The MRFH Revue 2008 – Courtney!

If I’m being perfectly honest with you, I have to say that 2008 was a magnificent year for movies. For the first time in quite a while, the Good far outweighed the Bad. Granted I didn’t see every movie that came out, but by this point I know to stay far away from titles like The Love Guru and Disaster Movie, and anyone who doesn’t deserves to pay 9 bucks to sit through that kind of trash. But for the more selective film-lover, the pickins were mighty fine.

This year brought something for every kind of audience, and each of my personalities. My funny bone was tickled by Tropic Thunder, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and Slumdog Millionaire. My feminine side adored Mamma Mia!, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, and Slumdog Millionaire. My inner-child fondly recalls Wall-E, Kung Fu Panda, and Slumdog Millionaire. That admittedly small piece of me which craves action hooted and hollered with Iron Man, The Dark Knight, and Slumdog Millionaire. And the pretentious-film-snob in me was moved by Milk, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Slumdog Millionaire.

(The first person to correctly guess my favorite movie of the year gets 150 bonus points, which are actually worth very little fiscally thanks to the recession. But you can’t put a price on the pride you’ll feel upon winning them!)

Alas, Newton’s Law states that for each good movie, there is an equal and inversely bad movie. Or something like that. And who am I to deny scientific fact? Here’s a list of some of the opposites I noticed this year:

Additions to Big Time Franchises: The Dark Knight vs. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – I’ve already made clear my feelings concerning Nolan vs. Burton in my Batman Returns review, but that doesn’t mean I can deny the quality of story and character in The Dark Knight. It was a popcorn flick, but it was also genuinely intelligent and well-crafted. Indy 4 was an okay movie on its own, but when you consider the original trilogy, it’s just a hot mess.

CGI-Laden Action Movies: Iron Man vs. Wanted - While Iron Man was completely fun and managed to place Robert Downey Jr. back on the map, Wanted tried too hard to be edgy and came off as a cheap imitation of many far superior films.

Chick Flicks: Mamma Mia! vs. 27 Dresses – One of these movies features Meryl Streep and Christine Baranski belting out ABBA hits on a Greek island. The other is all about how Katherine Heigl can never be complete without a husband. Guess which one sucked.

Trailers for Movies I Didn’t Get To See In 2008: The Wrestler vs. Proud American – The trailer for The Wrestler was the first ever to move me so much emotionally that I burst into tears. I also cried when I watched the Proud American trailer, but that was from laughter.

Hollywood Studio Decisions: MPAA Negotiates with WGA vs. WB Delays Half-Blood Prince Release – Whether you supported the WGA strike or not, you have to admit that the real losers weren’t the writers or the producers; it was their audiences. So it was nice to have both organizations shake hands and make up. Then, just a few months later, Warner Brothers delayed the release of one of their most highly-anticipated films by 7 months and subsequently lie to fans about why they did it. As far as I’m concerned, that whole Watchmen ordeal was just karma.

After weighing the Good and the Bad, not only in film but also in current events and my own life, I have to say that it’s been a darn good 12 months overall. My main complaint is that I should be happy about 2009 – my sister’s getting married, I’m going to be a college senior, and I’m turning 21 – but I just can’t imagine how it could top ’08. After all, this was a landmark year for me. I became a world-traveler – I got to go to Europe for the first time, study abroad in Budapest, live in my own apartment for 4 months, and basically be the closest I’ve ever been to actual adult-life (which is scary, but I’m still alive with some of my soul intact.) And on top of it all, I became a Mutant! What could possibly beat that?

Then again, 9 is my lucky number…