My top films of 2008
by larsonlo | created - 01 Mar 2011 | updated - 15 Nov 2017 | PublicIncludes all films from 2008 I gave a 7/10 or higher. Includes features, miniseries and docs. Note: I have not seen every movie released in 2008. Only top 50 listed. I am open to more suggestions.
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1. WALL·E (2008)
G | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
In the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.
Director: Andrew Stanton | Stars: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard
Votes: 1,201,216 | Gross: $223.81M
2. In Bruges (2008)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
After a job gone wrong, hitman Ray and his partner await orders from their ruthless boss in Bruges, Belgium, the last place in the world Ray wants to be.
Director: Martin McDonagh | Stars: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ciarán Hinds, Elizabeth Berrington
Votes: 461,742 | Gross: $7.76M
3. Doubt (I) (2008)
PG-13 | 104 min | Drama, Mystery
A Catholic school principal questions a priest's ambiguous relationship with a troubled young student.
Director: John Patrick Shanley | Stars: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis
Votes: 136,112 | Gross: $33.42M
4. The Dark Knight (2008)
PG-13 | 152 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine
Votes: 2,872,743 | Gross: $534.86M
5. Still Walking (2008)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama
A family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Hiroshi Abe, Yui Natsukawa, You, Kazuya Takahashi
Votes: 18,637 | Gross: $0.16M
6. Gran Torino (2008)
R | 116 min | Drama
After a Hmong teenager tries to steal his prized 1972 Gran Torino, a disgruntled, prejudiced Korean War veteran seeks to redeem both the boy and himself.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Christopher Carley, Ahney Her
Votes: 815,310 | Gross: $148.10M
7. Taken (I) (2008)
PG-13 | 90 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris.
Director: Pierre Morel | Stars: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Leland Orser
Votes: 634,792 | Gross: $145.00M
8. Troubled Water (2008)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama, Music
A man convicted in his teens for killing a child is released on parole. He struggles to build a new life, but his past is uncovered.
Director: Erik Poppe | Stars: Pål Sverre Hagen, Trine Dyrholm, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Fredrik Grøndahl
Votes: 6,152
9. The Chaser (2008)
Not Rated | 125 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A disgraced ex-policeman who runs a small ring of prostitutes finds himself in a race against time when one of his women goes missing.
Director: Na Hong-jin | Stars: Kim Yoon-seok, Ha Jung-woo, Seo Yeong-hie, Kim Yoo-jung
Votes: 72,818
10. God on Trial (2008 TV Movie)
86 min | Drama, War
Awaiting their inevitable deaths at one of the worst concentration camps, a group of Jews make a rabbinical court to decide whether God has gone against the Holy Covenant and if He is the one guilty for their suffering.
Director: Andy De Emmony | Stars: Joseph Muir, Josef Altin, Ashley Artus, Alexi Kaye Campbell
Votes: 3,913
11. Changeling (2008)
R | 141 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
After Christine's son goes missing, she reaches out to the LAPD to find him. But when they try to pass off an impostor as her son to quieten public protests, she refuses to accept him or give up hope.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Angelina Jolie, Colm Feore, Amy Ryan, Gattlin Griffith
Votes: 265,342 | Gross: $35.74M
12. Louis C.K.: Chewed Up (2008 TV Special)
TV-MA | 61 min | Documentary, Comedy
Louis C.K.'s second one-hour special filmed at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston, MA.
Directors: Louis C.K., Shannon Hartman | Star: Louis C.K.
Votes: 11,089
13. Frost/Nixon (2008)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History
A dramatic retelling of the post-Watergate television interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and former president Richard Nixon.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon, Sam Rockwell
Votes: 112,498 | Gross: $18.59M
14. Kung Fu Panda (2008)
PG | 92 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
To everyone's surprise, including his own, Po, an overweight, clumsy panda, is chosen as protector of the Valley of Peace. His suitability will soon be tested as the valley's arch-enemy is on his way.
Directors: Mark Osborne, John Stevenson | Stars: Jack Black, Ian McShane, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman
Votes: 523,211 | Gross: $215.43M
15. Revanche (2008)
Not Rated | 121 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Ex-con Alex plans to flee to the South with his girl after a robbery. But something terrible happens and revenge seems inevitable.
Director: Götz Spielmann | Stars: Johannes Krisch, Irina Potapenko, Andreas Lust, Ursula Strauss
Votes: 15,967
16. I've Loved You So Long (2008)
PG-13 | 117 min | Drama
A woman struggles to interact with her family and find her place in society after spending fifteen years in prison.
Director: Philippe Claudel | Stars: Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius, Laurent Grévill
Votes: 20,713 | Gross: $3.17M
17. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A filmmaker decides to memorialize a murdered friend when his friend's ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son.
Director: Kurt Kuenne | Stars: Kurt Kuenne, Andrew Bagby, David Bagby, Kathleen Bagby
Votes: 40,747 | Gross: $0.02M
18. Waltz with Bashir (2008)
R | 90 min | Documentary, Animation, Biography
An Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.
Director: Ari Folman | Stars: Ari Folman, Ron Ben-Yishai, Ronny Dayag, Ori Sivan
Votes: 60,427 | Gross: $2.28M
19. Brian Regan: The Epitome of Hyperbole (2008 TV Special)
Not Rated | 60 min | Documentary, Comedy
Brian Regan exposes the truth behind psychics, discusses the stupidest crimes, and offers his suggestions on how to improve the opera with his easygoing manner and physical brand of humor.
Director: Troy Miller | Star: Brian Regan
Votes: 852
20. The Wrestler (2008)
R | 109 min | Drama, Sport
A faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Mark Margolis
Votes: 320,055 | Gross: $26.24M
21. Wild China (2008)
60 min | Documentary
An in-depth look at some of China's most impressive natural sites such as the ancient Han kingdom, the Mongol steppes, the Silk Road and the Tibetan Plateau.
Star: Bernard Hill
Votes: 2,882
22. Visioneers (2008)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
When people begin exploding from stress, George Washington Winsterhammerman tries to ignore the epidemic and live his usual life, but then he suffers his first symptom.
Director: Jared Drake | Stars: Zach Galifianakis, Judy Greer, Mía Maestro, Missi Pyle
Votes: 6,340
23. When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions (2008)
TV-G | 48 min | Documentary, History
Narrated by award-winning actor Gary Sinise, WHEN WE LEFT EARTH is the incredible story of humankind's greatest adventure, as it happened, told by the people who were there. From the early ... See full summary »
Stars: Gene Kranz, Gary Sinise, Jim Lovell, Eugene Cernan
Votes: 2,044
24. Traitor (2008)
PG-13 | 114 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When straight arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton heads up the investigation into a dangerous international conspiracy, all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer, Samir Horn.
Director: Jeffrey Nachmanoff | Stars: Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Archie Panjabi, Saïd Taghmaoui
Votes: 59,118 | Gross: $23.53M
25. Flame & Citron (2008)
Not Rated | 130 min | Action, Drama, History
A drama centered on two fighters in the Holger Danske World War II resistance group.
Director: Ole Christian Madsen | Stars: Thure Lindhardt, Mads Mikkelsen, Stine Stengade, Peter Mygind
Votes: 19,948 | Gross: $0.15M
26. Dean Spanley (2008)
PG | 100 min | Comedy, Drama
Set in Edwardian England where upper lips are always stiff and men from the Colonies are not entirely to be trusted, Fisk Senior has little time or affection for his son, but when the pair visit an eccentric Indian, they start a strange journey that eventually allows the old man to find his heart.
Director: Toa Fraser | Stars: Jeremy Northam, Sam Neill, Bryan Brown, Peter O'Toole
Votes: 3,824
27. Is Anybody There? (2008)
PG-13 | 94 min | Drama
A lonely boy who lives in his parents' home for the elderly explores his obsession with the afterlife through his friendship with an aging magician.
Director: John Crowley | Stars: Michael Caine, Bill Milner, Anne-Marie Duff, Ralph Riach
Votes: 5,002 | Gross: $2.02M
28. Hunger (2008)
Not Rated | 96 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Irish republican Bobby Sands leads the inmates of a Northern Irish prison in a hunger strike.
Director: Steve McQueen | Stars: Michael Fassbender, Liam Cunningham, Stuart Graham, Laine Megaw
Votes: 73,576 | Gross: $0.15M
29. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
R | 111 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Devastated Peter takes a Hawaiian vacation in order to deal with the recent break-up with his TV star girlfriend, Sarah. Little does he know, Sarah's traveling to the same resort as her ex - and she's bringing along her new boyfriend.
Director: Nicholas Stoller | Stars: Kristen Bell, Jason Segel, Paul Rudd, Mila Kunis
Votes: 302,580 | Gross: $63.17M
30. Step Brothers (2008)
R | 98 min | Comedy
Two aimless middle-aged losers still living at home are forced against their will to become roommates when their parents marry.
Director: Adam McKay | Stars: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Mary Steenburgen, Richard Jenkins
Votes: 319,197 | Gross: $100.47M
31. The Good the Bad the Weird (2008)
R | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
The story of two outlaws and a bounty hunter in 1940s Manchuria and their rivalry to possess a treasure map while being pursued by the Japanese army and Chinese bandits.
Director: Jee-woon Kim | Stars: Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Jung Woo-sung, Yun Je-mun
Votes: 37,947 | Gross: $0.13M
32. Mesrine: Killer Instinct (2008)
R | 113 min | Action, Biography, Crime
The story of the notorious French gangster Jacques Mesrine, with the focus on his life before the early 1970s and the events that led to him being declared Public Enemy No. 1 in France.
Director: Jean-François Richet | Stars: Vincent Cassel, Cécile de France, Gérard Depardieu, Gilles Lellouche
Votes: 35,299 | Gross: $0.55M
33. North Face (2008)
Not Rated | 126 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
A secretary at a Berlin newspaper in 1936 gets to write about two Alpinists, as she knows them well. She later gets to report on and photograph her friends' and other Alpinists' climbs of the dangerous Swiss Eiger north face.
Director: Philipp Stölzl | Stars: Benno Fürmann, Florian Lukas, Johanna Wokalek, Simon Schwarz
Votes: 16,436 | Gross: $0.71M
34. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
PG-13 | 166 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with consequences.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Julia Ormond
Votes: 696,046 | Gross: $127.51M
35. Revolutionary Road (2008)
R | 119 min | Drama, Romance
A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Christopher Fitzgerald, Jonathan Roumie
Votes: 225,073 | Gross: $22.91M
36. Sugar (I) (2008)
R | 114 min | Drama, Sport
Dominican baseball star Miguel "Sugar" Santos is recruited to play in the U.S. minor-leagues.
Directors: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck | Stars: Algenis Perez Soto, Jose Rijo, Walki Cuevas, Santo Silvestre
Votes: 5,153 | Gross: $1.08M
37. Terribly Happy (2008)
Unrated | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A thriller about a Copenhagen cop who moves to a small town after having a nervous breakdown.
Director: Henrik Ruben Genz | Stars: Jakob Cedergren, Lene Maria Christensen, Kim Bodnia, Lars Brygmann
Votes: 7,057 | Gross: $0.07M
38. Let the Right One In (2008)
R | 114 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.
Director: Tomas Alfredson | Stars: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl
Votes: 226,860 | Gross: $2.12M
39. The Hurt Locker (2008)
R | 131 min | Drama, Thriller, War
During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce
Votes: 474,018 | Gross: $17.02M
40. Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country (2008)
Unrated | 84 min | Documentary, History, News
Using smuggled footage, this documentary tells the story of the 2007 protests in Burma by thousands of monks.
Director: Anders Østergaard | Stars: George W. Bush, Joshua Min Htut, Ko Muang, Aung San Suu Kyi
Votes: 2,520 | Gross: $0.05M
41. Max Manus: Man of War (2008)
Not Rated | 118 min | Action, Biography, Crime
The true story about one of the most brilliant saboteurs during World War II and his battle to overcome his inner demons.
Directors: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg | Stars: Aksel Hennie, Agnes Kittelsen, Nicolai Cleve Broch, Ken Duken
Votes: 29,789
42. Departures (2008)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama
Soon after buying an expensive cello, Daigo learns that his orchestra is disbanding. He moves back to his hometown with his wife, where he answers an ad for what Daigo thinks is a travel agency but is, in actuality, a mortuary.
Director: Yôjirô Takita | Stars: Masahiro Motoki, Ryôko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kazuko Yoshiyuki
Votes: 55,007 | Gross: $1.50M
43. Tyson (2008)
R | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
A mixture of original interviews, archival footage, and photographs sheds light on the life experiences of Mike Tyson.
Director: James Toback | Stars: Mike Tyson, Mills Lane, Trevor Berbick, Cus D'Amato
Votes: 12,935 | Gross: $0.89M
44. Milk (I) (2008)
R | 128 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of American gay activist Harvey Milk, who fought for gay rights and was elected as California's first openly gay official.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna
Votes: 179,879 | Gross: $31.84M
45. Synecdoche, New York (2008)
R | 124 min | Drama
A theatre director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he creates a life-size replica of New York City inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
Director: Charlie Kaufman | Stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener
Votes: 98,276 | Gross: $3.08M
46. Rambo (2008)
R | 92 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
In Thailand, John Rambo joins a group of mercenaries to venture into war-torn Burma, and rescue a group of Christian aid workers who were kidnapped by the ruthless local infantry unit.
Director: Sylvester Stallone | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Julie Benz, Matthew Marsden, Graham McTavish
Votes: 244,650 | Gross: $42.75M
47. Horton Hears a Who! (2008)
G | 86 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Horton the Elephant struggles to protect a microscopic community from his neighbors who refuse to believe it exists.
Directors: Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino | Stars: Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Carol Burnett, Will Arnett
Votes: 150,324 | Gross: $154.53M
48. JCVD (2008)
R | 97 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Jean-Claude Van Damme gets involved in a bank robbery with hostages situation and reflects about his life during it.
Director: Mabrouk El Mechri | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Valérie Bodson, Hervé Sogne, Rock Chen
Votes: 40,312 | Gross: $0.47M
49. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008)
TV-PG | 42 min | Short, Comedy, Musical
An aspiring supervillain must balance his career and his pursuit of a beautiful do-gooder.
Stars: Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day, Simon Helberg
Votes: 44,246
50. The Square (2008)
R | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A man's life begins to unravel when his mistress brings him a bag of cash.
Director: Nash Edgerton | Stars: David Roberts, Claire van der Boom, Joel Edgerton, Anthony Hayes
Votes: 6,384 | Gross: $0.05M
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