Best of 2008

OK, I wanted to wait until I'd seen The Class, and now that I have, here's my top 25 of 2008.

25. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army -The year's second best superhero film only further showcases Del Toro's brilliance when it comes to visuals, even if the story is somewhat absurd.

24. The Fall- Yes, this film is highly flawed, and most of the scenes in the hospital only take away from the story itself, but it also features some of the best visuals in any film of this or any year.

23. The Band's Visit- This is one of the two Israeli films on my list this year, and while it wasn't quite as powerful as the other (I think you know what it is), this simple, lighthearted story has a lot to say about the idea of peace and friendship in the middle east. This is a film that everyone should see, just to understand what it's like over there, because this is very realistic.

22. Religulous- Bill Maher's mockumentary on religion is not for everyone, and many will find his style abrasive, but this film is constantly hilarious and has an important message.

21. Pineapple Express- This is one of the funniest films the Appatow crew has put out, although it still wasn't able to live up to the trailer (http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/6f25e84ca3/pineapple-express-red-band-trailer-from-judd-apatow-james-franco-and-seth-rogen), which is one of the funniest I've ever seen. Franco was fantastic, and he earned that golden globe nomination. David Gordon Green's visual talents may be somewhat underused, but this is still by far the best looking Appatow film.

20. Gran Torino- Sure, the supporting actors were a joke, and the story wasn't exactly unique, but two hours of Clint Eastwood making racist jokes is far more entertaining than it had any right to be.

19. Revolutionary Road- Great performances highlight Sam Mendes' look at suburban disillusionment. Winslet's best actress nomination should have come from here, and Michael Shannon's best supporting actor nod is much appreciated. The only issue is that the whole thing winds up feeling a bit too cold and intellectual at certain points.

18. Wendy and Lucy- Kelly Reichart's heartbreaking minimalist commentary on the American economy gets by on Michelle Williams fantastic performance, which may have been this year's strongest from a leading actress.

17. Burn After Reading- A decent Coen Brothers film is still better than most other things. While it lacks the depth of No Country, and the pure entertainment value of Big Lebowski, it is a fun film filled with fantastic performances from the A-list cast.

16. Man On Wire- One of this year's best documentaries is a fascinating heist tale and a beautiful remembrance of the world trade center. This is the best reviewed film of all time according to Rottentomatoes.com

15. In Bruges- The "hitmen having an existential crisis" genre has been done to death since Pulp Fiction. This is the first time that it's been done well. Great performances, great direction and a wonderful screenplay elevated this thriller far beyond the normal constraints of the sub-genre

14. Wall-E- This incredibly adorable film is one of the best Pixar has ever done. The second half is a bit of a drop off, but the first half is as good as anything else this year.

13. Vicky Christina Barcelona- This incredibly sexy and entertaining film is Allen's best in years. Bardem continues his winning streak, Cruz and Hall are perfect and Scarlett Johanson...looks really good. Allen perfectly captures the feelings of Spain.

12. Milk- This timely film is loaded with great performances, especially from Penn, Franco and Hirsch. Although it sticks to many conventions of the traditional bio-pic, it works perfectly inside these conventions, giving us a heartbreaking true story.

11. Trouble The Water- This underseen nominee for best documentary tells a stirring tale of survival after Katrina. Using large amounts of footage shot on the ground by aspiring rapper Kimberly Rivers-Roberts and her husband Scott, this is a tale of redemption and a commentary on the lack of anything resembling support that the Bush administration gave to the poor people of New Orleans.

10. Snow Angels- David Gordon Green's depressing story of small-town life boasts great performances from Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale. It is visually brilliant, heartbreaking, and as powerful as any other film this year.

9 . Encounters At The End of The World- Werner Herzog is my hero. Him bringing his act down to Antarctica and combining it with stunning nature photography leads to one of the year's best documentaries

8. Let The Right One In- This coming of age vampire story is, by a rather large margin, the strongest horror film in years. There are a couple missteps (the CGI cats just look stupid), but great performances and fantstic visuals, as well as a generally creepy story that doesn't rely on gore or cheap jump scares elevate it far bayond the normal constraints of the genre.

7. The Class- Now, I haven't seen L'enfant, but based on what I have seen, this is probably the strongest winner of the Palm d'or since at The Pianist back in 2002. Leaving behind the constrains of the traditional heartwarming film about teachers in the inner city, this is a realistic look at life in a poor Parisian school. The students hate the teachers, the teachers can't deal with the students and the parents are stuck in between. Shot with hand-held style footage and featuring great performances from writer François Bégaudeau and most of the kids in the class, this really is one of the year's strongest efforts.

6. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button- David Fincher's fantasy is the strongest of the best picture nominees and his best film since Se7en. Yes, there are similarities to Forrest Gump, but this film has better performances, fantastic visuals far more interesting themes of life and death and is less sappy and overly sentimental.

5. Rachel Getting Married- Jonathon Demme's best film in years fully immerses us in the lives of it's characters, especially Kym, played to perfection by Anne Hathaway. Some have criticized it as being too slow. I don't really like those people.

4. Waltz with Bashir- Ari Folman's animated documentary was the best foreign film, animated film and documentary of 2008. This movie looks great, has a fascinating score and does a great job exploring the themes of war and memory. It's still in theaters, so see it.

3. The Dark Knight- This is the best superhero film of all time. I don't think it's even close (hell, I'd probably call Hellboy 2 the second best superhero film, so here's a good look at the gap). Nolan's slick visuals, a smarter-than-average script and the best supporting performance of the year from the late, great Heath Ledger are what really pulled this up onto that level and made it a modern masterpiece that will be discussed for years to come.

2. The Wrestler- Aronofsky's best film yet is also his most personal. Mickey Rourke is on screen for almost every second, and he has the perfect combination of ability and charisma to pull it off in one of the year's best performances. Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood also shine in supporting roles, but Rourke is the star here. Also, Springsteen's title track was absurdly snubbed in favor of two songs from that piece of shit Slumdog Millionaire. Really?

1. Synecdoche, New York- the year's best film has it's best script, leading performance and supporting actress (Samantha Morton). Unfortunately, the academy didn't quite get it. Just go back and read my original review. My opinion hasn't changed.