Omitted

I need to mention that I saw The Visitor last night, and, if it didn't mess with the flow of my Top 8 of '08 list, I would've added it. But 'Top 9 of '08' doesn't carry the same tune, does it?

I'd heard good things about The Visitor, but it fell off my radar until recently, and Richard Jenkins being nominated for a Best Actor Oscar a week ago rekindled my interest. Jenkins really pulls your strings in this coming-of-age film. His character is sort of in deep-hybernation throughout most of the running time, and it's only upon contact with a foreign couple squatting in his Manhattan apartment that he slowly starts to thaw. You really don't appreciate how good he is here until you've seen his comedic turn in Step Brothers (also released last year). In The Visitor , his character is the 'straight man' in every way. It's interesting to see how far this character-actor's range can stretch between two very different films. If you pick up the film, which I highly recommend you do, pay attention. Thomas McCarthy directed it and he also directed The Station Agent - another coming-of-age story about unlikely friendships and bonds.

While my "Top 8" list might have been somewhat preemptive, I'll notch this one under Runner Up for the time being. We'll see how it ages.

My Turn

The Academy Award nominations are in, and the only surprise is that they were actually able to scrounge together five films worthy of the Best Picture title. I don't agree with their selections. But who ever does? 2008 was the poor man's film year. It was the Diet Coke to 2007's Coke Classic. You can call it the same thing and say it's better for you, but in exchange for your hard earned cash and a little slice of your soul you know all you're really going to get is a watered down beverage that'll give you bad gas and unpleasant memories. 2008 never really had a chance. Following a year populated by the likes of There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, Zodiac and Ratatouille, I suppose we were lucky to even find a few bright spots in the night sky. And few there were. So few that writing a Top Ten List is difficult. I've had to think about it a lot. I won't cheat by placing unworthy titles into this list just to hit 10. But I promise to stick to even numbers. I don't get paid to think, but if I did this list would have made me rich. Here's where the cards would fall were I writing the dialogue:

8 BEST OF '08

1. The Wrestler
Mickey Rourke's performance is reason enough, but the ringside brutality and tracking shots where we follow Rourke's hulking, sloped shoulders into meat markets and strip clubs notch this baby at numero uno.

2. The Dark Knight
A perfect follow-up to Batman Begins, Chris Nolan was able to take every storyline that's ever worked in a Batman comic and gangster flick and blend them into a chocolate milkshake from hell. Oh, and I guess Heath Ledger's Joker was OK, too.

3. Let the Right One In
Twilight sucks this movie's...blood. Sure, kid vampires are kinda scary, but when they rip the heads off of adolescent bullies and toss them into swimming pools? Bliss.

4. Wall-E
I was choked up throughout this beautiful, touching film. The whole time filled with fuzzy warmth and the urge to hug the person sitting next to me in the theater. I did not know this person. I did not hug him.

5. Synecdoche, New York
Didn't love it when I first saw it, but the damn thing grew on me like an unexpected nose hair. Andy Kaufman being handed the keys to unleash the insanity of his mind upon the film world is like getting a call on a Sunday and finding out you never have to go to work again.

6. Transsiberian
A movie that takes place on a train running from China to Moscow, but not without a few murders and cover-ups along the way was such a cool concept. No fancy bells and whistles, just a good, edge-of-your seat thriller.

7. Milk
I was kind of annoyed by Sean Penn's performance at first, but by the end of the film he breaks your heart. Everything about the filmmaking hit me the right way. The supporting cast, especially Josh Brolin and James Franco, were top notch. I love Gus Van Sant and he didn't disappoint here.

8. Gran Torino
Say what you will about the choppy acting from the non-pro actors. I'm not an Eastwood hater, and I'm not an Eastwood apologist. I love his Man With No Name Spaghetti Western trilogy and Dirty Harry, and Eastwood in this film is Eastwood from those films. A grizzly old bad-ass who wants to sit on his front porch with a shotgun and a bottle of Jack and pick-off anyone who dares ring his doorbell. I like this film.

Sue me. I may be the only person on the planet who didn't love Slumdog Millionaire and who liked Gran Torino. I make no apologies. And for the record, I would have included Revolutionary Road in the above category because of Thomas Newman's score...but I'm not that cheap.

2008 Reading List

Butterfly in the sk...I wouldn't do that to you!

I'll always remember 2008 as the year I gave my eyes a different kind of work-out. No longer were they molested and battered by endless frames of film on a silver and plasma screen. No, 2008 brought upon the heavy reading my eyes so loathed at first. Like the morning sun spearing the eye of a sleeping vampire. And there's one man to blame. Stephen King.

When I first started this blog thing (not a diary, damnit!), I wrote about how Mr. King's part biography / part instruction manual really gave me the jump start I needed to plow into some heavy reading I'd been putting off. Because of him, this year has brought on some pretty great adventures. I'll list all the ones I read, in the order I read them, along with some ratings should anyone get curious:

STEPHEN KING: ON WRITING by Stephen King (Excellent)
RED HARVEST by Dashiell Hammett (Excellent)
THE DAIN CURSE by Dashiell Hammett (Good)
THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy (Excellent)
THE MALTESE FALCON by Dashiell Hammett (Very Good)
THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF CAVALIER & CLAY by Michael Chabon (Excellent)
THE BODY by Stephen King (Very Good)
WISE BLOOD by Flannery O'Connor (Good)
DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS by Walter Mosley (Excellent)
A RED DEATH by Walter Mosley (Very Good)
R.L.'S DREAM by Walter Mosley (Good)
WATCHMEN by Alan Moore (Excellent)
WHITE BUTTERLY by Walter Mosley (Very Good)

These were the books that occupied my time, my thoughts, and informed my writing this year. I read a lot of Walter Mosley to get into the mood of the script I just finished. Somewhere in the process I got hooked. The ink in his pen bleeds noir. I read a lot of Hammett for his use of crime and noir conventions. This year I'd like to add a little more Stephen King and Arthur C. Clarke to the pile. To some the above list might look slight. To me, it's a tower. Admittedly I'm a slow reader. Baby steps, people! I'll post my "2009 To Read" list soon. But in the meantime...Happy New Year!