Before I begin, let me just say what a fantastic week for me in the movies. Hard to pick the worst one this week. However, due to the bronchitis, also not a very productive week, as I only managed to squeeze in six movies.
THE LIST
-Network 1976 - Sidney Lumet
-Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore 1974 - Martin Scorsese
-Step Brothers 2008 - Adam McKay
-As Good As It Gets 1997 - James L. Brooks
-Swingers 1996 - Doug Liman
-Ferris Bueller's Day Off 1986 - John Hughes
THE BEST
SWINGERS
I saw this one years ago in my younger days, remembered liking it and so during my years of obsessive DVD purchasing I picked it up for a cheap price and haven't viewed it, until this week. If you're into low budget movies independent flicks then this one is for you, although by looking at it you'd never guess it was low budget, as the film looks great. John Favreau stars (and also wrote) in this hilarious flick, also starring Vince Vaughn, before he whored out to Hollywood and Jen Aniston, and the pair are "so money." As you view this film you really get the sense that Favreau knows a lot about film as minor spoofs of Reservoir Dogs and Goodfellas, are carried out for us. If you're not a fan of Vaughn, but you haven't seen this movie, then give him one more chance because he is truly unforgettable in this role. The dialogue between Favreau and Vaughn is so genuine and real, and this isn't the type of laugh out loud, roll on the floor comedies, but rather, a clever, hip comedy that is really really good. Check it out, if only to see Mikey (Favreau) spend five minutes with a girl, get her number and then return home to call her only to get the machine, after six or seven back to back phone calls the comedy escalates, as you're laughing at the sheer ring of the phone, and the impending doom that Mikey is about to bring on himself.
THE WORST
NETWORK
I remember watching a special feature on the Magnolia DVD, saying something about P.T. Anderson showing this film to the crew, before they began shooting that movie, and thinking to myself that I'd really like to see it. So when I found it on the Instant Viewing portion of the Netflix website, I jumped at the chance to view this "classic". A classic it was not, and I was really disapointed, because I really wanted to like it. My biggest complaint with this flick is the fact that once the story is established and we start to get into the meat and potatoes of the film, all the actors seem to be outdoing each other. As Faye Dunaway makes a five minute ranting monologue, then we go to Robert Duvall yelling and acting his ass off and making another monlogue. Then of course you've got several rants from Peter Finch and, of course, William Holden chimes in with a few raves of his own. I'm not saying that the acting is bad, it's actually quite good. But...and this may sound wierd...I think it's too good. It's such good acting and these actors are trying so hard to really pour their hearts out, that the realism of the film is lost. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but it makes sense to me and that's all that matters. And really this film wasn't that bad, it just gets voted the worst by default.
THE REST
Coming in a close second behind Swingers, was As Good As It Gets. There's so much story to sink your teeth into here, that it's impossible to be bored. First of all, you've got Nicholson as obsessive compulsive Melvin, who doesn't walk on cracks and locks and unlocks his door five times as he enters and exits his apartment. He goes to the same restaurant everyday, where Helen Hunt (his waitress, Carol) waits on him. They begin their small talk, which eventually leads to serious talk and we go from there. Then you've got homosexual neighbor Simon (a fantastic Greg Kinnear) living across the hall from Melvin, and his dog, Verdel. After Simon is attacked the dog gets pushed on to Nicholson, who regretfully must watch him for a couple weeks, as Simon recovers. The anti-gay, anti-dog Melvin eventually becomes attatched to the dog and we go from there. And then, through a simple twist of fate, they all end up on a road trip to visit Simon's parents. Great movie, big thumbs up. I loved it, I love Nicholson, I love Kinnear and all of the acting was top notch and, as I said, there's so much story here that you just get caught up in it all. Check it out.
If I rated movies on a "hilarious scale", then Step Brothers would probably be the best movie of the year. What a hilariously funny comedy, with Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly being cut loose for ninety minutes and basically improving. Rather than me write a whole mess about this one just read some of these lines from the flick and you'll be able to tell whether or not this is your kind of comedy. It is extremely offensive and vulgar, so if you don't like comedies like that, then it's definitely not for you. Think Anchorman and The 40 Year Old Virign's bastard son, and you get Step Brothers.
"Martha Stewart, Oprah, your wife. You gotta fuck one, kill one and marry one, who do you pick?"
"I'm gonna fill this pillowcase with bars of soap and beat the shit out of you"
"You voice is a combination of Fergie and Jesus"
Ferris Bueller's Day Off is every kid's dream. And that's the appeal, because we can all relate to what it was like to be a kid and hate going to school and just wanting to stay home and fuck around. Ferris lets all of our childhood dreams come to life, as he skips school and ends up having the best day of his life, all the way up to the edge of your seat climax, as he races against his parents to get back home. Great movie and a modern classic. How can anyone not like this movie? It's a lot of fun.
When you think of Martin Scorsese, you think of Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, The Departed, Raging Bull, real tough guy movies. Well, can you believe, in his early days he actually directed a movie about a widowed woman, who hits the road to find a job, so that she can survive and provide for her twelve year old son? Well he did, and he did a fantastic job. And so does everybody in this movie, including Ellen Burstyn, Diane Ladd and Kris Kristofferson. Alice (Burstyn) ends up waiting tables at Mel's Diner with fellow waitress Flo...sound familiar? That's right, this is the movie that kicked off the TV show Alice. It was a surprise to me too. I have a hard time relating Martin Scorsese to the phrase "Kiss my grits!"
Til' next Sunday...Have a great week!
Andrew
7/27/2008
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
MY WEEK IN FILM
The Dark Knight smashes records and grosses $155 million in it's opening weekend, but is it the best movie I saw this week?
Let's see...
THE LIST
-The Beach 2000 - Danny Boyle
-Grace Is Gone 2007 - James C. Strouse
-Assault On Precinct 13 1976 - John Carpenter
-Father of the Bride 1991 - Charles Shyer
-The Dark Knight 2008 - Christopher Nolan
-The Tenant 1976 - Roman Polanski
-The Blair Witch Project 1999 - Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez
-The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2002 - Peter Jackson*
-The Night of the Hunter 1955 - Charles Laughton
THE BEST
TIE - ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 and GRACE IS GONE
What an absolutely fabulous week for me in the movie scene. I really tried to pick just one, but when it came down to it, I had to call it a tie. Let's start out with Assault on Precinct 13, shall we.
I had about ninety minutes to kill the other night so I sat down and decided to knock off Assault On Precinct 13, and man, what a flick. You start out with one rookie policeman, add in two secretaries and three death row inmates and you got the group of men who are defending lonely old precinct 13, as it prepares to close it's doors for good. On the outside, you got a band of about thirty or forty hoods, ready and willing to do anything they can to kill everyone inside and bring 13 to the ground. Give all of this, that John Carpenter twist and you've got one hell of a movie. I mean just seeing the inmates and the lone officer team up to try and fight for their lives, is pretty cool in itself. It's really a whole lot of fun at the movies and I feel myself slowly turning into a John Carpenter fan.
Grace Is Gone was the first movie to bring the tears out of me in a very long time. Getting ready to go to work one day, Stanley Phillips, is surprised as his doorbell rings, and two military officers stand there and inform him, that his wife Grace...is gone. She died while in combat, and now Stanley must figure out how to tell his two young daughters, one 12 and the other 8. So one day, while driving, on a whim, he decides to take them to Enchanted Gardens, this movies equivalent to Disney World. And that's the movie, plain and simple, we follow this family as the travel, and Stan wrestles with trying to break the horrible news to his two young daughters. We see this family grow closer together as they are forced to go on living without Grace. The most heartbreaking parts of the movie are when we see Stan, on numerous occasions, call his own answering machine from the road, just so that he can hear the voice of his departed wife.
THE WORST
THE BEACH
Even in paradise nothing is perfect. I guess that's the message that Danny Boyle is trying to get across to us, as he truly disapoints and blatantly misuses the acting talents of DiCaprio. One night while lying in his bed, DiCaprio is visited by Daffy (Robert Carlysle, in another terrible misuse of great acting skills), who tells him of a real life paradise on Earth, a beach, on an island all by its lonesome. So DiCaprio, and two pals decide to go looking for the beach. They eventually find it, along with a merry band of inhabitants. They realize that a small community has been formed there and they want desperately to be a part of it. So all is well, until the leader of the group (Tilda Swinton) finds out that Mr. DiCaprio has made a copy of the map. That, along with a splash of infidelity and a shark attack, lead to the downfall of this beach community. This was really hard to get through and I found myself badly wanting to switch it off several times, and not doing so for the simple fact of wanting to see all of Boyle's films. Oh, Danny, what a shame that you made such a terrible movie.
THE REST
Shall we discuss the Dark Knight??? Okay. I can sum up the greatness of the Dark Knight in five words...HEATH LEDGER IS THE JOKER. Take Ledger or the Joker out of this film, and you don't have a whole lot left. When Ledger passed away, I said to myself, "What a shame, he was a good actor and I'll miss seeing him in new movies." Today I say "What a terrible shame, he was a brilliant actor and the fact that we'll never see him grace another picture is almost enough to bring a tear to your eyes." Ledger as the Joker, crafted every single word of dialogue with such careful consideration. Every cackle carried out to a tee. Every motion and every step carefully thought out. I seriously can't see anyone else being able to give such life and such brilliance to the Clown Prince. Everyone else did a fine job, but everytime that the Joker wasn't on the screen I found myself wanting more and nearly salivating to see what he was going to do next. Probably ONE OF the best performances I've ever seen in a movie.
I had only seen it once before, but allow me to say, that The Blair Witch Project is a truly creepy film and a very good one too. You all know the story, so no need for me to go over it. But, in the tradition of Cloverfield, we see everything as filmed to look like camcorder footage. What truly adds to the freakiness of this one is the fact, that some of the scariest moments in the film, we are totally left in the dark, and forced to use our imaginations to decide what is going on. I recommend this one on a Saturday night, with a couple other horror flicks and some popcorn. Good times.
Roman Polanski, directs and stars in The Tenant, a movie that I thought looked very intriguing. That turned out to be quite the bore. It's basically Rosemary's Baby without the devil and the rape scene. Polanski plays a Polish born man moving into a French apartment house, just several days after the previous tenant jumped out of the window to her death. Now, Polanski, begins to understand why she commited suicide and starts to contemplate it himself. Stay clear of this one, as it's really a drawn out affair, with very little payoff at the end.
The Father of the Bride, was your typical Steve Martin comedy, with a little more heart to it. I had never seen this one before and thought that it was your average comedy. I'm a fan of Diane Keaton and thought Martin Short was nothing short of hilarious. That's it.
I hope you are all familiar with the great Robert Mitchum, because he was one hell of an actor. And he shows off that acting muscle in The Night of the Hunter. He plays a deranged preacher, who has a fetish for widows with money, and strikes gold when he comes upon an outlaws wife. With the tattoos of LOVE across one set of knuckles and HATE across the other, he plays off as a gentleman for the townspeople, however, truly only wanting the money that the outlaw once stole. Who knows the whereabouts of the loot? The outlaws two young children, and Mitchum will stop at nothing to get it out of them. Mitchum is really the only great thing about this one, as most of the movie is very slow, with not a whole lot happening at times. Worth a look for a great Robert Mitchum performance, however.
'Till next week.
Andrew
7/20/2008
Let's see...
THE LIST
-The Beach 2000 - Danny Boyle
-Grace Is Gone 2007 - James C. Strouse
-Assault On Precinct 13 1976 - John Carpenter
-Father of the Bride 1991 - Charles Shyer
-The Dark Knight 2008 - Christopher Nolan
-The Tenant 1976 - Roman Polanski
-The Blair Witch Project 1999 - Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez
-The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2002 - Peter Jackson*
-The Night of the Hunter 1955 - Charles Laughton
THE BEST
TIE - ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 and GRACE IS GONE
What an absolutely fabulous week for me in the movie scene. I really tried to pick just one, but when it came down to it, I had to call it a tie. Let's start out with Assault on Precinct 13, shall we.
I had about ninety minutes to kill the other night so I sat down and decided to knock off Assault On Precinct 13, and man, what a flick. You start out with one rookie policeman, add in two secretaries and three death row inmates and you got the group of men who are defending lonely old precinct 13, as it prepares to close it's doors for good. On the outside, you got a band of about thirty or forty hoods, ready and willing to do anything they can to kill everyone inside and bring 13 to the ground. Give all of this, that John Carpenter twist and you've got one hell of a movie. I mean just seeing the inmates and the lone officer team up to try and fight for their lives, is pretty cool in itself. It's really a whole lot of fun at the movies and I feel myself slowly turning into a John Carpenter fan.
Grace Is Gone was the first movie to bring the tears out of me in a very long time. Getting ready to go to work one day, Stanley Phillips, is surprised as his doorbell rings, and two military officers stand there and inform him, that his wife Grace...is gone. She died while in combat, and now Stanley must figure out how to tell his two young daughters, one 12 and the other 8. So one day, while driving, on a whim, he decides to take them to Enchanted Gardens, this movies equivalent to Disney World. And that's the movie, plain and simple, we follow this family as the travel, and Stan wrestles with trying to break the horrible news to his two young daughters. We see this family grow closer together as they are forced to go on living without Grace. The most heartbreaking parts of the movie are when we see Stan, on numerous occasions, call his own answering machine from the road, just so that he can hear the voice of his departed wife.
THE WORST
THE BEACH
Even in paradise nothing is perfect. I guess that's the message that Danny Boyle is trying to get across to us, as he truly disapoints and blatantly misuses the acting talents of DiCaprio. One night while lying in his bed, DiCaprio is visited by Daffy (Robert Carlysle, in another terrible misuse of great acting skills), who tells him of a real life paradise on Earth, a beach, on an island all by its lonesome. So DiCaprio, and two pals decide to go looking for the beach. They eventually find it, along with a merry band of inhabitants. They realize that a small community has been formed there and they want desperately to be a part of it. So all is well, until the leader of the group (Tilda Swinton) finds out that Mr. DiCaprio has made a copy of the map. That, along with a splash of infidelity and a shark attack, lead to the downfall of this beach community. This was really hard to get through and I found myself badly wanting to switch it off several times, and not doing so for the simple fact of wanting to see all of Boyle's films. Oh, Danny, what a shame that you made such a terrible movie.
THE REST
Shall we discuss the Dark Knight??? Okay. I can sum up the greatness of the Dark Knight in five words...HEATH LEDGER IS THE JOKER. Take Ledger or the Joker out of this film, and you don't have a whole lot left. When Ledger passed away, I said to myself, "What a shame, he was a good actor and I'll miss seeing him in new movies." Today I say "What a terrible shame, he was a brilliant actor and the fact that we'll never see him grace another picture is almost enough to bring a tear to your eyes." Ledger as the Joker, crafted every single word of dialogue with such careful consideration. Every cackle carried out to a tee. Every motion and every step carefully thought out. I seriously can't see anyone else being able to give such life and such brilliance to the Clown Prince. Everyone else did a fine job, but everytime that the Joker wasn't on the screen I found myself wanting more and nearly salivating to see what he was going to do next. Probably ONE OF the best performances I've ever seen in a movie.
I had only seen it once before, but allow me to say, that The Blair Witch Project is a truly creepy film and a very good one too. You all know the story, so no need for me to go over it. But, in the tradition of Cloverfield, we see everything as filmed to look like camcorder footage. What truly adds to the freakiness of this one is the fact, that some of the scariest moments in the film, we are totally left in the dark, and forced to use our imaginations to decide what is going on. I recommend this one on a Saturday night, with a couple other horror flicks and some popcorn. Good times.
Roman Polanski, directs and stars in The Tenant, a movie that I thought looked very intriguing. That turned out to be quite the bore. It's basically Rosemary's Baby without the devil and the rape scene. Polanski plays a Polish born man moving into a French apartment house, just several days after the previous tenant jumped out of the window to her death. Now, Polanski, begins to understand why she commited suicide and starts to contemplate it himself. Stay clear of this one, as it's really a drawn out affair, with very little payoff at the end.
The Father of the Bride, was your typical Steve Martin comedy, with a little more heart to it. I had never seen this one before and thought that it was your average comedy. I'm a fan of Diane Keaton and thought Martin Short was nothing short of hilarious. That's it.
I hope you are all familiar with the great Robert Mitchum, because he was one hell of an actor. And he shows off that acting muscle in The Night of the Hunter. He plays a deranged preacher, who has a fetish for widows with money, and strikes gold when he comes upon an outlaws wife. With the tattoos of LOVE across one set of knuckles and HATE across the other, he plays off as a gentleman for the townspeople, however, truly only wanting the money that the outlaw once stole. Who knows the whereabouts of the loot? The outlaws two young children, and Mitchum will stop at nothing to get it out of them. Mitchum is really the only great thing about this one, as most of the movie is very slow, with not a whole lot happening at times. Worth a look for a great Robert Mitchum performance, however.
'Till next week.
Andrew
7/20/2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Numero Uno
The Dark Knight is currently sitting in the #1 spot on the IMDB Top 250 Movies of All Time, de-throning the Godfather from that position. I've been visiting IMDB for nearly ten years and I have never seen the Godfather out of that spot. Pretty unbelievable.
Note: I'll be speaking on the Dark Knight tomorrow in the "My Week In Film" post. Tune IN!
Note: I'll be speaking on the Dark Knight tomorrow in the "My Week In Film" post. Tune IN!
Monday, July 14, 2008
MY WEEK IN FILM
Due to a fucking piece of shit for a computer, I didn't get to put this up, as planned, last night, so here we are. And, by the way, the computer is fixed and set up with a new firewall and anti-virus, of which is supposed to be the best free PC protection on the net...
http://www.comodo.com
In addition to the new security, I'm trying to run the computer on Firefox for basic operations, such as blog maintenance.
Here we go...
MY WEEK IN FILM
7/6/2008 through 7/13/2008
THE LIST
-American Pie 1999 - Paul Weitz
-Deconstructing Harry 1997 - Woody Allen
-Angel Heart 1987 - Alan Parker
-The Departed 2006 - Martin Scorsese
-Children of Men 2006 - Alfonso Cuaron
-The Air I Breathe 2007 - Jieho Lee
-Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001 - Peter Jackson*
*Film is not considered for best or worst of the week, considering I have seen it before and watched for the sole purpose of viewing the IMDB Top 250.
THE BEST
THE AIR I BREATHE
Mr. Jieho Lee makes his directorial debut, and let me say, that it is an impressive one. In the tradition of 21 Grams and Crash, we meet a group of four strangers who are drawn together in a series of unforseeable circumstances. Brendan Fraser, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Kevin Bacon and Forest Whitaker, star in four small tales of fate and chance. Gotta say, this was a great movie, that I came upon by chance on the Netflix instant viewing portion of their site and was not disapointed at all. Believe it or not even Gellar turns in a good performance and Fraser stunned me and showed some serious acting muscle as the man who can see mere moments into the future. Whitaker as the down on his luck, stuck in a dead end job and desperate man and Bacon as a doctor who seeks rare blood. Definitely check this one out and enjoy it, because it's a great film.
THE WORST
AMERICAN PIE
There are some comedies that can be extremely crude, while at the same time being clever (The 40-Year Old Virgin, for example). American Pie, however, is not one of them. I mean, c'mon folks, I live in a college town, so if I really wanted to see guys jerking off into glasses of beer, a girl telling me of her sexual escapades at band camp and a guy fucking a pie, I could probably go down on Main Street and see it live and in color. I do not, however wish to see that, and certainly not when I sit down for a film. I guess I really brought this on myself, but seeing how American Pie is considered a modern comedy classic, I decided to take the journey one more time, and one more time I was appaled and not impressed with this garbage. Give me Clerks, Caddyshack or Knocked Up anyday, over this one. Thumbs way down.
THE REST
The Departed comes in really really close behind The Air I Breathe, as I finally got a chance to see the film that finally won Scorsese an Oscar. And while it may not be as good as some of his other films, it is certainly a treat. The last 30-40 minutes of this one will have you gripping the edge of your couch, as you watch everything unravel. A cop (DiCaprio) goes undercover into the crime underworld, while a thug (Damon) goes undercover into the police force. Nicholson plays the extremely intimidating crime lord, with rat Dicaprio as his new right hand man. The plot really thickens as things start to unravel and suspicions are raised. Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin turn in good performances as well.
Another great Woody Allen movie, in my opinion, in Deconstructing Harry. Tells the tale of Harry Block who has just finished a book loosley based on his life and the women in it are not pleased. It all culminates on the road, as Block is headed to his old alma mater to be honored, along with his son, a dear friend and a hooker he met the night before. Allen's classic paranoia is in full swing and Allen entusiasts will be pleased.
Angel Heart delivers nothing to write home about, with the exception of the last ten minutes, which is quite the little swerve. Rourke turns in an acceptable performance and De Niro is just sppoky as Louis Cypher (hint hint).
I watched Children of Men for the second time, since I saw it in the theatres. I remember when I saw it in the theatre the hype far out measured my actual opinion of the movie. And I have to say a second viewing didn't do too much more for me. Now that's not to say I hated it, becasue there are some great things about it, such as Owen's performance and the stunning cinemtography as the filmmakers paint a very bleak and dreary futuristic United Kingdom. And I have to mention the long camera takes, that the were captured that are just beautiful. But the general plot to me is not a very fulfilling one. I wonder, what Cuaron is trying to say with this film. A future without children is not very much of a future? In the future we see a world gone to hell, and are forced to contemplate if it's because of the departure of children, or maybe, the lack of youngns' is just the tip of the iceberg. We see an infant carried from an abandoned building and everyone gets their first look at it, and all of the violence stops for just a moment only to begin again. Are they trying to tell us something with that action? There are many theories and many views but a child-less 2029 doesn't do a whole lot for me, I'm sorry.
Lord of the Rings continues to be eye pleasing, as well as delivering a dozen different other forms of awesomness. Definitely a modern classic.
See ya next week.
Andrew
7/14/2008
http://www.comodo.com
In addition to the new security, I'm trying to run the computer on Firefox for basic operations, such as blog maintenance.
Here we go...
MY WEEK IN FILM
7/6/2008 through 7/13/2008
THE LIST
-American Pie 1999 - Paul Weitz
-Deconstructing Harry 1997 - Woody Allen
-Angel Heart 1987 - Alan Parker
-The Departed 2006 - Martin Scorsese
-Children of Men 2006 - Alfonso Cuaron
-The Air I Breathe 2007 - Jieho Lee
-Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001 - Peter Jackson*
*Film is not considered for best or worst of the week, considering I have seen it before and watched for the sole purpose of viewing the IMDB Top 250.
THE BEST
THE AIR I BREATHE
Mr. Jieho Lee makes his directorial debut, and let me say, that it is an impressive one. In the tradition of 21 Grams and Crash, we meet a group of four strangers who are drawn together in a series of unforseeable circumstances. Brendan Fraser, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Kevin Bacon and Forest Whitaker, star in four small tales of fate and chance. Gotta say, this was a great movie, that I came upon by chance on the Netflix instant viewing portion of their site and was not disapointed at all. Believe it or not even Gellar turns in a good performance and Fraser stunned me and showed some serious acting muscle as the man who can see mere moments into the future. Whitaker as the down on his luck, stuck in a dead end job and desperate man and Bacon as a doctor who seeks rare blood. Definitely check this one out and enjoy it, because it's a great film.
THE WORST
AMERICAN PIE
There are some comedies that can be extremely crude, while at the same time being clever (The 40-Year Old Virgin, for example). American Pie, however, is not one of them. I mean, c'mon folks, I live in a college town, so if I really wanted to see guys jerking off into glasses of beer, a girl telling me of her sexual escapades at band camp and a guy fucking a pie, I could probably go down on Main Street and see it live and in color. I do not, however wish to see that, and certainly not when I sit down for a film. I guess I really brought this on myself, but seeing how American Pie is considered a modern comedy classic, I decided to take the journey one more time, and one more time I was appaled and not impressed with this garbage. Give me Clerks, Caddyshack or Knocked Up anyday, over this one. Thumbs way down.
THE REST
The Departed comes in really really close behind The Air I Breathe, as I finally got a chance to see the film that finally won Scorsese an Oscar. And while it may not be as good as some of his other films, it is certainly a treat. The last 30-40 minutes of this one will have you gripping the edge of your couch, as you watch everything unravel. A cop (DiCaprio) goes undercover into the crime underworld, while a thug (Damon) goes undercover into the police force. Nicholson plays the extremely intimidating crime lord, with rat Dicaprio as his new right hand man. The plot really thickens as things start to unravel and suspicions are raised. Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin turn in good performances as well.
Another great Woody Allen movie, in my opinion, in Deconstructing Harry. Tells the tale of Harry Block who has just finished a book loosley based on his life and the women in it are not pleased. It all culminates on the road, as Block is headed to his old alma mater to be honored, along with his son, a dear friend and a hooker he met the night before. Allen's classic paranoia is in full swing and Allen entusiasts will be pleased.
Angel Heart delivers nothing to write home about, with the exception of the last ten minutes, which is quite the little swerve. Rourke turns in an acceptable performance and De Niro is just sppoky as Louis Cypher (hint hint).
I watched Children of Men for the second time, since I saw it in the theatres. I remember when I saw it in the theatre the hype far out measured my actual opinion of the movie. And I have to say a second viewing didn't do too much more for me. Now that's not to say I hated it, becasue there are some great things about it, such as Owen's performance and the stunning cinemtography as the filmmakers paint a very bleak and dreary futuristic United Kingdom. And I have to mention the long camera takes, that the were captured that are just beautiful. But the general plot to me is not a very fulfilling one. I wonder, what Cuaron is trying to say with this film. A future without children is not very much of a future? In the future we see a world gone to hell, and are forced to contemplate if it's because of the departure of children, or maybe, the lack of youngns' is just the tip of the iceberg. We see an infant carried from an abandoned building and everyone gets their first look at it, and all of the violence stops for just a moment only to begin again. Are they trying to tell us something with that action? There are many theories and many views but a child-less 2029 doesn't do a whole lot for me, I'm sorry.
Lord of the Rings continues to be eye pleasing, as well as delivering a dozen different other forms of awesomness. Definitely a modern classic.
See ya next week.
Andrew
7/14/2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
You Got Swerved
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20206341,00.html
The Top 20 movies with twist endings. Pretty cool list, but watch out for spoilers.
The Top 20 movies with twist endings. Pretty cool list, but watch out for spoilers.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Netflix
So one of my birthday gifts this year (yes, today is my birthday...24, if you must know) was the restarting of my Netflix, which I've been dying to have back for a very long time.
Here's what the Queue looks like so far.
1. The Tenant
2. Grace is Gone
3. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
4. Carnal Knowledge
5. Down by Law
6. The 400 Blows
7. Your Friends & Neighbors
8. Be Kind Rewind
9. Funny Games
10. George Washington
That's not to say that this order won't change, but as of this moment, that's what it looks like. I'll be letting you know what pops in and out of my Netflix, as well as what I think of those particular movies.
Andrew
7/12/2008
Here's what the Queue looks like so far.
1. The Tenant
2. Grace is Gone
3. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
4. Carnal Knowledge
5. Down by Law
6. The 400 Blows
7. Your Friends & Neighbors
8. Be Kind Rewind
9. Funny Games
10. George Washington
That's not to say that this order won't change, but as of this moment, that's what it looks like. I'll be letting you know what pops in and out of my Netflix, as well as what I think of those particular movies.
Andrew
7/12/2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
MY WEEK IN FILM
So instead of coming to the blog every single time I watch a movie and writing a review of that movie, thus spending two and sometimes three seperate occasions a day sitting here typing, I've decided to do a weekly breakdown of the films that I watch during the week, every Sunday night. I'll showcase a list of the films that I watched in that week, the best movie, the worst and reasons for why I they are such and then a jumble at the end of what I thought of the rest. Sound good? Good!
6/30/2008 through 7/6/2008
-Before the Devil Knows You're Dead 2007 - Sidney Lumet
-Cassandra's Dream 2007 - Woody Allen
-One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975 - Milos Forman
-Hot Fuzz 2007 - Edgar Wright
-Zelig 1983 - Woody Allen
-The Purple Rose of Cairo 1985 - Woody Allen
-Boys Don't Cry 1999 - Kimberly Peirce
-The Prophecy 1995 - Gregory Widen
THE BEST
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
I can't even begin to count the number of so called "classics" that I have watched that, for my money, simply did not live up to the hype. So I pop in Cuckoo's Nest the other night, expecting something grand, as I've heard nothing short of extraordinary things about this film, and I was not disapointed. You got Randall MacMurphy (Nicholson) being sent to a mental institution from the local prison farm, to be evaluated. The head's of the loony bin think he's faking it to get a lighter ride and he pretty much is. But while there, he meets and makes friends with a marvelous cast of insane characters, including Brad Dourif, Christopher Lloyd and Danny DeVito. It all makes for an incredibly fun movie and just a flat out great film. I would advise everyone to go and rent this, if you haven't seen it or if you have, pop it in again.
THE WORST
ZELIG
It pains me to say this, but yes, a Woody Allen movie was the worst expierence I had this week in front of my television. I just could not get into this one at all. And what's more surprising is that Woody himself was actually in this, which is usually a guaranteed hit in my eyes. Zelig is a mockumentary of Leonard Zelig, a man with a rare disorder, that transforms him into the race or type of person that he is around at any given time. For example, if he is in the presence of an african american, he turns black. In the presence of an obese man, then he himself begins to gain weight. I found it very un-funny and dull. I'm usually chomping at the bit to see a new Woody movie that I haven't yet, but this one left me very bored and very unpleased. What's even more surprising is that I go to IMDB and see that it's rated like in the seven range. WHAT??? I do not get the appeal. Hands down worst movie of the week.
THE REST
Hot Fuzz would have to come in second behind Cuckoo's Nest. I found it very funny and am amazed at how Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg can take a genre and make a great film out of that genre and spoof it at the same time. Not as good as Shaun of the Dead, but a good film nonetheless.
In other Woody news, Cassandra's Dream was an average thriller, but no Match Point and the Purple Rose of Cairo was a very fun film. Jeff Daniels and Mia Farrow were brilliant together in this film, where we learn that no matter what happens in life, there's always a good movie there to fall back on and start smiling again.
My wife suckered me into watching Boys Don't Cry, and while Hilary Swank played a very convincing young man and Chloe Sevigny turned out a great performance, I still wasn't astounded by this glorified Lifetime movie.
The Prophecy scared me as a youngster, but this time around I was able to keep my fears in check for this very un-scary movie. I really love Christopher Walken in this one as he is funny and bad ass at the same time. Eric Stoltz and Elias Koteas are pretty good to, as an angel and a cop, respectively. However, this isn't one that I'd be rumaging through the Wal-Mart bins to get my hands on, but wouldn't be surprised to find myself catching half way through on cable and finishing it off.
AND...we've already discussed Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, in an earlier post.
So all in all not a bad week. A perfect ten for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and a very big thumbs up for Hot Fuzz. And I'm three films closer to being able to say I've seen everything Woody, but after Zelig, not sure how happy I'll be to say that. Just kidding....Woody rocks my world.
See ya on the flip side.
Andrew
7/6/2008
6/30/2008 through 7/6/2008
-Before the Devil Knows You're Dead 2007 - Sidney Lumet
-Cassandra's Dream 2007 - Woody Allen
-One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975 - Milos Forman
-Hot Fuzz 2007 - Edgar Wright
-Zelig 1983 - Woody Allen
-The Purple Rose of Cairo 1985 - Woody Allen
-Boys Don't Cry 1999 - Kimberly Peirce
-The Prophecy 1995 - Gregory Widen
THE BEST
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
I can't even begin to count the number of so called "classics" that I have watched that, for my money, simply did not live up to the hype. So I pop in Cuckoo's Nest the other night, expecting something grand, as I've heard nothing short of extraordinary things about this film, and I was not disapointed. You got Randall MacMurphy (Nicholson) being sent to a mental institution from the local prison farm, to be evaluated. The head's of the loony bin think he's faking it to get a lighter ride and he pretty much is. But while there, he meets and makes friends with a marvelous cast of insane characters, including Brad Dourif, Christopher Lloyd and Danny DeVito. It all makes for an incredibly fun movie and just a flat out great film. I would advise everyone to go and rent this, if you haven't seen it or if you have, pop it in again.
THE WORST
ZELIG
It pains me to say this, but yes, a Woody Allen movie was the worst expierence I had this week in front of my television. I just could not get into this one at all. And what's more surprising is that Woody himself was actually in this, which is usually a guaranteed hit in my eyes. Zelig is a mockumentary of Leonard Zelig, a man with a rare disorder, that transforms him into the race or type of person that he is around at any given time. For example, if he is in the presence of an african american, he turns black. In the presence of an obese man, then he himself begins to gain weight. I found it very un-funny and dull. I'm usually chomping at the bit to see a new Woody movie that I haven't yet, but this one left me very bored and very unpleased. What's even more surprising is that I go to IMDB and see that it's rated like in the seven range. WHAT??? I do not get the appeal. Hands down worst movie of the week.
THE REST
Hot Fuzz would have to come in second behind Cuckoo's Nest. I found it very funny and am amazed at how Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg can take a genre and make a great film out of that genre and spoof it at the same time. Not as good as Shaun of the Dead, but a good film nonetheless.
In other Woody news, Cassandra's Dream was an average thriller, but no Match Point and the Purple Rose of Cairo was a very fun film. Jeff Daniels and Mia Farrow were brilliant together in this film, where we learn that no matter what happens in life, there's always a good movie there to fall back on and start smiling again.
My wife suckered me into watching Boys Don't Cry, and while Hilary Swank played a very convincing young man and Chloe Sevigny turned out a great performance, I still wasn't astounded by this glorified Lifetime movie.
The Prophecy scared me as a youngster, but this time around I was able to keep my fears in check for this very un-scary movie. I really love Christopher Walken in this one as he is funny and bad ass at the same time. Eric Stoltz and Elias Koteas are pretty good to, as an angel and a cop, respectively. However, this isn't one that I'd be rumaging through the Wal-Mart bins to get my hands on, but wouldn't be surprised to find myself catching half way through on cable and finishing it off.
AND...we've already discussed Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, in an earlier post.
So all in all not a bad week. A perfect ten for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and a very big thumbs up for Hot Fuzz. And I'm three films closer to being able to say I've seen everything Woody, but after Zelig, not sure how happy I'll be to say that. Just kidding....Woody rocks my world.
See ya on the flip side.
Andrew
7/6/2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
JUNE FLICKS
Remember when I said I was burnt out on movies? Well, it was the truth and the following list of movies that I managed to watch in June reflects that. The good news, however, is that, the burn out is starting to wear off and I'm really hoping to make a boom in July, as far as the amount of cinema I take in. So here is the list of what I managed to watch in the month of June.
-The Jacket 2005 - John Mayberry
-The Happening 2008 - M. Night Shyamalan
-Shallow Hal 2001 - Bobby & Peter Farrelly
-Pulp Fiction 1994 - Quentin Tarantino *
-Dragonfly 2002 - Tom Shadyac
-The Lost Boys 1987 - Joel Schumacher
-The Number 23 2007 - Joel Schumacher
-The Machinist 2004 - Brad Anderson
-Identity 2003 - James Mangold
And just in case you don't know (which there is no way you possibly could, since I haven't mentioned it on here, as of yet) I made a pact with myself this year to only watch movies that I've seen once or never. Any movie that I've seen more than twice has been banned for the entire year...
...UNLESS...
...It is on the IMDB Top 250 list, which me and my wife started knocking our way through before the year started and when I made this pact, I didn't want to interfere with our project to take in the 250 greatest movies, as voted by the users of the IMDB website. So if you'll notice the asterisk beside Pulp Fiction, on the list above, that indicates that I have seen that movie more than twice (way more than twice) and only watched it for Top 250 list purposes.
And on a side note, July is starting out with a bang, as I already have one movie in the books for this mont...Before the Devil Knows Your Dead
Not a bad flick, but somewhat disapointing. Did you ever go to the store, pick up a DVD that you've never seen, see who's in it and shake your head with a very approving nod. You then read the back of the case to see exactly what it's about and say "WOW, that sounds like a hell of an idea!" Well tonight, while at Blockbuster, I did the same thing with BTDKYD, and picked it up as a part of my mission to collect all of the Phillip Seymour Hoffman movies.
After seeing the movie, there is just so much more that they could've done with this movie. This movie could've been one that ripped your heart out and made you bawl your freaking eyes out. But you leave this one just thinking how sleazy most of these characters are. I really wish they had went a different route with this one, and instead of going with rough and hard edged and gritty, going with heart breaking instead. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke and Albert Finney, all give great performances, and the story isn't all together lame, as it is actually told in a very sophisticated manner, jumping back and forth, to days before and after a key moment in the film, and getting every detail from the view points of all three of the main characters.
Before the Devil Knows Your Dead 6/10
Andrew
7/2/2008
-The Jacket 2005 - John Mayberry
-The Happening 2008 - M. Night Shyamalan
-Shallow Hal 2001 - Bobby & Peter Farrelly
-Pulp Fiction 1994 - Quentin Tarantino *
-Dragonfly 2002 - Tom Shadyac
-The Lost Boys 1987 - Joel Schumacher
-The Number 23 2007 - Joel Schumacher
-The Machinist 2004 - Brad Anderson
-Identity 2003 - James Mangold
And just in case you don't know (which there is no way you possibly could, since I haven't mentioned it on here, as of yet) I made a pact with myself this year to only watch movies that I've seen once or never. Any movie that I've seen more than twice has been banned for the entire year...
...UNLESS...
...It is on the IMDB Top 250 list, which me and my wife started knocking our way through before the year started and when I made this pact, I didn't want to interfere with our project to take in the 250 greatest movies, as voted by the users of the IMDB website. So if you'll notice the asterisk beside Pulp Fiction, on the list above, that indicates that I have seen that movie more than twice (way more than twice) and only watched it for Top 250 list purposes.
And on a side note, July is starting out with a bang, as I already have one movie in the books for this mont...Before the Devil Knows Your Dead
Not a bad flick, but somewhat disapointing. Did you ever go to the store, pick up a DVD that you've never seen, see who's in it and shake your head with a very approving nod. You then read the back of the case to see exactly what it's about and say "WOW, that sounds like a hell of an idea!" Well tonight, while at Blockbuster, I did the same thing with BTDKYD, and picked it up as a part of my mission to collect all of the Phillip Seymour Hoffman movies.
After seeing the movie, there is just so much more that they could've done with this movie. This movie could've been one that ripped your heart out and made you bawl your freaking eyes out. But you leave this one just thinking how sleazy most of these characters are. I really wish they had went a different route with this one, and instead of going with rough and hard edged and gritty, going with heart breaking instead. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke and Albert Finney, all give great performances, and the story isn't all together lame, as it is actually told in a very sophisticated manner, jumping back and forth, to days before and after a key moment in the film, and getting every detail from the view points of all three of the main characters.
Before the Devil Knows Your Dead 6/10
Andrew
7/2/2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Posters
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20207076_20207394_20206638,00.html
I always thought that the movie poster for Silence of the Lambs was a great one. And of course, Pulp Fiction makes the list.
I always thought that the movie poster for Silence of the Lambs was a great one. And of course, Pulp Fiction makes the list.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
10 TOP 10
So did anyone catch the American Film Institute's 10 Top 10 on CBS tonight. I had no idea it was going to be on, and Ruth and I are flipping through channels and we see clips of John Wayne in some old movie on a primetime station, so we stop and have a gander.
Basically what AFI has done here, is taken ten genre's and made seperate top ten lists for each genre. I feel a recap coming on.
TOP 10 ANIMATION
10. Finding Nemo
09. Cinderella
08. Shrek
07. Beauty and the Beast
06. Toy Story
05. Fantasia
04. The Lion King
03. Bambi
02. Pinocchio
01. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Pretty good list. I personally would've put Nemo higher, and maybe added Toy Story 2 into the mix somewhere. I've never been a fan of the really old Disney classics, such as Cinderella and Snow White.
TOP 10 FANTASY
10. Big
09. The Thief of Bagdad
08. Groundhog Day
07. Harvey
06. Field of Dreams
05. Miracle on 34th Street
04. King Kong (1933)
03. It's a Wonderful Life
02. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
01. The Wizard of Oz
Surprised by the inclusion of Big and Groundhog Day, as they are two of my personal favorite flicks. I would've knocked off Miracle on 34th Street, possibly for LOTR: Return of the King. Have never seen the Thief of Bagdad. Also, No Pirates??
TOP 10 GANGSTER
10. Scarface
09. Little Caesar
08. The Public Enemy
07. Pulp Fiction
06. Scarface: The Shame of a Nation
05. Bonnie and Clyde
04. White Heat
03. The Godfather: Part 2
02. Goodfellas
01. The Godfather
Well, of course, Pulp Fiction would be #1 on all of these if I were making them, but alas, I haven't the power. Who couldn't totally call the Godfather on this one. Surprised with the omission of The Untouchables and would've been nice to see Mean Streets and Carlito's Way on there.
TOP 10 SCIENCE FICTION
10. Back to the Future
09. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
08. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
07. Alien
06. Blade Runner
05. The Day the Earth Stood Still
04. A Clockwork Orange
03. E.T. the Extra-terrestrial
02. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
01. 2001: A Space Odyssey
Not really my department to be making corrections. I will say, it'd have been nice to see the original Terminator on there. A Clockwork Orange and Back to the Future = two more of my favs. The Day the Earth Stood Still was terrible.
TOP 10 WESTERN
10. Cat Ballou
09. Stagecoach
08. McCabe and Mrs. Miller
07. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
06. The Wild Bunch
05. Red River
04. Unforgiven
03. Shane
02. High Noon
01. The Searchers
Where in the hell is The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance??? I love that movie, and they left it out? WTF! Anyway, anyone who knows film, could've called the Searchers, and it is a good movie. I like High Noon better though.
TOP 10 SPORTS
10. Jerry Maguire
09. National Velvet
08. Breaking Away
07. Caddyshack
06. The Hustler
05. Bull Durham
04. Hoosiers
03. The Pride of the Yankees
02. Rocky
01. Raging Bull
Caddyshack? Really? Couldn't they have put something a little more credible in there. I mean, hey, I love Bill Murray and Chevy Chase, but c'mon. Why not Friday Night Lights or A League of Their Own? Nevermind.
TOP 10 MYSTERY
10. The Usual Suspects
09. Dial M for Murder
08. Blue Velvet
07. North by Northwest
06. The Maltese Falcon
05. The Thrid Man
04. Laura
03. Rear Window
02. Chinatown
01. Vertigo
Well, I'm really glad that Blue Velvet and Dial M made it in. But a lot of my all time favorites would've fit perfectly beside them. Se7en, Memento, Mulholland Dr.??? There's three all time greats right there. North by Northwest is terrible, and I wasn't blown away by Chinatown either.
TOP 10 ROMANTIC COMEDY
10. Sleepless in Seattle
09. Harold & Maude
08. Moonstruck
07. Adam's Rib
06. When Harry Met Sally...
05. The Philadelphia Story
04. Roman Holiday
03. It Happened One Night
02. Annie Hall
01. City Lights
Well, Manhattan is one I would've included, along with Pretty Woman. The rest are fine.
TOP 10 COURTROOM DRAMA
10. Judgment at Nuremberg
09. A Cry in the Dark
08. In Cold Blood
07. Anatomy of a Murder
06. Witness for the Prosecution
05. A Few Good Men
04. The Verdict
03. Kramer vs. Kramer
02. 12 Angry Men
01. To Kill a Mockingbird
Well, there's very little courtroom stuff in Kramer vs. Kramer, and that goes for In Cold Blood as well. Instead of those (and no knocking them, because Kramer vs. Kramer is an all-time favorite of mine) they should've slipped in Philadelphia and Inherit the Wind.
TOP 10 EPIC
10. The Ten Commandments
09. Reds
08. Saving Private Ryan
07. All Quiet on the Western Front
06. Titanic
05. Spartacus
04. Gone with the Wind
03. Schindler's List
02. Ben-Hur
01. Lawrence of Arabia
No Braveheart? Oh well, this list looks about right, other than that.
Man, they should really do this again sometime, as it is a great idea for a show. Think of all the catergories that they could've gone into. TOP 10 Prison movies, biopics, cop/detective flicks, foreign films, war movies, horror movies, screwball comedies, teen comedies, true stories...my God the possibilties are endless, I say.
Andrew
6/18/2008
Basically what AFI has done here, is taken ten genre's and made seperate top ten lists for each genre. I feel a recap coming on.
TOP 10 ANIMATION
10. Finding Nemo
09. Cinderella
08. Shrek
07. Beauty and the Beast
06. Toy Story
05. Fantasia
04. The Lion King
03. Bambi
02. Pinocchio
01. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Pretty good list. I personally would've put Nemo higher, and maybe added Toy Story 2 into the mix somewhere. I've never been a fan of the really old Disney classics, such as Cinderella and Snow White.
TOP 10 FANTASY
10. Big
09. The Thief of Bagdad
08. Groundhog Day
07. Harvey
06. Field of Dreams
05. Miracle on 34th Street
04. King Kong (1933)
03. It's a Wonderful Life
02. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
01. The Wizard of Oz
Surprised by the inclusion of Big and Groundhog Day, as they are two of my personal favorite flicks. I would've knocked off Miracle on 34th Street, possibly for LOTR: Return of the King. Have never seen the Thief of Bagdad. Also, No Pirates??
TOP 10 GANGSTER
10. Scarface
09. Little Caesar
08. The Public Enemy
07. Pulp Fiction
06. Scarface: The Shame of a Nation
05. Bonnie and Clyde
04. White Heat
03. The Godfather: Part 2
02. Goodfellas
01. The Godfather
Well, of course, Pulp Fiction would be #1 on all of these if I were making them, but alas, I haven't the power. Who couldn't totally call the Godfather on this one. Surprised with the omission of The Untouchables and would've been nice to see Mean Streets and Carlito's Way on there.
TOP 10 SCIENCE FICTION
10. Back to the Future
09. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
08. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
07. Alien
06. Blade Runner
05. The Day the Earth Stood Still
04. A Clockwork Orange
03. E.T. the Extra-terrestrial
02. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
01. 2001: A Space Odyssey
Not really my department to be making corrections. I will say, it'd have been nice to see the original Terminator on there. A Clockwork Orange and Back to the Future = two more of my favs. The Day the Earth Stood Still was terrible.
TOP 10 WESTERN
10. Cat Ballou
09. Stagecoach
08. McCabe and Mrs. Miller
07. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
06. The Wild Bunch
05. Red River
04. Unforgiven
03. Shane
02. High Noon
01. The Searchers
Where in the hell is The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance??? I love that movie, and they left it out? WTF! Anyway, anyone who knows film, could've called the Searchers, and it is a good movie. I like High Noon better though.
TOP 10 SPORTS
10. Jerry Maguire
09. National Velvet
08. Breaking Away
07. Caddyshack
06. The Hustler
05. Bull Durham
04. Hoosiers
03. The Pride of the Yankees
02. Rocky
01. Raging Bull
Caddyshack? Really? Couldn't they have put something a little more credible in there. I mean, hey, I love Bill Murray and Chevy Chase, but c'mon. Why not Friday Night Lights or A League of Their Own? Nevermind.
TOP 10 MYSTERY
10. The Usual Suspects
09. Dial M for Murder
08. Blue Velvet
07. North by Northwest
06. The Maltese Falcon
05. The Thrid Man
04. Laura
03. Rear Window
02. Chinatown
01. Vertigo
Well, I'm really glad that Blue Velvet and Dial M made it in. But a lot of my all time favorites would've fit perfectly beside them. Se7en, Memento, Mulholland Dr.??? There's three all time greats right there. North by Northwest is terrible, and I wasn't blown away by Chinatown either.
TOP 10 ROMANTIC COMEDY
10. Sleepless in Seattle
09. Harold & Maude
08. Moonstruck
07. Adam's Rib
06. When Harry Met Sally...
05. The Philadelphia Story
04. Roman Holiday
03. It Happened One Night
02. Annie Hall
01. City Lights
Well, Manhattan is one I would've included, along with Pretty Woman. The rest are fine.
TOP 10 COURTROOM DRAMA
10. Judgment at Nuremberg
09. A Cry in the Dark
08. In Cold Blood
07. Anatomy of a Murder
06. Witness for the Prosecution
05. A Few Good Men
04. The Verdict
03. Kramer vs. Kramer
02. 12 Angry Men
01. To Kill a Mockingbird
Well, there's very little courtroom stuff in Kramer vs. Kramer, and that goes for In Cold Blood as well. Instead of those (and no knocking them, because Kramer vs. Kramer is an all-time favorite of mine) they should've slipped in Philadelphia and Inherit the Wind.
TOP 10 EPIC
10. The Ten Commandments
09. Reds
08. Saving Private Ryan
07. All Quiet on the Western Front
06. Titanic
05. Spartacus
04. Gone with the Wind
03. Schindler's List
02. Ben-Hur
01. Lawrence of Arabia
No Braveheart? Oh well, this list looks about right, other than that.
Man, they should really do this again sometime, as it is a great idea for a show. Think of all the catergories that they could've gone into. TOP 10 Prison movies, biopics, cop/detective flicks, foreign films, war movies, horror movies, screwball comedies, teen comedies, true stories...my God the possibilties are endless, I say.
Andrew
6/18/2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
The Suckening
It was "Date Night" tonight for me and Ruth, so we decided to go catch a movie and some dinner and since her birthday is next Friday, I let her pick the movie. She picked The Happening, which was fine by me, seeing as how I am a huge M. Night Shyamalan fan and own all of his other movies (except for Wide Awake). And let me go on record as saying...possibly one of the Top 10 worst movies I've EVER seen.
SPOILERS AHEAD
So we start out on a pleasant day in Central Park, NY and all is well, until the wind starts blowing and all of a sudden people start comitting suicide. And we see some pretty wild shots of a woman sticking a hair pin in her neck and construction workers jumping from scaffolds. So what could be causing all of this? Terrorists! Or at least that's what Marky Mark and the funky bunch think. So they take to the road, heading for small towns, where they'll be safe, fleeing Philly. And when I saw "they", I mean, Wahlberg's wife, played by Zooey Deschanel, Wahlberg's co-worker and friend, played by John Leguizamo and his daughter. While on the road they start to hear reports that major cities all over the Northeast are being suicide ridden, and the possibility of a terrorist attack seems less likely. So what's the cause? Could it be the plants, Marky asks? Well, he asks, but we never get a solid answer. And what shitty acting to boot.
I mean c'mon, does that not sound like the dumbest outline for a movie you've ever heard. Plants are angry at us for polluting the environment, so they start attacking us? How exactly are plants able to make people kill themselves? PLEASE! The whole concept of a scary movie, is to make the viewer at least concieve the idea, being presented, as a possibility. The Happening is just ludicrous.
Avoid it at all costs. Save your money. See the Incredible Hulk or something.
SPOILERS AHEAD
So we start out on a pleasant day in Central Park, NY and all is well, until the wind starts blowing and all of a sudden people start comitting suicide. And we see some pretty wild shots of a woman sticking a hair pin in her neck and construction workers jumping from scaffolds. So what could be causing all of this? Terrorists! Or at least that's what Marky Mark and the funky bunch think. So they take to the road, heading for small towns, where they'll be safe, fleeing Philly. And when I saw "they", I mean, Wahlberg's wife, played by Zooey Deschanel, Wahlberg's co-worker and friend, played by John Leguizamo and his daughter. While on the road they start to hear reports that major cities all over the Northeast are being suicide ridden, and the possibility of a terrorist attack seems less likely. So what's the cause? Could it be the plants, Marky asks? Well, he asks, but we never get a solid answer. And what shitty acting to boot.
I mean c'mon, does that not sound like the dumbest outline for a movie you've ever heard. Plants are angry at us for polluting the environment, so they start attacking us? How exactly are plants able to make people kill themselves? PLEASE! The whole concept of a scary movie, is to make the viewer at least concieve the idea, being presented, as a possibility. The Happening is just ludicrous.
Avoid it at all costs. Save your money. See the Incredible Hulk or something.
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