It's that time: the best of the year

While most critics are busy compiling their lists for the year’s best films of 2008, if you’re like me and 1) have small children 2) have a very limited budget and/or 3) live in a city where many films either aren’t released yet or ran for one week in one theater and you couldn’t make it, most likely for reasons #1 or #2, then like me you’ll be lucky to see 2 or 3 of the best films of the year before the Academy Awards time.

So instead of creating my top 10 films of 2008, like an amateur critic, I’ll post my top 10 films of 2007, which has its benefit of giving me a whole extra year to see and consider my picks. It also means they’re ALL immediately available on DVD, so you don’t have to wait to see them if you happened to have missed one.

1. There Will Be Blood

If you had asked me a year ago I would have ranked this film #2. But having watched it a second time, which I think everyone needs to watch this film at least two times, I thought it nudged my other pick back to #2. I think this is a film scholars and historians will watch and study, and that history will show to be one of the best films in American cinema. For more read my review on it.

2. No Country for Old Men

The Coen Brother’s faithful and flawless adaptation of the excellent novel by Cormac McCarthy. This film along with TWBB are not just two of the best films of the year or of the decade, but I think will prove to be the best in history. I can’t believe they came out the same year. I plan to post a review on this film someday.

3. Eastern Promises

David Cronenberg’s gangster film displays the talent he cultivated making sci-fi and horror films in the 1970s through the 1990s with his idiosyncratic blend of the corporal and the technological. He’s the master of the intellectual gory shlock film, and his latest film along with A History of Violence are a successful foray into new territory, working in a genre which may finally bring him some renown, as critics will actually acknowledge the gangster film as “serious.” The writing is solid, the cinematography is gorgeous, the colors rich with depth and Viggo Mortensen’s performance would have won an Oscar in almost any other year, at least one not dominated by Daniel Day Lewis.

4. Zodiac

This is a film that I think slipped under the radar because it was released so early in the year, and by the end of the year there was an unusual excess of good films being released. It was directed by David Fincher and should have been nominated for best film. Strangely enough Fincher may get a nominations this year for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, when I believe Zodiac is a superior film. Go figure. The film is stylish and the cinematography is stunning.

5. Snow Angels

A small drama by David Gordon Green, the young master of the independent film. The film has an excellent script, great acting and it’s not over-done. It’s simple and powerful. My immediate reaction to the film was that it was the antidote to Gone Baby Gone.

6. Atonement

The first half of this film was simply amazing. I thought the second half stumbled a bit, but I loved the ending. Excellent writing and acting.

7. Michael Clayton

Great performance by George Clooney. The film is stylish and taut.

8. Ratatouille

Pixar’s animation is beautiful and the film is hilarious for kids and adults. Everyone needs to see this film, especially all foodies.

9. Once

The best musical film I’ve seen in a long time. The soundtrack is amazing and the style makes sense given the nature of the characters. The plot is very loose and improvisational which works because the centerpiece of the film is the music and the musicians/characters.

10. Juno

A film that is both funny and tender. The writing is strong as is the acting.

2007 was an excellent year for film. It was difficult to make a Top 10 list because I was forced to leave out over a dozen films I really wanted to see in the list including Charlie Wilson’s War and The Savages (ha, ha...some honorable mentions). Last year I had a tough time trying to pick which films I wanted to see in the theater and which ones I could wait to see on DVD.

2008’s list may be difficult for the exact opposite reason. Over Thanksgiving I wanted to see a movie in theaters with a friend, but we didn’t go because there was not a single thing playing that looked even remotely decent. However, I will note there are a handful of films out now that I really want to see and several more that haven’t been released in our city, so I’m hoping it won’t be too tough to find at least 10 good films this year. But there certainly doesn’t appear to be the volume of last year’s.