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In 2011 most popular movies are below:
Green Lantern
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Mechanic (2011)
Pirates of the Caribbean
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
X-Men: First Class
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 (A-)
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-)
Semi-autobiographical relationship drama from director Mike Mills about his relationship with his father after he came out as gay in his 70s and his few final years before his death of cancer; I don't know if the only part, about the Mills proxy's (Ewan MacGregor) relationship issues and romance with Anna (Melanie Laurent), also has a basis in reality. Either way, it's a charming little courtship that addresses both characters' emotional baggage that came courtesy of their parents. The buzz around this film mostly centres around Christopher Plummer as the dad, and he is indeed magnificent; don't be surprised if he wins the Oscar for it, though it's kind of a small movie. Elegant in handling the social pressures of the day and the consequences of it (there's a great scene where the dad finally reveals why he decided to marry Macgregor's mom). Has some random indie film quirks (occasional subtitles on the family's terrier's expressions), but these are handled in a subdued manner.
1. True Grit (2010)
2. Toy Story 3 (2010) [A]
3. Ghost Rider (2007) [D]
4. Elektra (2005) [F]
5. The Hangover (2009) [A]
6. The Hangover Part II (2011)
7. X-Men: First Class (2011)
8. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) [B-]
9. I Am Number Four (2011) [D]
10. Thor (2011) [A-]
11. Green Lantern (2011) [D]
12. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) 13. Cowboys & Aliens (2011) [C+]
It's a bit corny and the storyline is really simple, but the entertainment value is high. Great use of SFX and solid directing from Favreau.
I hadn't seen these two Harrison Ford films in a good 14-15yrs. So long in fact I got to be re-surprised by the ending to Presumed Innocent. Both are Roman Polanski and I was given this Blu-Ray double feature by a friend.
To be pedantic for a moment, Frantic was directed by Roman Polanski, but Presumed Innocent was directed by Alan J. Pakula.
110. Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. (A-)
111. Stagecoach (B-)
Mr. Death: A terrific, heart-breaking account from director Errol Morris of Fred A. Leuchter, an execution specialist whose career and personal life was destroyed when he wrote a report based on poor science backing the claims of a Holocaust denier, and refused to retract that report due to outright stubbornness. Wikipedia claims the man is now working as a telemarketer, which is an even bigger fall than the dramatic one seen in this documentary.
Stagecoach: It's hard to look at this film with fresh eyes, since so many of the things that appear to us as tired cliches of the Western genre were new and innovative at the time. The cast is terrific -- perhaps one of the best ensembles for a Western, ever -- and the end nicely upends our expectations by putting John Wayne's final duel mostly off-screen. Still, it features typical American Indians for a western of this period -- two-dimensional savages hell bent on destruction -- and it's hard to take a movie that tries to make so many cliches (i.e. the charge of the cavalry) into major dramatic moments seriously.
Just seen HP 7 Part 2 and it was alright, a decent ending and a decent franchise overall though it never grabbed me like other films because it always felt like you needed to read the books to become a proper fan.
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 (A-)
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+)
Someone should suggest to John Boehner that they bring back dance marathons. Hey, something's gotta replace Social Security.
Amazingly bleak 1969 Great Depression drama from director Sydney Pollack starring Jane Fonda (who looks a lot like Sigourney Weaver here). Set during a grueling dance marathon that functions as a microcosm of contemporary society: the poor struggle and suffer for the amusement of the better-off, and the "winner" gets screwed over in the end (the film doesn't even bother telling us who wins the contest, since it doesn't matter). Feels exhausting to watch everybody. The end balances on the edge of being a bit melodramatic, but I think it works. Gig Young won the Oscar for his portrayal of the promoter, a believable ordinary huckster who is utterly banal at being a complete heel.
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. At times hilarious satire. Seems oddly reminiscent of a screwball take on Dexter, though of course this came before. My copy skipped in a couple of places which affected the pacing and may have skewed my grade slightly (I want to see this again on a good copy).
57. Rango - A-. Really very good. I like that this movie had a different visual style than most big-screen CGI films- it's a much more photo-realistic and surreal style than the one employed by Pixar and most of the rest of Hollywood. As the first feature length animated film by ILM (if I'm not mistaken), it's a very good effort, though not quite as masterful as the best efforts in the genre.
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 (A-)
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-)
On August 3rd I hit 100 films for the year; last year it took me until December 31st to do that. Spending six months unemployed means lots of spare time.
One of the more famous films of the late 1960s, credited with revolutionizing Hollywood (supposedly, Jack Warner's inability to stop it from being made signalled the degree to which his influence had declined). The violence and sex is rather banal by today's standards, of course (primetime TV can do as much), but it's still raucous fun to watch. Faye Dunaway, in particular, is great as Bonnie. I wasn't feeling Warren Beatty as Clyde quite as much; the youngish Gene Hackman was good in his supporting role. I admit I had a hard time taking Gene Wilder's appearance at all seriously.
Also rewatched The Social Network tonight with friends (seems we're going to be making a thing out of Thursday movie night), since one of them hadn't seen it. Still a very strong drama, though I still have reservations about some of Sorkin's writing choices. Great showcase for some rising young stars, especially.
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)
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)
On August 3rd I hit 100 films for the year; last year it took me until December 31st to do that. Spending six months unemployed means lots of spare time.
I feel you. I spent 9 months unemployed back in 2008. Made my way through plenty of DVDs and books. There really is only so many sites to surf, people to network and resumes to send out after the first few months.
I got a new job about a month ago, thankfully, so that's behind me (it hasn't greatly slowed my movie-watching either).
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 (A-)
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 (B+)
If you had asked me a month ago whether I was going to see this movie, I would have said no. However, the movie generated great advance word, so I did, and it is indeed one of the summer's better films (I find I rarely go to see non-superhero action films anymore). In particular, it's a triumph for WETA and Andy Serkis, on par with their realization of Gollum (in some ways, more impressive, since Caesar is based on a real animal that audiences have expectations regarding). Caesar's character arc is amazingly well-done (and some of the other apes are given fairly effective bits of characterization). The main flaw of the movie is that the human characters aren't nearly as interesting (if they had been, this might have been the summer's absolute best). James Franco is serviceable as the lead, but nobody's going to walk away talking about him; Freida Pinto's role is so slim she almost shouldn't have bothered showing up; John Lithgow is easily the most successful actor, bringing some real pathos to the part.
Discussed more in the SF/F review thread.
102. Elmer Gantry (B+)
1960 Sinclair Lewis adaptation starring Burt Lancaster, Jean Simmons, and Shirley Jones. Lewis was the first American author to win the Nobel Prize, but his importance in the canon has declined since 1930, largely because his satires of American society, edgy at the time, have seen become terminally rote (Babbitt, for instance, is 400 pages of "hey, the American upper middle class is narrowminded and hypocrital!"; incidentally, the protagonist of that novel, George F. Babbitt, has a supporting role in this story). The film of Elmer Gantry, based on a 1926 novel, doubles this effect by including an actual disclaimer about why they feel it's okay to satirize revival preaching at the start of the film - something no film today would ever bother with.
Lancaster's performance (which won him the Oscar) initially I thought was a bit offputting, but once you get used to the rhythms of it it's actually very good. That's true of a lot of the aspects of this rural American Protestant revival culture, which from the vantage of an urban Canadian Catholic feels vaguely unbelievable (but it still exists today). I like the film's balanced handle on Gantry, who, despite his obvious failings, is never dismissed as a simple charlatan, which I think would be substantially more likely to happen in a modern take on this story. Shirley Jones also won the Oscar as a prostitute who had previously been seduced into becoming a fallen woman by Gantry; I didn't realize who she was at first, but she starred in a bunch of Rodgers and Hammerstein films films earlier in the 1950s; I imagine this would have been a big change of pace for audiences. Jones delivers one of the hottest performances I've seen in a film from the era.
At two-and-a-half hours, the film is a bit sprawling, and there are a couple of points where I was sure the film was about to end, but it kept going (there's one point, in particular, where I think they might have been better to leave things), ending somewhat weirdly. Still a strong and interesting film.
"American Pie" (1999) A. This film still holds up more than ten years later. I think one of the things that makes it so much fun for me aside from the sexual sub-plot is the friendship between the main characters. I love movies like this. I'm very much looking forward to "American Reunion" next spring.
1. Alice in Wonderland (2010) - C-
2. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) - A
3. Black Swan (2010) - A+
4. The Social Network (2010) - A
5. Cannibal! The Musical (1996) - B
6. Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (2009) - B
7. Winter's Bone (2010) - C+
8. The Kids are All Right (2010) - A
9. The Lovely Bones (2009) - D
10. 127 Hours (2010) - A
11. Source Code (2011) - B
12. Kick-Ass (2010) - B
13. Thor (2011) - B+
14. X-Men: First Class (2011) - B
15. Easy A (2010) - B
16. Bridesmaids (2011) - A+
17. Super 8 (2011) - B+
18. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (2010) - B-
19. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - B+
20. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (2011) - B
21. Robin Hood (2010) - B-
Gladiator this is not, but I enjoyed it to a certain extent. Crowe was good in the role and Blanchett played her part well (It was kind of like her character in Lord of the Rings though) but the movie felt a little bit too long and a little disjointed at times. The Visuals were stunning though.
^ I felt totally the opposite about "Robin Hood". Crowe mumbled his way through the part, Cate Blanchett was not her usual exceptional self, and the script was incredibly flawed and weak (probably due to like near eight writers it had). This film pretty much ruined Crowe and Scott's relationship with all the squabbling that went on during filming. Just a mess of a film.
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (2005) C+. One of my favorite books, and among one of my favorite of the films despite the low grade. It also has extra nerd cred for featuring a pre-Doctor David Tennant! I think this is really the first of the films to get really dark and dangerous.
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
First off, let me say, I am not a fan of the Harry Potter franchise, and Deathly Hallows, Part One did not when me over, but after seein' that the second part made a billion dollars worldwide in two weeks, I was curious. And I have seen the previous movies. I really don't get the appeal of the character, but I have friends who love everything there is about Harry Potter, and I was able to borrow a copy on DVD.
But, hey, at least I've seen it...
The King's Speech cleaned up at the Oscars & I wanted to see why...meh. It was alright, I suppose...I liked Geoffrey Rush's speech therapist, but didn't really care for anyone else in the movie.
Get Low was one of the films featured at SxSW a couple of years ago, and Bill Murray runnin' 'round Austin became a kind of game for folks to try to track him down and not get autographs from him...I remember a girl at Blockbuster talkin' about how a friend of her's was plannin' a screenplay about it all, titled "What About Bill?"
Anyway, watchd the movie last night, and it was pretty good, not great, though. Robert Duvall was awesome, as expected, and Sissy Spacek was alright. I don't think Bill Murray was in it enough, and his character didn't seem too consistent to me...
It was nice to see Gerald McRaney in a supportin' role, too.
112. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (A-)
113. Star Crash (F)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: Capra's Washington, DC movie is a crowd-pleaser, and it still works (for the most part) today. I'm not thrilled by the hoops the movie goes through to make Smith's state so ambiguous, and Claude Rains breaks a little too easily in the end, but I still enjoyed it in the end. And the audience of undergraduates I saw it with clapped at the end, something they didn't do for any other movie this quarter.
Star Crash: A colorful, vivacious, and ultimately incomprehensible Italian science fiction movie that does it's best to rip off Star Wars (as well as every other s.f. movie ever made) in the course of two hours. It's astounding how hard it is to follow the plot -- clearly, the director loves the way old space operas looked, but had no understanding of them (or the English language) beyond that. Christopher Plummer appears, paying off some gambling debts or something, and manages to deliver a moving speech or two, but what they're about is anybody's guess. And, of course, the Hoff himself shows up in the second half of the movie, taking things much too seriously and still out-acting most of his co-stars. My favorite part is probably the robot sidekick, who speaks in a Southern accent and gets killed off more times than I could count (yet keeps coming back). What a mess. A nice John Barry score, though (apparently, the director wouldn't show him the movie, fearing Barry would quit -- a wise move, I think).
Scream 4 (C+) - Had some ok moments but its really time to end this franchise no need for 2nd trilogy, too predictable now and even when it pulls a twist it feels like too much of a jump.
Casino Jack (B-) - Entertaining film with laughs and great acting from Kevin Spacey. Makes a great point about how two faced Washington is and full of massive hypocrites yes I am looking at you John McCain.
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
Invictus, directed by Clint Eastwood with Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela. The story of how Mandela was released from prison after nearly 30yrs as apartheid comes to a close in South Africa and his rise to the Presidency. How he makes a "human calculation" to inspire and rally both races in his country to be more than they thought they could be. He works with the National Springbok Rugby team and together great things happen in an unsuspecting way. Mandela, despite some actions that led to his imprisonment as a political terrorist(actions he regrets based on what I read on wiki) is truly an inspiring man of forgiveness and compassion upon his release and Presidency. At just over 2hrs 10min long it does feel that long but it's a very good film.
Rocky, the original and staying with a sport theme for the weekend. I hadn't seen this film in a good 15 years and it really does hold up. With the last installment fresher on my memory it only enhances what a great saga the whole Rocky affair is as a whole. About 2 months ago I got the Blu-Ray set so I'll be watching those and adding them to my list here as well. Can't wait to revist Rocky 2-5 in the coming days time permitting.
Gladiator this is not, but I enjoyed it to a certain extent. Crowe was good in the role and Blanchett played her part well (It was kind of like her character in Lord of the Rings though) but the movie felt a little bit too long and a little disjointed at times. The Visuals were stunning though.
^ I felt totally the opposite about "Robin Hood". Crowe mumbled his way through the part, Cate Blanchett was not her usual exceptional self, and the script was incredibly flawed and weak (probably due to like near eight writers it had). This film pretty much ruined Crowe and Scott's relationship with all the squabbling that went on during filming. Just a mess of a film.
I admit going into the theater I had certain expectations for the Crowe Robin Hood and left underwhelmed and a bit WTF'ed? I can't recall but I think I graded it a C then. Upon digesting it and rewatching it a second time on DVD, this time knowning what the movies approach was vs expectations I found it more enjoyable and moved my grade up to a B/B-
It's for sure a Robin Hood film that breaks a bit from the mold only to come back around to the mold of traditional RH by it's end.
