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.

February 20 - March 14

February 20 -

Shutter Island

Almost Famous

Coco Before Chanel

February 27 -

Zombieland

February 28 -

Invictus

March 2 -

Where The Wild Things Are

March 3 -

The Blind Side

March 6 -

Nine

March 12 -

Tropic Thunder

March 13 -

Up In The Air

March 14 -

Alice In Wonderland

February 9-11

I've got some catching up to do...

February 9th - Black Hawk Down

February 10th - The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

February 11th - A Serious Man

Black Hawk Down:

I've always been a very big fan of Ridley Scott's war film about a helicopter that crashes, on an in and out type of mission, and the team of soldiers sent in to rescue them. Looking back I'm a little torn, I naively considered this better than Saving Private Ryan when I first saw it, I have since come to my senses. The film still holds up and I enjoyed it but it's message is a little over the top at times.

It's impossible to count the number of times that someone says "no one gets left behind," which is the central theme of the film. I can appreciate that and all but i feel like Scott was just drilling it into my head repeatedly, it was over used and i feel like it detracted from the film a little bit. A small complaint, I know. The other thing that bothered me this time around was that the soldiers all seem to have small bits of dialogue between random bouts of gun fire. It seems like the soldiers are just shooting simply to shoot. There are a few times when you hear someone says last clip only to immediately pop it in and fire off 6 rounds at nothing.

Other than those two minor issues the film held up wonderfully. I still enjoyed the characters and the performances, Josh Hartnett is terrific along with Tom Sizemore and Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor isn't bad either.

I enjoyed the movie although it's not the classic I used to consider it. If you want a true war epic you can't beat with Band of Brothers or Saving Private Ryan.

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus:

Parnassus was a very good film, especially if you are a fan of Terry Gilliam. With the exception of Twelve Monkeys and Fear and Loathing, I'm not, I did still manage to find a lot in this film to enjoy though.

Heath Ledger, say what you will about Ledger but there is no arguing that the man was talented. He gives a spirited performance in Parnassus, though far from his best. Jude Law, Johnny Depp and Colin Farrel also do his character justice. I also enjoyed Andrew Garfield, he played well opposite Lily Cole and Ledger.

The film itself is a little odd, although the story still makes sense despite the departure of Ledger. It's about a travelling Imaginarium, which is essentially a circus in to the mind of Dr. Parnassus where your imagination can run wild. The good Dr. and his trusty crew have made a deal with the devil, though not all of them are aware, for the soul of his daughter. The devil, being a gambling man, has given Parnassus 2 days to acquire 5 souls in exchange for his daughter.

The gang sees a shadow dancing on the river only to find it to be the body of Tony (Ledger, etc.) hanging underneath a bridge. They save him and Tony joins up with them. Tony turns out to have quite a flair with the people and is quickly rounding people up for the imaginarium, as time goes on though, it turns out Tony isn't quite who he seems, and his shady past is slowly coming back to form.

There are two main things I want to touch on with this film. The first being the use of Depp, Law, and Farrel. Each plays a different version of Tony, inside the imaginarium. This actually follows suit with the film perfectly and had it not been so widely discussed could have passed for being part of the film to begin with. The trick is that at first Tony doesn't know who he is and later sees himself as a version he wants to be before, finally, seeing himself as he truly is. Or at least that's how I'm interpreting it now. Either way it flows along very well with the story.

The second detail is Gilliam's direction. For those of you who aren't familiar with Gilliam's work, it has a very unpolished feel to it. I don't mean that it's not well crafted, but his films seem to be intentionally flawed. Even if I can't always put my finger on exactly what it is, his films just give off that feeling. They are occasionally rough but Gilliam tells great stories and can get great performances out of his actors.

I realize that this film is not for everyone but for those of you looking for something a little off the beaten path, it might be just what you are looking for.

A Serious Man:

This movie is a different brand of movie. I'm not really familiar with the book of Job, which this is apparently a modern retelling of, but i feel like it must have been twisted. The film follows Larry Gopnik as his life slowly falls to pieces. The movie starts out with his wife asking for a divorce and then escalates one event after another tearing this man's life to shreds.

It's strange though, that's literally all that happens through the film, but I found it oddly engrossing. The Coen brothers did a terrific job on the film every performance is terrific , the setting is beautiful, and the pacing is spot on, the film never once drags.

Michael Stuhlbarg, who i wasn't familiar with before this, is amazing as Larry Gopnik. You watch as he transforms from a proud college professor on the verge of his tenure, to a sobbing mess on the couch of his lawyer's office. His performance really is what made the film, and it was interesting to see his character become increasingly nuerotic and disbelieving.

I also really enjoyed the fantasies that Larry has through the film, you don't ever really see them coming and then something unbelievable happens out of no where. I loved when Larry's brother, Arthur, is shot in the back of the head while escaping to Canada.

For those of you looking for a black comedy centered around a very strong performance, check out A Serious Man, it's twisted and definitely enjoyable.

Southland Tales

January 4th - Southland Tales

There are a lot of different words that you could use to describe Richard Kelly's Sci-fi epic Southland Tales. I'm going to use, confusing. First of all the movie itself is only the second half of the story. The first half is chronicled in three graphic novels. I had seen the movie before so i had a bit of an understanding of the story all ready but i still had a lot of questions about it.

The graphic novels did answer several of those questions including why Justin Timberlake gets high and sings "All the Things That I've Done" by the killers in the middle of the film. It also gave me a better understanding of what happened to Boxer Santaros in the desert and explained a little bit more in detail what exactly Roland Taverner is doing in the film. It did not help me understand the ending anymore, and please if somebody does understand, I would like to know.

That being said, I still enjoy this film, and I know that of am of a very small group of people that do. There is just something to be said about tackling a project this epic and absurd. I still think that Richard Kelly is a very talented director he just needs to find his rhythm, I loved Donnie Darko and I look forward to seeing The Box.

What really blew me away about the film though, was the acting. How did Kelly get such great performances from Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Sean William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Justin Timberlake and half of the Saturday Night Live cast? Johnson is very good as Boxer Santaros, an athlete who is injured and then becomes a movie star, and Scott is great as Roland Taverner. Both actors are playing people who have lost their memory in the film and the little things they do in their performances really add to their confusion, plus i really liked Johnson's hand twitch. Timberlake was great as Pilot Abilene a wounded soldier of the Iraq war with a serious drug addiction to a new drug called fluid Karma. Gellar is good but her character is lacking a little bit in the film, she is one of the main parts of the novels. The SNL crew are a bit over the top but it suits their neo-marxist characters and Lou Taylor Pucci wasn't the greatest, though it may have just been his character.

I don't really know how to describe the story without giving things away about it. If i had to give a description though i guess I would say that it's a chronicle of the last 3 days on earth in an alternative future. In the story 2 nuclear bombs detonate in Texas on July 4th, 2005. So the setting for the film is a modern day 2008, but everything is different as a result of the terrorist attack. The story follow Boxer Santaros as he is found in the desert with no memory and Roland Taverner who also has no memory together they search for what is really going on and bring about the destruction of the world, I think.

The ending to the film leaves me with several questions including what really happens. It's great to see the story come together, there are several minuscule characters in the novels and early int he film that lead up to more important parts later on, including Justin Timberlake's character Pilot Abilene. There are still pieces that i haven't figured out yet though and it's a little bit disappointing but it doesn't detract too much from the film. I can't really say I would recommend this film to many people because it's not for everyone it's definitely a niche market. If you like Sci-Fi stories and are ready to commit to an entirely new world then go for it. I recommend reading the novels before hand though.

Catching Up

Just catching up on some films I've watched recently, nothing much to say.

January 25th - Poolhall Junkies

January 30th - Casino Royale

February 3rd - You, Me, and Dupree

First predictions of Oscar Noms

My first set or predictions, without having seen all the films yet.

Actor in a Leading Role

· Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”

· George Clooney in “Up in the Air”

· Colin Firth in “A Single Man”

· Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”

· Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”

Actor in a Supporting Role

· Matt Damon in “Invictus”

· Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”

· Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”

· Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”

· Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

Actress in a Leading Role

· Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”

· Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”

· Carey Mulligan in “An Education”

· Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

· Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”

Actress in a Supporting Role

· Penélope Cruz in “Nine”

· Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”

· Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”

· Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”

· Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

Animated Feature Film

· “Coraline” Henry Selick

· “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Wes Anderson

· “The Princess and the Frog” John Musker and Ron Clements

· “The Secret of Kells” Tomm Moore

· “Up” Pete Docter

Art Direction

· “Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair

· “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith

· “Nine” Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim

· “Sherlock Holmes” Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer

· “The Young Victoria” Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Cinematography

· “Avatar” Mauro Fiore

· “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Bruno Delbonnel

· “The Hurt Locker” Barry Ackroyd

· “Inglourious Basterds” Robert Richardson

· “The White Ribbon” Christian Berger

Costume Design

· “Bright Star” Janet Patterson

· “Coco before Chanel” Catherine Leterrier

· “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Monique Prudhomme

· “Nine” Colleen Atwood

· “The Young Victoria” Sandy Powell

Directing

· “Avatar” James Cameron

· “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow

· “Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino

· “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels

· “Up in the Air” Jason Reitman

Documentary (Feature)

· “Burma VJ” Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller

· “The Cove” Nominees to be determined

· “Food, Inc.” Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein

· “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith

· “Which Way Home” Rebecca Cammisa

Documentary (Short Subject)

· “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill

· “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner” Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher

· “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert

· “Music by Prudence” Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett

· “Rabbit à la Berlin” Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

Film Editing

· “Avatar” Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron

· “District 9” Julian Clarke

· “The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis

· “Inglourious Basterds” Sally Menke

· “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Joe Klotz

Foreign Language Film

· “Ajami” Israel

· “El Secreto de Sus Ojos” Argentina

· “The Milk of Sorrow” Peru

· “Un Prophète” France

· “The White Ribbon” Germany

Makeup

· “Il Divo” Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano

· “Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow

· “The Young Victoria” Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Music (Original Score)

· “Avatar” James Horner

· “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Alexandre Desplat

· “The Hurt Locker” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders

· “Sherlock Holmes” Hans Zimmer

· “Up” Michael Giacchino

Music (Original Song)

· “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

· “Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

· “Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36” Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas

· “Take It All” from “Nine” Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston

· “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Best Picture

· “Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers

· “The Blind Side” Nominees to be determined

· “District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers

· “An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers

· “The Hurt Locker” Nominees to be determined

· “Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer

· “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers

· “A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers

· “Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer

· “Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

Short Film (Animated)

· “French Roast” Fabrice O. Joubert

· “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell

· “The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” Javier Recio Gracia

· “Logorama” Nicolas Schmerkin

· “A Matter of Loaf and Death” Nick Park

Short Film (Live Action)

· “The Door” Juanita Wilson and James Flynn

· “Instead of Abracadabra” Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström

· “Kavi” Gregg Helvey

· “Miracle Fish” Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey

· “The New Tenants” Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Sound Editing

· “Avatar” Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle

· “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson

· “Inglourious Basterds” Wylie Stateman

· “Star Trek” Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin

· “Up” Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Sound Mixing

· “Avatar” Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson

· “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett

· “Inglourious Basterds” Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano

· “Star Trek” Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin

· “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Visual Effects

· “Avatar” Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones

· “District 9” Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken

· “Star Trek” Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

· “District 9” Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell

· “An Education” Screenplay by Nick Hornby

· “In the Loop” Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche

· “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher

· “Up in the Air” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Writing (Original Screenplay)

· “The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal

· “Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino

· “The Messenger” Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman

· “A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

· “Up” Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

Please note that these aren't necessarily who I want to win just who i think will win, and it will probably change as I see more of the films this is just a shot in the dark right now.