Gotta say it: 2008 was not a great year for movies. At least, not compared to 2007, which had at least a dozen stunners and a handful that were arguably better than anything in '08.
But enough with the Debbie Downer routine. This year’s best all made the list for a reason. So here goes: 10 very good and sometimes great films to see immediately.
Matt's best movies of 2008
A range of emotional peaks and valleys, from 'Happy' to 'Dark' to 'Funny'
By Matt Pais
MetromixDecember 13, 2008
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1. "Happy-Go-Lucky"
No need for a "plot." This is a glorious work of art, and the sort of movie that not only changes your outlook on teaching, learning and living—but on movies as well.
2. "Wendy and Lucy"
An America without opportunity, a life spent drifting through, a girl (Michelle Williams) who'd give anything to find her dog and a safe place to sleep. Slow, unforgettable stuff.
3. "Funny Games"
Makes you consider why you want to see people die on screen, and if there's even a line that distances us from the characters in peril. So tense it hurts.
4. "The Dark Knight"
How could a superhero movie ever look better or have a stronger connection to the moral struggles of real life? Wouldn’t mind seeing Christian Bale’s Batman channel another Sesame Street character besides Cookie Monster. Maybe Snuffalopogus?
5. "Bigger, Stronger, Faster*"
Our country's culture of winning has rarely been so thoroughly, entertainingly examined than in Chris Bell's revealing doc. Hilarious and very well-reported, it's proof that while competition is always the same, what it means to be a winner has changed.
6. "WALL-E"
The year's best romance exists between a trash collector and a laser-shooting robot who looks like a garbage can. Gorgeous.
7. "Paranoid Park"
Gus Van Sant again beautifully captures the mood of teenagers, freezing life when moments seem to last forever. A stirring portrait of a teen in crisis, with the understanding of how it feels to have your brain overflowing and nowhere to let it out.
8. "The Wrestler"
A washed-up wrestler struggles to find something worth living for, whether it's a stripper, his estranged daughter or the sport in which he's barely healthy enough to compete anymore. With Oscar-worthy work from Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei, the film is full of small details and big truths about choices, mistakes and resilience. The set-up is cliché. The execution is anything but.
9. "Ballast"
A work of fiction that looks and feels like a documentary, "Ballast" doesn't do anything quickly or loudly. Writer-director Lance Hammer's debut paces carefully, precisely, crushing you with a lost life in the Mississippi Delta, and the leaps of faith that keep people together, moving forward.
10. "Role Models"
Simply the most, biggest laughs this year, wrapped in a terrific studio comedy that likes its characters and respects its audience. Paul Rudd needs to write and star in more movies. Please.
Honorable mentions:
11. "Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father"
12. "Forgetting Sarah Marshall"
13. "Slumdog Millionaire"
14. "Kurt Cobain: About a Son"
15. "Pineapple Express"
16. "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day"
17. "Synecdoche, New York"
18. "Momma's Man"
19. "My Winnipeg"
20. "Cloverfield"
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Geoff's best movies of 2008
See Metromix movie critic Geoff Berkshire's 10 best of 2008.
Geoff's worst movies of 2008
See Metromix movie critic Geoff Berkshire's 10 worst of 2008.
Matt's worst movies of 2008
See Metromix movie critic Matt Pais' 10 worst of 2008.
