The American Film Institute announced its annual top 10 list over the weekend, adding a dash of spice to the awards race by including blockbuster Iron Man and tiny indies Frozen River and Wendy and Lucy. Slumdog Millionaire wasn’t eligible, it being the American Film Institute and all. But the real news here is the omission of Doubt and Revolutionary Road. Viewed as an aggregate, the top 10s from the AFI, National Board of Review, and Broadcast Film Critics Association often very accurately help predict the eventual Oscar nominees. In the last six years, no American film has scored a Best Picture nomination without landing on at least two of the three lists. Doubt, meanwhile, has only been cited by the Broadcast Critics, and failed to earn a Golden Globe nod for Best Drama despite picking up five nominations in the acting and screenplay categories. And Revolutionary Road didn’t make any of the three lists. At this point, some acting nominations still seem like a given. But both films will need a strong showing from the guild awards to have a shot at making the big dance. Here’s the AFI list.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Frozen River
Gran Torino
Iron Man
Milk
Wall-E
Wendy and Lucy
The Wrestler
it’s cool that there are movies people actually saw on here… this year quality and popularity are not mutually exclusive
I would love to see Dark Knight on an Oscar list. A good movie is a good movie…it doesnt have make you want to hang yourself or cry your eyes out. It reaches at your emotions, and anyone who saw the Dark Knight and wasnt afraid that a little Joker who wants to see the world burn lurks inside of them needs to revaluate life.
i love that they included iron man. It really was the perfect comic book movie.
I’m very excited to see Iron Man included on this list. I seem to be in the minority, but I found it to be the best comic book movie of the year (yes, better than the very good The Dark Knight). The rest of the list is pretty much as expected, though I am suprised to see the omision of Revolutionary Road.
Am I the only one who thought that “The Dark Knight” needed better editing? There were at least 3 times that I thought the movie was over, but it kept going on, and on, and on…
It’s a shame that “Slumdog Millionaire” wasn’t eligible. It truly is a great, moving film. I was pleasantly surprised by it, and while I am a big “The Dark Knight” fanboy, if “Slumdog” wins the Oscar, I will neither be surprised of upset. If you haven’t yet seen the film, please do so ASAP!
OK, “Iron Man” was good, but it totally wasn’t “THE BEST MOVIE EVER!!!” It’s a good popcorn flick that is anchored by a great performance by Downey. But it’s pretty standard, by the numbers stuff with a final fight stolen directly from the battle in “Robocop 2″.
Wall-E seems to be building a little bit of steady momentum here (AFI list, and Best Pic of the Year by Time, LA Critics, and Boston Critics). It would be pretty huge if they can sustain it to a Best Pic nomination.
Wall-E – So overrated.
Surprising that Revolutionary Road has not made it onto any of the three lists mentioned. And while I’m very glad to see The Dark Knight and Wall-E here, I really don’t think that Iron Man should be included. I think it was a really good movie and I enjoyed it a lot. But where The Dark Knight made the leap past being just a comic book movie, I don’t think Iron Man did. And while I never think that a movie’s genre should dismiss it from being an awards contender, Iron Man just seemed to be a pretty standard popcorn flick, as someone else pointed out, that was made very well. I don’t think it should be included on a list of the best films of the year. The Dark Knight was so much more than a comic book movie; it was a full blown crime epic. We delved much deeper into the characters here than in Iron Man. The motivations of the characters in The Dark Knight hit people on a much more personal level where many people left the theater thinking hard about some of the moral dilemmas presented.
I agree, a good movie is a good movie, and this year one of those top five movies was The Dark Knight… if it’s not included in Oscars BEST, then the entire event would be meaningless.
The inclusion ogf Iron Man renders this list meaningless. Decent summer movie with fun sequences. The end.
I like that “Iron Man” is on here.
I also disagree with people who say that “The Dark Knight” deserves to be on this list (and “Iron Man” doesn’t) because “TDK” transcended the superhero genre. Don’t get me wrong: I don’t disagree with the assessment itself. I disagree with the idea and pre-existing bias that because “Iron Man” is JUST a comic book movie, it doesn’t deserve a spot on this list. This is the same line of thinking that will keep Wall-E out of the Best Picture race because it’s JUST a cartoon.
I greatly admire what “TDK” accomplished. On that same token, what’s wrong with just making a REALLY good, entertaining supero movie like “Iron Man.” By that same token, what’s wrong with recognizing said movie as one of the year’s best. Where is it written that serious/indie/costume dramas are the only ones allowed on year-end lists.
2009 Oscar Prediction: Best Actor (Female)
http://celeb9.com/slideshow/24/2009-oscar-prediction%3A-best-actor-female/154/
2009 Oscar Prediction: Best Actor (Female)
http://celeb9.com/slideshow/24/2009-oscar-prediction%3A-best-actor-female/154/