10 best/worst DVDs of 2008

December 23, 9:21 PMDVD ExaminerBrian Trent

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Tony Stark is a movie projector

10 Best DVDs of 2008

1. Batman: The Dark Knight – While slightly overlong in the theater, this spectacular film feels just right at home. Filmed in IMAX, available on Blu-Ray, and serving up a Joker for the ages. Believe the hype.

2. Iron Man – Robert Downey Jr. in top-form as the billionaire-playboy-inventor-turned-superhero. The sound and visuals beg for Blu-Ray viewing.

3. Wall*E – Pixar has already established itself as the new animation giant. With Wall*E, they hit their farthest home-run yet. The DVD is loaded with extras, including several laugh-out-loud short films. Arguably, the most beautiful, and best, film of 2008.

4.  The Incredible Hulk – Better, slicker, and more accessible than Ang Lee’s take on the green giant, The Incredible Hulk is far from a perfect film and yet still a wonder to watch. Why is green CGI so hard to do? Maybe that's why Gollum was elected to be grey.

5. Beowulf – Robert Zemekis took a few liberties and managed to tie in the Norse epic’s final third in a clever way. Eye-popping presentation, witty, and with a confident directorial style, this isn’t as divorced from the source material as others have made out. A great DVD.

6. No Country for Old Men – This Oscar-winning film seems to divide the population nearly as much as 2008’s politics. Some love it, others aren’t sure what the big deal is. Consider this: one of the most chilling assassins ever portrayed in a masterful story by the uber-talented Coen brothers. The DVD is packed with goodies.

7.  DarkCity – The film came out in 1998, and has just now made the DVD leap into Blu-Ray. An edgy, film-noir experiment wrapped in a dark science-fiction Skinner box. There is some thematic overlap with The Matrix (and the two films used each other’s sets in places) but DarkCity stands on its own quite well.

8. Kung Fu Panda – 2008 was a year overflowing with fantasy films, and most of it targeted for adults. Here’s a family film with a heart, its own style, and terrific visuals.

9. 101 Dalmations – Disney’s classic arrives in a two-disc platinum edition bursting at the seams with extras, games, and featurettes.

10. Mongol – As brilliant as he was implacable, the very name of Genghis Khan made continents tremble. Mongol teleports the audience to the 12th century, and into the midst of bloodlust and dreams of destiny.

10 Worst DVDs of 2008

1. Hancock – Superhero films may have hit their stride in recent years, but that doesn’t mean they’re all good. Will Smith is credible and humorous, but I can get Will Smith, credible and humorous, in a good many other films. This one just doesn’t fly.

2. Death Race – Jason Statham has dependable charisma; I only wish he would make better script choices. While the action sequences certainy boast their moments, in the end, this derivative chaos feels too much like The Running Man on wheels, minus the charm.

3. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor – A disaster of storytelling by any reckoning... even the visuals come off as bad. When even the eye-candy itself is cartoonish and laughable, what’s the point of it all? Play the game Tomb Raider 2 instead.

4. Doomsday – An unforgivable waste of money and everyone’s time. The script steals from other, better pictures and implodes under its own dead weight. Easily one of the worst films I’ve seen in recent years.

5. 10,000 B.C. – Let’s just forgo the historical inaccuracies (after all, the Conan series was content to posit its own prehistoric era.) 10,000 B.C. is astounding if only for the way every single facet is a lesson on how not to make a movie. Can’t Roland Emmerich exhume his Stargate days?

6. National Treasure: Book of Secrets – Hardly the most original film ever made, the first installment was strangely watchable, with a peculiar tribute to American history coming off as more genuine than contrived. This sequel is a ham-fisted mess without charm, substance, or purpose.

7. Saw IV – The horror genre tried the torture-porn route, and ran out of body parts pretty quickly. Improbable, convoluted, and as unnecessary as its predecessor and successor. It has the appeal of vomiting in a dirty meat locker.

8. Rambo – Does anyone remember the effectiveness of First Blood, which managed to have sweeping survivalist action and explore the character of a tormented vet? In keeping with the new fetish for up-close visceral splatter-fests, Rambo doesn’t disappoint. Once the shock factor has ebbed, all that’s left is an empty revival. It will gather dust on your shelf within a month.

9.  The Happening – M. Night Shyamalin needed a hit, and for a while The Happening simmers with promise. The problem isn't just that it never really gets going; it's too content to be sullen, and ultimately collapses into the event-horizon of its own self-importance.

10. Clone Wars – A long time ago in a galaxy very, very close, the Star Wars mythos was replete with memorable characters and soaring adventure. Gone is that time. Clone Wars is an empty experience, replacing soul and wit with meaningless effects and grating banter.