BEST & WORST FILMS OF 2008

Okay bitches, it's time for my list of the best & worst films of 2008. Feel free to comment and post your own favorites as well.

1) Let The Right One In: For the past few years, we've been getting the same cliched vampire films that have followed the same tired formula. Well a little Swedish horror film comes along and immediately turns the genre on its head. Directed by Tomas Alfredson, is the first great vampire film of the past two decades since Kathryn Bigelow's 1987 Near Dark, which is one of my favorite films. The coming-of-age tale is based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist (who also penned the screenplay), is told beautifully – supported by remarkable performances from child actors Kare Hedebrant (as bullied twelve year old Oskar) and Lina Leandersson (as Eli, a vampire forever in the body of a twelve year old). If you haven't seen this film yet, be sure to catch it on DVD soon.

2) The Orphanage: A good ol' fashioned ghost story which tells the tale of a woman returning to the orphanage that she was raised in and her long, determined search for her missing child. The film was directed by Juan Antonio Bayon and for his first film does an amazing job mixing poignancy, shocks and jaw dropping scares that doesn't beat you over the head like most horror films that go for cheap thrills as of late. The film was also produced by Guillermo del Toro, which in my opinion makes for the price of admission alone.

3) The Dark Knight: After the dazzling Batman Begins, i had no idea where Christopher Nolan could have gone with the sequel. Well with the casting of Aaron Eckhardt and Heath Ledger as the sinister Joker, he proved me wrong and created one of the best (and darkest) comic book-to film adaptations I've seen in quite a long time. It's unfortunate that we won't get to see Heath (who was in his prime while doing this film) in any more films (after his last film is released in 2009) since he practically stole the movie from the always amazing Christian Bale. Looking forward to seeing where Chris Nolan will take the franchise in the third installment.

4) The Strangers: I'm always a bit nervous when Holyweird releases horror films in the summer, but when The Strangers came out, I have to admit I was a bit skeptical on whether or not it would be good. Well once I laid eyes on this film, I was quite shocked to see that it was a very good film about a couple (played by Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler) trying to work out their relationship problems at a remote cabin when they are soon terrorized by three masked homicidal maniacs. It will definitely go down in my book as one of the scariest suspense thrillers films I've seen this year.

5) Quantum Of Solace: After enjoying the aggressively sexy Daniel Craig eat up the screen as the world famous James Bond, I couldn't wait for a sequel. Filled with high octane non-stop action, the sequel takes place 45 minutes after the end of Casino Royale (which would make it the first ever Bond sequel), James goes rogue to find out what QUANTUM is, the history behind his first love who sacrifices herself to save him in the last film, and who tried to kill M. My only problem with the film was I did wish the action would slow down a bit, and James would lighten up a bit, but overall, the thrills were a mile am inute and Craig is definitely the coolest Bond since Connery.

6) Midnight Meat Train: Another horror film released over the summer (although it didn't enjoy the same success as The Strangers), I'd say it was the best Clive Barker film I've seen on screen since Candyman. the film is about a photographer played by Bradley Cooper (ALIAS) who is looking for inspiration when he descends upon a serial killer targeting pedestrians on the subway. Filled with tons of scares and gore, this was the film that deserved SAW-like attention, but got lost in the shuffle due to the shadiness of LIONSGATE (which also owns the SAW series).

7)Iron Man: John Favreau as director. Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard and Robert Downey Jr. as actors in a comic book franchise? At first glance this would sound like the worst casting of a comic book film. Once you see this film, it proves that you don't need a major name to star in a major film to get audiences to check it out. The film has loads of action, great one liners from Gwyneth (as Pepper Potts) and RDJ (as Iron Man) and two hours of cool. Definitely a film to won in your DVD collection.

8) Quarantine: It's basically an almost-shot-by-shot remake of REC, but I will say this: Unlike another SBS remake like Psycho, this Americanized version directed by John Erick Dowdle and written by Drew Dowdle (the team behind the still-unreleased The Poughkeepsie Tapes) don't lose any of the original's scares, but add a few of their own. the film stars Jennifer Carpenter (DEXTER), Columbus Short (CADILLAC RECORDS), Jay Hernandez (HOSTEL) and Johnathon Schaech.

9) Milk: Director Gus Van Sant did an awesome job bringing to life the history of Harvey Milk (played brilliantly by Sean penn) who was the first openly gay polititian in California to overturn prop 6, which was to discriminate against gay teachers in public schools. With this being a historical time of having a Black president in office, I'm sure it's will be a time where homosexuality won't be an issue and who knows, maybe we'll get a gay president in the White House. Also I don't want to forget the amazing performances by Diego Luna, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin James Franco and Victor Garber.

10) Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer: This horror comedy which starred Robert Englund caught me by surprise about a plumber with a little anger management problem who finds his calling as a monster slayer. if you are a fan of 80's monster movies, The Evil Dead, and shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this is the film for you. I can't recommend this film enough to people.

THE WORST FILMS:

1. Repo: The Genetic Opera - I was so excited when i heard there was a horror film coming out inspired by the campiness and dark humor of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but this film was a full on mess. It pains me to say that I can't even blame Herpes Hilton for this one.

2. Cloverfield: Everyone I talked to said they enjoyed this film, but in my opinion it was piece of shit. I did not for one pay 11.50 to see this film, but I felt I wanted my money back after renting it from NETFLIX. It did have one moment I enjoyed which was the attack scene in the subway tunnel, but otherwise it was an excuse to shake a camera around for two hours like New York City was experiencing an earthquake rather than an actual monster attack.

3. SAW 12: Yes that's me beng shady. I know the're up to number 5, but seriously, when will this sorry excuse for torture porn stop? SAW 6 is already in the works and even has a released date. I'm looking forward to the day when people wake the fuck up and stop having the SAW series make 30 million every opening weekend. The minute you stay away from the box office, the sooner LIONSGATE (which seems to bank all their chips on the SAW series) will wake up and allow other films on their roster (like Midnight Meat train) to get some shine.

4. Death Race: I loooove me some Jason Statham, but this film was just a sad excuse to show violence for the sake of violence. Now don't get me wrong, i do love violent action films, but I also like a bit of story and decent acting with my violence as well. Someone please ban Paul W.S. Anderson from making films, because he's starting to get just as bad as Uwe Boll.

5. The Lost Boys: The Tribe: Everyone who knows me knows that I am a HUUUUUUGE fan of the original Lost Boys. When i heard there was a sequel in the works (with both Corey Haim and Feldman scheduled to star), my 80's fanboy excitement began to spilleth over. Now when the film finally got in my hands and I popped it in the DVD player, I gagged at the fact that it was the worst sequel I've seen in a long time. I can't count how many times I screamed WTF at the screen as i watched the cheap scares, corny dialogue, and weak ass action on my television scree, Lost Boys was an amazing classic, and it deserves a worthy sequel than the Tribe.

6. Shutter: Stop remaking Asian horror films into shitty PG-13 American films.

7. Prom Night: Stop remaking classic slasher films from the 80's into shitty PG-13 films and saying it was purposely made bloodless for the young 13 and up crowd. Forst of all, these self-absorbes asswipes don't deserve horror films mad for them.

8. The Haunting of Molly Hartley: See above comment

9. Fear Itself: After SHOWTIME cancelled Masters of Horror, I have to admit I was a bit bummed. yes the show was uneven at times, but it did have a few diamonds amongst the ruins. Fear Itself debuted on NBC over the summer (another bad sign) and was the weakest piece of shit I've ever seen. The only good episode was the one called Eaters about a shape-shifting cannibal in a police station during a blizzard. if they release that episode individually, I'll definitely get that one on DVD.

10: The Happening: I have a question. What the hell's happening to M. Night Shyamalamadingdong? Ever since Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, he's been making boring films with cheesy twist endings that usually leave you scratching your head instead of getting the WTF jolt you would expect from a twist ending. The Happening tries to capture what The Ruins did, but fails miserably. Ruins had killer vines and The Happening had killer plants. Only The Ruins had you covering your eyes and clutching your pearls and the Happening had you quickly cluching the remote to turn that pice of shit off. It's two for two with Mark Wahlberg since he did two shit films this year. Happening and Max Payne

Honorable Mention: The Hulk, Twilight, Day of the Dead, Eden Lake,

A FEW MOVIES I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING IN 2009

TERMNINATOR:SALVATION
X-MEN ORIGINS:WOLVERINE
H2
FRIDAY THE 13TH
MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D
UNDERWORLD:RISE OF THE LYCANS
BLOOD:THE LAST VAMPIRE