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Massawyrm's Top 10 list and favorite films of the year!
Hola all. Massawyrm here.
So it’s that time of year again. List time. Time for the movie news output to slow to a crawl and us entertainment and movie writers to try to fill the space by quantifying everything down into nice neat little lists. So here’s mine. The TOP TEN BEST films of 2008 – from my vantage point, that is.
10) Cloverfield
9) Iron Man
8) Curious Case of Benjamin Button
7) Wall-E
6) Milk
5) The Dark Knight
4) The Wrestler
3) Slumdog Millionaire
2) Gran Torino
1) Frost/Nixon
None of these should require any introduction or explanation – save maybe CLOVERFIELD which I’m pretty sure most critics simply forgot was even this year. A few of you who have compiled lists of your own are probably slapping your heads over that omission. Maybe not. I love it, saw it Thrice in the theater and think it belongs on the list with everything else.
But this was an incredible year, the very best for film lovers, especially genre lovers, since 1982. I know, I know. A few of you seem to think that ’99 was pretty sweet. But it wasn’t as good as ’08, or ’82 for that matter. The summer was fun and filled with scads of truly great, entertaining flicks. There were six different comic books movies, the worst of which was merely fun, the best of them Oscar caliber. Even some of the panned films (or bombs) are slowly gaining fan followings. There were a slew of really great family films (both animated and live action) to boot. And comedies worthy of big, raucous audiences seemed to just slip out of the woodwork.
All of that…before we even discuss Oscar season. Which is AWESOME this year.
No, 2008 was one for the record books. One in which a top 10 list simply won’t do. So in my usual fashion, here are my very favorite things that don’t fit on a list – but instead go down with qualifiers.
MY FAVORITE MOVIE OF THE YEAR – KUNG FU PANDA. Is it the best animated feature of the year? No. It’s not even the second best. Both WALL-E and WALTZ WITH BASHIR not only tackle huge, important issues – but shatter the modern conventions of animated storytelling. WALL-E proved that you could entertain families for entire stretches without dialog. And WALTZ WITH BASHIR proved that you could actually animate a documentary and create the same pathos as a standard documentary in an entirely different medium. But KUNG FU PANDA is FUN. Lots of fun. I’ve watched this thing half a dozen times already and I’ll no doubt watch it a couple dozen more before the next year is through. I may never revisit either of those two movies. I love WALL-E, but don’t feel the need to own it. I had Kung Fu Panda before it was out and had it in my player practically right out of the mailbox. In fact, once I’m done here I think I’m gonna pop it in again. If you STILL haven’t seen this delicious piece of awesome on a stick, treat yourself. Rent it tonight.
THE VERY BEST MOVIE NOBODY SAW - BLINDNESS. A genre treat unlike many others, this poorly placed and marketed gem was about a sudden debilitating illness that struck most of the world blind. Julianne Moore plays a woman who is mysteriously resistant to whatever causes the illness but feigns blindness to go to an internment camp with her sick husband (Mark Ruffalo.) Fear, panic, anarchy, despotism and eventually Armageddon follow. And somewhere in the midst we find humanity. A beautiful, elegantly told piece of genre fiction that feels like it belongs in the same universe as CHILDREN OF MEN. But it is far from a happy, hope inspiring film. Definitely worth a look.
MY VERY FAVORITE MOVIE I KNOW I’M GOING TO TAKE SHIT FOR – DEATH RACE. Is it a great movie? Fuck no. Is it faithful to the original? Not even close. Is it a loud, functionally retarded, bloody piece of guilty pleasure filmmaking? Yes. It sure as hell is. And I loved every blood soaked, testosterone fueled second of it. It is the very epitome of Saturday Afternoon I’ve-got-nothing-to-watch-and-I-want-to-watch-something-awesome filmmaking. It won no awards, garnered little praise and will not even be mentioned come Oscar season. It’s just dudes in cars shooting the shit out of one another. Making things even better is that Anderson decided to forgo using CG and everything you see on screen REALLY happened – so to speak. And it looks it. I’ve tried to stop using the phrase GUILTY PLEASURE as I feel that there’s no reason to feel guilty about liking a movie – it either entertains you or it doesn’t - but for those that still feel it appropriate, this is the epitome of that sentiment.
THE BEST MOVIE CRITICS ARE STILL BEATING TO DEATH – SPEED RACER. I love Capone. Really, he’s a great guy who I love discussing film with the one time a year I get to see him. But MAN…when I began collecting my thoughts on my Worst Of list (following this in short order), I had my sights set on Richard Roeper and his penchant for selecting films he simply didn’t like and daring to put them in with the truly despicable bottom of the heap (more on that later as well.) But then Capone had to call out SPEED RACER. And call it the worst. Capone, I love you. But FUCK THAT.
I love SPEED RACER. And I’m not alone. It’s weird, but ever since its release I keep ending up in conversations with all sorts of folks from all walks of life and the minute I earn their “movie trust” – you know the moment I’m talking about, that moment when someone trusts you enough to admit that they think Kubrick is overrated or that The Cutting Edge is too addictive to be ignored or that the Coens haven’t made a funny movie in almost a decade – they lean in, look both ways and in a hushed voice utter the same, magical phrase. “But you know what movie I really like? Speed Racer.” Then with a big, shit eating grin I loudly say “Speed Racer?” Then their heart skips a beat and their eyes dart about the room. “Speed Racer is awesome! How can you NOT love Speed Racer?” Then some guy leans in and says “You guys like Speed racer?” “Yeah.” “Dude, I show that to my kid every weekend. We LOVE it!”
Next thing you know you’ve got five guys standing around at a party in a sort of cinematic circle jerk singing the praises of this one, adorably awesome little piece of our childhood brought back to us. Did it bomb like a Kevin Federline record? You bet your ass it did. It got smoked by an Ashton Kutcher/Cameron Diaz romantic comedy for fucks sake. And did horde of critics rush to jump on its still bleeding corpse, delighting as each testicle popped out and rolled across the floor? Yep. But it is still awesome. And it is ours. And as people slowly get introduced to it over time and get blown away by the giddy, sugar coated wonder of it all, our numbers will grow. Once in a long while there is a film like this that defies the critics, that defies the box office and goes on to be its own thing, loved and cuddled and defended by fans. This movie looks to be becoming one of those.
THE MOST IMPORTANT MOVIE YOU’LL SEE NEXT MONTH. WALTZ WITH BASHIR. Open now in I believe just a handful of markets, this goes wider in short order. Beautiful, highly original and probably the most timely, important thing you’ll see on the big screen anytime soon. It’s about an Israeli filmmaker trying to find out what he did during the 1982 Lebanon war. If ever there was a movie about how deeply conflicted a people the Israelis are and how complicated a situation it is, this is the movie. I saw it coming up on two months ago and it still haunts me – even more so that the news sites are flooded once again with the images of war in that region. If this is playing near you, see it now. If it’s coming, plan to see it.
Now, onto the fun part…the Worst of 2008…
Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.
Massawyrm
Got something for the Wyrm? Mail it here.
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hurm.
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#10!?!
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The only highlights of that movie were when the Army came on scene in full gear and in formation. That's when I thought: OKAY! NOW WE"RE GONNA SEE SOME ACTION! Then, nothing.
Oh well. You can't win them all JJ. -
Has to go to Justin Long in ZACK AND MIRI - that bit had me in stitches.
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I mean, it wasn't BAD but it was a one-time thing for me, an enjoyable 90 minutes.
Waltz with Bashir has me really interested now. I'll have to check it out. -
...but it sure smells good!
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...end of story.
"It's a lion! It's huge!"
Baaahhhhhhhhh -
You all know this to be true.
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It renders the rest of the list as completely moot. Get real. you're telling me Cloverfield is better than HB2 or Redbelt? Please.
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In Bruges(Terrible trailer for such a good film), Mongol(Straight-up Ghengis Khan Biopic), The Mist(Probably the most heart-felt horror i've ever seen), Dark Knight(obviously) Pineapple Express(Replacing Hot Rod as my favourite new comedy) Tropic Thunder(RDJ and Tom Cruise, 'nuff said)...there are a lot of ones i didnt see like SLUMDOG & others though, but i enjoyed these the most
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I don't understand this whole "my favourite film is this, but it isn't the best" crap. If you love Kung-Fu Panda more than Wall-E, then Kung-Fu Panda is your pick for the best animated film of the year, not Wall-E. If not personal enjoyment, on what are you basing your ranking these films on? All critics do this, and it annoys me. It just goes to show that, even on Aint It Coolm, entertainment value is secondary to a collective understanding that something is superior. Its peer pressure!
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Not dune. Tron.
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I loved Cloverfield, but come on...
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I don't know what it was about it - I think it was not knowing what was going on. Only getting glimpses of information and nothing being fully revealed. I love having to use my imagination when watching a film - it makes it more interesting and, dare I say, scarier.
Although after I saw the trailer, I did my best to avoid everything about the film until I saw it. I went in having no idea it was a monster film. I had no idea what was attacking New York - I felt like I was with the people witnessing it. Maybe people who dislike this film knew about the monster before they saw it and that took something away from it? I don't know but I thought it was fantastic. -
I believe you & I would get on like a house on fire. You give us the mad love for Punisher War Zone (entertained the hell out of me), and are a fan of ol' Speed Racer. I too think it's a movie that will have a growing appreciation as time goes on. And, fortunately for me, I haven't seen a single film on your worst list. I'm getting much better at weeding out the crap I spend my cinema dollar on. I didn't see a movie I didn't enjoy in the theater this year (a first), but had my eyes melted by a few I rented. It was a damn good year for genre fans (at least from my pov).
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I can't believe so many AICNers liked that piece of garbage. It's too bad you all don't represent a larger segment of society. I mean, after all, that would mean the film would have made a whole mound of cash, right? But instead what happened? It died a gruesome death at the box office because ... IT SUCKED PEOPLE! It was the absolute worst film this year, if not of this millenium! I can't think of a worse film in the past 8 years, seriously. I can't believe the people involved in this thing produced this garbage. It's incomprehensible, really.
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is what is wrong with critics as a whole. Was there a movie that lost more money than Speed Racer? Domestically it was about $80 million shy of its production cost. It wasn't popular so it must be bad. It is the same "logic" that tell us Dancing with the Stars is a great show, we should all be watching CSI Miami and be eagerly anticipating the next American Idol. I'll take an epic failure that at least tried over some no talent, not trying, we know it will be shit but we're doing it anyway for the cash movie (I'm looking at you Disaster Movie, you too Meet the Spartans; and don't you two think I don't see you, Zohan & Love Guru).
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both on my top 10. loved them both and saw both multiple times at the cinema. Good list!
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It's like the plot of the warriors but replace gangs with a huge unseen monster and replace the warriors with Speed Racer. CAN HE ESCAPE BACK TO CONEY ISLAND....Where it all started.
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Good call, Massawyrm. I loved that one.
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It's down the road, not across the street. Nyah.
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I can understand why some people like it, but to me it was such a disappointment. My biggest complaint wasn’t the lack of action or the shaky camera, but the simple fact that I couldn’t care less about the characters. They were a bunch of annoying young, attractive TV characters from a FOX series transported into a feature film. I was begging for these self-centered yuppies to die and the movie to start follow around someone interesting.
I mean, by his very act of going out to find the girl he loves, the main character is not only indirectly responsible for the death of two of his friends, but only the soldiers who had to wait until they got on board the helicopter and try and fly them out. And then they don’t even check on the pilot to see if he is alive – what a bunch of pricks.
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Seriously. Yours are the only reviews that now matter on this site. Congratulations. Heres the key to the executive bathroom!
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It's one you loved, Massa, if I recall.
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I'm sick of hearing about Wall*E and Kung Fu panda.
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8 years? How about Disaster Movie, Meet the Spartans, Epic Movie, Date Movie, The Hottie and the Nottie, Good Luck Chuck, From Justin to Kelly, Son of the Mask, Meet Dave, Norbit, Daddy Day Camp, Bratz?
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Speed Racer is one of those movies that people won't realize the true awesomeness of until some hipster media darling critic tells them to. Definitely one of my top five of the year hands down.
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Careful. Never attach quality to cash. You only lose if you try. Some of the best films have bombed at the box office or have under performed. Speed Racer just didn't find its audience and for some reason didn't attract the kiddies like we thought it would. Its a shame that Speed was a better family film than most in that genre. I guess since Pink Panther made alot of money it was a great film. Because..box office = quality..right? Oh and that Chihwauwa movie did great..must be the best film of the year right?
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I turned that poor excuse for a movie off after 5 min. Quantum of Solace should be on this list! Wall-e was boaring as hell!
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it might be on a worst film list from the last decade
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... anyone who likes movies enough to actually visit a movie review site, and take the time to post in a talk back, wouldn't have anything but love and respect for Cloverfield. Having seen it in the theater, I and everyone I know thought it was absolutely brilliant. Oh well. To each his own.
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My two year old who LOVES everything with cars in it sat and watched it for about two minutes before getting bored. And this was a part WITH the car racing. Sorry, but it's like watching someone play F-Zero, if they decided to make 70% of F-Zero feature cut scenes with stiff dialogue and a chimp. This isn't even going into the fact that I had my eyeballs raped with color. I think the problem is my brain hasn't been rotted enough from original Speed Racer and anime garbage enough for this movie to work.
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stupid studios and not releasing this to the usa.
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I had about an equally okay a time at both these movies that attempt to bring Saturday morning cartoon dinkyness to live action complete with goofy puns, slapstick galore, and oodles of sight gags. They both have the same strengths and weaknesses, only Speed Racer went on a bit too long and was probably too complicated for kids seeing as there's all this babble about stock shares and corporate mergers etc, but it was still fun.
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The marketing had pissed me off so much that I couldn't go into the film with too much of an open mind. The audicity to sell this thing on zero information just got on my nerves. The movie was really just a bunch of hipster nobodies who get eaten up by a monster. And the chick he's after..is a total bitch..so I wasn't really falling for that supposed emo love story thrown into the mix. More monster...less emo humans.
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I walked out of Speed Racer, feeling the same way I did when I walked out of Star Wars in 1977: filled with awe and wonder. For the first time in ages, a film made me feel like the real world fell away, and for two hours I was someplace else. That hasn't happened in ages. I saw it three times in the theater (twice in IMAX), and it was the first Blu-Ray I purchased.
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Dec 31, 2008 10:31:50 AM CST
HMM, THAT WALTZ WITH BASHIR MOVIE IS VERY INTRIGUING
by bringingsexyback
I don't think MorbidObesity would be too interested though. He has an unconflicted, and perhaps a little fantastical, view of Israeli life that is bolstered by the depictions such as You Don't Mess With The Zohan.
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Dec 31, 2008 10:34:13 AM CST
CLOVERFIELD WOULD'VE BEEN GREAT EXCEPT FOR SHAKEY-CAM
by bringingsexyback
and the douchey character behind said cam. Some titty shots from Lizzy Caplan would've been nice too.
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Shitty actors vamping for the cameras, unrealistic portrayals of what would actually happen in a situation like that (the camera guy cracking jokes all the time), etc. Fuck it. I"d put it it in my worst 10 of 2008 before best 10.
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While most films will lose the fans it has over time because in reality they weren't that great(wall-e, the dark knight,), but people are afraid to admit that because of what their peers will think, and most people want to fit in and not rock the boat. But, SPEED RACER was a great film, a film that some people said they didn't like because they're friends said it wasn't good, and they don't want to be the oddball saying that they like it. Well, in time SPEED RACER will gather MILLIONS of fans when other films lose theirs. More and more people will come out of the closet "so ti speak" involving speed racer.
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I hated the animated series growing up and still do. It's the worst type of low-class anime. The kind that makes me really cringe. But I saw the movie with an open mind and I loved it. I still do. I love movies with a vision that draw you into their world, and this has got that more than any movie that's come out in recent history. It's so visually stunning and memorable. I loved it.
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Last post had too many grammar errors. But, still pretty good that I typed it while still sleeping. :) Btw, the main flaw with speed racer though is it's running time. It NEEDED to be cut by 30 minutes.
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Dec 31, 2008 10:45:36 AM CST
Fuck SPEED RACER! Fuck this steaming pile of ape dung to hell!!!
by motoko kusanagi
Now, listen up all you SPEED RACER- loving morons! I will come back here every week, every day, every hour and post this line in every fucking talkback until you bunch of brainless monkeys stop defending this fucking borefest, this outrageous insult to everyone who's older than 8 years.You brought this onto yourselves! Now pay for it, fuckos!
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The characters were a bunch of pretty boys or stuck up whores! Most people can't relate to that. You didn't care for them, they weren't even likeable! If you're going to be a pretty boy or stuck up whore, at least show some freaking personality. The movie should of been about Godzilla and the point of view of the normal folk in Japan and what THEY SEE when Godzilla attacks.
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i wanted to like it. i wanted it to be unconventional. it just didn't work, as a archetypical structural story/film at all. and don't try to defend it as groundbreakingly different, it just did not work as a unit of entertainment. there is a reason why certain formulas work. cloverfield said- fuck that- we're going to make a 2 hour long greasy yuppie hipster cell phone and camera commercial, with an incidental monster disaster thrown in, and by not showing the monster or anything of merit, we will fool everyone into thinking they have seen a new artform.
and don't even get me started on the virals and speculation campaigns. cloverfield should have been a DTV that was tied strongly to lost or fringe or something. -
...but I love SPEED RACER. Can I just admire it from the outside?
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Seriously.
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My favorite film is Back to the Future. But I wouldn't dare imply that it's the Best Film Ever, Of All Time, especially just based on my personal taste. I know, for example, lets say, Citizen Kane is a far more superior film in general. What's great about that film transcends personal preference and taste and nostalgia. (Fortunately for me, BTTF can be considered one of the better, more outstanding movies anyway.) It's similar to your five year old making a really really good drawing that you just love and are proud of and put up on the refrigerator and show all your friends. But as much as you like that drawing, for all your personal reasons, your not going to state that it's the best piece of art ever created. Favorite =/= Best.
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Just rented it last night. Totally buying it on blu ray. It's exactly as Massawyrm describes in the article.
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It had engaging characters and performances and tons more monsters.
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Both provided me with the most fun I've had in a movie theatre all year. Personally I found both far more imaginative than the incredibly ordinary Iron Man.
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but not terrible. i'm a tough nut to crack but i laughed my ass off- out loud- at sprtle and chim-chim's wild ride through the factory. i liked the whole thing but i will admit the track racing got boring. i wish bad guys had died, or at least 'fallen' to deaths unseen like on the cartoon, instead of safety foam coming to everyone's rescue. but i guess it was part of the high tech world they made. it's biggest fault was the run time and just how much they over-worked the talk and sneakery of the conglomorates. sure, villains on the show rattled on about it to, but it was funny- at least in the english translated episodes. i kept waiting for one good long overly verbal, fast spoken tyrade and never got one.
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I was VERY disappointed with that flick. VERY letdown. It was average at best and considering it was from the most awesome movie makers on the planet, it was weak. I can't believe so many critics liked it.
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If people enjoyed it, great. I thought it was one of the most insultingly pandering pieces of shit in years.
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Isn't a classic for me, because while I loved the first viewing (on DVD) I don't think it'd stand up to any further scrutiny. It's paper-thin entertainment.
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was that Inspector Detector's beard wasn't exactly like the cartoon, so all the critics started attacking the film because the spent so much money on it but they didn't get the beard right.
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has anyone heard anything? are they going to ever attempt to explain anything? the dharma logo? the splash in the ocean at the end? the aftermath? or are they just going to sit back and be smug, while they read all the forums and blogs to answer the questions for them, like they do when they write LOST?
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Good point... why is Redbelt not getting any love? Ejiofor was superb.
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but there are two things I didn't care for and that is 1) They should have never shown the monster at the end. Should have left it up to the imagination and 2) I didn't care for the characters. Wish they would have died in the first ten minutes. Not a single one I wanted to live. Most annoying group ever. Pretty sad when I was rooting for the monster.No sequel please
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With my middle school students, and all 130 of them loved it. I was ready to hate it completely but hell, I thought it was pretty fun stuff. And my 9 year old loves the shit out of it. Guess they're all wrong though, it's apparently the worst movie ever made.
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No goddamn respect.
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else doesn't. What doesn't make logical sense is when you like Death Race because of Anderson's use of mostly practical effects, but also liked Speed Racer which was a blur of digitized "metal", and in each case, the viewer could not tell (or most of the time care) the position of the racers. At least Pixar's Cars and even friggin Ricky Bobby could accomplish that.Death Race annoyed me particularly when Anderson had to resort to jump-cutting-mini-zoom camera action to add "action" when none was present.
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Won't happen. If they do what they did before, people will be pissed... but the film was sold on being 'documentary-real', so that uniqueness being gone will mean it's just another horror flick.
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For not using crappy cgi and doing real car stunts. The movie was so glorius in it's retardation that I had a blast while watching vehicular mayhem.
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I didn't like Cloverfield at all. Stupid shaky cam. I didn't care about the characters at all, and some of the scenes were like... how the hell can THAT happen? She's impaled on a freaking metal bar and just gets up and runs away??? Lame. I would have put Forgetting Sarah Marshall or Hellboy 2 on the list instead.
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I did not see it at the theatre and now I'm kicking myself. Never believe the critics. Speed Racer is pure saccharin cinema sweetness. I love love love love it. My kids dig the heck out of it. They'd watch Chim Chim curing the credits on a continuous loop if I let them. The really sad thing is to think how many great family movies got canned because the suits now see family fun films as possible financial disasters.
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during not curing.
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Has as much chance of success as Blair Witch 2...aka, none.
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for Death Race do derserve kudos. Thats all though.
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It gave me motion sickness, although not as bad as Blair Witch. Otherwise the film was OK. A lot of hype and cleverly concealing the monster before release.
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i admit that the final moments of the last race sent a shiver down my spine and dilated my pupils for one of the best flashbacks in years.
damn impressive! -
Lot of Speed Racer fans locked in the closet
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Dec 31, 2008 12:28:32 PM CST
Speed Racer....Decided not to watch after seeing the trailer....
by brody77
And that leads to a debate (maybe)
My mate REFUSES to watch trailers for films.
He feels they give you an unfair perception going in, so he goes in without any prior sight of the film, save maybe the poster.
Now, when I tell him the new Trek trailer kicks all kinds of ass, he tells me to fuck off, that he won't judge anything on a trailer and thus will avoid it.
Me? I think the trailer can get you creaming for a movie - remember when the first Phantom Menace trailer leaked? Fair play, the movie was shite, but it was a moment.
Anyway, I refuse to watch Speed Racer because the trailer almost induced a brain anurism. (is that spelt right?)
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How's aoout that for a new qualifieR ? Or ' The Best Film That I Didn't Agree With '. Whichever, you know : the type of flick whose sentiment really gets in your nerves, and whose views you do not necessarily subscribe to but couldn't deny that it was expertly thing, a venerable tutorial of how movies should be done, an example of the impeccable that should ought to be followed, that's succeeded in what it does ( action/comedy/war ), and must be commended all the same for the interest of fair judgment. Or something. That's basically the drill. Any takers ?
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It's now on the top of my list of all time favorite apocalypse movies. Very disturbing look at human behavior. I'd never considered the inevitable anarchy and immediate reversion back to primate status that would come with a epidemic that robs sight-back to being just mammals rutting around in the dark looking for food. I only wish it had the balls to not end with a deus ex machina happy ending.
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Not just awesome fun. I mean, a kids movie with kick ass effects, crazy car chases, and kung fu??? Not to mention John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Christina Ricci, and Matthew Fox???
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just like i could no longer tolerate Speed Racer. Oh, and Ironman belongs on every Top Ten list of best 2008 films.Yeah, heath nailed the part of Joker, but Downey went against all the doubters (myself included) and gave his best performance since less than zero.great comeback story..oh and his role in Tropical Thunder was great as well.
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I continued reading the list from there only out of a sense of morbid curiosity, because it immediately destroyed any credibility you had, Wyrm. That anyone enjoys this movie, let alone thinks it's GOOD, proves how effectively modern culture has skullfucked the brains through-the-eyehole and down-the-throat of even the only slightly stupid. Everyone that enjoyed this film should be stabbed with a rusty fork and pinned to the bottom of a slow-filling tub of water as their muscles seize.
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I agree with TheRingWraith on this one. What defines "best"? A movie's technical achievements? It's writing? It's acting? So.. there's nothing to be said as to whether a movie entertains a person in deciding what makes something the "best"? If I were going to make a top ten list of "best" movies, I'd go with my favorites. Maybe I don't care about acting, maybe I like fight scenes. Maybe I don't care about writing, maybe I like explosions.
I could most certainly concede that a film's acting, writing, cinematography, etc. are superior than those of films I love, but what does that mean? Not much really, if those are not my criteria for what makes something "good". I'd say a film's purpose is to entertain. A film that entertains me BEST is my best film, period, because what entertains me may not be what entertains you.
"Good" and "best" are subjective in film. It doesn't make sense to say that there are objective criteria in which to judge a film. It's not a science, it's an art. -
"Dead Set" (#4 for me), "Timecrimes" (#8 for me) and "Milk" (not even in the top 15 of the year). Milk is simply OVERRATED. In the review - which I don't know if Harry will publish or Robert at Euro-AICN I simply label "Milk" as an ass-liking, awards-desperate coward movie. Which it is. I'm still waiting to see the real gay life in SF in that age... I was commenting to a friend who lived in NY those years and he was laughing his ass off when I told him that there were no bathhouses, group sex, poppers and coke abuse in the movie. Milk is protrayed as an almost saint, and White as his confused Judas. Shame on a sold van Sant for this lost chance of making a really important film. But of course, heterosexuals will think it's great as it's bland.
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Speed Racer kicked all kinds of ass. Sure, the Spritle and Chim Chim parts were a little excessive, in particular the bit right before Speed and Trixie kiss with the cooties joke, which I thought ruined the pacing of an otherwise emotionally powerful scene. But overall, Speed Racer is a great movie that doesn't deserve the amount of shit it gets.
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It was the surround sound. When they were climbing up the wrecked building and there was the roaring of the creature all around them, it was pretty scary. Could have also been the weed.
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That, or you just proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that you don't know what you are talking about.
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Runner Up: Eagle Eye. 10. Hancock. 9. Hellboy II: The Golden Army. 8. Timecrimes 7. [rec] - fuck Quarantine! - 6. Tropic Thunder. 5. Iron Man. 4. Dead Set - goddamn, look for this one, pronto! - 3. Cloverfield 2. Wall-E - even if the forced "straight" sexuality of 2 asexual robots bothered the shit out of me and 1. The Dark Knight (this year's Blade Runner)
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this was 2008's best TV series that most "yanks" have yet to see.
28 days 7 weeks can't hold a torch to this gorefest of a Miniseries.
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You've ever been sucked into a world like that. And I dare you, I FUCKING DARE ONE OF YOU to find a single frame of that film that doesn't look like it was shot in New York (save for interiors). And it's the first time a I ever bought a character's motivations: "I'm not crazy, I know this is fucking nuts and I could die, but I love her. I'm doing it anyway."
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Yes, its a cheesy teeny-bop movie and water downed PG-13 thriller, but there was much more happening here. No name actors, a fresh perspective, some genuine scares while twenty something urbanites are trapped in apocolyptic circumstances. I also thought J.J. Abrams and Company did the unthinkable and created an event movie in the barren movie month of January. That was pretty cool. Also, the post-9/11 themes and the shaky cam style reminded me that the next wide scale natural disaster and/or terrorist attack will be Twittered and YouTubed. Reconsider watching the movie.
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And technically proficient gimmick to boot. That being said, it did manage to contain two of the hottest chicks I've seen onscreen in quite awhile.Viva Odette Yustman and Lizzy Caplan! Yowza.
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I sent a really positive Iron Man one in, but it didn't get posted. My cynical side tells me it was because someone misconstrued a comment I made about Batman Begins.
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I just saw it and, yeah, it's distrubing, but it's also a movie that remarkable for it's ability to make it impossible to turn away from.
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with the creepy-crawlies was pretty effective, and a good example of low budget/good quality digital effects.
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He avoids any sort of spoiler and goes into the movie a blank slate. It will all be new to him. It's a viewing experience that we no longer have. I remember back in the day when a film's theatrical trailer was often the first time I even knew said film had been made; it was my first exposure to it. Now we can know everything about a film before one frame is even shot. On the other hand, your friend is setting himself up for some major disappointment. No matter how much he avoids trailers, etc., there are some films he will have preconceptions of. Whether it be his favourite superhero or a beloved novel, his anticipation for these films will be greater. And, as we saw with The Spirit, some are not always what a fan of the source material could have expected. The trailer gives us a decent idea of what we are in for. Your first exposure to a "creative interpretation" perhaps should not come on opening night; after spending your hard-earned $10 on it, 5 minutes into it thinking "WTF is this???".
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Is it out on video??
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completely miss the point. It's not supposed to be smart. It's not about dialogue, or plot. The whole point of the movie is to throw you the viewer into the middle of this scenario and experience a monster attack movie from the guy on the street's perspective. And it did that VERY, very well. I saw it with a group of people in the theatre, and everyone was absolutely shell shocked walking out of the theatre. The frantic pace, confusion, disorientation and raging speakers were an assault on the senses.
The movies accomplishment is that it makes the viewer 'feel' the chaos of being caught in a battleground in a way that no other film can even approach. Walking out I felt like I just spent an hour and a half at the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. My nerves were shot.
The experience had much more in common with a Universal Studios ride than it did with a movie. Imagine if you went on the King Kong ride or something and then had to listen to a bunch of D.B.'s complaining about the 'plot' or the 'acting'. You really should have just sat back and experienced the ride... -
A couple things irked me though. We went to a midnight show. While standing in line behind some fat, smelly dude, he proceeded to say that there was a club forming that consisted of people who loved Cloverfield, and that they called themselves "Cloverlites". What the fuck? I love movies, but that's just retarded. The movie didn't warrant a fucking club. Let alone with a retarded ass name like that. The other thing would be the characters(save for lizzy kaplans character). What a bunch of idiots. I was hoping they would all fucking die....and then they did. I don't think we were supposed to like those characters. If we were supposed to like them, then they failed at creating characters that were likable.
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that you guys are all including Cloverfield on your lists. I didn't hate it like some but it was nowhere near the top 10.
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Yes, but would it work if you watched it again? It's a great experience, but truly great films stand the test of time and multiple viewings.
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Kgerm, the characters might have worked for you but not for me. We have a main character to much of a wimp to tell her he loves her or to start a relationship with her, but suddenly grows a set of balls after a GIGANTIC, ALIEN MONSTER attacks New York City and decides, hey, this is the perfect time for me to man up. Sorry, I just don’t find that believable. If she had been his wife or she was pregnant with his child, yes I could see him doing it. But this guy has always been a nice-guy playing it safe and by the rules, strange time now for him to become a wannabe action hero.
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I understand what you are saying, but I have to disagree with you. I wanted to like Cloverfield, and thought it was a clever, original idea, but I just couldn't buy the characters or want to follow them. This is supposed to be document of what happens when a giant monster attacks, played realistically and implied to be authentic, so if I can't buy the characters and their actions, I just won't be able to suspend disbelief that Godzilla’s cousin is attacking NY. Instead, I find it to be just as engrossing as about a dozen other giant monster movies instead of what it could have been, something really special.
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amen! Sent a review, waiting for evaluation... after a while I will put it on my site, but wanted to put it here first.
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Speed Racer MUST be viewed at night w/the lights off, blu-ray on a large hi-def TV, preferrably with surround sound. Only then can one truly be sucked into and exist in the particular stratosphere the Wachowskis and their fellow filmmakers have created.
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Because I thought it looked great...
2 hrs later I was offering to buy everyone a round of beers as penance... -
...for his just recognition of Speed Racer as one of 2008's best.
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Thanks, Massa! I agree 2008 was a fantastic year for film. And I even liked "Speed Racer" too. I'm generally too scared to admit it around other people, especially filmheads, but I had fun seeing that film. And I hated the original cartoon, so that's saying a lot.
Can't wait to see "Waltzing With Bashir" in a local place near Boston.
Good list. -
Well and good, ' coz Israel has been a total scumbag towards the Gaza Strip, and the Arab population in general, these past few days. Is all I'm sayin'.
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it was pooorly marketed and the critics didn't fucking get it ... I too walked out of it with the same awe and wonder as I did as a kid walking out of Raiders and Flash Gordon ... I had a huge fucking cheshire cat smile on my face ... the feeling I thought I would have after seeing INDY4 or any of the SW prequels, but didn't ... and I was pissed at myself for waiting 2 weeks after it opened to see it because of what the fucking critics were saying ... from now on I trust my gut feeling ... happy new year fuckers!~
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I thought Kung Fu Panda would be like that, but walked out in disgust. Indy IV did it for me.
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the site is littered with 10 ten and worst 10 lists all over the place.
next year, submit your lists to Harry, combine them into AICNS TOP 10 MOVIES and then display the individual votes.
If you had a real editor, that's what you'd do. -
were better than half of those on the list...
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I liked Speed Racer a lot. It was by no means perfect, but it was better than a lot of movies that came out this year. It definately IS a guilty pleasure movie that you would watch when it came on TV everytime, like National Treasure is.....
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...on your list as I love Eastwood and I'm really looking forward to seeing this one in the theater. I could be wrong (the blurbs in the ads would seem to say otherwise, though), but I'm really looking forward to a classic, gritty Clint Eastwood performance here. Most of his work is good to great, both as an actor and a director. But when he says "Get off my lawn!" in the commercial, I hear a little bit of "go ahead, make my day", and that alone makes me want to see this movie. Hey, where is the AICN Clint Eastwood interview? That needs to happen.
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is what was felched out of Wakowskis's ass after a huge sugar and crayola binge.
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Fuck that.
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I disagree that a movie's purpose is to entertain. Is SCHINDLER'S LIST an "entertaining" film? How about REQUIEM FOR A DREAM? Or AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH?
No, a movie's purpose is to achieve whatever it sets out to do, and then it's up to the audience to decide (a) whether the goal was worthy, and (b) whether the goal was achieved. This is why it's pointless to argue whether "Amistad" is btter than "Jackass: The Movie."
Regarding WALL•E and KUNG FU PANDA, it seems obvious to me that Pixar was trying to stretch and grow the medium, and also to make a relevant statement about how we live our lives.
KUNG-FU PANDA, on the other hand, was so by-the-numbers that there wasn't a single unpredictable scene in the entire film. The character arcs, the plot, the jokes -- anyone who has ever seen a movie could have described KUNG FU PANDA in detail without ever watching a frame of it. Was it entertaining? I suppose, if you're into cinematic comfort food, it's probably a really good time. Me, I was bored. To me, the goal (making lots of money) simply wasn't very worthy.
I'm not going to knock KUNG FU PANDA for being what it is, but it's seems rather obvious to me that WALL•E is the "better" movie. -
It's not cool. It's never been cool. And anyone who thinks the Coens haven't made a funny movie in a decade evidently missed "No Country For Old Men." No, not a comedy, but some hilarious moments.
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Gran Torino was Eastwood's analretentiveness for authanticity.Employing non actor Hmongs was a terrible idea. Having William Hung from American Idol(I can't tell them apart anyway) in the co-starring role was a bad casting decision.
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"It's not supposed to be smart."
"... an assault on the senses."
"The experience had much more in common with a Universal Studios ride than it did with a movie."
Um, is this stuff supposed to be an *endorsement*? Seriously?
"Imagine if you went on the King Kong ride or something and then had to listen to a bunch of D.B.'s complaining about the 'plot' or the 'acting.'"
Yes, that would be stupid. But we weren't on a ride. We were in a movie theatre.
Please. There's no accounting for taste, but let's not pretend the dumbing-down of movies is a good thing. -
NO way. Sorry buddy. Good films, some strong but by the numbers byopics. Strong stuff but no way.
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um...you don't buy that a guy is shy? It's not in the realm of belief that someone may be afraid to tell their FWB that they want it to be something more for fear that she doesn't feel the same? I understand if you just don't like the film, everyone has different tastes, but that is a pretty dumb reason to not buy the character. Several times in my life there was a girl that I didn't think liked me back they way I liked her, so I was apprehensive about making my move. And I can tell you without a doubt, if she was in mortal danger, at that time I would definately have risked my life to save her.
Seriously though, if you can't understand how a person would risk safety to try to save someone they love, then I can't relate to you on a fundamental basis. I can't fathom how you could buy the motivations of *any* character in any movie, if you can't buy the most basic, universal one of all, 'save the girl'. -
My faves of the year-
Kung Fu Panda,
Indy 4,
Dark Knight,
Speed Racer...
Not sure what order though. Seems like every time I watch one of them, that movie moves up to number one!
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There's no denying it.
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Dec 31, 2008 4:35:39 PM CST
it became cool to diss the Coens right after....
by dannyglovers_dickblood
...Hudsucker Proxy, when we discovered they would never make a good film again.
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I guess you just have to recognize that not all movies have the same intent as far as what they bring to the viewer. For example, no one ever complains about the cinematography in a fake documentary, because it's not *intended* to be shot beautifully, it's supposed to look like some guy filmed it on his shaky, shitty handheld. Likewise you don't complain about hearing ambient sounds, sound levels, etc, because again, the scenario being presented is intended to come across as raw, unrefined, reality. It would be stupid to complain about those things. Likewise, it's stupid to complain about the plot, dialogue, or character motivations. Because in real life, the dialogue isn't scripted by hollywood writers. The 'plot' is supposed to be be real events, which means it has no real obligation to conform to...anything. Real life, and real dialogue, tends to not be 'well written'. Complaining about the plot or dialogue in a fake documentary is like me swinging around at my booth at a restaurant and complaining that you and your friends have terrible, boring dialogue, the plot of how you spent your evening sucks and didn't totally make sense to me, and I don't buy your motivations for wanting to pick up the bill.
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like you experienced something first hand. And for a lot of people, Cloverfield did that, and fulfilled it's one and only obligation. The people who sat through the film with their arms folded complaining about every last aspect of it, missed the point, and I put to you that it was your own attitude that didn't allow that experience to happen for you.
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Got to politely disagree with you. What about Fargo or No Country For Old Men, or even the Big Lebowski for some folks?
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First of all, and not related to the Coens, I liked Cloverfield. But it was definitely and unfortunately WAAAAY overhyped. It was really good for what it was and what it cost (IMO). But regarding the Coens, I'll admit that they've had some misses in the last ten years. But that timespan also includes O Brother, Where Art Thou? and No Country For Old Men. How could anybody hate NCFOM? I'm not trying to diss or even say that opinion is wrong, I'm just genuinely in shock that anybody who loves cinema would not like that film on some level. The end is NOT perfect, but in my eyes the rest of the film comes pretty damn close. The fact that they were allowed to make a film with no music and you don't even notice it speaks volumes (to me, anyway). I also laughed a TON at Burn After Reading. So, I don't know. I think maybe what we're dealing with here is the fact that they made some of the best loved movies of all time, and then didn't. But hey, every movie can't be a perfect classic. For what it's worth, I've never loved Raising Arizona and I hate The Big Lebowski with a passion. The former just doesn't hit my funny bone, and the latter has never moved me in the slightest way (one of the most boring film going experiences I've ever had). In fact, if you look at their entire body of work, they've always been kind of hit and miss.
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so this is where the cloverfield bashing is. AND WTF!!!? Number 10 on the BEST list???? Hooooooly shit!! Cloverfield only had one thing going for it and that's hype. After you actually watch the film, you realize your day could have been better spent sittin at home, gettin high and watchin old Godzilla movies. Dare I say it? Yes I dare... I would rather watch 1998 Godzilla TWICE than to ever see Cloverfield again... ow... i think i hurted my brain just thinkin about it....
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Look, you bought the guys motivation, I didn't. You want to know why? Because like you said it was a fake documentary, which is supposed to make something seem like it is really happening. And when you have a Milquetoast like this and his band of Gossip Girls cast members who suddenly decide to play hero, sorry I can’t buy it. Now I can see the artificial nature of the story and see how it plays out just like any other Hollywood movie. It is just an episode of Friends shot documentary style with a giant monster thrown in.
And yes, I believe in “save the girl”, but I do have a basic understanding of human evolution and psychology. I can believe that someone is going to save the girl if it is for reproductive reasons – it is his mate and/or she is carrying his child – or if it is someone has a strong bond with and it is in his nature to do something. I can imagine the character in this movie trying to stop a mugger or an abusive boyfriend; I can’t believe he would risk his life to go out in a city where a giant monster is roaming.
And you might disagree with me Smackfu, but I will just add one thing: when is the last time you saw a story about a young, wimpy yuppie braving a fire, earthquake, Katrina or the falling Twin Towers to rescue a loved one? I am being serious. The guys who actually go out and bust their ass’ to help loved ones or those in physical danger are usually the alpha males, blue-collar guys or radical individualist: the firemen, the cop, the soldier, the tough laborer, the outdoorsmen, the cowboy, the in-your-face hippie and the iconoclast. When a person falls on the tracks in NY subways, it is a construct worker or cop who jumps down there and save them, and not the guy who works out of a cubicle. He might help a loved one if they are trapped in a burning building together, but not if he is has to run across town and run up 34-flights of stairs. If that is the case, he expects a professional to do it.
If the movie had been about a construction worker or cop whose pregnant wife is trapped, I would have bought it for a second. But with these characters, it just doesn’t fly.
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this movie was AWFUL! bad acting, pretentious and self important.
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NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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...agreed.
Massa, I normally agree with you, but Blindness was straight-up crap. The book left it open to be something really fantastic...instead, it was terrible. -
Damn You Michael Bay
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I agree with you 100%. The ONLY people capable of bravery are those who demonstrate it on a daily basis and are alpha males. Because, as we all know, it's pretty much impossible for someone who works in an office to summon up the courage to rescue a loved on from harm. You are TOTALLY right there. I'm not being sarcastic AT ALL.
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fucking Cloverfield?! That Movie sucked! Not only did Toho do it better 50+ fucking years ago...but if you didn't have epileptic fits going in you certainly did by halftime..I know I damned near chewed off my own tongue trying to watch it. Horrid characters, horrid monster, just fucking horrid...all pointless, gimmick driven crap. Also, although i know you were simply illustrating a point about gaining trust....ANYONE who thinks Kubrick is overrated is proof that post birth abortions may not be so bad after all.
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was awesome. I saw it once in the theater and I'm so glad I did. Best theater experience all year, and that included wasting the extra money to see Dark Knight in IMAX. Best movie? No. Good movie? Yes. As for character motivations, I think it really depends on the person watching it. Some people would risk their lives saving their "Pam from the Office", some people wouldn't. A person doesn't have to be married or related to someone to risk their lives for them. A simple Google search will prove my point.
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Xiaolin Showdown.
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major, major respect for your stance on speed racer, massa. was it the best film of the year? nope. was it the worst? fuck off, nowhere near it. perhaps too many are too cynical and jaded to just have fun in the theater.
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You eliminated the blue-collar types and individualistic iconoclast from the list of heroic types. And you might not like that general statement but it is the truth. For the record, I am neither blue-collar, an alpha male nor an individualistic iconoclast; I am, however, man enough to admit what the limits of my bravery are and what I am capable of.
I was in the army and thankfully never saw combat. Could I have handled it? Maybe but not because I was brave but because I was trained to handle it. Courage is basically being comfortable, whether it is walking a tight rope, driving a race car or approaching a hot girl in a bar. That is why I mentioned those types who seem to be the most likely to act brave. It seems to be part of their nature not to lose their cool or feel anxious when stressful things happen. They live with stress constantly, and are comfortable amongst it. Not all types of stress, but they seem to handle life-or-death situations better. Put a tough truck driver in an office and tell him to make a million dollar deal and he’ll start sweating; put the same guy in a bar with some bikers and he probably will know how to come out alive.
And when you can resort to comfort, you resort to training. So while no soldier has ever faced a giant monster before, I can imagine the U.S. Army facing it because they would fall back on training, discipline and the loyalty to their comrades (especially their fire teams and squads). What does the main characters of Cloverfield have to fall back upon? Romantic notions of heroism we have seen in hundreds of bad movies but not in real life? That is all.
If you wanted me to believe that our hero would risk his life for this girl, she should have been more than just a friend or girl he was having a crush on. She should have been his fiancée, his wife or the mother of his children. Now I can believe why he is risking his neck to go out and save her, instead of this geek fantasy about running out to save the life of the girl you have a crush on. That fantasy was ridiculous in high school, as an adult it is pathetic.
Plus, if his motivation is to save his girl, what is the other characters motivation? Hey, you’re my buddy; I’m not going to let you do this alone? Maybe the guy with the camera would have tagged along, but not the two girls. They have only a tentative connection to him, including his sister-in-law.
Once again, you might find this believable but I don’t.
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I am curious about your Google searches. What did you look up? If you are saying that people are willing to risk their lives to help someone out in an immediate danger, such as a sinking ship or a building on fire, then I completely agree with you. They are already in or near the danger zone, so their own safety is no longer as paramount. Such as when the passengers rushed the terrorist on United 93 because their own lives where at stake, or when people run into burning buildings to save children. But to actively go out into a dangerous terrain and look for someone to help, even a friend or loved one, is a very rare thing indeed. I mean, how many people went into New Orleans during Katrina to search for missing loved ones while the hurricane was still raging? And the ones that did go in, what type of people were they? Were they more like the characters from Cloverfield or more like the list of people I mentioned?
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CAPONE: FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!
oh, fixed my caps lock -
I'd have to say that I agree with Massa on the rewatchability of Kung Fu Panda. Of all the movies I saw this year it's the only one I've watched multiple times on DVD. Hell, it even gets the screen saver treatment for background visual awesomeness.
Maybe you have to watch a ton of kung fu movies to understand just how much they got RIGHT with Kung Fu Panda, but damn, it's still the surprise of the year. Hopefully the same approach to style and storytelling will follow over into the sequel. Just don't let the folks responsible for the Shrek monstrosities (ooh, a pun) get anywhere near it.
My only question to Massa is, if you enjoyed the movie so much, why'd you leave it off the official top 10? I know it's in mine. -
It was Godzilla via Lovecraft. I just wish they had show more of it.
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I stopped reading just after you admitted you're a coward and don't have it in you to risk your own safety for someone you love. I guess the arguments over, I now realize it's perfectly natural that you couldn't understand the main character's motivations.
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But Speed Racer fucking sucked man. Get with it.
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The debate about cloverfield is pointless. Someone says they did not buy into the main characters pull about being in love. You're full of shit. Because every movie has this so you must hate every movie you see. I take Cloverfield as what it is: A monster movie. Do you watch THEM and break it down? I doubt it. So chill out.
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THAT REAL MEN LOVE SPEED RACER
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Yes, I am a coward but I am brave enough to admit unlike some people who have never ever faced any sort of dangerous situation but still like to talk shit like they’re Captain America. I don't know about your life experiences, but I have been in enough life-or-death ones to understand the limits of my own bravery and don't pretend to be something I am not. I don’t know what your life experiences are, but I have placed myself in physical danger to help someone else out, and it is those experiences that have made me come away with the viewpoint that I know hold. I’ll give you three examples:
1) I was in the Silent Movie Theatre in LA the night it’s owner got killed. When the gunman ran down the theatre aisle firing shots over the crowds head, I jumped on my then girlfriend to protect her from being hit then chased after the gunman with my brother until we came to the end of the alley. Finally realizing that he was armed and we weren’t, we decided not to risk death by continuing to chase after him and instead slinked back into the theatre. However, while we at least chased after him and one of our friends went to go call the police (this was before cell phones) the rest of the yuppie crowd to my knowledge just hunkered behind their seats, unsure what to do. They seemed to afraid and unsure to even run out of the theatre.
2) I was a parking lot in downtown Burbank when my brother, a friend and me witnessed a gang of guys beating the shit out of two small guys laying on the concrete. Seeing that the security guards were just going to sit there and do nothing, we jumped out and started fighting the eight guys, and we were doing pretty good until they started pulling out frickin’ knives. We still manage to fight them off until the police arrived, but in the process my brother’s hand was slashed and my friend was stabbed twice in the side and almost had his lungs punctured and killed. Once again, none of the club-hopping set came to are aid or even called the police (for the record, the guys we were fighting were Armenians and the guys who called the cops were Armenians as well; the reason they had called the cops is because they had dealt with Armenian thugs before and hated them).
3) I was with a friend of mine and we met up with his girlfriend and a bunch of her friends. She decided to go off with her friends when we noticed that before they had gotten into their car they were involved in a yelling match with a guy. The guy started pushing the girls around, including my friend’s girlfriend. Did he rush over to help her? No. Instead I went over there and pushed this guy aside and told him to leave these people alone. After the girls had driven off four of his buddies showed up and surrounded me. Did my friend come rushing to my rescue? No, he stayed in the back hiding. Did the girls come driving back to let me jump into the car? Hell no, I was on my own. I only managed to avoid a fight by doing what I do best, bullshiting, when I declared that I was from Fucking Detroit and I will take them all on (I am actually from Minneapolis, a city with not nearly as tough rep as Detroit).
These and about a half-dozen other incidents have taught me that people are not nearly as brave or courageous as they like people to believe, especially the yuppies in suits or who grew up with sheltered backgrounds. And that actually includes me as well. The guys I have met in my life who don’t back down, who are really willing to risk their lives for a loved one usually are the same type of people who join the police force, the fire department, the army, have physically tough, demanding jobs or are the risk takers in life.
Would I go into a burning building to save my girlfriend? Yes. Would I rush a gunmen or a guy wielding a knife to protect my parents? Yes. Would I go into a dangerous, devastated area that is still very hazardous to try and find a girl I have a crush on and try to help her? No, and you can call me a coward but I know that is beyond my capabilities and that most likely I wouldn’t be able to help her but instead would end up in just as much trouble a her. I would however try to use all my energy to get someone qualified to go over there and rescue her. If you would be willing to go brave a dangerous area Smackfu to save some girl you like, I salute you. You are a braver, or more foolish, man than me.
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Are you taking Meth? it sucked so hard jenna jameson was jealous. WHat a self indulgent piece of shit. Shame on the Wachowski bros.
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To stop it being a complete box office disaster. And spare me the worldwide 93 million gross. If anyone thinks that makes the studio and film amkers sleep easy I can tell you it for certain it doesn't.we will get serenity 2 before speed racer races again. It was in a word SHIT
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...I love Xiaolin Showdown!
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DO YOU SPEAK IT
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suuuuuuucked. i mean as a cheesy effects vehicle it's ok but in NO way compared to the original Terminator.
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Cloverfield is definitely the top of my movies-that-I-wished-I-could-get-a-refund list. I think a lot of peoples' reaction depends on whether it made them physically ill to watch... if I could have kept my eyes on the screen without bile in my throat perhaps I would have been amongst those who liked it, but I'm afraid that given how the experience turned out, it's given been a visceral distrust of clever marketing campaigns.
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SPEED RACER IS A POP ART AVANT GARDE MASTERPIECE. IT BEAT AVATAR TO THE "RECOGNIZED IN 20 YEARS" CULT THRONE. I SAY THIS AS A BONAFIDE MATRIX HATER.
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But fails miserably. It just tried too damn hard. It kept trying to draw attention to itself, like the movie was saying, look how unique this movie is, meh! A good movie doesn't have to do that. The ending is freakin Blairwitch Project. Crying into the camcorder. OMG is it real or fake? OMG how unamazing!
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Curious what movies will be considered classic in 25 years time.
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One of the best, most watchable (most treacle-free) family films I've ever seen. Visually daring and inventive. Faithful to the cartoon -- captured the free-wheeling, gravity-defying spirit perfectly. Without intended condescension, I feel sorry for people that couldn't get past the the unreal look, or appreciate it the way it was intended -- as virtual live-action anime. I had a blast watching it.
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Christ, watched it again recently... still couldn't give a shit about the characters. Aside from Lizzy Kaplan, you could almost have replaced the cast with the cast of The Hills, or any random magazine ad, and I'd have cared maybe a little less. The spectacle's still fairly enjoyable.
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Just now finished watching this film, as it just now came to Chicago. I am a lifelong pro wrestling fan and I have to say that this movie was absolutely amazing. Just thinking of all of the old timers like Terry Funk and Jake Roberts going through this exact life is almost painful to watch. I want to say thank you to Aronofski et al for creating such a thought provoking and emotional film.
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Great minds of people whose screen names start with "ding" think alike. ;-)
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And no one else i know did!
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You asked if SPEED RACER is worse than these movies: Disaster Movie, Meet the Spartans, Epic Movie, Date Movie, The Hottie and the Nottie, Good Luck Chuck, From Justin to Kelly, Son of the Mask, Meet Dave, Norbit, Daddy Day Camp, Bratz? I haven't seen FROM JUSTING TO KELLY or BRATZ. Other than that, yeah, SPEED RACER is worse than those. I'm telling you, by then end of 2010, SPEED RACER will be widely recognized as the worst movie of the decade.
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I'll give you that the action scenes in KP are well-constructed, but ultimately hollow. It's self-referential 'cool', someone yelling in your ear 'THIS IS AWESOME' over and over, and you just turn to them and say 'SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LET THE FILM SPEAK FOR ITSELF.'
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That film rocks, I feel bad for people who don't enjoy it, there obviously dead inside!
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Calling Speed Racer the worst film of the last decade is so retarted, there have been many many more films that were wayyyyyyyy worse, in fact, Massa's top 2 worst (Meet The Spartans and Disaster Movie) are 10 times worse than anything in the last few years. I can see why people would not care for Speed Racer, but at least some effort was put into making it, whereas those two so called "spoofs" looked like they were crazy glued together by a 3 year old, in fact a 3 year old could make a better film then the idiots who made those. I have no problem with people who hate on Speed, but to call it the worst film of the past blah blah years is just dumb.
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I scratch my heads at people who dislike that film, "we want more monster" they cry "go watch Godzilla" scream back I.
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May your cult classic status and home video stock value slowly and steadily make gains in 2009, and maybe even a short re-release on IMAX in the near future...
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Jan 01, 2009 11:10:34 AM CST
"6 different comic books movies, the worst of which was merely f
by filmcans
The Spirit? No way.
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or you really hated Speed Racer. I'm stunned that you think something starring Paris Hilton, or one with Kim Kardashian, is a better movie than Speed Racer. But I guess that just goes to show the extent to how truly terrible an experience SR was for you. That's too bad - I got a kick out of it (seems I'm not the only one) and can not fathom how anyone could have enjoyed those wretched turds excreted by the Movie-movies duo more than SR.
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I'm very happy to see you share your love for the Wachowski's ode to old-school family values and mind-boggling action sequences. I love Speed Racer and, for a while there, it looked like I was mostly alone. But now, the Speed Racer lovers are popping up everywhere, so that's pretty damn cool.But while I like a lot of your Top Ten Best list, I definitely disagree with that no. 1 choice. I finally saw Frost/Nixon a few days ago and thought it was the usual dull, dry Ron Howard crap. Langella was very good, but I didn't give a shit about Frost and so I was not very emotionally engaged. But Howard and Peter Morgan just kept drawing this blatant line between hero and villain, insisting that I root for Frost simply because he was the protagonist. I never bought it and so I felt manipulated, disappointed, frustrated. This is certainly not Howard's worst movie, but it is very far from his best. But that's just my opinion, of course.One thing I love about this time of year is how these lists not only provide insight into a particular critic's mind, but how they also encourage healthy debate about a huge number of movies released in the year. I may not like Frost/Nixon, but I am fascinated by how many people have fallen in love with it.Also, love the latest character graphic, dude! I'd say it's your best yet.
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If anything, looking at reviews, folks tend to under-rate Kubrick.
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To let you know my taste in movies, in 2006 I thought the best films were THE INSIDE MAN and THE PRESTIGE. In 2007 I thought the best films were 300, ZODIAC, and SUNSHINE. I think I have fair taste in films, don't you? SR just didn't do it for me ... or many other people, clearly. It was wretched, dude.
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It's about damn time! That movie was great! The last race montage sequence was great filmmaking! And Christina Ricci was freaking cute!!!
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Jan 01, 2009 8:39:39 PM CST
Here's Proof That Benjamin Buttons Is The Best Film Of The Year!
by media messiah
The movie was so good, a man decided to shoot another man because he and his kids were talking too much during the movie, frequently interrupting the film. Now that is some endorsement!!! Even The Dark Knight didn't spark a shooting. Why??? Because the The Dark Knight isn't good enough to shot somebody over!!!
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...mean that literally. The shaky camera made watching it impossible for me, and for many others, so putting it on your top ten list is unacceptable. Speed Racer was one of the worst movies of the year. For some reason you like shitty movies. I have watched KUNG FU PANDA several times due to my children, and it is fun to watch the first time...The Dark Knight should be either #1 or #2. I have seen that movie several times, and I will see it several more times. The film is put together perfectly, and I keep being impressed by Heath Ledger's performance. He fully lost himself in that role, and I can see how it took a toll on him both mentally and physically. If he doesn't get the Oscar for that performance, then fuck them...
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Finally a list I can relate to.
If only Tropic Thunder were on that list, I would be 100% in agreement with you.
And the Kung Fu Panda vs. Wall-E ownage comment. I am the same way. I own Kung Fu Panda on DVD and plan on watching it several more times this year with my 6 year old. We love it. But Wall-E just fell flat for me -- no rewatch value in my book.
And finally, thanks for standing up for Speed Racer. Not a great movie by any stretch. Not even a good movie. But fun -- you bet. Like a psycodelic roller coaster.
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Honestly, if Milk was released back last January would anybody give two shits about it? It's a gay flick thus must be included in every list while its still in the consciousness of the elites. Buttons is way over-rated. Frost / Nixon... meh; a typical movie snob list. You do get kudos for Speed Racer and Cloverfield though.
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I know a lot of people are dissing CLOVERFIELD and I have to say... fair comment. As Bringingsexyback said THE MIST is a far far better monster invasion film than Clover and I think maybe Massa got confused on whether it was his ten best or ten worst of the year he was writing. Come on, even the mediocre flicks of '08 like JUMPER and VANTAGE POINT were more entertaining than Clover. When it comes to the 'cool' movies of 2008 there's no competition - I mean Massa can you honestly look us in the eye and say CLOVERFIELD is a better flick than RAMBO or HELL BOY 2?
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I'll say it.
The criticism Cloverfield gets here is just dumb and generic: "The characters were douche bags" "Not realistic" etc. I mean, I can see not liking the film...but what the hell did you expect? It's a "monster from outer space movie". Sit back and enjoy. The whole post 9/11 subtext and first person video perspetive that dominates our media now...not to mention the whole attempt to keep the monster etc. hush hush in this day and age was a nice novel approach that made it different. It did exactly what it set out to do.
Hellboy II looked great but sequels like this tend to load up on dumb humor, one liners, drunken duets. I never once felt conflict or tension in the course of the story. Eye candy. Too cute. "oooh, there;s a cool monster" "oooh, that was a cool choreographed fight scene"...You know everything is going to play out fine...you're just curious to see how they get there. I never once knew where the hell Cloverfield was going and enjoyed the ride all the more.
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Oh, good grief! Loved BATMAN BEGINS, but really didn't care for DARK KNIGHT. Since when does the Batman plow through downtown Gotham using rocket launchers to blast his way through parked cars without regards as to whether there might be someone in them?! And then nearly kills himself avoiding hitting a homicidal maniac (Joker) standing in his path? Made ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. And being willing to turn himself in to stop the Joker?! Spider-Man might be naive enough to do that, but Batman? Again, the writers screwed up big time. They clearly concentrated far too much on the Joker and forgot to pay attention to whose name was in the title.
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By far the most fun I've had in a movie theater this year. Went to the midnight show and actually went back the next morning to watch it again. Loser? Sure. Appriciate good films? You know it.
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So he thinks Kubrick is overrated, the Coen Brothers aren't funny, likes a movie about a figure skater, and thought Speed Racer was great? Why do I even bother?
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I'm still not sure I know what the monster looked like. And what's with the end? Do they nuke it? It was a solid 7 out of 10. Had me on the edge of my seat the first time I saw it, but not really a movie I'd go back and revisit more than once on DVD.
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