2008
Year in Review / Top Ten Lists
a random sampling from other sites/blogs
Last Updated: January 5th, 2009
On account of I'm always interested in the motion picture oriented opinions of others, I thought I'd collect a random samplings of some "Year in Review" / Top Ten List type of pieces as I find them. Obviously I won't be able to include everything that's out there but to understand any given year in cinema I think you need to hear from more than one voice. Here's my top ten list and my awards for the year continue all through January. It's very... thorough.
Fox (blogger)
for Tractor Facts01 Happy-Go-Lucky (Leigh)
02 Be Kind Rewind (Gondry)
03 Tropic Thunder (Stiller)
04 My Blueberry Nights (Kar-Wai)
05 Burn After Reading (The Coen Bros)
06 Before I Forget (Nolot)
07 My Brother is an Only Child (Luchetti)
08 You Don't Mess with the Zohan (Dugan)
09 Fighter (Arthy)
10 Baby Mama (McCullers)Definitely the most idiosyncratic list I've read and with interesting commentary -- though Fox has a strange puritanical streak when it comes to gay sex. Milk gets a hand slap as "irrelevant" (you gotta be f***ing kidding me -in thi year) but Before I Forget's cautionary 'look what happens when you don't settle down' tale gets the thumbs up.
Katey Rich (critic)
for Cinema Blend01 WALL•E (Stanton)
02 Milk (Van Sant)
03 Rachel Getting Married (Demme)
04 The Dark Knight (Nolan)
05 Wendy and Lucy (Reichardt)
06 Man on Wire (...)
07 Revolutionary Road (Mendes)
08 The Class (Cantet)
09 The Wrestler (Aronofsky)
10 I've Loved You So Long (Canet)She titles the list "Slumdog-Free Top 10" so right away I already love it before I get to the titles. It's yet another list with a French slant. France done good this year, mais non?
Karina Longworth (critic)
for SpoutA Christmas Tale (Desplechin)
Synecdoche New York (Kauffman)
Build a Ship, Sail to Sadness (Federlein)
My Winnipeg (Maddin)
Woman on the Beach (Soo)
Rachel Getting Married (Demme)
La France (Bozon)
Mister Lonely (Korine)
Flight of the Red Balloon (Hsiao-Hsien)
Encounters at the End of the World (Herzog)Karina, not a fan of the idea of ranking, doesn't do so... but it spill out of her in this order "...and that has to mean something" she generously offers to the ranking maniacs.
Guy Lodge (critic)
for In Contention01 The Class (Cantet)
02 I've Loved You So Long (Canet)
03 Wendy and Lucy (Reichardt)
04 Synecdoche New York (Kauffman)
05 Gomorrah (Garrone)
06 Happy-Go-Lucky (Leigh)
07 Hunger (McQueen)
08 In Bruges (McDonagh)
09 Heartbeat Detector (Klotz)
10 WALL•E (Stanton)We share the notion that smaller non Oscar bait films were where it was at this year but we don't agree on which films. I keep seeing I've Loved You So Long on lists though I think there's precious little about it to recommend. Note: Hunger would have been on my top ten list as well had the film opted for a New York release.
Gabriel Shanks (blogger / theater diva)
for Modern Fabulousity01 WALL•E (Stanton)
02 Tell No One (Canet)
03 Revolutionary Road (Mendes)
04 Slumdog Millionaire (Boyle)
05 Milk (Van Sant)
06 The Visitor (McCarthy)
07 The Reader (Daldry)
08 I've Loved You So Long (Claudel)
09 Australia (Luhrmann)
10 The Wrestler (Aronofsky)One of the craziest things about top ten season is realizing how much you disagree with even your friends!? Not that we don't share three titles. But it's in the realm of a bunch of subcategories where the divisions truly spark.
Tim Brayton (film critic)
for Antagony & Ecstasy01 WALL•E (Stanton)
02 The Fall (Tarsem)
03 Happy-Go-Lucky (Leigh)
04 My Winnipeg (Maddin)
05 Flight of the Red Balloon (Hsiao-Hsien)
06 Burn After Reading (The Coen Bros)
07 A Christmas Tale (Desplechin)
08 The Dark Knight (Nolan)
09 Che (Soderbergh)
10 Gran Torino (Eastwood)He includes 15 all told on account of "living a life in praise of the cinema should know no bounds" so my only complaint is that Gran Torino isn't #16. Here I am growling like Clint Eastwood because this way the list is bookended by joy and then grumpiness. Argh! Well, at least they're both cartoons.
Kim Morgan ( cinephile diva / film critic)
for Sunset Gun01 The Wrestler (Aronofsky)
02 In Bruges (McDonagh)
03 Pineapple Express (Green)
04 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Fincher)
05 Standard Operation Procedure (Morris)
06 Slumdog Millionaire (Boyle)
07 Synecdoche New York (Kauffman)
08 The Dark Knight (Nolan)
09 Let the Right One In (Alfredson)
10 The Foot Fist Way (Hill)The list isn't numbered per se but I'm assuming, based on the writeups, that it's in descending order. Morgan is always worth a read.
Rob Scheer (blogger)
for I Don't Like Renée Zellweger01 Rachel Getting Married (Demme)
02 WALL•E (Stanton)
03 Revolutionary Road (Mendes)
04 Synecdoche New York (Kauffman)
05 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Fincher)
06 Milk (Van Sant)
07 In Bruges (McDonagh)
08 The Dark Knight (Nolan)
09 The Fall (Tarsem)
10 Burn After Reading (Coen Bros)Rob is a friend of mine and though we often disagree on movies, this year I think we found more consensus. His lineup doesn't have explanations but it's got a full Top 25. Enjoy
Stephanie Zacharek (critics)
for Salon01 Happy-Go-Lucky (Leigh)
02 A Christmas Tale (Desplechin)
03 Ghost Town (Koepp)
04 Cadillac Records (Martin)
05 The Class (Cantet)
06 The Visitor (McCarthy)
07 Before I Forget (Nolot)
08 Trouble the Water (Deal & Lessin)
09 Sparrow (Tarsem)
10 (tie) Iron Man (Favreau) and Hellboy II (Del Toro)Apparently her note that that The Dark Knight was the least of this year's comic book films made people angry. And here we go again. When will people ever learn to respect diversity of opinion? When will people ever understand that the job of the critic is not to coddle the reader with an endless refrain of " I agree with you!" ? I guess... never. [sigh]
Jim Emerson (Chicago critic)
for MSN Movies01 Pineapple Express (Green)
02 In Bruges (McDonagh)
03 Wendy & Lucy (Reichardt)
04 The Edge of Heaven (Akin)
05 A Christmas Tale (Desplechin)
06 Let the Right One In (Alfredson)
07 Chop Shop (Bahrani)
08 Che (Sodebergh)
09 The Fall (Tarsem)
10 Shotgun Stories (Nichols)He contributed to an aggregate list which came out differently of course (though A Christmas Tale was #1 so that's kind of fun/different). Do they grow film critics organically in Chicago or is it like a test tube phenomenon by way of Siskel/Ebert's 80s popularity?
Kristopher Tapley (Oscar pundit)
for In Contention01 Slumdog Millionaire (Boyle)
02 Bolt (Howard & Williams)
03 Synecdoche New York (Kauffman)
04 Pineapple Express (Green)
05 The Dark Knight (Nolan)
06 Hunger (McQueen)
07 The Wrestler (Aronofsky)
08 Dear Zachary (Kuenne)
09 Gomorrah (Garrone)
10 Let the Right One In (Alfredson)Kris can usually be counted on to be idiosyncratic (a blessing) even if the taste is questionable (a curse). I kid, I kid. This is an interesting list. Unfortunately Hunger won't be on my list since it's opting not to open in NYC and I have to draw the line somewhere as to my own eligibility requirements.
Nick Schager (critic)
for Slant01 Synecdoche New York (Kauffman)
02 Flight of the Red Balloon (Hsiao-Hsien)
03 Boarding Gate (Assayas)
04 Reprise (Trier)
05 The Dark Knight (Nolan)
06 Dear Zachary (Kuenne)
07 Chris & Don. A Love Story (Mascara & Santi)
08 Encounters at the End of the World (Herzog)
09 The Strangers (Bertino)
10 August Evening (Eska)I can't dive into that "self-loathing, self-doubting, self-destructive rabbit hole" that Schager loves (Synecdoche). It's too much navel gazing without external perspective for even me (and I love to navel gaze) but there's a memorable mix of films here. Honorable mentions go a bit more mainstream
Ed Gonzalez (critic)
for Slant01 Rachel Getting Married (Demme)
02 In the City of Sylvia (Guerin)
03 The Witnesses (Téchiné)
04 Standard Operating Procedure (Morris)
05 Summer Palace (Lou)
06 Encounters at the End of the World (Herzog)
07 Mukhsin (Ahmed)
08 My Father My Lord (Volach)
09 Let the Right One In (Alfredson)
10 Happy-Go-Lucky (Leigh)I know Ed personally and have even been to the movies with him. Nevertheless, when it comes time for his annual Year in Film, he never fails to celebrate at least two movies I've never heard of (#7 and #8 this time). Honorable mentions are just as surprising: Kit Kittredge? Gran Torino? and my beloved Reprise!
Richard Corliss (critic)
for TIME01 WALL•E (Stanton)
02 Synecdoche, New York (Kauffman)
03 My Winnipeg (Maddin)
04 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Mungiu)
05 Milk (Van Sant)
06 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Fincher)
07 Slumdog Millionaire (Boyle)
08 Iron Man (Favreau)
09 Speed Racer (The Wachowski Bros)
10 Encounters at the End of the World (Herzog)I'm glad people aren't ignoring 4 Months who couldn't include it last year and I think that settles it: From here on out I'm ignoring those one week LA only releases. I'll deal thing when they actually open in NYC. The really interesting part of this list is the top 10 performers. Not always your usual suspects here.
Roger Ebert (icon)
for Chicago Sun TimesHe refuses to do a top ten list. Instead he cites about 26 films from a year he considers well above par.
Anthony Lane (witty essayist)
for The New Yorker
He also won't play the game so specifically. He does manage to name ten films with tippity top honors going to WALL•E but it reads like he's disappointed in the other nine (some of them 2007 releases): The Orphanage, The Edge of Heaven, 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days, I've Loved You So Long, We Own the Night, Quantum of Solace, Iron Man, The Wrestler and ChangelingDavid Edelstein (critic)
for New York Magazine01 Rachel Getting Married (Demme)
02 WALL•E (Stanton)
03 Happy-Go-Lucky (Leigh)
04 Cadillac Records (Martin)
05 The Class (Cantet)
06 Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (Rozema)
07 Waltz With Bashir (Folman)
08 Shotgun Stories (Nichols)
09 Doubt (Shanley)
10 Trouble the Water (Lessin & Deal)Definitely some individualistic choices there (Kit Kittredge???) . Also props go out to Heath Ledger in white face, Robert Downey Jr in black face and Kate Winslet with two faces.
John Waters (writer/director)
for Art Forum01 Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Allen)
(tie) Love Songs (Honore)
02 Mister Lonely (Korine)
03 Savage Grace (Kalin)
04 Man on Wire (Marsh)
05 The Last Mistress (Breillat)
06 My Winnipeg (Maddin)
07 The Wrestler (Aronofsky)
08 Taxi to the Dark Side (Gibney)
09 Milk (Van Sant)
10 Cassandra's Dream (Allen)Waters gives it up for Woody Allen this year with two spots. I love reading his lists each year for his eclectic mix of favorites and peculiar insights --smart "Twinkies" note for Milk. He's so right. You know that most biopic directors would have gone there.
