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Now for those of us who like going to the movie theaters here in Korea, the summer of 2008 could be very interesting. Could we see the total collapse of the South Korean film market by the end of the summer period? For those who do not watch the $, please let me explain what I mean by the above comment. In 2007 according to the Korean Film Council, only 13 out of 112 Korean films released last year made profits. Their average production cost was 4.2 billion won, whereas their average ticket sales remained at only 2.4 billion won. Also according to the KFC, Korean filmmakers rely on local cinemas for almost 80 percent of their revenue. On the contrary, in the United States, ticket sales at theaters make up only around 15 percent of the revenue while the rest comes from DVD, TV broadcasting right sales and exports. I keep watching and wondering when the collapse will happen and who will be blamed for it when it happens. Now let’s take a look at the films that you should see this summer and the films that you might just want to pass on. I will list the opening date for the films here in South Korea. 1. Iron Man (30 April 2008) For those who do not know Iron man is a comic book from Marvel Comics about a man name Tony Stark, who, invents a high-tech suit of armor, to fight the bad men of the world. If you know the history of the comic book background of Stark, then the casting of Robert Downey Jr., was the correct choice. The preview has looked awesome and with the “Iron Man” riff in the background, this could be the first hit of the summer. 2. Speed Racer. (8 May 2008) (IMAX) Once again, for the few people who do not read Korean entertainment magazines, “Korean Wave” superstar Jung Ji Hoon (Rain) will Be one of the drivers trying to defeat and to destroy our hero, Speed Racer. Now please ignore the fact that this was originally a Japanese TV series, so the Korean reaction to this film could be very interesting. It will also play at the CGV IMAX theaters here in Korea. 3. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (15 May 2008) The Korean audience seemed to like the first one and hopefully will like the second part of this tale also. It takes place 1 year or 900 Narnian years after the first part of the story. Look for the returning cast and another tale in this, as of now, four part film story. 4. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (22 May 2008) Well instead of fighting the Germans, in this film he is fighting the Russians. The film has Shia LeBeouf but sad to say, Sean Connery, will not be returning to play his father. It has all of the making of a great summer “Popcorn” action flick. 5. Sex and the City: The Movie (unknown South Korean release date) Now, I do not have a clue how this film will do in Korea. Will the Korean housewife want to see a movie, when they can see the TV show on the “ON Style Channel” The film will take place 4 years after the end of the TV Show and the big question will be will Mr. Big and Carrie finally get married? 6. Kung Fu Panda (5 June 2008) (IMAX) Now as a child of the 1970’s, who grew up watching Bruce Lee and many other King Fu films, I am very interested in this cartoon. It will be homage to those great by-gone films. Please try and watch the film in English. The jokes in this film will not translate will into Korean. It should be interesting to hear Jack Black’s voice as the want-to-be hero Panda and Jackie Chan as “Master Monkey”. 7. Wanted (26 June 2008) This film has Morgan Freeman as the leader of a group of assassins and Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy as trained killers. The actors alone in this film make it a good popcorn flick. This is Timur Bekmambetov first American film. If the name sounds familiar it’s because he is the man directing the Russian “Night Watch” trilogy. That alone should grant him a look. 8. WALL.E (24 July 2008) Now this will be a Pixar film very different from their past work. The hero is a robot and the film will have very little spoken words in it. The trailers have rocked and the movie going public seems to be interested in this film. Hopefully the film will be shown in Digital format here in Korea so we can look at all of the background colors that will be installed in this film. 9. The Dark Knight (31 July 2008) (IMAX) With the sudden passing of Heath Ledger, I have no idea how this will be placed into the movie. For those of us who went to see the IMAX version of “I am Legend”, we were treated with a 5 minute preview of this movie. The preview made me very upset, that I was going to have to wait until July 2008 to see this film on the IMAX screen. The preview was that good. This is the summer 2008 film that I want to see the most. 10. Mamma Mia! (Summer release in USA Sept 2008 release here in South Korea) Now this film just sounds different, ABBA and Meryl Streep together. This could be a huge hit or could become a classic drinking game for future college students. Either way, it deserves a look when it comes to Korea. Now for the films that have a lot of questions, doubts or seriously, “WTF” ? 1. What Happens in Vegas... (Unknown Korean release date) I really cannot believe that putting Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz would actually work. The preview was horrible and just looked like a huge bomb in the making. 2. Meet Dave (29 May 2008) Eddie Murphy and Sci-Fi are together, once again. The last time they gave us Pluto Nash. I only hope that this is not PN 2. I just have a very bad feeling about this film. 3. You Don't Mess with the Zohan (Unknown release date in Korea) Adam Sandler’s films have not done well here in South Korea because the comedy does not translate. I See the same thing with this film. Sandler as a retired Mossad agent trying to restart his life in New York City. It may work in the US but here in South Korea, it will be a huge bomb. 4. The Incredible Hulk (12 June 2008) The first film was really that bad and I see no improvement with this one. The Hulk will be CGI and once again fail to work, just like the last one. 5. The Happening (13 June 2008) Now this film, I just do not know. I actually liked M. Night Shyamalan last film. But his last 2 films have drawn a lot of critics and audiences complaints. Will this be his comeback or the end of a once promising career? The trailer looked interesting, we shall see. 6. Get Smart. (28 June 2008) Aren’t Maxwell Smart and Agent 99 supposed to be lovers? This was a terrible miscasting of Agent 99. I fear fans of the original TV show will stay away in droves from this one. The preview was terrible and gave away the entire film. 7. The Love Guru (Unknown Korean release date) What in the heck is Mike Myers thinking about for this one? He is a love guru? Are you actually serious? This one’s smell is bad and it will only get worse the closer it comes to its release date. 8. Hancock (2 July 2008) The only reason this film got made is because Will Smith said “Yes” to it. The trailer was a joke and I just do not have a good feel for this film. It is coming out on July 4th weekend in the US and Will has usually done very well on this weekend. 9. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (24 July 2008) With Rachel Weisz passing on this film I have to ask, then why make a #3 then. It has potential as a great popcorn film but with the heart of the previous 2 films gone; this could be a huge mistake just waiting to be unleashed this summer. 10. Bangkok Dangerous (Unknown released date in South Korea) Lately Hollywood has gone into remaking Asian Thrillers and taking the very good parts out and destroying the film. In the original the killer was a deaf-mute hitman. I have no idea how this film will play out. It just sounds like a bad execution of a good Asian Idea. Well these are the films that you should see and the ones that you should miss. Until next month, “I see the crap, So You don’t have to”

Well this the the 3rd annual Mike McStay, "Best Films of the Year" list. As always I divide the list into 5 sections, The Best, The Worst, Surprise of the Year, Disappointment of the Year and WTF!,why was this film made? YEAR ONE YEAR TWO A few things to add before we get to the list. 1. Like last year, i saw a lot of film from all over the world, So I will include the imdb link and where the film came from. 2. I, once again, included films that I liked in the disappointed and films that I did not like into the surprises of the Year. I made the list longer, so there are 25 films listed for each category. I thought that it would cover a lot more films. 3. A lot of the films have not had a theatrical run in Korea. So you will see a open in Korea date on the film. If it has already played or no date picked yet, I left it open. 4. Once again, the main award is the "Flynnie" Its a take on my first name "Flynn" Well 2007 sure did have it moments, we saw robots, dragons and wizards go to war. We saw a killer barber, A rat who wanted to cook and a girl who becomes a woman in Iran. We saw an illegal surgery, the story of on of the greatest Christian Church Songs and we saw real sex depicted in a film. We may have said good-bye to Spiderman and maybe hello to more Transformers. We saw more IMAX releases this year. We have also seen a writers strike that will see the slowdown in film within 2 years. We also saw a lot of Korea films loose a lot of money at the box office. We may see higher ticket prices because of that. Now lets start with the list. I will start with #25 and work my way to #1. #25 Mongol Kazakhstan's official submission in the Foreign Language Film category for the 80th Academy Awards (2008). Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. Now I had heard of the film and it sure sounded interesting. The story recounts the early life of Genghis Khan and I could not believe it. It was a well written and great cinematography in the film. I was able to watch the film with English Subtitles and it is definately worth a look when it comes to DVD. #24 The Namesake Once again a film I was not expecting a lot from ends up being one of the best films of the year. Please watch the scene about when the father tells his son why he named him Gogol. The film really tells about the differences between the 1st generation immigrants and their children that were born in the USA. #23 Enchanted I was so happy to see Walt Disney go back to 2D Cartoons, even for the short time that it was shown in this film. If you could imagine one of Disney's princesses coming to 2008 NYC, then you have the idea of this story. Seeing her sing and watching the animals in NYC react to her was a great idea and came across great on the big screen. #22 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End POC 3 I really have no idea why I like this series, but I have and once again I loved the story in this film. It is a popcorn film but a very good one. 21. The Bucket List Now when you put Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman together in a film,I thought it was a huge risk. We ll I was glad that I was so wrong on this. When 2 men find that they are going to die and make a list of things they want to do before they die. The film is a story of life and how we live it. Well worth a look when you decide to watch it. #20. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead Lately, I have hated all of Sidney Lumet's films. So when I heard the good press about this film, I was doubtful. Well, get ready for one heck of a ride, if you ever decide to watch this film. It was a great story and had one heck of a very sad ending. 19. Juno Released in Korea Feb 2008 6th or 21. (I have 2 different dates for this film) Now this film sure had a very interesting timing, a young girl becomes pregnant after having sex for the first time and then Jaime Lynn Spears announces her pregnancy. It was as art imitating life. The film has been nominated for Best Motion Picture of the Year 2008 Oscar. Also Ellen Page has been nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. It is a very interesting story about a new life and what to do with it. The independent film has already broken the 100 million $ mark in the USA. 18. Rise of the Footsoldier Now this is the film that American Gangster should have been. It takes a look at the rise and fall of U.K. gangster Carlton Leach. This film is not for children and shows a very rough outlook on life. Please see it when you can. 17. Amazing Grace Opens 20 March 2008 (South Korea) If you have attended Church, then you have probably, at one time, sang this song. The film is about the person who wrote this song. The film talks about how a group of men finally ended the slave trade in the U.K. I loved Albert Finney's take on the author of the song, John Newton. 16. Atonement Opens 21 February 2008 (South Korea) Nominated for Best Motion Picture of the Year 2008 To be honest, I had no real desire to see the film. I kept hearing a lot of good reviews for it so I decided to watch it. Wow, what an ending, this film has. I will not spoil anything of the film for you. Watch the entire film and try not to leave. 15. Memories of Tomorrow or Ashita no kioku (Japan) Nominated for Best Film Award of the Japanese Academy (2007) Winner for Best Actor Award of the Japanese Academy (2007) (Ken Watanabe) The film has a very simple story. It is about a successful businessman's family life is shattered by an early onset of Alzheimer's. It was a film that you knew how it was going to end and at the end of the film I was still surprised by it. Film is available on DVD with or without English Subtitles. 14. 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days or 4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile (Romania) Opens 2008.02.28 (South Korea) To be honest, I have no freaking idea why this film was not nominated for Best Foreign Language Film Category for Oscar this year and some crap films were. This is the 2nd year in a row that I have selected a film from Romania in this category, 12:08 East of Bucharest being last years selection. The film talks about a woman who assists her friend to arrange an illegal abortion in 1980's Romania. This film will not be for everyone but it deserves a look and a serious WTF to the Oscar for not nominating this film in The Best Foreign Language Film! 13. Grindhouse Well this film has 2 camps. Either you love this film or you absolutely hate this film. I chose the first and made this my #13 selection of the year. If you really want the Uber geek version of the film, may i recommend this. Please see the film as it was originally released as 1 film. I loved the fact that I got to see Death Proof here in Korea and the audience wanted to see the other film also. 12. Eastern Promises When David Cronenberg does it right, it is worth a serious look and this film definately deserves it. I could not believe how much the Russian gangster Nikolai scared everyone around him. 11. Hot Fuzz My review of Hot Fuzz What I remember most about this film is, that I went to CGV and watched it with Korean audience. I was catching all of the jokes and the audience did not. After the film, one person asked me "Why Laugh?" I tried my best, but neither of us could understand the other. 10. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Their is an old Chinese saying about revenge. "He who seeks vengeance must dig two graves: one for his enemy and one for himself." That theme show up a lot during this film. If you like Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, then please rent the DVD, when it is released. 9. Exiled or Fong juk (Hong Kong) Now talk about a gangster film! I had no idea what was next or anything. The film is about when, A friendship is formed between an ex-gangster, and two groups of hitmen - those who want to protect him and those who were sent to kill him. It was a great story and please try and find it on DVD. 8. Gone Baby Gone My Review I have always liked Ben Affleck, I do not know why. But I have usually liked his work even when a lot of people have not. So when I saw that this was going to be his first released film, as a director, I decided to check it out. I thought it was a great film and really surprised me. 7. Lust, Caution or Se, jie (China) My Review of Lust Caution I have seen the film 3 times now and I still do not think that I have caught all that the film was trying to show. Good luck on trying to find English Subtitles for this film. Please see the uncensored version of the film. 6. Reign Over Me my review When Adam Sandler tries a serious role, it is usually not received well but critics to give him props for it. I could not believe that he went after this role and pulled it off. I actually believed him and wanted to see more of his back story. 5. Superbad Now, I thought that I would really not like this film. What a great film this was and especially the 2 DVD Unrated set. I saw a lot of the crazy things that I did as a teen and I really can't believe that, the names may have changed, but the real story is the same. I have no idea if we will ever be able to see this in Korea. I have no idea how anyone could even try and translate this. 4. Persepolis Of all of the missed nominations, I could not believe that this film was not selected Best Foreign Language Film. I must give props to Harry for turning me on to this film. I was able to watch it in the original French with English subtitles. The unusually drawn animation tells us about a poignant coming-of-age story of a precocious and outspoken young Iranian girl that begins during the Islamic Revolution and ends with her leaving Iran forever. This is a great story and I think that all young ladies need to read her book and to watch her movie and see how one little girl became a woman. 3. 300 My Review When I saw that this film was coming to IMAX, I took a few fiends of mine, who had never seen an IMAX film before. This made them want to see more films in the IMAX format. I have it on Blu-Ray and regular DVD. It is well worth a viewing if you have not yet seen the film. 2. There Will Be Blood Opens on 2008.03.21 (South Korea) Nominated for Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Achievement in Directing, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role and a few more. If i had a vote on the academy ballot, this would be my vote on the 5 films that they would give me to vote on. Daniel-Day-Lewis has always been very interesting to me, either I have loved his acting In the Name of the Father or really hated it The Last of the Mohicans. So I had no ideal about this film, that was until I saw it. This film deserves to be seen on the big screen and I have so far seen it twice and I still need to see it a few more times. I am still not sure that I have seen all that this film has to offer. Now for the moment that I award the "Flynnie" to my #1 film of the year. 1. Ratatouille My Review I thought that this Pixar film could be a so-so good one, I had no idea that it would become a great one. I have seen the film at the CGV about 10 times and most of it in a digital format. I just think that It was a well written and a great story that can be shared with the entire family.

Now if there is a best of the year, then there must also be some very bad films that were made also. Now lets look at these so called films. The worst films of the year list. #25 Hannibal Rising In what was supposed to be a great 4th film about Hannibal Lecter ended up being one huge bore and disappointment. This series has never recovered from the horrible movie ending to Hannibal #24 AVPR: Aliens vs Predator - Requiem Now the cartoons for Alien vs Predator have been awesome. The movies have been awesomely bad. I have no idea why, but both films have failed on so many different levels. The film leaves the door open for a part 3. Why? I have no idea. #23. I Know Who Killed Me Lindsay Lohan acting lately has been bad movies and a lot of drama with the media. I have no idea why anyone thought that Lohan could act. #22 Punch Lady To be honest, even after watching the film, I still have no idea about the film. What was even sadder about the film was the Korean audience hated just as much as I did. #21. Balls of Fury Bad men defeated by ping-pong? I saw it and wanted to know why this was made. 20. Attack on the Pin-Up Boys Now I have no idea what ticked me off more. Was it the blatant rip-off of the Beastie Boys or was it the very bad acting? 19.The Messengers I see more dead people and I saw my time wasted by watching this one. 18. Feel the Noise I felt something after watching this film. Was it the "Noise" no; Was it me becoming sick, Yes. 17. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford There are certain films that a lot of critics like and, for some reason, never clicks with me. This is one of those films. I found it to be a 2.5 hour bore with a lot to do about nothing. 16Perfect Stranger Once again, we are shown that Hallie Berry can not act. Once again her films dies at the box office. Please: No more movies from Ms. Berry 15.Code Name: The Cleaner I can remember when Cedric "The Entertainer" could make me laugh, All I remember that this film was not one of those times. 14. Bratz There has to be a reason for this film, I sure could not think of one. I know that I was not the target audience for this film but ,please, some actual sanity in this film sure would have been nice. 13. A Mighty Heart My Review Still not a fan of the film for, my review, reasons. 12. Pathfinder This film deserves, never to be seen again. No real plot or story, Yes it thats bad and yes, I thought 11 films were worse. 11. Nancy Drew Well, I was not the target audience of this film. Maybe a good film was here, I sure did not see it. 10. The Show Must Go on Well if you have ever heard the old song, "Don't believe the hype" It surely applies to this film. All of the talk of this being a good film and we get the same, old, tired, Korean Gangster film. What a huge waste of time. 9. May 18 My Review of May 18 2 of my film reviews have really ticked off a lot of people. This film was the first one. My feelings about this film have not changed since my review. 8. The Reaping Freedom Writers Tie. Both films had Hillary Swank and both films failed because of her very bad acting. When she brings it, she wins Oscars. When she does not, we are left with these messes. 7. The Abandoned A very bad horror film that left me wanting my $ back. What a huge waste of time this one was. 6. Epic Movie Well is was to be a parody of a lot of film. In the end it was a huge waste of film that brought no laughter. It did make me wonder who gave the "go" for this film. He should be fired. 5. Are We Done Yet? Is this film series done yet? It keeps getting worse and worse. 4. Lions for Lambs My Review A 2 hour lecture and UA wonders why the film tanked? Better luck next time Tom Cruise. 3. The Golden Compass My Review This film has really left me puzzled. It has done great in the overseas markets but a huge bomb in the USA market. I really do not an answer for that. Part 2 of this trilogy still has a release date for 2009. 2. Hostel: Part II My Review Over the last few months, I have really soured on the new horror, "Torture Porn" I know that it is cartoon but is this all we can consider to make us scared. What happed to us? If this is Horror? Now along with the "Torture Porn" markings I now announce, "The Flynnie" for the worst film of the year 2007 goes to 1. Captivity My Review My review pretty much states my opinion of this piece of junk. Please do not see this film at all cost.

Now for what I considered "The Surprises" of the year. These are films that came out of nowhere or where huge dice were rolled and they paid off whether at the box office or with the critics. I will give the reason why I put this film in this category. #25 Charlie Wilson's War OPENS IN SOUTH KOREA ON 2/6/08. It was a good film that could have been great if it was given a hour more to develop more. At 90+ minutes, it all seemed rushed. To be this good for a rushed film is what put it on this list. #24 Beowulf In 2D, the film is so-so. In 3D IMAX, its worthy of the name Beowulf. It was a huge gamble that maybe will recoup the cost but it was a well worth try at the first legendary tale. #23 Stardust The box office on this film in foreign markets was interesting to watch. It slowly built up a share and kept it for awhile. Nice film and good job of selling it outside of the USA. #22 The Girl Next Door What a look at one person can force other to do. Great job of making a film. #21. P.S. I Love You How do you say good-bye to the love of your life? A very well told story about that. A nice surprise from Ms. Hilary Swank; a chick-flick for all. 20. Muk gong Battle of Wits (International: English title) Now, a very nice surprise film about war in China. I had no idea what was happing next and it sure made me happy that I paid to see this film. 19. Killer of Sheep (1977) Now this student film has been quiet for a long time and was finally given a limited release in 2007 in USA. What a history lesson this film was and what a look at what was actually going on around this person. Listed this year for surprise and its release from darkness. 18.Awake From the plot. Every year, one in 700 people wakes up during surgery. When they planned her husband's murder, they never thought he'd be the one. A small, wicked, horror film that left me thinking, Payback it a Bytch. 17. Why Did I Get Married? A small film by Tyler Perry. It takes a real look at marriage and why we do it. A real good, small story. People could learn A lot by watching this film. 16. Hairspray My Review Every time i think that John Travolta is finally finished as an actor, he has a year like 2007. I never liked the 1988 version of this film. I loved this version. Seeing John and Christopher Walken as a happily married couple was just too much. A huge gamble that worked. 15. No Country for Old Men Opens: 21 February 2008 (South Korea) I really have no idea why a lot of people are falling all over themselves in trying to promote this film. I saw it as 3/4 a good film then the last act of this as, "You have got to be fracking kidding me!" This was the pay-off, and the main candidate for Oscar 2008. A real surprise for a lot of people is why its on my list. 14. Otoko-tachi no Yamato Yamato (International: English title) Once again, a earlier released film that I put on this years list. It has slowly worked itself out of Japan and started to get some serious publicity in 2007. As a former soldier, I stood and saluted at what happened at the end of this film. A small little film that needs to be released wide ASAP. 13. The Game Plan "The Rock" and Walt Disney working together. I did not think it would work. Well, the Box Office proved me wrong. A small film that shows, "The Rock" can become a decent actor. 12. Smokin' Aces I was not expecting much when I saw this film at CGV. I had heard a little about it. I had no idea that it would be as good as it was. It was nice to see a huge chess games and in the end everybody became a pawn in one huge game of murder-for-hire. 11. Disturbia All I saw it was a huge teen rip off of Rear Window with the flavor of the year Shia LaBeouf. A lot more people liked it and are helping LaBeouf into becoming a huge teen idol. 10. The Simpsons Movie My Review This film could have bombed big time. Before it came out a lot of fans were saying that it would destroy the TV show. Well, the show is still going on and the movie is doing well in DVD Sales. This is the one American film review where I also, ticked of a lot of readers but asking a simple question on the twitch website. Will Korean nationalism translate into this film doing good here in Korea. More Koreans worked on this film than D-WAR. (It did not do that great of business here in Korea. I was the only one laughing at most of the jokes.) 9. Big Bang I had no real desire to see this film, the only reason I did was, that I had a friend visit me from the USA and he wanted to see a Korean film. So we picked this one. For a small film in Korea, this told one hell of a story of a man who has finally had enough and decided to strike back. A very good small film, that is work a DVD rental. 8. Voice of Murderer My favorite Korean Film of the year. It has also received small publicity from NYC Film Festivals. When you start to realize that you are listening to real evil, it really started to mess with your mind. The real kidnapper was way smarter that the Korean Police ever were. As of today, he is still at large and can never be charged for the murder, due to the statues of limitation on murder in Korea has past. After the film is over, you actually hear the real kidnappers voice. Please watch it on DVD when you can. A very small film that showed the incompetency of the Korean Police and how evil men can be. 7. Katyn Best Foreign Language Film Category of the 80th Annual Academy Awards Nominee. For those who have no idea about this moment during World War 2 please click here. I have said it before and will say it again. If good men do nothing, while evil prevails, then damn all of the good men straight to hell. I knew how the film was going to end and it was still hard to watch it all go down. Please see it when you can. 6. Once Well this film has puzzled me, I thought it was so-so and the critics have been praising it. It has received an Oscar nomination for "Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song"If you want to see a good love story, then try this one. I listed this film because of all of the top 10 list this film has received. #5. Wild Hogs Just when I think that both John Travolta and Tim Allen are finished with acting, they make this film. I have no idea why it worked, but it did and, for now, saved the careers of Tim and John. #4. Knocked Up What an idea for a film and it worked. Party boy gets nice girl knocked up and he has to grow up. No idea if this or Superbad will ever play in Korea, so try and download or buy the DVD. A huge surprise for Judd Apatow. #3 The Kite Runner I had heard that this film would take a very different look at the Taliban and Afghanistan. To watch his story before the Russian soldiers came and to see what happened to a child because of teaching was sad. A good look at the film. A really good film that will haunt you for a few days. #2 Alvin and the Chipmunks Now this film could have been a huge failure due to todays children forgetting about "The Chipmunk Christmas Song" It was not and became a huge hit for Fox. The film was funny and I was actually laughing at this story and I knew what was coming next and I was still laughing at it. Now the #1 film for best surprise of the year was a huge box office gamble that could have blown up in so many different markets but it did not. So "The Flynnie" for "The Biggest Surprise Of 2007" goes to #1. Transformers My Review This is one of the things that I do love about Korea. Every now and then Korea will get a big film before the USA does. This one opened in Korea in June 2007 and went to sell over 7 million tickets here in Korea and did O.K. during its 4 week IMAX run in November 2007. When you listen to the DVD director's commentary, on everything that could have gone wrong with this film, to everything that started to go right with Korea, Japan, Steven Spielberg instance of cost maintenance. It worked and made a truck load of money. The HD-DVD crown won a small victory when this film will be released in HD-DVD format only.

With the best surprises of the year, there must also be the most disappointments of the year 2007. I will list the reason why I thought the film was a disappointment. #25 National Treasure: Book of Secrets So, let me see if I understand this; One man helps to find 2 of the greatest treasures in the world and this is supposed to make sense? This film was such a joke, it was more like a bad cartoon that an actual film. It deserves never to be seen on DVD. #24 Hansel and Gretel (Korean) It was supposed to be an adult version of H and G. In actuality, it was a huge joke that failed on many different levels here in Korea. A bad plot, bad story and box office failure, is what greeted this film during Christmas 2007. 23. The Astronaut Farmer Well it sure sounded nice. A little farmer who wanted to go into outer space. Well he did and so did our lunch, after watching this film. 22. Because I Said So When a chick flick fails, this is the result. It was just a pain to watch and a mess of an edit job. 21. Secret Sunshine (Korean) My Review I still can not believe this film won at Cannes. It was so telegraphed. My review above still stands on this film. 20. Boku wa imôto ni koi wo suru My Sister, My Love (Europe: English title) (Japan) The film is based of a Japanese comic book and it was just a bad story with a bad plot attached. 19. Dnevnoy dozor Day Watch (International: English title) (Russia) As much as I liked Nightwatch, I hated this film. It just left me very flat and not wanting to see #3 next year. 18. Dan in Real Life i thought that Steve Carell could make me laugh. In this film, he did not. The intentions were good, but in the end, it was a huge let down. 17. 28 Weeks Later I liked 28 Days Later... . This one just was not as good as the first one and without Danny Boyle, why was #2 even made? 16. The Number 23. There had to be a reason this film was made. As of this review, I still do not know that reason. 15. The Heartbreak Kid The film was a remake that should have worked. It had Ben Stiller and "The Farrelly Brothers" In the end it was a mess that will only waste your time if you ever decide to watch this. 14. 3:10 to Yuma as a huge fan of the original I was very unsure about wanting to see this remade. What a waste of 2 fine actors Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. I still can not believe that critics love this film. 13. Black Snake Moan I was really looking forward to this. Samuel L. Jackson and Craig Brewer. In the end what I got was a huge disappointment. 12. Shoot 'Em Up I still have no idea why I liked this film. The reason its on this list because a lot more did not like this film. Its a Popcorn action films that delivers. 11. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix my review Was this film ever frustrating me. It could have been a great film instead of a so-so film. 10. Desu nôto: The last name Death Note: The Last Name (International: English title) (Japan) As much as I loved the original I hated part 2. It just left me feeling like a golden opportunity was missed here. 9. We Own the Night In what should have been a run at the "Oscar for Best Film" ended up a mess with an inane plot and some very bad writing. Really disappointed by this film. 8. D-War My Review Of all of the reviews I did this year, this is the one that upset the Korean Netcitizens the most. Some of the replies were priceless. I have heard of D-WAR 2, I am still wondering what we did to deserve that. 7.Zodiac I usually love a good story. So after I saw this film, it left me stunned. I still have no idea why a lot of people have put this film in their top 10 list. It brought nothing new to the story of the Zodiac Killer. It was just a rehash, polished up, version of what we already knew. 6. American Gangster My Review As I said in the review, I still like the movie. I just thought that it could have been done so much better and maybe actually tried to show fact instead of the legend. 5. The Kingdom Once again, I was thinking, "OK nice preview, Now I want to see the movie." Once again, I saw every move coming and the ending was a joke. 4. Premonition I really do like films that make me think. Sad to say, I saw all of the thinking in the trailer. Why was this film made. It was a waste of talent. #3 Ghost Rider Now one of my favorite Marvel Comics was made into a movie. I wanted to see this film. It had Sam Elliot, Nicolas Cage, Peter Fonda. It should have worked. In the end it failed. It was a bad script and some very wooden acting that caused this film to fail. #2 Sunshine I was so looking forward to this film. Danny Boyle directs a saving the planet film. It should have worked and a lot of critics eyes, it did. To me, it soon became a bad slasher film, set in outer space. When the film was over I was so disappointed. All of the great potential wasted with this badly acted film. So now I must award, "The Flynnie" to the film that, to me, was the hugest disappointment of the year. #1. Evan Almighty Now I have no idea who's brilliant idea it was to do a sequel to A Jim Carrey film without Jim Carrey. The failures of Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd and Son of the Mask and maybe Ace Ventura 3. I kept hearing that the cost of this film was going to break the 175-200$ million cost. i was thinking, this is going to be a huge bomb. It was a bomb and a huge disappointment for Steve Carell. May Hollywood adopt a new law. "NO Jim Carrey sequels without Jim himself in the film.