Top Ten Movies to look forward to in 2008

Salutations to all. After a couple weeks of straying from the usual content in my blogs, I am back with another top ten list about movies. I think it is fairly easy to realize that I am an avid movie lover and never miss the chance to talk about them. I would also like to point out that I can only think of two people who look forward to upcoming movies more than I do. I am not trying to brag; in fact, if anything, I think I am pointing out a character flaw in myself that tends to be a nerdy obsession with movies that haven't come out yet. Too often I hype up a movie in such a way that I am inevitably let down once I finally see it... So it is.

Having said all that, whether it is a compliment to my personality, or a personal vice, I can't help but get excited for some upcoming movies. And this year, there is quite a lot to get excited about in my humblest of opinions. The movie to beat, so far, is Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It was absolutely hilarious and everyone needs to go see it. But there is still a lot to talk about in regards to the future. So, here goes nothing.

Top Ten Films I am Looking Forward to in 2008:

10. The Incredible Hulk. As I understand it, this is pretty much a do-over from the last Hulk movie, directed by Ang Lee. That movie was seriously one of the worst movies I have ever seen. But this one isn't a sequal; it's a remake, and it stars Edward Norton, which immediately establishes some credibility. I'm cautiously optimistic, but watch out... This movie could sneak up on us and be bad ass.

9. Body of Lies. If I knew more about this movie, I probably would have it higher on this list. But what I do know is that it is directed by Ridley Scott and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. Not bad.

8. Iron Man. Again, I'm cautiously optimistic. I didn't think much of Iron Man in my youth, and I didn't think much of the movie idea when I heard of it. But then I found out that Robert Downey Jr. is starring in it (and I believe i have already expressed my admiration for his work in one of my posts) and saw the trailer. The trailer is sick so I repeat, I am cautiously optimistic.

7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. A lot of potential in this movie. The book was slow so this could be a rare case where the movie exceeds expectations. These movies have fair acting at best, but everything else, in my opinion is usually exceptional.

6. Pineapple Express. If I reveal too much about this movie, then I feel I will reveal too much about my own habits. So you can find out for yourself.

5. Burn After Reading. I know virtually nothing about this movie except that it is a comedy, it is directed by the Coen Brothers, and it stars Brad Pitt and George Clooney. That's good enough for me.

4. Quantum of Solace. It's the new Bond movie. Need I say more? Of course not, but I will anyway. I just took my girlfriend to go see a movie and I saw the illest poster for this movie. I didn't even know they were making one! Well I knew they were making one, but I didn't know it would be out this year! I was almost disappointed with myself for the lack of knowledge, but then I remembered they were releasing a new Bond movie this year.

3. Wall E. There was a huge internal debate for me about the three and four positions on this list. And though the last bond movie was totally awesome, they aren't all awesome. But all the Pixar movies are. I have ZERO doubts that I will love this movie.

2. The Dark Knight. The problem with pre-judging movies based on the trailers and such, is that I have already dubbed this movie as a possibility to be my favorite movie ever. It looks so awesome. And people won't even remember the Jack Nicholson Joker after they see Heath Ledger's. If you haven't seen him in the trailer, you need to. I'm calling it now, he's going to get nominated for an Oscar. His tragic death may have a hand in it, but that doesn't mean it isn't deserving. Granted I haven't seen the movie yet, but in the trailer, he is completely transformed.

1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I don't think I'm going to like this movie as much as The Dark Knight, to be perfectly honest. But how can I not hook it up for Indiana Jones. Besides, sometimes, the older a man gets, the more kick ass it is when he starts kicking ass. Plus, they had to wait this long 'till the script was right... I'm not worried.

Just Missed It:

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The last one was pretty awesome... surprisingly.

Get Smart. Looks pretty funny, but not sure if it will be.

Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but as many of you know, this blog coincides with a class I am taking, and we have taken a break from blog posts. But I'm back. First I'd like to address some of the comments that were written on various posts because there really isn't another way I can respond. First, a couple of people have asked for me to back up my opinions with other points of view or statistics. That's an interesting idea, but I like my opinions and that is what this blog is about. Most of what I write here is strictly opinion, unless stated otherwise, and I don't care one way or the other if people agree with me. As far as giving myself credibility, I would rather someone here what I have to say, because it is not always going to be the same thing that more credible sources have to say. 

Other posts have respectfully disagreed with what I have said, and that is totally cool with me. These lists that I am creating should, if nothing else, create discussion for you guys who are reading it. And if you want to take these lists and bring the arguments to your friends, then I will consider any reaction a success. 

Lastly I want to thank everyone for posting comments on what I have to say and want to encourage you to keep doing so. It probably won't change my opinions, but it creates discussion and that's kick ass.

OKAY! Back to this week's post. I decided to do something special during spring break. Something epic. Something monumental. It took a lot of time to do this, and I had to make an amendment to the original format, but it is my blog and I can do whatever I want. In other words, because of the magnitude of this list, I had to change the format from 10 to 25. So without further delay, here is my list for my top 25 FAVORITE (as opposed to what I think are the greatest; there is a difference) movies of all time.

25. The Adventures of Robin Hood: This is of course the version from the '30s. It kicks serious ass. Lots of action, good story, epic scale.

24. V for Vendetta: One of the greatest stories of revenge ever told.

23. Wag the dog: This is a hilarious political commentary that actually became quite timely when it came out.

22. Terminator 2. This is my favorite pure action movie. Good story, good acting and an incredible villain that never quits. It's awesome.

21. Ratatouille: I know I said No Country for Old Men was better in a previous post, but time changes things and this movie is easier to watch multiple times, which counts for something.

20. A Few Good Men. "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!"

19. Saving Private Ryan: So many war movies try and miss the mark. Others try and make it look extremely real. Saving Private Ryan makes you feel like you are actually in a war, and that isn't even the best part of the movie.

18. Forrest Gump: Something about this movie just sticks with everyone who watches it. It could be the countless quotes, or the unforgettable characters, or Tom Hanks, but I will never forget the scene where he is running across the states. It's beautiful.

17. Dumb and Dumber: Non-stop roll over laughing comedy.

16. It's a Wonderful Life: I cry during this movie every Christmas.

15. Wedding Crashers: "Let's go shoot some bird, I'm psyched."

14. The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring: How could something so nerdy be so bad ass at the same time.

 

13. Back to the Future: "When this baby hits 88mph, you're gonna see some serious shit."

12. Raiders of the Lost Arc: One of the most ultimate bad asses of all time. This is a classic among classics.

11. Casablanca: "Of all the gin joints in all the world," "Here's looking at you kid," "This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

10. Finding Nemo. My favorite animated movie ever. It is just incredible.

9. Batman Begins: Hands down the best superhero movie. It's better than the original Batman, though they were different styles. This summer's Dark Knight might have something to say about it.

8. Unforgiven: Scary good. I'm completely intrigued by the old west, and this movie hits it closest to the mark in my opinion. It seems the most real.

7. Jaws: "You're gonna need a bigger boat."

6. The Big Lebowski: "That carpet really tied the room together, Dude."

5. Cinderella Man: Possibly the most underrated movie of all time.

4. Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back: You know, Darth Vador never says "Luke, I am your father." He just says "No, I am your father." The most famous movie quote of all time has been misquoted all this time.

3. E.T. : The greatest last fifteen minutes of any movie.

2. The Shawshank Redemption. One of two movies that I consider to be flawless.

1. The Godfather: This is the other. "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse." "I believe in America." " Leave the gun, take the cannoli.

Just missed it:

Schindler's List: Too intense to be one of my favorites. That doesn't mean it isn't great, though.

Lonesome Dove: It isn't technically a movie, but a four part mini series about the old west. It's based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, which is also my favorite book ever.

To Kill A Mockingbird: "Jean Louise. Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passing."

Top Ten Movies I Saw This Year

Hi everyone. My name is Josh and I'm starting this blog in order to send out my various opinions to the world without any initial contradiction. Not that I don't love a good argument, because I do, but I tend to think of my opinions as facts. If you disagree with me, that's fine, leave me a post and tell me why and I will probably decide that you are wrong and will continue believing everything that I believe. And what is it that I will be discussing exactly? Pretty simple really. Each post I will decide on a topic and then list my ten favorite items, movies, people, things, etc. that i think qualify for that topic, hence the name Josh's top ten list. Most of the topics will be about movies, music, or sports since those are my three main interests. So without further rambling, I will now commence discussion on the first topic:

Top Ten Movies That I Saw This Year.

I might note that I am not a film critic and have not seen all the movies this year but here it goes anyway.

10. "Charlie Wilson's War." This movie got a lot of hype early in the year because of the likes of Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Phillip Seyemore Hoffman, to name a fiew but dropped off the map when it suffered a few less than impressive reviews. But I liked it. I thought it was a very timely subject matter, dealing with a covert war and government deception, yet dealt with it very well. Plus, I love Tom Hanks. He is a great actor, though sometimes I think his performances are a tad overrated, but he is just awesome in this movie. He and Hoffman have great chemistry and are hilarious together. Julia Roberts was terrible but I always think she is terrible so no surprise there.

9. "Zodiac." If this movie came out later in the year I think it would have received some oscar consideration. It was GOOD but not GREAT. Robert Downey Jr. however, was great as he usually is. When Robert Downey Jr. is on screen, you cannot help but watch his every move, whether 

he is talking or not. He is just so talented and so unpredictable. Too bad he was drugged out for a few years there. Anyway the rest of the movies was just pretty good and they really made eerie accusations that really got me thinking which made it last longer. When in doubt, I say if you are thinking about the movie later on (and not thinking of how much it sucked) then it was probably pretty good. Bit long though. Could have cut some of it down a little.

8. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." I don't care what anybody says, this movies was bad ass. The action was awesome and Ralph Fiennes once again represents evil perfectly in the form of Voldermort (The other of course being his role in Schindler's List). It was awesome. I don't have much more to say about that.

7. "There Will Be Blood." I saw this movie with my brother and when I came out I said "I didn't really like it." But try as I might, I could not get the damn thing out of my head. Whether or not I had

 decided to like it or not yet, there is no denying that the film making, from a technical stand point, is incredible and the performance by Daniel Day Lewis is nothing short of brilliant (fun fact: Lewis has only been in 9 films since 1989 and has four oscar nominations for those films and will probably receive his second oscar this year... and should). But I wasn't sure if I liked the story. Without giving away too much, I think the title should have been different. 

Having said all that, I think everyone should go see this movie. If nothing else, it will get you to think... a lot.

 

6. "Into the Wild." This movie was inspirational. It made me realize that a lot of the things people covet really don't matter. This was another movie that I had to think a lot about. The film seemed to me to be a little over-directed. It seemed like a lot of directing cliches were use

d. I don't remember any specifics because I saw it like 4 months ago, but I remember thinking it. I also remember the acting being tremendous. Emil Hirsch did a great job if only by keeping my interest while taking up like 90 percent of the screen time. It is tough to watch just one person more or less the entire movie, but I was never bored and the various other characters throughout the film were all very well acted.

5. "Live Free or Die Hard." Very surprised. Justin Long and Bruce Willis worked very well together and were very entertaining. Beyond that, all you need to know is that it was BAD ASS.

4. "Superbad." Oh... my... God... This movie was absolutely hilarious. It is, in my humblest of opinions, an instant classic. It was so raunchy and yet it struck so many chords close to home. The dialogue was fantastic, the situations outlandish yet believable, and the characters relatable. It was so funny and yet at the end of the movie they tie it in with an emotional ending that made it a good MOVIE instead of just a good COMEDY. And it wasn't good, it was great.

3. "Transformers." When I saw the trailer for this film, about a year before it's release, I thought that it would be a joke but that I would go and see it because I loved watching the Transformers cartoon. It was incredible. The reason people started going to movies was to escape from reality, if only for a short while. Now people are to worried about the production v

alue and the acting performances or whether what you see can actually happen. I am also guilty of this. But Transformers wipes that away and if viewed from the right point of view, it is pure entertainment. Plus it kicks serious ass.

2. "Ratatouille." I have never disliked a Pixar movie. In fact I thought Cars was the worst one and I own it. But Ratatouille was excellent. I LOVED it. Everything from the animation to the musical score. It was nearly perfect. If you have not seen this movie, go buy it.

1. "No Country For Old Men." When I walked out of this movie, I immediately wanted to see it again. I have already talked about how other movies made me think a lot, but none compared to this movie. A lot of people I talked to said that they didn't get it, or that they didn't like the ending, or they didn't think anything was resolved. To those people I say, exactly. I know that might not bring you much closure, but go and rent it and watch it again. This time, watch the movie through the perception of Tommy Lee Jones' character. He is the old man and the one that realizes things are changing for the worst and could not be stopped. The acting was superb on all counts and the Cohen Brothers do it again with this movie. some of their movies have missed in my opinion, but I think they nailed it with this one. A perfect commentary of the state of violence of today. It is almost as though this movie is set in the old west. It is so good.

Just missed the cut:"The Bourne Ultimatum:" Very good, but I've seen it twice from the first two Bourne movies. And it wasn't as fun as its action competition.

"Juno:" It was good. Not great. Probably the second most overrated film of the year. I think most people liked it because it has been deemed the "cool movie to like."

Not even close:"Attonement:" THE most overrated film of the year. No actor chemistry, bad direction, bad acting, annoying Keira Knightley. It was just bad.