300 & 99 From The 1st Decade Of The New Millennium
Ā 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 every thing that they crank out should be stuff that requires that we leave out brains at the door.
Ā Ā 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 battletank 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.
Ā 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.
Ā It could be because I find myself totally enthralled by the beauteous Kate Beckinsale as the lead character, Selene, a hotter than all hell monster slayer clad from top to bottom in leather and who also happens to be a gosh to honest vampire.Ā
Ā 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.
So that by the time that the final credits finally came up, I realized that I had found myself actually sitting through the entire film and thoroughly entertained based on Mademoiselle Meryl's performance alone.
Ā 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 wonāt post that. Instead, what I will say is that the plot of this movie, which is named after the game, has absolutely Ā to do with the game.
Which is probably one of the reasons why the movie didnāt do so well.
Ā Ā 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 Ā (like Rogue One and The Polar Express) showed, trying to make human beings look real via this method leads āem look more creepy than real.
The visuals for the non-human stuff however, like the backgrounds of the futurisc world and especially the cool lokin' giant monster alien, those were pretty kick ass and quite a sight to behold.
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 it's sequel.)
Ā Ā 9 is a sci-fi movie that takes the high tech of it's 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.
Ā 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 it's plot premise, to some viewers, it can also come off as pretty forgettable.
Ā Ā It's place on this list it based soley on it's style over substance.Ā
Ā Ā Not the greatest superhero movie ever made, but itās a sequel thatās sufficient enough to do right by the first film, and keep hardcore comic book nerds, such as myself, satisfied.Ā
Ā Ā Or at least satisfied enough from wanting to move out from our parentsā basement.
Ā Ā Art School Confidential first appeared in the #7 issue of the Dan Clowes comicbook series Eightball, as a four page short story that was, of course, expanded to fit the length of the movie.
Ā To be honest, I normally wouldn't give a thumbs-up to a film who's clunkiness in it's plot seems to distract from it's distinctive premise, but as someone who familiar with the style of storytelling that both both Clowes' and director Terry Zwigoff's, I think they still may it work.
I think that not only doo they make a perfect combination, but also that the motion picture industry needs more Clowes-based comicbook 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.
Ā I guess you could say that they're kinda like the Junior Mints of the cinema world.
Ā 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....
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.
Ā Ā Except of course, instead of the northern Georgia wilderness it would be in the isolated Belgian backwoods. But with the same variety of nightmarish dread that such a scenario would be.
well....I'm sure by now you get the pictureā¦
Ā Itās kinda like me here on this site.Ā
Ā But not me.
Ā Why?
Ā Because, Iā¦. I am legend.
Ā The Football Factory is an idepth view into this ganglike culture of fighting fanaticism 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 Raimiās webspun Spidey, the olā 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 āthe Manā Lee, āNuff sed!ā
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).
The Grey from 2012 and Cold Pursuit in 2019, which, IMO, is the best of the bunch (so far).
But, Black Sheep is a product of New Zealand, a country who's most famous animal is the kiwi bird. So, I think we could afford them some levity if they choose to use these kinds of rogue woolen baaad-boys (sorry...) as the animals in their cinematic effort to fill our nightmares with. Besides, if they do succeed in making sheep the reason we wake up in the middle of the night screaming, any stray images of 'em that are left lingering in our heads, we could use 'em, by counting 'em, as the means in which to help us go back to sleep.
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).
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.
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.
Actually, there's only one real reason Mamma Mia is on this list.
It's b'cuz I really like ABBA's music.... alot.
And sayin' that does not make my hardcore pimp-ass any less hairier.
So, you know....
shut up.
It took a while for me to see this flick, but after all the hype, I finally took some time out of my busy work schedule to watch it. And while 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, I still found it an enjoyable piece of cinema and I could see why it's mud-mucked feelgood tone was such a universal hit around the world.
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....).
It's a piece of cinematic crap-art that has been playing in theatres since it's initial release in 2003 and is still going. And the main reason for that is b'cuz it has developed a reputation as an audience-participating event.
It is now standard for movie-goers to quote or yell out responses to specific scenes,
or to even throw plastic spoons at the screen whenever a certain prop makes an appearance.
You will even spot a football being tossed back and forth from one side of the theatre to the other during certain intervals.
In other words,
it's the straight person's answer to the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
And to be honest,
isn't it about time we got one?
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 believeabilty (even with the buffer of suspended belief}, but still, the efforts in it's unique approach {along with Stephen McHattie's strong camera presence) was enough to warrent a place on this list.
Ā Ā A Town Called Panic, a full length feature film from France that utilizes the same technique as Chicken for it's anaimation, left me a bit surprised that it was a foreign language comedy that I actually ended up enjoying.Ā 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.Ā 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 FrenchĀ language probably adds more charm to the over-the-top deliveries and punchlines, and what we end up with isĀ a pretty funny slapstick romp with it's own sense of silly "je ne sais quoi".Ā
there was Happy Accidents.
A time-traveling love story about timeless love transcending the timelessness that is time.
Or is it a loving time-traveling story about the transcendence through infinity which is true love....?
Either way, in short, it's a straight-on chick-flick theme with just a twist of wormholed logic.
Ā Beautiful Creatures was one of the movies, or at least, had the intention of being one of those movies, but instead,Ā 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 it's reputation has become. Sure, it came off more like a watered down version of 1996's indei-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.
I'm usually a big fan of Tarantino's works (so much so that he's in my top ten list of favorite directors), but I gotta be honest here, it took me a while to warm up to this flick. I found the linear storyline that QT usually doesn't follow to be kind of meandering in the straightforward pace of storyelling that he attempts here.
What keeps this movie on this list is that the payoff of a movie centered around a car themed killer is there (eventually), it's just that until it arrives, it feels like we're riding in nuetral through a series of uninteresting dialogue scenes (very uncharacteristical for a Tarantino penned script) that are centered around obscure pop references and barely-there background relationships that most viewers could care less about.
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.
That's me."
Clint Eastwood is probably the only senior citizen on this planet that could get away with saying something like that and making you sense that he really means it.
So when Robert Zemeckis' 09 version on the series came along, I had my reservations about it (as I do with any modern retellings of the classics).
But after I watched it,
the energy of the cool angle- shots and sense of frenetic movements really made this quite an enjoyable ride.
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.
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.
To be honest, 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 in used when trying to produce something above the standard level of camp.
Here, in Robot Stories, we get a pretty good bag of time limited tales, all centered around a not-so-in-the-distant future world wherein robots have become integrated into the global, everyday day life of humankind (such as babies and office workers)and the repercussions of such a cyber-centric civilization on the psyche of those made of flesh and blood.
Hot Fuzz never really reaches as high a level of humor, humanity, 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.
At least enough to include it on my list of faves for this decade.
The boy's a ghost. And thus begins a tale of redemption from beyond the "other side".
The Invisible (or Den Osynlige, in it's original Swedish title) is yet another fine example of a "foreign" film that got went largely ignored here in the United States because Hollywood decided to produce an inferior remake instead. And of course, in this remake (also called The Invisible, BTW), 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.
Gotta love those formula flicks, huh?
Until one such coupling ends inexplicably hatching an offspring that can't seem to carry a more to save his life. However, 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.
And thus is the basis for an animated film aptly titled Happy Feet. With a voice cast that includes the ever reliable comedic chords of Robin Williams and is bought to you by the computer cartooning skillz from Australia.
A tight, harrowing and ruthless tale of terror that runs straightforward into it's genre's neck of the woods of unsettled nerves and socially distancing scares.
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 are now running in dead man's shoes.
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 not comparable to the first two, 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, we surpassed it.
And not in a good way.
Now one cop must go undercover and team up with a criminal to get passed the ghetto walls and passed the gangs 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 writer and producer Luc Besson (also known for his director skills on such films as Le Femme Nikita and Leon: The Professional). The end result of their collaboration is District B13, a frenzied French film in which parkour is the main driving force of the action scenes.
For those of you who don't know what parkour is, it's the act of moving forward by running, jumping, or climbing over whatever obstacles are in your path. Even if it's something as big as a building, the object is get through it by leaping stairwells, climbing through windows, flipping over walls and fences, etc (you can probably get a better description or definition of parkour if you look it up on wikipedia or just google it.... or better yet, look up a video of it in the ol' youtube).
Now while the act of parkour is utilized as a plot device in this story and helps to give the film a distinctive nature, the truth is, in future films, it might be good it was used sparingly.
After watching District B13, it's easy to see that this is a style of action that easily become tired pretty quickly (and not just as a plot device, but even more-so for the actors).
Soon, on the fresh waters of the Northern Territory, a small group of river riding tourists find themselves trapped on a island of mud, and thent errorized by this carnivorous, cravenous, clever killer croc.
Crikey.
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 picked up this recent straight to DVD feature, and easily came to the conclusion, that even though it may not yet be at the point that I'd like to see her at, it is a huge step in the right direction.
Ā Ā 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.
Well, actually,
at 399 movies, maybe I can't really say favorite. Also included are many films that I just liked. I mean, you can't have a list with this many entries and claim that it's really a favorites list, now can you.....?
Lists from other time periods:
The 20's:
www.listal.com/list/10-20-my-fvaorite-films/edit
30's:
www.listal.com/list/19301939-my-top-ten-favorite
40's:
www.listal.com/list/19401949-my-top-ten-favorite
50's:
www.listal.com/list/my-top-20-favorite-movies-thecelestial
60's:
www.listal.com/list/30-60s-my-favorite-films
70's:
www.listal.com/list/seventy-movies-70s
80's:
www.listal.com/list/my-favorite-100-films-80s
90's:
www.listal.com/list/films-from-the-1990s
Of all time:
www.listal.com/list/150-favorite-movies
Other lists by The Mighty Celestial:
My Top 60 Favorite "Horror"-Themed Movies www.listal.com/list/my-top-ten-favorite-horror
My Top 20 Female Movie Bad-Asses www.listal.com/list/my-top-10-female
Yep. When It Comes To Comicbook Movies .... www.listal.com/list/yep-am-huge-comicbook
10 Movies That Feature A Dancin' Travolta In 'Em www.listal.com/list/my-list-9158
My Top 15 Guilty Pleasure Movies www.listal.com/list/guilty-pleasures-thecelestial
WAATAAAH!! My Top 10 Favorite Martial Arts Flix! www.listal.com/list/my-list-thecelestial
My Top 50 Favorite Sci-Fi Movies.... Of Like, Ever www.listal.com/list/scifi-movies
Other Favorite Movies By Year
1970
www.listal.com/list/10-70-my-fave-films
1971
www.listal.com/list/15-71-my-favorite-movies
1972
www.listal.com/list/15-72-my-favorite-films
1973
www.listal.com/list/20-73-my-favorite-films
1974
www.listal.com/list/films-of-1974
1999
www.listal.com/list/my-top-20-favorit-movies
Added to
list by PulpRoman
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