1 DIVING BELL AND BUTTERFLY — One of the most transcendental experiences I have ever had at the movies. Julian Schnabel may be a pompous asshole, but his genius as a visual artist (both moving and still) cannot be denied.
2 AWAY FROM HER — Sarah Polley’s debut reveals an intelligence well beyond her years; I can’t think of another movie made that is so respectful of maturity and wisdom, particularly in our youth-worshiping culture.
3 NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN - Watch for the Javier Bardem bowl haircut Halloween costume next year.
4 BILLY THE KID - Okay, I associate produced it. But I did that for a reason. I love this film. and Billy.
5 RED ROAD - Andrea Arnold’s film is a taut, perfectly crafted work of suspense and tragedy.
6 INTO THE WILD - At times cheesy and overwraught but in total, a beautiful meditation on a fascinating character.
7 MANDA BALA - Eroll Morris’s alleged prodigy crafts a film worthy of the master.
8 RESCUE DAWN - Yes, it is Werner Herzog at the reigns, but it is the stellar acting by Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, and Jeremy Davies that carries this excellent movie.
9 DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT - An utterly enigmatic, brilliant, and tight film that is almost silent. Like a mute assassin.
10 KNOCKED UP - Although I have many problems with this film in retrospect (and yes, I do think it is sexist as all hell!), it made me laugh my ass off and intelligent comedies are hard to come by. That said, it was no 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN.

Last week, me and my buddies Murray and Anthony went to see “I Am Legend” on the IMAX screen up by Lincoln Center. But we didn’t go to see Will Smith battle CGI zombies (which was entirely awful, by the way), we went to see the first six minutes of “The Dark Knight,” which was attached to the beginning of “Legend,” like a trailer. The most awesome trailer of all time. The very first shot prompted audible gasps from the audience, myself included. When was the last time you heard people gasp in a theater? The picture was so clear, so deep, that when the camera moved, you felt like you were practically swimming through it. Christopher Nolan is doing some cutting-edge work here, no doubt about it. The footage we saw took us through a Joker-led bank heist, in all its “Heat”-inspired glory. And Heath Ledger IS the Joker. Period.

Tonight, I have tickets for “Sweeney Todd” at the Ziegfeld (opening night, baby!) and boy am I psyched. This’ll be my third time at the Zig, after seeing “Dreamgirls” with my friend Abby, and “Blade Runner” with my Mom (it’s her favorite movie).

Pretty women… silhouetted…
Say within you… glancing…

Sweeney Todd has long been one of my favorite musicals. So when I heard that Tim Burton was doing the movie, I couldn’t have been happier. Then came the bombshell: He was casting it with non-singers. Sweeney Todd is one of the most challenging vocal scores out there and no one had ever heard Johnny Depp sing a note. I was wary, to say the least. The trailer didn’t help, either. It had only one line of singing, and it was mostly speak-singing. Scary stuff. I officially started hating on the flick and have been for many moons. But then… then… the clips. The clips, by God, the clips! They started popping up everywhere and they proved, without a doubt, that Johnny can sing. Homeboy sounds great. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks… Sweeney Todd is going to be brilliant. I am going to get to see Johnny Depp sing a Sondheim duet with Alan Rickman in a Tim Burton movie. What else can you say? Actually, I can say more. Besides rediscovering my love for Sondheim, all of this hoopla has led me to rediscover my love for Burton as well. Sure, he’s done some mediocre stuff lately, but he’s a visionary. Batman, Beetlejuice, and Sleepy Hollow are all classics in my book. Burton has a way of capturing an audience’s imagination like no other director out there. Next up for Tim, Alice and Wonderland in 3D. Consider me down the rabbit hole.

So I know we usually write about Independent Films. Well, except Bennie, who prefers to write about highly-questionable studio projects. (Don’t worry, we love you anyway!) But I feel impelled to discuss Robert Zemeckis’ Beowulf, which I caught in it’s stupendous 3-D Imax format at the Lincoln Square theater earlier this week.

Put aside the writing and some of the half-human performances - you’ve got to assume a bit of over-flowerification, glorification, speechification, and badass-ification in a Studio film based on what is essentially civilization’s earliest monster story. But on to the important thing, the treatment of the 3-D.

I confess to not being a 3-D aficionado. The last 3-D flick I caught was one of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. I think it was Freddy’s Dead, the first supposed last film in a series that still continues today in a myriad of iterations. That was back in 1991, long before motion capture animation was a gleam in gollum’s eye. And my expectations for that seminal work were so abysmally low that a letdown was nigh on impossible. Even though Freddy’s 3-D experience lasted only for the final fifteen minutes of the film. And included highlights such as three dimensional sticks and twigs.

So with all that said, I admit I am in no way a 3-D expert. There’s probably a dozen awesome 3-D flicks that could be just as good. But the work they did on Beowulf was phenomenal. I was blown away before the movie even opened. IMAX is overwhelming as it is, but with enormous words shooting by you in all directions, paired with ear-rocking sound, dragons flying all up in your business…it reminded me of childhood theatrical experiences. E.T., Indiana Jones, Superman, all that is good about big screen spectacle when you can leave your cynicism at the door and just hop on board. And Angelina…Though Michael Tully did make a good point in his blog from December 3rd, I can’t think of anyone better to play a heartless, ancient demon. You see her in reality and she’s almost too striking to be human. It wasn’t even a small leap to buy her as the mother of a deformed cave creature. And that voice…

All I can say is go check it out. If only for the scene where buckets of 3-D blood cascade with drowning ferocity from what seems like directly over your head. And bring snacks you don’t have to look at to eat, ’cause your eyes will be busy.

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