So I didn't see a lot of films in the cinema... but Thanks to NetFlix I've seen quite a lot of stuff. Here is just a few things that moved me in one way or another this year. The first few are the best, then in no order.
Angels in America (Mike Nichols)- Made for TV, but one of the greatest cinematic epics ever made. An incredible cast and script, makes this ambitious story about AIDS, human nature and the 1980's (no, not like a fluffy VH1 special) brilliant. Funny, tragic, uplifting and very perceptive.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind(Michel Gondry) - Who is that great love that you wish you never met? Music video director Gondry shows why he is a visual genius, and Charlie Kaufman does what he does best.
Head-On (Gegen Die Wand)(Fatih Akin) - A tragi-comedic romance based on 1st-gen Turkish immigrants in Hamburg. It swept all of the German film awards. Just great.
Friday Night Lights (Peter Berg) - I'm no football fan, but this movie really isn't about football. Excellent ensemble cast and beautiful cinematography really made me feel the Texan heat. Also, Explosions in the Sky did the soundtrack!
Hero(Yimou Zhang) - Came out in 2003, but this visual delight (done by Wong Kar-Wai's DOP Christopher Doyle) made me remember how awesome martial arts movies are, and what a joke Tarantino's take on them are. (House of Flying Daggers was a dissapointment).
Collateral(Michael Mann) - I'm usually not a fan of Mann, but this tight no-nonsense movie really entertained me.
Before Sunset(Richard Linklater)- This sequal to Before Sunrise, shows our characters 9 years older and wiser, but no less jaded or confused. I think Linklater is now the most adventurous/consistent American director right now. The last scene with Julie Delpy doing Nina Simone will melt any man. A film about the regret, what if's and fate of love.
Control Room(Jehane Noujaim) - The best doc of the year, really questions the media, the war and everything in between.
Maria Full of Grace(Joshua Marston) - A very touching story about one young lady and the drug trade in Latin America. What makes this so great, is it's ability to make us understand the characters, and why they do the things they do.
Sideways(Alexander Payne) - I'm really surprised at how this movie has caught on. This is a 'guy-movie' on par with Swingers. It's also great to see Sandra Oh getting some props.
The Saddest Music in the World(Guy Maddin) - He showed the direction he was going with that short film for the TIFF years ago. This is a fully realized version of those ideas. One of the most strangest, but intriguing things I've seen in years. Will make you constantly say WTF?
Million Dollar Baby(Clint Eastwood) - I still don't know how Eastwood is making such great work. A great tale of the light and shadows in everyone's life.
POV(Various) - This great showcase of independent docs on PBS is really worth turning on your televsion for. From "Farmingville" to "The Lost Boys of Sudan", I am really struck with the quality of the work done.
AND THE WORST:
Napoleon Dynamite(Jared Hess)- This movie made me feel uncomfortable at times. I didn't laugh once, or smile. Dreadful.
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