^I remember going on various ski trips and they showed both of those movies on the bus. I haven't seen them completely, but you bringing it up reminded me of those times. Might be a couple more movies worth renting (I no longer have netflix) in the future.
Adventures of Tintin (2011) - ★★ - Very boring. It's visually appealing but I couldn't get past the boring story and characters. My Week With Marilyn (2011) - ★★★ - a good film. It was lacking some emotion, but I enjoyed it.
Updates in Bold: 47 Ronin (7) Bad Boys (8) Blade of the Phantom Master (8) Daybreakers (5) First Squad: The Moment of Truth (8) Gantz: Perfect Answer (7) Green Hornet (6) Heaven's Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork (5) Hellboy: Blood and Iron (8) Hellboy: Sword of Storms (6) John Carter (9) King of Thorn (9) Legend of the Millennium Dragon (7) Mardock Scramble: The First Compression (Director's Cut) (9) Negima!: Final (7) Nydenion (7) Redline (10) Safe House (2012) (8) Salt (7) Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (5) Underworld: Awakening (8)
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) I first watched this movie in school close to a decade ago, and this is my first time seeing it since then (including one part the teacher fast-forwarded through). It's not really as good as I remembered it being, though it's still a good movie. Well-acted across the board; in particular, Melvyn Douglas and Richard Dysart are very good in supporting roles, while Peter Sellers' deadpan performance as the dimwit lead is very effective. But while it's well done, as a media satire it's only mildly effective - it has a decent point (when I worked writing press releases in an MP's office, I was constantly having to remember to rein in my graduate-level vocabulary to an eighth-grade level), but it belabours a single gag pretty far. Compared to something like Network, its near-contemporary (and admittedly that's a pretty tough comparison for any movie), it's not nearly as interesting. Cinema: 7 Home Video: 19 (+1) Computer: 5
Immortals (2011) 1/2 Very terrible movie. Whoever made the trailer deserves some major props, because they turned one of the worst films I've seen in a long time into an amazing trailer. No interesting characters, incoherent story.... just SO BORING.
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 - When I heard about this movie last year, a wedding story set against the backdrop of a planet that's about to collide with Earth, I was intrigued. Well, I finally saw it. The movie is pretty artsy in the same vein as The Fountain. It starts with an 8 or 9 minute overture accompanied by slow motion images. These images are relevant to what will happen in the movie, so pay attention. When the movie was over, I went back to watch the overture to make sense of what was shown. Anyway, the movie starts and it's divided into two parts. Part 1 is called "Justine". It follows a young woman named Justine (Kirsten Dunst) during her wedding reception. Justine isn't handling the night very well. She's constantly retreating to be by herself, behaving erratically and embarassing herself and her family. Justine was suffering from a depressive mood known as melancholia. Part 2 is called "Claire". It picks up some days or weeks later and it's about Justine's sister Claire who's suffering from anxiety over the possibility of a recently discovered planet that may or may not collide with Earth. The planet is named "Melancholia". While Claire isn't handling the possible end of the world very well, her sister Justine seems to be handling things quite well. Want to know how the movie ends? Get it and watch it. I found this to be a nice movie. I was left to think about what I just saw and how the wedding fits into the later story about the collision. What I took away from this was that a depressed person is usually more empowered in situations where everyone else is falling apart. Sure enough, this is what the director intended to convey. This message is based on his own experience with depression. Penelope Cruz was supposed to play Justine but had to back out due to a scheduling conflict. Dunst replaced her and I found her to be not only ravishing, but an appropriate choice, given that she's been through a lot of the same problems with depression that her character suffers from. By the way, Keifer Sutherland is there too as Claire's husband. I enjoyed seeing him in the movie. My only nit with the film is Claire's British accent. Why does she have one while her sister doesn't? Theatre: 1 DVD/Blu-Ray: 26 TV: 39 On Demand: 7 Internet: 1
41. Das weiße Band Seemingly unrelated acts of violence happen in a little village in Germany shortly before the outbreak of World War One. I found the film mostly boring (maybe because it's simply not my kind of film), but the black-and-white cinematography resulted in some nice shots.
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+) Ralph Fiennes makes his directorial debut with a Shakespeare adaptation that feels like less than the sum of its parts. Some of the problems are with the original play (which is not one of the immortal Bard's best, though I think it has a number of very interesting elements; I saw a Stratford production with Colm Feore a few years ago which I quite enjoyed), some are related to the adaptation (some brought about by the ways in which it has been translated from Ancient Rome to the present day, mostly relating to how warfare is fought). Stylistically Fiennes is mimicking the Black Hawk Down/The Hurt Locker (he was in the latter) school of modern war filmmaking, which I'm not sure is especially suited to the material. As an actor, Fiennes has always been better fitted to villains, the awkward, and the psychologically disturbed than to more traditional leads, and Coriolanus is fairly suited to him, since he's pretty much a prick. While some of his filmmaking choices are questionable, Fiennes knows how to handle actors (as you might expect). The acting is the best thing about the movie, from old pros Vanessa Redgrave and Brian Cox to the ubiquitous Jessica Chastain (here proving herself adept at Shakespeare). Gerard Butler is okay as Aufidius, Coriolanus' archenemy/ally, though there scenes are ridiculously homoerotic which makes it a little hard to take a lot of it seriously. Cinema: 8 (+1) Home Video: 19 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-) Machete: There are a few good gags to be had here (Machete uses a man's intestines as a rope; a naked women stores a cell phone in...well, where she can), but overall the movie doesn't have much more to offer than the trailer from a few years ago. Like a lot of the Grind-house fare its emulating, there are long patches that are far too serious or just plain dull. Still, I can't come down too hard on a movie that's tongue-in-cheek enough to cast Steven Segal as a Mexican (unlike Rodriguez's Once Upon a Time in Mexico, the movie isn't playing this nonsense straight). It's just not as consistently fun as one would hope. Hopefully the sequel is better. Unmasking The Idol: I'm flabbergasted that Eon Productions didn't sue the makers of this film (and its predecessor, which I haven't seen...yet). Don't let the labels fool you -- this isn't a James Bond "spoof." It's a full on rip-off. Piranha pool from Thunderball? Check. Gold bars from Goldfinger? Check. Some of the stealing is less blatant than that, but you get the idea (there's also a healthy does of the first two Indiana Jones movies here). Still, as bad as everything is (this is James Bond...but Bond where everyone in the middle of the "action" is at least middle-aged) some of the production design is of mild interest. I guess. Theatres: 15 Home Video: 26 +1 Computer: 2
Spoiler: Movies Seen in January & February 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 Went to see John Carter 3D before my work shift today. I liked the look of it, especially the native village & the arena fight, in 3D. Added bonus - the Avengers trailer was in 3D! Watchin' unrated extended director's cut of The Grudge on DVD right now. Picked it up in a double feature set with the unrated director's cut of the sequel for cheap...not too impressed, to be honest. - edit, to add - Used my employee discount to see Jeff, Who Lives at Home this afternoon. Not a great movie, but an interestin' one, with some odd bits of humor sprinkled throughough. I didn't care much for the mother's office romance, but overall, the movie was better than I expected it to be from the trailer.
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+) I wonder if this movie is better viewed before one sees North by Northwest. There are a lot of similarities between the two Hitchcock films, from star Cary Grant, a blonde love interest, the presence of Jessica Royce Landis, Grant's character being on the run for something he didn't do and encountering a woman who susses out his true identity, etc. But Catch just isn't of the same calibre as its successor. It has plenty of strengths, of course. Grant is in good form, and has strong chemistry with Kelly; their dialogue is a lot of fun. The costuming, art direction, and cinematography are superb (and I imagine this would have been even more exciting to audiences in the 1950s, where location shoots were still relatively new instead of Hollywood backlots). However, its setpieces and plot aren't nearly as fun or interesting, the supporting characters likewise. Cinema: 8 Home Video: 20 (+1) Computer: 5
42. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island It's a fun adventure film, although not as good as the first Journey. And I really missed Fraser in this, he seems to be perfect for these kind of films.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011) ★★ 1/2 Oh man... I was expecting some kind of masterpiece. A friend of mine saw in the theaters three times. I haven't read the book, but I feel like I probably would have to in order to fully understand this film. Mara Rooney delivers a standout performance and the film has some great sets and scenery, but other than that I don't really have a lot of good things to say about it.
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 - TV movie about a teenage girl who becomes a call girl. Her "manager" is the school's on-duty police officer. I watched it because Jamie Luner plays the unsuspecting mother. Typical TV movie fare, but it did a pretty good job of making prostitution seem unglamorous. 76. Hoodwinked!: (✩✩✩½) - TV - Fun and interesting take on Littel Red Riding Hood. [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx0ss7z184o[/yt] 77. 21 Jump Street: (✩✩✩½) - Theatre - Funny and entertaining, but it wasn't the gut-busting experience for me that it was for so many others. 78. Clerks II: (✩✩✩½) - TV - Finally saw this, but can't fully appriciate that it's a sequel because it's been too long since I've seen the original. Lots of Kevin Smith-style banter about life, sex and Star Wars, and the ending has a lot of heart. 79. Henry's Crime: (✩✩✩½) - DVD - Henry (Keanu Reeves) is convicted of robbing a bank and is sent to prison, except that he didn't rob the bank. Upon realease, he enlists a friend he met in prison (James Caan) to help him rob the bank for real. Vera Farmiga plays Henry's love interest. It didn't get a wide release, but it's an enjoyable heist story. Don't know what to make of Henry or his motives though. 80. Hannah Montana: The Movie: (✩✩✩½) - DVD - I used to watch the show while I was at the computer and came to enjoy it. Basically, the show is about a teenage girl named Miley Stewart who leads a double life as a rock star named Hannah Montana. In the movie, the rock star life seems to be going to her head, so her dad takes her away to their home in Tennessee to "detoxify" her of the celebrity life and bring her back down a bit. There, she meets a boy, has to deal with a tabloid reporter who's following her, and finds herself having to become Hannah Montana again in order to put on a concert to raise money to save a swath of land from a developer, all as her double identity starts to unravel. It was nice to see a motion picture quality take on the show. 81. Chasing Amy: (✩✩✩✩) - DVD - Ben Affleck plays a comic book writer who meets the girl of his dreams, named Alyssa, only to find out that she's not who he thought she was. It had the usual Kevin Smith-style banter about life, sex and Star Wars, but it was fundamentally about sex, relationships , idealizing one's parter and dealing with the past. I don't think I've seen this movie's subject matter dealt with in a movie before. And given that there was no "Amy" in the movie, I was puzzled by the title, but it eventually made sense. In the end, it was a great slice-of-life movie. And like a lot of Kevin Smith's early work, it made me miss the 90s. Theatre: 2 DVD/Blu-Ray: 29 TV: 42 On Demand: 7 Internet: 1
Spoiler: Movies Seen in January & February 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 Couldn't sleep night before last, thanks to the storm that moved through Austin, so I wound up watchin' My Bloody Valentine on DVD. Apparently, there is a 3D option to watch it, but since I don't have the glasses, I didn't bother with that. It kind of reminded me of Journey 2 & Comin' at Ya!, the way most of the 3D was "in your face" sort of silliness. Pretty simple blood & guts horror movie about a guy in a miner's mask killin' folks with a pick axe, seems the 3D was the hook for it. May watch it again, though, when I have a bigger screen than just my laptop. Went to see Battle Royale last night after work, and actually had to pay to get in, since the showin' was due to sell out. I was told if it didn't, I could get my seven bucks back, but every seat in the theater filled up with folks wantin' to see the Japanese film. Set in a dystopian future where Japanese society has gone to hell, a class of high school students are taken to an isolate island & forced to compete & kill each other for survivial. It was actually pretty awesome, with severely dark humor to it. And it may be one of my favorite new movies of the year... Got a plan to see the fourth Mission: Impossible tonight at the discount theater, and may watch some other stuff on DVD later.
Do you know what version of Battle Royale you saw? Apparently there's a director's cut that changes some things, which has upset some people online. (I haven't seen the movie)
Spoiler: Movies 2012 1. Beginners ★★★★ 2. The Artist ★★★★★ 3. L’Ultimo Terreste ★★★ 4. Ace Attorney ★★★★★ 5. The Loneliest Planet ★★ 6. Damsels in Distress ★★★ 7. Gaamer ★★★★ 8. King Curling ★★★★ 9. The Hunter ★★★★ 10. A Dangerous Method ★★★★ 11. Hugo 3D ★★★ 12. Albert Nobbs ★★★★ Albert Nobbs ★★★★ I saw this one tonight. A touching movie about a woman who lived most of her life as a man. I'm literally in love with Janet McTeer. Beautiful art direction, a bunch of entertaining minor characters, and great acting all around. Maybe a bit too long.
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+) The uber-praised Iranian drama finally arrives in Charlottetown. I was a bit worried going in, because with all the acclaim you half-wonder if the movie could only meet expectations if it cured cancer. And while I don't know if it's a revelatory experience, it's a damn good film, very possibly the best of last year's crop. I realized going in that, despite seeing months of praise for it, I really didn't know much about the story, other than it was about a couple getting a divorce - which it's not, really; that's the jumping-off point (the poster also emphasizes the mother, who is almost a supporting character and disappears for long stretches). It's a remarkable portrait of Iranian society, and it's amazingly balanced in its depictions of everyone involved in the tragedy. Cinema: 9 (+1) Home Video: 20 Computer: 5