Looking for an external monitor for my late 2008 aluminium macbook
This Samsung 27in monitor should suit your needs.

It's got a fast 4ms response time, good brightness, and it's pretty large, 27 inches.

Get a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI connector which carries both video and audio.

Turn on and set up your Bluetooth devices which should still keep connected while the laptop is in lid-closed mode, or you can connect a keyboard and mouse through the USB ports or a USB hub.