all hail - the new king in town

I have been a movie fan for years. I don't really ever mention it much but it's where you'll generally find the Hen and I on a Sunday night. Thirty-eight films down in 2008 and I thought that this year I might run down my favourite ten (in some sort of order). More for reference, really.......

Top 10 Films of 2008

10. Burn After Reading

Not a comedy (as much as the trailer might have led you to believe) but this offbeat Coen Brothers effort was entertaining enough. The couple of scenes where the CIA officer (David Rasche) has to explain the chain of events to his superior (JK Simmons) are fantastic and hold the whole escapade together and there’s an interesting turn from generally wooden prettyboy Brad Pitt.

Featuring typically performances from Coen favourites George Clooney and Frances McDormand, Burn After Reading is a quirky, offbeat film and all the better for that.

9. Space Chimps

On the face of it, Space Chimps looked preposterous. I only went for something to do with my daughter one day but we were treated to one of the surprise movies of the year. Space Chimps is funny, fast paced, unusual, interesting and original and made us laugh out loud. It is character based and silly and all the better for not forcing the world to drink from Space Chimps mugs and sleep under Space Chimps duvets (unlike other movie franchises I could name......)

A real surprise, welcome family treat.


8. Dan In Real Life

Steve Carell toned down the daft comedy persona for this gentle character led comedy drama about a man who falls in love with his brother’s girlfriend. Juliette Binoche is excellent as the female lead and there is a nice supporting cast (John Mahoney and Dianne Wiest included).

It’s not laugh-out-loud funny and notwithstanding its slight sentimentality the quality of script and performances elevate it to a level above your average bogstandard romantic comedy . Carell is superb, also.


7. Boy A

Boy A is a little heralded but engrossing (if depressing) British drama based loosely on the boys who killed Jamie Bulger in 1993. The film tells the story of Jack (superbly played by Andrew Garfield) who is released from prison after a stretch for a murder he committed as a child.

Grappling with serious issues about the rehabilitation of offenders and the anonymity of notorious murderers Boy A tells the story of his attempt to reintegrate with a society determined to “out” him. With some great performances it is one of the most thought provoking films I have seen for a long while. Depressing and dark, though.

6. Juno

This quirky tale was a box office hit and justifiably so. What I liked about it was its interesting ensemble cast from the beautiful Ellen Page in the title role through the fantastic Jason Bateman (what a career revival he has had!) to Allison Janney and JK Simmons as the Macguff parents.

Blessed with a fast-paced witty script, interesting soundtrack and engaging story Juno was my favourite comedy of 2008.



5. Australia

The critics might not like it very much, but I thought Baz Luhrmann’s ambitious tale of World War II Australia was absolutely terrific. OK, so it was a bit sentimental at times and I am not sure that it stands up to a terrible amount of critical scrutiny but it was beautiful, engaging, heart-warming and well-acted – Kidman and Jackman particularly were excellent as the two leads.

Knowing practically nothing of the story of the aboriginal people I can’t verify its accuracy either but I gather it was carefully researched and managed to run its course managing to offend no-one (other than the Japanese, perhaps....) It won’t appeal to everyone but i I thought it was genuinely fantastic old-school family entertainment.

4. Taken

Another nice surprise, this. Liam Neeson plays Bryan Mills whose daughter is kidnapped and taken to Paris where the main action takes place. A former spy, Mills has to use his contacts and skills to rescue his daughter before she is sold as a slave.

Taken is a bit, I suppose Bourne-esque in its fast-paced, all-action approach but that is mean as a compliment rather than a criticism. Neeson brings some real quality to the lead role and a snappy script and excellent direction helped make Taken into the surprise action-thriller of the year.

3. Wall-E

Pixar can do no wrong in my house and whilst not a perfect film (its environmental message was ever-so clunky and it was a touch too long) Wall-E was another slice of real quality animation.

With a heavy head nod to Short Circuit’s Johnny 5, Wall-E is a small rubbish-clearing robot whose personality and desire for excitement leads him to an space adventure as he helps friend and Apple-Robot Eve to save the human race.

The animation is of course terrific and the film manages to cleverly carry its opening 25 minutes with barely an item of dialogue. Wall-E is the best character the Pixar studio have developed since Mr Incredible and it is only its slightly dull chase scenes aboard the Axiom and the clumsy message that stopped it being the best Pixar movie yet.

2. Cloverfield

Unlike Wall-E, Cloverfield benefited most from its brevity. Proving that a great film doesn’t have to be a full two hours in length Cloverfield is an adrenaline rushed action movie following a group of New Yorkers trying to escape a monster invasion.

Filmed on hand-held cameras, Cloverfield does a great job of creating an atmosphere of panic and hysteria and manages to be entirely believable. The film would have benefited from avoiding the giant monster “reveal” towards the end (the mystery of it is half the drama) and the search in a giant city for one individual stretches credibility but I thoroughly enjoyed Cloverfield for the breathless, action-filled film it managed to be.

1.The Dark Knight

Let’s get some perspective. The Dark Knight is not the best film of all time. It’s not, in fact, anywhere near (despite now being the fourth highest grossing film in cinema history). Heath Ledger is good, but not genius and the whole thing is about half an hour too long.

Notwithstanding these points, in a year where there were no real outstanding releases (Indiana Jones perhaps the biggest disappointment) the second in the 21st century telling of the Batman story was by some distance the best film of 2008. Its intricate story, character development and quality script and direction stands it apart from pretty much any other comic book adaptation of recent years and whilst it might have gone on a bit it did carefully build the Batman story to an intriguing next instalment.

Good but not great. The story of 2008 cinema, in fact.