The 2008 Critics' Choice Awards | Movies & TV

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The 2008 Critics' Choice Awards
The year's best movies include a caped superhero, a noble little robot, a recovering addict seeking forgiveness, a kid from the slums, and much more.
| posted 2/03/2009

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Paranoid Park
This film—the lesser seen of Gus Van Sant's 2008 releases (the other being Milk)—has stuck with me more than any that I have seen in the year. It's one of those films that had me silent and stunned for the entire duration of the closing credits. Though it is highly sensory and aggressively artistic, Paranoid also has a plot—a simple, devastating plot that will grab you and shake you and make you think about the deep interiors of your life that rarely get glimpsed. It's a totally unique, thoroughly American masterpiece of the cinematic form that demands to be seen in HD and surround sound. (Official website.)
— Brett McCracken

Speed Racer
The latest mind-melding joint from the directors of The Matrix is a movie that's just about being a movie. Look for profundity and you'll be disappointed, but expect a tireless flash of color and sound, whiplash action and sly humor, and you'll experience a ride like no other. It's a big-screen, live-action cartoon that's drunk on its own outlandish sense of fun, a masterpiece of style and spectacle—and oh yeah, it happens to be a visual triumph, a cinematic feat like no other. (Our review.)
— Josh Hurst

Tell No One
In the opening moments of Tell No One, we witness a crime. We spend the rest of the film trying to figure out what happened, as the film parses out this tautly told story in real time and flashback sequences. Yes, this French thriller is at times confusing. But when you piece it all together with your movie-going companions afterward, you'll like the film even more than you already do. And the final scene is both surprising and surprisingly moving. See it. Love it. Tell everyone. (Official site.)
— Camerin Courtney

The Wrestler
It's not easy to watch director Darren Aronofsky's character study about a fictional former pro-wrestling star, The Ram, who once owned the world and now struggles to pay his rent. After all, the film's subject is an empty guy in a bleak world—and the film shows that very real emptiness with awkwardness, heartbreak, and a good portion of nudity, bloody violence, language, and drug use. As hard as it is to watch The Ram's difficulties unfold, you can't look away because of Aronofsky's spellbinding style, Mickey Rourke's centerpiece portrayal, and the film's ponderings of age, identity, and our desperate search to find meaning and to feel loved. (Our review)
— Todd Hertz

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[Reader Reviews]

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pete	Posted: May 04, 2009 5:25 AM

The critic's have overblown their evaluation of their top pick of 2008, the so-called Dark Knight which Christian Bale's performance certainly is not. Their use of hyperbole probably isn't warranted. Sure it appears to balance beauty and grace against violence and terror. However, that's essentially arguable as a piece of storytelling in its own right and possibly some form of "common grace". A writer writes his intention out. He is made in God's image, yes, so in your theory it could be that God has graced the writer without knowing and without intending a certain grace/beauty theme. But how do you know?