Movies Seen in 2011

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by Starbreaker, Dec 31, 2010.

  1. zakkrusz

    zakkrusz Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2002
    Location:
    United States
    Updates in Bold:

    The Adjustment Bureau (8)
    Afro Samurai: Resurrection (7)
    Arashi no Yoru ni (One Stormy Night) (7)
    Armored Trooper Votoms: Alone Again (7)
    Armored Trooper Votoms: Finder (8)
    Babylon 5: A Call to Arms (8)
    Babylon 5: River of Souls (7)
    Babylon 5: Thirdspace (7)
    Black Swan (9)
    Broken Blade 3: The Mark of the Assassin's Dagger (9)
    Broken Blade 4: The Land of Disaster (9)
    Broken Blade 5: Death's Horizon (9)
    Broken Blade 6: Bastions of Sorrow (9)Cowboys and Aliens (8)
    Captain America: The First Avenger (8)
    Cutthroat Island (9)
    Drive Angry (7)
    Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance (9)
    Godkiller (6)
    Green Lantern (8)
    Hanna (8)
    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (8)
    Honey and Clover (6)
    I Am Number Four (8)
    Infernal Affairs (7)
    Kamui (4)
    The Garden of Sinners Movie 8: Epilogue (9)
    Loups=Garous (8)
    The Mechanic (2011) (9)
    Mobile Suit Gundam 00: Awakeening of the Trailblazer (8)
    Munto: The Movie (6)
    Musashi Miyamoto (6)
    Outlander (8)
    Pirates of the Caribean: On Stranger Tides (9)
    Priest (5)
    Source Code (9)
    Super 8 (8)
    Thor (9)
    Time of Eve (10)
    Transformers: Dark of the Moon (9)
    Unknown (7)
    Versus (6)
    X-Men: First Class (8)
    Your Highness (3)
     
  2. CaptainCanada

    CaptainCanada Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Location:
    Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
    1. In the Heat of the Night (A)
    2. The Passion of Joan of Arc (B)
    3. The Passion of the Christ (A)
    4. Mamma Mia! (B)
    5. All About Eve (A)
    6. Looking for Anne (B-)
    7. 2001: A Space Odyssey (B+)
    8. The King's Speech (A)
    9. How Green Was My Valley (B-)
    10. Black Swan (B+)
    11. Made in Dagenham (B)
    12. Gentleman's Agreement (A-)
    13. Barney's Version (A-)
    14. Out of Africa (B)
    15. The Social Network (A-)
    16. The Sound of Music (B+)
    17. Pulp Fiction (A)
    18. Forrest Gump (A)
    19. The Shawshank Redemption (A+)
    20. The Illusionist (B)
    21. The French Connection (B+)
    22. Network (A+)
    23. Incendies (A+)
    24. Mrs. Miniver (A)
    25. A Fistful of Dollars (B+)
    26. For A Few Dollars More (B)
    27. WALL-E (A+)
    28. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (A)
    29. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (B)
    30. Gigi (B-)
    31. I Love You Phillip Morris (B+)
    32. How To Train Your Dragon (A)
    33. Tarzan (B+)
    34. Oliver! (B+)
    35. Gosford Park (A-)
    36. The Princess Bride (B+)
    37. All the President's Men (A-)
    38. Oliver Twist (B+)
    39. My Fair Lady (A+)
    40. Hanna (A-)
    41. The Godfather (A+)
    42. The Godfather: Part II (A+)
    43. The Godfather: Part III (A-)
    44. Dog Day Afternoon (A)
    45. Taxi Driver (A-)
    46. Great Expectations (B+)
    47. The Last Airbender (D-)
    48. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (A+)
    49. Raging Bull (B+)
    50. GoodFellas (A-)
    51. Spartacus (A+)
    52. The Deer Hunter (B+)
    53. Reservoir Dogs (A)
    54. A Clockwork Orange (A)
    55. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (A+)
    56. Gone With The Wind (A+)
    57. On the Waterfront (A)
    58. Thor (B+)
    59. The Seventh Seal (A-)
    60. Hamlet (A)
    61. All the King's Men (A-)
    62. Roman Holiday (A+)
    63. Rebecca (A-)
    64. Notorious (A)
    65. American Madness (B+)
    66. It Happened One Night (A-)
    67. Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (C-)
    68. You Can't Take It With You (B+)
    69. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (A-)
    70. The Heiress (A+)
    71. X-Men: First Class (A-)
    72. Super 8 (B+)
    73. Dr. No (B-)
    74. From Russia With Love (A)
    75. Captain Blood (A+)
    76. The Best Years of Our Lives (A+)
    77. The Adventures of Robin Hood (A+)
    78. The Treasure of Sierra Madre (A+)
    79. From Here To Eternity (A)
    80. To Have and Have Not (B)
    81. The Big Sleep (A-)
    82. Barry Lyndon (B+)
    83. The Snake Pit (B+)
    84. Hoosiers (C-)
    85. Rocky (A-)
    86. Midnight in Paris (B+)
    87. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (B+)
    88. Key Largo (B-)
    89. Bridge on the River Kwai (A)
    90. The Apartment (A-)
    91. Captain America: The First Avenger (A-)
    92. Ordinary People (A-)
    93. Days of Heaven (B+)
    94. Yojimbo (A-)
    95. Tangled (A)
    96. Cowboys and Aliens (B)
    97. Crazy, Stupid, Love (A-)
    98. Beginners (A-)
    99. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (A+)
    100. Bonnie and Clyde (A-)
    101. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (A-)
    102. Elmer Gantry (B+)
    103. Sanjuro (A-)
    104. The Help (B+)
    105. Dark Passage (B+)
    106. Easy A (B)
    107. Rob Roy (B+)
    108. The Great McGinty (C+)
    109. Christmas in July (B)
    110. The Tree of Life (?)

    Hmm.

    I've now seen three of Terrence Malick's five films, and I would say this is my favourite of the them, but at the same time I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. It's certainly the most ambitious film I've seen so far this year, and there's a decent chance it will still hold that title at year's end. At the same time, I think Malick's reach exceeds his grasp here.

    People have been comparing this to 2001: A Space Odyssey - on the one hand, I think that movie had a more sensical progression between the different segments; conversely, Malick's humanism makes for a much better viewing experience than Kubrick's relentless detachment. The core story about the family in the 1950s is excellent. The other parts, including the origins of the universe (!), the future segments with Sean Penn, and a lot of the ending, are a bit more dubious. I can see what Malick is trying to do, but I don't think he quite pulls it off. I found myself thinking he'd have done better to scale back his vision a bit and really focus on the childhood segment.

    In terms of acting, Brad Pitt gives another strong performance (he really is a character actor in a leading man's body). Sean Penn is out of place. I imagine that, given Malick's way with editing, there's a lot more too his part on the cutting room floor, but the result is his being in the movie for maybe five minutes, and there's not nearly enough time for him to become accepted as the adult Jack. The kid playing the young Jack is superb; one of the best child actors I've seen in a long time. This is the second Jessica Chastain movie I've seen in as many weeks, and she does very well in the idealized, somewhat ethereal role of the mother. If nothing else, the film is a tribute to Chastain's beauty; Malick's camera worships her (in a non-sexual way).

    And speaking of Malick's camera, this should probably be the frontrunner for Best Cinematography this year.
     
  3. Agent Richard07

    Agent Richard07 Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2001
    I saw I Love You, Man and Peaceful Warrior. I Love You, Man came off like a Judd Apatow movie. I was surprised to see that he wasn't involved. And Peaceful Warrior was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I really liked a lot of what it had to say and recomend it, but I suspect that some might find it too "new-agey". It's based on the book Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman.

    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PQgyZSULP4[/yt]
     
  4. Captain Craig

    Captain Craig Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2003
    Location:
    Nashville,TN
    1. The Fighter: B-
    2. Batman(90's saga): A-,B-,C-,D
    3. Star Wars OT-Special Edition: B+, A, B
    4. The Green Hornet: B
    5. True Grit(1969): C+
    6. Lord of the Rings saga: (A,A,A)
    7. The Machinist: A-
    8. Season of the Witch: B
    9. Frozen: A-
    10. Due Date: B+
    11. Planet of the Apes(2001): B-
    12. Faster: C
    13. Romance: D (French film, subtitled)
    14. YPF: C- (YPF=Young People F*&^ing)
    15. The Beautiful Truth: B-
    16. Strictly Sexual: C+
    17. DOOM: C
    18. Brothers: B+
    19. Men In Black II: B-
    20. The Crow: Wicked Prayer: C-
    21. The Soloist: C
    22. Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love: C+
    23. I Now Pronounce you Chuck & Larry: B-
    24. Battle in Heaven: C+ (Mexican film, subtitled)
    25. Legion: B-
    26. Battle: LA: B+
    27. Righteous Kill: B
    28. Dracula II: Ascension: B-
    29. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li: D
    30. You Don't Mess With the Zohan: C+
    31. Finding Bliss: C
    32. Dracula III: Legacy: B-
    33. Tangled: B+
    34. Paul Blart Mall Cop: C-
    35. Chloe: B
    36. Kung Fu Panda: B-
    37. Centurion: B
    38. The People I've Slept With: C
    39. Grown Ups: B-
    40. The Conspirator: A-
    41. XXX: State of the Union: C+
    42. Fast Five: B+
    43. THOR: A-
    44. Priest: D+
    45. The Fourth Kind: B+
    46. POTC: On Stranger Tides: B-
    47. Turtles Forever: A-
    48. Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story: B+
    49. Easy A: A
    50. Inception: B
    51. #1 Cheerleader Camp: D
    52. Freakanomics: C+
    53. Green Lantern: C
    54. The American: C-
    55. Super 8: A
    56. Green Lantern: First Flight: B
    57. Transformers: Dark of the Moon: B-
    58. 9 Songs: F
    59. Kings Speech: A-
    60. Whiteout: C+
    61. Passion Play: D+
    62. Captain America: The First Avenger: A-
    63. Marley & Me: A
    64. Date Night: C+
    65. Frantic: B+
    66. Presumed Innocent: A
    67. Invictus: A
    68. Rocky: A
    69. Hurt Locker: A+
    70. Rocky II: C+
    71. Rocky III: B+
    72. Rocky IV: A
    73. Cowboys & Aliens: B
    74. Wonder Woman (DC Animated): B+
    75. Rocky V: B-
    76. Conan The Barbarian('11): B-
    77. Dinner for Schmucks: D


    Saw a matinee of the new Conan with Jason Mamoa and overall I liked it. I did a brief write up in the review thread. Bottom line it was entertaining if about 10-15 min too long imo. Jason was a great Conan.

    Dinner for Schmucks, oh god the humanity. I've watched this so you don't have to, so don't. Really, don't. I don't often follow this advice but sometimes I should(Wicker Man w/Nic Cage for example). About 30min into the movie I kept going, "When is the dinner?" All of the lead up to the dinner was very dull, very boring and not often funny. Long stretches of blah! The two friends I watched it with agree it was a stinker and our female friend really, really likes Steve Carrell and she had to say it made Date Night look good and she only kinda liked that movie. She cut Steve no slack for this one though.
    I see it didn't even do a $100m worldwide on a $69m budget, good. I'd hate Hollywood to think people wanted more like this.


    For Odo and anyone else curious I had success at Best Buy with my swap of the Rocky set. Turns out I did give my phone number for the purchase so I was on file in the Rewards progam. Even if I hadn't the Rocky V disc had been double pressed, two discs stuck together. I didn't catch it but the customer service mgr did and would've swapped it out due to manufacture defect + MGM had issued a notice to retailers back in March of issues with the set. So, it all worked out and it was the first positive customer service experience I've had with Best Buy in some time. :)
     
  5. CaptainCanada

    CaptainCanada Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Location:
    Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
    1. In the Heat of the Night (A)
    2. The Passion of Joan of Arc (B)
    3. The Passion of the Christ (A)
    4. Mamma Mia! (B)
    5. All About Eve (A)
    6. Looking for Anne (B-)
    7. 2001: A Space Odyssey (B+)
    8. The King's Speech (A)
    9. How Green Was My Valley (B-)
    10. Black Swan (B+)
    11. Made in Dagenham (B)
    12. Gentleman's Agreement (A-)
    13. Barney's Version (A-)
    14. Out of Africa (B)
    15. The Social Network (A-)
    16. The Sound of Music (B+)
    17. Pulp Fiction (A)
    18. Forrest Gump (A)
    19. The Shawshank Redemption (A+)
    20. The Illusionist (B)
    21. The French Connection (B+)
    22. Network (A+)
    23. Incendies (A+)
    24. Mrs. Miniver (A)
    25. A Fistful of Dollars (B+)
    26. For A Few Dollars More (B)
    27. WALL-E (A+)
    28. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (A)
    29. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (B)
    30. Gigi (B-)
    31. I Love You Phillip Morris (B+)
    32. How To Train Your Dragon (A)
    33. Tarzan (B+)
    34. Oliver! (B+)
    35. Gosford Park (A-)
    36. The Princess Bride (B+)
    37. All the President's Men (A-)
    38. Oliver Twist (B+)
    39. My Fair Lady (A+)
    40. Hanna (A-)
    41. The Godfather (A+)
    42. The Godfather: Part II (A+)
    43. The Godfather: Part III (A-)
    44. Dog Day Afternoon (A)
    45. Taxi Driver (A-)
    46. Great Expectations (B+)
    47. The Last Airbender (D-)
    48. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (A+)
    49. Raging Bull (B+)
    50. GoodFellas (A-)
    51. Spartacus (A+)
    52. The Deer Hunter (B+)
    53. Reservoir Dogs (A)
    54. A Clockwork Orange (A)
    55. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (A+)
    56. Gone With The Wind (A+)
    57. On the Waterfront (A)
    58. Thor (B+)
    59. The Seventh Seal (A-)
    60. Hamlet (A)
    61. All the King's Men (A-)
    62. Roman Holiday (A+)
    63. Rebecca (A-)
    64. Notorious (A)
    65. American Madness (B+)
    66. It Happened One Night (A-)
    67. Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (C-)
    68. You Can't Take It With You (B+)
    69. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (A-)
    70. The Heiress (A+)
    71. X-Men: First Class (A-)
    72. Super 8 (B+)
    73. Dr. No (B-)
    74. From Russia With Love (A)
    75. Captain Blood (A+)
    76. The Best Years of Our Lives (A+)
    77. The Adventures of Robin Hood (A+)
    78. The Treasure of Sierra Madre (A+)
    79. From Here To Eternity (A)
    80. To Have and Have Not (B)
    81. The Big Sleep (A-)
    82. Barry Lyndon (B+)
    83. The Snake Pit (B+)
    84. Hoosiers (C-)
    85. Rocky (A-)
    86. Midnight in Paris (B+)
    87. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (B+)
    88. Key Largo (B-)
    89. Bridge on the River Kwai (A)
    90. The Apartment (A-)
    91. Captain America: The First Avenger (A-)
    92. Ordinary People (A-)
    93. Days of Heaven (B+)
    94. Yojimbo (A-)
    95. Tangled (A)
    96. Cowboys and Aliens (B)
    97. Crazy, Stupid, Love (A-)
    98. Beginners (A-)
    99. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (A+)
    100. Bonnie and Clyde (A-)
    101. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (A-)
    102. Elmer Gantry (B+)
    103. Sanjuro (A-)
    104. The Help (B+)
    105. Dark Passage (B+)
    106. Easy A (B)
    107. Rob Roy (B+)
    108. The Great McGinty (C+)
    109. Christmas in July (B)
    110. The Tree of Life (?)
    111. The Lady Eve (A-)

    That's more like it. Sturges finally makes it to something a modern audience would recognize as feature length, and also lands some actors that modern audiences would recognize (Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda). Parts of the movie still happen at a breakneck pace - Jean's softening, which under most circumstances would be the plot of the movie on its own, happens by the twenty-minute mark. This is a laudably orginal story, but it's a little jarring all the same. Great performances from everybody, especially Stanwyck, on whose work the movie turns. Though William Demarest's schtick isn't really as funny as I imagine Sturges thought it was (he's been in all three of the movies I've seen, and a glance at the IMDB tells me he's in all the others too).
     
  6. od0_ital

    od0_ital Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2001
    Location:
    Nacogdoches, Texas
    Cool.

    :techman:

    Also, that Dinner movie is a bad one - none of the jokes worked, at all. Saw it with friends at a free screenin' a few days before it opened last year, and felt bad for gettin' everyone their passes.
     
  7. LitmusDragon

    LitmusDragon Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2002
    Location:
    The Barmuda Triangle
    1. Alien 3 (assembly cut) - B
    2. Let the Right One In - A
    3. Inception - B.
    4. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - B+
    5. Lilo and Stitch - A
    6. Despicable Me - B
    7. Forbidden Planet - B+
    8. Clerks - B
    9. Metropia - C+
    10. Brand Upon the Brain - B
    11. Beltesassar Animation Festival 17 - A
    12. Buried - B+
    13. How to Train Your Dragon - A
    14. Monsters - C+.
    15. The Tune (Bill Plympton) - C
    16. House (1977) - B
    17. Institute Benjamenta - B-
    18. The Triplets of Belleville (rewatch) - A
    19. Lunacy (Jan Svankmajer, 2005) - B
    20. Paradise Lost (1999) - C-
    21. Daybreakers - C
    22. The Wizard of Oz (rewatch) - A
    23. Winnebago Man - A
    24. The Social Network - B+
    25. Book of the Dead (2005) - C
    26. Megamind - B
    27. North By Northwest (1959) - A
    28. The Plague Dogs (1982) - B+
    29. Burn After Reading - B
    31. The Incredibles (rewatch) - A
    32. Fire and Ice (1983) - D
    33. Bad Santa - B
    34. Twelve Monkeys (rewatch) - A
    35. Sweeney Todd - B+
    36. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 1 - B
    37. Alien IV (Blu-ray) - D
    38. American Movie (1999) - B
    39. Naked (1993) - B
    40. My Neighbor Totoro - B+
    41. Pulp Fiction (Rewatch) - A+
    42. Fight Club (Rewatch) - B+
    43. Akira Kurosawa's Dreams - B
    44. Falling Down (Rewatch) - B
    45. Crazy Heart - C+
    46. Confessions of a Superhero - B
    47. The King's Speech - B+
    48. Pinnochio (Disney, rewatch) - B
    49. Network - A
    50. Paprika - B+
    51. All The President's Men (1976) - A
    52. The Illusionist (2010) - B
    53. Rashomon (1950) - B
    54. Wall-E (rewatch) - A
    55. Tron Legacy - C+
    56. American Psycho - B
    57. Rango - A-

    58. Rear Window - A. Another masterful work by Alfred Hitchcock, whose films I am only now familiarizing myself with. I thought the sets and the cinematography were the highlights here, though the story and the performances were also quite strong. Quite a creepy film due to it's voyeuristic point of view which is used for much of the screen time.

    59. Stranger Than Paradise (1984) - B. The independent film that seemed to define a style that would come into prominence ten years later, Jim Jarmusch's breakthrough film is a minimalist comedy about hipsters living in a time before hipsters really existed. Pretty good. Not my favorite film of his (I like when he is able to layer things on a bit more thickly), but is notable for succeeding on such a low budget, and for employing first-time actors for the three lead roles.

    60. Get Low - B. Pretty solid film with a great cast.
     
  8. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Location:
    Tatoinne
    Playing catchup for the entire year so far...

    5 star
    Captain America: The First Avenger
    The Cave of Forgotten Dreams
    127 Hours
    True Grit
    (2010)
    Witness for the Prosecution
    Winter's Bone
    Toy Story 3


    4 star
    Black Swan
    Rango
    Source Code
    Tomorrow
    Megamind
    Tangled
    The Mark of Zorro (1940)
    Conviction
    Unstoppable
    Despicable Me
    The Social Network
    Lebanon
    How to Train Your Dragon
    The Kids Are All Right
    Exit Through the Gift Shop

    Kick-Ass

    3 star
    Limitless
    Unknown
    9
    Ride with the Devil
    TRON: Legacy
    Hereafter
    The Next Three Days
    Waste Land
    A Film Unfinished
    The Last Train Home
    Scott Pilgrim vs the World
    Predators
    A Prophet


    2 star
    Get Him to the Greek
    Centurion

    I've gotten pretty good at pre-screening movies so that I rarely see anything below the 3-star level.
     
  9. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2005
    I agree, although I still think the film warranted an "A." In any event, Malick is working on a 6-hour (!) version of the film for home video, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was more meat to Sean Penn's part included in that version.
     
  10. CaptainCanada

    CaptainCanada Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Location:
    Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
    1. In the Heat of the Night (A)
    2. The Passion of Joan of Arc (B)
    3. The Passion of the Christ (A)
    4. Mamma Mia! (B)
    5. All About Eve (A)
    6. Looking for Anne (B-)
    7. 2001: A Space Odyssey (B+)
    8. The King's Speech (A)
    9. How Green Was My Valley (B-)
    10. Black Swan (B+)
    11. Made in Dagenham (B)
    12. Gentleman's Agreement (A-)
    13. Barney's Version (A-)
    14. Out of Africa (B)
    15. The Social Network (A-)
    16. The Sound of Music (B+)
    17. Pulp Fiction (A)
    18. Forrest Gump (A)
    19. The Shawshank Redemption (A+)
    20. The Illusionist (B)
    21. The French Connection (B+)
    22. Network (A+)
    23. Incendies (A+)
    24. Mrs. Miniver (A)
    25. A Fistful of Dollars (B+)
    26. For A Few Dollars More (B)
    27. WALL-E (A+)
    28. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (A)
    29. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (B)
    30. Gigi (B-)
    31. I Love You Phillip Morris (B+)
    32. How To Train Your Dragon (A)
    33. Tarzan (B+)
    34. Oliver! (B+)
    35. Gosford Park (A-)
    36. The Princess Bride (B+)
    37. All the President's Men (A-)
    38. Oliver Twist (B+)
    39. My Fair Lady (A+)
    40. Hanna (A-)
    41. The Godfather (A+)
    42. The Godfather: Part II (A+)
    43. The Godfather: Part III (A-)
    44. Dog Day Afternoon (A)
    45. Taxi Driver (A-)
    46. Great Expectations (B+)
    47. The Last Airbender (D-)
    48. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (A+)
    49. Raging Bull (B+)
    50. GoodFellas (A-)
    51. Spartacus (A+)
    52. The Deer Hunter (B+)
    53. Reservoir Dogs (A)
    54. A Clockwork Orange (A)
    55. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (A+)
    56. Gone With The Wind (A+)
    57. On the Waterfront (A)
    58. Thor (B+)
    59. The Seventh Seal (A-)
    60. Hamlet (A)
    61. All the King's Men (A-)
    62. Roman Holiday (A+)
    63. Rebecca (A-)
    64. Notorious (A)
    65. American Madness (B+)
    66. It Happened One Night (A-)
    67. Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (C-)
    68. You Can't Take It With You (B+)
    69. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (A-)
    70. The Heiress (A+)
    71. X-Men: First Class (A-)
    72. Super 8 (B+)
    73. Dr. No (B-)
    74. From Russia With Love (A)
    75. Captain Blood (A+)
    76. The Best Years of Our Lives (A+)
    77. The Adventures of Robin Hood (A+)
    78. The Treasure of Sierra Madre (A+)
    79. From Here To Eternity (A)
    80. To Have and Have Not (B)
    81. The Big Sleep (A-)
    82. Barry Lyndon (B+)
    83. The Snake Pit (B+)
    84. Hoosiers (C-)
    85. Rocky (A-)
    86. Midnight in Paris (B+)
    87. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (B+)
    88. Key Largo (B-)
    89. Bridge on the River Kwai (A)
    90. The Apartment (A-)
    91. Captain America: The First Avenger (A-)
    92. Ordinary People (A-)
    93. Days of Heaven (B+)
    94. Yojimbo (A-)
    95. Tangled (A)
    96. Cowboys and Aliens (B)
    97. Crazy, Stupid, Love (A-)
    98. Beginners (A-)
    99. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (A+)
    100. Bonnie and Clyde (A-)
    101. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (A-)
    102. Elmer Gantry (B+)
    103. Sanjuro (A-)
    104. The Help (B+)
    105. Dark Passage (B+)
    106. Easy A (B)
    107. Rob Roy (B+)
    108. The Great McGinty (C+)
    109. Christmas in July (B-)
    110. The Tree of Life (B+)
    111. The Lady Eve (A-)
    112. Sullivan's Travels (B+)

    This is Preston Sturges' most acclaimed film, and in many people's minds one of the best of all time; Erik Beck, for instance, named it the best film of 1942 in his history of film/the Academy Awards. I don't rate it that highly; I'd put both The Lady Eve and the film I'm reviewing after this above it. It's a pretty good movie, all things considered, but it still has the problems I've had with Sturges' first two films: sudden major shifts in tone. It goes from farce (though the pratfalls are much, much better-executed in this one and don't feel out of place, for the most part) to social melodrama and back with hardly any transition. This is particularly noticeable at the end, where you get what feels like an outtake from I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang then we cut to Hollywood and we get a lengthy wordless physical comedy sequence set to a jaunty score.

    There's plenty to like about it, though. Sturges has a lot of fun with his depiction of Hollywood and the people in it. There's a welcome degree of intelligence to things; for instance, he even challenges whether Sullivan's experiment is a good idea and raises the question of whether this is just voyeurism on the part of the wealthy. Joel McCrea (Sturges' primary leading man) is a good lead. Veronica Lake, though I thought a bit flat in a few places, is also quite good, and has a few very affecting moments. Sturges' regular crew of supporting players is present and on the ball per usual (between the Capra box-set and the Sturges box-set, I can now readily identify a bunch of bit-players who hung around the Paramount lot and were in basically everything, like Arthur Hoyt).

    I would say it's less a case of the powerful getting off scot-free than the powerful having connections to keep them from being railroaded, because the trial that Sullivan received was a travesty of justice on a number of counts (he was delirious from being assaulted when he hit the man, he was tried while still obviously unfit to stand trial, his public defender plead him guilty without consultation, etc.).

    113. The Palm Beach Story (A+)

    Now that's more like it. This is easily the funniest movie I've seen from the Golden Age of Hollywood. I've complained in the past of Sturges' issues with tone, but that's decidedly not present here: this is full-on screwball comedy, and incredibly funny at that. McCrea is the male lead again here, opposite Claudette Colbert (personally, I prefer this performance to her work in It Happened One Night, and she was great there too; actually, now that I think about it, there's a similar runaway woman theme). McCrea's competent, but Colbert is exceptional, alongside a panoply of wacky supporting characters (including Hoyt and William Demarest, once again) who for one don't feel out of place in the least. But the MVP is Rudy Vallee (apparently a famous band leader of the period) as an ersatz John D. Rockefeller Jr.; virtually all of his lines are funny on their own, and Vallee's delivery makes them even funnier. I admittedly haven't seen Van Heflin in Johnny Eager, but it'd have to be a really great performance to deserve Best Supporting Actor over Vallee's work here. The Maltese Falcon's Mary Astor is also quite good as his sister. And if the ending of Christmas in July could be seen from a mile away, this film's ending could probably never be predicted, but, in retrospect, fits amazingly well.
     
  11. Captain Craig

    Captain Craig Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2003
    Location:
    Nashville,TN
    1. The Fighter: B-
    2. Batman(90's saga): A-,B-,C-,D
    3. Star Wars OT-Special Edition: B+, A, B
    4. The Green Hornet: B
    5. True Grit(1969): C+
    6. Lord of the Rings saga: (A,A,A)
    7. The Machinist: A-
    8. Season of the Witch: B
    9. Frozen: A-
    10. Due Date: B+
    11. Planet of the Apes(2001): B-
    12. Faster: C
    13. Romance: D (French film, subtitled)
    14. YPF: C- (YPF=Young People F*&^ing)
    15. The Beautiful Truth: B-
    16. Strictly Sexual: C+
    17. DOOM: C
    18. Brothers: B+
    19. Men In Black II: B-
    20. The Crow: Wicked Prayer: C-
    21. The Soloist: C
    22. Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love: C+
    23. I Now Pronounce you Chuck & Larry: B-
    24. Battle in Heaven: C+ (Mexican film, subtitled)
    25. Legion: B-
    26. Battle: LA: B+
    27. Righteous Kill: B
    28. Dracula II: Ascension: B-
    29. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li: D
    30. You Don't Mess With the Zohan: C+
    31. Finding Bliss: C
    32. Dracula III: Legacy: B-
    33. Tangled: B+
    34. Paul Blart Mall Cop: C-
    35. Chloe: B
    36. Kung Fu Panda: B-
    37. Centurion: B
    38. The People I've Slept With: C
    39. Grown Ups: B-
    40. The Conspirator: A-
    41. XXX: State of the Union: C+
    42. Fast Five: B+
    43. THOR: A-
    44. Priest: D+
    45. The Fourth Kind: B+
    46. POTC: On Stranger Tides: B-
    47. Turtles Forever: A-
    48. Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story: B+
    49. Easy A: A
    50. Inception: B
    51. #1 Cheerleader Camp: D
    52. Freakanomics: C+
    53. Green Lantern: C
    54. The American: C-
    55. Super 8: A
    56. Green Lantern: First Flight: B
    57. Transformers: Dark of the Moon: B-
    58. 9 Songs: F
    59. Kings Speech: A-
    60. Whiteout: C+
    61. Passion Play: D+
    62. Captain America: The First Avenger: A-
    63. Marley & Me: A
    64. Date Night: C+
    65. Frantic: B+
    66. Presumed Innocent: A
    67. Invictus: A
    68. Rocky: A
    69. Hurt Locker: A+
    70. Rocky II: C+
    71. Rocky III: B+
    72. Rocky IV: A
    73. Cowboys & Aliens: B
    74. Wonder Woman (DC Animated): B+
    75. Rocky V: B-
    76. Conan The Barbarian('11): B-
    77. Dinner for Schmucks: D
    78. Nothing But the Truth: B


    This 2008 legal thriller about the 1st Amendment vs National Security has some roots in the Valarie Plame ordeal but not exclusively as mentioned in the documentaries.
    Starring Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Angela Bassett, Alan Alda and David Schwimmer it's a well done movie and I didn't see the twist coming.

    Kate plays a reporter, Rachel, from the Sun Times who reveals an undercover CIA operative as it relates to intel used by the White House for a retalliation strike for the attempted assasination attempt on the President.

    Matt Dillion places the Special Prosecutor who will go to any lengths to get Rachel to reveal her source. Alan Alda plays the attorney for the Sun Times who is working to free Rachel after she is imprisoned for not giving up her source.

    Angela Bassett plays her editor at the Sun Times
    David Schwimmer plays her husband who essentially gives up on her after a year in prison. Cheats on her then divorces her.

    I give it a B, if only cause Rachel's source seems to be a very hyperbolic example of a source. It's to say, see, see this is why you can't reveal the source. Despite she collaborated it her "intel" other places Rachels intial source is:
    an 8-9 yr old girl whose mom was the CIA agent outed. They shared a bus ride during Rachel's chaparoning of a school field trip.

    The issue is a fine line one for sure. The statments made in the movie about holding govenment accountable is important. If they can intimidate people into not being media sources then our system falls into something really bad. Which type of bad is debatable but bad all the same.
     
  12. CaptainCanada

    CaptainCanada Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Location:
    Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
    1. In the Heat of the Night (A)
    2. The Passion of Joan of Arc (B)
    3. The Passion of the Christ (A)
    4. Mamma Mia! (B)
    5. All About Eve (A)
    6. Looking for Anne (B-)
    7. 2001: A Space Odyssey (B+)
    8. The King's Speech (A)
    9. How Green Was My Valley (B-)
    10. Black Swan (B+)
    11. Made in Dagenham (B)
    12. Gentleman's Agreement (A-)
    13. Barney's Version (A-)
    14. Out of Africa (B)
    15. The Social Network (A-)
    16. The Sound of Music (B+)
    17. Pulp Fiction (A)
    18. Forrest Gump (A)
    19. The Shawshank Redemption (A+)
    20. The Illusionist (B)
    21. The French Connection (B+)
    22. Network (A+)
    23. Incendies (A+)
    24. Mrs. Miniver (A)
    25. A Fistful of Dollars (B+)
    26. For A Few Dollars More (B)
    27. WALL-E (A+)
    28. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (A)
    29. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (B)
    30. Gigi (B-)
    31. I Love You Phillip Morris (B+)
    32. How To Train Your Dragon (A)
    33. Tarzan (B+)
    34. Oliver! (B+)
    35. Gosford Park (A-)
    36. The Princess Bride (B+)
    37. All the President's Men (A-)
    38. Oliver Twist (B+)
    39. My Fair Lady (A+)
    40. Hanna (A-)
    41. The Godfather (A+)
    42. The Godfather: Part II (A+)
    43. The Godfather: Part III (A-)
    44. Dog Day Afternoon (A)
    45. Taxi Driver (A-)
    46. Great Expectations (B+)
    47. The Last Airbender (D-)
    48. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (A+)
    49. Raging Bull (B+)
    50. GoodFellas (A-)
    51. Spartacus (A+)
    52. The Deer Hunter (B+)
    53. Reservoir Dogs (A)
    54. A Clockwork Orange (A)
    55. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (A+)
    56. Gone With The Wind (A+)
    57. On the Waterfront (A)
    58. Thor (B+)
    59. The Seventh Seal (A-)
    60. Hamlet (A)
    61. All the King's Men (A-)
    62. Roman Holiday (A+)
    63. Rebecca (A-)
    64. Notorious (A)
    65. American Madness (B+)
    66. It Happened One Night (A-)
    67. Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (C-)
    68. You Can't Take It With You (B+)
    69. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (A-)
    70. The Heiress (A+)
    71. X-Men: First Class (A-)
    72. Super 8 (B+)
    73. Dr. No (B-)
    74. From Russia With Love (A)
    75. Captain Blood (A+)
    76. The Best Years of Our Lives (A+)
    77. The Adventures of Robin Hood (A+)
    78. The Treasure of Sierra Madre (A+)
    79. From Here To Eternity (A)
    80. To Have and Have Not (B)
    81. The Big Sleep (A-)
    82. Barry Lyndon (B+)
    83. The Snake Pit (B+)
    84. Hoosiers (C-)
    85. Rocky (A-)
    86. Midnight in Paris (B+)
    87. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (B+)
    88. Key Largo (B-)
    89. Bridge on the River Kwai (A)
    90. The Apartment (A-)
    91. Captain America: The First Avenger (A-)
    92. Ordinary People (A-)
    93. Days of Heaven (B+)
    94. Yojimbo (A-)
    95. Tangled (A)
    96. Cowboys and Aliens (B)
    97. Crazy, Stupid, Love (A-)
    98. Beginners (A-)
    99. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (A+)
    100. Bonnie and Clyde (A-)
    101. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (A-)
    102. Elmer Gantry (B+)
    103. Sanjuro (A-)
    104. The Help (B+)
    105. Dark Passage (B+)
    106. Easy A (B)
    107. Rob Roy (B+)
    108. The Great McGinty (C+)
    109. Christmas in July (B-)
    110. The Tree of Life (B+)
    111. The Lady Eve (A-)
    112. Sullivan's Travels (B+)
    113. The Palm Beach Story (A+)
    114. A Passage to India (A-)

    Sir David Lean bids the silver screen adieu, and, unlike far too many directors, does so with a very strong film (even if it isn't remembered to the extent that Kwai, Lawrence, and Zhivago are). As a choice of adaptation for Lean, E. M. Forster is simultaneously a bit of an odd choice and a fitting one. Odd because Forster's novels were essentially small, while Lean's approach to film from the late 1950s onward was large-scale (three Forster adaptations following this one were done by the more confined Sir James Ivory). Fitting because Lean's films actually share quite a few of Forster's themes, mainly class difference, questions of Englishness, and, in the case of A Passage to India, critiques of the late British Empire.

    While the story might at first seem to offer comparatively little chance for Lean's love of scope, it quickly becomes apparent that India itself is the scope; Lean lavishly brings to life the teeming cityscapes and the countryside. That plays well into the theme of the enormity of India and the challenge it poses to the British. Very strong performances from the various actors, especially Judy Davis and Dame Peggy Ashcroft. I was initially a bit unsure what I thought of Victor Banerjee's performance as the main Indian character, but I gradually came to like it. Lean staple Sir Alec Guinness feels out of place playing a Brahmin ascetic (I also question what the morals his aloof character is preaching have to do with the events of the film). I think Lean could have been a bit quicker to end the film, though - it feels like it arrives at the story's natural conclusion just after the trial (but that's not where the book ended, so that's hardly a great offense).
     
  13. Agent Richard07

    Agent Richard07 Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2001
    The Girlfriend Experience: It was directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars Sasha Grey. I enjoyed the movie. It's shot like a student film/docudrama and it grew on me a bit more after I've had time to reflect on it. As for Sasha, I've always found her attractive with her Megan Fox looks, but she's also a fascinating person, and she's one of the few porn stars who managed to rise above the fray. I hope she continues to get more mainstream work.
     
  14. CaptainCanada

    CaptainCanada Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Location:
    Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
    1. In the Heat of the Night (A)
    2. The Passion of Joan of Arc (B)
    3. The Passion of the Christ (A)
    4. Mamma Mia! (B)
    5. All About Eve (A)
    6. Looking for Anne (B-)
    7. 2001: A Space Odyssey (B+)
    8. The King's Speech (A)
    9. How Green Was My Valley (B-)
    10. Black Swan (B+)
    11. Made in Dagenham (B)
    12. Gentleman's Agreement (A-)
    13. Barney's Version (A-)
    14. Out of Africa (B)
    15. The Social Network (A-)
    16. The Sound of Music (B+)
    17. Pulp Fiction (A)
    18. Forrest Gump (A)
    19. The Shawshank Redemption (A+)
    20. The Illusionist (B)
    21. The French Connection (B+)
    22. Network (A+)
    23. Incendies (A+)
    24. Mrs. Miniver (A)
    25. A Fistful of Dollars (B+)
    26. For A Few Dollars More (B)
    27. WALL-E (A+)
    28. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (A)
    29. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (B)
    30. Gigi (B-)
    31. I Love You Phillip Morris (B+)
    32. How To Train Your Dragon (A)
    33. Tarzan (B+)
    34. Oliver! (B+)
    35. Gosford Park (A-)
    36. The Princess Bride (B+)
    37. All the President's Men (A-)
    38. Oliver Twist (B+)
    39. My Fair Lady (A+)
    40. Hanna (A-)
    41. The Godfather (A+)
    42. The Godfather: Part II (A+)
    43. The Godfather: Part III (A-)
    44. Dog Day Afternoon (A)
    45. Taxi Driver (A-)
    46. Great Expectations (B+)
    47. The Last Airbender (D-)
    48. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (A+)
    49. Raging Bull (B+)
    50. GoodFellas (A-)
    51. Spartacus (A+)
    52. The Deer Hunter (B+)
    53. Reservoir Dogs (A)
    54. A Clockwork Orange (A)
    55. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (A+)
    56. Gone With The Wind (A+)
    57. On the Waterfront (A)
    58. Thor (B+)
    59. The Seventh Seal (A-)
    60. Hamlet (A)
    61. All the King's Men (A-)
    62. Roman Holiday (A+)
    63. Rebecca (A-)
    64. Notorious (A)
    65. American Madness (B+)
    66. It Happened One Night (A-)
    67. Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (C-)
    68. You Can't Take It With You (B+)
    69. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (A-)
    70. The Heiress (A+)
    71. X-Men: First Class (A-)
    72. Super 8 (B+)
    73. Dr. No (B-)
    74. From Russia With Love (A)
    75. Captain Blood (A+)
    76. The Best Years of Our Lives (A+)
    77. The Adventures of Robin Hood (A+)
    78. The Treasure of Sierra Madre (A+)
    79. From Here To Eternity (A)
    80. To Have and Have Not (B)
    81. The Big Sleep (A-)
    82. Barry Lyndon (B+)
    83. The Snake Pit (B+)
    84. Hoosiers (C-)
    85. Rocky (A-)
    86. Midnight in Paris (B+)
    87. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (B+)
    88. Key Largo (B-)
    89. Bridge on the River Kwai (A)
    90. The Apartment (A-)
    91. Captain America: The First Avenger (A-)
    92. Ordinary People (A-)
    93. Days of Heaven (B+)
    94. Yojimbo (A-)
    95. Tangled (A)
    96. Cowboys and Aliens (B)
    97. Crazy, Stupid, Love (A-)
    98. Beginners (A-)
    99. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (A+)
    100. Bonnie and Clyde (A-)
    101. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (A-)
    102. Elmer Gantry (B+)
    103. Sanjuro (A-)
    104. The Help (B+)
    105. Dark Passage (B+)
    106. Easy A (B)
    107. Rob Roy (B+)
    108. The Great McGinty (C+)
    109. Christmas in July (B-)
    110. The Tree of Life (B+)
    111. The Lady Eve (A-)
    112. Sullivan's Travels (B+)
    113. The Palm Beach Story (A+)
    114. A Passage to India (A-)
    115. Glengarry Glen Ross (A-)

    One of those films that exists outside the director auteur theory, being as it is the sole notable contribution to cinema from James Foley, whose resume includes ten other exceptionally unexceptional films. In this case, the main influence is obviously writer David Mamet.

    Great ensemble cast, including Alec Baldwin's legendary cameo that ranks up there with Ned Beatty in Network in the "one great monologue" category. Jack Lemmon gives perhaps his greatest dramatic performance as the fading star Shelley (though it's amusing to watch this performance knowing that it was the inspiration for Gil on The Simpsons). Mamet's dialogue is of course the star attraction here, and it's quite good - thought the constant talk about "the leads" gets tiring after a while, and there are times when conversations go nowhere for a little too long. Nonetheless, he does a great job generating tension out of these conversations.
     
  15. od0_ital

    od0_ital Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2001
    Location:
    Nacogdoches, Texas
    Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightening Thief - HBO
    Tron Legacy 3D - theater
    Clash of the Titans (2010) - HBO on Demand
    Take Me Home Tonight - free screenin'
    Sanctum - free screenin'
    The Green Hornet - free screenin'
    Green Zone - HBO
    Fantastic Mr. Fox - HBO
    True Grit (1969) - AMC
    Ringu - DVD
    Black Swan - Alamo Drafthouse (its not just a movie theater)
    Unknown - free screenin'
    The Losers - HBO
    The Sunset Limited - HBO on Demand
    Starsky & Hutch (2004) - Cinemax
    Kick-Ass - DVD
    The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - DVD
    The Adjustment Bureau - free screenin'
    Rango - theater
    Red (2010) - DVD rental
    Hot Tub Time Machine - DVD rental
    Harry Brown - DVD
    Faster - DVD rental
    Jonah Hex - DVD rental
    Battle: L.A. - theater
    The Girl who Played with Fire - DVD
    The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - DVD rental
    Leaves of Grass - DVD
    Whiteout - Cinemax on Demand
    Sucker Punch - free screenin'
    Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps - DVD
    Paul - theater
    Source Code - theater
    Rio - free screenin'
    The Fighter - DVD rental
    Invictus - Cinemax
    Scream 4 - theater
    Fast Five - midnight screenin'
    THOR - free screenin'
    Priest - theater
    Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - midnight screenin'
    X-Men: First Class - theater
    Ramona and Beezus - HBO
    Shrek Forever After - HBO
    Super 8 - theater
    Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron - HBO
    Devil - Cinemax on Demand
    Green Lantern - theater
    Killers - Netflix Instant
    Push - DVD rental
    Ron White: Behavioral Problems - DVD rental
    All*Star Superman - DVD rental
    Captain America: The First Avenger - midnight screenin'
    Dylan Dog: Dead of Night - DVD rental
    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One - DVD
    The King's Speech - DVD rental
    Get Low - DVD rental
    Dan in Real Life - DVD
    Thor: Tales of Asgard - DVD rental
    Green Lantern: Emerald Knights - DVD rental
    Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths - DVD
    Planet Hulk - DVD rental
    Alien vs Predator: Requium - Unrated - DVD rental
    Fright Night (1985) - DVD
    John Carpenter's The Thing (1982) - DVD
    50/50 - free screenin'
    Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules - DVD

    Stayin' with my sister, her husband & their two kids (my oldest nephews), and this seems to be one of their favorite movies, since we watched it last night & they put it in to watch again today after school.

    ...ugh...

    I've seen most of the first one, so I get what's goin' on, though it isn't really necessary. And this is definately a movie for preteen kids.

    There is one joke, a reference the mother makes to a family band & it cuts to the characters as the Partridge Family. I asked my sister, "How many kids are gonna get that?" She said, "its for the grown ups."

    Yeah, whatever...guess its the only joke "for the grown ups."

    And I gotta say, its pretty tough to watch new movies on DVD here since I suggested most of the stuff my sister has bought!!!
     
  16. CaptainCanada

    CaptainCanada Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Location:
    Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
    1. In the Heat of the Night (A)
    2. The Passion of Joan of Arc (B)
    3. The Passion of the Christ (A)
    4. Mamma Mia! (B)
    5. All About Eve (A)
    6. Looking for Anne (B-)
    7. 2001: A Space Odyssey (B+)
    8. The King's Speech (A)
    9. How Green Was My Valley (B-)
    10. Black Swan (B+)
    11. Made in Dagenham (B)
    12. Gentleman's Agreement (A-)
    13. Barney's Version (A-)
    14. Out of Africa (B)
    15. The Social Network (A-)
    16. The Sound of Music (B+)
    17. Pulp Fiction (A)
    18. Forrest Gump (A)
    19. The Shawshank Redemption (A+)
    20. The Illusionist (B)
    21. The French Connection (B+)
    22. Network (A+)
    23. Incendies (A+)
    24. Mrs. Miniver (A)
    25. A Fistful of Dollars (B+)
    26. For A Few Dollars More (B)
    27. WALL-E (A+)
    28. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (A)
    29. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (B)
    30. Gigi (B-)
    31. I Love You Phillip Morris (B+)
    32. How To Train Your Dragon (A)
    33. Tarzan (B+)
    34. Oliver! (B+)
    35. Gosford Park (A-)
    36. The Princess Bride (B+)
    37. All the President's Men (A-)
    38. Oliver Twist (B+)
    39. My Fair Lady (A+)
    40. Hanna (A-)
    41. The Godfather (A+)
    42. The Godfather: Part II (A+)
    43. The Godfather: Part III (A-)
    44. Dog Day Afternoon (A)
    45. Taxi Driver (A-)
    46. Great Expectations (B+)
    47. The Last Airbender (D-)
    48. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (A+)
    49. Raging Bull (B+)
    50. GoodFellas (A-)
    51. Spartacus (A+)
    52. The Deer Hunter (B+)
    53. Reservoir Dogs (A)
    54. A Clockwork Orange (A)
    55. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (A+)
    56. Gone With The Wind (A+)
    57. On the Waterfront (A)
    58. Thor (B+)
    59. The Seventh Seal (A-)
    60. Hamlet (A)
    61. All the King's Men (A-)
    62. Roman Holiday (A+)
    63. Rebecca (A-)
    64. Notorious (A)
    65. American Madness (B+)
    66. It Happened One Night (A-)
    67. Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (C-)
    68. You Can't Take It With You (B+)
    69. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (A-)
    70. The Heiress (A+)
    71. X-Men: First Class (A-)
    72. Super 8 (B+)
    73. Dr. No (B-)
    74. From Russia With Love (A)
    75. Captain Blood (A+)
    76. The Best Years of Our Lives (A+)
    77. The Adventures of Robin Hood (A+)
    78. The Treasure of Sierra Madre (A+)
    79. From Here To Eternity (A)
    80. To Have and Have Not (B)
    81. The Big Sleep (A-)
    82. Barry Lyndon (B+)
    83. The Snake Pit (B+)
    84. Hoosiers (C-)
    85. Rocky (A-)
    86. Midnight in Paris (B+)
    87. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (B+)
    88. Key Largo (B-)
    89. Bridge on the River Kwai (A)
    90. The Apartment (A-)
    91. Captain America: The First Avenger (A-)
    92. Ordinary People (A-)
    93. Days of Heaven (B+)
    94. Yojimbo (A-)
    95. Tangled (A)
    96. Cowboys and Aliens (B)
    97. Crazy, Stupid, Love (A-)
    98. Beginners (A-)
    99. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (A+)
    100. Bonnie and Clyde (A-)
    101. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (A-)
    102. Elmer Gantry (B+)
    103. Sanjuro (A-)
    104. The Help (B+)
    105. Dark Passage (B+)
    106. Easy A (B)
    107. Rob Roy (B+)
    108. The Great McGinty (C+)
    109. Christmas in July (B-)
    110. The Tree of Life (B+)
    111. The Lady Eve (A-)
    112. Sullivan's Travels (B+)
    113. The Palm Beach Story (A+)
    114. A Passage to India (A-)
    115. Glengarry Glen Ross (A-)
    116. Hail the Conquering Hero (B-)

    Wrapping up my tour of Preston Sturges' golden period (less The Miracle of Morgan's Creek). After making five movies between 1940-1942, he skipped 1943 entirely and released three films in 1944, thanks to the studio holding back some of them for years. These films are the first ones to be made while America was actually involved in World War II (the others are all set/made in the interesting period where World War II was going on in Europe but America was a spectator, which leads to some interesting details). This is a satire of the home front of sorts, which is fairly interesting for a production released during the war itself - in this case, a man returns to his hometown after being flunked out of the army for hayfever, and through various contrivances is mistaken for a war hero. The lead, Eddie Bracken (also the lead in Morgan's, another homefront satire), is kind of annoying most of the way through. A lot of the film's satirical elements now seem rather tepid, though I imagine they had a lot more bite in the 1940s. Strangely, it finds its best moments toward the end, where it becomes mostly a drama.

    117. The Great Moment (C+)

    The sole drama in the collection, and a victim of studio editing interference; this set has the 80-minute cut of the film, but I understand that there are versions of it that run as long as 90 minutes. This is Sturges' third film with Joel McCrea as the lead, and, indeed, he has virtually all his usual actors on hand, despite the shift in genres. William Demarest tones it down quite a bit, though his part still has a comic edge. There are some nonlinear elements to the storyline, which was comparatively rare in this period. It's the story of a battle over credit for a discovery, not unlike something like The Social Network, though considerably less intense. There's not a lot of real drama here, though the subject matter provides some interest. My main issue with it is that while Sturges' seems to suggest that others' greed and his own nobility caused Dr. Morton to lose out on a patent for his anesthesia treatment, near as I can tell he in fact didn't deserve a patent, because he didn't actually invent anything new, he just found a new use for an existing product.
     
  17. CaptainCanada

    CaptainCanada Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Location:
    Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
    1. In the Heat of the Night (A)
    2. The Passion of Joan of Arc (B)
    3. The Passion of the Christ (A)
    4. Mamma Mia! (B)
    5. All About Eve (A)
    6. Looking for Anne (B-)
    7. 2001: A Space Odyssey (B+)
    8. The King's Speech (A)
    9. How Green Was My Valley (B-)
    10. Black Swan (B+)
    11. Made in Dagenham (B)
    12. Gentleman's Agreement (A-)
    13. Barney's Version (A-)
    14. Out of Africa (B)
    15. The Social Network (A-)
    16. The Sound of Music (B+)
    17. Pulp Fiction (A)
    18. Forrest Gump (A)
    19. The Shawshank Redemption (A+)
    20. The Illusionist (B)
    21. The French Connection (B+)
    22. Network (A+)
    23. Incendies (A+)
    24. Mrs. Miniver (A)
    25. A Fistful of Dollars (B+)
    26. For A Few Dollars More (B)
    27. WALL-E (A+)
    28. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (A)
    29. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (B)
    30. Gigi (B-)
    31. I Love You Phillip Morris (B+)
    32. How To Train Your Dragon (A)
    33. Tarzan (B+)
    34. Oliver! (B+)
    35. Gosford Park (A-)
    36. The Princess Bride (B+)
    37. All the President's Men (A-)
    38. Oliver Twist (B+)
    39. My Fair Lady (A+)
    40. Hanna (A-)
    41. The Godfather (A+)
    42. The Godfather: Part II (A+)
    43. The Godfather: Part III (A-)
    44. Dog Day Afternoon (A)
    45. Taxi Driver (A-)
    46. Great Expectations (B+)
    47. The Last Airbender (D-)
    48. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (A+)
    49. Raging Bull (B+)
    50. GoodFellas (A-)
    51. Spartacus (A+)
    52. The Deer Hunter (B+)
    53. Reservoir Dogs (A)
    54. A Clockwork Orange (A)
    55. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (A+)
    56. Gone With The Wind (A+)
    57. On the Waterfront (A)
    58. Thor (B+)
    59. The Seventh Seal (A-)
    60. Hamlet (A)
    61. All the King's Men (A-)
    62. Roman Holiday (A+)
    63. Rebecca (A-)
    64. Notorious (A)
    65. American Madness (B+)
    66. It Happened One Night (A-)
    67. Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (C-)
    68. You Can't Take It With You (B+)
    69. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (A-)
    70. The Heiress (A+)
    71. X-Men: First Class (A-)
    72. Super 8 (B+)
    73. Dr. No (B-)
    74. From Russia With Love (A)
    75. Captain Blood (A+)
    76. The Best Years of Our Lives (A+)
    77. The Adventures of Robin Hood (A+)
    78. The Treasure of Sierra Madre (A+)
    79. From Here To Eternity (A)
    80. To Have and Have Not (B)
    81. The Big Sleep (A-)
    82. Barry Lyndon (B+)
    83. The Snake Pit (B+)
    84. Hoosiers (C-)
    85. Rocky (A-)
    86. Midnight in Paris (B+)
    87. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (B+)
    88. Key Largo (B-)
    89. Bridge on the River Kwai (A)
    90. The Apartment (A-)
    91. Captain America: The First Avenger (A-)
    92. Ordinary People (A-)
    93. Days of Heaven (B+)
    94. Yojimbo (A-)
    95. Tangled (A)
    96. Cowboys and Aliens (B)
    97. Crazy, Stupid, Love (A-)
    98. Beginners (A-)
    99. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (A+)
    100. Bonnie and Clyde (A-)
    101. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (A-)
    102. Elmer Gantry (B+)
    103. Sanjuro (A-)
    104. The Help (B+)
    105. Dark Passage (B+)
    106. Easy A (B)
    107. Rob Roy (B+)
    108. The Great McGinty (C+)
    109. Christmas in July (B-)
    110. The Tree of Life (B+)
    111. The Lady Eve (A-)
    112. Sullivan's Travels (B+)
    113. The Palm Beach Story (A+)
    114. A Passage to India (A-)
    115. Glengarry Glen Ross (A-)
    116. Hail the Conquering Hero (B-)
    117. The Great Moment (C+)
    118. Platoon (A)

    Oliver Stone's most famous film and 1986's Best Picture winner. One of the iconic Vietnam films, and its depiction of the war has been very influential, so it's slightly less distinct than it would have been at the time it was released. Nonetheless, it's a powerful film, with numerous tense sequences. For a 21st century viewer, it's quite interesting to see so many young talents in the film, most obviously Charlie Sheen when he was a promising young talent instead of the freakshow he is today, but also Johnny Depp and Forest Whitaker, and character actors like Keith David, John C. McGinley (though having first encountered him as Dr. Cox, it's weird to go back to when he was primarily a dramatic actor and specialized in playing tough soldiers), Mark Moses, and Tony Todd. Willem Dafoe plays a good guy for once. Tom Berenger is good as the villain, but his physical appearance is a little overdramatic (likewise, Dafoe's famous death scene strikes me as a little much; it was much more brutally effective when Berenger just shot him). I would also say that Charlie Sheen is only competent as the main character, though even as written he doesn't have that many distinctive traits.

    119. Atonement (A+)

    Being between DVD shipments, I finally got around to rewatching Atonement, which I'd been planning to do for a while; originally I was going to do it back when Wright's most recent film, Hanna, came out back in April. I recall that back in 2007 I was split between this and There Will Be Blood for the best film of the year. I should rewatch the latter film one of these days, but this film definitely holds up magnificently. The score deservedly won the Oscar, and it lingered in my memory for all the years in between viewings, particularly the Dunkirk segment. Joe Wright is one of the most visually interesting directors currently working, and the cinematography of the film is great. Of course, it's all built on the performances of the actors playing Briony, Cecilia, and Robbie. James McAvoy is, of course, perpetually overlooked by awards bodies. Saorise Ronan was the big find of this movie, earning an Oscar nomination that I think she should have won; Wright certainly knew he had a good thing, since she was the star of Hanna and will be reteaming with Wright, McAvoy and Knightley again for Anna Karenina next year, one of my most anticipated films. That will be the third film Knightley has made with Wright (as well as a perfume commercial and a domestic violence PSA where he beats the shit out of her), and the two that have been made so far constitute her best work as an actress (though I have a lot of love for Bend It Like Beckham and the first Pirates too). The DVD commentary also confirmed something that I had noticed in a couple of places, namely, that the actor playing Cecilia and Briony's brother is definitely playing Leon like he's incestuously attracted to Cecilia.
     
    Last edited: Aug 28, 2011
  18. Agent Richard07

    Agent Richard07 Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2001
    Buried: It stars Ryan Reynolds and the whole thing takes place in a coffin. It's pretty engaging, but the fact that he had enough air even with his lighter on was a bit of a stretch.

    The Sorcerer's Apprentice: Good fun movie about a kid learning to use magic. Nick Cage was good too. Alice Krige and Monica Bellucci didn't get much screen time.
     
  19. LitmusDragon

    LitmusDragon Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2002
    Location:
    The Barmuda Triangle
    1. Alien 3 (assembly cut) - B
    2. Let the Right One In - A
    3. Inception - B.
    4. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - B+
    5. Lilo and Stitch - A
    6. Despicable Me - B
    7. Forbidden Planet - B+
    8. Clerks - B
    9. Metropia - C+
    10. Brand Upon the Brain - B
    11. Beltesassar Animation Festival 17 - A
    12. Buried - B+
    13. How to Train Your Dragon - A
    14. Monsters - C+.
    15. The Tune (Bill Plympton) - C
    16. House (1977) - B
    17. Institute Benjamenta - B-
    18. The Triplets of Belleville (rewatch) - A
    19. Lunacy (Jan Svankmajer, 2005) - B
    20. Paradise Lost (1999) - C-
    21. Daybreakers - C
    22. The Wizard of Oz (rewatch) - A
    23. Winnebago Man - A
    24. The Social Network - B+
    25. Book of the Dead (2005) - C
    26. Megamind - B
    27. North By Northwest (1959) - A
    28. The Plague Dogs (1982) - B+
    29. Burn After Reading - B
    31. The Incredibles (rewatch) - A
    32. Fire and Ice (1983) - D
    33. Bad Santa - B
    34. Twelve Monkeys (rewatch) - A
    35. Sweeney Todd - B+
    36. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 1 - B
    37. Alien IV (Blu-ray) - D
    38. American Movie (1999) - B
    39. Naked (1993) - B
    40. My Neighbor Totoro - B+
    41. Pulp Fiction (Rewatch) - A+
    42. Fight Club (Rewatch) - B+
    43. Akira Kurosawa's Dreams - B
    44. Falling Down (Rewatch) - B
    45. Crazy Heart - C+
    46. Confessions of a Superhero - B
    47. The King's Speech - B+
    48. Pinnochio (Disney, rewatch) - B
    49. Network - A
    50. Paprika - B+
    51. All The President's Men (1976) - A
    52. The Illusionist (2010) - B
    53. Rashomon (1950) - B
    54. Wall-E (rewatch) - A
    55. Tron Legacy - C+
    56. American Psycho - B
    57. Rango - A-
    58. Rear Window - A
    59. Stranger Than Paradise (1984) - B
    60. Get Low - B

    61. Boken Flowers - A-. I really enjoyed this movie. Excellent direction and understated performance by Bill Murray (which is his forte nowadays I suppose). I felt for his character at the end of the film, looking for something he didn't even know that he wanted, but which probably is never to be.

    62. The Amazing Screw-On Head - A. Not a movie, but an animated pilot from the sci-fi channel that was never picked up. I though this was just great. Loved the animation style, the voice acting, the weird alternate-history vibe to the whole thing.
     
  20. Captain Craig

    Captain Craig Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2003
    Location:
    Nashville,TN
    1. The Fighter: B-
    2. Batman(90's saga): A-,B-,C-,D
    3. Star Wars OT-Special Edition: B+, A, B
    4. The Green Hornet: B
    5. True Grit(1969): C+
    6. Lord of the Rings saga: (A,A,A)
    7. The Machinist: A-
    8. Season of the Witch: B
    9. Frozen: A-
    10. Due Date: B+
    11. Planet of the Apes(2001): B-
    12. Faster: C
    13. Romance: D (French film, subtitled)
    14. YPF: C- (YPF=Young People F*&^ing)
    15. The Beautiful Truth: B-
    16. Strictly Sexual: C+
    17. DOOM: C
    18. Brothers: B+
    19. Men In Black II: B-
    20. The Crow: Wicked Prayer: C-
    21. The Soloist: C
    22. Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love: C+
    23. I Now Pronounce you Chuck & Larry: B-
    24. Battle in Heaven: C+ (Mexican film, subtitled)
    25. Legion: B-
    26. Battle: LA: B+
    27. Righteous Kill: B
    28. Dracula II: Ascension: B-
    29. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li: D
    30. You Don't Mess With the Zohan: C+
    31. Finding Bliss: C
    32. Dracula III: Legacy: B-
    33. Tangled: B+
    34. Paul Blart Mall Cop: C-
    35. Chloe: B
    36. Kung Fu Panda: B-
    37. Centurion: B
    38. The People I've Slept With: C
    39. Grown Ups: B-
    40. The Conspirator: A-
    41. XXX: State of the Union: C+
    42. Fast Five: B+
    43. THOR: A-
    44. Priest: D+
    45. The Fourth Kind: B+
    46. POTC: On Stranger Tides: B-
    47. Turtles Forever: A-
    48. Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story: B+
    49. Easy A: A
    50. Inception: B
    51. #1 Cheerleader Camp: D
    52. Freakanomics: C+
    53. Green Lantern: C
    54. The American: C-
    55. Super 8: A
    56. Green Lantern: First Flight: B
    57. Transformers: Dark of the Moon: B-
    58. 9 Songs: F
    59. Kings Speech: A-
    60. Whiteout: C+
    61. Passion Play: D+
    62. Captain America: The First Avenger: A-
    63. Marley & Me: A
    64. Date Night: C+
    65. Frantic: B+
    66. Presumed Innocent: A
    67. Invictus: A
    68. Rocky: A
    69. Hurt Locker: A+
    70. Rocky II: C+
    71. Rocky III: B+
    72. Rocky IV: A
    73. Cowboys & Aliens: B
    74. Wonder Woman (DC Animated): B+
    75. Rocky V: B-
    76. Conan The Barbarian('11): B-
    77. Dinner for Schmucks: D
    78. Nothing But the Truth: B
    79. Snow Angels: B+


    Snow Angels(2008), an indie film, with Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell is the story of a couple in a small northern town who are divorced and have a tragedy they have to work through. The tragedy takes place midway through the movie and it was a sad thing to observe.

    The parallel is a story of another couple who have marital issues but seemingly patch things up. It's unclear but I think their proximity to Kate(Annie) and Sam(Glenn) they make it work.

    Despite the drama involved I felt it dragged a bit at times otherwise the movie would land in the A range for me. It apparently got a very limited release of 47 theaters according to box office mojo but Nashville clearly wasn't one. I thought it was DDVD for sure.