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Jan. 2nd, 2008 01:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brokenrecordAh, I finally got my grades for last semester (even though they were due like 2 weeks ago and should've been up way sooner), and I got straight As! Pretty awesome. I'm very happy about that. Not expecting it to continue next semester, though.
I officially got to 100 movies and 30 books in 2007. Lists of them under the cuts. The movies have small reactions/reviews of them and a rating out of 10, and the books just have a rating out of 5. There are major spoilers for some of the movies, but it would be kind of ridiculous to list all 100 of them outside the cut. The names are bolded, so I think it should be easy enough to scroll past movies you haven't seen/don't want to be spoiled for.
1. High School Musical (2006) - My biggest problem with it wasn't the storyline itself, which I thought it would be, but the fact that I kind of hated all the characters' voices. They just all sounded so whiny and nasal-y. The only one I thought was pretty good was Sharpay's brother. He didn't sound nearly as whiny as everyone else. The plotline was really predictable, but it was cute, and I actually didn't see how they were going to get out of everything being on the same day. So I actually kind of enjoyed it, but ugh. The singing just bothered me a lot. 8/10 (*This started at a 6/10 but I've watched it again and become enamored with Zac Efron and well. I keep upping it. So that's why the score doesn't really reflect my reaction to it.)
2. The Departed (2006) - This was kind of amazing. I was kind of wary about the cast because it seemed so... overly stacked with stars, but they were all great. They made me forget that it was Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio and Jack Nicholson playing these characters, and I usually have trouble distinguishing between actors and the characters they play if they're super-famous, so I was pleased about that. The whole thing was just kind of mind-blowing and I don't even really know what I think about it except I really liked it. 10/10
3. Poster Boy (2004) - The description of this movie really intrigued me and I wanted to see it for about forever and I finally got to and it was just disappointing. I didn't hate it (it was no Sideline Secrets), but... it could've been a lot better. The cinematography was kind of awful. The actor playing Henry was very good, but I thought everyone else was just ok. I didn't care about Izzie at all and didn't understand the point of her storyline. Henry and Anthony were cute together, but I was disappointed they didn't end up together, or even go out for more than a day. The storyline wasn't awful, but... it wasn't great either. Disappointing movie. 5/10
4. Much Ado About Nothing (1993) - Kenneth Branagh! Emma Thompson! Robert Sean Leonard! This movie was totally made of awesome. I loved it. I don't really know what to say about it, it just made me giddy watching it. 9/10
5. Amélie (2001) - Aw, that was so cute. I really liked it. It was funny and sweet and just awesome. Audrey Tautou was amazing. And the colors and cinematography were excellent. 10/10
6. Dreamgirls (2006) - Wow, I liked that a million times more than I expected to. I'm not sure why I thought I wouldn't, since I'm such a sucker for movies like that, where a little-known band becomes famous and then falls apart, and for musicals, and for the 60s in general. (Also, any movie that has John Krasinksi in it, even for only 5 minutes where he has like 2 lines, is automatically awesome.) So yeah. Really enjoyed it. 9/10
7. Little Children (2006) - I didn't expect to really like this movie (I just decided to watch it because of all the award nominations it got, and because I love Kate Winslet), but I did. I didn't completely love it because the narrator bugged me at the beginning (though as the movie went on I got more used to it, and there was less of it) and I wasn't a huge fan of the end. I mean I liked the resolution for Ronnie, but not so much for Sarah and Brad. I really wanted them to ride off into the sunset together with their two kids, even though from the start I knew it wasn't going to end well. I guess I'm just an optimist. But I did really enjoy the movie, besides those two issues. 8/10
8. Half Nelson (2006) - Ryan Gosling was totally amazing in this. I don't really know what to say about this movie. It's just a really sad, simple film, with just the slightest bit of hope. I enjoyed it. 8/10
9. The Holiday (2006) - Aw, I liked that more than I thought I would. I mean, the plotline was predictable, but it's not like I expected it to surprise me, you know? And it was better than most romantic comedies put out these days. I liked that the problems the two couples faced getting together were real problems (such as the fact that Iris and Amanda would be leaving after 2 weeks, which is a pretty huge issue) rather than just contrivances. Cameron Diaz kind of bugged me, but she was all right, and I loved the rest of the cast. I'm so in love with Kate Winslet. And Jack Black was pretty charming, especially considering I've only ever seen him as completely over-the top before. I much prefered the storylines involving Iris, with Miles and Arthur. But I really enjoyed it all. (And John Krasinski! He's had so many like 5-second roles in movies recently.) 8/10
10. The Queen (2006) - Wow, that was really well-done. I loved it. Helen Mirren was phenomenal, and the rest of the cast was excellent as well. I didn't expect it to make me... feel that much, I guess, but it really did. 10/10
11. Stranger than Fiction (2006) - I enjoyed it overall, but my greatest issue with it was why Kay Eiffel, her assistant, and Professor Hilbert had absolutely no problem with the fact that what she was writing was affecting the life of a real person. Like, she had issues with it for 5 seconds, and then she was over it. And the assistant didn't even blink, she was just like "Yeah, ok, that makes sense." I don't know, it bothered me. I could entertain the possibility that maybe one of the characters, like when it first happened with the professor, was kind of off his rocker and could accept it, but more than one? Oh well. I mean, I did enjoy the rest. Will Ferrell was great, and there was Tony Hale! But that plot point prevented me from truly enjoying it. 7/10
12. This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006) - That was really interesting. Except for the detective segments; those were just boring and felt really unnecessary. But the interviews with the directors were really interesting. 8/10
13. The Godfather (1972) - They don't make movies like this anymore (or at least not any I've seen recently). It's the kind of movie (for me, anyhow) that takes a couple of days to sink in, but once it does, you're just blow away by it. Lawrence of Arabia was also like that for me, and I think that's more of a characteristic of older movies. But yeah, anyways, I pretty much loved it, and I can't believe I hadn't seen it until now. 10/10
14. The Prestige (2006) - I was really impressed with this. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. The acting was excellent, the cinematography was amazing, it was all just awesome. I really enjoyed it. 9/10
15. L.A. Confidential (1997) - Ah, that was really cool! I love the 50s, and I love detective stuff, so this was right up my alley. I was a little disappointed in the ending, that the captain got a hero's death, but I loved the rest. 10/10
16. The Phantom of the Opera (2004) - I saw it when I was 9 or 10 on Broadway, and I remember absolutely loving it then. Sadly, I wasn't as fond of the movie. I loved all the music, and the acting was pretty good. Patrick Wilson (Raoul) particularly impressed me for some reason. I thought he really stood out. And it was beautifully shot. But there was just something off about it, and I really can't put my finger on it. Oh well. I still enjoyed it. 7/10
17. Adaptation (2002) - Wow. That was kind of crazy. I was loving it up until the end, and I get that the point of the end is to mirror how movies do that, and how it's stupid and doesn't work, but even though I understand the purpose of it, that doesn't mean I have to enjoy watching it. I mean, I did really like most of it. The cast was excellent, the writing was very smart, it was very well-made. The end just prevented it from getting a higher rating (because really, my ratings aren't how good I think the movies are, but how much I enjoyed them. So a cheesy, predictable movie can get a good rating even if I know it's not the best movie ever just if I enjoy it.) 7/10
18. But I'm a Cheerleader (1999) - Aw. That was fun. I don't really know what to say about it. I just enjoyed it a lot. The place they all went (I'm blanking on the name) was really unsettling, especially when you realize that there are actually places like that out there, except even worse. 9/10
19. About a Boy (2002) - Oh, god, they totally butchered the ending of the book. I mean, I expected there to be changes, but I didn't expect them to completely rewrite the ending so it sent an entirely different message from the book. I mean, at the end of the book, Marcus is all "cool" and rebelling against his mother and stuff, and there is no talent show, and Will doesn't have that whole "The only person I cared about was Marcus" moment. It was just so bizarre. I mean, the movie wasn't awful, but it was very predictable and it's based on a book that I found rather unpredictable, and also much more real, so it was just disappointing. 6/10
20. Goodfellas (1990) - This was pretty awesome. The acting was all amazing. It was fairly long but kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The only thing that bugged was having narration from both Henry and Karen (it's like when fanfics switch first person pov in the middle of the fic. I hate that. And, of course, this movie was way better than any of those fanfic, but still. It's been an issue with me for awhile, so it bugged.) With the end, I kind of can understand why they did it, but at the same time, I didn't really enjoy it. Especially when it was right after each other, you know? Like one would be narrating, and all of a sudden, the other would. blah. But overall, I did really love it. 9/10
21. Titanic (1997) - Yeah, I know, it seems ridiculous that it took me 10 years to see this. I know this movie catches a lot of flak for various reasons, and I don't think it should've gotten nearly as many awards as it did or be the top-grossing movie of all time or whatever, but it honestly is a good movie. There are some points where the dialogue is kind of ridiculous, but that's easily overshadowed by the actors and the storyline and the cinematography and just everything that's going on. It's just really well-done. I can understand why some might not like it, but I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. 9/10
22. The Aviator (2004) - ;sjf the two-tone technicolor in about the first third/half of the movie was ridiculously gorgeous oh my god. I was sad when they stopped doing that (although I mean I understand why. But omg so pretty!). Yeah, I really obviously adored the cinematography. The movie itself was also very good. Leonardo Dicaprio was excellent. Cate Blanchett kind of bugged me in the beginning, but I think she grew on me, and I don't know if it was so much her as it was her character, and once we got to know her better I liked her more. It was a really well-done movie, I thought. 10/10
23. Shakespeare in Love (1998) - Ah man, I loved this. It kind of makes me appreciate Romeo and Juliet a bit more (even though I hated it when I read it freshman year. Although that could've been largely due to the teacher I had, who was awful) looking at it from this perspective (I mean, I know it's not historically accurate, but I'm just saying, thinking about it as if it were). The acting was amazing and I just loved everything. 10/10
24. Election (1999) - gah. I mentioned how the two narrators in Goodfellas bothered me, and then I watch this movie and there's four. It really bothers me, and I don't know why, and I was ok with it for Goodfellas because I saw the purpose, but... four? Come on. It just seems like lazy storytelling to me. Either have one person narrating or none. blah. I clearly have issues with this. And the story wasn't as good as Goodfellas to make up for the irritating narration. The acting was pretty good, but I didn't really care by the end who won the election and what happened in their lives. 6/10
25. Emma (1996) - It was decent, but nothing brilliant or amazing. I don't know, I guess I wasn't a really huge fan of the book (I mean, I liked it well enough, but I didn't love it nearly as much as Pride and Prejudice) so it follows that I wouldn't be totally crazy over the movie, either. The actors were all great. And Ewan McGregor sang! Any movie where Ewan McGregor sings makes me happy. I don't know, it was good, it just wasn't anything I'd want to watch over and over. 7/10
26. Imagine Me and You (2005) - Oh, wow, that was really good! I wasn't expecting that. Just, yeah. I love how they made Hector so likeable and awesome rather than villainizing him, because in most movies like this they'll villainize the one the main character's not supposed to be with to make sure you want the main character to be with the other person. But here they made him totally awesome so you could see why she'd love him, but they made it so you'd still want her with Luce because you knew that's who she truly loved. And I really did want them together, and they were awesome together, but ah I felt so bad for Hector. Matthew Goode was so great. He totally broke my heart when Luce asked why he couldn't talk to Rachel about if anything was wrong and he said "What if there is?" Yeah, I just loved it all. I expected it to be a lot sillier but it was just excellent. The only thing was the end was slightly over-the-top and that's how all romantic-comedies end and I was hoping it'd be different. But it was still awesome. Oh, and the cinematography was absolutely gorgeous. 10/10
27. Office Space (1999) - eh. It was pretty good. I don't know. Parts of it were pretty entertaining, but overall it was just kind of... meh. A lot of reviews I saw of it that were all "OMG IT'S SO GREAT" seemed to be more because it is exactly like what working in an office is like and they can relate and etc., but I think not having experienced anything like that (well, I guess school, but at least there's an end in sight for that) I just can't appreciate it. 7/10
28. Bend it Like Beckham (2002) - Yeah, I'm like the only person who didn't see this 5 years ago. I'm sorry I waited so long, though, because I really enjoyed it, and I imagine I would've loved it even more if I had seen it back then. I really love how even the storyline is pretty predictable, it doesn't follow the same pattern as other sports movies, you know? There isn't really a huge amount of time devoted to each game (it focuses way more on her family and relationships), the last half hour isn't devoted to The Big Game, the main character and her love interest don't end up happily ever after entirely. So even though it was predictable it didn't feel as predictable because it didn't follow the same roadmap as most other movies. It was a fun, feel-good movie. 9/10
29. Chicago (2002) - I thought this was pretty good. I liked Richard Gere way more than I expected to, given that normally I don't really like him (I don't know if it's for any particular reason, I just... don't like him). I don't know. I liked it a lot, but I'm not totally crazy over it. 8/10
30. Running With Scissors (2006) - I liked this pretty well. A lot of the criticisms I heard about it were that it wasn't nearly as good as the book, but I haven't read the book, so I didn't have that problem. I thought the actors were all excellent, and there was Kristin Chenoweth! (And Patrick Wilson! who I've kind of become crazy about after seeing him in Little Children and Phantom of the Opera and that crazy awesome GAP commerical.) 7/10
31. The History Boys (2006) - I liked it a good amount. Sad that Hector died, but at the same time he kind of creeped me out. So I don't know. But anyways, I thought it was a pretty entertaining, interesting film. 7/10
32. Miss Potter (2006) - ;lsakj I watched this because I wanted something light and uplifting and happy and then they had to kill Ewan McGregor off! I mean, ok, fine, so the movie is about the life of an actual person and that's what really happened in her life. But it still made me sad. Besides that aspect of it, it was a really nice movie. I loved Peter Rabbit and all those stories when I was a kid, so this movie brought back a lot of happy memories. And Ewan McGregor sang! I'm pretty sure that needs to be a requirement for every movie he's in. 8/10
33. Psycho Beach Party (2001) - Nicholas Brendan! Yay! This movie was pretty good up until the end, which was just... bleh. I mean, I get that it was supposed to be parodying other movies, but... the ending was just kind of ridiculous. I feel like it would've been just as successful at parodying other movies if it had stopped right after the killer was caught and not gone onto her being crazy. 7/10
34. Night at the Museum (2006) - bleh. I don't think it was awful, but I think I just really wasn't in the mood for a movie like that. It was so completely predictable and I didn't care about the kid at all so the whole relationship between Ben Stiller's character and his kid was just... eh. I got annoyed whenever it focused on the kid. The only part that surprised me was that the girl who worked there and Ben Stiller didn't kiss/start dating at the end of the movie. But other than that, everything else was just like every other movie ever made, and it just wasn't that funny or entertaining or anything else to make up for it. 5/10
35. Howl's Moving Castle (2004) - gah. I loved the book so much when I was younger, but this was just... not even close to being as good as the book. I tried not to compare it with the book, but it was just impossible. I mean, in the book, Sophie has powers! It's like a huge point in the book! And in the movie, it's all about her love for Howl! gah. I understand when movies are adapted from books, they can't keep everything, but I mean, it's not like I hate every adaptation. I love the new Pride and Prejudice movie (not so much the first time I saw it, but everytime after that it just got better and better and now I love it) and they had to cut a bunch of stuff and change things so it wouldn't be 6 hours like the BBC version, but I feel like it still captured the essence of the book. This movie didn't even come close to doing that. Even forgetting the book ever existed, I doubt I would've been that crazy over it. It just wasn't that great. 5/10
36. The Incredibles (2004) - heh. Pretty cute. I didn't expect to like it very much, but it was entertaining. 7/10
37. La gloire de mon père (1990) - I liked the beginning, but it wasn't as interesting when they went on vacation. I don't like hunting, and it was boring, anyways. It was an ok movie. 6/10
38. Music and Lyrics (2007) - This was a ridiculously cute movie. Oh, Hugh Grant. I mean, it was a predictable movie, but... it was so cute! Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore were great together. 8/10
39. Camp (2003) - eh. The main guy bugged me a lot, and I hated that Ellen said she'd go out with him at the end. wtf, he was such an ass! After I watched the movie I found out that he also played the main guy in The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Greene, and either he keeps choosing parts where his character is entirely unlikeable and annoying, or he's a terrible actor who makes all characters he plays unbearable. Or a combination of the two. The music was kind of fun and some of the characters were enjoyable, but ugh. Hated the main character. 5/10
40. Eleven Men Out (2005) - Pretty much just the same as Guys and Balls, except much much worse. The end was kind of amusing, though, where they don't even show the big final game and then it's like "Yeah, we lost. What did you expect?" heh. 5/10
41. Luster (2002) - gah there was no reason for Sam to die! That was ridiculous. "You're never going to love me like I love you so I'm going to kill myself EVEN THOUGH I HAVEN'T EVEN TOLD YOU ABOUT MY FEELINGS AND I HAVE NO IDEA IF YOU HAVE ANY FEELINGS FOR ME OR NOT. ALSO, I'm going to tell you this through a videotape that you will watch AFTER I DIE and then feel horrendously guilty about all of it because I'm basically telling you I killed myself because of you!" wtf?! als;kjf gah. I liked Sam more than pretty much every other character except maybe Derek, too, and I hated that he died. And wtf that guy, Billy, that Luster obsessed over and everyone was like "OMG SO PRETTY", I thought he was pretty ugly. He's not even someone I'd be like "Huh, pretty cute," and definitely not "OMG SO BEAUTIFUL!" Derek was a lot cuter. The whole thing was just kind of crazy. Everything with Billy and Sonny Spike and... just crazy. And I wanted Jackson to be with Derek in the end, but how it came about was so weird, too. "My best friend who killed himself just told me he loved me through this video tape he made before he died, so clearly it makes most sense to go be with this guy that I keep telling I am not at all attracted to and start dating him!" Nothing made any sense. bah. 3/10
42. 9 Dead Gay Guys (2003) - I mostly liked it, but I really wanted Byron and Kenny to get together at the end. The accidental kiss goodbye was cute, but it wasn't enough. Without the rest of the movie was just kind of... whatever. I mean, it was mostly entertaining, and it was visually really fun to watch (such nice use of colors!) but the end just disappointed me. 7/10
43. Spider-Man 3 (2007) - ...yeah, not very good. I lowered my expectations, but I didn't expect it to be bad in the way it was, so I still didn't like it much. It was like, the beginning was boring, the middle was just over-the-top ridiculous (like, I think they might've been going for funny, but it was just... trying too hard. And then there were other parts that I found totally hilarious that I'm pretty sure weren't meant to be), and then finally at the end, at the start of the last action sequence, it got good. I liked the like... Sandman and Topher Grace's character vs. Harry and Spider-Man showdown. That was pretty kickass. I'm sorry that Harry had to die though. I like Harry and I love James Franco, so it made me sad. Oh well. 6/10
44. Apollo 13 (1995) - Kind of surprised I'd never seen this one before. It was pretty good. I don't know, I think I just never really connected with it. I was afraid that they wouldn't make it back even though I knew they would. But I don't know, I can't explain it. I just didn't connect with it. It was shot beautifully, though. 8/10
45. Waitress (2007) - Oh, this was adorable. Keri Russel and Nathan Fillion! wheee! They were both great. I wanted it to work out between their characters even though I knew it never could. But the moment when she ended her relationship with her husband was excellent. And everything was just so sweet and cute and excellent. 10/10
46. Death of a Salesman (1985) - Oh, this is so tragic. Dustin Hoffman was so brilliant in this. It was an even sadder take than the play because it seemed like he had no control over his lapses into the past and oh it was just so sad. 8/10
47. Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End (2007) - Ok, so I liked this. I don't know, it was just way better than the second, and ok, not as good as the first, but at least I was entertained the entire time. It was pretty long but it didn't feel that long to me. And it was shot absolutely beautifully. I think I read someone's reaction and they were like "If they'd just cut all the random scenery shots and shots of the ships and such it would be like 2/3 as long!" and I was like "omg are you crazy?!" because I just loved to look at it. I think that brought it up a lot in my opinion of it. The thing at the end with Will was kind of weird but whatever. I was just happy nothing more happened between Elizabeth and Jack (yeah, I was one of the 5 people in the world who hated that they kissed in the second one). So yeah. Not bad. 7/10
48. WTC View (2005) - I liked that! It was very simple but kind of beautiful. Just sad and sweet and cute and wonderful. Michael Urie was amazing in it. It was originally a play and it seems like it would work better as a play than a movie, but I think it still worked pretty well. I don't know. I just really liked it. 9/10
49. United 93 (2006) - I enjoyed this. Well, not so much enjoyed, it's a difficult film to enjoy, but it was definitely fascinating and well-made. It may have been too soon for this film to be made for some people, but I thought it was well-done and respectful to everything that happened and such. 8/10
50. Good Will Hunting (1997) - I didn't like this that much. I don't know. None of the characters were particularly likable. 6/10
51. Dead Poets Society (1989) - I think I liked this. Usually I don't like Robin Williams, but he was good in this. And Robert Sean Leonard! Aw. Yeah, I don't know. I think this was pretty well done. 7/10
52. Kate & Leopold (2001) - This was pretty cute, but very predictable. Not that I didn't expect it to be, but yeah. I had more issues with it when I watched it, but that was like a month ago and I've kind of forgotten them now. I don't know, loads of romantic comedies are really predictable (like The Holiday and Music & Lyrics, both of which I've seen this year) yet they're still entertaining and I enjoy watching them. This was just kind of boring, I think. 6/10
53. Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix (2007) - I think this was my favorite of all the Harry Potter movies. Visually, it was absolutely gorgeous, and worth watching it for that alone. They did cut out a lot of stuff, but I expected that, so I wasn't too bothered by it. I think they got the tone of the book down well, though. I don't know. I just really enjoyed it. 8/10
54. Shrek 3 (2007) - My expectations were very low, so I actually liked it more than I thought I would. I laughed a lot more than I expected. And the donkey/dragon children were the most adorable things ever omg. It wasn't brilliant, but it was pretty cute. And John Kransinski! Well, his voice. For, like, a scene. But whatever. Still good. 6/10
55. Hairspray (1988) - It was... decent? I didn't love it, didn't hate it. It had some cute moments. I do want to see the musical version, though, (either the movie or onstage) because I think it would make me like it more. But yeah, pretty entertaining. Oh, and Dan Rydell! Well ok, Josh Charles, but I'll only ever think of him as Dan Rydell. 6/10
56. Hairspray (2007) - Ok so I did end up liking this more with music. Which surprises me a little (even though I said I thought I might after seeing the 1988 version) since I've had the Broadway recording for about a month and there's only one or two tracks I really like. But I thought I might like the music more seeing it in context rather than just listening to it on its own and I did. ...and I think I'm getting a crush on Zac Efron completely against my will. But I saw a rerun of High School Musical last night and he's just really charismatic even if he's not the best actor in the world, and I actually really like his voice, more than the guy they have doing it in HSM (and I know they do that because the range of the character is higher than Zac Efron's, but I still like his voice more). Um yeah. Also I really loved James Marsden, and the character of Corny. Also, Allison Janney! The middle part did drag though; I really didn't care at all about Tracy's parents. But it was entertaining and cute and just a fun movie. 8/10
57. American Dreamz (2006) - I don't really know what to make of this. I understood the satire, but it fell flat for me somehow. Like they were taking themselves too seriously even though they were making fun of other things. I don't know. The first hour dragged terribly and the end was just... what the hell? I don't feel like anyone when faced with a person with a bomb would be sure to catch him on camera no matter how obsessed with ratings and money he was (ESPECIALLY WHEN HE DIDN'T EVEN WANT ANOTHER SEASON WTH WHY WOULD HE WANT TO INCREASE RATINGS EVEN MORE?) and get so close to where he could be blown up. Like, yeah, ok I get the satire, TV execs being so preoccupied with money and ratings that they'd do anything to get higher ratings and earn more money, but no one would do that, and satire (for me, at least. Or in this situation, at least) only works if the people are somewhat believable. And all the main characters were just so irritating and awful. My favorite characters all turned out to be secondary ones: Judy Greer and John Cho as the assistants, Mandy Moore's character's manager/agent, and Omer's totally gay cousin. Yeah, just... what the hell? Not at all what I expected from this movie. Just kind of bizarre. 4/10
58. A Very Long Engagement (2004) - Oh that was so sad but so beautiful. Audrey Tautou was excellent, and made me tear up several times, and Gaspard Ulliel was excellent as well. The cinematography was absolutely gorgeous. It was a little hard to follow at times, though, and I think I would enjoy/understand it better if I watched it again, so I think I might do that. But oh, I really loved it. 10/10
59. Le dernier jour (2004) - That was just... what? Gaspard Ulliel was fantastic, and it was pretty, but... what? I'm not sure if the description on imdb is just entirely, ridiculously wrong, or if the director/writer was way too subtle. Because first I thought it was just wrong, but then some comment on imdb explained how they saw it, that Simon was trying to draw Louise away from Marc because he loved Marc and I don't know. The explanation kind of made sense, but... I feel like if that was really true, it would've been made slightly more obvious. And I do think Marc and Simon did have something before Louise, they do hint at that, but I can't believe that Simon feels nothing for Louise and it's all just because he's in love with Marc. So yeah. Interesting, but I'd never watch it again. (But I do love Gaspard Ulliel. It bears repeating.) 5/10
60. High School Musical 2 (2007) - oh god I enjoyed this far too much. Seriously I've upped the rating for the first one like twice or three times because each time I think about it, it's just... so much fun. And I watched it again and I just loved it more than I did the first time and the singing of the kids didn't bother me anymore and oh Zac Efron. He's just so charismatic and adorable and his voice is actually pretty good, better than the guy from the first one. And the music isn't really good, it's very cheesy, but somehow I enjoy it anyways. And god this one was just as cheesy as the first but still totally awesome. This is just... such a happy, feel-good movie. And Bet On It! Oh god! That song, just. Man. The golf course and dancing on rocks and singing to his reflection and being totally out of a 90s boyband music video and it's just so awesome. Seriously this movie brings me such joy and I feel like I should hate it but I so don't. It's just awesome. (Also, I love Ryan.) 8/10
61. Becoming Jane (2007) - This was pretty good. Bittersweet ending, but still very nice. I kept hoping beyond all hopes Jane and Tom could be together even though I knew that Jane Austen never married so the movie couldn't end that way. But still, anyways, very nice film. 8/10
62. Superbad (2007) - Heh, this was pretty funny. Judd Apatow is great. It was bizarre to hear George Michael cursing and nearly having sex (since Evan is essentially just George Michael plus a few years plus a little more grown up). But Michael Cera was excellent. Yeah, anyways. I enjoyed this. 8/10
63. Hot Fuzz (2007) - Oh god that was hilarious. It started a little slow, but by the end I couldn't stop laughing. The actors who played Danny and Nicholas (all the actors, really) were excellent. And there was Tim! Briefly, but still! I love how the evil guys can kill however many people in town who have done "wrong," but it would be absolutely inacceptable to hit a swan so they have to serve and lose control of their vehicle. Just. Yeah, that was awesome. 10/10
64. Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) - I enjoyed most of it, but it kind of dragged towards the end. Still, most of it was a lot of fun. 8/10
65. The Fountain (2006) - This movie seems like a love it or hate it kind of thing for most people. For me, I think I liked it. I think I might like it more a second time. There was loads of stuff I'm sure I missed. Hugh Jackman was awesome in this, I must say. 8/10
66. Domino (2005) - I liked it. I mean, not the best movie ever, but I thought it was entertaining enough. I thought it was well-executed, though it seemed to drag a bit at the end. But yeah, fun movie to watch. 7/10
67. Spellbound (2002) - That was pretty interesting. I don't know what to say about it. Wasn't amazing, but wasn't terribly boring. 7/10
68. Step Up (2006) - I mean, that wasn't the most amazing movie ever, but that was pretty good considering what it was. Plus, I just like watching all the dancing. 6/10
69. Knocked Up (2007) - This movie was really hilarious but sweet at the same time. Judd Apatow is awesome. Everything I've seen from him (Freaks & Geeks, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Superbad, Knocked Up. Wow, that's not that many, come to think about it (although Freaks & Geeks was an entire 17 or so episodes, so that's a little more than just another movie). I should see more of his stuff. The TV Set is next on my list, I think.) I've really loved. 10/10
70. License to Wed (2007) - Oh, man. This was pretty bad. Well, the thing is, I really hate Robin Williams, so anything he's in, I'm going to automatically dislike from the start. John Krasinski was very good (although still rather like Jim. I'd really like to see him in an entirely different role.) and Mandy Moore was pretty good. But just... what a terrible movie. 3/10
71. Accepted (2006) - This was actually a lot better than I expected. I mean, not the best movie I've ever seen, but at the same time, not the worst. I enjoyed it. 7/10
72. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) - This was really excellent. Visually, this film is absolutely brilliant, and I loved all the fight sequences. The scene where she goes to kill O-Ren Ishii and has to take down like a hundred people to get to her is absolutely awesome. Just, yeah. Really cool. 9/10
73. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) - I didn't like this as much as the first movie. It was still pretty awesome and visually stunning and such, but I felt like it dragged more, and the end was rather anticlimactic. 8/10
74. The TV Set (2006) - This was pretty good. I was hoping to like it more than I actually did, but it was still pretty good. I don't know. I thought it ended very abruptly, though. 7/10
75. Venus Boyz (2002) - Interesting movie, but kind of dragged at parts. But yeah, fascinating look at the whole drag king culture. 7/10
76. Starter for 10 (2006) - Pretty cute. Not terrible, not wonderful. Just kind of average. 7/10
77. Angels in America (2003) - This was really brilliant. I saw the first part performed here so I had to watch the movie so I could see the second half. I think I ultimately like the first half better, but just... wow. Really amazing story. 10/10
78. Death at a Funeral (2007) - Pretty funny, and there was Matthew Macfadyen and Alan Tudyk, so that was fun. 7/10
79. Paris, je t'aime (2006) - I mostly really liked this. The main problem for me, though, was that some of the segments felt far too short and I wanted to find out more about the characters' stories, and others I felt dragged or weren't as interesting or were just plain too bizarre (the vampire/Elijah Wood segment, namely). And I understand the purpose of the film and that wasn't really possible, but at the same time... I don't know. For some of them, I just wanted a lot more. I think I wanted it to be more like Love Actually, where there are different characters with their own storylines but they're all somewhat intertwined and you get more of each story. And yeah, I understand that wasn't the purpose of the film, but at the same time, that's what I wanted. But I did really enjoy it. I think my favorite segments were Gaspard Ulliel's (because it was Gaspard Ulliel, it was the only segment about gay people, and it was just really cute with him somewhat babbling and finding out at the end the other guy didn't speak very good French), the second one with the guy with the asshole friends and the Muslim girl (I don't even know why, I just thought it was sweet/cute), and the one about the guy who's going to leave his wife, but then she has cancer and he cares for her and ends up falling in love with her and then of course she dies. God, that one was so heartbreaking, but very good. There were others I liked a lot too, I think, but I can't remember which ones right now. 8/10
80. Jacquou le croquant (2007) - I enjoyed this. It felt a little too long overall, but I mostly liked it. Gaspard Ulliel was, of course, excellent in it. 8/10
81. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) - This was pretty cute, I guess. I don't know. I think I both liked it and disliked it more than I expected to. I thought the acting overall was very good, but the storylines were just kind of eh. 7/10
82. Pan's Labyrinth (2006) - I enjoyed this and recognize that it's a great film, but at the same time, I couldn't really connect with it, so that prevents me from considering it a favorite movie or ranking it higher. I thought it was really well written, well acted, and the cinematography was beautiful. I liked that the ending was kind of ambiguous. I was discussing it with my mom, and she was convinced it was all real, but I'm pretty firmly convinced that she completely made up the fantasy world, and I kind of like it better that way. Anyways. Great film. 8/10
83. Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) - I have mixed feelings about this. There were definitely things I liked. I think it was very well acted, the costumes were absolutely beautiful, and some of the shots were really beautiful. But I hated the emphasis on her love for Sir Walter Raleigh and that they omitted other important historical figures. Also, some of the shots looked like they were trying too hard for "artsy" and they were just... irritating, I guess, to view. I wish there had been more of an emphasis on the politics and the Spanish Armada and such, because those parts interested me the most. 7/10
84. Once (2006) - This was pretty good, but it didn't turn out at all like I expected, so I didn't end up liking it as much as I thought I would. I really, really disliked that he went to London to try to win back his ex-girlfriend and she got back with her husband. I just thought they would get together, and all the taglines were about it being a unique love story and such and I was just thrown when they didn't actually end up together. Maybe if I hadn't expected it, it wouldn't have bothered me, but I did, so it just confused me. I thought the songs were very nice, as was the acting and most of the story, but the ending bothered me. 8/10
85. Dan in Real Life (2007) - Oh, Steve Carell, I love you. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this movie as much as I wanted to. Steve Carell was awesome, as he always is, but I didn't really like his love interest or Dane Cook, and the story was fairly predictable. Oh well. It was definitely a lot funnier and heartwarming and touching and better acted and better written than most movies like this, but at the same time, there wasn't anything unique about it. You could tell exactly how it would end from the first few minutes of the movie. And I don't always mind that, but I don't know. It just didn't stand out at all to me, I guess. It was a fun movie to watch, very feel-good, but it's not the sort of movie I'd want to watch over and over again. 7/10
86. The Bourne Idenitity (2002) - Pretty cool movie. It feels kind of incomplete, though, so I feel like I have to see the other two before I can really make a judgement on it. 7/10
87. Showbusiness: The Road to Broadway (2007) - This was a really interesting look at Wicked, Taboo, Avenue Q, and Caroline, or Change. However, I kind of wish we got to see a little more of the musicals. They kept saying that Caroline, or Change was really different from the norm on Broadway and it was doing something new but I'm still not entirely sure what it's about. I guess they didn't explain it any less than any of the other musicals, but it was the only one I wasn't already familiar with, so I was left confused about it. I don't know. (I also would've liked more Raul Esparza singing.) 7/10
88. Sommersturm (2004) - This was very good. I liked that it was actually realistic. I kept expecting all those movie cliches to happen, like Anke catching Leo and Tobi, or Anke telling everyone, or I don't know. But nothing seemed really contrived. Well, except for the last minute replacement team for the Berlin girls team. But overall, it was very real and well-done. 8/10
89. Ratatouille (2007) - I thought this was really awesome. I wasn't expecting much from it, but it was really enjoyable. 8/10
90. Citizen Kane (1941) - I don't know if this is the greatest film of all time, or even one of the greatest, but it was incredibly good. I wasn't expecting the cinematography to really interest me, partially since it's so old, and partially because it's in black and white (not that I have anything against black and white, I just happen to be really into color use right now), but that was one of the first things that really struck me about this film. Welles did some really amazing things with lighting. And the shots were pretty amazing, too. The acting is incredible, especially by Welles. He's just brilliant. The storyline is simple, but it really resonated with me. The more I think about the movie, the more I like it. And I like that it really makes me want to think about it, because few films I see these days really do. So yeah, I don't know if I'd classify it as the greatest movie of all time, and it's not one of my absolute favorites, but it is a really spectacular film. 10/10
91. Hollywoodland (2006) - This wasn't bad, but I wish it were a lot better. I remember seeing the trailer for this in theaters before it came out and thinking that it seemed like a really interesting movie and wanting to see it, but it just falls flat. I don't care at all about Simo or his son or his ex-wife or anything about his life. However, I thought Ben Affleck did a wondeful job as Reeves, and the scenes about the last few years of his life were the best of the movie and slightly redeemed it. I'm kind of mixed about the ending. On one hand, not determining if he was murdered and who murdered him left the movie feeling somewhat pointless. On the other, I did kind of like that the last possibility Simo went through at the very end was that it wasn't murder; Reeves was just so unhappy and tired of his life that he committed suicide. It's a rather depressing note to end on, but I don't know. Some part of me really likes it. Plus, there's that whole thing with Reeves being a real person and not knowing for sure how he died. Overall decent, but could've been far better. 7/10
92. Mystic River (2003) - I'm not sure what I think about this film. I totally called it was the girl's boyfriend's mute brother pretty early on (definitely when he was like "It was for the best" or whatever he signed) although I didn't call the motive (well, there wasn't a motive, but I decided it either had to do with him knowing Jimmy killed his father, or him being kind of crazy and thinking it was the best for his brother, like he said). The acting was very strong, and I think I mostly liked the storyline. I would've liked some more things to be explained, though, like why everyone suspected Dave (well, I get why, but what they thought his motives were. I mean, at the very end, Dave makes up motives I guess, but up until then, I couldn't figure out why he'd want to kill Katie, and I don't see why anyone else thought he would, either), and why Dave's wife was so ready to jump to the idea that he killed Katie (and that could've been explained more easily, like he had acted bizarrely around Katie a lot, or even just in general, and she always was kind of afraid of him, or something, but... no. It was just kind of surprising how she seemed to turn on him). Oh well. Overall, very good. 8/10
93. Children of Men (2006) - I thought this was pretty good. The cinematography was excellent, and I thought the storyline was well-done. I never really connected to any of the characters, though. 8/10
94. Friday Night Lights (2004) - It was weird to watch this with Connie Britton still being who she is in the TV series, but Billy Bob Thorton being the coach instead of Kyle Chandler. The cinematography was excellent. I kind of like that they don't win in the end. 8/10
95. Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) - Pretty fun movie. John Cusack was great, and I enjoy dark comedies. 8/10
96. Memento (2001) - This was ridiculously cool. Kind of confusing, and I feel like I need to see it again to properly understand it, but I still really loved it. The acting was excellent, and the storyline was just... really awesome. 10/10
97. Barbie Nation (1998) - Eh. Kind of interesting, but I feel like it didn't really examine the negative side of Barbie very well (or at all). And most of the people interviewed seemed kind of crazy. The guy whose partner died of AIDS (I think. It was confusing, because he mentioned he had cancer, but then said something about dying of AIDS, and yeah. I didn't understand really what happened) and was really into it and that's why he got into it was pretty heartbreaking, though. 7/10
98. Sweeney Todd (2007) - I thought this was very good. I've never seen the musical on stage before, and I didn't actually know the story before seeing the movie, so I can't really compare them. I know there are a lot of people criticizing the singing, especially Helena Bonham Carter, but I thought the entire cast was very good. Also, it was visually stunning. 9/10
99. Juno (2007) - Oh god I loved this. Ellen Page was excellent. Actually, the whole cast was excellent. I thought Michael Cera was especially good. I liked that it was actually realistic, and that Juno realized her feelings for Bleeker, but Vanessa and Mark weren't able to work things out. Because it would've been cliche if Mark had stuck it through to the birth and then seen the child and been "Oh I was so wrong nothing would make me happier than being a father" and everything worked out all right. And I'm really glad Juno didn't want to keep the baby, because that would've also been cliche and annoying and yeah. I just really loved this movie so much. It was well-written, funny, and the acting was excellent. 10/10
100. No Country for Old Men (2007) - This was a really well-done film. At first the ending was kind of "WTF?" but realizing that the point of the movie isn't the cat-and-mouse chase between Chigurh and Moss but Bell's retirement and his realization that he can't stop Chigurh or the violence and evil in the world. I like that the evil guy wins and how when he gets into the car crash, you think "Oh, so after all that he's going to be taken out by a car crash" and that it's just going to follow normal Hollywood movies, but then he survives, and it just furthers Bell's realization. The cinematography was gorgeous and the acting was really great. Everyone's talking about how awesome Javier Bardem was in this movie (and don't get me wrong, he totally was), but I think Josh Brolin was just as impressive. This is the kind of movie that I appreciate is really well done, but I just didn't connect with any of the characters, which prevents me from giving it a higher rating. 9/10
1. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - 5/5
2. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakepeare - 5/5
3. Emma by Jane Austen - 4/5
4. Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maguire - 4/5
5. Othello by William Shakespeare - 4/5
6. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner - 4/5
7. The Princess Bride by William Goldman - 5/5
8. Beloved by Toni Morrison - 3/5
9. Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow - 2/5
10. Urinetown: The Musical by Greg Kotis - 5/5
11. Persuasion by Jane Austen - 5/5
12. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger - 5/5
13. Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde - 5/5
14. A Room With a View by E. M. Forster - 5/5
15. Maurice by E. M. Forster - 4/5
16. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling - 5/5
17. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - 4/5
18. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer - 4/5
19. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - 4/5
20. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer - 4/5
21. Temping Fate by Esther Friesner - 4/5
22. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde - 4/5
23. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay - 4/5
24. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes - 5/5
25. Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card - 5/5
26. Drag King Dreams by Leslie Feinberg - 3/5
27. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - 5/5
28. Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay - 4/5
29. Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare - 3/5
30. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay - 3/5
I think I might try for 150 movies this year. I'm not sure how possible that will be, but we'll see, I guess.
I officially got to 100 movies and 30 books in 2007. Lists of them under the cuts. The movies have small reactions/reviews of them and a rating out of 10, and the books just have a rating out of 5. There are major spoilers for some of the movies, but it would be kind of ridiculous to list all 100 of them outside the cut. The names are bolded, so I think it should be easy enough to scroll past movies you haven't seen/don't want to be spoiled for.
1. High School Musical (2006) - My biggest problem with it wasn't the storyline itself, which I thought it would be, but the fact that I kind of hated all the characters' voices. They just all sounded so whiny and nasal-y. The only one I thought was pretty good was Sharpay's brother. He didn't sound nearly as whiny as everyone else. The plotline was really predictable, but it was cute, and I actually didn't see how they were going to get out of everything being on the same day. So I actually kind of enjoyed it, but ugh. The singing just bothered me a lot. 8/10 (*This started at a 6/10 but I've watched it again and become enamored with Zac Efron and well. I keep upping it. So that's why the score doesn't really reflect my reaction to it.)
2. The Departed (2006) - This was kind of amazing. I was kind of wary about the cast because it seemed so... overly stacked with stars, but they were all great. They made me forget that it was Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio and Jack Nicholson playing these characters, and I usually have trouble distinguishing between actors and the characters they play if they're super-famous, so I was pleased about that. The whole thing was just kind of mind-blowing and I don't even really know what I think about it except I really liked it. 10/10
3. Poster Boy (2004) - The description of this movie really intrigued me and I wanted to see it for about forever and I finally got to and it was just disappointing. I didn't hate it (it was no Sideline Secrets), but... it could've been a lot better. The cinematography was kind of awful. The actor playing Henry was very good, but I thought everyone else was just ok. I didn't care about Izzie at all and didn't understand the point of her storyline. Henry and Anthony were cute together, but I was disappointed they didn't end up together, or even go out for more than a day. The storyline wasn't awful, but... it wasn't great either. Disappointing movie. 5/10
4. Much Ado About Nothing (1993) - Kenneth Branagh! Emma Thompson! Robert Sean Leonard! This movie was totally made of awesome. I loved it. I don't really know what to say about it, it just made me giddy watching it. 9/10
5. Amélie (2001) - Aw, that was so cute. I really liked it. It was funny and sweet and just awesome. Audrey Tautou was amazing. And the colors and cinematography were excellent. 10/10
6. Dreamgirls (2006) - Wow, I liked that a million times more than I expected to. I'm not sure why I thought I wouldn't, since I'm such a sucker for movies like that, where a little-known band becomes famous and then falls apart, and for musicals, and for the 60s in general. (Also, any movie that has John Krasinksi in it, even for only 5 minutes where he has like 2 lines, is automatically awesome.) So yeah. Really enjoyed it. 9/10
7. Little Children (2006) - I didn't expect to really like this movie (I just decided to watch it because of all the award nominations it got, and because I love Kate Winslet), but I did. I didn't completely love it because the narrator bugged me at the beginning (though as the movie went on I got more used to it, and there was less of it) and I wasn't a huge fan of the end. I mean I liked the resolution for Ronnie, but not so much for Sarah and Brad. I really wanted them to ride off into the sunset together with their two kids, even though from the start I knew it wasn't going to end well. I guess I'm just an optimist. But I did really enjoy the movie, besides those two issues. 8/10
8. Half Nelson (2006) - Ryan Gosling was totally amazing in this. I don't really know what to say about this movie. It's just a really sad, simple film, with just the slightest bit of hope. I enjoyed it. 8/10
9. The Holiday (2006) - Aw, I liked that more than I thought I would. I mean, the plotline was predictable, but it's not like I expected it to surprise me, you know? And it was better than most romantic comedies put out these days. I liked that the problems the two couples faced getting together were real problems (such as the fact that Iris and Amanda would be leaving after 2 weeks, which is a pretty huge issue) rather than just contrivances. Cameron Diaz kind of bugged me, but she was all right, and I loved the rest of the cast. I'm so in love with Kate Winslet. And Jack Black was pretty charming, especially considering I've only ever seen him as completely over-the top before. I much prefered the storylines involving Iris, with Miles and Arthur. But I really enjoyed it all. (And John Krasinski! He's had so many like 5-second roles in movies recently.) 8/10
10. The Queen (2006) - Wow, that was really well-done. I loved it. Helen Mirren was phenomenal, and the rest of the cast was excellent as well. I didn't expect it to make me... feel that much, I guess, but it really did. 10/10
11. Stranger than Fiction (2006) - I enjoyed it overall, but my greatest issue with it was why Kay Eiffel, her assistant, and Professor Hilbert had absolutely no problem with the fact that what she was writing was affecting the life of a real person. Like, she had issues with it for 5 seconds, and then she was over it. And the assistant didn't even blink, she was just like "Yeah, ok, that makes sense." I don't know, it bothered me. I could entertain the possibility that maybe one of the characters, like when it first happened with the professor, was kind of off his rocker and could accept it, but more than one? Oh well. I mean, I did enjoy the rest. Will Ferrell was great, and there was Tony Hale! But that plot point prevented me from truly enjoying it. 7/10
12. This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006) - That was really interesting. Except for the detective segments; those were just boring and felt really unnecessary. But the interviews with the directors were really interesting. 8/10
13. The Godfather (1972) - They don't make movies like this anymore (or at least not any I've seen recently). It's the kind of movie (for me, anyhow) that takes a couple of days to sink in, but once it does, you're just blow away by it. Lawrence of Arabia was also like that for me, and I think that's more of a characteristic of older movies. But yeah, anyways, I pretty much loved it, and I can't believe I hadn't seen it until now. 10/10
14. The Prestige (2006) - I was really impressed with this. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. The acting was excellent, the cinematography was amazing, it was all just awesome. I really enjoyed it. 9/10
15. L.A. Confidential (1997) - Ah, that was really cool! I love the 50s, and I love detective stuff, so this was right up my alley. I was a little disappointed in the ending, that the captain got a hero's death, but I loved the rest. 10/10
16. The Phantom of the Opera (2004) - I saw it when I was 9 or 10 on Broadway, and I remember absolutely loving it then. Sadly, I wasn't as fond of the movie. I loved all the music, and the acting was pretty good. Patrick Wilson (Raoul) particularly impressed me for some reason. I thought he really stood out. And it was beautifully shot. But there was just something off about it, and I really can't put my finger on it. Oh well. I still enjoyed it. 7/10
17. Adaptation (2002) - Wow. That was kind of crazy. I was loving it up until the end, and I get that the point of the end is to mirror how movies do that, and how it's stupid and doesn't work, but even though I understand the purpose of it, that doesn't mean I have to enjoy watching it. I mean, I did really like most of it. The cast was excellent, the writing was very smart, it was very well-made. The end just prevented it from getting a higher rating (because really, my ratings aren't how good I think the movies are, but how much I enjoyed them. So a cheesy, predictable movie can get a good rating even if I know it's not the best movie ever just if I enjoy it.) 7/10
18. But I'm a Cheerleader (1999) - Aw. That was fun. I don't really know what to say about it. I just enjoyed it a lot. The place they all went (I'm blanking on the name) was really unsettling, especially when you realize that there are actually places like that out there, except even worse. 9/10
19. About a Boy (2002) - Oh, god, they totally butchered the ending of the book. I mean, I expected there to be changes, but I didn't expect them to completely rewrite the ending so it sent an entirely different message from the book. I mean, at the end of the book, Marcus is all "cool" and rebelling against his mother and stuff, and there is no talent show, and Will doesn't have that whole "The only person I cared about was Marcus" moment. It was just so bizarre. I mean, the movie wasn't awful, but it was very predictable and it's based on a book that I found rather unpredictable, and also much more real, so it was just disappointing. 6/10
20. Goodfellas (1990) - This was pretty awesome. The acting was all amazing. It was fairly long but kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The only thing that bugged was having narration from both Henry and Karen (it's like when fanfics switch first person pov in the middle of the fic. I hate that. And, of course, this movie was way better than any of those fanfic, but still. It's been an issue with me for awhile, so it bugged.) With the end, I kind of can understand why they did it, but at the same time, I didn't really enjoy it. Especially when it was right after each other, you know? Like one would be narrating, and all of a sudden, the other would. blah. But overall, I did really love it. 9/10
21. Titanic (1997) - Yeah, I know, it seems ridiculous that it took me 10 years to see this. I know this movie catches a lot of flak for various reasons, and I don't think it should've gotten nearly as many awards as it did or be the top-grossing movie of all time or whatever, but it honestly is a good movie. There are some points where the dialogue is kind of ridiculous, but that's easily overshadowed by the actors and the storyline and the cinematography and just everything that's going on. It's just really well-done. I can understand why some might not like it, but I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. 9/10
22. The Aviator (2004) - ;sjf the two-tone technicolor in about the first third/half of the movie was ridiculously gorgeous oh my god. I was sad when they stopped doing that (although I mean I understand why. But omg so pretty!). Yeah, I really obviously adored the cinematography. The movie itself was also very good. Leonardo Dicaprio was excellent. Cate Blanchett kind of bugged me in the beginning, but I think she grew on me, and I don't know if it was so much her as it was her character, and once we got to know her better I liked her more. It was a really well-done movie, I thought. 10/10
23. Shakespeare in Love (1998) - Ah man, I loved this. It kind of makes me appreciate Romeo and Juliet a bit more (even though I hated it when I read it freshman year. Although that could've been largely due to the teacher I had, who was awful) looking at it from this perspective (I mean, I know it's not historically accurate, but I'm just saying, thinking about it as if it were). The acting was amazing and I just loved everything. 10/10
24. Election (1999) - gah. I mentioned how the two narrators in Goodfellas bothered me, and then I watch this movie and there's four. It really bothers me, and I don't know why, and I was ok with it for Goodfellas because I saw the purpose, but... four? Come on. It just seems like lazy storytelling to me. Either have one person narrating or none. blah. I clearly have issues with this. And the story wasn't as good as Goodfellas to make up for the irritating narration. The acting was pretty good, but I didn't really care by the end who won the election and what happened in their lives. 6/10
25. Emma (1996) - It was decent, but nothing brilliant or amazing. I don't know, I guess I wasn't a really huge fan of the book (I mean, I liked it well enough, but I didn't love it nearly as much as Pride and Prejudice) so it follows that I wouldn't be totally crazy over the movie, either. The actors were all great. And Ewan McGregor sang! Any movie where Ewan McGregor sings makes me happy. I don't know, it was good, it just wasn't anything I'd want to watch over and over. 7/10
26. Imagine Me and You (2005) - Oh, wow, that was really good! I wasn't expecting that. Just, yeah. I love how they made Hector so likeable and awesome rather than villainizing him, because in most movies like this they'll villainize the one the main character's not supposed to be with to make sure you want the main character to be with the other person. But here they made him totally awesome so you could see why she'd love him, but they made it so you'd still want her with Luce because you knew that's who she truly loved. And I really did want them together, and they were awesome together, but ah I felt so bad for Hector. Matthew Goode was so great. He totally broke my heart when Luce asked why he couldn't talk to Rachel about if anything was wrong and he said "What if there is?" Yeah, I just loved it all. I expected it to be a lot sillier but it was just excellent. The only thing was the end was slightly over-the-top and that's how all romantic-comedies end and I was hoping it'd be different. But it was still awesome. Oh, and the cinematography was absolutely gorgeous. 10/10
27. Office Space (1999) - eh. It was pretty good. I don't know. Parts of it were pretty entertaining, but overall it was just kind of... meh. A lot of reviews I saw of it that were all "OMG IT'S SO GREAT" seemed to be more because it is exactly like what working in an office is like and they can relate and etc., but I think not having experienced anything like that (well, I guess school, but at least there's an end in sight for that) I just can't appreciate it. 7/10
28. Bend it Like Beckham (2002) - Yeah, I'm like the only person who didn't see this 5 years ago. I'm sorry I waited so long, though, because I really enjoyed it, and I imagine I would've loved it even more if I had seen it back then. I really love how even the storyline is pretty predictable, it doesn't follow the same pattern as other sports movies, you know? There isn't really a huge amount of time devoted to each game (it focuses way more on her family and relationships), the last half hour isn't devoted to The Big Game, the main character and her love interest don't end up happily ever after entirely. So even though it was predictable it didn't feel as predictable because it didn't follow the same roadmap as most other movies. It was a fun, feel-good movie. 9/10
29. Chicago (2002) - I thought this was pretty good. I liked Richard Gere way more than I expected to, given that normally I don't really like him (I don't know if it's for any particular reason, I just... don't like him). I don't know. I liked it a lot, but I'm not totally crazy over it. 8/10
30. Running With Scissors (2006) - I liked this pretty well. A lot of the criticisms I heard about it were that it wasn't nearly as good as the book, but I haven't read the book, so I didn't have that problem. I thought the actors were all excellent, and there was Kristin Chenoweth! (And Patrick Wilson! who I've kind of become crazy about after seeing him in Little Children and Phantom of the Opera and that crazy awesome GAP commerical.) 7/10
31. The History Boys (2006) - I liked it a good amount. Sad that Hector died, but at the same time he kind of creeped me out. So I don't know. But anyways, I thought it was a pretty entertaining, interesting film. 7/10
32. Miss Potter (2006) - ;lsakj I watched this because I wanted something light and uplifting and happy and then they had to kill Ewan McGregor off! I mean, ok, fine, so the movie is about the life of an actual person and that's what really happened in her life. But it still made me sad. Besides that aspect of it, it was a really nice movie. I loved Peter Rabbit and all those stories when I was a kid, so this movie brought back a lot of happy memories. And Ewan McGregor sang! I'm pretty sure that needs to be a requirement for every movie he's in. 8/10
33. Psycho Beach Party (2001) - Nicholas Brendan! Yay! This movie was pretty good up until the end, which was just... bleh. I mean, I get that it was supposed to be parodying other movies, but... the ending was just kind of ridiculous. I feel like it would've been just as successful at parodying other movies if it had stopped right after the killer was caught and not gone onto her being crazy. 7/10
34. Night at the Museum (2006) - bleh. I don't think it was awful, but I think I just really wasn't in the mood for a movie like that. It was so completely predictable and I didn't care about the kid at all so the whole relationship between Ben Stiller's character and his kid was just... eh. I got annoyed whenever it focused on the kid. The only part that surprised me was that the girl who worked there and Ben Stiller didn't kiss/start dating at the end of the movie. But other than that, everything else was just like every other movie ever made, and it just wasn't that funny or entertaining or anything else to make up for it. 5/10
35. Howl's Moving Castle (2004) - gah. I loved the book so much when I was younger, but this was just... not even close to being as good as the book. I tried not to compare it with the book, but it was just impossible. I mean, in the book, Sophie has powers! It's like a huge point in the book! And in the movie, it's all about her love for Howl! gah. I understand when movies are adapted from books, they can't keep everything, but I mean, it's not like I hate every adaptation. I love the new Pride and Prejudice movie (not so much the first time I saw it, but everytime after that it just got better and better and now I love it) and they had to cut a bunch of stuff and change things so it wouldn't be 6 hours like the BBC version, but I feel like it still captured the essence of the book. This movie didn't even come close to doing that. Even forgetting the book ever existed, I doubt I would've been that crazy over it. It just wasn't that great. 5/10
36. The Incredibles (2004) - heh. Pretty cute. I didn't expect to like it very much, but it was entertaining. 7/10
37. La gloire de mon père (1990) - I liked the beginning, but it wasn't as interesting when they went on vacation. I don't like hunting, and it was boring, anyways. It was an ok movie. 6/10
38. Music and Lyrics (2007) - This was a ridiculously cute movie. Oh, Hugh Grant. I mean, it was a predictable movie, but... it was so cute! Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore were great together. 8/10
39. Camp (2003) - eh. The main guy bugged me a lot, and I hated that Ellen said she'd go out with him at the end. wtf, he was such an ass! After I watched the movie I found out that he also played the main guy in The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Greene, and either he keeps choosing parts where his character is entirely unlikeable and annoying, or he's a terrible actor who makes all characters he plays unbearable. Or a combination of the two. The music was kind of fun and some of the characters were enjoyable, but ugh. Hated the main character. 5/10
40. Eleven Men Out (2005) - Pretty much just the same as Guys and Balls, except much much worse. The end was kind of amusing, though, where they don't even show the big final game and then it's like "Yeah, we lost. What did you expect?" heh. 5/10
41. Luster (2002) - gah there was no reason for Sam to die! That was ridiculous. "You're never going to love me like I love you so I'm going to kill myself EVEN THOUGH I HAVEN'T EVEN TOLD YOU ABOUT MY FEELINGS AND I HAVE NO IDEA IF YOU HAVE ANY FEELINGS FOR ME OR NOT. ALSO, I'm going to tell you this through a videotape that you will watch AFTER I DIE and then feel horrendously guilty about all of it because I'm basically telling you I killed myself because of you!" wtf?! als;kjf gah. I liked Sam more than pretty much every other character except maybe Derek, too, and I hated that he died. And wtf that guy, Billy, that Luster obsessed over and everyone was like "OMG SO PRETTY", I thought he was pretty ugly. He's not even someone I'd be like "Huh, pretty cute," and definitely not "OMG SO BEAUTIFUL!" Derek was a lot cuter. The whole thing was just kind of crazy. Everything with Billy and Sonny Spike and... just crazy. And I wanted Jackson to be with Derek in the end, but how it came about was so weird, too. "My best friend who killed himself just told me he loved me through this video tape he made before he died, so clearly it makes most sense to go be with this guy that I keep telling I am not at all attracted to and start dating him!" Nothing made any sense. bah. 3/10
42. 9 Dead Gay Guys (2003) - I mostly liked it, but I really wanted Byron and Kenny to get together at the end. The accidental kiss goodbye was cute, but it wasn't enough. Without the rest of the movie was just kind of... whatever. I mean, it was mostly entertaining, and it was visually really fun to watch (such nice use of colors!) but the end just disappointed me. 7/10
43. Spider-Man 3 (2007) - ...yeah, not very good. I lowered my expectations, but I didn't expect it to be bad in the way it was, so I still didn't like it much. It was like, the beginning was boring, the middle was just over-the-top ridiculous (like, I think they might've been going for funny, but it was just... trying too hard. And then there were other parts that I found totally hilarious that I'm pretty sure weren't meant to be), and then finally at the end, at the start of the last action sequence, it got good. I liked the like... Sandman and Topher Grace's character vs. Harry and Spider-Man showdown. That was pretty kickass. I'm sorry that Harry had to die though. I like Harry and I love James Franco, so it made me sad. Oh well. 6/10
44. Apollo 13 (1995) - Kind of surprised I'd never seen this one before. It was pretty good. I don't know, I think I just never really connected with it. I was afraid that they wouldn't make it back even though I knew they would. But I don't know, I can't explain it. I just didn't connect with it. It was shot beautifully, though. 8/10
45. Waitress (2007) - Oh, this was adorable. Keri Russel and Nathan Fillion! wheee! They were both great. I wanted it to work out between their characters even though I knew it never could. But the moment when she ended her relationship with her husband was excellent. And everything was just so sweet and cute and excellent. 10/10
46. Death of a Salesman (1985) - Oh, this is so tragic. Dustin Hoffman was so brilliant in this. It was an even sadder take than the play because it seemed like he had no control over his lapses into the past and oh it was just so sad. 8/10
47. Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End (2007) - Ok, so I liked this. I don't know, it was just way better than the second, and ok, not as good as the first, but at least I was entertained the entire time. It was pretty long but it didn't feel that long to me. And it was shot absolutely beautifully. I think I read someone's reaction and they were like "If they'd just cut all the random scenery shots and shots of the ships and such it would be like 2/3 as long!" and I was like "omg are you crazy?!" because I just loved to look at it. I think that brought it up a lot in my opinion of it. The thing at the end with Will was kind of weird but whatever. I was just happy nothing more happened between Elizabeth and Jack (yeah, I was one of the 5 people in the world who hated that they kissed in the second one). So yeah. Not bad. 7/10
48. WTC View (2005) - I liked that! It was very simple but kind of beautiful. Just sad and sweet and cute and wonderful. Michael Urie was amazing in it. It was originally a play and it seems like it would work better as a play than a movie, but I think it still worked pretty well. I don't know. I just really liked it. 9/10
49. United 93 (2006) - I enjoyed this. Well, not so much enjoyed, it's a difficult film to enjoy, but it was definitely fascinating and well-made. It may have been too soon for this film to be made for some people, but I thought it was well-done and respectful to everything that happened and such. 8/10
50. Good Will Hunting (1997) - I didn't like this that much. I don't know. None of the characters were particularly likable. 6/10
51. Dead Poets Society (1989) - I think I liked this. Usually I don't like Robin Williams, but he was good in this. And Robert Sean Leonard! Aw. Yeah, I don't know. I think this was pretty well done. 7/10
52. Kate & Leopold (2001) - This was pretty cute, but very predictable. Not that I didn't expect it to be, but yeah. I had more issues with it when I watched it, but that was like a month ago and I've kind of forgotten them now. I don't know, loads of romantic comedies are really predictable (like The Holiday and Music & Lyrics, both of which I've seen this year) yet they're still entertaining and I enjoy watching them. This was just kind of boring, I think. 6/10
53. Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix (2007) - I think this was my favorite of all the Harry Potter movies. Visually, it was absolutely gorgeous, and worth watching it for that alone. They did cut out a lot of stuff, but I expected that, so I wasn't too bothered by it. I think they got the tone of the book down well, though. I don't know. I just really enjoyed it. 8/10
54. Shrek 3 (2007) - My expectations were very low, so I actually liked it more than I thought I would. I laughed a lot more than I expected. And the donkey/dragon children were the most adorable things ever omg. It wasn't brilliant, but it was pretty cute. And John Kransinski! Well, his voice. For, like, a scene. But whatever. Still good. 6/10
55. Hairspray (1988) - It was... decent? I didn't love it, didn't hate it. It had some cute moments. I do want to see the musical version, though, (either the movie or onstage) because I think it would make me like it more. But yeah, pretty entertaining. Oh, and Dan Rydell! Well ok, Josh Charles, but I'll only ever think of him as Dan Rydell. 6/10
56. Hairspray (2007) - Ok so I did end up liking this more with music. Which surprises me a little (even though I said I thought I might after seeing the 1988 version) since I've had the Broadway recording for about a month and there's only one or two tracks I really like. But I thought I might like the music more seeing it in context rather than just listening to it on its own and I did. ...and I think I'm getting a crush on Zac Efron completely against my will. But I saw a rerun of High School Musical last night and he's just really charismatic even if he's not the best actor in the world, and I actually really like his voice, more than the guy they have doing it in HSM (and I know they do that because the range of the character is higher than Zac Efron's, but I still like his voice more). Um yeah. Also I really loved James Marsden, and the character of Corny. Also, Allison Janney! The middle part did drag though; I really didn't care at all about Tracy's parents. But it was entertaining and cute and just a fun movie. 8/10
57. American Dreamz (2006) - I don't really know what to make of this. I understood the satire, but it fell flat for me somehow. Like they were taking themselves too seriously even though they were making fun of other things. I don't know. The first hour dragged terribly and the end was just... what the hell? I don't feel like anyone when faced with a person with a bomb would be sure to catch him on camera no matter how obsessed with ratings and money he was (ESPECIALLY WHEN HE DIDN'T EVEN WANT ANOTHER SEASON WTH WHY WOULD HE WANT TO INCREASE RATINGS EVEN MORE?) and get so close to where he could be blown up. Like, yeah, ok I get the satire, TV execs being so preoccupied with money and ratings that they'd do anything to get higher ratings and earn more money, but no one would do that, and satire (for me, at least. Or in this situation, at least) only works if the people are somewhat believable. And all the main characters were just so irritating and awful. My favorite characters all turned out to be secondary ones: Judy Greer and John Cho as the assistants, Mandy Moore's character's manager/agent, and Omer's totally gay cousin. Yeah, just... what the hell? Not at all what I expected from this movie. Just kind of bizarre. 4/10
58. A Very Long Engagement (2004) - Oh that was so sad but so beautiful. Audrey Tautou was excellent, and made me tear up several times, and Gaspard Ulliel was excellent as well. The cinematography was absolutely gorgeous. It was a little hard to follow at times, though, and I think I would enjoy/understand it better if I watched it again, so I think I might do that. But oh, I really loved it. 10/10
59. Le dernier jour (2004) - That was just... what? Gaspard Ulliel was fantastic, and it was pretty, but... what? I'm not sure if the description on imdb is just entirely, ridiculously wrong, or if the director/writer was way too subtle. Because first I thought it was just wrong, but then some comment on imdb explained how they saw it, that Simon was trying to draw Louise away from Marc because he loved Marc and I don't know. The explanation kind of made sense, but... I feel like if that was really true, it would've been made slightly more obvious. And I do think Marc and Simon did have something before Louise, they do hint at that, but I can't believe that Simon feels nothing for Louise and it's all just because he's in love with Marc. So yeah. Interesting, but I'd never watch it again. (But I do love Gaspard Ulliel. It bears repeating.) 5/10
60. High School Musical 2 (2007) - oh god I enjoyed this far too much. Seriously I've upped the rating for the first one like twice or three times because each time I think about it, it's just... so much fun. And I watched it again and I just loved it more than I did the first time and the singing of the kids didn't bother me anymore and oh Zac Efron. He's just so charismatic and adorable and his voice is actually pretty good, better than the guy from the first one. And the music isn't really good, it's very cheesy, but somehow I enjoy it anyways. And god this one was just as cheesy as the first but still totally awesome. This is just... such a happy, feel-good movie. And Bet On It! Oh god! That song, just. Man. The golf course and dancing on rocks and singing to his reflection and being totally out of a 90s boyband music video and it's just so awesome. Seriously this movie brings me such joy and I feel like I should hate it but I so don't. It's just awesome. (Also, I love Ryan.) 8/10
61. Becoming Jane (2007) - This was pretty good. Bittersweet ending, but still very nice. I kept hoping beyond all hopes Jane and Tom could be together even though I knew that Jane Austen never married so the movie couldn't end that way. But still, anyways, very nice film. 8/10
62. Superbad (2007) - Heh, this was pretty funny. Judd Apatow is great. It was bizarre to hear George Michael cursing and nearly having sex (since Evan is essentially just George Michael plus a few years plus a little more grown up). But Michael Cera was excellent. Yeah, anyways. I enjoyed this. 8/10
63. Hot Fuzz (2007) - Oh god that was hilarious. It started a little slow, but by the end I couldn't stop laughing. The actors who played Danny and Nicholas (all the actors, really) were excellent. And there was Tim! Briefly, but still! I love how the evil guys can kill however many people in town who have done "wrong," but it would be absolutely inacceptable to hit a swan so they have to serve and lose control of their vehicle. Just. Yeah, that was awesome. 10/10
64. Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) - I enjoyed most of it, but it kind of dragged towards the end. Still, most of it was a lot of fun. 8/10
65. The Fountain (2006) - This movie seems like a love it or hate it kind of thing for most people. For me, I think I liked it. I think I might like it more a second time. There was loads of stuff I'm sure I missed. Hugh Jackman was awesome in this, I must say. 8/10
66. Domino (2005) - I liked it. I mean, not the best movie ever, but I thought it was entertaining enough. I thought it was well-executed, though it seemed to drag a bit at the end. But yeah, fun movie to watch. 7/10
67. Spellbound (2002) - That was pretty interesting. I don't know what to say about it. Wasn't amazing, but wasn't terribly boring. 7/10
68. Step Up (2006) - I mean, that wasn't the most amazing movie ever, but that was pretty good considering what it was. Plus, I just like watching all the dancing. 6/10
69. Knocked Up (2007) - This movie was really hilarious but sweet at the same time. Judd Apatow is awesome. Everything I've seen from him (Freaks & Geeks, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Superbad, Knocked Up. Wow, that's not that many, come to think about it (although Freaks & Geeks was an entire 17 or so episodes, so that's a little more than just another movie). I should see more of his stuff. The TV Set is next on my list, I think.) I've really loved. 10/10
70. License to Wed (2007) - Oh, man. This was pretty bad. Well, the thing is, I really hate Robin Williams, so anything he's in, I'm going to automatically dislike from the start. John Krasinski was very good (although still rather like Jim. I'd really like to see him in an entirely different role.) and Mandy Moore was pretty good. But just... what a terrible movie. 3/10
71. Accepted (2006) - This was actually a lot better than I expected. I mean, not the best movie I've ever seen, but at the same time, not the worst. I enjoyed it. 7/10
72. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) - This was really excellent. Visually, this film is absolutely brilliant, and I loved all the fight sequences. The scene where she goes to kill O-Ren Ishii and has to take down like a hundred people to get to her is absolutely awesome. Just, yeah. Really cool. 9/10
73. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) - I didn't like this as much as the first movie. It was still pretty awesome and visually stunning and such, but I felt like it dragged more, and the end was rather anticlimactic. 8/10
74. The TV Set (2006) - This was pretty good. I was hoping to like it more than I actually did, but it was still pretty good. I don't know. I thought it ended very abruptly, though. 7/10
75. Venus Boyz (2002) - Interesting movie, but kind of dragged at parts. But yeah, fascinating look at the whole drag king culture. 7/10
76. Starter for 10 (2006) - Pretty cute. Not terrible, not wonderful. Just kind of average. 7/10
77. Angels in America (2003) - This was really brilliant. I saw the first part performed here so I had to watch the movie so I could see the second half. I think I ultimately like the first half better, but just... wow. Really amazing story. 10/10
78. Death at a Funeral (2007) - Pretty funny, and there was Matthew Macfadyen and Alan Tudyk, so that was fun. 7/10
79. Paris, je t'aime (2006) - I mostly really liked this. The main problem for me, though, was that some of the segments felt far too short and I wanted to find out more about the characters' stories, and others I felt dragged or weren't as interesting or were just plain too bizarre (the vampire/Elijah Wood segment, namely). And I understand the purpose of the film and that wasn't really possible, but at the same time... I don't know. For some of them, I just wanted a lot more. I think I wanted it to be more like Love Actually, where there are different characters with their own storylines but they're all somewhat intertwined and you get more of each story. And yeah, I understand that wasn't the purpose of the film, but at the same time, that's what I wanted. But I did really enjoy it. I think my favorite segments were Gaspard Ulliel's (because it was Gaspard Ulliel, it was the only segment about gay people, and it was just really cute with him somewhat babbling and finding out at the end the other guy didn't speak very good French), the second one with the guy with the asshole friends and the Muslim girl (I don't even know why, I just thought it was sweet/cute), and the one about the guy who's going to leave his wife, but then she has cancer and he cares for her and ends up falling in love with her and then of course she dies. God, that one was so heartbreaking, but very good. There were others I liked a lot too, I think, but I can't remember which ones right now. 8/10
80. Jacquou le croquant (2007) - I enjoyed this. It felt a little too long overall, but I mostly liked it. Gaspard Ulliel was, of course, excellent in it. 8/10
81. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) - This was pretty cute, I guess. I don't know. I think I both liked it and disliked it more than I expected to. I thought the acting overall was very good, but the storylines were just kind of eh. 7/10
82. Pan's Labyrinth (2006) - I enjoyed this and recognize that it's a great film, but at the same time, I couldn't really connect with it, so that prevents me from considering it a favorite movie or ranking it higher. I thought it was really well written, well acted, and the cinematography was beautiful. I liked that the ending was kind of ambiguous. I was discussing it with my mom, and she was convinced it was all real, but I'm pretty firmly convinced that she completely made up the fantasy world, and I kind of like it better that way. Anyways. Great film. 8/10
83. Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) - I have mixed feelings about this. There were definitely things I liked. I think it was very well acted, the costumes were absolutely beautiful, and some of the shots were really beautiful. But I hated the emphasis on her love for Sir Walter Raleigh and that they omitted other important historical figures. Also, some of the shots looked like they were trying too hard for "artsy" and they were just... irritating, I guess, to view. I wish there had been more of an emphasis on the politics and the Spanish Armada and such, because those parts interested me the most. 7/10
84. Once (2006) - This was pretty good, but it didn't turn out at all like I expected, so I didn't end up liking it as much as I thought I would. I really, really disliked that he went to London to try to win back his ex-girlfriend and she got back with her husband. I just thought they would get together, and all the taglines were about it being a unique love story and such and I was just thrown when they didn't actually end up together. Maybe if I hadn't expected it, it wouldn't have bothered me, but I did, so it just confused me. I thought the songs were very nice, as was the acting and most of the story, but the ending bothered me. 8/10
85. Dan in Real Life (2007) - Oh, Steve Carell, I love you. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this movie as much as I wanted to. Steve Carell was awesome, as he always is, but I didn't really like his love interest or Dane Cook, and the story was fairly predictable. Oh well. It was definitely a lot funnier and heartwarming and touching and better acted and better written than most movies like this, but at the same time, there wasn't anything unique about it. You could tell exactly how it would end from the first few minutes of the movie. And I don't always mind that, but I don't know. It just didn't stand out at all to me, I guess. It was a fun movie to watch, very feel-good, but it's not the sort of movie I'd want to watch over and over again. 7/10
86. The Bourne Idenitity (2002) - Pretty cool movie. It feels kind of incomplete, though, so I feel like I have to see the other two before I can really make a judgement on it. 7/10
87. Showbusiness: The Road to Broadway (2007) - This was a really interesting look at Wicked, Taboo, Avenue Q, and Caroline, or Change. However, I kind of wish we got to see a little more of the musicals. They kept saying that Caroline, or Change was really different from the norm on Broadway and it was doing something new but I'm still not entirely sure what it's about. I guess they didn't explain it any less than any of the other musicals, but it was the only one I wasn't already familiar with, so I was left confused about it. I don't know. (I also would've liked more Raul Esparza singing.) 7/10
88. Sommersturm (2004) - This was very good. I liked that it was actually realistic. I kept expecting all those movie cliches to happen, like Anke catching Leo and Tobi, or Anke telling everyone, or I don't know. But nothing seemed really contrived. Well, except for the last minute replacement team for the Berlin girls team. But overall, it was very real and well-done. 8/10
89. Ratatouille (2007) - I thought this was really awesome. I wasn't expecting much from it, but it was really enjoyable. 8/10
90. Citizen Kane (1941) - I don't know if this is the greatest film of all time, or even one of the greatest, but it was incredibly good. I wasn't expecting the cinematography to really interest me, partially since it's so old, and partially because it's in black and white (not that I have anything against black and white, I just happen to be really into color use right now), but that was one of the first things that really struck me about this film. Welles did some really amazing things with lighting. And the shots were pretty amazing, too. The acting is incredible, especially by Welles. He's just brilliant. The storyline is simple, but it really resonated with me. The more I think about the movie, the more I like it. And I like that it really makes me want to think about it, because few films I see these days really do. So yeah, I don't know if I'd classify it as the greatest movie of all time, and it's not one of my absolute favorites, but it is a really spectacular film. 10/10
91. Hollywoodland (2006) - This wasn't bad, but I wish it were a lot better. I remember seeing the trailer for this in theaters before it came out and thinking that it seemed like a really interesting movie and wanting to see it, but it just falls flat. I don't care at all about Simo or his son or his ex-wife or anything about his life. However, I thought Ben Affleck did a wondeful job as Reeves, and the scenes about the last few years of his life were the best of the movie and slightly redeemed it. I'm kind of mixed about the ending. On one hand, not determining if he was murdered and who murdered him left the movie feeling somewhat pointless. On the other, I did kind of like that the last possibility Simo went through at the very end was that it wasn't murder; Reeves was just so unhappy and tired of his life that he committed suicide. It's a rather depressing note to end on, but I don't know. Some part of me really likes it. Plus, there's that whole thing with Reeves being a real person and not knowing for sure how he died. Overall decent, but could've been far better. 7/10
92. Mystic River (2003) - I'm not sure what I think about this film. I totally called it was the girl's boyfriend's mute brother pretty early on (definitely when he was like "It was for the best" or whatever he signed) although I didn't call the motive (well, there wasn't a motive, but I decided it either had to do with him knowing Jimmy killed his father, or him being kind of crazy and thinking it was the best for his brother, like he said). The acting was very strong, and I think I mostly liked the storyline. I would've liked some more things to be explained, though, like why everyone suspected Dave (well, I get why, but what they thought his motives were. I mean, at the very end, Dave makes up motives I guess, but up until then, I couldn't figure out why he'd want to kill Katie, and I don't see why anyone else thought he would, either), and why Dave's wife was so ready to jump to the idea that he killed Katie (and that could've been explained more easily, like he had acted bizarrely around Katie a lot, or even just in general, and she always was kind of afraid of him, or something, but... no. It was just kind of surprising how she seemed to turn on him). Oh well. Overall, very good. 8/10
93. Children of Men (2006) - I thought this was pretty good. The cinematography was excellent, and I thought the storyline was well-done. I never really connected to any of the characters, though. 8/10
94. Friday Night Lights (2004) - It was weird to watch this with Connie Britton still being who she is in the TV series, but Billy Bob Thorton being the coach instead of Kyle Chandler. The cinematography was excellent. I kind of like that they don't win in the end. 8/10
95. Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) - Pretty fun movie. John Cusack was great, and I enjoy dark comedies. 8/10
96. Memento (2001) - This was ridiculously cool. Kind of confusing, and I feel like I need to see it again to properly understand it, but I still really loved it. The acting was excellent, and the storyline was just... really awesome. 10/10
97. Barbie Nation (1998) - Eh. Kind of interesting, but I feel like it didn't really examine the negative side of Barbie very well (or at all). And most of the people interviewed seemed kind of crazy. The guy whose partner died of AIDS (I think. It was confusing, because he mentioned he had cancer, but then said something about dying of AIDS, and yeah. I didn't understand really what happened) and was really into it and that's why he got into it was pretty heartbreaking, though. 7/10
98. Sweeney Todd (2007) - I thought this was very good. I've never seen the musical on stage before, and I didn't actually know the story before seeing the movie, so I can't really compare them. I know there are a lot of people criticizing the singing, especially Helena Bonham Carter, but I thought the entire cast was very good. Also, it was visually stunning. 9/10
99. Juno (2007) - Oh god I loved this. Ellen Page was excellent. Actually, the whole cast was excellent. I thought Michael Cera was especially good. I liked that it was actually realistic, and that Juno realized her feelings for Bleeker, but Vanessa and Mark weren't able to work things out. Because it would've been cliche if Mark had stuck it through to the birth and then seen the child and been "Oh I was so wrong nothing would make me happier than being a father" and everything worked out all right. And I'm really glad Juno didn't want to keep the baby, because that would've also been cliche and annoying and yeah. I just really loved this movie so much. It was well-written, funny, and the acting was excellent. 10/10
100. No Country for Old Men (2007) - This was a really well-done film. At first the ending was kind of "WTF?" but realizing that the point of the movie isn't the cat-and-mouse chase between Chigurh and Moss but Bell's retirement and his realization that he can't stop Chigurh or the violence and evil in the world. I like that the evil guy wins and how when he gets into the car crash, you think "Oh, so after all that he's going to be taken out by a car crash" and that it's just going to follow normal Hollywood movies, but then he survives, and it just furthers Bell's realization. The cinematography was gorgeous and the acting was really great. Everyone's talking about how awesome Javier Bardem was in this movie (and don't get me wrong, he totally was), but I think Josh Brolin was just as impressive. This is the kind of movie that I appreciate is really well done, but I just didn't connect with any of the characters, which prevents me from giving it a higher rating. 9/10
1. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - 5/5
2. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakepeare - 5/5
3. Emma by Jane Austen - 4/5
4. Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maguire - 4/5
5. Othello by William Shakespeare - 4/5
6. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner - 4/5
7. The Princess Bride by William Goldman - 5/5
8. Beloved by Toni Morrison - 3/5
9. Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow - 2/5
10. Urinetown: The Musical by Greg Kotis - 5/5
11. Persuasion by Jane Austen - 5/5
12. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger - 5/5
13. Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde - 5/5
14. A Room With a View by E. M. Forster - 5/5
15. Maurice by E. M. Forster - 4/5
16. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling - 5/5
17. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - 4/5
18. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer - 4/5
19. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - 4/5
20. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer - 4/5
21. Temping Fate by Esther Friesner - 4/5
22. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde - 4/5
23. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay - 4/5
24. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes - 5/5
25. Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card - 5/5
26. Drag King Dreams by Leslie Feinberg - 3/5
27. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - 5/5
28. Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay - 4/5
29. Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare - 3/5
30. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay - 3/5
I think I might try for 150 movies this year. I'm not sure how possible that will be, but we'll see, I guess.
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no subject
Date: 2008-01-03 04:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-03 10:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-03 04:58 am (UTC)I saw you didnot list it, and if you havenot seen it yet you definetly should watch it! Its a grown-up half hour FNG. Plus a goregous foreign boy. And FNG regulars guest star alot. Samm Levine, Jason Segal, Busy Phillips, Seth Rogen is a regular on the show too.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-03 10:12 pm (UTC)