So here is a few lists from me to retrospect the year that was 2008.
1. Watching the Watchmen by Dave Gibbons - For those of you who don't know, this is a comprehensive look at the making of the seminal comic series Watchmen, told primarily by it's artist Dave Gibbons. It is a seminal piece when it comes to test pictures and previously unpublished Watchemn art, but unfortunately we only have the one side of the story, as Alan Moore did not co-operate. It is a must for any Watchmen fan.
2. Wall-e - In my opinon, one of the finest animated sci-fi pictures ever made. The wonderful tale about the forgotten robot Wall-e and his search for love is not only heart-lifting, it's utterly magical. Pixar has outdone themselves again with this masterpiece.
3. Pushing Daisies Season 2 - This show has easily moved into the top 5 all-time TV shows in my opinon. Everything about the show is mindblowingly good. The dialouge is smart, funny, and whimsical. The visuals are like candy for your brain, and the concept is one of the most original and daring in television history. Too bad ABC is too blind to see it, or too greedy to care. 
4. Third by Portishead- Been waiting for this to be released for a very long time, and boy was it worth the wait. One of the most amazing albums in a long time, let alone the year. I can't recomend it enough. Especially "Machine Gun" and "The Rip"
5. Caribou at the Crowbar - 04/06/2008 - Seeing Caribou was close to a religous experience. It was the first show I had been to in a VERY long time, and I was not exactly feeling up to par that night. The opening act (The Fuckbuttons) were ok, but not really my thing. Then Caribou hit the stage, and I was forever sold into the genius that is Dan Snaith. It was the most rockin'est show I have ever been too. If they ever come toy your town, DO NOT HESITATE, trust me, you'll not regret it.
6. The Dark Knight- This is on the top of everyone's "best of" lists this year, and with good reason. It is a fantastic look at crime and how it affects our society in the community. It also tacles the subjects of fear played in the media, and the lengths people are willing to go to do what is right. It is an absolutely fantastic film. in every right, and deserves every accolade it recieves. 
7. Fringe - The best new show of the season. In my opion, picks up where The X-Files left off, and runs full force with it. Hopefully soon we see some serious shit go down, and this son of a bitch gets blown wide open, and we get more details at what exactly is going on with the "Pattern". Also includes one of my favorite characters put on the small screen in Walter Bishop. 
8. Dexter Season 3 - It's hard to imagine and believe that the first season that Showtime's Dexter veers off course from the source material that it would become it's finest season yet. Then again, this is the show that is able to continuously top itself season after season, so it's not much of a shock that this season would show us the potential of this amazing show. Dex and Rita getting married, Rita's pregnanc, Miguel and his secrets. PURE ENJOYMENT OF EVERY MINUTE!!
9. Evil Urges by My Morning Jacket - This album was a complete surprise. When it first hit my CD player, and I heard the album in it's entirety, I was left scratchi ng my head, and thing that MMJ has pulled the best joke ever. I was just dumbfounded that what I believe to be the best american rock band would be releasing an album so....Fun? I was just confused, but after time, this album has absolutely grown on me. The Majority of the tracks are unbeatable, and some are even dancible. It is a joy to see the boys in this whole completely new direction. Hopefully we'll see alot more from them in the future. 
10. The Fall - Film director Tarsem gets a realy bad rep, for his previous work "The Cell" with Jennifer Lopez and Vincent D'Onofrio. People say that the visuals were absolutely gorgeous, but the story was almost totally without any real substance. I don't blame Tarsem for that. He didn't write the story, and Jennifer lopez is as lively as a loaf of bread, so when I heard that Tarsem was releasing a new movie that he wrote and directed, I was already on board. Then throw in the mix of Lee Pace as the lead, well then I HAD to be there. And what a wonderful and beautiful and tragic movie it is. I don't want to give anything away about it, but easily my favorite movie released this year. 
11. Incredible Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson (Mass Market) - Now, I know what you're thinking, "Hey Jon, you silly ass, the Incredible Shrinking Man was originally published in 1956, you can't add that to your best of 2008 list!". And you may be right, but only in 2008 has Mass Market made this, and other Richard Matheson classics available for only 4.99!!! That in itself makes it to my list, but the book is also absolutely fantastic, posing the most important question of all, the importance of pushing forward when the end result will be the same, death. If you have never read any Richard Matheson, this is a good place to start as any (as I had not when I read this book). It also includes other classic shorts like "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" and "Duel", it's a must for anyone who remotely calls themself a fan of Sci-fi- lit. 
12. Stanley Kubrick's Boxes - I recorded this documentary on IFC earlier this year, and as a Kubrick nut, it was absolutely astounding. Here's a small synopsis "When filmaker Ronson is invited to Kubrick's estate after the reclusive director's untimely death, Ronson becomes captivated by the thousands of boxes stacked and stored throughout Kubrick's stately home. The boxes (and their contents) become the subject of his documentary." Held within the boxes are endless amounts of preproduction research for all of his films. Kubrick kept meticulous records of his work, even keeping all of the fan mail that he recieved and filing it accordingly. It is an absolutely facinating documentary on how this film master became who he was. 
13. Maybe Foreign at the Brass Mug - 11/22/2008 - Ok, so I'm not just including this show because my best friend Ryan Guy is in the band. I am including this because it truly was a wonderful time, and live music at it's finest. Looking forward to see these guys again real soon. 
14. Step Brothers - This movie was a bit of a surprise. I love Will Ferrell. I think anything that comes out of his mout or brain is comedy gold (with the exception of Semi-Pro, that was a stinker). But this movie caught me off gaurd with how irreverant and downright silly it was. For him anf John C. Reily to play live at home adults as crude adolescants is a stroke of brilliance and absurdity that had me laughing EVERY MINUTE of this movie. 
15. Attack and Release by The Black Keys - This is gold. With Danger Mouse providing just the right amount of production value to the normally very diy lo-fi duo, they have created an essential for any fan of "Dirty ass" rock. This album is gorgeous and moving. 
16. Watchmen (Hardback) by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons - I'm gonna keep this one a little short, and it's a bit of cheat to be on this list. You see, I actually don't own this, but I will shortly. The reason that this is on the list is simple, who doesn't want an aboslutely gorgeous digitally recolored and smoothed out pimped out edition of THE BEST COMIC BOOK EVER WRITTEN? Anyone? That's what I thought. 
17. Rambo- I am a self proclaimed Sly junkie. I love it all. Cobra? Yep!. Over the Top? You're goddamned right it was! But when Sly announced a few years ago that he was going to not only re-visit the Rocky franchise (with the absolutely perfect Rocky Balboa), but also re-visit the vietnam vet super-baddass muthafucker that is Rambo, I needed to change the whites. And boy did he ever deliver!!!! With some of the best action violence and gore that I've seen in mainstream action in a very long time, Sly also brought forward the serious atrocities that were happening in Darfur. It is a head-exploding, Bullet ripping you in half great time. 
18. True Blood - I was a little skeptical of how good this show was going to be at first. HBO was running these promotional shorts for the show called "Bloodcopy" which had an internet news show feel to it, and I knew that the show was not going to follow that format, so for some reason that made me a little uneasy going into the first episode. But my apprehensions were soon dissolved, and soon I was totally invested in the story of Sookie Stackhouse and Bill. Cannot wait for season 2.
19. Supreme Genius of King Khan by King Khan and The Shrines - So this album came into my awareness from out of the blue. Jeremy had found a used vinyl copy of it for 3.99 having no idea what it was. He took it home and it instantly blew him away. The songs are silly, raucous, and down right rocking. Old school funk mixed with some dirty garage rock, and you got some real supreme genuis with this record. 
20. Forgetting Sarah Marshall - In my opinon, this was the most underrated comedy of the year. I've loved jason segal since I saw slackers, and then when I was finally able to catch all of Freaks and Geeks on dvd, that just sealed the deal. He is hilarious, and has an uncanny resemblance to a young Judge Reinhold (think Fast Times at Ridgemont High era). With this movie, you get everything, numerous full frontal nudity shots of Jason Segal crying, which is hilarious, as well as a puppet musical about dracula, which actually landed Jason Segal and Nick Stoller (who both wrote marshall and the dracula musical within) a job writing the next full length muppet musical! A must, especially if you're an Apatow fiend like me.
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