It’s that time. Everybody is coming out with their obligatory “Top 10″ list so I might as well be part of the crowd. There really wasn’t any specific criteria for my list other than these were the films that I really liked. I’m not trying to find the best movies, just the ones that I really enjoyed the most. And yes, it is possible for me to really like bad movies Without further ado…

Yes, I really liked this movie. For all of its faults, Spidey 3 managed to hit most of the right chords for me. I really liked the humor, action, and characters. Could it have been better? Sure. We reviewed this film back on Splattercast 29 and if I remember correctly, most of the guys were telling me how retarded it was for me to defend this movie. It could lose a plot or two (or three…), but that doesn’t diminish the fact that I had a real good time watching this.

Another summer blockbuster that really delivered for me. I was really expecting this movie to suck but when I came out of the theatre, I was all smiles. Although the title blows, the film had some great action set pieces (loved Willis battling that fighter jet!) and other than an obnoxiously out of place cameo by Kevin Smith, I dug the story. It didn’t hurt that Mary Elizabeth Winstead was in it. Some people lament the fact that John McClane has become basically a superhero and not an “average dude”. That doesn’t really bother me. I love the character and the crazier the scenario, the better as far as I’m concerned.

300 was an orgy of cool. This is like the total “guy” movie. Monsters, fighting, naked Spartan women, bloodshed, and crazy special effects. Zack Snyder mostly delivered on what I wanted to see and since I have a hard-on for not only the Battle of Thermopylae, but also the Classics in general, this flick hit the spot. I imagine this is what we at Deadlantern.com would do if we were threatened by another podcast. We’d take off our shirts, pick up our spears, and mow their asses down. We’d do that, right guys? Would that make Frank from the Sleepy Cast Xerxes?

Hatchet seems to be a love it or hate it film. I’m in the former category. We actually reviewed this for Splattercast #59 so you’ll hear more about my thoughts on the film soon. It’s full of great kills, acting, and characters. Perhaps the humor doesn’t balance with the horror as well as many might hope for, but I really dug everything about it. Surprising for me, since I usually hate anything that is hyped as being great.

My inner liberal finally shows! Whatever you may think about Michael Moore and his past films, Sicko is probably his finest two hours in more ways than one. First, he basically stops his “It’s George Bush’s fault” shtick and focuses on the issue rather than the political aspect of it. He also makes the wise decision to take himself out of most of the film and just focus on the people in our country screwed by the health “care” system. It’s a powerful piece of filmmaking. Unfortunately, nobody watched it. Which is sad because this is a far more interesting film than Fahrenheit 9/11. It’ll make you sad and pissed off.

I just caught this on DVD the other day and once again Cronenberg just floored me with his greatness. He’s probably one of the most least appreciated directors going right now. He’s like Midas, everything he touches turns to cinematic gold. All of the performances in the film are award worthy, especially Viggo, who seems to be trying his hardest to shed the Aragorn out of his life. David Cronenberg continues to make magic and Eastern Promises is his latest

Who says remakes suck? 3:10 to Yuma is proof positive that as long as you have a talented director and some great actors, you can do it. Christian Bale and Russell Crow are just spectacular in their roles and it’s always nice to see a big budget western back on the big screen. The ending is just killer and picture perfect. It’s everything you want in a western and I’m hoping it garners some awards later this year.

Normally, Danny Boyle isn’t someone I get excited about. I think Trainspotting is overrated, I despise The Beach, and 28 Days Later is good until the nonsense with the military dudes. However, Sunshine is just fantastic. The story centers around a group of scientists trying to restart our dying sun with a giant thermonuclear bomb. This is humanity’s last chance as the first mission mysteriously disappeared. Bad things start happening when they find the lost ship, which has reappeared mysteriously. Sunshine is Event Horizon only good. That may be blasphemy to a lot of people, and I don’t mean to say that EH sucks or anything (though it certainly hasn’t aged well), but Sunshine is a far more interesting film. As with most of Boyle’s films, the last act starts to fly apart, but the film as a whole is kickass.

Grindhouse came and went with a whimper more than likely bruising the egos of Tarantino and Rodriguez. I didn’t care for Planet Terror (tried way too hard to be cool) and though the trailers were funny, the only thing that really stuck out to me was Death Proof. I think we discussed this on a past Splattercast, but from the first shot of the film, you know you’re in the hands of a master filmmaker. Tarantino just runs loops around Rodriguez. A lot of the people hated the “boredom” and constant chick dialogue, but if you are one of those people, then you kinda missed the point of what the film was trying to do. Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike is an instant cult icon and the second best villian of the year in cinema. This film also features Mary Elizabeth Winstead…

Very rarely does a film just totally blow me away. No Country For Old Men did just that. This is the kind of movie that makes people love cinema. It’s just so damn great on every level. All of the acting is perfect and Javier Bardem plays the scariest mo-fo to grace the silver screen in years. You can listen to us slurp this movie on Splattercast 56. If Bardem doesn’t win an Oscar for his performance then it will be one of the biggest travesties in Oscar history. This is also a film that forces you to think. After you leave the theatre, it’s images, story, and subtext will stay with you and that’s probably the highest compliment a film can ever get. The Coen Brothers finally stopped making shitty films and got back to their roots, let’s hope they stay there.

And there you have it, my favorite films of the past year. One honorable mention: The Prestige. Technically, this came out in 2006, but I didn’t see it until this past year when it was released on DVD. In terms of pure enjoyment, this would probably rival No Country. I didn’t include it in the list, but probably should have. It’s got a “Wow” factor that is hard to top. It would probably be #2 on my list if it were included.

Happy New Year!

Filed under: Commentary