#94: Goodfellas

M: Can’t go wrong with this gritty, wise-guy Scorcese film, with a phenomenal cast of actors. Ray Liotta plays Hill and pulls off the gangster role flawlessly; Joe Pesci, play’s Hill’s brutal, quick-to-violence partner, and Robert De Niro who needs no laudation. The movie is the true story of Henry Hill who, as a boy, always wanted to be a gangster and gets an early start, mixing with crooked elements and exposing himself to a wave of crime and violence.

M's rating:

J: A Martin Scorsese film, you say? So it's going to be long and violent. Like The Departed, but without all of those actors I like (plus Mark Wahlberg. Bazinga.) Dread. But, I actually ended up liking this more than I thought I would. It got better for me after a certain obnoxious character took a much-deserved bullet to the back of the head. Also, I thought the pacing was great. It didn't feel like an unbearably long movie. Plus, Robert De Niro is always awesome. Besides the excessive violence, my only complaint is the age thing. Early on, De Niro and Liotta were way older than their characters were supposed to be and it was kind of distracting. But that's just being picky.

J's rating:

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#95 (1998): Pulp Fiction

M: Tarantino at his finest. A rough, gritty crime drama. The story is told out of order, with several different story lines, giving you tastes of how each storyline ends but not revealing everything until the film slowly ties itself, the storylines, and the characters together in the end. The dialogue is sharp, and the gruesome violence is well-played. Not much else to say other than this is a must-see.

M's rating:

J: This was my first time seeing Pulp Fiction. I'm a little late. And much like Inglouirous Basterds, some of the scenes went on too long and were waaaaaaay too tense for my comfort. I know something bad is going to happen, just have it happen already! Also, since this was John Travolta's big comeback, I thought he was the star. But he totally got Brad-Pitt-in-Burn-After-Reading-ed. Also, the Gimp, what the eff was that whole scene all about? Jeez. But overall, this movie was pretty funny and entertaining, so I'll put it on the like side.

J's rating:

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#95 (2007): The Last Picture Show

M: Good, solid movie, shot in black and white to emphasize the direness of the setting, taking place in a small Texas town, focusing on the dwindling lives of the adults, and the confusion and direction of the teenagers looking to find where their lives will head.

M's rating:

J: I always thought it was kind of weird that Cloris Leachman had an Oscar (I know her primarily from The Mary Tyler Moore Show) but after seeing this, I understand. She was excellent. This wasn't one of my favorites so far, but I liked it. And hey, young Jeff Bridges!

J's rating:

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#96 (2007): Do the Right Thing

M: Ugh. Overdone, exaggerated film that ostensibly focuses on the outcry of the black community stuck in the struggle of racial judgment. I’m sure there was a message in this movie somewhere but was lost in manic dialogue, no flow in the storyline, and wildly overemphasized characters. The opening credits alone, with Rosie Perez angrily gyrating to a purpose unknown to me and unrelated to the movie, makes me hate this movie. Every one of Lee’s films I’ve seen all have this same, overwrought, unrealistic feel with the exception of Malcolm X, only because that was a true story and [fortunately] not from the mind of Lee. Spike Lee needs to take copious notes from John Singleton’s Boyz in the Hood, a powerful film about racial struggles.

M's Rating:






J: I enjoyed this Spike Lee joint a lot more than my movie-watching buddy up there. It was really funny, at least in the beginning. The characters had fun names like Radio Raheem and Coconut Sid. Also, it was an all-star cast of, "hey, that's so-and-so from [insert show here]", like Gus from Breaking Bad,Commissioner Burrell from The Wire, Martin from Martin, and Ossie Davis from everything. When it turns into a drama at the end, it really makes you think. Or, at least, it really made me think. Neither Radio Raheem nor Sal got what they deserved, and the cops definitely didn't do the right thing (zing!), but what about everyone else? I don't know. Plus, I'm sure my race influences my opinion. Anyway, I'd watch this again. It was quirky and weird and thought-provoking.

J's rating:





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#96 (1998): The Searchers

M: Didn’t care for it. I’m already not a fan of John Wayne, but piled on top of that is a long movie that gives no clear timeline of events. The film moves as if days or months are passing and it turns out to be years. Wayne plays a Civil War veteran (the confederate side…how’d that work out?). After a run-in with Indians, his niece is taken captive and Wayne takes on the long pursuit of rescuing her, his general hatred of Indians growing in the process.

M's rating:






J: Boooooooooooo! I had to watch this movie in college and I hated it. Maybe I'd like it more a decade later? As it turns out, no, no I would not. So far, the only movies we've watched that I've disliked have been Westerns. I'm not completely Western-averse. I liked the new True Grit. I remember enjoying The Quick and the Dead, but that was at the height of my DiCaprio-mania; I'm pretty sure that's actually a terrible movie. Anyway, I don't like this movie even a little bit. At least Charlie was a source of amusement, but I'm not sure if he was supposed to be slow. The only good thing about a second viewing of this movie is that at least this time I didn't have to write an essay about it. John Ford owes me four hours of my life back!

J's rating:






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#97 (2007): Blade Runner

Note: We actually watched this movie last year, but we're a little late on posting.

M: This is a classic film for me I’ve seen a dozen times. A futuristic L.A. overrun by industry. Blade Runners are the cops of artificial life forms called Replicants created to work in off-world colonies. When those replicants go rogue, Blade Runners are called in to “retire” the them. A Band of replicants escape with the intent to find their creator and get more life, because they are created with a 4-year lifespan and their time is running out. Deckard (Harrison Ford) is a Blade Runner forced out of retirement to track down the escaped replicants and retire them, but finds conflict when he acquires an unlikely love interest.

M's rating:





J: I thought this was going to be a fun action-adventure type Indiana Jones or Star Wars, but it was more sci-fi drama. Not really my thing, but I do like movies that take place in some kind of dystopian future. Of all the movies we've watched so far, it was probably my second-least favorite (after Unforgiven). Also, I wish I had done this write-up earlier so I had more to say about the movie. I guess it was just okay for me. We need a third mask, Comedy, Tragedy, Indifference. This would get an Indifference mask. But since I didn't spend the entire time wishing it would end, I'll put it on the positive side.

J's rating:





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#97 (1998): Bringing Up Baby

M: I've always known about Cary Grant and how he is a legend in the industry, and then of course there's his signature voice. But I never saw one of his movies. Also, I never knew he did comedy. Baby was a funny movie, with a brand of well-timed, witty humor you don't see much today. I loved the quick-paced banter between Grant and Hepburn. I'd watch this one again.

M's rating:






J: I think I've mentioned before that I don't know much about the great actors from the "golden age" of Hollywood. All of those tall, dark, and handsome types are the same to me. Except Clark Gable, because he had those ears. And a mustache. Anyway, I had never seen a Gary Cooper Cary Grant film before so I didn't know what to expect. I have to tell you: the accent pulled me right out of the movie at first. That whole Trans-Atlantic, not-quite-British-but-not-quite-American thing is WEIRD. To someone with little exposure to it (outside of maybe Madonna and some SNL parodies), I had some trouble taking him seriously at first, because I thought it was a joke. M assured me it was not, that is how people talked back then. (I guess he would know because he was there because he is a hundred years old.) (He is not actually 100 years old, just far more cultured than I am. I grew up watching the WWF. What do you want from me?) But I eventually got used to the weird accents and this movie was a lot of fun. Katharine Hepburn played a nutjob disaster who leaves a trail of destruction behind her wherever she goes and Gary Cooper Cary Grant played a flustered scientist/victim of KH's insanity. I laughed a lot and there was an adorbs leopard named Baby who, sadly, is probably dead because I looked it up and leopards only live to be about 25. In conclusion: I liked this movie.

J's rating:





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We're Back!

After devoting about 2 months to nothing but Lost (amazing show!), and another month or so to this year's Oscar-nominated films (except Avatar, blech), and then training for a half marathon (which is in THREE WEEKS!), we are back "at the movies". Many of the next few movies on the list are either on Netflix Instant View or we own them, so we should be moving through them pretty quickly. Stay tuned!

Note

M and I (well, mostly I and he was nice enough to jump on board) decided that we wanted to jump on the Lost train even though we've never seen an episode. So we have five seasons to catch up on before we watch the final season, which starts next month. That paired with Oscar season (in which we'll see as many nominated movies as we can) means that this project will probably be on hold until after the Oscars. But we will be back!

#98: Unforgiven

M: This movie did not disappoint when it comes to Eastwood and Westerns. It was gritty, an homage to such greats as High Plains Drifter. This also had a nice little ensemble of actors, with Gene Hackman as the man you love to hate, with such a love for peace that he doles out a great deal of violence to keep it. Morgan Freeman was ever-likable, even when he was trying to be bad. If you liked the Eastwood spaghetti westerns, this one shouldn't disappoint.

M's rating:






J: SNOOZE. Westerns aren't my thing so I didn't think I'd like this one. I was right. It wasn't a bad movie, but I spent a lot of time looking at the clock. It dragged. And the kid was crazy annoying. My favorite line: "Nobody's gonna pay good money for a cut-up whore". I want that on my tombstone.

Note from the future: This entry is posting in September 2010, even though it's under the date that the draft was written, December 2009. Re-reading this short review 9 months later, I realize that I hardly remember anything about this movie. I think maybe Morgan Freeman was in it, but he's in lots of Eastwood movies, so I could just be assuming. He plays Nelson Mandela in this one, right? Also, I'm pretty sure that in my head I'm getting this movie confused with the parts of The Outlaw Josie Wales that I've seen. That movie is super long and luckily not on The List.

J's rating:





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