The MacGuffin

Here is my list of the top 10 films of 2009.  Spencer and I go into more detail on these films in Episode 27.  Below you will find a list of all of the films I’ve seen that were released theatrically in the U.S. in 2009.  This is followed by the top 10 and honorable mentions.

The Resurrected: Interesting noir-horror moves at too slow a pace to be fully engaging, but does have some great monster effects. 5/10

Spencer and John share their favorite films of 2009. Additionally, they give their DVD Picks of the week of January 26.

Alright so it’s not really a movie about the podcast, but it was made by two podcasteers.  “A Visitor in the Night” was written and directed by John Portanova and produced by Spencer Fornaciari.  The 12 minute short stars Kevin Sheen (Here and Gone) and D’Angelo Midili (A Measure of Comfort, Punch) and was filmed in Seattle, WA last December.  The suspense short will be having its world premiere before a screening of the feature “Zombie Girl: The Movie” on Thursday January 28th.  The screening will take place at the Central Cinema in Seattle at 7 PM.  For tickets and directions head to www.central-cinema.com See you there!

Hostel Part II: Expands the world of the series in some interesting scenes, but the writing is mediocre and the characters shallow. 6/10

Sukiyaki Western Django – If you’re not familiar with Takashi Miike, then you should move out of the box you’re living in and get some culture – I say that, but by crawling out of that box, you’ll be opening yourself up for one of the most messed up minds in Japanese horror/gore/weird films. When Miike makes a western, you’ll pay attention. Sukiyaki Western Django is a samurai western – yes, Japanese cowboys with swords. Where’s the bad?!?

Hostel: A terrifying concept is done in by unlikable characters and a mediocre script, but it is the best “torture porn” flick. 7/10

Spencer and John share their picks for the best films of the last decade.

Anatomie De L’Enfer – This French film opens with a guy performing felatio on another man in an alley outside a club, and I don’t mean hinting at it – I mean full-on shows it. Viva la France! Inside the club, there’s a lot of gay men dancing and grinding on each other while a random girl strolls through the crowd. She’s on a mission to kill herself and tries to cut her wrists in the bathroom, but a guy stops her. He gets her fixed up and walks her home (she blows him on the way).

This is an Argentinean film about a 15-year-old girl, Christina, who goes in for a routine blood test and the doctors find something they don’t go public with right away. She has a pretty frank discussion with her mother about having kids and her mother is pretty weirded out by the questioning – you might think because of the girl’s age, but you’d be wrong.