Bubble Wrap

hey! he left almost all the foob.
he did?
did he?
won't he get hungry?
unless he know where to get more,..

,..and he does.
the foob warehouse?
yes, indeed.
and there are two of us and only one of him.
and we've got a gun that doesn't work and he's only got a tazer.
don't be obsequious.
i,..

,..won't

by Dan

It's 2010 so you know what that means. (No you don't) It's time for Dan's FILM OF THE YEAR!!

(Also, the last big year of people who manufacture novelty glasses for New Year's. It's been a decade long ride guys, but no one wants to stare through a '1'.)

So, films I watched this year.

Slumdog Millionaire
What a rollicking adventure that was. But I found that I spent a lot of my time waiting to see the 'Millionaire' parts and getting tired with the violence and the fighting. It felt a bit like the pacing was off in this film.

District 9
Definitely my favourite action film of the year. I went in expecting this to have a bit more of an artistic bent and, while the environment was so exotic and quirky this only served to compliment the amazing thrill ride that crops up around halfway through. Must see film.

Moon
I truly enjoyed this film. There should be many more like it. Cheaply made and reliant on a strong premise and strong performances. I think it's Sony Pictures that are putting together a studio that funds hundreds of $10,000 films in the hope of getting another 'Paranormal Activity'. I can't wait. There will be a lot of pap but I reckon there will be some real jewels in there.

Harry Potter
I saw the latest Harry Potter. Pretty underwhelming. But then, it was always going to be. A couple of lovely set pieces in there and I quite liked the way the teen romances played out but once again it's all so much better in the book.

Star Trek
Hooray! Space adventure. I'm no trekkie but I have ended up seeing pretty much all of the films. This one doesn't disappoint. Silly Space adventure. Cute in-jokes. Just enough broken science to make me nice and ranty 30 minutes after the film. Everything I could hope for.

Up (in 3d)
I'm not sure about this film. It was beautiful and had wonderful moments of pathos. It was very touching and very funny but I just didn't connect with the individual characters too well. This could have been a by-product of the 3d technology. I kept getting distracted by the effect and whenever a scene change happened my brain took a half moment to catch up. It kept thinking I'd blacked out and then come to somewhere else. I walked out of the end of the film exhausted from just trying to parse everything.


Now,..
I haven't seen Avatar. It just doesn't look up my alley. Full of CGI and Disneyesque shorelines and no one has come out and said "Wow! What an amazing journey." Sure some folks have been blown away by the effects but that's like being shown how a magic trick works without the flare of the magician taking you on the ride.

I haven't seen 2012 either.
Disaster Porn. I doubt it has a shot at the best film of the year.

My only regret is that I haven't seen 500 days of summer yet. If it turns out to be truly amazing then maybe there will have to be some revisionism but I really hate doing that. I'd much rather stay with my favourite film of the year,..

Watchmen
Wait! What?
Watchmen? WHY?

Well I'll tell you. The film was coming out and had a lot of buzz about it because people loved the comic so much. I'd never read it so I borrowed it off my brother and WOW! What a great read. Truly an amazing piece of art. Then, days later I got to go to the cinema and see the environments laid out in front of me. See my favourite scenes step up and move.

A delight in some moments and disappointing in others. The pacing is all over the shop and there were a couple of really odd decisions but they stayed true to the book wherever they could. So, is it my favourite film of the year?

Well, No. The movie isn't.

But the book is.

The Watchmen graphic novel is my favourite film of the year.



But it's the end of the decade. Which one of these films is my favourite of the last ten years?

1999 - 2005
2006
2007
2008

Tricky. Eternal Sunshine is up there (as it is on everyone's list) but I've always maintained that the Iron Giant is the greatest use of storytelling I've ever seen,.. but,.. man,..

Primer,.. It still preys on my mind. It inspired a new way to think about time travel in me. It didn't talk down to me. It made me step up and learn. Ultimately we watch films because they effect us.

So Primer,.. Congratulations.
You showed that a great film isn't about pouring money into it. It's about having a great idea, and a great story, and great performances.

Plus it cost all of $7000.

Now you see why I'm excited about Sony's new direction in film finance.