Welcome to our brand new movie journal!
By now everybody should know how it rolls, but if not, the rules are pretty easy: You simply claim a spot (or two, if you write more) in this thread and then keep writing a list of every single movie that you have watched in 2015. The title is enough, but if you want to, you can add the date of viewing or a short review or something like that. Once everyone has claimed their place, the thread is open to more in depth discussions of whatever movie is on your or someone else's list. (Please wait with the discussion at least until mid January, so that even late starters can snatch a place on top of the thread.)
There is no minimum goal of how many movies you have to watch in a year, but on the other hand you won't win anything if you watch a lot either. (Other than the insight that you maybe have way too much free time, but at least spent it with doing something cool.)
Here are the journals of the past:
2014201320122011 2010 2009 2008 2007And I claim this spot for meJanuary01st
#0001 Saving Mr Banks (DVD/1st viewing)
Very entertaining, although Emma Thompson’s Kristen-Wiig-in-super-mugging-mode imitation (a really weird acting choice) and the kinda unnecessary overuse of the childhood flashbacks, prevented me from really loving it. It was really clear around midpoint of the movie, were the childhood trauma would go and how it would fit in with Mary Poppins, yet they still rubbed it in our face over and over again, to make sure that even the dumbest viewer gets it. And that they made it look in the end like P. L. Travers loved the Disney version, kinda leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
7/10-----
02nd
#0002 Bullet To The Head (TV recording/1st viewing)
I wouldn’t call it bad, but it was pretty boring and unoriginal. While Stallone had visible fun, he shared zero chemistry with Sung Kang. And that they waited until his final scene to turn Jason Momoa’s character into the best of the whole movie, is almost a crime!
6/10-----
03rd
#0003 The Brady Bunch Movie (VOD/1st viewing)
I’m everything else than a fan of parodistic movie versions of classic TV shows, doesn’t matter HOW silly the original shows are, but this one gets it all right! It not just pokes fun at the TV show in a brillant way, by recreating it right down to dialogue pauses for the laugh track (that here never appears) and then adding some edgier jokes to it (The “inner voices”), but in the end is also pretty forgiving by actually portraying the “normal” people as rotten weirdos. Kinda like they were saying: “Yeah, those Bradys are pretty awkward, but at least they are good people! So why are you laughing AT them?!” But the best thing is: All the gags work! The actors sell the hell out of the even sillier ones!
8,5/10-----
04th
#0004 Loriots Ödipussi (VOD/1st viewing)
Loriot is not the guy who tells long stories, he tells damn hilarious anecdotes. So if you want your comedy movie to be story driven, stay away from this one. If you are okay with laughing like crazy about random but way too true observations of (German) narrow-mindedness and people having long conversations about nothing, all losely wrapped in a plot about a mama’s boy who falls in love, this one is for you.
8,5/10-----
05th
#0005 The Station Agent (VOD/1st viewing)
Another great entry in a subgenre that I like to call “Movies about nothing” or “One or more days into someone’s awfully normal life”. In those movies, nothing big ever happens. The protagonists may learn a lesson or two, that makes them appreciate their life more or at least realize that they have fucked up, but most of the time we just watch them doing their thing, hang out with others. THE STATION AGENT does nothing, what movies like TREES LOUNGE or GARDEN STATE haven’t done, but it does it in a very entertaining way.
8/10-----
06th
#0006 Taxi Driver (VOD/1st viewing)
It says a lot when in a time, when even mainstream movies show all kinds of sick shit and morally ambiguous to totally rotten anti heroes are the norm, a movie is still as creepy and uncomfortable to watch as this one.
8,5/10-----
08th
#0007 One Hour Photo (DVD/1st viewing)
It’s interesting to watch this movie after TAXI DRIVER, since these two are similar, but also different. Visually, TAXI DRIVER does its best to look as dirty and grimy as possible, while ONE HOUR PHOTO looks almost sterile. Both are about mentally disturbed loners, who at one point snap. TD has a less likable protagonist, who ends up doing something that may be considered a heroic deed, even if it’s super bloody and who knows what his real intentions were. OHP’s protagonist is actually someone, who gets our sympathy to a degree, but what he ends up doing, is something that simply can not be justified, doesn’t matter how you twist it. And both movies are seriously great! Although this one here loses a half point for its in-your-face kitchen sink psychology explanation for what made Sy tick.
8/10As someone who has no connection to the HELLBLAZER comics, I can admit that I really enjoyed it. It’s nice mix of action and fantasy with some original, but also several not so original ideas, directed by a music video veteran who maybe tries to make every frame look as flashy as possible, but also knows the difference between a music video and a movie. And who doesn’t love Peter Stormare’s guest appereance as Lucifer?
7,5/10-----
09th
#0009 The Darjeeling Limited (DVD/1st viewing)
Entertaining trip through India, although the happy end feels sudden and kinda unjustified.
7/10-----
10th
#0010 The Evil Dead (DVD)
It suffers a bit from shitty acting and often unbelievable character reactions, but it helps a lot that Sam Raimi was already then a creative director. Also the creepy atmosphere hasn’t aged a bit.
7/10That movie makes part 1 look like a student film (which it kinda was), while this is the REAL deal! A crazy creative nonstop fun romp, that even entertains after the Xth viewing.
8,5/10-----
11th
#0012 Army Of Darkness (DVD)
I can see why this movie is seriously controversial among EVIL DEAD fans, but honestly, I just love this light hearted take on classic Harryhausen-powered fantasy movies.
8/10-----
12th
#0013 Evil Dead (DVD/1st viewing)
It lacks the joy that even the grim and serious original had. It’s basically a series of uninteresting characters mutilating each other and themself. Although it was very effective at times. Not just in the gross-out department, but also in terms of scares and suspense. But despite the visible care that the director put into it, it’s also kinda forgettable. Not Platinum Dunes forgettable, but if you would ask me for any iconic or memorable moment, I couldn’t name one. And the ending is a real letdown.
6,5/10-----
13th
#0014 Mirror, Mirror (VOD/1st viewing)
I have to give the disclaimer that I was in a super shitty mood and only watched it to distract me from some horrible news that I got that evening, but all in all something felt off about that movie. It’s not just that it was nearly completely devoid of Tarsem’s usual visual brillance (apart from the costumes), for a movie that was supposed to be a comedy, it was also surprisingly low on actual gags. It tried to be light hearted, but it wasn’t until the second half, when the writers actually inserted some jokes into the script. At least all actors had visible fun.
5,5/10-----
16th
#0015 Invasion U.S.A. (VOD/1st viewing)
This is not a good movie, but it has the right amount of creative stupidity, that makes it very entertaining to watch. Name any other action movie, in which the villain wakes up screaming from nightmares of the hero! [Insert Chuck Norris joke here] The middle part is just about Chuck Norris magically appearing wherever a terror attack is about to happen and saving (mostly) everybody, without letting us know how he knew about that incident! That it seems to be one of the more expensive Cannon movies, judging by the amount of extras and military vehicles that show up in certain scenes, helps too.
7/10#0016 Rosalie Goes Shopping (VOD/1st viewing)
A seriously weird movie, that tries to be a satire of consumerism, with some weird German/American culture clash mixed in. Unfortunately it doesn’t succeed in either field. Especially the questionable “It’s not your fault if you are in debt, it’s the banks’, so let’s punish them without consequences”-message at the end, feels more like the try of being edgy (By German 1989 standards), than trying to spread a real message around.
5/10-----
17th
#0017 Youth In Revolt (VOD/1st viewing)
I’m not really sure about its message. The whole plot hinges on some seriously stupid gender tropes (Men are sociopaths who do anything to get laid, women are too dumb to not fall for that bullshit) and plays them way too straight faced (with a way too happy ending), to convince me that it was meant to be satirical. But the story unfolds in some very entertaining ways and despite everything what happens, the characters stay likeable enough to make me at least care for them.
7,5/10------
18th
#0018 An Adventure In Space And Time (VOD/1st viewing)
I don’t think that this movie really had to be made. The underdog factor is surprisingly minimal and is kinda glossed over. It’s really more of a “Well, we had some minor problems, but all in all everything went pretty great” kind of story. Nothing mind blowing or shocking. The ending still got me teary eyed a little and as a gift for the fans, this movie worked seriously well, though.
7/10-----
19th
#0019 Riddick (TV recording/1st viewing)
It’s a welcome return to the series’ slick b-movie roots, although not a 100% successful one. Riddick has always been a super cool character, who is always three steps ahead of everybody else, but here he became nearly laughable superhuman, with a self-parodying level of coolness. And the plot depends WAY too much on everybody, including Riddick, just acting unbelievable stupid. I also wasn’t too fond of the half-assed PITCH BLACK remake, that the movie became in its last act. But apart from these flaws, it’s a very entertaining pulp adventure.
7/10-----
21st
#0020 The Wackness (VoD/1st viewing)
It’s hilarious how this movie constantly reminds us that it takes place in 1994. (Look! He plays NES!! Look! A Game Boy! Hey, they talk about Biggy’s first album and Cobain’s suicide!) And the weird thing is that there is no reason for it, other than probably tickling some nostalgia bone. Story wise, this is more on the boring side of the coming-of-age/movies-about-nothing genre. Nothing to see here, except for some seriously good performances from Josh Peck and Ben Kingsley.
6/10-----
24th
#0021 Swashbuckler (VoD/1st viewing)
It didn’t do anything original with the pirate genre, but its straight face and seriously unique cast (Robert Shaw, Peter Boyle, James Earl Jones, Beau Bridges, Sid Haig and Anjelica Huston in a completely dialogue free role) gave it a certain entertainment value. It’s also interesting how progressive the movie was. It features two strong black characters and while the female protagonist does some stupid things, she is definitely portrayed as someone who isn’t afraid or incapable of going toe-to-toe with any man she encounters.
6,5/10#0022 Cool World (VoD/1st viewing)
Holy fuck, that was one giant trainwreck! A script that lacks any sense, reason or rhythm, even by Bakshi standards seriously subpar animation, gags that don’t work at all, Brad Pitt before he figured out how to act, a completely miscast Gabriel Byrne, lots of boredom and a director who was overwhelmed with the easiest tasks! (Seriously, if you build props and backdrops in a forced perspective, make sure you at least try to film them like they were intended to.) This was one of the most grating movie watching experiences that I had in years.
2/10-----
25th
#0023 Easy Money (TV Recording/1st viewing)
The first half was a little bit boring and I was already willing to give up on it. But then the plot kicked in (surprisingly late at the 40 minutes mark) and suddenly the movie was filled with hilarious moments and surprisingly absurd sight gags.
7/10-----
27th
#0024 American Graffiti (VOD/1st viewing)
Not the best entry in the “One crazy night” subgenre that I have ever seen, but a really good one. Some stories were more entertaining than others (for example I didn’t care at all for Richard Dreyfuss’ subplot), but all in all I was constantly entertained.I just wonder if cars were really such a social network back then, as it was portrayed in this movie.
7,5/10#0025 Man Of Tai Chi (TV recording/1st viewing)
I wasn’t blown away by it, but I enjoyed its sincerity. Keanu Reeves is a surprisingly good action film director and it’s obvious that he made this movie, because he enjoys the genre and believes in the philosophy behind it. Despite some intentionally weird touches, there is nothing ironic about it. Of course one could criticize MAN OF TAI CHI for “just” being another very good entry in a classic genre, instead of revolutionary modernsation or deconstruction, but why hold it against a movie if it perfectly does what it tries to be?
7/10-----
28th
#0026 The Taking Of Beverly Hills (TV recording/1st viewing)
A fun, little b-movie. Nothing special, but weird enough to entertain for 90 minutes.
7/10-----
30th
#0027 Buddy (TV recording/1st viewing)
I appreciate that Bully Herbig tries something new. After two cartoony slapstick comedies and a kids movie, he now goes for a more grounded and heartfelt approach. Unfortunately he fails completely. The whole thing comes across like those shitty made-for-TV rom coms, that clog German TV screens every week, with boring jokes, a super predictable story and some way too sappy moments, that feel completely out of place. The final twist was pretty nice, though.
4/10#0028 The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty(2013) (TV recording/1st viewing)
Ben Stiller proves again that he is a much better filmmaker, than people often give him credit for. The movie loses itself a little in the usual “Go out and make yourself an exciting living” platitudes, but is still fun to watch and has some surprisingly touching and seriously nice payoffs. Bonus: Kristen Wiig playing a normal human being again. That’s what she is the best at.
8/10-----
31st
#0029 Red Tails (TV recording/1st viewing)
Well, it had some good action scenes and the performances were pretty good. That’s all I can say about it. The script was boring and full of cliches and I really have trouble to enjoy a movie, that glorifies killing other people THAT much. I get it, war is a “them against us” scenario and I understand that in a story about black soldiers facing racism, there is no time to paint the enemies as anything else than faceless cannon fodder, but all the cheering whenever a plane got shot down and even portraying the possible bombing of civilians as an heroic deed, really left a bad taste in my mouth.
3/10February01st
#0030 Robocop (2014) (VOD/1st viewing)
Sue me. I liked it! It was a wise decision of the makers to just do their own thing, instead of simply copying the most popular scenes from the original. Instead they turned the premise into a surprisingly quiet, often almost arthouse-ish mind Vs machine story, that plays like a seriously great episode of THE OUTER LIMITS. Unfortunately it doesn’t stick the landing 100%. The last 1/3 turns it into a run-of-the-mill loose cannon cop movie, that transforms one of its most interesting grey area characters into a mustache twirling stereotype. It has at least some well directed and for a PG-13 surprisingly hard action scenes. The attempts at satire are of varying quality too. But as a whole package, it’s a very watchable movie with a lot to like, that will hopefully be more appreciated over the years.
7,5/10-----
02nd
#0031 Escape Plan (TV recording/1st viewing)
I like a good prison break movie. This is one. Full of things to like, but also the usual cliches (which can in certain parts also be filed under “things to like”) and some huge plot holes! The most fun was definitely the team-up between Sly and Arnie, with Arnie getting the more thankful and memorable role. It’s nice to see him taking some changes after his return to the world of movies.
7/10-----
04th
#0032 Freaks (TV recording/1st viewing)
This horror classic is actually more a drama about the prejudice that the “freaks” have to encounter every day. That it all leads up to to a very dark punchline, makes it better, but also a little bit worse. Because honestly, all the build up to it isn’t really that interesting and pretty hard to get through.
6,5/10-----
06th
It’s one hell of a debut. Probably a little bit too close to the Coen Brothers, but still unique enough to be its own thing and not just a ripoff. And I always liked how the movie starts as a cheesy cable TV softporn, until Joe Pantoliano walks into the room. I’m not sure if this was intentional, but the Wachowskis are IMO too clever to get that cheesy by accident.
8,5/10-----
07th
#0034 Veronica Mars (DVD/1st viewing)
Well, it was like the series. Entertaining, but not THAT entertaining, with a mystery that is well put together, but nothing that kept me on the edge of my seat, plus lots of cutesy smartass dialogue that is good for a few chuckles, but at times would even make Joss Whedon go: “Woah, turn it down a little!” What really frustrated me, is that the most interesting part of the movie turned out to be a minor subplot, that leads nowhere. Obviously it’s supposed to set up the mystery for either the next movie or a new season of the show, but who knows if this will ever happen?
7/10------
08th
As expected, it lost some of its wow factor. But after 16 years of action movies with slow motion Wire Fu and bullet time shoot outs, the visual precision and craftsmanship of this movie still remains unsurpassed. And the script is still as tight as a 2 hour movie that mixes cyberpunk, SciFi, philosophy and fantasy elements can be. Sure, it has its plotholes, but I still can’t think of any frame that I would remove from it.
8/10#0036 The Matrix Reloaded (DVD)
The popular opinion is that this is the good sequel, but honestly, it’s an awful movie. The story just drags and is full of scenes that feel like filler and repetitive, nearly self-parodistic dialogue, that makes even Tarantino’s pointless blabla sound like poetry. At least it has some great action scenes, but even here they often feel unmotivated and only there because the audience paid to see an action movie.
5,5/10#0037 The Matrix Revolutions (DVD)
After first 30 or so minutes, where we have to deal with the smelly leftovers of the shitty last movie, it gets really good. All the unfortunate self-parodying stuff gets ignored for an epic battle for survival, in which all the new lame ass characters from RELOADED actually get something to do and the Wachowskis pull no punches when it comes to the chances of survival of anybody. It’s too bad that the whole story ends kinda anti-climactic. But that we get before the “Wait, that’s it?”-realisation a crazy ass fight of DRAGONBALL-esque proportions, makes the pill go down a little bit easier.
7,5/10-----
08th
It’s just an underrated and misunderstood movie. Not many people could make deliberately fake looking visuals that exciting, while also play a seriously cartoonish world as straight faced and sincere as they do. I really don’t blame anybody who is totally overwhelmed by this multi million dollar arthouse action blockbuster, but I hope to live long enough to see it celebrated as the great movie that it is. (Even if it could really lose 15-20 minutes.)
8/10-----
11th
#0039 Cloud Atlas (DVD/1st viewing)
It was definitely interesting, although I don’t know if it was intentional that this supposedly epic story felt surprisingly small. It doesn’t really seem like all connections had an impact on each other. Most of it seemed pretty random, but maybe that was the point! Everything is connected, but most of it is just randomness. The constant intercutting between the single storylines seemed pretty random and rhythmless too, but I have to admit that it made the movie much more watchable. Like in every anthology movie, not every story is equally good and if the whole thing would have been told in chronological order, the movie would have started and ended with the weakest stories. The gimmick of actors portraying different characters of all races and genders worked surprisingly well. I’ve heard horrible things about the make up, but most of the time it was seriously great. It was just that it was always distracting to see a face, that looked familiar but also not…and that the non-asian actors who portrayed Asians looked like they suffered from Down Syndrome. (Sorry, but it’s true. I swear I didn’t just want to make a tasteless joke.)
7,5/10-----
14th
#0040 Jupiter Ascending (cinema/1st viewing)
I liked but didn't love it.
longer review here7,5/10-----
16th
It has its qualities. The cinematography is beautiful and Brian Cox is a good Hannibal Lecter (Or Lecktor, as it’s spelled in the movie), although he portrays him more like an asshole, than a sophisticated genius. The cold and sterile atmosphere of the movie also gives it an often seriously creepy vibe, but as a story the whole thing doesn’t really work.
7/10-----
17th
#0042 The Silence OF The Lambs (TV recording)
I still think it’s pretty overrated. As a coherent thriller, it works much better than MANHUNTER, but basically it’s just a sloppily directed b-movie with a very entertaining creep factor, that accidentally attracted a super awesome cast, who all gave great performances. Even if they had to look right at the camera way too often. It’s a real shame, btw, that everybody always talks about Foster and Hopkins, when Ted Levine and his mega acting are the real MVPs here.
7/10-----
18th
It’s strange that the most gory, morbid and over-the-top one of the series is also the classiest. Ridley Scott directs something, that could have been an ugly b-movie, like some Oscar baiting costume drama, while also injecting some very dark humor to the series. The weirdest thing about the movie was the sexism angle, though. It seemed like every man Clarice encounters (with very few exceptions), seems to be a weird women hater.
8/10An entertaining, although admittedly run-of-the-mill studio thriller. Storywise it fixes many problems that MANHUNTER had, but it also lacks its atmosphere and creepiness.
7,5/10-----
20th
#0045 Hannibal Rising (VOD/1st viewing)
If you ignore who the protagonist is supposed to be, that prequel on bad fanfiction level is actually an entertaining revenge drama. Nothing outstanding though, except for its period setting and maybe the deliciously creepy performance of Gaspard Ulliel.
6,5/10-----
21st
#0046 Turtle Power: The Definitive History Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (VOD/1st viewing)
Well “definitive history” is not exactly true. The documentary just runs 90 minutes, so you can imagine that they don’t detail every little thing about the Turtles. For example they didn’t talk much about the sequels to the live action movies and totally ignored the existence of any other cartoon show than the one from the 80s/90s. But at least it was an entertaining look at a cult phenomenon that not even its creators can explain.
7,5/10-----
23rd
#0047 Ishtar (DVD/1st viewing)
Not some misunderstood masterpiece, but still a very underrated and amusing comedy. It’s actually not that memorable and seeing Beatty and Hoffman in something that would be a b-grade Wilder/Pryor comedy feels a little bit weird, but it’s entertaining and has some really big laughs among many chuckles.
7/10-----
25th
#0048 The Devil At 4 O'Clock (DVD/1st viewing)
Kinda disappointing. The movie spends nearly 50% of its runtime with a lot of exposition, that turns out to be completely useless. And the rescue mission, which is pretty much the main hook of the movie, only takes a little bit more than 30 minutes. It also falls into the same traps as many other films of that era, including a completely unbelievable love story. The FX vary from super shitty (Half of the time the actors are transparent during blue screen shots!) and BRILLANT (The most realistic miniature volcano ever!)! And I have to admit that while the story moves slow without any real highlights, it at least went into some unexpected places
(including dead children!)and got a few good suspense moments to offer.
6/10-----
28th
#0049 Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (TV Recording)
The 2nd time around it was a lot more fun for me. Maybe because by now I got used to Pee-Wee’s antics, but this time I really laughed damn hard about everything that happened.
8/10-----
Music March02nd
#0050 This Is Spinal Tap (DVD)
It’s still a lot of fun and probably the best mockumentary ever made. If some of the appearing actors wouldn’t be very recognizable, you could totally think it was all real, doesn’t matter how silly it gets. Just because of how carefully it is all filmed and edited.
8/10-----
04th
#0051 CBGB (TV recording/1st viewing)
It was a wise decision to start the movie with a disclaimer, saying that the story is “almost mostly true”. That way they could get away with bullshit like Iggy Pop jumping on stage and improvising NOW I WANNA BE YOUR DOG with Blondie. The movie feels more like a glorified memory, than a real re-telling of what happened anyway, but that’s not a bad thing.At least it’s fun. Although I have no idea how anybody could think that it was a good idea to give this movie a comic book look, completely with speech bubbles and shit like that.
7/10-----
07th
#0052 Grease (VOD/1st viewing)
Honestly, I really couldn’t get behind this one. It had a few good songs and the choreography in the dance contest scene was breathtaking, but the cartoony hyperactivity of all those “cool” kids and the super thin subplots, that are obviously just there to give the characters a reason to break into random songs, turned me off a bit. I mean, musical or not, try at least to tell a coherent or interesting story.
5,5/10-----
08th
#0053 Grease 2 (VOD/1st viewing)
This movie somehow manages to be both better and worse than the original.The story is definitely more focused this time, but the randomness of the songs feels a little bit desperate. Especially when you consider that topics like bowling, a reproduction lession in biology class and “doing it for America” each get their own song. And although GREASE 2 is much sillier than part 1 (There are way more slapstick oriented gags in it and as mentioned before, the songs are also surprisingly random at times, which makes me suspect that the studio tried to make it more like ANIMAL HOUSE and ROCKY HORROR), it lacks the upifting “Hey, let’s have some nostalgic fun”-feeling of its predecessor.
6/10-----
10th
#0054 Cannibal! The Musical (VOD/1st viewing)
Honestly, I didn’t have high hopes for this one, but I guess I just forgot how funny Parker and Stone were back in the days.
8/10-----
12th
#0055 Metallica through The Never (DVD/1st viewing)
I wouldn’t call myself a Metallica fan. More a guy, who appreciates their music without having any special connection to it. But even from that perspective it was fun to watch. The concert footage was impressive and the wraparound story was seriously captivating. Unfortunately even to the point, where I got a little bit annoyed whenever it got interrupted for more concert footage.
7/10-----
14th
#0056 Singin' In The Rain (VOD/1st viewing)
That’s definitely a must-see, if you are into brillantly filmed and choreographed dance numbers. Unfortunately around the mid point, the story starts to fall apart and all that dancing, doesn’t matter how breathtaking it is, begins to slow the movie down. But at least not enough to ruin the whole thing.
8/10-----
15th
#0057 Suck (DVD/1st viewing)
It was entertaining enough to put it in the “not bad” category, although in the end it was just another one of those not really memorable movies, that try too hard to become a cult classic. But I’ve seen much worse attempts.
6,5/10-----
16th
#0058 A Hard Day's Night (VOD/1st viewing)
Fun to watch, but it’s weird how in an attempt to portray The Beatles as hip and free-spirited super cool guys, they often come here across as unlikeable spoiled assholes, who really hate their job. I definitely gotta give the movie credit for its, for the time it was made, pretty innovative style of filming and editing.
7/10-----
18th
#0059 The Wiz (TV recording/1st viewing)
Sidney Lumet was one of the greatest film makers ever, but apparently directing a musical was too much for him, judging by how stale and unexciting he filmed the surprisingly unmemorable songs. What saved the movie at least a little bit were the good art direction and Richard Pryor’s unexpectedly emotional guest appeareance at the end.
5,5/10-----
21st
#0060 Big Top Pee-Wee (VOD/1st viewing)
Despite some seriously random elements (The talking pig, the pocket sized woman), it totally lacks the cartoony energy of BIG ADVENTURE and PLAYHOUSE and often feels like they just added Pee-Wee to a pre-existing script about someone else. And that Pee-Wee, who is more or less supposed to be a little boy in an adult body, spends a lot of time talking about romantic feelings and even has sex (and a hair fetish), feels a little bit out of character.
6,5/10---
22nd
#0061 Footloose (VOD/1st viewing)
Basically an average 80s teen drama, but it earns an amazing amount of depth whenever it shifts its focus to John Lithgow, as a well meaning, but overreacting Reverend, who slowly realizes how wrong he was and what a horrible thing he accidentally started.
6,5/10-----
25th
#0062 Paint Your Wagon (DVD/1st viewing)
It’s not as entertaining as its famous SIMPSONS parody. Tonally it’s a little over the place. One minute you get a fairly serious drama about friendship, love triangles, immorality and gold mining and a few seconds later it suddenly becomes a light hearted comedy about the same topics, plus hooker kidnapping. But there are things that I really liked about it. Lee Marvin is great, the friendship angle between him and Eastwood offers the kind of grounded “honor among men” stuff that I love and the final stunt and slapstick heavy setpiece is fun to watch. Too bad the the movie doesn’t get really entertaining until after the intermission and the songs feel super unnecessary.
6/10-----
28th
#0063 School Of Rock (DVD)
It’s a charming little movie without any big surprises, but it does what it does very well. Also every movie that teaches kids about classic rock, while also telling them that the self destructive behaviour, that is unfortunately part of that genre, is bullshit and nothing that anybody should strive for, is automatically my friend.
7/10-----
31st
#0064 Black Dog (VOD/1st viewing)
This was surprisingly a theatrically released movie and not some network TV production. But its unexciting and unoriginal script and direction (plus Meat Loaf’s mega acting as religious villain), gave it an entertaining old school feel.
5,5/10-----
April01st
#0065 Sabotage (TV recording/1st viewing)
Well, that was the most unpleasant Arnie movie ever, but that super bleak cop procedural with premium cable violence was definitely an interesting thing to watch.
7/10-----
02nd
#0066 Dune (VOD/1st viewing)
For a movie, that has been disowned by David Lynch to the point where he refuses even 30 years later to talk about it, It feels a lot like him. This is both a good and a bad thing, because while it makes DUNE definitely a unique and interesting experience, it also gets weird and confusing to the point of “What the fuck did I just watch”.
7,5/10-----
04th
#0067 Das Cabinet [sic] des Dr. Caligari (TV recording/1st viewing)
This might be the first example of a movie, that tries to convince the audience with a tacked on and illogical surprise twist, that the simple story is something special. But at least it’s still interesting to look at and at times surprisingly creepy.
6,5/10-----
06th
#0068 Mac & Me (TV recording/1st viewing)
Despite being on several “worst films ever” lists, it’s not
awful awful. It’s more a boring and super cookie cutter b-movie, with some moments of truly bizarre randomness. But seriously, it’s not crazy enough to make it worth watching.
3/10#0069 The Angry Red Planet (VOD/1st viewing)
Average B-movie, that comes with all ups and downs (although in this case mostly downs) of that era’s SciFi films.
4,5/10-----
08th
#0070 License To Drive (VOD/1st viewing)
Amusing, but a little undercooked entry in the “One Crazy Night” subgenre. It takes a while until it picks up steam, but the 2nd half is a lot of fun.
7/10#0071 Absolute Giganten (DVD/1st viewing)
One of the more melancholic “One Crazy Night” movies, but one that works both great in its funny and serious moments. Not to mention that table soccer has never been that suspenseful before.
8/10-----
12th
#0072 Las Brujas de Zugarramurdi (VOD/1st viewing)
t’s one of Alex de la Iglesia’s weaker movies, but that just means it’s very good and not a brillant masterpiece. It would have been nice, if it had anything smart to say about sexism from both sides, but I’m okay with its broad equal opportunity offender approach of taking place in a world where all women are evil and all men are dimwitted, whiny, horny losers.
7,5/10-----
14th
#0073 Roar (TV recording/1st viewing)
There isn’t really much of a movie here. I’m sure with a less improvised script this could have been a masterpiece of suspense. Although this approach led at least to some very fascinating man/animal interactions. Just don’t expect the insane snuff film, that certain critics and the marketing of the re-release want you to believe it is.
7/10-----
16th
#0074 22 Jump Street (VOD/1st viewing)
Even though Lord and Miller were directing, it’s very obvious that they had not much to do with the script this time. Most jokes revolve around people pointing out how the story is the same as last time (Apparently that counts as subverting sequel cliches.) and Schmidt and Jenko saying things, that make them sound like they are a couple (Because ha ha, a Dumbledore couple is hilarious.). There still are some good and even some great jokes inbetween, but when the funniest joke comes in form of your end credits, your movie has a problem.
6,5/10-----
18th
#0075 Captain America: The Winter Soldier (TV recording/1st viewing)
The Russos are maybe the worst MCU directors since Louis Leterrier. This one here switches between badly filmed and/or edited action scenes and awkwardly paced story moments. At least I have to give the movie that it tried a different approach, that felt more like an old school JAMES BOND movie, than your typical superhero fair. Unfortunately the whole story unfolds in such an unexciting way, that it battles THE INCREDIBLE HULK as the MCU movie, with the least rewatch value.
5,5/10-----
22nd
#0076 Nuns On The Run (VOD/1st viewing)
It’s more or less the movie that you expect when you read the title and the premise. Some gags are dumb, some are funny, some are dumb and funny, but it’s never boring.
6/10#0077 A Serious Man (DVD/1st viewing)
It’s so funny, because it’s true. And only the Coens can get away with stopping a story at any random point they want.
8,5/10#0078 Re-Animator (VOD/1st viewing)
It’s less jokey than expected, but I love the kind of horror comedy, that tries to tell a serious horror story and gets his laughs mostly from how the story escalates.
8/10-----
24th
#0079 The Bride Of Frankenstein (TV Recording/1st viewing)
I’m surprised how well crafted this movie is, but they definitely put some care into this movie and weren't afraid to go a little bit weird at times.
7,5/10#0080 Invaders From Mars (1986) (VOD)
At one hand it’s super cheesy, right down to the alien costumes, that really aren’t Stan Winson’s best work. But on the other hand it also manages to be super creepy and come up with some pretty disturbing images.
7,5/10-----
26th
#0081 Beyond Re-Animator (VOD/1st viewing)
It has some serious pacing issues, but once the last act starts, it gets crazy enough to earn a lot of my goodwill.
6,5/10#0082 Leprechaun (VOD/1st viewing)
Nothing special, but not awful. It often tried a little bit too hard to be funny, but once in a while I chuckled at silly shit like the Leprechaun trying to pursuit his victim on rollerskates or a wheelchair.
5/10-----
27th
#0083 Leprechaun 2 (VOD/1st viewing)
Still not a good movie, but slightly better than part 1, thanks to at least SOME cool ideas and a more competent director.
5,5/10------
MAY01st
#0084 Nicht mein Tag (TV recording/1st viewing)
Starts very entertaining, but as soon as the story gets relocated to Amsterdam, I lost interest in everything that happened, for any reason.
6/10-----
02nd
#0085 Moonwalker (VOD/1st viewing)
Hated it as a kid, because I expected a cool Fantasy movie instead of an endless music video montage, but over 20 years later, I appreciate the mix of artist retrospective and shameless, but super creative vanity project, much more. It definitely keeps crossing the line between super cool and super cheesy more than once, but hey, that was Michael Jackson, folks!
7/10#0086 Bad Words (VOD/1st viewing)
Much funnier than expected and with a believable and uncorny story about bad decisions and father figures at its core. As far as the non-existent in-name-only franchise of BAD _____________ goes, it’s the best entry since BAD SANTA.
7,5/10-----
03rd
#0087 More American Graffiti (VOD/1st viewing)
I think I liked it a bit more than part 1. It’s a super unnecessary sequel, but the stories are more interesting and I even liked the weird idea, to give each of them its own distinctive visual style.
7,5/10-----
7th
It’s really all over the place and an undeniably incoherent mix of lots of good ideas, lots of bad ideas, good ideas that don’t work and bad ideas that for any reason work very well. I don’t know why I like this one so much, but I do.
7/10-----
08th
#0089 Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (DVD/1st viewing)
While definitely not a masterpiece like ROAD WARRIOR, it’s still a well structured post-apocalyptic adventure, with thousands of small things to like.
7/10-----
09th
#0090 Stage Fright (DVD/1st viewing)
It doesn’t work as slasher film, because the killer is super annoying and the kills aren’t interesting enough. It doesn’t work as comedy, because most jokes aren’t really funny and the gimmick of being a slasher musical, gets old very fast. It also doesn’t work as musical, because the songs aren’t catchy enough and the lyrics lack any cleverness.
2,5/10-----
10th
#0091 Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (DVD)
Still a masterpiece of simple storytelling and brillant stuntwork.
8,5/10-----
13th
#0092 Immortals (DVD/1st viewing)
This is one of those movies, that were super forgettable, if the director wouldn’t elevate them. Okay, it’s not like this is a masterpiece or even anything more than a footnote in every participant’s filmography, but all the super bizarre, but great looking shit happening, made that bland movie worth watching.
7/10-----
14th
#0093 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (DVD)
I’m not ashamed of loving that movie. Why would I? It’s near perfect, fast paced, light hearted popcorn fantasy escapism! It’s the kind of movie, that I thought Peter Jackson would never do again, once he started to sit in the 1st row at the Oscars
8,5/10-----
16th
#0094 The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (DVD)
I like this one a little bit less than AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, but there is still an awful lot to love. From rollercoaster set pieces like the barrell escape, to moments of classic (PG-13ified) Peter Jackson violence and of course motherfucking Smaug!
8/10#0095 Shrunken Heads (VOD/1st viewing)
Okay, this was one bizarre movie. Not excatly tasteful or well written or directed, but the sheer WTF-ness of it made it seriously enjoyable. Also Meg Foster is totally killing it in here!
7/10-----
17th
#0096 The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies (DVD/1st viewing)
I liked it, but it also feels like the point where Peter Jackson really dropped the ball. As if after hearing for two years nothing but fans complaining about how different the HOBBIT’s were from the LOTR movies, he finally caved in and said: “So you want LORD OF THE RINGS?! Here, I give you LORD OF THE RINGS! Here is one epic battle that looks like I re-used scenes from the first trilogy. And also lots of death and grieving and epic drama, instead of light hearted adventure fun. Are you happy now?!”
7/10-----
19th
#0097 Snowpiercer (TV recording/1st viewing)
During the first act I was willing to hate it, with its over used rich-people-evil-poor-people-good plot, the badly filmed fight scenes and Tilda Swinton’s inappropriatly cartoony performance. But once they got out of the first door, it immediately won me over and only got better with every car. Even the camera stopped shaking whenever a fight happened! Okay, the script relies heavily on certain cliches, the somewhat open ending feels undeserved and despite some jawdropping twists and relevations, the final 20 minutes drag a lot. But for most of its runtime, SNOWPIERCER is one of the most entertaining Science Fiction movies of the last decades.
7,5/10-----
20th
#0098 Wet Hot American Summer (VOD/1st viewing)
Holy shit, that was hilarious!
8,5/10-----
23rd
#0099 Human Nature (VOD/1st viewing)
Charlie Kaufman at his best. A not just damn original and hilarious story, it also offers some smart observations about human behaviour and how even self proclaimed smart people are as dumb as everybody else.
8,5/10-----
24th
#0100 The Running Man (VOD/1st viewing)
It had a certain entertainment value, mostly coming from the not very subtle media satire, but the boring script, the flat direction and the undeniable overall datedness, make it one of the weaker Arnie movies.
6,5/10#0101 Mr Peabody & Sherman (TV/1st viewing)
I doubt that this will become a timeless (see what I did there?) classic, but it has enough energy, fun and historic facts to entertain a lot. Bonus point: No super depressing backstory flashback for the critics. Just pure comedy for the whole family.
7,5/10#0102 Revolver (DVD/1st viewing)
I don’t know if this is a movie that is super smart and has many different layers that deserve to be analyzed or pretends to be all that. Expecting a typical Guy Ritchie movie, full of dark humor, visual gimmicks and a crime plot that gets more and more convoluted until it all comes together in a beautiful way, I was caught offguard by the psychological puzzle approach. It’s definitely a fascinating thing to watch .
7/10-----
25th
#0103 Robocop 3 (TV recording)
I still refuse to believe that this movie really exists.Although even this pile of crap has some good peanuts, like the surprisingly good cast (CCH Pounder, Bradley Whitford, Daniel von Bargen, Stephen Root and others), the idea of OCP becoming so evil, that Murphy joins the underground and of course the Robo Samurai. But all in all it deserves its place in movie history as one of the worst sequels ever made.
3/10#0104 Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs (TV)
Still a joy to watch. It doesn’t really have the most coherent script and is more a compilation of connected SILLY SYMPHONIES (Snow White cleans the house, the dwarves wash their hands, etc), but it has an amount of sight gags and creativity, that puts many modern movies to shame. I mean, it even made the GREMLINS fall in love with it!
8/10-----
26th
I LOVED that movie as a kid, but for an adult, it has not much too offer. It’s just too corny and surprisingly low on good gags. Casper didn’t need a backstory and he definitely didn’t need to come back as human boy for a cheesy romance scene. What really saves this movie at least for a bit, is the animation. The purposely cartoony look of the ghosts still works and the animators gave them so much personality, that it’s difficult to look away, whenever they are on screen.
5,5/10-----
27th
#0106 The League Of Extraordinarey Gentlemen (DVD)
Sue me. I like it. It’s a very entertaining throwback to those kinda cheesy, but also kinda cool big budget fantasy action movies from the 80s, that we all love so much.
7,5/10-----
June03rd
#0107 Fast Times At Ridgemont High (TV/1st viewing)
I liked that it covered a certain variety of topics, from silly stoner and masturbation humor to teen pregnancy, but it failed to kept me interested all the time. Also even if all actresses were adults, it’s pretty creepy how the camera is often ogeling those supposedly underage (and sometimes naked!) girls.
7/10-----
09th
#0108 Mad Max: Fury Road (Cinema/1st viewing)
It’s a movie that is crazy and over the top, but never exhausting. Even in its quiet moments, there is always something interesting happening. I mean, it’s a movie about some people driving through the desert and yet George Miller never repeats himself within the 2 hour runtime! Yes, it really IS that good! And not just on a hollow spectacle angle.
8,5/10#0109 Congo (VOD/1st viewing)
IIt’s not really original, but it’s a solid, very entertaining and at times damn (intentionally) funny adventure movie. I wish it would have been more successful and we would have gotten at least one or two more Captain Munro Kelly adventures. It’s really obvious why Ernie Hudson calls this his favourite role. What ruined the movie a little bit for me, was the last act. Although the ancient killer gorillas were the main draw of the movie and front and center of the marketing, their appereance feels tacked on and useless. But I’m not gonna pretend that it wasn’t entertaining to see them getting lazered to pieces and drowned in lava.
7,5/10-----
13th
#0110 Hooper (VOD/1st viewing)
An entertaining ode to stuntpeople, although the way how they are portrayed as the toughest motherfuckers in town, often crosses the line to douchebaggery for a bit.
7/10-----
17th
#0111 A Night At The Roxbury (VOD)
I like it. It’s no WAYNE’S WORLD or BLUES BROTHERS, not even a MACGRUBER, but it’s very funny, quotable and has a soundtrack that walks the line between cheesy and cool.
7/10-----
18th
#0112 John Wick (DVD/1st viewing)
I really love that movie’s self aware, but never ironic tone. It’s obviously made by people, who really enjoy the classic action movie tropes and are not ashamed to admit it. Adding an extra layer of comic book-esque world building to the mix, made it even more enjoyable. What prevents it from becoming an instant classic, is that John Wick is maybe a little bit too unstoppable and the super cheesy score, if you can even call it that.
7,5/10-----
24th
#0113 What We Do In The Shadows (DVD/1st viewing)
Seriously funny. I wish this would be a TV series.Those creatures are seriously some people, who I wanna spend more time with.
8/10-----
28th
#0114 Lake Placid (TV Recording)
It’s definitely one of the least horrifying horror comedies ever, but it’s a good one nonetheless.
7,5/10-----
30th
#0115 Caddyshack (TV Recording)
It mostly still holds up. Of course many of the jokes haven’t really aged well, but moments like the swimming pool scene or every scene with Bill Murray still made me laugh damn hard.
7/10-----
July01st
#0116 Caddyshack II (TV Recording)
All good I can say about it: Chevy is funny and this time they give us a protagonist to root for.
2/10-----
03rd
#0117 Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (VOD/ 1st viewing)
That was classier than expected. Don’t get me wrong, in terms of writing, directing and acting it had LOTS of cheese to offer, but underneath its b-movie charme was a surprisingly good thriller with some effective suspense moments hidden.
7/10-----
04th
#0118 The Young And Prodigious T. S. Spivet (DVD/1st viewing)
After this and WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, I wonder if there is a new subgenre coming up: Melancholic and imaginative kids movies for an adult audience. Okay, it’s all in all more light hearted than Spike Jonze’s masterpiece, but it has some pretty dark gut punches to offer. Apart from that, it’s a very entertaining and, as we can expect from Jean-Pierre Jeunet, visually brillant road movie, that unfortunately suffers from a pretty weak last act.
8/10-----
05th
#0119 Hideaway (TV Recording/1st viewing)
The opening scene is actually really good and creepy. Then a completely crazy and awful looking computer animation starts, which surely must have looked better in the storyboards. Unfortunately everything between this and the surprisingly weird ending is just boring. There is no suspense, no craziness, just lots of bad acting, wrapped into bad writing and even worse directing.
2,5/10-----
06th
#0120 Konga (VOD/1st viewing)
As far as movies about mad scientists, who create giant versions of animals to kill their enemies go, this one definitely beats THE DEVIL BAT. The script isn’t the greatest and it could use much more Gorilla mayhem, but seeing Michael Gough play such a totally rotten individual, is just pure delight. And it’s true what John Landis said: Every movie is better with a man in a gorilla suit. Bonus point for the surprisingly sad last scene.
6/10-----
07th
#0121 Leroy (DVD/1st viewing)
This German comedy about a black teenager, who falls in love with the daughter of a Neo Nazi family, started with some buzz back in 2007, but has since then been forgotten. It maybe plays a serious problem way too lighthearted and switches constantly between intelligent look at racial identiy and silly slapstick, but it's one of the more watchable German comedies of our time.
7/10-----
11th
#0122 The Expendables 3 (VOD/1st viewing)
Well, it’s an EXPENDABLES movie, which means that it fails to unleash its full potential or come anywhere close to the dream version, that we all got in our heads, but it’s still watchable. Especially since they got rid of most of those emberassing wink-wink-nudge-nudge jokes from the last movie and the last 50 or so minutes deliver in terms of impressive action and team interplay.
7/10-----
14th
#0123 Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (VOD/1st viewing)
Entertaining mix of prison drama and fight action. Nothing too special and full of cliches, but the kind of prison and sports cliches that I like. The charismatic leads and the great action scenes make it even more watchable.
7/10#0124 Undisputed III: Redemption (VOD/1st viewing)
Boyka! Boyka! Boyka! Man, they really made us root for that cold blooded, arrogant, neck breaking murderer asshole from part 2. Again, this is a story full of cliches, but the kind that I always enjoy. The direction goes this time more into the annoying kind of DTV style, with lots of AVID farts and useless camera moves with “whooooosh” sound, but whoever was responsible for this, director Isaac Florentine was smart enough to keep those shitty gimmicks out of the ring. Even if the fights seem this time more artificial and choreographed than last time, we still see lots of cool stuff in long, clear, uninterrupted takes.
7/10-----
15th
As expected, the whole character drama in the first half is a little boring the second time around. But to my own surprise, the fights are even more epic on a 32″ TV screen. As a whole, the movie is still one of the better giant robots/giant monster action movies out there.
7,5/10#0126 The Naked Prey (DVD/1st viewing)
Let's just ignore its subtext and watch it at face value: It’s a damn good adventure movie.It doesn’t waste any time with unnecessary exposition, although it’s mostly (understandable) dialogue free it never gets difficult to understand and there are only very few boring moments. Its flaws are mostly based on the typical probems of that time’s filmmaking techniques (editing mistakes, super fake looking blood, at times hammy acting, etc) and if you are an animal lover, some of the hunting footage will be difficult to watch for you.
8/10#0127 Intruder (VOD/1st viewing)
What really keeps it from being a snooze fest, is the energy behind it. There really isn’t much of a story and the middle part is just a series of more or less crative kills, but thanks to lots of dark humor, Scott Spiegel’s Raimi-/Hitchcocki-an camera gimmicks and the obvious fun that everybody had while shooting this movie, it stays entertaining from the beginning to the great ending.
7/10-----
18th
#0128 Hai-Alarm am Müggelsee (DVD/1st viewing)
A truly absurd piece of film, somewhere between JAWS parody and satire of German political cliches, played like a Troma movie without the hyperactive sex and violence jokes. This is really just a losely connected series of silly moments, but not in the painful “LOOK AT US! THIS IS GONNA BE A CULT MOVIE!” way of KUNG FURY and Co. You really just get along with it and laugh your ass off.
8,5/10I still think that this is one of the most remarkable kitchen sink movies ever. Just because of how the simple story of a killer who goes after a group of popular high school kids escalates into something truly bizarre and how the million absurd ideas and pretty looking sight gags all come together in a wonderful way.
8,5/10#0xxx Wet Hot American Summer (DVD)
Even on its 2nd viewing within a short time it’s still a masterpiece of ramdom- and silliness.
8,5/10#0130 Tucker & Dale Vs Evil (VOD)
One of the best horror comedies in decades. It’s brillant in the way it parodies scenes that we all saw before in serious horror movies before, by playing them completely straight until it shifts perspective from the “victims” to the protagonists and we see that it’s all just a huge misunderstanding.
8,5/10Scroll down for more
Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2014 5:24 am
Sweet!
Or as Dorian Gray said it: "KNURRR!"
