TACBrave's Movie Blog

MOVIE REVIEW - Lincoln Lawyer, The (2011)

2011-08-21T09:55:00.001-05:00

Great plot. Bad directing. Annoying music. Unpleasant characters, all.

MOVIE REVIEW - Fighter, The (2010)

2010-12-26T17:51:00.000-06:00

From a quality perspective, it's probably a 7. From an enjoyment perspective, about a 3. So I'll average it to a 5. If a movie has heavy drug use, I'm almost never a fan; and this is no exception. Christian Bale is getting rave reviews for his crackhead brother role; and while he may have been alright (and lost almost as much weight as he did in The Machinist), his character was so deplorable and unpleasant and self-serving that I couldn't appreciate the role. Similar with Melissa Leo as Marky and Christian's whack-job mom - she did do a great job, but wow, one messed up woman. And those 7 sisters, now that was comic relief! They say Kentucky is full of hicks? Those Massachusetts girls were white trash to the max. Hilarious, though. Also hilarious how Christian kept jumping out the back window. As an homage to X-Files, I wish they had had the mom say to the sisters, "I'm haungry", in her best Mamma Peacock fashion. Mark and Amy were stellar, and the "fight for the dream" story in the movie was appropriately heartwarming. But overall, there was such filth and selfishness run amok, it was hard for me to enjoy it.

MOVIE REVIEW - Unstoppable (2010)

2010-12-21T11:40:00.001-06:00

Quite a good thriller, where the "bad guy" is a runaway train with no driver. They did an excellent of job of making an inanimate object menacing. I looked up the supposed "true story" that this was based on, and surprisingly, something similar (though less dramatic, but still extremely dangerous) did occur in 2001 in Ohio - a driverless train going over 50 mph! The film had some mild eye-rolling dialog and overly dramatic melodrama and unrealistic action, but overall, it really had me on the edge of my seat.

I think this movie would easily span gender as enjoyable.

MOVIE REVIEW - Food, Inc. (2008)

2010-03-01T00:34:00.001-06:00

Happy to see McLean County, KY playing such an important part of our nation's food supply! That's about an hour and a half from me. The Kentucky farmer, at first, was willing to show the film crew his barn. Why? Because he thought there was nothing wrong with what they were doing - it's farming! The only reason Perdue didn't want them in the barn is because they knew the filmmakers would be perverting the message - which they really, really did. When the filmmaker found the woman farmer who let him in the barn, I kept expecting to see something unnatural, something horrific. No, I saw a chicken barn. She said, "It is nasty in here, there is dust flying everywhere, there are feces in here." Duh, lady, IT'S WHAT CHICKEN BARNS LOOK LIKE! It's pretty close to what chicken barns looked like when I grew up on the farm 30 years ago, except more efficient.

"The industry doesn't want you to know the truth about where your food is coming from; because if you knew, you may not want to eat it." What he should have said is, "America has become so feminine, so whiny, so far removed from anything realistic, that if they saw a slaughterhouse, no matter how perfectly kept and efficient and healthy it is, they would be horrified that meat is really a dead animal." Yes, meat is a dead animal. It's called the food chain, you idiots.

The filmmaker is criticizing McDonalds for having the workers be an assembly line. McDonalds should be praised for revolutionizing the industry and nearly eradicating poverty in our country. GOOD FOR THEM, no matter how much this idiot filmmaker criticizes them.

The filmmaker says our farming is still a "pastoral fantasy", implying that it no longer is that. It's not true. While the pasture is different than it used to be, it is still a pasture, still a farm, and still produces the same product - beef - that it used to. Only better. More efficient. Better tasting. Just as healthy, if not moreso.

"It's just the notion of a tomato", he says. Uh, no, it's still a tomato. Same components, same DNA. Just more efficient, year-round, bigger, plumper.

At most every point, when the filmmaker was trying to make a shocking point, I was cheering on the industry. It is excellent that the food companies have become so efficient. We have a huge demand for food. And these companies have stepped up to the plate and found a way to feed us all. GOOD FOR THEM! Good for all of us. It drives me insane that we are complaining about the factory farms. If we do as this filmmaker wishes and shuts down the farm, that very filmmaker will then be complaining about the MANY MILLIONS of people who are then dying of starvation.

The one woman (supposedly a Republican - yeah, right) whose son died from ecoli needs to go back home and deal with her very legitimate and sad loss. She is the Cindy Sheehan of the food industry. Yes, it is very sad and tragic that her kid died. But would she really have us believe that the prior farming methods were better, less susceptible to disease, less likely to kill a random kid? In addition to the added starvation (in droves), the prior methods were TONS more disease-ridden, dirtier, unsanitary. Every time the filmmaker snuck in and got a snapshot of the modern day barn or factory or slaughterhouse, I was amazed at how excellent the conditions were. Have these people never seen a pre-factory-farm farm? They are dirty! They have dead chickens and deformed cows and sickly pigs. Of course the filmmaker was able to find a random chicken falling over. There were thousands of chickens, it ain't tough finding one that's sick!

I was talking to a prosecuting attorney last week for my job, and she said that emotions need to be removed from law. She said that there should never, ever, be a law named after some victim. Because those laws tend to be made out of emotion, but usually over-extend their potential good by a lot; and that the laws are seldom used for their original purpose. For instance, Kentucky has just passed Amanda's Law, after a lady sort of knew that was killed last year by her ex-fiance. Amanda's law is supposed to now protect women from domestic abuse. The prosecuting attorney said that this law will instead be used as revenge by girlfriends mad at their boyfriends, who they want to keep from going hunting. She said that when emotion gets into the law, logic and fairness goes out the door. The woman in this movie who lost her son is not a conservative - conservatives deal with their tragedy, rather than forcing their tragedy on the entire population.

I'm sad to see WalMart caving into the Organic Market. It means that the irrational liberals are making enough ground so that stupid people who believe the lies about factory farms are buying enough to somewhat change the competitive market. Makes me sad and mad.

Certainly, there are a couple of points in the film that I agree with. The huge food companies are taking over the industry, and they are doing so largely by lobbying to government on their own behalf. I hate that reality. But I don't just hate it in the food industry. I hate it in all industries. Government should not, constitutionally, be in bed with business in any way. The food companies are stealing when they do this (e.g., getting government subsidies to encourage grain). But so is every other industry - pharmaceuticals, energy, manufacturing, everyone. It's all outrageous, and the food industry no less. Even as a farmer, I've always vehemently disagreed with the agriculture subsidies the government gives - to the point of paying farmers NOT to grow crops in many instances - insane. So, yes, I want that eliminated. I also agree that the companies should be severely fined for hiring illegal aliengs. But these are complaints I have with government policies in general.

The other point I was unaware of, and agreed with the side of the filmmaker, was the Monsanto seed patent issue. It's insane that the patent office granted Monsanto that patent - so that every small or large farmer is now subservient to Monsanto. Since the seed propagates through pollination, no one can keep the seed out of their fields. Thus, they can no longer save their seeds to plant next year's crops - something that has been done (thanks to Nature) since the beginning of time. Those small, older farmers, are getting screwed. This is not acceptable policy.

Filmmakers like these just have no conception of what farming is like, and what it's been like throughout history. Animals are herded for the purpose of being food for us. That's just reality. It's not a new reality, it's historic reality - historic since the beginning of MAN. If you want to be a vegetarian, then cool, that's another discussion. But these guys were trying to make me horrified at the factory farm specifically; and instead, I was just really, really impressed at their accomplishments, for everyone's benefit. Good for them. Good for the filmmaker, too, since he gets to eat a lot better than he otherwise would.

I was already furious at the filmmakers. And then came the closing credits, which made my eyes bleed. "You can vote to change this system. Three times a day. Buy from companies that treat workers, animals, and the environment with respect. When you go to the supermarket, choose foods that are in season. Buy foods that are organic. Know what's in your food. Read the labels. The average meal travels 1500 miles from the farm to the supermarket. Buy foods that are grown locally. Shop at farmer's markets. Plant a garden (even a small one). Cook a meal with your family and eat together. Everyone has a right to healthy food. Make sure your farmer's market takes good stamps. Ask your school board to provide healthy school lunches. The FDA and USDA are supposed to protect you and your family. Tell Congress to enforce food safety standards and re-introduce Kevin's Law. If you say grace, ask for food that will keep us, and the planet, healthy. You can change the world with every bite. Hungry for change? go to takepart.com/foodinc."

This is statist philosophy to a tee. It's total crap. Uninformed, manipulative, evil crap.

MOVIE REVIEW - Lovely Bones, The (2009)

2010-02-09T17:02:00.002-06:00

This awful adaptation of the apparently awful book by Alice Sebold stars two of my favorite actors in Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz. This hideous script and hideous execution of said script so wasted their admirable talents.

Things I hated about the movie (spoiler alerts, galore!):
* Ridiculous "theology" of the in-between world, where people who have all been murdered by the same person apparently go until that person has been, um, not caught, but found out. As soon as they are found out, the murdered sisterhood gets to happily move on to heaven, full of rainbows and water and changing seasons and light. Yee haw.
* The ultra-annoying Saoirse Ronan, who is no less awful here than she was in her hideous Oscar-nominated Atonement.
* Mark Wahlberg, with his ultra-huge biceps, elevated sense of vengeance, and BASEBALL BAT, gets beaten up by an unsuspecting wimpy teenager trying to have sex in a cornfield. Yeah, that's realistic.
* Said wimpy teenager and his now-pregnant cornfield girlfriend are part of the ""lovely bones"" that followed in the wake of Saoirse's murder. Hey, the cornfield girlfriend may think his bones are lovely, but I think they're all just white trash.
* The unbelievably long haul of the leaded safe from Tucci's truck to the sinkpit. Uh, could that have been drawn out any longer? Couldn't the truck have been moved back about 20 yards? Wouldn't those thumps have been better used thumping the director's head? And with all that "suspense", Saoirse (in said leaded safe) still ends up unfound in the pit? UGH!
* Saoirse, instead of coming back to avenge the killer, came back to - seriously??? - kiss her boyfriend, via the mystic? And by boyfriend, I mean ""kid who she had one conversation with, once""???!!! UGH!
* Karma gets Tucci. Yay. Ugh, how hideous.
* Sister, in the only decent scene in the entire movie, breaks into Tucci's house to find the evidence. And she does - but only as Tucci comes into the house. But wait - instead of taking the evidence and running, she - seriously??? - turns the page in the book. Yes, killer is downstairs, but I'm gonna turn a couple more pages just to see what I've got. This is just an awful movie.
* Sister finally has the evidence back in her house, and lo and behold, mom is back home from a long-spent emotional sabbatical. So no, let's not call the police yet, let's not let everyone know the urgent evidence in my hand; let's have family time first. Oh. My. God. I really hate this movie.
* The Asian "murdered sisterhood" girl was almost as annoying as Saoirse.
* Also as annoying as Saoirse was the not-so-young couple who sat behind me and brought their INFANT to the theater. Yes, infant - the kid could not have been more than 2 months old. Cried, cooed, and stared at the way-too-much-stimulation-for-an-infant movie. Worse, the couple constantly TALKED (not whispered) to each other about how next to deal with their crying infant. After the movie, I considered running them over with my car, just to spare the child of the next 20 years of horror being raised by these rednecks.

MOVIE REVIEW - Sunshine Cleaning (2009)

2010-02-09T17:01:00.002-06:00

Amy Adams stars in this inspiring, difficult, and sometimes dreary indie film about a maid who starts a new business cleaning crime scenes. Her entrepreneurial spirit was admirable.

MOVIE REVIEW - Blind Side, The (2009)

2010-02-09T17:01:00.001-06:00

Sandra Bullock finally carries a movie competently. She plays a real-life wealthy Southerner who takes in a homeless black kid, who ultimately becomes NFL player Michael Oher. This is an inspiring story, heavy on the sap, but also heavy on the laughs. This story shows compassion in action, and I know of several real-life families who have made similar choices. Good for them.

MOVIE REVIEW - 2012 (2009)

2010-02-09T17:00:00.002-06:00

Special Effects? 8/10. Entertainment value? 6/10. Shrill fever-pitch liberal preaching? 1/10. Overall? So much less than it could have been.

MOVIE REVIEW - Men Who Stare at Goats, The (2009)

2010-02-09T17:00:00.000-06:00

It’s not everyone’s humor, but it certainly was mine. I laughed a LOT at the quirky supposed psychics trying to end wars with their thoughts. The anti-war preaching got in the way of my enjoyment, but when the goat fell over, I was in stitches. Stars Clooney, Bridges, McGregor, and Spacey, in tailor-made roles.

MOVIE REVIEW - Inglourious Basterds (2009)

2010-02-09T16:59:00.000-06:00

A fictional renegade band of Jews (led by Brad Pitt) collects 100 Nazi scalps, per Basterd. I dislike Quentin Tarrantino movies; but this was giddy fun. Christoph Waltz deserves the supporting Oscar for grinning through his Nazi cruelty. A “glourious”, fictional, insane ending caps a near-perfect crazy masterpiece. A unique part of the movie is that I liked nearly everyone in it. Brad was incredible. He explained somewhat in his initial speech why he wanted the scalps - because the Nazi's want to do the same to the Jews, and we're gonna show 'em what it's like (I use "'em", because Brad would've). I liked every Basterd that we got to know - the Bear Jew (you can even make him a Fan on Facebook); Stiglitz (the guy who the broke out of prison); and BJ Novak (mostly because he finally hopped away from The Office for a rewarding bit part). I didn't think the good guys were evil at all. They were confidently and joyously doing their righteous work, and good for them. I loved - LOVED - Christoph Waltz. The opening scene at the farm house was terrifying and amazing. His grin, his relishing of his job, his cruelty - it was like he was licking his lips and fingers after eating delicious ribs, during every scene. What a ham, that I thought he kept perfectly in line. It made his penultimate scene make sense and seem (can I even use this term in this absurdly crazy movie?) realistic. He needs (and just may get) an Oscar win. He is this year's Anton Chigurh. Bridget von Hammersmark, and the excruciating basement bar scene, were top notch. Shoshanna was excellent, as were ALL of her scenes (watching Waltz drink his milk was edge-of-your-seat fantastic) - except for the only flaw in the movie - the one you mentioned with putting on lipstick to Bowie - that was SO out of place and stupid. Faux-artsy crap is right. But only for this one scene - the rest is a masterpiece.

MOVIE REVIEW - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)

2010-02-09T16:58:00.000-06:00

I wanted to like it more. It was colorful, lively, and cute. But it was too much strictly for kids, in my book. Enjoyable, but not great.

MOVIE REVIEW - Jam (2006)

2010-02-09T16:57:00.000-06:00

Stupid ensemble drama about a bunch of people stuck in a traffic jam, and their pathetic lives.

MOVIE REVIEW - Moon (2009)

2010-02-09T16:54:00.002-06:00

Sam Rockwell stars as multiple characters in this sci-fi about a contractor living in isolation for 3 years on the moon. It’s trippy, as he thinks he’s losing his mind when the mission nears an end. Sam makes some wacky movies, and he makes them better than they could’ve been.

MOVIE REVIEW - 500 Days of Summer (2009)

2010-02-09T16:54:00.001-06:00

What a delight! Zooey Deschanel (Mumford) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock from the Sun) shine as two doomed lovers. They laugh and dance, bouncing through their romance; but the viewer is the one who has the most fun, time-hopping from their dreamy start, to their sad demise, back to the excitement days. Summer is an infectious girl, as are the 500 days of their romance.

Best of 2009

2010-01-17T23:24:00.006-06:00

It’s been too long since I’ve sent out one of these. I nearly stopped writing movie reviews this year – just ran out of steam. But I didn’t stop viewing or ranking; so hopefully this list is still appreciated by some of you.

Assuming that the Oscar nominations (coming out in 2 weeks) will get it all wrong, and watching the Globes get at least some things right, and along the lines of the format of AFI, I'm listing my choices for the Oscar top categories and the Best of TV for 2009.
The 2009 movies I DID see are:

2012
500 Days of Summer
Adventureland
Armored
Avatar
Battlestar Galactica: Caprica
Blind Side, The
Box, The
Brothers Bloom, The
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Cold Souls
District 9
Drag Me to Hell
Duplicity
Hangover, The
Hurt Locker, The
I Love You, Man
Informant!, The
Inglourious Basterds
International, The
Invictus
Knowing
Lovely Bones, The
Men Who Stare at Goats, The
Michael Jackson: This Is It
Moon
Paranormal Activity
Perfect Getaway, A
Precious
Proposal, The
Public Enemies
Road, The
Saw VI
Sherlock Holmes
Star TrekState of Play
Stepfather, The
Sunshine Cleaning
Taken
Taking of Pelham 123, The
Up
Up in the Air
Watchmen
Where the Wild Things Are
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Zombieland

There are very few movies from 2009 that I missed and want to see. So the following movies could be added at a later time:

Crank 2: High Voltage
Crazy Heart
Extract
Invention of Lying, The
Julie & Julia
Messenger, The
Single Man, A
Transiberian
Whip It

Movies:

Top Movies of the year (in order):

Inglourious Basterds
500 Days of Summer
Avatar
Moon
Precious
The Brothers Bloom
Sherlock Holmes
The Men Who Stare At Goats
Up in the Air
Sunshine Cleaning
The Blind Side
Duplicity
The Hangover
Taken
The Proposal

Best Actor:

Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer)
Sam Rockwell (Moon)
Brad Pitt (Inglourious Basterds)
Matt Damon (The Informant!)
Robert Downey, Jr. (Sherlock Holmes)
Viggo Mortensen (The Road)
Mark Ruffalo (The Brothers Bloom)
Morgan Freeman (Invictus)
Clive Owen (Duplicity)
Russell Crowe (State of Play)
Liam Neeson (Taken)
Paul Giamatti (Cold Souls)
Ryan Reynolds (The Proposal)

Best Actress:

Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Rachel Weisz (The Brothers Bloom)
Amy Adams (Sunshine Cleaning)
Zooey Deschanel (500 Days of Summer)
Julia Roberts (Duplicity)

(Admittedly, I don’t watch many movies with female leads)

Best Director:

Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)
James Cameron (Avatar)
Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)
Rian Johnson (The Brothers Bloom)
Steven Soderbergh (The Informant!)
Lee Daniels (Precious)
Grant Heslov (The Men Who Stare at Goats)
J.J. Abrams (Star Trek)
Todd Phillips (The Hangover)
Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes)

Best Supporting Actor:

Christophe Waltz (Inglourious Basterds – the clear winner)
Ed Helms (The Hangover)
Zachary Quinto (Star Trek)
Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)
Tim McGraw (The Blind Side)
Scott Bakula (The Informant!)
Jeff Bridges (The Men Who Stare at Goats)
Adam Arkin (Sunshine Cleaning)
Timothy Olyphant (A Perfect Getaway)
Matt Damon (Invictus)
Oliver Platt (2012)

Best Supporting Actress:

Monique (Precious – the clear winner)
Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)
Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds)
Paula Patton (Precious)
Melanie Lynskey (The Informant!)
Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)
Mariah Carey (Precious)
Betty White (The Proposal)
Emily Blunt (Sunshine Cleaning)
Sigourney Weaver (Avatar)

Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted):

500 Days of Summer
Inglourious Basterds
The Hangover
The Brothers Bloom
Precious
The Men Who Stare at Goats
Moon
Up in the Air
Sunshine Cleaning
The Informant!
The Road
The Hurt Locker

Best Cinematography:

Avatar
Up in the Air
The Road
The Hurt Locker
A Perfect Getaway
Sherlock Holmes
The Blind Side
The International
The Lovely Bones
Star Trek
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Invictus

And the Razzie awards (so many worthy [unworthy] contenders):

Worst movie of the year:

The Lovely Bones (just awful)
The Box (just awful)
Paranormal Activity (just awful)
Drag Me to Hell
Armored
Michael Jackson: This Is It
Knowing
2012
Saw VI
Watchmen

Worst Director of the year:

Peter Jackson (The Lovely Bones)
Zack Snyder (Watchmen –anyone who thinks we wanted to see a huge blue penis as a primary character on screen deserves to be high on this list)
Clint Eastwood (Invictus – should’ve been a much better movie)
Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker – she’s the reason the movie isn’t higher on my list)
Richard Kelly (The Box)

Worst Actor of the year:

Nicolas Cage (Knowing – if he did a movie, he will probably top this list)
Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland)
Michael Jackson (Michael Jackson: This Is It)
Micah Sloat (Paranormal Activity)
Laurence Fishburne (Armored)

Worst Actress of the year:

Katie Featherston (Paranormal Activity)
Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones)
Kristen Stewart (Adventureland)
Cameron Diaz (The Box)
Alison Lohman (Drag Me to Hell)

Worst Supporting Actor of the year:

Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland)
Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road)
Jason Segel (I Love You, Man)

Worst Supporting Actress of the year:

Maggie Grace (Taken)
Malin Akerman (Watchmen)

Worst Screenplay of the year:

The Lovely Bones
The Box
Armored
Knowing
Where the Wild Things Are

Revisited Movies
Best Movies from 2004, Revisited 5 Years Later

Team America: World Police
Passion of the Christ
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Spanglish
Million Dollar Baby
Finding Neverland
Manchurian Candidate
The Bourne Supremacy
The Machinist
Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle

Best Movies from 1999, Revisited 10 Years Later

Mumford (of course)
Office Space
The Insider
Arlington Road
Notting Hill
The Sixth Sense
Drop Dead Gorgeous
Fight Club
Mystery, Alaska
Spring Forward

Best Movies from 1989, Revisited 20 Years Later

The Fabulous Baker Boys
Batman
Glory
Lethal Weapon 2
Say Anything
Dead Calm
Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade
When Harry Met Sally…
Heathers
Steel Magnolias

Best Movies from 1979, Revisited 30 Years Later

Being There
Kramer vs. Kramer
Alien
The Champ
The China Syndrome
Apocalypse Now
Monty Python’s Life of Brian

Best Movies from 1969, Revisited 40 Years Later

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Wild Bunch
Midnight Cowboy
Easy Rider

Best Movies from 1959, Revisited 50 Years Later

Ben-Hur
North by Northwest

Television (a little awkward halfway through the season):

Best Drama:

Dexter
L O S T
24
The Good Wife
Burn Notice
Mad Men
FlashForward
The Mentalist
Monk
CSI: Miami
V
Castle
CSI
Leverage
Grey’s Anatomy

Best Comedy:

The Big Bang Theory
Glee
Cougar Town
The Office
How I Met Your Mother
30 Rock
Better Off Ted
The Middle
Psych
My Boys
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Best Actor:

Michael C. Hall (Dexter)
Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice)
Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
Simon Baker (The Mentalist)
Terry O’Quinn (L O S T)
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)
James Roday (Psych)
Tony Shaloub (Monk)
Kiefer Sutherland (24)
Steve Carrell (The Office)

Best Actress:

Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)
Lea Michele (Glee)
Cherry Jones (24)
January Jones (Mad Men)
Courteney Cox (Cougar Town)
Evangeline Lilly (L O S T)
Emily Procter (CSI: Miami)
Tina Fey (30 Rock)
Sonya Walger (FlashForward)

Best Supporting Actor:

John Lithgow (Dexter)
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother)
Tracy Morgan (30 Rock)
Michael Emerson (L O S T)
Atticus Shaffer (The Middle)
John Slattery (Mad Men)
John Krasinski (The Office)
Jack McBrayer (30 Rock)
Jorge Garcia (L O S T)
Josh Hopkins (Cougar Town)

Best Supporting Actress:

Jane Lynch (Glee)
Elizabeth Mitchell (L O S T)
Yunjin Kim (L O S T)
Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men)
Annie Wersching (24)
Christina Hendricks (Mad Men)
Beth Riesgraf (Leverage)
Alyson Hannigan (How I Met Your Mother)
Eden Sher (The Middle)
Gina Bellman (Leverage)
Jane Krakowski (30 Rock)
Morena Baccarin (V)
Jayma Mays (Glee)
Jenna Fischer (The Office)

Best Reality Series:

Survivor
Wipeout

MOVIE REVIEW - X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

2009-06-12T15:48:00.004-05:00

Nice origin story, good action, good bad guys, and Wolverine. This is not one for the ages, but it's a decent addition to the X-Men mythology. The scene at the farmhouse was my favorite.

MOVIE REVIEW - Wall Street (1987)

2009-06-12T15:48:00.003-05:00

Oliver Stone made this "the archetypal portrayal of 1980s excess", so says Wikipedia. In reality, Stone made a pretty good movie about a corrupt businessman in the '80's; but this movie in no way portrays the success of the '80s. It does portray what liberals think is the cause of '80s success - greed, corruption, and excess. But Business consists of hundreds of millions of decent people going to work every day to make ends meet and contribute to society. The fact that the '80s had good politics and successful business does not mean that most of them were corrupt - it means that business worked as it should. Obviously, there are plenty of Gordon Gekko's out there (Madoff, Fastow, Ebbers, and plenty in government), but these exceptions don't require socialist takeover of business. They just require good laws that seek out and punish corruption. Back to the movie, Charlie Sheen is too earnest; Michael Douglas doesn't have to act to play sleazy; and Oliver Stone could direct if only he weren't too often on a Marxist mission.

MOVIE REVIEW - Up (2009)

2009-06-12T15:48:00.001-05:00

Thankfully, I saw Up in 3D, so that there was at least something a bit interesting to this dullest of all Pixar films. Pixar's 3D department went for a new concept - just do 3D, as opposed to doing "3D tricks" - nothing jumped out at the viewer. The 3D just added a mildly interesting depth to all of the animation. Nice, but it didn't make up for the dull story of Ed Asner's old widow, trying to get (via his house tied to balloons) to Paradise Falls. The montage of the man and his wife aging was nice, but also quite a downer for a kid's film, knowing where they were going so early in the film. The old man became quickly bitter and unpleasant; the fat deluded kid is a bad role model for multiple reasons; and the message of the movie (the mundane of life is the real adventure) encourages aiming low. The South American birds were pretty and cool, but they also came with a bombarding Save the Environment sermon. For Pixar, this is a real disappointment.

MOVIE REVIEW - Star Trek (2009)

2009-06-12T15:47:00.000-05:00

Let's ignore for the moment that this film is a continuation of a long-revered franchise. JJ has made a very entertaining movie. The good guys are good; the bad guys are really bad; the explosions and space travel and crazy time travel plot are all fun. Yay, good for JJ (and good for the common moviegoer). Now, let's remember that this is Star Trek. I'm no fan of classic Trek - dislike it, actually. But as for depicting the origins of Kirk and Spock and their relationship, JJ did a great job. Early Kirk is seen as a renegade arrogant jerk. This is dumb, but perfectly fitting for what was to become Shatner's Kirk. The bond between Kirk and (old and new) Spock was accurate, as well. But then JJ leaps away from Trek altogether, in essence taking the whole of Trek history and dumping it in the garbage can. SPOILERS AHEAD! In the movie, JJ creates an alternate reality, whereby Spock's mom dies (she is still alive in the "historical/future" Trek); the entire Vulcan planet disintegrates; Uhura and Spock are potential lovers; and JJ has for himself a future franchise where he doesn't have to play by a single rule of the Star Trek universe. This is a cop-out and a mediocre plot device, and oddly self-serving for JJ's movie future.

MOVIE REVIEW - Shawshank Redemption, The (1994)

2009-06-12T15:44:00.004-05:00

SPOILERS AHEAD! A theater in Louisville showed my favorite movie of all time at a midnight showing, so I was able to see this treasure on the big screen once again (I saw it during initial release). Every time I watch it, Shawshank becomes my all-time favorite movie once again. Morgan Freeman's narration sets the perfect tone of quiet contemplation - you know it'll all be ok, but it may be a rough ride along the way. And boy, is it rough. Early scenes include Fat Ass dying on his first night in prison; Andy Duphresne defending but failing against the queens; and the harshness of Captain Hadley's punishment. But then comes the buds of friendship between Morgan's Red and Andy. That first conversation was so understated, yet excellent - "I understand you're a man who gets things done." Morgan likes Andy from the beginning, but neither knew yet the hope their friendship would bring each other. Andy never said who beat him up - he was honorable and kept to himself. Until the spring of 1949 on the roof, when his tax knowledge changed everything. The look of Morgan's face after Andy saved Hadley's money was priceless. Why did Andy ask for the beer for his friends? "I think he did it just to feel normal again, if only for a short while." But prison still steals from a man. Red says, "These walls are funny. First you hate them, then you get used to them. Then, you can't live without them. They send you here for life, and that's exactly what they take from you." Which leads to the saddest part of the movie - Brooks. The sadness on James Whitmore's face as he's leaving the prison on the bus - wow, what a picture - so sad, so long. He should've been nominated for this powerful performance (RIP).

Andy's overtaking of the opera music was the beginning of hope in the movie, and it gives such a warm emotion to watch the entire prison yard hush. This is the most unrealistic scene in the movie, but ignoring that, it's also very poignant. And it's the beginning of us seeing Andy's hope. "Hope is a dangerous thing. It can drive a man insane." When Andy gives Red the harmonica, it is the most beautiful expression of friendship. What a lovely scene.

The most shocking scene is the warden's treatment of Tommy. On the verge of hope in so many directions, shot down. Wow, the gasps in the theater (including mine, when I've seen the movie 20 times before) were palpable. But it leads to Andy's breaking point in 1966. What a beautiful 20 minute climax - emotions soar, cleverness abounds, the warden doesn't quite make it home that day, and we see that "some birds aren't meant to be caged." What a fantastic tree in the field in Buxton, where we hear Red say the name of the town, Zihuatanejo, just before saying those most wonderful closing lines: "I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope."

MOVIE REVIEW - Judgment at Nuremburg (1961)

2009-06-12T15:44:00.001-05:00

I'd seen this before, but forgotten that I'd seen it. Spencer Tracy plays judge of the Nazi judges. It's a pretty good movie, with lots of moral questions and difficult choices and realizations. A bit heavy-handed, but to realize that these judges were released within 5 years is shocking, and does deserve the notice given to it by the movie.

MOVIE REVIEW - Hangover, The (2009)

2009-06-12T15:43:00.002-05:00

Four guys go to Vegas for a bachelor party, only to get mistakenly roofied; lose the groom; mistakenly marry a stripper; get stalked by an Asian gay mafia dude; and kidnap Mike Tyson's tiger. It is very funny and very crude; but as a departure from Judd Apatow's movies, the crudeness is not celebrated - their warped weekend adventures are seen as a near-embarrassment. For a buddy adventure comedy, it is somewhat slow-moving, but I mean that in a good way. The movie doesn't feel forced to laugh in every moment. There are some hilarious moments, including with Ed Helms tooth; the naked Asian jumping out of the trunk; loser Alan's constant hugs; the masturbating baby (yes, it's that crude - and funny); and the Rain Man spoof. The end credits are one of the best end-game reveals in some time.

MOVIE REVIEW - Earth (2007)

2009-06-12T15:43:00.001-05:00

Beautifully filmed snippets of our planet, with special emphasis on a few species of cute animals. Horrific preaching against global warming and bad science.

MOVIE REVIEW - Drag Me to Hell (2009)

2009-06-12T15:41:00.003-05:00

Is it horror? Is it comedy? Not sure, but it is certainly lame. How did this get a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes???

MOVIE REVIEW - Brothers Bloom, The (2009)

2009-06-12T15:41:00.001-05:00

Rachel Weisz is gorgeous, delightful, and here, she channels Joan Cusack (which is the highest of compliments). She costars as the wealthy target of the Brothers Bloom's con game. Bloom (played by the always morose Adrian Brody - please, get a better and better looking actor for this role!) and his older brother Stephen (played by the excellent Mark Ruffalo) have been conning since they were kids and only go after the big targets nowadays. Bloom wants out, so Stephen comes up with one last con, hoping to hook Bloom up with the target. Throughout, this movie feels like a playful version of The Sting, where you never know if you're watching the con or if you're being conned. It's not rocket science plotting here, but with Rachel Weisz bubbling over in every scene, and mixed with a pretty cool story and pedigree, it easily rises to the occasion.

MOVIE REVIEW - Blindness (2008)

2009-06-12T15:35:00.000-05:00

I love Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo, so even though critics panned this psychological thriller, I expected to like it. The critics were right. An entire society all goes blind at once, except Julianne (who keeps her sight a secret). It's like Lord of the Flies due to Blindness; which sounds ok, except the direction was horrible - the suspense was killed, the cinematography was flooded with way too much white light, and the story was a drag.

Alan's reviewed movies (By Year Released)

2009-04-26T23:41:00.005-05:00

1927 - Jazz Singer, The

1927 - Wings

1933 - Duck Soup

1936 - Mr. Deeds Goes To Town

1939 - Wuthering Heights

1940 - Grapes Of Wrath, The

1941 - Mr. & Mrs. Smith

1941 - Suspicion

1945 - Mildred Pierce

1946 - Big Sleep, The

1952 - Monkey Business

1958 - Vertigo

1959 - Imitation of Life

1959 - Li'l Abner

1960 - Butterfield 8

1961 - Judgment at Nuremburg

1963 - Charade

1963 - Great Escape, The

1963 - Pink Panther, The

1966 - Torn Curtain

1966 - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

1968 - No Way To Treat A Lady

1971 - Last Picture Show, The

1971 - Play Misty For Me

1972 - Frenzy

1973 - Serpico

1973 - Soylent Green

1973 - Way We Were, The

1977 - Goodbye Girl, The

1978 - Boys From Brazil, The

1978 - Midnight Express

1979 - Escape From Alcatraz

1979 - Jerk, The

1980 - Airplane!

1980 - Coal Miner's Daughter

1980 - Enemy Mine

1980 - My Bodyguard

1980 - Xanadu

1981 - Das Boot

1981 - My Dinner With Andre

1982 - Sophie's Choice

1982 - World According to Garp, The

1983 - Outsiders, The

1984 - Ghostbusters

1984 - Sixteen Candles

1985 - Prizzi's Honor

1985 - Sure Thing, The

1986 - About Last Night

1986 - One Crazy Summer

1987 - Cry Freedom

1987 - Hot Pursuit

1987 - Predator

1987 - Robocop

1987 - Wall Street

1988 - Eight Men Out

1988 - Married To The Mob

1988 - Midnight Run

1988 - Mississippi Burning

1988 - Running On Empty

1988 - Satisfaction

1988 - Tequila Sunrise

1989 - Abyss, The

1989 - Born On The Fourth Of July

1989 - Fat Man & Little Boy

1989 - Field Of Dreams

1989 - Heathers

1989 - Say Anything

1990 - Crossing, The

1990 - Heart Condition

1990 - Misery

1990 - Predator 2

1991 - Cape Fear

1991 - Close My Eyes

1991 - Grand Canyon

1991 - Indian Runner

1991 - Mississippi Masala

1991 - Proof

1991 - True Colors

1992 - Like Water For Chocolate

1992 - Malcolm X

1992 - River Runs Through It, A

1992 - Romper Stomper

1993 - Dave

1993 - Heart and Souls

1993 - Nemesis

1993 - Philadelphia

1993 - Silver Stallion, The

1993 - What's Eating Gilbert Grape

1994 - John Denver: A Portrait

1994 - Professional, The

1994 - Renaissance Man

1994 - Shawshank Redemption, The

1994 - Swimming With Sharks

1994 - With Honors

1995 - Dangerous Minds

1995 - Dead Man Walking

1995 - Mrs. Winterbourne

1995 - Two Much

1996 - City Hall

1996 - Courage Under Fire

1996 - Ghosts of Mississippi

1996 - Infinity

1996 - Jack

1996 - Night Falls on Manhattan

1996 - Star Trek: First Contact

1997 - Breaking Up

1997 - Last Time I Committed Suicide, The

1997 - Lawn Dogs

1997 - Postman, The

1997 - Rainmaker, The

1997 - Santa Fe

1997 - Traveller

1998 - American History X

1998 - He Got Game

1998 - Kissing A Fool

1998 - Learning Curve

1998 - Pi: Faith in Chaos

1998 - Pleasantville

1998 - Rushmore

1998 - Simple Plan, A

1998 - Starstruck

1998 - Thin Red Line, The

1998 - Very Bad Things

1999 - Corruptor, The

1999 - Double Jeopardy

1999 - Drop Dead Gorgeous

1999 - Ella Fitzgerald - Something to Live For

1999 - End Of The Affair, The

1999 - Jerry Seinfeld: I'm Telling You For The Last Time

1999 - Magnolia

1999 - Mumford

1999 - Spring Forward

2000 - Almost Famous

2000 - Body, The

2000 - Committed

2000 - Frequency

2000 - Me, Myself, & Irene

2000 - Meet The Parents

2000 - Ordinary Decent Criminal

2000 - Space Cowboys

2000 - Where the Heart Is

2001 - Behind Enemy Lines

2001 - Donnie Darko

2001 - In The Bedroom

2001 - Manic

2001 - Monster's Ball

2001 - Royal Tenenbaums, The

2001 - Score, The

2001 - War Bride, The

2002 - Brown Sugar

2002 - Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

2002 - Ghost Ship

2002 - I Spy

2002 - In America

2002 - Laurel Canyon

2002 - Pianist, The

2002 - Punch-Drunk Love

2002 - Rabbit-Proof Fence

2002 - Road To Perdition

2002 - Truth About Charlie, The

2002 - Two Weeks Notice

2002 - We Were Soldiers

2002 - Windtalkers

2002 - XX/YY

2003 - All The Real Girls

2003 - American Splendor

2003 - Bruce Almighty

2003 - Capturing The Friedmans

2003 - Cheaper By The Dozen

2003 - Cold Creek Manor

2003 - Cold Mountain

2003 - Cooler, The

2003 - Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star

2003 - Dogville

2003 - Elf

2003 - Freaky Friday

2003 - Gothika

2003 - House of Sand And Fog

2003 - How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days

2003 - Identity

2003 - In The Cut

2003 - Intolerable Cruelty

2003 - Last Samurai, The

2003 - Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde

2003 - Looney Tunes: Back In Action

2003 - Love Actually

2003 - Mona Lisa Smile

2003 - Monster

2003 - Open Range

2003 - Open Water

2003 - Recruit, The

2003 - Runaway Jury

2003 - Secondhand Lions

2003 - Something's Gotta Give

2003 - Station Agent, The

2003 - Stuck On You

2003 - Terminator 3

2003 - Timeline

2003 - Under the Tuscan Sun

2003 - View from the Top

2004 - 13 Going On 30

2004 - 50 First Dates

2004 - Alien vs. Predator

2004 - Along Came Polly

2004 - Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Bergundy

2004 - Around The Bend

2004 - Aviator, The

2004 - Being Julia

2004 - Beyond The Sea

2004 - Bourne Supremacy, The

2004 - Brown Bunny, The

2004 - Butterfly Effect, The

2004 - Cellular

2004 - Closer

2004 - Collateral

2004 - Day After Tomorrow, The

2004 - De-Lovely

2004 - Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

2004 - Door In The Floor, The

2004 - Envy

2004 - Eulogy

2004 - Finding Neverland

2004 - Flight of the Phoenix

2004 - Forgotten, The

2004 - Garden State

2004 - Godsend

2004 - Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle

2004 - Hellboy

2004 - Hotel Rwanda

2004 - I Heart Huckabees

2004 - I, Robot

2004 - In Good Company

2004 - Incredibles, The

2004 - King Arthur

2004 - Kinsey

2004 - Ladies in Lavender

2004 - Layer Cake

2004 - Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, The

2004 - Machinist, The

2004 - Man On Fire

2004 - Manchurian Candidate

2004 - Million Dollar Baby

2004 - Mindhunters

2004 - Napoleon Dynamite

2004 - National Treasure

2004 - Ocean's Twelve

2004 - Pieces Of April

2004 - Raising Helen

2004 - Ray

2004 - Ringer, The

2004 - Saved!

2004 - Saw

2004 - Sideways

2004 - Spanglish

2004 - Spartan

2004 - Spiderman 2

2004 - Stepford Wives, The

2004 - Suspect Zero

2004 - Taking Lives

2004 - Team America: World Police

2004 - Terminal, The

2004 - Troy

2004 - Van Helsing

2004 - Village, The

2004 - We Don't Live Here Anymore

2004 - Welcome to Mooseport

2004 - Win a Date with Tad Hamilton

2004 - Without a Paddle

2005 - 40 Year Old Virgin, The

2005 - Assault On Precinct 13

2005 - Batman Begins

2005 - Bewitched

2005 - Brokeback Mountain

2005 - Brothers Grimm, The

2005 - Capote

2005 - Charlie And The Chocolate Factory

2005 - Chronicles Of Narnia, The: The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe

2005 - Cinderella Man

2005 - Constant Gardener, The

2005 - Crash

2005 - Dark Water

2005 - Derailed

2005 - Diary Of A Mad Black Woman

2005 - Dreamer: Inspired By A True Story

2005 - Eleven Men Out

2005 - Elizabethtown

2005 - Family Stone, The

2005 - Fantastic Four

2005 - Flightplan

2005 - Four Brothers

2005 - Fun With Dick And Jane

2005 - Goal! The Dream Begins

2005 - Good Night, And Good Luck

2005 - Happy Endings

2005 - History Of Violence, A

2005 - Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, The

2005 - Hostage

2005 - Hustle And Flow

2005 - Into The Blue

2005 - Jacket, The

2005 - Jarhead

2005 - Jiminy Glick In La La Wood

2005 - Junebug

2005 - Just Like Heaven

2005 - King Kong

2005 - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

2005 - March Of The Penguins

2005 - Matador, The

2005 - Match Point

2005 - Memoirs Of A Geisha

2005 - Monster-In-Law

2005 - Mr. And Mrs. Smith

2005 - Munich

2005 - Must Love Dogs

2005 - New World, The

2005 - North Country

2005 - Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, The

2005 - Producers, The

2005 - Red Eye

2005 - Rent

2005 - Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic

2005 - Saw II

2005 - Shadowboxer

2005 - Shopgirl

2005 - Sin City

2005 - Skeleton Key, The

2005 - Squid And The Whale, The

2005 - Stealth

2005 - Syriana

2005 - Transamerica

2005 - Upside Of Anger, The

2005 - Walk the Line

2005 - War of the Worlds

2005 - Wedding Crashers

2006 - 16 Blocks

2006 - Apocalypto

2006 - Babel

2006 - Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

2006 - Cannibal

2006 - Cars

2006 - Casino Royale

2006 - Children Of Men, The

2006 - Crank

2006 - Departed, The

2006 - Devil Wears Prada, The

2006 - Dreamgirls

2006 - Déjà Vu

2006 - For Your Consideration

2006 - Fountain, The

2006 - Good Year, A

2006 - Hostel

2006 - Illusionist, The

2006 - Inside Man

2006 - Invincible

2006 - Jackass 2

2006 - Jam

2006 - Lady In The Water, The

2006 - Last Holiday

2006 - Last King Of Scotland, The

2006 - Letters From Iwo Jima

2006 - Little Miss Sunshine

2006 - Lucky Number Slevin

2006 - Miami Vice

2006 - My Super Ex-Girlfriend

2006 - Night at the Museum

2006 - Pan's Labyrinth

2006 - Poseidon

2006 - Prairie Home Companion

2006 - Prestige, The

2006 - Proposition, The

2006 - Queen, The

2006 - Rescue Dawn

2006 - Sentinel, The

2006 - Snakes On A Plane

2006 - Stranger Than Fiction

2006 - Superman Returns

2006 - Thank You for Smoking

2006 - United 93

2006 - World Trade Center

2006 - X-Men: The Last Stand

2007 - 1408

2007 - 28 Weeks Later

2007 - 300

2007 - 3:10 To Yuma

2007 - American Gangster

2007 - Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, The

2007 - Atonement

2007 - August Rush

2007 - Before The Devil Knows You're Dead

2007 - Beowulf

2007 - Bourne Ultimatum, The

2007 - Brave One, The

2007 - Breach

2007 - Bucket List, The

2007 - Charlie Wilson's War

2007 - Condemned, The

2007 - Dan in Real Life

2007 - Die Hard 4: Live Free Or Die Hard

2007 - Disturbia

2007 - Earth

2007 - Eastern Promises

2007 - Enchanted

2007 - Fracture

2007 - Gone Baby Gone

2007 - Hitcher, The

2007 - Hoax, The

2007 - Juno

2007 - Kabluey

2007 - Kingdom, The

2007 - Knocked Up

2007 - Lars And The Real Girl

2007 - Michael Clayton

2007 - Mist, The

2007 - Mr. Brooks

2007 - Mr. Woodcock

2007 - National Treasure: Book of Secrets

2007 - No Country For Old Men

2007 - Ocean's Thirteen

2007 - Once

2007 - Savages, The

2007 - Shoot 'Em Up

2007 - Shooter, The

2007 - Simpsons, The

2007 - Stardust

2007 - Superbad

2007 - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

2007 - There Will Be Blood

2007 - Transformers

2007 - Waitress

2007 - We Own the Night

2007 - Zodiac

2008 - 21

2008 - American Carol, An

2008 - Appaloosa

2008 - Australia

2008 - Baby Mama

2008 - Bank Job, The

2008 - Batman: The Dark Knight

2008 - Blindness

2008 - Body of Lies

2008 - Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The

2008 - Burn After Reading

2008 - Changeling

2008 - Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons, The

2008 - Day the Earth Stood Still, The

2008 - Defiance

2008 - Definitely, Maybe

2008 - Doubt

2008 - Eagle Eye

2008 - Fireproof

2008 - Forgetting Sarah Marshall

2008 - Four Christmases

2008 - Frost/Nixon

2008 - Funny Games

2008 - Gran Torino

2008 - Hancock

2008 - Happening, The

2008 - In Bruges

2008 - Incredible Hulk, The

2008 - Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull

2008 - Iron Man

2008 - Journey to the Center of the Earth

2008 - Lakeview Terrace

2008 - Let's Go to Prison

2008 - Marley & Me

2008 - Milk

2008 - Nights in Rodanthe

2008 - Pride And Glory

2008 - Quantum of Solace

2008 - Rachel Getting Married

2008 - Reader, The

2008 - Role Models

2008 - Slumdog Millionaire

2008 - Tropic Thunder

2008 - Twilight

2008 - Unborn, The

2008 - Untraceable

2008 - Valkyrie

2008 - Wall*E

2008 - Wanted

2008 - Wrestler, The

2008 - X-Files: I Want to Believe

2009 - 2012

2009 - 500 Days of Summer

2009 - Adventureland

2009 - Blind Side, The

2009 - Brothers Bloom, The

2009 - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

2009 - Drag Me to Hell

2009 - Duplicity

2009 - Hangover, The

2009 - I Love You, Man

2009 - Inglourious Basterds

2009 - International, The

2009 - Knowing

2009 - Lovely Bones, The

2009 - Men Who Stare at Goats, The

2009 - Moon

2009 - Star Trek

2009 - State of Play

2009 - Sunshine Cleaning

2009 - Taken

2009 - Up

2009 - Watchmen

2009 - X-Men Origins: Wolverine

2010 - Fighter, The

2010 - Unstoppable

Alan's reviewed movies (Alphabetical)

2009-04-26T23:38:00.006-05:00

Asterisks (*) indicate substantive reviews. I'm moving the list of reviewed movies to their own post, instead of having them scroll for eternity at the bottom of the main page.

13 Going On 30 (2004)

1408 (2007)

16 Blocks (2006)

2012 (2009)

21 (2008)

28 Weeks Later (2007) *

300 (2007)

3:10 To Yuma (2007)

40 Year Old Virgin, The (2005)

50 First Dates (2004)

500 Days of Summer (2009)

About Last Night (1986)

Abyss, The (1989)

Adventureland (2009)

Airplane! (1980)

Alien vs. Predator (2004)

All The Real Girls (2003)

Almost Famous (2000) *

Along Came Polly (2004)

American Carol, An (2008) *

American Gangster (2007)

American History X (1998)

American Splendor (2003)

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Bergundy (2004)

Apocalypto (2006) *

Appaloosa (2008) *

Around The Bend (2004)

Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, The (2007)

Assault On Precinct 13 (2005)

Atonement (2007) *

August Rush (2007) *

Australia (2008) *

Aviator, The (2004)

Babel (2006) *

Baby Mama (2008)

Bank Job, The (2008)

Batman Begins (2005) *

Batman: The Dark Knight (2008) *

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) *

Behind Enemy Lines (2001)

Being Julia (2004)

Beowulf (2007)

Bewitched (2005) *

Beyond The Sea (2004) *

Big Sleep, The (1946)

Blindness (2008)

Blind Side, The (2009)

Body of Lies (2008) *

Body, The (2000)

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)

Born On The Fourth Of July (1989)

Bourne Supremacy, The (2004)

Bourne Ultimatum, The (2007)

Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The (2008) *

Boys From Brazil, The (1978)

Brave One, The (2007)

Breach (2007)

Breaking Up (1997)

Brokeback Mountain (2005) *

Brothers Bloom, The (2009) *

Brothers Grimm, The (2005)

Brown Bunny, The (2004)

Brown Sugar (2002)

Bruce Almighty (2003)

Bucket List, The (2007) *

Burn After Reading (2008) *

Butterfield 8 (1960)

Butterfly Effect, The (2004)

Cannibal (2006)

Cape Fear (1991)

Capote (2005) *

Capturing The Friedmans (2003)

Cars (2006)

Casino Royale (2006) *

Cellular (2004) *

Changeling (2008) *

Charade (1963)

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005) *

Charlie Wilson's War (2007) *

Cheaper By The Dozen (2003)

Children Of Men, The (2006) *

Chronicles Of Narnia, The: The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe (2005) *

Cinderella Man (2005)

City Hall (1996)

Close My Eyes (1991)

Closer (2004)

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)

Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)

Cold Creek Manor (2003)

Cold Mountain (2003)

Collateral (2004)

Committed (2000)

Condemned, The (2007) *

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)

Constant Gardener, The (2005) *

Cooler, The (2003)

Corruptor, The (1999)

Courage Under Fire (1996)

Crank (2006)

Crash (2005) *

Crossing, The (1990)

Cry Freedom (1987)

Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons, The (2008) *

Dan in Real Life (2007)

Dangerous Minds (1995)

Dark Water (2005)

Das Boot (1981)

Dave (1993)

Day After Tomorrow, The (2004)

Day the Earth Stood Still, The (2008) *

De-Lovely (2004) *

Dead Man Walking (1995) *

Defiance (2008)

Definitely, Maybe (2008) *

Departed, The (2006) *

Derailed (2005) *

Devil Wears Prada, The (2006)

Diary Of A Mad Black Woman (2005)

Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003)

Die Hard 4: Live Free Or Die Hard (2007)

Disturbia (2007) *

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

Dogville (2003)

Donnie Darko (2001)

Door In The Floor, The (2004)

Double Jeopardy (1999)

Doubt (2008) *

Drag Me to Hell (2009)

Dreamer: Inspired By A True Story (2005) *

Dreamgirls (2006)

Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)

Duck Soup (1933)

Duplicity (2009)

Déjà Vu (2006)

Eagle Eye (2008)

Earth (2007)

Eastern Promises (2007)

Eight Men Out (1988)

Eleven Men Out (2005)

Elf (2003)

Elizabethtown (2005) *

Ella Fitzgerald - Something to Live For (1999)

Enchanted (2007)

End Of The Affair, The (1999)

Enemy Mine (1980) *

Envy (2004)

Escape From Alcatraz (1979)

Eulogy (2004)

Family Stone, The (2005) *

Fantastic Four (2005)

Fat Man & Little Boy (1989)

Field Of Dreams (1989)

Fighter, The (2010)

Finding Neverland (2004)

Fireproof (2008) *

Flight of the Phoenix (2004)

Flightplan (2005)

For Your Consideration (2006) *

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) *

Forgotten, The (2004)

Fountain, The (2006)

Four Brothers (2005)

Four Christmases (2008)

Fracture (2007)

Freaky Friday (2003)

Frenzy (1972)

Frequency (2000)

Frost/Nixon (2008) *

Fun With Dick And Jane (2005) *

Funny Games (2008)

Garden State (2004)

Ghost Ship (2002)

Ghostbusters (1984)

Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)

Goal! The Dream Begins (2005)

Godsend (2004)

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

Good Night, And Good Luck (2005) *

Good Year, A (2006)

Goodbye Girl, The (1977)

Gothika (2003)

Gran Torino (2008) *

Grand Canyon (1991)

Grapes Of Wrath, The (1940)

Great Escape, The (1963)

Hancock (2008)

Hangover, The (2009) *

Happening, The (2008) *

Happy Endings (2005)

Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle (2004) *

He Got Game (1998)

Heart and Souls (1993) *

Heart Condition (1990)

Heathers (1989)

Hellboy (2004)

History Of Violence, A (2005)

Hitcher, The (2007)

Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, The (2005)

Hoax, The (2007) *

Hostage (2005)

Hostel (2006)

Hot Pursuit (1987)

Hotel Rwanda (2004) *

House of Sand And Fog (2003)

How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (2003)

Hustle And Flow (2005) *

I Heart Huckabees (2004) *

I Love You, Man (2009)

I Spy (2002)

I, Robot (2004)

Identity (2003)

Illusionist, The (2006)

Imitation of Life (1959)

In America (2002)

In Bruges (2008) *

In Good Company (2004) *

In The Bedroom (2001)

In The Cut (2003)

Incredible Hulk, The (2008) *

Incredibles, The (2004)

Indian Runner (1991)

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2008) *

Infinity (1996)

Inglourious Basterds (2009) *

Inside Man (2006) *

International, The (2009)

Into The Blue (2005)

Intolerable Cruelty (2003)

Invincible (2006)

Iron Man (2008)

Jack (1996)

Jackass 2 (2006)

Jacket, The (2005)

Jam (2006)

Jarhead (2005)

Jazz Singer, The (1927)

Jerk, The (1979)

Jerry Seinfeld: I'm Telling You For The Last Time (1999)

Jiminy Glick In La La Wood (2005)

John Denver: A Portrait (1994) *

Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)

Judgment at Nuremburg (1961)

Junebug (2005) *

Juno (2007) *

Just Like Heaven (2005) *

Kabluey (2007) *

King Arthur (2004)

King Kong (2005) *

Kingdom, The (2007) *

Kinsey (2004)

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

Kissing A Fool (1998)

Knocked Up (2007)

Knowing (2009) *

Ladies in Lavender (2004)

Lady In The Water, The (2006) *

Lakeview Terrace (2008) *

Lars And The Real Girl (2007) *

Last Holiday (2006)

Last King Of Scotland, The (2006)

Last Picture Show, The (1971)

Last Samurai, The (2003)

Last Time I Committed Suicide, The (1997)

Laurel Canyon (2002)

Lawn Dogs (1997)

Layer Cake (2004)

Learning Curve (1998)

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003)

Let's Go to Prison (2008)

Letters From Iwo Jima (2006) *

Li'l Abner (1959)

Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, The (2004)

Like Water For Chocolate (1992)

Little Miss Sunshine (2006) *

Looney Tunes: Back In Action (2003)

Love Actually (2003)

Lovely Bones, The (2009) *

Lucky Number Slevin (2006)

Machinist, The (2004)

Magnolia (1999)

Malcolm X (1992)

Man On Fire (2004)

Manchurian Candidate (2004)

Manic (2001)

March Of The Penguins (2005) *

Marley & Me (2008) *

Married To The Mob (1988)

Matador, The (2005)

Match Point (2005) *

Me, Myself, & Irene (2000)

Meet The Parents (2000)

Memoirs Of A Geisha (2005) *

Men Who Stare at Goats, The (2009)

Miami Vice (2006)

Michael Clayton (2007)

Midnight Express (1978)

Midnight Run (1988)

Mildred Pierce (1945)

Milk (2008) *

Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Mindhunters (2004)

Misery (1990)

Mississippi Burning (1988)

Mississippi Masala (1991)

Mist, The (2007) *

Mona Lisa Smile (2003)

Monkey Business (1952)

Monster (2003)

Monster's Ball (2001)

Monster-In-Law (2005)

Moon (2009)

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)

Mr. And Mrs. Smith (2005) *

Mr. Brooks (2007) *

Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936)

Mr. Woodcock (2007)

Mrs. Winterbourne (1995)

Mumford (1999)

Munich (2005) *

Must Love Dogs (2005)

My Bodyguard (1980)

My Dinner With Andre (1981)

My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006) *

Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

National Treasure (2004) *

National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)

Nemesis (1993)

New World, The (2005) *

Night at the Museum (2006)

Night Falls on Manhattan (1996) *

Nights in Rodanthe (2008)

No Country For Old Men (2007) *

No Way To Treat A Lady (1968)

North Country (2005) *

Ocean's Thirteen (2007)

Ocean's Twelve (2004)

Once (2007)

One Crazy Summer (1986)

Open Range (2003)

Open Water (2003)

Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000)

Outsiders, The (1983) *

Pan's Labyrinth (2006) *

Philadelphia (1993)

Pi: Faith in Chaos (1998)

Pianist, The (2002)

Pieces Of April (2004) *

Pink Panther, The (1963)

Play Misty For Me (1971)

Pleasantville (1998)

Poseidon (2006)

Postman, The (1997)

Prairie Home Companion (2006)

Predator (1987)

Predator 2 (1990)

Prestige, The (2006)

Pride And Glory (2008)

Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, The (2005)

Prizzi's Honor (1985)

Producers, The (2005) *

Professional, The (1994)

Proof (1991)

Proposition, The (2006)

Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

Quantum of Solace (2008)

Queen, The (2006) *

Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)

Rachel Getting Married (2008)

Rainmaker, The (1997)

Raising Helen (2004) *

Ray (2004)

Reader, The (2008) *

Recruit, The (2003)

Red Eye (2005)

Renaissance Man (1994)

Rent (2005) *

Rescue Dawn (2006)

Ringer, The (2004)

River Runs Through It, A (1992) *

Road To Perdition (2002)

Robocop (1987)

Role Models (2008) *

Romper Stomper (1992)

Royal Tenenbaums, The (2001)

Runaway Jury (2003)

Running On Empty (1988)

Rushmore (1998)

Santa Fe (1997)

Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic (2005) *

Satisfaction (1988)

Savages, The (2007) *

Saved! (2004) *

Saw (2004)

Saw II (2005)

Say Anything (1989)

Score, The (2001)

Secondhand Lions (2003)

Sentinel, The (2006) *

Serpico (1973)

Shadowboxer (2005)

Shawshank Redemption, The (1994) *

Shoot 'Em Up (2007)

Shooter, The (2007) *

Shopgirl (2005) *

Sideways (2004)

Silver Stallion, The (1993)

Simple Plan, A (1998)

Simpsons, The (2007)

Sin City (2005) *

Sixteen Candles (1984)

Skeleton Key, The (2005) *

Slumdog Millionaire (2008) *

Snakes On A Plane (2006) *

Something's Gotta Give (2003)

Sophie's Choice (1982)

Soylent Green (1973)

Space Cowboys (2000)

Spanglish (2004)

Spartan (2004)

Spiderman 2 (2004)

Spring Forward (1999)

Squid And The Whale, The (2005) *

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Stardust (2007)

Starstruck (1998)

Star Trek (2009) *

State of Play (2009)

Station Agent, The (2003)

Stealth (2005)

Stepford Wives, The (2004)

Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

Stuck On You (2003)

Sunshine Cleaning (2009)

Superbad (2007)

Superman Returns (2006)

Sure Thing, The (1985)

Suspect Zero (2004)

Suspicion (1941)

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) *

Swimming With Sharks (1994)

Syriana (2005) *

Taken (2009)

Taking Lives (2004)

Team America: World Police (2004) *

Tequila Sunrise (1988)

Terminal, The (2004)

Terminator 3 (2003)

Thank You for Smoking (2006) *

There Will Be Blood (2007) *

Thin Red Line, The (1998) *

Timeline (2003)

Torn Curtain (1966)

Transamerica (2005) *

Transformers (2007)

Traveller (1997)

Tropic Thunder (2008) *

Troy (2004)

True Colors (1991)

Truth About Charlie, The (2002) *

Twilight (2008)

Two Much (1995)

Two Weeks Notice (2002)

Unborn, The (2008)

Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)

United 93 (2006) *

Unstoppable (2010)

Untraceable (2008)

Up (2009) *

Upside Of Anger, The (2005) *

Valkyrie (2008) *

Van Helsing (2004)

Vertigo (1958)

Very Bad Things (1998)

View from the Top (2003)

Village, The (2004)

Waitress (2007) *

Walk the Line (2005) *

Wall*E (2008) *

Wall Street (1987) *

Wanted (2008)

War Bride, The (2001)

War of the Worlds (2005) *

Watchmen (2009)

Way We Were, The (1973)

We Don't Live Here Anymore (2004)

We Own the Night (2007)

We Were Soldiers (2002) *

Wedding Crashers (2005)

Welcome to Mooseport (2004)

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

Where the Heart Is (2000)

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

Win a Date with Tad Hamilton (2004)

Windtalkers (2002)

Wings (1927)

With Honors (1994)

Without a Paddle (2004)

World According to Garp, The (1982)

World Trade Center (2006) *

Wrestler, The (2008) *

Wuthering Heights (1939)

X-FIles: I Want to Believe (2008) *

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) *

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Xanadu (1980)

XX/YY (2002)

Zodiac (2007)

MOVIE REVIEW - Adventureland (2009)

2009-04-25T17:06:00.002-05:00

Many elements of this coming-of-age story were enjoyable. Though her role was small, Kristen Wiig was typically hilarious (loved the scene where she was cheering on the sidelines while her husband called the fake horse race). Other than her constant playing with her hair and her dour frowns, Kristen Stewart was more enjoyable and prettier here than in Twilight (a low bar, admittedly). Ryan Reynolds played a sleazy adulterer, but he played it likeably and with gusto. But I don't care for movies that portray smoking pot as the norm for teens, movies advocating sleeping with the next girl as the pinnacle of teen existence. Jesse Eisenberg is very annoying as the lead, with his brainy hesitant social awkwardness, stammering in every sentence. Mostly, the movie made me nervous for my 16-year-old niece who will be working at Holiday World this summer.

MOVIE REVIEW - State of Play (2009)

2009-04-25T17:06:00.001-05:00

I haven't seen the BBC miniseries this movie is based on. But most things here are done well. Russell is typically terrific as a reporter, looking for the truth in the possible murder of his former best friend (and current Congressman)'s mistress, which overlaps with another story he was investigating about possible corruption in a corporation of mercenaries. The plot is both simple and convoluted, and thankfully interesting. Helen Mirren and Rachel McAdams are solid as Russell's colleagues at the newspaper. Ben Affleck is typically Ben - and typically doesn't carry the depth needed for this role. I liked the movie, but it takes a knock for being the hundredth movie of the past couple years in which corporations are seen as the evil that is destroying our society.

MOVIE REVIEW - Ladies in Lavender (2004)

2009-04-25T17:05:00.000-05:00

Bizarre and creepy (and lovely?) story of two older women (Judi Dench and Maggie Smith) who find a 20ish boy washed up on their 1930's English shore. They nurse the kid to health, while Judi does a creepy dance of watching him sleep and falling in love with him. Yikes. They soon realize that the kid is a talented violinist, which leads him to a younger woman (the gorgeous Natascha McElhone, from The Truman Show) and to the stage. It tries to be lovely, and in ways it is. But the creep-factor wins out.

MOVIE REVIEW - Let's Go to Prison (2008)

2009-04-06T18:09:00.000-05:00

A comedy with no laughs. Will Arnett (excellent as Gob in Arrested Development, and Mr. Amy Poehler) stars as a spoiled rich guy who gets set up and sent to prison. And the lack of hi-jinks ensue. Total dud.

MOVIE REVIEW - Knowing (2009)

2009-04-05T18:11:00.000-05:00

I sometimes like Nicolas Cage movies, even though he is the worst actor and ugliest movie star of our generation (yes, even more so than Harvey Keitel and Scarlett Johansson). But it takes a good director and a great plot to make up for the horridness that is Nicolas – and this movie didn’t have either.

Nicolas is SO ugly, has such a horrible voice and inflection, nasty hair, and simply cannot act. Nicolas as an MIT professor? Seriously? Too much of a stretch for me. Is this the sequel to Leaving Las Vegas? Nicolas drinks a ton, nearly into oblivion as in that downer film. In one horrendous acting scene, Nicolas screams to the hidden stranger, “Hey, want some of this?!!!??” and then hits a tree with his baseball bat. Hilariously bad. When Nicolas says, in that screeching droll voice, “EE is everyone else!!”, it was too reminiscent of Heston’s “Soylent Green is people!” – and I mean that in all the bad ways.

The kid’s acting was surprisingly good, until the end when he had to cry. He was a very sweet kid, especially in the cool scene where the video his mom (since dead) singing him to sleep sings him to sleep each night still.

The overall theme of the movie is that Nicolas finds some numbers in a time capsule that seem to predict catastrophic events, including exact days and places – and that The Biggee is about to happen. Throw in some aliens and another head pounding global warming message from Hollywood, and some lame discussions of determinism vs. randomness, with a small dose of religious skepticism. Also, some bad parenting – “I will never let that happen to you. Do you near me? Never.” Uh, no parent could promise this, but especially not in these ridiculously dire circumstances. And how many times are they leave the kids in the back of the car during a dangerous scene? Apparently, at least 4.

Why did Nicolas rip the white board off the wall, in order to carry it into the other room, just to continue writing on the same white board? There were multiple such extraneous nonsensical scenes.

The jet crash scene (as in the previews) was very cool, including its aftermath. Also, cool subway special effects, though it’s unrealistic to think that train crash would slide for so long. The beginning had an excellent depiction of a disciplined classroom in 1959. I want that now!

In better hands this could be not so predictable, not so lame. There was much too clear foreshadowing of upcoming events (e.g., subway). It was about 30 minutes too long. And best of all, I almost had to leave the theater because I was laughing so hard when the alien opened his mouth and the light came out – so insanely cheesy. In fact, this very good laugh I had (at a completely unintended comedic scene from the filmmaker) is the only reason the movie gets a 3 instead of a 2.

MOVIE REVIEW - Twilight (2008)

2009-03-31T18:19:00.000-05:00

Horrid in all ways. Teeny bopper; terrible acting; stupid story.

MOVIE REVIEW - Fireproof (2008)

2009-03-31T18:18:00.003-05:00

Ultra-low budget Christian flick about the difficulties and healing in marriage, plus the (typical of Christian movies) beat-you-over-the-head gospel message. From the perspective of a typical movie, it is quite bad - the acting, starring the always predictable Growing-Pains-turned-churchy-boy-bad-actor Kirk Cameron, is painful (Kirk is the best actor here, if that tells you anything). And the script really is heavy handed. However, looking at the movie on message and emotion alone, it has redeeming qualities. If they could've found a way to be a little less overt and plodding, the message really is quite good, and it does very much pull at your heartstrings. It took me by surprise when I teared up. Worth seeing, but keep those expectations low.

MOVIE REVIEW - Goal! The Dream Begins (2005)

2009-03-31T18:18:00.001-05:00

Nice story of a Hispanic kid growing up in poverty who has a chance at playing professional soccer in England. He takes chances, has more misses than should've been shown in the film, but finds some friends to help him (and hurt him) along the way. For a sports film, pretty nice and inspiring.

MOVIE REVIEW - International, The (2009)

2009-03-31T18:17:00.001-05:00

You'd think a Clive Owen banking/spy/assassination thriller would be better than this. It's not his fault - it seemed that they had a big budget, but wasted it on his salary and a few very good chase seems (the Guggenheim shootup was ultra cool). Far too many plot points were told through 2 people talking - extended talks - boring talks - when most movies would've shot scenes showing those events. Naomi, always solid, had too small a part. The story was interesting, the movie could've been much better.

MOVIE REVIEW - Taken (2009)

2009-03-31T18:17:00.000-05:00

Solid thriller starring Liam Neason. Tons of bad guys die - what's not to like?

MOVIE REVIEW - I Love You, Man (2009)

2009-03-31T18:16:00.001-05:00

I think I need more from a comedy that most people. I like Paul Rudd - hey, he's Phoebe's husband. Everyone likes Rashida Jones (in a small role as the fiancé). And Jason Seagal is adequate. I'm not a prude, but I need more humor out of crude jokes than just the crudeness. And this is packed with crudeness, for no real comedic gain (to me - others obviously disagree). Paul shot for the awkward-comedy (like The Office) and missed. There are certainly funny moments (farting at the open house, the billboards) - but the few laughs didn't make up for the missteps.

MOVIE REVIEW - Duplicity (2009)

2009-03-31T18:15:00.000-05:00

Julia and Clive ooze cool, so they can't help but make an entertaining movie (even with miserable scripts, like Closer). This spy caper has an Ocean's 11 feel, including the overt slams on greedy corporate America. You never know who is playing who, and neither do they (especially Clive). The time hopping storytelling cluttered game a bit, but I think that was the point - to keep us as confused as they were. It was a solid 6, until the ultra cool ending, which brought it up a notch. Good to see Julia back in form.

MOVIE REVIEW - Watchmen (2009)

2009-03-31T18:14:00.000-05:00

Admittedly, I haven't read the graphic novel, so I can't compare, and I don't see it's literary and historical significance. But this was mostly just dull and unnecessary. The actress playing the Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman) was unappealing and shallow. The plot was convoluted without being interesting. They wasted one of my favorite actresses (Carla Gugino) in a old-lady role. It was mildly entertaining, but I don't understand the hype.

MOVIE REVIEW - Nights in Rodanthe (2008)

2009-03-31T18:13:00.000-05:00

Dull, contrived, and unrealistic. I love Diane Lane - LOVE her - she's gorgeous. So I try to like her movies, even the chick ones. But this was chock full of trite lines and situations. Sheesh, they spent one weekend together - and a DULL one at that! And yet, "Because of you, he was a changed man." Oh, please. And that ending? You've got to be kidding me. Ugh.

Rated Unreviewed Movies

2009-03-12T23:44:00.045-05:00

Below are movies that I've seen and rated, but have not written a review.

12 Angry Men (1957) --- 4

127 Hours (2011) --- 7

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) --- 7

28 Days Later (2002) --- 7

39 Steps, The (1935) --- 4

88 Minutes (2007) --- 3

9 To 5 (1980) --- 10

About Schmidt (2002) --- 4

Absence of Malice (1981) --- 6

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) --- 6

Addams Family, The (1991) --- 4

Adjustment Bureau, The (2011) --- 4

African Queen, The (1951) --- 2

Air Force One (1997) --- 7

Aladdin (1992) --- 7

Alien (1979) --- 9

Alien 3 (1992) --- 5

Alien: Resurrection (1997) --- 3

Aliens (1986) --- 11

All About Eve (1950) --- 3

All Quiet On The Western Front (1930) --- 2

All The King's Men (1949) --- 7

All The President's Men (1976) --- 9

Always (1989) --- 5

Amadeus (1984) --- 6

American Beauty (1999) --- 1

American Graffiti (1973) --- 6

American In Paris, An (1951) --- 1

American President, The (1995) --- 10

Anatonomy Of A Murder (1959) --- 4

And Then There Were None (1945) --- 5

Annie Hall (1977) --- 3

Apartment, The (1960) --- 5

Apocalypse Now (1979) --- 8

Apollo 13 (1995) --- 6

Arlington Road (1999) --- 9

Armageddon (1998) --- 3

Armored (2009) --- 2

Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) --- 4

Arsenic And Old Lace (1944) --- 7

Arthur (1981) --- 7

As Good As It Gets (1997) --- 9

Atlas Shrugged, Part 1 (2011) --- 7

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) --- 6

Avatar (2009) --- 8

Awakenings (1990) --- 11

Back to the Future (1985) --- 7

Backdraft (1991) --- 6

Bambi (1942) --- 7

Barefoot in the Park (1967) --- 7

Barton Fink (1991) --- 10

Basic (2003) --- 6

Batman (1989) --- 11

Batman & Robin (1997) --- 3

Batman Forever (1995) --- 5

Batman Returns (1992) --- 6

Battle: Los Angeles (2011) --- 5

Battlestar Galactica: Caprica (2009) --- 4

Beautiful Mind, A (2001) --- 11

Beauty And The Beast (1991) --- 4

Beetlejuice (1988) --- 3

Being There (1979) --- 11

Ben-Hur (1959) --- 11

Benji (1974) --- 6

Best in Show (2000) --- 11

Best Years Of Our Lives, The (1946) --- 8

Big (1988) --- 10

Big Chill, The (1983) --- 4

Billy Bathgate (1991) --- 6

Bird on a Wire (1990) --- 5

Birdcage, The (1996) --- 2

Birds, The (1963) --- 11

Birth of a Nation, The (1915) --- 1

Black Swan (2010) --- 1

Blade Runner (1982) --- 6

Blazing Saddles (1974) --- 7

Blood Simple (1984) --- 5

Blue Lagoon, The (1980) --- 5

Blue Velvet (1986) --- 4

Blues Brothers, The (1980) --- 6

Body Heat (1981) --- 8

Bodyguard, The (1992) --- 5

Bonnie And Clyde (1967) --- 5

Boogie Nights (1997) --- 10

Book of Eli, The (2010) --- 6

Born Yesterday (1950) --- 4

Bourne Identity, The (2002) --- 7

Box, The (2009) --- 2

Brady Bunch Movie, The (1995) --- 10

Braveheart (1995) --- 4

Breakfast Club, The (1985) --- 5

Bridge On The River Kwai, The (1957) --- 11

Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) --- 2

Bringing Down the House (2003) --- 4

Bringing Up Baby (1938) --- 6

Broadcast News (1987) --- 6

Broadway Melody, The (1929) --- 2

Bronson (2008) --- 3

Bull Durham (1988) --- 4

Bullitt (1968) --- 7

Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969) --- 11

Cabaret (1972) --- 2

Cable Guy (1996) --- 7

Caddyshack (1980) --- 6

Caligula (1980) --- 4

Captain America (2011) --- 4

Casablanca (1942) --- 10

CastAway (2000) --- 7

Cat Ballou (1965) --- 7

Catch Me If You Can (2002) --- 3

Cavalcade (1933) --- 1

Celebrity (1998) --- 1

Champ, The (1979) --- 10

Chariots of Fire (1981) --- 10

Charlie's Angels (2000) --- 3

Chicago (2002) --- 6

Chicken Run (2000) --- 5

China Syndrome, The (1979) --- 8

Chinatown (1974) --- 9

Christmas Story, A (1983) --- 10

Cimarron (1930) --- 3

Cinderella (1950) --- 9

Citizen Kane (1941) --- 5

City Lights (1931) --- 6

City Slickers (1991) --- 4

Civil Action, A (1998) --- 4

Class Action (1991) --- 8

Client, The (1994) --- 8

Clockwork Orange, A (1971) --- 5

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977) --- 10

Cloverfield (2007) --- 3

Cocoon (1985) --- 6

Cold Souls (2009) --- 5

Collateral Damage (2002) --- 6

Color Purple, The (1985) --- 4

Coming Home (1978) --- 4

Confidence (2003) --- 5

Conspiracy Theory (1997) --- 8

Contact (1997) --- 6

Contagion (2011) --- 2

Cool Hand Luke (1967) --- 11

Cowboys & Aliens (2011) --- 6

Crazies, The (2010) --- 8

Croupier (1998) --- 4

Crying Game, The (1992) --- 2

Dances With Wolves (1990) --- 10

Date Night (2010) --- 6

Dead Calm (1989) --- 6

Dead Poets Society (1989) --- 3

Dead Zone, The (1983) --- 7

Death Becomes Her (1992) --- 6

Deception (2008) --- 4

Deconstructing Harry (1997) --- 1

Deep Blue Sea (1999) --- 5

Deep Impact (1998) --- 11

Deep Rising (1998) --- 2

Deer Hunter, The (1978) --- 10

Defending Your Life (1991) --- 10

Deliverance (1972) --- 7

Devil (2010) --- 3

Devil In A Blue Dress (1995) --- 2

Dial M For Murder (1954) --- 6

Die Hard (1988) --- 11

Die Hard 2 (1990) --- 7

Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995) --- 5

Dirty Harry (1971) --- 7

Disclosure (1994) --- 5

District 9 (2009) --- 6

Doctor Zhivago (1965) --- 3

Dog Day Afternoon (1975) --- 7

Dolores Claiborne (1995) --- 8

Double Indemnity (1944) --- 6

Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb (1964) --- 7

Dr. T & The Women (2000) --- 0

Dracula (1931) --- 2

Dragnet (1987) --- 6

Dream House (2011) --- 5

Driving Miss Daisy (1989) --- 3

Dumb & Dumber (1994) --- 3

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) --- 8

Easy Rider (1969) --- 6

Edge of Darkness (2010) --- 5

Education of Charlie Banks, The (2007) --- 3

Edward Scissorhands (1990) --- 8

Election (1999) --- 5

Empire Strikes Back, The (1980) --- 5

End of Days (1999) --- 5

End Of Violence, The (1996) --- 3

Enemy of the State (1998) --- 6

English Patient, The (1996) --- 0

Entrapment (1999) --- 4

Equilibrium (2002) --- 2

Eraser (1996) --- 6

Erin Brockovich (2000) --- 7

Everything Is Illuminated (2005) --- 6

Evolution (2001) --- 4

Executive Decision (1996) --- 6

Exorcist, The (1973) --- 8

Eye, The (2008) --- 4

Fabulous Baker Boys, The (1989) --- 11

Face/Off (1997) --- 1

Faculty, The (1998) --- 4

Fallen (1998) --- 11

Family Plot (1976) --- 3

Fantasia (1940) --- 1

Fargo (1996) --- 11

Fast and the Furious, The (2001) --- 4

Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982) --- 2

Fatal Attraction (1987) --- 7

Fearless (1993) --- 2

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) --- 9

Few Good Men, A (1992) --- 5

Fight Club (1999) --- 6

Finding Nemo (2003) --- 6

Firm, The (1993) --- 10

First Blood (1982) --- 7

First Knight (1995) --- 4

Fish Called Wanda, A (1988) --- 5

Flatliners (1990) --- 8

Fletch (1985) --- 5

Following (1998) --- 2

Forever Young (1992) --- 5

Forrest Gump (1994) --- 3

Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) --- 1

Frankenstein (1931) --- 5

Frankie And Johnny (1991) --- 11

French Connection, The (1971) --- 8

Friday the 13th (1980) --- 4

From Here To Eternity (1953) --- 4

From The Hip (1987) --- 10

Fugitive, The (1993) --- 8

Full Frontal (2002) --- 1

Full Metal Jacket (1987) --- 7

Full Monty, The (1997) --- 4

Gandhi (1982) --- 4

General, The (1927) --- 9

Gentleman's Agreement (1947) --- 6

Ghost (1990) --- 6

Ghost Town (2008) --- 5

Giant (1956) --- 4

Gigi (1958) --- 0

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The (2011) --- 7

Gladiator (2000) --- 10

Glory (1989) --- 10

Godfather, The (1972) --- 5

Godfather: Part II, The (1974) --- 10

Godfather: Part III, The (1990) --- 9

Gods Must Be Crazy, The (1980) --- 3

Going My Way (1944) --- 9

Gold Rush, The (1925) --- 6

GoldenEye (1995) --- 5

Gone With The Wind (1939) --- 1

Good Girl, The (2002) --- 4

Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) --- 8

Good Will Hunting (1997) --- 3

Goodfellas (1990) --- 9

Goods, The: Live Hard. Sell Hard. (2009) --- 3

Goonies, The (1985) --- 3

Graduate, The (1967) --- 10

Grand Hotel (1931) --- 2

Grease (1978) --- 6

Great Dictator, The (1940) --- 8

Great Ziegfeld, The (1936) --- 2

Greatest Show on Earth, The (1952) --- 8

Green Mile, The (1999) --- 4

Grifters, The (1990) --- 11

Groundhog Day (1993) --- 11

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (1967) --- 5

Guns Of Navarone, The (1961) --- 5

Halloween (1978) --- 2

Hamlet (1948) --- 2

Hanna (2011) --- 3

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) --- 3

Hannibal (2001) --- 9

Happiness (1998) --- 0

Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) --- 2

Harold And Maude (1971) --- 11

Hart's War (2002) --- 4

Harvey (1950) --- 9

Heat (1995) --- 5

Hero (1992) --- 5

High Anxiety (1978) --- 8

High Noon (1952) --- 6

Holiday Inn (1942) --- 3

Home Alone (1990) --- 6

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) --- 3

Hook (1991) --- 6

Horrible Bosses (2011) --- 6

Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) --- 2

Hound Of The Baskervilles, The (1983) --- 3

House Bunny, The (2008) --- 3

House Of Games (1987) --- 6

House On Haunted Hill (1999) --- 4

How Green Was My Valley (1941) --- 1

Hudsucker Proxy, The (1994) --- 11

Hulk (2003) --- 2

Hunt for Red October (1990) --- 6

Hurt Locker, The (2009) --- 6

I Am Number Four (2011) --- 3

I Love You Phillip Morris (2009) --- 5

Ice Age (2002) --- 7

Ice Storm, The (1997) --- 2

Ides of March, The (2011) --- 2

Idolmaker, The (1980) --- 2

In The Heat Of The Night (1967) --- 10

In the Line of Fire (1993) --- 8

Inception (2010) --- 6

Indecent Proposal (1993) --- 4

Independence Day (1996) --- 2

Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade (1989) --- 6

Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom (1984) --- 4

Informant!, The (2009) --- 6

Insider, The (1999) --- 9

Interview with the Vampire (1994) --- 3

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956) --- 8

Invention of Lying, The (2009) --- 7

Invictus (2009) --- 5

Iron Man 2 (2010) --- 5

It Happened One Night (1934) --- 6

It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) --- 3

It's A Wonderful Life (1946) --- 3

Jackass: The Movie (2002) --- 6

Jacob's Ladder (1990) --- 5

Jagged Edge (1985) --- 11

Jaws (1975) --- 8

Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) --- 2

Jazz Singer, The (1980) --- 9

Jerry Maguire (1996) --- 1

Jewel of the Nile, The (1985) --- 6

Jumanji (1995) --- 3

Jungle Book, The (1967) --- 7

Jurassic Park (1993) --- 10

Jurassic Park III (2001) --- 6

Just Friends (2006) --- 3

Karate Kid, The (1984) --- 6

Kick-Ass (2010) --- 6

King Kong (1933) --- 3

King's Speech, The (2010) --- 6

Klute (1971) --- 4

Knight's Tale, A (2011) --- 6

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) --- 10

La Bamba (1987) --- 8

LA Confidential (1997) --- 10

Lady And The Tramp (1955) --- 10

Lady Vanishes, The (1938) --- 3

Ladyhawke (1985) --- 11

Last Emperor, The (1987) --- 1

Last of the Mohicans (1992) --- 3

Lawnmower Man, The (1992) --- 7

Lawrence Of Arabia (1962) --- 0

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) --- 3

League of Their Own, A (1992) --- 4

Legends of the Fall (1994) --- 6

Lethal Weapon (1987) --- 9

Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) --- 9

Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) --- 10

Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) --- 3

Liar, Liar (1997) --- 8

Life Of Emile Zola, The (1937) --- 3

Lifeboat (1944) --- 7

Lion King, The (1994) --- 11

Lodger, The (1926) --- 1

Long Goodbye, The (1973) --- 6

Longest Yard, The (1974) --- 5

Longest Yard, The (2005) --- 4

Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King (2003) --- 8

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001) --- 7

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) --- 6

Lorenzo’s Oil (1992) --- 10

Lost In America (1985) --- 10

Lost Weekend, The (1945) --- 5

Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) --- 5

Love & Sex (2000) --- 2

Love Field (1991) --- 5

Love Story (1970) --- 5

M*A*S*H (1970) --- 6

Made in America (1993) --- 3

Magnificent Seven, The (1960) --- 10

Malice (1993) --- 7

Maltese Falcon, The (1941) --- 5

Man For All Seasons, A (1966) --- 11

Man From Snowy River, The (1982) --- 10

Man Who Knew Too Much, The (1956) --- 7

Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) --- 10

Manhattan (1979) --- 1

Manhunter (1986) --- 6

Marathon Man (1976) --- 7

Marnie (1964) --- 7

Mars Attacks (1996) --- 10

Marty (1955) --- 4

Mary Poppins (1964) --- 5

Mask, The (1994) --- 4

Master and Commander (2003) --- 7

Matchmaker, The (2002) --- 6

Matrix, The (1999) --- 2

Maverick (1994) --- 6

Memento (2000) --- 8

Mercury Rising (1998) --- 6

Mexican, The (2001) --- 2

Michael Jackson: This is It (2009) --- 2

Midnight Cowboy (1969) --- 6

Mighty Aphrodite (1995) --- 9

Minority Report (2002) --- 6

Miss Congeniality (2000) --- 7

Mission, The (1986) --- 11

Mission: Impossible (1996) --- 3

Modern Times (1936) --- 8

Monsters, Inc. (2001) --- 4

Monty Python And The Holy Grail (1975) --- 11

Mr. Mom (1983) --- 6

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) --- 6

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) --- 3

Mrs. Miniver (1942) --- 7

Much Ado About Nothing (1993) --- 1

Mulholland Drive (2001) --- 2

Mummy, The (1999) --- 5

Muppet Movie, The (1979) --- 6

Murder! (1930) --- 1

Mutiny On The Bounty (1935) --- 6

My Best Friend's Wedding (1997) --- 2

My Blue Heaven (1990) --- 4

My Fair Lady (1964) --- 2

My Man Godfrey (1936) --- 3

Mystery, Alaska (1999) --- 6

National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) --- 10

Network (1976) --- 11

Next Three Days, The (2010) --- 6

Night Of The Hunter, The (1955) --- 8

Night Of The Living Dead (1968) --- 8

Ninth Gate, The (1999) --- 6

Norma Rae (1979) --- 6

North by Northwest (1959) --- 8

Notebook, The (2004) --- 1

Notorious (1946) --- 11

Notting Hill (1999) --- 9

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) --- 4

Ocean's Eleven (2001) --- 7

Odd Couple, The (1968) --- 8

Oliver! (1968) --- 2

Omen, The (1976) --- 7

On Golden Pond (1981) --- 8

On The Waterfront (1954) --- 8

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975) --- 10

Ordinary People (1980) --- 11

Other Guys, The (2010) --- 6

Others, The (2001) --- 3

Out of Africa (1985) --- 1

Out of Sight (1998) --- 7

Outbreak (1995) --- 6

Out-of-Towners (1970) --- 10

Overboard (1987) --- 11

Panic Room (2002) --- 6

Paradine Case, The (1947) --- 6

Paranormal Activity (2009) --- 2

Passion of the Christ (2004) --- 10

Paths of Glory (1957) --- 6

Patriot, The (2000) --- 7

Patriot Games (1992) --- 5

Patton (1970) --- 3

Pearl Harbor (2001) --- 1

Pelican Brief (1993) --- 11

Perfect Getaway, The (2009) --- 6

Perfect Storm, The (2000) --- 4

Phenomenon (1996) --- 8

Philadelphia Story, The (1940) --- 3

Phone Booth (2003) --- 6

Pillow Talk (1959) --- 3

Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) --- 6

Place In The Sun, A (1951) --- 8

Places In The Heart (1984) --- 9

Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) --- 7

Planet Of The Apes (1968) --- 5

Platoon (1986) --- 9

Player, The (1992) --- 9

Poltergeist (1982) --- 6

Poseidon Adventure, The (1972) --- 8

Precious (2009) --- 7

Presumed Innocent (1990) --- 11

Pretty Woman (1990) --- 11

Primal Fear (1996) --- 8

Prince of Tides, The (1991) --- 6

Princess Bride, The (1987) --- 11

Private Benjamin (1980) --- 6

Proposal, The (2009) --- 7

Project X (1987) --- 8

Psycho (1960) --- 10

Public Enemies (2009) --- 5

Pulp Fiction (1994) --- 5

Raging Bull (1980) --- 3

Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981) --- 11

Rain Man (1988) --- 10

Raising Arizona (1987) --- 3

Ransom (1996) --- 7

Rear Window (1954) --- 7

Rebecca (1940) --- 7

Rebel Without A Cause (1955) --- 2

Red (2011) --- 6

Red Dragon (2002) --- 6

Red Violin, The (1999) --- 4

Reds (1981) --- 2

Ref, The (1994) --- 10

Return of the Jedi (1983) --- 4

Revenge of the Nerds (1984) --- 6

Ricochet (1991) --- 7

Right Stuff, The (1983) --- 8

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) --- 6

Risky Business (1983) --- 4

Robe, The (1953) --- 5

Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves (1991) --- 9

Rock, The (1996) --- 6

Rocky (1976) --- 2

Romance On The Orient Express (1985) --- 7

Romancing the Stone (1984) --- 7

Romeo and Juliet (1968) --- 2

Rooster Cogburn (1975) --- 4

Rope (1948) --- 10

Rosemary's Baby (1968) --- 4

Rosewood (1997) --- 6

Rounders (1998) --- 6

Roxanne (1987) --- 7

Runaway Bride (1999) --- 3

Sabotage (1936) --- 4

Saboteur (1942) --- 2

Salt (2010) --- 7

Sanctum (2011) --- 3

Saw IV (2007) --- 5

Saw V (2008) --- 5

Saw VI (2009) --- 4

Saving Private Ryan (1998) --- 5

Scarface (1983) --- 4

Scent of a Woman (1992) --- 1

Schindler's List (1993) --- 10

Scream (1996) --- 7

Se7en (1995) --- 10

Seabiscuit (2003) --- 8

Searchers, The (1956) --- 5

Searching For Bobby Fischer (1993) --- 4

Secretariat (2010) --- 6

Seems Like Old Times (1980) --- 9

Sergeant York (1941) --- 6

Seven Pounds (2008) --- 6

Seven Year Itch, The (1955) --- 1

Shadow Of A Doubt (1943) --- 8

Shakespeare In Love (1998) --- 1

Shampoo (1975) --- 4

Shane (1953) --- 4

Sherlock Holmes (2009) --- 8

She's The One (1996) --- 2

Shining, The (1980) --- 7

Shot In The Dark, A (1964) --- 4

Shrek (2001) --- 3

Signs (2002) --- 6

Silence Of The Lambs, The (1991) --- 9

Silkwood (1983) --- 6

Silverado (1985) --- 10

Singin' in the Rain (1952) --- 2

Sister Act (1992) --- 4

Six Days Seven Nights (1998) --- 5

Sixth Sense, The (1999) --- 9

Sleepers (1996) --- 6

Sleeping With The Enemy (1991) --- 9

Sleepless In Seattle (1993) --- 4

Slight Case of Murder, A (1999) --- 6

Sling Blade (1996) --- 4

Sliver (1993) --- 6

Smokey and the Bandit (1977) --- 4

Sneakers (1992) --- 9

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937) --- 7

Soapdish (1991) --- 9

Social Network, The (2010) --- 5

Some Like It Hot (1959) --- 6

Somewhere In Time (1980) --- 11

Sommersby (1993) --- 3

Song Of The South (1946) --- 11

Soul Surfer (2011) --- 6

Sound of Music, The (1965) --- 10

Source Code (2011) --- 4

Space Jam (1996) --- 3

Spartacus (1960) --- 7

Specialist, The (1994) --- 6

Speed (1994) --- 1

Spider-Man (2002) --- 3

Splash (1984) --- 7

St. Elmo's Fire (1985) --- 3

Stagecoach (1939) --- 6

Stalingrad (1993) --- 1

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) --- 4

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) --- 6

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) --- 2

Star Trek: Generations (1994) --- 5

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) --- 6

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982) --- 7

Star Wars (1977) --- 2

State And Main (2000) --- 1

Steel Magnolias (1989) --- 5

Stepfather, The (2009) --- 6

Stepmom (1998) --- 3

Sting, The (1973) --- 8

Strangers On A Train (1951) --- 7

Streetcar Named Desire, A (1951) --- 1

Sullivan's Travels (1941) --- 4

Sunset Boulevard (1950) --- 11

Super 8 (2011) --- 3

Superman (1978) --- 6

Superman II (1980) --- 7

Superman III (1983) --- 4

Surrogates (2009) --- 6

Sword in the Stone, The (1963) --- 7

Taking of Pelham 123, The (2009) --- 6

Taxi Driver (1976) --- 4

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) --- 8

Terminator, The (1984) --- 6

Terms Of Endearment (1983) --- 2

There's Something About Mary (1998) --- 1

Thing, The (1982) --- 11

Third Man, The (1949) --- 4

This Is Spinal Tap (1984) --- 5

Three Men and a Baby (1987) --- 4

Time to Kill, A (1996) --- 7

Titanic (1997) --- 0

To Catch A Thief (1955) --- 3

To Die For (1995) --- 10

To Kill A Mockingbird (1962) --- 6

Tom Jones (1963) --- 1

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) --- 5

Tootsie (1982) --- 6

Top Gun (1986) --- 4

Topaz (1969) --- 2

Total Recall (1990) --- 7

Touch Of Evil (1958) --- 1

Town, The (2010) --- 6

Toy Story (1995) --- 4

Toys (1992) --- 10

Traffic (2000) --- 1

Transporter, The (2002) --- 7

Transporter 3 (2008) --- 5

Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948) --- 5

Trouble With Harry, The (1955) --- 5

True Grit (2010) --- 9

True Lies (1994) --- 10

Truman Show, The (1998) --- 9

Turner & Hooch (1989) --- 5

Twelve Monkeys (1995) --- 8

Twister (1996) --- 8

Unbearable Lightness Of Being, The (1988) --- 2

Unbreakable (2000) --- 4

Unfaithful (2002) --- 8

Unforgiven (1992) --- 3

Unknown (2011) --- 4

Untouchables, The (1987) --- 4

Up in the Air (2009) --- 7

Usual Suspects (1995) --- 10

V for Vendetta (2006) --- 6

Vanilla Sky (2001) --- 2

Vertical Limit (2000) --- 9

Victor/Victoria (1982) --- 1

War of the Roses (1989) --- 3

WarGames (1983) --- 9

Waterworld (1995) --- 6

Wayne's World (1992) --- 6

Wendy and Lucy (2008) --- 4

West Side Story (1961) --- 9

Wet Hot American Summer (2001) --- 2

What About Bob (1991) --- 10

What Doesn't Kill You (2008) --- 3

What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962) --- 10

What Lies Beneath (2000) --- 6

What Women Want (2000) --- 6

When A Man Loves A Woman (1994) --- 8

When Harry Met Sally… (1989) --- 6

Where the Wild Things Are (2009) --- 5

While You Were Sleeping (1995) --- 4

White Nights (1985) --- 5

Wild Bunch, The (1969) --- 7

Wild Wild West (1999) --- 3

Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (1971) --- 11

Witches of Eastwick, The (1987) --- 2

Witness (1985) --- 11

Witness For The Prosecution (1957) --- 8

Wizard Of Oz, The (1939) --- 7

Wolf (1994) --- 5

Woman Of The Year (1942) --- 2

Working Girl (1988) --- 11

X Files, The (1998) --- 7

X2: X-Men United (2003) --- 8

X-Men (2000) --- 10

X-Men: First Class (2011) --- 7

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) --- 4

Yards, The (2000) --- 8

You Can't Take It With You (1938) --- 7

Young Frankenstein (1974) --- 6

You've Got Mail (1998) --- 2

Zombieland (2009) --- 4

100 Greatest Performances of All Time

2009-03-12T23:18:00.000-05:00

The April 2006 issue of Premiere Magazine rated the 100 Greatest Performances of all time. I've been meaning to discuss this for the past month and keep forgetting.

I agreed with many of their responses, disagreed with others. Some thoughts...

I disagree with MANY of their picks:
* Very much DISagree with their #1 pick - Peter O'Toole as Laurence of Arabia. What an overly exaggerated performance in an utterly boring movie.
* Marlon in Waterfront (#2). Liked the movie, but it was in spite of Marlon.
* Bette Davis in All About Eve (35). Exaggerated performance.
* Humphrey Bogart in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (#24). Bogie was a terrible actor who made some good movies (sort of like Nicolas Cage today).
* Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote (#35). No way. NOT an all-time performance.
* James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause (#43). Nah. He sucked.

I agree with many of their picks:
* Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon (#4). I wouldn't have put it in the top 10, but he is certainly deserving.
* Tom Hanks in Big (#15). Great performance - his best, imo.
* Cary Grant in Notorious (#16). Great choice. Ingrid, too.
* Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands (#22). I wouldn't have placed it this high, but he was fantastic.
* Russell Crowe in The Insider (#23). Such a Terrific role - but not as great as Russell in A Beautiful Mind (which is my #2).
* Peter Sellers in Being There (#29). This makes my top 10.
* Buster Keaton in The General (#34). Absolutely yes. Hysterical.
* Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (#36). Definitely, and she was even better in Network.
* Nicole Kidman in To Die For (#40). Absolutely agree - the only extremely good thing she's done.
* Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver (#42). You talkin' to me??
* Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (#47). Completely agree.
* Bill Murray in Groundhog Day (#48 ). Yay!
* Sidney Poitier in In The Heat Of The Night (#55). Yep. Steiger got the Oscar (and deserved it), but both performances were outstanding.
* Sigourney Weaver in Aliens (#58 ). Yay!
* Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List (#61). The ultimate bad guy. In this role, only.
* Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard (#69). I can't believe this is so low - it's a top 20 performance.
* Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs (#70). Obviously.
* Anjelica Huston in The Grifters (#84). I'm proud of myself. This is my #1 all-time favorite performance, and I thought it was too obscure to make any list. Even though it's low on their list, I was pleased that I picked one that is generally seen as a quality performance.
* Christopher Walken in Deer Hunter (#88 ). Oh my word, YES. YIKES.

I've spent hours gathering my top 100, and this is a very difficult list to create. Many times, I respect the performance a ton, but don't really care for the movie (e.g., Godfather I & II). Others, I realize I love the movie in spite of the performances (e.g., Ladyhawke). Here's the list...

100. Michelle Pfeiffer (The Fabulous Baker Boys)
99. Sam Rockwell (Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind)
98. Tim Robbins (Shawshank Redemption)
97. Tom Hanks (Castaway)
96. John Travolta (Pulp Fiction)
95. William Holden (Bridge On The River Kwai)
94. Aaron Eckhart (Thank You For Smoking)
93. Katherine Hepburn (On Golden Pond)
92. Jim Carrey (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective)
91. Al Pacino (Godfather II)
90. Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction)
89. Mark Wahlburg (Boogie Nights)
88. Mandy Patinkin (The Princess Bride)
87. Forest Whitaker (Last King of Scotland, The)
86. Bruce Willis (Die Hard)
85. Jack Nicholson (Batman)
84. Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange)
83. Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry)
82. Richard Dreyfus (Close Encounters Of The Third Kind)
81. Al Pacino (Dog Day Afternoon)
80. Tea Leoni (Deep Impact)
79. Melanie Griffith (Working Girl)
78. Robert Redford (Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid)
77. Goldie Hawn (Overboard)
76. Ed Norton (Primal Fear)
75. Al Pacino (Serpico)
74. Meryl Streep (Sophie's Choice)
73. Robert DeNiro (Godfather II)
72. Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List)
71. Gene Hackman (The French Connection)
70. Donald Sutherland (M*A*S*H)
69. Gregory Peck (To Kill A Mockingbird)
68. Marlene Dietrich (Witness for the Prosecution)
67. Cary Grant (Notorious)
66. Diane Lane (Unfaithful)
65. Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands)
64. Helen Hunt (As Good As It Gets)
63. Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking)
62. Jimmy Stewart (Harvey)
61. Faye Dunaway (Chinatown)
60. Meg Ryan (When Harry Met Sally)
59. William Holden (Sunset Boulevard)
58. Nick Nolte (Lorenzo's Oil)
57. Sandy Dennis (Out of Towners)
56. Billy Bob Thornton (Sling Blade)
55. Andy Garcia (Night Falls On Manhattan)
54. Patricia Clarkson (The Station Agent)
53. Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption)
52. Kathleen Turner (Body Heat)
51. Kevin Spacey (Usual Suspects)
50. Jack Nicholson (The Shining)
49. Gene Wilder (Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory)
48. Robert DeNiro (Awakenings)
47. Rod Steiger (In The Heat Of The Night)
46. Harrison Ford (Raiders Of The Lost Ark)
45. Michelle Pfeifer (Frankie & Johnny)
44. Peter Finch (Network)
43. Bette Davis (What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?)
42. Alec Guiness (Bridge On The River Kwai)
41. Elizabeth Taylor (Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?)
40. Sigourney Weaver (Aliens)
39. Paul Newman (Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid)
38. Russell Crowe (The Insider)
37. Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)
36. Will Farrell (Elf)
35. Julie Haggerty (Lost In America)
34. Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs)
33. Hillary Swank (Million Dollar Baby)
32. Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man)
31. Annette Bening (The American President)
30. Sidney Poitier (In The Heat Of The Night)
29. Angela Lansbury (The Manchurian Candidate)
28. Matthew Broderick (Ferris Beuller)
27. Ruth Gordon (Harold & Maude)
26. Jack Nicholson (Chinatown)
25. Joan Crawford (What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?)
24. Charlize Theron (Monster)
23. Peter Sellers (Dr. Strangelove)
22. Faye Dunaway (Network)
21. Nicole Kidman (To Die For)
20. Bill Murray (Groundhog Day)
19. Buster Keaton (The General)
18. Robert DeNiro (Taxi Driver)
17. Ingrid Bergman (Notorious)
16. Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest)
15. Tom Hanks (Big)
14. Gloria Swanson (Sunset Boulevard)
13. Christopher Walken (Deer Hunter)
12. Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman)
11. Andy Garcia (When A Man Loves A Woman)
10. Joan Cusack (Toys)
9. Paul Newman (Cool Hand Luke)
8. Mary Tyler Moore (Ordinary People)
7. Frances McDormand (Fargo)
6. Denzel Washington (Glory)
5. Peter Sellers (Being There)
4. Meryl Streep (Kramer vs. Kramer)
3. Paul Scofield (A Man For All Seasons)
2. Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind)

.
.
.
.
... and the best performance of all time...
.
.
.
.
1. Anjelica Huston (The Grifters)

All-Time Best Supporting Performances

2009-03-12T23:05:00.000-05:00

Below is my list of favorite Supporting Roles (Actors/Actresses).

Actor - Movie
1. Denzel Washington - Glory
2. William H. Macy - Fargo
3. Angela Lansbury - Manchurian Candidate, The
4. Morgan Freeman - Shawshank Redemption, The
5. John Hurt - From The Hip
6. Ralph Fiennes - Schindler’s List
7. Joan Cusack - Toys
8. Javier Bardem - No Country For Old Men
9. Ian Holm - Night Falls on Manhattan
10. Steve McQueen - Magnificent Seven, The
11. Christopher Walken - Deer Hunter, The
12. Robert DeNiro - Godfather II, The
13. Edward Norton - Primal Fear
14. Tea Leoni - Deep Impact
15. Timothy Hutton - Ordinary People
16. Annette Bening - Grifters, The
17. Michelle Pfeifer - Fabulous Baker Boys, The
18. Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man
19. Mandy Patinkin - Princess Bride, The
20. Mary McDonnell - Dances With Wolves
21. Rod Steiger - On The Waterfront
22. Meryl Streep - Kramer vs. Kramer
23. Kevin Spacey - Usual Suspects, The
24. George Kennedy - Cool Hand Luke
25. Shirley MacLaine - Being There
26. Vincent D’Onofrio - Full Metal Jacket
27. Madeline Kahn - Blazing Saddles
28. Janet Leigh - Psycho
29. Ned Beatty - Deliverance
30. Alan Rickman - Die Hard
31. Julie Haggerty - Airplane!
32. Claude Rains - Notorious
33. Morgan Freeman - Deep Impact
34. Tom Arnold - True Lies
35. Rita Moreno - West Side Story
36. Ian Holm - Chariots of Fire
37. Robert Loggia - Jagged Edge
38. Mary McDonnell - Mumford
39. Robert Duvall - Godfather, The
40. Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton
41. Amy Adams - Junebug
42. Jeff Bridges - Last Picture Show, The
43. Sally Kellerman - M*A*S*H
44. Terrence Howard - Crash
45. Vivian Pickles - Harold and Maude
46. Josephine Hull - Arsenic and Old Lace
47. Jennifer Coolidge - Best In Show
48. Gene Hackman - Firm, The
49. Joe Pesci - Goodfellas
50. Julianne Moore - Boogie Nights
51. Laura Linney - Truman Show, The
52. Stockard Channing - Grease
53. Bob Gunton - Shawshank Redemption, The
54. Steve Buscemi - Fargo
55. Shelley Winters - Place In The Sun, A
56. Matt Damon - Courage Under Fire
57. Matt Dillon - Crash
58. Bonnie Bedelia - Presumed Innocent
59. Celeste Holm - All About Eve
60. Sergi Lopez - Pan’s Labyrinth
61. Kim Basinger - LA Confidential
62. Dabney Coleman - 9 to 5
63. Ethan Hawke - Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead
64. Embeth Davitz - Schindler’s List
65. James McAvoy - Last King of Scotland, The
66. Matthew Broderick - Cable Guy
67. Bobby Cannavale - Station Agent, The
68. Rachel Weisz - Constant Gardner, The
69. Raul Julia - Tequila Sunrise
70. Jennifer Jason Leigh - Dolores Claiborne
71. Adrienne Shelley - Waitress
72. Cathy Moriarty - Soapdish
73. Elizabeth Perkins - Big
74. Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine
75. Cloris Leachman - Last Picture Show, The
76. Chris Sarandon - Princess Bride, The
77. Julia Roberts - Steel Magnolias
78. Judy Davis - Ref, The
79. Andy Garcia - Godfather III, The
80. Parker Posey - Best In Show
81. R. Lee Ermey - Full Metal Jacket
82. Rip Torn - Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
83. Glenn Close - Fatal Attraction
84. Teresa Wright - Mrs. Miniver
85. Tim Robbins - Mystic River
86. John Malkovich - Places in the Heart
87. Ruth Gordon - Rosemary’s Baby
88. Peter Ustinov - Spartacus
89. Jennifer Connelly - Beautiful Mind, A
90. Charles Grodin - Seems Like Old Times
91. Joaquin Phoenix - To Die For
92. Tom Berenger - Platoon
93. Tea Leoni - Spanglish
94. Myra Sorvino - Mighty Aphrodite
95. Ray Liotta - Hannibal
96. Stephen Boyd - Ben-Hur
97. Eva Marie Saint - On The Waterfront
98. Shannon Nelson - Drop Dead Gorgeous
99. Teri Garr - Close Encounters of the Third Kind
100. Virginia Madsen - Sideways

10 All-Time Worst Movies

2009-03-11T22:23:00.000-05:00

10. American Carol, An
9. Gigi
8. Titanic
7. Thin Red Line, The
6, Dr. T & the Women
5. Lawrence of Arabia
4. Happiness
3. New World, The
2. Rent
.
.
.
.
. . . . . and the worst movie ever made. . . . . .
.
.
.
.
.
.
1. English Patient, The

Top 50 All-Time Movies

2009-03-11T22:08:00.002-05:00

Shawshank Redemption, The
Princess Bride, The
Mumford
Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Bridge On The River Kwai, The
Fargo
Song Of The South
Beautiful Mind, A
Grifters, The
Mission, The
Man For All Seasons, A
Aliens
Network
Monty Python And The Holy Grail
Die Hard
Being There
Notorious
Station Agent, The
Somewhere In Time
Deep Impact
Cool Hand Luke
Lion King, The
Pelican Brief
Night Falls On Manhattan
Pretty Woman
Ladyhawke
Witness
Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory
Ben-Hur
Fallen
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid
Harold And Maude
Groundhog Day
Awakenings
United 93
Working Girl
Fabulous Baker Boys, The
Hudsucker Proxy, The
Overboard
Birds, The
Batman
Elf
LA Confidential
Thing, The
Jagged Edge
Best in Show
Sunset Boulevard
Office Space
Presumed Innocent
Team America: World Police

Alan's Movie Rating System

2009-03-11T19:36:00.000-05:00

How to interpret Alan's movie ratings:

Meaning: All-Time 1-50 (think Spinal tap - "It's one more")
Examples:
Shawshank Redemption
The Princess Bride
Deep Impact

Meaning: All-Time Honorable Mention
Examples:
Best in Show
LA Confidential

Meaning: As good as a movie can be without making my “List” – highly recommended
Examples:
As Good As It Gets
The Insider

Meaning: Really good, definitely recommended (typically, top-10 of the year) Examples:
Cinderella Man
Memento

Meaning: Enjoyed it, better than average
Examples:
Bullitt
Napoleon Dynamite

Meaning: Enjoyed it, in an average way
Examples:
Die Hard 4
Fight Club

Meaning: Pretty good, but below average
Examples:
The Jerk
Gone Baby Gone

Meaning: Watchable, but not recommended
Examples:
Blue Velvet
Sleepless In Seattle

Meaning: Just fair, no strong feelings
Examples:
All About Eve
Forrest Gump

Meaning: Didn’t like it at all, but just shy of hating it
Examples:
The African Queen
Letters From Iwo Jima

Meaning: Hated it
Examples:
Shakespeare In Love
Gone With The Wind

Meaning: All-Time Least Favorite Movies
Examples:
The English Patient
The New World

MOVIE REVIEW - Definitely, Maybe (2008)

2009-02-12T23:10:00.000-06:00

Ryan Reynolds tries to move into a more romantic genre instead of dumb sophomoric comedy. He's able enough, but this script is a dud. He tells his daughter (Abigail Breslin) of the three girls he dated, hiding their names so she didn't know which one was her mother (divorced from Ryan). Dad's sexual escapades are just what a daughter needs to hear - yee haw. I love Rachel Weisz (one of the three conquests), though her storyline was the least interesting. Elizabeth Banks (another of the three) just doesn't have the special quality an actress needs to jump out from the pack. And Isla Fischer, while cute, has the most obvious of the roles. Ryan's character worked on the Clinton campaigns, and the frequent overt liberal themes got tiring (most movies keep their rabid liberalism a tad more subtle than here). With all its many flaws, I was most uncomfortable with hearing Abigail ask so many questions about details unbefitting a daughter.

MOVIE REVIEW - Rachel Getting Married (2008)

2009-02-12T22:22:00.000-06:00

Long wedding rehearsal, where most everyone gave a toast to two people I don't know or care for. Whiny sister (the unattractive Anne Hathaway) who demands to be maid of honor and constantly complains about rehab. Long wedding, with the entire ceremony shown on film. Jumpy camera shots, like a live wedding reception video. Family dysfunction galore. Sister who killed baby brother because she was high. Oh yeah, this is a movie made for me. NOT.

MOVIE REVIEW - Reader, The (2008)

2009-02-06T04:46:00.000-06:00

The first third of The Reader is set in post-WWII Germany and is a tawdry tale of a 30-ish woman having an affair with a 15 year old kid. Ick beyond my ability to express. Kate Winslet doesn't act. She just shows her boobs and frowns. And frowns. And frowns. She has the exact same expression (a tight frown) whether showing anger or sadness or ecstasy or stubbornness. The kid is a newcomer, with only slightly better acting than Kate's frowns. For far too long, the movie drags, with only their affair as the plot, and with a strange and contrived plot devise that Kate likes being read to more than anything else in the affair. It ruins no plot point to say that she is illiterate, as this "surprise" is made painfully obvious during their affair. Kate ends the affair one day by vanishing. The kid goes to law school and gets involved in a trial of Nazi concentration camp guards (women), and one of the defendants is - surprise - Kate. Once the trial starts, the movie picks up a bit - though Kate continues her tight frown as though this is the pinnacle of acting (hey, Meryl holds the same single expression in Doubt, so why not Kate here - Oscar worthy!). Ralph Fiennes is typical, dull, Ralph as the kid in later years. I did love Lena Olin's small role - a gorgeous woman who has aged very well and knows how to hold the camera. But mostly, this dreary story doesn't warrant the acclaim, and certainly not a Best Picture/Actress nod.

MOVIE REVIEW - Wrestler, The (2008)

2009-01-27T04:48:00.000-06:00

Mickey Rourke's comeback vehicle is exactly as the critics are calling it - Mickey's Randy "The Ram" Robinson is almost too strikingly similar to Mickey himself. Both had their glory day, but are now washed up losers, trying to regain their glory and find a piece of dignity for their end game. Mickey does do a really great job - so realistic that it's scary. He lands 4th (behind Colin, Daniel, and Philip) in my personal Best Actor race (and thus first among the nominees). It is refreshing to see the wrestlers behind the scenes - deciding which plays they would use on each other, encouraging each other ("You've got a lot of ability" to their competitors). Some of the effects were gruesomely realistic - especially the staple gun - ouch. While it is a touching story of seeking (and not quite finding) redemption, it is also a depressing tale. While there are nice moments with The Ram and his estranged daughter, it is an ultimately depressing and too-easy plotline. All scenes (especially the nude ones) with Marisa Tomei are terrific, and she deserves her nod (and also lands 4th behind Amy Ryan, Viola, and Amy Adams in my personal Supporting Actress race). The Springsteen song at the end was terrific. With so many quality elements to the film, I expected to like it more. It's good, but also depressing and unsatisfying.

Best of 2008

2009-01-22T15:43:00.000-06:00

Assuming that the Oscar nominations (coming out tomorrow) will get it all wrong, and along the lines of the format of AFI, I'm listing my choices for the Oscar top categories and the Best of TV for 2008. All categories are listed in order of my preference.

Movies:
Top Movies of the year:
1. Changeling
2. Defiance
3. Wall*E
4. Burn After Reading
5. In Bruges
6. The Dark Knight
7. Frost/Nixon
8. Valkyrie
9. Body of Lies
10. Wanted
11. Quantum of Solace
12. Iron Man

Best Actor:
1. Colin Farrell (In Bruges)
2. Daniel Craig (Defiance)
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
4. Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
5. Robert Downey, Jr. (Iron Man)
6. Christian Bale (The Dark Knight)
7. Hugh Jackman (Australia)
8. Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)
9. Ed Norton (The Incredible Hulk)

Best Actress:
1. Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading)
2. Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
(Admittedly, I don’t watch many movies with female leads)

Best Director:
1. Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight)
2. Clint Eastwood (Changeling)
3. Andrew Stanton (Wall*E)
4. Ridley Scott (Body of Lies)
5. Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon)
6. Bryan Singer (Valkyrie)
7. Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace)
8. Joel & Ethan Coen (Burn After Reading)

Best Supporting Actor (such a strong and difficult category – I would be happy for any of these to win):
1. Liev Schreiber (Defiance)
2. Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
3. James Franco (Milk)
4. Brad Pitt (Burn After Reading)
5. J.K. Simmons (Burn After Reading)
6. Russell Crowe (Body of Lies)
7. Thomas Kretschmann (Valkyrie)
8. Mark Strong (Body of Lies)
9. Kevin Bacon (Frost/Nixon)
10. Michael Kelly (Changeling)
11. Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon)
12. Alan Arkin (Marley & Me)
13. Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight)

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Amy Ryan (Changeling)
2. Viola Davis (Doubt)
3. Amy Adams (Doubt)
4. Marisa Tomei
5. Vera Farmiga (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas)
6. Alexa Davalos (Defiance)
7. Betty Buckley (The Happening)
8. Angelina Jolie (Wanted)
9. Tilda Swinton (Burn After Reading)
10. Michelle Monaghan (Eagle Eye)

Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted):
1. Changeling
2. In Bruges
3. Valkyrie
4. Defiance
5. Frost/Nixon
6. Doubt
7. Burn After Reading
8. The Bank Job
9. X-Files: I Want to Believe
10. Role Models

Best Cinematography:
1. Defiance
2. Changeling
3. Australia
4. Appaloosa
5. Batman: The Dark Knight

Best Song:
1. “Gran Torino” (Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, et al – Gran Torino)
2. “The Wrestler” (Bruce Springsteen – The Wrestler)

And the Razzie awards:
Worst movie of the year:
1. An American Carol
2. Milk
3. Tropic Thunder
4. Australia
5. Hancock
6. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
7. Slumdog Millionaire
8. Four Christmases
9. Lakeview Terrace
10. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Worst Director of the year:
1. Baz Luhrmann (Australia)
2. David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
3. Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

Worst Actor of the year:
1. Kevin Farley (An American Carol)
2. Samuel L. Jackson (Lakeview Terrace)
3. Will Smith (Hancock)
4. Keanu Reeves (The Day the Earth Stood Still)
5. Ben Stiller (Tropic Thunder)

Worst Actress of the year:
1. Nicole Kidman (Australia)

Worst Supporting Actor of the year:
1. Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall)
2. Diego Luna (Milk)
3. Jack Black (Tropic Thunder)
4. Steve Martin (Baby Mama)
5. Jack McBrayer (Forgetting Sarah Marshall)
6. Jaden Smith (The Day the Earth Stood Still)
7. Robert Downey, Jr. (Tropic Thunder)

Worst Supporting Actress of the year:
1. Cate Blanchett (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
2. Renee Zellwegger (Appaloosa)
3. Kathy Bates (The Day the Earth Stood Still)
4. Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man)
5. Cate Blanchett (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)

Worst Screenplay of the year:
1. An American Carol
2. Tropic Thunder
3. Appaloosa
4. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
5. The Day the Earth Stood Still
6. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
7. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
8. Slumdog Millionaire

Worst Song of the Year:
1. “Another Way to Die” (Jack White/Alicia Keys, Quantum of Solace)

Disclaimer: I have not seen the following movies, which could be added at a later time:

Bedtime Stories
Blindness
Cadillac Records
Happy-Go-Lucky
Max Payne
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Nights in Rodanthe
Revolutionary Road
Righteous Kill
RocknRolla
Saw V
The Spirit
Transporter 3
Vicky Christina Barcelona
Yes Man
Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Television (a little awkward halfway through the season):
Best Drama:
1. L O S T
2. Dexter
3. Mad Men
4. Pushing Daisies
5. Battlestar Galactica
6. The Mentalist
7. Burn Notice
8. CSI
9. Leverage
10. Monk

Best Comedy:
1. Corner Gas
2. 30 Rock
3. The Big Bang Theory
4. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
5. How I Met Your Mother
6. The Office

Best Actor:
1. Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
2. Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
3. Michael C. Hall (Dexter)
4. Simon Baker (The Mentalist)
5. Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)
6. Jeffrey Donavan (Burn Notice)
7. William Peterson (CSI)
8. Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies)
9. James Roday (Psych)
10. Matthew Fox (L O S T)
11. Brent Butt (Corner Gas)

Best Actress:
1. Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica)
2. Lana Parilla (Swingtown)
3. Tina Fey (30 Rock)
4. January Jones (Mad Men)
5. Gabrielle Anwar (Burn Notice)
6. Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies)
7. Molly Parker (Swingtown)
8. Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica)
9. Gabrielle Miller (Corner Gas)
10. Anna Torv (Fringe)
11. Evangeline Lilly (L O S T)
12. Jordana Spiro (My Boys)
13. Holly Hunter (Saving Grace)

Best Supporting Actor:
1. Jimmy Smits (Dexter)
2. Michael Hogan (Battlestar Galactica)
3. Tracy Morgan (30 Rock)
4. Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother)
5. Eric Peterson (Corner Gas)
6. Ed Helms (The Office)
7. Michael Emerson (L O S T)
8. Fred Ewanuick (Corner Gas)
9. Justin Chambers (Grey’s Anatomy)
10. Creed Bratton (The Office)
11. Kyle Howard (My Boys)
12. Jack McBrayer (30 Rock)
13. Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar Galactica)

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men)
2. Yunjin Kim (L O S T)
3. Nancy Robertson (Corner Gas)
4. Christina Hendricks (Mad Men)
5. Mindy Kaling (The Office)
6. Kristin Chenowith (Pushing Daisies)
7. Lucy Lawless (Battlestar Galactica)
8. Phyllis Smith (The Office)
9. Elizabeth Mitchell (L O S T)
10. Swoosie Kurtz (Pushing Daisies)
11. Gina Bellman (Leverage)
12. Kaitlin Olson (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)
13. Brooke Smith (Grey’s Anatomy)
14. Kristen Nelson (Psych)

Best Reality Series:
1. Survivor
2. Wipeout

MOVIE REVIEW - Unborn, The (2008)

2009-01-21T21:24:00.000-06:00

Standard horror flick about a young woman who discovers that she was a twin, but that her umbilical cord had strangled her brother before he was born. And now he wants to be born. Ooh, scary. If only.

MOVIE REVIEW - Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The (2008)

2009-01-21T16:34:00.000-06:00

Partial Spoiler Alert!

Story of a kid who is the son of a German soldier in charge of a concentration camp. The kid befriends another Jewish kid in the concentration camp, though the German kid doesn’t understand their situation. The kids meet at the fence each day and play – at least in the mind of the German kid. The Jewish kid, of course, realizes his situation. While many in the theater were sucked into climax wholeheartedly with tears, I found it wildly, irresponsibly emotionally manipulative and simply could not believe the filmmakers took us to this ridiculous conclusion. It is a fairly well-made movie, with good acting (especially by Vera Farmiga as the mother) and good cinematography. But this movie did not need to be made. We’ve all seen Schindler’s List, which tells a much more responsible story.

MOVIE REVIEW - Gran Torino (2008)

2009-01-21T04:50:00.000-06:00

I think I went in with too high hopes. The previews painted this Clint flick as a vigilante movie, which I tend to love. It sort of was, but much more, it was a good story about building friendships across racial lines. Clint plays a softer, older, new millennium Dirty Harry, a racist curmudgeon whose wife has just died, when a large Asian family moves into the house next door. Clint is nearly xenophobic, as he trades barbs and spit with the family, until he proves a hero when an Asian gang threatens the new neighbors. The family is immensely grateful and tenacious in their appreciation, in spite of Clint's frequent rejection of their newfound friendship. The best parts of the movie are when Clint finally mentors the young male teenager, teaches him a work ethic, hires him to clean and repair - not his own home, but the homes of the other neighbors on the block. Watching this boy on the fence of good and evil choose sides is inspirational. The Asian actors were pleasant but limited in their acting range, but Clint easily held the film together. It's a bit predictable, and not quite as satisfying as I had hoped; but still a good story. I especially loved the closing song, written and performed by Clint and Jamie Cullum.

MOVIE REVIEW - Frost/Nixon (2008)

2009-01-21T04:49:00.000-06:00

Ron Howard joined the ranks of expert filmmakers about seven years ago, and this film continues his solid run (Da Vinci Code excepting). He took a story that should've been boring (the post-resignation interview with Nixon by David Frost) and made it compelling to watch. In moments of the film, Frank Langella's Nixon is a caricature; but Ron is also willing to portray him as a complex and bright man. Howard's own politics spurred him to make the film ("Who will be Bush's Frost?", he has said), and I disagree with the modern-day equivalence to Bush that undergirds the storyline; however, there are moments when Nixon is also shown as sympathetic, self-assured, and effective. A movie with this much dialogue and political discourse should have been dry and dreary. On the contrary, it was riveting, very nicely done, an enjoyable story.

MOVIE REVIEW - Defiance (2008)

2009-01-21T04:44:00.000-06:00

World War II drama telling the true story of a group of Russian Jews that hid in the forest for several years. It is a fascinating story, depicting how they rebuild a community, an army, families, provide for themselves, govern themselves. Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber star as brothers – both are excellent actors at the top of their game here. The scenery is luscious in the forest. The drama is tense but life affirming. Really good movie.

MOVIE REVIEW - Lakeview Terrace (2008)

2009-01-13T15:31:00.000-06:00

Samuel L. Jackson plays a neighbor and cop when Kerry Washington (black) and her husband Patrick Wilson (white) move in next door. Yes, the racial stereotypes are that distinct, and you quickly see where this miserable movie is taking us. Samuel is a racist who thinks Patrick and his rap music should take his white-trying-to-be-blackness somewhere else. Patrick is the reasonable one who tries to play nice, even amid Samuel’s outright disdain and bullying. The always gorgeous Kerry plays peacekeeper, until she sees Samuel’s bad side, too. Samuel’s taunting escalates, then escalates again, then gets so bad you just want it to be over. There is no subtlety, just bad decision and bad attitude piled on high. No fun.

MOVIE REVIEW - Doubt (2008)

2009-01-13T04:51:00.000-06:00

I’m used to Hollywood presenting the Catholic Church as evil. Here, they do not. I thought the church was shown in a pretty good light, where priests and nuns have compassion and courage. Still, the writers don’t understand church doctrine. There was a very long sermon by Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman, as good here as usual) that opened the movie. Of course, he didn’t say a thing about God. “Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty.” Ugh. The teaching nun (Amy Adams): “FDR, JFK, and Lincoln are our three greatest presidents.” Uh… There may be some church where these are the tenets of the faith, but I would not call it standard Catholicism.

Still, the (inaccurate) doctrine of the church was just a backdrop to this surprisingly enjoyable and decent movie. The story revolves around the lead nun’s (Meryl Streep) accusations that Father Flynn abused a kid. Whether guilty or innocent, the priest is shown here as a good priest, one who cares deeply for his parishioners. It is fairly intense, given that it is a dialogue-heavy drama. There is even a healthy dose of comic relief that is actually funny (e.g., a contrast between the priests and nuns at their respective dinners). Amy Adams and Philip are always terrific. Viola Davis was stellar as the mother, a surprising character who protects her child in highly unexpected ways. I’ve never in a movie seen snot left on the face for such a long soliloquy – brave! I don’t understand, though, why Meryl would get a nomination for her constant frowns. She is one dimensional, and too similar to her Devil Wears Prada tight ass (including the tearful breakdown), just with a habit.

MOVIE REVIEW - Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons, The (2008)

2009-01-03T01:22:00.000-06:00

This wasn’t a horrible story – Brad Pitt plays a man born old, who gets younger as he ages. But the screenplay and direction were badly edited. What should’ve been a 90 minute movie (it was a short story, after all) was drawn out into 3 long unnecessary hours. There were so many extraneous storylines (the comic relief old guy struck by lightning; Benjamin’s affair with Tilda Swinton; the bedside scenes with Julia Ormond – couldn’t they have had Cate’s character tell the story when she wasn’t so sick? And what did Hurricane Katrina have to do with anything?). They tried to make Benjamin seem a bit like Forrest Gump – a war hero, a lifelong love, a slow talker. The bad news is, they succeeded in making him Forrest-ish. Pitt talks really slowly (only, his character isn’t supposed to be slow); he’s socially awkward (which makes sense, given his condition). Even when he meets up with Cate “in the middle”, when Brad is mostly himself, he still has a bizarre hesitancy about him that doesn’t really work. I very much disliked Cate’s character – flippant, slutty, plastically cosmopolitan. I’ve heard others talk about how great Cate was, and I thought she was very mediocre. This had potential, but needed tons more editing.

MOVIE REVIEW - Valkyrie (2008)

2008-12-31T18:52:00.000-06:00

This is seemingly a major departure for Tom Cruise. Set near the end of WWII in Germany, Cruise plays the leader of the final assassination attempt on Hitler’s life. The topics are weighty, the intensity is palpable, and (as history makes obvious) the ending is not happy. Amazing, then, that they were not able to escape the sense that it is just another Tom Cruise movie. Tom speaks with exactly his accent (though few other actors do); he carries himself with a very 21st century American air; near the climax, everyone pledges allegiance to his character; he is essentially the personality of Mitch McDeere – he even hesitates before saying “Sir”, just like at the end of The Firm. Even covered in dust, he’s too pretty. But equally amazingly, the film isn’t ruined by Tom’s inability to hide Tom. It is a good movie.

Throughout much of the film, there is high tension. I could hardly breathe we weren’t sure if Kenneth Branaugh would be discovered as a traitor. The first and second meetings between Tom and Hitler were literally stressful for the viewer – fantastic. Throughout the assassination attempt, there was lots of silence leading to the scary stuff – very Hitchcockian. The scenes in the typewriter room were an effective way of building the plot and the fear.

I like Eddie Izzard, but he seemed miscast. Carice van Houten was great in the small role of Tom’s wife. Thomas Kretschmann was excellent as the National Guard reservist leader – obedient, skeptical, firm.

As a movie, Valkyrie is one of the best of the year. As history, it seems to do a decent if not perfect job. The film definitely colors the assassination attempt as a moral crusade against Hitler’s crimes against people, for the goal of preserving Germany’s honor. “We have to show the world that not all of Germany is like Hitler.” The leaders in the film would have ended the war once Hitler was gone. The historical men were seemingly a bit more practical and self-serving, though there is evidence that they were more principled than Hitler. At least the movie is not as revisionist as the Nuremberg War Crimes museum.

MOVIE REVIEW - Marley & Me (2008)

2008-12-31T04:52:00.000-06:00

Yes, it’s about the dog, but not in the same way that Beethoven or Benji is. More like Turner and Hooch, where the dog plays a big role, but it’s also about something else, about life. About John Grogan’s life – he’s a reporter played by Owen Wilson (wow, that nose becomes more and more noticeable), married to Jennifer Aniston. And because of Grogan’s commitment issues, they get a dog. Marley, the pup, in his cute moments, is so cute that it almost makes even ME want a dog. And then he barks. And poops. And runs wild, controlling the household. I didn’t appreciate how proud they were for getting kicked out of obedience school – as though owning an out of control dog is a badge of honor.

The film’s pace moves very fast through John’s life – they have to cover about 16 years, after all (hint, hint). And because of the pace, it sometimes seems disjointed. Jennifer’s bonding to the dog didn’t seem genuine at first. But then, to rush through the years, the did a montage. Now, montages are fairly common in movies. But they did a fascinating, lightning speed, 5 minute fly-through of all the stories John reported over the course of a few years, mixing in personal life changes, days with Marley, back to the reporting – it was surprisingly cool. They also placed cultural milestones throughout to let you know time was progressing quickly (e.g., Hootie and the Blowfish to let us know we are in the 90’s).

When Jennifer cries at her miscarriage, you realize the movie is going to be about more than the dog – it is truly emotional. There are many funny moments, but even the comedy has a heartwarming tone (when the third kid comes along, “Daddy says her name is Woops”).

The movie isn’t without flaws. Owen can’t help but be Owen, even when it isn’t a comedy. He does a lot of mugging. Emotionally removed mugging. Grogan doesn’t strike me as a dad. He’s a dog owner, even when he’s spending time with his kids. He doesn’t talk to the kids. He sometimes talks at them, but that’s as close to parenting as he gets. And the movie doesn’t really even recognize this trait as lacking. The marriage is portrayed as difficult but mature – though it isn’t a marriage I would esteem.

Alan Arkin is terrific as usual as Grogan’s boss. I loved the house they bought in Pennsylvania – three story stone, alongside a two and one story sided attachment, with a spacious front yard.

Any emotion I felt was because of Jennifer’s tears. The dog part, uh, he was old. Only the vet has the emotionally removed sense that pet owners should have. When Owen says to Marley, “I love you more than anything,” I think it is true; but given that he has a wife and kids, I also think it is unfortunate.

Despite a few flaws, I liked this movie. A dog lover would love it.

MOVIE REVIEW - Untraceable (2008)

2008-12-30T21:22:00.000-06:00

Standard serial killer drama starring the reliable and gorgeous Diane Lane as an FBI cyber expert. Nothing remarkable, but I enjoyed it.

MOVIE REVIEW - Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

2008-12-22T22:03:00.000-06:00

I think I’m just about done with Judd Apatow films. Knocked up was decent, 40-Year Virgin was decent, and the other 8 or so recent ones (since he’s become a hit), including this one, are just too distasteful. Supposedly, Apatow has his finger on the pulse of the younger generation. If true (and I fear it is), then I’m glad I’m old.

Oh, how I love Kristen Bell. But I’m learning that I really just loved Veronica Mars; and Kristen, well, I can take her or leave her. She stars with Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother) as a TV star with a typical TV star’s ego. She dumps Jason for another celebrity (the always unappealing, ridiculous Russell Brand), leaving Jason to mope for his loss.

The plot is lame, as they wind up in Hawaii together on separate vacations, leaving Jason to wallow in pity over Kristen and Russell’s affair. And Apatow lets us see everything – the sex, the moans, the sex, the constant profanities, the sex, the drunken pity parties, and the sex. If only it were funny.

MOVIE REVIEW - Lawn Dogs (1997)

2008-12-22T15:36:00.000-06:00

Sam Rockwell stars as the lawn guy from the wrong side of the tracks who befriends an emotionally lost girl (introducing Mischa Barton) from the right side. A bit whimsical, a bit terrifying, you don’t know for a while whether the story is going to lead down bad paths. There are some difficult moments between Sam and the other guys from the wealthy side, but the overall, it’s a nice tale.

MOVIE REVIEW - Eagle Eye (2008)

2008-12-21T22:42:00.000-06:00

Farfetched, but only as much as most action thrillers. Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan separately get phones calls from a female stranger giving them instructions (e.g., get out of your apartment NOW; we have your kid, get in the car on the corner and drive). It seems like a big conspiracy, though the two can’t figure out where the woman is leading them to, and what horrors she wants them to do, and why she has put the two of them together. There are many twists, and I mostly liked the way it all fit together in the end. A fun ride.

MOVIE REVIEW - Monster's Ball (2001)

2008-12-21T14:30:00.000-06:00

Halle won an Oscar for this, but it sure isn’t fun. Or very good, really.

MOVIE REVIEW - Day the Earth Stood Still, The (2008)

2008-12-18T23:11:00.000-06:00

While this sci-fi remake has several redeeming elements and is quite entertaining for much of the film (excellent opening; the lovely Jennifer Connelly; some terrific effects, like as the alien ship first approaches Manhattan), it has multiple tragic flaws that nearly ruin it (and there are spoilers here):
1. The left-wing agenda saying that man has destroyed the planet. "You came to save the earth from us". Are you kidding me? So this is a man-caused-global-warming propaganda movie. You say we are on the brink of destruction, and you are right. Such alarmists, these Hollywood fanatics.
2. Jennifer Connelly’s pathetic pleas – We can change, we can change!
3. The alien was ultimately convinced to save the planet, all because he saw Jennifer and Jaden sad over the death of Jaden’s dad. Wow, humans really are evolved after all, though the alien Keanu. Uh, the aliens had been spying us for decades. Hadn’t they ever seen anyone cry before? And tears are what convinced them to spare us? Really, really stupid.
4. I know that all action movies have these types of flaws, but this was more glaring than most. The alien’s fog was going hither and yonder destroying everything in its wake – skyscrapers, stadiums, cars, people – and the three stars hide under an overpass (made of concrete, right? The same material that stadiums are made of) and are protected? Wow, that was a terrible gap in logic.
Additionally, the movie would be better without the entire Jaden Smith storyline – he isn’t a good enough actor to pull off the depth they were shooting for.

MOVIE REVIEW - Role Models (2008)

2008-12-18T22:31:00.000-06:00

Surprisingly endearing and funny, if profane and a bit stupid. This is much like School of Rock, but with medieval sparring games instead of music. The love story between McLovin’ (Christopher Mintz-Platz) and the queen was really cute. Seann William Scott’s teachings about boobies was really funny – yes, sophomoric, but funny. And true. I didn’t care for the constant extremely profane banter between SWS and his kid, and how they used the profanity as a bonding factor – but it was still touching. The scene where the black mom was protecting her kid was nice, but it didn’t ring true based on how she had raised her son. Hopefully, this movie won’t be seen as a lesson on how to raise kids, but rather as a funny and endearing (and really profane) romp.

MOVIE REVIEW - Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

2008-12-18T04:53:00.000-06:00

This movie is chaotic and unbelievable, most of all, and miserable. I hear that the movie perfectly depicts life in the Mumbai slums; but it is unpleasant to watch, nonetheless. It is the story of two brothers and a childhood girlfriend, born in the slums, stolen into slavery, horribly mistreated, with incredibly hard knocks and bad decisions along the way. And the movie beats you over the head with how miserable it all is. But to make the movie more palatable, they create a very bizarre and uneven storytelling devise. The movie is told through flashbacks while one of the brothers is on the Millionaire game show, explaining how he knows the answers to the questions. Though the plot gives some thin (pathetic) reason for why he would be on the game show, Millionaire seems a trite way to tell a poignant story.

Other things I disliked about the movie:

How many running chase scenes through the slums will there be? At least 5. For this much activity, why is it so boring?o Kids become beggars and thieves. I guess we are supposed to feel sorry for them, but the kids are too happy about their stealing, and movie is too disjointed, for that
Loud, driving electro-pop music.
Too long. I was begging for the movie to be over.

MOVIE REVIEW - Milk (2008)

2008-12-17T04:55:00.000-06:00

Personally, I don’t appreciate gay culture. I find effeminate men off-putting, the constant explicit sexuality morally bankrupt, and the in-your-face exuberance offensive. Thus, I went into this movie, about the life and assassination of the first gay city councilman of San Francisco (a man entrenched in gay culture) with a big strike against it. And they definitely pulled out all the gay culture stops: drag queens, Over the Rainbow, tons of man-on-man kissing. Harvey Milk is presented here as such a valiant hero and martyr, a man of dedication, resilience, courage – the movie is nearly worshipful towards him because of the long strides he made toward gay civil rights. These are some of the politics and chants and attitudes of Mr. Milk, as presented here:

He “broke the dam of prejudice”.
“Everything I did was for gay rights.”
He partnered with the teamsters union.
Chant: “Gun control, not marijuana control”
Chant: “Civil rights or civil war – gay rights now!”
Stern calls to his people to come out of the closet – “for the children”
Equating Anita Bryant to Nazis
Anita Bryant is slammed throughout the movie as a crazy hatemonger.
He begins every speech with “I recruit you.”
He giddily addresses his people “My fellow degenerates…”

This movie is decently made, decently acted (James Franco is better than Sean Penn) – nothing special, but not horrible. But when I disagree with most every political goal of Harvey Milk, and when the movie so strongly celebrates not only his courage, but specifically his courage to do “the right thing” – when I see his politics as the wrong thing – it makes it impossible for me to appreciate the movie.

MOVIE REVIEW - Dan in Real Life (2007)

2008-12-12T23:16:00.000-06:00

Delightful family tale about two brothers who love the same woman. The sad sack Dan (Steve Carell) hasn’t dated since his wife died; but he meets Juliette Binoche in a book store, and there are subtle and sweet sparks. He gives her his phone number, then heads to his family’s vacation cabin to meet his brother’s girlfriend – yet, Juliette. Dan is clearly better suited for her than the brother (Dane Cook), but the movie would be awfully short if there weren’t a bunch of missteps and shenanigans. Predictable but nice.

MOVIE REVIEW - Hellboy (2004)

2008-12-12T19:47:00.000-06:00

An endearing, though bizarre, tale of a baby who escaped from hell and grew up to be Hellboy. A pseudo-superhero, but with dark elements. He’s angry, though a bit of a teddy bear; he smokes cigars and prefers his own company, but he’s in love with the sweet, pensive Selma Blair. Decent story, nicely executed.

MOVIE REVIEW - Australia (2008)

2008-12-12T17:13:00.000-06:00

What a wasted opportunity. There was a good story to be had here, but it was drenched in out of place whimsy, overacting, conceited directing, and a total lack of edit. Hugh was good as the Drover – a rough cow herder who agrees to help the overly-stuffy (and WAY over-acted) Nicole after her husband is killed. The big cow herd scene was gorgeous and cool, including the paranormal elements with the sometimes-cute, sometimes-annoying kid. Some of the music was nice. But what were those unrealistic scenes (e.g., an aborigine girl running alongside the truck, conversing with Drover)? Luhrmann couldn’t decide if he wanted an epic or a fantasy. He later decided he wanted an epic, so he kept drawing out the storyline – endlessly – through the herd, to the market, to the dance, to the… war? Will it never end? I was going mad by the time Luhrmann finally made everyone happy.

MOVIE REVIEW - Starstruck (1998)

2008-12-12T13:47:00.000-06:00

Starring Loren Dean (Mumford) as the drugged up, narcissist movie star, and Jamie Kennedy as his wannabe friend/fan, there is just nothing here worth seeing. Rent Mumford instead.

MOVIE REVIEW - Four Christmases (2008)

2008-11-29T22:06:00.000-06:00

Not funny. Not Vince, not Reese. Not Duvall (who I love) as the hick dad with a heart, not Steenbergen as the stupidly cougar mom. Not Sissy, as the “enlightened” mom (who married Vince’s best friend – ugh). Not Voight – he’s never been funny. And not even Favreau, as the overly-bulked wrestle-mania brother. It’s just a mess of a Christmas film.

MOVIE REVIEW - Quantum of Solace (2008)

2008-11-23T22:19:00.000-06:00

Good Bond movie, and Craig does a fine job. It isn't compelling or overly memorable, but still a good movie.

MOVIE REVIEW - Burn After Reading (2008)

2008-11-13T04:57:00.000-06:00

Kudos to the Coen Brothers for following up the very dark Oscar winner No Country For Old Men (stellar, in the mood of Miller's Crossing but better) with the very darkly funny Burn (in the vein of Fargo, and nearly as good). What a whacky set of characters they have developed. At times, the all-star cast got in the way of the characters: it was almost too easy to see Brad Pitt hamming it up instead of seeing Chad the brainless and hyper personal trainer; Clooney didn't ruin the film, but his shallow CIA guy would've been in better hands with a lesser-known actor. But Frances McDormand hit it out of the park - a gym manager who desperately wants plastic surgery, and goes to great lengths - oh my word, such huge lengths - to find the money to pay for it. The writers sure didn't give any of the characters common sense. But it's a hysterical joy-ride watching all of their bad decisions intersect - no, collide - with surprising twists and violence and laughs. I think my favorite scenes were back in the CIA office with J. K. Simmons, serving as the voice of reason, expressing the audiences thoughts - "Report back to me when it makes sense" (and multiple hilarious profane comments) - it certainly does not make sense. But it sure is fun.

MOVIE REVIEW - Kabluey (2007)

2008-11-10T14:53:00.000-06:00

A quirky indie comedy that is surprisingly funny and touching. So often, indie comedies are just weird and in no way funny. But this story of a loser finding a piece of dignity is surprisingly endearing. Lisa Kudrow co-stars as a war mom whose kids and life are out of control. She lets her deadbeat brother-in-law, who she clearly cannot endure, come live with them to care for the kids. He's clueless, and the two hellion boys gang up to kill him (literally? Maybe?). But he gets a second job as a corporate mascot - a baby blue Gumby with a huge oval faceless head, who stands on the side of the road in the middle of fields (what? But it works). And as the blue mascot, he connects with the boys, gains their (and his own) respect, and even teaches Kudrow a little about life. This has all the makings of an indie failure, but doesn't.

MOVIE REVIEW - Changeling (2008)

2008-11-10T00:45:00.000-06:00

Changeling is a terrific film, one of the best of the year. Angelina stars in this true story from the 20's/30's as a mother whose son goes missing, and her dedicated search for him amid police corruption. Angelina is a great actress; and she does fine here, but she didn't quite earn Oscar nod status - somehow, she seemed more into her outfits and her efforts at sullenness than into bringing the appropriate depth to the role (she lost me with her multiple cries, "Where is my son??!!?? Where is my son??!!??"). But the story and direction - wow - they definitely merit Oscar consideration. The police find a lost boy who claims to be Angelina's missing kid; but upon meeting him, she knows it is not. The police (including doctors and other "experts") insist that it is her kid, and that she's shunning her motherly responsibilities. But the viewers are quickly convinced that Angelina is right, and she continues her search, while still taking care of (if not caring for) the boy. As some of the police (an excellent Michael Kelly) gets closer to the truth of her (and others') son's abductions, the story moves quickly into the horrific - a serial killer story too awful to imagine (and yes, this is a well-researched true story). Amy Ryan is incredible (as usual) as a mental patient. Jeffrey Donavan adequately moves from Burn Notice to the big screen as Angelina's primary police contact. John Malkovich is a little unsettling as a preacher after the dirty cops, but he does a good job - it's just bizarre seeing him in this role. Clint's direction is impeccable - he should get yet another nomination. I love this story, even as it is incredibly difficult and rewarding to watch.

MOVIE REVIEW - Night Falls on Manhattan (1996)

2008-11-10T00:37:00.000-06:00

MAJOR SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW...

One of my favorite films about justice, police corruption, ethics, family bonds, with a terrific cast led by Andy Garcia as Sean Casey - a new attorney who finds himself on a career making case and then launched into the DA's chair. The excellent supporting cast sees James Gandolfini as a cop (in standard Gandolfini mode - showing just how bad his teeth are); Ron Liebman chewing scenery as the pre-Casey DA, Morgenstern/Morgy; Paul Guilfoyle (CSI) in a small role; Colm Feore (Changeling) as a too-tight Harvard ADA; little Commie shyster Richard Dreyfus playing "little Commie shyster" defense attorney Sam Vigoda; Lena Olin as Peggy Lindstrom, assistant to Vigoda and to-be lover of Casey (she's smart and a great actress and beautiful - but wow, that is one heckuva big vein in her left temple); Bobby Cannavale in a non-speaking role, sitting third chair for Dreyfus at the trial; and the powerhouse performance by Ian Holm as Andy Garcia's Pop, playing a cop and James Gandolfini's partner.

Slow jazz sets the tone for this somber drama. The film starts as a police bust gone bad; or, as Morgy says, "A fuckup of historical proportions." When the trial for the bust begins, Morgy recruits Casey to head the trial, partly to get the sympathy vote (his pop was shot during the bust), and partly to groom him. Says Morgy, "You know the street, kid." Casey: "I know the street." Garcia adds such depth to such simple dialogue - it really makes you pull for him.
I like the pace of this film. It seems like it's gonna be a cop drama; but the bad guy turns himself in early on. Then it seems like it's gonna be a courtroom drama; but the trial is over with an hour to go. Which is when the movie really starts to grab you as it emerges as a political story, a heartbreaking family drama, and an ethics class.

Ron Lieberman had an amazing scene, when Sean went to visit Morgy at the nursing home. At the end, Sean says humorously, "I'd kiss you, but you're an ugly bastard." Sean leaves, Morgy half-cries. Heartbreaking.

Andy should've received an Oscar nomination for this role. He "nailed it" during the trial, especially with the climax: "Did any of the blood get on your tiny white sneakers?" He shone during his campaign speech: "You need to know that law applies to everyone equally... There will be only one standard - did that person break the law? If I am elected, the law will exclude no one." Ah, I'm in heaven. I love the scene where Gandolfini's Joey asks Sean to get him on the rat list with a deal; Sean flinches (with disgust) when Joey tries to touch him, and says, to his face, "You might as well be selling dope yourself!" And to his pop, "Don't tell him he's a scum bag??!!?? That he's a disgrace??!!??" Excellent - Sean has ethics and balls. And Andy owns the half-cry - watching a grown man feel something so deeply, so painfully, that the tears flow, but he fights them back, too - at his pop's hospital bed; in his dealings with Peggy; and especially when he tells Pop that Joey's dead: "It's bad news, Pop"... All so heartbreaking - I cry every time.

On the warrant issue, I've never been a big fan of the current laws, and I'm completely fine with the judge's and Sean's actions, in the preservation of justice. I know Sean feels that it was the moment he stepped into grays; but from my book, he's still on the top of the honorable chain.

And Ian should've WON the supporting Oscar for this role. "I swear to you on your mother's grave, I'm clean." Such a strong scene. After Pop confesses the warrant issue to Sean, Sean reaches to touch him, and now it's his pop's turn to flinch - but this time out of guilt. And when he's sitting in the judge's chair, after Sean tells him about Joey? Heartbreaking again! How did Ian not get nominated?

MOVIE REVIEW - Fountain, The (2006)

2008-11-03T22:05:00.000-06:00

Starring Hugh Jackman and the elegant Rachel Weisz in 3 separate roles in different times. Hugh, the scientist married to Rachel (in one of the stories), is looking for the cure to Rachel's cancer. In the past story, Rachel and Hugh are queen and knight, in search of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (for the purpose of eternal life). In the extremely bizarre and dull future story (as though the present and past stories weren't dull and bizarre - they are), Hugh is a Buddhist-like astronaut in touch with the new-age-y Rachel. This is dreary, weird, and dull.

MOVIE REVIEW - Silver Stallion, The (1993)

2008-11-03T13:35:00.000-06:00

This is a children's movie from Australia, with a young Russell Crowe as the "evil man" who tames wild horses. Decent acting, decent scenery, lame heavy-handed animal-rights message.

MOVIE REVIEW - Pride And Glory (2008)

2008-11-03T11:39:00.000-06:00

Police corruption drama starring Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, and Jon Voigt. Pretty good story, well-acted, fairly intense. The battle between brother-in-laws was well-done, with Edward fighting internally and externally on the side of ethics. It holds up pretty well until the last 15 minutes, which has 2 major flaws. One, a completely unnecessary and out-of-character fist fight; and the second would give away plot points, but suffice it to say that it should've ended better.

MOVIE REVIEW - Funny Games (2008)

2008-10-24T22:09:00.000-05:00

Naomi Watts and Tim Roth star as a wealthy couple vacationing at their exclusive lake house with their kid, when two strangers supposedly visiting next door knock on the door to borrow eggs. Within minutes, Naomi senses something amiss and asks them to leave. They, uh, do not. They taunt; then they hit; and tie up; and torture; and philosophize along the way with the most inane speeches. This horror film tries to be artsy and intelligent; it fails. You want to like Naomi, but she shouldn't make this kind of depressing drivel.

MOVIE REVIEW - American Carol, An (2008)

2008-10-24T17:22:00.000-05:00

There is exactly one good thing about this movie – we learn who the conservative actors in Hollywood are: Kelsey Grammer; Dennis Hopper; Chris McDonald; Zachary Levi; Trace Adkins; Robert Davi; Leslie Nielsen; James Woods; Kevin Sorbo; Jon Voigt (if you can recognize him as George Washington); and Gail O’Grady, who is apparently Hollywood's only female conservative actress. Or, maybe she is just the only conservative female actress who didn’t read this script before signing on to the worst movie of 2008. I had mild hopes for this movie that was conjured up by the small group of Republicans over a weekly breakfast. They wanted to display that Hollywood is not solely a far-left secular-progressive propaganda machine. But apparently, all the talented writers, directors, and actors are left-wing, because this is one horrible movie. I’ve seen middle school church plays that were better written, funnier, and more subtle. There is not a funny joke here. There are, on the other hand, thousands of beat-you-over-the-head supposedly humorous attacks without merit against the left. There are so many legitimate, serious, fact-based attacks that could and should be leveled against the left (rampant disregard for the 10th amendment; unconstitutional demands of “separation of church and state”; treasonous hopes for failure in war, in the name of globalization; socialist economic and immigration policies). And I have openly voiced a hope that right-leaning talents (e.g., Laura Ingram, Mary Matalin, Bill O’Reilly [who should NOT have contributed to this project]) would spear-head media projects (TV dramas and comedies, movies) with a decidedly constitutional perspective. But this movie not only isn’t funny, it damages the conservative viewpoint by making us all look like the buffoon Kevin Farley (Chris’ brother) playing the Michael Moore-ish character.

MOVIE REVIEW - Body of Lies (2008)

2008-10-24T16:31:00.000-05:00

The story is a bit like Syrianna, except it’s about the war intelligence instead of oil, and it’s less confusing. Oh, and it’s good. I wish Russell Crowe wouldn’t have chosen Leo as his costar, because Leo ruins movies for me. And certainly, most anyone else in the lead role (e.g., Wahlberg, Gosling, heck – Labeouf) would’ve been better. But I enjoyed this CIA drama in spite of Leo. I don’t know if we are really as sophisticated in the war as this movie portrays us – direct satellite communication and surveillance between those on the ground and those back home, giving us major advantage. It’s a fascinating way to conduct a war, if so.

Russell plays a director in the states who manages Leo, an operative in the middle east. He is interestingly disinterested – he never really looks at anyone, but he’s always listening and planning. It’s fun watching Russell playing dad, walking about his day-to-day life at his kids school, on the playground, in the grocery store, while giving Leo directions over his Bluetooth that decide major actions in world politics. And boy, are some of those decisions major - the explosions are really intense. Global politics are not for the faint of heart.

There is an interesting relationship between Leo and the Andy Garcia-like head of Jordan intelligence (whose best line was, “If you’re not thinking about pussy, you’re just not concentrating”). They know they aren’t friends, but they at times choose to be partners – and at times not. While the movie’s climax tries to put a negative spin on American operations, most of the movie has an interesting (and I think honest?) perspective on the middle east (e.g., the Jordanian said, “We don’t have enough good Arabs to watch the bad Arabs”).

MOVIE REVIEW - Appaloosa (2008)

2008-10-13T17:17:00.000-05:00

I like Westerns. I like the frontier justice, the scenery, the shape of the US Constitution in that age. But this story written by, directed by, and starring Ed Harris, seemed more like Harris’s excuse to make an old-style movie. He got the scenery right, showing Appaloosa as the typical tiny and rough frontier town, and the plot starts promising with a fascinating, violent shootout. But it quickly faltered with a weak story, misplaced subplots, and unnecessary character mannerisms.

The first flaw is seen when the tinny-voiced Jeremy Irons is cast as the uber-bad guy. He looks too much like a Blood-y Daniel Day Lewis, and he just isn’t sinister enough for this bad guy role. Then, we meet Viggo Mortensen, though he’s hardly recognizable wearing a mustache that is 4 times wider than his skinny beard. Then, we meet Renee Zellwegger’s Allison French, where her mugging is on full throttle, and even more out place than usual. Worse, her character is extraneous to most of the plot, and is a distraction from the real story. Harris wrote a plotline to beef up the female part for the feminist age for an era where such a role does not belong.

There is a bizarre, and ultimately lame, attempt at humor that pervades Ed and Viggo’s friendship. It doesn’t work. Ed constantly asks Viggo which word he’s looking for. This character quirk plays no role in the movie, and adds nothing to Ed’s character – it’s just another trait written into this flawed story that confuses me as to what they were trying for. There are enjoyable parts, but this Western just isn’t very satisfying.

MOVIE REVIEW - Enchanted (2007)

2008-10-05T22:37:00.000-05:00

Disney fluff. I thought having the lovely Amy Adams as the princess would make me like this one more - she can really be endearing (Junebug). And while there were a few atypical Disney features (animation morphs into live action; the prince is a dufus), it wasn't inspired. Seems like it could've almost been a Disney TV flick.

MOVIE REVIEW - Heart and Souls (1993)

2008-10-05T19:45:00.000-05:00

I really liked it and was surprised by that. I don't usually go for angel/afterlife-type movies, but this one really has a lot of heart and humor. And TWO Mumford cast mates! (Alfre/David Paymer).

Favorite scenes:
* Alfre's revelation that her son is the cop - she was just SO excited.
* The boardroom scene, when they embarrass Thomas by entering him, to force him to help.
* Most all the scenes with Thomas the kid - he was so cute, answering all the school questions.
* The sheer joy of the grown man who got his stamp collection back.

I thought Robert Downey, Jr. could sing better - I liked the scene with the Star Spangled Banner, but I thought his voice was kinda bland and slightly off-key. Maybe he did that on purpose? It was unrealistic to think that BB would enjoy and participate in such a moment, but this wasn't a movie going for realism, so that's forgivable. Overall, this was fun and heartwarming.

MOVIE REVIEW - In Bruges (2008)

2008-10-05T19:00:00.000-05:00

Colin Farrell and Russell Crowe should be in a movie together - both know how to bring incredible depth and heartache, with such passion, to unlikable characters. Colin plays a new assassin whose first job went horribly wrong. The boss sends Colin and his elder partner in crime to the historic, gorgeous, slow town of Bruges, Belgium for a short escape from the wilder life of killing. A crusty but deep bond is clear between the partners, even while they mostly dislike each other's company. While this is a brooding, slow moving movie, a lot happens in Bruges. Even when killers vacation, their violent life can overflow - causing heartache, love, fear, courage, and even wrenching introspection. Ralph Fiennes has a smaller role as their boss, who ultimately joins in on the vacation and the brooding. This is a great film with a great cast and tone - highly recommended.

MOVIE REVIEW - Night at the Museum (2006)

2008-10-05T15:52:00.000-05:00

Carla Gugino needed a bigger role in this Ben Stiller adventure comedy for kids. Dinosaurs come to life, Robin Williams' Teddy Roosevelt dispenses advice that he can't keep, and a lot of silly shenanigans go on after hours at the museum. Throw in a tip of the hat to old comedians who are much better than the new bunch. The lovely Gugino could've brought some levity and heart to this otherwise kid-fluff piece, if only she'd had any lines.

MOVIE REVIEW - Imitation of Life (1959)

2008-09-01T18:59:00.000-05:00

So many messages - "We should be color blind." "Be who you are." "Follow your dreams." "There's nothing wrong with faking looking prosperous. It shows faith that you're ready for it whenever the Lord is." Ugh, I think this will be the last Douglas Sirk movie I need to watch. Lana Turner stars as a wannabe actress/socialite who takes in a maid out of generosity to the maid. The maid's daughter looks white and resents her black mother. Overblown acting, overly-simple messages, and just dreary in general. Also starring Sandra Dee, Troy Donahue, and Alan Alda's dad.

MOVIE REVIEW - August Rush (2007)

2008-09-01T17:14:00.000-05:00

Well, isn't it all so magical and timely and sweet and full of destiny. Admittedly, this is a really nice movie. Admittedly, I teared up a little in those oh-so-touching scenes. An orphan "hears the music" given to him by his parents, who don't know he's alive. But the music guides them all back together. Oops, did I just ruin the ending? Nope, because it's painfully obvious where it's all headed, from the first scene and all the way through. Tons of sentiment, some of it honestly heartwarming. And the music really is terrific - it's like they reincarnated Michael Hedges into the body of Freddie Highmore (the male Dakota Fanning) [Ah, I see that Michael Hedges' songs are on the soundtrack - that explains it). Surprisingly good cast - Keri Russell has become a great actress; Terrence Howard is always strong; Robin Williams and Jonathan Rhys Meyers don't ruin the film (though they lessen it some). Freddie is the star - and a good one he is. But really, music is the star - and oh, so "magical" it is. But really, sap is the star - beat-me-over-the-head foreshadowing, ultra-sweet kids getting picked on but winning, and happy endings. Nice, but too much.

MOVIE REVIEW - Bucket List, The (2007)

2008-09-01T16:42:00.000-05:00

This is supposed to be inspirational. And I guess it is - don't let this one life pass you by before really living it. But it's also a bit dreary. The title carries most of the inspiration here - the execution of the story is just fair. For one, it's a little too icky watching Morgan and Jack puke and lose their hair and build their bond while trying not to die. The story picks up when they go on their bucket quest - skydiving, sitting on the pyramids, chatting. But in general, it's too simple and depressing. I know it's trying to be the opposite of depressing, but it missed that mark for me.

MOVIE REVIEW - Tropic Thunder (2008)

2008-08-24T21:29:00.000-05:00

This is supposedly a spoof on Hollywood. Or on war movies. Or on Russell Crowe. Or on Bush. I couldn't tell exactly what it was spoofing, because it was Just So Lame. I think it was really a spoof on Ben Stiller, even though he didn't realize it. Robert Downey, Jr. is getting rave comedic reviews for playing a white guy who is so into his roles that he colors his skin to play a black guy. How his one-note performance (seriously - the same voice, the same joke through the entire film, save the last 10 minutes) is supposed to funny, I don't know. It's not. Jack Black, always a little too demonstrative but still usually funny, isn't funny or believable as the druggie. There are a couple of funny moments (e.g., when the director finishes giving the jungle instructions, with a bang); but most of the moments that are supposed to be funny are just really stupid.

MOVIE REVIEW - Mr. Woodcock (2007)

2008-08-17T14:32:00.000-05:00

As lame as it looked, plus it stars Billy Bob - ick. I only watched it because it was on late on HBO in the hotel.