A Year of Movies

Catching Up:

Yep. That's right. I'm going to catch up tonight. Well, I'm going to try. Instead of doing an short overview of all the movies over the past few months, I just want to get the numbers down. If I feel like writing something about the movie I will...but bottom line, trying to keep up with this insane movie a day quest, and keeping up with the kids, and keeping up with sleep, and trying to keep up with my writing, doesn't leave a lot of time to write about the movies. Sooooooooo....instead of trying and worrying about falling behind all the time, I'm just going to catch up as simply as I can and hope I can maintain at least the rest of the blog for this year for the last two months or so....

So --- from Week 30 starting July 23, 2010 and ending with Week 42, October 21, 2010:

287. The Object of Beauty -- John Malkovich is so fun to watch in this.

288. Insomnia -- Great Christopher Nolan movie.

289. It's Complicated -- A trio of amazing actors.

290. Pitch Black -- Interesting sci-fi/horror film.

291. The Chronicles of Riddick -- a good sequel.

292. The Warlords -- with Jet Li

293. Clash of the Titans (original) -- love the cheesy F/X

294. Clash of the Titans (remake) -- a different kind of cheese.

295. The Amateurs -- a nice low-budget comedy

296. Very Bad Things -- a dark, dark comedy.

297. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra -- my kids liked this. Nice actions, not much of a story.

298. Who's Harry Crumb? -- I miss John Candy and his kind of comedies.

299. Joy Ride -- Candy Cane....? Candy Cane....?

300. 300 -- 300th movie for the year. Watched on 8/2/2010. Solid action movie.

301. Julie & Julia -- watched with my wife. Both liked it.

302. The Hobbit -- animated. Can't wait for the Peter Jackson version. Even so, I love this old animated movie. One of my favorites from when I was a kid.

303. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring -- the extended version. One of my all-time favorite movies.

304. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers -- the extended version. Again, one of my all-time favorite movies. So many noble characters...

305. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King -- the extended version. Ummm....do I really have to say it's one of my all-time favorite movies? I just loved these three movies--and I love the extended versions just a tiny bit more. Can't get enough of these movies--and I can't wait for the two-part Hobbit movie. Oh....how fun it would be to be involved in those movies! An extra perhaps? Even some ugly goblin standing way in the back.......ahhhhh....to dream.

306. A Good Night to Die -- Okay low-budget movie. Probably shouldn't have followed up some of my all-time favorite movies with this....

307. Blown Away -- Jeff Daniels in another good role.

308. Once Upon a Time in Mexico -- A fun sequel to Desperado. Loved Depp as the corrupt CIA agent Sands...

309. Once Upon a Time in the West -- At first, I thought--What the hell? Then, I kept watching and I really enjoyed the movie. Great western.

310. Kick-Ass -- I liked this different take on 'real' superheroes.

311. Watchmen -- director's cut with an extra 24 minutes. I just thought this was a slick movie. I didn't mind the violence--but then, I didn't watch this movie with my kids (unlike the parents who brought their two young kids to the movie theater when it first came out and sat behind me in the theater and I had to listen to the kids crying and the parents bickering about who was to blame for bringing the kids....It's rated 'R' for a reason, people!) Duh.

312. King of California -- quirky movie. I like this role and Michael Douglas's role in Wonder Boys quite a bit -- that's a movie I've got to track down again....hopefully before the end of the year.

313. Over the Hedge -- a movie I DID watch with my kids. My little guy liked it quite a bit. He thought it was very funny.

314. National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation -- We were on vacation--seemed fitting.

315. National Lampoon's Vacation -- We were still on vacation. I love this movie. It's just SOOOO funny. (it has some great music in it too).

316. National Lampoon's European Vacation -- Yep...on vacation.

317. Thirty Day Princess -- the first of five old Cary Grant movies from the 30s. Entertaining

318. Kiss and Make Up -- another good Cary Grant movie.

319. Wings in the Dark -- an unusual romance. Good movie.

320. Big Brown Eyes -- A good mystery. Lots of fun banter. Cary Grant as a detective. Perhaps my favorite of these five.

321. Wedding Present -- a good comedy about a silly couple.

322. From Paris with Love -- Travolta looked like he was having fun making this.

323. Shaun of the Dead -- I just find Simon Pegg to be very funny, even when he's not doing anything. Just his blank expression is funny....

324. Hot Fuzz -- Ditto. Also, some good action at the end.

325. Tropic Thunder -- Yep, after watching some classy 30s black and white Cary Grant movies, I followed it up with an assortment of oddball comedies.

326. The Three Musketeers -- the Disney version. Decent. It's being remade again, isn't it? Looking forward to that...

327. Hot Tub Time Machine -- Parts of this were pretty funny.

328. The Patriot -- Mel Gibson kicking lots of British ass. Still can't believe Heath Ledger is gone.

329. City Slickers -- Gotta find that one thing...

330. When Harry Met Sally -- Classic romantic comedy. Smart movie. Good banter. And of course....I'll have what she's having....

331. What's the Worst That Could Happen? -- based on Donald Westlake's book. Funny. I'd like to see more of Donald Westlake/Richard Stark's books made into movies.

332. Percy Jackson and the Olympiads: The Lightning Thief -- decent action/kids movie. The kids liked it. At the time, I hadn't read the books. I'm currently about midway through the book. So far, I like the book better.

333. Jurassic Park -- Excellent movie. Love the dinosaurs. Great F/X, story and cast.

Moving into September....

334. The Lost World: Jurassic Park -- A thrilling sequel. More dinosaurs. More people getting killed by dinosaurs....

335. Jurassic Park 3 -- bigger dinosaurs. Lesser story.

336. The Wolfman -- Part brutal. Part gentle. A noir monster movie that wasn't simply about the gore.

337. The Way of the Gun -- a dark, violent movie with some good gun play and banter.

338. The Bounty Hunter -- a decent action rom-com. The wife liked it too.

339. Two Can Play That Game -- a good rom-com about the 'rules' of dating. Made me glad I'm married.

340. Cold Souls -- friend recommended this. Good indie movie with a solid performance by Paul Giamatti.

341. Predator -- I've always liked this sci-fi/action movie. Good alien creature. Perfect role for Arnold.

342. Predator 2 -- A bunch of cliched characters getting killed by an alien in LA. Decent sequel.

343. AVP: Alien vs Predator -- I decided to watch these in what I considered real-time chronology--not in their release dates, but rather in the order they would occur if they happened in the real world. I actually liked this alien mash up.

344. AVP: Aliens vs Predator Requiem -- watched the 'unrated' version. It was just okay.

345. Alien -- An excellent sci-fi/horror movie. Still a scary movie after all these years.

346. Aliens -- Perhaps the best of the series. Need the first to appreciate the second (don't people say that about the Godfather series? Hmmm, another series I should track down before the end of the year...)

347. Aliens3 -- Good...but when watched immediately following Aliens, I felt really bad about everyone but Ripley dying...

348. Alien Resurrection -- Good banter. Good way to revive Ripley. A fitting end to her character--finally.

349. A Perfect Murder -- Slick remake of Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder. A great cast of actors/characters.

350. Fargo -- A unique dark thriller-comedy.

351. The Ghost Writer -- Another great cast. Good story. Impressive ending.

352. Labyrinth -- Watched this with my little guy. Loved this movie when I was a kid. My little guy thought it was pretty cool too.

353. Rock N Rolla -- A bunch of quirky characters doing quirky things in a Guy Ritchie movie. Enjoyable.

354. High Noon -- classic western. Good 'morals' story. Done mostly in real time.

355. To Catch a Thief -- one of my favorite Hitchcock, Grant and Kelly movies. Great story. Great dialogue. Just an amazing movie. Beautifully shot movie too. If you haven't seen this classic movie, you should!

356. North by Northwest -- okay, this is another of my favorite Hitchcock / Grant movies. This is another must-see.

357. That Touch of Mink -- Cute rom-com starring Cary Grant and Doris Day.

358. The Girl Next Door -- I didn't know what to expect with this comedy--but I liked it (and not just because of all the hot women in it).

359. First Blood -- Decided to watch all four Rambo movies in a row. Hadn't done that before. This first one is quite good.

360. Rambo: First Blood Part 2 -- Good sequel. Lots of action. Higher body count.

361. Rambo 3 -- I don't think I've ever watched this movie from the very beginning to the very end. Another good action sequel.

362. Rambo -- After twenty years, Rambo returns and this might be the best of the four. A really good movie, loads of action and a nice ending to the series.

363. Shallow Hal -- cute rom-com with Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow.

364. There's Something About Mary -- A perfect role for Cameron Diaz. Funny movie.

365. Beetlejuice -- I didn't realize until this viewing just how little Michael Keaton actually is in this movie.....good comedy.

366. Gladiator -- a stunning epic.

367. The Book of Eli -- A thought-provoking story. Denzel is good. Gary Oldman gives another over-the-top crazy-dangerous performance.

Moving into October:

368. The Replacement Killers -- Slick movie. Slick gun-play. I kinda wish the relationship between the two main characters had developed a bit more....but the action side of this movie worked.

369. Manhunter -- the Hannibal Lecter movie without Anthony Hopkins. Actually, this is a really good movie.

370. Silence of the Lambs -- Intense, dark, thrilling. Anthony Hopkins of course gives an amazing performance as did Jodie Foster. A great, great movie.

371. Arlington Road -- a twisted movie. Quite scary too since the story seems like something that could just maybe happen...

372. Swordfish -- Slick caper movie. Travolta having more fun here. And if you're a Halle Barry fan.....well..... if you're a fan, you already know about this movie.

373. Suicide Kings -- Christopher Walken is in this movie. He plays a mobster. What more do you need to say?

374. The Glass House -- a decent thriller. Quite eerie at times.

375. Christine -- I like this movie, but I love the book. When I was younger I thought it would be sooooo cool to have a vintage car like this. Now, with gas prices being what they are.....well, who could afford to drive these cars anywhere?

376. The Road -- Beautiful in its starkness. Sad. Poignant. This movie lingers. Viggo gave just an impressive, impressive performance in this. I have the book sitting on my shelf upstairs. At some point I will read it--but it will not be an easy read.

377. The Dark Crystal -- another movie I loved when I was a kid. Watched it with my little guy. He loved it.

378. Leap Year -- cute rom-com. Wife liked it too.

379. A History of Violence -- Can Viggo pick a bad role? Perhaps, but I haven't seen it yet. I'll have to check on imdb. Parts of this movie remind me of Ernest Hemingway's 'The Killers'.

380. Blade -- An enjoyable antihero/superhero vampire action movie.

381. Blade 2 -- A different feel to this one, but still a good vampire action movie.

382. Blade Trinity -- I liked the added humor. Overall, I like this trilogy.

383. Constantine -- I thought Keanu Reeves was good as John Constantine and I really liked Rachel Weisz in her dual role. Interesting story.

384. Rob Zombie's Halloween -- watched the unrated director's cut of this remake. I liked it. I think I've seen the original, but it's been quite a few years, and I don't remember much about it. (though what more do you need to know? Psycho killer in a mask kills people....)

385. Two if by Sea -- thought I'd lighten things up with a Denis Leary/Sandra Bullock rom-com/heist movie. Okay movie.

386. The Mask -- Jim Carrey was perfect in both roles and if I remember correctly this was Cameron Diaz's first big role. She was stunning in this.

387. She's the One -- Ed Burns wrote/directed/acted in this interesting rom-com. My wife had watched it before and gave it mixed reviews. I thought it was pretty good.

388. Nine -- An impressive musical. Daniel Day-Lewis and 'his' seven women. Lots of talent. Good singing. Nice story.

389. Bedtime Stories -- watched this with the kids. They liked it. Little guy thought it was pretty funny.

390. Underworld -- Kate Beckinsale is quite good as the icy-cold Death Dealer/Vampire. Bill Nighy is impressive as the vampire ruler. Good story. Slick noir feel to this movie.

391. Underworld Evolution -- I liked the evolution of the story and the characters. Good F/X.

392. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans -- a Romeo and Juliet story with Vampires and Werewolves (Lycans). An enjoyable prequel story. It's hard to believe that the same actor who played the British Prime Minister in The Queen and Frost in Frost/Nixon was the Lycan leader Lucias. This was another good vampire trilogy.

393. Penelope -- A sweet rom-com starring Chistina Ricci sporting a pig's nose.

394. Journey to the Center of the Earth -- Brenden Fraser's version. Watched it with the kids. They liked it.

And that's it folks. I'm caught up as of yesterday. Yes, I've already watched today's movie but I'll include that in my next blog post for Week 43 to include Oct. 22 to Oct 28, 2010. For a while, I thought 500 movies viewed during the year was an easy deal--but as I'm drawing near the end of the year, (well, the end of Oct) and I'm just now nearing the 400 mark, I'm not so sure. I've been busy editing a couple of projects and researching material for a new project so I haven't had as much movie-watching time.

Ahhhhhhhh....though getting caught up feels good!

Have a great weekend, All.