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Reviews
Freddy Got Fingered (2001)
If it deserves to be on the bottom 100, then simultaneously it deserves to be on the top 250
Okay, so maybe it's a fair assessment to list Freddy Got Fingered as one of the 100 worst movies ever made. From a purely cinematographic standpoint, the plot is nonexistent, the writing is terrible, and the direction is amateurish. It's an hour and a half (or whatever) of Tom Green flaunting the immaturity that made him a superstar. There's no prevailing meaning, message or story.
Except one, which you get a certain sense of watching the movie with the commentary track. Watching the movie with an awareness of Green's career and the peculiar circumstances (a national penchant for inanity) under which he rose to cult iconic status, we can draw certain connections between his character's efforts at selling his idea for a cartoon and what must have been the story of Green's career: convincing bigshots to, well, let him do whatever the hell he wants.
This is just one interesting aspect of the film, which at least gives it a layer of -- well, something -- but by itself this implied allegory doesn't make the film brilliant. What does make it brilliant is its absolute, indefatigable audacity and disregard for everything that cinema is. It's one movie that doesn't try to be a movie, certainly doesn't make any attempts at being taken seriously, but not in a campy, cult "this is funny cause it's not like other movies" kinda way. It doesn't try to be a Rocky Horror Picture Show or a Wet Hot American Summer, whose appeal lies in their tongue-in-cheek, against-the-fray humor. Freddy Got Fingered just wants to kick your ass with absurdity. It's Tom Green showing that yes, flinging babies around still attached by the umbilical cord can be funny; yes, crawling inside a dead deer carcass can be funny - because there's no effort put forth for it to be *genuinely* funny; it's not presented as a joke contributive to the plot. It's ridiculousness for ridiculousness' sake.
And it's f*&#$ing hilarious. You spend the entire film in utter hysterics (if you have the right sense of humor), and are never once upset that, no, this isn't a film at all, cause that's not what it's trying to be, and hopefully that's not what you were expecting.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
absolutely beautiful
Other reviewers have gone in to depth and analyzed cinematography, acting, writing, etc., all of which were absolutely wonderful. The truly incredible force behind this film, though, is its emotional impact. It's something you either feel or you don't I suppose, and I imagine it certainly helps to have loved and lost personally, but if you do... WOW. It's the most incredible testament to love and the beauty of new beginnings I've ever seen. I sat in the theater, after having cried at the sheer beauty of the film's message and feeling, unable to move. I couldn't do anything but sit in absolute awe of this, now probably my favorite, movie, and try to soak it in. #45 might not even be fair, in my opinion.
Max Magician and the Legend of the Rings (2002)
Altogether the most horrible and at the same time hilarious movie ever made
Max Magician and the Legend of the Rings is the most fantastic movie I've ever seen, for a number of reasons. Most importantly, the cast, crew, director, make-up "artists", cinematographers all take the movie in complete seriousness. This is remarkable considering the abysmal quality of the line delivery, horrible costumes, EXCEEDINGLY AWFUL script, and absolute lack of skill and knowledge of the craft of film on the part of everyone involved. All these factors combined, however, makes this film a masterpiece of late-night heckling material. My friends and I bought this for $5.50 at the Wal-Mart Bargain Bin, and the investment more than paid off in side-splitting laughs of disbelief.
Max Magician is a middle-class suburban kid with no friends, but a penchant for the magical arts. He has a creepy pedophile neighbor, Mr. Tim, who at one time was a great wizard (apparently) and gives young Max guidance to "achieve his destiny." He gives Max a poorly-constructed "magic book" which allows him entry into the fantastical world of Bluebell Forest. Max is the "savior" of the village that is being tyrannized by Lord Dadga (the worst actor in the history of cinema). He meets all sorts of ridiculous characters, who deliver absurd dialogue with no knowledge of delivery. At the end he saves the village by using his magic book to summon knights out of the ground.
It's necessary to reiterate that there is not a single saving grace in this film except for the (highly unintentional) comedic implications. Every solitary aspect is done with the least skill and least amount of cinematic expertise possible. The script skips from scene to scene, introduces new "plot elements" which had never been alluded to and are now apparently crucial to the "story". The dialogue is cliched and nonsensical. The characterization is ungodly predictable where not non-existent. The characters take long, painful pauses between lines. The entire soundtrack was redubbed and the dialogue very seldom matches up with the mouths moving. The props are pathetic (the "propmaster" on the "behind the scenes" feature shows a battle hammer which was made from a foam swimming toy.) Occasionally we see extras walking around in the background. The foley work is perhaps the funniest part of the movie, as sometimes the background sound of birds will cut out altogether, voices will cut out in the middle of lines, and giant "swooshes" are used for characters getting out of chairs -- the same sound over and over again.
Which brings us to the acting. There is not a single actor with previous experience (except Tom Tit Tot, who is still one of the worst) and it shows more than you would think possible. Of course they get no help from the script, but this is the single worst ensemble of amateur actors ever put together. I can honestly say that with very little doubt. For this reason alone it's probably worth investing in to appreciate just how bad something can be. Only buy Max Magician, even for $5, if you want to truly understand the meaning of "awful" and wish to have many a laugh at the film's expense. If you buy this to entertain your children you may taint their appreciation of art and cinema from a young age. No young person deserves that.