50 Things You Must Do by the End of the Year at Hollywood.com

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50 Things You Must Do by the End of the Year

By Lien Ta, Hollywood.com Staff | Friday, October 03, 2008

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Frank Langella as Richard Nixon in Universal Pictures' 'Frost/Nixon'
46. Frost/Nixon
Three years after President Richard Nixon was forced out of the White House, he ached to save his legacy, and in 1977, agreed to an all-inclusive interview that would reveal details of the scandal known as Watergate; Nixon would confess to David Frost, a British personality itching to make a name for himself. Ron Howard directs Frank Langella and Michael Sheen who reprised their Peter Morgan-scribed stageplay roles in which Langella was awarded a Tony. The film re-creates the emotional on-air interview plus weeks of intense behind-the-scenes deal-making between both men … who will be very busy come awards season. (Dec. 5)

47. The Wire: The Complete Series
HBO's most underrated (but best reviewed) original series quietly finished five seasons this year, chock full of Baltimore youngin's doling out drugs, folks getting slayed in broad daylight, corrupt journalism at The Baltimore Sun, and of course, good (and despicable) police work at the BDP often with the use of intricate wire taps. A former police reporter at the Sun, creator David Simon was able to depict the grit of Baltimore's drug-laden crime world with utmost accuracy and heart. Hardly forgiving on the men in blue either, its anti-hero Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) wasn't shy about bending the rules in his work and personal life, despite his sincere passion for both. (Dec. 9)

48. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
"I was born under unusual circumstances," says Brad Pitt, who stars as Benjamin Button, the protagonist of a 1920's F. Scott Fitzgerald tale. Unusual, yes, as Mr. Button enters New Orleans at the end of World War I as an 80-year-old man and continues to age into the 21st century — but in reverse. Rather than hiring several actors to portray Button's various ages, director David Fincher, who also led Pitt in Fight Club and Se7en, applied cutting-edge motion-picture technology in order for Pitt to star as his eight-year-old self and beyond and beyond (age 44 was quite easy). Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton co-star in this unbelievable drama, both joyful and not, and full of the radical impressions that Benjamin has littered. (Dec. 25)

Samuel L. Jackson as The Octopus in Lions Gate Entertainment's 'The Spirit'
49. The Spirit
The Spirit, Will Eisner's comic-book series of the '40s and '50s, is a leader in graphic brilliance and not until now has it found a sliver-screen director that could match its genius. Frank Miller gives it a Sin City/300 stylish wash, the live action is led by the relatively unknown Gabriel Macht (we noticed his very supporting role in The Good Shepherd) as the murdered rookie cop that "awakens" to fight crime à la Batman (aka the Spirit); his aggression is directed at the cold-hearted Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson), but along the way, he's met with a harem of temptresses that want to love and/or kill the Spirit (Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Jaime King, et al.). Miller delivers something awfully sinister ... and just what we wanted for Christmas. (Dec. 25)

Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Wheeler and Kate Winslet as April Wheeler in Paramount Vantage's 'Revolutionary Road'
50. Revolutionary Road
The most lucrative lovebirds of all time, Titanic's Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, are back for more gut-wrenching romance — but to make things a little more awkward a decade later, Winslet's husband, Sam Mendes, is directing the lovemaking. Luckily for Mendes, the lovey-dovey stuff is quite scarce. DiCaprio and Winslet's marriage is stressed with arguments, deceit and disinterest, and the fragile pair attempt to break the darkness with a relocation to Paris. It'll leave you a bit bruised, as it did to DiCaprio and Winslet, who described themselves as "bled dry" from the emotionally explosive affair. (Dec. 26)