Before the list, here are the films I wanted to see but missed throughout the year or haven't got around to yet: Grace is Gone, The Savages, Youth Without Youth, Charlie Wilson's War, The Great Debaters, The Kite Runner, Away from Her.
And now, the ten:
10. Atonement
I was surprised that this ended up making the list but when I was looking back over the films I remembered how well this is put together and how tragic the whole thing is. It also features that amazing tracking shot and that alone is enough for it to make this list.
9. I'm Not There
I'm not even sure how this film works but it does. This could have been a disaster but it somehow is a cohesive whole that brings together fragments of Bob Dylan to explain him better than any normal biopic ever could have.
8. Lars and the Real Girl
Again, a film that probably shouldn't have worked. A relationship between a man shut off from society and a sex doll should never have been this funny, sweet, and moving.
7. Control
The gorgeous black and white photography is almost enough to recommend this film. Add on top of that one of the most straight forward and best biopics that doesn't so much turn the genre on its head (like I'm Not There) but does everything right without the usual cliches that haunt these type of films.
6. Knocked Up/Superbad
I know, I'm cheating. I honestly couldn't decide which of these two movies that I liked more. It usually comes down to which one I have most recently watched, and with these two that decision changes often.
5. No Country for Old Men
This could easily be the best movie of the year. Pretty much a perfect movie and probably the Coen Brother's best film. That is saying something.
4. Juno
Free of any cliches, this film walks a tight rope. It could make a wrong turn at any moment but it never does. Maybe has the best written parents of any film in this type of genre.
3. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward
Robert Ford
Moody and lyrical, this might be the quietest western I have even seen. This has the best cinematography of any film this year, the kind of images that make you want to go outside but you know when you get there it won't look as good as this. This starts as a somewhat typical narrative and then becomes something deeper and more emotional than what is expected.
2. Into the Wild
I loved this movie. It was really difficult to move this from my number one slot. If someone were to make a movie just for me, this would be it.
1. There Will Be Blood
An amazing movie. Nasty and full of hate you lean forward as each scene progresses waiting to see what happens next. One of the best first acts of any movie in recent memory and it only gets better from there. This is a film that people will be talking about twenty years from now, placing it along some of the all time greats. Shocking, mesmerizing, beautiful, a masterpiece.
Runners Up: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, The Bourne Ultimatum, American Gangster, Eastern Promises, Once, Zodiac, The Darjeeling Limited, Ratatouille, Rescue Dawn, Michael Clayton
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Best Performances, Men:
Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild
Ryan Gosling, Lars and the Real Girl
Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
Josh Brolin, No Country for Old Men
Brad Pitt, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Viggo Mortenson, Eastern Promises
Sam Riley, Control
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Mathieu Amalric, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Christian Bale, Rescue Dawn
Best Performances, Supporting Men:
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Tommy Lee Jones, No Country for Old Men
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Paul Schneider, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Paul Dano, There Will Be Blood
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton
Ethan Hawke, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Best Performances, Women:
(most of these performances are supporting, my favorites nonetheless)
Ellen Page, Juno
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Charlotte Gainsbourg, I'm Not There
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Keira Knightly, Atonement
Vanessa Redgrave, Atonement
Marissa Tomei, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Catherine Kenner, Into the Wild
Emily Mortimer, Lars and the Real Girl
Bianca, Lars and the Real Girl
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
Samanth Morton, Control
Best Opening Title Sequence:
Juno
Best Final Shot:
Michael Clayton
Best Endings:
There Will Be Blood
No Country for Old Men
The Bourne Ultimatum
Juno
Best Music:
There Will Be Blood
Best Cinematography:
(I couldn't pick just one)
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
There Will Be Blood
No Country for Old Men
Control
Into the Wild
Best Poster:
Best Movie that Loses it's way in the Third Act:
I Am Legend
Best Movie Released in 1977 but Just Now Getting Theatrical Distribution:
Killer of Sheep
Best Movie Quotes:
"I'm finished." - Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood
"If you have a milkshake and I have a milkshake and I have a straw and my straw reaches across the room and starts to drink your milkshake. I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!" - Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood
"I've had it with this shit." - A teenager in baggy jeans and backwards baseball cap walking out of There Will Be Blood five minutes before it ends
"Next time I see that Bleeker kid I'm going to punch him in the wiener. " J.K. Simmons, Juno
"This is my hat now! This is totally my hat!" - Danny McBride, Hot Rod
"Look at my red hands and my mean face... and I wonder 'bout that man that's gone so wrong." - Brad Pitt, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
"I got a boner!" - Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Superbad
"I googled murder." - Maude Apatow, Knocked Up
"You can't stop what's comin'. It ain't all waitin' on you. That's vanity. " - Barry Corbin, No Country for Old Men
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