It’s Wednesday so it’s time for our weekly open discussion, but as it happens this one is hitting on the last day of 2008! Can you believe this year is over already?
And what an incredible year it’s been for movies… 2008 was a banner year for superhero movie fans with the likes of The Dark Knight, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Hellboy 2, and yes – even Hancock and Punisher: War Zone.
Other great genre films included Rambo, Cloverfield (do you even remember that opened this year?!), Tropic Thunder, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Kung Fu Panda and more.
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Of course we’ve had our share of not so hot movies this year like The Happening, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Meet Dave, Meet the Spartans, X-Files, etc. Then there those we were looking forward to that left some of us disappointed like Indy 4 and Quantum of Solace.
I think this would be a great place to post your comments regarding your faves and not so favorite movies of this year… Hits, misses, surprises – whatever floats your boat (within our usual guidelines of course).
All of us here at Screen Rant wish you a very Happy New Year and here’s hoping that 2009 turns out to be as great a year for movie fans as 2008 was!
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91 Comments
{{…when the “bad thing” happens to his neighbors (you know which scene I mean if you’ve seen it)…}}
Ken, this is enough to change the way I will watch this movie. I take it this is a mistake but while you speak of a story development that “drew you in,” you ironically set me up to be disconnected from the story until the scene you mention has passed.
Well, you know the general progression of the story from the trailer…
@RoseMarie
Let’s not go crazy.
I didn’t “love” Indy 4 but I really enjoyed seeing everyone together and I’ve even rationalized the aliens so that I could like it better.
You’re right though, I think it just might be a sexes thing. My husband STILL talks about how awful it was whereas his grandma and mother really liked it. And most of us know what Trey Parker thought of it.
@prtfvr
LOL…yeah, I hear the love thing! It’s just such an easy word to use for more than “liked”, less than “really loved” But, since I was generalizing, I should have said, all the women I know who saw it liked it, especially once they got over the aliens. Thanks for the reminder.
Hey, I REALLY loved those aliens. As a sky watcher since the 60’s, a well done (I really liked the effects) alien scene is always a plus for me, but I recognize this makes me a minority. Oh well, the truth is out there…
@RoseMarie
Yeah. Don’t you wish they’d spent more time on the aliens? What did they do? Why couldn’t they get their own damn head? And if they were that powerful with all their heads, how did someone get close enough to take one.
I thought they looked pretty cool. Maybe they could have their own movie because they were interesting. If not very good at keeping themselves safe.
@RoseMarie
Trust No One!!!
@prtfvr
LMAO…good one!
Re: the aliens. The points you made are exactly the thoughts that came to my mind when I was watching. Since I can remember when the original crystal skulls first came to public attention, I remember the speculation at the time of who had made them. In the fringe area, the theory of aliens having made them was pretty popular.
I think they took the idea from that, and just ran with it. There seemed to be no thought, or no time, to develop the story line in a logical direction. It would be interesting to know if the original story line developed this further.
I don’t know if they could sustain a whole movie. Maybe for the Sci Fi Channel. Hey, I’d watch it, if only for those cool effects.
@RoseMarie
Personally, I think that TV movies are under rated. The only problem is that unless it’s on HBO or ShoTime, no one has the budget to make it look as cool as it’d need to look for us to enjoy it. IMHO.
@prtfvr
Can we be banned for admitting that we like some of the TV movies? :}
I agree that a lot of the stuff on TV has some really cheesy effects. It’s like they don’t expect us to care if it’s any good or not, since it’s free. However, I would take less than incredible effects and a good plot, with adequate acting, over some of the cr~p that hits the big screen now. AND, they expect us to pay for it!
That’s why I like sites like this that give you an idea of what a movie will be like before you commit your hard earned $.
@RoseMarie
Hmm…I hope not. Let’s hope that Vic’s not watching.
You’re right. I don’t super special effects. In fact, there are lots of stories that wouldn’t even need that much in the way of special effects. Although I think glass aliens wouldn’t be one of them.
FYI, because you guys asked for it, I’m about to subject myself to “The Spirit” in order to write up a review for you.
I hope you’re happy!
Vic
The 10 Best Films for me in 2008 (in order from 10 to 1)
10) Man On Wire
9) Charlie Bartlett
8] Spiderwyk Chronicles
7) Iron Man
6) Standard Operating Procedure
5) Hellboy II: The Golden Army
4) Get Smart
3) Stop Loss.
2) The Dark Knight
1) Burn After Reading
****off the list but honorable mentions: In Bruges, The Incredible Hulk, X-Files 2 (hey, I liked it) , Smart People, Baby Mama, The Signal, The Ruins and Hamlet 2.****
The worst for me
10- Wanted
9- Fool’s Gold
8- Hell Ride
7- 88 Minutes
6- Jumper
5- Prom Night
4- 10,000 BC
3- Star Wars: The Clone Wars
2- Punisher WarZone
(like that’s a surprise to you! lol)
1- Semi-Pro
****coming close: One Missed Call, First Sunday, Speed Racer, Love Guru, Shutter, Mirrors*** I have not witnessed Meet The Spartans or Superhero Movie, I haven’t seen Spirit yet. Not that I would need to.
@ Vic
Way to go Vic! You really know how to take one for the team!!!
Since I will probably never go to another movie until I see the reviews first (I think “Marley and Me” scarred me for life), I am happy you are going to critique this. I thought it looked interesting, strange, but interesting.
Oooo,,, this ought to be good!
Darren did you see “The Fall?”
RoseMarie,,,
It was pretty good. ^
http://www.movieguys.org/movie-news/the-spirit-review/
^
@Vic
You’re braving that movie for us? That’s the spirit.
Tee Hee
@Vic
Good luck!
hehehe
@RoseMarie
Please don’t listen to 790… getting ready to write my review. It SUCKED.
@790
See, the thing about camp… is it’s actually supposed to be FUNNY.
Vic
Lol,,,
I knew you would hate it Vic. You already made it clear that you didn’t like Miller’s directing style.
That’s why movies are a subjective medium.
Everyone has their own opinion…
I’ll go with Vic’s review since he seems to have more similar taste in movies than 790. I just keep in mind that 790 actually liked Battlefield Earth and Terminator 3…
We’re all different, I’ll go with someone that seems to be more similar in taste. Hope you understand 790.
All admit that “The Spirit” is an acquired taste.
Kinda like “Punisher War Zone”.
Ken, I never said I loved Battlefield Earth, I said it had a good ending…
And Ken (remember this) I personally I don’t care who’s review you prefer.
I don’t write reviews to win popularity contests or to go along with the mainstream…
I never said The Spirit was oscar material. Its a campy superhero film. Just like the comic strip was.
I give it props for trying to be somewhat loyal to the source material.
My review is up.
If another studio EVER gives Miller the reins to a movie they are stupid. It’s that clear.
He wrote AND directed this thing – at least Shyamalan started out making great movies and then went downhill. But this… Good Lord.
Vic
Don’t worry 790, I don’t care if you care that I prefer your review or not (did that make sense? lol) I just wanted to say that so you don’t think I’m being antagonistic about it. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I don’t really care much about popularity either… lol
I wish we could play Poker Ken, it would be a fun game,,,
@790
Oh lord! You and Ken playing Poker? The game would never get started. You’d probably argue over who got to shuffle first.
I AM KIDDING! I don’t want anyone to think that I’m stiring the pot. The image that came to mind when I read your post. Well, LOL
@Rosemarie
@prtfvr
Concerning Indy4 I have a three word question:
Lead lined refrigerator?
prtfvr, don’t worry, I don’t gamble anyhow. If I’m putting in money, I’m getting something in return, period. I spend too much money on guns and ammo to throw my money away on gambling, drinking, or smoking. I’ll play cards for fun though.
My only vice is junk food, lol.
@ JessSayin Sorry, can’t answer in three words.
The basic requirement in reading or viewing most fictional work is the ability to suspend logic for the development of the story line.
Does anyone really believe that the Brad Pitt character was born an old man? Do superheros really fly? Can Wolverine make knives come out of his fingers? Are those boobs on Angelina J. real?
See what I mean…suspend a little logic. What’s a lead lined refrigerator compared to…well, almost anything in the movies or on TV.
HOWEVER, I thought that whole scene with the fake town and the nazi’s trying to drive away was kinda’ cool. You knew it was coming from the time they broke onto the base. The only question was how Indy was going to outsmart an atom bomb. It was no more of a stretch than some of the other “escapes” in the earlier Indy’s.
The willingness to suspend logic seems to rise or fall in direct proportion to how well the individual likes/dislikes the story line and/or actors.
~evil grin~
@RoseMarie
One can only suspend disbelief so far – and the context of the movie determines just how far that is. In a superhero movie rules are established that make things “believable” within the context of the universe we are watching.
But in the Indiana Jones series, there has never been anything “superhero-ish” about Dr. Jones. Sure, there’s been magic involved in very specific ways, but MOST of it is pretty much real world/reality based.
So to see him survive a nuclear explosion by climbing into a refrigerator and then have that fridge launched miles into the air and land as if dropped from an airplane – only to have him walk away… is WAY beyond my limits of suspension of disbelief.
Vic
@Vic,
I wish now I hadn’t deleted the part where I said that trying to figure out how he managed to land intact and walk away was harder to deal with than the aliens. I thought I was getting too wordy, and it kinda’ broke the flow.
I too never thought of Indiana Jones as a superhero. That was only a comparison of our willingness to allow fantasy to replace fact. Hmmm…you couldn’t jump on the boobs remark, could you? That’s the comment I was waiting for…LOL…
What I also wonder, is how come no other piece of debris landed as far as the fridge he was in did… There were other fridges and othe large pieces of metal there, how come all of those were destroyed while the one he was in simply flew?
@RoseMarie
Of course a lead line refrigerator! THAT’S what you have a problem with?
Not the fact that fridge’s back then had no mechanism to open it from the inside and that had Indy been in a real fridge he might be a little more out of breath?
Now where’s your lead lined refridgerator problem?
That fridge gag was no dumber than in Temple of Doom and he pulls an inflatable raft out of the airplane and he and Kate Capshaw manage to stay on it all the way down to the river. (Sorry, I was channeling Chris Farley for a minute there.
)
Temple of Doom is not one of my favorites. And it’s much easier to pick apart. Too bad we can’t go back in time and rip that a new one.
@Ken
ROTFL regarding your junk food addition.
prtfvr, didn’t they test out the raft gag on mythbusters?
Forgive me you all for not sticking to the subject at hand but I did want to sound off about one movie I was disappointed with in 2008.Being a longtime buff of all things Egyptians,I was pretty pissed to find the franchise had now outsourced the bandaged one to China!A friend told me that I must have not been paying attention to the episode where the franchise did an India spin.I don’t know if that is true but that would make me just as unhappy.Do I really have to say it?Egypt cornered the market when it comes to the mystique of mummification!!
@Ken
I don’t know. Did they really? I’m sure that would be hard to resist for those guys. But they weren’t around during Temple of Doom time, were they?
They obviosly didn’t test it out back then. They had an episode where they tested out movie gags and that was one of them. They didn’t have one of the round ones from the movie, they used one of the slide/rafts from modern aircraft. From what I remember, it actually sort of worked…
@Ken
Get outta town! It worked?! Damn, now I’m going to have to watch that movie again with a revised opinion of that opening.
How the heck did they test it though? You wouldn’t catch me doing that. I mean, sure you could catch me but you’d HAVE to AND push me out of the plane with the raft besides and even then there’s no guarantee that I wouldn’t just plunge to my death without ever opening the raft.
Did I take your comment a little too seriously? Damn Oxycodone. I can’t wait until my back’s better! I have two choices: pain or stupidity. And when I choose pain I’m an evil bitch and you couldn’t even talk to me so there’s just no winning.
I forgot exactly how they tested it, I’ll have to watch it again. Nobody was actually in it, they used “Buster” their dummy. And their either lifted the already inflated raft by helicopter or a really high crane, forgot which, and they dropped it from like over 200 feet or more. I think they measured the impact on landing on buster to see if the raft really would have slowed it down enough to make the landing a survivable one. Now I’m not sure if they were able to get the big slide shaped raft from flipping though, but I do vaguely remember seeing it glide down without flipping at least on one of the attempts… I’m gonna look for video on it when I get home. I’m at work and strangely (and luckily) this is one of the few sites not blocked…
@ Vic,RoseMarie,prtfvr
The worst thing I can say about Crystal Skull is that at no time during the whole movie was I on the edge of my seat.I kept waiting and waiting for it to kick in gear but it never did.You can talk about the lead lined refrigerators,aliens,and all the other nonsense it contained,but it never had the feel of a Indiana Jones movie.
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