2008's Top 10 Movies (Or Related)
Napoleon Plural
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It's that time of year again. Top recommendations, please!
However! I struggle to name 10 films I've enjoyed on the big screen this year. Natural shoe-ins such as Indy IV and QoS both featured 'dealbreakers' for me ie. moments of WTF? that count against them. I enjoyed The Dark Knight but didn't go crazy over it.
And as Samuel L Jackson opines in The Word magazine, long-running series are wiping the floor with blockbuster films, allowing time to develop plot lines, letting the characters get under your skin. A traitor in a Bond film is just another plot device, a traitor in Spooks can be a real shock.
Plus, we live in a DVD age. So for your top 10, allow your fave series or DVDs that made the most impact this year, even if they're a few years old and maybe your first time seeing them. I would put Anchorman in that category.
However, I've a few more movies to catch up with the next week before doing my list... {[]
Edit: Here's a link that acts as a reminder. However, if someone has a more populist list, feel free to add!
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article5229263.ece
However! I struggle to name 10 films I've enjoyed on the big screen this year. Natural shoe-ins such as Indy IV and QoS both featured 'dealbreakers' for me ie. moments of WTF? that count against them. I enjoyed The Dark Knight but didn't go crazy over it.
And as Samuel L Jackson opines in The Word magazine, long-running series are wiping the floor with blockbuster films, allowing time to develop plot lines, letting the characters get under your skin. A traitor in a Bond film is just another plot device, a traitor in Spooks can be a real shock.
Plus, we live in a DVD age. So for your top 10, allow your fave series or DVDs that made the most impact this year, even if they're a few years old and maybe your first time seeing them. I would put Anchorman in that category.
However, I've a few more movies to catch up with the next week before doing my list... {[]
Edit: Here's a link that acts as a reminder. However, if someone has a more populist list, feel free to add!
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article5229263.ece
"This is where we leave you Mr Bond."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Comments
2. Quantum Of Solace
3. Indiana Jones 4
4. Iron Man
5. Hancock
6. Hellboy 2
7. Harry Potter 5
8. 21
9. Rambo 4
10. The Mummy 3
That is a 2007 movie LOL
My thread, my rules!
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Does that count
Roger Moore 1927-2017
1. Quantum Of Solace
2. Get Smart (yes I liked it)
3. Iron Man
4. The Incredible Hulk
See, I told you I hadn't seen that many films this year.
Independent, one-shot comic books from the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia.
twitter.com/DrawnOutDad
2. Flashbacks of a Fool
3. Batman Begins (hadn't seen it till this year)
4. Sex and the City
5. The Bank Job
6. Hancock
7. Goldfinger (yep....not until this year!
8. Goodfellas (ditto)
9. The Dark Knight
10. Cloverfield.
There are still a few I would like to see - The Kite Runner for one, as well as the Bell Jar and The Butterfly, not to mention Defiance.
However, not much time left in 2008, so they might make my 2009 list!
As for my top 10, well how about the only movies I saw this year:
In no order of preference:
Iron Man
Indy IV
The Dark Knight
Quantum Of Solace
The Dark Knight
The more I watch this, the more I must concede that it is the ultimate comic book movie ever made. Amazing characterizations, a really dense plot, some incredible sequences and Heath Ledger creates one of the all time great movie villains.
Iron Man
A great adaptation of one of my favorite comic books from my childhood and a fun movie to watch. Robert Downey Jr. really comes into his own in this one and the high-tech armors never get boring.
Tropic Thunder
A brutal and shameless sendup of Hollywood, this one had me in stitches from start to finish. Again, Robert Downey Jr. steals the show with his race-bending performance but the supporting cast is equally fun to watch.
The Incredible Hulk
This one kind of flew below the radar but it's still a solid film with lots of action and some extreme characters. Tim Roth, an actor that had never really resonated with me, steals the show playing a man who turns into a monster on the inside long before turning into one on the outside.
Quantum of Solace
After the interminable disappointment that was The Overrated Casino RoyaleTM, I didn't have much hope of enjoying another Bond film. Luckily, QoS turned out to be more to my liking and compatible with my sensibilities. It isn't perfect, marred by some hard to follow action scenes, a crummy title song, a continued scarcity of gadgets and a general lack of urgency; but at least its very watchable and has some more palatable characters.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
A late addition for me. It was quite a treat to see Harrison Ford (one of the few remaining REAL movie stars) don the old fedora and bull whip again. Not the greatest adventure ever but still quite servicable. A big, silly, dumb and above all fun movie. Nothing wrong with that.
There were other entertaining films this year (Speed Racer, Hellboy 2 come to mind) but the ones mentioned above are the titles that really stayed with me and that I've revisited again and again.
Ironman
Let the Right One In
Quantum of Solace
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Son of Rambow
The Darjeeling Limited
Burn After Reading
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
The Band's Visit
There, that's a nice ten I think (though not in any order).
Also quite liked:
Pineapple Express
Tropic Thunder
OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
The Incredible Hulk
Diary of the Dead
Meh:
The Dark Knight
Eagle Eye
1. The Dark Knight
2. Rocknrolla
3. Kung Fu Panda
4. Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
5. Burn After Reading
6. Quantum of Solace
7. The Darjeeling Limited
8. Pineapple Express
9. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
10. Tropic Thunder
1 Wall-E - An animated classic. Completly captivating with humor, emotion and intelligence.
2 The Dark Knight - Despite a huge build-up still managed to deliver the goods. Yes, Heath Ledger was fantastic as The Joker, but this film had more going for it than that. I loved how they developed the Commissioner Gordan role and how Two Face becomes Two Face. Hoping to see Vicki Vale introduced in the next one.
3 - Iron Man - I am not a big a comic reader, and in all honesty I have grown tired of all the super hero movies that have come out. But, this was good and I enoyed it quite a bit. A smart script and wonderful performances made for a fun film.
4 - National Treasure Book of Secrets - Not quite as good as the first one, but I still enjoyed it. This one had a little bit more humor and the plot holes are plenty, but sometimes a film can be so much fun, you just don't care and this is one of those.
5 Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - A funny clever film set in London just before the war, with great performances by Amy Adams and Francis McDormand. I enjoyed the old style feel of the film.
As I write this I know I am forgetting something, so I retain the right to add one later.
I might catch another flick like Waltz with Bashir but for now:
10) Man on Wire
Fine documentary about the tightrope walk between the Twin Towers in the 1970s. Moving stuff, and pulled a narrative trick I've newly noticed - set the viewer up for something bad to happen, then move him by going all positive. It's filmed like it's a heist about to happen, but Petit's plan is uplifting. They tried to emphasise that side as it's a love letter to the WTC, yet it's a Frenchman doing it! Like showing footage of your late wife, only being ravished by a Cheese Surrendering Monkey! Requires tact.
9) Who Saw Her Die?
Decent 1970s Italian flick reissued on the Shameless back catalogue of exploitation films and recommended by Ajb member Alex. -{ Stars George Lazenby, some great cinematography of Venice.
8) Kenneth Clark's Civilisation
Still in the 1970s for this groundbreaking 13 episode series about the history of art in Western Europe basically, from the Dark Ages to the then present day.
7) Outnumbered
Halleluljah! A decent family sitcom from Britain, after rubbish like After You're Gone and My Family.
6) Thunderball/OSS-117: Cairo Nest of Spies
Ultimate edition allowed me to see this Sean Connery Bond film with fresh eyes after a disappointing showing at the cinema two years ago. This year's French spy spoof does the whole era brilliantly and a sequel is on its way.
5) Star Stories: The Heather McCartney Story
Laugh out loud outrage as the peg leg gets her chance to dish the dirt. Highlight: Bully Macca coerces the Beatles in flashback to only compose 'jaunty Edwardian ditties' and 'get up on that roof and start playing' to a cowering Fab 3 while a toothy Yoko advises Lennon to play it safe 've are on easy street... in 10 years we get a pension..'
4) Anchorman
Strangely moving and the only time I've liked Will Farrell. Afternoon Delight is a delight indeed, esp with the song tagged onto the DVD as an extra. Only saw it this year.
3) Spooks
This is who Bond should have ripped off. Hissable villains, credible MI5 team and a new McGuffin each week. The sacrificial lamb deaths/traitors are genuinely shocking in a series, while in a movie are mere narrative cliches.
2) Iron Man
Oh, a straightforward fun blockbuster with a new, charismatic leading man! Some great jokes! None of this 'I'm the girl who's an equal and can kick your butt and be as intelligent' conceit. Tapers off at the end, but visually a feast to look out without being a bit overdone, as QoS was imo.
1) In Bruges
Fave laugh out loud movie if a bit grim visually. Colin Farrell on top form, very funny and best hitman double act since Pulp Fiction. The head gangster turns out to be a surprise too! A bit overcooked but at least they try hard and don't insult your intelligence.
-1) Skins
Okay so I can't count! I got wrongfooted here. Skins started off as a silly Daily Mail baiting bit of rubbish in its first ever episode, then turned all sweet and touching with non-generic characters who got along without resorting to gobby 'what's that supposed to mean?' dialogue beloved of EastEnders and Hollyoaks. Great use of music, in particular Hometown Glory for Cassie's crack up in New York and MGMT's Time to Pretend (song of the year?) for last ever episode (sadly it's a different soundtrack on the DVDs so if you're American better download them).
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I'm Not There Todd Haynes brilliantly inventive Bob Dylan bio, with 6 different actors playing different versions of the Dylan myth.
Southland Tales Richard Kelly nicks some ideas from Philip K Dick for his indulgent, but enjoyable follow-up to Donnie Darko
The Nines A trio of stories set in LA, all starring Ryan Reynolds and Hope Davis. Director John August gives his directorial debut one of the most audacious endings ever.
Oscar winners, There Will be Blood and No Country for Old Men.
Zebraman Insane superhero movie from Miike Takashi in which a shy teacher becomes Zebraman and battles crime.
Sweeney Todd Tim Burton's best film in years.
The Bank Job The Stath and Saffron Burrows rob a bank in this old-fashioned heist movie.
In Bruges Sweary hitman movie with Colin Farrell delivering his most affecting performance as a not particularly bright hitman.
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo BayThe definitive film about the War on Terror.
Outpost Ray Stevenson leads a group of mercenaries on a recovery mission, only to find his team fighting zombie Nazi's.
Hellboy 2 Superhero movie of the year, though the new Punisher has yet to be released over here, so it's not like there was much competition.
Tropic Thunder Great for the first hour, then it turns into the kind of film it is mocking.
Burn after Reading Lightweight, but funny Coen Brothers Spy caper.
Man on Wire Documentary about French mentalist Philippe Petit's astonishing tightrope walk between the Twin Towers.
Quantum of Solace Best Bond film since 1989.
OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies I saw this in 2007, but it finally got a release in the UK, so I am plugging it again.
The Bad
My Blueberry Nights Wong Kar-Wai gets lost in Americana.
Rescue Dawn Wernor Herzog makes a boring film about POW's in Vietnam. Should have cast Chuck Norris instead of the relentlessly dull Christian Bale.
Cloverfield Shove your shakey-cam where the sun don't shine. And if it's a big monster movie I want to see the feckin monster, not have annoying young people scream and point towards it.
Mother of Tears Dario Argento's lame finale to his evil mother trilogy.
Love in the Time of Cholera Great book, unpleasant film. Cinematic cholera.
Diary of the Dead Easily the worst of George Romero's 'Dead' movies.
Funny Games Michael Haneke is absurdly overrated and a bore.
Hancock Evil corporate superhero movie.
Gone Baby Gone Competent but wildly over-praised debut from Ben Affleck.
The Dark Knight Batman Bores.
RocknRolla Guy Ritchie is forced to do penance for his last two films by returning to the gangster genre, but this is so far away from being a return to form it is unreal.
and the TV
Goodbye to The Wire. Dexter remains gripping. Burn Notice has the coolest spy on TV, one who actually enjoys being a secret agent rather than moaning about it. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is the biggest surprise, so intelligent. Garret Dillahunt's Terminator makes Arnie's look like a monosyllabic Austrian body builder. Dillahunt also turns up in an episode of the outstanding Life with Damien Lewis as a Zen master cop trying to figure out who had him put away for murder. Weirdest show of the year has to be John from Cincinatti, a metaphysical drama about a surfing family visited by a strange young man who at this point seems to be some kind of modern-day Christ. Dillahunt also turns up in a regular role. Rebecca De Mornay plays the most terrifying ball-breaker ever, though she remains sympathetic, if still terrifying.
That said, I agree with you about the merits of the show. I was recently given the first season on DVD (I have so many shows now to re/watch it's ridiculous) as I adore it.
Trust me, we know that already. :v
"Men, get on a plane to Scotland ASAP. This one's not of the body". X-( :v
Suspect has a penchant for blending in with appearance and accent...be careful. Last known picture of J.D. :
My top films of 2008 were:
The Dark Knight
Not just the best comic book film I've ever seen but the best movie of 2008 hands down. One thing that I've learned about both of Nolan's Batman films is that they have a tendency to grow on you the more you view them. Fantastic cast and story makes this, in my eyes, the first 4 star comic book film I've seen since Superman: The Movie.
I'd love to see if Nolan has the gall to return for a third just to try and top this cinematic masterpiece. B-)
Iron Man
Fresh, colorful and fun IMO. Whether people want to admit it or not, Robert Downey, Jr. really carried this film for everyone else wonderfully and made me believe that he was Tony Stark. The Samuel Jackson cameo was the cherry on top for me...I'm still disappointed with the Jarvis angle though
The Incredible Hulk
Amazing comic book film that got jobbed because of suspect PR and the lingering connection to the Ang Lee Shrek brother incarnation. Best boss battle I've seen in over twenty years. I truly hope that Norton and Marvel will bury the hatchet with one another to do a follow-up to this gem. Three stars. B-)
Indy 4
It was nice to revisit an old idol; it's not the best of the series and I'm loving it only from a nostalgic sense. Shia LaBeouf and those damn monkeys are the only downer to this summer popcorn flick. Two and a half stars.
Tropic Thunder
I'll confess, I didn't think that I would enjoy this movie but I did laugh more than often. Again, Downey,Jr. steals the show.
PUNISHER: War Zone
Probably the fastest film of the year to exit theatres so rapidly making it an automatic bomb. But if you love the old 70s-80s actioneers of years past, PWZ delivers the over-the-top action in spades! I think it knows that it isn't supposed to be taken so seriously and it runs with it. This is Garth Ennis' Castle and the best of the three ventures. Too bad the studio threw it under the bus before it was released.
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
So much for the phrase, "The only good Nazi is a dead Nazi"...
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I have many disguises Rogue. So many.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I just lost it when I scrolled down and saw this. Yes, you are dangerous.
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -