2008: The year our economy hit the pavement hard, but we still had fun at the movies

Today, I was checking out msnbc.com and they asked their readers to list their favorite movie of 2008. They provided some other thoughts on the matter, remarking on how this year saw the popcorn films better crafted while some of the Oscar pictures were bores...well some of them ( I haven't seen all, but I've liked what I've seen).

I thought to myself what were my favorite five films of 2008, and it boiled down to these 5 films:

1) The Dark Knight
2) WALL-E
3) Tropic Thunder
4) Milk
5) Cloverfield

I also gave some nods to Sex and the City as well as Mamma Mia, two films that I didn't particuarly love to death as these five, but were good enough that they deserved some recognition.

After finishing my post, i started to think, what movies really appeal to college students. I phoned my friend Grace (she wanted her security name changed to this, so from now on it will be referred to as Grace, a follow up post will explain this) and asked her what movies she enjoyed this year. Her list was considerably different from mine:

1) High School Musical 3: Senior Year
2) Sex and the City
3) The House Bunny
4) Pineapple Express
5) Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Now Grace and I are two different people when it comes to movies. She appreciates the arthouse side of me, while I can withstand being propped in front of HSM 3 and still coming out unscathed.

So what does this say about college students as movie goers?

I think we're not any different from the rest of the public. I think when you attend college, there is a sense of this challenge to go and see the intellectual fluff that everyone else understands. But there's also this need for us to just enjoy some stupid films.

The guilty pleasure for this season of film: The House Bunny. For some reason, it looks dumb and yet I still want to see it. Anna Farris is one of my favorite comedic actresses. She has the perfect combination of blonde and wit, it's great. I want to see her act as a Playboy bunny. I hope it's worth it.

What's your favorite movie? Do you feel a need to try and see the smart films since you are in college?