100 Movie Challenge - on target
I'm actually doing pretty well on this movie challenge :D Please keep in mind when you see some of these, that I do have two kids (well, that's my cover :P)
17. About A Boy
18. Broken Hearts Club (It just happened to be on late night TV)
19. The Constant Gardner
20. Star Wars - Return Of The Jedi
22. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix
23. Hairspray (We all liked it so much, I went out an bought a copy after returning the rental copy)
24. Paulie
25. Bratz
26. Brokeback Mountain
27. Crash
28. Shrek
29. Eternal Sunrise Of The Spotless Mind
30. High School Musical
Brokeback Mountain and Crash were both nominees for the Best Picture Oscar at the 78th Annual Academy Awards. I have a history of agreeing with the Academy's opinion and was interested to see if that would hold after seeing both films for the first time (on consecutive nights). I know there was a lot of controversy surrounding Crash's win, with talk that Hollywood was snubbing gay cinema yet again. While I admit that does seem to happen, I don't think it was the case this time.
I enjoyed Brokeback Mountain but I wouldn't have said the acting was stellar, and in essence I thought the movie lacked the heart it was potential of. Yes it was a touching and ultimately heartbreaking story, but the full impact of its message was a little washed out (hey, I failed to produce a single tear). Ang Lee may have been brave in bringing Brokeback Mountain to the mainstream audience, but I think the film lacked the courage to really take its message home. (The cinematographer gets full credit though - lovely imagery - and as lovely as they are, I don't mean Heath or Jake).
On the other hand, Crash made you think, rethink, and then reassess again. I saw commentary that described Crash as "sledgehammer-like in its approach to its topic". If you were to think that the movie was just about racism, then I guess you could say that. But there were so many layers to it, there is no way you could sum it up that simply. I think it was more about humanity, our internal prejudices and our inconsistencies. I gasped, held my breath, and sobbed throughout. These are the signs of a great movie (in my opinion). Fantastic cast, more stars than our summer sky, and all performances were equally brilliant. WOW!!!!
Any one got any recommendations? I haven't seen many films in the last 10 years (since having kids) so if you can steer me towards the cream, I'd appreciate it.
17. About A Boy
18. Broken Hearts Club (It just happened to be on late night TV)
19. The Constant Gardner
20. Star Wars - Return Of The Jedi
22. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix
23. Hairspray (We all liked it so much, I went out an bought a copy after returning the rental copy)
24. Paulie
25. Bratz
26. Brokeback Mountain
27. Crash
28. Shrek
29. Eternal Sunrise Of The Spotless Mind
30. High School Musical
Brokeback Mountain and Crash were both nominees for the Best Picture Oscar at the 78th Annual Academy Awards. I have a history of agreeing with the Academy's opinion and was interested to see if that would hold after seeing both films for the first time (on consecutive nights). I know there was a lot of controversy surrounding Crash's win, with talk that Hollywood was snubbing gay cinema yet again. While I admit that does seem to happen, I don't think it was the case this time.
I enjoyed Brokeback Mountain but I wouldn't have said the acting was stellar, and in essence I thought the movie lacked the heart it was potential of. Yes it was a touching and ultimately heartbreaking story, but the full impact of its message was a little washed out (hey, I failed to produce a single tear). Ang Lee may have been brave in bringing Brokeback Mountain to the mainstream audience, but I think the film lacked the courage to really take its message home. (The cinematographer gets full credit though - lovely imagery - and as lovely as they are, I don't mean Heath or Jake).
On the other hand, Crash made you think, rethink, and then reassess again. I saw commentary that described Crash as "sledgehammer-like in its approach to its topic". If you were to think that the movie was just about racism, then I guess you could say that. But there were so many layers to it, there is no way you could sum it up that simply. I think it was more about humanity, our internal prejudices and our inconsistencies. I gasped, held my breath, and sobbed throughout. These are the signs of a great movie (in my opinion). Fantastic cast, more stars than our summer sky, and all performances were equally brilliant. WOW!!!!
Any one got any recommendations? I haven't seen many films in the last 10 years (since having kids) so if you can steer me towards the cream, I'd appreciate it.