The Gospel according to Ben Lamb:1. No Country for Old Men (January)
The Coen Brothers were back on artistic form as they were able to improve Cormac McCarthy's gripping novel through the medium of cinema. Truly deserving of its Best Picture Oscar at the 2007 Academy Awards; Javier Bardem along with Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin all collectively gave the performances of their careers. A must see!
2. There Will Be Blood (Februrary)
Not many modern releases can rival Citizen Kane, but auteur Paul Thomas Anderson did so with ease. Subsequently redefining the language of modern cinema with his original epic, the performance he got out of Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis was simply a stunning portrait of a man's greed and rage driven downfall.
3. Waltz With Bashir (November)
The most emotionally powerful and iconic film of the year. This rota scope animated docudrama on a soldier trying to rediscover his lost memories of the First Lebanon War in 1982 should win the best foreign film Oscar.
4. Gomorrah (October)
An enthralling and gritty insight into the contemporary Italian gangster underworld.
5. The Dark Knight (July)
Now officially the 4th best grossing film of all time it's encouraging to see the Nolan brothers producing a superhero franchise with real substance and atmospheric darkness as they continue to rewrite the conventions of the genre. Heath Ledger stole the limelight away from Christian Bale and outshone Jack Nicholson, to produce the best portrayal of a superhero villain ever. To deny him the best supporting actor Oscar would be a crime against humanity. Rest in peace Heath, your legacy shall never be forgotten.
6. Wall-E (July)
Possibly Pixar's greatest film barring Toy Story 1 & 2. Beautifully shot and full of heart this affectionate tale is more than a entertaining children's film but a dystopian vision that reminds us how beautiful the human condition really is that we all take for granted.
7. Changeling (December)
Clint Eastwood continues to reign as the master of old school cinema. A unbelievably true story where Independent single mother Angelina Jolie takes down the whole police force all on her own in an extremely sexist 1920's L.A. means an Oscar win for best actress is a dead cert.
8. Taxi to the Dark Side (June)
An essential, eye-opening and well researched documentary that unearths what actually goes on behind closed doors in Guantanamo Bay. Effectively told through guards, prisoners and insiders alike you have no idea how corrupt American foreign affairs really are.
9. Persepolis (April)
The restrictive Iranian regime imposed upon a typical maturing young girl is truly heartbreaking.
10. King of Kong (June)
The most overlooked film of the year. Forget Man on Wire, getting to the final level of Donkey Kong is surely a better achievement than tightrope walking between the twin towers. This charming documentary awakens a cult that you had no idea existed.
Also worth your attention: Hellboy II, Juno, Eden Lake, Gone Baby Gone, The Baader-Meinhoff Complex, Iron Man, The Mist, In Bruges, The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, Son of Rambow.
8 comments:
So glad u included King of Kong, don't understand how this didn't get a bigger release, it's well good!
my tops
1.There Will Be Blood
2.No Country
3.Wall-E
4.Dark Knight
5.Waltz with Bashir
6.King of Kong
7.Eden Lake
8.[Rec]
9.Cloverfield (scraping the barrel here, can't think of any more, spent too much time watching the wire to bother with films recently.)
I know, I happened to buy "King of Kong" at work because it was dirt cheap and I couldn't believe just how overlooked this documentary was, Kim Newman said it was his favourite film of the year!
Our lists are very similar. All year "There Will Be Blood" was my favourite film, but after watching it more than once I soon believed "No Country" was better. I also haven't seen [Rec] yet damn it!
Sight and Sound claimed "Hunger" to be the best film of the year! I cannot believe how overrated that fairly decent film is!
Anyway, we'll soon see how our lists fare against the mighty Kermode!
Good list Ben, and I'm very happy to see The King of Kong on the list - that's a great film. Where the hell is juno though! I haven't seen all of the films on your list, but mine would look something like this:
There will be blood
No country for old men
Wall-E
4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days
Juno
The Visitor
The Dark Knight
Persepolis
The king of kong
The Orphanage (El Orfanato)
However I should say that I haven't seen some of the critically acclaimed films such as Man on wire and Waltz with Bashir - bring on the DVD release.
Out of interest Ben, who do you think is the best actor and actress of the year?
I can't wait to hear what Kermode thinks too, although he was wrong last year. Jesse James was good but it wasn't the best film of the year.
Ah good question, I think Daniel Day-Lewis's Daniel Plainview was by far the best performance of the year, perhaps of all time. A mesmerising depiction of a man driven by searing rage that develops into eventual madness.
However Heath Ledger's Joker was also very iconic and not just for the fact it was in light of his death.
Angelina Jolie's performance has recieved the most attention but probably the best female performance of the year I saw was Anne Hathaway's role in Rachel's Wedding. Who would have believed that she could portray such a layered character who frequently changes the amount of empathy we hold for her. Whilst she comes to terms with her drug addiction we remain undecided as to whether she is attention seeking, or crying out for help, it is up to the viewer to decide!
I think this will be released across the country at some point in January and could provide some last minute Oscar competition for Jolie when it comes to the crunch.
What about you?
Totally agree about Jesse James, too overrated by critics. I haven't seen Of Time And The City yet but I have a feeling this film might be too but we'll see!
I also haven't seen 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days or The Visitor (despite the fact Ive had a copy of it for months which I just haven't got round to seeing yet) but I will get my opportunity with DVD releases!
Juno did offer something a bit different to the typical teenage rom com but it never really captivated me, still an interesting worthwhile film though. The Orphanage may be considered atmospheric but I just felt bored by the whole experience!
Glad to see we are spreading the word about King of Kong, I found it more gripping than Man on Wire which was good but rather predictable and not really worth the trip to the cinema!
Yep I'm with you on Daniel Day Lewis - simply awesome; there really was no such thing as a supporting actor in that film, he just took up the whole screen at all times, although I still think that Forest Whittaker in The last king of scotland rivals it for greatness. They're both in Pacino/Dog day afternoon territory in my opinion. But in terms of winning the oscar this year, I'd give it to Richard Jenkins who is wonderful in The visitor, but will no doubt be overlooked by all. I also think that Heath Ledger should win best supporting actor.
I haven't seen Changeling or Rachel's Wedding so can't really offer much on the best actress front, although most of the buzz is around Jolie so she'll probs get it. Why oh why do Jolie and Hathaway continue to make a load of rubbish films in between good roles when they're so talented? Maybe there's just a sore lack of good female parts out there.
When you do see 4 months 3 weeks 2 days (and you must), look for the lead performance in it because the woman in it should have won best actress last year - she's simply stunning.
Amusing anecdote to finish on: I saw The orphanage in Sweden when I was staying there with a friend, and it was only when we sat down in the cinema that, during the trailers, I realised that I was seeing a spanish language film in a Swedish cinema! I don't speak Swedish or Spanish thereby denoting me an idiot. But I still thought it did some clever things, particularly with sound design.
1. there will be blood
2. in bruges
3. happy-go-lucky
4. funny games
5. cloverfield
I can only really think of these five films from the past year that have been standouts for me, to be honest. To be fair, I haven't seen THAT many film from 2008 so far, i'm just far too busy catching up on 2006/7 at the minute.
I'm very intrigued by a few that I'm yet to see, mind you, such as 'Wall-E' and 'Waltz With Bashir', and I'm yet to see 'Persepolis', the book that its based upon lying on my shelf in complete tatters after repeated read-throughs on holiday earlier this year.
'Cloverfield' only really gets in there for being such a great idea, as well as being the only genuinely scary film i've seen all year, and the source of many 'your mothers so fat...' jokes for years to come.
'Funny Games' made me feel like i was being bullied for 100mins, but i thought it was an excellent film (not sure what that tells you about my psychological state though *twitches*).
'Happy-Go-Lucky' is a real feel-good film (or a vicious slice of torture-porn depending on what you think of the main character Poppy's relentlessly upbeat persona) that made me smile. Me. Smile. Ha!
'In Bruges' was the funniest film I have seen all year, and the only one in which a dwarf gets karate chopped. Coincidence? Non.
'There Will Be Blood' was just beautiful to look at, the soundtrack was amazing, and seeing Daniel Day-Lewis' performance was marginally better than witnessing a dwarf being karate chopped.
As good as 'The Dark Knight' and 'No Country For Old Men' were though, they seem to have left no lasting impression on me, but hey, they were much better than 'Max Payne' (i'd rather be castrated by a budgie than watch that film ever again).
Hey man thanks for your very interesting list. In Bruges was probably the funniest film of the year.
I haven't seen Happy Go Lucky as of yet but I love Mike Leigh and it was in Sight and Sounds top ten. I have heard that people do find the main character difficult to say the least.
If you like Funny Games see the German original, I found it far better. Having said that, it is a complete shot for shot remake so there will be little point. Having seen the German version before the American I just didnt find it as awkward or as powerfull but that could be because I knew exactly what was going to happen :P
But what on earth posessed you into seeing Max Payne?
Bens of the amateur film criticism world UNITE!
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