Every time I watched a movie I posted a status update and once a week I posted a weekly roundup including all of the movies I had watched that week and a short blurb about each one.
This year, I decided to repeat the feat on a smaller scale by watching 51 films in the same amount of time. Unlike last year, I will be able to post my review blurbs on my blog (which didn't exist at the time) and share them with you.
Here are the first ten...
1. Best Worst Movie (2009). 3/5. This was a clever concept for a documentary; the star of the cult-classic Troll 2, one of the worst films ever made, decided to make a documentary about the experience of himself and his co-stars becoming some-what famous in cult-movie circles for something they had been slightly embarrassed by for decades. Some of the actors get the joke and love the film's new place in cinema history, others seemed to be confused or didn't care, and then some like the director had mixed feelings; pride that the film has touched so many but angry at the jokes. In the end, its a bittersweet affair and I would've liked to see some more introspection of why this film has become a cult-classic film and what is the appeal of such a film.
2. The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. 4/5. I didn't
know a lot about Tin Tin, but after watching the animated film I want to
know more. This Spielberg/Peter Jackson collab is a fantastic adaptation, as far as I
could tell, of the classic comic strips into an amazing CG motion
capture film that uses the technology brilliantly and deserves to be
compared to the Indiana Jones films in terms of their scope and style. A
little slow at times, but never boring, this film makes me excited for
the sequels to come. Think the best action/adventure of Indiana Jones mixed with the best humor of Scooby Doo and you'll see the appeal to one of the best adventure films I've seen in a few years.
3. Lethal Weapon. 4/5. It was no Die-Hard (a film I feel defines a good and clever action movie), but Lethal Weapon has a few assets of its own to brag about; the chemistry of Mel Gibson and Danny Glover is enjoyable, the action is pretty solid, and there is a dark sarcastic humor that can be enjoyable to it all. What keeps it from standing as a classic, in my eyes, is that is just a little simultaneously ridiculous and sincere that, during some scenes, was irritating/uncomfortable.
4. Rocky. 4/5. A classic sport film and a little slow, but the writing is solid, the acting is understated but effective and the cinematography is pretty solid. It is easy to see why a simple story this well told would be able to inspire so many people...and so many sequels/rip-offs/etc. I don't have much more to say, but I did enjoy the film.
5. BASEketball. 3/5. But a strong 3/5. This Matt Stone & Trey Parker film was a little hard for me to get into at first, but I just needed to adjust my expectations just a little bit. It is a somewhat sophomoric comedy, but that doesn't mean its bad. The film has a biting undertone of satire that tears at the over-privileged, over-blown, advertising-heavy world of professional sports in an effective way that, at its best, reminded me of Idiocracy and, at its worst, made me think of Adam Sandler.
6. Die Hard II: Die Harder. 4/5. It was enjoyable, but it just doesn't live up to
the original. I can definitely see how the first started a race for
ridiculousness, but the amount of coincidences that lined up in this one
were a little unbearable. I think the only coincidence in the first
one, really, was the fact that John McClane was in the right place at
the right time to save the day.
This film has John McClane practically smelling out terrorists like a bloodhound, breaking several rules of physics, getting into fights that should've killed him about a hundred times, and generally takes away a lot of the suspense that the original film had. In the first film, our hero was beaten to a bloody, limping pulp by the end of the film...in this one, the worst annoyance he suffers is getting fricking chilly in this Christmas action film.
A low 4, but a good
watch for some classic action movie schlock.
7. Sonatine. 5/5. An understated film, which is probably a perfect watch for a rainy afternoon or, if you wanna watch it alone and go a little crazy, a late night watch. The film revolves around an aging yakuza looking for finality in his career and turns into a grippingly intense mix of suspense and tragedy as the story is stretched through veneer of a summer vacation by the beach with the other yakuza he is working with; a stone-faced quite guy, a goofy older guy, a pair of young men from different settings, and a quirky young woman.
The brilliant part of the film is how they manage to build suspense in such an interesting way that has the characters waiting and you waiting for something to happen without losing interest. A muse-see for anyone with the patience for a good movie.
8. Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil. 4/5. A brilliant send up of that terrible subgenre of film that everyone knows all the tropes to; teenagers/college students go out to the woods, rednecks/killer are in said woods, kids die off one by one, etc. In Tucker & Dale, its our rednecks that are the heroes just trying to survive through a series of misunderstandings as they try to set up their vacation home and a bunch of stupid college kids make things worse and worse. A must-see for horror movie fans; think the Shaun of the Dead treatment for Texas Chainsaw Massacre-- a self-aware and funny buddy comedy with a dash of romance wrapped up in a bloody package.
9. Conan the Barbarian (2011). 2/5. The 1982 is one of my favorite films
and is one of the greatest examples of swords & sorcery cinema. The
2011 film is a CGI filled mess with less credible fight scenes than
Conan the Destroyer. It was about as appealing as any other crappy
fantasy/history action movie made trying to cash-in on 300's originally
unique style. Fighting, fighting, fighting, a little plot, cg monsters, fighting, fighting, plot, rinse and repeat.
10. The Fall. 5/5. Set in the 1920's, an injured stuntman befriends a little girl by telling her an epic story torn from his life and the environment around them. While the fantasy elements of this movie are gorgeous and worthy of admission alone, it is the soft-spoken scenes that take place in the hospital that are the most fulfilling.
On every technical level, this film is a master piece of imagery and sound, not only paying an homage to the beauty of film, but innovating as it does so in every scene. The story is simple, but the execution is brilliant. This film is a must see; a cinematographer's dream come true, this film is a feast for the eyeballs and, for the average movie goer as well, a feast for the soul.
On every technical level, this film is a master piece of imagery and sound, not only paying an homage to the beauty of film, but innovating as it does so in every scene. The story is simple, but the execution is brilliant. This film is a must see; a cinematographer's dream come true, this film is a feast for the eyeballs and, for the average movie goer as well, a feast for the soul.
And that's all folks.
