ON THE 2008 BRAMMIES - MOVIES

FAVORITE OLDER MOVIE THAT I SAW FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS YEAR - "Jaws"

Yes, I know, I should have watched "Jaws" long before now. But I never sought out the opportunity, and I finally got it on DVD this year. I thought the movie was well done and made me terrified of sharks, which I suppose is (at least partly) the point. The other part of the point - fear of Maine - is one I already had.

Honorable Mention - "Lucky Number Slevin"

FAVORITE ACTOR - Christian Bale

Okay, okay, he's in The Dark Knight, which will probably be mentioned below. But I also watched four OTHER movies starring Mr. Bale this year, all of which I enjoyed.

FAVORITE ACTRESS/MOST-DESIRABLE CHARACTER - Anne Hathaway, "Get Smart"

When I saw this in the theaters, I let out an audible grunt during one particular shot of Ms. Hathaway's legs. Now, my friends will claim this was a "moan," but I assure you, it was simply an audible grunt of admiration and appreciation. As in "Unh! I think you are a talented actress, and I would like you to go out for pizza with me. Also, I'm pretty sure your boyfriend is involved in some massive fraud or something."

Honorable Mention - Elizabeth Banks

FAVORITE COMEDY - "Role Models"

This was a two-horse race, but I think Role Models ultimately had more "heart" than "Step Brothers." Both movies were extremely funny, but I think Role Models also had a broader appeal, and tickled my funny bone just right.

Honorable Mention - obviously "Step Brothers"

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT - "Max Payne"

How can you be the biggest disappointment when expectations aren't high? By being a terrible movie. Poorly written, and the PG-13 rating really detracted (and was actually noticeable) from the overall experience. As mentioned previously on this blog, don't see this movie - not even as a guilty pleasure.

Honorable Mention - "Tropic Thunder"

FAVORITE ACTING DEBUT - The extremely handsome young man who plays "Bradley Stevenson" in this online video...

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/a38e81b076

FAVORITE MOVIE - "The Dark Knight"

Story? Check. Action? Check. Acting? Check. IMAX? Check. Ethics lesson? Check.

Look, I went into this movie PREPARED to dislike it. I didn't believe it could live up to the hype. People were saying Heath Ledger deserved an Oscar, and I attributed that all to his unfortunate death. I walked in to the theater prepared to poop all over the movie (but not the theater).

Needless to say, there was no pooping. I thoroughly enjoyed this entire film, from the storyline to the action sequences to the gadgets. The two-ferry part of the storyline was well-crafted and thought-provoking. And then, in the DVD extras, to learn they actually flipped over a semi, that they did real stunts...for some reason, that tickles my movie bone just right.

As for the acting - I'm probably not the best person to judge the quality of acting (judging from my "Favorite Acting Debut" pick up there), but I actually forgot it was Heath Ledger for a while under that carefully-applied makeup...and isn't that saying a lot, judging from the amount of hype around his performance going in?

I only have two careful criticisms of this movie. The first is that Anne Hathaway's legs should have been in it at some point. The second is the problem with perfection I mentioned a few weeks ago - how can Christopher Nolan possibly top this movie?



Coming tomorrow - The News Brammies!