On going list of the best movies of 2008

It takes a lot to properly write about a film like The Dark Knight. A masterpiece so revolutionary, so haunting and so visionary that you wonder what the fuck you did to deserve something this great. In all honestly the Dark Knight is everything I expected and then some. To call it simply the greatest comic book adaptation is quite lazy. It's a epic tragedy, an intense crime drama and most likely the best ensemble piece since Magnolia something Shakespeare or Coppola would have wrote for our time.
Now enough of me gushing about my love for the film and I will explain my self. The man who deserves the most credit here is director/writer Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan. for taking the time to create the dark atmosphere of Gotham and its characters. I know people who in the past have called Nolan nothing more then a visual wizard with no sense of character or story. The Dark Knight proves once and for all that Christopher Nolan is one of if not the best filmmaker of my generation. The man visually the movie is shot with a poet's eye and even with a lack of action is always intense and never wastes a minute of it's 2 and a half running time.
Now what is there to really say about the cast. Christian Bale back in the role of Bruce Wanye brings a masterful performance that resembles Al Pacino's haunted weary look in the Godfather 2. Well chances are Bale will be overlooked again come oscar time he is so far the best lead performance of the year (I'll get to the best performance later on take a guess who it is.) Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman bring the same warmth and humor to their roles. Maggie Gyllenhaal is a good replacement for Katie Homles bringing much more energy and bite to the love interest role (Now I see what Bruce saw in Rachel.) Aaron Eckhart perfectly casted redeems everything that happens to Two-Face in Batman Forever making him I think is as great a tragic character as anything in modern cinema. Now finally how can I talk about The Dark Knight without mentioning the legendary and fucking brilliant performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker. Shit this guy makes Alex in A Clockwork Orange look like Atticus Finch. Ledger is The Joker, never without a purpose or a motive hell even his attempts for a joke are hardly a relief. Always hypnotic and spellbinding Ledger's performance is a all too painful a reminder about loss of this gifted and fearless actor on January 28 but god damn it is hard to imagine a greater final performance then his. If there is any justice in this world Ledger will get the oscar for his performance.
Simply put not one for the kids (This movie pushes the PG-13 rating to extremely violent highs) The Dark Knight is however a masterpiece on levels that even I didn't imagine and one of the greatest films of all time. Really the worst part of it is that now I don't have anything to look forward to now until the DVD release date. Don't you wish Michael Bay could have this kind of ambition?

Watching The Wrestler was something special. Never have I seen an actor pour his entire heart and soul into a performance the way Mickey Rourke has as Randy "The Ram" Robinson. He can be brilliantly funny, scary and heartbreaking all at the same time and its simply second only to Daniel Day Lewis in TWBB as the great lead performance of the 21st century.
Now usually a performance like this tends to overshadow everything else about the film but The Wrestler directed by always adventurous and very consistent Darren Aronofsky doesn't seem to have this problem. Everything from the excellent supporting cast of Marisa Tomei and Even Rachel Wood, the always stunning cinematography of an Aronofsky film, the score and the haunting songs from Bruce Springteen make The Wrestler his most mature and complete masterpiece yet.

If there is one thing that I would kill to be able to do as a film student, is the gift to take any genre and add a film to the group that just adds something fresh, exciting and just flat out amazing to the mix. So now you know how I feel about Danny Boyle whether its black comedy (Shallow Grave), drama (Trainspotting), horror (28 days later), family (Millions) or sci-fi (The hugely underrated Sunshine) he can do whatever he wants. Now add the magical Slumdog Millionaire to the resume. A combination of Bolye usual visual flair combined with the colorful look and the culture of bollywood makes one of the best shot films of the year. Now it would be nothing without its wonderful and touching dickens like story. As well as excellent performances from breakthrough actor of the year Dev Patel and Freida Pinto, Boyle turns what could have been a cliche ridden mess into something that you have to see to fully understand.

Alright lets get one thing straight. (no pun intended.) For those who think that Milk is another preachy liberal hollywood film about a dated issue, you could not be more wrong. Not only is the issue more important to discuss now then ever (Remember how Prop. 8 turned out?) but even if it wasn't it doesn't change the fact that Milk is simply a terrific study of a important figure in american history, filled with life, heart and purpose. Sean Penn is giving the performance of his career right here. (Might I remind you he's a 4 time oscar nominee.) Penn isn't afraid to show Harvey as a flawed human but doesn't fail to make him one of the most likable film characters this year, neck to neck with Penn for the best performance in the film is Josh Brolin as Dan White, the guy who killed Harvey. Brolin plays goes deep into the character's mind set, almost making sense of his violence. Although everyone in the film give terrific performances. (Even that HSM kid.) Credit must also be given to Gus Van Sant a gifted director who while has his rough spots shows us the same passion and talent he has minus the gimmicks that affects his film. Ok so it may not convince the dudes who voted for Prop.8 but anyone who comes into the film with a open mind will see the kind of masterpiece that Hollywood seemed to have given up on 20 years ago.

Is it only me that finds it weird that what maybe the bravest artistic piece of work this year with the exception of TDK is a pixar film about a lonely robot looking for love? (There's no dialogue for the first 45 minutes) Yet in all honestly it's hard to think of a character like Wall-E just looking at the little guy makes me want to hug bunnies. While I am not the guy to automatically praise Pixar (They have there fair share of garbage) Wall-E is easily one of my favorite family films since E.T. Imagine Charlie Chaplin's charm mixed with Stanley Kubrick's ambition both visually and story wise aimed at my little brother and sister's crowd and you have Wall-E in a nutshell. Wonderful animation, one of the best love stories of the year with Pixar's most interesting character yet add the eco-friendly message and while it may not be the best films of the year (The Dark Knight takes that spot.) It's hard to imagine a sweeter film coming out this year.

If I told you that Mike Leigh the guy behind Secrets and Lies and Vera Drake directed a feel good dramedy you would think (myself included.) would fear that Leigh has sold out his poet of the working class image. Lets just thank God that Happy Go Lucky isn't like most films. An almost unbelievably charming film that is Leigh's most enjoyable film and still keeps the social importance and depth that makes a Leigh film works.
Now I can't continue without giving praise to Sally Hawkins' amazing performance, a character like Poppy played by any other actress would have ended up being annoying or the character would end up suicidal because of so many compressed feelings. Through Hawkins, Leigh turns Poppy in possibly the warmest and the easiest character to love of the 21th century. Also props deserve to go to Eddie Marsan's great turn as the driving instructor. An excellent film that manages to ground itself in reality but will warm the coldest of hearts. It is a brilliant achievement for everyone involved.

To get to the point Tropic Thunder is the loudest, rudest and the most shamless movie I have ever seen. All I have to say is thank you Ben Stiller for providing the funniest film I have seen since 40 Year Old Virgin.
You have to love a film that is willing to push any button but never aims for cheapness to make you laugh and will fuck political correctness in exchange for insight and debate about the hollywood system. Add the fact that Stiller has created real characters and a real story and you have Stiller's masterpiece as a director.
Now as great as Stiller is and the brilliant work of the entire cast (Including the lesser known Brandon T. Jackson, Jay Baruchel and Steve Coorgan.) It is hard not to praise the likes of Robert Downey Jr. and wait for it... TOM CRUISE!
Both actors gives performances that will become legendary.
Now does Tropic Thunder have its problems? Yes, just from an average audience member's viewpoint the jokes can be seen as offensive (Simple Jack and blackface as a example) because the jokes can be too much of a insiders thing or too crude for some to like.
Though these are really minor flaws considering you will rarely see films as piss yourself hilarious as Tropic Thunder.

Let me admit something about Reprise. It's not for anyone and I don't mean those too stupid to give a foreign film a chance. The way the film is edited, shot and executed will leave some thinking those damn hipsters. For those who do give the film a chance (Particularly anyone like me who's young and wants to become a writer/ director.) Reprise is funny, honest and at times heartbreaking film about those trying to make it. Admitting that this is a film where you have to be apart of the characters world to understand the film completely. It is very easy to relate to everyone thanks to strong performances from the cast. So please don't be afraid to see this film because it's not in english and is considered too hip (One of the rare times that a film using the techniques to help the story over hiding the fact there film is crap.) If you do you will be very impressed with Reprise.

David Gordon Green has just proven to me that he maybe the most talented and diverse filmmaker that has yet to be make it big (Just a couple more months until The Pineapple Express). To think that this guy directed what has the promise to be the funniest comedy of the decade and the dark and beautiful masterpiece that is Snow Angels is somewhat unbelievable.
Everything about Gordon Green's film version of the wonderful novel feels realistic, honest and heart breaking (So of course everyone's going to see 10,000 B.C over this) Even when the film starts to drag (Which it does.) you still can see the film's damaged heart.
Now what makes this film as great as it is the flawless cast. Michael Angarano gives a strong breakthrough performance. Sam Rockwell is terrific as always (Let's hope between this and Choke this is the year he hits it big) However the 2 best performances comes from Kate Beckinsale and Olivia Thirbly. Beckinsale has always been an attractive actress that always did the best with the crap she worked on (Who remembers Van Healsing?) However it's here were she finally reaches her full acting potential creating powerful performance that if this film was released in November would have got her an oscar nom for sure. Now the best performance of the film comes from Olivia Thirbly. Unfairly overlooked for last year's Juno Thribly brings such warmth and beauty to the screen that you know it won't be long until she becomes the most respected actress of her generation.
It may seem to indie or ambitious to some but I ask you in a time of the year where ambition doesn't exist in most cinema, why bash a film that may have too much of it?

Go on imdb.com and you may read a review that says that Iron Man is unlikely to meet the box office standards of Spider Man 3. You know what though? Who gives a f*ck about that. If the most entertaining and interesting comic book film since Batman Begins has to live up to standards set up by SM3 there's a serious problem in the world. Simply Iron Man has almost everything you can ask for in a summer popcorn flick. Smart, funny and always engaging. (What do you expect when you have the help of a cast like this and 2 of the writers of Children of Men doing re writes?)
The best part of this film has to be Robert Downey Jr. he IS Tony Stark. Downey gives Iron Man the proper mixture of humor and maturity needed for the role and with his first major mainstream movie knocks it out of the park and finally becomes the mega star an actor of his talent deserves to be. Helping out is a never hotter Gwyneth Paltrow who works with Downey Jr. wonderfully and clearly has much more fun with her role then other actresses in these roles (cough Katie Homes cough) Also doing great work is Terrence Howard (Even if we don't get to see him as War Machine yet.) and Jeff Bridges perfectly over the top as the main villain. So what if director Jon Favreau isn't the best action director. He knows how to create a compelling characters and a great story and is clearly having as much fun with Iron Man as everyone else. (Something you can't say about Michael Bay.) His actions scenes will become stronger with time.
So don't pay attention about Iron Man not topping SM3 in it's opening weekend (I predict the film will end up being a bigger hit either way.) Buy your ticket, enjoy your popcorn and celebrate the beginning of a promising franchise of films and the summer season of 2008 officially beginning.

This isn't going to be a surprise to anyone who knows me but I loved Forgetting Sarah Marshall in almost every single way possible. This is material that if some hack directed the film it would have been another dull romantic comedy but knowing that Apatow and company are behind it (I've forgotten enough of Drillbit Taylor to forgive.) it's simply one of the funniest films of the year.
Jason Segel welcome back from the depths of hell that is How I Met Your Mother. Segel's script is hilarious and is all the better for making every character in relatable and likeable in some way. Kristen Bell another actress who suffered the great show no one watched brings a great amount of warmth to Sarah. Russell Brand brings a great amount of edge to his role and steals every scene he's in and Mila Kunis my god what the hell have you been doing with your time? You should be in more films like this and less work on That 70s Show.
So what if the film doesn't really tackle new territory and the ads can kind of tell you the end? This is a great film deserves your time and money (You made Fool's Gold a hit so you have to make this a mega hit just for that.)

Yes 4.5 stars out of 5 for Dr.Suess' Horton Hears A Who why? This is the first movie based on a Dr.Suess movie that would have actually loved and even have made himself.
I'll be the first to admit it has it's flaws. Of course the movie doesn't have enough material for a full movie and the pop culture joke are pretty tiring to sit through considering almost every animated film does them.
However you can easily forgive it's flaws because of everything that's great about this film. Everyone in the cast is perfect for their roles (Plus I'm 99% sure Dane Cook isn't actually in the film, whether that's good or bad is your call.) However most of the credit deserves to go to the director and the animation team for creating the wonderful world of Dr.Suess so perfectly.
So Horton may not be the best movie to come out this year but it's a great fun movie to take kids to and does provide something rare. A hollywood family flick that wants to do more then take your money.

In Bruges is now the first 2008 release I have actually enjoyed. It's smart, funny and actually has a heart. I'll start by saying something I never thought I would say but here it goes. Colin Farrell is a really funny guy. Farrell is a man that has had a bunch of lousy films but in this movie he's so comfortable in his role and nails every laugh and delivers a real person. Of course Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Feinnes are great (It's hard not to enjoy a performance where a 2 time oscar nominee having so much fun in a comedic performance.) but it's Colin Farrell that finally proves why he's been working for as long as he has.

After a year of crappy movies about Iraq lecturing us how bad war is, Stop-Loss ends up becoming the best of the Iraq films because it simply doesn't give a f*ck about the politics and instead focuses on the soldiers who are fighting this war.
It's been 9 long years since Kimberly Peirce has made Boys Don't Cry but Stop-Loss is proof that she hasn't lost her edge, heart or focus she had since her first masterpiece.
It's really an accomplishment and a tribute to how talented a filmmaker Pierce is. Without her this wouldn't have worked at all. It's her and her cast's passion and care for the subject that gives the film it's grieving heart. Ryan Phillippe finally escapes his pretty boy image and gives a performance of surprising power. Channing Tatum proves to be more then a pretty boy actor and shows that if he makes the right choices he can have a really great career. Though the best performance comes from Abbie Cornish and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Cornish delivers a breakout performance that doesn't provide a single bit of hollywood glitter and gives a complex performance that's rare in war movies for women. As for Gordon-Levitt? Wake the f*ck up, this guy is clearly one of the greatest actors of our generation and is perfectly cast here. His last scene in the film will stay with you for days.
So is the film perfect? Not really. The film slips into melodrama a bit too much for my liking and there really isn't much of an ending to this film. (Though that kind of works cause it doesn't bother to provide a end to a war that doesn't seem to end soon.)
Stop-Loss may not quite be the war masterpiece our generation need yet (Something tells me the film will age pretty well.) But with Stop-Loss and Boys Don't Cry Peirce has proven herself to be one of the bravest filmmakers right now. (Ironic how one of the few working female filmmakers in Hollywood is also one of the ballsiest huh?)

A odd yet wonderful combination of After Hours and Juno, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is one of those films that you will love or hate depending on how well the leads work together. Luckily for those watching the film it is impossible to hate the work of Michael Cera and Kat Dennings.
I'll admit that there's nothing in the film that screams out revolutionary writing and filmmaking but director Peter Sollett knows that the film doesn't need to be, instead bringing the combination of humor and honestly needed to work. (Hell replace New York with Toronto and it could be my life story.) Add in what is a flat out beautiful ending makes this one of the most cherished and wonderful teen films since Say Anything and one of the best soundtracks .

The brilliance in Ghost Town lies in one aspect of the film, that somehow the film keeps Ricky Gervais humor without going into the typical Gervais character. Seriously think about it the key to a good romantic comedy is easy to like characters and Ricky Gervais' entire career has been based around guys you would never want to meet in real life. The fact that writer director David Koepp finds a way to make something so funny and sweet out of something that should have been a disaster proves how gifted he really is with actors. Ghost Town is hardily anything different from most films of the genre but thanks entirely to Ricky Gervais first lead performance and scene stealing work from Tea Leoni and Greg Kinnear you couldn't care less.

Be Kind Rewind isn't Michel Gondry's best film but how does someone top Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind? Besides as kind hearted fun it's almost impossible to top. Jack Black and Mos Def have so much fun together and is so hard not to like them (This means a lot considering I hate 75% of Jack Black movies). Plus Danny Glover, Mia Farrow and newcomer Melonie Diaz are all excellent as well. Yes Michel Gondry still isn't the best screenwriter in the world (This would have been a 5 star movie if Charlie Kaufman helped.) but to be honest he doesn't need to be. Watching his spoofs on 2001, Ghost Busters , Lion King and Back To The Future and you see a guy who's so in love with movies that it's impossible not to fall in love with him. So once again it isn't Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind but compared to Fool's Gold, Jumper and Rambo it's pretty close.

We all remember from a couple months ago Spike Lee bad mouthing Clint Eastwood for the lack of black soldiers in his war films. Now as unfair as his attack maybe you can't deny that Spike isn't afraid to put his money were his mouth is.
Miracle at St. Anna is flawed but very powerful and heartfelt tribute to the usually overlooked 90,000 black soldiers in WW2 that never loses the message of most of Spike Lee's work.
Finish review later.

The Bank Job earns my respect just for the fact that it is the first time I get Jason Statham. No he still isn't that great an actor but what this movie proves is that he really doesn't need to be. The dude establishes himself as such a watchable screen presence full of energy and is really just kinda of a badass.
That's really the best way to describe the Bank Job. Really even if it is based on a true story would seem kind of dumb if not for the fact it is such a well paced and just flat out fun genre film.

In all seriousness how could you not have some good hearted summer fun with Kung Fu Panda. It's the best animated film Dreamworks has made since the first Sherk. A pretty great voice cast that includes Dustin Hoffman, Ian McShane, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan and Jack Black when he's actually funny. Add a bunch of old Kung Fu 70s movie jokes and a talking Panda and you have the best children's film this summer until Wall-E comes out.

Pineapple Express for what it is worth is without a doubt the funniest film of 2008 so far. That being said it sadly doesn't reach the standard we expect from Judd Apatow, but that still makes it better then the average comedy.
I'll start with the good stuff about the movie. Which is the top notch cast and director. Seth Rogen is great as always, Gary Cole proves that he is the perfect cinematic sleaze bag with his performance (See Office Space) and some great if not underused turns from Rosie Perez, Danny Mcbride and Amber Hearld.
However if there is one supporting performance this summer that provides comes close to Heath Ledger's Joker it is without a doubt James Franco's performance as Dale (Rogen) drug dealer Sal. Take this from a guy who knows Franco is the perfect pot head and steals the entire movie under the rest of the cast. Listen to him talk about how smoking Pineapple Express is like killing a unicorn is one of the greatest moments of comedy history. Please do more comedies James Franco you're too good to be stuck in bad dramas. So the cast is excellent but another important factor of the film is Apatow allowing director David Gordon Green (The guy behind films like All The Real Girls, George Washington and this year's Snow Angels could do a mainstream comedy, who saw that coming?) to get his studio debut. Its clear that Apatow was looking to do more then the average stoner comedy and Green provides the film with its sense of humor and a strong male bond between the two that put it slightly better then the average stoner movie. So why doesn't it rank with 40YV, Knocked Up, Superbad or Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Simply put the ending, while Rogen and Franco make surprisingly good action heros (Check out the police chase scene ranks with The French Connection and Children of Men.) I found the overly violent and just kind of ridiculous ending spoiled almost any chances for laughs. While it maybe a satire about the violence in action films, if I remember correctly we all love Apatow films for the fact that they do stick close to reality and the ending shows why it is a good idea they stick with that approach.
However overall even if it is minor work compared to other classics from Judd and friends this is a very solid comedy for those who are planning to see something other then The Dark Knight this weekend.

Ron Howard has a lot to thank Michael Sheen and Frank Langella for this year. It is because of their excellent pitch perfect performances in the Frost/Nixon that makes the film as good as it is. Which at the same time leads to the film's biggest flaw. Everything in this film revolves around the two that it makes it impossible to see the film as nothing more then the oscar worthy performances including Frank Langella who hopefully gets some long deserved credit.. Its still an exciting and interesting look into the Frost interviews with Nixon but its hard to defend this film as oscar worthy with so many other films that bring so much more to the table this year.

Lets make this clear My Blueberry Nights is sadly isn't the cinematic masterpiece anyone who loves Wong Kar Wai wanted but My Blueberry Nights is still a very good film.
Well first off the idea of Wong Kai Wai directing Meet The Spartans would have gotten me excited. He does a wonderful job directing the film turning it into visual poetry despite replacing Christopher Doyle. The acting is strong throughout the entire cast including my future soulmate Natalie Portman proving everything I love about her talent in this film and the always terrific David Stratharin in his heartbreaking role (The Dude needs more leading roles).
Now it's that fact that's one of the problems with this film. I'm a big Norah Jones fan and she does a good job with her debut but I felt that she was better suited for a more of a supporting role and someone like Portman or Rachel Weisz should have taken over the lead because they could have brought so much more with it. As well the thing that caused the biggest problem was the script. No it isn't Leatherheads bad but considering how brilliant Chucking Express, Happy Together, In The Mood For Love and 2046 are you would have hoped for Wai Wong to have started his international film career with a bang.
Although as a movie itself it's very difficult to complain too much about (The ending is all types of perfect in my opinion.) but overall it's a very minor look for American audiences at the great things that should come from Wong Kai Wai in the future.

You know sometimes the best comeback for an artist is a return to what they do best. (Do any of you want to see Clint Eastwood do a Joni Mitchell cover album?) That is exactly what you should expect from RocknRolla, Guy Ritchie's return to his love of smart ass London gangsters. God knows that after his tries at Romantic comedy (Swept Away) and psychological drama (Revolver) you won't hear any complaining from me, even with its flaws its great to see a director doing what he does best and have a bloody good time. It translates into the excellent cast and into the audience watching.
P.S I'm be an idiot but I really have a new found respect for Idris Elba's mastering the american accent. (Stringer Bell from The Wire) I just didn't know he was british.

Funny how on the same day I go see the excellent children's film Horton Hears A Who I walk into a theatre to see a film as dark and spellbinding as Paranoid Park, Gus Van Sant's best film since My Private Idaho.
Whether or not you like Van Sant you can't deny that he's one of the most creative and poetic filmmakers out there.
Paranoid Park has top notch writing, directing, a terrific breakthrough performance from Gabe Nevins and the best camera work. Although the ending I thought was underwhelming this is a film to good to miss.

Lets make it clear to expect Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to be as great as the first 3 films is kind of stupid. There's just too much that's changed about hollywood politics to make it possible to re-create what Ford and Spielberg did 27 years ago. However seeing that this isn't another new Star Wars film is something to celebrate.
Look lets face it Harrison Ford could have been a wheelchair and had to take naps du