Best Movies of 2008

Well, it is the new year and it's time to release the list of best movies of 2008. 2008 was a pretty big year for movies, and I'm sure you'll be mad that certain movies didn't make the cut. It's a short list, but here they are:
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4) Tropic Thunder

A brazen attempt to make a movie that has no regards as to who is the butt of it's jokes. Many people may not understand its humor, its satircal Hollywood angst (because most people don't understand how Hollywood and filmmaking works). This is surely the funniest film of the year and definitely the most quoted. Kudos also to Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Cruise for some of the greatest performances of the year (apparently don't watch the unrated director's cut, as I heard it isn't funny)

3) Slumdog Millionaire

Danny Boyle is on top of his game with this film. It is this year's small movie that could. If any movie could sweep the award season, this one could. It's different. It's unique. It shows us a slice of life that most of us would have never known until we've seen this film.

2) Wall-e

Although, not my favorite Pixar movie, Wall-e is beautifully told and animated. The first 20 minutes of the movie is one of the greatest storytelling sequences in history and all done with no dialogue, just feeling and seeing the emotion through Pixar's animation. Very bold movie to make. Very adult. Very risky. But it pays off.

1) The Dark Knight

This is the first time in along time that my number one pick just happens to be the highest grossing film of the year. With that said, The Dark Knight is a great film. Finally, a comic book film that is less comic book and more humane, in its story. It is long, yes. But it is much more complex and sophisticated than other pictures of this genre. I must admit, there are little nuances that bug me about this film, but in the wideview of things, it is trivial to how pertinant this film is to society. And of course, Heath Ledger, the best acting performance of the year. How can anyone miss that? Now the one question that remains: how is director Christopher Nolan going to top this?