Yeah, I know, it's almost very late, but I think we scraped in under the wire! Looking back, 2008 was not exactly a bumper year for quality cinema. In fact, the pickings were pretty lean. So here, in reverse order, are our favourite films of the year ...
10: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
The best musical of the year; Johnny Depp again proves why we all love him so much; and Tim Burton makes up for Planet of the Apes.
9: Cloverfield
In which JJ Abrams demonstrates how to make a lean, tight, exciting monster movie – Hollywood, did you bother to pay attention?
8: Juno
Some said it was too talky, but when the dialogue (by Diablo Cody, who won the best screenwriting Oscar for her efforts) is this good, you really don't care. Oh, and Ellen Page just rocks. Hard.
7: [REC]
A very smart and very scary little horror film from Spain in a year that saw some decent horror releases – also worth a mention are The Orphanage, Eden Lake and The Mist.
6: Iron Man
Is it just me, or are superhero films getting better and better? Robert Downey Jr just owned this one, and we can't wait to see Iron Man 2.
5: Charlie Bartlett
One of the best high school "dramadies" since Ferris Bueller's Day off. And what a find is Anton Yelchin as the lead (but,. once again, Downey Jr is very good indeed).
4: The Duchess
Yeah, yeah, it's a "chick flick" ... but who cares: It was a terrific costume drama with outstanding performances from Ralph Fiennes and Keira Knightley. And didn't she have a good year, what with this, Atonement and The Edge of Love. And her acting just keeps getting better and better.
3: The Dark Knight
Audiences loved it. The critics loved it. Most of us here at Screenjabber loved it. It was the biggest box-office hit of the year, and was best enjoyed on the biggest screens around (IMAX). How clever was Chris Nolan to make a superlative crime drama dressed up as a comic-book movie!
2: WALL•E
Can Pixar make a bad film? Is that possible? Historially, the answer is no – and we hope the clever Pixar boys and girls can keep going (and early word is that next year's UP, in 3D, is just as good). WALL•E was a sheer delight on every level and the best thing Pixar has ever done.
1: In Search of a Midnight Kiss
Proof that, when done properly, a rom-com doesn't have to suck or follow the same old formula. And proof that a small, low-budget indie from LA, with a cast of unkowns, can sometimes blow those $200m "blockbusters" off the screen. Writer/director Alex Holdridge is a guy we're going to be keeping our eye on.
Honorable mentions: Waltz With Bashir, Funny Games, Son of Rambow, Shine a Light, Good Dick, Kung Fu Panda, Man on Wire, Tropic Thunder, You Don't Mess With The Zohan, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Frost/Nixon, Blindness, Changeling.
And now to those bottom dwellers, the stinkiest films of the year. The ones we tried to warn you about, but you just HAD to go see them anyway, didn't you ... and yes, Christopher, we're looking at YOU!
10: Lady Godiva
Even a pretty naked girl riding bareback couldn't save this pile of horse droppings.
9: Asterix at the Olympic Games
Proving that utter shit (or, in this case, merde) is not exclusive to Hollywood.
8: Underdog
Speakng of Hollywood, when will they learn to stop raping our childhoods and just leave the goddamned cartoons alone?
7: Jumper
Great novel, great concept, great special effects ... but the story is an absolute mess, and don't get us started on Hayden "Mr Planky" Christensen.
6: 10,000BC
Roland Emerich is a hack. Enough said.
5: Awake
Now, I simply adore Jessica Alba, but her career won't last if she keeps making this sort of crap.
4: The Love Guru
Mike Myers, what ever were you thinking? Oh, right ... you weren't thnking at all. Simply the nadir of his career – so far.
3: The Hottie & The Nottie
If I ever, EVER meet the person who told Paris Hilton she could act, I am going to give them SUCH a slap...
2: Australia
I have never been more embarassed or ashamed to be an Australian in my life. Baz Luhrmann – whose previous films I loved – needs to go and join Rupert Murdoch in exile in the US.
1: Meet The Spartans
A very-very-low-budget "comedy" for which the "writers" forgot to actually include any "jokes". The less said about this particular abortion from the infantile, talentless minds of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer (who were also responsible for the just-as-excreble Disaster Movie), the better.
Dishonorable mentions: Three And Out, Speed Racer, Sleuth, The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor, Max Payne, 88 Minutes, Righteous Kill.
So there you have it. Them's our thoughts. But what were your favourite films of the year? Let us know in the comments below...