Once-- I raved about this one in a previous post, and I will again because the movie has stuck with me a month later. I just listened to some songs from the film soundtrack, and it all came back. There are great movies to watch, and then there are very rare gems that “change” you after watching them. This is one of those gems. A
The Simpsons Movie— At the beginning of the movie, Homer stands up during a showing of the Itchy and Scratchy movie and asks, “Why pay for something we can see for free?” Because you can’t get this kind of quality on free TV. Everything you love about The Simpsons is multiplied by a hundred for the movie. The animation was better and more adventurous, and the story was also beyond what would fit into the show (props to the creators for making an actual movie, and not something that could conveniently be broken up into TV episodes). I still like The Simpsons, but I haven’t loved it in years. I loved this movie, though. A-
The Bourne Ultimatum— A great capper to a great series. Jason gets closer to the truth of his existence. I must say I was surprised to learn his “origin story”. The action was smart and crazy, and the cast was stellar. A-
Eastern Promises— The story was good enough, but the direction and the performances really put this film near the top of the heap. Viggo Mortenson was phenomenal. A-
Shoot ‘Em Up— Imagine every action movie you’ve ever seen turned up to 11. This movie went beyond the point of ridiculous (as was intended), and it’s a testament to Clive Owen (as well as Paul Giamatti)’s abilities that kept it all within the context of the story. Lesser actors would have easily lost control of the ludicrous situations herein. I mean, is there any other actor you can think of that could make chewing a carrot stick as badass as Owen does? The film was a satire of sorts, but the kind where the players are winking at us as if to say “Listen, we know this is beyond over the top, but doesn’t it look cool?” And if you have time, check out the special features on the DVD as they’re pretty funny in their own rights, like the question asked of cast and crew of how many people are killed in the movie and then get answers like “Lots” or “I lost track after 100/200/300”. A-
3:10 To Yuma-- Christian Bale and Russell Crowe at their best. Wow. Just a pleasure to watch them work. And the story was great as well. You kinda know who's gonna die by the credits(there is a bit of a "formula"), but there were a few twists just before and after it that made it very interesting. A-
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix-- Each film in the series has a more grown up Harry, and this no exception. Harry gets a band of “rebels” together to fight against Valdemort because no one else will. Good moments and effects, and the kids are growing into pretty good actors (how cool are their lives, working with the incredible talent they get to work with?) B+
Dexter: Season One -- It’s a cheat that I’ve included a TV series, but it’s a really good one that I saw for the first time on DVD. B+
Stardust-- I read a number of mixed reviews about this fantasy movie, but I really enjoyed it. The effects were good and the story and characters had a nice humor about them. B+
Rescue Dawn—Great story, but nothing groundbreaking other than Christian Bale’s usually great work and Steve Zahn’s very great attempt at pure drama. B
Hairspray— I watched this on a whim, but I’m glad I saw it. I’m not one for musicals, but it worked in this movie. The young cast was great—and the message of the movie was a good one to keep in mind. The biggest downside to this movie was John Travolta’s ridiculous-looking makeup job to look like a woman. I know the part is traditionally played by a man, but they could have done better. Not that Travolta was bad (he was actually quite effective), but I never saw "Mrs. Turnblad", I just saw Travolta in drag. B
The Waitress— I liked the “realistic” attitude of the movie (sometimes pregnancy is not a “wondrous gift” due to circumstances), but some of the characters were a bit over the top. It was very funny (black humor) in many spots, so it’s worth watching. B
Live Free or Die Hard— About half-way through this movie, I completely expected John McClain to get caught in an explosion and emerge from the flames with his skin melted off and continue the movie as a Terminator T-800. I haven’t watched a Die Hard movie since Die Hard with a Vengeance was in the theatres, so I forgot how unbelievably over the top they can be. This one was even more so. But it was fun. And it had Justin Long and Timothy Olyphant (who I really wish could snag a movie role that comes close to the ultra-cool/badass Sheriff Bullock he played in Deadwood). B
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters— A documentary about the struggle between two men to attain the highest score ever achieved on Donkey Kong. It was crazy. And pretty effective. B
Underdog— I watched the cartoon as a kid, but I don’t remember hardly anything about it, so this was a fresh take for me. Yeah, it’s a kid movie, but there were some good lines and good scenes. I doubt I would have watched it if I was childless, but the boys and I liked it enough. B
Superbad— funny but vulgar. But that’s what you can expect from the Apatow clan. Laughs, laughs, and then the inevitable thing that makes you say, “Okay, that was a bit much.” And then repeat the cycle. B
No End in Sight— I don’t know why I do this to myself. Let’s see: a movie that looks at the failings of the United States as it created the Iraq War. No big surprises here when I say the Administration [f-bomb]ed up. Not that the movie isn’t worth checking out—especially since the irritation at the clowns in the White House seems to have worn off for the average American. We should remember that a group of complete morons got us into a war that we’re going to have an incredibly difficult time getting out of. I (and the movie) am not saying we shouldn’t be there to help out—but it’s obvious we went about it the wrong way. B
The Best of the Colbert Report-- Good on moderation. Don’t try to watch the whole thing from start to finish like I did because it almost becomes a chore. B-
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End-- Kind of a mess. Okay, quite a bit of a mess. It had enough action and fun scenes, but it tried so hard to wrap up storylines that it jumped around quite a bit—even though the film was squarely hinged on Captain Sparrow; most everyone else was just a player in his story. Depp was better than he should have been considering the movie didn’t expect much from anyone else. B-
Pan’s Labyrinth— Pretty to look at, but very odd. I have to admit I didn’t know what was going on half the time. And the ending made the usual quote from critics: “fairy tale for adults” pretty much sum it up. B-
The Waterhorse—film. Another movie for kids that worked well enough for adults. It did follow the kids adventure formula strictly enough, but Alex Etel was fun to watch as Angus. B-
Iditarod 2007: As Tough As They Come-- I’ve always been intrigued by dog sledding (maybe because the biggest race in the lower 48 states begins in the area I grew up in), and this was a good recap of the 2007 race, but I wish there would have been more than just an hour-long recap of the race. I wonder what HBO Sports could have done with it. Now that would be awesome. B-
Mr. Bean’s Holiday-- Another movie for kids, but an adult can appreciate the goings on as well as the realization that Bean doesn’t speak hardly anything resembling English in the whole movie. It’s tough to have an audience sympathize with a character through just his actions (most of which get him into some sort of trouble). B-
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