'Slumdog' tops best of 2008
By Bruce R. Millerbmiller@siouxcityjournal.com | Posted: Friday, December 26, 2008
Heath Ledger as the Joker and Christian Bale as Batman starred in "The Dark Knight."
Some years, directors dominate. Occasionally, writers take a bow.
But this year actors pushed 10 films to the top of the must-see list.
Heath Ledger, with his galvanizing performance as the Joker, started the trend with "The Dark Knight." Robert Downey Jr. had a one-two punch with "Iron Man" and "Tropic Thunder." James Franco made waves with "Pineapple Express" and "Milk."
And, then, the parade began.
Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon," Sean Penn in "Milk," Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Viola Davis in "Doubt," Angelina Jolie in "Changeling," Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in "Revolutionary Road" and, finally, Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler."
For every film on the 10 best list, there's at least one performance that's not just memorable, it's unforgettable.
In order, the best films of 2008:
1. Slumdog Millionaire. Director Danny Boyle combined a seemingly harmless game of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" with the life story of a young Indian man. The result? A winner on all counts. Its screenplay, its cinematography, its editing and its performances (particularly from Dev Patel, the lead) combined to make a film you want to see again and again. Interestingly, it wasn't a whitewashed version of what life is like for a young boy thrust onto the streets. It was brutal at times but filled with such hope it could serve as a beacon for everyone. When Boyle tosses in a typical Bollywood production number at the end, you want to join the cast and celebrate. It's worth its weight in rupees.
2. The Dark Knight. Heath Ledger died way too early. But the performance he left as the Joker will live on. It's such a finely nuanced character study you wonder why director Christopher Nolan didn't center the film around him. Still, Christian Bale's Batman held his own and turned what could have been another franchise installment into a piece of high art. The film lingered, but its pacing was fine. When Ledger squared off with Bale, it crackled, giving us new appreciation for comic book heroes and villains.
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. This could have been a cheesy attempt at following in "Forrest Gump's" footsteps. Instead, it was a way for director David Fincher to show what a fine actor Brad Pitt can be. As Benjamin Button, a man with reverse aging disease (he starts out old, then gets young), he delivered a full-bodied performance at every juncture, using the latest special effects to his benefit. In love with a woman named Daisy, he realized love shouldn't be constrained by time, even though they faced a problem when he got younger and she got older. Like a '50s movie romance, "Benjamin Button" recalled just how enveloping a drama can be. It pulled us in, made us care and gave us a memorable Brad Pitt portrait.
4. Doubt. John Patrick Shanley won the Pulitzer Prize for a story without a resolution. The truth? It lies within the viewer. A demanding school principal (Meryl Streep) is convinced a priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) has made inappropriate advances on a black student. She's operating off the observations of a timid teacher (Amy Adams) and the desire to see order return. When she confronts the boy's mother, "Doubt" introduces a new wrinkle: desire. As the mother, Viola Davis gave her better-known co-stars a run for their Oscars. In five minutes she stole the film and helped muddy the waters of accusation and truth. Shanley directed the film but he didn't need lavish sets and tracking shots, just that quartet of stellar performances.
5. WALL-E. Those forward-thinking folks at Pixar got us to consider global warming, obesity and conservation in ways Al Gore couldn't imagine. Using the plight of a robot left on Earth, they were able to connect a number of dots and come away with a film that had several messages. The animation was pretty spectacular, too, and the romance between two machines made you understand why "2001's" HAL didn't find happiness. The film wasn't just a great cartoon. It was a great movie.
6. Iron Man. Next to the expensive "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," "Iron Man" didn't look like it had a chance. Yet director Jon Favreau (who later turned up as Tim McGraw's brother in "Four Christmases") was able to make his much smaller budget a virtue. He got Robert Downey Jr. back on the track to stardom and created a franchise that has "Spider-Man"-sized legs. Clever, fast and telling, it introduced a hero who didn't have to save the world, just himself.
7. Revolutionary Road. Directors have wanted to reunite Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio since they clung to a hunk of wood in "Titanic." Sam Mendes (Winslet's husband) did it without retracing old steps. Instead, "Revolutionary Road" pitted one against the other. Set in the '50s, the film tracked the dissolution of a marriage and the steps both partners took to make it happen. Sad and heartfelt, the film had a devastating ending. Still, that end gave its stars the acting cred "Titanic" couldn't.
8. Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Woody Allen was a staple on most Top 10 lists during the '70s and '80s. Then he hit a rough spot and didn't make much of an impression. With "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," however, he was able to tap into so much. Two women vacation in Spain, meet an attractive man who offers to whisk them away on a romantic weekend. One balks, the other leaps head first. The result? A dizzying romance that managed to give Penelope Cruz a part that used to be the sole property of Sophia Loren. Javier Bardem registered, too, as the lothario and Rebecca Hall left everyone else in her wake as the reluctant romantic.
9. The Wrestler. Plastic surgery hasn't been kind to Mickey Rourke. At times, he has looked like a wax figure of himself. Still, the look of a road warrior was perfect for this anti-"Rocky." In the harsh, often cruel film, he played a wrestling has-been who doesn't quite know what to do when the screaming stops. His health has deteriorated. His inner circle has, too. Clinging to a nebulous relationship with a daughter (Evan Rachel Wood), he tries to pick up the pieces. Only an exotic dancer (Marisa Tomei) bothers to reach out. Rourke distinguished himself in the ring (he could have done something like this) but really scored in the quieter moments. He's the man who can put a hammerlock on Sean Penn and win the Oscar for best actor.
10. Frost/Nixon. Ron Howard has dabbled in history before (see: "Apollo 13") but hasn't pulled back the curtain as completely as in "Frost/Nixon." Detailing the negotiations behind an historic one-on-one between former President Richard Nixon and British journo David Frost, he provided Frank Langella and Michael Sheen the perfect opportunity to reveal the Shakespearean drama inherent in contemporary politics.
The worst: "Speed Racer," "Rambo," "Penelope," "88 Minutes" and "Zack and Miri Make a Porno."
But this year actors pushed 10 films to the top of the must-see list.
Heath Ledger, with his galvanizing performance as the Joker, started the trend with "The Dark Knight." Robert Downey Jr. had a one-two punch with "Iron Man" and "Tropic Thunder." James Franco made waves with "Pineapple Express" and "Milk."
And, then, the parade began.
Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon," Sean Penn in "Milk," Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Viola Davis in "Doubt," Angelina Jolie in "Changeling," Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in "Revolutionary Road" and, finally, Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler."
For every film on the 10 best list, there's at least one performance that's not just memorable, it's unforgettable.
In order, the best films of 2008:
1. Slumdog Millionaire. Director Danny Boyle combined a seemingly harmless game of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" with the life story of a young Indian man. The result? A winner on all counts. Its screenplay, its cinematography, its editing and its performances (particularly from Dev Patel, the lead) combined to make a film you want to see again and again. Interestingly, it wasn't a whitewashed version of what life is like for a young boy thrust onto the streets. It was brutal at times but filled with such hope it could serve as a beacon for everyone. When Boyle tosses in a typical Bollywood production number at the end, you want to join the cast and celebrate. It's worth its weight in rupees.
2. The Dark Knight. Heath Ledger died way too early. But the performance he left as the Joker will live on. It's such a finely nuanced character study you wonder why director Christopher Nolan didn't center the film around him. Still, Christian Bale's Batman held his own and turned what could have been another franchise installment into a piece of high art. The film lingered, but its pacing was fine. When Ledger squared off with Bale, it crackled, giving us new appreciation for comic book heroes and villains.
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. This could have been a cheesy attempt at following in "Forrest Gump's" footsteps. Instead, it was a way for director David Fincher to show what a fine actor Brad Pitt can be. As Benjamin Button, a man with reverse aging disease (he starts out old, then gets young), he delivered a full-bodied performance at every juncture, using the latest special effects to his benefit. In love with a woman named Daisy, he realized love shouldn't be constrained by time, even though they faced a problem when he got younger and she got older. Like a '50s movie romance, "Benjamin Button" recalled just how enveloping a drama can be. It pulled us in, made us care and gave us a memorable Brad Pitt portrait.
4. Doubt. John Patrick Shanley won the Pulitzer Prize for a story without a resolution. The truth? It lies within the viewer. A demanding school principal (Meryl Streep) is convinced a priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) has made inappropriate advances on a black student. She's operating off the observations of a timid teacher (Amy Adams) and the desire to see order return. When she confronts the boy's mother, "Doubt" introduces a new wrinkle: desire. As the mother, Viola Davis gave her better-known co-stars a run for their Oscars. In five minutes she stole the film and helped muddy the waters of accusation and truth. Shanley directed the film but he didn't need lavish sets and tracking shots, just that quartet of stellar performances.
5. WALL-E. Those forward-thinking folks at Pixar got us to consider global warming, obesity and conservation in ways Al Gore couldn't imagine. Using the plight of a robot left on Earth, they were able to connect a number of dots and come away with a film that had several messages. The animation was pretty spectacular, too, and the romance between two machines made you understand why "2001's" HAL didn't find happiness. The film wasn't just a great cartoon. It was a great movie.
6. Iron Man. Next to the expensive "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," "Iron Man" didn't look like it had a chance. Yet director Jon Favreau (who later turned up as Tim McGraw's brother in "Four Christmases") was able to make his much smaller budget a virtue. He got Robert Downey Jr. back on the track to stardom and created a franchise that has "Spider-Man"-sized legs. Clever, fast and telling, it introduced a hero who didn't have to save the world, just himself.
7. Revolutionary Road. Directors have wanted to reunite Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio since they clung to a hunk of wood in "Titanic." Sam Mendes (Winslet's husband) did it without retracing old steps. Instead, "Revolutionary Road" pitted one against the other. Set in the '50s, the film tracked the dissolution of a marriage and the steps both partners took to make it happen. Sad and heartfelt, the film had a devastating ending. Still, that end gave its stars the acting cred "Titanic" couldn't.
8. Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Woody Allen was a staple on most Top 10 lists during the '70s and '80s. Then he hit a rough spot and didn't make much of an impression. With "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," however, he was able to tap into so much. Two women vacation in Spain, meet an attractive man who offers to whisk them away on a romantic weekend. One balks, the other leaps head first. The result? A dizzying romance that managed to give Penelope Cruz a part that used to be the sole property of Sophia Loren. Javier Bardem registered, too, as the lothario and Rebecca Hall left everyone else in her wake as the reluctant romantic.
9. The Wrestler. Plastic surgery hasn't been kind to Mickey Rourke. At times, he has looked like a wax figure of himself. Still, the look of a road warrior was perfect for this anti-"Rocky." In the harsh, often cruel film, he played a wrestling has-been who doesn't quite know what to do when the screaming stops. His health has deteriorated. His inner circle has, too. Clinging to a nebulous relationship with a daughter (Evan Rachel Wood), he tries to pick up the pieces. Only an exotic dancer (Marisa Tomei) bothers to reach out. Rourke distinguished himself in the ring (he could have done something like this) but really scored in the quieter moments. He's the man who can put a hammerlock on Sean Penn and win the Oscar for best actor.
10. Frost/Nixon. Ron Howard has dabbled in history before (see: "Apollo 13") but hasn't pulled back the curtain as completely as in "Frost/Nixon." Detailing the negotiations behind an historic one-on-one between former President Richard Nixon and British journo David Frost, he provided Frank Langella and Michael Sheen the perfect opportunity to reveal the Shakespearean drama inherent in contemporary politics.
The worst: "Speed Racer," "Rambo," "Penelope," "88 Minutes" and "Zack and Miri Make a Porno."
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DB wrote on Jan 14, 2009 7:56 PM:
What's the point of having two multiplexes when they both run the same twelve screens of crap? "