A Year of Movies

Week 15: April 9, 2010 to April 15, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 10

155. Mission: Impossible 2 -- I'm perhaps one of the few people who liked the sequel better than the original. I thought the story was an interesting one--I liked the action sequences (of course, with John Woo as the director, the action sequences all seemed liked well-choreographed dances with guns or knives). I also liked how the villain in this one used some of the same technology as Ethan Hunt (primarily the fake faces).

156. Mission: Impossible 3 -- And of the three movies in the series so far, this one is probably my favorite. We got a glimpse into Ethan Hunt's personal life and into the 'offices' of IMF and being a fan of Philip Seymour Hoffman, I thought he did a great job as the villain in this one. I liked how J. J. Abrams started the story with a scene which occurs near the middle/end of the movie (he did this with his Alias TV show at times too), and then went back to the beginning leaving us all hanging...and wondering what the hell was happening...good movie.

157. Signs -- Yet another movie the critics didn't really like, but I did. War of the Worlds--but told only through the eyes of a single family in a single location. I liked the story idea. I liked the thought-provoking aspect of the 'faith' question raised in this--and I liked the line 'tell Merril to swing away'... It was as if all their lives were separate pieces of a puzzle that all came together to reveal the full picture when they were all each needed the most: the little girl's practice of leaving water glasses half-full all over the house, the boy's asthma, Merril's ability to swing hard over and over again--Yes, I too wondered why aliens who were able to travel across the galaxy were unable to open a doorknob but....maybe they had really greasy palms or really bad carpal tunnel....or something....

158. Moon -- Thanks to Twitter, I found out about this movie. I follow Kevin Spacey on Twitter and when this movie came out he posted about it--and I was intrigued, so when I was able to get it from my local library, I did. A really great indie film starring Sam Rockwell (and Kevin Spacey as the voice of the computer). Rockwell did an amazing job carrying this film (since he's primarily the only person you see on the screen for the bulk of the movie). I don't want to give away any spoilers because I came to this movie without any knowledge about it and I think that's actually the best way to watch this movie. See it if you get the chance.

159. The Breakfast Club -- A classic 80s movie. Do they make movies like this anymore? I think some of the reality shows 'try' to capture the feeling of this show, but they fail miserably. A great movie.

160. The Contender -- A political thriller starring Joan Allen as a senator chosen to become VP(with 'the Dude', Jeff Bridges, playing a very un-Dude like President of the US). Gary Oldman was impressive as the congressman who opposes Joan Allen's appointment. Interesting story about political power plays. Good movie.

161. The Corruptor -- A dark and deceptive police-action thriller set in Chinatown NY starring Chow Yun-Fat and Mark Wahlberg. The movie was filled with twists and turns, violence, betrayal and overall, was a fairly entertaining movie. Has a good car chase in it too.

162. The Boondock Saints -- Somehow, I missed this movie when it first came out, but I'm glad I found it now. This was an edgy vigilante movie with some very odd, twisted and interesting characters and I'm looking forward to watching it again (especially now that I've picked up the sequel).

163. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog -- Not exactly a 'full-length' movie, (about 43 minutes long) but I watched it on DVD the same day I watched 'The Boondock Saints' so it didn't exactly count as my 'finished' movie for that day, but since I watched it, and it was a movie (of sorts), I included it here. I also included it because it was incredibly funny, incredibly well written (no surprise since Joss Whedon was involved) and thoroughly enjoyable. Starring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day. If you haven't seen this, you must find a way to watch it. It's hilarious.

164. Titanic -- On the 98th Anniversary of Titanic actually sinking, I watched 'Titanic'. It seemed only fitting. I know some people claim they don't like the 'love story' and were shocked that some people were so upset by the ending; uhhhh, the ship is going to sink, but, I'll admit, I like this movie. I don't mind the love story--it served (in my opinion) it's purposes of 1) having someone to follow around while showing off the ship and 2) filling in the time between the historically 'accurate' events which occurred on the ship before, during and after its sinking. I saw this movie four times when it first came out and the last time was at one of those older theaters with an enormous screen and a theater big enough to seat hundreds. Unfortunately, like most theaters that size, it was torn down and replaced with a multiplex of smaller theaters with screens barely larger than the big-screens in some houses. I miss those old fashioned monster-sized theaters with their massive screens....

That's it for this week, folks. A single winner--not hardly. How could I pick just one? I've got a huge-budget epic disaster film and a tiny indie film in this list. I have a classic 80s hit....and a new favorite (The Boondock Saints) in this week. I even have Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.....so, I guess I'll just say, this was a pretty good week for me. Hopefully, you're having some fun watching the movies you love too. Tell me what you've seen and loved lately.

Have a great day, all.