Films I am Looking Forward to in ‘08.

So, let’s see how well I can do at predicting what will be my favorite films of ‘08. (I am exempting ‘07 films that will be released next year (i.e. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days and Paranoid Park). I’ll have to remember to check back hereIn no particular order:

Be Kind, Rewind

Mos Def, Jack Black, Michel Gondry. No matter my hatred for The Science of Sleep, this should be great.

Funny Games

Haneke remakes Haneke. Will be interesting just to gauge audience and critical response.

Leatherheads

I am a sucker for George Clooney in a screwball comedy.

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

What the fuck will this be like?

Wall-E

The beautiful trailer and Andrew Stanton make this potentially very cool.

Get Smart

I was raised on the show, I love Steve Carell. I’ll be there.

Step Brothers

John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell get me to see movies. Its just that simple.

Snow Angels and The Pineapple Express

Two new David Gordon Green films? Where can I sign up?

Where The Wild Things Are

What will Spike be like after a long hiatus and working without Gondry? And how does Dave Eggers fit into the mix?

Bond 22

Daniel Craig is the best James Bond. I said it.

Harry Potter 6

These movies just make me happy.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Fincher and Fitzgerald. I have hopes…

The Changeling

New Clint Eastwood, and written by the guy behind Babylon 5. Two very distinct voices there which has to lead to something interesting.

A Top Ten (at the moment).

This is the first year I haven’t been keeping up a top ten all year long in a while. So this is an experiment, especially since I still need to see Juno, Sweeney Todd, There Will Be Blood, Persepolis, and others that I outright missed: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Zodiac, etc.

But anyway, here’s my current top ten:

1. I’m Not There (Todd Haynes)
2. Rescue Dawn (Werner Herzog)
3. Shotgun Stories (Jeff Nichols)
4. Ratatouille (Brad Bird)
5. Eastern Promises (David Cronenberg)
6. No Country for Old Men (The Coen Brothers)
7. A Mighty Heart (Michael Winterbottom)
8. The Living Wake (Sol Tyron)
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (David Yates)
10. Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright)

Honestly, as much as I love those last two, the fact that they are on the list just shows what i missed, and what I have still to see. It also kills me that they are all in English (especially after re-reading part of Rosenbaum’s brilliant Movie Wars last night. But that is the best of what I’ve seen so far in 2007. Not bad all around I’d say, With some particularly brilliant debuts from Jeff Nichols (who won our Narrative Feature award this year, full disclosure) and The Living Wake crew (Sol Tyron, Mike O’Connell and Peter Kline).

Also every year that has Herzog is a good year.

3 Songs and 3 Movies on my mind right now.

1. Billy Liar, The Decemberists
2. Pale Blue Eyes, The Velvet Underground
3. Reno Dakota, The Magnetic Fields

1. His Girl Friday, Howard Hawks
2. Band a parte, Jean Luc Godard
3. No Country for Old Men, The Coen Brothers