Milk and Dark Knight Best Movies of the Year
The jewels in 2008's movie crown.
2008 was a mixed bag at the box office. There were movies we wish had been better (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), movies that were better than expected (Four Christmases), and movies that were just right (Sex and the City). Then there were movies that simply blew away the competition.
Here are our pics for the top flicks of the year.
The Dark Knight: It was a bittersweet moment when Heath Ledger received his posthumous Golden Globe nomination for his turn as the psychopathic Joker. Both because the film and its star (Christian Bale) were ignored, and because it reminded us, once again, what an unparalleled on screen presence we've lost. Heath's Joker is so maniacal, so magnetically mesmerizing we can't help but see (and perhaps even believe in) his chaotic vision of the world. Bale's conflicted Batman and Christopher Nolan's bleak backdrop help create a world where right is often wrong and wrong is often right. That doesn't sound like any place we know, does it?
Milk: For about the first two minutes of Milk you're aware that you're watching the actor Sean Penn play the character Harvey Milk. After that, actor and character merge so completely, meld so seamlessly that it's almost impossible to see Sean Penn as Sean Penn. His embodiment of the assassinated San Francisco supervisor is truly magnificent. Bolstered by stellar performances by Josh Brolin, James Franco, and Emile Hirsch, this film gives fresh meaning to battles still being fought.
The Wrestler: In some ways, The Wrestler is as simple as the title suggests: a movie about a professional wrestler, a washed up one at that. Randy "The Ram" Robinson lives in a trailer, hangs out with a stripper, and works at a grocery store. But he wants desperately to get back in the ring - whatever the cost. It's difficult not to see parallels between Randy and the actor who plays him, Mickey Rourke. Rourke, whose career has careened wildly, seems intimately familiar with the dark, lonely places Randy inhabits. Just as Randy is willing to put it all on the line, so too is Rourke. The result? A win. Hands down.
Vicky Christina Barcelona: Woody Allen was meant to make movies in Barcelona. Blasphemous? Maybe. But just look at the results. Vicky Christina Barcelona is the most playful, hilarious, cinematic romp Allen has taken audiences on in years. And the film is as beautiful as it is comedic. Allen's neuroses seem to have evolved into explosive passion, finding their perfect home in the wonderful Penelope Cruz.
Man on Wire: This amazing documentary follows the even more amazing feat of a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit. In 1974, Petit danced across a wire rigged between the Twin Towers - 1,350 feet above the ground. His journey to complete this miraculous spectacle, and the artistry of his crime, are wonderfully captured on film.
