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defrogAs usual, I’ll defer to experts like ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
thelastaerie for “real” lists of what was or wasn’t worth watching in 2008.
For me, it was an even slower year for movies than 2007. I barely saw 20 films in 2008, and most of them were average to poor – so much so that the second half of this year’s list is there mainly to pad it out to ten. But that’s what happens when some of the biggest cinematic events of the year are sequels to film franchises that ended two decades ago. And the rest are remakes.
It doesn’t help that many films I’d consider seeing tend to go straight to video here – which is fine, except that we really don’t have a decent movie rental option where I live (or something like Netflix), and then there’s the stupid Regional coding issue. The way around this previously was cheap VCDs, but those are being phased out in favor of DVDs. Because they cost more. Obviously.
Anyway, here’s what I got.
DISCLAIMER: Based on films I actually saw, not on what you think should win at the Oscars or whatever. Also (because someone’s going to ask) the reason Iron Man isn’t on here is because I didn’t see it. Which is also why Zombie Strippers isn’t here either.
TOP 10 DEF FILMS OF 2008
1. No Country For Old Men
2. WALL•E
3. The Dark Knight
4. Wanted
5. Kung Fu Panda
6. Get Smart
7. Cloverfield
8. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
9. Son Of Rambow
10. CJ7
MOST UNNECESSARY FILM OF 2008
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
WORST MOVIE OF 2008
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
TOP 10 DEF FILMS OF 2008 [EXTENDED MIX]
1. No Country For Old Men
If yr confused, this wasn’t released in Hong Kong until early 2008, which is why it didn’t make my 2007 list. I’m a Coen Brothers fan by default, but by any standard this is a stunningly good film. Leave to the Coens to take an old noir routine and make it compelling. Even the sound design is impressive. And only the Coens would be brave enough to end the movie the same way the book ends, rather than rewrite it into a traditional movie ending.
2. WALL•E
It’s interesting that some of the best movies in Hollywood are made by Pixar these days. WALL-E is one of their best yet – good fun, good story, clever satire, great character design. The ending could have been a little braver, but that’s a lot to ask of anything backed by Disney.
3. The Dark Knight
I can’t add too much to what everyone else has said about Heath Ledger’s Joker (Bill Hicks dressed as The Crow, basically). There’s lots to recommend it, but what interests me the most is how the story exposes the flaws in Batman’s vigilante MO – that is to say, his determination to impose rules on himself arguably do more harm than good when dealing with a psycho like the Joker. Bonus points for giving Jim Gordon more screen time, but I’m subtracting points for needlessly killing off Harvey Dent.
4. Wanted
This was one of those movies that people either seemed to really love or really despise, depending on (1) whether you’ve read the comic book, (2) what you think of director Timur Bekmambetov’s constant Matrix homages, and (3) how hot you think Angelina Jolie is. The way I see it, if yr going to make an action movie about a league of assassins in 2008, go batshit insane with it. Bekmambetov did, and I thought it was great fun. Robert Rodriguez would approve.
5. Kung Fu Panda
Probably the funniest movie I saw in 2008. Storywise, it’s basic hopeless-wannabe-becomes-hero stuff, but it’s good execution, and Jack Black makes a good panda. Best line: “There is no charge for awesomeness.”
6. Get Smart
When Hollywood plunders classic TV shows for ideas, I worry. I wasn’t expecting much from this, but it was far better than I thought. Steve Carell makes a good Maxwell Smart when he’s not too obviously trying to channel Don Adams, but the best thing is they retain that goofy sense of humor the old show had. That said, it’d have been funnier if they’d edited out 15 minutes of bad jokes.
7. Cloverfield
Otherwise known as JJ Abrams’ overhyped contribution to the Giant Monster genre. As far as I can tell, there’s not an original idea anywhere in the movie (even the shaky POV camera for the entire film was done by the Blair Witch people, and it’s even more annoying here). On the plus side, the visuals are believable as hell, so points for execution. Still, in 20 years it’ll be remembered more for its viral marketing hype than the film itself.
8. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Decent sequel that, like the first one, benefits from having Ron Perlman as Hellboy and Guillermo del Toro in the director’s chair. Looks awesome, and a pretty good story, though I could have done without the entire “Abe Sapien In Love” subplot.
9. Son Of Rambow
A peculiar coming-of-age story involving two kids in early-80s Britain – one the school terror, the other a daydreamer from a superstrict religious family – who bond over the first Rambo film and make their own sequel. I love the idea of kids trying to emulate Hollywood with a video camera, but the film veers too widely between funny and deliberately surreal action scenes and grim family drama, making it a very uneven experience.
10. CJ7
The latest Stephen Chow movie, and mainly here to fill up a Top 10 list. It’s his take on E.T., and like Son Of Rambow, it’s not a bad film so much as a very uneven one that can’t decide if it wants to be tragic or goofy. Chow has a tendency to put a bitter edge on his comedy, but here he really overdoes it. Very disappointing.
MOST UNNECESSARY FILM OF 2008
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
I loved the Indiana Jones films, but we really didn’t need another one, not 19 years later. The MacGuffin of crystal Mayan skulls and aliens is nice enough, and it’s entertaining and all (except even I don’t believe Indy could survive a freaking nuclear bomb). But it just seemed obvious that Spielberg moved on from this kind of filmmaking ten years ago. And yeah, age does matter.
WORST MOVIE OF 2008
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
I might not have even bothered if I’d known this was essentially the pilot episode for the CG TV series. As it is, I loved Genndy Tartakovsky’s micro series on which this was based, but the translation to CG doesn’t work – not least because I was expecting far better character animation from a franchise built on making special effects believable. As high as studios like Pixar have set the bar for CG-animation movies, there’s no excuse for making characters this lifeless. Wretched.
I want my money back,
This is dF
thelastaerie for “real” lists of what was or wasn’t worth watching in 2008. For me, it was an even slower year for movies than 2007. I barely saw 20 films in 2008, and most of them were average to poor – so much so that the second half of this year’s list is there mainly to pad it out to ten. But that’s what happens when some of the biggest cinematic events of the year are sequels to film franchises that ended two decades ago. And the rest are remakes.
It doesn’t help that many films I’d consider seeing tend to go straight to video here – which is fine, except that we really don’t have a decent movie rental option where I live (or something like Netflix), and then there’s the stupid Regional coding issue. The way around this previously was cheap VCDs, but those are being phased out in favor of DVDs. Because they cost more. Obviously.
Anyway, here’s what I got.
DISCLAIMER: Based on films I actually saw, not on what you think should win at the Oscars or whatever. Also (because someone’s going to ask) the reason Iron Man isn’t on here is because I didn’t see it. Which is also why Zombie Strippers isn’t here either.
TOP 10 DEF FILMS OF 2008
1. No Country For Old Men
2. WALL•E
3. The Dark Knight
4. Wanted
5. Kung Fu Panda
6. Get Smart
7. Cloverfield
8. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
9. Son Of Rambow
10. CJ7
MOST UNNECESSARY FILM OF 2008
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
WORST MOVIE OF 2008
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
TOP 10 DEF FILMS OF 2008 [EXTENDED MIX]
1. No Country For Old Men
If yr confused, this wasn’t released in Hong Kong until early 2008, which is why it didn’t make my 2007 list. I’m a Coen Brothers fan by default, but by any standard this is a stunningly good film. Leave to the Coens to take an old noir routine and make it compelling. Even the sound design is impressive. And only the Coens would be brave enough to end the movie the same way the book ends, rather than rewrite it into a traditional movie ending.
2. WALL•E
It’s interesting that some of the best movies in Hollywood are made by Pixar these days. WALL-E is one of their best yet – good fun, good story, clever satire, great character design. The ending could have been a little braver, but that’s a lot to ask of anything backed by Disney.
3. The Dark Knight
I can’t add too much to what everyone else has said about Heath Ledger’s Joker (Bill Hicks dressed as The Crow, basically). There’s lots to recommend it, but what interests me the most is how the story exposes the flaws in Batman’s vigilante MO – that is to say, his determination to impose rules on himself arguably do more harm than good when dealing with a psycho like the Joker. Bonus points for giving Jim Gordon more screen time, but I’m subtracting points for needlessly killing off Harvey Dent.
4. Wanted
This was one of those movies that people either seemed to really love or really despise, depending on (1) whether you’ve read the comic book, (2) what you think of director Timur Bekmambetov’s constant Matrix homages, and (3) how hot you think Angelina Jolie is. The way I see it, if yr going to make an action movie about a league of assassins in 2008, go batshit insane with it. Bekmambetov did, and I thought it was great fun. Robert Rodriguez would approve.
5. Kung Fu Panda
Probably the funniest movie I saw in 2008. Storywise, it’s basic hopeless-wannabe-becomes-hero stuff, but it’s good execution, and Jack Black makes a good panda. Best line: “There is no charge for awesomeness.”
6. Get Smart
When Hollywood plunders classic TV shows for ideas, I worry. I wasn’t expecting much from this, but it was far better than I thought. Steve Carell makes a good Maxwell Smart when he’s not too obviously trying to channel Don Adams, but the best thing is they retain that goofy sense of humor the old show had. That said, it’d have been funnier if they’d edited out 15 minutes of bad jokes.
7. Cloverfield
Otherwise known as JJ Abrams’ overhyped contribution to the Giant Monster genre. As far as I can tell, there’s not an original idea anywhere in the movie (even the shaky POV camera for the entire film was done by the Blair Witch people, and it’s even more annoying here). On the plus side, the visuals are believable as hell, so points for execution. Still, in 20 years it’ll be remembered more for its viral marketing hype than the film itself.
8. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Decent sequel that, like the first one, benefits from having Ron Perlman as Hellboy and Guillermo del Toro in the director’s chair. Looks awesome, and a pretty good story, though I could have done without the entire “Abe Sapien In Love” subplot.
9. Son Of Rambow
A peculiar coming-of-age story involving two kids in early-80s Britain – one the school terror, the other a daydreamer from a superstrict religious family – who bond over the first Rambo film and make their own sequel. I love the idea of kids trying to emulate Hollywood with a video camera, but the film veers too widely between funny and deliberately surreal action scenes and grim family drama, making it a very uneven experience.
10. CJ7
The latest Stephen Chow movie, and mainly here to fill up a Top 10 list. It’s his take on E.T., and like Son Of Rambow, it’s not a bad film so much as a very uneven one that can’t decide if it wants to be tragic or goofy. Chow has a tendency to put a bitter edge on his comedy, but here he really overdoes it. Very disappointing.
MOST UNNECESSARY FILM OF 2008
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
I loved the Indiana Jones films, but we really didn’t need another one, not 19 years later. The MacGuffin of crystal Mayan skulls and aliens is nice enough, and it’s entertaining and all (except even I don’t believe Indy could survive a freaking nuclear bomb). But it just seemed obvious that Spielberg moved on from this kind of filmmaking ten years ago. And yeah, age does matter.
WORST MOVIE OF 2008
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
I might not have even bothered if I’d known this was essentially the pilot episode for the CG TV series. As it is, I loved Genndy Tartakovsky’s micro series on which this was based, but the translation to CG doesn’t work – not least because I was expecting far better character animation from a franchise built on making special effects believable. As high as studios like Pixar have set the bar for CG-animation movies, there’s no excuse for making characters this lifeless. Wretched.
I want my money back,
This is dF
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