Most people do a top ten of "......." every year, whether it's music, films, paintings.....(the list is endless), but I don't know if I can narrow down what I've seen this year to my top ten, because, thinking back, I struggle to think of a bad film I've seen this year.
So I'm just going to list my favorite films that I've seen at the cinema or bought on DVD (that came out this year), without any preference, and you can agree, or don't (but it's not your blog, so I don't care).
There Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson.
At two hours and (about) forty minutes long, this appears to be a long film. But as soon as the first shot appears (which is followed by about 20 minutes of no dialogue), it completley sucks you into the action.
The performances are quite incredible, not just from Day Lewis, but from the entire supporting cast, Paul Dano especially as the money grubbing almost insane pastor, on a mission to get as much money as possible for his 'church'.
Daniel Plainview (Day Lewis) appears to be hellbent on getting every drop of oil out of the ground, like he has a vendetta against the Earth. His adopted son H.W (Dillion Freasier and Russel Harvard) seems to be totally unphased by the lengths Plainview will go to to destroy everything that stands in his way.
The scene where Plainview smothers Eli in all coupled with the last scene are quite terrifying, not only because of the height of Day Lewis as an Actor playing a part, but because of the sheer lack of respect and ferocity Plainview expels towards Eli, a man half his size and a 'priest'.
Eli and Plainview are at odds throughout most of the film, each man believing in his own 'religion', Plainview; of wealth and riches that come from the Earth, and Eli; of faith and religion that come from the heavens. Each man is totally subscribed to what he believes in, culminating in the ending which seems totally bizarre compared to the rest of the film, but after taking time to think about what each man represents the ending seems to perfectly sum up their relationship.
Everything from first 20 minutes, the acting and he soundtrack (by Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood) to the last scene ("I SUCK IT UP SLUUUUUURP!!") is totally engrossing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml2Ae2SIXac
WALL-E, Andrew Stanton
Who ever knew that robots could be so cute, who ever knew Disney could get so deep?
Wall-E, a little robot left on Earth to clear up our mess, after commercialization and pollution have taken over what we use to call home.
All the humans have had to go into space to make room for all the little Wall-E robots to run about and clear up what we've done to the planet.
Does sound a bit deep doesn't it?
Oh, and then he falls in love.
So, it IS a Disney film.
Wall-E is a very good animated film. The characters are well rounded and sorta cuddly, even though they're made of metal and don't really make words, more like noises that we can distinguish into what we believe they've said, which could be the appeal I suppose.
The film also tries to make a point about the pollution we cause, as well as our dependency on machines and large corporate brands for everything, and where best to put it than a Disney film?
Does anyone else think that the evil robot at the end looked a bit like HAL 9000?
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UblUO0LjPUg
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Julian Schnabel.
If you haven't read the book, I would.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is based on the former Editor of Elle's book Le scaphandre et le papillon, and it chronicles his life dealing with the on set of 'Locked in Syndrome', a condition where after recovering from an initial stroke, the patient is 'locked inside' their own body, unable to move, talk and do most things we take for granted. In fact the whole book was dictated by the author Jean Dominic Bauby by blinking his left eye along to the most frequently used words in the French dialect.
Although all that sounds quite depressing, the film is quite heartfelt, especially the 'heavy breather' scene. Mathieu Arlmaric is fantastic as Bauby, although initially we don't see much of him, except through the medium of flashbacks and fantasies, much like the book, the outside world we would normally discover in leaving a room (something that Bauby was unable to do) is done through Baubys imagination and memories.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=G69Zh7YIg8c
Waltz With Bashir, Ali Folman
This film kicked me in the teeth, and I loved every second of it.
Waltz with Bashir is a rotoscoping documentary film focussing on the 1982 Lebanon War, the film follows the main character Ari through his time serving in the war.
Most of the film looks and feels like a comic book, which is due to the rotoscoping (the same technique used on A Scanner Darkly) used on the individual frames of footage.
This film was a wierd one, because of the animation it felt like a completley fictional tale of comrades in a war, but in actual fact, it is just a documentary with rotoscoping done afterwards.
Looking back on the film, it is quite brilliant.
The soundtrack is bloody good too.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IKwJgOrN1f4
Cloverfield, Matt Reeves
Is it a bird? No.
Is it a plane? No.
Is it Superman?. No.
Well, what is it then?
I dunno but it looks pissed off.
Cloverfield had a massive internet buzz without actually telling us anything, which was quite clever, but at the the time, really massivley annoying.
Blair Witch meets Godzilla meets the OC in Manhattan I think could be a good way to describe what happens in the plot to Cloverfield.
I'm not being horrible about the film when I describe it like that either, the film starts with a few shots of a going away party (in a very nice flat) for the main character, Rob, who is going to Japan to be Vice-President of a big company.
After the many different shots by Hud (the cameraman for most of the film) of people wishing Rob well the action begins.
Of course the first reaction is 'is it terrorists??' was one of the main selling points of the film I believe.
Massive 'attack' in a downtown surburban American enviroment.
The film is very good despite its OC-esque start, but even that serves a purpose, especially the blossoming relationship of Hud and Marlena.
Until she explodes. Chin up man, happens to the best of us.
The characters have a background and I certainly cared when one of them was crushed or went missing or exploded (actually, I was gutted about that one).
But, overall I really enjoyed Cloverfield, even with the exploding ness of girl.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IvNkGm8mxiM
Other films that I have enjoyed this year but don't want to write anything about because they've been done to death (sorry for the pun) already have been:
The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan
No Country For Old Men, The Coen Brothers
Films that I am looking forward to in two thousand and nine:
The Wrestler, Darren Aronofsky.
Revolutionary Road, Sam Mendes.
Star Trek, JJ Abrahams.
Valkyrie, Bryan Singer.
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, David Fincher.
Watchmen, Zak Snyder.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Gavin Hood.
Terminator Salvation, McG.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, David Yates.
The Wolf Man, Joe Johnston.
Che, Steven Soderbergh.
The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson.
