The 10 Best Movies of 2008

Happy New Year everyone! I hope your night was as raucous as mine. Now that we've entered 2009, and since any self-respecting movie blog has to have a year-end 'best of' list, I've put together a list of my favorite movies of 2008. 

10. The Wackness

A sweet story of summer love and a friendship forged over burning joints, The Wackness thrives on the quirky performance of Ben Kingsley as a therapist who prefers his bills to be paid in dime bags, not dollar bills. Josh Peck also shines in his first real screen role as Luke, a lost teenager finding his way in the sweltering last months before college. A very fun watch.

9. Gran Torino

Clint Eastwood's latest effort is a small gem. Hilarious from beginning to end, this is a poignant story of an old man reconnecting with the world against a backdrop of suburban gang violence. If you don't mind a constant stream of racist epithets (so frequently used and delivered by Eastwood with such deadpan tone that one can't help but laugh), this is absolutely worth the price of admission.

8. Synecdoche, New York

Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut is a busy movie, cluttered with layers upon layers of art imitating life. Philip Seymour Hoffman turns in yet another terrific performance, and his attempts to understand his own life through theater make for a compelling story.

7. Rachel Getting Married

A very honest movie about the impact of a struggling former addict on her (very alt) family. Anne Hathaway succeeds in becoming completely loathsome as Kym, Rosemarie DeWitt (who is currently stealing my heart on TV in Mad Men) shines as her sister, and a cameo from TV On The Radio's Tunde Adebimpe completely steals the show.

6. In Bruges

Colin Ferrell and Brendan Gleeson kept me rolling in the aisle in this hilarious story of two mobsters forced to hide out in the beautiful (but 'fucking awful') Belgian town of Bruges. Complete with shootouts, botched drug deals, lots of liquor, and an angry midget, this one is a barrel of laughs until the action runs out of control in the final reel.

5. Vicky Cristina Barcelona

For me, 2008 was the year I fell in love with Woody Allen, and Vicky Cristina was the movie that really set me on the path. Javier Bardem simply smolders on screen, particularly when together with the equally excellent Penelope Cruz. Scarlett Johanssen still can't act, but her counterpart Vicky , played wonderfully by the jaw-droppingly beautiful Rebecca Hall, is a treat to watch as she struggles to fit new excitement into her carefully planned life.

4. Ballast

In his directorial debut, Lance Hammer turns in a very sharp story of a broken family struggling to find its feet after the suicide of one of its members. Featuring terrific performances from non-actors, Hammer's film hits a home run with stunning images of the wintry Mississippi delta.  

3. Man On Wire

By far one of the most captivating and entertaining documentaries I've seen, Man On Wire uses the conventions of the heist movie to frame the story of one man's dizzying walk between the World Trade Center towers. Director James Marsh shifts effortlessly between the suspenseful break-in by Philippe Petit and the feats of wirewalking that led him to the towers, and Petit lights up the screen with his hilarious personality. But this movie's greatest achievement is the way in which it revives the towers as wondrous symbols of human imagination. In 45 minutes of wire-walking, Petit wrings art from the ordinary and reminds us all of the thrill of realizing a dream.

2. The Dark Knight

The latest (and greatest) Batman movie blurs the line between art and big-budget entertainment, but its success has little to do with the caped crusader. From the serpentine darting of his tongue to his maniacal laugh, Heath Ledger invests the Joker with a jubilant malice so profound you nearly forget this is supposed to be about Batman; as he himself says, he loves his job, and we love to watch him do it. His performance is quirky, hilarious, and unforgettable. I don't usually like Aaron Eckhart, but he is terrific here as Harvey Dent. The frequent references to terrorism--shaky homemade movies, exploding hospitals, and firemen silhouetted against burning buildings--firmly root the movie to the present and the trend of dark superhero movies made for dark times. The Dark Knight is gripping from beginning to end, and Ledger's historic performance makes his loss all the more tragic.

1. Summer Hours

I had the tremendous pleasure of catching this beautiful movie at the New York Film Festival, and was completely won over by it. Directed by Frenchman Olivier Assayas, whose acclaimed earlier works have jumped to the top of my Netflix queue, Summer Hours is a touching story of three siblings and their families working to move on after the death of their mother. Assayas delivers a thoughtful reflection on the difficulties inherent in the modern family, the role of art in society, and the seemingly growing gap between generations. Gorgeous camerawork and subtly powerful performances make this a true pleasure. I can't recommend this one strongly enough.

Disagree with my picks for '08? Think I left something out? Take all the shots you want in the comments. Bring it on. Here's to another great year of movies!