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The Movies section of this blog now draws to a close. But before the curtain falls, one last number…

In early 2009, I made a list of the best films of the year. I saved it in my email as a draft, changing the rankings from time to time as a distraction.

What happened next? Laziness. Yes, I had more films to see, more deadlines and eventually two years of medical school. That’s no excuse.

So here it is at last. While I remember the details of some more than others, I still remember how each made me feel. Thus the explanations may be succinct or non-existent, but I know the rankings are accurate.

This may be the last piece of film criticism posted on the Movies section of this blog. My film critic days are over. The Musings section of this blog must take over.

My thanks to you that followed my amateur critic days for the short time I had them. I still dearly miss it. It is not what I was meant to do 24/7, but it helped enhance what I do now and will continue to do.

And so, the list:

1. Synecdoche, New York – A film about our lives: birth, death and how we view the world while we are between those two states. Complex, breaks free of all convention, never confused. The boldest and most meaningful film I’ve seen in a long time.

2. Man on Wire - A documentary that’s part heist movie part inspirational story. Or is it a tragedy?

3. Slumdog Millionaire- I was reminded of Dickens. One man’s incredible journey from rags to riches and girl. The visual depiction of India is surprisingly accurate.

4. The Dark Knight – The most unconventional, conventional mainstream movie of the year.

5. The Fall - The story isn’t new, but the visuals are. There are gorgeous sights in this movie I will never see in any other film. I am shocked that none of them are computer graphics. Full disclosure: I watch my movies with a projector.  The film will may have less life on a smaller TV.

6. The Wrestler

7. Rachel Getting Married

8. Tie: W. and Milk

9. Happy-Go-Lucky

10. Frozen River

***

Surprise, surprises, there were a few films I liked nearly as much. So here’s your bonus next few picks, though with no explanations.

11. Doubt

12. Frost/Nixon

13. Revolutionary Road

14. Lakeview Terrace