2008: The Pictures

In cinema, 2007 was a druggy high and 2008 was the come down. There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly were insta-classics and their place on any decade top 10 list should be ensured. But nearly any year, particularly in recent memory, when compared with 2007 will look pretty lackluster. All in all, 2008 was a pretty decent year at the Cineplex. The foreign cinemas in particular were responsible for some wonderful and challenging films. With that said, I found most of the prominent movies vying for the title Best Movie of the Year to be disappointing (The Wrestler), formulaic ho-hum (Frost/Nixon) or just plain bad (Rachel Getting Married). You'd find more risk-taking from of two big budget Summer blockbusters than you would in any of the movies to find themselves on the end of the year roll-call of awards contenders.

Like last year, I've compiled an impressive list (in it's own right) of movies I haven't had a chance to see. These movies are ranked by hunch:

10.) The Reader Che
09.) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
08.) Ballast
07.) Waltz with Bashir
06.) Wendy and Lucy
05.) I've Loved You So Long
04.) Happy Go Lucky
03.) Gomorrah
02.) Tell No One
01.) JCVD