2011 Movies

Movies I saw for the first time in 2011

1. Exit Through the Gift Shop (****)
2. Toy Story 3 (****)
3. The Asphalt Jungle (***)
4. True Grit (2010) (****)
5. The Green Hornet (***)
6. Black Narcissus (****)
7. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (****)
8. Just Go With It (**1/2)
9. The Apartment (****)
10. The Karate Kid 2010 (**1/2)
11. Me and Orson Wells (***1/2)
12. Lean on Me (**)
13. Easy A (***)
14. Get Low (***1/2)
15. Monsters (***)
16. The Adjustment Bureau (****)
17. Paul (***)
18. Tangled (****)
19. Black Swan (***)
20. Charade (****)
21. Source Code (****)
22. Suddenly (***)
23. Salt (***)
24. Hanna (****)
25. The King’s Speech (****)
26. Thor (***1/2)
27. The American (***)
28. The Tourist (***)
29. The Fighter (****)
30. X-Men: First Class (***1/2)
31. Anvil: The Story of Anvil (***)
32. Kung Fu Panda 2 (****)
33. Double Indemnity (***)
34. Somewhere (***)
35. The Lincoln Lawyer (***)
36. Unstoppable (****)
37. Captain America: The First Avenger (***)
38. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (****)
39. Hobo With a Shotgun (**)
40. The Hustler (****)
41. The Shining (****)
42. Underworld (***)
43. Friday the 13th (**1/2)
44. Contagion (***1/2)
45. Limitless (***)
46. Drive (***1/2)
47. Underworld Evolution: (***)
48. Splice (***)
49. Tron Legacy (***)
50. Moneyball (***1/2)
51. Winnebagoman (***)
52. Rum Diary (**)
53. The Muppets (****)
54. Curious George 2 (***)
55. Win Win (***1/2)
56. Morning Glory (**)
57. The Help (****)
58. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (****)
59. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (***)
60. Another Earth (****)
61. Fast Five (**1/2)

2010 Movies

1. The Princess and the Frog (***)
2. Sherlock Holmes (***)
3. Sunshine Cleaning (**)
4. Inglourious Basterds (****)
5. I Love You, Man (***)
6. Dirty Harry (***)
7. A Serious Man (****)
8. Shutter Island (***1/2)
9. Let the Right One In (***)
10. The Searchers (***)
11. Zombieland (****)
12. The Surrogates (***)
13. Up in the Air (***1/2)
14. How to Train Your Dragon (****)
15. No Impact man (***)
16. Julie and Julia (***)
17. Moon (***)
18. Fantastic Mr. Fox (****)
19. Iron Man 2 (***)
20. Sunset BLVD (***1/2)
21. The Tooth Fairy (*)
22. The Lost Weekend (***)
23. The Hurt Locker (****)
24. Bronco Billy (**)
25. His Girl Friday (****)
26. This Is It (***1/2)
27. Get Him to the Greek (****)
28. Alice in Wonderland (***)
29. Hot Tub Time Machine (***)
30. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (****)
31. Inception (****)
32. Invictus (***1/2)
33. Parenthood (***)
34. The Losers (**)
35. District 9 (****)
36. Kick-Ass (****)
37. Gentlemen Broncos (***1/2)
38. The Kids Are Alright (****)
39. Duplicity (***)
40. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (****)
41. The Town (***1/2)
42. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) (***)
43. Daybreakers (**)
44. Secretariat (**)
45. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (****)
46. Avatar (****)
47. Red (***)
48. Megamind (***)
49. The Sasquatch Gang (**1/2)
50. A Prophet (***1/2)
51. The Red Shoes (***)
52. A Dennis the Menace Christmas (**)
53. Murder by Numbers (***)
54. I’m Still Here (**)

Movies 2009

Movies I saw for the first time in 2009:

1. Eagle Eye (***)
2. The Spiderwick Chronicles (**)
3. The Game Plan (**)
4. Religulous (***1/2)
5. Hancock (**)
6. City of Ember (**)
7. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (****)
8. Slumdog Millionaire (****)
9. Lakeview Terrace (****)
10. Zach and Miri Make a Porno (***)
11. Watchmen (****)
12. Wanted (***)
13. Pineapple Express (***)
14. Monsters Vs Aliens (***1/2)
15. Madagascar (***)
16. Milk (****)
17. Officer and a Gentleman (***)
18. Rear Window (***)
19. Up (***1/2)
20. Man on Wire (****)
21. Primer (***)
22. Hang em' High (****)
23. Gran Torino (****)
24. Revolutionary Road (**)
25. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (***)
26. The Big Lebowski (***1/2)
27. Knowing (***)
28. Chinatown (****)
29. Public Enemies (***1/2)
30. The Wrestler (****)
31. Chaplin (***)
32. Valkyrie (***1/2)
33. Taken (***)
34. Step Brothers (***)
35. Ponyo (****)
36. The World's Fastest Indian (***1/2)
37. Happy Go Lucky (***)
38. The End of America (**1/2)
39. Adventureland (***1/2)
40. Where the Wild Things Are (***)
41. Drag Me to Hell (***)
42. The Commitments (****)
43. Paranormal Activity (***)
44. Star Trek (****)
45. Get Smart (***)
46. A Clockwork Orange (***)
47. Interview with a Vampire (**)
48. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (***)
49. The Brothers Bloom (***)
50. Food, Inc (***)
51. The Hangover (***1/2)
52. (500) Days of Summer (****)

Sometimes, when you least expect it...

I couldn't possibly think of a bigger rom-com cliche than this movie ad...

The 2008 Movie List

Here are all the movies I saw for the first time in 2008, with a 1-4 star rating

1. The Kingdom (***1/2)
2. Juno (****)
3. 3:10 to Yuma (***1/2)
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (**)
5. High Plains Drifter (***1/2)
6. Hannah Montana: Best of Both Worlds (**)
7. Saw IV (*)
8. The Outlaw Josie Wales (***)
9. Sunshine (***1/2)
10. Gone Baby Gone (***)
11. King of Kong: A Fist Full of Quarters (**1/2)
12. Futurama: Bender's Big Score (***)
13. American Gangster (***)
14. Micheal Clayton (***1/2)
15. The Darjeeling Limited (**)
16. Awake (***)
17. Rendition (***1/2)
18. Dan in Real Life (***)
19. I Am Legend (**)
20. The Full Monty (***)
21. There Will Be Blood (****)
22. The Ruins (**)
23. P2 (***)
24. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (***)
25. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (***)
26. Cloverfield (***)
27. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (***1/2)
28. Vertigo (***1/2)
29. Jumper (***)
30. Iron Man (****)
31. Lost Highway (***1/2)
32. Wall-E (****)
34. The Hoax (****)
35. Raiders of the Lost Ark (****)
36. The Hudsucker Proxy (***)
37. The Brave One (*)
38. Control (****)
39. Funny Games (***)
40. The Dark Knight (****)
41. The Bank Job (***)
42. Tropic Thunder (****)
43. Redbelt (***)
44. I'm Not There (***)
45. Into the Wild (****)
46. In Bruges (****)
47. Speed Racer (***)
48. The Golden Compass (**)
49. Snatch (***)
50. Network (***)
51. Kung Fu Panda (***)
52. Transsiberian (***1/2)
53. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (***)
54. Futurama: The Beast With a Billion Backs (***)
55. Quantum of Solace (***)
56. Shadow of a Doubt (**1/2)
57. Paranoid Park (**)
58. The Fall (***1/2)
59. The Incredible Hulk (***)
60. Horton Hears a Who (***)
61. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (****)
62. Burn After Reading (***)

The Current Top 10

This is a repost from a comment on my friend's blog.

In no particular order, my current top 10

1. Blood Simple
I know Fargo is the favorite Coens' pick...but really my 1-5 would be filled with Coen films if I didn't stop myself.

2. Mullholland Drive
The guy behind the dumpster still scares the fuck out of me.

3. Zodiac
The guy in the basement still scares the fuck out of me.

4. House of Games
( my rebellious Mamet response to all the instances of Glengary Glen Ross on the lists )

5.Donnie Darko (Director's Cut)
I think this was more of a bad movie that accidentally worked very well.

6.Heat
Don't waste my motherfucking time

7.Dr. Strangelove
Not enough things can be said about this movie. I like the atmosphere of comedic paranoia.

8. Raging Bull
Because it's not "Dempsey"

9. Requiem For a Dream
Ass to ass

10.The Usual Suspects
"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist. And like that... he is gone. "

Roger Ebert v. Ben Stein

Rogert Ebert wrote a genious analysis ( not a typical review ) of Ben Stein's film "Expelled"

Check it out here

Why Flightplan Isn't Very Good

I used to like the movie Flightplan. I even own the dvd. But last week my wife and I were watching it and plotholes that seemed minor before I know see as inexusable:

1. Nobody saw the daughter on the plane.

Peter Sarsgard's entire sinister plan hinged on that. The only problem is, he had no reason to expect that no one would see her before he kidnapped her. Sure, the mother was distraught and the kid had a tendancy to run off, but would you risk the electric chair on the far off chance that 150 people in an enclosed Plane just would not happen to see her? It makes no sense. They TRY to reconcile this by having one little kid in the background at the end of the movie say "See, I knew I saw her!". Nice try.

2. The co-conspiring flight attendant

When they first board the plane, Peter Sarsgard and the flight attendant have a private conversation and they talk to each other as if they've never met. Later on, we learn that the flight attendant is in on it. There's no reason to fake a private conversation. They could have easily fixed that scene by making it seem like someone was able to overhear or was directly listening in.

3. The middle eastern passengers.

In the middle of the movie, Jodie Foster accuses 2 middle eastern men on the plane of hanging around outside of her daughters window the night before the flight. She causes a scene because she is sure it was them; and then nothing ever becomes of this plot point. We learn in fact that they had nothing to do with anything. So why was that written in there? Red Herrings still have to have some bearing to the plot to be a true Red Herring. It doesn't matter that SHE thought they might have something to do with it; The AUDIENCE has to have some reason to think the men had something to do with it. And in this case, the filmmakers were relying on an assumed fear of middle-eastern men on airplanes by the audience for that. Jodie foster herself showed no previous fear of this in the movie. It was a cheap, sloppy attempt at misdirection.

4. The daughter's death certificate/the flight manifest

The daughter doesn't appear on the flight manifest. How did we get there? An Air Marshall doesn't have the power to make those changes. A flight attendant certainly doesn't. The bad guy in this movie doesn't seem to be working for some all-powerful criminal organization, he seems to be working relatively alone. Also, the captain makes some phone calls and obtains a death certificate from the hospital for the daughter. This was Peter Sarsgard's way of trying to convince Jodie Foster she was crazy. But again, the captain worked independently making his phone calls to the hospital; it was never established or even hinted at how it was he was able to fake that information. Did he pay someone off at the hospital? Did the person he pay off just HAPPEN to pick up the phone when the captain called?

5. Here are her demands, but she'll only talk to me.

At the end, Peter Sarsgard tells the captains Jodie's demands; when of course, they are his demands, and he's framing her. He tells the captain that she'll only talk to him, and not to approach her because she'll blow up the plane. What kind of idiot would buy that, or at least not be extremely suspicious of the messenger?

All in all, it was a lazily written script. Had they proof read it once or twice more these ridiculous holes could have been worked out and we would have ended up with a better movie. It seems as though the filmmakers had a idea for a movie, realized the story wasn't going to work, and tried to force it to work.

The Bill Engvall Show = Bad Bad Bad

Let me first say that I don't mind Bill Engvall the stand-up comedian. I saw what amounted to half of an episode of the Bill Engvall Show the other night and can say without any hesitation that it is by far the worst sitcom ever to make it on to television. The unfunnyness (it's a word, just don't try to look it up) is perfectly demonstrated in one of the commercials they show on TBS in which one of Bill's friends say "My ex-wife is a magician, she made all my money disappear". I suppose this might seem funny if you were six years old and mentally damaged. The entire segment of the show that I saw was filled with these poorly written, poorly executed, poorly timed one-liners that seem to draw on every possible cliche they can think of. To add insult to injury, Bill Engvall himself will interrupt Family Guy reruns on TBS to advertise his garbage show.

Quit laughing at your own jokes Bill, they're not funny.

I drink it up

I saw There Will Be Blood for the first time last night, and I think I like this video just as much as the movie.

24, err...26

To my endless glee, fox will be airing a 2 hour 24 TV movie in the fall. The movie will be a season 7 prequel to bridge the gap between seasons 6 and 7. Season 7 officially starts January 2009.

Check out the full article here

High Plains Drifter

I've been on a Clint Eastwood western kick lately. Among my favorites is High Plains Drifter. This movie is somewhat unique in that it's the only one I've seen that can almost be called a supernatural western.

Eastwood plays the typical reserved badass gunslinger, but in this movie there's a real point to that portrayal. Eastwood seems to be some sort of avenging spirit of a man who was unjustly killed by the towns people. When Eastwood shows up, the towns people seek help from him to protect them against those they scapegoated for the crime who are now returning from jail.

Eastwood has plans in mind for the both the men seeking revenge on the townspeople, and the townspeople themselves. By the end of the movie, almost nobody comes out unscathed.

This movie is an excellent and unconventional take on the traditional western theme of a noble gunslinger cleaning up a dirty town.

All the Movies I Saw for the First Time in 2007

These are all the movies, new and old, that I saw for the first time during 2007. Reviews are based on 4 stars.

1.Rocky (***1/2)
2.Lucky # Slevin (***)
3.Crank (**1/2)
4.Snakes on a Plane (**1/2)
5.Saw III (**)
6.The Night Listener (**)
7.Millions (***)
8.Unforgiven (****)
9.Hollywoodland (***1/2)
10. Babel (***)
11. Rocky II (***)
12. Stranger Than Fiction (****)
13. Zodiac (****)
14. Marie Antoinette (***1/2)
15. The Last Kiss (***)
16. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (***)
17. Dog Day Afternoon (***)
18. The Good Shepherd (***)
19. Children of Men (****)
20. Blood Diamond (***1/2)
21. Hot Fuzz (***1/2)
22. Deja Vu (***)
23. The Bone Collector (***)
24. The Queen (***1/2)
25. Shaun of the Dead (***1/2)
26. Curse of the Golden Flower (**)
27. Rocky III (***1/2)
28. Charlie's Angels (**1/2)
29. The Fountain (***1/2)
30. North by Northwest (***)
31. Spider-Man 3 (**)
32. 28 Weeks Later (***)
33. Breach (***1/2)
34. 1408 (***1/2)
35. Shattered Glass (****)
36. Black Snake Moan (***1/2)
37. Transformers (***1/2)
38. All the President's Men (***)
39. Say Anything (***)
40. The Number 23 (*)
41. The Simpsons Movie (***1/2)
42. Click (**)
43. Knocked Up (***1/2)
44. The Towering Inferno (**)
45. Disturbia (***1/2)
46. House of Games (***)
47. Akira (***)
48. 300 (***1/2)
49. Fracture (***1/2)
50. Tombstone (***)
51. The Host (***1/2)
52. The Lookout (***1/2)
53. Ghost World (***1/2)
54. Death Proof (****)
55. Next (**)
56. The Good Girl (**)
57. Bee Movie (**)
58. Planet Terror (***)
59. Sicko (****)
60. Talk to Me (****)
61. No Country For Old Men (****)
62. Ratatouilli (****)
63. The Mist (***)
64. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (***)
65. Rescue Dawn (***1/2)
66. Night at the Museum (***)
67. Ocean's 13 (***)
68. Live Free or Die Hard (***)
69. Waitress (****)
70. Superbad (***1/2)
71. Once (***1/2)
72. National Treasure: Book of Secrets (***)
73: The Bourne Ultimatum (****)
74: The Black Pirate (**)
75: Eastern Promises (****)
76: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (***1/2)

2007 Top 5 (Including Only 2007 Movies)


1.No Country for Old Men
2.Zodiac
3.Black Snake Moan
4.The Lookout
5.Death Proof


2007 Top 5 (Including All Movies Seen in 2007)


1.No Country for Old Men
2.Unforgiven
3.Zodiac
4.Children of Men
5.Black Snake Moan

Here's the 2006 List

New Dark Knight Poster

Sicko, It'll Make You Want to Barf on People

I unfortunately didn't have a chance to see this in the theaters, but I just saw it on dvd. Go rent this right now. It'll piss you off, but it a good way. Perhaps the best point he makes in the movie is not about the American health care system, but how afraid we are to rock the boat when we're being exploited and stepped on.

Why They're Striking

Season 7 Cancelled

Because of the writers strike, Season 7 of 24 will not actually premeir untill september of 08.

Amittyville Horror

Just the other night I was reminded that the Amittyville Horror remake is a horrid joke of a film. Don't ever...EVER, let curiosity about this movie get the best of you. EVER.

117 out of 212

I found this on that wonderfully useful site the kids call "My Spaces" or something... I normally don't do these things, but I couldn't resist. I apparently if you've seen more than 100 movies out of the 212 listed, you're a loser, have no life, and what little life you have should be ended immediately. Copy and paste at will.

(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
(x) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
( ) Blazing Saddles
( x) Airplane

Total So Far: 8

(x) The Princess Bride
( x) Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
() Labyrinth
(x) Saw
(x) Saw II
(x) Saw III
(x) White Noise
()White Oleander
(x) 50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries
() The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

Total all together: 17

(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
(x) Scream 3
(x) Scary Movie
(x) Scary Movie 2
(x) Scary Movie 3
() Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
(x) American Wedding
() American Pie Band Camp
() American Pie Naked Mile

Total all together: 26

(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
(x) Resident Evil 1
(x) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
() Little Black Book
(x) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch

Total all together: 35

(x) Finding Nemo
(x) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
() White Chicks
(x) Butterfly Effect
() 13 Going on 30
( ) I, Robot
(x) Robots

Total all together: 41

() Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
() Universal Soldier
() Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
() Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
(x) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
() Eight Crazy Nights
() Joe Dirt
(x) King Kong
Total all together: 47

(x) The Terminal
()The Lizzie McGuire Movie
() Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
() Dumber & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
(x) Final Destination 2
(x) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
(x) The Ring
() The Ring 2
() Surviving Christmas
() Flubber
Total all together: 54

() Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
() Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
() Ghost Ship
() From Hell
(x) Hellboy
(x) Secret Window
(x) I Am Sam
() The Whole Nine Yards
( )The Whole Ten Yards
Total all together: 58

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
() Child's Play
() Seed of Chucky
() Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
() Just Married
() Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
() Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
() Coach Carter
() The Longest Yard
() Gridiron Gang
(x)The Grudge
() The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
() Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 64

(x) Bad Boys
(x) Bad Boys 2
() Joy Ride
(x) Lucky Number Sleven
(x) Ocean's Eleven
(x) Ocean's Twelve
(x)Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremecy
() Lone Star
(x) Bedazzled
() Predator I
() Predator II
() Alien vs. Predator
() The Fog
(x) Ice Age
() Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
(x) Curious George
Total all together: 74

(x) Independence Day
() Cujo
() A Bronx Tale
() Darkness Falls
() Christine
(x) ET
() Children of the Corn
()My Bosses Daughter
() Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2
() Die Hard
() Die Hard 2
(x) Die Hard 3
TOTAL NUMBER: 80

(x) Transformers
() Cruel Intentions
(x) Old School
() The Notebook
(x) K-Pax
(x) Krippendorf's Tribe
() A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
() Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old-virgin
total all together: 85

() For the love of baseketball
(x) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
() House of 1000 corpses
() The Devil's Rejects
(x) Elf
() The House of Wax
() Wrong Turn
() Legally Blonde
() Legally Blonde 2
Total all together: 87

(x) Flight Plan
() The Tuxedo
() Step up
() stick It
() Night Watch
(x) Monsters, Inc.
(x) Titanic
() Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(x) Shaun Of the Dead
(x) Willard
Total all together: 92

() Bring It On
() Bring It On Again
() Bring it on all or Nothing
(x) Hulk
(x) Superman Returns
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicles Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(x) 28 days Later
() Orgazmo
() Phantasm
(x) WaterWorld
total all together:98

(x) Kill Bill vol 1
(x) Kill Bill vol 2
() Mortal Kombat
(x) Wolf Creek
(x ) Kingdom of Heaven
(x) The hills have eyes
( )The Hills Have Eyes 2
() Reign of Fire
() The Last House on the Left
() Pulse
() Stay Alive
Total all together: 103

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars A New Hope
(x) Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Return of the Jedi
() Ewoks the caravan of courage
() Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total all together: 110

(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
() Animatrix
() Evil Dead
() Evil Dead 2
(x) Zoolander
() Phantom of The Opera
(x) Hannibal
(x) Red Dragon
(x) Anger Management
total all together: 117

Total: 117

: I saw 117 movies out of 212

The Lookout

Very good flick. See it.