If you recall, earlier this year I gave my mini-reviews on all the movies I watched last year via DVD, premium cable channel, or actually in the theatre. The posts were a big hit (in my mind-- no one commented on the posts).
Part of the trouble of doing things that way was there was a pretty big distance between me watching and then "reviewing" some of them; sometimes a time gap of a year or longer.
I had some time to go over what I've watched so far this year (I'm on an even larger movie-watching pace than last year) and thought I should try to do it by quarter this year, so here are the movies I watched from January to March, 2008.
I tried to rank them from favorite to least favorite this time. Partially so it made a little sense (and since I haven't watched 100 movies yet this year, it made doing a Top 20 tough) and partially because I am able to remember all the movies I've watched so far better than doing a year at a time.
Before I begin, let me lay down the ground rules (hopefully they're similar to last time's): they were watched on DVD unless noted. Why's that important? I found last year that I graded films I saw in theatres maybe a half-grade higher probably because I was influenced by that experience. Also, DVD extras can play a part in determining a grade (if noted).
A friend of mine asked me how I see so many better than average movies, and the simple answer is: I try to keep abreast of good things out there. There is way too much crap on DVD, in theatres, in books, etc that I use critic reviews as guidelines often (not for my "reviews", but as a kind of guidebook to what to watch or read). If Entertainment Weekly or my newspaper gave a book or a movie a good review, I either put it on hold at the library or write it down on my "to watch/read someday" list (which is getting much too large). I also use friends a little (I'm usually the most-informed person I know of such things-- not bragging, just keepin' it real) and sometimes I just take a chance. And I watch 75-100 movies a year as well as around 100 TV shows a year, so I'm getting pretty good at picking out what I'll like. That's why you'll find many, many more B's than D's. I'm able to make better choices for me.
Maybe my choices can help you. I wish I had more time to review each one, but I barely had the time for these little writeups.
Like last time: A's are the cream of the crop, and a heartily recommend them. B's are better than average and good for entertainment in most cases (or at least showcase good to great acting or directing). C's still have value, but could be above or below average slightly (depending on how I was feeling when I watched it). D's have little going for them; maybe a good performance by an actor or enough funny lines to make watching it not completely a waste of time. F's have no redeeming value, and you are only going to put yourself through the misery I went through.
One last thing: if you actually paid any attention to the 2007 grades, note that I didn't consult that list to make these grades. It's possible that a movie I gave a B+ to last year would have earned a B- this year. Don't take too much stock in the grade other than just as the guidelines I established in the last paragraph. Ranking them as I do this year will help with that, too.
Lovely... My intro took up more space than I thought.
Okay, next post will be the list (or a part of it-- we'll see how big it gets).
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