5 Off My Head: Siri Says 2008

Now that the festival rush of Fall 2025 is behind me I've been feeling the nagging sensation to check back into our long long too-long running series of "Siri Says" posts -- the last one I did was back in January! These posts have gotten increasingly sporadic as the remaining years have dwindled -- when I checked what's left this morning I saw there were only five years out of one hundred left for us to do. Do what, you ask since it's been so long since I've done one? Well the idea is that I had my phone choose a random number between 1 and 100 and then I picked my five favorite movies from the year that corresponds. Once we got down to the teens the process changed a little because it took too long for Siri to get to a number I hadn't already done, so I wrote the remaining years on slips of paper and picked one with my eyes shut. And that's how we ended up with the year 2008 today.

It's the last year of the Aughts we had left to do -- another decade crossed off! And this is another year when I was actively blogging here at MNPP so there's documentation of my thoughts on 2008's movies already -- click here to see what my favorite movies were at that moment. My list now, seventeen years later, has changed a little! Not entirely, but some. So let's get to it. I give you...

My 5 Favorite Movies of 2008

Synecdoche, New York

(dir. Charlie Kaufman)

-- released on October 24th 2008 --

Let the Right One In 

(dir. Tomas Alfredson)

-- released on December 12th 2008 --

In Bruges

(dir. Martin McDonagh) 

-- released on February 29th 2008 --

The Fall 

(dir. Tarsem Singh) 

-- released on May 30th 2008

Lake Mungo 

(dir. Joel Anderson) 

-- released on June 18th 2008 --

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Runners-up: Wall*E (dir. Andrew Snanton), The Wrestler (dir. Darren Aronofsky), Wendy & Lucy (dir. Kelly Reichardt), Mister Lonely (dir. Harmony Korine), Funny Games U.S. (dir. Michael Haneke), The Chaser (dir. Na Hong-jin), Timecrimes (dir. Nacho Vigalondo), Happy-Go-Lucky (dir. Mike Leigh), [REC] (dir. Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza)...

...  Teeth (dir. Mitchell Lichtenstein), Encounters at the End of the World (dir. Werner Herzog), The House Bunny (dir. Fred Wolf), The Ruins (dir. Carter Smith), Doomsday (dir. Neil Marshall), Cloverfield (dir. Matt Reeves), Hunger (dir. Steve McQueen), Reprise (dir. Joachim Trier)

What are your favorite movies of 2008?

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

 ... you can learn from:

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Cassie: I don't get you, Ennis del Mar.

Ennis: I'm sorry. Was probably no fun anyway, was I?

Cassie: Ennis, girls don't fall in love with fun!

Pretty sure that every gay man who's been closeted for any portion of their life has had some variation on this exact conversation with a girl who had a crush on them -- I remember a couple from high school and oof, those memories are excriutiating. My sincerest apologies to all of those women today. It's a fuck-ton of a situation. 

Anyway that scene is just one of many scenes in Brokeback (every single scene actually) that rings painfully true. And it seems kismet to me that I highlight it today since it's Linda Cardellini's 50th (!!!) birthday today and I was just talking (see below) about what a stunning performance she gives in her handful of scenes in this film the other day, when I saw this on the big screen over the weekend for its 20th anniversary. (There's an entire thread at Bluesky surrounding the below post, if you're so inclined.) 

Also justice for Linda Cardellini who never gets talked about giving one of the great performances in this movie but surely does

[image or embed]

— Jason Adams (@jamnpp.bsky.social) June 21, 2025 at 7:23 PM

Anyway the movie still stuns but I felt downright lousy I'd forgotten Cardellini's wonderful work entirely since the last time I watched the movie (which was probably about a decade ago -- it's hard to re-watch! It hurts!) -- the main foursome's turns just all loom so large. Or if I start thinking about smaller roles I wander off thinking about Jake & David Harbour eye-fucking each other as Anna Faris hilariously blathers on. Good goddamn the sexual tension in that scene is still off the charts...

May For May

Here's a bit of amazing news that dropped while I was away that I didn't realize was as amazing as it is until just now -- Lucky McKee's magnificent 2002 horror flick May is finally getting a U.S. blu-ray release! Starring Angela Bettis, Jeremy Sisto, and Anna Faris, I've long sung this flick's praises so you'd think I'd have been right on this, but I got confused by the film having gotten a U.K. release like last year-ish that I snapped up the instant it went on sale -- this blu from Vestron, which is released on May 13th, is the first for our little pile of states though. For the moment you can pre-order the blu right here, although I can't imagine this will stay limited to Lionsgate's website. But it's loaded to the gills with special features -- as well it should be. What a movie! Here's its trailer if you're unfamiliar:

You Know I Love Surprises!

The lovely folks over at Vinegar Syndrome have been making this transition towards the 2025 hellscape land softer than it ought to thanks to their dropping OF some truly substantial physical medias upon us -- last month they brought us the forever unreleased Diane Keaton. masterpiece Looking For Mr Goodbar in 4K, and this month they're gifting us with Gregg Araki's stoner comedy Smiley Face starring Anna Faris! If you've been around here at MNPP HQ for awhile then surely you've heard me going off about my love for this movie more than once -- I'm not a "Stoner Comedy" person in the slightest but I adore this one and the shitty DVD has been out-of-print for ages. Pre-order it at this link! It's the little things that will hopefully get us through these difficult times and if I have to devour an entire plate of pot cupcakes to do it then so be it.  

Quote of the Day

"... It was also a role without a love interest. The only love interest was weed and her mattress. So there was this liberation in wearing, essentially, pajamas. I guess it’s changing as I get older, but there was always that requirement at that time: The girls in the audience need to want to be best friends with you, and the guys want to fuck you, or whatever. That was always the mantra. I never really fit into that framework. I don’t know who really does. Your only fallibility can be clumsiness."

Bless Vulture and writer Matt Jacobs for getting Anna Faris to reflect back on one of her greatest roles, Jane in Gregg Araki's 2007 wonderful stoner-comedy Smiley Face -- read the whole thing here. I posted about this movie a billion times when it came out and ocassionally ever since but it really should be more beloved -- it gets funnier every time I rewatch it and believe me I have rewatched the shit out of it in the seventeen years (!!!) since it came out. Hell now that we're fiiiiinnally getting a box-set of Araki's "Teen Apocalypse Trilogy" this year I can move my physical-media demands (nee threats) over to this movie, which hasn't ever gotten a blu-ray release! Just an out-of-print DVD! Come on Frank, you know I love surprises!

Quote of the Day

"Back then, [‘Brokeback Mountain’] had a ceiling. We got a lot of support — up to that much... It has that feeling. I wasn’t holding a grudge or anything. It’s just how they were."

For some reason today IndieWire chatted with Ang Lee about Brokeback's bullshit Oscar loss for Best Picture to a piece of shit in 2005 -- the 20th anniversary's not til next year, guys! -- and he nails the fact that in 2005 they still weren't gonna go that gay yet. Look at all the LGBT actors who've won since then... crickets... anyway at the link he also tells a devastating story (which he laughs about now) about how a stage-hand kept him backstage after winning Best Director because everybody was assuming he was about to head right on back out for the Best Picture statue... SIGH. He might be able to laugh about it now but I am still coping.

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Scary Movie (2000)

Cindy: Look, if it's about that time

I puked green slime and masturbated

with a crucifix, it was my first keg party, Bobby!

Happy 46 to Anna Faris today! And riddle me this: can you believe that I have never seen a single Scary Movie movie? Not one. I've seen some of the gags from them over the years but I have here a full twenty-two years on never sat down and watched one from start to finish. Not even when I was obsessed with Anna Faris circa The House Bunny era. Maybe over the holidays I should try to binge them? Although I worry these are the sorts of movies that have not aged well. Thoughts? Anyway I am happy that Anna is working in movies again now that she's done raking it in on her sitcom, although I totally missed The Estate...

... when it screened earlier this month and that one co-starred Toni Collette! As Anna Faris' sister! Also Rosemarie DeWitt and Kathleen f'ing turner! For shame on me. I'll see it when it hits digital. Did any of you see it? Anna has another movie lined up too -- she's co-starring in the new movie from John Krokidas, director of Kill Your Darlings, called Tunnels. It's about a teenager (played by It actor Jaeden Martell) whose brother is killed in a school shooting who makes friends with the shooter's grandmother (played by Susan Sarandon, sigh). Besides Faris it also co-stars Patrick Wilson and Alicia Silverstone. I don't think that one's even filmed yet. Get on it already, lazies!

Madres Milk

We're like five minutes into Monday and Pedro Almodóvar's already won the week with the reveal of that, the stunning and one might say provocative poster for his new movie Madres paralelas aka Parallel Mothers. Happy to discover that Pedro's clearly a fan of The House Bunny!

That said I doubt that will be the U.S. version of the poster -- we're total prudes, so be on the look out for some generic shot of Penelope Cruz looking wistfully into the distance, probably. Anyway I forgot to post about the news that this movie is the Closing Night Film for this year's New York Film Fest, which is groovy and I'm looking forward to that. For those of you who won't be able to see this at a fest it's opening here in the States on Christmas Eve. 

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

 ... you can leanr from:

Smiley Face (2007)

Brevin: I kind of like it. I mean, it's not like I'm a masochist or anything, it's just.. Well, in a way, it makes me feel like, "Yeah.. my teeth are being taken care of." You know? It makes me feel... prosperous.

I think of this speech that John Krasinski's character gives at the dentist in Gregg Araki's stoner-masterpiece Smiley Face literally every single time I go to the dentist now. He's right! It is prosperous-seeming! Anyway every few years I use a quote from this movie to wish y'all a Happy 4/20 -- see here and see here for previous examples -- and here we are, again today. I'm not worried about running out of quotes from this movie to use for this series any time soon though because Jane is a queen and her every utterance is, like, you know, and. Yeah!

Pic of the Day

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Anna Faris shared this behind-the-scenes photo of herself on the set of Brokeback Mountain with, uh, what's his name again? Jack something? Anyway it's a good reminder that Anna Faris is a tremendous one-scene-wonder in Brokeback Mountain (a movie we were literally just talking about yesterday) and it's a crime that more directors haven't exploited her gifts like this. She did the same thing in Lost in Translation! You need to liven up a scene n your movie, bring Anna in for a day or two, wham, more memorable movie. (Or even better hire her as your lead.)

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Pic of the Day

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View this post on Instagram

My brilliant director Gregg Araki instructing me how to flush weed- my most favorite filming experience- Smiley Face

A post shared by Anna Faris (@annafaris) on Oct 8, 2018 at 3:27pm PDT

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Come on, Frank! You know I love surprises!

And I also love Anna Faris for sharing this

throwback picture today from the set of Smiley Face.

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Which Is Hotter?

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I really want Anna Faris back in the movie business and a remake of Goldie Hawn's 1987 comedy Overboard seemed at first glance like a fun possibility, but the buzz on this sucker (in theaters tomorrow) is pretty bad - it still seems incomprehensible to me, with all due respect to her co-star Eugenio Derbez, that they didn't cast her at-the-time husband Chris Pratt in the role. 

Chris Pratt is so Kurt Russell that they hired Kurt Russell to play his dad in the second Guardians movie, for god's sake. I know the socio-economic and gender roles have been reversed this time in order to get around the original's way dated notions of such things but it still feels like a huge opportunity missed. Oh well. I guess we'll see! (Probably when it hits Netflix.) But as long as we're here and I'm thinking about what great white trash Kurt played back in the 80s...

bike trail guide

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Smiley Face (2007)

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Jane: That is where corn chips come from. Hmm... Maybe ol' Professor Hardwood is onto something. He probably really loves corn. And all corn-related products. I mean, isn't that what you're supposed to put in a frame? Things you love? I'm gonna do that. When I'm get home, I'm gonna frame a bunch of stuff I love. Like lasagna. I *love* lasagna. It's SO good. And cheesy. You know who else loves lasagna? Garfield. Man, that cat really loves lasagna. Maybe I should put a picture of Garfield in a frame. You know, as a kind of shorthand way of saying 'I love lasagna.' That would be so f*cking inside. Or how 'bout a photo of *President* Garfield? Oh shit, that would be totally meta! People would be all like: Jane, why do you have a photo of President Garfield on your mantle? And I'd be like: Because I like lasagna, of course.

Happy 4/20, y'all.

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Observe & Report (2009)

Mom : I know it's hard, but try to look on the bright side.
You may not be the smartest person in the world, but you're...
handsome from certain angles and you're... More importantly,
you've got dreams inside of you and dreams make you special.
And no matter what the world, um, throws at you, uh, they -
it can never take your dreams away.
Ronnie : What are you talking about, Mom?
Mom : I don't know, I'm drunk.

A very happy 66 to the great Celia Weston! (This side-note is for my boyfriend - she is from Spartanburg, South Carolina! I have been there.) I saw her waiting in line for a movie at The Quad theater a couple of months ago here in New York and I was so excited and yet even though I know her name I can never remember what I know her from - know how that one goes? She'll show up for a couple scenes in the most random of places and be reliably delightful though. Do you have a role you immediately think of when you see her?

I stood at the board at The Quad yesterday for a couple mins trying to figure what movie Celia Weston was in line for but couldn’t decide

— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) September 25, 2017

Which Is Hotter?

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Anna Faris tweeted out this picture (click to embiggen) last night saying, "@prattprattpratt honey - you can't just send me a photo like this and not expect me to tweet it" and we are thankful for her indiscretion! Very! I don't recognize Chris' buddy there (does anybody?) but let's judge them anyway...

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Good Morning, Marvel Boys

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Today Captain America Chris Evans is turning 36 while his Age of Ultron Quicksilver co-star Aaron Taylor-Johnson is turning 27, and since Aaron's Quicksilver wasn't long for the world (uh sorry several year old spoiler there) this day is really the only day that we get to continue thinking about the two of them together. So let's! Let's turn off all the world news and nightmares and just think about Chris & Aaron making that set trailer rock in between takes. See? There is good in the world. But let's make this thing morning themed...

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Chris Pratt Twelve Times

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I feel the need to make it up to Chris Pratt for the meh review of Guardians that I just posted so here, we'll share his recent photo-shoot for Men's Fitness, because we wouldn't want Chris Pratt - that poor cum-guttered millionaire married to Anna Faris that is called Chris Pratt - to feel down in the dumps because of words some rando asshole on the internet typed while simultaneously eating a stale Cadbury Creme Egg. Hit the jump for 11 more...

Anna Faris Beat Up Chris Pratt

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He's saying he got these bruises from filming a stunt 

on Passengers but we know know it's a cry for help, Chris!

Quote of the Week

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"Nobody sends a bad dick pic. There’s always like 

a full photo shoot, like a four-hour photo shoot with filters."

I think that, as I head out to this weekend here, leaving you with the image of Chris Evans taking pictures of his dick for four hours straight is probably the greatest gift I can give anyone, ever, in history, or ever. So leave you with that quote (which comes via a podcast interview with Anna Faris, of all places) I shall. 

Have a happy weekend, perverts!

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Magic Mom XXL

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As if getting to go home to Chris Pratt isn't enough for her, Anna Faris has gone and gotten Joe Manganiello to play a love interest for her character on her sitcom Mom. EW has the first picture of him on the show (thanks Mac); since he's wearing clothes I decided to use this picture from his routine in Magic Mike XXL though. I'm sure you're okay with that.

Anyway I never made it past the first couple episodes of Mom, despite my adoration of Anna and Allison Janney, because of that damn laugh track overwhelmed every joke, but I have heard the show's actually pretty funny now? Y'all let me know if Joe busts out some stripper moves and I'll do my best, somehow, to see for myself.
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