comment #1

EDouglas says ...

Wow, surprised you haven't see Waltz... that's been playing a lot since before Toronto, almost TOO MUCH...

Yeah, and don't forget Yes Man... that should be Jim Carrey's best performance since his last movie.... and Bedtime Stories... surely there's a place in your list for an Adam Sandler family film, right? :)

comment #2

EDouglas says ...

Incidentally, about 8 or 9 of the movies you've listed are either in my Top 10 or rate a 9/10 or above in my book so we're mostly on the same page.

comment #3

roquentin says ...

The Visitor above that entire list? It's an very good film with a very good performance at its center, but its much too tidy and contained to rank so high. It felt like an earnest late 90s drama...it hit every beat pretty predictably (and yet was effecting). But a lot of those films you subsequently list are invested with much more magic, if I may use the term, than the Visitor. Chalk this up as your "every critic must make a stand for a film that's not as popular" along with Che...I just wish, like the filmmaker who crowned Transsiberean (again, an above average film) one of the year's greatest, that you hadn't chosen such a film that deserves modest praise.

comment #4

Mark says ...

The Visitor lacked 'magic'? WTF does that even mean? It may have hit all the beats, but not one of them was a false one. (Not nearly as false, e.g., as the love interest in Slumdog remaining sweet and faithful.)

comment #5

oranthal james says ...

You are an insufferable tool Jeffrey. Kill yourself - today - PLEASE.

comment #6

jackfly11 says ...

Good list but nevertheless missing in action:

Synecdoche, New York (Wells fecal issues aside, this is the film of 2008); Hunger (fecal issues again - I get it, but still?); Let the Right One In; In Bruges; I've Love You So Long

comment #7

Chase Kahn says ...

What's with the BUTTON freefall, you had it above DOUBT, SLUMDOG, MILK, etc two weeks ago...

And THE VISITOR is way too high -- Jenkins is great, the movie is great...not THAT great...

comment #8

lonniechung says ...

THE VISITOR should be way up there, but so should LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, IN BRUGES and BURN AFTER READING. The latter was so under appreciated, that I almost skipped it altogether. Instead, I found it to be one of the funniest movies I've seen in the last few years.

comment #9

roquentin says ...

By magic I meant the air of something revelatory, of something brilliant and inventive, as in Wall E, Sean Penn's performance in Milk, Heath Ledger, the feeling of watching the tight-rope Icarus in Man on Wire attempt the WTC feat. The Visitor lacked it. It has its charms, but it doesn't have that thing that lights up great movies. Slumdog Millionaire had it in moments, but it too as well was too tidy, especially in its Forrest Gump fairytale structure. Not a false note does not a great movie make.

comment #10

DarthCorleone says ...

Glad you put Man On Wire that high. It remains my favorite of the year. (I haven't seen the almighty Che, of course.) And after your early skepticism about Revolutionary Road, you now have me very excited about it.

comment #11

bachelorcool says ...

No Changeling?

comment #12

guylodge says ...

Considering that only a couple of months ago, you said "I've Loved You So Long" had shot to the top of your list of the year's best, I'm surprised not to see it here. An oversight, or has the film faded for you, Jeff? Just curious.

comment #13

Doug says ...

I know it's a whiny old argument no one wants to hear anymore, but is it necessary to give directors possessory credit even here? It might be fair to call it Chris Nolan's "The Dark Knight," but Ron Howard's "Frost/Nixon"? Really?

comment #14

Renfield says ...

My top film of the year: "Let The Right One In"

comment #15

TKC says ...

"Not for lack of trying"? So, was "Cadillac Records" the screening with the awful publicist?

comment #16

Chase Kahn says ...

Good observation TKC-- could be...

comment #17

TVMCCA says ...

DarthCorleone wrote:
And after your early skepticism about Revolutionary Road, you now have me very excited about it.

SawRR last night, liked it overall but the suburban anomie/wishing to escape tropes have been explored by Mr. and Mrs. Mendes before in AMERICAN BEAUTY and LITTLE CHILDREN respectively. But, to be fair, performances are uniformly good and the film lacks the Alan Ball smugness that marred BEAUTY. Only real complaint is that the tag ending involving Kathy Bates' character ought to have been cut.

comment #18

Matthew Lucas says ...

"Waltz with Bashir" is definitely up there for me. You should definitely see it as soon as you get the chance.

comment #19

K. Bowen says ...

Frost/NIxon? Ugh.

No Rachel Getting Married. No In Search of a Midnight Kiss. No Let the RIght One In.

Man on Wire is obviously a good choice. It's in my top spot at the moment.

comment #20

arturobandini2 says ...

That's a very small percentage of foreign-language films on your list (3 out of 16); in reality, the ratio of good international flicks to American ones is usually the reverse. Let the Right One In, I've Loved You So Long, Tell No One, Ashes of Time Redux, Flight of the Red Balloon, even Boarding Gate I'd see a second time before I'd watch The Dark Knight twice.

comment #21

thevisceral says ...

You are all stupid and wrong about everything you say.

comment #22

Pinko Punko says ...

Jeff just forgot "I've Loved You So Long"- I think usually there are one or two forgets. I enjoyed Slumdog Millionaire in many places, and it was certainly superior to the films it's being compared to for the pigeon-holed indie hit Oscar slot (like previous indie hits Little Miss Sunshine, etc). However, it can't be compared with Man on Wire, a film that is perfect and as well done as any documentary could possibly hope to be.

comment #23

lipranzer says ...

I don't know if FROST/NIXON will end up on my top 10 list (too many films to see yet), but it's a damn good movie, I thought. Sure, it's an actor's showcase rather than a cinematic one, but when the acting is that good, it's hard for me to complain.

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, on the other hand, I agree is overrated. It's not the girl remaining faithful I minded so much as the character not have much to do except look pretty. I do hope that Bollywood number gets nominated for Best Song, though.

comment #24

TVMCCA says ...

lipranzer wrote:
I don't know if FROST/NIXON will end up on my top 10 list (too many films to see yet), but it's a damn good movie, I thought. Sure, it's an actor's showcase rather than a cinematic one, but when the acting is that good, it's hard for me to complain.

It's Ron Howard's WAG THE DOG.

comment #25

actionman says ...

I still haven't seen a lot of key releases, but here's my top 10 so far:

Tarsem’s THE FALL
Charlie Kaufman’s SYNECDOCHE, NY
Christopher Nolan’s THE DARK KNIGHT
Andrew Stanton’s WALL*E
Jonathan Demme’s RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
David Gordon Green’s SNOW ANGELS
Werner Herzog’s ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
Ben Stiller’s TROPIC THUNDER
Clint Eastwood’s CHANGELING
Martin McDonagh’s IN BRUGES

comment #26

TheJERMSguy says ...

My top two of the year are in Jeff's list, but my #3 is The Bank Job, the best heist movie of the decade.

comment #27

actionman says ...

The Bank Job was very tight; it's in my second grouping.

comment #28

qwiggles says ...

Yeah, how'd Button end up in 13th place? I remember a comment provisionally ranking it in your top 5, but now I can't seem to locate it.

comment #29

rgmax99 says ...

I'm wondering if In Bruges had been released in the fall, would it not be receiving more kudos and attention?

It's a wonderful movie and features Colin Farrell's best performance.

comment #30

Bocephus says ...

Standard Operating Procedure? It's Errol fucking Morris!

The man delivers every single time and rarely gets the love he deserves. Encounters at the End of the World was lesser Herzog, sure, but there is no such thing as "lesser Morris."