The Top 10 Films of 2008
Here we go. My top 10.
The top 10 films of 2008
1. Paranoid Park
2. The Class
3. Let the Right One In
4. Slumdog Millionaire
5. The Wrestler
6. Rachel Getting Married
7. Revolutionary Road
8. Milk
9. Les Maison Petits Cubes
10. Were the World Mine
Honorable mentions (in no particular order):
Wall-E, Pageant, Manon Sur le Bitume, Gran Torino, In Bruges, Happy-Go-Lucky, Shelter, and Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired.
I struggled with a couple of things on this list. I knew that my top two films of the year were Paranoid Park and The Class. I also knew that 3-5 were pretty much interchangeable. And I had about 5 other films I could've put in the last two slots.
Paranoid Park, in my opinion was the better of Van Sant's films. As an actor, I'm slightly annoyed with people using the term, "non actor," because, guess what? You are in a film. You aren't playing yourself. You are acting! I hate that my original review of the film was so short, but in it I said, "A haunting event in the center of everyday adolescence. Watching this film is an intense experience. Almost like real life. We are inside Alex's head, with help from stunning visuals and beautiful music"
The Class was a close second. Perhaps these two films were my favorites because they were the closest to showing us a true slice of life. And The Class gives everyone an equal opportunity to express themselves. Teachers, students…everyone. And unlike the typical Hollywood versions, no one is the villain. And there is no huge contrived obstacle to overcome.
Let the Right One In is on the list because I truly believe it takes vampire lore to a new place. A completely honest and believable one. And this makes it even more tragic…and interestingly enough, hilarious at the end.
There isn't much to be said of Slumdog that hasn't been said before. Inspirational. Uplifting. Great ending credits. I will remind everyone that the biggest reason the film works is Danny Boyle. He is able to do things with genre films that are unexpected. And at the heart of everything is Dev Patel. You believe his character knows every answer thanks to Patel's performance.
The Wrestler, Rachel Getting Married, and Revolutionary Road are all on my list because of the incredible performances of its leads. Raw. Honest. Present. And with their fantastic direction by 3 greats…3 contemporary and wonderful directors. In Rachel Getting Married we get this fantastic documentary style from the amazing Jonathan Demme. The Wrestler is Aronofsky's best work to date. And Revolutionary Road takes whatever pretension might have been in American Beauty, strips it away, and gives us a real couple. So real that it seemed to scare the Academy.
Milk is Van Sant's "studio" picture. And it is an amazing one. It was difficult to put the film so low on my list. Last year it might've been number one for me. There are many things to be said about Milk…and Penn. But my favorite performances might be from his band of activists…especially Emile Hirsh. Watching this film, I completely forgot where I was. One of the best compliments I can say for a film.
Les Maison Pettits Cubes is a beautiful and touching animated short (that I hope will win the Oscar) telling the story off an older man reliving his past in the most amazing way. I hope everyone will have the chance to see it, so I won't say anymore.
And finally, there is Were the World Mine. I saw this film back in June, on my birthday of all days, and what a wonderful present. I found it absolutely magical. Not for everyone, but absolutely right for me. A musical. Shakespeare. Coming (out) of age. I loved it. My tenth spot is often a guilty pleasure. Are other films better? Perhaps. But this is one I loved more, nonetheless.
Instead of a worst list, I will give my biggest disappointments.
1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2. Burn After Reading
3. Whirlwind
4. Tell No One
In terms of the first two. Both of these director's previous films were two of my favorites. After Zodiac, Button was a bit a disappointment. Not necessarily the worst movie of the year, but it wouldn't crack my top 30.
And Burn After Reading seemed like a big, screw you, to everyone who told the Cohen's that they were talented with No Country For Old Men.