August 9, 2010

Midnight Top Five - 200th Post Controversial Opinion Edition!

I'm not much for celebration at this point in my blogging career. I have been in the past, making a big deal of everything from my 100th post to Mother's Day to MLB Opening Day as an excuse for something special. So when I realized that my next post was going to be my 200th, I decided I'd buck the trend of going "OH MAN I'M SOOOOO AWESOMEZZZZZZZ!!" and instead say something most will find ridiculous and controversial.

So, here's the thing. I think some of y'all give Shaun of the Dead too much credit. And I shall now list the ways, with the Midnight Top Five entitled:

"Things I Love More Than Shaun of the Dead"
Bubba Ho-Tep - I know that Shaun is supposed to be the horror comedy sensation of this decade, but I don't know why more people don't mention Bubba Ho-Tep in the same conversation. I'm guessing it has something to do with the dramatic side of Bubba - which most find to be ridiculous. But I think that film, topped off by Bruce Campbell's complete willingness to sell Coscarelli's script, succeeds in making me laugh and cheer just a bit more than Shaun does. And it had far less to work with, from a budget/backing standpoint, too.
Dog Soldiers - If I want something British from the last decade, I'm not picking Shaun in that category either. In my crazy eyes, Dog Soldiers is one of the most thrilling horror films in recent memory, and I think it's got near as much humor as Shaun does, too. It lacks the hipness of Shaun, and definitely seems to play more to a male audience than the gender-friendly Shaun, but I'm a dude. Thus, I get a slightly bigger kick out of Neil Marshall's debut film than Edgar Wright's rom-zom-com.
Night of the Living Dead - Do we really even have to have this conversation? Apparently yes, because I know a lot of people who think Shaun's the greatest zombie movie ever. They're also generally the people who don't know why Nick Frost's Ed shouts "We're coming to get you Barbara!" or why Shaun works at Foree Electric. To me Night is still the most effective, most entertaining, and scariest zombie film out there, and I give it mad props for setting the tone for a film like Shaun to even exist.
Hot Fuzz - Speaking of Frost and Wright, I think their action film parody is a bit more spot-on than Shaun was. While I love visiting horror cinema, I can't deny that I was born and raised in the land of the action film...and Hot Fuzz nailed that genre for me. Am I biased because I'm basically an alternate universe version of Danny Futterman? Maybe. But I spent less time thinking "I wish I were watching Die Hard" during Hot Fuzz than I spent thinking "I wish I were watching Night of the Living Dead" during Shaun.
The Blob - OK, there's not a good reason for me to bring The Blob up here. Comparing it and Shaun is like comparing station wagons and bubble gum. But I did just offer a few words about my beloved globular creature over in the ongoing Lucky 13 series over at the world-renowned Vault of Horror! So, I'm listing it here because a) I love my Blob, b) The Vault is wicked awesome and I'm extremely honored to be welcome there, and c) Well...I love my Blob.

I know, y'all are probably mad at me. In the hope that my Shaun dissing shall not get a hit put out on my blog, I offer some Duckula!

12 comments:

  1. Great idea! I still can't believe I haven't seen Bubba Ho-Tep since it first came out. I also agree with you on Night of the Living Dead. Although it is not my favorite zombie flick, it is the best.

    Yay! Duckula!!!

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  2. What else can I say but....DUCKULA!!
    Great stuff.
    Dreaded Dreams
    Petunia Scareum

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  3. +JMJ+

    I'm actually totally with you when it comes to the superiority of Hot Fuzz to Shaun of the Dead! =P

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  4. Genius post. So glad you gave nods to Bubba Ho-Tep and Dog Soldiers. They're both awesome and not recognised often enough.

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  5. Ahhh Bubba Ho-Tep, such an awesome AWESOME movie.

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  6. Oh my gosh, I love Bubba Ho-Tep. But I'm still giving tons of credit to Shaun of the Dead because it was FANTASTIC. Can't help it, I'm a lover.

    P.S. Anybody ever notice the end credits to Bubba? The copyright notice says something about you will be subject to prosecution "and the wrath of Bubba Ho-Tep." Loooove it.

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  7. Yes of course I agree that Bubba is better than Shaun, but this post means that I FINALLY found someone I can discuss the fact that while Shaun is fun, HOT FUZZ is a much better picture. It's outside of horror, but if we are talking Edgar, Simon and Nick, it's good to compare apples with apples. Fuzz is the f'n shiz.

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  8. Thanks all! Glad to see there's so many Bubba and Fuzz lovers left out there, it seems I've underestimated our numbers.

    BTW, in no way do I mean I dislike Shaun, it's freakin' great. But yeah, these make me a bit happier.

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  9. HOW COULD YOU?!?!?!?!?!

    Just joking :) I do admit that I have a huge love for Shaun of the Dead, but I definitely agree that it's not the best zombie movie ever, although it is a great one. It is actually the first (I think) zom-com that I saw, and I also love rom-coms, so for me the combo was awesome.

    I do absolutely LOVE Hot Fuzz, and I'm not sure which I love more. I guess it depends what kind of mood I'm in.

    Also, this reminded me that I've got to watch Bubba Ho-Tep- I have never seen it :(

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  10. All awesome movies t hat I need to see!

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  11. Bubba Ho Temp is amazing. While it has funny bits, it's an incredibly sad and moving story with a lot to say about how we disregard the elderly. Campbell is brilliant as Elvis.

    Here's some controversy for you: NotLD? Overrated. Almost unwatchable nowadays.

    There I said it.

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  12. I can see it, Mike, but I've just always bought into Night for what it is. I'm a big fan of "classic" (aka, old) movies, though, so I'm very forgiving of some of its shortcomings.

    But at least you're one more of the people who love Bubba. I feel like I never see it mentioned anymore, and am glad to have been wrong in my presumption that people forgot it.

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