Entertainment Earth

1/06/2009

The 10 Best Movies of 2008

This has been an interesting year for movies. Some long awaited films delivered the goods (Rambo) others fucked up royally (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), meanwhile lots of great comic book movies came out (three of which made this list). This list is all comprehensive, so it just horror films, it's all genres. If you are interested in me talking about horror movies, stop by the Gorezone.net messageboards, where I post under Headbanger69. You can always read my reviews for the DVD Crypt, there, too, where I write under my real name: Giovanni Deldio. Anyways, enjoy the list and see any of the movies, you have not yet, seen. By the way, if you are expecting a bunch of boring, whimpy, pussy whipped, pretentious claptrap on this list go read some other lame website or movie rag.

10. - This direct sequel to the amazing Casino Royale is not as good as that film, but is still exciting enough to rank among the best of the Bond film series. While, some of the editing is annoying and intrusive, the climax is really exciting and rousing and Craig is, hands down, one of the best Bonds ever. Olga Kurylenko smokes the screen with her presence, and she is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most beautiful Bond girls, ever.

9. - Neil Marshall is THE future of the genre. This movie is an awesome, fast paced, fun, ass kicking, ultra-violent love letter to movies like The Road Warrior, Mad Max, and Escape from New York, with doses of Excalibur and 28 Days Later thrown in for good measure. I would say that it is the greatest post-apocalyptic film that does not have Mel Gibson in it (yes, I like it more than the Italian movies form the sub-genre, that I have seen). Plus, lead actress Rhona Mitra is one of the sexiest heroines the screen has ever seen. Rip-roaring fun from start to finish.

8. - Lighter in tone than the original, Guillermo Del Toro manages to make an even better movie, this time around, with this fun, funny, and fast paced fantasy/ monster flick. Ron Pearlman is good as the horror comic hero and the creatures are just so cool in this one. The FX are excellent, but this movie also has a heart, something many a blockbuster forgets. Del Toro continually proves to be one of the best directors in the horror/ dark fantasy world.

7. - This is the crowning achievement of Pixar, their best film, yet, even better than the wonderful Finding Nemo. The fact that this stunning movie is so great, with such little dialogue is a testament to the creative team behind it. It is funny, sweet, touching, cute, and always breathtaking to look at. I actually cried at parts and laughed at others. Wall-E is one of the most endearing characters in the history of cinema.

6. - With the death of lead star Heath Ledger and all the praise his role as the Joker was getting and the hype revolving around this film, it had a lot to live up. And, boy did it deliver and in spades! Director/ co-writer Christopher Nolan gave us one of the greatest superhero films, ever, a dark, mature, powerful, deep, and realistic take on being a superhero. By not playing it safe or for the kiddies, this movie succeeds where so many have failed. The action set pieces are impressive, the sets breathtaking, and the acting excellent. Leger gives us a terrifying, sick, and evil Joker, one of the best villains the screen has seen in quite some time. That is not to said the rest of cast did not deliver, as they pulled in great work as well. This movie has greatly raised the banner for this franchise, can another film really deliver the goods?

5. - The best trailer of 2008 came form this super gory and fun mix of action, splatter, horror, and humor from Japan. It is the goriest movie to hit the screens since Germany's Permutos: Lord of the Living Dead (and while that film was fun, this is light years better). The movie is always light despite some fairly fucked up moments, including off-screen necrophilia! A must for gorehounds, it also has some of the hottest babes to be featured in one film this year. The hottest to me has to be the Japanese beauty who plays the yakuza wife, who wears a fucking drill bra! Amazing and my fav film from the far-East that I saw last year.

4. - As a life long wrestling fan, I was greatly looking forward to this movie. It definitely lived up to my expectations. Rourke gives the performance of a lifetime in a movie that is touching and humorous, at differnt times. It is also, as anyone with knowledge of the wrestling biz can testify, very realistic. I hope this film gives viewers new found respect for wrestlers, as well as see how hard the fall from fame can be. Lovely Evan Rachel Wood has a small role as the daughter and from here we can see a connection to the life of Jake "The Snake" Roberts (in fact while this film is not based on any single wrestler, it is clearly drawn from many real life experiences they have had). Marisa Tomei is great in her role as the beautiful, MILF stripper with a good heart. I have long been a fan of the lovely Ms. Tomei, but she looks drop-dead beautiful in this one, and at 44 looks better than ever! Plus, she gets topless and wears a g-string! Not only that but with music by Accept, Scorpions, Cinderella, and Guns N' Roses, this is THE soundtrack of the year, perhaps, ever! The scene where Tomei and Rourke sign Ratt's classic "Round and Round" is one of the year's coolest moments.

3. - Though, I been a life long fan of comics, I was never a fan of Iron Man, but this movie changed all of that. Today, he joins, Punisher, Spider-Man, and Batman as my absolute fav heroes. Mature, fun, smart, fast paced, exciting, and ass kicking are all words that can be used to describe this modern masterpiece. The FX are flawless and Robert Downey Jr. IS Iron Man, and while playing a rich, womanizing, alcoholic is not a stretch for the man, he more gives Tony Stark his due. Director and fanboy John Favreau has given the single greatest superhero film, ever. A perfect movie and I don't say that very often. The ending is fucking classic.

2. - Who would ever have thought that the return of John Rambo would turn out to be not only the best one in the series, but one of the best action films ever made? I have discussed this film before, here, so I will just gone to say that this movie, the bloodiest American action film ever, holds on really well on repeated viewings. It also has a great message to it, and how many shoot 'em ups can say that they have that and are still savagely entertaining?

1. - Inside is, along with The Descent, the best horror film to come out of Europe in years. Brutal, vicious, intense, bloody, I could go on and on with my praising of this film, but since I wrote about it here already, I will avoid repeating myself. But, here is my question, if you ain't seen last years best movie, in any genre, what the hell are you waiting for? Seriously, this movie is a future horror classic and needs to be seen by everyone who is tired of the same boring, predicable tripe that the studios dump on us each and every year and try to pass it on as a horror film.

----------------
Now playing: Judas Priest - Devil's Child
via FoxyTunes


1 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm not even going to comment on Rambo being your number 2. It is your opinion, but in my opinion, it wasn't wortht he price of admission... And Matt and I saw it for FREE!!!

That's interesting that you thought Machine Girl had the best trailer.