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View from the Couch
Awards You are in: surefish > faith > DVDs of the year Date: 15 January, 2008
Who needs an Oscar, Golden Globe or a Tony when you can have a Couch! DVD reviewer Steve Couch offers his awards for the best films of the last 12 months It’s pure folly to compare different films in different styles and genres. It’s like comparing a well-matured stilton with a rose – how can you possibly evaluate their relative merits when each is so fundamentally different in nature and purpose? Who is to say which is better? Me, that’s who. Here are my thoughts on the best films released on DVD in 2008. Feel free to disagree, but trust me – look at the rose, eat the stilton, and smell whichever one floats your particular olfactory boat. Best Musical With High School Musical 2 released in 2007 and High School Musical 3 not due on DVD until 2009, I am mercifully free to ignore the franchise that seems destined to go all the way to High School Musical 23: The Mid-Life Crisis. This is a straight shootout between the wildly different charms of Mamma Mia! and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street; the magic of Abba versus the magic of Stephen Sondheim. On the basis of a story that holds together much more convincingly, and a set of principle actors who can actually carry a tune as well as that story, I’m giving it to Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter are always convincing in song. By contrast, Mamma Mia!’s Pierce Brosnan may be a marvellous actor, but oh my word, did nobody listen to his singing voice before contracts were signed? • Click here for a downloadable video from Culturewatch TV on Mamma Mia! Best Superhero film In almost any other year, Iron Man would be a strong contender for this award, as would Will Smith’s Hancock. But it would be a travesty for this to go anywhere other than The Dark Knight. Compelling, dark and intelligent. This film takes a closer look at the dark side of the human condition than most ‘serious’ films this year, let alone other superhero flicks. Best historical film Two Tudor blockbusters (The Other Boleyn Girl and Elizabeth: The Golden Age) one western (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) and one more recent political biopic (Charlie Wilson’s War). With a script by Aaron Sorkin, and Tom Hanks displaying a delightful roguish charm, the award goes to Charlie Wilson’s War. • Click here for a Damaris article on The Other Boleyn Girl Best gangster film Does The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford count? I say yes, edging it ahead of American Gangster, but still being run out of town by the potty-mouthed morality play In Bruges. • Click here for a Damaris article on In Bruges Best ridiculously long title for a film which is well worth watching for its ability to shed new light on a fabled historical figure of the West. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. These awards aren’t getting too contrived for you, are they? Best Animated film Possibly the strongest category this year. Two of Pixar’s finest emerged on DVD this year – Ratatouille and WALL-E. Add to that comic book life Persepolis and Dreamworks’ irresistible Kung Fu Panda and there are four very different and deserving claims on the title. WALL-E has a sophistication that sets it apart from the others, but some younger viewers have struggled to connect with its loftier themes, making it less accessible than other Pixar classics. Such as my winning film, Ratatouille, which is a constant delight and which makes a better job of walking the kids-and-adults-too tightrope. • Click here for a Damaris article on Ratatouille Best martial arts film featuring a fat animated panda WALL-E . No, just kidding. Kung Fu Panda raised the bar for action scenes in animated movies, and is much more than just Jack Black goofing off behind a microphone. Best film that I can’t believe hasn’t won any other awards yet WALL-E is probably the most ambitious film that Pixar has offered to us so far. It’s a delightful piece of storytelling, with beautifully crafted references to sci-fi classics such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, an environmental message and a thoughtful treatise on human nature which embraces both the deep flaws and the potential for more that make us the species we are. Best sci-fi/fantasy Stardust glitters and shines, outdoing the more serious-minded claims of the impressive I Am Legend. If I hadn’t already made up a category for WALL-E, I would probably make a case for that as best sci-fi, but I have so I won’t. • Click here for a Damaris article on Stardust Best Quirky Indy film A great year for these, with two outstanding American offerings Juno and Waitress being pipped to the trophy by the British Son of Rambow, a coming of age tale which sparkles with wit, pathos and an understanding of the power of popular culture. • Click here for a downloadable video from Culturewatch TV on Juno Most disappointing Indy film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull . Having waited 19 years for the principles to agree on a script they were all happy with, I frankly expected more. There are good bits, and even some bits good enough to sit with the best of better Indy films, but there are other bits which are just ridiculous (and not in a good way). The third or fourth best Indy film, at most. Why didn’t they just leave the legacy untarnished? • Click here for a downloadable video from Culturewatch TV on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Most disappointing film not featuring a super-annuated archaeologist in a wide-brimmed hat The Golden Compass . I’m not sure whose idea it was to tone down the anti-church element of Philip Pullman’s fantasy trilogy, but isn’t that kind of the whole point of the books? We can only hope that the other films in the series (if they still get made) will retain more of Pullman’s vision, rather than pandering to perceived American audience sensitivities. • Click here for a Damaris article on The Golden Compass Best Pregnancy film Knocked Up was released on boxing day 2007, but as it missed my copy deadline for last years awards I’m allowing it as a 2008 release. It still doesn’t win though, beaten into third place by the excellent Waitress and (the winner) Juno. Best Teen Film Juno may well have won this if I hadn’t just given it the previous award. Superbad is a worthy winner though, with leads who manage to remain likeable while laying bare their hidden shallows. All hail McLovin! Best Rom-Com 27 Dresses is the best traditional rom-com I saw this year, although the screwball antics of Leatherheads and the post-modern shenanigans of Enchanted both had some appeal. But the award goes to Run Fat Boy Run – it doesn’t feel like a rom-com, but there’s a boy-loses-girl-fights-for-girl-and-wins-girl-in-the-end story arc that justifies the tag. And it puts more ‘com’ into the equation than any of the other contenders. • Click here for a downloadable video from Pollard On Film on 27 Dresses Best Literary Adaptation Moving straight past the merely OK Prince Caspian and the butchered The Golden Compass, this comes down to the visually striking Beowulf or the impeccable Atonement. The latter is one of my favourite novels, making it an almost impossible task for the film to satisfy – it did, and it wins this award. • Click here for a downloadable video from Culturewatch TV on Atonement Best conspiracy film There was a certain gung-ho charm to National Treasure 2: The Book of Secrets, and George Clooney’s angsty social activism was running true to form on Michael Clayton, but the award goes to the excellent Gone Baby Gone. Who would have thought that Ben Affleck had something like this in him? Fans of the other contenders are free to mutter darkly and construct conspiracy theories as to how this award went to the wrong film. I don’t care. • Click here for a downloadable video from Culturewatch TV on National Treasure 2: The Book Of Secrets Steve’s top five DVD movies releases of 2008 1. Son of Rambow It was hard not to give it to The Dark Knight, but Son of Rambow is a film that I’d be happy to watch again and again, which I’m not sure I’d say of The Dark Knight, much as I admire its achievement. With an irresistible sense of fun, two endearingly different juvenile leads, plus an emotional depth that comes like a sucker punch, Son of Rambow is a remarkable film. Of the others, WALL-E misses out twice: pipped by Ratatouille because the latter is more accessible for younger children and adults alike; pipped by Kung Fu Panda because of its boundless energy and fun. The top quintet is completed with the outstanding Atonement. Director Joe Wright remained true to the spirit of Ian McEwan’s greatest work without being so awed by it that he couldn’t make the necessary changes to bring it to the screen. I’m a huge fan of both book and film – and I can’t think of many other adaptations that I would say that about. Honourable mentions to (in alphabetical order Charlie Wilson’s War ; In Bruges, Juno; Run Fat Boy Run; WALL-E. Person of the Year award No one star has dominated like Matt Damon last year, although Seth Rogen (Knocked Up,Superbad, Kung Fu Panda, Horton Hears a Who and Spiderwick Chronicles) and Jason Bateman (Hancock, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium and Juno) have all been notably busy, albeit often in supporting roles. Katherine Heigl shone in 27 Dresses and Knocked Up, as did Michael Cera (Juno, Superbad) whose geeky vulnerability is an essential part of the success of both of his 2008 releases. But the award goes to Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Gone Baby Gone), who has proved that he’s more than just Ben’s little brother or a minor supporting player in George Clooney’s Ocean goof-offs. • Other DVD recommendations Steve Couch is a writer for Damaris Trust
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