MOVIE RATING THREAD 2011

[sean]

I don't get all the hubbub over DRIVE. It has cool moments and Brooks is great, but it's such an empty movie. Someone took the most generic script out of Jason Statham's in-basket and shot it all stylishly with real actors. Which is fine, but I have no idea how that translates into the best movie of the year for so many people.

I'm +1 on that, the last sentence especially.  I didn't dislike it, so I didn't think it was worth the argument it seemed likely to start, but I felt kind of removed from the whole thing.  It was really really well directed, but there's nothing there in the script.  When I saw 'Warrior' a week or two later, I kind of realized what my problem was -- both 'Drive' and 'Warrior' are really cliched scripts, but 'Drive' feels like it's in quotes and with irony and the sort of "Don't worry, this is on purpose" I remember 'Grindhouse' having.  'Warrior' embraces its cliches whole-hog and lavishes in them.  I really liked 'Warrior', and it definitely knocked 'Drive' down a slot or two just because it helped crystalize what felt off about it for me.

[DerickA]

Its a fantastic unique style that no one has bothered to tap in a really long time with a fantastic cast that transcends the story. I just watched it again and it seems to be that kind of movie that has stuff you get later on that makes it even better. I really appreciate a patient movie, but I guess others need farting Ricky Gervais dogs.

[DerickA]

Drive and Warrior were a double feature at the New Beverly last week. If someone posted lists, I could have made it an official "No Seans Club" event.

[sean]

I really appreciate a patient movie

There are some actors who can do that "nothing" thing that Gosling is trying for and tell their entire life stories without saying a word.  The Charles Bronson sort.  It's interesting to see Gosling trying it, but I don't think it's what he's best at.  But he's good in it, it's not like I disliked him.

If someone posted lists

I always catch everything belatedly, when the conversations are over.  The list only makes sense in the first week or two after release.  The top of my list would be Young Adult, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Bridesmaids, and Warrior, not sure of the order.  This weekend, I caught 'Tintin' and 'We Bought A Zoo'.  Everybody has already said all the bad stuff about 'Tintin' (I think there's a few great Spielberg bits and a few nice Moffat touches).  But you and I can totally go into how good 'We Bought A Zoo' was.  Very solid family movie for the holiday times.  And I finally got to see 'The Muppets', but, again, everybody's covered it -- nobody's walking out of that movie saying "You know, there was too much Kermit and they needed more Walter," but it's a pretty small complaint.

[nate.3.0]

But you and I can totally go into how good 'We Bought A Zoo' was.

 Oh good, I wasn't the only person who liked it.

[LpF]

I liked it.  Very much.  It didn't floor me the way Say Anything or Jerry Maguire or Almost Famous did, but I think that may be as much about my age at the time (more impressionable) as it is about anything to do with Crowe's talent level.

[sean]

I didn't think I was going to get around to it before it disappeared, but the theater that had 'War Horse' was so terribly crowded.  I'm really glad I got to see it.  When Damon and the kid are yelling at each other, Damon does something really great in the middle of that scene that would rank with my favorite things he's ever done.  And I liked ScarJo a lot more than usual.  Plus, everybody in it is a character actor that I love, if you count J.B. Smoove as a "character actor".

[LpF]

I didn't think I was going to get around to it before it disappeared, but the theater that had 'War Horse' was so terribly crowded.  I'm really glad I got to see it.  When Damon and the kid are yelling at each other, Damon does something really great in the middle of that scene that would rank with my favorite things he's ever done.  And I liked ScarJo a lot more than usual.  Plus, everybody in it is a character actor that I love, if you count J.B. Smoove as a "character actor".

What was it he did during their argument that caught you?  I was way into that scene too.

[sean]

[spoiler]First off, just pulling off [redacted super-on-the-nose Crowe line] is impressive enough, because that line is a pretty tough sell.  But immediately afterward, he got really flustered in a very real way [line redacted].  It's such an unusual way to play that line, so human.  The whole scene is great, but that was such a strange note that he struck there.[/spoiler]

EDIT: I don't know why the tags aren't working, so I cleared out the dialogue that is spoilery.

[LpF]

Yeah, Crowe gave him some challenging dialogue in that scene, and he made awesome choices with it.  Well noticed.  PS Fix that spoiler tag.

[Dobbin]

SPY KIDS was not a good kids movie. It was a kids movie that kids didn't like. You know what Rodriguez movie works, though? Is SHARK BOY AND LAVA GIRL. I didn't like it that much, but my daughter and all her friends watch it all the time.

[sean]

If someone posted lists

I had a little time at work today...

Young Adult
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Warrior
Bridesmaids
50/50
The Muppets
The Tree of Life
Hugo (3D)
Contagion
Take Shelter
We Bought a Zoo
Moneyball
Win Win
The Descendants
Midnight in Paris
Captain America: The First Avenger (3D)
Thor (3D)
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
Real Steel
Drive
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
J. Edgar
Super 8
The Adjustment Bureau
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
The Ides of March
The Artist
Unknown
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Source Code
Fright Night
The Adventures of Tintin (3D)
Paul
X-Men: First Class
Tower Heist
Hall Pass
Just Go with It
The Dilemma
The Green Hornet
Cowboys & Aliens

I'm leaving Brian's movies off and a few other movies where I was friends with the directors, just 'cause I feel weird ranking them.
Hop
How I Got Lost
Puss In Boots
Red State
Stake Land

I'm still planning to see War Horse, Tinker Tailor, Dragon Tattoo, Mission: Impossible, and hopefully Margaret before the movie-year is officially closed, but I doubt I'll update it at that point.

[Brandon]

The Muppets
The Descendants
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Dog Way Of the Samurai
Super 8
Conan O'Brien Can't Stop
Super
Captain America
Winnie The Pooh
Red State
Thor
Bridesmaids
Cedar Rapids
Drive
Attack The Block
Ides of March
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - New
Our Idiot Brother
Another Earth
Melancholia - New
Harry Potter DHPt2
POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
Pearl Jam 20
The Trip
Tree of Life
Source Code
American: The Bill Hicks Story
Rum Diary
30 Minutes Or Less
Burke and Hare
Green Hornet
Cars 2
Rubber

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Whoa. I went in knowing next to NOTHING about this movie, other than that there was some pretty intense stuff. Jesus...really great, though, and that opening credits sequence was phenomenally cool.

Melancholia - Forgot to add this one to the list. Saw it at the end of a long, rainy day where I was already super depressed. I know what I was doing, and decided to embrace the sadness. It worked.

[Ian Larsen]

Life in a Day
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Drive
Blue Valentine
The First Movie
The Artist (New)
A Separation
The Skin I Live In
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
The King's Speech
Attack the Block
Red State
The Guard
Submarine
13 Assassins
Meek's Cutoff
Super 8
Paul
Hugo
Senna
True Grit
The Tree of Life
Black Swan
Never Let Me Go
The Ides of March
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Hobo With a Shotgun
127 Hours
50/50
Get Low
NEDS
The Future
Surviving Life
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Norwegian Wood
The Adventures of Tintin
A Screaming Man
Troll Hunters

Drive Angry
Tyrannosaur

****************

I thought today was opening day for THE ARTIST, but it turns out it was on in London last week, so I suppose it's 2011.  And it's bang up there.  I enjoyed other films just as much, but this one gets placed above them for being so special and refreshing.

[BrianLynch]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
Attack the Block
The Muppets
Bridesmaids
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey
Cedar Rapids
Kung Fu Panda 2
Midnight in Paris
Captain America: The First Avenger
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Young Adult
Winnie The Pooh
The Descendants NEW NEW NEW NEW NEW NEW
Bad Teacher
50/50
Conan O'Brien Can't Stop
X-Men: First Class
The Help NEW NEW NEW NEW NEW NEW NEW
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family
Super 8
Rango
The Adjustment Bureau
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
Rio
Pearl Jam Twenty
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Thor
30 Minutes or Less
Super
Horrible Bosses
Fast Five
Arthur
The Guard
Zookeeper
Our Idiot Brother
Cowboys & Aliens
Cars 2
Your Highness
The Hangover Part II
The Greatest Story Ever Sold
Paul
The Smurfs
Just Go With It
Transformers: The Dark of the Moon
Hall Pass
The Green Hornet
Green Lantern

Really liked The Descendants, though the first 20 minutes or so was kinda rough.   The Help was far better than I thought it was going to be.