#9 and #8

9. AFTERSCHOOL

A selection I saw at the Wisconsin Film Festival that suprisingly appeared very high on an Ain't it Cool News Critic's top list of the DECADE. There's nothing better for a film snob that to see a movie no one else will be able to see normally in theaters show up on a critic's list! A very confident, very disturbing movie that is almost a textbook lesson in using film style and framing to depict alienation and dehumanization. And anything that hints on those themes and seems to suggest a new unique variation on Kubrickian perfection is very exciting to behold. While so many interpretations of modern society in the cyber-age seem to me to be portrayals by creative people that seem to know better because they have more fullfilling lives, Afterschool brings all that emotional distance to a cold and personal level. Of course, since I'm fullfilling many avenues of personal expression (and used to take care of some my social needs) through a computer screen, this was a film that hit a little too close to home. But this is a subject that has to be broached as interacting with physical people becomes less of a necessity that it used to be for many of life's functions.

8. OBSERVE AND REPORT

Of course, every year contains lots of comedies, but aside from a few chuckles, can they really stick with you after watching it for the first time. Observe and Report succeeds because it adds just the right dark twists to things to make every outburst of sexual deviancy and violence less of a cheap shot and more part of a grand scheme to have you disgusted at and cheering for the main character at any given time. A consistent state of depravity is much better than perhaps a more conventional comic movie mold, where someone has to "learn" something by the end, and the big bruiser that pushes everyone around is relegated to supporting act status, instead of Seth Rogen in this film, who gets kudos for pulling off this character extremely well.