These are the best and the worst films I’ve seen in 2008 (so far):

My Fav 5:

1.  The Dark Knight- Dark, dazzlingly complex and one of the best (along with Batman Begins and Spidey 2) comic book films ever made.  As soon as Heath Ledger’s darkly funny and utterly amazing Joker pops up on screen, you can’t take your eyes off him.  The whole cast is amazing and this is the rare film that will stay with you long after you’ve forgotten the latest popcorn flick you saw to escape a blazing hot day.

2.  Wanted- A new high watermark in action from the cult director of the Russian Watch series.  Wanted is Heaven for fans of vicious and stylish violence.

3.  Prince Caspian- VERY underrated and extremely entertaining return to Narnia with good performances, wonderful music, and lots of eye-popping action.

4.  American Teen- Terrific documentary about high school kids in the midwest.  Dont’ bother listening to gripes about how some if it appears staged, there’s enough truth, heartbreak, and teen angst for 5 John Huges films…..and it’s funny too.

5.  The Fall and In Bruges (tie)-  Two VERY different but equally satisfying films.  The Fall is Tarsem’s visually stunning fantasy epic and In Bruges is an excellent black comedy with a breakout performance from Collin Farrell.  Now, that’s a great double feature. 

Worst 5 Films:

1.  Meet the Spartans- The morons behind Date Movie (and the upcoming Disaster Movie) return with a shoddy,  depressing, amazingly unfunny, and homophobic disaster.  The credits start to roll after an hour, but it feels like an eternity.  Terrible production values, no laughs, and an embarrassed looking (Kevin Sorbo) and embarrassing (Carmen Elektra when she’s required to do anything except dance seductively) cast.  Easily one of the worst films ever made.

2.  The Lost Boys: The Tribe- The sequel (direct to DVD) to the classic first Lost Boys film is a soul-deadening and terrible failure all around.  A bloodless vampire film with terrible writing (35 year old balding guys trying to be hip calling each other bitch) and a worse cast.  The film (pardon the pun) totally bites.

3. Untraceable- The lovely Diane Lane looks tired and annoyed (who could blame her) as she races around trying to stop a closeted killer.  A slick looking piece of waste and another nail in the coffin of the torture porn genre. 

4.  Starship Troopers 3- Casper Van Dien is about the ONLY thing from the first film that returns.  There’s none of the wit, biting political commentary, style, or gruesome effects to speak of.  It’s just a cheap and lousy waste of time.

5.  Indiana Jones And the Space Between Spaces:  I actually get more bitter about this film the more I think about it…..its not one of the “worst” films of the year, but its the most disappointing and easily the biggest wasted opportunity of 2008, which to me, is far worse.

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