What's the last movie you've seen?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Hitman.

Probably the best video game-based movie I've ever seen...which isn't really saying a lot. But it was a decent action flick, you just won't enjoy it without playing the games, in which case you'll b!tch about the lack of character development and whatnot that the games explain (which is why most critics hated it.)

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

No that was Dumplings, and I think it was Korean or something.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

That movie as a whole wasn't all that disturbing, but that video of the family being murdered is definitely one the most shocking and messed up things I've ever seen on film.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

oh, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

it was good.  at least, really well acted.  the story had some shortcomings, what with how they decided to set up a lot of it, but aside from that there aren't many quibbles.  just a kind of by-the-numbers movie editted to seem more interesting than it was.  Hawke was great though.

How was Marissa Tomei? (you know what I mean)

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

The Night Listener.

It was OK, good performances from Robin Williams and Toni Collette. The only problem is all the of the twists were fairly obvious.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Atonement

having read the book, i guess it was hard to not be underwhelmed.  because the book is amazing.  i think the performances were perfect across the board, with McAvoy standing out, and Ronan being very good as well.  Knightley really just didn't have much to do.  the problem is, the story is just so...literary.  so many of the ethical questions come about via the nature of authorship, and trying to translate this to film is not seamless.  the ending especially shows this.  some really good filmmaking, it just couldn't touch the novel.

A-

Do you go only to independent movies now?

If so though, that's a good thing.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Yeah, those are all independent films. Just ones with a bit higher budget and wider release.

At least since I graduated high school one of the theaters in my hometown has doubled its screens and thus started showing some of those movies (I saw No Country For Old Men there over Thanksgiving break), thus meaning I should be able to at least see some decent movies when I'm there for a month (most likely I'll be going to Juno and There Will Be Blood). After that of course I'll be in Minneapolis where EVERYTHING plays, even super-indie movies like Brick and NC-17 ones like Lust, Caution. Another thing to get excited about.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

To Live and Die in L.A.

It was pretty enjoyable although one has to ignore the often clunky dialogue, occasionally wooden acting and the annoying 80s soundtrack. Would've been better if made 10 years earlier or 10 years later. But still enjoyable.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I Am Legend.

I've never seen a movie with more "jump" scenes, or ones used as effectively. This could give an old person a heart attack. Very tense and shocking, and Will Smith gave a great performance as a guy slowly going insane.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Who's Camus Anyway?

He was a French existentialist. Disturbing.

He was also the name of a troll on another board. Now that troll is all I ever think about when I hear the name.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Was it basically a comedy?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

That ending is the weakest part of the movie, they had a great movie going and a lame copout then.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Yeah, that's as puzzling as Gully Foyle's interpretations of movies.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Yeah, that's as puzzling as Gully Foyle's interpretations of movies.

Perhaps one day I should bore you to death on the significant of Pulp Fiction?

About how it's one of the greatest movies ever made, and the full depth of its complexity and brilliance? In that case yes.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Those top three are ACE.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Also just saw Charlie Wilson's War.

Great performances by all, but Phillip Seymour Hoffman stole the show. That guy needs a lot more roles like that.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Seeing There Will Be Blood is one of the first things I plan to do after moving to Minneapolis.

For me: Storytelling. I actually liked this one more than Happiness, which most people don't. The plot setup was kind of weird though, what's the point of two completely unrelated stories just back to back?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

There Will Be Blood.

Brilliant cinematography, two absolutely amazing performances from Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Dano, with incredible chemistry, and a soundtrack that fit the movie PERFECTLY. What more could you ask for?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

No Country for Old Men

Javier Bardem > You.

What? That's exactly the type of movie you'd rail against. The epitome of nihilistic violence.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Cloverfield

holy sh**t, that was intense.

What'd the monster look like?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

No Country for Old Men

Javier Bardem > You.

What? That's exactly the type of movie you'd rail against. The epitome of nihilistic violence.

Uh.. No.

Then what the hell was it? I didn't see it as much different from Sin City or whatever.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

The whole point of NCFOM (and if you haven't seen it yet and don't want to read any spoilers don't read any further) isn't about the drug money or even Chigurgh but rather Tommy Lee Jones's character deciding to retire. The story is his basically just his view of the incident that finally did it, he doesn't play a huge role in the actual story but that's not really the point. After viewing the true evil in Chigurgh he comes to the conclusion that the world has developed so far into evil and wickedness that it's not worth fighting for anymore, basically what the title means (No World For Old Men would probably be more accurate though I understand it's taken from a poem or something). That sounds like a nihilistic viewpoint to me. Oh and it's violent and bloody. Just not as cartoonish as Sin City.

You know a paper comparing the meaning of the endings of NCFOM and Se7en would be something really interesting to write for a film class or something. Similar themes but completely different conclusions (and endings too in the characters in question, Tommy Lee Jones in NCFOM and Morgan Freeman in Se7en)

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Lars and the Real Girl.

Very funny poignant movie. It was actually surprisingly clean, considering the basic plot. This could've probably have been PG if it weren't for the whole fact it's about a sex doll in the first place.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

What the hell is the big deal with Atonement? Looks like a chick flick to me. I'd rather go to 27 Dresses than that, at least it might be funny.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Not a movie, but the AFI recently released its latest top 100 movies. The huge number of changes just hurts its credibility, IMO. I guess there's never much consensus on what's considered the best movie, but when you have a well-known film like Vertigo (1958) jumping 50 places into the top ten, it kind of emphasizes how much the list is the product of a particular set of industry insiders at a particular moment in time. On the other hand, there's honesty to admitting that the critical community can change its mind profoundly, and I admire and respect that.

Raging Bull jumped 20 places to #4, which is absurd.
The Searchers (1956) jumped 84 places into the top 10, with growing recognition of its influence; but that's more of an artifact of 2007, IMO, than the film itself.
Birth of a Nation was removed from the list and replaced with Intolerance. Give me a f-cking break. Does the Godfather being at #2 mean an endorsement of the mafia? Then why would Birth of Nation be removed from the list? David Wark Griffith may or may not have been a racist, (see Intolerance and Broken Blossoms) but the industry should acknowledge the truth about its formative milestones- as Susan Faludi points out in The Terror Dream, Birth may have been simply tapping into the western/John-Wayne narrative on grand scale.

Edit:
I do like how they acknowledge that LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring was the most significant of the LOTR movies. It established the basic premises not only for the plot and themes of the next two films but the very notion of such an open-ended trilogy (the Star Wars trilogy, for example, ended with the blowing up of the Death Star, not the heroes journeying off into uncertainty) after a three-hour feature. It took a big risk and basically established the success of the entire trilogy.

Raging Bull at #4 is f**king ridiculous, no question.

Also ridiculous: Doctor Zhivago is off.