for the most part i agree with rbk on these: michael clayton is def the best of the bunch, and the game is a really fun watch. i liked the machinist quite a bit more tho; i'd probly place it 3rd or 4th among this group. the rest are all decent-to-good movies that are worth seeing.

are pretty good. rest are average

not seen
very good
very good
masterpiece
very good
average
average
average

watched an argentinian movie tonight called the aura, and it blew me away. deliberately paced and intricately plotted, it's part noir, part heist movie, and part character study. i absolutely loved it.

a sad note: i didn't know much about the movie beforehand aside from it being a crime drama with ricardo darin as the lead, who i liked a lot in nine queens and the secret in their eyes (and who is apparently a huge star in argentina). after watching this and loving it, i looked up the director, fabian bielinsky, hoping to catch up on some other entries in his filmography. little did i know that i'd already seen the only other film he made (the aforementioned nine queens), and that he died in 2006 when he was just 47. based on the strength of his first two features it's safe to say the world of cinema was regrettably deprived of many more amazing films from him.

Happy Feet Two - One big, fat, "meh". 3/10

Yeah, there's a little tension in waiting for the inevitable shoe to drop, but that's about it. Otherwise it's just "look at these vapid, shallow idiots and pray for mankind". #getoffmylawn

Munich, AHoV, MC, The Game, The Machinist all 7+ imo. Haven't seen the others.

Ferris Bueller

Hard/impossible to be objective about movies one really liked as a kid, but it held up well. I think there's some real quality. I watched it with my 12yo and she loved it.

8/10

Him - parody of Her

Hahahahaha

I really really didn't like a History of Violence. It has some cringeworthy moments they are so terribly written and acted. William Hurt is actually laugh out loud in this film.

Yes another instance of "A" Thin Red Line. I don't get it.

Meanwhile, have you seen Badlands? I cannot imagine that script not being engaging.

And while THE Thin Red Line is a lengthy film with a non-traditional narrative, again, to me...unbelievably engaging. I cannot think of anything about it I do not like in the slightest. I can see your point with Days of Heaven, but not with these others.

there are some really excellent scenes in that movie...



Viggo goes from a caring father Tom Stall to gangster Joey Cusack in about 5 seconds... it's a beautiful performance.

Agree William Hurt was a horrible choice for this film, really lined everything else about it. Loved watching the transformation of his character in the coffee shop.

This Is The End - Had some real funny moments and then some that missed, if you like these types of comedies then I would recommend it, it's not subtle.

The Place Beyond The Pines - Talk about a change of direction from act to act. I was not a fan of the final act, from previews I didn't even know there were offspring in the movie let alone spend a lot of time on them. It wasn't bad but it's not what you would expect, I didn't like the AJ character so that was off putting.

I totally agree with all of this, was expecting more.

I watched this about a week or so ago and thought it was the definition of a HOT MESS. Some of the characters and performances were interesting but the sum of the parts was much greater than the whole. For me this is certainly in the "never watch again" category.

haven't watched Munich, The Game and Michael Clayton in a couple years at least. all really good.

Michael Clayton is a great film

Just watched The Pianist for the second time ever, beautiful film. Love the personal journey and development too. No idea why but I wanted to watch it after having watched Twelve Years A Slave. They have somewhat similar themes (although Ejiofor wholly outclasses Brody in general and in this instance).

I had a similar reaction when I saw it first. Later at some point it was on HBO or w/e and I gave it another look and thought it was quite funny. I've seen it a third time, and I tend to think it is actually trying to be funny more than unintentionally. I appreciated it much more once I was seeing it on that level.

Do not mind the adversity, if not I would not be posting in a public forum I do understand your point, and approach Malick's work with that same approach : appreciating the form, the aesthetics of the picture, more than the substance of the story. For me, his work is picturesque, and at times, sublime. Yet, I do prefer movies that have more of a philosophical underlining (see Christopher Nolan) or at least an engaging story. Sure, cinema is a medium that uses images, pictures to tell its story, and it is refreshing to go back to the core of its essence, but the script still remains the end product.

I engage Malick's movies the same way I enter Gus Van Sant's and Pedro Almodovor's universes : with an intriguing curiosity, yet with no expectations (except what they got me used to). For example, The Tree of Life has one of the most beautiful and promising 30 min introductions ever seen, IMO, but the follow up letdown is simply vertiginous : it is flat out boring.

That being said, I will still happily sit down and be intrigued by his next movies, but I do expect the storytelling to be somewhat boring and at times pretentious. And I did like Badlands, like my brief review states.

Grrrr, the internet ate my long post where I almost certainly misused a lot of terms! Anyways yea it appears as you are indeed watching correctly. We're just on polar ends of the spectrum. All of my favorite movies are much more of a formalist approach, I think I'm using this term correctly! I'll often refer to this as "pure cinema" to sound pretentious - I'll call this an aesthetic, emotional, abstract, etc, type approach. I mean, this isn't exclusively what I enjoy but that is always the kind that is closest to my heart. As opposed to I think I'd call Nolan a (neo?)classical director. Maybe I should read some books so I'm sure I'm using these terms correctly haha. Everything I'm saying here is possibly the wrong description and hopefully someone corrects me if I'm wrong. :P

I so want to punch the tennis mom in the face so ****ing hard.

"My covenant with God is for them to be the #1 doubles team in the world"

edit: Actually, I want to punch all the parent's in the face, then throw them on the ground and kick them in the face. wtf. this is nuts. its uncomfortable to watch.

yeah it's quite disturbing can't imagine having parents like that

Yeah, fair enough. I agree that it is important to go back to the aesthetic roots - raw images, sound - and not forget where cinema comes from. I just wish that Malick would focus more, at times, on the story. Have you ever seen Man Bites Dog? Interesting moving where the story - albeit engaging in itself - strictly serves the filming mediums like the camera, the sound etc. Give it a shot if you haven't and let me know what you think of it...