Your Top Ten of 2008 (so far)

[NickGlass]

Juno is the most realistic teen film in years.


Surely, you jest. Right?

...

Right?

[eternity]

Surely, you jest. Right?

...

Right?
I pressure you to name one more realistic in the last five years. Granted, this doesn't give much to work with because with the exception of a few, the genre is an utter crapchute.

[kamran]

I pressure you to name one more realistic in the last five years. Granted, this doesn't give much to work with because with the exception of a few, the genre is an utter crapchute.

I don't doubt that many teenagers were able to identify and invest with the title character of Juno, but I think the following recent films - irrespective of genre - are much more attuned to the conflict, alienation, and awkwardness characteristic of one's teenage years:

Raising Victor Vargas
thirteen
Half Nelson
Art School Confidential
Me and You and Everyone We Know
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Mean Creek
Elephant
Mean Girls

Hell, even the "out there" slapstick inanity of Hamlet 2 bests Juno in the realistic race.

[Ezee E]

I liked the movie and all, but I feel sorry for anyone living in a world where Me You And Everyone We KNow is realistic.

[Philosophe_rouge]

In recent years, the teen film I'd call the most realistic (at least in spirit) was Mean Girls. Juno is not THAT far off though honestly, but it doesn't match up with the same stinging awkwardness of Mean Girls.

[The Mike]

I don't think Juno is far off in regard to attitude and behavior, but might be in language. Especially for the Midwest. There are kids like that, however.

I'd go with Thirteen as the most realistic teen film of recent memory, sadly. Doesn't apply to all teens, thankfully.

[transmogrifier]

I liked the movie and all, but I feel sorry for anyone living in a world where Me You And Everyone We KNow is realistic.


Or where it is considered good. Movies must suck in that world.

[eternity]

Mean Girls has wit oozing from all its pores, but it relies heavily on stereotypes. Hamlet 2 and Elephant especially rely on cliches and generalities, for much different reasons.

[Boner M]

I pressure you to name one more realistic in the last five years.
Breaking the temporal restriction...

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=5zkCnHUnoYY

[eternity]

Breaking the temporal restriction...

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=5zkCnHUnoYYThis is the right answer.

[Boner M]

In all seriousness, Dance Party USA is probably the most realistic teen film I've seen, to the point that I nearly wanted to stop watching it and go to the mall to get the same experience.

[Watashi]

Paranoid Park is the most realistic teen movie I've ever seen.

[Philosophe_rouge]

Adolescence is a cliche.

[Ezee E]

What was that one with Mandy Moore and makeup that gave them acne?

Cause that doesn't make the list, even though they had acne.

[eternity]

1. Cloverfield (Reeves)
2. Hamlet 2 (Fleming)
3. Speed Racer (Wachowski)
4. Wall-E (Stanton)
5. My Blueberry Nights (Kar-Wai)
6. Step Brothers (McKay)
7. Burn After Reading (Coen)
8. Sex and Death 101 (Waters)
9. Funny Games (Haneke)
10. Charlie Bartlett (Poll)

[Mysterious Dude]

1. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
2. Paranoid Park
3. The Dark Knight
4. The Tracey Fragments
5. Katyn
6. Cloverfield
7. Flight of the Red Balloon
8. The Last Mistress
9. Mongol
10. Recount
1. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
2. Paranoid Park
3. The Dark Knight
4. Burn After Reading
5. Cloverfield
6. Boy A
7. The Tracey Fragments
8. Katyn
9. Flight of the Red Balloon
10. The Last Mistress

My memory has been kind to Cloverfield, I've decided.

[Dead & Messed Up]

What film are you comparing Charlie Bartlett to when you call the characters realistic? Juno? The screenplay and tone of Bartlett are so off the deep end.

Let's take, for example, its depiction of a teenager losing his virginity. So, Charlie Bartlett throws some sort of party in a huge hall (I think it was a birthday party, but it looks more like senior prom or the Republican National Conventional: The Teen Years) --which the whole school comes to, even though he's just starting to become popular (first teenager issue hurdled within 4 minutes!).

As I recall, that large event takes place well into the latter portion of the second act, after Charlie has endeared himself to a majority of his peers. So the whole "four minutes" line isn't correct.

Assuming I recall correctly. I saw the film over a year ago.


That's all irrelevant, though. The main point of this scene is to show Charlie and his new girlfriend fooling around in the balcony, where a vintage convertible is convenient located.

I did chuckle at this.


So, they fuck, or whatever, and Charlie's a little nervous, but he ends up enjoying it, we think. Actually, we're positive he does, because after they finish and clean up (and the slow sappy music ceases), he goes to the front of the balcony and announces to the whole crowd that he just lost his virginity. Woo, go Charlie! [applause] But, wait, that girl he just slept with, she must feel so embarrassed, or--at the very least--a little bit used. So, the camera cuts back to her, to portray the trauma some teenagers face after having sex and then being exposed to the whole school. But, no, she's sitting there, smiling and giggling and clapping. Go Charlie, indeed.

I thought those were giggles of embarassment. Regardless, his affection for her implies that he's not using her. And what's so wrong with two teenagers finding joy in sex? If he had manipulated her and then announced it to the crowd out of a sense of personal conquest, then, yes, I could see your point.

But I saw it as a pair of teenagers who were clearly bursting with joy from their first sexual experience together.


Oh yeah, and doesn't Robert Downey Jr.'s character crack scripted jokes while drinking a bottle of Jack Daniels and aiming a gun at Charlie Bartlett?

His jokes didn't feel scripted to me. One of the issues I appreciated in the film was how he felt like Charlie all grown up, disillusioned and just as medicated as ever (drug of choice now being alcohol). That said, the gun seems like an unnecessary attempt to "up the ante."


Yeah, it really tackles the nuanced, serious issues afflicting teenage youth in an inspired way. It makes a mockery out of teenage psychological problems--and not in a self-aware manner.

You think so? I would disagree. If anything, it should be a comfort to high schoolers, because of the way it suggests that all of the kids have their various problems and confusions, and that's okay. Most of the side characters have issues ranging from feelings of suicide to a forced sense of rebellion, and the montages in the bathroom stall further the point that these kids are a bunch of confused people trying to figure themselves out.

As a teenager, that's what I felt, and I found this film's portrayal of high schoolers more interesting and true to my experiences than the steady stream of clique-obsessed teenage films that further a childish idea of high school as an eternal battle between misfits and prom queens.

[Amnesiac]

Ah, one of the more blatantly unrealistic aspects of Charlie Bartlett hasn't yet been touched on. That is, Robert Downy Jr.'s character deftly transitioning out of a drunken stupor and into vigilant sobriety in a matter of seconds. Just in time to save Bartlett's life and help solve his central crisis.

Also, I couldn't stomach the kitschy idea of students actually pouring their heart out to some random dude in-between bathroom stalls. It demands a certain eye-roll-inducing leap-of-faith that I had trouble giving into.

But, one thing is for sure ... I certainly didn't regret seeing the film. It's sort of like The Secret (2007; David Duchovny, Samantha Marris, Olivia Thirlby) ... a pretty mundane film containing an especially commendable performance from someone I hadn't heard of previously. The Secret proved to me that Olivia Thirlby has all kinds of talent and is someone to look out for in the future. Similarly, Bartlett was a good introduction to the admirably effective gusto of Anton Yelchin. I don't doubt that both actors will find more memorable and effective fare in the near future...

[The Mike]

1. Iron Man
2. The Fall
3. Tropic Thunder
4. Be Kind Rewind
5. Redbelt
6. Burn After Reading
7. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
8. The Dark Knight
9. In Bruges
10. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Updated.

[Raiders]

Update:

1. WALL•E (Stanton)
2. Man on Wire (Marsh)
3. Pineapple Express (Green)
4. Burn After Reading (Coens)
5. Up the Yangtze (Chang)
6. My Blueberry Nights (Wong)
7. Cloverfield (Reeves)
8. The Dark Knight (Nolan)
9. The Fall (Tarsem)
10. Elegy (Coixet)

[eternity]

Ah, one of the more blatantly unrealistic aspects of Charlie Bartlett hasn't yet been touched on. That is, Robert Downy Jr.'s character deftly transitioning out of a drunken stupor and into vigilant sobriety in a matter of seconds. Just in time to save Bartlett's life and help solve his central crisis.

Also, I couldn't stomach the kitschy idea of students actually pouring their heart out to some random dude in-between bathroom stalls. It demands a certain eye-roll-inducing leap-of-faith that I had trouble giving into.

But, one thing is for sure ... I certainly didn't regret seeing the film. It's sort of like The Secret (2007; David Duchovny, Samantha Marris, Olivia Thirlby) ... a pretty mundane film containing an especially commendable performance from someone I hadn't heard of previously. The Secret proved to me that Olivia Thirlby has all kinds of talent and is someone to look out for in the future. Similarly, Bartlett was a good introduction to the admirably effective gusto of Anton Yelchin. I don't doubt that both actors will find more memorable and effective fare in the near future...

Unless if Downey wasn't quite drunk yet, but rather just really stressed to the point of being a little off his rocker, Charlie's little fall probably broke him out of it. Otherwise, yeah, it takes a bit of a leap of faith into the plausability of that.

As for the bathroom stall confession ring, I think the hook of getting prescription drugs got them in the door and the actual helpful advice kept 'em there. How he could have such a big impact with this withouht it all falling apart really quickly is an impossibility though. Downey and co. weren't THAT incompetent.

[Dead & Messed Up]

And another revision.

01. In Bruges
02. The Fall
03. The Dark Knight
04. Wall-E
05. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
06. Cloverfield
07. Pineapple Express
08. Iron Man
09. The Ruins
10. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Mostly cause I'm bored.

01. The Fall
02. The Dark Knight
03. In Bruges
04. Wall-E
05. Cthulhu
06. Pineapple Express
07. Iron Man
08. Cloverfield
09. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
10. The X-Files: I Want to Believe

[Kurosawa Fan]

1. Speed Racer - 9.0
2. Wall*E - 8.5
3. Mad Detective - 8.5
4. The Pineapple Express - 8.0
5. The Dark Knight - 7.5
6. Forgetting Sarah Marshall - 7.5
7. Cloverfield - 7.5
8. My Winnipeg - 7.0
9. Baby Mama - 7.0
10. Kung-Fu Panda - 6.5


Ta-dow!

1. Burn After Reading - 9.5
2. Speed Racer - 9.0
3. Wall*E - 8.5
4. Mad Detective - 8.5
5. The Pineapple Express - 8.0
6. The Dark Knight - 7.5
7. Forgetting Sarah Marshall - 7.5
8. Cloverfield - 7.5
9. My Winnipeg - 7.0
10. Baby Mama - 7.0

[Ivan Drago]

Edited in previous post for Burn After Reading and Tropic Thunder.

[Sven]

Ta-dow!

1. Burn After Reading - 9.5
2. Speed Racer - 9.0
3. Wall*E - 8.5
4. Mad Detective - 8.5
5. The Pineapple Express - 8.0
6. The Dark Knight - 7.5
7. Forgetting Sarah Marshall - 7.5
8. Cloverfield - 7.5
9. My Winnipeg - 7.0
10. Baby Mama - 7.0

No Tropic Thunder?

[Kurosawa Fan]

No Tropic Thunder?

Whoops. I forgot about that.

[Kurosawa Fan]

One more time!


1. Burn After Reading - 9.5
2. Speed Racer - 9.0
3. Tropic Thunder - 9.0
4. Wall*E - 8.5
5. Mad Detective - 8.5
6. The Pineapple Express - 8.0
7. The Dark Knight - 7.5
8. Forgetting Sarah Marshall - 7.5
9. Cloverfield - 7.5
10. My Winnipeg - 7.0

[Pop Trash]

Added Rachel and bumped up Redbelt and Stuck upon contemplation. Also, I'm up to 30 2008 films now. Wooo!

8/10
1. My Blueberry Nights
2. Wall-E
3. The Dark Knight
4. Redbelt
5. Stuck
6. Pineapple Express
7. Burn After Reading
8. Rachel Getting Married

7/10
9. Cloverfield
10. Shotgun Stories


11. Snow Angels
12. Encounters at the End of the World
13. Indiana Jones/Crystal Skull
14. Iron Man
15. Diary of the Dead
16. In Bruges
17. Be Kind Rewind
18. Son of Rambow
19. Hamlet 2
20. Zack and Miri Make a Porno
21. Vicky Cristina Barcelona

6/10
22. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
23. Choke
24. Tropic Thunder
25. Shine a Light
26. Funny Games USA

5/10
27. Speed Racer
28. Swing Vote

4/10
29. The Ruins
30. Rambo

[origami_mustache]

Worst: (1 being the worst)


10. Tropic Thunder
9. Step Brothers
8. Semi-Pro
7. Iron Man
6. Diary of the Dead
5. Silent Light
4. Hancock
3. Beautiful Losers
2. Leatherheads
1. Lakeview Terrace

[eternity]

1. Cloverfield (Reeves)
2. Hamlet 2 (Fleming)
3. Speed Racer (Wachowski)
4. Wall-E (Stanton)
5. My Blueberry Nights (Kar-Wai)
6. Step Brothers (McKay)
7. Burn After Reading (Coen)
8. Sex and Death 101 (Waters)
9. Funny Games (Haneke)
10. Charlie Bartlett (Poll)Updated

[Raiders]

Update (using US release dates):

1. WALL•E (Stanton)
2. Man on Wire (Marsh)
3. Paranoid Park (Van Sant)
4. Pineapple Express (Green)
5. Burn After Reading (Coens)
6. Up the Yangtze (Chang)
7. My Blueberry Nights (Wong)
8. Cloverfield (Reeves)
9. The Dark Knight (Nolan)
10. The Fall (Tarsem)

[Amnesiac]

2. Man on Wire (Marsh)


Good call. I really enjoyed this one.


3. Paranoid Park (Van Sant)

Wasn't as impressed with this one. Felt a bit alienating. But I didn't hate it, the tone and pace of the film was interesting and the lead did a good job with his character.

[Watashi]

Raiders top ten looks a lot like mine. Good man.

Now if we just can get him to rewatch Speed Racer, then all will be complete.

[Raiders]

Raiders top ten looks a lot like mine. Good man.

Now if we just can get him to rewatch Speed Racer, then all will be complete.

Not happening. Too much other stuff I want to see without rewatching that.

[Ezee E]

Raiders top ten looks a lot like mine. Good man.

Now if we just can get him to rewatch Speed Racer, then all will be complete.
The Fall?

[Rowland]

1. Redbelt
2. Wall•E
3. The Dark Knight
4. Be Kind Rewind
5. Encounters at the End of the World
6. Cloverfield
7. Married Life
8. Man on Wire
9. Iron Man
10. The Strangers

[SirNewt]

Here is my predictive list from Qrazy's thread.

1. Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea
2. The Argentine/Guerrilla
3. 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days
4. WALL-E
5. The Changeling
6. Burn After Reading
7. Blindness
8. Flight of the Red Balloon
9. Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden
10.Iron Man

Right now,
1 The Dark Knight
2 The Counterfeiters
3 WALL-E
4 Vickie Christina Barcelona
5 Ironman
6 Burn After Reading
7 My Blueberry Nights
8 Forgetting Sarah Marshal
9 Kung-Fu Panda
10 In Bruges

ughhhh not even Pixar could break this year open for me.


update

Looking back, 21 is my most hated mistake so far with a 2.

[Philosophe_rouge]

1. Vicky Christina Barcelona
2. In Bruges
3. The Dark Knight
4. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
5. Wall-E
6. Tropic Thunder
7. The Happening
8. Standard Operating Procedure
9. Iron Man
10. Speed Racer


Bottom 10 (in progress)
6. The Other Boleyn Girl
5. Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
4. Journey to the Centre of the Earth
3. Prom Night
2. Rambo
1. Bangkok Dangerous
Changes made!

[ledfloyd]

Changes made!
i love that VCB is your number 1.

my list:

1. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
2. Wall-E
3. Tropic Thunder
4. Leatherheads
5. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
6. Iron Man
7. Burn After Reading
8. CJ7
9. The Dark Knight

i think that's about all i've seen that belongs on a top 10

[Philosophe_rouge]

i love that VCB is your number 1.

my list:

1. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
2. Wall-E
3. Tropic Thunder
4. Leatherheads
5. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
6. Iron Man
7. Burn After Reading
8. CJ7
9. The Dark Knight

i think that's about all i've seen that belongs on a top 10
I have to ignore the bad word of mouth and see Leatherheads. Like right now.

[ledfloyd]

I have to ignore the bad word of mouth and see Leatherheads. Like right now.
it's not perfect, but i really enjoyed it. in a weaker year it probably wouldn't be on the list. but i thought it was way better than the word of mouth gave it credit for. just don't hate me if you hate it. haha.

[Philosophe_rouge]

it's not perfect, but i really enjoyed it. in a weaker year it probably wouldn't be on the list. but i thought it was way better than the word of mouth gave it credit for. just don't hate me if you hate it. haha.
I'm not the type :p I would probably have seen it anyway.

[ledfloyd]

I'm not the type :p I would probably have seen it anyway.
i know, twas a joke, but i hope you dig it.

[SirNewt]

it's not perfect, but i really enjoyed it. in a weaker year it probably wouldn't be on the list. but i thought it was way better than the word of mouth gave it credit for. just don't hate me if you hate it. haha.

I concur. It's uneven but the attempt to revive old fashioned screwball comedy is pretty awesome. Clooney must love the thirties.

[eternity]

1. Cloverfield (Reeves)
2. Hamlet 2 (Fleming)
3. Speed Racer (Wachowski)
4. Wall-E (Stanton)
5. My Blueberry Nights (Kar-Wai)
6. Step Brothers (McKay)
7. Choke (Gregg)
8. Burn After Reading (Coen)
9. Sex and Death 101 (Waters)
10. Funny Games (Haneke)

Updated

[ThePlashyBubbler]

So far:

1. Man on Wire
2. The Fall
3. Burn After Reading
4. Wall-E
5. My Winnipeg
6. The Flight of the Red Balloon
7. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
8. You, The Living
9. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
10. In Bruges



Updated.

[Spinal]

1. City of Ember
2. Burn After Reading
3. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
4. California Dreamin'
5. The Last Mistress
6. Speed Racer
7. Religulous
8. Boarding Gate
9. Wall-E
10. Funny Games

[eternity]

1. Cloverfield (Reeves)
2. Speed Racer (Wachowski)
3. Snow Angels (Green)
4. Hamlet 2 (Fleming)
5. Wall-E (Stanton)
6. My Blueberry Nights (Kar-Wai)
7. Step Brothers (McKay)
8. Choke (Gregg)
9. Burn After Reading (Coen)
10. Sex and Death 101 (Waters)
Updated

[Ezee E]

1. The Dark Knight
2. The Fall
3. Flame & Citron
4. Blindness
5. Redbelt
6. Iron Man
7. My Blueberry Nights
8. The Good, The Bad, and the Weird
9. City of Men
10. Cloverfield

[Derek]

1. Wall-E (Andrew Stanton)
2. Two-Legged Horse (Samira Makmahlbaf)
3. In the City of Sylvia (Jose Luis Guerin)
4. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
5. Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant)
6. Happy-Go-Lucky (Mike Leigh)
7. You the Living (Roy Andersson)
8. [Rec] (Jaume Balaguero & Paco Plaza)
9. Burn After Reading (Joel Coen)
10. Flight of the Red Balloon (Hou Hsiao-hsien)

[soitgoes...]

1. You, the Living (Roy Andersson)
2. WALL-E (Andrew Stanton)
3. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
4. At the Death House Door (Peter Gilbert, Steve James)
5. Cloverfield (Matt Reeves)
6. Iron Man (Jon Favreau)
7. In Bruges (Martin McDonagh)
8. [Rec] (Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza)
9. Cassandra's Dream (Woody Allen)
10. Mad Detective (Johnny To, Wai Ka-Fai)

Better, but still...
1. You, the Living (Roy Andersson)
2. Burn After Reading (Joel Coen)
3. WALL-E (Andrew Stanton)
4. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
5. The Fall (Tarsem Singh)
6. At the Death House Door (Peter Gilbert, Steve James)
7. Redbelt (David Mamet)
8. Speed Racer (Wachowski Bros.)
9. Pineapple Express (David Gordon Green)
10. Up the Yangtze (Yung Chang)

Still I expect at least the bottom 5 to be gone this time next year. The top 3 are probably the only likely ones left after a couple years have passed.

[Rowland]

1. Redbelt (David Mamet)
2. Rogue (Greg McLean)
3. Wall•E (Andrew Stanton)
4. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
5. Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry)
6. Encounters at the End of the World (Werner Herzog)
7. Cloverfield (Matt Reeves)
8. Married Life (Ira Sachs)
9. Man on Wire (James Marsh)
10. Iron Man (Jon Favreau)

I should eventually bump at least 4-10 off the list.

[Raiders]

2. Rogue (Greg McLean)

Awesome. I'm watching this tonight.

[origami_mustache]

dammit I keep seeing horrible ratings for Blindness, but that trailer looked sooo goood.

[Ezee E]

dammit I keep seeing horrible ratings for Blindness, but that trailer looked sooo goood.
Take the risk.

[Cult]

Latest:

01. A Christmas Tale (Arnaud Desplechin)
02. Perfect Life (Emily Tang)
03. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
04. Boarding Gate (Olivier Assayas)
05. Silent Light (Carlos Reygadas)
06. Summer Hours (Olivier Assayas)
07. Burn After Reading (Coens)
08. Flight of the Red Balloon (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
09. Cloverfield (Matt Reeves)
10. Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman)

[origami_mustache]

Take the risk.

I was still planning on seeing it this week.

[Milky Joe]

1. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
2. Pineapple Express
3. The Visitor
4. Wall•E
5. Man on Wire
6. Burn After Reading
7. Religulous
8. The Dark Knight
9. Choke
10. Tropic Thunder

I like this list.

[soitgoes...]

1. You, the Living (Roy Andersson)
2. Burn After Reading (Joel Coen)
3. Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant)
4. WALL-E (Andrew Stanton)
5. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
6. The Fall (Tarsem Singh)
7. At the Death House Door (Peter Gilbert, Steve James)
8. Redbelt (David Mamet)
9. Speed Racer (Wachowski Bros.)
10. My Blueberry Nights (Wong Kar Wai)

Updated.

[origami_mustache]

updated

1. Speed Racer
2. Still Life
3. My Winnipeg
4. Blindness
5. Tokyo
6. Tokyo Sonata
7. The Flight of The Red Balloon
8. Pineapple Express
9. WALL-E
10. Synecdoche, New York

[baby doll]

1. Adoration (Atom Egoyan)
2. Happy-Go-Lucky (Mike Leigh)
3. La Frontière de l'aube (Philippe Garrel)
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

[eternity]

1. Cloverfield (Reeves)
2. Speed Racer (Wachowski)
3. Hamlet 2 (Fleming)
4. Snow Angels (Green)
5. Wall-E (Stanton)
6. My Blueberry Nights (Kar-Wai)
7. Step Brothers (McKay)
8. Choke (Gregg)
9. Burn After Reading (Coen)
10. Paranoid Park (Van Sant)

[Silencio]

Funny Games (Michael Haneke)
The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
Flight of the Red Balloon (Hsiao-hsien Hou)
Happy-Go-Lucky (Mike Leigh)
WALL-E (Andrew Stanton)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen)
Burn After Reading (Joel, Ethan Coen)
Encounters at the End of the World (Werner Herzog)
The Visitor (Thomas McCarthy)
In Bruges (Martin McDonagh)

[trotchky]

1. Body of Lies
2. Burn After Reading
3. Paranoid Park
4. The Witnesses
5. Frownland
6. The Flight of the Red Balloon
7. The Tracey Fragments
8. The Dark Knight
9. WALL-E
10. Choke

[Pop Trash]

1. Body of Lies

Really? You don't seem like a DiCaprio/Crowe/Scott CIA actioneer type of guy.

[trotchky]

Really? You don't seem like a DiCaprio/Crowe/Scott CIA actioneer type of guy.

Yeah. Reductive critics like Nick Schager hate it but it's actually pretty damn subtle, DiCaprio's anguish here is something of an extension of his role in The Departed but unlike in that movie his frustration is palpable, the feeling of being trapped in a catastrophe of beurocratic indifference, mismanagement, and stupidity standing tall and clear above all else. Something else the movie is wonderful at is its rendering of existential dread, the result of spending day after day in an anonymous Hell where concepts of morality are so heavily blurred you can't not come of out of there fucked up. Ridley Scott communicates all of this with grace and nuance typically lacking from its "genre conventions." The movie is actually a really good companion piece to the also-great Burn After Reading.

[Rowland]

1. Stuck (Stuart Gordon)
2. Redbelt (David Mamet)
3. Rogue (Greg McLean)
4. Wall•E (Andrew Stanton)
5. Mad Detective (Johnny To & Wai Ka-Fai)
6. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
7. Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry)
8. Encounters at the End of the World (Werner Herzog)
9. Cloverfield (Matt Reeves)
10. Married Life (Ira Sachs)

[transmogrifier]

1. Wall-E (76)
2. The Bank Job (73)
3. Kung Fu Panda (70)
4. Hellboy 2 (70)

[Boner M]

Added the Coens', bumped Ballast up a bit upon reflection, bumped Joy Division off.

1. Flight of the Red Balloon (Hou) 83
2. My Winnipeg (Maddin) 80
3. Wall-E (Stanton) 79
4. Ballast (Hammer) 78
5. The Tracey Fragments (McDonald) 78
6. Woman on the Beach (Hong) 77
7. Silent Light (Reygadas) 76
8. Baghead (Duplass) 76
9. Burn After Reading (Coen) 75
9. Encounters at the End of the World (Herzog) 75

I have a feeling this list won't change greatly over the next few months. Lame year!

[Ezee E]

1. The Dark Knight
2. The Fall
3. Flame & Citron
4. Blindness
5. Redbelt
6. Iron Man
7. My Blueberry Nights
8. The Good, The Bad, and the Weird
9. Standard Operating Procedures
10. City of Men

OFF: Cloverfield

updated

[NickGlass]

Added the Coens', bumped Ballast up a bit upon reflection, bumped Joy Division off.

1. Flight of the Red Balloon (Hou) 83
2. My Winnipeg (Maddin) 80
3. Wall-E (Stanton) 79
4. Ballast (Hammer) 78
5. The Tracey Fragments (McDonald) 78
6. Woman on the Beach (Hong) 77
7. Silent Light (Reygadas) 76
8. Baghead (Duplass) 76
9. Burn After Reading (Coen) 75
9. Encounters at the End of the World (Herzog) 75

I have a feeling this list won't change greatly over the next few months. Lame year!

Hmm--I've seen all of those with the exception of Silent Light (I opted for The Godfather Part II on the big screen instead). My current list--which is in shambles, but I remember what I really liked--is about 50% reflected in yours as well.

Oh, and the new Hong sucked (are we really considering Woman on the Beach a 2008 flick?).

[Ezee E]

The Tracey Fragments? Really? I think it is 2007 in the first place, and also complete garbage. Ooh, multiple shots on screen at once.

[eternity]

The Tracey Fragments? Really? I think it is 2007 in the first place, and also complete garbage. Ooh, multiple shots on screen at once.

It is 2007, but no way is it garbage.

[Henry Gale]

Since I've now seen 10 movies from the year I actually like:

1.) Speed Racer (Wachowski/Wachowski)
2.) Cloverfield (Reeves)
3.) In Bruges (McDonagh)
4.) Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Stoller)
5.) Kung Fu Panda (Osborne/Stevenson)
6.) Be Kind Rewind (Gondry)
7.) Iron Man (Favreau)
8.) Definitely, Maybe (Brooks)
9.) Horton Hears A Who! (Hayward/Martino)
10.) The Bank Job (Donaldson)

Wow, it's been a while:

1.) WALL-E (Stanton)
2.) The Dark Knight (Nolan)
3.) The Wrestler (Aronofsky)
4.) Speed Racer (Wachowski/Wachowski)
5.) Cloverfield (Reeves)
6.) In Bruges (McDonagh)
7.) Pineapple Express (Green)
8.) Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Stoller)
9.) Burn After Reading (Coen/Coen)
10.) Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Del Toro)

Still have more than a few non-Hollywood releases to see.

[Spinal]

It has a 2008 American release date and yes, it is fairly lame.

[eternity]

It has a 2008 American release date and yes, it is fairly lame.

http://boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2007&wknd=45&p=.htm

It released in November.

[Ezee E]

http://boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2007&wknd=45&p=.htm

It released in November.
That was four theaters at the Denver Film Festival.

Spinal is right. It had a limited release in May '08. I think it was released on DVD shortly after, or at least, whenever Juno came out.

[NickGlass]

http://boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2007&wknd=45&p=.htm

It released in November.

If you look to the right, the chart says it was in its week "-25" of its release. I saw it at the Berlin Film Festival in 2007 (and yes, it was tiresome), but it showed at the Boston Independent Film Festival in April and was released theatrically in NYC during May.

[Boner M]

Oh, and the new Hong sucked (are we really considering Woman on the Beach a 2008 flick?).
Got a NY release in January, so yeah.

I didn't dislike Night and Day, but I was kinda perplexed by it, and I'm bothered by the lazy auteurism in all the reviews I've read, which have simply spotted out the minute variations between the film and Hong's previous work and praised it simply for those small changes. WotB was funnier, more insightful, and half an hour shorter to boot.

[eternity]

If you look to the right, the chart says it was in its week "-25" of its release. I saw it at the Berlin Film Festival in 2007 (and yes, it was tiresome), but it showed at the Boston Independent Film Festival in April and was released theatrically in NYC during May.Back in November, it was a 1. After they re-released it in May 2008, they changed it, but it's 2007 release was legitimately theatrical.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Again, out of boredom.

01. The Fall
02. The Dark Knight
03. In Bruges
04. Wall-E
05. Pineapple Express
06. Cthulhu
07. Iron Man
08. The Midnight Meat Train
09. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
10. Cloverfield

01. The Fall
02. The Dark Knight
03. In Bruges
04. Pineapple Express
05. Wall-E
06. Cthulhu
07. The Midnight Meat Train
08. Tropic Thunder
09. Iron Man
10. Zack and Miri Make a Porno

[trotchky]

1. Body of Lies
2. W.
3. Burn After Reading
4. Paranoid Park
5. The Witnesses
6. Frownland
7. The Flight of the Red Balloon
8. The Tracey Fragments
9. The Dark Knight
10. WALL-E

Updated; W. could move to number one on repeat viewings.

[The Mike]

1. Iron Man
1.5. The Fall
3. Tropic Thunder
4. Be Kind Rewind
5. Redbelt
6. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
7. The Dark Knight
8. Burn After Reading
9. In Bruges
10. Feast II: Sloppy Seconds

Updated to drop Burn a few spots and show some love for the Gulager clan.

[Rowland]

1. Stuck (Stuart Gordon)
2. Redbelt (David Mamet)
3. Rogue (Greg McLean)
4. Wall•E (Andrew Stanton)
5. Mad Detective (Johnny To & Wai Ka-Fai)
6. CJ7 (Stephen Chow)
7. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
8. Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry)
9. Speed Racer (Wachowski Brothers)
10. Encounters at the End of the World (Werner Herzog)

Out with Cloverfield, in with CJ7.

[Raiders]

Update!

1. WALL•E (Stanton)
2. Man on Wire (Marsh)
3. Rachel Getting Married (Demme)
4. Paranoid Park (Van Sant)
5. Pineapple Express (Green)
6. Burn After Reading (Coens)
7. Up the Yangtze (Chang)
8. My Blueberry Nights (Wong)
9. Cloverfield (Reeves)
10. The Dark Knight (Nolan)

[Philosophe_rouge]

1. Vicky Christina Barcelona
2. Happy-Go-Lucky
3. In Bruges
4. The Dark Knight
5. Tropic Thunder
6. Wall-E
7. W
8. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
9. The Happening
10. Standard Operating Procedure


Bottom 10 (in progress)
6. The Other Boleyn Girl
5. Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
4. Journey to the Centre of the Earth
3. Prom Night
2. Rambo
1. Bangkok Dangerous
updateed

[Watashi]

Updated with Rachel.

[soitgoes...]

1. You, the Living (Roy Andersson)
2. Burn After Reading (Joel Coen)
3. Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant)
4. WALL-E (Andrew Stanton)
5. My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin)
6. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
7. The Fall (Tarsem Singh)
8. At the Death House Door (Peter Gilbert, Steve James)
9. Redbelt (David Mamet)
10. Speed Racer (Wachowski Bros.)
Updated.

[Ezee E]

I feel sorry if someone tries to tally this.

[Raiders]

I feel sorry if someone tries to tally this.

I assume they would create a new thread for everyone to post their "final" submission.

[ledfloyd]

rewatched a few things.

1. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
2. Wall-E
3. Tropic Thunder
4. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
5. Burn After Reading
6. Diary of the Dead
7. Leatherheads
8. Iron Man
9. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

i think...

[Spaceman Spiff]

I should probably watch more movies, but I get caught up with too many other things sometimes (not to mention uni).

1. Wall-E
2. Burn After Reading
3. Pineapple Express
4. The Dark Knight
5. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
6. Indy IV
7. Iron Man

[MadMan]

My crappy short list of all I've seen in 2008:

1. The Dark Knight-98
2. Burn After Reading-95
3. Iron Man-90
4. Get Smart-88
5. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull-85
6. The Incredible Hulk-79
7. The Onion Movie-71
8. Rambo-65
9. Drillbit Taylor-64

[Rowland]

1. Stuck (Stuart Gordon)
2. Redbelt (David Mamet)
3. Rogue (Greg McLean)
4. Wall•E (Andrew Stanton)
5. Mad Detective (Johnny To & Wai Ka-Fai)
6. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
7. Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry)
8. Encounters at the End of the World (Werner Herzog)
9. Speed Racer (Wachowski Brothers)
10. Cloverfield (Matt Reeves)

Out with Married Life (which I'd like to revisit), in with Speed Racer.

[ledfloyd]

.1. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
2. Wall-E
3. Happy Go Lucky
4. Tropic Thunder
5. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
6. Burn After Reading
7. Diary of the Dead
8. Leatherheads
9. Iron Man
10. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

added happy go lucky.

[Derek]

Out with Married Life (which I'd like to revisit)

Have you seen Forty Shades of Blue yet? If not, check that out first since Sachs' works better when not hampered by rote thriller mechanics.

[Rowland]

Have you seen Forty Shades of Blue yet? If not, check that out first since Sachs' works better when not hampered by rote thriller mechanics.I thought the thriller stuff was funny, since it seemed pretty clearly played for laughs, at least until the end. The mix of disparate elements was what I found to be one of its more interesting and entertaining motifs.

[Derek]

I thought the thriller stuff was funny, since it seemed pretty clearly played for laughs, at least until the end. The mix of disparate elements was what I found to be one of its more interesting and entertaining motifs.

To me, it felt like Sachs was clearly more interested in the human angle of the story and used the thriller aspects merely to make the narrative flow. I'm all for mixing melodrama with thriller/noir tropes, but the execution here was clunky and I honestly didn't find much humor in it. I still think it's an interesting and slightly overlooked film, but it's at least a small step down from Forty Shades of Blue.

[origami_mustache]

1. Speed Racer
2. Still Life
3. My Winnipeg
4. Blindness
5. Tokyo Sonata
6. The Flight of The Red Balloon
7. Tokyo!
8. Pineapple Express
9. WALL-E
10. Synecdoche, New York

updated

[Ezee E]

Tokyo! is that good huh? I'll be seeing that soon as well.

[origami_mustache]

Tokyo! is that good huh? I'll be seeing that soon as well.

The second segment was the only one I didn't really like, but the other two more than made up for it. My friend enjoyed all three though.

[trotchky]

1. Synecdoche, New York
2. Body of Lies
3. Paranoid Park
4. W.
5. Burn After Reading
6. The Witnesses
7. The Flight of the Red Balloon
8. The Tracey Fragments
9. Splinter
10. The Dark Knight

*shrug*

[KK2.0]

hard to think about 10 titles, this has to be the year my love for film died, or maybe i've been so caught up by reality (moving to another city, finding work, being on my first long-term relationship) that my favorite past-time was put aside and i've watched big studio titles mostly.

1-The Dark knight
2-Wall-e
3-Burn After Reading
4-Blindness
5-Speed Racer
6-Iron Man
7-Cloverfield
8-Kung Fu Panda
9-Horton Hears a Who
10...

can't find one more, and several of my list would easily be dropped if i've kept more updated.

[Philosophe_rouge]

1. Vicky Christina Barcelona
2. Happy-Go-Lucky
3. Rachel Getting Married
4. In Bruges
5. Tropic Thunder
6. Wall-E
7. The Dark Knight
8. W
9. The Happening
10. Speed Racer

updated

[Raiders]

updated

Awesome.

[soitgoes...]

1. You, the Living (Roy Andersson)
2. Burn After Reading (Joel Coen)
3. Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant)
4. WALL-E (Andrew Stanton)
5. My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin)
6. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
7. The Fall (Tarsem Singh)
8. At the Death House Door (Peter Gilbert, Steve James)
9. Redbelt (David Mamet)
10. Speed Racer (Wachowski Bros.)

1. You, the Living (Roy Andersson)
2. Burn After Reading (Joel Coen)
3. Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant)
4. WALL-E (Andrew Stanton)
5. My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin)
6. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
7. The Fall (Tarsem Singh)
8. The Edge of Heaven (Fatih Akin)
9. At the Death House Door (Peter Gilbert, Steve James)
10. Redbelt (David Mamet)

[dreamdead]

Updated! All '08 U.S. release dates...

1. Still Life -- 91
2. Woman on the Beach -- 85
3. Wall-E -- 82
4. The Flight of the Red Balloon -- 78
5. The Dark Knight -- 78
6. Boarding Gate -- 73
7. Speed Racer -- 70
8. La France -- 65
9. Iron Man -- 59
10. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull -- 44

[Lucky]

1. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
2. My Blueberry Nights
3. The Dark Knight
4. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
5. Legend of the Black Scorpion

Yeah, I'm behind. Those are the only 5 films I've liked from this year.

[ThePlashyBubbler]

1. Rachel Getting Married
2. Man on Wire
3. The Fall
4. Burn After Reading
5. WALL-E
6. My Winnipeg
7. The Flight Of the Red Balloon
8. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
9. You, The Living
10. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Updated.

[Sycophant]

Revised:

1. Wall-E (Stanton)
2. The Fall (Tarsem)
3. CJ7 (Chow)
4. Rachel at the Wedding (Demme)
5. Burn After Reading (Coens)
6. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Allen)
7. Speed Racer (Wachowskis)
8. Get Smart (Segal)
9. Lakeview Terrace (Labute)
10. The Visitor (McCarthy)

Frankly, I'd be satisfied with my top eight if they stayed where they are to the end of the year. But I'll probably see a few more things that rank high.

[Pop Trash]

Added Rachel and bumped up Redbelt and Stuck upon contemplation.

8/10
1. My Blueberry Nights
2. Wall-E
3. The Dark Knight
4. Redbelt
5. Stuck
6. Pineapple Express
7. Burn After Reading
8. Rachel Getting Married

7/10
9. Cloverfield
10. Shotgun Stories

11. Snow Angels
12. The Strangers
13. Encounters at the End of the World
14. Indiana Jones/Crystal Skull
15. Iron Man
16. Diary of the Dead
17. In Bruges
18. Be Kind Rewind
19. Son of Rambow
20. Hamlet 2
21. Zack and Miri Make a Porno
22. Vicky Cristina Barcelona

6/10
23. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
24. Teeth
25. Choke
26. Tropic Thunder
27. Shine a Light
28. Funny Games USA

5/10
29. Speed Racer
30. Swing Vote

4/10
31. The Ruins
32. Rambo

[Rowland]

1. Stuck (Stuart Gordon)
2. Redbelt (David Mamet)
3. Rogue (Greg McLean)
4. Wall•E (Andrew Stanton)
5. Mad Detective (Johnny To & Wai Ka-Fai)
6. CJ7 (Stephen Chow)
7. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
8. Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry)
9. In Bruges (Martin McDonagh)
10. Encounters at the End of the World (Werner Herzog)

Out with Speed Racer, in with In Bruges.

[Philosophe_rouge]

1. Vicky Christina Barcelona
2. Happy-Go-Lucky
3. Rachel Getting Married
4. In Bruges
5. Tropic Thunder
6. Wall-E
7. The Dark Knight
8. Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
9. W
10. Speed Racer



Bottom 10 (in progress)
6. The Other Boleyn Girl
5. Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
4. Journey to the Centre of the Earth
3. Prom Night
2. Rambo
1. Bangkok Dangerous
Changes.

[Rowland]

1. Stuck (Stuart Gordon)
2. Redbelt (David Mamet)
3. Rogue (Greg McLean)
4. Wall•E (Andrew Stanton)
5. Mad Detective (Johnny To & Wai Ka-Fai)
6. CJ7 (Stephen Chow)
7. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
8. Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry)
9. In Bruges (Martin McDonagh)
10. Encounters at the End of the World (Werner Herzog)

Out with Speed Racer, in with In Bruges.

[The Mike]

1a. Iron Man
1b. The Fall
3. Tropic Thunder
4. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
5. Redbelt
6. Be Kind Rewind
7. The Dark Knight
8. Step Brothers
9. Doomsday
10. Burn After Reading
Updated.

[Ezee E]

TIE 1. The Dark Knight
2. Rachel Getting Married
3. The Fall
4. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days
5. Blindness
6. Let The Right One In
7. Redbelt
8. Iron Man
9. My Blueberry Nights
10. Standard Operating Procedures

HONORABLE MENTIONS: W., Cloverfield, The Strangers, and Snow Angels

updated

[origami_mustache]

1. Speed Racer
2. Still Life
3. My Winnipeg
4. Blindness
5. Tokyo Sonata
6. The Flight of The Red Balloon
7. Pineapple Express
8. Slumdog Millionaire
9. Synecdoche, New York
10. Tokyo!

[soitgoes...]

1. You, the Living (Roy Andersson)
2. Burn After Reading (Joel Coen)
3. Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant)
4. WALL-E (Andrew Stanton)
5. My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin)
6. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
7. Man on Wire (James Marsh)
8. The Fall (Tarsem Singh)
9. At the Death House Door (Peter Gilbert, Steve James)
10. Redbelt (David Mamet)

Updated.

[Watashi]

Updated with The Visitor.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Again, out of boredom.

01. The Fall
02. The Dark Knight
03. In Bruges
04. Wall-E
05. Pineapple Express
06. Cthulhu
07. Iron Man
08. The Midnight Meat Train
09. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
10. Cloverfield

01. The Fall
02. The Dark Knight
03. In Bruges
04. Pineapple Express
05. Wall-E
06. Cthulhu
07. The Midnight Meat Train
08. Tropic Thunder
09. Iron Man
10. Zack and Miri Make a Porno

[Briare]

1. Snow Angels
2. The Dark Knight
3. Changeling
4. Tropic Thunder
5. The Bank Job
6. Iron Man
7. American Teen
8. W.
9. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
10. Funny Games USA

After that, everything else is barely worth mentioning. Actually, they aren't worth mentioning and neither is the majority of the stuff I threw up there.

[The Mike]

Updated.

1a. Iron Man
1b. The Fall
3. Tropic Thunder
4. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
5. Redbelt
6. Be Kind Rewind
7. The Dark Knight
8. Transsiberian
9. Doomsday
10. Step Brothers

Re-updated.

[Hugh_Grant]

1. Mamma Mia!
2. WALL-E
3. Tropic Thunder
4. Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
5. In Bruges
6. Wanted
7. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
8. Redbelt
9. The Fall
10. Hamlet 2


Still so much to see...

[eternity]

Top 10:
1. Cloverfield (Reeves)
2. Hamlet 2 (Fleming)
3. Speed Racer (Wachowski)
4. Snow Angels (Green)
5. Wall-E (Stanton)
6. My Blueberry Nights (Kar-Wai)
7. Step Brothers (McKay)
8. Choke (Gregg)
9. Burn After Reading (Coen)
10. Paranoid Park (Van Sant)

Bottom 10:
1. Twilight (Hardwicke)
2. Quid Pro Quo (Brooks)
3. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (Frankowski)
4. An American Carol (Zucker)
5. The Happening (Shyamalan)
6. Disaster Movie (Friedberg, Seltzer)
7. Fool's Gold (Tennant)
8. Max Payne (Moore)
9. Never Back Down (Wadlow)
10. Smart People (Murro)

Disaster Movie is just as bad as you would think it is, but the movies above it are unfathomably bad, imo.

[Philosophe_rouge]

1. A Christmas Tale
2. Vicky Christina Barcelona
3. Happy-Go-Lucky
4. Rachel Getting Married
5. In Bruges
6. Tropic Thunder
7. Wall-E
8. The Dark Knight
9. Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
10. W




Bottom 10 (in progress)
6. The Other Boleyn Girl
5. Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
4. Journey to the Centre of the Earth
3. Prom Night
2. Rambo
1. Bangkok Dangerous
New #1

[Derek]

New #1

Hell yeah! Desplechin is awesome and Almaric may have given my favorite performance of the year.

[Philosophe_rouge]

Hell yeah! Desplechin is awesome and Almaric may have given my favorite performance of the year.
I finished the movie and went straight to the video store to try and pick up Kings and Queen, but they don't have a copy :( Almaric was probably the highlight of an incredible cast. I'm still riding the high, but it's probably one of the very best of the decade. It has so much scope, it feels like a lifetime in the best possible sense. You have such a strong feeling for every single character, and there are many of them. I feel like I don't have much substantial to say yet, I'm just emotionally overwhelmed.

[Ezee E]

I finished the movie and went straight to the video store to try and pick up Kings and Queen, but they don't have a copy :( Almaric was probably the highlight of an incredible cast. I'm still riding the high, but it's probably one of the very best of the decade. It has so much scope, it feels like a lifetime in the best possible sense. You have such a strong feeling for every single character, and there are many of them. I feel like I don't have much substantial to say yet, I'm just emotionally overwhelmed.
Do you have Netflix? It's on instant watch on there.

[Philosophe_rouge]

Do you have Netflix? It's on instant watch on there.
I don't :(

[NickGlass]

I finished the movie and went straight to the video store to try and pick up Kings and Queen, but they don't have a copy

Oh boy, it's even better than A Christmas Tale--the characters are similarly offbeat, but the performances are even stronger and more ideas are thrown at the wall (and most hit). A Christmas Tale may begin as a clever fairy-tale, but Kings and Queen taps into a deeper theme of mythology.


I feel like I don't have much substantial to say yet, I'm just emotionally overwhelmed.

Yeah, Desplechin will do that to you. I don't know why he isn't more popular around these parts. Has anyone else seen Esther Kahn? Tricky film, that one is.

[Raiders]

Has anyone else seen Esther Kahn? Tricky film, that one is.

Yeah, and I similarly was left unable to articulate my thoughts, but overwhelmed by the sensation I had seen something masterful.

[Mal]

1. Wall-E
2. Vicky Christina Barcelona

3. Iron Man
4. Sex and the City: The Movie
5. The Incredible Hulk
6. Religulous
7. The Business of Being Born
8. The Incredible Hulk
9. Pineapple Express
10. Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay

I hope a majority of these don't make my final top ten.

[trotchky]

1. Synecdoche, New York
2. Role Models
3. Body of Lies
4. Paranoid Park
5. W.
6. Burn After Reading
7. The Witnesses
8. The Flight of the Red Balloon
9. The Tracey Fragments
10. Splinter

Updated.

[Pop Trash]

New #1!

8/10
1. Paranoid Park
2. My Blueberry Nights
3. Wall-E
4. The Dark Knight
5. Redbelt
6. Stuck
7. Pineapple Express
8. Burn After Reading
9. Rachel Getting Married

7/10
10. Cloverfield


11. Shotgun Stories
12. Snow Angels
13. The Strangers
14. Encounters at the End of the World
15. The Last Mistress
16. Indiana Jones/Crystal Skull
17. Iron Man
18. Diary of the Dead
19. In Bruges
20. Be Kind Rewind
21. Son of Rambow
22. Hamlet 2
23. Zack and Miri Make a Porno
24. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
25. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

6/10
26. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
27. Teeth
28. Choke
29. Tropic Thunder
30. Shine a Light
31. Funny Games USA

5/10
32. Speed Racer
33. Swing Vote

4/10
34. The Ruins
35. Rambo

[Amnesiac]

I want to see A Christmas Tale.

I like Mathieu Amalric. Will the film fill me with a good dose of warm-happy-Christmas-spirit? :) Or is it more elegiac and somber? Ah, no matter, I'll check it out either way... if if I can find it. I'm just craving a good Christmas flick with some spirit. A new one, that is.

[Rowland]

1. Stuck (Stuart Gordon)
2. Redbelt (David Mamet)
3. Rogue (Greg McLean)
4. Wall•E (Andrew Stanton)
5. Mad Detective (Johnny To & Wai Ka-Fai)
6. CJ7 (Stephen Chow)
7. Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry)
8. Rachel Getting Married (Jonathan Demme)
9. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
10. In Bruges (Martin McDonagh)

Out with Encounters at the End of the World, in with Rachel Getting Married.

[Philosophe_rouge]

1. A Christmas Tale
2. Vicky Christina Barcelona
3. Happy-Go-Lucky
4. Let the Right One In
5. Rachel Getting Married
6. In Bruges
7. Tropic Thunder
8. Wall-E
9. The Dark Knight
10. Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story



Bottom 10 (in progress)
6. The Other Boleyn Girl
5. Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
4. Journey to the Centre of the Earth
3. Prom Night
2. Rambo
1. Bangkok Dangerous
updates

[MadMan]

Revised list:

1. The Dark Knight-98
2. Burn After Reading-95
3. Cloverfield-90
4. Iron Man
5. Get Smart-88
6. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull-85
7. The Incredible Hulk-79
8. The Onion Movie-71
9. Rambo-65
10. Drillbit Taylor-64

Up next is Tropic Thunder. Hopefully I'll start to push a lot of the crappy ones out of here, and start to form some sort of consensus by the end of the year.

[Silencio]

1. Rachel Getting Married
2. Happy-Go-Lucky
3. The Dark Knight
4. Let the Right One In
5. Hunger
6. Flight of the Red Balloon
7. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
8. WALL-E
9. Burn After Reading
10. Encounters at the End of the World

[Ivan Drago]

Thought I'd go ahead and post all the movies I've seen this year in my first post on the 2nd page.

[ledfloyd]

1. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
2. Wall-E
3. Happy-Go-Lucky
4. Tropic Thunder
5. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
6. Transsiberian
7. Leatherheads
8. Iron Man
9. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
10. Diary of the Dead

added transsiberian, removed burn after reading, moved some stuff around.

[Watashi]

Did some shifting around upon some rewatches. New #1.

[Boner M]

Hunger got bumped to 2009, so my list in even more underwhelming in its current form. 2008, GTFO.

[Winston*]

If we're going by American release dates I don't think I've even seen 10 2008 movies.

[Raiders]

Did some shifting around upon some rewatches. New #1.

You disgust me.

[Watashi]

You disgust me.

:cool:

[Derek]

You disgust me.

I can relate. I felt like I ate too much cotton candy and rode the Gravitron while an annoying 8-year old read me his dream script. I'm not sure I've seen a more obnoxious experimental technique in recent years than the constant character cut-outs swiping across the screen in Speed Racer.

[ledfloyd]

Did some shifting around upon some rewatches. New #1.
and you claim to be the resident pixar fan...

[Watashi]

and you claim to be the resident pixar fan...
I am.

I just think that Speed Racer is really that fucking good. I've seen it 6 times already.

It's probably the most visually engaging film I have ever seen. Plus you have to see it in Blu-Ray for it's full visual impact. My god. I want to see it again right now.

I've seen WALL-E twice.

[Watashi]

I really don't think I can trust anyone who claims Speed Racer to be a bad film.

[Pop Trash]

Did some shifting around upon some rewatches. New #1.
Ugh...fuck that.

[Ezee E]

I could've sworn there were other Speed Racer lovers out there besides Wats.

[Pop Trash]

I could've sworn there were other Speed Racer lovers out there besides Wats.

Origami Moustache also love that shit.

[Watashi]

Origami Moustache also love that shit.
Speed Racer is the shit.

[Rowland]

I land in the middle. I liked it a fair bit, with reservations. Conveniently enough, I started a belated write-up for it (I'm in a catch-up phase) before reading all this.

[Ezee E]

I will have a HDTV soon, and watching Speed Racer on that will certainly be needed.

But Wall-E moreso.

[Watashi]

A sugar-rush sequence featuring a kid and a monkey air-guitaring to Freebird.

How is that not instant 4 stars right there?

Plus John Goodman fights a ninja.

[Derek]

I could've sworn there were other Speed Racer lovers out there besides Wats.

I thought Raiders was the only one here who didn't like it. I know Spinal and number8 loved it and I think KF did as well, along with origami and Wats.

[Watashi]

I thought Raiders was the only one here who did like it. I know Spinal and number8 loved it and I think KF did as well, along with origami and Wats.
Raiders hates it.

Sven and Syco love it too.

[Watashi]

Has Davis seen Speed Racer yet?

I can't imagine him not loving it.

[Derek]

Raiders hates it.

Sven and Syco love it too.

Sorry, I meant "didn't" instead of "did". As in, MatchCut is fucking nuts and I need to remember that Raiders is often the only voice of reason this site has.

[origami_mustache]

Speed Racer is the shit.

REP!

Seriously though...it's a really unique visionary film. I can understand it not being someone's thing, but calling it "bad" is just being a dismissive asshole. :)

P.S. I loved the wipes and spinning heads...

soooo maaybee I'm a little fucking nutty.

[Rowland]

Sorry, I meant "didn't" instead of "did". As in, MatchCut is fucking nuts and I need to remember that Raiders is often the only voice of reason this site has.*glances at Derek's score for The Fall*

Didn't Raiders love The Fall? In fact, isn't Wats virtually the only person on Match-Cut who flat out disliked it?

:pritch:

[Spinal]

The Fall sucks.

[Pop Trash]

The Fall sucks.
This. I turned it off halfway though. I felt like I was watching some bad, overly pretentious 80s prog-rock album cover come to life.

[Rowland]

The Fall sucks.Ahh. I recalled your response being more ambivalent, but apparently I was mistaken.

[Derek]

Seriously though...it's a really unique visionary film. I can understand it not being someone's thing, but calling it "bad" is just being a dismissive asshole. :)

I would never argue the film isn't unique, but I also don't think that uniqueness or originality is synonymous with "good". The fact that it takes poorly written, empty-minded eye candy to new heights doesn't strike me as a particularly impressive fact. I feel better know after seeing most critics disliked it as well.


*glances at Derek's score for The Fall*

Didn't Raiders love The Fall? In fact, isn't Wats virtually the only person on Match-Cut who flat out disliked it?

:pritch:

Stop stirring up trouble, you!

At the very least, Speed Racer at least had the decency to have no aspirations of anything above orgasmic visual feast, which is more than I can say for the feigned seriousness of The Fall.

[origami_mustache]

I would never argue the film isn't unique, but I also don't think that uniqueness or originality is synonymous with "good". The fact that it takes poorly written, empty-minded eye candy to new heights doesn't strike me as a particularly impressive fact. I feel better know after seeing most critics disliked it as well.



Stop stirring up trouble, you!

At the very least, Speed Racer at least had the decency to have no aspirations of anything above orgasmic visual feast, which is more than I can say for the feigned seriousness of The Fall.


There was no need to try to make something more out of it. The original cartoon itself was a bunch of gibberish, poorly strung together plots, with really fun to watch race scenes...and that's exactly what the film provided...they even managed to incorporate some generic family bonding and corny philosophy about destiny and anti-capitalism...To me it was more about using the film medium as a canvas, like Brakage, only within the Hollywood system...genius stuff...and perhaps one of the greatest achievements in production design history...says I.

[Derek]

There was no need to try to make something more out of it. The original cartoon itself was a bunch of gibberish, poorly strung together plots, with really fun to watch race scenes...and that's exactly what the film provided...they even managed to incorporate some generic family bonding and corny philosophy about destiny and anti-capitalism...Too me it was more about using the film medium as a canvas, like Brakage, only within the Hollywood system...genius stuff...and perhaps one of the greatest achievements in production design history...says I.

Funny, I considered doing a short Armond White parody favorably comparing Speed Racer to Brakhage while dissing a more high-minded film. :) I'm glad you're able to write off the gibberish, poorly strung together plots, corny philosophy and generic family bonding, but I could not as I honestly was not all that impressed with the visuals either. Sure, it's something that would be cool for a commercial or even a short film, but I found them increasingly grating and repetitive as the seemingly endless 135 minutes trucked on. It might be a breakthrough on a technical level, but its kitchen sink approach showed no restraint, no discernible strategy aside from bright colors streaking and swiping all over mixed with extremely blunt and simplistic compositions in the slower, more dramatic scenes.

[origami_mustache]

Funny, I considered doing a short Armond White parody favorably comparing Speed Racer to Brakhage while dissing a more high-minded film. :) I'm glad you're able to write off the gibberish, poorly strung together plots, corny philosophy and generic family bonding, but I could not as I honestly was not all that impressed with the visuals either. Sure, it's something that would be cool for a commercial or even a short film, but I found them increasingly grating and repetitive as the seemingly endless 135 minutes trucked on. It might be a breakthrough on a technical level, but its kitchen sink approach showed no restraint, no discernible strategy aside from bright colors streaking and swiping all over mixed with extremely blunt and simplistic compositions in the slower, more dramatic scenes.

haha fair enough...I can't deny my slight nostalgic bias because of my past fascination with the series which has probably lead me to overrate it a bit, (I have a tie, poster, DVDs, a Racer X shirt and a bobble head.) Regardless, I think it's been a less than impressive year in cinema, and no other film showed me such boldness and ambition, which is perhaps what I most admire about a film whether it is a failure or not.

[Boner M]

This. I turned it off halfway though. I felt like I was watching some bad, overly pretentious 80s prog-rock album cover come to life.
That was my line, thief.

I was mildly positive on The Fall at first, but esteem has lowered considerably. Lee Pace was v. good, though.

[Raiders]

I did not love The Fall, in particular its often ridiculously indulgent fantasy sequences, but I did find a lot of poignancy in its real life stuff and generally liked the film quite a bit.

[Pop Trash]

That was my line, thief.


I'm actually quoting myself here. I said that awhile ago.

[Ivan Drago]

Speed Racer was entertaining but nothing more.

[Spinal]

Speed Racer was entertaining but nothing more.

That's like saying cake tastes good, but nothing more.

[Spinal]

I did not love The Fall, in particular its often ridiculously indulgent fantasy sequences, but I did find a lot of poignancy in its real life stuff and generally liked the film quite a bit.

I had the opposite reaction. The fantasy stuff is the only thing that makes it tolerable. It's the real life stuff that is grating and phony.

[Mal]

1. Wall-E
2. Vicky Christina Barcelona
3. Redbelt
4. Iron Man
5. Sex and the City: The Movie
6. Pineapple Express
7. The Business of Being Born
8. Religulous
9. The Incredible Hulk
10. Harold and Kumar - EFGB



UPDATE.

[origami_mustache]

1. Speed Racer
2. Still Life
3. Milk
4. My Winnipeg
5. Blindness
6. Tokyo Sonata
7. The Flight of The Red Balloon
8. Pineapple Express
9. Synecdoche, New York
10. Slumdog Millionaire

[Bosco B Thug]

That's like saying cake tastes good, but nothing more. I still don't find this line of defense very convincing. First, I've never bought the idea that form and substance are ever very far removed from each other. They come hand in hand much of the time. Second, how can we limit the possibilities of richness we can expect from a film? It undermines both what makes Speed Racer worthwhile as well as the sheer heights and variations film can create in thematic construct and subtext. If movies essentially are constructed allegory, an expanse of story told within a certain running time, why refuse a film that layer of craft and meaning? I mean, the reason people respond to Speed Racer's vibrancy is because it is an extended narrative, an extended appeal to our humanity (particularly "the inner child within all of us"), and because its pure and distilled vision ensures its affective function as "allegory," in the loose sense mentioned above. No one would be attached to it if it existed only as a demo trailer. Speed Racer gets off to a good start but to say people aren't supposed to look for more challenging layers of pathos or edification from a film is just weird. The claim "What more could it have done?" is baffling because heck, it could've done just about anything - that's what films do that make me like them!

[Spinal]

I think most reasonable people who look at the Speed Racer TV show and then look at the movie will come to the conclusion that the Wachowskis went above and beyond the call of duty. Could it have been better with layers of allegory? I guess. But that seems like unreasonable expectations to me. I don't demand that films like Manderlay have eye-popping visuals and funny monkeys that entertain my kid. Maybe it's just not a film you really wanted to see in the first place. That's fine.

[Sven]

Funny, I considered doing a short Armond White parody favorably comparing Speed Racer to Brakhage while dissing a more high-minded film. :)

Had you ended up doing it, all it would've exposed is your own lack of knowledge about White's perception of cinema. :)

Love The Fall, like Speed Racer, both of which A.W. hated.

[SirNewt]

I think most reasonable people who look at the Speed Racer TV show and then look at the movie will come to the conclusion that the Wachowskis went above and beyond the call of duty. Could it have been better with layers of allegory? I guess. But that seems like unreasonable expectations to me. I don't demand that films like Manderlay have eye-popping visuals and funny monkeys that entertain my kid. Maybe it's just not a film you really wanted to see in the first place. That's fine.

Well said. I'm not one of those overly fond of it. I'll admit that though I watched reruns of the cartoon growing up (or perhaps because of that), when the film was announced, a one word thought flashed to mind, "why?"

I liked the film when I saw it. Discussion of the film, however, has caused my opinion to degrade. Not from any philosophic or dialectic standpoint. It's just growing tiresome. Yes it's too long. Yes the melodramatic ham acting, though intended, can grate. Yes the film smears into a blur rather than leaving you with a formed experience. Yes, it's akin to shoving your head in box of fruit loops with a strobe light (but less scratchy). But does that make it less of an interesting a project?

Perhaps those making their stand on the 'Speed Racer' summit should just stop and quit marring the view.

[Derek]

Had you ended up doing it, all it would've exposed is your own lack of knowledge about White's perception of cinema. :)

Love The Fall, like Speed Racer, both of which A.W. hated.

It would not have been made with the assumption that AW liked or hated it, but poking fun at his played out, laughably predictable tendency to praise critically dismissed mainstream films at the expense of more lauded, high-minded fare. The fact that he hates both of those films only goes to show me he has slightly more than the shittiest taste of any well-known critic. Had you been paying attention, you would not have revealed your own lack of knowledge about my perception of Armond White's perception of cinema, and...boom goes the dynamite.

[Bosco B Thug]

I think most reasonable people who look at the Speed Racer TV show and then look at the movie will come to the conclusion that the Wachowskis went above and beyond the call of duty. Could it have been better with layers of allegory? I guess. But that seems like unreasonable expectations to me. I don't demand that films like Manderlay have eye-popping visuals and funny monkeys that entertain my kid. Maybe it's just not a film you really wanted to see in the first place. That's fine. I don't think that's really what I'm saying though. The film is fine in its essential vision and should be admired for its conceptual visual audacity and admirable, wholesome sentiments. That is enough for "layers of allegory." I'm not saying SR needed some edgy social commentary. All that subtext talk was to emphasize my point about "form" not ever being too far removed from "substance." SR's eye-popping visuals are the essence of its humanist stance, absurdist stance, and nostalgic origins - and those directly serve as what makes the film "substantial."

I acknowledge Speed Racer achieved certain things people expected from it. I actually was greatly looking forward to liking Speed Racer when I saw it and I was reasonably satisfied. But to tell people that what we got is the be-all-end-all limit we could have expected from the film is, to hopelessly belabor my point, unreasonably defensive. I did see the film I wanted to see, but it wasn't enough of something and I think that criticism should stand. The Wachowski's do their damnedest, but my brain just wasn't engaged or stimulated enough by the relative generic-ness of the film and their directing work. And if I thought long enough, there's probably another "fun and silly and eye-popping" children's films that reaches that upper level SR does not for me.

[Sven]

It would not have been made with the assumption that AW liked or hated it, but poking fun at his played out, laughably predictable tendency to praise critically dismissed mainstream films at the expense of more lauded, high-minded fare. The fact that he hates both of those films only goes to show me he has slightly more than the shittiest taste of any well-known critic. Had you been paying attention, you would not have revealed your own lack of knowledge about my perception of Armond White's perception of cinema, and...boom goes the dynamite.

Nah, I figured all this. I just wanted to keep up the trend of iosos turning bitchy whenever the White dissing starts. I suppose if you're all going to be so monotonously predictable about it, may as well participate. I like being part of a team. :)

[Qrazy]

I thought Raiders was the only one here who didn't like it. I know Spinal and number8 loved it and I think KF did as well, along with origami and Wats.

I also hated it.

[Amnesiac]

It's interesting to see all this The Fall hate. I was getting used to all the enthusiastic praise I've spied on other forums. Personally, I found the trailer was pretty effective but of course, that's not much to go on.

Either way, even if it is indulgent, grating or phony... I'm sure it'll at least serve as some competent eye-candy and thereby, a worth-while Bluray rental.

Or maybe I should just rent Baraka instead. :P

[Qrazy]

It's interesting to see all this The Fall hate. I was getting used to all the enthusiastic praise I've spied on other forums. Personally, I found trailer was pretty effective but of course, that's not much to go on.

Either way, even if it is indulgent, grating or phony... I'm sure it'll at least serve as some competent eye-candy and thereby, a worth-while Bluray rental.

Or maybe I should just rent Baraka instead. :P

If you haven't seen Baraka then you definitely should rent it instead. I dunno personally I'm in the middle, I thought there was a lot to like about The Fall but the criticisms are reasonable as well. Although I found it to be superior to Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen which I rewatched recently (lots of imagination, horribly grating and insufferable execution). The two films remind me a lot of one another... The Fall is like Munchausen meets Big Fish. I'm probably going to check out Zeman's Munchausen soon and hopefully it will be superior to both.

[Ezee E]

The strange part is that in The Fall thread, you almost see nothing but praise.

D_Davis is a huge huge fan. I am as well.

[Amnesiac]

Ah, I don't think I've taken a look in that thread yet. Most of the praise I've seen came from outside match-cut. Though, now that I think about it, a lot of that praise actually had to do with how awesome it looked on Bluray. Not much said about the content.

Actually, I seem to have a vague recollection of The Cell being the sort of movie that exhibited a lot of exuberance and style... and minimal substance. But, to be fair, it's been years since I last saw that one.

[SirNewt]

Ah, I don't think I've taken a look in that thread yet. Most of the praise I've seen came from outside match-cut. Though, now that I think about it, a lot of that praise actually had to do with how awesome it looked on Bluray. Not much said about the content.

Actually, I seem to have a vague recollection of The Cell being the sort of movie that exhibited a lot of exuberance and style... and minimal substance. But, to be fair, it's been years since I last saw that one.

I haven't seen that movie for some time but I remember it creeped me out. Then I realized that some socially functioning person had thought this all up and it creeped me out more.

[MadMan]

1. The Dark Knight-98
2. Burn After Reading-95
3. Tropic Thunder-93
4. Cloverfield-90
5. Iron Man-90
6. Get Smart-88
7. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull-85
8. The Incredible Hulk-79
9. The Onion Movie-71
10. Rambo-65

Christmas Break will be spent catching up. And Match-Cut almost makes me want to see Speed Racer, and almost makes me have higher expectations for it. I'll eventually view it, but I'm in no rush.

[dreamdead]

Updated! All '08 U.S. release dates...

1. Still Life -- 91
2. Woman on the Beach -- 85
3. Wall-E -- 82
4. The Flight of the Red Balloon -- 78
5. The Dark Knight -- 78
6. Boarding Gate -- 73
7. Australia -- 70
8. Speed Racer -- 70
9. La France -- 65
10. Tropic Thunder -- 60


Well, at least I've seen more than ten films and can now get rid of Iron Man, Indy, and The Happening.

[Dead & Messed Up]

01. The Fall
02. The Dark Knight
03. In Bruges
04. Pineapple Express
05. Wall-E
06. Cthulhu
07. The Midnight Meat Train
08. Tropic Thunder
09. Iron Man
10. Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Cause I'm bored, cause I rewatched Cloverfield, and cause Cthulhu is technically a 2007 release...and cause I love The Fall.

01. The Fall
02. In Bruges
03. The Dark Knight
04. Pineapple Express
05. Wall-E
06. The Midnight Meat Train
07. Tropic Thunder
08. Cloverfield
09. Iron Man
10. Zack and Miri Make a Porno

[Mal]

1. Wall-E
2. Rachel Getting Married
3. Vicky Christina Barcelona
4. Frozen River
5. Redbelt
6. Iron Man
7.The Business of Being Born
8. Sex and the City: The Movie
9. Pineapple Express
10. Religulous

Added

[KK2.0]

updated



1-The Dark knight
2-Vicky Cristina Barcelona
3-Wall-e
4-Burn After Reading
5-Blindness
6-Speed Racer
7-Iron Man
8-Cloverfield
9-Kung Fu Panda
10-Horton Hears a Who


is [REC] eligible?

i think i'll love The Fall, need do watch this asap

[Derek]

is [REC] eligible?

Tough to say because it's a weird case. It never had a US release date, but I'm counting it as '08 (not in my top 10, but should remain in the top 20) since its remake already played here and it was available to watch on Digital Cable OnDemand. If you want to be (understandably) picky with listing films by US release date, then you'd probably have to wait until the DVD release which I imagine will be 2009.

[Duncan]

1. The Silence Before Bach
2. Man on Wire
3. Wall*E
4. Still Life
5. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
6. Alexandra
7. The Flight of the Red Balloon
8. Paranoid Park
9. In Bruges
10. Up the Yangtze

1. The Silence Before Bach
2. Synecdoche, New York
3. Wall*E
4. Still Life
5. Man on Wire
6. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
7. Alexandra
8. Happy-Go-Lucky
9. Speed Racer
10. The Flight of the Red Balloon

I still say this has been an exceptionally strong year for film. It sucks that next year I'm never going to be able to see things like The Silence Before Bach in theatres. Probably not something like Alexandra either. New York's the greatest.

[KK2.0]

Tough to say because it's a weird case. It never had a US release date, but I'm counting it as '08 (not in my top 10, but should remain in the top 20) since its remake already played here and it was available to watch on Digital Cable OnDemand. If you want to be (understandably) picky with listing films by US release date, then you'd probably have to wait until the DVD release which I imagine will be 2009.


Damn, i'm sticking with the rules and using US release dates but it was probably my favorite film-going experience of the year. Crowd reaction was priceless and I probably enjoyed it better than Cloverfield, which i was considering to drop in favor of it.

Both have similar formats and propositions, and although the monster movie has more impactful scenes, the zombie movie worked far better with me, characters, setting, pacing, everything.

[Melville]

I still say this has been an exceptionally strong year for film. It sucks that next year I'm never going to be able to see things like The Silence Before Bach in theatres. Probably not something like Alexandra either. New York's the greatest.
I don't know about The Silence Before Bach, but Alexandra played at TIFF in 2007 and at Cinematheque Ontario last month.

Everything I've liked this year:
1. Synecdoche, New York - 9.5/10
2. Burn After Reading - 8.5/10
3. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days - 8.5/10
4. My Winnipeg - 8/10
5. The Dark Knight - 7/10

[Ezee E]

When this gets tallied up, will 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days be eligible? I guess it's up to whoever tallies this.

[Mysterious Dude]

1. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
2. Paranoid Park
3. The Dark Knight
4. Burn After Reading
5. Cloverfield
6. Boy A
7. The Tracey Fragments
8. Katyn
9. Flight of the Red Balloon
10. The Last Mistress

1. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
2. Paranoid Park
3. The Dark Knight
4. Let the Right One In
5. Burn After Reading
6. Cloverfield
7. Boy A
8. The Counterfeiters
9. Synecdoche, New York
10. The Tracey Fragments

I still haven't seen a film from this year that I would give four stars. Not counting 4 Months... which I officially consider a 2007 film.

[Duncan]

I don't know about The Silence Before Bach, but Alexandra played at TIFF in 2007 and at Cinematheque Ontario last month.

Shh, nostalgia doesn't work if reality is the same as the past.

[Derek]

When this gets tallied up, will 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days be eligible? I guess it's up to whoever tallies this.

If we're going by US release date, it should count. Festival dates shouldn't matter for a collective year-end list like this.

[Ezee E]

If we're going by US release date, it should count. Festival dates shouldn't matter for a collective year-end list like this.
Hmm... The Good, the Bad, and the Weird doesn't seem to be coming out anytime soon. It'll be an easy swap.

[Philosophe_rouge]

1. Un conte de Noël
2. Vicky Christina Barcelona
3. Let the Right One In
4. The Duchess
5. Happy-Go-Lucky
6. Rachel Getting Married
7. In Bruges
8. Tropic Thunder
9. Wall-E
10. The Dark Knight

Updated

[Melville]

Shh, nostalgia doesn't work if reality is the same as the past.
Heh. I'll try to avoid mentioning any obscure movies playing in Toronto in the future.

[eternity]

Top 10:
1. Cloverfield (Reeves)- 93
2. Hamlet 2 (Fleming)- 87
3. Speed Racer (Wachowski)- 84
4. Snow Angels (Green)- 83
5. Wall-E (Stanton)-83
6. My Blueberry Nights (Kar-Wai)- 79
7. Step Brothers (McKay)- 76
8. Choke (Gregg)- 74
9. Burn After Reading (Coen)- 73
10. JCVD (El Mechri)- 71

Bottom 10:
1. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (Frankowski)- 00
2. Twilight (Hardwicke)- 10
3. Quid Pro Quo (Brooks)- 13
4. An American Carol (Zucker)- 14
5. The Happening (Shyamalan)- 17
6. Disaster Movie (Friedberg, Seltzer)- 18
7. Fool's Gold (Tennant)- 21
8. Max Payne (Moore)- 24
9. Never Back Down (Wadlow)- 25
10. The Reader (Daldry)- 26

EDIT: Added 'The Reader'

[transmogrifier]

Bottom 10:
1. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (Frankowski)- 00
2. Twilight (Hardwicke)- 10
3. Quid Pro Quo (Brooks)- 13
4. An American Carol (Zucker)- 14
5. The Happening (Shyamalan)- 17
6. Disaster Movie (Friedberg, Seltzer)- 18
7. Fool's Gold (Tennant)- 21
8. Max Payne (Moore)- 24
9. Never Back Down (Wadlow)- 25
10. Smart People (Murro)- 29

You need to be more discerning. Or to take up a second hobby.

[ThePlashyBubbler]

1. Rachel Getting Married (Demme)
2. Synecdoche, New York (Kaufman)
3. Man on Wire (Marsh)
4. The Fall (Tarsem)
5. Burn After Reading (Coen)
6. WALL-E (Stanton)
7. My Winnipeg (Maddin)
8. Flight of the Red Balloon (Hou)
9. Up the Yangtze (Chang)
10. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Allen)

Updated. Added Yangtze and Synecdoche.

[eternity]

And as soon as I put The Reader on the bottom 10, I have to take it off:

Top 10:
1. Cloverfield (Reeves)- 93
2. Hamlet 2 (Fleming)- 87
3. Speed Racer (Wachowski)- 84
4. Snow Angels (Green)- 83
5. Wall-E (Stanton)-83
6. My Blueberry Nights (Kar-Wai)- 79
7. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (Kuenne)- 78
8. Step Brothers (McKay)- 76
9. Burn After Reading (Coen)- 75
10. Choke (Gregg)- 74


Bottom 10:
1. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (Frankowski)- 00
2. Twilight (Hardwicke)- 10
3. Quid Pro Quo (Brooks)- 13
4. An American Carol (Zucker)- 14
5. The Happening (Shyamalan)- 17
6. Disaster Movie (Friedberg, Seltzer)- 18
7. Fool's Gold (Tennant)- 21
8. Max Payne (Moore)- 24
9. Never Back Down (Wadlow)- 25
10. Untraceable (Hoblit)- 26

[Winston*]

You need to be more discerning. Or to take up a second hobby.

Srsly.

[Derek]

Srsly.

Come on guys, who can resist the new film by Gregory Hoblit, director of Primal Fear!? I can also safely assume he'll be coming up soon in our Director's Concensus.

[Watashi]

Well, I can finally understand why Raiders closed off registrations. It looks like he was a little too late though.

[eternity]

I am one that likes to see as much as one can, regardless of how bad it may be.

[Winston*]

I am one that likes to see as much as one can, regardless of how bad it may be.

Why?

[Briare]

1. Snow Angels
2. The Dark Knight
3. Changeling
4. Tropic Thunder
5. The Bank Job
6. Iron Man
7. American Teen
8. W.
9. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
10. Funny Games USA

Update.

1. Snow Angels
2. Let the Right One In
3. The Dark Knight
4. Paranoid Park
5. Changeling
6. The Bank Job
7. Tropic Thunder
8. My Blueberry Nights
9. Synecdoche, New York
10. The X-Files: I Want To Believe

[eternity]

Why?

Can't let anything slip through the cracks.

[MadMan]

I find it kind of ironic that people in a movie forum are bashing a guy for having seen a ton of movies just for a consensus. But hey its eternity, so everyone join in! Come on people. I don't care if the dude decided to see one of the worst films of the year. You can't tell me none of you have seen bad movies before? I usually try to avoid movies I may not like, but that's because I'm broke half the time and thus am just trying to save some dough.

[transmogrifier]

I find it kind of ironic that people in a movie forum are bashing a guy for having seen a ton of movies just for a consensus. .

I assume this is Morrisettian irony rather than, you know, actual irony.

[Ezee E]

I see a lot of movies from the year, but I usually see ones that at least intrigue me.

Of course, there are a few that I get tricked into seeing... Ugh.

A few years ago, I was like eternity, checking out movies like Four Christmases, Disaster Movie, and Fool's Gold just because.

[Boner M]

Hmm, my bottom five would be:

1. The Happening
2. Cloverfield
3. Cassandra's Dream
4. Wanted
5. Married Life

Only the first four I actively disliked though.

[Ezee E]

The Happening, Diary of the Dead, Tracey Fragments, Recount, and some other movie that I can't think of are at the bottom of my list.

[Raiders]

My bottom five would be:

1. The Happening
2. Four Christmases
3. Leatherheads
4. Blindness
5. Appaloosa

[Watashi]

1. Blindness
2. The Forbidden Kingdom
3. Semi-Pro
4. Zack and Miri Make a Porno
5. Hancock

[Pop Trash]

Mine would be:

1. Rambo
2. The Ruins
3. Swing Vote
4. Speed Racer
5. Funny Games USA

But I didn't actually give any of these less than a 4/10, so I really don't "hate" any of them. They just wallow in mediocrity.

[Amnesiac]

I don't really feel all that compelled to see it but Four Christmases at least looks mildly entertaining.

[Raiders]

I don't really feel all that compelled to see it but Four Christmases at least looks mildly entertaining.

It isn't. At all.

[Robby P]

Indiana Jones 4 was probably the worst movie I saw in 2008.

[Rowland]

Worst:

1. The Happening
2. The Signal
3. The Forbidden Kingdom
4. The X-Files: I Want to Believe
5. The Other Boleyn Girl

[Philosophe_rouge]

5 worsts
5. Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
4. Journey to the Centre of the Earth
3. Prom Night
2. Rambo
1. Bangkok Dangerous

[eternity]

Liking terrible movies is one thing entirely different than merely just seeing them. If I ignored every film that had a negative reaction, that I was not too excited to see, then I would have never seen Speed Racer, and I ended up loving it. It's best to play the entire field, imo.

[Grouchy]

Bottom 5:

1. The Happening
2. Righteous Kill
3. Hancock
4. Cloverfield
5. The Oxford Murders

[The Mike]

Liking terrible movies is one thing entirely different than merely just seeing them. If I ignored every film that had a negative reaction, that I was not too excited to see, then I would have never seen Speed Racer, and I ended up loving it. It's best to play the entire field, imo.

Truth.

[EyesWideOpen]

Updated top ten:

1. Let the Right One In
2. Wall-E
3. Speed Racer
4. Cloverfield
5. The Dark Knight
6. The Happening
7. Step Brothers
8. Tropic Thunder
9. The Forbidden Kingdom
10. Role Models

[Ezee E]

Truth.
As long as you're curious about it, no problem. But if you're going in saying, "This looks like absolute shit," which a few other people are guilty of, that's different.

[Mysterious Dude]

If I saw every movie that came out in theaters, I would probably hate watching movies.

Plus, I would almost certainly have less time to rent the movies I'm really interested in, and my top ten of 1953 would suffer for it.

[transmogrifier]

Liking terrible movies is one thing entirely different than merely just seeing them. If I ignored every film that had a negative reaction, that I was not too excited to see, then I would have never seen Speed Racer, and I ended up loving it. It's best to play the entire field, imo.

The way I see it, it is inevitable that I will one day be at someone's house when they bust out a copy of, say, Fool's Gold (!), and so at least I'll be able to get shit-faced drunk and mock it just once, rather than having to live with the wrenching stain on the soul that watching shit like that twice in a lifetime would produce.

In other words, you should let the movies that are obvious tripe find you, rather than seek them out on the off-chance McConaughey's pecs lend a devastating critique on the perils of vicarious existence in a wired society.

[Robby P]

I've been forced into watching a good deal of rom-com dreck this year. Made of Honor, 27 Dresses, Definitely Maybe, The Other Boleyn Girl, Becoming Jane, etc.

They all sort of blend together into one magnificent whirlwind of suck.

[Grouchy]

Of course I'd never go to a cinema to watch a film I think looks like shit. But I would go watch an average-looking one if I simply feel like going to the cinema. And maybe, it will end up being terrible instead of average - like Righteous Kill.

There's also a much bigger chance to watch bad films from 2008 now than bad films from, say, 1967 or 1982, simply because they're more widespread.

[The Mike]

As long as you're curious about it, no problem. But if you're going in saying, "This looks like absolute shit," which a few other people are guilty of, that's different.
Oh, I do that too. But I can find a reason to be "interested" in most movies, mostly to connect dots between actors and directors.

Heck, I just like watching movies. Almost any movie's better than almost any other way to spend time in Iowa.

[Ezee E]

The last sentence is something I can totally understand.

I empathize.

[D_Davis]

Liking terrible movies is one thing entirely different than merely just seeing them. If I ignored every film that had a negative reaction, that I was not too excited to see, then I would have never seen Speed Racer, and I ended up loving it. It's best to play the entire field, imo.

It's kind of like only reading the classics or the stuff considered "good" by the consensus. There is a whole lot of stuff out there that, while not AAA, or top-tier, is still totally worth a visit, and you may just discover a gem or a personal favorite buried in the piles.

A lot of my favorite things are not considered the best by the vast majority of people. There is something really appealing about a solid B or C level film or book.

[Derek]

It's best to play the entire field, imo.

Not sure what you mean by "entire field" but based on your top/bottom 10's, I'd curious to see what the ratio is between American to non-American films you see.

[Derek]

It's kind of like only reading the classics or the stuff considered "good" by the consensus. There is a whole lot of stuff out there that, while not AAA, or top-tier, is still totally worth a visit, and you may just discover a gem or a personal favorite buried in the piles.

A lot of my favorite things are not considered the best by the vast majority of people. There is something really appealing about a solid B or C level film or book.

There's a difference between doing that and simply watching all the shit Hollywood churns out on a weekly basis. I'm not saying there aren't plenty of worthwhile films in there, but there's a lot of independent and world cinema that could take the place of, say, Disaster Movie.

[Sven]

Liking terrible movies is one thing entirely different than merely just seeing them.

I'm not understanding this statement. I understand "seeing bad movies" as a thing one does, but I'm not sure how it relates to "liking bad movies," even in opposition. In other words, what are you trying to say here?

Because what I THINK you're saying is that people who like bad films are more ridiculous than those that choose to watch so many bad films. On one hand, you have an entirely individualized response (your own negative reaction to a bad movie you have chosen to see) against a confrontative group response (your negative reaction against the positive opinion of another). Your justification is on the oppressive latter reaction, which is, frankly, more than a bit mean.

I side with trans and 'toine on this. See what you think will be interesting to you (and don't be embarrassed if sometimes you are interested in seeing a bad-looking film). And let the lame-o looking films find their way to you.

But heaven forbid I should tell you how to use your time.

[soitgoes...]

The fact of the matter is there are so many movies that are considered good, that there's no reason seeking out crap on the off chance that most everyone is wrong about it. As I've gotten older I've come to the Earth shattering viewpoint that time is too valuable to waste it 100 minutes at a time on watching dreck. As Trans said, dreck usually is thrust upon me by others. That's enough for me to deal with.

[Qrazy]

I don't seek out bad films either but I do find that watching one every once in a while does tend to increase my enjoyment of the good ones. Davis has a good point about hidden gems but my reasoning is purely comparitive. If I'm watching classic after classic eventually I tend to start comparing them to one another, nitpicking and dwelling on minor irritations in otherwise spectacular films. Sometimes it takes a truly awful film to remind me just how god damn hard it is to make a good film. After watching an awful film the next time I watch a great film I"m better able to reclaim that sense of emotional and aesthetic immersion I used to experience as a young cinephile. I dwell less on minor criticisms and experience the art more holistically. That said my idea of taking a risk on watching a 'bad' film is something like 300 or Hellboy 2. I usually don't watch the truly crappy crap.

Anyway as to why Eternity watches so many bad films I don't think it's that difficult to understand. I'm sure he has many friends his age who drag him to crap and he just goes along for the ride. Aside from that I also went through a stage the first few years I was getting into film where I was just thoroughly addicted to the theater. Even though there was nothing worth seeing I felt I had to go see something... and voila you end up seeing crap.

[The Mike]

The fact of the matter is there are so many movies that are considered good, that there's no reason seeking out crap on the off chance that most everyone is wrong about it. As I've gotten older I've come to the Earth shattering viewpoint that time is too valuable to waste it 100 minutes at a time on watching dreck. As Trans said, dreck usually is thrust upon me by others. That's enough for me to deal with.

But what if the movies that are "considered" good don't fit someone's interests?

I'd rather take a flier on something that might be less regarded and looks interesting to me than just say "Oh, this movie about incestuous polish cobblers got four stars from Ebert! Must see!"

[Mysterious Dude]

Anyway as to why Eternity watches so many bad films I don't think it's that difficult to understand. I'm sure he has many friends his age who drag him to crap and he just goes along for the ride.
He said he sees them because he doesn't want to let anything slip through the cracks. Because An American Carol just might be the best movie ever.