2008 Retrospective

Time to look back on what I liked and hated for the year 2008 in the world of movies. So sit back, relax and make yourself a Twinkie-wiener sandwich, cause here we go...

Best Picture: I have no clear-cut winner this year for best picture. It's really something of a toss-up amongst these entries. My full list for the year is here. Honorable mentions go out to The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Wall-E and Iron Man.

1. The Fall
   I'm gonna give top spot to The Fall, if for no other reason than the fact that it's the least known film of the bunch. I know that's a kinda lightweight reason to pick it. It's also the one in this list where I don't find the need to defend any particular aspect of the film. If there's no better reason, the crazy production efforts that director Tarsem went through to make it deserves the extra attention.
2. Slumdog Millionaire
   This surprisingly great movie from director Danny Boyle is a wonderful blend of character tragedy mixed with hope and a spot-on sense of style.
3. Speed Racer
   Box office bomb or not, I loved this movie. As a fan of the original series, I loved this movie both for it's faithfulness to the series and it's new material. From the great cast to the wildly inventive production, this film is nothing but fun. It's also possibly the most colorful movie ever made.
4. Cloverfield
   This is one of those movies that seems to divide audiences. Most people I know either loved it or hated it. I guess you either get into the approach of the film or not. I'm not normally a big fan of hand held productions, but I'll go with it for films where the style is justified for plot reasons, like the "found footage" nature here.
5. The Dark Knight
   Batman Begins was a great reboot of the faltered franchise, but this follow-up is an astonishing achievement for the genre. In recent years, it seems the second film often has the magic touch (Spider-Man 2, X-Men 2, etc). Of course, the entire cast is fantastic, but there's no denying that the late Heath Ledger gives one of the greatest performances in years.

Best Actor: Some notable runners up include Christian Bale (The Dark Knight), Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), Michael Cera (Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist), George Clooney (Leatherheads), David Duchovny (The X-Files: I Want To Believe), Tom Cruise (Valkyrie), Daniel Craig (Quantum Of Solace), Don Cheadle (Traitor), James McAvoy (Wanted), Anton Yelchin (Charlie Bartlett), Luke Wilson (Henry Poole Is Here), Josh Brolin (W.), Sam Rockwell (Choke), Tim Robbins (The Lucky Ones), Greg Kinnear (Flash Of Genius), Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road), Chris Pine (Bottle Shock), Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Dustin Hoffman (Last Chance Harvey) and of course, Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull).

1. Robert Downey, Jr. (Iron Man)
   This is an iconic performance - the return of the always great Downey, Jr.  He also gets honorable mention for his fantastically funny performance in Tropic Thunder.
2. Steve Carrell (Get Smart)
   Get Smart is one of my all time favorite series, and I was a bit skeptical when I heard they were doing a remake. Once I heard Carrell was cast in the lead, I had a bit of confidence the movie might work. His performance turned out to be perfectly charming and funny. And he manages to wonderfully balance the spirit of Don Adams original performance without ever trying to mimic it, bringing his own sense of character to the roll.
3. Brad Pitt (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button)
   Between his compelling and charming on screen performance to his convincing performance capture work for the breakthrough CGI character animation, Pitt comes through on all accounts. This is his third time acting for director David Fincher (Seven & Fight Club being the first two), and there's clearly a lot of trust between the two.
4. Lee Pace (The Fall)
   Having been a big fan of Pace in Wondefalls (one of my favorite TV series), I wasn't surprised to see his performance in this film being so great. He spent 4 years on-and-off with the role as the film gradually completed, and he gets all the beats just right. The most amusing tid-bit about this performance is that the hospital scenes were shot first, and he and a few select crew members pulled off the illusion of him actually being paralyzed on set to be convincing to the rest of the cast.
5. Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)
   The fact that at 79 years old, Clint Eastwood can still do both amazing directing and acting at the same time (not to mention doing the score), one has to admire the talent of the guy. And the history of his acting career really helps feed into his performance in this film (in a good way). Add to that the fact that Eastwood is in nearly every scene and it becomes all the more impressive.

Best Actress: Runners up go to Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road), Emily Mortimer (Transsiberian), Catinca Untaru (The Fall), Amy Adams (Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day), Frances McDormand (Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day), Renee Zellweger (Leatherheads), Anessa Ramsey (The Signal), Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky), Angelina Jolie (Wanted), Radha Mitchell (Henry Poole Is Here), Rhona Mitra (Doomsday), Jennifer Carpenter (Quarantine), Rachel McAdams (The Lucky Ones), Julianne Moore (Blindness), Emma Thompson (Last Chance Harvey) and Helen Hunt (Then She Found Me).

1. Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
   Hathaway comes through with a gripping and engaging performance as a lost and tortured soul. It's a career milestone for the talented actress. Hathaway get an honorable mention for her great job as Agent 99 in Get Smart.
2. Naomi Watts (Funny Games)
   Watts is always a fantastic actress, and she's taken to the limits in this twisted and deeply, darkly amusing horror/suspense film. Her performance is absolutely raw and uninhibited.
3. Cate Blanchett (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button)
   Another fine performance from Blanchett, particularly given the range of age make-up prosthetics she works with. Her chemistry playing against Brad Pitt is excellent.
4. Kat Dennings (Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist)
   This cute, charming and engaging performance is absolutely spot-on. She plays against Michael Cera with nearly as much romantic chemistry as Ellen Page did the year before in Juno.
5. Gillian Anderson (The X-Files: I Want To Believe)
   Anderson's acting is often times overlooked in the role of Dana Scully. Dochovny specializes more in the comedic aspects in his role of Fox Mulder, but Anderson has always specialized in the dramatic side of Scully, and this film gives her plenty of material to sink her teeth into.

Best Director: Honorable mentions go to Matt Reeves (Cloverfield), Andrew Stanton (Wall-E), Jon Favreau (Iron Man), Chris Carter (The X-Files: I Want To Believe), Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino), Bryan Singer (Valkyrie), Ridley Scott (Body Of Lies), Ben Stiller (Tropic Thunder), Timur Bekmambatov (Wanted), Mark Pellington (Henry Poole Is Here) and Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road).

1. Tarsem (The Fall)
   After his amazing looking but underwhelming feature film directorial debut of The Cell, I had kind of written off Tarsem as one of those commercial/music video directors that only had a good eye. All things being equal, this guy has an eye like few others. But then came this passion project of his, which he spent 4 years making and funded himself. It's a fantastic movie, and not just for visual reasons (but, of course, it looks absolutely amazing). This is the movie the declares Tarsem as a director to keep an eye on.
2. Larry & Andy Watchowski (Speed Racer)
   Speed Racer may have been a box office bomb, but I absolutely loved it. What's sad is that The Watchowski Brothers won't get the attention they did for The Matrix. Speed Racer is nearly as inventive and cutting edge. And it's as fun as one could ever expect a movie to be. The Watchowski's no-holds-barred approach to making movies works spot-on for Speed Racer, and I'm thankful to them for loving this project enough to make it more than a throw-away "kid movie."
3. Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight)
   Coming off the success of re-inventing the franchise with Batman Begins, talented director Christopher Nolan really hits his stride with this critical and box office smash. He was a highly respected director before The Dark Knight. Now he's pure A-List material.
4. David Fincher (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button)
   One of the single greatest directors alive, and one with a perfectionist's eye, David Fincher takes this great film to a level of detail that makes the tricky idea work. His steady hand makes the hugely tricky visual effects seem easy, and the rest falls into place beautifully.
5. Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
   Danny Boyle seems to be making a career of taking risks, many of which pay off very well. Interestingly, it figures that it would take a Brit breaking from the norm to westernize the Bollywood genre, figuring out just what mix to use.

Best Supporting Actor: Other honorable mentions go out to Robert Downey, Jr. (Charlie Bartlett), Michael Caine (The Dark Knight), Roger Allam (Speed Racer), John Goodman (Speed Racer), Jeff Bridges (Iron Man), Alan Arkin (Get Smart), Michael Pitt (Funny Games), Brady Corbet (Funny Games), Bill Pullman (Bottle Shock), Ralph Fiennes (The Reader), Jeff Daniels (Traitor), Jay Baruchel (Tropic Thunder) and Gary Cole (Pineapple Express).

1. Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
   What's to say that hasn't already been said? This is a landmark performance, and will likely be what the late Heath Ledger will be forever remembered.
2. Billy Connolly (The X-Files: I Want To Believe)
   Connolly is a talented comic, but what most people don't realize is just how talented a dramatic actor he is. He's done some fine dramatic work before, in movies like Mrs. Brown, but it's not what he's particularly known for. In this film he manages to pull off a tragic and sympathetic performance of a former sex offender priest, numbering in the dozens of cases involving young boys.
3. Lee Pace (Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day)
   The great Lee Pace, who had a wonderful leading role performance this year in The Fall, comes through with this very likable and charming portrayal. He drops right into the setting and style with ease.
4. Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)
   This Oscar nominated performance is really quite remarkable, as it very delicately balances the dark humor with the tragic reality of the character and the story. It's an eccentric performance without going too far over the top, and it really stands out in the film as a fine piece of acting.
5. Morgan Freeman (Wanted)
   Morgan Freeman is absolutely fantastic in roles like the one he has in Wanted (not that he isn't great in any other role). He's got an ability to combine playfulness and gravitas like few others can. And when the material is as arch and stylistic as Wanted is, Freeman takes it that step further. Oh, and an honorable mention for his role in The Dark Knight.

Best Supporting Actress: Honorable mentions go out to Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man), Ari Graynor (Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist), Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight), Kat Dennings (Charlie Bartlett), Rosario Dawson (Seven Pounds), Saffron Burrows (The Bank Job), Zooey Deschanel (Yes Man), Kristen Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and Lauren Graham (Flash Of Genius).

1. Christina Ricci (Speed Racer)
   Like the rest of the cast, Ricci fully embraces the origins and style of her role, giving in fully to the somewhat tongue-in-cheek nature of the performance while at the same time throwing herself fully into the role. She was a perfect casting choice for Trixie.
2. Shirley Henderson (Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day)
   The off-kilter approach that Henderson took for her aristocratic performance gives the role a personality that's nearly impossible to forget, and she plays very well against the other strong performances in the film.
3. Rachael Taylor (Bottle Shock)
   The combination of beauty, grace and intelligence in Taylor's performance helps give the down-to-earth character a real impact on screen.
4. Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married)
   Having been a fan of DeWitt in the underappreciated Fox TV series Standoff (which only lasted a season), I was impressed with her layered performance in this great character driven film.
5. Karen Allen (Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull)
   There's no denying how great it was to have Karen Allen return to the franchise as Marian, and she dropped right back into the role just as easily as Harrison Ford did as Indy.

Best Screenplay: Honorable mentions go to Charlie Bartlett, Henry Poole Is Here, Frost/Nixon, Flash Of Genius and Vicky Christina Barcelona.

1. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
2. Slumdog Millionaire
3. The Dark Knight
4. The Reader
5. Traitor

Best Film Score: As anyone who knows me will tell you, I'm a film score fanatic. So, needless to say, this is an important category for me. Honorable mentions go out to Mark Snow (The X-Files: I Want To Believe), Randy Edelman (The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor), Danny Elfman (Wanted), James Horner (The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas), A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire), Brian Tyler (Rambo), James Horner (The Spiderwick Chronicles), Christopher Young (Untraceable), David Arnold (Quantum Of Solace), Trevor Rabin (Get Smart), James Newton Howard (The Happening) and Krishna Levy (The Fall), among others. My full list of film score preferred order for the year can be found here.

1. Michael Giacchino (Speed Racer)
2. Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard (The Dark Knight)
3. John Williams (Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull)
4. John Powell (Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears A Who)
5. Thomas Newman (Wall-E)

Best Sound: This is one of the tech categories that's typically dominated by big budget studio productions. Honorable mentions go out to Iron Man, The Signal, Quantum Of Solace, Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, Tropic Thunder, Rambo, Eagle Eye, The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Jumper, The Strangers, 10,000 BC, The Incredible Hulk, Death Race and Max Payne.

1. Speed Racer
2. Wall-E
3. Cloverfield
4. The Dark Knight
5. Wanted

Best Cinematography: Another big-budget dominated tech category. Honorable mentions go out to The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Iron Man, The X-Files: I Want To Believe, Transsiberian, The Signal, Bottle Shock, Valkyrie, Quantum Of Solace, Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, Tropic Thunder, Rambo, Wanted, The Happening, Journey To The Center Of The Earth, City Of Ember, Deception, Quarantine, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Eagle Eye, Nobel Son, Australia, Vantage Point, Mirrors and Max Payne.

1. The Fall
2. Speed Racer
3. Slumdog Millionaire
4. Cloverfield
5. The Dark Knight

Best Visual Effects: Now here's a category that's almost always dominated by big budget films. Honorable mentions go out to Quantum Of Solace, Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, Wanted, Journey To The Center Of The Earth, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Eagle Eye, The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor, The Spiderwick Chronicles, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Jumper, 10,000 BC, Babylon AD and Max Payne.

1. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
2. Speed Racer
3. Cloverfield
4. The Dark Knight
5. Iron Man

Best Main/End Titles: As always, I'm sure to have forgotten about some of the cool ones for the year. Honorable mentions go to Quantum Of Solace and The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor.

1. The Fall
2. Tropic Thunder
3. Speed Racer
4. The X-Files: I Want To Believe
5. Slumdog Millionaire

Best Trailer: Links go to the page for each trailer. Some have a specific trailer version noted in parenthesis for links that lead to multiple trailer versions. Honorable mentions go to Speed Racer (Trailer 2), Cloverfield (Trailer), Wall-E (Teaser 2), Iron Man (Trailer), Get Smart (Trailer 1 & Trailer 3) and Pineapple Express.

1. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (Trailer 1)
2. The Dark Knight (Trailer 2)
3. The Fall
4. Vantage Point
5. Slumdog Millionaire

Best Poster: Links go to the page for each poster. Honorable mentions go to Iron Man, Get Smart, The X-Files: I Want To Believe, The Bank Job, Blindness, The Eye, Australia, Max Payne and The Spirit.

1. Cloverfield
2. The Dark Knight
3. The Fall
4. Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
5. Flash Of Genius

Special Awards:

• Best Performance By A Vehicle - The Yugo in Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
• Best Composer Cameo - Randy Newman playing the piano during the bar fight in Leatherheads
• One Of The Greatest Plot Devices In History - The "Loom Of Fate" in Wanted
• Best "Screw You" To The Audience - The rewind scene in Funny Games
• Biggest Waste Of An Actress - Casting Joan Allen against stereotype in Death Race, then completely wasting the opportunity to do anything interesting with it.
• Best Magic Trick - The Joker making the pencil disappear in The Dark Knight
• Best Self-effacing Supporting Performance - Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder (followed closely by Bruce Willis as himself in What Just Happened?)
• Best Mother-Son Relationship - Charlie & Marilyn Bartlett in Charlie Bartlett
• Most Plot Twists - Nobel Son
• Best Potential Harmed By An Unsteady Ending - The Day The Earth Stood Still
• Best Produced Movie That Couldn't Quite Escape Genre Stereotypes - Australia
• The "Nice Try" Award - Jason Bateman managing to be the one saving grace of Hancock, trying to save an otherwise horrible movie (that even Charlize Theron couldn't make work)
• What Were They Thinking? - The "fridge ride" in Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (followed up by the car riding the tree from the cliff)