Trying to keep a checklist--what are the "must-see" films of 2008?

2008 looks loaded...this month has Cloverfield (seen it) and Rambo (I just don't know about this one...probably a renter).

Then there's The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Hulk, Hellboy 2, Trek, Potter 6...


What else is coming out this year? What's on everyone's radar?

WALL*E. Everything else is second place at best. PIXAR has me figured out--I should just send them my wallet and dignity and get it over with.

Funny Games will fuck you up. I saw the German version (the new one is a shot for shot remake) and it might be the most disturbing film I've ever seen. I will not see this, but I can argue that it should be on your radar. The director has said that this movie is for people that need to see it.

Burn After Reading, Coen bros FTW.

There Will Be Blood. This is out now, looks awesome.

Be Kind Rewind also looks dynamite.

COME THE FUCK ON Y'ALL!!!!

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL!!!!

Of course, Lucas has a hand in it, so it could be the final nail in his coffin...

I'm trying to sort out if WALL*E is an animated version of SHORT CIRCUIT or not. It sure as hell looks like it. I mean, I thought the TRANSFORMERS designs looked like Johnny 5 but that thing might as well be his kid.

The upcoming comics movies all look pretty good. DARK KNIGHT looks on-the-money awesome. I really like the Joker, he seems closer to the deranged psychopath of THE KILLING JOKE, which I like. HELLBOY 2 should be good times, it'll be good to see Del Toro letting his hair down again after the pretentiousness of PAN'S LABYRINTH. Yeah, I said that out loud.

TREK, I dunno. Simon Pegg as Scotty could save the whole show but everything else sounds like crap so far.

POTTER- totally. Those films get better and better and I like how we've watched those kids (and the story) really come of age.

BE KIND REWIND looks like good natured fun and a welcome change of pace from the pee-pee poo-poo/cynical "everything is dumb" brand of comedy that's pretty much ruined the genre. I like Gondry but I have yet to see a film of his that I was completely satisfied by.

RAMBO- good god. That's what an action picture is supposed to look like. No compromise. I'm just not a big Rambo fan beyond the shooting and the hardware.

FUNNY GAMES- I dunno. Looks almost exactly like HOUSE AT THE EDGE OF THE PARK to me.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD- definitely see it. It's not the unabashed masterpiece critics seem to think it is, but it's a very damn good picture despite some glaring flaws and the fact that PTA isn't nearly the Director he thinks he is. It's definitely getting back to 1970s style cinema, which is a good thing.

I'm actually really interested in SPEED RACER...that trailer was phenomenal, total pop art. I suspect it's going to be one of those things people either totally adore or they ruthlessly hate. The production design is incredible, the casting is perfect, and it looks like they've captured the dumb fun of the cartoon.

It may wind up total crap, but Neil Marshal (DOG SOLDIERS, THE DESCENT) has done what looks like a full-on post apocalyptic film complete with mohawked punks, car chases, and Bob Hoskins called DOOMSDAY...the trailer looks alternately awesome and terrible but I can't resist the concept, particularly since it's set in the savage wasteland of Scotland.

It'll probably be terrible, but I'm still interested in Dario Argento's new one, MOTHER OF TEARS, which is a sequel to SUSPIRIA- one of the greatest horror films ever made.

Indy is going to be shit. Mark my words.

Postal! Uwe Boll baby!!

I'm excited for many of the movies already mentioned, plus Spike Jonze's WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. Loved that book when I was a kid.

www.rottentomatoes.com/m/where_the_wild_things_are/photos.php

Dark Knight is going to seem awfully weird up there on the screen with Heath Ledger as The Joker.

At least the movie is finished with filming; I'd hate to see the directors try a "Plan 9" on the flick.

--Mike L.

This Doomsday sounds potentially great. I really enjoyed The Descent and Dog Soldiers, though the version of Descent that I saw had the superior downbeat ending.

Otherwise, only Hellboy 2 sounds great to me. I expect little from the rest.

So here's what I've got, with heavy movie season just around the corner...


May 2nd:
Iron Man

May 16th:
Narnia

May 23rd:
Indiana Jones 4

June 13:
The Incredible Hulk

June 20th:
Get Smart

June 27th:
Wall-e

July 11th:
Hellboy 2

July 18th:
The Dark Knight

July 25th:
X-files 2

Dude - you forgot:

May 30th:
Sex and The City: The Movie

Ken B. wrote:

So here's what I've got, with heavy movie season just around the corner...


May 2nd:
Iron Man

May 16th:
Narnia

May 23rd:
Indiana Jones 4

June 13:
The Incredible Hulk

June 20th:
Get Smart

June 27th:
Wall-e

July 11th:
Hellboy 2

July 18th:
The Dark Knight

July 25th:
X-files 2

November 11th: The Road

Could be good (It's a Cormac McCarthy novel) could suck (questionable casting and an unknown director).

The director's John Hillcoat, he did the Nick Cave-penned Aussie western THE PROPOSITION...it was OK, definitely gritty but sort of perfunctory in a weird way. Viggo Mortensen is cast as the dad, which sounds good to me.

The Road should be out fall of this year. There's questionable casting and an unknown director, but it is based on the book by Cormac McCarthy so it could be great.

Dude, lay off the time machine, OK?

The movie I want to go see this year is one called "Defiance" about some uprising against the Germans. It has the new James Bond in it and some pretty well done SS uniforms.