Kuala Lampur, Jan. 3 -- While I do enjoy the cerebral and intellectual challenge of watching arthouse films, which often take up most of the space in my annual favourite films of the year list, when it comes to cinematic junk food, there's nothing that can even come close to replacing the pleasure that I get from enjoying the often extreme and bizarre sights that are on offer in genre films, whether they're horror films, action flicks, sci-fi headscratchers or gonzo shockers.

There's a particular kick that these films offer that can rarely be found in other movies, and if I'm being honest, at least half of my annual movie-watching time is spent watching genre films, which is why I think they deserve a separate list all on their own.

Som...