So here we are at the end of the year. What were the best movies this year? We actually had a bumper crop of good ones, but I think there was one that stood above the others. It didn't feature a huge budget, the effects were kinda suspect, and there were virtually no stars in it.
Rambo. I sat here thinking about all the movies I've seen this year, and Rambo is the only one that has really stuck with me. It's a very simple morality tale that's short on dialog, but it's so unflinchingly, masterfully written and directed that it doesn't really matter.
Stallone knocked one out of the park with his shockingly good Rocky Balboa (and in the process turned me into a huge fan of the first film), and he followed it up with a true tour de force with a return to the John Rambo character.
Yeah, Heath Ledger did a great job in The Dark Knight, but the film, though good, doesn't really rate as "best". Sure, Robert Downey, Jr. was fantastic in Iron Man and Tropic Thunder, but was either of them "the best"? I think all three of those films were in my top 10 of the year, but just can't hold a candle to the grittiness of Rambo.
Best films of 2008
Moderators: sgt.null, dANdeLION
Best films of 2008
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
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"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
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"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
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"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
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"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
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Cagliostro
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I'll probably be publically ridiculed for this, but I think Wall-E was my favorite of 2008. It had heart, it had intelligence, and had lots of artsy moments for me to hop up and down about, and I'm still singing its praises well after I have seen it.
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Worm of Despite
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I didn't think 2008's offerings were near as strong as 2007's. I watched a slew of movies last year, including the re-release of Blade Runner on the big screen. It's hard to pick anything, after being spoiled by No Country for Old Men, and the top-grossing movies this year was a pretty depressing list (Iron Man was good, but I don't think I could watch it twice, never mind the fact that Hancock and Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull are in the top-5).
That said, I think my two favorites aren't even out yet: Grand Tornio and The Wrestler. Clint Eastwood's proven an excellent director, and I'm excited to see his next project after watching Letters from Iwo Jima. The Wrestler is directed by Darren Aronofsky, maker of Requiem for a Dream and Pi, and supposedly has a stellar performance by Mickey Rourke.
As for me, I'd say Rambo is a solid movie, though whether or not it goes beyond "good" depends on your take on video game-style violence.
That said, I think my two favorites aren't even out yet: Grand Tornio and The Wrestler. Clint Eastwood's proven an excellent director, and I'm excited to see his next project after watching Letters from Iwo Jima. The Wrestler is directed by Darren Aronofsky, maker of Requiem for a Dream and Pi, and supposedly has a stellar performance by Mickey Rourke.
As for me, I'd say Rambo is a solid movie, though whether or not it goes beyond "good" depends on your take on video game-style violence.
I am really looking forward to Gran Torino.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
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"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
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"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
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"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
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"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
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Fist and Faith
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Re: Best films of 2008
Wow did I not like RB! After watching nothing but flashback-clips of the first movie for an hour, I fast-forwarded to the fight.Cail wrote:Stallone knocked one out of the park with his shockingly good Rocky Balboa
I agree with this! Always loved the movie.Cail wrote:(and in the process turned me into a huge fan of the first film)
And yeah, Wall-e was cool!
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Zarathustra
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Now that the year is nearly over, and the Christmas choices appear bleak, I'm thinking Wall-e was one of the best movies, too--even though I was the most vocal person here against it (really, I was complaining only about the hyperbole surrounding it, not the movie itself).
But my January pick still stands: Rambo. I agree with Cail, best of the year. I liked it so much, I got on DVD, and then when I got a Blu-ray player, I bought it again.
Dark Knight was much more enjoyable at home, on Blu-ray. It included the IMAX footage for wide city shots . . . these were amazing. It annoyed some people because the aspect ratio would change, but for me those shots were pure cinematic glory. Suddenly, my entire TV was full (no black bars) and the picture was literally the best I've ever seen. It makes me wish I'd made the trip to see this one on IMAX.
So, after Rambo and TDK, in no particular order:
Horton Hears a Who
Wall-e
Tropic Thunder
And now I'm scratching my head trying to think of another movie I enjoyed this year. Not just "the best," but anything at all good. Iron Man was ok. I have no desire to ever watch it again.
Does anyone know about Benjamin Button? We're thinking of making that our Christmas movie.
But my January pick still stands: Rambo. I agree with Cail, best of the year. I liked it so much, I got on DVD, and then when I got a Blu-ray player, I bought it again.
Dark Knight was much more enjoyable at home, on Blu-ray. It included the IMAX footage for wide city shots . . . these were amazing. It annoyed some people because the aspect ratio would change, but for me those shots were pure cinematic glory. Suddenly, my entire TV was full (no black bars) and the picture was literally the best I've ever seen. It makes me wish I'd made the trip to see this one on IMAX.
So, after Rambo and TDK, in no particular order:
Horton Hears a Who
Wall-e
Tropic Thunder
And now I'm scratching my head trying to think of another movie I enjoyed this year. Not just "the best," but anything at all good. Iron Man was ok. I have no desire to ever watch it again.
Does anyone know about Benjamin Button? We're thinking of making that our Christmas movie.
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Tropic Thunder was good, but I felt that it didn't go far enough. I thought Step Brothers was the funniest film I've seen in years, and Role Models was pretty good as well.
But I'm not even a little ashamed to say that I have Rambo on Blu-Ray, DVD, and on my iPod.
But I'm not even a little ashamed to say that I have Rambo on Blu-Ray, DVD, and on my iPod.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
_____________
_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
_____________
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Zarathustra
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It's (probably) a prosthetic nutsack, if that helps.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
_____________
_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
_____________
I heard it was a stunt double.
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Zarathustra
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Probably the best film I saw in 2008 was the Russian film Cargo 200. Brilliant, pitch-black comedy thriller. Very bleak. Excellent.
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I've thought about this thread for the past few days, trying to come up with what I think are the best movies of this year. The problem is, 2008 has been an off year for film, and looking back over what I saw, I can't think of anything that I really, truly liked. Iron Man seemed great when I first saw it, as did Dark Knight, but now that I've seen them a second time, they're both just blah. I thought Rocky Balboa was a good ending to the series, but only if one ignores the existence of Rocky III, IV and V.
How can you not be a fan of the first film?Stallone knocked one out of the park with his shockingly good Rocky Balboa (and in the process turned me into a huge fan of the first film),
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jacob Raver, sinTempter
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Frost/Nixon was the best in my book, then Wall-E, and yeah, DK was great, but not quite Oscar material (I saw it twice and still loved it just as much the second time, amazing). I didn't see the new Rambo, don't really want too. Kung Fu Panda was surprisingly awesome, Slumdog was really good, Reader was good, Revolutionary Road began in confusion and ended in cinematic greatness, Doubt was very, very good, BB opened well but ended horribly, Wrestler is near perfect as far as quality goes, but a tad boring. Milk is the only "top" film I've got to see yet.
Last edited by jacob Raver, sinTempter on Sun Feb 22, 2009 11:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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I was pretty unenthused by most of the movies I saw in 2008.
Dark Knight was a bit spectacular in some ways but with all the hype..... i just expected more. I enjoyed the first one much more.
Kung Fu Panda was fun. I liked Spiderwick Chronicles (i like that kind of stuff). Sweeney Todd was good also ( I loved the dark gothicy feel of the movie and of course Mr Depp *drool*). I liked In Bruges (for the emotional connection I have with the place more than anything), but no one movie sort of stuck out as being the BEST for me.... and compared to previous years, I thought that the offerings were a bit poor.
Dark Knight was a bit spectacular in some ways but with all the hype..... i just expected more. I enjoyed the first one much more.
Kung Fu Panda was fun. I liked Spiderwick Chronicles (i like that kind of stuff). Sweeney Todd was good also ( I loved the dark gothicy feel of the movie and of course Mr Depp *drool*). I liked In Bruges (for the emotional connection I have with the place more than anything), but no one movie sort of stuck out as being the BEST for me.... and compared to previous years, I thought that the offerings were a bit poor.