The 10 Best Movies of 2008

This has been an interesting year for movies. Some long awaited films delivered the goods (Rambo) others fucked up royally (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), meanwhile lots of great comic book movies came out (three of which made this list). This list is all comprehensive, so it just horror films, it's all genres. If you are interested in me talking about horror movies, stop by the Gorezone.net messageboards, where I post under Headbanger69. You can always read my reviews for the DVD Crypt, there, too, where I write under my real name: Giovanni Deldio. Anyways, enjoy the list and see any of the movies, you have not yet, seen. By the way, if you are expecting a bunch of boring, whimpy, pussy whipped, pretentious claptrap on this list go read some other lame website or movie rag.

10. - This direct sequel to the amazing Casino Royale is not as good as that film, but is still exciting enough to rank among the best of the Bond film series. While, some of the editing is annoying and intrusive, the climax is really exciting and rousing and Craig is, hands down, one of the best Bonds ever. Olga Kurylenko smokes the screen with her presence, and she is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most beautiful Bond girls, ever.

9. - Neil Marshall is THE future of the genre. This movie is an awesome, fast paced, fun, ass kicking, ultra-violent love letter to movies like The Road Warrior, Mad Max, and Escape from New York, with doses of Excalibur and 28 Days Later thrown in for good measure. I would say that it is the greatest post-apocalyptic film that does not have Mel Gibson in it (yes, I like it more than the Italian movies form the sub-genre, that I have seen). Plus, lead actress Rhona Mitra is one of the sexiest heroines the screen has ever seen. Rip-roaring fun from start to finish.

8. - Lighter in tone than the original, Guillermo Del Toro manages to make an even better movie, this time around, with this fun, funny, and fast paced fantasy/ monster flick. Ron Pearlman is good as the horror comic hero and the creatures are just so cool in this one. The FX are excellent, but this movie also has a heart, something many a blockbuster forgets. Del Toro continually proves to be one of the best directors in the horror/ dark fantasy world.

7. - This is the crowning achievement of Pixar, their best film, yet, even better than the wonderful Finding Nemo. The fact that this stunning movie is so great, with such little dialogue is a testament to the creative team behind it. It is funny, sweet, touching, cute, and always breathtaking to look at. I actually cried at parts and laughed at others. Wall-E is one of the most endearing characters in the history of cinema.

6. - With the death of lead star Heath Ledger and all the praise his role as the Joker was getting and the hype revolving around this film, it had a lot to live up. And, boy did it deliver and in spades! Director/ co-writer Christopher Nolan gave us one of the greatest superhero films, ever, a dark, mature, powerful, deep, and realistic take on being a superhero. By not playing it safe or for the kiddies, this movie succeeds where so many have failed. The action set pieces are impressive, the sets breathtaking, and the acting excellent. Leger gives us a terrifying, sick, and evil Joker, one of the best villains the screen has seen in quite some time. That is not to said the rest of cast did not deliver, as they pulled in great work as well. This movie has greatly raised the banner for this franchise, can another film really deliver the goods?

5. - The best trailer of 2008 came form this super gory and fun mix of action, splatter, horror, and humor from Japan. It is the goriest movie to hit the screens since Germany's Permutos: Lord of the Living Dead (and while that film was fun, this is light years better). The movie is always light despite some fairly fucked up moments, including off-screen necrophilia! A must for gorehounds, it also has some of the hottest babes to be featured in one film this year. The hottest to me has to be the Japanese beauty who plays the yakuza wife, who wears a fucking drill bra! Amazing and my fav film from the far-East that I saw last year.

4. - As a life long wrestling fan, I was greatly looking forward to this movie. It definitely lived up to my expectations. Rourke gives the performance of a lifetime in a movie that is touching and humorous, at differnt times. It is also, as anyone with knowledge of the wrestling biz can testify, very realistic. I hope this film gives viewers new found respect for wrestlers, as well as see how hard the fall from fame can be. Lovely Evan Rachel Wood has a small role as the daughter and from here we can see a connection to the life of Jake "The Snake" Roberts (in fact while this film is not based on any single wrestler, it is clearly drawn from many real life experiences they have had). Marisa Tomei is great in her role as the beautiful, MILF stripper with a good heart. I have long been a fan of the lovely Ms. Tomei, but she looks drop-dead beautiful in this one, and at 44 looks better than ever! Plus, she gets topless and wears a g-string! Not only that but with music by Accept, Scorpions, Cinderella, and Guns N' Roses, this is THE soundtrack of the year, perhaps, ever! The scene where Tomei and Rourke sign Ratt's classic "Round and Round" is one of the year's coolest moments.

3. - Though, I been a life long fan of comics, I was never a fan of Iron Man, but this movie changed all of that. Today, he joins, Punisher, Spider-Man, and Batman as my absolute fav heroes. Mature, fun, smart, fast paced, exciting, and ass kicking are all words that can be used to describe this modern masterpiece. The FX are flawless and Robert Downey Jr. IS Iron Man, and while playing a rich, womanizing, alcoholic is not a stretch for the man, he more gives Tony Stark his due. Director and fanboy John Favreau has given the single greatest superhero film, ever. A perfect movie and I don't say that very often. The ending is fucking classic.

2. - Who would ever have thought that the return of John Rambo would turn out to be not only the best one in the series, but one of the best action films ever made? I have discussed this film before, here, so I will just gone to say that this movie, the bloodiest American action film ever, holds on really well on repeated viewings. It also has a great message to it, and how many shoot 'em ups can say that they have that and are still savagely entertaining?

1. - Inside is, along with The Descent, the best horror film to come out of Europe in years. Brutal, vicious, intense, bloody, I could go on and on with my praising of this film, but since I wrote about it here already, I will avoid repeating myself. But, here is my question, if you ain't seen last years best movie, in any genre, what the hell are you waiting for? Seriously, this movie is a future horror classic and needs to be seen by everyone who is tired of the same boring, predicable tripe that the studios dump on us each and every year and try to pass it on as a horror film.

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The Top 10 Horror Films from 2000-Present

The present decade has already seen few trends. None, have been more annoying than the remake trend, studios pillage horror films form the 70s and 80s to remake. The quality has varied from great (Rob Zombie's Halloween) to piss poor (The Fog). Meanwhile, Italian horror is mostly dead. Thankfully, Asia, and now France as well, has been providing us with a huge catalogue of horror. The French are really giving us new levels of brutal violence with films like Irreversible and High Tension. Meanwhile, Japan, Korea, and Thailand, are all giving horror fans some of the best work, the genre has seen. Sure, some is crap, but that is to be expected. Unfortunately the other trend is US remaking them, again with varied results. Many of these fall under the annoying PG-13 trend, films made to pull in a younger audience. But, then the trend of so called "torture porn" came, thanks to the huge success of films like Saw and Hostel. Controversy also came with films like Captivity, and the subgenre's own propensity for graphic images. This, then brings us to the present, and my final list.

10. - Based on Jack Ketchum's controversial bestseller, this is not a horror film in the regular sense, but rather in the horrific atrocity sense. It is a searing and horrific film, that is often hard to watch. I felt beaten and mentally raped by the time it was done and was just in tears. Truly it shows humanity at it's worst. A brutal film, yet, with no exploitative content.

9. - One of the best slashers in many a moon came from France. This gory and exciting film, has become a fan fav. Too bad it's director is now the remake guy, as he has done The Hills Have Eyes, Mirrors, and the upcoming Piranha. Oh, well...

8. - Awesome mix of horror, action, romance, martial arts, and period drama. The monster attacks are gory and exciting, the action ass kicking, and the babes hot as hell. Witness, the wonders of Monica Belluci's breasts! This French masterpiece is one of the best Euro-horror movies in the last few years.

7. - It's cool to see so many movies wanting to bring back the brutal violence of the 70s, but Rob Zombie's sequel to his highly enjoyable House of 1000 Corpses is the one to do it best. Vicious, gory, and totally bad ass, it is not the typical studio release. The cast is great, with awesome villains and an amazing anti-hero in William Forsythe. His torture of the villains, really makes you want to cheer for him, but question his acts, too. A masterpiece.

6. - My favorite Takashi Miike film, this dark comedy is a greatest hits package of offensive material: pissing, necrophilia, shit, lactating mother, incest, hot Japanese school girl hooker, son beating up mom, etc. This movie is just fucked up and shows why Miike is the fucking man!

5. - One of the finest Stephen King adaptations ever, this one was over looked at the box office, but seems to now be getting it's much deserved props. Wonderfully acted, suspenseful, and with one of the best endings, I have seen in ages, this one will hopefully be seen as a classic in the future.

4. - One of the scariest films in recent memory this Korean masterpiece of terror totally captures you in it's web. The acting and writing is phenomenal, as the film unfolds more and more as it goes along. A shame that it is being remade into The Uninvited; a film that is sure to be utter filth.

3. - Brutal, vicious, nerve shredding, intense, suspenseful, ultra-violent are just a few words to describe this French splatter film. Many times my jaw dropped watching this film, and by the end of it, I knew I had seen a film destined to be called classic!

2. - While not a horror film in the truest sense, this Japanese classic has a HUGE fan following in the horror and cult world, and is extremely shocking and violent. Hugely controversial in a post-Columbine world, it is still not distributed in the US. But, it is a film that needs to be seen by all horror fans. The movie moves at a quick pace, is smart, and the graphic gore provided by teens on teens, makes this a film that will never air at your local high school.

1. - This kick ass, gory, and suspenseful monster film from England is perfect. A beautiful female cast battle scary looking monsters, in this adrenalinized and nail-biting movie that is already being called a classic by some. And, rightfully so. I fucking love this movie! It's director, Niel Marshall, is the future of horror!

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