Expansion of the original. Good for all the same reasons. I think I liked the original better, but this one is pretty good too.
Babe
Wonderful movie. I loved how the different animals were completely unique & true to what we would think their personalities would be (based on their species type). With most movies of this ilk, the animals are all somewhat the same type of character. The filming was fantastic too… how’d they do that? It’s easy to forget you’re watching animals all the time, not actors.
The Hangover
Sure, I suppose there were some funny bits in this movie… But that’s what it was… A movie of bits, with no glue holding them together. How hard could it have been for them to tie up the various loose ends, and make this forgotten night into one long intertwined mystery? For example, how did the one character meet and marry the stripper? Sure, the Mike Tyson bit was funny, but what series of events resulted in them stealing his tiger? If they’d somehow tied these two things together (and explained the chicken in the process), it could have been a riot. I’m not saying they had to explain every last thing in the movie, but there was a lot more “funny” that could have made these bits into a coherent whole… And made the final product way more funny.
Prince Caspian
Also known as Narnia II. I’m pretty darn sure I saw this, but pretty darn sure I can’t remember much of it either. I guess that would tell you that in the long run, it’s forgettable. So, if a movie is watched, and no one remembers, did it even happen?
Glory Road
A bunch of underprivileged minority kids overcome racism and their own self doubt to triumph in a world that once excluded them (see also: The Great Debaters)
Invictus
A movie that was almost begging to be made… And could have hardly been made better.
Idiocracy
Probably the most realistic portrayal of the future that I’ve seen put to film… I nearly added the “True Story” tag to this post. It’s already happening… Is “Ow, my balls!” really much different than a lot of pop culture being produced today? Anyway, aside from the spooky window into our future, this was just a plain funny and wholly original movie.
Shaun of the Dead
All in all, I suppose I did enjoy this movie. The ending is what really made it all worth while. But there were parts in-between that really had me cringing. Why do they have to have characters do just plain stupid stuff, or agonize about decisions that should be easy? Just once, I’d like to see a zombie movie where the “hero” realizes that someone around them is about to turn into a zombie, then just shrug their shoulders, say “sorry dude, sucks to be you”, and blow their head off.
Up
Much of this movie was cute, and fun, and beautiful… But I thought the main story (about the bird, etc), was “forced”, like the needed “something” to keep the story moving, and you could see the writers shrugging their shoulders, “rare rainbow colored bird? Um, I guess that’ll do…” I guess I just don’t like it when “they” invent animal species for some reason. Maybe it goes back to an old episode of woody woodpecker about the “pipsquak bird” wherein a birdwatcher is mocked, etc… I hated that episode during my childhood, and have disliked that plot device ever since. I’m not entirely sure why, but there you have it. Anyway, this movie has enough positives going for it to more than compensate.
(oh, one other thing… Do they even have squirrels in the amazon? I’d guess not… So, why would the dogs even know of squirrels, much less call one out? Stuff like that makes me feel like the writers are talking down to me. Sure, it would be a funny little “bit” for a kid, but I expect more from pixar wrt/ jokes like that one.)
Fantastic Mr. Fox
If you could really dig like that, the world would be full of possibilities. I loved the attention to detail, and the way the characters experienced time. Just a really cool, unconventional animated experience.
Coco Before Chanel
wonderful epic period piece about the birth of modern fashion. Best part for me was how the popular culture changed through the movie… It wasn’t just coco who was coming of age, but all of us. I wasn’t too “big” on the secret revealed at the end… Whether is was true to life or not, it just seemed kind of contrived and unnecessary. Though, if it was indeed true to life, I guess it was kind of necessary… But didn’t need to be presented as this big secret…
Hot Tub Time Machine
Sometimes you just have to put all logic, reason, and taste aside, and indulge yourself in a truly mind and body numbing experience.
Whatever Works
For the first half of this movie, all I could think was how annoying Larry David was, and it bugged the heck out of me. For the second half, all I could think was how annoying Larry David was… and it kind of worked.
Warning: This contains the usual Woody Allen trope of an unappealing old guy hooking up with an attractive young woman for no believable reason… you just have to look past it.
Wendy and Lucy
Watched about half of this… While it was mildly interesting, it was so “true to life”, I thought, well, my actual life is mildly interesting too. So… Why am I watching this? I mean, you could just as well make a movie about me microwaving a burrito for dinner.
Big Fan
Fun movie about an obsessed fan, which asks a profound question about… Love? I wonder how many people saw this movie and thought, “Oh, my god! That’s me!” Not many, I suppose. Though, they do walk among us… And dial into late night radio sports-talk shows with their scripts at the ready…
Sugar
No sugar-coating on this story of an immigrant baseball hopeful chewed-up by the sports machine. At one point, you might think he’s throwing it all away, but is it better to quit? Or be shown the door? Makes you think about all the scads of people out there who almost made it. That’s most of us, actually.
Young Victoria
Will we ever reach the point where every slice of every life of every historical royal person is made into a movie? We’re working on it!
Avatar
What can I say about this movie that hasn’t already been said? Not much. My only complaint is at it’d have been better with a R rating; a little more raw and ugly. If the people who make these movies “hold back” because they’re worried about these things, why don’t they make alternate unrated versions? I guess they do sometimes. But why not put them in theaters alongside each other? So you could go see Avatar as G, PG, R, NC-17… In 3-d or not. That’d take up a whole multiplex!
Angels and Demons
This goes deeper than you could ever have imagined. It goes right to the top… Back to the beginning… Nothing you think you know is what’s really true. Or something like that. Does that even make sense?
An Education
What made this movie work for me was how the man not only seduced a girl, but seduced her whole family… And exposed all their shortcomings in the process. In fact, at the end of it all, they were strangely all better for the experience. Indeed, they did get an education.
The Illusionist
A pleasant little surprise. Even though I did find the main character annoying at times… and though some of the “illusions” were a bit far-fetched, it was still fun to watch him manipulate everyone and everything around him.
The Reader
Just tell them you can’t read… I mean, this is nuts… This is your big secret? You can’t read? And it’s worth going to prison for decades to keep this secret? Get over it! How am I supposed to sympathize with people like this? The movie was well shot, well acted, well written… But I just couldn’t get over the main story arc.
The Wrestler
Great character study… I think I enjoy this movie more now – a year after having seen it – than I did at the time. Something was very true about this; no lame Hollywood twists or anything.
Slumdog Millionaire
Sure, this was fun to watch… and filmed really well – they did give you a real sense of what this kid’s life was like… But the plot felt a bit forced – I didn’t really get the main premise of the plot. Why would the TV show people care if this kid won the prize? Heck, it makes a great story, and would do wonders for the ratings. They should have played it up. Actually, that might have made the movie even more interesting, as the kid would gradually be in a position of power over all those who had taken advantage of him earlier in his life. How would he use this power? Anyway, even considering this, it was a fun movie.
Night at the Museum
This is like one of those daydreams you have when you’re a kid, and you’re walking through a big city museum… Wouldn’t it be cool if all these characters came to life at night and hung out? Well, those kids grow up, and make movies. Silly, harmless, and just enough fun.