Movies Seen in 2011

[CaptainCanada]

Spoiler: The rest of my list

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-)

Well, that was hardly bad. Getting a little repetitive, maybe ("That guy who we thought was our friend is actually trying to overthrow us! Also, Michael's family life is threatened.").

I can see why people expecting it to be in the same league as the first two would be upset, but it's a pretty good picture, for the most part. I liked a lot of the thematic stuff, such as Michael's remarking that the "legitimate" world that has always seemed forever out of reach may not actually exist at all. One of the most effective parts of the movie I thought was actually Connie, who was a peripheral figure in the earlier films, but has by now become thoroughly enmeshed in the family business and is pretty bloodyminded.

Virtually every negative comment I've seen about this movie makes some mention of Sofia Coppola as Mary Corleone. It's...not a strong performance, by any means; she has some good facial expressions here and there, but her line deliveries are pretty much all monotone. She hardly ruins the movie, but several scenes would have been significantly better with a different actress.

Of the four young directors who transformed Hollywood in the 1970s (the other three being Spielberg, Lucas, and Scorsese; I recall Coppola, Lucas and Spielberg jointly presenting Scorsese with his Best Director Oscar for The Departed), Coppola's star rose the quickest, one could argue it shone the brightest (he's not my personal favourite of them), and also fell with equal speed. Coppola was pretty much done as an artist by 1980, while Spielberg and Scorsese went on to garner acclaim for decades to come, and Lucas remained a popcultural force if not a significant director.

 

[Captain Craig]

Spoiler: Rest of my list

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

I originally put this in my Netflix queue because I like historical pieces and at least I knew Olga Kurylenko. Now I've seen the movie and realize that Michael Fassbender is in it as well. This Fassbender guy has a legion of groupies in the X-Men: First Class thread. Honestly, I hope he's good in X-Men but I'm not getting their passion for the guy now that I've seen him, but I digress.

The movie takes place during, no, at the end of the 20yr campaign of Rome to conquer Britain. However they are being thwarted by the Picts. The Ninth Legion has lost a battle and fleeing back to Roman occupied territory. The Picts are chasing them the whole way. Just as our main lead Mr. Fassbender, aka Quintas Dias makes it back to the under construction Hadrian's Wall in Roman occupied territory. Then there is the end, it doesn't go well for the returning hero, I'll just say that.

The movie has a very simple straight forward plot. The action sequences save the movie a letter grade imo.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Virtually every negative comment I've seen about this movie makes some mention of Sofia Coppola as Mary Corleone. It's...not a strong performance, by any means; she has some good facial expressions here and there, but her line deliveries are pretty much all monotone. She hardly ruins the movie, but several scenes would have been significantly better with a different actress.

Of the four young directors who transformed Hollywood in the 1970s (the other three being Spielberg, Lucas, and Scorsese; I recall Coppola, Lucas and Spielberg jointly presenting Scorsese with his Best Director Oscar for The Departed), Coppola's star rose the quickest, one could argue it shone the brightest (he's not my personal favourite of them), and also fell with equal speed. Coppola was pretty much done as an artist by 1980, while Spielberg and Scorsese went on to garner acclaim for decades to come, and Lucas remained a popcultural force if not a significant director.

I didn't mind Sofia's acting much (although I was mildly irritated by how wooden it was at times) so much as the whole idea of the plot she was involved in. Nobody comes right out and says it, but what's going on between her and the Andy Garcia character is basically verging on incest, which is such a stupid idea, especially because it's played so seriously.

I think of George Lucas and Coppola similarly - massively overrated. Most of their movies I've seen were either mediocre or terrible. "Apocalypse Now", "The Outsiders", and "The Conversation" bored the shit out of me.

I can't deny the first three Star Wars movies were well-made, they just didn't do anything for me. "American Graffiti" was very shallow and empty, and "Revenge of the Sith" was atrocious. Really haven't enjoyed anything by Coppola other than the first two Godfather movies and "Peggy Sue Got Married".

 

[Harvey]

Rumble Fish is likely to "bore the shit out of you" too, given your other taste in Coppola films, but it's a terrific art movie. And the Coppola executive produced, Lucas co-written and directed THX-1138 is worth seeing if you're a fan of sf.

 

[Captain Craig]

Spoiler: Rest of my list

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


Billed as a comedy this independent film was more Hehehe funny than ROFL funny. It got a few chuckles out of me I'll say that. It was an easy film to watch while folding clothes. Concentration not needed. If your wandering based on the title I'll answer it for you. Sparse nudity, not sure why it's rating was NR.

The film is about a woman who is very sexually liberated and not a constant user of protection, nor is she on the pill. It makes her feel bloated to which her gay friend says(upon finding out the news), "Oh, cause this, this situation feels sooo much better!"

She narrows it down to men within the last 7 weeks, then narrows it again by men who she recalls didn't use a condom. The movie is about her going back to these men for a DNA sample with a subplot about her gay friend also trying to admit his feelings for his one true love.

The disappointing thing about this movie: it leaves you hanging. She finds out her baby daddy is, but we don't get told...exactly. Really not an example of where an open ending works imo.

 

[Starbreaker]

32. 127 Hours (✭✭ 1/2)

I don't know... I'm sure it was a harrowing experience for the guy, but I wasn't impressed with the movie. I thought it was a little too artistic for its own good, and they could have given James Franco a little more to do before he was suddenly thrown into this situation. Buried was much more effective as a claustrophobic experience.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Spoiler: The rest of my list

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)

John Cazale filmography: 60% complete.

In tribute to the lately late Sidney Lumet, one of his more famous films from the 1970s, starring Al Pacino (progressively ratcheting up the volume to become the Pacino we're familiar with today) and Cazale; though Cazale and everybody else are really pretty minor. This is Pacino's show, from the first frame to the last. I was always under the impression that this was an intense drama, but it's really a borderline comedy, albeit with a decidedly unfunny ending (what really happened, of course). Pacino's predicament is frequently pure sitcom frustration at the universe, as are many of his interactions. Much like Lumet's Network, this relates a lot to American frustrations during the economic stagnation of the 1970s.

 

[Captain Craig]

Spoiler: Rest of my list

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-


Adam Sandler etc... I typed up a little review then my system locked up. So I'll just say this: Predictable, Repetitive Sandler. His normal check list of schtick is here. Fart joke, Scrotum hits, Boob jokes, Men acting like Boys.

I'll see Just Go With It but his lack of originality only confirms his movies are renters.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Spoiler: The rest of my list

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-)

I idly realized that I've got like 10 movies saved up to watch on DVD/Blu-ray, and they're almost all pretty much all depressing. Like this one, as part of my continuing voyage through visions of 1970s urban decay. To my mind, it's interesting how the 70s is typically remembered in pop culture mostly for disco; it was a tumultuous, grinding decade on American economy and morale, which is reflected in many of the films of the time, but this rarely turns up in period pieces.

I've heard a lot of people call this Scorsese's masterpiece; I'll be watching the two other big titles of his in the next little while, so I've yet to make a determination on that, but provisionally I don't know that I'd call it that. It has a lot of strong points, particularly Robert De Niro's performance; Jodie Foster is also very good (it's a little weird to see her so young).

However, it has a few odd points that keep me from ranking it higher. For one, I didn't for a second believe that the Cybil Shepherd character would agree to date him (or do it more than once, having done so). And the ending is just weird. There's a certain irony to him being a hero, but it just feels tremendously strange to spend a whole movie documenting his mental disintegration only to show him back quasi-adjusted, albeit with the possibility of his flipping again. It makes his mental state seem abritrary (and there's never much explanation for him to begin with).

 

[Harvey]

I've always read the conclusion of Taxi Driver as the fantasy Travis Bickle has while he dies. I don't think the movie works nearly as well if it's taken as reality -- one of the reasons I hope that sequel to the movie never gets made.

55. Source Code (A-)

A fantastic sf thriller/detective story, it's not quite as good as Moon, but still quite good (Clint Mansell couldn't do the score for one, due to being tied up with other projects -- including the completely shallow Black Swan -- but I'll get to that mess of a movie later). It's a shame the box office showing hasn't been that strong, because the movie deserves business. My only real quibble with the film is the ending. I like the freeze frame moment, but I also like the message sent to the Colonel at the end, as well. The stuff in between those I'm less convinced about (I'll be nebulous so as to avoid spoiling too much). I'll have to see the film again to decide there.

All the performers are quite good and the pace is taught throughout. Duncan Jones has probably made the best sf movie of the year that nobody will see...again.

 

[Lowdarzz]

The Running Man (1987)

Another fun 80's Arnold Schwarzenegger film but a very poor adaptation of the novel by Stephen King. The movie only transplants a couple of the characters names and the basic premise of a game show where people are hunted and killed. That aside, the film delivers some good action, some great one-liners and even a Star Trek joke.

 

[CaptainCanada]

I've always read the conclusion of Taxi Driver as the fantasy Travis Bickle has while he dies.

Scorsese and Paul Schrader have both explicitly denied that interpretation.

 

[Harvey]

I've always read the conclusion of Taxi Driver as the fantasy Travis Bickle has while he dies.

Scorsese and Paul Schrader have both explicitly denied that interpretation.

Oh, I know. Since they've both been talking about a sequel in the past few years, it's clear which interpretation they prefer. I just think their interpretation doesn't work as well, for the reasons you've already stated.

The Running Man is a terrible movie, but with lines like, "Get me the justice department -- entertainment division," it's hard not to enjoy it.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Spoiler: The rest of my list

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+)

Three films today; an old friend was briefly in town, so we got together for a viewing marathon in the afternoon.

I've heard this called the greatest Dickens adaptation of all time by some, but, while I obviously haven't seen all the big ones to make that comparison, I don't think I'd call this my choice. This was the other David Lean adaptation of Dickens from the mid-1940s, and it features several of the same actors in supporting roles. It's a quite competent story, but much like Lean's other adaptation, it stumbles in a few places trying to include Dickens' complicated plot twists. Also, the ending is really melodramatic. And it casts the nearly 40-year-old John Mills as the teenaged-to-20ish Pip, which just doesn't look right. Actually, both of the teenaged versions of Pip and Estella (in the latter case, a young Jean Simmons) are much better than their adult versions.

47. The Last Airbender (D-)

As a general rule, I'm very good at picking films I'll like, so my list of films seen tends to be graded on a scale of B- to A+. Not so today, in which I watched a movie I was quite sure would suck. And oh, did it. It's been a long time since I sat down to watch a bad movie, but the viewing experience was quite enjoyable with friends and my brother to trade jokes with. We're all big fans of the show it was based on.

There have been a lot of negative reviews of this already, so it's hard to come up with new things to say, but here are some of the major problems: the casting of the main characters and their world is racist, and, besides which, the actors are all terrible anyway, so the idea that they couldn't find appropriate Asian/Inuit kids is even more untenable; Shyamalan's screenplay is awful, ineptly attempting to condense a season's episodic plots into a single story; virtually every conversation is exposition; and he changes a bunch of pronunciations for no reason. And he doesn't have the slightest idea how to direct action. It's especially disappointing because he's removed any sense of association between the bending moves and the effects they have.

It's saved from an F by some strong production design, which is the only thing the film has to recommend.

48. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (A+)

Ah, an actual good studio fantasy film based on popular children's products. In fact, everything that The Last Airbender did wrong, Harry Potter did right. J. K. Rowling insisted on authentic casting and setting that has lent the series the appropriate atmosphere its counterpart so sorely lacks. While it has also had plotting issues as far as adaptation goes, it got the world and its stakes right, so while the film series as a whole will always be adjunct to the books, it has plenty to offer. I saw this twice in theatres months ago, and now the Blu-ray is out.

There was debate about the merits of adapting this into two films. Some saw it as a cash grab (and I'm sure the WB wasn't mourning all that extra moolah flowing into their coffers). But I think it really pays off on film; the seventh novel had by far the most plot of any of the books, possibly excepting the fourth (for which splitting was also floated as a possibility). I have a very, very difficult time imagining a single-film version that could satisfactorily include everything that needs to be in it; indeed, it also has to work to fit in some stuff that the earlier films had trouble including.

Anyway, the result is the first film since perhaps Prisoner of Azkaban (even including Order of the Phoenix, which is one of my favourites) that has room to breathe. I know some people thought parts of it were dull, but I loved it; the focus is squarely on the main three's characters and their relationships, which strain to the breaking point under severe isolation (isolation that the film actually amps up considerably from the book). And all three of our leads have become strong actors. I remain surprised by how funny the film manages to be, and not in inappropriate ways; it's funny while still being relentlessly grim. And that's really my preferred style of comedy.

 

[tomalak301]

How did you get to see Harry Potter ATDH II already. Doesn't it come out in June?

 

[zakkrusz]

Updates (in Bold):

The Adjustment Bureau (8)
Arashi no Yoru ni (One Stormy Night) (7)
Black Swan (9)
Broken Blade 3: The Mark of the Assassin's Dagger (9)
Broken Blade 4: The Land of Disaster (9)
Drive Angry (7)
Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance (9)
Godkiller (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)
Source Code (9)
Time of Eve (10)
Unknown (7)

 

[CaptainCanada]

How did you get to see Harry Potter ATDH II already. Doesn't it come out in June?

Heh. Minor oversight. I guess I had Part 2 on the mind while typing that.

 

[od0_ital]

Spoiler: Movies Seen in 2011

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

Took my brother's kids over to Blockbuster the other day, let 'em get a couple of cartoon DVDs while I got a copy of The Fighter for myself. Of course, I couldn't watch it all weekend...

Finally watched it late last night.

It was an okay movie, with some bleak humor and wicked family dynamics goin' on. It wasn't something I would own to watch over & over, but, hey, at least Batman got an Oscar out of it.

And I think Melissa Leo may have still been in ghetto fabulous character when she dropped the "f" bomb at the award ceremony.

 

[barnaclelapse]

I haven't posted in this in a long while, so there's a lot of movies that I've seen:

In The Soup: 5/5
-Steve Buscemi was great in this as the Woody Allen-type, but I think the real highlight is Seymour Cassel. The guy is always great, but this might be my all-time favorite performance of his.
The Stranger (2010): 3/5
-Just as stupid as "Hunt to Kill", but it a fun kind of stupid.
Don't Be Afraid of The Dark: 4/5
The Sorcerer's Apprentice: 1/5
Get Him to The Greek: 4/5
The Sunset Limited: 5/5
The Bothersome Man: 4/5
Lost in La Mancha: 4/5
Lenny: 3/5
Blood and Donuts: 2/5
Hudson Hawk: 3/5
The Producers: 5/5
That Evening Sun: 5/5
Arthur (original): 4/5
Barry Munday: 3/5
Veritgo: 5/5
Fantastic Mr. Fox: 5/5
How To Train Your Dragon: 3/5
Black Christmas (original): 4/5
How Do You Know: 2/5
-What I've always loved about the films of James L. Brooks is how they're so much more than just romantic comedies with neurotic characters. The best of his films ("Broadcast News", "Terms of Endearment", "As Good As It Gets" and even "Spanglish") offer great writing and even better performances. "How Do You Know" had a couple of bright spots (Any scene with Jack Nicholson and Paul Rudd), but I really wasn't expecting this to be such a dull, empty couple of hours. It was a very, very ordinary, mediocre romantic comedy. There's a thousand others just like it.
Hobo With A Shotgun: 4/5
-The movie in general was just a lot of decadent grindhouse fun. Old age hasn't mellowed Rutger Hauer's intensity one bit. If anything it's only made him even more insane. If Robert Englund has played the bad guy, this would have been a masterpiece.
Shine: 5/5
-I don't really care how factual the story is. The movie on its own terms was wonderful.
Salo: 4/5
-I can certainly understand the film's reputation of being brutal, hopeless and deeply, deeply troubling. It was a good, very powerful movie, but I'm not going to be watching it again.
Lifeforce: 3/5
Defending Your Life: 4/5
Orphans of The Storm: 3/5
-I've been meaning to watch a couple D.W. Griffith films for a while, but this may not have been the best place to start. It was good, but it wasn't the best example of this era I've ever seen.
Wild Stawberries: 5/5

 

[Captain Craig]

Spoiler: Rest of my list

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-


It's been about 6 weeks since I saw a film at the theater and I was not dissapointed in my choice. The Conspirator is a court room drama around the men and one woman on trail following the death of Abraham Lincoln. Specifically it centers on the woman, Mary Surrat, who was the first woman executed by the Federal Government of the United States.

Starring James McAvoy, Robin Wright Penn, Evan Rachel Wood, Tom Wilkinson, Colm Meany and Kevin Kline I highly recommend this movie for fans of period and or historical film. Robert Redford directs this cast and it opened in limited release on about 700 screens, placing 9th with nearly $4m. I'm glad Nashville got a screen. I may start a thread on it.