Godzmassacre: Author & Reviewer, Death Rapper, Resident Movie Junkie2009’s movie offerings were going to be hard to top in 2010, I mean after all we had the privilege of witnessing arguably one of the best features of all time with District 9. I would totally understand someone arguing that 2010 was a disappointing year for genre fans, but I think those people would be missing the whole attitude of the 2010 engagements. Let’s not forget not only did one B-movie take over pop culture world wide, but it also lived up to it’s reputation. 2010 was a hard year for most people I know, me included, like so many times before I again took refuge in the theatre to clear my mind and have some fun and that is exactly what I found this year was fun. Most of the best features this year were as far from serious as you can get, bizarre and over the top and as you will see that attitude is a near constant in my choices for best of 2010 in film.
Worst Feature: A Nightmare on Elm Street
While A Nightmare on Elm Street had it’s moments, it’s slander to the original movies was felt as a slap in the face to fans of the original masterpiece. Jackie Earle Haley looked like a deep fried Kevin Bacon in his role as the smack talking ghoul from the burbs. Where the movie really tanked though was not with the character of Freddy (Haley’s performance wasn’t great, but could be looked at as a decent impression at least), it was everything else that sunk the ship. Great kills from the original had the grit polished out of them with inferior effects, and terrible direction. The characters were awful and Freddy seemed incredibly harmless in comparison to Wes Craven’s, and Robert Englund’s creation. I understand Englund won’t play Freddy anymore, but his universe is so vast and uncharted why not make a sequel instead of a garbage version of something everyone knows shouldn’t be touched?
Best Gore: Piranha 3D
Alexandre Aja promised while filming Piranha 3D they used the most blood of any feature. I’m not sure how accurate that statement is, but there is so much gore in this film, it’s quite possible! In Piranha 3D we were treated to a literal sea of gore, and most kills were accomplished using physical effects.
Best T.V. Series: The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead made us fall in love with the zombie survival genre all over again. We all love zombies, but they have been drilled into us through the mass market so much in the last five years it all was beginning to run together into a generic undead soup. The Walking Dead debuted with some of the highest viewer numbers of any show while also becoming network AMC’s most successful show of all time. Season one introduced us to survivor Rick as he awoke in a hospital out of a coma only to realize the real nightmare had just begun. As Rick escaped approaching the camp where his wife and son were situated the show began to flesh out all of the survivors stories. Season one ended with an emotionally charged finale like no other I’ve witnessed in my many years of watching T.V.
Best Hero: Hit Girl – Kick Ass
Kick-Ass may have followed the life of Dave Lizewski, but with her character Mindy Macready AKA Hit-Girl Chloe Moretz stole the show in a hail of shrapnel, and brain stained skull fragments. Who could have guessed the most bad-ass super hero in movie history would one day be a pre-teen girl?
Best Villain: The Mad Doctor Heiter, The Human Centipede
The Human Centipede couldn’t have been the instant cult success it is without Dieter Laser as the Bizarre Doctor Heiter. His appearance alone is enough to weird you out as his features are very insect like themselves. It feels as though he fits slithering with the beasts more than he fits walking among the rest of humanity. I’m hoping his untimely death at the end of the film somehow resolves itself, I don’t think anyone is capable of filling his boots for the second sequence, but I guess we shall see.
Best Sequel: SAW 3D
I had a tough time deciding between Predators and Saw 3D as best sequel. Both had their downfalls, but SAW managed to have better pacing and more action than Predators. The big difference between the two was staying true to the content of what has come before and while Predators kept the violence a little tamer than original entries, SAW delivered the goods. SAW 3D was a great farewell to the fans of the series. The series has rewritten itself so many different ways to keep the blood pumping that it really doesn’t make a lot of sense anymore, so once and for all the writers found a way to drop all of the branches on Jigsaw’s accomplice tree for good. In SAW 3D we are introduced to a new character who tries to make money off of Jigsaws terrorism by writing a book claiming to be a victim. His survival is put to the test when he finds himself lost in a familiar maze filled with acquaintances who are luckily for the audience nearly impossible to save. Jigsaws replacement doesn’t care about teaching any lessons along the way, his traps can’t be solved like the ones in past entries as his only concern is to lose everyone who connects him to the murders. The idea of a more selfish villain brings new menace to this 6th sequel, making Saw 3D a satisfying finale for fans of the previous films and one Hell of a fun ride.
Best 3D: JackASS 3D
3D is an important tool to sell movies these days, so I thought it important to be given a category for our Best of 2010 spots. I saw many 3D movies this year, and only one that truly impressed me with how well it was utilized, and that movie is Jack Ass 3D! It was easier to make the 3D work, because of how grounded the perspective was in each scenario set-up. The most impressive 3D moment was during a stunt involving bees. Audiences had the discomfort of having the feeling of bees swarming in the theatre buzzing in their faces. This might have been a minor example of 3D, but it was the most impressive I’ve ever seen in pulling life out of the screen and having it exist convincingly in reality.
Most Overhyped Feature: Avatar
Everyone, including myself were fixed on the world of Avatar in the weeks before it’s release. The creator of sci-fi favourites T2 and Aliens was bringing an original feature to the big screen that spent years in development. I was expecting something I had never seen before when sitting down to Avatar and what I got was an animated/live action Disney movie that felt all too familiar. Avatar looked great, but at it’s core it was just another anti-genocidal save the environment morale story that Disney, and other family friendly companies have been churning out for decades. Other than the visuals nothing came off as overly original which makes it feel like it suffers from a case of style over substance. You can make a movie that looks great, but if it’s too familiar, unoriginal, and cookie cutter it fails to leave a lasting impression. Contrary to popular belief Avatar just didn’t take anything far enough to warrant a second viewing for anyone who has seen a good number of great sci-fi movies.
Best DVD Release: Shock Festival
Shock Festival is a three disc set constructed by author, director, and crazed movie fanatic Stephen Ramano. Disc one features fake trailers based on the poster art from his fictional movie tome, also titled Shock Festival, as well as the first of 3 trailer compilations in the set. As an extra bonus the DVD is packaged with a free mini poster, and an mp3 disc of over 300 grindhouse audio spots!
Best Feature: Piranha 3D
While the 3D didn’t work all that well in Piranha 3D, any kind of novelty couldn’t possibly enhance the experience any further than the film itself. Piranha 3D was the most fun movie of 2010. It began with Richard Dreyfuss being sucked into a whirlwind of Piranha, and continued to entertain with enough blood, and nudity to almost put a grindhouse to shame. Director Alexandre Aja brought us something unlike anything he’s done before again proving his vast capabilities within the genre.
