Movies Seen In 2014

[CaptainCanada]

Spoiler: The rest of my list.

1. Philomena (B+)
2. Blue Is The Warmest Colour (A)
3. Her (A+)
4. Bicycle Thieves (B)
5. Frances Ha (B+)
6. Inside Llewyn Davis (A)
7. American Hustle (B+)
8. East of Eden (C+)
9. The Hunt (A-)
10. Amadeus (A+)
11. The LEGO Movie (A-)
12. Nebraska (B+)
13. Short Term 12 (A)
14. The Square (B+)
15. The Act of Killing (A)
16. Metropolitan (B)
17. Almost Famous (A+)
18. The Ice Storm (C+)
19. 300: Rise of an Empire (B)
20. The Great Beauty (B+)
21. Network (A+)
22. The Palm Beach Story (A+)
23. The Past (B+)
24. The Royal Tenenbaums (B+)
25. The Grand Budapest Hotel (A-)
26. Room 237 (B-)
27. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (A+)
28. Noah (B+)
29. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (A)
30. Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (D)
31. Fantastic Mr. Fox (B+)
32. Independence Day (A)
33. Sherlock, Jr. (B+)
34. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (B)
35. Godzilla (B+)
36. Anna Karenina (B+)
37. X-Men: Days of Future Past (A)
38. Pride & Prejudice (A+)
39. The Perks of Being A Wallflower (A-)
40. Tess (B+)
41. Belle (B+)
42. Barton Fink (B+)
43. Miller's Crossing (A+)
44. Punch-Drunk Love (B-)
45. The General (A)
46. Ida (B+)
47. How To Train Your Dragon 2 (B+)
48. Jane Eyre (B+)
49. The Fault in Our Stars (A-)
50. Star Trek Into Darkness (B-)
51. 22 Jump Street (A-)
52. Chef (B+)
53. Begin Again (A)
54. The Immigrant (A+)
55. Sense and Sensibility (A+)
56. The Birds (B+)
57. Populaire (B+)
58. Tracks (B)
59. Fish Tank (A-)
60. Malena (B)
61. Paper Moon (A)
62. Guardians of the Galaxy (A)
63. Lucy (C+)
64. Raising Arizona (B+)
65. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (A-)
66. Looper (A+)
67. Footloose (B+)
68. Lola (B+)
69. Bay of Angels (B)
70. The Fisher King (C+)
71. Boyhood (A)

72. Oliver Twist (A-)

Rewatched David Lean's 1948 version of the iconic Charles Dickens novel (his best story of the ones that I've read, in my opinion) in preparation for writing an essay on it. It's a very good film, particularly strong in the opening segments, though Lean condensing of Dickens' plot is unsatisfactory in a few places (he retains Monks, for instance, but excises basically all the explanation for who he is, which I imagine would be rather confusing for anyone who hadn't read the book). I also don't really care for Kay Walsh's Nancy.

73. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (A+)

The third film in the Jacques Demy Criterion collection, and the only one I'd heard about before, though I didn't really know much about it. Having seen it, I can definitely see the influence on something like Populaire, the 2012 French film I watched recently. The bold use of colour is extraordinarily striking, especially in the first section of the film. Initially I wasn't sure how the sung-through dialogue would work with subtitles, but as the film wore on I got used to it and began to pay attention to the rhythms of the actual French dialogue behind the subtitles, so rhymes, etc. were more obvious. Catherine Deneuve is luminous as the female lead.

Cinema: 30
DVD/Blu-Ray: 21 (+2)
Streaming Service: 22

 

[od0_ital]

Spoiler: Movies Seen January, February, March, April, May, June & July

The Devil's Double - Netflix Instant
MST3K: Future War - Netflix Instant
Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay - Netflix Instant
Stephen King's Graveyard Shift - Netflix Instant
Charge - Netflix Instant
The Eiger Sanction - Netflix Instant
MST3K: Laserblast - Netflix Instant
The Joneses - Netflix Instant
The Reich Underground - Netflix Instant
In the Loop - Netflix Instant
The Other Man - Netflix Instant
Our Nixon - Netflix Instant
Broadcast News - Netflix Instant
MST3K: Final Justice - Netflix Instant
The Blob (1958) - HuluPlus
American Breakdown - HuluPlus
Spy Kids 3: Game Over - Netflix Instant
The Beast with a Million Eyes - Netflix Instant
Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) - Netflix Instant
Escape from Alcatraz - Netflix Insant
River of No Return - Netflix Instant
The Apartment - Netflix Instant
Rewind This! - HuluPlus
Ping Pong - Netflix Instant
Schooled: The Price of College Sports - Netflix Instant
Bronies - Netflix Instant
Le Lac Des Zombies (aka Zombie Lake) - Netflix Instant
Cockneys vs Zombies - Netflix Instant
Humanoids from the Deep (aka Monster) - Netflix Instant
The Haunting in Connecticut - Netflix Instant
The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia - Netflix Instant
Giorgio Moroder Presents Metropolis (1984) - Netflix Instant
Dinosaur Island - Netflix Instant
Age of Dinosaurs - Netflix Instant
The Dinosaur Project - Netflix Instant
Baby Boom - Netflix Instant
Blindsided - Netflix Instant
Hobo with a Shotgun - Netflix Instant
Stranded - Netflix Instant
MST3K: The Phantom Planet - Netflix Instant
Looney Tunes: Back in Action - DVD
The Crow: Wicked Prayer - Showtime Extreme
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home - Starz Kids & Family
Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit - HBO on Demand
Bullet to the Head - Cinemax on Demand
Howard the Duck - HBO Family
Battlefield Earth - HBO on Demand
Me, Myself & Irene - HBO on Demand
Bad Milo! - Netflix Instant
The Final Cut - Netflix Instant
Starship Troopers: Invasion - Netflix Instant
P!nk: The Truth About Love Tour - Netflix Instant
Saving Mr. Banks - DVD
Avengers Confidential: Black Widow / Punisher - DVD
Suddenly - Netflix Instant
Captain America: The Winter Soldier 2D - theater
Turbulance - HBO
Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor - BBC America
Fearless- Cinemax
Blly Crystal: 700 Sundays - HBO
Jay Mohr: Funny for a Girl - Showtime
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) - Cinemax
The Natural - MoviePlex
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie - Cinemax
She's the Man - HBO
Godzilla vs Destroyah (1995) - Movieplex
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 3D - Alamo Drafthouse
Justice League: War - DVD
Son of Batman - DVD
Prisoners - HBO
A Day at the Races - free admission
The Lego Movie 2D - discount theater
Non-Stop - discount theater
Godzilla 2D (2014) - free admission
The Grand Budapest Hotel - free admission
Neighbors - free admission
X-Men: Days of Future Past 2D - free admission
Million Dollar Arm - free admission
Grudge Match - DVD
The Monuments Men - DVD
3 Days to Kill - DVD
Maleficent 2D - matinee
The Family - Netflix Instant
Romancing the Stone - Netflix Instant
The Jewel of the Nile- Netflix Instant
The Sklar Brothers: What Are We Talking About? - Netflix Instant
Robocop (2014) - DVD
Lone Survivor - DVD
Knights of Badassdom - DVD
Frozen - DVD
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - DVD
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 - Netflix Instant
A Million Ways to Die in the West - free admission
Wolverine: Weapon X - Tomorrow Dies Today - DVD
Dumb and Dumber: Unrated Edition - DVD
Maria Bamford: The Special Special Special! - Netflix Instant
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit - DVD
Escape from Tomorrow - Netflix Instant
22 Jump Street - theater
Edge of Tomorrow 2D - theater
Harlem Nights - Netflix Instant
JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time - DVD
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa .5 - Netflix Instant
The Raid 2 - DVD
The Wolf of Wall Street - DVD
Homefront - Netflix Instant
Out of the Furnace - Netflix Instant
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 2D - theater
Stan Lee's Mighty 7 - DVD
Hot Coffee - Netflix Instant
Transformers: Age of Extinction 2D - theater
Odd Thomas - Netflix Instant
Bad Words - DVD
300: Rise of an Empire - DVD
Her - DVD

Under the Skin - DVD
Sabotage - DVD
Lewis Black: Old Yeller - Live at the Borgata - Netflix Instant
Emperor - Netflix Instant
Robin Williams: Weapons of Self Destruction - YouTube
Guardians of the Galaxy 3D - theater
Batman: Assault on Arkham - DVD
You're Next - Netflix Instant
The Nut Job - Netflix Instant

Watched a silly animated movie about a squirrel tryin' to get a nut last night.

 

[Starbreaker]

95. The One I Love ★★★ 1/2. There's a point in this movie where you can't take your eyes off the screen for fear you'll miss something. Highly recommended. What would you do if you met your better half's better half?

 

[CaptainCanada]

Spoiler: The rest of my list.

1. Philomena (B+)
2. Blue Is The Warmest Colour (A)
3. Her (A+)
4. Bicycle Thieves (B)
5. Frances Ha (B+)
6. Inside Llewyn Davis (A)
7. American Hustle (B+)
8. East of Eden (C+)
9. The Hunt (A-)
10. Amadeus (A+)
11. The LEGO Movie (A-)
12. Nebraska (B+)
13. Short Term 12 (A)
14. The Square (B+)
15. The Act of Killing (A)
16. Metropolitan (B)
17. Almost Famous (A+)
18. The Ice Storm (C+)
19. 300: Rise of an Empire (B)
20. The Great Beauty (B+)
21. Network (A+)
22. The Palm Beach Story (A+)
23. The Past (B+)
24. The Royal Tenenbaums (B+)
25. The Grand Budapest Hotel (A-)
26. Room 237 (B-)
27. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (A+)
28. Noah (B+)
29. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (A)
30. Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (D)
31. Fantastic Mr. Fox (B+)
32. Independence Day (A)
33. Sherlock, Jr. (B+)
34. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (B)
35. Godzilla (B+)
36. Anna Karenina (B+)
37. X-Men: Days of Future Past (A)
38. Pride & Prejudice (A+)
39. The Perks of Being A Wallflower (A-)
40. Tess (B+)
41. Belle (B+)
42. Barton Fink (B+)
43. Miller's Crossing (A+)
44. Punch-Drunk Love (B-)
45. The General (A)
46. Ida (B+)
47. How To Train Your Dragon 2 (B+)
48. Jane Eyre (B+)
49. The Fault in Our Stars (A-)
50. Star Trek Into Darkness (B-)
51. 22 Jump Street (A-)
52. Chef (B+)
53. Begin Again (A)
54. The Immigrant (A+)
55. Sense and Sensibility (A+)
56. The Birds (B+)
57. Populaire (B+)
58. Tracks (B)
59. Fish Tank (A-)
60. Malena (B)
61. Paper Moon (A)
62. Guardians of the Galaxy (A)
63. Lucy (C+)
64. Raising Arizona (B+)
65. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (A-)
66. Looper (A+)
67. Footloose (B+)
68. Lola (B+)
69. Bay of Angels (B)
70. The Fisher King (C+)
71. Boyhood (A)
72. Oliver Twist (A-)
73. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (A+)

74. Bernie (B+)

I've now seen five Richard Linklater films, all of them starting with the letter B. The only remaining entry in his filmography with that same letter is Bad News Bears, though, so that trend is unlikely to be continued by the next film of his that I see (whatever that will be). This was a low-key 2011 release, which has gotten a bit more attention as time has passed. It's the least-compelling of the five Linklater films I've seen, but it's perfectly charming, and certainly an oddball take on a murder story (though I can see why the family of the victim would have disapproved). It's great to see Jack Black stretch himself more than 99% of his films do.

This film has an odd postscript, involving the actual Bernie being released for prison to get psychiatric help, on the condition that he live with Richard Linklater. Laudable for Linklater to remain involved in the case, though the reasons for his release (past abuse) hint at a more in-depth characterization of Bernie that is missing from the film.

Cinema: 30
DVD/Blu-Ray: 21
Streaming Service: 23 (+1)

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Amazing Spiderman 2 - On Demand - While I didn't hate AS1, I didn't really like it that much either. I actually didn't mind the changes to the Spiderman mythology, the movie was just not really that good and I didn't like Andrew Garfield as PP/SM. So here we are with AS2, while a better movie, it actually maybe even more boring than AS1. At times it feels like it moves at a snails pace, even during the action scenes. The movie still has the same lame humor as in AS1, I know Spiderman is suppose to be funny. However the dreck they used for humor in this is just plain awful. Spiderman saves people from a fire, comes home and doesn't wash his face. Aunt May catches him, he tells her he was cleaning the fireplace. Aunt May says they don't have a fireplace. I knew this was going to be the joke when I saw him in bed with the black face. It this level of humor that does these AS movies in. While the movie is begging to be taken some what serious, you can't because of the witless humor. For some reason the transitions between scenes really bothered me, so I'll add poorly edited to this as well.

I kind of liked Jamie Foxx as Electro, his original story is kind of lame but I liked how he played the character. Dane Dehaan was okay as Green Goblin, meh. I still don't like Andrew Garfield as SM, I guess his acting style just so resembles Hayden Christensen. The best person in this was of course Emma Stone, her Gwen is the only thing that feels right in these movies.

The best part of the movie for me is the ending, starting with Gwen Stacy's death. That was the only thing in the movie that was tonally right. I wish they would have give PP more time to emote, just a few more frames. I actually loved the showing of PP standing over her grave in different seasons, again it actually gets you emotionally involved. However the best scene of either AS1 or AS2 was when the boy puts on the Spiderman costume to confront Rhino. It was simply the best and most emotional connecting scene in the movie. Whats funny, these last few scenes feel totally tacked on. The movie should have ended with her death and funeral.

When is AS3 coming out? Not soon enough, only makes us wait for the next reboot all that longer. While I'm always glad to have more superhero movies and especially Spiderman, these can't get out of here fast enough. Keeping the faith, true believers.

 

[tomalak301]

1) Her (2013) - A
2) Saving Mr. Banks (2013) - B+
3) The Dallas Buyers Club (2013) - B
4) Frozen (2013) - A
5) Wolf of Wall Street (2013) - B
6) Rush (2013) - B+
7) Blackfish (2013) - B
8) The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) - A
9) Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014) - A
10) X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - B
11) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) - B
12) Edge of Tomorrow (2014) - A-
13) The X Files: Fight the Future (1998) - B
14) Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) - A
15) Dead Poet's Society (1989) - B
16) Boyhood (2014) - A+

Boyhood might be my favorite film this year. For one thing, the comittment to do this film in a 12 year span was awesome, but the movie experience was fantastic. I didn't think I would love this movie considering the run time and the 12 year gimmick, but Linklater made it work.

The plot of this movie is simply about growing up, but I think the thing that affected me the most was I really got attached to these characters. I found Samantha annoying at first, but she improved as she grew up, and the Mason character was really well done. I remember when I saw all the Harry Potter Films, it was like watching the boys and girl grow up in front of our eyes. Here, the kids grow up in one film, and I felt for them each step along the way. When there was bad things going on, I, and the theater, gasped, such as when Mason is driving and looking at a picture on the phone, or when the kids are spending time with their father and you see how much fun they have. This really is a wonderful film and I hope it's nominated for Best Picture at Awards time.

Netflix
Theater: 12 (+1)
Itunes: 2
Blu Ray/DVD/TV: 2

 

[od0_ital]

Spoiler: Movies Seen January, February, March, April, May, June & July

The Devil's Double - Netflix Instant
MST3K: Future War - Netflix Instant
Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay - Netflix Instant
Stephen King's Graveyard Shift - Netflix Instant
Charge - Netflix Instant
The Eiger Sanction - Netflix Instant
MST3K: Laserblast - Netflix Instant
The Joneses - Netflix Instant
The Reich Underground - Netflix Instant
In the Loop - Netflix Instant
The Other Man - Netflix Instant
Our Nixon - Netflix Instant
Broadcast News - Netflix Instant
MST3K: Final Justice - Netflix Instant
The Blob (1958) - HuluPlus
American Breakdown - HuluPlus
Spy Kids 3: Game Over - Netflix Instant
The Beast with a Million Eyes - Netflix Instant
Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) - Netflix Instant
Escape from Alcatraz - Netflix Insant
River of No Return - Netflix Instant
The Apartment - Netflix Instant
Rewind This! - HuluPlus
Ping Pong - Netflix Instant
Schooled: The Price of College Sports - Netflix Instant
Bronies - Netflix Instant
Le Lac Des Zombies (aka Zombie Lake) - Netflix Instant
Cockneys vs Zombies - Netflix Instant
Humanoids from the Deep (aka Monster) - Netflix Instant
The Haunting in Connecticut - Netflix Instant
The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia - Netflix Instant
Giorgio Moroder Presents Metropolis (1984) - Netflix Instant
Dinosaur Island - Netflix Instant
Age of Dinosaurs - Netflix Instant
The Dinosaur Project - Netflix Instant
Baby Boom - Netflix Instant
Blindsided - Netflix Instant
Hobo with a Shotgun - Netflix Instant
Stranded - Netflix Instant
MST3K: The Phantom Planet - Netflix Instant
Looney Tunes: Back in Action - DVD
The Crow: Wicked Prayer - Showtime Extreme
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home - Starz Kids & Family
Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit - HBO on Demand
Bullet to the Head - Cinemax on Demand
Howard the Duck - HBO Family
Battlefield Earth - HBO on Demand
Me, Myself & Irene - HBO on Demand
Bad Milo! - Netflix Instant
The Final Cut - Netflix Instant
Starship Troopers: Invasion - Netflix Instant
P!nk: The Truth About Love Tour - Netflix Instant
Saving Mr. Banks - DVD
Avengers Confidential: Black Widow / Punisher - DVD
Suddenly - Netflix Instant
Captain America: The Winter Soldier 2D - theater
Turbulance - HBO
Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor - BBC America
Fearless- Cinemax
Blly Crystal: 700 Sundays - HBO
Jay Mohr: Funny for a Girl - Showtime
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) - Cinemax
The Natural - MoviePlex
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie - Cinemax
She's the Man - HBO
Godzilla vs Destroyah (1995) - Movieplex
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 3D - Alamo Drafthouse
Justice League: War - DVD
Son of Batman - DVD
Prisoners - HBO
A Day at the Races - free admission
The Lego Movie 2D - discount theater
Non-Stop - discount theater
Godzilla 2D (2014) - free admission
The Grand Budapest Hotel - free admission
Neighbors - free admission
X-Men: Days of Future Past 2D - free admission
Million Dollar Arm - free admission
Grudge Match - DVD
The Monuments Men - DVD
3 Days to Kill - DVD
Maleficent 2D - matinee
The Family - Netflix Instant
Romancing the Stone - Netflix Instant
The Jewel of the Nile- Netflix Instant
The Sklar Brothers: What Are We Talking About? - Netflix Instant
Robocop (2014) - DVD
Lone Survivor - DVD
Knights of Badassdom - DVD
Frozen - DVD
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - DVD
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 - Netflix Instant
A Million Ways to Die in the West - free admission
Wolverine: Weapon X - Tomorrow Dies Today - DVD
Dumb and Dumber: Unrated Edition - DVD
Maria Bamford: The Special Special Special! - Netflix Instant
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit - DVD
Escape from Tomorrow - Netflix Instant
22 Jump Street - theater
Edge of Tomorrow 2D - theater
Harlem Nights - Netflix Instant
JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time - DVD
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa .5 - Netflix Instant
The Raid 2 - DVD
The Wolf of Wall Street - DVD
Homefront - Netflix Instant
Out of the Furnace - Netflix Instant
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 2D - theater
Stan Lee's Mighty 7 - DVD
Hot Coffee - Netflix Instant
Transformers: Age of Extinction 2D - theater
Odd Thomas - Netflix Instant
Bad Words - DVD
300: Rise of an Empire - DVD
Her - DVD

Under the Skin - DVD
Sabotage - DVD
Lewis Black: Old Yeller - Live at the Borgata - Netflix Instant
Emperor - Netflix Instant
Robin Williams: Weapons of Self Destruction - YouTube
Guardians of the Galaxy 3D - theater
Batman: Assault on Arkham - DVD
You're Next - Netflix Instant
The Nut Job - Netflix Instant
Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project - Hulu Plus

Watched a look at the life & career of comedian Don Rickles via Hulu the other day. Pretty interestin' look, and some funny stuff, too. Lots of big name talkin' heads, too.

My favorite were the clips from Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show.

 

[Pondwater]

Expendables 3. I much enjoyed it.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Spoiler: The rest of my list.

1. Philomena (B+)
2. Blue Is The Warmest Colour (A)
3. Her (A+)
4. Bicycle Thieves (B)
5. Frances Ha (B+)
6. Inside Llewyn Davis (A)
7. American Hustle (B+)
8. East of Eden (C+)
9. The Hunt (A-)
10. Amadeus (A+)
11. The LEGO Movie (A-)
12. Nebraska (B+)
13. Short Term 12 (A)
14. The Square (B+)
15. The Act of Killing (A)
16. Metropolitan (B)
17. Almost Famous (A+)
18. The Ice Storm (C+)
19. 300: Rise of an Empire (B)
20. The Great Beauty (B+)
21. Network (A+)
22. The Palm Beach Story (A+)
23. The Past (B+)
24. The Royal Tenenbaums (B+)
25. The Grand Budapest Hotel (A-)
26. Room 237 (B-)
27. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (A+)
28. Noah (B+)
29. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (A)
30. Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (D)
31. Fantastic Mr. Fox (B+)
32. Independence Day (A)
33. Sherlock, Jr. (B+)
34. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (B)
35. Godzilla (B+)
36. Anna Karenina (B+)
37. X-Men: Days of Future Past (A)
38. Pride & Prejudice (A+)
39. The Perks of Being A Wallflower (A-)
40. Tess (B+)
41. Belle (B+)
42. Barton Fink (B+)
43. Miller's Crossing (A+)
44. Punch-Drunk Love (B-)
45. The General (A)
46. Ida (B+)
47. How To Train Your Dragon 2 (B+)
48. Jane Eyre (B+)
49. The Fault in Our Stars (A-)
50. Star Trek Into Darkness (B-)
51. 22 Jump Street (A-)
52. Chef (B+)
53. Begin Again (A)
54. The Immigrant (A+)
55. Sense and Sensibility (A+)
56. The Birds (B+)
57. Populaire (B+)
58. Tracks (B)
59. Fish Tank (A-)
60. Malena (B)
61. Paper Moon (A)
62. Guardians of the Galaxy (A)
63. Lucy (C+)
64. Raising Arizona (B+)
65. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (A-)
66. Looper (A+)
67. Footloose (B+)
68. Lola (B+)
69. Bay of Angels (B)
70. The Fisher King (C+)
71. Boyhood (A)
72. Oliver Twist (A-)
73. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (A+)
74. Bernie (B+)

75. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (C+)

2005's Sin City seemed to herald many bold new developments in Hollywood, at least some of which have come true. Stylized CGI visuals, so new at the time, have become much more familiar in the intervening years (including another Frank Miller work, 300), for instance. But the suggested rise of Frank Miller was aborted almost immediately, with the failure of The Spirit putting paid to the idea of him as a director, and this sequel shambled into theatres nine years after the original, having missed its optimal release date by about seven years. It's now on track to be one of the biggest flops of the year. The intervening nine years haven't been kind to Robert Rodriguez either.

All that said, what does the sequel have to offer? It's gotten some pretty punishing reviews, much of it deserved, though it's interesting to consider to what degree it's actually worse than its predecessor, and to what degree the more negative reaction is how tiresome Frank Miller's schtick has become in the intervening years. I think both factors are at work. Yes, these days, it's impossible to ignore that Miller has the worldview of a caveman, and his work wallows in cheap violence and misogyny. At the same time, the sequel is inferior in many respects. It severely overuses Mickey Rourke's Marv, for instance (one side effect of this being that the new sequence with Nancy seeking to avenge Hartigan becomes a semi-copy of the adaptation of "A Dame to Kill For", as both involve the hero enlisting Marv to help them storm a mansion full of goons). The action doesn't seem nearly as kinetic and interesting as it did last time (I was amazed at how boring much of the fighting is). The world feels largely repetitive at this point. And it inexplicably puts the movie's emotional centre in the hands of Jessica Alba.

The main positives for the movie are two performances. The first of these is Eva Green, who was the best thing (by far) about the earlier Frank Miller waited-too-long-to-come-out sequel 300: Rise of an Empire, playing a femme fatale. In the hands of Frank Miller, this is a character whose supposed seductive allure is treated as if she magically exudes sex pheromones -- all the same, Green (who, based on her role choices, clearly enjoys camp) gives this character her all. The second is Powers Boothe, whose Senator Roark was a minor part of the first movie; here he's the main villain, and Boothe plays this one-dimensional villain role to the hilt.

Cinema: 31 (+1)
DVD/Blu-Ray: 21
Streaming Service: 23

 

[Captain Craig]

^^^^^
I'm still hoping to see this. Your review isn't as brutal as some so I'm chalking that up to perhaps more objectivity. Especially since your main positives are my factor for going. It being a comic adaption second as I try to see most in theaters when possible.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Kick Ass 2 - HBO go on Apple TV - I was looking for a movie to watch last night and happen upon this. I liked the first Kick Ass or should it have been called Hit Girl? So I was expecting Kick Ass 2: The Rise of Hit Girl or Kick Ass 2: The Hit Girl. I was pleasantly surprised it wasn't that at all. In fact they toned down Hit Girl and I don't think for the better. Sequels are usually not as good as the original and thus is the case with Kick Ass 2. While the movie is still rated R, it's not the same R as the original movie. In fact, I believe this could have been PG-13. The only reason it didn't get that was actually because of language not violence. I still hope they get to make Kick Ass 3 or Kick Ass 3: You're only back because of Hit Girl.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Just finished Inbetweeners II.

So much better than the last one.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Just finished Inbetweeners II.

So much better than the last one.

Ugh, I loved the show but I haven't seen either movie yet. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Spoiler: The rest of my list.

1. Philomena (B+)
2. Blue Is The Warmest Colour (A)
3. Her (A+)
4. Bicycle Thieves (B)
5. Frances Ha (B+)
6. Inside Llewyn Davis (A)
7. American Hustle (B+)
8. East of Eden (C+)
9. The Hunt (A-)
10. Amadeus (A+)
11. The LEGO Movie (A-)
12. Nebraska (B+)
13. Short Term 12 (A)
14. The Square (B+)
15. The Act of Killing (A)
16. Metropolitan (B)
17. Almost Famous (A+)
18. The Ice Storm (C+)
19. 300: Rise of an Empire (B)
20. The Great Beauty (B+)
21. Network (A+)
22. The Palm Beach Story (A+)
23. The Past (B+)
24. The Royal Tenenbaums (B+)
25. The Grand Budapest Hotel (A-)
26. Room 237 (B-)
27. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (A+)
28. Noah (B+)
29. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (A)
30. Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (D)
31. Fantastic Mr. Fox (B+)
32. Independence Day (A)
33. Sherlock, Jr. (B+)
34. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (B)
35. Godzilla (B+)
36. Anna Karenina (B+)
37. X-Men: Days of Future Past (A)
38. Pride & Prejudice (A+)
39. The Perks of Being A Wallflower (A-)
40. Tess (B+)
41. Belle (B+)
42. Barton Fink (B+)
43. Miller's Crossing (A+)
44. Punch-Drunk Love (B-)
45. The General (A)
46. Ida (B+)
47. How To Train Your Dragon 2 (B+)
48. Jane Eyre (B+)
49. The Fault in Our Stars (A-)
50. Star Trek Into Darkness (B-)
51. 22 Jump Street (A-)
52. Chef (B+)
53. Begin Again (A)
54. The Immigrant (A+)
55. Sense and Sensibility (A+)
56. The Birds (B+)
57. Populaire (B+)
58. Tracks (B)
59. Fish Tank (A-)
60. Malena (B)
61. Paper Moon (A)
62. Guardians of the Galaxy (A)
63. Lucy (C+)
64. Raising Arizona (B+)
65. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (A-)
66. Looper (A+)
67. Footloose (B+)
68. Lola (B+)
69. Bay of Angels (B)
70. The Fisher King (C+)
71. Boyhood (A)
72. Oliver Twist (A-)
73. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (A+)
74. Bernie (B+)
75. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (C+)

76. Life Itself (A)

Growing up in the early 1990s, I always knew Siskel and Ebert as the gold standard for whether a movie was worth seeing, though I couldn't yet appreciate film criticism; as such, Siskel never really became a major figure in my understanding of movies, as he was dead before I started reading reviews, etc., and watching the show (and there my viewership was erratic, as we were already getting into the internet age). Ebert, though, was a titan, and I've read countless reviews of his. This documentary is a lovely tribute to his life and passion for film, though at times it really just made me want to read Life Itself the book, which clearly (and inevitably) has far more detail. The footage of Ebert and his wife Chaz in his final months is extremely moving, especially Chaz's description of his death.

Cinema: 32 (+1)
DVD/Blu-Ray: 21
Streaming Service: 23

 

[Danny99]

1) Wargames - B+
2) Play The Game - B
3) Battle Los Angeles - B+
4) Despicable Me 2 - B
5) Minority Report - C-
6) District 9 - B+
7) How Do You Know? - F
8) Walk The Line - A-
9) The Butler - A+
10) Captain Phillips - B
11) Sky High - C+
12) Draft Day - B-
13) Nuremberg - B
14) Love & Other Drugs - D
15) We Were Soldiers - B+
16) A Walk To Remember - D+
17) Gridiron Gang - C
18) 42 - B
19) The Monuments Men - A-
20) The Rebound - D-
21) Saving Mister Banks - A-
22) Last Vegas - D+
23) Jack Ryan - Shadow Recruit - B-
24) Maleficent - D
25) Now And Then - C
26) Machete - B
27) 3 Days To Kill - B-
28) The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty - A-
29) Escape Plan - A-
30) Hotel Transylvania - B+

We had my fiancee's nephews over, so we pulled this from the Redbox and for a kids movie, I was impressed.

Adam Sandler was subdued, finally, and Cee-Lo Green as a mummy was hilarious.

 

[tomalak301]

1) Her (2013) - A
2) Saving Mr. Banks (2013) - B+
3) The Dallas Buyers Club (2013) - B
4) Frozen (2013) - A
5) Wolf of Wall Street (2013) - B
6) Rush (2013) - B+
7) Blackfish (2013) - B
8) The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) - A
9) Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014) - A
10) X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - B
11) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) - B
12) Edge of Tomorrow (2014) - A-
13) The X Files: Fight the Future (1998) - B
14) Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) - A
15) Dead Poet's Society (1989) - B
16) Boyhood (2014) - A+
17) Chef (2014) - B+

John Favreau's Chef was given a re-release this weekend and it was a movie I've been really wanting to see all summer. I really enjoyed it, but I was expecting something a little different. When I saw the trailer, I was reminded of Pixar's Ratatouile, in that here was a film that might show the art of cooking, and the creative mind behind it. That's not really what Chef is. It's more about a guy who starts to get down on his luck and takes a journey to rediscover his craft of cooking and connect with his Son. I'm not entirely sure if this movie was really about cooking, or getting up when you're down, or how Social Media has made it easy to criticize and market what you do. It was a great movie, but I wish the cooking aspects of it would have been at the forefront.

In fact, when I left the theater one of the things I thought to myself was the scene during the mid-credits was my favorite scene of the movie. I won't spoil it, but let's just say it was the kind of thing I was hoping the overall movie would focus more on.

Netflix
Theater: 13 (+1)
Itunes: 2
Blu Ray/DVD/TV: 2

 

[Guy Gardener]

Time Quest (2000) B+

Kennedy said that space exploration was more important than Viet Nam, and the Future looked like a much nicer place

 

[CaptainCanada]

Spoiler: The rest of my list.

1. Philomena (B+)
2. Blue Is The Warmest Colour (A)
3. Her (A+)
4. Bicycle Thieves (B)
5. Frances Ha (B+)
6. Inside Llewyn Davis (A)
7. American Hustle (B+)
8. East of Eden (C+)
9. The Hunt (A-)
10. Amadeus (A+)
11. The LEGO Movie (A-)
12. Nebraska (B+)
13. Short Term 12 (A)
14. The Square (B+)
15. The Act of Killing (A)
16. Metropolitan (B)
17. Almost Famous (A+)
18. The Ice Storm (C+)
19. 300: Rise of an Empire (B)
20. The Great Beauty (B+)
21. Network (A+)
22. The Palm Beach Story (A+)
23. The Past (B+)
24. The Royal Tenenbaums (B+)
25. The Grand Budapest Hotel (A-)
26. Room 237 (B-)
27. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (A+)
28. Noah (B+)
29. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (A)
30. Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (D)
31. Fantastic Mr. Fox (B+)
32. Independence Day (A)
33. Sherlock, Jr. (B+)
34. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (B)
35. Godzilla (B+)
36. Anna Karenina (B+)
37. X-Men: Days of Future Past (A)
38. Pride & Prejudice (A+)
39. The Perks of Being A Wallflower (A-)
40. Tess (B+)
41. Belle (B+)
42. Barton Fink (B+)
43. Miller's Crossing (A+)
44. Punch-Drunk Love (B-)
45. The General (A)
46. Ida (B+)
47. How To Train Your Dragon 2 (B+)
48. Jane Eyre (B+)
49. The Fault in Our Stars (A-)
50. Star Trek Into Darkness (B-)
51. 22 Jump Street (A-)
52. Chef (B+)
53. Begin Again (A)
54. The Immigrant (A+)
55. Sense and Sensibility (A+)
56. The Birds (B+)
57. Populaire (B+)
58. Tracks (B)
59. Fish Tank (A-)
60. Malena (B)
61. Paper Moon (A)
62. Guardians of the Galaxy (A)
63. Lucy (C+)
64. Raising Arizona (B+)
65. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (A-)
66. Looper (A+)
67. Footloose (B+)
68. Lola (B+)
69. Bay of Angels (B)
70. The Fisher King (C+)
71. Boyhood (A)
72. Oliver Twist (A-)
73. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (A+)
74. Bernie (B+)
75. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (C+)
76. Life Itself (A)

77. Being John Malkovich (A+)

I recall seeing Adaptation, the second Spike Jonze/Charlie Kaufman film in theatres in 2002 when it came out (well, it was likely early 2003, based on how the theatres in my hometown work; I also recall that I got my parents to take me to that movie, which was, in retrospect, probably about as weird a piece of work as my father ever saw onscreen), but it took another twelve years for me to get around to seeing the first one (I've seen some of Jonze and Kaufman's work independent of each other as well in the intervening years).

Beyond the basic premise I still didn't know much about the movie, and I was surprised at how dark a lot of this is. I had the idea that this was going to be more like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in terms of being set mainly inside the subject's head, which isn't the case at all (though the brief bit of Cameron Diaz chasing Catherine Keener points the way toward that later film). Cusack's character goes an especially dark route, and when you think about it, the ending of the movie is both depressing and quite creepy (especially as Charlie Sheen will apparently be one of the people planning to take up residence inside that little girl's mind). Nowadays people have more of an idea of what to expect from Kaufman and Jonze, but I'd love to know how they pitched this movie to investors (and to John Malkovich). The movie also made me wish that the movies were making more effective use of Catherine Keener.


Cinema: 32
DVD/Blu-Ray: 22 (+1)
Streaming Service: 23

 

[zakkrusz]

Spoiler: Full 2014 List

20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End (9)
20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope (9)
20th Century Boys 3: Redemption (9)
300: Rise of an Empire (10)
The Amazing Spider-man 2 (7)
Anohana-The Flower We Saw That Day: The Movie (8)
Black Rain (7)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (9)
Columbiana (7)
Divergent (7)
Dragonball Z: Battle of the Gods (7)
Edge of Tomorrow (10)
The Expendables 3 (8)
Fairy Tail The Movie: The Phoenix Priestess (8)
Garden of Sinners: Blessings for the Future (9)
Garden of Sinners: Blessing for the Future-Extra Chorus (9)
Godzilla (2014) (9)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (9)
Guardians of the Galaxy (8)
Heat (1995) (8)
Hercules (2014) (7)
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (9)
Kick Ass 2 (8)
Lone Survivor (8)
Lucy (9)
Lupin the 3rd: Bye Bye Liberty (7)
Lupin the 3rd: The Hemingway Papers (7)
Lupin the 3rd VS Detective Konan: The Movie (8)
Mass Effect: Paragon Lost (7)
Mission Impossible II (8)
Mission Impossible III (8)
Monuments Men (8)
Mr. Popper's Penguins (7)
Need for Speed (8)
Non-Stop (10)
The Odessa File (1974) (10)
Oldboy (2013) (9)
Pack Up Your Troubles (7)
Patema Inverted (Sakasama no Patema) (9)
The Raid: Redemption (8)
Red Dawn (2012) (5)
Robocop (2014) (8)
The Rover (5)
Short Peace: Possessions (9)
Short Peace: Combustion (7)
Short Peace: Gambo (8)
Short Peace: A Farewell to Weapons (9)
Snowpiercer (6)
Stargate SG1: Children of the Gods (8)
Tales From Earthsea (5)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) (7)
Transformers 4: Age of Extinction (8)
Walking Tall: Lone Justice (6)
White House Down (7)
The Wind Rises (7)
Wolf Children (8)
X-Men: Days of Future Past (9)

Recently Seen:
The November Man (7)

Running Total: 58

 

[CaptainCanada]

Spoiler: The rest of my list.

1. Philomena (B+)
2. Blue Is The Warmest Colour (A)
3. Her (A+)
4. Bicycle Thieves (B)
5. Frances Ha (B+)
6. Inside Llewyn Davis (A)
7. American Hustle (B+)
8. East of Eden (C+)
9. The Hunt (A-)
10. Amadeus (A+)
11. The LEGO Movie (A-)
12. Nebraska (B+)
13. Short Term 12 (A)
14. The Square (B+)
15. The Act of Killing (A)
16. Metropolitan (B)
17. Almost Famous (A+)
18. The Ice Storm (C+)
19. 300: Rise of an Empire (B)
20. The Great Beauty (B+)
21. Network (A+)
22. The Palm Beach Story (A+)
23. The Past (B+)
24. The Royal Tenenbaums (B+)
25. The Grand Budapest Hotel (A-)
26. Room 237 (B-)
27. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (A+)
28. Noah (B+)
29. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (A)
30. Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (D)
31. Fantastic Mr. Fox (B+)
32. Independence Day (A)
33. Sherlock, Jr. (B+)
34. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (B)
35. Godzilla (B+)
36. Anna Karenina (B+)
37. X-Men: Days of Future Past (A)
38. Pride & Prejudice (A+)
39. The Perks of Being A Wallflower (A-)
40. Tess (B+)
41. Belle (B+)
42. Barton Fink (B+)
43. Miller's Crossing (A+)
44. Punch-Drunk Love (B-)
45. The General (A)
46. Ida (B+)
47. How To Train Your Dragon 2 (B+)
48. Jane Eyre (B+)
49. The Fault in Our Stars (A-)
50. Star Trek Into Darkness (B-)
51. 22 Jump Street (A-)
52. Chef (B+)
53. Begin Again (A)
54. The Immigrant (A+)
55. Sense and Sensibility (A+)
56. The Birds (B+)
57. Populaire (B+)
58. Tracks (B)
59. Fish Tank (A-)
60. Malena (B)
61. Paper Moon (A)
62. Guardians of the Galaxy (A)
63. Lucy (C+)
64. Raising Arizona (B+)
65. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (A-)
66. Looper (A+)
67. Footloose (B+)
68. Lola (B+)
69. Bay of Angels (B)
70. The Fisher King (C+)
71. Boyhood (A)
72. Oliver Twist (A-)
73. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (A+)
74. Bernie (B+)
75. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (C+)
76. Life Itself (A)
77. Being John Malkovich (A+)

78. The Young Girls of Rochefort (A)

My fourth Jacques Demy film, and the second of his full-colour musicals starring Catherine Deneuve (this one also features her older sister Francoise, who sadly died shortly after this was released). This is usually called a companion to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, but they are in many ways contrasts -- the former was sung-through, this is a more traditional musical with songs and dialogue separate; the former was a tearjerker, this is much more buoyant; and dancing, which was omitted from the former, is definitely a major part of the movie. The plotting is a feather-light series of serendipitous meetings and missed connections, which glides along (with an unexpected musical number about a serial killer thrown in for good measure).

79. Wadjda (A+)

Rewatching this movie for the first time since I saw it in theatres. Life Itself featured a clip of Roger Ebert talking about how he viewed movies as empathy-generating machines that allow people to stretch outside their own experiences, and this look into the life of a young girl in Saudi Arabia is one I'm sad he never got to see. Its look at that society is fascinating, and besides that, the titular Wadjda (Waad Mohammed) is a terrific character that I think anybody could relate to.

Cinema: 32
DVD/Blu-Ray: 24 (+2)
Streaming Service: 23