08 in order

slumdog gets the oscar and the girl

2008 Movies in their order of preference + or – a spot (it’s not like it makes a difference whether Untraceable is 57 or 59, the point is it kinda sucked considering I only saw 64 new movies). The top ten are set in stone (at least until I watch something better) and I only included films that I saw (obviously) released sometime in 2008. Some of these were watched recently and never given a formal review so I added a few brief comments (just to be fair). One of the reasons this list is so late is that I was hoping to squeeze in a few more of the lauded films like The Wrestler, Ben Button, etc, but that proved to be difficult due to my clogged schedule. Ever onward….

1. The Dark Knight *****

2. Wall-E *****

3. Slumdog Millionaire ***** – Wonderful story that pulls on all the heartstrings. A bit sappy near the end, but the previous hour and and half earn it.

4. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days *****

5. Iron Man****1/2

6. Tropic Thunder ****1/2

7. The Bank Job ****1/2

8. Quantum of Solace ****

9. Mongol ****

10. Man on Wire **** – the best documentary I saw this year.

11. Transsiberian **** – great film in the vein of classic Hitch.

12. Appaloosa **** – straight up old fashioned western

13. Redbelt ****

14. The Visitor **** – really well-written characters.

15. In Bruges **** – original spin on an old concept and the best performance I’ve seen from Colin Farrell

16. Rogue **** – best man vs. beast movie I saw this year.

17. Ghost Town **** – Gervais’ premiere feature-length is quite spirited and features the first Tea Leoni performance I truly enjoyed.

18. Son of Rambow ****

19. The Fall ***1/2 – beautifully shot but overlong and a bit too nonsensical

20. Cloverfield ***1/2

21. Speed Racer ***1/2

22. Australia ***1/2

23. Burn After Reading ***1/2

24. Be Kind Rewind ***1/2

25. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull *** – the most disappointing movie of the year.

26. Doubt *** – moving performances from Hoffman, Streep and Adams.

27. Hellboy II: The Golden Army *** – too cartoon-like removed any and all suspense.

28. The Ruins ***

29. The Incredible Hulk ***

30. Cassandra’s Dream *** – the only Woody Allen film I got to this year.

31. Forgetting Sarah Marshall ***

32. Leatherheads *** Nice old fashioned feel to this one, but the plot plays it too safe.

33. Run, Fatboy, Run ***

34. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian *** – LOTR light part two

35. Get Smart ***

36. Eagle Eye ***

37. Rambo ***

38. The Air I Breathe ***

39. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist *** – not much to write home about here, but watchable.

40. Hancock *** – Will Smith as an ancient god? Bateman is the only reason this one gets three stars.

41. Street Kings ***

42. Quarantine *** -

43. Mirrors **1/2 – Jack Bauer vs the Mirror Demons – nice production values.

44. Pineapple Express **1/2– I laughed twice during the two hour running time, and continue to marvel at the success of Seth Rogen. High production value deserves half a star.

45. Snow Angels **1/2 – utterly depressing despite some strong performances

46. Wanted **1/2

47. Penelope **1/2

48. Chaos Theory **1/2

49. Yes Man **1/2 – decent comedy but below Carrey’s standards.

50. Jumper **1/2

51. Birds of America **1/2

52. The Signal **1/2

53. Transporter 3 **1/2

54. Sukiyaki Western Django **1/2

55. 27 Dresses **

56. The Strangers ** – nice opening and then the characters become horror-movie stupid.

57. Untraceable **

58. Babylon A.D. ** – interesting concept thwarted by a terrible script

59. Punisher: War Zone ** – yet another disappointing Frank Castle flick

60. War Inc. ** – perhaps the worst film of John Cusack’s career, but definitely the worst John Cusack film of 2008

61. Pathology **

62. Smart People **

63. Doomsday **

64. The Happening *1/2 – the absolute worst film of the year by a “name” director with “name” stars.