Since we've arrived at the final day of the year and the chances of me seeing any more movies has dwindled to none...here my Top Ten of the year.
I rate these as the films that have either had a major intellectual or emotional impact on me. Films that have made me think, laugh, cheer or shiver. Movies that have captured my imagination, made me want to watch them again repeatedly, made me want to spread the word about them to others.
Movies omitted from this list are many. This may be because I haven't seen them yet. Or because my tastes differ from yours. Or because I didn't get that extreme emotional or intellectual thrill out of them the way you did. This list will inevitably change over time as months and years of rewatching them takes their toll on opinions. Finally it should be noted these are movies I have seen this year, even though some may have been available internationally in 2007.
1/ The Dark Knight. I knew it was gonna be good, but this good! Ledger IS oscar worthy. The central action sequence is one of the best of the decade. The script serves both the mind and the soul. A downer of an ending that leaves you on a electro-charged high! Rediculously excellent!
2/ The Mist. Darabont weaves his old fashioned movie making magic on another Stephen KIng story and produces gold. The tension builds unrelentingly until THAT ending. Brave, chilling and masterful. The black and white version is even better.
3/ Son Of Rambow. Funniest film of the year. Nostolgic, moving, feel-good and British.
4/ Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Flawed but genius in parts (specifically the first 40 minutes). I thought I'd be pissed off with this but the mighty hand of rewatchability compells me!
5/ Iron Man. Great super-hero movie elevated by the epic casting of Downey Jnr. You can almost hear the other studios muttering 20 years worth of...why didn't we do that! Fast, fun script with some consise action sequences make this the family blockbuster of the year.
6/ Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. Only Del Toro could make a franchise this barking and still get a studio to finance it. Great actors with great characters = great things. The imaginative plot and effects are just icing on the cake.
7/ WALL-E. Surprisingly hard core science fiction with all the layers of subtext that go with it. But with PIXAR at the helm you get a character focused adventure and a studio picure brave enough to have 40 minutes of dialogue free screen time. Eat shit Dreamworks.
8/ In Bruges. Ahh, Colin Farrell and midgets. Frequent swearing, black humour and a dab of violence. Grand.
9/ Slumdog Millionaire. Put inventiveness and capraesque into the blender that is Danny Boyles extreme talent. Result; feelgood hit of the year.
10/ No Country for Old Men. Like Slumdog, its a film about fate, but from a completely different perspective. Atmospheric, precise, and captivating.
Nearly making the top 10 were Religulous, Cloverfield, Frost/Nixon and Midnight Meat Train.
Special "fun-points2 awarded to Rambo, Speed Racer, Wanted, Doomsday and Quantum of Solace.
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