Jan 02 2009
Even more year end shenanigans!
Yet another of my friends chimes in with their picks for the best and worst of 2008. This time it is the mighty Mike “motherfuckin” Ritchie. Known world wide for his addiction to the heaviest of heavy metal, his worshiping of Ozzy Osborne, his work out habits, and that he directed a little movie called Farmer Joe. He doesn’t claim to be a movie critic and often citicizes the rest of us for sapping the enjoyment out of movies for being too critical (he sometimes has a point there!). So without further ado, what he had to say about 08!
Rambo-even in his 60’s, a juiced up Rambo is fun to watch, it also gives commentary of the heinous crimes and treatment of Burmese inhabitants plus the ending bloodbath is brutal.
Bigger, Stronger, Faster- an excellent, thought provoking documentary on performance enhancing drugs in prowrestling and pro sports.
The Dark Knight-A bit overly long but given I’m not a big comic fan this was really good. Let’s be honest, Heath Ledger’s Joker made this movie, it’s sad we’ll never see a repeat performance. Only other gripe was I didn’t buy the leading lady, at all.
The Strangers-a really creepy, old fashioned suspense thriller. A bit slow moving in the beginning and a few predictable scenes but well worth the watch.
Dimmu Borgir-The Invaluable Darkness Tour- excellent two disk concert film/documentary of one of Norway’s most popular and successful black metal bands. A must for any serious fan.
Red-It’s not so much that I really liked it though it had a good plot and was well acted. The reason I put it in my top best is because from beginning to end it’s probably the most powerfully depressing movies I’ve ever seen.
Arch Enemy-Live Tyrany-A must have concert video/documentary with a killer set spanning the groups history. They show why japanese fans love them so.
The Ruins-I’d call this more action/adventure than horror. Effects are gruesome and as long as you buy into the ‘aztec curse’ idea, it’s fun to watch as a story of survival.
Mirrors-Keifer Sutherland walks around a burned down creepy shopping center. Supernatural events follow. I thought the possessed nun fight was pretty entertaining. Good Flick.
Eagle Eye-a fun, fast paced, chas’em down movie about a computer that tries to take over the country.
Guilty pleasure-
Death Race-haven’t seen the original, but the remake has fast armored cars, plenty of fire power, explosions, hot chicks and the line ‘we’ll see who shits on the sidewalk.’ Gotta love it.
Worst
The Love Guru-an unfunny, tragic, Mike Myers missfire. Two elephants humping in an ice hockey arena says it all. Stick to Austin Powers dude.
Cloverfield-Blair Witch meets Godzilla indeed. A motion sickness inducing film about a chessy cgi monster that destroys the city. My main question about this movie. How can a hand held camera in constant use stay at full battery all day?
Prom Night (remake)- If I was in the target high school senior class of 2008 audience this movie aims for i might have liked it better. Good thing I’m old enough to remember the original, stick with that one.
The Happening-this could have been soooo much better given the talent involved. Mother nature wreaks havoc turning against mankind spreading an invisible plague like dust in the wind. the first comical sympton being the person suddenly starts walking backwards. Good thing it wasn’t forward or they might run into something.
Dishonarable mention-
The Mist-Yes i know it came out last year but this long ass, boring waste of time took 2 hrs of my life i won’t get back, and i saw it on Christmas!!! Not merry at all. basically, sci fi miniseries with sci fi channel cgi effects, overly serious and depressing. Some of the characters were good but unfortunately saw it in the theater so I didn’t have the luxury of the fast forward button. Though i will say, if you watch it as a comedy as i did, it’s fairly watchable.
So that’s Mike’s wrap up of things for 2008. For the record I was with him when he saw The Mist on Christmas 2007, and I couldn’t disagree with him more! But that is a whole other story…
23:46:06
2009-01-01
