The REEL Addict 

The Year 2008 was a great year for movies. That never became more apparent to me then when I started compiling my Best of 2008 list and found almost thirty films had passed muster. Though my Top 10 came about easily, there were so many other excellent films that I felt had earned an acknowledgement that I decided to slightly cheat. In order to fully celebrate a year of movies well worth celebrating, I’ve made this a Top 20 list. Please excuse the indulgence, but there is not a single film between spot 10 and 20 that I was willing to part with.

However, fear not. For the sake of brevity as well as your sanity (and mine), I’ve only written justification for the Top 10 choices.

Honorable Mentions: (parts of) RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, MAN ON WIRE, GRAN TORINO, IN SEARCH OF A MIDNIGHT KISS

20. VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA
19. TRANSSIBERIAN
18. REPRISE
17. IRON MAN
16. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
15. MILK
14. SNOW ANGELS
13. SHOTGUN STORIES
12. KUNG-FU PANDA
11. THE VISITOR

10. HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY may initially seem like a character study of self-deluded individual who is constantly chipper and happy, deflecting cynicism and life’s dark turns of misfortune and sorrow with a quick joke and a determined immunity. The beauty of Mike Leigh’s film though is slowly discovering the method behind her madness and realizing she’s not a basket case so much as a charming heroine using her excess cheer as a sword, not a shield, against anything that might threaten her upbeat approach to life. What’s more, the longer the movie goes on the longer I found I admired her, realizing her life philosophy is certainly not an easy one to uphold. Certainly the loving energy and talent Sally Hawkins pours into the role goes a long way to making Poppy one of the best characters of 2008, and certainly one worth admiring and - in the end - rooting for; if for no other reason than vicariously wanting her approach to life to work.

(You can read the original review here)

9. IN BRUGES
Martin McDonagh’s fiercely dark comedy about hit men stuck in the throes of identity crises is a film that surprisingly avoids the almost eye-rolling familiarity of its fundamental story. IN BRUGES provides dark fun, laughs, drama, and a solid criminal thriller in one neat, non-cluttered narrative, and it does so largely thanks to the sheer amount of energy and twisted humor it possesses, as well notable performances from Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. It also intriguingly casts the beautiful Belgian city of Bruges as a sort of literal and existential purgatory. It effectively allows you (amidst the laughs) to feel something for the characters because in some way you know actually feel that their very souls seem to be at stake here. What existential hitman thriller has ever actually succeeded in getting that across?

(Paraphrased slightly from the original review here)

8. 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS
Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu’s, 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS is a brilliantly conceived movie that certainly can function superficially as a gut-wrenching abortion drama with powerful lead performances. However, if you probe deeper you’ll find the movie drastically expands as its scathing critique of communist Romania subtly emerges through the metaphors of the situations, and small details scattered throughout seemingly insignificant background and plot details. It’s a movie that hits you hard both in head and heart, and makes it one of the more overwhelming (in a good and exhausting way) excellent films of the year.

(You can read the original review here)

7. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
An understated, deliberately paced Swedish coming of age story about the discovery of self-empowerment through friendship, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN also happens to be a beautifully shot twisted, darkly funny and touching vampire love story. One of the more entertaining surprises of the year, much like Guillermo Del Toro’s THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE or PAN’S LABYRINTH, it’s not just horror or vampire cinema at its best, it’s good cinema period.

(You can read the original review here)

6. (Tie) I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG and BOY A
Two films tied not just in quality, but in theme. Both films have main characters being release from prison (for murder), and must awkwardly and delicately find their way back into society and normal life. They must be reborn by coming to terms with what they’ve done to their victims, to their families, and to themselves through their respective crimes. Watching them do so - ever so gradually - creates prime drama that says much more universally about the power of love and friendship, how people relate to each other, learn to forgive themselves, overcome tragedy, and struggle to connect with a world they think doesn’t want them. The film’s funnily enough have polar opposite endings, that nevertheless drive those themes home with power, compassion and emotion, so that you will be thinking about I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG and BOY A long after. 

(You can read the original reviews here and here)

5. THE DARK KNIGHT
Admittedly a predictable choice, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t an earned one. THE DARK KNIGHT is not just big Hollywood action and comic book movie filmmaking at its absolute best, immensely entertaining in story and performances. Pushed by Christopher Nolan’s audacious ambitions, THE DARK KNIGHT proves that along with car chases and explosions we also have a right to intelligent, dark, thought provoking and even artistic ideas and themes in mainstream Hollywood films. It shows us that mainstream Hollywood action or comic book movies need not be dumb entertainment, but can be just as bleak and challenging as a Scorsese or Coen Brothers crime film, probing questions of the nature of justice, heroes and villains, and chaos and order - all weighty stuff that fits perfectly in a post 9/11 world. An artsy action/comic book movie… who would have thought?

(You can read the original review here)

4. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
There are many things that make SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE such a gem of a film. Certainly there is the fact that it’s pulsating with life, bursting with a joyful energy and kinetic drive that enthralls you almost from minute one. Most of all though, it’s the fact that the film is all good old-fashioned romantic heart, wearing it right there on its sleeve without ever condescending to apologize for it. To a 21^st Century cynic true love may seem an archaic, supercilious thing, but SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE reminds us true love - when done right - can continue to propel some of our grandest, most emotionally satisfying and entertaining movies.

(You can read the original review here)

3. THE BAND’S VISIT
You’ll rarely hear me claim a film - or any piece of art, really - truly succeeds in tapping into some basic, yet fundamental and universal element of the human condition. THE BAND’S VISIT is a rare exception. It aches with humanity, with moments of seemingly simple human interaction and self-reflection that climax in sweet and bittersweet moments of palpable realization - both for the characters and ourselves. You’ll be hard pressed to find a film more graceful, heart-warming, heart-breaking, delicately funny, insightful and piercing than this dazzling ode to the sometimes existential flourishes in our (usually) underwhelming day-to-day lives.

(You can read the original review here)

2. WALL-E
I’ve seen WALL-E four times now (more than any other film on this list), and it’s still just as good - if not more so - as the first time I saw it. I still find myself laughing in the exact same spots, awing at how friggin damn adorable WALL-E is, and being tickled and frightened by Pixar’s commentary on where our hyper-consumerist society may lead us. WALL-E reminds me why I got to the movies. Sure, I’ll gladly take movies that aspire to art, but there are times when I feel the most successful movie is one that takes us in, bundles us up, and completely envelops us in its world, joy, humor, emotions and grand adventure and leaves us feeling the better for it. As dorky as it sounds, thanks to Pixar, I feel I’m the better for knowing WALL-E (yes, I know he isn’t real).

(You can read the original review here)

1. THE WRESTLER
No film has haunted me as much as THE WRESTLER in the past year. It’s not just the film’s quality, it’s that the heart-breaking and often graceful story of Randy “The Ram” Savage just forces its way into my system. It’s hard not to care about Randy (beautifully played by Mickey Rourke, regardless of whether the role parallels his career or not), a struggling loser eking out an existence dependent on past glories, and who - after suffering a heart attack - has to learn to overcome being just a wrestler, and learn how to become a human being. There’s so much joy in watching Randy become a better person, full of hope, genuine change, and possibility. Then there’s so much tragedy and utter heartbreak in watching it all fall apart; see him fail and give up. THE WRESTLER shows the limits we’ll push ourselves to in order to avoid exiting our existential comfort zone, and how tenuous our success or failure is when we try to step out of it and change. It does all that under the guise of an underdog comeback sports movie except - in a rare inversion - as the hero makes his comeback we’re rooting against it. We do so because we know that professionally he’s a phoenix rising from the ashes, but as a man he’s a phoenix turned to ash carried away by the wind, never to be reborn again. Having to bear witness to that - Randy’s simultaneous destruction and resurrection - is one of the many reasons why I can’t forget THE WRESTLER.

(You can read the original review here)