Thursday, August 15, 2013
Movie #196: Trainspotting
Movie #: 196
Movie Title: Trainspotting
Year Released: 1996
Director: Danny Boyle
Notable Cast: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle
Short Description: Renton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out, despite the allure of the drugs and influence of friends. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #72
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 7/25/2013
What I Liked: I thought Ewan McGregor was good and though his character really didn’t put in a ton of effort into getting out of the world of drug addiction like the movie description suggests, the movie did a decent job showing his attempt. The only hardcore consequence of drug addiction that the movie had involved the baby one of the supporting characters and thankfully the scene wasn’t sugarcoated, which would have taken away some seriously important substance from the story.
What I Disliked: For the first half of the movie I just didn’t care about what was going on. I think a good portion of that had to do with the actors being Scottish had having thick accents that made them hard to understand at times. The other half may be that I kept comparing the story and how it was told to Requiem for a Dream, which may not be fair if I’m trying to judge each movie individually, but considering that was the previous movie I watched, I couldn’t help myself. Supporting characters kept bouncing in and out of the movie and without much development for them, they were forgettable and I had little connection with them.
Grade: 2 out of 5 (Fair)
Rationale: The second of back to back drug related movies (out of 251 movies, what are the odds?), I found it to be less entertaining than Requiem for a Dream and the heavy accents really hurt it.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Movie #197: Requiem for a Dream
Movie #: 197
Movie Title: Requiem for a Dream
Year Released: 2000
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Notable Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans
Short Description: The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island individuals are shattered when their addictions become stronger. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #73
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 7/24/2013
What I Liked: The movie did not shy away from portraying the potential dangers of drug addiction and it avoided being cheesy by wrapping up with a non-happy ending. In the acting was very well done from all, especially Ellen Burstyn.
What I Disliked: Having now seen two movies from Darren Aronofsky (the other being Black Swan), I really don’t think I care for his style of movie making. I understand it was important that he show the struggles of the characters and their fight with addiction, but some scenes, primarily with Ellen Burstyn’s character and her psychosis, felt too bizarre.
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)
Rationale: Slightly disappointed that a movie I had been looking forward to presented a compelling story in a weird way at times.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Movie #198: Apollo 13
Movie #: 198
Movie Title: Apollo 13
Year Released: 1995
Director: Ron Howard
Notable Cast: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, Kathleen Quinlan, Chris Ellis
Short Description: Three astronauts must devise a strategy to return to Earth safely after their spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #74
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 7/23/2013
What I Liked: I swear, if I didn’t know I was watching a movie, I may have thought that this was actual footage from the space shuttle and NASA. Having not been alive in 1970 I can’t vouch for its historical accuracy, but as far as I’m aware this is a spot on account of the Apollo 13 mission. Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, and Gary Sinise were so into their roles that they had me believing they were real astronauts and Ed Harris displayed total command of his scenes as the head of Mission Control. Even after having seen this movie countless times, when the astronauts finally come out of radio silence during splash down and Mission Control erupts with cheers, I can’t help but get a little emotional along with Ed Harris’ character.
What I Disliked: While no movie is perfect, I struggle to find something I didn’t like about Apollo 13. If I had to choose something, even if it is a bit picky, it might be that the first half an hour was a little too slow paced. Obviously this movie has a ton of story to it that needs to be setup so I don’t really view the pace as a fault of writing but as a necessary evil of developing characters and situations.
Grade: 4.5 out of 5 (Outstanding)
Rationale: Apollo 13 has always been one of my favorite movies and it’s a shame that six of the seven top 100 lists I used to make my 251 list failed to realize how great it is as well.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Movie #199: Ratatouille
Movie #: 199
Movie Title: Ratatouille
Year Released: 2007
Director: Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava
Notable Cast: Patton Oswalt, Brad Garrett, Lou Romano, Ian Holm, Peter O’Toole, Janeane Garofalo
Short Description: With dreams of becoming a chef, a culinary genius in the form of a rat, makes and unusual alliance with a young kitchen worker at a famed restaurant. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: #74
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 7/21/2013
What I Liked: Most (if not all) Disney movies have some sort of lesson to be learned and Ratatouille is no different. Remy was reminded throughout the movie that you can do whatever you want if you put your heart into it and one can rise above their status and condition to make a better life for themselves. Disney’s decision in 1995 to team with Pixar and move to CGI animation was brilliant. Given the fast paced action in sequences such as Remy’s fall through the sewers and his attempted escape from the kitchen, I’d wager that Ratatouille would have been impossible to make with standard hand-drawn animation and I don’t know if I would’ve wanted to see that.
What I Disliked: I get that Ratatouille was created in America for a largely American audience and you risk turning off your fan base by making something foreign, but come on Disney, stop playing safe. How can you base a movie in Paris, France and not give your characters at least a French accent? I maybe counted one that did, which is pathetic. I’m not asking for full out foreign language with subtitles; rather, not Americanizing characters in other countries would be nice.
Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Rationale: While probably unfair to Ratatouille, it was hard not comparing it to other Disney/Pixar giants like Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and WALL-E and seeing it fall short of their greatness.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Movie #200: The Bourne Identity
Movie #: 200
Movie Title: The Bourne Identity
Year Released: 2002
Director: Doug Liman
Notable Cast: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Brian Cox, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Julia Styles
Short Description: A man is picked up by a fishing boat, bullet-riddled and without memory, then races to elude assassins and recover from amnesia. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #98
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #78
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 7/20/2013
What I Liked: Matt Damon was perfect for the role of Jason Bourne and the supporting cast, specifically Franka Potente, did an excellent job. There was plenty of action to keep one entertained and a well thought out story to fill in the holes and help us understand Bourne's past at the same time he's trying to figure himself out and regain his memory.
What I Disliked: Other than the bullet wounds he received before he'd fished out of the water, considering all of fights Bourne partakes in after that, you never see him get hurt. I get that Jason Bourne is a badass killing machine and is capable of shutting out pain, but come on, the dude jumps down six floors near the end of the movie and gets up without even having the wind knocked out of him. And the fight where his advisory is wielding a knife? Bourne doesn't even get scratched. While he may be super human, that's too inhuman.
Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
Rationale: The Bourne Identity would have been a terrific standalone movie, but instead is a fun start to a trilogy centered on Jason Bourne.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Overall Best to Worst: #201-251
Overall Best to Worst of #201-251
This list is my overall best to worst of every movie I’ve seen so far on my list of 251. I fully expect this list to get harder to compile every time I finish a set of 25 movies and need to incorporate those, but it’ll be fun to see how I rank all 251 movies when I’m done. Without further ado, here it goes.
This list is my overall best to worst of every movie I’ve seen so far on my list of 251. I fully expect this list to get harder to compile every time I finish a set of 25 movies and need to incorporate those, but it’ll be fun to see how I rank all 251 movies when I’m done. Without further ado, here it goes.
| Movie # | Movie Title | My Grade |
| 218 | Gran Torino | 4.5 out of 5 (Outstanding) |
| 212 | Argo | 4.5 out of 5 (Outstanding) |
| 249 | Star Trek | 4.5 out of 5 (Outstanding) |
| 233 | Sophie's Choice | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 205 | Cinema Paradiso | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 215 | Groundhog Day | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 235 | Persona | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 248 | Cinderella Man | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 207 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 223 | Training Day | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 238 | Ocean's Eleven | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 209 | Iron Man | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 250 | The Sting | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 202 | In the Heat of the Night | 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good) |
| 226 | Rain Man | 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good) |
| 213 | The Great Escape | 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good) |
| 240 | A Fistful of Dollars | 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good) |
| 232 | When Harry Met Sally | 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good) |
| 208 | The Thin Red Line | 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good) |
| 244 | The Untouchables | 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good) |
| 229 | Catch Me If You Can | 3 out of 5 (Good) |
| 206 | Rosemary's Baby | 3 out of 5 (Good) |
| 227 | Magnolia | 3 out of 5 (Good) |
| 246 | Shaun of the Dead | 3 out of 5 (Good) |
| 210 | The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp | 3 out of 5 (Good) |
| 251 | Ben-Hur | 3 out of 5 (Good) |
| 216 | Airplane! | 3 out of 5 (Good) |
| 224 | Bringing Up Baby | 3 out of 5 (Good) |
| 225 | Kill Bill: Volume 1 | 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory) |
| 201 | A Matter of Life and Death | 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory) |
| 211 | Wild Strawberries | 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory) |
| 242 | The Last Picture Show | 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory) |
| 231 | Swing Time | 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory) |
| 214 | Brazil | 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory) |
| 222 | The King of Comedy | 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory) |
| 237 | The French Connection | 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory) |
| 234 | The Big Sleep | 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory) |
| 204 | All the President's Men | 2 out of 5 (Fair) |
| 221 | Carrie | 2 out of 5 (Fair) |
| 228 | The Conversation | 2 out of 5 (Fair) |
| 241 | Grease | 2 out of 5 (Fair) |
| 247 | Yankee Doodle Dandy | 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal) |
| 217 | Easy Rider | 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal) |
| 236 | Spirit of the Beehive | 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal) |
| 243 | Do the Right Thing | 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal) |
| 203 | Manhattan | 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal) |
| 239 | Princess Mononoke | 1 out of 5 (Poor) |
| 245 | Shadow of a Doubt | 1 out of 5 (Poor) |
| 220 | Blue Velvet | 1 out of 5 (Poor) |
| 230 | Metropolis | 1 out of 5 (Poor) |
| 219 | A Night at the Opera | 1 out of 5 (Poor) |
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Recap Of Movies #201-225
Adjustments
Movie #: 217
Movie Title: Easy Rider (1969)
Original Grade: 2 out of 5 (Fair)
Adjusted Grade: 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)
My Best to Worst of #201-225
| Movie # | Movie Title | My Grade |
| 218 | Gran Torino | 4.5 out of 5 (Outstanding) |
| 212 | Argo | 4.5 out of 5 (Outstanding) |
| 205 | Cinema Paradiso | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 215 | Groundhog Day | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 207 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 223 | Training Day | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 209 | Iron Man | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 202 | In the Heat of the Night | 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good) |
| 213 | The Great Escape | 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good) |
| 208 | The Thin Red Line | 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good) |
| 206 | Rosemary's Baby | 3 out of 5 (Good) |
| 210 | The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp | 3 out of 5 (Good) |
| 216 | Airplane! | 3 out of 5 (Good) |
| 224 | Bringing Up Baby | 3 out of 5 (Good) |
| 225 | Kill Bill: Volume 1 | 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory) |
| 201 | A Matter of Life and Death | 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory) |
| 211 | Wild Strawberries | 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory) |
| 214 | Brazil | 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory) |
| 222 | The King of Comedy | 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory) |
| 204 | All the President's Men | 2 out of 5 (Fair) |
| 221 | Carrie | 2 out of 5 (Fair) |
| 217 | Easy Rider | 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal) |
| 203 | Manhattan | 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal) |
| 220 | Blue Velvet | 1 out of 5 (Poor) |
| 219 | A Night at the Opera | 1 out of 5 (Poor) |
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Movie #201: A Matter of Life and Death
Movie #: 201
Movie Title: A Matter of Life and Death
Year Released: 1946
Director: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Notable Cast: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Roger Livesey, Marius Goring, Raymond Massey
Short Description: A British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #75
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 7/19/2013
What I Liked: I thought the premise of a man who avoids death and then has to argue for continued life when death catches up to him was different and entertaining. The actual courtroom scene where Peter Carter's British lawyer and friend Doctor Reeves had to present Peter's case against a Revolution-era American prosecutor was the most entertaining part of the movie and it's when Roger Livesey really shined as an actor.
What I Disliked: I understand this is an old movie and special effects aren't going to be great, but it looks like a child came up with some of these. The Wizard of Oz is seven years older and it had effects that look light-years ahead of the ones in A Matter of Life and Death, specifically when you are supposed to be looking at outer space and when time freezes but if you look closely at the people, you can see they don't always stand perfectly still.
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)
Rationale: A nice try but ultimately the movie falls a bit short of living up to its nifty sounding premise.
Friday, July 19, 2013
Movie #202: In the Heat of the Night
Movie #: 202
Movie Title: In the Heat of the Night
Year Released: 1967
Director: Norman Jewison
Notable Cast: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oats
Short Description: An African American police detective is asked to investigate a murder in a racially hostile southern town. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #75
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 7/17/2013
What I Liked: I had my suspicions (which proved incorrect), but up until the last few minutes when the killer was revealed I had no clue who did it. That sort of cover-up made this a superb murder-mystery. Though Sidney Poitier was good, I thought Rod Steiger was better as the racist police chief who begins to learn tolerance at the end. In general I thought the display of racism and Poitier's character's dealing with it in 1960's Mississippi was portrayed accurately and fairly.
What I Disliked: It's too convenient that a homicide detective happens to be passing through a town without a homicide detective the night a man is mysteriously murdered and he's the first person brought in for questioning. The last minute of the movie had a very cheesy smile between Poitier and Steiger's characters that felt forced and awkward given their disdain for each other throughout the majority of the movie.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Rationale: A great story of dealing with racial prejudice while trying to solve a murder-mystery that will keep you guessing until the end.
Movie #203: Manhattan
Movie #: 203
Movie Title: Manhattan
Year Released: 1979
Director: Woody Allen
Notable Cast: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway, Michael Murphy, Meryl Streep
Short Description: A divorced New Yorker currently dating a high-schooler brings himself to look for love in the mistress of his best friend instead. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #76
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 7/16/2013
What I Liked: I can finally say I've seen a Woody Allen movie.
What I Disliked: As a director I know Woody Allen is popular and I'm sure he does a great job, but I couldn't appreciate that portion of his role in this movie because he and his character annoyed me so much. From his nasally voice to his constant mentioning of his "supposed" sexual prowess to his questioning of why he's dating a high-schooler, even though he kept mentioning he knew it was wrong, I wanted to take the DVD and chuck in the garbage. The only thing stopping me from doing so is that it was a rented copy and not my own. Diane Keaton's character was no better with her constant struggle of knowing it was wrong to be dating a married man but doing nothing about it other than complaining.
Grade: 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)
Rationale: After seeing Manhattan I pray I never have to watch another movie starring Woody Allen cause once was more than enough.
Movie #204: All the President's Men
Movie #: 204
Movie Title: All the President's Men
Year Released: 1976
Director: Alan J. Pakula
Notable Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jason Robards, Jack Warden, Hal Holbrook
Short Description: Reporters Woodward and Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that lead to President Nixon's resignation. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #77
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 7/13/2013
What I Liked: Details were one thing this movie did not skimp on. Before watching I knew very little about Watergate, and while I still don't feel I'm very knowledgeable, I definitely know more than I did. Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford kept this movie interesting with excellent performances.
What I Disliked: The movie was unbelievably dry. I don't need action in a movie to be entertained, but I do need a story that won't put me to sleep either. The blessing of being informative by having tons of detail was also a curse because it was so much at points that I started to lose track of who was who in the scandal.
Grade: 2 out of 5 (Fair)
Rationale: Unless you just can't get enough of political dramas, have a thing for Watergate, or are a huge fan of Dustin Hoffman and/or Robert Redford, look elsewhere for entertainment.
Movie #205: Cinema Paradiso
Movie #: 205
Movie Title: Cinema Paradiso
Year Released: 1988
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
Notable Cast: Philippe Noiret, Marco Leonardi, Salvatore Cascio, Jacques Perrin
Short Description: A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #77
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 7/10/2013
What I Liked: The acting and writing were so well done that I could almost feel the love Salvatore had for movies, his childhood sweetheart Elena, and his father-like friend Alfredo. Everything in the movie was very relatable to me, from the young Salvatore's passion for watching movies and wanting to learn how to run the theater, to the teenage Salvatore's desire to make movies and court Elena, and finally to the adult Salvatore's reflection on his life and what may have been. I was especially fond of the last few minutes when everything was brought around full circle in a touching gift from Alfredo to Salvatore.
What I Disliked: The movie took a little bit to get rolling. By the end I was craving more, but during the first scenes with the young Salvatore, specifically when he was spying on the priest reviewing movies so the inappropriate parts could be edited out, I was disinterested because of his childlike behavior.
Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
Rationale: A great reflection on one's life, loves, and friendships, all while centered around one of my favorite subjects: movies.
Movie #206: Rosemary's Baby
Movie #: 206
Movie Title: Rosemary's Baby
Year Released: 1968
Director: Roman Polanski
Notable Cast: Mia Farrow, John Cassavestes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans, Ralph Bellamy
Short Description: A young couple move into a new apartment, only to be surrounded by peculiar neighbors and occurrences. When the wife becomes mysteriously pregnant, paranoia over the safety of her unborn child begins controlling her life. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #78
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 7/9/2013
What I Liked: I enjoyed watching Rosemary's attempt to figure out the strange events happening with her neighbors, doctor, and husband and the ensuing cover up after the birth of her baby.
What I Disliked: Typically billed as a horror movie, there was nothing scary about it. At least Carrie had a moment at the end that made me jump. The last minute of the movie was baffling. Rosemary spent nearly half the movie worried about witchcraft and how it may affect her baby and her life. Then, after discovering her baby was the spawn of Satan, rather than trying to kill it or herself, she accepts this fact and tries to comfort the crying demon child.
Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Rationale: Since labeling it a horror movie doesn't work, the last minute ruined what would have been a better than average mystery movie.
Movie #207: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Movie #: 207
Movie Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Year Released: 2011
Director: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter
Notable Cast: David Yates
Short Description: Harry, Ron, and Hermione search for Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes in their effort to destroy the Dark Lord. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: #79
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 6/30/2013
What I Liked: The CG and action in the movie were visually stunning, specifically during the battle to defend Hogwarts. Snape's death and what Harry viewed in Snape's memories gave great context to the relationship between those two and answered questions dating all the way back to the first movie.
What I Disliked: The movie felt very hurried to me, which makes no sense if the point of splitting one book into two movies is to make sure you get all of the content in. If that was still a problem, this movie could have easily been longer than the 2 hours 10 minutes it clocked in at. After seeing these kids as kids for eight movies, it was awkward watching the last few minutes as those same actors tried to portray adults sending their children off to Hogwarts.
Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
Rationale: I don't want to give anything away regarding my list, but I'm sad that this is the only Harry Potter movie on it, especially since I thought the first part of the Deathly Hallows was better.
Movie #208: The Thin Red Line
Movie #: 208
Movie Title: The Thin Red Line
Year Released: 1998
Director: Terrence Malick
Notable Cast: Jim Caviezel, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Elias Koteas, Miranda Otto, John Travolta, John C. Reilly, Adrian Brody, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson
Short Description: Director Terrance Malick's adaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #79
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 6/29/2013
What I Liked: I've only seen a couple of movies with Nick Nolte in it, and like the others I thought he was fantastic. His portrayal of a rough and gruff old military officer past his prime was spot on. I thought the action scenes, particularly when the Americans charged the Japanese camp, were well done. I'm a huge fan of composer Hans Zimmer so getting to hear another beautiful score of his was a plus.
What I Disliked: I'd never heard of Guadalcanal before watching this movie so right off the bat I was less interested than, say, a movie involving the landing at Normandy (i.e. Saving Private Ryan) or the bombing of Pearl Harbor (i.e. Pearl Harbor).
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Rationale: Specifics of the movie weren't very memorable, but in general after watching I thought it was that it was pretty good.
Movie #209: Iron Man
Movie #: 209
Movie Title: Iron Man
Year Released: 2008
Director: Jon Favreau
Notable Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrance Howard, Jeff Bridges
Short Description: When wealthy industrialist Tony Stark is forced to build an armored suit after a life threatening incident, he ultimately decides to use its technology to fight against evil. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #80
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 6/27/2013
What I Liked: I firmly believe that Robert Downey Jr. was the quintessential choice to play Tony Stark and without him Iron Man would not have the same impact. The tone of the movie is serious but not so much that small, sporadic interjections of comedy are unwelcome. It's gotten to the point in the movie industry that complimenting great CGI doesn't mean much because with today's technology it should be expected, but the Iron Man suit is a thing of beauty. I love that four years before The Avengers, Marvel was already setting up the future by introducing us to S.H.I.E.L.D. and mentioning The Avengers Initiative in the post-credits scene.
What I Disliked: I don't know why but whenever I watch this movie I don't get the feeling that Obadiah Stane is a strong villain. Jeff Bridges plays the character well and the rational for him being a villain is sound, but it just seems like something is lacking and I can't put my finger on it.
Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
Rationale: Marvel hit a home run by casting Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man and by betting on the future with references to S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Avengers.
Movie #210: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Movie #: 210
Movie Title: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Year Released: 1943
Director: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Notable Cast: Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook
Short Description: Portrays in warm-hearted detail the life and loves of one extraordinary man. We meet the imposingly rotund General Clive Wynee-Candy, a blustering old duffer who seems the epitome of stuffy, outmoded values. Traveling backwards 40 years we see a different man altogether: the young and dashing officer "Sugar" Candy. Through a series of relationships with three women and his lifelong friendship with a German officer, we see Candy's life unfold and come to understand how difficult it is for him to adapt his sense of military honor to modern notions of "total war." (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #80
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 6/25/2013
What I Liked: I personally haven't seen a ton of movies that use this style of storytelling, but I love it when movies start out in the present, then flashback to the past and work back up to present time. I feel more engaged with the movie because I'm sitting there wondering what events have to unfold for us to get back to the present situation. I like that even though this movie is about the life of a military man, they were able to tell the story without actual battle scenes. Not to say war was not shown, but you never see Clive Candy partaking in a skirmish. I thought the monologue Candy's friend Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff gave at the immigration office was well written.
What I Disliked: At the same time, while I liked that the movie was told without Clive Candy actively participating in a battle, to not show his prowess in battle, which is what he was known for, sort of makes it hard to understand why everyone recognizes him as so great. If the main character's name is Clive Candy and the movie focuses on his life, I don't get the "Colonel Blimp" in the title. Wikipedia says that the title is based off a comic strip but the story of the movie itself is original. Why use that name then?
Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Rationale: While a bit slow at times and quite lengthy at almost three hours, it's easy to become invested in the story of Clive Candy and the people around him.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Movie #211: Wild Strawberries
Movie #: 211
Movie Title: Wild Strawberries
Year Released: 1957
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Notable Cast: Victor Sjöström, Bibi Anderson, Ingrid Thulin, Gunner Björnstrand
Short Description: After living a life marked by coldness, an aging professor is forced to confront the emptiness of his existence. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: #81
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 6/22/2013
What I Liked: The acting in general was well done, especially by Victor Sjöström and Ingrid Thulin. The inclusion of the fighting married couple was a great metaphor for what life would be like for Ingrid Thulin and Gunner Björnstrand’s characters if they didn’t work out their differences and learn to love each other again.
What I Disliked: The events of Wild Strawberries are portrayed to take course over a day, which makes it seem unrealistic that someone could atone for all of life’s faults that quickly. The biggest problem I had was not with the movie but with the disk itself; namely, someone’s commentary talked over the entire movie, forcing me to watch it on mute at times because I wasn’t interested in random commentary.
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)
Rationale: Present day scenes were fine, but the flashbacks were hard to follow because characters in them were not well defined.
Movie #212: Argo
Movie #: 212
Movie Title: Argo
Year Released: 2012
Director: Ben Affleck
Notable Cast: Ben Affleck, Brian Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin
Short Description: A dramatization of the 1980 joint CIA-Canadian secret operation to extract six fugitive American diplomatic personnel out a revolutionary Iran. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #82
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 6/13/2013
What I Liked: If you know the history of the Iranian hostage crisis, you’ll know how this movie ends. That said, I was still on the edge of my seat from the moment the escapees arrived at the airport, especially when they were taken off for interrogation. Based on the pictures of the real life escapees that rolled during the credits next to pictures of the actors and actresses that played them, the casting and makeup for this movie was exceptional. The people in the movie ended up being spitting images of their real life counterparts. Ben Affleck, Jeff Goodman, and Alan Arkin have great onscreen chemistry together and I would love to see them do another movie together.
What I Disliked: While I generally like Brian Cranston and the job he does as an actor, I thought he overacted his role in the latter part of the movie. Nothing to do with the movie itself but I was upset that Ben Affleck was snubbed by the Oscars and didn’t receive a nomination for Best Director.
Grade: 4.5 out of 5 (Outstanding)
Rationale: This Best Picture winning movie was arguably my favorite that I saw in theaters last year and I’m happy that it made it onto my 251 list so I could watch it again so soon.
Movie #213: The Great Escape
Movie #: 213
Movie Title: The Great Escape
Year Released: 1963
Director: John Sturges
Notable Cast: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, James Donald, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn
Short Description: Allied POWs plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #82
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 6/11/2013
What I Liked: Though there were a lot of different characters in the movie, they all seemed to have a fair amount of screen time and a chance to develop their characters. I thought Richard Attenborough was particularly good and it was a nice surprise when I found out that he was John Hammond in Jurassic Park. When the main characters do escape, I was pleased that the movie showed a resolution for each one, whether it was recapture, freedom, or death.
What I Disliked: Given that this movie was based on a true story and I don’t feel like researching how much of it was true, it’s hard to argue with it. That said, knowing some history of WWII, I was amazed to see the POWs were treated generally well their German captors and supplies that one would think wouldn’t be available to them were indeed easily accessible. It’s not really something I disliked, but I don’t understand how Steve McQueen gets top billing for this movie when there are many others, like Richard Attenborough, that have larger roles and more screen time. I know Steve McQueen was a big name back in the day, but if that’s the only reason he got top billing that doesn’t seem right.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Rationale: Though three hours is long for a movie, The Great Escape used the time well to develop characters you care about and to tell a story without skimping on detail.
Movie #214: Brazil
Movie #: 214
Movie Title: Brazil
Year Released: 1985
Director: Terry Gilliam
Notable Cast: Jonathan Price, Kim Greist, Robert De Niro, Ian Holm, Michael Palin, Bob Hoskins
Short Description: A bureaucrat in a retro-future world tries to correct an administrative error and himself becomes an enemy of the state. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #83
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 6/5/2013
What I Liked: I have a fascination with futuristic movies and how man and technology are portrayed, so the setting for this movie is something I figured I’d like. What I wasn’t expecting was a future that’s somewhat advanced compared to our present and seemingly in ruin at the same time, mostly due to an overbearing, excessively procedural government. I thought it was a refreshing take on the future.
What I Disliked: I thought the scenes when Jonathan Price’s character, Sam Lowry, was either dreaming or daydreaming were beyond weird. I get that this world that the live in is odd, to say the least, in every way compared to ours, but when he’s flying around looking like Icarus from Greek mythology or when he’s fighting a giant robot-like samurai, those are “what the hell is going on” moments.
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)
Rationale: An odd take on the future that at times is enjoyable because it’s different and not so enjoyable other times because how bizarre it can be.
Movie #215: Groundhog Day
Movie #: 215
Movie Title: Groundhog Day
Year Released: 1993
Director: Harold Ramis
Notable Cast: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky
Short Description: A weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #83
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 5/27/2013
What I Liked: Bill Murray was flawless in this movie. There isn’t a point in the movie where I wasn’t entertained by his attempts to repeat the same day in a different way. It’s possible that Groundhog Day could have gotten by with a different actor just because it’s so well written, but Murray brings something special to role. His interactions with insurance salesman who used to be his schoolmate are the best.
What I Disliked: I thought the ending came on suddenly and given that Murray was learning lessons about how to deal with and treat others through the movie, I was expecting some sort of “moral of the story” at the end, which I didn’t see happen.
Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
Rationale: Groundhog Day shines because of a fantastically well written story and a brilliant acting job by Bill Murray.
Movie #216: Airplane!
Movie #: 216
Movie Title: Airplane!
Year Released: 1980
Director: Jim Abrahams and David Zucker
Notable Cast: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielson, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Robert Stack, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Short Description: An airplane crew takes ill. Surely the only person capable of landing the plain is an ex-pilot afraid to fly. But don’t call him Shirley. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #84
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 5/27/2013
What I Liked: The funniest part of the movie is when the kid who’s invited up to the cockpit accuses Roger Murdock of being Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It’s rare when a movie breaks from convention and points out that it’s a movie or its stars are actually actors and Airplane! did it in a perfect way with Kareem. The stewardess addressing the two passengers in jive was also great.
What I Disliked: Knowing that Airplane! is considered by many to be among the funniest movies there is, I went in with high expectations. Sadly, it wasn’t as funny as I hoped. Other than the two parts I mentioned that I liked, I’ve either seen bits of the movie before so it wasn’t a new experience (ex. “and don’t call me Shirley) or the laughs just plain weren’t there (ex. Leslie Neilson’s character continually popping his head into the cockpit to unintentionally put pressure on Robert Hays’ character).
Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Rationale: Though I was slightly disappointed and expected more laughs, Airplane! was funny at points and just ok the rest of the time.
Movie #218: Gran Torino
Movie #: 218
Movie Title: Gran Torino
Year Released: 2008
Director: Clint Eastwood
Notable Cast: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Her, Christopher Carley
Short Description: Disgruntled Korean War vet Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, a young Hmong teenager, who tried to steal Kowalski’s prized possession: his 1972 Gran Torino. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #84
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 5/22/2013
What I Liked: In a way, I could relate to Clint Eastwood’s character, Walt. Don’t get me wrong, I hope I’m never that crotchety and mean-spirited, but aspects of his character, both good and bad, are things I can relate to. That feeling makes this movie truly special in my eyes. The ability to not only understand a character but to feel a connection is powerful. His gradual evolution into a caring soul was handled spectacularly, culminating in his redemption of character through sacrifice in the end.
What I Disliked: A minor note was that at times Eastwood’s speech was difficult to understand because of his gravely tone, but it wasn’t often.
Grade: 4.5 out of 5 (Outstanding)
Rationale: With a fantastic story and great depth in its characters, this is one of my new personal favorites and the best movie I’ve seen to date on my list of 251.
Movie #219: A Night at the Opera
Movie #: 219
Movie Title: A Night at the Opera
Year Released: 1935
Director: Sam Wood
Notable Cast: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx
Short Description: A sly business manager and two wacky friends of two opera singers help them achieve success while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #85
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 5/21/2013
What I Liked:
What I Disliked: No, I didn’t forget to put anything in the “What I Liked” section. There simply was nothing in this movie I cared for. I was excited going in knowing I would finally get to see a Marx brothers movie after knowing for a long time that they ruled the big screen in their day as the kings of comedy. Not only were they not funny, but I was so disinterested that I spaced out at times. As I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post, there is definitely a disconnect between what was once funny and what is now funny.
Grade: 1 out of 5 (Poor)
Rationale: Probably the worst movie I’ve seen to date since none of the others were so bad that I stopped paying attention.
Movie #220: Blue Velvet
Movie #: 220
Movie Title: Blue Velvet
Year Released: 1986
Director: David Lynch
Notable Cast: Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern
Short Description: The gruesome discovery of a severed human ear he found in a field leads a young man on a dark and dangerous journey into a dark and sinister underworld that exists in his hometown. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #85
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 5/4/2013
What I Liked: I recognized one of the actors from Jurassic Park.
What I Disliked: Everything. First, a guy with no police training finds an ear and thinks “hey, I’ll play detective and solve this mystery” instead of “this ear was severed for a reason, maybe I should back off”. Then, he illegally enters a suspect’s home to spy on them and ends up having a sexual relationship with the suspect, who turns out to be a married victim of extortion. After learning all of that, he tries to help her escape this life rather than going to the police and letting them do their job, almost resulting in her death. All of this happens while he’s being a pedophile by hitting on a high school girl who happens to be the daughter of a law enforcement agent and she herself is in a relationship already. There is a point where manufactured drama can make a movie interesting, but this movie fell way short in my opinion.
Grade: 1 out of 5 (Poor)
Rationale: Decent acting wasn’t enough to save this movie from its abysmal, ill-conceived plot.
Movie #221: Carrie
Movie #: 221
Movie Title: Carrie
Year Released: 1976
Director: Brian De Palma
Notable Cast: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, John Travolta, William Katt
Short Description: A young, abused and timid 17-year-old girl discovers she has telekinesis, and gets pushed to the limit on the night of her school’s prom by a humiliating prank. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #86
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 5/2/2013
What I Liked: I found the only entertaining parts to be the prom scene and when, in a dream, Carrie’s hand bursts out of the rubble of her burned and demolished house. Even though you could see something like that coming, it still made me jump, which is something few movies have done.
What I Disliked: For a movie that supposedly is a staple of the horror genre, I was bored for the majority of it. Thankfully the movie wasn’t terribly long and the last 20ish minutes were decent cause I really don’t know if I would have been able to pay attention much longer.
Grade: 2 out of 5 (Fair)
Rationale: Other than the last 20 minutes, quite a letdown for a movie typically billed as a must see horror film.
Movie #222: The King of Comedy
Movie #: 222
Movie Title: The King of Comedy
Year Released: 1983
Director: Martin Scorsese
Notable Cast: Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Diahnne Abbott, Sandra Bernhard
Short Description: Aspiring comic Rupert Pupkin wants to achieve success in showbiz, by resorting to stalking his idol, a late night talk show host who craves his own privacy. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #87
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 4/13/2013
What I Liked: Sandra Bernhard played an excellent co-stalker of Jerry Lewis’ character, almost like being a creepy stalker came natural to her.
What I Disliked: All the buildup in the movie is definitely not worth it when De Niro’s character finally gets a chance to show his boring, unfunny act. It’s no wonder why the screeners for the talk show were in a hurry to push him out the door.
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)
Rationale: Probably a better grade than the movie deserves but Sandra Bernhard made her parts very entertaining.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Movie #223: Training Day
Movie #: 223
Movie Title: Training Day
Year Released: 2001
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Notable Cast: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger, Eva Mendes
Short Description: On his first day on the job as a narcotics officer, a rookie cop works with a rouge detective who isn’t what he appears. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: #87
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 4/11/2013
What I Liked: Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke gave strong performances in their respective roles and the action during the gun fight scenes was superb. Denzel’s character using a chain of smaller events that he setup to blackmail Ethan’s character was smart and well written.
What I Disliked: Maybe I missed it but I was left wanting more information about the deal that went south for Denzel’s character that got him in trouble with the Russian mafia. I know he met with two men at a diner and briefly discussed events, but I didn’t quite follow all of it.
Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
Rationale: All aspects of the story, action, and acting were carried out well and Denzel was definitely deserving of his Best Actor Oscar win.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Movie #224: Bringing Up Baby
Movie #: 224
Movie Title: Bringing Up Baby
Year Released: 1938
Director: Howard Hawks
Notable Cast: Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Charles Ruggles, May Robson
Short Description: While trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard “Baby.” (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #88
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 4/8/2013
What I Liked: The movie had a slapstick feel to it without being in your face about it. I thought Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant were great and had superb chemistry.
What I Disliked: The entire movie Cary Grant’s character can’t stand being around Katherine Hepburn’s character and he wants nothing to do with her. Then, out of nowhere right at the end he’s suddenly in love with her. What the hell? The sudden change in feelings felt like a poorly forced happy ending.
Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Rationale: The light comedic aspect of the film withstands the test of time and makes it an amusing watch.
Recap Of Movies #226-251
Adjustments
Movie #: 228
Movie Title: The Conversation
Original Grade: 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)
Adjusted Grade: 2 out of 5 (Fair)
Movie #: 249
Movie Title: Star Trek
Original Grade: 4.5 out of 5 (Outstanding)
Adjusted Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
My Best to Worst of #226-251
| Movie # | Movie Title | My Grade |
| 233 | Sophie's Choice | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 249 | Star Trek | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 235 | Persona | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 248 | Cinderella Man | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 238 | Ocean's Eleven | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 250 | The Sting | 4 out of 5 (Excellent) |
| 226 | Rain Man | 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good) |
| 240 | A Fistful of Dollars | 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good) |
| 232 | When Harry Met Sally | 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good) |
| 244 | The Untouchables | 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good) |
| 229 | Catch Me If You Can | 3 out of 5 (Good) |
| 227 | Magnolia | 3 out of 5 (Good) |
| 246 | Shaun of the Dead | 3 out of 5 (Good) |
| 251 | Ben-Hur | 3 out of 5 (Good) |
| 242 | The Last Picture Show | 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory) |
| 231 | Swing Time | 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory) |
| 237 | The French Connection | 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory) |
| 234 | The Big Sleep | 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory) |
| 228 | The Conversation | 2 out of 5 (Fair) |
| 241 | Grease | 2 out of 5 (Fair) |
| 247 | Yankee Doodle Dandy | 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal) |
| 236 | Spirit of the Beehive | 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal) |
| 243 | Do the Right Thing | 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal) |
| 239 | Princess Mononoke | 1 out of 5 (Poor) |
| 245 | Shadow of a Doubt | 1 out of 5 (Poor) |
| 230 | Metropolis | 1 out of 5 (Poor) |
Friday, May 17, 2013
Movie #226: Rain Man
Movie #: 226
Movie Title: Rain Man
Year Released: 1988
Director: Barry Levinson
Notable Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino, Gerald R. Molen
Short Description: Selfish yuppie Charlie Babbitt’s father left a fortune to his savant brother Raymond and a pittance to Charlie; they travel cross-country. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #88
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 4/3/2013
What I Liked: Dustin Hoffman was unbelievably good. I don’t know who else was nominated for Best Actor that year but it would have been a crime had he not won. Maybe it’s because he’s a nut in real life, but I always seem to underestimate Tom and I’m constantly proven wrong. Probably should have been at least nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Though slow, the story was very moving.
What I Disliked: While Hans Zimmer is my favorite composer, having done music for movies like The Last Samurai, The Dark Knight, and Gladiator, the music in Rain Man is the worst I’ve heard from him. The tone of the music doesn’t fit the movie and I found it to be distracting at points during scene transitions.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Rationale: Outstanding Oscar winning performance by Dustin Hoffman gives this movie a ton of soul
Movie Title: Rain Man
Year Released: 1988
Director: Barry Levinson
Notable Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino, Gerald R. Molen
Short Description: Selfish yuppie Charlie Babbitt’s father left a fortune to his savant brother Raymond and a pittance to Charlie; they travel cross-country. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #88
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 4/3/2013
What I Liked: Dustin Hoffman was unbelievably good. I don’t know who else was nominated for Best Actor that year but it would have been a crime had he not won. Maybe it’s because he’s a nut in real life, but I always seem to underestimate Tom and I’m constantly proven wrong. Probably should have been at least nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Though slow, the story was very moving.
What I Disliked: While Hans Zimmer is my favorite composer, having done music for movies like The Last Samurai, The Dark Knight, and Gladiator, the music in Rain Man is the worst I’ve heard from him. The tone of the music doesn’t fit the movie and I found it to be distracting at points during scene transitions.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Rationale: Outstanding Oscar winning performance by Dustin Hoffman gives this movie a ton of soul
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Movie #227: Magnolia
Movie #: 227
Movie Title: Magnolia
Year Released: 1999
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Notable Cast: Tom Cruise, Jason Robards, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, John C. Reilly, Philip Baker Hall, Alfred Molina
Short Description: An epic mosaic of several interrelated characters in search of happiness, forgiveness, and meaning in the San Fernando Valley. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #89
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 4/2/2013
What I Liked: It took a while to get there, but by the end of the movie I was totally engrossed in all of the characters. Each one was flawed in a different way and their struggles to fix themselves emotionally were moving. I can’t think of one actor that didn’t give a strong performance.
What I Disliked: I understand characters and stories have to be setup, but at the time I saw it the first half of the movie felt pointless and tough to watch because none of the characters or stories were connected yet and the movie relies on those connection. In a movie that I could see as being totally realistic, the raining of frogs at the very end seemed out of place and unnecessary, regardless of if there was a deeper meaning behind it.
Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Rationale: The second half of the movie was outstanding and redeemed, what I thought, was a subpar first half
Movie Title: Magnolia
Year Released: 1999
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Notable Cast: Tom Cruise, Jason Robards, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, John C. Reilly, Philip Baker Hall, Alfred Molina
Short Description: An epic mosaic of several interrelated characters in search of happiness, forgiveness, and meaning in the San Fernando Valley. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #89
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 4/2/2013
What I Liked: It took a while to get there, but by the end of the movie I was totally engrossed in all of the characters. Each one was flawed in a different way and their struggles to fix themselves emotionally were moving. I can’t think of one actor that didn’t give a strong performance.
What I Disliked: I understand characters and stories have to be setup, but at the time I saw it the first half of the movie felt pointless and tough to watch because none of the characters or stories were connected yet and the movie relies on those connection. In a movie that I could see as being totally realistic, the raining of frogs at the very end seemed out of place and unnecessary, regardless of if there was a deeper meaning behind it.
Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Rationale: The second half of the movie was outstanding and redeemed, what I thought, was a subpar first half
Movie #229: Catch Me If You Can
Movie #: 229
Movie Title: Catch Me If You Can
Year Released: 2002
Director: Steven Spielberg
Notable Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Amy Adams, Nathalie Baye
Short Description: A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars’ worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #90
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 3/18/2013
What I Liked: As they are in most movies, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks were fantastic. I know nothing about the true story that this movie is based on besides what I’ve now seen, but I think that those two were perfect for their respective parts.
What I Disliked: Because the movie seems slow at times, if you lose concentration on what’s happening a little bit of adjusting is needed when the movie jumps between the present and flashbacks.
Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Rationale: A fascinating true story that is well acted and keeps you wondering what Abagnale will get away with next
Movie Title: Catch Me If You Can
Year Released: 2002
Director: Steven Spielberg
Notable Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Amy Adams, Nathalie Baye
Short Description: A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars’ worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #90
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 3/18/2013
What I Liked: As they are in most movies, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks were fantastic. I know nothing about the true story that this movie is based on besides what I’ve now seen, but I think that those two were perfect for their respective parts.
What I Disliked: Because the movie seems slow at times, if you lose concentration on what’s happening a little bit of adjusting is needed when the movie jumps between the present and flashbacks.
Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Rationale: A fascinating true story that is well acted and keeps you wondering what Abagnale will get away with next
Movie #230: Metropolis
Movie #: 230
Movie Title: Metropolis
Year Released: 1927
Director: Fritz Lang
Notable Cast: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Frohlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge
Short Description: In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city’s mastermind falls in love with a working class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #90
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 3/10/2013
What I Liked: At times the music was enjoyable.
What I Disliked: Everything else. At many points I wanted to cheat on this project by stopping the movie and not finishing it but I endured just to say I’ve seen arguably my least favorite movie ever. It’s a shame too because the only information I had about this movie going in was the short description on the Netflix DVD sleeve it was sent to me in and that made the premise sound fascinating compared to IMDB’s description. I actually had to watch most of the movie a second night because I fell asleep less than half way through. I’ve enjoyed plenty of movies that are old or foreign or black and white so maybe it was the silent part mixed with terrible acting and a different expectation of the premise that did me in.
Grade: 1 out of 5 (Poor)
Rationale: 86 year old black and white silent foreign film with bad acting and mislead expectations sums it up.
Movie Title: Metropolis
Year Released: 1927
Director: Fritz Lang
Notable Cast: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Frohlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge
Short Description: In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city’s mastermind falls in love with a working class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #90
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 3/10/2013
What I Liked: At times the music was enjoyable.
What I Disliked: Everything else. At many points I wanted to cheat on this project by stopping the movie and not finishing it but I endured just to say I’ve seen arguably my least favorite movie ever. It’s a shame too because the only information I had about this movie going in was the short description on the Netflix DVD sleeve it was sent to me in and that made the premise sound fascinating compared to IMDB’s description. I actually had to watch most of the movie a second night because I fell asleep less than half way through. I’ve enjoyed plenty of movies that are old or foreign or black and white so maybe it was the silent part mixed with terrible acting and a different expectation of the premise that did me in.
Grade: 1 out of 5 (Poor)
Rationale: 86 year old black and white silent foreign film with bad acting and mislead expectations sums it up.
Movie #231: Swing Time
Movie #: 231
Movie Title: Swing Time
Year Released: 1936
Director: George Stevens
Notable Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore, Helen Broderick
Short Description: A performer and gambler travels to New York City to raise the $25,000 he needs to marry his fiancée, only to become entangled with a beautiful inspiring dancer. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #90
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 3/10/2013
What I Liked: Nothing really stood out as a like for me other than the attempt at humor and plot in general made it more entertaining than the comparable Yankee Doodle Dandy.
What I Disliked: I wasn’t fond of the characters Pop and Mabel and thought they sort of detracted from the focus of the movie at times.
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)
Rationale: Nothing special but nothing terrible; just ok
Movie Title: Swing Time
Year Released: 1936
Director: George Stevens
Notable Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore, Helen Broderick
Short Description: A performer and gambler travels to New York City to raise the $25,000 he needs to marry his fiancée, only to become entangled with a beautiful inspiring dancer. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #90
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 3/10/2013
What I Liked: Nothing really stood out as a like for me other than the attempt at humor and plot in general made it more entertaining than the comparable Yankee Doodle Dandy.
What I Disliked: I wasn’t fond of the characters Pop and Mabel and thought they sort of detracted from the focus of the movie at times.
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)
Rationale: Nothing special but nothing terrible; just ok
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Movie #232: When Harry Met Sally
Movie #: 232
Movie Title: When Harry Met Sally
Year Released: 1989
Director: Rob Reiner
Notable Cast: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby
Short Description: Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin their friendship. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #90
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 3/3/2013
What I Liked: I enjoyed Harry’s take on life compared to Sally’s. His willingness and at time eagerness to question and go against the flow was a nice contrast to Sally’s position of simply living with what life threw at her. I liked that the movie showed the characters at different points in their life and relationship rather than focusing on a static point in time.
What I Disliked: Because I’m two months late doing the review I don’t recall anything I strongly disliked, which is a good thing for this movie.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Rationale: The dynamics in the relationship between Harry and Sally made this movie interesting to watch
Movie Title: When Harry Met Sally
Year Released: 1989
Director: Rob Reiner
Notable Cast: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby
Short Description: Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin their friendship. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #90
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 3/3/2013
What I Liked: I enjoyed Harry’s take on life compared to Sally’s. His willingness and at time eagerness to question and go against the flow was a nice contrast to Sally’s position of simply living with what life threw at her. I liked that the movie showed the characters at different points in their life and relationship rather than focusing on a static point in time.
What I Disliked: Because I’m two months late doing the review I don’t recall anything I strongly disliked, which is a good thing for this movie.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Rationale: The dynamics in the relationship between Harry and Sally made this movie interesting to watch
Movie #233: Sophie’s Choice
Movie #: 233
Movie Title: Sophie’s Choice
Year Released: 1982
Director: Alan J. Pakula
Notable Cast: Meryl Streep, Kevin Klein, Peter MacNicol
Short Description: Sophie is the survivor of Nazi concentration camps, who has found a reason to live in Nathan, a sparkling if unsteady American Jew obsessed with the Holocaust. They befriend Stingo, the movie’s narrator, a young American writer new to New York City. But the happiness of Sophie and Nathan is endangered by her ghosts and his obsessions. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #91
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 3/3/2013
What I Liked: I really never understood why critics love Meryl Streep until I saw this movie. To say she was captivating in an understatement as she gave quite the powerful performance in her flashback of the time she spent at the Nazi concentration camps. Kevin Klein was also very convincing as a borderline psychopath whose mood could change at any moment from living and loving life to anger fueled by the fires of hell.
What I Disliked: Stingo accepts a very rushed and overbearing offering at close friendship by Sophie and Nathan without really knowing them and I found that a tad ill advised. The relationship between the main characters seemed flighty early in the movie and had me close to losing interest.
Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
Rationale: While I thought the movie started out a bit scattered, Meryl Streep’s performance had me clamoring for more and wishing I hadn’t judged it prematurely.
Movie Title: Sophie’s Choice
Year Released: 1982
Director: Alan J. Pakula
Notable Cast: Meryl Streep, Kevin Klein, Peter MacNicol
Short Description: Sophie is the survivor of Nazi concentration camps, who has found a reason to live in Nathan, a sparkling if unsteady American Jew obsessed with the Holocaust. They befriend Stingo, the movie’s narrator, a young American writer new to New York City. But the happiness of Sophie and Nathan is endangered by her ghosts and his obsessions. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #91
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 3/3/2013
What I Liked: I really never understood why critics love Meryl Streep until I saw this movie. To say she was captivating in an understatement as she gave quite the powerful performance in her flashback of the time she spent at the Nazi concentration camps. Kevin Klein was also very convincing as a borderline psychopath whose mood could change at any moment from living and loving life to anger fueled by the fires of hell.
What I Disliked: Stingo accepts a very rushed and overbearing offering at close friendship by Sophie and Nathan without really knowing them and I found that a tad ill advised. The relationship between the main characters seemed flighty early in the movie and had me close to losing interest.
Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
Rationale: While I thought the movie started out a bit scattered, Meryl Streep’s performance had me clamoring for more and wishing I hadn’t judged it prematurely.
Grading Scale
For your viewing pleasure, this is the grading scale I will be using going forward in an attempt to be consistent with how I grade movies. Already have a few of my late reviews done so expect them in the next few days.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Catching Up
It's early May 2013 and I'm about 14 movies behind pace to finish watching all 251 by the end of 2014. I've also seen 14 movies that I haven't written reviews for yet. Needless to say, I'm a slacker.
To get caught up with my late reviews, please forgive me if I don't include a ton in my likes and dislikes sections. Honestly, at this point I don't recall some of the movies I've seen well enough to be very thorough and in general it takes a decent portion of time to write a review.
In other news, I found a chart I'll be using as a guide for the grades I give. Hopefully that chart will be posted soon. I'll also be writing a brief summary after each set of 25 movies I review and adjusting grades as I see fit.
More to come soon.
To get caught up with my late reviews, please forgive me if I don't include a ton in my likes and dislikes sections. Honestly, at this point I don't recall some of the movies I've seen well enough to be very thorough and in general it takes a decent portion of time to write a review.
In other news, I found a chart I'll be using as a guide for the grades I give. Hopefully that chart will be posted soon. I'll also be writing a brief summary after each set of 25 movies I review and adjusting grades as I see fit.
More to come soon.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Movie #234: The Big Sleep
Movie #: 234
Movie Title: The Big Sleep
Year Released: 1946
Director: Howard Hawks
Notable Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Martha Vickers, John Ridgely
Short Description: Private detective Philip Marlowe is hired by a rich family. Before the complex case is over, he’s seen murder, blackmail, and what might be love. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: #92
Date Watched: 3/3/2013
What I Liked: The acting was generally well done, especially Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. I got a laugh out of the movie making you believe that an effective disguise is putting on glasses and flipping up the brim of your hat. There was also a humorous moment when a woman lets down her hair and Bogart’s character, turned on by her sudden appearance change, seductively says “hello”. The audience is then led to believe he successfully fools around with her.
What I Disliked: As with a few other movies I’ve seen already on this list, in my opinion there were too many characters and not enough character development for some of them. The movie seemed to deviate fairly quickly from should have been the main plot (blackmail) and took a long time to get back to it, focusing on murder instead.
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)
Rationale: I wrote this review ten days after seeing the movie and I can barely remember most of it, which is a prime example of average movie.
Movie Title: The Big Sleep
Year Released: 1946
Director: Howard Hawks
Notable Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Martha Vickers, John Ridgely
Short Description: Private detective Philip Marlowe is hired by a rich family. Before the complex case is over, he’s seen murder, blackmail, and what might be love. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: #92
Date Watched: 3/3/2013
What I Liked: The acting was generally well done, especially Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. I got a laugh out of the movie making you believe that an effective disguise is putting on glasses and flipping up the brim of your hat. There was also a humorous moment when a woman lets down her hair and Bogart’s character, turned on by her sudden appearance change, seductively says “hello”. The audience is then led to believe he successfully fools around with her.
What I Disliked: As with a few other movies I’ve seen already on this list, in my opinion there were too many characters and not enough character development for some of them. The movie seemed to deviate fairly quickly from should have been the main plot (blackmail) and took a long time to get back to it, focusing on murder instead.
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)
Rationale: I wrote this review ten days after seeing the movie and I can barely remember most of it, which is a prime example of average movie.
Movie #235: Persona
Movie #: 235
Movie Title: Persona
Year Released: 1966
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Notable Cast: Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann
Short Description: A nurse is put in charge of an actress who can’t talk and finds that the actress’s persona is melding with hers. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: #93
Date Watched: 2/23/2013
What I Liked: The acting was spectacular, especially by Bibi Andersson as Nurse Alma. The film focuses on the relationship between Nurse Alma and Elisabeth Volger, played by Liv Ullmann, and since Ullmann’s character has lost the ability, or will, to talk, Andersson was charged with carrying the film on her shoulders. I think she succeeded in every way. I was gripped by each conversation Alma had with Elisabeth even though Elisabeth never answered back verbally. The emotion that both actresses put into their characters was impressive.
What I Disliked: Near the end of the film I couldn’t tell if you were being led to believe that Alma and Elisabeth were actually the same person and you were just viewing different perspectives of a singular personality the entire time, or if Elisabeth was just seeing Alma become her but they were still different people.
Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
Rationale: Surprising good given that it was a foreign language film (Swedish) and the premise sounded a bit boring
Movie Title: Persona
Year Released: 1966
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Notable Cast: Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann
Short Description: A nurse is put in charge of an actress who can’t talk and finds that the actress’s persona is melding with hers. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: #93
Date Watched: 2/23/2013
What I Liked: The acting was spectacular, especially by Bibi Andersson as Nurse Alma. The film focuses on the relationship between Nurse Alma and Elisabeth Volger, played by Liv Ullmann, and since Ullmann’s character has lost the ability, or will, to talk, Andersson was charged with carrying the film on her shoulders. I think she succeeded in every way. I was gripped by each conversation Alma had with Elisabeth even though Elisabeth never answered back verbally. The emotion that both actresses put into their characters was impressive.
What I Disliked: Near the end of the film I couldn’t tell if you were being led to believe that Alma and Elisabeth were actually the same person and you were just viewing different perspectives of a singular personality the entire time, or if Elisabeth was just seeing Alma become her but they were still different people.
Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
Rationale: Surprising good given that it was a foreign language film (Swedish) and the premise sounded a bit boring
Movie #236: Spirit of the Beehive
Movie #: 236
Movie Title: Spirit of the Beehive
Year Released: 1973
Director: Victor Erice
Notable Cast: Ana Torrent, Isabel Telleria, Teresa Gimpera, Fernando Fernan Gomez
Short Description: A sensitive seven-year-old girl living in a small village in 1940 rural Spain is traumatized after viewing James Whale’s “Frankenstein” and drifts into her own fantasy world. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #93
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 2/17/2013
What I Liked: The acting of the young girl who played Ana, the lead in the film, was well done.
What I Disliked: If a central part of the film is the fact that Ana stumbles across a wounded military deserter who she thinks is the incarnation of Frankenstein, I don’t understand why he’s in the movie for less than 5 minutes. I was intrigued when I read that in the movie’s description on Netflix and then very disappointment by the quick resolution of that plot line. Isabel, the other young girl in the film, seemed very mentally disturbed, and the few moments that focused on that felt out of place in the film. I didn’t get the point of showing the beehive at the beginning and end of the film, other than to maybe symbolize chaos and relate that to the workings of a child’s imagination. Even then, it didn’t seem to me that Ana was overly fantasizing anything and letting her imagination get the best of her.
Grade: 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)
Rationale: The first of back-to-back foreign language films (this one was Spanish) has me nervous to watch the next one
Movie Title: Spirit of the Beehive
Year Released: 1973
Director: Victor Erice
Notable Cast: Ana Torrent, Isabel Telleria, Teresa Gimpera, Fernando Fernan Gomez
Short Description: A sensitive seven-year-old girl living in a small village in 1940 rural Spain is traumatized after viewing James Whale’s “Frankenstein” and drifts into her own fantasy world. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #93
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 2/17/2013
What I Liked: The acting of the young girl who played Ana, the lead in the film, was well done.
What I Disliked: If a central part of the film is the fact that Ana stumbles across a wounded military deserter who she thinks is the incarnation of Frankenstein, I don’t understand why he’s in the movie for less than 5 minutes. I was intrigued when I read that in the movie’s description on Netflix and then very disappointment by the quick resolution of that plot line. Isabel, the other young girl in the film, seemed very mentally disturbed, and the few moments that focused on that felt out of place in the film. I didn’t get the point of showing the beehive at the beginning and end of the film, other than to maybe symbolize chaos and relate that to the workings of a child’s imagination. Even then, it didn’t seem to me that Ana was overly fantasizing anything and letting her imagination get the best of her.
Grade: 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)
Rationale: The first of back-to-back foreign language films (this one was Spanish) has me nervous to watch the next one
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Movie #237: The French Connection
Movie #: 237
Movie Title: The French Connection
Year Released: 1971
Director: William Friedkin
Notable Cast: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey, Tony Lo Bianco
Short Description: A pair of NYC cops in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a drug smuggling job with a French connection. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #93
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 2/17/2013
What I Liked: The few action scenes were exciting, especially Hackman chasing the above-ground subway train through the streets of, what I assume is Brooklyn, based on the little bit of NYC that I’ve seen. How the drugs were being smuggled, and specifically where they were being stored, was pretty genius. The scene where Hackman and his partner stage a fake bust just so he could talk to his informant while others being busted thought the informant was being interrogated was cool.
What I Disliked: Nothing stood out and made this movie special. Gene Hackman was just ok and none of the other actors were all that great. The ending was a huge letdown because of the lack of a definitive conclusion, but that mostly has to do with the fact that the film is based off true events. Too many characters with little development for each made it hard to follow who was who at times.
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)
Rationale: I wanted it to be better than average, but the anti-climatic ending offset the little excitement I had with the rest of the movie
Movie Title: The French Connection
Year Released: 1971
Director: William Friedkin
Notable Cast: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey, Tony Lo Bianco
Short Description: A pair of NYC cops in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a drug smuggling job with a French connection. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #93
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 2/17/2013
What I Liked: The few action scenes were exciting, especially Hackman chasing the above-ground subway train through the streets of, what I assume is Brooklyn, based on the little bit of NYC that I’ve seen. How the drugs were being smuggled, and specifically where they were being stored, was pretty genius. The scene where Hackman and his partner stage a fake bust just so he could talk to his informant while others being busted thought the informant was being interrogated was cool.
What I Disliked: Nothing stood out and made this movie special. Gene Hackman was just ok and none of the other actors were all that great. The ending was a huge letdown because of the lack of a definitive conclusion, but that mostly has to do with the fact that the film is based off true events. Too many characters with little development for each made it hard to follow who was who at times.
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)
Rationale: I wanted it to be better than average, but the anti-climatic ending offset the little excitement I had with the rest of the movie
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Movie #238: Ocean’s Eleven
Movie #: 238
Movie Title: Ocean’s Eleven
Year Released: 2001
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Notable Cast: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia, Bernie Mac, Elliott Gould, Don Cheadle, Casey Affleck, Scott Cann
Short Description: Danny Ocean and his eleven accomplices plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #94
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 2/14/2013
What I Liked: The cast that was assembled for this movie is out of this world amazing. Any time you can get George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, or Julia Roberts in your movie it’s probably going to do well, but to have all four of them? That’s movie heaven. In addition to the main stars, the supporting cast was excellent throughout. I’ve got a fascination with heist movies so the story had me from the get-go. I had a chuckle when watching the behind the scenes because Clooney made a reference to the movie The Sting, which is #250 on my list and during my review of that movie I said it reminded me of Ocean’s Eleven.
What I Disliked: Everything went too well for Danny and his group. While you’re watching you see road bumps ahead for the characters and wonder how they’ll get out of a jam, but after the bumps pass you see that they were almost planned by Danny and the group instead of thrown at them unexpectedly. It would have been nice to see something go wrong that wasn’t planned so they would have had to work on the fly.
Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
Rationale: A very good movie with a cast that is unparalleled, other than the two sequels, which add Catherine Zeta-Jones and Al Pacino
Movie Title: Ocean’s Eleven
Year Released: 2001
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Notable Cast: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia, Bernie Mac, Elliott Gould, Don Cheadle, Casey Affleck, Scott Cann
Short Description: Danny Ocean and his eleven accomplices plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #94
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 2/14/2013
What I Liked: The cast that was assembled for this movie is out of this world amazing. Any time you can get George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, or Julia Roberts in your movie it’s probably going to do well, but to have all four of them? That’s movie heaven. In addition to the main stars, the supporting cast was excellent throughout. I’ve got a fascination with heist movies so the story had me from the get-go. I had a chuckle when watching the behind the scenes because Clooney made a reference to the movie The Sting, which is #250 on my list and during my review of that movie I said it reminded me of Ocean’s Eleven.
What I Disliked: Everything went too well for Danny and his group. While you’re watching you see road bumps ahead for the characters and wonder how they’ll get out of a jam, but after the bumps pass you see that they were almost planned by Danny and the group instead of thrown at them unexpectedly. It would have been nice to see something go wrong that wasn’t planned so they would have had to work on the fly.
Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
Rationale: A very good movie with a cast that is unparalleled, other than the two sequels, which add Catherine Zeta-Jones and Al Pacino
Friday, February 15, 2013
Movie #239: Princess Mononoke
Movie #: 239
Movie Title: Princess Mononoke
Year Released: 1997
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Notable Cast: Billy Crudup, Billy Bob Thornton, Minnie Driver, Jada Pinkett Smith, Gillian Anderson, Keith David, Claire Danes
Short Description: On a journey to find a cure for Tatarigami’s curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #94
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 2/12/2013
What I Liked: I enjoyed the music as it had an epic feel to it at times. Billy Crudup and Claire Danes did a good job with the voice work for the main characters Ashitaka and San.
What I Disliked: Almost everything, although that may derive from the fact I made a cardinal sin of watching anime with English voiceovers instead of in its native Japanese with English subtitles. I should know better than to do that since I own some anime and most of it is in Japanese. Other than Crudup and Danes, the entire rest of the cast had absolutely no emotion in their voiceovers and it was awkward listening to Billy Bob Thornton, with his southern accent, try to be a Japanese character. It’s not that I didn’t understand the overall message of the story, but there were many points where I exclaimed out loud “wtf?” or “that’s dumb”, whether because of plot developments, art style, or especially the voiceovers.
Grade: 1 out of 5 (Poor)
Rationale: I may correct my mistake and watch it again someday, but this attempt was a disaster mainly because of the awful English voiceovers
Movie Title: Princess Mononoke
Year Released: 1997
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Notable Cast: Billy Crudup, Billy Bob Thornton, Minnie Driver, Jada Pinkett Smith, Gillian Anderson, Keith David, Claire Danes
Short Description: On a journey to find a cure for Tatarigami’s curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #94
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 2/12/2013
What I Liked: I enjoyed the music as it had an epic feel to it at times. Billy Crudup and Claire Danes did a good job with the voice work for the main characters Ashitaka and San.
What I Disliked: Almost everything, although that may derive from the fact I made a cardinal sin of watching anime with English voiceovers instead of in its native Japanese with English subtitles. I should know better than to do that since I own some anime and most of it is in Japanese. Other than Crudup and Danes, the entire rest of the cast had absolutely no emotion in their voiceovers and it was awkward listening to Billy Bob Thornton, with his southern accent, try to be a Japanese character. It’s not that I didn’t understand the overall message of the story, but there were many points where I exclaimed out loud “wtf?” or “that’s dumb”, whether because of plot developments, art style, or especially the voiceovers.
Grade: 1 out of 5 (Poor)
Rationale: I may correct my mistake and watch it again someday, but this attempt was a disaster mainly because of the awful English voiceovers
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Movie #240: A Fistful of Dollars
Movie #: 240
Movie Title: A Fistful of Dollars
Year Released: 1964
Director: Sergio Leone
Notable Cast: Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volonté, Marianne Koch
Short Description: A wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: #95
Date Watched: 2/10/2013
What I Liked: I enjoyed the premise of a man screwing with other people and making them fight each other; kind of has a psychological thriller feel to it. The action was well done given the time that this movie was made, specifically Eastwood’s character’s escape from capture and the last standoff at the end of the movie. Clint Eastwood was a perfect choice for “The Man With No Name”-type character cause he can play a badass very well.
What I Disliked: I was unaware before starting the movie that it was originally Italian and only later dubbed for English, so it was hard watching at first while thinking that the editing job was terrible in that the voices didn’t match up with the actor’s mouths. What was going on at times was a little difficult to understand, but I blame that more on the poor dubbing job and the inability to clearly understand characters at times than the direction or plot of the movie. The crying and whining of the child in the movie was irritating.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Rationale: A good start to a trilogy and has me looking forward to watching the sequels, especially The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Movie Title: A Fistful of Dollars
Year Released: 1964
Director: Sergio Leone
Notable Cast: Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volonté, Marianne Koch
Short Description: A wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: #95
Date Watched: 2/10/2013
What I Liked: I enjoyed the premise of a man screwing with other people and making them fight each other; kind of has a psychological thriller feel to it. The action was well done given the time that this movie was made, specifically Eastwood’s character’s escape from capture and the last standoff at the end of the movie. Clint Eastwood was a perfect choice for “The Man With No Name”-type character cause he can play a badass very well.
What I Disliked: I was unaware before starting the movie that it was originally Italian and only later dubbed for English, so it was hard watching at first while thinking that the editing job was terrible in that the voices didn’t match up with the actor’s mouths. What was going on at times was a little difficult to understand, but I blame that more on the poor dubbing job and the inability to clearly understand characters at times than the direction or plot of the movie. The crying and whining of the child in the movie was irritating.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Rationale: A good start to a trilogy and has me looking forward to watching the sequels, especially The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Movie #241: Grease
Movie #: 241
Movie Title: Grease
Year Released: 1978
Director: Randal Kleiser
Notable Cast: Jon Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway
Short Description: Good girl Sandy and greaser Danny fell in love over the summer. But when they unexpectedly discover they’re now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance? (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #95
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 2/7/2013
What I Liked: I thought Olivia Newton-John was a fantastic singer, especially during the song “Hopelessly Devoted to You”. I was particularly fond of the songs “You’re the One That I Want”, “Greased Lightnin’”, and “Summer Nights”. It was kind of humorous watching Travolta’s character Danny try-out for the different sports and how his attempts ended up.
What I Disliked: Consequences were not learned by characters: Frenchy drops out of high school and then is welcomed back with open arms, Rizzo has unprotected sex but doesn’t end up pregnant, and Danny is a jerk to Sandy but gets the girl in the end. Other than Kenickie I found Danny’s friends to be super annoying. The songs “Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee” and “We Go Together” were absolutely terrible. I honestly didn’t think Travolta was all that good as Danny and I only thought of him as a really poor man’s Fonzie.
Grade: 2 out of 5 (Fair)
Rationale: Too much annoyance with songs and characters keeps this movie from a better score
Movie Title: Grease
Year Released: 1978
Director: Randal Kleiser
Notable Cast: Jon Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway
Short Description: Good girl Sandy and greaser Danny fell in love over the summer. But when they unexpectedly discover they’re now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance? (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #95
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 2/7/2013
What I Liked: I thought Olivia Newton-John was a fantastic singer, especially during the song “Hopelessly Devoted to You”. I was particularly fond of the songs “You’re the One That I Want”, “Greased Lightnin’”, and “Summer Nights”. It was kind of humorous watching Travolta’s character Danny try-out for the different sports and how his attempts ended up.
What I Disliked: Consequences were not learned by characters: Frenchy drops out of high school and then is welcomed back with open arms, Rizzo has unprotected sex but doesn’t end up pregnant, and Danny is a jerk to Sandy but gets the girl in the end. Other than Kenickie I found Danny’s friends to be super annoying. The songs “Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee” and “We Go Together” were absolutely terrible. I honestly didn’t think Travolta was all that good as Danny and I only thought of him as a really poor man’s Fonzie.
Grade: 2 out of 5 (Fair)
Rationale: Too much annoyance with songs and characters keeps this movie from a better score
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Movie #242: The Last Picture Show
Movie #: 242
Movie Title: The Last Picture Show
Year Released: 1971
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Notable Cast: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman
Short Description: A group of 1950’s high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied West Texas town that is slowly dying, both economically and culturally. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #95
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/31/2013
What I Liked: Overall I thought the movie was well acted and the characters’ stories were well developed. In particular I was fascinated watching a young Jeff Bridges as I’ve always meant to see his movies but haven’t had the chance. I got a kick out of how the times have changed and how back in the day offering cigarettes and alcohol to high schoolers was ok, the gym teacher hitting slackers and calling them piss-ants was not frowned upon, and parents inquired about their high schoolers sex lives with almost a hint of jealousy rather than anger or disappointment.
What I Disliked: Promiscuous boob. With the amount of sleeping around a cheating that was going on throughout the movie, especially with Cybill Shephard’s character Jacy Farrow, you’d think was I was watching a very old softcore porn movie but with an actual story to it. I kept waiting for Sonny Crawford, played by Timothy Bottoms, to get caught sleeping with his gym teacher/coach’s wife but that never happened. It wasn’t explained why Sonny stayed after graduating when his best friend and crush/girlfriend/wife/estranged wife both left their dying town.
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)
Rationale: I really didn’t love it or hate it; it was just ok.
Movie Title: The Last Picture Show
Year Released: 1971
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Notable Cast: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman
Short Description: A group of 1950’s high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied West Texas town that is slowly dying, both economically and culturally. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #95
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/31/2013
What I Liked: Overall I thought the movie was well acted and the characters’ stories were well developed. In particular I was fascinated watching a young Jeff Bridges as I’ve always meant to see his movies but haven’t had the chance. I got a kick out of how the times have changed and how back in the day offering cigarettes and alcohol to high schoolers was ok, the gym teacher hitting slackers and calling them piss-ants was not frowned upon, and parents inquired about their high schoolers sex lives with almost a hint of jealousy rather than anger or disappointment.
What I Disliked: Promiscuous boob. With the amount of sleeping around a cheating that was going on throughout the movie, especially with Cybill Shephard’s character Jacy Farrow, you’d think was I was watching a very old softcore porn movie but with an actual story to it. I kept waiting for Sonny Crawford, played by Timothy Bottoms, to get caught sleeping with his gym teacher/coach’s wife but that never happened. It wasn’t explained why Sonny stayed after graduating when his best friend and crush/girlfriend/wife/estranged wife both left their dying town.
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)
Rationale: I really didn’t love it or hate it; it was just ok.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Movie #243: Do the Right Thing
Movie #: 243
Movie Title: Do the Right Thing
Year Released: 1989
Director: Spike Lee
Notable Cast: Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, John Turtutto, Samuel L. Jackson
Short Description: On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone’s hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #96
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/30/2013
What I Liked: Some of the characters were interesting and well acted, such as Da Mayor, played by Ossie Davis, and Sal, played by Danny Aiello. Although both were in small roles, it was cool to see a movie from early in the career of Samuel L. Jackson and Martin Lawrence. The movie had a good message to it in the end about working and living together or we’ll all end up killing each other.
What I Disliked: The message I mentioned in my likes was buried in a movie that made no sense. I’m not sure if this is Spike Lee’s typical style of direction but jumping between characters and their random daily happenings made it hard follow and develop an interest with most characters. In general I found scenes and some characters to be very annoying or pointless to the overall message. The randomness and droning on about topics sort of reminded me of how I felt about the movie Clerks, which is not a movie I particularly enjoyed.
Grade: 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)
Rationale: There was very little I liked in this movie because of how randomly the movie jumped around between characters and scenes and how annoying and/or pointless some characters were.
Movie Title: Do the Right Thing
Year Released: 1989
Director: Spike Lee
Notable Cast: Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, John Turtutto, Samuel L. Jackson
Short Description: On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone’s hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #96
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/30/2013
What I Liked: Some of the characters were interesting and well acted, such as Da Mayor, played by Ossie Davis, and Sal, played by Danny Aiello. Although both were in small roles, it was cool to see a movie from early in the career of Samuel L. Jackson and Martin Lawrence. The movie had a good message to it in the end about working and living together or we’ll all end up killing each other.
What I Disliked: The message I mentioned in my likes was buried in a movie that made no sense. I’m not sure if this is Spike Lee’s typical style of direction but jumping between characters and their random daily happenings made it hard follow and develop an interest with most characters. In general I found scenes and some characters to be very annoying or pointless to the overall message. The randomness and droning on about topics sort of reminded me of how I felt about the movie Clerks, which is not a movie I particularly enjoyed.
Grade: 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)
Rationale: There was very little I liked in this movie because of how randomly the movie jumped around between characters and scenes and how annoying and/or pointless some characters were.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Movie #244: The Untouchables
Movie #: 244
Movie Title: The Untouchables
Year Released: 1987
Director: Brian De Palma
Notable Cast: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia
Short Description: Federal Agent Eliot Ness sets out to stop Al Capone; because of rampant corruption, he assembles a small, hand-picked team. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #96
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/27/2013
What I Liked: Kevin Costner played his part well as Federal Agent Eliot Ness and Robert De Niro made a good Al Capone. The shootouts seemed to me to have a Quentin Tarantin feel to them, and while I don’t normally care for his style, I appreciated it in this movie. It’s always fun taking like Sean Connery when watching a movie with him in it. I was surprised to see that while Agent Oscar Wallace, played by Charles Martin Smith, was an accountant in the government and considered the weak man the team, he was still a badass in a gun fight.
What I Disliked: Considering this was a movie about taking down Al Capone I was disappointed that he appeared maybe three times in the first hour and only for a couple of minutes each time. The death of Jim Malone, played by Sean Connery, was excessively overdramatic. Even if it was historically accurate, I don’t understand using men on horses to charge a contraband exchange when the smugglers are in cars.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Rationale: Good action and, as far as I’m aware, and accurate story but not enough Al Capone early in the movie.
Movie Title: The Untouchables
Year Released: 1987
Director: Brian De Palma
Notable Cast: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia
Short Description: Federal Agent Eliot Ness sets out to stop Al Capone; because of rampant corruption, he assembles a small, hand-picked team. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #96
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/27/2013
What I Liked: Kevin Costner played his part well as Federal Agent Eliot Ness and Robert De Niro made a good Al Capone. The shootouts seemed to me to have a Quentin Tarantin feel to them, and while I don’t normally care for his style, I appreciated it in this movie. It’s always fun taking like Sean Connery when watching a movie with him in it. I was surprised to see that while Agent Oscar Wallace, played by Charles Martin Smith, was an accountant in the government and considered the weak man the team, he was still a badass in a gun fight.
What I Disliked: Considering this was a movie about taking down Al Capone I was disappointed that he appeared maybe three times in the first hour and only for a couple of minutes each time. The death of Jim Malone, played by Sean Connery, was excessively overdramatic. Even if it was historically accurate, I don’t understand using men on horses to charge a contraband exchange when the smugglers are in cars.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Rationale: Good action and, as far as I’m aware, and accurate story but not enough Al Capone early in the movie.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Movie #245: Shadow of a Doubt
Movie #: 245
Movie Title: Shadow of a Doubt
Year Released: 1943
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Notable Cast: Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotton, Hume Cronyn
Short Description: A young woman discovers her visiting “Uncle Charlie” may not be the man he seems to be. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: #97
Date Watched: 1/27/2013
What I Liked: Teresa Wright was hot as a 24-year-old in 1943. I know that’s very deep analysis, but that’s all I’ve got.
What I Disliked: Hitchcock’s style is too boring for me. All I was thinking was get to the point. I know he’s famous for being the master of suspense but I didn’t see it. The acting was terrible, especially in the two young children. The dynamic between Charlie, played by Teresa Wright, and her Uncle Charlie, played by Joseph Cotton, was creepy in the first half of the movie. The way they looked at and touched each other sort of gave off an incestual tone.
Grade: 1 out of 5 (Poor)
Rationale: It’s bad when the only good thing I have to say is that the lead actress was good looking 70 years ago.
Movie Title: Shadow of a Doubt
Year Released: 1943
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Notable Cast: Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotton, Hume Cronyn
Short Description: A young woman discovers her visiting “Uncle Charlie” may not be the man he seems to be. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: #97
Date Watched: 1/27/2013
What I Liked: Teresa Wright was hot as a 24-year-old in 1943. I know that’s very deep analysis, but that’s all I’ve got.
What I Disliked: Hitchcock’s style is too boring for me. All I was thinking was get to the point. I know he’s famous for being the master of suspense but I didn’t see it. The acting was terrible, especially in the two young children. The dynamic between Charlie, played by Teresa Wright, and her Uncle Charlie, played by Joseph Cotton, was creepy in the first half of the movie. The way they looked at and touched each other sort of gave off an incestual tone.
Grade: 1 out of 5 (Poor)
Rationale: It’s bad when the only good thing I have to say is that the lead actress was good looking 70 years ago.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Movie #246: Shaun of the Dead
Movie #: 246
Movie Title: Shaun of the Dead
Year Released: 2004
Director: Edgar Wright
Notable Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield
Short Description: A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #97
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/27/2013
What I Liked: Simon Pegg is a much better actor than I’ve given him credit for. I saw this movie once before and because I didn’t like it then I don’t think I gave Pegg a fair chance. The tavern scene where the humans beat a zombie with pool sticks in tune with the song Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen is humorous. David, the annoying guy in the group, dies a pretty gruesome death.
What I Disliked: Zombie movies tend to be mostly the same in my opinion so I’m not a huge fan of the sub-genre. I know it was because of the subtle humor but the zombies standing around instead of running after the humans or passing on easy chances when they are standing next to non-moving humans contradicts all other zombie movies. David didn’t get killed off fast enough.
Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Rationale: It’s not my favorite zombie movie but not the worst I’ve seen either and honestly much better than the first time I watched it.
Movie Title: Shaun of the Dead
Year Released: 2004
Director: Edgar Wright
Notable Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield
Short Description: A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #97
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/27/2013
What I Liked: Simon Pegg is a much better actor than I’ve given him credit for. I saw this movie once before and because I didn’t like it then I don’t think I gave Pegg a fair chance. The tavern scene where the humans beat a zombie with pool sticks in tune with the song Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen is humorous. David, the annoying guy in the group, dies a pretty gruesome death.
What I Disliked: Zombie movies tend to be mostly the same in my opinion so I’m not a huge fan of the sub-genre. I know it was because of the subtle humor but the zombies standing around instead of running after the humans or passing on easy chances when they are standing next to non-moving humans contradicts all other zombie movies. David didn’t get killed off fast enough.
Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Rationale: It’s not my favorite zombie movie but not the worst I’ve seen either and honestly much better than the first time I watched it.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Movie #247: Yankee Doodle Dandy
Movie #: 247
Movie Title: Yankee Doodle Dandy
Year Released: 1942
Director: Michael Curtiz
Notable Cast: James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston
Short Description: A film of the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer, and singer George M. Cohan. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #98
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/23/2013
What I Liked: I got a huge laugh out of the part in the movie where James Cagney, as George M. Cohan, was in costume as an old man and had Joan Leslie, as Mary, totally convinced. While I’m not a fan of tap dancing, I do recognize it takes skill to do it and James Cagney was impressive in his dancing scenes. Also, when I saw that Cagney was in the movie that pleasantly reminded me of a quote from the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie where Michelangelo does a fairly accurate impersonation of Cagney’s voice.
What I Disliked: This is only the fifth movie of 251 and I was already willing to quit my goal after 20 minutes of watching just so I’d be able to turn the movie off. The disconnect between what was entertainment 70 years ago and what entertainment is today is very apparent in the bad songs and dancing from back in the day. I don’t blame the movie for the bad songs and dancing; instead, I blame the people who lived in the early 1900s for thinking those songs and dances were good. The movie is just the unfortunate medium that’s used to present the bad songs and dancing.
Grade: 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)
Rationale: If not for the few parts I liked involving James Cagney, this would have been completely unwatchable and gotten a 1 of out 5.
Movie Title: Yankee Doodle Dandy
Year Released: 1942
Director: Michael Curtiz
Notable Cast: James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston
Short Description: A film of the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer, and singer George M. Cohan. (IMDB.com)
Rank on the Top 100 Lists
AFI.com: #98
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A
Date Watched: 1/23/2013
What I Liked: I got a huge laugh out of the part in the movie where James Cagney, as George M. Cohan, was in costume as an old man and had Joan Leslie, as Mary, totally convinced. While I’m not a fan of tap dancing, I do recognize it takes skill to do it and James Cagney was impressive in his dancing scenes. Also, when I saw that Cagney was in the movie that pleasantly reminded me of a quote from the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie where Michelangelo does a fairly accurate impersonation of Cagney’s voice.
What I Disliked: This is only the fifth movie of 251 and I was already willing to quit my goal after 20 minutes of watching just so I’d be able to turn the movie off. The disconnect between what was entertainment 70 years ago and what entertainment is today is very apparent in the bad songs and dancing from back in the day. I don’t blame the movie for the bad songs and dancing; instead, I blame the people who lived in the early 1900s for thinking those songs and dances were good. The movie is just the unfortunate medium that’s used to present the bad songs and dancing.
Grade: 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)
Rationale: If not for the few parts I liked involving James Cagney, this would have been completely unwatchable and gotten a 1 of out 5.
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