March 6, 09 through March 5, 10

This year, I managed 83.
4 Thumbs Way Up
31 Thumbs Up
28 Wobbly Thumbs Up
7 Wobbly Thumb
9 Wobbly Thumbs Down
and 4 Thumbs Down

Thumbs Way Up
• Crazy Heart (84)
• District 9 (81)
• People Speak, The
• Sherlock Holmes (57)
Thumbs Up
• (500) Days of Summer (76)
• Angels and Demons (48)
• Avatar (84)
• Blind Side, The (53)
• Book of Eli, The (52)
• Couples Retreat (23)
• Edge of Darkness (54)
• Hangover, The (73)
• I Love You Man (71)
• Inglourious Basterds (69)
• Invictus (74)
• Julie & Julia (65)
• Lives of Others, The (89)
• Management (50)
• Men Who Stare at Goats, The (54)
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (47)
• Princess and the Frog, The (73)
• Ratatouille (96)
• Rocknrolla (53)
• Shutter Island (62)
• Soloist, The (61)
• Star Trek (83)
• Stardust (66)
• State of Play (64)
• Sunshine Cleaning (61)
• Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, The (55)
• Taking Woodstock (55)
• Unreasonable Man, An (75)
• Up (88)
• Up in the Air (83)
• Zombieland (73)
Wobbly Thumbs Up
• 17 Again (48)
• A Mighty Heart (74)
• Appaloosa (64)
• Armored (50)
• Blades of Glory (64)
• Christmas Carol, A (55)
• Duplicity (69)
• Extract (61)
• Funny People (60)
• G-Force (41)
• Gamer (20)
• Gangs of New York (72)
• Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (78)
• Imagine That (54)
• Informant!, The (66)
• Inkheart (47)
• Invention of Lying, The (58)
• Monsters vs. Aliens (56)
• Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (44)
• Proposal, The (48)
• Public Enemies (70)
• Surrogates (45)
• Terminator Salvation (52)
• Transsiberian (72)
• Valentine's Day (34)
• Watchmen (57)
• Wolf Man, The (44)
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine (43)
Wobbly Thumb
• Bruno (54)
• Deception (31)
• Four Christmases (41)
• Hurt Locker, The (93)
• Land of the Lost (32)
• Observe and Report (54)
• Reservation Road (46)
Wobbly Thumbs Down
• Cop Out (32)
• Daybreakers (59)
• Did You Hear About the Morgans (27)
• From Paris With Love (42)
• Knowing (41)
• Next Day Air (46)
• Race to Witch Mountain (52)
• Tooth Fairy, The (36)
• Walk Hard (63)
Thumbs Down
• Crossing Over (38)
• Law Abiding Citizen (34)
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (38)
• Twilight (56)

March 08 through March 5, 09

For those of you keeping score, of 87 seen this year that's
5 Way ups
23 Ups
37 Wobbly Ups
9 Wobbly
10 Wobbly Downs
3 Downs

Thumbs Way Up
Bank Job, The (69)
Dark Knight, The (82)
Milk (84)
Quantum of Solace (58)
Traitor (60)

Thumbs Up
Be Kind Rewind (53)
Bolt in 3D (68)
Coraline (81)
Definitely, Maybe (58)
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (67)
Ghost Town (72)
Godfather, The (100)
Hancock (49)
Horton Hears a Who (71)
International, The (53)
Iron Man (78)
Kung Fu Panda (73)
Leatherheads (56)
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (66)
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (64)
Pineapple Express (64)
Pride and Glory (45)
Redbelt (69)
Seven Pounds (36)
Tropic Thunder (71)
Valkyrie (56)
Wall-E (93)
Wanted (64)

Wobbly Thumbs Up
Akeelah and the Bee (72)
Ali G Indahouse ()
Baby Mama (55)
Bee Movie (54)
Body of Lies (58)
Burn After Reading (62)
Changeling (63)
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The (63)
Confessions of a Shopaholic (38)
Eagle Eye (43)
Forbidden Kingdom, The (57)
Get Smart (54)
Godfather: Part 2, The (71)
Gran Torino (72)
Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour (59)
He's Just Not That Into You (47)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (78)
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (35)
Incredible Hulk, The (61)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (65)
Last Holiday (52)
Longshots, The (52)
Love Guru, The (24)
Miracle at St. Anna (37)
Push (39)
Role Models (59)
Run Fat Boy Run (48)
Semi-Pro (46)
Slumdog Millionaire (86)
Smart People (57)
Speed Racer (36)
Step Brothers (50)
Street Kings (55)
Taken (50)
Vantage Point (38)
W. (56)
Zak and Miri Make a Porno (56)

Wobbly Thumb
Happening, The (34)
Lakeview Terrace (46)
Live Fee or Die Hard (69)
Max (56)
Max Payne (31)
Perfect Stranger (31)
Righteous Kill (36)
Rocker, The (50)
Shoot 'Em Up (49)

Wobbly Thumbs Down
Death Race (42)
Eye, The (36)
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D (57)
Max Payne (31)
Paul Blart, Mall Cop (39)
Soul Men (49)
What Happens in Vegas (36)
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The (47)
Yes Man (46)
You Don't Mess with the Zohan (54)

Thumbs Down
Babylon A.D. (26)
Meet Dave (44)
Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The (31)

Street Kings

I felt like this one left a lot on the table. It had a big cast, Forrest Whitaker, Common, Hugh, Laurie, The Game, Keanu Reeves, The guy from Northern Exposure/Sex and the City, The Human Torch, Jay Mohr. Well, a bunch of people I recognize, anyway. There were some definite off notes, but there was lots of misdirection as well. I also liked the tone that it ended up with, though it had me worried on more than one occasion. I felt like with a little bit better acting (even Nicolas Cage instead of Reeves would have made a difference, much less somebody like Ethan Hawke or Ryan Gosling, not to mention the numerous losers in bit roles) and some better direction, maybe the addition of an overarching theme, this could have been Training Day or something close to it. Instead, it was more like Training Day 2 Electric Boogaloo. Not straight to video, but it might as well have been. But, it entertained me. Whitaker, Laurie and Common were very good and I like them. So there.

Vantage Point

This one was ok, but not great. I liked the idea of viewing the events from several differnt points of view. I also like the idea of the good guys choosing not to make retaliatory strikes against the evil guys. Those things appeal to me. I liked the cast. But, it was a bit overwrought at times. And there were moments of lameness. But, it wasn't terrible and I enjoyed myself.

Horton Hears a Who

I liked this one a good bit. It was funny, I laughed aloud more than once. Olivia laughed aloud a lot. It maintained is Seussian feel. It avoided the cheap shot of letting the bad guy get beaten up a the end, with Horton being magnanimous all the way to the end. Just good stuff. It also celebrates the value of all people, regardless of their size or power or whatever. I enjoyed it. The bridge scene was probably one of my favorites. Another one I will enjoy watching again on cable.

Last Holiday

There wasn't anything terribly wrong with this. It was probably the same genre as Mad Money but it was not quite the same stupidness to it. Queen Latifah is fun and I like watching LL Cool J, who can't help but be cool. I also liked Gerard Depardieu. Easy, non challenging. Not much there, but not offensive.

The Bank Job

I liked this a lot. First of all, it was a heist film. I like heist films. And while the robbers in this film are not particularly adept, it still had the cool factor of Confidence or Snatch without the high gloss of The Italian Job or Ocean's Eleven, all of which I liked, but, truth be told, the less glossy I like more. Second, the film takes place in England, which means lots of British accents. Always a plus for me, added value, if you will. It starred Jason Statham, whom I like quite a bit, from The Italian Job and Snatch. It also saw a very good performance by Keeley Hawes. She did a fantastic job as Statham's wife, in love with her man and frustrated about his burglary. The story was based on actual events, which lended a cool feel to it. All things considered, a very good movie I look forward to seeing again.

Be Kind, Rewind

I liked this one too. It was a good weekend for movies. It was not the simple, kinda stupid movie I expected it to be. It was about community and gave a little hout out to the value of community and the value of old neighborhood stores, even though they are doomed to change. I like Mos Def a lot, even though he usually plays himself. I also like Jack Black as himself when he has good material to work with. The Fats Waller bit was good here, and there were several cool shots, indicating Michel Gondry's participation in the project. I did not like Mia Farrow's small role, but other than that, it was all good.

Definitely, Maybe

Well, here's the thing. When Ryan Reynolds isn't doing things like Waiting, I really like him. I thought he was good here. I also thought Isla Fisher was good. I like her, too. The story was interesting. I liked thinking about Abigail Breslin in the movie as being Olivia's age. I could imagine her doing some of that stuff. Not all of it, but some of it. I liked the way the story was told. I liked the connections to the Clinton campaign. I liked the ending. Maybe it was facile, but I enjoyed it. And, I thought Isla Fisher was very good, as was Reynolds, as was Elizabeth Banks. Enjoyable, easy movie.

Shoot 'Em Up

This was somewhat entertaining, though it certainly felt more like satire than an actual action flick. I like Paul Giamatti and he was good here as a terrible bad guy. Clive Owen was also good as a terrible good guy. This was all about guns and violence. Ridiculous things: a carrot was a murder weapon more than once, Owen participated in major gun battles while delivering a baby, having sex, and the standard dropping down the middle of a stairwell, he used a gun to cut the umbilical cord in the aforementioned delivery, he used a gun to make a merry go round turn so that the target on the merry go round would not be so easy a target for Giamatti, etc. Not much funny, not much actual story, mostly just gun battle after gun battle after gun battle. I'm glad I saw it. I won't need to see it again.

Hannah Montana ...

This was not terrible. Ah parenthood.

Semi Pro

This was not a very good movie, it seemed poorly edited, the story was kinda silly. However, it did make me laugh out loud a couple of times and it's not like I was expecting Citizen Kane. Ithought Andre Benjamin was typically good. I thought Woody was believable. I thought Mara Tierney played Abby from ER, which was surprising, I guess I expected more from her. Will Ferrell was good, if he was playing himself. So, over all, it was doable, but not worth a trip to the theater if it was on DVD.

And the Winners Are:

Best Supporting Female Role
Allison Janney, Juno

Best Supporting Male Role
Sam Rockwell, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Best Actress
Elle Page, Juno

Best Actor
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises (I mean naked fighting? Come on!)

Best Film
Juno

Worst Film
The Contract

Best Comedy
Knocked Up

The Beeb Noms

Best Performance by a Female in a Lead Role







Amy Adams, Enchanted






Hope Davis, Charlie Bartlett







Katherine Heigl, Knocked Up






Ellen Page, Juno




Emma Thompson, Stranger Than Fiction

Best Performance by a Male in a Lead Role







Casey Affleck, Gone Baby Gone







Christian Bale, 3:10 to Yuma







Josh Brolin, No Country For Old Men







Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises







Brad Pitt, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Best Performance by a Female in a Supporting Role







Jennifer Garner, Juno







Allison Janney, Juno







Nicole Kidman, The Golden Compass







Amy Madigan, Gone Baby Gone





Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

Best Performance by a Male in a Supporting Role







Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men







Armin Mueller-Stahl, Eastern Promises







Sam Rockwell, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford







JK Simmons, Juno







Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

Best Picture

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Gone Baby Gone

Juno

Knocked Up

Michael Clayton

No Country For Old Men

The Movies (Marchish 07 - Marchish 08)

Thumbs Way Up
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Bourne Ultimatum
Gone Baby Gone
Juno
Knocked Up
Michael Clayton
No Country For Old Men
Sicko
The Simpsons

Thumbs Up
300
3:10 to Yuma
American Gangster
Charlie Bartlett
Charlie Wilson's War
Dan In Real Life
Eastern Promises
Flushed Away
Fracture
The Great Debaters
Hot Fuzz
Meet the Robinsons
Mr. Brooks
Pride
Reign Over Me
Stranger Than Fiction
Sweeney Todd
There Will Be Blood
The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Wobbly Thumbs Up
27 Dresses
Atonement
Babel
Beowulf 3D
The Bucket List
Deja Vu
Disturbia
Enchanted
Evan Almighty
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Fred Claus
The Game Plan
The Golden Compass
Happy Feet
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
I Am Legend
In the Valley of Elah
The Invisible
Just Like Heaven
The Kingdom
License to Wed
Lions for Lambs
The Lookout
Must Love Dogs
Nancy Drew
The Notebook
Ocean's Thirteen
Shrek the Third
Spider-Man 3
Under the Tuscan Sun
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
We Own the Night

Wobbly Thumb
1408
August Rush
The Brave One
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
Jumper
Lucky You
Mad Money
Pirates of the Carribbean: At World's End
Shooter
Superbad

Wobbly Thumbs Down
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Eragon
The Good German
Hitman
The Last Mimzy
Martian Child
Nacho Libre
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
No Reservations
Pathfinder
Slow Burn
Surf's Up
This Film Is Not Yet Rated
Transformers
Zodiac

Thumbs Down
The Last Legion
Next
Untraceable
Wild Hogs

Thumbs Way Down
The Contract

Charlie Bartlett

I wasn't sure about this one. I had not heard much about it, but it seemed kind of interesting so I thought I would give it a shot. Turns out, I liked it quite a bit. There were some interesting relationships portrayed, between Charlie and his schoolmates, as school therapist/drug dealer (although in so kind a way it did not seem nefarious or dangerous at all, certainly a different kind of message); between Charlie and his Mom, almost incestuous in its adultness, though never actual physical. She seems to want him to be her husband. Between Charlie and the principal, between the principal's daughter and the principal. All seem to have some startling moments of realism. Turns out the principal was a good teacher and liked it better than being a principal. And was liked better as a teacher. Turns out Charlie doesn't have to be the hero of everything. It was the other guy who wrote the cool play and other people who starred in it. It was other people who led the protest over the cameras. Lots of good stuff here lots of different visions. One complaint I had was the omnipresent lack of realism in school settings in movies. I guess the romanticized/demonized visions that are most often presented are better for storytelling, but I wish someone would give us a vaguely realistic vision of school every now and then. Other than that, I liked this one quite a bit.

Jumper

Well, to be honest, I just don't like Hayden Christiansen. I think he always looks bad, or sullen, or pissy. This movie was the same. I did not like it much. While the action was somewhat entertaining, there seemed to be a lot of the story that got left out. Why were the Samuel L. Jacksons so determined to kill the Christiansens? Why were the Christiansens able to do what they did. Why did Diane Lane appear in the movie at all given her ridiculously underexplained role? Not much here other than some flashy bits and some interesting fight scenes and visuals. Not much to recommend.

The Bucket List

Two consecutive "old" movies. I think this was not as good a movie as Atonement, but my expectations were significantly lower, so I might have liked it a bit more. I suppose it was about how we face death, would you live differently if you knew death was imminent, but I don't think it actually dealt with the issue, choosing instead to spend more time on the humorous interplay between Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, making it more fluff that philosophy. Which is fine, I suppose, though being as it was probably shooting for a bit more I think it missed the mark a bit. I think if it had been a buddy comedy, it would have been better. But, it was ok.

Atonement

I thought this was OK, but not great. I did not find it worthy of all the hype it has been getting. There has been talk about an interesting finish, but I didn't think it was all that remarkable. I like James McAvoy and Keira Knightley, and I thought they gave fine performances, but I was just not brought in by the story. Perhaps it was not helped by the old talking audience that surrounded me, but, I was not particularly impressed.

Untraceable

Not a lot of choices at the theaters I visit this week. But, I like Diane Lane, this seemed like a thriller, so I wanted to see it. It was not any good. If the standard of torture porn is the Saw and Hostel series, I suppose we could call this soft core torture porn. There were some gruesome torture scenes, but they did not take over the whole movie. They were enough to make me uncomfortable with them, though. The story was interesting and it gave me some thought about Free Speech and the nature of allowable content on the internet, but I'm not sure it's point on the matter was cogent enough. I know how I feel about it, but I don't know what they thought about it. While they hinted at the issue, the filmmakers did not actually make a statement of any sort. Not good, but not revolting.