*Films Seen in 2008 - Final

Submitted by DJ Cmoney on Wed, 07/16/2008 - 04:04
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  1. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Tim Burton (2007) A-
  2. Big Fish - Tim Burton (2003) A-
  3. Suspect Zero - E. Elias Merhige (2004) C+
  4. The Believer - Henry Bean (2001) B+
  5. Never Say Never Again - Irvin Kershner (1983) C+
  6. Best In Show - Christopher Guest (2000) B+
  7. Fracture - Gregory Hoblit (2007) B
  8. The Black Dahlia - Brian De Palma (2006) B-
  9. Reno 911!: Miami - Robert Ben Garant (2007) C+
  10. Boogie Nights - Paul Thomas Anderson (1997) A-
  11. Ichi The Killer - Takashi Miike (2001) B+
  12. Pretty In Pink - Howard Deutch (1986) B-
  13. Sixteen Candles - John Hughes (1984) B-
  14. Battle Royale - Kinji Fukasaku (2000) B+
  15. Before Sunrise - Richard Linklater (1995) A-
  16. Broken Flowers - Jim Jarmusch (2005) B
  17. Insomnia - Christopher Nolan (2002) B+
  18. Punch-Drunk Love - Paul Thomas Anderson (2002) A-
  19. Scum - Alan Clarke (1979) B+
  20. Buffalo '66 - Vincent Gallo (1998) B+
  21. American Gangster - Ridley Scott (2007) B
  22. The Interpreter - Sydney Pollack (2005) C+
  23. Blue Streak - Lee Mayfield (1999) B-
  24. Little Children - Todd Field (2006) B+
  25. Match Point - Woody Allen (2005) B
  26. Brazil - Terry Gilliam (1985) B
  27. Death Sentence - James Wan (2007) D
  28. Ginger Snaps - John Fawcett (2000) B
  29. Apocalypse Now - Francis Ford Coppola (1979) A-
  30. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - Stanley Kubrick (1964) A
  31. The Dreamers - Bernardo Bertolucci (2003) B+
  32. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Michel Gondry (2004) A
  33. Rushmore - Wes Anderson (1998) A-
  34. The Brothers McMullen - Edward Burns (1995) B+
  35. Serpico - Sidney Lumet (1973) A
  36. Before Sunset - Richard Linklater (2004) A-
  37. El Mariachi - Robert Rodriguez (1992) B+
  38. Desperado - Robert Rodriguez (1995) B+
  39. Chinatown - Roman Polanski (1974) A-
  40. A Beautiful Mind - Ron Howard (2001) B
  41. Wristcutters: A Love Story - Goran Dukic (2006) A
  42. Adaptation - Spike Jonze (2002) B+
  43. Talk To Her - Pedro Almodovar (2002) A-
  44. Lost In Translation - Sofia Coppola (2003) B+
  45. BASEketball - David Zucker (1998) B
  46. Good Luck Chuck - Mark Helfrich (2007) C
  47. The French Connection - William Friedkin (1971) B+
  48. Before The Devil Knows You're Dead - Sidney Lumet (2007) A-
  49. We Own The Night - James Gray (2007) A-
  50. No Direction Home: Bob Dylan - Martin Scorcese (2005) A+
  51. Michael Clayton - Tony Gilroy (2007) B+
  52. I Am Legend - Francis Lawrence (2007) C+
  53. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective - Tom Shadyac (1994) B+
  54. Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls - Steve Oedekerk (1995) B
  55. High Fidelity - Stephen Frears (2000) A
  56. The Piano Teacher - Michael Haneke (2001) B+
  57. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut - Trey Parker (1999) B+
  58. Paradise Now - Hany Abu-Assad (2005) B+
  59. Godfather: Part II - Francis Ford Coppola (1974) A+
  60. The Vanishing (Spoorloos) - George Sluizer (1988) A-
  61. Rain Man - Barry Levinson (1988) B
  62. The City of Lost Children - Marc Caro & Jean Pierre Jeunet (1995) B+
  63. Dirty Harry - Don Siegel (1971) B+
  64. Major League - David S. Ward (1989) B+
  65. Iron Man - Jon Favreau (2008) B-
  66. The Nines - John August (2007) (B+)
  67. Forgetting Sarah Marshall - Nicholas Stoller (2008) (A-)
  68. Into The Wild - Sean Penn (2007) (A)
  69. Shrek 2 - Andrew Adamson & Kelly Asbury (2004) B
  70. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - David Yates (2007) B
  71. Bowling For Columbine - Michael Moore (2002) A-
  72. Idiocracy - Mike Judge (2006) B
  73. Miller's Crossing - Joel & Ethan Coen (1990) A-
  74. Million Dollar Baby - Clint Eastwood (2004) A-
  75. The Strangers - Bryan Bertino (2008) C+
  76. Fanstastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer - Tim Story (2007) C
  77. The Incredible Hulk - Louis Leterrier (2008) B
  78. The Life of David Gale - Alan Parker (2003) B
  79. Art School Confidential - Terry Zwigoff (2006) B-
  80. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - Kevin Smith (2001) B
  81. Swingers - Doug Liman (1996) B+
  82. What Women Want - Nancy Meyers (2000) C
  83. The Sixth Sense - M. Night Shyamalan (1999) A-
  84. War of the Worlds - Steven Spielberg (2005) C
  85. Alpha Dog - Nick Cassavetes (2006) B
  86. 6/30: Wanted - Timur Bekmambetov (2008) C-
  87. 7/1: WALL-E - Andrew Stanton (2008) A-
  88. 7/3: I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco - Sam Jones (2002) B+
  89. 7/3: You Kill Me - John Dahl (2007) C+
  90. 7/5: The Fisher King - Terry Gilliam (1991) B
  91. 7/5: Kung Fu Panda - Mark Osborne & John Stevenson (2008) B
  92. 7/6: Rosemary's Baby - Roman Polanski (1968) B+
  93. 7/7: The Savages - Tamara Jenkins (2007) B+
  94. 7/8: Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes) – Alejandro Amenabar (1997) A-
  95. 7/9: Bottle Rocket - Wes Anderson (1996) B+
  96. 7/10: Orange County - Jake Kasdan (2002) B
  97. 7/13: Rushmore - Wes Anderson (1998) A-
  98. 7/14: Batman Begins - Christopher Nolan (2005) A-
  99. 7/15: Halloween - John Carpenter (1978) B
  100. 7/16: Fast Times At Ridgemont High - Amy Heckerling (1982) B
  101. 7/17: The Departed - Martin Scorcese (2006) A+
  102. 7/18: The Dark Knight - Christopher Nolan (2008) A+
  103. 7/18: O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Joel & Ethan Coen (2000) B+
  104. 7/18: United 93 - Paul Greengrass (2006) A-
  105. 7/19: Fear - James Foley (1996) B-
  106. 7/19: The Devil's Advocate - Taylor Hackford (1997) B
  107. 7/20: From Russia With Love - Terence Young (1963) B
  108. 7/21: Love Liza - Todd Louiso (2002) B
  109. 7/22: 25th Hour - Spike Lee (2002) A+
  110. 7/23: The Machinist - Brad Anderson (2004) A
  111. 7/23: The Devil's Backbone - Guillermo Del Toro (2001) A-
  112. 7/24: U.S. Marshals - Stuart Baird (1998) B-
  113. 7/24: Seven - David Fincher (1995) A+
  114. 7/25: Coffy - Jack Hill (1973) C
  115. 7/27: Bottle Rocket - Wes Anderson (1996) B+
  116. 7/27: Friday - F. Gary Gary (1995) B
  117. 7/27: In Bruges - Martin McDonagh (2008) A
  118. 7/27: Dazed and Confused - Richard Linklater (1993) A-
  119. 7/28: Grizzly Man - Werner Herzog (2005) B+
  120. 7/28: Dreamgirls - Bill Condon (2006) C
  121. 7/28: Knocked Up - Judd Apatow (2007) A-
  122. 7/29: The Heartbreak Kid - The Farrelly Brothers (2007) C
  123. 7/30: Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance - Chan-Wook Park (2002) A
  124. 7/30: High Fidelity - Stephen Frears (2000) A
  125. 7/30: High Tension - Alexandre Aja (2003) B+
  126. 7/30: True Romance - Tony Scott (1993) A-
  127. 7/31: Chasing Amy - Kevin Smith (1997) B+
  128. 7/31: Oldboy - Chan-Wook Park (2003) A+
  129. 7/31: 10 Things I Hate About You - Gil Junger (1999) B
  130. 8/1: Breakfast On Pluto - Neil Jordan (2005) B
  131. 8/1: Harsh Times - David Ayer (2005) B+
  132. 8/2: The Darjeeling Limited - Wes Anderson (2007) B+
  133. 8/2: The Wackness - Jonathan Levine (2008) A
  134. 8/2: Almost Famous - Cameron Crowe (2000) A
  135. 8/3: American History X - Tony Kaye (1998) A+
  136. 8/3: Buffalo '66 - Vincent Gallo (1998) B+
  137. 8/3: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan - Larry Charles (2006) B+
  138. 8/4: Lars and the Real Girl - Craig Gillespie (2007) A-
  139. Very funny and moving at the same time. Extremely well acted by Ryan Gosling.
  140. 8/4: Licence to Kill - John Glen (1989) B-
  141. One of the more over-the-top Bond films. Wayne Newton's cameo is hysterical and Benicio Del Toro is great, in one of his first roles, as Dario, Sancehz's right hand man.
  142. 8/4: Mysterious Skin - Gregg Araki (2004) B+
  143. Joseph Gordon Levitt's performance was amazing and overall it was a very interesting look at child abuse.
  144. 8/6: Pineapple Express - David Gordon Green (2008) B
  145. It was funny and action packed as advertised and the way it poked fun at the action genre towards the end was awesome but for me it just wasn't as funny as the rest of the films by this whole crew (i.e. Koncked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin, Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall).
  146. 8/6: Shoot Em' Up - Michael Davis (2007) B
  147. 8/6: A Fistful of Dollars - Sergio Leone (1964) A-
  148. I am really upset I never got into these before because both this and "The Good the Bad and The Ugly" are awesome films. The way Sergio Leone blurs the lines between good and evil is incredible in both films. I liked "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" a bit better than this one, mainly because the finale is legendary. Now I just have to watch "For a Few Dollars More"
  149. 8/6: Reservoir Dogs - Quentin Tarantino (1992) A
  150. 8/7: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer - John McNaughton (1986) B+
  151. I really enjoyed the way they didn't glorify or scould Henry for any of his actions, in this film.Instead, they simply observed a serial killer going about his business.This made it both very interesting and very disturbing at the same time. The scene where Otis and Henry sit down and watch the tape of what they had done is one of the more disturbing scenes I've ever watched.
  152. 8/7: Fast Food Nation - Richard Linklater (2006) B
  153. Good. A bit preachy at some parts but overall a good look at the fast food industry and America's dependence on it. The scene in the kill room almost made me physically ill.
  154. 8/7: Barton Fink - Joel & Ethan Coen (1991) B+
  155. Undecided about this film. There is so much going on and I definitely need some time to digest it all.
  156. 8/8: Kill Bill: Vol.1 - Quentin Tarantino (2003) A
  157. 8/8: Kill Bill: Vol.2 - Quentin Tarantino (2004) A+
  158. 8/9: Disturbia - D.J. Caruso (2007) B-
  159. A decent thriller with some very tense parts but overall it falls a bit short.
  160. 8/9: The Simpsons Movie - David Silverman (2007) B
  161. I was never really into the show so it took me a while to get around to this one. It was funny and all the Pop Culture references were hysterical. In the end I think I still prefer Family Guy.
  162. 8/9:The Fugitive - Andrew Davis (1993) B
  163. 8/11:Into The Wild - Sean Penn (2007) A
  164. 8/13:Big Fish - Tim Burton (2003) A-
  165. 8/15:The Fifth Element - Luc Besson (1997) B+
  166. 8/19: Tropic Thunder - Ben Stiller (2008) B+
  167. Hysterical. I thought everything was hilarious and there were a couple of scenes that I was laughing so hard it hurt. I personally liked this one better than Pineapple Express
  168. 8/20: Behind Enemy Lines - John Moore (2001) B-
  169. 8/26: Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Woody Allen (2008) B
  170. The story and script were both amazing. The performances by Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz were also great but there were alot of flaws. Both Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson's performances were not good, especially that of Rebecca Hall. In addition, the voiceovers were awful. The voice used for the voiceovers was terrible and he had to describe the emotions of Vicky and Cristina because the actors were not good enough to portray them. It could have been so great, but in the end it will have to go down as an extremely flawed masterpiece.
  171. 8/28: Rounders - John Dahl (1998) B+
  172. 9/11: Can't Hardly Wait - Harry Elfont & Deborah Kaplan (1998) B-
  173. 9/13: Lucky You - Curtis Hanson (2007) C
  174. 9/14: True Romance - Tony Scott (1993) A-
  175. 9/16: High Fidelity - Stephen Frears (2000) A
  176. 9/18: The 40 Year Old Virgin - Judd Apatow (2005) A-
  177. 9/24: Chasing Amy - Kevin Smith (1997) B+
  178. 9/27: Fargo - Joel & Ethan Coen (1996) A-
  179. 10/4: Before The Devil Knows You're Dead - Sidney Lumet (2007) A-
  180. 10/8: Forgetting Sarah Marshall - Nicholas Stoller (2008) A-
  181. 10/24: In Bruges - Matin McDonagh (2008) A
  182. 10/25: The Wackness - Jonathan Levine (2008) A
  183. 11/2: The Girl Next Door - Luke Greenfield (2004) B
  184. 11/13: Heavy Weights - Steven Brill (1995) B
  185. 11/14: The Wackness - Jonathan Levine (2008) A
  186. 11/23: Forgetting Sarah Marshall - Nicholas Stoller (2008) A-
  187. 11/28: Forrest Gump - Robert Zemeckis (1994) A-
  188. 11/28: Eastern Promises - David Cronenberg (2007) A-
  189. 12/3: Chasing Amy - Kevin Smith (1997) B+
  190. 12/3: Death At A Funeral - Frank Oz (2007) B+
  191. Very funny, if you are a fan of British humor like Shaun of the Dead then you will like this one
  192. 12/4: Role Models - David Wain (2008) A-
  193. Very funny. On par with all the rest of these type of comedies. On my personal list it's only behind 40 Year Old Virgin and Superbad
  194. 12/6: Mallrats - Kevin Smith (1995) A-
  195. 12/7: Love Actually - Richard Curtis (2003) A
  196. 12/7: A History of Violence - David Cronenberg (2005) A-
  197. 12/8: Win a Date With Tad Hamilton - Robert Luketic (2004) C+
  198. 12/10: The Holiday - Nancy Meyers (2006) B-
  199. Typical christmas time chick flick. Entertaining but nothing special.
  200. 12/13: The Sweetest Thing - Roger Kumble (2002) B-
  201. 12/13: In Bruges - Matin McDonagh (2008) A
  202. 12/14: The Wackness - Jonathan Levine (2008) A
  203. 12/16: Crash - David Cronenberg (1996) B
  204. Very interesting and very strange at the same time. Great acting and a very interesting story but some scenes were a bit over the top. The infamous "gash" scene was one of those scenes where you are disgusted but can't look away
  205. 12/17: Slumdog Millionaire - Danny Boyle (2008) A+
  206. Incredible film, reminded me alot of City of God during parts. There is not much I can really say about this film except that I was genuinely moved.
  207. 12/17: Reservation Road - Terry George (2007) B
  208. Excellent story about a family dealing with the loss of their child and the guilt of the man responsible. The film was also very well acted, especially Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo. However, the film falls short in two areas, the script and the direction. With a tighter script and better direction this film could have been great.
  209. 12/18: Synecdoche, New York - Charlie Kaufman (2008) A
  210. This film really hit home for me because I can relate to the way Caden's mind works. For some this movie will just be a pretentious piece of shit, but for others, that can relate to the film it will be like Mecca. This could very well be bumped up to an A+ upon a rewatch but as it stands now it gets an A.
  211. 12/18: Defintely, Maybe - Adam Brooks (2008) B+
  212. Let me preface this by two things: 1) After, watching Synecdoche, New York I needed a film that was light and uplifting and 2) I am a sucker for chick flicks. With that said, I loved this film. Throughout the entire 112 minute runtime I had a stupid smile on my face that I could not, for the life of me, get rid of.
  213. 12/19: Zack and Miri Make a Porno - Kevin Smith (2008) B+
  214. I have always been a fan of Kevin Smith films and the way he manages to be vulgar and romantic at the same time. This one falls somewhere in the middle of all his films behind Clerks, Clerks II, Mallrats and Dogma but ahead of Chasing Amy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Jersey Girl.
  215. 12/19: Once - John Carney (2006) A
  216. Ever since I saw them perform the song at the Oscars I have been meaning to watch this film. I am huge fan of music and love stories so I was always going to love this film. I was not dissapointed.
  217. 12/21: Never Been Kissed - Raja Gosnell (1999) B-
  218. 12/22: Mr. Woodcock - Craig Gillespie (2007) C-
  219. I like stupid, slapstick comedies just as much as the next guy but this film, minus a few brief moments, was just not funny. Not really sure how Craig Gillespie directed Lars and the Real Girl and then decided to do this. Color me bewildered.
  220. 12/22: Office Space - Mike Judge (1999) B+
  221. 12/22: The Beach - Danny Boyle (2000) B-
  222. I am a huge fan of Danny Boyle and films about traveling (The Motorcycle Diaries, Into the Wild etc.) and I was really into this film for about the first 75 minutes. Then slowly but surely it went off the deep end and all that the first 3/4 promised never came to fruition.
  223. 12/23: Milk - Gus Van Sant (2008) A-
  224. I really enjoyed this film, it was an excellent chronicle of a very important man. I especially liked the way Van Sant mixed the documentary footage and the dramatic reconstruction. It helped the viewer to better understand the environment Harvey Milk was living in as well as the difficulties he faced and in the end made the message that much more powerful.
  225. 12/23: Transsiberian - Brad Anderson (2008) B
  226. I am a huge fan of Brad Anderson's previous films, (The Machinist and Session 9) so I was very excited to see his next effort. Given my high expectations I was a bit disappointed but by no means was this a bad film. It was a good thriller that kept me intrigued throughout but I felt the script was a bit loose and the film tended to drag in certain areas. Again by no means was this a bad film but I feel Brad Anderson is definitely capable of better.
  227. 12/24: The Conversation - Francis Ford Coppola (1974) A-
  228. A great film that asks some very interesting moral questions. This is one that I have always been somewhat embarrassed about never seeing and now, I am very glad that I have. Two things really stood out for me in this film: 1) Gene Hackman's performance and 2) The score was brilliant.
  229. 12/25: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - David Fincher (2008) A
  230. I have been eagerly awaiting this film since the first trailer I saw back in June and it was worth the wait. An absolutely brilliant story executed wonderfully by the director and actors.
  231. 12/25: Millions - Danny Boyle (2004) B+
  232. A heartwarming film about a young child's quest for goodness. I am now convinced Danny Boyle is capable of tackling any genre.
  233. 12/26: The Warriors - Walter Hill (1979) B+
  234. Nothing really special here but god damn was it entertaining. This is a typical "guy" movie with excellent fight scenes and great dialogue.
  235. 12/27: The Cooler - Wayne Kramer (2003) B
  236. A decent film with great acting from Alec Baldwin and William H. Macy. I am also a huge fan of Maria Bello, I think she is a great actress and it doesn't hurt that she is gorgeous.
  237. 12/27: Elephant - Gus Van Sant (2003) A-
  238. Many critics have panned Gus Van Sant for not committing to a theory about the reasoning of the killers. I feel that it was a stroke of genius from the director making the film that much more powerful. People have also labeled it as slow and boring. For me, the intensity of the last 15 minutes more than made up for the slow pace of the beginning.
  239. 12/27: Ravenous - Antonia Bird (1999) C
  240. It wasn't awful but I think it was poorly directed. She couldn't decide whether she wanted to make it a satire film or a horror film. If it was supposed to be a satire, it wasn't funny and if it was supposed to be a horror, it wasn't tense or scary. There was one bright spot and that was the performance of Robert Carlyle, it almost lifted this film out of the doldrums.
  241. 12/28: The Dark Knight - Christopher Nolan (2008) A+
  242. 12/29: Wonderland - James Cox (2003) B
  243. A decent film and a good retelling of the Wonderland murders, but I felt there was something missing throughout. I thought the directing was very good and Val Kilmer was great but for a movie with such dark subject matter, there was a lack of tension. I realize in retelling a true story there are some constraints but I still felt as though it could have been better.
  244. 12/30: Doubt - John Patrick Shanley (2008) B+
  245. An average story and film that was made special through incredible performances from Philip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and the entire supporting cast.
  246. 12/31: The Reader - Stephen Daldry (2008) A-
  247. I loved the story and the acting was top-notch. As always Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes were excellent and David Kross, essentially a newcomer, was also a very pleasant suprise.
Author Comments: 

This isn't complete due to my joining in July.
Bold = Rewatch

I am back at school now so the number of movies I am able to watch will go way down, unfortunately.