I thoroughly enjoyed, for the most part, all the films in ‘07 I was looking forward to seeing, but the only 2008 films I really enjoyed were ’ The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’ (released 2008, in Australia), Lars and the real girl (ALSO only released in Aus in ‘08) and ’The edge of heaven’.
I can’t help what you do or do not enjoy, but Hunger, A Christmas Tale, Rachel Getting Married, Waltz with Bashir, Man on Wire, Wendy and Lucy, Let the Right One In, Four Nights with Anna, JCVD, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, The Headless Woman, Ashes of Time Redux, to name a few, don’t fit the mid-year blockbuster mold yet were intriguing and/or satisfying from this year.
I’m with Adam K. This year had a lot of little gems that ranged from good to great; it was the high-profile movies (the “Oscar-whoring” movies, if you will) that disappointed. So I wouldn’t say it was a bad year for film…just a bad year for movies Oscar typically nominates.
A year that included HAPPY-GO-LUCKY, IN BRUGES, WALL-E and MILK and assorted others can’t really be considered horrendous, I’d say. The shame is that there weren’t more great movies like them. I agree that it was the big releases that were a disappointment.
I am not saying that there weren’t any decent movies throughout the year, my point is that there was not anything of real sustenance or originality created in 2008. i think that a lot of the movies that are going to be suggested are basically the same film, re-hashed with different actors. I can’t really see a huge difference between A Christmas Tale, Rachel Getting Married or Wendy and Lucy. all slow melodramas revolving around someone who is depressed or “misunderstood”. a main reason i wanted to start this thread was to get some ideas of newer films to watch, so thank you for posting some suggestions and keep ’em coming!!
Josef K: “i think that a lot of the movies that are going to be suggested are basically the same film, re-hashed with different actors. I can’t really see a huge difference between A Christmas Tale, Rachel Getting Married or Wendy and Lucy. all slow melodramas revolving around someone who is depressed or “misunderstood”.”
And here’s where you lose me. If you can’t tell any real differences between them, it makes me think you’re judging them sight unseen, correct me if I’m wrong.
A Christmas Tale:
“a tale about members of a dysfunctional family who come together for a strained and animosity-filled Christmas reunion.”
Rachel getting married:
“a former model who’s been in and out of rehab for 10 years, returns to her parents’ home just before the wedding of her sister, Rachel long-standing family conflicts begin to resurface”
W & L:
" But her journey takes a heartbreaking detour when her beloved dog, Lucy, goes missing and her car decides to conk out in Oregon. There was a time when Wendy had nothing to lose, but now she could lose everything."
The first two are the same movie with different characters and you could basically just throw in W & L in for a few extra tears.
So besides having different plots, characters, casts, crews, and settings, they’re basically the same? Wow, now I regret seeing all three of them when I could have saved some money.
Absolutely
>>The first two are the same movie with different characters <<
You could say much the same for most drama going back to Sophocles.
Functional families (or characters, for that matter) are bereft of drama or comedy …
Yeah Josef, sorry, I wasn’t the biggest fan of 2008, but that’s one of the most ridiculous arguments I’ve ever seen.
@Tom
I saw WALL-E and IN BRUGES. They both had their moments. They don’t scream classic or award-winning. If those are the highpoints of 2008, then yes, it was a bad year. Many a weekend of 2008, my friends and I picked a films at the theater based squarely on what is most likely to suck least. In recent memory, when I look back and that’s all I can remember, I call it a bad season.
I need to check out HAPPY-GO-LUCKY.
I haven’t seen any of those three, but they do sound rather similar, on a cerebral and emotional level.
There were a lot of films mentioned here that I haven’t seen yet I am going to reserve judgment. Still Life, Woman on the Beach, the Headless Woman, Rachel Getting Married, In the City of Sylvia, and Flight of the Red Balloon to name a few. However, in terms of American films the year’s offering wasn’t great, there were a few gems like Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Wendy and Lucy – which I think was great merely because it’s a sign of the times and wouldn’t have worked if the current depression didn’t exist – but overall when movies like The Dark Knight and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button are lauded as the best of the bunch it’s makes for a rather disappointing year.
I suppose since last year offered clear front runners, anything less is considered a disaster.
Yes, this year definitely has been a letdown in terms of the quality of films. Last year their were a good deal of films that I was just remember sitting there and being mesmerized by: There Will Be Blood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Orphanage, The Savages, No Country for Old Men, The Counterfeiters, I’m Not There, Into the Wild, just to name a few. This year, aside from Slumdog Millionaire and Revolutionary Road, which I have not seen but plan to this weekend, the only two I have seen that have even remotely compared were Synecdoche, New York and Rachel Getting Married. Doubt was very good, but I thought it was still lacking in several areas, especially the storyline, which I felt should have been expanded a bit more.
I agree, slow year. Lots of the biggest titles got very limited releases or are just now trickling into theaters, at least here in Canada. Synechdoce played for 3 days (and I was out of town unfortunately), Gran Torino opens today, and I am still waiting for Revolutionary Road, The Wrestler, Frost / Nixon, and a few more. Slumdog Millionaire did play, but overall I would say it hasnt been a bad year, just a slow and limited release year.
I really liked In Bruges, Slumdog Millionaire, Synecdoche, New York, and Revolutionary Road, but I’m not really that excited to see any others
I’m glad it’s not just me. I went to fewer films in 2008 than I have in many years simply because there seemed to be a real lack of anything worthwhile. As several of you mentioned, “The Diving Bell…” was something special. In fact, I thought it was really special. I saw it in the beginning of the year, so all the films I went to after that had a tough act to follow. Even though I enjoyed it, I expected more from “The Edge of Heaven.” I was pleasantly surprised by “The Visitor,” and Kristen Scott Thomas’ performance in “I’ve Loved You So Long” was amazing. I hope she wins something for that, if not in the US, somewhere. I think her portrayal, and the entire film, were too subtle for most American audiences. Sorry if that sounds snobby, but that’s how I feel. There are two movies I have yet to see and would like to from 2008, “Milk” and “Slumdog Millionaire,” so I can’t comment on those just yet. But you can best believe I will!
I LOVED 2008, especially when it comes to movies. I saw more movies in theaters this year than i ever have (including awesome midnight movies). Great movies this year include Slumdog Millionaire, The Wrestler, In Bruges, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Milk, Synechoche, My Winnepeg, Happy-Go-Lucky, Rachel Getting Married, Iron Man, TDK, Waltz With Bashir, Let The RIght One In, Wall-E, Ballast, The Band’s Visit, THE FALL, The Reader, W., Standard Operating Procedure, Man on Wire, Valkyrie, Vicky Christy Barcelona, Speed Racer, Burn After Reading, The Duchess, and Elegy. And there are still a lot of movies i want to see from 2008!
I agree with Shinichi. This has been a very good year for movies. Especially since I work in a movie theater.
Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Wall-E, Speed Racer, Burn After Reading, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button I got to see for free.
I would add that there have been many good comedies this year like Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder, Get Smart and even Don’t Mess with the Zohan had its moments.
In trying to answer Josef K.’s original question, I do concur that the premium has been slight this year, but instead of comparing it to last year, fit it in with the whole of this decade. 2007 stands out as a banner year in a decade of less-than-stellar output of authentic, “Capital-G” great films. 2008, instead, fits right in.
I will give a nod to WALL-E. I think it is becoming rightly recognized as a masterpiece of animation and Pixar’s crowing acheivement to date, and perhaps even reaching the next plateau of such.
I also like REVOLUTIONARY ROAD and RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, but I may be a bit biased. Those are really my “kind” of movies — crisp, literate, and about real humans. They’re small films, but like THE HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG and IN THE BEDROOM, and THE HOURS and LITTLE CHILDREN before them in these 2000s, I think they stand out quite well.
I am embarassed to say I’ve yet to see IN BRUGES, but form all of the praise I’ve been reading from all of you here, and because I’m beginning to trust a lot of your opinions, I admit I’m really pumped to do so.
with the exception of a number of very well made foreign films such as let the right one in, tell no one, the edge of heaven, flight of the red balloon and many more i have yet been able to see, and a few really good films such as milk, the wrestler, synecdoche, new york and the visitor (also haven’t seen rachel getting married, revolutionary road and ballast). it has been a boring and quite honestly and non-productive year in the advancement in film. a film here and a film there but nothing that stuck out like last years zodiac and i’m not there.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Happy-Go-Lucky
Rachel Getting Married
Revolutionary Road
Snow Angels…..
……To name a few. Also I haven’t seen the acclaimed foreign films due to the theaters near me not playing them so I might have enjoyed those also and will search them out when they are released on DVD.
No not a horrendous year at all. Not amazing but not horrendous.
Alright, I just watched Synecdoche, New York and it is clearly the savior, for the 2008 year in film, that i was looking for. i can’t stop thinking about it and i can’t wait to watch it again!
Tropic Thunder, Let The Right One In, Sita Sings the Blues….not a bad year at all imo. Though I didnt see a whole lot of releases to begin with….
Doubt
Let The Right One In
Tropic Thunder
Synecdoche, New York
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Burn After Reading
W.
Appaloosa
Happy Go Lucky
In Bruges
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
The Visitor
Man On Wire
Wall E
The Wrestler
hmmmm…. looks like a good year to me
In Bruges and Let the Right One In were two of my favs of ‘08. 2008 wasn’t any more or less horrendous than the past five years or so, what’s surprising?
It wasn’t horrendous but in 2007 I loved the following and think they all are fantastic film: There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and Zodiac. I like all four of those films better than anything from 2008.
Sekzee hit the nail on the head, 2008 was pretty damn good.
Josef K.
2007 was a pretty awesome year for films but 2008 has kind of stunk. really, beyond a few of the big blockbuster films of the summer, in which i enjoyed on non cerebral level, i really can’t think of anything else i really enjoyed this year. i have yet to see Synecdoche, New York which i am really looking forward to, so there is some hope. Am I missing something, is there some secret sub-genre of awesome film i have missed in 2008, or was this just a really poor year for film?