The Best and Worst Films of 2008

Well it is New Years Eve and I'm bored at work. Like every year at this time, it is a day to look back at the year and take stock on what went well and what to improve upon in the coming year. I'm thankful for all the experiences I've had this year and looking forward to the year to come. As most of my friends know, one of my greatest loves is the movies. I may not have a tremendous amount of money, but I always find it for visits to my local theater. This year has been a great year for movies. Most of the best (in my opinion) came from the unexpected. Who would have guessed a robot, a superhero, and a politician would have captured my imagination so thoroughly and eloquently. So here are my picks for the best (and worst) of the year. Let me know what you think!!

Best of 2008

WALL - E

WALL-E is a standout film by the geniuses at Pixar. Essentially, this is the first art film for kids I have ever seen. It’s the story of a lonely robot who longs for humanity. He inadvertently gives humankind a second chance to redeem their overindulgent and disastrous behavior. The move is aimed at kids but is distinctly adult. Who knew the best human performances of the year would be played by two adorable animated robots. As I said above, it doesn't look like any other kid's movie I've seen. The love story is believable, the message is palpable, and imagery is stirring. This is a kid's film that doesn't pander to kids and assumes they can decipher the message and use their imaginations. This movie gives all viewers a workout for the mind as well as the eye.


Slumdog Millionaire

This movie blew me away. This is director Danny Boyle’s hyperactive view of life. Slumdog Millionaire is a wild ride through the slums of India with a stylish flair and pulse pumping musical score. There are elements of gangster films, Bollywood blockbusters, love stories, and coming-of-age tales all rolled together into a heart-rending and affirming film. Slumdog is the story of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), an 18-year old orphan carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. As a contestant on India's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, he is just one question away from winning the game, but as the show breaks for the night he is arrested for cheating. His arrest and questioning set the stage to reveal the life experience that taught him the answers to the game show's questions and through flashbacks Jamal recounts a troubled life in the slums of Mumbai with a violent brother, a mother killed when he was just a child, and his tumultuous love of an orphan girl named Latika. This movie is one that people need to see. It has a glossy exterior but shows the stark realities of growing up in ways that are unfathomable to most American viewers. This is a great film!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

This movie could have been so bad, but instead turned out to be one of the most touching movies of the year. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett lead a stellar cast in Benjamin Button. The story follows a man born as an 80-year old man in Jazz Age New Orleans who ages in reverse though recent history. It’s the story of a not-so-ordinary man living the life set before him. The film’s emotionally stirring story, fascinating characters, and on-target performances make this movie stand out. The CG effects in this film are a technical marvel. Director David Fincher managed to balance this perfectly sentimental film using that technology to advance the story instead of dazzle audiences. In doing so, Fincher dazzles nonetheless!

Milk

Milk is one hell of a movie. Gus Van Sant uses the recorded story telling of the real Harvey Milk to frame this film endeavor. At no point does Van Sant make Harvey Milk look like a saint. Instead he paints the picture of a man from the outside fed up with the hatred and lack of understanding of the mainstream. The film explores the life and challenges of the exuberant and first openly gay politician Harvey Milk. Milk is one hell of a film because of the amazing performances of the cast. Sean Penn embodies the late Harvey milk with tenacity, humor and charm while showing the very human flaws that he had as well, Josh Brolin turns in an astonishing portrayal of Milk’s political rival and fellow San Francisco city supervisor Dan White, and James Franco wows with his endearing performance of Milk’s true love. It’s apparent through the historical records that Harvey Milk wouldn’t have wanted to be seen as an icon during his life, but he wanted to make a difference. It’s ironic that this film comes out just after several states took away or barred certain rights of gay and lesbian members of this great country. This movie shows that Milk’s death stood for something and will stand as a reminder of the ongoing struggle against discrimination.

The Dark Knight

Who would have thought that this year would have brought some of the best superhero films made so far? Hands down, the winner of the superhero battle was Christopher Nolan’s stark and haunting The Dark Knight. The movie was elegant, thought-provoking, and brutally honest. One of the finest performances of the year is found in this film by the late Heath Ledger. He made the Joker into terrifyingly evil and ruthless sociopath, but did it in such an unbelievable and perfect way. It’s a damn shame that he passed away before he could grace the screen with more performances of this caliber. That was just one aspect of the movie that made it such an awesome film. Essentially the reason I loved this film was because you can’t even anticipate what you will get from the movie until you see it. I was floored when I first experienced it and I’m still in awe.

I would love to write mini reviews for the rest of my Top 10 but my hands are starting to hurt and I don’t want to overload my page! If you want to know my logic for the remainder, just ask! Rounding out my Top Ten are:

Iron Man
The Visitor
Man on a Wire
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Tropic Thunder

I struggled when it came to movies that I was not thrilled with. A few of them were not terrible, but I met them with disappointment for various reasons. I feel they are worthy of mention before I list my worst films of the year because I simply can’t decide about them. All three were films that I was highly anticipating but fell flat when I saw them. They were:

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Speed Racer
Twilight

I liked all the three of them to a certain extent, but they all had some tremendous flaws from ridiculous concepts (Indy) to over-the-top effects (Speed), and ho-hum acting (Twilight). Maybe after further viewing my mind will change, but all three could have been excellent.

So without further ado, with the best films of the year comes my list of the worst films. I try to avoid films that look bad, so there aren’t 10 on here because I didn’t see many bad films. The ones on here were BAD! I’m only going to talk about the one that brings the most ire to mind, and the rest you shall have to watch and experience the horror for yourself…

The Worst of 2008

The Happening

The trailer for M. Night Shamaylan’s latest film, "The Happening", is a grabber. I think most folks that saw it were intrigued with the idea of the film because it didn’t give away any details. It simply set up the premise that something catastrophic has happened, but if it isn't a terrorist attack, what is it? It gave me hope that M. Night was back on track after his disappointing turn in Lady in the Water. After seeing the film it’s no wonder why the trailer gave nothing away. This movie was horrible! Over-the-top (and terrible) acting, ridiculous dialogue, undeveloped concepts, and unreliable storytelling (did I mention terrible acting) sank this mess of a film. Mark Wahlberg should not be allowed to act for some time in penance for this atrocity. Terrorism or Eco Awareness, what the hell was the message of this movie? The Happening was anything but happening. Hands down this was the worst movie this year and quite possibly one of the worst I’ve seen period!

10,000 B.C.
The Mummy: The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Love Guru
Fool’s Gold
The Ruins
Jumper

There ya go. Those are my thoughts, so argue with me if you'd like but you won't change my mind! :) Wishing all of you lots of love and happiness in 2009! Hope to see you at the movies!