Okay, in all fairness, it was probably not worth the wait at all. Of course, that in turn implies that there was a wait, which is probably also non-existent.  All that being said, I am sharing my 10 favorite movies of 2008 from 10 down to 1. The list is not so much the level best movies of the year but the ones that I enjoyed the most so anyone who calls foul on the comedies, genre films or any of that can go fuck themselves. Feel free to supply your own list and why in the comments.

10. Robert Downey Jr

Okay so I decided to start the list off with a bit of cop out right off the bat. I sat looking at number 1o trying to decide between Iron Man and Tropic Thunder. Both are movies I watched multiple times finding new things to like on each viewing and both doing exactly what they set out to do.

They also both had great performances from Robert Downey Jr so I said fuck it and gave it to him. Tropic Thunder has some of the best one liners and comedy set pieces of the year and managed to feature a white actor in black face and instead of pissing off African-Americans, it pissed off advocates of the mentally challenged. Brilliant.

Iron Man nailed the comic so perfectly that if the Dark Knight didn’t exist it would be the best comic movie of all time.

9. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

In a year without a movie written and directed by Judd Apatow it is only fitting that one of his long time actors should step up to the plate and go yard like Big Papi before he knocked off the ‘roids.

Jason Segel both wrote and starred in this hilarious tale of a boyfriend dumped by his hot actress girlfriend only to end up at the same Hawaiian resort as the titular ex and her new pop star boyfriend. Many of the Apatow regulars show up here to great effect and Segel delivers a relatable and likable protagonist and a cavalcade of genuine laughs. One of the year’s best comedies hands down.

Also, Mila Kunis is so hot in this that it made me happy to have boy bits.

8. Australia

This Baz Luhrmann epic was mangled by many critics and movie goers for being over long and boring. It makes me wonder what the fuck movie they saw. The grand scale and sweeping story is very reminiscent of the likes of Gone With the Wind and the chemistry between Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackmanis incredible. It is beautiful and well made with a compelling story well told. For those with a short attention span, pop some ADD meds or go watch Disaster Movie.

7. Changeling

One of two Clint Eastwood directed movies this year, Changeling tells the true story of an abducted child and his mother’s struggle to recover him after the LAPD tries pass off an impostor kid in the 1920’s.

Like Australia, Changeling has been criticized for being over long and boring, but again, I found the story both captivating and horrifying.  I found this film more terrifying than any horror movie I have ever seen. That the LAPD tried to foist an obvious impostor on the mother of the abducted child to save face and bolster its image  is beyond the pale of incompetence and selfishness.

J Michael Straczynski’s screenplay unravels more and more dread and sinking terror as it moves toward the necessarily ambiguous conclusion. Eastwood’s direction is sure footed and never flashy as he let’s drama play itself out and trusts his actors to say more with looks and posture than ham fisted theatrics.

6. Religulous

I think that the trailers for Religulous did it a bit of a disservice. From the trailers it appeared to be a full on assault on Christianity in an effort to make any one who believes in god look like an idiot. What the movie actually was, however, was an indictment of dogmatic religion and its effects on the world. There is a big difference there.

The set up is simple, comedian Bill Maher travels around interviewing people about their religious beliefs and asks them questions. It covers Christianity, Scientology, Judaism, Islam and Mormonism and while obviously Maher’s take on religion, as anyone who has seen Real Time or Politically Incorrect can tell you, is that it causes more problems than it solves, it does so in a fairly respectful way. Where Religulous is really brilliant is in the simple format. Maher doesn’t do a lot of preaching or pontificating but rather asks questions of people regarding the logic behind their beliefs and why they believe what they do. In this way, the followers of each religion do all the heavy lifting and does so without bias.

Now, you could claim that Maher only chose to show case religious nut bars, but that is simply not true. There are several well spoken and thoughtful people in the documentary that do their belief systems proud.  At the end of the day, it does not judge people for being spiritual or believing in something more, but rather the desire to kill on another in order to appease man created dogma. And to that point, frankly, if your god tells you to kill someone else he or she doesn’t like, your god is an asshole.

5. Repo the Genetic Opera

If I didn’t think that marriage was a fucking travesty tantamount to a slow death of the soul, and Repo the Genetic Opera were a woman, I would marry Repo the Genetic Opera because I love it and will do so always and forever. This movie is not for everyone, but it is brilliant. Set in the not too distant future, Repois a cyberpunk tale of the aftermath of a genetic plague which left the world ravaged and in need of vat grown organs and cybernetic implants. Everyone has got them and in this case owe more than their soul to the company store. If you can’t pay, the Repo Man shows up to take back your organs and he generally doesn’t bother killing you first. It is horrifying, it is gory and more campy than the 60’s Batman but it is fun as hell. It is an opera so there is no spoken dialogue and the back-story plays out in animated comic book panels. The songs and music are bad ass plain and simple. Anthony Stewart Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is the lead as the Repo Man and is used to great effect. Some people may balk at Paris Hilton’s inclusion but she pulls her weight and does a great job as well. The only misstep is that maybe they shouldn’t have let Paul Sorvino sing. If you don’t like heavy metal, gore, singing, camp and cool things, then you probably won’t like this. If you do, go to your local indy theater to see this right now or wait for the January 20th DVD release.

4. Role Models

Co-Written by Paul Rudd, Role Models is punishingly funny.

Rudd plays a disaffected and burnt out spokesman for Minotaur energy drinks who, after being dumped by his girlfriend for being disaffected and burnt out, has a car accident involving a truck that looks like a bull and the rear end of a horse statue. He and his partner, Sean William Scott, are forced in to community service to keep out of jail. In this case the community service requires them to join Sturdy Wings, a Big Brother sort of organization. They are assigned the two toughest cases and all hilarity ensues.

What is remarkable about this movie is how mean spirited it can be while retaining heart but never teetering off the cliff into heartwarming. It is an almost impossible mishmash of sentiment and irreverent comedy and it thumbs its nose at most conventions found in this kind of film. And it is funny as fuck.

3. The Wrestler

A lot of directors can show disturbing images or tell depressing stories. Likewise, a lot of actors can be buff and do a lot of intense physical action and act depressed.

In the case of the Wrestler, director Darren Aronofski and lead Mickey Rourke take those basic elements and elevate them to something truely unsettling and moving.

The Wrestler tells the story of a washed up professional wrestler trying to eke out any amount of substance out of what has become an empty life. Rourke is sublime as Randy The Ram as he finds himself sidelined by a heart attack and unsure how to do anything else. Aronofski knows how to let his actors act and act they do with subtlety and brilliance. Rourke and Marisa Tomei do more with looks and body language than most actors can do with 90 pages of dialogue.

The story is simple and is simply heartbreaking. This film is a masterpiece.

2. The Dark Knight

There isn’t much to say about this sequel to Batman Begins that hasn’t already been said. That a film from a genre considered throw away summer popcorn fare has managed to make its way on to so many top 10 lists and into serious awards consideration is almost as amazing as the story and performances. Christopher Nolan has put together what may very well be the best comic book movie of all time but beyond that, the film works just as well as a crime drama on par with the Usual Suspects or Heat. That Aaron Eckhart’s turn as Harvey ‘Two Face’ Dent is the second or third best performance in the film is all the evidence you need of the caliber of talent on display here.

1. The Fall

Filmed on 26 locations over 18 countries, Tarsem Singh’s follow-up to the Cell after six long years, tells the story of Roy an injured stuntman in a 1920’s hospital who befriends a little girl recovering from a broken arm. The story he tells her and why is breathtaking both visually and emotionally.

The film is gorgeous and looks even better on Blu-ray than it did in theaters with Tarsem’s unique visual style easily trumping his previous effort. It would be easy for a film like this to rest on its visuals but the Fall weaves an emotionally charged tale supported by tremendous performances by Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies) and newcomer Cantica Untaru. The chemistry between the two leads is captivating enough to support a movie even without the fantasy elements from Roy’s fairy-tale.

Anyone who fails to be moved by this story may actually be dead or at the very least from Finland.