I love movies and I watch a LOT of them! Every movie I watch and every season of a TV series I watch will receive between zero and four stars. When I watch with my other half, you will see a (P) after my star grade and an (M) after his. I'm also (very slowly) adding in my "Best of the Year" lists from 1990 on (for both movies and music), as well as eventually adding the results for my yearly movie awards (1998 on).
Mar 29, 2011
UNFORGIVEN (3-24-11)
OSCAR WINS:
- Best Picture
- Best Director (Clint Eastwood)
- Best Supporting Actor (Gene Hackman)
- Best Film Editing
OSCAR NOMINATIONS:
- Best Actor (Clint Eastwood)
- Best Original Screenplay
- Best Cinematography
- Best Art Direction
- Best Sound
Mar 22, 2011
Mar 17, 2011
LAST TRAIN HOME (3-9-11)
Every spring, China's cities are plunged into chaos as 130 million migrant workers travel back to their home villages for the New Year's holiday. This mass exodus is the world's largest human migration. Director Lixin Fan follows one married couple, who years ago left their two children in the country with a grandmother, taking low-paying jobs at a factory in the city in hopes of a better life for their children. The couple lives in a boarding house with almost no privacy and are virtual strangers to their children, who see them once a year. Last Train Home is a heartfelt documentary that sheds some light on the human cost of China's ascendence as an economic superpower.
BURIED (3-8-11)
Paul (Ryan Reynolds) is a US contractor working in Iraq. After an attack by a group of insurgents he wakes to find himself buried alive inside a coffin, with nothing but a cell phone and a lighter. Buried is a bold little thriller that spends the entire film with one actor trapped in one setting. Reynolds gives it his all and it's an interesting premise, but it's hard to swallow. Cell phone reception while buried in the desert?
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON (3-8-11)
New Moon is the second of a planned five films based on Stephenie Meyer's silly Twilight series and while it is a mild improvement over the first film, it still isn't very good. The plot centers around Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), a high schooler in small town Forks, Washington who finds herself falling into a deep depression after her boyfriend, vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), leaves her unexpectedly. She finds comfort in local werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner), all the while pining for her "true love" Edward. There are some decent visual effects in the film, but it's VERY slow and heroine Bella is a bit of a drag.
Mar 8, 2011
PARIS IS BURNING (3-8-11)
In Paris is Burning, Jeannie Livington's 1991 documentary, we are taken into the world of New York drag queens in the late 80's. We learn the origin of "vogueing", watch queens prepare for and compete in "balls" and hear sad stories of violence and ridicule. A thoughtful and well-made film - I only wish it was a bit longer.
Mar 7, 2011
WILLIAM KUNSTLER: DISTURBING THE UNIVERSE (3-6-11)
William Kunstler was one of the most famous lawyers of the 20th century. A fierce advocate for civil rights, he was also known to take on high-profile, publicly despised defendants. This documentary, loving made by his daughters Emily and Sarah, follows his career, capturing his larger than life personality and giving us a (somewhat biased) look into what drove this controversial figure.
IRON MAN 2 (3-6-11)
While I didn't love 2008's Iron Man, I at least enjoyed it. And while I enjoyed the first few minutes of the sequel, the rest was a bit of a mess. The storyline goes all over the place, with unimpressive villians (Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell) and useless characters who seem to have been added purely for the benefit of some extra star power (Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson). Robert Downey Jr. creates a very likeable superhero as the arrogant Tony Stark, but Gwyneth Paltrow is just terrible as his leading lady. The CGI-effects are impressive in some scenes, but cartoonish in others. I didn't hate the film, but there wasn't a whole lot to like.
HEARTS OF DARKNESS: A FILMMAKER'S APOCALYPSE (3-3-11)
Hearts of Darkness chronicles the creation of Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam masterpiece Apocalypse Now. The shoot was such a chaotic, catastrophe-plagued odyssey (the script, actors, weather and budget all threatened to close production down), that it's a wonder the film was ever finished at all. Expertly mixing on-location home movies shot in the Philippines by Coppola's wife Eleanor with revealing interviews with the cast and crew ten years later, this is the most insightful and engrossing "making-of" documentary you will find.
Mar 6, 2011
WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS (3-3-11)
A young Wall Street trader (Shia LaBeouf) attempts to take down a merciless executive (Josh Brolin) who he blames for the death of his mentor (Frank Langella). He enlists the help of a disgraced Wall Street legend (Michael Douglas) in exchange for the man to be reunited with his estranged daughter (Carey Mulligan), who just happens to be the young trader's fiancee. A great cast and a talented director (Oliver Stone) create a rather boring, predictable film. Everything happens all too conveniently here. Kudos to Brolin who is pitch perfect as the greedy, vengeful millionaire with a heart of cold.
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