I will be cheating on my top five. It was really hard for me to assign most of the movies up to this point a certain number in my top 25. The truth is that many of them are interchangeable and would rank differently depending on my mood or which film I saw most recently. My top five will be listed alphabetically. I think all five of these films are excellent and they all have many strong points and very few flaws.
500 Days of Summer
I found this film to be so purely enjoyable and fun. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is so fun to watch and totally carries the film for me. I just love how this film breaks genre stereotypes. It is essentially a romantic comedy, but it is about the boy rather than the girl. There are so many other things I really want to say about this film but I don't want to give anything away. As the narrator says near the beginning, "This is a story of boy meets girl, but this is not a love story."
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Wes Anderson finally got the chance to be in complete and total control of every single detail of a film and he used it to his definite advantage. A superb cast of Anderson regulars supply the voice talent for this fun stop motion picture. Anderson's signature family angst has its place in the plot. The soundtrack is everything you have come to expect in an Anderson film. This is just a highly enjoyable quirky film that I am happy to be able to recommend to anyone.
Inglourious Basterds
What can I say about this. Christoph Waltz is stupendous and ever so deserving of his Oscar. Unlike a lot of people, I found Brad Pitt and his performance to be extremely funny and enjoyable. Tarantino has lots of scenes carried by dialogue but that will not come as a surprise to anyone that is familiar with his work. It is still a little early to say but this may be my favourite Tarantino film.
Moon
Sam Rockwell is a terrific actor who always leaves me wanting to see more of him at the end of his films. Lets just say that Moon contains plenty of Rockwell for everyone. This is a terrific sci-fi film that relies more on writing and practical(miniatures) effects than on things blowing up and other "special" effects. Duncan Jones has made a truly astounding directorial debut. The last time I was this excited about a new director was when I saw Brick. This film was an homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey, and his next film is supposed to be in the vein of Blade Runner. Jones sure sets his sights high, but if he succeeds on his next film at level that he did with Moon, than I am sure you will see him in my top five again someday.
Up
I once watched this film with a group of people that included some children. We arrived at the spectacular montage near the beginning that tells Carl and Ellie's story of a life together, a life of happy and sad times, a real life. Once the montage ended, on a very sombre tone, one person said, "What kind of kids movie is this?" Good question. It is not a kids movie. Pixar does not make "kids movies", they make films. Up is an excellent film that is appropriate for all humans.
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