Top Film 2008

[ryhoyarbie]

Dark Knight was 30 minutes to long for me. I'm getting tried of seeing Hollywood do every single comic book adaption now, just because they struck gold with X-Men and Spiderman and started doing every single comic book ever made now. And yes I know Hollywood did Batman and Superman back way before comic book movies got hot, but you get the drift. I think everybody praises The Dark Knight just because Heath Ledger died. Before Brokeback Mountain, the man was making a tring of crappy movies no one cared to see. I'm convinced if Ledger did not take the role in Brokeback Mountain, he'd still be making crappy movies and would not have received the role of the Joker.

As far as best movie of 2008, need to watch some more movies that are more "oscar worthy" like Milk, Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, and some others.

I enjoyed Australia and thought thwe 2 1/2 hours went by pretty fast and enjoyed the story telling/plot and characters. The kid in the movie stoled the whole show.

 

[theprawncracker]

Gosh... this is hard. I think a lot of this year's movies were really good.


Movies I Loved Enough to Own on DVD:

• The Dark Knight: A masterpiece in its own right. There's not one thing about this film I don't absolutely love. Ledger's performance is one for the ages, and if he doesn't win the Supporting Actor Oscar I'll lose all faith in the Academy. But... EVERYONE raves over Ledger's performance--and while I did think it was not only the best in the movie, but also the best this year, the performance of the entire cast was beyond excellent. Caine and Freeman continue to amaze me with every role they take on, and Maggie Gyllenhal really surprised me with her great portrayal of Rachel. I didn't really know what to expect from Eckhart... but he blew me away. When I first saw it, I thought his Two-Face was slightly over the top, but upon second and third viewings I understood how tormented the guy was and why he was so over the top. Bale and Oldman were, of course, amazing as well.
• Wall-E: Pixar never ceases to amaze me... as a life-long Disney fan, I'm thrilled that Pixar has finally found a comfortable home within the Mouse House. Wall-E, I think, is truly their magnum opus. A chilling, hilarious, heart-warming story that is embracable by all, and really calls out to what's going wrong with the world today. I really, really think this should get the Best Picture nod... but I highly doubt it will, which is a crying shame.
• IronMan: While Dark Knight, in my mind, holds the title of best superhero film ever... IronMan runs in at second. Downey, Jr. was incredible. His acting (both in this and Tropic Thunder) blows me away. He's hilarious and just a great performer all around. I'm miffed that Terrence Howard got axed from the sequel... but thrilled that a sequel is coming.
• Kung-Fu Panda: Brilliant. A great piece of film making that I expected very, very little from. A classic tale with plenty of twists and laughs along the way. The animation was gorgeous and the voice work of Black and Hoffman was awesome.
• Horton Hears a Who!: Okay, yeah, I walked into this incredibly biased because of both Steve Carrel and Carol Burnette being in the movie... but wow. I did NOT expect it to be THAT good. Great build-up, incredible villain, and a hilarious ending. Loved it the whole way through.
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall: Yeah... it was vulgar. But... My gosh was it funny. Something else I noticed about it that really sets it apart from most other films in the genre these days... it had heart. Genuine and sincere heart. It had a message that it delivered wonderfully--and Russel Brand rocks my socks.
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: While it might be a stretch to say I loved this movie... it was still good and I do own it (just to complete my Indy collection... ). It was a little far-fetched... but Harrison Ford is still a great actor.

Movies I Still Need to See:

• Doubt
• Frost/Nixon
• The Wrestler
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Slumdog Millionaire
• Milk

Movies That I Saw But Didn't Necessarily Love:

• Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist: Okay... I did love this one. It was very clever and heart-warming. Good stuff.
• Tropic Thunder: I... just don't know how I feel about this one. It was good... but... I don't know. It was just WAY too... I can't explain it. It was just too much for me, I think.
• Quantum of Solice: ...BOO! GAH! Terrible! So SLOW! It was NOT the Bond I like to see! I can't even tell you what the Bond Villain looked like--OR the Bond Girl--My favorite part of the Bond movies!
• I don't remember what else I saw... but I'm sure there was more.

 

[Winslow Leach]

I need to see Frost/Nixon. I'm not really a Ron Howard fan, although I enjoyed Backdraft and Apollo 13. I enjoyed the play on which the film is based, and saw some of the actual interview footage in a college communications course, so I'm anxious to see this.

I have Tropic Thunder on DVD, but haven't watched it yet.

And Indy 4...it was entertaining; I was glad to see Karen Allen back, and I recognized the streets of New Haven and the interior of the Yale library during the chase early in the film.

 

[Drtooth]

I first heard of the Milk movie after my move to San Francisco in 1995. Oliver Stone was to direct and Robin Williams was slated to star. I would have enjoyed that, but this appears to be much better. I will have to see.

Robin Williams and Oliver Stone... you can't tell me that couldn't have been interesting.

I do get what you're saying. I really shouldn't be so harsh on Sean Penn and all, since he is trying hard. I just was annoyed by what I saw of I am Sam... it seemed like a bloody Starbucks commercial cross fused with a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. I've heard Tropic Thunder really puts that film in its place, and unfortunately, it infuriated a lot of Mentally disabled people for it. I'm still shocked the whole bit about Robert Downey Jr. in blackface didn't get that much attention.

Horton Hears a Who!: Okay, yeah, I walked into this incredibly biased because of both Steve Carrel and Carol Burnette being in the movie... but wow. I did NOT expect it to be THAT good. Great build-up, incredible villain, and a hilarious ending. Loved it the whole way through.

I was about to say that very same thing. Carol Burnett and Steve Carrell carried that movie, and Jim Carry was only so so to meh... and the trailers did make Horton appear a lot more schitzo than he actually appeared in the film. I also really liked Charles Osgood's naration... and the animation was beautiful, but I think the 2 second screaming who animation and the random "anime" Ninja fantasy sequence were the best looking bits of the film. But I will say, out of the three Dr. Seuss films, it has to be the best... and the sad part is that its competition was so poor that it didn't have to do much.

On the subject of Steve Carrel though, I really enjoyed Get Smart. I am so glad they made this film, and not the 1990's attempt that had Jim Carrey (he would have screwed it up terribly) or Mathew Broaderick (hey, he already screwed up one of Don Adams's roles- I love him as an actor outside of that, though). Steve was able to pull off the same insanely straight face that Don managed... and other than a few moments that were very much Steve's style of comedy, I think he pretty much disappeared into the role of Don Adams... I heard he was a big fan of the show too. I did have problems with the tech-heads, and it seemed like they were in another movie. And I have to say, they found an amazing way to get the Shoe Phone into the film, as technology made all the hillarious innovations of Get Smart look extremely archaic. And yes, we also got the malfunctioning Cone of silence.

Though, it seemed like I was the only one laughing at all the classic catchphrases.... "The old ________ trick", "Missed it by that much," and especially, "Would you believe...?" I don't think they used "...and loving it!" though.

I'd go as far to say I enjoyed it even more than an actual Get Smart movie starring Don Adams (THe Nude Bomb) I got for Christmas... and I did like that one too.

 

[animal0606]

DARK KNIGHT DARK KNIGHT DARK KNIGHT ARGGHHHGHG

 

[Drtooth]

I also got to mention I really enjoyed Igor. I wouldn't buy the DVD, and I probably wouldn't see it again, but I enjoyed it. It was just delightfully morbid. Especially Steve Buschemi's role as the rabbit with an eternal life that's always trying to kill himself. Something I can't believe they got into a kid's movie, PG or no PG. Only Steve Buschemi could have played that role and made it work. Plus, it just had so many wonderful dark concepts, like a brainwashing facility that's a cross between a spa and a car wash. The ending didn't really do it for me, and I wish that things still were dark at the end...

 

[Son of Enik]

The Wrestler

Although I didn't see it until early 2009, I have to go with "The Wrestler" starring Mickey Rourke. I am a longtime wrestling fan and yes I was an independent wrestler for 18 years. This movie tells the honest truth about the business and what guys at the independent level, and in the case of Rourke's character Randy "the Ram" Robinson (The washed up veteran), go through...working for little money, abusing themselves physically, etc.
This was no glorified, "Be a wrestler, you'll be rich and famous" movie, it spoke the brutal truth. It's very depressing at times, but it's real. I highly recommend it.

 

[JJandJanice]

For me it's a toss up between the Dark Knight or Disney/Pixar Wall-E

Most wanted to see movie of 2008, which of course means the movie I have yet to see in 2008 is "The Wrestler," I'm actually dying to see it.

Biggest surpise (for me at least) Disney's Bolt, when I first saw previews for this movie, I thought it seem a little lame and too kiddie for me, but when I saw it I loved it.

 

[ryhoyarbie]

My point of Speed Racer is that a director shouldn't create a $120 million film that only a segment of its fans will appreciate.

Well the new Star Trek film has around the same budget and the only high budget a Star Trek film has got in the past is around 60 million. So I find it odd Paramount is putting all this money on the table for this one movie when they have clearly done in the past is to have a smaller budget trek film.

Is it because of J.J. Abrams? Is it because Paramount wants to bring all sorts of new fans in and make the movie less Star Trek, less technobable, less on characters and story and more of action and visuals like the last three Star Wars films?

If this new Star Trek movie fails, which I hope it does and it also gets bad reviews, then it'll show the people at Paramount are a bunch of idiots that don't get a 40 year franchise and what made it work in the past.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

If this new Star Trek movie fails, which I hope it does and it also gets bad reviews, then it'll show the people at Paramount are a bunch of idiots that don't get a 40 year franchise and what made it work in the past.

Well,I don't hope that it fails... It could bring new fans to the original show.

Plus, I wouldn't want them to lose all that money they spent on this film.