Friday
12Dec2008
Richard Roeper's Best (and Worst) of 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008 at 9:21PM
I will give
Richard Roeper credit. His year in review is by
far the most thorough and maybe even the most instructive of these critics'
lists that I've seen. He doesn't just rank movies, he explores the past year
with the real curiosity of a journalist and the real passion of a fan.
The Totally Sexist List of the
Three Most Beautiful Newcomers
Freida Pinto - Slumdog Millionaire
Olga Kurylenko - Quantum of Solace
Odette Yustman - Cloverfield
The Top 25
Slumdog Millionaire
The Dark Knight
The Wrestler
In Bruges
I've Loved You So Long
Gran Torino
Milk
The Visitor
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Frozen River
Doubt
Snow Angels
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Seven Pounds
Iron Man
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
W.
Henry Poole Is Here
Burn After Reading
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
WALL-E
The Bank Job
Tropic Thunder
Che
The Bottom Ten
The Love Guru
What Happens in Vegas
The Women
10,000 B.C.
88 Minutes
Funny Games
Fly Me to the Moon
Over Her Dead Body
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
You Don't Mess With the Zohan 
Now, there are things I disagree with, but nothing major. I would wonder why he chose to do a list of 25 if his articles wasn't so exhaustive. He does not, unlike Roger Ebert, say he simply can't bear to cut ten movies out because the year was so incredible. And, he takes a shot at another critic, which is usually not the order of the day, blasting Shawn Edwards for turning a trick to get in the TV ads for Four Christmases. All right...so Shawn Edwards isn't so much a "critic."
And by and large, I'd say his rankings of the top 25 movies of 2008 shows a lot of variety, and he doesn't elevate too many films that don't deserve it, and like me, he thinks Slumdog Millionaire and In Bruges are two of the year's five best.
But Roeper has also been considerate enough - or inconsiderate enough, depending on your perspective - to do a Ten Worst list, and I've always thought those are valuable. There were some real black eyes this year, so it's worthwhile to see that list, too. As is our practice when it comes to these critics' lists, we don't pick them apart or wonder why, in this case, Frost/Nixon isn't in Roeper's top ten. It's his list, he saw the movies just like I did, and this is what he came away with.
But if you'd like to comment, feel free.
And to show you just how complete his 2008 recap is, we'll kick off the countdown with a ranking I totally agree with...
Freida Pinto - Slumdog Millionaire
Olga Kurylenko - Quantum of Solace
Odette Yustman - Cloverfield
Slumdog Millionaire
The Dark Knight
The Wrestler
In Bruges
I've Loved You So Long
Gran Torino
Milk
The Visitor
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Frozen River
Doubt
Snow Angels
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Seven Pounds
Iron Man
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
W.
Henry Poole Is Here
Burn After Reading
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
WALL-E
The Bank Job
Tropic Thunder
Che
The Love Guru
What Happens in Vegas
The Women
10,000 B.C.
88 Minutes
Funny Games
Fly Me to the Moon
Over Her Dead Body
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
You Don't Mess With the Zohan
Colin Boyd | Permalink | in Critics, Lists | Print Article | Email Article | 4 Comments | Share Article
Reader Comments (4)
Did he forget "Disaster Movie" in the bottom ten
No. Disaster wasn't officially screened. I powered through it, much to my chagrin, and I'm sure a few other critics went on opening weekend, but you can't really blame the guy for not going after having to see The Love Guru. That one's bad enough.
I would add 'Righteous Kill' to The Bottom 10 List and bump Zohan into limbo.
I agree with most of his list. I do disagree with some of the bottom 10...10,000 B.C. is a guilty pleasure, and Zohan...well, it's fun enough. But I applaud this thoughtful list.