• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Movies Seen in 2012

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)

Canada has recently become a powerhouse in the Foreign Language Film category, collecting four nominations in the last eight years (one win). Monsieur Lazhar, adapted by director Philippe Falardeau from a fifty-minute one-man stage show, has some slight subject similarities with last year's bracing Incendies - namely, featuring Arab refugees in Quebec - but is otherwise a very different picture. Where the earlier film was a brutal exploration of religious violence and a Sophoclean family drama, this is an expert mix of light comedy and the aftereffects of tragedy. Our title character (played by Mohamed Fellag, dignified and handling both the serious and the playful elements of the story equally well) is an Algerian asylum-seeker who gets a job as an elementary school teacher (by lying about his permanent residency, and also that he used to teach in Algeria). He's replacing a teacher who hung herself (in the classroom), so it's obviously a delicate situation. The whole film feels very much like real life. And it features a whole classroom of very good child actors, which is often a problem for movies; none of the kid characters feels like a type. The standout is Sophie Nelisse (who reminds me a bit of a Quebecois Kiernan Shipka) as Alice, one of the two kids to actually see the dead teacher's body. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Genies this year, and she'd deserve to win.

The odds of this beating A Separation would have to be considered pretty long, but (not having seen that film) I think it would be a worthy winner if it did.

Cinema: 4
Home Video: 4
Computer: 0
 
I thought In Darkness was an excellent film as well; unlike the best picture list, the foreign films are quite strong this year.

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-)

Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy: Much slower than I had expected; in the first 40 minutes it was absolutely plodding in its pace. Thankfully, the film picks up from there, and starts to fill in the blanks about the various old, white, and British men who populate the film (women are so unimportant that the wife of Gary Oldman's character never even shows her face, or speaks a line of dialogue). Despite the older actors receiving prominent billing, outside of Gary Oldman, the movie really belongs to Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy.

Besides the pacing, I think the film's only stumbling block is the casting of Colin Firth. He plays such a small role that the eventual reveal seems more and more inevitable, given his stature.

I'd like to see the miniseries version at some point. Roy Bland, played by Ciarán Hinds, gets rather little to do in this version, which I assume is the result of paring down the story to feature film length.

Theatres: 7 +1
Home Video: 10
Computer: 1
 
1) The Artist (2011) - A+
2) Midnight in Paris (2011) - B

There was a scene in this movie where Gil (Owen Wilson) was being shown some artwork and the room was pretty much plain white with just posters hanging around. Well, I wonder if I can compare that scene to how I feel about Woody Allan as a whole. He's a great director, don't get me wrong, but I find a lot of what he does to be dry and his "comedies" aren't really comedies. Now I'm all for subtility, but I have to laugh somehow at a comedy, right? I don't find his comedies all that funny.

So that brings us to Midnight in Paris, which I actually really liked. It's a movie that explores nolstagia vs. present and it's something that I'm sure all of us deal with in our lives. I know I would much rather live back in the 90s, mainly because I found that decade just really fun to live in, unlike now where it feels like the world around me is falling apart. This movie deals with being in the present, vs. being transported back to the 1920s. I really liked that theme and the characters in this movie were well defined and greatly acted. However, the reason it get's a B is because of what I started with. This movie is considered a comedy, but it felt really dry at various parts. There might have been one scene where I laughed, but I wouldn't call this a comedy by any stretch. Still, a good movie, but probably not going to win Best Picture.

Theatre: 1
DVD: 0
TV: 0
On Demand: 0
Internet: +1
 
Updates in Bold:
Bad Boys (8)
First Squad: The Moment of Truth (8)
Gantz: Perfect Answer (7)
King of Thorn (9)
Legend of the Millennium Dragon (7)
Redline (10)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (5)
Underworld: Awakening (8)

Gantz: Perfect Answer-Not so perfect, and not much answers, but still this second half of the live action adaptation was a hell of lot better than the crappy animated adaptation of the manga by a long shot.

King of Thorn- Sort of a rewatch but when I first watched it it was raw (no subtitles) so this time I did find and watch a subtitled version. Thus this time I was able to understand the finer points of the story, and was a bit more impressed with it this time around.

Redline- This is a kickass racing anime with a science fiction twist. I found it incredibly enjoyable.
 
1. Chasing Amy - C+
2. Where The Wild Things Are - C
3. The Tree of Life - C+
4. Source Code - B
5. Kung Fu Panda - B.
6. Ponyo - B+
7. Shaun of the Dead - A-
8. Thor - B
9. Win Win - B+

10. Rise of the Planet of the Apes - B. Kind of a weird hybrid of Flowers for Algernon and Night of the Living Dead. Except with apes.

11. Porco Rosso - B. More studio Ghibli. This movie seems weirdly unresolved in a lot of ways, in that it's never explained how Porco became a pig, and the love triangle isn't really resolved. On the other hand it has a memorable vocal performance from Michael Keaton, and the last act is very funny.

12. Eden of the East: Movie 1 - C-. I really didn't like this much at all. I think some of the storyline choices were questionable, a lot of the plot was just wheel-spinning, and the lack of resolution was frustrating. I liked the series though.
 
13. The Fall

A very good film about an injured stuntman in a hospital who tells a little girl a story to get her to things for him. The story he tells is a bit weird, but it makes sense since he's inventing it as he's telling it and changes it to suit his wishes and the girl's. Also, director Tarsem has a great eye for visuals, so the film is also fantastic to simply look at.
 
Kicking off my 2012 list:

1. Edge of Darkness: A
2. Star Trek: The Motion Picture: B+
3. Repo Men: B-
4. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier: B-
5. Underworld: Awakening: B
6. Lost City Raiders: C+
7. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist: B+
8. Contraband: B+

The new "action" film with Mark Whalberg, Kate Beckinsale and Ben Foster. I say "action" cause it's more a suspense film with about 4 action moments. That doesn't hinder it but the ads sell it on the action and it's not some action extravaganza. It's not that the film openly telegraphs details but they are there to be seen so I wasn't totally shocked. This both keeps it out of 'A' contention but was done well enough to stay solid B+.
A renter for sure but hey, I had a freebie coupon that had to be used before it expired.
 
1) The Artist (2011) - A+
2) Midnight in Paris (2011) - B
3) Tree of Life (2011) - F

I don't usually turn movies off but I just couldn't take it anymore with this film. I was sitting there for a half hour waiting for...something that never ever came. I couldn't tell you what this movie was about because I was starting to get bored out of my mind. If this movie wins Best Picture than I just give up with the whole Oscars thing because this was one of the worst "movies" I've seen in a long long time.

Theatre: 1
DVD: 0
TV: 0
On Demand: 0
Internet: 2 (+1)
 
If you didn't make it to the origin of the universe sequence, you missed out, but I can understand not caring for a Terrence Malick film. His films are very visual, often to the point of becoming tone poems and abandoning the trappings of conventional narrative completely.
 
Harvey said:
If you didn't make it to the origin of the universe sequence, you missed out, but I can understand not caring for a Terrence Malick film. His films are very visual, often to the point of becoming tone poems and abandoning the trappings of conventional narrative completely.
Click to expand...

I think it was in the first half hour, but if not, I don't care at this point. It's a 2 hour + film and I'm not going to waste another second on being bored because of it.
 
Star Trek: TMP 1979 - HBO HD
We all know this one. My appreciation for this one came late as I came to love this one when Spike used to show it every other day. I think this is the most filmic of all Trek movies even if its storyline was derived from the TV episode The Changeling. You just have to sit back and absorb it.

Cobra Woman 1944 - HBO HD
Really fun and lurid old-school adventure set on tropical islands with good/evil twins, a cobra worshipping society complete with cobra dance, Sabu as a loyal jungle boy, a chimpanzee in a diaper, Lon Chaney, Jr as a mute islander, and so on. Most of these old time adventure flicks are kind of creaky these days but this one moves along nicely.

Streets of Fire 1984 - HBO HD
Interesting movie, a rock and roll fable in an odd setting that is like the 50's were in the 80's . If you've seen The Warriors it has the same sort of cartoonish feel and was also directed by Walter Hill. I didn't really see this in the day even though I was around so I don't really have any nostalgia for it. I can see what it's going for and it's decent but it didn't completely grab me.
 
DVD
Theatre/Cinema

1. Meet the Robinsons
2. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
4. Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Not much of a plot...
 
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+)

I was going to call this the black sheep of Christopher Nolan's post-Memento work, but then I remembered that Insomnia is really a better fit for that designation. But of the four (soon to be five) films he's made after Insomnia, this is the only one that avoided becoming a cultural touchstone. And it's not for a lack of merit, because on rewatching this for the first time since its release in 2006 I would say it's easily in a class above The Dark Knight and Inception, the two insanely popular hits that came after it (and both very strong films in their own right). As with many instances of rewatching a film that hinges heavily on a twist, the hints seem very obvious the second time around, but it still holds up wonderfully, and it gives you a much deeper appreciation of what was really going on with the Alfred Borden character. Nolan vividly conjures a sense of existential dread. Though I do wonder why Tesla and Angier seemed not to realize that they had stumbled onto the greatest invention in human history since the wheel.

Cinema: 4
Home Video: 5
Computer: 0
 
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'

Got together with my friends Tomi & Barbara for tonight's free screenin'.

I thought the movie was suitably creepy. Daniel Radcliffe did a good job as the lead, and Ciaran Hinds was good support for his character.

My friend Barbara liked it because it was more of a ghost story than a gory story.

The next free screenin' I have a pass for is Journey 2: The Mysterious Island next week, but I'll have to wait & see if I can go to it...
 
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. Superman & Batman: Apocalypse (✩✩✩✩) - TV
23. Pandorum (✩✩½) - TV
24. Paper Man (✩✩✩✩½) - DVD
25. In Like Flint (✩✩½) - TV
26. Blood Diamond: (✩✩✩✩) - DVD - Leonard DiCaprio plays a smuggler who's lved his entire life in Africa, Djimon Housnou plays a man who's been separated from his family and forced to sift for rocks, and Jennifer Connelly plays an American journalist who visits Africa to document the diamond trade. Slow at first, but has a great ending. The movie tries to bring awareness to what goes in in the diamond trade and largely succeeds, but it still feels very "Hollywood".

27. The Invisible Man: (✩✩✩✩) - TV - Finally saw this classic about a man who uses a serum to make himself invisible and goes a bit mad in the process. The "invisible man" special effects were impressive for a film made in the early 30s. I didn't know they could do what they did back then.

28. Frankenstein: (✩✩✩½) - TV - Saw this classic too. I was confused at first because Frakenstein was named "Henry" instead of "Victor", but a quick look-up got me over that bit. I plan to catch the sequels when I can.

29. The Dilemma: (✩✩✩½) - DVD - A comedy about a man who sees his best friend's wife cheating and agonizes over what to do about it. The fact that he and his friend have a big project to complete that can't afford distractions plays a part in his dilemma. A few other surprise revelations pop up as well, further compounding things. Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Jennifer Connelly and Winonna Ryder were all enjoyable to watch.

Theatre: 0
DVD/Blu-Ray: 9
TV: 18
On Demand: 2
Internet: 0
 
14. They Live

Apart from a few scenes that were fun because of their "over the top"-ness, I actually found this to be a quite boring film. I liked the old "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" from '56 (which is a similar story) a lot better.
 
Vanishing Point 1971
Nihilistic existentialist classic with a man only known as Kowalski, a supercharged white Challenger, a fistful of uppers and an ill-advised bet to San Francisco in an impossible amount of time. This is like ST:TMP which I recently watched, where you just have to sit back and let it wash over you. Lots of desert, lots of wild driving, a blind DJ named Supersoul chronicling the journey, a naked woman riding a motorcycle, and so on and along the way hints of the failed life that brought Kowalski to this point. Nothing is really fully explained, and it's open for interpretation, I'm not even sure if it's all real, so it's probably different for everyone.

Now I need to go watch Two Lane Blacktop again...

This sums it up nicely :)
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA4ymmXa8rs[/yt]
 
Last edited:
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-)

The Coen Brothers' first film effort, released way back in 1984. Despite the low budget, their skill with a camera is plainly on display here (the climactic sequence prefigures parts of No Country For Old Men, albeit with a more audience-friendly resolution).

Cinema: 4
Home Video: 6
Computer: 0
 
27. Battleship Potemkin
28. Attack of the Block
29. The long good Friday
30. The Muppets 2011
31. Zatoichi The Fugitive
32. Zatoichi on the Road
33. Zatoichi and the chest of Gold
34. Zatoichi's Flashing Sword
35. Fight Zatoichi Fight!
36. Adventures of Zatoichi
37. Man on the Brink
38. Zatoichi's Revenge
39. Zatoichi and the Doomed Man
40. Zatoichi and the Chess Expert
41. Long Arm of the Law
42. Zatoichi's Vengeance
43. Zatoichi's Pilgimage
44. Zatoichi's Cane Sword

Speical mention but not counted. Both Star Wars Trilogies.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top