This is topic What Are Your Top Ten Movies of 2008? in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=005685
Posted by Mike Schindler (Member # 1309) on 01-17-2009, 03:22 PM:
 
Yesterday I saw CHE, which was the last movie of 2008 which I felt obligated to see before making my top ten list of the best movies of the year. So here's my list. What's on yours?

10. Frost/Nixon
Directed by Ron Howard
This film works because it's structured in a fashion similar to that of a sports movie. It's the story of an underdog versus an undefeatable goliath. Only here, the stakes are much greater, and the reigning champion is not just a one-sided villain, but a character the audience can actually sympathize with at times.

9. The Wrestler
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Aronofsky has created a world of incredible realism which makes Mickey Rourke's outstanding performance all the more effective. The movie accurately captures the sadness of being a celebrity that the world has stopped caring about.

8. Religulous
Directed by Larry Charles
Despite its flaws as a movie, RELIGULOUS deals with a subject of incredible importance, raising big questions which need to be addressed. And it does so in a very funny and accesible way.

7. American Teen
Directed by Nannette Burstein
From a storytelling point of view, there's something perfect about a year in high school. Kids from all walks of life are thrown together into this pressure-filled environment where anything can happen. There is a definite beginning, middle, and end, but the details are different for everyone. Burstein uses these elements to show high school as a microcosm of society on the whole.

6. Iron Man
Directed by John Favreau
Robert Downey, Jr. is the driving force behind the best first movie in a Marvel franchise. On it's own, the film is a lot of fun, more as a performance-driven comedy than an action movie. But it also begins the process of opening up the Marvel movie universe to infinite possibilities.

5. Cloverfield
Directed by Matt Reeves
This movie has a very simple premise that works extremely well. Why not do a monster movie from the general public's perspective? But it also adopts an improvisational acting style and documentary-like aesthetic which acts in stark contrast to its big-budget effects. The end result is a very unique and visceral experience.

4. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Directed by Steven Spielberg
The Indiana Jones movies have always dealt with pre-established mythologies, and the new film is no different. However, this one chooses to use a much more modern myth, that of Roswell, which makes it the perfect homage to the sci-fi B-movies of the fifties.

3. Quantum of Solace
Directed by Marc Forster
This film picks up where CASINO ROYALE left off, expanding on the mythology and adding depth to the character of Bond. It does so without falling into the trap of cliches which has killed so many 007 films in the past.

2. Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Directed by Kevin Smith
Leave it to Smith to turn a movie about amateur porn into the sweetest love story of the year. It's also the funniest movie of the year, combining Smith's brilliant writing with the improv talents of Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks.

1. The Dark Knight
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Nothing else comes close to being as good as this picture. Starting with Christopher and Jonathan Nolan's script, all the way through Lee Smith's editing, THE DARK KNIGHT does not miss a beat. The perfectly constructed story is not just an excuse to blow things up. It's extraordinarily dense, dealing with important issues and complex characters. Heath Ledger's performance is a revelation, but it should not overshadow the work of the rest of the cast, especially Aaron Eckhart. Wally Pfister's Imax photography produces some of the most stunning images ever put to screen. And the score by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer is haunting, without ever drawing attention to itself.

Nolan's masterpiece is an achievement on every level. How often does a popcorn movie carry this much substance? How often does a character-driven drama exercise such great attention to technical detail? THE DARK KNIGHT is so much better than any other movie of the past half decade that it is quite ridiculous not to call it the best film of the year.
 
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 01-17-2009, 06:57 PM:
 
There were no movies worthy of making a top ten list this past year [Mad] .

Mark
 
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 01-18-2009, 01:04 AM:
 
Wall-E
Encounters at the End of the World
Man on Wire

and, umm, that's about it.
 
Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 01-18-2009, 01:20 AM:
 
Keep in mind that I still haven't seen Revolutionary Road or The Wrestler.

1. Slumdog Millionaire
2. Iron Man
3. The Dark Knight
4. Wall*E
5. The Reader
6. Changeling
7. In Bruges
8. Frost/Nixon
9. Definitely, Maybe
10. Traitor

There are probably a half dozen other films that come close to making the top 10.
 
Posted by Jennifer Pan (Member # 2035) on 01-18-2009, 01:42 AM:
 
1. Dark Knight
2. Slumdog Millionaire
3. Wall-E
4. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
5. Wanted
6. The Wrestler
7. JVCD
8. Quantum of Solace
9. Iron Man
10. Tropic Thunder
 
Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 01-18-2009, 02:12 AM:
 
quote: Mark Gulbrandsen
There were no movies worthy of making a top ten list this past year
There probably weren't 10 but how can you say that The Dark Knight doesn't deserve to be number 1 on a top 10 list. I'd say it would be number one on the top 10 list for most years of the last 20.
 
Posted by Damien Taylor (Member # 4255) on 01-18-2009, 04:44 AM:
 
Taken was pretty awesome, I'd have that fairly high up.
 
Posted by Julio Roberto (Member # 4976) on 01-18-2009, 11:09 AM:
 
Of the ones posted here that I have seen, I must agree on kudos to:

Slumdog Millionaire, Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Tropic Thunder and Wall*E

in no particular order.

OK, but a bit dissapointed (expected more), at The Wrestler

Totally dissapointed by: Cloverfield, Quantum of Solace, Indiana Jones,

Enjoyed, but not "top 10": Religulous, Zack and Mini, Wanted, JCVD.

I haven't seen the rest (i.e. Taken, Benjamin, Nixon, Reader, changeling, Teen, etc).
 
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 01-18-2009, 01:01 PM:
 
K Lyle, I'll give you that one! Not even the Bond movie was worthy of the top ten list as Casinbo was... it was good but not great. I haven't seen Slum Dog yet... its playing at a slum of a theater in this area and I'll wait for the Blue Rae to come out.

Mark
 
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-18-2009, 01:45 PM:
 
Of all the movies we watched this year, I don't think there are any I'll wind up buying on DVD. None of them made me want to see them again, sad to say.

In terms of admissions our #1 movie of the year was Marley & Me (if you include the entire run which included one 2009 week.)

Seven of our top ten movies were ones we played on the break, so if any other small-towners are reading this, that demonstrates how important it is to get movies on the break if you can.
 
Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 01-18-2009, 01:51 PM:
 
I couldn't think of ten, but then I haven't seen many films in the last year.

Man on wire was good, and one that you probably won't get to see over there, Terence Davies' 'Of Time and the City'. http://www.oftimeandthecity.com/

I hadn't heard of this one, but I was staying in Bradford for a few days and it was screening at the National Media Museum and looked interesting. I saw it again a few days later at the Phoenix, East Finchley, in London with Terence Davies doing a question and answer session afterwards.
 
Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 01-18-2009, 09:03 PM:
 
Here are the movies I saw in the theatre in 2008 that I would pay to see again on the big screen (my own personal criteria of "worthiness"). (35mm except where noted)

Back to the Future
Blade Runner
Bolt (Digital 3D)
The Dark Knight (Imax)
The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
It's a Wonderful Life
The Terminator
Wall-E

[Smile]
 
Posted by Jeremy Jorgenson (Member # 2989) on 01-17-2010, 01:12 PM:
 
So... I spent 9 of the 12 months of 2008 sequestered in my dorm room in Krakow studying & writing my MA thesis (and certainly not visiting any of the various pubs around Europe!) So my 2008 movie-going experience is a bit odd, and I still haven't been able to watch all the 2008 releases that I'd like to have before coming up with a top ten. But seeing it's 2010 now, I guess I'll go with what I've seen.

List is alphabetical, not any other order:
 
Posted by Jeremy Jorgenson (Member # 2989) on 01-22-2010, 01:34 PM:
 
hmm, looks like it's 13 for me, somehow these two dropped off the list I went from of 2008 releases I've seen:

The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
Låt den rätte komma in (Tomas Alfredson)
 




Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM 6.3.1.2