BIG JESSE
Like buses, you wait for ages for a good movie and then several turn up all at once.
The year started well with Tim Burton's wonderfully dark Grand Guignol take on Sondheim's SWEENEY TODD which I fell in love with straight away, and have been listening to Johnny Depp's David Bowie like warblings on my ipod ever since.
Then came THERE WILL BE BLOOD which rendered me speechless with it's brilliance as I know fluid69 would agree.
In between was NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN which I have now seen several times and still finding it hard to warm to, but I felt the same about Fargo at the time and have grown to like it over time.
I've now caught up with THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES which Casey Affleck was Oscar nominated for.
This is another 150min epic with stunning Cinematography by Roger Deakins, some of the scenes you could get screencaps from and frame them as art they are that gorgeous to look at.
Unlike BLOOD this took me a bit of time to get into but it slowly draws you in with sterling performances by Cassey Affleck and a brilliant turn from the ever reliable Brad Pitt who even throws in bit of Tyler Durden into the mix.
It has it's quiet lulls in the middle but the final hour, which finds the Ford Brothers staying with Jesse James at his home and coming to terms with what has to be done and the outcome that follows, is riveting.
Throw in a beautiful score by Nick Cave (who also cameos near the end) and you've got another stunning piece of epic Americana, not quite up to the dizzying heights of BLOOD but pretty damn close.
I can't leave out JUNO which was a lovely little movie with a big heart, but a real surprise was a movie called DEDICATION which I thought was brilliant.
It centres around a real cynical Childrens book author who after the death of his business partner/artist has to find another artist to finish a book for a Xmas deadline.
Not your everyday set up for a romantic comedy but thats exactly what this is, albeit a pitch black one, with great performances from Billy Crudup and Tom Wilkinson. Any film that starts with a Kids book author going to a porno cinema for inspiration gets my vote everytime.