Merrick here...

Mastidon's done a bit of writing for us this year: reports from the QUANTUM OF SOLACE premiere in the UK, BNAT X stuff, and more.

He sent along his "Top 10 of 2008", which we present here for your consideration, conversation, and/or evisceration.

Hi Guys,

Mastidon here with my top 10 list. I wasn't planning on writing one but after realizing some of the films on my list haven't gotten enough attention, I figured I would put it down for you. Several of the following films I was fortunate enough to see at film festivals as that is the only places they were shown baring some limited releases in New York & LA. My list below does not contain MILK, THE WRESTLER, or FROST / NIXON. Not because I did not like those films, but simply because I have not been able to see them yet.

Coming in at #10 is a film I love for its quirkiness - FILTH & WISDOM. I must preface this by saying that I have become friends with one of the co-writers (Dan Cadan) since writing my initial review (HERE). However, I wrote that review long before we became friends. The film is too short for its own good leaving me wanting more. Eugene Hutz is brilliantly insane and the music is fantastic. Be sure to rent it and crank up the sound system.

#9 JULIA. I caught the world premier of this one at the Berlin Festival and unfortunately, it hasn't aired in too many other places. Tilda Swinton puts on her best display of acting to date as a broke alcoholic looking for any angle to get ahead. She derives a complex kidnap scheme in order to help a neighbor get her son back while trying to get herself $2 million in the process. The ending left a bad taste in my mouth much like THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. However, this film is well worth your time to see the masterful acting job of Tilda.

#8 BOY A. This British film actually premiered on UK TV in 2007. However after the Weinstein's saw it, they deemed it worth of a theatrical release in the US. The film is based on a true story about a British child who commits murder. In order to protect his identity, he is only known as Boy A to the press. Once becoming legal age, he is released to the world with a new identity that the tabloids are desperate to expose. This film does a great job at examining the media and the constant need for generating news without any care for the consequences of who is destroyed in the process.

#7 VALKYRIE My review on this one certainly stirred up the talkbackers against me (HERE). My opinion of the film hasn't changed. In fact, most of the German press have even gotten behind it too - (EXAMPLE). Tom Cruise is good in it but Bryan Singer's direction was simply amazing. This is a film that will hold the test of time against other great factual WWII films.

#6 CORRIDOR #8 I am a sucker for any good travel program. And this documentary certainly fills that void. It is a great insight into the perceptions and cultures of several Eastern European countries as to how they view each other as tracked over the course of a mythical highway that has been planned since WWII but still not completed. Good luck finding this film. I was lucky enough to catch it's world premier in Berlin (HERE). The good news is that it finally has an IMDB listing but so far has only been shown at 3 festivals.

#5 RELIGULOUS What kind of balls does it take to make a movie that questions religion in such an open and blatant fashion? Although I don't always agree with Bill Maher, I find myself more often than not that I do. And this is a case where we could not be more in sync. Organized religion has caused more death and destruction in the history of the world than all other causes combined. Bill is not saying there is no god. He is saying, we don't know and can't prove it one way or another. And the people who are saying there is, odds are they are out to make a buck. Even if you are an extremely religious person, this movie should earn your time because it does a great job of questioning the major faiths and not simply Bill's easy target of Catholicism.

#4 SLEEP DEALER Scheduled for a limited release in March which is over 1 year after winning awards at both Sundance and Berlinale, this mostly Spanish BLADE RUNNER inspired science fiction film is a great examination for anybody in the IT industry. Set in the near future, it shows to what extremes outsourcing is capable of becoming. I don't want to give away the plot here but I promise you that I will deliver a full review with a Q&A when the film gets close to the release. This film would be perfect to watch as a double feature with SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.

#3 SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE How do you know when a film is good? When 4 people independently tell you to go see it and one of them is your lawyer! If it wasn't for a screw up on the part of Delta Airlines on my flight back here to Germany, I would not have seen this film until March when it opens here. This film is certainly not over-hyped. It is just about as perfect film of a film possible. Perfect storytelling. Perfect to the point of making me look up everything I could on this movie to see that it was fiction as it seemed so believable. I hope it qualifies for Best Foreign Film this year as it certainly has earned it.

#2 GARDENS OF THE NIGHT This film broke my heart. It was by far the toughest review I have written to date -HERE). Very few films actually physically disturb me, SCHINDLER'S LIST, the graphic deaths in SEVEN, the opening of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. This film ranks right up there with them in the emotional factor. Tom Arnold gives the performance of his career drawling upon his personal experiences as an abused child. He will scare the hell out of you, Gardens is the perfect telling of how a child is kidnapped, exploited for child pornography, then eventually ending up working in the sex trade. Extensive research has been done to make sure this film was as accurate as possible to how these horrific events happen. This film is certainly not a happy night out at the cinema but is a MUST SEE for every parent out there.

Before I get to my #1, I want to draw your attention to the best short film of the year - GREEN PORNO.

GREEN PORNO is a collection of 3 one minute shorts. Each short deals with the sex life of a particular insect, houseflies, spiders, and fireflies. But these are no ordinary nature films. Imagine Isabella Rossellini dressed up as these various bugs playing the part of the male insects! Each one is a crazy costume like something a kid would wear for a school play. The female insects are portrayed by models. Isabella then explains as the bug what he is thinking this moment and then proceeds to have sex with these various models. Its hilarious. The shorts were produced by The Sundance Channel so hopefully you can catch them there.

My number #1 pick comes as no surprise to anyone who has seen my comments in the talkbacks - WALL-E.

Why WALL-E? Well for that we need to back up to 2003. PIXAR somehow dug into my brain and combined my 2 favorite things on this planet, SCUBA DIVING and movies. FINDING NEMO was the ultimate entertainment film for me combining both of my loves. I really did not think it was possible to top that, ever! But they did. And they did that by taking animation film making to an entirely different level, the level of a high quality dramatic film that will be watched for decades to come. To date, I have watched WALL-E 4 times. Each and every additional time I find some small detail to love it that much more. Yes, I am not lost on the irony of a film attacking consumerism to have a hundred different tie in toys. In fact, I even was given the dancing WALL-E as a Christmas gift. So why is this hypocritical film so good? Because it plants the seed that if we keep up this pace of consumption, the world as we know it is doomed. And to me, if I had to say what do I care more about then spending time in nature is protecting nature so we all can enjoy it in the future. PIXAR once again tapped into my subconscious and pulled out my desire to save the planet and combined it with R2D2. How could I not fall for that little guy? Easily my favorite film that I will watch for decades to come.

Wait a minute, did I forget THE DARK KNIGHT? How could I forget it? Heath Ledger's last performance was really once in a lifetime. And for that he makes my best list. But to be honest, my favorite over-all superhero movie this year was IRON MAN. Robert Downey Jr once again brought his career back from the dead and kicked ass. So with that I leave you with a recap -

Best Supporting Actor - Heath Ledger, THE DARK KNIGHT
Best Supporting Actress - Tilda Swinton, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Best Actor - Tom Arnold, GARDENS OF THE NIGHT
Best Actress - Tilda Swinton, JULIA
Best Screenwriter - Simon Beaufoy, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Best Director - Bryan Singer, VALKYRIE
Best Picture, WALL-E

Ciao...

-Mastidon