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.
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