What a great year! I really did love a lot of what I saw this year. I felt very entertained by subjects I never thought would entertain me. I feel the order of the list could change as time goes on, but it was difficult to rank such awesome movies in any order when they are all so good!
15. Frost/Nixon (Ron Howard)
When I first watched this trailer, I thought it seemed a little slow and mature. Once I saw it my mind was changed though. This movie was very exciting and while I did not see Nixon in
Langella based on appearance, I saw an incredible character emerge that made me see Nixon in a different way. Which is good since I've seen him portrayed before, but this time he was reinvented in a terrifying way.
14. Wendy & Lucy (Kelly
Reichardt)
Wendy & Lucy is a minimal, sad, human story about a girl who can't find her dog, which is one of her many troubles. I wanted a little more from this movie and felt it did not develop enough as it goes along. But Michelle Williams gives a great performance and the film looks beautiful, even though it also looks like it took no money to make. But that makes me like it more and over all it was depressingly satisfying.
13. Milk (Gus Van
Sant)
Sean Penn's portrayal of Harvey Milk was very impressive. Harvey Milk was a hero and a great man and this film honored what he did and touched a lot of people. I feel Gus Van
Sant let me down slightly as something about the movie was very off to me, and I can only credit it to the directing of the film. The look of it lacked the gay 70's authenticity in my opinion and it felt too Hollywood for a director like Gus. However the acting was really good as well as the writing and I appreciate this movie for what it made me feel.
12. Wall-E (Andrew Stanton)
What more can I say about the cutest love story I've ever seen. I wish I was a damn robot right now. I have a love for animated films and the magic they have. If someone does it right you'll believe it completely and everything is possible. Wall-E looks incredible and in my opinion is the best of the Disney/
Pixar films. I think children and adults will be loving this one forever.
11. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David
Fincher)
As you know, Benjamin Button tells a man's life story as he ages backwards. And on the way, you meet who he meets and see the points in his life that made it so unique. I thought the story was lovely and the special effects were refreshing and new. The style of this movie is what I like the best. It takes place over many decades and Cate
Blanchett's character, Daisy, looks awesome in most of them. I thought it would be better though, I felt it was a little too long and really hated Daisy's old voice narrating parts of the movie. But
Fincher is magical and the pros blow the cons out of the water.
10. Hunger (Steve McQueen)
First time filmmaker Steve McQueen made a prison movie about Irish hunger strikers where what you see is disgusting and pretty at the same time. The film is very blunt, almost to the point of reading cliche, but its not at all. Hunger has a certain strength to it that kind of scared me but I loved it and am very proud of this one. I think Michael
Fassbender's performance of Bobby Sands is something I will never forget seeing. If you haven't seen it yet, you should if you can hang.
09. The Fall (
Tarsem)
Since it didn't release to US theatres until 2008, I think this one is in contention and could even be higher. I really like The Fall and I think it was like watching Heaven visually. It was so bright and colorful and I loved every second. The movie is heavier than it seems and it does make me sad but I think the idea of it is so simple and classic. I feel like this could have been made a really long time ago, or 20 years from now and it would have the same effect because the story is so cinematic.
08. Rachel Getting Married (Jonathan
Demme)
Suprised I was by how much I LOVED this movie. Anne Hathaway does a great job playing Kym, just your average
druggy black sheep that will say the wrong thing all the time. I loved the people, they all seemed so cool and cultured. I felt like I was at this wedding for sure and I think the director is who takes you there. Rosemarie
DeWitt however stole the whole show for me. I think its a shame she isn't up for best supporting actress on Sunday because it was one of the best performances of the year, and the best one in this film. See it!
07. Let The Right One In (Tomas
Alfredson)
The best vampire movie I've ever seen. This Swedish film is about a 12 year old boy who is bullied, and a child vampire who befriends him and helps him seek revenge. I don't even know how to describe this movie except that it is unlike anything I have seen before. It felt realistic for some reason even though one of the main characters is a vampire. The movie looks good from start to finish too and you can't help but fall in love with these amazing children. So good!
06. Revolutionary Road (Sam
Mendes)
Oh man, Revolutionary Road! The Clothing/Hair/Make-up was all fantastic! I have never liked Leonardo DiCaprio as much as I did in this. Frank and April Wheeler are a tragic example of the failed American dream. I believed every second of that movie that it was April on screen and not Kate
Winslet. She was being directed by her husband and did a hell of a job. Obviously the acting is good though because they are both great actors. Michael Shannon's character was the element that completed this movie. His dialogue was what took it from just being about this couple and their arguments, and made it complex and edgy. Almost made the top 5 but not quite.
05. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen)
I'm literally singing the opening song of this movie in my head because it is the first awesome thing you notice about the movie. Its grown on me too and I like it more than I did originally (which was a lot). Good performances all around and I feel Woody Allen has done something original and hilarious. Penelope Cruz won me over with her first appearance on screen and
Rebecca Hall is the new actress to watch out for. Her performance was the one that surprised me and all I could think about was Vicky when I left the theater.
04. Doubt (John Patrick
Shanley)
This game is ugly, and I was convinced once it started that no one could possibly win in this situation. This movie was so exciting to me. It was theatrical and entertaining and 4 people acted the hell out of their roles. Meryl
Streep who is a legend, gives such a real and startling performance. Once she is set on what she thinks, there is no stopping her. She couldn't stop herself if she wanted to and it is clear. The young one, Amy Adams, is really proving her abilities here and is the sane one in all of this. P.S.H. plays the priest under investigation and Viola Davis plays the mother who isn't so concerned. Should be up for Best Picture in my opinion, especially with all 4 roles nominated. I think Viola could get the Oscar though if anyone will.
03. The Reader (Stephen
Daldry)
As you see in my last post I didn't even think this movie would get a Best Picture
nom at the Golden Globes. I was wrong, I hadn't seen it and decidedly it was the last of all these films I saw. But I thought it was so beautiful and a great story. I really was surprised by the story and how it went as I think I misunderstood what it was about originally. Kate
Winslet and David
Kross have incredible chemistry and are both perfect for these roles. I don't think the movie could have been better. I am so excited to see Kate win her first Oscar for this on Sunday as she clearly deserves it.
02.
Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle)
I can't imagine putting all of that work into this movie. There is so much to it and the scenes are extraordinary.
Mumbai is huge and filled with people and Danny Boyle brought it to the screen in an uplifting way. The young actors were inspiring. These kids are from the slums and they know that way of life and they are so young. I couldn't believe what good actors they all were. The 2 leads are also great and you cheer for
Latika and Jamal's love as they are
separated by so much, but you know from the
beginning that it is written and the dance at the end makes it impossible to not feel good after this movie.
01. The Wrestler (Darren
Arronofsky)
The format, the acting, the story, the subject, all of this felt like a movie and what a movie should be. This film was real and powerful and showed you a life you'd never seen. Mickey Rourke's performance in The Wrestler has been praised by many and I'm right there with them. I'm so proud of Darren for making this movie. I am a huge fan of his movies and really feel he nailed it with this one. Marissa
Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood are 2 actresses I don't even like, but that didn't matter at all since they delivered 100% and were the perfect characters to complement Rourke's. The ending is epic and memorable. I think this will be remembered eventually as the movie of 2008.
Wow that took a while. I hope you enjoyed my opinion and I can't wait for Sunday night. Let me hit you with some quick Oscar predictions while I'm at it.
Best Picture:
Slumdog Millionaire
Best Director: Danny Boyle
Best Actor: Mickey Rourke
Best Actress: Kate
WinsletBest Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger
Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Slumdog Millionaire
Best Original Screenplay: Milk
