OK, here is the list--not in the order of preference, but in the order in which I saw them. Overall, I saw about 50 movies this year, which isn't bad. But, of course, the list is highly selective for that reason. So I did my best, but I didn't just come up with ten to fill out the places--I had to make choices, leave a few candidates off (they are included at the end as Honorable Mentions). These, then, are really the ten best films I saw this year, in my humble opinion. Go ahead, tell me how wrong I am--please.
PENELOPE (104 min.)
A charming fractured fairy tale with a message for impressionable young adults but humor for their jaded parents. Christina Ricci is Penelope, an heiress born with the nose of a pig, the result of an ancient curse. Her search for love becomes a journey toward self-acceptance, with magical results. The humor is quirky enough to keep the sugar-coating off the obvious moral, and Ricci is wonderful. She is very ably supported by James McAvoy, Catherine O’Hara, and Reese Witherspoon (who also produced). Filmed in 2006, but not released until this year. Don’t ask me why.
IRON MAN (126 min.)
The superhero action film came of age in 2008 with three fine installments drawn from America’s comic book subculture: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and The Dark Knight (Batman). Two have made my list of the year’s best. First released was Iron Man, which has to be the first superhero movie with better dialogue and character development than action sequences. The latter are routine, although that iron suit is way cool. With his swinging, cheeky portrayal of Tony Stark/Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr.’s bizarre start-and-stop career may finally have gained the traction it needs to…well, take off. His on-screen chemistry with Gwyneth Paltrow as Stark’s long-suffering personal assistant/love interest Pepper Potts gives their scenes together real sparkle, and if their tart dialogue exchanges get you thinking of Cary Grant sparring slyly with Rosalind Russell or Irene Dunne in classic romantic comedies--they should.
THE RAPE OF EUROPA (117 min.)
This powerful documentary flew way under the radar. Inspired by the book of the same name by Lynn H. Nicholas, it documents the Nazis’ systematic looting of Europe’s art treasures during World War II. At this late date, you wouldn’t think any film could make the Nazis look worse, but Europa accomplishes just that. Not only were they power-mad mass murderers, they were also reckless thieves who tried to steal everything of value that stood in their path. Europa describes the epic scope of their burglary, the heroic efforts of the Allies to find and restore the stolen art, and the heartbreaking legal battles that continue over ownership claims by descendants of those long dead (many, Jews who died in concentration camps). This excellent film makes sadly clear that World War II is not yet over, and the Nazis’ legacy of cultural destruction is still with us today.
A FRIEND INDEED (90 min.)
As inspiring as a documentary can get, A Friend Indeed tells the amazing story of local legend Bill Sackter, a mentally challenged man improperly institutionalized for 44 years before being released. He was brought to Iowa City in the 1970’s by Barry Morrow, a friend who had become his legal guardian, and here he was given the job of running the coffee shop at the UI School of Social Work (now known as Wild Bill’s Coffee Shop). He made the most of it. Warm, friendly, funny, Bill reached out to people, befriended many, influenced more, won awards, saw his life turned into a TV movie starring Mickey Rooney, and received national recognition, all in a few short years (he died in 1983). This wonderful film by local filmmaker Lane Wyrick recounts Bill’s life in photos, footage, and interviews with Bill himself and with those who knew him best, and loved him much. It’s the best film about getting a second chance you’ll ever see. Not in distribution, it is being shown around the country at festivals and in special showings, after having made its debut this past summer in Hancher Auditorium one week before flooding ravaged the UI arts campus. The dvd is currently in preparation. You can read more about the film and its makers at http://www.billsackter.com/.
THE DARK KNIGHT (152 min.)
What remains to be said about this amazing film? The Dark Knight raises the bar for superhero action films so high, it’s hard to envision what could top it. Nothing like the late Heath Ledger’s Joker has appeared on the screen before. He’s Evil Unbound, Chaos Incarnate, the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse. Christian Bale’s Batman/Bruce Wayne wrestles with moral choices and personal loss so deep that Batman finally attains the status of tragic hero previous films have claimed for him. And the film's vision of Gotham City in the grip of the Joker's crime wave presents a truly frightening image of a world turned irrational by terror. Sound familiar?
THE PERFECT CAPPUCCINO (89 min.)
This documentary is my personal favorite film of 2008, and I don’t even drink cappuccino. But filmmaker Amy Ferraris does--lots of it--and she documents her devotion to the frothy Italian drink by searching the highways and byways of America to find the best that’s available. Oh, you can get it at your local Starbucks, you say? Ferraris has a thing or two to say about Starbucks, neither of them good. Her film charmingly combines personal essay and social commentary as she investigates America’s coffee habit and critiques Starbucks’s business ethics and the quality of the coffee it serves under the guise of espresso and its variants. Then she travels to Italy to show us how real espresso and cappuccino are made. Narrated amusingly by Ferraris herself, her movie is funny, thought-provoking, critical but never angry, and genuinely unique. Unfortunately, it also is available only at festivals and special screenings, until its dvd release early next year (February or March). You can read about it at www.cappuccinomovie.com/index.php, and in my full review elsewhere on this blog.
TRAITOR (114 min.)
Another film that passed by virtually unnoticed, Traitor is both an absorbing thriller and an insightful character study. Don Cheadle is superb as a federal agent who goes deep undercover to infiltrate an Islamic terrorist group and take it down from inside. The problem is he’s a devout Muslim himself and is acting out of conscience. When he begins to question the motives of those he’s serving, he truly becomes a man without a country. Cheadle is one of America’s finest actors, and his subtle performance gives life to his character’s inner torment, even as he masks it in outward stoicism. Guy Pearce offers strong support as the FBI agent relentlessly tracking him down. In addition to being a taut thriller, Traitor powerfully addresses the troubling moral challenges of America’s “war on terror,” challenges much less straightforward than some of our leaders would have us believe.
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (114 min.)
A truly odd but fascinating take on the vampire film, this Swedish import takes its subject matter very seriously and deliberately avoids conventional chills or horror. While there is some blood, the shocks it delivers are mostly psychological. Oskar, a lonely 12-year-old boy habitually picked on by bullies at school, is befriended by a mysterious girl named Eli who lives in his apartment building but whom he sees only at night. The friendship that develops between them leads to the first stirrings of love, and eventually to a bond that is stronger than at least one of them is prepared for. A poignant coming-of-age tale, Let the Right One In captures the loneliness and pain of early adolescence with great sensitivity. It also demonstrates that often the most effective genre films are those that incorporate subject matter and themes typically outside their genres. Slow-moving and detached in tone, the film nevertheless gets under your skin and then concludes with an ingenious plot twist that I found more disturbing than the usual vampire gore. I’m still shuddering at the thought of it.
APPALOOSA (114 min.)
I love westerns, and when one this good rides into town, it’s cause for me to start shooting up the local saloon. The terrific thing about Appaloosa is the way it both honors the rules of the genre and bends them in creative ways (see my full review at http://www.littlevillagemag.com/). Ed Harris--who directs as well as stars--and Viggo Mortensen are itinerant lawmen hired to protect a New Mexico town from a predatory rancher. Their professionalism and long partnership prepare them for this kind of challenge; what they aren’t prepared for is their encounter with a provocative woman (Renee Zellweger) who keeps everyone guessing about her motives. The three leads are all superb--especially Zellweger, who takes possession of the film as commandingly as her character does the man’s world in it. Harris reveals a keen ear for dialogue (he co-wrote the script, too) and a sharp eye for the scenery and iconic imagery that make the western one of the visually richest of all genres. Appaloosa is the best American western since Unforgiven.
QUANTUM OF SOLACE (106 min.)
I will just say this straight out--I liked this film better than Casino Royale, and I liked that film a lot. Daniel Craig and the new-look Bond world of these two movies have me really excited about the franchise again. What Quantum brings to the Bond canon--besides the dynamic Craig appearing even more comfortable in his role than the first time--is a leaner, stripped-down approach to the famous secret agent’s adventures. Casino Royale felt overstuffed at times. Quantum begins in the middle of a car chase, and the action lets up hardly at all for the next 106 minutes. It’s the most exciting, most purely entertaining Bond outing since Tomorrow Is Forever (Pierce Brosnan’s best, which had a similarly relentless approach to the action). But it somehow finds time to explore Bond’s character, deepen his relationship with M, and introduce an unconventional, tragic heroine (Olga Kurylenko), whose bond with Bond is based on mutual respect rather than sex (although, of course, the attraction between them is strong). Mathieu Amalric is the creepiest Bond villain ever, a truly unnerving man, and the plot about exploiting ecological disaster for power is both timely and credible. Whatever your opinion of James Bond movies, this is good stuff. Check it out--you will at least be shaken, if not stirred.
Honorable Mention: Bottle Shock, Pride and Glory, The Incredible Hulk, Changeling, Milk
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