December 12, 2008

Top 10 Films of 2008

1. "In Bruges" (Martin McDonagh, UK)

2. "Still Orangutans" (Gustavo Spolidoro, Brazil)

3. "Silent Wedding" (Horatiu Malaele, Romania)

4. "Hunger" (Steve McQueen, UK)

5. "The Bank Job" (Roger Donaldson, UK)

6. "The Reader" (Stephen Daldry, USA)

7. "The Wrestler" (Darren Aronofsky, USA)

8. "Waltz With Bahir" (Ari Folman, Israel)

9. "The Dark Knight" (Christopher Nolan, USA)

10. "Revolutionary Road" (Sam Mendes, USA)

Other great films:

The 4th Life (Canada)
Absurdistan (Azerbaijan)
Les Affluents (Canada)
À l'aventure (France)
Bathory (Slovakia)
Best Undressed (Australia)
The Blind Side (Philippines)
Borderline (Canada)
Cloud 9 (Germany)
Departures (Japan)
Le Déserteur (Canada)
Don't Look Down (Argentina)
Élève libre (Belgium)
Entre les murs (France)
Gomorra (Italy)
Un Lac (France)
Mesrine (France)
Miao Miao (Taiwan)
Ogrod Luizy (Poland)
Portrait Of A Beauty (South Korea)
La Rabia (Argentina)
Revanche (Austria)
Rezerwat (Poland)
Runaway Horse (Germany)
Rusalka (Russia)
Serbis (Philippines)
This Night (Germany)
Three Monkeys (Turkey)

Short Top 3:

1. "Liminal" (Stephen Keep Mills, USA)

2. "Hydro-Levesque" (Matthew Rankin, Canada)

3. "Next Floor" (Denis Villeneuve, Canada)


Other great shorts:

Le Beau sexe (France)
Caporal Crevette (Canada)
Smafuglar (Iceland)
Soupir! (Canada)
Spielzeugland (Germany)
Synthétiseur (Canada)
Water In Milk Exists

Top 3 Music Videos:

1. "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" (Jake Nava, Beyonce)

2. "Flashing Lights" (Spike Jonze, Kanye West)

3. "Stress" (Romaine Gavras, Justice)


Other great music videos:

Poker Face

Top Commercial:

"I Love The World" (James Rouse, Discovery)


TV Top 3:

1. "Breaking Bad: Season 1" (AMC)

2. "Mad Men: Season 2" (AMC)

3. "The Wire: Season 5" (HBO)


Other great TV shows:

Californication: Season 2
Dexter: Season 3
Lost: Season 4
Weeds: Season 4

Cartoon Top 3:

1. "Oktapodi" (Julien Bocabeille, et al, France)

2. "This Way Up" (Adam Foulkes, Alan Smith, UK)

3. "Skhizein" (Jérémy Clapin, France)


Other great cartoons:

Les Anges déchets (Canada)
Cattle Call (Canada)
La Maison en petits cubes (Japan)
Pogo et ses amis (Canada)
Presto

Weak films of 2008:

1st Bite (Canada)
Australia (Australia)
Autumn (Turkey)
Le Banquet (Canada)
Blind Loves (Slovakia)
Cactus (Australia)
Le Cas Roberge (Canada)
Ce qu'il faut pour vivre (Canada)
Cobardes (Spain)
La Creme (France)
Délice Paloma (Algeria)
Die Welle (Germany)
Eldorado (Belgium)
Il Divo (Italy)
Lady Jane (France)
Leo (Sweden)
La Ligne brisée (Canada)
Los (Belgium)
La Maison jaune (Algeria)
Mala Moskwa (Poland))
May 18 (South Korea)
Milk
My Magic (Singapore)
Nollywood Babylon (Canada)
Paris (France)
Passe Passe (France)
Peaceful Times (Germany)
Perro come perro (Colombia)
Prom Wars (Canada)
Sagan (France)
Seraphine (France)
Shadows In The Palace (South Korea)
Special Escort (Germany)
Tokyo Sonata (Japan)
Truffe (Canada)
Tulpan (Kazakhstan)
Versailles (France)

Weak cartoons:

Lavatory – Lovestory
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Top Musical of 2008

"Mamma Mia!" (Phyllida Lloyd, Universal)


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November 11, 2008

In Bruges (2008) *****

A very original comedy about two British hitman spending some time in a medieval Belgian town. Surprising, quite funny (in a very dark way) and extremely well-made.
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Still Orangutans (2008) *****

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October 10, 2008

This Night (2008) ****

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The Bank Job (2008) ****

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The Reader (2008) ****

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The Wrestler (2008) ****

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Waltz With Bashir (2008) ****

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Revolutionary Road (2008) ****

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Hunger (2008) ****

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Silent Wedding (2008) ****

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Slumdog Millionaire (2008) ****

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Gomorra (2008) ****

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Home (2008) ****

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Serbis (2008) ****

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Import Export (2008) ****

After "Dog Days" (2001), Austrian director Ulrich Seidl comes up with another provocative satire about contemporary society. This time, his merciless camera observes (among other things) the lives of Ukrainian prostitutes and their Austrian clients. The film was presented at the Cannes Film Festival to wide critical acclaim.
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The Dark Knight (2008) ****

Arguably the best "Batman" movie ever (which also makes it the greatest "superhero" movie of all times). Directed by Christopher Nolan ("Momento", "Batman Begins"), it's a fascinating parabole about modern terrorism, drawing bold parallels between Batman's vigilantism and Bush's War on Terror. Heath Ledger, as Joker, is absolutely mesmerizing, making Jack Nicholson's Joker look sane, reasonable and even boring by comparison. The action scenes are top-notch. Christian Bale's weird Batman voice is the only weakness of this otherwise perfect movie.
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Don't Look Down (2008) ****

Eliseo Subiela's masterpiece and his only film where eroticism and romanticism fuse together effortlessly rather than cancel each other out (which was unfortunately the case in some of his earlier pictures such as "The Dark Side of the Heart" and "Don't Die Without Telling Me Where You're Going"). Gorgeous Antonella Costa, last seen in "Cobrador In God We Trust", spends almost the entire film completely naked, while introducing a young sleepwalking student into the joys of tantric sex.
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Absurdistan (2008) ****


From the director of "Tuvalu" (1999) comes this surrealistic comedy set in a wacky village somewhere in the Caucasus. A Russian-language film from Azerbaijan directed by a German filmmaker and starring a Czech actress (Kristyna Malérová).
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Like Stars On Earth (2008) ****

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September 9, 2008

Un capitalisme sentimental (2008) ***

Very original musical film about the 1929 stock market crash.
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Wall-E (2008) ***

From Andrew Stanton (director of "Finding Nemo" and co-director of "A Bug's Life") comes this entertaining cartoon about a small waste-collecting robot who embarks on a space journey that ultimately decides the fate of mankind.
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Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) ***

Woody Allen moves to Spain and the results are both refreshing and entertaining. It's a vaguely Henry Jamesian story about two more-or-less innocent American women discovering love and sex among ultra-sophisticated European artists. Scarlett Johansson's third movie for Woody Allen, making her now one of his regular leading ladies (and muses), after Louise Lasser (1969-1972), Diane Keaton (1972-1979 and 1993) and Mia Farrow (1982-1992).
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Burn After Reading (2008) ***

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Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) ***

Sally Hawkins won a well-deserved Golden Globe as Best Actress (Comedy or Musical) for her cheerful and effervescent performance in this cute British comedy directed by Mike Leigh.
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J'ai toujours rêvé d'être un gangster (2008) ***

Tarantinesque gangster flick from France.
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Deadgirl (2008) ***

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Tropic Thunder (2008) ***

Terrific film, part action flick, part Hollywood satire, with amazing performances, hilarious dialogue and perfect pacing. Robert Downey Jr is outstanding as a Method actor who is never out of character, but it's Tom Cruise who steals the movie as a insanely ruthless movie mogul named Les Grossman, who eats actors, directors and agents for breakfast, chews them for lunch, and spits them out for supper. Great fun. Directed by Ben Stiller, (yes, the same Ben Stiller who 12 years earlier directed the insipid "Cable Guy"). Ethan Coen co-wrote the script.
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Nights And Weekends (2008) ***

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Tripping The Rift: The Movie (2008) ***

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Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) ***

Much better than the first film.
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