Welcome, everyone, to the first annual
Amazees!
What are the Amazees!, you ask? Well, I love awards shows, making lists, and talking about things I love, so I decided to combine them all and celebrate the stuff that made me happy this past year. Oh, I also like using the word “amazing.” And, thus, the Amazees! were born!
Check out this sophisticated artist rendering of what an Amazee! looks like:
Fancy, huh? You know you want one.
Some people may not know this, but I love movies
almost as much as I enjoy playing videogames. Of course my tawdry love affair with videogames will never quite be matched, but, I have to say, there is something about seeing a great movie that really tickles my fancy.
Because of this obsession with movies and videogames I decided to present the Amazees! in two parts: today will focus on my favorite movies of 2008 and tomorrow will be dedicated to my favorite videogames of the year.
Keep in mind that these awards only involve movies and videogames
that I have seen or played. If something incredible is missing it is probably because I just haven’t experienced it yet. Don’t yell at me!
So, without further adieu, I present to you the first annual Amazees!:
*applause*
*girls taking off their tops*
*applause for girls taking off their tops*
____________________________________________
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Wait, the tears streaming out of my face at the end of this movie have something to say:
“The music ... so good ... so moving ...”
There you go. Tears don’t lie.
Runner-up: WALL-E
Cloverfield
Although the entire movie is technically impressive, the sound effects in particular in
Cloverfield are exceptional.
Runner-up: The Dark Knight
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Honestly, I just decided to add this category at the last minute just so I could talk about how freakin’ amazing the makeup in
Benjamin Button is. Wow.
Runner-up: The Wrestler
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The cinematography in
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is absolutely gorgeous. And, yes, be prepared to read the name “Benjamin Button” a lot throughout the rest of these awards.
Runner-up: Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire
It is very rare for me to notice how well a film is edited, but after seeing
Slumdog Millionaire I remember mentioning to a friend how amazing the editing was. The remarkable style and frenetic pace of the movie are born almost entirely from the incredible editing.
Runner-up: American Teen
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Um, they digitally inserted Brad Pitt’s face on another actor for almost half the movie. And it looks amazing. Yeah, this award could not have gone to any other film.
Runner-up: Cloverfield
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
How many times have you ever said a movie is better than its source material? For me, only a small handful. And one of those movies is
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Runner-up: Frost/Nixon
WALL-E
WALL-E is the definition of a perfectly structured movie. From the opening, wordless portion on Earth to the surprisingly deep commentary on the human race’s obsession with consumerism that closes the movie,
WALL-E impresses and never ceases to blow me away with its endless creativity.
Runner-up: Slumdog Millionaire
Taraji P. Henson (
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
As Queenie, the incredibly kind adoptive mother of Brad Pitt’s Benjamin, Taraji P. Henson is marvelous. No other actress this year (supporting or lead) embodied a role better. Every scene she was in filled my heart with such joy -- if I wasn’t laughing out loud I had a giant smile on my face.
Runner-up: Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married)
Heath Ledger (
The Dark Knight)
I know, giving Heath Ledger this award is so obvious. But, man, all these months later I am
still thinking about his performance as the Joker in
The Dark Knight. My favorite scene has to be the part when Ledger’s character walks out of the hospital dressed as the nurse. That little hop he does off the curb sealed the deal for me.
Runner-up: Ayush Mahesh Khedekar (Slumdog Millionaire)
Anne Hathaway (
Rachel Getting Married)
The rehearsal dinner scene alone in
Rachel Getting Married wins this category for Anne Hathaway. No other movie this year made me feel more uncomfortable than
Rachel Getting Married, and it’s all thanks to Anne Hathaway’s tragic performance. And I mean that as the highest compliment.
Runner-up: Cate Blanchett (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Mickey Rourke (
The Wrestler)
Gosh, this was a tough category. Between Frank Langella (
Frost/Nixon), Sean Penn (
Milk), Clint Eastwood (
Gran Torino) and Brad Pitt (
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) I truly didn’t know who to pick!
In the end, though, Mickey Rourke gave the most affecting, physically demanding performance I have seen all year. Um, he took a staple gun to the chest. MULTIPLE TIMES!
Honorable Mention: Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
Danny Boyle (
Slumdog Millionaire)
While David Fincher’s direction in
Benjamin Button is flawless, I have to give the slight upper hand to Danny Boyle for his remarkable work on
Slumdog Millionaire. Not only is
Slumdog one of the best films of the year, it is also one of the most stylish and well constructed movies of all time. The direction truly is perfection.
Runner-up: David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
When I first saw
Benjamin Button more than a month ago I was obsessed with it. Instead of proclaiming it the best movie of 2008, though, I decided to let the experience sink in a little and see it again when it opened on Christmas Day. I did. And it is still my favorite movie of the year.
As much as I adore
Slumdog Millionaire and
WALL-E,
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button affected me on a level no movie has in years. The first time I saw it I continued to cry for at least ten minutes straight after the closing credits rolled. That’s one powerful piece of art! David Fincher’s masterpiece is like a modern day fairy tale, displaying some of the most technical wonder -- from the jaw-dropping visual effects to the stunning camera work -- I have ever seen on the big screen.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a movie I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life.
Honorable Mentions: Slumdog Millionaire, WALL-E
____________________________________________
And, if you are curious, here is a list of my Top Ten Movies of 2008:
Top Ten Movies of 2008
1.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2.
Slumdog Millionaire
3.
WALL-E
4.
The Wrestler
5.
Milk
6.
Gran Torino
7.
The Dark Knight
8.
Frost/Nixon
9.
Rachel Getting Married
10.
Cloverfield
Congratulations,
The Curious Case of Benjamin! You are the big winner, taking home
seven Amazees! Nice job!
Check back tomorrow for the Amazees! for
best videogames of the year!
Chad Concelmo's blog
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WOW!!! ... you really liked The Curious Case of Benjamin Button that much? Are you saying we should all go see this movie?
I mean was there a dolphin scene in it and that's why you love it so much>
Batman and Cloverfield are the only movies on here that I've seen. Man, I suck.
@SilverDragon1979,
GO SEE IT! IT IS AMAZING! :D
yea i missed most of these too, but i'm a dvd kinda guy.
That Award... is.. so... AMAAAAAAAAZING!
This makes me want to go out and rescue a bus full of nuns and orphans to win an Amazee. Also if an old lady had one I'd punch her in the face and grab it.
Oh and I need to see the curious case of benjamin button now.
OMG...your header is AMAAAAAAAAAZING.
Cool list Chad, I had fun watching you type it up form the bushes.
i need to catch up on movies bad ;( but i just saw 'yes man' the other night and actually rather enjoyed it. do you like red bull? i like red bull.
Yeah, I need to get out and see a couple movies as well. Anyone here seen "Let The Right One In"? I've heard amazing things about that as well.
Yeah, I need to get out and see a couple movies as well. Anyone here seen "Let The Right One In"? I've heard amazing things about that as well.
Awesome awards blog, Chad. Jessica's academy awards screeners have been piling up (we've both been so busy), but your list is a great motivation for us to sit down and actually plow through them.
We did see Milk, though. We watched that one first because our friend from HSM had a small role in it. It was such a great movie ... but was anyone else disturbed by how similar Sean Penn's voice sounded to his I Am Sam character? No disrespect -- All I'm saying's it's weird.
Great list, Chad! I've been meaning to go see all of the late Oscar contenders (Milk, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Slumdog Millionaire, The Wrestler), but my friends are all lame and they don't want to see most of them. Bah.
Wow, Chad. I haven't seen Benjamin Button yet, but I am going right after New Year. I know if you loved it, I likely will as well.
AMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZING :)
I wanted to see Slumdog Millionare with my family, but my stepdad wouldn't shut up about The Spirit. Then we didn't end up seeing either because my sister couldn't finish girling herself up in time.
I am slightly interested in the Button movie as it looks too weird to pass up and you drove that curious nail in even more!
Cloverfield FTW.
Everyone I know hates it. I just can't believe how wrong they are.
Also, I've never heard of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button til now, so I'm gonna check that shiznit out.
Samit, I'm in the same boat as you! I am dying to see those movies but after 'Burn After Reading' my friends seem to have lost interest in quirky Pitt movies. I may go see CCoBB on New Years Day. Milk on cheap night and Frost/Nixon Friday but... that is a bit ambitious.
Nicely done Chad. Like the format and its pretty concise. A pleasure, can't wait for the games.
This list needs Rambo >:-P
gonna half to see the button movie now, you bastard! i was delaying it and now i can't. need to see the Wrestler as well, i'm a big Mickey fan
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: The awards show
I've never heard of this Benjamin Button film till now, I shall have to check it out good sir.
I was Curious before, but now I'm intrigued.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The name alone makes me want to see this movie. :)
NO MENTION OF DEATH RACE?!
I'm sensing a bit of a pattern in Chad's awards, but I can't quite put my finger on it...
@Nebones - Nice! Lol, while we're at it lets toss in Doomsday and The Punisher: War Zone too! Muwahaha!
Wait, on second thought perhaps we should just make our own lists instead of shitting on Chad's! Sorry bout that, hehe. Got carried away there.
OMG NO HOTTIE AND THE NOTTIE?!?! ;)
I'm seeing Benjamin Button tonight, but I've never even heard of Slumdog Millionaire or The Wrestler (I've been incommunicado for a while). I'll have to go and check those suckers out.
I saw Benjamin Button over the weekend and I must say it is quite epic. That and Dark Knight are my contenders for best movie of the years. Its pretty much Forrest Gump with a quirky twist, but to make it work so plendidly thorugh that twist is what makes it awesome.
I saw it in theatres, but just as an FYI, a good Screener of the film is making the, ahem, not-torrent round through the internet, for those less financially disposed to see it.
I really need to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. And The Wrestler. And The Dark Knight (I KNOW! I STILL HAVEN'T SEEN IT!)
Chad and Best Of lists go together like two things that go together extremely well.
Great list!
I only think Hal Holbrook should've won your 'Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role' amazee. He's such a great actor.
I have been so out of touch with the film industry in 2008. I never even HEARD of most of these moves!
Great list Chad! You really know your how to pick great movies.
Great list Chad! I would have expected you to pick Wall-E for best overall (before seeing all the awards you gave Benjamin Button), and it's always nice to be surprised.
Also Mxy, get the fuck on seeing The Dark Knight right this second, seriously.
I see a disturbing lack of The Dark Knight not being considered the BEST MOVIE EVAR.
Actually, good list. I just saw Benjamin Button on Sunday, and while I kind of knew how it was going to play out just from hearing the premise, it was still a great movie, if a touch long. I think, though, that the subject matter was a bit too "heavy" for me, like I didn't want to see such a painful story play out.
Was the Spirit any good?
I am going to that movie tonight! I can't wait to see it.
Gah! I'm still playing catch up trying to see all of the rush of great movies at the end of the year. All I really have left is Doubt and I have to go back and see Rachel Getting Married, then I'll be ready to make a list of my own ;) You picked some good ones but I think you missed one!
Wait a minute, these are all Warner Bros. movies*. Shenanigans!
*Note: These are not all Warner Bros. movies
Wow, there really weren't a lot of good movies this year.
Very nice list Chad! I didn't know you were such a movie buff!
Slumdog Millionaire is fantastic... good job sirs!
@Jesus H Christ,
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?! :O
I want to see Benjamin Button so bad :(
I'd agree with most of your list, except Milk. Too self-gratifying and no Denzel in a civil liberties movie = what? Go watch Let The Right One In! :D
Sadly, out of all of those movies, the only ones I have seen are Wall-E and Dark Knight. I loved Wall-E but wasn't too impressed with TDK.
I do want to see Benjamin Button though...
No TropicThunder?! I was robbed! :P
@Chad: The only movie you mentioned that I liked was The Dark Knight! Even that was a little painful due to length.
Somebody must really like Benjamin Button. It's a pity I went to go see the Spirit (which was really bad BTW) instead of that. I agree with this list.
Also anybody who hasn't seen slumdog millionare must go see it. NOW!
I've only seen The Dark Knight but that's because almost none of these have been shown in Mexico yet. Sometimes teh releases are so tardy that Oscar-winning films haven't reached us.
*is pissed because he wants to watch Nick & Norah*
I ought to go see Benjamin Button, I guess. And The Wrestler. And Frost/Nixon.
@Braulio:
But Mexico does get a few movies early, like the awesome "Taken" starring Liam Neeson. It released in France in Feb 08, Mexico August-ish 08, and won't hi the US til Feb or March 09 I think.