Friday, January 2, 2009

The List 2008

Total Movies watched in 2008: 160

Average Movies Per Week: 3.08

Most Watched films of 2008: Rushmore, Sweeney Todd (3 times each) and the 2006 BBC Jane Eyre, which I stopped keeping track of after the 4th viewing.

Movies Watched Twice in 2008 (DVD): Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix, I Heart Huckabees, Marie Antoinette, Adaptation, Stranger Than Fiction, Becoming Jane, 2 Days in Paris, Heaven Help Us,

Movies Seen in the Theatre: 25 (Denoted with ** below)

Movies Seen Both in Theatre and on DVD: Sweeney Todd, Enchanted, There Will Be Blood, Wall-E, Kung Fu Panda

Honorary Mention: I Heart Huckabees has been in my top most viewed movies the past 2 years. Well done, Huckabees.

Best of 2008:
This year I cannot come up with a Best Of 2008 list because nothing that I saw in the theatre this year blew me away entirely. I really loved Vicky Cristina Barcelona, was captivated by Into Great Silence and both There Will Be Blood and I’m Not There impressed me, but to put these on a Best List would just be default because there was nothing else better. ( I didn't get out to movie theaters much this year and thus missed a lot of good contenders). So instead, I’m doing a list of best films I saw for the first time in 2008. The following films are those that surprised and delighted me to the point of notability, stuck with me for days, or made me think about life differently. Here they are, ranging from the past 40 years or so.

Best First Viewings of 2008 (DVD):
Das Boot (Director's Cut),
The UP Series,
2 Days in Paris,
The Savages,
La Vie En Rose

I will however include the following List
Worst of 2008:
Cloverfield
Be Kind Rewind
Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Duchess
Australia


THE LIST

January
**Sweeney Todd
Das Boot
Tootsie
Groundhog Day
French Kiss
Serenity
**Enchanted
Star Trek: First Contact
7-Up
7 + 7
21 Up
28 Up
Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix
35 Up
42 Up
**There Will Be Blood
I Heart Huckabees
Rushmore
The Life Aquatic
Gangs of New York
Jesus of Montreal
**Cloverfield
Walk the Line
Gattaca
Lost in Translation
**Lars and the Real Girl
What About Bob?
Dave
Star Trek: Generations
February
**I’m Not There
Little Women
Back to the Future
Batman Begins
Persuasion
Marie Antoinette
**Juno
Gosford Park
Shopgirl
Passion of the Christ
Emma
I Heart Huckabees
Remains of the Day
Adaptation
Disney’s Robin Hood
Stranger Than Fiction
March
**Be Kind Rewind
Bridget Jones’ Diary
The Great New Wonderful
Der Untergang
Waitress
Michael Clayton
No Reservations
Mansfield Park
Persuasion (BBC 2007)
The Matrix
April
Antwone Fisher
Jane Eyre (BBC 2006)
Matrix Reloaded
Matrix Revolutions
Blades of Glory
Good Will Hunting
Swingers
The Stepford Wives (1975)
À la folie... pas du tout
May
Dan in Real Life
Becoming Jane
Heaven
The Piano
Atonement
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Bleu
Jane Eyre (1995)
The Natural
Failure to Launch
27 Dresses
2 Days in Paris
American Splendor
Wonder Boys
The Princess and the Warrior
**Iron Man
Before Sunrise
Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
Transformers
The Village
**Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Eagle Vs. Shark
Fellowship of the Ring: Extended Edition
**Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Two Towers: Extended Edition
Return of the King: Extended Edition
Mansfield Park (BBC 2007)
Antonia’s Line
Adam Bede
Heaven Help Us
The Virgin Suicides
There Will Be Blood
Marie Antoinette
June
Heaven Help Us
Adaptation
**Mysteries of Pittsburgh
Once
Bottle Rocket
Paris Je T’aime
**The Incredible Hulk
**Get Smart
Enchanted
Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix
**Wall-E
July
Becoming Jane
Spiderman 3
Jane Eyre (BBC 2006)
King of Kong
Hellboy
Jane Eyre (BBC 2006)
**Hellboy II: The Golden Army
A Little Princess
Middlemarch
August
What’ Eating Gilbert Grape
The Goonies
The Bank Job
The Secret Garden (1993)
Jane Eyre (BBC 2006)
September
Stranger Than Fiction
Sense & Sensibility (1995)
Rushmore
The Never-Ending Story
**Kung Fu Panda
**Vicky Cristina Barcelona
The Secret of Roan Inish
Helvetica
October
State and Main
**The Duchess
Sweeney Todd
Wives and Daughters
Everything is illuminated
Moulin Rouge
The Savages
November
**City of Ember
Best in Show
The Incredibles
**Into Great Silence
Wall-E
Marx Brothers: A Day at the Races
Marx Brothers: Duck Soup
**Australia
December
Art School Confidential
Sweeney Todd
Inventing the Abbots
**Twilight
A Christmas Story
Little Voice
Sunset Boulevard
**Doubt
La Vie En Rose
**The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Return to Oz
Rushmore
Galaxy Quest
Kung Fu Panda
Star Wars IV: A New Hope
2 Days in Paris


Care to Compare Lists?

2 comments:

Scott said...

Hooray for lists like this one!! Mine is here: http://gloaminganddawn.wordpress.com/2009/01/02/my-year-in-movies/

I think we should actively seek to watch more of our 2009 lists together.

Tory Jane said...

Holy cow. I'm completely and utterly impressed by your list, and slightly (ok, severely) inspired to watch more movies.