I don’t normally like to do Top 10 lists but I did this for a movie site so I figured I’d throw it on here if anyone is interested.
Last year was an odd year for movies. More than half of the movies I had really expected to make this list either didn’t quite measure up once I saw them or they were pushed off by films I knew nothing about beforehand or didn’t expect would make it. While I got to see a lot of what I really wanted to last year, there were a couple I just wasn’t able to make it to that had a good chance at being on this list.
1) THE FALL - I loved this movie and saw it a couple of times in the theater. Beautifully shot and imagined and the film that I think was the absolute best of last year. I thought it wasn’t eligible for the Academy Awards since it was made in 2006 but when I saw that it was actually on the official eligibility list, I was surprised that there wasn’t even one nomination for this film. The art direction, design, and cinematography were phenomenal.
2) WALL-E - Pixar has always been at the top of their game and this film is no exception. The animation was incredible and it was hard at times to not “see” certain parts as filmed models even though I knew they weren’t. Wall-E is one of the cutest and sweetest characters to come along in a while and there were such great little moments with him and Eve. This film is a prime example of how a story can be told with few words and it truly stands out above other animated, and even many live-action, films. Pixar is unlike any other company around.
3) LET THE RIGHT ONE IN - This is a film I went to with very little knowledge of what it was going to be about. I’d read a bit of a review and was hooked enough to give it a shot. It was one of those films that just blew me away and I left the theater thinking to myself over and over “What a great fucking movie.” I immediately got the score and thought about the whole thing for days. It was such a refreshing change in what I hate to call the “vampire” genre.
4) SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - This was one of those movies that I loved from every aspect. Cinematography, Editing, Acting, Writing, etc… — it really just all came together so well.
5) DEAR ZACHARY: A LETTER TO A SON ABOUT HIS FATHER - This movie crushed me. Holy crap, I don’t think there’s been a film or documentary that has moved me so much. This was such a tragic topic to begin with and some of the turns it takes throughout are just heartbreaking. I know this would have affected me before I had my son, but having a three-year-old and seeing this just makes it much more emotional. If you see this film, you will be saddened and angered by what happens in ways that you probably haven’t felt in a long time, if ever.
6) MAN ON WIRE - This was just such a fun documentary. Philippe Petit is great to watch just by himself but to see the scope of his plan and the way it was carried out is just incredible. The director uses recreations of the events in an extremely effective way to really help you understand the way things were at that time for Petit and his crew without it feeling like those cheesy “dramatizations” you see on Dateline. The whole thing flows extremely well between the actual people involved telling the story, the recreations, and real footage/photos from it all. I highly recommend it to anyone.
7) SON OF RAMBOW - Wow, what an unexpected surprise. I knew practically nothing about it and ended up loving it. It reminded me of MILLIONS with the imagination, heart, and the two great child actors it had in it place. Very well done all-around.
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON - This is one I had to think about for a while. There were a lot of wonderful moments and the film was extremely well done but there was something about it that just kinda kept me from loving it. I work quality assurance for a studio at a handful of theaters and so in downtimes, I’ll peek into a movie I’ve seen and rewatch parts of it. It was in doing so with this film that I was able to appreciate certain moments by themselves. It reminded me of the sections of the movie that worked so well and took the focus off of the parts that didn’t. In thinking back to the film as a whole, it’s not something that I was telling people they HAD to go see in a theater RIGHT NOW as I did with LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, The FALL, and WALL-E. But when I think of moments along the way and various pieces of this long life that was shown, there were some striking and poignant parts and the movie was very worth seeing.
9) THE VISITOR - I finally caught this one recently and it makes the list, though there are a couple of others I could have substituted here and almost did. Richard Jenkins does a fantastic job and uses the whole length of the movie to slowly grow out of the lonely and disconnected man we see him start off as. It’s a very subtle change that happens over the course of the events that transpire and his performance really makes the film so much better. The rest of the cast is great and the pacing and music of the film work really well.
10) FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL/ROLE MODELS - I’m including these two in a tie because I couldn’t decide which to use. If it messes up the numbers, I’d be fine with either being chosen. Both are hilarious, well-cast, and touch on emotions that lead to some very nice moments. I wish there were more comedies of this nature and a lot less of the EPIC MOVIES and the like.
Honorable Mention that almost made it: THE WRESTLER. Also great were THE DARK KNIGHT, MILK, and ROCKNROLLA.
