The Golden Compass
I don't understand why everyone hates this. I loved it. I have the need to read the book series now. Fantastic acting and lovable characters. I think it will only improve with future entries. It also makes me want a pet.
1. Knocked Up A
2. Ratatouille A
3. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street A
4. Juno A-
5. Enchanted A-
6. Once A-
7. The Simpsons Movie A-
8. Rescue Dawn A-
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix A-
10. Zodiac A-
11. No End in Sight A-
12. Grindhouse A-
13. Surf's Up B+
14. WaitressB+
15. Hairspray B+
16. Superbad B+
17. Away From Her B+
18. Beowulf B+
19. Hot Fuzz B+
20. Spider-Man 3 B+
21. Bridge to Terabithia B+
22. Breach B
23. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story B
24. Blades of Glory B
25. Bee Movie B
26. Evan Almighty B-
27. Transformers B-
28. Shrek the Third B-
29. The Last Mimzy B-
30. Reno 911!: Miami B-
31. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End B-
32. 300 C+
33. Black Snake Moan C
34. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer C-
It'll have to make more than another $150 million just to barely break even. The film franchise is dead in the water.:|
On the brighter side, as previously discussed, this appears to have sent the message to New Line that they need Peter Jackson for successful fantasy blockbusters, putting him back on board with The Hobbit.
1. No Country For Old Men - 10/10 - The Coen Brothers prove yet again that they are some of the best filmmakers in this business... ****, man, I saw it yesterday and I'm still reeling.
2. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - 10/10 - Not quite the classic in the making that NCFOM is, but the single best movie musical I have seen in many years, and probably the best adaptation of the original (my all-time favorite musical) that could have been made.
3. 3:10 To Yuma - 10/10 - This was a fantastic brilliant movie. First Oscar-worthy thing I've really seen this year... The Acting was fantastic. Plus im a little bit in love with the kid.
4. American Gangster - 9.9/10 - Denzel is gonna get the Oscar, and he'll ****ing deserve it. This is the best Mobster movie I've ever seen in theaters, and only ranks behind the first two Godfathers and Goodfellas on my best Mob-Film list... Now I'm going to have to wikipedia the hell out of Frank Lucas.
5. Ratatouille - 9.9/10 - The .1 is knocked off because of the beginning which was a bit weaker than the rest of the film, but the second we got Remy talking to Gusteau and introduced Linguini, the film turned to solid gold. It is going to be hard as HELL to outrank this movie this year.
6. Wristcutters: A Love Story - 9.5/10 - A fantastic quirky film that's heartwarming and so utterly surreal (in a wonderful sort of way), that I look forward to seeing it again.
7. Enchanted - 9.5/10 - The best Disney movie in ages... I couldn't stop smiling when it was over. It's funny and sweet and immensely successful at what it tried to be. My only beef is the lackluster 2D animation, but hopefully this movie will be sucessful enough to bring about a revival of the Walt Disney Feature Animation films (and i mean the traditionally animated kind)... Unless you're too jaded to enjoy a wonderful sweet movie, catch this in theaters ASAP.
8. Zodiac - 8.75/10 - Well constructed, but a bit longer than necessary. The acting was fantastic though, probably the best I've seen so far this year.
9. Juno - 8.75/10 - Ellen Page was great, though the dialogue seemed a bit forced and unnatural at times, I still felt this was a damn good movie worth seeing. Heartwarming and ****ing hilarious.
10. Charlie Wilson's War - 8.5/10 - Aaron Sorkin gives us the usual funny, plus the charming, lovable characters that really make his work brilliant. Where it fails is properly weighing in the impact this little bit of history actually has on the modern day... But that's all secondary. If you only need one reason to see this movie, it's Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
11. Hot Fuzz - 8.5/10 - Fun, Funny, Action-packed. Also: Timothy Dalton is fantastic, and I now want to write movies where I can make him the bad guy.
12. Knocked Up - 8.5/10 - Best comedy i've seen in a long while. I'm knocking it down a bit after rewatching it, just because Hot Fuzz is a better, funnier movie... But Knocked Up still has a lot of heart. AND I love Paul Rudd. Forever.
13. Superbad - 8.5/10 - I can't even properly describe why I liked it... Aside from it being one of the most real High School Movies ever at the same time as being absurd and hilarious. Funnier than I was expecting. By FAR.
14. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - 8.5/10 - A beautiful film with fantastic performances, particularly by Brad Pitt as Jesse James... It has its weak points, and drags a bit, but it's still quite a damn good movie
15. Once - 8.5/10 - Not quite the kick in the head of fantasticness that people had me expecting, but still quite good, very touching, and definitely worth seeing, no matter who you are. The music was very good, and the girl was adorable. So... Yup.
16. Sicko - 8.5/10 - Sicko is an important movie, especially if you're an American... Actually, it might only be an important film if you are an American... But if you are, this movie is equally as important a film as An Inconvenient Truth was last year. This movie is about how our country's healthcare system PALES in comparison to EVERY OTHER Western Country... This is an issue that we should make central in 2008... So, yeah. See it if you are American, if not, its not going to mean all that much. (which i deducted .25 for... the other point off is from the films various flaws, but its still a damn good movie)
17. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - 8.5/10 - The pacing was off for about the first third of the film, and Bellatrix Lestrange was exaggerated into rediculousness... but the feel and the look of the film outdid ANYTHING in the previous movies... By deciding to adapt the book as it should be adapted rather than as defined by the previous movie, we get the best film yet in the series... One that feels like it tells a complete story. And Sirius was awesome... Gary Oldman was simply the most perfect choice for that role.
18. Hairspray - 8.5/10 - Fun, Funny, and put me in a great mood... I love the music, Cyclops rocked as Corny Collins, and even though Zac Efron has soulless demon eyes, it was nice to see that he could sing without them splicing someone else's voice into his. Also: Amanda Bynes was adorable
19. Mr. Brooks - 8/10 - Very good movie... Watched it entirely based off of the suggestion of Planet-Man and other people on the previous page, and it didn't really disapoint... While it was flawed, the greatness shined through in the general idea of the piece and the acting.
20. Elizabeth: The Golden Age - 8/10 - Not quite as excellent as the first, but due to addition of John Dee (a character I felt should have been in the original), and a fantastic performance by Clive Owen, I really enjoyed it. It should have moved into the Spanish Armada stuff much earlier, and let the Mary Queen of Scots stuff run by a bit faster, but I still highly recommend it. But see the original first.
21. The Simpsons Movie - 8/10 - A fun, and suprisingly good escapade with the Simpsons family... I was laughing through the whole thing, but at the end of the day it just felt like a long, high quality episode of the Simpsons, and didn't do much to be something more than that... So it gets a pretty high rating from sheer enjoyability, but not all that much substance.
22. Grindhouse - 8/10 - Lots of fun, it has its weak points, but the sheer enjoyability of Planet Terror, and the newest Tarantino film (which includes what I now consider to be the greatest chase sequence of ALL time)... Death Proof is simply brilliant. I'll see it again if it hits the theaters on its lonesome.
23. Stardust - 8/10 - I love the book so much that this movie could NEVER satisfy what I wanted (a word for word adaptation, including the depressing epilogue), but the more I think about it, the more I think that I need to see it again, because at the end of the movie I was very pleased with it, despite all the things I think it got wrong. It isn't the book, and I think the book is better, but its still a ****ing fantastic movie.
24. Ocean's 13 - 8/10 - Its not quite the quality of the first one... But it's ALMOST up there... The first half of the movie I was really anxious, because it took a WHILE to get going... But when it picked up, it really picked up and I enjoyed the hell out of it... Clooney and Pitt's relationship gives this an extra point, but I might knock it down later in the year.
25. 1408 - 8/10 - Cusack did a damn good job in the movie, without losing his usual Cusackian Charm... My biggest problem with it all is the fact that they never really explain WHY the room was evil. It just was. But a good movie, quite enjoyable.
26. Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End - 8/10 - Satisfying ending to a well executed trilogy. I enjoyed the hell out of it, and I'll happily dish out the money for the next film on the list.
27. Tranformers - 7/10 - Your typical fun summer action popcorn flick. Good Characters, Lots of Fun action, but not much substance.
28. National Treasure: Book of Secrets - 7/10 - Better than the first one, I thought... Easy-going adventure movie... Worth seeing if you come across it on TV down the line, but I wouldn't go seek it out.
29. I Am Legend - 7/10 - This would have been ranked higher than Grindhouse if the movie had kept the pace and feel of the first two thirds of the film... From when the other characters enter the scene, the movie turns into preachy rubbish meant to teach us the meaning of faith and the American spirit. I really enjoyed it, but the ending ruined the whole thing. It felt like two completely different styles of film.
30. 300 - 7/10 - Fun. Good. But the scenes in sparta interspersed with the narrative slows the story... I need to see it again (for the fourth time), but I'm pretty sure that this is where I stand on it. Mostly Good.
31. The Golden Compass - 7/10 - I'm impressed with what they got right (casting, cgi, general design of everything), but the movie lacks all the nuances of the book that made it worthwhile. I'll check out the next one and hope they bring back the religious stuff, because when Ms. Coulter tried to explain that Dust was Original Sin without any mention of the church or the bible, I almost started laughing.
32. Bridge to Terabithia - 7/10 - I must have been a little crazy when I saw this for the first time, because aside from a wonderful performance from the lead female character, the film really isn't as good as it could have/should have been. Good example of childhood nostalgia blurring my eyes to a pretty mediocre film.
33. Across The Universe - 6.5/10 - The newcomer who plays Jude is the reason to see this movie, outside of him (and his ****ing beautiful voice), the plot is entirely unsubstantial, some of the sequences and characters are ENTIRELY unnecessary. It had so much potential, and could have reached it by focusing on character development and keeping the film grounded in realism, rather than being one music video after another. I might pick up a soundtrack, because some of the best covers of Beatles songs that I've ever heard. But that doesn't make it a good movie. Not by a longshot.
34. Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer - 6.5/10 - Had a lot of the flaws of the first, but rectified several of them... Johnny Storm continues to be the strongest aspect of the series, which I absolutely hope continues... My biggest Problem is with Mr. Fantastic, cuz, well... he should seem intelligent.
35. Shrek 3 - 6/10 - Solid Enough... Not as much heart as the first, Not as much funny as the second, but still a the end of the day it was an enjoyable solid movie with fantastic CGI... There's this bit with The Gingerbread Man's life flashing before his eyes that still makes me laugh just thinking about it. Not great, Not Bad. Certainly better than I expected.
36. Spider-Man 3 - 6/10 - The most disapointing film experience I've had all year. This made me cringe so much with what they messed up that every time something decent happened it was ruined by the inconsistency of it all... The good parts simply showed that this COULD have been good. But they opted against it, apparently...
37. Evan Almighty - 5/10 - It had heart, but no real discernable message, and poor usage of Wanda Sykes, who I think can be fantastic when she's got a good script. I'm glad I saw it once, but doubt i'll ever see it again.
38. Ghost Rider - 4/10 - This movie made me want to make my own Ghost Rider movie, one that was good.
39. Bratz - 1/10 - One Point for being so bad that I could sit through the whole thing, laughing my *** off at the terrible acting and absolute lack of plot and anything worthwhile.
40. Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem - 0/10 - Horrible Acting, and the absolute lack of anything worthwhile that has come before in any of the franchise. This film is laughable in parts, but mostly just horrible to watch. The Stock characters hurt, and its hard to believe that in this day and age, they gave The Brothers Strausse money to make this. The final scene with Ms. Yutani was the ONLY redeeming feature.
Movies I'm Looking Forward To On DVD:
- The Darjeeling Limited
- Beowulf
Movies I'm Going to Try to Catch in Theaters:
- I'm Not There
- Atonement
- There Will Be Blood
Updated for The Host, The Lives of Others, and Paprika, as well as a lot of slot-shifting that's too hard to highlight. I'll just highlight the new editions and let you see what's gone down/up on the list.
1. Knocked Up A
2. Ratatouille A
3. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street A
4. Juno A-
5. Enchanted A-
6. Once A-
7. PaprikaA-
8. The Simpsons Movie A-
9. Rescue Dawn A-
10. Zodiac A-
11. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix A-
12. No End in Sight A-
13. Grindhouse A-
14. Surf's Up B+
15. Waitress B+
16. The HostB+
17. Hairspray B+
18. Superbad B+
19. The Lives of OthersB+
20. Away From Her B+
21. Hot Fuzz B+
22. Spider-Man 3 B+
23. Bridge to Terabithia B+
24. Breach B
25. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story B
26. Blades of Glory B
27. Bee Movie B
28. Beowulf B
29. Evan Almighty B-
30. Transformers B-
31. Shrek the Third B-
32. The Last Mimzy B-
33. Reno 911!: Miami B-
34. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End B-
35. 300 C+
36. Black Snake Moan C
37. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer C-
Dan in Real Life (5)
Superbad (5)
Juno (4.5)
300 (4.5)
The Simpsons Movie (4.5)
Ocean's 13 (4.5)
Knocked Up (4)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (4)
30 Days of Night (4)
Grindhouse (4)
Once (4)
1408 (4)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (3.5)
Live Free Or Die Hard (3.5)
28 Weeks Later (3.5)
Zodiac (3.5)
Spider-Man 3 (3.5)
Sicko (3.5)
The Darjeeling Limited (3)
Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End (3)
I Am Legend (3)
Blades of Glory (3)
The Astronaut Farmer (3)
Mr. Brooks (3)
Transformers (3)
Ghost Rider (2.5)
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2.5)
Hostel: Part II (2)
Updated for Mr. Brooks, Zodiac, Blades of Glory, I Am Legend, Juno, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, 28 Weeks Later, and Once.
A lot of those places should be jumbled and moved, but I'm sticking with my grades upon first viewing for the moment.
Also, I'm debating whether I should add direct-to-video movies.
Dan in Real Life - Loved it. All thanks to Joe Kalicki
Knocked Up - Hated it. I saw it on DVD, and me and my friends ended up playing games with it on in the background. Marshall was the only redeeming thing in this movie.
300 - Saw it on IMAX in Jordans. Love it.
Live Free Or Die Hard - Saw it on DVD. Awesome.
Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End - Watched it only because the girlfriend loves Depp. Thought it was meh.
Children of Men - Loved it. Another DVD
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - Saw it in Philly with everyone. Worth it to hear MWoF go, "Awesome, now Doom and Doc Ock can appear in a sequel."
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Hardly remember it due to a fever
Superbad - Awesome
The Golden Compass - I liked it.
1) Zodiac - 10/10. A brilliant, fascinating, sadly overlooked, mystery movie with perfect acting from a perfect cast.
2) No Country For Old Men - 9.75/10. A masterpiece with just about the best performances of the year, especially from Tommy Lee Jones, who I hope wins an Oscar for it. The suspense was incredible. A few parts frustrated me... but I think they were supposed to, and although I would've altered the focus in a few places, I wouldn't count that against it too much.
3) Ratatouille - 9.5/10. I had high expectations and it met them, and in a few places, really surprised me by exceeding them. I think the score could've been more prominent and characters other than Remy could've used a bit more characterization, but on the whole, it had a stronger emotional core than pretty much any film this year.
4) 3:10 To Yuma - 9/10. Great movie. Crowe and Bale are a perfect screen team and I hope to see them in more together. Ben Foster was excellent, as was the kid who played the son, and Alan Tudyk too come to think of it. I think a proper sequel has great potential too.
5) Spider-Man 3 - 9/10. Which isn't to say that it didn't have some flaws, but I thought the parts that worked for me(i.e. about 90% of the film) worked so well that they made up for the flaws and then some. I suppose a more accurate score might be 9/12.
6) Knocked Up - 9/10. Awesome. One of the best romantic comedies ever made. Better than The 40-Year Old Virgin.
7) Mr. Brooks - 9/10. Excellence out of left field. This was a good concept made great through careful execution and electrifying performances from Kevin Costner and William Hurt, and only slightly behind them, Demi Moore and believe it or not, Dane Cook in his first serious turn. Go rent this the next night you can.
8) Superbad - 8.5/10. Very funny, and lived up to the hype about "capturing the feeling of high school". I think it might've been better if 60% of the movie wasn't just trying to get to the party(even though that's completely relatable to), but over all it was really something. I look forward to seeing more and more of Michael Cera and Jonah Hill.
9) Hot Fuzz - 8.5/10. Hysterical. I'm twice as anxious to see Shaun of the Dead now.
10) Live Free Or Die Hard - 8.5/10. Fantastic action with a clever plot to tie it all together. Bruce Willis still kicks a lot of ***, and Justin Long was great as his new sidekick.
11) 1408 - 8.5/10. Wow, was this ever good. Equally terrifying and moving, and John Cusack, who is alone on screen for about 80% of the film, does a superb job as always. Back it all up with a very solid supporting performance from Samuel L Jackson, and you've got a true must-see.
12) 300 - 8.5/10. It was what it was supposed to be. It was always stunning to watch, it made some visual breakthoughs, and it gave us some of the best movie fight scenes in years.
13) Sunshine - 8.5/10. Like most Danny Boyle films, this is very beautiful and very powerful, and the character development is grand and inspiring. Definitely one of the best Sci-Fi films of the past few years, and the concept, and the concept of the concept, are just awesome.
14) Disturbia - 8/10. An expertly-crafted, extremely suspenseful horror/thriller. Shia LaBoeuf might be my new favourite male lead.
15) Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer - 8/10. Lots of fun, just like the first one. A good job all around.
16) Next - 8/10. Really cool, fun and very creatively executed. Nic Cage's quirky charm always manages to impress me.
17) Mr. Bean's Holiday - 7.75/10. Really, genuinely funny. I laughed all the way through this. Staying true to Mr. Bean's classic British style and persona(which the American film didn't really do) while placing him in some of the most strikingly beautiful parts of France was a terrific idea. Rowan was in top form and the whole thing was a great send off to the character. And Willem Dafoe? Awesome.
18)In The Valley Of Elah - 7.5/10. Good solid movie, worth seeing for Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron's superb performances.
19) The Simpsons Movie - 7/10. Decently funny, but far from hilarious and still too much like the newer episodes are for my tastes. Fortunately, it was still like a much-improved version of those newer episodes.
20) The Ten - 7/10. Pretty funny at times, a couple of really hilarious and inspired ideas, but overall it left me wanting more. Upon watching the deleted scenes, they left out some clearly David Wain-written schticks that were as funny as the best parts of the movie and should have been left in over some of the more blunt, vulgar stuff that didn't really do it. Overall, I would've like to personally scrip-doctor it, but it was still a lot of fun.
21) Shoot 'Em Up - 6.5/10. An entertaining B-movie action flick with some thrilling, creative sequences, but basically a poor man's Grindhouse at the end of the day.
22) Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End - 6/10. Decent, but depressingly mediocre in wake of the spectacular first two.
23) The Bourne Ultimatum - 5/10. Sooooo boooooring. Honestly, the whole thing could've been spliced together from stock footage taken from the first two films. Even the action scenes were pretty much ruined by all the extreme close-up/quick cut crap. I'm a fan of the first two, but even there the second was a big step down. This one was even worse. A major disappointment.
Perfectly valid movies that I can't really bring myself to try and rank against the rest so will just rate in their own context
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - 8/10. ONE of the best films in the series yet, but upon a second viewing I like several others more. I think the department of Mysteries sequence and Dumbledore's duel with Voldemort should've had a lot more happen in them, and it really loses something by dropping Harry's catharical shouting at Dumbledore, but it still had some moments that were completely original and give the movies an intelligent reason to exist, which is always something they should be striving for. Umbridge needed a better comeuppance. That's one thing from the book they definitely should've changed.
Transformers - 9/10. Thoroughly awesome. The all-star cast was great and everybody looked like they were having a wonderful time, especially the guy who played Shia's dad, who I want to see in more things. Definitely the best visual effects of any movie I've ever seen, because this was the first time when for almost all of the action sequence, the thought "oh, I can tell it's CGI" never entered my head. The confusingness of some of the battles unfortunately did take away from it, but, feh, it was a great movie. Can't wait to see Shia in more and more and more.
Grindhouse - 9.5/10. One of the most fun movie going experiences of my life. It only loses half a point because Death Proof just took way too long at the beginning establishing characters I couldn't stand(the first set of girls). I know that was kind of the point, but.... ugh. It just became tedious. Nevertheless, the rest was a non-stop atomic trainride to awesometown U.S.A.
Das Leben Der Anderen(The Lives Of Others) - 9/10. Yeah.... this was pretty excellent. I think it could've been a bit better because it was so slow at times, but still, it was a fantastic story and very well-acted.
Wild Hogs - 6/10. It obviously wasn't good, but it was fairly funny at times. William H. Macy and Ray Liotta saved it enough.
1. Knocked Up A
2. Ratatouille A
3. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street A
4. Juno A-
5. Enchanted A-
6. Once A-
7. Paprika A-
8. The Simpsons Movie A-
9. Rescue Dawn A-
10. Zodiac A-
11. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix A-
12. No End in Sight A-
13. Grindhouse A-
14. Surf's Up B+
15. Waitress B+
16. The Host B+
17. Hairspray B+
18. Superbad B+
19. The Lives of Others B+
20. Away From Her B+
21. Hot Fuzz B+
22. Spider-Man 3 B+
23. Bridge to Terabithia B+
24. Breach B
25. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story B
26. Blades of Glory B
27. Bee Movie B
28. Beowulf B
29. Evan Almighty B-
30. Transformers B-
31. Shrek the Third B-
32. The Last Mimzy B-
33. Reno 911!: Miami B-
34. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End B-
35. Meet the RobinsonsC+
36. 300 C+
37. Black Snake Moan C
38. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer C-
Without him, all of you would be lost souls roamin
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Feb 23, 2005
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UPDATED FOR SWEENEY TODD, KNOCKED UP, EASTERN PROMISES, THE LOOKOUT, THE HOST, AND RATATOUILLE:
1. GRINDHOUSE 10/10 I've noticed how those of you who were all jazzed up after seeing it for the first time are ranking it a bit lower in retrospect. I don't know if it's just the bad reception it ended up getting but I don't really understand it. I saw this on opening day and I still get all giddy and adrenaline-ized when I think about it. I seriously love Grindhouse. I wish all the idiots who neglected to see it could be strapped to a chair, "Clockwork Orange" style and be forced to watch it. I'd still say that it might just be the most purely entertaining movie I've ever seen.
*2. KNOCKED UP 9.5/10 Knocked Up is a strange one. I didn't actually laugh all that much. I certainly laughed a lot, and they were good laughs, but it wasn't like when I saw The 40-Year-Old Virgin in the theater and felt physically ill from laughter afterwards. However, after I saw Knocked Up, something happened that has only happened so far this year with Grindhouse: I wanted to see it again. And not a few days after I'd watched it, but about an hour after. And that's weird. I just watched it again last night. I don't know, it wasn't uproariously funny, but it was sweet and compelling and just a damn good movie. Not to mention the fact that the humor felt far more natural and "grown-up" than The 40-Year-Old Virgin or Superbad. (Thank god for improv.) Good job Apatow, good job.
*3. RATATOUILLE 9.5/10 This is what I'm talking about. A true Pixar classic. The voicework and the story were superb, and Pixar's animation is top notch quality. I actually watched Cars for the first time on cable the other night and I have to say that it looks bad in comparison to this. This isn't just a great animated movie, it's just a great movie in general.
4. SUPERBAD 9/10 Hilarious. Another totally filthy, very funny film from Judd Apatow and Co., with some of the characteristic sweetness of their other films. If only all teen comedies could be like this.
NOTE: I will have to see this an Hot Fuzz a few more times before I can properly judge which one I liked better. It is a difficult task.
5. ZODIAC 9/10 An excellent, excellent film. One of David Fincher's best. Though the length had me a bit restless, I thought the only point where it really felt "slow" was about the middle thirty minutes or so. It may be my huge, pre-existing interest in the Zodiac case, but I thought the whole thing was just riveting (A totally cliche word to describe a movie with, but I can't help it). And the performances were great. I see a lot of Oscar nominations coming for this.
6. HOT FUZZ 9/10 Also Hilarious. Great cast, great story, great humor, great fun. Everything that I hoped it to be. I can't wait for the next Wright/Pegg/Frost production.
*7. SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET 8/10 A lot more fun than I expected. Great songs and a great cast. I think this is about the extent of Tim Burton's talent, but that's not a bad thing. The only thing I'd complain about was the ending. It felt rushed and I would've liked to see
what happens to Sweeney's daughter and her little boyfriend.
*8. EASTERN PROMISES 8/10 Very good. David Cronenberg seems to be getting more and more mature as a filmmaker, though that translates to something a bit more boring than A History of Violence. Viggo Mortenson is great in this, as evidenced by his naked fight scene, which I'm sure requires a lot of acting skill.
9. TRANSFORMERS 7/10 Everything you could want from a good action film. Explosions, humor, and FIGHTING TRANSFORMING ROBOTS OMG! It was great to be surprised by a movie that I didn't have very high hopes for.
*10. THE LOOKOUT 7/10 A little bit disappointing, based off of the reviews it received, but if you go into it with reasonable expectations you should enjoy it. A nice little heist movie, with great performances by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jeff Daniels.
*11. THE HOST 7/10 A great monster movie. Original characters, a good story, and a creepy creature. (Though it wasn't nearly as gross as some would have you believe.) It's nice to see a film that takes the monster movie genre semi-seriously. Makes me look forward to Cloverfield even more.
12. THE SIMPSONS MOVIE 7/10 Surprisingly good. Not as good as the better seasons of the show, but I definitely laughed through the whole movie. It felt like a good, long episode of The Simpsons, and that's good enough.
13. 300 7/10 Highly enjoyable, but not as much as I expected. Excellent fight scenes and special effects, and definitely a classic "man movie". I only wish I could have seen it in the theater, where I'm sure it was much more enjoyable...
14. 28 WEEKS LATER 7/10 As I've said before, 28 Days Later was a great film, but 28 Weeks Later was a great zombie film. They did a very effective job of building up the intensity to levels that the original only hit once or twice.
15. DISTURBIA 7/10 Pretty good, actually. A nice mixture of humor and intrigue, and one of the better teen movies to come out in a while. Shia Labeouf was entertaining and somehow the Rear Window premise hasn't lost it greatness, despite how many times it's been copied/parodied. My only complaint would be that it spends a little too much time with the teen movie set-up and speeds through the serious mystery parts in the second half of the movie too quickly.
16. PAN'S LABYRINTH 7/10 A sweet, sad little fairy tale. Some great and truly creepy special effects and a story that effectively mixes magic with reality. It also had some of the most realistic "violence effects" that I've ever seen in a movie. I didn't know that they could make someone having their face crushed in look that realistic.
17. HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHEONIX 6/10 A good adaptation of the book, which I was properly psyched for since I had started reading Book 7 a day before I saw it. The battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort was excellent.
18. AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE MOVIE FILM INTENDED ONLY FOR THEATERS 6/10 It was decent, but nothing special. Essentially, a pretty funny 90-minute episode of the show. It was probably hurt by the opening sequence (with the heavy-metal movie theater food song), which had me laughing hysterically and set the bar a little too far for the movie to top again.
19. VACANCY 5/10 Not much to say, really. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. A mildly entertaining horror/suspense flick. About what I was expecting. Sidenote: Luke Wilson is incapable of producing any emotion other than calm, laidback-ness. Try as he might, I don't think he has the ability to actually get angry and/or scared.
20. SPIDER-MAN 3 4/10 Disappointing. While I didn't hate it as much as others, and definitely had it's good parts, it didn't even come close to matching Spider-Man 2. The plot was oddly paced and structured, the story was too crowded, and it was just too damn silly for it's own good. It was just too disjointed to feel like a real, full movie. Very disappointing.
21. GHOST RIDER 2/10 Blech. I fell asleep about 45 minutes in. I woke up 15 minutes from the end but decided that I really didn't want to rewind and watch what I missed.
22. THE HILLS HAVE EYES 2 1/10 Blech times two. My cousin foisted the DVD upon me and I decided to watch it for some reason. Just kind of a boring, gross mess. Though I got a good laugh thinking about how they played this at a theater instead of "The Last Mimzy" accidentally, considering the opening scene, in which a woman has a bloody, mutant baby violently torn out of her. Those poor kids.
Dan in Real Life (5)
Superbad (5)
Juno (4.5)
300 (4.5)
The Simpsons Movie (4.5)
Ocean's 13 (4.5)
Knocked Up (4)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (4)
Shoot 'Em Up (4)
30 Days of Night (4)
Grindhouse (4)
Once (4)
1408 (4)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (3.5)
Live Free Or Die Hard (3.5)
The Nanny Diaries (3.5)
28 Weeks Later (3.5)
Zodiac (3.5)
Spider-Man 3 (3.5)
Sicko (3.5)
The Darjeeling Limited (3)
Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End (3)
I Am Legend (3)
Blades of Glory (3)
The Bourne Ultimatum (3)
The Astronaut Farmer (3)
Halloween (3)
Mr. Brooks (3)
Transformers (3)
Ghost Rider (2.5)
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2.5)
Hostel: Part II (2)
Updated for The Nanny Diaries, Halloween, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Shoot 'Em Up.
32 movies, and I'll watch probably two more tonight. I'm catching up to you kids.
1. Knocked Up A
2. Ratatouille A
3. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street A
4. Juno A-
5. Enchanted A-
6. Once A-
7. Paprika A-
8. The Simpsons Movie A-
9. Rescue Dawn A-
10. Zodiac A-
11. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix A-
12. No End in Sight A-
13. Grindhouse A-
14. Surf's Up B+
15. Waitress B+
16. The Host B+
17. Hairspray B+
18. Superbad B+
19. The Lives of Others B+
20. Away From Her B+
21. Hot Fuzz B+
22. Spider-Man 3 B+
23. Lady ChatterleyB+
24. Bridge to Terabithia B+
25. Breach B
26. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story B
27. Blades of Glory B
28. Bee Movie B
29. Beowulf B
30. Evan Almighty B-
31. Transformers B-
32. Shrek the Third B-
33. The Last Mimzy B-
34. Reno 911!: Miami B-
35. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End B-
36. Meet the Robinsons C+
37. 300 C+
38. Black Snake Moan C
39. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer C-
Don't expect me to take you with me when I go to s
Joined
Sep 15, 2004
Messages
25,007
I think these are the 13 movies I saw this year... I might be missing out some.
The Prestige - 5/5 - Brilliant movie. Highly recommended.
Transformers - 5/5 - It's that good.
Hot Fuzz - 5/5 - Perfect.
Ocean's 13 - 4.75/5 - I really want to give it a 5 but I can't. It was great though.
Grindhouse - 4.5/5 - I thought Death Proof started kind of slow, but overall it was really, really good.
300 - 4/5 - I thought it was kind of boring... until the battle started. Then it ruled.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - 4/5 - The best one yet. The Golden Compass - 4/5 - I liked it and I didn't care for the book. It was a lot better than I thought it would be.
I Am Legend - 3.5/5 - I actually saw this in 2008, but I'll add it here anyway... this isn't I Am Legend. It's just another Will Smith movies. And while Will Smith movies are entertaining, they are not adaptions... and this is a completely different story compared to the book.
National Treasure: Book of Secrets - 3.5/5 - Worth a watch, but this probably did not need to be made. Is there going to be a third one?
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - 3.5/5 - Disappointing.
Mr. Bean - 2/5 - It probably wasn't that bad, but it was predictable, and there was probably only one moment where I laughed. These movies just show Mr. Bean doesn't work on the big screen.
Spider-Man 3 - 1.5/5 - Terrible. Terrible.
I actually will end up renting it... but only because three of some of my favorite comic actors are in it. And who knows? I may not find it to be godawful. It just might be terribly vomit-inducing.
1. Knocked Up A
2. Ratatouille A
3. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street A
4. Juno A-
5. Enchanted A-
6. Once A-
7. Paprika A-
8. The Simpsons Movie A-
9. Rescue Dawn A-
10. Zodiac A-
11. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix A-
12. No End in Sight A-
13. Grindhouse A-
14. Surf's Up B+
15. Waitress B+
16. The Host B+
17. Hairspray B+
18. Superbad B+
19. The Lives of Others B+
20. Away From Her B+
21. Hot Fuzz B+
22. Spider-Man 3 B+
23. Lady Chatterley B+
24. Bridge to Terabithia B+
25. Mr. Bean's HolidayB
26. Breach B
27. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story B
28. Blades of Glory B
29. Bee Movie B
30. Beowulf B
31. Evan Almighty B-
32. Transformers B-
33. Shrek the Third B-
34. The Last Mimzy B-
35. Reno 911!: Miami B-
36. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End B-
37. Meet the Robinsons C+
38. 300 C+
39. Black Snake Moan C
40. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer C-
