TOP 10 of 2008

It's never too late to do my year's top 10 isn't it?

So here's my very own top 10 of 2008. But I've got to say, I'm cheating a bit. You'll find some 2007 movies and even a 2006 movie. But hey, I got to see them this year and they were fucking great! It's not a "top ten best movies" so to speak, but it's a top ten of my favorite cinematic experiences of the year.

10. Repo! The Genetic Opera.

(Darren Lynn Bousman. 2008)

Now, the reason this movie makes the list is not that the movie was that good. It was pretty good yes, very entertaining, but for me, this stands out as one of the greatest cinematic experiencesof the year. The world premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival this summer was just crazy
Darren Lynn Bousman was there, the cast too, the crowd was insane, it was a hot summer night, I met some nice people. A very fun night to remember.

9. Iron Man
(Jon Favreau. 2008)

This is the movie that launched the summer now officially know, and thus, for the end of times, as The Summer of the Comic Book Movie. And as far as I'm concerned, while this wasn't the best one (that being TDK and we all know it), this definitely was the most comic-book-ish, and let alone, the best fucking Marvel movie I've seen. It paved the way for the Avengers, introduced Marvel's very own studio, put Robert Downey Jr. back on the map (for me anyways) and was just pure comic gold.

8. Cloverfield
(Matt Reeves. 2008) Certainly one of the most hyped and anticipated movies of 2008, I remember it coming out in January and boy, was I excited. I've had practically spent the whole summer going all over the Internet looking for clues and shit. And when I got to finally see it, I got definitely what I wanted : an action-packed, thrilling, hand-held kaiju flick. It is also one of the rare movies I went to see twice in theaters. It's not a grand film but it's pretty damn entertaining.

7. Tokyo Gore Police
(Yoshihiro Nishimura. 2008)
This movie makes the list for being the single most fucked up thing I have ever seen. Ever. Trust me. It is not an amazing movie, so to speak, but it sure is a cinematic experience you're likely to never live (or want to live) again. In all seriousness, this movie is intense. Hear my words : intense. There's a limit of blood you can show in a movie. This movie basically says fuck you and utterly destroys those limits. For the gore fans out there only: Trust me, you will never, ever see something like this. This a one-in-a-lifetime movie. My eyeballs still hurt.

6. Jack Brooks : Monster Slayer
(Jon Knautz. 2007)
This shouldn't be on this list right? Well it is. The reasons ? It's Canadian and I'm kinda proud it is. And it was SO MUCH FUN. This a Halloween Party kinda movie. A throwback to the eighties when CGI didn't exist. A movie full of slime, goo and blood, latex and monsters. Plus, watch with a cheering crowd at a film fest : fun time garantied. And it stars Robert Englund. This isn't one of the best films I've seen this year, no way, but I had such a good time watching it. Highly recommended.

5.The Fall
(Tarsem. 2006)

I've already reviewed this movie but let me remind you : this movie is amazing. Amazingly beautiful, great characters, one of my favorite actor (Lee Pace from Pushing Daisies)as a pistolero, some of the greatest imagery you'll ever see in a non-blockbuster flick (it was shot in over 22 countries and it shows), this movie is as epic as it is heart-moving and really really good.

4. Who is K.K. Downey?
(Darren Curtis & Pat Kiely. 2008)

I am not a comedy guy. Look at the list, I don't usually see a lot of comedies. It's not a genre I love very much. But this, guys, this was seriously one, if not the single greatest comedy I've seen. And, maybe that is impairing my judgement but it's from Montréal, and this movie made me want to make movies myself, like you wouldn't believe. It's about those hipster guys, one is in a band and another wants to publish a book but they all fail miserably. They then decide to create this icon. K.K. Downey and basically fool everybody in thinking he's the one who wrote the shitty book. This movie is juste pure comedic gold. That's all I'm going to say. Now, if a DVD could come out so I could spread the love...

3.The Dark Knight
(Christopher Nolan. 2008)

Don't act like you didn't expect this to be on the list. This movie is a dark and gripping thriller and it is a superhero movie. Wait what? Yes. Heath Ledger delivered the performance of his career (or sadly, of his life) and Christopher Nolan blasted his way in the summer blockbuster league, while keeping all the intelligence and intrigue of his previous films. I you haven't seen this yet, you've either lived under a rock all year, or you must have a hell of a reason.If not, I don't want to know you.

2. The Darjeeling Limited
(Wes Anderson. 2007)I know this came out quite a time ago, but this movie is so great, so perfect that it had to be on this list. Of course, I was expecting an amazing film from Wes Anderson, but when I got to see this movie, I was blown away. I know he's made The Royal Tenenbaums which is regarded as his masterpiece and I'm no one to argue with that, but Darjeeling stuck with me a lot more afterwards. This movie moved on so many levels. It's smart, funny and beautiful, so beautiful. The characters alone are some of the greatest stuff I've seen on the big screen. I could write a thousand word repeating how good this is but please do yourself a favor and see this movie. And all Wes Anderson's while you're at it.

NUMBER ONE - LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
(Tomas Alfredson. 2007)

This movie is undescribable : my words couldn't even begin to explain how good this was and how much I enjoyed it. But what makes this the definitive most amazing film I've seen this year (at this point, you get that the top 3 is pretty much the best films I've seen this year) is how it grew on me. How it stayed with me and haunted me for days. How I wanted to see it again, and couldn't. This is a true example of an awaken dream, a movie that got me and didn't let me go, for two hours long. Forget everything else you know about vampires and cold and snow : this movie is the definitive vampire movie for me. Everything in this movie is amazing and it has one of the most satisfaying endings you'll ever see.

That is it folks.