Lists, 1/2.

By David Hudson on 01/02/2009

With 2008 well and truly over, we can now take a long look at Michael Sicinski's rankings of every new release he saw last year. None, we discover, is a perfect 10. But we do see five 9s: Hou Hsiao-hsien's "Flight of the Red Balloon," Christian Petzold's "Jerichow," Ben Rivers's "Origin of the Species," Jia Zhangke's "Still Life" and Jennifer Reeves's "When It Was Blue."

As it happens, 'Red Balloon' tops Andrew Schenker's list of the "Most Disappointing Films of 2008."

Rob Davis has far more than a list in Paste. "I often like movies that stretch time in interesting ways ('In the City of Sylvia,' 'Secret of the Grain' and 'Rachel Getting Married') or that observe people with a calm and quiet distance, as in Hou's simple and elegant 'Flight of the Red Balloon' [his #1] and 'Jia Zhang-ke's appropriately titled 'Still Life.'" Besides that top ten, there are umpteen other lists laid out according to traditional and non-traditional categories - and another top ten: "Favorite films that have NO pending release."

"Still Life" is Andrew Chan's #1: "As much as it distresses me that he's treated (at least in serious American film culture, it seems) as the only mainland Chinese director worthy of sustained consideration right now, and as much as I'm wary of the festival-film pedigree that surrounds him, and as much as I realize how easy it is to overrate a filmmaker whose subject has attracted such international attention.... I also know there is no reason to apologize for what Jia has been doing over the past decade. He is indeed, at his relatively young age, one of our major directors."

"Perhaps filmmakers were ahead of the curve and foresaw the wave of cautious optimism that was about to start rolling around the world," writes Nathaniel R, who's putting the finishing touches on his monster of a collection of lists at the Film Experience. "Consider the turn about from the following filmmakers who are no strangers to dour moods: Mike Leigh opted for cheer and generosity of spirit, Woody Allen made his sunniest film (quite literally) in years, and Gus Van Sant understood that 'you gotta give them hope.'"

It's a tie for Wexner Center for the Arts Film/Video Curator Dave Filipi: "A Christmas Tale" and "My Winnipeg." "Tale" is also #1 at the Wind in the Trees. Meantime, Assistant Film/Video Curator Chris Stults tops his list with Phil Solomon's "In Memoriam, Mark LaPore": "An encounter with the digital sublime, this suite of videos transforms footage from the 'Grand Theft Auto' videogame series into a true ghost world haunted by memories of loved ones, cinema, and beauty. More anima than anime, these videos introduce the soul into the new media landscape."

Jeffrey Overstreet's #1: "Shotgun Stories": "Jeff Nichols's meditation on an Arkansas family feud has the timeless quality of an Old Testament tale, captured in beautiful, naturalistic imagery, and understated performances by an impressive cast of unknowns."

Robert Horton on his #1, "The Edge of Heaven": "German filmmaker Fatih Akin ('Head-On') assembled this intricate study of people crossing borders between Germany and Turkey, and nongeographical borders too. This is the movie 'Crash' and 'Babel' tried to be."

"Indie films have grown stagnant and flaccid," writes Richard Corliss in a look back over the year for Time, "while the blockbusters have gotten smarter, mixing storytelling craft with nifty effects work by the most imaginative people around - the F/X technicians, cinematographers and second-unit directors - who push their movies' visions further. To put it baldly, action films are where the art is. Bigger is better."

"Fans of smart, engaged, ambitious cinema were spoiled for choice this year," writes Ann Hornaday, who puts "The Visitor" at the top of her ten in the Washington Post.

For Rania Richardson, it's "4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days": "Last year's film? This year's film? Either way, it tops."

Looking back over 2008 for SF360, Matt Sussman asks, "What did women want?"

Nick Davis is still revising his list of "100 Personal Favorites."

"Generation Kill" was the best thing Jim Emerson "saw on any screen in 2008."

Michael O'Sullivan looks back on the "year's worst movies" in the Los Angeles Times. Similarly, Andy Klein in the LA CityBeat and Brian Orndorf at Hollywood Bitchslap - where he whips right around and presents his list of the 10 best films of 2008. #1: "Let the Right One In

At the SpoutBlog, John Lichman introduces "Our Favorite Jeffrey Wells Moments in 2008": "Wells is a classic mix of online reactionary and keen insight, peppered with various 'what the fuck' moments and the occasional non sequitur involving Paris Hilton and Al-Qaeda."

Dennis Harvey considers this year's Oscar contenders at SF360.

Music? Both Darren Hughes and Jason Morehead have 2008 Mixes.

Online viewing tip. Mark Kermode on the worst films of the year.

Online viewing tips. "Top 50 movie special effects shots" from Martin Anderson at the Den of Geek! Via Rex Sorgatz, who lays out his "36 Predictions for 2009 in Media/Tech/Pop."

[Photos: "Still Life," New Yorker Films, 2006; "Shotgun Stories," International Film Circuit, 2007; "Let the Right One In," Magnolia Pictures, 2008]

Tags: interview, Rainn Wilson