15. Stop Making Sense: In a way, this is the culmination of the genius of the Talking Heads. There was a band that was destined to marry rock and film and they certainly did not disappoint. David Byrne’s oversized suit is now a rock ‘n roll icon.

14. U2: Rattle and Hum: By far, not the greatest film ever made and I know that most people consider it no more than a love letter the band wrote to themselves, but it is often overlooked that this is an incredible documentary on the tour that made U2 international superstars. Coming off of one of the greatest albums of all time, U2 proceeded to tour in 1986 and brought along a film crew. The result is a movie that, as a huge U2 fan, I never tire of. I’m sorry, but you can’t beat the chills you get when the band practices “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” with a Harlem Gospel Choir or when they record “Angel of Harlem” in the revered holy temple that is Sun Records.

13. The Last Waltz: Perhaps the greatest concert film ever made. Scorsese not only understands the power of music and film, but nobody has yet to match his skill of filming a concert. “The Last Waltz” is the brilliant standard for which all other concert films fall short of.

12. Kurt & Courtney: Not a good movie to watch if you’re a teenager in love with the music of Nirvana and desperately pissed that your musical idol is dead.

11. Jailhouse Rock: Elvis in his prime. Recently watched this in HD in it’s original cinemascope aspect ratio. Incredible. No self-respecting Elvis fan can mention rock movies without also mentioning the influence of this film. The jail dance scene is not only iconic, but still duplicated subconsciously by myriads of dance-based music videos. In fact, according to wiki, many musical historians credit it as being the first prototype for the modern music video.

10. Pink Floyd’s The Wall: No self-respecting Pink Floyd fan can mention rock movies without mentioning the pure brilliance and incredible mind-altering significance of “The Wall”. A movie so insanely confusing and creepy that it essentially stops being a film, and is essentially nothing more than a visual companion to the album. Which, in itself, qualifies it as one of the greatest rock movies ever.

09. American Graffiti: One of the things that amazes me when I watch the pure sh*t that is the “Star Wars” prequels, is that this is the same man (George Lucas) who directed “American Graffiti”, a brilliant movie that pretty much effortlessly defines what it was like to be a teenager in the fifties. A movie that has nothing to do with special effects. A movie that was essentially what we would consider an “indie” and more than anything, a movie that utilizes the soundtrack of the early days of Rock ‘n Roll to monumental perfection. I remember my dad had owned the soundtrack on vinyl when he was a kid and I found it at my Grandma’s house when I was obsessed with oldies. One of the greatest soundtracks of all time. Essentially, a blueprint.

08. The Doors: One of Oliver Stone’s crowning achievements. Not sure if there is a single person who loved this movie who didn’t either go out and buy every Doors album they could or at least listen to the ones they owned obsessively for months straight afterwords. And let’s just mention here that Val Kilmer is pretty much divinely-inspired casting as Jim Morrison. Enough said.

07. Moulin Rouge: Often, when I see a movie that is so amazing that it’s almost impossible to watch any other one, I fondly refer to it as “Moulin Rouge Disease”. This was a movie that did that more than any other I’d seen. I’m not sure what it is about this it that is so insanely addicting, but it is like a blast of candy. I love it dearly, and the way in which Baz Lurhman and Craig Armstrong took some of the greatest rock songs and somehow turned them into perfect musical fodder, i will never understand. I also don’t know what it is about Elton John songs that somehow come across amazingly in film. What “Almost Famous” did for “Tiny Dancer”, “Moulin Rouge” did for “Your Song”.

06. High Fidelity: My wife and I’s relationship is essentially built around rock. It’s amazing to think about. We met because she heard me singing a Johnny Cash song during a high school music contest. She introduced me to world’s of amazing new music and on our first date, the movie we went and saw (after going to Best Buy and purchasing a “Dave Matthews Band” concert DVD) was “High Fidelity”. So besides this movie being a brilliant film that somehow easily describes a life dictated by your music, it is also significant in that it was a defining moment in my musically-dictated life.

05. Once: “Once” to me, is the first movie to utilize the raw romance and heartbreak of rock music. Something that surprises me that it hadn’t been done before, but when it was with a movie like this, it was done to perfection. Glen Hansard (of Irish rock band “The Frames”) is so magnificent in this film, and his music paints the picture of raw “rock” beauty in it’s most bare form. Seeing this film alongside the other great rock films is like “watching” a series of great Zeppelin records and throwing in an early Dylan record for good measure.

04. This Is Spinal Tap: In my mind, this may honestly be the greatest Rock Movie ever made. It is not my “FAVORITE” rock movie of course, which is what this list represents, but in terms of influence, “This Is Spinal Tap” is perhaps the most quoted, loved and influential “rock” movie ever made. The movie is a comedy (perhaps also one of the greatest of all time), but when bands like KISS and Led Zeppelin both admit to getting lost on the way to the stage, you have to stop to consider the authenticity of the commentary being made. When bands like “Supergrass” are actually homaging lyrics from Spinal Tap songs (such as the song “Evening in the Day” where they use a line from the Spinal Tap song “All The Way Home”), you know you’re not just dealing with a fictional band anymore. And when several metal bands of the 80’s remarked that they hated the movie because it was “Too Real” you know you’re dealing with something special here. For crying out loud, scenes from the movie were actually used in the documentary series “The History of Rock ‘N Roll”. “This Is Spinal Tap” is a masterpiece of rock film. It is THE rock film and if you haven’t seen it, you simply haven’t yet lived. Or, as Nigel Tufnel would remark, you’re not “turned up to 11″.

03. A Hard Day’s Night: Growing up, I didn’t listen to much secular music. It wasn’t necessarily that my parents strictly forbid it per se, but we were a very religious family and my mom always had Christian radio on and it was just what we listened to. Although, in my early teens I discovered Oldies. I spent years listening to nothing but Christian music alongside mountains of Elvis, The Beach Boys, Creedence Clearwater Revival and a multitude of others. But I never gave the Beatles a chance. Then the “Beatles Anthology” aired on TV, and the majority of my classmates, who usually only listened to Top 40 or Country, all became obsessed with the Beatles. “The Beatles Anthology” created a Beatles revolution again, as far as my town went. Thus, I hated them. I didn’t like things that were popular. I tried to find value in more critically acclaimed art. BUT….I didn’t watch the “Anthology” and I never listened to the Beatles. I just didn’t like them because everybody else liked them. Then I met my wife when I was a Junior in High School. The “Anthology” (in addition to other things) had turned her into a mega-Beatles freak as well (her Top Rock movies includes this one at Number ONE). I had fought off the Beatles as long as I could, but then I started listening to them, and the straw that broke the camel’s back was “A Hard Day’s Night”. I knew rationally that I couldn’t consider myself a connoisseur of classic film and classic rock without being deeply and madly in love with the Beatles, but when I did finally come around it was for certain a religious experience. Listening to Beatles records for the first time, and devouring them, was like reading the Bible and hearing the word of God. And watching “A Hard Day’s Night” was like being baptised by the glory of the Fab Four. I know I’ve been mostly talking about my Beatles conversion as opposed to the movie itself, but it’s hard to talk about this film without thinking as a whole about my “musical salvation” if you will. That’s what this movie brings to mind to me. That’s why it is so important. That, and the fact that it just freaking rocks!!!!!!

02. That Thing You Do: One of my biggest guilty pleasures. I realize that this is not particularly a hated film at all, but it’s also not exactly the kind of movie you find at the top of any lists (or on them at all), but everybody has those movies or albums in their life that, for some reason, hit them in all the right spots. This movie did that for me. It was one of those movies I would watch over and over and over again when I was younger. And even today, it is nothing but pure bliss. Though the bands and music are fictional, Tom Hanks’ story of a One Hit Wonder in the post-Beatles American sixties is so incredibly well crafted and extremely accurate that, very much like “Almost Famous”, it’s almost like an extremely fun history lesson. Where “Almost Famous” delves into the soul of the Glory age of Rock, “That Thing You Do” explores the whimsical intensity of the Golden Age. Of course, anybody is going to bring up the infectious main title song and, trust me, it is still, almost a dozen years later, fantastically catchy and sounds like it is STRAIGHT out of the sixties (it was in fact written by Adam Schlesinger of “Fountains of Wayne” fame). But the thing that I think makes “That Thing You Do” such a wonderful film, besides it’s brilliant historicity, is the casting. The wonders are never boring and never off-key. They carry the movie. And everybody plays an amazing role, even down to Guy Patterson’s father, the owner of Patterson’s Appliances, who brilliantly plays the blue-collar store owner to a delightful T.

01. Almost Famous: Admittedly, I half decided to do a “Favorite Rock Movies” list just so that I could give “Almost Famous” a number one slot for something. I just desperately love this movie with all my heart and soul. Not many movies give you the same feeling over and over again no matter how many times you’ve seen it. This movie does that for me. It is the story of the glory days of rock (not to be confused with the “Golden Age” of Rock). And it is told with undebatable accuracy and immovable clarity, mostly because the writer/director lived it. Cameron Crowe, for those who don’t know, was a child prodigy, having written rock journalism for Rolling Stone when we was still 16 years old. He traveled with bands like Fleetwood Mac, Black Sabbath and more when he was still at the age that they would have affected him the most. The story of William Miller is essentially the story of Cameron Crowe and, in my opinion, it makes for his most honest and interesting film. There’s not a character in this film that you don’t absorb and the situations demand your undivided attention. But more than anything, “Almost Famous” is the greatest love letter to classic rock and roll that there has ever been. It is simply nothing more than the sum of the incredible influential effect that this music had on one individual, and it speaks for a generation that was effected the same. But more than that, I see it teach a new generation what made that music, and that time, so special to begin with.

10. Iron Man: Perhaps some of the most fun I’ve ever had at the movies. “Iron Man” is an absolute thrill ride of euphoric joy. To begin with, I’ve been a huge Robert Downey Jr. fan for a long time and it has been so difficult to see him squander his talent for an unfortunate habit. But my friends, he’s back and he’s back HARD. And let’s not forget about the fantastic writing and direction of Jon Favreau, someone I have admired tremendously since becoming obsessed with “Swingers” in High School. There’s no doubt that his talent is abundant. I had some frustration with this movie as well though. It occurred to me very early in the film that Jeff Bridges is a spectacular bad guy and watching him I realized that his character was the perfect execution of what a modern filmic Lex Luthor should be. It was my biggest beef with “Superman Returns”, that Lex is NOT a stupid mad scientist bent on world domination. The modern Luthor is a brilliant wealthy businessman who has a dark side and a jealousy of the Superman that drives his evil madness. I was so so so disappointed to see such a brilliant portrayal of Lex in an “Iron Man” movie as opposed to a new “Superman” movie. But that aside, what I am most excited about with “Iron Man” was it’s ability to tap into the fun of the superhero genre without turning it into camp. For so so long, the virus that has plagued this wonderful genre has been the ease of “camping” it up, but Favreau has proved that you can make a downright absolutely fun comic book movie without resorting to annoying and insulting camp. “Iron Man” ranks in the top 3 greatest comic book movies of all time in my opinion and kicks off our countdown for the 10 best movies of the year.

09. Let The Right One In: SCREW “Twilight”!!!! You want a movie about vampires, I’ve got a movie for you. In fact, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest vampire movies ever made. And it’s about freaking time. The “Underworld’s” and “Blades” needed to be counteracted by some actual filmic literature for some time. “Let The Right One In” is a Swedish film about two 12 year olds, one of them being a vampire and the other being a lonely outcasted boy. What proceeds is one of the most disturbingly heartfelt films I’ve ever seen. Original is a decent word here. There’s nothing necessarily profound about this movie, but the originality and the execution is pure bliss.

08. Milk: I’d like to take this moment to point out that making a top 10 is extremely hard because all of these movies are essentially tied. If I had determined them based on points, they all would have missed the number one spot by a fraction of a point. I loved them all so dearly and all for completely different reasons. The reason I bring that up is because thinking about Milk, this honestly feels like my favorite movie of the year, yet all the movies remaining feel like they are perfectly placed in my appeal as well. Of course, when you’ve watched hundreds of movies in a year, the top 10 is, essentially, the equally best movies of the year. “Milk” made a very distinct impression on me. To begin with it is a delicately crafted film. It does have the casual clichés of the modern biopic, but it also layers things on top of it as well. To begin with, unlike someone like Johnny Cash or Ray Charles, I was largely unaware of the life of Harvey Milk and the incredible progression he put forth in his lifetime for the rights of homosexuals. And I can say, without a doubt, that Sean Penn has proved himself to be one of the greatest actors OF ALL TIME. There is no denying his presence and skill in the world of narrative film. He is a force to be reckoned with and he performs Harvey with such great ease and perfection that there is absolutely no distinction between him and the character whatsoever. It is an immaculate portrayal. But what’s more is how amazingly relevant this film is. It seems like an obvious point to make, but this film was well into production long before any of the issues we’re experiencing with Prop 8 and the issue of gay marriage, but this film came around  in such perfect timing you have to wonder if the studio hired a psychic for their marketing. All joking aside, I firmly believe this film is essential to view. I know many people who would disagree but I firmly believe that gay rights are a civil rights issue and whatever your “religious” views on the topic, the point remains that it is engrained in the foundational principals of this country that ALL men, no matter their sex, race, socioeconomic position and even sexual preference, are created equal and deserve the same equal rights as everybody. This is a powerful and poignant film that will always be remembered as an important part of the history of art and culture.

07. Doubt: Going into this film I was a little skeptical. I kind of had to ask myself, with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep at the helm, if this movie really honestly had any chance of not being awesome. but what I found was such a beautiful little character film. I am, admittedly, a huge fan of movies based on plays, which explains my obsession with David Mamet, but this film does so much for the viewer! Besides including a spectacular ensemble cast (and Viola Davis: wow!) and an awesome short-form style of narrative, the interaction that occurs after seeing this movie is SO much fun! My wife and I sat in our apartment for HOURS just debating the facts. She was convinced he didn’t do it, but I was convinced he did and we did NOTHING but give each other credible evidence to prove our points and we laid in bed arguing them till we fell asleep. I honestly can’t remember another movie in a long while that engaged us so much. Clearly this is the point of not only the movie but the play. It’s what makes it so great, but I hadn’t seen the play at all and I found out there was actually much more in the movie that wasn’t included in the play. Do yourself a HUGE favor and dig deep into this one. You won’t regret it. It’s an intellectually fun film.

06. Gran Torino: For a long time I have been a somewhat lone dissenter of Clint Eastwood’s. I always felt he was a bit overrated. I felt that maybe he was given a bit of a pass because of his veteran and icon status, but I have to admit that now I’m intrigued and it might be time to eat crow, cause “Gran Torino” is simply A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!! I mean it, this movie is just badass! And what’s more is that it is ALL because of Eastwood. Eastwood has said this will be his final lead acting role and if that is truly so, I believe it is fitting. This is his Dirty Harry role retired and it has helped me to finally understand the appeal of his classic iconic badass persona. I’m now ready to get my Eastwood schooling.

05. The Wrestler: “The Wrestler” is a fitting title for this movie. This is a movie you really do have to wrestle through. It’s a movie that doesn’t expect to be much more than a heartfelt study of a person. A person who has to reclaim his identity despite himself.  Randy “The Ram” Robinson is his own worst enemy, yet he is his own greatest hero. He has simply the potential to destroy himself or redeem himself, an in a way he does both at the same time. It is relative whether Randy deserves to be happy or deserves to be glorified, but the truth is that he cannot be both at the same time. He is part of a dead time and finds it near impossible to “breathe” outside of his own distant prime. But despite the obvious flaws he has incurred we can do nothing but sympathize for him. Mickey Rourke as “Randy” honestly gives one of the greatest performances I have ever seen. This film rests entirely on his shoulders and the performance very much reminded me of Brando’s in “On The Waterfront”. He is in every single scene and in every scene he shines like a powerful lighthouse. It was certainly Mickey Rourke who impressed me the most in this film (especially considering that many of the scenes, including his spectacular speech at the end, were improvised by Rourke himself), but I was also extremely impressed by Darron Aronofsky’s style in this film. This was something uncharacteristic of him and and I think it showed how subtle he can be with a camera. Something that I think is important in film today. Sorry Michael Bay, but your bombast doesn’t impress me all too much. Anybody can stick a camera on a very expensive crane and throw it around, but it takes a true artist to humanize the camera. Darron did a spectacular job of that in “The Wrestler”.

04. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: This movie may perhaps be one of the most hearbreaking but beautiful films I’ve ever seen. Those are the two words that I think just sum it up the best: heartbreaking and beautiful. David Fincher, one of the greatest working directors today, manages to do something that I believe would normally be botched by any other less talented artist working: he manages to simply show a life. He’s not particularly telling a story here. I don’t think there is very much of a moral to this story. He just wants us to experience a life. As the screenwriter, Eric Roth (who wrote one of my favorite films of all time “Forrest Gump”) stated: “Forrest Gump’ was the story of an ordinary man in extroadinary situations, but ‘Benjamin Button’ is the story of an extroadinary man in ordinary situations.” This is just honestly one of the most beautiful films I’ve ever experienced.

03. The Dark Knight: There’s not a lot that I can say about “The Dark Knight” that hasn’t been said about a million times already by a multitude of people. It is, without a doubt, a spectacular achievement. It is, for all intents and purposes, the genre-influencing equal to the Godfather, at least in my humble opinion. “The Dark Knight” is the kind of transcendental movie that they’ll be studying in film theory classes for many years to come. Two men shine at it’s core, the director and his villain, and I could write a 50-page essay on them, but in the interest of time, let’s just leave it as this is one of my all-time favorite movies and certainly at the top of my list for movies of the year. I’m desperately in love with it. And to that, Mr. Spock would tell me that I have an “unsurpassed talent for understatement”.

02. WALL-E: It’s not fair that I’m such a known fanatic for animated films. It’s not fair that I’m such a known fan for silent films. It’s not fair that people know how desperately in love I am with Pixar, and it’s certainly not fair that I’m a huge proponent of properly utilized Science-Fiction storytelling. None of that is fair because it makes it extremely difficult for me to seem objective when I try to tell you that “WALL-E” is not only one of the absolute best films of year, not only one of the best animated films ever made but also, simply, one of the best films ever made, certainly at least in my lifetime. Discussing it with one of my best friends, Ryan Rogers, we came to the simple conclusion that upon five seconds of viewing the character WALL-E, a computer-generated image of nothing more than a metal box of utilitary robotics and electronics, you are INSTANTLY in-love and want nothing more than to hug it and bring it home. You would, in essence, travel to the ends of storytelling with him. His charisma and personality are almost scary. And yet, it’s just an animated character that DOESN’T EVEN TALK!!! This is the founding beauty and genius of “WALL-E”. Add on to that, a film that uses as it’s conceptual inspiration, the sci-fi films of the seventies and early eighties and a technique to draw out and duplicate the imperfections of film lenses that French and German engineers have been trying to get rid of for decades, and a poignant and relevant social commentary executed to near-perfection, and you have, in my opinion, a masterpiece. “WALL-E” is a film-lover’s dream come true.

01. Slumdog Millionaire: “Slumdog Millionaire” is a movie that is not only brilliant in it’s function, but almost too great for it’s own good. Structure-wise, it’s not anything drastically revolutionary. It goes in-between three time periods, each allowing us to view a young “Oliver Twist” Indian boy from Mumbai as he travels through life, with two things leading his way: survival and love.  Story-wise, we’re not seeing anything dramatically innovative here either. As I mentioned, it’s a kind of “Oliver Twist” update with an unexpected true-to-life view of India and a major love story added to it. There are no grand twists or major upsets to throw us off the scent. It’s straightforward as could be. But in-between “Slumdog’s” convention lies it’s greatest asset: it’s ability to tell a story that we can latch onto with eager ease and tell it effortlessly, in the speed and efficiency that director Danny Boyle has come to be known for. As you’re watching it, the movie feels familiar. Familiar themes, familiar story structure, etc. But under all the familiarity is a more important feeling of wonderment. What I found most interesting was the movie’s poster. The way it was designed, doesn’t technically come from any scene in the movie, but the placement of the lights and the urgency of the design is the most apt description of the film you could find. Though it doesn’t reflect an actual scene or point in the movie, it perfectly captures the “feeling” of the movie. It’s like watching a brilliant indie band you’ve seen a hundred times in a small venue with no more than 200 people play their first Arena gig to screaming fans in the thousands – and pull it off like they’ve been doing it for 20 years. That’s “Slumdog Millionaire”. In fact, this movie feels like it’s main character. A small, insignificant contributor to the world economy. Somebody who is not, technically important or flashy, but who has the charisma of a rock star and flies through his life with the confidence and beauty of a seasoned soul. The best way for me to describe the brilliance of “Slumdog Millionaire” is simply: Magic!

As I mentioned, having watched hundreds of movies, a simple top 10 just isn’t sufficient. I saw many many more amazing films that I have to list. So here is the rest of my top 25 list:

11. Pineapple Express
12. Burn After Reading
13. Frost/Nixon
14. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
15. Humboldt County
16. Religulous
17. Quantum of Solace
18. Role Models
19. Tropic Thunder
20. Young@Heart
21. Revolutionary Road
22. In Bruges
23. Son of Rambow
24. Be Kind Rewind
25. Hellboy II

10. Death Cab For Cutie  Narrow Stairs

I remember hearing Death Cab a few years ago. I listened to a clip or two off of “Transatlantisicm” because they were all the rage it seemed (or maybe I was watching too much “The O.C.”). In any case, I didn’t like them. One listen and I thought “Not for me”. Then “Plans” came out a couple years ago and upon a first listen I was hooked. That’s the thing about music. Sometimes things just click for no good reason. It’s kind of cool, and everytime something like that happens I can always tell I’ll like the music for a long time to come, as long as the artist keeps putting out quality stuff. It seems to me that’s not something to worry about with Death Cab. “Narrow Stairs”, while IMHO not as good as “Plans”, is a fantastic offering and I find myself honestly forgetting which songs go to which album. Also saw them live this year and they were phenomonal!

09. Radiohead  In Rainbows

I believe “In Rainbows” may be one of the 100 greatest cd’s of this current decade.  Not only a brilliant piece of art and commentary but a snapshot of a band in their prime. Radiohead, to me, is so much a bigger than life band and we don’t have many of those anymore. Look at the 70’s. Bands like Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, etc. all became pillars of rock music. They were bigger than the fading musical trends of the decade and that started to fade later on in life, and now we don’t have them much anymore. But Radiohead, like the bands mentioned before, are a pillar of rock. They stand above the rest. They remind me of U2 in this way. U2 was an 80’s band for sure, but you don’t think 80’s when you hear them. Their music transcended those trends. And they transcended those times and thrived in the 90’s and are just as popular, if not more, today. Radiohead is the same and “In Rainbows” paints the picture of a band who is feeling their way around legend-dom.

08. Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend

This is the debut album from New York City based band “Vampire Weekend”. Though the album came out in January I just discovered it in the fall and immediately fell in love with it. There’s a quality in it that I can’t quite put my finger on. But I really enjoy the direction that the neo-garage wave is going in. This is just a really fun indie record and you owe yourself a listen.

07. Coldplay Viva La Vida

Ah, Coldplay. My dear Coldplay. “Viva La Vida” is a brilliant brilliant album. The portrait of a band that is here to stay and that has effortlessly proved that they are masters at their craft. Granted, I believe they owe much of the brilliance of this album to producer Brian Eno. His influence is vast in this work, and he has more than proved his spectacular genius. This is just a perfect album front to back. I can’t listen to one song. I have to listen to the entire thing all the way through and that’s the key to a great album. The natural flow that speaks to you in a complete form. That says, “I am the sum of my parts”. I do not believe that this is Coldplay’s best album, but I do believe it is their most artisticly realized work.

06. Sigur Rós Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust

For a band that basically sings lyrics in a non-existent language, they sure are incredible. For their fifth studio album, Sigur Rós is definitely reaching into the more conventional, but it is not a bad thing. It is in fact, a way for us to reach deeper into their talent and view them from a new side. Of course, they are not abandoning the ethereal melodies that define them by any means, but in this album their is more cohesive structure and a new beauty that I haven’t heard from them before. Simply put, this is a brilliant and ADDICTIVE album.

05. She and Him Volume One

I didn’t really need another reason to leave my wife for Zooey Deschanel, but if she insists.  For those who don’t know, She and Him consists of actress Zooey Deschanel (of “Elf” fame) and singer-songwriter and guitarist (primarily for Bright Eyes) M. Ward. The result of this collaboration was revealed this year as “Volume One” and it is by far one of the best albums to have come out. Merging a somewhat sixties retro style with a little bit of country-folk, you end up with this beautiful enchanting record. Besides Zooey’s buttery and innocently sensual voice, there’s a wonderful playfulness to this music but not in a way that turns you off. It’s serious by all means, but doesn’t take itself too seriously and it adds to it’s immense charm. I highly highly recommend this album!!

04. Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes describes their music as “baroque harmonic pop jams” and I couldn’t have put it better myself. Sign me up as one who is always in the mood for something a little different, especially when it concerns merging pop sensibilities with established forms of music. This album is spectacular from start to finish. A beautiful and unique offering from top to bottom. Their first single, the song “White Winter Hymnal” is just one of those songs that will define this decade of music for me. I absolutely cannot wait to see how this band evolves over time.

03. Kings of Leon Only By The Night

In 2005, when I found out that Kings of Leon were going to be opening for our U2 show in Chicago, I decided to give them a try beforehand and I was instantly hooked. To begin with, Caleb Followill’s voice is instantly intoxicating. This man was born to sing rock ‘n roll. And this band, with their mixture of retro sixties pop-sensibilities and raw neo-garage style music, was an instant hit for me. I’ve enjoyed each of their previous records and they have all been staples in my ipod, but “Only By The Night” is something….something totally different. Listening to this album, every single time, makes me feel like I’ve never heard this band before. This is a new Kings of Leon. Now, not everyone is okay with that. I’m aware of the backlash some people gave this album. The wonderful “Sold out” phrase gets thrown around a lot here and there, but it’s the most rediculous thing I’ve ever heard. This is not an album of surrender to the conventional, it’s Kings’ “Joshua Tree”. This is a band that is discovering the full potential of their writing abilities. Sure, I love their older stuff as much as the next guy, but when I listen to a song like “Use Somebody” I hear beauty in maturity. I hear a band that has decided it’s going to stick around for awhile and we are all going to be the better for it. This, my friends, is an absolutely brilliant and addictive record.

02. The Bird and the Bee The Bird and the Bee

Okay, so technically this album came out late 2007, but I don’t care. It still counts in my opinion because not only did I discover it in 2008, but I burnt a whole in the damn thing in 2008.  I am now officially a mega-fan of The Bird and the Bee. The duo, consisting of keyboardist Greg Kurstin and vocalist Inara George, have created one of the most memorable and enchanting albums I’ve heard in several years. Again, as with She and Him, there is a subtle retro vibe underneath, which seems to be a musical trend as of late (probably thanks to the popularity of Amy Winehouse), but here it is mixed with a pop-dance vibe, sort of in the vein of Frou Frou. And in fact, if you’re an Imogen Heap fan, I know you will very much enjoy The Bird and the Bee. Seriously, this album has become almost a comfort album for me in the past year. One night while flying back from a short filming gig in San Diego, I listened to it 4 times in a row. Needless to say, it was the most enjoyable plane ride I’ve ever had.

Now that we’ve gotten to number one, it seems I should let you know that I just couldn’t decide which one of these next two albums I liked better. In one way, they’re very similar and in another way they’re very different, but in the end the important thing is that they just both inspired me equally so I’ve chosen to end it in a tie.

01.02 William Fitzsimmons The Sparrow and the Crow

Though he’s been around for a few years, I discovered William Fitzsimmons for the first time this year and I haven’t been the same since. This is, by all accounts, a perfect record. Like “The Bird and The Bee” above, this album has become a comfort album for me. It is so relaxing and beautiful and altogether wonderful, I just end up playing it just about anytime I can’t decide on anything else. There’s nothing particular special about William as an artist. It’s your usual somewhat-whispery singer-songwriter style, and the music has no particular bells and whistles, but more than anything this man can write a melody that just doesn’t seem like a melody. There’s a Paul Simon-esque effortlessness to it, and the result is such a wonderful blend of sweetness and sadness. By all accounts, this is the kind of music that should be dominating the airwaves. In a perfect world, the song “Goodmorning” would be a Top 40 hit.

01.01 Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago

A guy by the name of Justin Vernon had a pretty crappy year after the breakup of a band, a girlfriend and a bout with sickness and decided to lock himself up in a cabin in the woods of Northern Wisconsin. The result was this album. “For Emma, Forever Ago” is one of the most gentle and most quietly intense records I’ve heard in a long time. It has been a very long time that an album has touched me the way this one has. With every whispered lyric and fragile falsetto the longing and heartbreak that comes through is both beautiful and hard to bear. This is a haunting record, from the front cover to the ethereal folk-sound of the music to the heartbreak and hurt in the lyrics to the broken whisper of Vernon’s singing. Not only is this album my absolute favorite of the year, it is easily one of my top 25 favorite albums of all time. Hands down. I am truly enamored by it’s beauty and cannot sing it’s praises enough.

1. Bambi (1942)
When I was younger, my Grandma Boyce only had a couple videos that you could watch at her house. One of them was usually just a tape we’d leave there every now and then but the one she did own was “Bambi”. I remember watching it and it making me die laughing and soon after, be horrified. It was incredibly powerful. Then, about a year and a half ago I rediscovered the film as an adult. I was going through and watching some of the older Disney movies I had kind of left behind as a kid and I came across two movies that shook me to my core. The first one was Bambi. As I watched it by myself in my office I wept and was completely taken back to the feelings I had as a child. When the movie was over, I sat there in disarray. Not only had I felt emotions identical to the ones I had experienced as a very young child, but I had now felt them in conjunction with new stronger feelings. Feelings that only come from understanding the world and seeing something that reflects that and reinforces it. It occurred to me that this film was a piece of art in the most direct terms. There’s not much of a story to it except that it explores the life, in a very short time, of a solitary deer and, just like us, grows up and experiences life, it’s ups and downs. There is an absolute power in Bambi that is raw and visceral and yet, as we watch it there’s a beauty to it as well. It’s fluid and real yet anthropomorphic and exaggerated. It is, in my opinion, one of the most pure examples of an “animation-as-high-art” experience. “Bambi” is that one animated film that I can watch over and over and over again and it is a fresh and moving experience every time, and not only that, but an experience that feels somewhat spiritual. That’s what this film is to me. A “spiritual” experience.

2. Toy Story (1995)

Before 1995, people knew what CGI was. We had seen numerous television commercials utilizing it and movies were starting to make brilliant use of it as well, including 1993’s “Jurassic Park”. In fact, it was that movie that really changed the history of films. Once we all knew what was capable and how photorealistic and special this technological process was, the world waited for what was next. I remember after a Saturday morning show called “Reboot” aired and became a staple in my house, thinking how cool it would be to have a movie that was completely animated by a computer. It was in that year that “Reboot” first aired, 1994, that I saw a trailer for “Toy Story”. I went in 1995, expected to be wowed by the technical achievement. We all did. I remember my dad being extremely interested in the technology himself. We wanted to see what a fully CGI film would look like. The reason “Toy Story” is this high on my list (pretty much a tie for first) is because about 1 minute into the film every person in the theater completely forgot that this was a new technological achievement. It was in that moment that we witnessed “Pixar”, perhaps one of the greatest success stories in artistic history. I left the theater with my family, all of us dumbfounded, dazed and astonished. The movie we had just witnessed had been, perhaps, one of the most original and enchanting motion pictures I had ever seen. It wasn’t the CGI we were talking about, it was the story, the music, the characters, the humor, the drama. The fact that this was the first CGI film in history didn’t even matter. Today, it matters, because it ushered in a new era of animation. But back then, it was just mystifying that this company had created something so heartfelt and so original when they easily could have simply rested on the laurels of being “the first”. But they didn’t, and they’ve left us with something as timeless, original and amazing as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” some 70 years later. “Toy Story”, like “Snow White” before it, will be studied for decades and decades to come, not only in the animation field but in the art of filmmaking itself. And I love every single last second of that film. It was also the first movie I had ever seen multiple times in theaters. I managed to see it five times, before I had a drivers license. When the video came out it was priority number one to purchase it and I wore a hole in that sucker. Watching it at least 3 times a week for months. I still have the majority of the script memorized.

3. Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Remember those two movies I mentioned that I rediscovered about a year and a half ago, the first being “Bambi”? Well, the second film was “Sleeping Beauty”. However, unlike “Bambi”, this was a film I didn’t care that much about as a kid. In fact, I don’t remember ever owning a copy and just seeing the film on television. The reason I think that was, is because “Sleeping Beauty” is not really a kid’s film. Watching the film over a year ago this suddenly became very apparent. Unlike the princess films before it, “Sleeping Beauty” was dark and foreboding. A much more honest attempt by Disney at approaching fairy tales, despite the still happy ending. But I immediately fell head over heals for the film as I watched it as an adult realizing this. This isn’t a disney movie as much as it is a disney FILM. The first to ever be photographed in Cinemascope anamorphic widescreen and at 70mm (the only other would be Disney’s “The Black Cauldron”), “Sleeping Beauty” is a pure work of art. The film was such a drastic departure from the norm. The film, unlike it’s predecessors, was extremely stylized. Most of this is due to production designer Eyvind Earle who was given an unusual amount of creative freedom. Not only did he set the style in such a distinct design, inspired by many pre-renaissance and gothic art such as Van Eyck, Bruegal and Albrecht Durer, but he also painted the majority of the backdrops himself. The backdrops, which in this film become a character of their own, are so beautifully imagined and executed you could hang them in a museum and no one would be the wiser as to where they came from. Lush backgrounds drawing out strong vertical and horizontal lines create a setting in the film that is beyond majestic. There is such a meticulous feel to the film that watching it, you can’t help but feel as though you’re watching grand medieval artwork and storytelling come right to life. Couple that with such incredibly strong characters, specifically Maleficent, the mistress of all evil. Perhaps one of the villain character design and persona ever animated. Her immediate and mere presence in the film creates a heavy charismatic weight to the film. Overall, you don’t watch “Sleeping Beauty” and think “Great Disney movie”. You watch it and think “This is an art film in every sense of the word”, and one that can never be studied and deconstructed enough.

4. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

When I was a kid in the very early 90’s, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” was my first “Citizen Kane”. It could honestly be said that this was the first film that I ever “geeked” out over. It became an obsession. Ask my entire family. I lived, breathed and ate “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”. I can easily remember a vacation we took at the Ozarks and the only thing that interested me was that the hotel we stayed at had the movie extremely early on their pay-per-view. It’s one of those movies where I was so enthralled in the world that, just like music, each viewing has left an imprint in my mind. I remember watching it while being home sick from school at my grandma’s house. I remember the color of the pajamas I used to watch it in. This movie left a very distinct imprint on my collective psyche. Then, during my teen years I kind of forgot it and it wasn’t until the film was re-released on DVD that I revisited it and fell in love all over again, but this time on a much deeper level. In my teen years I had discovered classic film, and not just classic film but particularly “Film Noir”. The genre absolutely enthralled me. I was a sucker for the femme fatales, the stark contrasts, the shadowy lighting and the moral ambiguities. When I rewatched “Roger Rabbit” and realized that this was a neo-noir film (the story is lifted from a sequel story to “Chinatown”) I had a brand new appreciation of it. But there was more, having now been living in the new age of CGI it became extremely aware at how revolutionary the animation was. The techniques used by Industrial Light and Magic to create the incredible realistic interaction between humans and cartoons in this film have never been duplicated. Robert Zemeckis has stated that he would NEVER make a sequel to the movie again because of the intense difficulty it was. But that difficulty was a result of the quality of the animation. This isn’t just a live-action film with some animation in it. This is equal parts live-action/animation. The animation is a veritable force within the movie that adds an incredible depth to the surprisingly serious storyline. I’m convinced to this day that no film will exceed the level that “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” achieved in 1988.

5. Wall•E (2008)

You may be surprised to see a film that only opened two weeks ago in my top 5 here, but I’m telling you, that’s how good this movie is!!!! This movie is an extremely special film. One that is pretty easy to state as an instant classic. But, as I’ve been thinking about it these past two weeks, having seen the film twice now, is that “Wall•E” was able to reach a place in me that I don’t feel has honestly been fully exploited since I first saw “Toy Story” 13 years ago. The feeling I got as I walked out of the theater was a pure child-like enchantment. And not an ignorance-type feeling, but a real honest head over heals charm that is near impossible to achieve in my opinion. To begin with, as you’ll find out soon in a supplemental piece I’m writing to this list, character design is an extremely important factor to me. As important as story when it comes to animation. “Wall•E” transcends character design though. This was the first film I can honestly say, there was no doubt in my mind within 5 seconds that “Wall•E” was an actual living thing with a soul. If you do not fall madly and deeply in love with this character within 1 minute of seeing him in action you have truly lost your innocence and any remnants of a soul and/or heart. Even more than that though, “Wall•E” represents for one of the first times, the attempt by an animated feature to be inspired by and try to emulate actual normal classic cinema. The direct emulation of classic silent films by Chaplin and Keaton (Andrew Stanton claims they spent over a year watching every silent comedy film they could get their hands on) and classic sci-fi films of the 70’s like “Silent Running”, “2001″ and “Alien”, creates a new level of appreciation for this genre. Most people do not seem to view animated films within the same realm as other live-action classic films, but I can honestly say that “Wall•E” can easily be pitted against a movie such as “Silent Running” or “City Lights” without hesitation. To me, this is an enormous feet. And being a majorly huge silent film fan, I simply have to give props to Stanton for proving to this cinematically lazy generation that silent film is still a viable and relevant type of film. I only hope that the many references reviewers have made with this film and those will prompt new generations to view the genius of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. When the DVD for this movie comes out, be prepared to not hear from me for about a month or so.