Best and the rest

e+ looks at all the Hollywood flicks that had audiences laughing, screaming applauding or even cursing in the year gone by.

The year 2008 has been an eventful one for Hollywood, both in terms of box office success and critical acclaim. The one film that stood out was, of course, Batman: The Dark Knight. Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker, in no small measure, being responsible for its commercial success.

In 2008, Hollywood celebrated both its acting finesse and technical mastery in the form of superhero flicks, eye-popping animated features, big-budget action adventures, heart-warming romantic comedies, musicals, edgy thrillers, numbing horror with a few classics thrown in for the benefit of the Oscars.

Superhero

It was, undoubtedly, the year of super heroes and the tone was set by Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr's class act promises a few sequels down the line. The film was a blockbuster worldwide. But it was nothing compared to the media frenzy surrounding the latest Batman sequel The Dark Knight. Heath Ledger‘s spellbinding performance as the Joker and the hype surrounding his tragic death helped in the publicity.

The Incredible Hulk was a better version of the earlier installment. Will Smith's Hancock had him saving the United States for the nth time. It went down well with audiences despite lukewarm reviews. Hellboy 2 rounded off the third ‘super hero with an attitude' after Iron Man and Hancock and the film did well.

Animation

This was clearly Kung Fu Panda's turf. Jack Black's unlikely panda warrior had the film's makers laughing all the way to the bank. Wall.E, Dr. Suess' Horton Hears A Who! and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa were all marvellous pieces of work. Star voice-overs helped a great deal. The recent animated flick Bolt has also had a fair share of success, thanks to its action-filled tale about a super dog. Probably the only hi-profile animated film that failed to appeal was Space Chimps.

Romantic comedies and musicals

Star driven comedies tasted huge success thanks to cheesy flicks such as What Happens in Las Vegas and Fool's Gold. Quirky comedies like Leatherheads and Burn After Reading had moderate success. Humour laden films like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Semi-Pro, Step Brother and Pineapple Express also had a following.

Sex and The City took a huge leap from small screen to big screen and became a must-watch film for the ladies while the big-screen adaptation of the popular love story Twilight, became a rage among the younger crowd. Cute and endearing films like 27 Dresses, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Made of Honour and the latest Four Christmases pleased the audience.

Tropic Thunder stood out for its wacky humour and tremendous acting by its entire star cast. Tom Cruise was outstanding in a cameo. However, Mike Myers' The Love Guru and Eddie Murphy's Meet Dave were the worst comedies in recent years.

Hollywood also produced two successful musicals. Mamma Mia appealed to the older generation while High School Musical 3: Senior Year was a rage among teenagers.

Action

Steven Spielberg's much-anticipated Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skull led from the front in the genre of big-budget action extravaganzas. Though the film fell short of expectations, Indiana Jones fans made the film a global success. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian continued to draw ardent fans, but The Mummy followers were disappointed with the insipid Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Fraser redeemed himself among bloodthirsty dinosaurs with his action-adventure Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

Wanted got its share of attention, thanks to curving bullets and Angelina Jolie. Slick special effects notwithstanding, 10,000 B.C. and Speed Racer were panned by critics and the audience alike. Get Smart and Jumper, however, got a favourable response.

Horror and suspense

Audience were treated to a fifth installment of Saw. Some found the film slightly less gory, but it is still not for the fainthearted. The horror genre, however, was the weak link among the Hollywood themes that hit screens this year.

None of the films captivated audiences. There were a number of films such as Prom Night, Shutter, Mirrors, The Eye and, of course, Saw V, but success rates were moderate. Manoj N. Shyamalan's The Happening was better than his previous spooky attempts, but it was a fry cry from his classic The Sixth Sense.

Drama and thrillers

High-voltage and taut thrillers like Cloverfield, Vantage Point, 21 and Eagle Eye had audience asking for more. However, much-anticipated, star-driven thrillers such as the latest installment of X-Files, Body of Lies, Bangkok Dangerous, Max Payne, Babylon A.D. and Righteous Kill did not live up to the huge expectations.

Earlier in the year, a 60-plus Sylvester Stallone showed he could still flex his muscles as the ageing, but still very angry, Rambo. Audiences lapped up the fifth installment of the cult flick. Wonder if Sly can survive another gun fest.

The recently released The Day the Earth Stood Still didn't impress audiences. Neither did the much-hyped Australia despite the presence of Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. Dramatic films like The Other Boleyn Girl, Vicky Christina Barcelona and Changeling have won critical acclaim and are strong award contenders.

This month should bring two of the best dramatic films of the year to the UAE – Ron Howard's Nixon/Frost and Bonny Doyle's Slumdog Millionaire – the latter already touted as the best film of the year by some critics.

The end of the year brings five much-anticipated releases of varied genres. There is the Adam Sandler's crowd-pleasing fantasy comedy Bedtime Stories; Tom Cruise's controversial historic Valkyrie; the star-driven special effects extravaganza, The Spirit; Jennifer Aniston's comedy Marley & Me; Brad Pitt's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Sam Mendes' Revolutionary Road that reunites Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet.

This kind of line-up should ensure that Hollywood ends the year on a high!