My semi-definitive list of 08 would be(drumroll please)

The Dark Knight
Iron Man
In Bruges
Burn After Reading
Rachel Getting Married
The Fall

Slumdog Millionaire I've heard is fantastic. So I'm exicted for that and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Wrestler and Gran Torino.

Wall-E I found visually amazing but the story was dreadfully boring. Even the kids in the audience were asking their parents when it would be over.

-Ben

I loved the doc YOUNG @ HEART ...

but i haven't seen as many movies as I should.

I also love Ebert, I remember he gave a thumbs up to FLASH GORDEN, he said, "I know it's cheesy, I know it's bad, but I went in, sat down and enjoyed myself anyway, and that's why we go to movies ..."

Definitely agree that Ebert is a national treasure when it comes to film criticism. He does have a passion for movies and has somehow retained that after all these years (and a rather nasty health scare.)

That said, I actually thought it was kind of a crummy year for movies. There were a lot of "nearly good" movies (Hulk, Prince Caspian, Stop-Loss, Vicky Christina Barcelona).

Obviously, though, The Dark Knight and Wall*e were the big champs for me. Both boiled down to great writing and that's, ultimately, what we're here for, right folks?

I had a few guilty pleasures this year. I laughed way more than I probably should have at "You Don't Mess With the Zohan" and "Zack and Miri Make a Porno."

And, for whatever reason, "Bolt" beguiled me. But that may only have to do with the fact that it kept my rugrats rapt for 2 hours! :D

Like you, Scott, I haven't seen a lot of movies this year, BUT I'd have to go with...

1. "The Dark Knight"
2. "Iron Man"
3. "Definately, Maybe": a romantic comedy that came out last winter/spring

Here's hoping '09 is better. At least we have the next "Terminator" to look forward to.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

Rachel Getting married was surprisingly a fantastic film. glad we took the class to see it.

iron man? hmm, I have a hard time giving respect to films relying on massive amounts of cgi work...
lord of the rings would the exception tho!

Synecdoche, New York has an amazing trailer.. its showing at the franklin street theater too