There were a lot of movies worth watching in 2008. So many, in fact, that it was hard to pare them down to just 10 for this list. But pare I must. Some of the films from this year were just too good to be left off a top 10 list – they either set new records, started a new franchise or simply stood alone as quality movies matched by few.
By Nathan Bloch
The following article does not represent the opinions of Spike TV or its affiliates.
10. Wanted
Wanted was pretty much the slickest, fastest, most violent-for-its-own-sake movie to come out this year. It didn’t hurt that Angelina Jolie frolicked about the screen seductively for most of the movie – when she wasn’t shooting stuff straight to hell. This movie was hard not to love, even if you didn’t want to.
9. Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder was Ben Stiller’s baby, considering the fact that he directed, starred in and co-wrote the thing. It was also a very, very funny movie that fulfilled just about everyone’s expectations. Only Stiller can offend and entertain seamlessly at the same time. Robert Downey, Jr.’s hilarious antics and a memorable cameo by Tom Cruise helped make this movie the last big bang of the summer.
8. Slumdog Millionaire
Danny Boyle’s latest film, after the relatively disappointing Sunshine, has made a big splash with a little budget and an unknown cast – all set in India. He’s basically taken many elements that don’t much appeal to American audiences and shaped them into a very entertaining and moving film. Slumdog Millionaire is being touted as an Oscar contender, which is nice to see considering more mundane potential contenders such as Revolutionary Road and Doubt.
7. Burn After Reading
The Coen brothers are movie-making machines. They will not rest until they have made more movies than any pair of brothers combined. After No Country For Old Men cleaned up at last year’s Oscars, they came back with a zany, violent, dark comedy about idiots and the ways in which their miserable lives can sometimes intersect. And how the CIA really doesn’t ever know what’s going on. The Coens are on fire.
6. The Visitor
Despite the fact that this film didn’t do huge box office, and the fact that many people still haven’t seen it, The Visitor, starring Six Feet Under’s excellent Richard Jenkins (who was also in this year’s hilarious Step Brothers) was a diamond in the rough. A touching story about loneliness, friendship and the U.S. government’s racial profiling and intolerant immigration laws, it leaves you feeling helpless and angry – but it also leaves you feeling very grateful you came across this small film.
