10) Iron Man
It doesn't quite stand up to a second showing, but on first viewing Iron man came as a huge, hulking surprise. It may have been that I didn't have any expectations at all for the film, in fact I hadn't given the thing any thought whatsoever, is what led me to enjoy it so much. The action's great, the humour pitch perfect and Robert Downey Jr. is bloody excellent. Some of the ethics may be questionable, and the origin story isn't really anything special, hence why multiple viewings may not do it justice, but it's a big, fun Hollywood blockbuster done right. And sometimes that's a very good thing indeed.
9) Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Or the other comic book movie sequel that's better than its first part. It's also the most creative film you'll see this year by a long mile. In fact until Del Toro makes something else it'll be the most creative movie about full stop. You only have to check the DVD extras, about four hours, not including commentaries, dedicated to how everything was created. And you can see the hard work on the screen. Just look at the troll market, the opening tooth fairy scene or the incredible looking Angel of Death, another Del Toro character with eyes in another place that isn't the head.
Thankfully it isn't just an exercise in beautiful art and character design. It's also an exciting, fun and damn hilarious movie. The script may be bitty, playing like a series of scenes that don't always serve each other, but the visuals, the set pieces and the performances paper over those cracks.8) The Orphanage
Here we go with the token foreign movie on the list, although to witness th
e advertising campaign for the film you'd have no clue that it's actually Spanish, such was the attempt to make it look like a thrill-ride Hollywood movie. What it in fact is is a tragically beautiful ghost story, all the better for being quite old fashioned in its scares. Instead of the nastiness that plagues current American horror The Orphanage relies on unnerving you through the simplicities of sound design and camera placement. Add to that some fantastic performances and a heartbreaking plot that doesn't give up its secrets easily and you've got a movie that can be nothing else than highly recommended. Or Spanish for that matter. It's not a shock that this was compared to Pan's Labyrinth, not just because Del Toro pulls a Spielberg and has his name above the title in a "presents" capacity, but it is too a sad fantasy that may or may not be taking place entirely in a character's head after real life tragedy has struck. Are these real ghosts haunting the old house, literally the past coming back to haunt the present, or are they the imprints of loved ones now gone returning to help with the pain of bereavement. The fact that it is left open means that the film is all the stronger for it.7) Burn After Reading
One of two Coen Brothers films to appear in the UK this year and we should be thankful for that.
Why? Because off of the back of No Country For Old Men's signaling of an almighty return to form for the Coen Brothers Burn After Reading proved that it wasn't a fluke. We have the Coens back to their goofy, funny best. BAR's closest relative in the Coen canon is probably The Big Lebowski. It's hilarious, has an amazingly complex plot that's ultimately about nothing much and takes its cues from the novels of the likes of Chandler and Cain. It also has one of the best casts assembled this year, and thanks to the re-teaming of Clooney and Pitt the Coens were able to introduce their quirky, dark and at times shocking way of filmmaking to an audience more than likely oblivious to them.6) The Dark Knight
Forget the hype. Forget the hysteria of the fanboys that has led to The Dark Knight sitting at number 4 on IMDB's top film list and featuring at 15 in Empire's top 500 films ever. The hype doesn't do The Dark Knight any favours. The hype could make it very easy for people to rally against the film and this is unfair. Simply put it isn't the greatest film of all time. Hell, it's not even the best film this year. What it is though is a clever, exciting and most of all entertaining piece of cinema, one that deserves love. As does Heath Ledger's performance. Just like the film as a whole perceptions of it could be clouded thanks to the tragic death of the actor. It's easy to say that the calls for all the posthumous awards are sentimentality but all you need to do is actually see his Joker to realise that he deserves them. What should have been his defining role amongst a long career as one of acting's heavy hitters will sadly define him for other reasons now. Of course his performance has overshadowed the great work done by everyone else. In what must be the year's best cast Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine again do the business while Maggie Gylen...Gillen, Jake's sister, proves to be a good addition after Katie Holmes decided to do whatever it is she does now. I think its modeling hairdos but I'm not sure. the two you have to feel sorry for are Christian bale and Aaron Eckhart. The former spends pretty much the entire two and a half hours behind the mask doing a silly voice, but at least he has Begins to show the depth he brings to the character when you can actually see his face. The latter turns in a performance that in any other film would have people drooling and falling over one another to hand awards to. A shame really.
5) In Bruges
I've just watched this on DVD as I missed it in the pictures so there isn't a review of it on here yet.
Along with WALL.E In Bruges is easily the finest written film of the year. It's a hallucinatory tale of two Irish gangsters essentially trapped in the purgatory of the titular Belgian town after a hit goes wrong. What at first looks to be the usual British gangster flick quickly turns into one of the funniest, and no doubt offensive (SPOILERS), films you'll see all year. The setting lends proceedings an air of a fairytale, which the writer/director Martin McDonagh seizes on to fill his plot with bizarre goings on and almost unbelievable coincidences throughout. I won't spoil any but it's safe to say that if you are easily offended, or one of those people who can't take a bloody joke, then don't bother with In Bruges.
Oh, and did I mention it swears like a bitch? In fact it uses swearing in a way so brilliant that it's up there with the comedy series Modern Toss for most creative uses of 'fucks' and other assorted naughty words. The best bit is that it seems to have taken so many people by surprise because McDonagh is considered "a genius of the theatre". With In Bruges, and his short film, the excellent, Oscar winning Six Shooter, he seems to now bask in puerile humour and shocking violence. Of course that's how it looks on the face of it for those snobs and the previously mentioned PC mob, but there's lyrical beauty to the language contained and the film has some genuine depth. It also helps that he has one hell of a sense of humour!4) The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters
Or the most exciting film of the year, a story of a failure everyman taking on the man who has everything, backed by an evil empire designed to stop anyone toppling him. And what is it that they're competing for? The high score on Donkey Kong. This isn't some geeky gaming film though. The games are inconsequential in the end, it's entirely about the conflict between Steve Weibe (everyman) and Billy Mitchell (the champ). It's kind of like Rocky but featuring contestants that couldn't punch through wet paper.
The best thing about this documentary is that the makers have found an incredible narrative full of intrigue and questionable morality. The characters, real people of course, are brilliant too as the people who indulge in professional gaming are an interesting bunch. Most importantly it's not a film about games so if they're not something that interests you don't fear, all you are provided are small potted histories about the people and succinct descriptions of how to play Donkey Kong for those that don't know. It doesn't sound it, but it's one of the most tense and entertaining films of this year and in Mitchell's lackey Brian Kuh we have the most hiss worthy bastard of the year. Seriously, he's a tube.3) No Country For Old Men
Or that one with "that ending". Well "that ending" works perfectly with the
slow burning film that precedes it. Of course it was also known as "that one that got Best Film when There Will Be Blood should've won". On other words No Country is a film that has been shat on for a year now and it really doesn't deserve to be in that position. It's a great film and if anything should be known as "that one that finally got the Coens out of that funk they were in". It's a brutal, tense, and occasionally even funny affair and one of the year's absolute best. It's worth seeing even if it's just so you can agree with the haters.2) There Will be Blood
Daniel Day-Lewis. Paul Thomas Anderson. Oil. A deaf kid. Jonny Greenwood, that there bloke out of The Radio Heads
, doing the music. Epic scenery. Robbed at the Oscars. The best ending of the year. "I just want to make enough money so I can move away from everyone". Henry Plainview. "I drink it up!".I could've written loads about the work of art that is There Will Be Blood, but then just listing some good stuff still makes it sound like a film you really need to, and should, see. And yes on hindsight it probably did deserve the Best Picture wee gold man award over No Country. And just like how everyone moaned about the ending of that film, missing the bloody point, they moaned about There Will Be Blood's final scene as well. Screw them it's fantastic.
"I'M FINISHED!"
1) WALL.E
What can I say about WALL.E? Pixar's films can be considered one of the finest
bodies of work by a group of filmmakers and WALL.E might be the pick of the whole lot. It's just so beautiful visually, narratively and in its characters that it's almost overwhelming! Forget those who moan about it "oh how can a lighter still work?" "how can he come back when his motherboard gets changed?" "it's a pro-green left-wing advert for saving the planet". These are people who have no heart and probably kick puppies in the face. Anyone who doesn't look at the little robot's expressionless yet highly emotive face and melt is dead inside. Let's hope Oscar gives it due credit over all those "worthy", on other words dull, films just because it's a "kid's cartoon". It's art! WALL.E isn't the film of the year, it's the film of the bloody decade.Well there you have it. The awards are not done yet though, as we still have The Spliceys to come, now at a later, as yet undetermined date because we're lazy. We'll announce it soon...
ish.
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