I know I’m late with this, but I thought for my sake, as much as anything else, I’d put up my top ten films list for this, my first full year of blogging (in The Year of the Blog, no less).
Aimee and I came up with our (somewhat similar) lists this weekend; I wanted to see The Aviator and Million Dollar Baby before going to press with my list. One of them made it, and the other didn’t, so I guess it was worth it. If you’re hungry for more, check out the dozens of lists (halfway down the page) to see what you might have missed.
These are not necessarily the best films, but the films I enjoyed the most, the films I had the most tangible positive reaction to from the past year. I’ll include a line from my film journal at the time, which won’t necessarily explain why I liked it, but at least will give a sense of my reaction to it.
Before Sunset: “This film managed to … make a pretentious American guy and a neurotic French girl somehow riveting – it’s quite an amazing thing to watch.”
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: “So many terrific visual and sonic things were going on all the time, but it was the simplicity of the gimmick … and the power of the characters that really powered the story.”
Sideways: “A simple, basic, un-showy way of shooting that looks neither distractingly low-budget nor falsely glossy. Brilliant writing, funny script, great acting – a little gem.”
The Incredibles: “They’ve done it yet again … with humor, clever wit, amazing design, and most importantly, a great story.”
Ray: “The most convincing portrayal of a musician in a film I think I’ve ever seen.”
The Aviator: “What a sheer pleasure the first hour and a half is … brilliant, engaging storytelling, totally exciting filmmaking.”
I ♥ Huckabees: “What a strange, fun disaster of a movie. Or, more accurately, a movie of a disaster.”
Kill Bill 2: “Great manic zooms, ’70s sound effects, cool music, color/texture – a load of fun all around.”
Finding Neverland: “Johnny Depp … still amazing. He’s become almost boring in his continual ability to impress [with] spot-on accents and the whole-hearted inhabitation of a character.”
A Very Long Engagement: “Another mesmerizing, engrossing work, though a little more difficult to approach…”
And the worst seven:
Stepford Wives: “It had that signature lack of continuity that you find in a cutting room floor/editing battle/re-shoot/post-production nightmare. Add to that some extremely poor work from Kidman … and Close … and lots of strange musical cues that stomped all over the lines between comedy and farce, drama and sci-fi whatever.”
Around the World in 80 Days: “Holy crap, this credits song – how could it be worse than the movie?! But it is! And to think they opted against the animated chicken dream opening sequence [presented as a bonus on the DVD].”
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason: “Forced, stretched, and false. A stinker.”
Anchorman: “Weak in the execution. No small thanks for that go to Christina Applegate, who was one uncomfortable moment short of atrocious.”
Taxi: “The chase scenes were so overblown and cartoonish, obsessed with Queen Latifah’s Transformer taxi, that they weren’t even engaging. Add a drunk Ann-Margret and a Jeff Gordon cameo, and another crap movie is born!”
13 Going on 30: “A derivative, dull, short-on-pleasure indulgence. With Mark Ruffalo.”
Jersey Girl: “George Carlin is not an actor.”
