Archive for the 'Lists' Category

AJ Schnack on Top Doc Fests

Published
by
James McNally
on February 28, 2008
in Documentaries, Film Festivals and Lists
. 0 Comments

Filmmaker AJ Schnack (Kurt Cobain: About a Son) is putting together his list of the top 25 documentary film festivals in the world, with lots of input from other filmmakers and industry representatives. I was very pleased that Toronto took two places in the top ten, with TIFF coming in at #2 and Hot Docs at #6.

As of this writing, he’s only posted the top ten, but I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the list, and (hopefully) getting to attend some of these festivals in the future.

As a side note, I’m heading to #4 (South by Southwest) in just over a week! Maybe I’ll have a chance to talk up Toronto a little bit with AJ and others while I’m there.

The Best Performances of 2007

Published
by
Moen Mohamed
on February 22, 2008
in Lists
. 2 Comments

In 2007, actors and actresses were presented with challenging roles, many of which garnered much acclaim and bountiful awards. However, the
performance of the year, without a doubt, goes to Casey Affleck for his work in THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD.

Affleck embodies his role with such conviction, intelligence and humanity, that it leaves one in utter amazement. A great performance is able to extract multiple reactions from the audience, and not just empathy, for example. As Robert Ford, Casey Affleck allows the audience to enter his world, but there is always a distance between us and his character. And that distance encompasses tension and unpredictability. The result is an absolutely memorable performance by this relatively new actor and is one of the highlights of this fine film.

BEST ACTORS

  1. CASEY AFFLECK - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
  2. MATHIEU AMALRIC - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
  3. EMILE HIRSCH - Into The Wild
  4. DANIEL DAY-LEWIS - There Will Be Blood
  5. SAM RILEY - Control
  6. RYAN GOSLING - Lars and the Real Girl
  7. PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN - The Savages, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead & Charlie Wilson’s War
  8. GEORGE CLOONEY - Michael Clayton
  9. JOSH BROLIN - No Country For Old Men & American Gangster
  10. SASSON GABAI - The Band’s Visit

BEST SUPPORTING ACTORS

  1. JAVIER BARDEM - No Country For Old Men
  2. VLAD IVANOV - 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
  3. ARMIN MUELLER-STAHL - Eastern Promises
  4. TOM WILKINSON - Michael Clayton
  5. JOHN CARROLL LYNCH - Zodiac
  6. HAL HOLBROOK - Into The Wild
  7. MARTIN PIROYANSKY - XXY
  8. OMAR METWALLY - Rendition
  9. HEATH LEDGER - I’m Not There
  10. CHRISTIAN BALE - I’m Not There

BEST ACTRESSES

  1. ANAMARIA MARINCA - 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
  2. JEON DO-YEON - Secret Sunshine
  3. MARION COTILLARD - La Vie en rose
  4. INES EFRON - XXY
  5. LAURA LINNEY - The Savages

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESSES

  1. TILDA SWINTON - Michael Clayton
  2. SAOIRSE RONAN - Atonement
  3. SAMANTHA MORTON - Control
  4. MARIA BONNEVIE - The Banishment
  5. AMY RYAN - Gone Baby Gone

The Best American Films of 2007

Published
by
Moen Mohamed
on February 21, 2008
in Lists
. 0 Comments

2007 has been a great year for cinema - and American films shone in 2007. The best American films of the harvest were challenging, entertaining, intelligent and insightful. The films on this list spoke to me personally and cinematically. These are my favourite American films of 2007, in order of preference:

  1. THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD - Sublime cinema. This is the best film made about the outlaw (Samuel Fuller’s I SHOT JESSE JAMES comes close). Jesse James is completely deglamourized and exposed in his final years. Although Brad Pitt’s performance is chilling and meritorious, the film belongs, heart and soul, to Casey Affleck, who gives the performance of the year. A truly evocative, poetic and metaphysical piece of film-making. (a different view from TSS’s Jay Kerr)
  2. ZODIAC - A complex, multi-layered, compelling piece of history that works on every level as a film. Meticulously researched, superbly acted and perfectly realised, this film is fiercely intelligent and sadly overlooked.
  3. INTO THE WILD - Sean Penn’s powerful film about individuality, youth and nature. It is a courageous film. Although sad, this film is uplifting if you look in the right places. Emile Hirsch is a revelation.
  4. THERE WILL BE BLOOD - Much has been said about this film and THE performance, but all that aside, this film is an American classic. Instantly. The fact that the ending has divided many people is not exactly a bad thing.
  5. THE SAVAGES - A brilliantly written and acutely observed film. It’s been 10 years since Tamara Jenkins’ SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS, which is a very good film, but I believe THE SAVAGES to be superior. This film draws the viewer close to the quiet moments of making agonizing decisions concerning loved ones and it does so unceremoniously and unsentimentally. But all the same, the emotions are raw.
  6. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (James McNally’s TSS review)
  7. NO END IN SIGHT (James McNally’s TSS review)
  8. THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS (James McNally’s TSS review)
  9. MICHAEL CLAYTON
  10. THE HOAX
  11. THE LOOKOUT
  12. RATATOUILLE
  13. KURT COBAIN: ABOUT A SON
  14. BILLY THE KID (James McNally’s TSS review)
  15. CHOP SHOP
  16. STEEP
  17. THE DARJEELING LIMITED
  18. NANKING
  19. BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD
  20. A MIGHTY HEART
  21. THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
  22. JOSHUA
  23. THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK
  24. 3:10 TO YUMA
  25. MY KID COULD PAINT THAT

Dispatches from Moen

Published
by
James McNally
on February 21, 2008
in Lists
. 0 Comments

After receiving another well-written and insightful, though lengthy, email from my friend Moen, I decided to ask him if I could post it here. You see, Moen is a genuine cinephile. He sees literally HUNDREDS of films a year. So many, in fact, that he wouldn’t have time to blog about them all. But he knows what he likes, and is able to recall details months or years later that I didn’t notice in the first place. Around this time of the year, pre-Oscars, he sends out his selection of great films from the previous year. I’m going to post his list of the best American films of the year, and he promises another email soon with his choices for best performances of the year. I’m sure you’ll enjoy these as much as I do. Please comment and let him know what you think. I’m hoping he’ll be chuffed enough to keep contributing.

The Fifty Greatest Character Actors…Ever!

Published
by
James McNally
on May 2, 2005
in Actors and Lists
. Closed

Dave is putting together a list. He’d better not forget my favourites: Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, M. Emmet Walsh, John Turturro, and the inestimable Jack Kehler.