The Best Films of 2008

Well, it's Oscar night, so I think it's time I take a trip down memory lane and look back on my favorite films of the past year. As usual, you'll see a wide variety of films. Not just serious Oscar contenders, but also some comedies and superhero movies. 2008 had a great variety of great films in just about any genre you can think of. The format of this list follows the same as in previous years. I first choose my pick for the single best film of 2008. I then list my choices for the "Great Films" of last year, the films that stand out in my mind for one reason or another long after I viewed them. I then list the "Honorable Mentions", and finally the performances of last year that stood out to me.

One thing I want to note before I begin. You'll probably notice that one of tonight's Best Picture nominees, Milk, is not on this list. It's not that I didn't like the movie, it's that I never got a chance to see it. I'm a regular paying customer when it comes to movies, and I can obviously only review movies that come close enough to me. For whatever reason, that particular film never came. I try to see all the Best Picture nominees before the night of the ceremony, but sometimes something gets in the way. I will get to see it eventually in some way, obviously, and I will add it to this list later on if I feel it's worthy of recognition. (I was not a huge fan of one of the other nominees, The Reader, for example.) So, with that out of the way, let's get down to the important stuff...the movies.


THE BEST FILM OF 2008

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - So many people seem to have fallen in love with this little movie that could, and it's easy to see why. Slumdog Millionaire is charming, heartwarming, funny, exciting, and one of the best times I've had at the theater in the past year. It's easy to see why this has become such a crowd pleaser with audiences. It has a certain innocence to it, and its central love story is something that can speak to just about anyone. More than that, Danny Boyle has simply given us a great film to start with. The story initially grabs your attention with its unorthodox and out of sequence storytelling, and then wraps you in even further with its characters and exotic settings. This is a rare feel-good movie that stimulates all the senses, not just the heart, and lingers in your mind long after you've seen it.


THE GREAT FILMS OF 2008 (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER):

THE DARK KNIGHT - 2008 will be remembered as a banner year for comic book films. Iron Man got the ball rolling back in May, but I don't think anyone expected the juggernaut that The Dark Knight would become. This is the first film in the Batman franchise that truly felt like a complete film to me. It not only successfully fleshed out the main character as an individual we could care about (something filmmakers have been struggling with since 1989's Batman film), but it was also one of the deepest and most challenging summer blockbusters to come along in years. There was a lot going on in this movie besides costumed heroes and villains, and for the first time, Gotham City and its inhabitants seemed like real characters that we could truly get behind. Throw in Heath Ledger's unforgettable performance, and it's easy to see why this movie won over both fanboys and regular movie goers.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON - Were it not for Slumdog Millionaire, this probably would have taken the top spot. Director David Fincher truly outdid himself with this quiet and fascinating look at life. This movie gave me something I seldom get at the theater - The feeling that I was watching something truly great. It starts with the visual style of the film, making Benjamin Button the most beautiful movie of the year. But then, it goes even further, as we follow the title character through his "life led backwards", his experiences, and the people he meets. This is a nearly flawless film, with so many individual scenes that would probably make great short films on their own. The fact that this film could have gone wrong in so many ways (it could have come across as gimmicky and overly sentimental), but never takes a wrong step in its nearly 3 hour running time makes this movie a small miracle.

TROPIC THUNDER - My favorite comedy of 2008. I don't remember the last time I laughed this much at a movie in a long time. Ben Stiller's warped tale of spoiled actors lost in the jungle while shooting a Vietnam war epic not only expertly skewers war films and the Hollywood system in general, it savagely holds a mirror up to just about every one of the false pretenses actors have about themselves, and exposes them for how ridiculous they truly are. But the movie's not just great because of its laughs, it also holds one of the best comic performances of the year from Robert Downey Jr, in what can only be described as one of the most challenging roles any actor has taken in a comedy in recent memory. Tropic Thunder may come across as offensive and crude, but it's also a lot of fun.

THE WRESTLER - One of the most unforgettable films of the past year. Mickey Rourke's comeback story has somewhat overshadowed just what a great film this truly is. Yes, his performance is worthy of all the praise its been getting, but there is just so much to love about this film. The Wrestler is honest, brutal, and often seems very real and unscripted. We feel like we're watching real people up on the screen, not characters in a screenplay. This movie finds the perfect tone for just about every moment, especially the ending, which for once does not give us all the answers we're looking for. Also of note - The fact that Bruce Springsteen's haunting theme song was not nominated for an Oscar is one of the great crimes of tonight's ceremony.

DOUBT - In bringing his Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning Broadway play to the big screen, writer-director John Patrick Shanley not only brings us undeniable energy and engrossing storytelling, but also assembles one of the finest casts featured in a film in 2008. It's no surprise that the four main leads here (Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis) have been nominated, as they are all commanding and unforgettable presences here. This film, about a nun who suspects a priest is having a secret affair with a young boy, gives us no easy answers, but it does give us a lot to admire. It asks a lot of questions, and leaves it up to us to make up our own minds about what happened. Doubt is high-level drama at its finest.

FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL - My other favorite comedy of the year, and a wonderful star vehicle for rising star Jason Segel. Sarah Marshall doesn't really do anything radically different from other romantic comedies. But it does have some of the biggest laughs of the year, and some wonderful comic performances. More than that, this is a very heartfelt film with characters we not only care about, but come across as being genuine. These are not the usual stock character types, and they don't make intentionally stupid decisions just to move the plot along. The characters are handled with a surprising amount of intelligence, and don't always act the way we expect them to. Above all else, it's impossible not to see this movie and not dream of seeing a musical of Dracula performed by Muppets. Sure, that sounds weird, but watch this movie and you'll understand.


HONORABLE MENTIONS

Cloverfield, Definitely Maybe, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Be Kind Rewind, Charlie Bartlett, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Bank Job, Horton Hears a Who, Run Fatboy Run, Leatherheads, Iron Man, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Strangers, The Incredible Hulk, Get Smart, Wall-e, Young @ Heart, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Brideshead Revisited, Burn After Reading, Igor, Ghost Town, Appaloosa, Towelhead, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Body of Lies, The Express, The Duchess, Sex Drive, The Secret Life of Bees, Religulous, Soul Men, Role Models, Bolt, Nothing Like the Holidays, Marley & Me, Revolutionary Road, Last Chance Harvey, Frost/Nixon


THE STAND-OUT PERFORMANCES OF 2008

Amy Adams (Doubt), Summer Bishil (Towelhead), Cate Blanchett (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Madeline Carroll (Swing Vote), Michael Cera (Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist), Don Cheadle (Traitor), George Clooney (Burn After Reading), James Cromwell (W.) Tom Cruise (Tropic Thunder), Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) Viola Davis (Doubt), Kat Dennings (Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist), Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road), Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man and Tropic Thunder), Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino), Aaron Eckhart (Towelhead and The Dark Knight), Susie Essman (Bolt), Dakota Fanning (The Secret Life of Bees), Anna Faris (The House Bunny), Isla Fisher (Definitely, Maybe), James Franco (Pineapple Express), Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benamin Button), Dustin Hoffman (Last Chance Harvey), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt), Angelina Jolie (Changeling), Keira Knightley (The Duchess) Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight), Francis McDormand (Burn After Reading), Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Burn After Reading), Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), Jack Scanlon (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas), Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road), Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon), Meryl Streep (Doubt), Tilda Swinton (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Emma Thompson (Last Chance Harvey and Brideshead Revisited), Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler), Kate Winslett (Revolutionary Road and The Reader), Evan Rachel Wood (The Wrestler)


And with that, I close the chapter on 2008 and look to the year ahead. I can only hope that some of the best trends of the past year (comic book movies and summer blockbusters worth caring about, adult comedies that are both funny and smart) carry on into 2009. Enjoy the Oscars tonight, and happy film going to one and all!

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