My Top 101+ Movies, Documentaries and miniseries for 2008... (and in list order)
by DukeEman | created - 21 May 2012 | updated - 01 Jul 2020 | PublicEastwood makes it on the list twice; Penn is amazing, and a documentary makes me weep. In list order.
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1. Milk (I) (2008)
R | 128 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of American gay activist Harvey Milk, who fought for gay rights and was elected as California's first openly gay official.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna
Votes: 179,873 | Gross: $31.84M
Oh, Mr. Penn, you have done it again.
2. In Bruges (2008)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
After a job gone wrong, hitman Ray and his partner await orders from their ruthless boss in Bruges, Belgium, the last place in the world Ray wants to be.
Director: Martin McDonagh | Stars: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ciarán Hinds, Elizabeth Berrington
Votes: 461,650 | Gross: $7.76M
Attempting to keep alive in Bruges can be entertaining.
3. Changeling (2008)
R | 141 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
After Christine's son goes missing, she reaches out to the LAPD to find him. But when they try to pass off an impostor as her son to quieten public protests, she refuses to accept him or give up hope.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Angelina Jolie, Colm Feore, Amy Ryan, Gattlin Griffith
Votes: 265,320 | Gross: $35.74M
Eastwood knows how to tell it thanks to a strong performance from AJ.
4. Bronson (2008)
R | 92 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A young man who was sentenced to seven years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending three decades in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter-ego, Charles Bronson.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | Stars: Tom Hardy, Kelly Adams, Luing Andrews, Katy Barker
Votes: 140,926 | Gross: $0.10M
Tom Hardy is superb...
5. Salute (2008)
TV-14 | 120 min | Documentary, Sport
The black power salute at the 1968 Mexico Olympics was an iconic moment in the US civil rights movement. What part did the white Australian who ran second play and what price did these athletes pay for standing up for their beliefs?
Director: Matt Norman | Stars: Christopher Kirby, Bob Beamon, Ralph Boston, Raelene Boyle
Votes: 453
Powerful...
6. Three Monkeys (2008)
Not Rated | 109 min | Drama
A family suffers from a major communication breakdown during their struggle to get through their hardships.
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Stars: Yavuz Bingöl, Hatice Aslan, Ahmet Rifat Sungar, Ercan Kesal
Votes: 23,013 | Gross: $0.04M
Very slow moving but effective with some brilliant cinematic moments...
7. The Hurt Locker (2008)
R | 131 min | Drama, Thriller, War
During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce
Votes: 473,941 | Gross: $17.02M
The pain of war.
8. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
PG-13 | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two friends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Christopher Evan Welch
Votes: 268,937 | Gross: $23.22M
Woody gets dirty in Spain.
9. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
PG-13 | 166 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with consequences.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Julia Ormond
Votes: 695,919 | Gross: $127.51M
Surreal tale that enlightens.
10. Gran Torino (2008)
R | 116 min | Drama
After a Hmong teenager tries to steal his prized 1972 Gran Torino, a disgruntled, prejudiced Korean War veteran seeks to redeem both the boy and himself.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Christopher Carley, Ahney Her
Votes: 815,184 | Gross: $148.10M
Could be Eastwood's swan song as an actor.
11. Generation Kill (2008)
TV-MA | 10 min | Drama, War
A Rolling Stone reporter, embedded with The 1st Recon Marines chronicles his experiences during the first wave of the American-led assault on Baghdad in 2003.
Stars: Alexander Skarsgård, James Ransone, Lee Tergesen, Jon Huertas
Votes: 59,238
Brilliant mini-series that needs to be seen...
12. Let the Right One In (2008)
R | 114 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.
Director: Tomas Alfredson | Stars: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl
Votes: 226,828 | Gross: $2.12M
Vampire of a different type is what we need in this day and age.
13. North Face (2008)
Not Rated | 126 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
A secretary at a Berlin newspaper in 1936 gets to write about two Alpinists, as she knows them well. She later gets to report on and photograph her friends' and other Alpinists' climbs of the dangerous Swiss Eiger north face.
Director: Philipp Stölzl | Stars: Benno Fürmann, Florian Lukas, Johanna Wokalek, Simon Schwarz
Votes: 16,435 | Gross: $0.71M
Not sure how factual this is, but riveting stuff with an over the top dramatic score...
14. The Wrestler (2008)
R | 109 min | Drama, Sport
A faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Mark Margolis
Votes: 320,019 | Gross: $26.24M
Mickey excels in this performance piece.
15. Doubt (I) (2008)
PG-13 | 104 min | Drama, Mystery
A Catholic school principal questions a priest's ambiguous relationship with a troubled young student.
Director: John Patrick Shanley | Stars: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis
Votes: 136,097 | Gross: $33.42M
Hoffman and Streep are just perfect...
16. Che: Part One (2008)
Not Rated | 134 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1956, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara and a band of Castro-led Cuban exiles mobilize an army to topple the regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Julia Ormond, Benicio Del Toro, Oscar Isaac, Pablo Guevara
Votes: 47,962 | Gross: $1.80M
An underrated Soderbergh gem...
17. Che: Part Two (2008)
Not Rated | 135 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1967, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara leads a small partisan army to fight an ill-fated revolutionary guerrilla war in Bolivia, South America.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Demián Bichir, Rodrigo Santoro, Benicio Del Toro, Catalina Sandino Moreno
Votes: 35,057
Soderbergh rarely disappoints...
18. Camino (2008)
TV-14 | 138 min | Drama
The young daughter of sectarian religious fanatics faces a deadly illness soon after falling in love for the first time.
Director: Javier Fesser | Stars: Nerea Camacho, Carme Elias, Mariano Venancio, Manuela Vellés
Votes: 5,339
The blind faith...
19. Frost/Nixon (2008)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History
A dramatic retelling of the post-Watergate television interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and former president Richard Nixon.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon, Sam Rockwell
Votes: 112,488 | Gross: $18.59M
Capturing a moment in history...
20. The Class (2008)
PG-13 | 128 min | Drama
Teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.
Director: Laurent Cantet | Stars: François Bégaudeau, Agame Malembo-Emene, Angélica Sancio, Arthur Fogel
Votes: 36,441 | Gross: $3.77M
Fascinating observation on the dynamics of a multicultural class and its teacher...
21. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
PG-13 | 94 min | Drama, War
Through the innocent eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a German concentration camp, a forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and unexpected consequences.
Director: Mark Herman | Stars: Asa Butterfield, David Thewlis, Rupert Friend, Zac Mattoon O'Brien
Votes: 246,598 | Gross: $9.03M
How did we get to this stage...
22. Recount (2008 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 116 min | Drama, History
A chronicle of the weeks after the 2000 U.S. Presidential election, and the subsequent recounts in Florida.
Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Bob Balaban, Denis Leary, Ed Begley Jr.
Votes: 13,603
Something amiss in these vote counts...
23. Gonzo (2008)
R | 120 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
A portrait of the late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: Hunter S. Thompson, Johnny Depp, Joe Cairo, David Carlo
Votes: 8,503 | Gross: $1.25M
Needed a mini-series to tell his life story...
24. Me and Orson Welles (2008)
PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy, Drama
In 1937, a teenager is cast in the Mercury Theatre production of "Julius Caesar", directed by a young Orson Welles.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Zac Efron, Claire Danes, Christian McKay, Zoe Kazan
Votes: 11,823 | Gross: $1.19M
Linklater gets Efron to act...
25. Valkyrie (2008)
PG-13 | 121 min | Drama, History, Thriller
A dramatization of the July 20, 1944 assassination and political coup plot by desperate renegade German Army officers against Adolf Hitler during World War II.
Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy, Carice van Houten, Kenneth Branagh
Votes: 259,324 | Gross: $83.08M
Singer & Cruise pull this off...
26. The Reader (2008)
R | 124 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Post-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial.
Director: Stephen Daldry | Stars: Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, Bruno Ganz, Jeanette Hain
Votes: 259,970 | Gross: $34.19M
The haunting memory of war...
27. Iron Man (2008)
PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
After being held captive in an Afghan cave, billionaire engineer Tony Stark creates a unique weaponized suit of armor to fight evil.
Director: Jon Favreau | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges
Votes: 1,125,291 | Gross: $318.41M
The perfect superhero movie...
28. What Just Happened (2008)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
Two weeks in the life of a fading Hollywood producer who's having a rough time trying to get his new picture made.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Robert De Niro, John Turturro, Stanley Tucci, Sean Penn
Votes: 28,526 | Gross: $1.09M
Funny for those who work in the industry...
29. Ce qu'il faut pour vivre (2008)
PG | 102 min | Drama
In 1952, an Inuit hunter named Tivii with tuberculosis leaves his northern home and family to go recuperate at a sanatorium in Quebec City. Uprooted, far from his loved ones, unable to ... See full summary »
Director: Benoit Pilon | Stars: Natar Ungalaaq, Éveline Gélinas, Paul-André Brasseur, Louise Marleau
Votes: 1,022
Well delivered and fine performances...
30. Hunger (2008)
Not Rated | 96 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Irish republican Bobby Sands leads the inmates of a Northern Irish prison in a hunger strike.
Director: Steve McQueen | Stars: Michael Fassbender, Liam Cunningham, Stuart Graham, Laine Megaw
Votes: 73,570 | Gross: $0.15M
Toughest and bleakest of the prison genres...
31. Body of Lies (2008)
R | 128 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A CIA agent on the ground in Jordan hunts down a powerful terrorist leader while being caught between the unclear intentions of his American supervisors and Jordan Intelligence.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Golshifteh Farahani
Votes: 239,594 | Gross: $39.39M
Perfect cast & director do deliver the thrills...
32. The Black Balloon (2008)
PG-13 | 97 min | Drama, Romance
All Thomas wants is a normal adolescence but his autistic brother, Charlie, thwarts his every opportunity. Will Thomas, with the help of his girlfriend, Jackie, accept his brother?
Director: Elissa Down | Stars: Rhys Wakefield, Luke Ford, Toni Collette, Erik Thomson
Votes: 9,233 | Gross: $0.09M
love a dysfunctional Aussie family...
33. The Burning Plain (2008)
R | 107 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A drama with a two-tiered storyline concerning a mother and daughter who try to form a bond after the young woman's difficult childhood.
Director: Guillermo Arriaga | Stars: Charlize Theron, John Corbett, José María Yazpik, Robin Tunney
Votes: 21,343 | Gross: $0.20M
The ugliness of an abused childhood...
34. Revolutionary Road (2008)
R | 119 min | Drama, Romance
A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Christopher Fitzgerald, Jonathan Roumie
Votes: 225,039 | Gross: $22.91M
Mendes gets the performances...
35. The Children of Huang Shi (2008)
R | 125 min | Drama, War
About young British journalist, George Hogg, who with the assistance of a courageous Australian nurse, saves a group of orphaned children during the Japanese occupation of China in 1937.
Director: Roger Spottiswoode | Stars: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Radha Mitchell, Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh
Votes: 9,985 | Gross: $1.03M
Clunky but heartfelt...
36. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
R | 120 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A teenager from the slums of Mumbai becomes a contestant on the show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati?' When interrogated under suspicion of cheating, he revisits his past, revealing how he had all the answers.
Directors: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan | Stars: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Saurabh Shukla, Anil Kapoor
Votes: 877,992 | Gross: $141.32M
How to get out of the slums...
37. The Square (2008)
R | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A man's life begins to unravel when his mistress brings him a bag of cash.
Director: Nash Edgerton | Stars: David Roberts, Claire van der Boom, Joel Edgerton, Anthony Hayes
Votes: 6,384 | Gross: $0.05M
It's not always what it seems to be...
38. Sunshine Cleaning (2008)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Drama
In order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school, a mom starts an unusual business -- a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service -- with her unreliable sister.
Director: Christine Jeffs | Stars: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Jason Spevack
Votes: 74,138 | Gross: $12.06M
Sweetly dark...
39. Mamma Mia! (2008)
PG-13 | 108 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
The story of a bride-to-be trying to find her real father told using hit songs by the popular 1970s group ABBA.
Director: Phyllida Lloyd | Stars: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried, Stellan Skarsgård
Votes: 274,491 | Gross: $144.13M
Had me dancing...
40. Louise hires a contract killer (2008)
94 min | Comedy, Drama
What to do when the workers of a factory have been laid off overnight? Louise has an original idea: why not pool the compensation money to hire a hit man and to liquidate the boss? Motion ... See full summary »
Directors: Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern | Stars: Yolande Moreau, Bouli Lanners, Benoît Poelvoorde, Albert Dupontel
Votes: 2,596
Workers unite...
41. Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)
R | 103 min | Documentary, History
The story of the Australian exploitation genre cinema of 1970s and 80s.
Director: Mark Hartley | Stars: Phillip Adams, Glory Annen, Christine Amor, Victoria Anoux
Votes: 4,684 | Gross: $0.02M
The amusing other side of the Oz film industry...
42. Elegy (I) (2008)
R | 112 min | Drama, Romance
Cultural critic David Kepesh finds his life, which he indicates is a state of "emancipated manhood," thrown into tragic disarray by Consuela Castillo, a well-mannered student who awakens a sense of sexual possessiveness in her teacher.
Director: Isabel Coixet | Stars: Ben Kingsley, Penélope Cruz, Patricia Clarkson, Dennis Hopper
Votes: 23,214 | Gross: $3.58M
Sometimes we are so academically attuned that we don't know what is really in front of us... And the performances are perfect...
43. Waltz with Bashir (2008)
R | 90 min | Documentary, Animation, Biography
An Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.
Director: Ari Folman | Stars: Ari Folman, Ron Ben-Yishai, Ronny Dayag, Ori Sivan
Votes: 60,417 | Gross: $2.28M
An interesting way of documenting your memory...
44. WALL·E (2008)
G | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
In the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.
Director: Andrew Stanton | Stars: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard
Votes: 1,200,914 | Gross: $223.81M
Clever & sweet...
45. Niloofar (2008)
82 min | Drama
Forced into marriage, a thirteen year old Iraqi girl battles with her femininity in search for freedom.
Director: Sabine El Gemayel | Stars: Amir Aghaee, Mobina Aynehdar, Badrossadat Beranjani, Nayereh Farahani
Votes: 131
A fine Iranian melodrama about the plight of a young girl forced into marriage...
46. Leatherheads (2008)
PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
In 1925, an enterprising pro football player convinces America's too-good-to-be-true college football hero to play for his team and keep the league from going under.
Director: George Clooney | Stars: George Clooney, Renée Zellweger, John Krasinski, David de Vries
Votes: 33,445 | Gross: $31.20M
Clooney does a fine job...
47. Burn After Reading (2008)
R | 96 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A disk containing mysterious information from a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous and daft gym employees who attempt to sell it.
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen | Stars: Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, George Clooney, John Malkovich
Votes: 353,355 | Gross: $60.36M
Not the perfect Coen brothers...
48. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
R | 111 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Devastated Peter takes a Hawaiian vacation in order to deal with the recent break-up with his TV star girlfriend, Sarah. Little does he know, Sarah's traveling to the same resort as her ex - and she's bringing along her new boyfriend.
Director: Nicholas Stoller | Stars: Kristen Bell, Jason Segel, Paul Rudd, Mila Kunis
Votes: 302,525 | Gross: $63.17M
Hard to forget this little charmer...
49. Kung Fu Panda (2008)
PG | 92 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
To everyone's surprise, including his own, Po, an overweight, clumsy panda, is chosen as protector of the Valley of Peace. His suitability will soon be tested as the valley's arch-enemy is on his way.
Directors: Mark Osborne, John Stevenson | Stars: Jack Black, Ian McShane, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman
Votes: 523,023 | Gross: $215.43M
There's a child in all of us who just want to be a Kung Fu Panda...
50. 21 (2008)
PG-13 | 123 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Inspired by real events and people, 21 is about six MIT students who become trained to be experts in card counting in Black Jack and subsequently took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings.
Director: Robert Luketic | Stars: Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, Aaron Yoo
Votes: 266,562 | Gross: $81.16M
The art of counting...
51. Tropic Thunder (2008)
R | 107 min | Action, Comedy, War
Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.
Director: Ben Stiller | Stars: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Kahn
Votes: 448,253 | Gross: $110.52M
Just have fun with it...
52. Hipsters (2008)
Not Rated | 130 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
Young people struggle to do things their way in the 1950s.
Director: Valeriy Todorovskiy | Stars: Anton Shagin, Oksana Akinshina, Evgenia Brik, Maksim Matveev
Votes: 5,308
A political musical that is so cool and hip...
53. Seven Pounds (2008)
PG-13 | 123 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A man with a fateful secret embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers.
Director: Gabriele Muccino | Stars: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Michael Ealy
Votes: 315,266 | Gross: $69.95M
Inspirational...
54. Two Lovers (2008)
R | 110 min | Drama, Romance
A Brooklyn-set romantic drama about a bachelor torn between the family friend his parents wish he would marry and his beautiful but volatile new neighbor.
Director: James Gray | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, Anne Joyce
Votes: 43,551 | Gross: $3.15M
The intensity of Phoenix...
55. Faubourg 36 (2008)
PG-13 | 120 min | Drama, Music, Musical
When Chansonia, a nightclub, is shut down by the landlord, the stage manager Pigoil is forced to look for a new job. He finds hope when he discovers a young woman with a lovely singing voice.
Director: Christophe Barratier | Stars: Gérard Jugnot, Clovis Cornillac, Kad Merad, Nora Arnezeder
Votes: 2,935 | Gross: $0.85M
Adorable characters in a grand tale of early theatre life...
56. Lemon Tree (2008)
Not Rated | 106 min | Drama, War
The story of a Palestinian widow who must defend her lemontree field when a new Israeli Defense Minister moves next to her and threatens to have her lemon grove torn down.
Director: Eran Riklis | Stars: Hiam Abbass, Rona Lipaz-Michael, Ali Suliman, Doron Tavory
Votes: 6,883 | Gross: $0.57M
Great analogy on the Gaza strip wall, but didn't know what relationship to focus on...
57. Choke (2008)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Drama
A sex-addicted con-man pays for his mother's hospital bills by playing on the sympathies of those who rescue him from choking to death.
Director: Clark Gregg | Stars: Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald, Kathryn Alexander
Votes: 33,614 | Gross: $2.93M
The cheeky Rockwell touch...
58. Taken (I) (2008)
PG-13 | 90 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris.
Director: Pierre Morel | Stars: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Leland Orser
Votes: 634,670 | Gross: $145.00M
My token guilty pleasure for the year...
59. Defiance (I) (2008)
R | 137 min | Action, Drama, History
Jewish brothers in German-occupied Eastern Europe escape into a Belorussian forest, where they join Russian resistance fighters, and endeavor to build a village, in order to protect themselves and about one thousand Jewish non-combatants.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, Alexa Davalos
Votes: 155,703 | Gross: $28.64M
Surviving the madness of war...
60. Fifty Dead Men Walking (2008)
R | 117 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Martin McGartland joins the I.R.A. and feeds information to Britain's Special Branch Agent Fergus.
Director: Kari Skogland | Stars: Ben Kingsley, Jim Sturgess, Kevin Zegers, Natalie Press
Votes: 11,609
A civilian war fought within...
61. Mei Lanfang (2008)
150 min | Biography, Drama, History
A biographical account of Mei Lanfang, China's greatest opera star.
Director: Kaige Chen | Stars: Leon Lai, Ziyi Zhang, Honglei Sun, Hong Chen
Votes: 1,629
History of China's opera caught up in the political change...
62. Last Chance Harvey (2008)
PG-13 | 93 min | Drama, Romance
In London for his daughter's wedding, a rumpled man finds his romantic spirits lifted by a new woman in his life.
Director: Joel Hopkins | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Kathy Baker, Eileen Atkins
Votes: 22,428 | Gross: $14.88M
Dustin & Emma are so cute together...
63. Red Cliff (2008)
R | 148 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The first chapter of a two-part story centered on a battle fought in China's Three Kingdoms period (220-280 A.D.).
Director: John Woo | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Fengyi Zhang, Chang Chen
Votes: 48,502 | Gross: $0.63M
Woo makes an action epic...
64. Henry Poole Is Here (2008)
PG | 99 min | Comedy, Drama
Henry Poole moves in to a house in his old neighborhood, to spend what he believes are his remaining days alone. The discovery of a miracle by a nosy neighbor ruptures his solitude and restores his faith in life.
Director: Mark Pellington | Stars: Luke Wilson, Radha Mitchell, George Lopez, Adriana Barraza
Votes: 13,034 | Gross: $1.84M
Sleeper of the year...
65. Hamlet 2 (2008)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Music
In this irreverent comedy, a failed actor-turned-worse-high-school-drama-teacher rallies his Tucson, AZ students as he conceives and stages politically incorrect musical sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Director: Andrew Fleming | Stars: Steve Coogan, Elisabeth Shue, Catherine Keener, J.J. Soria
Votes: 17,358 | Gross: $4.88M
Coogan is a blast...
66. Mid-August Lunch (2008)
Not Rated | 75 min | Comedy, Drama
Broke, and armed with only a wry sense of humor, middle-aged Gianni lives with his mother in their old apartment. The debts are mounting, but if Gianni looks after the building manager's mother during the Ferragosto, all will be forgiven.
Director: Gianni Di Gregorio | Stars: Valeria De Franciscis, Marina Cacciotti, Maria Calì, Grazia Cesarini Sforza
Votes: 4,298 | Gross: $0.67M
A wonderful observational piece done the Olmi way...
67. Bottle Shock (2008)
PG-13 | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
The story of the early days of California wine making featuring the now infamous, blind Paris wine tasting of 1976 that has come to be known as "Judgment of Paris".
Director: Randall Miller | Stars: Chris Pine, Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman, Dennis Farina
Votes: 17,931 | Gross: $4.04M
For the wine lovers...
68. Be Kind Rewind (2008)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy
Two bumbling store clerks inadvertently erase the footage from all of the tapes in their video rental store. In order to keep the business running, they re-shoot every film in the store with their own camera, with a budget of zero dollars.
Director: Michel Gondry | Stars: Jack Black, Yasiin Bey, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow
Votes: 94,279 | Gross: $11.17M
Love the zaniness...
69. The Dark Knight (2008)
PG-13 | 152 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine
Votes: 2,871,997 | Gross: $534.86M
Big on bang, thin on a repetitive story...
70. A Summer in Genoa (2008)
R | 93 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A man moves his two daughters to Italy after their mother dies in a car accident, in order to revitalize their lives. Genova changes all three of them as the youngest daughter starts to see the ghost of her mother, while the older one discovers her sexuality.
Director: Michael Winterbottom | Stars: Colin Firth, Perla Haney-Jardine, Willa Holland, Catherine Keener
Votes: 6,780
Another small hidden gem from Winterbottom...
71. The Duchess (2008)
PG-13 | 110 min | Biography, Drama, History
A chronicle of the life of 18th-century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was revered for her extravagant political and personal life.
Director: Saul Dibb | Stars: Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Dominic Cooper, Charlotte Rampling
Votes: 87,303 | Gross: $13.82M
Delicious...
72. JCVD (2008)
R | 97 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Jean-Claude Van Damme gets involved in a bank robbery with hostages situation and reflects about his life during it.
Director: Mabrouk El Mechri | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Valérie Bodson, Hervé Sogne, Rock Chen
Votes: 40,310 | Gross: $0.47M
Well, I'll be damned, he can surely act in this cheeky piss-take on himself, the fan base and the film industry, all done in a delicious sort of action art house film style...
73. The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
PG-13 | 115 min | Biography, Drama, History
Two sisters contend for the affection of King Henry VIII.
Director: Justin Chadwick | Stars: Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana, Jim Sturgess
Votes: 119,991 | Gross: $26.81M
Sexy cast and enthralling story...
74. Podarok Stalinu (2008)
97 min | Drama
A Jewish child deported to Kazakhstan is saved and adopted by Kasym, an old Kazakh railway-man. Kasym gives him a Kazakh name, Sabyr, that in Kazakh language means humble. The child grows ... See full summary »
Director: Rustem Abdrashev | Stars: Nurzhuman Ikhtymbaev, Bakhtiar Khoja, Yekaterina Rednikova, Dalen Shintemirov
Votes: 285
Very touching...
75. The Stoning of Soraya M. (2008)
R | 114 min | Drama
A story told by Zahra to a French journalist of her niece Soraya Manutchehri, a 35-year-old married woman, who received capital punishment and stoned to death because of false accusations in the remote village of Kuhpayeh, Iran, in 1986.
Director: Cyrus Nowrasteh | Stars: Shohreh Aghdashloo, Jim Caviezel, Mozhan Navabi, Navid Negahban
Votes: 21,743 | Gross: $0.66M
Thought provoking...
76. Stanley Kubrick's Boxes (2008 TV Movie)
48 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Jon Ronson is asked by the widow of Stanley Kubrick to investigate the contents of about a thousand boxes left by Kubrick, shown to contain materials reflecting the work Kubrick did after the release of Barry Lyndon (1975) in 1975.
Director: Jon Ronson | Stars: Jon Ronson, Anthony Frewin, Jan Harlan, Christiane Kubrick
Votes: 1,364
Worth a peek...
77. Marley & Me (2008)
PG | 115 min | Drama, Family
A family learns important life lessons from their adorable, but naughty and neurotic dog.
Director: David Frankel | Stars: Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Eric Dane, Kathleen Turner
Votes: 167,846 | Gross: $143.15M
Too darn adorable, and sad...
78. Ip Man (2008)
R | 106 min | Action, Biography, Drama
During the Japanese invasion of China, a wealthy martial artist is forced to leave his home when his city is occupied. With little means of providing for themselves, Ip Man and the remaining members of the city must find a way to survive.
Director: Wilson Yip | Stars: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Siu-Wong Fan, Ka-Tung Lam
Votes: 233,632
Spectacular fighting, but my interest was the wartime scenes...
79. Departures (2008)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama
Soon after buying an expensive cello, Daigo learns that his orchestra is disbanding. He moves back to his hometown with his wife, where he answers an ad for what Daigo thinks is a travel agency but is, in actuality, a mortuary.
Director: Yôjirô Takita | Stars: Masahiro Motoki, Ryôko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kazuko Yoshiyuki
Votes: 54,996 | Gross: $1.50M
Sentimental and heartfelt tale of a soul searching journey for a failed cellist...
80. Kassim the Dream (2008)
Not Rated | 87 min | Documentary
This is the story of World Champion Boxer, Kassim "The Dream" Ouma - born in Uganda, kidnapped by the rebel army and trained to be a child soldier at the age of 6. When the rebels took over... See full summary »
Director: Kief Davidson | Stars: Yann Gael, Kassim Ouma
Votes: 139
The last thirty minutes is worth it...
81. Men's Group (2008)
104 min | Drama
Six strangers meet up every week to talk, finding they are not alone with their issues. Secrets are revealed as their friendships grow but when tragedy strikes, they realize that it is up to them to take responsibility for their own lives.
Director: Michael Joy | Stars: Grant Dodwell, Don Reid, Paul Gleeson, Steve Rodgers
Votes: 252
Small film with a big heart...
82.
Imagine (2003– )
Episode:
Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens
(2008)
TV-14 | 90 min | Biography, History
Barbara Leibovitz's intimate biography of her sister the photographer Annie Leibovitz.
Director: Barbara Leibovitz | Stars: Alan Yentob, Paula Abdul, Ruth Ansel, Mikhail Baryshnikov
Votes: 226
Amazing insight...
83. Newcastle (2008)
Unrated | 107 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
Tragedy befalls one of three brothers while on an outback surfing outing with friends.
Director: Dan Castle | Stars: Lachlan Buchanan, Xavier Samuel, Reshad Strik, Kirk Jenkins
Votes: 1,737
Well made indie Aussie...
84. Wild Blood (2008)
148 min | Biography, Drama
The story of rising, fancy life and falling of Osvaldo Valenti and Luisa Ferida, two of the stars of the Italian cinema during the Fascism period of Italy.
Director: Marco Tullio Giordana | Stars: Monica Bellucci, Alessio Boni, Luca Zingaretti, Maurizio Donadoni
Votes: 1,024
Well, Bellucci is in it...
85. Wanted (2008)
R | 110 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A frustrated office worker discovers that he is the son of a professional assassin, and that he shares his father's superhuman killing abilities.
Director: Timur Bekmambetov | Stars: Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Terence Stamp
Votes: 408,691 | Gross: $134.51M
Jolie has fun with this...
86. Appaloosa (2008)
R | 115 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Two friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow.
Director: Ed Harris | Stars: Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Renée Zellweger, Jeremy Irons
Votes: 64,735 | Gross: $20.21M
Ed harris steps up...
87. The Muse (2008)
63 min | Drama
Director Yutaka Ikejima (MR. PINK) has been a prolific contributor to the world of Pinku Films. He has acted in and directed some of the most popular Pink Films- The Japanese Wife Next Door... See full summary »
Director: Yutaka Ikejima | Stars: Kôji Makimura, Naoyuki Chiba, Riri Kôda, Erina Aoyama
Votes: 45
For his hundredth film, Yutaka Ikejima, creates a semi-autobiographical short film (most of his films are all under an hour). Amongst the smut that is in the vein of Russ Meyer, Yutaka manages to mash a Gordadian art-like film with the trashiness of John Waters thrown in for good measure...
88. The View from Greenhaven (2008)
101 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A grumpy old man living in an idyllic coastal town who can't see he has the perfect life.
Directors: Kenn MacRae, Simon MacRae | Stars: Chris Haywood, Wendy Hughes, Susan Prior, Russell Dykstra
Votes: 66
Pleasant enough...
89. Australia (2008)
PG-13 | 165 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In 1939, an Englishwoman inherits a sprawling ranch in northern Australia and reluctantly makes a pact with a stockman to drive 2000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape.
Director: Baz Luhrmann | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Shea Adams, Eddie Baroo
Votes: 129,769 | Gross: $49.55M
What else would you expect from Baz...
90. Two Fists, One Heart (2008)
105 min | Action, Drama, Sport
This is a contemporary story set in Perth, Western Australia. Anthony Argo is a young Italian/Australian boxer, being pushed to the limit by his Sicilian father-trainer, Joe. Joe wants ... See full summary »
Director: Shawn Seet | Stars: Daniel Amalm, Ennio Fantastichini, Jessica Marais, Rai Fazio
Votes: 264
An Aussie Rocky with some merit...
91. Easy Virtue (2008)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
A young Englishman marries a glamorous American. When he brings her home to meet the parents, she arrives like a blast from the future - blowing their entrenched British stuffiness out the window.
Director: Stephan Elliott | Stars: Jessica Biel, Ben Barnes, Kristin Scott Thomas, Colin Firth
Votes: 22,457 | Gross: $2.66M
Not a bad effort from Elliott, thanks to the cast...
92. Cadillac Records (2008)
R | 109 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Chronicles the rise of Chess Records and its recording artists.
Director: Darnell Martin | Stars: Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Beyoncé, Columbus Short
Votes: 23,135 | Gross: $8.20M
A bit of a mess of a great time in music...
93. Synecdoche, New York (2008)
R | 124 min | Drama
A theatre director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he creates a life-size replica of New York City inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
Director: Charlie Kaufman | Stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener
Votes: 98,258 | Gross: $3.08M
Kaufman and Hoffman go AWOL with some interesting results...
94. RocknRolla (2008)
R | 114 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When a Russian mobster orchestrates a crooked land deal, millions of dollars are up for grabs, drawing in the entire London underworld into a feeding frenzy at a time when the old criminal regime is losing turf to a wealthy foreign mob.
Director: Guy Ritchie | Stars: Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Idris Elba, Thandiwe Newton
Votes: 265,087 | Gross: $5.69M
Typical Ritchie but not enough...
95. Pineapple Express (2008)
R | 111 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A process server and his marijuana dealer wind up on the run from hitmen and a corrupt police officer after he witnesses his dealer's boss murder a competitor while trying to serve papers on him.
Director: David Gordon Green | Stars: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Gary Cole, Danny McBride
Votes: 357,609 | Gross: $87.34M
Bahahaha, cough, splatter, bahahaha...
96. Ponyo (2008)
G | 101 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A five-year-old boy develops a relationship with Ponyo, a young goldfish princess who longs to become a human after falling in love with him.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Tomoko Yamaguchi
Votes: 163,612 | Gross: $15.09M
There are moments that captivate in the wonderful world of Miyazaki-ness...
97. Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema (2008)
R | 119 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A young hoodlum's rise from a small-time criminal to a powerful crime entrepreneur during the turbulent years before and after the fall of apartheid.
Director: Ralph Ziman | Stars: Rapulana Seiphemo, Jeffrey Sekele, Ronnie Nyakale, Shelley Meskin
Votes: 10,916 | Gross: $0.00M
Gangsta Sud African style that spent too much time on the childhood...
98. Hancock (2008)
PG-13 | 92 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
Hancock is a superhero whose ill-considered behavior regularly causes damage in the millions. He changes when the person he saves helps him improve his public image.
Director: Peter Berg | Stars: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, Jae Head
Votes: 511,859 | Gross: $227.95M
Clever idea, but gets sillier towards the end...
99. The Happening (2008)
R | 91 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
A science teacher, his wife, and a young girl struggle to survive a plague that causes those infected to commit suicide.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Ashlyn Sanchez
Votes: 216,548 | Gross: $64.51M
Shyamalan loses steam...
100. Pride and Glory (2008)
R | 130 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A family's moral codes are tested when Ray Tierney investigates a case that reveals an incendiary police corruption scandal involving his own brother-in-law. For Ray, the truth is revelatory, a Pandora's Box that threatens to upend not only the Tierney legacy but the entire NYPD.
Director: Gavin O'Connor | Stars: Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Noah Emmerich, Jon Voight
Votes: 63,300 | Gross: $15.71M
Cast was there, but story wasn't...
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