My Favorite Movies of 2008
I saw fewer films than last year. I still saw a lot of them.
If comedy were not my favorite thing in the world, goingto movies would probably be it. Before giving you my Top 10 of the year I have some other awards I would like to give out:
Worst Movies of 2008
1) The Happening
2) Twilight
3) Indiana Jones 4
I curtailed the amount of pure crap I saw this year (which may explain the reduction in total number of films seen). The Happening was just dreadful. Marky Mark should have his name stricken from the books as havign ever been nominated for an Oscar. The only thing worse than his performance was the movie itself. The only hope for M. Night Shamalamadingdong is to direct and star in a biopic about Bobby Jindal. My reason for seeing Twilight was that I wanted to see what the buzz was about. Lesson learned – when girls/women between the age of 15 and 30 create “buzz” you can almost guarantee that it is something really fu-king stupid. I have always liked Indiana Jones, but South Park really nailed it when they portrayed the film as George Lucas and Steven Spielberg raping Indiana Jones – it was truly awful.
Best Holocaust Movie of the Year
I saw Defiance, The Reader, Valkyrie so I have not seen all of them, but The Reader was the best, but more by default. The other two were just ok. Hopefully Hollywood can learn from its mistakes and pump out more Holocaust movies next year. And speakingof tragedies I think Hollywood is planning its second slavery movie ever now that we have a black president.
Best Surprise Decent Movie
JCVD – this humorous, but somewhat touchingmovie starring Jean Claude Van Damme was actually a pretty clever movie and shows that Van Damme, rather than juicing up like Stallone or running for office like Ahnuld, has embraced who he is and made easily the most quality movie of his career (though it was not tough beating out his performance as Chance Boudreaux in Hard Target).
Most Overrated Independent Film that People Had to Say They liked
Rachel Getting Married – this movie was a B/B+ that critics swooned for. It has all the classic trappings of a great independent film – a story that is not very interesting, a sad back story and a good set of performances. Anne Hathaway is fine (and uglified which is always good for Oscars), but I thought whoever played her sister (Rachel – I did not care enough to look up her real name) was better.
Best Animated Movie of the Year
I love Pixar and I really like Wall-E, but I enjoyed Kung Fu Panda more. It might just be the star power of Jack Black, but the fat panda made me laugh more than the cuter version of Short Circuit.
Most Arrogant Move by a Filmmaker
The movie Che is 4 hours and twenty minutes long. If I was not crippled by a movie addiction I would have never seen it.
Best Performances of 2008
Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight) + everyone in the Dark Knight except for Bale’s voice as Batman
Robert Downey Jr (Tropic Thunder) – so obviously funny, but incredibly subtle at the same time. Maybe the best performance of the year, but Ledger’s work + tragedy will be honored
Meryl Streep (Doubt) – I don’t care if she has been nominated 47 times and has won multiple times – this was definitely the best performance by an actress this year
Micky Rourke (The Wrestler) – excellent work
Paul Rudd (Role Models) – sarcastic, bitter, unhappy – what’s not to love/identify with in Paul Rudd’s performance
Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road) – best duo on screen this year. Anyone who has never had the balls to go full out in an argument with a girlfriend or spouse – this movie will give you a liberated feeling and it is their performances that make it so intense.
Benicio Del Toro (Che) – 4 hours and 20 minutes in a performance that’s so good you forget it’s an actor (maybe just because it is so f-ing long)
Justin Long (Zach and Miri Make a Porno) – one scene as a gay porn star at a high school reunion – fantastic.
TOP TEN OF 2008
- The Dark Knight – I truly believe this has changed the way action movies can and will be made
- The Wrestler – Not since Million Dollar Baby have I seen a movie that captures the absolute sadness of ordinary, everyday life.
- Revolutionary Road – I could have written this movie myself, but it might not have had the happy ending that this one has.
- Role Models – Funniest movie I have seen since 22003’s Old School.
- Doubt – a really good movie that is even better because of Meryl Streep
- Flash of Genius – underrated Greg Kinnear in the most under appreciated movie of the year
- Milk – standard biopic, but really well done
- Slumdog Millionaire – slightly overhyped indie-film, but it is a great story
- Cadillac Records – great acting, including Beyonce and from box office receipts proof that people do not want to see a story about black people being fleeced by white people
- Kung Fu Panda – Jack Black’s best work since School of Rock
Honorable mention : Che, Wall-E, W, Miracle at St. Anna
And yes, I have probably seen any movie you think should be on this list.