plays the Duchess of Devonshire wonderfully- a woman who in modern times would’ve been a tabloid poster-child. The only thing I found unrealistic about her performance was that after birthing three children she still looks like a skeleton in a coat of skin.
14. BODY OF LIES
All the right pieces are there: Ridley Scott directing, Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio starring, and an excellent script from one of the best writers in the business- William Monahan (The Departed, Kingdom of Heaven). Yet, for some reason, this movie seemed to be absolutely forgotten by the end of the year. Perhaps it was released too early in the year? Perhaps we’ve seen one too many movies on the subject matter? Or maybe it is really just a good movie and not a great one… I found Body to be a wonderfully executed film with some great thrills and twists, but the one thing that I couldn’t get past, was just how silly and one-dimensional Russell Crowe’s character seemed to be.
13. NICK AND NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST
In spite of its fun indie-soundtrack, Infinite Playlist ends up stumbling down familiar, by-the-numbers, romantic comedy roads. But it’s still a really fun road to travel down… at least when Michael Cera is riding shotgun. This kid can really do no wrong. He is just a tremendous, awkward, bundle of joy. I’ll throw down my ten bucks for any movie this kid is in.
12. FROST / NIXON
I typically am not a fan of Ron Howard movies. A lot like Clint Eastwood films for me, they often come across as by-the-numbers award-season fodder. Cinderella Man, Da Vinci Code, even A Beautiful Mind all fall flat for me. But Frost/Nixon is told with a great sense of style and is cast perfectly. Frank Langella is merely unfortunate to be up against Mickey Rourke this season because his performance as Richard Nixon is deserving of great accolade. This is my favorite Ron Howard movie yet. (Can’t wait until he directs a feature Arrested Development!!!)
11. SLUMDOG MILLIONARE
Not in the top ten??? Not in the top ten??? Slumdog may have connected with enough people to become the award-season darling, but it just didn’t connect to the same degree with me. It’s a really fun and inventive movie that I had a great time watching, I just wasn’t able to invest in the characters as much as I’d have liked. And I didn’t really take much away from a story told with fairytale logic. Congrats to Danny Boyle- one of my favorite directors- for what looks like could be an Oscar night sweep.
10. SYNECDOCHE, NY
This movie will hurt your brain, let that be known up front. Charlie Kaufman has written some of my personal favorite and most precious films in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Adaptation. Synecdoche is Kaufman’s first attempt at directing and while it’s a very valid one, this is a film that will most likely alienate the vast majority of its audience. This film is so layered and complex, one might argue that it makes no sense at all. While the movie seems very intent on causing disconnect with its audience, it still is rich with thought-provoking imagery and ideas.
9. THE READER
Set in Post-Holacaust Berlin in the 50’s and 60’s in a time when people apparently didn’t wear clothing, The Reader serves as a very powerful film laced with rich symbolism and difficult moral questions. Kate Winslet – who wears clothing for roughly 10 percent of her time on screen – pulls off a very interesting transformation, that along with her work in Revolutionary Road this year has garnered much deserved praise.
8. MILK
While it’s a pretty standard bio-pic, Gus Van Sant manages some fantastic performances from Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, and James Franco. The result is a moving experience with an important message that could’ve been useful a few months earlier (in time for the Prop 8 vote in November). But alas, it still can serve as a humanizing portrayal of some of the original members of a movement that is struggling for equal rights today.
7. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Much has been made of this movie’s failures and shortcomings… and no question, it is full of them. While Brad Pitt’s Button is a masterful example of visual effects, his character seems thin as… well… as a button. At many points his character seems almost like a foil for the film’s concept and for the first hour or two the film really seems to meander in pursuit of a theme. Is it a film about embracing our differences? It is a film about making the most of life? The film’s redemption for me is that towards its end- just like its main character- it decides what it wants to be when it grows up (or is it… grows down?). When this movie finally starts to put it all together, it eventually manages a moving and powerful conclusion.
6. MAN ON WIRE
In 1974, a Frenchman set out in the ultimate pursuit of love. But this love story isn’t about a woman, so much as it revolves around a man and his dream- his goal to accomplish what any sane person would say was impossible. He would (illegally) traverse a tight rope between the two towers of the World Trade Center. The documentary follows his quest as if you were following a bank heist as Phillipe Petit and his team infiltrate security, smuggling in equipment in preparation for the big day… a true testament to life, love and the pursuit of one’s dreams.
5. DEAR ZACHARY
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. This small-production begins as a labor of love from one friend to another. A filmmaker salutes his childhood friend who has recently been murdered by a deranged ex-girlfriend, by traveling the country and interviewing everyone who had ever known him. Dear Zachary is forced to evolve as the situation continues to complicate itself. That ex-girlfriend who killed the documentary’s main character? She flees to Newfoundland, untouched by the law and is now pregnant with his child (Zachary). Don’t bring tissues. Bring buckets.
4. WALL-E
Why is it that the best love story of the year comes in the form of a robot who doesn’t speak a word? This seemingly huggable robot is like Pixar’s thesis presentation that displays this studio has not only started a revolution in the world of animation, but in all of cinema as well. After Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Ratitouille, WALL-E is proof that Pixar is a vehicle firing on all cylinders. I’ll be greatly looking forward to Up – the next Pixar feature in the queue, and is there any question it’ll be another success?
3. REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
One of my favorites quotes comes from filmmaker Akiri Kurusawa saying that, “In a mad world, only the mad are sane.” It seems very fitting then that the only character in Revolutionary Road who really seems to understand the plight of the Wheelers is a recently discharged mental patient. The battles they go through with everyday suburban normalcy may be an incredibly relatable for some, while others may say this film is bitter and pessimistic. Its makers (Directed by Sam Mendes, the film was originally a novel by Richard Yates written in 1961) should be applauded for its bold, yet necessary statement that is no less applicable today then it was when the film was set in 1955.
2. THE DARK KNIGHT
What more can be said of The Dark Knight? In spite of the box office numbers, critical acclaim and buzz surrounding both Heath Ledger’s amazing performance and untimely death, The Dark Knight seemed to fade just out of reach of Best Picture Oscar contention by year’s end. Certainly Heath Ledger will be awarded his post-mortem Oscar for Best Supporting Oscar, but it seems unfortunate that nobody in the Academy quite had the [guts] to throw Batman his due nod. Christopher Nolan has composed a film with top-notch acting, directing, cinematography, screenplay, and the list goes on and on. This film was a success in everything it set out to accomplish and shattered the expectations of what we expect from a ‘superhero’ movie. Unquestionably the most exciting, breath-taking piece of entertainment we’ve seen all year, The Dark Knight doesn’t ask you to check your brain at the door. For my money, this film has just as much to say or is as equally valid a work of art as any of the actual Academy Award nominees.
1. THE WRESTLER
The other man in tights… Only so often does a movie this potent and brutally honest come along. Beneath all the grime and dirt is a film so pure, moving and real. It almost seems as if Mickey Rourke’s life was meant to be filled with turmoil so he could one day play this role. The result is perfection. The Wrestler is simple, but executed with the utmost precision. Thanks to Mr. Rourke and Mr. Arronofsky we’ve been given a bittersweet masterpiece—a hammer-on-the-head portrayal of an entertainer well past his prime. The final scene in the deli is powerful and perfect- it’s exactly why I go to the movies. Mickey Rourke gets my Best Actor vote hands down, and a special nod to Bruce Springsteen for creating a song that so perfectly captures the spirit of this film. And of course… this is the Best Film of 2008.
