#21 - OVER HER DEAD BODY

Plot: Eva Longoria dies on the day she is to marry Paul Rudd. And wouldn't you know it, now she's a ghost hellbent on keeping her ex-fiance single by haunting a potential girlfriend, who also happens to be a psychic... You just can't make this sort of stuff up.
Why is this a contender for Best Movie. Ever?
First of all, a word to Paul Rudd. Give your agent a RAISE! Never do I recall an actor in so many likable, versatile and above all funny movies as Mr. Paul Rudd. Kudos sir, kudos and may your roles be as prosperous in the future as they are today. Aside from singling out Paul Rudd, I also have to commend everyone else in this fabulous production. Not only Eva Longoria's outrageous take on a sassy poltergeist, Lake Bell and Jason Biggs are also marvelous additions to the cast and bring much warmth and enthusiasm to their quirky yet believable characters. It's clear that a lot of thought went into the casting of this film, as the comedic timing has been crafted to absolute perfection all across the board. There's a real winning formula at play in Over Her Dead Body, a black yet cheerful comedy that had me crying both in laughter and in joy. It's just such a shame I don't hear many people talking about this one at all. I truly believe people are missing out on one of the greatest little comedies to come out of Hollywood in the last ten years. I mean, it has ghosts AND Jason Biggs in it. What more could you possibly ask for?
Best scene: Eva Longoria's tongue-in-cheek, hilariously exaggerated comic death. She gets raped and garotted by a escaped mental patient running amok. It's a scream.

Spread the word. Over Her Dead Body is awesome. Tell your friends!

#20 - TRANSFORMERS

Plot: Shia Lebouf and Megan Fox choose sides in the ultimate battle between good and evil and the destruction of Planet Earth. A big cube, magic spectacles, Jon Voight and massive alien robots are also involved.
Why is this a contender for Best Movie. Ever?
From the opening action scene set in the Middle East, you can tell that this latest blockbuster by immortal auteur Michael Bay is going to be a politically conscious film that takes itself seriously. That's not to say that it isn't fun; on the contrary, Transformers is one of the most rollicking summer movies in years. But Bay has taken a much more cerebral approach to his explosion-ridden trademark. From obvious allusions toward situations in Iraq and 9/11, to some very funny lampooning of then-US president George W. Bush. While many may balk at the loose premise of the movie, the ingenuity of the film is in the details. Yes, the film contains very flashy robots that look amazing and exude a ton of charming, hilarious personality. Yes, Shia Lebouf is the next Nicolas Cage in the making, with this performance showcasing he has everything it takes to fill those shoes. And yes Anthony Anderson, who is quickly becoming one of my favourite actors working today, also deserves a shout out for his relatable renegade videogame player whose amateur-hacking abilities are required to break into secure American military intelligence servers. But the heart of the movie lies in the fact that it's really a coming of age tale with a whole lot of cool stuff and CGI heaped on top to make it that much more appealing. Clearly, everything is handled with wit and precise writing so as nothing appears schmaltzy. Instead, Transformers stands for everything a summer blockbuster should be. It should be a symbol of our times, and if that were all Bay set out to do, then he did a hell of a job. Further more, he has crafted one of the greatest visual displays one can ever hope to experience from cinema, and with this movie has defined himself as one of the most important and skilled storytellers of this generation. Simply, you must see this film.
Best scene: Try not to split your sides laughing when Shia Lebouf's parents give their son a talk about sex, masturbation and how it's okay to be gay, whilst giant robots hide outside and Megan Fox hides in the closet. Talk about embarassing!

Shia. Isn't he just the greatest of all?

#19 - ROGUE ASSASSIN

Plot: Jet Li is a rogue assassin. Jason Statham is an FBI agent. Things develop from there.
Why is this a contender for Best Movie. Ever?
Simply (and unimaginatively) titled War in the US, Rogue Assassin is all about the action. I believe there was a story in amongst the action somewhere, something about drug smuggling I think, my memory is a little fuzzy. But let's face it, you don't go into a movie entitled Rogue Assassin for adept storytelling. You go for some rogue assassination, baby! Of which there is very little of in this movie, so in a way it is a massive disappointment. But instead of leaving shortchanged, the movie does have a secret weapon up it's sleeve. Dynamic tension! I'm telling you, Jet Li and Jason Statham are the best action duo since Eddie Murphy and Robert de Niro in the all-time classic Showtime. Yes, they are that good. Even better. If there were an Oscar for best dual performance... well, these pair would probably get overlooked by the Academy just like everything else that is awesome. Regardless, you've never seen antler-clashing quite like the display on offer in this slick, unpredictable popcorn action flick. Jet Li, who is at the best of times mute and at the worst of times utterly indecipherable, is the perfect chaser to Statham's stressed, consistently whispered delivery of the prose-like dialogue in Rogue Assassin. In truth I don't remember a whole lot about this movie, but I do know that I relished in every moment of it. Highly recommended for those who don't like a movie to last with them for weeks, or even days, afterward.
Best scene: Devon Aoki proves her ferociousness is only outmatched by her hideousness.

See what I mean. Dynamic tension!

#18 - THE UPSIDE OF ANGER

Plot: While investigating the disappearance of her husband at an archaeological dig in Syria, Joan Allen accidentally breaks an ancient biblical artefact, effectively unleashing a satanic army of ungodly proportions.
Why is this a contender for Best Movie. Ever?
This is quite a difficult film to describe. The first half hour is mildly interesting exposition and context, whilst the remaining hour and a half is literally just Joan Allen fighting through wave after wave of zealots and various devils in a poorly-lit subterranean temple. Unprecedented in both the level of gore and unrelenting action, this is a film even fans of the genre might turn their nose up at. This is an excessive movie, to be sure, but an absolutely spectacular one. Despite not much happening besides Joan Allen constantly shotgunning hordes of monsters, there is always something new to see. The visual effects are absolutely phenomenal, more than deserving of the Oscar back in 2006, and it goes without saying that everything still looks as good as they day it was released. Never before, and not yet since, have so many CGI characters appeared on screen at once, and for such an enormous stretch of film time. Not for one moment do the geniuses over at Industrial Light and Magic let up and give us more than enough whiz-bang eye-candy to send us into severe overload. And this would not be a worthy review without calling attention to Joan Allen's tour-de-force performance throughout the entirety of The Upside of Anger. Drenched in litres of blood and viscera for the majority of the film, screaming almost all of her lines both in triumph and desperation, convincingly massacring countless thousands of minions of Hell without restraint. By the time it's all over and Allen wades through the mountains of corpses she has created, the audience feels just as exhausted as her character. You don't just watch The Upside of Anger, you experience it. It changed my life.
Best scene: It's too hard to segregate specific scenes because they all run together into an almost balletic frenzy of death. But highlights include Mike Binder's truly sinister Lucifer, Evan Rachel Wood and Alicia Witt's formidable succubi and of course the showstealer, a fully-realised Cerberus played in motion-capture by Keri Russell.

And the CGI Kevin Costner is so freaking lifelike, too.

#17 - 2001 MANIACS

Plot: Teens come face to face with the authentic horrors of the American Deep South whilst on Spring Break.
Why is this a contender for Best Movie. Ever?
Time and time again, we hear a tagline for a horror movie boasting that it is inspired by true events. This one doesn't, but then, this one isn't like all the others. Even though it doesn't make such a claim, the real breakway element for this film is that the events in it COULD happen. I have been to the American South, and the atmosphere and nature of the people of that region of the world is definitely captured accurately here. Hellbent, blood-thirsty twisted, incestuous, cannibalistic; it's all represented. They even got the shapeshifting demon bit right. The plot follows some familiar conventions of the slasher genre, but it's kept chilling through it's grounded focus on bringing to light some of the offsets of a dark chapter in American history; a people a country have found it necessary to deny knowledge of. What would happen if a group of horny kids stumbled across them? I imagine it would play out exactly as we see here, and that in itself is true horror.
Best scene: A gay spring-breaker is impaled, anus first, with a pointed pole as onlookers cheer.

I didn't say the film was classy. Only plausible.