"Revolutionary Road" (2008, Dir: Sam Mendes)

I thought it was just awful and so melodramatic. Thematically, it just didn't make sense, and the acting by the leads was so stilted... it reminded me of an amateur college production whenever Kate and Leo had a scene together. There just seemed to be something stopping them from really getting into the characters. Indeed the only time their acting seemed even remotely real to me was from the final breakfast scene onwards, but it just wasn't enough.

I like Michael Shannon a lot and I'm glad he's getting this nomination, because it broadens his horizons, but he gave an underwhelming performance. The role was a showstopper in the book, and pretty much anyone could have impressed with it, but I found his acting hammy (that obvious thing he did with his mouth and the squinting!) and unimaginative. I've seen two far superior and more creative "crazy" performances this year - Jason Butler Harner in "Changeling" and of course Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight". I thought the best performance actually was given by Kathy Bates, who I usually dislike. A key scene of her character's was left out of the film (which is sad, she would have gotten an Oscar nomination had they left it in) but I thought she was excellent with the role of a woman desperate to hide her inner sadness. She gave a consistently surprising, subtle performance that was the complete opposite of Shannon's blunt raging. The supporting performances ranged from good (I liked Kathryn Hahn's comic stylings and the guy who played Bart Pollock with great charisma) to awful (Dylan Baker, a fine actor, is downright embarrassing here).

The marvelously cynical ending was one of the few things I really loved about the book - but there it worked because the overall tone of the book was so caustically snide. With a film this painfully earnest, you can't tack on an ending like this and expect it to work within the context of the picture. The entire satirical tone of the novel was completely lost in its translation to the screen.

"The Visitor" (2007, Todd McCarthy)

Pros: Subtly inventive lead performance by Richard Jenkins.

Cons: The exploration of American immigration issues is incredibly simplistic and heavy-handed. Mind-numbing pacing. Sophomoric script. Wooden performances from Sleiman, Abbass and Gurira.

Grade: D

"Gran Torino" (2008, Dir: Clint Eastwood)

Pros: As a satire, it's brilliant.

Cons: As a drama, it's probably the worst film of the year.

Grade: C-

"Slumdog Millionaire" (2008, Dir: Danny Boyle & Loveleen Tandan)

The popularity of this film with American film critics associations just goes to show how wholly film critics are fazed by bright colors and loud noises. Sacrificing story for energy, wretchedly artificial and with not a lick of subtlety to be found, Slumdog Millionaire epitomizes the idea of "style over substance" in every way.

The cast is charismatic but there's no great acting to be found here. The writer seems to have no grasp of metaphor or nuance, hammering each point home as bluntly as possible. From the overly Western plotline to the almost patronizing way Boyle portrays the Indian slums, there is nothing here that seemed real to me in the slightest. It's a Westerner's approximation of the "real India", complete with a soundtrack (quite enjoyable, admittedly) of Indian songs remixed in a Eurodance style.

Cinematography is frequently interesting, but the abundance of cheesy slow-mo and the weird editing makes it seem as though we're watching a music video instead of a film. Slumdog Millionaire is basically the stylistic twin of Mamma Mia! with an Eastern setting and a European director. This, of course, automatically makes it worthy of awards.

"Happy-Go-Lucky" (2008, Dir: Mike Leigh)

Pros: Brilliant, complex performance by Sally Hawkins. Rich supporting cast. Intricate narrative. Interesting concept film, the first of its kind from a director known mainly for "slice-of-life" drama. Highly discussable. Richly observed.

Cons: Writing seems less than organic at the beginning. Takes a while for the brilliance to really "kick in". Over-the-top score. Primary school teachers dress like hookers. Less realistic than Leigh's past work.

Grade: A

"WALL-E" (2008, Dir: Andrew Stanton)

Pros: Visually stunning. Brilliant use of lack of dialogue. Great character design. Brilliant animation. Full of beautiful moments. Marvelous score. Great end-credits sequence.

Cons: Loses some of its charm once humans enter the equation. What dialogue there is is rather blunt and preachy. Political ends are admirable but portrayed less than subtly. Would have worked better as a "silent" film - without any human dialogue at all.

Grade: A-

"Australia" (2008, Dir: Baz Luhrmann)

It's definitely long, it's definitely overjuiced and it is definitely theatrical, but I enjoyed every minute of this campy, OTT romp. The critics have been giving it too hard a time - the acting is great all around, the visuals are stunning and the film itself is a huge heap of fun. Sirk can suck it - this is how you do melodrama.

"Kabluey" (2007/8, Dir: Scott Prendergast)

A funny, endearing indie comedy that never oversteps its limits but manages to be a nice diversion nonetheless. Lisa Kudrow brings gravitas to a wisp of a role, Scott Prendergast is quite good (especially near the middle, where his character is allowed to show more depth) and the supporting cast is full of talented comedians (Conchata Ferrell and hypnotic Angela Sarafyan, especially good) doing their thing.

"Rachel Getting Married" (2008, Dir: Jonathan Demme)

An organic film that grows like a vine - the year's best film so far and probably one of the highlights of the decade. A pitch-perfect script allows for incredibly full characters and powerful emotional conceits that never threaten to grandstand. Acting is fantastic all around, especially Hathaway, Irwin and Winger.

"Changeling" (2008, Dir: Clint Eastwood)

A big, lumbering, elephantine movie that is often rather embarrassing and cheesy. Angelina Jolie is stiff and artificial, trying and failing to create a character by stringing together a bunch of Big Scenes. The supporting cast is unusually rich considering the film's quality - Jason Butler Harner stands out by having an absolute ball with his character. He earns major points for trying to kiss Angelina Jolie during the prison showdown scene (Jolie does her best work of the film in this scene, as well) and for singing "Silent Night" on his way to the gallows. Amy Ryan does very well with an incredibly corny role, and Jeffrey Donovan brings presence to a thin role as the head of the police investigation into Jolie's son's case. Eddie Alderson and Michael Kelly are also quite good. The makeup work is ridiculously good but completely inappropriate for the story - I find it hard to believe that with all the blubbering Jolie does in this film, her makeup never, ever, ever smears.

"Zack and Miri Make a Porno" (2008, Dir: Kevin Smith)

A sweet but stagy romcom that is often very funny but just as often very stilted. Good acting and witty script but none of it feels spontaneous or organic - the emotional payoff is completely calculated but, fortunately, it works. Banks shows her comic chops as a lead player, but it's still a disappointingly rote performance. Jason Mewes and especially Justin Long are hilarious in supporting roles. There's one joke in here that is too crude for words; I wish they had left it out. Nice to see Traci Lords making fun of herself - she's not a bad actress, to be honest. Very good soundtrack, as well.

"High School Musical 3: Senior Year" (2008, Dir: Kenny Ortega)

I don't want to review this.

"W." (2008, Dir: Stone)

A turgid, unfunny political "epic" that offers us absolutely nothing new in the form of information, satire or emotional insight. Attempts at humanizing George W. Bush succeed thanks to a pointedly obvious script, but the direction is so self-indulgent and the humor is so forced (entire scenes, like the hazing one, are inserted just as set-ups for one try-hard "quotable" line). Nice cinematography, but that is one of the few things of interest here.

Josh Brolin will definitely get a boost in star appeal thanks to this role, but he gives an imitation when he should have given a performance. It's a dumb portrayal of a dumb person, and we never really get to see the film through Bush's eyes. We never get to see what he's thinking or feeling when such insight should have been the backbone of the film.

The supporting thesps nail their characters' mannerisms and appearances but remain emotionally distant. The best performances come from Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney, projected a sinister aura from the edges of scenes, and Elizabeth Banks, who has some nice moments of introspection but has some trouble with the accent. Ellen Burstyn tries to command the screen during her few scenes, but just ends up looking like a show-off. Thandie Newton is impossibly ham-fisted as Condoleezza Rice, giving a perf that would be more at home in an episode of SNL. Jeffrey Wright, Scott Glenn and James Cromwell are all solid but prosaic.

A half-assed attempt at political discourse, and very boring.