As big a fan as I am, and continue to be of M. Night Shyamalan, the one tragic fact of “The Last Airbender” is that there just isn’t a need for it. The original television series is about two or three years after its series finale, the series lasted about four or five seasons, it still plays in syndication, and there is a new story waiting in the wings. Fans of “Avatar” are in no short supply of their Airbender fix, so Shyamalan’s adaptation of the show isn’t all too necessary, nor was it wanted. So instantly the cards are stacked against him. Yours truly being a hardcore fan of the animated series (frankly, it’s one of the finest and most entertaining shows of the last decade), I was anxious to see what Shyamalan would do to “The Last Airbender,” and I wasn’t all too disappointed with what turned up on the screen.
Tag Archives: Drama
Cinema Crazed’s Top 10 of 2010
With Cinema Crazed gaining more and more access in to the newest films every year, we were able to catch so many movies for 2010 and even with our incessant scramble to watch every possible title out there, we still didn’t have enough time to see it all. With our commitment to reviewing indies and cult cinema first and foremost, we don’t really have the material for these lists until November or December, and then it becomes a mad panic to watch as much as possible to compile this annual list.
Nevertheless, we saw more films in 2010 than in previous years, and many movies earned our spots. Others just didn’t. Many other titles just escaped our memory. Some we just didn’t have time to catch (whimper “Tron Legacy” whimper) So yes, these are lists of the best and worst movies that we’ve seen. Odds are there will be a movie from 2010 in mid-2011 we think should have been apart of the list, regretfully. As with every year we have some new categories, and we hope we inspire such rage in you that you’re able to find it in your heart to leave a vicious anonymous passive aggressive comment on Rotten Tomatoes for one of our reviews. That’s all we ask. Or be ballsy and email us. Come on, we dare you. Or if you’re feeling conversational, send us your own Top 10 and Worst 10 of 2010! We can likely begin a conversation that’s human and polite.
Pardon me while I have a strange interlude: “The King’s Speech” isn’t on any of these lists. The studio didn’t send screeners, it’s only playing in two theaters in New York, and we don’t have the time or effort to seek it out and risk being bored senseless. So forgive us for that. We’re sure it’s a fine movie about a stuttering king, honest. But… we didn’t have the time to find out.
On to the show!
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Cinema Crazed's Top Movies of the Decade (2000-2009)
Personally I could care less who thinks when the decade ended or began. Many people are saying that the decade actually began in 2001 and ended in 2010, others are saying it began in 2000 and ended in 2009, while many are oddly insisting the decade began in 2000 and ended in 2011. I could care less who thinks what anymore. Since we basically missed the boat on posting our thoughts on our favorite movies of the decade back in December of 2009, we’ve decided to finally catch up and post our top films of the decade starting from 2000 and ending on 2009. That’s that. We’ve spent the last three months trying to figure out how to best voice our thoughts on our best films of the first decade of the millennium, and we figured we may as well just post our list embedded in one big article.
The Nunsploitation Convent Collection (DVD)
Available in on 2500 Limited Edition Copies, Cult Epics has released the ultimate in nunsploitation double features pairing two of the most iconic nunsploitation films of all time “School of the Holy Beast” and “Behind Convent Calls” together, and attaching a new restoration along with fantastic features for all collectors. “School of the Holy Beast” is the definition of the nunsploitation sub-genre. It’s a wonky, surreal, and demented piece of Asian drama with some of the most memorable moments I’ve ever seen in the Grindhouse motif. Most importantly it has an odd sense of humor that make it worthy of many laughs, but ones that will assuredly be of the uncomfortable sort.
The Karate Kid (2010)
You could have called this “Fist of the East,” or “Test of Fortitude” and it would have grossed obscene amounts of money at the box-office, regardless. It’s a movie that is so meticulously built to appeal to audiences and tickle every emotion possible, that it’s so much more a marketing gimmick than it is an actual movie. Calling it “Karate Kid” is just the icing on the cake. Eighties exploitation is huge. There are currently dozens of overgrown men on the cusp of forty mourning the days of Rocky Balboa, and cassette tapes, still bawling about how the eighties were so much better that calling it “Karate Kid” was a bonafide ticket to box office gold. Plus Jaden Smith is Will Smith’s son, and Will Smith always equals big bucks.
Dym (2007)
At the request of director Grzegorz Cisiecki, I cautiously entered in to his 2007 short film entitled “Dym,” and hoped to see what would be the seeds of a great director in the making. While in the end “Dym” leans toward being a demo reel for work in the states, “Dym” is also a striking short film delving in to the psychosexual madness our main character endures when experiencing a turbulent romance with his girlfriend.
Year 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Ultimate Edition (DVD)
For folks currently switching over to Blu-Ray this Christmas, there is also the option for traditional DVD releases, and this year available for all of the Potter fans is the Year 3 Ultimate Edition of Alfonso Cuaron’s “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” one of the few very entertaining installments of the Harry Potter series that has a truly dark and grim tone to it appealing toward adults and children alike.
This is one of the few films of the series that convinces me Harry Potter is not just for six year olds with a library card, and Cuaron lends a distinction that makes his version of the book much more bleak and atmospheric with a horror film sensibility and grit he brought over from “Children of Men.” Granted, I’m not a fan of the Harry Potter franchise in spite of my trying in the early days of the first book. I can still fondly recall reading the first book and midway through the text, I had to put it down and try to stay awake.