Midyear report card: The 10 (well, actually 11) best movies of 2008 (at least so far)

I thought about not doing this because I wasn't sure I'd be able to get to 10 movies I at least mildly liked this year - especially given just how rotten the year started out - but I ended up getting to 14 that were in the running. (UPDATE: I somehow left off Iron Man, which an alert reader brought to my attention, hence the reason this list now goes to 11!)

The biggest surprise was that "Wall-E" didn't end up at or even that near the top, but rest assured that that doesn't mean I love it almost unconditionally. And, yes, the No. 1 spot is held by the movie I've seen most recently, but if you've seen it I'm almost certain you'll agree with me.

So, with only the further proviso that I certainly haven't come close to seeing all the movies that have been released so far this year, here goes:

10. "Hellboy II: The Golden Army"
Just a fun ride from the start, I consider this really to be pulp movie-making, if there is such a thing. Guillermo del Toro clearly just threw at us as many of the magical things he could think of and cooked up a wild story for them, making for a flick almost as good as the original.

9. "Cloverfield"
I almost avoided this one completely because I was so afraid of a "Blair Witch"-style hoax, but I was thankfully wrong (which does seem to happen from time to time.) With a surprisingly steady camera, it really is Godzilla-meets-Youtube, and even though that sounds awful on paper it somehow just works.

8. "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian"
People will surely scoff at me for including this one over, say, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," but I just have a soft spot for the Narnia tales and this one just improves on "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" in almost every facet. The dialogue is smart and funny, and the final battle - while ultimately enough to numb your senses - is just a blast.

7. "Be Kind Rewind"
I wanted to put Michel Gondry's goofy little flick higher on the list, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. If you missed it, you can see it on DVD now, and I think you'll enjoy this silly movie that's all about the love of movies.

6. "The Bank Job"
For once, a heist movie that's at least as much about the characters and the caper as it is the gadgets. This "true" story just keeps getting wilder as it unfolds, and if you like heist flicks, I recommend this one very highly.

5a. "Iron Man"
I don't know how in the world I managed to leave this one off when I first compiled this list, other than that I do it when I first wake up in the morning. Although I loved what Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. did with Iron Man, I'm even more amped to see what happens when the great Terrence Howard dons his own metal suit and Samuel L. Jackson gets in on the action next time.

5. "Wall-E"
Like I said at the outset, I'm surprised this one ended up so low on this list, but looking back it's just been a stronger year thus far for flicks than I thought. Pure magic in its first half hour dedicated to silent robot love, it loses its way just a bit in the middle but still manages to be another Pixar winner (I'd rank it third behind "Ratatouille" and "The Incredibles," respectively, but then I guess I'm just a Brad Bird partisan.)

4. "Son of Rambow"
I really thought this might catch on as the little indie hit of the summer, but it never quite got there. As the titles implies, this is just a smart and funny flick about two English boys who try to create their own version of "Rambo," and it's very well worth a rental when it finally hits DVD (I was surprised to find it wasn't there already.)

3. "The Fall"
Tarsem's second feature film is as much about the power of storytelling as it is about the touchingly odd relationship that develops between an injured stuntman (the great Lee Pace of "Pushing Daisies" fame) and a young girl he meets in the hospital (Catinca Untaru.) It's visually stunning, and even if the story he concocts for her induces some unintended guffaws, this is one I just love.

2. "Under the Same Moon"
Perhaps it's because we had a private screening of this one after it somehow lingered at one of my local multiplexes for six weeks or so, but Patricia Riggen's little movie about immigration and family ties has just lingered with me for a long time. Yes, it's sometimes as sappy as it sounds on paper, but spring for a rental and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

1. "The Dark Knight"
Was there really ever any doubt that this one would clinch the top spot? I've seen it twice in the theater and will surely spring for it one more time before it leaves some time in September. If all the hype has you skeptical, just give in and believe it, because this one is just pretty darn amazing.

So there you have it. And, for the record, here are the four flicks that almost made the 10-movie cut: "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," "Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns," "Kung Fu Panda" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

With plenty of fun stuff coming later this summer and fall - including new flicks from David Fincher, the Coen brothers and Spike Lee, among others - I'm sure this list will look a lot different when I revise it in January. Please feel free to chime in with anything you might think I've just gotten wrong, and of course let me know if there are any 2008 flicks I just overlooked. Peace out.

"The Bank Job" is a caper well worth catching

First off, forgive me if I'm a bit rusty at this, because if I'm not mistaken, this is indeed the first movie I've made the effort to review this year.

The reasons for that, I would say, are three-fold: I'm still not paid to do this, the movies (for the most part) have just been remarkably bad, and, unless it's of a movie that I clearly expected more from, bad reviews simply aren't as fun to write. The lone exception to this flow of mediocre muck had been Michel Gondry's "Be Kind Rewind," an oddly endearing little movie that I passed on commenting on because, I'll confess, I'm still trying to wrap my mind around exactly what it was about. If you can still see it (which I doubt), I would encourage every one to do so, especially for the last half hour or so, which is pure magic.

But I certainly digress, because today's movie is "The Bank Job," luckily a much more straightforward kind of flick but, in its own way, just as enjoyable.

If you look at the poster for this one you know it's promising the kind of old-fashioned kind of heist flick we just don't see much of anymore, and I'm pleased to report that it delivers on that with spirit.

Roger Donaldson's flick tells the (mostly, I'd have to assume, though probably not entirely) true story of the biggest heist in U.K. history, which netted for those who survived it a share of $4 million pounds or so. Like with any great heist flick, however, it's about a lot more than money, and Donaldson, who, believe it or not, actually directed the movie "Cocktail" way back in the day (whatever happened to Brian Brown, anyway?), takes an approach that's at least as welcome for what it leaves out as for what it includes.

For me, heist movies work best, as Donaldson's flick does, when they focus on the crime itself and its consequences rather than a) gadgets that strain and crush credibility; b) a cast of characters that pile on quirk just for quirk's sake; c) slang that sounds like nothing anyone, in Britain or elsewhere, ever uses; or d) using a constantly moving (and shaking) camera as a substitute for any real urgency. Yes, I'm taking aim here at Stephen Soderbergh (for the Oceans that come after 11), Guy Ritchie (for "Snatch," not "Lock, Stock") and Paul Greengrass (for that last Bourne flick, which just left me with a huge headache.)

Donaldson is able to resist all that because he wisely understands that the true story he has here, transcribed for the screen by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, is as crazy as just about anything he or anyone else could have made up. I don't want to give too much away, but it involves, among other things, a black militant (named, funnily enough, Michael X) with incriminating photos of a royal with rather loose virtues, politicians who pay women for more than your most conventional kind of sex and, of course, MI5 or MI6 (I've never really mastered what exactly how many MI's there are or what each one really does, which I suppose is by design.)

And the flick almost, but not quite, falls apart in the third act as all these forces start to converge, but wisely wraps things up before you have time to think about it all too much. The flick is at its best when it simply focuses on the band of rather ordinary folks who pulled off this rather extraordinary heist and, for the most part, got away with it.

At the center of it all is Jason Statham, and be warned: Though he plays a fairly bad dude, fans who enjoy watching him kick ass (of which, in small doses, you can count me as one) will be rather sorely disappointed; he indeed doesn't throw many punches at all until he's kicking a prostate old man (you won't hear who from me) in the cojones. It's still a commanding enough performance to carry the flick, but just as much credit goes to Saffron Burrows, who up until now had really made little to no impression on me at all. As the femme (for some, at least) fatale who lures Statham and his mates into this crazy scheme, she not only has the look that would make men follow her just about anywhere, but for once in movies like this, gets to play an active role in the caper and makes the most of it.

As far as the many supporting players, I will reveal that that is indeed David Suchet (a k a Hercule Poirot) who plays a truly sleazy porn king (well, duke really) with relish, and that Colin Salmon (a k a almost-the-first-black-James-Bond and a familiar face to "Prime Suspect" fans) plays one of the "militants," though to tell you which one would just spoil the fun.

I hope more than a few people will turn out for this one, rather than (or maybe in addition to) Roland Emmerich's latest empty spectacle. Peace out.

The art of the heist

Before I delve into what I hope will be a fun list, there are two or three actual nuggets of news out there that deserve mention.

Most importantly by far, winning the Oscar for Best Picture and casting both George Clooney and Brad Pitt in your next movie is apparently enough to garner a wide release for the Coens' next movie, "Burn After Reading," now set for release Sept. 12. And secondly, in a clear case of trading down, Ellen Page (who backed out) has been replaced in Sam Raimi's horror flick "Drag Me to Hell" by Alison Lohman.

And finally, before I go any further, a hearty huzzah to Sarah Polley, whose "Away from Her" beat out David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises" to take most of the major awards (including best picture, best director and best screenplay) and seven in all at Canada's Genie awards Monday night. (Why in the world Jason Reitman's "Juno" wasn't considered "Canadian" enough is just mystifying to me, though.)

But here today, in honor of "The Bank Job," it's all about the art of the heist (well, actually, because I set the rules, you'll find it more broadly encompasses scams along with actual heists.) Coming from Aussie director Roger Donaldson (who last made "The World's Fastest Indian" and, believe it or not, "Cocktail" way back when) and starring Jason Statham, this just looks like my kind of thoroughly fun flick.

So, here are 10 (or maybe 12) heist or scam flicks that I can (and sometimes do) watch again and again:

Dead Presidents: This one came to mind not only because it's a pretty great true-crime flick, but also because one of the masterminds of the original bank job was arrested a few years ago on the Eastern Shore of Maryland while I had been working there. He had been working for a number of years as the food services coordinator at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, oddly enough. Man, do I miss the Hughes brothers.

Out of Sight: One of the coolest movies around, not only for the presence of Jennifer Lopez flirting with George Clooney, but even more for some of the best comedic work you'll ever see from Don Cheadle and Steve Zahn. On a related note but different note, "Out of Sight" scribe Scott Frank made his directorial debut last year with "The Lookout", an enjoyable heist movie of sorts most notable for the performances of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels and Isla Fisher (playing a character named, appropriately enough, Luvlee.)

The Usual Suspects: I just about hated this movie the first time I saw it because I was just sure there was no way that Verbal Kint's story added up. I've since realized that a big part of the fun is that that doesn't really matter, and have been able to just sit back and enjoy a great ensemble crime flick.

Fargo: OK, not a heist movie per se, but as far as inept scams go, there are very few in the world more entertaining than Jerry Lundegaard's (William H. Macy) plan to have his own wife kidnapped to collect the ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. Besides, it's a Coens kind of day here, so just deal with it.

Bandits: I sure do miss the days when Billy Bob Thornton (who will make two appearance on this list) realized that he didn't have to be mean and surly to be funny. He's perfect here riffing off Cate Blanchett and Bruce Willis in this rather underrated little flick.

Ronin: Notable as probably John Frankenheimer's last good flick (before he died in 2002), this espionage/gun play thriller starring Robert De Niro, Natasha McElhone and Jean Reno delivers the same kind of old-fashioned fun I'm hoping to discover in "The Bank Job." And to digress just a bit, why in the world isn't Jean Reno a bigger star?

Bad Santa: OK, so Billy Bob Thornton can be both mean and funny from time to time, especially in this Christmas flick from Terry Zwigoff. And, as long as you appreciate the fine art of extreme vulgarity (which I certainly do, especially from the very foul mouth of Tony Cox), this is indeed a sweeter holiday movie than a lot of people make it out to be. Mind you, I'm not saying it's for the whole family ...

The General: As far as biopics about badasses go, there are very few better than John Boorman's portrait of the Irish robber Martin Cahill, played with relish by Brendan Gleason. Cahill, along with being a talented criminal and target of the IRA, was just a rather twisted dude, making for a fascinating flick.

Trainspotting: Just about the best book-to-movie transition you can find (although I'd put the Roddy Doyle flicks "The Snapper" and "The Commitments" way up there too), this is just one that I've probably seen 10 times now, and it never gets old. Kelly MacDonald, who should have at least been nominated for an Oscar for her work in "No Country for Old Men," makes an appearance as young Diane, and, just for the record, this movie didn't for even a second make me want to try heroin.

Croupier: This list has gotten longer than I had intended, but it has to include the first movie I can remember seeing Clive Owen in. This flick about a plan to rob a casino (it's a lot more complicated than that) is also the last time I can remember seeing the great Alex Kingston, who played Dr. Elizabeth Corday for so many years on "E.R." What in the world ever happened to her? And, finally ...

Office Space: What list of scam/heist movie would be complete without possibly the most therapeutic flick of all time? I'm still not exactly sure what "no-talent ass clown" means, but if that description of Michael Bolton doesn't make you laugh just move on.

And there you have it. I hope someone enjoys reading this as much as I did writing it, and please feel free to add any heist movies you love that I may have overlooked. Peace out.