He lists a total of 26. For me, each falls into one of four categories:
Movies I've Seen:
1. Encounters at the End of the World- Saw it over the summer and liked it well enough, but didn't think it was up there with some of Herzog's other efforts.
Never Heard of and Don't Care About Seeing:
1. Ballast- Sounds like another Eve's Bayou.
2. The Band's Visit- a cross-cultural comedy of manners in the Middle East. Sounds like a riot. I'm guessing everyone ends up dead at the end.
3. Chop Shop- If I want to watch poor people in New York for two hours, all I have to do is take public transportation into work.
4. Frozen River- Sounds like it's basically the same movie as "Chop Shop".
5. Happy-Go-Lucky- Another charmer from Mike Leigh, to make you want to slash your wrists on Christmas Day.
6. Shotgun Stories- Inter-familial rivalry and class rivalry, all at the same time. I CAN wait.
7. Slumdog Millionaire- brought to you buy the same folks who made "A Life Less Ordinary".
8. Standard Operating Procedure- As if fiction isn't always depressing enough on its own, here's a documentary to make you feel awful about the world.
9. Trouble the Water- A documentary about Hurricane Katrina. Enough said.
Heard of But Don't Want to See:
1. Che- Why anyone gives a rat's ass about this guy is beyond me. Plus, the film is 47 and a half hours long. First we had to live with "The Motorcycle Diaries", and now this?
2. Doubt- Yes, exactly. The ads make this movie look so incredibly goofy. I'm guessing it's about a group of actors who go to a Halloween party, and then start yelling dramatically when they arrive and realize they all dressed up the same.
3. Frost/Nixon- Maybe it's good, but it just doesn't seem like an interesting premise for a film.
4. Rachel Getting Married- Umyeahno.
5. Milk- See "Frost/Nixon"
6. The Reader- Should be called "The Snoozer"
7. Revolutionary Road- The suburbs are horrible, blah blah blah. And the boat sinks at the end.
8. W.- If I want to watch George Bush screwing up the country all I have to do is turn on the news. Plus, after JFK, Oliver Stone should not be trusted to make movies about "real" people and events.
9. Wall-E- Something about these Dreamworks movies rub me the wrong way. I feel like I'm being sold the same thing over and over again, just in different packaging.
Heard of and Want to See:
1. The Dark Knight- I keep hearing how good it is, and I believe it.
2. The Fall- Sounds original and worth seeing. If it's from the guy who directed the video for "Losing My Religion" it'll probably be nice to look at.
3. Iron Man- See "The Dark Knight"
4. Synecdoche, NY- Kauffman always does stuff that's interesting.
5. My Winnipeg- I wanted to see this when it was playing at the Tribeca Film Festival, but we couldn't get tickets. Quirky pseudo-documentary about a cold place. Sounds right up my alley.
6. I.O.U.S.A.- Don't know if I REALLY want to see it, but I'm hoping that if I do it will motivate me to never buy anything on credit ever again.
7. Man on Wire- Wanted to see it when it was out but never got around to it. The guy did something that I could never, ever, in a million years, even contemplate doing.
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3 comments:
Although I haven't seen Slumdog, I really want to and heard it's great.
I can kind of understand what you're saying about the Pixar movies, but what feels so familiar about them is that they are kick ass movies. But since technology scares you and you're gay, you should probably stay away from Wal*E even though it's on of my favorite movies.
YOU HAVE TO SEE THE DARK KNIGHT. You can make a strong case that Ledger's joker is the best villain ever in a movie. Beyond that it's by far the best movie in that genre. I also think it's the best action movie I've seen.
I hate the Yankees and I hope they're all in the old stadium when it gets blown up.
I'm with Mike on Slumdog Millionaire. Although Boyle is responsible for Life Less Ordinary and The Beach, he also made Trainspotting, Millions, and Shallow Grave. Sunshine wasn't bad either.
>>Wall-E- Something about these Dreamworks movies rub me the wrong way. I feel like I'm being sold the same thing over and over again, just in different packaging.
Mike was gentle in his correction, but I won't be -- Wall-E is PIXAR, NOT DREAMWORKS. The equation is simple DreamWorks animation = CRAP, whilst Pixar animation = GENIUS. You're right about being sold "the same thing over and over again" though, if you define "the same thing" as "brilliant filmmaking, storytelling, and visuals." The argument can be made that Pixar is the greatest movie studio, pound for pound, ever.
>>If I want to watch George Bush screwing up the country all I have to do is turn on the news.
Good line.
>>Plus, the film is 47 and a half hours long.
There's NO WAY it's 47.5 hours. It's easily 2.5 weeks.
>>Revolutionary Road and The Reader.
Neither of the stories interests me much, but two words make it must-see: Kate Winslet. And, in the case of The Reader, three other words: full frontal nudity.
>>Doubt- I'm guessing it's about a group of actors who go to a Halloween party, and then start yelling dramatically when they arrive and realize they all dressed up the same.
Another good line. The trailer didn't turn me off as much as you. It looks like it can go either way: a gripping, intense drama or a showcase for actors to emote. The reviews are putting it in the latter category.
The Fall looks visually amazing, but the story sounds very weak. If the director can marry those two halves, he'll create one for the ages.
Ditto what Mike said about The Dark Knight. I'm dying to know what you think. Go rent it, fer crissakes.
I disagree about Dark Knight being the best action movie ever, though. Don't think I agree about the Ledger's The Joker being the best villain ever, either.
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