Victim's Gold Stars: In Control

Only two categories and the top two of the top ten to go- hopefully this'll be completed by the weekend.

BEST DIRECTOR

I was going to do a little individual commentary for each one, but as I pondered this, I realized that each and every one of these directors are here because they were fiercely committed to a vision- very different visions, but committed to them all the same, stamping their own personalities and styles firmly on their respective films- these, each and every one, are auteurs, creating unique and surprising films in and out of systems that squash creativity, not bending to expectation, and producing films that inspired and entertained in different, but equally commendable ways.

Victim's Gold Stars: #3: Watching Over The Flock

THE TOP TEN: #3: The Good Shepherd

It's hard to believe that this is only Robert De Niro's second film as director- he has such superb control on the rhythms of every scene, such imaginative touches, such unusual stylings, that it feels like a director whose been working for years and is finally experimenting with things. The Good Shepherd is about the CIA, sure, but it's not a spy thriller- this is gripping in all sorts of ways, it's tangled web of deceit, corruption and morality snaking all over the place, and it's a credit to De Niro, his superb cast, and screenwriter Eric Roth that the audience doesn't fall through the spider's web and into confusion. The Good Shepherd doesn't patronisingly indulge in overblown confrontations or expositional monologues or breathless chases the way you might be expected- no, De Niro lets the emotional weight of the story slowly build, gently nudging it along until it finally collapses on top of you.