#18 In Bruges (2008)

I quite enjoyed In Bruges. It's a dark comedy about hitmen hiding out in Bruges (where else?) while waiting on their next assignment from their boss Ralph Fiennes. Colin won a Golden Globe for his performance, so that should tell you it's pretty funny.

5/5

#17 Doubt (2008)

I liked Doubt. Great acting from Hoffman and Streep (she's a real bitch in this one). My sister couldn't keep up with the adult dialogue and said she didn't understand what they were talking about. Check it out if you're into 60s era Catholic school dramas.

5/5

#16 We Own The Night (2007)

Why the hell is Joaquin Phoenix quitting acting and trying to rap now? What a waste of talent. We Own The Night is a good movie and Phoenix is great in it.

5/5

#15 Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)

I attempted to watch Lord of the Rings: Return of the King extended edition yesterday. I made it about 75% through. It became available on Netflix Instant viewing so I decided to watch it on my Xbox 360. I would have finished the movie, but took an hour break to play Community Games and a few songs on Rock Band. I'm going to finish it tonight, but I already know how I feel about it.

5/5

#14 Next (2007)

I watched Next last night before the Lost premiere, movie #14. It's a rewind movie where the second half never happens. Nic Cage can kiss my ass. When was the last good movie he was in? Julianne Moore's acting is so flat you'd guess that she didn't even want to be there. Jessica Biel should have blown up.

2.5/5

This week I also finished watching the first four hours of 24 just in time for Monday's episode and watched the 2 hour Lost premiere.

#13 Mulholland Drive (2001)

I finally can say I've seen Mulholland Drive in its entirety. Over the years clips from it have been shown to me as proof of it being a great film, but seeing it all in one package is the only way to experience it. Not that I can even begin to explain to you what I saw... Mulholland Drive comes in appropriately at #13.

5/5

#12 Underworld (2003)

Underworld comes in at #12. Now that it's a trilogy, I decided I may as well see it - if the series has made it this far, someone has to be watching it, right? Besides the dated CG, it's an okay movie. I still prefer Blade for my vampire action fix. Now that I've seen the first I have to finish what I've started. I'll be Netflixing the sequel soon enough.

3.5/5

#11 Man on Wire (2008)

Movie #11 was Man on Wire, which is a documentary about a guy with huge balls. Very bad ass.

5/5

#10 Clerks 2 (2006)

Finally got around to seeing the sequel to Clerks. Hilarious, as expected. My sister never saw Clerks and she still laughed a lot. If you're a fan of the first, or any other Kevin Smith films, you'll probably like Clerks 2.

5/5

#9 Defiance (2008)

Defiance is a very solid entry at #9 on the year. It's a true story about Jews hiding from the Germans in the forest for a few years and not taking any shit. See it.

5/5

#8 City of Ember (2008)

Something went terribly wrong and now humanity plans to have people live below the surface for 200 years with no knowledge of human history. There is a case that is set to open in 200 years, passed down from each Governor of Ember with instructions on how to leave for the surface. The case is forgetten and the city begins to break down, suffering power outages and food shortages.

The movie could have gone in any number of directions with a plot like that to work with, but unfortunately it is more of a kids' movie than a fully realized fantasy world ala City of Lost Children.

Still, it was an enjoyable movie to watch for what it was.

3.5/5

#7 Mongol (2007)

Part one in a trilogy that attempts to tell the life story of Genghis Khan. We see him from a child being setup with his arranged marriage at a young age with another clan and his rise to become the legend he is today. Of course, without all the details, conversations and some events had to be improvised, but I don't think this detracts from the overall storytelling here. A beautiful film; I hope the rest of the trilogy is made soon.

5/5

#6 Taken (2008)

A true bad ass movie. Liam's daughter is kidnapped while vacationing with a friend in Paris and thrown into the sex trade. He has tons of experience with covert ops and being an asskicker, so with his unique skillset he sets out on rescuing his daughter. Great action and pace from start to finish.

5/5

#5 The Visitor (2007)

Movie number 5 on the year was The Visitor.

4/5

#4 Chop Shop (2007)

Poor kid trying to make life better for him and his sister.

3/5

#3 The Wackness (2008)

Josh from Drake and Josh on Nickelodeon selling weed and having sex. Surprisingly, a good movie.

4/5

#2 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

I'm still trying to decide how I feel about Benjamin Button. Clocking in at 2:40 in length, the movie tries your patience. There is plenty going on as the movie tracks 80 years of Benjamin's life, but parts of it feel forced and drawn out. It just might be one of the slowest developing movies I've watched in a long time. A perfect example of this is the explanation of how someone broke their leg that goes on for about 5 minutes. Was that really necessary? The story definitely has a lot going for it and it does come together in the end, though I think it could have been done 30 minutes faster.

3.5/5

#1 The Wrestler (2008)

To begin 2009 I watched two Academy Award nominated films - The Wrestler and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

The Wrestler may be my favorite film of 2008, with its main competition being Slumdog Millionaire. Both are movies about destiny and what is possible for the characters, with one leaving you happy to be alive while the other makes you feel like someone just stabbed you in the heart. The Wrestler is a finely crafted story about Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a has-been top-tier wrestler from the '80s. He's loved by the fans when he's in the ring and hated by his family and alone when he isn't. Randy's life has been a series of fuck-ups outside of wrestling all of his own doing. His body is failing him, he has no relationship with his daughter and he's falling in love with a stripper (the sexy-as-hell Marisa Tomei). The film is gritty and real and will definitely stick with you after you've seen it.

5/5