2008 was a pretty good year us nerds. More comic books were turned into movies and for the most part, they were pretty good. The high def war finally ended with Blu-ray knocking out HD and consumers finally had the confidence to go Blu. Last but not least, video games are more popular than ever. Here’s our look at the best and worst of ’08.
Movie
Best: Dark Knight
While Iron Man was entertaining, Dark Knight took the comic book genre to a whole new level. Director Christopher Nolan did an awesome job balancing the superhero and crime story together. Even though Heath Ledger will stand out for his portrayal of the Joker, the whole cast deserves credit. The movie wouldn’t have been as good if the rest of the cast didn’t step up. The score from James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer was also memorable, especially the Joker’s theme. Dark Knight also set a new benchmark for a “summer” movie.
Runner Up: Wanted
Worst: Hancock
The movie had a pretty cool premise: a drunk superhero in Los Angeles. Then the writers decided to add a subplot that totally ruined the movie. The first half was watchable but the second half just became a borefest and totally predictable. Director Peter Berg should be ashamed of this mess.
Runner Up: 88 Minutes
Home Video
Best: Wall-E Blu-ray
Not only was Wall-E a great movie, but it also showcased Blu-ray’s capabilites: great pristine video, lossless sound and a wealth of extras that any movie fan can appreciate and enjoy. Disney is the top studio when it comes to Blu-rays. They’re always consistent with their top-notch transfers.
Runner Up: Dark Knight
Worst: Speed Racer Blu-ray
Speed Racer on Blu gets the award because Warner Brothers didn’t add a lossless track. The extras are slim and you can already smell a double dip in the near future. I know the movie bombed but I hate when companies are thinking of ways to screw the fans instead of giving them the definitive version to begin with.
TV Show
Best: Sons of Anarchy
Sons of Anarchy was a well-made, well-cast series from the FX Network. It combined intricate plotting, lots of brooding, and some brutal violence. Katey Seagal (Peg Bundy from Married With Children) puts that show behind her and delivers a remarkable performance as the Lady Macbeth of the show. A very good show that promises to only get better in season 2.
Runner Up: Smallville, Reaper, Whale Wars
Worst: Knight Rider
Knight Rider is an awful and misguided reboot of the classic 1980’s adventure series. The cast sucked, the stories went nowhere slowly and a bored (and perhaps embarassed) Val Kilmer voiced KITT. The worst part of the reboot was how little it actually had to do with the original series. Instead of Michael Knight helping out regular people, it was some 24 wannabe with its lame terrorist of the week plots and crappy interrogation scenes. The series is coming back for a last run soon, but it appears its already run out of gas. It should be canceled any day now.
Runner Up: Legend Of The Seeker, Heroes
Video Game
Best: Fallout 3
In a year where most sequels were a big let down, Fallout 3 stood out from the rest. Fallout’s post-apocalyptic story was intriguing and the mixture of third and first person gameplay made for an immersive and believable world. The length of the game is longer than most FPS and is shorter than your average RPG, but it’s got a nice balance of action and rpg elements. Plus, the choices in the game makes you think twice about being good or bad.
Runner Up: Mirror’s Edge
Worst: Brothers In Arm’s Hell’s Highway
Playing this game was torture. The controls were really bad and the framerate was even worse. It’s sad when the original Brother In Arm’s plays better. The best part of the game? Shooting dead cows that looked like cardboard boxes.
Runner Up: Alone In The Dark
Action Figure
Best: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Turtles are back in its original comic book form. The figures are loved because it is well articulated and can be posed anyway you want. The paint job and sculpt is even better. The figures comes with a base and their trademark weapons.
Runner Up: Batman & Son
Worst: Marvel Heroes Legends
Marvel Legends went to crap after Hasbro took over. It seemed like Hasbro wants this line to fail: higher prices, boring BAF (build an action figure), re-releasing the same characters, worse articulation and paint job.
Runner Up: Halo Series 3
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John Spartan
Jan 1, 2009 -
I’d say not a bad year for comic book movies. Just take a look at Punisher: War Zone and The Spirit; just awesome.
No but really, we got The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Dark Knight, and Wanted. Next year I’m looking forward to Watchmen.
Magnus782
Jan 2, 2009 -
I actually had low expectations for ”Hancock,” and surprisingly my expectations were met. How many times is Will Smith going to play a character that spends most of the film brooding and crying?
Lt DirtyFreq
Jan 4, 2009 -
I actually hated WANTED. It was nothing like the comic. Why was the movie about assassins helping the world when the comic is about super villains finally defeating the super heroes? Why couldn’t they gave the movie another name? Also why did it need so many bullet time sequences? (Since the Matrix, only has the Matrix been able to pull off bullet time because no one has made any sense out of it.) The movie was just good to do a MST3K and to watch Angelina Jolie’s hot bod.
John Spartan
Jan 5, 2009 -
Lt Dirty Freq,
You’re right, the movie’s plot did deviate from the comic and probably should have been titled differently, but knowing this, the movie was still entertaining.
The essence of the comic is still there though, a nobody working at a dead-end job while everyone around him is screwing his life over. He later meets a sexy woman that frees him from his non-existent life into a life of a super being and he’s now a badass.
Lt DirtyFreq
Jan 11, 2009 -
For most people Wanted was entertaining. I had more fun making fun of it than watching it though (sorry). I guess you’re also right, the BARE basics of the comic are there. I still can’t look at my poster for Wanted (the comic) the same anymore though. I’m just too much for the comic. ^_^ Call me a fan girl I guess.
KichiGuy
Jan 25, 2009 -
hMMMmmm i’m sure you did a review on MGS4, John. It doesn’t stack up well against Fallout 3? I can’t say I disagree with that choice considering the main alternatives were GTA4 and MGS4. I still haven’t fully played MGS4 yet though, which makes me a sad panda…