100 movies in 2008
1. The Kingdom (4/5)
I really enjoyed it. I even liked Jamie Foxx which wtf? And anything with JBate and Jen Garner kicking ass is good in my book. OH! And, of course, Peter Berg!
2. Waitress (4/5)
Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, pie? What’s not to love? It’s really a lovely little story with a kind of surprising ending that made me feel all warm and gooey inside.
3. Halloween (2/5)
I have been a huge fan of Rob Zombie’s other movies. I absolutely love them, in fact. In all their weird, insane-o Firefly family horror. And despite Sheri Moon Zombie’s awful acting. I like the original Halloween and I don’t really see the point in this at all. Examining Michael Myers never seemed like it was needed. The whole point of the original was that we never understood why he snapped and what made him evil - he just was. And the cast? OMG. I couldn’t wait for everyone to be dead.
4. Shoot ‘Em Up (4/5)
It’s completely ridiculous in every single way - and that’s why it’s completely enjoyable. Clive Owen is hot and Monica Bellucci is far too pretty for her own good. Paul Giamatti is always enjoyable and the whole is just an insane, crazy ride. Two words: lactating whore. I kid you not.
5. Dreamgirls (2/5)
I don’t get the big deal about Jennifer Hudson. I don’t think she deserved an Oscar for it, that’s for sure. I got a massive headache when it was all over and Beyonce needs to stop trying to act. I actually quite liked the beginning but by the time the big Effie number happens, I was bored and moving on.
6. Cloverfield (4/5)
D. was smart and took Dramamine before we left the house and I wish I had done the same. Other than that, I really enjoyed it. I went not expecting much because it’s J.J. and he lives to disappoint me, I think, but with Matt Reeves and Drew Goddard helping out, it definitely helped. And, personally, I think the monster kicked all kinds of ass and rather liked the way they shot it, not showing it in all its glory until the end. And the end? I loved it. Also? The viral campaign stuff was incredible. I don’t usually get into that whole thing and we went in not knowing anything, really. We saw a picture of what was supposed to be the monster (no) and so we had no idea of the back story. What I really liked was that NOTHING was explained and if you wanted to know how this came about, you could find it out easily enough with a quick google search - hell, you tube worked, too, and if you didn’t want to know and preferred coming up with your own ideas, you were free to do that, as well.
7. The Lake House (2/5)
I had surgery! I was drugged and home for DAYS and bored out of my mind. Plus, Keanu is adorable - especially when in love. It was predictable and made no sense but it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever seen.
8. She’s the Man (2/5)
Another surgery watch. It wasn’t that bad. You don’t go into a movie like She’s the Man thinking it’s going to change your life in any way. I have a bad thing for rom coms - even silly ones like this and having it be based on Twelfth Night was kind of cute.
9. Marie Antoinette (4/5)
Out of the 3 movies Sofia Coppola has done, this is by far my favorite and I do not care for Kirsten Dunst all that much. I thought it beautifully shot and actually well acted. If I own her other two, I feel that I should at least own the one I actually liked. The clothes are to die for. Plus the music? Completely awesome.
10. Bernard and Doris (3.5/5)
Doris Duke is really an interesting person and her relationship with Bernard is a complicated one, for sure. The movie didn’t come down on one side or another - whether Bernard was after her money or if he actually really did have affection for her - and that was fine, I guess. Susan Surandon was fantastic.
11. 3:10 to Yuma (3/5)
I have never really liked Russell Crowe at all but I find myself starting to, especially after this. It’s very talky and it ends in a way I expected it to. I hear the original is better but I can’t imagine how much it has changed. It’s a Western. They’re all kind of made of the same cloth.
12. 28 Weeks Later (2/5)
We literally had this movie for over a month. I didn’t particularly want it and I didn’t get a chance to update my Netflix before they sent it. Then I had surgery and I was not in the mood (I know! Me not in the mood for Zombies! CRAZY!) But we finally watched it and I have to say I am completely indifferent to it. The first was original, in its own way and where it seemed like a weird rage virus zombie movie, it was actually a study in how horror begets horror, especially on a human level. Here it just was stupid, senseless violence and I had no attachment for any character. A waste of time, really.
13. Suburban Girl (3/5)
Hmm…it was not the book, that’s for sure. SMG and Alec Baldwin are fine and although he isn’t at all how I pictured Archie - mostly because he’s at least 10-15 years older in the book - I didn’t mind seeing them together. I think the script itself was lacking and I don’t think they knew what to do with a collection of short stories and how to make two into one big story. I’m still confused by what they were trying to do, actually. It was fine but I see why it went straight to dvd.
14. War (2/5)
I kind of have a big old crush on Jason Statham because he’s all gruff and English and can kill you with his finger. And for some reason, we continue to watch Jet Li movies because D. likes his martial arts abilities but his movies as of late have been lame and barely have any fighting and this one is really no exception to that. However, Jason Statham, I’m happy to report, is still hot.
15. Gone Baby Gone (4/5)
When a person’s biggest problem with a movie is that a character says, “Give me a couple of tonics” instead of saying “Give me a couple of SODAS” because HI, we’re from BOSTON, then I guess it’s actually pretty good! I will say that I thought the acting strong and I could see the care Ben took in showing all of Boston (despite that whole tonic/soda fiasco that I’ve been far too obsessed about - and, just so you don’t think me entirely crazy, I am not the only one around here to have noticed). You go into a Dennis Lehane novel or movie knowing that shit ain’t going to be pretty and I really wished that Amy Ryan had won the Oscar because I think she did something that is very, very difficult. We’re still trying to figure what they used for the Quarries - they’ve been filled in for a while now but it looked just like it. It is the scariest place. Very, very creepy. And a little bit of trivia - in one Buffy episode, Faith is talking about jumping into the quarries - she would be referring to those in this movie. Many people have died there. Many people who died were stashed there. It gives me the willies.
16. La Vie en Rose (4/5)
I watched this after Marion won the Oscar and I have to say I agree whole-heartedly with the win. I had a vague idea of who Edith Piaf was and her story is heartbreaking on all accounts. And after watching some videos of Ms. Piaf on you tube (which rocks completely for having them), Cotillard really took her on. I think I read in one review the beauty in the performance lies in the fact that Marion, a young woman, had to play a young woman who was very old but still wanted to be young. Sounds confusing but if you take the time to watch it and I must insist that you do, you will see what they mean. Being so sick and fragile and completely broken, at 40 she was like an 80 year old. It’s breathtaking, really. And the French is beautiful. And the voice! Oh, so happy that they didn’t try and have Marion sing as they sometimes do and just let her lip synch to Edith. Her voice is what makes her.
17. Domino (3/5)
It’s my year to start to like actors I never have before because Keira Knightley has recently become a new favorite - mostly to do with Atonement, although I have yet to see her in it. Figure that one out. I went into this knowing it was going to be loud and brash and just okay. I got exactly what I expected with the added bonus of 90210 people! Yay! I remember thinking that Keira was a strange choice for this but she actually convinced me. Good for her!
18. Eastern Promises (3.5/5)
The acting is good. But if you want a good Viggo/Cronenberg movie, watch A History of Violence. We both figured out what was happening about a ½ hour into which is not good. Viggo was great and extremely naked. And I love Naomi, although I didn’t feel she had a lot to do here. Vincent Cassel is an interesting guy, I’ll say that. He kind of always creeps me out in everything he’s in (see Birthday Girl) but yet, I find him engaging.
19. Becoming Jane (5/5)
I’m going to say this: I don’t care if it’s factual or not. I loved it. I don’t care that Anne Hathaway sometimes forgot her accent. And, yes, I fully admit that James McAvoy spurs on the big love affair I’m currently having with the movie but it’s also reawakened my love of Austen and I ran out and bought the biography that the movie is based on. I’m really a romantic at heart so I rather enjoy Jon Spence’s idea of Jane and Tom being completely in love and society and familial obligations interfering as it always did in that day, as opposed to what is apparently fact: that the two had a flirtation and nothing more. I don’t know. I like this idea of Jane. Much like I did when they made Shakespeare in Love. And, yeah, McAvoy doesn’t hurt.
20. Pride and Prejudice (5/5)
Okay, I went to buy Becoming Jane the day after I saw it and I came across this which I had heard was excellent but that I had avoided because of my previous dislike of Keira. People, seriously, someone should have hit me over the head until I watched it. I found my old P&P book and am currently rereading it, wondering how and why I have not reread any Austen since college. Shame, really. Watching this only upped my anticipation for Atonement and to see what Joe Wright would do with it. I thought for a 2 hour movie, they really got to the heart of the story and characters. And it took a few viewings to really like Matthew Macfadyen as Darcy because it’s hard not to remember Colin Firth but I think, after the third viewing in so many days, that he is very charming and fits the role well.
21. No Country for Old Men (4/5)
D.’s mom and her boyfriend saw this in the theater and said it was the worst movie they had ever seen. She said she kept getting up and making phone calls, hoping to make the time pass. I don’t know…I have to say I really enjoyed it. D. hated the ending, I rather liked it. I thought it was going to be a lot more violent than it was. Anton’s weapons of choice are pretty cool. I thought the cast in general was excellent and not that I wasn’t impressed with Javier but I think Josh Brolin was overlooked for what he brought to it. I’ve never been a big Coen brothers fan - The Big Lebowski is pretty much the it for me on that front. So I was pleasantly surprised.
22. 30 Days of Night (3/5)
The concept is very cool and I think in the comic, it probably worked really well because you drag it on, issue to issue. But here? It was like sundown, vampires, lots of death, and then it was like 2 weeks later and then there was one day left and I was like huh? How? What? The vampires were appropriately creepy looking, Josh Hartnett is still cute, Melissa George still has the HUGEST teeth EVER and Danny Huston is insanely creepy no matter what he does. Really.
23. American Gangster (4/5)
It ended up being a lot different than I thought it was going to be. That’s not a bad thing. It’s definitely an interesting story and I think the two played off each other really well. I kind of enjoy Denzel being a badass. It wasn’t nearly as violent as I expected - it’s a mob movie! Violence is usually of the highest order. I am VERY happy Ruby Dee didn’t win the Oscar. She was only in it for a second and she bugs me so much. Ever since The Stand. Blech. It was…good.
24. Atonement (5/5)
I feel like if I really get into it, I’ll say way too much so I might just save that for another time. I started to get worried that I wasn’t going to like it after reading some reviews but that was not the case. It’s visually beautiful. It IS the book in film form. They did a really wonderful job of moving it from page to screen without leaving out anything important. AND, happily, skipping about 150 pages of useless prose. Keira and James…woot! And I look forward to seeing Saoirse Ronan in more things in the future. Joe Wright is 2/2. I think Keira may be his muse. And one of my favorite things that they did was the typewriter sound in time with the beautiful score. It’s very affecting.
25. Michael Clayton (3/5)
Maybe it’s me…but I don’t get it. What I mean is, I don’t understand the point behind this movie. I am usually a fan of lawyers getting a clue and trying to take down the big, fat company of evil but those are usually true life stories (Erin Brokovich, A Civil Action, et all) and this one isn’t so I have to say I don’t see what the point of it is. Clooney was just okay. Tilda Swinton was fine and I’m more convinced then ever that she won the Oscar because of the split vote between Blanchett and Ryan. Tom Wilkinson, however, kicked massive ass. I really wanted to like it but I’m completely like meh on the whole thing.