THE WOMBIES:
Best & Worst Movies Of 2008

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Another year, another bunch of hits and misses in the world of cinema. And what a turbulent year it was.

From the triumphant rise of Comic Book adaptions, to the nail in the coffin for Nicole Kidman's career, to the literal nail in the coffin of some of the world's finest actors and actresses who passed away.

Whatever way you look at it - 2008 has been an interesting year!

So what better way to celebrate it than to throw away all those "Oscar" and "Golden Globe" predictions - and give away some awards of our very own!

Ladies and Gentlemen - we give you the 1st Annual Wombie Awards...

Voted by some of the best in the business, we talked to professionals from every walk of entertainment life - writers, directors, sports stars, critics, comedians, producers and musicians - to let us know exactly what worked and what didn't at cinemas in 2008.

Without doubt, the most talked about and universally adored film of the 2008 season was The Dark Knight.

Whether it be for it's stunning visuals, or the eery final performance of Aussie Heath Ledger - this was the overwhelming favourite from near everyone who has ever attended a cinema.

US BOX OFFICE: $530,741,363

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $996,741,363

WHAT WE SAID: 

"The fact that Batman even appears in the movie is an irrelevant side note in what is essentially a gangster film which could quite easily be compared with The Sopranos or The Godfather Part II, with the gut wrenching random fear of No Country For Old Men"

WHAT THEY SAID:

• "Went to this on a first date... It led to a night of weirdness" - Michael Chamberlin, Comedian (Skithouse, The Mansion)

• "The Dark Knight and Heath Ledger lived up to every expectation. What an awesome film and performance" - Anthony Lehmo, Comedian (Before The Game)

• "It 'put a smile' on my face!" - Clint Morris, Critic (MovieHole)

• "I used to think there was nothing but sleep I would enjoy to do for 2 ½ hours, this is the only exception…" - Wil Anderson, Comedian (The Gruen Transfer)

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

• Wall-E - "This is Pixar at the top of their game" - Anthony Morris, Critic

• Choke - "Surprisingly, better than the book. Yeah, I said it" - Lisa Dib, Music Journalist

• Waltz With Bashir - "How does an animated documentary about Israeli soldiers end up being the year's most beautiful, compelling, and thoroughly re watchable film?" - Lee Zachariah, Critic

• Juno - "I've only seen one movie this year... really enjoyed it by the way" - Paul Calleja, Comedy Writer (The Nation, Comedy Inc)
  

While it's all well and good to be able to spot a great movie - deciding on the worst film of the year is a little harder.

You see - it's a matter of opinion. One man's Anchorman is another man's Schindler's List.

So to avoid having to make an actual decision - we thought it might just leave it to the viewers, and it seems everyone HATED the return of Mike Myers!

US BOX OFFICE: $32,200,122

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $38,984,979

WHAT WE SAID: 

"To be fair, while this is largely a waste of time, at least it's a waste of time that's consistent with the trajectory that Myer's career has been taking for the last decade or so"

WHAT THEY SAID:

• "Not as bad as it was made out to be. Mike Myers hasn't failed me yet." - Brett Wolfenden, Musician (The Pictures, Rushcutter)

• "I saw a review of The Love Guru that said : If shit got The Love Guru on it, it would wipe it off!" - Wil Anderson, Comedian

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

• Meet The Spartans - "Since when did 'obnoxious parody' become a genre all on its own?" - Lisa Dib, Music Journalist (The Dwarf)

• The Day The Earth Stood Still - "It it should be called The Day Keanu Reeves Stood Still" - CJ Fortuna, Comedian (Hamish & Andy, Angry Pinata)

• Righteous Kill - "So much for all the 'Heat' on it! And was that really Carla Gugino getting some back-door lovin' from De Niro?" - Clint Morris, Critic
  

• Margot At The Wedding - "Sorry, but 'art house character piece' does not mean 'every character must be utterly unlikable. What a waste of time" - Lee Zachariah, Film Critic (Ain't It Cool News)

• Big Stan - "Probably the worst film I have ever seen... I would rather find poo in my dessert than a Big Stan DVD" - Anthony Lehmo, Comedian

While you can argue all day about the merits of certain performances, there is one that has risen above the pack with relative ease.

The question is - will the Academy give away a trophy to a guy who can't accept it?

WHAT WE SAID:

• "Ledger really does take it to a new level... the guy owns every frame he is on screen" - Sean Lynch

• "Heath Ledger has a rabid fervour that commands attention whenever he is on screen" - Will Barker

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

• "Kristen Bell's bikini from Forgetting Sarah Marshall" - Clint Morris, Critic

• "Ben Kingsley in The Wackness... plus he got to mac on with an Olsen twin" - Brett Wolfenden, Musician

• "If Benjamin Button is as good as I think, teamed with Burn After Reading... Brad Pitt" - Adam Pattison, AFL (Richmond Football Club)

Having narrowly missed out for worst film of the year in the atrocious Max Payne it only makes sense that the creator of Entourage get a mention at some point! That said - there were plenty of shocking turns this year, here's just a sample of just a few...

WHAT WE SAID: Max Payne - Review | The Happening - Review

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

• "Nicole Kidman's robot forehead" - Anthony Morris, Critic (The Big Issue)

• "Meryl Streep (Mamma Mia!) was like watching De Niro do Rocky and Bullwinkle" - Wil Anderson, Comedian

• "Steve Carrell was so disappointing as Maxwell Smart Agent 86, Get Smart was trite" - Brett Wolfenden, Musician
  

Sometimes all the money and promotion in the world can't attract an audience - just look how unrewarding Australia was!

However, on occasions, just because a film doesn't quite set the ticket booth on fire it by no means that it deserved not to be seen.

Almost ten years after the X-Files series went to television heaven and the first movie had gathered dust on DVD shelves, it was little surprise that Duchovney & Co couldn't quite pull a crowd like they used to.

It didn't help that the movie was about as entertaining to watch as 20 to 1.

US BOX OFFICE: $20,982,478

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $68,258,727

WHAT WE SAID: 

"Whats on offer here is a perfectly serviceable homicide investigation piece, it's nothing that can't be seen (or done just as well or better) on a TV cop drama any day of the week"

WHAT THEY SAID:

• "I love you David Duchovny. Stop staining the keyboard and make good films again" - Lisa Dib, Music Journalist

• "Those expecting aliens and UFOs and vast government conspiracies, prepare for a let-down" - Anthony Morris, Critic

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

• Funny Games - "More chilling than an ice box" - Clint Morris, Critic

• In Bruges - "Colin Farrell's best work since that porn video" - Wil Anderson, Comedian

BIGGEST HIT THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A FLOP:

There were so many atrociously bad films this year that did so amazingly well - you really have to wonder whether or not it was just an accident George Bush was elected twice.

Here are just a few woeful films that made some studio executives pockets fat with greenbacks, despite the fact they sucked harder than "friends" of Charlie Sheen.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

US BOX OFFICE: $92,338,383
WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $114,067,530

"I can't think of any appropriate adjectives with which I can describe Beverly Hills Chihuahua" - Lee Zachariah, Film Critic

Cloverfield

US BOX OFFICE: $80,048,433

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $170,602,318

"For all the hype and secrecy I thought Cloverfield was a massive disappointment. A monster hits New York! Wow, never seen that before" - Anthony Lehmo, Comedian

Mamma Mia! The Movie

US BOX OFFICE: $143,762,955

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $571,652,440

"This torture should be banned under the Geneva Convention" - Wil Anderson, Comedian

The Mummy : Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor

US BOX OFFICE: $102,277,510

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $392,852,751

"Should have stayed under the dust" - Clint Morris, Critic

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FILM THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER WITH ROBERT DOWNEY JNR IN IT:
Australia

If you haven't heard about the movie Australia, you have been living under some kind of a Arnhem Land shaped rock.

If you haven't seen the movie Australia... you probably live in America.

However, it seems that without a doubt, there was one man who made enough of an impact in his role in Tropic Thunder to warrant an entire country wanting a franchise "reboot" with the black-faced Kirk Lazarus front row centre.

ESTIMATED BUDGET: $140,000,000

US BOX OFFICE: $38,700,345

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $53,600,345

WHAT WE SAID: 

"You really have to wonder if the film could have been cut down to a breezy 90 minutes if only everything wasn't shot in slow motion."

More likely to be remembered as "the crap Indiana Jones movie" moreso than not remembered at all, the long awaited return of cinemas greatest hero was met with bix box office... and low quality.

The story made sense, then Shia got a few drinks into him and started swinging on vines - and from there it all got a little haywire.

US BOX OFFICE: $317,023,851

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $786,558,759

WHAT WE SAID: 

"It seems like Spielberg went home and Lucas snuck onto the set to film the final few scenes without anyone knowing - because Crystal Skull goes pear shaped."

WHAT THEY SAID:

• "I am still showering to get the stink off me" - Wil Anderson\, Comedian

• "Keep your expectations closer to Temple of Doom than Raiders of the Lost Ark" - Anthony Morris, Critic

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

• Twilight - "Why are women so attracted to men that can kill them?" - Lisa Dib, Music Journalist

• Flawless - "It's as if pages 61-95 were missing from the script, and director Michael Radford had to make it up on the spot" - Clint Morris, Critic

• 10 000 BC - "Don't remember it? I envy you" - Lee Zachariah, Critic

Having played junior football for eight years and won little more than eight participation awards (they don't give them out to anyone... according to my mum) - there is nothing more encouraging than a "Coaches Award".

It's a way to say "You're not any good, but don't go and kill yourself just yet as the club still wants your yearly registration money".

So to finish off 2008, we thought we will honour those films that weren't good enough to be great, and weren't bad enough to be Max Payne.

• Step Brothers - "Keep trying Will Ferrell, you're almost there" - Lisa Dib, Music Journalist

• Sex Drive - "What? Nobody else has visited a truck stop only to receive a gift through the hole of the stall next door?" - Anthony Morris, Critic

• Not Quite Hollywood -"Simultaneously entertains and informs. See, this country DOES get it right sometimes!" - Lee Zachariah, Critic

• Judd Apatow - "The man is everywhere..." - Brett Wolfenden, Musician'

• The Strangers - "One of the most genuinely creepy and scary films released in the last decade" - Sean Lynch