comment #1

TheJeff says ...

"The total absence of Zodiac as a Best Picture winner with all of the various award-giving groups so far amounts to some kind of disconnect."

The smarter critics will definitely embrace it, but its early release date and relatively low box office have doomed it with awards groups. I wish Paramount would give it a 100-screen reissue right about now. I'd go again.

comment #2

Sean says ...

"The total absence of Zodiac as a Best Picture winner with all of the various award-giving groups so far amounts to some kind of disconnect."

According to that list, out of sixty (or more) critics, only three of them list it as #1. So that's not really a disconnect; a lot of people cite it as one of the Best Pictures, but very very few cite it as The Best Picture.

comment #3

K. Bowen says ...

Yeah, I noted this in a blog post a week or so ago. And "Once" is number three. Or was last I checked. Yet it's been left out of end of year stuff. You would have expected one or two to sneak through somewhere.

comment #4

Rothchild says ...

I hated Away From Her. I couldn't deal with the guy sending her off to a nursing home. In this context he had nothing else to do except take care of her. What was the worst things she did? Put a pan in the freezer? She forgot a few things? I couldn't buy the entire film because of that. He just shipped her off right away. It was also very contrived to have them keep him from going to the nursing home for the first two weeks. I think it's beautifully shot, acted, and cut but it's a cold fucking movie.

comment #5

The Hoyk says ...

You weren't paying attention, Rothchild. She committed herself right away, he had nothing to do with it; the heartbreak of the movie is that he was fully ready and willing to take care of her. Her character had enough foresight left to know she was deteriorating to a point where she could not just stay at home, and he did not believe that she would lose so much memory within just one month away, so he agreed to follow her decision. Moreover, there is the unspoken hint that perhaps he strayed in their past, and thus he feels that he should abide by every decision she makes because he owes her for her loyalty through the bad times.

comment #6

Rothchild says ...

It wasn't unspoken, unless I saw a different cut than you did.

comment #7

Mr B says ...

And Jesse James is only number 16, so I give as much credence to this list as any popular rag. So what's your point?

comment #8

Mario Borroto says ...

I am not completely convinced by this list. For one thing, it places No Country For Old Men at the top. While this would have been a reasonable position for it to take around November, a month later people are starting to realize that it is not the best film of the year.

Keep in mind that a lot more critics have reviewed movies like No Country for Old Men than There Will Be Blood. Yet, interestingly enough, almost every publication that has had the time to review it has claimed it to be the film of the year or a serious contender. Politics of the critics' awards aside, I don't think No Country for Old Men will retain a reputation as the year's best.

As for Zodiac... Well, that's another story.

comment #9

berg says ...

I dont get the love for the RAT ... it was okay but really between that and Bee Movie, talk about kid stuff

comment #10

K. Bowen says ...

"A month later people are starting to realize that [NCfOM]'s not the best film of the year?" What's your evidence, exactly?

He has the names. He has the rankings by those names. That's pretty convincing.

comment #11

Balthazar says ...

I just read the glowing, gushing review of There Will Be Blood from Newsday and it says the movie is rated PG-13. Is that possible?!?!

comment #12

berkguru says ...

JEFF, just saw ONCE. Beautiful movie. My wife and I loved it. You were dead on with that one. Easily top 5 of the year.

comment #13

T. Holly says ...

Balthazar, Rottentomatoes says R. I thought I was the only one who read Newsday, good to know otherwise. To my surprise, the movie works even better on DVD, because on the small screen, I focused more on the performances. Q: Has any other movie had the balls to end with "I'm finished." And it's not said all morose like, "I done with," but like the actor and director saying, "the end."

comment #14

berkguru says ...

By the way, here is my top 6 for 2007:

1. There Will Be Blood

2. Zodiac

3. Once

4. Assassination of Jesse James

5. The Namesake

6. Michael Clayton

OVERATED for 2007:

No Country for Old Men - reading the book killed it for me - movie doesnt add anything

Beowulf

Juno

Charlie Wilson's War

3:10 to Yuma

comment #15

berkguru says ...

Also note that Sopranos, Brotherhood, Californication and Dexter fill out my top 10 list for the year

comment #16

T. Holly says ...

Best movie of the year is a tie between Lust, Caution and I'm Not There. Both swept me away. Nothing else compares.

comment #17

Ray says ...

Jeff, "Zodiac" was a fine movie, but its pacing was off. It was also too long.

You need to get over this unrelenting fixation for "Zodiac." It was not nearly the best film of this year.

www.therecshow.com

comment #18

romeoisbleeding says ...

For what it is worth, the newest Entertainment Weekly features 2 sections of top ten movies and Zodiac is ranked on both lists. One other personal note. I think alot of people are just discovering this movie on DVD. At my work Christmas party last weekend, Zodiac was the one movie that was talked about the most and with the most admiration and zeal. And I did not start the discussion! I work at a book store with a lot of movie snobs and the talk was very intense and fascinating dissecting the movie scene by scene. I hate the fact that it has not gotten any critic awards yet but I still have to insist that this movie will stand the test of time and be a classic while a lot of the so called best of this year will fall by the way side in the years to come. Zodiac will be the one discussed and viewed in film classes.

comment #19

pchu says ...

I like Zodiac, but didn't love it, does it make me a bad person?

I will do a top 10 list after I watch: There will be blood, I am not There, The Savages, Sweeney Todd. But the following ones are pretty damn good:

Live of Others, Diving Bell and The Butterfly, No Country For Old Men, Before the Devil knows you are dead, Away From Her, Into the Wild, Michael Clayton, Gone Baby Gone, Juno, Away From Her, The Lookout.