Honorable Mentions of 2008

Not everyone can be a winner. We all know this. Yes we do. Bitter thoughts of childhood floating to the surface of your pond-like, miasma of a psyche---floating to rest on the lily-pads of your memory and expel noxious, flatulent-like odors. At least some of you might relate to that, I don't know.

Since 15=17 to me, I compiled a separate list of honorable films I enjoyed and recommend and will most likely buy if I haven't already, from 2008, that glorious year of life anchored now in the evaporated past. I will go backwards. What's the point of reading on if you already know what number one is? Besides the year Nancy Kerrigan got that silver medal does anyone really ever remember the silver medal winner? Or, more to the point, as I am not wont to do, do you remember the other four films nominated for Best Picture in any given year? You should all be nodding in unison as you read this, as if I was Dr. Phil.

15. A Girl Cut In Two (2007) -- Dir. Claude Chabrol. Stars Benoit Magimel, Ludivine Sagnier. Not the best Chabrol, but Chabrol nonetheless. Based on an American Scandal from the turn of the 20th Century, Chabrol re-tools a waste of film starring Joan Collins (The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing - 1955) and fits it into conservative/bourgeois French upper class criticism.

14. Be Kind Rewind (2008) -- Dir. Michel Gondry. Stars Mos Def, Jack Black, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow, Melonie Diaz, and my lady Sigourney Weaver (in a brief, but integral cameo). Now I know this was considered a turkey, but I found it to be a touching little ode to motion pictures. And who doesn't find Melonie Diaz extremely watchable? She shines here and made me gleefully happy. (Check her out in Hamlet 2 - 2008 or A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints - 2006).

13. Hamlet 2 (2008) -- Dir. Andrew Fleming. Stars Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Elisabeth Shue, David Arquette, Amy Poehler, Melonie Diaz. Fleming also helmed Nancy Drew (2007) -- which I may never see, but he also did a fun little romp called Dick (1999) with Michelle Williams and Kirsten Dunst, which is hilarious. His newest effort wasn't what I was expecting. In other words, I literally cringed at Coogan's every move on screen. He was that embarrassingly good. Catherine Keener is generally stellar and Elisbeth Shue was quite charming as well. I would have liked to ask for more screen time with Amy Poehler, but then, I wasn't in charge.

12. Water Lilies (2007) -- Dir. Celine Sciamma. Stars Pauline Acquart, Louise Blachert. The French really know how to tell dark coming-of-age stories, especially, I've felt, with the females. Comparatively, Sciamma's touching screen debut doesn't break any new ground, but it's engrossing fare, nonetheless. Set in the world of syncopated swimming and 15 year old sexually aggressive females = fierce shit. However, a French-Canadian film I happened to catch in Toronto 2008, Dierrere Moi, dir. Rafael Ouellet, delved into almost exactly the same issues (sans the lesbian overtones of Lilies) to a much greater effect.

11. Tell No One (2006) -- Dir. Guillaame Canet. Canet is quite a well known French actor, and his 2006 thriller based on a Harlan Coben novel finally drifted overseas to a well-received reception with the art-house crowd. I personally found male lead Francois Cluzet a little dull to watch, however the film has plenty of twists and turns (almost too many) and two awesome female supporting performances: Kristin Scott Thomas as Cluzet's lesbian sister-in-law, and the aggressive Nathalie Baye as his lawyer.

10. Elegy (2008) -- Dir. Isabel Coixet. 2008 was a nice year for Penelope Cruz fans. Though she didn't win the Golden Globe as expected for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, she was excellent in both that and this film adaptation of a Philip Roth novel. Coixet is an excellent director, whose film My Life Without Me (2003) is a favorite of mine. I also love how Coixet casts Debbie Harry in her films. And yes, she pops up in this one. Cruz is tragically moving in this, and Ben Kingsley is quite solid as the (maybe unbelievable) love interest. Dennis Hopper, Peter Sarsgaard, and another favorite of mine, Patricia Clarkson also pop up.

09. Ballast (2008) -- Dir. Lance Hammer. Set in the Mississippi Delta, Lance Hammer's quietly affecting drama centers around a suicide that brings some estranged people back together. The film might have made it into my Top films of the year, however, I was a little irritated at the pretentiousness of the director, who popped up for a screening of his film at the Walker. I was also irritated with pretentious audience members at the Walker -- you know the type that shower praise with phrases the director used to describe his own work. It is unfortunate, however, the film is worthy of much praise. Maybe when I see it again (without the presence of highfalutin society members that decry "the Walker is nothing compared to Cannes, darling, and as for Toronto, well if the city weren't so gauche, you know") I will like it better.

08. The Edge of Heaven (2007) -- Dir. Fatih Akin. With a comparative narrative style to Crash (2005) and Babel (2007), which I believe hurt the film, Heaven, at its core, tells the story of two daughters and their mothers, outlining German and Turkish relationships. In the end, the direction, acting, and cinematography work together to overcome the stylized narrative. And whenever a Fassbinder actress is resurrected, I get extremely excited. It was a supreme gift in 2008 to see Hanna Schygulla again in such a celebrated piece of work.

07. Choke (2008) -- Dir. Clark Gregg. Perhaps what Choke may have benefited from would have been a more distinct director. I'm thinking Roman Polanski or David Lynch, if I got to choose. Maybe those wouldn't have worked either. The film does make my honorable mentions probably because I have not read Palahniuk's celebrated cult novel. I was quite entertained with the film, personally. Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston made the film quite watchable, even though I understand that they weren't supposed to be made quite so sympathetic. And it's nice to see Joel Grey is still in good stuff.

06. A Christmas Tale (2008) -- Dir. Arnaud Desplechin. Starring Catherine Deneuve, Chiara Mastroianni, Melvil Poupaud, Mathieu Almaric. I have yet to see Desplechin's Kings & Queen (2004), and I collect Deneuve's films, so you know where I'm coming from. Tale suffers a little from being zany and all over the place--in the end I'm not sure if I really cared about anyone and their inability to bond with their family members. I found it to be quite realistic and enjoyable. Speaking of pretentious, Deneuve exudes this trait a little bit. I just try to avoid reading interviews with her. Into her sixth decade, Deneueve is still a pleasure to watch. Chiara is quite beautiful, too. And I love Melvil Poupaud. I'm,excited for The Broken (2009), and if you haven't seen Broken English (2007) with Parker Posey, please do so.

05. Towelhead (2007) -- Dir. Alan Ball. Starring Toni Collette, Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Summer Bishil. Based on the novel of the same name by Alicia Erian, Ball's (screenwriter of American Beauty - 1999 and "Six Feet Under" - 2001-2005) directorial debut tackled some heavy issues, including pedophilia/statutory rape, burgeoning female sexuality, awful parents, and early 90's Gulf War Politics, not to mention that the film's central character is thirteen year old young woman who happens to be an Arab-American. Pretty impressive for an American film. Summer Bishil, in her first theatrical feature, is an extremely talented young actress. Aaron Eckhart, the second coming of Robert Redford, is such a golden-boy he's hard to despise as the married man wooing his thirteen year old neighbor. Excellent casting choice. And Toni Collette is always so charming when she's playing a sweetie. Especially a pregnant one. Where Towelhead rings false is the tidy little ending. Up until then, it's got some intense moments.

04. Frozen River (2008) -- Dir. Courtney Hunt. Stars Melissa Leo. It's sad to say, but Melissa Leo will probably be eclipsed this awards season by Kate Winslet. Leo gives a realistic performance in Courtney Hunt's intriguing directorial debut. In a climate fearful of immigration and Homeland Security, River makes for compelling cinema, part drama, part thriller.

03. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) -- Dir. Woody Allen. Stars Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Patricia Clarkson. Woody's films are always under scrutiny. He's always piled under his own classic work and he never seems to get a leg up. His latest effort got a lot of attention, mostly due to the sexual dynamics between Johansson, Bardem, and Cruz. (His film immediately before this, Cassandra's Dream (2007) was harpooned by critics, though I thought that was quite decent, especially with Colin Farrell's performance.) Anyhow, Allen's last three have been leagues above several of his efforts from the late 90's, and I would go so far to say that this latest effort is the funniest film Allen has made that he hasn't also starred in since 1994's Bullets Over Broadway. And this is mostly due to the very appealing and insane performance by Penelope Cruz. Good work, all. Yay.

*Have you noticed (because I just did) all the lesbian films in my Honorable Mentions (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Edge of Heaven, Water Lilies, Tell No One)

02. I've Loved You So Long (2008) -- Dir. Philippe Claudel. Stars Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein. Yet another directorial debut to make my list, Claudel gets an amazing performance on film from Scott Thomas. Perhaps I am especially impressed that she's not French and she's so damn good in this. Not to mention her turn in Tell No One. Perhaps a little plodding, perhaps a little simple, this film is very European art-house, but affecting. I'm glad she is getting a load of attention for such a small film.

01. Revolutionary Road (2008) -- Dir. Sam Mendes. Stars Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kathy Bates. Now, I very well could have put this in my top selections, and I almost did. However, beyond the lead performers, there's not a whole lot to the film. While it outlines a decent paradigm of suburban stifling, I rather kept questioning it's 1950's setting. Perhaps Sam Mendes wanted to distance himself from the modern suburban angst of American Beauty? Winslet is awesome as the housewife struggling to break free from the suffocation of her life, and Leo's pretty damn good, too. However, I guess I felt like some realistic reactions were lacking. I felt like Winslet was a very strong woman for that era. Not that I don't love that, but no one ever points it out. The film is set in the mid 1950's. Betty Friedan's "Feminine Mystique" wasn't even published until 1963. My point being, there was no explanation for these angsty feelings and more often than not, medication was prescribed (especially when the depicted relationship devolved to such a degree). I know I'm being picky, but I somehow think Winslet's character would have had, realistically, some additional guff to put up with. However, I felt that Mendes' film had a certain European approach to it's female lead and subject matter that reminded me of Chabrol's The Story of Women (1988). Winslet's performance alone is worth the price of admission. It seems to be her year. The Reader wasn't half bad -- my problem with that being (what also The Boy in the Striped Pajamas suffered from) the fact that all these English-speaking films dealing with the horrors of WWII Germany are being released---I've said this before, but it makes it seem like the Holocaust was a British problem. Anyhow, not a bad year, all in all.