Best Horror 2008 - Dance of the Dead: Winner

For two years running DTV or independent horror has been beating out big budget horror in terms of substance and just plain horror movie fun. For several years the horror genre has been on this kick of torture, dreadful, sick, and terror prevails kick. I get that, but I am sort of sick and tired of it. When I was almost done with horror, it was nice to see a movie like last years Grindhouse, to remind me how fun seeing horror movies can be.

Dance of the Dead was a small zombie film I saw last year, that I totally fell in love with. It is a great feeling when you watch something that you are expecting to suck and it ends up one of the best movie watching experiences of the year.

Dance of the Dead revolves around the mysterious reanimation of the dead and the efforts of Jimmy, Lindsey, Stephen, and Kyle to save their local high school prom from attack.

The movie just kept getting better and better, it amazed me at every turn. It is something really special when you have similar ideas that a director has. A high school rock band playing the prom and fighting zombies, how cool is that! A lot of silly stuff happens in this movie, but it is clear that nothing is taken serious. Not trying to sound to obvious, director Gregg Bishop has made a John Hughes meets Return of the Living Dead film. Have a movie night with some friends, and have a great time with Dance of the Dead! A+ Enjoy!!!!!

~Caleb

Best Horror 2008 - 1st Runner Up: Rogue

One of the most anticipated movies for me last year was the Australian creature feature Rogue. The only disappointment was that the movie became a DTV (Direct to Video) release. This made me very nervous, thinking that the movie very well may suck. Turns out that Rogue in fact does not suck. In the age of the multiplex and the price gouging of ticket prices, Hollywood can't or won't take chances on movies like this. I guess Hollywood knows what they are doing, just look at Paul Bart: Mall Cop?

I am glad to say that Rogue is finding an audience! I bought my copy at a second hand DVD shop, and until recently it was a hot item. I took the movie over the other half of catchaflicks house to watch on his birthday. His response was overwhelming, I think he likes it more than I do. Rogue could very well be Sam's favorite movie of last year. It took him awhile to find it on DVD, but he did and bought extras for Christmas presents!

An Australian wildlife cruise turns bad when the tourists become hunted by a man-eating crocodile! The tour captain investigates a distress flair before returning to land. The boat gets damaged by the croc and the tour party become stranded on a tiny bit of land in the river. They must quickly decide a plan of action before it's too late. With the river having a rising tide, the group decide to trap the crocodile and quickly try to escape. Nothing ever goes to plan and the beast can't be fooled to long. The croc takes the tour guide to it's lair to feast on latter. Does our hero, the wildlife tour travel writer save her in time? You have to watch it to find out.

Rogue is truly a sight to see, the camera work capturing the Outback is absolutely breathtaking. Some of these areas have never been filmed. I believe this is Sam's favorite aspect of the movie. I love that and the amazing creature feature suspense/horror. A+. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!

~Caleb

Best Horror 2008 - Nominees

The Ruins
Dance of the Dead
Teeth
Rogue
The Strangers

Best Grindhouse 2008 - Death Race: Winner

Ex-con Jensen Ames is forced by the warden of a notorious prison to compete in our post-industrial world's most popular sport: a car race in which inmates must brutalize and kill one another on the road to victory. That is what Death Race is, pure and simple. If this plot or title alone does not interest you, then the exploitation genre might not be your thing. A remake of the cult classic Death Race 2000, this modern day take stars subtle action movie star Jason Statham, my favorite tough guy making movies today. Death Race is way more mainstream and accessible than this years 1st runner up. Action fans and Statham fans will not be disappointed in the slightest. Not much more to really say, the synopsis really and truly says it all. B+ Enjoy!!!

~Caleb

Best Grindhouse 2008 - Hell Ride: 1st Runner Up

What does Grindhouse mean? It is an American movie theater term for Exploitation films,a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising.



It doesn't get much more gridhouse than a biker film. Forget the plot, a motorcycle movie only needs to follow three rules; the 3 B's, Bikes, Babes, and Booze. Like most exploitation genres, the biker film genre is a risky one. Most of them are bad, as in unwatchable, so bad it's good, and the very rare bad@$$! For the casual movie watcher, I recommend the very well known biker classic Easy Rider.

The biker genre never interested me, it wasn't until I found out that Quentin Tarantino was going to produce one that I became curious. The early word on the film was that Tarantino gave director Larry Bishop his blessing to go make the best biker movie ever. When it comes to QT I know that the integrity of the film comes first, and that's why he is one of my favorites!

Hell Ride is modern day take on the biker films from the '60's that Larry Bishop was a part of. Bishop plays Pistolero, the leader of the biker gang The Victors. Pistolero along with the rest of his gang hit the road seeking vengeance against rival gang the 666ers. The 666ers are responsible for the death of Pistolero's old lady, Cherokee Kisum. The road to revenge becomes a wild one filled with the 3 B's, convoluted plots, and awesome Spaghetti Western style!

Is Hell Ride a good movie? The quick response is no, it's a very hard movie to watch. Larry Bishop is clearly making a movie he wants to see, and catering to a very particular audience. It wasn't until my third viewing that I really started to get what I was watching. It is a movie that I would never recommend to anyone that has no clue or interest in grindhouse type movies. With that being said, Hell Ride really is the best modern day biker movie I have seen, or care to see.

B+ rating is based on exploitation films Rated R for a reason, watcher beware!!!

~Caleb

Best Grindhouse of 2008

Nominees

Rouge
Hell Ride
Teeth
Sukiyaki Western Django
Death Race

Best Comedy 2008 - Tropic Thunder: Winner

I have had my fill for the time being, but I must have watched the Tropic Thunder DVD 4 times after I bought it. The more times I watched it the more jokes I picked up on, and laughed harder at the jokes I was already familiar with. The movie is just genius. The talent alone makes this a must see, Stiller, Black, and Downey Jr! Tropic Thunder is a concept that comes from a place that is bizaro world, an action war movie within an movie Hollywood satire. The beginning of the film brilliantly sets the pace for what the viewing audience is in store for. I don't think I ever laughed as hard as I did in a theater than I did during the opening moments of Tropic Thunder. Some of the best spoof/satire stuff I have seen in a lonnnng time.
A Vietnam-war memoir film is being made. The movie is Tropic Thunder and it's early in the shooting, but they're already behind schedule and over budget. In danger of the movie being shutting down, the director takes the cast and crew into the heart of the jungle to really capture the essence of war. When the production is attacked by local guerrilla drug dealers, the cast and crew don't realize these aren't actors who are stocking them. The guerrillas kidnap Tugg Speedman, an actor whose star seems on the decline, and it's up to the rest of the ragtag team to band together long enough to attempt his rescue.
Tropic Thunder is not my favorite comedy rated on laughs(with exception to the fake trailers). I honestly laugh harder with Pineapple Express and Role Models. What makes Tropic Thunder my 'best' pick is weighed on how smart the comedy is. I have enjoyed it more every time I have watched it. My favorite moments in the movie are every moment. It's an A+ and as always enjoy!!!
~Caleb

GI Joe Trailer

Best Comedy of 2008 - 1st Runner Up: Pineapple Express

Best movie lists are subjective, especially when it comes to Best, or favorite comedy lists. Everyone doesn't have the same tastes in comedies, and you can't convince someone that something is funny, if they don't feel the same way. Two great examples are the television show 'The Office' and the movie 'Napoleon Dynamite'. Either you get it or you don't.
2008 had a lot of great comedies and some not so great (The Love Guru, The Rocker). Comedies can be a weird thing, they have two purposes, to entertain us and make us laugh. I don't own most comedies, because most are disposable, I see them and leave my laughter in the theater. The best example that comes to mind is 'The Animal', is that really worth owning? I see most comedies like this. The last Adam Sandler movie I would consider worth owning is 'The Wedding Singer'. '...Zohan' is his best since his Hollywood prime.
My top five comedies of last year really blew my mind, it's hard to say what was my favorite. The two movies that stand out above the rest were 'Pineapple Express' and 'Tropic Thunder'. Both movies reminded me of my favorite comedy of '07, 'Hot Fuzz'.
The concept behind 'Pineapple Express' alone is comedic genius. Imagine Cheech & Chong in a Jerry Bruckheimer/Michael Bay action movie, that's 'Pineapple Express'!
Lazy court-process clerk and stoner Dale Denton has only one reason to visit his equally lazy dealer Saul Silver: to purchase weed, specifically, a rare new strain called Pineapple Express. But when Dale becomes the only witness to a murder by a crooked cop and the city's most dangerous drug lord, he panics and dumps his roach of Pineapple Express at the scene. Dale now has another reason to visit Saul: to find out if the weed is so rare that it can be traced back to him--and it is. As Dale and Saul run for their lives, they quickly discover that they're not suffering from weed-fueled paranoia: incredibly, the bad guys really are hot on their trail and trying to figure out the fastest way to kill them both.
The cast is so good in this, Seth Rogan who plays Dale is quickly becoming one of my favorite comedic actors these past few years. He has the slacker character down to an art, just watch 'Knocked Up' to see for yourself. Then came Saul Silver, man James Franco rocks in this! I want to see Franco in more comedies, period. He is an amazing actor and his performance in this is a must see. Mentioning the amazing cast would not be complete with out talking about the master of improve himself, Danny R. McBride. This guy will leave you in stitches, he just plays off wonderfully with the other actors. Every time he appeared on the gag reel or line o rama, it had me laughing out loud.
Fun to be had by all, It's an A+ for 'Pineapple Express', and as always Enjoy!!!
~Caleb

Best Comic Book Movie - Winner: Iron Man

What? Wait a minute, isn't 'The Dark Knight' like the best comic book movie ever made? I will get to 'The Dark Knight' soon, don't worry. 'Iron Man' is my pick for best comic book movie for 2008. This is the first film that I know of in history that was 100% produced by a comic book company, Marvel Enterprises. The studio is Marvel Studios, so what we have is a movie made and produced by comic book people. You can thank the success of the Spider-Man and X-Men movies for this. Hollywood had made some good and even great comic book movies, but at the end of the day it is still a studio movie. 'Iron Man' is still a studio movie, but it was made by a studio that understands and loves the source material. Now here is the icing on the cake, Mr. Robert Downey Jr. as the title character Tony Stark/Iron Man. This choice in casting in my opinion sealed the deal on the success of this movie. Downey Jr. brought charm and appeal that attracted an audience interested in entertaining movies. My mom has zero interest in comic book hero movies, and she loved 'Iron Man'. The things that I liked about 'Iron Man' was an excellent cast, the humor of Downey Jr., classic origin structure, great script, and excellent special effects.

Now I have listed a bunch of great things about this movie, but the thing I love most, well maybe second is that moviegoers are loving it. Yes, finally a superhero movie that can have general appeal and keep true to comic book tone. For those that have been living in a cave, rent or buy this movie now. Tony Stark is a millionaire playboy weapons manufacture that gets kidnapped during a weapons demonstration. He is told to build a missile for a terrorist organization known as the Ten Rings. Mr. Stark does not negotiate with terrorists, so instead he builds a suit of amour to escape his imprisonment. After his success, Tony wants to stop making weapons for defense and get to the bottom of who's selling his weapons to the wrong kind of people. He improves his armor and thus Iron Man is born. That's all that I am willing to tell you,I don't want to ruin it for you. So 'Iron Man' gets an A+. Enjoy!!!!
~Caleb

Best Comic Book Movie - 1st Runner Up: Hellboy II:The Golden Army

My runner up for best action movie, is one that you may have missed out on, or didn't even know it came out. Hellboy II was one of my favorite films to come out in the jammed packed Summer of movies. It found it's audience, but came and went with barely a mention. As you are reading this, some may be wondering who or what is Hellboy? A demon whose true name is Anung Un Rama (the Beast of the Apocalypse), Hellboy was brought to Earth as an infant by Nazi occultists. He was discovered by the Allied Forces; amongst them, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, who formed the United States Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD). In time Hellboy grew to be a large, red-skinned demon with a tail, horns (which he files off, leaving behind the signature circular stumps on his forehead, to make his appearance more "normal"), and an oversized right hand made of stone. He has been described as smelling of dry-roasted peanuts. Although a bit gruff, he shows none of the malevolence thought to be intrinsic to demons, and works with other strange creatures in the BPRD. This is said to be because of his upbringing under Professor Bruttenholm, who raised him as a normal boy and taught him how to behave normally. This is a reference to the nature versus nurture debate. Hellboy has been dubbed the "World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator".

In 2004 Guillermo del Toro co-wrote and directed a film adaptation of Hellboy.
The film starred Ron Perlman as Hellboy (the favorite of both del Toro and Mignola for the role), Selma Blair as Liz Sherman, Rupert Evans as FBI Special Agent John Myers (a character created for the film), John Hurt as Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, Doug Jones as Abe Sapien (voiced by an uncredited David Hyde Pierce), Karel Roden as Grigori Rasputin, and Jeffrey Tambor as FBI Senior Special Agent Tom Manning. The film received generally positive reviews, and a fair performance at the box office. The movie was good but not great; however, Ron Perlman was and still is awesome as Hellboy.

Hellboy II took the myth and imagination from the first film and multiplied it by a thousand. Hellboy II finds our character fighting an evil elf in search of The Golden Army, a deadly group of fighting machines that can destroy the human race. As Hell on Earth is ready to erupt, Hellboy and his crew set out to defeat the evil prince before The Golden Army can destroy humanity's existence.

Del Toro has created a wonderful world of normal and fantastic living together. The production design in the movie is too good to be true. The troll market scene alone will leave you stunned. Every good comic book movie always has a memorable villain and Prince Nuara does not disappoint. Once again our main hero does the job well. Perlman was just born to play Hellboy. Everything about this movie just rocks.

A+ Enjoy and have a blast!

Best Action Movie - Winner: Rambo

My original post says it all why this movie is the Best Action movie of 2008. Enjoy!



Finally got to see this last night. All I can say is Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!
Rambo has put back the action in action movies. Think about that famous lobby shoot out scene in The Matrix, remember all the gun mayhem going on? Quite the scene wasn't it, only take that gun battle and times it by 100 and throw in real bodies (not computer programs) and that’s the last part of Rambo. Stallone who also directed the movie understands 100% what an action movie needs to be. Bravo Stallone, I only hope Hollywood has taken notes on your film and thrown away the scripts for Bourne 4 and Mr. and Mrs. Smith part deux.

The film starts with footage of terrible, terrible, acts of violence and genocide happening in Burma. Burma is nothing to take lightly; these Burmese soldiers are truly evil nasty men. John Rambo has been living a fairly quiet life somewhere around Burma. One day these missionary folks visit him seeking passage up the river. He tells them he won't take them and suggests they go back home. Rambo has given up hope on humanity; he thinks the opposite what the kind good-hearted missionaries believe. No more does he believe in making a difference, everything he was taught to believe in, as a solider has been a waist. One of the missionaries convinces Rambo, so he takes them where they wish to go. Something bad happens (naturally) and Rambo has to fix it the only way he knows how. This time around Rambo has the help of a rough group of mercs, which adds a nice touch of depth and coolness.

If you see Rambo and you squirm or get all liberal about the violence of the film, pinch yourself because there is nothing PC about war and most importantly you ARE watching a action movie. Rambo gets an A+.
Take a raincoat and Enjoy!!! ~Caleb

Best Action Movie - 1st Runner Up: The Punisher:War Zone

Ranking 'Punisher:War Zone' as a first runner up was a tough decision to make. It's going to be one of those choices where it will be one day 'Rambo' is my favorite, but then the next day I will be thinking that 'Punisher:War Zone' is the best. Ultimately, the .50 cal scene in 'Rambo' will win the argument every time.
The history of Punisher movies is a bumpy one. In 1989 Frank Castle/The Punisher made his movie debut on home video. The result was a cult classic among fans, but not a true representing of the popular Marvel Comics vigilante. It wasn't until the Comic Book movie boom of 2000 that Punisher would get a movie true to it's character. The movie was an improvement and decent comic to movie adaptation. Thomas Jane did not want to reprise his role as Frank Castle, due to the script not meeting his approval. So yet another relaunch was in process. The 3rd installment was set with an awesome actor Ray Stevenson(who's performance is and was the definitive Frank Castle). Met with Internet rumored production problems and Internet movie snobs backlash, Punisher:War Zone was set to fail even before it's box office debut. The critic's hated it(duh) and the movie failed at the box office(if you really care about that). The movie did however find it's audience and that number will continue to grow in DVD and Blu-Ray sales.
For me, Punisher:War Zone is the best Punisher movie ever made. Finally we have an actor and director who understand the who and what this character is. The movie like the comic is no holds barred action. Fans of the comic and action movies in general, are in for a good time.
Fans of comic book movies who take their characters seriously will have a hard time adjusting to what will seem like one of the worst comic book movies ever. My advice to these movie geek snobs is simple, get over it. A+ Enjoy!!!

~Caleb

COX's Best of 2008

Sadly this is going to be a multi part segment, because I still haven't seen all that I want to see that may or may not effect this list. If everything goes right I will have all my picks posted before the end of the month. I have a few catagories ready to post, and you can expect reviews or comments of my picks in the coming days. Watcher beware, but I always encouage my readers to give these movies a look if they want, heck, they are my favorites of the year. Enjoy!!!

Nominees for Best Action Movie

Punisher: War Zone
Wanted
Rambo
Death Race
Doomsday

1st Runner Up: Punisher:War Zone

Winner: Rambo


Nominees for Best Comic Book Movie

The Incredible Hulk
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Punisher: War Zone

1st Runner Up: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Winner: Iron Man


Nominees for Best Comedy

Role Models
Pineapple Express
Step Brothers
The Foot Fist Way
Tropic Thunder

1st Runner Up: Pineapple Express

Winner: Tropic Thunder

2008 Summary

2008 was one of the greatest years for movies in a very, very long time. So many cool movies, there was Cloverfield, which had one if not the best buzz for a movie since The Blair Witch Project. The best part of the craze over the movie Cloverfield, was that the movie rocked and lived up to the famous hype. I will always remember the reaction I had when seeing the 01-18-08 trailer in front of Transformers. When the movie was over and people were exiting out of the theater, the overall chatter was “well, it was better than I thought it would be...yep, that's a Micheal Bay movie...but holy cow, what the heck was that 01-18-08 trailer, that looks awesome.” 01-18-08 later became Cloverfield and wasn't the only coolest movie to bring in the new year? Rambo started the new year off with a bang, and already became my favorite action movie of the year. It had some stiff competition this year but Rambo held strong and remained the action movie of the year.
The Spring movie season had one of the best exploitation movies of the year, Doomsday. The Summer movie season was so great, that it all just seemed to good to be true. Here are some of my favorites, Iron Man, Speed Racer, Indiana Jones: and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Wall-e, The Dark Knight, Tropic Thunder, and Hellboy II: The Golden Army. This already is a good list of summer movies for the year, but trust me folks, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
The end of the year was hit and miss with the Winter movie season. The winter kicked off with a movie that was a failure at the box office (if you really care about things like that), but was one of the best comic book movies that will ever be made. I did not say that it was one of the best movies ever made, I am saying that it is the best Punisher movie ever made. Punisher: War Zone is the movie that finally got the look and essence of the title character right. Christmas day was a good day for movies. I saw what I thought was going to be my favorite Drama of the year, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. To some the movie is the best of the year, but for me, it fell way short. The Tom Cruise WWII thriller Valkyrie, superseded my expectations and became one of my favorite movies in the last quarter of '08.

~Caleb