I compiled about 15 critics' Top Ten Movies of 2008 lists into a database and then a master list. It's interesting all by itself, but I thought the comparison with the MetaCritic Top Ten of 2008 was interesting too.

Top Ten Movies of 2008 Master List

1. Wall-E (76)
2. Slumdog Millionaire (58)
3. Happy-Go-Lucky (50)
4. Milk (44)
5. Frost/Nixon (41)
6. The Visitor (30)
7. Rachel Getting Married (28)
8. The Dark Knight (27)
9. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (26)
10. A Christmas Tale (25)
11. Man on Wire (25)

MetaCritic Top Ten of 2008

1. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
2. The Class
3. Wall-E
4. Man on Wire
5. Slumdog Millionaire
6. The Flight of the Red Balloon
7. The Edge of Heaven
8. Alexandra
9. Milk
10. A Christmas Tale

The article I wrote contains a lot more detail on methodology, a little light analysis, comparison with box office, etc. You can read it here.

Interesting work. I thought your article would be much more interesting if you linked the list of critics to their articles/lists. I hope you can do that.

I am still flabbergasted as to how WALL-E got such universal praise from around the table. Sure, the short at the beginning was funny, the graphics were spectacular, but what about the plot? The theme of environmentalism runs pretty close to the surface throughout the whole movie, but then makes that awkward "Here I am!" with the introduction of the humans. Honestly, we all know the usual stereotypes associated with a decaying culture that's being bred on complacence, ignorance, etc. There's no need to make the unbalanced step into this wash in a movie marketed mainly towards kids.

I suppose my beef with the movie is that as a movie that starts off kid-oriented becomes a denouncement of wide-ranging issues that a child could never fully grasp. On the spaceship, you see all these fat, chromatically aligned humans scooting around in recliners, eating and drinking themselves into oblivion. But point that camera back at the audience and you see the same thing, sans the matching jumpsuits. The message could have been delivered much more subtly, or been completely left out.

The reason Finding Nemo, Toy Story, and A Bug's Life were so enjoyable was because semantics were left out of the equation. And when "Serious Adult Business" reared its ugly head, it was briefly and didn't detract from the flow of the story. When a current issue such as environmentalism is brought up so suddenly like that, it's a cop out. And Pixar has proven itself to be much better than that.

The miracle with WALL-E is that it's all accomplished without a word of dialogue. Wall-E has tremendous emotional affect; it communicates visually and sonically, and spectacularly so. We are never in doubt of what is happening or what the characters are communicating. This isn't just a great animated work, or even just a great Pixar thrill ride. This is simply just spectacular film-making. The tone and style of the film is completely different for Pixar, and Disney haven't tried to override the darker thematic elements at all, making the story surprisingly three-dimensional. The film never hits you over the head with anything preachy and doesn't really even outright tell you what its opinions on the subjects it raises are. It also doesn't explicitly lay out explanations for everything that exists in Wall-E's world (there are no "talking killer" scenes and very little verbal exposition). I think the bits of ambiguity work here because they add to the sense of mystery, helplessness and alienation that most of the characters in the movie feel to some degree.

I'm still reluctant to see Wall-E because I feel like I've been burned too many times on these Pixar movies. They all seem like they're top notch digital animation, sure, but storywise, they all seem so generic.

Is Wall-E really different? Or am I going to be disappointed again?

Mind you, I asked this question last year, and people convinced me that Ratatouille (a movie I barely remember now) had a terrific story. So, is it Ratatouille-good, or actual good?

Everytime I see one of these, I feel like, well, it's pretty good, for a cartoon. I keep wishing like one day, Pixar will make a great "film" instead of a good "cartoon", but I imagine it won't happen because of the target audience they're trying to cater to.

quote:

EricG75 "Forum Moderator"
Super Bad-Ass Jedi
Posted 01 January 2009 03:41 PM

I'm still reluctant to see Wall-E because I feel like I've been burned too many times on these Pixar movies. They all seem like they're top notch digital animation, sure, but storywise, they all seem so generic.

Is Wall-E really different? Or am I going to be disappointed again?

Mind you, I asked this question last year, and people convinced me that Ratatouille (a movie I barely remember now) had a terrific story. So, is it Ratatouille-good, or actual good?

Everytime I see one of these, I feel like, well, it's pretty good, for a cartoon. I keep wishing like one day, Pixar will make a great "film" instead of a good "cartoon", but I imagine it won't happen because of the target audience they're trying to cater to.

The storyline isn't anything to remember. It's not unique. Basically, this is a love story with an environmental-science fiction backdrop with the human beings mostly coming along for the ride. What's memorable about this movie is how the story was told and communicated. In a number of ways, like Native American oral tradition, this movie represents a significant move towards storytelling from a lost art of seeing not hearing. The movie resonates not on an intellectual, story plot standpoint, but a feeling and emotional standpoint. This animated feature is entertainment, to be enjoyed as a brief excursion into another world with lingering messages to remind us of our own fragile humanity. To read more into it would destroy the movie's integrity. Whether you would enjoy this movie really depends on a myriad of personal values and experiences. However, the odds are from what you've been able to communicate in words, would be that you are likely to be disappointed once again. I'd just watch the movie to be entertained not intellectually stimulated. This animated feature reminded me a little of Spirited Away (2001) but instead of a fantasy genre, Wall*E (2008) is definitely in the science fiction genre ala animated Silent Running (1972).

Wall-E is just another assembly-line Pixar film, honestly. There's nothing that makes it very different from anything else they've done, so if you weren't crazy about Ratatouille you won't love Wall-E.

(You can probably tell I'm with you on Pixar. )

And Spirited Away is on a whole different plane of existence from anything they've done.

quote:

odysseyandoracle Apprentice Guru
Posted 02 January 2009 07:45 PM

Wall-E is just another assembly-line Pixar film, honestly. There's nothing that makes it very different from anything else they've done, so if you weren't crazy about Ratatouille you won't love Wall-E.

It doesn't seem that you've read many of the posts about Wall*E (2008) describing how different this movie is from actually almost any other movie, live or animated. If you had, you wouldn't have to read my lips (literally and pun intended if you've seen the movie).

i just like the movie. WALL E is some what different from other films that i watched. It has good humor and likable images to see.At the same time it balances the humor for the message that you will not see any other year. No comment.

Why not add the Reader and Revolutionary Road to the list?