Paste Magazine's 50 best living Directors and their Crowning Achievements

Paste Magazine's 50 best living Directors and their Crowning Achievements

(bold text are the films I've seen)

50 - Mel Brooks - Blazing Saddles

49 - Charles Burnett - Killer of Sheep

48 - Errol Morris - The Fog Of War: Eleven Lessons from the life of Robert S. McNamara

47 - Jim Sheridan - My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown

46 - John Sayles - Lone Star

45 - Sofia Coppola - Lost In Translation

44 - Cameron Crowe - Almost Famous

43 - Terrence Malick - Days of Heaven

42 - Jane Campion - The Piano

41 - James Cameron - Avatar

40 - Guillermo Del Toro - Pan's Labyrinth

39 - Jacques Rivette - La Belle Noiseuse

38 - Spike Lee - Do the Right Thing

37 - Pedro Almodovar - Talk To Her

36 - Richard Linklater - Before Sunset

35 - Ridley Scott - Blade Runner

34 - Gus Van Sant - Good Will Hunting

33 - Alain Resnais - Hiroshima Mon Amour

32 - Michael Haneke - Cache (Hidden)

31 - Chris Marker - Sans Soleil (Without Sun)

30 - Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire

29 - Christopher Nolan - The Dark Knight

28 - Claire Denis - Chocolat

27 - Terry Gilliam - Brazil

26 - Jim Jarmusch - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

25 - Wim Wenders - Wings of Desire

24 - Tim Burton - Edward Scissorhands

23 - 23 - David Cronenberg - A History of Violence

22 - Agnes Varda - Vagabond

21 - Apichatpong Weerasethakul - Syndromes and a Century

20 - Hayao Miyazaki - Princess Mononoke

19 - Clint Eastwood - Mystic River

18 - Abbas Kiarostami - Taste of Cherry

17 - David Fincher - Fight Club

16 - Hou Hsiao-Shien - Hao nan Hao Nu (Good Men, Good Women)

15 - Lars Von Trier - Breaking the Waves

14 - Francis Ford Coppola - The Godfather

13 - Werner Herzog - Grizzly Man

12 - Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne - L'enfant (The Child)

11 - Wes Anderson - Rushmore

10 - Wong Kar-Wai - In The Mood For Love

09 - David Lynch - Mulholland Dr.

08 - Quentin Tarantino - Pulp Fiction

07 - Woody Allen - Annie Hall

06 - Paul Thomas Anderson - Magnolia

05 - Steven Soderbergh - Traffic

04 - Joel and Ethan Coen - Fargo

03 - Steven Spielberg - Schindler's List

02 - Jean-Luc Godard - Breathless

01 - Martin Scorsese - Raging Bull

Mini Reviews!

March 15 -

An Education

Precious

Tron

MINI REVIEWS:

Alice In Wonderland -

I thought the story was good, it was a bit of a re-imagining and i appreciated what the were trying to do with the story. I was actually really skeptical of the film because the visuals looked too weird for me, but as usual Burton pulled them off and everything in the film looked wonderful. The pacing of the film is quick and to the point for the most part, which is fine. The 3D in it looked amazing on IMAX which was surprising because it wasn't shot in it, it gives me hope for all these films they are now converting. Depp and Bonham Carter were both great in their roles, but I thought Mia Wasikowska was the best by far, which surprised me because no one is talking about her. I thought the characters were well done, and the final battle looked good and was entertaining. The film wasn't as deep as some of Burton's other films but it's not really trying to be, It's a light entertaining film with a lot of visual flair to it.

Precious -

Precious annoyed me on most levels because it was mediocre at best in almost every aspect, Mo'Nique wasn't bad but i didn't think the writing was that good. The direction, I don't understand why Lee Daniels was nominated at all. The random flashes to her imagined life were ridiculous, they really added nothing but run time to the film. She wants to be famous, OK, she wants a boyfriend, OK... and... your point? I also found it pretty cliche when every time she gets hit or hurt it flashes back to her being raped. Also I'm assuming this was the editor, not necessarily the director, but the constant fade transitions annoyed me. I really just had trouble finding a redeeming quality, except Mo'Nique, in the film.

An Education -

This was a well done film that unfortunately I probably would never have seen if it weren't nominated for so many things. Carey Mulligan is spectacular in the film and Peter Saarsgard is also good. Saarsgard flirts with that line between being a creep in the film and being a genuine guy, which is a great set up in the film. Mulligan comes off very much like Audrey Hepburn, a classy, somewhat rebellious lead character you easily find yourself rooting for. The film doesn't stand out technically, though it is well paced and directed. I do want to note that the Paris scene was very well done though.