2008 has had its hit and misses, and while I haven't yet seen the Oscar favorites for next year, I have seen a small handful of marquee '08 flicks (you may call it meager, but this is my blog) and since people like seeing things in ranked form, I shall provide a tidy little ranking of the 2008 films I had the great pleasure of spending $10 (or $15 for the IMAX experience) on.
12. HANCOCK
Review? Yes.
Bottom Line: Lots of promise here with one of the most anti-hero superhero films to hit cinemas, but childish humor, baffling plot turns, and mind-numbing stupidity make this the most painful watch since SPIDERMAN 3.
12. HANCOCK
Review? Yes.
Bottom Line: Lots of promise here with one of the most anti-hero superhero films to hit cinemas, but childish humor, baffling plot turns, and mind-numbing stupidity make this the most painful watch since SPIDERMAN 3.
11. INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
Review? Nope.
Bottom Line: Resurrecting one of America's most famous adventure heroes goes horribly awry in a film plagued by remarkable implausibility and childish visual effects that turns a celebration of the return of the fedora and whip into a film that ends up as 122 minutes of facepalms.
Review? Nope.
Bottom Line: Resurrecting one of America's most famous adventure heroes goes horribly awry in a film plagued by remarkable implausibility and childish visual effects that turns a celebration of the return of the fedora and whip into a film that ends up as 122 minutes of facepalms.
10. AN AMERICAN CAROL
Review? Yep.
Bottom Line: While the film is a certain breath of fresh air in the political film climate of Al Gore and Michael Moore, David Zucker's parody is desperately mediocre and full of cheap gags and few laughs.
9. IRON MAN
Review: Nope.
Bottom Line: Robert Downey Jr. gives a memorable go as iron clad Tony Stark, but the rest of the film suffers from the same mediocrity of popcorn superhero formula plaguing the rest of the Marvel film adaptations.
8. PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
Review: Yah.
Bottom Line: After a slow first act, Seth Rogen and the surprising James Franco settle in to a moderately witty stoner comedy that ends up being worth the price of admission.
7. CLOVERFIELD
Review: Nada.
Bottom Line: A truly bold step in Hollywood cinema, CLOVERFIELD is a thrilling, fast-paced home movie that has opened doors for mainstream filmmaking.
6. QUANTUM OF SOLACE
Review: Si.
Bottom Line: Daniel Craig again proves that his casting as 007 was nothing short of brilliant, but despite some truly gut-wrenching drama and a character arc that the aging franchise has never seen, a story weakened by too-swift-pacing and an over-abundance of action leaves the film behind in CASINO ROYALE's dust.
5. BURN AFTER READING
Review: You betcha.
Bottom Line: While not the Oscar winning drama that the Coen Brothers have treated us with over the last few years, BURN AFTER READING is a dark, hilarious ensemble comedy that proves that the duo can do no wrong.
4. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
Review: Ya.
Bottom Line: Not quite the Earth-shattering foreign film it's been made out to be, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is still the most charming film you'll ever watch with severed heads and gallons of blood.
3. FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL
Review: No.
Bottom Line: Despite gratutitous acts of Jason Segel, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL is yet another Apatow-helmed romcom that is utterly hilarious and neither too sappy nor too cheesy.
2. THE DARK KNIGHT
Review: Of course!
Bottom Line: One of the best action flicks of the decade, THE DARK KNIGHT is smart, immaculately crafted mainstream cinema that has set the bar for all future films in its genre to follow.
1. WALL-E
Review: No duh (and here's a re-review).
Bottom Line: Utterly charming, magical, clever, and feel-good, WALL-E is yet another Pixar film that pushes the boundary of animated children's film into full-fledged grown-up cinema.
There you have it. And yup, I'm a grown man and WALL-E was my favorite movie of the year; even better than THE DARK KNIGHT. I'm perfectly comfortable with myself, thank you very much.
And with that the curtains are drawn on the Scope in 2008. Let's hope 2009 brings us another year of fine cinema and arse-kicking reviews!
The Dark Knight was the best movie of the year. Ironman is underrated on your list. Also, you are forgetting a great movie that was much better than Hancock and perhaps on the same level as Ironman; that is The Incredible Hulk.
ReplyDeleteYour friend Tim.
Hey Timmy,
ReplyDeleteI had THE DARK KNIGHT at #1 until I re-watched WALL-E on Blu-Ray. I suppose I should have put WALL-E at #1-A and THE DARK KNIGHT at #1-B because they're both incredibly great.
IRON MAN was a disappointment. I loved Downey, but the rest of the film was uninspired. It watched just like another Spiderman movie with the Iron Man canon copy/pasted into it.
I've heard mixed things about THE INCREDIBLE HULK, but I have gathered that it was better than the one that came out a few years ago. I might check that out sometime. I should probably check out HELLBOY 2 as well.
Thanks for the comment, Tim.