TOP TEN FAVORITE FILMS OF 2008

Not in competition with Shaan's voting game, but I've been thinking about this for a while, and I just thought it would be cool, like last year, to assemble your top ten cinema viewings of the past year. This, for the sake of non-americans, does not have to be strictly limited to films released in the US in the past year, but just films released in cinemas since last January in your own country. Anyway, I'll start the ball rolling.

1. The Dark Knight
2. Wall-E
3. Lars And The Real Girl
4. The Orphanage
5. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
6. In Bruges
7. The Incredible Hulk
8. Iron Man
9. Juno
10. Choke

te he, I've been waiting for someone to start this thread. I'll have mine up soon.

SS, you liked The Orphanage that much, y? I thought it was good, but nothing great.

I won't be doing mine until February. I still have to see several Oscar-worthy titles.

Me too Buscemi. In fact some smaller films aren't screened over here until April (like Religulous and Synecdoche NY). I've yet to Slumdog Millionaire, The Wrestler, Doubt, Benjamin Button, Milk, etc.

So far, my Top 10 would contain the likes of In Bruges, Waltz with Bashir, TDK, Wall E, but I'm holding off for something more definitive.

Good thread. I'll definitely be stopping in after I get to see all the Oscar bait films.

Along with most everyone else, I want to wait until I've seen all the Oscar bait films, most of which won't go wide for a few weeks.

But I'll go ahead and post my Top 10 from January to late December (just off the top of my head):

1. The Dark Knight
2. Kung Fu Panda
3. The Wackness
4. In Bruges
5. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
6. Seven Pounds
7. Be Kind Rewind
8. The Bank Job
9. Changeling
10. Smart People

Honorable Mentions: Yes Man, Cloverfield, Tropic Thunder, Iron Man, Step Brothers, W., Cadillac Records, Bolt, Nick & Norah

I'm sure it'll be drastically different once I catch all of those gems out there - Slumdog Millionaire, Doubt, Benjamin Button, The Reader, Revolutionary Road, Defiance, etc

I should come up with my Top 10 this weekend, I'll post it here next week.
Most of the year-end US films will be nowhere to be seen for they will be released in Paris between January and April, but it seems alright with you Surfer, so be it.

1.Wanted
2.Harold And Kumar 2
3.Iron Man
4.The Dark Knight
5.Zack And Miri Make A Porno
6.Step Brothers
7.Rambo
8.Death Race
9.Street Kings
10.Get Smart

Havent Seen Yet that might effect this The Wrestler,Frost/Nixon,Defiance,Sex Drive,Miracle At St.Anna,Max Payne,Quantum Of Solace,The Spirit[seeing it on sunday],Seven Pounds,

10. Twilight
9. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
8. In Bruges
7. Australia
6. The Dark Knight
5. The Happening
4. Iron Man
3. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
2. Wall-E
1. Burn After Reading

This is the list as it stands, seeing as I have yet to see quite a few films that would most likely end up here as well. The funny thing about this list is that most of the films on it were movies that I had little to no interest in seeing. I'm always up for pleasant surprises over disappointment when it comes to movies.

I have yet to see ANY of the Oscar contenders (Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Benjamin Button, Wrestler, etc.), so this list is purely perfunctory.

10. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
9. Fool's Gold
8. Body of Lies
7. Get Smart
6. Death Race
5. Iron Man
4. Vantage Point
3. Eagle Eye
(tie) 1. The Dark Knight and Wall-E

I've seen them both multiple times, and I honestly can't decide which I like better, so I'll have to settle for a tie.

1. Slumdog Millionaire
2. The Dark Knight
3. WALL-E
4. Frost/Nixon
5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
6. The Wrestler
7. In Bruges
8. Iron Man
9. The Visitor
10. The Incredible Hulk

I want to make a list, but I can't think of one movie, off the top of my head, that deserves the #1 spot...though I did see two 2007 releases this year that would have been good enough (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Once).

Did you see them in the theatre Frendo? As if so, they are allowed on the list. Mine contains Juno and Lars and The Real Girl as they were only released in NZ in 2008, so they make the list. This isn't meant to be a definitive list everyone, it is just a list to compile the best movies you saw in theatres last year. If you see them this year it doesn't really count. I just want to find the best movies you had witnessed since January - December 2008.

Oh God, someone actually liked Fool's Gold? That film was insufferable and makes us hope that McConaughey and Hudson never team up again. Plus Alexis Dziena (Donald Sutherland's character's daughter) is one of the worst actresses to possibly come from Hollywood. She makes Megan Fox look like Katharine Hepburn.

I'm more amazed by the fact that IPKI$$ ranked The Happening higher than TDK....

silversurfer19 wrote:I'm more amazed by the fact that IPKI$$ ranked The Happening higher than TDK....

He probably liked the scenery (Is Hamilton closer to Philadelphia or New York?).

Oh, I didn't realize it was for only things seen in theaters. Here's my list:

10. Dark Knight
9. Igor
8. Frost / Nixon
7. The Changeling
6. Nobel Son
5. Rachel Getting Married
4. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
3. How to Lose Friends and Alienate People
2. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
1. Let the Right One In

No problem, frendo. Let The Right One In is released next week here in NZ, I'm really looking forward to it, especially now considering you ranked it no.1 too!

Wow, MrFrendo, did you really like Let the Right one in that much? I watched it over the holidays and while it's quite dark and moody, it really wasn't particularly outstanding. Just another vamp flick, with an added sense of realism, and a really confusing (and pointless) reference to castration that sticks out like a sore genital wound...

See, with Let The Right One In, I was transfixed to the screen. The cinematography was excellent, and a work of art in itself. The sense of realism with the vamp genre was pretty new, and having it be children was really new. It didn't try to be ultra-violent, which made the violent scenes more pronounced when they did take place. It was paced well. And I cared about the characters without any contrivance on the part of the filmmaker. So yeah, I liked it that much. I gotta say though, VCB was a VERY close second.

This of course may change when I do my best of 2008 list, as I haven't seen Gran Torino, The Wrestler, or Rev. Road yet, as well as a few others. But it will definitely still be up there!

Buscemi wrote:Oh God, someone actually liked Fool's Gold? That film was insufferable and makes us hope that McConaughey and Hudson never team up again. Plus Alexis Dziena (Donald Sutherland's character's daughter) is one of the worst actresses to possibly come from Hollywood. She makes Megan Fox look like Katharine Hepburn.

silversurfer19 wrote:I'm more amazed by the fact that IPKI$$ ranked The Happening higher than TDK....

ha ha, i love it. at least they're being honest. I thought Fool's Gold was enjoyable.

Even as huge a fan of shaymalan i am ( i've liked all of his so far or thought they were at least ok, yes, even village and water lady), I didnt like The Happening. I'm curious what he's going to to with Avatar: Airbender. I've never seen the kids show though. This will also be the first movie he didnt write.

My favorite that i've seen so far

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E
Wanted
The Dark Knight
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
Marley and Me
The Hulk
Iron Man



I'm probably going to see Slumdog Millionaire tonight, excited for that. once i get the chance i'm going to make sure to catch, Defiance, Doubt, The Reader, The Visitor, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Frost/Nixon, Revolutionary Road, Last Chance Harvey, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The Duchess, Apaloosa, A Christmas Tale

I don't even understand why they're even making a film version of Avatar: The Last Airbender. The show is basically a cheap attempt at copying anime and as a result, kids once again must wait until adulthood to discover the real thing. Plus, the show really wasn't that popular to begin with. I wonder if this is a hit will we be seeing a Dora The Explorer movie? God I hope it is.

As for Shyamalan as director, expect Asian stereotypes (strangely enough, Shyamalan is South Asian so such a thing may be unlikely) and cliche supernatural elements to clash with bad twist after twist. By the end, it will look like Uwe Boll doing Speed Racer.

I'll watch it even so, just so when the credits come up I can say, in my best Robot Chicken voice: "What a twist!"

I'll see whatever M. Night Shymalaladingdong makes, as I kinda liked all so far, to an extent. What I don't get is all the love for Wanted on these lists...a pretty second rate action film that tried to deliver style over substance and didn't even do it all that well...

my reason is that it was just so much fun, frendo

but i do enjoy me other 'more substance' films too, just haven't been able to see much of them