30 Movies that Mattered in 2008

I held back from listing my Best of ’08 at the end of the year, because there were still a few movies I’d yet to see. When I finally caught up, too many conflicts of interest clouded the order that was forming. Not that anyone cares at this point, but as Oscar voting comes to close, today seems like a fine time to list the 30 movies of 2008 that mattered to me the most.

Maybe you guys have had time to rethink your Top 10s in the past few weeks — or feel like expanding the scope to 20 or 30, too. Would love to see your lists. Here’s mine.

Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
The Dark Knight
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
A Christmas Tale
Man on Wire
WALL-E
Revolutionary Road
Paranoid Park
Waltz with Bashir
The Reader
Gomorrah
The Edge of Heaven
Let the Right One In
The Class
Doubt
In Bruges
Trouble the Water
Up the Yangtze
Frozen River
Vicki Cristina Barcelona
Hunger
Encounters at the End of the World
Standard Operating Procedure
Ballast
Rachel Getting Married
Che
Tell No One
The Visitor
The Wrestler