Last year I posted my top 10 list on this blog and I got nothing out of it, so thanks for having me back to continue my slide into obscurity, Suzy. And no cracks about my new headshot.This has been the strongest year for films in probably a decade. If you missed these, run, don’t walk to Netflix. So, in no particular order, these are the top ten movies of the year:
1. The Kite Runner – This is the story of the fall of Afghanistan’s monarchy in the 1960’s and of two boys who are best friends. Adapted from the national best-selling novel of the same name, we witness the devastation of a friendship based on an extreme act of brutality against one of the boys, an act that will forever alter their friendship and the path of both of their lives.
2. Michael Clayton - George Clooney, welcome to my loving arms! I know you tried so very hard with Syriana. You were kinda fat and gross in that movie and I rejected your Syriana love. This, my friend, was more than a girl could hope for… except for that part where Tilda Swinton was sniffing her sweaty armpits. What the hell was that all about?
3. King of Kong, A Fistful of Quarters – You would be hard pressed to find a more compelling film this year than King of Kong. Steve Wiebe, the star of the film, is my hero. In the past, roomfuls of big budget writers couldn’t come close to capturing the intrigue, the trophy wives, the mullets, and the backbiting that occurs behind the scenes of the competitive gaming world. But this movie does. It simply is the greatest tale of good vs. evil in a long, long time.
4. Juno – So. Fucking. Great. Who knew Jennifer Garner could act? Seriously. Nobody saw that shit coming. Vegas wouldn’t have even taken that bet. You would have had an easier time trying to convince me that the Village People weren’t gay than trying to convince me that I would one day say the words, “Jennifer Garner is flat out incredible in this film.” Don’t even get me started on the genius screenwriter that is Diablo Cody. Juno was her debut screenplay and she sold it the first day she sent it out. She also wrote a best selling book and has a blog called ‘The Pussy Ranch.’ (That sound you just heard is all the men surfing away and heading to Google) So she went from being a stripper to a Blogger to a best selling author to a screenwriter. It has to make you smile that a girl who once charged sketchy Middle Eastern men for lap-dances will soon be looking for mantle space for an Oscar. Mark down that Ellen Page (made last year’s Honorable Mention list with Hard Candy) will be the greatest actress of her generation.
5. Once – An Irish busker boy meets a girl, falls in love, and all is right with the world. If you ignore the fact that she’s 17 and he’s 39 then all is right with the world. But don't let that minor fact cloud your thinking or you and your moral high ground will miss the most beautiful and touching film of the year.
6. No Country For Old Men - Javier Bardem’s hair should get an above the line credit and I should have hated this film since I’m Mexican and all the Mexicans in it are drug dealers, dead drug dealers, or soon to be dead drug dealers. I know somebody is going to say Javier is Mexican but he’s not playing one in this film. No self respecting Latino would have that haircut! He’s either an angry Eskimo or Russian, but not Mexican. Seriously, you would have to be Sweeney Todd to give that haircut to one of my people. Shit! I just watched the trailer again; I think he might be Samoan.
7. There Will Be Blood – That’s all my Mom said to me when I turned twelve.
8. Atonement – A beautiful film about a single moment that destroys three lives. I loved this film not only for how beautiful it was - that green dress was a showstopper - but for how courageously it embraced the story it was telling. This wasn’t some cheesy Hollywood tripe with a buttoned-up ending and a hero riding off into the sunset. This one got down to the real business of telling a heartbreaking story of wrecked lives and the consequences of knowing that in a single moment you can make the wrong choice and will have to live with it.
9. Zodiac - Classic film making from David Fincher, (Fight Club, Se7en, Panic Room) who never fails to amaze and inspire. Robert Downey, Jr. will tragically be overlooked for a best supporting Oscar nomination but he deserves one.
10. The Diving Bell And The Butterfly – So, this guy has a stroke and becomes completely paralyzed except for one eye. That is one fucking eye, people. They had to sew the other one shut because the muscle wasn’t working right and it dried out. With one good eye he blinks out a novel. Why don’t you take a second to re-read that sentence? Oh, screw it. I’ll re-type it for you… HE BLINKS OUT AN ENTIRE NOVEL! I didn’t do my dishes for five days last week, how big of an ass did I feel like after seeing this?
Honorable Mention:
The Host, Black Snake Moan, Super Bad, 3:10 To Yuma, The Lives of Others, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Into the Wild, Hoax, Enchanted, The Savages, Sweeney Todd, Knocked Up, The Darjeeling Limited, The Orphanage, 300, Shoot ‘em up.
What? No Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters? What about when Shake kept touching the Dangerous bear and his arm got cut off? C'mon!
ReplyDeletePrinn xxxx
I haven't seen these. Not. A. One. I have kids and no time for a life. But I'm sure all of these will be available on DVD when the kids head off to college, so I'm making a list. It's a big damned list, BTW - thanks for that.
ReplyDeleteDitto Jami. I usually have to catch them on DVD. However, my son is eighteen and i've retired the wooden spoon so one of my resolutions is to get out more.
ReplyDeleteApparently, you didn't get around to seeing "Waitress"...
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I haven't seen any of these movies yet. I am so far behind, I think I am still watching the best from 2003?
ReplyDeleteI did read A Thousand Splendid Suns by the author of The Kite Runner, so I think I will rent that movie first.
Did your local cinema not show "La Vie En Rose?" Arguably, one of the best ever. I really have a problem with this serious omission.
ReplyDeleteAloha,
Martha Jane
It's hard to believe that the guy I'm married to used to do sound work for movies and we used to go to the cinema at least once a week, because we never go to the movies now. Pathetic. But I did see Once on DVD, and it was great. The MUSIC alone makes it worth your time.
ReplyDelete(I think I'm the only person who didn't dig "Waitress." And I'm dying to see "Juno.")
Netflix updated. Now if my husband would just let some of my movies get to the top.
ReplyDeleteI thought Waitress was cute, but certainly not a Best or even an Honorable Mention. I think La Vie En Rose should have been on the list even though I haven't seen it but have just heard word of mouth on it. I thought Zodiac was an Honerable Mention, not a Best.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think Knocked Up was an Honorable Mention either but then again, this ain't my list!
1. The Boss Of Everything - It was just to strong of a year for "Aqua Teen" to sneak in there.
ReplyDelete2. Jami - Take your kids to the movies with you! Some of my fondest memories growing up are when my Mom & Dad took us to see movies.
3. Anne - Stop hitting teenagers with wooden spoons. He's getting old enough now that he would be able to pick you out of a line-up! Use caution and never admit to the beatings on the "internets."
4. Dave2 - Yes. I did see "Waitress." I liked it, but did not love it. The acting was incredible. The story struck me as trite.
5. gmcountrymama - Make your second rental "Once." I didn't read the Kite Runner book, but hear it's amazing as well.
6. Martha Jane - Yes. I did see "La Vie En Rose." The thing that really struck me about the film was the acting. The story was something I felt we had all seen before. The film didn't "stay" with me. Her performance did.
7. Surce - You aren't the only one and please for the love of God see Juno!
8. Erika - In one sentence you were funnier than my entire top ten.
Thanks for your comments guys!
--Abeyta
Suzy,
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts on "Waitress" are on the money.
"Zodiac" blew me away! One of the great films about obsession. The directors cut just came out on DVD. Give it another chance.
--Abeyta
Abeyta, About La Vie, did you mean the story of Edith Piaf's life was 'seen before' or that the telling of it was 'seen before'?
ReplyDeleteI had some of these down to see already, but am now psyched for the others, too. LOVED the story about Diablo Cody, too!
ReplyDeleteI meant the whole artist who makes it through a rough childhood and beats the odds to become a great artist and then gets involved in drugs and loses everything angle. We now refer to it as the "VH1 behind the music angle."
ReplyDelete--Abeyta
I guess the only difference is that Piaf is a legend and no one on VH1 will ever be.
ReplyDeleteAre you saying that Leif Garret will never be a legend?
ReplyDelete--Abeyta