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
Sunday, February 17, 2013
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)