Tyler's Best of the Year List

Until recently I have been putting off the idea of making not just top 10 of the decade lists but also a top 10 for every year. Seeing the number of "top 10 of the decade" threads cropping up lately, I have decided to attempt my very own personal top 10 of every year. I intend to work my way backwards starting from the year 2009, and stopping at the 1980s. I couldn't even complete the 70s because there are some years (1970, 1977) where I've seen less than 10 films. So this is how it works - I will list my top 10 of the year in chronological order, then I will give a brief review for some of the films as well as why I love them so much.

This thread is also inspired by Brodinski's Best of the Year list.

2009: The Year In Film



1. The Secret In Their Eyes
2. Inglorious Basterds
3. A Prophet
4. Coraline
5. Fantastic Mr. Fox
6. Mother (Madeo)
7. Moon
8. District 9
9. Up
10. Black Dynamite


A poor year for film if you ask me. The Secret In Their Eyes tops the year because of its intoxicating storyline and visual narrative. The film is a superb tale of a man's attempt to solve a rape and murder case in an Argentina where crime became rampant because of idleness and ignorance of the masses. The yellowish-green tint that permeates each frame lends to the setting a very sordid atmosphere where injustice flourish amidst political incompetence. Benjamin's quest for justice, like his country's determination to reconcile with its Dirty War of 1976, is at the heart of this film's message.
Inglorious Basterds is Tarantino back on form, a Tarantino that has a knack for inventive dialogue and sly humour. With Inglorious Basterds, Tarantino attempts to channel his fetish for violence into a "productive" cause - Nazi bashing. Whether or not his visual excesses are morally correct is another issue, what matters is a self-assured Tarantino confessing rather conceitedly his love for the screen. Number 3 on my list, and the last veritable masterpiece, is Jacques Audiard's prison drama A Prophet. Relying heavily on dialogue rather than action, Audiard has crafted a fine film about prison politics, giving us insights into the French prison and its unfazed people behind its bars.


Also, the much celebrated stadium scene.


The sheer brilliance of inventive camerawork.

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Good thread, mate.

Really nice top 10 as well. El Secreto de Sus Ojos is a terrific pick for top film of the year. I'd put Inglourious Basterds, Up and A Prophet over it, and those 4 are really superlative cinema.

Besides the one you mentioned (don(t know about Moon - haven't watched it), I'd also say The Hurt Locker, Avatar, (500) Days of Summer and The Hangover were proper good.

Ya I stumbled across Brodinskis best of the Year list and also liked the idea. Might do one of my own in a year or two instead of revising my top 100 (which desperately needs to be revised).

As far as 2009 goes I enjoyed INglorious Basterds and Moon fairly well. I own Black Dynamite but still have to watch it. District 9 was well made but I didn't find it authentic. My personal favorite of 09 is brothers but I don't expect others to love it as I do.

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I would put 'Up in the Air' on the list. I really liked that one!

And I thought District 9 was one of the more authentic science fiction movies by placing the aliens at the mercy of the humans rather than the other way round, serving as an allegory for the segregation of the different classes. Nevertheless I found the handheld cam rather tedious after a while.

I consider The Hurt Locker made in 2008. Both Avatar and (500) Days of Summer were decent, and could also replace Black Dynamite in my top 10.

Coraline's very under-rated imo. Possibly the best stop-motion animated film I've seen.

2008: The Year In Film



1. Synecdoche, New York
2. Extraordinary Stories
3. Waltz With Bashir
4. Let The Right One In
5. Still Walking
6. Wall-E
7. The Dark Knight
8. Hunger
9. The Hurt Locker
10. Summer Hours

2008 was a fantastic year for film. Every single film in my top 10 is worthy of being called a cinematic perfection.

Synecdoche, New York is first and foremost a film about how each person needs to have an identity. If every human being has his or her own story to tell, then whose story should we listen to? What should the objective of film be in the first place? Are we more than just the sum of our collective identities and if so, how can film reflect every person's story without having resort to extrapolating the stories of specific individuals to encompass that of all society? By deconstructing what is reality and what is the reflection of reality, Kaufman forces us to reconsider the nature of film itself. Even if there's a lack of any clear answers, the act of questioning at the very least is a step forward in tackling such questions.

My problem with District 9 was that after the first five minutes, I wasn't even able to see it as sci-fi because of the transparent symbolism. The film ended up being only about its blatant themes and not about itself. Too heavy-handed and didactic to be called great.

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Mubi

2007: The Year In Film



1. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
2. Zodiac
3. There Will Be Blood
4. No Country For Old Men
5. Ratatouille
6. Persepolis
7. The Orphanage
8. The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
9. You, The Living
10. Sunshine

Again, another splendid year for film. The first four films are easily among the best films of the entire decade. No further elaboration needed for Zodiac, There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men - their reputation has already been cemented in the annals of film history.

Now, what about my number 1 for 2007? The relatively under-mentioned, under-praised Romanian film. Despite winning the highest prize at the Cannes film festival, I don't see this film being talked about or discussed at all in this forum. The premise is simple - a woman arranges for her friend to get a backyard abortion. Oddly enough, the film is very suspenseful, choosing to rely on the anticipation of the outcome rather than the actual abortion scene itself.

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Nice idea for a thread matey!

Agree with most of the choices too.

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4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days is a very realistic and sad movie. +1 rep.

As far as 2008 goes I must say some of your picks are very on the contrary of my tastes. Hunger, Synecdoche, and Hurt Locker are movies I hate. I do love The Dark Knight though, haven't seen it in awhile unfortunately.

I haven't seen many of your 2007 picks but I've heard good thins about the number 1. There Will be Blood is brilliantly crafted, and Ratat is my favorite Pixar. Not big on No Country though

Not to be nitpicky, but isn't The Hurt Locker a 2009 release? Nevermind, I see that you consider it 2008, but why?

It was first shown in Venice. 4 september 2008.

For convenience sake, I follow the date as stated in imdb.com.

2006: The Year In Film



1. Still Life
2. Pan's Labyrinth
3. Inland Empire
4. The Lives Of Others
5. Exiled
6. The Fountain
7. Lake Of Fire
8. Children Of Men
9. The Prestige
10. Jesus Camp

Still Life stands as one of the most important testaments of the far-reaching consequences of capitalism. The setting: A village flooded as a result of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. The situation: Its inhabitants have other no choice but to evacuate, trying to salvage whatever there is left. A person's search for a missing relative becomes a futile endeavour. Migrant workers are employed to demolish the buildings amidst crumbling demolition sites. Ultimately, Still Life is a serene, panoramic tale of displacement and marginalization, a painful reminder of the human cost of China's rapid transformation.

Not Tyler's fault and not a comment on his tastes, but this thread makes me sad, as it reminds me of just how much I've hated the last decade.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

Why is that so? Is it the movies I've listed or is it the decade in general that you despise?

Both, actually. I think there's only one film from each list, so far, that I truly like, though most lists usually has at least one other film I'd like to see. There again, as we get closer to my beloved 90's, that may well increase.

I've only seen two from your 2006 list. The Prestiege which I hate, and Jesus Canp which I find a very devastating documentary.They might've well be showing be kids being forced into a neo nazi camp.

Decades from now you'll look back and long for the movies of the 2000's. It's only in retrospect that we can really appreciate the movies of a particular era, because all of the crappy movies will have been forgotten while the great ones endure, and those are the movies we will think of when we wax nostalgic. Hell, I'm sure there are many films that have come and gone in the previous decade without any acknowledgment, even by cinephiles, ones that that later on will be re-evaluated and labeled a cinematic treasure. Hey, it happens.

Although personally, I love the films of the 2000's, whereas the 90's I find to be a rather weak decade in comparison.