The Most Underrated Films of 2008

by Josh Roth @ 12:02 am December 29th, 2008

2008 was a humongous year for movies. We had big superhero films like The Dark Knight and Iron Man, blockbuster comedies like Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express, animated films like Wall-E and Kung Fu Panda…and the list goes on. But those weren’t the only good films to come out this year, there were some terrific overlooked gems that I wanted to touch upon right now. Hopefully you’ll find something here you may enjoy that you missed over the past year. Most of these films are available now on DVD.

1. In Bruges

I was lucky enough to catch an early screening of In Bruges and I was amazed that so many people hadn’t heard of or seen this movie after its theatrical release. Its either a drama with dark comedy elements or a dark comedy with dramatic elements, depending on how you look at it, but its a really impressive film. The writing is snappy, and it has a killer cast. Colin Farrell is absolutley fantastic, as are Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes. Its filled with action, adventure, drunken stupors, and filming midgets. This was easily one of my favorite films of the year, and hopefully you’ll enjoy it as well.

2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

It’s not that Forgetting Sarah Marshall wasn’t well publicized, it just seems to not have been very well received by audiences. That really surprised me because its in my opinion the best of the Judd Apatow crew comedies. Jason Segel is a truly great comedy actor, and he really steals the show in this film. He brings a fresh comedy flavor to the table, he is genuinely funny and doesn’t need to rely on raunchy sex humor. I’m not afraid to admit that I am in love with Kristen Bell, ever since my recent obsession with Veronica Mars. Kristen Bell doesn’t have that big of a role, even though her characters name is in the title, but she is such a great actress that she’s the second best part of the movie.

3. The Signal

Easily one of the best horror films of the last decade, The Signal is a single film told in three parts, each made by a different directors. It premiered at Sundance in 2007, but it was released theatrically in February of this year. One of the things that makes this film so unique are the three different takes on the different parts of the same story. The film as a whole is about a static signal that makes people homicidal maniacs which is broadcast through radios, TV, and cellphones. Tonally the film ranges from straight up horror to a dark comedy. When its funny its down right hilarious, in a Shaun of the Dead kind of way, and it can get extremely gory. Its wide range and great horror elements make this an extremely original example of the usually cliched modern horror genre.

4. City of Ember

Surprisingly people seemed to have overlooked this post apocalyptic children’s adventure, guest starring Bill Murray as an evil mayor. Gil Kenan, of Monster House,  directed City of Ember had some of the best effects and production design of any films over the year. Martin Laing did the production design, and was surprisingly successful in creating a really authentic underground city dystopia. This film is full of great action, a bit of humor, and some serious sci-fi elements. At its heart it feels like a slightly ‘Disneyfied’ version of classic sci-fi like Planet of the Apes or The Omega Man. You can catch City of Ember on DVD on January 20th.

5. Diary of the Dead

Ok, so Diary of the Dead wasn’t really all that terrific, but it did succeed in reinvigorating my interest in the George A. Romero ‘of the Dead’ franchise. It took the handycam style made once again famous in Cloverfield, and applied it to Romero’s classic zombie universe. Romero is the undisputed king of zombie movies, his films like Night of the Living Dead defined the modern zombie movie. Since then he’s lost a bit of his luster, Land of the Dead was fun but not as good as his older works. Luckily the hand held style gives Diary the twist it needs to make it an original zombie flick.