10 Best PG-13 Movies 2008

2008 was a very good year for films and these were the very best of the middle child of ratings—the ten best PG-13 movies of 2008.

1. "Mamma Mia!" - Meryl Streep with an Abba soundtrack? What's not to love? This crowd-pleaser had fans lining up and dancing in the aisles.
2. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" - Brad Pitt, as Benjamin, begins life as an old man and ages in reverse—getting younger as those around him grow old. Some complained that the story was contrived and, at nearly three hours, too long, but there was a lot to chew on and, hey, there was Cate Blanchett as Benjamin's doomed love interest.
3. "Shotgun Stories" – This largely overlooked gem from first-time director Jeff Nichols looks at family regrets and revenge in Southeast Arkansas.
4. "Cloverfield" – This fast-paced, documentary-style monster movie set in Manhattan had audiences on the edges of their seats and sometimes jumping out of them. One of the biggest surprises of the year.
5. "I've Loved You So Long" – Kristen Scott Thomas gives one of the best performances of 2008 in this French Thriller.
6. "Doubt" – Set in 1964 in the Bronx, Catholic priest Father Flynn (a remarkable Philip Seymour Hoffman) invites scrutiny into his life by preaching about doubt. Costarring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams in a a film where all the main actors were nominated for Academy Awards.
7. "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" – The best Woody Allen film in ages. A love triangle in Barcelona between moody artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) and two American women (Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall) gets even more complicated when Juan Antonio's explosive ex-wife (a ravishing Penelope Cruz) shows up.
8. "Iron Man" – 2008 was a great year for superhero movies and this was almost the best one. Robert Downey Jr. plays billionaire inventor Tony Stark with just the right comic pitch. A high-water mark in the genre.
9. "Man On Wire" – In the early 1970s, French high wire walker Philippe Petit set his sights on crossing between the then-brand new World Trade Center towers. This exhilarating documentary plays like the a great heist film as Petit and friends spend years plotting and practicing for their guerilla stunt. Very close to being the best film of the year but that honor belongs to...
10. "The Dark Knight"– Christopher Nolan ("Memento") directs the most introspective film in the Batman series. What makes this one so great? A standout performance by the late Heath Ledger as The Joker and a story so compelling that even people who aren't fans of the genre were won over. Not just the best PG-13 movie of 2008 but the best movie of the year, period.