2008 My Top Ten Favorite Movies of the Year

So here we are at the end of 2008. There were a lot of movies out this year as there are every year, but only a handful of them are ever any good. Obviously, depending on who you are, how old you are, and where you're from, you might like different movies than me...and these may not be the BEST movies of the year, but they are my favorite 10 picks on 2008, starting with #10.

10. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I can't help but point out that much of this movie was loaded with the worst parts of the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy...the stupid little CGI creatures all over the movie. Aside from that, I actually enjoyed KOTCS more than most people. Most people hated the alien storyline...I thought it was a unique chapter in the saga where other installments have failed. Harrison Ford did an admiriable job making us believe he was Indy again. They didn't just forget about Henry Jones Sr, even though Sean Connery is retired. Best of all, they didn't recast ANYONE and brought back most of the favorites. Good for them.

9. Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Smart. OK, so maybe it's not fair to have two items in one spot on a top ten list, but it's my top ten list so you have to deal. I don't typically find comedy movies all that funny anymore, and I didn't see either of these movies the the theater, but they both made me laugh out loud for different reasons.

8. The Incredible Hulk. Much better than the Ang Lee movie with a similar name, although DVD sellers tried to fool you into buying THAT version of The Hulk. Shame on them. Much more action this time around with a better story as well. Sure, the Hulk himself was still CGI, but seriously, what are you supposed to do?

7. Cloverfield. Was that this year? I think this was the first movie I saw in 2008 and although moments of it, shot with a handheld camera, induced a feeling of nausea...I loved it. A monster movie that focused on how a single group of people would react to a monster attack was fun to watch. Yes, I know, there's that one scene where the characters climb like 100 flights of stairs and don't get tired, but it's a movie. And no, I still would never climb those stairs hoping to rescue ANYONE, because I wouldn't make it up 10 flights...never mind 100. I don't believe anyone that says they would. If you stayed to the end of the credits, like I always do, you were treated to one final line of dialogue. Watch it again and find out what you missed.

6. The X-Files: I Want to Believe. Even though it was only in theaters for a week, I really enjoyed seeing where Mulder and Scully ended up so many years after the end of The X-Files television series. The movie was good and it was a standalone film. It was more enjoyable if you were a fan of The X-Files TV series, but you didn't have to know 9 years of mythology to see it. I feel like the only reason it wasn't in theaters longer, was because they knew it would kill in DVD sales if they didn't give people enough time to see it on the big screen.

5. Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Hellboy gets drunk with Abe Sapien. Loved it.

4. Wanted. This movie would have been higher on the list if it was the same exact story as the graphic novel. It was not. That's not to say it wasn't a great movie, but they basically took an idea and made it into something brand new for an American audience. Amercian audiences like happy endings. American audiences don't like the hero to be a bad guy. The book didn't do either of those things and the movie did.

3. Iron Man. I had doubts that Robert Downey Jr. was going to work in this movie as Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. I remember Robert Downey Jr from before he was a drug addict when he played Jack Jericho in 1987's "The Pick Up Artist". He has come a long way from what I remember was a romantic comedy...I was impressed with Iron Man, and when I first saw the preview, I had no interest at all.

2. Rambo. It was the second movie I saw this year (I think), and immediately became my favorite Rambo movie of the entire series. We ALL made fun if Stallone for making a fourth Rambo movie, but apparently he waited to make sure he chose an excellent script. This version of Rambo was bloodier and gorier than the original Rambo trilogy which makes it difficult to watch in spots, but it also makes you chant Rambo's name when he's shredding the enemy. Did I say "shredding"? Yes...yes, I did.

1. The Dark Knight. There may be two Marvel Comics movies and a Dark Horse Comics movie in my countdown (for those keeping score, there's a Top Cow Comics movie here too), but number 1 is a DC Comics movie. The second movie in the rebooted Batman series was in fact, the best movie of the year. If you didn't like it, you either slept through it, or you just don't like Batman. Or maybe you slept with Batman and he didn't call you the next day...I don't know. As most people that enjoyed the movie would probably tell you...Heath Ledger's performance of The Joker, totally stole the show...and not just because he died at a young age prior to the release of the movie. I don't want to say that I don't care about that...but it has no impact on how good or bad his performance in the movie was. He WAS The Joker. Christian Bale did a fine job as well, I'm sure...afterall, you can't have a Batman movie without Batman...and he is the best Batman of all the Batman movies. So there you go. The best movie of the year.

You know what's not on this list, but should have been if it were done a bit differently. Star Wars: Clone Wars...I wanted to love it, but I only liked it. The Clone Wars in Star Wars history was built up over the years, starting with a mention in Star Wars Episode IV, and I'm not sure if it could ever live up to expectation. Points go to LucasFilms for trying to bring it to the screen, but they probably should have focused on the age group that remembers the original trilogy and let the kids grow into it.