300 & 99 From The 1st Decade Of The New Millennium

 TBH, I'm not really that big of a fan of the Underground movies,

  One of my favorite parts of most zombie apocalypse movies is watching how the outbreak starts at the beginning of it all. I think the idea of ground zero of a pandemic of walking dead is one that is rife with all sorts of story potential that we’ve barely tapped in this generously utilized subgenre of horror.  Back in 2007, the concept of a zom-apoc was explored from the perspective of an on-air disc jockey in a film called Pontypool (which should appear later on this list), and it was a pretty good example of how interesting this can be as a plot point. 

  For a brief period of time, during the mid to late 2000s, for some reason that escapes me, penguins in movies were all the rage in cineplexes and movie theaters from all over the world, from the north pole to the south pole. And this inexplicable "march of the penguins" on the silver screen seems to have started in 2005 with the combined success of the scene stealing trio in the animated film Madagascar (which is not on this list primarily because I never got around to seeing it), and the surprise box office hit of this documentary.
  Now, I personally have always enjoyed watching documentaries, particularly when they are about the animal world. And this one was no exception. However, why it made more money than anyone could've expected, I couldn't' tell ya. While I personally thought it was good, entertaining and educational, the overall quality of the film or the information it gave about the waddling wingless wonders really wasn't too far from something you'd see on the Discovery Channel or some nature program that one stumbles upon whilst channel surfing on the ol' boob-tube.
Still, at the end of the day, it was gratifying to see a film like this fare as well as it did. It means that, while escapism centered subject matter will always dominate the cinema, every once in a while, the moving going public wants a little break from the norm, maybe see something where they can learn a thing or two from. Which in turn, tells the Hollywood machine that not everything that they crank out should be stuff that requires that we leave out brains at the door.

   Where does one even begin to describe this movie?
   I guess you could start by saying that if one could imagine the concept of a cyborg geisha that could transform into a wall-clinging half battle tank in order to fight a multi-tiered pagoda that transforms into a giant daikaiju-style rubber-suited robot,
and then,
if one could imagine fried shrimp being used as a deadly assassin's weapon,
on top of which,
threw in every kind of Dali-esque type of violent Asian outrageousness possible,
then you might be able to capture a vague resemblance of a description for this movie.
  To this day, I still have a hard time believing that I actually saw this film and that it wasn't part of some 'shroom-induced nightmare.

  Here's a dark ditty of deviltry about a household of hellbent hillbillies that makes even Lucifer hisself go "Damn....! These revolting’ ratchety-ass rednecks are just plain downright evil......!"



  Ever since the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre back in 1974, there have been a certain type of subhorror slasher-family flicks that have since tried to match the bar 'o' evil that was raised by the original Leatherface Clan.
While Rob Zombies' creation of Captain Spaulding's kith & kin, IMO, doesn't quite match up to the legendary status of TCM, it's was still a worthy effort to the genre.

    Here’s a movie that normally wouldn’t make it onto any of my faves or best lists, but makes it here because, well, let’s face it, this is a list of almost 400 entries. It’s a pretty safe bet that the films at bottom aren’t really all that great. 

 Final Fantasy is a video game that is so popular that telling anyone who reads this that it is a video game is probably a very redundant statement to post. So, I won’t post that. Instead, what I will say is that the plot of this movie, which is named after the game, has absolutely to do with the game.

Which is probably one of the reasons why the movie didn’t do so well.

   Another most likely reason is because it is considered the very first photo realistic computer-generated full-length feature film. And as films that first utilized the first stages of computer-generated photo realism (like Rogue One and The Polar Express) showed, trying to make human beings look real via this method leads ‘em look more creepy than real.
The visuals for the non-human stuff however, like the backgrounds of the futuristic world and especially the cool lookin' giant monster alien, those were pretty kick ass and quite a sight to behold.

  Take a classic cartoon about a bunch of large robots from outer space that change into a bunch of cool vehicles that raised the testosterone level to the point that little boys became little "guys",
mix in a healthy batch of modern day hard driving live action peppered in with a few swear words and gritty gun play,
and top it all off with the absolutely and ridiculously hot Megan Fox,
and there you have it.
 A summer super-mega-blockbuster incorporating all the things that can easily make the males of our species grunt with ultimate ball-quivering delight.



 (However, I will say that no matter how enjoyable this Transformers movie was, it's no excuse for the horrific monstrosity that is its sequel.)

   As a science fiction movie, 9 is a sort of apocalyptic steampunk/cyberpunk mix that takes the high tech of its visuals and combines them with the kind of original character designs that I always believed could be utilized more often with the whole CGI technology that is currently available at filmmakers' mouse-maneuvering fingertips. However, the story, while not bad, still is not matching with the level of creativity of the look of this movie.
  While I found this a great sci-fi flick to look at, at the same time, with it's lack of character development and overblandness of its plot premise, to some viewers, it can also come off as pretty forgettable.
   It's place on this list it based soley on its style over substance. 

 After coming out of the wave of 1990’s new generation of distinctive directors (which includes names like Tarantino, Rodriguez and two different Andersons), Kevin Smith was marked for good things. However, after a little more than a decade of making a splash into the film world with Clerks, the sequel, aptly named Clerks 2, shows that the comic book nerd slacker was just middling through his career. 

  Damn! Lookit all those freakin' mutants!
  The students of Prof. Charles Xavier's School of Gifted Youngsters return, more grander, more powerful and more "mutantly" varied. Considering that this is a movie that needs to handle as many characters as it does, each one with an already firmly established background in the pages of the comic-book universe, it's amazing that they were able pull this project off to the extent that they did. As an example of what happens when a qualified director is allowed more freedom and more money than in the initial film. For this sequel, X definitely seems to mark the spot.

 Art School Confidential first appeared in the #7 issue of the Dan Clowes comic book series Eightball, as a four-page short story that was, of course, expanded to fit the length of the movie.
 TBH, I normally wouldn't give a thumbs-up to a film who's clunkiness in its plot seems to distract from its distinctive premise, but I think that this industry needs more Clowes-based comic book-based movies. IMO, these kinds of films really do provide a nice refreshing break from the standard "same ol' same ol'" cinematic fare that have numbingly dominated theatres screens for several years.
For me, it's almost like they're the Junior Mints of the cinema world. 

  And if you don't understand that comparison, it's supposed to be a reference to an episode of Seinfeld. Which, at this point in time, is most likely just as obscure as is this movie.
Therefore, let's just keep moving along, shall we....

  You guys remember "Deliverance", that one movie from the 70's starring Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight and Ned Beatty? And if you do, do you also remember the part of the movie that made it infamous? You know the part that I'm talking about, the one that makes viewers cringe with horror?
Well, if there was any way possible to make that one particular scene of the story even more horrific, it is by lengthening it to the point where it is an entire movie. And that movie would be this movie.
   Except of course, instead of the northern Georgia wilderness it would be in the isolated backwoods of the Belgium mountains. But with the same variety of nightmarish dread that such a scenario would be if one found oneself stranded there.

   Here is a concept for a tale of romance and time travel that was enough of a success to warrant a whole slew of unused ideas for follow-up sequels… The Time Traveler's Kids, The Time Traveler's In-Laws, The Time Traveler's Mistress, The Time Traveler's Drunk Uncle, The Time-Traveler's Pet Retriever, The Time Traveler's Guy He Knows That Can Get Him High End Jewelry Below Manufacturer's Price, The Time Traveler's Four People Who Lead Him to Kevin Bacon In Under Six Degrees......
 well.... I'm sure by now you get the picture…

  There are different ways that someone can become a legend. One of those ways is to be the only one left after the rest of the society has just become a global mass of mindless bloodsucking creatures. In that kind of apocalyptic scenario, you are allowed to proclaim yourself as “legend “, because there will be no one else around with enough sanity let alone common sense to contradict you.
  It’s kinda like me here on this site. 

  Here in the United States, where soccer means football, a hooligan is just a young punk who likes to commit petty crimes and/or get into trouble often. In many other parts of the world where football literally means football, a hooligan is a fan who takes the concept of being hardcore to the level of the extreme.  And to the mindset of a football hooligan, you're not a hardcore fan unless you're willing to spend the weekend bashing in the faces of fans of the opposing team.
 The Football Factory is an in-depth view into this gang-like culture of fighting "fan-aticism" that shows that being a part of a firm (the term used to describe gangs of hooligans) is not just an obsession with the home team, but even more so, it is a way of life.

 In this much maligned but I kinda liked it 3rd chapter of Sam Raimi’s webspun Spidey, the ol’ Webhead finds himself in need of a costume change in order to reflect his new, more hardcore attitude.
  But instead, he ends up getting a wardrobe malfunction in the form of a venomous life-form from the stars.

  To quote Stan “the Man” Lee, “Nuff sed!”

 Back when I was a kid, I was sent to a Jesus camp for one summer.
I even earned a badge for being able to whistle thru my stigmatas.



 Seriously tho,
Jesus Camp is the kind of documentary whose real-life depictions of children having their evolving mindsets encrypted with teachings of the extreme religious right can seem more horrifying and disturbing than more satanic spiritual fare like Paranormal Activity or The Exorcist. At least those the stories being told in those movies are fictional (depending on your beliefs, of course).

  I've never been a big fan of the James Bond series, but after Casino Royale rebooted the character back to his roots, I started to see this Agent 007 from a different albeit darker light. Royale really took me off guard as such a high-quality action flick (in fact, my fave action flick of that year) but one that established that Bond was more than just a human vehicle for some really cool (and sometimes outlandish) spy gadgets.  The choppy action sequences and looser story results in Quantum of Solace slipping a bit from the trajectory that started in Casino, especially since it is a part of a property that is supposed to be a heavyweight in the franchise game.  But for me, it's high energy and emphasis on characterizations, particularly between Bond and "M", were enough to still keep this installment entertaining to the eyes of this usually non-Bond fan.

  2008 was the year that the first Taken movie was released in February, a month that has a reputation for being the time period when film producers unload their worst productions, or the ones that they have no faith in becoming a success, critically or financially. However, this fatherly action thriller ended up becoming a surprise hit and even more surprising, set the aging Liam Neeson up as a bonafide action star. And since Hollywood loves formulas, it has become "traditional" for a Neeson action type flick to be released every year around that time. Now, I'll admit that most of these releases were works of cinema that didn’t exactly have me rushing to the theater to go see 'em, but the first Taken was pretty entertaining. And while the track record for these movies isn't all that strong, it did manage to produce that I thought were even better that Taken 1...
  The Grey from 2012 and Cold Pursuit in 2019, which, IMO, is the best of the bunch (so far).

 In this newest addition to the "When animals attack!" subgenre of horror flix, the animals in question are, as the title suggests, sheep! However, the title also suggests that these sheep in question are black. Which isn't really meant in the literal sense. As anyone who looks at any of the ads or the movie poster can clearly see, the sheep are the standard white wool color that we are all generally accustomed to. But what we are not generally accustomed to is the idea that sheep would be eating us instead of us eating them. And that is what makes them black, the fact that these sheep are no longer the nice, harmless flocks that we have domesticated in order to sheer their hides and mutton their meat. Now the sheep have gotten maaad and therefore have gone baaad. And that's what makes them black. It's the aptitude of their attitude, not the blight of their white, yo.

 This is one of those movies that everyone kept telling me wasn't that good, so that when I finally got the chance to see it, I had such low expectations for it, that I probably ended up enjoying it much more than just about everybody else that I know. Maybe I'll have to watch it again at a later date to see what was it that made so many die-hard fans dislike it.
 But for now, I liked the concept of it and though the suspense of the action scenes obviously will never compare to the first two, I still found it adequate enough to entertain me for the purpose of the story (enough to help me overlook the cartoony outlandishness of it all).

 A cool psychological thriller that takes a journey into the psyche of a damaged and disturbed mind, through the use of really creative, surreal and stunning visuals.
 And when I say "creative, surreal and stunning visuals", contrary to what all of y'all might be thinkin', I am not referring to Jennifer Lopez's big ol' onion booty.

Not exactly the most exciting serial killer movie ever made, but that's because the script tries to keep the story of the Zodiac killer as realistic as possible to the event that actually happened. And not the most charismatic "hero" to track down the mystery of the murderer considering that the protagonist is a cartoonist. And not exactly the best David Fincher flick considering this is the same guy responsible for Panic Room, Fight Club and Se7en. And finally, this isn't exactly the most sparkling review for this movie, but that's because I watched Zodiac only once and found it kinda boring. However, since it is a Finch film, I am willing to give it another view before I ultimately decide on whether or not to consider this cryptic case closed. Especially since I wasn't that impressed with Fight Club or Se7en after my first, initial viewing(s), but then I grew to like, and then, love them each, after multiple return viewings.
So, until then, I'm only putting it on this list more as a recognition towards the respectful effort towards the based-on-a-true event story. I'll take it off if after my next viewings, if I still feel the same as I did the first time.

 The runaway West End stage musical smash gets the Hollywood treatment and proves to be almost as equally smashing in movie theaters as it was in Broadway theaters. But if I'm gonna be honest here, there's only one real reason Mamma Mia is on this list.
 It's b'cuz I really like ABBA's music.... a lot.
 And sayin' that does not make my hardcore pimp-ass any less hairier.
 So, you know....
shut up.

  It took quite a long time for me to finally see Slumdog Millionaire but after all the worldwide hype, I finally took some time out of my busy work schedule to give it a proper looksee. And truthfully speaking, while I did like it, I don't think I liked it to the extent that the millions of movie-goers who made Slumdog such a box-office smash did. But I could see why it's mud-mucked feelgood tone was such a universal hit around the world. And on my tiny part of space that I occupy on this planet, I enjoyed for what it was. A small love story that struck big time gold.

SPOILER ALERT!
  Actually, to be honest, I'm not really sure how much of a spoiler it is to talk about the Grizzly Man and his situation, since, at the time of this documentary's release, his story was pretty highly publicized. But I figured enough time has passed that there are enough of you out there who, either have since forgotten about this movie and the true story associated with it,
 or,
were too young at the time to be aware of it.
 Either way the alarm has been sounded.
  The second successful animal themed documentary on to come out on the year 2005 (March of the Penguins is also around here somewhere), Grizzly Man documents the story of Timothy Treadwell, a bear enthusiast who fancied himself more of a bear expert. Believing himself to possess some uncanny ability to whisper to bruins in the wild, Treadwell thought this would allow him to "tread well" amongst the beasts and embarks on a mission to prove this. He sets up camp to live among them and soon finds out the hard way that these are some seriously bad news bears (Hey, that's another 2005 movie that's listed around here somewhere....).

 Since the beginning of cinema, there have been films that have come out of the motion picture industry that featured acting of the quality of being so SO bad, that it actually swings around to being not just good, but an unforgettably classic. The Room is one of those examples. So much so, that Hollywood even made a movie about the making of this movie. So far, there have only been two legendary lambasted bad flix that have this distinction... the godfathering grandpa of the so-bad-they're-good genre, Plan 9 from Outer Space, and this one.  For the past several years, for me trying to decide which it best worst flick between the two, it's a decision that's been tearing me apart. 

   

 In the snowy small town of Pontypool, there's something in the air colder than the winter chill. Something that's transforming all the townspeople into the walking dead.
  A different take on the zombie genre, that for me personally stretches a bit thin in terms of believability (even with the buffer of suspended disbelief}, but still, the efforts in it's unique approach {along with Stephen McHattie's strong camera presence) was enough to warrant a place on this list.

   A Town Called Panic is a full length feature film from France that utilizes the same technique as the comedy TV show Robot Chicken for its animation. Toys and action figures that shot frame by frame in order to simulate movements known as “stop motion”. And TBH, it left me a bit surprised that it was a foreign language comedy that I actually ended up enjoying.  One of the reasons may be that the foundation of the humor in this film differs quite a bit from a TV show like RC.  Where as Robot Chickens aims its brand of laughs towards Twinkie facestuffing stoners, Panic seems to lean more towards fruit roll-up consuming tweeners, intersperced with a few quick quips for any adults who may in the room supervising said tweeners. Add to that how the French language probably adds more charm to the over-the-top deliveries and punchlines, and what we end up with is a pretty funny slapstick romp with it's own sense of silly "je ne sais quoi". 

   If you look through this vast numbers of movies on this list, some of the films you might notice here are The Time Traveler's Wife, Donnie Darko, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Kate & Leopold, Voices of a Distant Star, and this one, Happy Accidents.
  And what do these movies have in common?
  They all are a time-traveling love story about timeless love transcending the timelessness that is time. 
  Because when it comes to chicks and their chick-flicks, they just want the stories to go on and on and on, forever. Just like their nagging.
  Guys, am I right on this or what...?

  For me, the nineties were the golden era of independent film. So, when the New Millennium started, I was even more excited about the future for what was yet to come from non-mainstream cinema.
  Beautiful Creatures was one of the movies, or at least, had the intention of being one of those movies, but instead, ended up with some pretty low reviews and ratings. But for me, I can't see why. I honestly don't believe it's as bad as its reputation has become. Sure, it came off more like a watered-down version of 1996's indie-semi-classic, Bound, but from my POV, it jagged edge story still shone enough to make me hopeful of where this modern style of indie filmmaking is going.

 The second part of the double feature known as "Grindhouse", Death Proof is Quentin Tarantino's contribution this homage of B-movie level horrorfest. 
  Now I'm usually a big fan of Quentin's works but I got to be honest here, it took me a while to warm up to this flick. I found the linear storyline that QT usually avoids to be kind of meandering in the straightforward pace of storytelling that he attempts to do here.
  What keeps this movie on this list is that the payoff is exciting and very fitting for a movie that is centered around a car-themed killer. But until it does arrive, the plot of DP feels like we're riding in neutral through a series of uninteresting dialogue scenes (very uncharacteristic for a Tarantino penned script) that are centered around obscure pop references and barely-there background relationships that I think most viewers could care less about.

 The escapist fantasy of innocence that baseball tends to provide towards one's childhood comes colliding with the realism of crushed spirits that tends to come with adulthood.
 Oh, but with humor.
 Not to mention with Billy Bob Thornton doing what he does best and bringing the kind of booze-guzzling bite that's makes it easier for us grown-ups to have to sit through a little league game.

"Ever notice how you come across somebody who you never should've f#cked with?
That's me."
  Clint Eastwood is probably the only senior citizen on this planet that could get away with saying something like that and at the same time, making you sh#t your pants before the old man sh#ts his first.

 I've always had reservations when it comes to any modern retellings of the classics. And they don't get any more classic than A Christmas Carol, the most famous of all the Christmas carols. 
  But after I watched this new CGI update of Charles Dicken's tale of ghosts, time travel, and crusty ol' curmudgeons, the energy of the cool angle-shots and sense of frenetic movements really made this quite an enjoyable ride without any sacrifice to the classic Yuletide message. And the fact that this one was more in line with the original book adaptation, made me appreciate this updated effort even more. For my money, it gave the story a more darker edge and a fear factor that may not be suitable for younger audiences but adds an extra bit of spice for the more mature and educated viewer. Y'know....
like me.

 We all know by now that when it comes to horror movie plotlines, there's no scarier scenario than being out in the woods. And when it comes to teen flicks, there is no scenario more terrifying than that of a boarding school. Here, we get a mixing of the two.
  Okay so, this probably isn't the best scary film of the decade and maybe it's not one that's on too many people's best lists. But considering that this is the type of story that has always been handled very shlocky, not to mention very poorly for the past two decades, it's very refreshing to see a movie like The Woods approached with the kind of integrity that we usually see when trying to produce something above the standard level of camp.     

  As someone who is a big fan of the anthology format and of science fiction, it was only natural that I would find myself drawn to this very obscure film from 2003.  In Robot Stories, we get a pretty good mixed bag of time limited tales, all centered around a not-so-in-the-distant future world wherein robots have become integrated into very fabric of the global, everyday day life of humankind. And, of course, as is the intent of the sci-fi genre in its purest and truest form, it doesn't shy away from delving into the repercussions of such a cyber-centric civilization on the psyche of modern society, but more from a POV that makes realistic sense.

  A film by the comedy team of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, the same duo responsible for what is, for my money, the best zom-com ever, Shaun of the Dead. This time, they take on the world of the buddy-cop genre.
 Hot Fuzz never really reaches as high a level of humor, humanity, or wit as Shaun, nor is it as genre groundbreaking, but when all is said and done, there was enough of the typical high balance of comedy and chemistry between the two "Bad Boys" to make this action comedy a commendable effort in their so-called "Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy". 

 A high school teenager finds himself to be invisible to all the other kids in school. And not just because of his enormous lack of popularity.
 The boy's a ghost. And thus begins a tale of whodunnit style redemption from beyond the grave.



 2002's The Invisible is one of those "foreign" films that went largely ignored here in the United States because Hollywood decided to produce an inferior remake instead. And of course, in this remake, they eliminated most of the distinctive elements of the original and replaced it with the standard tricks that are supposed to help make the movie a success at the box office. Which it wasn't and died such a quick death that any sign of it even existing is pretty much invisible at this point.

In the world of the emperor penguins, in lieu of the internet, males and females find their soulmates via the old skool way.....through song. They sing to each other until a "Sonny" finds it's "Cher". Until an "Ashford" finds it's "Simpson". Until a "Peaches" finds it "Herb". Until a...well... you get the picture (besides, I can't think of any other famous male/female singing duos). And it's a system of penguin propagation that carries from one generation to the next.
Until one such coupling ends inexplicably hatching an offspring that can't seem to carry a more to save his life. However, Mother Nature, in her infinite wisdom, to make for this little penny's lack of vocal makes up for by giving the little rule the ability to cut up a rug. Even if the rug is made of solid ice.

    There is a possibility that Eden Lake is a much better film that this spot on the list indicates. But the thing is, this is one of those thrillers that is considered to be part of the subgenre known as "hoodie horror", a category of films that were coming out of Britain between the late 90's and the first decade of the New Millenium. These hoodie horrors were supposed to be a statement of the "moral decay" that certain political parties were claiming was sweeping over their social landscape and as a result, many of these films tended to be "hopelessly dark". And it is this lack of hope theme that prevents me from posting Eden Lake on a higher spot on this list.

  After a soldier returns from his military duty, he learns that three years earlier, a small gang of drug dealers had bullied his younger. Now, if this situation ended here, then it still would've made for a tale about a vet's vicious quest for vengeance that is fueled by the power of brotherly love. But add to the fact that the younger brother suffers from a mental disability, (not to mention that the script of this movie hints that the older soldier sibling also might not be in the best of health upstairs), now you've got a story that you know will end really bad for the bad guys. In short, those dope-pushers have pushed their last dope. For each of them are now running on borrowed time. Each of them is now running in dead man's shoes.

 Back in 1976, Rocky Balboa became the biggest underdog to ever enter the boxing ring.
 Exactly thirty years later, he is the oldest underdog to ever enter the ring.
Despite having a physique that looks like it was hastily chiseled out of stone, the Italian Stallion puts on the gloves one more time to prove that he's not yet ready to be put out to pasture.



  While still not comparable to the first two films, this final installment of the Rocky franchise is still a nice closing chapter to the saga of the Italian Stallion.
  For me personally, it was great to see that Sly could come up with a story that not only brings back the integrity to a character who starred in two of my favorite films from the 70's, but also, in a manner that helps to wash out the bad taste left over from the horrible sequels of the 80's.

  For a major part of my life, I have eaten at many different restaurants that belonged to the various giant fast-food franchises of our society. And one of the things I noticed as time went on, from my childhood years and throughout my time as adult, is how big the food kept getting. There was a point when the cups for the soft drinks looked more like barrels than they did as cups. And I would think to myself "Geez, if these portions of good are this big now, how big are they gonna be twenty years from now? I mean, where's the limit?" One of those people was a guy named Morgan Spurlock. He didn't just ask the question, though. He decided to see if he could find an answer. And after documenting his journey for answers, it turns out the answer is, not only did we reach the limit, but we also surpassed it.
And not in a good way.

 In a not very distant future, gangs have taken over a ghetto just outside of Paris France. One gang in particular has stolen a very powerful bomb and have unwittingly activated its countdown sequence.
 Now one cop must go undercover and team up with a criminal to get passed the ghetto walls not to mention passed the gangs also in order to deactivate the bomb before it goes off and takes the ghetto with it.



  After honing his skills behind the camera as a cinematographer, Pierre Moral is still behind the camera, but this time he's sitting in the director's chair. Teaming up with famed writer and producer Luc Besson, the end result of their collaboration is a frenzied French film in which parkour (look it up) is the main driving force of the action in this movie and the slant that separates District 13 from all the surrounding ones marked higher or lower.

A "crocky-doyl" has become large enough and clever enough that it has decided to go all rogue an' shit.
Soon, in the fresh waters of the Northern Territory of Oz, a small group of river riding tourists find themselves trapped on a island of mud, and then terrorized by this carnivorous, craven, clever killer croc.
Crikey.

  It's evil versus evil as communism versus fascism in this World War II Stalingrad one-on-one long distance sniper showdown.
  Which side will win?
  Only history will tell.
  As, well, y'know... it always does.

 While I really like the style that Burton has to his live action movies, for my money, most of them seem to lack the substance to back up the strength of the uniqueness of their look. Sweeney Todd is one of the exceptions. Probably because this is based on an award-winning stage play, And with "fleshed" out characters combined with an energetic musical score, I found this film to have more "bulk" in its story than some of the others in Tim's filmography. Plus, I think the subject matter fits perfectly with the kind of rough-edged "Avante Garde" slant that is the signature of all of Mr. Burton's work.

Princess Diana as a true bad-ass.
While it may seem that she should be a staple in any conversation dealing with femme fatale butt-kickers, IMO, she had never been fully depicted as the bad-ass at the level which she had the potential to be.
Then, I watched this recent straight to DVD feature, and immediately saw that it is a huge step in the right direction.
   This Double W may still be in the form of a cartoon, but as the latest interpretation of the Amazonian wunder, she is finally approaching the bad-ass broad with balls that she should've always been.