Planet-man
Well-Known Member
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day - A very satisfying continuation of the story. Any fan of the first film will like it and die-hards will be in heaven. 8/10.
Planet-man
Well-Known Member
Watchmen - Pretty good. Not how I would've done it, but they put so much effort into how they did it that it payed off. A book-accurate Ozymandias might've made it a whole point higher. It's basically in the same category of b-t-f adaptations as the Potter films - no match for the book, but very cool to see for fans of it. And once in a while, sheer magic. 8.5/10.
Taken - Exciting, straight-forward, cool. Neeson is cool. 6/10.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine - I enjoyed this, but basically, they just weren't making a good movie. So they just pumped up what they had as best as they could, and it turned out okay. It also just felt kind of dated.... seenitamilliontimes.... know what I mean? 6/10
Star Trek - First movie I can remember seeing in a while where the special effects actually impressed me. A great, fun action-adventure with a cast that completely sells it. I want more emotion and depth in a film, but this was the rare "great" movie that still manages without it. I hope it's there in the sequels, though. 8.5/10.
Terminator: Salvation - Pointless, dry, completely unengaging. Anton Yelchin was awesome, and Sam Worthington, for some reason, just really has something. I look forward to seeing more of both of them. But Conner was flat and the plot went absolutely nowhere. I'm disappointed in Bale for being so involved with this. And that stupid alternate ending they wanted to use.... damn.... 5/10
Outlander - This was pretty cool. A humanoid alien crash-lands in Viking-Era Norway. I like Jim Caviziel a lot and overall thought this was done pretty well. 8/10.
UP - The best, most touching thing I've seen from Pixar in years. I still wanted more, but as it was there wasn't really anything wrong with it. 9/10.
Tranformers: Revenge Of The Fallen - SFX **** with a likeable cast, especially Sam and his parents. I don't think this one felt as epic as the first, but it was good. 7/10.
Knowing - Stunning. Why isn't Shyamalan capable of this kind of thing anymore? Refreshing, creative, very suspenseful, amazing disaster sequences.... not to overhype it, but maybe the most I've enjoyed a movie this year. They clearly believed in the film they were making, which is more than I can say for a lot of films. 9/10
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince - Probably the best one yet, and certainly the most unique, beautiful, and magical to me. The problems that all the films have had still apply, but even those not as much. I loved it. 9/10.
Push - Fun, fast, good effects and well-directed action sequences.... the plot was extremely confusing in brief spurts, but I was pretty satisfied by it. A lot of the stuff that made Heroes good in the first place works here. 7.5/10
Horsemen - Detective movie about serial killers patterning themselves after the biblical four horsemen of the apocalypse. Good premise, only okay execution. Clearly made by people who really love Se7en, but aren't in the same leage. Patrick Fugit, the kid from Almost Famous, was the best part. 6/10
Funny People - Has lots of flaws and lots of good stuff. Sandler truly carries the picture, but everyone in it is good. A different and very personal step from Apatow. Odd for a director's third film, it feels more like a tenth. I guess that's the case for Sandler, though. What would really be interesting is if he stops making the type of movies they spoof in the film. 7.75/10
The Great Buck Howard - Swell. Colin Hanks is good here, but I'd really like to see him do a much less reserved, really emotional role soon. The movie is a must-see for any John Malkovich fan and overall was just really sweet and well-done. 7.5/10
I Love You, Man - I'm not usually big on the whole "bromance" thing, but this was awesome. It was really funny first and foremost, but the Segel-Rudd relationship is so much damn fun and steals the show, even when it's not being funny but just plain honest and raw. The whole cast is great and the film is enhanced by the fact that I love Rush. The extended concert scene on the DVD was a ****ing blast. 8/10
District 9 - A completely enthralling, edge-of-your-seat film experience, the most unique in ages. I feel like the whole "documentary/shaky-cam/handicam" thing a lot of them have been trying to use recently to make it feel more like you're actually there was finally perfected by this, with the perfect blend it uses. For the first time since I think 2007..... it's a solid 10/10.
Inglourious Basterds - Sometimes in all the hype and fanfare and his behind-the-scenes persona I forget just what a rich, superb film-maker Tarantino is. So suspenseful, so satisfying, amazing acting and direction and dialouge.... I will be riding high on this movie for quite a while. For the first time since last week...... 10/10.
The Final Destination - You can't really rate this the way you would a normal movie because it's not designed to be a good film, just a really fun, amusement-park-ride type experience. With friends, in the well-utilized 3D, this was very entertaining, and the climax was excellent. 7.5/10. The lead guy was also really good and I hope he gets a good career. The girl too for that matter.
State Of Play - Russell Crowe is awesome, so was the plot and concept, and the direction, and everyone else. Especially Jason Bateman. "Political Thrillers" usually require me to make an effort to get interested. Not this time. Again, Crowe.... his performance has stuck with me. I'm also glad to see Ben Affleck has really turned into a completely respectable actor who is a pleasure to watch, although I really want to see him direct something again. Gone Baby Gone was terrific and I would've picked him to direct Watchmen based off of it. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this. 8.5/10
9 - Cool concept that ultimately went absolutely nowhere. The "stichpunks"(name according to Acker) were literally just completely normal, functional people and 9 was the least dimensional character of them all, which is saying a lot. There was a lot of really cool stuff and the director obviously had a vision, but the story needed about another year or two's work and was literally just to get them from one action sequence to the next. The very ending was really good too, but overall it fell miles short of how good it potentially looked from that first trailer. 6.5/10.
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs - A triumph. Funniest movie of the year, one of the most exciting too. Loved it from start to finish. See it. 9.5/10
Surrogates - The concept is excellent but it only touches upon doing it justice. Bruce Willis is great though and it's a worthwhile film. 7/10.
Zombieland - Pretty much just as good as it looked. Filled with laughs and characters you latch on to immeadiately. I really hope there's a sequel. 9/10.
Year One - It had it's moments but overall was just an incredibly crude and lazy film. Notable for the DVD including one of the most extensive and expensive alternate endings I've ever seen. It was kind of better than the "real" ending too. 4/10
The Brothers Bloom - I'm not that big into caper movies, but this looked like it could be a lot of fun. What I didn't expect, though, was for it to be about me. Probably the best screenplay of the year and I intend to buy it and do repeat viewings, which could easily make my raiting even higher. 9.5/10
Law Abiding Citizen - This kicked ***. My theater was laughing and cheering all the way through and Gerard Butler was terrific. Jamie Foxx was great too and I will definitely watch this again with other friends when it comes out on DVD. With an extra .5 for Butler's performance sticking with me, 8.5/10.
The Proposal - Blech. I'm not a big Sandra Bullock fan outside of Speed and Miss Congeniality, and Ryan Reynolds bores me at best and pisses me off at worst. This was no exception. Retarded story, one or two unbearable scenes, and a predictably cringe-worthy ending. It's scary to think anyone could consider these two characters to be legtimately in love. Oscar from The Office was good though. 4/10
The Men Who Stare At Goats - Eh, this was all right but not exactly the result of much effort. There were a few hilarious moments, when they tried. 5.5/10.
The Maiden Heist - This should've been publicized more. Christopher Walken in his first and best leading role in ages with Morgan Freeman and William H. Macy right behind him. Holy ****! It was very enjoyable and stuck with me. Love that Walken. 7.5/10.
Angels and Demons - The ingredients are too good for it to be anything but. Howard, Hanks and Hans Zimmer are a great team and it was really cool seeing all the stuff go down in the Vatican after having been there last year. On top of that, Armin Mueller-Stahl totally makes the film. Like The Da Vinci Code, an easy 8/10.
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard - It definitely had the right idea and I laughed throughout. I would've liked to see them taken it even farther, more and more over-the-top and feel-good as the movie went on, but it was still pretty damn fun. 7.5/10.
Fantastic Mr. Fox - Very funny and well-made. Wes Anderson was so right for this. 9/10
Avatar - Really disappointing. The story and characters were laughably straw, to the point where I didn't even care enough to get excited during the action sequences. I found the use of 3D way more thrilling in Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs and although the CGI is pretty amazing now, it'll be dated again in 5 years. Not that I think I'll have any desire to see it again. 5.5/10
The Hangover - Perfect concept, and they didn't shy away from it at all. They followed through and squeezed so many more jokes and surprises out of it than a lot of movies would have. My only real gripe is the frequent transitions between scenes using just the intro of some song and then it quickly fading out, which I usually find kind of amateurish. Still, pretty much an 8.5/10.
Extract - A stupefying experience. Office Space is probably one of my Top-20 films and has one of the tightest and most rewatchable sceenplays ever. How the same guy could've made this unbelievably apathetic, empty, no-stakes film is a mystery. It gets a 3 only because I enjoy watching the actors and I did laugh a few times, but overall, I actually can't figure out how you'd go about writing a full screenplay with as little energy or direction as this. The Men Who Stare At Goats would be a wildly ambitious and controversial film in comparison to this. 3/10.
Moon - So, so great. In a stand-out year for science fiction films, this may be the best one. Other than the Best Picture nod - and possible win - for Avatar, I'd say Sam Rockwell getting snubbed for a Best Actor nod is the most likely crime the Oscars are going to commit this year. SEE THIS MOVIE! PROPERLY! 9.5/10.
The Hurt Locker - Thankfully saw this before it swept the Oscars. This was a great premise for a character drama and a good, well-made film but I think it didn't do itself justice. It was 100% predictable and a few of the main defusal sequences were even kind of anti-climactic. Not much actual growth from the characters and the ending played out exactly as setup with no frills whatsover. The technical aspects were all excellent and I'm glad a film that at least attempted to be cerebral and deep beat Avatar at the Oscars, but this was not the film of the year, just a good solid movie. 7.5/10
The Informant! - Definitely one of the strangest movies I've seen in a while. The first half or so was painfully weak and boring with the occasional laugh at Whitacre's mental tidbits, but before you know it you start to realize what's really going on and it's a whole different experience. Damon was very good throughout, and the film definitely demands a second viewing, but I was so bored during the first chunk that I was still kind of uncomfortable during the rest, and it'll be a while before I work up the effort to see it again, if ever. So I can't really give it a proper raiting.
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day - A very satisfying continuation of the story. Any fan of the first film will like it and die-hards will be in heaven. 8/10
Sherlock Holmes - Much better than I was expecting. Very witty, fun, thrilling and creative. 8.5/10
Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call - New Orleans - This is Nicolas Cage: The Movie, and I mean that in a completely positive way. It's There Will Be Blood meets Miami Vice. It's awesome, and Cage could've easily gotten an Oscar nod for one of the best performances I've seen from last year, while still absolutely being a classic Cage-style one through and through. I definitely recommend this. It's a trip.9/10
Taken - Exciting, straight-forward, cool. Neeson is cool. 6/10.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine - I enjoyed this, but basically, they just weren't making a good movie. So they just pumped up what they had as best as they could, and it turned out okay. It also just felt kind of dated.... seenitamilliontimes.... know what I mean? 6/10
Star Trek - First movie I can remember seeing in a while where the special effects actually impressed me. A great, fun action-adventure with a cast that completely sells it. I want more emotion and depth in a film, but this was the rare "great" movie that still manages without it. I hope it's there in the sequels, though. 8.5/10.
Terminator: Salvation - Pointless, dry, completely unengaging. Anton Yelchin was awesome, and Sam Worthington, for some reason, just really has something. I look forward to seeing more of both of them. But Conner was flat and the plot went absolutely nowhere. I'm disappointed in Bale for being so involved with this. And that stupid alternate ending they wanted to use.... damn.... 5/10
Outlander - This was pretty cool. A humanoid alien crash-lands in Viking-Era Norway. I like Jim Caviziel a lot and overall thought this was done pretty well. 8/10.
UP - The best, most touching thing I've seen from Pixar in years. I still wanted more, but as it was there wasn't really anything wrong with it. 9/10.
Tranformers: Revenge Of The Fallen - SFX **** with a likeable cast, especially Sam and his parents. I don't think this one felt as epic as the first, but it was good. 7/10.
Knowing - Stunning. Why isn't Shyamalan capable of this kind of thing anymore? Refreshing, creative, very suspenseful, amazing disaster sequences.... not to overhype it, but maybe the most I've enjoyed a movie this year. They clearly believed in the film they were making, which is more than I can say for a lot of films. 9/10
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince - Probably the best one yet, and certainly the most unique, beautiful, and magical to me. The problems that all the films have had still apply, but even those not as much. I loved it. 9/10.
Push - Fun, fast, good effects and well-directed action sequences.... the plot was extremely confusing in brief spurts, but I was pretty satisfied by it. A lot of the stuff that made Heroes good in the first place works here. 7.5/10
Horsemen - Detective movie about serial killers patterning themselves after the biblical four horsemen of the apocalypse. Good premise, only okay execution. Clearly made by people who really love Se7en, but aren't in the same leage. Patrick Fugit, the kid from Almost Famous, was the best part. 6/10
Funny People - Has lots of flaws and lots of good stuff. Sandler truly carries the picture, but everyone in it is good. A different and very personal step from Apatow. Odd for a director's third film, it feels more like a tenth. I guess that's the case for Sandler, though. What would really be interesting is if he stops making the type of movies they spoof in the film. 7.75/10
The Great Buck Howard - Swell. Colin Hanks is good here, but I'd really like to see him do a much less reserved, really emotional role soon. The movie is a must-see for any John Malkovich fan and overall was just really sweet and well-done. 7.5/10
I Love You, Man - I'm not usually big on the whole "bromance" thing, but this was awesome. It was really funny first and foremost, but the Segel-Rudd relationship is so much damn fun and steals the show, even when it's not being funny but just plain honest and raw. The whole cast is great and the film is enhanced by the fact that I love Rush. The extended concert scene on the DVD was a ****ing blast. 8/10
District 9 - A completely enthralling, edge-of-your-seat film experience, the most unique in ages. I feel like the whole "documentary/shaky-cam/handicam" thing a lot of them have been trying to use recently to make it feel more like you're actually there was finally perfected by this, with the perfect blend it uses. For the first time since I think 2007..... it's a solid 10/10.
Inglourious Basterds - Sometimes in all the hype and fanfare and his behind-the-scenes persona I forget just what a rich, superb film-maker Tarantino is. So suspenseful, so satisfying, amazing acting and direction and dialouge.... I will be riding high on this movie for quite a while. For the first time since last week...... 10/10.
The Final Destination - You can't really rate this the way you would a normal movie because it's not designed to be a good film, just a really fun, amusement-park-ride type experience. With friends, in the well-utilized 3D, this was very entertaining, and the climax was excellent. 7.5/10. The lead guy was also really good and I hope he gets a good career. The girl too for that matter.
State Of Play - Russell Crowe is awesome, so was the plot and concept, and the direction, and everyone else. Especially Jason Bateman. "Political Thrillers" usually require me to make an effort to get interested. Not this time. Again, Crowe.... his performance has stuck with me. I'm also glad to see Ben Affleck has really turned into a completely respectable actor who is a pleasure to watch, although I really want to see him direct something again. Gone Baby Gone was terrific and I would've picked him to direct Watchmen based off of it. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this. 8.5/10
9 - Cool concept that ultimately went absolutely nowhere. The "stichpunks"(name according to Acker) were literally just completely normal, functional people and 9 was the least dimensional character of them all, which is saying a lot. There was a lot of really cool stuff and the director obviously had a vision, but the story needed about another year or two's work and was literally just to get them from one action sequence to the next. The very ending was really good too, but overall it fell miles short of how good it potentially looked from that first trailer. 6.5/10.
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs - A triumph. Funniest movie of the year, one of the most exciting too. Loved it from start to finish. See it. 9.5/10
Surrogates - The concept is excellent but it only touches upon doing it justice. Bruce Willis is great though and it's a worthwhile film. 7/10.
Zombieland - Pretty much just as good as it looked. Filled with laughs and characters you latch on to immeadiately. I really hope there's a sequel. 9/10.
Year One - It had it's moments but overall was just an incredibly crude and lazy film. Notable for the DVD including one of the most extensive and expensive alternate endings I've ever seen. It was kind of better than the "real" ending too. 4/10
The Brothers Bloom - I'm not that big into caper movies, but this looked like it could be a lot of fun. What I didn't expect, though, was for it to be about me. Probably the best screenplay of the year and I intend to buy it and do repeat viewings, which could easily make my raiting even higher. 9.5/10
Law Abiding Citizen - This kicked ***. My theater was laughing and cheering all the way through and Gerard Butler was terrific. Jamie Foxx was great too and I will definitely watch this again with other friends when it comes out on DVD. With an extra .5 for Butler's performance sticking with me, 8.5/10.
The Proposal - Blech. I'm not a big Sandra Bullock fan outside of Speed and Miss Congeniality, and Ryan Reynolds bores me at best and pisses me off at worst. This was no exception. Retarded story, one or two unbearable scenes, and a predictably cringe-worthy ending. It's scary to think anyone could consider these two characters to be legtimately in love. Oscar from The Office was good though. 4/10
The Men Who Stare At Goats - Eh, this was all right but not exactly the result of much effort. There were a few hilarious moments, when they tried. 5.5/10.
The Maiden Heist - This should've been publicized more. Christopher Walken in his first and best leading role in ages with Morgan Freeman and William H. Macy right behind him. Holy ****! It was very enjoyable and stuck with me. Love that Walken. 7.5/10.
Angels and Demons - The ingredients are too good for it to be anything but. Howard, Hanks and Hans Zimmer are a great team and it was really cool seeing all the stuff go down in the Vatican after having been there last year. On top of that, Armin Mueller-Stahl totally makes the film. Like The Da Vinci Code, an easy 8/10.
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard - It definitely had the right idea and I laughed throughout. I would've liked to see them taken it even farther, more and more over-the-top and feel-good as the movie went on, but it was still pretty damn fun. 7.5/10.
Fantastic Mr. Fox - Very funny and well-made. Wes Anderson was so right for this. 9/10
Avatar - Really disappointing. The story and characters were laughably straw, to the point where I didn't even care enough to get excited during the action sequences. I found the use of 3D way more thrilling in Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs and although the CGI is pretty amazing now, it'll be dated again in 5 years. Not that I think I'll have any desire to see it again. 5.5/10
The Hangover - Perfect concept, and they didn't shy away from it at all. They followed through and squeezed so many more jokes and surprises out of it than a lot of movies would have. My only real gripe is the frequent transitions between scenes using just the intro of some song and then it quickly fading out, which I usually find kind of amateurish. Still, pretty much an 8.5/10.
Extract - A stupefying experience. Office Space is probably one of my Top-20 films and has one of the tightest and most rewatchable sceenplays ever. How the same guy could've made this unbelievably apathetic, empty, no-stakes film is a mystery. It gets a 3 only because I enjoy watching the actors and I did laugh a few times, but overall, I actually can't figure out how you'd go about writing a full screenplay with as little energy or direction as this. The Men Who Stare At Goats would be a wildly ambitious and controversial film in comparison to this. 3/10.
Moon - So, so great. In a stand-out year for science fiction films, this may be the best one. Other than the Best Picture nod - and possible win - for Avatar, I'd say Sam Rockwell getting snubbed for a Best Actor nod is the most likely crime the Oscars are going to commit this year. SEE THIS MOVIE! PROPERLY! 9.5/10.
The Hurt Locker - Thankfully saw this before it swept the Oscars. This was a great premise for a character drama and a good, well-made film but I think it didn't do itself justice. It was 100% predictable and a few of the main defusal sequences were even kind of anti-climactic. Not much actual growth from the characters and the ending played out exactly as setup with no frills whatsover. The technical aspects were all excellent and I'm glad a film that at least attempted to be cerebral and deep beat Avatar at the Oscars, but this was not the film of the year, just a good solid movie. 7.5/10
The Informant! - Definitely one of the strangest movies I've seen in a while. The first half or so was painfully weak and boring with the occasional laugh at Whitacre's mental tidbits, but before you know it you start to realize what's really going on and it's a whole different experience. Damon was very good throughout, and the film definitely demands a second viewing, but I was so bored during the first chunk that I was still kind of uncomfortable during the rest, and it'll be a while before I work up the effort to see it again, if ever. So I can't really give it a proper raiting.
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day - A very satisfying continuation of the story. Any fan of the first film will like it and die-hards will be in heaven. 8/10
Sherlock Holmes - Much better than I was expecting. Very witty, fun, thrilling and creative. 8.5/10
Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call - New Orleans - This is Nicolas Cage: The Movie, and I mean that in a completely positive way. It's There Will Be Blood meets Miami Vice. It's awesome, and Cage could've easily gotten an Oscar nod for one of the best performances I've seen from last year, while still absolutely being a classic Cage-style one through and through. I definitely recommend this. It's a trip.9/10
