Archive: Latest Lists: Movies
An arhive of all the movies that have been moved off the 'Latest List' page ever since the movie list on the latest lists page was started.
- Memoirs of a Geisha. An almost-too-neat happy ending. Haven't read the book so who knows, perhaps it ends the same way? I heard a rumour that Chinese-American actors were hired to play Japanese parts just before going to see the movie, so I was a little distracted during the first parts of the movie trying to decide if this was so and which actors were which. An OK film but not in my top ten list (well, if I had such a list, it wouldn't be there), nor (if I had such a thing) would it be in my worse-movie-ever list.
- ShopGirl - based on a Novella by Steve Martin. While I'm not particularly a fan of Steve Martin, this film is worth a watch just for Jason Schwartzman's character Jeremy. His character was so funny that in one of his scenes I actually snorted. *sigh*.
- AFI Awards - Not a film, but film related. I gained new respect for Russell Crowe who I thought did a fantastic job of hosting the event. I liked that both the emcee/M.C. and winners of some of the awards made reference to various Government policies, agreements, etc that are of concern to many Australians such as the Industrial Relations, Anti-Terrorism, Free Trade Agreement, War on Iraq because the awards are telecast to a wide audience. AND... some films I'd really enjoyed throughout the year won some awards. Yay.
- The Brothers Grimm - Heh, this film had the blackness that I expected from Corpse Bride. Not overly black, but splotches of black humour... and let's face it, Grimm fairy tales are much blacker than the watered down fiction commonly referred to as fairy tale. I liked it. A fairy tale with some black humour. However, I must forewarn those who like cute fluffy animals (I do too) that a kitten gets it. I felt half a second of distress and then thought, 'it's in line with the whole Grimm story thang so that's ok' but the person I was with was semi-traumatised for a longer period.
- Corpse Bride - not nearly as black as I expected, a nice fairy tale.
- Wolf Creek - definitely worth a watch. Texas Chainsawesque.
- Must Love Dogs - A fluffy chick flick... enjoyable for what it was.
- Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo - a bit too lame... mildly amusing at best. A few laughs, but ...
- Dodgeball - Appalling but funny. I found myself laughing despite myself.
- Zombie (1979) - Directed by Lucio Fulci. I watched this at a cinema as part of an italian festival... it is soooo 70's. I'd have to say the funniest scenes (even though this is intended as a horror and not comedy) were the scuba diving-shark/woman/zombi scene and the eye scene. Something you should definitely watch with a group of friends because it's more fun that way. The movie is dated and quite corny but worth a watch all the same.
- Howl's Moving Castle - I enjoyed... saw the English version even though normally I'd go for the Japanese version as apparently the Director said some of the character voices were more true to the character personalities in the English version. Enjoyable. [Official Site]
- Cinderella Man - Enjoyed it... though must say, I'm not a boxing fan... too violent. (yes, yes... I loved Sin City, but that's a lot less real).
- The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) - I liked it. Was fun. Especially the bit where I said I was 16 when this came out and some of the friends I was watching it with said they were four! four?! :)
- Millions - Charming. I recommend you watch it.
- The Wedding Crashers - in the tradition of 'Something Like Mary' but... different. (It uses shock as a form of humour)
- Last Days - not my favourite movie ever... not the worse movie ever... I just liked it. Some people at the Triple J screening obviously found it was not for them as a few got up and left during the film. A few guys left shortly after an allusion to homosexuality... ok... a clear indicator but you saw NOTHING... As they left one of the guys muttered, '
Dave did not F**k Chris. F**k this Movie!
' (and maybe some muttering either side of this comment). This was definitely the highlight of the movie... it was damn funny (which was obviously by the collective laughter of the remaining of the viewers... and the mini non-supressed outbursts of spontaneous laughter that ensued for the nest 10 or so minutes afterwards).
- Little Fish - I'm not sure... I need to consider for a bit longer. HOWEVER if you want to see Hugo Weaving do something really different then it's worth going to just for that factor - you'll possibly have to look twice to reassure yourself that it really is Hugo Weaving. (I went because the cast included Cate Blancett and Hugo Weaving who are my favourite two Australian actors). Sadly, you may also come away from this film with 'Flame Tree' by Cold Chisel stuck in your head... and it's really hard to banish :P
- Unleashed (aka Danny the Dog) - the opening scene didn't really do it for me (I was expecting a little more character development first... which did happen... just later). I'd been waiting for the film to hit the cinema for over 8 months... BUT I really enjoyed the movie, it met my expectations. The fight scenes prior to him having experienced a Different Way didn't phase me in the least... those after did in the sense that mentally I felt as I would have if had it been a cock fight/dog fight (in my head the difference was being forced to do something against will, earlier, he may not have had much choice - through not knowing better, but he wasn't resistant to what was being asked). Anyway, watch the film. I must admit, I loved most of the action throughout after the opening scene... which I didn't find shocking, just thought it was too early.
- Look Both Ways - Life... death... relationships... sorrow... joy. I really liked this film.
- Layer Cake - really enjoyed it. Liked the characters, the story and the way it was done.
- The Yes Men - Yay... Another great documentary at the cinemas that leaves me clapping my hands in delight every time I think of it. The Yes Men 'do' the WTO: www.gatt.org - and not to be missed - their presentation in Finland errr... representing... the WTO.
- Sin City - Ohmigawd! I loved loved loved Sin city... I already want to go back and see it again. Violent. Ghod yes... But despite that... (who knows, maybe because of it...) I was bouncing by the time I came out. As were others. (I went with a mixed group: 6 women, 4 men). There was a bit of laughter by the guys about how some characters looked so clean after going through harrowing experiences (but it was decided that it was totally in context with the unreality of a comic book); the worse comment was that the film was "
a bit grotty
" ... followed by... "but I really liked it
". A friend we asked along told us she'd already seen the movie and that it was awful. When she explained that it was in a Quentin Tarantino way
, she was told by another friend to stop blaspheming... and most of us decided then that we'd probably love it. A whole group of us do regular Tuesday night movies and we ran into some people while lining for tickets that still thought we were going to the early session... So they'd been. One of them looked a little dazed and said she was still trying to work out what she thought of the movie and that she'd need to regain her senses before deciding, another looked a tad disturbed but assured us if we liked [those kind of] comic books we'd probably like it. In particular, I loved the way it was filmed. I could have watched it back to back... But as it was almost midnight by the time I was out... that wasn't an option. I will definitely be seeing it again at the cinema (but when? so many films, so little time...). For an alternative view, see Harry Black's review on the AUFS website.
- Fantastic Four - fun. fun. fun. Nothing brain draining - but it wasn't intended to be. Dribble.
- Tarnation - Not a film you get immersed in but rather one that you view avidly but with the detachment of the third party that you are. The saddest part for me was the thought the guy perhaps spent too much of his life in front of the camera and not enough time immersing himself in life. I love the way it was done. I was hooked from the start and avidly watched it but always felt an observer rather than part of the story as I do with some films. Perhaps it's because I kept having moments of mini-reflection throughout. My offsider just could not get over how creative and/or people with mental illnesses are wired so differently to the generic population.
- War of the Worlds - Even though Tom Cruise is a bit of a nutbag these days, WotW is worth a watch.
- Hide and Seek - I didn't pick it... the plot, i mean.
- Maria Full of Grace - This movie certainly gives meaning to the term 'swallow'. Ugh.
- Batman Begins - I loved it. And I've gotta say... Christian Bale looks much better at a normal weight (he was literally skin and bone in The Machinist). MUCH better.
- Peaches - I love Hugo weaving and enjoyed the film a lot. It's just about life.
- Mr and Mrs Smith - fluffy. sarcastic humour. relationship humour. fun. AND Brad Pitt. AND Angelina Jolie. Yay. <clapping ensues>
- The Assassination of Richard Nixon - Sean Penn plays the weak character who decides to "show Them" very well.
- The Machinist (El Maquinista) - Unfortunately the review/spiel on the poster gave the game away. It said, "
Fight Club meets Memento
"... if you've watched both of these the twists come as no surprise. Having such a give away on the poster is kind of like having someone sitting next to you telling you what's going to happen next. Otherwise a good movie. Worth a watch.
- Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith - I enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed the pre-movie conversation/challenge where it was suggested to '
go forth and replace as many day-to-day words with the word Wookie that you can
'. Example - how about you and I go and make Wookie?.
- What tHe βLЄЄP DΦ wΣ (k)πow!? loved, loved, loved it! (This from a person who is has perpetually been fascinated by the concept of time and who has indulged in the odd kooky affirmation book...). [IMdB]
- The Incredibles - Lots of fun. :)
- Darkness Falls - not a great film but it made me jump in a few places (and I hated myself for it)
- Hitch - For a fluffy main stream movie, this was fun. I got the laughs I expected from Miss Congeniality 2. I loved the 'crab dance' scene. :)
- Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous - too much of the barbie version of Gracie Hart... yawn! Not enough of the personable Gracie Hart... sigh.
- Ocean's Twelve - I've not seen either the original or remake of Ocean's Eleven but enjoyed this anyway. I was highly amused at the Julia Roberts/Bruce Willis scene.
- Jersey Girl - what can I say? I love Kevin Smith. He does such great dialogue (so natural). This film... I loved the musical at the school. I loved the cameo's by the 'Kevin Smith gang' (Jason Lee, Matt Damon, Jason Briggs) AND the commentaries are also worth a listen (they talk utter cr*p but it's fun AND they even get Jason Mewes in as The Viewer).
- The Grudge - why is hair so disturbing in horror movies? Parts of this film made me jump/squeak while I was watching.
- My little eye - Like the reality shows it is based on... I was just wanting it to be over. OK creepy concept but it was late and I wanted to go to bed.
- The Box - a little long winded.
- 40 Days and 40 Nights - Uh, yeah... watchable.
- The Bone Snatcher - I was most certainly*not* scared out of my skull.
- Anatomie - kinda interesting (when they are carving up live bodies) otherwise something to watch when you can't think of/find anything else worth watching. Stars Franka Potente.
- Greendale - went with my beautiful hippy friend to see this one... Moving picutres and Neil Young's music tell a story. Interesting.
- The Aviator - didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I did. I am not a leonardo fan (though am a cate blancett fan). It was great. For more information on Howard Hughes see the howard hughes corporation
- Coffee and Cigarettes - some skits were interesting, others amusing, others bored me senseless.
- The cooler - interesting enough not to fall a sleep.
- Never on a Tuesday - Amusing. 80's.
- I, Robot - Hah! really only watched this because a friend goes into panic whenever she hears about the movie... she's a huge Asimov fan.
- Cellular - not very credible but who cares... it was lots of fun.
- Taking Lives - Hmmm... a little predictable... but it did have Angelina.
- Suddenly 30 (13 going on 30) - Big was better.
- Man on Fire - The places you can put explosives! I didn't mind it (had already seen it at the cinema). Statistics at the beginning were particularly intriguing.
- Sidewalks of New York - Not horrible. Watchable.
- Something to Talk About - Firstly, no it's not. Secondly, it's got horses. Thirdly - one should be really careful when picking weekly movies to ensure one gets the one intended. The knee in the groin and the women's committee meeting scenes were really about all that was worth watching.
- Sideways - not what I expected but I still liked it a lot. Lots of wine references.
- The Village - It's a wonder George Bush hasn't attempted to do similar to keep Americans in even more of a constant state of fear. Not wonderous. Laterally thinking, it has a similar concept to brotherhood of the wolf... kind of. Not fabulous. Not excruciating.
- Finding Neverland A great film... the child who played Peter was fantastic. Charming. I loved it. The only downside was the talkers behind me who wouldn't be quite no matter how many times I nicely asked, so in the end I gave up asking them to be quite and said, '
you are ignorant and you lack manners
'. It didn't shut them up and it earned me the title bitch. Sometimes it's good to be a bitch. AND telling them what I thought made me feel better.
- A very long engagement (Un long dimanche de fiançailles) - an enjoyable film, despite the horrors of war sprinkled through out. (I've kind of given up on films labelled as epics as many are just tiresome but this one takes the yawn out of epic).
- The Bourne Supremacy - OH MY GOD! A good action film on it's own but NOTHING, I repeat NOTHING to do with book of the same title. Unless you want to count the main characters name. Firstly, The Bourne Supremecy was set mostly in Asian countries. His wife, Marie, who incidentally had a background as a Canadian Govt top economist was kidnapped and escaped throwing everything 'off the wire' - she continued to be a constant feature of the book. David Abbott of Treadstone was killed in the Bourne Identity and was a good guy - Bourne was framed for his death. Alexander Conklin was a huge feature of both books and was right there at the end of the Bourne Supremecy in the bird sanctuary where samari swords were being wielded. Are you hearing anything familiar? No. Despite having got the scripts mixed up with some other film while somehow mannaging to keep the main characters name the same (I think a few crossed out names and replacements could provide the answer to that) it was an enjoyable film. However, it was not the Bourne Supremecy... not by any stretch of the imagination. I can't wait to see what they do for the The Bourne Ultimatum - if they bring it out...
- Hell Boy - Ok but nothing too amazing.
- The Butterfly Effect - I really liked it. Concept-wise reminicent of Run Lola Run (Lola rennt) - but different...
- 8 Mile - the family life was less disturbing that I expected. Enjoyed it.
- Phone Booth - started watching it once before but had to get it back before I was done. Good concept. I like it.
- Godsend - while not totally unwatchable it was a lot of bollocks logically. Environment is going to make the cloned life a different person and the fact someone wants to clone a pet or a person is just sick really - you are forcing expectations on a separate life form. Ethically opposed just because it's creepy.
- Monster Initially, I was on her side and thought the first murder totally justified and got where she was coming from with the violent guys. The police abusing power made me feel sick. By the end I thought she was beyond redemption as she had lost all sense of perspective and judgement and I did not have any sympathy when she received her sentence. I so get why Charlize Theron received accolades for this film.
- Wonderland - took a bit of time to start. Didn't envy their lifestyles at all... the life of drugs and parties seems grotty and depressing.
- Dawn of the Dead - a definite improvement on the outdated 70's version... fast moving zombies are definitely more fearsome. Some jumpish moments along with some laughter.
- I Heart Huckabees - crazy, strange yet really enjoyable. (AUFS end of year bash, AUFS members received free double passes to the preview).
- Deep Blue It was good, but made me very sleepy. Most people seemed traumatised about the killer whales tossing about a sea lion but I found the fact that they worked for hours to drown and then only snack on a baby whale of another breed much more disturbing. So is the way of the world...
- Garden State - quirkily funny. I really enjoyed it. Not so fluffy as to be a chick flick though - it's for boys and girls :) Go see it and make up your own mind.
- Super Size Me - "Your liver is Pate".
- Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason - a light, fluffy girlie movie. I enjoyed it. It left a smile on my face. The only downer was having it analysed after as being 'not very realistic' (duh! it's a chick flick - the point is escapism not realism - geez!)
- Hero - definitely worth seeing.
- The Matrix Revolutions - I just could not drag myself to the cinema after seeing number two, such was my disappointment. However a friend brought it around on DVD and I must say it certainly lived up to expectations... it was pretty much crap.
- The Forgotton - uh... it made me jump. Oh and the big highlight? Some rude ignorant pig started messaging/playing iwth his/her phone 4 rows down and a bit across, I took a 5 cent piece out of my purse, aimed and fired and scored! Hah. That'll teach 'em.
- The Dark Crystal - more muppets (for muppets that will disturb you (a lot) see Peter Jackson's 'Meet the Feebles').
- Labyrinth - frivilous fun with muppets... or muppets with a story line (kind of). David Bowie as well, if you're a fan (I'm not).
- Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism A good fun (and at times amusing) documentary that has received little publicity due to the fact Murdoch media doesn't approve. A reason for everyone to stand up and say no to those dumb advertising banners that appear on the screen why you are watching TV, to too much reality TV/crap, to so called 'news' and 'current affairs' stories that aren't really, to the phrase 'some people say' (find out the primary source where possible), to ... oh my gawd... how does a news channel get this bad anyway? (Sadly, if you look at a lot of our 'current affairs' programs and what gets considered 'news' perhaps we are not that far behind).
- Somersault Slow moving... but it does tell a story. I'm not quite sure what I think. I didn't hate it. I didn't love it. It just was.
- Resident Evil: Apocalypse - I loved it for the movie it was. I am ready and waiting for number 3!
- AVP: Alien Vs. Predator - It had to be done. It was on, I was already at the cinemas. It was a little long and the fight scenes pretty lame. But I watched it all the same.
- Shall We Dance - a nice light feel good chick flick. I felt good after, it was nice. And fun. It's been a long time since I saw a chick flick at a cinema. Makes one want to take up ballroom dancing even (though a friend and I were going to look at latino classes anyway, so that might have to suffice :)
- Chocolat - a great fairy tale that I never want to be be over.
- Kill Bill 2 (DVD). 3rd time watching it and I think I love this one the best. This time I watched them both together and they flow much better than I thought they would when I watched them separately.
- Kill Bill 1 (DVD). This film is great. Bloody and violent but great. I thought the restaurant scene and the end scene were a wee bit long but other than that... (Oh and for the record Chiaki Kuriyama who plays Gogo was definitley also in 'Battle Royale')
- DoNovAn It was just something that was on TV, that was not in two parts and that allowed me to veg.
- Ned Kelly (DVD/Video). Wasn't bad - have the Victorian police changed?
- Gossip (DVD/Video) Loved the concept.
- Long Time Dead (DVD/Video) - Tacky horror - but it made me jump at least once.
- The Rules of Attraction (DVD) - Bizarre, intriguing, a bit on the black side.
- The Corporation (Cinema) - Well researched, interesting, a tad horrifying - everyone should watch it.
- Secret Window (DVD) - very fight club, had already seen it at the cinema so knew the punch line.
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