| Movie | Rating | Review | Date | Your Rating | Match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitch - PG-13 | June 2, 2010 | N/A | ||||
| The Union: The Business Behind Getting High - Unrated | Excellent documentary explaining the arguments against marijuana prohibition. I've never smoked a joint and don't have a strong desire to, but I've long considered drug (especially pot) prohibition to be one of the most ridiculous, wasteful and dangerous policies on the books today. If you think keeping drugs illegal is a good idea, please watch this film. | February 16, 2010 | N/A | |||
| Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas) - PG-13 | Beautiful and moving, certainly one of the best war films I've seen. Even before the truce, I was struck by how powerfully it conveys the pointlessness of war. Seeing some familiar faces from another brilliant (and entirely different) war film, Inglorious Basterds, was a bonus. | January 28, 2010 | N/A | |||
| Slacker - R | I've been a fan of most of Linklater's stuff, particularly Before Sunrise/Sunset, and you can see the similarities here. This is definitely not the film of a mature filmmaker, but it showed his passion for dialogue which is evident in his later, better films. Worth seeing if you're a big Linklater fan or enjoy film school type movies, but otherwise it's not much more than a somewhat plodding character study of a wide variety of people, some fairly normal, some completely bonkers. It drags a bit at times and not all the characters are nearly as entertaining as others, but it mostly held my interest. I enjoyed the extended takes, the exaggerated Austin weirdness, and particularly the 1990 Ron Paul for President (as a Libertarian) campaign sign at the 1hr mark. | January 11, 2010 | N/A | |||
| Everything is Illuminated - PG-13 | January 9, 2010 | N/A | ||||
| Once - R | Beautiful movie. Not sure what else to say, but I loved it for a lot of the same reasons as Before Sunrise. Simple and heartfelt. Highly recommended if you're looking for an honest feel-good flick. | December 16, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Inglourious Basterds - R | Tarantino is my favorite director and Pulp Fiction is my favorite film, so I had high hopes for this movie, especially after waiting so long for it. I wasn't disappointed. Just as good as the Kill Bills with a great combination of humor, seriousness, and a, uh, unique take on history. Fantastically entertaining and brilliantly executed with great performances, direction, style, music, dialogue...I could go on, but just watch it. Highly recommended for those not easily offended by graphic violence. | August 24, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Requiem for a Dream - R | Wowsa. The Netflix synopsis said "not for the squeamish" and they were right. Great movie, though... makes you feel the horrors of drug addiction enough to never want to touch the stuff. Not easy to watch and definitely for mature audiences only, but the style and direction was excellent. | August 13, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Gran Torino - R |
I can't believe I didn't watch this sooner. I've not been a fan of Eastwood's films of late, so I didn't expect to be as blown away by it as I was. Simply a fantastic film. Rough yet heartwarming, tragic but humorous, and thoroughly engrossing. Eastwood's character is fascinating and his transformation believable. Performances were solid all around, but Ahney Her was a scene-stealer in her first ever film role. Only minor gripe is some of the gang-bangers are a bit cliche, but that's hardly enough to dock points. See this movie. The language is not for the easily offended, but this film is too good to miss regardless. I loved Slumdog Millionaire, but this movie deserved the Oscar every bit as much. That it wasn't even nominated is unbelievable. |
July 14, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Babel - R | A good movie that held my interest despite its considerable length, but flawed. That the rather extraordinary events involving the kids would happen to occur on the same day as the similarly improbable tragedy in Morocco is hard to believe. More than that, the Japanese storyline was peripheral to the point of being almost completely unrelated and seemed to exist solely to add more drama (while vying for an Oscar by "bravely" and sympathetically addressing the emotional scarring of a bereaved and sexually frustrated deaf girl). Worth seeing, but far from earth-shattering. | June 14, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian - PG | I generally don't see corny "kids' movies" like this one, but went with some friends and was pleasantly surprised. Nothing brilliant about it, but it was definitely good for some laughs and really didn't contain any content that would make it unsuitable for kids. Highlights were a short (apparently uncredited) scene with Jonah Hill and Hank Azaria's role as the Egyptian Pharaoh with a lisp. Worth seeing if you're in the mood for a bit of clean and goofy fun. | May 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Primer - PG-13 | I bought this when it first came out and have seen it many times. This film is an inspiration for anyone interested in filmmaking. Directed/written/edited/scored/acted by an engineer with no prior experience in any of those roles, Primer was filmed with a budget of $7000 and manages to be better than the bulk of what comes out of Hollywood. The plot may be about time travel, but this is no Back to the Future. The themes are handled in a way that actually sounds plausible and the dialogue and narration is minimalistic but fascinating, as is the complex plot. This is one of those films that won't make sense even after repeated viewings, but it's fun to try to figure it out (if it's even possible). A must-see for indie and/or cerebral sci-fi fans. | March 27, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Pi - R | Kind of demented and definitely dark, but I liked it. Unique and fitting style reminiscent of another low budget indie film with a similarly pseudo-scientific theme, Primer (which is great). Not a happy movie, but interesting and worth seeing if you appreciate films that don't fit the Hollywood mold. | March 27, 2009 | N/A | |||
| SLC Punk - R | I'd heard nothing of this film until Netflix suggested it based on my interests and I've gotta say, it's great. Lots of language, but I thought it did a great job of presenting the punk mindset in a funny, smartly-written, respectful and honest way. Sure, it makes that subculture out to be a bit ridiculous, but it also cuts through the stereotype to show these punks as real people struggling with life like the rest of us. Definitely recommended. | March 22, 2009 | N/A | |||
| I Love You, Man - R | March 22, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Duplicity - PG-13 | March 22, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Slumdog Millionaire - R | What can I say, it lived up to the hype. Phenomenal performances by the child actors (and everyone for that matter), awesome soundtrack, excellent balance of humor and romance with gritty slum life and criminality. Top it all off with a perfect and fun ending credits musical dance number and this is definitely worth seeing, and recommended for all but small children. It has a surprisingly happy ending for an Oscar winner, but in this case that's a good thing and makes for a film that's simultaneously artistically appealing, enthralling, and FUN! | March 14, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Watchmen - R |
Zach Snyder may be skilled at translating the look of a graphic novel to screen, but having seen 300 and now Watchmen, I can't call myself a fan. I enjoyed Watchmen more than I did 300 because I found the story more interesting and I really enjoyed Rorschach's narration. Still, the film felt long and though it looks good and wasn't hard to follow, it seemed at times to be struggling to do justice to the complexity of the source material. Having said that, my biggest problem with it is the fact that Snyder seems to tend toward pornographic gratuitousness, whether it's in sexual or violent scenes. Quentin Tarantino has been accused of glorifying violence in his films, but at least he grasps that you don't need to show everything to convey what's going on. Kill Bill is violent and bloody, but doesn't linger on the gory details. You get just a glimpse and your imagination is left to fill in the blanks. No such opportunity with Snyder's films. You see the arms get sawed off. You see the cleaver chop into the murderer's skull...repeatedly. You see as much of the sex act as can be shown in an R rated film, and no less. Dr. Manhattan has clothes he can (and occasionally does) wear, but instead he's apparently "super enough" that the courtesy of modesty doesn't apply to him, and Snyder is careful to show it. Is this art, or exploitation? To me, Snyder takes advantage of every opportunity to show the gory details without asking whether its necessary, or even helpful. As I said, I thought the story was interesting and I liked how it presents a moral dilemma to the audience of whether the utilitarian approach to ethics can be appropriate. And the film is well done and entertaining, with good dialogue and great narration by Rorschach (Jackie Haley). But the unnecessary gratuitousness and occasional cheesiness (igniting the flamethrower as the superhero lovers climax...really?) along the way left a bad taste in my mouth, and thus I can't give it more than 3 1/2 stars. |
March 12, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Godspell - G |
I really don't care for film adaptations of Broadway musicals. I don't think the overacting of stage productions translates well to film, where actors can convey their emotions more effectively using realistic subtlety. But sometimes the film version is the only way to see the play, so I while I don't watch many of them, when I do I try to look past the overdone theatricality and just accept it. Godspell is an interesting film, based on a Broadway play. It makes Christ and his followers into a bunch of clownish flower people and initially just seemed corny. But half-way through I began to "get it." In fact, I think that G.K. Chesterton, my favorite modern Christian writer/thinker, would have loved the play if he had lived to see it. I think it comes closer to describing his "mirthful savior" than any other representation I've seen. Jesus in Godspell is mostly an innocent and fun-loving guy whose followers are childlike in their love of him, like in Matthew 18:3. The film features the cast acting out many of the parables in a way that I think would appeal well to children. Similarly, the excellent and upbeat music keeps things moving and is where the film especially shines. I loved the symbolism at the end, of all the disciples vowing not to abandon Jesus, and him telling them all that they'd betray him, implying that we are all guilty of this sin. In the film, Judas actually crucifies Christ which, while not historical (little of the film is, except for the many quotations of Scripture), I don't think is an unreasonable change since by betraying him, he did essentially kill him. I liked how all of Jesus' followers share in Christ's agony, since the sinful selves of Christians were indeed crucified with Christ. Christ is portrayed in a rather silly way throughout the film, but I didn't find it irreverent. He is fun and childlike like someone living with his best friends who he loves more than any human knows how. But he also shows strength and forceful conviction when facing evil, be it pharisees's questions or the devil's temptations. And he experiences human pain before and during the crucifixion. This may be a very '70s Jesus traipsing around New York with a posse of oddly-dressed hippies, but at its heart, I didn't find Godspell's savior to be opposed to the Biblical Jesus in any critical way. My one complaint is the ending...it's a bit confusing. It doesn't show a resurrection, but just his followers happily carrying him away from the cross. I guess the upbeatness is supposed to imply that his death isn't permanent, but it still seemed a bit too vague for what is a pretty darn important detail in the story. Godspell misses the fifth star because while the story (excepting the vague ending) and songs are great, it drags a bit and has a pretty corny feel as a movie (like many Broadway-based films). But short of seeing a good musical production of the play, I'd recommend this film, especially for Christians who are open-minded enough to see their Savior in a new and different light. Much like I believe Chesterton did, and why I love his books. |
February 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Outsourced - PG-13 | I'm not sure how to describe this movie other than cute. It's a simple story about a guy who is sent to India to train a call center his company is outsourcing to, but ends up falling in love with a woman who's already engaged through an arranged marriage. With the exception of some unfortunate implied sexual situations (including some kama sutra references which felt out of place in an otherwise fairly sweet and clean movie), I found it quite enjoyable. A great Indian-inspired soundtrack and some amusing jokes surrounding cultural differences help it stand out from similar boy-meets-girl fare. A good date movie. | February 23, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Coraline - PG | This film is worth seeing just for the gorgeous animation and art direction. Good thing it's also got an excellent soundtrack (loved the opening number particularly), great voice performances (particularly by Fanning as Coraline) and an original and enthralling story that ran the gamut from cute to weird to spooky. Not a film for small children, but something preteens through adults should enjoy, particularly if they appreciate the artistic stylings and/or fairy tales with a darker side. My only real complaint is that the first half of the movie moves pretty slowly, though the eye candy makes that fairly easy to forgive. Definitely recommended, especially if you enjoyed The Nightmare Before Christmas (same director). | February 22, 2009 | N/A | |||
| We Own the Night - R |
Somewhat conventional police/crime drama, but the story does manage to bring something new to the genre. Well acted, and did a good job of conveying the overwhelming fear and sense of vulnerability that enemies of established crime organizations must experience, even when "protected" by the police. I liked it. As usual, Joaquin turns in a great performance...too bad he's supposedly a rapper now. |
February 22, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Match Point - R |
I honestly generally avoid films directed by Woody Allen because they tend to be bleak, depressing, and convey a sadly amoral and pessimistic view of the world, which regrettably appears to stem from Allen's own worldview. However, while Match Point certainly contains glimpses of this viewpoint (particularly in the opening narration), by the time the credits rolled I couldn't help but remark at how good a film it was. This isn't a feel-good movie, as none of the characters are sympathetic (Mortimer's character being the most innocent, but even she comes across as unattractively forward at the beginning) and it takes a decidedly tragic turn towards the end (which I didn't see coming). But although Meyers' character, Chris Wilton, ends up making the wrong decision at just about every point, I couldn't help but be drawn in to the story and want to see how it ended. This was of course helped by some great dramatic performances by the cast. Despite its apparent message that "it is better to be lucky than good," Match Point does vividly illustrate the consequences of marrying for status rather than love and especially the life-destroying effects of infidelity. And though luck may have technically won over goodness at the end, it's clear that the effects of Wilton's actions will haunt him forever. He will never be truly happy, lucky as he may be. For this subtle message as well as its brilliant final act, I can easily recommend this film. More than I can say for what I've seen of Allen's others. |
February 19, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Chop Shop - Unrated | I tend to like indie films with a relaxed pace and realistic feel, and Chop Shop is a good example. It's simple, the acting is good, and you really feel like you're watching the lives of real people, not actors. The setting is one foreign to many Americans, yet all too real for many others - that of the urban poor. This one isn't set in the inner-city like many are, but rather in a district outside New York full of cheap body shops and relative squalor. I really enjoyed this film, but found it anticlimactic. Bahrani does a great job of painting a picture, but never really tells a story. There's little in terms of plot and any conclusions to the situations of the film are left for the viewer to guess. There's a little intrigue here and there, and the film ends with the implication that the siblings are on good terms again, but that's about it. In another film, this lack of much of a story would be a critical mistake. But this film still works as a simple, engrossing look into another world not too far removed from our own. It definitely takes a "less is more" approach, but in this case that seems to serve the film's modest goals fairly well. | February 19, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Gattaca - PG-13 | Solid film. It didn't leave me feeling blown away, but it had a good mix of victory, tragedy and romance. Similar to many sci-fi flicks, it contains a warning message about the extremes current trends in science could lead to, yet its take on the future manages to be fairly original. Recommended. | February 16, 2009 | N/A |
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