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Another genre filled year, another Top 10 and more pointless observations
from yours truly. From where I’m stabbing; on one end 2005 felt like a McDonald year for horror. It reached its peak in popularity and the Studios ran with it for better and for worse.
Quality started to dwindle down, we got more sell out R cut downs to PG-13 theatrical releases, further soulless remakes being made (and announced) and a ridiculous multitude of DVD editions for one film (che and ching).
Another thing I’ve noticed is that there was less genre fiends going to the theaters this year than last year. Even I wound up skipping a couple of horror movies in the name of NOT wasting my life (The Fog remake being one of them).
There are just so many times you can be served garbage before you go get your lunch somewhere else.
On the POSITIVE flipside; 2005 saw the firm return of hard R Rated genre flicks on the big screen with
Wolf Creek, Devil’s Rejects, High Tension, Saw II,
Sin City etc. proving that there’s still an audience for a healthy dose of hardcore. With
Hostel and The Hills Have Eyes being released in 2006, hopefully this will be a trend that will stick.
Now, I personally got my kicks this year via a handful of truly potent horror films, some foreign offerings, a couple of comic book adaptations, a double dose of Sc Fi and more!So here it is;
My Top 10 of 2005!
NOTE: Both High Tension and Oldboy
made my 2004 Top 10 hence they were omitted here.
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It sported an awesome premise, stellar execution, engaging acting, back handing violence while acting as an emotionally gripping, thought provoking and endearingly ambiguous bitter pill. |
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A compelling story, zany ideas, outrageous horror/action set pieces, a gnarly dry wittiness and an anti-hero who is now part of my “top pooch” list; this big, bad, hypnotic trip had all the makings of a potentially new and exciting franchise! |
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Shutter entertained me throughout. It had me jumping in my seat like a grasshopper on speed with a firecracker up its hopper, gave me a major case of the heebie-jeebies and managed to totally shock me with its more emotionally layered turns. And I’ll say it again …man…those last frames…wow…they freaking RUINED ME! |
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Sin City lived up to the incessant hype that’s been pounding my skull for the last couple of months. Visually arresting, thematically nasty, brilliantly cast; unapologetically violent, sexy as a stable of Playmates, rock em-sock em exciting and written with a razor blade pen; this bad boy kicked some serious f”ucking ass! |
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A Bitter Sweet Life was what I like to call an “Arrow Special”, where it might as well have been cooked up for me. It hit up everything that I love about film…period. Visually striking to gawk at, excessively violent, unorthodox, emotionally layered, existential and quite sad when you stop and think about it…this bitter sweet life RULED! |
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Yes I'm cheating where I couldn't choose...sue me! :) EPISODE 3 wound up being a well constructed, rip roaring, eye popping and heartbreaking Space Tragedy that should please Star Wars fans of the world. This is the one you’ve been waiting for guys and dolls! Light that saber and fight your last duel with STAR WARS EPISODE 3!
SERENITY
(read review here) is the new Star Wars! It displayed the same Sci-Fi, matinee adventure vibe while taking it all a hyper speed notch further by touching upon the Western and horror genre. If that wasn’t enough; it machine gunned, zany action, space fights, loveable characters, a potent mystery AND acted as a clever social commentary to boot.
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As the end credits rolled, I felt drained, down on life, somewhat stressed out and in need of a shot of JD in my tummy ASAP. I usually feel like that when I get my Monthly bills OR... when I see a powerful horror movie. Wolf Creek punished me and had me thinking afterwards (about the ugly state of our society). As a genre fan and a human being, I thanked it for that. |
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What would happen if House of a 1000 Corpses had a one-night bang with Badlands and The Wild Bunch? The hard piping, Whisky downing, The Devil’s Rejects would happen! This squashed armadillo oozed out a tight screenplay, yummy brutality, warped humor and hypnotic visuals that will make you go “F*CK YEAH”. |
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Batman Begins was in my eyes a BIG SUCCESS! Sporting an ambitious script, stellar visuals, smarts and top notch acting from an amazing cast, we couldn’t have asked for more from this re-introduction to one of the world’s most famous avengers.
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The Descent was a brilliantly structured and executed piece of horror cinema. It was well written, layered, expertly acted, suspenseful as hell, directed with flair, emotionally resonant and f*cking gory/violent as well! I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this diamond in the rough…all I will say is see it, see it and SEE IT! THE DESCENT is the movie I’ve been waiting for all year…THANK YOU! |
Saw II: Although it didn’t beat the
original for me; this sequel still delivered the goods! It boldly unraveled
its tale in a machine gun pace while bombarding us with f*cked up
situations, fairly sick kills, sucker punching plot turns, fanboy pleasing
nods to the first film and additional gripping insight in the grey matter
that resides within Jigsaw’s skull.
Land of the Dead:
Land of the Dead had George Romero stamped all over it and for this
a-hole that was good freaking “front page” news! From the axis on human evil
brought up through dire circumstances, to the tasty social commentary, to
the actual Zombies feeling all “Romero” and shite, this baby was mucho
Georgie and I loved it for it.
Venom: I know I'll get heat for this pick,
but f*ck it! I HAD A BLAST! VENOM was a standard yet highly entertaining,
well directed and competent barrell of slasher monkeys (whatever that
means). Sometimes in life; the simpler things make so much sense; like
watching a sunset, hearing waves crashing in or munching on a Whopper with
cheese…VENOM is one of those endearing simplest things. THANK YOU!
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Ring Two: If THE RING TWO was a prize fighter, it would have so much
glass in its jaw it’d be a freaking chandelier. Shame on everybody behind this
lazy trash for giving us a choppy, non-scary, lousily shot and bah acted sequel
to a tight remake. This has to be the worst horror follow up since The
Exorcist 2 The Heretic stank up the place!
Return of the Living Dead 5:
Return of the Living Dead 5 sucked the skin off a dead man's balls! This
cinematic abortion made me want to boost up my rating for Return of the Living
Dead Part 2, a film I didn’t care for. Inept is the word guys! On the page,
behind the camera and in front of the lens. INEPT!
Cursed: Much like
flatulence at a Fried Chicken restaurant, CURSED came, stank and went.
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© 2004 John Fallon All Rights Reserved JoBlo.com
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