Time and time again, we hear that actresses have it much harder when it comes to finding good parts in Hollywood. It’s true, as year after year I usually have to scrounge to find truly stand-out actresses. This year, for whatever reason, it was not difficult at all. Funny enough, some big names like Penelope Cruz, Marisa Tomei and Angelina Jolie are not included on this list… because I didn’t think they were worthy.

Here is a list of the best leading and supporting actresses in 2008, ranked in order:

1. Meryl Streep, Doubt
   Streep is all but expected to turn in Oscar-worthy performances, though we can forgive her for Mamma Mia and only hope she struck up a revenue sharing deal for that film. Playing an ultra conservative, fiercely authoritative nun in Doubt, she is wonderfully wicked in this play adaptation. Her scene with Philip Seymour Hoffman is downright mesmerizing, and as great of an actor as Hoffman is, you know who will win the battle.
2. Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
   Hathaway turns in a career-defining performance as an alcholic who, fresh out of rehab, has arrived to create chaos at her sister’s wedding. The movie is depressing and Hathaway’s character is the main contributor, as she time and time again makes every scene as painful as possible. She, in many ways, is like the serious, realistic and more damaged version of Michael Scott from “The Office,” and should be commended for it.
3. Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road
   Winslet is required to show up on lists such as this one, and she does not disappoint in 2008. Her performance as a depressed housewife and mother in the 1950’s is tragic. While she isn’t my #1 pick, I would be quite content if she took home the Oscar this year – and in fact would be quite surprised if she didn’t.
4. Amy Adams, Doubt
   Adams is hot, but she’s also an excellent actress. People may not have noticed, but she’s starting to rack up a respectable career in just the few years since she sneaked into the spotlight, and her performance as an innocent, naive nun proves just how strong of an actress she really is. Even though Streep chews scenery in every scene she’s in, Adams holds her own and establishes herself as the perfect counterbalance to the stronger-willed character.
5. Melissa Leo, Frozen River
   Frozen River is a good movie, but it’d be a forgettable B-grade drama-thriller without the performance of Melissa Leo. Leo plays desperate and tough at the same time, and never for a second do we question her motives for engaging in illegal, risky behavior. Everything about her is perfect in this movie – too bad she has such stiff competition.
6. Viola Davis, Doubt
   Viola Davis only has one scene in the entire movie, but boy is it a doozey. While neither Adams’ or Hoffman’s characters can stand up to Streep’s, Davis’ puts the head nun in her place with a tear-jerking and downright disturbing speech that essentially condones pedophilia when it comes to her own son. That’s messed up, but brilliant.
7. Frances McDormand, Burn After Reading
   McDormand is one of the best actresses working today; she can do drama, comedy and anything in between – or often at the same time. As a gym employee who is desperately trying to save up for cosmetic surgery, McDormand delivers a stellar performance, even when matched against the likes of Brad Pitt and George Clooney, both of whom tend to steal the spotlight.
8. Gwenyth Paltrow, Iron Man
   Everyone has been praising director Jon Favreau and actor Robert Downey Jr. for making Iron Man the massive blockbuster that it is, but Gwenyth Paltrow who, in what could have been a thankless and forgettable role, made her character anything but. She has great chemistry with Downey Jr. and looks as hot as ever.
9. Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
   Anne Hathaway is the one everyone’s talking about in regards to Rachel Getting Married, but her on-screen sister – the title character, no less – is nearly as good. Though not nearly as frustrating or depressing as Hathaway’s character – and thus not nearly as noticeable – DeWitt manages to portray the more reasonable sister with just as many flaws and issues as her alcoholic sibling.
10. Kate Winslet, The Reader
    I didn’t really like Winslet’s performance when I first saw The Reader – and I am not a huge fan of the movie itself – but she has grown on me. After all, when you think about how unlikable, flawed and ugly she is in this movie, you realize that with just a touch of makeup this actress transformed herself into an enigma of a character, one whom the main character cherishes and loves, yet who others despise for the atrocities she committed.
11. Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Dark Knight
    The praise has been all about Heath Ledger, and if people play it safe they mention Morgan Freeman, Christian Bale and Michael Caine. Still, Gyllenhaal turns in a great supporting performance here. I’m one of the few who didn’t mind Katie Holmes in the original, but when you watch one film right after the other – like I did the other night – you realize what an upgrade director Christopher Nolan pulled off when replacing one with the other. Gyllenhaal’s final scene is as emotional as it is due to the actress’s ability to reveal to the audience her sudden, momentary shock that everything is not going to end happily.
12. Rebecca Hall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
    Interestingly, when people think of this movie, their minds immediately go to Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz making out. Mine does, too, but it also goes to the third actress who, in fact, plays the main character. Rebecca Hall, the least-known name in the entire movie, was hardly marketed at all, but not only is she prettier than Johansson and Cruz (a very, very hard feat), she also delivers a compelling performance.
13. Evan Rachel Wood, The Wrestler
    Marisa Tomei has been getting all the attention when it comes to supporting performances, but maybe I was too focused on her incessant nudity throughout the film. No, my praise lands on Evan Rachel Wood, who once again delivers a strong, emotional performance as the estranged daughter of Mickey Rourke. She only has a few scenes, but those scenes are the most powerful of the movie.
14. The ladies of Sex and the City: The Movie
    OK, so I wouldn’t give any of these ladies Oscars, but they should be commended for bringing their TV counterparts to the big screen in a funny, sentimental and believable way. Thanks to the chemistry these women have with one another, Sex and the City catapulted female-oriented movies into arenas normally reserved for adrenaline -filled action flicks.
15. Nicole Kidman, Australia
    Kidman isn’t amazing in Australia, but she fits the part perfectly. Her performance in the first third of the movie is particularly memorable, as she plays a surprisingly funny, Scarlett O’Hara-esque Brit who doesn’t know the first thing about life down under. There’s a reason why she’s at the bottom of this list, but she still is worthy of recognition.

Every year, plenty of movies come and go with audiences ignoring them and/or critics bashing them. Many of these films deserve the fate bequeathed upon them, but there are others that leave the filmmakers scratching their heads or drinking away their sorrows in some lonely tavern only to wake up the next morning to find their clothes and money missing and a lingering memory of a sexy woman who wasn’t as sexy as she first appeared – or as womanly.

Below are 23 overlooked movies released in 2008. Some of these are box office duds and others are ones that the critics sunk their teeth into for no good reason. And there are even some blockbusters on this list that some people have refused to watch out of some sad, misguided preconception of the picture, franchise or actor involved. (more…)

I love a good movie as much as the next person. In fact, my favorite hobby hinges on the fact that there are good movies out there. But, as a self-proclaimed critic, the best movies for writing reviews are the bad ones. What can one say about Schindler’s List without going into a fluffy tirade of prose about how good it is, when the reader, for the most part, just wants to hear, “This movie rocks?” No, it’s the bad movies where the real meat is, where the reviewer can unlock his deepest, pent-up aggressions toward sloppy filmmaking and unleash, narrowing in on the direct causes that contributed to a picture’s downfall.

And in 2008, just like any year, there were a fair amount of movies that allowed me to play mean. At the same time, 2008 marks a continuing improvement on my part to avoid the movies I know are bad. One summer, way back when I was in high school, I went and saw just about every movie that came out – in theaters, no less – even if I knew they were going to be horrible. I was obsessed. I even backtracked to 1995 to see just about anything that had been released, just so that my database could be complete. When I could have been watching the classics of the century, I was instead watching some crappy movie from ‘97 that I knew was going to be bad.

One should not pay too close attention to reviews, because everyone has their own tastes and the more movies a critic watches, the more cynical he or she becomes. Nevertheless, there are movies that you don’t need a critic to tell you that they’re going to suck. And those are the movies I’m starting to weed out of my obsession, so I can focus on other important things, like my day job, friends, family and perhaps finding a girlfriend one of these days. (more…)

The Oscar nominations are out, but with the amount of fine performances this year, it didn’t seem right to condense things down to a top ten list. A combination of both the best leading and supporting actors, here are the best male performances of 2008:

1. Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
   Mickey Rourke and Sean Penn are so neck-and-neck for the top spot I continue to waver between the two. However, a perfect example of why Oscar-potential films come out near the end of December in limited release, I lean toward Rourke for two reasons: 1) I saw his performance a couple weeks ago versus two months ago for Penn’s, so the memory is stronger in my mind at this moment, and 2) Rourke’s comeback out of practically nowhere has to count for something considering that Penn has so many opportunities at Oscar gold.
2. Sean Penn, Milk
   Penn epitomizes Harvey Milk and completely disappears into the role. He is one of the most consistent actors in Hollywood, but I’ve almost grown complacent to this fact. Almost.

(more…)

Action movies. Below are the best action movies of 2008, based on a combination of overall quality, intensity of the action and overall entertainment value. Action-comedies such as Tropic Thunder didn’t quite make the list, though Pineapple Express almost made it. Without further ado, here are the best action movies of 2008:

1. The Dark Knight
   This is a gimme. Even though it isn’t a straightforward action film, The Dark Knight is intense from beginning to end. It rarely lets up, and there are some amazingly memorable action sequences, most notably the car/truck chase scene that results in Batman flipping a semi on its top. I don’t think I need to explain myself further.
2. Iron Man
   Before there was The Dark Knight, there was Iron Man. The film reigned the box office and critical arena for two months before DC finally upended Marvel, but that shouldn’t diminish the surprisingly high quality of the Jon Favreau film. Despite great previews and a lot of buzz, I was skeptical as to whether a director who had never handled a large budget could make a movie about a tin man work, but my skepticism vanished quickly. Strangely, the movie doesn’t have as much as action as one would expect (I so wish that Afghanistan attack would have gone on for longer), but it still has the perfect bland of thrills, laughs and visual effects. Of course, it took Robert Downey Jr. to take the character to the next level. (more…)

Here are my top ten movies of 2008. This is one of the strangest lists I’ve assembled in years, as it includes a unique blend of comic book action, animated robots, a drinking beverage and a vampire – and no where to be found are the Nazis. Without further ado…

1. The Dark Knight
   I am not one of those people who usually put action movies in their top ten lists. I like dramas. I especially like depressing dramas. I love action films, too, but when it comes to the best films of the year, they rarely rank well. 2008 was an exception for two reasons: 1) the year, in general, was weak. There were some hilarious comedies and some great action movies, but few absolutely stunning dramas. In other words, there were no There Will Be Blood’s this year. This opens the door for… 2) one of the most amazing action films ever made. No, The Dark Knight is not the best action film out there – in terms of your typical action movie. However, few films manage to transcend the genre and deliver drama, suspense, crime and action in such a seamless, brilliant format. Christopher Nolan really outdid himself, and it is unlikely we’ll see another comic book movie top this one anytime soon, if ever. Oh yeah, and Heath Ledger is halfway decent in the movie, too.
2. The Wrestler
   If not for The Dark Knight, this one would be #1. Well, duh. The Wrestler is an incredible piece of work, a movie that is entertaining, dramatic, powerful and sad all at once. Darren Aronofsky, who was once rumored to direct the next Batman film, comes back down to earth after the strange The Fountain to direct his most normal film yet, but the director elevates an otherwise simply story to another level. The film looks great, but it’s Mickey Rourke’s performance that makes the picture worth it. With incredible acting, superb direction and stellar screenplay, it’s a real shame that The Wrestler isn’t getting honored with more Oscars – but leave it to the Academy to ignore great films. (more…)

Every year, there are movies that we just really want to see, that promise to be explosive or intriguing or captivating. Or just plain fun. And every year, there are movies that you expected great things from that just fail to deliver. They may not be terrible, but they weren’t as good as you were hoping or knew that they could be; they may be movies that you didn’t expect to be great but should have been decent – but were just plain bad. These are those movies: the most disappointing movies of 2008.

Note that “disappointing” is different from “bad” or “worst.” Some of the movies on this list are just plain bad (The Happening), and most of them aren’t that great, but there are a few on here that I would watch again – they just simply didn’t live up to expectations. The higher up the list they are, though, the more they disappointed.

Without further ado… (more…)

“Worst movies of XXXX” are always hard to do because, naturally, one tends to avoid the really crappy movies. But for someone like me, who does tend to watch more movies than anyone should in their right mind, a few bad movies slip through… sometimes by surprise (Son of Rambow), and sometimes out of utter curiosity (The Love Guru). So, as best as I can gather from personal experience, here are the worst comedies of 2008:

1. The Love Guru
   There’s no real question as to which movie would top this list. Mike Myer’s attempt at humor was just as unfunny as the previews suggested. The movie is offensive on many levels and the screenplay is as bad as it gets. Mike Myers himself is downright terrible, using silly accents to no effect other than to show that he should never fake an accent ever again. Don’t make my mistake and watch this out of curiosity – it really is that bad.
2. College Road Trip
   I’ve never liked Martin Lawrence, but put him in a G-rated Disney film called College Road Trip and you’re asking for trouble. This road trip film features equally bad performances by Lawrence and co-star Raven-Symoné, but the screenplay and story is embarassing. (more…)

2008 was a good year for comedies, and this coming from a guy who rates comedies as the least desirable genre. I actually do really enjoy comedies, but I like action flicks and depressing dramas much, much more. But in the absence of really great dramas, this genre rose up to truly deliver….

1. In Bruges
   Most people haven’t seen this movie, but it is certainly worth it. Unlike the four or five movies that follow on this list, In Bruges may not be the non-stop laughfest, but it comes pretty close. More importantly, it is a unique and surprisingly excellent drama-comedy that features Colin Farrell bashing the poor town of Bruges for two hours, getting overly excited about cracked-out midgets and telling fat Americans that they can’t climb up some steep stairs. OK, so that explanation does the comedy absolutely no justice, but this is a movie that blew me away in more ways than one.
2. Role Models
   Based on the previews, who could have seen this one coming? Role Models flew in under the radar, looking like a decent but generic comedy starring Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott. But from the first minute, Role Models is a consistently funny and vulgar picture that has a surprising amount of heart and more laughs than you’ll know what to do with. (more…)

2009 is almost upon us, and with it comes another year of hopeful movies looking to stretch the box office, entertain audiences and, in most cases, also appeal to critics. Some will exceed expectations, and some will fail miserably. It’s impossible to tell at such an early stage, but here are 25 movies that one must see in 2009. Of course, most of these movies have already released trailers of some form or another – there are plenty more that may be better but have yet to reveal their goodness to us fans.

1. Star Trek
   A few years ago, the Star Trek franchise was nearly obliterated when they decided to release the film right around the time that a small indie flick called The Lord of the Rings was playing. Now, J.J. Abrams, the man behind Alias, Lost and Cloverfield, looks to resurrect the franchise by appealing both to Trekkies and non-fans alike. This movie is risky, as it looks to recreate the universe from the ground up without completely offending fans, but even skeptics are anticipating this action-packed sci-fi epic.
2. Watchmen
   Another sci-fi epic comes to theaters in March (assuming the Fox lawsuit gets settled), marking the first adaptation of what is widely considered the best graphic novel of all time. From the man who brought us the excellent Dawn of the Dead remake and 300, Watchmen involves superheroes, amazing special effects and a dark, apocalyptic story. The trailers have been absolutely phenomenal, and fans are rabid to see this picture. Whether it will appeal to wider audiences is still to be determined, but this one looks like an early blockbuster. (more…)