Lists
Reviews
Images
Forums
Movies
TV Shows
DVDs
Music
Books
Games
List added by Nonfictionguy on 4 January 2009 07:36
Empire Magazine Review of the Year |
Views : 366 Comments : 0
|
 42  7.5  7.4 Riveting examination of the notorious German terrorists. Brilliant performances, plus hot girls with machine guns.
Defining Moment Martina Gedeck's Oscar-worthy turn as Ulrike Meinhof. 
157 8.1 7.9 Gripping, airtight, 1987-set drama about a college girl trying to get an illegal abortion in Romania.
Defining Moment Sleazy abortionist Mr. Bebe raises his fee, knowing full well that the girl has no other choice. 
630 6.9 7.3 Second Coens of the year, lesser to No Country but still solid Joel 'n' Ethan: a zany crime caper, this time with an espionage flavour.
Defining Moment Brad as fitness doofus Chad, ineptly attempting to intimidate John Malkovich. 
409 7.6 8 Clint compels with this weird true-life tale of child abduction and substitution, while Angelina Jolie defiantly weeps her way to an Oscar shoo-in.
Defining Moment The film's 15th Oscar clip: "Did you kill my son?!" 
657 6.7 7.5 J. J. Abrams-produced monsterpiece, remaking Godzilla via The Blair Witch Project and a Doritos ad.
Defining Moment Big squiddy Pumpkinhead thing is slapping the bridge about! Panic! Nonfictionguy's rating:
 
1653 8.5 8.9 The box-office smash of 2008 it's okay - nay, compulsory - to like. Proof that comic-book blockbusters can be, like, proper movies. And a great swansong for Heath Ledger.
Defining Moment The Joker's magic trick with the pencil. Wincey. Nonfictionguy's rating:
 
298 7.9 8.1 The world through the eyes of totally paralysed writer Jean-Dominique Bauby. Lyrical, thoughtful, moving.
Defining Moment Bauby's wife communicating his thoughts to his lover. 
38 5.9 7 Evidently too harsh to please crowds at the multiplex, this none-more-dark hoodie horror slaps hard, and there's nothing happy about it.
Defining Moment That final look in the mirror. Gut-churning. 
4 6.5 6.1 File under 'Tragically Overlooked'. Brit helmer Rupert Wyatt's prison-breakout debut features one of Brian Cox's finest performances.
Defining Moment The escapees discovering a Stygian underworld stretching out before them. 
278 7.5 7.9 That Ben Affleck is really a rather good director. His adaptation of the Dennis Lehane kidnap thriller is restrained, complex and intriguing.
Defining Moment Casey Affleck's Patrick badmouths an entire bar of hardcases. Kid's got balls. 
637 6.1 6.6 Will Smith wasn't the best casting (too slick) and it's a bit confused (duff twist), but director Peter Berg did offer an intriguing super-movie take.
Defining Moment The clip of a drunk Hancock 'saving' a beached whale by literally throwing it back to sea. Nonfictionguy's rating:
 
427 5.1 5.2 M. Night Shyamalan set out to shock. So why did he make his eerie threat… foliage? Still, it's better than The Ruins. Oh. It isn't.
Defining Moment Mark Wahlberg negotiating with (and outacted by) a plastic pot plant. 
151 6.5 7.1 Mike Leigh makes something genuinely feelgood, showcasing the raw talent of Sally Hawkins as the super-cheerful teacher, Poppy.
Defining Moment Poppy's weird driving lesson with the paranoid Scott (Eddie Marsan): "En-ra-HA!". 
493 6.8 7.4 Guillermo del Toro feeds his Pan's Labyrinth twisted-fairy-tale aesthetic into the smashmouth antics of Mike Mignola's Hellboy. Bodes well for The Hobbit.
Defining Moment The Barry Manilow sing-along. Nonfictionguy's rating:
 
179 5.9 6.8 Toby Young's memoir of disaster is tastefully softened into… The Devil Wears Prada for men!
Defining Moment Sidney (Pegg) tells PR Eleanor (Gillian Anderson) why he won't write her a puff-piece. 
396 7.5 8.1 Colin Farrell convinces us he should really do more comedy. And Belgium actually does look very attractive.
Defining Moment Brendan Gleeson's wonderful "two manky hookers and a racist dwarf" comment. Still tickles. Nonfictionguy's rating:
 
482 6.3 7.2 Louis Leterrier's daft, punchy Hulk-take isn't as good as Ang Lee's, and made less money at the box office. There's a lesson there...
Defining Moment Hulk smacks l'il Tim Roth into a tree, breaking every bone in his wee body. Nonfictionguy's rating:
1033 6.4 6.6 CG prairie dogs didn't quite rape our childhood, but Indy IV wasn't quite the final bow we'd hoped. Still dig the bright '50s vibe, though.
Defining Moment The swarm of ravenous giant ants. Nip nip. Nonfictionguy's rating:
991 7.6 8 The fun-lovin' yin to The Dark Knight's brooding yang. Also phase one of Robert Downey Jr.'s triumphant return to the A-list.
Defining Moment Tony Stark perfecting his prototypes: "Yeah. I can fly!" Nonfictionguy's rating:
 
1263 7.6 7.9 Sassy, heart-warming indie hit of the year which managed to be entirely uncontroversial about teen pregancy.
Defining Moment Juno's stepmom Bren (Alison Janney) gives the ultrasound technician a hard time. "Bren! You's a dick!" 
89 7.5 8.3 An insight into the strange sub-subculture of retro-arcaders - fantastically entertaining.
Defining Moment Wannabe Kong champ Steve is interrupted mid-game by his distressed kid announcing he's shat himself... 
676 7.1 7.7 A terrific mix of chopsocky moves, visual splendour and Jack Black comedy stylings. Easily the best DreamWorks' 'toon since Shrek.
Defining Moment The slo-mo training montage. Nonfictionguy's rating:
 
116 4.7 3.9 Mike Myers returns with a truly abhorrent creation - creepy guru Pitka - and wrings zilcho laughs. Car crash of 2008.
Defining Moment The film climaxes… with two elephants rutting. 
138 7.6 7.7 Caused a stir with its explicit steaminess, but Ang Lee's latest is a cracking spy thriller.
Defining Moment Wong Chia Chi (Wei Tang) explains to her stiff-collared boss precisely what it's like sleeping with the enemy. 
365 6.6 6.6 Ropey A-list ABBA karaoke or just, y'know, a good laugh? Either way, it's a box-office phenomenon, making more at UK cinemas than The Dark Knight. Eek!
Defining Moment Brosnan doing SOS. Piercing. 
109 8 8 Fascinating documentary on the famous tightrope walk between the Twin Towers in 1974. Also a heist movie in disguise.
Defining Moment Wire-walker Philippe Petit steps out on the tightrope and realises all will be well. 
370 6.8 7.4 Frank Darabont's third Stephen King feature is debatably the year's best thriller - B-movie chills with A-list craft and intelligence.
Defining Moment The most powerful ending of the year, bar none. 
938 7.9 8.3 The Coens dial back the zany, check most of their trademarks at the door and respectfully adapt Cormack McCarthy: gritty, gripping and a rightful Oscar-winner.
Defining Moment That gas station coin-toss. Nonfictionguy's rating:
309 7.4 7.7 J. A. Bayona's debut, produced by Guillermo del Toro. More chilling than a wifebeater full of icecubes, with a killer midpoint twisteroo.
Defining Moment A medium does a tour of the haunted house. With all the lights turned off! 
5 7.5 7.5 Astonishing, distressing and tense reconstruction of a spree-killing in a sleepy '90s New Zealand community. No happy ending here.
Defining Moment The heroic little ol' lady who crawls for help as the bullets fly. 
378 8 8 Marjane Satrapi's autobiographic novel gets animated, as she wryly views the 1979 revolution in Iran.
Defining Moment Young Marjane heads down to one of Tehran's dodgy areas to buy illicit contraband: punk albums. 
339 6.8 7.2 The Apatow Express delivers again, with Seth Rogen and James Franco on top form as stoners on the run. Like, totally funny or whatever.
Defining Moment Franco imitates the action movies he's seen and tries to kick loose a car window. 
359 6.2 7.3 Huff. Puff. Oof. Ka-boom! Stallone grows old gorily as John Rambo drags his lumpy ass through another pointless jungle adventure.
Defining Moment With the help of bad CG, Rambo outruns a giant explosion. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Nonfictionguy's rating:
176 5.9 6.1 Al Pacino. Robert De Niro. Er, John Avnet. Makes Heat seem much longer ago than 12 years. And most obvious 'twist' ever?
Defining Moment Bobby works out in the gym. Check out those buff stunt limbs! 
238 6.7 7.3 Guy Ritchie's return to form: a cocky, confident, occasionally perplexing but always kinetic crime caper.
Defining Moment Gerard Butler being chased by unstoppable Russian Mafiosi. 
495 6.4 6.9 The first direct 007 sequel continues the lean, mean Royale reinvention, with Daniel Craig growing into the tux.
Defining Moment The Aston-smashing pre-credits sequence sets the tone. Nonfictionguy's rating:
294 6 5.5 The Girls were back in town, and the girls turned out in force at the 'plex to welcome them. Just a feature-length episode, but that didn't seem to bother anyone.
Defining Moment Carrie being jilted at the altar. 
97 6.5 7.2 Garth Jennings does sweet-not-saccharine as two oddball boys bond over a love of First Blood and DIY film-making.
Defining Moment Will and Lee experience the heady delights of the Sixth Form Common Room. 
253 6.1 6.4 Those elusive Wachowskis adapt a Japanimated TV series about a universe dedicated to car-racing into a "living cartoon".
Defining Moment Speed trumps teen angst to win final race. Look - the chimp in dungarees is cheering! 
152 5.4 5.4 It's Episode II.5! But nobody cared. Still, those who ignored it missed out on stylish CG-animation and some cracking action scenes.
Defining Moment The vertical race/battle. Either that or Jabba's gay pimp uncle... Nonfictionguy's rating:
1188 7.3 7.8 A triumvirate of geniuses - Burton, Depp, Sondheim - create the most arresting musical of the year.
Defining Moment Sweeney's victims hitting the floor with a bone-crunching thwack. 
28 7.8 8.1 Alex Gibney directs his way to an Oscar: this exposé of the US government's implicit endorsement of torture is compulsive viewing.
Defining Moment Gibney's core revelation that torture doesn't even work. 
665 8.3 8.2 The movie. The performance. Amounts to the same thing, really. Daniel Day-Lewis arguably achieves a career best as misanthropic, vampiric oilman Daniel Plainview.
Defining Moment "I drink it up!" 
584 6.7 7.2 RDJ's storming of the multiplex, phase two: As blacked-up Metod-idiot Kirk Lazarus, he's funnier than the rest of the cast put together. The r-word caused some upset though.
Defining Moment "Never go full retard." Nonfictionguy's rating:
748 6.2 5.9 The first adaptation of the cult novels boasts great performances and a stunning aesthetic. Scream!
Defining Moment When Edward bites into Bella's flesh to extract nasty vampire poison, will he be able to resist feasting on her blood? 
146 5.9 6.6 Oliver Stone does Dubya, but it's softer than you'd expect, and suffers as a result. Great turns from Josh Brolin and Richard Dreyfuss, though.
Defining Moment Cheney reveals why the US has to invade Iraq. Something to do with oil, apparently. 
131 7.8 8 Ari Folman's animated doc is astonishing: the most surreal, impactful account of combat since Apocalypse Now.
Defining Moment A fearful Israeli soldier dreams of a giant nymph carrying him away to safety. 
615 6.5 6.9 Comic-book action from Night Watch director Timur Bekmambetov. James McAvoy turns macho and Ms. Jolie proves she's a true movie star.
Defining Moment McAvoy curves a bullet around Jolie's self-assured form. 
1076 8.3 8.6 Pixar gets bleak, but turns cutesy (aw, wook at dose adorwable big lenses) and distressing (humanity destroys Earth, Wall-E harvests body parts from his dead brothers).
Defining Moment Wall-E and Eve's cascading space dance. Nonfictionguy's rating:
Comments
No comments for this list have been posted
Login or Signup to post a comment |
Description
Empire Magazine's list of 50 Movies that defined 2008!
|
