Okay, so I'm way behind on my movie odyssey posting. So in the interest of catching up so this doesn't drag too far into 2010, I'm switching to 10 per post instead of my normal 5. Enjoy.
Up (2009)
This is a wonderful tale about friendship and adventure found in unexpected places, full of emotional highs and lows, and even when something happened exactly as I predicted, it still provoked an emotional response.
Das Experiment (2001)
This is a grim tale about a psychology experiment in which volunteers play the roles of prison guards and inmates that gets out of hand and was inspired by an actual experiment.
Sleuth (2007)
This remake took almost everything that was visually interesting from the original and threw it out the window along with most of the compelling elements of the plot and replaced them with a visually boring set, copious amounts of profanity, and a homoerotic ending that came completely out of nowhere and made absolutely no sense.
The Brothers Bloom (2008)
This con man romp from the director of Brick (2005) is a lot of fun with several interesting characters including Bang Bang, a cute explosives expert who never bothers to talk.
Ace in the Hole (1951)
This heartbreaking indictment of sensationalist journalism features an excellent performance by Kirk Douglas who stars as newspaper reporter who manufactures a human interest story that captures the imagination of the nation, and then does whatever he can to make the publicity wave last as long as possible, no matter what happens to anyone else.
Wings (1927)
I really wanted to like this film that was the first winner of the Best Picture Oscar, but the aerial dogfights were not very thrilling and an overlong sequence where one hotshot pilot gets drunk for the first time grew tedious very quickly.
Mr. Hulot’s Holiday (1953)
This charming, quiet comedy is almost a silent film and is full of memorable characters and amusing recurring jokes that force the audience to pay attention since so many of them are very subtle.
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
Stunning photography and a powerful performance by Maria Falconetti make this a must-see for cinephiles but should probably be avoided by people who haven’t seen many silent films.
The Simpsons Movie (2007)
It is funny and feels like a long episode, but doesn’t break any new ground.
I.Q. (1994)
This is a cute movie about intelligent people being foolishly in love and a wonderful posse of elderly scientists led by Albert Einstein which reminded me (favorably) of Ball of Fire (1941).
Coming up next: my final best picture winner.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
My 2009 Movie Odyssey - Part XV
For Me and My Gal (1942)
Judy Garland is pretty, Gene Kelley is charming, and there are some nice musical numbers, which adds up to a pleasantly entertaining piece of film (though I think Judy Garland’s character chose the wrong man in the end).
Taken (2008)
The title should be renamed: “Liam Neeson Kicks Butt.”
Knowing (2009)
There are a couple interesting set pieces (namely Nicholas Cage wandering through the wreckage of a plane that just crashed) but the payoff, filled with hijacked Christian symbolism, left me thinking that the whole thing would have been much better if done as a half hour Twilight Zone episode.
Caught (1949)
The movie asks some interesting relationship questions, but the ending feels overly contrived and too much like a copout.
Manhattan (1979)
Woody Allen has troubles with his love life; isn’t this the plot of every one of his films?
Coming up next: a couple more single word titles, one vastly superior to the other.
Judy Garland is pretty, Gene Kelley is charming, and there are some nice musical numbers, which adds up to a pleasantly entertaining piece of film (though I think Judy Garland’s character chose the wrong man in the end).
Taken (2008)
The title should be renamed: “Liam Neeson Kicks Butt.”
Knowing (2009)
There are a couple interesting set pieces (namely Nicholas Cage wandering through the wreckage of a plane that just crashed) but the payoff, filled with hijacked Christian symbolism, left me thinking that the whole thing would have been much better if done as a half hour Twilight Zone episode.
Caught (1949)
The movie asks some interesting relationship questions, but the ending feels overly contrived and too much like a copout.
Manhattan (1979)
Woody Allen has troubles with his love life; isn’t this the plot of every one of his films?
Coming up next: a couple more single word titles, one vastly superior to the other.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
My 2009 Movie Odyssey - Part XIV
The 400 Blows (1959)
This is an interesting character study of a young boy who constantly finds himself in trouble (played wonderfully by Jean-Pierre Leaund) but nothing really happens.
Southland Tales (2006)
This is the most bizarre, confusing, poorly written, poorly acted, inconsistent, unbelievable, and downright dirty beer commercial I have ever seen.
Ikiru (1952)
This is the compelling story of an old man with only a few months to live, who decides to make something of what little life he has left despite the ineffectual bureaucracy that surrounds him.
Any Given Sunday (1999)
Oliver Stone makes a football movie that is entertaining while it lasts.
Catch-22 (1970)
This war time comedy is irreverent and sometimes surreal and is very reminiscent of MASH, which coincidentally came out the same year.
Coming up next: four one word titles.
This is an interesting character study of a young boy who constantly finds himself in trouble (played wonderfully by Jean-Pierre Leaund) but nothing really happens.
Southland Tales (2006)
This is the most bizarre, confusing, poorly written, poorly acted, inconsistent, unbelievable, and downright dirty beer commercial I have ever seen.
Ikiru (1952)
This is the compelling story of an old man with only a few months to live, who decides to make something of what little life he has left despite the ineffectual bureaucracy that surrounds him.
Any Given Sunday (1999)
Oliver Stone makes a football movie that is entertaining while it lasts.
Catch-22 (1970)
This war time comedy is irreverent and sometimes surreal and is very reminiscent of MASH, which coincidentally came out the same year.
Coming up next: four one word titles.
Monday, October 19, 2009
My 2009 Movie Odyssey - Part XIII
The Wrestler (2008)
I am not a fan of professional wrestling, so when I say that I enjoyed the story and Mickey Rourke’s performance, that means something.
Bedlam (1946)
My final Val Lewton film, it offers fewer scares than the previous outings, but it is still very engaging and, of course, very atmospheric.
Sleuth (1972)
Laurence Olivier and Michael Cain go toe-to-toe in a battle of wills that always kept me guessing, with Alec Cawthorne holding his own alongside these two acting legends.
Winchester ‘73 (1950)
This interesting western has a prized rifle as the main character as it constantly changes hands from one unworthy man to another.
Bend of the River (1952)
James Stewart starts as a gunslinger who hires on to lead a wagon train west to their new homestead in this gorgeous western.
Coming up next: 2 numeric films and one real loser.
I am not a fan of professional wrestling, so when I say that I enjoyed the story and Mickey Rourke’s performance, that means something.
Bedlam (1946)
My final Val Lewton film, it offers fewer scares than the previous outings, but it is still very engaging and, of course, very atmospheric.
Sleuth (1972)
Laurence Olivier and Michael Cain go toe-to-toe in a battle of wills that always kept me guessing, with Alec Cawthorne holding his own alongside these two acting legends.
Winchester ‘73 (1950)
This interesting western has a prized rifle as the main character as it constantly changes hands from one unworthy man to another.
Bend of the River (1952)
James Stewart starts as a gunslinger who hires on to lead a wagon train west to their new homestead in this gorgeous western.
Coming up next: 2 numeric films and one real loser.
Monday, October 12, 2009
My 2009 Movie Odyssey - Part XII
Doubt (2008)
This is a well acted tale featuring a righteous crusader of a hero and a truly vile villain; the only question is: which one is the hero and which one is the villain?
Free and Easy (1930)
Buster Keaton’s first sound film was a disappointment since he never really gets to show off his comedy skills, and while there are a couple good bits, it is depressing knowing what MGM did to his career and how far this great comedian fell.
You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (2008)
I was expecting this to be bad, being chock full of Adam Sandler “humor,” but what I was not expecting was countless shots of Sandler’s bare behind and an overdose of perverse sexuality.
Spy Hard (1996)
It is an amusing waste of time, better than most parodies, but not nearly as memorable as Airplane! (1980) and The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988), with the best part being the theme song performed by Weird Al.
10,000 BC (2008)
After watching the trailer and seeing the billboards, I knew this would be a bad movie, but with all the contrived plot points, poorly constructed characters, impossible geography, and the overall feel that it is The Ten Commandments (1956) remade by atheists, it passed over the “so bad it’s fun” designation into “so bad it’s painful.”
Coming up next: A couple James Stewart westerns and a classic mystery.
This is a well acted tale featuring a righteous crusader of a hero and a truly vile villain; the only question is: which one is the hero and which one is the villain?
Free and Easy (1930)
Buster Keaton’s first sound film was a disappointment since he never really gets to show off his comedy skills, and while there are a couple good bits, it is depressing knowing what MGM did to his career and how far this great comedian fell.
You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (2008)
I was expecting this to be bad, being chock full of Adam Sandler “humor,” but what I was not expecting was countless shots of Sandler’s bare behind and an overdose of perverse sexuality.
Spy Hard (1996)
It is an amusing waste of time, better than most parodies, but not nearly as memorable as Airplane! (1980) and The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988), with the best part being the theme song performed by Weird Al.
10,000 BC (2008)
After watching the trailer and seeing the billboards, I knew this would be a bad movie, but with all the contrived plot points, poorly constructed characters, impossible geography, and the overall feel that it is The Ten Commandments (1956) remade by atheists, it passed over the “so bad it’s fun” designation into “so bad it’s painful.”
Coming up next: A couple James Stewart westerns and a classic mystery.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
My 2009 Movie Odyssey - Part XI
In Bruges (2008)
While the film took a couple unexpected narrative turns, I failed to see what was so great about this mostly enjoyable but largely forgettable film.
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
Since I work at a job involving sales, I could appreciate what some of the characters were going through, but I quickly got tired of the endless angry, profanity-filled monologues.
The Crimson Pirate (1952)
Burt Lancaster is electric in this highly entertaining swashbuckling romp, aided by his equally captivating, non-speaking sidekick who comes across as a cross between Jack Sparrow and Harpo Marx.
Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
Ever since I saw this title I knew I had to see the film, and it was pretty much what I expected: raunchy 80s comedy that is funny in parts but one which I would be embarrassed to watch in the company of women and children.
Guys and Dolls (1955)
The opening musical sequence is amazing and the dialog was fun to listen to, but all too quickly the musical numbers turned run-of-the-mill, but still the whole experience is an enjoyable one.
Coming up next: two movies virtually guaranteed to make my bottom ten of the year.
While the film took a couple unexpected narrative turns, I failed to see what was so great about this mostly enjoyable but largely forgettable film.
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
Since I work at a job involving sales, I could appreciate what some of the characters were going through, but I quickly got tired of the endless angry, profanity-filled monologues.
The Crimson Pirate (1952)
Burt Lancaster is electric in this highly entertaining swashbuckling romp, aided by his equally captivating, non-speaking sidekick who comes across as a cross between Jack Sparrow and Harpo Marx.
Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
Ever since I saw this title I knew I had to see the film, and it was pretty much what I expected: raunchy 80s comedy that is funny in parts but one which I would be embarrassed to watch in the company of women and children.
Guys and Dolls (1955)
The opening musical sequence is amazing and the dialog was fun to listen to, but all too quickly the musical numbers turned run-of-the-mill, but still the whole experience is an enjoyable one.
Coming up next: two movies virtually guaranteed to make my bottom ten of the year.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
My 2009 Movie Odyssey - Part X
Let the Right One In (2008)
I mostly liked this different take on vampires though the ending is a little twisted (and I wonder what it would have been like going into the movie not knowing it was about a vampire).
The Body Snatcher (1945)
Boris Karloff is suitably creepy in yet another atmospheric gem from producer Val Lewton.
The Wages of Fear (1953)
The film starts out slow and boring, but becomes an absolutely gripping tale as four men must navigate a pair of trucks loaded down with nitroglycerin through the South American rain forest, driving on poorly maintained roads, where the slightest bump could spell certain doom for the drivers.
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
This is an amusing tale about a professional assassin who rethinks his life after reconnecting with Minnie Driver.
Rachel Getting Married (2008)
Anne Hathaway puts in a wonderful performance in this surprisingly likeable story about a wedding that at times almost feels like the ultimate wedding video (though I don’t mean that in a bad way).
Coming up next: a rip-roaring good time and a film I watched solely because of the title.
I mostly liked this different take on vampires though the ending is a little twisted (and I wonder what it would have been like going into the movie not knowing it was about a vampire).
The Body Snatcher (1945)
Boris Karloff is suitably creepy in yet another atmospheric gem from producer Val Lewton.
The Wages of Fear (1953)
The film starts out slow and boring, but becomes an absolutely gripping tale as four men must navigate a pair of trucks loaded down with nitroglycerin through the South American rain forest, driving on poorly maintained roads, where the slightest bump could spell certain doom for the drivers.
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
This is an amusing tale about a professional assassin who rethinks his life after reconnecting with Minnie Driver.
Rachel Getting Married (2008)
Anne Hathaway puts in a wonderful performance in this surprisingly likeable story about a wedding that at times almost feels like the ultimate wedding video (though I don’t mean that in a bad way).
Coming up next: a rip-roaring good time and a film I watched solely because of the title.
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