I can't say this is a list of the best films of the year, only the best ones I actually saw. There Will Be Blood and Persepolis have yet to open in the heartland, lots of films never played here at all and...well, let's just say life got in the way sometimes, and moviegoing wasn't always a priority.
Many movies I wanted to like just didn't do much for me (like Zodiac, a very fine film in many ways, yet fatally undermined by Jake Gyllenhaal's amazingly bland performance in a key role), and I was surprised to find some merit in things I'd assumed would be terrible (I wouldn't say In The Land Of Women is good, exactly, but it has a genuine point of view, and individual scenes are extremely well handled by writer-director Jon Kasdan). Many movies were underrated (Alpha Dog) and many, many overrated (The Host, Knocked Up, Eastern Promises). Most were simply time-killers, and about halfway through the latest Pirates Of the Caribbean extravaganza, I found myself wondering whether I'd ever enjoy a movie again.
Things did get better, as this list will show.
1. Sweeney Todd. Tim Burton took Stephen Sondheim's celebrated stage musical and made it his own, streamlining the book, pruning the score but still respecting its basic carpentry. The operatic leanings of Sondheim's score are transformed into something much more raw, but equally valid, and Burton's direction never feels stagy--the fluid staging (particularly of Pretty Women and the throat-slashing reprise of Johanna) and carefully chosen use of color (mostly blues and grays, with subtle hints of yellow and bright, vivid red) may not be intentional homages to Vincente Minnelli, but this is the best film musical he never directed.
2. Bug. William Friedkin's intense, claustrophobic adaptation of a play by Tracy Letts tracks the downward spiral of two damaged souls as they descend into absolute madness...or, in their minds, fulfill their ultimate purpose. Equal parts squirm-inducing and heartbreaking, with the performances of Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon as good as anything seen on screen all year.
3. No Country For Old Men. As I've said before, Joel and Ethan Coen have always seemed like the filmmaking equivalent to Steely Dan's Donald Fagen and Walter Becker: Technically proficient, even brilliant, responsible for many things I love unreservedly...yet always willing to resort to sarcasm or irony whenever actual emotions threaten to rear their heads. Happily, in this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel, the Coens manage to deliver both a crackerjack thriller and a somber meditation on the nature of change.
4. Ratatouille. If Brad Bird's second film for the Pixar empire isn't quite as ambitious (or as good) as his first, The Incredibles, it's more precise, more direct in both emotions and effects. Possibly inspired by its French setting, Bird's staging of several comedic set pieces is worthy of Jacques Tati. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll ache for fine food.
5. Hairspray. Hey, no one could be more surprised than me that the director of The Pacifier and Bringing Down The House made one of my favorite movies of the year, but there you go. Adam Shankman's upbeat adaptation of the Broadway hit featured great songs, dance numbers both well-staged and well-shot and a number of big laughs. None of that might have mattered without the tremendous presence of Nikki Blonsky, whose disarmingly sincere performance in the lead gives heart to what could have been raucous camp.
Beyond these five, which I could watch again anytime, were Sidney Lumet's intense drama Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, Michael Moore's surprisingly overlooked Sicko, Ben Affleck's fine adaptation of Dennis Lehane's Gone, Baby, Gone and Julian Temple's thoughtfully assembled Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten. I should also mention Craig Brewer's supremely weird Black Snake Moan, for its weird mix of trashiness and sincerity, for it's utter unpredictability (its storyline and tone were all over the map), for its fine performances...but mostly for featuring a skimpily-dressed Christina Ricci. For her, um, presence alone, it was a great year at the movies.
