By Sarah Sluis
2008 has come to a close, prompting critics to sort and rank the films they've seen over the year, both as a form of mental cleansing during those slow news days post-New Year's, as well as in preparation for awards season. The Village Voice offered its annual survey of dozens of reviewers, and NY Mag took it upon themselves to poll critics on their ten worst films. Stop Smiling, a Chicago-based arts and culture magazine, also posted a list of their favorite films. Now it's our turn.
Our Executive Editor, Kevin Lally, shared his list of top ten films of 2008 in January's magazine, so I've re-posted them online, along with (often prescient) excerpts from our critics' original review:
Wall-E: "a tale that's equally satisfying as science fiction, cautionary satire, gentle love story and purely visual comedy," "its first half hour of beeps and blips "[evoking] classic silent comedy, setting up innumerable clever sight gags and achieving surprising expressiveness within the physical limitations of their adorable mechanical lead." - Kevin Lally
The Class: "a work of jaw-dropping intelligence, humanity and the most subtle cinematic bravura." - David Noh (who also stated it was "probably the year's best film")
Slumdog Millionaire:"a bracingly energetic and original story of struggle,
survival, upward mobility and romantic yearning that should be [and turned out to be] a
major art-house crossover hit." - Kevin Lally
Man on Wire: "a stunning adventure and a study in the ultra-weird, as embodied by the driven hero" - Doris Toumarkine
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days: "a ragtag tour de force, a low-budget, high-drama independent marvel that reinvigorates cinma-vrit." - Rex Roberts
The Edge of Heaven: "takes several German and Turkish families and turns their stories into a mesmerizing philosophical meditation on cultural displacement, how history repeats itself, and the ways in which parents want the best for their children." - Lewis Beale
My Winnipeg: "Maddin delivers another unique, phantasmagorical, handcrafted spectacle that again confirms his place as one of independent film's wittiest, wildest and most singular talents." - Kevin Lally
Frost/Nixon: "one of the most breathtaking bits of acting you are likely to see this year" - Daniel Eagan
Be Kind Rewind: an"unusual, heartfelt valentine to community and creativity, a true movie for the YouTube era" - Kevin Lally
The Visitor: stars Richard Jenkins as a "depressed hero,...hardly the most upbeat of traveling companions. The bumpy road means that this cinematic trip may not generate the kind of word of mouth a film like this needs." (redeemed by its inclusion on this, and other,Top Ten lists) - Doris Toumarkine
The list includes three well-represented Golden Globes nominees (Frost/Nixon, Slumdog Millionaire, Wall-E), as well as probable nominee Man on Wire (the Globes no longer award documentaries). Be Kind Rewind hasn't been showing up on many lists, but the "Sweded" films were some of the most enjoyable comedic send-ups this year. Director Guy Maddin (My Winnipeg) remains a critical/cult favorite, not a crossover one. The Visitor has landed a spot on many Oscar projection lists, but 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days and The Edge of Heaven were voted out of the foreign-language bracket last year. The Class, France's Oscar submission, will likely receive an Oscar nod.
Risky Business blogger Steven Zeitchik commented yesterday on the need for a critic to balance mainstream/niche films on their Top Ten list in order to maintain street cred (my words, not his). "Too many blockbusters," he said, "make you look preening." If that's the case, let's notice the film appearing in many Top Tens that's left off this list--a little Batman movie, anyone?
No comments:
Post a Comment