Movies #57-67

02/24/2008

67. Radiant City (2006)
Off DVR, Shown on Sundance Channel (widescreen, uncut)
This is exactly the documentary portrait of suburban life that I've been wanting to see for a while. Having spent a good number of years of my formative years in a suburban like area I could immediately relate to all of the criticisms of suburban living compared to city living. The characters in this are great, Highly Recommended if you lived in the suburbs at one time. Highlight text below for a spoiler review.

*SPOILERS* So at the end of the film you find out that these aren't real people but actors who also live out in the suburbs, but it doesn't entirely ruin the points being made in the movie because a lot of the points made are still valid, I just wish the documentarians had gotten real people. My fake radar went off a few times during the film but I didn't ultimately realize it tell the end.

02/23/2008

65. The Day of the Jackal (1973)
Off DVR, Shown on Turner Classic Movies (widescreen, uncut)
This movie covers the scope of an investigation of track down an unknown assassin, and it's all in the details and the details take forever. You definitely notice the running time of the movie but that doesn't detract from it too much because it's based on a book that is quite sizable also. But this is kind of dated but still a good watch. Average Watch


66. Lust, Caution (2007) Unrated Cut
Other Means
I really like this movie and I highly recommened it. I have more to say buy you'll have to highlight text below for a spoiler review.

*SPOILERS* So Mr. Yee treats our main characters like a piece of meat the whole time and is extremely rough with her, and then when he buys her a diamond then she had feelings for him and spares his life? Why? She gets killed because of it, I didn't really believe that she could fall in love with him considering how brutal a lover he was. That is my only problem with this movie.

02/22/2008

64. My Blueberry Nights (2007)
Other Means
Having been a fan of Wong Kar-Wai's for awhile now I couldn't wait to dig in and watch this movie, and I have to say, Wong's trademarks are all over this movie and it feels like it belongs with the rest of his films in terms of subject matter and the story themes. It basically has several vignettes as our main characters goes across the country and while many people are saying Noah Jones shouldn't have been cast as the lead, my problems aren't with her, it's with the miscasting of Natalie Portman in her role, the movie really suffers for it and she just doesn't work in this role, it's not really her fault. If you've never seen any of Wong Kar-Wai's other films than this really isn't the one to start with. Average Watch for Wong Kar-Wai fans.

02/21/2008

62. Absence of Malice (1981)
Off DVR, Shown on Turner Classic Movies (widescreen, uncut)
This movie ultimately shows the responsibility the media has to the people, and if it had just been about that I would have liked it more but they had to throw in the romance angle into the movie and it kind of goes pear shaped from there. This movie appears a little dated, and has pacing problems, I felt like I was watching this all day but it's only a two hour movie. Sally Fields is actually attractive in this movie which is weird because in the movies that came out while I was growing up she was the grandma. Above average journalistic viewpoint, Below average romance.


63. King Rat (1965)
Off DVR, Shown on Turner Classic Movies (widescreen, uncut)
I'm a big George Siegal fan, and I think my generation really missed out on his talent because he was known to me as that old guy on that bad show (Just Shoot Me). He shines here as the title character and in the genre of World War II prison camp movies (that's right, there are so many of them they have there own genre) this one might night be as snappy as Stalag 17, but it stands on it's own and was really the own one to show a homoerotic streak running through the camp, right under the surface. This one is a long one though and you feel it's run time, but it's still worth a watch. Great black and white photography.

02/20/2008

59. The Star Chamber (1983)
Off DVR, Shown on Fox Movie Channel (widescreen, uncut)
Michael Douglas plays... surprise a judge. This movie has a good set-up and development but it kind of loses sight of the main goals towards the end and becomes just another 80's movie. Slightly Below Average Watch


60. Goya's Ghosts (2006)
Other Means
This movie like We Own the Night has a great cast, but kind of ruins things in the execution of things. The movie is about three characters, and it should have stayed on that course but about half way through the film revolution breaks out and we get a little too much perspective and stray away from the main characters and the film flounders. There are serious pacing problems here also, after sitting though this I was convinced the running time was a shade over 2 and a half hours but it's actually only a little over 100 minutes. Below Average (although I've been a Javier Bardem fan for years this was still painful to sit though, but it wasn't his fault)


61. Cassandra's Dream (2007)
Other Means
I've been one of the people that has enjoyed all of Woody's recent output since Match Point and this film continues in the same vein. Outstanding cast and performances, there's only a few Woody touches here and there. Slightly Above Average Watch.

02/19/2008

58. U2 3D (2007)
In Theaters
I went to see this on a whim because I had been wanting to check out this new Digital Projection 3D technology that James Cameron was going to be using for his next couple films. Wow, I wish that all films where using this 3D technology, I can't truly describe it, but after ten minutes or so you get more used to the 3D and you start to accept the depth of the picture and stuff just seems more real. I know the tickets are a little extra but it's worth because this does not translate at all for the moment to the home movie theaters, and in the future when it does, the screen is still alot bigger in the theater and more overwhelming. Above Average Watch.

02/18/2008

55. Save the Tiger (1973)
Off DVR, Shown on Turner Classic Movies (widescreen, uncut)
I've always been a big Jack Lemmon fan. Jack plays a garment company president that is putting on a very important runway show that will effect whether the company goes under or not, except there is no fashion industry glamour here, only business. Highly Recommended Viewing if you get the chance


56. Commando (1985)
Off DVR, Shown on Fox Movie Channel (widescreen, uncut)
Boom, Boom, Blam, Bang. There is the screenplay for this movie, but it works because it's a classic Arnold vehicle and it's under ninety minutes. This movie is a barrel of laughs and tons of fun, the topper when one handedly invades Scarface's compound and kills two hundred people including Scarface and only get hit twice with return fire. CLASSIC!


57. We Own the Night (2007)
Other Means
The individual pieces are better than the sum of the parts. Great cast, good direction, average script=average movie. There isn't anything in this that hasn't been done before. Average Watch

Best Picture Nominated Movies

Here are the five movies nominated for Best Picture in the order that I liked them:


1. There Will Be Blood (2007)


2. No Country For Old Men (2007)


3. Michael Clayton (2007)


4. Juno (2007)


5. Atonement (2007)

Movies #39-54

02/17/2008

53. Turok: Son of Stone (2008)
Other Means
I only got this to watch because of the review that Harry from Ain't It Cool put up, and I concur on several accounts with his review. The character design and animation are the biggest detractions about this, but there is tons of violence and blood and lots of people die in this also. So I like that it's not aimed at a child audience, but the movie does have tons of action in it also. This is for the inner child that loves seeing dinosaurs and humans face off and lots of action. Enjoyable Watch


54. Atonement (2007)
Other Means
This was the last of the movies nominated for best picture that I had to watch and I have to say that this was the worst of the five movies nominated. This movie is the in the tradition of what classically of what Oscar movies had to be, epic in all aspects, romance, and surrounded by a war. It's not that this is a terrible movie it's just that all the conventions used in it are tried and true and tired and have not pizzaz anymore, resulting in this movie feeling reeling flat. Also there is some bad pacing issues, in that I felt like turning off the movie until about 40 minutes into the movie, it didn't grab me as that interesting to try to keep me watching. Also I'm never that big a fan of child actor's/ children in general and the story is told from the viewpoint of a child for some reason. Not Recommended Watching.

02/16/2008

52. The Wind and the Lion (1975)
Off DVR, Shown on Turner Classic Movies (widescreen, uncut)
So apparently Arabs have Scottish accents, or at least the ones that Sean Connery plays do. This movie is pretty sappy and I found myself bored with it many times. But you haven't really lived until you've heard Sean Connery say "Let there be jihad, and let there swords run with the blood of the infidels". Not recommened

02/15/2008

51. The Silent Partner (1978)
Off DVR, Shown on Fox Movie Channel (widescreen, uncut)
Elliot Gould was at the top of his game in the seventies and this gem of a movie had passed me by, but this one was really fun to watch and continued Gould's run of great movies throughout the seventies. For some reason on the DVD release they gave this an Ocean's Eleven rip-off cover and while I guess this is kind of a heist movie, it's really more of a thriller, and a good one at that. Above Average Watch

02/14/2008

47. Love with the Proper Stranger (1963)
Off DVR, Shown on Turner Classic Movies
I was surprised that I hadn't heard of this movie before with such a pairing of two screen icons, but this is basically like "Knocked Up", but it's as cute as that movie is and takes places in early sixties New York. This was back in the day when getting an abortion was a clandestine/shady operation and there were tons of risks with no regulation of safety standards. The cover of the movie is a little deceiving because it portrays them as a couple and through most of the movie they both kind of hate each other which is much more interesting than seeing a loving couple dealing with an unexpected pregnancy. Above Average Watch, Must see for Steve McQueen and Natalie Wood fans.


48. Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Other Means
I was really surprised by this movie because I had been sold that this was a movie about a missing child, but it really isn't, it's about a lot more than that and I won't elaborate on the plot any further. This is a return to form in terms of screenwriting for Ben Affleck, he hasn't written anything since Good Will Hunting and I hope that he continues to keep writing and directing if this is the quality of film that he can turn out. Above Average Watch


49. Margot at the Wedding (2007)
Other Means
This is Noah Baumbach's first film after the surprisingly good The Squid and the Whale and while it doesn't retain the uniqueness of the Squid, I think that's probably because Squid was told from the teenager's point of view of how he looked his parents, and this movie is told from the adults point of view of how they look at the rest of the family. I enjoyed Squid more but this has it's moments also, and Jack Black doesn't do badly with a serious role. Only slightly above average, but not a bad film.


50. Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
Other Means
This movie is a truly unique experience, I'm really glad this screenplay got Oscar nominated because it's one of the more original premises that's been carried out successfully that I've seen in a long time. If you like films based around great character writing than this is must see. Highly Recommended Viewing

02/13/2008

43. The Reivers (1969)
Off DVR, Shown on Turner Classic Movies (widescreen, uncut)
This movie is weird because it seems to be aimed at children, but with this being made in the sixty's I guess the PC patrol hadn't taken affect, here are a few of the potent quotables from this movie, "Your a regular curious jew", "Imagine me a white man, having to chauffeur a nigger all the way to Memphis", "Hitting a woman doesn't hurt her, all it does it black her eye and cut her mouth and that ain't nothin' to a woman, what better sign can a woman want than he's got her on his mind." And quite a few of the characters are prostitutes, but don't get it confused even though this movie has Steve McQueen and prostitutes, it's by no means a fun watch. This movie has pacing problems and is really hampered by trying to cater to the child audience and is extremely dated. Worth a watch for Steven McQueen fans, but not recommended otherwise.


44. Catch a Fire (2006)
Other Means
In terms of stories of what oppression on blacks this story is handled more even handed than other movies such as "Blood Diamond" which I thought had good intentions but ultimately was a love story about two white people and not about the guy from Amistad who was the one getting the diamonds out of the ground and had his family taken away from him. This movie does it right because Derek Luke is actually the main character and focal point of the movie and we get to see how brutal rule changes pacifist into taking up arms. This is another film supposedly based on fact, and the people on the imdb message boards always have kittens that it isn't a documentary in presenting everything to the grains of sand as properly as it happened. Poop on that, your watching a film, not a documentary. Otherwise this is a slightly above average watch, bonus points for casting Tim Robbins as the bad guy.


45. The River's Edge (1957)
Off DVR, Shown on Fox Movie Channel (widescreen)
I haven't seen that many movies with Anthony Quinn as the lead actor so I gave this one a try. Nothing really special about this movie, average movie from the 50's, not a bad movie, but not worth recommending either.


46. Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
Other Means
I didn't ever watch the first Elizabeth, and after watching this one maybe I should have because the first one seems to have gotten much high praise than this one, and that's a good thing for the first film. For a movie that is about the time period of Elizabeth's war with the Spanish (which was a pretty huge upset and it gets only a few minutes in the film), most of the movie is a love story, and then we get to the war 90 minutes in. I'm a big Clive Owen fan so his scenes were carried well but overall this movie is a tad boring for those people that aren't crazy about period films that take place during the middle ages, which includes myself. The acting can't be faulted because it's top notch all around but acting alone can't save a film with a misguided screenplay. Or maybe that's just me, but I would have liked more war and less love.

02/12/2008

41. In the Valley of Elah (2007)
Other Means
My beef with this movie is not with the execution of the first 3/4ths of the movie, but it's with the last part. Now I'll explain my problem with the movie in spoiler free terms, there is a crime in this movie and the guilty party confesses, but no where in the confession or in the movie is the motivation for this crime ever stated. But otherwise this movie is extremely well written and acted and the emotional scenes don't come off as sappy or heavy handed. Above Average Watch


42. Incident at Loch Ness (2004)
Off DVR, Shown on IFC (widescreen, uncut)
As a fan of Werner Herzog for years and seeing him in countless documentaries I couldn't wait to watch this one which promised to a continuation of his documentary work but about the Loch Ness monster. But what this really turned out to be is a clever fake documentary about his failing to get a documentary about Loch Ness made. Highly recommeded if you've seen any of Herzog's film or documentary work before, otherwise only an average watch if you don't know that he's a film legend.

02/11/2008

39. John and Mary (1969)
Off DVR, Shown on Fox Movie Channel (widescreen, uncut)
Anytime I get a hold of a vintage Dustin Hoffman movie that I haven't seen I always expect good things, and along with some vintage Mia Farrow these two leads are in there prime in terms of their youthful appearances. This combined with plenty of on location shooting in vintage Manhattan made this an interesting watch, this movie would have totally sunk without these specific two carrying everything, that and the highly relatable story made me stick with it. Average Watch


40. The Hunting Party (2007)
Other Means
This is a really well written screenplay, I really enjoyed this movie but for the traditional ending, but the majority of the film is pretty entertaining. Now this is supposedly basic on true events and of course anytime you base a movie on "true events" there is going to be arguments over the facts in the story, I don't think that is a problem as long as you know your not watching a documentary. Enjoyable Watch

Movies #29-38

02/10/2008

38. Michael Clayton (2007)
Other Means
There have been a few movies about corporate intrigue and what they will do around a large lawsuit to get past the case, but where as most movies get you to know the victims of the corporations and then the monolithic evil corporation comes in and is just evil. This movie takes the point of view of one of the lawyers who works for the firm representing the monolithic corporation, but not one that is on the front-line so we get some perspective on the issues taking place. I don't really want to say any more about the plot but seeing this movie, I can say that getting a Best Picture Nomination was not undeserved.

02/09/2008

37. There Will Be Blood (2007)
In Theaters
There isn't really anything else that I can say that has been written about elsewhere already. So I'll just say that I've always been a Paul Thomas Anderson fan, I've loved all his movies (yes, ALL of them) and this one continues that streak. This is really the first one of his movies that is such centrally located around one character, I really like this approach and his next film might be more like this instead of the sprawling lead parts that have inhabited his films of past. Highest Recommendation

02/08/2008

35. Dragon Wars: D-War (2007)
Other Means
Wow. Now this movie is a case in bad screen writing. The movie tries to give you all the exposition at the top of the movie but it goes on for twenty minutes in a flashback inside a flashback and when it's over you've forgotten what movie you were even watching. Never-mind there are huge plot holes also, such as how does a giant snake the size of a 747 jet get around L.A. without being spotted? Still, this movie has more laughs a minute (unintentional ones still count) than quite a few comedies that I've seen in the last couple years. Enjoyable Watch


36. The Walker (2007)
Other Means
Woody Harrelson has a great leading part in the movie, it's been awhile since I've seen Woody with a film on his shoulders and he handles it well. We're set up in a world of Washinton D.C. socialites and then some stuff goes down and it turns into a murder mystery but the socialite thread of the story is never lost and the mystery never takes over the movie entirely. Above Average Watch.

02/06/2008

34. The Brothers Solomon (2007)
Other Means
While I count myself in the camp of Will Arnett fans, I had low expectations for this movie because the trailers gave me nothing to be excited about. But to my surprise this movie was nearly as awful as I expected, the two brothers are actually given some life and are pretty well written for who there characters are. Worth watching if your a Will Arnett/Forte fan.

02/05/2008

30. Cinderella Liberty (1973)
Off DVR, Shown on Fox Movie Channel (widescreen, uncut)
Vintage James Caan. The plot is that Caan tries to turn a ho into a housewife, which I've been advised against. But the movie is deeper than that off course and definitely worth a look for the screenwriting alone. This could be compared in terms of subject matter to Pretty Woman, but where as Pretty Woman is the essence of making a story "Hollywood" (a.k.a fantasy) this one is realistic and there are real people here, making the movie more grey in terms of morality than the black and white morality presented in "Hollywood" films. Enjoyable Watch


31. The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1960)
Off DVR, Shown on Turner Classic Movies (widescreen)
This heist movie is pretty much by the numbers but it moves along at a good pace and we get a supporting role done by a pre-Lawrence of Arabia Peter O' Toole. Average Watch


32. Persepolis (2007)
Other Means
This autobiographical story told through animation is intoxicatingly watch-able. The style of animation really adds to the story as it has more a unique feel, like this is a unique journey. Highly Recommended


33. I'm Not There. (2007)
Other Means
This movie is really unique and I really wouldn't have expected anything else from Todd Haynes. Cate Blanchett really disappears into her performance as Dylan, you really forget that she's a woman while watching her. I wouldn't mind a spin-off of this movie and have a fictional scenario taking place in the 60's where Blancett plays Dylan for the entire movie. There is some top notch screen writing going on here. Highly Recommended Viewing

02/04/2008

29. Flawless (2007)
Other Means
Telling me that Michael Caine is in a heist movie that takes places in 1960's London is enough to guarantee a viewing. Caine plays second fiddle to Demi Moore who is the main focus of the film. Moore is a woman in a man's world who has reached the glass ceiling at the male-centric diamond corporation she works at. She actually looks her age here and owns the part, this is the first Demi Moore movie that I've watched in years that was good, but she was actually one of the reasons that it's good. Slightly above average watch, not as much suspense though as I would have expected in a heist movie.

Movies #17-28

02/02/2008

26. Great World of Sound (2007)
Other Means
This movie was written and directed by one of the guys who created Strongbad, but the movie is better than that actually. The movie is about two guys who jobs are to sell musicians on handing over money and signing contracts so that they can get in the studio, but really it's a scam of course. The interviews with the musicians all seem done without their knowledge (like Borat) and this lends a great spontaneity to the film. But the film is really about the salesman, there aren't any known actors in the cast but I was really surprised and how good this movie was. Entertaining Watch


27. King of California (2007)
Other Means
What? Michael Douglas actually plays parts where he isn't a lawyer/C.E.O./old crusty business man? Douglas plays a recluse father is this film and doesn't do a bad job, I just wish he would have diversified his acting portfolio with more risk taking like this. This movie is slightly above average but not really that memorable, but it's not wasted time watching this.


28. The Kite Runner (2007)
Other Means
The vast majority of this movie is not in English, and that's the way it should be. I had faith that Marc Forster wouldn't water this down Hollywood style from the novel and this movie is pretty well done. This is the director that is doing the next Bond film right now, it should make an interesting Bond movie with this kind of film credibility to do a big action movie.

02/01/2008

23. Bee Movie (2007)
Other Means
For as hard as this could have sucked, it didn't. Even being a Seinfeld fan I had low expectations for this and it's actually pretty decent, but still a movie aimed at kids, with a little bit of adult humor mixed in there also. While not anywhere near a Pixar feature this is better than a lot of the Pixar wannabe animated films that I've seen in the past couple years. If you have to watch a movie with children (god forbid) then this one won't make your brain ooze out. *Spolier Alert* It has a happy ending. Non-Labotomy Watch

P.S.
One thing though about Bee Movie that was kind of disturbing, Seinfeld's character as a bee gets pretty chumy with Renee Zellweger's character who is a human (and thankfully looks nothing like Renee Zellweger), there is a scene where they both look longingly into each others eyes and by the end of the movie they are partners in running a business together. One big problem the movie sidesteps is that how long can this inter-species affection remain platonic? And how would they provide real "affection" for each other? There is a whole bee's nest of answers that aren't plesant, but the filmmakers choose to ignore these questions and just assume that inter-racial dating doesn't work and that they would remain the best of friends forever, HA!


24. I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With (2006)
Other Means
Jeff Garlin (the fat guy from Curb Your Enthusiasm) wrote and directed this and it has style of humor throughout the movie, pretty funny and short at under 80 minutes. Sarah Silverman has a small part. Enjoyable Watch


25. AVPR: Aliens vs Predator - Requiem (2007)
Other Means
Wow, this was everything that the first Aliens vs. Predator should have been, a monster movie match up straight out of the 80's, the black guys die first, and children and pregnant woman are killed also. MUST WATCH!!

1/31/2008

22. Beowulf (2007)
Other Means
I somehow got through high school and college without having this read this monster tome so the story was new to me and I really liked the style of animation that they went with for the movie. If this was live action there would be so much CG used that it really isn't that big of a leap to just have everything be CG and have it be more seamless that way. I love that they didn't try to deliver this movie as PG-13 and they gave it a hard R and stayed true to the violence in the original story. Fun Watch

1/30/2008

20. Descent (2007) (NC17 Cut)
Other Means
Wow, this movie clocks in at around 100 minutes but it seems like a 2 and a half hour movie, there could have been at least 30 minutes trimmed from this, so much wasted screen time that doesn't build the characters or advance the plot. Even before the brutal ending scene I was so bored with the movie that I barely stuck with it, any greater meanings that the filmmakers where trying to get across got lost along the way. I'm a big Rosario Dawson fan, and I didn't have great expectations for this movie and now I'll never get that time back. Not Worth Watch


21. The Kingdom (2007)
Other Means
This movie kind of just lulls in the investigation portion of the film (the first hour) and then changes pace and explodes into an action movie. The politics and various other obstacles are there also for the elite team to ovoid, the end is sappy and mainstream, a pleasing watch overall, just don't go in expecting anything with the kind of impact that Syriana had.

1/29/2008

17. Joshua (2007)
Other Means
Before watching this I had been sold that this was some Omen derivative movie, but really this is more realistic and subtle than The Omen. Movie is above average (but I'm a Sam Rockwell fan so I could be biased). I hadn't seen Sam Rockwell lead in anything in a while and it was good to see him on center stage here, his apartment that he lives at Central Park off 5th Avenue, and there are many nice spring shots of Central Park.


18. Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007)
Other Means
This is a children's movie, that is maybe a little too cute for adults to enjoy also. For as crazy as Hoffman's character is set-up to be I don't really feel like he was a fully developed character, there could have been an entire movie just on the adventures that are briefly mentioned in the film, and I think that would have been more exciting than the main plot line being whether or not someone is going to run a toy store (a.k.a boring). Not even the inclusion Portman makes this worth watching.


19. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Other Means
While I had been told this movie was good but had a long running time, that was an understatement this movie is really good and the running time isn't an issue because all of the screen time is used economically to build the characters for the purpose of the story. Brad Pitt plays Jesse James and turns in some of the best performance I've seen him do in years. He plays a full on villain in this film, not like Tyler Durden, who part villain, part revolutionary, James is all bad when away from the sight of his family. Really though, parallels could be drawn between this movie and any movie centered around a gangster character's downfall, because Jesse James was one of the O.G.'s. If Brad Pitt continues to take on roles like this as he gets on in his years, it will continue to earn him cred as a real actor and not just a pretty boy movie star. I've said enough about this movie, Brad is only a part of this nice ensemble cast, watch it when you can get the chance. Highly Recommended Viewing