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The Film of the Week

The WORD of the Week

Matthew 3:7-10

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Stupid Fact of the Week

There was only one civilian casualty during the three-day Battle of Gettysburg

28 December, 2008

Rockel's Best

Top Ten Films I saw this year:

`10` - Burn After Reading
If I had seen more films this year, this probably wouldn't have made the list (hence it's #10 position)... however, as much as it is nowhere near the brilliance of previous Coen Bros. films (Fargo, Blood Simple, No Country for Old Men), it did have it's moments. Malkovich was terrific and Brad Pitt managed to pull off an over-the-top performance reminiscent of George Clooney in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (something Mr. Clooney himself couldn't duplicate in this past year's "Leatherheads").

`9` - Traitor
I love me some Don Cheadle. The content matter of this film was of the kind that so easily goes far too political or far too outlandish. This film managed to keep a simple, honest approach to the treatment of all religious and political material that you could actually get involved in the plot without feeling the need to analyse biases/bents. Very nice supporting performances by Pearce and McDonough helped as well.

`8` - Tropic Thunder
Robert Downey Jr. is rarely off his game, Jack Black really settles wonderfully into his element when given crazy physical-comedy roles, and Stiller is always at his best when his satirical characters catch even himself in the crossfire. Not to mention that the script was well above the pace of most recent comedy scripts, the supporting players were all wonderful, the cinematography and visual effects were great, and there were 2 (count them, 2) "surprise" cameos that paid out exponential dividends (I don't even know if there is such a thing as exponential dividends, but if there is, this is the very definition).

`7` - Synechdoche, New York
I saw this film on a whim one day as I drove by the movie theater and felt like a movie. I had heard about the film several months before and was intrigued, but knew very little about it. I struggled quite a bit trying to find the proper place for this film on my top 10. It is without a doubt one of the heaviest, most depressing films I've seen in recent memory. It's not something I'd necessarily recommend to a wide audience, unless you are a fan of Charlie Kauffman, in which case there's no way you should miss it. However, I decided to include it as it was one of the more engaging films I saw this year, and it had an amazing ensemble cast, headed by none other than Mr. Phillip Seymour Hoffman, whose portrayal of the main character (which one must assume Kauffman based heavily on himself, or an alter-ego type offshoot of himself), though monotonous at times, was quite powerful.

`6` - Iron Man
This movie was such a delight for me. Aside from it being thoroughly enjoyable, Favreau has long been one of my favorite talents whom I feel has been under appreciated by mainstream Hollywood. Had it not been for the ridiculous performance of the ever-mediocre Jeff Bridges, this very well could have been a strong top-5 contender.

`5` - The Dark Knight
Much of the criticism of this film dealt solely with an unfair comparison to it's predecessor, "Batman Begins." While "Begins" was an excellent film in it's own right (as well as a terrific rebirth of a series), "Knight" exceeded in ways I think "Begins" never did. My main criticism would be of Nolan and him allowing his title character to spend half of the film speaking as though he had laryngitis. Outside of that, the film moved well, was well written, and showcased some of the best supporting performances in years, most notably (in my humble opinion, although Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker was powerful) Gary Oldman in one of the best turns this year as James Gordon.

`4` - Redbelt
Is there a better writer today than David Mamet? For my money, no. As a side note, I just finished reading his most recent book, Bambi vs. Godzilla, which I highly recommend. But as to "Redbelt," Mamet delivers another winding, character- and dialogue-driven script that progresses slowly but steadily toward an exciting conclusion. And, as is always the case with Mamet films, every performance from the hero (masterfully played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) all the way down to the bit parts populated predominantly by Mamet regulars (Rebecca Pigeon, Ricky Jay, David Paymer), are top-notch. Although this most certainly is not Mamet's best work, I hold it far above the usual dramatic fare of today's films.

`3` - The Band's Visit
I was in no way expecting to be blown away when I saw this film, and I definitely was. It might be best compared to last year's "Little Miss Sunshine"... a feel-good, heart-warming, funny, sad, slice-of-life, comedy of errors meets indie travel film. This is perhaps one of the best directed films of the past year, achieving an honest simplicity while not dragging so much as to lose its interest.

`2` - The Counterfeiters
I have to admit that I really fell in love with this film. As someone who enjoys films that take a new and interesting take on events/genres/etc (as opposed to "falling into the trap" of a particular storytelling style), I was pleasantly surprised to see a holocaust film that preserved the historical authenticity of that horrible time without resorting to the traditional "holocaust film" scenes/gimmicks (as it wasn't necessary to tell the story). Aside from one small directorial choice that I heavily disagreed with (although, by the end of the film, it was relatively far from my mind, and therefore may not have been such a horrible offense), it was, to me, near perfection.

`1` - Young@Heart
I've written extensively on this film before, but I don't think it can be overstated. I'm not the type of person who treks to the cinema in search of sap with which to water the eyes, nor to discover the next "feel-good" hit of the year. "Young@Heart" manages to tell an engaging story while running the gamut of emotions, never landing too hard on the heavy, nor indulging too much in the sap.

Honorable mentions:

- War, Inc.
This got some pretty rotten reviews, and I can definitely see why. I saw it on a whim and enjoyed it, though not tremendously. I saw it a second time with friends (one of whom, after watching it, referred to it as "this generations 'Brazil'," which I will tell you is far too kind) and I think I may have been a little too hard on it with my first impressions. At it's most absurd, it's hysterical, however, it begins to drift away from the absurdity and by the third act is taking itself far too seriously, thereby ruining it. Still, one of the more interesting films this year. Perhaps that alone makes it worth considering

- The Foot Fist Way
A good, off-beat, slow, indie comedy (a la "Napoleon Dynamite") that launched the career of Danny McBride. If you were a fan of him in any of the Apatow films over the last few years (as Apatow love him and puts him in everything), I'd recommend checking this out. If you're in the mood for an offbeat comedy that's definitely off the beaten path, give it a shot.

- Step Brothers
Yeah, sure. Why not? John C. and Will Ferrell. Good times. Not "Tropic Thunder," but definitely funny. Plus, tons of extra content on the DVD as all good comedies should have (gag reel, line-o-rama, commentaries, etc.).

Coming up next, the top 10 (or possibly 15) films from 2008 that I have not yet seen, but definitely need to.

And then... What to look forward to in 2009.

posted by Rockel @ 9:49 PM

1 Comments:

At 29/12/08 12:42 PM, Anonymous said…

I put Young@Heart and The Counterfeiters in my blockbuster Queue (I've been wanting to see Young@Heart but keep forgetting). I love that we saw two of these from your list together! (Although, other than Iron Man (which I've seen several times now), those are the only ones I've seen)