TOP 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2008

[modage]

1. THE DARK KNIGHT
This will be the movie I have been waiting for my whole life.  Or it will disappoint the hell out of me.

2. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
I feel like this will never come out.  Spike Jonze has made us wait even longer than PT Anderson for his follow-up to his 2002 film.  Just who the hell does he think he is, anyway?

3. WALL•E
Pixar will continue its excellence.  They may even change humankind.

4. INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
Bound to disappoint.  Who gives a shit!*
*whistles Indiana Jones theme at top of lungs.

5. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Fincher continues to push further away from his previous work.  From what I hear it will be "outstanding", "moving", and it will "transcend".  There Will Be Hype. 

6. THE X-FILES 2
Mulder & Scully.  Yep, I can't wait.

7. BURN AFTER READING
After No Country the Coens should be back on track.  Unless this comedy misses the mark and then let the sucking resume.

8. THE BROTHERS BLOOM
Loved Brick.  Do you know what will be better than Brick?  This will.

9. PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
David Gordon Green + The Apatow crew = has to be seen to be believed.  The clip online was extremely worrisome in its unfunniness so lets hope Rogen can continue his awesomeness into 2008.

10. AUSTRALIA
The whole romantic epic thing might be overdone and Nicole Kidman can't seem to NOT star in a turd of a film these days but I loved Moulin Rouge.  Like, I want to have 10,000 of it's babies.  Baz, I WANT TO BELIEVE. 

BONUS: CLOVERFIELD/STAR TREK
JJ Abrams bookends.  I haven't really watched any of the Cloverfield stuff since that first trailer but I think that will probably help me enjoy the movie for a change.  I've never seen a Star Trek ANYTHING but I will watch a JJ Abrams ANYTHING.  Spock looks dorky as hell though.

But what I'm REALLY looking forward to: 2009.

[Gold Trumpet]

1.) Bond 22
2.) Wall E
3.) Dark Knight
4.) Indiana Jones
5.) Curious Case

[hedwig]

everything mod listed, except for the bros bloom and indy 4.

Synecdoche, New York
ADORATION
Happy-Go-Lucky
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
The Wolfman
Watchmen
Brüno

But what I'm REALLY looking forward to: 2009 UNTRACEABLE.

[pete]

Encounters at the End of the World.

but seriously, we should all see Untraceable.

[modage]

The Wolfman
Watchmen

But what I'm REALLY looking forward to: 2009.

both 2009.  but me too. 

[Pubrick]

1 WALL • E
when robots inevitably become conscious and overthrow us as rulers of this world, they will watch this movie and treat us as GODS.

1 where the wild things are
when wild things inevitably become real and overthrow us as rulers of this world, they will watch this movie and treat spike jonze as a GOD.

1 black water transit
or whatever tony kaye finishes in time. i saw a non-spike lee doco recently on new orleans, place is a shit hole. no doubt if he can harness the mayhem of the landscape he could turn a by the numbers noir crime drama into something almost mythological. i can see it now. well, i'm hyped. baldy's got so much still to prove and i'm fully behind him.

1 speed racer
you ppl make me sick. so what if one of them likes to get off on pain and humiliation.. or that the only really perfect thing they've done is the first matrix. everyone deserves a redemption. the coens got it, tony kaye got it, this year it's the wachowskis turn.

1 ponyo on a cliff
at 67, i would hesitate to call this miyazaki's swan song, considering how long japanese ppl live. this time he's working with some watercolour style, and the story is about some kid and a goldfish, i don't wanna jinx him but that sounds like a great swan song.

1 blindness
meirelles mckellar and an excellent cast. the constant gardener was really forgettable after all is said and done, GT-praised as it may be. nevertheless, it was great to watch and "kothbiro" is still getting heavy rotation on my awesome soundtrack cd mixtape. and i still can't believe he's white.

1 stellet licht - silent light - lumière silencieuse - luz silenciosa
alexandro's hype is all i need. also reygadas' methods and sensibilities are something of bresson and tarkovsky.. while i've been waiting for the next kubrick i've neglected the next everything else. this dude is one to watch.

1 synecdoche, ny
a treat for anyone reading this far, my quick and easy way of explaining what a synecdoche is: "all for part and part for whole!" ..yep, this is gonna flop.

1 the beast with a billion backs
futu

1 bender's game
rama

11. want to look forward to it just as a change of pace from apatow comedies:
tropic thunder. but it might turn out crap.

more already mentioned:  benjamin b, burn after, australia, happy go. 2009.

[JG]

hey now, these are good, but SNOW ANGELS comes out in 2008.

[modage]

hey now, these are good, but SNOW ANGELS comes out in 2008.

already saw it. 

[Gamblour.]

There Will Be Blood 

[cine]

There Will Be Blood 

already saw it. 

[grand theft sparrow]

Can't really think of 10.

Blindness - I read the book last year and I can't even begin to imagine how Mireilles is going to do this one.  I don't see room in the middle for this; it's either going to be a major triumph or a colossal misfire.  The people assembled give me tremendous hope that it will be my favorite live-action film of 08.

WALL • E - Why even try to deny that it will be the greatest film since CMBB?

The Dark Knight - The 5 minute IMAX clip was the best action movie of 2007.  And there's still 2 more hours of it, give or take.

My Blueberry Nights - No one's been really positive about this one yet but it's Wong Kar-wai.  Plus, no one was overwhelmingly positive about 2046 either and I loved it.  The trailer reminds me of Happy Together... only, you know, in English and straight.

Rambo - Everything I've seen from it promises two solid hours of unironic, non-metaphorical, gratuitous, drinking-game worthy bloodshed.

Guerilla/The Argentine - If those are even this year.

And chalk me up for Brothers Bloom as well.  I liked Brick a lot when I first saw it but haven't had the desire to see it a second time, so...    I don't think Rian Johnson is a genius or a hack but he'd better step up his game this time, as the hard-boiled dialogue won't cut it again.  Plus, I like looking at Rinko Kikuchi.

[godardian]

We can "anticipate" something with a certain degree of dread, can't we? On one hand, this should be brilliant, and I adore Haneke. On the other hand, the thought of seeing the fantastically lovely and talented Naomi Watts go through this makes me sick (as did the original Austrian version of this film).

I'm also very curious about My Blueberry Nights, and I can't wait to see Persepolis or 4 Months, 3 weeks, and 2 days (I know it's not "really" a 2008 film, but for all intents and purposes, it is here). Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky should be released this year, and Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona is coming up sometime....

[last days of gerry the elephant]

I just love that poster. I think I've said this before...

[godardian]

I just love that poster. I think I've said this before...

It can't be said enough, though. It's brilliantly designed. I often say that I really hate posters that feature the actor's faces. I suppose the sort of thing that's been done with posters like the one for The Savages or Happiness (they LOVE to draw Phil Hoffman, apparently) has now been done to death, too; but to me, there's nothing worse than:



(the poster design, not the film; I can think of plenty worse FILMS, but this is what comes to my mind when I think of dime-a-dozen movie poster design).

[Disco Stu]

The Dark Knight
Indiana Jones
Wall-E
Blindness
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Revolutionary Road
Synecdoche, New York
Burn After Reading