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Monday, December 22, 2008

Best Movies, 2008

Movie viewing has indeed been exciting for me this year as I have had the opportunity of watching some of the best new films and also of visiting some classics for the first time, after having waited for long. I am particularly indebted to the UTV World Movies channel on television, that has showcased some of the finest films from around the world, especially from Europe and South-east Asia. This year also saw the theatrical releases in languages like Spanish, German, Turkish and others as NDTV Lumiere distributed them at the multiplexes of the major Indian cities, including Kolkata.

Here is a listing of the ten best films seen this year, albeit listed on the basis of personal preference:

1. Into the Wild (2007)

2. Atonement (2007)

3. Persepolis (2007)

4. My Blueberry Nights (2007)

5. Solino (2002)

6. Todo Sobre Me Madre/ All About My Mother (1999)

7. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

8. Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008)

9. Aamir (2008)

10. I'm Not There (2007)


[Beyond the aforementioned Top 10, there were plenty more seen this year that got me mesmerized or hooked to the screen, small or big, like... naming a few of them, randomly,
'Michael Clayton', 'Changeling', 'Igby Goes Down', 'Rendition', 'October Sky', 'Chapter 27', 'Black Snake Moan', 'Southland Tales', 'Secrets & Lies', 'Lost in Yonkers', 'The Merchant of Venice', 'Eastern Promises', 'Memoirs of a Geisha', 'No Country for Old Men', 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford', 'A Mighty Heart', 'Juno', 'Letters from Iwo Jima', 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street', 'The Lookout', 'Scaphandre et le Papillon'/ 'The Diving Bell & the Butterfly', 'Iluminados por el fuego'/ 'Blessed by Fire', 'American Gangster', 'Ladre di Biciclette/ The Bicycle Thief', 'The Jane Austen Book Club', 'A Good Year', 'Hostel', 'The Hottest State' 'When Niezstche Wept', 'December Boys', 'Lions for Lambs', 'Cassandra's Dream', 'Eyes Wide Shut', 'The Machinist', 'Lords of Dogtown', 'The Tracey Fragments', 'Leatherheads', 'Young People F***ing', 'Invisible Waves', 'Riri Shushu no subete'/ 'All About Lily Chou-Chou', 'Rendez-vous', 'Cadillac Records', 'Caramel', 'Rock On!!', 'A Wednesday', 'Magonia', 'Fa Yeung Nin Wa/ In the Mood for Love', 'Bacheha-Ye Aseman/ Children of Heaven', 'Amores Perros/ Love's a Bitch', 'Janghwa, Hongryeon/ A Tale of Two Sisters', 'Das Leben der Anderen/ The Lives of Others', 'Le Dernier Métro/ The Last Metro', 'There Will Be Blood', 'Khuda Kay Liye', 'Ramchand Pakistani', 'Body of Lies', 'The Happening', 'Day Night Day Night', 'Mumbai Meri Jaan', 'Wanted', 'Kung Fu Panda', and 'Wall-E'.
]
'There Will Be Blood'


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11 comments:

I am said...

hey thanks for visiting my blog, agree to some of the best movies you have listed for the year. Yet to see all. :)

Anonymous said...

Wonderful listing.
Though a bit odd assemblage, I must say. But I hardly understand your preferences, and a list of this nature is obviously about your own pet choices and favorites, so there!
I loved the film 'All About My Mother' and am too eager to catch the other foreign language films that you have named. 'Into the Wild' failed to get a release here in Kolkata, and it is such a pity, as most of the cinemalovers from the city have been denied the access to such a brilliant contemporary masterpiece.

aniruddh said...

Cool list. I especially loved the inclusion of the two Indian films in your list this time. 2008 has aptly been referred to as a typical potboiler for the Hindi film industry, complete with highs, lows, suspense and a happy ending; the coming year ahead promises a healthy mix of movies hitting the screens. Bollywood, the money-spinner for India's entire $10.8 billion entertainment and media industry, worked hard to outgrow its decades-old image of churning out formulaic, song-and-dance fare, and for that reason it deserves a pat on the back! More and more actors, production and corporate houses ventured into new territories and learnt the importance of a sound storyline overriding all else. And just when the global meltdown threatened to cast its shadow over the otherwise recession-proof entertainment trade, we are so happy to count the films like Jaane Tu.. Ya Jaane Na, Aamir, Rock On, A Wednesday, Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Dasvidaniya & Ghajini among the year's best!

Unknown said...

hi buddy!!!

nice post, just wonderful gift for your blog readers! thank you:)
here i'm listing some of my favourite movies that i have seen on 2008.

Anuranan(2007).
Bachna Ae Haseeno(2008).
Brokeback Mountain(2005).
Happy Feet(2006).
Jab We Met(2007).
Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na(2008).
Jerry Maguire(1996).
Michael Clayton(2007).
October Sky(1999).
The Holiday(2006).

now, waiting to your Best Song and Books and many more exciting list of 2008..... :)

saurabh said...

My favorites among the ones listed by are: The Lookout, Rendition, Into the Wild, Eastern Promises and Jaane Tu..Ya Jaane Na.

And my other favorites which are missing from your list are: Slumdog Millionaire, Burn After Reading, Shoot On Sight, and The Orphanage.

Anonymous said...

a very immpressive listing.....have seen most of the films mentiomed on the list.... quiet similar to my 10 best films for the year 2008....

rock on..
jane tu ya jane naa..
dasvidaniya..
perfume..
into the wild..
all about my mother..
bad education..
the bow..
blind..
caramel..

these are just 10 of the wonderful films i had seen in 2008 which has been a year of movies for me.... i experimented a lot with the movies i watched last year nd came across some really 'wonderful' and 'awful' movies making it a complete 'movie experience'......

sakagaze's laziest student said...

Hey, did you hear aamir khan and preity are being roped in for Yash Copra's next big movie. wow! I am waiting for this one.

Unknown said...

hey buddy!!!

so many day's passed but no new write ups here.....
we all are waiting to read the new one, do it buddy, quickly...

:):)

pallavi said...

Hugely impressive!

starry-eyed said...

The year that was.....
it was really an impressive catch.... hahaha.

Vivek said...

If I compare the other years' listings, I have to say that this was one of the best years at the movies for YOU!