Ebert Weighs in with His Top 20 of 2008
You can't hold Roger to a measly ten films!
Roger Ebert has gone against the negative chatter saying 2008 is a dismal year for film and declared it "a great year for movies" as he has unveiled his top 20 films of 2008. Why 20 instead of the traditional ten? Well, as he puts it, "I am violating the age-old custom that film critics announce the year's 10 best films, but after years of such lists, I've had it. A best films list should be a celebration of wonderful films, not a chopping process." I guess he felt rather strong about that in the past as he had 10 films "tie for 11th place" in 2007 as he listed the following ten last year as 2007's best:
- Juno
- No Country for Old Men
- Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
- Atonement
- The Kite Runner
- Away From Her
- Across the Universe
- La Vie en Rose
- The Great Debaters
- Into the Wild
Nope, this year Roger has "had it" and he isn't even listing his films in any order other than alphabetical. No #1 film for Roger. So how does it bang out? Check it out below:
- Ballast
- The Band's Visit
- Che
- Chop Shop
- The Dark Knight
- Doubt
- The Fall
- Frost/Nixon
- Frozen River
- Happy-Go-Lucky
- Iron Man
- Milk
- Rachel Getting Married
- The Reader
- Revolutionary Road
- Shotgun Stories
- Slumdog Millionaire
- Synecdoche, New York
- W.
- WALL•E
It's a good list and he caps it off saying his "Special Jury Prize" goes to Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg as well as a list of his top five documentaries:
- Encounters at the End of the World
- I.O.U.S.A.
- Man on Wire
- Standard Operating Procedure
- Trouble the Water
Of the films on Ebert's Top 20 I still have not seen Che, Ballast, Chop Shop, The Band's Visit and Shotgun Stories, but I expect copies of Che and Ballast to be in my hot little hands next week. As for the others I can't tell you if I will ever get to them by year's end, there's only so many movies oen can see in a year and still manage to maintain their sanity.
As for my personal top ten I expect it will drop some time between December 17 and December 22. I will finally see Gran Torino on the 16th and it will mark the final film of 2008 for me to see. For Ebert's film-by-film explanation of his selections click here.
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I can't even come up with a good top 10 for 2008 at this point. Normally I'd make a top 25 list (which I had absolutely no problems making last year), but I don't know if this year will even merit that.
I think I've given 7 films 4 stars at this point, with 5-10 more movies to see that have a legitimate shot at a 4 star review…so who knows, maybe I'll be blown away by some stuff at the end of the year, but as of right now "The Dark Knight" and "In Bruges" stand tall far above the rest.
Only two films actually blew me away this year: Wall-E & The Dark Knight; however, I've yet to see Milk, TCOBenjamin Button, Doubt, Gran Torino, The Reader, Revolutionary Road or Slumdog Millionaire…..so I guess I need to get to my local Theater a bit more often.
I believe that Frost/Nixon and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, once I've viewed them, will quickly make it into my Top Ten Films of 2008.
@Josh: I really don't think there are a lot of films that will blow anyone away, I think it is going to be one here and there. For me personally Benjamin Button was phenomenal, but that opinion obviously isn't everyone's as Ebert doesn't even have it in his top ten. What I think most people will agree on, though, is there are a lot of "good" films, films that people like.
Ebert has proven in 2008 that he will like A LOT of films released, just read his Lakeview Terrace review, he basically made up an entirely different movie in his mind. This is fine in my opinion, primarily because Ebert is one of the best reviewers at letting people know exactly why he likes/hates a film. His reviews leave very little ambiguity when it comes to how he reached his verdict.
i know a lot of people are going to say this but my #1 for 2008 is dark knight my #1 most anticipated for 2009 is a three way tie between transformers 2, wolverine, and watchmen although i can't see watchmen until it comes out on dvd because i'm not 17 so i have to watch it when my moms not home
I saw the Band's Visit at a little indie theatre earlier this year and was very pleasantly surprised. It's a great Israeli film, full of subtle humor mixed with drama. Definitely should check it out.
I like lists and i'm sure Ebert knows a thing or two about compiling them but i just can't see THERE WILL BE BLOOD anywhere.
Think its possible he may be mistaken
How is it that EVERYONE has forgotten "In Bruges?"
@ja’acabou: Why is it always assumed people "forgot" about a movie instead of just didn't like it as much as you may have? I have never understood this…