THE BEST
The Wrestler Mickey Rourke’s heartbreaking Golden Globe speech — in which he thanked his dogs for being the only ones who were there for him during his long slump — is bupkus compared to his astounding performance as a wrestler forced to retire and cope with his own insignificance. Rourke’s Randy “The Ram” Robinson will resonate with us for a long time.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Despite being an excessive two hours and 46 minutes long, David Fincher’s meandering film is a hauntingly beautiful tale of the fickleness of time, and of love’s tragic inability to overcome all obstacles. Seeing Brad Pitt look 20-years-old again doesn’t hurt either.
Gran Torino This is Eastwood’s last leading role, and what a way to end a career. With the help of the local Hmong community, most of whom had never acted, Eastwood constructs a friendship between an unlikely duo that illuminates the heart beneath his character’s crusty exterior. A contrived ending doesn’t detract from the film’s poignant message about the influence people have on each other.
Frost/Nixon No doubt capitalizing on his stint in Dave, Frank Langella fully embodies the paranoia Nixon was famous for in an electric performance. The series of interviews between Nixon and David Frost, based on the Tony-winning Broadway hit, are realistically-rendered and even prompt a little sympathy for the man who was, in fact, a crook.
Waltz with Bashir Any film about the Middle East inevitably comes with political strings, but this heartrending portrayal of Israel’s first Lebanon War in 1982 somehow manages to transcend the politics. The result is a film that conveys the universal horrors of war: it’s hell, no matter which side you’re on.
Revolutionary Road Ah, Kate and Leo, together again at last. Director Sam Mendes’ adaptation of Richard Yates’ 1961 novel is a touching portrayal of stifling suburban life in the 1950s and both stars turn in powerful performances. Mendes also gets serious points for directing Winslet, his wife, in explicit sex scenes with her best friend, DiCaprio. Not many guys could handle it, Sam, so kudos.
THE REST
Doubt These. Characters. Seriously. Need. To. Stop. Talking. Not even Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman can make endless droning interesting. He molested his students! Wait, no, he didn’t molest his students! Hang on, he may actually have done it! By the end of two hours, it’s really hard to care.
Happy-Go-Lucky The media and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association seem to be having a love affair with Sally Hawkins, the star of this insipid look at a woman who likes her life despite its obvious bleakness, but we’re not sure why. We may just be too cynical to appreciate the heroine’s earnest happiness, but seriously, Sally, your life sucks. Stop being so cheerful. It's really starting to bug us.
Valkyrie Tom Cruise speaks in an American accent. Everyone else speaks in a British one. We felt like we had wandered onto the set of Troy.
Seven Pounds Will Smith is usually untouchable, but this movie, in which the plot is indecipherable for the first three quarters and completely revolting when the “big twist” is finally revealed, was unsalvageable. Oh, Will. You’re going to have to win back our trust by playing Barack Obama in the inevitable biopic.
Yes Man Think Liar Liar, but replace “the truth” with the word “yes.” We can only imagine the brainstorming that went on in the writers’ room.
