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Filmbalaya’s Top 15 Films of 2011

Well, folks, it’s about that time again.  The new year has come, and it is up to us to tell you what the best movies were last year because, let’s face it, we’d hate to force you to think for yourself.  We tried to do this as objectively as we possibly could, and, in using the scientific method, employed such tools as our trusty alembic, abacus, and many systems of levers and pulleys to finally arrive at the definite conclusions presented below. Make sure to comment and let us know what you think!

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“I’m as Mad as Hell, and I’m Not Going to Take This Anymore!” 10 Films for the Occupy Movement and 99%

As a San Francisco native I am damn proud of our local occupation and excited to see the movement grow and spread throughout the world. The fact is that we are mad as hell, and we’re not going to take this anymore. Why should we sit back while governments all over the world allow the rich to steal from the poor? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? I mean, last time I checked Robin Hood was still the fucking good guy. It’s time for us to GET ANGRY. This is a list of ten films that will inspire, educate and entertain members of  Occupy and the 99%. I hope you enjoy them!

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Top 10 “I’m So Hungry I Can Eat A…” Scenes

This Thanksgiving when you’re sitting around the dinner table slowly working your way into a food coma of turkey and wine take a moment to give thanks to all the great cinematic food-eating scenes that cinema has given us over the years.  Need help, check out these 10 great face stuffing scenes. Read More…

A Great Year in Film – 1957

Well, as one might say, film techniques may become dated, but their messages do not.

1957 was a year perhaps un-extraordinary in most categories.  In the US, Eisenhower was president, the Cold War was slowly escalating, and Leave it To Beaver aired on television depicting the ideal life of the average American.  The Hollywood Production code, too, was in full force to restrict would-be auteurs from creating their finest.  Playwrights were able to avoid such strict censorship, as seen in Eugene O’Neil’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”, published in ‘56 and winning the Pulitzer in ‘57.

However, around the world, filmmakers were pumping out soon-to-be classics, and thereby pushing the limits of film.

Here is a short list of some of the masterpieces that saw their advent that year. Read More…

A Bad Year For Sequels, A Great Year For Film – 1991

1991 saw Leonardo DiCaprio make his film debut in Critters 3, while fellow film rookie, Edward Furlong was being catapulted into super stardom for his role in Terminator 2.  Who would have thought then that Furlong would be destined for a career in staright-to-DVD and Lifetime movies while DiCaprio… well, we all know what happened to his career.  So too did a 15-year-old Mila Jovovich make her debut on the screen with the horrid Return To The Blue Lagoon.  But both Mila and Leo weren’t the only ones to take part in terrible sequels that year.  In fact aside from T2, 1991 was littered with throwaway franchise cash grabs.

The top 10 films, worst sequels, and more from 1991 can all be found after the jump Read More…

Top 5: “Once Upon A Time” Films

“Once upon a time” is a staple of story beginnings.  This is a list of the best films with “Once upon a time” in the title.  Now, there aren’t that many films that fall into that category, but the movies that do share a two common traits: quality and length.  Out of all the films I watched while making this list I didn’t see a single bad one and some of the movies that I was seeing for the first time completely blew me away.  The length of the films is another thing that sets them apart from you average movie.  The average runtime of the films on the list  is an epic three hours and six minutes long.  So here’s my advice for you, if you have three hours to kill and you want to see a masterpiece, pick a film off this list and watch it. Read More…

Filmbalaya’s Top 15 Films Of 2010

2010 ended up being a pretty good year for film. We wanted to give our readers a list of 10 can’t miss movies of the year… but we couldn’t because we would have never agreed and by the time we got the list out it would be irrelevant.  So, instead I give you the top 15 movies of 2010 in a loose order I threw together that no one else has agreed with (but hopefully they will). There are movies on the list I loved, and movies on the list I hated, but I promise that you will either be entertained, moved, or just plain out flabbergasted by all of them.

Without further to do, Filmbalaya’s Top 15 Movies of 2010! Read More…

Top 5 Completely Random Shark Scenes

Jaws will always be known as the movie that brought sharks to the screen. Although many films have tried to capitalize on its success few have and most ended up embarrassingly bad. After seeing a few to many dismal killer shark movies I was caught completely off guard  by a random shark in Escape From LA. That’s when I realized that the best shark moments are the ones you don’t see coming. So here is my list of completely random movie sharks.

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