What I Watched, What You Watched: Installment #59

Not a lot -

A Single Man (2009) – First watch. Excellent performances and an involving story. Immaculate production design and style makes an interesting debut from Ford. Firth more than deserved his Oscar nomination and had he won, it wouldn't have been a bad call.

Bringing up Baby (1938) – Rewatch, but for the first time in many years. Very good all round. Will probably be some time before I watch it again though.

L.A Confidential (1997) – Rewatch. I've had the SE on my shelf for a while after replacing my original copy but hadn't watched it for a while. Hanson's masterpiece and still an absorbingly played story that's proven itself in the last twelve years as a modern classic.

Frost/Nixon (2008) (rewatch)- A movie that I didn’t care too much for originally, but has vastly improved with each rewatch. I still feel that Michael Sheen was much, much better than Frank Langella and should have gotten the nomination instead. Sheen and Rebecca Hall are two of my favorite actors and were the reason I originally saw it, and I hope they continue to have a great career. 9/10

Lord of the Flies (1963)- Having not read the book, here’s my thoughts on just the movie: I liked the opening credits that basically gave us the background without delving too much into it, I think it was done pretty well. After that the story seems to just jump into it all, which is probably a good thing as opposed to slowly building up to the split of the group, because that could have easily added an additional half hour that would have been unnecessary. I was pleasantly surprised with the acting as well. I’m usually not for movies that rely solely on child actors because the acting is pretty hit or miss, but I thought everyone played their part very well, with James Aubrey, Tom Chapin, and Hugh Edwards giving strong performances as Ralph, Jack, and Piggy, easily carrying the movie forward. I thought there were some moments where the movie began to drag, but for the most part it flowed easily and kept me interested in where it was going. I wasn’t too much a fan of the ending with the naval officer coming out of nowhere and saving Ralph and the rest of the children just at that exact moment. To me it was like one big deus ex machina. If that’s how the author wanted to end the story, I think he could have worked into the story in a different and, in my opinion, a better way. Overall, I liked it, but I don’t think I’d buy it. 7/10

Red Riding Trilogy 1974 (2009)- I’d heard enough good things about this trilogy, especially since the whole trilogy had just come out on DVD. By the half hour mark I was completely bored out of my mind. It starts out with a reporter going to find out about children that had been killed, and then nothing after that besides the reporter going around having sex. Hated it, and don’t plan to ever return to it. 1/10

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)- I had a mild interest in it from the good reviews I’d heard from several different people and decided to check it out. I’m happy I did because I loved it. It had a bit of a slow part in the middle, but I loved the way that it ended, making it a very powerful film. 9/10

Bobby (2006) (rewatch)- Great movie that stays consistent with each rewatch. 8/10

The Big Lebowski (1998) (rewatch)- Didn’t care much for it the first time and while I enjoyed it more on my second viewing, I still don’t think of it as anything amazing. I think it really comes down to the second half of the movie. The first part is engaging and flows so well, but the second half just starts a bit of a slump and plateaus like that up until about the last fifteen or so minutes. Still provides a whole slew of quote-worthy lines, but I’m thinking it’s just not one I’m ever going to fully enjoy. 7/10

12 Angry Men (1957) (rewatch)- I was unimpressed the first time I saw this and didn’t really care to see it again, but a couple of months ago while on vacation, I found it was the only thing I could get on my hotel room T.V. and ended up getting more into it, so I decided to give it one more shot. I still don’t think I’m ever going to like it as much as other people talk it up to be, but I definitely think it improves with each rewatch. I’m interested in possibly checking out the 1997 remake. 8/10

I’m Not There. (2007) (rewatch)- I hate to sound like a broken record, but once again: I hated this movie when I first saw. Later on I decided to revisit it and ended up loving it. Several viewings later, it’s now one of my favorite movies. 1/10

Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000) (rewatch)- I remember watching this years ago just to pass the time and thinking it was hilarious. Once again I was just looking for something to pass the time and saw it on Netflix, so I decided to check it out again. I was not nearly as entertained as I was back then (which is probably a good thing), but, hey, it still managed to pass the time. 5/10

The Good: Live Hard, Sell Hard (2009)- Yawn… 4/10

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) (rewatch)- I absolutely love this movie. I think it is one of the very rare occasions in which it improves on the source material, which is also my favorite play. 10/10

Before Sunrise (1995) and Before Sunset (2004) (both rewatches)- I find it hard to talk about them individually since both times I’ve seen them I watched both back to back, so I kind of feel like they’re just one big movie in two parts. I just got them in and went through a second viewing. I remember really liking Sunrise. To me it was a realistic portrayal of how people perceive ‘love’. On the other hand Sunset left me a little more unimpressed. I think it was because I felt like there was a little too much change in Hawke and Delpy’s characters from the first movie. Sure people change over nine years, but I just felt something was a little too different with both of them. Overall I liked Sunrise better. This second time, while I still liked Sunrise, I can’t say much else about it. I think it was one of the rare occasions when a movie is almost exactly as I remember it being, not better, not worse. Sunset I ended up liking a lot more and for almost the same reasons I gave for originally just giving it a shrug. The changes in the characters heavily reflects everything that didn’t happen in between the two movies, and keeping that in mind, it really improved the movie experience for me. The only thing I think would have made it better is that it could have easily tacked on about another half hour because I feel like it ended way to quick. So with round two, Sunset was more enjoyable. I give both 8/10

Mindhunters (2004) (rewatch)- First rewatch in a long time. Entertaining, yes, but a little sillier than I remember it being. 7/10

The Girlfriend Experience (2009) (rewatch)- I’ve probably watched this five or so times, but I still can’t make up my mind about it. I like it enough that I’ve given it so many rewatches, but there isn’t a single thing I can point out that I particularly like. Sasha Grey seems to be all over the place: stiff, wooden acting in some scenes, decent acting in a few others, but for the most part it’s like she changes here character depending on the scene. Every time I watch it, it’s basically to see if I can get a better opinion about it, but… yeah, it may need yet another try. Either that or just accept it as it is. 6/10

Dirty Harry (1971)- I liked it, but kind of a let down from what I’ve all heard about the series. 7/10

School of Rock (2003) (rewatch)- It’s a nice, fun movie that enjoy popping in from time to time. 7/10

Malcolm in the Middle Season 2- A lot of the episodes that I remember loving were in this season, so I enjoyed going back through them all.

Forgot about these-

Master and Commander: The far side of the World (2003)- Peter Weir evokes Lean in the scope and intimacy of his filmmaking. The film is technically brilliant w/ great period details and battle sequences and another great performance by Russell Crowe. Watching it again i felt it moved along much quicker this time then first seeing it in theaters. Also, loved the use of classical music.

The Cove (2009) – What a heartbreaking film this is. I was riveted from start to finish and the footage of the slaughter of the dolphins is simply horrifying. Certainly a triumph of investigative filmmaking. A well deserved Oscar win for this.

Donnie Darko& D.D Directors cut- I watched both this weekend and I knew the differences between each film. Yet I was upset in both on the ending due to my strange ability to relate to Donnie. Other than that A great film with some well done performances, an enchanting story and humorous yet dark setting. D.D- A- D.D directors cut- A

pirahna 3D- despite its gonzo morals I loved it. Just a purely fun only film. C+

Vampires suck- I hate myself that I saw it th only timed I laughed was the crowds reaction on how bad it was at the end. F

I am in the middle of american teen and im checking out a lot of netflixas this weekend since school strts up again this week.

2001 A Space Odyssey. sometimes boring but tense and mysterious epic about cosmic travel, terrors of A.I. and what not. 4/5
Scarface. Story of a ambitious, over the top, but righteous criminal brilliantly performed by Al Pacino. 4/5
Scott Pilgrim vs. The world. Braineless, repetitive, predictable. Overdose of gaming action. 2/5
Monty Python's Life of Brian. Ridiculous, Non-sensical, satirical.. and fun.. 4/5
Udaan. Full of moments.. moments of brilliance with no pretensions or cliches. 5/5

I've been loving watching Netflix Instant Releases on my Xbox. I've been flying through films recently, including a lot of foreign films I've been neglecting for awhile.

"Werckmeister Harmoniak" (rewatch) It feels like everyone and their mother worships at the altar of Terrence Malick. Don't get me wrong, he's fantastic, but Bela Tarr is just as much a force to be reckoned with. The film runs 2 1/2hours with just 30-odd shots and creates a moody, tense and utterly mesmerizing atmosphere. There is a shot of a whale lying dead in the middle of this small European town that is nothing short of poetic. (A+)

"The American" It was refreshing to see Clooney depart from the charm and smarm that made him famous. While interesting, the film tried way too hard to mimic a slew of earlier European classics. Also, the butterly metaphor was overdone, but the beautiful cinematography and artful execution deserve mad props, yo. (B)

"Manic" After seeing "Inception" I decided to scour Joe Gordon-Leavitt's filmography because I was sure there'd be a few underseen gems and man, was this one of them. The film is done in the cinema-verite style, looking like it was shot on a video camera at 29.97 frames per second. The film takes place in a youth ward of a mental hospital where Gordon-Leavitt's character finds himself after cracking a kid over the head with a baseball bat. Don Cheadle runs the ward and while the events that transpire are pretty unlikely, the performances are so real, so devastating that it's easy to suspend your disbelief. One of Gordon-Leavitt's best performances. (B+)

"The Son" A really good, claustrophobic, peculiar film about the relationship between a vocational school teacher and the boy who killed his son. It's french, with all handheld shots that are so tight in on the characters, it hardly gives the viewer a chance to breath. It's a great effect that turns ordinary scenes into breathtaking suspense sequences. (B)

"Croupier" Early Clive Owen film from the 90s. It's easy to see why audiences have gravitated toward him in recent years. He plays a stoic would-be novelist that works in a low rent casino to get by. Voice-over narration dominates the majority of the film, but from the mind of an intelligent, if condescending anti-hero. Very slowly the film becomes a mystery-thriller, as heist plans to rob the casino unfold. Very good. (B+)

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (rewatch) I continue to argue with family and friends about the emotional distance Fincher allows to breed between the characters and the audience, but I think it creates a more interesting connection between Benjamin and the people who populate his world. Brad Pitt has always been good, but between this and Jesse James, he has begun to master his craft. There's one sequence that truly stands out, where his daughter reads his letter aloud as it cuts to a travelogue of sorts. Great film. (A)

"Winter's Bone" One of the best films of the summer. Granik's direction is restrained and the plot doesn't move until the characters decide for it to. Jennifer Lawrence should be nominated for an Oscar. (B+)