Tropic Thunder (2008)
#42 on my Top 100 List
From the very beginning, this movie is memorable and hysterical, with audiences first being shown three fake trailers ("Scorcher VI", "The Fatties: Fart Two" and my personal favorite "Satan's Alley"), each of which stars one of the stars of the movie-within-a-movie, Tropic Thunder. Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr (in blackface, which for some reason, no one took offense to) play those three stars with gusto. This movie is really all about performances. Besides the three leads, Brandon T. Jackson and Steve Coogan shine as a hip-hop star turned actor and the inexperienced director. The controversy that the film DID raise was, in my opinion, very misplaced. RDJ's character was not making fun of the mentally disabled when he gave his acting advice of, "Never go full retard." That whole segment was the movie making fun of actors who go too deep into their roles with the sole intent of winning awards. But the most memorable thing about the entire movie was Tom Cruise's performance as the foul-mouthed studio head, complete with his awkward dance scenes and the thinly-veiled jab at Hollywood's obsession with Diet Coke.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
December 15, 2009
The Blind Side (2009)
Now that Golden Globe nominations have officially come out, I have more of a reference point for what's probably going to get an Oscar nomination and can weed out some of those that are just getting mediocre buzz. Makes my life a whole lot easier. It also means that I'm going to be seeing a lot of movies in the theaters from now on (as if I didn't already). This movie is okay, but it's really all about Sandra Bullock's performance. She's sassy, she's sarcastic, and she's bitchy - it's fabulous. The story itself, while true, doesn't ring of anything different - it plays out like every typical down-and-out-rises-to-happiness story with all the requisite emotional manipulation. Even though it's not a fantastic movie, you still come out feeling the way they want you to. The young boy who plays SJ is worth noting, though - just as adorable as little Jamal in Slumdog Millionaire!
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Now that Golden Globe nominations have officially come out, I have more of a reference point for what's probably going to get an Oscar nomination and can weed out some of those that are just getting mediocre buzz. Makes my life a whole lot easier. It also means that I'm going to be seeing a lot of movies in the theaters from now on (as if I didn't already). This movie is okay, but it's really all about Sandra Bullock's performance. She's sassy, she's sarcastic, and she's bitchy - it's fabulous. The story itself, while true, doesn't ring of anything different - it plays out like every typical down-and-out-rises-to-happiness story with all the requisite emotional manipulation. Even though it's not a fantastic movie, you still come out feeling the way they want you to. The young boy who plays SJ is worth noting, though - just as adorable as little Jamal in Slumdog Millionaire!
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
December 14, 2009
Atonement (2007)
#59 on my Top 100 List
There are so many memorable things about this movie. Cecelia's green evening dress is now instantly recognizable, the musical score accented by the click of typewriter keys is unique, the camerawork is fluid and organic, and the 5-minute continuous shot that weaves through the British army's assembly at Dunkirk is haunting and unforgettable, especially when it finally comes to rest on a panoramic shot of the entire beach with a skeletal ferris wheel turning ghost-like in the distance. It's a story about a romance built on one moment of passion and torn apart by the naive lies of a little girl and how the three people involved are doomed by it. The continuity between the three women playing Briony (at age 13, 18, and 70-something) is uncanny, with a single bobby pin and a mole on her cheek being the only devices that the filmmakers used. The scene with old Briony is especially moving. It can get a little confusing, as the movie jumps back and forth somewhat through time and shows the same scenes over again but from different points of view, but if you're paying attention, it's not hard to sort out. It's been said that this past year's Bright Star had the best fully-clothed sex scene ever in cinema, but I dare those reviewers to watch the library scene in this movie between Keira Knightley and James McAvoy and not change their minds.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
#59 on my Top 100 List
There are so many memorable things about this movie. Cecelia's green evening dress is now instantly recognizable, the musical score accented by the click of typewriter keys is unique, the camerawork is fluid and organic, and the 5-minute continuous shot that weaves through the British army's assembly at Dunkirk is haunting and unforgettable, especially when it finally comes to rest on a panoramic shot of the entire beach with a skeletal ferris wheel turning ghost-like in the distance. It's a story about a romance built on one moment of passion and torn apart by the naive lies of a little girl and how the three people involved are doomed by it. The continuity between the three women playing Briony (at age 13, 18, and 70-something) is uncanny, with a single bobby pin and a mole on her cheek being the only devices that the filmmakers used. The scene with old Briony is especially moving. It can get a little confusing, as the movie jumps back and forth somewhat through time and shows the same scenes over again but from different points of view, but if you're paying attention, it's not hard to sort out. It's been said that this past year's Bright Star had the best fully-clothed sex scene ever in cinema, but I dare those reviewers to watch the library scene in this movie between Keira Knightley and James McAvoy and not change their minds.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
Monday, December 14, 2009
December 13, 2009
Lilo and Stitch (2002)
#91 on my Top 100 List
I consider this the last of the good hand-drawn Disney movies before the official switchover to CG animation (and the subsequent resurgence of hand-drawn - I can't wait to see The Princess and the Frog!) and it was a great one. My theory is that hand-drawn animation went out of favor not because people stopped not because of the actual animation style but because the stories began to suffer. Brother Bear, which came after this one, wasn't terrible, but everything else hand-drawn that Disney put out until Enchanted five years later was definitely subpar. This one has a precocious and adorable child heroine, a fun and mischievous alien, dangerous bad guys, gorgeously-drawn colorful backgrounds and catchy songs appropriate for the movie's Hawaiian setting. The trailers for this film, where Stitch appears in classic Disney films such as Beauty and the Beast or The Little Mermaid, were great.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
#91 on my Top 100 List
I consider this the last of the good hand-drawn Disney movies before the official switchover to CG animation (and the subsequent resurgence of hand-drawn - I can't wait to see The Princess and the Frog!) and it was a great one. My theory is that hand-drawn animation went out of favor not because people stopped not because of the actual animation style but because the stories began to suffer. Brother Bear, which came after this one, wasn't terrible, but everything else hand-drawn that Disney put out until Enchanted five years later was definitely subpar. This one has a precocious and adorable child heroine, a fun and mischievous alien, dangerous bad guys, gorgeously-drawn colorful backgrounds and catchy songs appropriate for the movie's Hawaiian setting. The trailers for this film, where Stitch appears in classic Disney films such as Beauty and the Beast or The Little Mermaid, were great.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
December 12, 2009
Invictus (2009)
Matt Damon is ridiculously blonde and built and Morgan Freeman moves slowly with intense concentration - and both portray their characters (South African rugby captain Francois Pienaar and Nelson Mandela respectively) with such accuracy and grace that it's nearly impossible to remind yourself that they're actually actors. It's a true story that plays like the tensest of sports movies about the 1995 Rugby World Cup, held in South Africa after the end of apartheid where the whole country - blacks and whites - joined together to cheer their national team that still bore the colors of the apartheid flag. It's moving and thrilling and exciting. The title comes from a poem that Mandela cites as giving him inspiration throughout his time in prison. Oh, and in case anyone was curious - rugby shorts? Not hot.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Matt Damon is ridiculously blonde and built and Morgan Freeman moves slowly with intense concentration - and both portray their characters (South African rugby captain Francois Pienaar and Nelson Mandela respectively) with such accuracy and grace that it's nearly impossible to remind yourself that they're actually actors. It's a true story that plays like the tensest of sports movies about the 1995 Rugby World Cup, held in South Africa after the end of apartheid where the whole country - blacks and whites - joined together to cheer their national team that still bore the colors of the apartheid flag. It's moving and thrilling and exciting. The title comes from a poem that Mandela cites as giving him inspiration throughout his time in prison. Oh, and in case anyone was curious - rugby shorts? Not hot.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Saturday, December 12, 2009
December 11, 2009
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
I don't usually like Wes Anderson's movies, but maybe all of the reviewers were right and he truly is destined to make animated films, because this movie was, as advertised, fantastic. I think by this point, I've made it very clear that I worship stop-motion animation, but this blows most other stop-motion out of the water. The smoke! The waterfall! The animals' fur! The voice cast that Anderson has put together is also brilliant, from all of his regulars to George Clooney to Michael Gambon. It was a little disconcerting how every scene was almost entirely one color (orange during the day in the fields, blue at night, gray in the sewers, etc.) but it worked, too, in a creepy way. Bravo Mr. Anderson!
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
I don't usually like Wes Anderson's movies, but maybe all of the reviewers were right and he truly is destined to make animated films, because this movie was, as advertised, fantastic. I think by this point, I've made it very clear that I worship stop-motion animation, but this blows most other stop-motion out of the water. The smoke! The waterfall! The animals' fur! The voice cast that Anderson has put together is also brilliant, from all of his regulars to George Clooney to Michael Gambon. It was a little disconcerting how every scene was almost entirely one color (orange during the day in the fields, blue at night, gray in the sewers, etc.) but it worked, too, in a creepy way. Bravo Mr. Anderson!
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
December 10, 2009
The Cove (2009)
Wow. I don't know what to think after watching this movie. It's a heavily-slanted story about the annual mass slaughter of dolphins and whales in a single lagoon in Japan and as with every polarizing documentary, it cares little for both sides of the story. That being said, I can't imagine how the fishermen would defend themselves and their actions. Watching this makes me never want to go anywhere where they keep tame dolphins ever again. The aerial shot of the killing cove running bright red with dolphin blood is one that stays with you for a very long time. My only question was, how do they keep sharks out of the cove with that much blood in the water? Oscar Nominations aren't even out, but if this doesn't get nominated and win, something is very wrong.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
Wow. I don't know what to think after watching this movie. It's a heavily-slanted story about the annual mass slaughter of dolphins and whales in a single lagoon in Japan and as with every polarizing documentary, it cares little for both sides of the story. That being said, I can't imagine how the fishermen would defend themselves and their actions. Watching this makes me never want to go anywhere where they keep tame dolphins ever again. The aerial shot of the killing cove running bright red with dolphin blood is one that stays with you for a very long time. My only question was, how do they keep sharks out of the cove with that much blood in the water? Oscar Nominations aren't even out, but if this doesn't get nominated and win, something is very wrong.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
December 9, 2009
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)
#4 on my Top 100 List
There is a scene toward the end of this movie where Merry, Pippin, Frodo and Sam are sitting at a table in the Green Dragon in the Shire. They look around for a moment, then toast each other. It's clear in their eyes - nothing is ever going to be the same. It's a very powerful scene that I think sums up the message of the entire trilogy: your experiences change you. It's just one of several amazing scene in this movie, including the lighting of the beacons of Gondor, the arrival of the Rohirrim at the Pelennor Fields, Gandalf staring down the Ringwraiths, Faramir's "death," Gandalf telling Pippin about Heaven, the entire Paths of the Dead sequence, the fall of the tower of Barad-Dur, Aragorn's coronation (which makes me cry), the reunion of the Fellowship and the final parting at the Grey Havens (which makes me bawl my eyes out). I love that Merry and Pippin both get to fight in battle in this one, that Legolas and Gimli finally admit their friendship, that Eowyn finally gets to show off how badass she is, and that when the Gondorians find their city under attack from the orcs, they start catapulting pieces of their broken buildings back at them. Take that, Mordor! But above anything else, the scene where Pippin is asked to sing for Denethor (the bat-shit insane steward of Gondor), who is eating dinner while his son Faramir rides to almost certain death, is one of the most beautifully shot and edited scenes that I have ever seen. Billy Boyd's voice is perfect - it gives me chills.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
#4 on my Top 100 List
There is a scene toward the end of this movie where Merry, Pippin, Frodo and Sam are sitting at a table in the Green Dragon in the Shire. They look around for a moment, then toast each other. It's clear in their eyes - nothing is ever going to be the same. It's a very powerful scene that I think sums up the message of the entire trilogy: your experiences change you. It's just one of several amazing scene in this movie, including the lighting of the beacons of Gondor, the arrival of the Rohirrim at the Pelennor Fields, Gandalf staring down the Ringwraiths, Faramir's "death," Gandalf telling Pippin about Heaven, the entire Paths of the Dead sequence, the fall of the tower of Barad-Dur, Aragorn's coronation (which makes me cry), the reunion of the Fellowship and the final parting at the Grey Havens (which makes me bawl my eyes out). I love that Merry and Pippin both get to fight in battle in this one, that Legolas and Gimli finally admit their friendship, that Eowyn finally gets to show off how badass she is, and that when the Gondorians find their city under attack from the orcs, they start catapulting pieces of their broken buildings back at them. Take that, Mordor! But above anything else, the scene where Pippin is asked to sing for Denethor (the bat-shit insane steward of Gondor), who is eating dinner while his son Faramir rides to almost certain death, is one of the most beautifully shot and edited scenes that I have ever seen. Billy Boyd's voice is perfect - it gives me chills.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
November 8, 2009
Fantasia (1940)
#8 on my Top 100 List
The things that Disney and Stokowski (the conductor who was a part of the creative drive behind the movie) came up with for this film are mind-blowing. The Nutcracker is shown through seasons changing. The Rite of Spring follows the formation of Earth and the reign of the dinosaurs. The Pastoral Symphony is done with Greek mythology. A Night on Bald Mountain is paired with Ave Maria! And of course, Mickey Mouse axe-murders zombie broomsticks in The Sorcerer's Apprentice. I love this movie because it's done backwards from how music is normally used in a film. Usually a scene is shot and edited and then music is written to score the film. In this, they used the music as inspiration to create a visual that matched it. It's perfect. It's also beautifully drawn. Forget about the wretched sequel they tried to make - just watch the original and bask in the wonder.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
#8 on my Top 100 List
The things that Disney and Stokowski (the conductor who was a part of the creative drive behind the movie) came up with for this film are mind-blowing. The Nutcracker is shown through seasons changing. The Rite of Spring follows the formation of Earth and the reign of the dinosaurs. The Pastoral Symphony is done with Greek mythology. A Night on Bald Mountain is paired with Ave Maria! And of course, Mickey Mouse axe-murders zombie broomsticks in The Sorcerer's Apprentice. I love this movie because it's done backwards from how music is normally used in a film. Usually a scene is shot and edited and then music is written to score the film. In this, they used the music as inspiration to create a visual that matched it. It's perfect. It's also beautifully drawn. Forget about the wretched sequel they tried to make - just watch the original and bask in the wonder.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
December 7, 2009
Mobsters (1991)
There really is no reason for me to like this movie as much as I do. The production quality isn't that high and there's nothing really new or different about it as a mob film. But there's something about it (which could possibly be the presence of a very young Patrick Dempsey and fresh off of 21 Jump Street Richard Grieco) that I really enjoy. I have no idea how much of it is fictionalized, but it's a fun romp that goes through pre-organized crime New York into the formation of the five mafia families. The whole love story with Lara Flynn Boyle is wholly unnecessary, but oh well. Throughly enjoyable.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
There really is no reason for me to like this movie as much as I do. The production quality isn't that high and there's nothing really new or different about it as a mob film. But there's something about it (which could possibly be the presence of a very young Patrick Dempsey and fresh off of 21 Jump Street Richard Grieco) that I really enjoy. I have no idea how much of it is fictionalized, but it's a fun romp that goes through pre-organized crime New York into the formation of the five mafia families. The whole love story with Lara Flynn Boyle is wholly unnecessary, but oh well. Throughly enjoyable.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
Monday, December 7, 2009
December 6, 2009
The Great Gatsby (1974)
#11 on my Top 100 List
I'm not going to start on why I still own this on VHS instead of DVD (why in the world would you RESCORE the DVD for a movie that won Best Original Score???) but it's for situations like this that I'm glad I still have a VCR. I know that this movie gets a lot of criticism, but I have yet to see a more definitive film version of this novel. Robert Redford is Gatsby. Sam Waterston is equally strong as Nick. The two play off each other well and are very convincing as two men who couldn't be more different, yet end up as close friends anyway. Their first meeting is delightfully and painfully awkward, as it should be for people in their social situations. The Roaring 20's are alive and well through the music and costumes, as well as the mansions in which they chose to shoot the movie. Different parts of three of Newport, Rhode Island's most impressive historic mansions (Rosecliffe, The Breakers, and Marble House) make up Gatsby's home - all are open to the public and all are worth the trip. I'm always upset by the ending of this film - I want Nick to tell Tom and Jordan that Daisy was driving the car, so that Gatsby can have some absolution, but it never comes.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
#11 on my Top 100 List
I'm not going to start on why I still own this on VHS instead of DVD (why in the world would you RESCORE the DVD for a movie that won Best Original Score???) but it's for situations like this that I'm glad I still have a VCR. I know that this movie gets a lot of criticism, but I have yet to see a more definitive film version of this novel. Robert Redford is Gatsby. Sam Waterston is equally strong as Nick. The two play off each other well and are very convincing as two men who couldn't be more different, yet end up as close friends anyway. Their first meeting is delightfully and painfully awkward, as it should be for people in their social situations. The Roaring 20's are alive and well through the music and costumes, as well as the mansions in which they chose to shoot the movie. Different parts of three of Newport, Rhode Island's most impressive historic mansions (Rosecliffe, The Breakers, and Marble House) make up Gatsby's home - all are open to the public and all are worth the trip. I'm always upset by the ending of this film - I want Nick to tell Tom and Jordan that Daisy was driving the car, so that Gatsby can have some absolution, but it never comes.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
December 5, 2009
Gunga Din (1939)
I was a little confused by this movie. The first half, when the soldiers are safely stowed away at their Indian outpost, plays very much like a slapstick comedy. But once they set out for the mysterious golden temple (that of course turns out to be the hiding place of an evil cult), it turns into an Indiana Jones-esque adventure. I have no problem with shifting the tone of a movie, but it has to make sense. The two halves of this movie feel totally disjointed. That being said, the second half is action-packed and fun (you just have to try to look past the raging racism of the British against the Indians). Cary Grant seems younger than in most of what I've seen him in, but he's just as good as ever.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
I was a little confused by this movie. The first half, when the soldiers are safely stowed away at their Indian outpost, plays very much like a slapstick comedy. But once they set out for the mysterious golden temple (that of course turns out to be the hiding place of an evil cult), it turns into an Indiana Jones-esque adventure. I have no problem with shifting the tone of a movie, but it has to make sense. The two halves of this movie feel totally disjointed. That being said, the second half is action-packed and fun (you just have to try to look past the raging racism of the British against the Indians). Cary Grant seems younger than in most of what I've seen him in, but he's just as good as ever.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
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