Enchanted April (1992) [Netflix Streaming]

 I wish I'd seen this Christmas Day 1992. I really like this movie. Josie Lawrence is awesome! I've only seen her on 'Whose Line Is It Anyway' before this, but I will definitely be seeking out more of her. Joan Plowright was awesome too! Alfred Molina was really awesome! Definitely going to be watching this again.

Netflix Rating: Four stars
Flickchart Ranking: 399

My Top Five Alfred Molina Flicks
5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) [Blu-ray]

A pleasant diversion, but there isn't much I can say about it. Very pretty flick. I enjoyed it.

Netflix rating: Three stars

Flickchart Ranking: 1442

My Top Five from BBC Films

5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

Hoosiers (1986) [Netflix Streaming]

I've started paying attention to the movies that will be leaving Netflix Streaming. The Flickchart Blog has all the info, so check it out. They informed me that Hoosiers would be expiring and I've never seen it, so I decided to check it out.

I've heard so many wonderful things about this movie and it turns out it was pretty good. A solid story and some wonderful performances.  I suppose I was a bit disappointed after 25 years of hype, but Gene Hackman is always worth watching.

Netflix Rating: Three stars
Flickchart Ranking: 1035

My Top Five Gene Hackman Films:


5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) [Blu-ray]

The first blu-ray I decided to watch on my new PS3 was Memoirs of a Geisha. It is probably in my top 20 favorite books ever, but I was always leery of watching the movie. I heard it wasn't that great. Turns out it was better than expected, but still not up to the calibre I would hope for from one of my favorite books. It looked beautiful, but there were several acting performances that just didn't work for me. I watched a few of the special features on the disc and those were quite good. Not a disc that I need to own, but a great rental from Netflix.

My Netflix Rating: Three Stars
My Flickchart Ranking: 1588

My Top Five Costume Romance Films

5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

For Your Consideration (2006)

Not very funny. Quite a disappointment.

Netflix Rating: Two Stars

Flickchart Ranking: 1501

Management (2008)

Jennifer Aniston and Steve Zahn are both pretty good in this movie. Pretty entertaining, but a tad bit generic. I liked it.

Netflix Rating: Three Stars

Flickchart Ranking: 1324

My Top Five Jennifer Aniston Movies:
1) The Good Girl
2) She's The One
3) Bruce Almighty
4) Office Space
5) Rock Star

Wendy And Lucy (2008)

Loved it. I can't wait to see more from Michelle Williams.

Netflix Rating: Four Stars

Flickchart Ranking: 672

Sunshine Cleaning (2008)

Alan Arkin can do no wrong. The rest of this movie is good, but not great. I like all the parts of this movie quite a bit, but overall it left just a pleasant aftertaste. Definitely worth a watch.

Netflix Rating: Three Stars

Flickchart Ranking: 468  (not sure how it got that high on the list)

My Top Five Alan Arkin Movies:
1) Grosse Point Blank
2) Glengarry Glen Ross
3) Edward Scissorhands
4) Slums Of Beverly Hills
5) Bullets Over Broadway

Eddie Izzard: Live From Wembley (2009)

I think I've seen and loved every Eddie Izzard comedy special. I believe that is the reason I didn't like this one very much. This seems to be a greatest hits routine. Lots of the material was not new to me. Also, due to the fact that Eddie is performing at Wembley, he seems to be performing differently than he does in theaters or clubs. He is really trying to project himself to fill this stage and I don't think he was very successful at it. Watch the other specials and skip this one.

Netflix Rating: Two Stars

Finding Amanda (2008)

A good performance from Matthew Broderick makes this a watchable movie. I was entertained. Not much else to say.

Netflix Rating: Three Stars

Flickchart Ranking: 1543

My Top Five Matthew Broderick Movies:
1) Ferris Bueller's Day Off
2) Election
3) Family Business
4) The Freshman
5) The Cable Guy

The Breakup Artist (2004)

Edward Burns was listed as being in this movie, so I figured I'd give it a try on Netflix Streaming. We made it through about 20 minutes before turning it off. I did not like it at all. I can't even remember if I saw Edward Burns; he is listed as having a Special Appearance. It would have to be very special to save this movie.

Netflix Rating: One Star

Flickchart Ranking: not on Flickchart

Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

So, I've got this brand new television; something has got to be the first thing I watch. Of course that should be 'Bend It Like Beckham'. I really like this movie and I've seen it several times now. All the performances are great, but I particularly like the actors playing Jess' parents. I'll definitely be watching this movie more in the future.

Netflix Rating: Four Stars

Flickchart Ranking: 348

My Top Five Keira Knightley Movies:
1) Love Actually
2) Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl
3) Bend It Like Beckham
4) King Arthur
5) Domino

Harry Potter Film Festival

My wife is in the Bahamas for a few days, so I was alone today. What wild and crazy thing did I decide to do with my saturday? A Harry Potter film festival of course!

I will start out by saying that I always hate the movies when I first see them. I spend the entire viewing cataloging everything that is different from the books. Then I spend hours, days, weeks complaining about how the movies are shit. Let's see if they have grown on me after repeated viewings.

Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone (2001) - A relatively enjoyable introduction to the world of Harry Potter. This film is a pleasant viewing experience. The differences from the book are significantly less important to the story than we will see in later films.

The Good: The majority of the cast is spot on to how I pictured them in in my mind. Mr. Ollivander is particularly good in a small role.

The Bad: Professor Quirrell didn't work for me.

Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets (2002) - Another relatively pleasant viewing experience. Chris Columbus really does a fine job at making the first two films good family entertainment. The series would get 'edgy' starting with the next movie. The first two films also feature Richard Harris as Dumbledore. I appreciate Harris' portrayal more after seeing Gambon in the next three movies, but Harris still isn't perfect in the role.

The Good: Kenneth Branagh is quite good as Lockhart.

The Bad: I find Dobby to be mildly annoying in the movies. They really should have made a bigger deal out of how much everyone at the school thought Harry was the Heir of Slytherin. "Make way for the Heir of Slytherin. Seriously evil wizard coming through." The chat with Dumbledore at the end of the movie is way too short. I was very sad not to see Harry receive his valentine from Ginny.

Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004) - Probably my favorite film of the series so far. New director Alfonso Cuarón really took things in a new direction and I enjoy most of it. I am not saying it is a perfect adaptation, but the bad things in this one are the least objectionable to me.

The Good: David Thewlis is quite good as Lupin. The trio gets more emotional development than they did in the first couple films. Stan Shunpike is awesome.

The Bad: Harry performing magic outside of school. Draco Malfoy hasn't been developed as a true rival to Harry. Snape also doesn't seem to be getting the screen time I would like to see.

The Really Bad: Michael Gambon was given the role of Dumbledore.

Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire (2005) - This one still hasn't grown on me yet. It is bad. I understand the book is huge, but I really disagree with the choices they made on what to keep. In addition, I really hate they way the presented much of the stuff they did keep. Maybe another five viewings and I will like it. Maybe.

The Good: The progression of the Ron/Hermione relationship.

The Bad: I really, really hate the way the Barty Crouch Jr. stuff was handled; both the story changes and the actor who played him. The Death Eater attack at the Quidditch World Cup is a total joke. Why is the Goblet of Fire so huge? Gambon is completely awful as Dumbledore. Why is the pensieve so huge? The first task is portrayed in a really awful way. The Weird Sisters. Moaning Myrtle trying to see Harry's dick through their whole conversation. Neville saying, "I killed Harry Potter." The Grindylow attack on Harry. The lack of obstacles in the maze aside from the bushes. Ralph Fiennes is okay as Voldemort, but I am not too happy with the way the films portray him. Once again, Harry and Dumbledore need to chat more at the end. Brendan Gleeson is pretty awful as Moody. The way Sirius talks to Harry in the fireplace is all wrong.

Things I Really Miss: Dudley eating the Ton-Tongue Toffee. S.P.E.W. Harry learning to fight the Imperius Curse. Priori Incantatem is not explained at all. Dumbledore's disagreement with Fudge at the end of the book really should be in. It sets up the coming battles.

Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix (2007) - When I first saw this film, I nearly walked out during the opening scene. Today was my second viewing and it was still completely awful. JK Rowling has said this is the "best one yet." I respectfully disagree.

The Good: Luna Lovegood.

The Bad: Harry takes his wand out to threaten Dudley with all Dudley's friends standing there. International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, anyone ever heard of it? Soon after there is a broomstick flight that goes right down the Thames. Right next to a touristy boat. Hello?! Secrecy! Harry's frustration at being deprived of information all summer was really under-developed. Harry should have been much angrier when he finally arrived at Grimmauld place. The smear campaign against Harry needed to be explained a lot more. Mrs. Figg. I don't like the decor in the Ministry. Harry's battle of wills with Umbridge is not developed enough. Harry's dreams. Gambon again. The Weasley Twins disrupting exams. Grawp. Umbridge breaking into the Room of Requirement. The battles at the Ministry. Harry hearing the prophecy at the Ministry. Harry handing the prophecy to Lucius! Probably the shortest Harry/Dumbledore chat ever.

The Things I Really Miss: Harry hiding in the bushes trying to hear the news. The cavalcade of owls delivering letters after the dementor attack. The muggle dueling after the quidditch match. All the rooms in the Department of Mysteries. Weasley is our king. Snape's Worst Memory. Ron and Hermione becoming prefects! The Quibbler.

As you can see, it is easier to write more when the movies suck. Hopefully I won't have much negative to say about the three remaining movies. We shall see.

Pruning the DVD Collection

I've got a reasonably large dvd collection. Probably larger than most people. I own somewhere around 500 dvds. Unfortunately, most of them have been gathering dust. I decided to severely limit my new dvd purchases about a year ago. I have still picked up a couple, but the collection has not grown significantly in the past twelve months. Now it is time to prune.

I have been using Netflix and Netflix instant more and more in the past year and I am sure other streaming or downladable movie solutions will find their way into my house. So, why do I need these racks of dvds gathering dust? I don't. There are some dvds I won't part with. I went through my collection last night and looked most of them up on the SecondSpin.com database to see what they would give me for them. I found 100 titles that I feel reasonably okay about getting rid of. I am far too lazy to list them all individually on ebay, so I prefer to send one box off and get some cash in return. I have used SecondSpin in the past when I sold off all my cds.

So, 100 titles down and my dvd collection is still too big. I can't wait until the time comes when I can pay $1 to watch any movie streamed or something like that. Chances are I will still hold on to some dvds, but the fewer the better.

If  you'd like to see what I have left, my library is online here. Change the 'shelf' to dvds.

The Best & Worst Of Last Week - Musical/Music-Related Movie Edition

I was on vacation last week and I spent most of it sitting in this chair. I wasn't feeling great, so I played a shit-ton of Everquest 2 and watched movie after movie via Netflix Instant. Sixteen movies and ten episodes of Dragnet to be somewhat exact. There happened to be six musicals/music-related movies on the list of movies I watched, so I figured I would put together one of my best/worst blog posts.

1. Crossroads (1986) - I haven't seen this movie in a long time and I forgot how excellent it is. I'd always remembered it as a solid film, but this viewing pushed it into five-star status. Aside from the excellent music, there is a fantastic story and terrific acting from everyone involved. A classic movie.

2. Duets (2000) - I am sure many people passed on this movie simply because of the karaoke subject matter. They made a mistake. Duets is a wonderful film with humor, passion, depth, and much more. Oh yeah, and there is also some fun karaoke. Plus, it has got Pig Vomit in it. I can't think of a movie Pig Vomit has made that wasn't worth watching.

3. Enchanted (2007) - My first exposure to this movie was seeing the songs performed on the Oscars broadcast. They seemed pretty drab, but I assumed I would see the movie someday. I am glad that I did. I enjoyed just about every minute and laughed out loud several times. The songs really work amazingly well in the movie. A really fun movie. The second best non-Pixar movie Disney released in the 2000s. Do you know what the best one was?

4. Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) - A well-earned Best Actress Oscar for Sissy Spacek. Spacek does an amazing job acting and singing. Tommy Lee Jones is great too. I have seen this three times now and I am sure I will see it again. A great story. Even if you don't like Country music, you should give this a try.

5. Music Of The Heart (1999) - I can't really remember this movie being released in the theaters. One of Meryl Streep's fifty-four Oscar nominations and she is quite good. The story may be familiar, but this movie is elevated into four star territory by some excellent music.

Most Surprising - Colma: The Musical (2006) - I typically put a worst item sixth on the list, so I dialed up Colma because there was a good chance it would be awful. The Netflix Instant description does this movie no favors. It said something about it being set in a town outside San Francisco with more dead people that living. It could have been really bad or really good. I turned out to be somewhat wonderful. This is about the most low-budget musical around. It makes Once look like Moulin Rouge. But that is part of the charm. These are real people living a real life and they just happen to break into song once in awhile. The songs aren't amazing and the singing isn't brilliant, but that just adds to the wonderfulness.  Definitely not for everyone, but give it a half hour and you might get hooked like I did.

If I Picked The Oscars...

The Academy Awards kick off in a few hours, so I thought I would post my winners now. That way the winners can celebrate early since I am sure they are anxious to hear my thoughts. I haven't seen all the movies, so some of these awards are based on me watching the trailers. Here are the categories that I have some opinion about.

• Best Actor in a Leading Role - Sean Penn in Milk
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight
• Best Actress in a Leading Role - Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married
• Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler
• Best Directing - Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire
• Best Documentary Feature - Man On Wire
• Best Song - "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire
• Best Picture - Slumdog Millionaire
• Best Original Screenplay - In Bruges

UPDATE: Six of the nine I was rooting for went home with the actual awards. I missed on both female acting awards and original screenplay. I am quite happy Kate Winslet finally picked up her Oscar. I do wish that In Bruges or Happy-Go-Lucky would have won the screenplay award. They are both wonderful smaller films that should be seen by more people.

UPDATE 4/18/09: So, I finally got around to seeing 'Milk' last night and I was underwhelmed. It was a decent movie, but I didn't find it that compelling. I still haven't seen three of the other Best Actor films, so I don't know which performance should have won.

The Best & Worst of 2008 - Movies Edition

Here is another of my best and worst lists. As usual, there are items that came out before 2008 on the list, but I did make some effort to include only movies that are relatively new. The vast majority of my movie watching is done at home. I only saw three movies in the theater in 2008, so I tend to be catching up on older movies more often than seeing the current hot movies.

1. Millennium Actress (2001) - Before watching this, I had a list of my top ten favorite movies. Now I have a top eleven list. I don't know what to remove, but Millennium Actress is now one of my favorite movies. A documentary filmmaker is investigating the life of a famous actress. Her life's story is told through flashback and reality blurs with her cinematic history. All of Satoshi Kon's films are wonderful, but this is my favorite.

2. In Bruges (2008) - Martin McDonagh's first full-length film is excellent. Two hitmen hide out in Bruges, Belgium after a job. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are the hitmen who deal with their time in Bruges in very different ways. Bonus points for excellent use of a dwarf! I hope it wins the Oscar for Best Screenplay tomorrow night.

3. The Dark Knight/Iron Man (2008) - I still haven't decided which of these I like better, so I'll put them both at number three. Iron Man is more fun and Robert Downey, Jr. is perfect as Tony Stark. The Dark Knight is chock full of excellent performances and dark comic goodness. 

4. Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer (2006) - Patrick Süskind wrote the novel, one of my favorites. I was ready to hate the movie if it strayed too far from the book. I was pleasantly surprised to find the movie just as wonderfully twisted and fascinating as the book. It appears that no one in America went to see this movie in the theaters. It made $2 million in the U.S.A., but $135 million worldwide. Take a tip from the world and rent this movie.

5. This Is England (2006) - I am instantly interested in any film set in England. Unfortunately, they aren't all this good. Shaun is a troubled 12-year-old who stumbles his way into a gang of skinheads. Hilarious hijinks ensue. According to the picture, they are all about peace.

The worst movie I saw for the first time in 2008 was a Steven Seagal abomination called Flight of Fury, but the most disappointing was Leatherheads (2008). George Clooney is one of my favorite big-time-Hollywood actors. I typically love screwball comedies. I figured this would at least be a fun watch and it had a possibility of being great. But it wasn't. The parts just didn't gel into a fun movie for me.

If I Had $40 million?

If I had $40 million, I would fund myself another X-Files movie. I was a pretty significant X-Files fan back in the day. I didn't just watch the television show. I played the video games. I read the books. I watched the shows that were tangentially related to the X-Files universe. I read the comics. I named my dog Scully. I was a pretty big fan.

As the second movie approached, I was excited. I avoided all spoilers and vowed to see it as soon as possible. It opened the same weekend I was at Comic-Con, so I figured I would go see it during the following week sometime. Then I started to hear that it was bad. I don't really remember where these rumblings came from, but I decided I didn't want to be disappointed. So, I skipped it.

I finally got around to renting it from Netflix this week and it was awesome! Okay, maybe not awesome, but I really loved it. I had no idea what the plot was and I was so happy to find out it was it wasn't an alien invasion movie. I do love the alien mythos stuff, but I really love the X-Files' monster-of-the-week episodes. I don't want to spoil anything. Just know it is super creepy in all the right ways. If you gave it a pass like i did, do yourself a favor and rent it.

Thank you to Chris Carter, Gillian Anderson, and David Duchovny for making a great X-Files movie for me and the rest of your fans. I really hope you guys can find a way to get another film made. You could have it set in 2012, maybe? Bring on the aliens! Just make sure you add some Slim Whitman to the soundtrack.

Deep Discount Hates Me

Thanks to the wonders of the Roku box, I have decided to start shrinking my dvd collection. I'm definitely not buying any more dvds. Definitely not. Well, at least I am going to avoid buying normal stuff. Maybe I will pick up some rare stuff or special editions. So, imagine my horror when I get an email from Deep Discount today telling me that all their Criterion dvds are buy-one-get-one-free. It is a good thing I just got my car fixed and I need a new computer and Comic-Con is next week. I could easily see myself spending $500 on Criterion discs without breaking a sweat. Must not place huge dvd order.

Le Cercle Rouge

Expectations can be a terrible thing. Lately, I have been following along on Filmspotting.net's dvd marathons. The current marathon involves heist films. So, last night I popped Le Cercle Rouge into my dvd player and was thoroughly expecting to be wowed. I had heard many a time how awesome a film it is. The epitome of cool. Whatever. I was less than charmed. Don't sit there thinking that I just don't like old movies or foreign films. Examples of both can be found in my top ten films of all time. I just couldn't get into the story of Le Cercle Rouge. I didn't care about the characters at all. The heist wasn't that impressive either. The thing with the key was particularly lame. Disappointing. If you want to see a really wonderful French heist film, check out Rififi.

I just found out there is a remake of Le Cercle Rouge on the way with Orlando Bloom. I am not sure how to feel about that. Bloom is a supporter of the best football club in the world, but his film career has been a bit patchy.