2008: Over!

Been a while since I did one of these, so let's revisit some of my favorite things from the year 2008:

Wall-E - the best movie of the year, and nothing else really came close (although keep in mind I haven't seen a lot of recent releases like Slumdog Millionaire and The Wrestler). Just a masterpiece of storytelling, the likes of which we haven't seen since the Halcyon Days of silent cinemas when masters like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin delivered us dozens of dialogue-less epics. Bravo Pixar, just when I think you've hit the top of the ladder, you manage to find another rung. So many movies are filled with inane banter and dialogue that just exists because the filmmakers don't have the talent to portray it on screen. Here we have a movie where dialogue is kept to a bare minimum and everything is told through visual storytelling. An absolutely beautiful and engrossing movie with some of the most endearing and memorable characters ever put on screen, and they're not even real! Despite that, they way they act seems more real than most "real" people in other movies. This is one of the sweetest and most romantic movies I've ever seen and there's no sex and not even a kiss (in the traditional sense). It's also one of the best movies I've ever seen. This one's for the kids, the adults, the romantics and and everyone else in between.

The Way Home - this Korean movie hit home with me so much that I couldn't stop balling at the end of it. This is the story of a young city boy sent to live with his grandma in the country by his mom who needs some time to sort out some personal issues. I was raised by my grandmother as much if not even more than my parents when I was a kid, and the parallels between the movie and my childhood were uncanny.

One of my favorite scenes is when the boy tries to teach his grandmother to write so that she can let him know when she gets sick. She can't quite get it, so the boy, crying, finally tells her to send him a blank letter so he'll know that she's ill, and come to her right away. If that description made you feel something, then you need to see this movie right away.

A love letter to grandmothers everywhere, this is a movie that I will cherish forever.

Friday Night Lights - who knew high school football in Small Town, USA would make for a great TV show? I just recently got into this, and I am addicted. A wonderfully shot, written and acted TV show, that is as compelling as television can get. We are shown real life issues, and real life situations. Shot in a handheld documentary style, the best compliment I can give this show is that it feels real. This is one of those shows where I'm protective of the characters. When something happens to a character it's like you're brother's being hurt and you want to defend him. This is one of those shows that's always on the cusp of cancellation. For some reason it just doesn't click with the mainstream. Watch it, buy the DVDs, spread the word, and cross your fingers for a fourth season.

Dexter - Like Friday Night Lights, I am a recent devotee of this show also. This is a show about a serial killer who kills serial killers. An interesting concept that is backed up by good writing and superb acting. Not only does it make you question morals and ethics, it's a hell of an entertaining show. Not for the faint of heart (obviously), but those with the stomach will be rewarded.

Torchwood - this is an atypical scifi show (spun off from the also excellent Doctor Who), billed as a sci-fi show for adults. It deals with more mature themes that you wouldn't see in a typical sci-fi show while still managing to include all the stuff most people enjoy about sci-fi shows like action & adventure. From the show's introduction, "Torchwood: outside the government, beyond the police; tracking down alien life on Earth, and arming the human race against the future." Seems like any other sci-fi show, but what sets it apart is how it deals with adult themes like death, homosexuality, bisexuality, and existentialism. Definitely not anything you see in any sci-fi show airing on American TV today.

More Later. Soon (Hopefully).