Fareed's Top 10 Movies of 2008

With the Oscars upon us and "The Reader" set to pick up a Best Picture win (*kidding*), it seems appropriate to list my top 10 movies of 2008.

1. The Dark Knight

Grand filmmaking at its most ambitious and intelligent. For a longer defense of the fil’s merits check out my editorial:

http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/02/19/22799/

For reasons I don't quite understand, the people at Domino's pizza presented the most riveting and thematically rich preview of the movie:

2. Waltz with Bashir

This stunning animated Israeli documentary beautifully captures the visceral chaos of history. Director Ari Folman smartly uses the innocuous side of the animated medium to completely immerse the audience within the mindsets of soldiers caught within a frightening and pointless war. The inclusion of live-action documentary footage at the end of the film makes for one the most emotionally devastating moments in cinema this year.

3. Gran Torino

Over the past decade, Clint Eastwood has been on an artistic role producing consistently taught and remarkably poignant work. "Gran Torino" serves as a moving tribute to both Eastwood's career and his transformation from brusque action hero to perceptive artist. That it received no Oscar nods cements this work as an underrated masterpiece.

4. Man on Wire

The story of the peculiar Phillip Petit's mission to walk on a tight rope between the two World Trade Center towers could have been nothing more than a 90 minute curiosity. Like Werner Herzog, documentarian James Marsh proves capable of capturing the inspiring beauty that lies at the core of his subject's eccentric quest. To quote from my original review," “Man on Wire” stands as a beautiful testament to an impossible dream and a quiet love letter to the majesty of New York City."

5. Let the Right One In

The Swedish gem was not only one of the best vampire film of 2008, it was also one of the finest examples of world cinema. Its story of a young boy meeting a girl-turned-vampire masterfully explored the horrors of childhood while delivering a truly haunting genre experience. See it now before it gets its planned American remake.

6. Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Woody Allen's oh-so-charming "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" is sexy without showing more than an ounce of skin, engaging without being intellectually pompous. A film of boundless energy and vigor.

7. Happy-go-lucky

Sally Hawkins delivers the finest female performance of the year in Mike Leigh's fantastic film that explores the dark side of ebullience.

8. In Bruges

A textbook example of how to effectively walk the line between film genres. This deftly scripted film about two hit men who find themselves holed up in Belgium is at once tragic, hilarious and oddly surreal.

9. A Christmas Tale

French director Arnaud Desplechin crafts a disquieting Kafkaesque tale of family dysfunction that is elevated by the electric chemistry between Catherine Deneuvre and Mathieu Amalric as a mother-son pair who despise each other. Rarely has hate been rendered so palpable on the screen.

10. The Wrestler

While Mickey Rourke deserves every bit of praise he's received for his stunning portrayal as a fallen professional wrestler, the film is a wonderful showcase for Darren Aronofsky. His appropriately brutal imagery boldly illuminates the art behind the spectacle. If that wasn’t enough, the film features the most moving endings in recent memory.

Most underrated movie of the year: Che

A difficult, often misunderstood epic about the guerrilla leader Che Guevara that eschews cheap emotional theatrics for real insight into the tragically misguided leader. Hopefully, it will be rediscovered in years to come.

A Cinematic Predecessor to "Slumdog" ?

To celebrate the Oscars, I wanted to present a possible precursor to "Slumdog Millionaire" that has been much lauded for the seemingly out-of-nowhere Bollywood dance at the end of the film. It reminded me of the samurai film “Zatoichi” made in 2004 by Japanese auteur Takeshi Kitano:

Keep in mind that this finale follows a relatively conventional though sharply directed samurai film. The result of this juxtaposition? A sublime and joyous scene.

Belated but still timely review of 'Milk'

The other day, I entered Small World Coffee to have my soy latte fix, only to spot Alison Pill (the actress in ‘Milk’ who plays the lesbian Anne Kronenberg active in Harvey Milk’s campaign) relaxing with a coffee in hand and a Labyrinth bag leaning against her extended calf. I could not contain myself any longer. I had to know. I approached her, and found that she was a pleasant and charmingly awkward individual. She helped me confirm my longstanding belief: Gus Van Sant was an amazing director.

Many consider Van Sant to be the auteur of our time, versed with a distinctive perspective that caters to an esoteric, arthouse audience while still able to traverse the gap into the mainstream Hollywood arena. With the biopic ‘Milk’, the acclaimed director of Oscar winning ‘Good Will Hunting’ and ‘Elephant’, has delivered another tour de force.

It is not difficult to compare Van Sant’s efforts in supplying a forceful dent to the perceptions of conventional society with Harvey Milk’s own achievements. It is also inevitable, post-Prop 8, to regard the film ‘Milk’ as an invigorating stimulation for the gay community enraged by the de-evolution of human progress and acceptance in California. ‘Milk’ is thus, not only a reenactment of an individual’s life, but also a political beacon, the torch whose display of splendor does not disappoint. The awards and nominations it has garnered so far can attest to that.

The opening scenes of the film set the tone, where Harvey Milk (Sean Penn in another astounding performance) picks up Scott Smith (James Franco) in a subway station to avoid spending another birthday alone. They spend the night at Milk’s and formulate a new resolution: to move to San Francisco, make a difference in the gay community, and peel away from the confines of the closet.

‘Milk’ is very much a collaborative effort between director and ensemble performers. Penn, in a role that requires a 180 degree turn from his award-winning Byronic character in ‘Mystic River’, portrays a flamboyantly vociferous figure to perfection. Playing a distraught and neglected ‘housewife’, Franco withdraws from the comfort zone once again and absolutely delivers. Supplement this with Emile Hirsch’s ex-gigolo turned aid, and the cast is unbeatable. Even the ever chameleon-like Josh Brolin, last seen in Oliver Stone’s ‘W.’ and ‘No Country for Old Men’, was able to pull off a disappointingly flat character and transform it into an individual wrought with insecurities and anger.

The extensive interpolation of conventional film, Super-8 film and archival, 60s footage provides a congenial quality that reminds one of neglected memories, of lost childhood, love and encounters. One of the strongest moments in the film is when the camera zooms out of Penn and Franco locked in an intimate and passionate kiss, by a sign stating ‘we are open’ in reference to their newly opened camera shop, unafraid of outsider persecution. The moment grainy quality that seems to capture fragility and nostalgia of the time.

Ten years down the road however, this film will likely be forgotten because it falls victim to its own forceful message. It is so oversaturated with gay rights themes that after 2 hours of repetition, the characters and voice of the film become quite one-dimensional. At times it seems like we were watching a crusader movie. Even Dan White’s already underdeveloped motive for killing Milk and the Mayor George Mascone, is overshadowed by the dominant spirit of gay activism. While the film flimsily suggests White’s homosexual tendencies, it felt inadequate. Perhaps a double bill in the vein of the ‘Flag of Our Fathers’ and ‘Letters from Iwo Jima’ is needed to expound the interesting background of White’s emotional and psychological turmoil.

Nonetheless, while it lasts, ‘Milk’ is an epic effort by the maverick Gus Van Sant, and would definitely collect many awards come Oscar day.

Paws: Four our of Five
Pros: Great acting, distinctive filmmaking and beautifully filmed scenes.
Cons: Over-saturation of gay rights theme gets tedious after 2 hours.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unu-9vM9VZw