2008: World Premieres 2008: U.S. Releases 2008: Still Left to See 2008: Cannes Festival 2008: Chicago Festival Looking Back Moving Ahead Browse Films by Title / Year / Reviews Home / Blog / E-Mail The Movies of 2008: U.S. Releases  By Grade // By Title, with Full Reviews Top Ten List 1.  Synecdoche, New York Dir. Charlie Kaufman. Philip Seymour Hoffman A 2.  Trouble the Water Dirs. Tia Lessin, Carl Deal. Documentary about Katrina survivors A 3.  Hunger Dir. Steve McQueen. Michael Fassbender, Brian Milligan, Liam McMahon A– 4.  Up the Yangtze Dir. Yung Chang. Documentary about Three Gorges Dam project A– 5.  The Wrestler Dir. Darren Aronofsky. Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood B+ 6.  Chicago 10 Dir. Brett Morgen. Documentary about 1968 Democratic Convention protest B+ 7.  Rachel Getting Married Dir. Jonathan Demme. Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt B+ 8.  Savage Grace Dir. Tom Kalin. Julianne Moore, Eddie Redmayne, Stephen Dillane B+ 9.  The Fall Dir. Tarsem Singh. Catinca Untaru, Lee Pace, Justine Waddell, Leo Bill B+ 10.  Ballast Dir. Lance Hammer. JimMyron Ross, Michael J. Smith Sr., Tarra Riggs B+ Remainder of Films Screened Alexandra Dir. Aleksandr Sokurov. Galina Vishnevskaya, Vasily Shevtsov, Raisa Gichaeva B+ Burn After Reading Dirs. Joel and Ethan Coen. George Clooney, Frances McDormand B+ A Christmas Tale Dir. Arnaud Desplechin. Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Roussilon B+ The Class Dir. Laurent Cantet. François Bégaudeau, Rachel Régulier, Esméralda Ouertani B+ The Duchess of Langeais Dir. Jacques Rivette. Jeanne Balibar, Guillaume Depardieu B+ The Edge of Heaven Dir. Fatih Akin. Baki Davrak, Nurgül Yesilçay, Patrycia Ziolkowska B+ Flight of the Red Balloon Dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien. Juliette Binoche, Fang Song B+ Man on Wire Dir. James Marsh. Documentary about a notorious tightrope walker B+ Milk Dir. Gus Van Sant. Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, James Franco, Diego Luna B+ Still Life Dir. Jia Zhang-ke. Han Sanming, Zhao Tao, Li Zhubin, Wang Hongwei B+ Taxi to the Dark Side Dir. Alex Gibney. Documentary about post-9/11 torture practices B+ WALL•E Dir. Andrew Stanton. Animated. Voices of Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight B+ Yella Dir. Christian Petzold. Nina Hoss, Devid Striesow, Hinnerk Schönemann B+ Boarding Gate Dir. Olivier Assayas. Asia Argento, Michael Madsen, Carl Ng, Kelly Lin B Che Dir. Steven Soderbergh. Benicio Del Toro, Demián Bichir, Catalina Sandino Moreno B The Counterfeiters Dir. Stefan Ruzowitzky. Karl Markovics, August Diehl B The Dark Knight Dir. Christopher Nolan. Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart B Elegy Dir. Isabel Coixet. Ben Kingsley, Penélope Cruz, Dennis Hopper, Peter Sarsgaard B Happy-Go-Lucky Dir. Mike Leigh. Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan, Alexis Zegerman B Last Chance Harvey Dir. Joel Hopkins. Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson B Let the Right One In Dir. Tomas Alfredson. Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson B Married Life Dir. Ira Sachs. Chris Cooper, Pierce Brosnan, Patricia Clarkson B Mister Foe Dir. David Mackenzie. Jamie Bell, Sophia Myles, Claire Forlani B Quantum of Solace Dir. Marc Forster. Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Judi Dench B Snow Angels Dir. David Gordon Green. Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell B Splinter Dir. Toby Wilkins. Shea Whigham, Jill Wagner, Paulo Costanzo B Stop-Loss Dir. Kimberly Peirce. Ryan Phillippe, Channing Tatum, Abbie Cornish B Surfwise Dir. Doug Pray. Documentary about a surfer, his wife, and their nine children B Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys Dir. Tyler Perry. Alfre Woodard, Kathy Bates B Waltz with Bashir Dir. Ari Folman. Animated. Voices of Ari Folman, Mickey Leon B Wendy and Lucy Dir. Kelly Reichardt. Michelle Williams, Walter Dalton, Will Patton B Young@Heart Dir. Stephen Walker. Documentary about a senior citizens' chorus B The Band's Visit Dir. Eran Kolirin. Sasson Gabai, Ronit Elkabetz, Saleh Bakri B– The Bank Job Dir. Roger Donaldson. Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Daniel Mays B– Blindness Dir. Fernando Meirelles. Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Alice Braga B– Frozen River Dir. Courtney Hunt. Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott B– Jellyfish Dirs. Etgar Keret, Shira Geffen. Sarah Adler, Nikol Leidman, Noa Knoller B– Kabluey Dir. Scott Prendergast. Scott Prendergast, Lisa Kudrow, Conchata Ferrell B– My Brother Is an Only Child Dir. Daniele Luchetti. Elio Germano, Riccardo Scamarcio B– Paranoid Park Dir. Gus Van Sant. Gabe Nevins, Taylor Momsen, Lauren McKinney B– The Reader Dir. Stephen Daldry. David Kross, Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes B– The Strangers Dir. Bryan Bertino. Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Glenn Howerton B– Teeth Dir. Mitchell Lichtenstein. Jess Weixler, Hale Appleman, John Hensley B– Then She Found Me Dir. Helen Hunt. Helen Hunt, Colin Firth, Matthew Broderick B– Turn the River Dir. Chris Eigeman. Famke Janssen, Jaymie Dornan, Rip Torn, Matt Ross B– The Visitor Dir. Tom McCarthy. Richard Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman, Hiam Abbass B– W. Dir. Oliver Stone. Josh Brolin, James Cromwell, Elizabeth Banks, Richard Dreyfuss B– XXY Dir. Lucía Puenzo. Inés Efron, Ricardo Darín, Martín Piroyansky B– Cadillac Records Dir. Darnell Martin. Jeffrey Wright, Adrien Brody, Columbus Short C+ Cloverfield Dir. Matt Reeves. Michael Stahl-David, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller C+ Doubt Dir. John Patrick Shanley. Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams C+ In the City of Sylvia Dir. José Luis Guerín. Xavier Lafitte, Pilar López de Ayala C+ Iron Man Dir. Jon Favreau. Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges C+ Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Dir. Patricia Rozema. Abigail Breslin, Julia Ormond C+ Never Forever Dir. Gina Kim. Vera Farmiga, David Lee McInnis, Ha Jung-woo C+ Reprise Dir. Joachim Trier. Espen Klouman-Høiner, Anders Danielsen Lie, Viktoria Winge C+ Smart People Dir. Noam Murro. Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page C+ Summer Palace Dir. Lou Ye. Hao Lei, Guo Xiaodong, Bai Xueyen, Hu Ling C+ Transsiberian Dir. Brad Anderson. Emily Mortimer, Woody Harrelson, Eduardo Noriega C+ Water Lilies Dir. Céline Sciamma. Pauline Acquart, Adèle Haenel, Louise Blachère C+ The Witnesses Dir. André Téchiné. Johan Libéreau, Emmanuelle Béart, Sami Bouajila C+ Australia Dir. Baz Luhrmann. Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Brandon Walters C The Duchess Dir. Saul Dibb. Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Hayley Atwell C Encounters at the End of the World Dir. Werner Herzog. Documentary C Frost/Nixon Dir. Ron Howard. Michael Sheen, Frank Langella, Sam Rockwell C How She Move Dir. Ian Iqbal Rashid. Rutina Wesley, Dwain Murphy, Tre Armstrong C Mongol Dir. Sergei Bodrov. Tadanobu Asano, Sun Hong Ley, Ba Sen, Amadu Mamadakov C Nothing But the Truth Dir. Rod Lurie. Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Alan Alda C The Signal Dirs. David Bruckner, Jacob Gentry, Dan Bush. Anessa Ramsey C Stuck Dir. Stuart Gordon. Mena Suvari, Stephen Rea, Russell Hornsby, Rukiya Bernard C Take Dir. Charles Oliver. Minnie Driver, Jeremy Renner, Bobby Coleman, David Denman C Tell No One Dir. Guillaume Canet. François Cluzet, Marie-Josée Croze C Vicky Cristina Barcelona Dir. Woody Allen. Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson C Changeling Dir. Clint Eastwood. Angelina Jolie, Jeffrey Donovan, Michael Kelly C– Gran Torino Dir. Clint Eastwood. Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Her C– House of the Sleeping Beauties Dir. Vadim Glowna. Vadim Glowna, Angela Winkler C– In Bruges Dir. Martin McDonagh. Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes C– The Last Mistress Dir. Catherine Breillat. Asia Argento, Fu'ad Ait Aattou C– Miracle at St. Anna Dir. Spike Lee. Derek Luke, Laz Alonso, Michael Ealy C– My Blueberry Nights Dir. Wong Kar-wai. Norah Jones, Jude Law, David Strathairn C– OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies Dir. Michel Hazanavicius. Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo C– Quid Pro Quo Dir. Carlos Brooks. Nick Stahl, Vera Farmiga, Jessica Hecht C– Revolutionary Road Dir. Sam Mendes. Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, David Harbour C– Rogue Dir. Greg McLean. Michael Vartan, Radha Mitchell, Sam Worthington C– Save Me Dir. Robert Cary. Chad Allen, Robert Gant, Judith Light, Stephen Lang C– Sex and the City Dir. Michael Patrick King. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall C– Standard Operating Procedure Dir. Errol Morris. Documentary about Abu Ghraib C– Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns Dir. Tyler Perry. Angela Bassett, Rick Fox C– Appaloosa Dir. Ed Harris. Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Renée Zellweger, Jeremy Irons D+ Beaufort Dir. Joseph Cedar. Oshri Cohen, Eli Eltonyo, Ohad Knoller, Itay Kiran D+ Brideshead Revisited Dir. Julian Jarrold. Matthew Goode, Hayley Atwell, Ben Whishaw D+ Expired Dir. Cecilia Miniucchi. Samantha Morton, Jason Patric, Teri Garr D+ A Girl Cut in Two Dir. Claude Chabrol. Ludivine Sagnier, François Berléand D+ Irina Palm Dir. Sam Garbarski. Marianne Faithfull, Miki Manojlovic, Kevin Bishop D+ I've Loved You So Long Dir. Philippe Claudel. Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein D+ Mamma Mia! Dir. Phyllida Lloyd. Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan D+ Men in the Nude Dir. Károly Esztergályos. Lászlo Gálffi, Dávid Szabó, Éva Kerekes D+ Nights in Rodanthe Dir. George C. Wolfe. Diane Lane, Richard Gere, Mae Whitman D+ Slumdog Millionaire Dir. Danny Boyle. Dev Patel, Madhur Mittal, Freida Pinto D+ Diary of the Dead Dir. George A. Romero. Michelle Morgan, Josh Close, Shawn Roberts D Tropic Thunder Dir. Ben Stiller. Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Nick Nolte D The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Dir. David Fincher. Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett D– Hamlet 2 Dir. Andrew Fleming. Steve Coogan, Skylar Astin, Phoebe Strole D– Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Dir. Steven Spielberg D– The Day the Earth Stood Still Dir. Scott Derrickson. Jennifer Connelly, Keanu Reeves F