West Side Story (1961)

Netflix DVD on 1/1/12
Happy New Year! Watching this brings my total of Best Picture winners that I haven't seen down to 10. I have been resistant to this movie for a very long time, since I watched the beginning a long time ago and was so disgusted by the singing, dancing street gangs that I turned it off. Turns out, this is not as painful as I thought. I don't like movie musicals - the theatricality of them doesn't work on screen for me - but I have seen far worse. This is the street gang version of Romeo and Juliet of course, and it's at least interesting to see how they translate some of the aspects of the play.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 121

The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)

HBO over 8/11/11 and 8/23/11
This was recommended to me way back when I was teaching World History and I'm just getting to it now. At first glance, it seems ridiculous - two male lions would never hunt together and further than that, they would never kill for sport the way it is depicted. I thought it was nothing but a failed attempt at an animal thriller. However, then I found out that the whole thing is based on a true story, which makes it way more interesting! The technical aspects just need work. The voiceover bit at the end makes the whole thing ring much more depressing, though, as it reminds the viewer how few lions there are left in the wild.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 77

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

VHS on 7/30/11
Well, this is two and a half hours of my life that I will never get back. I absolutely refuse to call this a thriller, despite what Netflix and IMDB might say, because nothing. happens. At all. The words that sprang to mind halfway through this film were "long visual poem." That's not a good sign. I will say that the special effects are pretty awesome, given that it was 1968, and the music is iconic of course, but that is it. What was that acid trip daydream sequence at the end? Was HAL supposed to be menacing? I'm glad I watched it, because now I never have to watch it again.
My Netflix rating: 2 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 64

Cleopatra (1963)

Netflix DVD over 5/18/11, 5/19/11, and 5/20/11
I know, usually I try to at least limit it to two days that it takes me to watch a movie, but this is four hours long and epically boring. Elizabeth Taylor plays Cleopatra as a lovesick girl with a singsong voice who gets what she wants because she whines for it - not at all like the strong and icy Egyptian queen who had her brother executed to usurp his power. Caesar and Marc Antony are similarly weak. I'm using the term "biopic" loosely, since the details of Cleopatra's actual life are pretty lost to historical fiction. The costumes and sets are pretty elaborate but not all that accurate, and I'm nearly positive that there were never any redheads in Ancient Egypt.
My Netflix rating: 2 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 35

All the King's Men (1949)

Netflix DVD on 5/1/11
Another down on my quest to see all of the Best Picture winners! I watched the remake of this with Kate Winslet not too long ago and honestly, I don't really like either of them. This one is better than the remake, but I still find all of the main characters detestable. Again, I find myself asking, what else was nominated for best picture that led this to win? When the characters are repugnant and the plot is boring, there is no reason to watch the film.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 29

The Cider House Rules (1999)

VHS over 4/27/11 and 4/28/11
Yes, I still own a handful (or around a hundred) of films on VHS. This is one of the Best Picture nominees from the late 90s - right around the time that I started seriously caring about the Oscars. It ultimately lost to American Beauty, which I think was the right choice, but this is a very strong film too. It's depressing and heavy. I was not expecting the abortion subplot to be so strong, but I didn't know much about the film going in. It's worth watching, but I'm not sure it's one I'll feel like watching again.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 27

The Wolfman (2010)

Netflix DVD over 2/13/11 and 2/15/11
Well, if you people feel that it's absolutely necessary to remake the classic Universal monster movies, at least with this one you avoided the CGI Werewolf Trap. (For examples of the CGI Werewolf Trap, see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban or New Moon.) While I am against remaking these films (I'm pretending that the impending remake of Creature From the Black Lagoon is an elaborate lie), the design of the werewolf in this film is nearly identical to the original Lon Chaney, Jr. design. He looks like a man who's sprouted wolf hair and fangs - not some bad amalgamation of human and canine. Honestly, this movie was much better than I was expecting. Geraldine Chaplin is great as the Gypsy woman (I'm surprised she's still alive). I doubt, though, that Emily Blunt could run through the woods like that in that dress - stays are killer.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 3

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)

Movie Night with Adam, Anna, Mike, Kat and Sadie on 2/13/11
The blend of animation and live action isn't perfect, but for 1988, it's pretty darn good. This has a Dick Tracy feel - a highly-stylized version of the 1950s private detective era complete with authentic fashion design alongside magical streetcars that go everywhere in the LA basin. Loved the mention of the Brooklyn Dodgers (who, in 1958, became the Los Angeles Dodgers and broke the hearts of most of their fanbase). I also loved the early appearance of Dumbo and the brooms from Fantasia (listen closely - the saxophonist is playing "Sorcerer's Apprentice"). Disney was one of the contributing production companies, though they're uncredited, hence the appearance of several famous characters. As for the titular character, Roger's incredibly annoying, but tolerable. Christopher Lloyd is delightfully evil.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 2

199. February 6, 2011 - Mystic River (2003)

This is a very powerful movie that, in a less epic year, would have been a shoo-in for Best Picture. It had the misfortune of being up against Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, which was really all three Lord of the Rings films being honored, but it held its own. I find the score very haunting, especially because it's used so sparingly. It's also disorienting every time I see the Tobin Bridge in the background of a shot, since it's opposite the way I usually look at the Tobin. I love Brian Helgeland, since he's the one who wrote LA Confidential, and now that I'm actually reading Mystic River, I appreciate him even more. It's a very faithful but not stifling adaptation. The only bad thing I can say, I think, is how bad Laura Linney's Boston accent is. If you can't fake an accent, don't even try.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

185. January 21, 2011 - Finding Neverland (2004)

Though Johnny Depp isn't great with the Scottish accent, this is still a powerful and moving film - one that makes me tear up every time. I know that in real life there were questions about why JM Barrie was so close to the Llewelyn Davies boys (and that's addressed with a single, almost throw-away line in the film), but why do we all have to be so cynical? Kate Winslet is fantastic as always, though she got nominated for Eternal Sunshine that year, not this. Also, as I watched the movie this time around, I learned that Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, the mother of the inspiration for Peter Pan, was the aunt of Dame Daphne du Maurier, who wrote Rebecca and the short story version of The Birds.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

177. January 4, 2011 - The King's Speech (2010)

This is a fantastic story and one that I think gets overlooked by history. Queen Elizabeth II is quite a wonderful Queen and she's one of the longest-reigning monarchs (the longest?) and all that, but this story of her father's paralyzing inability to speak clearly is fascinating. Not even supposed to be King, George VI (or Bertie) starts out bitter and hopeless about his speech impediment. Only after his sort of slimy brother (played fantastically by Guy Pearce) abdicates so that he can marry his divorced lover does he put his full trust in his speech therapist Geoffrey Rush. All of the performances are spot on and it's painful to watch Colin Firth struggle to speak. Look for Oscar nominations soon!
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

175. January 1, 2011 - Black Swan (2010)

#95 on my Top 100 List
I know I've said this before, but this is the most disturbing movie I have ever seen. Natalie Portman plays a dancer falling apart onscreen and the audience is drawn into her terrifying hallucinations. Normally I am not a fan of films where the audience can't tell what's real and what's imagined but somehow it worked here. It's incredibly disturbing and chilling but amazing at the same time. Will definitely stay with you for a long time. Happy New Year!
My Netflix rating: 5 stars

167. December 19, 2010 - The Fighter (2010)

I think maybe I just don't get boxing movies. (Or any sort of fighting movies, because I didn't like The Wrestler either.) And I think at this point, I think it's safe to say that I just don't like Christian Bale. I know his character in this is supposed to be entirely unlikeable, but there is nothing about him that I find fun to watch in any movie he's in. I can understand the acting nominations that this got, but best picture over Winter's Bone or 127 Hours? Really? Doesn't do it for me.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

160. December 3/7, 2010 - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

This had the misfortune to be released just after Lord of the Rings and the technical specs are just not as good. However, if you can separate the two film series and watch this without comparing, it's not bad. Yes, the visual effects are choppy and sometimes amateur and the story is blatantly trying to sell an agenda, but there is a reason that these books have been so popular for so long. I never got into them as a child, but I do enjoy the films and I'll also be watching Prince Caspian before going to see Voyage of the Dawn Treader sometime in the near future.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

145. November 9/10, 2010 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

I think I had only seen this once, a long time ago. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of Inception. Both of them get the tone right on for all of the scenes that take place inside someone's head. Sometimes it looks normal on the surface, but there's always a hint of something just a little off if you're really paying attention. You know how much I adore Kate Winslet and this movie got her her fourth Oscar nomination. And naturally, it won for Best Original Screenplay (just as Inception is probably going to this coming February/March). I especially like the title, which, as Kirsten Dunst says in the film, is from Alexander Pope's poem "Eloisa to Abelard":
How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!

The world forgetting, by the world forgot.

Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!

Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd;
The heroine in this poem is onto something, I think. Sometimes forgetting does seem like the easiest way.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

126. October 4/5, 2010 - Wall Street (1987)

Since the 20-year-late sequel has been getting some Oscar buzz (though the reviews have been mediocre), I figured I should probably finally see this first. It's not all that exciting. Apparently, insider trading and shady stock deals are supposed to be exciting or something. It's possible that this would have been a better film if there was a single likable character, but there isn't. I don't feel bad for anyone - these people are effectively making their own beds. Don't complain when you have to lie in them, a.k.a. go to jail.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

124. October 1, 2010 - The Social Network (2010)

When I first heard that there was a movie being made about Facebook, I was concerned that there wasn't enough of a story to make it interesting. Of course, I had forgotten about all the drama and litigation that went with its creation (which I remember firsthand, since I was across the river at BU while it was all going on. And no, not all BU girls are bitches). None of the characters are particularly sympathetic, but David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin make the sympathetic character Facebook itself. It has become so much a part of our daily lives that we can connect to it as the center of the movie. The acting is fantastic and the writing is flawless, as only Aaron Sorkin can do. And thank you, Mark Zuckerberg, for giving Facebook to BU before BC.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

112. August 31/September 2, 2010 - Iris (2001)

I love Kate Winslet and nearly all of her work. While this isn't necessarily the most interesting film (biopics rarely are), the performances make it definitely worth watching. Since it features parallel storylines (Iris Murdoch and John Bayley when they're young and Iris and John when they're dealing with her descent into Alzheimers), great pains were taken to make sure that the audience could buy each pair of actors as the same character. It's a tragic story but it's also a tender one. Also, it doesn't drag on too long as some biopics can. It's enough to convey the beauty and hardship of the characters' relationship but not so much that the audience loses interest.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

102. August 9, 2010 - Inception (2010)

I feel like maybe I shouldn't write this entry on the same day as seeing the movie, because I'm not sure that I've totally processed it yet. Strictly from a writing standpoint, I can't even imagine how it must have been to try to keep the multiple layers of story going (up to four levels of dreamstates at some points, each with their own timelines and plots going on simultaneously). I do think that the characters and the audience's ability to sympathize with them suffer a bit for the sake of the concept that the story is based on, but it's still an engaging film. I'm still not sure how I interpret the ending, or even how I want to interpret it. Both options contribute to the story, just taking it in very different directions. And oh, how Leo still looks like he's 12!
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

92. July 11/12, 2010 - A Man For All Seasons (1966)

I am totally striking out with the Best Picture winners from the 1960s. I can't stand The Sound of Music, it took me months to finally get through Oliver!, I was disappointed by Midnight Cowboy, and I can't stand to get more than 10 minutes into West Side Story (which is now the only one of the decade that I have yet to see). This movie, unfortunately, is boring. King Henry VIII wants to divorce Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn (we all know how THAT turns out) and everyone is fighting over it. It's a sin, it's not a sin, it's treason, sign this oath, throw him in the tower, blah blah blah. Sounds like it should be exciting, though. Too bad it's not.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars