| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| GHcool |
Posted - 12/29/2008 : 20:26:16
My annual list of favorite films:
1. Slumdog Millionaire ("Mumbai orphan given lifeline." - Rockgolf) - The film was produced for $15 million and has greater production values than almost any other film made this year. Danny Boyle has made some excellent films in the past, but this is his best.
2. WALL E ("Meet WALL-E's sparks." - Alan Smithee) - The screenplay by Pixar's Andrew Stanton and Pete Doctor manages to be visionary science fiction and a great love story at the same time. The animation and sound design is as good as any film ever made.
3. Man on Wire ("Hi-Wi." - Chris C) An inspiring story about following your dream. My favorite documentary of the year.
4. The Dark Knight ("Insane clown's posse." - Gentleman Ghost) - Was there a more talked about performance this year than Heath Ledger's Joker? Christopher Nolan and his cinematographer, Wally Pfister, create a chaotic, exciting, noir world that fits the material perfectly.
5. Wanted ("Gang couldn't shoot straight." - MisterBadIdea) - The stylized production values are very high with the kind of time-defying visual effects experimented with in The Matrix built upon and used for comedic effect. James McAvoy performance as a corporate drone turned superhero is actually quite complex and brings this silly material to a level where we almost buy it.
6. Waltz With Bashir - My favorite foreign language film of the year. Its another film that proves that you can sometimes do more with animation than you can with live action in a "less is more" kind of way.
7. Leatherheads ("John Krasinski: The Offence." - Yukon) - Everyone seems to like to bash Renee Zellweger these days for one reason or another. I happen to think she's one of the best actresses of her generation and this is just one of the films that prove it. The screenplay, which took more than 10 years to finally make it to the screen, is smart and tight and, as far as I can tell, fairly accurate to the history of sports in the United States.
8. The Incredible Hulk ("Norton here's a Hulk." - Sludge) - The film stays pretty close to the standard three act screenplay structure, but there are times when the structure works well. The effects are very good; much better than the effects in Iron Man.
9. Burn After Reading ("Coenfidential." - MM0rkeleb) - Frances McDormand is a master at finding that fine line between creating a realistic character and making an over the top comic caricature. The rest of the all star cast is equally impressive as neurotics who get into espionage and adultery way over their heads.
10. Frost/Nixen ("Nixon taped!" - BaftaBabe) - Although Frank Langella looks nothing like the real Nixen, he embodies him completely and by the 10th minute of the film, you are completely convinced. The screenplay by Peter Morgan is suspenseful and digs deep into the historical context of the interviews.
Honorable mentions: Kung Fu Panda, The Reader
I haven't yet seen Changeling, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Doubt, Grand Torino, The Wrestler, Revolutionary Road, or Defiance, but if and when I do, I may update the above lists. |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Demisemicenturian |
Posted - 01/18/2009 : 00:24:44
I've now added in Iron Man and several other films that I had managed to leave out.
I have also downgraded The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, and put it below Man on Wire. I've decided that's ample for the effect it had on me, especially as Man on Wire had a similarly physical effect (without the silent sobbing!) despite being about a much less important subject and most tellingly the fact that the outcome is already known. |
| Demisemicenturian |
Posted - 01/17/2009 : 21:32:54
I really enjoyed it at the time but when I came to compile my list here it was one of the ones I downgraded from 5/5 to 4/5, so I suppose it didn't stick with me that well. |
| MM0rkeleb |
Posted - 01/17/2009 : 21:20:53
I don't really have the drive to put up a whole list, since due to certain circumstances, most of the films I saw in theaters were Oscar bait (so I can have a rooting interest for Best Picture), and most of them were very closely clustered together in terms of how much I liked them. So I'll just mention my top film for 2008, which was:
Cloverfield
For what it was, perfectly executed. I'd go so far as to call it a minor masterpiece.
|
| rabid kazook |
Posted - 01/13/2009 : 18:09:28
quote:
Originally posted by bife
quote:
Originally posted by rabid kazook
My favorites of the last year:
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY CJ7 ROCKNROLLA REDBELT
Almost rented CJ7 last week but it looked kinda corny, guess i'll give it a shot now
It's very much a kids movie, so the more you're jolly with you childish-self the better. It is corny, yes, but I think Chow sets the movie in a smart way so that the most of the corny stuff is shaken off.
|
| bife |
Posted - 01/13/2009 : 13:43:37
quote:
Originally posted by rabid kazook
My favorites of the last year:
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY CJ7 ROCKNROLLA REDBELT
Almost rented CJ7 last week but it looked kinda corny, guess i'll give it a shot now
|
| rabid kazook |
Posted - 01/13/2009 : 11:37:33
quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
Redbelt?! Wow!
Yea, I thought the (already multiple times kvetched on) plot was structured in a remarkably interesting and fun way. I love Mamet's stuff.
|
| Demisemicenturian |
Posted - 01/12/2009 : 23:16:16
Redbelt?! Wow! |
| rabid kazook |
Posted - 01/12/2009 : 19:40:02
quote:
Originally posted by GHcool
2. WALL E ("Meet WALL-E's sparks." - Alan Smithee)
Thanks for url-ing my review. 
I disowned it after it wasn't very popular.
My favorites of the last year:
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY CJ7 ROCKNROLLA REDBELT |
| Demisemicenturian |
Posted - 01/11/2009 : 06:02:36
quote:
Originally posted by dem9nic
A few words about your choices: I think a 6 for "Boy in the Striped Pajamas" is extremely generous given how stupid an idea it was, and how lacklustre the script and acting from everyone was.
I can see its flaws rationally, but it had such a visceral effect on me that I have to judge it on that basis. It's a low 6/5, though, so may fade to 5/5.
quote:
Also I felt "Persepolis" was a disappointing and a little bit dull - certainly it bore no comparison for me to "Bashir" which was animated like the best dream you could ever have and powerful enough to shift perceptions.
The animations are just different styles, and I preferred that in Persepolis, but in both cases it is the concept of animating them that is particularly inspired. I certainly far prefer some of my dreams aesthetically to Waltz with Bahir, which I still thought was great. For interesting animation in itself last year I'd instead recommend Fear(s) of the Dark.
quote:
I also thought "Burn after Reading" and "Son of Rambo" less than the sum of their parts
Yup, those fall into the category of film in which certain features just fully satisfy me in a way that negates the need for anything else to be perfect. I don't think that's a phenomenon that happens to you so much.
quote:
am interested to see some of the other films you recommend. Especially the highly rated foreign language films I missed like "4 Months" and "The Edge of Heaven".
I'm pretty sure you'd like 4 Months... Harder to say with The Edge of Heaven: aspects of it might annoy you. |
| Demisemicenturian |
Posted - 01/11/2009 : 05:51:24
quote:
Originally posted by Airbolt
The film that was the most surprising was "Iron Man ".
I gave that 5/5 but somehow left it out of my list. I'll add it once I've gone through and checked for other omissions.
quote:
The Counterfeiters is extremely harrowing.
Also 5/5 from me but I saw it in 2007. |
| Demisemicenturian |
Posted - 01/11/2009 : 05:47:31
quote:
Originally posted by GHcool
A complaint about this thread being in the wrong section sounds a little odd coming from someone who puts films from 1994 in his list of "Favorite Films of the Year (2008)."
Not really.
quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
I've roughly ordered every film that I saw at the cinema last year and gave 6/5 or 5/5.
Since you named the thread, but didn't define the parameters of your selection, I made my own parameters totally clear. |
| Airbolt |
Posted - 01/11/2009 : 01:53:32
The film that was the most surprising was "Iron Man ". It revived the superhero genre, gave it a much-needed funny bone, added a twist of screwball comedy and got the tone absolutely right. Also signalling the revival of a much screwed over career. Would have been 10/10 except for the CGI battle at the end which seemed to be ported in from a lesser film.
Possibly not the best film as such but it's the one I enjoyed the most. In the foreign market, there were a couple of interesting watches. The Chaser ( Korea ) was an interesting thriller with a very weary and unheroic ex-cop turned pimp on thr trail of a killer. The plot is tight but what is more pervasive is the seedy nobility of a worn out antihero who finds a shrivelled up shred of decency in his heart.
The Counterfeiters is extremely harrowing. Telling the story of a forger who ends up in a concentration camp. Without some of the overt horrors on screen, it manages to convey the terror of knowing that life is cheap. |
| GHcool |
Posted - 01/06/2009 : 19:06:51
quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
6/5
Dostana (2008): My second favourite film of all time, in which two of the very top Indian actors (in my own preference and by consensus) give hilarious performances as straight men pretending to be a gay couple. It's an important step forward for Bollywood. I wouldn't expect others here to like it as much as me, but I'd recommend if you've never seen a Bollywood film and fancy doing so. The leading actress is absolutely stunning too.
Pulp Fiction (1994): I first saw this in Kathmandu in 1995 and it's still as great as ever.
Juno (2007): I know some people didn't like it at all, but their main complaint is that Juno is not a typical teenager. I'll hang around on any street corner or back seat of a bus if I want to see those.
Persepolis (2007): I was blown away by the concept of an animated autobiography and the execution is just as good, as is the story and most importantly Satrapi's ability to give a balanced view of herself.
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008): Again, I know some people weren't much taken with this (especially if they'd read the book, which I haven't), but it left me shaking with sobs and so that's all I can say about that.
[...]
By the way, this thread is in the wrong section. Again.
A complaint about this thread being in the wrong section sounds a little odd coming from someone who puts films from 1994 in his list of "Favorite Films of the Year (2008)."  |
| bife |
Posted - 01/06/2009 : 14:46:18
quote:
Originally posted by dem9nic
but am interested to see some of the other films you recommend. Especially the highly rated foreign language films I missed like "4 Months"
Been looking for this one for a while, not sure it is stocked in singapore  |
| demonic |
Posted - 01/06/2009 : 14:26:10
I think it's in the right place. I consider this specific part of the fourum the "talk about movies" part (be it big screen, DVD or TV) which is what a best of the year really is. "General" is well... for general concepts and ideas, like your remake debate - not specific. If this is where I'd write a review of a film I've recently seen, I'd use this same place to summarise my reviews to make a Top 10 too.
A few words about your choices: I think a 6 for "Boy in the Striped Pajamas" is extremely generous given how stupid an idea it was, and how lacklustre the script and acting from everyone was. Also I felt "Persepolis" was a disappointing and a little bit dull - certainly it bore no comparison for me to "Bashir" which was animated like the best dream you could ever have and powerful enough to shift perceptions. I didn't see "Juno" because the teen speak in the trailer made me want to vomit.
I also thought "Burn after Reading" and "Son of Rambo" less than the sum of their parts, but am interested to see some of the other films you recommend. Especially the highly rated foreign language films I missed like "4 Months" and "The Edge of Heaven". |
