Best of 2008

I am doing a bit of house cleaning, archiving the lists of movies and books I saw and read in 2008. Surely I have overlooked some titles, but it appears I watched forty-six movies and read twenty books (for pleasure) last year. I only counted movies that I saw for the first time or after an extended period of time. (Otherwise, I would have to include the six or seven times I watched The Man Who Knew Too Little. Don't ask me why I love that movie, I just do.) In regards to books, I did not include reading for school or for my dissertation, lest we have a list a mile-long.

Best Movies I Watched in 2008:

1. To Kill a Mockingbird - I had never seen this movie all the way through until a few days ago. The power of the message overwhelmed me. In ninth grade English, we read the book and watched the movie. I only read the first half of the book and only saw the last half of the movie. Our essay exam was composed of a single question: "What are the differences between the book and the movie?" I told the truth and received a C+ for my honesty. It has taken me 15+ years to redeem that grade, in part. Now I just need to finish reading the book.

2. Good Will Hunting - I picked up this DVD, along with Dead Poet's Society, back in September. This was not the first time I saw this movie, but it was the first time it made me cry.

3. WALL-E - An instant classic. Pixar keeps making it hard for me to settle on a favorite.

Honorable Mentions: Twin Peaks, The Dark Knight, Carnivàle, No Country for Old Men (this should probably be in the top three).


Best Books I Read in 2008:

1. No Country for Old Men (Cormac McCarthy) - This is the year that I discovered Cormac McCarthy; rather, several friends recommended several of his books to me. I also loved the Coen Brothers movie, as noted above.

2. The Dark Tower I-VII (Stephen King) - I believe this is the third or fourth time I have read through the entire series. Wolves of the Calla stood out as a strong work this time around. If you enjoy sci fi, fantasy, horror, suspense, westerns, or any combination of these genres, then you need to read The Dark Tower series.

3. The Road (Cormac McCarthy) - This is a tender story about a father and son that survive the Apocalypse. I read it in a day or so but the impression it left on me has lasted for months.