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
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