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: World Premieres  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.  Prodigal Sons Dir. Kimberly Reed. Documentary about trans woman and her brother A 4.  The Hurt Locker Dir. Kathryn Bigelow. With Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie A– 5.  Hunger Dir. Steve McQueen. Michael Fassbender, Brian Milligan, Liam McMahon A– 6.  Julia Dir. Erick Zonca. With Tilda Swinton, Aidan Gould, Saul Rubinek, Kate del Castillo A– 7.  Johnny Mad Dog Dir. Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire. With Christophe Minie A– 8.  Lorna's Silence Dirs. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. With Arta Dobroshi A– 9.  The Wrestler Dir. Darren Aronofsky. Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood B+ 10.  Rachel Getting Married Dir. Jonathan Demme. Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt B+ Remainder of Films Screened 35 Shots of Rum Dir. Claire Denis. With Mati Diop, Alex Descas, Nicole Dogue B+ Ballast Dir. Lance Hammer. JimMyron Ross, Micheal J. Smith Sr., Tarra Riggs 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+ Gomorrah Dir. Matteo Garrone. With Gianfelice Imparato, Salvatore Abruzzese 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+ Summer Hours Dir. Olivier Assayas. With Charles Berling, Juliette Binoche B+ WALL•E Dir. Andrew Stanton. Animated. Voices of Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight B+ Che Dir. Steven Soderbergh. Benicio Del Toro, Demián Bichir, Catalina Sandino Moreno B Chronic Town Dir. Tom Hines. JR Bourne, Emily Wagner, Dan Butler, Alice Drummond 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 Everlasting Moments Dir. Jan Troell. With Maria Heiskanen, Mikael Persbrandt B Goodbye Solo Dir. Ramin Bahrani. With Souleymane Sy Savané, Red West B Happy-Go-Lucky Dir. Mike Leigh. Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan, Alexis Zegerman B The Headless Woman Dir. Lucrecia Martel. With María Onetto, Claudia Cantero 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 Make-Out with Violence Dirs. The Deagol Brothers. With Eric Lehning, Cody DeVos B Medicine for Melancholy Dir. Barry Jenkins. With Wyatt Cenac, Tracey Heggins B Quantum of Solace Dir. Marc Forster. Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Judi Dench B Revanche Dir. Götz Spielmann. With Johannes Krisch, Irina Potapenko, Ursula Strauss B Serbis Dir. Brillante Mendoza. With Jacklyn Jose, Julio Diaz, Mercedes Cabral B Sleep Furiously Dir. Gideon Koppel. Documentary observing village life in rural Wales B Splinter Dir. Toby Wilkins. Shea Whigham, Jill Wagner, Paulo Costanzo B Stop-Loss Dir. Kimberly Peirce. Ryan Phillippe, Channing Tatum, Abbie Cornish B Sugar Dirs. Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck. With Algenis Pérez Soto, Rayniel Rufino B Treeless Mountain Dir. So Yong Kim. With Hee-yeon Kim, Song-hee Kim, Mi-hyang Kim 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 Adoration Dir. Atom Egoyan. With Devon Bostick, Scott Speedman, Arsinée Khanjian B– The Bank Job Dir. Roger Donaldson. Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Daniel Mays B– Before Tomorrow Dirs. Marie-Hélène Cousineau & Madeline Ivalu. Cast: Madeline Ivalu B– Blindness Dir. Fernando Meirelles. Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Alice Braga B– Il Divo Dir. Paolo Sorrentino. With Toni Servillo, Giulio Bosetti, Carlo Buccirossi B– Food, Inc. Dir. Robert Kenner. Documentary about corporate U.S. food production B– Frozen River Dir. Courtney Hunt. Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott B– Lake Tahoe Dir. Fernando Eimbcke. With Diego Cataño, Juan Carlos Lara II B– Lemon Tree Dir. Eran Riklis. With Hiam Abbass, Ali Suliman, Rona Lipaz-Michael B– May the Best Man Win Dir. Adam Fleischhacker. With Adam Fleischhacker B– Of Time and the City Dir. Terence Davies. Personal essay film about Liverpool B– The Reader Dir. Stephen Daldry. David Kross, Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes B– Shakespeare and Victor Hugo's Intimacies Dir. Yulene Olaizola. Documentary B– The Strangers Dir. Bryan Bertino. Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Glenn Howerton B– W. Dir. Oliver Stone. Josh Brolin, James Cromwell, Elizabeth Banks, Richard Dreyfuss B– A Woman in Berlin Dir. Max Färberböck. With Nina Hoss, Yevgeni Sidikhin B– Ask Not Dir. Johnny Symons. Documentary about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" military policy C+ Bronson Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn. With Tom Hardy, Matt King, Amanda Burton C+ 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+ Delta Dir. Kornél Mundruczó. Félix Lajkó, Orsolya Tóth, Lili Monori, Sándor Gáspár C+ Doubt Dir. John Patrick Shanley. Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams C+ Iron Man Dir. Jon Favreau. Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges C+ Jerichow Dir. Christian Petzold. With Benno Fürmann, Hilmi Sözer, Nina Hoss C+ Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Dir. Patricia Rozema. Abigail Breslin, Julia Ormond C+ Let It Rain Dir. Agnès Jaoui. With Jean-Pierre Bacri, Agnès Jaoui, Jamel Debbouze C+ Ponyo Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Animated. Voices of Frankie Jonas, Noah Cyrus, Tina Fey C+ Smart People Dir. Noam Murro. Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page C+ Three Monkeys Dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan. With Hatice Aslan, Ahmet Rifar Şungar C+ Transsiberian Dir. Brad Anderson. Emily Mortimer, Woody Harrelson, Eduardo Noriega C+ Tyson Dir. James Toback. Documentary about former heavyweight boxing champ C+ Australia Dir. Baz Luhrmann. Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Brandon Walters C The Brothers Bloom Dir. Rian Johnson. With Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz 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 A Necessary Death Dir. Daniel Stamm. G.J. Echternkamp, Matthew Tilley, Valerie Hurt C Nothing But the Truth Dir. Rod Lurie. Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Alan Alda C The Square Dir. Nash Edgerton. With David Roberts, Claire van der Boom, Anthony Hayes C Summer in Genoa [Genova] Dir. Michael Winterbottom. With Colin Firth, Willa Holland C Two Lovers Dir. James Gray. With Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw C Vicky Cristina Barcelona Dir. Woody Allen. Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson C Changeling Dir. Clint Eastwood. Angelina Jolie, Jeffrey Donovan, Michael Kelly C– Give Me Your Hand Dir. Pascal-Alex Vincent. With Alexandre Carril, Victor Carril C– Gospel Hill Dir. Giancarlo Esposito. With Taylor Kitsch, Danny Glover, Angela Bassett C– Gran Torino Dir. Clint Eastwood. Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Her C– In Bruges Dir. Martin McDonagh. Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes C– Miracle at St. Anna Dir. Spike Lee. Derek Luke, Laz Alonso, Michael Ealy C– Quid Pro Quo Dir. Carlos Brooks. Nick Stahl, Vera Farmiga, Jessica Hecht C– A Quiet Little Marriage Dir. Mo Perkins. Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Cy Carter C– Revolutionary Road Dir. Sam Mendes. Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, David Harbour C– Sex and the City Dir. Michael Patrick King. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall C– Skin Dir. Anthony Fabian. With Sophie Okonedo, Alice Krige, Sam Neill, Tony Kgoroge C– Standard Operating Procedure Dir. Errol Morris. Documentary about Abu Ghraib C– Sunshine Cleaning Dir. Christine Jeffs. With Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Jason Spevack C– Tokyo! Dirs. Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, and Bong Joon-ho. With Ayako Fujitani C– Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns Dir. Tyler Perry. Angela Bassett, Rick Fox C– American Violet Dir. Tim Disney. With Nicole Beharie, Will Patton, Alfre Woodard D+ Appaloosa Dir. Ed Harris. Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Renée Zellweger, Jeremy Irons D+ Brideshead Revisited Dir. Julian Jarrold. Matthew Goode, Hayley Atwell, Ben Whishaw D+ The Burning Plain Dir. Guillermo Arriaga. With Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lawrence 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+ Me and Orson Welles Dir. Richard Linklater. With Zac Efron, Christian McKay D+ Nights in Rodanthe Dir. George C. Wolfe. Diane Lane, Richard Gere, Mae Whitman D+ Poundcake Dir. Rafael Monserrate. Troy Hall, Jay O. Sanders, Kathleen Quinlan D+ Slumdog Millionaire Dir. Danny Boyle. Dev Patel, Madhur Mittal, Freida Pinto D+ Blind Date Dir. Stanley Tucci. With Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, Thijs Römer D Disgrace Dir. Steve Jacobs. With John Malkovich, Jessica Haines, Eriq Ebouaney D Lovely, Still Dir. Nicholas Fackler. With Martin Landau, Ellen Burstyn, Adam Scott D The Possibility of an Island Dir. Michel Houellebecq. Benoît Magimel, Patrick Bauchau 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