Up (2009)
My Rating: 9/10.
By far the best movie on the latest revision. It manages to be a kid's movie while not being a kid's movie to a surprising degree. The phrase you always hear with cartoons is that "Kids will love it and there are enough jokes for the adults to keep them from being bored". Pixar is so good at making movies that this is usually true but this movie is a step above the rest in that respect. This movie doesn't strike a balance between kids and adults, it creates characters, drama and comedy that both enjoy simultaneously. The look and use of color looks amazing, and not too "cartooney". I love... LOVE that they had the guts to make a kid's movie where the main character is a ostensibly a cranky old guy. And not the one-dimensional "Oscar the grouch" type of cranky either, the character is fully-realized and sympathetic. The character Dug is instantly one of my favorite animated characters ever. The ending is beautiful and perfect (I teared up, I can admit that) and this movie probably has the most creative/most touching credits (that's right, credits) I've ever seen. If you watch it, you'll see.
My Rating: 6/10.
This is a fun movie. It has some excitement and some humor and some nice Tarantino moments. But with one exception there's nothing great here. The movie kept my interest and, being a Tarantino movie, I was expecting a great ending... some great twist or payoff. Instead, it just ended. There isn't enough to this movie for me to really like it in any substantive way. The one exception I mentioned is the first scene which revels in an almost suffocating tension for what seems like hours. It's not far from Hitchcock.
My Rating: 6/10.
This movie is one of the reasons I'm glad I'm not a film critic. The special effects are some of the most seamless in recent memory. The whole "documentary" style is expertly executed by the actors and director. The story is very good. It's a must see for sci-fi lovers everywhere. So there's no reason not to like this movie and yet it didn't grab me for some unknown reason. It was worth watching though but it kind of washed over me.
My Rating: 8/10.
This is a just a really fun action movie more in the vein of "Die Hard" or "Speed" than "Star Trek 3". Everyone knows Star Trek by now and so the creators of this movie put themselves in an extremely difficult position: attempting to shuffle the deck and produce something new while still satisfying the hardcore critical nerdbase who regard Star Trek as scripture. Somehow they succeeded at both. Some actors impersonate the old characters (Scotty), some go in their own direction (Kirk) and some are in between (Spock). All of them do a good job and the action is quite a departure from the usual Star Trek fare (they gave up and made it like Star Wars). Plus, they successfully set up the possibility for many sequels to come.
My Rating: 7/10.
A well done Romantic Comedy. All the "boy meets girl" romantic comedy themes have been played out so many times, it's hard to come up with something original. This movie strives to be "different" and "original" right from a disclaimer at the beginning through to the very end. From non-linear story to dividing the screen in half to show imagination and reality side by side to drawn backgrounds... It almost tries too hard to be different but mostly just succeeds. Quirky story and believable characters - it's a good romantic comedy if you're in the mood for it and Zooey Deschanel doesn't hurt.
My Rating: 7/10.
Doesn't really need a review, it's exactly what you'd expect. Actually, it's probably better than I expected. It's no "Wedding Crashers" or "Old School" in my opinion, though but I did like it.
My Rating: 8/10.
Hype and expectation can be deadly. I really liked this movie. It's weird and thought provoking and sci-fi-tastic. It deals with a deterministic view of the mind, the nature of reality, the nature of consciousness, etc. And yet, I did expect more! I did expect something legendary and it wasn't quite there. I don't want to give anything away... which is cool because this is already waaay to long. If you do see it though, definitely check out this page afterward for some interesting thoughts about what you just saw.
My Rating: 6/10.
A standard romantic comedy that was probably not so standard when it was made in 1936. A woman finds a hobo on the street, likes his 'tude and hires him to be her family's new butler. It's entertaining if you're desperate for a movie but nothing to hold up as "one of the best of all-time" I don't think.
My Rating: 5/10.
A silent World War I movie made just a few years after World War I. The makers of this movie made the interesting choice to make a movie where the "hero" doesn't do anything at all heroic. Instead it focuses on the struggles of the average foot soldier. But that's where the pro's end. It's too long, the characters are pretty much one-dimensional caricatures, the romantic plot is, frankly, stupid and takes up way too much time.
Movies This Revision: 9.
Average Score: 6.88 (of course repeating)
Best Movie This Revision: "Up".
Total "Top 250" Movies Seen: 329.
I saw "Up" in 3D the night it came out and absolutely loved it. I saw it with my girlfriend before her health started to rapidly go down hill and it's one of my favorite "going outs" we did all year. The dogs are brilliant, and the "Cone of Shame" joke is probably one of the funniest things ever devised.
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