What If? How would the class of 2008 fair.

[Shocky]

So as we all know, the movie tournament had a cut off point of 2007. Fair enough, as most would figure that movies released in 2008 would have an unfair freshness to them that might hinder the integrity of the tournament.

However, now that most of the big movies this year have stopped running in first run theaters, how would they stack up in this hypothetical world of allowing them in the tournament.

These are the movies that remain.

1. LOTR: Return of the King
17. Casino Royale

2. The Departed
14. Memento

3. Gladiator
12. Kill Bill, Vol. 2

8. The 40 Year Old Virgin
9. Little Miss Sunshine

The 3 Movies I will pick this year are Iron Man, Wall-E, and The Dark Knight.

Iron Man: Iron Man was fucking awesome. I think without question, it was the best comic movie to come out to date, and I can't htink of somethin gbeing close. Out of the movies that are left, I would make the argument that it destroys both the 40 Year Old Virgin and Little Miss Sunshine, in fact, I'm not sure how LMS is still alive in this thing. I would say that Memento gets beat by Iron Man. I think you could make an argument of being matched evenly with Kill Bill, and Casino Royale. However, I think that RotK, Gladiator (barely) and the Departed are much too much for Iron Man to Handle. So in my opinion, Iron Man would have done extremely well.

Wall-E. I think pretty much the same for Wall-E as I do Iron Man. Wall-E is the best Pixar movie to date, and I loved Toy Story. It's such a wonderful, yet damning view of the direction of our society. Chances are, you're too stupid to get the joke is about you, it's brilliant. I would say that Wall-E was better then the movies I picked Iron Man to be better then. However, I think Wall-E is better then Kill Bill and Casino Royale, and possibly better then Gladiator. I still feel that a match up with the Departed or Lord of the Rings is too much.

The Dark Knight: Now that the Dark Hype has passed us, and more then 3 months have passed since it's release, where does the Dark Knight stand in the grand picture. For me, it's clearly the best film of 2008 thus far, with only Quantum of Solace being a remote possible contender. People wanted to call this movie over hyped, it may have been, but it doesn't mean that it was one of the best movies I have ever watched. I think without question, that the Dark Knight steamrolls through the 2000's, that's how good of a movie that this was. In fact, I think that the Dark Knight is a better movie then anything that came out of the 80's, and almost the best movie to come out of the 70's. I think it runs into a big battle with some 90's movies, but that decade was absolutely stacked. The Dark Knight would and should beat any movie that the 2000's throws at it, including the Departed.

So what do you feel about the class of 2008?

 

[klunderbunker]

I saw Iron Man, and I think that it does indeed match up well with everything that you said it does. It really was an amazing movie but there were a few flaws I saw in it that I'll save for the 4 people that haven't see it yet. Wall-E I didn't see so I can't make a judgement on. Based on what I've heard though it definitely would have earned a spot in this thing and would have had a good run.

Now on to the movie that gave us more headaches than anything else, The Dark Knight. To begin with, I'll say something that I've said before and I'll stand by forever: With Ledger being alive, that movie makes three hundred million less and the hype drops dramatically. Absolutely it was a great movie and likely it was the best movie of this decade, but I draw the line on people saying its one of the best movies of all time. My issue with this movie is what, 4 months ahve passed since its release? We're comparing it to movies that are twenty and thirty years old. Those movies have stood the test of time. TDK's hype will die a few months after the dvd is released, and then we'll see where it stands in a few years. This is the reason we made the cut off when we did: People are proclaiming it as one of the greatest films of all time, and in the end it might be that way. But movies like Star Wars, The Godfather and Rocky are the best ever because its been over thirty years since their release and they're still that big. TDK could join their ranks one day, but its just too early to say for me, which is why I'm glad its not in here.

 

[jmt225]

Really, the best of 2008, outside of "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man", has yet to come. Its common knowledge that all the Oscar worthy films don't come out until November/December, so we really can't say what the best of 2008 is at this moment. Yeah, it's still going to be "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man" topping people's list in the end, but there's still some amazing shit left to see.

Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett have a film coming out called "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" where Pitt plays a guy who ages backwardly. That has the potential to be an incredible film. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet have made their first film together since "Titanic" (Kathy Bates is also in it, for that matter) called "Revolutionary Road" and that's getting a lot of Oscar talk. Nearly all of us have still yet to see "The Wrestler". I've been heavily looking forward to a movie called "500 Days of Summer" that comes out later this year. And "Milk" starring Sean Penn and Emile Hirsch has been something I've been looking forward to and that also has Oscar buzz around it.

So, yeah... "The Dark Knight" is currently my favorite film to come out this year and I highly doubt anything tops it, but you can't really give justice to movies of a particular year until that year is completely finished.

 

[Mr. TM]

I really don't know how the movies would have faired. Some may actually say The Dark Knight is in the running for the best movie of 2008, possibly of the 2000s, and even a chance at one of the best movies of the last 4 years. Iron Man is a good movie, but not the best of this year, and hardly top 32 of the 2000s. Hancock, Indiana Jones, Prince Caspian WALL-E, and Bond from this year are all good movies this year, some may crack the top 32 of the last 8 years, but none have the chance to win this decade, or the tournament. I'm sure someone will be making a "What's Better, the Winner of the Movie Tournament, Gladiator (or whatever will win the tournament), or The Dark Knight?