Comments on: Blog For A Beer: Best/Worst Of The Year http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/2008/12/blog-for-a-beer-bestworst-of-the-year/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=blog-for-a-beer-bestworst-of-the-year From Modern Mythcraft to Magical Surrealism Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:09:53 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: gordsellar http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/2008/12/blog-for-a-beer-bestworst-of-the-year/comment-page-1/#comment-8805 gordsellar Fri, 12 Dec 2008 02:45:46 +0000 http://www.darkfantasy.org/fantasy/?p=1197#comment-8805 Yeah, I gotta agree that <i>Let the Right One In</i> was probably the best genre movie I saw this year. (Though I also saw <i>American Zombie</i> in the cinema, I think it's a bit older.) Jeremy, I think the reason it might not come to mind as a genre film is that it's (a) more like a mainstream film in its handling of, well, everything genre about it, and (b) it's so damned much better than most genre films that get made. Another amusing genre film I saw was the Korean film Garoojigi, which apparently is based on some bawdy old Korean text about sex magic and stuff. The village loser, left behind when all the men go off to war, ends up digging up an ancient, er, sex-magic artifact and the village women, er, make a man of him. Cheesy, but quite unusual as Korean films go. (Also, Mirageman, a Chilean superhero film, rocked. And I got a big kick out of Om Shanti Om, a fantastical reincarnation drama/ghost story. It's a 2007 film, but I think it was showing up in festivals and such during 2008 as well -- that's how I saw it all the way over here in Bucheon.) Worst genre film I saw was the Indiana Jones. No, no, wait... it was that Doomsday. Which was AWFUL. Yeah, I gotta agree that Let the Right One In was probably the best genre movie I saw this year. (Though I also saw American Zombie in the cinema, I think it’s a bit older.)

Jeremy, I think the reason it might not come to mind as a genre film is that it’s (a) more like a mainstream film in its handling of, well, everything genre about it, and (b) it’s so damned much better than most genre films that get made.

Another amusing genre film I saw was the Korean film Garoojigi, which apparently is based on some bawdy old Korean text about sex magic and stuff. The village loser, left behind when all the men go off to war, ends up digging up an ancient, er, sex-magic artifact and the village women, er, make a man of him. Cheesy, but quite unusual as Korean films go.

(Also, Mirageman, a Chilean superhero film, rocked. And I got a big kick out of Om Shanti Om, a fantastical reincarnation drama/ghost story. It’s a 2007 film, but I think it was showing up in festivals and such during 2008 as well — that’s how I saw it all the way over here in Bucheon.)

Worst genre film I saw was the Indiana Jones. No, no, wait… it was that Doomsday. Which was AWFUL.

]]> By: Cat C. http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/2008/12/blog-for-a-beer-bestworst-of-the-year/comment-page-1/#comment-8792 Cat C. Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:07:53 +0000 http://www.darkfantasy.org/fantasy/?p=1197#comment-8792 Movies that I really enjoyed this year: The Dark Knight, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man Movies that I really WANTED to enjoy but didn't: Indy 4, Jumper, Wanted Movies that I loved because of the snark-fest they generated: Twilight! Movies that I didn't get to see in 2008 because the snark-fest pushed them out of their opening weekend: Harry Potter 6 Here's hoping for a great 2009! Movies that I really enjoyed this year: The Dark Knight, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man

Movies that I really WANTED to enjoy but didn’t: Indy 4, Jumper, Wanted

Movies that I loved because of the snark-fest they generated: Twilight!

Movies that I didn’t get to see in 2008 because the snark-fest pushed them out of their opening weekend: Harry Potter 6

Here’s hoping for a great 2009!

]]> By: C.L. Holland http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/2008/12/blog-for-a-beer-bestworst-of-the-year/comment-page-1/#comment-8767 C.L. Holland Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:18:00 +0000 http://www.darkfantasy.org/fantasy/?p=1197#comment-8767 I quite liked Hellboy 2, but the ending did suck. Surely it would have been more logical for her to challenge and cause a stalemate? Cloverfield was okay, but the monster didn't live up to the hype. Crystal Skull made me want to cry, the writing was so bad. Wanted was great, once I got over the collateral damage. Dark Knight = also great. Iron Man was good, mindless fun so I liked it for the same reason I liked Transformers. :D The Happening was another okay, it would have been better if mark Wahlberg hadn't been in it, but that could be said about a lot of movies. I quite liked Hellboy 2, but the ending did suck. Surely it would have been more logical for her to challenge and cause a stalemate?

Cloverfield was okay, but the monster didn’t live up to the hype.

Crystal Skull made me want to cry, the writing was so bad.

Wanted was great, once I got over the collateral damage.

Dark Knight = also great.

Iron Man was good, mindless fun so I liked it for the same reason I liked Transformers. :D

The Happening was another okay, it would have been better if mark Wahlberg hadn’t been in it, but that could be said about a lot of movies.

]]> By: mockingbird http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/2008/12/blog-for-a-beer-bestworst-of-the-year/comment-page-1/#comment-8754 mockingbird Sat, 06 Dec 2008 01:11:00 +0000 http://www.darkfantasy.org/fantasy/?p=1197#comment-8754 am I the only person who thought the fridge-nuking in Crystal Skull was kind of hilarious? =/ Dark Knight and Wall-E are absolutely at the top of the Best list. As for Worst...I don't think I saw any dissapointing genre movies. Movies yes, Genre no. am I the only person who thought the fridge-nuking in Crystal Skull was kind of hilarious? =/

Dark Knight and Wall-E are absolutely at the top of the Best list. As for Worst…I don’t think I saw any dissapointing genre movies. Movies yes, Genre no.

]]> By: Randy Henderson http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/2008/12/blog-for-a-beer-bestworst-of-the-year/comment-page-1/#comment-8753 Randy Henderson Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:39:48 +0000 http://www.darkfantasy.org/fantasy/?p=1197#comment-8753 Clint -- yes, everyone knew about George Lucas v2.4. But you weren't supposed to mention it where he could trace it back to you. Oh, crap. Now I've gone and done it too. Great, now we are both doomed. Thanks. And the worse part, when the robot assassins come, I'll probably still be suffering from Howard the Duck flashbacks. Thanks. Thanks a lot. Clint — yes, everyone knew about George Lucas v2.4. But you weren’t supposed to mention it where he could trace it back to you.

Oh, crap. Now I’ve gone and done it too. Great, now we are both doomed. Thanks.

And the worse part, when the robot assassins come, I’ll probably still be suffering from Howard the Duck flashbacks. Thanks. Thanks a lot.

]]> By: Randy Henderson http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/2008/12/blog-for-a-beer-bestworst-of-the-year/comment-page-1/#comment-8752 Randy Henderson Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:15:42 +0000 http://www.darkfantasy.org/fantasy/?p=1197#comment-8752 Clint - I was really disappointed in Get Smart. I felt Carell's character was: 1. Too competent and normal. He was basically an average, mostly competent agent who had a few bumbling moments. Give me a super agent, or else someone who continually screws up yet somehow their hee-larious goof ups miraculously turn out to save the day (Mr. Bean, Sellers's Inspector Clouseau, the original Max Smart), but don't give me a lukewarm middle ground. 2. He phoned in his performance. I felt like I was watching a walkthrough, and kept waiting for him to put his stamp on the character. If he could do Uncle Arthur in the Bewitched remake, he could have done a much better Max Smart. Even when he said "missed it by that much" he just kind of uttered the words. When you are left saying "The Rock's" comedic performance outshone Steve Carell's, you know there's something wrong. Clint -

I was really disappointed in Get Smart. I felt Carell’s character was:

1. Too competent and normal. He was basically an average, mostly competent agent who had a few bumbling moments. Give me a super agent, or else someone who continually screws up yet somehow their hee-larious goof ups miraculously turn out to save the day (Mr. Bean, Sellers’s Inspector Clouseau, the original Max Smart), but don’t give me a lukewarm middle ground.

2. He phoned in his performance. I felt like I was watching a walkthrough, and kept waiting for him to put his stamp on the character. If he could do Uncle Arthur in the Bewitched remake, he could have done a much better Max Smart. Even when he said “missed it by that much” he just kind of uttered the words.

When you are left saying “The Rock’s” comedic performance outshone Steve Carell’s, you know there’s something wrong.

]]> By: Jeremy Tolbert http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/2008/12/blog-for-a-beer-bestworst-of-the-year/comment-page-1/#comment-8751 Jeremy Tolbert Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:07:13 +0000 http://www.darkfantasy.org/fantasy/?p=1197#comment-8751 @7 I just saw that and didn't even think of it. I don't know why. Great film, I agree. Another film which accomplishes more without dialogue than most films do with dialogue. @7 I just saw that and didn’t even think of it. I don’t know why. Great film, I agree. Another film which accomplishes more without dialogue than most films do with dialogue.

]]> By: Nicole http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/2008/12/blog-for-a-beer-bestworst-of-the-year/comment-page-1/#comment-8750 Nicole Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:04:10 +0000 http://www.darkfantasy.org/fantasy/?p=1197#comment-8750 Dark Knight was easily the best - visually and ensemble cast-wise, I'd say it put everything else this year to shame. The new Indy film was unquestionably the absolute worst. It started with Indy surviving a nuke magically in a fridge with a CG prairie dog companion, and *actually kept going downhill from there.* Other than those two, I think it gets a little greyer for the other ones I saw this summer; Iron Man was fun, but utterly carried on Robert Downey Jr.'s shoulders, Wall-E was adorable for most of it, but had some mighty unsubtle moralizing, and Hellboy 2 had some great moments (Red and Abe singing, for one) combined with some mindbendingly stupid ones (most of the plot.) Dark Knight was easily the best – visually and ensemble cast-wise, I’d say it put everything else this year to shame. The new Indy film was unquestionably the absolute worst. It started with Indy surviving a nuke magically in a fridge with a CG prairie dog companion, and *actually kept going downhill from there.*

Other than those two, I think it gets a little greyer for the other ones I saw this summer; Iron Man was fun, but utterly carried on Robert Downey Jr.’s shoulders, Wall-E was adorable for most of it, but had some mighty unsubtle moralizing, and Hellboy 2 had some great moments (Red and Abe singing, for one) combined with some mindbendingly stupid ones (most of the plot.)

]]> By: Katherine Sparrow http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/2008/12/blog-for-a-beer-bestworst-of-the-year/comment-page-1/#comment-8748 Katherine Sparrow Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:26:48 +0000 http://www.darkfantasy.org/fantasy/?p=1197#comment-8748 My vote for best is (drum roll please) Let the Right One in. Swedish tween vampire flick with gorgeous wintry setting and plot that unfurls in an inevitable, freaky way? Awesome. Bonus rounds for having a great last minute plot twist that I didn't see coming, and that made the whole movie click into place in a shocking way. This is vampirism as the seduction of an innocent by an innocent. Yum. My vote for the worst is (boo!) Hellboy 2 The first one had plot and panache, this one was confused and boring and sad. Just sad. Clockwork robots couldn't even save it, and hell, they can usually save everything. My vote for best is (drum roll please)

Let the Right One in.

Swedish tween vampire flick with gorgeous wintry setting and plot that unfurls in an inevitable, freaky way? Awesome. Bonus rounds for having a great last minute plot twist that I didn’t see coming, and that made the whole movie click into place in a shocking way. This is vampirism as the seduction of an innocent by an innocent. Yum.

My vote for the worst is (boo!)

Hellboy 2

The first one had plot and panache, this one was confused and boring and sad. Just sad. Clockwork robots couldn’t even save it, and hell, they can usually save everything.

]]> By: Clint Harris http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/2008/12/blog-for-a-beer-bestworst-of-the-year/comment-page-1/#comment-8747 Clint Harris Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:10:25 +0000 http://www.darkfantasy.org/fantasy/?p=1197#comment-8747 George Lucas has actually been dead for many years now. Howard the Duck is rumored to be the culprit in his grisly demise. The entity you know now as George Lucas is actually a CGI of George Lucas run amok. He is the harbinger of the Singularity, replacing the analog world with crappy digital effects one beloved movie at a time. Next in George's nefarious scheme. A CGI of Gone with the Wind. Featuring the "lost" footage of Rhett Butler's meeting with Jabba the Hutt and Jar Jar Binks. I consider Wall-E as a resistance to that. Sure, he's CGI, but the movie had a plot and a beautiful story. Plus, I want to know where I can get me one of those chairs that does everything for you. George Lucas has actually been dead for many years now. Howard the Duck is rumored to be the culprit in his grisly demise. The entity you know now as George Lucas is actually a CGI of George Lucas run amok. He is the harbinger of the Singularity, replacing the analog world with crappy digital effects one beloved movie at a time.

Next in George’s nefarious scheme. A CGI of Gone with the Wind. Featuring the “lost” footage of Rhett Butler’s meeting with Jabba the Hutt and Jar Jar Binks.

I consider Wall-E as a resistance to that. Sure, he’s CGI, but the movie had a plot and a beautiful story. Plus, I want to know where I can get me one of those chairs that does everything for you.

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