I have to say it: 2008 was not a great year for movies. 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.
The BEST
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, 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 setup is cliche. 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 crushes 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 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.
The worst
Stay far away from these movies (with No. 1 being the worst).
1. Disaster Movie
Somehow Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer hit new depths without drilling themselves into the center of the Earth.
2. The Hottie and the Nottie
Paris Hilton stars as a hot, dumb blond. ‘Nuff said.
3. Death Race
Kill kill kill! Sheesh.
4. Saw V
Pointless and senseless don’t begin to describe this pathetic sequel. Seriously. Make it stop.
5. Seven Pounds
An astonishingly manipulative movie that seems a little bit ashamed about its own premise. With good reason.
6. 88 Minutes
This is the more stupid of Al Pacino’s two idiotic movies this year. (“Righteous Kill” earns an honorable mention.)
7. First Sunday
The comedy: Fat people should be mocked and white people are square. The lesson: Churches are the best places to rob. The punchline: the appearance of VH1 staple Tiffany “New York” Pollard.
8. Postal
The year’s biggest, most jaw-dropping mess.
9. In the Name of the King: Dungeon Siege
Wouldn’t be a huge deal if it were at least accidentally funny, but not even Burt Reynolds can pull this out of Dullsville.
10. College Road Trip
Why make a movie about college geared at 6-year-olds?
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Most animal reaction shots: “Nim’s Island”
Worst performance by an Oscar winner: Forest Whitaker in “Street Kings”
Best title: “Zombie Strippers”
Most daring nudity: Jason Segel in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”
Best death scene: pencil trick in “The Dark Knight”
Worst singing voice: Pierce Brosnan in “Mamma Mia!”
Sleepiest star: Nicolas Cage in “Bangkok Dangerous”
Worst cameo decision: Fall Out Boy in the abysmal “Sex Drive”
Tell us something we don’t know: “W.”
Most pleasant surprise: “High School Musical 3”
