There's just about one week to go until the big Oscar broadcast! As such, I have decided to go over the best movies I've seen this year. There are very few years in which I see every film that is nominated for an Academy Award. Actually, there's usually an inverse proportion of how disappointed I am versus how many of the films I've seen. Yes, I've been let down by the Oscars before.
Many fanboys will tell you that the beginning of the end was when Star Wars lost to Annie Hall in 1977. I'm not one of those people. I've never thought Lucas deserved an Oscar. The first time I was ever really invested in the awards was in 1991 when Silence of the Lambs swept most of the major Oscars. Since then, however, I've been consistently disappointed. Aside from a few that I agree with (Schindler's List, The English Patient), I've disagreed with most of the Best Picture recipients. The most egregious transgression was in 1997 when Titanic took home the prize. I try to avoid clichés, but, after seeing that horrible film, I definitely wanted those three torturous hours of my life back. Since then, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind and Chicago have been films I've really disagreed with.
This year, however, I've seen four of the five nominated films and I would be happy with any of the four winning. I plan to see the fifth, hopefully, this week. But, here are my favorite films of the year, at least the ones I've seen. There are more I need to see, but these were superb:
10. Superbad- One of the funniest films I've seen. Period.
9. Charlie Wilson's War- Aaron Sorkin does it again! Being a film about the arming of the Afghan Mujahideen, many liberals like myself were worried that it would glorify a political mistake, but Sorkin, a liberal himself, covers that nicely by highlighting the idea that Wilson and his CIA partner, Gust Avrakatos, tried to warn Congress that unless Afghanistan were stabilized and given money and support, it could have severe repercussions for the U.S. Hmmmmm....sound familiar?
8. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford- Besides winning the prize for the longest title of the year, James is a fantastic film. It's gloriously shot by Roger Deakins, who has been collaborating with the Coens for years now. Also, Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck and Sam Rockwell give outstanding performances.
7. Once- This is the little film that could. At one time, it was supposed to star Cillian Murphy, but thankfully, the filmmaker thought better of it and placed his soundtrack composer, the Frames' Glen Hansard, in the lead role. It's a brilliantly spare and realistic love story with wonderful music.
6. Juno- Juno and Once tie for the shortest titles, I suppose. Juno is another one of those little films that could. Ellen Page is magnificent and deserves every accolade, but it is the trio of Michael Cera, Jason Bateman and J.K. Simmons who practically steal the show. A few things bother me, however. Why was Rainn Wilson so prominently featured in the trailer when he's only in the film for thirty seconds? And I'm worried that Michael Cera will continue to be typecast as the nervous, bumbling teenager until he doesn't get parts anymore.
5. The Simpsons Movie- Come on. How could you not love this? The skateboarding scene at the opening is worth it alone. And Professor Frink singing, "for the big screen!" And Albert Brooks guiding an idiotic President Schwarzenegger. I could go on...
4. Control- Renowned photographer Anton Corbijn makes his feature film debut with Control, a biopic of Ian Curtis, the frontman for Joy Division who tragically took his own life at the age of 23. Corbijn, who got his break in photography taking pictures of the band, captures all the requisite personalities, historical accuracies (except for intentionally choosing a different song for the band to play on Tony Wilson's music show) and atmospheres (pun intended).
3. Atonement- I wasn't expecting much from this film. I loved Ian McEwan's book and, though I thought it perfect for adaptation, but Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice disappointed me. Not so with Atonement. There are three things I was most impressed with. 1) The music. Dario Marianelli incorporates sounds from the film into segues that lead into music beautifully. It was magical. 2) The three actresses who play Briony Tallis. They were all simply amazing. 3) What everyone seems to be talking about, the near five minute tracking shot of Dunkirk. Wow.
2. There Will Be Blood- I'm not quite sure what to say about this film. It stays with you for a long time. Daniel Day Lewis, Paul Dano and Paul Thomas Anderson are genius.
1. No Country for Old Men- I probably gave this away with the picture above, but what are you gonna do? This was most definitely the best film all year. I can't believe how many people are saying they didn't like the ending. They've obviously never seen that many Coen Brothers films, or they just didn't get it. It's not about closure of a plot. It's not even about the plot at all. It's not really even about Llewelyn Moss or Anton Chigurh. It's about Sheriff Ed Tom Bell and the changing landscape of crime, law and violence, which is then displayed on screen. It's the Coens' best film yet by far with some of the best performances. I say that knowing that Miller's Crossing is one of my favorite films of all time.
Honorable Mentions: Gone Baby Gone, Heima, Talk to Me, Hot Fuzz
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