The first three films were really the only good films released in 2008. Really, there wasn't much to choose from so I believe his list is fine.

i usually like his lists in ew, and his reviews... but these only scratch the surface of what was released this year. what about iron man, or city of men, speed racer (i really liked that). actually there are not that many movies out that were good this year...

I read many of his books when I were younger, but obviously he is a writer and not a film critic. He has probably only seen those ten movies.

I LOVED Funny Games (the US remake), it was disturbing as hell. The Dark Knight, wall-E, Tropic Thunder, Slumdog Millionaire, are all excellent.

That's the movies he likes, no the ones you would like to think the version of the image of Stephen King you have in your mind would like.

Keep in mind that Stephen King lives in Maine. They unfortunately dont show most smaller indie films there...Just the bigger ones. So who knows what his list would be like if he actually had access to more than just the top ten films in theaters...

I believe that Stephen King loves the campy films, like "Funny Games" or "Death Race." Sometimes a crappy film could be so bad that it's good.

Why isn't anyone bashing on this list, huh? Is it because TDK is #1?

Anyone who knows anything about Stephen King shouldn't be surprised by this list. He's a very "Big Mac and fries" kind of guy.

King is like me, when I make a list I don't go with the best written or directed flick alot of the time. Sure, those are great films but they're not that great if YOU didn't enjoy them. The movie experience isn't about flashy CGI or sweeping camera shots, sometimes its just about having fun. That's why I nominate the movie "HOUSE" as best of the year, I had so much fun making fun of it and laughing at the shoddy quality, It made me happy.

I can only assume these were the only 10 movies he saw this year... there were so many better choices

Isnt Steven King a huge car nut? Maximum Overdrive and Christine and such. That might explain his Death Race choice

At least his top three choices are solid...

Nice to see one of my favorite authors give his two cents about film. I mostly agree with some exceptions.
The Dark Knight - One of the best this year, easily top ten
WALL-E - Great movie that risked being a mostly non-dialogue driven film. I'm glad is getting recognized.
Tropic - I laughed out loud numerous times in the theater, but one of the years best? I don't know, but good movie.
The Bank Job - Underrated movie of the year. Glad to see it on someone's top ten
The Ruins - A different type of horror movie I think I had too high expectations for. Maybe I'll revisit it later because I didn't care for it much.
Redbelt - Have this at home from Netflix now, going to watch ASAP.

When people say something like "(it's) quite possibly the worst movie I've ever seen" I wonder how many films they have actually seen in their lifetime because that's a pretty inane statement to make when you consider how many terrible films there are in this world. Funny Games for example, was definitely well acted, and on the most part pretty well executed (no pun intended). Death Race was a fun B-movie that didn't require too much thought.

There were hundreds of worse movies (than those on his list) released this year - give him a break and let him have his own opinion. If we all liked the same films there wouldn't be so many different types of film available to us and the world would be a much more boring place.

The Bank Job was one of my favorite movie this year.
Seems like not many people have seen it tho...

While many of the movies King listed wouldn't be found anywhere near my Top 10, I admire his honesty.

Lakeview Terrace - Interesting choice. I wasn't completely taken with it, but it's definitely better than most would expect. The trailers destroyed any chance that the film would be taken seriously upon its release, despite the actual movie featuring some excellent themes.

The Ruins - Hugely underrated horror film. The set-up is typical and cliched, but the execution is great. Has a number of awesome moments that will make you clench your arm rest.

Death Race - It's fun. It may not be quality cinema, but it's fun. That's obviously what it's meant to be, and if someone thinks it succeeded enough to warrant a Top 10 of the year placement, so be it.

The only choice I can't support is Funny Games, which is a movie I've come to loathe, but I totally respect his decision to put it on there regardless. It's a highly subjective film, after all.

Your picks are far less interesting than I'd have expected, Stephen.

Fuck Stephen King. He wrote an article that managed to convince me to not only see Jumper but have high hopes that it would be good. Yes, I know this is a poor reflection on my ability to make good judgments.

lol, irony

Let's not forget he sustained head injuries after a truck hit him a few years ago,,,

he get +4 awesomeness for mentioning REDBELT

stephen king's the man. im glad he picks other movies that arent considered to be good movies. at least hes not conforming and trying to pick the movies the academy would pick.

Stephen King looks like he belongs in a planet of the apes remake

Good point. He would reduce production costs substantially since no make-up would be needed.

Well, Stephen King is no movie critic he's a movie fan and if these movies enertained him that's cool. We all would have different lists because we all have various tastes.If I shunned people in my life for the movies they think are good I couldn't talk to most of my family and a lot of my friends.

hes got a big head, but hes still a good dude

Redbelt was a great choice.

The man obviously has no credibility any more. I mean, he picked Buckcherry as the year's best album.

HAHAHA!!! NO FUCKING WAY...Who does that?

Really, people. It's a guy saying what movies he enjoyed. Like cib3k said, he's not intending for it to be a movie critique or anything. If this was posted in some random person's blog, you wouldn't give it a second thought.

Of course, I think it's entirely possible to like a movie that's fun even if it's not good, per se.

If you disagree with Stephen King's movie picks, crows will come out from under your bed while you're sleeping and eat you brain out through your eye sockets.

Just sayin'

oh yeah Dark Knight is number 1, no whiney fanboys this time!

I hated Funny Games. It was revolting. Bleh.

Stephen King is trash.

a best selling author is trash? if anything you are for being a troll.

You think because he is best selling he is trash. Britney Spears sells a lot as well. Stephen King is trash

i dont get your argument, you think britney spears is trash? why are you comparing stephen king to britney spears? one has talent and the other doesnt, simple as that. i guarantee you that you have never read a stephen king book or any book for that matter. go read a book and then come talk to me.

<yawn>
Sucess does not equate brilliance. J.K. Rowling is sucessful but there's nothing inheritly brilliant about the HP series. King doesn't hold a lot of wieght with films for me. Now if I wanted a list of the best 10 books about psychopathic-demon-possesed-lampshades.....

Wonder if he saw Let the Right One In.

Its a good list but just replace 5,7,8,10 with Iron Man, Hellboy 2, In Bruges & The Incredible Hulk it can be called a great list with these movies.

Hardly surprising, probably how I would have expected a Stephen King movie list to read, I guess... though I never expected it.

Death Race is a movie filled with cliches, but it was enterteining. Good to spend some time.

Lakeview Terrace was written by Neil LaBute and Redbelt was written by David Mamet...seems like he's shouting out to some playwrights...

Why would I care what some horror author's 10 favourite movies are?

you cared enough to comment. but i will say that if there was a mainstream artist that almost everyone heard about and liked, im sure they would have their own article of top ten lists of 2008 films too. he gets his own list because almost everyone knows who stephen king is.

You're a fool if you think of Stephen King as just "some horror author." Questioning his list like others is fine, but he IS horror. In fact, the most successful horror writer, period.

I should have worded that better. what i meant was "some author", horror was just a description of what type of books he writes. I was questioning why i am supposed to care about an author's opinions on films. What's next, they'll publish a famous painter's favs?

No matter how great an author King is, which i agree he is great, i don't see how that gives him any credibility to judge a good movie

Funny thing is, actual taste notwithstanding, Stephen King is probably more qualified to be a film critic than most film critics, or anyone else in the world for that matter. How many people can you name that have had over 35 of their stories turned into movies (including some of the best ever made i.e. Shawshank, Stand By Me, Misery..), another 20 turned into made-for-tv movies or miniseries, and have directed at least one film. there may be a couple of people that would fit the bill, but I can't think of any...

Gotcha, gotcha. Sorry can never be too sure-- people seem to be bashing King himself. But yeah I agree. Someone at EW thought it was a good idea to interview and ask him this. And let's not forget he wrote what became Shawshank Redemption, one of my favorite movies.