Now, on to today's list. There are a lot of sequels coming out, so I decided to make that this weeks list. Now, I'm sure some of you are sensing a pattern in which I'm not putting many older movies on. That's because I'm not a fan. So you won't be seeing any Empire Strikes Back, or Godfather 2, Aliens or anything like that. These are more modern movies. Which brings us to...
11. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008)
Directed by: Guilermo Del Toro
Stars: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, and Luke Goss
Follow up to: Hellboy
Plot: The mythical world starts a rebellion against humanity in order to rule the Earth, so Hellboy and his team must save the world from the rebellious creatures.
Useless trivia: Guillermo del Toro wrote an ending which ultimately went unused in the theatrical release: A secret base is found in the Antarctic, where Kroenen, the clockwork Nazi villain from the first film, is brought back to life as Rasputin steps out of the shadows. This material was filmed as an animated comic and appears in the DVD bonus features as the "Zinco Epilogue". This epilogue provides the setup for a potential third Hellboy film.
Best moment: Hellboy and Abe Sapien get drunk and sing "Can't Smile Without You" by Barry Manilow.
P.S.: Now that Del Toro isn't doing The Hobbit, this hopefully means he will be doing Hellboy 3. *fingers crossed*
10. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Directed by: David Yates
Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint
Follow up to: Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, and Goblet of Fire
Plot: With their warning about Lord Voldemort's return scoffed at, Harry and Dumbledore are targeted by the Wizard authorities as an authoritarian bureaucrat slowly seizes power at Hogwarts.
Useless trivia: The Department of Mysteries set marks the first time that a totally computer-generated set was used throughout the movie. Building the set practically is too expensive since an estimation of 15000 crystal balls are needed and it will take a lot of time to clean and setup again if a retake is required
Best moment: The final fight at the Department of Mysteries.
P.S.: I know most people say that Azkaban is the best one, also I hear Half Blood Prince is the best. But, I'm still sticking with this one.
9. Bad Boys 2 (2003)
Directed by: Michael Bay
Stars: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, and Jordi Molla
Follow up to: Bad Boys
Plot: Narcotics cops Mike Lowrey and Marcus Bennett head up a task force investigating the flow of ecstasy into Miami. Their search leads to a dangerous kingpin, whose plan to control the city's drug traffic has touched off an underground war.
Useless trivia: Director Cameo: Michael Bay the man driving the P.O.S. car that Marcus attempts to confiscate, but Mike tells him to go for a better car.
Best part: In the opening scene, the two main characters bust up a KKK rally. What makes this part even better is that the TNT leader is played by Henry Rollins.
P.S.: I'm sure most of you are thinking "Bad Boys 2? Really?" If you haven't seen it recently, go watch it again. It may not be as good as the first (because the first is one of the greatest action movies ever) but this one is fantastic as far as sequels go.
8. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Directed by: Paul Greengrass
Stars: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, and David Strathairn
Follow up to: The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy
Plot: Jason Bourne dodges a ruthless CIA official and his agents from a new assassination program while searching for the origins of his life as a trained killer.
Useless trivia: The film crew were unable to shut down Waterloo station, so pedestrians in the station can be seen looking and pointing at the camera.
Best moment: The fight between Bourne and Desh in the apartments is one of the coolest hand-to-hand fight scenes ever.
P.S.: This is another one where people might like "Supremacy" better, but it's all just my opinion. Another thing, The Bourne Conspiracy (which is a video game based on the books) is actually a really well made game where you get to do all the fist fighting, shooting, and car chases in one game.
7. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)
Directed by: Peter Jackson
Stars: Where to start? Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortenson, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom, Ian McKellan, etc.
Follow up to: Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers
Plot: The former Fellowship of the Ring prepare for the final battle for Middle Earth, while Frodo and Sam approach Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring.
Useless trivia: Peter Jackson is arachnophobic and based the Shelob design on the types of spiders he feared the most.
Best moment: Obviously, the last battle is the best part. Which is actually then followed by the worst part of the entire series...the 26 different endings.
P.S.: The Hobbit is in development right now. Actually, Guillermo Del Toro was set to direct, but dropped out suddenly and left the film without a director. So, now Jackson says that if they don't find anyone soon, he will step up and do it himself.
6. X2: X-Men United (2003)
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Stars: Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, Hugh Jackman, and Halle Berry
Follow up to: X-Men
Plot: The X-Men band together to find a mutant assassin who has made an attempt on the President's life, while the Mutant Academy is attacked by military forces.
Useless trivia: Alan Cumming had to endure 10 hours of make-up to become Nightcrawler for the scene in the church (where his skin/make-up is shown from the waist up).
Best moment: Nightcrawler in the White House trying to assassinate the president.
P.S.: In most people's opinion, this was the last good X-Men movie.
5. The Devil's Rejects (2005)
Directed by: Rob Zombie
Stars: Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, and Sheri Moon Zombie
Follow up to: House of 1,000 Corpses
Plot: Baby and Otis escape and rendezvous later with the Firefly patriarch, the mad clown Capt Spaulding. After a mind blowing murder escapade at a dusty desert motel they retreat to a frontier town whorehouse run by Spaulding's adopted "brother" Charlie. While Sheriff Wydell slowly loses his mind in his quest for revenge, he enlists the help of two equally disgusting bounty hunters and tracks the the trio.
Useless trivia: The film originally had a subplot involving scenes with Dr. Satan. In an interview, Rob Zombie said that he cut these scenes because seeing Dr. Satan in this film would be like seeing Chewbacca in Bonnie and Clyde. Zombie then went on to explain that all the Dr. Satan scenes would be restored in the "deleted scenes" section of the the DVD.
Best moment: Wendy is forced to wear the skinned face of her dead husband, and is then let go...only to be run over by a truck seconds later.
P.S.: Recently, Rob Zombie put a poll on his site about what movie he should make next. One of the choices is a sequel to The Devils Rejects. So, we may be getting another one soon?
4. Toy Story 3 (2010)
Directed by: Lee Unkrich
Stars: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack and Ned Beatty
Follow up to: Toy Story, Toy Story 2
Plot: The toys are mistakenly delivered to a day-care center instead of the attic right before Andy leaves for college, and it's up to Woody to convince the other toys that they weren't abandoned and to return home.
Useless trivia: Blake Clark became the new voice of Slinky Dog, replacing Jim Varney, who died in 2000. Clark was good friends with Varney prior to his death.
Best moment: SPOILER ALERT for those who haven't seen it yet! At the end, the toys are in a trash incinerator and there is basically no escape. The toys then accept their fate, and realize it's going to be the end for them.
P.S.: This is another movie where I actually do like the first one better. But, I do know a lot of people that like this (as well as the second) as much as, if not more than, the first.
3. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Stars: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, and Alfred Molina
Follow up to: Spider-Man
Plot: Peter Parker is beset with troubles in his failing personal life as he battles a brilliant scientist named Doctor Otto Octavius, who becomes Doctor Octopus (aka Doc Ock), after an accident causes him to bond psychically with mechanical tentacles that do his bidding.
Useless trivia: Filming began before an official script was completed.
Best moment: The talk Peter has with his aunt, letting her know that his uncle's death was his fault.
P.S.: The Spider-Man series is actually undergoing a reboot. Filming will start in December with Andrew Garfield in the titular role.
2. Saw VI (2009)
Directed by: Kevin Greutert
Stars: Mark Rolston, Costas Mandylor and Tobin Bell
Plot: Special Agent Strahm is dead, and Detective Hoffman has emerged as the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw's legacy. However, when the FBI draws closer to Hoffman, he is forced to set a game into motion, and Jigsaw's grand scheme is finally understood.
Follow up to: Saw, Saw 2, 3, 4, and 5
Useless trivia: Prior to the film's release, Costas Mandylor (Hoffman) didn't even know if his character lived or died in the ending due to shooting multiple endings.
Best moment: During the second trap of the film, Dan (Mark Rolston) goes up against the janitor who works for him. The basic plan of the trap is to simply hold your breath until the other person dies.
P.S.: Saw 3D (the 7th film) is said to be the final film in the series that will answer all questions. It will be release at the end of October. Also, I know a lot of people dismiss these movies because of the label "torture-porn" (which is stupid, because only the 3rd movie has ANY nudity and it's essential to the trap,) but they all actually are extremely well made and have a very intricate plot. This one in specific actually has a great plot and extremely intense traps.
1. The Dark Knight (2008)
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, and Aaron Eckhart
Follow up to: Batman Begins
Plot: Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent are forced to deal with the chaos unleashed by an anarchist mastermind known only as the Joker, as it drives each of them to their limits.
Useless trivia: The first Batman movie to not have the word "Batman" in the title.
Best moment: The entire thing...start to finish...or watching a pencil disappear.
P.S.: Did this really surprise anyone? This is really one of the greatest movies ever made. It will be showing up on multiple lists, I'm sure. There really isn't much to say about this movie that hasn't already been said. There is, however, a finish to the series in pre-production right now. We can only hope it's as good as this one.
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