- i think the health fad in this country is just the industry's way of churning more money out of our pocket and feeling good about it. if they cared it wouldn't be such an upper middle class type of thing.
There are movies that serve purely as entertainment, and sometimes if you're lucky you get movies that are art. S,NY, in my humble opinion, falls purely into the art category. I have just finished watching this movie, and I can't really tell you what the plot is, nor if this movie is really "good" or "bad". If you've ever seen a piece of art that just mesmerizes you for no apparent reason, that is this movie. It just seems that there is just so much going on in every single frame and word of this movie, and knowing Charlie Kaufman this almost has to be true. There is no way I can get it one viewing, but, well, I at least wanted to put something down.
I like reading top 10 lists. Not because I think that a list's particular rankings really reflect the best of the year, but it does reflect key moments or achievements of the year that made it memorable. I found 2008 to actually be a pretty strong year in quality films. Overall, 2008 in general had a lot of memorable moments for the history books, but these are my opinions on the movies. Please don't read this list as the BEST of 2008, it's not. But this is what i'll remember 2008 for. I'm sure you'll disagree, but that's all the fun isn't it?
Synecdoche, New York
10. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Maybe it was due to the festival atmosphere, but I thought this movie was hilarious. Maybe a little too much Jason Segel here and there (you know what i mean), but this was one of my most favorite crowd pleasers of the year. But honestly, it wouldn't have made my top 10 without the play. I'm a Kristin Bell fan, mostly due to her Veronica Mars days, and I thought it was pretty humorous for her to pretty much satirize her own career. Segel wrote the movie himself, and as far as comedies go, it's pretty solid. Can't wait to see what he does with the Muppets.
9. Iron Man
I don't really even know if I should put it here. It was good, but it's mainly here because it builds my anticipation for what is to come. Not saying it's the only reason it's here, or else Hulk would be here as well.
8. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
This is/was perhaps the most dissappointing movie I've seen this year, yet was better than most things out there. I wait very patiently for Fincher to hit us with something as good as Se7en or Fight Club, but his last few movies have missed for me. To be honest, the whole "aging backwards' thing wasn't really as "magical" or as poignant as I thought it would be. It all came across to me as a movie that tried very very hard to be great, but just couldn't. Brad PItt is no Morgan Freeman when it comes to narration, and while I understand the storytelling mechanic of the dying person in the hospital bed, and why Katrina played a part, it just felt really unnecessary. Did Fincher tell Brad PItt to play maybe the most lifeless character in the history of the universe? Maybe I just really wanted something to take my breath away when watching this, and maybe I just really wanted to watch "Big Fish" over again instead. But what I ended up getting was just a normal story of a normal person who just happened to age backwards. I could never really "feel" for any of the characters. The only part that I really liked was his relationship with Tilda Swinton's character.
7. JCVD
There's a certain feel to this movie that makes you really connect with JCVD. It's really well done, and his aside monologue almost makes you feel sorry for him. Until you go to IMDB and realize he's making Universal Soldier 3.
6. Dear Zachary
In the past few years I think i've been seemingly inundated with little people (aka babies), mostly due to my nephew, and that everyone else decided to have some of their own as well. I don't think it takes a lot to understand the relationship between father and son, but it certainly adds to it. There are not many movies out there take run the full gamut of emotions, let alone a documentary, but this one certainly does. I won't spoil any of it, just go see it.
5. Frost/Nixon
Watching how things develop between Frost and Nixon are worth the price of admission alone. Honestly I don't know much about the Watergate scandal other than what is very common knowledge. I forget it was a different time back then when we had more faith in our politicians and what they signified to us, as well as what Watergate meant to the country.
4. Cloverfield
3. The Wrestler
Certain movies center around a plot, a storyline, an event, and let everything else revolve around that. It doesn't take much analyzing to see that Aranofsky does not make such movies. He makes movies about characters and let's the plot evolve around them. I have to admit that the movie starts really slowly and takes a while to get you involved, but eventually you do. And by the time the last frame appears you are just left to sit there and listen to the great Springsteen track. And think. Great performances all around and it was nice to see Aranofsky do a film that doesn't require a lot of fancy editing. You realize he's only made 3 full length motion pictures before this? (In 10 years).
2. Slumdog Millionaire
I like Danny Boyle movies. So I may be biased. He doesn't always make critically acclaimed movies, but they have always been entertaining and not a waste of time. This guy flat out knows how to tell a story. I knew next to nothing about this movie besides that it was about some indian kid who was on their version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and that there was a girl involved. To contrast this movie with Benjamin Button, I cared tons more for the character of Jamal than I did for Benjamin. I admit, upon first viewing I merely thought this was just a good movie, but not great. But i've watched it a total of 3 times now, and when you start catching the subtle themes and points in the movie it really becomes something greater. (on a side note, check out his other movie "Millions" if you liked this)
1. The Dark Knight
No doubt. The only movie I felt that coulda given this a run for the money for #1 was Benjamin Button and it failed. Maybe this movie was tailor made for me. I love comics, esp. Batman, and I love crime dramas. There are so many things about this movie that amaze me, from the cinematography, the story, and especially the acting. The scene between Batman and Joker in the interrogation room is nothing short of legendary. From how it was made to how it was presented, this movie has no equal (yet).
(wait for it)
dary.
so a few weeks ago i learned the true meaning of "superman" in context with the song "Crank Dat" by Soulja Boy. I'm not even going to link to the definition of it. (Though i'm sure if you were to look it up in dictionaries of urban context, you would find it).
and then you see everyone dancing to it. kids. parents. women. white people.
and i wonder to myself if they really understand what they are doing. and i laugh. haha.
and then i think.
man what happened to Coolio?
i should probably just buy his book but i think reading levitt's blog is better and more up to date.
and is it just me or is this upcoming generation about to experience what happened to us in the 80's all over again? in music (why does every band seem to sound like a derivative of the cure, or the clash?), fashion (popped collar? really? did i miss the memo?), movies (transformers? gi joe? glutton of bad horror movies and one sided teen romp flicks?), and i dunno, what else defined the 80s.
and we will still be dreaming about flying cars.
edit:
i never saw donnie darko. i probably should. i havent seen stardust either. one day.
from bill simmons. this guy is fun to read.
"We live in a world in which global-warming activists charter private jets to take them from speech to speech, then tell people not to use so much toilet paper. We live in a world in which American kids are getting killed every day in the Middle East and nobody will mobilize a valid protest until the President finally decides, "We're having a draft lottery." We live in a world in which you can Google the female star of the most popular Disney TV movie ever and see her naked, and NBC runs a popular show in which they trap potential child predators and film the confrontations on TV. We live in a world in which high school kids can decide they don't like another high school kid, so they can build an anonymous slam page and libel the hell out of him, and even though this happens and keeps happening, we still don't have any set-in-stone Internet laws to prevent this. We live in a world in which Perez Hilton and TMZ.com get their own TV shows, but "Friday Night Lights" is two months away from getting canceled. We live in a world in which every home run record from the past 10 years has to be taken not just with a grain of salt, but an entire salt shaker."
werd on the FNL part. its a good show.
i saw this quote in our work bathroom and i liked it.
“The answer is never the answer. What’s
really interesting is the mystery. If you seek the mystery instead of
the answer, you’ll always be seeking. I’ve never seen anybody really
find the answer — they think they have, so they stop thinking. But the
job is to seek mystery, evoke mystery, plant a garden in which strange
plants grow and mysteries bloom. The need for mystery is greater than
the need for an answer.” ~ Ken Kesey
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Karen said:
Thanks for your top 10, Pat. I was expecting great things from Benjamin Button, too. Guess I'll wait until it's... read more
on the ten movies of 2008 -
Chix0r Girl said:
Haha, that's terrible. Did you see the Facebook video of some little boy dancing it out? read more
on soulja boy -
Evan said:
What's really strange is to see first-graders at the YMCA dancing to it.Weird culture we live in. read more
on soulja boy
okay, so it didn't put my full comment. i'm trying again:I read this! I subscribed to this on my Google... read more
on things that bug me.