Anthony Lane of The New Yorker has given a list of what he thinks are the best 10 films of 2008. I wish I had seen some of them; most are foreign films and they are not distributed except to art houses (like Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff). Only three on his list were American: "The Quantum of Solace" which most reviewers treated with scant regard as to its quality, "Iron Man" which again did not receive very favourable reviews, and "Changeling", the only one on his list that I have seen, directed by Clint Eastwood and which has been favourably reviewed by practically every newspapers' critics. "Wall E" I know nothing about.
My favourite film of the year was "Gone, Baby, Gone" which I think has one of the finest ends ever (almost vying with Chaplin's "City Lights" for an intensity of sentiment and irony) and contains one of the best performances I've seen for years: the mother of the missing child. For that she should get a supporting actress Oscar.
Anthony Lane's book "Nobody's Perfect" (the last comment in "Some Like it Hot") is a wonderful collection of his reviews and essays. One remark has stuck in my head, one he made about Rees Witherspoon: "she's the girl next door who can't wait to get out of town".
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