The Best of the Best in 2008

1. The Dark Knight - Heath Ledger WAS The Joker. Each of his scenes made you believe that there could actually be a psycho like this out there in the world.
2. Slumdog Millionaire - And Indian version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" tells a tale of growing up and doing all you can to find your long lost love. Beautifully done.
3. Milk - Sean Penn does it again in this film about Harvey Milk who was the first openly gay man to be elected to a U.S. Public Office.
4. Tropic Thunder - THE comedy of the year that also had the most controversy with Robert Downey Jr. playing an Australian actor who jumps so deeply into character that he has a pigment augmentation procedure to play a black man. Controversial? Maybe. Racist? Not in the least. Funny? Hell yeah!
5. The Wrestler - Mickey Rourke wins hands down for the best comeback award in my book here as he plays a wrestler that loves what he does too much to give it up. Emotional and entertaining.
6. Iron Man - Robert Downey Jr. comes in second place for best comeback with this movie based on the Marvel comic book of the same name. An origin story done right. Samuel L. Jackson making an appearance as Col. Nick Fury didn't hurt either.
7. Bolt - While the movie is called Bolt it's the hamster Rhino that steals every scene that he is in. He needs his own spin off.
8. Let The Right One In - A vampire movie with a hint of romance. Not too graphic and no scene goes overboard with the dramatics and you get a movie with heart that was well told.
9. Rachel Getting Married - Anne Hathaway in her best role to date. She returns home after leaving rehab to attend her sisters wedding. You actually feel for her character as she tries to make amends at the worst time possible. Dramatic and sad and worth seeing.
10. In Bruges - Who knew that Colin Farrell as a hitman would be this funny? His one liners alone make this one of the surprise hits that most people skipped.