Best Films of 2008

2008 was a pretty cool year for movies. There never really was one film I really looked forward to seeing and yet was pretty amazed by a lot of under the radar films. Of course, there was Heath Ledger's death and the hype of Titanic proportions surrounding Christopher Nolan's latest sequel. I was waiting to try to get a few more movie viewings in before posting my list. I was very disappointed by Benjamin Button but admit it was pretty cool. I still need to see several very big movies including: Doubt, Revolutionary Road, Frost/Nixon, JCVD, Burn After Reading, and Man on Wire. But here are my 10 favorite films of 2008:






1. The Wrestler - Darren Aronofsky has quickly matured into one of the best directors making films today. His first two films were very powerful, but he stuck out as a gimmicky director with some tricks up his sleeve. With the Fountain, he showed he could make a very artsy, abstract film that relied heavily on beautiful in-camera effects, yet had a very compelling love story. Now, with the Wrestler, Aronofsky has stepped up his game and finally made his first generally accessible film that focuses on the essentials in a compelling story with amazing characters. Mickey Rourke gives an incredibly heart wrenching performance as a washed up professional wrestler who has kept a large fanbase within the confines of the underground wrestling circuit. His body is breaking down and he knows nothing else other than wrestling. The film shows that while professional wrestling is staged, it is far from fake. Every body slam, flip over the ropes and chair to the back all take their toll on the bodies of those involved in the ring. Aronofsky took the script and realized that Mickey Rourke could carry the entirety of the film on his own. Rourke rarely, if ever leaves frame and there is not a scene he is not in. I do not normally like long movies, and this is far from long as it clocks in under two hours, however, at the end of the film I was left wanting to see more from Rourke, as his character Randy the Ram was so likeable.
2. Slumdog Millionaire - The storytelling technique used in SM was extremely creative and captivated my attention from the start. I loved the characters, was entertained by the soundtrack and amused by the end credits. Danny Boyle might possibly be the best director alive today. I love his boldness to try a different genre every time he makes a film.
3. Son of Rambow - A great coming of age story about two unlikely friends and the importance of friendship and family. Funny and sweet.
4. Pineapple Express - It's a film about friendship. It just happens to be hidden underneath a bunch of weed dealers and involve parody like action. It's exciting, hilarous and fun as hell.
5. Dark Knight - It's been said a million times already.
6. Wall-E - PIxar made leaps and bounds with this film and their animation never ceases to amaze me.
7. Wendy and Lucy - An amazing character study about a girl in search of who she is and where she belongs in this world. A lot of people say our generation has their midlife crisis in their 20's and as a single guy at 25, I find the character of Wendy completely relatable as she attempts to travel the country with her best friend and dog Lucy.
8. Cloverfield - Revives the monster movie genre with a new twist. If you can stomach the shaky cam style, then you are in for a treat. Abrams does a good job of hiding the monster almost entirely with only a few quick glances at its complete frame (much like Alien). And one of the scariest scenes of the year takes place in the underground of NYC.
9. Be Kind Rewind - Michel Gondry takes his creative visual style of directing and creates his first film I completely enjoyed. He does not rely only on his unique visual skills and instead matures into telling a great story. The film is great at showing the closeness of a small knit community and you cannot help but feel inspired by the childlike love that average joes have for movies. Most people do not work in the entertainment industry or even have an inkling of how movie making works. People do not go to the movies to critique films or write reviews. Most people go to the movies to get lost in the story and escape into a different world and come out feeling something, if only for a moment. This film captures that emotion and while it might not be the most realistic movie, it could definitely be the most inspiring film of the year.
10. Milk - Sean Penn is amazing in the historical biopic about the first big gay rights activist, Harvey Milk. This is a film that does a great job of showing a piece of history that most people probably have no idea happened. The film is an amazing display of what one man did for homosexuals and their rights in a similar way to how other people did for the black community. It's a very personal and human showing of a true hero to a lot of people.

Almost making the list and the award for the one great documentary I decided to watch this year:
American Teen - It makes me wonder how much of the film was produced and set up. It is an amazing documentary that really hits home to anyone who has gone to high school, especially since I am from Indiana.
Award for Most Bad Ass film character from 2008:
Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino. The film took a long time for me to get into it. But I loved the character and the ending was very good. The film relied too heavily on stereotypes and cliches and a lot of the acting was horrendous but eastwood was able to carry the film on his own.