Monday, January 19, 2009
The Movies of 2008
It's time now for me to list all of the movies I watched in 2008. The total number is 32, which is down from the 46 I watched in 2007, but I was able to meet my goal: it's less than the number of books I read in 2008 (38). I didn't watch a single movie in the theaters in 2008 (the most recent movie I've seen in the theater is Harry Potter 5) - I just can't bring myself to pay that much for something I can get for so much less if I just wait a little while. I simply don't understand people who have to see a movie the weekend it is released. If it's good now, it'll be good a year from now. So 24 of my movies were on DVD, 6 were recorded off TV with our fancy new DVR, one I saw on an airplane, and one I saw at a ward party.
I've listed the movies here in more or less the order in which I enjoyed them, though especially in the middle, you could give or take a few slots. An asterisk means I'd seen it previously at some point in my life.
1. WALL·E (12/29/08) - I really, really wish every movie in the world were made by Pixar. This movie had excitement, romance, comedy, and a compelling story. Head and shoulders above every other movie released in 2008. There are so many wonderful things to say about this movie, but I'll settle for just this: I was even moved by the sound design - the beeps and electronic voices and sound effects. No other movie has ever done that for me.
2. The Incredibles* (12/9/08) - Probably one of my very favorite movies of all time, if not THE favorite. I only rank it below WALL·E because I'd seen it before. Besides all the excitement and entertainment value and hilarious characters, this movie involves very touching themes of family and uniqueness that make me think every time I see it.
3. Hairspray (3/10/08) - Not deep by any means, but absolutely a joy to watch. From the excited teenagers to John Travolta in a fat woman suit to Michelle Pfeiffer as the incarnation of evil, I just couldn't stop smiling. And that's all you can really ask for in a musical.
4. Enchanted (3/26/08) - Another musical with such a high enjoyment quotient, I'm able to overlook the plot holes and silly stuff. I need to check out more Amy Adams movies, because she's enchanting.
5. Martian Child (2/28/08) - I bet this is a lot higher on my list than it is on anyone else's. You may not even have heard of it (John Cusack (who doesn't love John Cusack?) plays a widower who adopts a very weird kid). It gets this ranking from me because of the way it made me value my fatherhood. As I watched Cusack's character grow to love his son, it increased my love for my daughters. It's a rare movie that actually changes your perspective about your real life, but this one did.
6. Get Smart! (11/28/08) - Okay, enough with the moving movies. This was was just funny. Put Anne Hathaway in it too, and her gorgeousness is just gravy.
7. The Maltese Falcon (7/12/08) - I've never really been a Humphrey Bogart fan. He always seems stiff to me. But after reading the novel it's based on, I understood Sam Spade, and let me tell you, Bogey nailed him. Smart, self-concerned, and a little bit of a jerk.
8. Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (6/16/08) - If ever there's been a movie that's the incarnation of whimsy, this is it. It doesn't really mean anything, but it makes you want to take the world a little less seriously. The world is full of wonder.
9. Stardust (5/1/08) - How can you resist a fairy tale where Claire Danes plays a literal fallen star, and Michelle Pfieffer plays an evil witch? The best was the swordfight scene where one of the fighters is already dead.
10. The Simpsons Movie (1/15/08) - Worth watching just for the Spider-Pig scene. I don't think I laughed that hard all year (and I read a lot of Calvin and Hobbes!).
11. Cloverfield (5/3/08) - I am not a horror fan. But I heard this was good, so I rented it while Shelly was out of town. While at times it was difficult to watch (as much for the shaky camera as for the mayhem), it thoroughly succeeded in both creating a terror-filled atmosphere and making us care about and understand the characters. Right up until the point where they climb to the top of a collapsing skyscraper to save an ex-girlfriend, that is. No one would do that.
12. Leatherheads (10/10/08) - If Michelle Pfeiffer is at her best when she's evil, George Clooney is at his best when he's funny. I get nothing from the "smooth" Clooney in shows like Ocean's Eleven, but he's the shining light in shows like this or O Brother Where Art Thou?.
13. Nancy Drew (9/4/08) - A pleasant little snip of a movie, which would not have worked at all except for the blazing charisma of Emma Roberts. I wish her a long and successful career.
14. National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets (9/27/08) - Just like the original, I liked this sequel not because it was good (it wasn't really), but because it was so over-the-top, it was just enjoyable to watch.
15. The Bourne Ultimatum (7/11/08) - I've heard that James Bond nowadays just wants to be Jason Bourne. Understandable. My only regret is that Julia Stiles' character didn't die. And she had so many chances.
16. The Hunt for Red October* (8/2/08) - Other than the fact that I don't buy Sean Connery as a Russian for a second, I really enjoyed this thriller. I think Shelly would rank it in her top five for the year if she did rankings. Maybe she has the hots for Alec Baldwin.
17. Becoming Jane (6/27/08) - At least they didn't fictitiously make Jane Austen end up with the guy at the end. It puzzles me why the producers decided to make a biopic of Austen rather than adapt one of her novels besides "Pride and Prejudice" ("Northanger Abbey," anyone?). But put Anne Hathaway in it, and the gravy of her gorgeousness makes it all worthwhile.
18. A Midsummer Night’s Dream* (8/9/08) - Okay, so Michelle Pfeiffer isn't exactly evil. And I don't understand why nobody wears any clothes. but my biggest complaint is with Shakespeare himself. That final sequence with the play is a little funny, but it's way anticlimactic.
19. Waitress (1/21/08) - I enjoyed the conceit of creating a new pie to express one's attitudes and frustrations with the world. But I didn't enjoy the celebration of infidelity. But I did enjoy Andy Griffith as a cantankerous old fogey.
20. Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End (1/1/08) - Weird.
21. The Errand of Angels (12/8/08) - A "Mormon movie" about some sister missionaries in Austria. I thought it was fine in its portrayal of missionary challenges, but nothing really ever happens, and the central personality conflict is resolved a bit too easily.
22. It’s a Wonderful Life (12/25/08) - Not until this Christmas had I ever watched this movie all the way through from beginning to end. Yeah, it's fine. But I'm not such a fan of George Bailey. He's a nice guy normally, but when he's upset, he can get mean and even violent. He could make some personal changes and his life would be even more wonderful. And what the heck does anything have to do with Christmas?
23. Plaza Suite (12/30/08) - Starring Walter Matthau, Walter Matthau, and Walter Matthau. Matthau does a great job of establishing three different characters, but only the third act is really any funny. I say "act" because this movie was based on a play, and it plays like a play. The actors even take a bow at the end.
24. Bee Movie (4/11/08) - I enjoyed the silly bee world and the relationship with the human, but maybe it was just a little too silly for me. Should have given it to Pixar - they would have used their genius to make it a masterpiece.
25. The Shakiest Gun in the West (9/12/08) - An old Don Knotts vehicle about a dentist who ends up in the middle of an outlaw escapade in the Old West. Very silly and contrived, but you just can't hate a movie that has Don Knotts in it.
26. Young Frankenstein (10/3/08) - I expected more out-loud guffawing from a Mel Brooks film, but mostly this just provided a constant smirk. The plot really didn't go anywhere, but it had some great gags.
27. Herbie Goes Bananas* (2/8/08) - There is no point to see this movie (or, probably, any Herbie movie) except for the fact that you see a car covered in bananas. We go to the movies to see things we don't see every day, right?
28. Passage to Zarahemla (11/3/08) - Another "Mormon movie" about a dimension-warp that allows a girl and her "imaginary" friend who turns out to be a Nephite sentinel to enter each others' worlds. It was a good idea - especially the comparison between Gadianton's robbers and modern gang-bangers - but the execution just didn't do it for me.
29. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (11/10/08) - I'm sorry. Yes, it was nice to see Indiana Jones again. Yes, there was plenty of familiar action. Yes, all of the previous Indy movies featured supernatural forces. And yes, I'm even aware that Indiana Jones was conceived as a tribute to old-school B-movies, but: Space aliens? Really? That's just a bit much.
30. Transformers (2/23/08) - A lot of badmouthing has been done of this movie, but my complaint is really one-fold: You spend millions of dollars on computer animation for these robots, and in an effort to make it really cool, you lose sight of the fact that this is a car changing into a robot. They would have been better served to remember the toys. You can't tell what part of the robot makes up what part of the car, and there are certainly too many moving parts to follow it during the transformation. That is the reason Transformers were cool (I had several dozen as a kid), and they totally missed it.
31. Amazing Grace (2/9/08) - This is a biopic about the anti-slavery crusader William Wilberforce. I guess I felt good about his struggles for a just cause, but it mostly just left me feeling meh.
32. 27 Dresses (5/24/08) - Scanning my list, I am way impressed that I only allowed myself to watch one true-blue formulaic romantic comedy all year. (WALL·E is sort of close to one, but it is so much more than that, it doesn't count; Enchanted is a musical, so it doesn't count either. Maybe Waitress counts.) It's not that I found this incarnation of the standard formula so poorly done or out-of-the-blue unrealistic, as is often the case. Really, I didn't like this movie because the characters were unlikable. The girl is a spineless whiner and the guy is an annoying jerk who doesn't know when to stop.
I've listed the movies here in more or less the order in which I enjoyed them, though especially in the middle, you could give or take a few slots. An asterisk means I'd seen it previously at some point in my life.
1. WALL·E (12/29/08) - I really, really wish every movie in the world were made by Pixar. This movie had excitement, romance, comedy, and a compelling story. Head and shoulders above every other movie released in 2008. There are so many wonderful things to say about this movie, but I'll settle for just this: I was even moved by the sound design - the beeps and electronic voices and sound effects. No other movie has ever done that for me.
2. The Incredibles* (12/9/08) - Probably one of my very favorite movies of all time, if not THE favorite. I only rank it below WALL·E because I'd seen it before. Besides all the excitement and entertainment value and hilarious characters, this movie involves very touching themes of family and uniqueness that make me think every time I see it.
3. Hairspray (3/10/08) - Not deep by any means, but absolutely a joy to watch. From the excited teenagers to John Travolta in a fat woman suit to Michelle Pfeiffer as the incarnation of evil, I just couldn't stop smiling. And that's all you can really ask for in a musical.
4. Enchanted (3/26/08) - Another musical with such a high enjoyment quotient, I'm able to overlook the plot holes and silly stuff. I need to check out more Amy Adams movies, because she's enchanting.
5. Martian Child (2/28/08) - I bet this is a lot higher on my list than it is on anyone else's. You may not even have heard of it (John Cusack (who doesn't love John Cusack?) plays a widower who adopts a very weird kid). It gets this ranking from me because of the way it made me value my fatherhood. As I watched Cusack's character grow to love his son, it increased my love for my daughters. It's a rare movie that actually changes your perspective about your real life, but this one did.
6. Get Smart! (11/28/08) - Okay, enough with the moving movies. This was was just funny. Put Anne Hathaway in it too, and her gorgeousness is just gravy.
7. The Maltese Falcon (7/12/08) - I've never really been a Humphrey Bogart fan. He always seems stiff to me. But after reading the novel it's based on, I understood Sam Spade, and let me tell you, Bogey nailed him. Smart, self-concerned, and a little bit of a jerk.
8. Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (6/16/08) - If ever there's been a movie that's the incarnation of whimsy, this is it. It doesn't really mean anything, but it makes you want to take the world a little less seriously. The world is full of wonder.
9. Stardust (5/1/08) - How can you resist a fairy tale where Claire Danes plays a literal fallen star, and Michelle Pfieffer plays an evil witch? The best was the swordfight scene where one of the fighters is already dead.
10. The Simpsons Movie (1/15/08) - Worth watching just for the Spider-Pig scene. I don't think I laughed that hard all year (and I read a lot of Calvin and Hobbes!).
11. Cloverfield (5/3/08) - I am not a horror fan. But I heard this was good, so I rented it while Shelly was out of town. While at times it was difficult to watch (as much for the shaky camera as for the mayhem), it thoroughly succeeded in both creating a terror-filled atmosphere and making us care about and understand the characters. Right up until the point where they climb to the top of a collapsing skyscraper to save an ex-girlfriend, that is. No one would do that.
12. Leatherheads (10/10/08) - If Michelle Pfeiffer is at her best when she's evil, George Clooney is at his best when he's funny. I get nothing from the "smooth" Clooney in shows like Ocean's Eleven, but he's the shining light in shows like this or O Brother Where Art Thou?.
13. Nancy Drew (9/4/08) - A pleasant little snip of a movie, which would not have worked at all except for the blazing charisma of Emma Roberts. I wish her a long and successful career.
14. National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets (9/27/08) - Just like the original, I liked this sequel not because it was good (it wasn't really), but because it was so over-the-top, it was just enjoyable to watch.
15. The Bourne Ultimatum (7/11/08) - I've heard that James Bond nowadays just wants to be Jason Bourne. Understandable. My only regret is that Julia Stiles' character didn't die. And she had so many chances.
16. The Hunt for Red October* (8/2/08) - Other than the fact that I don't buy Sean Connery as a Russian for a second, I really enjoyed this thriller. I think Shelly would rank it in her top five for the year if she did rankings. Maybe she has the hots for Alec Baldwin.
17. Becoming Jane (6/27/08) - At least they didn't fictitiously make Jane Austen end up with the guy at the end. It puzzles me why the producers decided to make a biopic of Austen rather than adapt one of her novels besides "Pride and Prejudice" ("Northanger Abbey," anyone?). But put Anne Hathaway in it, and the gravy of her gorgeousness makes it all worthwhile.
18. A Midsummer Night’s Dream* (8/9/08) - Okay, so Michelle Pfeiffer isn't exactly evil. And I don't understand why nobody wears any clothes. but my biggest complaint is with Shakespeare himself. That final sequence with the play is a little funny, but it's way anticlimactic.
19. Waitress (1/21/08) - I enjoyed the conceit of creating a new pie to express one's attitudes and frustrations with the world. But I didn't enjoy the celebration of infidelity. But I did enjoy Andy Griffith as a cantankerous old fogey.
20. Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End (1/1/08) - Weird.
21. The Errand of Angels (12/8/08) - A "Mormon movie" about some sister missionaries in Austria. I thought it was fine in its portrayal of missionary challenges, but nothing really ever happens, and the central personality conflict is resolved a bit too easily.
22. It’s a Wonderful Life (12/25/08) - Not until this Christmas had I ever watched this movie all the way through from beginning to end. Yeah, it's fine. But I'm not such a fan of George Bailey. He's a nice guy normally, but when he's upset, he can get mean and even violent. He could make some personal changes and his life would be even more wonderful. And what the heck does anything have to do with Christmas?
23. Plaza Suite (12/30/08) - Starring Walter Matthau, Walter Matthau, and Walter Matthau. Matthau does a great job of establishing three different characters, but only the third act is really any funny. I say "act" because this movie was based on a play, and it plays like a play. The actors even take a bow at the end.
24. Bee Movie (4/11/08) - I enjoyed the silly bee world and the relationship with the human, but maybe it was just a little too silly for me. Should have given it to Pixar - they would have used their genius to make it a masterpiece.
25. The Shakiest Gun in the West (9/12/08) - An old Don Knotts vehicle about a dentist who ends up in the middle of an outlaw escapade in the Old West. Very silly and contrived, but you just can't hate a movie that has Don Knotts in it.
26. Young Frankenstein (10/3/08) - I expected more out-loud guffawing from a Mel Brooks film, but mostly this just provided a constant smirk. The plot really didn't go anywhere, but it had some great gags.
27. Herbie Goes Bananas* (2/8/08) - There is no point to see this movie (or, probably, any Herbie movie) except for the fact that you see a car covered in bananas. We go to the movies to see things we don't see every day, right?
28. Passage to Zarahemla (11/3/08) - Another "Mormon movie" about a dimension-warp that allows a girl and her "imaginary" friend who turns out to be a Nephite sentinel to enter each others' worlds. It was a good idea - especially the comparison between Gadianton's robbers and modern gang-bangers - but the execution just didn't do it for me.
29. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (11/10/08) - I'm sorry. Yes, it was nice to see Indiana Jones again. Yes, there was plenty of familiar action. Yes, all of the previous Indy movies featured supernatural forces. And yes, I'm even aware that Indiana Jones was conceived as a tribute to old-school B-movies, but: Space aliens? Really? That's just a bit much.
30. Transformers (2/23/08) - A lot of badmouthing has been done of this movie, but my complaint is really one-fold: You spend millions of dollars on computer animation for these robots, and in an effort to make it really cool, you lose sight of the fact that this is a car changing into a robot. They would have been better served to remember the toys. You can't tell what part of the robot makes up what part of the car, and there are certainly too many moving parts to follow it during the transformation. That is the reason Transformers were cool (I had several dozen as a kid), and they totally missed it.
31. Amazing Grace (2/9/08) - This is a biopic about the anti-slavery crusader William Wilberforce. I guess I felt good about his struggles for a just cause, but it mostly just left me feeling meh.
32. 27 Dresses (5/24/08) - Scanning my list, I am way impressed that I only allowed myself to watch one true-blue formulaic romantic comedy all year. (WALL·E is sort of close to one, but it is so much more than that, it doesn't count; Enchanted is a musical, so it doesn't count either. Maybe Waitress counts.) It's not that I found this incarnation of the standard formula so poorly done or out-of-the-blue unrealistic, as is often the case. Really, I didn't like this movie because the characters were unlikable. The girl is a spineless whiner and the guy is an annoying jerk who doesn't know when to stop.
Comments:
were you not at our St. Patty's day party? I didn't see that movie listed - not like it is going to make #1 or anything! Haha
Yes, we were there, but the movie had already started before we arrived. Granted, I think I missed only the first 10-15 minutes or so, but this list is for movies which I watched from start to finish, so it doesn't count.
Plus, I don't think I want to admit to the world that I saw that show. I can't even remember its title. I challenge you to find a worse leprechaun-related movie for this year. I'll watch the whole thing and put it on my next list.
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Plus, I don't think I want to admit to the world that I saw that show. I can't even remember its title. I challenge you to find a worse leprechaun-related movie for this year. I'll watch the whole thing and put it on my next list.
