My Top Ten Films of 2008 (so far)
Posted on August 5, 2008 @ 4:26 pm
With the summer blockbuster season drawing to a close, this seems like an opportune time to look back at my ten favorite films released so far this year.
9. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull — I didn’t hate Indy’s latest adventure, but how depressing is it that Kingdom of the Crystal Skull barely cracks my top ten?
8. Get Smart — A much better film than I ever would have expected. It was a treat to seeing Steve Carrell and Anne Hathaway make Agents 86 and 99 their own rather than attempting to precisely replicate the tone of the classic television series.
7. The Incredible Hulk — A marked improvement over Ang Lee’s 2003 snoozer. It’s too bad that such an engrossing flick got lost in the shuffle amidst this summer’s instant superhero classics, Iron Man and The Dark Knight.
6. Hellboy II: The Golden Army — This sequel not only boasts a more compelling storyline than the previous film, but it also affords director Guillermo del Toro the opportunity to let his imagination run wild in crafting the bizarre, phantasmagorical monsters faced by Hellboy and company. Plus, Ron Perlman is about seventeen different kinds of awesome in the title role.
5. Cloverfield — It seems like ages since J. J. Abrams’ shaky-cam giant monster flick crashed into theaters, but the film’s visceral “you-are-there” action sequences still leave a strong impression months after its release.
4. WALL-E — Yes, I’m a total sucker for the WALL-E/EVE robo-love story. I’m not sure how Pixar has managed to assemble their team of the very best visual storytellers in the business, but it certainly pays off big time here.
3. Sex and the City: The Movie — I honestly couldn’t imagine a better film adaption of the HBO series. In fact, it’s one of the very few comedies I’ve actually enjoyed this year.
2. Iron Man — Without question, Robert Downey Jr. was the perfect choice to play billionaire industrialist Tony Stark. Throw in an intelligently reimagined origin story, amazing special effects, and solid performances from Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow, and you have a recipe for one of the greatest superhero flicks of all time.
1. The Dark Knight — I’ve already raved about The Dark Knight enough here at Apropos of Something in recent weeks. Suffice it to say that it’s going to take one hell of a movie to knock Batman off the top spot by year’s end.
Although the summer is winding down, there are still plenty of flicks I’m looking forward to in 2008, including Pineapple Express (August 6), Tropic Thunder (August 15), Star Wars: The Clone Wars (August 15), Hamlet 2 (August 22), Burn After Reading (September 12), Zack and Miri Make a Porno (October 31), Quantum of Solace (November 7), and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (November 21).
What are your favorite films of 2008 so far, and what releases are you still anticipating?
Posted by Jess | Filed Under Pop Culture |
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We Own The Night. Hands down, best film…oh wait..that was last year. It’s a poor year then.
The Dark Knight Returns? Returns?!
I saw Tropic Thunder on Friday. Robert Downey Jr. is awesome, but not awesome enough to make it a good movie. It’s still a dumb Ben Stiller comedy.
I saw Pineapple Express last night. Seth Rogen was pretty funny, but again, not funny enough to make a good movie. Another dud.
Now, I’m going to try to ignore the fact that Sex and the City and Cloverfield even made it into your top ten.
There Will Be Blood was seriously good. Was that this year? But…The Dark Knight…yeah, it was better.
Here’s my list:
http://ryansilberstein.com/blog/?p=60
@Andy: Oops! I was flipping through my Dark Night Returns trade paperback a few days ago and must have it on the brain.
@Michael: I didn’t realize it, but There Will Be Blood did go into wide release in early 2008 (after opening in LA/NYC in late December 2007). All those “I drink your milkshake!” parodies seem like they happened so long ago.
Seriously, though, while I loved Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance in There Will Be Blood, the film doesn’t quite crack my top ten favorites for the year.
My top five were:
5. The Dark Knight
4. Wall-E
3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
2. Iron Man
1. Speed Racer.
Don’t have me rationalize why I prefer movies that feature robots and monkeys over Batman. It’s one of those things.
Don’t let anyone tease you about liking “Sex and the City.” It’s one of my favorite movies of 2008 too!