2008 in Movies

2008 was a whirlwind year for movies. There was a new dawn for superhero movies, Christian dogma that made me want to barf, my preconceived notions of comedy were challenged, a movie reached phenomenally overrated status, a film meant for a child took stabs at adults, romance was reintroduced to my life, my heart was broken and healed again at the movies.

When Iron Man came out, critics raved about the quality of the characters, the acting and the visuals. What we didn't know at the time was that Robert Downey's interpretation of the womanizing drunkard Tony Stark was only the first glimmer of the sunrise of superhero cinema coming over the horizon. In just a few moments, a much brighter star shone its light on superhero lovers and film lovers alike; The Dark Knight.

The Dark Knight, 2008's offering to the Batman movie franchise, moved Iron Man back to the recesses of our minds. Even though Christian Bale did give Batman a depth and pain felt by the audience, his performance was outshined by the movie's true star Heath Ledger. A fictional character in a fictional world has never been as horrific as Ledger's Joker. It seemed Ledger was lost, there was only the Joker, making visual our nightmares and creating day-mares to disturb us further. I'd bet money that his performance will be the measure of film villains for decades.

On the other side of the spectrum, Tropic Thunder slapped me in the face with a cinematic wet fish. I do my best to be unbiased when I see a movie but I wanted to hate Tropic Thunder. Instead of leaving having felt my brain shrink a little, I snickered and giggled more than I had in an entire month. Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller found a place on my good list. They distanced themselves from their past mistakes by making me look forward to their future endeavors.

Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman set my heart aflutter in Australia. A love story to the tenth power, Australia tickled the little girlie hearts inside me. I shamelessly succumbed to Hugh Jackman's delicious body and tender nature in Australia. I barely noticed Nicole Kidman's performance because I spent most of the time pretending I was in the movie with Jackman.

Pixar proved, yet again, they are the new powerhouse of animated story telling. Wall-E didn't stop by teaching the children who watched the movie, but stabbed the children's chaperones in the gut. A bit of a hypocritical lesson but a powerful one none the less, Wall-E encouraged children to get off their butts and showed the parents what happened because they chose to allow machines to do it all for them without thought or consideration. Cunning use of cuteness and beautiful animation snuck in the lessons as the audience lifted their guard to an innocent enough looking movie. There was just no defense against Wall-E.

Changeling raised my defenses again. It reminded me why I don't trust the police, why we should be suspicious of authority, and to never relent and stand up for those who are unable to stand up for themselves. Mostly it reminded me what it felt like to be unable to cry because I was shaking in anger. Angelina Jolie captured my sympathy, my passion and my memory. I will remember Christine Collins, the real person Angelina Jolie's character is based on for as long as I remember what it feels like to be angry.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button made me mad, though that was not the intention of the film. Brad Pitt's amazing performance aside, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was a total mess. A rehashing of the 1990's classic Forrest Gump, TCCoBB's main character becomes a repugnant and selfish bastard, but it is obvious from the direction and writing that that was not the intention of the story. Highly overrated and unoriginal, TCCoBB poked at my good sense. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is the most over rated film of 2008, maybe of the last five years.

X-Files: I Want to Believe and Henry Poole is Here sprayed Christian dogma over me like toxic chemicals shooting out of a spray tanning booth. The vanity and shallow nature of the religious ideas praising faith, ignorance and the shutting down of reason, made me angry with directors who surprise attack the audience with their drivel. As my entire body began to melt from toxic spray, my frustration with the penetrating glorification of ignorance grew. Documentary masturbation Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed can barely be called a documentary because its lack of facts make it nearly fiction. Children's movies were not immune; Horton Hears a Who and City of Ember also raised discussions about religion but were more subtle and confusing about the message. Religious themes have always been part of film but I can't remember a year of movies strung together with such religious struggle. Yuck.

Directors, writers and other support staff are important to the success of a film but in 2008, actors outshined them all. Brad Pitt's performance in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button shocked and impressed me. Angelina Jolie completely broke my heart. Ben Stiller and Tom Cruise made me laugh so hard, I think I left the seat a little damp. Hugh Jackman made me fall in love and appreciate my husband even more. By far, the most inspiring and disturbing performance this year belongs to Heath Ledger. His performance may be the perfect example of the year of the actor, 2008.

Great stories, even those played out on screen make us think about ourselves, our capabilities and our beliefs. Good or bad, right or wrong, fictional or based on a true story, 2008 made us face ourselves and our stories. 2008 may have produced no timeless classics, but there are timeless performances abound. I challenge the actors, directors and writers of 2009 to top them.