TOP TEN FILMS OF 2008

NOTE: I can assure you this list will change. I have yet to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Doubt, Revolutionary Road, The Reader, The Wrestler, Waltz with Bashir, The Class, Synechdoche NY, Trouble the Water, I've Loved You So Long, and more. I plan on posting a final list at the end of January, but for now, let's just call this "Top Ten Films I SAW in 2008," while the next list will be "Top Ten Films of 2008."

(10) Hunger

Directed by Steve McQueen
Starring Michael Fassbender and Liam Cunningham
96 mins.
Rated R

First-time director Steve McQueen's absolutely brutal look at the 1981 I.R.A. Hunger Strike and their, for lack of a better word martyred leader Bobby Sands has all the touches you would expect from a director who used to make his living as an artist. Several shots are less scenes and more paintings, not there to advance the plot as much as to admire. The centerpiece of the film, a 22-minute unbroken take of a conversation between Sands (Fassbender) and his priest, Father Moran (Liam Cunningham), where he explains his motivation for the going on a hunger strike that would eventually kill him. Obviously unable to break character at all during the scene, the two actors are literally FORCED to become their characters, and its effect on the scene is astounding. It really is a work of art.

(09) American Teen

Directed by Nanette Burstein
Starring Hannah Bailey, Colin Clemens, Megan Krizmanich and Jake Tusing
95 mins.
Rated PG-13

There were a lot of rumors flying around after this was a huge hit at Sundance that parts had been staged, lines were given out in advance, etc. These rumors were for the most part proved to be false, but after seeing it back in August, I thought to myself "Who cares?" The comparison has been made countless times, but this really is the real life version of The Breakfast Club. You find yourself caring about these characters more than you do in the majority of fiction films that Hollywood pumps out. So my opinion is, if occasionally the truth is skirted in favor of something more entertaining, so what? I was damn entertained.

(08) In Bruges

Directed by Martin McDonagh
Starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes
107 mins.
Rated R

"There's a Christmas tree somewhere in London with a bunch of presents underneath it that'll never be opened. And I thought, if I survive all this, I'd go to that house, apologize to the mother there, and accept whatever punishment she chose for me. Prison...death...it didn't matter. Because at least in prison and at least in death, you know, I wouldn't be in fuckin' Bruges. But then, like a flash, it came to me. And I realized, fuck man, maybe that's what hell is: the entire rest of eternity spent in fuckin' Bruges. And I really, REALLY hoped I wouldn't die. I really really hoped I wouldn't die..."

If that doesn't make you want to see this film, I don't know what will.

(07) The Dark Knight

Directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger
152 mins.
Rated PG-13

Honestly, what more can I say about this that hasn't already been said? In fact, the praise for this film is so universal, i'll offer up some negatives.

+ It's not close to a perfect film, and isn't deserving of a Best Picture nomination
+ The character of Rachel is again completely unnecessary and an unlikeable hindrance to the plot of the film

Still, I love it, and that's why it's my #7 film of the year.

(06) A Christmas Tale

Directed by Arnaud Desplechin
Starring Catherine Deneuve and Mathieu Amalric
150 mins.
Rated R

Much like Bergman's Fanny and Alexander before it, A Christmas Tale is a sprawling epic about something that would normally be contained into a 80 minute indie flick. But director Arnaud Desplechin never shies away from making the film as long as he wants. I admit that it's hard to follow (I needed two viewings to digest the entire thing) but if you stick with it, the payoff is remarkable. Mathieu Amalric (Quantum of Solace, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) is particularly good as the unbelievably mean, nasty, chain-smoking uncle.

(05) Rachel Getting Married

Directed by Jonathan Demme
Starring Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin and Debra Winger
114 mins.
Rated R

While Anne Hathaway's performance in Jonathan Demme's (The Silence of the Lambs) latest film as Kim, difficult, forward, recently out of rehab and attending her sister's wedding, it's not the highlight performance. Much like Tom Cruise (who is better) was snubbed in favor of Dustin Hoffmann's more showy performance in Rain Man, I can't help but feel the same thing is going to happen here between Hathaway and DeWitt. While Hathaway gets all the heavy scenes, it's DeWitt who manages to make what could come across as a basic "bitchy sister pissed at druggie younger sister for showing up to wedding" actually manages to make her character one of the most sympathetic in the film.

(04) Let the Right One In

Directed by Tomas Alfredson
Starring Kåre Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson
114 mins.
Rated R

Tomas Alfredson's take on the vampire story is likely the most original film i've seen this year. Lonely Oscar meets and befriends a girl, Eli, who just happens to be a vampire. Growing up ensues. The fact that Eli is a vampire never becomes the main focus of the story, and is never glamorized, unlike a certain film released around the same time, rhymes with "my kite." The quiet beauty of Sweden all culminates in one of the most effective, disturbing endings to a vampire film you will ever see.

(03) Man on Wire

Directed by James Marsh
Starring Phillipe Petit
90 mins.
Rated PG-13

2008 was a great year for documentaries, and James Marsh's Man on Wire was certainly the best. Playing less like a documentary and more like a thriller, it tells the story of Phillipe Petit's walk on a tightrope between the Twin Towers in 1974. To the director's credit, 9/11 is never mentioned once, and why should it be? This isn't what the film is about. It's a great tale of a man triumphing over nature.

(02) WALL-E

Directed by Andrew Stanton
Starring Ben Burtt and Elissa Knight
98 mins.
Rated G

I firmly believe that, along with Ratatouille, Pixar has achieved a level of brilliance in genre film over a short period that equals that of the Lucas/Spielberg Star Wars/Raiders of the Lost Ark era. The fact that you can release a movie like Ratatouille, one of the most beautiful, smart animated films ever made, and then come right back the next year and EASILY top it, is something you just don't see very often. The choice to do the first third of the film with basically no dialogue was an incredibly risky choice that had every possibility of backfiring terribly for Pixar, but instead plays like a Charlie Chaplin film. And WALL-E truly is the Little Tramp for this generation. A masterpiece.

(01) Slumdog Millionaire

Directed by Danny Boyle
Starring Dev Patel, Freida Pinto and Irrfan Khan
120 mins.
Rated R

That's right, the best film I saw in 2008 was about a kid from the slums of India who goes on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. A year ago if you told me this would've been on my list I would've laughed in your face. But the fact is that Danny Boyle's (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) newest film is an outright masterpiece. The performances, the beautiful cinematography, incredible locations, and most importantly (something that's seemed to take a backseat in films lately) the uplifting, beautiful story. This is one of those films that makes you feel like a kid again, when you saw Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark and felt like the movies could do anything.