Michael Moran
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Do you agree with our selection? What have we missed? Have your say at the foot of this article.
Few movies live up to the original promise of their trailers, but if only half of these films deliver this will be one of the best, and most exciting years in cinema history.
If the Hollywood writers' strike ends quickly and amicably enough we may also be treated to a big screen outing from the High School Musical gang and Brendan Fraser's 3D take on the Jules Verne classic Journey to the Centre of the Earth.
In the meantime, here is our unscientific, best guess at some of the films that should be in everybody's end-of-year Top 50 come Christmas. All movies are scheduled for UK release in 2008. For more hot film juice check out Blockbuster Buzz , our new blog celebrating the biggest, noisiest movies.
If you're eager to find out what Hollywood has in store for next year, click here for our 50 Biggest Movies Of 2009
50: Semi Pro
Will Ferrell expands his catalogue of inept sportsmen with this wilfully silly look at the world of basketball. Expect giant afros, male nudity and slam dunks. Outkast singer Andre 3000 also stars. Official site with trailer
49: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
David Fincher directs Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton in this tale of a man who, annoyingly, begins ageing backwards. Fincher tends to alternate crowd-pleasers like Alien3 with more thoughtful pieces like Fight Club so we are about due a Fincher movie for the kind of person who takes a coffee into the auditorium rather than a Kia-Ora. Benjamin Button fan blog
48: Horton Hears A Who!
Jim Carrey and the Steve Carrell provide the voices as Dr.Seuss gets the CGI treatment. Trailers
47: No Country For Old Men
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exactly! i hav the same opinion as sarah. Twilight is a great movie and of course it should be in the list. and next year new moon would also be in. =)
asyraf, malaysia, malaysia
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince won't be released until July 17, 2009. For those who were saying how Twilight should have been listed, this article was MOST likely written before Twilight was out. However, I find it very odd that they would speak about Harry Potter then Twilight.
Johnjohn, Fargo, United States
I also think that Twilight should have MOST DEFINETELY had a place on this list
it was one of the most antisipated movies of the year and it has also had great success in just the first weekend it was open
Caitlin, Cedar Rapids, United States
TWILIGHT?
Twilight should most definetely have a place reserved on this list, even prior to its release. I mean, the latest figures (opening weekend) are evidence enough, as a stand alone figure. In my opinion it should hold the number 10 spot.
And also, Kung Fu Panda seems to be missing.
Sarah, B'ham, UK
excuse me??
where is twilight on the list??????
Bella, Perth,
I think you made a huge mistake by not putting
KUNG FU PANDA on your top 50 list.
Jason , Jackson, USA
What about The Boy In Striped Pyjamas.A beautifully understated depiction of the horrors of war.
Patrick John Cloney, Cardiff,
Bond films are not bond films anymore! They have none of the ingrediates which form a Bond film so stop calling it Bond. They have dumned down the dialogue, no Q and songs which have no relevence to the actual film.
Peter, Deal,
no happy go lucky?brilliant film!!! marsan and hawkins deserve oscars.
Daniel Charles Tweedie, Fumane, Verona
WANTED IS INCREDIBLE!!!So is Mamma Mia, best action and musical films yet to come. Oh and Indiana Jones sucks!!!
LeRay, Jo'burg, South Africa
i think films had its day
Peter, Warrington, england
Mamma Mia...Meryl Streep doing the splits and singing Dancing Queen while Pierce Brosnan dances around in sequined flares. Now how can that be wrong?
Anna, London, UK
mamma mia should've come 1st! best film of the year!!
daisy, hampshire, UK
what the heck, ur ratigs films what havnt even been released yet, maybe you should see them before u actually vote on em
ste, rowley, uk
what about chaos theory, the oxford murders and vantage point?
awesome movies.
mirtl, zagreb,
the love guru higher than no country for old men!!!!?????????
Aimee, london, england
Twilight Should be on this list because thats a great book i love that book and i hate reading!
alexis, palmetto FL, USA
WANTED deserved to be on this list.. i watched it twice..i just love the story
Mae, Manila , Philippines
journey to the center of the earth rocks!
medilyn, manila, philippines
personally i am glad that twilight is not on the list. a supernatural love story told once will always be the same
bingo, los angeles,
i totally agree about the whole twilight thing, but i'm glad Harry Potter is number 2....and the Dark Knight is wickedd!
Karolina, NJ,
twilight totally!!
chela, SP,
yup, twilight should be there! it should be in the top 5!
adrienne, jakarta, indonesia
I agree, Twilight should be on the list...it should be in the top ten!
Nikole, Miami,
What about Twilight!!! Its gotta be in the Top 10!!
Becky, Forks,
There was someone in the first page who said that The Dark Knight wouldn't beat Indiana Jones. Man were they wrong.
Barry Lewis, Los Angeles,
you forgot twilight
Jordan, Wichita Falls,
great line-up..however, Angels and Demons was not featured here and I think that it should be...I have read the novel by Dan Brown [author of the Da vinci code] and this is one of the BEST novels that i have read..i am sure that the movie is worthy of a spot here
Sarah, Castries, Saint Lucia
Twilight is definately going to be an anticipated film, if it's even released over here in the UK, I hope it will be. It's not just anticipatedby teens though, us older people can't wait to see it (ok, so being in my 20's isn't that much different) but it will be an amazing film, and better than loads on this list!
Leigh, Penzance, Cornwall, UK
I totally agree with Kyle Elizabeth. Twilight is really big right now. It's actually been said to be the most anticipated film of 2008. That's no surprise, most teenage girls (and a lot of boys too) have read the first book and are looking forward to seeing it on film! I know I am! I check out Stephenie Meyer's website every few days for new updates and I know a lot of people who are doing the same. So can there be 51 movies on the list? You, know if you ever get the time. :)
Dessy, Portland, US
UMMMMM! how bout Baz Luhrmann's Australia starring the one and only Nicole Kidman, and Hugh Jackman!?
Must we all forget the amazingness and box office glory that was Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! also starring Nicole Kidman?
c, Beverly Hills, CA
ok i am sorry but where is the twilight movie on this review. i red about that movie on another site and it said to forget all of the movie that r coming out "TWILIGHT" is the mot anticipated movie of 2008. Soooooooooo where is it? i dont c it and i went through thi list 5 times 2 makesure that i did not miss it. So please when u get the chance please, please, please add twilight (Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen and Kirsten stewart as Bella Swan) 2 the list. I would love it verry much and so would all of the twilight fans out their! Plus if u add it more people would (might) come 2 your web site!!!
- Kyle Elizabeth*
kyle elizabeth , wilton, U.S.
Like the reschedule of Wolverine, the abomination of the Star Trek sequel has been delayed to 2009 thanks to the writers' strike. They have decided to do rewrites that they weren't expecting to be able to do.
As an aside, as a dedicated Odeon employee I am happy to feel part of the reason Rambo will have a dreadful opening weeked! Sorry, Sly ;)
Katy, Norwich, UK
Black Water
jim hall , london,
Rambo? In the valley of the Elah??
Zameer, London,
The Dark Knight is without doubt gonna blow a lot of us away,
not only will we have a darker and angrier Bale as Batman but Heath Ledger looks absolutely phenomenal as The Joker
and the action looks amazing under the guidance of Chris Nolan,who just goes from strength to strength. Add Caine, Oldman, Freeman, Maggie Gylenhall along with Aaron Eckhart and you've got an amazing line-up! One of the best things is that we have seen nothing of Eckhart's Harvey Dent and his transformation into Two-Face - now that might be really something! Oh and Cillian Murphy returning as Scarecrow is a big plus too! More Tumbler action and The Batpod has us drooling. Ledger an outside bet for next year's
Oscars? Why not? Why So Serious?
Braveheart, Glasgow, Scotland
Keith - it's "The 50 Biggest Movies of 2008", not The 50 dullest scouse indy movies of 2008"
LOL
ANDY, EPSOM, UK
Why is the focus always on the big studio pics. what about the independent films? We've just had an adaptation of Outlaws shoot in Liverpool, based on the cult novel by Kevin Sampson. Due out later this year I think. IMDB page: www.imdb.com/title/tt1071880/
Keith, Liverpool,
Nothing about the Brit Bike flick "Freebird" Check it out on freedompicturecompany.com. Looks like what the movie scene needs. released FEB 08.
Simon (extra) Lambert, Worthing,
What about the sequel to 'The Golden Compass'? Is it going to be released this year (2008)? Harry Potter is getting more and more boring every episode, so repetitive. And they are going to do a remake of a remake of 'The Incredible Hulk' is totaly beyond me. No new Superman follow-up too? The Pang Brothers aren't Thai directors dude, they're Chinese (Hong Kong).
Tutu, Bangkok, Thailand
Well, in fairness if they're talking about what films are going to be 'biggest' this year it's not likely to be some depressing docudrama from latvia or something
Anne, Loughborough, UK
45.- the x-files 2
come on !!
it should be at least in the top 20
ale , mcallen, texas
X-Files 2! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!!!!
Phill , The Wirral, England
where's national treasure: the book of secrets?
thats goin' 2 b pretty cool, with it bein' no.1 at the US box
office!!!!!!
maj, woking,
x-files 2 was ranked 2nd in a poll of 30,000 votes on comingsoon.net. so placing them 45th in your article is laughable. The figures speak for themselves; xf2 beat off all competition bar dark knight to reach 2nd place.
mark, paris,
As with 2007, I assume that the best films of 2008 will come from somewhere other than Anglophone world, but you appear to have no information about any of them. The answer to David's question is therefore clearly "No".
Will, Cardiff, UK
what about 'Australia' with nicole kidman and hugh jackman? it will make more of you poms want to move here. Right now i am looking at the bright blue arafura sea lap quietly at the shore , 31 degrees, not a cloud in the sky and stunning timorese food to be had at the market 1km down the road.
kate, darwin, australia
One obvious one you've missed out: Juno. Its the indie movie burning up the box office in US and Canada over Xmas, new year. I think it's arriving in UK in Feb. Best film in a very long while.
dc, Vancouver, Canada
Is that really from Star Trek XI? Good if it is.
Ian Scott, Peterborough, ENGLAND
To David, London. You might like to read the entry for Jumper again. It says Christensen who has ALSO signed up for Neuromancer stars in Jumper.
Looking forward to some of these!
Robin, Ipswich,
Most of these films look good, but Mamma Mia? come on! were you just struggling to find 50? No on e cares about chick flicks like that
Tom, Milton Keynes, UK
Yeah, pretty cool list. I enjoyed most of the trails.
Indiana Jones will totally trounce Dark Knight though, sorry!
Harry, Windsor, UK
Not exactly sure what you're talking about here.
David Fincher's crowd pleaser Alien? I assume your talking about Alien 3 which not that many people were pleased by. Not terrible but still...he 's never done a "crowd pleaser" popcorn flick. Lets see...Alien 3, Seven, The Game, Fight Club, Panic Room and Zodiac.
And Jumper being an adaptation of Neuromancer? I'm pretty sure that when I read the book there weren't any people teleporting around and people hunting them down.
Do you know anything about films at all?
David, London,
No mention of such must see's like Terminator 4 and Alien v Preditor 2? Films like that really make me wish the USA was Spanish or Dutch speaking!
Luke Nicolaides, London, UK
How does X-Men Origins: Wolverine make the list, when it's not due to be released until next year?
Will Michaelis, Setauket, NY
You linked through to a bond "teaser" which is clearly just cobbled together by a fan and stuck on youtube.
Good work.
RedRockPest, London, UK
Don't forget Rambo
AJ Fraser, Paris, France
what about Juno, which is getting rave reviews in the US? and Gone Baby, Gone?
c, hk,
Being a bit pedantic here, but X-Men Origins: Wolverine isn't slated for release until 2009...
Wolverine, London, UK
In your opinion there are two 'most original plot' films, being Be kind, rewind and You don't mess with Zohan, in your opinion which film would you stake this to claim to more?
Thomas Manning, Bristol,
there is an official site for How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, complete with trailer:
http://www.paramountpictures.co.uk/howtolosefriends/
Rangefinder, London, UK
I think that I am Legend.should be on here.i loved it.<33
CeeCee, olney, illionois
I'm delighted to see the mention of 1968's Buona Sera Mrs. Campbell in the capsule about Mamma Mia. I LOVE that film and you quite rightly called it a forgotten gem. Far better than most of the rubbish released today.
Traci, Baltimore, MD, USA
"The 50 Biggest Movies of 2008"
yAWN...., I won't be spending a lot of time at the Cinema then....
Keith, Hythe, Kent., U.K.
The Time Traveller's Wife was a great idea without a proper ending - hopefully the film might work onn it and give us something other than a disappointingly damp squib to go out on?
Kate, Newcastle,
This is nit-picking a bit but CS Lewis' fantasy series is called The Chronicles of Narnia, and Prince Caspian is the third book in the series, after the Magician's Nephew and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The first book deals with the creation of Narnia and is really quite dark. It's by far the best novel and I'd really like to see a film version but I doubt they'll make what would be a prequel in terms of the film series.
Licky Pinto, Prague, Czech Republic
The original Persepolis comic is written by Marjane Satrapi, not by Vincent Parannoud as you say above. Let's hope the adaption does justice to the excellent comic.
Roland, Belper, Derbyshire
As much as I'm looking forward to The Dark Knight, I don't think it has a chance of beating Indy, Harry Potter or Bond.
Wishful thinking on the part of the compiler, but it's certainly refreshing to see a film list so far removed from the "Vanity Fair" type of films.
Thomas Mathie, Glasgow, Scotland