FATHER KNOWS BEST

More than anyone else, my father has helped shape my understanding, knowledge, and appreciation of film. While we don't always agree (Tropic Thunder is indeed a comedic masterwork!), there's nobody else I'd rather discuss cinema with. I will always remember our weekly trips to the theater all throughout middle and high school, and I will always apprecaite his almost daily suggestions of older and more obscure films that I've never heard of. Just this past Christmas, he picked up a film for me that I'd never heard of -- Seven Beauties -- something that sounds delirious and completely unique. And that's what drives my dad's taste in cinema; he's a big believer in the mantra "Take me someplace I've never been." Granted, he doesn't see as many films as I do, and there are a few notable relases that he has yet to see but intends too. But, without further ado, here are my dad's top picks from 2008:

Features

Tarsem's The Fall

Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire

Paul Weiland's Sixty-Six

Tom McCarthy's The Visitor

Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married

David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Joel & Ethan Coen's Burn After Reading

David Gordon Green's Snow Angels

Sam Mendes' Revolutionary Road

Martin McDonagh's In Bruges

Runner's Up: Clint Eastwood's Changeling, Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon, Ed Harris' Appaloosa, Adam Brooks' Definitely, Maybe, Bharart Nalluri's Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day


Documentaries

Werner Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World
James Marsh's Man On Wire

IF I HAD A BALLOT

If I ran the Academy Awards, this is the way it would go. Below are my picks on almost all of the major categories. Winners are in bold, with runner-ups below. Enjoy.

BEST PICTURE
The Fall
The Wrestler
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Slumdog Millionaire
Let the Right One In

BEST DIRECTOR
Tarsem, The Fall
Darren Aronofsky, The Wrestler
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Tomas Alfredson, Let the Right One In

BEST ACTOR
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Synecdoche, NY
Sam Rockwell, Snow Angels
Leonardo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road

BEST ACTRESS
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Catinca Untaru, The Fall
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

Kate Beckinsale, Snow Angels

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Bill Irwin, Rachel Getting Married
Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
James Franco, Pineapple Express
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Tariji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Samantha Morton, Synecdoche, NY
Amy Adams, Doubt

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Charlie Kaufman, Synecdoche, NY
Jenny Lumet, Rachel Getting Married
Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky
Robert Siegel, The Wrestler
Martin McDonagh, In Bruges

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In
David Gordon Green, Snow Angels
Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Justin Haythe, Revolutionary Road
David Hare, The Reader

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Colin Watkinson, The Fall
Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire
Wally Pfister, The Dark Knight
Claudio Miranda, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Hoyte Van Hoytema, Let the Right One In

BEST EDITING
Chris Dickens, Slumdog Millionaire
Robert Duffy, The Fall
Kevin Stitt, Cloverfield
Tomas Alfredson & Daniel Jonsater, Let the Right One In

Lee Smith, The Dark Knight

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Andrew Stanton, Wall*E
Mark Osborne & John Stevenson, Kung Fu Panda

BEST DOCUMENTARY
James Marsh, Man on Wire
Werner Herzog, Encounters at the End of the World
Kurt Kuenne, Dear Zachary: A Letter to A Son About His Father
Martin Scorsese, Shine A Light
Stephen Walker, Young@Heart

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Eric Barba, Burt Dalton, & Craig Barron, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Nick Davis & Chris Corbould, The Dark Knight
Kevin Blank, Cloverfield
John Nelson & Ben Snow, Iron Man
John Dykstra, Hancock

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Krishna Levy, The Fall
Alexandre Desplat, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Nico Muhly, The Reader
A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
John Ottman, Valkyrie

BEST COSTUMES
Eiko Ishioka, The Fall
Jacqueline West, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Jenny Beavan, Defiance
Albert Wolsky, Revolutionary Road

Deborah Hopper, Changeling

BEST ART DIRECTION
Ged Clarke, The Fall
Donald Graham Burt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Dan Weil, Defiance
Eva Noren, Let the Right One In

Mark Friedberg, Synecdoche, NY

BEST MAKE UP
Greg Cannom, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Leon von Solms, The Fall
Judy Chin, Synecdoche, NY
Judy Chin, The Wrestler
John Caglione, Jr. & Conor O’Sullivan, The Dark Knight

THE FEMALE PERSPECTIVE

Here is my fiancee's top 21 from 2008. Her head is still spinning from all of the trips to the theater. She's not a psycho like me who feels that she needs to list all 80, but I have to give credit where credit is due -- she sees a lot of stuff that she might not otherwise and I appreciate all the time she spends with me in the darkened recesses of the movie theater. Without further ado, here are her picks for the best of 2008:

Danny Boyle’s SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
David Fincher’s THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Tarsem’s THE FALL
Stephen Daldry’s THE READER
Jonathan Demme’s RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
David Gordon Green’s SNOW ANGELS
Mike Leigh’s HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
Clint Eastwood’s CHANGELING
Ed Zwick’s DEFIANCE
James Marsh’s MAN ON WIRE

Andrew Stanton’s WALL*E
Sam Mendes’ REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
Alan Ball’s TOWELHEAD
Stephen Walker’s YOUNG @ HEART
John Crowley’s BOY A
Tom McCarthy’s THE VISITOR
Joel & Ethan Coen’s BURN AFTER READING
Thomas Alfredson’s LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
Charlie Kaufman’s SYNECDOCHE, NY
Darren Aronofsky’s THE WRESTLER
Clint Eastwood’s GRAN TORINO

FINAL: THE BEST OF 2008

I saw 80 movies from 2008. That's 30 less than 2007. Contrary to what some have said, I don't think this year has been a bad year for cinema. Granted, it's not anywhere near as accomplished, overall, as last year, but there have been any number of excellent movies, some small, some big, and many very unqiue. What follows are my final rankings for the 80 movies from 2008 that I took in. I will also be posting a mini-recap of my top 20 very soon. Also, my fiancee will be chiming in with her picks for the best of the year. But for now, here it is.

Tarsem’s THE FALL (****)
Darren Aronofsky’s THE WRESTLER (****)
David Fincher’s THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (****)
Danny Boyle’s SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (****)
Thomas Alfredson’s LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (****)
Christopher Nolan’s THE DARK KNIGHT (****)
Charlie Kaufman’s SYNECDOCHE, NY (****)
Andrew Stanton’s WALL*E (****)
Jonathan Demme’s RACHEL GETTING MARRIED (****)
Clint Eastwood’s GRAN TORINO (****)

Joel & Ethan Coen’s BURN AFTER READING (****)
David Gordon Green’s SNOW ANGELS (****)
James Marsh’s MAN ON WIRE (****)
Sam Mendes’ REVOLUTIONARY ROAD (****)
Martin David Gordon Green’s PINEAPPLE EXPRESS (****)
McDonagh’s IN BRUGES (****)
Werner Herzog’s ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD (****)
Ben Stiller’s TROPIC THUNDER (****)
Mike Leigh’s HAPPY-GO-LUCKY (****)
Clint Eastwood’s CHANGELING (****)

Matt Reeves’ CLOVERFIELD (****)
Marc Forster’s QUANTUM OF SOLACE (****)
Martin Scorsese’s SHINE A LIGHT (****)
Stephen Daldry’s THE READER (****)
John Patrick Shanley’s DOUBT (****)
John Crowley’s BOY A (****)
Alan Ball’s TOWELHEAD (****)
Roger Donaldson’s THE BANK JOB (****)
Stephen Walker’s YOUNG @ HEART (****)
Kurt Kuenne's DEAR ZACHARY: A LETTER TO A SON ABOUT HIS FATHER (****)

Kimberly Peirce’s STOP-LOSS (****)
Jay Roach’s RECOUNT (****)
Tom McCarthy’s THE VISITOR (****)
Chris Bell’s BIGG ER, STRONGER, FASTER (****)
Alex Holdridge’s IN SEARCH OF A MIDNIGHT KISS (****)
Ed Zwick’s DEFIANCE (***1/2)
Ridley Scott’s BODY OF LIES (***1/2)
Peter Berg’s HANCOCK (***1/2)
Bryan Singer’s VALKYRIE (***1/2)
Ron Howard’s FROST/NIXON (***1/2)

Gus Van Sant’s MILK (***1/2)
Ed Harris’ APPALOOSA (***1/2)
Gus Van Sant’s PARANOID PARK (***1/2)
Kevin Smith’s ZACK & MIRI MAKE A PORNO (***1/2)
Jon Favreau’s IRON MAN (***1/2)
Steven Spielberg’s INDIANA JONES & THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (***1/2)
Timur Bekmembatov’s WANTED (***1/2)
Adam Brooks’ DEFINITELY, MAYBE (***1/2)
Nick Broomfield’s THE BATTLE FOR HADITHA (***1/2)
Nanette Burnstein’s AMERICAN TEEN (***1/2)

Woody Allen’s CASSANDRA’S DREAM (***1/2)
Baltasar Kormakur’s JAR CITY (***1/2)
Brad Andersen’s TRANSSIBERIAN (***1/2)
Errol Morris’ STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (***1/2)
Jose Padhilla’s ELITE SQUAD (***1/2)
Olivier Assayas’ BOARDING GATE (***1/2)
Paul Weiland’s SIXTY-SIX (***1/2)
Jeffrey Nachmanoff’s TRAITOR (***1/2)
David Mamet’s REDBELT (***)
Baz Lurhman’s AUSTRALIA (***)

Oliver Stone’s W (***)
D.J. Caruso’s EAGLE EYE (***)
Bharart Nalluri’s MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY (***)
Louis Letterier’s THE INCREDIBLE HULK (***)
Michael Patrick King’s SEX AND THE CITY (***)
Ira Sach’s MARRIED LIFE (***)
Guillermo Del Toro’s HELLBOY 2 (***)
Nick Stoller’s FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL (***)
Julien Maury & Alexandre Bustillo’s INSIDE (***)
Hammer & Tongs’ SON OF RAMBOW (***)

Andrew Fleming’s HAMLET 2 (***)
David Koepp’s GHOST TOWN (***)
Anne Fletcher’s 27 DRESSES (***)
Zak Penn’s THE GRAND (***)
Jonathan Levine’s THE WACKNESS (**1/2)
Chris Carter’s THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE (**1/2)
David Wain’s ROLE MODELS (**1/2)
Sly Stallone’s RAMBO (**1/2)
Mark Osbourne’s KUNG FU PANDA (**1/2)
Mitchell Lichenstein’s TEETH (**1/2)

Noam Murro’s SMART PEOPLE (**1/2)
Doug Liman’s JUMPER (**)
Fred Wolf’s THE HOUSE BUNNY (**)
Kent Alterman’s SEMI-PRO (**)
Pete Travis’ VANTAGE POINT (**)
Michael McCullers’ BABY MAMA (**)
Steve Conrad’s THE PROMOTION (*1/2)
Peter Segal’s GET SMART (*1/2)
M. Night Shymalan’s THE HAPPENING (ZERO)
Jon Avnet’s RIGHTEOUS KILL (ZERO)

MASTERPIECE

Darren Aronofsky's THE WRESTLER (****) is a masterpiece. It is perfect. That is all for now.

Lots of new stuff coming up.

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

Darren Aronofsky's THE WRESTLER is the last 2008 theatrical release that I will see. Plan on checking it out on Sunday. I am really looking forward to it.

On DVD I have the critically acclaimed indie BOY A, which sounds just a wee-bit dark. Reactions to both will be posted soon. Next week, my "IF I HAD A BALLOT" column will be posted, as well as my final best-of-the-year list with comments.

REVIEW: GRAN TORINO (****)

GRAN TORINO (****) is a sensational entertainment. The film is blunt, obvious, direct, and very, very effective. Clint Eastwood’s performance is one for the ages; I haven’t been this out-right entertained by a performance in a long, long time. Eastwood, a screen icon for over 50 years, takes his leathery persona to a new level in GRAN TORINO. The role of Walt Kowlaski, a bitter, racist, Korean war veteran, seems tailored made for Eastwood; it’s part Dirty Harry, part Archie Bunker, and all sorts of manly. The didactic screenplay by Nick Schenk is an angry piece of work. The film is essentially a dissection of different cultures, different generations, and different ideas on how one should go about living their life. Eastwood’s fleet and unfussy direction is a perfect match for the script. GRAN TORINO seems to be speaking for an entire generation of older American males, men who are disgusted by the disintegration of the American heartland. GRAN TORINO is a lot of stuff all at once: wickedly funny, casually racist, always compelling, and strangely moving by its conclusion.

Walt Kowalski has just lost his beloved wife at the start of the film. A war vet who worked for decades at the major Ford plant in Detroit, he’s unimpressed with the remnants of his family. His grandchildren are slobs and show no respect for their dead grandmother. His sons are Japanese car-driving yuppies who would rather put him in a retirement home than do the right thing and take care of him. But worst of all are the Hmong neighbors that have moved into Walt’s neighborhood, which used to be made up of Irish and Italian immigrants. Kowalski, who openly insults his neighbors with words like “gook,” “slope,” “egg-roll,” and much, much more, is revolted by what’s become of his neighborhood. Asian and African-American gangs cruise the streets, sparking menace on every corner. It’s the end of an era that men like Kowalski were raised in, and Kowalski isn’t going anywhere, no matter how pissed off he becomes.

Things get complicated when Walt’s neighbor, Thao (Bee Vang), a Hmong immigrant being bullied by his gang-member cousin, attempts to steal his vintage 1972 Gran Torino, as sort of a gang-initiation. Walt breaks up the attempted theft and then steps in when the gang members continually harass Thao and his pretty sister Sue (Ahney Her), kicking one of the gang member’s asses. Thao’s family is deeply dishonored by Thao’s stealing attempt, and is greatly appreciative of Walt confronting the gangbangers who have been bullying Thao and Sue. Thao is ordered to repay Walt in any way that he feels necessary. Initially reluctant, Kowalski slowly warms to Thao, taking him under his wing, and an interesting friendship begins to mount. Without spoiling what happens, it’s no big surprise to reveal that Walt will learn lots about himself as well as his neighbors, and some sort of show-down with the gangsters will occur. How it all plays out I will leave for you to discover. All I will say is that the ending is, in a word, perfect.

One of the many surprises of GRAN TORINO is how funny it is. Yes, the humor tends to be a bit awkward because of the virulent racism that Kowalski spews. But what Schenk’s screenplay gets so right is the anger that a veteran like Kowalski would feel after watching his neighborhood fall into a massive state of spiritual and moral decline. I have no doubt that there is a huge swath of America that resembles what’s on screen in GRAN TORINO. And there is a truth to the film that is at turns biting and deceptively sentimental. Eastwood growls and snarls many of his lines, not as a stunt, but as a way of expressing his inner turmoil and seething rage. The other actors who surround Eastwood do a serviceable job, but the lack of experience on the part of both Vang and Her is obvious at times. This makes for a more natural feeling to some of their scenes, but in others, they are blasted off the screen by Eastwood’s force and power as an actor.

GRAN TORINO is, in the end, a movie about tolerance, change, and respect. It doesn’t speechify, it doesn’t preach too hard to its audience, and while the film feels overly schematic at times, it knows what it wants to say and how to say it. There are a few moments with Kowalski where you peer into the soul of a haunted man; one line of dialogue in particular has resonated with me for the entire week since I saw the film. As the film speeds along to its inevitable climax, one gets the sense that this is the role that Eastwood has been leading up too his entire career. If it truly is the last on-screen performance that we’ll see from him, then he’s picked the right role to end on. GRAN TORINO may not have the epic scope of BENJAMIN BUTTON, the visceral kinks of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, or the conceptual boldness of SYNECDOCHE, NY, but it’s easily one of the best, most purely entertaining movies of the year. And definitely one of my favorites.