Best of 2008-Greatest Movies of the year

Fantastic! They finally got one of Dr. Seuss's classic children stories right. And the animation is brilliant! Visually stunning with the talents of Jim Carrey, Steve Carell and the great Carol Burnett.

Given the band's obvious megalomania,its impossible to consider U2 as coming close to the Beatles as one of the greatest rock groups of all time? It is a possibility and its new concert movie bears it out. If you ever seen "Rattle and Hum" or "U2 Go Home",or if you have even been in the front row of a U2 concert-you've never experienced anything quite like this,which is the "Lawrence of Arabia" of concert movies with lead singer Bono in the Peter O' Toole role. The massive sonic grandeur comes at you in a rush,wave after wave of it which is remarkable when you consider that this ginormous sound comes from just four guys playing. And seeing this in an IMAX theatre is worth the enjoyment. The best concert film I've seen this year.

This year's must see film is a spectacle beyond belief. Spectacular in every detail.
Bollywood's version of "Ben-Hur" and
"Cleopatra" on a grand scale. The movie iteslf is gorgeous,but it also some of the greatest battle sequences every committed to film including one that features elephants and camels(which was something right outta other movies)but this one is much more brilliant. At a running time of 242 minutes,it is the must see film of 2008. and with good reason.

It just goes to show that when it comes to Hollywood heavies,not one of them is strudy and weathered like Harrison Ford who proves to be as worthy as any 65-year old could be,and the other elements of this Spielburg-Lucas blockbuster franchise remains recognizably intact....even after some 20 years. This is however the first "Indy" film in 19 years and it shows in the thrill ride of the summer. Set in 1957,the year of the Cold War and Communism,the fourth installment to the "Indiana Jones" series with producer George Lucas and director Steven Spielburg at the helm along with producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall with a dynamic screenplay by David Koepp(the writer for Jurassic Park)and musical arranger John Williams,this sequel emcompasses all the elements needed and to bring Harrison Ford back as the two fisted swashbuckling archeologist is a welcome change.

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" bring Dr. Jones to the late 1950's where our hero(who has aged) encompasses atomic blasts,sadistic commies,federal agents,blacklisting(from Marshall College),not to mention the Roswell incident,the South American jungles of Peru and Brazil,the usual f/x blizzard and the element of surprise not to mention dealing with a deadly and dangerous foe...this time around dealing with evil Russians(Cate Blanchett)in the quest for the crystal skull. Also to point out this film pays a great tribute to the science fiction/horror/adventure films of the 1950's with references to several Spielburg films(does "E.T." and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" come to mind and his previous remake of "The War of the Worlds"). The cast includes the return of Karen Allen(from the first "Raiders of the Lost Ark" film a welcome sight)along with Shia LaBeouf, John Hurt, Ray Winstone and Jim Broadbent along with the usual cliffhanging suspense and non-stop action and thrills that make this the movie to see this summer. Spielburg and Lucas have done it again,and then some.

The thrill ride of the summer. This is to let you know that the Joker is more than wild which brings the testament of Heath Ledger's performance in the second prequel to Batman. Only this time around,Ledger does this with more style and pure evil than Jack Nicholson or even Cesar Romero ever did. "The Dark Knight" brings to light the rattled and transfixation of the character's diabolical menace,blocking out thoughts of the actor's untimely death. It's a career making portrayal and a sadly a career-making one as well. To go from the tacitrum ranch hand in "Brokeback Mountain" to the embodiment of comic-book evil is a stunning trajectory. With his cracked white-pancake makeup,smeared lipstick and greasy hair,the Joker bears no resemblance to the actor that plays him but in fact,the character is like nothing we've seen or heard before. There is however a hint of Malcolm McDowell in "A Clockwork Orange",but Ledger has made this maniac his own singularly unhinged villain. From the repellent way he darts his tongue around to his sneering,nasal voice,he is a peerless eccentric.

Though this is clearly Ledger's movie,that does not diminish the accomplishments of other key cast members. Just as he was in "Batman Begins",Christian Bale is a suave Bruce Wayne and a heroic caped crusader defending Gotham City from the forces of evil.
Gary Oldman is excellent in the returning role as police Lt. Gordon.while Maggie Gyllenhaul replaces Katie Holmes,adding more depth to her character than Holmes ever did in the last installment. Even Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman lend terrific support while Aaron Eckhart is brilliant as disrict attorney Harvey Dent(the man who will transform later on in the prequel series as Batman arch nemesis Two Face).

Again,director and screenwriter Christoper Nolan has crafted "The Dark Knight" into a thrilling,morally,complex and masterfully entertaining piece of a summer blockbuster and it works or all levels. Though it clocks in at 154 minutes,the film is tautly edited with an economy of great storytelling(which goes heavily by the origins of the DC Comics Book and the comic graphic novels). The action scenes are worth the price of admission and they include amazing feats of technical virtuousity. Nolan has done it again and this time brings this second installment as one of the darkest ever in the series. It has the requisite jolts and twists. But it surprises in profound ways and gives us a
maliciously witty villain who gives a performance that is out of the ordinary.

Not since Robert Altman's The Player has a movie been this satirical funny on Hollywood. What turns this movie into one of the must see films of the year is Robert Downey,Jr.'s performance as an intensively method actor who slaps on some new skin pigmentation to play an African-American sergeant. Not only is this character amazing but has spark of lot of controversy. Downey plays the role with equal parts ridiciousness and reverance. His peformance here is worth the admission,but also the most continously rewarding joke in this cartoonishly broad satire on every war film ever made in Hollywood. Ben Stiller not only co-wrote and stars in this piece,he also directed this smash comedy about a group of actors shooting a big budget war movie who are forced to become soldiers. The grand cast includes not only Stiller,but also Jack Black,Brandon T. Jones and Robert Downey,Jr. What makes this interesting is the guest appearances from Nick Nolte and Tom Cruise.

Filmed on location DOWN UNDER and also Oscar nominated...Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman join forces with visionary director Baz Luhrmann for an spectacle western epic and romance action adventure set during the brink of World War II. When an English aristocrat(Kidman)travels to the faraway continent,she meets rough-hewn cattle driver(Jackman)and an enchanting Aboriginal child(newcomer Brandon Walters). This unlikely trio joins forces and embarks on a transforming journey,driving a herd of cattle across hundreds of miles of the world's most beautiful,yet unforgiven terrain of the outback. When their world is torn apart by powerful enemies,they must try to find each other amidst the bombing of the city of Darwin by the Japanese forces that attacked Pearl Harbor. Luhrmann gives a widescreen painting of a vast canvas,creating a cinematic experience that brings together one of the big-budget down under spectacles that became one of the biggest hits of 2008.

Having seen this movie,I rated it higher on the laughter scale. Not since the great Richard Pryor or to an lesser extent the late great Rudy Ray Moore has their been a comedian like Bernie Mac that can take a vulgarity into a great conversation. Soul Men works on both levels,because for one,it has the ability to take any random series of insults and off the chain vulgar words and quickly shape them into a beautiful sculpture of apoplectic hatred,a rare skill that is fading fast from the film industry. It is riveting funny as hell to just watch people like this argue. The other is this....this movie shines simply because Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac are two of the best cussers in Hollywood and not since the days of Richard Pryor has there ever been anything like it since. However,the performances between Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac are brilliant in every detail. Since this will be the only movie where you'll get to see two of the greatest actors/comedians of their time. Also to mention here is the appearance of another great who is a legend himself in R&B..the late Issac Hayes who passed away in August of this year(along with one of the greatest comedians ever Bernie Mac). R&B soul king John Legend has a role here as well along with Pamela Anderson in a cameo appearance.

This excellent film tells the fable of a 14-year old Lily(played to perfection by Dakota Fanning),and her black caretaker(Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson) who escape and seizes an opportunity to leave behind her abusive father and their South Carolina peach farm and leave a racist town for another marginally less racist town during the height of the civil rights movement in 1964(when the state of South Carolina was hell on earth regarding opportunities for blacks). There they stumble across a bee farm run by three sisters(Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo,and Alicia Keyes). The performances her are worth seeing including Fanning's performance that recalls a young Jodie Foster. Interesting note: The film was produced by Jada Pinkett-Smith and Will Smith and directed by Gina Prince Bythewood. Filming on location in Robeson County,North Carolina in and around the towns of Lumberton,Maxton,and Red Springs.

Calling this a sequel would be a tragedy. It is definitely not. The second half of Steven Soderbergh's four hour opus of a masterpiece picks up the story in the mid-1960's when Che(Benicio Del Toro) sneaks into Bolivia disguised,amusingly as a stiff,bald Uruguayan businessman. His mission is to establish a jungle outpost and train recruits for a guerilla campaign that was to begin in the mining regions of the country,which contained the most radicalized Bolivians. But the operation was a botch,virtually from the beginning and succeeded only the hastening the date of Guevara's martydom.

There are many reasons to highly recommend the film in its entirely,including its first-rate depiction of guerilla warfare which Soderbergh no doubt appreciates as analogous to low-budget filmmaking(underfunded,overmatched groups of young people trying to achieve impossible dreams). What is especially striking about the massive project is that how the two halves mirror each other,and in the second half we see Che trying to make the magic of his youth happen one more time,as of replaying history,but its worth watching as one of the top ten films of 2008.

This has nothing to do with the other version that was made in 1969 under the same title. Part One or Chapter One of "Che" is the first half of director Steven Soderbergh's four hour formal masterpiece which was considered one of the best films of 2008. The work is about the iconic revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara(played brilliantly by Benicio Del Toro) While it is rewarding not to mention fascinating to watch the two halves in one sitting,the first half functions suprisingly well as a self-contained film,partly because it has enough styles and settings for three movies(which specific locations in Mexico City,New York City,all over Cuba).

Any political statement that a $60 million capitalist enterprise might make about a Communist revolutionary is irrelevant in nature. But the flickering images on screen,the texture-rich world that the film is submerged in,and the relationships of space and time as mapped out by a capable craftsman and adventurous artist like Soderbergh-these are things actually worth caring about and this is a grand entertainment for a movie that was worth seeing in its entirely.