Eric's 2008 Movie List

The usual caveat applies: These are my favorite movies, not necessarily the best. I acknowledge The Reader is a "better" movie than Summerhood, but I enjoyed Summerhood more. I see a good number of films at festivals -- most of which are never released. But some were lucky enough to see a release this year, so to the right of those films you will see the year of the list on which the movie originally appeared and it's former ranking. So, here it is... I would call the top few "great". The top 30 or so I can definitely recommend to anyone. Then pick from the next fifty or so based on taste or interest in the subject matter. But the average movie-goer should stay far away from the bottom ten. Feel free to comment if you agree and especially if you disagree.

1 The Wrestler
2 Revolutionary Road
3 Doubt
4 Milk
5 Man on Wire
6 Frost/Nixon
7 WALL-E
8 Taxi to the Dark Side 2007 #11
9 In Search of a Midnight Kiss 2007 #10
10 Summerhood
11 Young @ Heart
12 The Visitor
13 Wesley Willis’s Joyrides
14 In Bruges
15 Frozen River
16 Dear Zachary: a letter to a son about his father
17 Religulous
18 Waltz with Bashir
19 Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison
20 Slumdog Millionaire
21 Changeling
22 Paranoid Park
23 Synecdoche, New York
24 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
25 Chicago 10
26 The Counterfeiters (Die Fälscher)
27 Vicky Cristina Barcelona
28 Chop Shop
29 Rachel Getting Married
30 The Reader
31 Happy-Go-Lucky
32 HottieBoombaLottie
33 Dreams With Sharp Teeth
34 The Band's Visit
35 The Order of Myths
36 Surfwise
37 Snow Angels
38 Hamlet 2
39 Forgetting Sarah Marshall
40 Kabluey 2007 #37
41 Strangers (Israeli film…not "The Strangers")
42 Baghead
43 Son of Rambow: A Home Movie
44 Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
45 Tell no one (Ne le dis à personne)
46 The Dark Knight
47 American Teen
48 Tulia, Texas
49 Funny Games
50 At the Death House Door
51 Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
52 The Unforeseen 2007 #45
53 Standard Operating Procedure
54 The Great Buck Howard
55 Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
56 Bigger, Stronger, Faster
57 Nights and Weekends
58 American Swing
59 Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
60 The Bank Job
61 Flash of Genius
62 Shades of Ray
63 Tropic Thunder
64 A Quiet Little Marriage
65 Crawford
66 Mister Foe
67 Iron Man
68 Role Models
69 Reprise
70 Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
71 Zack and Miri Make a Porno
72 Backseat 2005 #60
73 Under the Same Moon (La misma luna)
74 Second Skin
75 The Go-Getter 2007 #73
76 Super High Me
77 Wendy and Lucy
78 W.
79 Choke
80 Towelhead
81 Obscene
82 My Name is Bruce
83 Vampiro: Angel, Devil, Hero.
84 Smart People
85 Starting out in the Evening
86 Paper or Plastic?
87 A Lawyer Walks into a Bar 2007 #79
88 Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights - Hollywood to the Heartland
89 Happiness Is
90 Leatherheads
91 Priceless (Hors de Prix)
92 The Promotion
93 Humboldt County
94 Then She Found Me
95 Christmas on Mars
96 Stealing America: Vote by Vote
97 Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk
98 Military Intelligence and You! 2006 #82
99 Little Chenier 2006 #78
100 Phantom Punch
101 Penelope



There were quite a few flicks I missed this year that deserve an honorable mention: JCVD, Elegy, My Winnipeg, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Gran Torino, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Burn After Reading, Changeling, The Band's Visit, Transsiberian, City of Men, Choke and Be Kind Rewind.