Andy Warhol Presents: Flesh for Frankenstein 3D(1973)
Only two 3d prints of this movie still exist and no negative. The owner of this print flew it to London under his arm, projected it twice in an evening, and flew back to Germany with it the next day. I was 2nd to last in the standby line to get a ticket for this, and boy was it worth it! Sick, twisted, perverse, dark, funny and very entertaining! Shot back to back with Blood for Dracula(1974) in Serbia, with an expert in the 3D process handling the visuals. Even without the wild acting and subject matter, the visuals were a treat in 3d, with glass and medicial equipment in the forground and fantastic sets in mid and background. And of course it had the mandatory gore flying straight out of the screen!
Friday the 13th Part 3: 3D (1982)
Speaking of mandatory gore flying out of the screen, lets get to Jason and Friday the 13th. These movies saved their film studio. Never before had a mainstream releaser taken a traditional gore and violence explotation movie and released it in the same manner as their regular fair. And it made money. Bucket loads. Ten times or more the budget back. So their came sequels, and more sequels, and more sequels, just for the money. Other studios saw the dollar signs and the likes of Nightmare on Elm Street followed. THIS movie is a bit special, they went back to Steve Miner to direct, as he had directed or produced the previous two, but this time they had a bit of fun with it. Now I must confess having seen this on video before. It was kind of slow and cliched, but in 3D on the big screen it all made glorious sense! Long periods are spent showing off the 3D process, LOOK its a rabbit, LOOK its a snake jumping out at out, LOOK there is someone lurking in those long lines of washing, the audience relaxes, the novelty wears off, and its SLAY TIME. The characters and situations are complete cliches, but thats all part of the fun. Jason gets his hockey mask, sinners are slain and it all boils down to the girl being chased by the big bad guy. Clichetastic.
Tenebre (1982)
I was exposed to the horror work of Dario Argento for the first time this year thanks to DVD. This I saw on the big screen, and it belongs up there with his other peak work like Suspiria and Phenomina. An Italian director with fantastic visual sense using tracking flowing cameras and interesting lighting, and superior use of score and sound to put yo on the edge of your seat.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Yeah, I saw it on the big screen, project from film, in Cardiff this year. Its still funny, its still got a fun soundtrack, its still light hearted and uplifting, and Bueller with ALWAYS be Bueller. Better than 99.96% of Hollywood teen movies released since.
Bad Santa(2003)
Any movie that can just about bring you to tears because of the naivety of the little boy the story hangs around, then cause you to bust a gut laughing because someone got smacked in the junk has got to get two thumbs up. Billy Bob was born to play this role. Politically incorrect and funny as sin. Gets an extra special mention from the Auckland Film Festival screening I saw it at. Ant Timpson, Mr Incredibly Strange Film Fest I Have Had Move Movies Banned In NZ Than Anyone Else had selected this for the festival. He showed up with his twisted cohorts in Santa, Elve and School boy outfits to treat us to an introduction involving inappriate sexual relations and water play
then extract stories of sin and debaunchery from audience members with bribes of beer! 
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
It was biased, and Moore shoots himself in the foot by quickly making broad statements that sound like easily dismissed anti Bush propaganda when infact they are backed up by a lot of well reported and researched articles. What was most interesting was seeing this in Utah USA, observing who walked out early, what was cheered and what was discussed by patrons when it ended. I am glad there are Michael Moores in this world with a voice in the otherwise very corporate friendly media world, even if I dont always agree with the message.
Mala educación, La (2004)
aka Bad Education
If you have a problem with drag queens and gay sex, do NOT see this movie. If you want to see an amazingly well told unfolding story, where the conventions of film are twisted and turned back on themselves before the true story revealed then go out of your way to see this. Fantasticly told and mature film, highly recommended.
Terrore nello spazio (1965)
aka Planet of the Vampires
Another Italian director, Mario Bava, makes the list. I have been trying to see this movie for years and years and years, and finaly tracked it down in Victoria Canada on DVD. A true sci fi classic, as two spaceships are lured to a mysterious planet, where the crew are picked off one by one. It may be cliche, but this is the template that the others built on. It met and exceded my expectations of a movie of its era.
Thriller - en grym film (1974)
aka Thriller - a cruel picture
aka They Call Her One Eye
A sex exploitation and revenge movie so rough that the director took his name off of it, and it was banned in its native Sweden. The lead actress is saved from having to act too much by making her a mute in the opening debasement, leading to more attrocities, hard core porn, defilement and ultimately her revenge on her oppressors. This was a major influence on Kill Bill, but had been very very hard to actualy see. It was recently released on a contrivesial limited edition of 2500 dvds world wide, and I made it to Zurich before I found a copy. Utterly unlike anything I had seen before. Long tense dialogue free patches before the girl in the trenchcoat unleashes the shotgun on her debasers.
Acción mutante (1993)
aka Action Mutante
I have spent over a decade trying to track this movie down. In the end I found a German language release with English subtitles in Switzerland of this French/Spanish coproduction. Small world huh. In the future, the terrorist group 'Mutant Action' seek fame fortune and revenge on all things beautiful in this dark slapstick comedy sci fi action movie. This has been a cult underground classic ala Bad Taste and Meet the Feebles for years, and it utterly deserves the comparisons to those movies and its own reputation. I will never look at razor blades and salt shakers the same way again.
Special Mentions:
Imax Titanic 3D - James Cameron goes back to the real titanic with some fancy 3D cameras for some jaw dropping visuals. I did not like the story he tacked on here, but am VERY curioius to see what ficitonal movie he does next, as rumours abound the 3D here was a test run of things to come....
Big Fish - Tall tales and father son relationships.
The Village - The twist endings to his movies are now cliche, but the premise of this story stayed with me for several days.
The Bourne Supremacy - James Bond watch out, a REAL post cold war spy movie.
The Harry Towers Fu Manchu Movies - Thanks to DVD I have now seen all the Christopher Lee starring Fu Manchu movies. He IS the ultimate movie villian actor.
The Ilsa Movies - explotation at its basest. Nazis, white slavery AND insane asulms, Ilsa has all the options covered.
Right people. Moral of the story. Get out off your arses and see some movies. Not just the Hollycrapmegablockbustershite, but the stuff that hides in the corners of the video store or in the local art house theatre. Some of it is actualy pretty damn good.
