The Best (and Worst) Movies of 2008 - Page 6

Man on Wire – A documentary constructed like a nail-biter, this true account of Phillippe Petit’s wire act atop the World Trade Center fills us with marvel at his daring. The view of the buildings may sadden some but this film invites the audience to serenely recollect the buildings’ majestic qualities through what is called the “artistic crime of the century.”

Revolutionary Road – Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet re-unite for Sam Mendes’ adaptation of Richard Yates’ 1961 novel that peers through the empty conformist culture of the 1950s suburbia. Their chemistry is much more abrasive this time than in Titanic and there is no happy ending to be had, but the movie serves as a powerful, cautionary warning on how a marriage should not be founded merely on the whims of the idealistic romance that we easily fall for in other movies.

Tell No One – One of the most engrossing “puzzle” movies in some time, Guillaume Canet’s adaptation of the American crime novel by Harlan Coben lays out its labyrinthine plot with razor-sharp logical sense and precision. The flipside of the Korean thriller, The Chaser (which lays out all its clues in plain sight and just builds on mood and frustration to create suspense) but it is no less accomplished in keeping a tight rein on its complex story.

There were additionally some nice surprises: Cloverfield, Definitely, Maybe, Forgetting Sarah Marshall (as I have not been the biggest fan of the Apatow school of comedy), JCVD (with none other than Jean-Claude Van Damme delivering a real, full-blooded performance for the first time in a self-parodying role), Taken (a cool little action thriller from France starring Liam Neeson that will be released in the US on January 30) and Tropic Thunder.

Then there were the most disappointing movies: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (please stop turning to George Lucas for any more creative input), Quantum of Solace, Blindness, Get Smart, Righteous Kill, Doomsday, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

The worst movies of the year (in order of putridity): Rambo (a most hypocritically and sanctimoniously sadistic film and the sight of people cheering on the disgustingly ultra-glorified violence really disturbs me), The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, 10,000 B.C., The Love Guru, Fly Me to the Moon, 88 Minutes, The House Bunny, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (again, stop Lucas!), What Happens in Vegas, and Eagle Eye.

And finally, the cinematic carnage that is not worthy of being labeled a movie: The Hottie & the Nottie.

Article Author: moviejohn

Joo-Wang John Lee is a computer programmer at Binghamton University by day and a movie critic by hobby. Upon insistent suggestion from people around him, he finally decided to start critiquing movies in writing instead of just verbal form among his friends. …

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