It’s been a long time coming but we finally singled out the best and worst of 2008 as chosen by Cinema Crazed. Please to enjoy.
Category Archives: Year Enders
Cinema Crazed's Worst 10 of 2008
10. Space Chimps
You know, movie geeks make a lot of noise about films in theaters that are great and barely ever receive the attention crap like “Meet Dave” does, but every so often when a new movie scarcely gathers any kind of promotion at all, there’s a reason for it. A damn good reason. And “Space Chimps” is that prime example that some studios may hold films back because they’re just terrible and barely watchable. Cheap animation and a virtually non-existent plot pretty much destroy any semblance of potential this one-note premise has from the starting gates, as “Space Chimps” only clocks in at a lean eighty minutes and feels endless with its horrible voice acting, lame gags, and a twist in the second half that is not only surprising but clumsy in its delivery as if the writers just didn’t know where to go creatively after the chimps were actually in space. I always enter in to an animated film with a healthy sense of optimism (I even gave “Doogal” a chance!) but in a summer that brought us “Wall-E,” talking chimps and NASA propaganda simply doesn’t cut it for me.
Cinema Crazed's Worst 10 of 2007
10. Blood & Chocolate
It’s a shame that the movies with the most interesting concepts always end up sucking the most. I looked forward to “Skinwalkers” and from the looks of it, it was a failure, and the same goes for “Blood & Chocolate” a film that is just nothing more than spin off of Anne Rice’s shtick turning werewolves into cheesy Goths who battle over women and hunt people in the woods for no real apparent reason. And like a bad Saturday morning cartoon they transform by the light of a rainbow and all of their clothes and jewelry also transforms with them. There’s also the director’s attempts to mimick Parkour by having his characters running and bouncing off of walls with their feet for no reasons at all. For all intents and purposes Agnes Bruckner is still a fox, but this movie is more of her wasted potential.
Cinema Crazed's Top 10 of 2007…
10. 3:10 to Yuma
I wasn’t completely sure that this remake would even manage to end up remotely watchable, at first. Even with people like Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, I couldn’t muster up enough enthusiasm to be optimistic, and yet, watching it left me utterly stunned. I’m a huge fan of the original film, so it took a great deal of raw acting talent and keen storytelling to stand apart from the original and somehow emphasize the struggle of morals and greed and add a sense of complex morality provocations for the audience and force our imperfect characters into a situation that required a great deal of courage and some stupidity.
Mangold doesn’t give us too many polished heroes and villains even if he edges slightly toward grind house atmosphere and gives our hero a perfectly flawed personality paired with a beaten down and pathetic personality, as well as our antagonist who is a charming, likable and incredibly evil sheep in wolf’s clothing. He’s the incarnation of the devil, a dapper and tempting individual who provides all the sins to everyone he comes across such as greed, lust, envy, and murder, and takes great pride in doing so. Paired with the rousing performances, and incredible action scenes, this is one of the best remakes of all time.
Cinema Crazed's Top 10 of 2006
The more people I come across, the more it seems 2006 was an awful year for everyone. But, I saw more movies in 2006 than I’ve seen in a while, so this will be my first time creating a top ten. I’ve yet to see many others so, this is a list of movie I’ve seen. So, here is a list of our top ten movies of 2006:
Cinema Crazed's Worst 10 of 2006…
10. The Lake House
Yet another cheesy marketing ploy. Watch the cardboard cut out and America’s Sweetheart who hasn’t had a hit in years team again to star in one of the stupidest most absurd romance dramas ever made. A man communicates with a woman through a mailbox that can travel two years into the future. Why such a weird number? Who knows. Regardless, the time differences are barely noticable, the entire film is soapy, and the mailbox becomes an irrelevant plot device in the second half as suddenly, these two get the power to change time to fit their romance. Goody. Correction: Crappy.
Masters of Horror: The Damned Thing
What do you know, after a long break, “Masters of Horror” returns. With a season of ups and downs, and mostly downs, the premiere is backed by the one and only Tobe Hooper whose last entry “Dance of the Dead” left much to be desired in terms of intelligence, coherency, and all around entertainment value. “Masters of Horror” was a season of safe scares, and that’s a shame. Is this season premiere any better? Yes. Yes it really is. “The Damned Thing” has everything that was missing from the first season. There is a substantial amount of engrossing story, wonderful characterization, a stern tone, and cogent direction a la Hooper who rebounds from the abysmal “Dance of the Dead.” After his father goes on a violent fit of rage suddenly, killing his mother on his birthday, Kevin Reddle, now a sheriff, is preparing for “the damned thing” to come, but how prepared is he?