I saw a lot of great movies this year. Unfortunately, quite a few of them never got released in this country. They screened at local festivals, but didn't get picked up for commercial exhibition--even by the small, independent distributors who pick up the good stuff that the Hollywood studios and their faux independent subsidiaries, don't … Continue reading The Best Films You Couldn’t See in 2008
Category: Top Ten
Top Ten Films of 2007
I've already told you my Top Ten criteria and shared my thoughts as I worked through the selection process. I've even let you know that I look for variety in quality work when selecting my Top Ten, rather than say that this drama is better than that comedy. (If you don't know what I'm talking … Continue reading Top Ten Films of 2007
Top Ten Preparation, Part V: Final Winnowing
In our last chapter, I managed to get the number of candidates down to 13, despite adding three additional films to the candidates list. Now I must add another, I Am Legend, bringing the number up to 14. So what can I remove? In Part III, I considered the possibility of eliminating La Vie En … Continue reading Top Ten Preparation, Part V: Final Winnowing
Top Ten Preparation, Part IV: Comedies
Click the links for Part I, Part II, and Part III. I have to add another film to my top ten candidates: Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman's wonderfully true-to-life comedy, Juno. And that's handy, because comedy is exactly what I want to talk about in this chapter of my ongoing quest for the Top Ten … Continue reading Top Ten Preparation, Part IV: Comedies
Top Ten Preparation, Part III: Categories
Click the links for Part I and Part II. Last time I discussed this topic, I had 17 possible candidates for the Top Ten. Instead of eliminating seven, however, I've added one: Atonement. Now there are 18! The very concept of a list requires you to say that this film is better than that film. … Continue reading Top Ten Preparation, Part III: Categories
Top Ten Preparation–Part II
Click here for Part I. Last year around this time, I wrote a post about the best festival-only films I'd seen that year. Not a very practical list, as none of these films were readily available to American audiences, but I thought an interesting one. And perhaps, I told myself, my praise might get some … Continue reading Top Ten Preparation–Part II
Top Ten Preparation–Part I
It's December, when movie critics' minds turn to their annual Top Ten lists. We don't actually publish the list until January, but we think about it now. At least I do. and I thought I'd share my thoughts on the subject with you . So let's get started with the rules. To qualify for my … Continue reading Top Ten Preparation–Part I
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