Movies of 2008: A Retrospective

So I went and saw The Spirit tonight, and had I went in with expectations I may have walked away disappointed. It was not the greatest movie but it was a fun flick that entertained me enough to justify the cost of admission. I saw it with my movie buds and it got us talking cause I apparently was the only one who liked it.

My one friend said it would probably be on their list as one of the bad flicks we would watch this year. This eventually snowballed into a talk about last years movies and I was surprised by what my buds felt were "bad flicks". With the exception of Bolt, I couldn't think of a terrible flick from last year and this was surprising cause I hate watching movies the most out of my group. To me, it was a good year with a surprising number of good films.

So EoFF, what films did you like? Which films were bad? What film surprised you? Which films disappointed you?

Not an original choice but Wall-E was the big winner for me - Pixar keep knocking them out of the park time after time, and the first half especially was excellent. It's amazing how two characters with a two or three word vocabulary between them had a better scripted relationship/romance than a few dozen rubbish production-line romantic comedies.

I actually didn't see too many films last year compared to years before. Fortunately everything I did manage to see was generally quite good. Other than Iron Man which I think is one of the most overrated comic book movies ever.

Rambo was awesome. This film felt like it was specifically made just for me. I can't get into any of the recent actions movies. Too much fuss over special effects and whatnot. Then a film like Rambo is made which almost seems like it was taken straight out of the 80's. I loved the griity tone of the movie, it made the action more visceral and impactful. Seeing as I had the most fun in the theatres last year watching Rambo it'll have to be my favourite movie of 2008.

Oh and In Bruge is another film I loved the hell out of. I actually found myself liking Collin Farrel a hell of a lot more after watching In Bruge. Shame the film didn't get much media attention, I think a lot of people missed out on something quite special.

Obviously, Dark Knight will come up, so i will make that point now
I never really thought that 08 brought many interesting movies upon us

These are the 2008 movies I can recall having seen in the order I think of them:

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day - Although not spectacular in any way, it was a charming little movie which even had me laughing a few times. I'd recommend it if you haven't seen it.

The Dark Knight - Admittedly, this is the first Batman movie I've seen. It was very good and it made me want to see more Batman movies.

Slumdog Millionaire - An overall good movie, although Miriel's thread had me expecting a bit more.

Tropic Thunder - The least funny comedy I've seen in a good while.

WALL-E - Cute, funny, exciting... It was all you can ask for and more from a movie with near-mute main characters. Probably the best surprise of 2008 for me so far.

My Sassy Girl - I haven't seen the original yet, although I plan to. It was a sweet movie with a few unexpected twists.

The Bank Job - Decent entertainment, but not much more than that.

Other yesteryear movies I'm planning to see in the not too distant future include: Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Elegy, Hancock, You Don't Mess With The Zohan, Let The Right One In, The Promotion, Speed Racer, Dance Of The Dead, 21. Feel free to recommend more. :-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rantzien

Other yesteryear movies I'm planning to see in the not too distant future include: You Don't Mess With The Zohan

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I didn't know you were into masochism.

I did not see a lot of movies during 2008, but here's what I did:

Liked
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Tropic Thunder
Burn After Reading
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Valkyrie
Frost/Nixon
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
Be Kind, Rewind

Didn't Like
Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull
Get Smart
Wanted
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Traitor
Swing Vote

My favorites were The Dark Knight and Frost/Nixon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dreddz

I actually didn't see too many films last year compared to years before. Fortunately everything I did manage to see was generally quite good. Other than Iron Man which I think is one of the most overrated comic book movies ever.

Rambo was awesome. This film felt like it was specifically made just for me.

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Did Rambo come out last year, I thought it was 2007? Anyway it seemed kind of meh for me. i was expecting a lot more action and emotion. The ending didn't also seem to reveal much either.

For me out the ones I saw

Meet the Browns
The Forbidden Kingdom
Iron Man
The Incredible Hulk
The Dark Knight
The Family that Preys
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Last year was a great year for films. Out of them all I would have to say that I tie The Dark Knight and Benjamin Button for movie of the year, but I'm sort of leaning towards Benjamin Button since the movie had some flaws that contradicted itself.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by I Took the Red Pill

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rantzien

Other yesteryear movies I'm planning to see in the not too distant future include: You Don't Mess With The Zohan

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I didn't know you were into masochism.

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Never said I expect much out of it :-*

90% of the movies I saw this year were terrible. I loved Burn After Reading though.

Probably Cloverfield. I seen much movies from past years this year, but not really of this year. heh

Haven't seen many 2008 films as of yet, but I did manage to catch In Bruges on the television recently. And all I could think was wtf. Usually I like dark comedies, but I was really confused with that one. xD I also saw Gran Torino. The only good thing about that movie was the fact that Eastwood is hilarious as a grumpy, vulgar, racist old man. The most recent film I saw was Seven Pounds. I hated it. Overly sappy garbage. I like how he falls in love with a woman he met nearly two weeks ago, if that. I should be seeing Dark Knight and Be Kind, Rewind soon. Hopefully they're as good as people say.

2008 was pretty good for movies. Tropic Thunder, Burn After Reading, The Dark Knight, Be Kind, Rewind, Iron Man ... but the best movie, for me, was most definitely:

http://hpod.com/files/images/Hellboy...%20Poster!.jpg

Iron Man and The Dark Knight kicked ass. Incredible Hulk kicked less ass but was still enjoyable.

Wall-E and Slumdog Millionaire were pretty great films.

Tropic Thunder was the only good funny movie that I saw.

Indiana Jones and Burn After Reading sucked.

My favorite was Dark Knight. :D