what, no "meet the spartans"?

Alright ladies and germs, it's time for another first on this blog. Instead of giving you a daily update on my short film's status-- since there's pretty much nothing going on with it today-- I'm going to go in a completely new, unprecedented direction. It's time for:

Iggy's Top 5 Movies of 2008 1/2!

Yes, that's right. I'm going to list my top five movies of the first half of '08.

By the way-- this is a tangent, but I've always been curious-- when this decade is over, how are people going to refer to it? We had the 70's, the 80's, the 90's, and now... the aughts? The Zeroes? The "2000's"? That can't be right. We're the first decade of the new millennium, and we don't even have a cool name. What if we just go with "The First Decade of the New Millennium"? That's a proud title. Unwieldy, maybe, but also extremely descriptive.

What was I talking about? Oh yeah. Movies.

A quick warning: This list is pretty thin, by anyone's standards. There haven't been many good movies to come out so far this year. Usually studios reserve the best films for the end of the year, so that they're in a better position to win Oscars in February. That being said, there are still some movies that are worth being recognized-- so here we go!

5. Wanted

Great action movie, with a pretty good sense of humor. I know I blasted it a few days ago for being unoriginal, but honestly, what movie these days isn't? And if you're going to emulate other films (Matrix, Fight Club), you might as well emulate some of the best.

4. Get Smart

I really liked this movie. It was full of slapstick and classic humor, and Steve Carell just cements his reputation as a comedic genius. He has such impeccable timing and delivery, I found myself laughing every minute he was onscreen. Carell's performance turned a forgettable action-comedy into a memorable one.

3. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Judd Apatow can do no wrong. He's the Pixar of comedy. Forgetting Sarah Marshall was a good example of how solid writing, and a sympathetic lead performance by Jason Segel, elevates an Apatow production above all the Semi-Pros and Old Schools of the world. Check this one out on DVD if you missed it in the theater-- which you probably did, because it didn't make much money.

2. Iron Man

On the flip side, most of you have probably seen this movie already, and chances are you liked it as much as I did. I've always dug Robert Downey Jr. and I would recommend Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang if you liked his character in Iron Man. There's not much more to say about this movie, though, because even though I really liked it, it was absolutely blown away by my #1 film of the half-year...

1. Wall-E

In a way, Pixar is the Judd Apatow of computer-animated films. They can do no wrong. With Wall-E, they not only raised the bar, they strapped a rocket booster to the bar and launched it into the ionosphere. This film is a triumph in every category-- concept, animation, sound, acting (mostly by Ben Burtt, who conveys incredible emotion through bloops and bleeps), and overall execution. Wall-E is a modern-day Charlie Chaplin, and the movie is imbued with the same sense of curiosity and simplicity that he has himself. There are some breathtaking sequences, particularly a little "Soarin' Over California" section in space that is as beautiful and satisfying as anything Pixar has ever produced. The entire film blew me away. What else can I say? It's an instant classic.

So there's my top five.

However, I'm going to see The Dark Knight tonight... and if advance reviews are any indication, I'll need to make some room on the list. God, I'm excited for that movie.