You Don't Mess With The Zohan, hands down.

I am a big Adam Sandler fan and only saw this movie because a DVD I purchased came with free Movie Money to see it. I was sure this was going to be even worse than I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry, but it ranks among his funniest (in my opinion) films.

EDIT: I also was surprised "Wanted" was as good as it was. I just saw it because a friend wanted to see it, but actually ended up enjoying it, especially the ending. I thought "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" would be good, but not as funny as Superbad or The 40-Year-Old Virgin. I now think it is the funniest Apatow Film and probably one of, if not the funniest movies of the year.

And Speed Racer didn't surprise me. I knew it was going to be good and chose to see it opening night. I'm disappointed it did so terribly and people hated it so much. It was definitely one of my favourite films of 2008; I really liked the original show and just had so much fun during the film. The colours were vibrant, the driving was really cool, and the actors were all PERFECTLY cast and did a fantastic job. Just my two cents.

- My Winnpeg (as far as I could tell, if Maddin did a film version of the phonebook, he'd make it just as fascinating and illuminating)

- Slumdog Millionaires (I had heard all the accolades of the film before seeing the film, but was wary that it would impress me that much, most Audience Award winners I don't dig, this one though - wow)

- The Fall (one word: mesmerizing)

- Ashes of Time Redux (I must admit I was not a fan of the film in it's prior edit, the new cut though was immensily better in my opinion)

- Waltz with Bashir (I think it was the final image that shocked me both emotionallly and visually, the use and decision of animation for a documentary film was used effectively)

THE DARK KNIGHT - Didn't think it would live up to the hype - boy, was I wrong.

IRON MAN - After plenty of superhero movies where the lead is filled with agnst, it was nice to see a "cool" superhero, as only Robert Downey, Jr. could play him.

SNOW ANGELS - Heard good buzz about it, and finally got to see it (albeit on home video). Hard movie to watch, but a great film.

QUANTUM OF SOLACE - I wasn't a big fan of CASINO ROYALE, and wasn't expecting much after all the bad "buzz,". Turned out to be my favorite Bond film since Brosnan's THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH. Not a great movie, but certainly a nice "surprise".

Wanted is the clear winner. I think everyone was surprised by that one.

i was gonna say Snow Angels as well, but looked it up and said 2007 release, i rented it but could have sworn in was 08 myself. actually looked it up and said onetime release in Jan 07, but looks like limited release in 2008 so going with that.

Surprises:

1. Doomsday.
2. Punisher: War Zone.
3. Slumdog Millionaire.
4. Iron Man.

Actually, I wasn't really surprised at Slumdog. Expect nothing less from Danny Boyle at this point.

Doomsday was fantastic. Totally hit the spot. Neil Marshall didn't back down on anything.

Punisher: War Zone. Went in with low expectations after the last low-budget Punisher movie and a poor Hulk reboot, but I left feeling like I'd seen the first real Punisher movie of my life. THIS is the Punisher. There is little more I could have wanted or expected out of a Punisher movie. Just great!

In a year where half the movies I saw were comicbook movies, Iron Man was a solid #2 this year, behind Punisher War Zone.

It's been a great year for comic book movies. Even Batman was decent.

5. The Incredible Hulk - I was just expecting another mediocre comic movie but ended up really surprised by how much fun I had while watching it.

4. Redbelt - Hadn't heard too much about this but it renewed my faith in David Mamet after the, IMO, shitfest that was Edmond.

3. Kung Fu Panda - I've never been a big fan of Jack Black but between this Tropic thunder, I'm becoming a bigger fan.

2. Burn After Reading - I'm a big fan of the Coens' but I had no idea how much I would love this movie. I haven't laughed that much while watching a movie in a VERY long time.

1. The Dark Knight - I liked Batman Begins but wasn't as crazy for it as many other people so I was looking forward to the sequel but had nowhere near the expectations beyond it being just a good follow-up to a good movie. I ended up being blown away. Ended up seeing it twice in the theaters - something I never do.

In Bruges - Pushing Dark Knight as my current favorite film of the year.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall - I knew it would be funny, and Jason Segal is all kinds of awesome, but it was so much better than I thought it could ever be.
Rambo - Bloody, gory, about as un-PC a movie as you could get. And I loved every minute of it.
Speed Racer - I had no expectations to like it, even though Emile Hirsch is my favorite young actor. Pleasantly shocked.
Wanted - Much cooler than I thought. Even the GF loved it.

Top 3:

TDK
Doomsday
Deception (critically panned, but I enjoyed it quite a bit)

this is the Rhona Mitra one right?

kung fu panda
forgetting sarah marshall
tropic thunder
iron man
TDK

Twilight
Get Smart

Yup.

Meh, I read the screenplay before I saw it and it was way better.

I liked this one too immensly, It looked like a big budget Troma film, minus the hammy acting.

07 is the copyright date, but it's wide release was in 08. The January 07 date was it's Sundance premier. Similarily 'Sunshine Cleaning' is a 08 film screened in January 08, but it's wide release will be in March of 09. Why certain films like these have such long distribution times is beyond me.

01.Son Of Rambow
02.Son Of Rambow
03.Son Of Rambow
04.Son Of Rambow
05.Son Of Rambow