Corpse Bride

Ok. Certainly no Nightmare..., but not horrible. I think Burton is beginning to slip though. I blame HBC.

It's the Yoko factor, I'm telling you.

The Brothers Grimm

The jury is still out on this one.

No, seriously.

Since the red Netflix envelope dropped into my mailbox, I've watched this movie multiple times and I honestly do not know what my opinion is on it.

But here's what I do know...

I am a big fan of Terry Gilliam's other work.
Though Heath Ledger's performance is a bit lackluster at times, I found him very watchable.
I found myself really disliking Matt Damn's character, but that might have been the point.
Something tells me they really wanted Keira Knightley for the female lead.
Though I could appreciate the "look" they were trying for, the fx come off cartoony at times.

I might have to watch it a few more times before I decide. I'll let you know.

MirrorMask

Think the Henson movies of yesteryear... Labyrinth, Dark Crystal... think The Cell for kids... think a Brothers Quay bedtime story... all I can say is fucking wow.

Madagascar

I love animation, and this is one of the best. Definitely one to own. At first, I was turned off by the big Hollywood cast and the so-so animation, but after viewing the movie, I find I was wrong on both counts. Chris Rock surprisingly pulls off 'sweet', Ben Stiller is actually funny, the rest of the cast adds their own spice, and the animation style that initially turned me off, is actually quite creative and fresh and you'll want to see it again to pick up all the details both on screen and in the script.

Disney better watch their collective asses, because Dreamworks is the new "it" company for American animation.

Rent

I cried at the end, just like I cried all 4 times I've seen the play.

If you like the theatrical version, if you like the music and the storyline, you'll like the movie. If you don't, you won't. Simple as that.

Playing God

A mildly entertaining movie. Caught it at 4am-ish on Fox. Can't get over how young Angelina Jolie looks. Not that she's old and haggered now or anything. God, I miss the X-files...

V for Vendetta: Early Thoughts

I CAN'T FUCKING WAIT TO SEE THIS FUCKING MOVIE!

That is all.

The Academy Awards. (Delayed Reaction.)

I realize this post is a little late, but my 'puter was a little under the weather when the Oscars aired.

So instead of my long drawn out Oscar Review, you only get the Cliff Notes version. Yeah. I know how sad you are.

- Best show in years. Decent pace, great writing, only a few uncomfortable moments.
- Jon Stewart, excellent host. Funny, relevant, edgy. How about Bill Maher co-hosting with him next year.
- When the Academy President gives his annual speech mid-show, I usually go get a snack. To liven it up this year, he gave a most entertaining "anti-piracy" speech. I laughed so hard I almost pee'd.
- Jake Gyllenhaal rolling his eyes at above speech... priceless.
- "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" winning Best Song. Fawking awesome.
- Most uncomfortable moment of the evening... Lauren Bacall unable to read the teleprompter. I had to leave the room.
- What the hell was Charlize wearing?

- And finally, my thoughts on the winners...

* George Cloonely deserved Supporting Actor, but was guanteed the award since he wasn't getting the director award.
* Ang Lee got director because Brokeback wasn't getting Best Picture.
* Crash won Best Picture because it deserved it.
* Felicity Huffman was robbed.
* Best Supporting Actress was a total farce. Thandie Newton should have been nominated AND gotten the Oscar.

... and that's about it. Or at least what I can remember. It's not like I was taking notes (this year). Ha, ha. Just kidding.

...or am I?

Jarhead

Jarhead gets my award for the most underappreciated movie of 2005. A truly excellent movie. But beware, it's not a movie about a war. It's a movie about a soldier. None the less, I think it should be placed on the shelf with other military movies such as Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now. Saarsgard should have replaced William Hurt on the Oscar ballot for supporting actor. The strange thing is, I don't remember this movie doing particularly well at the theaters, but I guess that really isn't saying much since NO movies are doing that stellar at the box office. Oh well, rent this movie. Or come watch it at my place since I'll be owning this one.

In Her Shoes

Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why do I keep doing this to myself? I need to stop listening to people who tell me to watch a movie that my gut tells me to avoid. It's not that this is a bad movie. Because it really isn't.
But it's a fucking chick flick!
I can do happy. I can do sad. I can do dysfunctional families, star crossed lovers, relationships destroyed by disease. I am not completely without feeling, even as hard as I try to be. But this movie was just pure sap. That Beaches, Terms of Endearment kind of sweet that makes your fillings hurt. Even if slipping into a diabetic coma is your things, I couldn't get past the whole Cameron Diaz thing. Man, is she annoying. The always adorable Toni Collette was the only thing that kept me from turning the movie, but the script constantly fails her character giving her all the depth of a saucer of milk. Oh well. Win some, lose some.

40-Year Old Virgin

Really good. More sweet and less ha-ha than I thought it would be,but really good. Steve Carell gets mad props for the chest waxing scene, which was shown in the tv promos, but is so much worse in the movie. You can actually see blood beading up after the strips of linen are pulled.

The cameos by Carell's Office co-stars were perfect and Catherine Keener is too cute as always. This is one I want for my collection for sure.

Just Visiting

Ever since seeing the Professional, I have been crushin on French actor Jean Reno. I'll watch anything that he's in. Unfortunately, his American movie career has been a little hit and miss since making the Professional, and has fallen into Forrest Whitaker "movie-whore" territory (someone's agent needs to be shot).

So when I caught this movie 5 minutes in, I was excited that network tv was showing a Reno movie I hadn't already seen.

Instead of actually telling you what I thought of this movie, I am just going to give you the Netflix synopsis and let you decide for yourself.

It's a case of culture clash when a warrior finds himself a few thousand miles -- and 800 years -- from home! Count Thibault of Malfete (Jean Reno) is transported from 12th century France to a modern Chicago museum. There, he meets the beautiful Julia (Christina Applegate), a descendant of his. Problem is, if he doesn't get back to his own time, she'll never be born!
Starring: Jean Reno, Christian Clavier, Christina Applegate
Director: Jean-Marie Gaubert

Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Genre: Comedy
Format: Widescreen, More
Language: English

Tara Reid co-stars.

Waiting

Not nearly as gross as I thought it would be. Or as bad. If you have ever worked in any food service position, you see how on the money this movie is.

Good for a chuckle when paired with fresh greens and a bag of salty snacky goodness.

Last Days

I am a big fan of Gus Van Sant and I do love me some depressing indie movies.

Therefore, I thought this movie would be right up my alley.

It wasn't. It was fucking horrible. Never in my life have I seen a movie with such a feeling of self-importance. The scenes of the Kurt Cobain-like character performing mundane actions while looking filthy and mumbling to himself go on entirely too long and make up the majority of the movie. And it's not like we don't all know how it ends...

Men With Brooms

It's funny that I should catch this movie, since recently I declared curling the best sport ever.

It was very cheesy, very Canadian, and had that chick from alien show Invasion who has the personality of a potato. Other than that, it was pretty good.

Excuses, Excuses...

Disclaimer time again kids.

Because of some techincal issues (fucking computer), I've been a little backed up as far as keeping this blog up to date. Get over it. It happens.