Best to Worst: 2008 (So Far)

This movie just stepped the superhero genre up a notch, and the genre really needed it too. The atmosphere is haunting, the cast is superb, and the action is great. The plot is more intelligent and complex than any other movie I've seen in the genre. It's more comparable to a Michael Mann or Martin Scorcese crime drama than, say, "Spider-Man." At times the movie does feel over-bloated with plot devices and twists, but any problems with this film are instantly forgotten when considering one thing...

Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker. He seriously brings to the screen perhaps the best portrayal of a villain since Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter. His performance is what sets this movie into first-class territory. He turned a good movie into a great one. He's awesome. He's creepy. He's captivating. He really does steal the show. Mad respect, Heath, you really went out with a bang.

It's so refreshing to finally see a good horror movie! This genre has been seriously slacking, with the retarded Saws and Hostels and the rest of the torture porn bunch. It was time to give up the American crap, and go to Spain, where they apparently remember how to make high-quality horror flicks.

The Orphanage is the most genuinely scary film I've seen in years. And it's not just the cheap-surprising-jump scares (although it has its fair share of those too), but the most chilling and creepy parts of the film have so much thought behind them, and such a relevance to the story that the frights come at a pace that's almost poetic. The film is very reminiscent of "The Others", and also has some throwbacks to 2006's masterpiece "Pan's Labyrinth" (Del Toro's previous endeavor, though he didn't direct this one), and that is some superior company to be in. It's not really any worse-made than either of those films, but perhaps that it came later gives a slight edge to "The Others". But, I can easily say that this is the best horror movie since the days of "The Sixth Sense" and "The Others".

Every bit as hilarious as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Superbad, and probably has the most involving storyline out of any of them. All of these characters are great, and the situations keep getting more and more outrageous. Ten years from now we will look back on these Apatow films and regard them as a string of comedic classics. This is indeed the comedic style of the new millenium, and I couldn't be more satisfied!

MAAADDDD props for ambition, and it really followed through with pretty much everything it intended to do. People talk trash (my stupid tiny-wienered friends), but they just wanna sound cool because they didn't "fall" for the gimmick...but those same people had their eyes glued to the screen, waiting to see what happened next. How they made this movie work so well, I don't really know, and I don't really wanna know...allz I know is that this was a super-exciting flick.

So, Pixar makes another touchdown. Really the only Pixar movie that I didn't thoroughly enjoy was Cars, but other than that, they have continually proven to be top class innovators, artists, and storytellers...and look no further than the delightful and beautiful "WALL-E" as proof for that statement.

WALL-E, himself, might be the most endearing film character since Forrest Gump. It doesn't take long for the audience to fall in love with him. He is not your ordinary robot, but a loveable character who Pixar effectively made more human than the actual humans in the movie. We relate to him, we envy his innocence, and we admire his determination and his simple view of the universe. The movie also might be the most visually beautiful Pixar movie to date (and that's saying a lot), and contains an unexpected but ultra-sweet romantic aspect too.

Really the only slight problem that I have with this movie is that, since WALL-E is such a memorable character, I felt that he deserved a more spectacular (maybe "epic" is the word) adventure than what this fairly standard storyline gives him. I understood the statements that the folks at Pixar were trying to make with this film, but they could have made an all-time classic if only they crafted an adventure that was as great as WALL-E himself. Like, for example, I remember feeling so emotionally invested in the story of "Finding Nemo" that I was exhausted by the end of the film. I felt the same way about "The Lion King." I know that "WALL-E" had the potential to do that to me, since the character is so awesome, but instead it settled for being just really sweet.

In no way am I saying that I didn't enjoy the movie. I though it was great, and contains one of the more precious love stories of recent years. Perhaps after another watch, I'll just forget about the story and fall more in love with the character, and eventually fall in love with the movie and bump this baby up to 4.5 stars. But for now, it's a really, really strong 4 stars. This is one of this year's few must-see films.

A very solid dark comedy in the tradition of "Reservoir Dogs," "Pulp Fiction," and "Fargo." Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes all do great work here at delivering the witty one-liners that, for whatever reason, sound so much funnier when spoken in an Irish accent. Some might be turned off when the movie moves toward a darker, more serious attitude, but I thought that it contrasted with the comedic parts very well. I really have no complaints with this movie at all. This is some raw, gritty, high-quality entertainment.

Yeah, that's right, mother effers, I actually wanted to see this film, so I did. And although "Definitely, Maybe" was not a perfect film by any means, it is still smarter, funnier, more touching, and less predictable than the vast majority of romantic comedies out there.

One day I will find my very own Isla Fisher <3

No major complaints with this all-around entertaining super hero flick. Robert Downey Jr. is perfect for this role, and the dialogue, writing and acting is top-notch, especially compared to other comic book movies. The only thing it was kind of lagging on was some sweet action. I mean, it had its moments, but nothing that's gonna blow you away. I'm looking forward to the next installment in the franchise though, and hopefully Downey Jr. and Paltrow are in it for the long-haul because their really good in their respective roles.

*NO spoilers...read away!*

This movie, taken for what it is, is nothing more or less than an entertaining throwback to the paranoid "Cold War" B-movies of the 50s. It's so obvious that Shyamalan is trying to do that. Are the acting and the dialogue bad? Sure. But that's how "B" movies are! If you've seen "The Sixth Sense" or "Unbreakable" then you know that Shyamalan can write great dialogue. And if you've seen "Boogie Nights," "Three Kings" or "The Departed," then you know Mark Wahlberg can really act. So the fact that the corniness exists in these two areas is obviously intentional, and I'm not making excuses for Shyamalan at all, it's just how it is.

As far as the story goes...yes, it's weird and ridiculous. Would we expect anything else though in a movie like this? I'll give it credit that it made me think. About what? Well, you'll see if you watch it.

Perhaps if Shyamalan made it more obvious that he was trying to make a throwback B-movie, then more people would have bought it. Maybe he could have set it in the 50s or something. Whatever the case, those haters who are saying that this movie will end his career are still holding a grudge from "Lady in the Water," which was a far worse film than this one.

"The Sixth Sense" was Shyamalan's masterpiece, there's no arguing that. He's not going to make another Sixth Sense, and people have to stop expecting him to. When looked at, on its own, away from the rest of the films on his resume, this film stands its ground. In all of its ridiculousness and laughable attributes...I bought it. Sue me.

I kind of want to give this movie another go because of some bad circumstances that had nothing to do with the movie itself: it was late so I was kind of dozing off, I had a headache, the theater was like 150 freaking degrees, and it smelled like "a". But, even with all this going on, I still thought the movie was quite fun, even if it might be the weakest in the series. I'm glad that it didn't turn all serious on us, and kept that fun popcorn attitude about itself. But age did catch up to Harrison Ford, and Lucas/Spielberg had to give Shia LeBeouf a lot of action that Ford could have handled on his own back in the day. But, my feeling is that if you liked the trilogy, you'll like this...and if you didn't, then you won't. So, I liked it.

Not quite as enchanting and wonderful as the first one, but the battle scenes are even more amazing, and some of the new characters really spice things up a little bit. I also wanted more Aslan...you can never get enough Jesus-lions in movies nowadays! lol. It's a notch below the first installment, but a notch above something like "The Golden Compass." All in all, "Prince Caspian" does enough to keep the Narnia franchise more toward the top of the epic fantasy franchise list.

This gives a really interesting twist to the typical "beloved superhero character", and as always, there is nobody who I would rather see on the 4th of July than Will Smith. The acting was good all-around, and the "twist" revealed in the second act of the movie was amusing and unexpected. The biggest problem I had with this movie was that, though the tone for the first like 2/3rds of the film was fast, fun, energetic, and everything else a July 4th movie should be, it tried to pull off a semi-tragic, somewhat morbid deal at the end that didn't really fit...and endings are super important. So, it's a shame that the ending was super awkward, otherwise I would have been in this movie's fanclub. It's worth a watch though, purely on the basis of the actors, and the "flix factor" of which Taylor speaks. It's definitely working here.

Note: Anybody notice that Will Smith has been taking a lot of movies where he has interracial relationships? He went for the heinas in "Wild Wild West", "Hitch", and kind of in "I Am Legend", and he's going for the white chicks in "I, Robot" and now "Hancock". I'm not complaining, I think it's totally cool. In his next movie, I think he should get at Lucy Liu!

I laughed so hard at the scene when they re-did "Ghostbusters" that I literally cried. The rest of it, however, was a bit too lighthearted and small to really be remembered. I have some affection for this movie, but I don't know if I'd recommend it. It's not a terrible way to pass the time though.

Fast and fun, but won't leave much of an impact on you or your year at the movies. Sturgess has star potential though.

I know you're not supposed to take a movie like this seriously, so I didn't. But even as I set my intelligence to the side while watching this movie, the truth is that I didn't laugh all that much. There were two or three hilarious parts, but they were sandwiched in-between the usual racial stereotypical jokes that were funny back in junior high (black people like Kool-Aid, Jews would do anything for some pocket change, etc.). And unlike in Superbad or Forgetting Sarah Marshall, the raunchy stuff wasn't well-executed. It's one of those cases of "Let's be raunchy for the sake of being raunchy." I like the characters of Harold and Kumar, and I know that there's potential in them to make a classic top-of-the-line comedy, but they're gonna have to step up the writing, because this movie isn't it.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't laugh at some parts (esp. some clever shots about the friction between Israel and Palestine), but the whole joke got old pretty fast. Adam Sandler has always been hit-and-miss for me, and I would probably throw this in the "miss" column. The best thing about this movie was Emmanuelle Chriqui...she's quite attractive. But, there was absolutely no chemistry between them. Sandler should re-watch "The Wedding Singer" about twenty times before he makes another comedy, and then maybe he'll remember how funny and charming he could be.

You almost have to admire a movie that has such a complete disregard for historical accuracy that I began to wonder whether or not this was actually a spoof. I actually think it would have worked better as a spoof, because some parts of this movie were just plain laughable...usually not in a good way.

One of the good things about mother's day is that you get to spend time with your mom...one of the bad things about mothers day is that your mom might drag you to a crappy romantic comedy like this one. There are some really good romantic comedies out there ("Definitely, Maybe" is probably the most recent one), but this one is gimmicky, predictable, annoying, and forgettable.