Top Ten Movies of 2008

I actually liked Step Brothers a lot more than The Dark Knight.

PICTURE

1. WALTZ WITH BASHIR
2. Synecdoche, New York
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
4. Chop Shop
5. In Bruges
6. Frozen River
7. The Visitor
8. The Dark Knight
9. I've Loved You So Long
10. MILK
11. Changeling
12. Happy-Go-Lucky
13. Doubt
14. Snow Angels
15. A Christmas Tale

ACTOR

1. Sean Penn, MILK
2. Richard Jenkins, THE VISITOR
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman, SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK
4. Mickey Rourke, THE WRESTLER
5. Alejandro Polanco, CHOP SHOP
6. Frank Langella, FROST/NIXON
7. Benicio Del Toro, CHE
8. Clint Eastwood, GRAN TORINO
9. Michael Sheen, FROST/NIXON
10. Colin Farrell, IN BRUGES

ACTRESS

1. Kristin Scott Thomas, I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG
2. Sally Hawkins, HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
3. Angelina Jolie, CHANGELING
4. Melissa Leo, FROZEN RIVER
5. Kate Beckinsale, SNOW ANGELS
6. Michelle Williams, WNEDY & LUCY
7. Summer Bishil, TOWELHEAD
8. Hiam Abbass, THE VISITOR
9. Rebecca Hall, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
10. Meryl Streep, DOUBT

SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Michael J. Smith Sr., BALLAST
2. Eddie Marsan, HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
3. Heath Ledger, THE DARK KNIGHT
4. Mathieu Amalric, A CHRISTMAS TALE
5. Tom Noonan, SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK
6. Anil Kapoor, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
7. Philip Seymour Hoffman, DOUBT
8. James Franco, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
9. Haaz Sleiman, THE VISITOR
10. Brad Pitt, BURN AFTER READING

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Samantha Morton, SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK
2. Debra Winger, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
3. Viola Davis, DOUBT
4. Penélope Cruz, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
5. Amy Adams, DOUBT
6. Isamar Gonzales, SHOP SHOP
7. Elsa Zylberstein, I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG
8. Misty Upham, FROZEN RIVER
9. Rosemarie DeWitt, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
10. Elisabeth Shue, HAMLET 2

DIRECTOR

1. Ari Folman, WALTZ WITH BASHIR
2. Charlie Kaufman, SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK
3. David Fincher, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
4. Christopher Nolan, THE DARK KNIGHT
5. Courtney Hunt, FROZEN RIVER
6. Ramin Bahrani, CHOP SHOP
7. Martin McDonagh, IN BRUGES
8. Gus Van Sant, MILK
9. Clint Eastwood, CHANGELING
10. Philippe Claudel, I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

I'm glad you liked Waltz with Bashir Holden. I caught it the other day at my local art house cinema and was completely blown away. Its a remarkable achievement.

And I think this is a complete (or nearly complete) list of the 2008 movies I've seen so far: In Bruges, Be Kind Rewind, Snow Angels, Frozen River, Cassandra's Dream, 28 Dresses, Chicago 10, Definitely Maybe, Paranoid Park, The Hammer, Run Fatboy Run, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, The Bank Job, Priceless, Leatherheads, Tell No One, The Rolling Stones: Shine a Light, My Blueberry Nights, The Visitor, Smart People, Young @ Heart, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Baby Mama, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, Up the Yangtze, Then She Found Me, Iron Man, Redbelt, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, War Inc., The Edge of Heaven, Sex and the City: The Movie, Savage Grace, Kung Fu Panda, Mongol, The Promotion, My Winnipeg, Encounters at the End of the World, Man on Wire, Get Smart, Wall-E, Wanted, The Dark Knight, Step Brothers, Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, Brideshead Revisited, CSNY Déjà Vu, Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder, Hamlet 2, Nights in Rodanthe, Blindness, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Burn After Reading, Ghost Town, Towelhead, Appaloosa, The Duchess, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, The Wackness, Religulous, Rachel Getting Married, City of Ember, Diminished Capacity, The Rocker, Happy-Go-Lucky, Changeling, Fear(s) of the Dark, Synecdoche New York, Quantum of Solace, Role Models, A Christmas Tale, Four Christmases, Valkyrie, Slumdog Millionaire, Australia, Ballast, Milk, Frost/Nixon, I've Loved You So Long, The Curious Case of Banjamin Button, Doubt, Gran Torino, Wendy & Lucy, The Wrestler, Last Chance Harvey, Che, Trumbo, Chop Shop, Irina Palm, Hallam Foe, It's a Free World, Import/Export, Jar City, Kings, Mongol, Romulus My Father, Shotgun Stories, Under the Same Moon, Caramel, The Art of Negative Thinking, Yella, The Band's Visit, Unrelated, Beaufort, Alexandra, Roman Polanski: Wanted & Desired and You, the Living and Waltz with Bashir.

Some notables yet to see: Revolutionary Road, Let the Right One In, The Reader, Body of Lies, Mama Mia!, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Elegy, Miracle at St. Anna, Choke, Married Life, The Fall, Bolt, The Other Boleyn Girl, Bottle Shock, Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 and W.

And one movie I saw over two years ago at the Seattle International Film Festival, loved it, included it among my best of 2006 list, but it just finally got a theatrical release int he U.S. this summer: OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies. Brilliant, hysterical flick, comedic acting genius by Jean Dujardin...but I didn't use it again this time since I already went bananas for it back then.

What did you think of Che, Holden? I know you liked Del Toro's performance, but did it dissapoint at all?

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TOP 100 | "Don't let the bastards grind you down!"

Soderbergh's Che is close to being a masterpiece...at least the first half of the project is. Except for a few old style "roadshow" screenings Che was broken into two films. The first part is quite wonderful and layered and epic in the David Lean sense. The second part, however, is repetitive and slowly chugs along to its inevitable conclusion. Del Toro is great, and the movie gets an A grade for ambition, but it's not a success as a complete four-hour epic. Only half of one.

But even with the dragging and uninteresting second half, still very much worth seeing. Had the second half been up to the first it would have been among the two or three best of the year. But...well...it wasn't.

hmmm... there were far way too many to just choose 10

I still need to see a couple films before I post my top films of 08. Button, Milk and Frost/Nixon being the main three. If I can of course.

Expect to see it sometime by the end of the week.

__________________
"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

10. Burn After Reading
9. Gran Torino
8. Towelhead
7. The Dark Knight
6. WALL-E
5. In Bruges
4. Revolutionary Road
3. Snow Angels
2. Shotgun Stories
1. The Wrestler

Best Director: Gus Van Sant-Milk

Best Actor: Mickey Rourke-The Wrestler

Best Actress: Kate Winslet-Revolutionary Road

Most Overrated: The Reader

Most Underrated: Shotgun Stories

Well, I'm a bit closer towards being able to put together a reasonable list. I finally got around to seeing films like Gran Torino and In Bruges, and the top ten is starting to round into shape.

Still need to catch a few more notable flicks, such as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Wrestler, but I hope to be able to have a decent list together in a few more weeks. Of course, even that will be subject to change, but it should be good enough that it won't change much.

...



WHAT?????

__________________

Ok, I think I'm finally ready to make a list which will shock and awe you fo' ceytan:

1. Speed racer - The Wachowski brothers


Still the experience of the year for me, I shan't go into its objective quality (especially considering the rest of the films on this list) or endurance under multiple viewings, suffice to say that it was a once in a lifetime experience and won me over completely.

2. The fall - Tarsem Singh


3. Entre les murs - Laurent Cantet


4. Redbelt - David Mamet


5. Revanche - Götz Spielmann


6. The chaser - Hong-jin Na



7. Waltz with Bashir - Ari Folman


8. JCVD - Mabrouk El Mechri


9. Iron man - Jon Favreau


10. Cloverfield - Matt Reeves


Other films I've enjoyed:
Fine, totally fine, The Edge of Heaven, Mama Mia!, Happy-go-lucky, I've loved you so long, The wrestler, Pineapple express, Milk, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, My Winnipeg, Man on Wire, Ghost Town, Gomorra, Hunger...etc.

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http://www.last.fm/user/diezelpower/

yaa. i agree with mark f.
what happened to kung fu panda?
it's a nice story though.

1. The Dark Knight
2. Iron Man
3. Death Race
4. Eagle Eye
5. Jumper
6. Wall-E
7. The Incredible Hulk
8. 21
9. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
10. 10,000 BC

I have to laugh at the fact that not only are there 6 movies that are on both your "best of 2008" list and "all-time favourites" list, but that they're in completely different order on both lists as well (and then there's Taken, which is your 10th favourite movie ever, yet it doesn't even crack your top 10 of 2008, despite the fact that it is a 2008 release).

Just...wow.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

Well the only thing I can say is The Dark Knight was #1 for me closely followed by Wall-E. Other than that I cant really say any specific order. I am just looking forward to Transformers 2 YEAH WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Was There Will be Blood 2008? It would certainly be on the list...

There Will Be Blood was 2007.

Slightly adjusted:

1.The Wrestler
2.Encounters at the End of the World
3.Man on Wire
4.Synecdoche, New York
5.Paranoid Park
6.The Dark Knight
7.My Winnipeg
8.The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
9.Snow Angels
10.Shotgun Stories

1. The Dark Knight
2. In Bruges
3. Shotgun Stories
4. Slumdog Millionaire
5. Wall-E
6. The Fall
7. The Wrestler
8. Milk
9. Let The Right One In
10. The Visitor

Ah hell here is another ten movies I liked. This was an excellent year for movies!

11. Revolutionary Road
12. Frost/Nixon
13. Snow Angels
14. Happy-Go-Lucky
15. Frozen River
16. Tell no One
17. W
18. How To Lose Friends And Alienate People
19. The Pineapple Express
20. Doubt