i saw..

1)Plan 9 from Outer space and its not that bad that was said to be by Mr.Michael Medved.

2)Hearts of Darkness:A Filmmaker's Apocalypse

3)United 93(I wonder how can Paul Greengrass missed out the oscar to Scorsese…)

Brad, do you happen to use imdb for voting? Would be interesting to see how many movies you have seen in total and how you rated some of them.

A Place in the Sun ~ Montgomery Clift's performance was absolutely heartbreaking. 5/5

Saw Marty at an opening of a new theater and Ernest Borgnine was there answering questions after the movie. Great and movie and great actor.

This past week I watched:

- 9: Interesting mood, but not much else. I didn't feel like I really cared for the numbered characters. The "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" sequence though is amazing. If the movie has another three or four sequences like this, it'd have been memorable. 6/10

- Che Part Two: this was a tumultuous session! 10 minutes into the movie, a guy in the audience starts screaming that he was sexually harassed by another guy. Drama! The movie stops, the "abused" guy throws a fit, there's no way he can prove the other guy did it, everybody in the audience starts to believe the "abused" guy is kinda crazy. Anyway, he leaves and the movie starts again. I liked it better than the first part. It's less intelectual than Part One; it's more gutsy. The death of Che is a lesson in moviemaking! 7/10

- Inglorious Basterds: expectation is a funny thing. As much as I liked this one, to me it was the most conventional Tarantino movie. I missed some of the absurdity of his previous movies. To call Inglorious Basterds conventional? I know, it's insane. But it's probably my least favourite Tarantino movie (I haven't seen Death Proof), even though it's great. The first and the last 20 minutes are awesome, fantastic, powerful – I'll never forget Melanie Laurent's face on the big screen, laughing in the middle of the fire. One moment for the ages. Christoph Waltz, of course, owns the movie. 9/10

- New York, I Love You: lotsa style. Not that much substance. Several episodes are just "meh" and don't say much. Natalie Portman's segment is cute; the Mira Nair one is pretty silly. Brett Ratner has the cutest one, surprise! But the Anthony Minghella-penned one (which he was supposed to direct before passing away, Shekhar Kapur directed it) is devastating, sad and beautiful. And it's graced with three great performances: Shia LaBeouf, Julie Christie and John Hurt. The cast is amazing, even though several nice actors (Eva Amurri, Drea DeMatteo) are wasted. Robin Wright Penn was great also – and gorgeous. The movie itself doesn't hold a candle to "Paris, Je t'aime". 6/10

- District 9: every once in a while – sometimes it can take years – I watch a movie that resonates with me as being a true original. A movie that mesmerizes me; a movie that makes me think, "I've never seen anything like this before". The last time it happened to me was when I watched Brick. Now District 9 did it. And as much as I was in love with it, nothing could've prepared me for the last 2 minutes. I was reduced to tears, I cried during the whole ending credits. The last shot is one of the most memorable of the past couple of years. My favourite movie of 2009. 10/10

10/11-10/17:

Five Minutes of Heaven – C+
Miracle – A-
The Man Who Fell to Earth – B
Octopussy – C-
Where the Wild Things Are – B-
Stargate – C+
Proof of Life – A

Seeing as I spent most of my weekend at some older relatives’ house, it was a fairly slow moving weekend, in which I managed to watch several films.

On Friday before the stereotypical Texan Friday night (High school Football), I caught an afternoon screening of Where The Wild Things Are. Wow. I can't put into the words exactly how I feel about this movie. Yes, the film is relentlessly melancholy, but I loved every minute of it. I'm still trying to uncover the true meaning of all the symbolism, and I think a second viewing will be necessary.

I watched two Alexander Payne films, Sideways and About Schmidt, for the first time with my grandfather. Sideways absolutely floored me, I was not expecting it to be that funny, or touching, and I related directly to Paul Giamatti. About Schmidt was not as good I felt, but still excellent. I saw some of my grandfather reflected directly in Jack Nicholson's character, which is why he may have anjoyed the movie more than I did.

Saturday I watched Vanilla Sky with Tom Cruise which I wasn't that impressed with from the beginning (except for the empty Time Square opener), but it definitely got better as it went along. I saw where Youtube is offering Abre Los Ojos, the Spanish original, for free viewing, so I'll have to check it out sometime.

And finally last night I watched the Werner Herzog reimagining of Nosferatu, and from its opening shots, I knew it was something special. This is one of the most beautiful, emotional films I have ever watched, and would even venture to say its one of the best movies I have ever seen. Layer Cake with Daniel Craig is excellent entertainment that kept me guessing. It was nice to see Craig not play an indestructible character, instead he's a guy whose afraid for his life, who gets too cocky for his own good. Its like a darker Guy Ritchie film, though a decidedly darker and suspenseful one.

So, in summary:

Where the Wild Things Are: Currently it’s a 5/5, but I may be back next week to change this rating after a second viewing
Sideways: 5/5
About Schmidt: 4.5/5
Vanilla Sky: 4/5
Insomnia: 4/5
Nosferatu (1979): 5/5
Layer Cake: 4.5/5

Dawn of the Dead (1978): B+, love the satire of Romero's second zombie film.

Requiem for a Dream (2009): B+, intense film, makes me appreciate Aronofsky's skills even more.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962): A, Ford's last great western, full of cynicism and highly critical of American politics.

Suspiria (1977): B+, a perfect example of style over substance. Offers nothing new in terms of plot or characters, but Argento has crafted a beautiful and terrifying horror film.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974): A-, Grisly, disturbing, and highly powerful and original.

State of Play (2009): B+, very compelling thriller, better than I expected.

Where the Wild Things Are (2009) B+, compelling and touching despite its thin plot.

Paranormal Activity (2009): A-, very effective and utterly terrifying (although I think I was more scared the first time I watched "The Shining").

I saw Drag Me to Hell (B+).

Raising Arizona- 8/10
Drag Me To Hell- 8/10
Land of the Lost- 6/10

Re-watched:
The Proposal- 8/10
A.I. Artificial Intelligence- 9/10
Beetlejuice- 9/10

1.Dewey Cox (dont ask me why) lacked the humor I came to expect with Cooper. 6/10
2. Paranormal Activity: amazing filmmaking. 8/10
3. From Hell: classic Johnny Depp, plus Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) was Jack. great film. 8/10
4. Zombieland: Woody was brilliant and Emma Stone was beautiful as always, great film. 7/10.
5. Old School: hilarious. 7/10

Watched (out of ****):
Meet the Fockers: ***1/2
Monty Python's Meaning of Life: ****
Monty Python's Life of Brian: ***1/2

Rewatched:
The Phantom of the Opera (2004): ****
Away We Go: ****
Monty Python and the Holy Grail: ***
Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2: ****

Gosh, I gave those all very high ratings. But I just happened to like all of them… a lot. Giving "Phantom of the Opera" 4/4 from a moviemaking viewpoint may seem a bit suspect, but it has such an emotional kick and such a great story and music that it far overcomes some of the errors in editing and directing (which actually aren't that big). I'd do the same for "Repo! The Genetic Opera," which isn't really that great filmmaking but has such a great story that it feels unfair to give it anything less. After all, criticizing movies is a very subjective undertaking, no matter what anyone says. "Phantom" joins the first two Harry Potters and "Watchmen" as one of those films that is not quite a perfect adaptation but has such a great story that everything else is overcome. And I'd put Phantom at the top of those four. Oh, and I also forgot just how bloody amazing Kill Bill was.

Didn't really watch much this week, but the two that stick out are:

Donnie Darko (Directors Cut): A-

Law Abiding Citizen: B+

Law Abiding Citizen – Like most (and Brad) have been saying, it's a dumb little thriller that actually has its fair share of enjoyable moments. I'll be alright with seeing it on FX in a year or so. 2.5/5

Breathless – Ok so there has been so much said about this movie, and I never knew what I would think of it, and, well, I liked it quite a bit. Sure there are flaws and I wasn't the biggest fan of the editing, but it really is a groundbreaking classic for a reason. On side note, did anyone know that they remade this in the 80s with Richard Gere? 4/5

Plein Soleil – The original version of 'The Talented Mr. Ripley.' While it certainly is a well-made movie, I'm going to do something I rarely do, and that is say that the American remake is a better film. For some reason I just liked how the story played out in Minghella's version and the end hit me a lot harder. 3/5

Where the Wild Things Are – No, it's not perfect, but Christ did I like it. A lot has been said about its content not being child-friendly, but it just makes it such a better movie. It's a dark story and Spike Jonze did an excellent job telling it. 4/5

Rewatched Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill films and Pulp Fiction. Brilliant filmmaking, QT is an absolute genius.

Grey Gardens – This is the TV movie with Drew Barrymoore and Jessica Lange. A fabulous movie that expands the world of the Beales. Some parts were melodramatic for my taste. 8/10

"Where the Wild Things Are" – I enjoyed the world that Spike Jonze expanded about the troublemaker, Max going to the island where he tries to rule the Wild Things. It was tear inducing, but it felt a little off at the resolution. 8.5/10

"Bright Star" – I was utterly disappointed with Jane Campion's latest film about the doomed love story between John Keats and Fanny Brawne. It was a beautiful film to look it, but I didn't care about the "romance". I was bored to tears. I wanted it to end. 4/10

"Closer" – Re-watching this film, it's an unflinching look at the dark side of relationships. Natalie Portman and Clive Owen were fantastic in the movie, but I didn't like Jude Law or Julia Roberts. 8/10

"Kickboxer" – It's just another revenge sports movie that stars Jean-Claude Van Damme. People who are into S&M should really enjoyed this movie. 7/10

9 – I thought it was a good premise, but not enough for an entire movie (even one that was 79 min) 6/10

Paranormal Activity – After some time trying to get this movie around me, I finally got to see it. I liked it, but I think I was expecting something a little scarier. Definitely a creepy movie. 8/10

The Great Escape – Still working my way through the IMDB 250. This one was enjoyable, I love movies with a intricate set up like this. 8/10

Nosferatu – Not my type of movie, but like I said working my way through the IMBD list. 5/10

Red Dawn – I wanted to watch this one since they were remaking it. Not too bad actually, but I wasn't expecting much. 7/10