Out With the Old, In With the New

Well here we are in the new year. A month into the new year. I'm on a strong pace to make 12 blog posts this year.

I'm here to talk about movies - finishing up the last few of 2008, and telling you about the new muck I've seen so far in 2009. Next post will be a roundup of my top and bottom 5 of 2008.

The Day the Earth Stood Still, D I am constantly defending Keaknew Reeves as a decent actor, but it's stuff like this that just undermines me. Such a nothing movie - nothing happens, it has no point, it drags and is so incredibly painful. There were some cool destruction montages at the end - the only thing that saved this from an F. Filthy, misleading trailer.

The Spirit, F- Ah the dreaded F-. It looked kinda cool, but that was it. Just blah blah blah, stupid fights, blah blah blah. I fell asleep, woke up, and I was still hearing the same stuff over and over. What a waste of time! Frank Miller, you hack!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, B+ This movie is long. Really long. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly long it is. Still a good film, but that's the reason for a less than A grade. The movie is exactly what you think it is - he starts old, gets young. The only thing I wish there was more of (more length!) would be some parts of his younger (older?) years. There was a lot of him leaving home and making his way, but it rushed through the rest. Also, Josh Hartnett should have played young Brad Pitt.

Milk, A+ A great biopic about Harvey Milk, the first gay elected official in California, and his rise to power. It was a very real look at gay life and, I felt, one of the most accurate portrayals of gays in cinema. Usually you have a stereotypical flamboyant gay side character there for comic relief or for some version of diversity. Nice to see a good film being made. I really think it's still too gay for Hollywood although it got more Oscar nominations than I thought it would.

Slumdog Millionaire, A+ Ending the year off on a huge high note with Milk and Slumdog. Indie filmmaker Danny Boyle brings it was in intricate tale of a slum kid from India on his way to winning "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire." Everything about the film flowed so perfectly - story, music, editing. No wonder it's the frontrunner for Best Picture and just about every other award.
That's all from 2008. On to 2009!

The Unborn, C It's Beth! From Cloverfield! She's about as annoying in this role as she is screaming and crying about having rebar rammed through her chest. Whiner! This was a typical horror montage with very little explanation or logical world rules. Provided lots of opportunity for hilarious commentary.

My Bloody Valentine 3D, B- The plot wasn't that great, and neither was the cinematography, but the action was so over the top bloody and hilarious, I had to give this one a good grade. One of the most enjoyable stupid movies since Crank. Speaking of - CRANK 2 IS COMING!!! More excuses for Jason Statham to be shirtless...