Damn, I only have time to watch movies on weekends part 13: AJDaGreat jumps the shark
Submitted by AJDaGreat on Thu, 05/17/2007 - 05:34
Tags:
- 1. The Lookout (2007) - This is a serious drama starring Tommy from 3rd Rock, Harry from Dumb and Dumber, the younger sister from The Wedding Crashers, D-Day from Animal House, and the woman who voices Lois on Family Guy. Somehow the cast works like a charm, perhaps due in large part to Scott Frank, who is breaking away from being an excellent screenwriter and making his debut as an excellent screenwriter/director. While Rififi was a great heist movie with some dramatic characterizations, The Lookout is a great character drama with a heist as a plot element. It's a fascinating movie about fascinating people. My only minor complaint is that the ending is a little too tidy.
- 2. The Lives of Others (2006) - I wrote a rant analyzing why this movie beat Pan's Labyrinth for Best Foreign Language Film, but I deleted it because it sounded like I disliked The Lives of Others. While I liked Pan's Labyrinth more, and think it's very typical of the Academy to pick The Lives of Others, I still liked this movie a hell of a lot. The movie tells a great story, albeit somewhat conventionally, but with enough talent to squeeze plenty of life, heart, and intelligence into the film.
- 3. Gertrud (1964) - Once before coming to Listology and finding a haven where such rampant movie-viewing is commonplace, I read an article about a man who had seen thousands of movies. The piece discussed his viewing habits and then asked him his favorites, to which he cited two films: Gertrud and Ordet, two later films by the acclaimed Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer.
- Watching this movie, it felt strange to me that someone so clearly in love with the art of filmmaking would pick such an uncinematic film as his favorite. Based on a play, Gertrud is filled with extremely long shots of two motionless people having conversations without looking at each other. There is a strange beauty in all this, but the film's style is difficult to adjust to right away, so I didn't really start to get into the film until the last half. Therefore, I should see this again at some point.
- 4. Pinky and the Brain: Volume One (1995-1997) - Like when I watched Volume One of the Animaniacs DVDs, I picked up on a lot of jokes this time around that went over my head when I was a kid, and at the same time, some elements bothered me now more than they did when I was a kid. Pinky and the Brain were the most plot-focused characters out of any of the original Animaniacs gang: they had a clear goal that they were constantly aiming for, and every episode required a set-up for the night's plan, a follow-through of the elements of the plan, and finally, a foiling of it. Most other cartoon characters can just rely on gag-after-gag storylines, and honestly, it must be really tough to pull off such stories in a way that kids can understand, while also making the show entertaining for both kids and adults. That having been said, while most Pinky and the Brain plots are actually pretty solid in the cartoony world in which they exist, I realize now that some of the endings are pretty crappy. The end of the original Snowball episode sticks in my head, but I remember thinking this about other episodes too.
- Nonetheless, a very ambitious project that I still found very entertaining despite being quite a few years older than the target audience.
- 5. My Neighbor Totoro (1988) - The enchantment of Hayao Miyazaki's animation is as good as ever here, but I can't help thinking of this as a lesser work from him. Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke both look great, but they also tell captivating stories; I'm afraid I can't say the same for Totoro. For a significant chunk of the time, it seems like so little is happening, like there's no plot or character goals but it's just a couple of girls who like to run around and explore. It's still a pretty good movie - and some parts are more fun than others - but I greatly prefer Miyazaki's later work.
- 6. Grey Gardens (1975) - I think we all know people who, despite being clinically sane, are pretty out of touch with the way the world perceives them, and yet they continue to act the way they do, unaware of the things people are saying behind their backs. Sometimes you feel sorry for these people for having lost touch with reality, but much of the time they're just unpleasant enough that it's hard to feel bad for them. This movie is about that simultaneous feeling of pity and grotesque marvel for people who live in fantasy worlds, and it takes the form of showcasing the queens of such delusions: Edith and Edie Beale. The movie produces uncomfortable laughs, but I'm convinced it's not a comedy; not a study of its subjects, but a study of its audience. The film is like making a painting with feces just to see how art-goers respond to such an appalling display. That's why the film just keeps throwing ridiculous scene after ridiculous scene at us, without any story told or conclusions drawn, so that you ask yourself about your own reactions: How does this movie make you feel? When do you laugh at the Beales? When do you pity them?
- Interestingly, I've heard that the current Broadway musical adaptation of this film adds a lot more plot, with the second act being a solid adaptation of the film but with the first act being a lot of backstory as to how these characters became the way they are. That's an interesting way to use these bizarre characters, but it's not the modus operandi of the film.
- 7. Pandora's Box (1929) - A wonderful silent melodrama with larger-than-life characters. However, it falls apart at the end, IMHO... . Still, a very good film, interesting as a movie and not just as a piece of cinematic history.Spoiler: Highlight to viewI hate it when protagonists die by a method that's completely out of the blue and random, seemingly for no reason other than the fact that the movie is a drama
- 8. Alias: Season 5 (2005-2006) - Despite plenty of intense drama and delusions of being a serious action show, Alias was always a little silly. This last season is a party, and everyone's showing up. Yeah, in spite of all the deaths that happen this season, it's quite possibly even less heavy than it's been in the past, really reveling in Rambaldi ridiculousness. I think there came a point in the 3rd or 4th season where I think I started watching this show more for answers than for entertainment, but I think this 5th season realigned my preferences. Yeah, I still have a sense that a lot of the mysterious stuff over the course of the series was never really explained, but no matter. I got a little choked up at the end of the last episode (as I commonly do when TV shows are ending), but I think they made a wise choice to give Alias a rest after five seasons. Good times.
- 9. La Haine (1995) - Despite a title (French for "Hate") that would make one think this film addresses racism issues head-on, this film is actually a more subtle exploration of below-the-surface intolerance. It doesn't smack you in the face with its message like the title does; rather, it meanders through the day of three street toughs after a big police riot. It's a stylish, gritty film, but it's also rather poignant at times. Actually, you know anyone who puts on a big, showy exterior to hide a vulnerable, introspective, emotional side, but you sometimes see glimpses of their tragic inner self? That's what this film is like, and that's hard to pull off cinematically. A terrific film not particularly well-known in America at the time of its release, it's now on the IMDB top 250, which should tell you something.
- 10. Waitress (2007) - This could have veered into chick flick territory, but instead it has enough wit and heart to charm the pants off me. A humanistic film that at first glance may seem as sweet as the pies that are baked, this film actually has a dark, bitter side, and yet the wonderful performances still make it a joy to watch, especially Keri Russell, who is wonderful and gorgeous as the emotionally abused wife. R.I.P. Adrienne Shelly - not only is your untimely death incredibly sad, but the film world is worse off without you.
- 11. The Valet (2006) - Francis Veber, the king of modern-day French farce, makes a film about a CEO who pays a valet parker to pretend to be his mistress's boyfriend in order to fool his wife. As you can tell, it's silly and unrealistic, but of course that hardly matters in a movie like this. What matters is that this film delivers the laughs. It's fun, for the most part. It's not as good as Veber's The Dinner Game, but it could have been as good as The Closet if not for the horrible ending. One of the first rules of farce is that in the end, all the good people find happiness and the bad people get screwed. It also ends very abruptly, much like this review.Spoiler: Highlight to viewHowever, the supermodel, one of the most likable characters in the film, gets pretty crapped on at the end - she doesn't get the money and she doesn't find love. All she gets is a stupid revenge on the CEO, by a method that is too silly to feel like there's any comeuppance.
- 12. Paris, Je T'Aime (2006) - Twenty directors direct twenty short films about Paris and love. The segments are uneven both in quality and tone, producing a wide variety of descriptions, ranging from bizarrely humorous (the Coen Brothers' Tuileries) to just plain bizarre (Christopher Doyle's Porte de Choisy), from simple and memorable (Gus Van Sant's Le Marais) to simple and frankly forgettable (Walter Salles's Loin du 16eme), from subtly charming (Gerard Depardieu's Quartier Latin) to stylishly charming (Alfonso Cuaron's Parc Monceau), from light and silly (Sylvain Chomet's Tour Eiffel) to intense and heavy (Tom Tykwer's Faubourg Saint-Denis), from poignantly funny (Alexander Payne's 14th Arrondissement) to poignantly heartbreaking (Isabel Coixet's Bastille), from stupid horror film (Vincenzo Natali's Quartier de la Madeleine) to stupid possibly because he didn't direct a horror film, since he certainly isn't equipped to make a film about relationships and Oscar Wilde (Wes Craven's Pere-Lachaise). All this adds up to much more than the sum of its parts, however, and the result is a film whose flaws are very easy to overlook.
- 13. Scrubs: The Complete Fifth Season (2005-2006) - This season finds Scrubs back on the right track after some of the clumsiness of the fourth. I still like the fourth season a lot, but I'm not convinced that the only reason it isn't as well-received around these parts is that it didn't have a solid emotional episode. I think at times the humor got a bit too silly, often awkward, and the writers were too willing to sacrifice established characterizations for certain plotlines. And perhaps the Turk/Carla-marriage-in-trouble stories, which honestly sucked some of the life and energy out of the show, didn't quite help. Like I said, though, this season fortunately finds Scrubs recapturing the hilarity and emotion of its 2nd and 3rd seasons. The energy is high, but it's also controlled enough to not let the show get too senseless to be funny. The result is a top-notch season full of plenty of terrific episodes. "My Lunch" and "My Way Home" are generally picked as the standouts, and it's easy to see why, but there are plenty of great ones here. As a side note, they should have kept Mandy Moore around longer. I nearly died laughing in the scene where they watch Uncle Buck together.
- And this was good too!
- J.D.: (internal monologue) So I had to use Elliot's advice with Julie. Luckily, she's not great at gloating.
- Elliot: Ha ha, you had sex last night with a beautiful girl you really like!
- J.D.: (internal monologue) Sometimes she needs a little help. (to Elliot) You probably meant to say if it weren’t for you, I’d still be dating my laptop.
- Elliot: Right! In your face! (softly) Thank you.
- 14. Chicago (2002) (watched again) - Watched with some friends and felt pretty much the same way as I did last time. It's a fun, entertaining movie that probably didn't deserve Best Picture, but is still fun and entertaining nonetheless.
- 15. Seinfeld: Season 7 (1995-1996) - Perhaps remembering the success of the fourth season, the Seinfeld creators launched another full-season arc about George's engagement. At the same time, they never let the plot arc get in the way of a better story, and plenty of episodes showcase George without even mentioning Susan. A lot of "classic" episodes here such as The Soup Nazi and the two-parter The Cadillac, as well as plenty of episodes that are probably even funnier than said classics (The Gum and The Doll spring to mind). The DVDs are great as always, with tons of deleted scenes and great Inside Looks. I've seen all these episodes plenty of times, but revisiting them all in order was very enjoyable - this is, after all, one of the funniest shows I've ever seen, and this season is top-notch.
- Here ya go:
- Jerry: I'd like to return this jacket.
- Clerk: Certainly. May I ask why?
- Jerry: (pause) For spite.
- Clerk: Spite?
- Jerry: That's right. I don't care for the salesman that sold it to me.
- Clerk: I don't think you can return an item for spite.
- Jerry: What do you mean?
- Clerk: Well, if there was some problem with the garment, if it were unsatisfactory in some way, then we could do it for you, but I'm afraid spite doesn't fit into any of our conditions for a refund.
- 16. Alphaville (1965) - I had heard that this film was impenetrably bizarre, that it represented the point when Jean-Luc Godard really went off the deep end, but in reality I think this is Godard's most accessible film. There are plenty of strange touches, but at its heart is a much more conventional story than in any other Godard film I've seen. In fact, it may be a bit too conventional; after all the complexity one can find in Godard's earlier work, Alphaville's Luddite message seems a bit too simplistic, and I feel the same way about the "love conquers all" themes. Of course, you never know with Godard; maybe he intended this as a parody of Luddite films and Hollywoodized love. Tongue in cheek or not, the fact is Alphaville comes across as a very stylish film without much at its core. It's still a good film, to be sure, but not a great one.
- 17. Stalker (1979) - Don't ask me about the allegory; all I know is, watching this movie unfold is fascinating. Regarded as a Tarkovsky masterpiece by critics and a bore by the average filmgoer, I actually loved this film much more than anyone would have ever expected. It's a long movie in which not much happens, and it takes a really masterful filmmaker to make nothingness so eerily hypnotic, but here Tarkovsky pulls it off perfectly. Stalker and Alphaville prove that you don't need a single computer-generated image to make a compelling sci-fi film; they both focus on the human element instead of exploding robots, and they are much more interesting films for doing so. Unlike Alphaville, though, Stalker has a very intricate philosophical core, as well as more interesting characters, so it is the better movie.
- 18. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) - Apparently back in the 1940s, when the studios made biopics, they were actually allowed to be entertaining. The main character was allowed to have fun instead of being constantly angsty, and instead of a story that tied together scenes dripping with emotion, they were allowed to have scenes played for comedy, and musical scenes that existed for the purpose not just of evoking the life of the subject, but also for being amusing in and of themselves. Attention to the specifics of George M. Cohan's personal life is spared in order to present a film that actually feels like a Cohan performance, and since Cohan was all about showmanship, that's what this film is all about too. Of course, the film is also patriotic to the point of jingoism, but hell, FDR was president when this film was made, and the 20th century never gave Americans a better time to support their country. A product of its era to be sure, but still a rousing good time today.
- 19. Ashes and Diamonds (1958) - Aside from the work of Krzysztof Kieslowski (whose best films are more French-influenced), Poland has not really been known for producing great works of cinema. Ashes and Diamonds is the only other acclaimed film they've got... and what a film it is. This sort of film is full of angst and could have been drearily dull, but instead it takes all that angst, ennui, and moral dilemma and breathes life into it, with character drama that is 100% captivating. It also contains some Christ imagery that is so clever I nearly laughed out loud. Sure, a knowledge of Polish WWII-era history (of which I have very little) might have helped me appreciate it more, but no matter, I loved this film anyway.
- 20. Veronica Mars: The Complete First Season (2004-2005) - The first episode I saw of this show was a sort of 12 Angry Men parody in the middle of the 2nd season, and not knowing anything about the overall story arcs, there was no way I could get into the show. So I started from the beginning, and even then it took me a few episodes to get into Veronica Mars, but once I did, I was totally hooked. I could easily see how someone could be easily turned off by this show, because at many times it seems to be channeling lesser fare. Kristen Bell's spunky young female detective might remind some of Nancy Drew or other kids' detective books, but the show's content ensures that you know this material is for adults. Then you might think with the rape, murder, alcoholism, and other abuse it could turn into a Lifetime original movie, but the show's focus is on the plot, not on soap-opera-style emotions, and so it never feels like a melodrama. Sure, sometimes the wisecracks are a bit awkward, but most of the time they contribute to the show's unique charm, and sometimes the mystery are too predictable (see Lord of the Bling or the Keith Mars plot in An Echolls Family Christmas), but it's tough to come up with a complex mystery in 40 minutes, and most of the time Veronica Mars keeps things immensely intriguing. Preconceived notions could hurt one's enjoyment of this show, but the overall arc, individual-episode mysteries, characters, and visual style are so cool that it won me over in the end.
- 21. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) - This is the first Harry Potter movie that I actually think might have been an improvement over the book. In the book, Harry and Sirius were both really angsty and pissed off all the time, which made it somewhat of an unpleasant read. The movie, however, is never a slog - it injects more humor and charm back into Harry Potter, and the film is all the better for it. New additions to the cast Imelda Staunton and Evanna Lynch are really pitch-perfect, and the rest of the cast, including every British actor ever, shines as usual. At the same time, this is the shortest movie and it's based on the longest book, so you better believe this movie flies. It all goes by so quickly, in fact, with montage after montage of key scenes, that I really wonder if someone who hadn't read the book could possibly follow this film. I, however, could follow it, and I didn't really miss anything they cut. I'm glad that David Yates is directing Half-Blood Prince too, as I didn't particularly like the 5th book and was truly surprised to have enjoyed the 5th movie this much.
- 22. Kiss Me Deadly (1955) - If Kiss Me Deadly has a flaw, it's that it's lead character doesn't have the nuance that some other film-noir detectives have. He's more macho, more brutal, more licentious, and as a result, somewhat less textured. I'm actually not sure whether to attribute this quality to the script or the actor, because certainly any noir detective will unfortunately invite comparisons to Humphrey Bogart, and if Ralph Meeker isn't as interesting to watch as Bogart... well, who is?
- This point certainly doesn't prevent this movie from being terrific, and it may just be a matter of personal taste for me; some may like their noir detectives unflinchingly hard-boiled. This is certainly a movie that succeeds in large part because it holds nothing back, and it must have been quite shocking for 1955. Also, despite what I said about the antihero, the movie is certainly not lacking in intelligence; its conversations about the "great whatsit" create an interesting commentary on the genre itself, and many of the plot elements are quite clever. All in all, Aldrich's direction crafts all these components into a really great film that, at the same time, could probably have been better.
- 23. Once (2006) - I've heard Once referred to as a musical, which I guess is technically true, but it's just about the polar opposite of what most people would expect from a musical. Hollywood musicals are grand, theatrical, exquisite, with larger-than-life characters and storylines. Once is about characters so insignificant they don't even have names. It's a small, quiet, subtle story, filmed with hand-held camera. The music is not in the form of production numbers - it all naturally arises from the story, seeing as the main characters are all musicians of some sort. There's also not much plot to speak of. The technique of inverting a musical is fascinating, and the movie is sweet and touching, but considering the number of critics who are obsessively fawning over this movie, I must confess I was a little underwhelmed by it all. It's too bad, because if I had gone in with no expectations, I may have liked it more, but Once has gotten such high numbers at both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, which should mean it has both universal appeal and a lot of people who really love the film, and I just thought it was a pleasant, charming movie.
- 24. The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season (1997-1998) - Season 9 was definitely a transition for The Simpsons. Mike Scully took over as showrunner, but with past showrunners filling in for various episodes, there were actually six different showrunners who contributed episodes to the second season (although to be fair, there were two teams of two people each, so it's really more like four). If you ask the die-hard Simpsons fanatics, the ones who believe Mike Scully ruined the show, they'll probably tell you that this is when the show started to decline; more casual fans will probably see no difference from before. I'm somewhat on the fence - while I believe Mike Scully did make The Simpsons into a far inferior show than it had been in seasons 2-8, season 9 isn't bad; his seasons 10-12 are far worse, though, especially 11 which is easily the worst season of the show. Scully's episodes in this set are mostly pretty solid, although honestly all the best episodes in season 9 (The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson, Lisa's Sax, Lisa the Simpson, and Simpson Tide) were created by other showrunners.
- This season features the 200th episode Trash of the Titans, with guest stars U2 and Steve Martin, an episode that casual fans seem to love and die-hard fanatics seem to hate, because it is often credited as the birth of "Jerkass Homer" - that is, a Homer that is too mind-numbingly stupid, unjustifiably obnoxious, and loudly in-your-face to actually be funny. While many of the show's critics paint Homer Simpson as the epitome of what's wrong with America, early on in the show it's clear that Homer is a good-hearted, well-meaning guy who occasionally gets it right. He has different moods in different episodes, and is more likable in some episodes than in others, but his positive traits are all but invisible in seasons 10-12. I honestly think Homer is still funny in Trash of the Titans, but it's easy to see that the version of Homer in this episode became the standard version of Homer in every episode as the Scully era wore on, and hence Homer (along with many other characters) lost any depth he had in the first eight years of the show.
- Well, I'm rambling, and exposing myself as the true Simpsons nerd that I am, so I will leave you with this:
- Chief Wiggum: (approaching Homer, who is working at a ring toss game) I got a few complaints that your game is crooked.
- Homer: And how!
- Wiggum: Gee, I hate to close you down. Maybe we can reach a little, uh, understanding here.
- Homer: (monotone) I understand.
- Bart: Um, hey dad, I think he wants -
- Homer: Not now, son. Daddy's talking to a policeman.
- Wiggum: Let me put it this way. I'm looking for my friend Bill. Have you seen any Bills around here?
- Homer: No... he's Bart.
- Wiggum: Listen carefully, and watch me wink as I speak, okay?
- Homer: Okay.
- Wiggum: The man I'm really looking for - wink - is Mr Bribe - wink, wink.
- Homer: (pause) It's a ring toss game!
- Wiggum: Alright, I'm shutting this game down.
- 25. The Exorcist (1973) - FYI, this is The Version You've Never Seen. Incidentally, I have now seen The Version You've Never Seen, and I've never seen the original version, which is implied (though not explicitly stated) to be The Version You've Seen. Ay yi yi, what a country!
- I have trouble seeing this film as religious propaganda, which it has been accused of being; by the same token, I also fail to see it as particularly theologically relevant, which it has been praised of being. Sure, there are recitations of Catholic scriptures in the film, but pretty much all the Catholicism is used as a plot device in the film's overall objective: to shock and terrify. And shock and terrify it does - maybe not quite as much as it did in 1973, perhaps because the film has become so iconic it has lost a good deal of its novelty, but it still has a powerful impact to this day. I'm still not big on horror films, but if I keep seeing once as great as this one, maybe I'll change my mind.
- 26. Superbad (2007) - I originally started off this review by talking about all the connections this film has to Knocked Up and Arrested Development, but I was boring even myself. So rest assured: this movie was made by some very talented people who've done great stuff in the past. This isn't quite as consistent or as grounded as Knocked Up, but it's almost as funny, and I think that's mainly what Superbad was shooting for. It's a teen movie about a few kids getting into ridiculous situations, most of which are hilarious if unbelievable, others of which are groan-inducing (), but essentially the film is saved by Jonah Hill and Michael Cera's ability to improvise. Their ad-libbing is pretty hysterical throughout.Spoiler: Highlight to viewthe "drawing dicks" sequence had a few funny drawings, but overall that joke was pretty lame IMHO; some of the scenes that feature running around once the cops hit Jonah Hill are also pretty weak
- Superbad, again, probably isn't quite as emotionally interesting as Knocked Up, but there are some moments during which it's surprisingly poignant, and perhaps they resonated more strongly with me because I was at this age a couple years ago. All in all, teen comedy is not a particularly strong genre, but this might be the best one since Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
- 27. The Simpsons Movie (2007) - And so here we are again - I find myself reviewing The Simpsons again, although finally I get to review a Simpsons story that is completely new to me. This is pretty much what I was expecting out of a Simpsons movie made in 2007: a good, funny film with fantastic animation. It doesn't recapture the magic the show once had; I can think of a number of episodes that I think are better-made than this movie (aside from the visual quality, because the film looks awesome); but at the same time, the film represents the best of what the show has done lately. It's approximately of the same quality as a particularly good episode from seasons 14-18. The characters and humor are sometimes too broad and slapsticky, more so than they are on television; for me, some of the most clever stuff in here is more low-key. I must admit, though, that when I heard Bart's penis would be seen in the movie, I thought it was an idiotic idea, but it's actually a fairly clever moment. From an emotional standpoint, the film covers similar ground as a lot of Simpsons episodes, but it's done quite well here (though, again, not as well as some of the classic episodes). I think the best thing about the movie is that it allowed the writers to tell a fully-formed story without it ever feeling rushed, which they only occasionally are able to do in the TV show. Essentially, it's a good movie, though certainly an overrated one. How could it not be, at #43 on the IMDB's top 250, just above Chinatown, Bridge on the River Kwai, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail?
- About time I caught up here, eh?
- 28. Ratatouille (2007) - Cute, charming, tons of fun, and more laugh-out-loud funny than Pixar's recent installments, Ratatouille is deservedly one of the highest-rated movies of the year on Rotten Tomatoes. It's possible that I was just more easily amused when I was younger, but in my mind the apex of Pixar comedy was the Toy Story movies and Finding Nemo, with The Incredibles and Cars being on a lower tier laugh-wise (though still great films). Ratatouille is somewhere in between - not quite as funny as Pixar's funniest, but still quite hilarious. Of course, all of Pixar's movies are visually delightful and bursting with charm, and Ratatouille is no exception, partially because the story is fantastic and interesting throughout. Probably the most appealing movie I've seen so far this year.
- 29. WKRP in Cincinnati: The Complete First Season (1978-1979) - I had never seen an episode of this show before I rented these DVDs from the library, but when I saw the pilot, I knew I'd be hooked. It has all the elements for a fantastic sitcom: sharply drawn characters with both depth and hilarious quirks, great writing of both comedy and drama, and a wonderful charismatic energy that infects every scene. The season has some clunkers, including the boring Love Returns, the superfluous Mama's Review, and the funny-but-turns-really-preachy-at-the-end A Commercial Break, but with episodes like Hoodlum Rock, Hold-Up, Tornado, and Fish Story, I'm not complaining. This show also features probably the best theme song ever.
- As well as this line:
- Les: Bailey, you're his friend. What do you really know about Venus?
- Bailey: You promise not to tell?
- Les: I swear.
- Bailey: Well, uh... you're gonna think this is a little crazy at first, but uh... I think he's black.
- 30. Open Your Eyes (1997) - A terrific thriller that runs the gamut of being captivating in its visuals, profound in its psychological message, and compelling in its storytelling. One of the better plot-twist films out there, because its twists are hard to predict but also reasonably justified by the film's set-up. Seems like I'm one of the few Americans to have seen this film without ever having seen Vanilla Sky, though.
- 31. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) - While Hollywood was spending this decade making musicals about Shakespearean race-based gang warfare and the hills being alive with the sound of Austrian children, in France they were telling a simple story about small, ordinary people. It's kind of like Once in that respect, except The Umbrellas of Cherbourg takes this unpretentious story and drizzles it with heart-wrenching emotion, not to mention Technicolor. It's somewhat melodramatic, but it's damn good melodrama, the kind where the characters are singing because there is no other way to express such powerful feelings. In fact, it's structured more like an opera than a typical musical. Anyway, so by the way I've described it, you can probably tell this movie is not for everyone, but if it sounds appealing to you, you might just love it. I certainly did.
- 32. Breach (2007) - This was one of the best-reviewed movies of early 2007, not because it did anything particularly innovative, but simply because it was a good story, well told. The direction is solid and the script is good, but what really sell this are the performances, particularly the interplay between Ryan Phillippe and Chris Cooper. Each actor gives an excellent performance that together form the core of the film, and most of their scenes together are pitch-perfect, especially the ones with religious overtones. There is, however, a notable exception to this that establishes an annoying character inconsistency: when Phillippe is asked to say four truths and one lie, and Cooper is able to pick out the lie based on no evidence that would be discernible to the audience. You would think that if Cooper is that good at spotting deception, he would have figured out what was going on long before this movie was over. Aside from this nagging annoyance of a scene, the movie is quite well done.
- 33. The Thing From Another World (1951) - I'm coming to grips with the fact that sometimes I might just not get horror films. I mean, when the monster shows up in this movie, yeah, things get interesting, but the film also spends a lot of time having a bunch of uninteresting old white men blab on about nothing. It's not tense or suspenseful, it's just boring. Sure, a couple characters have some interesting traits, but the moments that catch my attention are few and far between.
- 34. Evil Dead II (1987) - Not quite as silly as Army of Darkness (the first Ash movie I've seen), Evil Dead II strikes a good balance between comedy and horror. Bruce Campbell may have self-deprecatingly embraced his status as a B-movie actor, but I think this movie works because he totally sells everything that happens to him even when it's completely ridiculous, and the scenes where he's alone in the house are the most compelling of all. The scenes without Campbell suffer in comparison. Not a great film, but a highly entertaining one.
- 35. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) - I've documented my Bourne-related amnesia here. Indeed, as I predicted, I had forgotten about most of The Supremacy by the time I saw the third installment (although my recall was better than with the first movie), and since I'm writing this review a few months after actually seeing this movie, I've already forgotten a good part of this one. I have no idea why I have such amnesia about these films. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this all sounds like a joke, since in the trilogy, Jason Bourne of course has lost his memory. I do remember coming out of the theater having enjoyed this film, though, and maybe someday I'll marathon all three Bourne movies and, with all plot threads explained within a matter of hours, I might just retain the movies better. Maybe.
- 36. Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005) (watched again) - I loved it just as much as the first time. It's quirky indie fare that's certainly not for everyone, but I really fall under its charms.
- 37. House: Season 3 (2006-2007) - My status as a House addict remains intact. It has skyrocketed into becoming one of my all-time favorite shows, and with the fourth season underway, it shows no sign of going stale for me. I love the larger plot threads as well as the non-sequitur episodes. I love the human drama as well as the hilarious one-liners. I love it all. You can have my Vicodin, but don't take away my House!
- Taken completely out of context:
- Chase: Hey, Foreman! Your mama's so fat, when her beeper goes off, people thinks she's backing up!
- (awkward silence)
- I’m way behind on these reviews (I saw The Haunting probably three months ago, so I figured I would catch up. Sorry, the first handful of reviews will be pretty short.)
- 38. The Haunting (1963) - An excellent ghost story that veers between charming and unnerving throughout.
- 39. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) - I waited too long to see this masterpiece, and now I waited too long to review it. I do remember thinking it was a really amazing film, one of the best Westerns I’ve seen, and particularly one of the best endings. Unfortunately, more detailed thoughts aren’t coming right now, so I’ll end here.
- 40. Ugetsu (1953) (watched again) - An awesome, underrated film. Mizoguchi is not as esteemed as Kurosawa and Ozu are today, and I admit I haven’t seen any of his other films, but on the basis of Ugetsu, he deserves far more acclaim that he gets.
- 41. Murderball (2005) / 42. This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006) - Two very fun documentaries, that use their respective subjects to extremely entertaining and informative ends. The latter rung especially true to me because I spent many years trying to weasel my way around the irritating rating system, and for me the film felt like a call to arms. As for the former, I have absolutely no background knowledge on wheelchair rugby, and I loved experiencing the game firsthand from its players. Both docs are highly recommended.
- 43. Seinfeld: Season 8 (1996-1997) - Some people say that this point was when Seinfeld jumped the shark, and while I admit that things weren’t quite the same when Larry David left, I think the show is still very good. It’s a bit sillier and less grounded than it used to be, which sometimes proves tedious, but other times it creates episodes like The Comeback, which is actually one of my all-time favorites. I just picked up the 9th season; review coming whenever I watch it all.
- Newman: Don't you find it interesting that your friend had the foresight to purchase postal insurance for your stereo? Huh? I mean, parcels are rarely damaged during shipping!
- Jerry: Define “rarely.”
- Newman: Frequently.
- Jerry: Are we about through here, Newman?
- 44. Late Spring (1949) - Since seeing Tokyo Story, I have gained respect for Ozu’s perfectly tailored craft, and hence I did not find this movie boring. I’m a convert – yes, picking up on the subtleties of the characterizations can actually be fascinating. A charming, humanistic film.
- 45. Rashomon (1950) (watched again) - Unfortunately, I’m getting to this review a few months after seeing the film. If I had seen it more recently, I might have attempted a more interesting review for this, one of my all-time favorite films, but now I guess you will have to settle for the comment that it is just as fantastic as I remember.
- 46. Michael Clayton (2007) - A slick, suspenseful movie with a compelling plotline, but without much emotional depth, which caused me to leave the film feeling like I had seen a very good movie but one that didn’t really resonate with me. It’s definitely worth seeing though, if only for Tom Wilkinson’s great performance.
- 47. The Hidden Fortress (1958) - Kurosawa apparently made this highly entertaining film to repay the studio for letting him make more artistically interesting fare like Rashomon. While most of the film still looks awesome, as Kurosawa’s visuals could never be boring, it’s not one of his more complex films, as it was never intended to be. It does succeed, however, at being highly entertaining. I had to write a paper about this film though – I had chosen it as my topic before realizing that it intended to be more fun than deep – and let me tell you, that was not an easy task. It’s like trying to write a paper about, say, The Blues Brothers. (I eventually talked about the transformation of the princess character over the course of the film and compared what are pretty much the only two scenes she speaks in. The paper turned out fairly non-crappy.)
- 48. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) - A heist movie, but this is no Ocean’s Eleven. This is one of the most emotionally disturbing films I’ve seen in quite some time, a testament to a number of truly stunning lead performances, to the fascinating non-linear storytelling, and to the brilliant direction by Sidney Lumet, one of the greatest directors still working. There is one scene where Philip Seymour Hoffman destroys a room in which I couldn’t help thinking of the famous scene in Citizen Kane. Of course, while Orson Welles storms through the room like a firecracker, Hoffman slowly and numbly lets out his grief, as if he is so emotionally wrecked that he cannot even bring himself to put his heart into destroying things. Truly harrowing. It’s too bad this doesn’t seem to have much shot at a Best Picture Oscar nomination, because in my opinion it’s easily one of the best films of the year.
- 49. Stray Dog (1949) - Akira Kurosawa does film-noir, adapted from a hard-boiled detective novel that he himself wrote. The result is just as successful as I’ve come to expect from Mr. Kurosawa, with a finely-tuned eye for compelling visuals and a knack for creating three-dimensional characters, interesting plot elements, and bittersweet endings. Toshiro Mifune is so much more subdued here than in Rashomon, you almost don’t realize it’s the same person. An excellent film.
- 50. Stranger Than Fiction (2006) - Make no attempt to try to understand how Will Ferrell’s tale can progress in Emma Thompson’s actual novel without the intervention of her narration – your mind may become permanently boggled. If you can get past that, this is a really fun film. I heard the premise long before it came out and thought it was really clever, and the execution certainly does it justice. It’s a great story spiced up with a lot of really cool visuals, creating one of the more charming movies I’ve seen in quite some time.
- 51. No Country for Old Men (2007) - It seems like the most talked about element of this film is the ending. I hope it doesn’t spoil it much to say that the ending is unconventional. My parents, both in their fifties now, hated it. People on the Internet who like to think they know a lot about film, and believe that knowing the Coen brothers’ work makes them big film buffs, loved the ending because loving it makes them feel smart, particularly smarter than people in their fifties who prefer more conventional endings. The IMDB is populated with millions of such people, which is why I believe it is currently rated #15 on their top 250. Accepting three disclaimers (1 - I could easily see how intelligent people could like the ending for legitimate reasons, 2 - I could easily see how intelligent people could DISlike the ending for legitimate reasons, and 3 - as a whole, I liked this movie a lot), I’m beginning to find the praise being lavished upon No Country For Old Men a bit much. It is not my favorite movie of this year (that would more likely go to American Gangster or Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, and there are still a lot of supposedly good movies from this year I haven’t seen), and it is certainly not the 15th-greatest film ever made. Javier Bardem’s performance is transcendent, but the rest of the movie is simply very good, and you can call that damning with faint praise if you wish, but once again, I did like the movie a lot.
- As for what I thought of the ending, Spoiler: Highlight to viewit leaves an unsettling, ambiguous feeling to the conclusion, and I guess that is what some people love about it, but I don’t really find myself biased for or against ambiguous endings. As such, I think the ending works fine with the rest of the film, but I wasn’t creaming my jeans over it. Even with the ambiguous plot elements, the Coens could have made the ending feel more satisfying to people like my parents by having a more deliberate path to the credits rather than cutting straight from Tommy Lee Jones talking about his dream to the credits, but it seems like they did the latter to play up the sense of ambiguity for the IMDB users, a decision that honestly left me fairly nonplussed.
- 52. 30 Rock: Season 1 (2006-2007) - This show has a similar feel as Arrested Development, and while it may not sound like a glowing compliment to make this comment, I think it is very high praise to say that 30 Rock is almost as good as that show. The plotlines are great (if not as delicately interwoven as in Arrested Development), the characters are likable, and the show is very clever and funny. I have been watching season 2 and I think it is also awesome, which mean 30 Rock might be producing the strongest episodes of any sitcom on TV right now. Partially because of quotes like this:
- Liz: (to Steven, a black man who insists she is racist) So what you’re saying is, any woman that doesn’t like you is racist?
- Steven: No, no, no! Some women are gay.
- 53. Legally Blonde: The Musical (2007) (TV-movie) - In theory, I mourn the state of Broadway today and how few ideas they seem to have, how they seem to spend all their time thinking of high-grossing movies to adapt into musicals so that they can cash in on the movie's success. In practice, however, I found the filmed version of this musical hard not to like. It's nothing new or interesting or spectacularly entertaining, but it is pretty entertaining, and while I wouldn't have paid Broadway ticket prices to see it, I think it was a worthwhile use of two and a half hours to watch it on TV. Having seen the movie, I of course knew every plot element that would occur, but I liked how they did everything, and the songs were fun and often even clever. Not too shabby.
- 54. American Gangster (2007) - American Gangster is an astounding, fantastic, epic film where every shot feels at once both wonderfully composed and yet completely natural. The ensemble cast is great, with Russell, Denzel, Josh Brolin (who's been in like every movie this year), the guy from Me and You and Everyone We Know, the guy from the Wu-Tang Clan, Crosetti from Homicide: Life on the Street, the guy from Dirty Pretty Things, and Marv's parole officer from Sin City all turning in terrific performances. The climax of the film gets the Children of Men award for having the most gripping, engaging action scenes of the year. CGIfest action scenes bore me, but seeing the characters think about and strategize their movements had me staring in open-mouthed suspense at the screen. The two hours and forty minutes breeze by; for my money, this might be Ridley Scott's best film since Alien.
- 55. Lars and the Real Girl (2007) - I tend to be an excellent judge of whether or not I will like a particular film, and unless under very strong influence by friends/relatives/acquaintances, I never see films I don't think I will like, which is why most of my reviews tend to be pretty positive. Of course, that means that especially around this time of year, when everyone is releasing their good films in time for Oscar season, I am distinguishing between films I love and films I merely like a lot. This film is an example of the latter. Lars and the Real Girl is a very good concept for a film, and with better execution of this concept, it could have been a truly amazing movie. It could have been more focused on the humor, or it could have been more focused on exploring Lars's psychology, but much of the movie seems focused on the cutely amusing ways the sex doll becomes accepted as a real person, which is nice enough, but the film's best scenes are when it veers away from that theme. A really good movie, but one that could've been better.
- 56. Borat (2006) (watched again) - Still hilarious. You should all watch this deleted scene if you haven't seen it yet.
- 57. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) - Some popular Broadway musicals get adapted into movies and are criticized for just looking like a film version of the musical. I'm not sure what exactly audiences who say that are hoping to see, but maybe they're looking for an adaptation like Sweeney Todd. Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd is highly cinematic, both through its visual style and the way that it minimizes some of the operatic and theatrical elements of the original show. Sweeney Todd the theatrical production is supposed to sound like it's being sung by trained, operatic voices, and there's a chorus that sings throughout. The movie eliminates the chorus entirely, and rather than powerful classically trained voices, we hear much more charactery voices by the famous actors who fill the lead roles. It's a different Sweeney, but it actually works rather well with the style Tim Burton is going for, which is where the movie really shines. The film is a masterpiece of art direction and cinematography; this is normally where Burton seems to focus most of his efforts, but in Sweeney Todd it is particularly better than ever. I've never been a big Tim Burton fan, but seeing this film makes me wonder if he has just always needed a story well-tailored to his directorial eye. Sweeney fits his talents perfectly, and the result is a film where the best elements of the source material and the best elements of Burton's cinematic vision play off each other wonderfully. Unfortunately, it's hard to imagine much audience for this grotesque melodrama set to music, and indeed, it got trounced at the box office by National Treasure: Book of Secrets (ugh...), but hopefully it will score some well-deserved Academy Award nominations.
- 58. The Saddest Music in the World (2003) - I think the best way to understand what kind of tone this movie sets is by reading the cast. The four stars of this film are Isabella Rossellini, Mark McKinney (of SNL and Kids in the Hall fame - he played the "crushing your head" guy), the actress who played Bruce Willis's girlfriend in Pulp Fiction, and a guy whose most well-known movie is 2001: A Space Travesty with Leslie Nielsen. Now imagine all those personalities coming together for a film about a beer baroness with no legs holding an international contest during the Great Depression to find the saddest music in the world, which has a visual style that alternates between looking like (1) a film that was actually made in the early 30s, (2) a film that was made in the early 30s and then colorized, and (3) one of those silent films that has been tinted blue... and you might have some sense of what this movie is like. If you pictured it featuring a lot of weirdness for weirdness's sake, but also being oddly compelling, you're on the right track.
- 59. The Science of Sleep (2006) - This is a film that gives off the illusion of originality by combining a story with nothing original about it and a visual style for its dream sequences that I think Michel Gondry ripped off from the music videos he directed earlier in his career. It's shamelessly quirky, and it's kinda fun, but this film should really be much more appealing than it is. The ending is especially unsatisfying; it seems to be trying to find meaning in places where meaning has not previously existed, and really leaves you with a "WTF? That's it?" feeling. The movie does have its charms, but I'm starting to get the sense that Eternal Sunshine was just a fluke for Mr. Gondry.
- 60. Enchanted (2007) - This movie is incredibly enjoyable, but it did leave me with a sense of disappointment that this sort of movie just has to cater to both kids and adults rather than just the latter. I mean, so much of the humor in this film would pass for humor in any adult movie, but then there are a couple moments that really draw you out of the film and remind you that you're watching a movie whose primary audience is 9-year-olds. I am specifically referring to the obligatory "small animal crapping" joke and the obligatory "small dog peeing on a human's leg" joke. More than the scatology, though, is the fact that this film almost gets kinda deep in its comments on happy endings in the real world versus the Disney princess world. It veers away from depth, of course, because the 9-year-olds would be disappointed if the movie did not indeed have the message that traditional happy endings can exist in the real world too, but I imagined the movie as a darker, PG-13 film that delves deeper into these ideas, and maybe explores exactly how and why the princess becomes disillusioned with her fiance. That, of course, is not the kind of movie Disney wants to release, but it's an interesting film in my head.
- Enough about the film this could be. Enchanted, as it is, is still a wonderfully entertaining film. Amy Adams is fabulous and all the jokes parodying the Disney world and how it would invade the real world had me in hysterics. The climax is a little out of place and some shots in it definitely defy the laws of physics, but mostly this is a really terrific film. The "Happy Working Song" is easily one of the best scenes of 2007.
- 61. The Lady From Shanghai (1947) - Orson Welles is a brilliant director. End of story. Citizen Kane is usually cited as his masterpiece, but let's face it: with such a fantastic script and actors, that movie would probably have been great even if he hadn't directed it. Take a movie like this, on the other hand, and you see how Mr. Welles can also take a film that could have been a pretty formulaic film-noir, put his own stamp on it, and really elevate the material to new heights. This film is much better than it could have been, and I completely attribute that to Welles and his ability to, well, just make everything look fascinating. The climax in particular is sheer brilliance.
- 62. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) - The only film in history to have three different Best Lead Actor Oscar nominations, and watching this movie, it's completely understandable. Fletcher Christian, Captain Bligh, and Roger Byam are all the protagonists of this movie; not one of them is more leading or more supporting than the others. It's this trichotomy that provides the backbone of the film and really gives it legs. All three of these actors are great in that magnificent old-timey Hollywood way, and it's the three of them that really make this film worth watching. Their tale makes for an exciting epic adventure, which probably looked more impressive in 1935, but which is still a great film even today.
- 63. Juno (2007) - It seems like the Academy is establishing a tradition of nominating one critically acclaimed, semi-indie offbeat comedy for various awards in almost every year (except for 2005 films when no one felt like laughing). They'll often get nominated for Best Picture, and sure, they'll never win, but they're often frontrunners for the screenplay awards. This is a tradition I can totally get behind, because I really love these kind of movies, and Juno is definitely one of the best. Sure, if you're skeptical of this type of comedy, Juno might not change your mind, but I went into Juno expecting to love it and it even exceeded my expectations. This is about people in my generation, and very much of it rings true; the stuff that doesn't is usually establishing these people as the uniquely quirky characters that they are, as Juno MacGuff is a bit stranger than any teenage girl I know. I've actually seen quite a few good but vaguely unsatisfying movies lately, but I personally found Juno deeply satisfying. It's one of the sweetest, funniest, most unconventional, and best films of the year.
- 64. Ben-Hur (1959) - a.k.a. the Gospel According to Charlton.
- So I decided that it's time for me to buckle down and watch some classic epic films that I've been putting off seeing. I'm just rarely in the mood to watch such a long film, but I need to see these movies, and it's about time. Clocking in at 3:42, Ben-Hur seemed like a fine place to start, and it is quite an excellent film. I'm glad I didn't see it a few years earlier though, because I think if I were younger, I might have been put off by the overt Christian themes. Today, though, I can accept this powerful religious tale for what it is. I am often rather dismayed by what the Christian faith leads some of its followers to do in today's world, but if it can also lead one to create art of such majesty, then surely even those who don't follow Christianity can benefit from the faith it inspires.
- Of course, the majority of the film is not even about Jesus, and that too is pretty compelling. I'm often not really into that grand epic stuff, and the characters here are not as layered as in David Lean epics, but I found Ben-Hur to be mostly engaging. While the acting as a whole is a little hammy, I must say that I found Charlton Heston much more believable here than in Touch of Evil (perhaps because a grand historical epic seems better suited to his brand of overacting than a film-noir). I did think it was weird that Hugh Griffith was the supporting actor in this movie that won an Oscar as I found very little interesting about his performance. It's not that he was bad at his role, it's that his role didn't really call for anything challenging. I would have much sooner given it to Stephen Boyd for playing Messala, whose relationship with Judah was really fascinating. I would, however, have liked to have seen Judah's relationships with his mother and sister better developed. So much of the film is about his devotion to them and what that devotion drives him to do, but why? Is he just responding to the call of duty to help his family, or is there anything more interesting going on?
- Anyway. While I'm still not a big fan of historical epics, I will admit this wasn't a bad way to spend three hours and forty-two minutes.
- 65. Atonement (2007) - I don't think I've ever seen a film that was so uneven - not necessarily in terms of its quality, but in terms of my involvement with it. Never before have I seen a film that at times had me so bored I was constantly nodding off and at other times had me completely transfixed to the screen, mouth open in utter fascination, tears welling up in my eyes.
- Let me explain - and I will say that I have not read the novel this movie is based on, so I can only comment on the film as a film rather than what the film adds to its source material. Atonement is really three films rolled into one. The first hour I will call The Story, Part One. The next forty minutes I will call The Completely Unnecessary Section. The last twenty minutes I will call The Story, Part Two.
- The Story, Part One is a very interesting drama. It's based on misunderstandings and so the exact circumstances through which everything happens are not always entirely believable, but it's generally pretty well done, and since everything is interpreted through the eyes of a 13-year-old girl, most of it works pretty well. There are a lot of clever artistic touches here as well as throughout the rest of the film.
- The Completely Unnecessary Section takes the film in a totally different direction than the way it's going in The Story, Part One. The style is similar, but in terms of what's going on, it feels like a completely different film. It's all about the horrors of war, and although the political situation has been briefly talked about in the previous section, never once do you feel like The Story, Part One is going to turn into a war movie. The disjoint nature of The Completely Unnecessary Section would be excusable if this section were not also so boring, but most of it is just pointless meandering. It's often visually interesting meandering, but it really ruins the pace of the movie and it's incredibly frustrating to watch. This, of course, is the part when I was nodding off.
- At some point, the film FINALLY gets back on track and takes us to The Story, Part Two. The ending is really brilliant and affecting. It just comes way, way too late in a film that is at least 30 minutes too long (and that's tough for a two-hour movie).
- I'm not sure exactly how to grade this film on my tier system. How much does the intense emotional power of the ending trump the obvious problems Atonement has? I guess I'll just end up putting it where I've put nearly every other film this year...
- 66. Charlie Wilson's War (2007) - I wasn't quite sure to make of this movie for most of its running time. It is a very strange movie to make in this day and age. Imagine a film about morally ambiguous Americans and Afghanis who can only be sympathized with; a film about the United States helping Afghanistan, in a time when the U.S. and Afghanistan were on the same side; a film about a Democrat spending larger and larger sums on foreign military intervention, back when that was the liberal approach to things in American politics. I think the denouement, including the zen master conversation and the final quotation at the end, were really necessary to wrap my head around this movie. It becomes clear that some of the scenes proclaiming the glory of America's war efforts, despite seeming to be one-dimensionally exultant, were really intended as tongue-in-cheek, and that the issues addressed by the denouement were not really covered in most of the film, because all America was focused on was the military victory, and hence, the movie is the same way. Charlie Wilson got this, but the people celebrating his accomplishments did not.
- I did find the film entertaining throughout, however. Aaron Sorkin's dialogue is in top form, and Tom Hanks and Philip Seymour Hoffman were both fantastic in their roles. The film hits all the right notes, both comedy and tragedy, at the right times, producing a really great movie. And by the way, Julia Roberts's role is much smaller than the marketing make it out to be.
- 67. Kids in the Hall: Season 3 (1991-1992) - My viewing of this box set was spaced out over at least a year and a half, so I have very little memory of some of the earlier sketches of this season. I am still highly amused by this show, even though I must admit I've gotten a little tired of their brand of humor.
- 68. The Iron Giant (1999) - An animated film that admittedly has a couple examples of Stock Children's Movie Scenes That Really Make Me Cringe, but overall is really quite great. It's intelligent and also has a lot of heart, and it's some of the best 2D animation I've ever seen (and as such kicks the crap out of a few CGI movies). At about 90 minutes, it really flew by, and in that short time, managed to dazzle and affect me quite a bit.
- 69. Eastern Promises (2007) - It's funny that Jim recently reviewed this and said he didn't like it as much as he should've and owed it a rewatch, because I too felt like I didn't like it as much I should've after the film was over, and thought I may have missed some things from the beginning of the movie. I then rewatched a number of scenes and realized I had indeed not gotten some things. I think the problem was Armin Mueller-Stahl was so convincing as the guilty man expertly playing innocent that I didn't make some necessary connections. Indeed, Viggo Mortensen is the only one with really any acting awards buzz, but I thought Mueller-Stahl was amazing as the soft-spoken, endearing mob boss who could clearly become pure evil when he needed to be. With him, Mortensen, and the always terrific Naomi Watts, the film is a fascinating look at the underworld of the Russian mob. It doesn't waste a scene; every moment either moves the plot or adds to the atmosphere. Some may lament that David Cronenberg seems to have given up the mindfuck movies, but if he keeps making films about more down-to-earth stories that retain his bizarre atmospheric touches, I will be very satisfied.
Author Comments:
Comments are always welcome, always have been, and always will be.
Pinky and the Brain! Did that collection contain the Christmas episode? That was always by far my favorite.
Yep, that episode is the eighth episode on here. Despite catching nearly every episode as a kid, I had actually never seen the Christmas episode before - I think because they only reran it around Christmastime, when my family would generally take a vacation and I wouldn't be watching cartoon reruns. It is a very sweet episode though.
As for my favorite episodes, I remember loving You Said a Mouseful (where Brain is foiled by tongue-twisters), Pinky's P.O.V. (where the entire episode is told through Pinky's twisted worldview), and the incredibly bizarre three-parter Brainwashed.
Re: 10. Waitress (2007)
Well, if anyone could "charm the pants off" you just outside of "chick flick territory" it would be Keri Russell. I've loved her ever since her Roar day.
Yeah, I apparently saw her in Mission: Impossible 3, but I don't remember her in that. I'm not sure why, as she's certainly very eye-catching given both her talent and her beauty. By the way, as a Keri Russell fan, you should see Waitress if you haven't yet.
" the rest of the cast, including every British actor ever,"
Perfect!
I also enjoyed but was a little underwhelmed by Once. I wanted it to be the perfect cult romance everybody else seems to think it is, but, alas...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I saw your review - the comparison to Before Sunrise/Sunset is very apt, but yeah, the whole affair just isn't as interesting as those films. The dialogue doesn't sparkle like Linklater's, I guess.
It seems everybody heard that sparkle, and you and I were just deaf...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I'm not so sure Gertrud is worth another look. I think you pegged it right the first time.
Heh, you could be right. Did you think the second half was stronger than the first half too?
I don't recall.
About The Simpsons, if you follow the episode discussions at www.snpp.com , jerkass Homer actually started around season 5, he just got worse and worse.
An example, the episode where Bart joins the Boy scout knockoff ran by Flanders, its one of my favorite episodes of all time, but Homer is way too much of a jerk in that one.
Yeah, I'm aware of the discussions you're talking about, and I've heard Jerkass Homer cited as originating in Lisa on Ice or Homer's Enemy too, but I feel like most diehard fans forgive Homer's general meanness because it's still very funny in those episodes, and again, it doesn't take over his entire character in season 5, because certainly there are episodes after Boy Scoutz N the Hood where Homer comes across as a good guy.
It wasn't until season 10 or so that the show's creators decided if we make Homer loud and in-your-face enough, it won't even have to be clever or witty in the slightest. And then they robbed him of his redeeming qualities as well, so he just became an asshole in every episode. That, to me, is the true Jerkass Homer - he's an asshole for no reason other than it's obnoxiousness replacing genuine humor, and it continues throughout every episode.
Ok, i understand the every episode thing, i stopped watching The Simpsons around season 12 or 13. Because we switch from cable to Directv in my house, and it didn't carry Latin Fox, which showed the new episodes. They got Latin Fox 2 or 3 years ago, but i almost every sunday have something better to do. I did watch an episode the other day, really sad, only laugh once, it was the one where the Gil character move to their house.
Homer in Lisa on Ice its probably more of a jerk than in Boy Scout N the Hood, the Homer's Enemy one was jut really dim, i hate that episode btw, Grimey was the jerk in that one, i can't believe is one of Groening's faves.
Are you watching the movie this weekend?
I didn't like that Gil episode either.
I think Groening's top 10 list is pretty bad in general, but I do actually love Homer's Enemy. I like the idea of a normal outsider coming into the Simpsons universe and being bothered by how little it all really makes sense.
I'm pretty busy this weekend, so probably not, but I'm sure I'll catch it soon enough.
I coudn't stand grimey at all. so i cannot like an episode that is focus on him.
Really? I mean, he's certainly pretty obnoxious to Homer, but he makes some good points, doesn't he? It is pretty disturbing, after all, that someone as incompetent as Homer has kept his job at the power plant for all these years, and remained beloved by all in that time. And given Grimey's background - well, I think his anger is justified.
The Frank Grimes episode was one of my favorites! I loved how he went into the Simpson house and you see all the photos of the incredible stuff Homer's done...like go into space and meet ex-presidents. I think AJ hit the nail on the head...Grimes was more or less a straight-edge guy, kind of stuck up and anal, but yeah, just a regular guy seeing how little sense Homer's world makes. Plus it's got a great line..."That man eats like a pig!" "Nah, pigs tend to chew. I'd say he eats more like a duck."
ok dude i have to disagree with your comments on SuperBad:
The Dick Montage, as i swear i was still laughing at that a few minutes after and i nearly fell out of my seat.
maybe thats just my sense of humour lol
I'm glad you enjoyed it, but the joke wasn't really to my taste. Some of the drawings were funny-looking, but the idea that this habit is an actual compulsion was more bizarre than funny IMHO. I did find most of that movie hilarious though.
Re: the ending of No Country
The Coens weren't playing to any audience -- that ending is textbook McCarthy. They were merely being faithful, is all.
Well, I didn't mean the Coens could have changed McCarthy's ending plot-wise. What I meant was that after the scene of Tommy Lee Jones talking about his dream, they could have had some padding to create an ending that didn't feel so abrupt. Just a slow pan away from Tommy Lee Jones or the house he's in, or a few simple shots of the other characters (Bardem limping away, for example), or even just starting to fade in the theme music while Jones is talking, would have made the ending more palatable to filmgoers with more conventional tastes. That they didn't do any such thing showed that they were playing to a certain audience. I'm not saying that's a bad thing or a good thing, but they were definitely not just being faithful to McCarthy IMHO.