Is it just me or have we been doing this a lot lately? A movie coming out on Wednesday, raking in a ton of cash at midnight and then banging its way toward a record five day opening. It just seems like the title for the biggest five day opening has been changing hands a lot over the past couple of years (what with movies like Dark Knight, Transformers 2 and Star Trek making massive box office runs) and it doesn’t seem like the title means much anymore.

But all that is beside the point (or is it?). Prince‘s $22 million midnight showing beat the previous $18.5 million dollar mark set last year by Dark Knight. It’s opening day number of $58 million came in fourth all time though behind Dark Knight‘s $67.2 million and the $62 million mark put up by Transformers 2 a couple of weeks ago. Prince‘s showing beat the $44 million opening day tally of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which took in $144 million in its first five days.

I seriously doubt this one will go the distance at the box office. I thought it was very good, but it isn’t the most rousing film in the franchise–its final passages, like those of the books, are quite somber and will probably leave repeat business at a minimum, drawing in only the truest Potter fanatics. I doubt very much that word of mouth will spread that positively based soley on audience reactions. Reviews are another story since the film currently has an 87% approval rating on Rottentomatoes.com, a quite impressive showing.

The film will no doubt do well at the box office, but I respected it as more of a serious character film than a crowd-pleasing entertainment. You won’t be extremely uplifted at the end of this film, which will be a big reason why moms won’t want to take their kids back to see it. Ah fuck em. I’m glad they just went out and made a good movie.

UPDATE: While it fell a little short domestically, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince broke the world record for biggest opening day gross (worldwide) with a whopping cume of $104 million.                           

Now you can add Chris Nolan’s Batman movie to that list.

The Dark Knight has now grossed $1,001,082,160.  I just wanted you to see that typed out.  

When it was re-released on January 23, it was $4 million away from the magic number.  

So, given the choice between the Oscar and crossing the $1 billion dollar mark, which do you think Warner Bros. would choose?  Yeah…                              

Best Song

Probably the most criminal act of snubbery in this Oscar season was the lack of recognition for Bruce Springsteen’s song, “The Wrestler,” which ends the film of same name. I’m a Springsteen fan, so I’m a bit biased,  but I know non-fans who feel like this snub is truly ridiculous. The song is simply breathtaking–a meditative, elegiac piece of soul. Springsteen tracks the spiritual deterioration of Mickey Rourke’s protagonist, a wrestler whose only sense of identity comes from his bouts in the ring, brought to life by the lyric “my only faith in the broken bones and bruises I display.”

I know Springsteen already has an Oscar (he won in 1993 for the song “Streets of Philadelphia,” from Jonathan Demme’s film Philadelphia) but still, it isn’t illegal to give rock icons more than one Oscar. True, the presentation of the song in the film (playing over the end credits) may not stand up very well against the Bollywood dance sequence at the end of Slumbdog Millionaire , but it is my recollection that the best material should be nominated, not the most impressively displayed material. I mean, there are usually five nominations–why dole out only three this year? Is there a built-in prejudice against rock songs by big acts being played on the Oscar telecast? A travesty similar to Springsteen’s occured in 2003 when the Academy failed to recognize Pearl Jam’s magnificant original song “Man of the Hour” which they composed for the film Big Fish. Are they nervous that it will look like they are pandering to the  musical tastes of the audience?

Oh well, Springsteen will just have to live with the one trophy on the shelf for now, but it really is a shame that such a good piece of songwriting wasn’t recognized. It makes the whole Best Song category feel like a sham, and I would think the Academy would be trying to bring some credibility back to the category after nominating three songs from Enchanted last year.

Best Supporting Actor

This one wasn’t so much of a tragedy since the dude got nominated in another category, but I thought Brad Pitt was so outlandishly funny as the clownish gym trainer in The Coen Brothers’ Burn After Reading that a nomination for that film, instead of for the insipid, overrated The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, would have been well deserved.

Pitt hasn’t been this amusing in a film for a long time–if ever (I’m thinking of 12 Monkeys, but he was pretty scary in that film too). With shagged-out blond hair, constant dance moves, and the curiosity of an overgrown twelve-year-old, he essays the role of Chad, a gym employee and coworker of Frances McDormand who, after finding a computer disc filled with what he thinks are valuable CIA spy secrets, tries to blackmail the government agent (John Malkovich) that the disc belongs to. The result is uproariously funny.  It’s one of the more underrated and enjoyable films of the year (the Coens are being punished for having so much success with No Country for Old Men; how dare they make a comedy right after!)

It would have been nice to see Pitt nominated for the right movie. I’ve never seen him create anything quite like Chad before, and it is a shame to see such a good performance go by the boards. I guess with Robert Downey, Jr. being nominated for another outrageous comic turn in Tropic Thunder, the Academy felt like they had used up their one comedy nomination for a significant category.

Best Actor

Also, nominating Pitt for Burn After Reading would have freed up a spot in the Best Actor category, which saw Colin Farrell get snubbed for his outstanding work in a film that far too few people saw, In Bruges. Farrell is simply outstanding in the film as Ray, a young hitman who accidentally kills a young boy during a hit in London and is made to hang out in Bruges, Belgium with his partner, Ken (Brendon Gleeson) to wait for instructions.

Farrell turns a corner in the film, presenting us with a genuine baffoon who both acts out his angst about his crime but also fully understands the implications of it. At first glance, his work is brilliantly funny, but is also an exploration of the character’s guilt and self-loathing. I also can’t remember a time when a dramatic film placed at its center a true baffoon with such heart.

I was happy to see In Bruges at least acknowledged (it received a screenplay nomination) but I felt bad that Farrell wasn’t recognized for his outstanding work. Hopefully, this performance is a harbinger of more significant work from him.

Best Director/Best Screenplay

Okay, The Dark Knight did not get nominated for Best Picture this year. I have come to terms with that. Even though I think it is the best film of the year, its exclusion from that category, while dismaying, was forseable. It was one of those situations where, after seeing that it wasn’t nominated, I automatically knew all of the reasons why. Comic book movie. Too mainstream. Not close enough to the course of action that the Academy have taken over the past few years with their nominations, which seem to go more to indies and dramatic studio fare with big-name, serious actors. At the end of the day, it was probably just too much of an event film.

But the fact that neither Christopher Nolan’s direction nor the screenplay by Nolan and his brother, Jonathan, were nominated is an absolute travesty.  All of the signs were there for The Dark Knight. It was acknowledged by the Producers, Writers, and Directors Guild nominations this year. Yet the Academy saw fit to ignore it when doling out nominations in what many consider the second and third most important categories.

I suppose they felt that a nomination for Heath Ledger in the Supporting Actor category was enough. But I was seriously let down to see Nolan snubbed for his direction and the Nolan brothers snubbed for their screenplay, both of which were easily among the best of the year if not the best. The Dark Knight was the monumental achievement of the year; I have rarely seen a film that pushed the medium to its limits the way that film did. I can understand why they didn’t want to put it among the best movies, but he Academy should acknowledge it’s qualities by nominating it in some other significant categories. It speaks very low of the Academy that they can’t even bring themselves to acknowledge the quality of a comic book movie on that level.

Bitching, for now, is concluded.

The Oscars are exactly one week from tonight. I’m an Oscar fiend. I know about the politics and the cash exchanging hands in one form or another. I understand that the Academy voters just like certain actors and certain directors, but I still get worked up for the Oscars.  And I still love them.

Fair warning, this article is 100% a personal, biased opinion mixed with unsubstantiated theories, projections and thoughts.  Take it as you like.

This year I am less than enthused about the Best Picture nominees. While I have been against certain nominated films in the past, I don’t believe I can remember a time when we have been presented with a more lackluster pack of films, mostly done by talented filmmakers. As I said in my Frost/Nixon article, it feels like that film was nominated just because the name Ron Howard was on the screen at the end, but I am afraid that is not necessarily the exception to the rule.

Hans’s article about the great work of David Fincher and the less-then-stellar Benjamin Button illustrates yet another example of a lesser (story wise, at least) work by an amazing artist getting a free pass.

The other three are damn good movies, but there have been many more well-done, emotionally affecting films released this year.  Milk is a story that has already been told in an Oscar winning documentary (decades ago, nonetheless), and The Reader, well done as it is, feels like absolute Oscar bait.  The only one of the five best picture nominees that I feel has an honest claim to its nomination is Slumdog Millionaire.  Films like Doubt and The Wrestler and even The Dark Knight feel more honest to the title “best picture of the year” than the other four nominees.

Why is this?  Is it just me being hyper-subjective and not allowing any room for the opinions of others?  I’m sure that is part of it, but another factor for the choices, I believe, is simple process of elimination.

Let’s look at the films that were getting some Oscar buzz but were denied the top prize.  First off is The Dark Knight.  Can a film be denied a nomination simply because it is too popular?  Not really.  Let’s not forget Titanic’s well-deserved (and I stand by that) nomination and win in this same category.  Or the year that The Return of the King swept through almost every category including the top prize.  With King, though, it took two excellent previous pictures and a long list of Hollywood A-List actors doing press and singing the praises of director Peter Jackson before the Academy finally threw it’s hands up and said “Okay, we give.  A Best Picture nomination to the fantasy Hobbit film it is.”  For Titanic, the sell was easier.  Even though the film made a billion dollars, it was a period piece with tragic tones, a class-centric theme and a lot of heavy emotional scenes.

The Dark Knight, however, is a harder sell.  It’s not based on a piece of great literature (while Tolkien’s literary prowess is in dispute for some, Hollywood kinda thinks of “classic literature” different from academia).  It’s not a period piece.  Instead, it’s based on a comic book and is an action-packed fantasy.  And a damn good crime film filled with amazing performances, interesting ideas, and well-executed thematic material.  But I don’t know if the Academy will ever get past the dude in the bat costume.

Second on the list is Doubt.  This one, to be honest, perplexes me.  The movie is well acted, well directed, based on a play, and it’s a period piece.  While I didn’t put it on my top ten, it is indisputably an excellent film, certainly better than at least three films on the list.  Plus it had a lot of love in other awards.  So why leave it off the list?  My hypothesis (and this is all these arguments are, folks) is simple.  The Academy only had one spot for a heavy, guilt ridden character piece, and The Reader screamed “Oscar” louder than Doubt, even though it isn’t as good as the simple Catholic drama.  Also, the Oscars have an obsession with being topical, and the subject matter of Doubt felt very five years ago–where as Slumdog is wildly relevant.  Milk and The Reader are themes we have seen before, but the Academy is always up for a good movie about Nazis and World War II as well as themes of homosexual rights (made more topical by the recent California vote).

My point with the above is not that these themes should discount a movie or push a movie to the top tier of consideration.  I personally believe that the theme is irrelevant as long as it is interesting and well-done, but the Academy, I believe, disagrees, even if only on a purely subconscious level.

We now reach our final film for your consideration: The Wrestler.  While I liked a couple of other movies better this year, this is the one I would have most liked to have seen get a nomination.  It’s because of Rourke’s performance and Aronofsky’s unflinching dedication to quality, but it’s also because of the immense heart, without any sentimentality, of the film.  It’s gut-wrenching and touching but never pulls a punch.

This movie, I believe, was left off the nomination list for a few reasons that I will recount quickly.  First, I think the Academy saw Rourke’s awesome performance and defined the movie by it, and only it.  With the great character of Randy the Ram, it is easy to be awed, hand out a best actor Oscar, and be done with it.  But who wrote that character?  Who shepherded the character toward greatness, filmed him in an appropriate way, cut the movie together to complement it, created amazing themes and emotional moments, and eventually handed over a film that seemed effortless?  Yes, there is a lot of talent behind this movie, and the movie, itself, deserves the nomination.

The second reason it was snubbed is, I believe, Aronofsky himself.  Hollywood doesn’t like him.  He stays in his little New York hole and makes low-budget pictures, turning down offer after offer to direct higher profile material.  He also has a reputation of being, as Mickey Rourke puts it, tough.  And I still think Hollywood wants to make him pay for The Fountain (a movie I have loved since its release, but I’m in the minority).  You’re only as good as your last movie, they say, and the cerebral Fountain is still too clear in their memory.

But lets get briefly back to reality.  Here is the order in which I would rank the actual Best Picture nominees…

1. Slumdog Millionaire

2. Milk

3. The Reader

4. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

5. Frost/Nixon

So there is good news.  It looks like my favorite on the list has a serious chance of winning.  And if Rourke doesn’t take away his deserved best Actor nomination, Sean Penn will, and for a very good performance.

Like I said, I understand the politics, and I am guilty of falling prey to personal biases as well.  But the Oscars should be about the best picture and the best performances.  I’d love to see a not-very-good movie get a best actor or actress nomination just because that’s the way it is.  I’d love to see the Best Picture list filled with movies nobody has ever heard of, or movies everyone has seen, just because they deserve it.  The Academy has been doing this for so long, though, that sometimes they can’t see the forest for the trees.  There is a bit of a formula, and Hollywood follows trends (remember a few years ago when you didn’t have a chance in hell unless you were a low-budget indie film?).

It’s hard to do what needs to be done with these awards: take it with a grain of salt, sit back, and try not to get too outraged.  After all, it’s only a little award.  I take solace in knowing that there are a lot of best picture winners that will only be remembered in that context and not as great cinema.  No Kubrick picture has ever won best picture, but they will all be remembered long after the laskluster A Beautiful Mind fades from the public consciousness.

But it’s Oscar season, so it’s time to bitch.  It’s time to look for any excuse to sit down with friends and argue about your favorite movies and explain why this movie or that one is unworthy.  It’s a good time to think through what you love about film and why.  THAT, more than anything, is why I love the Oscars, regardless of whether or not I agree with them.

10. Shotgun Stories

You know that feeling you get when you’re watching a movie and you could swear that it was directed by David Gordon Green, but you know it wasn’t, because your daily iMDB update of the man’s filmography has told you otherwise? I kinda got that feeling when I was watching first-time writer/director Jeff Nichols’s “Shotgun Stories.” Now, I don’t have what I would call a whole lot of experience with Green’s films. Having seen only ”All the Real Girls,” “Snow Angels,” and “Pineapple Express” (and let’s face it, “Pineapple…” doesn’t exactly count) he’s still a man with a distinct voice and style. So imagine my flurry of victory when the closing credits tell me that Green served as a producer on this picture. Ha HA! Good for me.

Nichols, however, might just have a leg up on Green. He has a keen eye for the blue-collar “I-can-fix-that-forya” culture that he depicts. His movie about a family feud that escaclates to worst places is a taut yet infinitely somber film that my cold heart found genuinely moving. The film stars Michael Shannon (the now Oscar-nominated “crazy” guy from the far-lesser “Revolutionary Road”) as the oldest of three brothers who starts a squabble at his father’s funeral with the family that he had left them for when they were kids. It’s a powerful film about old fashioned masculine pride and family honor pushed to the limit.

9. Funny Games

It’s quite possible that I’ll welcome eye-rolls and questionable glances and maybe an “Oh, fuck you” or two from my MovieChopShop colleagues about this one, but frankly I just don’t care. Michael Haneke’s film about a family being held captive and tortured by a couple of preppy-boy psychos in white golf shirts, shorts, and gloves is a fascinating, ballsy, scathing attack against the exploitation of violence in films. It’s also smug, pretentious, and has serious contempt for its own audience, but that’s all part its angry little charm. It’s a movie that’s not only okay with the fact that you might hate, but it sort of wants you to hate it. Ironically, that makes me love it.

It’s pretty much a shot-for-shot remake of Haneke’s own 1997 film of the same name, but it was this version which introduced me to its wacky splendor. And perhaps rightfully so – it would seem in an age where the masses are forking over their parents’ hard-earned money to see “Saw XXXVII,” that it’s an even more relevant comment on the lowest lows of popular entertainment than it was eleven years before. Still, there’s a good chance it’ll piss you off. Proceed with caution.

8. Let the Right One In

Pick any random movie-blogging site and you’ll see that pretty much every last one of those guys is completely apeshit for this movie.  And it stands to reason – if there was just going to be one adolescent power-of-friendship movie that was going to capture the hearts of twenty-something movie geeks everywhere, you can pretty much rest assured that it would be the one about Swedish vampires.  (The runner-up was Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.)

While other films might lead you to believe that vampires love baseball and stay out of the sun so that no one will see their shameful glitterskin, “Let the Right One In” doesn’t need to dip into the pitifully obnoxious to achieve real substance and creativity within its genre. There’s a little something for everyone to connect with in this movie that’s as beautiful visually as it is thematically. It succeeds on just about every level – it’s sad, funny, frightening, and it works flawlessly within the classic parameters of vampire mythology without having to pull anything out of its ass for the sake of post-modern pomposity and without even showing a single fang.

7. Synecdoche, New York

There’s something you need to know about me. I’m a complete sucker for a movie that completely bitch-slaps your brain into oblivion. Surrealism, if you’re into labels. Sure, I love me some Alejandro Jodorowsky and Luis Bunuel, but the crafty narrative-tinkering wackiness of a director like David Lynch is what really puts me in the mood for some lovin’. That aside, “Synecdoche, New York” is Oscar-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut and the first film of his than can really be classified as surrealism. In it, Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as a playwright who, convinced he’s dying, sets out to write his masterpiece. Adapting the events of his own life, day by day, he ends up setting up shop in an enormous abandoned warehouse and building a life-size replica of his city (which of course contains a replica of the warehouse and inside that another replica of the city, and so on and so forth). Eventually, his life has become so fragmented and cluttered that it’s a little hard to keep up with much of anything.

Kaufman has always been a terrific voice for the neurotic losers of the world and he has perhaps found his most compelling one thus far in Hoffman’s character, Caden. His obsessive paranoia and uneasiness puts as much theatricality in his own life as his stages interpretations. The film winds up having two unique modes: depressingly hilarious and hilariously depressing.

Returning to the whole narrative-wackiness thing, I think you could see how this might fit the bill for that sort of a story. At the time of this writing, I have only seen “Synecdoche, New York” a whopping one time and I’m certain that won’t be enough. (And why shouldn’t a movie be the kind to immediately invite a second viewing?) Perhaps it isn’t even enough to be able to give a sufficient review or even a blurb about this movie. And who the hell do I think I am for giving it my number 7 spot? Well, friends,  ”Synecdoche, New York” sought to challenge me when other films weren’t quite so bold. It’s a startling piece of true creativity and if you don’t see it, you’re a filthy coward.

6. Slumdog Millionaire

I’ll make this brief, because we all have places to be. Most of the Oscar-season movies this year have been less than stellar. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” putting its fascinating premise to complete waste, is the only movie by David Fincher that I just can’t get behind. (That’s right. I like “Alien 3.” And I’m not sorry.) “The Reader” is too busy whoring itself out as Oscar-bait to pay any regard to its own frustrating and eye-rolling illogic. “Frost/Nixon” just fucking sucked. (Please. Rent Robert Altman’s “Secret Honor” and then look me in the eye and tell me Ron Howard’s political “Rocky VII” is worth a damn.) “Milk”…I liked “Milk.” But Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” is the only Best Picture nominee that really deserves to be sitting among the top spots right now.

It’s like watching “City of God” play out like a modern day fairy tale. (Which, if you’re familiar with “City of God,” sounds like a horrifying disaster, but trust me, it’s great!) It’s perhaps the most consistently compelling film I’ve seen all year, telling a story that should feel reasonably hackneyed in such a rousing and original way. I’m a cold hard cynic (or at least it’s a style that I always thought looked pretty on me), and I place the genre of inspirational films one notch above movies based on video games, so if you’re going to believe the hype about any one of the decided Five, believe it when I tell you: this damn thing moved me. (And yeah, the Bollywood dance sequence at the closing credits is just wonderful.)

5. My Winnipeg

I’m ashamed of myself. Ashamed that it’s taken me this long to discover the films of Guy Maddin. I had heard some things about this film and decided to give it a watch. Now I’m rabidly addicted to everything this filmmaker touches. Using the look and feel of old German expressionist silents, Maddin’s films have an antique charm and a sharp but subtle sense of humor.

“My Winnipeg” is a pseudo-documentary centering around Maddin’s hometown of, you guessed it, Winnipeg. Maddin blurs fact and fiction, history and local legend, leaving you with a portrait of the town more sentimentally accurate than any straight-forward documentary could have accomplished. (Though, what the hell do I know about Winnipeg?)

It should be mentioned that, as of yet, I’ve only seen this movie presented with an annoying audio-synchage problem. Though, since the vast majority of the movie is narrated by Maddin in voice-over, this really doesn’t cause too much of a bother. (I’m still open to the idea that it was intentional, but I can’t find anything that remarks about it.) However, let it also be mentioned that the movie is so meticulously constructed and edited that I’m sure once I’m able to see the correct version of the film, it will end up feeling like a wholly different movie. And that’s just one of many reasons, friends, why Guy Maddin is fast becoming one of my favorite modern directors. You’ll be hearing me fawn over him some more. Look forward to it.

4. The Wrestler

Darren Aronofsky is running four-for-four and I think that’s just lovely. A very straight-forward character piece, “The Wrestler” isn’t quite what you’d expect from the guy that did “The Fountain.” (Did you even see “The Fountain?” Get on that.) Aronofsky takes a more documentary-style approach with this one and it works wonders to show us a portrait of a character so deeply flawed, finding a way to alienate everyone who means something to him, that his only retribution is in the battle scars of the wrestling wring. It’s a fitting metaphor that the only thing he seems to be successful at is causing and incurring pain, and Aronofsky handles it with subtle tenderness. 

And as many have been saying, Mickey Rourke is absolutely astonishing in this film. Keeping the audience on this character’s side could have been an easy task to screw up, but Rourke nails every last beat. I’m crossing my fingers for him to get that Oscar, but I’m not getting my hopes up. (Damn you, Sean Penn!)

3. Man on Wire

The absolute wonder of this movie just speaks for itself. It’s a fascinating documentary about an eccentric (to say the least) French high-wire artist, who, in 1974, pulled off an illegal tightrope walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Cleverly constructed like an elaborate heist movie, director James Marsh documents the plan from inspiration to conception to preparation to the final victorious completion. All the while, the titular Man, Philippe Petit, is one of the most energetic and entertaining screen characters I’ve seen all year. And he’s a real guy. So that’s somethin, alright.

I’m a fear-of-heights guy. (And snakes. I guess I just like to hit all the cliches.) So this movie hit me on a level of awe-inspiring and nearly sickened marvel that maybe its full enjoyment requires. But even if you’re only getting half the enjoyment I got, it still beats the ever-loving piss out of “Frost/Nixon.”

2. In Bruges

The Golden Globes don’t often get much right. But when you can’t depend on the Oscars, the Globes remembered my sweet, sweet “In Bruges” when no one else did. (Although kudos to the Academy for nominating writer/director Martin McDonagh’s script.) It’s not every year where the best comedy and the best drama are the same damn movie. There’s a terrific dry wit dripping from every last line (“One gay beer for my gay friend and one normal beer for me because I am normal”), and a truly touching sadness at the center of all of it.

Colin Farrell gives a brilliant performance, playing Ray, a hitman hiding out “in Bruges” with Ken (Brendan Gleeson) after a job that went wrong. He captures the deep-down child-like innocence of his character in such a funny and touching way. I’ve always liked Colin Farrell, but even I didn’t know he had this in him. He rightfully won the Golden Globe for his performance, but of course the Oscars forgot him. And don’t get me started on Ralph Fiennes, who own every scene that he’s in of this film. And Brendan Gleeson, as well, is one hell of a character actor doing what he does best. I have infinite love and admiration for this movie and it is a photo-finish-close second place on my list. It’s easily one of my favorites of the decade.

1. The Dark Knight

Sure, I have something of a Batman bias, but I don’t think that’s a completely necessary prerequisite for being unabashedly in love with Christopher Nolan’s ridiculously well-crafted and frankly powerful sequel to his excellent 2005 film, “Batman Begins.” In lieu of saying the same things that have been said ad nauseum about this film, let me simply justify why this one, over all the other excellent and worthy films on my list, deserves that absurdly coveted spot of my Best Film of the Year. 

“The Dark Knight,” though admittedly flawed in spots, has restored my faith in Hollywood, and more importantly in American audiences, (well, until “Twilight” came out) who went in droves to help boost this movie up to the second-highest grossing film (domestically) of all time. It’s a pretty brave move to release a pitch-black two-and-a-half hour Batman movie that focuses more on story and character than simply blowin’ shit up (and gratuitous sing-alongs with Snow Miser). Nolan handles the story with the expert care that we’ve come to expect from him ever since “Memento” and keeps the action right up to par with it. The action scenes are wisely sparse and always resourceful and engaging.

Thematically, it creates something that we didn’t quite get from “Spider-Man 3.” Nolan’s exploration of the nature of heroism and what defines it, is alone enough to keep people from calling this picture “just a superhero movie.” (Jesus, just wait until “Watchmen!!”)

And yes. Heath Ledger is absolutely mind-blowing as the Joker. He embodies the normally cartoonish anarchic insanity of the character in such an authentic and disturbing way, it’s enough to give you chills. We’ve never seen the character portrayed like this before, and sadly we won’t again.

This movie is the proof that big, showy Hollywood spectacle doesn’t have to be made for the Michael Bay crowd to be monstrously successful. It can be dark and brooding and even make you think. Films like “The Dark Knight” are reason enough for anyone to go to the movies. So thank you, Warner Bros. for allowing this to happen, and thank you, Chris Nolan for making it happen, and thank you, America for watching it happen, and thank you, Batman for being fuckin’ Batman!

And I’m done.                              

But we gotta start somewhere, so here it is.

10. Slumdog Millionaire

Now, you’ll notice that this is the only best picture contender on my list and might immediately think me a snob.  It ain’t so.  I cheered when Titanic and The Return of the King won their respective Oscars, and last year I proclaimed proudly that the two best pictures of the year were There Will Be Blood and No Country for old men.  I usually fall in line with the status quo during awards season.

But this year, the Academy dropped the ball.  While Slumdog Millionaire is an excellent film (and I could stand it winning the top prize), it is not the best picture of the year.  And the others on the best picture list?  Come on…anyone who didn’t vomit in their mouth a little bit when they watched the “fast prep for the big interview montage” scene in Frost/Nixon should be ashamed of themselves.  But this is not a rant about this years Oscars (could have fooled me!), so I’ll move on to the movies.

Slumdog Millionaire is a surprising movie in many ways.  It’s structure (telling a story based on the answers given in the game show) is fresh and new.  Its hero and heroine are both “out of the box” and “classic” at the same time.  It’s socio-political overtones are not overdone, but affecting nonetheless.  And, most interesting to me, its somewhat depressing and dark tone throughout takes a welcome left-turn in the last act to make you believe that you’ve actually seen a wildly uplifting movie.  

And the Bollywood number that ends it…awesome.  You just gotta smile, throw your hands up, and say “I give up.  You filled my heart hole.”

9. W.

People despised this movie.  Others were lukewarm, but I never saw anyone really give it the kudos that I felt it deserved–AS A FILM, not as a “gotcha” to the (then current) administration.  Because as a “gotcha,” it don’t work so well.  

What I loved most about W. was that it allowed the borderline-insane-but-we-love-him-anyway Oliver Stone to dispense with the heavy history lessons and the obligatory “catch up” information and just make a movie about a guy who happened to find his way to the presidency.  Nixon is my favorite Stone film, but even that felt bloated by exposition meant to refresh people’s memories or educate the young’ns (like myself).  With W., there is no learning curve.  All the “unsaid” things in the movie are painfully obvious to an audience, and it is what is left out that is most interesting.  The movie never comes close to being a character assassination piece, forcing you to empathize with the bumbling president-to-be.  It never excuses his actions, or suggests that he should not be held accountable for them, but it shows how such a situation could occur and explains how there is plenty of blame to go around.

The last shot still sits in my mind as one of the most ballsy and appropriate endings in recent film–simple, elegant, poetic even.

8. Iron Man

I don’t know that I had more fun in a movie this year.  Iron Man was wildly enjoyable not because of the mindless action sequences (there really aren’t that many if you are paying careful attention), but because of what Downy Jr. and Favre bring to the rest of the film.  The first 25 minutes or so is nothing but Tony Stark being a charming playboy, and it’s a joy to watch.  I leaned over to a buddy at about the time Tony boarded his plane to Iraq and whispered “I could watch two hours of this.”  The movie never lets itself get too serious but also doesn’t stray away from fun character moments and relationships.  

And Robert Downey Jr.  What can you say? The man brings something undefinably great to the table with each performance.  And while Tropic Thunder didn’t make my top ten list, it is worth watching just for his hilariously satirical performance.

7. Wall-E

The second the soundtrack started blaring the opening song to Wall-E, I was in love.  Just the glorious idea of using fun, heartfelt retro music in a futuristic robot family film made me respect the filmmakers from frame one.  And then we as an audience are treated to one of the most well-crafted silent films ever for a good 25 minutes.  Wall-E’s character is simple and innocent and a welcome breath of fresh air to the wanna-be “edgy” family films like “Shrek 17: Still Shrekking.”  

Then, when the movie leaves earth, it becomes a great sci-fi “what if” in its own right.  I like the first half better than the second, but it’s a close call with the overly simple “life lessons” of the third act making me smile in spite of my hard hardened heart.

Before I move on, I have to say something about Andrew Stanton.  I think some people watch Pixar films and just say “well, it’s Pixar,” and I know how you feel.  I love every Pixar film, but I hate that the directors of these masterpieces are sometimes forgotten.  Andrew Stanton brings a tone and a sensibility to his Pixar films that is unlike any of the others.  There is a sweetness, a sadness even, that permeates both Wall-E and Finding Nemo.  Neither movie is too “in-your-face,” instead focusing on quiet moments and honest, sometimes complicated emotions.  These are the kind of movies that can make a grown man cry, and they never feel like they are cheating.  I love The Incredibles and Toy Story II, but Stanton’s films are a different breed.  So on the off off chance Mr. Stanton reads this article: Thanks.

6. Burn After Reading

The Coens pull one over on the movie-going public again, crafting a hilarious exploration of mindless nihilism with the mask of a crime movie.  The overly-dramatic opening shot of a camera zooming in on the earth and settling on the CIA headquarters is amazingly over-the-top, especially when one realizes that this is a movie with no real secrets and nothing at stake except the lives of some generally unlikeable characters.  

And then the closet scene happens, and you realize that this movie will endure forever.

I think the greatness of the movie can be summed up by a line uttered by the great J.K Simmons: “What did we learn?  I guess we learned never to do it again.  Don’t know what we did.”  If you are in the mood for a messed-up double feature, pair this with No Country for Old Men.  Thematically, they are eerily similar.

5. Man on Wire

If you have not seen this documentary, run, don’t walk, to the nearest theater in which it is playing.  The way it mixes interviews, real footage, and cleverly stage “reenactments” allows this film to truly become a classic caper about a man attempting to illegally tightrope walk between the twin towers in New York.  

More than that, though, we explore the life philosophy of the protagonist, and the subtext of the last act of the movie makes us question the exhilarating beauty of the story that has happened before.  The movie never forces an idea or an emotion on the audience–it’s just that the characters’ emotions and excitement are infectious.  I won’t say too much about this one…you have to see for yourself.

4. Let the Right One In

This is by far the best 12-year-old-Swedish-vampire movie I have ever seen. Ever.  Beautifully shot snow-covered scenes complement the subtle and sad tone of this film about acceptance, friendship, and what it means to be a monster.

The movie never strays away from the horror of the situations, but it never goes for unnecessary shock value either.  Each character feels like he or she is on a path that is unchangeable, and the movie takes on a sadness and weight that never draws attention to itself.

The fact that this movie has been roundly ignored during awards season is a travesty.  Even outside the best foreign film category, this one deserves to be looked at for cinematography and acting for both the child leads.   This one will last, I can promise you that, and not just for horror fans and gore hounds.

3. The Wrestler

This movie should be up for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Song as well as Best Actor.  Darren Aronofsky is the closest thing my generation has to Kubrick.  Every frame means something, every choice is imperative to the story. But with the wrestler, unlike Requiem for a Dream or The Fountain, all of that is invisible.  The story requires a documentary style and a painfully realistic approach, and Aronofsky nails it.  The scene exploring each and every injury inflicted during the “hardcore” match is a fascinating take on the subject, developing Mickey Rourke’s character at the same time that it explains the wrestling subculture and wrestlers’ lifestyles.  

There is not a moment in this film that feels false or unnecessary.  Even though the whole thing feels unplanned and fluid, not a frame is wasted.  It’s all held together by Rourke’s performance, and I pray he wins the Best Actor Oscar for what he’s created.  

It’s a tragedy in the old-school style that you believe might be a redemption story.  Which makes it all the more affecting.

2. Synecdoche, New York

I love Charlie Kaufman with a passion.  It took me a few views to warm up to Being John Malkovich, but once I got it, I really got it.  Adaptation blew my mind with its commentary on film and structure without sacrificing an involving story.  

Synecdoche, New York is Kaufman’s directorial debut, and he proves that his eye is as powerful as his pen.  What I love most about the film is its ambition.  It’s first and foremost about death, but within that it is about everything painful and enjoyable in life.  We see how a man behaves when he is convinced of his imminent death.  Even if he limps on for years, death is still right around the corner.

The movie manages somehow to not be preachy or up its own ass.  Self-deprecation can be a powerful tool when used correctly, and Kaufman is the master.  

By creating a world where time is fluid he underscores the way we all feel about the brevity of our lives.  By showing a man always on the verge of death, Kaufman dramatizes the inevitability of that final life event.  And by playing with identity and the ideas of free will, the audience is forced to question its preconceived notions about what it means to be “you.”

It sounds heady, complicated and deep, and it is, but it is also simple in its characters and ideas; and it’s wildly entertaining.

I know this one is an acquired taste, and I can absolutely respect anyone who doesn’t like this film.  But for me, it was everything I could want in an ambitious and thoughtful film.

1. The Dark Knight

I don’t know if I need to say too much about this one.  So much has been written about Heath Ledger, the film as a serious crime drama, and the amazing box-office success of the movie that anything I would write would be unnecessary…but I’ll give it a whirl.

What really pulled me into the film is the thematic material.  The ideas of heroes versus saviors versus inspirational figures.  The nihilistic dogma of the Joker.  Some of my favorite moments in the film are the little scenes of ideological discourse.  Of course it is very cool to watch Batman kick ass and take names, but isn’t it jut as fun to watch the Joker burn a pile of money?  Of course.  The movie is one of the most thematically complicated mainstream films that has come out in a long while, and that increases my enjoyment of it ten fold.  Some critics or awards-snobs wrote this off as a comic book movie, which it is.  But sometimes I think they miss the forrest for the trees. 

So…that’s it.  I will volunteer that there are quite a few movies I haven’t seen.  My goal each year is not to see as many movies as possible, but to see movies that hit the spot for whatever mood I am in.  This means I allow myself to see a lot of crap, and neglect some probably-excellent films that I am not 100% in the mood for.

Disagree?  Good.  That’s the point of a site like this.  Feel free to let us know your thoughts below and we will try to respond to them.  One of the goals to this site is to create a network of film makers and film lovers who can share ideas and help each other find new movies.