Top five / Soderbergh interview

I've been poked, prodded, and given a number of threats that mostly involve injury via puncture, so here it is, you jackals. My five favorite movies of 2008, in a ranked list. And here's a bonus: a single word I'd use to describe why I chose each.

1. Che - Ambitious
2. The Wrestler - Soul-baring
3. Frost/Nixon - Taut
4. Milk - Inspiring
5. Doubt - Elegant

The only surprise might be The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which I'm slated to see tonight. Already I'm going in with a player-hater attitude for some reason; probably because it was slathered in Oscar nominations that I can only assume was by sheer laziness on the nomination peoples' behalf. That, and anything made for over $150 million pisses me off by sheer jealousy that I'll never get to touch that much skrilla. (Did I just say skrilla?)

Also, here's a great interview with Steven Soderbergh that goes beyond just a rote discussion about Che, both man and film. In particular, he weighs in on why the endless warring over the holy land is pointless (Soderbergh is a self-described "hardcore atheist") and he, quite surprisingly, expresses some doubt that filmmaking, as a medium, can achieve anything worthwhile.

Tangent: That last bit reminds me of the tearjerking confessional near the end of JCVD, where Jean-Claude laments that, while he's a world-famous movie star, he's done nothing in his life that means anything.