By PHIL VILLARREAL, Arizona Daily Star

Top 10 film picks for 2008

Compiling my top 10 movies list and honorable mentions was pretty easy this year-- they were the only ones I found worthy of four-star ratings. Three are based on comic books. Three are comedies (two starring the indomitable Seth Rogen). Three are based on true stories. One was a documentary.

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'Doubt' is fascinating, but by a different formula

Set at a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, "Doubt" is a melodrama that changes the rules in an effort to seem fresh. But at its heart it's still a boo-here, hiss-there formula romp.
That's not to say it isn't darned fascinating.
"Doubt" pulls off a nifty trick by making the hero a detestable lout and the villain pleasant and relatable.

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'Frost/Nixon' film plays out like a boxing match

Forget a cast of thousands or mega-budget special effects. All you need for two hours of compelling drama are a couple of excellent actors, firebrand dialogue and a whole lot of penetrating close-ups that catch the sweat of the brow.

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Cruise slogs through 'Valkyrie'

After conquering the cinematic realms of twist-ending crime thrillers and big-budget superhero franchises, director Bryan Singer has managed a new, unexpected feat - he's learned to make boring movies.

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Sandler stars in Disney's 'Bedtime Stories'

Disney family comedies have a way of robbing rowdy dudes of their personality.
So it's a relief that Adam Sandler gets to be himself in "Bedtime Stories," avoiding the fates of Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel and Tim Allen, who became milquetoast Mouse House doofuses.

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Dickensian 'Slumdog Millionaire' an amazing movie

By driving the show into the ground, Regis Philbin and ABC made sure everyone got sick of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" earlier this decade.
But "Slumdog Millionaire" is such an amazing movie that, among other things, it manages to make the played-out game show riveting again.

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Will Smith's latest, 'Seven Pounds,' is pathetic

"Seven Pounds" opens with Will Smith's character hunched over in a motel room, calling 911 to report his own suicide.

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'Right One' uses vampirism to tackle glorious agony of adolescence

Of all the vampire movies I've seen, the saddest and creepiest image that gnaws at my skull is of Kirsten Dunst's character, Claudia, in "Interview with the Vampire," damned to live forever as a little girl.

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John Travolta unleashes his inner pooch in 'Bolt'

Pixar masterpieces aside, it's been quite a while since Disney cranked out an animated movie worthy of its fairy-dust-sprinkled-castle logo.

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