Top Ten Movies of 2008
I think I have mentioned this before, but I am a bit picky in watching movies. I really only want to commit to sitting down for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours to watch movie if I think there is a reasonable chance I will like it. The paradox is that I will play a mediocre video game for a few hours just for the experience of the game. I never said I made sense.
Anyway, this means that I have seen a grand total of fifteen movies that came out this year. Now I am sure over the course of 2009 I will watch DVDs of 2008 movies, but if I waited until I was done watching movies from this year it would be like July of next year, and then a list like this just would not be relevant. Also, there are at least three movies yet to come out this year that I know I want to see (Yes Man, Valkyrie,, and The Spiri) . However, even if we saw one in a theater (which we probably will) it will not be until January anyway. So of the movies I have seen released in 2008 here is my top ten, in the dramatic descending order.
10. Star Wars Clone Wars
So this one gets on here just by virtue of being Star Wars related. Over all, it was not bad, thought it is hard to really consider it a cinematic release since it never quite got over its made fore cable trappings. That being said, some of the action sequences were absolutly awesome and could only be adequately pulled off in an animated movie.
9. The Forbidden Kingdom
The plot of this movie is a little hockey and predictable. However, it does have both Jet Li and Jackie Chan in it, which means the fighting was incredible. Plus, with its kids safe rating, I know exactly which movie I am showing for the next youth group kung-fu night.
8. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
*SMALL SPOILER AHEAD*
I was not a big fan of the alien plot (ok technically extra-dimensional being plot), but it was really nice to see Indiana Jones again. Not that anyone who can do anything about it will read this BUT if they make another Indiana Jones movie, it needs to go back to artifacts related to Judeo-Christianity. The movies are better with that subject matter.
7. Quantum of Solace
Overall this was not bad. The action sequences were good, and the save the world plot was not bad. I think this movie's biggest strength was its biggest weakness. I really liked how it actually related to the previous bond movie. This is a big difference from all of the past ones that were essentially stand alones. However, going back to Casino Royale so much made James Bond come across as a whiny Emo-kid. They successfully brought closure and character development with Bond and Vesper, so let's move on.
6. Cloverfield
I really liked this Godzilla meets Blair Witch Project set up. It was refreshing to see a monster movie from the perspective of the people running on the ground in terror instead of the people who get to successfully kill it.
5. Iron Man
This movie was most enjoyable because of Robert Downey Jr. He played Tony Stark perfectly. I am not a big fan of when superhero movies make the villain a stronger version of the staring hero, but the performance of the lead actor makes up for that minor quibble.
4. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
I really liked watching this documentary, and it provides a lot of food for thought. I think one of the big things this movie shows (but never explicitly states) is that much of the science community's resistance to intelligence design has less to do with science and more to do with a dislike of God. For example, one scientist tries to sell a crackpot crystals theory, and when Ben Stein ask very basic questions that point out some critical flaws with what he just said he belittles him. Furthermore, Richard Dawkins, author of the God Delusion, concedes that there is evidence for Intelligent design but attributes this to the possibility of alien planet seeding! Of course like many documentaries this one has a bias, but the bias is not as severe as a Michael Moore documentary.
3. Eagle Eye
This was a fun movie to watch. I don't want to talk a lot about it because the movie is based on unwrapping one layer at a time, so to talk about the plot could be huge spoilers. Part of this movie takes place in Indianapolis, but it is painfully obvious that it is in fact not in Indianapolis, and that the people who wrote the script have probably never actually been to Indianapolis.
2. Get Smart
I don't know a lot about the TV show this is based on, but I laughed a lot in watching this, and that is really the mark of a good comedy. The scene with the mini-crossbow in the airplane is easily one of the funniest things I have seen in a LONG time.
1. The Dark Knight
I suppose that as media outlets do similar list this will often be at the top. This is easily the best super hero movie ever, and the portrayal of the Joker is spot on. This is without a doubt the best movie I have seen this year.
In case you were curious the other five 2008 movies I saw this year are: In the Name of the King, Rambo, Vantage Point, Prince Caspian, and X-Files.
Anyway, this means that I have seen a grand total of fifteen movies that came out this year. Now I am sure over the course of 2009 I will watch DVDs of 2008 movies, but if I waited until I was done watching movies from this year it would be like July of next year, and then a list like this just would not be relevant. Also, there are at least three movies yet to come out this year that I know I want to see (Yes Man, Valkyrie,, and The Spiri) . However, even if we saw one in a theater (which we probably will) it will not be until January anyway. So of the movies I have seen released in 2008 here is my top ten, in the dramatic descending order.
10. Star Wars Clone Wars
So this one gets on here just by virtue of being Star Wars related. Over all, it was not bad, thought it is hard to really consider it a cinematic release since it never quite got over its made fore cable trappings. That being said, some of the action sequences were absolutly awesome and could only be adequately pulled off in an animated movie.
9. The Forbidden Kingdom
The plot of this movie is a little hockey and predictable. However, it does have both Jet Li and Jackie Chan in it, which means the fighting was incredible. Plus, with its kids safe rating, I know exactly which movie I am showing for the next youth group kung-fu night.
8. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
*SMALL SPOILER AHEAD*
I was not a big fan of the alien plot (ok technically extra-dimensional being plot), but it was really nice to see Indiana Jones again. Not that anyone who can do anything about it will read this BUT if they make another Indiana Jones movie, it needs to go back to artifacts related to Judeo-Christianity. The movies are better with that subject matter.
7. Quantum of Solace
Overall this was not bad. The action sequences were good, and the save the world plot was not bad. I think this movie's biggest strength was its biggest weakness. I really liked how it actually related to the previous bond movie. This is a big difference from all of the past ones that were essentially stand alones. However, going back to Casino Royale so much made James Bond come across as a whiny Emo-kid. They successfully brought closure and character development with Bond and Vesper, so let's move on.
6. Cloverfield
I really liked this Godzilla meets Blair Witch Project set up. It was refreshing to see a monster movie from the perspective of the people running on the ground in terror instead of the people who get to successfully kill it.
5. Iron Man
This movie was most enjoyable because of Robert Downey Jr. He played Tony Stark perfectly. I am not a big fan of when superhero movies make the villain a stronger version of the staring hero, but the performance of the lead actor makes up for that minor quibble.
4. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
I really liked watching this documentary, and it provides a lot of food for thought. I think one of the big things this movie shows (but never explicitly states) is that much of the science community's resistance to intelligence design has less to do with science and more to do with a dislike of God. For example, one scientist tries to sell a crackpot crystals theory, and when Ben Stein ask very basic questions that point out some critical flaws with what he just said he belittles him. Furthermore, Richard Dawkins, author of the God Delusion, concedes that there is evidence for Intelligent design but attributes this to the possibility of alien planet seeding! Of course like many documentaries this one has a bias, but the bias is not as severe as a Michael Moore documentary.
3. Eagle Eye
This was a fun movie to watch. I don't want to talk a lot about it because the movie is based on unwrapping one layer at a time, so to talk about the plot could be huge spoilers. Part of this movie takes place in Indianapolis, but it is painfully obvious that it is in fact not in Indianapolis, and that the people who wrote the script have probably never actually been to Indianapolis.
2. Get Smart
I don't know a lot about the TV show this is based on, but I laughed a lot in watching this, and that is really the mark of a good comedy. The scene with the mini-crossbow in the airplane is easily one of the funniest things I have seen in a LONG time.
1. The Dark Knight
I suppose that as media outlets do similar list this will often be at the top. This is easily the best super hero movie ever, and the portrayal of the Joker is spot on. This is without a doubt the best movie I have seen this year.
In case you were curious the other five 2008 movies I saw this year are: In the Name of the King, Rambo, Vantage Point, Prince Caspian, and X-Files.
posted by SeanXor at 7:25 AM
1 Comments:
4. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
I really liked watching this documentary, and it provides a lot of food for thought. I think one of the big things this movie shows (but never explicitly states) is that much of the science community's resistance to intelligence design has less to do with science and more to do with a dislike of God. For example, one scientist tries to sell a crackpot crystals theory, and when Ben Stein ask very basic questions that point out some critical flaws with what he just said he belittles him. Furthermore, Richard Dawkins, author of the God Delusion, concedes that there is evidence for Intelligent design but attributes this to the possibility of alien planet seeding! Of course like many documentaries this one has a bias, but the bias is not as severe as a Michael Moore documentary.
Biologists reject intelligent design because those are just code words creationists use when they are talking about supernatural magic. No respectable scientist invokes magic in the lab.
Dawkins, when asked by the ignorant Ben Stein, can you imagine any scenario where intelligent design was possible. So Dawkins suggested the ridiculous idea that creatures from another planet could have brought the first simple living cells to earth. Of course Dawkins doesn't really believe that nonsense. He was just answering a stupid question to keep the idiot Ben Stein happy.
I've been studying evolutionary biology for many years and I agree with the biologists. The basic facts of evolution are the strongest facts of science, thanks to massive evidence, especially extremely powerful evidence from molecular biology.
Ben Stein and the idiot producers of Expelled are not scientists and they know absolutely nothing about modern biology.
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