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Check out Paste's top 20 films of 2008...
20. Iron Man [Directed by Jon Favreau]
While
the film’s explosive, high-flying action scenes struggle to catch fire
on the small screen, Robert Downey Jr.’s fantastic, humanizing
performance means you won’t just be waiting for him to put on the suit
and blow shit up.
19. Chop Shop [Ramin Bahrani]
Reminiscent of the Dardenne brothers’
neo-realistic films, Chop Shop follows two orphaned siblings living in
an auto-repair scrap yard in outermost Queens, who dream of making a
better life for themselves. It’s a heartbreaking story of
disappointment and hope at the intersection of two worlds.
18. The Pool [Chris Smith]
Indie director Smith has a knack for edgy, comical documentaries about
culture jammers (The Yes Men) and low-budget horror auteurs (American
Movie), but The Pool is a literal jump into the deep end. This
understated gem—about a poor young man’s dreams and a wealthy older
man’s bottled sorrow—aspires to literary epiphany (in Hindi, no less)
that transcends class and language barriers.
17. The Wrestler [Darren Aronofsky]
This gritty portrait of a former
pro-wrestling star is not only a surprising blast of realism from the
auteur who made The Fountain but also a stunning comeback for Mickey
Rourke, who brings humor, pathos and pharmaceutical-grade testosterone
to his role as Randy “The Ram.”
16. Paranoid Park [Gus Van Sant
]
A stylistic masterpiece, Paranoid Park is
one part Spike Jonze, one part Wong Kar-wai and one part something only
Gus Van Sant himself could’ve imagined. But while the film is
unmistakably gorgeous, it’s Gabe Nevins’ untrained lead performance
that makes this haunting tale of lost innocence unforgettable.
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I couldn't stand Paranoid Park. I think if it had been made by a guy named "Jeffrey Steve"--instead of Gus Van Sant--people would've ignored it (and rightly so).
It is slightly criminal that In Bruges is not on this list.
No In Bruges or Happy Go Lucky? That automatically makes this list suck.
Firaaq has not yet been released in US, what are you an alt weekly pulling that kind of smarmy stunt?
You didn't think There will be Blood, No Country for old men or burn after reading were up to snuff?
I haven't seen some of these, but I know In Bruges should be close to the top of this list, if not first. If that's not considered a classic in the future, something's wrong with the world.
There Will Be Blood and No Country were 2007 releases. So were several of the picks on the original list, even though they didn't get wide releases until 2008.
i am prepared to deliver donuts to your offices every day - from now on. what's the address?
scott p
In Bruges was a trainwreck, but really fun. It's definitely beats the stuffin' outta several selections ... but I'd never call it Top 20 fare.
In other words, The Dark Knight is your #1 film of the year.
This list is great. I only got a chance to see a small portion of these films in the theatre. I love seeing stuff like this on the web. I am constantly amazed at how much useful imformation one can find with just a little digging. Most traditional film schools tend to skip important topics in favor of technique and things like that. One program I found online offers one on one mentoring to assure that you have all the tools to feel comfortable and ready the first day you step onto a set. One such program is Film Connection. http://WWW.film-connection.com The best part is that their program is available anywhere in the US and Canada.
In Bruges was definitely nominated... but as someone else said, 20 places is 20 places. Definitely a good first picture for McDonagh, but I'd like to see him step out of Tarantino's shadow and find his own voice on film as much as he did in theater.
Actually, I watched Paranoid Park with low expectations, something about Gus Van Sant has always both fascinated and almost always irritated me, but ended up loving the movie (I guess why it was my write-up). About a month ago a friend of mine picked it up because of the skating but loved the film for reasons he couldn't really describe. He asked me if there was anything else like it and I couldn't come up with any recommendations. If there is, I certainly haven't seen it yet.