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Figuring out the ten worst films over the course of the first six months of 2008 was difficult because there were so many. Unfortunately, figuring out the best films of the first six months wasn't nearly as difficult as it turns out there was really only one film left on the outside along with one major exception.
First off, Cloverfield didn't make the list and for what I believe are obvious reasons. As much as Cloverfield is a fun movie to watch the first time you see it there isn't much to enjoy after that. The first 18 minutes or so are worthless set-up pieces that you never want to watch again and the last 60 minutes of the film are still a bit fun, but the mystery behind the film has already been revealed and the unexpected deaths are no longer unexpected and you begin to realize the film didn't give you a wild ride the first time you saw it because it is some kind of masterpiece as much as it was
As for my one exception, that would be the gut-wrenching 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. Had I actually placed this movie on this list it would end up at #1 without a doubt. 4 Months is quite possibly the
Now, to the top ten from beginning of January to the end of June. You will notice that even though I have already seen The Dark Knight I am going by release date and will not include it on this list, just as I will not include Choke. Of all these films I imagine the top 3 or 4 remaining on my year-end top ten, but that remains to be seen. So, without further delay, let's dig in...
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Rambo |
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Word is, the kill count in this film totals
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The Bank Job |
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This one was surprising to me. After seeing the trailer I had pretty much written this one off as it appeared it gave the entire film away and would leave nothing to the experience of watching it. While that is pretty much true, the film is still quite fun to watch. After all, who doesn't like a good heist flick?
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Iron Man |
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I am sure fanboys will disagree with me that Iron Man is actually not as good as The Incredible Hulk, but considering I have it just below the other I am sure I won't get too much guff. While I think the first half of Iron Man is utterly fantastic, this film suffers from major final act problems that are too many to mention here. Simply put, turning what could have been a kick ass war on terrorism into a monster movie wasn't what the first hour was building toward.
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The Incredible Hulk |
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I believe this may be the first time ever that I actually enjoyed watching an all out CGI vs. CGI monster mash battle. The climax in The Incredible Hulk was a fun and extremely loud brawl that gave me plenty of enjoyment.
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Kung Fu Panda |
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One of two fantastic animated films in the first half of 2008. The great thing about both animated features this year is that neither one of them relies on silly pop culture references and actually have a fun story to tell. So many animated films today think name dropping pop culture icons and mimicking them is an easy out for a source of comedy, but, as Shrek has proven, it's an old tactic that many audiences are wise to.
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In Bruges was a fantastic film, I loved every second of it. It was horribly mismarketed, but Focus Features knows how to take that screwball comedy and give it context. The trailer made it seem like an all out laugh riot, but this was a really emotional movie with deep, interesting characters. I think I'd put it at #3 on my list so far this year:
1) Speed Racer
2) Redbelt
3) In Bruges
4) The Visitor
5) (tie) Iron Man/The Incredible Hulk
(Jul. 3, 2008 - 7:53:06 AM)
(Jul. 3, 2008 - 8:03:31 AM)
That said, here would be my choices for the top ten (so far) of 2008:
Whow knows how many of these will make it to my list at the end of the year (the first four, I'm guessing), the real story is that, for as poor as 2008 has been, there have still been some incredible treasures worthy of discovery. I guess that's something.
(Jul. 3, 2008 - 11:59:28 AM)
(Jul. 3, 2008 - 3:01:37 PM)
(Jul. 27, 2008 - 8:20:08 PM)