Best films of 2008
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- DirectorMike LeighStarsSally HawkinsAlexis ZegermanSamuel RoukinA look at a few chapters in the life of Poppy, a cheery, colorful, North London schoolteacher whose optimism tends to exasperate those around her.
- DirectorSam MendesStarsLeonardo DiCaprioKate WinsletChristopher FitzgeraldA young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children.
- DirectorChristophe Van RompaeyStarsBarbara SarafianJurgen DelnaetJohan HeldenberghMatty, a 41-year old mother of three with a husband in his midlife-crisis, meets 29-year old Johnny, a truck driver, who takes an interest in her.
- DirectorPhilippe ClaudelStarsKristin Scott ThomasElsa ZylbersteinSerge HazanaviciusA woman struggles to interact with her family and find her place in society after spending fifteen years in prison.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsSean PennJosh BrolinEmile HirschThe story of American gay activist Harvey Milk, who fought for gay rights and was elected as California's first openly gay official.
- DirectorMichel GondryStarsJack BlackYasiin BeyDanny GloverTwo bumbling store clerks inadvertently erase the footage from all of the tapes in their video rental store. In order to keep the business running, they re-shoot every film in the store with their own camera, with a budget of zero dollars.
- DirectorErik PoppeStarsPål Sverre HagenTrine DyrholmEllen Dorrit PetersenA man convicted in his teens for killing a child is released on parole. He struggles to build a new life, but his past is uncovered.
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsBrad PittFrances McDormandGeorge ClooneyA disk containing mysterious information from a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous and daft gym employees who attempt to sell it.
- DirectorJohn Patrick ShanleyStarsMeryl StreepPhilip Seymour HoffmanAmy AdamsA Catholic school principal questions a priest's ambiguous relationship with a troubled young student.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsAngelina JolieColm FeoreAmy RyanAfter Christine's son goes missing, she reaches out to the LAPD to find him. But when they try to pass off an impostor as her son to quieten public protests, she refuses to accept him or give up hope.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsMickey RourkeMarisa TomeiEvan Rachel WoodA faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.
- DirectorDoris DörrieStarsElmar WepperHannelore ElsnerAya IrizukiAfter Rudi's wife Trudi suddenly dies, he travels to Japan to fulfill her dream of being a Butoh dancer.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleHeath LedgerAaron EckhartWhen the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.
- DirectorUli EdelStarsMartina GedeckMoritz BleibtreuJohanna WokalekA look at Germany's terrorist group, The Red Army Faction (RAF), which organized bombings, robberies, kidnappings, and assassinations in the late 1960s and '70s.
- DirectorDanny BoyleLoveleen TandanStarsDev PatelFreida PintoSaurabh ShuklaA teenager from the slums of Mumbai becomes a contestant on the show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati?' When interrogated under suspicion of cheating, he revisits his past, revealing how he had all the answers.
- DirectorJames MarshStarsPhilippe PetitJean François HeckelJean-Louis BlondeauA look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974, what some consider, "the artistic crime of the century".
- DirectorPierre MorelStarsLiam NeesonMaggie GraceFamke JanssenA retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris.
- DirectorJustin ChadwickStarsNatalie PortmanScarlett JohanssonEric BanaTwo sisters contend for the affection of King Henry VIII.
- DirectorSaul DibbStarsKeira KnightleyRalph FiennesDominic CooperA chronicle of the life of 18th-century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was revered for her extravagant political and personal life.
- DirectorDana Heinz PerryStarsEvan Scott PerryDana Heinz PerryHart PerryFilmmaker Dana Perry documents the life of her son, Evan, a 15-year-old who committed suicide.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsNicole KidmanHugh JackmanShea AdamsIn 1939, an Englishwoman inherits a sprawling ranch in northern Australia and reluctantly makes a pact with a stockman to drive 2000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape.
- DirectorJean-François RichetStarsVincent CasselCécile de FranceGérard DepardieuThe story of the notorious French gangster Jacques Mesrine, with the focus on his life before the early 1970s and the events that led to him being declared Public Enemy No. 1 in France.
- DirectorJean-François RichetStarsVincent CasselLudivine SagnierMathieu AmalricThe story of the notorious French gangster Jacques Mesrine, with the focus on his life and death as France's Public Enemy No. 1 in the 1970s.
- DirectorMatteo GarroneStarsGianfelice ImparatoSalvatore AbbruzzeseToni ServilloScampia Vele is the Corbusian architecture which has become a stronghold for Mafia of Naples, Italy.
- DirectorChristine JeffsStarsAmy AdamsEmily BluntAlan ArkinIn order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school, a mom starts an unusual business -- a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service -- with her unreliable sister.
- DirectorElissa DownStarsRhys WakefieldLuke FordToni ColletteAll Thomas wants is a normal adolescence but his autistic brother, Charlie, thwarts his every opportunity. Will Thomas, with the help of his girlfriend, Jackie, accept his brother?
- DirectorCharlie KaufmanStarsPhilip Seymour HoffmanSamantha MortonMichelle WilliamsA theatre director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he creates a life-size replica of New York City inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
- DirectorLaurent CantetStarsFrançois BégaudeauAgame Malembo-EmeneAngélica SancioTeacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsRebecca HallScarlett JohanssonJavier BardemTwo friends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.
- DirectorErik Van LooyStarsKoen De BouwFilip PeetersMatthias SchoenaertsFive close friends, all of them married, share a loft to meet their mistresses. One day they find the body of a young woman in the loft. Since there are only five keys to the loft, the five men begin to suspect each other of murder.
- DirectorStephen DaldryStarsKate WinsletRalph FiennesBruno GanzPost-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial.
- DirectorMartin McDonaghStarsColin FarrellBrendan GleesonCiarán HindsAfter a job gone wrong, hitman Ray and his partner await orders from their ruthless boss in Bruges, Belgium, the last place in the world Ray wants to be.
- DirectorKurt KuenneStarsKurt KuenneAndrew BagbyDavid BagbyA filmmaker decides to memorialize a murdered friend when his friend's ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son.
- DirectorPieter KuijpersStarsTheo MaassenLisa SmitBob SchwarzeA man convicted of killing his own father and sister escapes from a criminal hospital to track down his mother and prove his innocence.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsAnne HathawayRosemarie DeWittDebra WingerA young woman who has been in and out of rehab for the past ten years returns home for the weekend for her sister's wedding.
- DirectorDennis LeeStarsRyan ReynoldsWillem DafoeEmily WatsonThe Taylor family is devastated by an accident that takes place on the day their matriarch is due to graduate from college -- decades after leaving to raise her children.
- DirectorFernando MeirellesStarsJulianne MooreMark RuffaloGael García BernalA city is ravaged by an epidemic of instant white blindness.
- DirectorAdam BrooksStarsRyan ReynoldsRachel WeiszAbigail BreslinA political consultant tries to explain his impending divorce and past relationships to his 11-year-old daughter.
- DirectorPhyllida LloydStarsMeryl StreepPierce BrosnanAmanda SeyfriedThe story of a bride-to-be trying to find her real father told using hit songs by the popular 1970s group ABBA.
- DirectorMichiel van ErpHow do people spend their time during the daily traffic jams? Standing still in a traffic jam seems an aimless occupation, but there appears to be little resistance against daily driving on Holland's congested freeways. Director Michiel van Erp created a portrait of a variety of Dutch people who live and work in their car. The drivers are portrayed among a cacophony of honking and waiting motorists, far away from their destination, with plenty of time to reflect on their personal lives and works. Are they still on the right track? Stuck offers a moving and revealing insight into the mindset of Dutch men and women from all walks of life. Career coach Titia looks back on her failed relationship with a Senegalese man and clairvoyant Tino Fiorelli contemplates how to deal with his wife's illness. The chauffeur of Alexander Rinnooy Kan-the Dutch Government's top economic advisor-philosophizes on a solution for the traffic jam problem, and Turkish satellite dish installer Ziggy Kayabasi fantasizes about returning to his home town Istanbul. Free of spouses, colleagues and employers, the private world of the personal car seems ideal for inner thoughts and self-counseling. Stuck is a poetic film that provides a unique reflection on a country and its mobile inhabitants.
- DirectorJennifer LynchStarsJulia OrmondBill PullmanPell JamesTwo FBI agents attempt to clarify the murders occurring in a desolate region. They approach the witnesses of the latest incident with the help of the local police. All of them hide something and all have wildly different stories to tell.
- DirectorRobert Jan WestdijkStarsSallie HarmsenRamsey NasrLoek PetersIn his new film a young director puts his girlfriend through a love test. By doing so he risks his real life relationship with her.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsBrad PittCate BlanchettTilda SwintonTells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with consequences.
- DirectorIsabel CoixetStarsBen KingsleyPenélope CruzPatricia ClarksonCultural critic David Kepesh finds his life, which he indicates is a state of "emancipated manhood," thrown into tragic disarray by Consuela Castillo, a well-mannered student who awakens a sense of sexual possessiveness in her teacher.
- DirectorKaren SoetersGertjan ZwanikkenStarsPamela AndersonElaine HendrixBill MaherMeat the Truth draws attention to intensive livestock production by demonstrating that livestock farming generates more greenhouse gas emissions worldwide than all cars, lorries, trains, boats and planes added together.
- DirectorPeter SollettStarsMichael CeraKat DenningsAaron YooTwo newly acquainted music-lovers spend the night scouting the streets of New York City in search of their favourite band's surprise secret show. All the while, they're both being chased after by their tempting but devious exes.
- DirectorGuy RitchieStarsGerard ButlerTom WilkinsonIdris ElbaWhen a Russian mobster orchestrates a crooked land deal, millions of dollars are up for grabs, drawing in the entire London underworld into a feeding frenzy at a time when the old criminal regime is losing turf to a wealthy foreign mob.
- DirectorBen SombogaartStarsKarina SmuldersAnna DrijverElise SchaapA romantic drama that charts the lives of three women from different backgrounds, forever changed when they emigrate to New Zealand as war brides.
- DirectorKevin SmithStarsSeth RogenElizabeth BanksCraig RobinsonLifelong platonic friends Zack and Miri look to solve their respective cash-flow problems by making an adult film together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought.
- DirectorFroukje TanStarsJeroen van KoningsbruggeLotte VerbeekNettie BlankenDexter's controlled life gets thrown into confusion when a girl appears on his work that looks exactly like his girlfriend Stella. At home his beloved Stella doesn't understand what's going on and she starts questioning their relationship. Dexter's life deteriorates furthermore: traffic bills keep coming in, he is banned from his trusted working place, Stella breaks up with him, and his boss sends him on an immediate leave. When Dexter has crashed several cars, he is arrested by the police and taken to hospital. There he is told that a stroke has caused him a brain damage in his right hemisphere. Consequently he doesn't see left anymore and his sense of reality has been affected: he sees the same people everywhere. Dexter has to learn to live in a world wherein people look alike. Initially he reacts rather indifferent. Then, in the hospital he meets another girl who looks like Stella. She is of little words and has a minimal appetite. As she has to regain her taste for life, Dexter has to discover that from all Stella's, there's only one he really cares about. LEFT is a tragicomedy wherein Dexter is forced to look into his other side. The film treats this subject subtly and considerate: everything gets twisted a little bit, but never falls apart completely.
- DirectorPeyton ReedStarsJim CarreyZooey DeschanelBradley CooperA man challenges himself to say "yes" to everything.
- DirectorAnne FletcherStarsKatherine HeiglJames MarsdenMalin AkermanAfter serving as a bridesmaid 27 times, a young woman wrestles with the idea of standing by her sister's side as her sibling marries the man she's secretly in love with.
- DirectorDavid WainStarsPaul RuddSeann William ScottElizabeth BanksWild behavior forces a pair of energy drink reps to enroll in a Big Brother program.
- DirectorMijke de JongStarsIan BokMaryous GabrielseFred GoessensSome people find her removed from reality. Her older sister Katia even thinks she's stupid. But this is only a first impression, perhaps the result of her subconscious desire to remain a child. Or perhaps, her strange behavior is a defense against the uninspiring life she leads, a cruel existence shared with her sister and mother. Having emigrated from Russia some years previously, her mother tries to build up a life in Amsterdam and is drawn into the world of prostitution. Slowly, oldest daughter Katia follows her mother into the same obscure world. Our heroine, Katia's Sister, adores her older beautiful sister Katia, but she is getting more and more lonely, having nobody to share her feelings with. Although her surroundings are harsh, she does not judge. She continues to see the world in an unconditional and even loving manner. Despite her non-judgmental attitude, she becomes increasingly isolated, creating her own protective universe in which she sacrifices a lot, even her own name, referring to herself only as "Katia's Sister."
- DirectorMenna Laura MeijerOn November 17, 2003, Maja Bradaric was strangled by three of her friends. She was just 16. Maja's intimates ask themselves why none of them saw it coming.
- DirectorRobert B. WeideStarsSimon PeggKirsten DunstMegan FoxA British writer struggles to fit in at a high-profile magazine in New York City.
- DirectorNicholas StollerStarsKristen BellJason SegelPaul RuddDevastated Peter takes a Hawaiian vacation in order to deal with the recent break-up with his TV star girlfriend, Sarah. Little does he know, Sarah's traveling to the same resort as her ex - and she's bringing along her new boyfriend.
- DirectorPeter CattaneoStarsRainn WilsonJosh GadChristina ApplegateIn the 1980s, a drummer is abandoned by his band just before they become rock superstars. Twenty years later, the drummer sees his second chance at stardom arise when he is asked to perform with his teenage nephew's high school rock band.
- DirectorMatt AseltonStarsPaul DanoZooey DeschanelJohn GoodmanA mattress salesman's plan to adopt a Chinese baby is augmented by the arrival of a young woman who comes to his workplace, falls asleep on one of the beds, and upon waking starts to affect his life.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsZac EfronClaire DanesChristian McKayIn 1937, a teenager is cast in the Mercury Theatre production of "Julius Caesar", directed by a young Orson Welles.
- DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsMark WahlbergZooey DeschanelJohn LeguizamoA science teacher, his wife, and a young girl struggle to survive a plague that causes those infected to commit suicide.
- DirectorRodrigo GarcíaStarsAnne HathawayPatrick WilsonDavid MorseA grief counselor working with a group of plane-crash survivors finds herself at the root of a mystery when her clients begin to disappear.
- DirectorTimur BekmambetovStarsAngelina JolieJames McAvoyMorgan FreemanA frustrated office worker discovers that he is the son of a professional assassin, and that he shares his father's superhuman killing abilities.