Those are not pillows!!!!!!!!!

I caught the Toy Story 3D double feature Thursday before it left theaters. Why were these films reframed at 2.35 from their original 1.85 aspect ratio? I have the DVDs so I know they are supposed to be 'flat' not 'scope' but I could tell from the opening Disney logo that the framing was wrong: the flag on top of the castle and the tail of the 'y' in Walt Disney were cut off due to the cropping. Of course the theater I was at had the masking pulled in so the sides of the image spilled onto the black curtains, making it even worse. It was less noticeable on the films themselves. Was this only at my theater?

I really love this film. I actually thought the dramatic moments towards the end worked quite well. In my opinion, this is one of the definitive mixtures of comedy and drama.

By the way, are you allowed to give quick thoughts on The Blind Side? I'm curious to hear how Bullock was.

Ratatouille and WALL-E (rewatches): what can I say that haven't been said already? Two Pixar masterpieces here, which both have a great interesting story, great characters, awesome music, and incredible visuals. WALL-E I consider the better film out of the two (in fact, Pixar's best ever) but as far as pure entertainment goes, Ratatouille wins. Still, absolutely love them both.

Boogie Nights (re-watch): watched it for the second time and it's pretty great film, my only gripe with it being that PTA's style here is a real rip-off of Scorsese and partially Tarantino styles. Otherwise, the dialogue is golden, all the actors do a fantastic job (i'm convinced this is still Mark Wahlberg's best performance to date, although The Lovely Bones could change that), it has one of the best soundtracks ever and the production design is top-notch. An excellent film.

The Wrestler (re-watch): very strong and powerful drama with a powerhouse performance by Rourke, who TOTALLY should have won the Oscar for it. It's a once-in-a-lifetime kind of performance, great and already iconic.

The Bourne Trilogy (re-watch): the only thing I don't like about these films is concerning Julia Stiles' character and her previous history with Bourne, which simply cannot be understood when you see all three films at once. Other than that, it's a unique franchise in our time of (mostly) pointless and shallow blockbusters like Transformers, and I absolutely love it. Great story, great main character (who has a truckload of charisma, isn't trying to save the world and doesn't have to rely on gadgets), and greatly staged action sequences. And I really dig all the gritty realism too. Fantastic movies, all three of 'em.

Peter Jackson's Braindead (aka Dead Alive) (first-time watch). Pardon my French, but this movie is absolutely fucking amazing, I just can't say it other way. Absolutely hilarious, incredibly bloody and violent, wonderfully trashy gorefest and I loved, loved, loved every minute of it. Fantastic movie and top-notch entertainment. Although, I don't think I will ever be able to eat custard after seeing it… those who've seen it understand what I'm talking about.

Into the Wild (first-time watch). A great film, a little bit overlong, but that's my only issue with it. Amazing visuals and soundtrack, excellent acting all-around, strong writing and directing. Loved it.

Just compared Troy from the First Helen of Troy…

Both sucked. I mean, I liked Troy because of Pitt, Kruger and Bloom, I don't even remember Helen of Troy. Lacks story, Gods, characters…I'm gonna watch the latest Helen of Troy someday this week. I hope it's better.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Love this film to bits and its my favourite entry in the series. I think there's a level of craftmanship in this film that i felt Terminator Salvation lacked, the action is excellent and i love the way the film looks. i always feel sad at the end.

Aliens – Another James Cameron film which again is one of my favourites, i love the sound design in this film and James Horner score is great. Its just a shame that the DVD doesn't look as good as it should but a great sequel – still haven't seen Alien 3 or Resurrection yet.

Dog Day Afternoon – went into this film not knowing much other than it was based on reality and it starred Al Pacino and i'm still plodding my way through Pacino's 70s films (watched Serpico a while ago) there were some things that went over the top of my head (such as Attica – i'm young and had no idea about that situation) but it was interesting watching it because i never felt on the side of the police/FBI or felt that they were in the right which felt odd. despite Sonny's mess of a life, i sympathised with him (especially after the phonecall to his wife) and was not expecting the ending – a compelling film to watch.

My Best Friends Girl – Never watched a Dane Cook film but heard he was a poor comedian etc and found this film to be enjoyable in bits in places but sometimes it tried to hard to be funny, i didn't like Jason Bigg's character and its far too conventional, there were times when i lost interest in what was happening

Public Enemies – found this film to be a bit dense, in a good way. Thought the performances were good all round (i liked Billy Crudup's J Edgar Hoover and Stephen Graham's pyschotic Baby Face Nelson) with Bale's character slightly one dimensional, it never really concentrated on him enough. It took a while to get to the story at the heart of the film between Depp and Cotillard. Visually its definitely different from other period films but like Miami Vice there are times when i can't hear what people are saying, not many but still slightly annoying.

Adoration (B-) interesting story and how it all comes together throughout.

Marc Pease Experience: (D) a couple of funny scenes could not save this film.

The Maiden Heist (B) i enjoyed the cast in this film, all super-stars of their vocation.

A Christmas Carol (C) definitely the kid-friendly film I thought it would be. A little but of a disappointment by Zemeckis.

G.I. Joe (D+) horrible filmmaking, but some cool action scenes. Stick to the Mummy

Easy Virtue: (B) beautiful scenery and an outstanding soundtrack stole the film for me, but the cast and story were good as well.

11/1-11/7:

The Hit – A
The Maiden Heist – B-
For Your Eyes Only – C-
Moon – B
Random Hearts – B-
Sabrina – B+
The Men Who Stare at Goats – B-
The Box – A
Goldfinger – B
Maverick – B
Watchmen: Ultimate Cut – C-
Die Another Day (rewatch) – D+

@zyzygy: I was very close to going with that clip… very, very close.

"The Damned United" – A sports movie about a British coach, Brian Clough about his rise to be the greatest coach in soccer history. I didn't get the genius conveyed in the movie. 3 1/2 stars.

"Full Metal Jacket" – This is my favorite Kubrick film. 5 stars.

"Donnie Darko" – The movie lost its luster. 4 stars.

"Let the Right One In" – Damn it. I love this film. It's a helluva lot better than Twilight.

The Girlfriend Experience- C+ Soderburgh was on to something with this one, just didn't quite get there.

The Last Picture Show- A- Definitely a classic.

The Door in the Floor- B A heartbreaker.

Cape Fear (1962)- A- Both versions are great. Mitchum is amazing.

The Night of the Hunter- B+ Mitchum possibly even more amazing.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)- A Exponentially better than the remake.

Couples Retreat- D- Just awful. Disappointed in the cast.

Bronson – 6/10

Onibaba – 9/10

Draginball Evolution – 6/10 (Completely based on nostalgia, I simply had a fun time watching it)

Observe and Report 7/10

Lolita- 8.5/10
Pulp Fiction- 6.5/10
The Horse Boy- 8.5/10
Glengarry Glen Ross- 4.5/10

A Christmas Carol= B

Harry Brown – 8/10 – Easily my favourite British film of the year. Michael Caine is superb and he is ably supported by a great cast. It willl be interesting to see how this does overseas as it is similar to Grand Torino, though far more violent.

Fantastic Mr Fox – 7/10 – An enjoyable film, if a little light in some respects, you can definitely see Wes Anderson's touches all over it.

In The Loop – 8/10 – Didn't quite live up to the hype as the story ran out of steam towards the end but still easily the funniest film of the year.

White Men Can't Jump (Rewatch) – 8/10 – Wesley and Woody really are a dream comedic double act in this… Interestingly, contrary to what people might have thought, Woody is apparently a far better basketball player than Wesley in real life.

I don't usually do these, even though I watch many movies, but yesterday I watched Dogville for the first time. I'm still amazed by it. it had fantastic storytelling that was such like a novel that you forgot you were watching a movie. also the many themes that were evident in it were overwhelming, and the conclusion was fitting, and you kind of hoped it would come

- Re-watched Layer Cake this weekend. if you haven't seen it, I strongly urge you to.

- Saw the Men who stare at goats, liked it a lot. Good piece of entertainment.

-I also saw two classic masterpieces this week. I bought one already and will be buying the other soon. The good, the bad and the ugly and Dead Poets Society.

Where The Wild Things Are 9/10

Zombieland 8/10

The Brothers Bloom 8/10

Away We Go 8/10

Penelope 6.5/10