468 replies to this topic

[Bob Loblaw]

BTW, I was kidding.

[Elemeno P.T.]

Thought that seemed strange coming from you.

[nole.kennedy]

6) Gran Torino

Finally someone else gives this movie the love it deserves!

The Searchers of our generation. Stories are similar. Racist a-holes saving kids.

isn't really a reveng picture, nor is it a vigilante film, it's mostly about a most unlikely friendship: between said cranky old racist, and the young Hmong boy next door, whom Kowalski teaches to be a man, or at least his vision of a man. And, Eastwood sings the freaking theme song! I enjoyed this a lot. It should be somwhere in my Top 10.

You've written a good synopis about this film and I agree with just about everything you've said. But I think there is on HUGE element you've left out that I think is the most important thing to take away from this film.

I want to share it but I don't want to spoil it for others. How do you do that black out thing so people have to highlight it to read it?

[Rajexico]

Holy shit! Literally.



I've never seen a more likeable character than Kenny Smythe. Remind me to change the name of our year end thread to "The SOMB Favorite Films" as I just might put this at #1.
He and his father deliver the funniest lines I've seen in a movie this year. Who cares if the final scene seems staged...I had a huge grin on my face from beginning to end. Hell, in a perfect world, all the SOMBIE film lovers could be together right now with a keg of Fosters and pizza boxes stacked to the ceiling as we laugh our asses off and smile along with this great man.
I figure we will get 10-20 more lists posted in this final week. Any chance you get to rent this...I'd love to write the blurb but it's going to need more than the 2 votes it has now. Slack, caley, Lobs- I know your confidence in my recs has taken a hit, but trust me on this one. If it's not at least a film that amuses you, I'm buying the pizza and supplying the toilet paper at the Naperville summer film festival...(ok, so I was planning on hosting this anyway).

I'll second him on this - excellent, funny film. Sort of a mockumentary, but dodges basically all of the really tired post-Guest tropes of the form.

[caley]

6) Gran Torino

Finally someone else gives this movie the love it deserves!

The Searchers of our generation. Stories are similar. Racist a-holes saving kids.

isn't really a reveng picture, nor is it a vigilante film, it's mostly about a most unlikely friendship: between said cranky old racist, and the young Hmong boy next door, whom Kowalski teaches to be a man, or at least his vision of a man. And, Eastwood sings the freaking theme song! I enjoyed this a lot. It should be somwhere in my Top 10.

You've written a good synopis about this film and I agree with just about everything you've said. But I think there is on HUGE element you've left out that I think is the most important thing to take away from this film.

I want to share it but I don't want to spoil it for others. How do you do that black out thing so people have to highlight it to read it?

[spoil] words [/spoil]

[nole.kennedy]

6) Gran Torino

Finally someone else gives this movie the love it deserves!

The Searchers of our generation. Stories are similar. Racist a-holes saving kids.

isn't really a reveng picture, nor is it a vigilante film, it's mostly about a most unlikely friendship: between said cranky old racist, and the young Hmong boy next door, whom Kowalski teaches to be a man, or at least his vision of a man. And, Eastwood sings the freaking theme song! I enjoyed this a lot. It should be somwhere in my Top 10.

You've written a good synopis about this film and I agree with just about everything you've said. But I think there is on HUGE element you've left out that I think is the most important thing to take away from this film.

I want to share it but I don't want to spoil it for others. How do you do that black out thing so people have to highlight it to read it?

[spoil] words [/spoil]

Thanks. So, here's the part that I don't here many people talking about:

Walt is a military man. He has killed and seen killing. Its surrounded him his whole life and where has it gotten him? No where. The world is getting worse instead of better and he is just as unhappy now as he was before. As he deals with the changing of his neighborhood, he's natural response to their violence is to be violent himself. He holds the Hmong gang at gun point, he threatens to be violent to the gang bangers roughing up the girl, etc. But when the Hmong gang roughs up the girl next door, he realizes that responding with violence will get him no where. Its taken him his whole life to realize that violence will never be solved with more violence. Instead, he choose the non-violent, third way* to respond. And even though he loses his life, his non-violent response putts an end to the previous cycle.

*The third way response to violence is characterized by neither fighting back nor running away from violence, but rather choosing a "third way."

As Dr. King says, "Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals."

[Bob Loblaw]

I think we should let Slackmo write the blurb for Gran Torino.

[jjh]

After viewing 97 movies this year, it's hard to believe that I/we missed some. (I Loved You So Long, I.O.U.S.A., Battle in Seattle, The Wackness, My Winnepeg, Hunger, A Christmas Tale, Kenny) Anyways, what follows is two lists, mine & my 15 year-old son Dan. JJH 1. Slumdog Millionaire 2. Dark Knight 3. In Bruges 4. Tell No One 5. Gran Torino 6. The Wrestler 7. 4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days 8. Young @ Heart 9. Doubt 10. Frozen River 11. Religulous 12. Milk 13. Man on Wire 14. Transsiberian 15. Boogie Man 16. Revolutionary Road 17. Synecdone, NewYork 18. The Reader 19. Iron Man 20. Wendy & Lucy 21. Let the Right One In 22. Tropic Thunder 23. Frost/Nixon 24. Son of Rambow 25. The Fall 26. Standard Operating Procedure 27. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day 28. Cloverfield 29. Stop Loss 30. RocknRolla DAN 1. 4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days 2. Let the Right One In 3. Happy-Go-Lucky 4. Slumdog Millionaire 5. In Bruges 6. Forgetting Sarah Marshall 7. Dark Knight 8. Che 9. The Class 10. Hamlet 2 11. The Wrestler 12. Burn After Reading 13. The Fall 14. Revolutionary Road 15. Pineapple Express 16. Gran Torino 17. Doubt 18. Funny Games 19. Wall-E 20. Paranoid Park 21. Man On Wire 22. Snow Angels 23. Role Models 24. Milk 25. Shotgun Stories 26. Waltz with Bashir 27. Rachel Getting Married 28. Vicky Christina Barcelona 29. Ghost Town 30. Cloverfield Now to rest up for 2009

[Elemeno P.T.]

Always great to see jjh and son's lists. Hard to believe I ever doubted you years ago....and with these lists, it's all but certain that 4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days is going to place higher than it would have if we had the new eligibility rule in place last year. Curious to know if Mitch still plans on voting for it.

[Johnny's Shack]

I just did some extensive searching over all the threads about movies we've had these last few months, and almost nobody is even discussing a very major release, one that I believe to be in the very top tier of filmmaking in 2008. That film is Revolutionary Road.

Can anybody explain this? I wrote a review, Caley wrote a review... and that's basically all the SOMB has said. The only comment I've really seen against it, and it is semi-valid, is Loblaw "not wanting to see married people fight". I would love to see some other good reasons for either not seeing the film, or reasons some people disliked it. Mostly I think it just deserves more discussion.

The great films of 2008 that nobody is watching... even the SOMB: Revolutionary Road, Towelhead

I saw & liked it pretty good, definitely a well made film all around. But, coming from Mendes, it's a pretty strong retread of American Beauty in a lot of ways, no? If you were Mendes, why would you make this movie? I also found it a bit predictable, particularly Leo's big decision and the ending.



also, can ANYONE find Synecdoche NY online? it's like there's not a single working link.

also, Gran Torino is awesome. walks a line between humor and drama that is hard to achieve. supreme entertainment.

[The Gooch]

EPT, forgot to say in my post: I'll volunteer to blurb for anything in my top 10. Thanks

[Asher Ford]

I saw & liked it pretty good, definitely a well made film all around. But, coming from Mendes, it's a pretty strong retread of American Beauty in a lot of ways, no? If you were Mendes, why would you make this movie? I also found it a bit predictable, particularly Leo's big decision and the ending.

I think Revolutionary Road is only similar to American Beauty in subject matter, not in the way it examines that subject matter. As Caley's review said, I think RR has a very narrowed focus on Kate and Leo, which makes it a film more about the communication of dreams and ideals than a film about the suffering of suburbia. To me, American Beauty had a broader focus, and characters who at times literally felt like caricatures (wasn't this kind of intentional with Chris Cooper's clownish makeup and all?). So for Mendes, I would just say that sometimes it's good to explore a theme from multiple perspectives and manipulate it in different ways to see what kind of results you get. As for predictability, I don't usually care about such a thing in a movie, but I actually found RR to be incredibly difficult to predict. I thought for sure there was going to be a much different ending. Also, admittedly, it has been awhile since I saw American Beauty. I need to revisit it this year, as the director of it and the writer of it each made one of my top 5 films from 2008.

[without_opinion]

here's my 15. there's a handful i haven't gotten around to seeing that i quite want to (milk, frost/nixon, the visitor, man on wire, the class) but that's not going to happen by deadline 1. Synecdoche, New York 2. The Wrestler 3. Slumdog Millionaire 4. The Dark Knight 5. Religulous 6. Iron Man 7. the Band's Visit 8. Burn After Reading 9. Wall-E 10. The Pineapple Express 11. Tropic Thunder 12. Dear Zachary… 13. Be Kind Rewind 14. Speed Racer 15. Cloverfield

[Mitchell]

Curious to know if Mitch still plans on voting for it.

I didn't vote for it last year, so yes.

[Mitchell]

When is the deadline on 14th. I have an 8 hour train journey ending at 0900 IL time. Should be able to squeeze a couple in.

[Elemeno P.T.]

I'll be starting the countdown either Sunday night or Monday so all lists must be in no later than noon Sunday, giving me time to tab the Sunday morning last minute lists.

[Elemeno P.T.]

So caley suggested that maybe we could have more blurbs this year. In previous years it was top 20 and we went to 25 last year. Would be cool to do at least 30 this year but would require multiple blurbs from many of you. So this is a call to let me know if you plan to blurb and how many you'd be willing to do. I will alter the deadlines for blurbs based on where the movies place. Blurbs 25 and higher won't be due until at least the 22nd. Also, last call for any dissenting opinions about the teaser contest. Willing to let it go if consensus changes, but so far, responses are favorable so I'm thinking the winner this year will get a $25 gift card to AMC or his/her favorite film of 2008 on DVD.

[nole.kennedy]

So caley suggested that maybe we could have more blurbs this year. In previous years it was top 20 and we went to 25 last year. Would be cool to do at least 30 this year but would require multiple blurbs from many of you.

So this is a call to let me know if you plan to blurb and how many you'd be willing to do. I will alter the deadlines for blurbs based on where the movies place. Blurbs 25 and higher won't be due until at least the 22nd.

I'm willing to blurb any one of my top ten films.

[caley]

So caley suggested that maybe we could have more blurbs this year. In previous years it was top 20 and we went to 25 last year. Would be cool to do at least 30 this year but would require multiple blurbs from many of you.

So this is a call to let me know if you plan to blurb and how many you'd be willing to do. I will alter the deadlines for blurbs based on where the movies place. Blurbs 25 and higher won't be due until at least the 22nd.

Also, last call for any dissenting opinions about the teaser contest. Willing to let it go if consensus changes, but so far, responses are favorable so I'm thinking the winner this year will get a $25 gift card to AMC or his/her favorite film of 2008 on DVD.

I'll blurb pretty much anything off my list, no matter how high or low.

Also, my list should be coming sometime tonight or tomorrow, I want to fit in one last movie before I tabulate it.

[Elemeno P.T.]

So caley suggested that maybe we could have more blurbs this year. In previous years it was top 20 and we went to 25 last year. Would be cool to do at least 30 this year but would require multiple blurbs from many of you.

So this is a call to let me know if you plan to blurb and how many you'd be willing to do. I will alter the deadlines for blurbs based on where the movies place. Blurbs 25 and higher won't be due until at least the 22nd.

Also, last call for any dissenting opinions about the teaser contest. Willing to let it go if consensus changes, but so far, responses are favorable so I'm thinking the winner this year will get a $25 gift card to AMC or his/her favorite film of 2008 on DVD.

I'll blurb pretty much anything off my list, no matter how high or low.

Also, my list should be coming sometime tonight or tomorrow, I want to fit in one last movie before I tabulate it.

I was going to make my list today, but was holding out hope that someone, anyone could provide a link to either The Class or Synechdoche, NY.