Summer Top 10

Box Office Summer Top 10 (or Relishing in My List Obsession)

1. The Dark Knight: $477M
2. Iron Man: $317M
3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: $315M
4. Hancock: $225M
5. Wall-E: $214M
6. Sex and the City: $152M
8. Prince Caspian: $141M
9. The Incredible Hulk: $134M
10. Wanted: $133M

My Personal Top 10 List 2008

1. Wall-E
2. There Will Be Blood
3. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
4. The Three Little Pigs
5. Iron Man
6. The Island of Lost Souls
7. The Dark Knight
8. Savage Grace
9. Bottle Shock
10. Breakfast with Scot





My Top 10: In Short

1. Wall-E
An awe-inspiring, sweeping, groundbreaking, moving and virtually silent movie with an incredible lovable robot. Read my review on Wall-E here.

2. There Will Be Blood
Though a 2007 film, I saw this in January of this year. A fantastic film, with an epic scale and powerful statements about greed, possession and obsession.

3. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
It is always a thrill to see a filmmakers unabashed imagination brought to life. A colorful, comical, beautiful adventure movie.

4. The Three Little Pigs
The Canadians once again prove to be the masters of the ensemble film. Les Trois Petits Cochons is a hilarious movie about three brothers whose lives, at first, could not seem more different, then the coma of their mother brings them together as flashbacks of recent events play out for the audience in bawdy and often politically incorrect fashion.

5. Iron Man
Robert Downey Jr.'s inspired casting combined with smart writing sets a new standard for comic book adaptations. A fun afternoon at the movies.

6. The Island of Lost Souls
This movie-unsurprisingly-just got picked up for an American remake. Why must Hollywood remake anything that is not in their own language but is a perfectly good piece of art to begin with? Anyway, this is a must see movie with amazing special effects, an extraordinarily effective villain, original plot and the highest budget for a Dutch film ever.

7. The Dark Knight
For all the hype, The Dark Knight did not match, much less surpass, my expectations. A well-filmed, realistic, morality tale? More or less. Oscar-winning, best-movie-ever, amazing comic-book adaptation? Not so much. Still, an enjoyable, unique vision of Batman's world. See my review here.

8. Savage Grace
Not the easiest movie to watch, by any means, but worth watching nonetheless. Julianne Moore and co. indulge in some good ol' fashioned Oedipal complexity against pretty, vintage backdrops and a strangely emotional and engaging narrative.

9. Bottle Shock
A crowd pleaser, this movie served as the closing night feature at the Seattle International Film Festival in June. Alan Rickman often steals the show in this film filled with witty dialogue, sun-drenched landscapes, and Eliza Dushku. My account of SIFF's Opening Night festivites.

10. Breakfast with Scot
Another well-written Canadian comedy/drama. A couple is forced to reexamine their own identity as gay men as the flamboyant nephew of Alan Shenkman's character comes to live in their home.