Wednesday 16 February 2011

Wrapping Up Year Two






So wow it’s now officially been two years since I got that crazed idea about first started this blog, with nothing but a desire to ignore the traditional paths of film criticism / blogging and instead focus my critical eye on the movies which make up the Cult, Foreign and obscure cinema genres, along with pretty much everything in between to include whatever happens to turn up in my equally random reading pile, which not only takes over my bedside table, but constantly threatens to kill me in my sleep when the pile inevitably colapses on me... still it's alot more intresting than just looking at whatever Hollywood happens to have churned out that week, which could be seen as the more popular path for film blogs to take and one that I'm frequently glad that I'm not tied to, if only for the fact that I'm sure it wouldn't have been this much fun to write.
Okay i'll admit it, that it’s pretty much safe to say that I’ve not been the most notorious or frenzied of bloggers over these last two years, but from the beginning I’ve always wanted to write for the fun of writing rather than because I felt I had to and I guess it’s because of this it’s continued to be a fun ride, while not only revisiting some old favourites but also discovering a whole heap of equally great films along with some truly god awful ones as well.

I’d also like to take this time to thank everyone who has dropped by the blog since it started, aswell as anyone whose dropped me a comment, which at times kind of reassured me that someone was actually reading the blog, so thanks for all the support and allow me to now present in return, the main lessons which I have learned from the films, which made up year two, as I now look forward eagerly to the obscure delights that Year three will no doubt bring, especially as I now look over at the pile of films still to watch, along with continuing the “A-Z of Asian Cinema” and the various other fun things that are already being planned out, but in the meantime here’s what we learned from Year Two!

* If you can’t decide what film you want to make? Have a desire to feature Giant pigs, crazed rednecks, bizarre cults and Mad Max style action? Well just throw all your ideas into the same film and use a flexible location which lends itself well to all your ideas. (Pig Hunt)

* Thorpe Park really need to start putting more effort into their park desire on it’s “Fright Nights” as this year was like a normal day at the park, with the added bonus of it’s horror mazes, which still doesn’t really account for such inflated ticket prices (Fright Night 2010)

* Creating a non predictable double feature is both a challenging and obsessive thing (The Double Feature Challenge)

* Zombies and masked Mexican wrestlers always spell out fun times ahoy, much like the prospect of watching giant wrestling squid. (Enter…Zombie King / The Calamari Wrestler)

* Just because you critic Horror movies does not mean that you’re able to write, let alone play the leading role in a great horror film. Yes “Arrow in the head” I’m sorry to say that “Deaden” was probably the most painful viewing experience of this year if not since I started the blog, which seeing how I've also covered "S. Darko" is kinda saying somthing.

* The long waited return of Bret Easton Ellis with "Imperial Bedrooms" was kind of a disappointment, though despite being alittle short for the time it seemingly took to write the darn thing, it was still an okay read. Still I have to ask if “Less Than Zero” really needed a sequel?

* Dawn from “Welcome to the Dollhouse” is essentially a younger version of Enid from “Ghost World”, making it a equally twisted humoured prequel to that cult classic.

*Japan is still the home of truly random cinema….I mean were else could you find movies like “Battle League Horumo” and “The Calamari Wrestler

* Werner Herzog might still be looking for his new Klaus Kinski, but I really would love to see him work with Nicolas Cage again. (Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans)

* Cpl Ferro from “Aliens” would still be the one I would save, or is this just my obsession with Collette Hiller, swaying my opinion. Also if you want to see “Aliens” on a budget, then “Xtro 2” might just be the movie for you! (The One I Would Save)

* “Whip it” really wasn’t the great Roller Derby movie we were all hoping for, even if it did feature Ellen Page in derby gear. Still I guess we still have the original “Rollerball” in the meantime.

* “Kaiju season” proved to me there’s still a whole load of great Kaiju movies I’ve yet to see, while also making me question my original opinion of “Mothra” whose own movie, was a whole lot better than any of her supporting performances, but then if anyone was going to pull that trick off, it was always going to be the master of Kaiju Ishiro Honda, as he brought the same intensity to a giant moth he created with the original “Godzilla” while proving once again, that these giant monster movies can be deeper than men in rubber monster suits, stomping on Tokyo.

So that's what I learned from year two.....really looking forward to seeing what Year Three brings.

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