Best of 2008: Everything Else

In my opinion, the best movies of 2008:

High School Musical 3, Mamma Mia!, Iron Man, Wall-E, Speed Racer, 21, Hancock, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Premonition and Justice League: The New Frontier.

Movies not from 2008, but I saw for the first time this year and loved: Déjà Vu, Last Holiday, Man of the Century, Girl 27, Crash (2004), Shoot ‘Em Up, and the absolutely brilliant The Man from Earth.

The best things from the internet in 2008:

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Stephen King’s "N," Watchmen Motion Comics, BloodRayne A Fan Film, Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips podcast, Derrick Ferguson and Thomas Deja's Better in the Dark podcast and The Writing Show podcast.

The best comic books of 2008:

Jonah Hex, Trinity by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley, Geoff Johns' Action Comics, Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's Fantastic Four, Gail Simone's Wonder Woman, Lone Ranger, Countdown to Mystery, Brave and the Bold, Joe Casey's Godland, and Garth Ennis' brilliant revival of British space hero Dan Dare.

The best music videos of 2008 in my opinion:

"4 Minutes" by Madonna and Justin Timbalake w/Timbaland, "Rockstar" by Nickleback, "Dream On" and "Konichiwa Bitches" by Robyn and Pink's "So What."



Folks and things I’ve discovered in 2008 that probably didn’t actually happen in 2008:

Robin Renee, Os Seminovos, the “Coverage” album by Mandy Moore, Lacuna Coil, Hollywood Undead, Vitamin String Quartet and just how really good Suzi Quatro was and is.

Mamma Mia!

What a fun movie experience!

Mamma Mia! was a wonderful mouthwash after seeing The Dark Knight, reaffirming my love of film letting me know that everything on the big screen isn't complete dog feces.

Fun and wonderful are only two of the adjectives I have for this musical. As a virgin to the stage show I wasn't quite sure what to expect beyond ABBA music. I grew up in the 1970s so I was exposed to quite a bit of it, some I liked and actually owned. Yes, I'm a straight man who admits to liking ABBA. Deal with it.

Sophie, played by up and coming name to watch Amanda Seyfried, is getting married and has invited three men who she suspects could be her father to the wedding. From there, as they say, hilarity ensues, but with an ABBA musical flavor. I must say this was quite surprising with Meryl Streep (as Sophie's mother) and even Pierce Brosnan (one of the potential fathers) among others displaying heretofore unknown singing talents.



Above the rest, Christine Baranski and Julie Walters especially feature here as Streep's best friends and former back-ups in her old singing group, Donna and the Dynamos. Baranski in particular shines in her own number "Does Your Mother Know." The entire cast, many of which are Greek extras, jumps in on the fun of singing throughout the flick. It is however notable that it doesn't seem like any woman on this Greek island wears a bra. This is both for better and worse.



This is a fun movie, a terrific and more than welcome step back into the age of musicals - and highly recommended. And don't forget to stay through the credits for the cast doing a few more songs in full seventies ABBA-ish regalia.