2008: A Review of the Year

As 2008 comes to an end, let us reflect on what was good, what was bad, what made money and what the future is about to bring.

CLICK HERE to read about those movies that didn't quite make the top 10
CLICK HERE to discover the Top 10 Movies of 2008
CLICK HERE to read the predictions for the Oscars
CLICK HERE to see a preview of 2009

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Noticeable Mentions

2008 has been a good year for the cinemagoers, with the multiplexes around the world filling to the brim, even with the credit crunch gripping the world and the hits have just kept coming and coming.

The year started with the Oscar nominees and winners, with the Coen Brother's 'No Country for Old Men' taking all the plaudits, with notable mentions for Paul Thomas Anderson's 'There Will Be Blood', with an Oscar winning performance from the brilliant Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Haggis's 'In the Valley of Elah', showed a differ side the veterans of the Iraq conflict. Diablo Cody made waves and raised a smile with 'Juno'. We also got to hear Johnny Depp sing in Tim Burton's adaptation of the hit musical 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' but he wouldn't be the only big star to sing this year.

Animation played a big part this year, providing fun for all the family. Jim Carrey and Steve Carrel brought Dr. Seuss' 'Horton Hears a Who!' to life, flies with into space and all 3D in 'Fly my to the Moon' and were joined by monkeys in 'Space Chimps'. We also saw the return of Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippo in 'Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa' and a brave mouse save a kingdom in 'The Tale of Despereaux'.

Hollywood continued to turn out horror sequels and remakes with Jessica Alba seeing dead people in 'The Eye', Jigsaw continuing his game even after his death in the third film in 'Saw V', Vampires became cool again in 'Twilight' but the film that coined a new phrase in the horror genre the 'Terror movie' was 'The Strangers'. Debutant writer/director Bryan Bertino terrorised audiences and Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, as he put the genuine scare back into horror cinema.

Romantic Comedies also played their part this year. Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler had you laughing and crying in 'P.S. I Love You', Simon Pegg continued to make it big in Hollywood in 'How to make Friends and Alienate People', George Clooney and Renée Zellweger had some laughs and played American Football in 'Leatherheads' and Will Farrell and John C. Reilly became related in the hilarious 'Step Brothers'. Stealing the show however was 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall', written by and starring Jason Segel with an excellent performance from Russell Brand.

The action adventure and comic book movies also did really well in 2008. 'Wanted' turned Scottish character actor James McAvoy into an action star, 'Vantage Point' showed that you can show a story from many different angles, Jason Statham continued to be Britain's best action star in 'Transporter 3' and 'Death Race', Edward Norton turned green with anger in 'The Incredible Hulk', Sylvester Stallone returned with his other famous character with 'Rambo', Nicolas Cage returned for another hunt for 'National Treasure: Book of Secrets' and the man in the hat returned for 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'. James Bond also continued the story that started in 'Casino Royale' but upped the action in 'Quantum of Solace'.

Period Dramas and true stories also made an impact with a new adaptation of Noel Coward's 'Easy Virtue' misbehaving, Natalie Portman losing her head in 'The Other Boleyn Girl', Clint Eastwood showed a mother's plight with an amazing performance by Angelina Jolie in 'The Changeling' and Keira Knightley donning the corset again for her best very performance in 'The Duchess'.

The 'Chick Flick' moved up to a new level in 2008 however. 'High School Musical 3' brought the hit franchise to the silver screen for the first time and teenage girls went mad. We returned to New York to see what Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda had been up to in 'Sex and the City' but the film no one could escape from was 'Mamma Mia!' Even with Pierce Brosnan's awful singing voice, this was the biggest grossing movie of 2008 in the UK and you either love it or hate but ABBA has never been more popular.

The Top Ten

With some great movies to choose from, the top ten for 2008 was a hard decision but here it is…

10. Iron Man
Marvel Studios debut feature showed you how a comic book movie should be made and introduced a character that is going to become a firm box office favourite. With Robert Downey Jr. perfectly cast as billionaire weapons designer Tony Stark, with Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges joining the cast, this is an extremely entertaining comic book movie.

9. Kung Fu Panda
DreamWorks Animation has always provided the laughs with their computer generated animated features and 'Kung Fu Panda' is one of there best yet. Brilliantly mixing martial arts action with laugh out loud comedy, this is great family entertainment with Jack Black's Po the Panda set to become a famous as Shrek.

8. Somers Town
Shane Meadows is one of Britain best filmmakers, just watch 'This is England' or 'Dead Man's Shoes' to discover why, and with this experimental short film he shows that he really know how to get brilliant performances out of young actors. Thomas Turgoose and Piotr Jagiello are fantastic as new friends Tomo and Marek, as they have fun in London and learn some things about love, friendship and life.

7. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
When director Guillermo Del Toro released 'Hellboy' in 2004, it didn't do that well at the box office but became a cult hit on DVD and Universal gave him the chance to continue the story of Big Red, Liz Sherman and Abe Sapien. The sequel is just as good, if not better than the original and shows how good a comic book movie and fantasy filmmaker Del Toro really is.

6. Son of Rambow
The British film industry might not be as productive as it used to be but it does have a habit of producing some real gems and this is one of them. After failing to realise 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' in 2005, Garth Jennings shows his true potential by writing and directing 'Son of Rambow' and he has produced a joy of a film that captures what it was like to be a kid.

5. The Orphanage
When it comes to getting some genuine scares, you have to leave Hollywood and head to either Asia or for this fright-fest Spain. Any horror movie that has child ghost instantly raises the fear factor and 'The Orphanage' does this extremely well but with a story that will touch you as well as scare you to death.

4. Cloverfield
When it comes to redefining cinema, producer J.J. Abrams and director Matt Reeves took us in a whole new direction with 'Cloverfield'. Seen from the point of view of a video camera, this film charts the impact of a monster attack on New York City and creates a film that will have you talking about it for many years to come.

3. In Bruges
British gangster films have been the stable of many a UK movie over the last ten years but it is the ones that combine comedy and drama that have been the most successful. With Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and a scene-stealing role for Ralph Fiennes, this is a joy to watch and one that you will be quoting from for a long time to come.

2. Wall-E
Every year one of the most joyous events in the cinematic calendar is the release of a Pixar movie and in 2008 the studio released another classic in 'Wall-E'. The most romantic and charming films of the year, this shows that even the love between two robots and move you to tears of joy and melt even the coldest heart.

1. The Dark Knight
The best comic book movie ever made and the biggest grossing movie worldwide in 2008, Christopher Nolan's 'The Dark Knight' is a stunning piece of cinema. A brilliant story combines with astonishing visuals to bring this story of two sides of the same coin pulling Gotham city apart at its core. It is the performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker that makes this movie so compelling and one that will set the standard not only for comic book movie but for summer blockbusters for many years.

And finally…
The worst movie of the year by a long way was the incomprehensible, totally disastrous 'The Happening'. Finally M. Night Shyamalan has been found out and the public can finally see that he is a one trick pony and is NOT the future of Hollywood filmmaking. Any filmmaker that has the plants and the wind, as a villain deserves to be laughed at for the rest of his career!

Possible Oscar Winners 2009

Frost/Nixon
Oscar winning Director Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind) brings us the story of David Frost's 1977 interview with ex-US President Richard Nixon in what is bound to be one of the front-runners for the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director, with Frank Langella up for a best actor award for his portrayal of the President and Michael Sheen for best supporting as David Frost. (Opens in the UK 23rd January)

The Reader
The Director of 'Billy Elliot' and 'The Hours', Stephen Daldry brings us a story set in Post-WWII Germany. Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman, played by Kate Winslet came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Burk re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial. Expect this to gain the British starlet a best supporting actress nod. (Opens in the UK 2nd January)

Revolutionary Road
The latest from British director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Jarhead and Road to Perdition) stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in a story about a young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children. Expect best Actor and Actress nods for DiCaprio and Winslet (Opens in the UK 30th January)

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Director David Fincher (Fight Club, Panic Room, Se7en, Zodiac) brings us the tale of a man who ages backwards, been born old and then becoming younger as gets older. Expect this to gain Best Picture, Best Actor for Brad Pitt, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress for Cate Blanchett. (Opens in the UK 6th February)

Slumdog Millionaire
British Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Sunshine, Millions, 28 Days Later) brings us a story of how impoverished Indian teen Jamal Malik became a contestant on the Hindi version of "Who Wants to be A Millionaire?" -- an endeavour made without prize money in mind, rather, an effort to prove his love for his friend Latika, who is an ardent fan of the show. Could be the outsider for Best Adapted Screenplay and an outsider for Best Picture (Opens in the UK 9th January)

Che Part One & Two
Steven Soderbergh labour of love charts the life of Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, played by Benicio Del Toro in a career-defining role for the Oscar winning actor. The first part is set in 1956, Che and a band of Castro-led Cuban exiles mobilize an army to topple the regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista. The second part is set in 1964, as Argentine revolutionary travels to New York City to address the United Nations. (Part 1 opens on January 2nd and Part Two opens on February 20th)

The Dark Knight
Christopher Nolan's comic book opus might be the outside runner for a best picture nomination but expect Heath Ledger to get a nod in the best supporting actor category.

What to look forward to in 2009

February

The Soloist (6th February)
From 'Atonement' director Joe Wright comes the story of a Los Angeles Journalist (Robert Downey Jr), befriends a homeless Julliard trained musician (Jamie Foxx), while looking for a new article for the paper.

Push (6th February)
The action packed sci-fi thriller involves a group of young American ex-pats with telekinetic and clairvoyant abilities, starring Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning and Djimon Hounsou.

March

Watchmen (6th March)
From '300' director Zack Snyder comes the adaptation of the graphic novel by Alan Moore. Set in an alternate 1980s were superheroes are banned but when an ex-superhero is murdered, a vigilante named Rorshach begins an investigation into the murder, which begins to lead to a much more terrifying conclusion.

Monsters Vs. Aliens (27th March)
The latest from DreamWorks animation just looks like it could be the most fun you will have at the cinema in 2009. When an alien invasion threatens the Earth, the US Government call in a group of Monsters to save the world with hilarious results and this one is also in 3D.

The Rest of the Year

Star Trek (May 8th)
J.J. Abrams starts the Star Trek franchise again as we meet Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty and the rest of the original series crew as Star Fleet cadets. With Time Travel, the Romulans and Leonard Nimoy returns as Spock.

Angels And Demons (15th May)
Tom Hanks returns Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon works to solve a murder and prevent a terrorist act against the Vatican.

Terminator Salvation (June 5th)
The start of a new trilogy, that sees John Connor (Christian Bale) take the leadership of the resistance to fight against Skynet but this isn't the future his mother warned him about.

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (June 26th)
A new threat arrives from times of old...a threat that must be stopped... no matter what the cost. With Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson and Megan Fox

Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs (July 3rd)
Sid, Diego, Manny and Scrat return and this time they are in 3D and they discover the last valley of the dinosaurs

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (July 17th)
As Harry Potter begins his 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he discovers an old book marked mysteriously "This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince" and begins to learn more about Lord Voldemort's dark past.

Up (July 17th)
The latest from Pixar. By tying thousands of balloon to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn't alone on his journey, since Russell, a wilderness explorer 70 years his junior, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip

Sherlock Holmes (20th November)
British director Guy Ritchie brings a new look at the Arthur Conan Doyle character with Robert Downey Jr. as the detective and Jude Law as Doctor Watson.

The Wolfman (6th November)
Joe Johnston remakes the classic Universal horror movie with Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins with 'An American Werewolf in London' visual effects guru Rick Baker creating the transformation scenes.

Avatar (18th December)
James Cameron returns to cinema after a 12 year wait to bring us a story of a band of humans are pitted in a battle against a distant planet's indigenous population in 3D.

Here's to 2009!

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2008