Unstoppable - 8/10 Movie was a lot better than I expected, and the second half of the movie is just a pure adrenaline rush. Great movie, Denzel continues to show why he's the man too.
The A-Team -- 5/10 -- moves at a breakneck pace in an attempt to keep you from thinking about all of the nonsense they're throwing at you. In the end it is still almost completely unintelligible.
(1956)The Killing - 10/10 The Killing is perfect. It could be no better. This is one of those films I could play on repeat in the background while I go about my business. Kubrick's direction of this quintessential and technically pivotal film is tight, visceral, and cynical. The characters just rush past us as they are all etched into a heist scheme of great daring and immense profit.; all in all, it's perfectly executed and gets better every minute to the last. The way it unfolds is iconic and brilliantly conceived by Kubrick. Seeing this film, I was just thinking how many films out there owe a debt of influence to The Killing. This film has so much essential greatness packed into it. Kubrick lays out a brilliant framework here in terms of the ways stories can be told, looping the film around both time-wise (repeating the same time from different perspectives) and space-wise (repeating the same destinations at different times). This movie is like a train careening out of control for its duration, and yet it is perfectly constructed in all of its uncontrolled glory, and Kubrick knows that the hand he's holding is a good one; when he reveals his hand at the end, its sheer brilliance and Kubrick wins the pot.
Summer Rental -- 5/10 -- pretty formulaic but John Candy is endearing. The Great Outdoors -- 6/10 -- extremely campy but enjoyable.
Trim: Legacy - 7.5/10 True Grit - 8.5/10 Tron was about what I expected, but it could've been better. Overall though, it was a pretty good flick. True Grit was damn good, but a lot different then what I was expecting. Also, I disagree with those that say it's the best movie of the year. While it is really good, it doesn't come close to Inception to me.
My Neighbor Totoro - 9/10 My Neighbor Totoro is a simple masterpiece. At 82 minutes in length, it may be slight, but its message and emotions are big and very powerful. The film isn't about good versus evil or big guy against small guy, etc, or scary ghosts. This film just happens, and its magical, and it's so damn enjoyable; I think I was smiling the whole way through, but I can't be sure because I was just so into this story. Miyazaki isn't creating threatening conflicts; he's creating beautiful and sad experiences that are also uplifting and transcendent. Miyazaki hits a great balance in his message of different beliefs and how they form our separate ideas of reality. He uses this separation of belief and/or frame of thought to present this duel reality, leaving the answer of their connectedness ambiguous for some and somewhat attainable for others, hinting that we need to find the pure child within. If we find that child, we can defeat the everydayness we hastily call 'freedom' which we constantly face. The busyness of the body and the preoccupation of the mind are so conducive of a lesser kind of freedom, and a different type of reality; because in all of that routine, busyness and preoccupation, we often leave the spirit lagging behind. Sometimes we need to step back, take a break, and let our spirits catch up with us. Over the holidays my brother bought me the entire Hayao Miyazaki collection. I've seen almost all of them but am re-watching them because let's be honest they're great films.
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles -- 8/10 -- easy to get emotionally invested in Martin & Candy in (arguably) their career best roles. The music makes it feel dated. I've recently been re-watching some movies in Blu-Ray, starting with the LOTR trilogy and Avatar. LOTR benefits tremendously from HD. I enjoyed watching it at home as much as I did in the theatre. The trilogy is an incredible mixture of classic storytelling and contemporary film making techniques that will be hard to match (ever). The extended Blu-Ray editions are a must-see. Avatar on the other hand takes a bit of a hit when not in 3D. I don't subscribe to the notion that 3D is a gimmick (though the majority of 3D films coming out recently make a case otherwise). I think Avatar is an example of how to take a good science fiction movie and breathe more life into it with the tech. If only the story held up to the style. Hopefully we get more Empire and less Jedi in the upcoming sequels.
I rarely post on this thread, but Speeds, PLEASE tell me you didn't buy the LOTR trilogy on blu ray. Everyone knows you wait for the extended edition blu rays! Never double-dip!
Tron: Legacy - 7/10 Like Moo said, it could have been much better. The animations were there, the directing wasn't. Things felt like they were out of place to me. The soundtrack is killer though. I can easily expect a Tron 2.
I think you meant Tron 3 And as for A-Team, I liked it quite a bit. It was a good, mindless and hilarious action flick.
