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Top 20 Films of 2008: #5 Ballast
Two films that made their mark on indieland in 08’are Ballast and Frozen River. I didn’t care much for the later, but on the short list of impressive directorial debuts this year, Lance Hammer’s drama reminded me how a narrative and the secrets that it holds can be dispelled like the effects of one of those cough drops.
Top 20 Films of 2008: #6 Gomorrah
My favorite book-to-film adaptation is this import from Italy -- a film that gets points for style, design of parallel storylines and Matteo Garrone’s ability to make the best out his locations and to visually express the notion of life as something that easily goes to waste.
Top 20 Films of 2008: #7 The Class
What is so surreal about the film is how authentic it is, and what is fascinating about Laurent Cantet’s grip is that a 2 plus hour film is the sort of film that “doesn’t feel like two hours”.
Top 20 Films of 2008: #8 Synecdoche, New York
Boldly going where no other “Kaufman” film has gone before – it might not have the visual flair of Kaufman-based material adaptations Being John Malkovich, ESOTSM and Adaptation, but I was floored by the originality of the script, the scope and size of the ideas that perforated the screen.
Top 20 Films of 2008: #9 Chop Shop
I caught Ramin Bahrani’s sophomore film back in 2007 at the Director’s Fortnight section in Cannes – it confirmed what we witnessed with his first film Man Push Cart: sometimes the best film narrative come in small packages.
