2008 was an exciting year for innovative films and DVDs. Many of the world’s leading filmmakers presented new works. Let’s take a look at ten of my favourite DVDs of the past year produced in North America and five DVDs of films made overseas.
Top Ten North American DVDs:
DARK KNIGHT
was a standout sequel to “Batman Begins”. This film had everything an action freak could ask for. Christian Bale reprised his role as Batman and Heath Ledger made one of the most memorable appearances in the history of film as The Joker.
The action never let up and kept audiences so enthralled, that many people went to see the film several times, resulting in the biggest box office since “Titanic”.
ENCHANTED
is as far from” The Dark Knight” as you can get. A lovely fairy tale that enchanted audiences of all ages, and Amy Adams was magical as the fairy princess. Everything seemed to work in this film, especially the original music score that played up the make belief and created a wonderful atmosphere for this film that mixed animation and live action in a new and exciting way.
INTO THE WILD
was a film directed by Sean Penn and based on a true story about a young man who forsake all the comforts of American life and left home to live his own adventure. He traveled throughout the United States, living on the money he could earn doing odd jobs. Eventually he made his way up to Alaska and tried to live off the land with very few creature comforts. Emile Hirsh was excellent as the young adventurer and this was Sean Penn’s high point as a director.
IRON MAN
was another comic book character brought to life on the big screen. Robert Downey Jr. was absolutely mesmerizing as the title character and the film was one of the best of this genre. Everyone who saw it is now anxiously waiting for a sequel that has been promised for release in the near future.
JUNO
is about as different as you can get. Featuring young Canadian actress, Ellen Page, the film has a laid back kind of quality and a tongue in cheek chutzpa that made it stand out from the crowd. The story follows a teenage girl who gets pregnant by her boyfriend and her trip into the world of adoptions. She looks for, and finds, a childless couple who are ready and willing to adopt the baby once it is born and who are eager to underwrite the cost of the pregnancy. It is a charming comedy with a lot of pathos and real life angst.
KIT KITTREDGE: AN AMERICAN GIRL
is set in 1934, at the height of the Great Depression and tells the story of a 9-year old girl who is determined to become a newspaper journalist. But the film is about a lot more than this. In many ways it shows how lives were affected by the economic tailspin and what it did to family life in the United States.
MAMMA MIA: THE MOVIE
was a joyous ode to music and dance and just plain fun. The music by Abba was infectious and Meryl Streep was a delight as the mother. And that woman can really sing. I can’t say the same about the male co-stars, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skargard, but they did try. And Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski and Julie Walters were terrific as the young women getting married and as Meryl Streep’s friends. And they can sing too. This was two hours of wonderful entertainment that you can watch over and over again.
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
was full of violence and killings, but was almost hypnotic in the way it kept its audience involved. It is the story of a hired gun, played chillingly by Javier Bardem, whose services are retained to get some money back for a drug dealer. The hit man is relentless in his quest for the money, killing everyone who gets in his way.
SHINE A LIGHT
is the Martin Scorsese film of a Rolling Stones concert. What a concert and what a film! Originally done in the IMAX process, the film is literally bigger than life and although DVD cannot give the same atmosphere, it still works well on the home video system.
WALL-E
is the beautiful Pixar animated film about a robot who falls in love and goes into outer space to be near the robot he favours. It is beautifully done with very little dialogue, but words really aren’t needed. I saw this film twice in the theatres, it was so good.
TOP FIVE FOREIGN FILMS ON DVD
BEAFORT
is the Israeli film that was nominated for an Academy Award. It tells the story of an Israeli army unit which is posted to a position at the Beaufort crusader castle, just across the border from Israel in Lebanon. Israel is preparing to pull its remaining troops out of Lebanon, and this is one of their last positions in that country. The fort is receiving rocket and missile fire almost every day and Israeli casualties are mounting. The question comes up as to whether holding the position is worth the cost.
THE COUNTERFEITERS
is the Austrian film that actually won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film and it tells the story of a group of concentration camp prisoners, who are forced by the Germans to make false British and American currency. The Germans hope to destroy the Allies’ economies by swamping them with phony money and the prisoners are hoping to survive the war by doing this work. They do slow the work down and they do put roadblocks in the way of the Germans, but eventually they come up with almost perfect counterfeit money.
THE KITE RUNNER
tells the story of a young boy in Kabul, Afghanistan, and his attempts to survive the Taliban rule, his escape to the United States and his eventual return to his native land in order to help a childhood friend.
PERSEPOLIS
is a black and white animated film based on the filmmaker’s own story about growing up under the strict Islamic rule in Iran and her parents’ attempts to get her out of the country and into a safe western environment. It gives a very moving picture of how difficult it is to grow up and live under a tyrannical and fundamentalist system of government.
UNDER THE SAME MOON
tells the story of a Mexican woman, who crosses into the United States illegally and works to help her young son have some of the things she could never give him if she had stayed at home. It is a sentimental and beautiful film to watch.
