^ Well, Incredible Hulk Returns had Thor in it...wasn't too impressed with thow that was done at all. I do like how they're handlin' Daredevil in this one, though Kingpin is disappointin'.
49. Cleopatra (1963) I was not surprised to learn (after watching this film) that the director planned to make this two films, but the producers decided against it, because they wanted to profit from the Taylor-Burton-relationship. It still feels a bit like two films. I found the first part better and Harrison's Caesar (and his scenes with Taylor) a lot more interesting. Of course the sets are more than impressive (the studio might nearly have gone bankrupt because of them, but they are great to look at) and there are some great lines of dialogue, that probably would have fitted better on a theater stage, but still work very well here.
Spoiler: The rest of my list. 1. My Week With Marilyn (B-) 2. Fantasia 2000 (B+) 3. Blade Runner (B) 4. The Hidden Fortress (A-) 5. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (B+) 6. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (A+) 7. The Descendants (A-) 8. Monsieur Lazhar (A) 9. The Prestige (A+) 10. Blood Simple (A-) 11. The Big Lebowski (B+) 12. West Side Story (A-) 13. The Hours (A-) 14. Lady and the Tramp (B) 15. An Officer and a Gentleman (B) 16. All Quiet On The Western Front (A) 17. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (B-) 18. Spellbound (B+) 19. Seven Samurai (A+) 20. X-Men: First Class (A) 21. Do The Right Thing (N/A) 22. Martha Marcy May Marlene (B) 23. The Artist (A-) 24. LA Confidential (A) 25. Young Adult (B) 26. Children of Men (B+) 27. Gaslight (B+) 28. North By Northwest (A+) 29. American Beauty (A-) 30. Revolutionary Road (A-) 31. Being There (B) 32. Coriolanus (C+) 33. To Catch A Thief (B+) 34. A Separation (A+) 35. The Hunger Games (B+) 36. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (A) 37. Saturday Night Fever (A-) 38. The Tree of Life (A-) 39. Hero (B-) 40. Boogie Nights (A+) 41. Magnolia (A-) 42. The Lives of Others (A) I approached this with interest, since it beat my beloved Pan's Labyrinth for the Foreign Language Oscar (that being probably my favourite film of its year, overall). While I don't think this ranks quite as high, it's a magnificent film in its own right, and a worthy winner. Cinema: 10 Home Video: 27 (+1) Computer: 5
Spoiler: Rest of List 1. Holy Rollers (B-) 2. The Kids Are All Right (B) 3. History of the World, Part 1 (C-) 4. Blazing Saddles (A+) 5. Scarface [1932] (B-) 6. The Purple Rose of Cairo (A) 7. Rampart (B+) 8. We Need To Talk About Kevin (A+) 9. Tucker and Dale vs Evil (B+) 10. They Live (B-) 11. Darling Companion (D) 12. A Dangerous Method (B-) 13. Haywire (C+) 14. Mission: Impossible (B+) 15. Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (B+) 16. Twixt (C+) 17. Burn After Reading (B+) 18. Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy (B-) 19. Drive (A) 20. Crazy Stupid Love (A) 21. The Omega Man (D) 22. The Adjustment Bureau (B+) 23. The Artist (A-) 24. Lady and the Tramp (B) 25. Hugo (A-) 26. The Secret World of Arrietty (B) 27. Twelve Angry Men (A) 28. Act of Valor (F) 29. Walker (A) 30. Lonely Are The Brave (A-) 31. Executive Action (C) 32. Three Colors: Blue (A) 33. Bright Leaves (A) 34. Photographic Memory (A) 35. The People Vs. George Lucas (C-) 36. Avatar (B-) 37. The Life of Reilly (A-) 38. Limitless (B-) 39. Star Wars (A) 40. The Empire Strikes Back (A) 41. Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story (A) 42. Machete (C+) 43. Unmasking The Idol (D-) 44. Alien (A+) 45. The Raid: Redemption (B-) 46. Attenberg (B) 47. 21 Jump Street (C+) 48. Piranha 3D (C+) 49. The Hunger Games (C-) 50. This Filthy World (B) This Filthy World: Actor turned director Jeff Garlin films John Waters' one man show with no visual flair whatsoever, but it doesn't really matter. Waters is the attraction here, and he's dynamic and funny throughout, relating anecdotes about his life and especially about his work as a filmmaker. It's a shame Waters hasn't been able to get any film-related projects off the ground since A Dirty Shame in 2004 (unless you count the remake of Hairspray released in 2007). Although he's shifted towards the mainstream since the '90s, his work still possesses the ability to shock and surprise. Theatres: 19 Home Video: 29 +1 Computer: 2
Spoiler: Movies Seen in January, February & March Cowboys & Aliens- DVD Rise of the Planet of the Apes - DVD Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - free screenin' Limitless - Netflix Instant The Next Three Days - Netflix Instant Man on a Ledge - free screenin' Red State - Netflix Instant Mars Needs Moms - Netflix Instant S.W.A.T.: Firefight - Netflix Instant Red Tails - free screenin' Resident Evil: Degeneration - Netflix Instant The Last Exorcism - Netflix Instant Frozen - Netflix Instant The Perfect Host - Netflix Instant Tucker & Dale vs Evil - Netflix Instant Brooklyn's Finest - Netflix Instant Stone - Netflix Instant The Woman in Black - free screenin' Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - free screenin' Haywire - free admission The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) - free admission The Artist - free admission Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - free admission Ted & Eric's Billion Dollar Movie - tech screenin' Hugo - free admission Safe House - free screenin' The Captains - Netflix Instant Troll Hunter - Netflix Instant The Evil Dead (1981) - Netflix Instant Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 3D - tech screenin' Underworld Awakening 3D - free admission We Need to Talk About Kevin - free admission The Innkeepers - free admission Big Miracle - free admission Chronicle - free admission Underworld: Unrated Extended Cut - DVD The Grey - free admission Contraband - free admission Journey 2: The Mysterious Island 3D - free admission One for the Money - free admission The Ouija Experiment - free admission Ghost Rider - Extended Cut - DVD The Secret World of Arrietty - free admission Bullhead - free admission Underworld Evolution - DVD Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance - free admission Castle in the Sky - free admission Oscar-Nominated Short Films, Live Action: Pentacost, Raju, The Shore, Time Freak & Tuba Atlantic - free admission This Means War - free admission Alien Trespass - Netflix Instant My Neighbor Totoro - free admission Rampart - free admission Dr Suess' The Lorax 3D - free screenin' Comin' At Ya! 3D - free admission Wanderlust - free admission Act of Valor - free admission Oscar-Nominated Short Films, Animated: A Morning Stroll, Dimanche/Sunday, La Luna, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore & Wild Life - free admission Dune (1984) - free admission Doctor Strange - DVD Project X (2012) - free admission Martha Marcy May Marlene - free admission Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind - free admission Friends with Kids - free admission The Lincoln Lawyer - Netflix Instant Gabriel Iglesias: Hot and Fluffy - Netflix Instant John Carter 2D/3D - free admission/free admission Silent House - free admission 21 Jump Street - free screenin' Casa de Mi Padre - free admission Support Your Local Gunfighter - Netflix Instant The Grudge: Unrated Extended Director's Cut - DVD Jeff, Who Lives at Home - free admission My Bloody Valentine (2009) - DVD Battle Royale (2000) - Alamo Drafthouse Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocal - discount theater The Butterfly Effect - DVD The Butterfly Effect 2 - DVD Sound of Noise - free admission The FP - free admission Harold & Maude - free admission The Double - Netflix Instant No Strings Attached - Netflix Instant Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey - Netflix Instant Louis C.K. Hilarious - Netflix Instant Gamer - Netflix Instant Rising Sun - Netflix Instant Death Race 2000 - Netflix Instant Beverly Hills Cop III - Netflix Instant Inferno: The Making of The Expendables - Netflix Instant Street Kings - DVD Kiki's Delivery Service - free admission Dark Country - DVD Wrath of the Titans 3D - free admission Jiro Dreams of Sushi - free admission The Raid: Redemption - free admission The Incredible Hulk Returns - DVD Titanic 3D - free admission The Hunger Games - free admission Mirror, Mirror - free admission American Reunion - free admission Justice League: Doom - DVD W. - DVD Night of the Running Man - Netflix Instant The Trial of the Incredible Hulk - DVD The Hunter - free admission An Education - DVD Got off from work last night in time to see The Hunter, starrin' Willam Dafoe & Sam Neil. Dafoe plays a hunter hired to track a Tazmanian tiger, an animal believed to be extinct, and Neil is the local guide. Its a very quiet film - lots of scenery and Dafoe out in the wilds of Australia & such... And there's a subplot about the family Dafoe stays with for a couple of days every two weeks durin' the hunt. Watchin' An Education on DVD now...about an hour into it, so far.
50. La vie en rose A good entry in the biography film genre, but like many others it has a very good performance by the lead (in this case Cotillard), but the script isn't quite at the same level.
The War Boys; Immortals (sort of, unwatchable); Die (ditto); Good; Hunger; The Architect; Five Days of War; Sarah's Key.
A few days ago i was watched the a Mirror Mirror really this is very funny & entertaining because this is fully comedy drama so i like this
Spoiler: Rest of List 1. Holy Rollers (B-) 2. The Kids Are All Right (B) 3. History of the World, Part 1 (C-) 4. Blazing Saddles (A+) 5. Scarface [1932] (B-) 6. The Purple Rose of Cairo (A) 7. Rampart (B+) 8. We Need To Talk About Kevin (A+) 9. Tucker and Dale vs Evil (B+) 10. They Live (B-) 11. Darling Companion (D) 12. A Dangerous Method (B-) 13. Haywire (C+) 14. Mission: Impossible (B+) 15. Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (B+) 16. Twixt (C+) 17. Burn After Reading (B+) 18. Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy (B-) 19. Drive (A) 20. Crazy Stupid Love (A) 21. The Omega Man (D) 22. The Adjustment Bureau (B+) 23. The Artist (A-) 24. Lady and the Tramp (B) 25. Hugo (A-) 26. The Secret World of Arrietty (B) 27. Twelve Angry Men (A) 28. Act of Valor (F) 29. Walker (A) 30. Lonely Are The Brave (A-) 31. Executive Action (C) 32. Three Colors: Blue (A) 33. Bright Leaves (A) 34. Photographic Memory (A) 35. The People Vs. George Lucas (C-) 36. Avatar (B-) 37. The Life of Reilly (A-) 38. Limitless (B-) 39. Star Wars (A) 40. The Empire Strikes Back (A) 41. Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story (A) 42. Machete (C+) 43. Unmasking The Idol (D-) 44. Alien (A+) 45. The Raid: Redemption (B-) 46. Attenberg (B) 47. 21 Jump Street (C+) 48. Piranha 3D (C+) 49. The Hunger Games (C-) 50. This Filthy World (B) 51. Bad Fever (C-) Bad Fever: This small, independent American feature has a couple of scenes that really work, so it's impossible for me to give it a failing grade, but as a whole I found it rather unappealing. Unambitious hipsters who mumble through improvised dialogue, dumpster dive, and express themselves by recording VHS tapes that would make the trash bag guy in American Beauty wince? If I wanted that, I'd move back to the Pacific Northwest. This is my first experience with the "mumblecore" genre. In a way, I was dreading it, and my fears seem to have been realized. I have to go to a screening of Your Sister's Sister later in the year -- another film in the genre, albeit one with more recognizable actors -- so I'll reserve sweeping judgments until I have at least a couple of mumblecore movies under my belt. But I'm not optimistic. Theatres: 20 +1 Home Video: 29 Computer: 2
Spoiler: Movies Seen in January, February & March Cowboys & Aliens- DVD Rise of the Planet of the Apes - DVD Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - free screenin' Limitless - Netflix Instant The Next Three Days - Netflix Instant Man on a Ledge - free screenin' Red State - Netflix Instant Mars Needs Moms - Netflix Instant S.W.A.T.: Firefight - Netflix Instant Red Tails - free screenin' Resident Evil: Degeneration - Netflix Instant The Last Exorcism - Netflix Instant Frozen - Netflix Instant The Perfect Host - Netflix Instant Tucker & Dale vs Evil - Netflix Instant Brooklyn's Finest - Netflix Instant Stone - Netflix Instant The Woman in Black - free screenin' Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - free screenin' Haywire - free admission The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) - free admission The Artist - free admission Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - free admission Ted & Eric's Billion Dollar Movie - tech screenin' Hugo - free admission Safe House - free screenin' The Captains - Netflix Instant Troll Hunter - Netflix Instant The Evil Dead (1981) - Netflix Instant Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 3D - tech screenin' Underworld Awakening 3D - free admission We Need to Talk About Kevin - free admission The Innkeepers - free admission Big Miracle - free admission Chronicle - free admission Underworld: Unrated Extended Cut - DVD The Grey - free admission Contraband - free admission Journey 2: The Mysterious Island 3D - free admission One for the Money - free admission The Ouija Experiment - free admission Ghost Rider - Extended Cut - DVD The Secret World of Arrietty - free admission Bullhead - free admission Underworld Evolution - DVD Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance - free admission Castle in the Sky - free admission Oscar-Nominated Short Films, Live Action: Pentacost, Raju, The Shore, Time Freak & Tuba Atlantic - free admission This Means War - free admission Alien Trespass - Netflix Instant My Neighbor Totoro - free admission Rampart - free admission Dr Suess' The Lorax 3D - free screenin' Comin' At Ya! 3D - free admission Wanderlust - free admission Act of Valor - free admission Oscar-Nominated Short Films, Animated: A Morning Stroll, Dimanche/Sunday, La Luna, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore & Wild Life - free admission Dune (1984) - free admission Doctor Strange - DVD Project X (2012) - free admission Martha Marcy May Marlene - free admission Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind - free admission Friends with Kids - free admission The Lincoln Lawyer - Netflix Instant Gabriel Iglesias: Hot and Fluffy - Netflix Instant John Carter 2D/3D - free admission/free admission Silent House - free admission 21 Jump Street - free screenin' Casa de Mi Padre - free admission Support Your Local Gunfighter - Netflix Instant The Grudge: Unrated Extended Director's Cut - DVD Jeff, Who Lives at Home - free admission My Bloody Valentine (2009) - DVD Battle Royale (2000) - Alamo Drafthouse Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocal - discount theater The Butterfly Effect - DVD The Butterfly Effect 2 - DVD Sound of Noise - free admission The FP - free admission Harold & Maude - free admission The Double - Netflix Instant No Strings Attached - Netflix Instant Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey - Netflix Instant Louis C.K. Hilarious - Netflix Instant Gamer - Netflix Instant Rising Sun - Netflix Instant Death Race 2000 - Netflix Instant Beverly Hills Cop III - Netflix Instant Inferno: The Making of The Expendables - Netflix Instant Street Kings - DVD Kiki's Delivery Service - free admission Dark Country - DVD Wrath of the Titans 3D - free admission Jiro Dreams of Sushi - free admission The Raid: Redemption - free admission The Incredible Hulk Returns - DVD Titanic 3D - free admission The Hunger Games - free admission Mirror, Mirror - free admission American Reunion - free admission Justice League: Doom - DVD W. - DVD Night of the Running Man - Netflix Instant The Trial of the Incredible Hulk - DVD The Hunter - free admission An Education - DVD Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two - DVD The Prophecy - DVD An Education turned out to be a pretty good movie - I especially liked the last scene between Jenny & her school's headmistress. Alfred Molina is consistently cool, too, and he did a good job as an overzealous, yet clueless, father. Watched the second part of the Harry Potter finale, after seein' the first part last summer while I was in North Carolina. Gotta say, the story would have had a much different endin' if Voldemort hadn't staffed out important shit like checkin' the pulse of your fallen enemy... Seriously! If you're right there, what kind of excuse do ya have for not checkin' it yourself?!? No minion necessary! Once again, Harry Potter succeeds because of what other people do for him, rather than anything he does for himself. And that's why I hate the character. Watchin' The Prophecy on DVD now...picked up the five-film set from Wal-Mart for five bucks. Figured it could be worth a dollar a movie, especially with Christopher Walken in three of 'em!
Spoiler: The rest of my list. January 1. Daddy Day Care (✩✩✩½) - TV 2. Wild Child (✩✩) - TV 3. Fling (✩✩✩½) - DVD 4. Arthur 2: On the Rocks (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 5. Havoc (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 6. Contagion (✩✩✩✩½) - On Demand 7. The Blind Side (✩✩✩½) - TV 8. Batman: Under the Red Hood (✩✩✩✩½) - TV 9. The Andromeda Strain (✩✩✩½) - TV 10. The Last Man on Earth (✩✩✩✩) - TV 11. Network (✩✩½) - TV 12. Normal Adolescent Behavior: Havoc 2 (✩) - DVD 13. Starsky & Hutch (✩✩½) - TV 14. The Rundown (✩✩✩½) - TV 15. Mallrats (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 16. My Sister's Keeper (✩✩✩✩½) - TV 17. Valkyrie (✩✩✩½) - TV 18. The Anderson Tapes (✩✩✩) - TV 19. Jack Goes Boating (✩✩✩½) - DVD 20. Margin Call (✩✩✩½) - On Demand 21. Away We Go (✩✩✩½) - TV 22. Girl Fight (✩✩✩½) - TV 23. Superman & Batman: Apocalypse (✩✩✩✩) - TV 24. Pandorum (✩✩½) - TV 25. Paper Man (✩✩✩✩½) - DVD 26. In Like Flint (✩✩½) - TV 27. Blood Diamond (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 28. The Invisible Man (✩✩✩✩) - TV 29. Frankenstein (✩✩✩½) - TV 30. The Dilemma (✩✩✩½) - DVD February 31. That One Night (✩✩✩½) - Internet 32. Sex Drive (✩✩½) - DVD 33. Chronicle (✩✩✩½) - Theatre 34. Couples Retreat (✩✩✩) - DVD 35. RV (✩✩✩) - TV 36. Chaos Theory (✩✩✩✩) - TV 37. Black Swan (✩✩✩✩✩) - DVD 38. One Missed Call (✩) - DVD 39. Kramer vs. Kramer (✩✩✩✩½) - TV 40. When in Rome (✩✩½) - TV 41. Love to Kill (✩✩✩) - TV 42. Possession (✩✩) - TV 43. Sex and the City 2 (✩✩✩½) - DVD 44. Little Fockers (✩✩✩½) - DVD 45. Breach: (✩✩✩½) - On Demand 46. Broken Flowers (✩✩✩✩½) - DVD 47. Bronson (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 48. Edge of Darkness (✩✩✩½) - TV 49. In & Out (✩✩✩) - TV 50. Secrets of Eden (✩✩½) - TV 51. Shooter (✩✩✩½) - TV 52. Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (✩✩✩½) - TV March 53. 10 Items or Less (✩✩✩½) - DVD 54. The Old Man and the Sea (✩✩✩✩) - TV 55. The Reader (✩✩✩✩✩) - TV 56. The Stunt Man (✩✩) - TV 57. Nine (✩✩✩✩) - TV 58. Untraceable (✩✩½) - DVD 59. The Quiet (✩✩✩½) - DVD 60. My Mother's Secret (✩✩½) - TV 61. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (✩✩✩½) - DVD 62. Sex and Death 101 (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 63. The Human Contract (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 64. The Craigslist Killer (✩✩✩) - TV 65. Life As We Know It (✩✩✩½) - DVD 66. She's the Man (✩✩✩) - TV 67. Witchslayer Gretl (✩½) - TV 68. The Adjustment Bureau (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 69. Young Adult (✩✩✩½) - On Demand 70. My Silent Partner (✩✩) - TV 71. Middle Men (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 72. The Rebound (✩✩) - On Demand 73. The Descendants (✩✩✩✩) - On Demand 74. Melancholia (✩✩✩✩) - On Demand 75. Walking the Halls (✩✩✩) - TV 76. Hoodwinked! (✩✩✩½) - TV 77. 21 Jump Street (✩✩✩½) - Theatre 78. Clerks II (✩✩✩½) - TV 79. Henry's Crime (✩✩✩½) - DVD 80. Hannah Montana: The Movie (✩✩✩½) - DVD 81. Chasing Amy (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 82. The Hunger Games (✩✩✩✩) - Theatre 83. Like Crazy (✩✩✩✩) - On Demand 84. Newlyweds (✩✩✩½) - On Demand 85. Dear John (✩✩✩) - TV 86. Carriers (✩✩½) - TV 87. The Karate Kid (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 88. Vertical Limit (✩✩✩) - DVD 89. Killers (✩✩½) - DVD 90. Cyberbully (✩✩½) - On Demand 91. The Change-Up (✩✩✩) - On Demand 92. 50/50 (✩✩✩✩½) - On Demand 93. The Seven Year Itch (✩✩✩) - TV 94. Confined (✩✩✩½) - On Demand 95. Love Happens (✩✩✩) - TV April 96. La Jetée (✩✩✩✩) - TV 97. Some Like It Hot (✩✩✩) - TV 98. Starman (✩✩✩) - DVD 99. Adam (✩✩✩✩½) - DVD 100. The Other Woman (✩✩½) - DVD 101. The Good Night (✩✩✩) - DVD 102. The Spy Next Door (✩✩) - TV 103. Paranormal Activity (✩✩✩½) - TV 104. Breakaway (✩✩½) - TV 105. Moneyball: (✩✩✩½) - On Demand - Based on the true story of Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics's attempt to put together a winning team based on a form of techical analysis. This one got a lot of critical acclaim, but I found it to be pretty average for the most part. However, I came to enjoy the techical analysis bit and warmed up to Brad Pitt's character and performance, so I gave it another half-star. The stuff with his daughter was too sentimental for my tastes though. 106. The Iron Lady: (✩✩✩½) - On Demand - It was a decent watch, but I wasn't bowled over. Streep's make-up job to look like Thatcher was fantastic, but her performance wasn't the best. There was too much of her usual "old lady" voice. The one she also did in Julie & Julia. I did manage to eventually immerse myself into her performance though. I can also see why Thatcher herself refused to watch this, with a lot of the focus on her current mental health. Love the title by the way. 107. Crazy, Stupid, Love.: (✩✩✩✩) - On Demand - I was going to watch The Ides of March after The Iron Lady, but didn't want to see another political thriller, so I got a comedy instead. This one stars Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Marissa Tomei and Emma Stone. Cal's wife asks him for a divorce after 25 years, so he leaves and find himself spending time drinking in a bar, feeling angry and depressed. Then he meets a womanizer who takes him under his wing and turns him into a confident ladies man. I found this to be an excellent, smart comedy with great characters and a lot of great turns. This one isn't formulaic. As far as comedies go, this one is a cut above. I was especially impressed with Gosling. Can't wait to see him in The Ides of March 108. American Reunion: (✩✩✩½) - Theatre - If you enjoyed the previous movies, see this one. It's the next chapter in the lives of a group of friends. New lives, new (same) antics. Theatre: 4 DVD/Blu-Ray: 36 TV: 51 On Demand: 16 Internet: 1
Spoiler: Rest of List 1. Holy Rollers (B-) 2. The Kids Are All Right (B) 3. History of the World, Part 1 (C-) 4. Blazing Saddles (A+) 5. Scarface [1932] (B-) 6. The Purple Rose of Cairo (A) 7. Rampart (B+) 8. We Need To Talk About Kevin (A+) 9. Tucker and Dale vs Evil (B+) 10. They Live (B-) 11. Darling Companion (D) 12. A Dangerous Method (B-) 13. Haywire (C+) 14. Mission: Impossible (B+) 15. Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (B+) 16. Twixt (C+) 17. Burn After Reading (B+) 18. Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy (B-) 19. Drive (A) 20. Crazy Stupid Love (A) 21. The Omega Man (D) 22. The Adjustment Bureau (B+) 23. The Artist (A-) 24. Lady and the Tramp (B) 25. Hugo (A-) 26. The Secret World of Arrietty (B) 27. Twelve Angry Men (A) 28. Act of Valor (F) 29. Walker (A) 30. Lonely Are The Brave (A-) 31. Executive Action (C) 32. Three Colors: Blue (A) 33. Bright Leaves (A) 34. Photographic Memory (A) 35. The People Vs. George Lucas (C-) 36. Avatar (B-) 37. The Life of Reilly (A-) 38. Limitless (B-) 39. Star Wars (A) 40. The Empire Strikes Back (A) 41. Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story (A) 42. Machete (C+) 43. Unmasking The Idol (D-) 44. Alien (A+) 45. The Raid: Redemption (B-) 46. Attenberg (B) 47. 21 Jump Street (C+) 48. Piranha 3D (C+) 49. The Hunger Games (C-) 50. This Filthy World (B) 51. Bad Fever (C-) 52. The Conspirator (C) The Conspirator: It has been said that fifty percent of directing is good casting. If that's the case, then director Robert Redford made a serious mistake casting Alexis Bledel and Justin Long in this movie. They're not the most important characters, but both have key relationships to James McAvoy's protagonist (Bledel plays his love interest, Long plays his war buddy). Without strong actors to play off of outside of court, McAvoy is only able to give an able, but hardly outstanding performance. That could easily describe most of the rest of the cast; Colm Meany, Danny Huston, Jim True-Frost, and Tim Wilkinson all show up, but fail to impress. Only Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, and Stephen Root (in a small role as an unreliable and drunken witness) make an impression. It doesn't help that the first 25 mintues of the movie are spent needlessly recapping the events of the Lincoln assassination. Other movies have dramatized these events far better, and they don't provide anything particularly relevent to the plot. There's even a cheesy newspaper montage here that a veteran (and Academy Award-winning!) director like Redford should have been wise enough to avoid. The movie is a courtroom drama, and once it is free to become one it improves markedly. Still, Redford's direction (and the script, by James D. Solomon) lacks subtlety, often seeking to turn subtext into text. At least the movie has more to say than Redford's vacuous war on terror drama, Lions for Lambs. Theatres: 20 Home Video: 30 +1 Computer: 2
Spoiler: Rest of List 1. Holy Rollers (B-) 2. The Kids Are All Right (B) 3. History of the World, Part 1 (C-) 4. Blazing Saddles (A+) 5. Scarface [1932] (B-) 6. The Purple Rose of Cairo (A) 7. Rampart (B+) 8. We Need To Talk About Kevin (A+) 9. Tucker and Dale vs Evil (B+) 10. They Live (B-) 11. Darling Companion (D) 12. A Dangerous Method (B-) 13. Haywire (C+) 14. Mission: Impossible (B+) 15. Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (B+) 16. Twixt (C+) 17. Burn After Reading (B+) 18. Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy (B-) 19. Drive (A) 20. Crazy Stupid Love (A) 21. The Omega Man (D) 22. The Adjustment Bureau (B+) 23. The Artist (A-) 24. Lady and the Tramp (B) 25. Hugo (A-) 26. The Secret World of Arrietty (B) 27. Twelve Angry Men (A) 28. Act of Valor (F) 29. Walker (A) 30. Lonely Are The Brave (A-) 31. Executive Action (C) 32. Three Colors: Blue (A) 33. Bright Leaves (A) 34. Photographic Memory (A) 35. The People Vs. George Lucas (C-) 36. Avatar (B-) 37. The Life of Reilly (A-) 38. Limitless (B-) 39. Star Wars (A) 40. The Empire Strikes Back (A) 41. Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story (A) 42. Machete (C+) 43. Unmasking The Idol (D-) 44. Alien (A+) 45. The Raid: Redemption (B-) 46. Attenberg (B) 47. 21 Jump Street (C+) 48. Piranha 3D (C+) 49. The Hunger Games (C-) 50. This Filthy World (B) 51. Bad Fever (C-) 52. The Conspirator (C) 53. We The Party (C-) We The Party: I like Mario Van Peebles as a writer/director. BAADASSSSS! (about his father and the making of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song) was a terrific movie. Compared to that success, however, this film is a mess. In a review at the A.V. Club, Alison Willmore writes that the film, "is a typical high-school movie set in a high school that’s atypical, in terms of what normally gets put onscreen." I think she's right, but beyond lauding the film for featuring a mainly black cast of characters (and mostly upper-middle class ones, at that!), it's hard to get around the fact that it's a high school movie rife with every cliché you can think of (and probably a few that you can't). It's not offensive by any stretch of the imagination, but it could have been so, so much more. Other critics have been less than kind about the young actors that star in this movie, but I thought they were fine. You can only do so much with the material. Honestly, I saw this ages ago on a screener, and was surprised to see that it in theaters at all. Hopefully it makes it's money back (it didn't look expensive at all) and Van Peebles can move on to bigger and better things. Theatres: 20 Home Video: 30 Computer: 3 +1 I need to sit down and watch a good movie soon. It feels like it's been ages.
Spoiler: The rest of my list. 1. My Week With Marilyn (B-) 2. Fantasia 2000 (B+) 3. Blade Runner (B) 4. The Hidden Fortress (A-) 5. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (B+) 6. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (A+) 7. The Descendants (A-) 8. Monsieur Lazhar (A) 9. The Prestige (A+) 10. Blood Simple (A-) 11. The Big Lebowski (B+) 12. West Side Story (A-) 13. The Hours (A-) 14. Lady and the Tramp (B) 15. An Officer and a Gentleman (B) 16. All Quiet On The Western Front (A) 17. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (B-) 18. Spellbound (B+) 19. Seven Samurai (A+) 20. X-Men: First Class (A) 21. Do The Right Thing (N/A) 22. Martha Marcy May Marlene (B) 23. The Artist (A-) 24. LA Confidential (A) 25. Young Adult (B) 26. Children of Men (B+) 27. Gaslight (B+) 28. North By Northwest (A+) 29. American Beauty (A-) 30. Revolutionary Road (A-) 31. Being There (B) 32. Coriolanus (C+) 33. To Catch A Thief (B+) 34. A Separation (A+) 35. The Hunger Games (B+) 36. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (A) 37. Saturday Night Fever (A-) 38. The Tree of Life (A-) 39. Hero (B-) 40. Boogie Nights (A+) 41. Magnolia (A-) 42. The Lives of Others (A) 43. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (A-) The Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack of this was on sale for $22 on its first day of release, which is just about the cheapest first-day price I've ever gotten for one of these things. I found my thoughts on my second viewing of this were pretty much the same as the first. This is really a borderline B+/A- film. It's a very compelling thriller for most of its 2 1/2 hour runtime, but it features a meandering epilogue of sorts (albeit one with great closing moments) that at first feels like a sequel hook before instead just coming to its own conclusion that doesn't really feel related to the rest of what's going on. Rooney Mara's lead performance is superb, and possibly my favourite lead female turn of the year. Craig is good, though in a much quieter role. Christopher Plummer (in the last of a couple of roles in what was a very good 2011 for him) gets a lot of the best lines, and a really wonderful final scene that affected me a lot more the second time around. Cinema: 10 Home Video: 28 (+1) Computer: 5
DVD Spoiler: Rest of List Theatre/Cinema 1. Meet the Robinsons 2. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows 3. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 4. Transformers: Dark of the Moon 5. Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (3D) 6. Spider-Man 2 7. Green Lantern 8. Tron: Legacy 9. Rio 10. Groundhog Day
Spoiler: The rest of my list. January 1. Daddy Day Care (✩✩✩½) - TV 2. Wild Child (✩✩) - TV 3. Fling (✩✩✩½) - DVD 4. Arthur 2: On the Rocks (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 5. Havoc (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 6. Contagion (✩✩✩✩½) - On Demand 7. The Blind Side (✩✩✩½) - TV 8. Batman: Under the Red Hood (✩✩✩✩½) - TV 9. The Andromeda Strain (✩✩✩½) - TV 10. The Last Man on Earth (✩✩✩✩) - TV 11. Network (✩✩½) - TV 12. Normal Adolescent Behavior: Havoc 2 (✩) - DVD 13. Starsky & Hutch (✩✩½) - TV 14. The Rundown (✩✩✩½) - TV 15. Mallrats (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 16. My Sister's Keeper (✩✩✩✩½) - TV 17. Valkyrie (✩✩✩½) - TV 18. The Anderson Tapes (✩✩✩) - TV 19. Jack Goes Boating (✩✩✩½) - DVD 20. Margin Call (✩✩✩½) - On Demand 21. Away We Go (✩✩✩½) - TV 22. Girl Fight (✩✩✩½) - TV 23. Superman & Batman: Apocalypse (✩✩✩✩) - TV 24. Pandorum (✩✩½) - TV 25. Paper Man (✩✩✩✩½) - DVD 26. In Like Flint (✩✩½) - TV 27. Blood Diamond (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 28. The Invisible Man (✩✩✩✩) - TV 29. Frankenstein (✩✩✩½) - TV 30. The Dilemma (✩✩✩½) - DVD February 31. That One Night (✩✩✩½) - Internet 32. Sex Drive (✩✩½) - DVD 33. Chronicle (✩✩✩½) - Theatre 34. Couples Retreat (✩✩✩) - DVD 35. RV (✩✩✩) - TV 36. Chaos Theory (✩✩✩✩) - TV 37. Black Swan (✩✩✩✩✩) - DVD 38. One Missed Call (✩) - DVD 39. Kramer vs. Kramer (✩✩✩✩½) - TV 40. When in Rome (✩✩½) - TV 41. Love to Kill (✩✩✩) - TV 42. Possession (✩✩) - TV 43. Sex and the City 2 (✩✩✩½) - DVD 44. Little Fockers (✩✩✩½) - DVD 45. Breach: (✩✩✩½) - On Demand 46. Broken Flowers (✩✩✩✩½) - DVD 47. Bronson (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 48. Edge of Darkness (✩✩✩½) - TV 49. In & Out (✩✩✩) - TV 50. Secrets of Eden (✩✩½) - TV 51. Shooter (✩✩✩½) - TV 52. Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (✩✩✩½) - TV March 53. 10 Items or Less (✩✩✩½) - DVD 54. The Old Man and the Sea (✩✩✩✩) - TV 55. The Reader (✩✩✩✩✩) - TV 56. The Stunt Man (✩✩) - TV 57. Nine (✩✩✩✩) - TV 58. Untraceable (✩✩½) - DVD 59. The Quiet (✩✩✩½) - DVD 60. My Mother's Secret (✩✩½) - TV 61. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (✩✩✩½) - DVD 62. Sex and Death 101 (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 63. The Human Contract (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 64. The Craigslist Killer (✩✩✩) - TV 65. Life As We Know It (✩✩✩½) - DVD 66. She's the Man (✩✩✩) - TV 67. Witchslayer Gretl (✩½) - TV 68. The Adjustment Bureau (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 69. Young Adult (✩✩✩½) - On Demand 70. My Silent Partner (✩✩) - TV 71. Middle Men (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 72. The Rebound (✩✩) - On Demand 73. The Descendants (✩✩✩✩) - On Demand 74. Melancholia (✩✩✩✩) - On Demand 75. Walking the Halls (✩✩✩) - TV 76. Hoodwinked! (✩✩✩½) - TV 77. 21 Jump Street (✩✩✩½) - Theatre 78. Clerks II (✩✩✩½) - TV 79. Henry's Crime (✩✩✩½) - DVD 80. Hannah Montana: The Movie (✩✩✩½) - DVD 81. Chasing Amy (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 82. The Hunger Games (✩✩✩✩) - Theatre 83. Like Crazy (✩✩✩✩) - On Demand 84. Newlyweds (✩✩✩½) - On Demand 85. Dear John (✩✩✩) - TV 86. Carriers (✩✩½) - TV 87. The Karate Kid (✩✩✩✩) - DVD 88. Vertical Limit (✩✩✩) - DVD 89. Killers (✩✩½) - DVD 90. Cyberbully (✩✩½) - On Demand 91. The Change-Up (✩✩✩) - On Demand 92. 50/50 (✩✩✩✩½) - On Demand 93. The Seven Year Itch (✩✩✩) - TV 94. Confined (✩✩✩½) - On Demand 95. Love Happens (✩✩✩) - TV April 96. La Jetée (✩✩✩✩) - TV 97. Some Like It Hot (✩✩✩) - TV 98. Starman (✩✩✩) - DVD 99. Adam (✩✩✩✩½) - DVD 100. The Other Woman (✩✩½) - DVD 101. The Good Night (✩✩✩) - DVD 102. The Spy Next Door (✩✩) - TV 103. Paranormal Activity (✩✩✩½) - TV 104. Breakaway (✩✩½) - TV 105. Moneyball (✩✩✩½) - On Demand 106. The Iron Lady (✩✩✩½) - On Demand 107. Crazy, Stupid, Love. (✩✩✩✩) - On Demand 108. American Reunion (✩✩✩½) - Theatre 109. Bedazzled: (✩✩✩✩) - TV - I only found out about this movie today and saw it this evening. It's the 1967 movie that the 2000 version with Liz Hurley is based on. It stars Dudley Moore with Peter Cook as the devil. It had some great stuff that makes you think, Moore and Cook played their roles to perfection and it was funny with a bit of an english feel thrown in. Theatre: 4 DVD/Blu-Ray: 36 TV: 52 On Demand: 16 Internet: 1
Spoiler: The rest of my 2012 list of movies Kicking off my 2012 list: 1. Edge of Darkness: A 2. Star Trek: The Motion Picture: B+ 3. Repo Men: B- 4. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier: B- 5. Underworld: Awakening: B 6. Lost City Raiders: C+ 7. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist: B+ 8. Contraband: B+ 9. Kick-Ass: B+ 10. Hereafter: A- 11. Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance: B 12. Act of Valor: C+ 13. John Carter: B 14. Hunger Games: B+ 15. Wrath of the Titans: C 16. Cabin In the Woods: B+ Really enjoyed it and felt like it did a good job of taking the horror tropes and cliches and doing something fun with them. I liked the surprise(to me) cameo of who was playing "The Director" at the end of the film. Speaking of the end it leaves you feeling as if Spoiler: The ending The Apocolypse is on the verge of unfolding. The Ancient gods rising, seemingly, due to not getting the ages old sacrifices of blood by the 5./SPOILER]
Updates in Bold: 47 Ronin (7) Bad Boys (8) Battle of Los Angles (9) Blade of the Phantom Master (8) Daybreakers (5) First Squad: The Moment of Truth (8) Gantz: Perfect Answer (7) Golgo 13: The Professional (6) Golgo 13: Queen Bee (6) Green Hornet (6) Heaven's Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork (5) Hellboy: Blood and Iron (8) Hellboy: Sword of Storms (6) Hunger Games (4) John Carter (9) King of Thorn (9) Legend of the Millennium Dragon (7) Lockout (8) Lupin the 3rd: Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid (9) Lupin the 3rd: Return of Pycal (7) Mardock Scramble: The First Compression (Director's Cut) (9) Negima!: Final (7) Nydenion (7) Redline (10) Robotech II: The Sentinels (6) Safe House (2012) (8) Salt (7) Time Traveler: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (8) Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (5) Toward the Tera (1980) (6) Underworld: Awakening (8) Wrath of the Titans (7)
1) The Artist (2011) - A+ 2) Midnight in Paris (2011) - B 3) Tree of Life (2011) - F 4) The Descendants (2011) - B 5) Drive (2011) - B 6) Hanna (2011) - C 7) Take Shelter (2011) - A- 8) 50/50 (2011) - B 9) Baby Mama (2008) - B- 10) United 93 (2006) 11) Rango (2011) - B 12) The Hunger Games (2012) - B+ 13) 21 Jump Street (2012) - B+ 14) Goon (2012) - A- I've been wanting to see this movie for like 2 months. I heard about it on a Hockey podcast I listen to (Marek Vs. Wyshynski, awesome show) and the word of mouth was such where I had to find a way to see this movie. Well, thank you Itunes because it's not showing up in theaters near me but I can download it for 6.99, so I did and it was worth it. This movie is basically about a guy named Doug (Sean Williams Scott, who was great here and I realized I really wasn't watching Stifler) who has a gift for fighting but really hasn't made anything out of his life as a bouncer. Well, one night he goes to a hockey game with his friend, get's into an argument with a player who hops over the Penalty Box and Knocks the guy out, thus joining the team. After that, the movie is really life as a goon. This is a very vulger and nasty movie, but it's also a heartwarming one in that Doug is a great guy off the ice, but on he is one nasty SOB. I loved this cast, especially Alison Pill who played Eva, the love interest and the great narrerator of 24/7: Road to the Winter Classic, Liev Schreiber as the ultimate goon, Ross Rhea. As a fan of Hockey and sports movies, this one was top notch. I think if I had one problem with it, it was Jay Baruchel who I thought was the weak link of the movie. Also they could have done a little more with the family, which seemed like a dropped story line after the scene in the restaurant. Other than that, I enjoyed it and if you're a hockey fan, or even if you aren't but like the Judd Apatow style comedy, I would definitely recommend this movie. Theatre: 4 BluRay: 4 On Demand/TV: 1 Itunes: 5 (+1) _______________
Cabin in the Woods was very clever indeed. But I think the apocalyptic ending was a big mistake. I think the shout out about the resentment of the young as the motive would have carried some weight if the shenanigans hadn't really been about saving the world, but just entertaining old people, even old people who had deceived themselves. It's really something of a whoopy cushion joke instead of an honest ending.