SURPRISE OF THE YEAR

The much acclaimed Sweedish vampire film LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (****) is worth all the hype. An amazing film. One of the best of the year. My mind is still spinning. The ending is the best finale of the year. A completely awesome film.

TRICKY DICK

Ron Howard's engrossing film treatment of Peter Morgan's stage play FROST/NIXON (***1/2) was very enjoyable. Much like VALKYRIE, this was a true-story piece of historical entertainment with a predetermined ending. Not much in the way of major suspense; just good old-fashioned filmmaking. The lead performances from Frank Langella and Michael Sheen were both fantastic, and the rich supporting cast really sealed the deal. While I wouldn't put the film on my top 10 list, this is the kind of movie that I could easily see getting a Best Picture nomination from the Academy.

My full review will be posted soon.

BEST DOCS OF 2008

James Marsh’s MAN ON WIRE (****)
Werner Herzog’s ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD (****)
Martin Scorsese’s SHINE A LIGHT (****)
Stephen Walker’s YOUNG @ HEART (****)
Chris Bell’s BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER (****)
Nanette Burnstein’s AMERICAN TEEN (***1/2)
Errol Morris’ STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (***1/2)

UPDATED: TOP 20 OF THE YEAR

Tarsem’s THE FALL (****)
David Fincher’s THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (****)
Danny Boyle’s SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (****)
Charlie Kaufman’s SYNECDOCHE, NY (****)
Christopher Nolan’s THE DARK KNIGHT (****)
Andrew Stanton’s WALL*E (****)
Joel & Ethan Coen’s BURN AFTER READING (****)
Jonathan Demme’s RACHEL GETTING MARRIED (****)
Martin McDonagh’s IN BRUGES (****)
David Gordon Green’s SNOW ANGELS (****)
Ben Stiller’s TROPIC THUNDER (****)
Mike Leigh’s HAPPY-GO-LUCKY (****)
David Gordon Green’s PINEAPPLE EXPRESS (****)
Clint Eastwood’s CHANGELING (****)
Matt Reeves’ CLOVERFIELD (****)
Marc Forster’s QUANTUM OF SOLACE (****)
Alan Ball’s TOWELHEAD (****)
John Patrick Shanley’s DOUBT (****)
Roger Donaldson’s THE BANK JOB (****)
Kimberly Peirce’s STOP-LOSS (****)

LEFT OVERS

It might be 2009, but there are still a few key releases I've yet to see from 2008. Here's the list of films, in order of viewing preference, that I still need to see theatrically before I can officially call the year over:

REVOLUTIONARY ROAD (doesn't open near me till the end of the month)
THE WRESTLER (doesn't open near me till the middle of the month)
GRAN TORINO (doesn't open near me till the middle of the month)
DEFIANCE (doesn't open near me till the end of the month)
THE READER (open now, seeing it this weekend)
FROST/NIXON (hopefully seeing it tomorrow)

Of course, I will continue checking out some of the smaller releases on DVD. My goal is to have my end of the year top picks and a best of the year article published around the time of Oscars.

CRUISE CONTROL

VALKYRIE (***1/2) was a slick and entertaining thriller with yet another solid lead performance from Tom Cruise. This is Bryan Singer's best film since THE USUAL SUSPECTS, though X-MEN 2 was quite good. Fantastic supporting cast. Great editing. A suspenseful score. Really enjoyed this film. Not a great or profound piece of work, but extremely well done in pretty much every department.

My full review will be up soon. I still have a bunch of reviews in the hopper so stay tuned.

LOTS OF DVD'S

I spent New Years Eve watching DVDS. Five to be precise. I will have mini-review for all of 'em but here are the star ratings:

TOWELHEAD (****). The most underrated film of 2008.

AMERICAN TEEN (***1/2). Highly entertaining.

TRAITOR (***). A very solid political thriller with yet another first rate performance from Don Cheadle.

THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE (**1/2). Something of a disappointment. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it, and I wanted to love it.

THE PROMOTION (**). A surprisingly weak effort from the writer of THE WEATHER MAN, a film I really enjoyed and find to be criminally underseen.

Up tonight is the foreign thriller JAR CITY, a film that I have read many great reviews for, and a film that I've noticed on a bunch of recent top 10 lists.