With the first days of 2009 behind us, it's time for a look at the year that was. I don't know about you, but I didn't find the music and movies of 2008 overwhelming. Nevertheless, the movies I saw were watched and ranked, which left me with a list. And the top position goes to...

1. SON OF RAMBOW
Still not sure whether this movie should get 8.5 or 9 out of 10, but one thing is sure: no movie ranked higher in my list this year. Set in the early 1980, the movie features two young boys inspired by the movie Rambo and out to make their own little film, Son of Rambow. Nostalgia meets a love for film and the mix is spiced with lots of imagination , thanks to illustrator David O'Reilly who also helped director Garth Jennings out with his first film, The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. A top cast (especially the two young boys who're the centre of the story) and wonderful ideas, this couldn't go wrong if they tried it (which, luckily, they didn't).

And now for the rest of the top 10.

As Christmas approaches, Neko jingles her bells, decks the halls, and indulges herself by snagging those pricey import discs that in other more frugal moments she might pass up while waiting for the less expensive HK release to come along. "Gosa" is another of those slick horror films done right, the Korean way, and now available in the 2 disc collectors edition straight from Korea. As the only real horror offering out of Korea from this summer could I pass it up? Not on your life!!

The synopsis reads: "About 200 days prior to the college entrance exam, a school manages a cram course for its top 20 students. Evaluated only by their grades, school life is so stressful that some students suffer from serious mental problems. A sudden piano solo of ``Fur Elise'' wakes up the sleeping students and a screen shows the top student, Hye-yeong, dying in a water tank. A voice asks the students to solve a question, to decide the fate of Hye-yeong. Will she live or will she die? More importantly.... who will be next?"

Yep.... as any number of films have shown, school days in Korea can be Hell.... Literally. So with this trusty scenario in place who among you wouldn't want to "Read On"?

(Sorry it's been a while since I posted here at DV, but recent computer gremlins have been drivin' this lil Catgirl crazy for the last month or so...... Thankfully that looks to be behind me now, so let's jump right in with somethin' new...)

This time out... a break from the Asian ghosts, monsters, and kung-fu antics that usually populate the trashy cinema I like to watch. With Halloween approaching, I lucked out and discovered this lil' gem, a double feature parody of old 40's serial adventure cliffhangers and 50's alien invasion films, "Monarch of the Moon" and "Destination:Mars!".

I ran into this one quite by accident, and was lucky enough to find a copy of the two disc collector's release of this one by BCI/ Image Entertainment.

So.... is it a nostalgia filled look at the films of old I saw on Saturday mornings? Let's take a look!