First but least, as always, it's time for the National Board of Review selections. Their top pick: Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire," which was also the fave in Toronto in September. No, I still haven't figured out who these people are, either, but they've been doing this sort of thing for 99 years and describe themselves on their web site as "the oldest organization devoted to motion pictures as art and entertainment." OK.
The NBR top ten (in alphabetical order):
"Burn After Reading"
"Changeling"
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"The Dark Knight"
"Defiance"
"Frost/Nixon"
"Gran Torino"
"Milk"
"WALL-E"
"The Wrestler"
Clint Eastwood gets best actor for "Gran Torino" and "Doubt" snags best ensemble cast, even though it didn't make the top ten. David Fincher wins best director for "Benjamin Button."
... and then...
In addition to naming five top docs (plus winner, "Man on Wire") and five top "foreign language films" (plus winner "Mongol"), the NBR also picks ten cherce "indies" -- so as to spread the love publicity around:
"Frozen River"
"In Bruges"
"In Search of a Midnight Kiss"
"Mr. Foe"
"Rachel Getting Married"
"Snow Angels"
"Son of Rambow"
"Wendy and Lucy"
"Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
"The Visitor"
All the 2008 NBR lists are here.
Even if it's in the "lowly" (ahem) Indie list, I'm glad to see "In Bruges" getting some love.
I only see maybe 6-12 movies in theaters a year, but I'm an avid renter, and "In Bruges" is the best thing I've seen in 2008.
the ugly...
Glaring flaw on their list: not choosing "Chop Shop" for one of their indie picks. But then maybe they considered it a 2007 film... I don't know, I think they just didn't see it.
Also, "Happy-Go-Lucky" should get some mention somewhere if they're gonna give love to "Vicky Christina Barcelona" (a good Allen movie but "HGL" is a great Leigh movie)
"Burn After Reading?" Really? Really? I like the Coen Bros. as much as anybody but... really?
"Doubt" wins best cast but isn't on their top 10. Come on now.
***
the bad
"Changeling" I liked but not enough for a top 10 and I'll have to see about
"Gran Torino". There's some similarities between "GT" and "Lakeview Terrace" and "Lakeview Terrace" got driven out of town. (Unfairly IMO)
"Wall-E" is fun and cute and has a message and is "City Lights" meets "Finding Nemo" meets "2001" yada, yada, yada. I don't love it as much as everybody else. Though I think Jim might have made an interesting point about how the robots have a dog and cat quality to them and maybe that's what people are reacting to and I am not.
Shouldn't "Che" be on this list? Haven't seen it but the trailer and Jim's blog thoughts/review has me sold.
***
the good...
"In Bruges" is a terrific film. The film-noir elements meet the buddy comedy with surprisingly poignant hilarity.
I'm glad "Rachel Getting Married" is getting noticed by all.
"Milk" is amazing, as important a film as "Brokeback Mountain" in my opinion and the best thing Penn has ever done.
I saw "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" on Wednesday. Fincher is very worthy of best director. It's a great movie, though not what people are expecting... My guess is many to hate it or be moderately impressed. A very gentle, subtle, bohemian film, surprisingly not interested in "drama", opting instead for thoughtful observation and making life seem beautiful... and bittersweet. It's a shock to think it's from the man who made "Fight Club" but, then again, Taraji. P Henson was at my screening and described him as a 'nurturing' man, motherly. He's always seemed in touch with his feminine side to me. (A compliment.)
There is a similar theme emerging in all his work: not being apathetic... but not being overwhelmed by life either, that fine line.
You can see that in the city of "Seven" versus Brad Pitt's character and what he eventually does. In "Fight Club", you've got a seemingly soulless capitalist society that Norton's narrator rebels against... too radically. "Zodiac" has three men - one who becomes apathetic, one who isn't as apathetic as he lets on and the case gets to him and then there is one who can't be apathetic but has the optimistic spirit to keep him going long enough to find what he's looking for.
"Benjamin Button" is basically a movie about taking life easy as it comes to you... but also appreciating sentimental experiences and those we meet and love... which is why many won't like it or be confused as to what exactly it's trying to say.
I'm sure there'll be more discussion about it in a few weeks since many are considering it a shoe-in for multiple Oscar noms. (Funny, because, it is such a peculiar film... serene throughout... I feel many will be baffled! Also, not for cynical audiences.)
Anyway, look again, if you didn't already see it, you'll see that tricky theme of 'easygoing caring' in Fincher's work. I think it's one of the most interesting directorial visions... ever.
I would love to see him win best director come Oscars (and, after last year, he's overdue for a nom...) but there are other candidates.
If I was a betting man... Gus Van Sant for "Milk"
or Danny Boyle for "Slumdog Millionaire"
As always, I am a perfect counter-barometer for what the critical awards will turn out to be. After struggling to sit all the way through the tedious and unimaginative "Slumdog Millionaire" I said to my friend and fellow critic "It's the new Little Miss Juno - it's gonna win a bunch of prizes."
The Changeling? Did these guys actually watch the movie? Did they only see 10 movies?
I haven't seen Frost/Nixon or Gran Torino yet, but the only other films on that list I'd put in my Top 10 (or 20 or 30) are The Wrestler and Milk.
Mongol as best foreign pic? That is, quite simply, humiliating, and reason enough to shut down the organization.
But I'll be nice and say that I think Man on Wire is a solid pick.
Ah, the glory of Top 10 lists. They give us all a chance to complain about other people's bad taste.
I'm curious to find out what you think of the Fincher pick. I have to admit I found the movie a big, big disappointment. I'm looking forward to your take on it.
Snow Angels feels like a long time ago - glad it wasn't completely forgotten. Surprised at the omission of Happy-Go-Lucky. Can't wait to see The Wrestler. Thumbs up for The Visitor. Haven't seen it but it sounds like Ballast could have slotted into the indie section nicely. Two Clint Eastwood movies? I'm crazy for the Coen's but not that crazy. Wait, I just realized Synecdoche is missing! I protest! And The Fall! Cripes! Also Repo: The Generic Crapola deserves mention for its propensity to cause viewers to stuff popcorn in their ears and stab their eyes out with a soda straw.
Chris L: Haven't seen "Slumdog Millionaire," what with Danny Boyle being on my short "Life is too short for..." list (along with Henry Jaglom, Kevin Smith, very few others). But I may have to make an exception just to find out what everybody's getting so fired-up about. My favorite eight-year-old, Mulan, saw "Slumdog" and loved it, but she has bombarded her mother with character motivation questions for days since...
Yay for "Burn After Reading"! Maybe it's not a masterpiece but I never laughed harder in a movie theatre this year. The best it could hope for though is "Big Lebowski" cult status and that would be fine with me, I saw it a second time in the theatre and appreciated it even more particularily John Malkovich's and George Clooney's performances.
What's with the seperate indie list? It's like saying these movies can't sit at the grown up table. Anyone who has seen "In Bruges" and "Frozen River" know they can stand their own against any studio film.
Jim, by all means, go see "Slumdog Millionaire" for that reason, but Boyle does belong on that list, and this film doesn't really take him off it.
Ben, I saw "Snow Angels" nearly 18 months ago, so I don't know what it's doing on a 2008 list.
I can't say that I find the NBR lists particularly inspiring.
Dark Night was trite. If it weren't for Heath Ledger's contribution and tragic death, that movie would be getting slammed for its incoherent plot and awful dialogue. A writer has run out of ideas anytime a cute child actor has to be brought on at the end of the movie to reiterate the blindingly obvious theme.
Top 10, huh? Am I the only one mystified how Slumdog is the top film, but is not in the top 10? I went to the NBR site, and in the past they would name the top film, and then the other 9 films in alphabetical order to make up the top 10. Now, it's pretty confusing to show a top 10 that doesn't include your top choice. Wouldn't that make it #2-11?
Looking at the NBR's 2007 list, I see that their best 10 includes..."The Bucket List". Apparently, they are bribe-able.
Through the grapevine, I managed to see "Waltz With Bashir." Wow. It is a revolutionary piece of animation and leaves a big knife in your gut. The NBR put it on their Best Foreign Language Films list. However, I did not see it on Roger Ebert's top 20 list. Has he seen it yet? I tried to email the Answer Man but this keeps coming up...
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Jim: Have you seen "Let the Right One In" yet? It has one of the most compelling adolescent relationships I’ve seen in a long, long time.
Jim, you really should check out Boyle's Millions, which is simply outstanding. I've had a love-hate relationship with him from the beginning - and usually within the same film, for the same reasons - but that's the one I'd recommend with no reservations at all.
By the way, have you gotten around to seeing Synecdoche, NY yet? I'm not surprised to see it ignored by groups like this, but I was hoping to hear your two cents about it (the year's best so far, in my opinion).
Walt with Bashir is quite impressive. This has been a bonanza year for documentaries after what I felt were a few mildly disappointing ones the last two years. I could make a list of just Top Docs and have a Top Ten list of strong movies. And a better list than the NBR, but I digress.
My Winnipeg (no need to separate it out from other docs)
The Unforeseen
Encounters at the End of the World
Trouble the Water
Man on Wire
Up the Yangtze
Waltz with Bashir
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
Operation Filmmaker
Bigger, Stronger, Faster
Dear Zachary
Gonzo (Hunter Thompson)
Body of War
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
I.O.U.S.A.
Religulous
Standard Operating Procedure
War Made Easy
And I'm sure I'm missing plenty. Man, that's a deep list.
I feel sorry for you Dan. There are quite a few words to describe The Dark Knight. But "trite"? Did you even see the film? And if so, did you go in hating it?
Nolan should be nominated and win for best director. Period. Not only is it a terrific movie but one of the best examples of the crime drama I have ever seen. Moreover, the screenplay is complex and brilliant. Especially considering the super hero field it was playing on.
The film stands and wins on its' own...with or without the Ledger tragic element.
>Ben, I saw "Snow Angels" nearly 18 months ago, so I don't know what it's doing on a 2008 list.
Well, it's not on any 2007 lists, so I'm glad. It wasn't released until 2008, although it premiered at Sundance in '07.
"The Dark Knight" was anything but "trite". "Happy Go Lucky" and "Slumdog Millionaire", on the other hand...The homeless man scene in the former is perhaps the lamest stab at profundity we've seen in a while. And the driving instructors rants were far more entertaining, when they were less xenophobic and mouthed by the likes of David Thewlis. In the latter, we have to suffer through the incongruous usage of MIA on the soundtrack, a narrative decidely lacking in suspense, stick figures posing as characters(good brother, bad brother, degraded female), sentimental hokum for dialogue, and capped off with the most self-congratulatory end credits sequence seen in years. "In Bruges", "Iron Man", "Body of Lies", the face of Daniel Craig in "Quantum of Solace"...Hell, even the John Carpenter pastiche "Doomsday", all have a heart, body and soul these so-called prestige films lack. This being said, I cannot wait for "Valkyrie".
Did Clint Eastwood become a significantly better director since 2002, or have critics just gone on auto-pilot when it comes to rating his films? I don't remember "Blood Work" or "Hearbreak Ridge" making any Top 10 lists, but I saw so many in 2006 that included "Flags of Our Fathers", which could fairly be assessed as "minor Eastwood" among his most recent vintage of films. And now "Changeling" AND "Gran Torino" are on the NBR list. I agree that he's at the top of his craft right now, but even John Ford and Howard Hawks made a few clunkers in their heyday.
I just saw MILK, though Penn and others give a great performances, the film is overly preachy. Im not sure what all the fuss is about Van Sant; but he does MILK a disservice by exploiting the message of a corageous man. The trailers are very misleading, only highlighting apparently the second act. Its not the subject matter entirely, its just the way in which its executed; there’s a continous bombarding loop reminding the audience that Milk is gay or he's a gay activist, and oh did I mention he's gay; it reminded me of the hilarious stereotyping song in THE PRODUCERS “Keep It Gay” What made BROKEBACK a great film is that it was presented subtly without exploiting the subject matter.
Of the films Ive seen, this is my top 10 for the year:
THE DARK KNIGHT , if for nothing else it brought certain prestige back to the cinemas summer fare
WALL E
RELIGULOUS
ROMAN POLANSKI (HBO documentary)
MAN ON WIRE
IN BRUGES
FUNNY GAMES
THE VISITOR
MAN ON A WIRE
CLOVERFIELD
not that im ever too fussed by the lists compiled by random groups of people, but why is burn after reading on there?
dont get me wrong im a massive, massive cohen brothers fan, and this is not a terrible film, but its one of their worst and not worthy of a best of 2008 spot
Man. I thought movie blogs were a place for people who loved movies, but these comments...
>dont get me wrong im a massive, massive cohen >brothers fan, and this is not a terrible film, >but its one of their worst and not worthy of a >best of 2008 spot
for me it's one of their best, and my favorite movie of the year, so to each his own.
Burn After Reading is right up there with Miller's Crossing and Barton Fink as Coen movies whose appeal eludes me. But then they have always been hit and miss for me, the hits being Blood Simple, Fargo, and No Country for Old Men. And Rasing Arizona.
No, Dan's right. DARK KNIGHT was trite. In addition, it was overlong, lazily written, and incredibly pretentious and self-important. Rarely have I seen a movie try so hard to show that it's dealing with BIG THEMES. Except that it didn't deal with any big themes. It just sort of brought them up and let them sit there. Batman and the Joker are opposite sides of the same coin? Congratulations, you've passed Psych 101. I especially loved when Batman builds the sonar/radar machine thing at the end that Morgan Freeman objects to, before immediately deciding that he'll use it just this once. But it's okay, because Batman makes it self-destruct at the end. Convenient. No matter that, since he's created this thing once, he could probably do it again, which means that the problem is still there. Way to "deal" with that "issue," DARK KNIGHT. How sophisticated of the film to gloss over something like that.
THE DARK KNIGHT is an okay summer movie, just as dumb as most summer movies, but delusional in that it thinks it's something serious and important. It's not. It's got a solid performance by Heath Ledger and not much else. I'm stunned by the veritable ticker tape parade critics threw for it. Have our standards really fallen off that much?
@ Manny C
You attempt to hide your rabid ignorance behind a pseudo-intellectual lexical palisade; it would behoove you to remember that belligerence doesn't beget intelligence.
I haven't actually seen enough new movies this year--low on funds, watching a lot of classics, friends not into the same things and not partial to being dragged out, poor selection at the local theatres, etc. The ones I have seen that are also on the list are "The Dark Knight," "Wall-E," and "Burn After Reading," and while I have some issues with the first two and am not positive that the third is impressive enough for top ten consideration (an excellent trifle), they all seem reasonable. And yes, "TDK" was problematic, but with a lot of very strong aspects.