At #10 is The Incredible Hulk:

This movie may not have been the best superhero film of all time but it beat the hell out of Ang Lee’s Hulk and really did a service to both the comic book series and the TV series from the ’70s. This film really paid homage to the beloved TV series for the first half of the film and then represented the comic books very well in the second half of the film. All I know is that I had a really good time at the movies watching this film … and isn’t that what’s most important?

At #9 is W.:

Oliver Stone films are really hit or miss and this one was a pretty nice hit. Josh Brolin played a superb GWB and managed to put our soon-to-be ex-president in real context. I am no GWB fan by any stretch of the imagination but this film actually made him a sympathetic character. Props to Oliver Stone for actually doing the impossible.

In the #8 position is Doubt:

This film is all about the acting. And among the amazing acting performances, Meryl Streep far outshines everyone else in this film. She absolutely turned in the most powerful acting performance this year … she absolutely deserves all the Best Actress awards and, IMHO, the Best Actor awards as well — she is that good in this film. I feel bad for Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams, who both turned in exceptional performances, cuz Streep just steals the spotlight. She made this movie such a delight for me to watch.

At #7 is Milk:

At long last, the story of Harvey Milk’s life made it to the big screen … and Sean Penn did his memory a great service. Milk may not have been a blockbuster but it is a very important story that is told so expertly that I wish it had made more money at the box office. Penn’s cast of supporting actors were also pretty phenomenal … as a whole they told a tale that an entire generation of people were hearing for the first time — which was eerily similar to the events that were playing out on the streets of SoCal this past November.

At #6 is WALL•E:

OMG … what can I say about WALL•E that hasn’t been said a million times before? The movie is just cute as hell and actually caused kids and grown adults alike to fall in love with a sweet little animated trash compactor. I had my doubts about this film before I saw it for myself … but man, once I saw it — I was hooked. WALL•E is absolutely the Best Animated Film of 2008.

After the jump, check out my Top 5 Fave Films of 2008 as well as my list of my Fave TV Shows of the Year …

My #5 pick is The Dark Knight:

Don’t get me wrong … I love The Dark Knight but I really felt that, for me, there were a few movies that were better this year in terms of overall entertainment value. That said, Chris Nolan gave us a Batman that is worthy of the top awards that are handed out for outstanding achievement in film making. Heath Ledger was just stunning as The Joker … I absolutely contend that he would still be getting Oscar buzz if he hadn’t passed away last January. He is deffo my pick for Best Supporting Actor at the coming Academy Awards.

At #4 is Iron Man:

THE best superhero film of the year … funny and action-packed with loads of amazing special effects and a great story — this film had it all. The casting was pretty perfect … except for Terrence Howard as Jim Rhodes (who I did not care for at all) … especially Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts. Robert Downey, Jr. is just the man … there ain’t anyone else who could play playboy millionaire Tony Stark. It’s too bad he won’t win any awards for his work on Iron Man cuz he really deserves one.

My #3 is Slumdog Millionaire:

The perfect rags to riches story with a great modern twist. I laughed, I cried, I actually stood up and cheered at this movie. The youngest actors were BY FAR the best thing about this film. Believe the hype, Slumdog Millionaire is really as good as everyone says.

My second fave movie of the year is Sex and the City:

At long last, the Sex and the City Movie made it to the big screen and it did NOT disappoint. The movie was the perfect length to feel like a mini-season of the show. The fabulous clothes, the steamy sex scenes and the camaraderie between Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda all conspired to make a far too entertaining movie. I saw this film 3 times in the theaters … and 3 more times since it came out on DVD. I just can’t get enough!

And my #1 fave movie of the year is Cloverfield:

OK … I’m sure a lot of y’all will not agree with me on this one but, in all honesty, this was my fave film of the year. Since it came out last January it really set the benchmark for me and, truth be told, I wasn’t as thoroughly entertained by anything else as much as I was by Cloverfield. I’m not saying it is the best movie of all time but for 2008, it was the perfect marriage of viral marketing, Internet savvy and fun movie-making that all came together IMHO perfectly. I still contend that it was as “real” as a monster invasion movie could be. It really had that Blair Witch Project magic that grabbed me entirely. I was actually surprised that so many people hated this film (mostly because of the shaky camerawork) because I loved it so entirely. While there were some pretty amazing films released this year, I have to say that my fave of the bunch was the one that made me believe the most.

Here are my Top TV Shows of 2008:

1. Skins
2. In Treatment
3. Battlestar Galactica
4. Gossip Girl
5. Project Runway (both seasons)
6. 90210
7. Breaking Bad
8. Torchwood
9. Saturday Night Live (mainly for the Tina Fey as Sarah Palin skits)
10. All the election coverage on CNN and MSNBC

Which films and TV shows were YOUR faves in 2008? Is anyone with me on Team Cloverfield?

Hot Toys is releasing a 1/6th scale figure of The Joker in “Bank Robber” mode. The figure stands 12-inches tall, features 32-points of articulation, and comes with a choice of two removable heads, one with a huge grin, the other with the slicked back hair. Accessories include a removable clown mask, handgun, a bigger gun, duffle bag, smoke and fragmentation grenades, playing cards, gotham city money and more.

Click HERE to see more photos of this action figure, it’s really very remarkably made. I have a pretty good feeling that Heath would’ve gotten a real kick out of this action figure had he been able to see while he still lived. I think it’s a pretty cool tribute to the chilling character that he portrayed in The Dark Knight. Well done.

[Source]

… by the time the epic film was finished, my Bluetooth was installed and all was right with the world. After I picked up my car, Darion and I went to Buddha’s Belly in Santa Monica for dinner and called it a night.

I’m telling you, seeing The Dark Knight in IMAX is a completely different experience than seeing it “merely” in theaters. IMAX is so larger than life, it’s deffo worth the trek if you have an IMAX near you. The size and clarity is just stunning … we had a great time. Dinner was fun, we walked a bit along the Third Street Promenade before going our separate ways. D met up with some friends for clubbin’ but I wanted to get home to chill.

I have an appointment this afternoon and possibly dinner plans with my friend Michael (who I haven’t seen in ages). Nothing too fancy going on … I’m trying to lie low until David arrives later on this week and we fly off to Jackson Hole, WY for our wedding — well, not our wedding but to attend the wedding of our dear friend Sashie. So yeah … I guess that is all.

First, I think it’s amazing seeing Christian Bale smiling again. He looks so happy … even tho I’m sure that the memory of his recent embarrassing incident with his estranged family members is still fresh in his mind, he looks great — as if he’s already moved well beyond that dark incident. I think it’s pretty safe to say that The Dark Knight is pretty much on track to fully conquer the world. It’s already well on it’s way to becoming the most successful film in US box office history (it looks like the Titanic is going to sink again) and is also proving to be a big hit all around the world. I’m anxious to get back to the States to see it again … next time, on IMAX. And the TDK juggernaut rolls on …

[Photo credit: Wireimage]

A day after his arrest on assault allegations, Christian Bale turned out for the premiere of The Dark Knight in Spain on Wednesday, meeting fans but avoiding questions from reporters. Wearing a dark blue suit, Bale, 34, signed autographs and posed for photos with his wife Sibi and his Batman costars Maggie Gyllenhaal and Aaron Eckhart at the event in Madrid. Bale, released by police in London Tuesday afternoon, appeared calm and relaxed after arriving at the premiere in a 15-car motorcade, the Associated Press reports. He did not speak to reporters or say anything about his arrest, according to AP.

The Daily Mail has published more conjecture (by way of The Sun) concerning the alleged altercation that took place at the Dorchester Hotel this past Sunday night which resulted in Bale’s arrest Tuesday. In addition to pleas for money, the paper also reports that Bale’s estranged mother and/or sister said some insulting and disparaging things about his wife that added to the tense situation (which was later alleged to be assault):

Batman star Christian Bale argued with his sister after she asked him for £100,000 to help raise her children, it was alleged today. The 34-year-old Batman star is reported to have snubbed the plea and allegedly “pushed and shoved” Sharon and his mother Jenny, 61, during a row in his suite at the Dorchester Hotel on Monday. A source told The Sun: “Christian is a very wealthy man and was asked to help his sister out financially. He was asked to loan her £100,000 but he refused and it caused an almighty row.” Jenny Bale is also said to have made highly disparaging comments about the star’s glamorous wife of eight years, Sibi, 38, a former make-up artist and model.

Again, I totally believe that Christian Bale will be vindicated of these charges and I not only commend him for sticking to his commitments and attempting to carry on in a professional manner but I commend his loving wife for staying by his side thru all of this drama. I imagine it must be terribly painful to have to contend with family issues like this in the public eye but Christian seems to be soldiering on like a champ.

[Source, Source, Source]

It’s hard to not think about the allegations against Christian Bale right now, especially when looking at photos of the man. In any event, everyone looked great on the red carpet … Maggie Gyllenhaal especially looked great in her sexy black dress. Here are a few pics of some of the other celebs who came out for the premiere:

As always, it’s nice to see the McFly boys out and about and how about that Kelly Osbourne. The girl see-saws between lookin’ really tragic to lookin’ really good — she looks pretty amazing these days, I think. I’m not sure what Ne-Yo was doing at the premiere (it’s a pretty random sighting) but I’m sure a good time was had by all. I am very much looking forward to hearing what folks in the UK and Europe think about The Dark Knight. After setting 8 box office records here in the US last weekend, I’m curious to see how the rest of the world will receive the film.

[Photo credit: Splash News]

A Warner Bros. executive says the Batman sequel “The Dark Knight” has taken in $155.34 million to top “Spider-Man 3″ for best opening weekend ever at the box office. The figures released Sunday show “The Dark Knight” more than $4 million ahead of the $151.1 million first weekend for “Spider-Man 3″ in May 2007. Studio distribution chief Dan Fellman says “The Dark Knight” also broke the “Spider-Man 3″ record for best debut in IMAX large-screen theaters with $6.2 million. “Spider-Man 3″ opened with $4.7 million in IMAX cinemas. Stoked by fan fever over the manic performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, “The Dark Knight” also set a one-day box office record with $66.4 million on opening day, Fellman said Saturday. The movie’s Friday haul surpassed the previous record of $59.8 million set last year by “Spider-Man 3.” iReport.com: Did you see ‘Dark Knight’? “The Dark Knight” began with a record $18.5 million from midnight screenings, topping the previous high of $16.9 million for “Star Wars: Episode III — The Revenge of the Sith.” The opening day grosses for “The Dark Knight” far exceeded the full weekend haul of its predecessor, “Batman Begins,” which took in $48.7 million in its first three days in 2005. Reviews were excellent for director Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins,” but they were stellar for his “Dark Knight.” “We’ve really never seen anything like this,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. “The death of a fine actor taken in his prime, a legendary performance and a movie that lives up to all the hype. That all combined to create these record-breaking numbers.” Buzz had been high for the Batman sequel well before Ledger died of an accidental prescription-drug overdose in January. Trailers last fall revealing Ledger’s demented Joker, with crooked clown makeup, turned up the heat even more. The critical acclaim over his performance that built from advance screenings left fans in a frenzy. “It’s a combination of things. Certainly, that’s a great part of it, but I think this movie’s gross was partly because of the reviews it received and the incredible buzz and word of mouth that preceded it with our early screenings,” Fellman said. “And the success and quality of the last one, ‘Batman Begins,’ delivered by Chris Nolan just set the tone for the opening of this movie” … The film spins an epic crime duel as Ledger’s Joker orchestrates a reign of terror on the city of Gotham aimed to spread chaos and break down the restraint that keeps Batman on the right side of the law. Although critics are taking the film seriously enough to suggest that Ledger could be in line for an Academy Award nomination, the action-packed movie also delivers as pure summer movie escapism.

Here is a list of all the box office records set by The Dark Knight in its opening weekend:

1 – LARGEST NUMBER OF OPENING THEATRES WITH 4,366 (MORE THAN THE 4,362 DEBUT THEATRES OF PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END IN 2007).

8 – BIGGEST JULY OPENING EVER (BEATS PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST‘S $135,634,554 ON JULY 7, 2006).

I, for one, am not at all surprised by this stellar performance at the box office. In fact, I would’ve been surprised had The Dark Knight not surpassed the previous opening weekend box office record. I contend that the film will go on to make gads of money in the coming weeks … there are still many people out there who have yet to see the film (primarily because the majority of this weekend’s showings were completely sold out). As a huge Batman fan, I’m thrilled. My wish is that TDK and Heath Leger, in particular, will go on to enjoy recognition from the Academy come awards season. It’s a long shot but stranger things have happened. If Juno can garner Academy Award noms, then so can The Dark Knight.

[Source, Source]

Lawd … what a day I had yesterday … without going into the painfully long details, my 2009 VW Tiguan crossover arrived from Germany (finally) and I was able to get the deal done last night, which almost didn’t happen. Basically, there was some confusion about stock — blah blah blah — but after a couple of hours, everything was straightened out and the car is mine. I pick it up in a few hours so I won’t be able to do much more work this afternoon. I’m only running on 4 hours sleep and I still have to pick up my car, meet Darion at the IMAX for another viewing of The Dark Knight and then meet up with peeps for Mike’s birthday celebration tonight.

Last night was fun tho, Darion and I met up at the Arc Light at around midnight to watch The Dark Knight (my review is HERE and found the place bumpin … here are a few pics from last night’s fun:

I had the extreme pleasure of meeting Pink readers Kyle and Eileen in the popcorn line before the film (head’s up, you have to check out THIS awesome pic of Kyle’s wife NicoleLee — she’s a Suicide Girl — doing her best Joker impersonation … it’s a kickass photo but be warned the site is semi-NSFW). The only bummer of the night was about 10 mins. into the film someone pulled a fire alarm and shut down the entire theater! It took about 15 mins. to get the movies going again but the Arc Light told us to save our ticket stubs to see a free movie to make up for it. D and I had fun … tho he had a bit more fun, posing with the costumed fans :)

So yeah … I’ve got a lot to do today … I got a car to start lovin’ up on and a good friend’s birthday to celebrate. Happy Friday!!

As you can imagine, I really enjoyed the film and you can read my spoilery thoughts and observations after the cut but I have to make clear before I get into the film itself that all the talk that we are hearing about Heath Ledger’s performance in the film is absolutely right on target — the man gives a stunning performance, hand’s down. Whether or not it’s Oscar worthy is another question but he absolutely becomes the psychotic villain of the darkest Batman lore — this movie is NOT TO BE MISSED. After the jump, read the rest of my review …

I have to state, for the record, that I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect from this film. Even without Heath Ledger’s sad, untimely death, I don’t think I would’ve been prepared for the gritty, dark tone of The Dark Knight (which has a morbid tone to it, especially when you see Heath Ledger on screen as the psychotic Joker). Director Christopher Nolan really took the movie as dark as he could for a PG-13 film … I can’t even imagine what the movie would look like had they gone for an R rating. I must confess, tho, that the movie isn’t without its flaws but on the whole, it’s a pretty spectacular masterpiece in the comic book movie genre:

The only negative thing I have to say about the film is that the movie, overall, is really disjointed and not very cohesive. Now, it occurred to me that the disjointedness is intentional so that the viewer can be drawn into utterly insane world of Gotham City but it does make for a somewhat unruly viewing experience. Because the segments in the film are so sectionalized (the Joker part, the Harvey Dent part, the finale), I wasn’t allowed to get totally sucked into the film … I was aware that I was watching a movie. The Joker character is finally realized in movieform for the way he’s always been — an utterly insane psychopath who, for the most part, just “does” rather than necessarily plans and accomplishes (tho, the Joker’s plans do tend to always work out to his specifications, we’re supposed to assume things just keep working out in his insane favor). Never before has the Joker been portrayed as a bonafide psycho in film (in the comics, he’s even more insane but on screen the best we’ve been given was Jack Nicholson, who played up more of the campiness of the character rather than his psychoticness). He’s got yellow, nasty teeth … his face isn’t chemically altered to look freakish … he’s just a completely insane man with no name, no fingerprints, no history (I think it’s brilliant that the Joker has no origin story in this film — he just is — the fact that his facial scars are never explained make them all the more creepy) that is ruled by his utter madness. He’s a villain you can really fear because he could really exist (think Charles Manson or Jeffrey Dahmer but with more flair). Harvey Dent (Two-Face) features in this film much more than I anticipated he would … Aaron Eckhart plays him to a tee, I think. He’s a good-looking, noble character who suffers a great loss (the death of a character and the only real surprise for me in the film) and ends up turning into the very monster he’s built a career on battling. Christopher Nolan tailors the Batman myth to his specifications and makes the characters more real, more believable. I love that the Gotham City in the film is a real city and not an epic, unbelievable monolith of the future — again, it makes everything you see in the movie seem more real. The one thing I always hated about the previous Batman films, including the amazing Tim Burton ones, was that Gotham City never looked real. The viewer could never imagine that city really existing. In Nolan’s world, Gotham City is as real as Chicago, IL (where the movie was filmed) and you can more easily believe that you could be terrorized by a madman like the Joker. In the end, The Dark Knight becomes a bit of a morality play … the citizens of Gotham are given an impossible choice (either kill others or allow them to kill you) and instead of opting to save their own lives and kill, they choose to save their fellow man and not become killers. Now, to be honest, I would have a hard time buying that scenario really happening in the real world so I really didn’t believe that it could happen in the world of Gotham City. Like all hero stories, the good guy has to win in the end — in this instance, the good guy is “mankind”. I can accept that.

Now the only part of the movie that I wasn’t entirely sure about — AND HERE COMES A SPOILER YOU SHOULD AVOID IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE AND WILL ONLY MAKES SENSE TO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE SEEN THE FILM — was the choice that Batman made when the Joker revealed to him that both Rachel Dawes and Harvey Dent were strapped to explosives on opposite sides of the city and he could only save one of them. At first, I assumed that the Joker merely tricked him into thinking he was saving Rachel (the love of his life) and ended up leading him to Harvey (who he saved but not entirely) but then it occurred to me that maybe Batman actually chose to save Harvey (Gotham’s much needed public White Knight) over Rachel (since Batman always chooses the right thing over the thing that would make him happy). Didn’t it occur to Batman that the Joker might be lying about the addresses? I can see both scenarios but I’m still not totally clear on this point. Again, the disjointedness of the film made this part a bit confusing for me.

BUT, I have to say, The Dark Knight is an absolute tour de force. Christopher Nolan and Heath Ledger, especially, raise the bar on comic book films and set an all new benchmark. It’s not Iron Man (a totally solid, totally fun almost perfect comic book film), it’s not even Batman Returns (which I contend was the darkest, dirtiest Batman film) … it’s something more gritty and, well, real and substantive. I’ve heard the movie described as the Godfather II of comic book films and I tend to agree. I don’t have faith that the Motion Picture Academy will feel the same way, nor do I believe that the deserving folks attached to this movie will be honored for their magnificent performances (as much as Ledger became Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain — for which he was nominated for an Academy Award — he becomes the Joker in The Dark Knight) … but I do contend that this movie will live on as a film to be respected and admired. Too much hyperbole? Mebbe … but those are my $0.02.

There were lots of jubilant smiles and happy faces … it’s nice that the stars of The Dark Knight can celebrate their new movie (reportedly a tour de force for Heath Ledger) without having to cast any mournful sadness on the event over the loss of Heath Ledger. After the jump, check out more pics from the black carpet arrivals at the movie premiere and a few photos of some of the attendees at the movie’s afterparty at the Mandarin Oriental …

Here are a few more guests walking the black carpet at last night’s movie premiere:

It looks like any celeb who was in the NYC vicinity was able to make their way to the movie’s premiere … and who could blame them? The Dark Knight promises to be the summer’s biggest blockbuster and will, most likely generate massive buzz for the rest of the year. Considering there is Oscar talk already, well, there’s no telling how huge TDK may turn out to be. I, for one, am counting down the seconds until I am able to see the movie this Thursday night at midnight.

Here are a few pics of some of the guests who attended the premiere afterparty at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, including Kim and Kate Ledger (Heath’s father and sister respectively) and various hotties:

I understand that Heath’s mother, Sally Bell, was also at last night’s premiere and/or afterparty but no members of the Ledger family gave any interviews to the press. Heath’s father was asked what he thought about the movie and he reportedly gave a thumbs up. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be for the family to watch this movie … but, again, I understand that Heath gave a phenomenal performance … one that will prolly live on as his legacy.

I believe there will be another premiere event for The Dark Knight here in LA this week … and then the movie will open for the rest of us to see. I am so excited!!!

[Photo credit: Splash News, Bauer-Griffin, Wireimage]