Ebert, NBR Announce Their Top Movies

The National Board of Review and America's favorite Movie Answer Man, Roger Ebert, have announced their picks for the best films of 2008. On both lists (Ebert's is an uncompromising, un-ranked Top 20), many of the assumed titles appear. Ebert's, of course, is the better batch, a healthy mix of mainstream fare ("Iron Man," "The Dark Knight"), generally maligned films ("W.," "The Fall"), and lesser-recognized personal favorites ("Chop Shop," "Shotgun Stories"). Ebert remains the most balanced of film critics, unafraid to champion popular titles yet fully aware of the greatness of obscure gems. He's neither smug nor a sellout.

The NBR, on the other hand offers the closest thing one is likely to come to a Golden Globe/Academy preview this early in the game. With all-inclusive accolades for Top 10 Independent Films, Top Foreign Films, Docs, Animated Features, Rising Stars, and Honorable Mentions backing their primary Top 10 (well, 11), you could pretty much fill every category on the Oscar ballot with the whole bunch. That said, it still gives me butterflies. Here are both lists, alphabetically:

EBERT

Ballast

The Band's Visit

Che

Chop Shop

The Dark Knight

Doubt

The Fall

Frost/Nixon

Frozen River

Happy-Go-Lucky

Iron Man

Milk

Rachel Getting Married

The Reader

Revolutionary Road

Shotgun Stories

Slumdog Millionaire

Synecdoche, New York

W.

Wall-E

*Special Jury Prize: My Winnipeg

NBR

*Best Pic: Slumdog Millionaire

Burn After Reading

Changeling

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Dark Knight

Defiance

Frost/Nixon

Gran Torino

Milk
Wall-E

The Wrestler