Films of The Year 2008. Mostly…..

So how was your Xmas? I had a quiet one with the parents, hung out with Sweetberry and Zipzee, business as usual really. Unsurprisingly there wasn’t much on TV although I did enjoy the Cecil B DeMille documentary on More 4 and am enjoying the repeat of the BBC’s 1986 series on RKO Studios that is currently airing on BBC4. Film-wise 2008 was a pretty good year I’d say, I’ve identified some new cult and genre movie fissures to mine in 2009, I caught up with some world cinema classics by the likes of Fellini, Dreyer and Antonioni and there is plenty to look forward to over the next twelve months so I can’t complain. So let’s begin, as a general rule there will be minor spoliers with some of my comments so read at your peril – I won’t be disclosing major events such as the ending of ‘The Mist’ though as that is something you have to see for yourself. Yeah, I know….

‘There Will Be Blood‘ – Film of the year. Mark my words, this is the one they’ll be talking about for years to come. If you believe as I do that truly great films are a synthesis of outstanding achievements in each of a films major ingredients – the story and how that is constructed in the plot, the performances, the soundtrack, the cinematography, the direction, the editing and that most elusive of qualities which is a film that carves its moment in time in terms of theme, style and relationship to the world in terms of a work of art – well then sorry Oliver Stone, here is the definitive film of the past eight years of US hubris and beyond. I’ve picked it up on Blu-Ray and whilst the extras are woefully short the transfer into the small screen does not diminish its incredible power. In addition I’m wracking my brains to think of a film this year that has genuinely achieved a classic line that will be embedded in cinema history so the final word is  ‘I Drink Your Milkshake‘.

  ‘The Mist‘ – A perfect companion piece to ‘There Will Be Blood’ if you consider the shift from an epic, big, sprawling ambitious film to a tight, compact little B movie that both reference the times we live in in their own idiosyncratic ways. This was just so much fun and I love the sense of urgency that seeps into the movie from the films production given its tiny budget, minuscule shooting schedule and need for old school improvisation on set in terms of cutting corners and coverage of scenes – take a look at the DVD extras to see what I’m getting at. The black and white version of the film on the DVD which echoes its 1950’s inspiration is good fun (yes you can just adjust the contrast and colour on your TV anyway but hey), in either version this is simply brilliant good old school horror fun that takes itself seriously and ditches any tiresome tongue in cheek winks to the audience. Its ultimate achievement of course though is that shattering conclusion. Stephen King is on record as saying the only reason he didn’t include such a nihilistic and shocking ending is that he never thought of it himself and I think that is the best praise that Darabont could expect. 

 ‘No Country for Old Men‘ – Or ‘No Place For Old Bastards’ as my Dad amusingly called it. The best American chase movie that I’ve seen for quite some time on a second viewing you really absorb just how taut and lean a film this is, there is almost no extraneous filler to distract from the relentless chase that forms the films spine. Bardem has already gone down as the best villain in American movies since Hannibal Lektor and this was the film that has really catapulted Josh Brolin into the A list stakes, I do love how the final act goes into some unexpected places and fucks around with some conventions (what, he’s dead? But how did that happen?) and also screws around with some other screen expectations – the final scene is outstanding. I hope that after cleansing their system with ‘Burn After Reading’ that the Coens come back with another serious film, looking at their IMDB profile they have a number a new projects in various states of development – we shall see.

 ‘Wall-E‘ – Yeah, I know, a frickin Disney movie in the top films of the year? What’s happened to gore-hound Minty?  Well, it was a tight run race with this and both ‘Hunger’ and ‘Four Months, Three Weeks & Two Days’ but having caught this again last week it just nudges itself in amongst the extremely dark and ominous films I’ve really enjoyed this year. It really is a beautiful, genuinely magical film and represents a quantum leap forward in animation. It’s almost photo-realistic, once these Silicon Valley visual creatives nail CGI eyes and hair on screen I swear all the new actors and actresses in, well, say 2025 will be digitally generated. After they get to outer space it does vaguely lapse into Pixar by the numbers stuff but that brand of criticism is testimony to the strength of the exquisite opening thirty minutes in my book. I mean tell me that this isn’t enchanting. I admire the premise of the film that should seep into the kiddie audience subconcious and what more can you ask of a massive mainstream animated production which is obstentiously for the ankle-biters these days? 

OK, here’s the deal. I’ve obviously missed something but to be honest I’m still working on a certain other picture which rounds off my films of the year, my thoughts on that movie have grown particularly unwieldy and has distracted me from posting on the usual retrospective pictures I’ve loved in 2008 and what I’m really looking forward to in 2009. So, to break with tradition I’m gonna post each section separately as I finalise and polish my posts on the latter two elements of Minty’s cinematic year. Below is a quick sypnopsis of the slighly marginal movies I’ve got marked on the calendar, I’ll get the other stuff up within the next week or so. As a taster here is my favourite scene of the year, ‘There Will Be Blood’ aside that was the most electrifying five minutes I’ve spent in the cinema in 2008. 

  In addition I’m looking forward to the previously mentioned third world SF movie ‘Sleep Dealer‘, Rian Johson’s ‘The Brothers Bloom‘ is still awaiting a UK release date although the trailer is hardly inviting, Scorsese is back with ‘Shutter Island‘ then there’s ‘Synecdoche, New York‘, the hugely praised ‘The Wrestler‘ by Aronofsky, the horrific ‘Martyrs‘ ( if it doesn’t get buried – no pun intended – by Miramax like they did with ‘À l’intérieur‘), Ash is kind of back and most importantly John Carpenter is back with, err, well, a Nicholas Cage movie. The tagline is ‘Uncaged’. Look, it might be good, alright? It…well it…….it might….anyway some other exciting news here which will no doubt be redundant by the time you read this. So there you have it. I think it’s been a great year for movies and plenty to look forward to next year, personally speaking I’ve found a brilliant place to live and a new assignment with some other opportunities in the pipeline so am looking forward to what suprises the new year will bring. There is at least one, possibly two Best Man privileges to navigate. The US election result aside it’s hard to imagine a more disruptive year in global events but let’s not dwell on such downers, in order to combat the dark clouds I guess I’m gonna have to remind us all of the code with which to live your life. Happy New Year and I’ll see you all in 2009….

December 31, 2008 | Categories: Current Affairs, Film, Friends, Politics, YouTube | Tags: Canary Wharf, Cinema, Election, Film, film of the year, Films, Hobbit, Limehouse, Movie, Movies | Leave a comment