What Did You Watch Today?

[Numbahs]

Wait for the split-screens in Spider-Man 4...

[zero]

The Road

Will be spending the rest of the evening on suicide watch.

[Numbahs]

The Men Who Stare At Goats - ** out of *****

[Jimmy]

Book of Eli - 7.5/10 - Fun movie. I'm convinced Gary Oldman and Denzel can do no wrong. I got a little confused at times, but that didn't stop the movie from being a whole deal of fun. It looked really good, so great cinematography in my opinion. The action was slick as fuck, and it really ran well at times. I think the film flounders in the third act, but otherwise, I'd say go give it a watch. (Y)

[Numbahs]

An Education - **** out of *****

[Numbahs]

Cold Souls - *** out of *****

[LL!]

Okay here we go...

Funny People - 8/10 on Friday.

Short version: Great, but too long. Judd is becoming a much better director, but he needs to learn what needs to stay on the cutting room floor. Sandler and Rogen gaining more dimensions to their characters is always a good thing too.

On Saturday I saw 2 incredible movies:

Moon - 9/10

Very gripping and a very interesting portrayal of the story. I can't go into details as it will ruin it.

The Hurt Locker - 10/10

My favorite movie of 2009. The direction was some of the best I'd seen in a long time (and it was snubbed at the Golden Globes last night for James Cameron who didn't do as marvelous a job as the movie is getting attention for.) It's a movie that is suspenseful and makes you nervous just watching things all due to the fantastic direction of Cameron's ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow. The performances were above par, but the best part about the movie is the fact that it gives a different take on what constitutes a way to get a crowd to feel like action is happening. Instead of giving us 50 quick cuts in 30 seconds, it gave us loooong shots that are meant to stimulate the nerves. It worked very well.

Finally last night I saw...

Daybreakers - 5/10

Meh. Willem Dafoe was the shining star in this (and even then it wasn't one of his best performances.) Some of the concepts were really cool, but the story felt a little cliche while lots of things felt tacked on. Not the best start to 2010 movies.

[Numbahs]

I thought the complete opposite about the direction of The Hurt Locker. The last scene of the movie speaks volumes about my problem with it...

Black Dynamite - **** out of *****

Loved it...

[Numbahs]

Moon - **** out of *****

Either I'm getting soft, or I'm watching movies that are a lot better...

[The Kraig]

Taken. I finally watched this today. It was extremely satisfying, no really dragging, great BELIEVABLE action. You could have make the story the final Bond film...with a lot of tweaking.

Also, violence in the barrowload. Very good.

7/10 - Liam Neeson rocks your socks off but nothing really life-changing.

[TKz]

Book of Eli 7/10. A good film, working premise, yet flawed in certain areas. It would've dragged if it went any longer, but it could've done with an extra half hour or so to explain some of the background a little better. Gary Oldman has yet to do any wrong as far as I'm concerned, the man changes entirely for every role and I honestly believe he's one of the best actors in the world today. (My favourite, at least.) Denzel was badass in that Mr. Eko kind of way, which I was fond off and Mila Kunis... well, her performance was nothing to write home about, but it was fine for her role. I feel it lacked closure for Oldmans character though. It felt like the little rebellion at the end happened out of nowhere, they really could've done with making that a larger part of the story. Have him want the book to help bring order to the people, who're really starting to get out of control and he's starting to lose any measure of power he has.

[Numbahs]

Brothers - **** out of *****

Another good one. I'm on quite a streak...

[ROC]

Moon - 8/10

A mindfuck. It really jarred me for a good bit afterwards. Damn fine movie and Rockwell was an amazing one man show.

[Jimmy]

Up In The Air 8/10 - Really great film. Smart, funny and has a lot of heart. Seriously, George Clooney can do no wrong.

[Numbahs]

[Jimmy]

Clooney makes that film fun.

[GA!]

As does Arnie.

[RPS]

A Single Man - 10/10

I believe the New York Times described the movie as "a whole lot of look". That would be how I'd describe this movie. Visually, it's stunning and unmatched this year. Tom Ford works in fashion and knows how to create a mise-en-scene - it's excruciating attention to detail. Ford succeeds - there isn't a single wasted shot and everything is so well thought out. Furthermore, Ford knows how to use color - when to accentuate colors, when to downplay them and when to overload the audience. It's wisely used throughout the film to hammer home the major theme's of the film - isolation and desperation and the feelings of growing old. He even uses colors in many points to bring these two theme's together. The costumes are amazing - obviously as the man works for Gucci. He is here able to bring to life the 1950's and clearly one of the tools used to animate it is the use of costumes. Lastly, the performances in the film are outstanding. Julianne Moore, Gennifer Goodwin, and Nicholas Hoult are fantastic in their supporting roles. It's Colin Firth, however, who delivers a performance of a life time and ultimately steals the show. I don't think it's necessarily going to 'wow' the Oscars, but I'm certain it'll get nominated for a lot of the technical awards and perhaps a few of the acting awards. Definitely one of the best of the decade.

[Numbahs]

The Tooth Fairy - ** out of *****

[Jimmy]

Dogma 8/10 This film was just a whole bunch of fucked up fun. (Y)