The Month in Movies - December 2005

[A.J. Hakari]

Greetings, one and all! The time has come, fellow schmoes, for the last Month in Movies posting of 2005, summarizing our viewings over the course of December. As always, my ratings are on a **** scale...

Number of First-Time Viewings: 45
Number of First-Time Viewings on 2005 (GRAND TOTAL): 506

THE BRILLIANT

Bang Bang, You’re Dead - ****
The Corporation - ****
Grizzly Man - ****

THE GREAT

Good Night, and Good Luck - *** 1/2
King Kong (2005) - *** 1/2
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang - *** 1/2
Mysterious Skin - *** 1/2

THE PURTY GOOD

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - ***
Ladies in Lavender - ***
The White Diamond - ***
Serenity - ***
Curtains - ***
Rumor Has It - ***
Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy - ***
The Eye 10 - ***
Mule Skinner Blues - ***
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan - ***
Cry_Wolf - ***
The Baxter - ***
Fun with Dick and Jane (2005) - ***
Rize - ***
The Raven (1935) - ***
Roll Bounce - ***
Suspiria - ***
The 7th Victim - ***
The Black Cat (1934) - ***

THE O.K.

American Pie Presents: Band Camp - ** 1/2
2046 - ** 1/2
Creep - ** 1/2
Godzilla: Final Wars - ** 1/2

THE SO-SO

Undiscovered - **
Aeon Flux - **
Tombs of the Blind Dead - **
The Family Stone - **
Valiant - **
Malevolence - **

THE SUCKY

Cheaper by the Dozen 2 - * 1/2
Wolf Creek - * 1/2
Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) - * 1/2

THE REALLY SUCKY

(none)

No rating:

Mystery Science Theater 3000: “Boggy Creek II”
Mystery Science Theater 3000: “Girl in Gold Boots”
Mystery Science Theater 3000: “Hobgoblins”
Mystery Science Theater 3000: “Monster A-Go-Go”
Mystery Science Theater 3000: “The Phantom Planet”
Mystery Science Theater 3000: “The Touch of Satan”

THE BEST:

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000A2ZNK.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

THE WORST:

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/6302526086.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Best Actor: David Strathairn, GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
Best Actress: Judi Dench, LADIES IN LAVENDER
Best Supporting Actor: John Vernon, CURTAINS
Best Supporting Actress: Shirley Maclaine, RUMOR HAS IT
Best Director: George Clooney, GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
Best Original Screenplay: George Clooney and Grant Heslov, GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
Best Adapted Screenplay: Gregg Araki, MYSTERIOUS SKIN
Biggest Surprise: CRY_WOLF
Biggest Disappointment: 2046
Most Fucked-Up Movie: KISS KISS, BANG BANG
“I’m Pretty Damn Sure No One Else Has Seen This”: MULE SKINNER BLUES
Person/Character I Never Want to Meet: Anyone from the Monsanto company, THE CORPORATION
“Why Is He/She Still in Movies?”: Hilary Duff, CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN 2
Recurring Genre: Old-timey horror movies
Ultimate WTF? Moment: The language dispute, MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932)
Best Line: “The great problem of having corporate citizens is that they aren't like the rest of us. As Baron Thurlow in England is supposed to have said, ‘They have no soul to save, and they have no body to incarcerate.’” - Robert Monks, THE CORPORATION
Best Scene: The “late dinner” ghosts, THE EYE 10
Movie I Finally Got to Friggin’ See: SUSPIRIA
Coolest Title: TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD

----------------

Thanks for another great year of sharing your viewing lists in the Month in Movies threads. Stay tuned for later today, when I'll unleash upon the boards my Year in Movies - 2005 write-up! :cool:

[A.J. Hakari]

BUMP, because I'm an idiot for burying this under all my Year in Movies rating posts.

[Lazy Boy]

Taste of Cherry - 9/10
Breakfast on Pluto - 8/10
Munich - 8/10
King Kong - 8/10
The Wind Will Carry Us - 8/10
The 40-Year-Old Virgin - 7/10
The Butcher Boy - 7/10
Ghostbusters - 7/10
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - 7/10
Brokeback Mountain - 7/10
Murderball - 7/10
The Island - 6/10
The White Diamond - 6/10
Mr. and Mrs. Smith - 6/10
Mindhunters - 5/10
Syriana - 5/10
Heights - 5/10
Pretty Persusasion - 4/10
Wolf Creek - 3/10
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo - 3/10

Best: Taste of Cherry
Worst: Deuce Bigalow European Gigolo
Actor: Cillian Murphy, Breakfast on Pluto
Actress: Naomi Watts, King Kong
Supporting Actor: Jack Black, King Kong
Supporting Actress: Georgie Henley, Chronicles of Narnia
Director: Steven Spielberg, Munich
Best Original Screenplay: Taste of Cherry
Best Adapted Screenplay: Brokeback Mountain
Biggest Surprise: The Chronicles of Narnia
Biggest Disappointment: Syriana

[Hannibal21]

First viewings only:

Le Samourai - 10/10

Come Back, Little Sheba - 9/10
King Kong (2005) - 9/10
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada - 9/10

High Tension - 8/10
Transamerica - 8/10

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - 7.5/10

Hustle & Flow - 7/10
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer - 7/10
Zathura - 7/10

11:14 - 6/10
Around the Bend - 6/10

Kicking and Screaming - 5/10

Best Movie: Le Samourai
Worst Movie: Kicking and Screaming
Best Actor: Alain Delon - Le Samourai
Best Actress: Shirley Booth - Come Back, Little Sheba
Best Supporting Actor: Barry Pepper, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Best Supporting Actress: Terry Moore, Come Back, Little Sheba
Best Director: Jean-Pierre Melville - Le Samourai
Best Screenplay: Come Back, Little Sheba
Biggest Surprise: Hustle & Flow
Biggest Disappointment: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (still a good movie)
Most Fucked-Up Movie: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Person/Character I Never Want to Meet: Henry (Michael Rooker), Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
“Why Is He/She Still in Movies?”: Will Ferrell, Kicking and Screaming
Recurring Genre: 2005 movies
Ultimate WTF? Moment: The severed penis in 11:14
Best Scene: Ann Darrow and Kong on the Empire States Building, King Kong
Movie I Finally Got to Friggin’ See: Le Samourai
Hottest Lady: Naomi Watts - King Kong

[The Other]

As I always say, my ratings tend to be on the higher side, mostly because I stay away from movies I know I will not like, thus I end up getting disappointed or end up not liking a movie a very little amount of the time.


Number of First-Time Viewings: 20

LOVED IT! – 5/5, 9/10, 10/10, A-, A, A+

Lifeboat (1944)
Grizzly Man (2005)
Capote (2005)
The Beat that My Heart Skipped (2005)
Guadalcanal Diary (1943)

REALLY LIKED IT! – 4/5, 8/10, B, B+

Le Jour Se Lève (1939)
Since You Went Away (1944)
Walk the Line (2005)
Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)
The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)
National Velvet (1944)
The Edukators (2005)

LIKED IT! – 3/5, 6/10, 7/10, C, C+, B-, B

Destination Tokyo (1943)
Murder, My Sweet (1944)
King Kong (2005)
The Island (2005)
March of the Penguins (2005)
The Princess and the Pirate (1944)
The Citadel (1938)

DIDN’T LIKE IT! – 2/5, 4/10, 5/10, D+, C-

The Seventh Victim (1943)

HATED IT! – 1/5, 1/10, 2/10, 3/10, F, D-, D

(none!)



BEST

http://media.movieweb.com/news/dvd_boxart/hi/89/389.jpg

Wow! Easily one of Hitchcock’s best films, up there with Rebecca and Notorious! Lifeboat is a taut thriller about a handful of survivors who climb into a lifeboat after their ship is torpedoed by a German U-boat. The entire cast is superb, the dialogue is sharp and realistic, it was also Hitch’s first use of a single, confined set piece that he’d later use in more famous films like Rear Window and Dial ‘M’ for Murder. Surpasses even Double Indemnity as the best film I’ve seen from 1944.

WORST

http://www.rathcoombe.net/horror/seventhvictim.jpg

Sorry, I just really don’t care about the famous Val Lewton horror films. I found Cat People and I Walked with a Zombie equally bad.


BEST DIRECTOR: Alfred Hitchcock – Lifeboat

BEST ACTOR: Philip Seymour Hoffman – Capote
--He had better win the Oscar. Of course, I still haven’t seen Brokeback Mountain… so we’ll see if Heath Ledger is better or not.

BEST ACTRESS: Tallulah Bankhead – Lifeboat

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Donald Crisp – National Velvet
--Was there ever a better father figure in film in the 1940s? The definition of subtlety, he always gave such calm, restrained performances.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mary Anderson – Lifeboat

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Guadalcanal Diary

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Le Jour Se Lève (aka Daybreak)

BIGGEST SURPRISE: Since You Went Away
--I don’t know, I just wasn’t looking forward to seeing it, it’s almost 3 hours long and it looked like just another sappy women’s picture from that time period, which it still is, but it worked for me somehow and for some reason. I don’t know I was just totally invested in everything that occurred. It didn’t feel like a 3 hour movie at all. Of course, it still had certain flaws (e.g., both Shirley Temple and, to a lesser extent, Jennifer Jones, can’t act for shit!). Claudette Colbert, on the other hand, is nearly flawless in her portrayal.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: March of the Penguins
--It was still okay, but c’mon, it was a bit on the boring side. I have no idea why they targeted it towards kids. It’s very serious and not amusing in the slightest as the commercials made it out to be. I wouldn’t say The Seventh Victim because I already had low expectations beforehand.

“I’m Pretty Damn Sure No One Else Has Seen This”: Guadalcanal Diary
--The best WW2 movie ever made? Maybe. The best WW2 movie made during WW2? You bet! It’s such an uncompromising war film… Lewis Seiler's direction is as quick and relentless as the damn machine guns and all the cast members deliver believable and realistic performances. I loved just how natural the writing was as well.

Movie I Finally Got to Friggin’ See: Marcel Carne’s Le Jour Se Lève (aka Daybreak)

BEST TITLE: The Beat that My Heart Skipped

[phelonious]

32 films. (* = rewatch)

2/10 - Aeon Flux / Kusama
Devoid of any humour or suspence. I don't know the source material but it was probably a video game. Seems to progress from exotic CGI fight scenes, then boring talk scenes explaining what the last fight was about, but nothing builds. They also need to watch at least one James Bond film with Q. They seem to introduce the obstacle then magically produce the gizmo to get around it, so it always seems contrived. Plus certain clones have intimate knowledge of all their past lives (?!).

3/10 - Real Fiction / Ki-duk
A bullied and shy sketch artist is finally pushed to the last straw and goes on a rampage and hunts down everyone who humiliated him in his life. A couple of things turned me off. I was bothered about shooting in a public square where a lot of the bystanders are obviously watching the film crew, there's actually a scene where a couple parks themselves in front of the camera and an assistant has to rush forward and push them out of the way. Plus this film was shoot in a single afternoon-- and it shows.

4/10 - Miss Firecracker / Schlamme
Holly Hunter wants to win the local beauty pagent, in this, her last year of eligibility--just so she can leave the small town of Yazoo in a blaze of glory. Unfortunately, the film makes a mistake in establishing just how ridiculous this goal is before letting us gain any real sympathy for Hunter.

5/10 - Mouchette / Bresson
Not as allegorical as usual, plus that line between the sacred and secular seems to have disappeared.

5/10 - Fun with Dick and Jane / Parisot
Good for some yuks. Basically Jim Carey doing what he does best, comedy shtick, mugging for the camera, quick fire improvising. Hard to improve over the original with George Segal and Jane Fonda though.

6/10 - 11:14 / Marcks
Ensemble drama in La la land at night. Kind of fun watching these lives intersect and careen but devoid of any hope, almost all of the actions of the characters invite their own doom, so we never really warm up to anyone. Plus the film forgets a couple of interesting threads, like the escaped prisoners and the grieving mother.

6/10 - Chronicles of Naria / Adamson
Fantasy for children. Four loveable mop tops hide out in a mansion. The film works best when they're staring into the camera with weepy eyes. Unfortunately, I have a rule about corpses, once you're dead, you can't spring back to life again unless you're a zombie. It's emotionally dishonest.

6/10 - Beauty Shop / Woodruff
Urban comedy. Queen Latifah getting her life on track and following her dreams, although I didn't really see anything wrong with it in the first place. Alicia Silverstone gets a little soul from the sistahs.

6/10 - The Tree of wooden Clogs / Olmi
Sensitive, documentary study of four peasant families, sharecropping on a farm at the turn of the century in italy. They're welcome to stay, provided they give up 2/3rds of whatever they make to the landowner. It's a year on this communal farm following the various rythmns of nature and life.

6/10 - Diary of a country Priest / Bresson
O ye Ayatollah of little faith. A new priest straight out of seminary school gets his first parish in a tiny village. His congreation stands at one parisher. And his tiny little victories with the villagers who could care two sticks about him or God. Quibbles? I love narration in a movie, but hate voice overs--they're almost always redundant.

6/10 - Three... Extremes / Various
Three asian horror shorts (each about 40 minutes long) cobbled together in a single film. The first one, auntie has a secret recipe for dumplings that will make all those troublesome wrinkles disappear magically. The second one is kind of theatrical game of death. The third one, a writer is haunted by her twin sister she may or may not have accidently killed.

6/10 - Happy, Texas / Illsley
Routine mistaken identity comedy. "The light is green!"

7/10 - Au Hasard, Balthazar / Bresson
I haven't got the ability to anthropomorphize animals in a film, that is, project human emotions onto their actions. Balthazar remains a beast of burden, or at best represents Marie's emotional and spiritual development.

7/10 - Good Night, and Good Luck / Clooney
I disagree that what we need is a moral person in the big chair to tell us what is right and wrong. In terms of nightly corporate news, you don't get to be an anchorman by asking the wrong questions. It's simply a business. They're there to make as much money as possible. Even then, 50 years ago, we see fluff pieces that Morrow was doing; the interview with Liberace who gushes he hasn't found that special lady just yet, or cigarette propaganda. Clooney is using hindsight which of course is perfect vision. But what current products are we using that from the vantage point of 50 years in the future will seem totally insane? Maybe the industrial Meat business spreads Alzheimer's. Maybe cell phones cause brain cancer?

7/10 - Pride and Prejudice / Wright
Just slightly over directed. Some scenes come off kind of self-conscious. The second dance sequence, dissolve to them dancing alone or another one, She stares in the mirror for hours and hours.

7/10 - The Family Stone / Bezucha
Chick flick. Clever opening, the cell phone ringing, my popcorn was immediately down, my dander was up, I was ready to bitch slap someone. .. then Jessica Parker answers the phone. Was expecting a straight out Christmas laugh fest, however I think it's more of a family drama with a little funny business sprinkled in. Two couples will get together, but there is a lack of suspense as to who that will be, what remains is the mere mechanics of them getting together.

7/10 - Lancelot of the lake / Bresson
Kind of dry, but I must admit it was pretty gripping once I got into that story and that Bressonian space. I can just imagine the migraines he would have with today's producers and corporate studio heads. "Bobby, you got let your cameraman go, this guy is awful, half the shots don't even include the actor's faces." . The broadswords, the daggers and all the clanking armour only heightens how fragile these warriors really are.

7/10 - Silverado* / Kasdan
Ah, the western revisited. Jeepers, everyone is so fricking young here. Kevin Kline is the violent man trying to turn over a new leaf. Would have been better had he been slow to anger rather than talked into fighting.

7/10 - Touchez pas au Grisbi / Becker
Heist film, although the twist is, the job is already done and Max is just cooling his heels until the money comes through. Nice portrait of an aging gangster who's waited all his life for that one big score and is about to sail off into golden retirement ... then the vultures start circling his loot. Sergio Leone must have loved this film, he's borrowed a lot from it.

7/10 - Viridiana / Bunuel
A nun on the eve of taking her vows returns one final time to the outside world to visit her uncle. She's become the spitting image of his wife who died on their wedding night. The Fascist Franco government invited Bunuel home to do a film after being in exil from his native land after how long? 20? 25? 30 years?. Of course, He had wonderful things to say about the church and their tacit support for the fascist regime. His homecoming film was immediately banned in Spain and he was threatened with imprisonment if he ever returned. Lots of symbolism, definately some kinky stuff going on in that mansion.

7/10 - War and Peace / Bondarchuk
Leo Tolstoy's novel put to film. In our age of epic CGI battle scenes it's a bit startling they actually did it the old fashioned way.

8/10 - The ladies of the Bois de Boulogne / Bresson
This was mighty good for a 60 year old movie. A rich society dame she speculates aloud she's become bored with her lover in order to get some sort of declaration from him. He's just forgotten their second year anniversity--which she's given him a gold cigarette case. And he jumps at the chance to get out of their relationship, so she lets him go, then hatches a plot to extract "some measure of retribution". Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

8/10 - Syriana / Gaughen
Recalls Traffic, right down to the different filters for the different locations. More than a little depressing, the pigs at the top gorging themselves at the trough, while humanity clammers for the scraps that miss. Usually Jeffrey Wright is a treat to watch, but here, his part was way too small, the wrinkle was his father.

8/10 - Pickpocket / Bresson
One man's quest for a reason to live. Kind about the emotional development as he sheds his baseness and becomes worthy of grace.

8/10 - Money / Bresson
This film probably best illustrates one of his favorites themes, chance. A man refuses to give his son his allowance which has in turn, has devasting consequences on an honest man.

8/10 - Munich / Spielberg
Ah, the perfect christmas movie, a loveable gang of mass murderers cut a swathe through Europe. I think it's more about the effects of violence on people. Certainly as Bana gets deeper into his assignment the violence begins to seriously damage his pysche. One totally dishonest scene, the school girl answering the telephone in the apartment which would have invovled a major shift in identification had they killed her, then it's turned around to show us how noble and kind hearted they are because they only murdered her father. Yuch!

8/10 - To be or not to be / Lubtisch
One of the signs of a great director is how well he can shift genres from one scene to another or shift tone within a scene. Here, the film moves from thriller to satiric comedy and back again effortlessly. Jack Benny can get giggles just by appearing on screen. A few little glitches; after he's arrested why did the Nazi's let him go back to the theatre troupe? And Hess flew to England in 1941.

8/10 - Riff Raff / Loach
The main character dreams of opening a small boutique and selling underwear and socks. Another character dreams of becoming a singer. Another wants to travel to africa. Another dreams of getting decent working conditions. And it's all held together by their camaraderie. When the blokes find out our hero's having trouble finding a place to live, they simply break into an abandoned apartment, reconnect the electricity and gas, change the locks, and there you go, he's got a place to live.

9/10 - A Man escaped / Bresson
Wonderful little details in this film; the prisoner from the opening sequence. He sees our man reaching for the door handle ready to dash, but he's seen too many Borg episodes from Star Trek: resistance is futile, so when our man leaps from the car he just sits there, staring blankly into space until they bring him back. The Nazi jailer playing with the keys on the stair slats, his increasingly fragile cell door. When he pulls himself up to his barred window, we never see what he's looking at, for all we know he might have a nice view of the Trocadero gardens. And just before he's ready to escape he gets a new cellmate. Was he planted there? Is he a snitch? Being still a teenager he strikes up a conversation with the person closest his age, a german guard. Can he count on him?

9/10 - Brokeback Mountain / Lee
Kind of conventional love story, except it's a about a cheating cowboy with a Twist. The cowboy Heath Ledge plays is fascinating because he has great difficulty expressing emotion and affection. He almost never opens his slightly crooked mouth, it's a chore for him to get words out, or he mumbles them. Watch the scenes with his daughter--who adores him, whenever something emotional happens he always looks away from her.

9/10 - Leaving Las Vegas* / Figgis
This is the second time I've seen this, and rather than an alcoholic screenwriter skidding down the last rungs of society and life and banging his head on every step, I think the film is more about a damaged woman trying to heal herself . Near the end, a taxi driver tells Sera she's beautiful and she could have anyone she wants, but she would never choose someone nice to be with because, in her eyes, she's unworthy of love ... for now. When she leaves Las Vegas, she'll be ready.

10/10 - Punch Drunk Love* / Anderson
A man on the edge. I like the way the film builds.


Best film: A man escaped

Best title: Brokeback Mountain.

Best screenplay: Brokeback Mountain,

Best Actress: María Casares -- The ladies of the bois du boulogne

Best Actor: Heath Ledger

Most likeable character: The police detective in Pickpocket. He's trying to gently steer the young criminal in the right direction, but the choices are ultimately the young crimnal's.

Best supporting actor: Mathieu Amalric, the peddler of insider information.

Best supporting actress: Michelle Williams -- Brokeback Mountain.

Best line: "If evil men can work together to get what they want so can good men work together to get what they want. It's really so simple" --War and Peace

Best scene: Balthazar lies down in a pasture surrounded by sheep. --Au hasard, Bathazar

Best Lung cancer film: Good Night, and Good Luck.

Most blantant product placement: Kent's cigarettes --Good Night, and Good luck.

Best quote: Da Vinci's "the last supper" --Viridiana

Best image: The biker scene in Brokeback Mountain. He stands there like Michelangelo's David in cowboy boots, the fireworks light up the sky behind him. but within the context of the film, ultimately, because his emotional life is so repressed and his sexuality is so intertwined with violence, this is the antithesis of a heroic man... this is a tragic figure. Which could be a rather pointed comment on Bush's America.

Cutiest scene: Pride & Prejudice. The aloft Mister Darcy, unexpectedly, helps Miss Elizabeth into her carriage, then turns and walks away ... his hand pulses from her touch.

[Fisting Ackbar]

Been a while since I've seen 5 films that I rated 9/10 in one month. Of course, there were a bunch of disappointments as well, but it could always be worse.

Ranked from best to worst:


M (1931) 9/10
KING KONG (2005) 9/10
GRIZZLY MAN 9/10
METROPOLIS (1927) 9/10
NOSFERATU (1922) 9/10

THE CONSTANT GARDENER 8/10
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE 8/10 (rewatch)
TOY STORY 2 8/10

KISS KISS BANG BANG 7/10
BROKEN FLOWERS 7/10
SERENITY 7/10
THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA 7/10
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA 7/10

HIS GIRL FRIDAY 6/10
L'ENFANT (THE CHILD) 6/10
8 MILE 6/10
A NIGHT AT THE OPERA 6/10

ONE MISSED CALL 5/10
REVOLVER (2005) 5/10 (twice)

CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962) 4/10
WILD AT HEART 4/10
PLAYTIME 4/10

CRUEL INTENTIONS 3 3/10



Best Actor: Peter Lorre - M (1931)
Best Actress: Naomi Watts - KING KONG (2005)
Best Supporting Actor: Val Kilmer - KISS KISS BANG BANG
Best Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz - THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Best Director: Fritz Lang - M (1931)
Best Original Screenplay: M (1931)
Best Adapted Screenplay: KING KONG (2005)
Biggest Surprise: KISS KISS BANG BANG
Biggest Disappointment: CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962)/PLAYTIME
Most Fucked-Up Movie: WILD AT HEART
Person/Character I Never Want to Meet: Bobby Peru (Willem Dafoe) - WILD AT HEART
"Why Is He/She Still in Movies?": Barry Pepper - THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA
Recurring Genre: 2005 releases
Ultimate WTF? Moment: Harry Dean Stanton going "buffalo hunting" - WILD AT HEART
Best Line: "Is that your wife? What a lovely throat" - NOSFERATU (1922)
Best Scene: Kong versus the T-Rexes - KING KONG (2005)
Movie I Finally Got to Friggin' See: NOSFERATU (1922)
Coolest Title: GRIZZLY MAN

[Cronos]

Number of First-Time Viewings: 70
Number of First-Time Viewings on 2005 (GRAND TOTAL): 673

10/10
Downfall

9/10
Strings
Fistful Of Dynamite, A
Full Metal Alchemist: The Conqueror Of Shambala
Dentist, The
Scanners

8/10
Riding Bean
Confidence
Maniac Cop 3: Badge Of Silence
Layer Cake
Touch Of Death

7/10
Rebecca (40)
Sword Of Xanten, The
Nightmare In A Damaged Brain
Satan's Slave
Puppet Master
Catwoman
Hound Of The Baskervilles, The
Great Train Robbery, The (1903)
Out For A Kill

6/10
Casablanca (45)
Leprechaun
Postman Always Rings Twice, The
Mortal Fear
Swingers
Black Narcissus
King Of The Zombies
Window, The
Funeral, The

5/10
Alex & Emma
Ignition
Conquest Of Space
Fallen Angel
Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason
Incident, The
Why Do Fools Fall In Love

4/10
Gayniggers From Outer Space
Heavy Metal
To Main A Mockingbird
Warrior, The
Crazy Canucks
Remember Me
Serving In Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story
Small Faces

3/10
It Came From Outer Space 2
Alphaville
Amputee, The v2
Amputee, The
Christmas Carol: The Movie
Terminal Error
Meet Me In St Louis
Hans Christian Andersen

2/10
Emanuelle In America
Titanic (2001)
Otherworld
Profoundly Normal
Nil By Mouth
Baker's Hawk
War Zone, The
Men Behind The Sun

1/10
Tarzan X
Derailed
Paws
Conqueror, The
BMX Bandits
Napoleon
Ladybug
Doug's 1st Movie
Titanic Town
You Got Served

THE BEST

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B0009RCPUC.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

THE WORST

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0001MMGC2.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Best Actor: Bruno Ganz, DOWNFALL
Best Actress: Joan Fontaine, REBECCA
Best Supporting Actor: Rod Steiger, A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE
Best Director: Anders Ronnow Klarlund, STRINGS
Best Original Screenplay: DOWNFALL
Best Adapted Screenplay: REBECCA
Biggest Surprise: STRINGS
Biggest Disappointment: HEAVY METAL
Most Fucked-Up Movie: MEN BEHIND THE SUN
"I'm Pretty Damn Sure No One Else Has Seen This": STRINGS
Person/Character I Never Want to Meet: THE DENTIST
"Why Is He/She Still in Movies?": Sharon Stone, CATWOMAN
Recurring Genre: HORROR
Ultimate WTF? Moment: the gore in MEN BEHIND THE SUN
Best Line: that poor devil must have been completely demented, THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES
Best Scene: the head exploding, SCANNERS
Movie I Finally Got to Friggin' See: SCANNERS
Coolest Title: A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE

[Kucha]

DECEMBER 2004
Total Films: 24
* indicates that this film is a rewatch

*SHREK 2 (8/10)
*BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM (7/10)
THE ADVENTURES OF SHARKBOY AND LAVAGIRL (4/10)
THE LITTLE MERMAID II: RETURN TO THE SEA (5/10)
MR. AND MRS. SMITH (6/10)
MY DATE WITH DREW (6/10)
RENT (9/10)
*POCAHONTAS (9/10)
THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN (5/10)
*MATCHSTICK MEN (9/10)
DRAGONHEART (5/10)
CRY_WOLF (5/10)
*DR. SEUSS'S HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (7/10)
*RUDOLPH THE REDNOSE REINDEER (8/10)
AN UNFINISHED LIFE (7/10)
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS (8/10)
MUNICH (7/10)
BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE (5/10)
PRETTY PERSUASION (8/10)
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA (6/10)
MURDERBALL (6/10)
FOUR BROTHERS (6/10)
CINDERELLA MAN (7/10)
BATMAN BEGINS (7/10)

Re-Watches do not count:

Best Actor: Eric Bana, MUNICH
Best Actress: Ziyi Zhang, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
Best Supporting Actor: Paul Giamatti, CINDERELLA MAN
Best Supporting Actress: Li Gong, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
Best Director: Steven Spielberg, MUNICH
Best Original Screenplay: CINDERELLA MAN
Best Adapted Screenplay: Based on Musical Book/Lyrics, RENT
Biggest Surprise: RENT
Biggest Disappointment: THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN
Most Fucked-Up Movie: PRETTY PERSUASION
Person/Character I Never Want to Meet: Scarecrow, BATMAN BEGINS
Movie I Finally Got to Friggin’ See: PRETTY PERSUASION


THE BEST:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000CQYGCK.01-A3TES5Z2QXV9XA._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
RENT

THE WORST:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000A6T2BM.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
THE ADVENTURES OF SHARKBOY AND LAVAGIRL

[A.J. Hakari]

Originally posted by The Other
Sorry, I just really don’t care about the famous Val Lewton horror films. I found Cat People and I Walked with a Zombie equally bad.

If you haven't seen it yet, one I think you might dig is THE BODY SNATCHER; it's a very cool, complex, and atmospheric meditation on the blurred line separating good and evil, and it features possibly Boris Karloff's best performance ever. Damn creepy stuff. :cool:

[zeppelin]

1. Unforgiven (1992)- A+ (re-watch)
2. Blue Velvet (1986)- A (re-watch)
3. King Kong (2005)- A
4. Short Cuts (1993)- A-
5. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)- A-
6. Grizzly Man (2005)- A-
7. Amelie (2001)- A- (re-watch)
8. Coffee and Cigarettes (2004)- A-
9. No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005)- A-
10. Down by Law (1986)- B+
11. Munich (2005)- B+
12. The Buddy Holly Story (1978)- B+
13. Dead Man (1995)- B
14. Roy Orbison and Friends: Black & White Night (1988)- B
15. A Christmas Carol (1951)- B
16. The Harder They Come (1973)- C

Best first viewing: King Kong (2005)
Most frequent director: Jim Jarmusch (Coffee and Cigarettes, Down by Law, Dead Man)
Most frequent actor: Tom Waits (Short Cuts, Coffee and Cigarettes, Down by Law, Roy Orbison and Friends: Black & White Night)

Best Director: David Lynch, Blue Velvet
Best Actor: Eric Bana, Munich
Best Actress: Audrey Tautou, Amelie
Best Supporting Actor: Dennis Hopper, Blue Velvet
Best Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, Coffee and Cigarettes
Best Screenplay: Short Cuts
Best Cinematography: Amelie

[Jerk Shapiro]

Originally posted by Adam J. Hakari
Mystery Science Theater 3000: “Girl in Gold Boots”
Mystery Science Theater 3000: “Hobgoblins”
Mystery Science Theater 3000: “The Touch of Satan”



God. Three MST3K heavyweights right there. Hobgoblins being one of my personal favorites, and The Touch of Satan being pure brilliance.

"I've said 'Za!' in better towns than this!"

[TylerDurden182]

Murderball- 8/10
Havoc- 2/10
Scrubs: Complete 2nd Season- 10/10
Election- 7/10
Aliens: Directors Cut- 10/10
Miller's Crossing- 10/10
Dukes of Hazzard- 3/10
Chinatown- 10/10
Terminator- 7/10
Cinderella Man- 9/10
Miracle- 6/10
Rounders- 9/10
Angel Heart- 9/10
The 40 Year Old Virgin- 8/10
King Kong (2005)- 10/10
The Thin Red Line- 10/10
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid- 7/10
The Salton Sea- 8/10
George Washington- 3/10
Hellraiser- 2/10
Cry Wolf- 5/10
Exorcism of Emily Rose- 6/10
Creep- 2/10
Tower Of Babble- 5/10
Four Brothers- 7/10
American Pie Band Camp- 1/10
Dark Water- 7/10
Grizzly Man- 10/10
Sin City: Director's Cut- 10/10
In The Mood For Love- 9/10
The Great Raid- 4/10

Total- 31

Best- King Kong (2005)
Worst- American Pie Band Camp

Best Actor: Jack Nicholson, Chinatown
Best Actress: Naomi Watts, King Kong
Best Supporting Actor: Clive Owen, Sin City
Best Supporting Actress: Faye Dunaway, Chinatown
Best Director: Peter Jackson, King Kong
Best Original Screenplay: Terrence Malick, Thin Red Line
Best Adapted Screenplay: Robert Rodriguez, Sin City
Biggest Surprise: Grizzly Man
Biggest Disappointment: George Washington
Most Fucked-Up Movie: Hellraiser
“I’m Pretty Damn Sure No One Else Has Seen This”: Creep
Person/Character I Never Want to Meet: That thing from Creep
“Why Is He/She Still in Movies?”: James Franco, The Great Raid
Recurring Genre: New Movies
Ultimate WTF? Moment: The vaginal surgery in Creep
Best Line: "It was beauty killed the Beast." King Kong
Best Scene: All of King Kong
Movie I Finally Got to Friggin’ See: In The Mood For Love
Coolest Title: Murderball

[Tayzlor]

10/10
Days of Heaven*
Veronika Voss
Gone With The Wind
Funny Games
2001: A Space Odyssey*
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan


9/10
Bride of Frankenstein
The Marriage of Maria Braun
Stella Dallas
Syriana
Yes
Munich

8/10
Mysterious Skin
Turtles Can Fly
The Squid and the Whale

7/10
Frankenstein (1931)
Jezebel
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Schultze Gets the Blues
King Kong (2005)

6/10
Dodsworth
Gunga Din

5/10
Scrooged

Movie: Funny Games
Actress: TIE- Barbara Stanwyck Stella Dallas Vivien Leigh GWTW
Actor: Eric Bana, Munich
Sup. Actress: Laura Linney, The Squid and the Whale
Sup. Actor: Arno Frisch, Funny Games
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Veronika Voss
Screenplay: Gone With The Wind
Cinematography: Veronika Voss
Biggest Surprise: Stella Dallas
Recurring Genre: 2005 movies
Movie I Finally Got to Friggin’ See: Gone With The Wind
Coolest Title: Syriana

[A.J. Hakari]

Originally posted by Jerk Shapiro
God. Three MST3K heavyweights right there. Hobgoblins being one of my personal favorites, and The Touch of Satan being pure brilliance.

"I've said 'Za!' in better towns than this!"

"Oh! You made me go burpee."

[Hannibal21]

Originally posted by Fisting Ackbar
"Why Is He/She Still in Movies?": Barry Pepper - THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA

Really? I thought Pepper was superb in the movie, my choice for Best Supporting Actor of the year.

[Fisting Ackbar]

Originally posted by Hannibal21
Really? I thought Pepper was superb in the movie, my choice for Best Supporting Actor of the year.

Oh, he was pretty good in that movie actually (especially in a scene at the end, if you get to what I'm referring to), but I just don't care for the actor. It seems that ever since BATTLEFIELD EARTH, he's had this ugly scowl on his face, which I can't stand.

[Terror Australis]

My Month In Movies - December

5/5
City Lights
Cool Hand Luke
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
Short Cuts
The Descent

4.5/5
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Husbands And Wives
Superman II

4/5
Kung Fu Hustle
The Barbarian Invasions
Greystoke: The Legend Of Tarzan, Lord Of The Apes
All The Real Girls
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
The Finished People
Die Hard 2
The Champ (1979)
Wedding Crashers

3.5/5
Frances
Coffee And Cigarettes
French Connection II
The Rage In Placid Lake
The Island (2005)
Silent Movie

3/5
Layer Cake
Be Cool
Mindhunters
Creep

2.5/5
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
Monster-In-Law
Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason
The Running Man
Visitors
Catch That Kid

2/5
Ocean’s Twelve
Gerry
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights

1.5/5
Popeye
House Of Wax (2005)
Travelling Light

1/5
The Lizzie McGuire Movie
Johnson Family Vacation

THE BEST
http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/MG/144330.jpg

THE WORST
http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/gallery/1131211/photo_01.jpg

Best Actor: Paul Newman, COOL HAND LUKE
Best Actress: Jessica Lange, FRANCES
Best Supporting Actor: Rick "Ricky" Schroder, THE CHAMP (1979)
Best Supporting Actress: Judy Davis, HUSBANDS AND WIVES
Best Director: Sergio Leone, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
Best Original Screenplay: HUSBANDS AND WIVES
Best Adapted Screenplay: SHORT CUTS
Biggest Surprise: ALL THE REAL GIRLS
Biggest Disappointment: OCEAN'S TWELVE
Most Fucked-Up Movie: KUNG FU HUSTLE
“I’m Pretty Damn Sure No One Else Has Seen This”: (three way tie) THE FINISHED PEOPLE, THE RAGE IN PLACID LAKE and TRAVELLING LIGHT
Person/Character I Never Want to Meet: The Crawlers, THE DESCENT
“Why Is He/She Still in Movies?”: Hilary Duff, THE LIZZIE MCGUIRE MOVIE
Recurring Genre: Prequels/Sequels
Ultimate WTF? Moment: The "Thai women prisoners singing Madonna", BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON
Best Line: "To all you good people in the Midwest, sorry we said "fuck" so much. ", KISS KISS BANG BANG (2005)
Best Scene: "Paige's (Paris Hilton) Death Scene", HOUSE OF WAX (2005)
Movie I Finally Got to Friggin’ See: DIE HARD 2
Coolest Title: GREYSTOKE: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, LORD OF THE APES

[A.J. Hakari]

Originally posted by Terror Australis
Best Line: "To all you good people in the Midwest, sorry we said "fuck" so much. ", KISS KISS BANG BANG (2005)

:D

Also, glad you dug FRENCH CONNECTION II. I liked the original more as a whole, but I actually liked Hackman's performance in #2 more than the first.

[The Other]

Originally posted by Hannibal21
Le Samourai - 10/10 God, I love that movie! I finally got the Criterion DVD for Christmas, even though it had been out since October and I've watched it three more times, it hasn't gotten old yet. From the opening frame of Alain Delon stretched out on the bed in that nearly empty room with the spiraling cigarette smoke up into the air to the very end club scene where the inevitable happened (we all know from the beginning that what happened with Jef would happen). It holds my rapt attention every time. By far, the coolest movie ever. I feel it's not just about tone and style, but that is what it's most famous for.

[Hannibal21]

Originally posted by The Other
God, I love that movie! I finally got the Criterion DVD for Christmas, even though it had been out since October and I've watched it three more times, it hasn't gotten old yet. From the opening frame of Alain Delon stretched out on the bed in that nearly empty room with the spiraling cigarette smoke up into the air to the very end club scene where the inevitable happened (we all know from the beginning that what happened with Jef would happen). It holds my rapt attention every time. By far, the coolest movie ever. I feel it's not just about tone and style, but that is what it's most famous for.

I concur. It had been a movie I've anticipated for a long while, and when I finally saw it, it sure as hell did not disappoint. Alain Delon is phenomenal, I've seen him in other stuff pretty briefly, but this was my first official introduction to the actor and it's just amazing in the way he conveys the loneliness and isolation of an icy cold gangster without having to utter much of anything. It's all in his face, and certainly not every actor possess a visage quite like the one Delon has.