The Year in Film: The Best and Worst of 2008 - Page 3

Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky has got to be the happiest film of 2008. No other movie this year left me with as big a smile as this one did; sure, some hard truths are realized as per the stuff of great drama, but Sally Hawkins, as the unfailingly optimistic schoolteacher Poppy, is such a source of genuine goodness that the film lifts your spirits. It's also very funny, a trait Leigh is not known for, and Eddie Marsan almost steals the whole thing as Poppy's road rage-prone driving instructor.

Runners-up: Iron Man, for being the year's third great superhero movie, a witty and heart-pounding adventure with wonderfully charismatic turns from Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow; and WALL·E, for being one of Pixar's best offerings yet, funny, adorable, and surprisingly timely.

There are still some heavy contenders out there that I've yet to see, like Slumdog Millionaire, Doubt, and The Wrestler, not to mention all of the awesome foreign movies that didn't play around here. Hopefully I've still got treasures left to discover.

The Most Pleasant Surprise of 2008

I was really not looking forward to In Bruges. The trailers made it look like a Guy Ritchie movie: stock European tough guys spouting idiotic one-liners as the director tries to impress you with his style (or lack thereof). Rather, In Bruges is the kind of film Ritchie might make were he to accrue talent. Playwright Martin McDonagh's big screen debut sports two irresistible performances from Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as Irish hitmen stuck in the tiny Belgian town of Bruges; Farrell thinks it's a shithole, Gleeson thinks it's lovely, and boss Ralph Fiennes thinks it's the perfect place to stage an act of retribution. The film is at turns hilarious, poignant, and surprising; all in all, one damn fine movie.

The Happiest Comeback of 2008

Sure, countless others have told this tale again and again, but when the tale is this good, I've just got to rehash it: Robert Downey Jr. finally made a big comeback in 2008 after years of rebuilding his reputation as one of the best actors of his generation. That reputation was squandered when he sank into alcoholism and drug addiction, effectively removing himself from the artistry, if not the business, of acting. A guy this talented doesn't do a movie like Gothika because he wants to. After the drug rehab, the career rehab started in 2005 with the triple threat of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Good Night, and Good Luck, and Game 6; the following two years brought us gems like A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints and Zodiac.

Article Author: Arlo J. Wiley

Arlo J. Wiley is an aspiring filmmaker who has a deep love of movies, music, television, and most other artforms. He is also totally obsessed with Joss Whedon and the Beatles. You kind of need to know that.

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