Film Comment Names "Wendy and Lucy" Best Film

My favorite cinema magazine "Film Comment" has named its top 50 films of 2008. The voters included my good friend Bilge Ebiri and many other respected film critics, including Amy Taubin, Nathan Lee, Godfrey Chesire, Wesley Morris and Mark Olsen among many others.

Here are the top ten films as chosen by "Film Comment." The critics chose "Wendy and Lucy" (pictured) as the best film. Needless to say many of these films, with the exception of "Wall-E" have not played in towns like Burlington, NC, or Danville, Va. The *s indicate films I have seen:


1. "Wendy and Lucy" (dir. Kelly Reichardt)

2. "Flight of the Red Balloon" (Taiwan/France, dir. Hou Hsia-hsien)

3. "A Christmas Tale" (France- Arnaud Desplechin)

4. "Happy-Go-Lucky" (dir. Mike Leigh)*

5. "WALL-E" (dir. Andrew Stanton)*

6. "Still Life" (China, dir. Jia Zhiang-ke)

7. "Paranoid Park" (dir. Gus Van Sant)

8. "Waltz with Bashir" (Israel, dir. Ari Folman)

9. "My Winnipeg" (Guy Maddin)

10. "Milk" (Gus Van Sant)

My Friends' Top 10 Movies of the Year Lists

This is a complimentary entry to my top 10 films of the year list, which I posted on The Daily Vampire (see links).

First, I will start with the Top 10 list from my friend Joe Scott of Greensboro, NC, who hosts a radio movie show in the Gate City. He will also be presenting the vintage 1986 David Bowie flick "Labyrinth" at Carousel Cinemas in Greensboro on
Jan. 7.

I will mark the films I've seen with a star, and mark the ones that made my top 10 list with two stars.

"The Dark Knight"**
"Revolutionary Road"
"Man on Wire" (doc)
"Rachel Getting Married"*
"Let the Right One In" (Sweden)
"Milk"**
"The Wrestler"
"Doubt"**
"The Wackness"*
"Shotgun Stories"

Next, I will present the top 10 films of my friend and film blogger Phil Nugent, who lives in New York (I am jealous, but I know the rent is higher!). I wanted to see one film on his list at the Varsity Theatre in Chapel Hill, NC, but couldn't because of time constraints. I will mark that film with a number sign. He presented his list in alphabetical order:

"Before I Forget" (France)
"Chop Shop"
"A Christmas Tale" (France)
"The Class" (France)
"The Dark Knight"**
"The Edge of Heaven" (Germany/Turkey)**
"The Order of Myths"
"The Secret of the Grain" (Belgium)
"Synedoche, New York"#
"Wall-E"*

Useful Links:

http://www.nerve.com/CS/blogs/screengrab/default.aspx

(for Phil)

http://themovieshow.blogspot.com/

(for Joe)