My Ten Favorite Movies of 2008
So I found 2008 to be a fairly weak year movie-wise. There were movies with a lot of promise that merely turned out to be good, but not great at their best, or outright "Meh" inducing at their worst. I know you're as anxious as an expectant father with the clap to hear my list of movies, so I won't waste anymore words here.
10. Hellboy II: the Golden Army-Any Guillermo Del Toro is good Guillermo Del Toro. Especially when it gives Ron Pearlman a paycheck (and a movie that's not premiering on the sci fi channel). Universal took a chance sequelizing his earlier effort when Columbia pictures decided to pass. I wish it had paid off better financially for all involved, but Universal is at fault for releasing a more halloween oriented movie in the middle of summer, a week before the second biggest movie of all time. Del Toro also has the freedom to play around a little more here, gone is the studio mandated human POV and the character actor voice over for Doug Jone's Abe Sapien performance. Seeing this movie, it makes me a little sad that we're getting a Del Toro directed Hobbit instead of seeing Del Toro direct a Harry Potter movie. Nonetheless, Hellboy II should at least be appreciated for having a superhero you'd want to have a few beers with.
9. Slumdog Millionaire- Who knew "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" was a national past time in India? Certainly not me, but thats apparently the case made in Slumdog Millionaire, a rag to riches story about Jamal, a young indian man, who is prepared for Millionaire by all the adversity he's faced in his life. I actually have a couple bones to pick with this movie. The first is people talking about it being their first Bollywood movie experience. It's not. Bollywood movies are usually soap operaish claptrap that blatantly plaguerizes from american soap operaish claptrap. Slumdog avoids this sort of nonsense, mostly through the direction of british director Danny Boyle. While I don't always ultimate like all of his films, I least find them interesting from a filmmaking point of view. Slumdog continues this trend. This brings me to my second bone to pick. This is a very, very good film, but not a masterpiece as some are claiming. It will probably win the best picture oscar, and of all the films nominated, it deserves it more than the rest. Don't buy into the hype for this one though.
8. Iron Man- This film marks the first Marvel comics film truly controlled by Marvel comics, so I'm glad its as successful as it is. For too long other studios have licensed their stuff out and turned it into product barely resembling the original idea, so its good to see them showed the rest how its done. That being said, I'm not sure the movie would've been as nearly effective or successful had in not had Robert Downey Jr. as the lead. A reviewer on CHUD.com described his performance to involve him stepping in front of the camera out of breath and making up his lines on the spot. It was an unusual bit of casting that paid off in spades for all involved, including the viewer. It also establishes for the first time that a good deal of the future marvel films are interconnected, or at least taking place in the same universe.
7. Wall-E- Not only did I find this to be one of the better disney films of the past decade or so, but one of the better Science fiction films of the last decade or so. Wall-E is a robot who has been left with his compatriots by humanity to clean up earth in their absence, and in the 400 some odd years he's been at it, he's not only found himself utterly alone, but to also have the unfortunate glitch of a personality. It all turns around for him when a probe named EVE is sent to earth to check on its progress. The film manages to work a romantic angle into its sci fi frame work, along with some more subversive messages about the enviroment and global consumption. It's one of the smarter films Disney has released in a long time and is worth seeing.
6. Quantum of Solace- A lot of people were ambivalent about this Bond entry. Complaints mostly centered on the short running time and the almost constant string of action sequences. I found both made the movie work extremely well for me. I've always found the Bond movies to have fat in their story lines that could do with some trimming. This one picks up almost immediately after Casino Royale, with Bond hell bent on finding the people responsible for turning Vesper Lynde into a double agent. He moves through the storyline almost like a shark.
5. Pineapple Express- A hilarious action film in which a pair of stoners decide to go on the run after witnessing a murder. They never really manage to avoid their pursuers, or even leave LA, but it still makes for a hilarious road movie that lampoons the Action buddy movies of the 80s and 90s. James Franco, an actor whose range runs from boring to whiny suprises here as a lonely, well meaning, drug dealer goofball. I'll never look at the guy the same way again. There's also a great supporting performance by Danny McBride as Franco's double crossing suppler who seems to constantly parade around in a bathrobe and ugg boots while toting a shot gun.
4. Cloverfield - A lot of people seem to have long forgotten about this one. I didn't. How could I forget a giant monster movie? This is one of the best giant monster flicks in a long ass time. It manages to do something different with the typical giant monster storyline. Instead of the usual "monster shows up, a bunch of military and science types get together to destroy it" scenerio, we see things from the perspective of people under the foot of the invading monster. The monster, "clover" is truly a horrifying spectacle in and of itself, with its defense mechanism being the ability to shed pitbull sized, bloodthirty fleas. A lot of people got really sucked into the secretive hype surrounding this flick, and I think it ultimately set some up to be let down. I for one found it to be pretty awesome.
3. Forgetting Sarah Marshall- I haven't laughed out loud at a comedy as often as I did during this film in quite a long time. It manages to juggle the humor and emotions quite effectively. It manages to dip into the gross out humor and still manages to have enough charm to not leave you completely put off. Russell Brand manages an absolutely ridiculous performance as the man who steals sarah marshall away. Mila Kunis also is great in this, managing to shed her grating twit character from That 70s Show, and turning in a charming performance. Definitely the funniest movie of the year.
2. the Wrestler- A lot of people like this one for the central performance from Mickey Rourke. I don't mean to take away from his work here, as its quite astounding, but that being said, there's too much of a novelty to it, mostly from the shock of seeing him transformed. For me, the most astounding transformation here is director Darren Aronovsky's. Thinking back on this film, it feels like he's made his first grown up film. Here he manages to explore the some the same broken dream/persons theme from his earlier work, while shed a lot of the jarring storytelling techniques that made some of his stuff seem too artsy fartsy and less accessible. My one complaint would be the casting of Evan Rachel Wood as Randy "the Ram"s disillusioned daughter. Everything she's been in seems to have her blowing up on one or all of her costars. Her one ability to convey emotion on camera seems to be throwing a temper tantrum like a teenage girl. Hopefully one day a director or acting coach will take her aside and explain to her that high decibelled hissy fits do not always equate to good acting.
1. the Dark Knight- Every once and a while, a film comes along that defines its genre. When people discuss a film genre, they usually think of that movie first. Crime films have the Godfather II, westerns have the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, zombie films have Dawn of the Dead, and now superhero films have the Dark Knight. For a long time batman fans have suffered while batman films have been delivered unto them with differing levels of success. Batman Begins was a good start, but this one is the one that finally strives to get as many things as possible right. Part of that is justice finally served to the Joker, one of Batman's arch enemies, and one who had until this point, not really benefitted from the translations thus far. I never thought much of Heath Ledger before the Dark Knight, as he seemed to be a failed pretty boy, trying to remake himself into a poor man's Johnny Depp at best. I gladly eat my words due to his portrayal of the Joker, a performance unlike anything he's done before, and unlike anything we've seen in a batman, or superhero film before. In twenty years, people will still talk about Ledger's Joker the way that people still talk about Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lector now.
The movie is not without its flaws. It gets a little long winded, and suffers when it tries to shoehorn Two-face into the third act. Christian Bale's otherwise awesome Batman also needs to move away from the terrible Clint Eastwood impression that he does when inside the batman costume. I was a big proponent of Bale playing Batman after seeing American Psycho so many years ago. All he need do to get it right is to do his goofball playboy voice when in company unaware of his alter-ego, and then switch to his deadly serious voice when doning the bat cowl. With these problems, the Dark Knight still manages to be a satisfying action film that stays true to its source material, while still delivering award worthy performances.
Honorable Mentions:
the Curious Case of Benjamin Button- Interesting techincal work and a solid performance by Cate Blancett. Fincher's weakest film to date though. Brad Pitt is a terrible bore in this, and someone needs to explain to him that he is NOT fucking Steve McQueen!
Doomsday- A fun B-movie without an original bone in its body, but a loving valentine to old School John Carpenter movies. Rhona Mitra is far more attractive than a scag like Angelina Jolie.
Tropic Thunder- A great skewering of big budget hollywood fiascos and those who think they're making high art. Robert Downey Jr.'s blackfaced austrian method actor is funny idea, on paper, but become grating after a while. The movie also seems to lose its teeth during the third act. I still stick to the idea that the movie would've been a helluva lot funnier had Cruise and Stiller switched roles.
Worst movie of the 2008:
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull- I actually don't hate this movie. Some do, I don't. Some also think that Temple of Doom is the best of the series. I don't. I would say this one is no worse than Temple of Doom. I have no problem with the MacGuffen of the movie being Extraterrestrial in origin. Alien are no less outlandish a belief system than God or magic rocks from india. My biggest problems with the film is the shoehorning of a silly weasel like Shia LaBoof as a leading man, and as Jones' son no less. I also hated that it seemed like Jones was just along for the ride essentially this time out. In the other films, the outcome is the way it is because Indiana got involved. In this one, I think the film still would've ended the way it did even if he wasn't there. Too much of the film has the stank of George Lucas on it. One wishes that dunderhead would lock himself inside one of the vaults at skywalker ranch, and play with his star wars toys until he dies of old age.
10. Hellboy II: the Golden Army-Any Guillermo Del Toro is good Guillermo Del Toro. Especially when it gives Ron Pearlman a paycheck (and a movie that's not premiering on the sci fi channel). Universal took a chance sequelizing his earlier effort when Columbia pictures decided to pass. I wish it had paid off better financially for all involved, but Universal is at fault for releasing a more halloween oriented movie in the middle of summer, a week before the second biggest movie of all time. Del Toro also has the freedom to play around a little more here, gone is the studio mandated human POV and the character actor voice over for Doug Jone's Abe Sapien performance. Seeing this movie, it makes me a little sad that we're getting a Del Toro directed Hobbit instead of seeing Del Toro direct a Harry Potter movie. Nonetheless, Hellboy II should at least be appreciated for having a superhero you'd want to have a few beers with.
9. Slumdog Millionaire- Who knew "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" was a national past time in India? Certainly not me, but thats apparently the case made in Slumdog Millionaire, a rag to riches story about Jamal, a young indian man, who is prepared for Millionaire by all the adversity he's faced in his life. I actually have a couple bones to pick with this movie. The first is people talking about it being their first Bollywood movie experience. It's not. Bollywood movies are usually soap operaish claptrap that blatantly plaguerizes from american soap operaish claptrap. Slumdog avoids this sort of nonsense, mostly through the direction of british director Danny Boyle. While I don't always ultimate like all of his films, I least find them interesting from a filmmaking point of view. Slumdog continues this trend. This brings me to my second bone to pick. This is a very, very good film, but not a masterpiece as some are claiming. It will probably win the best picture oscar, and of all the films nominated, it deserves it more than the rest. Don't buy into the hype for this one though.
8. Iron Man- This film marks the first Marvel comics film truly controlled by Marvel comics, so I'm glad its as successful as it is. For too long other studios have licensed their stuff out and turned it into product barely resembling the original idea, so its good to see them showed the rest how its done. That being said, I'm not sure the movie would've been as nearly effective or successful had in not had Robert Downey Jr. as the lead. A reviewer on CHUD.com described his performance to involve him stepping in front of the camera out of breath and making up his lines on the spot. It was an unusual bit of casting that paid off in spades for all involved, including the viewer. It also establishes for the first time that a good deal of the future marvel films are interconnected, or at least taking place in the same universe.
7. Wall-E- Not only did I find this to be one of the better disney films of the past decade or so, but one of the better Science fiction films of the last decade or so. Wall-E is a robot who has been left with his compatriots by humanity to clean up earth in their absence, and in the 400 some odd years he's been at it, he's not only found himself utterly alone, but to also have the unfortunate glitch of a personality. It all turns around for him when a probe named EVE is sent to earth to check on its progress. The film manages to work a romantic angle into its sci fi frame work, along with some more subversive messages about the enviroment and global consumption. It's one of the smarter films Disney has released in a long time and is worth seeing.
6. Quantum of Solace- A lot of people were ambivalent about this Bond entry. Complaints mostly centered on the short running time and the almost constant string of action sequences. I found both made the movie work extremely well for me. I've always found the Bond movies to have fat in their story lines that could do with some trimming. This one picks up almost immediately after Casino Royale, with Bond hell bent on finding the people responsible for turning Vesper Lynde into a double agent. He moves through the storyline almost like a shark.
5. Pineapple Express- A hilarious action film in which a pair of stoners decide to go on the run after witnessing a murder. They never really manage to avoid their pursuers, or even leave LA, but it still makes for a hilarious road movie that lampoons the Action buddy movies of the 80s and 90s. James Franco, an actor whose range runs from boring to whiny suprises here as a lonely, well meaning, drug dealer goofball. I'll never look at the guy the same way again. There's also a great supporting performance by Danny McBride as Franco's double crossing suppler who seems to constantly parade around in a bathrobe and ugg boots while toting a shot gun.
4. Cloverfield - A lot of people seem to have long forgotten about this one. I didn't. How could I forget a giant monster movie? This is one of the best giant monster flicks in a long ass time. It manages to do something different with the typical giant monster storyline. Instead of the usual "monster shows up, a bunch of military and science types get together to destroy it" scenerio, we see things from the perspective of people under the foot of the invading monster. The monster, "clover" is truly a horrifying spectacle in and of itself, with its defense mechanism being the ability to shed pitbull sized, bloodthirty fleas. A lot of people got really sucked into the secretive hype surrounding this flick, and I think it ultimately set some up to be let down. I for one found it to be pretty awesome.
3. Forgetting Sarah Marshall- I haven't laughed out loud at a comedy as often as I did during this film in quite a long time. It manages to juggle the humor and emotions quite effectively. It manages to dip into the gross out humor and still manages to have enough charm to not leave you completely put off. Russell Brand manages an absolutely ridiculous performance as the man who steals sarah marshall away. Mila Kunis also is great in this, managing to shed her grating twit character from That 70s Show, and turning in a charming performance. Definitely the funniest movie of the year.
2. the Wrestler- A lot of people like this one for the central performance from Mickey Rourke. I don't mean to take away from his work here, as its quite astounding, but that being said, there's too much of a novelty to it, mostly from the shock of seeing him transformed. For me, the most astounding transformation here is director Darren Aronovsky's. Thinking back on this film, it feels like he's made his first grown up film. Here he manages to explore the some the same broken dream/persons theme from his earlier work, while shed a lot of the jarring storytelling techniques that made some of his stuff seem too artsy fartsy and less accessible. My one complaint would be the casting of Evan Rachel Wood as Randy "the Ram"s disillusioned daughter. Everything she's been in seems to have her blowing up on one or all of her costars. Her one ability to convey emotion on camera seems to be throwing a temper tantrum like a teenage girl. Hopefully one day a director or acting coach will take her aside and explain to her that high decibelled hissy fits do not always equate to good acting.
1. the Dark Knight- Every once and a while, a film comes along that defines its genre. When people discuss a film genre, they usually think of that movie first. Crime films have the Godfather II, westerns have the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, zombie films have Dawn of the Dead, and now superhero films have the Dark Knight. For a long time batman fans have suffered while batman films have been delivered unto them with differing levels of success. Batman Begins was a good start, but this one is the one that finally strives to get as many things as possible right. Part of that is justice finally served to the Joker, one of Batman's arch enemies, and one who had until this point, not really benefitted from the translations thus far. I never thought much of Heath Ledger before the Dark Knight, as he seemed to be a failed pretty boy, trying to remake himself into a poor man's Johnny Depp at best. I gladly eat my words due to his portrayal of the Joker, a performance unlike anything he's done before, and unlike anything we've seen in a batman, or superhero film before. In twenty years, people will still talk about Ledger's Joker the way that people still talk about Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lector now.
The movie is not without its flaws. It gets a little long winded, and suffers when it tries to shoehorn Two-face into the third act. Christian Bale's otherwise awesome Batman also needs to move away from the terrible Clint Eastwood impression that he does when inside the batman costume. I was a big proponent of Bale playing Batman after seeing American Psycho so many years ago. All he need do to get it right is to do his goofball playboy voice when in company unaware of his alter-ego, and then switch to his deadly serious voice when doning the bat cowl. With these problems, the Dark Knight still manages to be a satisfying action film that stays true to its source material, while still delivering award worthy performances.
Honorable Mentions:
the Curious Case of Benjamin Button- Interesting techincal work and a solid performance by Cate Blancett. Fincher's weakest film to date though. Brad Pitt is a terrible bore in this, and someone needs to explain to him that he is NOT fucking Steve McQueen!
Doomsday- A fun B-movie without an original bone in its body, but a loving valentine to old School John Carpenter movies. Rhona Mitra is far more attractive than a scag like Angelina Jolie.
Tropic Thunder- A great skewering of big budget hollywood fiascos and those who think they're making high art. Robert Downey Jr.'s blackfaced austrian method actor is funny idea, on paper, but become grating after a while. The movie also seems to lose its teeth during the third act. I still stick to the idea that the movie would've been a helluva lot funnier had Cruise and Stiller switched roles.
Worst movie of the 2008:
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull- I actually don't hate this movie. Some do, I don't. Some also think that Temple of Doom is the best of the series. I don't. I would say this one is no worse than Temple of Doom. I have no problem with the MacGuffen of the movie being Extraterrestrial in origin. Alien are no less outlandish a belief system than God or magic rocks from india. My biggest problems with the film is the shoehorning of a silly weasel like Shia LaBoof as a leading man, and as Jones' son no less. I also hated that it seemed like Jones was just along for the ride essentially this time out. In the other films, the outcome is the way it is because Indiana got involved. In this one, I think the film still would've ended the way it did even if he wasn't there. Too much of the film has the stank of George Lucas on it. One wishes that dunderhead would lock himself inside one of the vaults at skywalker ranch, and play with his star wars toys until he dies of old age.