Milk – Rachel Getting Married – Trouble the Water – The Dark Knight – A Christmas Tale – The Fall – WALL•E

2008: World Premieres
2008: U.S. Releases
2008: Cannes Festival
2008: Chicago Festival
2008: Still Left to See

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The Movies of 2008: World Premieres
 By Title // By Grade // By VOR // Last update: October 5, 2025

Top Ten List

1. Synecdoche, New York Dir. Charlie Kaufman. Philip Seymour Hoffman A
2. Trouble the Water Dir. Tia Lessin, Carl Deal. Documentary about Katrina A
3. Prodigal Sons Dir. Kimberly Reed. Documentary about gender and family A
4. Hunger Dir. Steve McQueen. Michael Fassbender, Brian Milligan, Liam McMahon A–
5. The Hurt Locker Dir. Kathryn Bigelow. Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie A–
6. Julia Dir. Erick Zonca. Tilda Swinton, Aidan Gould, Saul Rubinek, Kate del Castillo A–
7. Johnny Mad Dog Dir. Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire. Christophe Minie A–
8. Lorna's Silence Dir. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. Arta Dobroshi A–
9. The Wrestler Dir. Darren Aronofsky. Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei B+
10. Rachel Getting Married Dir. Jonathan Demme. Anne Hathaway B+


Full Listing of Films Screened
= Full Review   /   = Capsule   /   = Feature or Blog Post   /   = Grain of Salt

Prodigal Sons Dir. Kimberly Reed. Documentary about gender and family A
 Synecdoche, New York Dir. Charlie Kaufman. Philip Seymour Hoffman A
 Synecdoche, New York Dir. Charlie Kaufman. Philip Seymour Hoffman A
Trouble the Water Dir. Tia Lessin, Carl Deal. Documentary about Katrina A

 Hunger Dir. Steve McQueen. Michael Fassbender, Brian Milligan, Liam McMahon A–
The Hurt Locker Dir. Kathryn Bigelow. Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie A–
Johnny Mad Dog Dir. Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire. Christophe Minie A–
 Julia Dir. Erick Zonca. Tilda Swinton, Aidan Gould, Saul Rubinek, Kate del Castillo A–
 Julia Dir. Erick Zonca. Tilda Swinton, Aidan Gould, Saul Rubinek, Kate del Castillo A–
Lorna's Silence Dir. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. Arta Dobroshi A–

35 Shots of Rum Dir. Claire Denis. Mati Diop, Alex Descas, Nicole Dogue B+
 Ballast Dir. Lance Hammer. JimMyron Ross, Micheal J. Smith Sr., Tarra Riggs B+
Burn After Reading Dir. Joel and Ethan Coen. George Clooney B+
A Christmas Tale Dir. Arnaud Desplechin. Catherine Deneuve B+
The Class Dir. Laurent Cantet. François Bégaudeau, Rachel Régulier B+
Gomorrah Dir. Matteo Garrone. 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 B+
Rachel Getting Married Dir. Jonathan Demme. Anne Hathaway B+
Summer Hours Dir. Olivier Assayas. Charles Berling, Juliette Binoche B+
WALL•E Dir. Andrew Stanton. Animated. Voices of Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight B+
The Wrestler Dir. Darren Aronofsky. Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei B+

Che Dir. Steven Soderbergh. Benicio Del Toro, Demián Bichir B
Chronic Town Dir. Tom Hines. JR Bourne, Emily Wagner, Dan Butler B
The Dark Knight Dir. Christopher Nolan. Christian Bale, Heath Ledger B
Elegy Dir. Isabel Coixet. Ben Kingsley, Penélope Cruz, Dennis Hopper B
Everlasting Moments Dir. Jan Troell. Maria Heiskanen, Mikael Persbrandt B
Goodbye Solo Dir. Ramin Bahrani. 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. María Onetto, Claudia Cantero B
 Home Dir. Ursula Meier. Isabelle Huppert, Olivier Gourmet, Kacey Mottet Klein 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 Dir. The Deagol Brothers. Eric Lehning, Cody DeVos B
Medicine for Melancholy Dir. Barry Jenkins. Wyatt Cenac, Tracey Heggins B
 Quantum of Solace Dir. Marc Forster. Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Judi Dench B
Recount Dir. Jay Roach. TV Movie. Kevin Spacey, Tom Wilkinson, Bob Balaban B
Revanche Dir. Götz Spielmann. Johannes Krisch, Irina Potapenko, Ursula Strauss B
Serbis Dir. Brillante Mendoza. Jacklyn Jose, Julio Diaz, Mercedes Cabral B
Sleep Furiously Dir. Gideon Koppel. Documentary about Welsh village life 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 Dir. Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck. Algenis Pérez Soto, Rayniel Rufino B
Treeless Mountain Dir. So Yong Kim. 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 B

 Adoration Dir. Atom Egoyan. Devon Bostick, Scott Speedman, Arsinée Khanjian B–
 Ashkan, the Charmed Ring, and Other Stories Dir. Shahram Mokri B–
The Bank Job Dir. Roger Donaldson. Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows B–
Before Tomorrow Dir. Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Madeline Ivalu. Madeline Ivalu B–
Blindness Dir. Fernando Meirelles. Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Alice Braga B–
Il Divo Dir. Paolo Sorrentino. Toni Servillo, Giulio Bosetti, Carlo Buccirossi B–
Food, Inc. Dir. Robert Kenner. Documentary about U.S. food production B–
Frozen River Dir. Courtney Hunt. Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott B–
Lake Tahoe Dir. Fernando Eimbcke. Diego Cataño, Juan Carlos Lara II B–
Lemon Tree Dir. Eran Riklis. Hiam Abbass, Ali Suliman, Rona Lipaz-Michael B–
May the Best Man Win Dir. Adam Fleischhacker. 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 B–
A Woman in Berlin Dir. Max Färberböck. Nina Hoss, Yevgeni Sidikhin B–

Ask Not Dir. Johnny Symons. Documentary about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy C+
Bronson Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn. Tom Hardy, Matt King, Amanda Burton C+
Cadillac Records Dir. Darnell Martin. Jeffrey Wright, Adrien Brody C+
Cloverfield Dir. Matt Reeves. Michael Stahl-David, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller C+
 Delta Dir. Kornél Mundruczó. Félix Lajkó, Orsolya Tóth, Lili Monori C+
Doubt Dir. John Patrick Shanley. Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman C+
Iron Man Dir. Jon Favreau. Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges C+
Jerichow Dir. Christian Petzold. Benno Fürmann, Hilmi Sözer, Nina Hoss C+
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Dir. Patricia Rozema. Abigail Breslin C+
 Let It Rain Dir. Agnès Jaoui. Jean-Pierre Bacri, Agnès Jaoui, Jamel Debbouze C+
Ponyo Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Animated. Voices of Frankie Jonas, Noah Cyrus C+
 Smart People Dir. Noam Murro. Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page C+
Speed Racer Dir. Lana and Lilly Wachowski. Emile Hirsch, John Goodman C+
 Three Monkeys Dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Hatice Aslan, Ahmet Rifar Şungar C+
Transsiberian Dir. Brad Anderson. Emily Mortimer, Woody Harrelson 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. 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 C
Nothing But the Truth Dir. Rod Lurie. Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Alan Alda C
 The Square Dir. Nash Edgerton. David Roberts, Claire van der Boom C
 Summer in Genoa [Genova] Dir. Michael Winterbottom. Colin Firth C
 Two Lovers Dir. James Gray. 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. Alexandre Carril, Victor Carril C–
Gospel Hill Dir. Giancarlo Esposito. Taylor Kitsch, Danny Glover, Angela Bassett C–
Gran Torino Dir. Clint Eastwood. Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Her 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 C–
Sex and the City Dir. Michael Patrick King. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall C–
Skin Dir. Anthony Fabian. Sophie Okonedo, Alice Krige, Sam Neill, Tony Kgoroge C–
Standard Operating Procedure Dir. Errol Morris. Documentary C–
Sunshine Cleaning Dir. Christine Jeffs. Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Jason Spevack C–
Tokyo! Dir. Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, and Bong Joon-ho. Ayako Fujitani C–
 Twilight Dir. Catherine Hardwicke. Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke C–
Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns Dir. Tyler Perry. Angela Bassett, Rick Fox C–

American Violet Dir. Tim Disney. Nicole Beharie, Will Patton, Alfre Woodard D+
Appaloosa Dir. Ed Harris. Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Renée Zellweger D+
Brideshead Revisited Dir. Julian Jarrold. Matthew Goode, Hayley Atwell D+
The Burning Plain Dir. Guillermo Arriaga. Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lawrence D+
 I've Loved You So Long Dir. Philippe Claudel. Kristin Scott Thomas D+
 Mamma Mia! Dir. Phyllida Lloyd. Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan D+
Me and Orson Welles Dir. Richard Linklater. Zac Efron, Christian McKay D+
Nights in Rodanthe Dir. George C. Wolfe. Diane Lane, Richard Gere D+
The Poker House Dir. Lori Petty. Jennifer Lawrence, Sophi Bairley 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. Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, Thijs Römer D
Disgrace Dir. Steve Jacobs. John Malkovich, Jessica Haines, Eriq Ebouaney D
 Lovely, Still Dir. Nicholas Fackler. Martin Landau, Ellen Burstyn, Adam Scott D
 The Possibility of an Island Dir. Michel Houellebecq. Benoît Magimel D
 Tropic Thunder Dir. Ben Stiller. Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black D

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Dir. David Fincher. Brad Pitt 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 F