WRITTEN BY STEPHEN (AKA ERGO PROXY) COMPILED BY 790
Ergo Proxy is the newest addition to MOVIEGUYS. Ergo is a professional photographer and aspiring filmmaker from the United Kingdom. He’s usually very busy, so unfortunately his articles and reviews are limited to his schedule. I always find his comments imaginative and hilarious. -790.
ERGO PROXY’S TOP 10 FILMS OF 2008, “WIDE RELEASE AND ON BLURAY”
10. KUNG FU PANDA
Kung Fu Panda was one of those films that was funny and visually stimulating. It had some sweet moments and some silly ones too. But above all else, it had some fantastic visual landscapes which aided the film very well. Though the Chinese Government tried to ban the movie, sue the people, curse them to whichever layer of hell they have for ever making a movie about their beloved Panda as being a fat lazy
slob. They still missed the point, it’s not who he was but what he stood for. It had great texture and very pleasing to the eyes. I
picked this because of the inner child in me wanted some Kung Fu damn it! ;)
9. SPEED RACER
This movie was amazing on Blu-Ray. I missed this one at the Cinema, so I got it on Blu-Ray when a dear friend of mine recommended it and said, if I didn’t watch it he was sure Alien Monkeys would abduct me and teleport me to a world with only reruns of Happy Days on TV. Or something to that effect. To my great surprise, while never have even glimpsed a second of the cartoon of which this film was birthed from, I have to admit I was taken by the colors, amazing cars, awesome score, groovy characters and Christina Ricci! Yeah… hmm… wait I had to snap out of that one sorry. The story wasn’t major, but what can you expect from a film like this. Visually it was stunning on Blu-Ray and was worth every penny! So for an amazing picture and an awesome ride, it got on my list.
8.TROPIC THUNDER
This film got on the list for being retarded enough to make me laugh at certain points and it did actually manage to pull off some very good action scenes. It made me think back on Hearts of Darkness and Apocalypse Now, with naturally the much added symbolic shots from Platoon. A strange ensemble of actors provided the much needed push into the realm of comedy that didn’t take it’s self seriously. Robert
Downey Jr. sure made an impression on me this year with a small picture that should be mentioned called Charlie Bartlette, a wonderful film. Then of course Ironman. For a silly slap stick humor, this movie enters as number 8. The DVD packs a hefty collection of making of’s and some
great info.
7. HELLBOY 2, AND THE GOLDEN ARMY
I’ve always liked HellBoy. Never been exposed to the comic books before I saw the first movie, both me and my dad loved it right away. I like it for the mythological side of it which it had some more of in the second installment. But where story should have been more intense and more developed, you find your self looking at creature designs that look so interesting you wish it was ONLY about them. Also, it allowed the spectators to like the evil characters because of their need to survive. But at the same time, naturally rooting for HellBoy and Gang. It was silly and a decent ending for an already awesome Summer of block busters. So for my nostalgic and somewhat perverse enjoyment of the occult and incredible Del Toro creature designs, this movie slides in at number 7. For the filmmaker in me, I loved watching the process and the honesty of Del Toro when he talks about this project. Good making of’s on this one too.
6. RAMBO
The theme, originally composed by Jerry Goldsmith who later mentored Brian Tyler, fortunately got the job of developing the 4th installment of Rambo’s action packed score. Yes, the score put me right back to where I felt the soul of the original movie came from. Brian did a great job of getting me into the mood. The movie, was clearly a brain dead, shoot em up movie, with people made of jello. BUT, it was damn enjoyable to watch Sly be pissed. Sly being pissed suits him! Or should I say, still suits him. It had some intense moments and some good scenes. I liked it for being so 80s action movie in the 2000s. It managed to be what it was and not hide the fact that it’s no longer the 80s. It also had enough firepower to make you smile at certain scenes, becoming nostalgic. After all, with all the injustice in the world today, watching Sly go ape shit, was kind of therapeutic! ;) Though this Blu-Ray was lacking in the extra features, I have to say, picture wise it was pretty nice to watch all the jungle shots, having spent 8 months in South East Asia. It did bring back some memories. PS. People aren’t made of Jello in South East Asia.
5. THE INCREDIBLE HULK
This movie was a surprise for me. I didn’t expect it to be interesting or even remotely good. I didn’t like Ed playing the main character but it turned out to be quite enjoyable and I fell into the natural wave of the movie and it took me on a ride. The classic ending of most of these movies didn’t work for me, mostly cause of the typical BANG, BOOM, SLAP, KICK and HULK SMASH! Scenes in the dark. It wasn’t epic enough. The best action scenes were in the park, during the day. However emotionally I liked the film and it was my favorite Hulk movie to date. The Blu-Ray is packed with extra materials and hours of making of’s. In addition it has an alternate opening with Banner walking in the snow, somewhere in the Alps or somewhere, there you’ll see Captain America Frozen in the snow! Yep, you actually do see him. A bonus and naturally the ending which was cool to watch.
4. INDIANA JONES, AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
Nostalgia, ladies and gentlemen goes a long way. With Shia LeBeef and CGI monkeys with Gophers with a sense of humor and a fridge that was sealed better than the Apollo space capsule, somehow still got over shadowed by Harrison’s voice and the iconic theme playing in the back ground. Clearly you could see Lucas in those idiotic moments of “I wish these Gophers were actually mini Jar Jar’s and Spielberg making ‘ “Facepalm'”, but still, it did bring in a few laughs and a few moments of “Oooh’s and Aaah’s”. Some were against the UFO theme, I personally liked it. Maybe not quite in the way it was done, but the idea was good. Did it fit in the Indy universe? Hmm, maybe later. I personally having red three versions of Indiana Jones and the Lost City of Atlantis, was more tuned in for that kind of come back. But all in all, it was just good to see him again. The Blu-Ray offers some nice ‘memorabilia’ in the featurettes department. But it does give a nice play through of the process of making this film. It did however also reveal a little thing called “Now or Never!”. They made this film quite quickly and you can sense that in some areas. But It’s Indy and I love Indy. This came in as number 4.
3. THE DARK KNIGHT
Not very hyped about this film, though I’m a BIG Batman fan, I was just trying to not get caught up on the whole “IT’S GONNA CHANGE YOUR LIFE” wave. So I gently went into the theater, sat down with my girlfriend and started to watch the film. 2min into the movie I was, saying to her “This already kicks ass”, yet I’ve seen nothing. The build up, the music by Zimmer and Howard was very dynamic and powerful. For me this movie was amazing because The Joker or Heath gave such a powerful performance that it actually overshadowed Christian Bale’s Batman. I know there was a reason for it but it sure made me rethink the way I saw Heath after this film. I was really sad to have lost him. The Blu-Ray packs the usual awesomeness, but it also adds so much more. For a Filmmaker and a writer it brings so much into the picture and process of how such a movie is birthed. You cannot help but admire Nolan and crew for bringing Batman back in a way most other superhero movies would shrivel up in a corner and die in shame after being compared to this movie. It was truly a wonderful film. But not a film I’d watch again right away. I remember good movies for a long time. So it enters at number 3.
2. IRON MAN
Iron Man, what a way to start the summer! A kick ass movie with such an upbeat tempo, such cool effects, cool characters and decent story. It was pure joy seeing Robert Downey Jr. play Tony Stark! HE WAS TONY STARK! And to see Jeff Bridges play evil was just awesome! Perfect, cannot wait to see him in Tr2n! The Blu-Ray has incredible picture and amazing collection of making of’s. It has just about enough to make you enjoy the film over and over in a new way if you just take a little piece of the extra materials and slowly follow each one through. It was a great movie and a great disc to invest in. It was a real boys movie and apparently a girls movie too. This was a movie that I’d watch more than twice and so the Blu-Ray gave me that cinematic experience of a crisp picture with insanely amazing sound. Well worth the number 2 slot!
1. WALL∙E
Wall∙E, What can I say? It stole my heart and made me feel like an 8 year old again. It made me have teary moments and root for a robot that barely speaks. It was everything I could ever have wished for in a film and more. It made me forget about all the bad things and made me remember what it was to be so happy about a movie that you just don’t want it to end. It had a wonderful story, incredible animation from my favorite company of all time PIXAR (not the Disney Part which it will become more of over the years sadly). I loved the simplicity of the story, characters and adventure set in an epic and meaningful canvas. The inner child cheered in all the right moments and the adult was in total awe at the other moments where you realize it was showing some beautiful cinematography. Knowing the heart of where this story was born, I can only say it pleased me immensely to see this film come out as good as it did. It is by far my most prized Blu-Ray film of 08. It has some hilarious making of’s and some shorts that were just laugh out loud funny. There’s a short called BURN-E, that’s a little short story about a worker robot that keeps getting distracted by all the stuff Wall∙E keeps getting involved with. It’s incredibly funny and that alone was worth the Blu-Ray discs. But for me, the film and discs were just the best this year, so it comes in as number 1.