My Rating: 7/10.
An Argentinian film, The Secret in Their Eyes is the story of a prosecutor looking back at his most famous homicide case. The movie spans several decades as it flips between modern day and the events of the past. Basically, this is like all the crime dramas on TV that I don't watch (CSI, Law & Order, etc.) but fortunately, with a level of quality many notches higher. There's also a twist ending but it's not as twisty as the movie seems to intend. The acting is extremely good but the most impressive part of this movie is the hair and makeup. Obviously, the portrayal of different time periods demands that the characters appear to be different ages and this movie has the most realistic, believable aging I've seen in a movie. Very good. There's also a long tracking shot that - even though special effects are utilized - would even make Orson Welles applaud. A good movie and worth watching if you have the time.
My Rating: 6/10.
Anime keeps popping up in the list, particularly the works of Hayao Miyazaki, and I don't expect that trend to stop any time soon. I have to say upfront that I wasn't in the mood to watch an anime movie (am I ever?) but, frankly, this one was good enough to win me over. Should I even bother summarizing the plot? Hmm, here goes... in a post-apocalyptic world, humanity and nature are at war. The mutated/evil forest keeps expanding and taking over the actual forests which is bad. The humans are even divided amongst themselves and barely surviving against the constant horde. However, there is a prophecy that states that one shall come to unite humanity and nature and bring them in to harmony. There's also a blobby slime monster.
Patrick Stewart gives a standard Patrick Stewart performance as a guy with a voice that sounds a lot like Patrick Stewart. You would think that a Japanese cartoon from 1984 would be a strictly non-Shia LeBeouf affair wouldn't you? WELL YOU'D BE WRONG, SPANKY. Provided you watch the English dubbed version as opposed to subtitles. Oh, and Mark Hamill has a bit part but you would never recognize him.
I've gotta give it up for these movies in the sense that they seem to be endlessly imaginative and that translates to some entertainment value. At the same time I can't take anime seriously enough to really care and get that emotionally involved.
My Rating: 7/10.
I think it's the first double feature ever on the list. In the first feature, Buster Keaton stars as a man who must return to the west to claim his inheritance but along the way he falls in love. To his surprise, the woman belongs to a family which has a blood feud with his own. When he's invited over for dinner, the men in her family decide that they cannot kill him while he's a guest in their house but as soon as he leaves, he's fair game. You gotta love those rules - you wouldn't want to be bad hosts but murder is just a part of life. Obviously though, such a wacky setup can't help but lead to an interesting movie.
In short - and I've said this before - Buster Keaton's a genius. The action sequences alternate between funny, exciting, amusing, tense and dramatic. All the gags are clever and a few of the stunts are absolutely breathtaking and you know as you watch them that that it's actually happening without special effects. These movies have humor, drama, romance, action, they got every-ting! Everything, except spoken dialogue, which obviously handicaps the ratings of all silent pictures (for me).
The second part of the double feature, "Sherlock Jr." is slower and less well done. It's basically a display of the most cutting-edge special effects of the time, which are actually still impressive, even now. But then, as now, special effects are no substitute for a good story. The second half and the general "silent picture handicap" takes it down from an 8 to a 7 but still, these movies are spectacularly clever. I continue to be a growing Buster Keaton fan and I'll have to look up more of his movies outside of the list.
My Rating: 8/10.
This computer animation movie slipped under the radar for me and I wasn't big on watching YET another animated movie when there were already a number of them in the list but, again, (there's a pattern forming) it won me over. Basically, a village of Vikings lives in constant battle with the surrounding dragon population but one kid finds that they've just been misunderstood and keeps one as his own pet. Hey, it doesn't sound all that different from "Nausicaa...".
Like I said, this one flew under the radar but it's actually (I think) better than Toy Story 3 which is saying something. Although both teach valuable life lessons about caring or sharing or something or other... I don't know I wasn't paying attention to that part. If you're looking for a movie for a kid, this is a "can't miss". If you're an adult, it's still actually good enough to watch, in my opinion. Two things put it over the top for me: 1) Most of the movie is like that part in "The Neverending Story" where the kid rides the luck dragon (Excellent). 2) Certain scenes and shots in this movie genuinely communicate the sensation of flying - probably better than any other movie I've seen.
My Rating: 3/10.
What if there were a superhero with no superpowers? That's Batman. Ok, what if there were a superhero with no superpowers and no money? Why hasn't some moron put on a stupid suit and hit the streets to fight crime? They have. What if there was a superhero with no superpowers, no money, no particular talent and hadn't heard of all the other real-life superheroes? There is, and that poor dope is "Kick-Ass".
"Kick-Ass" is a movie about kids aged 12-18 putting on suits and fighting adult villains. On technical merit, this movie isn't the worst. It has questionable writing, fair acting, good editing and a general sense of style. My problem is with the premise. Do you want to watch a 12 year old beating up adult men? The entire idea is ridiculous. It was ridiculous in "3 Ninjas" in 1992, and it's ridiculous now.
"Kick-Ass" isn't just stupid, it's offensive... and in some parts it's offensively stupid. It appears to have been designed by marketing executives to appeal to the "brainless teen" demographic. Who needs plot when the characters on the movie surf myspace? Why develop characters when you can have them listen to Gnarls Barkley in a "pimped out ride"? "Hey, these kids are dealing with sexuality in a frank way! Nobody's done that before!"
Here's a scene for you: one part of the movie depicts a high-school-aged teen walking through a hallway mowing people down with machine guns in slow-mo with hardcore rock music blasting on the soundtrack. Does this throw up any red flags for anyone? Really? We're not interested in learning from the past or thinking about things before we do them? OK, cool, just checking. But, wait, what about the audience - won't they have problems with it? I don't think so. Teens are stupid. As long as it's in slo-mo while hardcore techno plays, it doesn't matter what's on screen, teens are stupid.
And apparently they are. As is the general public. At least, enough to put this piece of turd on the list. Luckily it's slid just off the list but a lot of good that does me.
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Maaan, finishing on a high note! Well, this revision is complete. And I'm already behind. During the time in which I've been watching these movies, Oscar season has come and gone so there are probably many changes to catch up on.
Movies This Revision: 11.
Average Score: 6.54.
Best Movie This Revision: "Inception"/"Social Network"/"How to Train Your Dragon" - no clear winner.
Total "Top 250" Movies Seen: 344.
I'll comment on the two movies I recently watched, one on the flight to Austria earlier this month and another laying in bed IN Austria.
ReplyDeleteFirst: Social Network
Not bad, great use of the characters, had a very Ferris Buehler feel to it. I even enjoyed the Justin Timberlake character. I'd rate it 8/10, but at the same time have no desire to see it again any time soon. I will say, the "Do I have your full attention" scene is one of my favorite of all time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMeYdSYCC7A
How to Train Your Dragon
This was just a fantastic cute and fun movie, with dragons. I'm a sucker for dragon movies. I enjoyed Reign of Fire. I enjoyed Dragonheart. Hell, I even enjoyed Dungeons and Dragons, despite copiously horrid levels of suck.
This movie was excellent, and the cat-like antics of Toothless made me giggle like a little girl.