Exploitation Nation

Bryan Brassfield runs the website for B-videos 101 and has written and article or two for my print zine Neon Madness. I’ve known him for years and usually our tastes in movies run pretty parallel in a lot of ways. He’s a HUGE comic book fan, as you will see in his top ten of 2008. That’s me (Andy Copp) on the leftand Bryan on the right at Cinema Wasteland spring of 2008.

1.  THE DARK KNIGHT-This was the film I waited all year for and it didn’t disappoint.  It has set the bar on what superhero/comic book movies should be.  In fact you could take 15 minutes out of any part of this film and it’s still better then all three Raimi SPIDERMAN flicks combined.  Fantastic performance from Heath Ledger as The Joker.  Finally the world gets to see a darker Joker and not the clown Nicholson portrayed in Burton’s film.  Also liked the fact that they took a page out of the recent Batman arcs of having him cross some lines and break some laws to get the outcome he thinks is necessary.  Plus it’s the only comic book movie I can think of where the villain wins in the end.  2008 brought on some dark times and this film will be what will represent a very dark period in the world.

2.  THE WRESTLER-Fantastic film that almost took the number one spot from THE DARK KNIGHT.  All the Oscar buzz around Mickey Rourke performance is on target.  Shot in a documentary style we get to follow the 80’s wrestling superstar Randy “The Ram” at the twilight of his career.  Getting into the character we can begin to understand a guy who lived for the adoration of the crowd even though it cost him his family and his body.  This is the type of guy that has to put on a show to serve meat behind a counter at the local supermarket.  Though the character is a “fuck-up” he’s still a decent guy who has never gotten over the fact that his 80’s heyday is over.   The film is “loosely” based on a mish-mash of several 80’s superstars that actually are living the life that is depicted in the film.   You don’t have to be a wrestling fan to appreciate the story and performances of a guy trying for one last chance of making one last success in life in or out of the ring.  A few sidenotes:  great use of 80’s hair metal that actually works in telling part of the story.  Also with all the talk about Rourke performance the same praise should be thrown Marisa Tomei’s way as well.  Her surprising turn as an aging stripper is far from glamorous and would have most actresses passing on the part.  She turns in a great performance and shows that maybe she did deserve that Oscar after all.

3.   HAROLD AND KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANMO BAY- A dumb comedy that is actually a lot smarter then what people might think.  Some right on target political humor mixed with laugh out loud gross out/dumb humor makes for the best comedy of the year.  Plus once again Neil Patrick Harris steals the show.

4.  WALL-E- A smart kid’s movie that is enjoyable and makes you think and feel for some robotic characters.  The romance in this film is more real and sweet then the shit that is passed as “romantic comedy’s” are you listing SEX AND THE CITY?  What’s even more surprising is that Disney released this to the public.  I guess they most not have caught the anti-consumerism and the laziness of people in general that was part of the story.  I didn’t think I would like this film, thought it was some sort of CGI SHORT CIRCUIT when I first saw it, but it won me over with it’s message and heart.

5.  DOOMSDAY-Don’t know what it is about this Neil Marshall Post-Apocalyptic/Sci-Fi Action film that won me over, but dammit I had a hell of a good time watching it.  Nice throw back to the 80’s Mad Max clones that were coming out overseas.  This is the closest I will ever getting to see one of them on the big screen.  In fact this film should have been paired with PLANET TERROR, instead of the D.O.A. DEATH PROOF, for the ultimate Grindhouse Double Bill!

6.  IRON-MAN- Another great comic book adaptation that is pretty faithful to the source and is a fun movie.  Solid performances mixed with great comic book action make for a great thrill ride.  Plus it has a great “wait until after the end credit” surprises that has got fanboys drooling with excitement.

7.   HELLBOY 2-THE GOLDEN ARMY-Yet another fun comic book movie that mixes great performances, comic book action and Del’ Toro’s fantastic imagination.  This is fantastic continuation to the Hellboy characters that fleshes them out and develops them into people you care about.  Hopefully we do get a chance to see a third installment and it’s as good as this one.

8.  RAMBO-Stallone brings us the surprising return of a 80’s action star icon that a worthy follow up to the franchise.  It has some things to say about the state of the world and tones the action sequences to make them a bit more believable then just having Rambo being a one man army.  Unlike the resurrection of Rocky this was a very welcome return.

9.  THE STRANGERS-Creepy as hell horror flick with no fancy special effects or gimmicks.  Just some creepy people with scary as shit masks terrorizing two people for a night before they finally decide to end their game of cat and mouse.  Though the film has a few moments of horror film cliche’s the overall all tone and creepiness more then make up for these shortcomings.  I loved the use of music in this film.  The songs they chose had a creepy sound that just made the proceedings even more spooky.

10.  RED-This was a film that stuck with me long after it’s viewing.  This was the only revenge flick that comes to memory that after the wronged man gets his revenge you don’t feel any joy for the person getting their just desserts even though they seem to deserve it.  Fantastic performance from Brian Cox as the old man who has his old dog Red killed by some punk kids.  You want Cox to teach this punk a lesson, but as the story unfolds you just kind of wish the whole thing would just go away and the kid just show some remorse.

A few honorable mentions:  TROPIC THUNDER, HAMLET 2, STREET KINGS, DRILLBIT TAYLOR, STEP-BROTHERS.

Now for my worst.  I’m not going to go after the easy targets of stuff that I knew was crap going in, like the LOVE GURU or CLOVERFIELD, but I will target films that turned out to be big disappointments.  These are not ranked in any particular order because I think they are all equally bad.

1.  INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL-Where to begin other then:  “We waited 9 years for this crap!”   I feel people are giving this garbage a pass just because it’s nice to have Indiana Jones back in action.  Never mind the story is stupid, thanks to George Lucas, and the film is filled with some of the dumbest shit ever put on screen.  Flying Refrigerators from atomic bombs, Shia LaBeouf and the monkeys, and oh yes the aliens.  These guys can make a good Indiana Jones sequel:  see TEMPLE OF DOOM, but they missed the mark on this garbage.

2.  SAW V-Disappointing, pointless and more importantly does not continue the storyline that started in the first SAW film.  These films are not masterpieces by any means, but I have enjoyed their TV show like continuity and they twist and turns they have taken.  This one just decides to be at a standstill and tell us shit we could care less about.  (Yeah I’ve always wondered how they got that fat guy from the first one into the barbwire pit).  This franchise died when Jigsaw did in four.

3.   SPEED RACER-God-awful, ugly, stupid and annoying.  The Wachowski brothers showed that they could make a movie worse then their two MATRIX sequels.  I didn’t think that was possible, but the did it!   Avoid at all cost!

4.  PROM NIGHT-Cross THE HILLS, GOSSIP GIRL, or any of that other crap with a slasher film for wimps and this is the crap you get.  This movie’s plot consists of people doing stupid things that make no logical sense whatsoever other then the fact that it advances the plot.  The people in this film make the FRIDAY THE 13th teens seem like geniuses by caparison. I am dumbfounded that this did so well…on second thought crap like THE HILLS and GOSSIP GIRL are successful with teens so I guess dumb shit like this being successful is not to surprising.

5. MOTHER OF TEARS-Argento’s career continues to go down in the toilet after this embarrassing sequel to the “Three Mothers” trilogy.   It’s amazing that the same man who brought us SUSPIRA can bring us a film about goth hos, witches with fake tits, and as Andy Copp likes to point out a potato sack with glitter on it being the object to end the world.  Ugh!  I’m sure Argento was on the hash when he decided to make this $1 million R-rated version of Harry Potter.

Other crap that need honorable mention:  88 MINUTES, YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN, EAGLE EYE, HOUSE, DAY OF THE DEAD, LOST BOYS 2, and THE HAPPENING.

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