The rules: Ratings go from one to four stars, no halfsies. No giving
away the plot. No long windage. Only includes movies I've seen in
the theater. I tend to rate generously, because hey, I like going to
the movies.
I stayed awake through the whole thing and wasn't bored or annoyed, a
signal achievement in computer animation! Hazel (age 5) loved it.
She has a low scare threshold, and there were a few moments she
thought were scary, but otherwise she didn't have a problem.
A greviously injured Hollywood stuntman, back in the silent era,
convalesces while spinning a meandering yarn for a young migrant
worker girl fellow-patient. The stuntman is troubled and the
relationship turns intense; meanwhile the visuals that go with the
fairy tale are fantastically inventive and vivid.
It's a good movie and definitely worth seeing, but I was disappointed
that the drama is very vague on some key motivational points.
A comedy/drama featuring nerdy/hip aspiring
highbrow-Norwegian-lit-writing young men, bonding and coming-of-age,
etc. Partly funny, and partly boring in the way I imagine highbrow
Norwegian lit is boring.
Let's hear it for the engineer-inventor superhero! I don't think the
plot will surprise anybody, but the effects, humor and attention to
detail made me happy.
Lots of star power (Steve Martin!) and a few good comedic moments, but
otherwise kind of slack. Amy Poehler is still fun to watch, but like
pretty much all the Upright Citizen's Brigade alums, she seems to have
left behind some edge or spark of genius.
Watchable, but eh. The main problem with this movie is that it seems
to arrange the drama to make a political statement.
Gus Van Sant film about a teenage skater kid who gets into some
serious trouble. It seemed dangerously vague and arty to begin with,
jumping around in time and repeating certain sequences, like a bad
David Lynch film. But as the story unfolds, the whole movie starts to
fit together and becomes more and more coherent and affecting. By the
end I was desperately engrossed.
A Wong Kar-wai movie, in English, set in America, starring Norah
Jones, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz and Natalie Portman. I doubt that a
smarmier cast has ever been assembled.
I was sure I would hate it. Maybe I did hate it, while it was
happening. Any of the elements taken by itself, from the melodramatic
script to Natalie Portman's blond permed hairdo, could have been
calculated for maximum cheesiness. Oh -- and some fake southern
accents, always a plus.
But, by the end I seem to have surrendered to its insistent hypnotic
rhythm, shifted into an altered state of mind. Mr. Wong, you win
again.
I think this movie is totally great. It's just pure escapist
suspense/espionage/action, except that apparently it's a "true story".
At the movies, often that means nothing, but whatever the actual truth
of this story, it manages to be both extra believable and extra
fantastic.
Slightly self-satisfied feel-good indie about a pregnant teen. The
performances are good though, and there is quite a bit of amusing
dialog.
There was some blood. To some extent this movie suffers from a case
of raised expectations due to all the critical acclaim. Certainly
Daniel Day-Lewis gives a tremendous performance, and it's fun in a
portrait-of-an-obsessive way, but I wouldn't say the movie touched me
deeply.
This is a pretty strange & interesting movie. I dug it. It's about
professional killers and their existential dilemmas, with some grisly
action, sightseeing, seriousness, and a lot more comedy than you would
expect.
This was the second Sunday movie in a row starring Colin Farrell. And
the third Sunday movie in a row with too much inappropriate tittering
in the audience. Because I'm a bigot I blame the preponderance of
Eurotrash amongst Upper West Side theater-goers. Please, you don't
have to force yourself to laugh out loud to prove you got the joke.
Woody Allen British thriller. Very similar plot to "Before The Devil
Knows You're Dead", and similarly suffering from a lack of someone to
root for. Also, the trademark Woody Allen no-fuss approach leaves a
few cracks. Rent "Match Point" instead.
Memoir of a girl growing up in revolutionary Iran, adapted from a
graphic novel. The visuals are always attractive and occasionally
stun, but personally I get tired of so much handmade imagery. The
story was good but didn't blow my mind.
As a movie, not great. A few genuine yuks here and there but I guess the term
is "campy", eh, not my favorite. On the other hand, John C Reilly can
really sing and the songs themselves are both great and hilarious.
This is probably the best big-budget zombie movie that could possibly
be made. The Fresh Prince is likable as usual. Deserted Manhattan
looks spectacular. And one of the main characters is a dog! I'm a
fan.
This is the proverbial movie that doesn't insult your intelligence.
It might have insulted my intelligence a little bit though -- I think
I will need to see it again to fully get it. In any case, it's
totally fun to watch.
Ugh. A dark gray comedy/drama about dementia, death, abuse,
relationships, etc, starring excellent actors. Somehow it fails to
hold together. I found it tedious and unaffecting.
A movie of extremes: amazingly conventional romantic comedy plot,
astonishingly preppy New England setting, extraordinarily empathetic
Steve Carrell.
(Footnote: Steve Carrell is everywhere right now, but this is the
third movie in a row starring Amy Ryan.)
Well made with many admirable parts (not least, those belonging to
Marissa Tomei) and good performances. But the protagonists are deeply
icky, and make stupid decision after stupid decision. Not who I
really want to spend two hours with.
I always figured Ben Affleck was a dope, but he has directed a very
good and smart movie here. Some of the shots of "regular folks"
around Boston neighborhoods are grotesque enough to strain belief, but
in my opinion (as a former resident of the outskirts of Southie), they
capture a glimpse of reality.
Sweet, sad, funny. I think this might be the best of the Wes Anderson
movies.
99% good, cynical, ambiguous, realistic-feeling movie with great
details, dialog & performances. 1% Hollywood B.S.
I pretty much loved it. The first high school movie since, like,
Dazed & Confused that resembled high school.
The setup is phenomenal -- the future world's top 8 astronauts on a
risky multi-year mission to jumpstart a dwindling sun. Lots of
possibilities for mistakes, conflicts, cool special effects, nerdy
problem-solving, etc. Unfortunately the movie goes badly astray in
two ways: 1) the astronauts make some devastaingly stupid,
un-astronaut-like mistakes, and 2) there is a totally unnecessary
Bogeyman subplot. In other ways it's stylish and has some provocative
moments.
Cheesy, teetering on the brink of coolness. I saw this at a
pre-screening so maybe it has been edited out, but I really
appreciated the chilling final line. However, I found much of the
movie literally unwatchable due to the gratuitously shaky camerawork.
I ended up really liking it. The ever mesmerizing Parker Posey as a
rudderless young lady. Similar in many ways to Lost In Translation,
though not as atmospheric and also notably lacking Bill Murray. But
less gimmicky as well.
Animated film about a rat gourmet. Tolerable for adults.
Kinda funny situation, a cold-blooded hitman goes to AA meetings. But
the pairing of Ben Kingsley and Tea Leoni pushed my ability to
believe far past the breaking point.
20 Nov 2005
Cape of Good Hope ***
Likeable lightweight ensemble multiracial romantic-comedy dog movie
set in Cape Town. Distractingly amateurish at times, but the
characters and predicaments are far more believable than the typical
hollywood movie.
Capote **
Certainly the acting is good, but I found it basically boring. Maybe
it's more interesting if you have read In Cold Blood.
You Me & Everyone We Know ***
Pretty decent, especially considering the director/star has a
background in Performance Art. Some wildly hilarious bits & some
disturbing bits & some poorly paced boring bits.
Wallace & Gromit ****
Pixar's render farm should be tossed into the Pacific Ocean, and
all future animated films done in claymation.
Grizzly Man ***
Timothy Treadwell played with bears, then finally was eaten by one.
It's a crazy story about a crazy fella. I could have done without
some of Werner Herzog's heavy-handed narration. Also, I wanted more
Treadwell wildlife footage, less talking heads.
Serenity ***
A rag-tag band of swashbuckling outlaws (with hearts of gold) careen
across the galaxy in a souped up rustbucket etc etc etc. Treading
water in a sea of pompous cliches and suffering very marginal acting
from the protagonist. And yet, it feels like real sci-fi with
spectacle, nerdy themes, and a few memorable characters. For me, that
adds up to decent entertainment.
2046 ****
Mysterious noirish romance tragedy. Most of the time while I was
watching it, I thought it was too mysterious, but it started to make
more sense towards the end, and in hindsight it feels satisfying.
The 40 Year-Old Virgin ****
Classic!
Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance *
By the Oldboy director, Chan-wook Park. Strong visuals & often
interesting story, but the violence is so realistic, pointless and
disturbing that I found the movie hard to watch and ultimately
unredeeming.
Broken Flowers ***
Has its moments, but mostly it's too understated for my taste.
Imagine Lost In Translation with less momentum.
The Wedding Crashers ***
If you've seen a preview or even a poster of this movie, you already
know everything you need to know, but I'll repeat it anyway: the
actual plot is retarded, but Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are funny.
The Aristocrats **
Documentary about the world's dirtiest joke, with many famous
comedians. George Carlin's rendition, early in the film, is
gut-busting, and there are a couple other highlights, but other than
that the movie is kind of overstretched and tedious. This would be a
good thing to watch on HBO when nothing much else is on TV.
Batman Begins ****
Good actors, great visuals, not-too-embarassing script == super
superhero movie.
Hustle And Flow ****
Yet another "redemption through music" flick, but a good one.
Charlie and The Chocolate Factory ***
(The new one with Johnny Depp.) Entertaining, perhaps more faithful
to the book in mood and some details. But overall not as great as the
original movie adaptation with Gene Wilder.
The Beat That My Heart Skipped ***
French toughguy rediscovers an interest in playing the piano
seriously. Features some action, some real-estate deals, some piano
playing, and other miscellaneous vignettes from the life of the
protagonist. Overall I thought it was engaging and not cheesy.
Joint Security Area ***
The first feature by Chan-wook Park, the directory of Oldboy. It's a
thriller set on the heavily armed border between North and South
Korea. Decent, with lots of nice details, but I found it a little
slow at times, and definitely not as exciting as Oldboy.
Look At Me ***
French character-driven dramedy. There are some parts where it hits a
nice groove, but then there are other parts where it just kinda drags
along.
Layer Cake ***
Not great, but mostly good. At times, it's oddly slack, bordering on
dull, for an action/crime thriller.
Star Wars: Episode III ***
Some of the acting & dialog is just incredibly bad, it's too long, and
the computer effects are missing the famous grit of the original Star
Wars movies. But the fight scenes are good, and the story is coherent
and wisely focuses on characters we love from the first Star Wars.
Crash **
Not a total loss; the acting is generally good and there is some good
dialog here and here. And I don't think it's valid to criticize a
movie for being "manipulative". After all, the whole point of
watching a movie is to have your feelings manipulated. On the other
hand, it is valid to criticize a movie for being pretentious,
contrived, overbearing, cheesy and boring.
Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy ***
Good, but I have a sneaking suspicion I've encountered this material
somewhere before...
Fever Pitch ***
Fun Romantic Comedy Starring Drew Barrymore (tm). Really there is
nothing wrong with this movie; it's pretty funny with good comic
detail, but it's not nearly as gross/hilarious/intense as the best
Farrelly Brothers work. It's great to see Boston on the big screen
though.
Kung Fu Hustle ****
Pure Viewing Satisfaction. Reminiscent of classic Jackie Chan. I
predict this will be the best action/comedy movie released this year.
Hotel Rwanda ****
Excellent, worth seeing.
Steamboy **
Quality Japanese animation, but the story is awful. Sadly, Steamboy
is no Oldboy.
Oldboy ****
Some imperfections, but this is a thoroughly entertaining Korean
suspense/thriller. Avoid if you're squeamish.
Constantine **
The Matrix + The Exorcist - Suspense - Story
Head On ****
Brutal, bloody, disturbing but engaging love story.
Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior ***
Thin plot, good stunts.
In Good Company ****
No knife fights, no flashbacks, no hostage situation, no period
costumes, no deadly virus, no animated bears, just people doing normal
stuff. A fine fine movie.
Million Dollar Baby ***
A lot like Rocky, but with some twists. I had a big problem with one
of the twists though.
House Of Flying Daggers ***
Good looking, and has a lot of nice kung fu fighting. I found the
story kind of disappointing.
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou ****
It's a good movie. You could be distracted by the cute/clever/odd Wes
Anderson stylizations, or you could enjoy them; it's better to enjoy
them.
Bad Education ****
Gay, but good. (Or, "and good", if you prefer.)
The Aviator ****
I broke my "no biopics" moratorium to see this w/ my brother on Xmas.
What do you know, it's a good movie.
Ocean's 12 **
Nominally entertaining, but highly redundant.
Sideways ****
I think this movie would probably be most enjoyable if you forget all
the Oscar garbage and think of it as a somewhat crude buddy-pic road
movie and keep your expectations moderate.
Hero ****
Toothsome martial arts fairy tale. Yet I find the political message
disturbing in light of modern China's one-China obsession. I may be
reading too much into it.
The Incredibles **
Just about perfectly made. It's got humor, heart, action, visuals.
The problem, for me, is that it's so relentlessly competent and
agreeable in all areas, that it completely lacks any element that is
interesting, disturbing, flawed or provocative. I don't often walk
out of a movie thinking "Gee, that was a waste of 90 minutes,"
especially if the movie is basically well put-together, yet that is
how I feel about The Incredibles.
Of course, it is a cartoon.
Bourne Supremacy ***
Pretty good.
Collateral ****
I liked this a lot. I usually like Michael Mann's flicks.
Team America World Police **
Amusing concept. Not terrible, but could have been better.
Garden State ****
A little sappier than I normally tolerate, but so sincere that I don't
mind.
Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow **
Eh.
Primer *
I blogged about this. Aimed for greatness, but nailed terribleness.
I will definitely see the director's next movie though, if there is
one.
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind ****
My top movie for 2004, by a long shot. I found the characters often
weak, foolish and annoying, and yet (or therefore) easy to identify
with. The depiction of memory erasure felt more violent to me than
anything I've seen in a movie in a long time.