Solitude 

As I said in last year’s film fight, a knock-out tournament like this can only show my favourite film of the year, not even producing a guaranteed second place, but who cares? Let’s start with notable films that never took a final place:

• Shopgirl
• Jarhead
• Walk the Line
• Derailed
• Capote
• The Matador
• V for Vendetta (… maybe)
• El Lobo
• Fearless
• Beerfest
• Black Dahlia
• Clerks 2
• The Departed
• Casino Royale

Now the finalists:

• Cock and Bull Story
• Good Night, and Good Luck
• Stay
• Pierrepoint
• The Magician
• Thank You For Smoking
• District B13
• A Scanner Darkly
• Children of Men
• Little Miss Sunshine
• The Prestige
• Pan’s Labyrinth

Unlike last year, I think I can say that none of those finalists got through by default in a weak month. With just as many notable films as finalists (with more sitting just outside that list), it’s been a good year for cinema and a hard decision to make. A Scanner Darkly impressed visually and with the deft handling of the source material, The Prestige and Pan’s Labyrinth were masterfully crafted in their vindictiveness, District B13 was the action film of the year, Cock and Bull Story and Stay were a head-scratching pleasure, and Thank You For Smoking and The Magician were darkly comical.

I think my April tip for film of the year has proven true: Pierrepoint. I don’t think I can say it better than I did in April: “Starting from humble beginnings, we see the complexities of the man as he rises to fame and descends into a broken shell. A stunning, faultless work.” A deeply affecting work, that thoroughly deserves more acclaim than it has acquired.

Shockingly early for a film fight, here it is for December.

We begin with an unusual piece starring Will Ferrell, Stranger Than Fiction. Toning down Ferrell’s normally over-the-top comedy stylings, this instead has him running through a fairly surreal scenario (that of his life being narrated accurately and presciently, with his death impending). We get a delightful love interest in the form of Maggie Gyllenhall, a slightly over-done neurotic in the form of Emma Thompson, and an out of place but interesting English professor (Dustin Hoffman). Quietly funny, well-written, but spoiled by a slightly weak ending, the film is breezily watchable without being trashy.

On the other hand, Big Nothing is about an accurate a title as you get. Simon Pegg doesn’t get the room he needs to prop up David Schwimmer in this dark, farcical comedy. This film bulges with half-finished ideas, shoved together like pieces from different jigsaw puzzles, barely seeing the picture in any of them. Mistimed and lacking many redeeming moments, an entirely forgettable film.

Guillermo Del Toro goes in some interesting directions with Spanish film, Pan’s Labyrinth. It is a modern day retelling of fairytales of old, where beautiful fantasy set pieces and morality plays are contrasted starkly by brutal moments of horror (i.e. before Disney stripped them for consumer production). In this case we see a little girl challenged to retake her place in the underworld while her cruel step-father tries to savagely quell a rebellion. The entangling of these two threads, and the world illuminated so brightly and darkly, culminates in an excellent work.

Finally, Deja Vu is an action/sci-fi piece about changing the events of a terrorist attack in New Orleans. While Denzel Washington handles the role as confidently as he can, the film makers cannot say the same. Plastered with some cack-handed but very Hollywood pseudo-science, the film suffers from a lack of conviction. Instead of following through with the rigid world that is set-up and you can see tragically but grippingly playing out, there is a distinct taste of a last minute happy ending rewrite; the film suffers greatly for it. Could have been better.

The final finalist for the film fight is, obviously, Pan’s Labyrinth. The finale has already been written, meaning of course that I have selected my film of the year. Expect it soon.

Another massively late film fight, yes, but a good one.

November kicked off with the controversial Borat (yes, I can’t be arsed looking up the full and correct name). Enough has been said about this film: Sasha Baron Cohen travels around America as one of his alter-egos baiting people into saying some pretty awful things. It’s an amusing and tragic look at both the attitudes in some parts of our society and the way we choose to deal with them. I would say this is worth seeing regardless of whether or not you find the man’s work particularly amusing, as his subject’s are suitably horrifying.

Christopher Nolan keeps up his near unsullied record with The Prestige. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale play magicians locked in a vicious feud, pressing forth the boundaries of magic, showmanship and dedication to their cause with the most poisonous venom. With the director’s usual sleight of hand present, excellent performances all round (including a cameo by David Bowie), and some fairly interesting set pieces, this is a masterful work, beautifully presented. A definite must-see.

After years of Bond heading towards mindless Hollywood action, full of cheap special effects and ludicrous adversaries, it is a pleasure to watch such a solid piece of cinema in the form of Casino Royale. With Brosnan ousted, Daniel Craig plays Bond like never before: as the determined government killer, torn by morality, that Ian Fleming always intended in his earliest works. Gone are the outlandish gadgets (for the most part), in are some fast cars and some of the best action sequences the series has yet to produce. Though the free-running inspired building site hunt is in stark contrast with the plodding pace throughout much of the casino material, the latter is bolstered by a few interesting twists. It’s not much of a compliment to say this is the best Bond movie since GoldenEye (which shared the same director) since the rest of the films were garbage, but perhaps it is worth saying it is likely to be in my top 5 bond films.

Finally, Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny has much of what you expect from a Jack Black comedy: a silly premise, executed warmly but lacking the really big laughs of his peers (such as Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller). The early scenes present few laughs, mostly rehashing material the band has previously used, but starts getting funnier towards the end. This is not much more than an extended music video for the band, so if you like them, go get the album and you’ll have a large chunk of the strongest material here.

In other months, Casino Royale would have won, but The Prestige is just such a great film that it was never going to get beaten, hard as Bond is.