Top Film 2008

[frogboy4]

What is your pick for favorite theatrical motion picture for 2008 and why?

My pick: The Dark Knight
Forget the Batman element for a minute; this picture was robust in so many different ways from the stellar performances to the masterful storytelling. No film came close to its quality in my eyes and I hope it gets a nod and win for best picture at the Oscars.

Runner up: Hellboy 2 - The Golden Army
Both visually appealing and fun ride. If you wanted humor and fantasy in a comic book movie this one had it in spades.

Honorable mention: Forgetting Sarah Marshall
This film came around right when I needed it. Anyone who's given their heart to another person and weathered some rocky times will be able to relate to this picture. It's brutally honest and funny.

Yet to see: Milk
I need to see it. I've heard good things. Sean Penn will get a nomination and is likely to win an Oscar.

Biggest disappointment: Speed Racer
One reviewer said it best by likening the experience to the Wachowski brothers eating a bunch of Skittles and pooping out this movie. Who makes a two and a half hour family film with ranting monologues and so little fun? It is pretty. But it is also pretty awful.

 

[Winslow Leach]

I'm going with Milk as the best film of the year. It's simply a beautiful, inspiring film. Sean Penn deserves Best Actor. He's amazing. Josh Brolin continues to impress me, and has become one of my favorite actors working today. This guy really knows how to choose his roles. IMO, this is Gus Van Sant's finest work to date.

The Dark Knight - IMO, the best superhero movie ever.

Burn After Reading - following the dark No Country For Old Men (another great film with Brolin), the Coen brothers did an about-face with this wicked comedy.

 

[Winslow Leach]

Also, TDK actually lived up to its hype, and then some. I can't remember the last time I looked forward to a film, and the payoff was better than anticipated.

 

[Pork]

I agree. The Dark Knight

 

[Blue Weirdo]

BEST PICTURE: Wall*E
It's funny. It's heartwarming it's something people of all ages can watch and enjoy. Just an all around perfect movie.

RUNNER UP: The Dark Knight
Yep it lived up to the hype. But not only is it a great action superhero movie but it's also a powerful crime drama. It takes the whole genre in a new direction.

Of course the film that really took its genre in powerful new direction would be:

Cloverfield
I'm a huge fan of kaiju films (that's giant monster movies for you laymen) and am one of the few people outside of Japan (and possibly including them) who can appreciate them for their deeper messages and not just mindless entertainment (Godzilla was an anti-nuclear film, Mothra was anti-racism...)

Cloverfield took the genre in a new direction by actually putting the audience in the middle of the carnage and letting you see how horrific something like this would actually be.

Biggest Disappointment: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Don't get me wrong I still kinda liked it (Better than Temple of Doom at any rate) but after waiting so long to finally get it it wasn't what I was expecting. (Though in all fairness I think this is the same reason so many people dis the Star Wars prequels when they are so great)

Runner Up for Biggest Disappointment: HellBoy 2 The Golden Army
Again I liked it but nowhere near as much as I liked the first.

Movie that got the biggest bum rap: Speed Racer
I thought it was fun. I mean I'm not a racing fan at all but I do like the classic cartoon and I felt it was a good adaptation.

Sorry frogboy I guess that just goes to show how different opinions can be.

Very Close runner up for biggest bum rap: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
While this one did get a lot of flack (just like all the prequels) most people at least acknowledged that it wasn't meant to be on par with the live action films and was in fact the pilot episode for the series

Movie I completely refuse to watch: Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
Everyone has a list of sequels that should never have been made. I have a list of sequels that never should have been made because the FIRST movie never should have been made. This one shot straight to the number one slot actually knocking out Deuce Bigalo!

 

[The Shoe Fairy]

Dark Knight
Dark Knight
Dark Knight
Dark Knight
and Prince Caspian. Cause I'm a nerd.

 

[frogboy4]

Movie that got the biggest bum rap: Speed Racer
I thought it was fun. I mean I'm not a racing fan at all but I do like the classic cartoon and I felt it was a good adaptation.

Sorry frogboy I guess that just goes to show how different opinions can be.

Very Close runner up for biggest bum rap: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
While this one did get a lot of flack (just like all the prequels) most people at least acknowledged that it wasn't meant to be on par with the live action films and was in fact the pilot episode for the series.

No need to be sorry - of course you're entitled to your opinion. I really wanted to like Speed Racer and gave it the chance most of my friends and the movie going public didn't. It is visually stunning, but I found the story, pacing and particularly the dialogue were beneath the fine cast. I would have liked to see a Racer franchise, but sadly it is not to be:
Production Budget: $120 million
Domestic Total Gross: $43,945,766
Worldwide (including US): $93,394,655
They're out at least 27 million dollars before talking advertising budget etc. I cannot believe the film came from the same people behind the Matrix and V for Vendetta. I'll still sign on for their next production attempt Ninja Assassin. Of course it has a different director.

Clone Wars proved to be a good launching pad for the television program. It's really a kids movie and not terrible, just not as good as the Star Wars legacy. Then again, neither was Episode One. I actually laughed out loud at the Truman Capote impersonation of Zero the Hutt (that apparently came directly from Lucas' instruction). I don't recommend Clone Wars, but I don't discourage people from seeing it either. Still, I liked the hand drawn cartoons better.

 

[Pork]

I agree. The Dark Knight

And Wall-E ! ! ! ! !

and I quite liked the Clone Wars...

 

[Oscarfan]

My top film is Wall-E. I didn't see many movies this year, so it's hard to choose the others.

 

[Drtooth]

No need to be sorry - of course you're entitled to your opinion. I really wanted to like Speed Racer and gave it the chance most of my friends and the movie going public didn't. It is visually stunning, but I found the story, pacing and particularly the dialogue were beneath the fine cast. I would have liked to see a Racer franchise, but sadly it is not to be:
Production Budget: $120 million
Domestic Total Gross: $43,945,766
Worldwide (including US): $93,394,655
They're out at least 27 million dollars before talking advertising budget etc. I cannot believe the film came from the same people behind the Matrix and V for Vendetta. I'll still sign on for their next production attempt Ninja Assassin. Of course it has a different director.

Considering I like the TV show, you basically saw an exact representation of the series. The dialogue was never that amazing, and the characters did go on long monologues (I know you're no anime fan, but you'd know that a lot of them have the same type of monologues in basically everything). In fact, it improved a little on the source material, and didn't try hard to hide it's Japanese roots like the American series did. The cast actually looked like the cartoon characters stepped out of the show (well, maybe not all of them... I thought Inspector Detector came across way too young) And I give them credit... it may have had an extremely long run time, but they didn't turn it into a crummy 90 minute "Wait for your photos to develop" kiddy flick, like all cartoon adaptions turn out to be.

In fact, the cartoon adaptions of shows I've seen lately (mostly coming from Disney) seem to basically have the same igonrance of the source material, other than character names and the barest scrap of the original idea (i.e. Inspector Gadget has gadgets, Underdog is a talking dog). Honestly, I would have hated to see the crappy, low budget film they would have made in the 90's.

And personally, I think we had some directors that understood how Anime looks... something that's imperitive when you're making a movie based on an anime. Unlike the Dragon Ball film which looks like a low budget, generic action film, with NONE of the actors looking or acting like their animated counterparts. If there's one film the Brothers should have directed, it would be Dragon Ball.

But then again, it's just not a good idea to make cartoon based movies in the first place. You either try really hard to be close to the source material, or you phone something in because the studio bought the rights to make a film with a popular name to it, and you wind up getting the same result. I just wish I could see more films like Speed Racer, and less like Inspector Gadget, Underdog, and Dudley Do-Right.