As 2008 slowly recedes out of view, we’re looking back at the best in pop culture over the course of the year. Today, we look at the films of the year that actually seemed worth going to the cineplex for.
1. The Dark Knight
Christopher Nolan’s second stab at the Batman franchise is the best film ever adapted from a comic book. Gotham City has been reimagined as a cool, modernist backdrop for Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne and the late Heath Ledger’s Joker to battle against, but it’s characters and intrigue, not set-pieces that give Dark Knight its bite. The Joker’s chief villainy is that he questions the whole notion of heroism, arguing through murder, kidnapping and brutality that the morality of even the best men is but a thin veneer. It’s about the time you start thinking about themes like this that you have to pinch yourself you’re watching a Batman movie.
2. Wall-E
Pixar continues its quest to prove that anything can be made cute by making a trash compactor its protagonist in this charming tale of a robot finding love in dystopia. The first half of the movie is a cinematic tour-de-force that reintroduces to jaded audiences the joy of silent film. It loses some steam once the humans show up, but watching a tiny robot dance to Hello, Dolly! is a movie moment for the ages.
3. Slumdog Millionaire
The framing device of the Hindi version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire sends audiences to the violent slums of Mumbai in Danny Boyle’s zippy, enthralling cross-cultural ode to the star-crossed romances of classic Hollywood.
4. Rachel Getting Married
Anne Hathaway is riveting as a drug addict on weekend leave who tears into her sister’s wedding in Jonathan Demme’s hand-held movie meant to evoke a home video. It’s Demme’s best work since Silence of the Lambs.
5. Meadowlark
Taylor Greeson’s autobiographical tale of his brother’s 1981 murder and his own love affair as a boy with an older teenager escapes all the pitfalls of self-indulgence such an exercise could bring. Rather than self-mythology, Meadowlark is a tender exploration of how identity is shaped and reshaped over the course of a person’s life.
6. Frost/Nixon
From the play by Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon admirably captures all the soul-searching and verbal fisticuffs that flew in David Frost’s 1977 interview with former US President Richard Nixon. Ron Howard’s direction is nothing to write home about, but Frank Langella’s Nixon is fascinating to watch.
7. Reprise
Joachim Trier’s story of the friendship between two young aspiring writers has homoerotic overtones, but the real draw is the way in which the two men tackle maturity, masculinity and love– and fail at all three.
8. Breakfast with Scot
Ben Shenkman and Tom Cavanagh star as a gay couple turned daddies in this cute comedy along the lines of Raising Helen. The twist is that the young boy they take care of is the flamboyant one and it’s the gay dad’s who are uncomfortable with their new son’s predilection for lipstick and dresses.
9. Milk
Gus Van Sant’s biopic of the political career of Harvey Milk is a well-made hagiography that would be a lot more fun if it weren’t so self-consciously self-important. Still, Milk’s message of hope came at the perfect time for a gay community reeling with equality losses across the globe.
10. Mamma Mia!
So bad it’s good, Meryl Streep’s turn as an aging hippie singing ABBA songs for no apparent reason is the easiest guilty pleasure to come along in a while. Why is Meryl on a boat being blown by an offscreen fan? Why is Christine Baranski putting a diaper on a chorus boy? Who cares?! Mamma Mia may not have rhyme, reason or make much sense, but it sure puts on a show.
MadProfessah
Doubt? Benjamin Button? Ironman? Tell No One? The Visitor?
There’s a bunch of other movies that came out this year that were also very good.
Is this a list of Japhy’s Top 10 movies, or Queerty’s Top 10 Gay Movies of the year?
Shags
I think The Fall was one of the best movies this past year. Shame that it didn’t get more noticed.
Japhy Grant
@MadProfessah: @Shags: Well you know a Top 10 list doesn’t mean every other movie sucked. I loved Ironman and The Fall as well, but only so many slots. As to what kind of list this is– it’s the top 10 gay appeal movies of the year.
Michael J
Interesting list. Three on it would also be on my list: Milk, Wall-E and Rachel Getting Married. But I would also add a bunch of mostly smaller releases: Vicky Cristina Barcelona; Frozen River; Tell No One; 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days; Still Life; and two documentaries, Man on Wire and My Winnepeg. I couldn’t warm up to Reprise since I disliked the characters so much. And in spite of the always wonderful Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight lacked the tongue-in-cheek humor that I like when watching Batman movies.
Kevin B
@MadProfessah:
Good God, Benjamin Button was painful to sit through.
seitan-on-a-stick
I really liked the movie “Real Life” where the character opens the front door and takes one step after another into the real world. Have you seen it yet?
It’s called REAL LIFE!
The Gay Numbers
You lost me with these two:
Mama Mia
Breakfast with Scott
You think these were the best of 2008? Seriously?
I am trying not to judge you here. I really am. But it’s really hard. I guess I am going to have to “let you go.”
Aaron
Didn’t think the Dark Knight was that great. Wasn’t bad, but wasn’t amazing. It was all right. Wall-E though sucked. The robot from Short Circuit in love with a floating I-Pod? Really? Didn’t see the charm in that.
That Swedish vampire flick, Let The Right One In, is my vote for best movie of 2008.
damien
I’d put “Doubt” in there, too. It was amazing!
ggreen
So says the “Rainbow Brite†generation this is what passes for high art in 2008.
Rock
Burn After Reading was terrific. Wonderful acting in that film.
Stop Loss – no one saw it, but it was a powerful drama.
No Country for Old Men – yeah, I know it was released in 2007 but I saw it in 2008, sue me.
American Gangster – yeah, 2007, so what? Excellent.
Milk was the best film of the year, hands down. Sean Penn was brilliant. He deserves an Oscar.
The new Indiana Jones sucked eggs. I waited 19 YEARS for that?!
janaya
IRON MAN SUCKED THANK GOD ITS NOT ON THIS LIST
paain
bangok dangerous waz a hell o7 bullshit i never new nicolas cage sucks well for me HANCOCK rulez
Alan down in Florida
I’m gonna agree on Mamma Mia. It was a severely flawed movie from a cinematic point of view (blame a first time film director) but with so many leads cast against type and having a ball it was just a pure, joyful guilty pleasure of a film. Personally I’d rather see Meryl Streep get her Oscar nomination for this than for Proof. We’ve seen her do that kind of heavy lifting before but her performance in Mamma Mia was a pure revelation. Who knew she had it in her. Plus she was smart enough to let Christine Baranski steal the movie.
jbyrd130
huh. I was at oberlin the same time Taylor was, I’ll have to check out his documentary.
seitan-on-a-stick
I think G(an)Green is referring to Generation Y or Generation Whine as we have come to know them.
Would you like cheese with that whine?
James Bartlett
“High Times†cover story clears up alleged Franco/Lohan love connection
No sex involved, says mag – just a mutual love of milk, cookies – and primo weed.
NEW YORK, NY (January 1, 2009) This month’s cover story on actor James Franco in “High Times†magazine finally clears up the long-standing mystery involving the “Milk†co-star: Did Lindsay Lohan’s infatuation with him drive her into rehab?
“Not true,†the January cover story – just hitting newsstands today — finally reveals.
No sexual obsession existed, says the mag. What the two actually did share, according to “High Times,†is a deep craving for Girl Scout Cookies to feed the ravenous munchies they both get after smoking a primo bowl or two – boxes and boxes of which Lohan keeps frozen in a deep freezer in her basement.
The story reports that the trim Franco is so taken with the cookies as “the perfect munchie†that he even bakes his own Samoas during the 10 months of the year when the cookies are not sold. (The Girl Scouts sell them once a year in their annual fund-raising drive each spring; they are otherwise unavailable.)
The controversy first arose when the “New York Daily News†breathlessly revealed in 2007 that Lohan’s unrequited infatuation with Franco may have been what finally sent the starlet over the edge and into rehab – kicked off when the handsome star rebuffed Lohan at Prince’s Golden Globes after-party at the Beverly Wilshire hotel, bringing her to tears and an eventual trip to the spa-like Wonderland Center in Laurel Canyon, California.
According to the News, Lohan had first met Franco in June of that year at the premiere party for “A Prairie Home Companion†at the Hudson Hotel, said the paper. ““She was really taken with him,†another source told the News. “She and her friends were going on to Bungalow 8, and he went along.â€
And “People†magazine reported that Lindsay and Franco hit karaoke night at Guy’s Bar in West Hollywood in October and two nights later danced together at Area, also in West Hollywood — an evening that eventually ended in a covert raid on Lohan’s secret frozen cookie stash.
According to the News, Franco even refused a pricey watch Lohan tried to give him. Wrote the News: “It’s now the second watch she wears, allegedly as a painful reminder of him.â€
But as the “High Times†cover story reports, Lohan also had crushes that same year on Harry Morton, Joaquin Phoenix, Sean Lennon, Jared Leto, Wilmer Valderrama, Brett Ratner, Johnny Knoxville and Diana Ross’ son, Evan, among others. She is currently dating DJ Samantha Ronson.
What does continue is Franco’s love affair with the Girl Scout cookie as the perfect munchie — and he shares the following recipe so that readers can bake their own Samoas in the new issue of “High Times,†currently on newsstands nationwide.
(One quick note: instead of the wrapped caramels, Kraft now makes these nifty caramel bits. They work great.)
James Franco’s Homemade Samoas
(also known as Caramel de-Lites)
Makes about 3 1/2 to 4 dozen
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
up to 2 tablespoons milk
Preheat oven to 350F.
Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, next, the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk only as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky (you may not need any at all). The dough should come together into a soft, pliable ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough seems sticky.
It’s easiest to roll the dough out in 2 or 3 batches (between pieces of wax (or parchment) paper to about 1/4-inch thickness (or a little thinner) using a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter to make rounds. Place on a parchment lined (or on silicone mat) baking sheet and make a hole in the center. I used the small end of a large round piping tip. Nicole comments that you can use a knife, or the end of a wide straw, to cut a smaller center hole. Repeat until the dough is used up (it’s okay to re-roll, this dough is shortbread-like and very forgiving.)
Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are very lightly golden brown around the edges.
Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, to allow them to firm up slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Topping:
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-ounces good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
8 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips will do)
If you prefer milk chocolate, by all means use that.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees (F)
Spread coconut evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Watch carefully, especially near the end of toasting time; the coconut toasts very quickly once it begins to become golden.
Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.
Using the spatula or a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 teaspoons per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it begins to firm up, to make it soft and spreadable once again.
While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. (I melted mine stovetop using double boiler method.) Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper (I used silicone baking mats instead). Transfer all remaining chocolate into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate. (Melt a bit of additional chocolate, if there is not quite enough for each cookie.)
Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.
Trenton
Jeez…people get so uppity about these lists. You can state your disagreement without calling the writer’s intelligence into question, ya know…
I would like to add a couple documentaries: Chris and Don: A love story and Be like others. Chris and Don is one of the most touching films I’ve ever seen and a true testament to the longevity and purity of same-sex love, no matter how many times our opponents may dimiss it as capricious and sordid and perverse. Be like others (based in Iran) displaced Ruthie Shatz and Adi Barash’s 2004 release Garden as the most dismal look at queer issues in the Middle East…and both films only become more dismal because one realizes that these films are just scratching the surface at best.
And because there were plenty of non-queer movies on the list, I’d add “Inland Empire” which was released just on the cusp of 2008. I mean…if Mamma Mia! can make it to the list for its musical numbers, any movie with extra-dimensional hookers dancing to “The Locomotion” should be at least given an honorable mention. <3
The Gay Numbers
@Trenton: I guess your new years resolution wasn’t to get a sense of humor?
Trenton
No. No it wasn’t.
…
So…how about that pancreatic cancer? Nasty stuff, eh?
rick
i will confess that wall-e is the only one of these films i saw. it is the only one i wanted to see. it is GOOD. best movie i have seen in a long time.
adzomelk
i think mamma mia sucked eggs big time ive been queer for a lot of years & have NEVER seen str8 people give a damn about abba until now my entire context for abba has always been gay gay GAY so to watch this really bad film show its only gay character pop out of the closet @the end @the wedding well i thought it was just plain pathetic
NoTtHAT2008
Mamma Mia was the best movie this year…
it’s just so camp and so fun….
Miley Crisis
I saw about 55 films released in 2008.
Here are my thoughts…
BEST ACTING
Melissa Leo – Frozen River
Kate Winslet – The Reader
Anna Ferris – House Bunny
Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler
Catherine Keener – Synecdoche, New York
Mathieu Amalric – A Christmas Tale
Colin Farrell – In Bruges
Sean Penn – MILK
Josh Brolin – MILK
Denis O’Hare – MILK/CHANGELING
BEST OVERALL FILMS
The Wrestler
Slumdog Millionaire
Young @ Heart
4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
MILK
My Winnipeg
Cloverfield
Encounters at the End of the World
Changeling
HONORABLE MENTION
Frozen River
The Reader
Rachel Getting Married
Frost/Nixon
The Bank Job
Synecdoche, New York
A Christmas Tale
WORST MOVIES
Speed Racer
Indiana Jones IV
Bottle Shock
Day The Earth Stood Still
Hancock
BEST INTENTIONALLY FUNNY MOVIES
Hamlet 2
House Bunny
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Step Brothers
Baby Mama
MOST UNINTENTIONALLY FUNNY MOVIES
10,000 BC
Other Boleyn Girl
The Happening
Quantum of Solace
Jumper
Speed Racer
Sex & The City
Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Shawn
“Mamma Mia” SUCKED! It was terrible. The script was insipid. There were huge gaps of logic, and the dialog was pedestrian at best. None of the actors could really sing all that well. The costumes were awful; like from a fire sale. Meryl looked like she was wearing a sack.
Meryl Streep is very talented, but she does not do “light” very well. She tried really hard to be frothy and sexy, but it was like watching Queen Elizabeth do the Macarena. Yes, Meryl was very game, but still, at the end of it, I couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed for her.
Christine Baranski seemed to be doing her character from “Cybill”–only I remember it being funnier on the show than in this movie.
The island was beautiful; in fact viewing a picture book of the island would be a better way to spend two hours than watching this movie. It wasn’t a guilty pleasure; it wasn’t campy; it was just tedious. The only good thing for me was it really made me realize just what good singers Agnetha and Frida were.