Films and Stars, 2008

By last count I was fortunate to see 62 films on the big screen this year, though I based my count on an online list of releases that missed at least 3 of the movies I saw... So the count might be higher… I suppose I would dub 2008, “The Year of the Superhero” as we saw the release of numerous superhero movies including: The Dark Knight, Ironman, The Incredible Hulk, The Spirit, Punisher: War Zone, Superhero Movie, Hellboy II: The Golden Army and Hancock. The Globes have spoken, and the Oscars have made their picks (and several other awards have been distributed), so without further ado, here are my nominations and awards for the 2008 movie season. Winners are posted in bold…

The Flux Capacitor Award:
If I had the Delorean from Back to the Future under a tarp in the garage, I’d fire up the flux capacitor, hit the accelerator, get that baby up to 88 miles per hour and head back to see these 5 films which I missed when they were out:
· The Bank Job
· Burn After Reading
· Choke
· Redbelt- I’ve been obsessed with Chiwetel Ejiofer since I saw him in Serenity as The
Operative.
· Synecdoche, New York

The Scare Me Shitless Award:
I realized perusing a list of films from 2008 that I really do have a secret passion for horror movies (I’m currently on a zombie kick, though I’m not really catching up with any real alacrity…). As it is nearly impossible to convince Abby to brave the dark side of cinema, I am left trying to catch up on the horror movies I miss and rarely actually seeing any of them. The nominees for the Scare Me Shitless Award are:
· Funny Games
· The Strangers-Steven King swears by it, and that’s good enough for me.
· The Haunting of Molly Hartley
· Mirrors
· Quarantine
· The Ruins

The Dropped Jaw Award:
These are all moments worthy of admission, whether you enjoy the movie or not, and choosing one is like choosing you favorite child…or dog…or whatever you might have…That said, I choose…
· Will Ferrell “playing” with his step brother’s drum-Step Brothers
· Ben Kingsley and Mary-Kate Olsen making out in a phone booth-The Wackness
· “Rock me Sexy, Rock me Sexy Jesus”-Hamlet 2
· Tom Cruise dancing…Tom Cruise in general-Tropic Thunder: OK, I’ll choose something, but I can’t choose just one! They are both so incredibly unexpected and so very unique, and both leave the audience in utter shock and awe. I won’t even try to explain these moments of cinematic genius. You’ll just have to trust me: you won’t be disappointed.
· Ari Graynor, her gum and a toilet-Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

Saw it at The Ambler:
Along with foreign films, these are the more obscure ones that don’t always turn up on lists of movies released. Here are the nominees for all those small films most of you probably never saw:
· Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day: As I recall, it garnered a significant amount of attention before its release, but then no one seemed to see it. It may not have been the most insightful film of the year, and Frances McDormand’s performance aside, nothing about it was exceptional, but it was one of those movies that left you absolutely satisfied as you left the theater. A fun and engaging movie with interesting characters and enough seriousness to make it more than pure fluff.
· Son of Rambow
· Married Life
· Hamlet 2

The Trailer is Enough Award:
For the trailers that I loved, and the movies they were not…I didn’t always see these movies if the critics got to them first, but in some cases I did, and boy was I disappointed…I have to say though, there’s one on this list that I still want to see!
· 88 Minutes
· Babylon A.D
· The Day the Earth Stood Still
· The Happening- I’m an M. Night fan, but my god! Has anyone ever managed to so mislead the public? Abby and I constructed a theory that he sabotaged his own movie since no studio would allow him to make the movie as he originally saw fit…I’d like to think it could have been great…
· Step Brothers

The Seriously? Are you Serious Award?
Bad titles. Bad trailers. Bad ideas... Here are the nominees for the movies/titles that really should have been vetoed:
· Space Chimps
· Star Wars: The Clone Wars
· Young People Fucking
· The Love Guru
· Speed Racer: After the release of The Matrix, people thought the Wachowski brothers were the next big thing. Then came the sequels, and their star rapidly turned into a black-hole. Still, they could have turned it around. Move on and find something new. Well they did, and oh my god did this look bad. Emile Hirsch? He goes out and makes a brilliant movie based on John Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild, and then he makes this? And Susan Sarandon? Seriously, she should know better…

Best Foreign Film:
· Mongol
· Roman de Gare
· Tell No One- One of the best mysteries I have ever seen. The French really know suspense. Roman de Gare was pretty amazing as well if you are a fan of the Hitchcock genre (and check out the less impressive, though more talked about Transsiberian for another gripping suspense…And Married Life! Yes, it was a good year for mysteries…).
· The Counterfeiters

Best Actor:
· Sean Penn-Milk
· Josh Brolin-W.
· Tadanobu Asano -Mongol
· David Kross-The Reader
· Mickey Rourke- The Wrestler: Wrestling matches with staple guns and barb wire; without a doubt that was one of the most raw, surreal and yet palpable scenes in a movie this year. Beyond the tights, Rourke was magnificent, displaying the perfect blend of tragic and hopeful. I don’t know enough about Rourke to discuss his personal downfalls of history, but like Ledger, his performance should stand on its own.

Best Actress:
· Meryl Streep-Doubt
· Angelina Jolie-Changeling
· Anne Hathaway-Rachel Getting Married: She made me squirm for the entire movie. I don’t really know whether the movie ever reveals exactly what Hathaway’s character’s mental issues are: depression, anxiety, who knows what else. But wow, her character managed to bring out just about every emotion possible, and her wedding toast had the entire theater holding its breath for entirely too long.
· Cate Blanchett- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
· Kate Winslet-Revolutionary Road


Best Supporting Actress:
· Kate Winslet-The Reader: It’s debatable whether Winslet should be in the supporting or lead category for this role, but I’m going to nominate her here and give her the nod for her role as the Nazi you can’t help but pity.
· Rebecca Hall-Vicky Cristina Barcelona
· Cate Blanchett-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
· Emma Thompson-Brideshead Revisited
· Rosemarie Dewitt-Rachel Getting Married

*Honorary One Scene Award: Viola David-Doubt: She WAS amazing, but I can’t really justify giving someone the award for best supporting with only one real scene.

Best Supporting Actor:
· Philip Seymour Hoffman-Doubt
· Robert Downey Jr.-Tropic Thunder
· Heath Ledger-The Dark Knight: I don’t think anything really needs to be said here. Circumstances aside, this was arguably the most unique character created by an actor of all time. Truly genius. And yes, it was that much more powerful considering Ledger’s passing.
· Ben Whishaw-Brideshead Revisited: If I had to choose someone other than Ledge, I’d likely vote for Whishaw, though Shannon would be right there. Few people saw Brideshead, and it was a somewhat flawed film, but the performers were outstanding, and Whishaw truly stood out.
· Michael Shannon-Revolutionary Road

Best Director:
· Danny Boyle-Slumdog Millionaire-The cinematography, the music, the setting, the colors: all were incredible. And for a cast of such unknowns that relies heavily on children and young adults, it was incredible what Danny Boyle was able to do. I have to say, I have enjoyed his movies in the past, but this guy is truly genius. He is able to do whatever he wants, and I don’t think I could name another director who has made such good movies in such completely different genres. Consider: Slumdog, Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Millions. 5 totally different movies, and all were incredible within their respective genres.
· Christopher Nolan-The Dark Knight
· David Fincher-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
· Jonathan Demme-Rachel Getting Married
· Darren Aronofsky-The Wrestler

Best Picture:
· The Reader
· The Dark Knight
· Slumdog Millionaire-I honestly think this might be the best movie I have ever seen. It may not be my favorite movie of all time (though I also can say I LOVED this film), but I really don’t think anything could have been better about it.
· The Wrestler
· Frozen River (A very late addition to the list for nomination # 6)
· Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist: It’s probably the last on this list, but when pondering who to nominate for the last spot or two, I was left with all the big ones the other awards ceremonies honored: Frost/Nixon, Revolutinoary Road, Grand Torino, Changeling…I can easily say I liked this one better. I also think back to Juno which was last year’s darling, and this movie is quite similar to Juno, except I thought it was better. It might not messages that are as important as Juno, but it was absolutely charming, more so than Juno.


Best Documentary:
Yes, these pretty much represent the only documentaries I actually saw this year…I really need to see more of them more often…
· Praying with Lior
· Young at Heart: An unexpected gem, made better by the fact that it takes place 10 minutes from where I grew up. Watching old people sing has never been so exciting or moving.
· American Teen
· Man on Wire: Not the deepest of the bunch, but this is an amazing story, and its translation to film is mesmerizing.