Don't know when Nachokoolaid returns, but the year ends tomorrow and I panicked. So here is the brand spanking new movie journal!
By now you should know how it goes, but in case you forgot or never did that before: You claim a spot in here and then you use it to write down every single movie that you watch over the course of the year. Not just the new movies, EVERY movie. If you feel like it, you can also add a personal rating and/or a short review, but it's not a must. Although stuff like that DOES encourage discussions, which are allowed in this thread too, but please wait at least a month, so that everybody has enough time to claim a spot for his or her journal.
The first page of this thread is reserved for everybody's journals!Here are the previous journals!
201220112010200920082007And here I go:
January01st
#0001 Wickie auf großer Fahrt (DVD/1st viewing)
The sequel to a German kids movie, based on a cartoon show from the 60’s, based on a series of novels. Without the involvment of part 1’s writer/director Michael “Bully” Herbig, the movie feels a little bit more focused. It’s still not great, but it has a certain entertainment value. And it features a completely random scene about an island full of naked women.
6,5/10#0002 Jack & Jill (TV recording/1st viewing)
It’s been a while since Adam Sandler made a movie that was really funny and this one is no exception. It would definitely be easier to watch, if the movie wouldn’t constantly yell at you “SANDLER IN DRAG! ISN’T THAT HILARIOUS?!”, but I still would say that it isn’t exactly awful. But only because of two things. 1.) Like every Sandler movie, it is filled with completely random jokes and whenever they cut away to a boy who has a hamster taped to his back or Shaquille O’Neill wearing a crazy wig and licking a frozen ham, I laughed very hard. 2.) Al Pacino. Having celebrities play “outrageous” versions of themself is one of the most overused gags of our times, but seeing Pacino as some kind of creepy Pepe Le Pew is really something, that makes this movie watchable. (Kinda like Terry Crews in WHITE CHICKS.)
5,5/10-----
03rd
#0003 Home On The Range (TV/1st viewing)
One of the more slapstick-y Disney movies, which means that during its short runtime, many people get kicked in the ass or their head, fall down from high spots or get crushed by cows. Unlike in the other big Disney slapstick cartoon THE EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE, not many of the jokes stick this time. I would say that the only highlight of the whole movie, is the surreal cow-napping-through-yodeling scene. But I also have to give the movie credit for having a pretty original story. Apart from that, it is mostly forgettable, though.
6/10#0004 Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (TV/1st viewing)
I'm slightly disappointed. I don't know exactly what it is, but it felt to me like something was missing, to make it a great movie. It was seriously entertaining and fun to watch, with some moments of true greatness, but...I don't know. It often felt a little bit run-of-the-mill to me. Also since I, as the European that I am, have absolutely no connection to the Pee-Wee Herman character, he came across a little bit annoying to me. But it's still a very amusing and watchable movie.
7/10-----
04th
#0005 Daria: Is It Fall Yet? (DVD/1st viewing)
Just like the rest of the series, this special, that bridges the gap between seasons 4 and 5, is a seriously great mix of cleverness, silliness and surprisingly deep character moments. I have to admit that it fizzles a little bit out near the end and not every subplot is equally interesting. Daria's job at the day camp seemed more like an afterthought, although I have to say that I loved Mr DeMartino's story in it. Too bad that we saw so little of it. And on the other hand, Jane's art camp story was pretty boring. That said, if I would count it as a normal episode of the show, it would still be in my top 10.
8/10#0006 Piranha 3DD in 2D (VOD/1st viewing)
Wow, I'm kinda glad that I had a coupon and didn't pay any money for it. Was part 1 some kind of a-class trash movie, that at one hand was fully aware at its silliness but tried to be the best damn hard R-rated 3D movie about killerfish, this one falls more into the SyFy Original Movie wink-wink-nudge-nudge category. To make things worse, its tone is all over the place. Starting with an uninspired Gary Busey cameo, the movie's first half is an even more uninspired b-horror, that even faield to win me over in its more outrageous ideas.Then in its second half, the movie suddenly turns into an all-out splatstick comedy, with some, as I have to admit, seriously hilarious moments. They got some seriously inspired moments out of Hasselhoff's self parody. Unfortunately the gore is very uninspired. It's pretty much only pretty looking bikini babes, running around with fake blood on their bodies. Oh well, could have been worse, but also a lot better.
5/10-----
05th
#0007 Sint (VOD/1st viewing)
Is there any other director who has a higher hit and miss ratio then Dick Maas? This is one of his more mediocre movies, although it's more leaning towards "good". It has a kinda original plot (about a zombie St Niklas) and some good gore. It's competently shot and acted, but it lacks any impact. There is a lot of idle running going on and when we hear in the end about the true bodycount of that night, it makes you wonder why we didn't see any of it. At least the teenage protagonists aren't as awful as in most other horror movies and the very dark humor earns SINT an extra point.
7/10-----
06th
#0008 Daria: Is It College Yet? (DVD/1st viewing)
This season finale lacks a little bit of punch, but only because the whole college application trouble isn't really something, that I can identify with. (Germany, different school system and shit like that.) Quinn's "very special" subplot isn't exactly the greatest thing either. They found better and more subtle ways to show her maturing over the last few episodes. It was a nice touch to finally finish that long running subplot about Jodie and the pressure she gets from her parents, though. And just like in IS IT FALL YET, my favourite subplot gets the least screentime. (Here: The fashion club and the "curse"). It's not the best series finale ever, but despite its flaws, it's a very satisfying.
7/10-----
07th
I liked it much better than the last time. It still is pretty emberassing whenever it tries to portray youth culture (it feels like some 60 year old guy wrote this in the 80's, based on watching 15 minutes of MTV.) and I'm not the biggest fan of the songs (although the dance number for that OPEN ROAD one is brillant with its bizarre ending. IT HAS A DANCING CORPSE!), but at times it is seriously damn hilarious. (Bigfoot!) And most of all, it's a surprisingly sweet story about a father and a son with some serious communication problems. Not very realistic, but a good one.
7,5/10#0010 Resident Evil (VOD)
Many people hate this movie and I have to admit, that it's not exactly a good one. But I like it for any reason. Maybe it's because a-group-of-people-trapped-in-an-enclosed-space-with-at-least-one-monster is one of my favourite subgenres. But I also have to admit that this is one of Paul Not Thomas Anderson's most inspired works. As dumb and predictable as the script is, the first 10 minutes are seriously good and it never gets boring. And I really love the scene when all the doors open and we see some veeery weak reflections of zombies on the walls. For these few seconds, the movie even gets scary! I just wondered if it was shot for a PG-13. The movie has some blood, but never gets THAT bloody. They always cut away when people get eaten. Even in the lazer trap the most violent part is shown out of focus. I didn't notice that 10 years ago, but this time it was very obvious.
7/10-----
08th
#0011 Zombie Kicker II: Walking Penis With A Bazooka a.k.a. Resident Evil: Apocalypse (DVD)
This one isn't really as entertaining as part 1, despite its interesting cast (Jared Harris, Thomas Kretschmann, Iain Glen, Mike Epps, Zack Ward) and the cranked up ridiculousness (the church scene!). Even if you can ignore its techical flaws (constant shutter misuse whenever zombies are on screen and an awful soundmix, that has EVERY sound effect, even a simple zombie grunt, cranked up to a deafening volume, while the dialogue is almost inaudible in comparison) and the huge plot holes (how did the corpses in the cemetary got infected?), it is a seriously boring movie, without many redeeming qualities.
5,5/10-----
09th
#0012 Zombie Kicker III: Attack Of The Googly Eye Crows a.k.a. Resident Evil: Extinction (VOD/1st viewing)
From a technical POV, this is the best one so far. As you can expect from a Russel Mulcahy movie, it has some cool camera tricks (like that long pull out of the overthrown truck near the end), but also the best looking zombie make up so far and some seriously good looking visual effects. I would also consider Iain Glen's character as a plus. He is maybe not the most memorable mad scientist in the history of movies, but a lot of fun to watch. Apart from that, the movie is still kind of a snoozefest, if only because I didn't care for any of the new characters, who don't do much anyway. And the old characters? Well, I didn't care for them either. It's not exactly a series that you watch, because the characters are so memorable. But I have to say that the cliffhanger was excellent! I'm talking CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK excellent, in terms of pretty forgettable movies, with great cliffhangers. I hope part 4 won't start with a lame cop out that completely ignores it.
6/10-----
10th
#0013 Zombie Kicker IV: The Matrix Has You, Zombie Kicker! a.k.a. Resident Evil: Afterlife (TV recording/1st viewing)
Okay, at this point, the series gets deliciously absurd. I mean, Alice get robbed of her super powers, but now does more superhuman things than ever before! And all of a sudden Pyramidhead's brother shows up out of nowhere and without any explaination, why a fucking huge mutant or something roames Hollywood with a fucking huge hammer and a bag nailed on his head. Actually this could have been a seriously entertaining movie, if anything interesting would happen inbetween all those absurdities. I mean, except for scenes that are very obvious remakes of scenes from the MATRIX movies. And, of course, they didn't do much with the cool cliffhanger from the last movie. But to be honest, I will only watch the sequel, because I wanna know how much more convoluted the story can get.
5,5/10-----
11th
#0014 ParaNorman (VOD/1st viewing)
I thought this movie would be good, but I didn't expect it to be that fucking brillant! From the awesome design, the wonderful animation, to the script that takes so many twists and turns and lands more than one emotional kick in the balls, while still making you laugh your ass off. This is now my favourite movie of 2012. The only negative thing that I have to say about it, is that the supporting characters are seriously underdeveloped. A little bit more work in that department, would have been great. But it's really just a minor problem. I command you to watch this movie as soon as possible!
9/10-----
12th
#0015 Miracle Mile (TV Recording/1st viewing)
Wow, this is a movie, that slowly creeps up on you and strangles you with no remorse. It's another example how you can create a lot of suspense with a very simple plot. If you have never heard of it, just watch it without googling it first. There are some plot twists, that shouldn't be spoiled. But don't expect a feel good movie. Although it does have a certain amount of fun moments. Sorry if I sound like a 70 years old newspaper critic, but MIRACLE MILE is a true emotional rollercoaster.
8,5/10#0016 Beginners (TV/1st viewing)
Actually I love movies about nothing, but this one felt a little bit too artsy for its own good. It was like watching one of those Tumblr blogs, full of photos of clouds, trees and designer furniture with "inspirational" and "deep" quotes. That said, it was a very entertaining movie for most of its runtime, but near the last 3rd, it ran out of steam and I just kept wondering what the point was and if there was a big reveal in the end. But there was none. It was just a random movie about a guy, who tried to cope with the loss of his father, while trying not to screw up his new relatiuonship. In 2003. I don't know why the movie was set in 2003, unless I missed something.
6,5/10-----
14th
#0017 The Searchers (DVD/1st viewing)
I'm not really the biggest Western fan, but this was a good one. After a slow start, it evolved quickly into a very entertaining story, with a surprising amount of tonal shifts. Sometimes it was straight out comedic (like the fight at the wedding), sometimes it bordered on horror (the attack in the beginning or the brain washed white women). It is of course pretty questionable how sub-human and evil the "Indians" are portrayed, but I have to admit that it added a lot to the suspense factor. At least they made an (admittedly pretty half assed) try of portraying Wayne's racism as wrong.
7/10-----
15th
#0018 Art School Confidential (DVD/1st viewing)
Funny little movie. At times it's maybe a little bit too broad in its depiction of "Ha ha, wannabe artists believe that every kind of nonsensical hackwork has something to say!".On the other hand, it does a great job in capturing the frustration of when you are really good in something, but for any reason can't find an audience. And cudos for twisting all those subplots into a very entertaining whole, that always makes you guess what the hell is going to happen next.
7,5/10-----
17th
#0019 Do The Right Thing (DVD)
This is such a weird movie. For more than 90 minutes, we just witness people having random conversations, that are either about racism or about nothing. And it's damn entertaining! But then it suddenly takes an ultra dramatic turn, were many people do many stupid things, although you can at least understand the reacion of two of them.Still, I think the real message of the movie is: "There is always one motherfucker who ruins the fun for everybody!" The whole street got along like a big family. They annoyed each other, often said inappropriate things at the wrong moment (This "family" seemed to have lots of racist uncles), but it all seemed okay. Even when a few of them threatened John Savage, it felt more like they would poke fun at him, instead of really trying to scare him. Then Buggin' Out decided to make a volcano out of a molehill and it all turned into a disaster.
7,5/10-----
19th
This is pretty much the ultimate 80's comic book movie, that isn't based on a comic book. Full of great one liners, awesome over the top action scenes and shit like that. That movie was basically the blueprint for what we know these days as "Arnie movie" and I can't think of many other movies, that did it better. I don't have much to say about it. It's a classic and a lot of fun.
8,5/10#0021 Living In Oblivion (DVD)
I love this movie. It makes me wanna assemble the few friends I have and finally make a movie or two, although pretty much everything that happens in this movie, is true to some degree. Everybody, who spent just one day on a real movie set, knows that. This is one of the all time great ensemble casts and especially Buscemi, LeGros and Dinklage are awesome, in every second that they are on screen!
8,5/10-----
20th
#0022 Undercover Blues (TV)
The story of two almost unbearable cocky secret agents and their baby. I would have prefererred if the two protagonists would have been a little bit less superhuman. They prance through every kind of danger with a smile and never run into any trouble, because their plans always work out perfect. But within this movie's light hearted not-meant-to-be-taken-seriously world, it works fine. Although to be honest, the only thing that makes this movie really memorable, is Stanley Tucci. Whenever his ill-fated street gangster "Muerte" appears, UNDERCOVER BLUES reaches an almost Blake Edwards-esque level of hilarity.
7/10-----
#0023 Mr Majestyk (TV/1st viewing)
A very entertaining Charles Bronson flick, mostly thanks to the script by Elmore Leonard. During the first half hour, I had no idea where the story would go. Once the plot settled in, it became a little bit more straight-forward, but still very cool. I'm not an expert in Charles-Bronson-Vs-Everybody movies, but this might be his best.
8/10-----
21st
#0024 The Vengeance Of Fu Manchu (TV Recording/1st viewing)
Okay, wow, that made even less sense than your typical Saturday morning cartoon from the 80's. But the script's goofyness was the best part of the whole movie. (With Horst Frank as a close 2nd.) Yet, I have no idea what exactly was going on in it. It just had plot holes galore, although I wouldn't be surprised if I saw some cut down "international version" and the uncut version is a little bit easier to follow. I just doubt that it would make the movie much better.
5,5/10-----
22nd
#0025 Dracula (1931) (TV Recording/1st viewing)
Not bad, not bad. Bela Lugosi is definitely creepy, but the guy who played Renfield was even creepier. Seriously. I didn't expect to get scared by an over 80 years old movie, but there were some moments, like when he stared right at the camera or crawled all over the floor, that made me feel a certain shiver on my neck. All in all it was fun to watch. (And with "fun" I don't mean the MST3K "Ha ha, this movie is old" kind of fun.) But seriously. Why were there armadillos in Dracula's castle?
7/10-----
23rd
#0026 Witness For The Prosecution (TV)
One of the more entertaining courtroom dramas, that even still hold up on repeated viewing, Yes, the "big twist" is even the first time around pretty easy to guess, but it all comes together so nice, that it doesn't matter.
8/10-----
24th
#0027 Grosse Pointe Blank (TV)
The 90's had so many movies about hitmen and other gangsters, but this is one of the few that are still very watchable. I still think that the two NSA guys could have been left on the cutting room floor and that Dan Aykroyd is a pretty underwhelming villain, but the movie is just so much fun to watch, that I can forgive it its few flaws.
8/10-----
26th
#0028 Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (TV recording)
I seem to like the series much more than most other people around me. I say it's because of the German dubbing, which really improves on the kinda bored an uninspred original voices. Nevertheless, out of the first three movies (haven't seen part 4 yet), this is the weakest one. It just feels like a random string of shortfilms. Especially near the end, the writers were obviously grasping for ideas to stretch the script, so they added a musical number or an encounter with a sloth tribe. And where part 1 was able to really surprise with some emotional moments (Manny's cave painting flashback), every attempt at a similar effect just feels hollow and more like an afterthought.
6/10-----
27th
#0029 Diary Of A Mad Black Woman (DVD/1st viewing)
Now that was weird. It seems to me like Tyler Perry is heavily influenced by Asian cinema, just because of how all over the place this movie's tone is. It starts as a dark relationship drama, then turns into some kind of slapstick comedy, with jokes about gunslinging grandmas and weed smoking grandpas, then its a romance about two people who were deeply hurt and now learn to trust someone else again, with some hints of a gangster movie lurking in the background. Then suddenly we get a whole chapter in which the female protagonist tortures her now paralyzed asshole ex-husband,
by letting him sit in his own shit for days and then almsot drowning him in the bathtub. And then finally we get the ultimate happy end in a church! Unfortunately this sounds a lot more interesting than it really is. Most of it just comes across as a sappy TV soap opera, only with much better acting. Oh, and Madea is only in it for something like 10 minutes.
4,5/10-----
28th
A very entertaining look into a few days of some alcoholics' boring life. It doesn't really have a coherent script and feels more like a loseley connected string of suplots without a mainplot, that starts and ends at a random point of the protagonist's life, but it works. Mostly because of how much you start to like the characters with all their flaws. It takes less than 15 minutes until you feel like you know everybody for years. Bonus points for the best-of-90s-American-Indie-cinema-cast (minus anybody from the Turturro family. I guess they were busy,).
8/10-----
29th
This is pretty much the LETHAL WEAPON of animated family movies, isn't it? The parallels are there. Part 1 is much darker and more serious than its sequels, which focus way more on the comedy and developing a constantly expanding cast of characters. But yes, it's true. Not many people seem to remember it, but ICE AGE had lots of heart and a very engaging story. Not to mention some seriously tearjerking moments. But it is all served with the lightheartedness, that Pixar and other studios often lack in their quest to impress the critics with their "kids movie".
8,5/10-----
30th
#0032 Ice Age 3: Dawn Of the Dinosaurs (DVD)
So this is the action movie of the series. There is constantly something happening and I can remember at least three big action filled set pieces. And the best thing: They somehow managed to make it all exciting! It's still more fosucing on comedy than part 1 and your enjoyment of this movie might depend on how much you like these characters in the first place, but if you ask me, it's in terms of qualtiy definitely on par with both KUNG FU PANDAs. Especially with the cinematography. I don't know any other animated movie, that feels so much like it was shot with a real camera!
8/10#0033 Bullitt (TV Recording/1st viewing)
Nah, I don't know. It felt to me like a typcial episode of an average 70's cop show, only with better actors and production values. The case wasn't all that interesting and apart from a surprising 3rd act twist, not much happened with it. Even the legendary car chase, as good as it is, felt pretty unnecessary. Not to mention that Bullitt himself is a pretty bland character who never does anything memorable, which is an unbelievable crime, if you cast Steve McQueen in your cop movie!
6/10-----
31st
#0034 Safe House (TV/1st viewing)
Absolutely generic crap, filled with every cliche that you have seen in a million other of these movies, filmed with the typical incompetence of modern action cinema.
2/10-----
February01st
I almost think that I liked it even better on 2nd viewing. I definitely don't like it less. It's still an awesome piece of action cinema, with a little bit of horror movie thrown into the mix. Yeah, I wish they would have used a steadycam, but it's a good example of effective shakycam use. Hectic, but it lets you see everything. But damn, that Mike Shinoda score still pisses me off. I don't wanna hear some electropop tunes during a suspense scene.
9/10-----
02nd
#0036 Phineas & Ferb: Across The 2nd Dimension (TV)
It's fun. There are normal episodes of the show that are funnier and I really hate the reset ending, but if you like the show, you'll like the movie too.
7/10#0037 The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists (a.k.a. Band Of Misfits) (TV/1st viewing)
Aardmans silliest movie and definitely not their greatest work, but seriously funny and extremely well animated. I would watch a sequel, but if this would be the last thing that we ever saw of these pirates, I wouldn't start a letter writing campaign.
7/10-----
03rd
#0038 Ice Age 4: Continental Drift (VOD/1st viewing)
One of the weaker parts of the series. It is less disjointed than part 2, but it has a certain fan fiction feel, with all the cliched teenie drama and fantasy elements. Seriously, I have some trouble with swallowing the idea of prehistoric animal pirates or "sirens". The series always loved to play with anachronisms and anthropomorphing, but if you ask me, they went a little bit too far this time. Except for the Scrat subplot. They can never go far enough IMO, although this time they went absolutely crazy,
7/10-----
05th
#0039 The Cabin In The Woods (DVD/1st viewing)
A typical Joss Whedon product. Which means it's entertaining and actually pretty good, but not THAT good and definitely not great. This movie's problem is its first hour. The scenes with Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford are fun, but everything else is just a pretty boring run-of-the-mill horror movie. Just because you give the protagonists a completely absurd reason to act like your typical teenhorror doofuses, doesn't mean that you are subverting cliches. You just use the same stupid cliches with a far fetched explaination! And worst of all, instead of an interesting creature, they just give us a boring family of zombies. Okay, once the kids go underground, the movie becomes a lot of fun and definitely more original, but by then it already lost much of my goodwill.
7/10-----
06th
People always seem to forget how influential this movie was. It isn't as obvious as in other, more recent movies like PULP FICTION or MATRIX, but even today you often come across movies (mostly indie rom coms), that borrow heavily from this one. And why not? It's still a great movie. Funny, touching and damn entertaining.
8,5/10-----
07th
#0041 The Descendants (TV/1st viewing)
I know, I know, many of you hate this movie, because of Oscars and "George Clooney is always playing the same character", but screw you. It's a good movie. It doesn't add anything new to the disfunctional-family-bonds-over-a-tragedy subgenre, but it also avoids nearly every trap, that movies about dying mothers and wifes way too often fall into. And just because George Clooney is never pulling a Johnny Depp or Jeffrey Combs when it comes to his appereance in movies, it doesn't mean that he is a bad actor. And seriously, this is one of his best performances! (Same goes for Matthew Lillard.)
8/10-----
08th
#0042 Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning (DVD/1st viewing)
Oh shit, what an excellent movie! Who would have guesses that the series suddenly enters the pretty new realm of arthouse action movies and that even totally succeeds in being one? I know, it's hard to believe for some of you, but that mix of neo noir, badass action and a little bit of body horror, is in my opinion on the same level of quality as HAYWIRE or DRIVE! Although I don't know if it will hold up on repeated viewing, because figuring out where the story is going next was at least half of the fun.
8/10-----
09th
#0043 An Extremely Goofy Movie (TV/1st viewing)
It wasn't awful, but seriously forgettable. It totally lacked the bizarre dry humor, that made part 1 so enjoyable and and also wasn't interested in going anywhere with its subplots. At least there weren't any musical numbers this time around. I have to give them credit for the animation. It's not exacty top notch, but surprisingly good for a DTV sequel of its time.
5/10-----
10th
#0044 Krull (TV recording/1st viewing)
Not exactly a good movie, but an entertaining one. Which is a small miracle, considering how every single character is so bland, that they make Will Turner from POTC look exciting! Not to mention that that ultimate superpowered blade boomerang, that the hero has to get first in the beginning, is extremely ineffective! He can't even kill The Beast with it! There are some minor clever touches, though. The story starts with a princess getting married to a prince, to form an alliance with an enemy kingdom. But instead of the couple being forced into the marriage, they are happy about it, while their fathers aren't. I also liked when they pick up a prophet, to show them where The Beast is hiding. But before he can help them, he gets murdered. Usually the heroes never enocunter such a huge waste of time in these movies.
6,5/10 Fun, but seriously undercooked. Cyndi Lauper and Jeff Goldblum have a surprisingly good chemistry together (especially if you consider that they didn't get along very well during the shooting) and whenever Peter Falk opens his mouth, he says something hilarious. Unfortunately the script lacks some kind of punch. We never find out what that glowing pyramid is and what it does, except for killing people who touch it. I don't need an explaination for everything, but a bigger sense of danger would have been nice.
7/10-----
11th
#0046 Clueless (TV recording/1st viewing)
It's the PROJECT X of the 90's, isn't it? The main difference is that the shallow douchebag protagonist here, are pretty likeable and some of the gags are even very funny! But damn, is this movie 90's. The music, the dialogue, the fashion, THE FASHION! AAAAAAH! Oh well, all in all it's an entertaining movie, that just hasn't aged too well.
6,5/10-----
15th
#0047 The Men Who Stare At Goats (DVD/1st viewing)
That was definitely funnier and more random than I expected. I like that they found a middle way between "Ha ha, look at those silly new age wannabe jedis" and "Isn't it great what these people tried to do?". And hey, Clooney is finally in eccentric character mode again! I love it when he does that. On the other hand, this movie could have used way more Stephen Root. Everything is better with Stephen Root, so it's a shame that he had not much to do this time. Bonus points for making a movie about the army and casting Robert Patrick NOT as a soldier. Who would have guessed, that he has a talent for comedy?
8,5/10-----
16th
#0048 Rapid Fire (TV recording/1st viewing)
Unoriginal, but pretty entertaining b-action movie from the early 90's, that includes Brandon Lee as reluctant hero, who does some awesome martial arts, Powers Boothe playing an unshaven hard boiled cop who lives for his job and provides some good one liners, a romantic sex scene with a cheesy rockballad in the background and Al Leong. Perfect for a boring Saturday afternoon.
6,5/10Although I’m a huge Mike Judge fanboy, I’ve never been a real fan of this movie. That said, this time I liked it a lot more than the last time. (But I still think that the 2nd half drags too much.)
7/10-----
17th
#0050 Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance (TV recording/1st viewing)
I didn't expect this, because I hated everything that Neveldine/Taylor made after the first CRANK, but I enjoyed it. They injected the right amount of manic energy and silliness into the movie. Something that part 1 totally lacked. Now I just wish they would learn how to use a camera.
7/10-----
18th
#00XX Maggie Simpson In: The Longest Daycare (TV recording/1st viewing)
A funny and surprisingly cute shortfilm. If this one doesn't leave you with a happy smile when the end credits roll, you don't have a heart.
8,5/10-----
19th
#0051 Robin Hood (Disney version) (TV recording)
Not exactly one of the best animated Disney movies. But it's entertaining and Peter Ustinov's performance as Prince John is one for the ages.
7/10I liked it a lot when I saw it the first time, but now I freakin love it! It's such an immensly entertaining mix of supernatural family drama and dry comedy. And it made me a huge Eva Green fan! The one problem that I still have, is that at one point it just hits a million plot twists over the viewers head and not every one feels justified. Oh well, I love this movie anyway.
8,5/10#0053 Men In Black 3 (DVD)
Even the 2nd time lots of fun. My favourite part is still Griffin, the five dimensional alien. I love that crazy ass high concept time travel shit.And how awesome is Josh Brolin as young Tommy Lee Jones? Answer: Very! But I'm still surprised with how much graphic violence they were able to get away.
8/10-----
20th
#0054 Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (TV recording/1st viewing)
This actually felt more like a sequel to HACKERS. But even if you look at it that way, it's still awful. The only entertainment value comes from the cheesy mid-90s fixation on cyberspace and virtual reality and some eerily accurate predictions about the popularity and evolution of the internet.
2/10-----
28th
What can I say? One of the best movies ever! It may not have enough 'splosions for the kids of today, but it makes up for it with great characters, perfect direction and a script that manages to bring a million little subplots together in a beautiful way.
9/10-----
March1st
This one really grew on me. Maybe because by now I learned how awful a DIE HARD sequel really can be and this one here does have a lot to love. They should have cut out the subplot about the asshole reporter from part 1, though. At least they added some entertaining supporting characters, like Dennis Franz's airport cop or the crazy janitor who lives in the catacombs underneath the airport. And of course we get some great action. This movie must have some of the most spectacular explosions in action movie history!
7,5/10-----
02nd
#0057 Die Hard With A Vengeance (DVD)
This part is the most fun of the series, thanks to some decisions that shouldn't work, but did very well. Like giving McClane a sidekick. BlackClane is the best character for that job and Willis and Jackson have some great chemistry together. It was also a lot of fun to see McClane as part of a team and even doing some real detective work. If the 2nd half would be as great as the 1st, this movie would be on par with the brillant part 1.
8/10#0058 xXx 3: Live Free Or Die Hard (DVD)
Well, I don't HATE it anymore, but I'm still incredible bored by it. Which is weird, considering how cool the action scenes are. Say what you want about Len Wiseman, but that motherfucker knows how to shoot some good action. But that's all good I can say about this movie. It's also kinda amusing...no, wait, I mean sad, how shameless they tried to aim this movie at a teen audience.
3/10-----
04th
#0059 Machine Gun Preacher (TV/1st viewing)
Oooooooooh, ouch. Is there anything worse than seeing such well intended movies crash and burn like that? I mean, if it all REALLY happened like that, okay, who am I to judge someone for living a life, that fulfills every rule in the corny-biopic-scriptwriting-for-beginners book? But face it, as a movie, it just doesn't work at all.
3/10-----
05th
#0060 Another Earth (TV recording/1st viewing)
When the movie started with a the protagonist telling us about how a NASA photo from Venus inspired her as a child, I knew I was in trouble, but I had no idea how awful the following 90 minutes would be. It felt like a parody of a modern arthouse/independent movie. Predictable soap opera script (with useless SciFi subplot!) and incompetent cinematography on the level of AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS included. Oh well, at least it was nice to see William Mapother as a sympathetic average Joe for once.
2/10-----
09th
#0061 Source Code (DVD/1st viewing)
See? THIS is how you make a good movie, that raises philosophical questions about 2nd chances, while letting the audience find there own answers to many of them. The one problem I have, is that the thriller part of the movie never seems to escalate. The stakes never raise and the villain is a pretty lame one. Okay, it's not that I demand some big action packed finale, especially because I liked how much time the movie took for its emotional epilogue, but I wouldn't mind a little bit more suspense.
7,5/10-----
12th
#0062 Barney's Version (TV/1st viewing)
The bittersweet story of an asshole with a hidden heart of gold. It's a well told and entertaining story, but in the end it left me wondering, what was so special about that guy, that we had to hear his life story. He wasn't a complete screw up, yet he never learned a lesson. Maybe that was the point. Just a story about guy, who could have handled things better from time to time. Just like you and me. (Funny David Cronenberg cameo, btw.)
7,5/10-----
13th
#0063 Argo (DVD/1st viewing)
I know, I'm not allowed to say it, but it is actually a very good movie. Not "the best", but very well made and a nice throwback to the time when movies could be gritty AND funny. Something that I really miss from modern Hollywood. Although I expected some more outrageous satire, considering how people talked about it. The last act fell also a little bit too much into the "Yeah, right" category, but although I know how it ended, I was on the edge of my seat.
8/10-----
14th
#0064 The Three Stooges (2012) (DVD/1st viewing)
It doesn't matter what I write here, right? Fact is: I laughed loud and a lot.
8/10-----
17th
#0065 Conan The Barbarian (2011) (TV recording/1st viewing)
This is Marcus Nispel's best movie, but if you remember the unwatchable shit that he made before, it's a very backhanded compliment. If the 2nd half would be as weird as the 1st, I would have liked it more, but once Conan meets that pure blooded princess or whatever, it becomes a pretty boring b-movie.
5,5/10-----
18th
#0066 Stakeout (TV recording/1st viewing)
It starts pretty slow and admittedly kinda creepy at times (Spying on naked women was in the 80s considered as light hearted fun), but then it turns into a very enjoyable comedy.
7/10#0067 Scanners (DVD/1st viewing)
So far the weakest Cronenberg movie that I've seen. The potential is there, but after a good start it turns into a boring spy movie on 80s cop show level. (Only gorier.) I read afterwards that the movie had a very problematic production and it shows. Oh wll, at least we get the most iconic exploding head in movie history and a great ending.
4/10-----
22nd
#0068 The Magic Sword (TV recording/1st viewing)
I was shocked when I found that it not just got a damn low IMDB rating, but also got the MST3K treatment! It's definitely a very cheesy movie at times and even the always reliable Basil Rathbone looks like he just wants to finally get paid, but it also is very entertaining in a non-ironic way. It's full of weird touches and is at times surprisingly gruesome. But what do I know? I love these old fantasy movies. Even if the hero is a selfish douchebag.
7/10-----
25th
#0069 Wrath Of The titans (TV/1st viewing)
Kinda entertaining, but to be honest I forgot already most of it. That giant lava dude end the end was cool, though. You don't see that huge monsters in movies anymore.
4/10-----
26th
#0070 127 Hours (TV/1st viewing)
I gotta be honest here, I don't think that the movie is really mindblowing, but it's the best possible movie about a guy who is stuck underneath a rock and starts thinking about his life before he cuts his arm off. It also helps that Danny Boyle directed it.
7,5/10-----
30th
#0071 Some Like It Hot (TV/1st viewing)
A seriously funny movie. I just wish the whole Tony Curtis/Marilyn Monroe storyline wouldn't leave such a bad taste in mouth. I just can't believe that he really has changed that much.
7/10#0072 Zombie Kicker 5: Stop Making Sense a.k.a. Resident Evil: Retribution (VOD/1st viewing)
Paul W. S. Anderson establishes himself as the Quentin Tarantino of big budget B-movies. He creates worlds full of people who purposely neither talk or act like real people would, makes movies that are highly stylized and ignore every rule of storytelling and shamelessly lifts a million ideas from other movies. (Only that instead of "getting inspiration" from obscure Eurotrash movies, he goes for known blockbusters like ALIENS or even ROMEO MUST DIE.) And yet despite the awfulness of this love child of every Michael Bay and Zack Snyder cliche, I can't do anything else than admire his effort of creating the most absurd, near endless string of slow motion fights and shootouts ever. Is the next sequel out yet?
5,5/10-----
31st
#0073 Hotel Transylvania (DVD/1st viewing)
I'm a huge Genndy Tartakovsky fanboy, but I really wasn't prepared for this movie's awesomness. I guess that it was kinda taken over by the Sandler gang, lowered my expectations. But while it's not as deep or engaging on a story level as PARANORMAN, it made me laugh my ass off. As expected, Tartakovsky brings a lot of zany energy and perfect timing to the material.
8/10#0074 Here Comes The Boom (DVD/1st viewing)
Not a bad movie. It doesn't re-invent the inspirational sports movie genre. In fact, it abides pretty much every single rule of it, but it does it in a very entertaining and most of all unoffensive and surprisingly uncorny way. I mean, it's definitely less corny than REAL STEEL, but has fights that are equally engaging and well filmed.
7/10-----
April01st
It really is one of the best Disney animated movies in years. It feels like a classic Disney movie, while being also modern enough, to satisfy the more cynical SHREK crowd. Even the funny animal sidekicks are downright hilarious this time and Rapunzel's "mother" is one of the greatest Disney villains ever. Just because of how realistic she is.
8/10#0076 Brave (TV recording/1st viewing)
It was more light hearted than the trailer made it look, but it also felt kinda bla. The story feels like a 30 minutes shortfilm, that was unnecessary stretched out to 90 minutes. If the most memorable moment in your Pixar movie is a joke about a group of men with naked asses, you might have a problem.
6,5/10------
05th
#0077 Adventures In Babysitting (DVD/1st viewing)
A very entertaining entry in one of my favourite subgenres. Yeah, it's full of stereotypes, but well...80s comedies, y'know?
7,5/10-----
06th
#0078 Magnum Force (TV recording/1st viewing)
I would say that this DIRTY HARRY sequel is a little bit better than the original, although I still have issues with its structure. We see for example the vigilantes commit three murders, before the police even notice that something is wrong and the story kicks in, so pretty much the first 40 minutes are just a bunch of random scenes. Then while it is cool to see Harry doing some real detective work, he needs an awful lot of time to find out things and explain them to the audience, although we already knew about them. But it's an entertaining movie and has a badass finale.
7/10#0079 In The Name Of The King: Two Worlds (TV/1st viewing)
I don't hate Uwe Boll's movies as much as most people do, because while they aren't exactly good, they are weird enough to entertain, but this one is really boring and a huge step down from part 1, which not just ahd a great cast, but also at least SOME production value. This one here looks like a bunch of LARPers made it. I just wonder why Dolph seemed to have such a good time. I saw him giving worse performances in much better movies.
2,5/10-----
08th
#0080 Battleship (TV recording/1st viewing)
I'm surprised how boring this was. Say what you want about Michael Bay and specifically his TRANSFORMERS movies, but at least they are very entertaining on a relelntess spectacle level. BATTLESHIP has lots of concepts and subplots that sound entertaining on paper, but don't work at all on film for any reason. Peter Berg has always been hit or miss, but this is definitely his biggest miss so far!
4/10-----
11th
It hasn't aged THAT well. It's still an entertaining, little time travel movie (with time travel mechanics that don't make any sense at all), but what was in 1994 considered as cool action, feels today like a TV pilot.
7/10-----
13th
#0082 Wreck-It Ralph (DVD)
I think I enjoyed it more this time, which I attribute to not sitting next to some annoying 10 year old, popcorn throwing, seat kicking, constantly talking pieces of shit. It's still not a GREAT movie, but has a lot to like, is well crafted and damn entertaining.
8/10 -----
15th
#0083 Double Team (TV/1st viewing)
I always thought the other JCVD/Tsui Hark collaboration KNOCK OFF was weird, but this one totally tops it! It's storywise all over the place and sometimes feels like a parody and shouldn't work at all. And to be honest, I don't think that it works. But damn, that movie had me smiling from the beginning to the end. It really is a seriously creative piece of late 90s action cinema.
7,5/10-----
16th
#0084 Mirrors (TV/1st viewing)
Alexandre Aja tries this time a more atmospheric and creepier approach, but without completely abandoning his trademark gore. It works pretty well and especially the first act has some scary moments, but just like all of Aja's other movies so far, It doesn't live up to its potential.
6,5/10-----
19th
#0085 Cool Hand Luke (TV/1st viewing)
One of these very entertaining movies, that make prision look like a fun place to stay. Well, until the guards start torturing you. Anyway, I miss the days when you could make a drama and inject lots of humor in it, without turning it into a comedy. This kind of filmmaking got somehow lost over the last decades.
8,5/10-----
20th
#0086 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (DVD)
Entertains a lot even the 2nd time around. Who would have guessed, that a movie from the LOTR universe would be so much fun? (Face it. As much as I love the LOTR movies, they aren't exactly "fun".)
8,5/10#0087 The Monster Squad (DVD/1st viewing)
*sigh* Burned by another cult favourite that doesn't live up to its potential. It has some cool moments and interesting ideas, but it never adds up to anything good. The kids lack any character, the monsters, as good as they look, are most of the time just there without doing anything interesting or cool. On the plus side, it has some great make up effects, surprisingly atmospheric cinematography and soem good in-jokes (like the armadillos in Dracula's castle). And hearing people speak gibberish that's supposed to be German, is always fun in a movie.
5,5/10-----
22nd
#0088 Rocketman (TV/1st viewing)
Not an outstanding movie by any means, but exactly the kind of silly but unoffensive slapstick comedy, that I needed today.
7/10-----
25th
This is without a doubt Michael Bay's most stupid, random, offensive and violent celebration of low-brow entertainment to date (And yes, I saw all TRANSFORMERS movies, which are actually damn violent if you consider how graphic many of the robots robots die!). Unfortunately this time around it wasn't as fun for me as when I saw it for the first time, which I blame on its way too long runtime. But to be honest, I still got a kick out of it.
7/10-----
27th
#0090 The Haunting (1963 version) (TV recording)
Still surprisingly spooky for a movie of its age, although its bumps-in-the-night approach really is the most simple of all simple tricks to scare somebody. But the movie also works very well as psychological drama, thanks to Julie Harris' brillant performance.
8/10-----
29th
#0091 Total Recall (2012 version) (TV recording/1st viewing)
Well, let’s just say that the remake isn’t awful. But even as a stand alone movie, it wouldn’t be more than a slick, but bland major studio action film. They made the mistake of removing the two most awesome things about the original: The crazy violence and the what-is-real-and-what-not angle. At least Kate Beckinsale seems to have a lot of fun here.
5/10-----
30th
#0092 A Fantastic Fear Of Everything (TV recording/1st viewing)
For a British movie, it feels surprisingly French. Simon Pegg delivers maybe his best performance so far and seeing how the script pushes him further and further, is a lot of fun. What drags the movie down a little, is unfortunately the last act, which feels like the result of a reshoot, after test audiences demanded a more streamlined ending.
8/10-----
May05th
#0093 Star Trek (Abrams) (DVD)
Still a lot of fun the third time around. Full of action, without forgetting what made TREK so popular: The characters, light hearted fun and positive messages about how we can be friends, once we learn to understand each other.
8/10
-----
07th
#0094 Starship Troopers (DVD)
If you ask me, it's Verhoeven's 2nd best Hollywood work.
8,5/10-----
08th
#0095 Star Trek Into Darkness (Cinema/1st viewing)
A seriously good TREK movie, that never gets too dark. Unfortunately they pull some serious fanfiction shit at the end, which made me lose some sympathy Not enough to ruin it, but damn…whoever thought that this was a good idea, deserves some serious nutkicking.Props to Karl Urban, who nailed McCoy even better than last time. (Oh stop giggling, you know what I mean.)
7,5/10-----
17th
#0096 Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (DVD/1st viewing)
After the surprisingly great part 2, it was a huge step back. The problems started right at the beginning, when we were thrown into the story, as if they forgot to come up with a first act. I mean, even for a series like MADAGASCAR, tthe explaination why and how the movie takes place in Europe is unbelievable stupid. That said, Dreamworks continues to be the animation studio, that comes up with the most impressive action scenes. And the whole look of the movie is so awesome, that I almost wish I had seen this in 3D on the big screen!
6/10-----
18th
#00XX Ted (TV recording/1st viewing)
I try to watch every movie in full. There are many movies that take a lot of time until they become good. But I just couldn't finish this one. A conversation about assfucking isn’t a joke, it’s just a conversation about assfucking. It needs a punchline to turn it into a joke. And no, having a cute looking teddy bear saying all these things, doesn’t count as punchline either. And I didn't care for anything that happened story wise, because it was just another boring “grow up, man child” story. And once Sam J. Jones showed up, repeating the most overdone joke of our time (celebrity playing an “outrageous” asshole version of himself), I realized that TED just wasn’t worth my time and I turned the movie off.
No rating-----
19th
#0097 Going Postal (TV/1st viewing)
Just like the two previous DISCWORLD movies/mini series, a very enjoyable piece of work, that hits the tone of Pratchett’s novels, but suffers a little bit from its TV budget. (Ankh-Morpork should be much more populated and filthier.) But despite its 3 hours runtime, it never dragged or left me with the feeling, that certain scenes or subplots should have been left on the cutting room floor.
7,5/10-----
24th
#0098 Not Another Teen Movie (TV recording/1st viewing)
It turned out to be surprisingly funny and even clever at times! Although way too often it was neither. Sometimes the “parody” was just pointing at or reenacting scenes or cliches without a twist, but WHEN they got it right, they got damn right. Out of all those _________ MOVIEs that we got in the last decade, this is definitely one of the most watchable.
6,5/10-----
29th
This is one perfect movie. It has one of the greatest ensemble casts in history and I can’t think of anybody in here, who gives a bad performance. And the script is damn tightly written and gives the characters, especially Allen’s and Rickman’s believable arcs. Not to mention that it manages to work as hilarious comedy and serious space adventure, while also walks the line between being a parody and hommage to STAR TREK and all fans. It’s pretty much the greatest high concept ensemble comedy since GHOSTBUSTERS.
10/10-----
JUNE07th
It’s definitely no GALAXY QUEST, but it’s a very enjoyable parody/hommage of Superhero tropes. Not every joke sticks and it doesn’t have the highest laughs per minute ratio, but it has a great cast, cool production design and is definitely one of the top 3 superhero comedies out there.
7,5/10-----
08th
James Gunn’s first superhero movie is of course something unique. Avoiding any kind of action scenes and focusing on a short, but very personal moment in the life of its protagonists, it feels closer to “movies about nothing” like TREE’S LOUNGE or THE SEARCH FOR ONE-EYE JIMMY. The middle part drags a little, but the great cast keeps it entertaining.
7/10-----
10th
#0102 Driving Lessons (DVD/1st viewing)
One of these typical charming British low key dramedies. There are better ones, like STILL CRAZY or SAVING GRACE, but it was a good one nonetheless.
7,5/10-----
13th
#0103 Idlewild (DVD/1st viewing)
For a brainchild of Outkast, this was surprisingly run on the mill. It had a certain entertainment value, but apart from a tragic plot twist at the end, it was as predictable and cliched as movies like this can be.
6/10-----
14th
#0104 The Last Kiss (DVD/1st viewing)
A pretty entertaining relationship dramedy, that loses all its momentum in the last 15-20 minutes. Unfortunately in this kind of movie it’s usually more fun to see how everybody tries to make the right decision (and often do the wrong thing anyway), than watching them apologize to and forgive each other.
7/10#0105 Above the Law (TV/1st viewing)
I’m still looking for the Seagal movie that blows me away. It was pretty boring, but I kinda liked the old school feeling. I kinda miss the kind of action movie, where the loose cannon (or fist) cop is actually trying to solve a case and does some detective work.
5/10-----
17th
#0106 Sei donne per l’assassino (DVD/1st viewing)
A very good and for its time surprisingly fast paced murder mystery/early slasher film/giallo prototype from Mario Bava. As you can expect from Bava, it’s also visually brillant. Not just in terms of colour and lighting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie from that time, where the camera was moving like this.
7,5/10-----
18th
Kevin Smith’s most underrated movie. The story unfolds a little bit too much by the numbers, but all those nice little touches, like the good gags, the great supporting cast or the fact that it’s one of the very few movies, that portray realistic child behaviour, totally make up for it.
8/10-----
22nd
#0108 Planet Hulk (VOD/1st viewing)
Yeah, it was okay. Nothing too special. I don’t know if the comic arc is better. They had some likeable characters here, although each one was a bigger stereotype than the last one. Same goes for the story. The one thing I really hated was the character design. The whole movie looked like an episode of fucking AVATAR.
6,5/10-----
23rd
#0109 The Dark Knight (TV)
I hated it when I saw it the first time and now I wanted to give it a 2nd chance. Unfortunately it’s still awful. The script is stuffed with useless subplots, that most of the time are simply solved with a big explosion anyway. And this heavy-handed mix of 9/11 and patriot act references ends in an endless string of corny speeches, about how good people do good things and have to believe in other good things, to keep doing these good things. Add Christian Bale’s laughable Batman voice and Heath Ledgers’s awful overacting (Yes, the Joker is crazy, but he is more than just a bunch of nervous ticks.) to the mix and you got a movie that just pisses me off.
2/10------
Oh look, I'm already out of characters! Read part 2 right underneath this one here.
