2008 - Top 20 countdown followed by the matchie® awards!!!

[Boner M]

http://www.thecinemasource.com/moviesdb/images/Ben_Foster%20-%201%20-%20X_Men_3.jpg

Dear matchcut. I sincerely apologise for the sexist, racist, homophobic attitude I displayed during last year's presentation (http://www.match-cut.org/showthread.php?t=655). The thing is, I was so deep into the character that I didn't know where the illusion ended and reality began! Totally method, yo. I also apologise for killing Anton Chigurgh (http://www.match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=46301&postcount=224). I didn't realise at that point that he was a force of nature as opposed to a mere mortal, meaning that killing him is only temporary, and his presence will always live on. Or something like that. In fact, I didn't really get that movie and its ending. Some help here?


http://www.nerve.com/CS/blogs/screengrab/2009/02/armondwhite090223_250.jpg

What you didn't get was that you're a liberal scumbag, Ben. By curbing your bigotry you have succumbed to the trendy hipster nihilism that is present in every film of 2008 except for the ones I liked. Such a display of blind conformity is present everywhere in our culture, from Obama to Borat to David Fincher to Nicole Kidman to Abigail Breslin to the band that did that 'pissing the night away' song, to the kid who colored outside the lines of the McDonalds placemat stencil I saw the other day. awful culture hipster hipster faux-art Fincher antichrist Hou fraud Van Sant paedophile Mike Leigh jesus. Demme pop wonder anti-nilihsm hipster pster nihiRenoir liberal consdecidbnecoon kihnjk;laSDHSRTEOPS NBGFCTREHISPETRETRHIS TERPSEFN IHILISNMHGEHJDHK GHJGDJBSJNKC


http://www.thecinemasource.com/moviesdb/images/Ben_Foster%20-%201%20-%20X_Men_3.jpg

Uhh... ARMOND?!


http://www.nerve.com/CS/blogs/screengrab/2009/02/armondwhite090223_250.jpg

HIPSTER


http://www.nerve.com/CS/blogs/screengrab/2009/02/armondwhite090223_250.jpg

HIPSTER

http://www.nerve.com/CS/blogs/screengrab/2009/02/armondwhite090223_250.jpg

HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER <3 statham HISPTER

....

...

..

.

http://goatmilk.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/mushroom-cloud1.jpg

http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/5963156/2/istockphoto_5963156-wasteland.jpg

*voice of Morgan Freeman*

And so it seems that Armond was a robot all along, hosting a nuclear bomb that was ready to go as soon as white liberal hipster America became too much for him to bear. Amidst this post-apocalyptic wasteland, however, another robot strolls around. A rather dim robot, but an adorable one, with a taste for garbage. Stay tuned to find out more!

[Ezee E]

This is why the Matchies are the Best Award show out there!

[dreamdead]

Sweetness. This weekend is gonna be miserable in terms of my duties at work, so I'm looking forward to much awesomesauce within this thread to ease my worries. Armond is always an easy solution...

[Kurosawa Fan]

Rock.

[Raiders]

On.

[The Mike]

Dudes!

[chrisnu]

:pritch: This is gonna be awesome.

[Pop Trash]

Holymuhdafuckinwowzerz, this rules so much. :pritch:

[baby doll]

I can't wait to be angered and depressed by how lame the films are (or at least the ones that have made it to Busan--Slumdog Millionaire just opened here Thursday), and to lecture you all for preferring a Swedish vampire movie (which I haven't seen, although it did play in Busan; too bad I don't speak Swedish or Korean) to André Téchiné's Les Témoins--a deeply moving, novelistic film about the early years of the AIDs crisis, beautifully composed in 'Scope and boasting the best ensemble acting I've seen in ages. Of course, most of you have probably never heard of Téchiné's film because its US distributor pitched it as a gay interest film--as if only gay men could be interested in a film about AIDs, a very real subject that effects millions of lives, while vampires are supposed to be of interest to everyone, which is the only reason, so far as I can tell, why reviewers (who normally treat non-American cinema as esoteric and irrelevant) are making such a big deal about this one.

[Ezee E]

Armond?

[The Mike]

I can't wait to be angered and depressed by how lame the films are (or at least the ones that have made it to Busan--Slumdog Millionaire just opened here Thursday), and to lecture you all for preferring a Swedish vampire movie (which I haven't seen, although it did play in Busan; too bad I don't speak Swedish or Korean) to André Téchiné's Les Témoins--a deeply moving, novelistic film about the early years of the AIDs crisis, beautifully composed in 'Scope and boasting the best ensemble acting I've seen in ages. Of course, most of you have probably never heard of Téchiné's film because its US distributor pitched it as a gay interest film--as if only gay men could be interested in a film about AIDs, a very real subject that effects millions of lives, while vampires are supposed to be of interest to everyone, which is the only reason, so far as I can tell, why reviewers (who normally treat non-American cinema as esoteric and irrelevant) are making such a big deal about this one.I feel like Bill Murray in the Greek restaurant.

Cheeseburger? :confused:

[Derek]

I can't wait to be angered and depressed by how lame the films are (or at least the ones that have made it to Busan--Slumdog Millionaire just opened here Thursday), and to lecture you all for preferring a Swedish vampire movie (which I haven't seen, although it did play in Busan; too bad I don't speak Swedish or Korean) to André Téchiné's Les Témoins--a deeply moving, novelistic film about the early years of the AIDs crisis, beautifully composed in 'Scope and boasting the best ensemble acting I've seen in ages. Of course, most of you have probably never heard of Téchiné's film because its US distributor pitched it as a gay interest film--as if only gay men could be interested in a film about AIDs, a very real subject that effects millions of lives, while vampires are supposed to be of interest to everyone, which is the only reason, so far as I can tell, why reviewers (who normally treat non-American cinema as esoteric and irrelevant) are making such a big deal about this one.

Téchiné's film is indeed great, but I won't say I prefer it to films I haven't seen for fear of sounding like a giant ass. Congrats on facing that fear head on Mr. Howard's Frost/Nixon > Murnau's City Girl. :rolleyes:

[Watashi]

Let's dance.

[Raiders]

Téchiné's film is indeed great, but I won't say I prefer it to films I haven't seen for fear of sounding like a giant ass. Congrats on facing that fear head on Mr. Howard's Frost/Nixon > Murnau's City Girl. :rolleyes:

While the last part is indeed eye-roll worthy, wasn't his post just an Armond impersonation?

I know it can be difficult to tell.

[Derek]

While the last part is indeed eye-roll worthy, wasn't his post just an Armond impersonation?

I know it can be difficult to tell.

It could be, especially since Armond loved the Techine film. baby doll has been known to take shots at films he hasn't seen so perhaps the shot at Armond was misguided.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I can't wait to be angered and depressed by how lame the films are (or at least the ones that have made it to Busan--Slumdog Millionaire just opened here Thursday), and to lecture you all for preferring a Swedish vampire movie (which I haven't seen, although it did play in Busan; too bad I don't speak Swedish or Korean) to André Téchiné's Les Témoins--a deeply moving, novelistic film about the early years of the AIDs crisis, beautifully composed in 'Scope and boasting the best ensemble acting I've seen in ages. Of course, most of you have probably never heard of Téchiné's film because its US distributor pitched it as a gay interest film--as if only gay men could be interested in a film about AIDs, a very real subject that effects millions of lives, while vampires are supposed to be of interest to everyone, which is the only reason, so far as I can tell, why reviewers (who normally treat non-American cinema as esoteric and irrelevant) are making such a big deal about this one.

You know, the only thing in this post I give a shit about is why the hell you aren't capitalizing the "S" in AIDS? Do you have something against the word "Syndrome"? Does it have something to do with the lack of scope and novelistic approach to the villain in The Incredibles? I know you probably haven't seen The Incredibles, but that won't stop you from openly criticizing it.

[Rowland]

There were several ties after the votes were tallied, which I cleared up with a last minute ballot emailed to Boner. I was also apparently responsible for knocking a particular film off the top 20... I'm not going to say which one. :P

[Kurosawa Fan]

There were several ties after the votes were tallied, which I cleared up with a last minute ballot emailed to Boner. I was also apparently responsible for knocking a particular film off the top 20... I'm not going to say which one. :P

:|

[Winston*]

Ah, the entire "baby doll" persona is a satire concocted by Boner. It all makes sense now.

[origami_mustache]

Oh Matchcut I miss you so.

[Boner M]

*voice of Morgan Freeman*

...and so it continues. The only living entity on this demolished Earth is Ben-L, built by Blockbuster Entertainment to withstand even the most ruinous disasters. He nonetheless persists in his crusade to enlighten us about which movies to see, usually ones starring hot famous women he has been photographed with. Without further ado...





http://reelsofrhyme.files.wordpress.c om/2008/12/44243841.jpg

Hi guys. Ever since Bruce Willis invented movies all the way back in 1993, there have been a lot of people who write reviews of movies for a living. Roger Ebert invented this practice, but now that he’s dead, I’ve taken over his position as BEST MOVIE REVIEWER IN THE UNIVERSE! As the best movie reviewer in the universe, I think it’s my job to talk about all the movies that match-cut loved in 2008. And reading through the list, I have to say this, guys…. BOOORING! Where are all the latest blockbusters? I’m gonna shake this list up!

*voice of Morgan Freeman*

In a few moments, the bottom 10 films of 2008 will be announced. Stay tuned, while I have a glass of water.

[Boner M]

http://reelsofrhyme.files.wordpress.c om/2008/12/44243841.jpg

Also, baby doll is right. The best movies are the ones about important social issuez, like last week's Crossing Over, starring Harrison Ford! It's a powerful, heartbreaking documentary (I think) about immigration laws in the US, and how those laws sometimes make us cry because they're not fair. When I left the cinema, I was so moved that I told the hot blonde chick in it that I'd probably have given her a good review anyway, and then she was like 'I slept with you for nothing', and then I didn't know what to say, and then she looked like she was sick.

That's what makes this film one of this week's THREE TO SEE!

[Sycophant]

Who the fuck is this clown?

[NickGlass]

Please, Boner, maybe just a little warning next time before you flash the weapons of mass destruction.

[Boner M]

Please, Boner, maybe just a little warning next time before you flash the weapons of mass destruction.
I would think the voice of Morgan Freeman is warning enough.

[Qrazy]

Cool thread.

http://web.mit.edu/ryangray/Public/Gnus/thumbs_up.jpg

[Watashi]

Awesome.

[Boner M]

THE TEN WORST FILMS OF TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT

10. Rambo

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Sylvester_Stallone_(1983)_2.jp g/345px-Sylvester_Stallone_(1983)_2.jp g

It seems that the idea of Burmese soldiers tearing apart villages and kidnapping and killing innocent people wasn’t enough of an “evil” element to justify Rambo’s coming onslaught, so these soldiers have just about every characteristic you can think of which could be associated with the word “bad”. They’re rapists, child molestors and murderes, they execute people without a second’s hesitation, and none of them are ever shown doing anything that isn’t just about cringe-worthy. - meg

[Boner M]

9. Eagle Eye

http://l.yimg.com/img.movies.yahoo.com/ymv/us/img/hv/photo/movie_pix/mtv/mtv_movie_awards_arrivals_2004 _photos/shia_labeouf/mtv3.jpg

·Michelle Monaghan gets a call from same bad-ass lady who called Shia. Michelle's son, on his way to play his trumpet at a DC concert, is aboard a train. Phone bitch threatens to de-rail. Therefore, unlike Shia, Michelle listens. She ditched her friends at the bar. She expecting them to pick up the tab? Typical.
·Phone bitch (hereafter called PB) intercepts Shia while he is making his allowed phone call; causes crane to smash through window thus freeing Shia. - Raiders

[Sycophant]

http://reelsofrhyme.files.wordpress.c om/2008/12/44243841.jpg


Who the fuck is this clown?

Srsly.

[Boner M]

8. Blindness

http://bodyworksfitness.files.wordpre ss.com/2007/10/backstreet-boys.jpg

It's a one-dimensional, tonally confused, directionless descent into unpleasantness. The greatest of post-apocalyptic films retain a sense of humanity and authenticity, even in the most dystopian settings imaginable, but Blindness only cares to revolt and alienate you in the most manipulative of ways. It bogs itself down with human nature politics that it doesn't explore to any circumstantial degree. Anything and everything it has to "say" is blatantly presented to the audience without any contemplation. All the events in the "prison" are so forced, heavy-handed, and simplified, and once they get out, the film just aimlessly drifts until Danny Glover's oh-so-convenient voice-over decides to wrap things up neatly for us. - Silencio

[Boner M]

Srsly.
Ben Lyons.

[Sycophant]

Ben Lyons.

Somehow, I have missed this guy's entire existence.

[Boner M]

7. The Reader

http://www.uplinkindustries.com/UplinkIndustries/Graphics/logos/miramax_logo.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_a4UzzPsZQzU/SOUmEk8GoMI/AAAAAAAAA00/KqnO-Apf0OA/s400/MM-Ilsa-3.JPG

This movie had no strengths. It was silly from start to finish. Dramatically limp, poorly written, poorly acted (yep, even Winslet), melodramatic in the worst way... I couldn't wait for it to end. This is the worst BP nominee this year, and up there with the worst I've ever seen. Maybe that's just a gut reaction, and maybe I'm being hyperbolic, but I really don't think so. I hated this film. - Kurosawa Fan

[baby doll]

While the last part is indeed eye-roll worthy, wasn't his post just an Armond impersonation?

I know it can be difficult to tell.I was half-joking (I started out by saying I was looking forward to being angered and depressed), but it's hard not to wonder why people who didn't vote for any other foreign movies in this poll were so impressed with this one. Clearly it's getting so much attention from reviewers because vampires are a subject that's sold pop corn in the past (Twilight being the most obvious recent example) but AIDS (sorry about dropping the S!) is something distributors only know how to sell to a gay niche audience.

[NickGlass]

I was half-joking (I started out by saying I was looking forward to being angered and depressed), but it's hard not to wonder why people who didn't vote for any other foreign movies in this poll were so impressed with this one. Clearly it's getting so much attention from reviewers because vampires are a subject that's sold pop corn in the past (Twilight being the most obvious recent example) but AIDS (sorry about dropping the S!) is something distributors only know how to sell to a gay niche audience.

Oh, have you already received a sneak peek at the final list?

[Boner M]

5. Diary of the Dead

http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2009/2/19/128795226190069946.jpg

Diary of the Dead is a meta-zombie film. Let me explain. For years, movie zombies have tried to eat human brains. This film attempts to simulate the experience directly by inflicting the viewer with brain damage. How can a film so insistent on explaining its own logic at every opportunity be so illogical? How can a film so desperate to be technologically hip feel so behind the times? How can a film so devoted to first-person perspective feel so impersonal? An embarrassment. - Spinal

[Sycophant]

So far I haven't seen any of these awful movies!

[Mysterious Dude]

Somehow, I have missed this guy's entire existence.
He makes Richard Roeper sound like a scholar.

[Boner M]

Oops...

6. Cloverfield

http://clee4654.googlepages.com/cloverfieldfunny.jpg

Oh, and Cloverfield ranks up there with the most inept, pointless, and close to unwatchable films I've ever seen. Even after reading the Cloverfield thread, I do not understand why people continue to like something so thoroughly superficial. Ugly, irritating... a fusillade of degrading adjectives! Also, talk about trivializing 9/11. Jeez. Abrams says that he hopes it would offer catharsis. Really? How? Worst film of the year. - Sven/iosos

[Boner M]

4. Hancock

http://media.bigoo.ws/content/image/celebrities_male/celebrities_male_43.jpg

Started off fairly promising (how many times in your life will you get a chance to see The Fresh Prince say "that's 'cuz I've been drinkin', bitch"), but I think I facepalmed at least five times during the course of the third act. Terrible, awful movie. - Robby P

[Boner M]

3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/3263/img0675md9.jpg

This was one of the most brainless, uninspired, insipid messes I've seen in some time. Terrible. Absolutely terrible. From start to finish. And it seemed there weren't many in our theater who disagreed with me. Everyone walking out seemed to be remarking about how bad it was. If it wasn't Indy, and I wasn't trying to like it, I may have walked out. - K-Fan

[Boner M]

2. Wanted

http://devon.intranet.org/costumes/jack.jpg

Perhaps the defining moment in Wanted is when Wesley turns to the camera and, noting how awesome he is compared to his previous life, asks the audience “What the f-ck have you done lately?” Makes you want to go and beat up that guy at school you never liked, doesn’t it? Makes you want to bump chests with a shirtless guy at work and flip off your boss. It’s the same kind of superficial manly posturing that plagued the likes of 300. What’s that one line from Shoot ‘Em Up? “A pussy can become a man, if he has a gun in his hand”? Somehow, someone made a movie based entirely on that rhetoric. - number8

[Boner M]

NUMBA 1!!!

http://www.fromsingletomarried.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/cheese-and-crackers.jpg

http://blog.rifftrax.com/wp-content/uploads/lemon-drink.jpg

http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2008/05/16/happening-trailer-wahlberg.jpg

http://www.joblo.com/dvdclinic/images/news/lion%20arm.jpg

http://i.somethingawful.com/u/raptorred/treeees/what_i_hoped_for.PNG

"We can't just stand here as uninvolved bystanders!" - Zooey Deschanel, The Happening

[Philosophe_rouge]

awesome

[Stay Puft]

I've seen 7 of the 10 worst of 08:

Rambo - *
Blindness - **
Cloverfield - **
Diary of the Dead - **
Indiana Jones IV - *
Wanted - **
The Happening - **

Largely mediocre fare. Sense of overwhelming indifference. Maybe we were starved last year for both good and bad films. Maybe I've gone soft. Possibly a robot? Suspect as much for some time.

[Spinal]

Blindness - **
The Reader - **1/2
Cloverfield - ***
Diary of the Dead - *1/2
Indiana Jones and the Evil Blanchett - *1/2
Wanted - **1/2

[EyesWideOpen]

Two of the supposed worst films of 2008 were in my top ten.

[Watashi]

When we say that The Happening is the worst film of 2008, we really mean the best, right?

[Spinal]

The use of Ilsa for The Reader entry = comedy.

[B-side]

Heh. Cloverfield was in my top 10. I enjoyed Indy IV, too.:P

[Sycophant]

Oh, man. Wanted was awful.

Still haven't seen The Happening. Despite everyone telling me it's shit, I'm still gonna have to fix that.

[B-side]

Oh, man. Wanted was awful.

Still haven't seen The Happening. Despite everyone telling me it's shit, I'm still gonna have to fix that.

It's the type of shit you have fun laughing at, though. And really, that can be more fun than watching something middling/mediocre.

[lovejuice]

wow, i haven't seen any of these. very surprise slumdog millionaire survives getting put in this category.

[The Mike]

Heh, I own and (at least somewhat) enjoy 6 of those 10. Self High-Five! :cool:

[Rowland]

Rambo [45]
Diary of the Dead [39]
Cloverfield [61]
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [44]
Wanted [46]
The Happening [25]

I watched the first half of Hancock before my rental DVD began to glitch out on me... I was never inspired enough to rent out the second half. *shrug*

[eternity]

One of the best films of 2008 ends up on the site's collective worst list.

See more bad fucking films, please. Like Twilight, or something.

[ledfloyd]

Indy 4 was great.

[Bosco B Thug]

Those films deserved those pictures... I tell myself. That's how you know this thread is successful, I start feeling bad for movies.

As much as I am forgiving of The Happening, looking at that still, that lion scene is so retarded.

Diary of the Dead - 7
Cloverfield - 4.5
Wanted - 3
Indy IV - 4.5
The Happening - 4.5

[baby doll]

Téchiné's film is indeed great, but I won't say I prefer it to films I haven't seen for fear of sounding like a giant ass. Congrats on facing that fear head on Mr. Howard's Frost/Nixon > Murnau's City Girl. :rolleyes:Starting with two movies I definitely have seen, Frost/Nixon, though far from great, was a skillfully made Hollywood entertainment, and City Girl was a dreadful bore. The story eventually reaches a crisis, but it takes the better part of an hour getting there.

As for Let the Right One In, the point isn't whether or not it's a good film, but that it's getting so much exposure simply because it's about vampires.

More generally, movies that represent the real world are more interesting and resonant (that is, when they're well made, like Téchiné's film or Jia Zhang-ke's Still Life) than movies that have nothing to do with it. Whether or not Let the Right One In is a better movie than Twilight, both are movies about other movies, rather than any lived experience.

[baby doll]

Indy 4 was great.It didn't suck as much as Spielberg's last three movies, but that hardly makes it great. Munich was at least ambitious (too bad Speilberg's style was so ridiculously heavy-handed, as in the sex scene with Eric Bana doing a slo mo hair flip that sends beads of sweat arching gracefully towards the camera, and Spielberg's usual daddy issues are especially gratuitous and tacked on here, with Mathieu Amalric betraying Bana because his father likes the other boy better), where Indiana Jones 4 is the sort of film he could direct with two hands tied behind his back. It's fun and silly and entirely forgettable.

[soitgoes...]

As for Let the Right One In, the point isn't whether or not it's a good film, but that it's getting so much exposure simply because it's about vampires.
No. The exposure is because it is a very good film. People didn't vote for it just because it was about vampires.


More generally, movies that represent the real world are more interesting and resonant (that is, when they're well made, like Téchiné's film or Jia Zhang-ke's Still Life) than movies that have nothing to do with it.
Really? Is this true for everybody or just you?

Whether or not Letter the Right One In is a better movie than Twilight, both are movies about other movies, rather than any lived experience.Why does film have to be grounded in what only you find interesting? For a lot of people, film is a form of escapism. Should there only be dramas?

Have you even seen Let the Right One in? Or is this yet another film that you have dismissed without watching?

[Boner M]

As for Let the Right One In, the point isn't whether or not it's a good film, but that it's getting so much exposure simply because it's about vampires.
'Simply' because it's about vampires? Or how about its ridiculous festival buzz? Or being one of the best-reviewed films of the year? There have been tons of vampire films in recent years that haven't received the exposure that LtROI has, just as there have been successful films in the past about AIDS.

[baby doll]

No. The exposure is because it is a very good film. People didn't vote for it just because it was about vampires.But there are lots of very good European films that don't get any exposure in the States at all (Téchiné's being one of them), so while I'm sure Let the Right One In is a good film, I can't imagine that it's that much better than virtually every other non-English language film released in North America last year. The issue isn't how good the film is, but will a large audience turn out for a film about a particular subject. Because Twilight was a huge hit, and Let the Right One In is an art house hit, we know people will go to see a movie about vampires.


Really? Is this true for everybody or just you?
Why does film have to be grounded in what only you find interesting? For a lot of people, film is a form of escapism. Should there only be dramas?For one thing, engagement doesn't preclude comedy. For instance, the driving instructor in Happy-Go-Lucky reflects the views of a lot of people regarding race and multiculturalism, and the movie is absolutely hysterical.

An interesting subject isn't everything (storytelling and style count for a lot, too), but it helps. In another thread, I made the point that Frost/Nixon is a better directed film than Changeling (in addition to being a more attractively designed and photographed one) because Howard treats his material with a lighter touch than Eastwood, but that doesn't make it a better film, because the true story Eastwood's film is based on is a lot more dramatic than the very minor historical event that Howard's film dramatizes.


Have you even seen Let the Right One in? Or is this yet another film that you have dismissed without watching?But I'm not dismissing the film. I'm talking about why this film, good or bad, is getting so much attention for a non-English language film, and why other films, as good or better, don't get a fraction of the attention.

[baby doll]

'Simply' because it's about vampires? Or how about its ridiculous festival buzz? Or being one of the best-reviewed films of the year? There have been tons of vampire films in recent years that haven't received the exposure that LtROI has, just as there have been successful films in the past about AIDS.One only has to look at Still Life, which got ridiculous festival buzz (it won the top prize at Venice), and got great reviews across the board, but didn't do well at the box office in North America. That Let the Right One In became a hit isn't simply because it's about vampires (I apologize for the poor phrasing), but that it is about vampires makes it easier for a distributor to sell it to an audience than a film about the Three Gorges Dam, which most North Americans probably have never even heard of.

[Boner M]

One only has to look at Still Life, which got ridiculous festival buzz (it won the top prize at Venice), and got great reviews across the board, but didn't do well at the box office in North America. That Let the Right One In became a hit isn't simply because it's about vampires (I apologize for the poor phrasing), but that it is about vampires makes it easier for a distributor to sell it to an audience than a film about the Three Gorges Dam, which most North Americans probably have never even heard of.
Well, Up The Yangtze is about the Three Georges Dam as well, and that did respectable arthouse business. I don't think Still Life had such a marginal appeal because of it's content, but rather because of its form.

[baby doll]

Well, Up The Yangtze is about the Three Georges Dam as well, and that did respectable arthouse business. I don't think Still Life had such a marginal appeal because of it's content, but rather because of its form.Maybe you're right about Jia's film, since Claire Denis' Trouble Every Day (a vampire movie I like a great deal) faired even worse commercially than her films usually do. On the other hand, the cover art on the Chinese-label DVD of Denis' film that I bought second hand in Halifax makes it look like a sexed-up gore fest (which is only partially true).

[Kurosawa Fan]

Wow. Two quotes for the horrible films. Finally, recognition!!!

[Winston*]

You conversing with your alias isn't convincing anyone, boner. This rouse is no longer amusing. IMO you should stop posting as baby doll forever.

[Boner M]

You conversing with your alias isn't convincing anyone, boner. This rouse is no longer amusing. IMO you should stop posting as baby doll forever.
Pfft. Israfel is my only alias here.

[Qrazy]

Starting with two movies I definitely have seen, Frost/Nixon, though far from great, was a skillfully made Hollywood entertainment, and City Girl was a dreadful bore. The story eventually reaches a crisis, but it takes the better part of an hour getting there.

As for Let the Right One In, the point isn't whether or not it's a good film, but that it's getting so much exposure simply because it's about vampires.

More generally, movies that represent the real world are more interesting and resonant (that is, when they're well made, like Téchiné's film or Jia Zhang-ke's Still Life) than movies that have nothing to do with it. Whether or not Let the Right One In is a better movie than Twilight, both are movies about other movies, rather than any lived experience.

Your argument failed here.

[Duncan]

More generally, movies that represent the real world are more interesting and resonant than movies that have nothing to do with it. Wrong.

[Fezzik]

While I actually liked Hancock overall, I do agree that the third act felt like a completely different movie.

It seemed to take a turn for the suck after the 'celebration dinner' scene.

[Fezzik]

One only has to look at Still Life, which got ridiculous festival buzz (it won the top prize at Venice), and got great reviews across the board, but didn't do well at the box office in North America. That Let the Right One In became a hit isn't simply because it's about vampires (I apologize for the poor phrasing), but that it is about vampires makes it easier for a distributor to sell it to an audience than a film about the Three Gorges Dam, which most North Americans probably have never even heard of.

You remind me of the self-absorbed cinemaphile at work who condescends to all of us because we actually have the gall to occasionally watch films because they're fun.

The fact that In the Mood For Love is his favorite movie doesn't bother me. I mean, I'm sure it sucked, even though I haven't seen it yet, but to each their own. The fact that we can see up his nostrils while he talks about it, however, does.

Well, that and the fact that he felt compelled to spell the director's name for us, since we are obviously so unsophisticated that we'd flub it up if he didn't tell us.

[Dukefrukem]

awesome thread and great bottom 10... i agree with them all.. the Happening was so bad it pissed me off... i was angry after watching it... mainly because I blind bought it... ON BLU-RAY!

[Fezzik]

awesome thread and great bottom 10... i agree with them all.. the Happening was so bad it pissed me off... i was angry after watching it... mainly because I blind bought it... ON BLU-RAY!

And yes, that was rude of me to neglect saying.

I :pritch: this thread.

[Boner M]

http://reelsofrhyme.files.wordpress.c om/2008/12/44243841.jpg

Sorry guys, but the top 20 will be delayed slightly. Meanwhile, I have some hot famous ladeez to be photographed with, and some corporate penis to be raped by. BRB!

[Kurosawa Fan]

Goddammit Lyons, you can't even be counted on to present a fucking list???

[baby doll]

You remind me of the self-absorbed cinemaphile at work who condescends to all of us because we actually have the gall to occasionally watch films because they're fun.Obviously, the only reason to go to the movies is for pleasure. What I'm saying is that certain topics are more interesting than others.

[Spinal]

Whether or not Let the Right One In is a better movie than Twilight, both are movies about other movies, rather than any lived experience.

This is a great example of why you shouldn't pontificate about films you haven't seen. You end up saying things like this which reveal your ignorance.

[Grouchy]

Obviously, the only reason to go to the movies is for pleasure. What I'm saying is that certain topics are more interesting than others.
Stupidity.

You don't seem to understand that fiction, regardless of genre, is always "about real life". For example, Let the Right One In is about growing up and the discovery of sex.

[Qrazy]

Stupidity.

You don't seem to understand that fiction, regardless of genre, is always "about real life". For example, Let the Right One In is about growing up and the discovery of sex.

Plus I'd much rather watch Fellini then Ken Loach.

[B-side]

I couldn't be bothered to read all of this. I'm obviously far from the most knowledgeable person on this babydoll character, but (s)he seems to be a bit less serious than his/her words appear. This is likely just me, though.

[origami_mustache]

Blindness - 8
Cloverfield - 6
Diary of the Dead - 3

[Boner M]

IT BEGINS.

20. Gran Torino

http://sassafrasjunction.files.wordpr ess.com/2009/02/off-my-lawn-lol.jpg

MATCH: I had a discussion after this movie, and someone said to me they were offended by the film's cavalier use of racial slurs. But I quickly pointed out that the characters in the film who we expect to share this disgust, especially since it is at their own expense, simply refuse to comfort us and instead look beyond the words. We have Paul Haggis to rub our face in our insensitivity. What Eastwood and screenwriter Nick Schenk do here is create a character who never becomes cute, cuddly or even less than offensive. You aren't going to change his cursing or his careless and ignorant slurs. Despite the film's occasionally cringe-worthy, on-the-nose dialogue it is a surprisingly sensitive portrait, especially in the way it equates Walt with his minority neighbors (much like Haggis vainly attempted with the father figure in Crash). It gracefully and poetically avoids condescending to liberal superiority and instead seeks to find the common ground between generations and races. Eastwood is a smart, careful surveyor of his own legacy and the almost inevitable finale is beautifully opposite of what we would expect from Dirty Harry; the notion is strikingly anti-violence and shows you're never too old to learn something about life and placing the importance on someone other than yourself. – Raiders

CUT: I can't believe that a movie this colossally bad was awarded Best Screenplay by the National Board of Review. If the name Clint Eastwood wasn't attached to it, it would be universally ignored. Thankfully for us, he is involved, and the movie is awesome because of it. - chrisnu

Lyons sez!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

This movie is AMAZING. I can't believe the Academy didn't give it any props AT ALL! In my opinion it should have won best foreign film but I think it was excluded from that category becuz Detroit isn't on the list of foreign countries even tho Asians and black people live there, or maybe cuz Clint Eastwood is an Irishman. But anyway the academy is stupid and this film made lots of money, which is what really counts, even though I think it was from old people who can never remember what they saw so they just kept on seeing it over and over again. Hmm, that sounds like a good movie idea in fact!

[Boner M]

19. Slumdog Millionaire

http://www.inquisitr.com/wp-content/slumdog-millionaire-baftas.jpg

MATCH: Captivating story. Really enjoyed the conceit of interlinking the game show questions with the personal journey. Moments here and there ring false, but the most important thing is that the underlying message comes through powerfully: that the greatest knowledge we acquire is not always from books or classrooms, but through hard-earned experience. Loved that climactic phone conversation. - Spinal

CUT: There's so much mystical nonsense this film tries to sell: characters recognizing extremely aged versions of each other, explicit references to the idea of destiny, and the absurdly treacle repetition of the phrase "it is written." Therefore, I don't predict it will be enjoyable to debate; the film blatantly lays everything on the table, so most discussions will likely revolve around one's belief in fate vs. luck. There will be no denying that the film has a very shallow understanding of subtlety, though. - NickGlass

Lyonz sez!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

Another AMAZING movie, but thankfully the Academy awards aren't stupid even though match-cut is cuz they don't like movies with bright lights and flashy colors and cute kids and loud music and OH MAN I AM SWEATING FROM JUST TALKING ABOUT THIS AMAZING MOVIE! Also, I had my photo taken with Freida Pinto, she was really nice until after we took the photo together, and then she told me that she only did it cos my dad said she had to. Well guess what Freida, I had a boner when you were standing next to me, TAKE THAT! Anyway that is my analysis of this movie.

[Ezee E]

Interesting. Didn't think many people had Slumdog in their top ten.

[Boner M]

18. My Winnipeg

http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2008/06/13/my-winnipeg-horse-heads.jpg

MATCH: The rhythmic prose of Guy Maddin's narration in My Winnipeg has been running through my head all day. It's reminiscent of Pare Lorentz's The River only with more of a sense of humor. The film features unique surrealistic imagery of Guy's exaggerated memories with his patented silent film era aesthetic. It is all at once entertaining, informative, humorous, and deeply saddening as Maddin mourns and pays tribute to the forgotten people and places he loved so dearly and made him who he is today. A man sitting behind me at the theater commented that he thought it is Maddin's most accessible film yet. Although I don't necessarily agree completely, it definitely strikes a universal emotional nerve. – origami_mustache

CUT: Not many saw it, but no one hated it... at least not yet!

Lyons sez!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

Like, WTF? First of all this is supposed to be a documentary but it's totally not! Documentaries are about things that are real not made-up cities from made-up countries! Also this is in b&w even though colour movies were invented just over TEN YEARS AGO! So already this movie is very dated. Anyway I recommend Frost/Nixon, Slumdog Millionaire and Milk if it's a good documentary that u want to watch with a popcorn in hand and the other hand up ur hot date's dress. THREE TO SEE!

[Boner M]

17. Wendy and Lucy

http://www.jjmurphyfilm.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/2ls6vci1.jpg

MATCH: In light of the borderline offensive audience-pleasing cheesiness of Slumdog Millionaire and its photo-negative, the equally pandering, faux-realist bullshit that was Frozen River, I was starting to whether anyone remembered how to capture poor people with dignity, restraint and humanity. Kelly Reichardt, whose Old Joy was remarkable in its ability to paint a quiet, intimate portrait of friendship amidst the crushing disappointments of the Bush administration, is the only one who seems to really get it. If there's one complaint, it could be the films slightly episodic structure, yet it is one clearly fitting for Michelle Williams' drifter and is necessary for balancing the small, emotionally potent inner turmoil with pointed criticisms and social commentary on human relations and the dehumanizing nature of Corporate America, as represented by the three establishments Williams comes to deal with. While I really wish Reichardt found a more nuanced way to critique the confounding ties between religion and corporations, Reichardt's demonizing of the Christian store clerk who turned Wendy in still packs a punch and is more than made up for by the humanity in Wally Dalton's portrayal of the security guard. This is a film with an actual concern for poverty, neither using it for cheap thrills nor for pandering bait for liberal back-patting. – Derek

CUT: Wendy and Lucy isn't bad, but it does contain two absolutely unbearable (and naturalism-shattering) supporting characters. That damn kid in the grocery store who catches Wendy and is completely relentless in his punishment is a false note to hit (I cringed when I saw he was wearing a crucifix on his neck--c'mon Kelly, give the audience some credit; you don't need to demonize a person for liberal audiences just by making them an unforgiving Jesus freak). Also, the car repairer played by Will Patton seems like he walked out of some goofball Will Ferrell film. Annoying to the extreme. I'm not being persnickety, either, since these character--despite their very limited screentime--are vital catalysts for the impoverished protagonist. - Nickglass

Lyons sez

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

WOW this movie was boring. I'm not even gonna complain about the films flaws because they are just so obvious (Wendy not killing all the people who done her wrong, no scene of Wendy drowning herself but then Lucy saves her and Aerosmith's "Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" plays, lack of wall-to-wall Aerosmith trax in general, ETC ETC ETC), it's obvious that the director is just trying to piss us off and make us like real movies even more. Someone said this movie is good because it is 'suttle' so I looked up what it meant on dictionary.com to no what he is talking about BUT THERE WERE NO RESULTS, he was just making up words to be smart. Haha. I hate this movie.

[Boner M]

16. Still Life

http://wexarts.org/wexblog/images/still-life.jpg

MATCH: Still Life succeeds, then, in interrogating a culture where home can easily become a casualty, one filled with empty bureaucracy that dislocates the blame endlessly onto other bureaus. Ultimately, though, the film’s epistemology is delivered when Hanming tells the youth over the exchange of cell phone ring tones, “We remember our own pasts.” This affirmation speaks out against the subjugation and implosion of the architectural past for something at once devoid of (and yet still tied to) capitalism--the power of memory that is personal and thus impressed upon the individual apart from national orthodoxy. – dreamdead

CUT: None; same deal with My Winnipeg.

Lyons sez:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

I thought this was a beautiful and moving emotional drama... NOT! The camera shots were really long and it looked like was shot on some kind of video, now don't get me wrong I think video can be good, but only for documentary movies like Cloverfield, not science fiction movies with flying spaceships. If the Asian dude who made this was trying to make me feel sorry about the ppl here then he didnt do a very good job becuz I didn't know what was going on.

[Qrazy]

I couldn't be bothered to read all of this. I'm obviously far from the most knowledgeable person on this babydoll character, but (s)he seems to be a bit less serious than his/her words appear. This is likely just me, though.

He's serious.

[Pop Trash]

With the exception of Rambo, I actually liked (more or less) all of the movies I saw on the worst list (Cloverfield, Diary of the Dead, and Indy 4)

[Grouchy]

Out of the "worst films" list, I'm a fan of Rambo, Blindness and (to an extent) Diary of the Dead. The other seven wholly deserve the bashing, SPECIALLY The Happening and Indiana.

[Stay Puft]

First two entries on this list and I'm thinking, "this might be worse than the Worst list." Granted, the thought is partly in jest... but I'm curious to know now what Rowland could have possibly bumped off the list with his last minute submission.

[dreamdead]

Hot doggity. Jia's film made the outskirts of the list. I hope that Still Life continues to get attention because I think that film captured something immediate and powerful about the nature of community being overwhelmed by the national. And while that sounds terribly academic, I think it's the humane touch that Jia has with the work that allows it to rise above mere academic treatise.

Maddin and Reichardt's films will be seen once they're available on dvd (though I was underwhelmed by the home viewing of Old Joy, I'll continue to support her work)...

[Ezee E]

A few actual quotes from Ben Lyons:

“Coming in at just an hour and 15 minutes long, this indie film is slow and downright boring at its core,” regarding Wendy and Lucy

"This is one of those films that every movie after this will be judged against this film” Benjamin Button

"one of the greatest movies ever made." I Am Legend

"You know what’s frustrating in the film though, Mank? You don’t get to hear the little boy’s side of the story at all and I felt like he was kinda pushed to the side and was almost an afterthought even though he’s the subject of the film.” Doubt

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ZZ-CqtHjAnk/SI1tQA9f0KI/AAAAAAABKXs/upJp5BxL7Ew/Sal+Masakela,+Catt+Sadler+and+ Ben+Lyons.jpg

[Spinal]

"one of the greatest movies ever made." I Am Legend


I'm hoping that this was taken out of context and that the first three words of the sentence are 'this', 'is' and 'not'.

[Ivan Drago]

Ben Lyons needs to die.

[Winston*]

" I love women in real life but at the movies I hated The Women.""

[Ezee E]

Without naming anyone in particular, but using nothing but Ben Lyons references, he wrote a tip book (http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008/10/eberts_little_rule_book.html) in October.

[Ivan Drago]

" I love women in real life but at the movies I hated The Women.""

:frustrated:

[Winston*]

"I tried to like it, but as a straight man I just can't find any interest in a film about AIDS. I'm straight" - on Les Témoins

[Derek]

Talking about Let the Right One In: “Something that’s really cool about the movie is that the director of Cloverfield, Matt Reeves, is now adapting this for American audiences. So we’re going to have this story come to theaters in the upcoming years in English.�

“Bryan Singer did a great job of balancing the intense scenes of dialogue with also moments where no one is speaking and that helped kind of build the tension at times.�

[B-side]

He's serious.

No way. I refuse to believe it.

Also, these quotes cannot be real. There must be lost context or adjustment by our dear matchcutters...

There must be...

:|

[Boner M]

No way. I refuse to believe it.

Also, these quotes cannot be real. There must be lost context or adjustment by our dear matchcutters...

There must be...

:|
You're an RT-er right? I don't know when you joined, but baby doll is RT's legendary sooriyakumaran.

[Philosophe_rouge]

No way. I refuse to believe it.

Also, these quotes cannot be real. There must be lost context or adjustment by our dear matchcutters...

There must be...

:|
Very real. VERY REAL.

[DavidSeven]

baby doll and Ben Lyons should do a TV show together.

[Spinal]

"I tried to like it, but as a straight man I just can't find any interest in a film about AIDS. I'm straight" - on Les Témoins

This is dumb on more levels than my feeble brain can process. Hot burning unadulterated stupid.

[Pop Trash]

This is dumb on more levels than my feeble brain can process. Hot burning unadulterated stupid.
I'm pretty sure that one was a joke.

[Spinal]

I'm pretty sure that one was a joke.

I can't find the original context, so I will take your word for it.

[B-side]

You're an RT-er right? I don't know when you joined, but baby doll is RT's legendary sooriyakumaran.

Yes. I sadly wasn't around for the likes of sooriyakumaran. He seems to be relatively praised in retrospect, though.

sic transit gloria, on the other hand, seems to be right in line with babydoll.

[B-side]

Very real. VERY REAL.

I can't fathom it. I thought these people only existed as exaggerated manifestations of everything intelligent people hated.:P

[Winston*]

I can't find the original context, so I will take your word for it.

http://www.match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=146775&postcount=9

Him having to restate that he is straight didn't give it away?

[Pop Trash]

http://www.match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=146775&postcount=9

Him having to restate that he is straight didn't give it away?
Wait...what? I thought we were talking about your Ben Lyons "quote" here.

[Winston*]

Wait...what? I thought we were talking about your Ben Lyons "quote" here.

This is becoming more complicated than it needs to be.

[Spinal]

This is becoming more complicated than it needs to be.

I blame myself.

[Sycophant]

I also blame Spinal.

[Boner M]

15. Vicky Cristina Barcelona

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll39/colpot10/vicky.jpg

MATCH: Loved this. I won't try to justify its worth in too much detail. For me, it just consistently hit the right notes, moved in the right directions, and pushed the right buttons. Not a false note in the whole thing. Generalities will have to do for now, but it's a film that's worth talking about. Great stuff. – DavidSeven

CUT: Allen has lost contact with the creative inspirations of those days in the late 70s, a time as long ago as Barcelona is far away. He has lost his touch for character and dialog. The cast, rounded out by Javier Bardem, has that sketchbook feel of stick figures diagramed to go through the motions of romantic coupling and uncoupling. But Allen forgot to add flesh and nuance. – fasozupow

Lyons sez!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

Woody Allen movies are usually pretty gay but this one had hot chicks making w/ each other out so I guess it’s not that gay. Some of it had subtitles which are usually a sign that it's a bad movie, but they didn't happen as much in Still Life so that means its a bit better. Morgan Freemans voiceover was a bit annoying but becuz he did such a great job narrating Little Children and the Jesse James movie I will give him a brake.

[Watashi]

I don't think I wrote any reviews of films last year. :sad:

[Boner M]

14. The Fall

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll39/colpot10/fall.jpg

MATCH: This film is incredible. The last act in particular, the concentrated emphasis on the storyteller's misery, as well as its textual shift to encompass cinematic ideas into its schemes, was phenomenal. I was not a lover of The Cell--I found it distant, and devoid of relevance... a showcase for Tarsem's graphic design. This film incorporates his fantasies in an effective and relevant way, harmonizing the imagination of the storyteller and the listener (I love the Indian-Squaw revelation) and allowing them, more or less, to become one. – Sven

CUT: The main problem with the film is that it suffers from cute kid syndrome. I'm not saying this is young Romanian Catinca Untaru's fault, but her constant fumbling with her lines and repetitious question asking was overdoing the string-pulling mechanisms. It was almost too natural. As my scattered audience all went "awwww" after Catinca said something adorable, I couldn't help but shake my head and wondered if Tarsem was capable of making a strong story without the help of the audience's adoration for the main lead. Even as a visual piece, I was left underwhelmed and it feels like something that Matthew Barney might have puked out if inhaled him with too much perfume. Then it tries to attempt to tidy the whole film up in a simple montage of stuntmen (the real storytellers) to sum up the weirdness beforehand in case you were unaware the entire time. - Watashi

Lyons sez!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

WHOA this movie is so trippy. I didnt rly understand all of it but my dad said about a movie once that u dont have to understand it to get it, u just let all the artistic pictures 'wash over you' or something, and then u see jesus. I think he was talking about What Dreams May Come, which is one of the greatest movies ever made imo. I also recommend Bicentennial Man if u want 2 see another Robin Williams movie about life and death and spirituality and all sorta of profound theems. THREE TO SEE!

[Boner M]

I don't think I wrote any reviews of films last year. :sad:
Spoke to soon. :)

[Boner M]

13. Happy-Go-Lucky

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll39/colpot10/happy.jpg

MATCH: I loved the film ultimately, so apparently it did something to make me forgive it and make me think that showing the moment when she finally becomes a victim and begins to hate life isn't all that important to the film. I found the film a very full look at not only Poppy but the world around her, which includes all the (a bit plain-spoken) commentary on education and modern liberality, and the very visible motif of multiculturalism. The film is very subtle despite the exaggerated character types, just in its not telling us too much about Scott, or Tim, or not making the pregnant sister a major plot point in any way. Maybe not "subtle," but smartly selective and cohesive with its story element. – Bosco B Thug

CUT: In general, I don't think the film did a great job of arguing for Poppy's chipper attitude. I'm somewhat biased, in that I find people like Poppy extremely irritating, but I thought the adversity and negativity surrounding Poppy were far too simplistic, making it far too easy to support her happy-go-luckiness. Leigh has crafted other films filled with realistic portrayals of people weighed down and embittered by everyday life, and I think this film would have done better to contrast Poppy with such characters, rather than contrasting her with spittle-covered driving instructors, bitter flamenco dancers, and one-note bitchy sisters. Poppy was the only character given any real nuance. If the film wanted to surround her character with exaggerated and simplified portrayals of negativity, it should have gone all-out with really awful things happening to her, a la Candide but with the opposite conclusion. - Melville

Lyons sez!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

Ugggghhh British ppl are so ugly, why do they make movies about them? Everyone was angry about the chick from this not getting a best actress nomination and to them I say 1) she was so annoying and dum, I mean why would she go up to a homeless person when she knew he would eaten her alive and 2) Angelina Jolie is one sexy women and should be nominated every year, so sorry ugly British ladeez, u just don't stand a chance. I think Mike Leigh should stick to directing Harry Potter movies, coz real life in England is obviously not very interesting.

[Spinal]

I think Mike Leigh should stick to directing Harry Potter movies ...

I think we've been selling Ben short. This is a brilliant idea.

[chrisnu]

The caption for Happy-Go-Lucky made me laugh out loud. :cool:

[Boner M]

I think we've been selling Ben short. This is a brilliant idea.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg
Ummm not really Spinal, have u seen his Harry Potter and the Boring Fat Working Class Bloke on the Dole? It iz by far the worst of the series and shows that Mikey should be kept as far away from showing us his take on the best literary workz of all time, so dont encourage him pls.

[Spinal]

Ummm not really Spinal, have u seen his Harry Potter and the Boring Fat Working Class Bloke on the Dole?

Queued.

[Watashi]

Only #13?

[Boner M]

12. Flight of the Red Balloon

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll39/colpot10/balloon.jpg

MATCH: The best I've seen by Hou, this is a gorgeously impressionistic ode to the power of art as a balm for the drudgery of the mundane, a means of expression for the physically/emotionally dislocated, and a universal source of communication that defies cultural and generational rifts, anchored by Juliette Binoche's impassioned performance and Hou's breathtakingly calibrated formal mastery, all reflective surfaces and a deceptively straightforward technique that proves slyly expressive, so that every movement and cut feels ripe with meaning. I could just watch lovely footage of the red balloon, itself an obvious but elegant metaphor, floating all about Paris, the contrast between its stark red and the earthly color scheme of the city a sight to behold, but this is a thematically loaded picture that I imagine offering something new with each viewing, as every work of art as multi-faceted and generous as this one does. – Rowland

CUT: None that I could find! Or…?

Lyonz sez!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

OMG, this wuz even boringer than the movie about the stupid poor chick and her dog & Asian Dam Movie COMBINED! I had to review it for the show, but then I just walked out after half an hour of reading subtitles (WORST INVENTION EVER) and stupid long camera shots behind cars and stuff so I just read the plot summary and played PS3 with Steve (my best friend ever!) for the rest of the afternoon. The plot summary sounded pretty stupid too, Ive never had a balloon help me thru life and make me appreciate the beauty in things so I don't think this movie would be good. Julia Binosh should stick to being in movies with Steve Carell (best actor ever) and not movies where theres writing on the screen everytime she sez stuff.

[Boner M]

11. Paranoid Park

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll39/colpot10/paranoid.jpg

MATCH: It is interesting to see this film following the "death trilogy" Van Sant just completed. It's a slightly livelier work, certainly less rigid in its construction and though at the center there is indeed death, the film feels free from the dreary, inevitable march of his previous three films. The film feels less confined to life and death and more to the inner reaches of Alex's mind. Throughout scenes of him writing down his thoughts in ineloquent but honest sketches provide the film's framework. Like the central death, Alex's youth feels detached and severed, bloodily and messily giving way to the world of the future. – Raiders

CUT: I didn't really get much out of the guilt trip aspect of the film. Kills a guy, feels bad, writes about it. Ok. And if it's supposed to be political, then I don't think it's very effective either. What are these explicit mentions of the Iraq War there for? Are we supposed to read the film metaphorically? Is America supposed to write a guilt addled journal and then burn it? I dunno. Wasn't too impressed with this one. - Duncan

Lyons sez!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

My dad says that I should talk about camera angles when I review movies, because that’s what reviewers sometimes do when they talk about movies. He said that sometimes you can make a camera look up to someone and that means they’re powerful, or when them look down it means they are weak or not so powerful. I dont think Van Sant did this in tha movie so i guess that means its not very good. My dad also told me to stop playing tag with Steve in the aisles before the movie started.

[Rowland]

So my ballot single-handedly pushed Flight of the Red Balloon a position higher on the list than Happy-Go-Lucky? Fabulous.

[Boner M]

So my ballot single-handled pushed Flight of the Red Balloon a position higher on the list than Happy-Go-Lucky? Fabulous.
...and bumped Still Life onto the list, thus knocking off Tropic Thunder. 15-20 were very close together, yet there were no ties at all.

[B-side]

I'm glad Tropic Thunder didn't make the list.

[NickGlass]

I'm glad Tropic Thunder didn't make the list.

Yeah, that's fine by me as well.

I may have written some marginally negative comments on The Flight of the Red Balloon when I saw it in October 2007, but there's no need to evoke them beyond "gorgeous cinematography and a brilliant central performance can't always compensate for a tiresome juxtaposition between uncomplicated youth and messy adults."

[Ezee E]

So top ten...

Rachel Getting Married
Wall-E
The Dark Knight
Let the Right One In
The Wrestler
Burn After Reading
Milk
Synecdoche, NY
Speed Racer
My Blueberry Nights

[Spinal]

So top ten...

Rachel Getting Married
Wall-E
The Dark Knight
Let the Right One In
The Wrestler
Burn After Reading
Milk
Synecdoche, NY
Speed Racer
My Blueberry Nights

Thunder stealer.

[Ezee E]

Thunder stealer.
Just a prediction. I will be amazed if it comes out as written.

It is written.

HA!

[Bosco B Thug]

I'm glad Tropic Thunder didn't make the list. Me too. We'd have to see Ben Lyons deliver the "He's a dude disguised as a dude who plays another dude!" joke and I'd have to take something down.

[ledfloyd]

we liked slumdog? really?

[Sycophant]

Should probably put Pop Trash on my ignore list for the next week, till he gets an opportunity to settle down from his Speed Racer is on Match Cut's top ten?!?!?!?! OUTRAGE.

[ledfloyd]

also, W&L, VCB, Happy-Go-Lucky, Red Balloon all too low. The Fall, wrong list!

[Spinal]

we liked slumdog? really?

I didn't put it in my top 10, but yes.

[Qrazy]

we liked slumdog? really?

Not me but I didn't vote. Don't feel that I"ve seen enough 2008 films.

[Pop Trash]

Should probably put Pop Trash on my ignore list for the next week, till he gets an opportunity to settle down from his Speed Racer is on Match Cut's top ten?!?!?!?! OUTRAGE.
Whatev...in a few years nobody will care about that movie and it will just be conventional wisdom that Synecdoche, NY is the best film of 2008. Time is on my side.

[Winston*]

Whatev...in a few years nobody will care about that movie and it will just be conventional wisdom that Synecdoche, NY is the best film of 2008. Time is on my side.

I don't know about that. As of 2011, it will be conventional wisdom that everybody agrees with my views on every movie. I can't wait until Mad Max II: The Road Warrior wins that retroactive Best Picture oscar.

[Pop Trash]

I don't know about that. As of 2011, it will be conventional wisdom that everybody agrees with my views on every movie. I can't wait until Mad Max II: The Road Warrior wins that retroactive Best Picture oscar.
I'm sure it's better than whatever actually won that year.

[Spinal]

I'm sure it's better than whatever actually won that year.

Hmmm ... let's see. Released in the States in '82, which means that it would be up against Gandhi. I'd have to see both again to make a call.

[Pop Trash]

Hmmm ... let's see. Released in the States in '82, which means that it would be up against Gandhi. I'd have to see both again to make a call.
It would be a much easier call if it was going against...Chariots of Fire.

[Sycophant]

Oscars!

amirite

[Ezee E]

Whatev...in a few years nobody will care about that movie and it will just be conventional wisdom that Synecdoche, NY is the best film of 2008. Time is on my side.
No. Just, no.

[Boner M]

10. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll39/colpot10/ben-1.png

MATCH: I thought this was excellent… I didn't think that this was a "live life to the fullest" film at all. I thought it was more of an "even if you live your life to the fullest it all falls apart" film. I have to admit, I have a weakness for the idea of stillness as some sort of ideal. It's the reason La Jetee is one of my favourite films. Given my interest in film I've always found it a little odd that I never got overly interested in photography. I think what it comes down to is the temporal relentlessness that film carries with it, whereas photography is the preservation and extraction of an instant. To get Tarkovsky-ian, you can sculpt time, but you can never relieve it of itself. What's left is still time passing. I think, then, that the impossibility of our longings (or at least my longings) to inhabit a freeze frame for just a little while, or to know what it would feel like for joy to be a more consistent emotion, or even to not feel guilty about re-imagining memories in a better light and dreaming about what might have been - the impossibility of all these things - justifies the impossibility of the film's premise. – Duncan

CUT: Beyond the technical wizardry in the use of special effects, this film is almost entirely worthless. You'd think that a film with a premise like this would stumble upon moments of poignancy of the course of its nearly three-hour runtime. However, all it can do it reiterate the same banal "live life to the fullest" platitudes that we are subjected to every year about this time. The film is almost like a deadpan parody of a film that strives to be an Oscar contender. From the sexy leads covered beneath old-age makeup/effects to the bothersome 'disability' that paradoxically makes the protagonist more fully able to appreciate life to the folksy Southern accents to the bookending sections in which the story is read aloud by someone who is closer to the tale than they think. It is like Brad Pitt's own personal Forrest Gump and it will probably succeed in earning him an Oscar nomination. However, while the film unmistakably looks and feels like something that should be an Oscar contender, it is utterly empty inside. - Spinal

Lyons sez!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

I dont need 2 tell u about how great dis movie is cos u have probably watched by in-depth analisise already... all i can say is that when the Earth has melted like Al Gore said it would, and ppl are trying to rebuild civilism, they will look at this film and then everything will be back to normal again. My favorite part is when they showed the crazy old time movies where a guy keeps on getting hit by lightning. ZAP! Hahaha

[Boner M]

9. Milk

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll39/colpot10/milk.png

MATCH: It's superb. Van Sant and the ensemble have done something significant to the biopic; they've let iconic characters actually breathe. Character development comes in the form of performance, atmosphere and energy, not flashback. It's certainly not without a jarringly clunky, yet thankfully very brief, moment or two (what was up with that Gus? Were you just showing off how bad the film could have been if it was in someone else's hands?), but it's so well-crafted, serious, buoyant, devastating and triumphant. It unapologetically gay and it totally works. – NickGlass

CUT: Seemed kinda run-of-the-mill to me. A little better than most biopics, but Van Sant has done much better than this. - Antoine

Lyons sez!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

Dis movie gives both documentaries and gay ppl a good name. Now dont get me wrong I like gay ppl but sometimes they can be a bit annoying, like I tried to get my photo with Zac Efron the other day and he didnt want to, and I said "jus cos im str8 doesn't mean you should hate me". Also the Pet Shop Boys r a pretty good band, I really liked that "A.D.I.D.A.S." song they did back in the olden days.

[Boner M]

8. Speed Racer

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll39/colpot10/speed.png

MATCH: MATCH: Holy geez. Those bastards have done it again: invigorating commercial filmmaking as a whole while setting a present day benchmark for a genre. Back then, it was sci-fi; this time, it's live-action family. They've elevated the live-action version of the genre to the standards of Pixar. Sorry for being crude, but I think the critics have absolutely missed the fucking boat this time. Those within the 35% Fresh on the T-meter and most of Match Cut will have bragging rights after inevitable revisionism takes place. – DavidSeven

CUT: AGGGGHHHH THE WACHOWSKI BROS KILLED MY PET KITTENS GRRRRRR - Pop Trash

Lyons sez!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

This movie was sooooooo cool. There is nothing wrong with it at all. Someone complained about this movies that it had a lot of 'covert product placement', but then u could say the same thing about my life.

[Watashi]

For once, Lyons gets it right.

[Winston*]

I think boner should start up a blog or something where he reviews every movie as Lyons.

[Boner M]

I think boner should start up a blog or something where he reviews every movie as Lyons.
I should come out and say that http://www.orble.com/stukicks/ is a major influence on my Lyons voice.

[origami_mustache]

I think boner should start up a blog or something where he reviews every movie as Lyons.

I want to see a whole blog full of film stills with speech bubbles.

[Silencio]

I just want to say...these Lyons captions are amazing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Carry on.

[Boner M]

7. Synecdoche, New York
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll39/colpot10/syn.png

MATCH: I thought it was pretty terrific. Easily the best movie I've seen this year. I was very surprised by how consistently funny it was: probably the funniest of Kaufman's films. Also, I don't think it's half as bizarre as people make it out to be. The basic ideas seemed pretty clear. The protagonist suffers from the same fundamental problems as most people, but he and the film focus relentlessly on them, trying to capture and refine them in art... The most exhilarating scenes in the movie, the suggestions of an infinite recursion as each layer of the play creates another, each one slightly displaced from the last. For me, those scenes had the beauty of a Borges story, the sense of reality being stripped down in front of me. - Melville

CUT: Holy fucking shit, what an abysmal movie. I'm not even talking underwhelming here. This was seriously an epic turd sandwich. Blech. Goddammit, Kaufman. – number8

Lyons sez!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

I hated dis movie, it thinks it is so smrat but I can tell u it isnt (and believe me I'd know). 1st of all, nobody IRL that I know would make there life into a play, that is stupid. Nobody even goes to see plays anymore cos the goverment said to burn every theatre down after James Cameron sed that he has the technology to make sure that people can watch plays on demand on their iPhone. THE FUTURE IS HERE. Also Michelle Williams was in this, she seems to like making rly boring movies, but thankfully she looks like a girl here and not a boy with a stupid haircut.

[Mysterious Dude]

CUT: Seemed kinda run-of-the-mill to me. A little better than most biopics, but Van Sant has done much better than this. - Antoine
Hmm. I should probably try to write a longer review of a movie, some day. But then again, I'm not made of time, dammit.

[Boner M]

6. Burn After Reading

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll39/colpot10/burn.png

MATCH: Early on, it felt like a minor effort to me, but the way the second half of the film unravels is not only utterly hilarious but truly extraordinary in the way it pits overwhelming governmental surveillance versus unpredictable human motivations. The commentary is so effortless and breezy that it almost comes as a surprise to find at the end that the film is actually saying something. Loved it. - Spinal

CUT: I'm definitely tiring of the Coens' cynicism. Fargo is a cynical movie where people do petty, stupid things but there is at least some balance. There's a mallard on a 2 cent stamp. Here, nothing. It's fine to make a satire showing how pathetic America has become. Bravo, I agree. But this seems like a defeatist film. Like, things have gone too far so we might as well enjoy the trainwreck. Fuck that, man. I've got better things to do and I don't care if they're small things. They make me happy. – Duncan

Lyons sez!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

Dis movie was weird. Some of it was funny but then a character that I really liked died, and then I was sad. I think the makers of it should of put a warning at the beginning of the movie dat sez the movie will be funny with some sad parts, because its not fair on the ppl who pay there money to see something funny but then cry. Anyway I don’t think this is one of Brad Pitt’s best movies but overall it’s pretty good I guess.

[Boner M]

Hmm. I should probably try to write a longer review of a movie, some day. But then again, I'm not made of time, dammit.
It was the most negative comment I could find, surprisingly. It was that or I used the criticism that Brolin should've gotten drunk for his drunk scene.

[dreamdead]

And KF thought the Coen's film needed more love? :confused:

I am rather surprised to see it so high, but the Coen's balance pretty smoothly the interests of mainstream and artsier fare, even if this film works (at least ostensibly) only in the former category.

Reprise didn't make the list. :|

[Kurosawa Fan]

And KF thought the Coen's film needed more love? :confused:

I am rather surprised to see it so high, but the Coen's balance pretty smoothly the interests of mainstream and artsier fare, even if this film works (at least ostensibly) only in the former category.

Reprise didn't make the list. :|

Well, I wasn't really paying attention to how many people had it on their list, I just noticed the two of you taking it off your lists, and knew it would hurt it's ranking.

I also disagree with your assertion that the film only works for the mainstream. In fact, anyone I know who has mainstream interests hasn't liked the film at all, while its greatest defenders seem to be those whose sensibilities lean toward the artsier fare.

[dreamdead]

I also disagree with your assertion that the film only works for the mainstream. In fact, anyone I know who has mainstream interests hasn't liked the film at all, while its greatest defenders seem to be those whose sensibilities lean toward the artsier fare.

Hence the ostensibly that I added into my defense. I think the film is definitely smarter than it makes itself out to be, which allows itself to be adopted by the more artistic crowd. There's a very real sense of all of the characters spiraling outward and impacting the supposed insularity of the story, which I feel is deliberate. If it is intentional, then the film works far beyond the initial misanthropy that overlays it and heightens the critique of misguided espionage. And Jenkins's portrayal, even if the Coen brothers judge his character, adds far more layers to this work than the mainstream audience would typically care for (since we're expecting Clooney to be the hero).

[DavidSeven]

I wonder how these lists would turn out if they were based on consensus ratings rather than overall votes. Films like Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire made the list by default because everyone saw them. I don't think the inclusion of either really reflects the consensus opinion of those films on this forum.

[Raiders]

I wonder how these lists would turn out if they were based on consensus ratings rather than overall votes. Films like Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire made the list by default because everyone saw them. I don't think the inclusion of either really reflects the consensus opinion of those films on this forum.

I'm not sure how true that is. You're assuming that because everyone saw them, they also didn't see more than ten other films they liked more. I imagine very few if anyone listed either of those films simply by default.

[Sycophant]

That said, I would be interested in seeing a consensusification based on the very lists used here.

[DavidSeven]

I'm not sure how true that is. You're assuming that because everyone saw them, they also didn't see more than ten other films they liked more. I imagine very few if anyone listed either of those films simply by default.

Didn't mean to imply that. Just saying the popular films have a better chance of finding supporters because they're working with a bigger sample size. For example, 5/5 MCers might rank My Winnipeg #1 on their list, but if 6/40 MCers rank Benjamin Button #1 then it gets the higher ranking. The fact that 85% of the forum didn't like the film becomes irrelevant.

Not saying an average rating approach is really any better -- ratings within a small sample size usually skew way higher -- just curious as to how it would change things.

[Ezee E]

Didn't mean to imply that. Just saying the popular films have a better chance of finding supporters because they're working with a bigger sample size. For example, 5/5 MCers might rank My Winnipeg #1 on their list, but if 6/40 MCers rank Benjamin Button #1 then it gets the higher ranking. The fact that 85% of the forum didn't like the film becomes irrelevant.

Not saying an average rating approach is really any better -- ratings within a small sample size usually skew way higher -- just curious as to how it would change things.
Yeah, but if all 40 MCers saw My Winnipeg, I have a strong suspicion that many would end up hating it.

[Boner M]

Yeah, but if all 40 MCers saw My Winnipeg, I have a strong suspicion that many would end up hating it.
Nah, it's a pretty likeable movie. I'm sure it'd be in the top ten if everyone saw it.

[Boner M]

5. The Wrestler

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll39/colpot10/wrestler.jpg

MATCH: count me in among those who love this movie… while the script itself is nothing to write home about -- it's still better than the original rocky, if that means anything -- the acting and directing really score. i love aronofsky's "honest" approach. not very often for a director who's greatly praised for his visual to step back and tone down his signature. the movie does benefit from rourke's taking the limelight and not aronofsky. – lovejuice - lovejuice

CUT: This is really disappointing. The Wrestler isn't a bad movie, in fact I'd be willing to venture that somewhere in that plot (especially with that performance by Rourke) is a very good movie, but it's so downtrodden with cliche after cliche that it feels as mediocre as nearly every other film I've seen from this Oscar season. Not a single film has done anything to truly separate itself. And I don't get the love for Tomei's performance. Average, unlike her physique. – Kurosawa-Fan

Lyons sez!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

Dis is a rly gr8 documentary about da life and timez of Mickey Rorke. It is filled with so much stuff about him dat I did not no, like that he was a pro-wrestler and is the stranged dad of dat chik who went out wif Marilin Manson. btw, I heard Marulin Manson once removed his rib so he could suck on his u-no-wot. GROSS!

[Boner M]

4. Let the Right One In

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll39/colpot10/let.jpg

MATCH: Engrossingly acted by its two young leads and full of inventive visuals (an underwater shot near the end of the film is downright sublime), Let the Right One in is a film both brutal and poignant; a frank coming-of-age romance free of lame sentimentalism. It also goes without saying that it’s a daringly unique take on the vampire lore, undeniably placing it next to Martin as one of the best vampire movies of all time. - number8

CUT: I found this to be a very slow and empty film. A big meh from me. If you liked this though be sure to check out Habit, also dealing with contemporary vampires. – yxklyx

Lyons sez!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

This was a Swedish movie, so I think it was directed by Ingrid Bergman, who my dad said was a Swedish movie director. I think she also starred in some really old movies back in the 90’s. I could be wrong though, cos girls don’t make movies. Anyway even tho subtitles are the worst thing of all timez, this was pretty cool. It had killer catz and vampires and lots of things dat u usually dont c in subtitled movies, which are usually about important social issuez. Although vampires are an important social issuez, so I dunno.

[Boner M]

Top 3 coming up in a few hours. Lyons need to be home schooled.

[Watashi]

Who's hosting the Matchies?

[Ivan Drago]

Speed Racer on the Best list and Cloverfield on the Worst list.

Yeah, I'm in an insane asylum.

[Ezee E]

Nah, it's a pretty likeable movie. I'm sure it'd be in the top ten if everyone saw it.

I won't deny that it wouldn't be in the top ten, but I'm sure there'd be a few naysayers on it as there are with any movie.

[Spinal]

This was a Swedish movie, so I think it was directed by Ingrid Bergman ...

:lol:

[Boner M]

3. Rachel Getting Married

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll39/colpot10/rachel.jpg

MATCH: This was really excellent! It's grandest accomplishment is how authentic it feels and, as mentioned above, how smooth and graceful Demme's verite POV is... The extended toasting scene really is great - so watchable and compelling in a compulsive way because its such an astute simulacrum of an actual event like that, then taking a turn to excruciating once Kym makes her toast and we're left to wallow in the tension she's left in the air and now currently feels... but then we go on to listen to more random toasts! Occasionally glimpse her moping in the background, this innovation in realism creates a very very poignant approximation of her temporally continuous agony about her status within her family. - Bosco

CUT: I pretty much resented how virtually every aspect of Kym's personal history was used like some dramatic trump card; mostly everything about Lumet's script rang false to me. The performances are strong, but the characters are walking Sundance Lab cliches. That Armond White can lambast the black characters of Ballast for being white liberal fantasies, but not the ones here is... well, expected, but also somehow baffling even for his standards.... [T]he entended musical performance scenes just made me suspect that Demme had a fundamental disinterest in his material and the film was really just an attempt for him to experiment with his documentary leanings within a fictional framework, without any real thematic purpose... 2008's most heartbreaking disappointment for me. – Boner

Lyons sez!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

Dis movie was shot wif handheld camera 2 add 2 tha realism. I didnt think it was all dat realistic, but when da movie ended, I started jumping on one foot on tha way out. Then I fell down a nearby flight of stairs, and for a few seconds everything looked like how it did in da movie. So i guess it was pretty realistic.

[B-side]

:lol:

The speech bubbles + the Lyons reviews = hilarity.

[Boner M]

2. The Dark Knight

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll39/colpot10/dark.png

MATCH: Christopher Nolan hadn't made a good film since Memento, so I honestly never had much hope for him as a filmmaker. He's a solid writer and knows how to make an interesting image from time to time, but stringing them together into a more compelling whole seemed to be a problem. The Dark Knight not only proved me wrong in doubting Nolan's talent, but also for believing that a deadly serious comic book movie would always crumble beneath the weight of its lofty pretentions. Of course, I'm one of the few who preferred Raimi's cornball jokiness in the last Spider-Man to the laughable super-hero realism in the first two, so I'm willing to credit these trepidations to a personal preference for more light-hearted comic book films. The Dark Knight, however, truly tapped into the dark climate of the times and brought forth something absolutely frightening - the blood-red, smeared lipstick smile of the Joker. Nolan forgoes the pomposity and bombast of Batman Begins in favor of a more tonally bleak portrait of civilization on the brink of chaos.
- Derek

CUT: I hated this movie. Thoroughly. Many have said that they cannot think of any serious criticisms, I have nothing but... Its worst crime is its screenplay: I swear at least 80% of the dialogue is sophomoric attempts at philosophical profundity. The last act of the movie is comprised of nothing but lines about the nature of man and evil and madness, heroism, cruelty, fate, and morality. There isn't a single character to be found, just mouthpieces to a fairly arbitrary piece of supercilious superhero mumbo-jumbo. The biggest tragedy is that it could've at least been interesting mumbo-jumbo if the film hadn't been so atrocious narratively and seemingly disdainful of non-verbal dramatization. However, it also would've required a directorial overhaul, because Nolan's execution sucked. – Sven

Lyons sez!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

A bit overrated but still da 2nd best movie of all time.

[Spinal]

Shocker!

[Spinal]

A bit overrated but still da 2nd best movie of all time.

You've managed to top yourself. :lol:

[Ezee E]

I called it. Only with the wrong #1.

[Spinal]

I called it. Only with the wrong #1.

I still think The Dark Knight will win the Best Picture award.

[Boner M]

1. Wall-E

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll39/colpot10/walle-1.jpg

MATCH: Seriously, this was amazing. It had some kinks and hiccups I'm sure a second, third, seventh viewing will fix, but it's an overall wonderful experience. One of the best and heartbreaking romances ever put on screen. It's a spiritual journey into the mind and soul that is sealed as love letter to cinema... Yes, it's true. WALL-E is literally Jesus. - Wats

CUT: The film runs into a problem I think. It sets up these characters that are comical because of their utter devotion to the directives that they have been assigned, but then it allows them to dash about like Romeo and Juliet when it becomes necessary to manipulate the audience emotionally. It seemed contrived to me and a little bit too blatant an attempt by the filmmakers to push the cute factor. Why would humans program a garbage collector to be capable of emotions that would distract it from its task? Likewise, why is Eva given the capability of altering her directive based on a crush? The film's inner logic doesn't hold up for me. I see what you're saying about the survival of love being important, but I think the film is much more successful as a plea for environmental awareness than it is as a love story. It's no Happy Feet. That film was able to place proper balance between the two ideas and stay consistent to itself. – Spinal (who liked the movie, I should mention)

Lyons sez!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

Oh man, dis movie is sooo good. It is a perfect algoreickal movie for tha fact that everyone is getting stupider and our world is getting more and more commerical and dat we have lost touch wif our real emotions and sense of beauty and funder (dat is a word i made up mixing da words 'fun' and 'wunder') and that one day tha person who is America's 'movie expert' will be some fratboy douchebag who only has da position cos of nepotizm... I'm glad dat haznt happend yet!!!

...

amirite?

[Spinal]

I gave it three and a half stars! :lol:

[Raiders]

Great #1, naturally, but that's a hideous quote from Wats.

[Sycophant]

Fitting quote to use, though.

[DavidSeven]

Lyons sez!

A bit overrated but still da 2nd best movie of all time.

Laughter actually bursted out of my mouth for this one.

[Boner M]

Great #1, naturally, but that's a hideous quote from Wats.
Not gonna lie, I didn't want to read through the entire thread. I just remembered Wats saying that the film was 'jesus', so I searced for that and his name and put down whatever he said as a 'match'.

Plus he'd likely murder me if I didn't let him support Pixar.

[Sycophant]

Laughter actually bursted out of my mouth for this one.

Same here.

[Boner M]

Full list to come when I arrive home. Much thx to Winston* for the pic work. The captions just wouldn't be the same without his illegible Paint scrawling.

[B-side]

Excellent work, you two.

[Watashi]

WALL-E is Jesus.

[Spinal]

Much thx to Winston* for the pic work. The captions just wouldn't be the same without his illegible Paint scrawling.

Lots of good ones, but The Dark Knight is probably my favorite.

[Ezee E]

Lots of good ones, but The Dark Knight is probably my favorite.
Yup.

[Milky Joe]

I have to say, reading the Lyons blurbs in the voice of Stevie from Eastbound & Down made them pretty hilarious.

[ledfloyd]

the dark knight has infected match-cut too?

[Rowland]

What are the matchie awards? I don't remember them from previous years... or my memory just sucks.

[Boner M]

What are the matchie awards? I don't remember them from previous years... or my memory just sucks.
Just our usual award ceremony, only with a catchy name.

[Boner M]

Full list!

1. WALL-E – 314
2. The Dark Knight - 215
3. Rachel Getting Married – 199
4. Let the Right One In – 198
5. The Wrestler – 172
6. Burn After Reading – 164
7. Synecdoche, New York – 136
8. Speed Racer – 129
9. Milk – 127
10. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – 12
11. Paranoid Park – 107
12. Flight of the Red Balloon – 103
13. Happy-Go-Lucky – 102
14. The Fall – 101
15. Vicky Cristina Barcelona – 84
16. Still Life – 83
17. Wendy and Lucy – 82
18. My Winnipeg – 75
19. Slumdog Millionaire - 74
20. Gran Torino – 73
21. Tropic Thunder - 72
22. In Bruges – 70
23. Waltz with Bashir - 64
24. Man on Wire – 63
25. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Day - 60
26. A Christmas Tale – 51
26. Iron Man - 51
28. Reprise – 50
29. My Blueberry Nights - 49
30. Encounters at the End of the World – 48
31. Frost/Nixon - 45
31. Pineapple Express – 45
33. Cloverfield – 44
34. Hunger – 36
35. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father – 35
36. Woman on the Beach – 33
37. The Edge of Heaven – 29
38. Redbelt – 28
39. The Class – 25
40. In the City of Sylvia – 24
41. Stuck – 23
42. Mad Detective – 22
42. The Last Mistress – 22
44. Jellyfish – 20
44. CJ7 - 20
46. The Visitor – 19
46. The Romance of Astree and Celedon – 19
48. Hellboy II: The Golden Army - 18
49. Silent Light – 17
50. Eden Lake – 16

Then things get booooorring...


50. Up the Yangzte
50. Love Songs
53. Blindness – 15
53. The Witnesses
53. Mamma Mia!
56. City of Ember – 14
56. Be Kind Rewind - 14
56. Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
56. Revolutionary Road
56. The Secret of the Grain
56. I've Loved You So Long
62. Snow Angels - 13
62. Trouble the Water
64. Diary of the Dead - 12
64. Ashes of Time Redux
66. Aniceto - 11
66. The Reader
66. Quantum of Solace
66. California Dreamin'
66. Gomorrah
66. The Bank Job
66. Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf & Death
66. Wanted
66. Summer Palace
75. Ballast - 10
75. The Duchess of Langeais
75. Religulous
78. The Happening - 9
78. The Tracey Fragments
78. Were the World Mine
78. La France
82. Ghost Town - 8
82. Twilight
82. Boy A
82. W.
82. Repo! The Genetic Opera
87. Step Brothers - 7
87. Get Smart
87. Changeling
87. Savage Grace
91. Boarding Gate - 6
91. Guest of Cindy Sherman
91. Bolt
91. Tell No One
91. Doubt

[Ezee E]

Bolt received votes? Ha.

[Mara]

I could be wrong though, cos girls don’t make movies.

I need to point out that this was really funny.

[Fezzik]

Bolt received votes? Ha.

I liked Bolt...didn't put it in my top 10, I don't think, but I liked it. I'm actually frightened that The Happening received more votes.

[baby doll]

Because I don't have time to bitch...

1. Wall-E (Andrew Stanton) / ***
2. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan) / **1/2
5. The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky) / ***
6. Burn After Reading (Joel and Ethan Coen) / ***1/2
7. Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman) / ***1/2
10. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher) / **1/2

11. Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant) / ***1/2
12. Le Voyage du ballon rouge (Hou Hsiao-hsien) / ***1/2
13. Happy-Go-Lucky (Mike Leigh) / ****
14. The Fall (Tarsem Singh) / ***1/2
16. Still Life (Jia Zhang-ke) / ****
17. Wendy and Lucy (Kelly Reichardt) / ***
18. My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin) / ***1/2

Okay, a little bitching is in order:

Wall-E was cute and funny but entirely forgettable.

The Dark Knight was minimally accomplished as storytelling and the action scenes were passable, but it's so formally inept (Christopher Nolan is intensified continuity)--to say nothing of its unpleasant content (The Joker's sick monologues about how he got his scars; an homage (?) to the Daniel Pearle beheading video)--that I can't give it a passing grade. The movie has one memorable image (the Joker seeming to float in mid-air) and the script feels the need to justify this aberration with a deathly monologue explaining the image's thematic significance.

The Wrestler is uncommonly strong on the prosaic details of trying to pay the rent and working in a grocery store, to say nothing of the gory wrestling scenes. And I liked the look of the film (the grainy cinematography reminded me of an NFB film from the 70s and the story is set in a part of New Jersey that looks uncannily like Spryfield, Nova Scotia). But I found the dramatic scenes with the two brunettes offering the hero his requisite shots at redemption far less convincing.

Burn After Reading looks less impressive after a second sitting, but it's still by far the best thing the Coens have done in years.

Synecdoche, New York may be the first Charlie Kaufman movie that bites off more than it can chew, but I still admired the attempt.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is another over-ambitious U.S. feature, but it's a far less successful or interesting one. The scope of the narrative (the hero's entire life from death to birth) is too large for it to be compelling as storytelling. I was intrigued to see how the premise would play itself out, but I was never really involved in the characters' problems. In other words, the movie simply winds down rather than building dramatically. Also, the paint-by-numbers sepia-toned art direction and dark cinematography (so we know that the film is set in the past and serious) is especially disappointing in light of how Fincher is forever being touted for his visual taste.

Paranoid Park and Le Voyage du ballon rouge are both beautiful but somewhat slight in relation to other films by the same filmmakers that tackle more interesting and resonant subjects--specifically, the Columbine shooting in Van Sant's Elephant and the history of 20th century Taiwan in Hou's City of Sadness, The Puppet Master, Good Men, Good Women and Three Times.

Happy-Go-Lucky, The Fall and Still Life are all terrific, so I'm glad to see them getting some recognition.

Wendy and Lucy is a good film, and its subject would carry a charge even if the film's release didn't coincide with a global economic meltdown, but it still strikes me as something of a non-achievement to make a social realist downer about a little guy being crushed by capitalism. It's like a very minor Aki Kaurismäki film, but without the humor or formal intelligence.

Finally, My Winnipeg is very funny, but Maddin's dreamy re-enactments consistently upstage the prosaic found footage he has to work with, and he should've hired some one to do the narration for him (Ã* la Chris Marker). Also, it helped clarify for me why, despite his obvious originality and formal brilliance, I still vastly prefer the more classical films of fellow Canuck Atom Egoyan. When I encountered Egoyan's work for the first time as a teenager (a late night airing of Exotica on Showcase, back when they used to play movies), I felt an immediate connection, whereas it took me much longer to learn to appreciate Maddin's work. The thing is, Egoyan (who was born in Egypt, which obviously colours his view of Canada) makes films on subjects that speak to me (Ararat, for instance, is as much about the Armenian genocide as it is about the representation of history in art, including film), while Maddin is a hockey-loving WASP who seems to find his own mother issues and sexual hang-ups much more interesting than I do.

[Rowland]

I'll rank and rate everything I've seen in the top 50:

12. Flight of the Red Balloon [78]
41. Stuck [77]
16. Still Life [75]
29. My Blueberry Nights [74]
15. Vicky Cristina Barcelona [73]
1. WALL-E [72]
42. Mad Detective [72]
44. CJ7 [69]
3. Rachel Getting Married [67]
2. The Dark Knight [66]
22. In Bruges [65]
26. Iron Man [65]
31. Pineapple Express [63]
30. Encounters at the End of the World [63]
8. Speed Racer [62]
33. Cloverfield [61]
6. Burn After Reading [58]
14. The Fall [55]
11. Paranoid Park [55]
24. Man on Wire [54]
13. Happy-Go-Lucky [54]
21. Tropic Thunder [46]

Only one negative, not bad.

[NickGlass]

Bored at work, and I've seen nearly all of them, so why not:

1. WALL-E: Pretty good.
2. The Dark Knight: Bad.
3. Rachel Getting Married: Good.
4. Let the Right One In: Very, very good.
5. The Wrestler: Very good.
6. Burn After Reading: Very, very good.
7. Synecdoche, New York: Bad, Good, and most importantly, Great.
8. Speed Racer: Er, so I guess I have to see this?
9. Milk: Great.
10. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Very pretty shit.
11. Paranoid Park: Great.
12. Flight of the Red Balloon: Not that good.
13. Happy-Go-Lucky: Good.
14. The Fall: Nope. Still not planning to see this.
15. Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Good.
16. Still Life: Netflix, do your magic. Wish I caught this when it was in theaters.
17. Wendy and Lucy: Pretty good.
18. My Winnipeg: Very good.
19. Slumdog Millionaire: Don't even get me started.
20. Gran Torino: Hilarious, in a good and bad way.
21. Tropic Thunder: Tiresome.
22. In Bruges: Has grown in my mind, but still bad.
23. Waltz with Bashir: Bad disappointment.
24. Man on Wire: Very, very good.
25. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Day: Great.
26. A Christmas Tale: Good.
26. Iron Man: Boring.
28. Reprise: Very Good.
29. My Blueberry Nights: Good.
30. Encounters at the End of the World: Very, very good.
31. Frost/Nixon: Banal.
31. Pineapple Express: Half good, half really bad.
33. Cloverfield: Even some sort of heady postmodern desire does not overcome disinterest.
34. Hunger: Very good.
35. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father: Yeah, yeah, I'll get to it.
36. Woman on the Beach: Very, very good.
37. The Edge of Heaven: Very good.
38. Redbelt: Maybe I'll see it.
39. The Class: GREAT.
40. In the City of Sylvia: Very good.
41. Stuck: Not good.
42. Mad Detective: Huh?
42. The Last Mistress: Good.
44. Jellyfish: Great.
44. CJ7: Eh, maybe later.
46. The Visitor: Pretty bad.
46. The Romance of Astree and Celedon: Whoseewhatee?
48. Hellboy II: The Golden Army: No, thanks.
49. Silent Light: Pretty good.
50. Eden Lake: Not familiar.

[Pop Trash]

I too am bored at work so I will bide my time with my favorite past-time: judging movies.

1. WALL-E –8
2. The Dark Knight -8
3. Rachel Getting Married –8
4. Let the Right One In –8
5. The Wrestler –9
6. Burn After Reading –8
7. Synecdoche, New York –9
8. Speed Racer –4
9. Milk –8
10. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button –6
11. Paranoid Park –8.5
13. Happy-Go-Lucky –7.5
14. The Fall –turned it off...I couldn't take it
15. Vicky Cristina Barcelona –7
19. Slumdog Millionaire -6
20. Gran Torino –7.5
21. Tropic Thunder -6
22. In Bruges –7
23. Waltz with Bashir -8
24. Man on Wire –8
26. Iron Man -7
29. My Blueberry Nights -8
30. Encounters at the End of the World –7
31. Pineapple Express –8
33. Cloverfield –7
38. Redbelt –8
41. Stuck –8
42. The Last Mistress –7

[Pop Trash]

Finally, My Winnipeg is very funny, but Maddin's dreamy re-enactments consistently upstage the prosaic found footage he has to work with, and he should've hired some one to do the narration for him (Ã* la Chris Marker). Also, it helped clarify for me why, despite his obvious originality and formal brilliance, I still vastly prefer the more classical films of fellow Canuck Atom Egoyan. When I encountered Egoyan's work for the first time as a teenager (a late night airing of Exotica on Showcase, back when they used to play movies), I felt an immediate connection, whereas it took me much longer to learn to appreciate Maddin's work. The thing is, Egoyan (who was born in Egypt, which obviously colours his view of Canada) makes films on subjects that speak to me (Ararat, for instance, is as much about the Armenian genocide as it is about the representation of history in art, including film), while Maddin is a hockey-loving WASP who seems to find his own mother issues and sexual hang-ups much more interesting than I do.

Wow total rep for this comment...I think Maddin is OK but I have film loving friends who just act like he is the be all/end all of current filmmakers. I was also trying to explain to one of them why I liked Egoyan better (re: Canadian directors) and he made some comment of Egoyan simply being too Bergman-esque or some other such nonsense.

[EyesWideOpen]

I'm actually frightened that The Happening received more votes.

That was due to me having it my top 10.

[baby doll]

I just got back from Gran Torino, and I have to say, it was pretty awesome.

[Ivan Drago]

1. WALL-E 7.5
2. The Dark Knight 9.5
3. Rachel Getting Married 7.5
5. The Wrestler 7.5
6. Burn After Reading 8
7. Synecdoche, New York 9
8. Speed Racer 6
9. Milk 7
10. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 9
19. Slumdog Millionaire 8.5
20. Gran Torino 5
21. Tropic Thunder 9
26. Iron Man 8
31. Frost/Nixon 8
31. Pineapple Express 7
33. Cloverfield 8.5
48. Hellboy II: The Golden Army 8

Not bad. I need to see a lot more from the list though.

[Raiders]

Why not...

1. WALL-E ****
2. The Dark Knight ***
3. Rachel Getting Married ****
5. The Wrestler ***
6. Burn After Reading ***½
8. Speed Racer *½
9. Milk ***
10. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button **
11. Paranoid Park ****
14. The Fall ***
15. Vicky Cristina Barcelona **
19. Slumdog Millionaire **½
20. Gran Torino ***½
21. Tropic Thunder **½
22. In Bruges **
24. Man on Wire ****
26. Iron Man **½
29. My Blueberry Nights ***
31. Frost/Nixon **
31. Pineapple Express ***½
33. Cloverfield ***
35. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father ***
38. Redbelt ***
39. The Class **½
46. The Visitor **

[Grouchy]

1. WALL-E – 9
2. The Dark Knight - 10
4. Let the Right One In – 10
5. The Wrestler – 10
6. Burn After Reading – 8
8. Speed Racer – 8
9. Milk – 6
10. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – 7
11. Paranoid Park – 8
15. Vicky Cristina Barcelona – 8
19. Slumdog Millionaire - 6
20. Gran Torino – 8

You could say I'm highly pleased. Paranoid Park, however, I would've included if I considered it 2008.

[eternity]

1. Wall-E: 8.5
2. The Dark Knight: 4
3. Rachel Getting Married: 9
4. Let the Right One In: 7
5. The Wrestler: 9
6. Burn After Reading: 8.5
7. Synecdoche, New York: 9.5
8. Speed Racer: 9.5
9. Milk: 7
10. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: 10
11. Paranoid Park: 6
13. Happy-Go-Lucky: 3
15. Vicky Cristina Barcelona: 4
17. Wendy and Lucy: 9.5
19. Slumdog Millionaire: 2
20. Gran Torino: 5

[jesse]

Predictably I didn't care for the list itself, but I read the entire thing simply for the quote bubble stills. Well done.

[Spinal]

Go!

[Boner M]

Go!
Will do. Just as soon as Lyons gets his act together.

[Boner M]

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

The art of animation has been around since da beginning of timez, over 100 years ago. They used to call animated filmz 'cartoons' but then the animators went on strike until they gave it a more fancier and sofistikated name. And then the ppl who run Hollywood said 'we'll rename it when you make a cartoon dat is actually worth calling a fancy word'. Then the animators all got together and made the motion picture Cool World, which was so good that they made an Oscar category for it. This wuz less becuz it wuz a good film and mainly cos it had Brad Pitt, who is awesome.

THE NOMINEES...

Waltz with Wall-E

http://www.navone.org/blogger/uploaded_images/wall-e-wave-749751.png

Wall-E

http://www.navone.org/blogger/uploaded_images/wall-e-wave-749751.png

Kung Fu Wall-E

http://www.navone.org/blogger/uploaded_images/wall-e-wave-749751.png

Bol-T

http://www.navone.org/blogger/uploaded_images/wall-e-wave-749751.png

Horton Hears a Wall-E

http://www.navone.org/blogger/uploaded_images/wall-e-wave-749751.png

[Boner M]

...and the winner is:

BOLT!!!

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ecMcf3B-ZR4/SGTer3mxsSI/AAAAAAAABgM/G7ctKhxjHpA/s400/Bolt%2Bthe%2Bnaughty%2Bdog.jpg

AND IT WASN'T EVEN CLOSE!!!

[Raiders]

:|

[Boner M]

BEST DOCUMENTARY

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

Back in 2004, Ray won Jamie Foxx a well-deserved Best Person EVAH!!! award for his heartracing portrayment of Will Smith, the world's first black musician. The movie was also a huge success at da box office, meaning the public wanted to see more documentaries and less movies about things that r not important. Now documentaries r respected as an artform, whereas before they were just porn movies.

THE NOMINEES...

Encounters at the End of the World

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/06/13/encounters_at_the_end_of_the_w orld_444x300.jpg

Man on Wire

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cuGv3IjzSk8/SODdrflsahI/AAAAAAAABA8/hE9QJgsJ4Y0/s400/eiff_man_on_wire.300x225.jpg

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/081028/Dear-Zachary_l.jpg

My Winnipeg

http://docfilms.uchicago.edu/docfilms/06_media/2009-01_images/09Week/My_Winnipeg.jpg

Religulous

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/10/02/religulous.000.jpg

[Boner M]

...and the winner is:

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/081028/Dear-Zachary_l.jpg

[Ezee E]

Whoo for Dear Zachary!

[Boner M]

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

As long as there has been movies, there have also been sound. And as long as there has been sound, there has been music. And as long as there have been music, there has been songs. And as long as there has been songs, there has been Aerosmith.

THE NOMINEES...

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

"Jai Ho", Slumdog Millionaire

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Qzd9HIsRWeA/SaIf7yYZykI/AAAAAAAAU_s/iswsaZhnXgE/s400/Slumdog+Jai+Ho.jpg

"O... Saya", Slumdog Millionaire

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Qzd9HIsRWeA/SaIf7yYZykI/AAAAAAAAU_s/iswsaZhnXgE/s400/Slumdog+Jai+Ho.jpg

"The Wrestler", The Wrestler

http://www.virginmedia.com/images/gglobes-springsteen-431x300.jpg

"Down to Earth�, WALL-E

http://soundtrackgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/070508-1827-soundtrackr1.jpg

"Little Person", Synecdoche, New York

http://www.iconocast.com/B000000000000066/X3/News1_0.jpg

"Rock Me Sexy Jesus", Hamlet 2

http://www.filminfocus.com/uploads/image/mediafile/1218727162-559c886f68bae17eb8bab98c9bccfb d6/300x225.jpg

[Boner M]

...and the winner is:

"The Wrestler", The Wrestler

http://www.virginmedia.com/images/gglobes-springsteen-431x300.jpg

[Boner M]

Will post the rest tomorrow.

[Raiders]

It was a little amusing, but can you just change the Animated winner to WALL-E so it won't be confusing.

[Ezee E]

It was a little amusing, but can you just change the Animated winner to WALL-E so it won't be confusing.

Ben Lyons doesn't lie.

[Watashi]

Wait... Bolt seriously won?

[balmakboor]

Wait... Bolt seriously won?

I have no idea. I'm lost.

[Derek]

It was a little amusing, but can you just change the Animated winner to WALL-E so it won't be confusing.

And I was about to ask who could possibly be confused by that joke...

[Derek]

I have no idea. I'm lost.

I believe the joke was that Wall*E won by such a wide margin that it wasn't necessary to even acknowledge it's win.

[balmakboor]

And I was about to ask who could possibly be confused by that joke...

If he'd said the winner was "Bol-T," I would've been with the joke all the way. But I guess today is question everything day...

Is Bolt any good? I haven't seen it, but I thought Wall-E was pretty disappointing after a terrific first act.

[Derek]

If he'd said the winner was "Bol-T," I would've been with the joke all the way. But I guess today is question everything day...

Is Bolt any good? I haven't seen it, but I thought Wall-E was pretty disappointing after a terrific first act.

I thought the "and it wasn't even close" sealed the deal, but this is the place that considers Speed Racer a masterpiece so iconoclastic picks aren't entirely impossible.

[NickGlass]

Umm, come on guys. (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=147653&postcount=185)

[Raiders]

Is Bolt any good?

I enjoyed it a lot. I would say laugh-for-laugh it is just about the most hysterical animated film I have seen. It's somewhat repetitive and its "heartfelt" moments fall kinda flat, but damn was I laughing at some of its moments.

[lovejuice]

something in me seriously like bolt more than wall-e. :)

but really i can't deny wall-e as a better movie, but if you want to chill out for an hour or two with edward-hooper-inspired animation, cute talking dog, you can't go so wrong with this. if anything, i'll say it's my favorite non-pixar disney 3D animation.

and yey for the wrestle. unless it's another joke.

[Ezee E]

4/1 people.

[Winston*]

That song from The Wrestler has some silly lyrics.

[Boner M]

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

Does Aerosmith count as a score?

THE NOMINEES...

Slumdog Millionaire

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Qzd9HIsRWeA/SaIf7yYZykI/AAAAAAAAU_s/iswsaZhnXgE/s400/Slumdog+Jai+Ho.jpg

WALL-E

http://soundtrackgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/070508-1827-soundtrackr1.jpg

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

http://i43.tinypic.com/kd0kkp.jpg

The Dark Knight

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb52/The_Playlist/more/zimmer-dark-knight-score.jpg

Milk

http://soundtrackgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/013109-0037-soundtrackr11.jpg

[Boner M]

...and the winner is:

The Dark Knight

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb52/The_Playlist/more/zimmer-dark-knight-score.jpg

[Boner M]

BEST MAKEUP

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

Now I no wot ur thinking, its dat makeup is the gayest category ever and dat only boring olden times movies get nominated, just so they can have a ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE thingy on their DVD cover so that unsuspekting customers will pick up the DVD and be like ooh OSCARZ! and think that it got nominated for a good category liek best explosion and then they put on the movies and THERE IS NO EXPLOSIONS just people talking in british accents in the 1950s and wearing things that make them look like alienz. Anyway makeup is not that bad, sometimes makeup is needed 2 make it look like a head has been cut off realistically, although usually method acting coverz that because the technology of acting has advanced so much dat Sean Penn can get so into character that if his head is cut off for real, it can be shown on screen and he can grow a new head because that was just the head of the character that got cut off. THE FUTURE IZ HERE.

THE NOMINEES...


The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H6VxBeI9qXI/SaIxOxp3P6I/AAAAAAAACTg/Mpb2YF7B6Ls/s400/Benjamin-Button-Pitt.jpg

The Dark Knight

http://www.batmandarkknightcostumes.c om/images/joker-makeup-kit-dark-knight.jpg

Hellboy 2

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FIttFVzVwR8/SaBvovrNytI/AAAAAAAAAZY/wQ_j3AxZenU/s400/hellboy2.jpg

Synecdoche, New York

http://www.ihavenet.com/images/Synecdoche-Movie-Review-Movie-Trailer-Philip-Seymour-Hoffman.jpg

Tropic Thunder

http://streetknowledge.files.wordpres s.com/2008/08/capt18aca8de0390409d8a84154131 e61c3efilm_review_tropic_thund er_nyet475.jpg

Let the Right One In

http://blog.jaman.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/lettherightoneinpic.jpg

[Boner M]

...and the winner is:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H6VxBeI9qXI/SaIxOxp3P6I/AAAAAAAACTg/Mpb2YF7B6Ls/s400/Benjamin-Button-Pitt.jpg

[Boner M]

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

OMG I dont know how dis is possible, but this category is even gayer than the last one! At least da makeup ppl can make gore look like it iz real, but costume designers just make clothes 4 da actors 2 wear. Oh well, it's a dirty job but somebody's got to do it, so lets give a big hand 4 the ppl who make put fancy clothes on da ppl in movies so that they look like they are in da rite time period.

THE NOMINEES...

The Fall

http://ferdyonfilms.com/Fall%205.jpg

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/1/11057/313011-43503-johann-kraus_super.jpg

The Dark Knight

http://www.channel4.com/film/media/images/Channel4/film/D/dark_knight_xl_26--film-A.jpg

The Last Mistress

http://www.channel4.com/film/media/images/Channel4/film/L/last_mistress_xl_03--film-B.jpg

Milk

http://www.scavengeinc.com/images/rasta/milk-carton-costume.jpg

Speed Racer

http://www.yowazzup.com/blog/images/speed-racer-movie-02.jpg

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

http://images.starpulse.com/Photos/Previews/Benjamin-Button-movie-28.jpg

[Boner M]

...and the winner is:

The Fall

http://ferdyonfilms.com/Fall%205.jpg

[monolith94]

Wow, I just realized that this was a great year for costumes…

[NickGlass]

Ben's commentary has gone from hilariously incorrect to completely incomprehensible. Bravo.

[Boner M]

BEST ART DIRECTION

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJYxLOsQoII/SVhKzm4cf8I/AAAAAAAAAQU/AiVmZMhJJ8k/s320/LyonsLAT.jpg

WTF! Dis category is weird. At first I thought it meant the guy who directs the film is artsy and stuff, but it seemz to me dat it rly means the guy who makes da sets and dekorates them so dat they create da world of da movie and stuff. I guess that means da art director is not as ghey as he seems, cos if there is an explosion in da movie, it is da art directors job to make it look like something has just exploded, making shore dat debris (WHICH IS ACTUALLY PRONOUNCES DUH-BRISS JUST SO U KNOW) is everywhere and there is black on da walls and terrorists r partying down in a place dat has not exploded.

THE NOMINEES...

The Fall

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2084/2409919628_8a712001e9.jpg

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

http://www.comicrelated.com/graphics/movie/hellboy2.jpg

The Dark Knight

http://blog.spout.com/wp-content/uploads/the-dark-knight-poster1.jpg

City of Ember

http://www.toxicshock.tv/news/wp-content/uploads/city_of_ember_town_still1.jpg

Milk

http://www.theaspectratio.net/milkreview.jpg

Speed Racer

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hv6CD5qP1TI/R1jmF3n1g-I/AAAAAAAACMs/Ns4s_A2c158/s400/SpeedRacerWachowskiBros.jpg

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/commercial/2009/1/21/1232550677600/Cate-Blanchett-as-Daisy-p-001.jpg

[Boner M]

...and the winner is:

Speed Racer

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hv6CD5qP1TI/R1jmF3n1g-I/AAAAAAAACMs/Ns4s_A2c158/s400/SpeedRacerWachowskiBros.jpg