BOT Revisiting: Top 25 movies of 2008 | THE COUNTDOWN - FINALLY COMPLETE

[WrathOfHan]

5. Slumdog Millionaire (306 points)

Director: Danny Boyle

 

Screenwriter: Simon Beaufoy

 

Starring: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Anil Kapoor, and Irrfan Khan

 

Synopsis: A Mumbai teen reflects on his upbringing in the slums when he is accused of cheating on the Indian Version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"

 

Box Office: 377.9M

 

91% on Rotten Tomatoes, 87 on Metacritic

 

Nominated for ten Academy Awards, winning eight including Best Picture

 

Slumdog Millionaire is considered by many to be Danny Boyle’s best film. The director that came from making films about zombies and drug addicts in Europe took his talents to another continent. The result is a film that audiences everywhere immensely enjoyed. It became a sleeper hit thanks to word of mouth and Oscar buzz, making over 140M domestically and over 200M overseas. Although The King’s Speech came close, there has not been a higher grossing Best Picture winner since Slumdog (could that change this year?). If this was released today ten years later, would it have struck as big of a chord with audiences?

Edited October 5, 2018 by WrathOfHan

[dxmatrixdt]

and the best picture goes to...

Spoiler

In Bruges

 

[MrPink]

It's been 84 years...

Edited October 6, 2018 by MrPink

[WrathOfHan]

3 minutes ago, MrPink said:

It's been 84 years...

Hah, you'll get a kick out of the next one.

[WrathOfHan]

4. The Dark Knight (373.5 points)

 

Director: Christopher Nolan

 

Screenwriters: Screenplay by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan, Story by Christopher Nolan and Davis S. Goyer

 

Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Morgan Freeman

 

Synopsis: When the menace known as the Joker emerges from his mysterious past, he wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham. The Dark Knight must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.

 

Box Office: 1.005B

 

94% on Rotten Tomatoes, 84 on Metacritic

 

Nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning two for Best Supporting Actor and Sound Editing

 

Here it is. Nolan’s legendary film is fourth on our countdown. 2008 was a big year for superhero movies: the MCU kicked off, and a revolutionary comic book film released. The Dark Knight plays out as a thriller right from the iconic opening scene, as The Joker robs a bank. The shot where the camera creeps up behind The Joker is spine-chilling and the entryway into one of the best performances ever put on screen. Heath Ledger’s performance was released after his untimely passing and showed a side of the actor nobody had seen before. The performance swept all awards shows for a good reason. Even taking away his performance from the film, The Dark Knight is still one of the best action films ever made. Roger Ebert highlighted perfectly in his review why The Dark Knight resonates so well:

 

“Something fundamental seems to be happening in the upper realms of the comic-book movie. “Spider-Man II” (2004) may have defined the high point of the traditional film based on comic-book heroes. A movie like the new “Hellboy II” allows its director free rein for his fantastical visions. But now “Iron Man” and even more so “The Dark Knight” move the genre into deeper waters. They realize, as some comic-book readers instinctively do, that these stories touch on deep fears, traumas, fantasies and hopes. And the Batman legend, with its origins in film noir, is the most fruitful one for exploration.”

 

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-dark-knight-2008

[MrPink]

13 minutes ago, WrathOfHan said:

Hah, you'll get a kick out of the next one.

 

Boolshit, it's naht true.

[ZeeSoh]

Holy crap! I’d laugh so hard if this is true

[WrathOfHan]

3. Iron Man (455 points)

Director: Jon Favreau

 

Screenwriters: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway

 

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub, and Gwyneth Paltrow

 

Synopsis: After being held captive in an Afghan cave, billionaire engineer Tony Stark creates a unique weaponized suit of armor to fight evil.

Box Office: 585.2M

 

93% on Rotten Tomatoes, 79 on Metacritic

 

Nominated for two Academy Awards

 

Ten years ago, the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off with a blast. Iron Man introduced many to a once B-list Marvel hero who has now skyrocketed to become the brand’s most iconic (or second iconic) character. It is not hard to see why; Tony Stark is such a fun, arrogant character that is never dull to watch in this film. Of course, the character has evolved over the past decade, but Iron Man keeps Stark at his most recognizable. This film is the reason why we love Tony Stark. The film started the MCU origin story formula, and even as more films in the franchise have taken Iron Man’s approach, this is still a shining example of how to do it right.

[WrathOfHan]

2. WALL-E (483 points)

Director: Andrew Stanton

 

Screenwriters: Screenplay by Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon, Story by Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter

 

Starring: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard, John Ratzenberger, Kathy Najimy, and Sigourney Weaver

 

Synopsis: In the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.

 

Box Office: 533.3M

 

96% on Rotten Tomatoes, 95 on Metacritic

 

Nominated for six Academy Awards, winning for Best Animated Feature

 

WALL-E is one of the most critically acclaimed films Pixar has ever released. Although this is personally low on my Pixar rankings, it is still a good film that is unlike anything else the studio has released. The first half of the film is practically silent, which is a bold choice for a kids film this millennium. Furthermore, WALL-E offers a damning critique in its second half about the direction of society as we become more reliant on automation and neglect our environment. That message is even more important ten years later. WALL-E is a deserving runner-up in this countdown. But what might number one be?

[MrPink]

Zohan is our winner. Just as predicted.

 

 

[WrathOfHan]

1. Speed Racer (634 points)

 

Directors and Screenwriters: The Wachowskis

 

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Matthew Fox, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Roger Allam, Benno Furmann, Hiroyuki Sanada Rain, and Richard Roundtree

 

Box Office: 93.9M

 

40% on Rotten Tomatoes, 37 on Metacritic

 

I am so proud of BOT right now. Speed Racer is a childhood favorite of mine that has taken on a cult status in the past decade. Filled with insane visuals and gripping races, Speed Racer shows that the Wachowskis were not one hit wonders. More people need to discover this gem.

[Empire]

Tropic Thunder didn’t make the list....

[WrathOfHan]

 

So, a few things:

 

1. Speed Racer isn't #1. In fact, it didn't even make the list. Shame on you, BOT.

 

2. The Dark Knight isn't actually #4. I'm not saying it was #1, though.

 

3. The actual #4 has not been written about, so I will reveal it momentarily. 

[WrathOfHan]

The Real 4. Tropic Thunder (373.5 points)

Director: Ben Stiller

 

Screenwriters: Justin Theroux, Ben Stiller, and Etan Cohen

 

Starring: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Steve Coogan, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Brandon T. Jackson, Bill Hader, Nick Nolte, and Tom Cruise

 

Synopsis: Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.

 

Box Office: 188.1M

 

81% on Rotten Tomatoes, 71 on Metacritic

 

Nominated for one Academy Award

 

Tropic Thunder is the real number four. A satire on the film industry, Tropic Thunder showcases two transformative performances from Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Cruise. Downey plays Kirk Lazarus, a character actor who spends most of his screentime in blackface for the shooting of Tropic Thunder. As a character actor, he does not break his role off camera, leading to a fun performance. This role earned him a Supporting Actor nomination at the Academy Awards. However, the real star in my opinion is Tom Cruise as Les Grossman. Cruise was not even credited in the film’s marketing, and he looks unrecognizable underneath that fat suit. Grossman’s short temper leads to some prime Cruise, which is always a good thing. Tropic Thunder has many passionate fans on the site as evident by its top 5 position, and who couldn’t have fun with this one?

[WrathOfHan]

And now, for the real #1.................

 

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

1. The Dark Knight (634 points)

 

ALL HAIL NOLAN!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

[Tower]

Nolan wins again, and in this case it was very deserving. TDK is one of the greatest movies ever made.

Edited October 6, 2018 by Tower

[SLAM!]

Well, that was a fun bait and switch! You had me fooled for a moment!

[dxmatrixdt]

Edited October 6, 2018 by dtairdryZid

[Cap]

Thanks Han for The Best.  Even if The Dark Knight is The Worst.

[chasmmi]

Hooray, the only yearly poll where it actually makes sense that Nolan wins