Movies That Matter: The Best (and the Rest) of 2008

Military.com - Tom Miller

We're back with our third annual Top 10 List of the movies that mattered most in the past year.  (Note: These are not necessarily the year's "best" movies, just those that we think were important in one way or another.  Any movie, for example, that makes $500 million matters.  Except for Congress, that's a lot of money.) 

But, wait . . . There's more.  We don't stop with our top ten.  We also throw in the closest contenders (Honorable Mention) and call out the pretentious and tedious movies masquerading as serious or funny (Pretenders).  

Finally--for the booboisie out here in flyover country--there's a list of the movies that either haven't opened here or never will.  Showcase Cinemas has a monopoly in our small city, and they seem to have a low opinion of our taste.  So, we get lots of juvenile, gross-out comedies; violent, derivative dramas; and comic-book super-heroes, but not much literate fare. 

The result is our "Wait 'Til Next Year" list that includes those movies that haven't played here.  A few will eventually trickle down--if they gain sufficient traction elsewhere.  The others will finally show up as DVDs in Best Buy or Family Video in six months.  Better late than never, I always say. 

There are lots of advantages to living in flyover country--Open spaces! Affordable housing! Peace and quiet!--but movie diversity isn't one of them.  Anyway, I imagine that our Top 10 list would look different if these movies had played here before year's end. 

As always, we welcome your comments--cheers and/or jeers--on our picks & pans for 2008.  

TOP TEN

10.  "Mamma Mia"
What it is:  The acclaimed Broadway musical featuring the music of 1970's super-group Abba adapted for the big screen. 
Why it matters:  There's the infectious music, a surprising performance by Oscar-winning dramatic actress Meryl Streep, and an entertaining story.  And, its world-wide box office came in at $600 million.  Plus, there's too much testosterone in this list. 

9.  "Burn after Reading"
What it is:  A patented Coen Brothers spy farce with an all-star cast.
Why it matters:  Okay, so it's not "Fargo," but it's vintage Coen Brothers and that always matters with me. 

8.  "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"
What it is:  The fourth--and first in two decades--theatrical release in the Indiana Jones franchise.  This time out, our favorite archaeologist battles the Evil Empire (the now-defunct Soviet Union) over a legendary crystal skull.  
Why it matters:  No, it doesn't measure up to the best of the franchise.  But, it's likely the last time we'll see Harrison Ford in the signature role of his illustrious career.  If Ford returns as Indy, this reverts automatically to the "Contenders" list.   

7.  "Australia"
What it is:  Aussie director Laz Luhrmann's sprawling epic of life and love in the vast Australian outback just before World War II. 
Why it matters:  Despite being too long and, yes, sprawling, "Australia" is a dazzling film that captures the beauty and vastness of the outback and also grapples with important issues like the treatment of aboriginal people.  It's also enormously entertaining.  (But, I'm partial to Australia and the Outback.  One of my favorite movies is set there: director Nicolas Roeg's 1971 cult favorite "Walkabout.")

6.  "Valkyrie"
What it is:  Director Bryan Singer's historical thriller inspired by a plot among German officers to assassinate Hitler during World War II.  The plot is led by Col. Klaus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise), who lost an eye and hand in North Africa. 
Why it matters:  Despite the fact that everyone knows that the plot fails, Singer manages to sustain a high level of suspense while showing that not all Germans were in thrall to Hitler.

5.  "Iron Man"
What it is:  Another comic book superhero in a year dominated by superheroes. 
Why it matters:  Robert Downey, Jr. was an inspired choice to play wealthy industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man.  Without him, this slips to contender.  With Downey on board, Marvel appears to have another lucrative franchise. 

4. "Gran Torino"
What it is: 78-year-old Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this taunt tale of retiree Walt Kowalski, an aging Korean War vet who resents the Oriental refugees who are moving into his Detroit neighborhood.  But, Kowalski believes in fair play and justice and gets drawn into their lives as a reluctant protector. 
Why it matters:  Eastwood seldom acts any more so any film with Eastwood matters.  Despite his age, Eastwood can still invoke toughness.  When he growls "Get off my lawn" here, you get almost hear Dirty Harry.  Beyond that, this is a literate and moving film that addresses serious issues.

3.  "Man on Wire"
What it is:  A breathtaking and endlessly fascinating documentary about Frenchman Philippe Petit's high wire walk between the towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.
Why it matters:  This is jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, and sensationally-entertaining fare.  

2. "The Dark Knight"
What it is:  The latest installment in the Batman franchise.  This one features a gonzo performance by the late Heath Ledger as arch villain Joker and is dark, dark, dark.  But, that didn't keep critics from raving and fans from flocking to the multiplex. 
Why it matters:  $1,000,000,000!  That's one billion dollars.  And, that's before DVD sales, Pay-Per-View, et. al.  At a time when movie attendance is down and DVD sales are slipping, Hollywood desperately needs franchises like Batman.  And, with a literate script, intriguing characters, compelling action, and inspired acting, "The Dark Knight" works to perfection. 

1.  "Frost/Nixon"
What it is:  Director Ron Howard's mesmerizing account of British television personality David Frost's 1977 series of interviews with disgraced former U.S. president Richard Nixon. 
Why it matters:  Howard brilliantly captures the event in all its angst, intrigue, and drama.  Michael Sheen is excellent as Frost, and Frank Langella is Nixon in an Oscar-worthy performance. 

CONTENDERS: HONORABLE MENTION

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
What it is:  Director David Fincher's technically brilliant tale of a man (Benjamin Button, played by Brad Pitt) who ages backward.
Why it matters:  The concept--suggested by an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story--is intriguing, the special effects are dazzling, and the performances--especially Pitt and Cate Blanchett  (as Daisy, a dancer that Benjamin pursues)--are excellent.

"The Incredible Hulk"
What it is:  An entertaining, if predictable, revival of Marvel's green-giant superhero, previously seen in a dark 2003 movie and a long-running television series from the '70's and 80's.  Edward Norton stars as scientist Bruce Banner whose experiment-gone-wrong transforms him into the Hulk. 
Why it matters:  It's fun, it's hugely profitable, and it'll be back. 

"Shine a Light"
What it is:  Director Martin Scorsese's documentary/concert film featuring Rock & Roll icons Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones. 
Why it matters:  Legendary for their showmanship, creativity, and, now, longevity, the Stones haven't slowed down in their sixth decade (of life) and fourth decade (as a band).  At sixty-five, Jagger is a marvel and an inspiration. 

"RocknRolla,"
What it is:  A dark, stylish, and intelligent British gangster thriller with a cast of colorful characters and a labyrinthine plot. 
Why it matters:  Director Guy Ritchie not only makes a comeback but proves that there's life after Madonna.

"Quantum of Solace"
What it is: The twenty-second installment of the iconic spy franchise, the second to star Daniel Craig, and a virtual sequel to "Casino Royale" finds our hero looking to avenge his late lover, Vesper Lynd. 
Why it matters:  While it doesn't measure up to "Casino Royale," Craig's second go-around as Bond is fast-paced and stylish. 

"Towelhead"
What it is:  A disturbing coming-of-age story of a Lebanese-American girl living in Houston during the first Gulf War.
Why it matters:  Based on the acclaimed novel by Elysia Erian, the movie bravely tackles provocative issues of racial and cultural prejudice, sexuality, and abuse. 

"Appaloosa"
What it is:  An old-fashioned Western with some modern ideas about relationships.
Why it matters:  This venerable genre is out of fashion, but we can still learn important lessons from its traditional themes and values.  "Appaloosa" is this year's best example. 

"Cadillac Records"
What it is:  The story of Chicago's Chess Records and its often-tumultuous stars: Muddy Waters, Etta James, and Chuck Berry.  
Why it matters:  The movie takes lots of liberties with the facts, and the story of destructive musicians has become a cliché.  That much said, "Cadillac Records" matters because of the music.

"Twilight"
What It Is:  An adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's young adult vampire novels.  Here a lonely high school girl meets and falls in love with a perpetually 17-year-old vampire.  He's not your usual vampire though, and theirs is an unorthodox love story.
Why It Matters: Okay, it was tempting to put this in the "Pretenders" list so I could say it sucks.  Alas, nearly every tween or teen girl in America has seen this at least once, so it matters.  Especially if you're the parent of one of those girls.  It helps to know what captures their imagination. 

"Body of Lies"
What It Is:  A Ridley Scott spy thriller starring bad-boy Russell Crowe and pretty-boy Leonardo DiCarprio and set in the Age of Jihad.
Why It Matters:  While implausible, it's first-rate entertainment. 

PRETENDERS

You'd think that they'd learn eventually.  The left-liberals who dominate Hollywood keep hoping that movie-goers will buy into their anti-American, anti-military rants, and keep getting disappointed.  Last year, it was the dreary "In the Valley of Elah," the melodramatic "Rendition," the silly, talky "Lions for Lambs" and the toxic "Redacted." 

The good news is that few people actually saw them.  The bad news is that Hollywood didn't get the message.  This year, they tried again, and the offerings were, if anything, worse. 

There was "Stop, Loss," an overwrought, facetious drama about the Army's policy of extending the active duty service of some soldiers.  Even the studio knew this dog wouldn't bark and tried to market it as a teen movie.  The ploy didn't work.  The movie cost $25 million to make, and despite playing on 1,291 screens, took in only $10,891,554. 

John Cusack should be so lucky. Cusack's over-the-top, anti-war, faux-satirical "War, Inc." cost an estimated $10 million and grossed a grand total of $130,258.  It's a barely coherent screed against the outsourcing of war to private contractors. 

Finally, "The Lucky Ones," a road-trip melodrama featuring three returning soldiers, tries for existential and settles for lame and forgettable. 

After his publicized dust-up with Clint Eastwood over the absence of black characters in Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers," about the epic World War II Battle of Iwo Jima, I was more than mildly interested in how Spike Lee would handle the topic of black soldiers in World War II in his "Miracle at St. Anna."  Not very well, as it turns out.  The movie, which is adapted from a fictional account of the all-black 92nd Infantry Division that fought on the Italian Front, is essentially pointless, relies on stereotypes (white and black), and drags on for nigh three hours. 

We all love Will Smith, but "Hancock"?  Not so much.  "Seven Pounds."  Even less.

"Get Smart" didn't. 

"Yes Man" should have been "No, man." 

"Rambo" takes a licking but keeps on ticking.  And, killing. 

"Four Christmases" are three too many.  And, that's being charitable. 

"Pride and Glory" is more like "Fried and Gory.  Hyper-violent, derivative, clichéd.  

Sexy co-star Kate Bosworth is an ace but "21" is a house of cards. 

"The Express" never gains any traction.  This biopic of Syracuse All-American Ernie Davis is too conventional to score many points.

"Gonzo" isn't. The filmmakers ask too few hard, uncomfortable questions for this documentary of counter-cultural icon Hunter S. Thompson to rise above pretender. 

"Max Payne" is inane. If I want a video game, I'll go to an arcade. 

"Nobel Son" won't win any prizes.

Adapting small-screen hit "Sex and the City" for the big screen proves once again that size does NOT matter.  It's no less vacuous on the big screen than the small.  

Ditto for "The X-Files: I Want to Believe."  A small-screen classic; a big-screen disappointment.  Twice.  Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me. 

"The Day the Earth Stood Still" has been done before . . . and better. 

Hollywood loves to shout, "The sky is falling," and it seems that no genre is off-limits. Even animation.  In "Wall-E", Disney/Pixar employs a lovable robotic trash compactor to sell a theme of environmental apocalypse and slovenly, heedless humanity.   Anyway, it's derivative.  There's been a movie featuring a robot hawking environmental calamity.  Actually, Wall-e is more lifelike than Al Gore.  Not to mention more lovable.

In "W.," Bush 43 gets Stoned.  If only Daddy Bush had been freer with his love and approval, the last eight years might have been very different.  Or, not.  More psycho-babble from Dr. (Oliver) Stone.

Take a Pulitzer Prize-winning stage play, add some of Hollywood's best acting talent--Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams--and you get . . . a "Confused" mess. 

WAIT 'TIL NEXT YEAR

Out here in my little corner of Hog Heaven, Showcase Cinemas has a monopoly.  So, a handful of empty suits who wouldn't know a boar from a sow decide what we get to see.  As it turns out, they don't think very highly of us.  A third-rate gross-out comedy or a comic-book adaptation rates two or three screens and a four week run.  That leaves little room for serious films and documentaries and no room for foreign-language films.  So, the following films have not played locally: 

"Slumdog Millionaire": A Golden Globe nominee and likely Best Picture Oscar nominee;

"Milk": A biopic about a pioneering gay politician, it garnered Sean Penn a Golden Globe nom as Best Actor;

"Revolutionary Road,": This story of suburban angst reunites "Titanic" couple Kate Winslet and Leonardo DeCaprio and has received a handful of Globe nominations including Best Drama;

"Tell No One":  A stylish French thriller based on Harlan Coben's best-seller;

"Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired":  A documentary of the provocative filmmaker, pedophile, and fugitive;

"Rachel Getting Married":  A much-praised dysfunctional-family drama and Oscar vehicle for Anne Hathaway;

"The Wrestler": Mickey Rourke's star turn as an over-the-hill professional wrestler has landed him a Golden Globe acting nom and generated considerable buzz about an Oscar nod; 

"Nothing but the Truth":  Director Rod Lurie's latest political drama starring Oscar hopeful Kate Beckinsale; and

"The Reader":  Another Golden Globe nominee for Best Drama, this (sort of) Holocaust drama also stars Kate Winslet. 

Maybe some of them will show up here next year.  If not, we'll always have DVD.

----

More movie reviews

Tom Miller Article Archive

Copyright 2009 by Tom Miller