Thursday, March 13, 2008

Best of 2007: Adventures in Nonfiction

If you're looking to be fascinated, elated, humbled, informed, and deeply, deeply unsettled by the movies—and who among us isn't?—you can skip the fiction section entirely and peruse my choices for the Best Documentaries of last year. With Lake of Fire arriving on DVD this past Tuesday, all five films are officially available to those of you with Netflix dependencies, and with the 2008 release calendar starting to extend more interesting options, you'll want to jump on these superior films before you get swept up in the avalanche of the new. That's right: you can keep counting on me and this blog to hold you back, just when you're eager to move forward. Long live 2007!

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4 Comments:

Blogger NATHANIEL R said...

I've only seen ZOO of the films listed here and I thought it was quite good or at least fascinating in its strange diversions. The scene with the actor discussing the reenactment was bewildering and yet, fit right in in the long run.

I don't think i fully "got" the movie, but I'm happy to be challenged.

unless of course the subject is abortion and from every description of Lake of Fire I don't think I could make it through.

10:36 PM, March 13, 2008  
Blogger Colin Low said...

Hey Nick:

This is off-topic from your post, but I just want to thank you for the work you put into these awards. You have the most insightful, well-written odes to cinema around the blogosphere. And while our filmic tastes don't exactly collide (I was bored stiff by Once, for instance, apart from the honest "Broken-Hearted Hoover-Fixer Sucker Guy"), I am thrilled that you have championed the ambitious Juno despite the growing popularity of showing dislike for it, and I'm eagerly awaiting your Best Actress of 2007 write-ups -- especially for the underrated Tang Wei.

Cheers, and keep up the great work!

Colin

9:41 AM, March 15, 2008  
Blogger tim r said...

Love these picks, especially since I've caught up with Lake of Fire and No End in Sight in the last few weeks, and I'm with you on both of them. I didn't know about the French Crowhurst film, but if they ever get round to an English dramatisation, you know who they've got to cast for sheer physical resemblance, don't you? I believe he was one of your 2004 supporting actor nominees...

3:55 AM, March 18, 2008  
Blogger NicksFlickPicks said...

@Nat: I love that I'm spreading Zoo among my cohort (or to you and Goatdog, anyway). Of all the movies to proselytize for. I love that sense of "not getting it" that's built right into the film.

@Colin: What an incredibly kind comment! Thanks so much for taking the time to say this.

@Tim: More work for Eddie Marsan! I love that guy. And he would be perfect. Unless you meant Cate Blanchett?

10:12 AM, March 18, 2008  

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