61* (2001)
This entertaining story of Mickey Mantle and Roger Marris’ race to break Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record is highly recommended for baseball fans.
Tropic Thunder (2008)
I liked the Hollywood satire parts of the film, and Robert Downy Jr. was quite fun, but the film descended into crassness too often for my tastes.
Watchmen (2009)
While the visuals are great, the story wallows in moral relativism, most of the characters are not terribly compelling, and the violence is needlessly brutal.
Sabotage (1936)
This early Hitchcock work is mostly mediocre but features a bus sequence that gives a glimpse of what Hitchcock would become.
Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control (2008)
This spinoff of Get Smart is mostly funny but gets unnecessarily earthy in places.
Coming up next: a cult classic and an infamous bomb.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
My 2009 Movie Odyssey - Part VII
Hair (1979)
Hippies are the true saviors of mankind!
Ball of Fire (1941)
This very funny screwball comedy features Gary Cooper as an absentminded professor and Barbara Stanwyck as the woman disrupts his attentions and steals his heart, as well as a wonderful cast of supporting characters played by a who’s who of old man character actors.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
This taught, small-scale thriller features Walter Matthau as a New York transit authority worker who has to deal with hijackers who hold hostage a subway train full of people.
In Cold Blood (1967)
This is kind of an interesting character study that goes on way too long and I never really latched on to any of the characters (and it’s not much of a courtroom drama, AFI).
Sixteen Candles (1984)
The movie has it’s moments, but it is filled with caricatures who are overly obsessed with getting the right boy/girlfriend.
Coming up next: three one word titles.
Hippies are the true saviors of mankind!
Ball of Fire (1941)
This very funny screwball comedy features Gary Cooper as an absentminded professor and Barbara Stanwyck as the woman disrupts his attentions and steals his heart, as well as a wonderful cast of supporting characters played by a who’s who of old man character actors.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
This taught, small-scale thriller features Walter Matthau as a New York transit authority worker who has to deal with hijackers who hold hostage a subway train full of people.
In Cold Blood (1967)
This is kind of an interesting character study that goes on way too long and I never really latched on to any of the characters (and it’s not much of a courtroom drama, AFI).
Sixteen Candles (1984)
The movie has it’s moments, but it is filled with caricatures who are overly obsessed with getting the right boy/girlfriend.
Coming up next: three one word titles.
Monday, August 24, 2009
My 2009 Movie Odyssey - Part VI
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
While the ending was a little weird, the effects were very well done and the scene in which a cat tries to eat him is surprisingly tense.
Howard the Duck (1986)
Howard’s wisecracks, Tim Robbins’ “scientist,” the hokey bad guy, and the whole plot were supposed to be funny, but the “humor” fell flatter than a pancake after being visited by a steam roller.
Notting Hill (1999)
I found it surprisingly funny and engaging, though the end seemed a little contrived, and like most romantic comedies, it forgot it was a comedy for the last third of the film.
Panic Room (2002)
This is a fun claustrophobic thriller with some wonderfully inventive camera work/effects.
The Hustler (1961)
Paul Newman’s quest to be the best pool player is riveting, but his scenes with his love interest failed to make any sort of connection.
Coming up next: two anatomical movies and two numerical ones.
While the ending was a little weird, the effects were very well done and the scene in which a cat tries to eat him is surprisingly tense.
Howard the Duck (1986)
Howard’s wisecracks, Tim Robbins’ “scientist,” the hokey bad guy, and the whole plot were supposed to be funny, but the “humor” fell flatter than a pancake after being visited by a steam roller.
Notting Hill (1999)
I found it surprisingly funny and engaging, though the end seemed a little contrived, and like most romantic comedies, it forgot it was a comedy for the last third of the film.
Panic Room (2002)
This is a fun claustrophobic thriller with some wonderfully inventive camera work/effects.
The Hustler (1961)
Paul Newman’s quest to be the best pool player is riveting, but his scenes with his love interest failed to make any sort of connection.
Coming up next: two anatomical movies and two numerical ones.
Monday, August 17, 2009
My 2009 Movie Odyssey - Part V
The Thing (1982)
This film exists solely to see a gross monster eat people and get destroyed in a myriad of gruesome ways.
Spielberg on Spielberg (2007)
A must-see for fans of Steven Spielberg, this documentary features an hour and a half of Spielberg talking about his movies.
Persepolis (2007)
While visually interesting, the story loses steam two-thirds of the way through as the main character is unable to feel at home in either Europe or her native Iran.
The Reader (2008)
I would say I liked it better when they called it Sophie’s Choice, but I wasn’t terribly fond of Sophie’s Choice either.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
It was funnier, happier, more engaging, and had much more truth to it when they called it Forrest Gump.
Coming up next: a classic sci-fi flick and a classic stinker.
This film exists solely to see a gross monster eat people and get destroyed in a myriad of gruesome ways.
Spielberg on Spielberg (2007)
A must-see for fans of Steven Spielberg, this documentary features an hour and a half of Spielberg talking about his movies.
Persepolis (2007)
While visually interesting, the story loses steam two-thirds of the way through as the main character is unable to feel at home in either Europe or her native Iran.
The Reader (2008)
I would say I liked it better when they called it Sophie’s Choice, but I wasn’t terribly fond of Sophie’s Choice either.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
It was funnier, happier, more engaging, and had much more truth to it when they called it Forrest Gump.
Coming up next: a classic sci-fi flick and a classic stinker.
Friday, July 31, 2009
My 2009 Movie Odyssey - Part IV
I have been terribly remiss in posting these updates. Hopefully my backlog will make for a more regular schedule from here on out, but knowing me I doubt it.
Planet B-Boy (2007)
This documentary features some amazing break dancing, but if follows too many people to keep track of and the talking heads say little that is of any merit.
Superbad (2007)
I am not a fan of the Judd Apatow genre, and the main plot of the two friends trying to get laid did not engage me, but the subplot involving McLovin and the police officers was surprisingly funny.
Dreamgirls (2006)
Lots of show-stopping numbers highlight an otherwise mediocre tale of trying to make it big in the music industry.
House of Wax (1953)
Vincent Price is always creepy, though I wish I could have seen this film in its original 3D.
Coraline (2009)
I’m a sucker for stories of a dream world just beyond our own and this one is beautifully dark and slightly off (and a song by They Might Be Giants doesn’t hurt either).
Coming up next: a remake and two pseudo-remakes.
Planet B-Boy (2007)
This documentary features some amazing break dancing, but if follows too many people to keep track of and the talking heads say little that is of any merit.
Superbad (2007)
I am not a fan of the Judd Apatow genre, and the main plot of the two friends trying to get laid did not engage me, but the subplot involving McLovin and the police officers was surprisingly funny.
Dreamgirls (2006)
Lots of show-stopping numbers highlight an otherwise mediocre tale of trying to make it big in the music industry.
House of Wax (1953)
Vincent Price is always creepy, though I wish I could have seen this film in its original 3D.
Coraline (2009)
I’m a sucker for stories of a dream world just beyond our own and this one is beautifully dark and slightly off (and a song by They Might Be Giants doesn’t hurt either).
Coming up next: a remake and two pseudo-remakes.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Musings on Nietzsche Saturday
My brother wrote on his blog about an encounter he had with someone which prompted a lot of questions, the most basic being, "Why does God let bad things happen to good people and kittens?" The post got me thinking about the nature of God and our perception of Him, and while I don’t come even close to claiming I have all the answers, this is how I answer these questions to myself.
I think some of our dissatisfaction with God comes from an incomplete view of who He is. God is the most powerful entity in the universe, and He is not answerable to us. His only constraints are the ones He imposes on Himself. This is not a concept that sits well with Americans. The most powerful man in the world is the president of the United States, and he does what we tell him to. President Bush was so unpopular because he kept doing thing the American people didn’t like. Then along comes Barak Obama saying, "I will do all the things you wanted Bush to do but that he refused to do," and America voted him into office. And if, in four years, America is as dissatisfied with President Obama as it was with President Bush, there will be someone new in the Oval Office. But we don’t get a vote as to what God is like or what He will do, and we cannot vote Him out of the office of creator and ruler of the universe.
Today the message seems to be, "Jesus wants to be your best friend. Become a Christian and Jesus will fix all your problems." While there is a lot of underlying truth in that trite saying, it ignores the awesomeness of God and says nothing about sin and the fallen nature of the world. A God that kills kittens or lets kittens be killed has no place in this world view. But God invented kittens, and every kitten that exists does so because He lets it. And if God were to decree tomorrow: "Thou shalt kill all the kittens in the world for they are an abomination to Me, excepting the gray tabbies, for they alone are beautiful in My sight," that would be all right and good because God is boss and all kittens are His to do with as He pleases.
God created a perfect world, with a plan for how the whole thing would work. And He put man in charge of the world to take care of it. And man decided he had a better plan than God’s, and so brought sin and death into the world. Humans became mortal because of Adam’s sin. It is possible that death did not exist at all until Adam’s sin, and if that is the case, it is not God’s fault at all that kittens die. And we continue Adam’s legacy today. Every time I sin, I do my part to make this world a worse place to live in.
And yet, even though God has no responsibilities to us, His creations, even though we continually try to come up with a better plan than His, even though we continually blame Him for making us dirty after we have been wilfully rolling in the mud, even though He would be completely within His rights to completely wipe humanity off the face of the earth and start all over again with Adam 2.0, He came up with a new plan so that we can once again be right with Him. He sent His only son, Jesus, to die for us so that we don’t have to spend eternity separated from Him. He didn’t have to do that, but apparently He thinks that we are worth the trouble. The plan does not always make sense, but since God is not answerable to anyone and can do whatever He wants, it doesn’t have to.
And so I think it is an encouraging thought on this Nietzsche Saturday that the God who can do whatever He wants, went out of His way to provide for a bunch of losers like us.
I think some of our dissatisfaction with God comes from an incomplete view of who He is. God is the most powerful entity in the universe, and He is not answerable to us. His only constraints are the ones He imposes on Himself. This is not a concept that sits well with Americans. The most powerful man in the world is the president of the United States, and he does what we tell him to. President Bush was so unpopular because he kept doing thing the American people didn’t like. Then along comes Barak Obama saying, "I will do all the things you wanted Bush to do but that he refused to do," and America voted him into office. And if, in four years, America is as dissatisfied with President Obama as it was with President Bush, there will be someone new in the Oval Office. But we don’t get a vote as to what God is like or what He will do, and we cannot vote Him out of the office of creator and ruler of the universe.
Today the message seems to be, "Jesus wants to be your best friend. Become a Christian and Jesus will fix all your problems." While there is a lot of underlying truth in that trite saying, it ignores the awesomeness of God and says nothing about sin and the fallen nature of the world. A God that kills kittens or lets kittens be killed has no place in this world view. But God invented kittens, and every kitten that exists does so because He lets it. And if God were to decree tomorrow: "Thou shalt kill all the kittens in the world for they are an abomination to Me, excepting the gray tabbies, for they alone are beautiful in My sight," that would be all right and good because God is boss and all kittens are His to do with as He pleases.
God created a perfect world, with a plan for how the whole thing would work. And He put man in charge of the world to take care of it. And man decided he had a better plan than God’s, and so brought sin and death into the world. Humans became mortal because of Adam’s sin. It is possible that death did not exist at all until Adam’s sin, and if that is the case, it is not God’s fault at all that kittens die. And we continue Adam’s legacy today. Every time I sin, I do my part to make this world a worse place to live in.
And yet, even though God has no responsibilities to us, His creations, even though we continually try to come up with a better plan than His, even though we continually blame Him for making us dirty after we have been wilfully rolling in the mud, even though He would be completely within His rights to completely wipe humanity off the face of the earth and start all over again with Adam 2.0, He came up with a new plan so that we can once again be right with Him. He sent His only son, Jesus, to die for us so that we don’t have to spend eternity separated from Him. He didn’t have to do that, but apparently He thinks that we are worth the trouble. The plan does not always make sense, but since God is not answerable to anyone and can do whatever He wants, it doesn’t have to.
And so I think it is an encouraging thought on this Nietzsche Saturday that the God who can do whatever He wants, went out of His way to provide for a bunch of losers like us.
Friday, April 3, 2009
My 2009 Movie Odyssey - Part III
Get Smart (2008)
Steve Carell does a fair job standing in for Don Adams in a film that did a surprisingly good job of preserving the feel of the classic 60s television show.
Man on Wire (2008)
This is a documentary that feels almost like a heist movie as a man conspires to walk on a tightrope stretched between the Twin Towers.
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)
There were a couple of memorable characters and the minimalist camera work was somewhat interesting, but the subject matter and the plot failed to keep my interest and I didn’t care about any of the characters.
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
The film is fairly entertaining as a pretty Anne Hathaway flirts with losing her soul in an attempt to gain the world.
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
I think I’ve officially become a fan of Danny Boyle with this film that is edgy and stylish yet sweet and hopeful and may feature the most easy to read subtitles I have ever seen.
Coming up next: Some song and dance and a couple 3D movies.
Steve Carell does a fair job standing in for Don Adams in a film that did a surprisingly good job of preserving the feel of the classic 60s television show.
Man on Wire (2008)
This is a documentary that feels almost like a heist movie as a man conspires to walk on a tightrope stretched between the Twin Towers.
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)
There were a couple of memorable characters and the minimalist camera work was somewhat interesting, but the subject matter and the plot failed to keep my interest and I didn’t care about any of the characters.
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
The film is fairly entertaining as a pretty Anne Hathaway flirts with losing her soul in an attempt to gain the world.
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
I think I’ve officially become a fan of Danny Boyle with this film that is edgy and stylish yet sweet and hopeful and may feature the most easy to read subtitles I have ever seen.
Coming up next: Some song and dance and a couple 3D movies.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)