Compare and contrast: Critics pick top 10 movies for 2008
Staff, wire report
January 2, 2009
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| Prime time: Mickey Rourke gives the performance of a lifetime about an athlete past his prime in the film, "The Wrestler," which was high on many critics' lists. (Courtesy photo) |
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A nonscientific sampling of best films of 2008 from critics across the country — including contributors to The Examiner — reveals “WALL-E,” another amazing innovation in animation and storytelling from Pixar, and “Frost/Nixon,” Ron Howard’s vivid retelling of the debates between British talk show host David Frost and fallen President Richard Nixon, as favorites.
In addition to representation from Emeryville-based Pixar, local themes also rise to the top in the form of Gus Van Sant’s “Milk,” starring Sean Penn as gay activist and San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, who was assassinated by Dan White in 1978.
Note: Lists have been edited for length and consistency of format. Some critics initially included more than 10 films, or didn’t specify an order of preference.
Rossiter Drake, The Examiner
1. “The Wrestler”
2. “WALL-E”
3. “Let the Right One In”
4. “In Bruges”
5. “Frost/Nixon”
6. “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army”
7. “W.”
8. “The Dark Knight”
9. “The Reader”
10. “JCVD”
Janos Gereben, The Examiner
1. “Mongol”
2. “Frost/Nixon”
3. “Traitor”
4. “Milk”
5. “Iron Man”
6. “I’ve Loved You So Long”
7. “Love and Honor”
8. “Seven Pounds”
9. “All Together Now”
10. “Nanking”
Anita Katz, The Examiner
1. “4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days”
2. “Encounters at the End of the World”
3. “Trouble the Water”
4. “Happy-Go-Lucky”
5. “The Edge of Heaven”
6. “Transsiberian”
7. “Frozen River”
8. “Flight of the Red Balloon”
9. “Revolutionary Road”
10. “A Christmas Tale”
Christy Lemire, Associated Press
1. “The Wrestler”
2. “Frost/Nixon”
3. “Man on Wire”
4. “Waltz With Bashir”
5. “WALL-E”
6. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
7. “Frozen River”
8. “Milk”
9. “Paranoid Park”
10. “Iron Man”
Anne Hornaday, Washington Post
1. “The Visitor”
2. “WALL-E”
3. “Milk”
4. “The Edge of Heaven”
5. “Man on Wire”
6. “Chicago 10”
7. “Happy-Go-Lucky”
8. “Rachel Getting Married”
9. “I’ve Loved You So Long”
10. “Tell No One”
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
1. “Slumdog Millionaire”
2. “A Christmas Tale”
3. “The Class”
4. “Frost/Nixon”
5. “Frozen River”
6. “Happy-Go-Lucky”
7. “Rachel Getting Married”
8. “Man on Wire”
9. “Tell No One”
10. “WALL-E”
David Germain, Associated Press
1. “Happy-Go-Lucky”
2. “WALL-E”
3. “Encounters at the End of the World”
4. “Slumdog Millionaire”
5. “Frozen River”
6. “The Visitor”
7. “The Wrestler”
8. “Frost/Nixon”
9. “The Dark Knight”
10. “Wendy and Lucy”
