Andy’s top 10 movies of 2008

By ANDY CARROLL

UNLEASHED STAFF

It was a year marked by economic crisis and promises of change. But as times began to look gloomy, Hollywood once again stepped in with movies that provided entertaining escapism and blistering power.
Of course, for all of us in Yakima, the cinematic riches of 2008 will continue to give in 2009, as numerous widely acclaimed pictures have yet to reach the area. Among these are “Slumdog Millionaire,” “The Wrestler,” “Gran Torino,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk” and “Revolutionary Road.”
But even without those films, I have seen some excellent and highly memorable movies in the past year. All but one are either already available on DVD or currently playing locally at Yakima Cinema. And all are worth checking out, as they are among the cream of this year’s cinematic crop.

10. “TROPIC THUNDER” — Part action comedy and part showbiz satire, Ben Stiller’s latest comedy is as smart and scathing as it is funny. But as funny as Stiller is as the action star, he is upstaged by Robert Downey, Jr. as “five-time Oscar winner” Kirk Lazarus, a man who takes his craft too seriously — and caused a pre-release uproar as a white man playing a black man.

9. “AUSTRALIA” — One of the year’s most underrated pictures, “Australia” is a beautiful, old-fashioned epic that combines the romance of Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman with the coming-of-age story of an Aboriginal boy amidst World War II and the stolen generations. Do yourself a favor: Catch it while it’s still playing on the big screen.

8. “IRON MAN” — It was a great comeback year for Robert Downey, Jr., and it was this high-flying superhero flick that kicked it all off. Downey is perfectly cast as weapons manufacturer-turned-superhero Tony Stark in one of this year’s most entertaining performances. With plenty of action and comedy to go around, this is a crowd-pleaser that delivers.
7. “IN BRUGES” — One of 2008’s best-kept secrets, this buddy action-comedy provides dark comedy, bloody shootouts, and a reflection on the value of life all in one big package. Colin Farrell is at his best as the conflicted hitman Ray, who must wait with his partner (the hilarious Brendan Gleeson) in the medieval town of Bruges, Belgium, which he comes to despise with every fiber of his being.

6. “CHANGELING” — The most frightening movie of the year wasn’t a horror movie; it was “Changeling,” the drama that featured Angelina Jolie as a woman whose sanity is questioned when she claims that the missing boy returned to her is not actually her son. It also deals with the gruesome Wineville Chicken Coop Murders, in which children were brutally murdered. The fact that the movie is based on actual events (and real people) makes it all the more terrifying.

5. “FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL” — Can a raunchy comedy really be this high on the list? In this case, the answer is a resounding yes. This is an uproarious and strangely sweet comedy about a man (the hilarious writer and star Jason Segel) recovering from a break-up and finding love again. It has everything from the standard R-rated gags to a “Dracula” musical. No movie in 2008 made me laugh harder.

4. “DOUBT” — This is a spellbinding adaptation of the award-winning play. Meryl Streep is excellent as the nun who accuses a priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) of misconduct with an altar boy in the 1960s. Fellow stars Amy Adams and Viola Davis are also excellent as a nun stuck in the middle and the mother of the boy. It asks tough questions and will have you thinking and talking about it long after it ends.

3. “THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON” — The latest from director David Fincher (“Fight Club,” “Zodiac”) is a stunningly beautiful movie about a man who ages backward. Brad Pitt is in fine form as the title character, and Cate Blanchett is great as the woman he loves. Visually stunning, entertaining, heartbreaking, and moving all at once, it is an excellent movie not to be missed.

2. “WALL-E” — Pixar has always been ambitious, but its latest is their boldest and best work to date. Though it tackles numerous contemporary messages, it never loses sight of the odd but effective romantic pairing of robots WALL-E and EVE. It works with strange concepts, but when the year’s most effective movie relationship is between two robots whose dialogue is limited to beeping noises, “brilliant” and “unforgettable” are just two of the superlatives that apply.
1. “THE DARK KNIGHT” — No 2008 movie stands taller than this Bat-sequel. It goes beyond just being a superhero movie with its powerful ensemble acting and story that dares to ask questions about choice and whether Batman is truly a hero or just a vigilante with blood on his hands. Entertaining, powerful, and thoughtful all at once, “The Dark Knight” is not just a superb blockbuster, but a masterful film. It is the crowning achievement of 2008, and its final twist has me waiting in breathless anticipation for the next installment.

— Andy Carroll is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. He attends La Salle High School.

“Australia” is a beautiful epic

By ANDY CARROLL
UNLEASHED STAFF

Leave it to Baz Lurhmann to direct a movie as outside today’s Hollywood mold as “Australia.”
After unleashing the 1996 re-imagining of “Romeo and Juliet” and the 2001 anachronistic musical “Moulin Rouge,” Lurhmann delivers a large-scale epic with a $100 million price tag and a length of nearly three hours.
Like “Romeo and Juliet” and “Moulin Rouge” before it, “Australia” is a financial and creative gamble, particularly since historical epics haven’t fully been in vogue on screen since “Gladiator” dominated the box office charts and Academy Awards eight years ago. But Lurhmann rises to the challenge by making a movie that both hearkens back to the grand epics of decades past and stands on its own as a captivating new vision.
Lurhmann, a native of the title country, uses the World War II era as the backdrop for the movie’s sprawling story. Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) is a British aristocrat overseeing Faraway Downs, the vast expanse of land in the Outback she owned with her late husband. The land is worked by Aboriginal servants and a mixed-blood rugged adventurer called The Drover (Hugh Jackman). Among the Aboriginals is the child Nullah (Brandon Walters), with whom Lady Ashley begins to share a close bond, particularly after the tragic death of his mother.
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