The Frenzy On... Thankful

..Gary Dretzka
..Leonard Klady
..David Poland
..Doug Pratt
..Ray Pride

What I'm
Thankful For This Year

I don't want to make this too much of an elementary school essay, but every year around this time I think it can only be a positive thing to talk about the things you are thankful for. When it comes to the year in film, I felt it had started rather inauspiciously, but in retrospect I realize that I had an awful lot of good times in the theater this year. There have been few movies that have blown me away, but there were a lot that moved me in varying ways or that made me thankful for a certain actor or filmmaker.

So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for many things in the world of film; both personal and universal, past and future, good and great.

For starters, I'm thankful for the work of Harris Savides and Roger Deakins, two of the finest cinematographers that are working today. Savides has done beautiful work this year on Zodiac, Margot at the Wedding, and American Gangster while Deakins had the threesome of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, No Country For Old Men, and In the Valley of Elah. Even if you didn't like any of those films, you can't help but notice how beautiful they were shot. I've been a fan of Savides since I first noticed his work in Elephant and Deakins since I first took notice of him with Fargo. I'm thankful that these two men will continue to do fantastic work with great directors and I'm hopeful that they will get the recognition they deserve this year at the Academy Awards.

I'm thankful for documentaries like The Devil Came on Horseback and even more thankful that the star of that film, Brian Steidle, continues to bring awareness to the war-torn region of Darfur. He is an American hero and I'm thankful that he exists. And I'm thankful for non-partisan documentaries like Charles Ferguson's No End in Sight, the most important film so far about the conflict in Iraq.

I'm thankful for the return of both Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Thomas Anderson and I'm even more thankful that they are returning hand in hand. There is no movie I am more excited to see than There Will Be Blood, starring the greatest living actor and written and directed by a wonderful young auteur.

I'm thankful for the fact that this year has brought – and will bring - new films by Woody Allen, Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson, Noah Baumbach, Robert Benton, Brad Bird, Tim Burton, Joel and Ethan Coen, Francis Ford Coppola, David Cronenberg, Brian De Palma, David Fincher, Marc Forster, William Friedkin, Paul Greengrass, Todd Haynes, Werner Herzog, Neil Jordan, Ang Lee, Sidney Lumet, Mike Nichols, Julian Schnabel, Quentin Tarantino, Michael Winterbottom, and Robert Zemeckis. Success or failure, it's always great to know that these guys are working and their films are always worth checking out.

I'm thankful for actors-turned-directors like Sean Penn (Into the Wild), Julie Delpy (2 Days in Paris), Peter Berg (The Kingdom), Ethan Hawke (The Hottest State), Sarah Polley (Away From Her) and Ben Affleck (Gone Baby Gone). They proved to be equally adept (perhaps more so) behind the camera and I hope to see more directorial efforts from these actors in the future.

I'm thankful for writers like Scott Frank (The Lookout) and Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) taking a turn behind the camera.

I'm thankful for Judd Apatow and his whole gang for making me look forward to at least one comedy every year, knowing that I will laugh my head off.

I'm thankful for discovering small gems like John Carney's Once and Shane Meadows' This is England, moving me just as much or more so than films that cost ten times as much to make.

I'm thankful for being surprised at the movies when I didn't expect to be so moved, like by Bridge to Terabithia or The Darjeeling Limited.

I'm thankful for Christian Bale, who gives the performance of the year in Rescue Dawn. The man has a slight German twang to his speech that he keeps for the entire film. It must be hard enough to learn how to have a German inflection, but to have simply a 'slight one is a mind-boggling to me. He makes the film worthwhile with his humanity, honesty, and skill.

I'm thankful for Irfhan Khan, who should be nominated for his unbelievable performance in The Namesake and acknowledged for his strong work in A Mighty Heart and The Darjeeling Limited.

I'm thankful for movie stars like Halle Berry, Cate Blanchett, George Clooney, Russell Crowe, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jake Gyllenhaal, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Sienna Miller, Viggo Mortensen, Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep and Denzel Washington for continuing to take on difficult material and giving strong performances. It's always nice to see movie stars use their clout on material that is worthwhile.

I'm thankful for movie stars like Don Cheadle, Natalie Portman and Ryan Gosling, who use their fame for good in this world in myriad ways and for being wonderful actors.

I'm thankful for Richard Linklater's Boyhood project, currently halfway into a 12-year shoot.

I'm thankful that Martin Scorsese finally earned an Academy Award for a picture that he can be proud of.

I'm thankful for filmmakers who dare to push the envelope and test the limits of what film can do, people like Bela Tarr or Robert Zemeckis. One tries to be as minimalist as possible while the other is trying to seamlessly blend animation and reality. I hope they both succeed.

I'm thankful that Sidney Lumet, and Eric Rohmer are still alive and churning out movies that matter.

I'm thankful that Woody Allen and Spike Lee, my two favorite Knicks fans, are still trying to make a movie every year.

I'm thankful for Robert Downey, Jr. who seems to get better with age. Even people who don't like Zodiac will agree that Downey is fantastic in it.

I'm thankful that the Pirates trilogy has reached its end.

I'm thankful for nepotism when it brings us filmmakers like Jason Reitman, Jake Kasdan, Sofia Coppola and Jake Paltrow.

I'm thankful for all the films that are in production or pre-production by filmmakers like James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Alfonso Cuaron, Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Arnaud Desplechin, David Fincher, Darren Aronofsky, Michael Haneke, Gus Van Sant and Roman Polanski.

I'm thankful for Steven Soderbergh and Benicio Del Toro's two-part filmed version of Che Guevara's life. Perhaps the people wearing the t-shirts will finally learn who he is.

I'm thankful for the writers who are taking a stand for what they believe in and trying to be paid a just wage for entertaining us. All of us who have been entertained by at least one TV show or a film this year should be our support behind the people who created those entertainments out of thin air.

I'm thankful to Tina Fey for creating 30 Rock, the only show that makes me laugh out loud week after week.

I'm thankful for all the classics of cinema that I get to watch on a daily basis. Just because it isn't new doesn't mean it isn't great.

I'm thankful for web-based movie writers like Sasha Stone, Drew McWeeny, Anne Thompson and Kristopher Tapley, all of who have a passion for film, and the process of film-making, that is palpable.

I'm thankful for Roger Ebert, who keeps on ticking and writing film reviews that make me jealous with their erudition and insights.

I'm thankful for disagreements about movies. Our opinions can all be informed and improved by having a difference of opinion, having to defend why we feel the way we feel. Supporting the movies you love and slamming the movies you hate are part of what makes going to the movies so much fun: the discussion afterwards.

I'm thankful to have colleagues at MCN like Ray Pride, Len Klady, Doug Pratt and Gary Dretzka. They make me proud to write for Movie City News. I'm also thankful for all the readers who fill my inbox each week with (mostly) kind words and I hope they keep on reading.

I'm grateful and thankful for Laura Rooney, the managing editor of MCN, who does so much of the work and doesn't receive nearly enough credit.

I'm also eternally grateful and thankful for the one and only David Poland for giving me space to scribble my thoughts and who manages to run around doing a million little things and still manages to churn out thousands of words a week. He is a wonderful example to learn from and a great boss to have.

I'm thankful for every film that I have yet to see; a thousand more wonderful surprises that are sure to come my way.

More than anything, I'm thankful to my mother who has supported my strange addiction to cinema since she first bought me A Clockwork Orange when I was ten. She could not have known what she had wrought. I owe everything to her.

- Noah Forrest
November 12, 2007

Other columns by Noah Forrest
10.30.07 - Oscar, Don't Forget the Subtle Guys
10.30.07 - Ridley Scott - Overrated?
10.21.07 - Clooney Straddling The Line
10.08.07 - Wes Anderson
10.02.07 - Jake Paltrow's The Good Night
09.27.07 - Cleaning House
09.20.07 - Top 10 To Date
09.13.07 - Film Vs Television
08.31.07 - Halloween Review
08.28.07 - Who Is The Next Scorsese?
08.21.07 - Fall Preview
08.14.07 - The Horrific State Of The Horror Film
08.10.07 - Reservations About Catherine Zeta-Jones
08.07.07 - Saving Steven Spielberg
07.30.07 - Skinheads in the Cinema & This Is England
07.28.07 - Siena Miller: Good or Evil?
07.26.07 - The Frenzy on the Wall

Noah Forrest is a 24 year old aspiring writer/filmmaker in New York City.

The opinions expressed in these columns are the writers and do not neccessarily reflect the opinions of Movie City News or any of its editors or other contributors.

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