Finally Watched Oldboy And Wow. What A Great Movie.

Oldboy 10/10

The Fall 9/10

Miss Petigrew Lives For A Day 7/10

Knowing 8/10

Flannel Pajamas 8/10

The Minus Man 6/10

8/16-8/22:

The Majestic – 3/10

Inglourious Basterds – 10/10

District 9 – 10/10

In Bruges (rewatch) – 10/10

Basterds is my favorite movie of the year so far, a true masterpiece.

The Boat That Rocked (2009) – 7/10
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) – 8,5/10
Almost Famous (2000) – 9/10
In the Loop (2009) – 7/10
Le salaire de la peur (1953) – 10/10
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) – 10/10
Vratné lahve (2007) – 8/10

Some great movies I've seen this week :)

Glad to see you are a fan of Dexter, it's my current favorite show on television.

As for what I watched

District 9: Definitely not what I expected from it, but in a great way. Easily ranked in the top 5 Sci-fi films of the last 10-20 years. 8/10.

Death Proof (I skipped Planet Terror): In preparation for "Basterds" I decided to pay Quentin a visit. Instead of going with one of the films I love I decided to go with the only one of his films that I have claimed to hate. After seeing it again (third time overall) I will say it has begun to grow on me a little bit. I still consider the first half of the film a bit of a drag, but once we meet the second group of ladies things do pick up. I love Kurt Russell in it, but I think it still ranks as the lowest of his films in my humble opinion. 6/10

He Got Game: I'd seen it a few years back and had been on the fence about it. After re-watching it I like it. No one part is fantastic (Denzel plays Denzel throughout, Ray Allen effectively shoots a basketball; ineffectively acts, most of the supporting cast is in the Okay range) but it all comes together in a way that strangely works. The pick-up game at the end probably has a lot to do with it, I loved it the first time and loved it again. Probably the only part of the film everyone involved with nails. 7.5/10

Inglorious Basterds: While it's placement as QT's "Masterpiece" remains in doubt (I seriously doubt he'll ever top Pulp Fiction. It's perfect) I.B. is probably his second best film to date. Christoph Waltz is one of the most magnetic precenses in recent cinema, you hate him but he never ceases to entertain. Pitt as Raine is a perfect counterpoint and is given quite a few great moments to play with. Without spoiling anything, his Italian is superb. The rest of the cast is unformly great but it's two leads are so well crafted and their stories so engaging that I have to rank this as the best picture of the year thus far. If it weren't for a few tell tale signs I never would have thought this a QT film and I mean that in the best way possible. 9.0/10

My favorite season of Dexter has to be the first. Such intrigue, intertwined plotlines, and great reveals. Then comes season three, then season two. Though the show is now becoming more and more hyperbolic and unbelievable (how can they not know he's a serial killer by now?), it's still very entertaining. And some have said the new season looks great with the first episode leaked over the Internet a few days ago.

This past week, I saw:

"Donnie Brasco" (7/10): I've seen too many gangster movies and this one falls flat in the dramatic aspect. Al Pacino shows us that he can play any body in the chain of command in the mafia. But this film market the decline of his film career ("The Recruit," "Two for the Money," to follow).

"The Sopranos" Season 1&2 (7/10): Plot lines become boring when all they do is try to whack each other in the end of every season. I skipped ahead to the series finale and was disappointed with the open ending. This show also attempts to glorify the mob and justify some of the atrocities they commit, as compared to Coppola who showed how a good man eventually became evil because of his choices. The show struck me as a ploy from David Chase to use a platform to justify the reverse discrimination used by gangsters. But hey I'm still a fan of fat Tony and his crazy escapades. Salut.

"Flightplan" (7.5/10): I love airplane and airport movies for some reason. They remind me of the international intermingling between all elasticities and passengers. The movie was a good thriller and I'm still a huge Jodie Foster fan. The rest of the cast played their parts beautifully when they were maddeningly unhelpful in her search.

"Lost" Season 5 finale (9.5/10): I watch this episode time and time again because I love this show. I can't wait for the final season and how everything ties together. I must say that at this point, I really dislike the character of Kate and her flippant and capricious ways. But knowing the writers, they'll find a way to redeem her character like they did with Sawyer.

That's all folks. Next week I hope to check out "Jackie Brown."

So, the week began with 'In The Bedroom', which I thought was well done, and superbly acted. No surprise, considering the oscar nominationss it received

A rewatch of Stranger Than Fiction, which is a favorite of mine. It's painful for me to see the dialogue bounce back and forth between poor and excellent, and I'm not a fan of the 'quirky' direction/the screen was the director's whiteboard to write things on, but I still love the movie something awful.

Julia, I thought, was simply wonderful. Meryl Streep was more magnetic than anyone rightfully should be. I actually didn't have the problem most critics seemed to about Julie being unlikeable – I liked her ok, and cared, I just thought that section seemed to be of lower-quality filmmaking. I liked District 9 a lot… the end. And Inglorious Basterds… I absolutely adored the first scene, and most of the talking scenes, but I thought that for once, Mr. Tarantino needed to cool it with the bombastic direction. Just this time, I thought the movie would have been sufficiently served by his incredible pacing and ability to construct dialogue.

I loved Babel. I loved the direction quite a bit, and wonder if it would have done better at the Oscars if it wasn't so similar in subject and tone to Crash. And I adored the editing. Critics seemed to say that they thought it was problematic because it was about nothing (or at least, wasn't about much)…. but I don't think it had to be about something. Notes on a Scandal wasn't criticized for not having a message, because it was a character study. And I think that after the infamous Crash, which wasn't a character study, and wasn't about anything, people expected anything remotely… global in scope to have a message. But it seemed to me to be a character study. Any thoughts?

The Last Days of Disco left no impression on me. I don't remember anything (except for the fact that I thought the Kate Beckinsale's character was pretty annoying). I've always wanted to buy the soundtrack, though.

As for Dexter, Season Three may be my favourite one so far. This show is getting better with each season!!

What I watched this week:

- Se Nada Mais Der Certo (If Nothing Else Works Out, on a literal translation): brazilian movie about an unlikely friendship between an unemployed journalist, a taxi driver and a tomboy girl. The characters are really nice, the dialogue is interesting, and the interaction between the characters is good. Didn't like the climax very much though. Anyway, a nice addition to the current state of brazilian cinema. 7,5/10

- Drop Dead Gorgeous (re-watch): I can't believe how outrageous this movie is. No wonder it was a failure at the box office. It couldn't be made now – it's just too politically incorrect. Amy Adams was always lovely, since her first movie. Allison Janney is nothing short of brilliant. "I got some!", it always make me laugh. 10/10

- Sense and Sensibility (re-watch): After spending a vacation in England, watching this movie is so fun. The dialogue is top-notch. All the performances are great. It is so nice to see the little reactions on Emma Thompson's face. And the last bit between Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant) and the Dashwood family is a rare treat for me: it makes me cry and laugh at the same time. A

- Jacob's Ladder (re-watch): In the end, what's left is this huge feeling of sadness for Jacob. As much as I like Fatal Attraction, this is the first time that Adrian Lyne really really shone. The Macaulay Culkin bits are quite touching. I watched it last night, and on my way to bed I was scared. A

I mixed 1-to-10 grades with this A-to-F system you american people use. Sorry about that.

Inglourious Basterds – A

District 9 – A

Le Samourai – A

GI Joe – D-

Inglourious Basterds was absolutely fantastic and i thought Christophe Waltz was amazing and deserves an oscar nomination
District 9 was brilliant and i loved the originality of the film and the fantastic third act
Le Samourai was great and now holds a position in my top five films of all time
GI Joe was an absolute waist of time and shouldn't have been made

Really liked Adventureland, I saw that back when it was released, but here are the films I've watched recently. There's a couple Michael Mann works because I've been watching a lot of Depp and Mann since Public Enemies…

Inglourious Baterds: 4/4
Thief: 3.5/4
Manhunter: 3/4
Killshot: 1.5/4
Following: 3.5/4
Frailty: 3.5/4

Adventureland is one of my top movies of the year, love it to pieces. Also, glad you enjoy Last Days of Disco, nice to see it getting the Criterion treatment. It's been an under-appreciated gem for years.

I saw Dr. Strangelove and the original version of The Manchurian Candidate over the weekend. Both of them brilliant.

i watched

the last samurai 9/10 tom cruise's best performance IMO

king arthur (2004) -8/10 i dont understand the hate for this movie, it may be inaccurate but it has strong entertainment value, and is very well cast and acted

saving private ryan- 10/10 a lot has been said about this movie, and its all true, well the positive things atleast.

in bruges- 9/10 simply amazing, beautiful score.

Two Lovers – 7/10. Excellent performance by Phoenix. Whether it's a hoax or not, I don't believe for one second that he won't act again.

The Haunting in Connecticut – 3/10. Not much to recommend here.

The Unborn – 5/10. Decent cast, fairly standard storyline, with some good FX.

Let The Right One In – 6/10. Due to great reviews my expectations were high. I was left slightly disappointed, although I felt it was a very original take on a vampire movie. It will be interesting to see how the remake turns out.

@ddurden33: It depends on which version of King Arthur you were watching. The theatrical version was a PG-13 watered down mess. By the time the DVD was released all that was added back in was the gore and violence, which I agree turned it into a more entertaining movie, but it still remains a film Antoine Fuqua was shackled on and never allowed to turn into a cohesive vision. It was originally slated to be an R-rated holiday release, but was moved into the summer at the last minute.

Darkman – 7/10
Erin Brockovich – 8/10
Color Me Kubrick – 5/10
Straw Dogs – 8/10
Inglorious Basterds – 9/10

@Brad Brevet: i watched the bluray director's cut and you are right its more graphic than the theatrical version, and i had a feeling that jerry b had fuqua on a short leash, there is an interesting round table extra on the dvd, where the cast, the director, and the producer chime in on their experience, and you can clearly see the over powering presence of bruckheimer. its still a good watch, my friends liked it too. BTW i heard there is a new Excalibur movie being made, is that true ? i am a big fan of arthur and merlin, and right now waiting for the new season of merlin on nbc.

Pontypool
A great addition to the zombie(ish) genre. I recommend watching it alone with headphones/ear buds on.

Traitor
Thoughtful and a joy to watch. I remember people (rightfully) talking about Cheadle's performance when it came out but I'd say Guy Pearce is just as great.

I did have the time to continue my Blade Runner education, I'll get back to it this week.

Watched Inglourious Basterds. Very good movie. Great dialogue. It has flaws. 8.5/10

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. I knew this movie was crap. It delivered, especially Chris Klein. 1/10

Seven Samurai. Kurosawa's best known film. It was a Criterion. A simple story that should not be 3 1/2 hours long. 8/10

District 9. A different take on the sci-fi genre. It has flaws, but the ride is well worth it. 8/10

I Love You, Man: 7/10 – I thought it had some funny moments but I think when you take a "Judd Apatow Cast" and remove the Judd Apatow, you can feel the difference. It just isn't the same, no matter how hard it tries. Decent rental, nothing more.

Knocked Up (re-watch) 9/10 : Great movie all around. It's nice to see one of the original "R-Rated Comedy with Heart" movies. Plenty of movies trying to rip off this genre since this release as well as The 40-Year Old Virgin.

Transporter 3 7/10 : More of the same. I really like Statham, but this franchise should stop here.