MCKillswitch123 Posted May 8, 2021 Author Share Posted May 8, 2021 8 hours ago, El Squibbonator said: Well, I was confused because you specifically compared Frankenstein Jr. to The Insect God. While I wrote both of those movies, they have no relation to each other within the CAYOM-verse-- they aren't even from the same studios. When I wrote these reviews, it was basically at the time that the movies were released. At that time, the movie was still being distributed by WAG, and I forgot to change it since. I will admit that it was partly laziness and forgetfulness, so I apologize for that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCKillswitch123 Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 TOP 25 MOVIES OF THE YEAR Welcome, ladies, gentlemen, boys and girls to my reveal of the top 25 movies of Y8. Well actually, it's gonna be a little more than just that, there are also gonna be a few additional lists, but henceforth, the main goal is to put out my top 25. I didn't want to do this at first, but I decided that I'm gonna try it just this one year: for this year, I'm gonna do The Great YouTube Game, where I'm gonna be placing a YouTube meme and you have to guess the movie. It's basically the gif game but with videos instead of gifs. Winner is awarded a pre-read out of a selected list (pre-reads will also go to the writers of the movies that made my top 5). Buckle up, here we go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCKillswitch123 Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 (edited) Before we kick things off, I just wanna give a word of condolences to the makers of the top 10 worst movies of the year, so without further ado, these are it: #10 Spoiler 2 Big Families Some Tyler Perry trash sequel. Honestly, we would be better off if it were Madea. #9 Spoiler As Fast as I Can I feel bad for harping on a player's first work, I really do, and this was an ambitious project all things considered. But Jesus, I did not buy into it at all. It went from Jesse Owens' movie Run to Breaking Bad as fast as Usain Bolt breaking records. #8 Spoiler Doc Dreams Is Steve James a doc legend? Yeah, he is. Is this movie completely pointless? Yup. I almost gave it the benefit of the doubt because it does have an insight into the creative process, but all it really is is 3 hours of stubborn self-righteousness. #7 Spoiler Wii Fit When the sequel to what feels like the celebration of 420 in Y7's Wii Play is followed up with a silly Hallmark movie that actually thinks it's a masterpiece of dramatic sensibilities, it just hurts so much more than if this were just a random filler. #6 Spoiler Meme Th(II)eves Not as dank as I wanted it. #5 Spoiler The Turkey Squad: The Fred Durst Cut It's only fair that I include myself in this list, since I'm also including my movies in the actual top 25. And yeah, this is a re-release, but it's still Turkey Squad, only with The Fanatic-style wigs and a Limp Bizkit concert. So yeah. #4 Spoiler White Wyvern I have guilt over memeing a movie with a pretty serious subject matter, but this was a painful experience. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is the surefire contender for Worst Actor of the Year at the Razzies. #3 Spoiler Loving Shadow and Light Under normal circumstances, this would've just been a mediocre family movie, but this movie takes up a level of incompetence that I just can't stand by. The main villain was the tiping point - that one pissed me off uncontrollably. Way too much for a movie that has no business dealing with that kind of dark subject matter whatsoever. #2 Spoiler Monster Bug Wars: The Spider Path and The Scorpion Path My intentions with this pair of movies was to emulate a Pokémon style release: one movie, but two different packages. Unfortunately, what that amounted to was a complete cynical cash-grab that you have no reason to pay a ticket to watch in theaters, other than for the post-credits scenes. Hopefully the actual Monster Bug Wars sequel makes up for it, but I feel like I may have buried the franchise with this move lol #1 Spoiler The Three Caballeros Ride Again My sincerest apologies to @cannastop for this, but this was unbearable. I've seen some call it an interest project for its audacity and for its animation style, but I think that audacity definitely doesn't go with prowess, and that its animation style doesn't work when paired with what's effectively a porn movie with cartoon birds. I hate other movies more than this one (like White Wyvern), but this is the worst movie of the year technically speaking for me. Edited May 10, 2021 by MCKillswitch123 3 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCKillswitch123 Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 Alright, now for some honorable mentions: Spoiler Mighty Fall My passion project. While it is evident that there's still some trimming to go, as well as the fact that making a serious tone live-action & animation hybrid space opera comes with its dark side, at the end of the day, I feel proud of what is a perfectly solid sci-fi adventure procedural. Spoiler Numbers Theory Solid Neeson thriller with a lot of Portuguese representation and an excellent supporting performance by Dakota Johnson. Spoiler Pokémon: The Case of the Orange Outrage Not as emotionally impactful as The Cinnabar Conspiracy, but it is the most well structured movie of the series thus far, with showstealing performances by Jessie, James and Meowth. A lot of fun at the theater. Spoiler Static Shock: Frozen Summer To make a superhero movie where the real conflict is mostly actionless is a ballsy, but welcome move in of itself, and one that requires a slight touch. This movie accomplished that, with a strong central antagonist in Maureen and her dramas. Spoiler The Insect God An ambitious sci-fi animated adventure that may have been short on character, but huge on thematic significance, worldbuilding and scale, and that will surely become this generation's cult classic sci-fi animation alas Atlantis, Treasure Planet or Titan AE. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCKillswitch123 Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 (edited) Right, so, now, the game begins. The rules are simple: I will give you the numbers #25 to #21, and five YouTube videos. You just have to match-up the video with the correct movie. Simple. Here we go: #25 #24 #23 #22 #21 Edited May 10, 2021 by MCKillswitch123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YM! Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 (edited) 21 - Romance Road 22 - The World That We Knew 23 - Mass Effect Revelation 24 - Strangers In The Town 25 - Wet Willy Edited May 10, 2021 by YourMother the Edgelord 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCKillswitch123 Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 (edited) Right, since only @YourMother the Edgelord answered, I figured that I won't really continue the game. I don't really like doing that kind of stuff anyway, it was just a once attempt lol But yeah, YM, you win a pre-read of your upcoming choice. Anyway, here are the results: #25 Spoiler Dirty Hands A provocative thriller with strong performances by Carrie Coon, Sterling K. Brown and Jeremy Strong. It feels a little derivate of other titles by @4815162342, as well as a bit mechanical and slightly emotionally empty, but generally speaking, it's one of those movies that Numbers makes in his sleep with his finesse for excellent dialogue and intrigue, and it works so damn well. #24 Spoiler The World That We Knew Despite an overly busy script with tons of characters getting in and out, and some amounting to very little of revelant to do, the main themes of surviving the Holocaust alongside the fascinating Jewish mythology were a sight to behold. Katherine Waterston, Dixie Egerickx and Finn Wolfhard shine amongst the ensemble of a flawed but ambitious journey. #23 Spoiler Mass Effect: Revelation Even though it's overstuffed and overclocked with a lot of setup material, it's still Mass Effect. The characters, the worldbuilding, the VFX and stuntwork still shine as always, and the production is just generally lush. Definitely not as good as the original or Ascension, but probably a required step for other movies to run. #22 Spoiler The War Between Ants A delirious pissing contest between a bunch of egotistical buffoons. Yeah, it offers nothing new to those aware of the story, but as it is, I found it to be an incredibly intriguing character study. #21 Spoiler Romance Road Naomi Scott and John Boyega have immense chemistry in this surprisingly effective rom-com. Nothing revolutionary, but certainly worth the price of admission. Edited May 10, 2021 by MCKillswitch123 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCKillswitch123 Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 Next up, #20-#16: #20 Spoiler The Idiots Another great character study in documentary format. Not the deepest and richest documentary, but one that's relevant for anyone, sports fans, Boston people or not. #19 Spoiler The Last Airbender: The Boy in the Iceberg A fantastic adaptation of the first season of the iconic cartoon. Everyone is bang on cast, the film is visually dazzling and really well written. Perhaps juggling too many pieces at certain times and overly expository at others, but it fairly succeeds at being a first entry with a lot of good stuff in it. And certainly superior to M. Night's mess. #18 Spoiler Dreams Another passion project of mine. I understand that it may be a jarring movie due to the amount of different tones that clash with each other, but it was just something that I really wanted to put out and I confess that I'm proud of it - particularly the Taken by the Rust and Horror in Chernobyl shorts. We'll see how you react to it in due time. #17 Spoiler Heartman A horror film that expertly pays homage to Barbados culture. Well cast, really well written and smartly structured, and with a very interesting antagonist at heart, albeit not the most original or scary film you can watch. #16 Spoiler Returning from Hell I was very scared for the reactions for this one, glad that they seem positive so far. Here's hoping for Awkwafina getting Oscar buzz for this performance. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCKillswitch123 Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 (edited) #15-11: #15 Spoiler Olive's Hallowed Eve Despite some sluggishness and overclocking at select moments, the amount of heart and soul this movie has is undeniable. Great ensemble across the board, with standout performances by Zendaya, Jemaine Clement and Ted Danson. #14 Spoiler Everything I Never Told You Despite some annoying elements of writing, I find that the way it expertly builds heartache and pain is pretty effective. Michelle Williams and Daniel Wu's performances are absolutely noteworthy, perhaps Oscar worthy, even. A very solid thriller despite its few writing shortcomings. #13 Spoiler Far Cry Brutal, manic and looney, but in the best sense possible. While it has some shortcomings, it seems consensual that it's my best blockbuster of Y8, and for good reason. Very proud of it. #12 Spoiler Holland Hannah Elizabeth Debicki and Omar Sy's chemistry, Debicki's suaveness, the incredible action, cinematography and atmosphere of 90's Amsterdam are the ingredients for this sexy, engaging and emotionally satisfying action thriller. Glad that it seems like it's getting warmer reactions now than it did coming out of the Film Festival. #11 Spoiler The Space Between Trees A bizarre, confusing and harrowing experience that deserves major appraisal for being just as deceitful to the audience as the central characters are to their surrounding peers, in the best way possible. Fantastic work by DeJonge and Silvers, and Debra Granik's direction keeps it relatively grounded, for something as structurally incoherent and bumbling as it is. Edited May 10, 2021 by MCKillswitch123 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCKillswitch123 Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 #10-#6: #10 Spoiler Floodbath Out of my own films, it's my favorite of the year. Annalise Basso is an actress I really wanted to give a shine to, and I also wanted to try a disaster film with some technical innovations in order to really capture the feeling of terror, and I feel like the movie I wrote managed to accomplish that. It may fall in lesser grace with upcoming reactions, but I'm very glad I made it. #9 Spoiler Sins of Their Fathers The idea of a Numbers-style political thriller but in space is actually kind of a great one. Yeah, in retrospect, it feels like you've seen this movie before, but it doesn't change the fact that it's really well executed, with a stunning ensemble, endearing thematic prowess and great plot. Olivia Colman and Awkwafina are stars. #8 Spoiler Christmas Shopping I found the experience surprisingly revelatory, for something that seemed like it was gonna be as trite and mundane as a film about Christmas shopping. It is surprisingly eye-opening about the relationships that we have with our families, and it stuck with me a surprising amount. #7 Spoiler The Un-title-able Squirrel Girl Sequel Similarly to what I said about Static Shock 2, the best thing about this movie really is the fact that it focuses more on the philosophical and emotional drift that our protagonist feels over blockbuster-sized action, coming to one of my particular favorite conclusions out of any animated film in CAYOM. As far as Endless Animation is concerned, it may not be a Gateways, but I'd put it among the higher echelon. #6 Spoiler Learning to Care The script is the shiniest star of an utterly heartwarming film. Jimmy Tatro and Brigitte Lundy-Paine are obvious Oscar contenders as well. I don't think it's quite as iconic as some others, but I still think this is a great film. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCKillswitch123 Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 And finally, numbers #5-#1: #5 Spoiler Sandboy Charming, whimsical and with a wonderful beating heart underneath, Sandboy is an experience for all ages. Fantastic writing, absolutely gorgeous cinematography and visuals, and resonating themes about the necessity for unison of family, even if that unison may be impossible to achieve under certain circumstances. Loved it. #4 Spoiler World of Trouble The coup de grace of the Maia trilogy is its best film, and that's saying something since The Last Policeman and Countdown City are both strong efforts. Ehrenreich replaces Ansel Elgort in great fashion, Kaitlyn Dever, Michael Garcia-Rulfo and Jimmy Tatro also deliver incredible performances, and the atmosphere/worldbuilding are at their peak. Easy contender for Best Picture. #3 Spoiler Flightless Bird: The Downfall of the Boeing 737 MAX If this were a real documentary, it would be one of the rare documentaries to hit a cultural zeitgeist, alas what Won't You Be My Neighbor did a few years ago. It's very likely that you walk out of this angry and frustrated at the fact that some corporations are too strong to be fallible to law, and that's the best thing that a doc can do. Not just a Documentary Feature frontrunner, but a Best Picture contender as well. #2 Spoiler Everything We Miss Dark, disturbing and provocative, but still earnest at the core, Everything We Miss is an undertaking clearly meant to bring us clearance over our need to understand our own actions and their consequences when we are at breaking point, whether with ourselves or with the ones we love the most. Similarly to Laika last year, adult-oriented, non-mainstream animation was shown to be a clear success story. #1 Spoiler The Bronx is Burning Apart from And the Band Played On, @4815162342's best film ever. Everyone is perfectly cast, the script is genius, the direction expertly balances drama and comedy, and every major character feels as best developed as possible. A true work of art in every way, and this is coming from someone who is not into baseball. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCKillswitch123 Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 (edited) THE FULL TOP 25 The Bronx is Burning Everything We Miss Flightless Bird: The Downfall of the Boeing 737 MAX World of Trouble Sandboy Learning to Care The Un-title-able Squirrel Girl Sequel Christmas Shopping Sins of Their Fathers Floodbath The Space Between Trees Holland Hannah Far Cry Everything I Never Told You Olive's Hallowed Eve Returning from Hell Heartman Dreams The Last Airbender: The Boy in the Iceberg The Idiots Romance Road The War Between Ants Mass Effect: Revelation The World That We Knew Dirty Hands Edited May 10, 2021 by MCKillswitch123 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCKillswitch123 Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 To the writers of the films in the top 5, as well as the winner of the short lived YouTube Game, you may pick a film to pre-read from the following list. @4815162342 and @cookie, you can choose two films. @Blankments and @YourMother the Edgelord, you can choose one film. A film can be chosen as many times as you want to. Vixen and the Castle of Doom - Directed by Gianluigi Toccafondo and Robert Morgan - Animation/Fantasy/Adventure - Vixen is forced to destroy the remains of the Grandfather Dragon in the kooky, trippy Castle of Doom. Grand Theft Auto - Directed by S. Craig Zehler - Satire/Crime/Drama/Comedy - A young man steals heroin and goes on a 24 hour rampage. Invader Zim - Directed by Peter Avanzino - Animation/Sci-Fi/Comedy - An incompetent alien is flown to Earth and "commanded" to conquer it. Untitled film - Directed by Jack Bender - Thriller/Drama - Plot not announced. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 Grand Theft Auto and the untitled Jack Bender film 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4815162342 Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 43 minutes ago, cookie said: Grand Theft Auto and the untitled Jack Bender film Ditto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 Thank you for #12 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blankments Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 Vixen 2 electric boogaloo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAM! Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 Thank you for #8, #14, and #24! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YM! Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 I’ll take Invader Zim Thanks for 7, 17, 21 and 22. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...