Best movies of 2008

Robert D. Jr, Stiller and Cruise...just a perfect combination

There's sadness and tragedy within Slumdog Millionaire -- starvation, genocide, child prostitution and overwhelming oppression -- but there's humor, humanity and dignity as well.

Too many kid's movies are created to give kids things to buy; WALL-E is a kid's movie that might, perhaps, give you and your kids pause to think about what things truly cost...even though it's all in 45 minutes

The Dark Knight is a riveting cinematic achievement. Christian Bale dons the mask of the bat, and even with the multitude of characters and storylines that inhabit this movie, he grounds the story and gives it weight. When the Batman is in control, Gotham seems definitive and forward moving; but when he loses that control, Gotham lacks all sense of hope. It's a brilliant job by Bale as he brings the viewer behind the mask and carries them on his journey through Bruce Wayne's private hell.

In his portrayal of the Joker, the only surprise in Heath Ledger's performance is that it exceeds the hype. This would have been a career-making role for Ledger, one that would have placed him on par with the best actors in Hollywood. Instead, like James Dean in Exit to Eden, his portrayal of the Joker acts as a footnote to a short yet almost remarkable career.

Ledger's Joker is an evil force of nature. He is anarchy personified. The character has no morals, no rules and no reason for anything. He does it because he wants to, and destruction and death appear as a result. The Joker is an infection spreading throughout the heart of Gotham, threatening to choke off the blood supply. When the Joker is on the screen, the audience is riveted to their seats in the fear of what he might do next.

Aaron Eckhart is startlingly good in the role of Harvey Dent, a man focused on ridding Gotham of the influence of crime in the daylight, while Batman strikes at night. There are interesting parallels set up between Dent's work within the system, and Batman's work completely around the system. As the story progresses, it becomes painfully obvious that Batman's success has its share of costs to the city as well. Dent eventually becomes the poster child for this situation, as his work and Batman's are painfully shredded by the Joker's mad impulses.

Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine bring their usual excellence to their respective support roles. Maggie Gyllenhall, replacing the wooden Katie Holmes as Rachel, brings one of the few bright lights to a dark Gotham. Let's don't forget also Gary Oldman, who gives his best again.

The film is incredibly well shot, paced and scored. The script is surprisingly rich in depth, full of political and emotional intrigue. It succeeds in elevating the movie above the expectations of the audience.

For Harvey Dent, the picture tells the complete story of a man rising through society, who eventually falls due to his overwhelming faith in himself.

In simplest terms, The Dark Knight is an exhausting, intense and riveting crime story one minute, and a frightening tale of personal terror the next.

As a personal remark, I would recommend this movie because of the Joker, but the concept itself, of batman, seems a little childish...a comic-book superhero that doesn't seem to be believable, regardless of its science-fiction roots

The special effects in this film represent a remarkable achievement. Rarely has the detailed transformation of a single person from youth to old age been attempted in such a fashion on screen; never before has it been given life as convincingly as in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Throughout the film, I marveled at how the 20-year-old Brad Pitt and 80-year-old Brad Pitt both remained indelibly Brad Pitt, despite their vastly different physiques. Credit must also, of course, be given to Blanchett and Pitt, who manage to skillfully portray their characters at multiple different stages of life. The sheer physical evolution of these characters throughout the film is nothing short of extraordinary (and that's saying nothing about their equally significant emotional journeys).

Despite its flaws, Button is a unique journey worth taking. While the trajectory of Benjamin's physiology is mostly a gimmick, the film uses it to bring us back to that familiar cinematic theme: the possibility of love under impossible circumstances. Perhaps, underneath all the tragedy, death, and pain, there is hope to be found in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. After all, if Benjamin Button could find love and fulfillment with all the considerable circumstances arrayed against him, maybe love is not impossible for us either.

There have been criticisms that The Reader is cold, but its projection of distanced feeling is, in a way, a relief. This is not a movie which makes us contemplate the unspeakable horrors committed by the unquestionably evil servants of Hitler and then, after we have our cathartic cry, walk out feeling better about ourselves, resolved never to let It happen again. This is a film which asks us to contemplate the deeply complicated relationship between rational thought and instinctual feeling via a perverse intermingling of global horror and very, very local pain. It's not about how f***ed-up a few thousand Germans were. It's about how f***ed-up all humans have the potential to be, on small scales and big ones, and the strange paradox that makes it easier to commit a terrible act than it is to live with and honestly grapple with the consequences of it.

u chunky...

good action movie...lots of special effects, but too much blood...I guess

What helps Kung Fu Panda succeed is not just the classic beauty of the animation but also another way it avoids the Shrek pitfall by steering clear of that series' flat irony and tired snark. Po's journey to enlightened martial arts coolness is modeled quite explicitly on old Chan-style films like Drunken Master

Individually, every actor involved gets a fantastic, quirky, outright weird persona to play around with. Pitt and Clooney especially seem to be having a ball with their parts; Pitt a dimwitted idiot, Clooney a fetishistic sex addict who seems to be held together primarily by an assortment of amusing nervous tics and the overwhelming need to go for a quick run. Their scenes are fantastically entertaining, sometimes even outright funny. Put together though, it never adds up to anything. There's no real point to any of what's going on in Burn After Reading. It's not that it's confusing; it's just that it's not really going anywhere.

yes...that's not hollywood...pure british drama...Nothing to say about the plot, which seems confusing - but it is based on true facts...all in all, a very complex movie, with that 70s look, and very realistic air...

Ok, here's my take on this movie, and this is coming from someone who hasn't read the graphic novels and had no expectations for the movie. If you like these sorts of gritty, edgy movies filled with all sorts of morals about violence, humanity, nuclear war, and vengeance, then you might like Watchmen. Still, at 163 minutes, it's really long, and especially long, given the fact that much of the movie is dark, perilous violence. It's not a simple good vs. evil storyline. In fact, I'd probably have to see it again to figure out the deeper meanings of the story.

plot lacking...nice visuals though

Despite the presence of vampires, Twilight is a romance, not a horror, and anyone hoping to sink their teeth into a juicy gore-fest will be disappointed. A sometimes girlie swirl of obsession that delights fans, this faithful adaptation is after teenage blood...

disapponting

May not deliver the huge laughs one may expect, but there are a fair amount of chuckles and a whole lot of surprisingly effective sweetness.

it-s all about dancing in this movie...street dancing...not acting...no doubt that ma favourite dance crew had a word...jabbawockeez...and, not to mention the final scene is killer...hardcore dope:))

i'm not into these kind of movies...the dark-comedy plot is idiotically crazy, and besides that is a musical

I dont' understand Cage's decision to "act" in this cheap Asian production...in my eyes, it represents an insult to his career's best performances (such as The Wickerman Man, Face Off, The Rock, Matchstick Menriveting or Red Rock West - quality film making which will never go unnoticed)...
Questionable tonsorial choices and evident thirst for somewhat less-than-challenging paycheck gigs, have turned him into one of the most eminently mockable actors...But I still hope he will come to his senses, and rediscover that spark which made him a worthy Academy Award winner, a name, a legend...ok maybe not a legend, but definetly a true Hollywood artist.

Miller's adaptation certainly looks impressive and the female characters are all drop-dead gorgeous in a Sin City way, but the script and story are all over the place and it never really comes together.