Sunday, December 21, 2008

The Year in Movies: The Dark Knight Tops My List


2008, overall, was an impressive year for movies. That's despite the fact that smaller and even some mid-size film production companies have called it quits.

And it's been sad watching the ranks of film critics -- including several in Florida - thin out: The worst news about that, aside from the fact that friends/colleagues are facing a job search in an awful economy, is the reality that fewer critical voices will be around to champion smaller films that otherwise would get lost in the shuffle.

And the competition for attention from audiences is as tough as ever. More than 600 films opened in New York in 2008, as A.O. Scott pointed out today in the New York Times.

A few notes about the movies that are, and are not, getting the love this year:

1)The Dark Knight isn't on more Top 10 lists simply because too many folks are quick to turn up their noses at a big-budget fantasy film.

2)The Reader, Milk and Wall-E are overrated, IMO, largely because so many critics couldn't separate those movies' respective messages from the medium. They loved those films because, you know, they were supposed to.

3)It's astonishing to me that a feature as well acted, as thoughtfully created and as downright moving as Frozen River, the tale of a down-on-her-luck single mom's inadvertent involvement with a smuggling operation (upstate New York near the Canadian border), isn't getting more attention.

4)What happened to all of that critical enthusiasm, earlier this year, for the Katrina documentary Trouble the Water?

So, without further ado, here's my Top 10 list, along with some of the choices I made for year-end ballots submitted to the Florida Film Critics Circle (FFCC) and the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA). And yes, I cheated a little, turning some of my first/second choices into ties (something I could not do when submitting my ballots).

1.The Dark Knight
2.Slumdog Millionaire
3.Frozen River
4.Frost/Nixon
5.Benjamin Button
6.The Visitor
7.Gran Torino
8.Revolutionary Road
9.Vicky Christina Barcelona
10.The Wrestler

BEST ACTOR
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon

BEST ACTRESS
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road
TIE WITH
Melissa Leo, Frozen River

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona

DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
TIE WITH
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

SCREENPLAY (ADAPTED OR ORIGINAL)
Justin Haythe, Revolutionary Road

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Wally Pfister, The Dark Knight

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Let the Right One In

ANIMATED FEATURE
Kung Fu Panda

DOCUMENTARY
Trouble the Water

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