Best Movies of 2008...

A powerful, masterfully-realised character study, The Wrestler is a stunning comeback for director Darren Aronofsky and 2008's best picture. Mickey Rourke's performance will blow you away.

WALL-E is the best animated family movie ever made, and definitely one of the best movies ever made. Period. I never expected much from the film and I apprehensively approached it...but I was pleasantly surprised.

This film is amazing! See it without delay.

Full review here

Clint Eastwood's rumoured swansong to acting is a grand return to form for the 78-year-old actor.
This is a far better film than anyone could have been expecting. This is Clint the badass, but not in any unrealistic way. He has no delusions about his age. This isn't Hollywood...this is Eastwood.

Gran Torino is even better than The Dark Knight. Yes, I just said that. Big deal. Get over it.

Full review here

How many masterpieces can a typical director make during the entire course of their career? Maybe one if they're lucky? Two? Surely no more than two or three...surely...

Clint Eastwood is no typical director. 2008 bore the release of two Eastwood pictures, one of which denoted his final appearance as an actor.
Both of Clint's 2008 releases are bona fide masterpieces. Two in a single year!

Changeling is engrossing, gripping and powerful.

Full review here

Another winner from Danny Boyle!
This is an engaging, excellent, reportedly brutally honest examination of life in the poverty-stricken slums of India. It's meticulously-directed (what else could you expect from Danny Trainspotting Boyle?) and well-acted (by predominently non-actors).

Full review here

In Bruges is a film that truly surprised me. As Australia was among the last places for the film to hit, I had heard little about it. As it turns out it's a bona fide masterpiece. It probably has no chance, but I look forward to the Oscar and Golden Globe nominees. I'd love to see this fantastic film get the recognition it deserves.

Trivia fact: in drama at school, the course includes an Irish play called The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Said play was written by the same guy who wrote and directed this particular film.

Full review here

The on-screen reunion of Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio has yielded predictably brilliant results. Sam Mendes returns to his established roots, creating a powerful suburban drama concerning a marriage in crisis. It's a tad abridged and it occasionally has trouble sustaining one's interest, but these are only minor faults.

Top-notch acting and superb filmmaking in every department guarantees Revolutionary Road a place amongst the best films of 2008.

Full review here

"Oscar bait" is written all over this ambitious drama, which was based on a Broadway play which itself was based on a series of television interviews conducted in 1977.

Yet, Frost/Nixon is engrossing and brilliant. It's filled with substance, tension, stinging wit and potent human drama. Not to be missed!

Full review here

Doubt is another brilliant 2008 motion picture; a powerful drama of doubt and certainty in direct conflict.

The performances (the main four of which all received Oscar nominations) are staggering. John Patrick Shanley's writing and directing can hardly be faulted. This is a first-rate motion picture which deserves to be seen at the earliest opportunity.

Full review here

For years, director Baz Luhrman has wanted to make the Australian Gone with the Wind. Multiple years and $160 million later, his dream has been realised.

Australia is a majestic, sprawling epic conveying a stirring love story set against the backdrop of the bombing of Darwin. The three-hour movie will not be warmly devoured by all, and I can understand why. Yet despite several criticisms I've heard, I really loved this movie. It's epic in every sense of the word. Just amazing and breathtaking.

Full review here