The Duke's 14 Favourite Flicks Of 2004
Published January 18, 2005
The flick takes us to under-funded prisons, borderline-demented revivalist meetings, corner-stores and bars, and presents a mythical America fit for any amount of Gram Parsons lyrics.
The best documentary about rural America since Wisconsin Death Trip.
Seed Of Chucky
Don Mancini knows a thing or two about subverting the horror genre, is what. If he's not scribbling a narrative about Chucky and Tiffany (voiced by the unspeakably brilliant Jennifer Tilly) are Bonnie And Clyde lovers on the run, then he's writing and directing this here masterpiece, concerning the sexual orientation and the family trauma and the addictions and recovery.
Seed Of Chucky is remarkable for millions of reasons, but here's a handful; It has Jennifer Tilly playing two roles, one of which is Jennifer Tilly. Upon closer inspection it reveals itself to be possibly even smarter, and certainly subtler, than Bride Of Chucky. It's visually stunning. It effortlessly invites one to consider Chucky as a fella with issues that need addressed, rather than a doll what kills folks for the fuck of it. It has the best performance by David Bowie of all ever, and he isn't even in it.
And, of course, it starts off in Chucky's nuts. A damn masterpiece. Read The Duke's Appraisal or The Duke's Interview With Don Mancini.
Shaun Of The Dead
Sometimes hype can be a good thing. Sometimes it means that a brilliant flick which might otherwise be ignored can get the audience it deserves. Other times, though, what happens is that said audience's expectations are raised so high that nothing on God's Green Earth, certainly nothing that doesn't feature Kirsten Dunst, can satisfy. Both of these situations, strangely enough, affected Shaun Of The Dead.
What it is, is a beautiful, incredibly funny romantic comedy that just happens to take place amidst a zombie outbreak of some sort. You may have heard that it's from the fellas who gave us the cult UK comedy Spaced, but truth be told it bears little aesthetic relation to that occasionally hit-and-miss telly show. It shares its affection for popular culture, though, which is why we get possibly the greatest use of the music of The Smiths in any flick ever, the best joke about The Stone Roses, a snide comment concerning 28 Days Later and loads more pleasingly smart-arse guff that would need a motherfucking list of its own just to accommodate.
It's also imminently quote-worthy. "Would any of you cunts like a drink" and "You've got red on you" are going to be boring the fuck out of innocent civilians in Students Union bars from now till doomsday.
Thanks a fucking bunch, various zombies. Read The Duke's Appraisal.
Some Kind Of Monster
After seeing this masterpiece, I went out and got hold of the St. Anger record, the making of which is painstakingly detailed herein. Surely it couldn't be as bad as it appears in the film, I thought? Surely that shit scrawled on pieces of paper in-between therapy sessions didn't make it onto the actual lyric sheet? Well fuck me with a nun, it turns out it was that bad, and yes, those are the lyrics.
The Duke (Aaron McMullan to his parents and the clergy) is a Northern Irish writer, performer and insomniac currently residing in London. He is the creator of Mondo Irlando, wherein his scribblings and hollerings can be found. He is currently working towards the completion of his first novel, and his debut "punk / country / folk / whatever" album has recently been released by Ex Libris Records . You can also pop by His MySpace Page and maybe have a coffee and a biscuit.
- The Duke's 14 Favourite Flicks Of 2004
- Published: January 18, 2005
- Type:
- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Video: Classics, Video: Comedy, Video: Documentary, Video: Drama, Video: Fantasy, Video: Horror
- Writer: Duke De Mondo
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- Duke De Mondo's personal site
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aw thanks Aaman. Yeah, as i said up yonder, any other year and both those flicks would've been in the main list. Just goes to show how marvellous this year was for the feature-flicks, if little else.
Actually, that was what cheesed me off in 2003 - The King flick stealing the honors from so many other excellent films, so they were overshadowed
Duke -
I've been waiting for a moment when I had the proper focus to dig through this amazing meal of a list you're provided.
I love all of your specialty awards, first off. Reminds me for some weird reason when I played rugby and teammates would be awarded the Hands of Stone award and such.
I think I've seen less than half of the films you've mentioned (my Netflix queue is tied up with The Shield, The Wire, The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm... I guess I am a bit of a TV-aholic, just in DVD-form) so I've found a good many additions to my Netflix list here.
I agree wholeheartedly with your takes on Eternal Sunshine, Dodgeball, and Napoleon Dynamite.
Being a bit of a comedy junkie, I'll take issue with you on a few points:
- I thought that Starsky & Hutch was, at best, very so-so. Dodgeball had a lot more life to it, and a good many more laughs
- Where's Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle at? Maybe it's an '03 release? In any event, it was the funniest movie I saw in '04. Maybe it's because I grew up around a bunch of hipster Asian kids in New York (many of whom are my bestest friends), but it was a hilarious ride of a film. Neal Patrick "NPH" Harris deadpanning about staining up the fellas car with "That was a dick move"? Greatness.
- I fully expected crude with Team America, and crude I got. But it was the best of Matt & Trey in song-crafting, scouring the F out of EVERYBODY (right & left & Matt Damon), and subversive messaging. And God damn if "Everybody's Got AIDS" was in my head for weeks after the showing... "Come on everybody, we're got quilting to do!"
Duke, please keep on with your filmic raging into that good night...
Eric Berlin
Dumpster Bust: Miracles from Mind Trash
Dukey, Duker, DukeDuke - a rollercoaster ride of merriment and insight. Although I loved KB2 and hated 21 Grams, of the others on your list I saw, pretty much total fucking agreement: Eternal Sunshine (crazy convoluted concept AND burning emotional/relationship truth), Incredibles, Spidey 2, and Harry Potter 3 in particular. In fact our siamese twin agreement on so many issues makes the disagreements alarmingly jarring (Did he have a seizure? Is the UK version perversely different? Did I forget my medication?)
Anyway, an unvarnished pleasure.
Hey folks
Eric B - (i believe someone already made the Rakim joke), thank you as always! I too am something of a telly-DVD fan, and at the minute i've got two-seasons worth of The Sopranos to catch up with. I bought em about a year ago and never got round to it yet. Also the 2nd series of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
I honestly thought Starsky And Hutch was better, more consistentally funny than Dodgeball, but i stil loved the latter. Just Starsky's romantic comedy overtones were so wonderful, is all. That scene where the blonde one plays the david soul song at the party. Absoloutely stunning.
I haven't seen Harold And Kumar... although i've heard many good things about it of late. It's one of those flicks (like Birth and so on) that may well have impacted the list, but that i couldn't envision seeing in the near future, although hope to as soon as Region 2 DVD's are available. As for the Aids song in TA, i thought that was one of the lesser ditties to be honest. I've been singing America! Fuck Yeah! to myself since i saw it, though.
Eric O - I've never been called Dukey Duker Duke-Duke, and i must admit the sensation si far from unpleasant. Perhaps i will call myself such from now on. It's even got a melodic quality, like you could whistle it, almost.
You HATED 21 grams? How so? I honestly thought it was a masterpiece, a brilliant piece of work. As to KB2, that seems to be the way of it. its a love it or hate it thing. i went to see it with she who was The Duchess until the fucking gods conspired for to fuck a fellas plans up the hole, and she hated the first one. This one, though, she loved, and couldn't understand why i was grumbling on the way out.
Maybe the UK one is different after all. heh. Always one more DVD edition to be milked. After all, Shrek 2 was different over here (with Larry King's voice being replaced by our ever-wonderful Jonathan Ross, although if perchance you downloaded and saw it at the cinema also, as i did, then what happens is you get both. downlaoding flicks increases our knowledge of other cultures, is what. Or the same culture with a different accent at least.)
And to all- apologies that my DVD list isn't up yet this week. Owing to the subtle hints i dropped here and there you may or may not be aware that things have been better in The Land De Duke, so i ain't been in the proper frame of mind for to do much of anything. I'll get on it ASAP
Duke - You must bump the Sopranos up to the top of your viewing list straight away. One of the best shows (and one of the best viewing experiences) ever made. I just went through Season One again and was enthralled. I'm planning on doing a detailed break-down of the pilot episode (why? I'll quote Dave Chapelle from the classic Pop Copy sketch: "Cuz fuck 'em, that's why!") but my blasted DVD player went on the fritz* yesterday.
And then check out Harold & Kumar when you get a chance.
*(You don't hear "went on the fritz" very often these day, do you?)
eric o, alas i had too.
Eric B- i watched the first season of sopranos, thought it was marvelous. it's the next two i still have to see (i know there's more than three, but thats the only ones i have on dvd). I only ever got half-way through the first season of six feet under, too. Must give it a try again...
The first season of Six Feet Under is unbelievably good if you're interested in characters. After that... it's still good, but the gloom-and-doom-and-death motif gets a bit wearing. It's get pretty strange, too (which isn't all bad, of course).
You're in for a real treat with Seasons 2 & 3 on the docket. The second season is particularly amazing, but they're all great, really. I've not yet seen Season 5 and I can't wait for it to be released.
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Duke, this post is worthy of printing out, framing (or rolling up, as some might) and treasuring for a brief, valued while.
Excellent characterisations - Hellboy and Collateral probably could be bumped into the main list - but a man's got only so much room, I guess.