A Year of Movies

Week 28: July 9, 2010 to July 15, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 8

Aside for the sequel, this is perhaps one of those rare weeks where none of the rest of the movies really relate to any of the others--at least not in any way I notice offhand. Let me know if you find one...

271. Shelter Island (2003) -- No, this is not a typo--I did not mean Shutter Island (Shutter Island will appear in next weeks batch). I really didn't like this movie. The acting seemed forced, the story didn't thrill, I didn't much like any of the characters, and by the end, I really didn't care who lived or died. Probably the only good thing about the movie was that it was short--roughly 82 minutes.

272. Godzilla (1998) -- Not a great movie, but after the last one, this one seemed like a masterpiece! Actually, I kinda like this movie. I thought the CGI of the Godzilla monster was good. I liked a lot of the actors in this--Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Hank Azaria--and while it had a lot of cheese--it was at least decent cheese. At least it was entertaining.

273. Jackie Brown (1997) -- I really like this movie mostly because I like the uniqueness of so many of its characters. Robert Forster's bail bondsman, Max Cherry--Pam Greer's Jackie Brown--Samuel L. Jackson's Ordell Robbie....and don't forget Robert De Niro, Michael Keaton, Bridget Fonda, even Chris Tucker has a small role in this slick caper-type crime drama. Though it is a long movie, I didn't realize the length until it was over and I realized 2 1/2 hours had gone by. Great dialogue in this movie too.

274. Dick (1999) -- Cute comedy. Some funny lines. If I knew that time period better, perhaps I'd appreciate even more of the humor. Decent 'buddy' film.

275. Get Shorty (1995) -- I love just sitting back and watching this great cast of actors playing a great cast of characters. John Travolta was absolutely perfect as Chili Palmer. Every time I watch this movie, I find myself smiling. Just a fun, fun movie.

276. Be Cool (2005) -- Good, but not nearly as good as Get Shorty. While I still enjoyed watching Travolta as Palmer--some of the originality of the story/characters just didn't seem to be there. Still, compared to other movies I've seen this week (271) this is a fairly decent and entertaining movie.

277. Legion (2010) -- When I first saw previews of this movie, I thought it looked sooooo cool. I really wanted to see this movie in the theaters--but hey, life sometimes gets in the way. Anyway, I finally got to see this movie and...well...parts of it was really good and parts were just so-so. I liked Paul Bettany in this role--don't normally see him in an action role--and I liked the idea of the movie--and I liked the battle between the angels Michael and Gabriel (played by Kevin Durand) but I guess I wanted more angels and less....zombie-like creatures. Also, (since I'm writing this two months after viewing and I've seen dozens of movies since) I don't remember being all that impressed with the ending--in fact, if memory serves, I found the ending to be a bit unimpressive.

278. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) -- Classic western. Okay, I'll admit it, before this viewing, I'd never watched this movie from the very beginning to the very end. Overall, I was hugely impressed with this movie. I loved the friendship between the characters Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I enjoyed the story, the dialogue, the banter--basically I liked everything about the movie except...Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head? I like the song separate from the movie--I just didn't get how it fit with this movie--or even how exactly it fit with that scene. If you know--please, drop me a comment and explain. Thanks.

Favorite Movie for the week: Hmmm....well, I'll tell you it's NOT Shelter Island. Big surprise, I know. Okay....seriously though, I'd probably go with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid--though Get Shorty and Jackie Brown are tied for a very close second.