The Best and Worst Movies Of 2008 Mid-Year Report

Hey there guys, and Happy Fourth of July! We’ve just crossed the mid way point of 2008, and as I’m accustomed to doing I thought I’d throw together a mid-year report of the 10 best and the 10 worst movies of the year to date.

The worst thing… AND the best thing about these lists is that no one totally agrees with them, which opens up tons of room for discussion on the year so far. So without further a due I present to you TMB’s best films of 2008 so far:

Mid-Best-2008-Wall.jpg#1 – WALL-E
Without question the best film of 2008 thus far, and barring an AMAZING 2nd half to the 2008 film season the Oscars will make fools of themselves if this isn’t at least nominated for best picture. Not only the best picture of the year so far, but also the best film Pixar has ever made… and that’s saying something. Brilliant movie on every level.
Mid-Best-2008-Bruges.jpg#2 – IN BRUGES
The most surprising film of 2008 so far to me. The 3 main cast members (Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes) are all beyond brilliant. The film is funny, exciting… and who knew that Colin Farrell could be such a great actor when he puts his mind to it? The film has a “Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” sort of feel to it, but it’s very much its own movie.
Mid-Best-2008-Wanted.jpg#3 – WANTED

I suspected this film would surprise a lot of people, but I didn’t anticipate it surprising me as much as it did. This film is just over the top insanity and adrenaline inducing fun from start to finish. Never thought I could buy James McAvoy as an action hero… but I guess I was wrong about that. Oh, and I’ve never seen Angelina look sexier in any role before either.

Mid-Best-2008-Knight.jpg#4 – THE DARK KNIGHT
There is such a huge amount of hype surrounding this film, and at the same time right now a huge amount of unrealistic over-exaggeration (in my opinion) going on about how good this film is. No, this film is not the best thing since sliced bread, but make no mistake about it, it’s a FANTASTIC movie. I believe it exceeds Batman Begins and Heath Ledger legitimately deserves an Oscar nomination for his performance as The Joker. No one will be disappointed.
Mid-Best-2008-Iron.jpg#5 – IRON MAN
I was not at all looking forward to this flick in the least when it was first announced. I even thought doing a movie on Iron Man in general was a bad idea. But after seeing the trailer at Comic Con last year, I started getting interested, and the movie delivers. Exactly what a summer super hero movie should be. Holy crap did Robert Downey Jr. knock it out of the park. He was the perfect Tony Stark.
Mid-Best-2008-Rambow.jpg#6 – SON OF RAMBOW
A movie that was a hit on the film festival circuit, but sadly never found a serious audience in its theatrical run. This is a beautiful movie that I lament more of you didn’t get a chance to see. A wonderful look at innocent in a world of filled with a lot of beautiful that only innocent eyes seem really capable of seeing. The kids in this flick were great too. Touching, funny… and you even might learn something watching it.
Mid-Best-2008-Sarah.jpg#7 – FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL
After “The 40 Year Old Virgin”, this is, in my opinion, the funniest and best Apatow related movie they’ve ever done. On the surface a formulaic comedy that somehow also manages to generate a ton of heart with a very symapthetic lead character you just can’t help but cheer for. It lacks a little of the hidden deeper stuff found in Virgin, but a wonderful and enjoyable film nonetheless.
Mid-Best-2008-Definitely.jpg#8 – DEFINITELY, MAYBE
There is definitely an anti-romantic comedy bias out there… because… well… most romantic comedies suck. This one however, rules… so much so that I hesitate to call it a romantic comedy, but I guess that’s what it is. Best Ryan Reynolds performance I’ve ever seen him give, terrific female supporting cast and a legitimately interesting story told in a pretty unique way. Trust me guys… it’s worth checking out.
Mid-Best-2008-Spiderwick.jpg#9 – THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES
Going into The Spiderwick Chronicles I was expecting a cookies cutter film in the same vein as all the new little fantasy family films that seem to be popular to produce these days. Surprisingly, Spiderwick turns out to be more than just that. The movie makes you feel awe and wonder with the world in which it takes place with a FANTASTIC performance by my favorite child actor Freddie Highmore.
Mid-Best-2008-Smart.jpg#10 – SMART PEOPLE
Thomas Haden Church absolutely kills me in this movie. His interactions with Juno’s Ellen page are the highlight of the movie for me… but it’s also a great character driven movie. The life of the main character (Denis Quaid) isn’t the life the majority of us lead… but I think on many levels there are a lot of us who can identify and relate with what he’s experiencing on a general level… we’re all holding our own lives back, paralyzed by fear of taking a chance… damn I loved this flick.

AND NOW FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, I PRESENT TO YOU, SADLY, THE WORST FILMS OF 2008 SO FAR

Mid-Best-2008-Spartans.jpg#1 – MEET THE SPARTANS
I throw up just a little everytime I have to even type the title. Check out Doug Nagy’s famous video review of it here.
Mid-Best-2008-Guru.jpg#2 – THE LOVE GURU
Should have just called it “Austin Powers 4 With A Different Accent And Without The Humor”. Myers… what happened to you dude?
Mid-Best-2008-Witless.jpg#3 – WITLESS PROTECTION
Come on, the movie stars Larry the Cable Guy… what were you expecting? The title of this movie should have stopped after the first word.
Mid-Best-2008-Body.jpg#4 – OVER HER DEAD BODY
Turns out Eva Longoria actually can’t act or attract an audience and just fluked out with Housewives. Wow this movie SUCKED! Why did Paul Rudd agree to be in this?
Mid-Best-2008-Drillbit.jpg#5 – DRILLBIT TAYLOR
I guess not everything Seth Rogen writes is gold… sometimes it’s pure shit… especially when he just rips off his own Super Bad characters.
Mid-Best-2008-Prom.jpg#6 – PROM NIGHT
See that look on the girl’s face in the poster? Yeah, that was most of us after realizing we paid money to see it.
Mid-Best-2008-Zohan.jpg#7 – YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN
Title should have been “You Shouldn’t Go See The Zohan”
Mid-Best-2008-Fools.jpg#8 – FOOLS GOLD
Just because the duo worked in “how to lose a guy”, doesn’t mean you can just put them in anything piece of garbage.
Mid-Best-2008-Speed.jpg#9 – SPEED RACER
Apparently the Matrix brothers went to the “George Lucas School of Post Phantom Menace Film Making” and figured flashy visual effects would cover a horrible piece of crap movie.
Mid-Best-2008-Eye.jpg#10 – THE EYE
Do yourself a favor and just stick to the original Asian version. SHOCKING NEWS!!!! Jessica Alba can’t act! Who would have thought?

So there you have it. Head into the comments section and discuss the list, what you would have taken off, and what you would have added. Have fun, and enjoy the fireworks tonight!

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161 thoughts on “The Best and Worst Movies Of 2008 Mid-Year Report

  1. I LOVED SPEED RACER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you kidding me?????? Fools gold…….. REALLY?!?!?!?!?!?!?! AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!! Drilbit Tylor………….. again……….REALLY??!?!?!?!?!? AMAzing…. tHIS IS A BAD LIST.

  2. I also want to add 1 more thing you guys say Jessica Alba & Rambo & Angelina Jolie need to know how to act.

    Let’s start with Jessica Alba you say she has done bad acting in the Love Guru & The Eye first of sometimes it’s hard for a character to act if the movie is bad. I think that what we are all forgetting here& in The Eye she had to play blind maybe it’s hard for her to do good acting when the script is & especially when she’s playing blind but I did like her in the Love Guru
    even though I hated that movie & I thought The Eye was good & for Sylvester Stallone one of My favorite Actors I thought it was a really good movie what do suspect from a film like Rambo I also like the Marine even though it was already in 2006 he’s the hero that’s going to make it alive so if this movie is predetermined like a 2
    page comic book so what & if you think these movies are horrible I would like you guys to make a better movie.

  3. Oh, also, I’d like to continue by saying that your idea of putting “Wanted” as number 3 is just pure ridiculous. “Wanted” was a loaded piece of shit. The storyline vain and in no way creative or special. It doesn’t matter how damn good Angelina Jolie looks, that has no effect on the quality of the movie. Unlike some reviewers here, I’m going to defend Angelina Jolie… I think she does have some talent, however this film mostly consisted of her flaunting her perfect body or standing around pursing those lips. James McAvoy just didn’t quite personify the leading man, i had no feelings or emotions towards his character- nor did I give a flying hoot if he died. “Wanted” was high on action, but a lot of it was overprocessed stuff, that I saw to be much more realistic, and visually orgasmic in The Dark Knight.

    So, in conclusion, you’re list sucks.

  4. Nice to see you included Fool’s Gold on worst list of the year.

    However, I strongly disagree with your “Best movies” of the year. WALL-E is NOT the best movie of the year. Let me emphasize that- WALL-E IS NOT THE BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR. Anyone who thinks that- thinks that it is better than “The Dark Knight”, or even better than the Oscar-bait films now, is completely out of their mind. It’s slightly more clever than say, Finding Nemo, but is by no means any better in story, or story telling. The finest, most amazing film this year was “The Dark Knight”. I have seen almost every “Oscar-bait” film (for the exception of Doubt and The Reader) and I have yet to see a film come close to the moviemaking used in The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight excels in delivering, both in it’s acting, and dark storyline. Of course, it’s easy to argue that The Dark Knight does not have a complex storyline, however I argue to differ that The Dark Knight features some of the best quotes and most memorable themes in movies this year. Some of the other best films this year include: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Slumdog Millionaire”. Milk is another one that may round off this year’s list of nominees, but none of them lived up to The Dark Knight.

    And for you calling The Dark Knight “hype”, that’s only YOU detracting yourself from the value of the movie. I never, ever look into hype. I have my own set of expectations, and I usually go into a film seeing how it delivers, completely ignoring what everyone else says (since you hear one person say how Great it is! and another complain). With that in mind, you will find The Dark Knight to be an incredibly exhilarating, breathless movie experience filled with fantastic buildup from start, to a mindboggling powerful finish.

  5. wanted certainly has its place but i think is it should be ranked lower than the dark knight.
    And burn after reading was exceptionally funny and it has its place amongst the best of this year.
    But iron man was disappointing and I had the feeling that they just rushed the end and there were too few action scenes…

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    Its cold at this time over here, Snow allover the streets. its nice to see my Little baby Samantha playing with friends at the game park with snow ball. I Love watching movies, here is this movie that cut me off my tales. SMART PEOPLE
    Thomas Haden Church absolutely kills me in this movie. His interactions with Juno’s Ellen page are the highlight of the movie for me… but it’s also a great character driven movie. The life of the main character (Denis Quaid) isn’t the life the majority of us lead… but I think on many levels there are a lot of us who can identify and relate with what he’s experiencing on a general level… we’re all holding our own lives back, paralyzed by fear of taking a chance… damn I loved this flick.
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  7. Jessica Alba should consider acting lessons, the Eye and the Love Guru were terrible. Every film she is in bombs at the box office, and her lack of acting ability is part of the problem.

  8. AUSTRALIA !!!!!! for WORST MOVIE OF THE DECADE. Nominated for breath taking cliches stolen from MOST if not all of the old time Hollywood flicks, amazing use of lamest and cheapest spec effects, one take acting, TV like editing (Broken into , count them, 13 segments for a weekly series) . If you love bad film SEE THIS ONE do not leave early as we did…..

  9. Does anyone think Valkyrie will hit high on the chart? I’ve heard a lot of talk about how this will be the best movie of the year..I think that if it doesn’t reach this chart, then it will come awfully close.

  10. WALL-E? Really? I mean it was cute. But nothing I hadn’t seen in Toy Story… A Bug’s Life… Finding Nemo…. Monster’s Inc… You catch my drift. It was a good movie, but not the best.

    In Bruges had it’s funny moments, but I honestly couldn’t understand a word anyone was saying.

    Definitely, Maybe almost made me cry… and not in a good way. It was so horribly boring. I felt bad because I made my boyfriend watch it. Lame…. Same with Spiderwick. Stupid…

    Where’s The Ruins. I read the book and it was by far better than the movie, but the movie still scared the crap out of me. Loved it.

    And I kinda liked Fool’s Gold. I couldn’t get through How To Lose A Guy but that ditzy girl kept me entertained.

  11. I’m sorry. Where is The Happening on this list? Easily one of the worst films I have ever seen. I agree with other people too. I didn’t think Wanted was that terrific. I tried to look at it as a satire. I hope that is what they were trying to achieve.

  12. ALISON
    Havent seen too many movies that particularly impressed me this year and have yet to see Wanted. But so far Dark Knight stays in my mind mostly from the absolutely awesome performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker – much more to the feel of how you would expect him to be rather than Jack Nicholsons over the top portrayal. Ledger was just brilliant – what a waste of a truly wonderful actor. Still waiting to be blown away this year with a “real story” like last years True Story “Into the Wild” this film left me speechless.

  13. like your list john. agree with most of it but where is 10000 b.c. on the worst list? that was horrible, in fact, it was way worse than drillbit taylor. and i know im in the minority here but i didnt really enjoy wall- e. loved iron man, dark knight and sarah marshall.

  14. John, very good list i cant wait to see Wall-E (i would have watched but here in latin america they bring animation in spanish, hate that).

    For me i think The Incredible Hulk and The Bank Job are better than THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES (very good for a PG fantasy movie) and SMART PEOPLE (i liked and Ellen Page is hot).

  15. I hadn’t seen Wanted yet. But I agree with Wall-E in the first spot, In Bruges @ the second, and The Dark Knight @ the 3rd. THe Dark Knight was good, but it had some flaws…

  16. I couldn’t agree more with you, John. Wall-e deserve its highest peak. Dark Knight almost failed to delivered perfection. Ruined at the end of the movie, I guess. Nolan was trying too hard. Wall-e was effortless…

  17. i aggre with most of the list EXCEPT prom night(best) and fools gold (in the middle)werent that bad! prom night was one of the best thillers of 2008. and for fools gold you got what the preview showed you and if you paid to see it and ddnt like it what did you expect that was like another Into the Blue movie.

  18. I completely hated spiderwick chronicals and drilbit tailor, let’s start with spiderwick chronicals:

    1. it was a shit movie
    2.i read the books and they crammed 5 books into 1hour and 30min missing ou my favourite one with the dwarves.

    drillbit tailor:

    1. WAY to predictable!
    2. Characters were really annoying and they are the same as all the other high school movies. Fat, cocky one, Tall, skinny and nerdy, small and dweeby. Some of the worst movies i’ve ever seen!

  19. John,

    I am a huge fan of you and your movie reviews, and I couldn’t agree more with how you positioned some of the movies on your list. First off, WALL-E: Best movie I have ever seen personally, the animation was far beyond impeccable, and the story was none bad at all either. I agree 100% with you on WALL-E. I like that story you shared in your video review. That said, there were a few things I disagreed with about your “Top 10 list…”

    Now I’m sure many people have said something to you about this… The Spiderwick Chronicles: Definitely short of a “Top 10” Movie, I must say… I know it’s your opinion, and I respect that to the fullest, however I think that there has to be another movie of 2008 (Even though the year’s not yet through) that was a little better than “SW Chronicles”. I mean, I like Freddie Highmore, but his acting just didn’t do it for me… I don’t think the movie was put well together, and the animation was none too great either… then again, it was produced by Nickelodeon, so I suppose that makes sense.

    Now I haven’t seen Wanted, but I really badly want to see it (Though I’ve been told it’s a little too Matrix-esque) but the way you hold the Dark Knight in such high regard and you said how amazing the movie did in your review, and how Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker was astonishing, I think it should at least have been at number 3 instead of Wanted, and I know I haven’t even seen it, but I heard it didn’t do SO hot, and if you thought the Dark Knight was as good as you said, I think you should at least have switched the two.

    Other than that, I agreed with all of your other decisions. I think you’re an awesome guy, and I always check back to the MovieBlog to see your new reviews, so keep making more, you rock John!

  20. I’ve always thought Colin Farrell had some tremendous talent. He absolutely stole the show in Minority Report.

    Its just too bad that these past few years (since his miscast in Alexander) have been pretty rough.

    I’m looking forward to Pride & Glory with him and Edward Norton.

  21. Iron Man, Hulk, Wall-E and the Dark Knight deserve to be in the top 5 for sure but Cloverfield? Are you serious? That was the biggest peice of garbage out this year. The whole concept of a character cam was a terrible idea and even executed more poorly besides the crappy ending. I doubt we’ll see another movie like that for awhile (thank god!).

  22. I agree with the list (I really was suprised about how good WALL-E is..). I also (like many others here) would loved to see Speed Racer on the best of the year, at least on number 10.

    I think “The Happening” should be at least on the number 2 spot of the worst list. Shymalan simply cant hit it out of the park again like he did it with The Sixth Sense. Definitely one of the worst movies I’ve seen in my life…

    By the way… Indiana Jones IV really sucked…..

  23. Just finished watching Spiderwick Chronicles and it was great. It was almost on the level as some of the Potter films. I would give it a good 8.5/10. Definetly one of my honorable mentions.

  24. Although I haven’t seen all the films on your good list, I would have placed Iron Man higher on the list, probably number 2. However, I haven’t seen the 2, 3, or 4 movies on the list, so that just might change.

  25. Everyone seems to make a big deal that Wanted is so high up! Well i think its exactly where it belongs, for an action movie (i think people need to look into the meaning of ACTION FILM more) it was great..and Bekmambetov brought in something new to an all typical Hollywood blockbuster….I think fresh (OUTSIDE) talents are needed in Hollywood, to bring in some diversity, since the audience is becoming more demanding due to globalization. And RANSOM should really get over Jolie looking the way she does. She is a human being not a robot, she can also lose and gain weight like everyone else…and who cares about the size of her arms, she is a talented actress (thats why she is famous) and beautiful women

  26. Did I miss something in Get Smart? I walked out at about the 20 minute mark (approx.)…did I miss all the good stuff? Because I wasn’t seeing very much good stuff before I walked out.

    1. I liked Get Smart It’s really funny on the dvd the Rock is good & So is Steve Carell maybe you should rent it again & wathch the extended version by 20 minutes first of all it’s better than The Love Guru & 2nd their is going to be another part.

  27. I’ve seen most of the movies on the top 10 list. In Bruges is still my favorite movie of the year. Personally I would put Wanted a little lower…I liked Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk more, but it was a lot of fun.
    As for the worst list…I can happily say I skipped all those flicks, which probably saved a healthy number of brain cells.

  28. Wanted shouldnt be that high on the list. Sure, it was “fun” but it wasnt that good of a movie. I feel Ironman was a much better flick. Hell, the only two “Summer” movies that I have seen that I would say were really worth their money have been Ironman and Get Smart.

    (Of course, John…I think you might have killed Wanted for me by giving such high marks…I went to see it, and I guess the entire time I was giving it the microscope waiting for something to blow my socks off.)

  29. I wouldn’t put Wanted at #3, but you know what? I really dug Wanted , and you shouldn’t be ashamed at putting it on the list. As summer blockbusters go, you couldn’t ask for much more.

  30. I may consider watching Punch Drunk Love one time, because EVERYONE says it’s good. Although I have met a couple of people who didn’t like it because it was a serious Adam Sandler movie instead of his usual fare. But they were idiots as well.

    So the movies I’ll watch by him…The Wedding Singer and Punch Drunk Love? Am I on the right track here? I was mildly interested in 50 First Dates but the big thing that kept me out of it was Sandler…should I watch that as well? I’m just looking for stuff I may be able to stomach by him. “May” being the key word.

  31. @ NBAKID2000

    I agree for the most as far as Sandler goes as well. Granted, I saw Reign Over Me, and it was okay (it was worth seeing just to watch them play Shadow of the Colossus), but I am a huge PT Anderson fan, so I couldn’t miss Punch Drunk Love, which is an absolutely amazingly beautiful movie. It was like they took Adam Sandler’s stupid characters and had Sandler play it like it was reality (the outbursts, the awkwardness). And as a huge Philip Seymour Hoffman fan, I couldn’t miss a scene where he and Sandler face off. So if you have to catch one Sandler film in your life, with a gun to your head, see Punch Drunk Love, hands down.

  32. @ Tonguecutsparrow

    The way you feel about Jolie is the same way I feel about Adam Sandler. The only movie of his I will EVER consider watching is The Wedding Singer, and I haven’t even seen THAT yet. I don’t care that he’s supposedly awesome in Reign or that Click is a surprisingly good movie, the fact that Sandler is in it is reason enough for me to avoid at all costs.

  33. at cary: I personally don’t put too much stock into the Oscars. It doesn’t impress me when someone has one an Oscar. I don’t think she deserved it for Girl, Interrupted. I didn’t care for her performance, although, admittedly, it could have been Winona Ryder just doing her thing (which is acting poorly), which could have just made Jolie look better.

    to George: I will say that I am huge Michael Winterbottom fan, and that the story of A Mighty Heart is tragic. I have yet to see the film, so I am certainly in no place to judge it, but I feel that every time I step into a room where Jolie is on screen, moments of my life are quickly stolen away from me. I’m sure Winterbottom does an amazing job (as he always does), and I’m sure he wouldn’t hire a daft casting director. To get to the point, it’s Jolie who prevents me from seeing A Mighty Heart, just like it’s Brendan Fraser who prevents me from seeing Gods and Monsters.

    Needless to say, thanks to both of you for your recommendations, but even if Jolie is good in A Mighty Heart, that’s one movie out of 20 crappy ones she’s been in, and that’s not good enough for me, and that’s just a personal thing.

    As far as the Oscar thing goes…maybe it’s just me getting back at them for neglecting Jim Carrey as Joel Barrish in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I don’t think I ever really got over that…

  34. If I was calling the movies crap without seeing them then maybe I would say your outrage is justified but again, Wanted I have seen and it is nothing more than a glorified over-the-top action movie, which as I said, is not a bad thing, but it cannot belong ahead of The Dark Knight. If you consider The Dark Knight better than Batman Begins, which going by your review you do, then Wanted cannot be better than The Dark Knight either because it’s not even on the level of Batman Begins.

    Back to your Dark Knight review, the video review states that despite the extra and unneeded footage is not enough to derail it and the script is great, the performances were great. Sorry to break it to you, but Wanted had neither great performances or a great script. I could go in-depth into why the script of Wanted wasn’t that great, but I hate people that ruin the plot of movies, therefore I refuse to do that to anybody else.

    So you may find it mind blowing that I talk about a film without seeing it (actually, just one, The Dark Knight, which I never really criticized), but it’s not like my assumptions are baseless or illogical. All I said was that I think you are wrong about Wanted (again, a movie I HAVE seen) and that you may have been someone caught up by the hype of The Dark Knight in your review suggesting it’s one of the best of the past couple years (which BTW, after rewatching the review again, I don’t see you refute at any point).

  35. Hey Steve,

    Wow… how on earth can you critizie my list when you haven’t seen the movies??? That’s staggering.

    Also, you have to read my WHOLE dark knight review before commenting on it. Seems you stopped reading.

    However, I go on to say that the entire last 30-40 minutes was too much and killed a lot of it for me… so no… by the END of the review I do NOT say it’s one of the best movies the last few years.

    Still… you amaze me how you criticize without seeing the movie. Mind blowing.

  36. I don’t have my own list for 2008 as I’ve seen about 5 movies from this year so far, but I can’t help but point out some potential flaws with John’s list. The biggest and most glaring is Wanted at #3 and The Dark Knight at #4. Now, by itself I could just chock that up to a difference of a opinion, but John himself in the Movie Blog review of the Dark Knight called it potentially one of the best movies of the past 3 years or so (apparently John never saw Children of Men, 3:10 to Yuma, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Michael Clayton, The Lives of Others, , or Pan’s Labyrinth. Either that, or The Dark Knight is just fucking amazing). Let’s just assume that The Dark Knight is just that good. So Wanted is better? THERE IS NO WAY! Angelina Jolie barely even does any acting in this one and James McAvoy is never at any moment of Wanted likable. That aside, the over the top action is actually quite sparse considering how much hype there is about it. There’s what, all of 5 assassinations in the entire movie? Pretty weak for a movie about super-assassins. Coupled with an plot that was easily predictable for the most part and an ending sequence that is so ridiculously stupid and flies in the face of the whole idea of this league of “super assassins” that I wanted to puke by the end. Wanted was not a horrible movie, but I cannot imagine it’s better than the Dark Knight, especially when the latter is supposed to have more and better action than Batman Begins and a potentially Oscar-worthy performance. Wanted had nothing even approaching an Oscar-worthy performance and, at least in my opinion, nothing that could make up for one. I mean, the best bits of Wanted were in all the previews.

    I think we can also assume that John labeling The Dark Knight one of the best movies of the past 3 years is a bit of hyperbole as well, unless by “one of the best” you mean “one of the ten best” which I might be willing to believe, as he still rates Wall-E and In Bruges (the latter of which I must admit I’m dying to see and looks fantastic) higher than The Dark Knight. Call me a cynic, but I cannot believe there are already 3 movies in 2008 better than the ones I listed previously.

  37. I actually liked High School Music 1 over HSM 2, but I thought HSM 2 had better music.

    I’m not saying I’m a FAN of these movies, but I didn’t think they were HORRIBLE.

  38. The worst movie, for me, is not a movie in the theaters, but one from TV. Camp Rock. What a piece of garbage! The worst film ever made. This makes High School Musical seem like a minor cut. And this film makes me feel like that guy with his intestines hanging out in the beginning of Saving Private Ryan. Just to clearify how bad this film is if I haven’t already, picture the most violent, terrifying torture chamber you can imagine. That’s what every single shot of this film is like. Everything, from the acting to the storyline, is terrible. These teenagers act like they have the IQ of an LFI person, “Oh, I was hoping for a summer of music!” The girl has a mouth the size of the Empire State Building. While John pukes everytime Meet the Spartans is said, I throw up everytime I hear Camp Rock. This is the worst movie EVER. Do not see it. Keep away kids, runaway! I give this movie the infamous 0/10, matching this film with Shark Tale and High School Musical.

  39. Just went to the theater to see a movie; had the choice between Get Smart or Wall-E. I was in the mood to laugh my head off, so I chose Get Smart, not sure that Wall-E could fulfill that wish…

    Long story short, after 20 minutes I walked out and got a refund. Movie sucked. Boo!

    1. You another person said he stayed for that time frame you sometimes have to watch the whole movie I’m like you guys too but staying in the movies for 20 minutes you really have to give it a chance maybe you should see the longer version on the dvd & watch the original again as well but their will be another part to it.

  40. OK Movies I cant comment on are:

    Wanted, Hancock, dark Knight, Speed racer, Wall-E.

    Though I do recon Iron has been the best movie so far and also I agree the Hulk was a smashing movie!!!

    Cloverfield could have been good if it had a proper ending and also answered some of the very basic questions a movie should answer……

    10,000 BC I know is getting alot of bad reviews here though I went in not expecting much though I did like the flick and wouldnt bad mouth it.

    27 dresses was ok , another predictable chick flick.

    Now I did like definatly maybe , very good movie and its one that even the Bf watching it would say ” yeah…wasnt as bad as I thought”

    Indiana Jones, I thought it was a good movie though nothing compared to the original which i watched shirtly after and said to myself..ill stick with these thx Steven and George.

    Jumper could have been good but lacked a storyline and acting skills…

    Thats all I have to comment on for now :)

    Peace

  41. Hmmm, ten best?

    1.In Bruges(couldn’t believe it was even funnier than the previews)

    2.Hancock(soooo many bad reviews from people I doubt even watched the movie)

    3.Iron Man

    4.The Incredible Hulk

    5.Young People F**king

    6.Never Back Down

    7.Vantage Point

    8.Wanted

    9.Forgetting Sarah Marshall

    10.Get Smart

    Ten worst? I’m pretty tolerant of bad movies so I’ll just give my 5 worst.

    1.The Eye(terrible, terrible, terrible)

    2.10,000 B.C.(high hopes that had to wait almost 2 hours to get good)

    3.Indiana Jones 4(Just too damn weird)

    4.The Other Boleyn Girl

    5.Semi Pro

  42. A few quick issues, John:

    1. Hate to sound like a broken record, but “Wanted” is definitely not in my top 10 of the year. It was boring, mainly due to the fact that most of the action was all digital. I tend to like mine a little more realistic (or at least adhering to some law of physics). The whole premise didn’t bother me; I didn’t think I needed to take it THAT seriously, but the only action scene worth mentioning is the shoot-out at the end with McAvoy’s shoot-out.

    1a. Also, I don’t care how good Angelina Jolie looks. I don’t really care if she’s smoking hot. She can’t act. It’s that simple. If she’s so hot, she can walk her anorexic body in front of a photographer. Otherwise, she needs to stay as far away from film as possible. Being hot doesn’t mean they’re allowed to be in movies. It means they’re allowed to be on all of our bedroom ceilings, and that’s about it.

    2. While I haven’t seen “Definitely, Maybe”, I must ask you to check out Ryan Reynold’s little film called “The Nines” and tell me what you think, John. It’s fantastic, even if it is what I consider “Donnie Darko”-lite. Reynolds does an AMAZING job, not only as one, but as THREE characters (or are they all the same????) Just thought I’d throw that out there.

    3. And finally, thank you so much for recommending “the Spiderwick Chronicles”, John. I rented it and watched it on BluRay last night. I must say that this film was a near perfect fantasy film for me. It didn’t talk down to me, it didn’t take an hour explaining the world around me, it did all of this and more by weaving it through the story and letting me fill in the blanks. The dialogue was fantastic, and at just 87 minutes, it was the perfect length. It was a tightly wound film, and Highmore’s performance(s) were incredible, to say the least. How this film ever got a PG is way beyond me, but I would put this up there with “Bridge to Terabithia” as the most underrated fantasy film in the past few decades.

  43. @Dink

    As Goodbar replied “to each his own.” The word elitist for people who are paid to review movies is an ad hominem attack on the fact that you can’t write for them. RT is just a collective of blogs and newspapers (which is a pretty accurate reading of the critical film community).

    You are right IMDB is where normal people and true fans can rate movies. It is also where people who have never seen a movie can give Godfather 2 a Zero and where super-greasy pumped-up fanboys can give The Phantom Menace a 10. So not necessarily the most “reliable” indicator of a movies success.

    ———

    Secondly, Wanted is really overrated (and this isn’t even in comparison to Millar’s amazing graphic novel). It was one of the few times that I truly disagreed with John.

  44. Just finished In Bruges about 2 minutes ago….AMAZING MOVIE.

    Laughed my ass off throughout the entire thing and the story was phenomenal. Only thing that kinda bugged me was

    *SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER*

    How they pulled a “Mist” and he (Collin Farell) just stood there and took the bullet, though it’s a SMALL MINOR gripe and I can understand completely how/why it happened. I just wish he would’ve at least moved around and made himself an uneasy target, like I would’ve done. Or any other normal human being.

    *END SPOILER END SPOILER END SPOILER*

    Also just watched Vantage Point tonight as well and liked it….not a TON but I enjoyed it a fair amount. Pretty cool movie.

    Debating on watching 10,000 B.C. either tonight or tomorrow afternoon…the only thing I’m expecting is a cool action movie with cool visuals. I’m not expecting great storylines or anything (I mean, it’d be nice if it was at least GOOD/ENTERTAINING) but I just want to be not bored by it.

  45. I love that In Bruge is getting so much love. I recomend/force feed it to everyone and when they say that they don’t love it I diss-own them as friends.

    Also John have you seen The Fall? Love that movie as well.

  46. Wanted was not a good movie. 1/3 of the action scenes were great, and the rest were completely goofy. Not to mention the story was abysmal in every way.

  47. Comment on The Happening…I heard a rumor that the original ending was a Shymalan Twist. SPOILER ALERT>>>> SKIP TO NEXT POST IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT.

    The twist was supposedly instead of showing Paris and the event recurring, was to show a “situation room” with Uniformed military personnel and suits discussing the viability of the weapon and how to use it on enemies.

    To me, the movie would have changed considerably just by changing the ending, although I still HATED the performances except for the Gardener…he almost stole it…along with the hot dogs!

  48. #4 – THE DARK KNIGHT
    There is such a huge amount of hype surrounding this film, and at the same time right now a huge amount of unrealistic over-exaggeration (in my opinion) going on about how good this film is. No, this film is not the best thing since sliced bread, but make no mistake about it, it’s a FANTASTIC movie. I believe it exceeds Batman Begins and Heath Ledger legitimately deserves an Oscar nomination for his performance as The Joker. No one will be disappointed.

    Not the best thing since sliced bread? I’ve seen it, and, yeah, it’s slightly better than sliced bread.

  49. Didn’t think much of Wanted or Spiderwick, and I definitely would have stuck Hulk up there. And I don’t get the love for Pixar, but this is coming from a guy that’s seen The Incredibles once and has no desire to see it again.

    Beyond that, good list. I really need to Netflix In Bruges.

  50. Metacritic is a good place to go. It doesn’t just take critics reviews as good or bad. It makes them into a percentage which ends up giving you a more accurate representation of whether the critics liked a movie, thought it was average, or hated it. Instead of just loving or hating it. Sometimes the percentage is 20-30 points different than rottentomatoes and they are based on the same reviews. Then there is a seperate percentage for user reviews but most people have bad taste so…

  51. @ DRAGONSLAYER

    YEAH, BUT I AM IN THE UK SO WE GET STUFF L8ER! GONE BABY GONE WAS RELEASED ABOUT 4 WEEKS AGO AND THE MIST WAS ONLY RELEASED YESTERDAY!! LOL

    craig
    uk

  52. @goodbar1979

    No. It is not.

    I enjoyed ’27 Dresses’ from start to finish, thought it was an entertaining and charming film. I also found the film humorous and I never found the film to be dull. But there’s more. For me, it hit home because I found myself identifying with the character played by James Marsden.. Yes, the two main characters are obviously going to get hooked up. They have laughs, chemistry, the banter back and fourth…but the one character keeps blowing him off for an unattainable romance.
    His character is also backstabbed by other parties, and his relationship is ruined with the woman he’s fallen for.

    Granted, the lady or two I liked wasn’t a wedding planner/bridesmaid junkie, but the concept was that yes, I been there or have seen stuff like that to me and/or my buddies now and then.

  53. @Craig

    Gone Baby Gone is from 2007, and so was The Mist.

    My list would be something like this.
    Best:

    1.Wall-E-Pixar has done it again. Best Movie of the Year so far.

    2.Iron Man-Robert Downey Jr. is awesome. One the best films made by humans

    3.Spiderwick Chronicles-Freddie Highmore is great, one of those fantasy you can’t get tired of. Nowhere near as good as The Lord of the Rings or Pan’s Labyrinth (the best movie made by Guillermo Del Toro and my personal favorite), but a fun fantasy film for all ages

    4.The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian-Better than the first, and definitely what I went for. Screw you, Michael Phillips, that was a good movie!

    5.Cloverfield-Very scary and fun.

  54. I am so tired of people comparing “Wanted” to the “Matrix”. Can we not have great special effects in more than one movie? Good grief!! Also, James McAvoy is a much better actor than Keanu Reeves IMO.

    I like your list. I haven’t seen “In Bruges” yet, but I’ve heard it is good.

  55. I only have one little whiney complaint… for MOST of us “The Dark Knight” cant be seen until the 18th… well into the ‘2nd’ half of 2008/summer… booo.

    Unless you wanna stick it to “the man” and send me a bootleg copy. I would keep it mum from both the Canadian and U.S. governments.

  56. I totally agree with you! Lol.

    I’ve been saying it myself, Wall-E should be nominated for best picture. Hands down, best film of 2008! I could go on about story structure and what not but I’ve recently discovered that I’ve been boring people with Wall-E specifics. Lol.

    Also just seen In Bruges, brilliant! Love, love, love the resolution.

    Dark Knight will be good also and I do believe that Heath Ledger will be nominated at least for his performance as the Joker.

  57. Hey 790,

    Again you aren’t disagreeing with RT- you’re disagreeing with the movie critics- it’s a collection of reviews from movie critics everywhere.

  58. Wow. I really hope that The Dark Knight is better than Wanted. I thought Wanted was entertaining enough… but definitely not better than the Hulk or Ironman. I think I’d actually compare it more to Jumper (though better than Jumper). I would have put it further down in the list.

    I guess having skinny Angie in a movie can bump it’s ratings. It’s a shame… because she’s just too skinny. Looking (notice that I did not say that she was) like a starter-anorexic is not sexy.

  59. The Mist was really good, aside from the RETARDED choices the characters decided to make….

    “Oh, look that dude’s being pulled out of the door! Let’s watch and see what happens!”

    “Oh there’s dead bodies around us! Sweet, let’s stand around and see what happens!”

    Gayyy.

  60. wow, doesn’t anyone rate the mist?? just saw it in the uk last night and i would put it in my top 5 of this year so far without a doubt!! better than WANTED with ease! i feel that wanted was hyped to much, yes it was a good action flick but nothing special.

    craig
    uk

    BEST
    1 iron man
    2.the incredible hulk
    3. gone baby gone
    4. the mist
    5. rambo
    6.jumper
    7.wanted

    worst 10,000BC WITHOUT A DOUBT!!

  61. Good list. Here is mine from what I’ve seen so far

    1. Iron Man

    2. In Bruges

    3. Wanted

    4. The Hulk

    5. Teeth

    6. Cloverfield

    7. Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull

    8. Jumper

    9. Son Of Rambow

    10. Pathology

    Worst

    The Happening

  62. Zach and goodbar 1979, I find myself in disagreement with RT most of the time…
    (So where’s the acuracy?)

    (In my opinion)
    The Rotten Tomatoes percentage system is totally inacurate of real popular opinion.
    To follow it as gospel is something I do not agree with or stand by…
    If you look at the history of RT’s track record vs BO. figures you will find that the public doesn’t allways agree as well…

  63. Great list John.
    Here is mine,

    Top 5 of 2008

    1. Bank Job
    2. Cassandra’s Dream
    3. In Bruges
    4. Wanted
    5. Iron Man

    Bottom 5 of 2008

    1. Meet the Spartans
    2. Made of Honor
    3. Vantage Point
    4. Jumper
    5. Cloverield

  64. I actually liked the zohan…lol…Maybe it’s because I am Israeli I dunno :S

    I found it very funny. Not the best, but funny nontheless…

    :)

  65. (Type your comment here. Make sure you’ve read the commenting rules before doing so) Not a bad list, other than Wanted, which should leas the worst movies list. A true crap.

  66. JOHN

    ROYCE IS 6 Ft AND 180 Lb!
    The 6th graders in your schools are probably huge! :)

    Agree 75% of your list because i didnt see all the movies yet.

  67. Number one on my must watch movies list is definitely Dark Knight. I’m glad it still doesn’t disappoint. Hmm. I’m a bit hesitant about Wall-E because I don’t know much about it really. But that won’t stop me from watching it, definitely.

    Agree with Love Guru. Mike Myers comedic ways ended, IMO, with Austin Powers. After that, he’s too obsessed with being not Austin Powers but doing it poorly.

  68. 790:

    Re:Rotten Tomatoes

    Well in defense of John for referencing RT…

    Its the best way, period, to gauge public/critical opinion. Its the largest database of movie reviews on the ENTIRE internet. I dont get why its so hard to understand why he “falls back” on it from time to time.

  69. Andee23 said:

    “…most can agree that Hulk was as good if not better than Wanted why not Include it somewhere on the list.” – PS: questions should end with a “?” Anyway,

    John C then said:

    “And no, most people don’t agree that Hulk was as good or better than wanted:

    Rotten Tomates
    Wanted – 73%
    Hulk – 68%”

    According to IMDb, wanted is at 7.6 and i,Hulk is at 7.7. Another reason why going by what RT says as the last word on public opinion is not always the best profiler of film (in fact rarely). No one ever bothers to check the average rating scale at RT – just the percentage. The average rating for Hulk right now is 6.2. Average rating for Wanted? 6.5. So there’s hardly difference at all. Essentially the same.

    I wish people would stop using RT as the be-all/end-all of how good a movie is. Most of the time, the films that are right around 50-60% are some of the best films out there because they take chances and divide critics and audiences. Although admittedly, having said that, if a film is above 90%, chances are it’s pretty darn good.

  70. Wanted was OVERRATED. Awesome action sequences, bad story. I’m glad I saw it (for 5 bucks) but it was NOT as good as I had been led to believe. Once again, John proves that I and him have very different tastes in *most* movies (though, I am tending to agree with him on Blade Runner, at least the part I’ve seen of it).

    Indy Jones 4 was DEFINITELY one of the worst movies of the year so far. Such a bad storyline, wasted characters, and a slap in the face to the franchise and fans. Pathetic.

    Watching “In Bruges” tomorrow actually, so I can comment after I see it…hope to see one of the others on the list of Top 10 soon, such as Spiderwick.

    Fool’s Gold was pretty bad as well….nice cinematography, but overall the movie was not very good. Kinda boring actually.

  71. Pretty sweet to see “In Bruges” in that list. What a great film. But holy shit at the trailer since you come in expecting to see an all out comedy. As for Speed Racer, I liked it which of course is alright considering I really enjoyed the anime.

  72. john, wanted was such a piece of shit. i don’t care if its mindless, its mindless mindlessness. here’s some notes on wanted:
    -they get their instructions from a fucking sewing machines.
    -the best action sequence was the first 5 minutes.
    -as stated before its a xerox of matrix and fight club
    -they could have had a picture of angelina playing her role. all she ever did was reverse pov, she stood around.
    -mcavoy cleared his multiple forms of disease from strapping dozens and dozens on bombs onto dirty gutter rats.
    -THEY GET THEIR TARGETS FROM A MAGIC SEWING MACHINE! who decided to look for a pattern in the first place? and who decided to kill the name of the person that showed up??

    in closing, it is most definitely a turd.

  73. John,

    I’m an everyday reader, first time poster. I’ve come to really enjoy your thoughts/opinions on films & issues related to them… But there’s something that really bothers me about your list. It’s called, The Spiderwick Chronicles…

    For some time now, you’ve been pumping this movie up BIG TIME & because of such I made it a point to see it. I must say that I was very disappointed with the movie AND Freddie Highmore’s performance in it… You built it up to be this amazing film that really captured childhood fantasy like no movie had done & for me, it failed miserably in every way… It was poorly structured, poorly written, poorly acted, poorly directed, the cgi was just awful… The story… Completely unoriginal & uninteresting…

    I really liked Freddie Highmore in Finding Neverland. Like many, I predicted he would ascend to greatness but I was so very wrong. His performances have become less noteworthy in each film he’s been in since…

    I just don’t think the movie deserves to be on anyone’s top 10 list of 2008… I trusted you, John… Now that trust is broken… I forgive you for liking the movie… But it’s going to take some time to trust you again…

    Oh, & your review for The Incredible Hulk was junk. I expected more from you. It was a much better movie than you gave it credit for… But hey, it’s all just opinions, right?

  74. In Burges was good but I watched it a 2nd time and it just felt way too slow and some dialogue seemed strange and just there….just there and strange to be there and strange. For example, the dwarf talking about the blacks vs whites war. Had no relevance to anything yet a whole scene was dedicated to it it seemed.

    Speed Racer was hated on long before it even came out and then hated on some more for being what it was trying to be…a goofy fun vibrant corny flick. Oh well…

    Wall-E was excellent on all acounts…definitely deserves the top or 2nd spot. I’ll reserve judgment on that till I see the Dark Knight. Tho they are pretty different movies.

    Iron Man was overrated. 3 action sequences. Only one that was good which happens 15-20 mins into the flick. Last battle was pretty boring…reminded me of the Transformer fight scenes. They just felt empty…like there was nothing memorable about them. On the flip side, everyone hates on the Batman Begins fight scenes but I remeber times when my heart started pounding out of excitement unlike Iron Man. Such as when Batman blows out the end of the train and says to Raz “I don’t have to kill you, but I don’t have to save you” and then flys out and leaves him for dead. F*cking awesome, that’s how you kill a villain.

    Haven’t seen the rest.

  75. I just got back from seeing WALL-E, which is a great film, but not my favorite film of the year. My vote goes to IN BRUGES. As John said “The film is funny, exciting…”, I’ll also add it contains 3(Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Fuckin’ Ralph Fiennes) of my 4 favorite performances of the year, the other is Robert Downey Jr. I think it works on every level.
    Top 5 Films so far…
    1. In Bruges
    2. WALL-E (my 2nd best PIXAR Film, behind Ratatouille.)
    3. Forgetting Sarah Marshall(the funniest film of the year)
    4. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Clearly the worst Indiana Jones film, but I’ll take that over most films)
    5. Iron Man (the best Super Hero film so far this year)
    +6. Speed Racer (I know everyone hates this film, but I had a good time with this film.)
    I also liked Wanted, The Bank Job, and The Incredible Hulk.

  76. If it weren’t for Meet The Spartans, Speed Racer would be the worst movie have seen this year. Never had a movie that hurt my eyes that much

  77. Hey 790,

    Rotten Tomatoes is just a movie site that collects all the reviews from the critics aqnd puts them into one place and gives you an average (percentage) of what the movie got. It’s like movies.yahoo.com but with more critics.

    Cheers

  78. John, I notice you fallback a lot to Rotton Tomattoes, why?
    Sure your gonna say their the leading review site.
    Well I disagree and I don’t pay any attention to RT.

    Just my opinion.

  79. Wanted beats Iron Man, yeah right. Where’s The Incredible Hulk and Cloverfield?
    Speed Racer one of the worst?
    Another subjective list I don’t agree with.

  80. 1. The Fall (although it is 2006, it was only released this year)
    2. Wall-E
    3. In Bruges
    4. The Dark Knight
    5. Mongle

    I try to avoid a lot of terrible movies, so I have not seen all of them (get smart, zohan, love guru, spartans), but I would have to say that Wanted is the worst film i have seen this year. Why anyone thought it was good is beyond me.

  81. John,

    Have to wonder why you put Wanted in your top ten let alone in the top 3. Granted Movies are subjective and a good or bad movie is a matter of opinion. But that movie sucked ass! it was just vapid and preposterous!

    Morgan Freeman acted as if he was sleepwalking( And I love Morgan…he can make crap smell like roses), the action was just so over the top bordering on silliness and James McAvoy an action hero he does not make! And I think he a really good actor! Jolie, who l like as well was just a walking skeleton though she still has a nice ass and still is very very hot! Even though I paid a half price matinee for this movie, I still feel cheated out of my 5 bucks!

    Out of all your opinions this one leaves me wondering…WTF???!!!

    Can’t wait for the Dark Knight! it’s gotta be better than wanted!

  82. Zach do not worry. Wanted is not in the same league as dark knight. Its not even close.

    Just saw Dark knight this week and while I can’t say your list is wrong john because its all a matter of opinion wanted doesn’t even come close to what the dark knight achieves. Dark knight is the best film of the year for me so far. Wanted is fun but ultimately an empty vessel. In fact the matrix comparisons are not just about tone and style either. People are getting all wrapped up in its phoney “mythology” too.

    No one will be talking about Wanted in a years time but The Dark Knight is going to go down in the books as one of the greatest comic book films of all time. Just you watch. Its fucking awesome.

    and as for saying its the sexist jolie has ever looked?? well I can only imagine then that campea is turned on my skeletons because she looks like she has aids in the film. ewwwwww….gimme some meat over bone any day

    Wall e won;t get a best picture nomination so might as well start your grumbling now. I loved it and believe it goes beyond your typical animation film but I just don;t see the academy doing it.
    Wall-E is a motion picture. Kung Fu Panda while great is a cartoon…do ya know what I mean?

    oh and who would have guessed this time last year that indy wouldn’t make the top ten?? what a shame it was such a forgettable piece of rubbish.

    Bring on tropic thunder and pineapple express. what a great fucking summer of movies so far huh!!!

    My list of summer films so far would go

    1.The Dark Knight
    2. The Dark Knight
    3,4,5. The Dark Knight
    6. Wall-E
    7.Iron Man
    8.Wanted
    9.The Happening (so so so so so bad. in fact one of the greatest bad films I have ever seen)
    10. Wanted
    11. The Dark Knight

  83. Here is the moment you all haven’t been waiting for: the Seeler’s list. Note that I cannot include films I haven’t seen yet (hence, no Wall-E, Dark Knight or Hellboy II and thus subject to change) and- shockingly, I cannot include any of Campea’s worst on my worst, because I either was smart and avoided them or they simply didn’t hang around long enough for me to bother with them anyway.

    BEST (in order as of now)

    1. Iron Man
    2. 27 Dresses
    3. The Incredible Hulk
    4. Indy Jones/Crystal Skull
    5. The Ruins
    6. Spyderwick
    7. Untraceable
    8. In Brudges
    9. Narnia/Prince Caspian
    10. Charlie Bartlett

    and now for the shite, in order and no mercy given:

    1. Semi-Pro
    2. 10,000 BC
    3. Jumper
    4. One Missed Call
    5. First Sunday
    6. Wanted
    7. Cloverfield
    8. Rambo

    All the rest not given, because I’m only including the films I have seen thus far. Also the last three are “on the fence” but I know I was really disappointed with ‘Wanted”, I don’t understand the big deal over it, I think the film is extremely overpraised. It has nothing to do with Jolie in action films; she’s done the Tomb Raiders flicks and Mr and Mrs. Smith, so her being in an action film isn’t exactly casting against type. It’s just that she’s done the character before. I just hated…just about everything else.

    Not as horrid as Jumper or god, 10,0000 BC….and how in the world Gio left Semi-Pro off the worst is beyond me…

  84. Andee23,

    The Hottie and the Nottie is not even worth beign put on a worst films list. It should just be completely ignored. Hopefully, John didn’t even watch this.

    Hey John,

    When Angelina Jolie gets her black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, I’ll concede the point.

    :P

  85. Also where is Hottie and the Nottie on the worst list now I didn’t see that film. So I have way of knowing how horrible it truly was but it was one of the worst reviewed films of the year. It ended up with a 7% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 5 on Metacritic. I mean maybe it doesn’t matter all that much since only 4 people saw it per screening and it didn’t last long in theaters. But if your putting up a list of years best and worst film so far doesn’t it qualify as one of the worst?

  86. Good list … I would move Fools Gold way up on the worst list. I got dragged to that movie and it was seriously one of the worst movies i’ve ever seen in my life. They tried to mix How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days with Indiana Jones. Complete Garbage.

  87. Well, reading through the comments, I figure you must have pretty much nailed this list John since people only seem to be debating 1 movie one it. Personally I really liked Wanted, but I think I’d switch places with it and Iron Man.

  88. Hey Ransom,

    Have you ever seen Royce Graice? Doesn’t look like he could take on a 6th grader in a school yard fight. But does anyone want to go up to him and call his mother any names?

    :P

  89. Hey Andee23

    I liked Hulk, hell I was even an extra in Hulk, but it’s not as good (in my opinion) as any of the films on this list.

    And no, most people don’t agree that Hulk was as good or better than wanted:

    Rotten Tomates
    Wanted – 73%
    Hulk – 68%

    But hey, it’s just about opinion.

  90. I just can’t fathom why anyone would consider Angelina Jolie hot, or think that she belongs in an action film. She’s just too skinny!! Her arms look like broomsticks and she has no ass! What’s the deal? She doesn’t look like she’d be able to pick up a gun never mind shoot it! I would seem to be in the minority here.

  91. Wanted was so amazing. I loved it from the first minute onwards. I haven’t seen In Bruges, but I’d put it at #2. Good to see Son of Rambow getting some love!

  92. Where is “The Incredible Hulk” on the “10 Best” List. That was one of those films that was not only really good but also, surprised a lot of people with how good. It was and I’d say was the better of two films that John said would surprised people. Although they didn’t expect much from given the buzz or lack there of surrounding them now. If Wanted (which was really good btw) is up there and most can agree that Hulk was as good if not better than Wanted why not Include it somewhere on the list.

  93. What is up with the love for Wanted. I seen it before and I’ve seen it done better. Watch Matrix 1 and 2 or any John Woo movie when he actually made good movies back in his China days.Also Iron Man was leaps and bounds above Wanted. Like my buddy told me about Wanted. The actions scenes were cool but the story sucked balls. I would think best movie of the year would actually have to have a good story.

    Also Wesley=Neo. Fox=Trinity. Whatever M Freeman character name was=Morpheous. Except wait they are bad. OMG! Way to rip off a movie that is not even ten years old. LOL! They should have just stuck with a straight adaption of the Comic. Would have been much better.

  94. Long time since I commented (almost a year or two),

    Wanted (to me) simply wasn’t that good. James’ American accent bothered me ESPECIALLY when he screamed (if you watch it again you will catch it especially toward the beginning of the film). The plot was slightly nonsensical (but I don’t think you were ever supposed to buy it). However, still full of alot of narrative holes, bad dialogue, and the ending scene was (IMHO) terrible.

    Yeah the action was good, but nothing Night Watch and Day Watch (better films also by Bekmambetov) didn’t accomplish. I really think Iron Man and the Dark Knight (I am also a member of the film critic press and have had the pleasure to see it) are better. Also, if it wasn’t for length Dark Knight would clearly be number one.

  95. Wall-E deserves to be on the top of that list, it was just a fantastic movie and should be nominated for best picture. I went to see it in a theatre backed with adults/people in their late teens. I think there were maybe two kids? Shows that this should not be taken as a kids movie.

    Also, I enjoyed Wanted..although at times, James McAvoy annoyed me. I also think I enjoyed Definitely, Maybe more than my girlfriend. Weird.

  96. i don’t know. Wall-E was ok for me. I wasn’t overly blown away by it. It was a good movie. but is still has the animation problem, where it feels like it just ends so quickly, after a long intro.

  97. Well, Grave is entitled to his opinion, I thought Wanted kicked crazy ass. Still have a hard time imagining it higher than Batman, but it totally deserves to be on this list!

    I never saw Spiderwick, I’ll have to check it out.

  98. John may thing that the Watchiski brothers went to Lucas school of Post Phantom Menace Film Making for Speed Racer. But I think the director of Wanted went to the Matrix Brothers school of How to Over Use Bullet Time in an Action/ Fantasy Film and Make It Completely Boring.

  99. I’ll be honest and tell you I had no idea I would enjoy “Wanted” as much as I did. It was retarded mindless fun that just didn’t stop to take a breath. I also have to admit to loving The Hulk more than Iron Man. Incendentally I have not seen any of the “Bad” movies you have listed.

    (I already watched “The Eye” in its original form and cant be bothered to watch it ‘dumbed down’). Fuck I still have issues in reflective elevators.

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