Best Movies Watched in 2008

(This is my eighth such list. I have done this for my movie viewing in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007.)

I watched 19 movies in 2008. My favorite movie from this list was WALL-E, the Pixar animated movie starring a wistful lovestruck robot. It's wondrous! It's a classic "boy meets girl" story, but the settings and the back-story and all the gritty then gleaming images were dazzling.

My second favorite was The Contender, a political thriller that harks the feel of "All the President's Men". This is an adult movie, in every sense of the word, full of super performances starting with Joan Allen, a strong senator fighting for her nomination for the vice presidency.

• Best DVD Commentary: Panic Room (out of the three, the one with the special guest screenwriter)
• Favorite Male Acting: Sam Elliott (The Contender)
• Favorite Female Acting: Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain)
• Finally Glad I Watched: Brokeback Mountain, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas