Top 10 Films of 2008..!

Because it's good to be opinionated and write lists...! The best 10 films I saw for the first time in 2008...

1. No Country for Old Men (2008) - Possibly the most frightening film villain and haircut of all time played by Javier Bardem. Multiple plotlines interwoven effortlessly by the Cohen Brothers... Yes, I think it is better than Batman...

2. The Dark Knight (2008) - Yep, Heath Ledger before he died playing a lunatic, Christian Bale being brilliant and millions of ludicrous stunts that make you feel sick on an IMAX screen. Awesome!

3. Persepolis (2008) - A darkly funny and poignant cartoon of the life of a girl growing up in Iran around the time of the war with Iraq. Brilliant!

4. Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990) - I'm amazed I'm putting this here, I thought it would be tosh! However, great acting from the two leads and the odd situation with ghosts living with the alive made it surprisingly excellent!

5. Cape Fear (1991) - Robert De Niro casually playing a psychopath - how many of the top 10 include mentalists?! What does that say about me?! Anyway, it's a bit of a classic but if you've seen the first Sideshow Bob episode of The Simpsons, it's slightly ruined!

6. Teeth (2008) - A comedy about a Christian girl who has teeth in her vagina, what more do you need?!

7. Edward Scissorhands (1990) - Tim Burton basically does love stories in various Gothic backgrounds but this one, taking a massive swipe at the American Dream is one of his best.

8. X-Files 2: I Want To Believe (2008) - Much maligned by critics - they seemed to want Mulder and Scully to stumble upon an alien race and end it forever. Instead, we were dealt a superior thriller concluding in a way that only the X-Files can make seem realistic.

9. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008) - This was fantastic fun! A snappy script, some sumptuous graphics and flawed superheroes go a long, long way!

10. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (2008) - Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter stand out in a musical from hell! The crack where the first of the victims lands on their neck is still with me! Dark and very, very good!

Special mentions to the bloodsoaked new version of Rambo (2008) which did set new standards in gore and Last Tango in Paris (1972), which for a film made 37 years ago was astonishingly filthy! Both just failed to make the top 10!

And The Top 10 Albums Of 2008..!

Drinking some port and relaxing as the weather is so shit... here's some more judging of stuff..! The final part for this year, I promise...

One album per band, I won't single out particular tracks as all of them don't have a weak one between them. So, the top 10 albums I heard for the first time in 2008... here we go!

1. Frank Turner - Love, Ire & Song (2008) - This album is absolutely wonderful. As is everything that he's ever put out. Biting but fun, he is the best portrait painter of people since Jarvis Cocker and Morrissey. He's that good!

2. Gallows - Orchestra of Wolves (2006) A completely different record, angry, brutal, dirty but also tight and well written. It's amazing they are so young and they put in a live show that has to be seen to be believed...

3. Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine (1992) - This album will go down in history, ten songs of rabble rousing ire. All four of the band are just exceptional and these songs will provoke moshpits forever.

4. Jarvis Cocker - The Jarvis Cocker Record (2006) - I was sceptical but... while a lot of indie has disappeared up its' own anus, Jarvis has used his old tricks yet they seem so fresh. Along with his usual songs about filth and shagging comes social commentary and it is tremendous. The Kooks and a lot of other famous wank indie bands should take some notes...

5. Sonic Boom Six - Arcade Perfect (2007) - For those that don't know, imagine a mouthy Asian Manc' fronting a political punk/hip hop/ska band, sounds brilliant but potentially treacherous but it somehow works. Much more rap based than the "Ruff Guide To Genre Terrorism" and with a perfect pop song too, it might not ever make the charts but I absolutely adore them!

6. CSS - Cansei Der Ser Sexy (2006) - Dance music made using guitars written by Brazilians with a loose grip of English. Every song is a singalong delight and like a fair bit of the subject matter, it's very sexy!

7. Hell Is For Heroes - Hell Is For Heroes (2007) - It's a shame that as they were perfecting their art, they were being shafted by the record industry so this is the final one for them... This is possibly better than "The Neon Handshake's" crowdpleasing efforts. Jagged riffs, a more varied organisation and heavy tunes. Great.

8. UNKLE - Psyence Fiction (1998) - A lot of dance music lacks balls, it can be so bland that it's not even there or in the case of Scooter et al, 'in your face' and annoying. This is soulful, menacing and a party in equal measures, it's Mancunian and gritty and makes me want to buy their entire back catalogue.

9. Editors - An End Has A Start (2007) - No, I don't bum Joy Division. Quite the opposite. Like how Muse were endlessly compared to Radiohead, Editors get shunted in with the Mancunian miserable bastards. Yet, they have their own style and singer Tom Smith can soar away from the potential dourness.

10. Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta (2007) - This album is looney, this band are looneys. They sing songs about weddings, harems and not liking the Bible. A mix of punk and gipsy music, they have 2 accordion players and they just seem to be having such a great time doing it! One listen and I was hooked.

Special mentions to Jimmy Eat World's "Chase This Light" (2007) that I first listened to last year but was the soundtrack to leaving 41 Stephens Road, The Dead Kennedys' (1980) "Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables" and the 2 albums of the Palmeiras Skanibales (2001) & (2006), the Venezuelan ska band that will forever bring back memories of my first Glastonbury Festival!

Also there was Hell is for Heroes and Rage Against the Machine's second albums, "Transmit Disrupt" (2005) and "Evil Empire" (1996) respectively which would have been in without the one album per band rule. I know it is incredible that I hadn't properly sat down and listened to RATM prior to this year but it's true!

Hilariously, only 1 of the top 10 was actually released in 2008 (although 4 more were from 2007), fittingly the only one from last year is the one sitting on top spot!

Anyway, all 16 of those mentioned above are absolutely ace! There is ALWAYS good music being released, it is just that some years it is harder to track down...