Top 5 Movies of 2008
I thought after a top 5 music post I ought to do a top 5 movies of 2008 as well. You’ll soon notice that I like top 5 lists. You’ll also notice that along with listening to music, I love to watch movies.
Melanie and I don’t have a TV and we haven’t for over four years now. This means we rent and watch a lot of movies when we want to unwind and, when a movie warrants it, we go to the cinema. So, here they are. My favorite movies of 2008 along with a bit of commentary for each.
1. Gran Torino
It’s not often that a movie impacts my life and thinking in addition to entertaining me. This is one of those movies that you sit, think and feel while the credits roll. This film touches on many profound themes including: sacrifice, redemption, racism, human connection and humility to name a few.
The good news is that it’s not all heaviness. The movie, to my surprise, was quite funny as well.
The bottom line is that Gran Torino gave me the strong desire to have a powerful positive effect on someone’s life (if I can be so presumptuous to think that it is within my ability to do so).
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2. Dark Knight
I am so bummed that Heath Ledger is gone and will never take the roll of the Joker again! His performance is everything that people say it was. The way he portrayed pure chaos was genius.
When I put the call out to my Twitter and Facebook friends to name their top 5 movies of 2008, this one was mentioned by the most people.
I have one criticism about Dark Knight, though, from a point made by my wife that I tend to agree with. Allowing Batman to take the fall for stuff he didn’t do was a cop out. Sometimes we (humans) need to face our dark side. Protecting people from that just postpones growth.
That said, this is one of those movies that raises the bar.
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3. Quarantine
I love me some horror — not lame hacker/slasher horror, but the stuff that really gets your adrenaline going. I’m also a sucker for a good zombie flick.
I enjoyed this one beginning to end. It’s filmed in the “real life” style of Cloverfield, but manages to better accomplish what that film was trying to do.
The main actress portrays terror in such a way that you are right there with her, breathing fast and praying for your life.
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4. Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist
This movie hit me with a double sucker punch to the face by incorporating two of my favorite things — music and New York City. I was powerless in its grip.
I loved seeing shots of the Lower East Side where we’ve gone numerous times to watch live music. The movie is nothing too deep, but it is a load o’ fun.
Michael Cera always plays the same character, but so far it always works and in this film it definitely works. So ride that wave, Michael, as long as you can.
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5. Stranded
At first I had no desire to see this movie. I thought it would be totally depressing. Fortunately, my sister-in-law and her husband wanted to see it, because it turned out it to be totally inspiring.
Stranded recounts the harrowing true story from 1972 of the Uruguayans whose plane crashed in the Andes leaving them stranded for 72 days.
For the first time ever their story is told through exclusive interviews with the actual survivors. Several of the survivors return to the valley where they were stranded, taking with them some of their posterity. The clips are incredibly powerful.
Their story is absolutely amazing. It will give you a new perspective on life. All I can say is…go and see it.
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Honorable Mentions
- Tell No One – Another magic combination: french film + thriller.
- Iron Man – Needed more action sequences, but still a thoroughly entertaining blockbuster.
- The Duchess – I love period movies…especially this period.
Let’s Hear It
What was your favorite film of 2008?
6 Comments
Jason on January 17th, 2009
@Andy,
If you have Blu-Ray (or access to it), definitely watch Dark Knight that way. You’ll be even more amazed.
Andy Brudtkuhl on January 17th, 2009
No blu-ray here… But I can stream to my Roku in HD to my projector.. Not quite Blu-Ray quality but up there
mikevo on January 18th, 2009
good list J. I like the new personal blog. Let’s keep each other motivated to keep up on them. I haven’t seen Nick and Norah or Stranded or GT, but you’re reviews make me interested. And i REALLY want to see GT, Eastwood is truly a man’s man. Dark Knight would certainly make my top 5 as well. Quarantine had some good fun and ridiculousness and the performances were top notch, but i was exhausted by the end of it.
Sterling on March 23rd, 2009
I agree with the top 3, but haven’t seen the last two. I don’t know what I would replace them with either… nothing comes to mind. This year has been more about great TV then going to the movies.
Amara on March 29th, 2009
I have seen Nick and Norah’s and it made me laugh and I also like its setting in NYC. Then I totally enjoyed Dark Knight, it was definitely thrilling but psychological. I also have seen The Duchess it kind of depressed me though, but I also like period movies too. I thought it was great how much she had matured and became stronger by the end of the movie though. I am curious about Gran Torino and Stranded I might have to check those out. I saw the movie Push recently that was actually pretty good. It was different with people having powers. It wasn’t like a martial arts film but good v. evil and trying to outsmart each other. I think you might enjoy it. It reminded me of Alias kind of.
Andy Brudtkuhl on January 17th, 2009
You’re sentiments regarding Gran Torino are right on… It’s an extremely powerful movie yet maintains great entertainment value. It really does give you a call to action to do the same!
Also – I still need to see Dark Knight and Quarantine.. looking forward to both on Netflix