Movie #89: The Dark Knight Rises

Movie #: 89
Movie Title: The Dark Knight Rises
Year Released: 2012

Director: Christopher Nolan
Notable Cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Morgan Freeman

Short Description: Eight years after the Joker's reign of anarchy, the Dark Knight, with the help of the enigmatic Selina, is forced from his imposed exile to save Gotham City, now on the edge of total annihilation, from the brutal guerrilla terrorist Bane. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #40
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #36
FlickChart.com: N/A

Note: This is the last movie on my list to appear on only two of the top 100 lists I used to compile the 251 movies I’m watching.



Date Watched: 7/6/2016

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)

Rationale: The Dark Knight Rises got the grade it needed AND deserved rather than a higher grade because of the asinine plot that there’s a bomb set to explode in five months OR a “random” person can blow it up sooner. Huh? Seriously though, I love the portrayal of Bane by Tom Hardy and the physicality he brought to the role. Anne Hathaway was much better than I anticipated as Selina Kyle and I’m a fan of the fact that she was never specifically called Catwoman, but rather only referred to as a cat burglar. The easter egg at the end of the movie regarding Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s John Blake and the secret he uncovers was a perfect open ended cliffhanger to the trilogy. The Dark Knight Rises had big shoes to fill after the success of The Dark Knight and it made an admirable attempt.

Movie #96: The 400 Blows

Movie #: 96
Movie Title: The 400 Blows
Year Released: 1959

Director: François Truffaut
Notable Cast: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier

Short Description: Moving story of a young boy who, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #41
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: #53



Date Watched: 6/22/2016

Grade: 2 out of 5 (Fair)
Adjusted Grade: 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)

Rationale: I’m not sure why this needed to be made into a movie. A lying, thieving kid has a rough home life, causes enough trouble at school to be expelled, and runs away from the reform school he’s sent to. Probably a subject more worthy of being made into a documentary than a feature length film given how true that plot is for some families nowadays. Easily the best part was when the physical education teacher led the students on a march outside the school and a couple at a time the kids peeled off and ran to freedom during their school day. That was by no means exciting or original, but it’s the most noteworthy part I care to recall.

Movie #90: The Lion King

Movie #: 90
Movie Title: The Lion King
Year Released: 1994

Director: Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff
Notable Cast: Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Moira Kelly, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Rowan Atkinson, Robert Guillaume, Madge Sinclair, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, Jim Cummings

Short Description: Lion cub and future king Simba searches for his identity. His eagerness to please others and penchant for testing his boundaries sometimes gets him into trouble. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #80
Ranker.com: #80
Lifed.com: #97
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #27
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 7/5/2016

Grade: 4.5 out of 5 (Outstanding)

Rationale: I’ve seen The Lion King so many times in my life that I could easily have written this without watching it again, but there’s no need to pass on watching one of the best animated movies ever just because you’ve seen it already. The Lion King is the perfect blend of top notch animation, superb voice acting (especially Jeremy Irons as Scar), catchy songs and music, and a wonderfully told story with an important life lesson about learning from your mistakes instead of running and hiding from them. I don’t have a single favorite animated movie; rather, I have three favorites that tend to be interchangeable and rotate as my number one. The Lion King is one of those three and I don’t see that ever changing.

Movie #92: M

Movie #: 92
Movie Title: M
Year Released: 1931

Director: Fritz Lang
Notable Cast: Peter Lorre, Otto Wernicke, Gustaf Gründgens

Short Description: When the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #52
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: #36



Date Watched: 7/4/2016

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)

Rationale: I was thoroughly impressed with M. For an 85 year old movie the story felt very modern, almost like one you’d find in an episode of Law and Order. Usually I dread old, black and white, foreign films I know nothing about, but M is a perfect example of when you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover (or a movie by certain qualifiers like old and foreign). Though I will rarely advocate for reboots or remakes, M is one that I wouldn’t mind a current director and cast taking a crack at more so to bring light to this version that I’m sure few people know of and everyone should be aware of.

Movie #93: No Country for Old Men

Movie #: 93
Movie Title: No Country for Old Men
Year Released: 2007

Director: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Notable Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald

Short Description: Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong and more than two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #39
Lifed.com: #78
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #75
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 7/3/2016

Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)

Rationale: I wanted to love No Country for Old Men because Javier Bardem was incredible as bad guy hitman Anton Chigurh. Unfortunately it’s only good in my book. The story is well written and very cerebral, but I never got a feeling of suspense or excitement likely because of its slow pace. The only scene that had me glued to the screen was when Anton eerily questioned a shop keeper and essentially threatened his life with a coin flip being the deciding factor between life and death. It probably doesn’t help No Country’s case that in my opinion There Will Be Blood was a much better movie from 2007 even though No Country ended up as the Best Picture Oscar winner.

Movie #94: Bicycle Thieves

Movie #: 94
Movie Title: Bicycle Thieves
Year Released: 1948

Director: Vittorio De Sica
Notable Cast: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell, Vittorio Antonucci

Short Description: Set in Post-WWII Italy, a working class man's bicycle is stolen. He and his son set out to find it. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #92
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: #41
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: #60



Date Watched: 7/1/2016

Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)

Rationale: Bicycle Thieves was just alright. Nothing was really bad about it although the internal conflict of Antonio Ricci near the end of the film when he contemplated stealing a bike to replace the one that was stolen from him was drawn out longer than needed. In a good way I was mildly surprised by the ending as I wasn’t expecting that conclusion, even though it was sort of hinted at.

Movie #95: Amélie

Movie #: 95
Movie Title: Amélie
Year Released: 2001

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Notable Cast: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Raymond Dufayel

Short Description: Amélie is an innocent and naive girl in Paris with her own sense of justice. She decides to help those around her and, along the way, discovers love. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #64
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: #28
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 6/30/2016

Grade: 2 out of 5 (Fair)

Rationale: The main character, Amélie, annoyed the hell out of me 90% of the time. While trying to fix other people’s problems she goes almost the entire movie actively and aggressively avoiding her own, specifically relating to a love interest she’s never talked to face to face because she’s so bizarre and timid. Literally, she concocts an elaborate plot to get this guy as far away from his scooter as possible, while still having a distant view of it, so he can see her return an item he lost because she can’t get over her own fear of talking to him and just hand him his item. WTF? The 10% of the time I didn’t mind Amélie was when she went Kevin McCallister from Home Alone on a rude shop keeper and rigged his house to mildly torture him as payback.