Ok folks, I'm back a year later with my top picks for 2008. Like last year, I have not seen anywhere near the number of movies I have wanted to see, so if the list seems a bit obvious, or made up of mainstream films, it's because that's all I freaking saw! On the same note, I was asked to make a top ten list, but with my limited viewing opportunities, I have decided to do a top five (hey, it's my list dammit!).

5) Quantum of Solace

Like I said, I haven't seen much this year, so this is all I could think of for fifth place, but I did enjoy it a lot, probably more so than most. Loved the ending. Good enough for me!

4) Iron Man

Charismatic leading man, great special effects, and unparalleled action scenes all add up to a classic Summer blockbuster.

3) The Dark Knight

Dark, complex, and a bunch of other adjectives that would describe a sci-fi or psychological thriller certainly apply to this comic book film.

2) Tropic Thunder

I haven't enjoyed watching Tom Cruise in a film since... Risky Business? Well, Collateral was rather good. But it was nice to see him be intentionally humorous for a change. And the rest of Tropic Thunder was pretty gut-bustingly hilarious as well. The fake trailers set the tone, while the hilarious actors carried the rest of the movie (Jack Black's narcotic craving comedian was my personal favorite).

1) Wall-E

Pixar, what will you thrill us with next? A comedy, sci-fi, silent film, romance, be-kind-to-the-planet message pic exquisitely crafted.

"The Departed" is currently at 92% on the Tomatometer. "Borat" is at 94%. These movies are overwhelmingly 'fresh' and two of the highest rated of 2006. What I've noticed is that any critic on this site that has given these movies a negative review has received quite a backlash from readers. In the comments section of the reviews, and on the forums, readers have gone off with anger and insults over the 'audacity' of these critics for not praising the movie. Why is this necessary? Why does it bother people so much that 15 out of 190 critics didn't like "The Departed" and 9 out of 148 didn't like "Borat?" The fact is that no matter how great a movie is (and I loved both of these films), someone out there won't like it. Just because certain critics don't share my opinion does not automatically make them idiots (except for that Jon Popick, with his moronic 'blue state' assumption in his "Borat" review, but at least he liked the movie). Let's all just celebrate these movies' successes, especially now that "Borat" is taking the cinematic world by storm. Chenquieh!