Honorable Mentions:
Body of Lies, Speed Racer, Cadillac Records, The Edge of Heaven, Rachel Getting Married, Son of Rambow, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Flight of the Red Balloon, Tropic Thunder, Burn After Reading

The first documentary to ever make my list, this features some unreal footage and very entertaining characters.

Very confusing and very Norwegian... but the editing makes it something special.

The script is too Americanized to feel too authentic to the original story but the film is crafted very well and features some of the best cinematography and music of 2008.

A visual masterpiece. Tarsem Singh's imagination is a crazy place.

I'm a sucker for road trip movies anyway, but this one has a kindness about it... mostly due to a strong and sweet acting debut by Norah Jones and an impressive cast of supporters.

Perhaps the simplest movie I've seen in a long time... and it works.

A very nice surprise. While it got lost in the shadow of The Dark Knight, this is still one of the best superhero movies ever made. The story has more depth than most comic book movies and the characters are both realistic and realistically flawed.

Familiar characters and themes don't take anything away from this great film.

Clint Eastwood is two for two again in 2008. He is meticulous and it pays off. This film is strong all around the board... art direction, screenplay, music, pacing, cinematography and of course, Angelina Jolie's strong performance.

A brilliant character study with a solid ensemble cast. Don't let the subject matter keep you from paying it any attention... it's a very interesting film.

While only #15 on my list, this is one of my favorites. This draws you in to the story emotionally.

I felt cold watching this movie... it's that effective. Melissa Leo deserves an Oscar for this (and a career of unrecognized performances) and Courtney Hunt's screenplay is fantastic.

Richard Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman and Hiam Abbass are all wonderful and the film is very moving. This was an early favorite of mine and stayed with me all year. The second time I watched it, I liked it even better.

Say what you want, but Baz Luhrmann accomplished exactly what he wanted and that was to make a visually stunning, sweeping epic with a ton of romance.

Two things I love: Israel and Realism.

A hilarious and culturally-rich Israeli film with wonderful characters. This made me ache to go back to Israel even more so than I do already.

While it's not going to excite most people (especially my generation), this film is very well put together. Frank Langella is amazing as Nixon... he finds the perfect balance between the pitiful and the smarmy charismatic.

Part 1 is more interesting and has more fleshed-out supporting characters but Part 2 is more beautifully shot and features Benicio Del Toro at his best. Together, they are one heck of a four-and-a-quarter hour film.

You will most assuredly fall in love with Poppy just like everyone else does.

The best superhero movie ever made. Definitely worthy of a Best Picture Oscar nomination.

I liked Ratatouille better, but this is a wonderful film. Who would have thought that a children's film with hardly any dialogue and a story about conservation would have ever been made, yet alone made so beautifully.

This is unlike anything I've ever seen. Israel has had one heck of a year.

There is so much good I can say... but I don't feel the need to.

A fresh film from a director with a fun perspective on cinema. The screenplay (while it has maybe a bit too much profanity) is hilarious and very smart, Carter Burwell's score is terrific, Bruges is charming and all three leads are at their best.

A feel-good film and a historical film.