^I haven't looked it up, but maybe "George Lucas vs. The People" was never released in cinemas and played only in a few festivals, before being released on DVD. 32. Cloudy with a Chance for Meatballs This computer animated film was a nice surprise. It didn't know much about it before watching it, but it had an entertaining premise and was very funny in places.
It had a limited run in theaters. I saw it as part of a class; the professor had seen the film in the cinema as part of its original (very limited) theatrical run here in Los Angeles.
Updates in bold. Cinema: 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 ★★★★ 1. Beginners ★★★★ "A young man is rocked by two announcements from his elderly father: that he has terminal cancer, and that he has a young male lover." Wonderful, original movie. Great acting by Christopher Plummer. 5. The Loneliest Planet ★★ "A local guide takes a young couple through a twisted backpacking trip across the Georgian wilderness." People hiking in the mountains. Boring as hell. No really. 7. Gaamer ★★★★ "The protagonist is a young Gamer who is great at shooting enemies in Quake but not so successful in real life." Interesting coming-of-age movie from the Ukraine. The movie is filmed like a documentary and is accompanied by an effective musical score.
Spoiler: #1-19. 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-) This finally arrived in Charlottetown (a bunch of long-anticipated films are scheduled to appear in March at last). This is an extremely charming piece of work, and feels largely authentic; the two leads blend in very well, and it's easy to imagine that they actually were big stars in the silent era (James Cromwell and especially John Goodman, a lot less so). It's very funny and at times moving. At the same time, I would agree with the principal knock that has been lobbed against this production, which is that it's ultimately a pretty slender story. But in terms of artistic ambition, Hazanavicius is to be commended. Cinema: 6 Home Video: 14 Computer: 3
In Time ★★★ 1/2 - Really enjoyable movie. James McAvoy's character is kind of silly, but I thought it was a fun romp. Ip Man ★★★★ - just pure awesome. It's a Kung Fu movie with a plot. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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 When I went to see the Oscar-nominated animated short films, the Alamo Drafthouse showed more than just the five nominees...no clue why, and I can't find the full list on the website, since it stopped showin'. Dammit. Been a busy week with the new theater openin', so tonight was the first night I was able to use my perks to get to a Drafthouse. Went to the Ritz for the "late show" screenin' of Dune on 35MM film. First time I've stayed awake through the whole film! Of course, the last time I tried, it was with a VHS rental... Watchin' the Marvel Animated Doctor Strange on DVD now. Knowin' almost nothin' about the character, I can't seem to get into the story...
Spoiler: #1-19. 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) Following up on this year's Best Picture winner with one of the most notable runners-up of the last 20 years. I have vague memories of watching parts of this on TBS in the past (particularly toward the end), but this is the first time I've really sat down to watch it. This is regularly held up as the film that should have beaten Titanic, though most of the people/critics who say that thought that to begin with, so it's not like there's been a massive rise in support for this film. All the same, it is a very strong piece of work, with great performances from the main cast. It stops short of being perfect, mainly because I find the Kim Basinger character (and many of the aspects relating to her) rather underdeveloped (oddly, she won the Oscar for this movie, even though I think she's the weakest part of it). The Blu-Ray includes the unproduced 2000 pilot for a TV series based on the movie, which was interesting to watch (including a pre-24 Kiefer Sutherland as an unrecognizable version of Kevin Spacey's character). Cinema: 6 Home Video: 15 (+1) Computer: 3
I didn't know much about Doctor Strange either, but I loved the story. A rich cocky doctor loses his professional standing and worldly possessions and finds a better and more empowered life as part of a community of otherworldly people. It kind of dragged a bit at the end when they were fighting monsters, but I like what the movie deals with.
The problem I have with magic-based characters is that there really aren't any rules for what they can't do....and if anything doesn't make sense, ya can just say, "It's magic!" as an explanation... I was very "meh" by the end of the movie.
Heh, the lack of rules thing is almost word-for-word what Marvel's current EIC said about the problem with Dr. Strange (though he also said the great thing about magic as a plot device was "we don't have to explain it" in a different context). As I recall, fans of Dr. Strange were fairly indifferent to that adaptation as well, when it came out.
Hmmm, I think I'm gonna check this one out, it sounds interesting. I like McAvoy as an actor and his movies tend to be a bit quirky. I like that.
33. Carriers The film follows a group of four teenagers in a world where a virus has killed everyone. The survivors try to avoid coming into contact with other people for fear of getting infected (and dying) themselves. You can guess the plot of the film from the setting, but Pine is quite good in his role.
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-) Avatar: My girlfriend somehow missed this when it came out in 2009, and since I hadn't seen the nearly three hour cut produced for home video, I thought I'd give it a whirl. Most of my objections still remain, although my dislike for the film has been tempered somewhat. Visually, it's stunning, although the digital effects still aren't quite photo-realistic. As far as the extended, three hour cut goes, I think it's mostly an improvement. It provides Grace with some more backstory and allows Jake's development with the Na'Vi to happen at a slightly slower, more believable pace. The time spent on Earth in the opening ten minutes drags, though. As fun as it is to see that world (mostly derivative of Blade Runner, visually) the opening of the theatrical version offers the same information in a fraction of the time, and is much more cinematic, overall. As far as my objections go, they're still the same, albeit slightly tempered. For the most part, the movie is as subtle as a jack-hammer. It pounds its allegory at the audience repeatedly. The dialogue can be a little silly, too, and it is dreadfully expository in the first thirty minutes (which is probably why the actors -- even Sigourney Weaver -- deliver rather awkward performances in the first act). Sam Worthington is acceptable, but rarely great, in the leading role, possibly due to his attempt at an American accent, which is inconsistent at best. It doesn't help that he has to deliver so much voice over, which is mostly unnecessary. I suspect most, if not all, could be culled from the movie and only enhance it. As has been observed elsewhere, the "Mighty Whitey" trope is in full force. As an outsider, Jake Sully possesses a certain usefulness in terms of explaining the world of Pandora to the audience, but his path from being a total outsider towards leading the Na'Vi (at least, the Tree People) in a matter of months is painfully reminiscent of colonial discourse. As an allegory for European colonialism in Africa, the film doesn't work (It's much more a fantasy of white guilt). Considering his utter betrayal of the Na'Vi after he mates with Neytiri, the fact that she quickly (even in the extended cut) takes him back and apologizes to him is a little hard to swallow. I rather like that Neytiri, not Jake, defeats the villain at the end. It's a nice subversion of our expectations of the princess in peril. There are other nice moments as well; as I've observed before, I really like the exchange between Quaritch and Sully about their military service, which subtly alludes to oil wars in Nigeria and Venezuela without directly stating it. Theatres: 15 Home Video: 19 +1 Computer: 2
I think that's unsurprising, because Cameron is that somewhat rare blockbuster director who is actually much better at writing women than men.
Agreed; especially when it comes to action heroines (Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day being the best and most obvious examples).
Spoiler: #1-19. 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+) Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody both really arrived with Juno back in 2007, but they had very different followup films: Reitman went on to further Oscar nominations and critical acclaim with Up in the Air, while Cody teamed with Karyn Kusama for Jennifer's Body, which was poorly received (I haven't seen it, incidentally). Now they reunite for a black comedy, which wasn't a big box office performer but attracted a dedicated critical following. I liked it quite a lot, though it never quite crosses the line into "great" territory. Cody's signature rat-a-tat dialogue is toned down a lot, but there's plenty of fun line. The film is an 87-minute build to a single punchline at the expense of traditional movie narratives, but it's an effective one. Reitman and Cody are going their separate ways again next; in Cody's case, it's to make her directorial debut. I'll be interested to see if Jennifer's Body was just a hiccup, or if Reitman is really bringing more to the table in their collaborations. Cinema: 7 (+1) Home Video: 15 Computer: 3