Sulmoney’s #1 – In Bruges

Well, at least we can agree on a couple things here: 1) Hans went with the uber-trendy pick of Slumdog Millionaire for his #1, and 2) Danny Boyle is going home on Oscar night with a little statue that says Best Director on it. But in all seriousness, I truly wish and believe that Slumdog Millionaire will go down in history as the winner of the Best Picture come February 22, and wish that the smear campaigns that have been raging against the film stop, and that people appreciate it for its wonderful story.

Alas, we finally come to the end of the top 10, and I am here to save this list with another Sulmoney original, my pick for the best of 2008, Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges.

 

In Bruges

Release dates are everything when it comes to awards season, and getting recognized. In Bruges, a film that not many people I know have even heard of, came out way back in January 2008, and has easily been my favorite, and the best movie I have seen in the past year. Similar to how Hans has said that Slumdog Millionaire has reached the level of his all time favorite films, In Bruges has done the same for me. Here is a film that despite its January release date, has managed to lay relatively low, but found a way to get nominated for 3 Golden Globes (including a well deserved Best Actor win for Colin Farrell), and landed an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for Martin McDonagh, who I am emphatically backing to add a second Oscar to his resume, after only his first major motion picture. 

 

"Did you see Hans' top 10 list? What a joke!"

While In Bruges may not have been about a slain gay politician, Nazis having sex with minors, a not really that important television interview, a biography of a man born under unusual circumstances, or wanting to be a millionaire, it is a profane, politically incorrect, and shockingly gruesome at times look at how one lives with the mistakes that they have made, how they are to be judged for eternity, and if they have the capacity to change for the better. Making full usage of his background as a prestigious playwright, Martin McDonagh presents In Bruges as a character study of Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), two English hitmen who have been sent to Bruges (it’s in Belgium) by their boss Harry (the delightfully devilish Ralph Fiennes) after a hit goes horribly wrong. What follows is an often hilarious, often touching look at the interactions between the two who are on opposite ends of the hitman spectrum. Oh yeah, there’s a midget as well thrown in for good measure.

 

The bullet wound would probably be in the chest

Without spoiling anything, as unlike many of the films on the list, you probably have not seen In Bruges, Ray has done something truly awful, and it is something that he will seemingly not be able to live with for the rest of his days. There is a moment in In Bruges when the two are killing time at the museum awaiting further instructions from Harry, when Ray comes upon a painting of the Day of Judgement, and he, along with the audience, realize that his time in Bruges is his Day of Judgement: his fate is being decided, and he is being judged solely on his actions in a very black and white manner. However, another side is trying to interject itself into his outcome, by showing his intentions and his nature, and trying to change those blacks and whites into shades of grays. Coming from an upbringing with a strong background in religion and a firm belief in the Hereafter, this questioning and analysis of how we are to be judged when our time comes struck a particular chord with me, and is what elevates In Bruges above any of the other films of 2008.

 

Want a discussion on race wars amongst the vertically challenged? In Bruges' got it.

 

I professed my love for Guy Ritchie and RocknRolla earlier, but In Bruges is all of his movies and the countless other English gangster flicks grown up. While they offer style and no substance, McDonagh offers both in what is (still) shockingly his feature film debut. Having won an Academy Award already for Best Live Action Short Film in 2005 for Six Shooter (starring Brendan Gleeson again), McDonagh establishes as a young director and writer to keep an eye on in the future. The much maligned Colin Farrell shows us what he is fully capable of as an actor with his very emotional portrayal of Ray, a man who is now just simply going through the motions of life. Gleeson, also nominated for  Golden Globe for his role alongside Farrell, is wonderful as the grizzled veteran of the hitman business who does all that he can for Ray to help him out. McDonagh’s greatest directorial decision may have been in keeping the scene stealing Ralph Fiennes off camera until the third act, leaving his presence in the story float throughout the first two thirds of the film through a telegram or a phone call. His absolute view on the business, as a man with principles is a noble one. Supporting roles from fellow Harry Potter film franchise alum Clemence Poesy, and the now legendary Jordan Prentice round out some of the performances that make In Bruges my #1 film of 2008.

Hopefully you have had as much fun as we have in writing up our respective top 10 lists, and we hope to have turned you onto some of our favorite films of the year, including some that you may not have seen or even heard of before. I know Hans’ list definitely made me check out some films that I had missed out on, and I am sure he would say the same. Stay tuned to The Feature Preachers as we continue spreading the good word!

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Hans’s #1 – Slumdog Millionaire

I’m sorry, I know at this point it’s a bit of a clichéd pick, but for what it counts I was excited about this movie when it was just a script, which is long before most…

Slumdog Millionaire

British director Danny Boyle is one of my most envied men in showbusiness. Plenty of people in the world have some sort of remarkable talent, and it’s very easy for a creator to stumble upon a formula that works for him/her only to spend an entire career trying to recapture that lightning in a bottle (see: Guy Ritchie, director of Sulmoney’s fifth favorite movie of 2008, but I’ll come back to him later). The rarest form of creative genius, though, is the one who possesses both the ambition and the ability to tackle any project and still manages to show us something meaningful and original each time. Among them, in my mind: Alfonso Cuarón (Y Tu Mamá También, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men), Stephen Soderberg (Erin Brockovich, Traffic, Solaris, Ocean’s 11, Che), Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men, The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona) and Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Slumdog Millionaire).

Proof that Danny Boyle is now the biggest white thing in India.

Slumdog Millionaire is much better than it needed to be. The West has been fascinated by India for a long time. Its culture is so loud, colorful and vibrant that it permeates through even in its most watered-down, Americanized portrayals (see: The Darjeeling Limited). The uniquely “exotic” flavor of India combined with some tabla beats and a few heartwrenching, borderline-exploitative shots of absolute poverty would have been enough to satisfy the voyeuristic urges of many moviegoers.

Instead, though, we’re presented with a story that transcends the sum of its parts in every way. Though this movie is far from Bollywood-conventional, that spirit is very much alive in its musicality, in the fantastical rise of Jamal from slumdog to millionaire and of course in the love story between Jamal and Latika. The style of the filmmaking is also impossible to ignore. Much like director Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels), Danny Boyle’s filmmaking has always called attention to its slick photography and exceptional music, but unlike Ritchie’s films, that style serves a purpose. It’s cool, yes, but it’s also exhilarating. This isn’t a movie about gangsters talking in pubs, it’s about life, energy and mobility (social and locomotive), and the frenetic camerawork bolstered by A.R. Rahman‘s pounding drum-based rhythms breathe life into the images. Plus M.I.A. is a total badass.

Somewhere down there M.I.A. is still chasing little kids while singing "Paper Planes."

Indians have been making a big fuss over the film’s supposed exploitation of their culture, particularly its darker side, but it’s difficult to sympathize with these critics when Boyle proves with every frame that he just “gets it.” It’s remarkable to me that a British director who had never before visited India and with presumably no personal ties to South Asian culture (except, you know, the whole colonization, Jungle Book, white man’s burden thing) was able to portray India in the most honest and realistic way I’ve ever seen in a narrative feature (and, unfortunately, that includes every Bollywood flick ever made). In addition to telling a stylish and uplifting fairy tale, the film says nearly everything important that there is to say about the ills of modern Indian society, including its obsession with fame and celebrity, the rampant government and police corruption, and of course the huge socioeconomic disparities. That’s not to say that the film’s social commentary is perfect. Someone who doesn’t know any better might walk out of the theater with the impression that everyone in India is either a thief, a liar, a killer or just a first-rate douchebag, given that nearly every Indian Jamal encounters is a bad guy in some way (with a couple exceptions). The film’s heart is in the right place, though, and the task at hand is so enormous that I can forgive its few shortcomings.

Careful kids, those statues are worth more than you are.

I can only guess that a great deal of this film’s success must be due to Danny Boyle’s collaborations with local Indian artists, including his Indian co-director Loveleen Tandan and the legendary Bollywood composer A. R. Rahman. Still, Boyle’s imprint is all over this film, and there’s something to be said about a director who has the intelligence and respect for his subject matter to pick collaborators who will help him do the film right. In my #2 pick I lamented the fact that the Academy overlooked Christopher Nolan for a best director nomination, but even I don’t think he deserved the win. Slumdog Millionaire is one of my favorite films of all time. This is the year of Boyle.

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Sulmoney’s #2 – Slumdog Millionaire

Oh Hans, how juvenile is the Cookie Monster. Don’t force me to call Bert and Ernie to yapp you. Wait, too late.

The Dark Knight is a masterpiece. There is no other way to put it. For me though, I had gotten The Dark Knight overdose, having seen it 3 (and a half) times during its theatrical release, and its overly long running time really started to take away from the film, and the negatives that you pointed out started to stick out more and more, and is why I ultimately ranked it at #4 instead of higher. Having recently seen The Reader, I can see why it got the Best Picture nomination over The Dark Knight, as it is pure Oscar bait, while The Dark Knight is still in that taboo category of “comic book movie”. This was the film that would have shattered that boundary, and the members of the Academy fumbled this one.

My #2 is something that I feel more than pretty confident that will be showing up as your #1, and like every other time we have agreed on a top 10 pick, I beat you to it. Slow poke.

 

Slumdog Millionaire

The destined to be Academy Award winner for Best Picture comes in at my #2 film of 2008. Danny Boyle travels to India to bring the slums of Mumbai to life for all the world to see in what is his best film since Trainspotting. Unlike what the above poster and what the media will have you believe, this is hardly a Bollywood film that is a rousing piece of life affirming cinema. There is extreme poverty. There are men who handicap children so that they can bring in more money as beggars. There is underage prostitution. There is murder committed by individuals who would not be allowed to drive in many countries. This is the third world hidden in the shadows of what people are hyping as the next big world superpower. 

 

Can't a boy drop a deuce in peace?

Running alongside all these horrible conditions is an absolutely remarkable and wholly original piece of storytelling, based on the acclaimed Q&A by Vikas Swarup. Swarup’s, and consequently Boyle’s, greatest success is tying the love of reality television to the story of a man’s life, and how one gets to the place they get to. The main character, Jamal, sums it up perfectly when he is ridiculed for not knowing something so basic as who is on India’s currency. “Do you know how much pani puri is so and so corner?” We grow up and we learn what we are exposed to. All of our life experiences form who we are and what we know. From this, we all can dream about what our own version of Jamal’s miracle run on Who Wants to be a Millionaire would be like. 

 

Anil Kapoor needs the money to buy a razor

That is the film’s great strength; it makes us believe in Jamal, and in the end, get the girl as well. Though the ending may be pure Bollywood, it is still something that makes us go home happy. Performances from the ensemble cast are knockouts, especially from the young actors who you miss the instant Jamal and Salim tumble off the train in front of the Taj Mahal. But in the end, it all comes back to Danny Boyle, who has an eye for seeing the horrible sides of life, but at the same, seeing a glimmer of hope and happiness in those rough times. With such varied previous works as the aforementioned Trainspotting, the family film Millions, and the modern zombie classic 28 Days Later, Boyle establishes himself as one of the great directors, and he should soon add a Best Director Academy Award to his resume.

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Sulmoney’s #4 – The Dark Knight

Well, I think we have Wall-E covered pretty extensively. And I am sure that we will be seeing my #4 movie pick come up in your top 3 sooner rather than later, and I beat you to it once again. Again, Wall-E is a transcendent animated film, one that has universal appeal, and it is money in the bank for Best Animated Feature at the upcoming Academy Awards. We will find out in the morning if it has enough love to crash the presumed locked in 5 for Best Picture (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Frost/Nixon, Milk and Slumdog Millionaire).

Enough foreplay, on to the biggest blockbuster since Titanic.

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight. THE comic book movie to end all comic book movies. Nearly $1 billion in worldwide gross revenue. The movie event of not only the summer, but all of 2008. But we know all that already. We have story after story about The Dark Knight, and frankly, I overdosed on it. We have all seen it, and we all recognize the genius in every aspect of the film, from Christopher Nolan’s expert direction, the wonderful cinematography by Wally Pfister, the score by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, to the no need to mention it anymore iconic performance by the late great Heath Ledger. The only thing that I take offense to in the critical reception of the film is the seemingly forgotten performance by Aaron Eckhart in the tragic role of Harvey Dent/Two Face. Good thing I get to use this as my soap box to fight for him.

I really really believe in Harvey Dent

For all intents and purposes, the main story of The Dark Knight is the rise and fall of Harvey Dent. Even the title of the film indirectly references what Harvey Dent represented to the city of Gotham, as he was supposed to be their White Knight. For everything that Batman could do for the city in secrecy and in the cover of night, Harvey Dent could do in the light of day without hiding underneath a mask. Batman realizes this, and if there is one thing that he would want, it would be to be able to put his alter ego behind him, live his life as Bruce Wayne, and support Harvey Dent to the end of his days. One even gets the impression that Bruce Wayne wishes he was Harvey Dent. The first half of the film we are brought along through his biggest legal victories, and how he has cleaned up Gotham City to the best of his ability. This however leads to the coming out of The Joker, and we see the frustration of fighting a losing fight, the breaking of a good man’s spirit with the loss of his love, the subsequent birth of Two Face, and his final shameful acts.

Cue Daddy Yankee's Gasolina

Aaron Eckhart, lost amongst all the (well deserved) acclaim for Heath Ledger, merits recognition for what he brought to The Dark Knight. In his portrayal of Harvey Dent, Eckhart is the pulse of the film. As Two Face, he creates an absolutely terrifying villain that had too short of a shelf life in Nolan’s Bat-universe. Allowing us to come along for every rise and fall of his emotonal rollercoaster during the course of the film is a true triumph of acting, and Eckhart’s performance should elevate him to the upper echelon of Hollywood. When you rewatch The Dark Knight over and over for the rest of eternity, amidst all the wonderful pieces of the film, remember Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, Gotham’s White Knight.

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