2008 Awards in Film

I already posted this as a note on facebook so you may have read it already. I made a handful of changes for this version, including a few more awards.

Best Movies of 2008
These are my 8 favorite movies of 2008 (to hell with top ten lists), my favorite performances, the biggest disappointments and other miscellaneous awards.

Note: I wasn’t able to see the following movies as of January 15 which were supposed to be good and may have affected the final awards:
Wall E, Frost/Nixon, The Reader, Revolutionary Road, The Wrestler, Doubt, Rachael Getting Married, Gran Torino, Punisher: War Zone

8. W. (Oliver Stone)
This film is far from perfect, but it must be included for doing something I never thought was possible. It made me feel sympathy for George W. Bush. Yes, the same George W. Bush that stole an election, shoved two wars down our throats, outed Valerie Plame, patted Brownie on the back for a job well done, and a handful of other misdemeanors. W. shows how Bush was assailed all his life by people who didn’t think that he could live up to the family name. His quest for the presidency was nothing more than an attempt to prove to all these people, especially his parents, that he could do something with his life. Josh Brolin as Dubya and Elizabeth Banks as Laura give career performances. The rest of Bush's cabinet was hit and miss. Jeffery Wright was cool and collected as Colin Powell. Thandie Newton's Condi Rice made me want to stick a live grenade in my mouth to end the torture of her twitchy, nasally caricature. W. could have been a classic if Stone didn't rush this project into development.

7. Tropic Thunder (Ben Stiller)
Easily the funniest movie of 2008. Robert Downey Jr. playing an African American could have been hideously inappropriate but it worked really well. Instead, the movie was controversial for the “full retard” joke, which was actually pretty brilliant. Production values for this movie, with the massive explosions and shootouts were as good as actual war movies. The fake trailers at the beginning were priceless. Not the biggest fan of the Tom Cruise sequences, though.

6. Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman)
I have no idea what this movie is about but I know that there was some great message to be found within all the insane things that happened. I need to watch it a few more times to digest everything. Otherwise, the acting is really good. Even though the main character is the ever-awesome Phillip Seymour Hoffman, all women in his life, including Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton, and Catherine Keener, steal every scene. I can only recommend this movie to people who are fans of movies like Blue Velvet and Eternal Sunshine... that are trippy and confusing. This movie is really messed up, but probably a masterpiece.

5. Choke (Clark Gregg)
The most criminally underappreciated film of 2008. It received a lot of attention at Sundance but a weak opening and mixed reviews killed its chances of finding a wide audience. Sam Rockwell is hilariously twisted as a sex-addict who works at a historical re-enactment village and pretends to choke in fancy restaurants in order to exploit the Good Samaritans who rush to his aid. But that’s not what the movie focuses on. The movie is really about the relationship between Rockwell and his mother (Anjelica Huston, mamma Tenenbaum). The sex and choking are just quirks of the main character. Choke is based off a novel by Chuck Palahniuk, so expect a lot of Fight Club-esqe dark humor. Plus, it has the semen of Jesus Christ, which is always nice.

4. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
I have nothing else to add to the discussion. Everyone knows why this is good. My only complaint is that the movie wasn’t longer. I wanted Harvey Dent’s transformation into Two-Face to take more time. He turned from a saint to a psychopath to quickly for me.

3. Milk (Gus Van Sant)
The fact that Prop 8 passed makes this movie even more relevant. As much as it’s about the political rise of Harvey Milk, it’s about the crusade for homosexuals to achieve equal rights. They still don’t, because of bitches like Anita Bryant, even after the all the progress made by Milk in the 70’s. Sean Penn is so good, it’s one of those times when you forget that he’s an actor and not Milk himself. The film is shot like a documentary, cutting back and forth between actual footage and what was recreated. All the supporting actors are good, with Emile Hirsch and James Franco. Josh Brolin dominated his bit role as Dan White, the conservative rival of Harvey Milk, especially during his drunken tirade. Watch Milk. Be moved. Overturn Prop 8.

2. In Bruges (Martin McDonagh)
That’s right, In Bruges is #2. I've been trying to champion this film ever since I saw it at the Michigan Theater in March. I laughed, I cried, I fell out of my seat when Colin Farrell karate-chopped the dwarf. Farrell is at his best as an emotionally devastated, yet hysterically cynical hitman. He has great chemistry with his patient, wise partner played by Brendan Glesson (Mad-Eye Moody). The best part about the film is the complexity of each character, even the “villain” played by Ralph Fiennes. Everyone does good and bad things, so you find yourself loving and hating them at the same time. The film is has layers of subtext and metaphors and all that, so watch it a few times to pick up on everything.



1. Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle)
Bollywood movies are awesome. Yeah, they’re unrealistic and melodramatic but I grew up with them so they hold a special place in my heart. Slumdog Millionaire is a typical Bollywood film, but this time it’s placed in the hands of an auteur. It’s kind of bizarre how well this movie worked, especially for me. Danny Boyle was already my favorite film director from his work in Trainspotting and 28 Days Later. A.R. Rahman is my favorite singer/composer from his decades of Bollywood music. Them working together only existed in my dreams before this. The cinematography and editing is frenetic and exciting. “O Saya” blasting in the background as a group of boys outrun the police in the slums of Bombay is pure cinematic magic. Acting is decent but the actors are young. It’s nice to see actors from my childhood like Anil Kapoor and Saurab Shukla in a movie like this. Slumdog combines the style of Pulp Fiction with the genuine good feelingness of The Shawshank Redemption. Fact: This is the best film I have ever seen.

Best Actor:
Sean Penn, Milk
(Runner Up) Josh Brolin, W.

Best Actress:
Cate Blanchett, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
*Embarrassingly, I haven’t had the chance to see the better female performances of 2008 like Anne Hathaway in Rachael Getting Married, Meryl Streep in Doubt, either of Kate Winslet’s movies, among others. I’ll fix this for 2009.

Best Director:
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
What other director can you think of that made a kick-ass zombie movie( 28 Days Later), next made a pleasant kid's movie (Milions), then directed an intense, beautiful sci-fi thriller ( Sunshine ) and followed that with a Bollywood movie? Danny Boyle is a mad man. What's next, a revenge drama about an undercover African soldier infiltrating the Janjaweed, only to be revealed as a time-traveling vampire? Knowing Boyle, that movie would own.
(Runner Up) Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
* I feel bad for Christopher Nolan. Because his work was sweet.

Best Supporting Actor:
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Yeah yeah you know why. RIP.
(Runner Up) Josh Brolin in Milk
*no, I do not have a man crush on Josh Brolin. He’s just a good actor this year

Best Supporting Actress:
Michelle Williams, Synecdoche, New York
(Runner Up) Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Biggest Disappointments:
1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
It was entertaining enough for me to enjoy it three times, but it could have been SO much better. More action with real stunts, none of this green screen nonsense. Less Shia swinging with monkeys.

2. Burn After Reading
The Coen Brothers follow up the American classic No Country for Old Men with this crap. Terrible things happen to all of the characters, like in all their films, but at least No Country… wasn’t trying to pass off as a comedy. John Malkovich needs to realize that shouting all the time isn’t funny. After this and Leatherheads , George Clooney needs to stop doing comedy.

3. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
It’s not a bad film at all. The cinematography and all that technical stuff was first class. But when you team up David Fincher and Brad Pitt, you except something like their previous two masterpieces, Fight Club and Seven. Benjamin Button was way too long and didn’t have enough exciting sequences. Sure that sounds whiny, but when I see a three-hour long film I want hardcore, face-melting action sequences like in Return of the King.
* It’s not Brad Pitt’s fault. He was really good in both movies, but the overall products weren’t that great

Best Quote:
“There’s nothing I like better than kicking your ass. Except maybe eggs”
~ The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson), The Spirit

Real Best Quote:
“Ken, I grew up in Dublin. I love Dublin. If I grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Bruges might impress me but I didn't, so it doesn't.”
~Ray, In Bruges

Best Quote From a Movie That Applies to the 2008 Presidential Election:
"I am not a candidate, I am part of a movement. The movement is the candidate."
~Harvey Milk, Milk

Best Scene:
*MILD SPOILER*
Slumdog Millionaire: Jamal dives into a pool of human excrement and swims through it to get a chance to meet Amitabh Bachchan. While disgusting, this perfectly embodies India’s adoration of film stars. Jamal’s pure joy after receiving the autograph is something we all hope to feel one day.



Best Mamma Mia Song and Dance Sequence
Does Your Mother Know? Word.



The Will Smith Award for Ok Movies With Awful Third Acts:
Hancock
(Seven Pounds was awful throughout)
*This award was started after 2007’s I Am Legend, which actually pretty awesome for most of the movie except for the ending, which was so bad that it made the whole movie worse.
Hancock was really funny when Will Smith was an asshole. It was also pretty solid for the action sequence in the bank and the dialogue with his PR guy (It’s nice to see Jason Bateman in roles like this). The twist was surprising and well done. Everything after that, especially the boring-as-hell climax in the hospital, sucked. I wanted a smackdown with some super-powered villain that would tear up downtown L.A.

The New Trend:
There has been a resurgence of movies shot from the perspective of hand-held cameras (which tends to give Xin Xu headaches). First seen in The Blair Witch Project, it returned in January’s Cloverfield, followed in Diary of the Dead and Quarantine. All were hits and this technique is going to be bled dry in the coming years.

Signs That the Superbad Backlash has Begun:
1) Star Michael Cera’s new teen comedy Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist grossed a meager $31 million dollars. Superbad made $121 million. That’s a big difference.
2) Zack and Miri Make A Porno also grossed $31 million, and that was with the Kevin Smith fanbase already in place. I guess the title drove people away.
3) Pineapple Express did a bit better with $87 million overall, with Paper Planes and some surprisingly intense action sequences. But it was nowhere near Seth Rogen’s last lead role in Knocked Up, which had $148 million.
4) Role Models had McLovin and it grossed a fairly solid $66 million.

Is the end of the Seth Rogen-Judd Apatow era already coming? We’ll see in 2009’s Year One, Funny People, and Observe and Report.

The Requiem for a Dream Award for “Why Would You Make A Movie This Depressing?”
The Boy With the Striped Pajamas. Children. Innocence. Holocaust. Tears.

Thanks for reading. Please post comments/observations if you feel like it.