My Favorite Movies of 2008

Since I have taken a lot of flak for my comments against Slumdog Millionaire I thought I should share with everyone my favorite movies of 2008 and what I had in mind when comparing "Slumdog". Now undoubtedly my two favorite movies of 2008 were Zack and Miri Make a Porno and Burn After Reading. These aren't really Academy favorites so I will list my top 5 "Academy" contenders:

5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button


When this movie first came out it had a ton of buzz but then it sort of died down. It failed to pick up any major awards during awards season which was a pretty big hint to it not picking up Best Picture at the Oscars. I still think it was a pretty good movie. A lot of criticisim had it saying it was too "Hollywood" and very similar to another film by "Benjamin Button's" screenwriter...Forrst Gump. However, the visual effects were outstanding and they were recognized with that at the Oscars picking up the awards for best Art Direction and Best Makeup. I really did enjoy this story even though it might have been the most "original" I enjoy Brad Pitt better in his smaller, more quirky roles (see Burn After Reading or Snatch) but he is still capable of being a leading man. Even though it was 3 hours long, it was still very enjoyable and deserving of any praise it gets.


4. Slumdog Millionaire

Yup, it only appears 4th on my list. I've said it before, this movie is visually stunning. Editing, cineamatography, directing, everything technical about this movie was very well done. It was an interesting story and it gave us a look at something outside the world we usually see. However, the reason why it does not rank higher on my list is because it is weak in the categories I really like in movies, such as writing and acting. Mind you this was an adapted story from the book "Q & A" but I didn't feel there was anything special about the dioulouge. There were some interesting characters for sure and it was very unique but it wasn't the greatest movie of the year for me. Again, very technically sound but I felt there could have been a lot more to it.




3. Milk

This movie really caught me off guard. I heard a lot of buzz about Sean Penn's acting but other than that I didn't hear too much about it. I saw it and really enjoyed it. It is an extremley well written film and every single character in it has great development. It was totally deserving of the best screenplay and the best acting Oscars it won. I wasn't familiar with the story of Harvey Milk until I saw this movie but it is a really powerful story and is really brought to life by director Gus Van Sant. There is a lot of great imagery and the movie brings a lot of my favorite themes to the forefront of this movie (politics, counter culture, social activism, etc...) A lot of people are only giving this movie credit for it's great acting but it deserves a lot more as it is a great all around movie.





2. Frost/Nixon

A lot of people probably wouldn't put this movie this high on their list, but I personally think this movie deserved a lot more. It failed to pick up any major award but it was a fantastic political movie released at the right time. Frank Langella did an amazing job as Richard Nixon and the movie as a whole did a great job of showcasing the Frost/Nixon interviews of 1977. Especially as a Media Studies student, this film kept me interested the entire time because a major theme was how the media can affect an entire nation's government. These sets of interviews changed the way Nixon was perceived and was a big victory for millions of Americans who wan't to see Nixon admit his guilt. Perhaps it wasn't as facinating to people who don't have much interest in the media or politics, but anyone interested in pursuing a career in either would really dig this flick. I was pulling for it in the Best Picture category at the Oscars but knew it didn't stand much of a chance.

1. The Wrestler

The indie favorite of the year was also my favorite. This is an extreemley human movie which showcases a ton of emotion from it's cast. "The Wrestler" picked up a ton of independent awards and deserved every one of them. The only oscars it was up for was Marisa Tomei for Best Supporting Actress and Mickey Rourke for Best Lead Actor. It didn't win either one but both put on great preformances. On top of this incredibly emotional picture, the soundtrack attatched was fantastic. I don't know how Bruce Springsteen's "The Wrestler" didn't get nominated for Best Original Song but it was a perfect song to fit the ending of the movie. I really enjoyed this movie for the human quality displayed through it's characters. Rourke's character was really well developed and relatable even though I have never been in any of the circumstances he has been in. It is one of the best movies I've seen in a while and my favorite movie of 2008.