Hola, CineLocos, Que tal? Father Geek here with ol' Coffin Joe Jr and his list of 2001 Best of Lists. Remember now he lives in Sao Paulo, Brasil and hasn't seen or heard everything you have yet, annnnnnd there's some stuff he's viewed that you still haven't so just bare that in mind while going over his lists of the years best. (for him) So let's not rush off and make any "decisiones indoctas." Elitismo is no substitute for pensamiento racional. Before we get to Joe, Father Geek has a few items that came directly to Geek Headquarters in Austin, Texas...
I just read your review of "The Lord of the Rings" and I have to say, I'm with ya all the way. I want to be, not in the movie, but in that world, part of the story. It's nice to know that there is someone else out there who appreciates the magic that movies can create, especially when they're done as spledidly as this one was.
About sub-standard venues, I saw "The Lord of the Rings" for the second time (the first being the 12:01 am showing on the 19th) with my family in Managua, Nicaragua. When I walked into the theater the first thing I said was "The screen, it's so... small..." The movie was just as magical, but that big screen, surround sound, oh, that's the way it's meant to be seen. But no matter, I'm sure I'll see it again, and again, and again.
Cheers, and keep up the passionate work!
Natalia
Now we have this bit...
´m a brazilian journalist and I work at e-Pipoca, a brazilian movie-site. Just wanna let you know about the official "Jason X" web site that we did (and its really official, i sware!)
Here´s the address Just Click Here
The flick will open here in Brazil before US... why... well.. why the hell not?
our web site is http://www.epipoca.com.br/ , in case you wanna take a look!
Tnks and goodbye!
P>ps: like your site!
Then there's this one...
I've been visiting your website and enjoying the great work
you do for quite some time now. I used to think of you as
one of the most competent online jornalists out there.
Until today when I read your review of FOTR; You're
something more.
Well, as you said yourself, it wasn't a review. It was
simply you letting out a little bit of something very big that
was pounding on your chest, something truly beautiful that
I never expected I'd see in a movies website.
As you cried writting it, I have to confess to you,
I cried reading it. I'm only 21 and probably don't have half
of your movie knowledge, nor the unique experiences that
you had, but I love movies, and must say, I know what you mean.
I know what you mean, my friend. It's magic. And
it's quite hard to find someone who can truly feel this magic
like now I can see that you do. I'm not one for hopeful
visions of the world, and I feel quite alone sometimes on
my vision, but every single time I come across someone who
can feel this magic I feel really good.
In short: You said something really beautiful. Best
wishes, (to you and the others!) and thanks a lot for all
these years of your great website!
Happy New Year!!
-Victor R. Fernandes
Sao Paulo , SP - Brazil
y un otra mas...
Hello
I too am a big fan of Guillermo Del Toro, and this weekend I finally was
able to see "El Espinazo del Diablo" here in San Francisco and wasn't
disappointed. I will say this is easily his best yet.
I was wondering how I can track down who created the lettering/font that was
used in the credits and movie logo. I can't find the information anywhere. I
am a huge typography freak, and lately have been reading up on the likes of
Pablo Ferro, Saul Bass and others that focused on typography in movie
credits and/or posters.
Do you have this information, or point me to this information? I have been
to both the American and Spanish sites and I can't see to find the
information anywhere. When I saw how big of a fan you are, I thought you
have the means to get this information easily.
Thanks... and keep up the great site.
Jason
Well that's all for Father Geek this week... On to Coffin Joe's Lists...
Hello there everyone, Coffin Joe Jr. here for our 1st Latin-AICN Column of the New Year. I got 2 weeks off, traveled a bit, but I´m back, even though school here in Brazil doesn´t start until February. It´s summer down here, not too hot where I live, kinda of a nice warm weather, I´m enjoying it. All the other international editors made their best of 2001 list, so I put together not one, but several best of 2001 lists, not just for movies, but other stuff too. Besides the lists, I have a review of the latest Friday the 13th movie, the very funny "Jason X", which opens this weekend here in Brazil. Read on my creepy little fiends.
TOP TEN MOVIES OF 2001 by Coffin Joe Jr.
1-"Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring" (director: Peter Jackson)
Yeah, very original pick, I know, but what can I do? The movie rocked. I still can´t believe the guy who helmed this movie is the same lunatic who directed "Meet the Feebles". Thank you Weta, New Line, Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson. Now, how about a special edition DVD of "The Frighteners" with the bonus material from the laserdisc?
2-"Jeepers Creepers" (director: Victor Salva)
Cool horror film with lots of suspense in the first half, and some amazing monster action in the second half. The sequel is supposed to have more monsters, more action and a bigger budget. Oh, the joy!
3-"The Others" (director: Alejandro Amenábar)
Already a semi-classic in my book, if it wasn´t for the final twist ending, which reminded me a little too much of the "Sixth Sense" twist ending, this one would be an instant classic horror pic. Creepy house, creepy kids, creepy psychic old lady, creepy Nicole Kidman, creepy movie.
4-"Memento" (director: Christopher Nolan)
Very interesting movie, got people talking, and it deserves all the praise it received. Unorthodox structure, required attention from audiences, and turned an ordinary revenge film noir story into something a bit more complex. Kudos to Mr.Nolan for creating something unique and innovative.
5-"The Devil´s Backbone" (director: Guillermo del Toro)
Gothic horror heaven. Need I say more?
6-"Blow" (director: Ted Demme)
Martin Scorsese lite. That isn´t necessarily a bad thing, because I think this movie is very good. I wish it packed a meaner punch, but it had its moments. Another solid performance from Johnny Depp.
7-"Moulin Rouge" (director: Baz Luhrmann)
Beautiful dance numbers, memorable soundtrack, very good performances by the two leads, and visual candy galore. It is not really my cup of tea, otherwise it would be ranked higher on this list, but I liked it.
8-"Hannibal" (director: Ridley Scott)
Yeah, I think it is a good movie, so what? If you don´t compare it to "Silence of the Lambs", because they are very different movies, this is great stuff. Besides that Mason Verger character was just so cool, there´s no way this movie wouldn´t be on my list.
9-"The Fast and the Furious" (director: Rob Cohen)
The guilty pleasure of the year for me. Come on, it had those cool, colorful cars, the hot ladies, Vin Diesel kicking ass, and the action scenes delivered big time. Bring on XXX!
10-"Waking Life" (director: Richard Linklater)
Bizarre animated film that requires non-stop attention, and a sense of adventure. Got me thinking after I left the theater, which is a rare thing nowadays when it comes to movies. Give it a try.
TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2001
- 1-"Toxicity" System of a Down
- 2-"All that You Can´t Leave Behind" U2
- 3-"Lateralus" Tool
- 4-"Director´s Cut" Fantomas
- 5-"Tenacious D" Tenacious D
- 6-"Nation" Sepultura
- 7-"Gorillaz" Gorillaz
- 8-"Sinister Urge" Rob Zombie
- 9-"Iowa" Slipknot
- 10-"Revolution...Revolución" Ill Niño
TOP TEN TV SHOWS OF 2001
- 1-"Angel"
- 2-"Scrubs"
- 3-"Buffy"
- 4-"Ed"
- 5-"That 70´s Show"
- 6-"The Awful Truth"
- 7-"Boston Public"
- 8-"Sopranos"
- 9-"Night Visions"
- 10-"Malcom in the Middle"
TOP FIVE BOOKS OF 2001
- 1-"Coldheart Canyon" by Clive Barker
- 2-"Pact of the Fathers" by Ramsey Campbell
- 3-"Black House" by Stephen King and Peter Straub
- 4-"Critical Space" Greg Rucka
- 5-"Choke" by Chuck Palahniuk
TOP TEN COMIC BOOKS OF 2001
- 1- "Powers" (Image)
- 2-"Outlaw Nation" (Vertigo)
- 3-"100 Bullets" (Vertigo)
- 4-"Promethea" (America´s Best Comics)
- 5-"Punisher" (Marvel)
- 6-"Alias" (Marvel)
- 7-"Batman" (DC)
- 8-"Fury" (Marvel)
- 9-"Savage Dragon" (Image)
- 10-"Transmetropolitan" (Vertigo)
TOP TEN DVDs OF 2001
- 1-"Killer Klowns from Outer Space" (Midnite Movies/MGM)
- 2-"Blood Simple" (Universal)
- 3-"American Werewolf in London" (Universal)
- 4-"The Rock" (Criterion Collection)
- 5-"Suspiria" (Anchor Bay)
- 6-"Citizen Kane" (Warner)
- 7-"Blow" (Infinifilm/New Line)
- 8-"Opera" (Anchor Bay)
- 9-"Hannibal" (MGM)
- 10-"Four of the Apocalypse" (Anchor Bay)
TOP FIVE DIRECT TO VIDEO/DVD MOVIES OF 2001
- 1-"The Convent"
- 2-"Replicant"
- 3-"Ginger Snaps"
- 4-"Sleepless"
- 5-"Route 666"
TOP TEN WHATEVER OF 2001
- 1-Bacon
- 2-Clive Barker´s "Tortured Souls" action figures
- 3-Buffy singing
- 4-Vin Diesel kicking ass in "The Fast and the Furious"
- 5-Cake/Pie
- 6-Latin-AICN
- 7-The Creeper in "Jeepers Creepers"
- 8-My new indigo IMac
- 9-Asia Argento/Nicole Kidman
- 10-Cheese
COFFIN JOE JR. MOVIE REVIEWS
"Jason X"
Director: Jim Isaac
Plot goes something like this:
This movie is pretty funny. I mean that in a good way. Fans of straight horror are not going to like this one. It has the sort of post-modern sensibilities of "Scream", and other recent fare, with a lot of jokes, really campy humor, taking shots at the Friday the 13th movies themselves.
The kills are good, nothing spetacular, but solid stuff. There´s one brutal murder scene, not gory, but extremely effective in terms of shock value, involving a sink that has some sort of liquid that freezes anything. Jason makes good use of it.
The FX sequences, in particular the CGI shots of the space ships, are very good considering the budget of the movie. The action scenes are not so tight, kinda awkward editing, makes things confusing sometimes.
Everyone was talking about the new enhanced Jason, with the robotic parts and new look. It certainly looks cool, very intimidating, but it only shows up in the final reel, and isn´t very effectively used. Kinda disappointing.
I got a kick out of the David Cronenberg cameo, as a cocky military guy, who has a team with him to transport Jason to another facility, right in the beginning of the movie. Let´s say things get pretty messy when they try to move Jason.
The "Aliens" sequence, where the commandos are hunting Jason down is predictable and has been done to death. The stalk and kill sequences aren´t bad; the VR room sequence, where two characters are playing a virtual reality videogame and Jason comes after them in the middle of the game, is particularly cool.
The cast are mostly young unknowns, and unfortunately they are not the most talented thespians in the world. Some of the characters are annoying to a spetacular degree. The commando team is bland and uninteresting, and the black dude who is their leader is just a bad, bad actor. The geek and his robot chick are the only characters with a truly believable relationship, which results in some amusing scenes together.
It is a fun movie, nothing amazing, but certainly cool. I guarantee at least one huge laugh, near the end of the movie, a joke about one of Jason´s most famous kills from a previous installment of the series. I recommend this one.
I´m done for this week.
Coffin Joe Jr. says: bye.
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