2008

This is my list of most things I enjoyed in 2008, so let's start...
[Note : I planned on writing reviews or comments for everything but then I just sort of gave up early in the year so that explains the incomplete-ness of it.]

I kind of rushed through everything since I am usually working when I work on this so mind all the errors and such.


***LIVE EVENTS***

I decided not to do a top ten for this subject but just list them...

+17 January - Ultimate Reality by Dan Deacon
http://www.last.fm/event/414903
The opening band has some really interesting sounds they were able to create so I enjoyed them. The music and visual piece was so cool and if ever the chance comes to see it you should go. It was wild and the drummers doing the live aspect was so awesome. When it was finally time for the Deacon set I was so ready to dance and that is what we all did together as an audience, it was awesome. There is such a cool party love-fest vibe at the show and I cannot commit it to words. If you have ever been to one of his shows you know how it is, if you have not, go!

+20 January - Freak and Geeks Q&A
http://dieactordie.com/2008/01/16/freaks-and-geeks-reunion-at-sf-sketchfest/
To see everyone who was there and all the people who moderated it just click the link from up above. It was so much fun to see so many of them again. It was neat to see how they looked and also listen to new stories about the show and about their lives. I knew a lot of the stories because I am such a fanatic for F&G but what was new was totally worth it. Paul Feig is such a cool cat and I loved him talking about his darling show. It was a really nice time and I feel blessed to have been able to go.

+18 February - Sia with opener Har Mar Superstar
http://www.last.fm/event/447757
The opening dude was so amazing. I had really never heard of him before but just to give you a sample, one of his dance moves is sticking his hand into his pants and then pretending to sprinkle the audience about with pubic hair. Really this guy is brilliant and the sleazy dance music is just icing on the fat balding guy cake. I want to see this guy again next time he is in town and also buy an album. As for Sia, she is such a dear character and I love her albums so much but it really works out live too. She is captivating and the stage had all these cool lights, it was really neat. She was such a sweetheart and she was so precious with her audience. Full of joy and love it was so infectious, you could see why so many people gave her presents ; which she adorably called "prezzies" ; and you can see how good she is to her fan base. Such an enjoyable show. Here are some photographs ... http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=sia+08+fillmore&ss=2&ct=6&z=t

+2 March - She & Him with Whispertown 2000
http://www.noisepop.com/2008/artist_profile.php?artist=108
I bought the tickets as soon as I found out about it because I have the hugest crush on Zooey Deschanel. I am so glad I did because even though I knew she had a lovely voice I had no idea how good. All the opening bands were varying degrees of good but her voice ... my gosh. It floored me like her face, her body and her bewitching eyes did years before. She really has the chops to take on a Jenny Lewis for nostalgia indie-pop queen. Hearing her soulful voice spill out as she pounds on the piano has a way of transfixing you. I know it just sounds like the old school boy crush coming through but I could close my eyes and just listen to her singing and it make me sad and happy and just ... emotional. This being her first show the stage presence was not much to talk about but still she was captivating. Shy but self-assured and the backing band was really solid and served the music so well. Best time I have had all year so far.

+4 & 5 March - San Francisco Giants Cactus League (versus San Diego Padres and Kansas City Royals)
http://www.springtrainingonline.com/teams/san_francisco_giants_4.htm
Going all the way to Arizona to watch spring training games seems kind of silly but it was a free trip and I have never done it. I am pretty open to most things just to do them once. This was neat and it was not too hot out so it was okay and it was cool to be so close to all the action. It was too bad they lost the first game I saw. They also lost the second but not as badly. I had my hooded sweatshirt on with the hood up so I avoided the burns of a day out at the ballpark.

+11 March - Keith Urban with Carrie Underwood
http://www.last.fm/event/437561
Keith Urban was there and he was the headliner and really put on a good show but I was there for Carrie. Something about her voice just leaves me with chills up my spine. It is like her voice has such a resonance with me. She can blow me away or leave me in tears with her songs. The hour and a half with her just left me wanting more. It was not as intimate as the last time I saw her in Dixon but it was still amazing. Last time she was not as big and only had one outfit but this time it was four costume changes and just more and bigger everything. I enjoyed myself even though the acoustics from the DJ between sets gave me a headache. It was so worth it though. I had a glorious night.

+15 March - San Jose Sabercats versus Arizona Rattlers
http://events.mercurynews.com/san-jose-ca/events/show/80821138-san-jose-saber-cats-vs-arizona-rattlers
My first Arena Football League game. I had never seen it or anything before, all I knew was the other American football league, the NFL. I think the NFL is boring and unwatchable but this, this is awesome. It is really fast paced, full of enthusiasm without all the pomp and circumstance, high scores, smaller fields and just an all around improvement. I would call it a NFL 2.0 because I actually enjoy it. The match was San Jose 63 to Arizona 43. The league is also cool because they have so many giveaways and chances to get swag. They are more humble because they are smaller in audience but they make it worth your while. I had fun and am going to go again. Soon.

+22 March - San Jose Sabercats versus Dallas Desperados
http://www.arenafootball.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=20823&SPID=1563&DB_OEM_ID=3500&ATCLID=1415555
Really close game all the way through but the Sabercats' fumble in the forth led to the field goal that lost it for them. Dallas has a really good team and amazing defense but The Sabercats held their own and played like real pros. Really I think the worst problem was with zone coverage. They kept the line but WR got too much wiggle room. There should have been more man-to-man coverage or something, oh well. It was a really exciting game. Final San Jose 56 to Dallas 59.

+8 April - Jimmy Eat World with Paramore

+10 April - Panic at the Disco with Phantom Planet & Motion City Soundtrack

+17 April - Rilo Kiley with Whispertown 2000

+25 April - The Sarah and No Name Benefit for the Cure featuring Slappy / The Flames / Notorious!

+26 April - Swell Season

+7 May - Avril Lavigne [It was canceled]

+11 May - San Francisco Giants versus Philadelphia Phillies

+14 May - Eisley with Vedera and The Myriad

+17 May - San Jose Sabercats versus Utah Blaze

+18 May - She & Him, Whispertown 2000, etc.

+19 May - Ozma

+21 May - Robin Williams

+22 May - Mates of State

+31 May - R.E.M. with Modest Mouse

+14 June - San Jose Sabercats versus Tampa Bay Storm

+8 July - Pop-Tarts Presents American Idols Live

+12 July - San Jose Sabercats versus Grand Rapids Rampage

+19 July - Download Festival 2008

+25 July - Stone Temple Pilots

+4 August - San Francisco Giants versus the Atlanta Braves

+9 August - Patton Oswalt

+25 August - Radiohead

+3 October - Spring Awakening the Musical

+13 October - Weezer with Angels & Airwaves and Tokyo Police Club

+27 October - Bridge School Benefit XXII

+3 November - She & Him

+7 November - Jim Gaffigan

+13 November - Ben Folds

+15 November - Carrie Underwood

+21-22 November - Creation Salutes FIREFLY and SERENITY 2009 THE 3RD ANNUAL CONVENTION

+3 December - Oasis with Ryan Adams and the Cardinals

+9 December - The Phantom of the Opera

+12 December - Stella! [Michael Showalter, David Wain, Michael Ian Black]



***VIDEOGAMES***
I have not played a good percentage of these so my top ten reflects that. Following the top ten is the full list of games I have received or purchased this year.

THE TOP TEN...
10. Castle Crashers
An old school brawler with style to spare. If it was just single player it would still be charming and amusing but as a multiplayer game either at home or Xbox Live this was tons of fun.

9. Sam & Max Season One
Keeping it old school, this is a modern take on those old point-and-click adventures I love. Quite funny and a perfect fit for the Wii. I adore this game.

8. Secret of Mana
Kind of a cheat because this game is over ten years old but it was finally released for the Wii's download service so I will allow it. This is my favourite SNES game and the only Mana series game worth playing. Now easier then ever to get it going with three players, the weapon and magic upgrade and charging system are my favourite to date in an action JRPG.

7. Resident Evil : Umbrella Chronicles
I am a huge fan of the RE storyline and this game is all fleshing out of the story. It is loaded with fan service and besides that really fun co-op rail shooting. The graphics are good and shooting zombies just feels right in this game.

6. Left 4 Dead
Another game full of "infected". Really only meant to be played with friends but really focused and well done at what it does. The sound and environment and gameplay are all top shelf. There is no story but the primal feel of survival in this game is rather well done. Polished and just a lot of fun.

5. Boom Blox
A Wii game all about using the Wii Remote to manipulate physics. Well done with a cute aesthetic and the music to match. It is amazing how much gameplay they squeeze out of the physics engine.

4. Rockband 2
I love playing this game with people. It is really just a gussied up karaoke but it is such fun that I do not mind. The endless amounts of content to download each week only adds to the appeal. I love making a fool out of myself and this game is a vehicle to achieving that.

3. Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Gorgeous art style and charming voice acting, there is such a quaint story and world held together with clever brain teasers. So much game not even counting the free downloadable content. An under-looked gem of a game.

2. Fallout 3
I spent about a hundred hours on this game and I am barely halfway ;if that; done with this game. A huge fully realised world where everything makes sense and is justified. Do anything you want in the game and forge your own path and your own story. Really gripping and absorbing, gory and interesting. I almost hate this game for making me devote so much time to it.

1. Metal Gear Solid 4
The gameplay ; when there is gameplay ; is perfect. The visuals have no equal. There is no draw-in, no seams, or issues. This game is the cleanest most bug free game I have ever played. The story is really truly something special. Something that could only be told in a videogame, wild and thoughtful and unwieldy. This game evokes laughter, tension, and tears. This game is a work of maddening genius. Uncompromising and requiring having played every Metal Gear game that has come before to really appreciate it. This game is a real argument for "videogames as art" and the game that makes "Next-Gen" now, the transition to the "Current-Gen". The Metal Gear Solid series is responsible for me buying the PS1, PS2 & PS3. They are system sellers. I spent nearly six hundred dollars to play this game but it was worth it.

THE LIST...
1. Professor Layton and the Curious Village (Nintendo DS)
2. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six : Vegas 2
3. N+
4. Grand Theft Auto IV
5. Boom Blox
6. Wii Fit with Wii Balance Board
7. Metal Gear Solid 4 Limited Edition
8. Battlefield: Bad Company
9. Guitar Hero: On Tour
10. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
11. Too Human
12. Mercenaries 2
13. Castle Crashers
14. Spore
15. Brothers In Arms : Hell's Highway
16. Dead Space
17. FIFA 2009
18. Resident Evil : Umbrella Chronicles
19. Super Smash Bros. : Brawl
20. Samba de Amigo
21. No More Heroes
22. Star Wars The Force Unleashed
23. Saints Row 2
24 The Bourne Conspiracy
25. River City Ransom [NES via VC]
26. Secret of Mana [SNES via VC]
27. Boogie Superstar
28. Rockband 2
29. Far Cry 2
30. de Blob
31. AC/DC Track Pack
32. Left 4 Dead
33. Home
34. Fallout 3
35. Disgaea 3
36. Sam & Max Season One
37. Mirror's Edge
38. Banjo Kazooie Nut & Bolts
39. Skate It


***MUSIC***

This was really hard to pick a top ten so I am not counting reissues, anniversary, soundtracks, and etcetera. Still this was a really tough list to order.

THE TOP TEN...
10. [tie] Mates of State "Re-Arrange Us"
The way I normally make a top ten is I look at the list and pick out all the special ones and pare that down to ten, I just could not cut either of these two so they both make it in. I love anything this duo does but this is really a different approach. They worked a lot less with their signature organ and used more live piano. It was a gamble but I am still overjoyed with the results. A mature album but still with the fun I consider a Mates of State trait.

10. [tie] Travis "Ode To J. Smith"
On a new label Travis were inspired to record an album in two weeks and this is the result. Kind of a return to the brasher sounds on earlier records but with the melodies that they have come to be known for. I feel that this album is not their strongest effort but there is a lot musically and lyrically of interest. Catchy as hell and nice to have. I look forward to seeing these songs live.

9. The Hold Steady "Stay Positive"
Kind of a time trip but also modern. Musically this is a bar band with some Springsteen blended in; lyrically they tell stories in a way that reminds you of that country band you love. Really vivid tales of woe with a beat. The title track on this album is one of my favourite songs of the year.

8. Sigur Ros "Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust"
Featuring their first English language track and pulling further away from the minimalist to the interestingly arranged this album almost seems like a transition album for them. Still this is very good stuff and the first track on the album is the closest they have ever come to an honest to goodness pop song. There is an embrace of folk music to broaden their sound. Really good.

7. Vampire Weekend "Vampire Weekend"
A deft blending of African pop and East Coast indie rock that really sinks into your ear. Really catchy and fun feel good music. I played this album a lot early in the year and there is not much that has topped it.

6. Sia "Some People Have Real Problems"
Sia has such a captivating and unique voice and her lyrics are so intimate and explorable. This album is odd and slow and took a while to grow on me but now I cannot think of loving this album any more.

5. Taylor Swift "Fearless"
Taking everything good about the first album and just pushing and polishing everything until it shines. The lyrics are about boys and being a teenager still but told with such honesty and sang so honestly. Really an album I can just put on anytime and shed a tear or crack a smile, often times listening the whole album both.

4. Weezer "Weezer [Red] Deluxe Edition"
The non-Rivers tracks are not my favourite but otherwise I do not understand why people hate on this album. It is rocking, fun, personal... it just sounds like a blend of all there other studio albums. There are personal tracks and geek rock, power pop and just everything enjoyable about Weezer. Weezer fans are so weird to me because they always seem to be either pre-Pinkerton or post-Pinkerton fans only. Like they do not want to evolve with the band, I do not understand it. This is a great album.

3. Ben Folds "Way To Normal"
A post-divorce album that does address divorce but in an interesting way. There is no wallowing in this album. There are some pensive moments but for the most part this is lively and interesting piano-based rock! Catchy-as-all-hell music that makes you want to sing along and dance. Just a total blast.

2. Rivers Cuomo "Alone II"
It is no secret that musically Rivers is untouchable. To me, everything he does is gold. I love this whole package. The songs are great but getting the extensive liner notes where he details the process of making music. He is so thoughtful with everything he does that it is endlessly interesting to me. This could have been my number one album of the year and for a while it was but in the end it is only runner up.

1. She & Him "Volume One"
Zooey Claire Deschanel is the most beautiful thing on this planet. Lucky for her musical career, so is her voice, arrangements and lyrics. I know that she has a classic timeless country album in her but for now she has this classic timeless album of 50's do-wop, pop-country, and sixties Ronettes type pop. The voice of an angel and lyrics that bring you to tears, an album of joy and hurt. This album brings me the closest I come to human.

THE LIST...
1. Sia "Some People Have Real Problems"
2. Vampire Weekend "Vampire Weekend"
3. She & Him "Volume One"
4. R.E.M. "Accelerate"
5. Ashlee Simpson "Bittersweet World"
6. Marié Digby "Unfold"
7. Pierre de Reeder "The Way That It Was"
8. Jimmy Eat World "Bleed American : Deluxe Edition"
9. The Weepies "Hideaway"
10. Portishead "Third"
11. Mates of State "Re-Arrange Us"
12. Flight Of The Concords "Flight Of The Concords"
13. Weezer "Weezer [Red]"
14. Liz Phair "Exile in Guyville : 15th. Anniversary edition"
15. Dennis Wilson "Pacific Ocean Blue + Bambu"
15. Sigur Ros "Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust"
16. Nas "[Untitled]"
17. The Ting Tings "We Started Nothing"
18. Lil' Wayne "Tha Carter III"
19. San Quin, Boo Banger, Big Rich "All City 41Feva"
20. The Hold Steady "Stay Positive"
21. Original Broadway Cast Recording "Spring Awakening"
22. Jenny Lewis "Acid Tongue"
23. Lykke Li "Youth Novels"
24. Ra Ra Riot "The Rhumb Line"
25. Taylor Swift "Fearless"
26. Ben Folds "Way To Normal"
27. Rivers Cuomo "Alone II"
28. Guns N' Roses "Chinese Democracy"
29. Travis "Ode To J. Smith"
30. The Killers "Day & Age"
31. The Knux "Remind Me In 3 Days..."
32. Martha Wainwright "I Know Your Married But I've Got Feelings Too"
33. Bloc Party "Intimacy"
34. Oasis "Dig Out Your Soul"


***FILMS***

[My top ten reflects my top ten "films" so even though I consider "Step Brothers" one of the funniest things I have seen in my life it is terrible if you look at it as a film. Most of what I have seen this year has been entertaining and a larger percentage then usual has been really good but these are the ones that stood out for various reasons.]

THE TOP TEN...
10. [three way tie]"There Will Be Blood", "The Wrestler" & "Rachel Getting Married"
What you will notice about the three tied for tenth is that they have quite a few things in common. Acclaimed directors, strong visuals and among other things the lead roles are what are bringing the films the most exaltation. All the leads in these films are brilliant and elevate the films to first class level.

9. Rambo
All the things I mention below in this list, this film stays with you. It keeps you and your interest and gives you something to talk about when it is finished. Controversial, but going with the current phase of thought and introspection Sly the filmmaker is currently in.

8. In Bruges
Somehow one of the bleakest and funniest things I have seen in years. Written and performed with such honesty I only have praise for this film and wish it had found a larger audience. Gritty, bloody & somehow touching as well about how the inherent goodness in humanity can be lost and in some, found again.

7. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
There are so many laugh out loud moments in this film but because the humour is so closely tied to the story and the story is so full of heart this was a stand out comedy. The cast was lovely and really made this world come alive to me. It is exceptional to see a comedy so broad but have everything feel so personal at the same time. There are moments of maturity and quiet that actually stick with you like this was a Marc Forster film.

6. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button*
Probably one of the more polarizing films of the year. A lengthy run time allows for the story to come out just so ; perhaps too slowly for some. There are moments [those butterflies] that dip into "Forest Gump" schmaltz ; the films share the same screenwriter ; but this is still a thoughtful mediation on death and dying. Fincher never disappoints when it comes to actor performances, moody lighting and breathtaking visuals and this film does not change that. A moving motion picture, and also an indelible one.

5. Role Models
Paul Rudd has far too long not been the leading man, this year we get the excellent "I Could Never Be Your Woman" and this film. There are very few people who could make a bawdy "guy" flick about child care but if anyone could have it would have been David Wain. Everyone in this film is excellent but what makes the humour work so well is that story is not only window dressing but the spine and soul of the story. There is the true redemption of the two leads, this is storytelling unlike "Step Brothers" which is hilarious but soulless. Back to people who have been underrated as leading men Sean William Scott who did the leading man thing earlier in the year in the understated and brilliant small [in a great way] film "Promotion" and now here he shows his humour comes with a big helping of heart. The funniest film of the year with the most consistent laughs of anything in recent years.

4. Australia
I love long flicks, I love that they take the time to tell a real story. I love the classic film epics for the lavish productions, the visuals, the costumes, the grandeur and Australia the film has all these with room to spare. I have heard this compared to "Gone With The Wind". I do not agree, this is the Anti-"Gone..." [haha] that film was racist and this is about racial injustice awareness. Like "Gone..." the terrible "Pearl Harbor" this also puts a love story in the mist of war but this does it well by not marginalising either the love story or the atrocity of war, those other films are insulting but this is uplifting. Yeah, it drips sentimentality like a waterfall but it is still impossible not to get swept up in it all. I love this film.

3. Slumdog Millionaire
In the hands of anyone but Danny Boyle this would have been a limp treacle fable; lucky us that instead what we get is a vivid heart felt[and filled] fairy tale where good always triumphs. The road to the final Bollywood-style song and dance finale is gritty and tough but always charming, visually arresting and satisfying.

2. Vicky Christina Barcelona
Both funny and sexy in equal abundant measure. This is a film with picturesque views and concepts. It feels thoroughly modern but with a seventies bohemian sensibility of love and sex. Well cast and the cast does exceptionally well with the ; as always ; sensational Woody Allen dialog. If you have never heard his banter in Spanish this is the film to see it in.

1. Wall-E
A visual feast. A daring vision of the future. Most important for me is the love story. What ties everything together ; besides the obvious love of musicals and silent film ; is the love between two robots. So palatable, so human, so... organic? Honestly, the most human and full of emotion I have felt with any film this year. Unpandering but accessible to all ages. There is commercial film and art... this is both, seriously.


THE LIST...
[The * denotes that this was seen in the cinema]
1. There Will Be Blood*
Brutal. This is Daniel Day-Lewis' film. I love the score and visually it was such a treat. The pacing is so methodical it may turn some off but it really is so absorbing if you let it be. The visuals really stay with you and the performances stand out. I thought this was great.

2. Cloverfield*
As Godzilla was a reaction to the bomb being dropped this film is tied so much to the climate of fear following 9/11. While both bring levity along with message ; this differentiates from Godzilla by being intimate and from the point of view of a select few from the pavement instead of the overhead monster's view. Really could have been better but still effective and worth seeing. I have loads to say about it still and it inspired a lot of conversation but all would spoil it for anyone who has not seen it so I will not. Good popcorn fun worth seeing in the cinema with friends and having a chat about after.

3. Rambo*
Considered on the merit of being an action film this film somehow succeeds. I say somehow because it is a message film like "First Blood" that does not make it message clear easily. Realistic, unsettlingly so, this is a work of a true filmmaker. He spreads awareness of causes of the world, sates action film fans, later kind of disgusts them with the horrors of battle with the realistic effects of weaponry, keeps a tight run time, stays true to the character, strong motivated visuals ... I could just go on and on. Not all people are going to like it but I think their reasons for disliking it show that this is a film of considerable depth and merit. Subversive and stylised, a brilliant bookend to the series.

4. White Noise 2
This came out in the cinema over a year ago in the UK but we get it on DVD only this year. I am a huge fan of Battlestar Galactica and an even larger one of Firefly so of course I had to see it. So, how is it? The answer to that is kind of complicated but the simple answer is that, it is okay. There are some interesting visuals, nice twists and turns and a number of interesting pros. On the con list there is more, there is all the charm of Nathan being mostly subdued, the lack of realism (even implausible can be done to "feel" realistic) and much more. Better than and completely unrelated to the first one. Worth watching for fans of the leads but still just "eh".

5. In Bruges*
From a theatre writer-director comes his film debut and his background shows in the dialog. Inspired by an actual visit to Bruges you see his fascination with the place. This film is so visually arresting and interesting it is shot like an action film. Though there is quite a bit of action in the third act, this is really a human tale of the human condition. It is endlessly amusing, consistently keeping me laughing but also quite dark and quite sad. There were a number of moments that brought me to tears. Rough and rowdy on its surface but really about the good and bad in all of us. A tops film that should not be missed.

6. Definitely, Maybe*
Using the usual romantic comedy paradigm this comes out as not the usual romantic comedy. The final shot was a bit controversial but I thought the entire film stayed very true to itself and its spirit. Featuring the irresistible charm of Ryan Reynolds, it girl Abigail Breslin and three of the yummiest broads in film today ; this film made me laugh hard and quite a few times cry just as hard. This is unrealistic and full of contrived moments but still I could not dislike this film if I tried. It appeals to the optimist and the romantic in me. I think that even the most cynical could find joy in this.

7. Be Kind Remind*
Funny but with a pure soul, this is the work of a clever and confident filmmaker. It could have just been a terrible parody "Meet the Spartans" type-thing but instead we are treated to really amusing and tender film. A lot of the biggest laughs, for me, came from the nostalgia evoked by seeing the "Sweded" versions of films. A lot of its heart came from that nostalgia too. The desire for the times of VHS, the desire for the jazz age. Everyone in this film is looking for something and they find their joy in the films. Visually it is what you would expect from Michel Gondry. Zany and inventive but not arbitrarily so. I also got a kick out of all the love Fats Waller got in this film. In the film they talk about what a shame it is kids have no idea who he is and it is true. Really classy and sweet film.

8. CJ7*
Writer-Director-Producer-Star Steven Chow has gone to create a family film full of very real characters and motivation in this CG heavy science fiction fantasy farce. It sounds counterintuitive but that is how this film is. At times really dark, others sad but mostly it is very sweet and charming like the titular character who comes to this planet from outer space. Mostly a story about a boy and using the common theme in Chow's films of overcoming adversity ; mostly being poor ; but this time the focus is on a child star who acts like ... a child. He pouts, laughs, is stubborn, melodramatic and really just how a child is. CJ7 is the cutest little thing and you will fall in love if you have any soul within you. Probably the oddest film Chow has made ; which is saying a lot ; but also the most heart-shaped. Soulful and doleful experience for all ages.

9. I Could Never Be Your Woman

10. The Amateurs

10. Forgetting Sarah Marshall*

11. Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay*

12. Iron Man*

13. Sex and the City*

14. The Happening*

15. The Promotion*

16. Get Smart*

17. First Sunday

18. Wall-E*

19. Wanted*

20. 27 Dresses

21. The Dark Knight: The IMAX Experience*

22. Mamma Mia*

23. American Teen*

24. The Dark Knight*

25. Step Brothers*

26. Hancock*

27. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull*

28. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2*

29. Tropic Thunder*

30. Vicky Christina Barcelona*

31. Hamlet 2*

32. The House Bunny*

33. Elegy*

34. Eagle Eye*

35. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

36. How To Lose Your Friends And Alienate People*

37. Burn After Reading*

38. Body Of Lies*

39. Quarantine*

40. Max Payne*

41. Zack and Miri Make A Porno*

42. Role Models*

43. Quantum of Solace*

44. Repo : The Genetic Opera*

45. JCVD*

46. Tinkerbell

47. Milk*

48. Australia*

49. Slumdog Millionaire*

50. Gran Torino*

51. Yes Man*

52. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button*

53. The Wrestler*

54. Valkyrie*

55. Rachel Getting Married*

56. Baby mama

57. Doubt*

58. Frost/Nixon*

59. Twilight*

60. Kung Fu Panda*

61. Pineapple Express*