My Favorite Movies

My favorite movie ever! I had been looking forward to this movie for a long time before watching it in hopes that it would really speak to my desire for adventure. Not only did it deliver in that regard, in a way that I never could've imagined, but it also gave me a new outlook on life. Christopher McCandless, alias "Alexander Supertramp," embarks on his adventure to escape what he feels are trappings of human society: materialism, status, greedy priorities, and the generic cookie-cutter structure of life. The movie portrays Alexander Supertramp at once as a pioneer and as a naive headstrong young man, and Emile Hirsch is pitch perfect in playing the complex role. As Alex begins to starve once reaching "the wild" of Alaska, you see the extent of Hirsch's transformation into the role to a point where he could be referred to as "Chrisian Bale Version 2.0" in terms of his extreme weightloss. Hirsch is not the only noteworthy performance, however. All of the supporting turns, including Catherine Keener, Hal Holbrook, and Vince Vaughn, are also emotionally engaging and give further depth to the movie. It is also worth noting that the soundtrack by Eddie Vedder is phenomenal, both in the movie and in its own regards. Into the Wild is, in my opinion, the ultimate counter-culture film despite it being released in the wrong decade and is the best, deepest, most thought-provoking film that I have ever seen.

My favorite movie ever. A flawless comic book to film translation.

This is not a "comic book" movie. Calling it that... simplifying it to that label would be demeaning to what is really really the best film that I have ever seen and without a doubt one of the best movies ever made. The Dark Knight transcends the "comic book" genre absolutely. Heck, I am a HUGE Batman fan, but if you replaced the character with someone else, or even the Joker's character for that matter, I would still have a hard time denying the sheer magnitude of this movie. It made me feel emotions that I have never felt before in a movie theater. I was downright nervous, tense, and worried for the vast majority of the movie. The sense of foreboding, doom, and uncertainty (made possible by Heath Ledger's downright brilliant final performance as the unpredictable, insane Joker) felt real. I am not being melodramatic either, that is really how I felt watching this movie. It engrosses you in a way that you almost don't want to be engrossed, but once the credits begin to roll and you are released from it's spell I can attest that the first thought that will flow through your brain will be "that was awesome." Not awesome in the "cool" meaning, but awesome as in "something that inspires awe."

Wowzer. Just one of those movies would have been awesome. Heck, just one of those trailers would have been awesome. But 2 movies and 4 trailers? Yowzah. Go go gadget awesome movie!

An amazing revamp of the best superhero ever.

One of the best action movies ever. Not only that, but it has interesting philosophy.

Awesome revenge movie by Quentin Tarantino, one of the best directors of all time.

Not as good as volume 1 but still wildly entertaining.

One of the funnier movies ever.

If you are reading this, you have to see this movie. You may not have heard of it, but it is one of the best movies. Ever.

This movie totally rocked. It is one of the best, most thought-provoking movies you will ever see. It really sheds light on how crappy some places of the world are.

I absolutely loved this movie. It has to be one of the most tragic stories ever told. Everything in this movie is perfect, in my opinion. To be honest, I'm finding it hard to dote on this movie effectively (because it leaves you with so much to think about?). Let it be said though that after watching the Truman Show, there will be a lot to think about. I credit that to everyone involved who made the movie seem so real that I could picture something like that existing.

Made by the same dude that did Batman Begins. It's about a guy who has short term memory loss but is on a quest to avenge his wife's murder. The movie is told backwards, which sounds stupid, but isn't.

I don't know what I can possibly say to describe how much of a crowd-pleaser this movie is. It is hands down the most charming/sweet/cute/whatever movie that you will ever see. I cannot imagine a heartless b@$t@rd who can tell me with a straight face that he/she thought Wall-E was "stupid." I am not a fan of Pixar (having never seen Ratatouille or Finding Nemo) but this movie most definitely will be seen as their cream of the crop. It has allegorical substance that is lacking in all of Pixar films that I have seen (and I imagine there's nothing extremely profound in the two that I haven't) and Wall-E doesn't rely on celebrity voices for the audience to laugh at and connect to. In fact, Wall-E relies on very few human voices at all. The long long gaps between dialogue (other than the robotic-speak of Wall-E and his new friend Eve) really allows you to appreciate everything that the movie is, especially in the earlier stages of the film. It doesn't exactly tell you how a Wal-Mart-esque department store began to dominate the lives of everyone in the world, or how human's yearning for excess led to their downfall. Instead it lets you see this more or less for yourself with a huge number of "Buy N Large" (the Wal-Mart type store) billboards and branch stores/banks/train stations etc. and the massive piles of discarded items left for Wall-E to clean up. The second half of the film is where the conflict begins though, as Wall-E and Eve board the spaceship where humans retreated to after leaving Earth, and while it doesn't have the majestic feel of the earlier portion of the film, it works as a 2001:the Space Odyssey type of story about the power of Artificial Intelligence. Throughout the movie, though, in both segments, Wall-E never loses its charm.

Haunting. Chilly. Creepy. Romantic? Let the Right One in can check all of those qualifiers off on a theoretical list of positive qualities. This movie doesn't offer any "jump in your seat" scary bits but it has a constant brooding quality to it that ebbs and flows throughout the events of the film, leading up to the "I can't believe that just happened" bizarre climax. Add in a dash of romance (vampire/human romance, no less!) and you can do no wrong watching this movie with that special someone, instead of some sappy dreck like Nights in Rodanthe or something.

Absolutely fantastic. There is so much to this movie, which could have turned into an average chase movie. Karma, greed, and the reality of violence all factor in to the experience. It slowed down a smidge at about the hour and a half mark, only to pick it up again for the controversial ending. By far the best Coen brothers movie, although very different from the others. I'm crossing my fingers for a Best Picture.

A happy little movie that helps me "put a smile on". The characters are very unique, the romance is very unique, the cinematography is...very French. I like how bizarre things were despite it not being a "bizarre movie" per se. Amelie is a movie that, if done in the wrong hands, could be one of those pretentious indie quirky movies where nothing really happens and the characters are all whiny and everything is a mess. Luckily it wasn't, and instead is a refreshing movie about just being nice to people.

Quirky with awesome action and cool storyline.

Keeps you guessing until the huge twist at the end. Would've been better if my mom didn't spoil the ending.

I went into this thinking it would be too much of a good thing and that I would bleed from the eyeballs because all of the technocolor imagery would be too much for my little corneas (or whatever...) to handle. Instead, Speed Racer was just plain cool. I expected it to be cool, but it was f-ing COOL, man! I am searching for other adjectives to describe it, but cool is the one that keeps popping up. You have never seen anything like this movie. It is a cartoon acted out by real people. It is a video game acted out by real people. And it works. A lot of the criticism for this movie comes from the cheesy dialogue and line delivery or the relentless frenetic imagery. My two statements above serve as an explanation for those criticisms and I really wonder what, if they didn't enjoy this movie, did they expect to enjoy in a Speed Racer movie?? I'm no expert on the cartoons, but from what I know of them, this movie captured skillfully. The plot really was there, although likely over the head of the target children audience, and it wasn't all that bad. Only by taking the quirks and unconventialities in stride, can one hope to enjoy this movie. I did, and I found it bloody brilliant. My favorite movie so far of 2008 (until July 18 anyway).

Not as good as the graphic novel but very good none the less.

Almost made me cry. Almost.

To be absolutely honest, I wanted to be disappointed by this movie. I was sure that it was going to be good but I felt like the hype-factor was starting to get out of control. I made no secrets in sharing my biased opinion that Curious Case of Benjamin Button should be winning all of the awards over Slumdog but, after actually seeing the movie and making a true comparison, Slumdog Millionaire is undeniable as a crowd-pleaser. The whole movie is just so satisfying, rewarding, emotional, stirring, and whatever else adjective you want to add. It reminded me of a City of God for romantics who enjoy happy endings. That description alone describes a darn near perfect movie. Slumdog is that. There's no shame in walking out of a theater feeling good about life, which is exactly how I walked out of the theater. I will now be rooting for Slumdog Millionaire to win as many Oscars as possible later tonight and will do so with the confidence that it is truly the best movie of 2008 (besides the Dark Knight, but still...).

A Japanese update of the Lord of the Flies.

I must be in the minority, but I thought Quantum of Solace was everything Casino Royale was and more. The stakes of the plot were much higher. Bond was twice the badass because he's on a "mission." There was a foot chase, car chase, boat chase, AND a plane chase. Olga Kurylenko was reliant on Bond but wasn't too reliant, making her one of the stronger Bond girls. Olga Kurylenko was gorgeous. As a heterosexual male, I'll admit even Daniel Craig was gorgeous. Mathieu Amalric was a menacing villain without resorting to props or camp. And maybe the one thing that I liked most about Quantum is that Bond gets himself out of all the trouble that he gets into, unlike in Casino Royale when he was saved during the infamous "ball-whipping" scene at the last minute. Of course in celebrating Quantum of Solace, I definitely am not discounting the greatness of Casino Royale or anything, I just can't understand why people almost unanimously prefer it to this newer installment.

The best movie of 2006. Martin Scorcese and Leonardo DiCaprio both deserve Oscars.

Stylish and unique movie. Basically the movie is just a lie that a guy is making up so that he can kill the emperor.

I've said this before, but it deserves to be reiterated: 2007 is the best year ever in terms of cinema. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly could easily have been my favorite film of the year, but because of other masterpieces I have seen from 2007, it will likely get lost in the shuffle of my memory. At least I will always have this review to remind me of how great it was.

Diving Bell is a masterful true story portrait of a man named Jean-Do who, after a spinal malfunction (I didn't catch the name), becomes completely paralyzed save for his left eye. This handicap, called being "locked in" your own body, forces Jean-Do to reflect on his life. Although he may have felt happy as he was living his life, being confined in his own body gives him the chance to consider whether or not he lived life to the fullest. He contemplates his decisions concerning women that he loves/loved, his relationships with his children and his father, and the dreams that he left unfulfilled. He accomplishes one of these dreams by writing a book through a very patient translator (he can only communicate one letter at a time through blinking) about his life and experience being "locked in". The movie is cinematically fascinating, with about one half being shown through Jean-Do's sole eye of the world and the rest emitting a experimental sort of vibe that meshes well with the nature of the film.

This is so good. Wrestling has really been fairly untapped as Hollywood subject-matter, which is a good thing in that it makes The Wrestler all the more interesting. Randy (and to an extent, Pam) in this movie is the kind of guy that you just look at and automatically think what everyone in the movie thinks, that he's a "f--- up." Maybe he is, and the allusions to his abandonment of his daughter support that, but I like that we as an audience don't see him as a "f--- up" but as a guy who has made a couple too many bad decisions in his personal life, yet can still wear the mask of his former glories when the lights come on. The sudden but fitting conclusion drives them home in every way imaginable. It, like the movie on the whole, is tragic and awe-inspiring at the same time.

The best romance movie I have ever seen. The memory erasing scenes closely resemble the scatteredness of strange dreams.

This movie was about as close to perfect as you can get. How do you make a movie about the beauty of life? I guess you just make a character who ages backwards and look at the ups and downs, missed opportunities, and regrets of his entire life. The whole thing turns out to be the most beautiful and life-affirming movie I have ever seen. People can complain about the runtime, but we went through 80 years of a man's extraordinary life, and there was nothing boring about it. To grossly simplify the movie for those who are on the edge about whether to see it or not (there is no question that you should, by the way), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is like a vastly superior, less bogged down by pop culture, not as blatantly patriotic version of Forrest Gump. Brad Pitt>Tom Hanks. David Fincher>Robert Zemeckis. Benjamin Button>Forrest Gump.

Not totally sure that I understood it all (did anybody, honestly?) but still really cool.

This movie was a delight.

This movie is really quite brilliant. An adaptation of a novel (sort of) that focuses more on the screenwriter's challenge in adapting the novel. I, for the life of me, cannot think of a more original movie idea. Of course the originality would be moot if the idea was not well executed. But it is. It really is. I liked Nicolas Cage in it, which is a feat. Plus I got so invested in everything that happened that I really wanted to know more about these characters and what parts of the movie were "real" (the titular adaptation is of a nonfiction book so numerous characters are real people) and which events were Hollywoodized (Donald's contribution to the script, according to the movie). I realize that this review makes little sense to those who haven't yet seen the movie, but hopefully that serves as encouragement to go out and watch this truly unique film.

This movie deserves more recognition than it has seemingly received. Like all British/UK crime movies, it reminds me of Lock Stock, Layer Cake, and Snatch which is in no way an insult. But out of those movies, I'd go so far as to say that I enjoyed In Bruges even more. The plot isn't overly complicated as it is in those movies and the humor hits home every time. Add in the strong performances and a poetic ending, and In Bruges is a must-see.

I like it. It starts slow, though. But once you get to the halfway point it rocks.

In terms of sheer replayability, CLUE definitely is in the discussion for my favorite films. It's ridiculous without being stupid and, despite the humor, the whodunnit aspect holds up rather well. I mean, if we are to dissect it a little bit, CLUE is a really revolutionary movie. It's using an unusual property that one wouldn't expect to be adapted to film (being a board game adaptation in 1985, it predates most comic book films--all except for SUPERMAN?--and comes before the toy adaptation craze) and it's multiple ending structure is ingenious. It's a shame that the film isn't remembered for the gem that it is, because it really is more fun than almost every movie I've ever seen.

I really liked this. There's really nothing to complain about in Singin' in the Rain. The leads are fantastic and their dancing and singing and all make me nostalgic for an era that I never even experienced.

Although the first half was much better than the second, in my opinion, the whole movie does very well of keeping the audience "in it." I really like how they would do "mini-flashbacks" to show multiple perspectives of events that otherwise would be unexplained. The ending was in no way disappointing, although it was definitely not the conclusion we would hope for.

(Warning: this review, if read aloud, must be read in a Schwarzenegger accent.)
This movie is a classic. Not only is it bad enough to laugh at but it's good enough to be actually pretty good. Understand? "Benny, screw youuuu!!! Argh!!!" "Get your butt to Mars!"

I felt tears coming at the end and it took everything I had to snap out of it and keep from crying. This is probably the best "feel-good" movie you'll ever see.

Best Bond ever??

Oh how I love Metropolis. I was lucky enough to see it for the first time at SXSW as it was scored by a live band in real-time. That special touch turned what I'm sure would've been a brilliant film into an absolutely spectacular one. After watching it, I started kicking myself for never having seen it earlier. Part Marxist commentary on the nature of the working-class and part commentary on the group-think, mob-like mentality (and dare I say stupidity?) of that same group of workers, Metropolis is rightly considered a classic.

Like an acid trip with romance.

"I'm just gonna go make some toaster streudal. Everyone wants? I assume everyone wants." That right there is why I love this movie.

This is the funniest movie I have seen in a looong time. It is also the stupidest movie that I have seen in a long time. Judging by my head over heels love of Corky Romano, that seems to be a good formula for my enjoyment of comedies. Liking Brothers Solomon definitely requires a certain sense of humor, but if you fit the mold you will have a smile on your face throughout the runtime and will laugh out loud at least every couple minutes. The ridiculous of the premise and the weirdness of Will Forte and Will Arnett just works.

Painful to watch because it besically just shows a man mentally unravelling. Brilliantly acted and awesome boxing scenes though. Every time I watch it I like it more and more.

I know I wrote a review for this immediately after seeing this, but it seems to have been lost... Needless to say, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS is awesome. My previously undying love for Tarantino wavered a bit after waiting so long for and being so disappointed by DEATH PROOF, but INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS announced QT's re-arrival on my radar and became my favorite film of his. The multi-focus storyline is executed fantastically and the humor is organic and unobtrusive to the plot. Seeing the fantasy of the good guys winning (reaching its crescendo with the violent and excessive gunning down of Hitler himself) is triumphant as a filmic reality.

It was so good. I don't care if you've never even read or heard of the book, this movie is about being a kid and how frustrating it is to be marginalized without having the life experience to understand the depth (or lack of) of your problems. Here's a kid who gets bummed when nobody notices him and is transported to a world where his problems are relieved of their "childish" implications and are experienced by everyone else. I really liked that. We aren't told that Max's problems are lesser or greater than our adult problems, but we just see things play out, and that trip is pretty interesting and touching. I would never label this as a children's movie, however, since I think the themes explored rely on some sort of enlightenment by the viewer, leaving the visual element as the sole attraction for children. The visuals are fantastic, though, so I wouldn't blame anyone for dragging the kids to the theater.

This was criminally under the radar. It has a lot in common with PAN'S LABYRINTH in my opinion, with the whole story being fuelled by both child-like imagination and adult-like struggle. To boot, I would claim that THE FALL is one of the most visually stunning movies that I have every seen. I think it's a tragedy that it wasn't trumpeted upon its release, because I can confidently say that it is likely one of my favorite films from 2006.