A Great Year in Films: 2008

Make no mistake, 2008 was one of the best years ever in total number of quality films released. These are the 33 films from that year that we’ve reviewed thus far [06.10.11], each links to our review at 1000 Dvds to See.


These are all worth seeing, and the Oscars® should have been expanded to 10 best films in 2008 (2009 was too late), because those left off the ballot for picture (In Bruges, The Visitor, Wall-E, The Dark Knight, Gran Torino, A Wednesday, Star Trek, Revolutionary Road) were as good as those nominated (Benjamin Button, Frost-Nixon, Milk, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire).

If you include John Adams for tv, there were also some great documentaries: The Memory Loss Tapes (for HBO), Where In the World Is Osama Bin Laden?, and Man on Wire, and docudramas: Che, Milk, Frost-Nixon, Valkyrie. This was a great year for non-fiction.

A Wednesday (2008) India
The Assassination of Jesse James (2008)
Australia (2008)
Che (2008)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Defiance (2008)
Departures (2008) Japan
Eagle Eye (2008)
The Fountain (2008)
Frost-Nixon (2008)
Gran Torino (2008)
In Bruges (2008)
Iron Man (2008)
John Adams (2008, tv)
Man On Wire (2008)
The Memory Loss Tapes (2008, tv)
Milk (2008)
Nothing But the Truth (2008)
The Reader (2008)
Red Cliff (2008) China
Revolutionary Road (2008)
The Sleeping Dogs Lie (2008)
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Star Trek (2008)
Synecdoche, New York (2008)
Valkyrie (2008)
Vantage Point (2008)
Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008)
The Visitor (2008)
W. (2008)
Wall-E (2008)
Where In the World Is Osama Bin Laden? (2008)
The Wrestler (2008)

My favorites for 2008, my top 15:

(1) Wall-E
(2) Departures (Japan)
(3) In Bruges
(4) Slumdog Millionaire
(5) Gran Torino
(6) A Wednesday
(7) The Visitor
(8) Star Trek
(9) John Adams
(10) Revolutionary Road
(11) The Dark Knight
(12) The Fountain
(13) Milk
(14) The Memory Loss Tapes
(15) The Reader
(16) Vicky Christina Barcelona

No Country for Atonement of Michael Clayton in the Wild

I finally got to see all the major films nominated for Oscars and other awards this year. It was actually quite an impressive batch of films. These were my favorite:

1. No Country for Old Men - always loved the Coen Brothers, this was probably their most eloquent and poetic film, yet remaining enigmatic and unique throughout. I still enjoyed Raising Arizona most of theirs, but No Country is a more classic artistic success, both giving tribute to film noir without just copying the style and taking it to perhaps a new level in expression, much the same as Pulp Fiction did to the dime novel style of crime fiction.
2. Atonement - this had the best epic feel of classic movies, bringing to mind David Lean and classic Victorian novels and perhaps even Brideshead Revisited, the epic TV series. This was also the best story of any of the award films. Vanessa Redgrave gave an Oscar worthy performance in five minutes. The long tracking scene of the main character arriving at Dunkirk, that follows him along the beach and past a bandstand, carousel, finally to the deck of a cantina overlooking the entire scene, is one of the most memorable in recent films. It calls to mind scenes from Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge Over the River Kwai, The Longest Day and other epic war films. The green dress designed for Kiera Knightly is simply the most seductive dress in all of film history.
3. In the Wild - this true story of a non-conformist Georgia youth searching for himself and wisdom in the solitude of nature is a terrific near-mythic parable of individuality in primal nature. Director Sean Penn raises it to an almost religious exerience. Not to be missed.
4. Michael Clayton - I liked this story a lot, and the Oscar-winning performance of Tilda Swinton. I can't say much without giving away something, but an excellent legal drama with good plot twists.
5. The Bourne Ultimatum - Enjoyed all the Bourne films, this one is perhaps the most exciting, won a couple of Oscars for sound. Make sure you've seen the first two however, as the story of Matt Damon's title character is a progressive one (connected to memory loss) including those of all the peripheral characters as well.
6. Pirates 3: At World's End - I've enjoyed all three Pirates of the Caribbean films (Dead Man's Chest the most), I can see how they appeal to both children and adults, with specials effects that dwarf Indiana Jones, and totally preposterous events, such as the swordfight inside the rolling water wheel in Dead Man's Chest. Everything about these is actually quite perfect, and are the first pirate movies to ever make a profit, believe it or not. Not sure about the Best Acting nomination for Depp in the first however, not among his best performances of Finding Neverland, The Libertine, and Sweeney Todd.
7. Elizabeth: The Golden Age - simply ethereal costumes, which deservedly won an Oscar. This story was not as lyrical or mythical as the first, however, not as interesting, just didn't grab and hold you like the first.

Just a word about other recent films: Thank You for Smoking, from last year, was also nearly flawless, a very underrated film, and a comedy that made an important statement, or several. The Departed, though very good, wasn't Scorcese's best recent movie: Gangs of New York was a major achievement, as epic a movie about U.S. history as you'll ever see, and Daniel-Day Lewis' performance of Bill the Butcher is one of the all-time great movie villains, totally unforgettable, who won every award that year except the Oscar (go figure).

Oscar Predictions for 2008

Best Picture: No Country for Old Men - because I like the Coen Brothers (Raising Arizona, Fargo) Director: Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)- because they can give one award and they both get Oscars Actor: Daniel-Day Lewis (There Will Be Blood) -because he's one of the five best living actors (De Niro, Freeman, Hackman, Nicholson) and shoulda won #2 for Gangs of New York Actress: Julie Christie (Away From Her)- because she's still a babe and this may be her last chance for #2 and who the hell is this Cotillard babe anyway and did she do her own singing? Christie won half a century ago, just before Beatlemania. Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)- because he's Penelope Cruz' boyfriend and has won 378 awards already Supporting Actress: Ruby Dee (American Gangster)- because she's old and this may be her last chance and she's been a pro forever Writing - Adapted Screenplay: Atonement - because it won't win any big awards, they can toss it this bone and one Coen won a writing Oscar already for Fargo Writing - Original Screenplay: Michael Clayton - because it won't win any big awards, they can toss it this bone... blah blah You want writing? "Doubt that the stars are fire, doubt that the sun doth move, Doubt that the truth's a liar, but never doubt my love" -- Hamlet Cinematography: I dunno, I didn't see enough of 'em... ok: No Country again Film Editing: I dunno, I didn't see enough of 'em... ok: Bourne Ultimatum, good action flick! Music: now Sweeney Todd is a musical, but its ineligible cuz the music was written before this year, for the play? now that makes sense... Song: what, no Randy Newman song this year? then I don't care... Foreign Language Films: who watches films with subtitles? Sound Mixing, Sound Editing: what's the freakin difference, was the sound incredible or not? Bourne had good sound... Documentary and Short Subject: whatever's the most politically correct topic this year (Iraq, the Holocaust, AIDS, subprime loan failures, Chinese lead-coated toys) Who needs writers for this dribble? The best two Oscar presenters ever were Sasheen Littlefeather reading for Brando and David Niven responding to a streaker with ad libs and style. They like to spread the Oscars around nowdays so more films are eligible for the "Academy Award Film Festivals" they have on TBS.