Das Leben der Anderen (2006) - 4/5

Das Leben der Anderen (2006) - 4/5

Very powerful movie about a very powerful place and time.

The intensity reminds me of the dialog in "Inglorious Basterds" (why is it spelled w/ an 'e'?).

I'm not sure what to take away from this movie, but I guess it's along the lines of being racial or black-and-white judgmental is very difficult when you're face-to-face w/ the people... when it's individuals.

The characters, especially Ulrich Mühe's, were awesome.

Little Children (2006) - 3/5

Little Children (2006) - 3/5

I thought this movie was going to be more like a 4 or 5, but it fell short at the end. I felt like they got to the last 20 mins and were like "Man, we gotta wrap this up quick!"

There was so much tension and drama building and building - maybe they built it up too much for them to handle.

They characters are all pretty unhappy and disillusioned in one way or another and escape into their various weaknesses most of the time. While some seem excusable others are "evil." I'm not sure if we're suppose to see them as similar or what... unfortunately, I'm not super motivated to analyze this movie b/c of the weak ending.

Well acted and a decent movie (though disturbing at times) but falls short late in the game.

Mid-Year Update

What I watched from 1/1/09-/6/30/09

66 movies so far this year. Average 11 per month (~3/week).

I might change my rating to be more like Netflix. It's a simpler system:
1/5 - hated id
2/5 - didn't like it
3/5 - liked it
4/5 - really liked it
5/5 - loved it

Top Rated:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) - 5/5
Synecdoche, New York (2008) - 5/5
"Battlestar Galactica" (2004) - 5/5
Adaptation. (2002) - 5/5 (seen bef0re)
The Graduate (1967) - 5/5 (seen before)

Bottom Rated:
Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) - 1/5
Cobra (1986) - 1/5


All movies (66):
Revolutionary Road (2008) - 4/5
Doubt (2008/I) - 4.5/5
Land of the Lost (2009) - 3.5/5
Taking Chance (2009) - 3.5/5
Away We Go (2009) - 4.5/5
Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) - 1/5
The Love Guru (2008) - 3.5/5
The Tale of Despereaux (2008) - 3/5
Terminator Salvation (2009) - 3/5
The Dam Busters (1955) - 3.5/5
Lost in La Mancha (2002) - 3/5 documentary
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) - 5/5
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (20...
My Name Is Bruce (2007) - 3/5
The Incredible Hulk (2008) - 2.5/5
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) - 2.5/5
Speed Racer (2008) - 2.5/5
Star Trek (2009) - 4/5
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Definitely, Maybe (2008) - 4/5
"Caprica" (2009) - 3.5/5
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009) - 3.5/5
The Wrestler (2008) - 4.5/5
"Spaced" (1999) - 2.5/5 tv series
Adventureland (2009) - 4/5
Adaptation. (2002) - 5/5
Henry Poole Is Here (2008) - 3/5
High Fidelity (2000) - 3.5/5
The Foot Fist Way (2006) - 3/5
Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - 4.5/5
Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001) - 4/5 documentary
Son of Rambow (2007) - 3/5
Deconstructing Harry (1997) - 2.5/5
The Fountain (2006) - 3.5/5
The Graduate (1967) - 5/5
Smultronstället (1957) - 4/5 subtitles
Bigger Stronger Faster* (2008) - 4/5 documentary
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008) - 4/5 documentary
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) - 4.5...
Duplicity (2009) - 3/5
Hud (1963) - 3/5
Haine, La (1995) - 2.5/5
Synecdoche, New York (2008) - 5/5
Apocalypto (2006) - 3.5/5
Bolt (2008) - 3.5/5
Helvetica (2007) - 3/5 documentary
Young at Heart (2007) - 4/5 documentary
Man on Wire (2008) - 4.5/5 documentary
frontline: is wal-mart good for america? - 4/5 documentary
Sunshine (2007) - 3.5/5
Cop Land (1997) - 3/5
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) - 4.5/5
Death Proof (2007) - 4/5
Taken (2008/I) - 3.5/5
He's Just Not That Into You (2009) - 4/5
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008) - 4/5
Planet Terror (2007) - 3/5
28 Weeks Later (2007) - 3/5
28 Days Later... (2002) - 3.5/5
What Happens in Vegas (2008) - 1.5/5
Hitman (2007) - 3/5
Yes Man (2008) - 3.5/5
"Battlestar Galactica" (2004) - 5/5
Cobra (1986) - 1/5
The Queen (2006) - 3.5/5
Marley & Me (2008) - 4/5


From Netflix (43 - avg ~7/month):
Revolutionary Road
The Return of Captain Invincible
Doubt
Taking Chance
The Dam Busters
Lost in La Mancha
My Name Is Bruce
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Incredible Hulk
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Speed Racer
Definitely, Maybe
Battlestar Galactica: Caprica
The Wrestler
Spaced: The Complete Series: Disc 2
Spaced: The Complete Series: Disc 1
The Foot Fist Way
Dogtown and Z-Boys
Son of Rambow
Slumdog Millionaire
The Fountain
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
Hud
La Haine
Apocalypto
Helvetica
Young @ Heart
Breach
Man on Wire
Is Wal-Mart Good for America?: Frontline
Sunshine
Cop Land
The Last Sin Eater
The Bourne Ultimatum
Grindhouse: Death Proof
Grindhouse: Planet Terror
28 Weeks Later
28 Days Later
Ali
Hitman
Battlestar Galactica: Season 4: Disc 4
Battlestar Galactica: Season 4: Disc 3
Battlestar Galactica: Season 4: Disc 2

The Foot Fist Way (2006) - 3/5

The Foot Fist Way (2006) - 3/5

Not too great, but I dig the independent style. Also, the weird tone of the movie - it's like a weird, funny guy tried to make a serious movie and it came out weird and funny.

Kinda like "Napoleon Dynamite" in that sense - the character is funny though in a sense he's not trying to be. Acting strange versus "telling jokes" or something.

Anyway this movie didn't do much, but it wasn't trying to. It's like a 13-year-old made a movie (karate, fighting, girls) but took some advice about some parts from someone older... but even those parts were still made by the 13-year-old.

The Fountain (2006) - 3.5/5

The Fountain (2006) - 3.5/5

I liked this movie. It's great to look at and the interwoven storied from different times is great. The emotion is powerful and tone is awesome (it's almost always night).

Ultimately, I'm afraid some of the "film" got in the way of the "story." I didn't find myself attached though I enjoyed watching it.

The jumps from one time (or reality) to another are tough to watch w/o wondering what they're trying to do which took me out of the my suspension of disbelief.

Also, I may have missed the message, but what I think I got out of the message was a little disappointing.

But I did enjoy it and it's VERY well made.

SPOILERS

If the message was, we all live forever b/c we become one w/ the earth, plants, birds, cosmos, etc., then I got the message and it's a little disappointing for such a film imo.

Apocalypto (2006) - 3.5/5

Apocalypto (2006) - 3.5/5



Good movie - I like the lack of dialog and use of strong characters to communicate. It had good, strong themes and action.

SPOILERS

Not sure why the well filling up w/ water wd be a problem for the woman - wdn't she just float to the top and get out? Sure, she might have to tread water for a while or hold onto something on the side, but... granted she was pregnant/in labor, but still.

The Queen (2006) - 3.5/5

The Queen (2006)

I almost gave this a 4, but I just can't say I "enjoyed" it that much, but I think it's interesting and well made.

It raises some interesting questions we don't normally think about in the US: is there a place for a monarchy in the modern world? If so, what is the place?

Great performances and interesting insights and even the fictitious show an interesting perspective.

2008 Review

Netflix Review

All 121 movies I watched in 2008 (this may be a bit off b/c I'm just counting posts which also counts posts NOT about a movie I watched... like this post though this one isn't counted in the total)

Movies I watch that were released in 2008

Great titles worth mentioning:

Once (2006) - Irish love story - My favorite movie I watched this year.
Dark Knight (2008) - Great action and story. Utilizes the darkness appropriately.
Seven Up (1964) - British documentary revisiting the same kids every 7 years.
WALL-E (2008) - Great animation and storytelling.
Battlestar Galactica (2004) - Definitely the best sci-fi TV series ever... maybe best series ever.
King of Kong (2007) - Great documentary w/ villian, underdog and everything else.
In Bruges (2008) - Great characters and underlining "Christ" story. Funny and clever.
Iron Man (2008) - Great action.

Idiocracy (2006) - 2/5

Idiocracy (2006)

Next: "Semi-Pro" (2008)

Mostly weak but w/ a few funny bits. Not worth it.

Haiku Summary:
Guy sleeps five hundred
years. Meanwhile, dumb people have
babies. Dumb world. Stays.

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) - 3/5

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

NEXT: "Idiocracy" (2006)

Fairly artsy and hard to follow seriously unless you're really trying... and I wasn't. I get turned off pretty quickly if I feel people are trying too hard to be weird.

Core message: Our society is killing itself w/ entertainment and dangerous addictions.

WARNING: Nudity.

Haiku Summary
Spaceman needs water
to save home planet. Gets cash,
gets wasted. Does nil.

Volver (2006/I) - 2.5/5

Volver (2006/I)

NEXT: "The Man Who Fell to Earth" (1976)

I didn't really get into this movie. I never really tied into the characters or the reality. This cd be a casualty of my method of watching it over multiple sittings??? But as things happened, I just watched and never bought into it.

It also felt disjointed: they'd drop storylines altogether and start new ones.

SPOILERS
So what happened w/ the restaurant? What happened w/ the guy from the movie crew? What happened w/ the mother-daughter relationship and telling the daugher her father was also her grandfather? What about all that - it was kinda revealed and left. What about the friend w/ cancer? There seemed to be so much left undone which might be the point, but it didn't seem to fit right.

Haiku Summary
Girl kills dad. Cover up.
Opens restaurant, mother
back to life. What the?

Cloverfield (2008) - 4/5

Cloverfield (2008)

NEXT: "Volver" (2006)

While this movie may not be the best, they get a lot of credit for being original in certain ways: camera action (handheld, but not "Blair Witch" too much), no star actors, "realism" w/o being campy, etc.

The special effects were great and watching some of the behind the scenes stuff made me realize they put a lot of thought behind so much of it all. From the monster design to the camera angles, they did this thing intentionally regardless of the outcome and I admire that.

SPOILERS
When you're shooting w/a lens like they did, you miss a lot so they had to plan things out accordingly which isn't common or easy. Also, they did a lot of things in long takes which is great.

The little flashbacks on the camera were a great touch.

Haiku Summary
Boy loves girl, but a
monster is attacking. He
finds girl but they die.

There Will Be Blood (2007) - 4/5

There Will Be Blood (2007)

While I think this movie was really good, I think it might be just a big overrated. That's the problem w/ seeing movies after the hype.

Daniel Day-Lewis was amazing. I'm continually impressed w/ him. The movie was large in scale and I'm glad I saw it on the big screen. The first 15 mins w/o dialog was awesome!

SPOILERS

There was a strong 'hypocritical' sense to this movie in that the characters were forced to sell-out for something they wanted: $. Plainview admitted he was a sinner, needed Jesus and that he abandoned his son in order to secure rights to land for a pipeline.

Ironically, it wasn't his son and he claimed later that he only kept the boy to have a pretty face for making his sales pitch. When the son returned in one scene and Daniel hugged him a lot, I have to believe it only did him good b/c he felt Eli cdn't condemn him anymore???

Eli also sold out and for nothing which was great. The climax of Daniel killing Eli was pretty powerful: he destroyed Eli in every way.

Haiku Summary
Man finds oil and buys
land for more. He squares off with
Eli. There is blood.

NEXT: "Margot at the Wedding (2006)"

Laberinto del fauno, El (Pan's Labyrinth) (2006) - 3.5/5

Laberinto del fauno, El (2006) (Pan's Labyrinth)

Weird, but interesting. I didn't see the prequel but I listened to a bit of the commentary and it seems they are related by theme.

The visuals are great and the reality mixed w/ fantasy is really good. The gore and brutality of the soldiers is hard to watch at times.

My view of the main theme is something like: people that follow orders (or see things as black and white) are brutal, wrong and evil. Something like that.

SPOILERS

Vidal is set quickly to be someone who doesn't compromise or question what he's doing or why. He has no mercy, pity, conscious or humanity to him. He cares only about being the man his father was and thus passing on the burden to a son of his own.

The rebels are seen as caring, natural and righteous despite not actually communicating their cause other than to kill the military presence. W/o saying how or why, it's clear we're to believe they are right in their attempts to kill the soldiers but not the other way around.

The plot w/ Pan is that he directs the girl, but in her completing the tasks, she breaks some rules. The first time, it hurts her parents, the second time 2 fairies die and the third time, she saves her brother by sacrificing her life, but that was the test of the task: to see if she wd allow her brother to die to save her own life (though it wdn't have saved her life IMO).

So question authority and do what you believe is right despite everything else b/c ultimately that's what's right. Hmmm....

Haiku Summary
Girl moves to country.
Pan's tasks to become princess.
Question author'ty.

NEXT: "Fool's Gold (2008)"

Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski (1999) - 3/5

Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski (1999)

Klaus Kinski was crazy. Way crazy. This, like "Little Dieter Needs to Fly" feels like a 'report' or something about Herzog and Kinski's relationship. Only mildly interesting, it does point out some wild things they did during their filmmaking and how they made films.

The main thing, to me, was that Kinski was crazy; going off into rages at all times and causing a lot of drama to get attention.

Haiku Summary
Kinski is crazy.
Herzog is a little too.
They made good movies.

NEXT: "Pan's Labyrinth (2006)"

300 (2006) - 3/5

300 (2006)

I was let down a bit - I expected a lot. It's more than just a fighting, gore movie... it's a fighting, gore movie on a large scale... w/ great effects, editing/processing/animation and somewhat of a story.

There was some cool aspects to this movie, but it was a bit drawn out and a bit too much testosterone for the sake of testosterone. Granted, that was necessary to a degree to tell this story, but clearly they ran w/ that excuse.

Haiku Summary
Persians want it all.
300 Spartans take them
on. They die. Good fights.

NEXT: "Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997)"

Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004) (V) 3.5/5

Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004) (V)

This was a real surprise. I can't remember why we recorded this for our son, but he liked it and after a few times of him watching it, I had seen the whole thing too. The best part of this movie was that it surprised me so well. It's really funny!

It has a good combination of silly, funny stuff w/ just a bit of more advanced (I don't want to say mature or adult) humor.

There's one part where the 3 'bad guys' (I love how they keep calling them 'bad guys' - today's shows have lost that) are going to dropped into 'the pit.' The door in the ground opens, they fall down, the obligatory fading yell is heard... then one of them pops up his head from the 3 foot deep 'pit.'

That's pretty funny, but then later we see them again and they're still in there wasting away the time... like they're really trapped and can't get out. Not so funny when written out here, but funny in the show.

Another great part is when a 'bad guy' is sword fighting w/ Mickey on top of the moving coach. The 'bad guy's sword cuts away Mickey's Musketeer uniform and his has his trademark Mickey shorts on and he immediate strikes the 'Mickey pose.' It just feels like their poking fun at themselves a bit.

Don't get me wrong: this is no "Cars" or anything, but it's a clever, cute, funny little show that really surprised me.

Great stuff for our son!


Haiku Summary
Mickey, Goofy and
Donald want to be in the
Muskateers... and are!



NEXT: "300 (2006)"

Rescue Dawn (2006) - 3.5/5

Rescue Dawn (2006)

I liked this movie, but I was a bit disappointed given how great Werner Herzog is. I felt the movie didn't have as dark of a feel as I expected. I didn't feel the dread of the captors and the situation as I'm sure it was.

It was certainly harsh, don't get me wrong, but I didn't feel it as I have w/ other Herzog movies.

So I think it's a really good movie, but my expectations were really high.

Haiku Summary
Little Dieter needs
to fly. Navy, Vietnam.
Captured, but escapes.

NEXT: "Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004)"

Factory Girl (2006) 1.5/5

Factory Girl (2006)

Nothing really good to say about this movie except that it didn't glorify drug use.

A disappointment for Guy Pearce.

Haiku Summary
Poor little rich girl
meets Andy Warhol. Does drugs,
wastes life and dies.

NEXT: "Rescue Dawn"

Air Guitar Nation (2006) - 3.5/5

Air Guitar Nation (2006)

Pretty interesting, but they didn't into the people enough... or they made the most of what they had to work with.

It's fun to watch the performances and they do a good job of keeping it from getting old. They get into each topic enough, but nothing to the point to make it a great documentary.

The "underdog" isn't as likable which hurts that aspect, but everyone is a character and fairly fun. From serious to ridiculous, it's all pretty good.

There are certainly some great parts and overall it's pretty fun.

WARNING: Male nudity.

Haiku Summary
What's this? Air guitar
contests? No Americans?
I say we go. Win!

NEXT: "3:10 To Ymua"