Snow day!

I have been blessed with a free 12 hour block of time where I can relax and watch movies because I got up to prepare for school at 3:30am, a 2 hour delay was announced at 5am, and then school was cancelled at 8am. So...I am going to watch some movies! The plan is to use my new phone to set-up a blog post on each film and then "live blog" as I watch each one. Here's to technology, nihilism, and cinema!

On the docket:

Star Trek: Nemesis

Star Trek (2009)

Platoon

A TBD samurai movie

A TBD Terrence Malick movie

Dr. Strange (1978)

I recently thought, "Wouldn't it be cool to see every movie ever made that was based on a Marvel comic?" Thankfully, there is a Wikipedia entry devoted to listing films based on Marvel comics. Apparently, the oldest one was a 1944 serial on Captain America. This was quite hard to find without spending a bunch of money, so instead I decided to start with 1978's Dr. Strange.

Dr. Strange wasn't a "feature film" so to speak, but was actually the pilot for a never-aired TV series. Having now seen this, it is obvious why the TV series didn't get past the pilot. Fun fact: one of the stars of this movie is a young Jessica Walter, aka Lucille Bluth.

Dr. Strange, although not particularly gripping as a film, did have its charms. It would be hard to beat for its pure campiness factor, and the story was somewhat engaging. Unfortunately, the movie suffered from two primary problems:
1) As a standalone movie, it sucks, because it is clearly an "origins" story for Dr. Strange, and its primary purpose seems to be to introduce a TV show. Which, I suppose, was its primary purpose.
2) I have only read a few Dr. Strange comics, but the ones I have read are charming and humorous, depicting Dr. Strange as having a great many powerful magic items, but only a tenuous grasp on how to use them. This leads to great stories like Dr. Strange traveling to another dimension to save someone, only to discover (once he gets to that other dimension) that he really can't do anything to help the person because he doesn't actually know how to get them back to his own dimension. He is usually helped out by other, more powerful, beings and superheroes, yet he is still happy to take the credit when all turns out well. This movie captured none of the humor and very little of the charm of the Dr. Strange comics, instead portraying him as an actual M.D. whose last name is actually "Strange", and who is recruited by a dying magician to carry on that magician's "work" and "answer the call" to "save the world" (which, by the end of the movie, he does, although we never get to witness this because the movie basically ends with him finally agreeing to be the "next" magician).

And thus begins my Marvel Movies checklist (I will rewatch the movies I have already seen if I have time).
Note that my ratings for these films will be out of 10, but it should be noted that my ratings for these are slightly different than the way I would rate most movies. I am rating them for their enjoyability and entertainment value first, and quality second (normally I would do quality first, entertainment value second). So if I say a movie is a "9" that does not necessarily mean it is as "good" as a movie that I would normally give a "9". I just feel that if I rate these in my usual way none are likely to score anywhere above a 7.
Films will be added to this list as I see them/rewatch them/decide to rate them:

Movie, year, rating out of 10:
- Dr. Strange, 1978, 3.5/10

The Social Network

David Fincher's "The Social Network" is tantalizing in its frenetic energy. Aaron Sorkin's lighting-fast dialogue blazes through the air from the opening scene, and from the point at which its revealed that Facebook was still just a germinating idea in late 2003, with the knowledge that it first took SPU by storm in early 2004 and the knowledge of what it has become since there's no way not be drawn in to the culture of Harvard, the desire of Eisenberg's portrayal of Zuckerberg as a friendless genius crazing recognition, and the taut legal battles that erupted after Zuckerberg and Facebook became monsterously profitable. Yet, even before it became monstrously profitable, the conflicts over Facebook erupted as a result of broken promises, broken friendships, and a desire to be recognized and included in the exclusivity that only success can bring. The film is an adept psychological drama, examining how and why Facebook became so appealing, and one of the geniuses of the film is how little time is actually spent examining the digital Facebook but really spent examining the wants and needs of Facebook founders, which universally apply to the majority of Facebook users. The narcissm, addictive personalities, jealousies, and egos of the main players in the drama highlight the main problems with Facebook and social media. Never once is "fun" or "practicality" addressed when designing and refining Facebook.

Yet, while it is a compelling story (apparently very fictionalized from what sounds like a rather straight-forward legal battle), I found myself immersed in Fincher's beautiful directorial decisions with the camera and the intensely subtle score by Trent Reznor. These elements combined made it feel like not so much the "film of the 2000s" that captures the spirit of the modern 20-something generation but the quintessential American tragedy of the 2000s. I didn't find anything new or revolutionary in the film's themes or emotions, but I found myself relating to them, and sadly contemplating the ways in which the trends present in the film exist in even more exaggerated fashions in modern American culture, with no signs of slowing down.

9/10

Sleepers (1996)

A long drawn-out epic which tells the sickening story of what happened when a prank that went too far landed the boys in a kid's prison. If I were to say much more I would be giving too much away. This is definitely a movie you want to set aside a good long chunk of time to watch and then mull over.

The acting (and it is a star-studded cast) is brilliant, the story is enveloping. A well-told tale of (oh so sweet) revenge. I'm not sure how I hadn't seen this for so long, how it had escaped my radar.

This movie truly and deeply shows us the Kevin Bacon we all so deeply and fearsomely love to loathe.

10/10

IMDB Link

Brooklyn's Finest

This movie was absolutely fantastic. The drama created across three threads of story lines makes for a superb fiesta of movie-watching awesomeness. The actors, the parts, the story, all flow smoothly and left me wanting more. If ever a movie demands a sequel, this one does.

9.5/10

IMDB Link

movies! movies! movies!

Once again, I have a huge backlog of movies to review so you'll have to settle for snippet reviews and number scores. Not that anyone actually relies on this blog for their movie info or anything. I just like to flatter myself.

9

Excellent film. Felt a little short. Left me wanting more.

9.25/10

A Perfect Getaway

Solid movie, held my interest throughout. Nice twist, albeit somewhat predictable for seasoned movie-watchers.

7.25/10

District 9

Really unique, not what I expected at all. The way it was filmed can get a little irritating at times, but overall really well done.

8/10

Extract

Mike Judge comedy starring Jason Bateman? Sounds promising. Falls pretty flat. Below average.

5.5/10

Gamer

A future world that is chock-full of plot holes. People control other people as video game characters. Not the greatest entry for Michael C. Hall (aka Dexter Morgan) but not terrible.

Still, definitely below average.

5.75/10

Jennifer's Body

Crappy teen horror. I don't know why I watched it.

3/10

Law Abiding Citizen

What develops as a potentially cool plot is explained away in the tritest of manners. Screenwriter fail, big time.

4/10

Saw VI

The Saw series has become so incredibly predictable. More of the same. The sixth was supposed to be the LAST Saw, but it seems to set itself up for ANOTHER sequel. Please, no more.

3.75/10

Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball

I don't think this one ever made it to theaters in the U.S. Actually, not as "direct-to-video" as I expected from it. Decent shoot 'em up film.

7/10

Staten Island

A quirky and oddly amusing film. Seems a little green, but gets points for originality.

8/10

The Invention of Lying

Ricky Gervais is the only person in the world who is biologically capable of lying. Suspend your disbelief. I really don't like Jennifer Garner.

5.5/10

Surrogates

An OK movie but ultimately very forgettable. Seriously, I remember almost nothing about this film.

6/10

The Hurt Locker

Actually I was quite impressed with this movie. It begs the question, "Why the hell are we still over there?"

9/10

The Hangover

Hey, it was a very funny movie. That's all I can say.

8.75/10

Whiteout

Boring Antarctica thriller. Makes you cold just watching it.

6/10

(500) Days of Summer

Perhaps it was the story. Perhaps it was the presence of the beautiful and talented Zooey Deschanel. Maybe it was the fact that the soundtrack was well-done while avoiding being a cliched "indie-movie soundtrack." Or maybe it was the fact that as a whole, the movie managed to somehow avoid falling into the "indie-movie" cliche while still being original and well-done. Whatever it was, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

9/10

IMDB Link