Five Movies that Deserved Better in 2008

There were a lot of movies in 2008. And, as with any year, many of those movies go unwatched, unappreciated, and unloved, either because they were mismarketed or simply released at the wrong time. Here are five movies that, while not top ten material, absolutely deserve a second look from some, and a first look from others.

Son of Rambow - The movie that Be Kind, Rewind wished it could have been, and one of the best family films of the year. It'll inspire any one, young or old, to pick up a camera and start making their own movie. Maybe I'm just a sucker for this kind of movie, but it's got a great heart, a great cast of youngsters, and it's proof enough that Garth Jennings is a director worth wactching.

In Bruges - This one is kind of a hard sell right out of the gate. A comedy about hitmen laying low in Belgium and examining their life while ruminating on the works of Hieronymus Bosch. Yeah, it's pretty ambitious for a first-time director. But while it's not quite as strong as it wants to be, it's definitely funny, and both Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson earned their Golden Globe nominations.

Blindness - Not necessarily mismarketed so much as just met with general apathy. The story of an epidemic of blindness and the chaos that the situatio wreaks on the world is sort of Children of Men-lite, but still fairly successful. It's a bleak, bleak movie, but one that I'm sure will become a cult classic once it hits DVD.


The Spirit - Yeah, it's still in theaters, but it's already being ignored as the worst comic book movie of the year (I guess everyone forgot about Punisher: War Zone). Put Frank Miller behind the camera and let him write the script, and I guarantee he'll deliver something akin to The Spirit every time. And if this movie is your kind of thing, then you'll love what he has to offer. It's certainly a lot of fun, but by no means great cinema.

RockNRolla - Guy Ritchie wants to make a trilogy with the characters from this movie, but it looks like that'll never happen, because RockNRolla tanked hard at the US box office. And while it's not nearly as good as Snatch, it's still a fun ride. Gerard Butler and Thandie Newton totally sell this movie, and the way they play off each other more or less makes the movie.

Others worth remembering: Appaloosa; City of Ember; The Day the Earth Stood Still; Diary of the Dead; Ghost Town; Hamlet 2; Midnight Meat Train; Rambo; Role Models; Zack and Miri Make a Porno