A Girl and A Gun: A Cinematic Blog

My Final Oscar Winners Predictions

2009-02-20T07:32:00.000-08:00

BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR
Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) Christian Coulson, producer.

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Kate Winslet, The Reader

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN WRITING - ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Dustin Lance Black, Milk

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN WRITING - ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
WALL-E (Disney/PIXAR) Andrew Stanton

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Waltz with Bashir (Israel) Ari Folman, director.

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
Donald Graham Burt (art direction) & Victor J. Solfo (set decoration), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
Chris Dickens, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE
A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG
"Jai Ho", A.R. Rahman and Gulzar (music & lyrics)

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
Michael O'Connor, The Duchess

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick, The Dark Knight

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood, WALL-E

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
Greg Cannom, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Man on Wire (Discovery Films/BBC Films) James Marsh and Simon Chinn.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
The Witness from the Balcony of Room 306 (National Civil Rights Museum) Adam Petrofsky and Margaret Hyde.

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT FILM
Toyland (Mephisto Film) Jochen Alexander Freydanck (director)

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
La Maison en Petit Cubes (Robot Communications) Kunio Kato (director)

Another Apology

2009-02-16T20:32:00.000-08:00

I would like to apologize to my few readers out there for not updating my blog as much as I should. But I have something up my sleeve coming soon probably within next month which I think you guys will like.

In the meantime, stay tuned for my final Oscar predictions! :) Thanks.

My final Oscar predictions.

2009-01-19T01:42:00.001-08:00

BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Warner Bros./Paramount) Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Cean Chaffin, producers.

The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.) Charles Roven, Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, producers.

Frost/Nixon (Imagine Entertainment) Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, producers.

Milk (Focus Features) Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks and Michael London, producers.

Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) Christian Colson, producer.

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino

Gus Van Sant, Milk

Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino

Richard Jenkins, The Visitor

Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon

Sean Penn, Milk

Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Cate Blanchett, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married

Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky

Meryl Streep, Doubt

Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Josh Brolin, Milk

Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt

Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Amy Adams, Doubt

Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Viola Davis, Doubt

Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

Kate Winslet, The Reader

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN WRITING - ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Milk
Written by Dustin Lance Black

Rachel Getting Married
Written by Jenny Lumet

Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Written by Woody Allen

WALL-E
Screenplay by Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon
Story by Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter

The Wrestler
Written by Robert D. Siegel

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN WRITING - ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Screenplay by Eric Roth
Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
Based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Dark Knight
Screenplay by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan
Screen story by Christopher, Jonathan Nolan and David S. Goyer
Based on the DC Comics created by Bob Kane

Frost/Nixon
Screenplay by Peter Morgan
Based on his play

The Reader
Screenplay by David Hare
Based on the novel by Bernard Schlink

Slumdog Millionaire
Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy
Based on the novel Q & A by Vikas Swarup

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Kung Fu Panda (Dreamworks) Mark Osborne and John Stevenson

WALL-E (Disney/PIXAR) Andrew Stanton

Waltz with Bashir (Sony Pictures Classics) Ari Folman

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

Claudio Miranda, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Wally Pfister, The Dark Knight

Chris Menges and Roger Deakins, The Reader

Roger Deakins, Revolutionary Road

Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING

Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Lee Smith, The Dark Knight

Mike Hill and Dan Hanley, Frost/Nixon

Elliot Graham, Milk

Chris Dickens, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION

Australia
Catherine Martin (art direction) & Beverley Dunn (set decoration)

Changeling
James J. Murakami (art direction) & Gary Fettis (set decoration)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Donald Graham Burt (art direction) & Victor J. Zolfo (set decoration)

The Dark Knight
Nathan Crowley (art direction) & Peter Lando (set decoration)

The Reader
Briggite Broch (art direction) & Eva Stiebler (set decoration)

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE

Alexandre Desplat, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Hans Zimmer, Frost/Nixon

Danny Elfman, Milk

A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire

Thomas Newman, WALL-E

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG

"Barking at the Moon", Bolt
Music & lyrics by Jenny Lewis

"Down to Earth", WALL-E
Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman
Lyrics by Peter Gabriel

"Jai Ho", Slumdog Millionaire
Music & lyrics by A.R. Rahman

"O Saya", Slumdog Millionaire
Music & lyrics by A.R. Rahman

"The Wrestler", The Wrestler
Music & lyrics by Bruce Springsteen

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN

Catherine Martin, Australia

Deborah Hopper, Changeling

Jacqueline West, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Albert Wolsky, Revolutionary Road

Patricia Field, Sex and the City

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ren Klyce, David Parker and Michael Semanick.

The Dark Knight
Gary Rizzo, Lora Hirschberg and Ed Novick

Iron Man
Christopher Boyes, Lora Hirschberg and Michael Silvers.

Slumdog Millionaire
Richard Pryke, Ian Tapp and Resul Pookutty

WALL-E
Ben Burtt, Tom Myers and Michael Semanick

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING

The Dark Knight
Richard King

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Ben Burtt and Richard Hymns

Iron Man
Frank Eulner

Kung Fu Panda
Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van Der Ryn..

WALL-E
Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood.

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Eric Barba, Paul Griffin, Steve Preeg and Whei Zeng.

The Dark Knight
Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Angulo and Paul J. Franklin

Iron Man
John Nelson, Ben Snow, Hal Hickel and David Andrews

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Greg Cannom and Elaine L. Offers.

The Dark Knight
Conor O'Sullivan and Peter Robb-King

Tropic Thunder
Matthew W. Mungle and Michele Burke.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

The Baadof Meinhof Complex, Germany (Dune Films)
Uli Edel, director.

The Class, France (Sony Pictures Classics/Canal+)
Laurence Cantet, director.

Everlasting Moments, Sweden (IFC Films)
Jan Troell, director.

The Necessities of Life, Canada (Telefilm Canada)
Benoit Pilon, director.

Waltz with Bashir, Israel (Sony Pictures Classics)
Ari Folman, director.

Top 10 Films SEEN In 2008 (2 of 2 parts)

2009-01-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

Sansho the Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi)

This is yet another masterpiece from one of the masters of Japanese cinema, Kenji Mizoguchi. This emotionally heartwrenching tale of a family of a kind Japanese governor whose liberal policies have forced him out of power and tore his family apart is beautifully told through wonderful photography, acting and direction. It's one of the absolute must-sees of world cinema. Odd fact: The title character of this film is actually a supporting character with less than 10 minutes of screen time. (8/2)

Himala (Ishmael Bernal)

This is one of the major classics of Filipino cinema and now I know why. This is probably one of the best films about religion I have ever seen (And I'm not just saying this because I know the screenwriter personally). After a solar eclipse is seen in a drought-striken poor, rural Filipino town, a young woman claims to have witnessed a vision of the Virgin Mary and starts faith-healing and her alleged success is what turns the town into an overnight tourist attraction and media frenzy. Great performances, striking imagery and thought-provoking themes make this film truly one of director Bernal's masterpieces. Very Bunuelesque in certain aspects. It was recently voted as the BEST film of the Asia-Pacific region. (8/8)

WALL-E (Andrew Stanton)

PIXAR has done it yet again. This is further proof that it is above and beyond any animation studio in Hollywood today. Though the main characters are robots, this is probably one of the sweetest, most touching and most moving love stories ever captured on film. Add to that plenty of laughs, eye-popping visuals and thought-provoking anti-consumerist satire and the result is one of the best films of 2008, certainly the best 2008 film I've seen so far this year. (8/16)

Shoeshine (Vittorio DeSica)

Regarded as one of the greatest films in the Italian neo-realist movement and with good reason: It's a great film. It's an absolutely heartbreaking sad tale of two boys during post-war Italy whose friendship and lives are changed forever and definitely not for the better. I would rank this alongside Bicycle Thieves as among De Sica's masterpieces. (10/26)

Playtime (Jacques Tati)

The last film I've seen in the year 2008. And it's shaping up to be one of my all-time favorites. This film is partly a satire on the absurdity and complications of modern life, a cautionary tale on big corporations making the world a less real, dull place and part slapstick comedy. All brilliantly depicted through some truly bravura filmmaking. It's sweet, intelligent, funny, the kind of film that makes you love life. What a way to end the year. (12/31)

Top 10 Films SEEN In 2008 (1 of 2 parts)

2009-01-01T03:14:00.000-08:00

I'd like to apologize to any of my readers out there for not blogging more often. Don't worry. Blogging more often is in my list of New Year's resolutions.

Anyway, I thought I'd welcome 2009 by posting my Top 10 list. But unlike most other critics, I'm not going to post my Top 10 films of 2008 since I'm still way behind on 2008 releases. Instead I'm going to post my Top 10 films seen in 2008, regardless of when it was released. These are the top 10 best films I've seen for the first time on 2008. This is gonna be a two-parter and it will be in chronological order rather than order of preference.

There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)

This is the best film of 2008 and very easily writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson's best work and undeniably his first REAL masterpiece. Day-Lewis blew me away as the spiritually bankrupt Daniel Plainview. He's matched scene for scene by Dano and Freasier. Jonny Greenwood's score is SUPERB. I regard this as one of the best films of the decade so far. (2/14)

The Manchurian Candidate (John Frankenheimer)

My viewing of the Jonathan Demme remake beforehand did not in any way reduce my appreciation and enjoyment of the original which I've just seen for the first time. Though that film was interesting, this film is a freaking masterpiece, an intriguing thriller that is far from dated. Great acting work by Sinatra, Harvey and Lansbury. (4/1)

Closely Watched Trains (Jiri Menzel)

This is a comedy-drama about a young man's sexual awakening set against the backdrop of a Nazi occupation during World War II. It's one of the masterpieces that borne out of the Czech New Wave and it's easy to see why: The way it blends a quiet character comedy with the looming tragedy is nothing short of masterful. (5/12)

La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini)

AT LONG LAST! Watching Fellini's masterpiece for the first time is like biting into an extraordinarily rich dish and wondering why the hell you waited this long to see it. Gorgeously shot, fabulously acted and brilliantly directed, this alternately funny, sad and outright bizarre journey of a journalist through contemporary Italy is quite an experience to watch. One of the greats. (7/11)

The Exterminating Angel (Luis Bunuel)

This film has everything I love about Bunuel's cinema: It's funny, crazy, absurd, surreal, disturbing, creepy and thought-provoking. I loved it. It's about a group of people in a dinner party who couldn't seem to get out of the music room of their host's house. It would make an interesting double feature with The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeousie. (7/26)

Is there anybody still reading this?

2008-12-03T00:17:00.000-08:00

Seriously? Please comment below.

CineManila Film Festival Roundup

2008-10-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

The 10th Annual CineManila Film Festival concluded recently. Due to time and budget constraints, I was not able to catch more films in the festival but I managed to catch nearly all of my "first priority" films so to speak. Here's the rundown of all them:

Sparrow (Johnnie To) *** - This is the first Johnnie To film I've seen and based on what I've seen, most likely not the last. The lives and modus operandi of a quartet of pickpockets get turned upside-down when a mysterious woman infiltrates their ring. It's quite an engaging, thrilling and funny (but a bit thin) story features some really awe-inspiring filmmaking (an action scene with umbrellas? Holy crap).

The Band's Visit (Eran Kolirin) **** - I'm so glad I was able to catch this film. An Egyptian police orchestra in Israel gets lost and find themselves temporarily stranded in a small Israeli town. A simple yet funny and poignant film that reminds us how great it is to be alive and to be part of the human race. Features some great performances as well including Ronit Elkabetz (who was sensational in another Israeli film I've seen, Late Marriage)

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly (Julian Schnabel) **** - Finally! One of the most highly regarded films of 2007 gets a screening. I can see why it's so highly regarded. This beautiful film about Jean Dominique Bauby editor of Elle Magazine who was on top of the world until it came crashing down on him when he gets a stroke and acquires "locked-in" syndrome. The tale is moving, inspiring and thought-provoking yet not one bit sappy or overtly manipulative like films of this sort tend to be. Great work by Janusz Kaminski giving the viewers a taste of Bauby's P.O.V.

Bayan Ko: Kapit Sa Patalim ("My Country: At Razor's Edge") (Lino Brocka) *** - I saw at an invitation-only screening at the CineManila Film Festival. It's from the 1980's and the most complete version of the film in existence. It was made during the Marcos regime and was banned (and for good reason since it's extremely critical of the government at the time). A tragic, very well-acted saga of a man who's simply trying to make ends meet for his wife and newborn baby. I strongly prefer Brocka's other works (Insiang and Maynila sa Kuko Ng Liwanag) but this one's still well-worth checking out.

R.I.P.

2008-10-19T22:49:00.000-07:00

I know it's a bit late. But hey, he's one of the greats.

Time to get a little political....

2008-09-16T23:36:00.000-07:00

What can I say? I laughed.

Top 10 Lists: 2007

2008-09-10T00:30:00.000-07:00

10. Zodiac (David Fincher)

09. Away from Her (Sarah Polley)

08. Persepolis (Marjan Satrapi & Vincent Parronaud)

07. Into the Wild (Sean Penn)

06. We Own The Night (James Grey)

05. Ratatouille (Brad Bird)

04. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mingiu)

03. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Tim Burton)

02. No Country for Old Men (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen)

01. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)

And that is it. Those are my Top 10 lists from 1993 all the way up to 2007 (Click on older posts for the rest). Now, 2008 is still not yet through and I usually don't finalize my Top 10 until I've seen all the year-end releases and smaller, more indie/foreign films don't usually come to my country until early on the following year. Please do comment on any strong agreements or disagreements with them.

Top 10 Lists: 2006

2008-09-09T23:44:00.000-07:00

10. Monster House (Gil Kenan)

09. United 93 (Paul Greengrass)

08. L'Enfant (Jean Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne)

07. The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros (Aureus Solito)

06. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Larry Charles)

05. The Departed (Martin Scorsese)

04. Volver (Pedro Almodovar)

03. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron)

02. Letters from Iwo Jima (Clint Eastwood)

01. Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro)

Top 10 Lists: 2005

2008-09-09T03:14:00.000-07:00

10. Mysterious Skin (Gregg Araki)

09. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Nick Park)

08. Pride & Prejudice (Joe Wright)

07. A History of Violence (David Cronenberg)

06. The Squid and the Whale (Noah Baumbach)

05. Good Night and Good Luck (George Clooney)

04. Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog)

03. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee)

02. The New World (Terrence Malick)

01. Cache (Michael Haneke)

Top 10 Lists: 2004

2008-09-08T02:47:00.000-07:00

10. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring (Kim Ki-Duk)

09. Sideways (Alexander Payne)

08. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (Quentin Tarantino)

07. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Alfonso Cuaron)

06. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry)

05. Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood)

04. Kinsey (Bill Condon)

03. Before Sunset (Richard Linklater)

02. The Incredibles (Brad Bird)

01. Bad Education (Pedro Almodovar)

Top 10 Lists: 2003

2008-09-05T01:05:00.000-07:00

10. Mystic River (Clint Eastwood)

09. Whale Rider (Niki Caro)

08. The Triplets of Belleville (Sylvain Chomet)

07. Big Fish (Tim Burton)

06. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (Quentin Tarantino)

05. Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton)

04. Raising Victor Vargas (Peter Sollett)

03. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola)

02. The Son (Le Fils) (Jean Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne)

01. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Peter Jackson)

Top 10 Lists: 2002

2008-09-04T23:59:00.000-07:00

10. Late Marriage (Dover Koshashvilli)

09. Hero (Zhang Yimou)

08. Y tu mama tambien (Alfonso Cuaron)

07. Femme Fatale (Brian DePalma)

06. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Peter Jackson)

05. Chicago (Rob Marshall)

04. The Pianist (Roman Polanski)

03. Far from Heaven (Todd Haynes)

02. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki)

01. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodovar)

Top 10 Lists: 2001

2008-09-03T23:49:00.000-07:00

2001 is probably one of the best years in terms of quality films. It's really too bad the Academy picked a piece of crap from Ron Howard as the best picture of that year.

10. Va Savoir (Jacques Rivette)

09. Monsters Inc. (Pete Docter)

08. No Man's Land (Danis Tanovic)

07. The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson)

06. Gosford Park (Robert Altman)

05. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (John Cameron Mitchell)

04. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch)

03. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson)

02. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai)

01. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg)

Top 10 Lists: 2000

2008-09-03T23:18:00.000-07:00

10. The House of Mirth (Terence Davies)

09. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen)

08. Wonder Boys (Curtis Hanson)

07. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee)

06. Traffic (Steven Soderbergh)

05. Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe)

04. Billy Elliot (Stephen Daldry)

03. Dancer in the Dark (Lars Von Trier)

02. Yi Yi (A One and a Two...) (Edward Yang)

01. Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky)

Top 10 Lists: 1999

2008-09-02T23:16:00.000-07:00

No, I did not forget American Beauty.

10. Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay)

09. Three Kings (David O. Russell)

08. Topsy Turvy (Mike Leigh)

07. The Talented Mr. Ripley (Anthony Minghella)

06. Run Lola Run (Tom Tykwer)

05. Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze)

04. Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick)

03. Toy Story 2 (John Lasseter)

02. All About My Mother (Pedro Almodovar)

01. The Sixth Sense (M. Night Shyamalan)

Top 10 Lists: 1998

2008-09-02T22:07:00.000-07:00

10. There's Something About Mary (Peter Farrelly & Bobby Farrelly)

09. Out of Sight (Steven Soderbergh)

08. The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen)

07. Hana-Bi (Fireworks) (Takeshi Kitano)

06. Gods and Monsters (Bill Condon)

05. The Truman Show (Peter Weir)

04. Happiness (Todd Solondz)

03. Central Station (Walter Salles)

02. Rushmore (Wes Anderson)

01. The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick)

Top 10 Lists: 1997

2008-09-02T21:07:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know that a certain extremely high-grossing, Academy-Award winning film is conspicuously missing from this list. That said, I was one of the millions of people who loved it when it first came out. Well, I still like it but it's no longer one of my top favorites. Unfortunately, it's no longer one of my top favorites of the year. Of course, I'm talking about Titanic.

10. Happy Together (Wong Kar-Wai)

09. Ponette (Jacques Doillon)

08. Donnie Brasco (Mike Newell)

07. Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson)

06. The Ice Storm (Ang Lee)

05. Funny Games (Michael Haneke)

04. The Sweet Hereafter (Atom Egoyan)

03. Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino)

02. The Eel (Unagi) (Shohei Imamura)

01. L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson)

Top 10 Lists: 1996

2008-09-02T01:04:00.000-07:00

10. Welcome to the Dollhouse (Todd Solondz)

09. Scream (Wes Craven)

08. The People Vs. Larry Flynt (Milos Forman)

07. The English Patient (Anthony Minghella)

06. Trainspotting (Danny Boyle)

05. The Crucible (Nicholas Hytner)

04. Waiting for Guffman (Christopher Guest)

03. Secrets & Lies (Mike Leigh)

2. Sling Blade (Billy Bob Thornton)

01. Fargo (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen)

Top 10 Lists: 1995

2008-09-01T23:41:00.000-07:00

10. Get Shorty (Barry Sonnenfeld)

09. The City of Lost Children (Jean Pierre Jeunet)

08. Safe (Todd Haynes)

07. Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch)

06. Babe (Chris Noonan)

05. Chungking Express (Wong Kar-Wai)

04. The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer)

03. Sense & Sensibility (Ang Lee)

02. Toy Story (John Lasseter)

01. Before Sunrise (Richard Linklater)

Top 10 Lists: 1994

2008-09-01T03:33:00.000-07:00

1994. The year when I felt that there's no turning back in terms of my love for film. I believe a lot of people close to my age can attest to this thanks to one film in particular. This is my list for that year.

10. Speed (Jan DeBont)

09. The Last Seduction (John Dahl)

08. Ed Wood (Tim Burton)

07. Quiz Show (Robert Redford)

06. Bullets Over Broadway (Woody Allen)

05. Heavenly Creatures (Peter Jackson)

04. Wild Reeds (Andre Techine)

03. Red (Krzyzstof Kieslowski)

02. The Lion King (Rob Minkoff & Roger Allers)

01. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino)

Of course that film was Pulp Fiction. I was around 14 when I first saw it. My life was never the same afterwards.

Top 10 Lists: 1993

2008-09-01T01:15:00.000-07:00

This is the first in another series of posts I plan to make, posting my Top 10 lists since the year 1993 up to the present? Why 1993? Because 1993 is the year where I really started to pay attention to film and started doing these Top 10 list thingys. Anyway, here goes:

10. Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg)

09. The Nightmare Before Christmas (Henry Selick)

08. The Age of Innocence (Martin Scorsese)

07. Searching for Bobby Fischer (Steven Zaillian)

06. Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis)

05. Farewell, My Concubine (Chen Kaige)

04. The Piano (Jane Campion)

03. Short Cuts (Robert Altman)

02. Blue (Krzysztof Kieslowski)

01. Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg)

1993 was such a strong year for films. Believe it or not, I had difficulty narrowing this list down.

Cinephiles - The Best Kind of Geeks?

2008-08-25T23:50:00.000-07:00

I apologize to my two or three (or less) readers out there for not posting all that often.

Having said that, do you guys think cinephiles/film enthusiasts are the best kind of geeks out there? If you're a film geek (I mean a TRUE film geek), you're bound to also be a bit of a music geek as well. You're also bound to also love to read books. You'll also probably have a healthy interest in various subjects: history, theater, art, philosophy, science, foreign cultures, politics, etc. I think cinephiles are among the most intellectually well-rounded people you will ever meet.

Thoughts on this?