Movies of 2010

So now, that it is March, I can recap my favorite films of the previous year. I could say this is because February is full of crap releases and now I can finally look forward in the year, but it is more to do aboot laziness. I finally watched all the "good" movies and now I can do a proper list.

Do some of the Oscar nominees and winners make it into my list?!

Read more to find out.

Yes, yes they do.

SOOOOOOO here is my top 5:

1. Scott Pilgrim vs The World- My opinions on this have been made clear. It is my #10 favorite film of all time. Epic is epic is epic.

10/10

IMDB: 7.8

RT: 81%

2. Toy Story 3- I literally just explained my opinion on it on the last post. It is #22 on my all-time list. And the only other movie to get a 10.

10/10

3. Shutter Island- Somewhat hypocritically, this was released last February. It is a psychologically thriller featuring Leo DiCaprio going crazy. He is a US marshal looking into a missing patient from a high-security insane asylum. Things start going weird. There is a lot of tension. And the ending is awesome as it sure be for this genre. The last line....well penultimate line.... of the film is very awesome and resounding. The ending could have been a bit more ambiguous, but w/e. Also Mark Ruffalo is there, and he's a cool guy. But this is Leo's film as with any movie he is in. He should have totally gotten an Oscar nom.

9/10

IMDB: 8.0

RT: 68% (Whaaaaaaat?)

4. Inception- Also, discussed this yesterday.

9/10

IMDB: 8.9

RT: 86%

5. Black Swan- I totally mentioned this movie earlier.....when could it have been?

9/10

IMDB: 8.5

RT: 88%

Also, these:

6. The Fighter- Mentioned yesterday.

9/10 

IMDB: 8.1

RT: 90%

7. Kick-Ass- Nick Cage is actually awesome. Crazy violence that I wasn't expecting honestly. 

9/10 

IMDB: 8.0

RT: 76%

8. Easy A- A high school comedy that was actually great. Emma Stone is cooli-o. Has some great jokes and dialogue.

This scene problably wins it:

Parents that are actually funny, whatddaya know...

8/10 

IMDB: 7.2

RT: 86%

9. The Kid's Are All Right- I totally had a separate review for this, go find it.

8/10

IMDB: 7.3

RT: 94%

10. 4.3.2.1.- I will discuss it in the following section.

Guilty pleasures of the year:

Movies that maybe aren't so great, but I enjoyed.

4.3.2.1.- Take place over 3 days. But follows 4 friends, who are attractive ~20 year old girls as evidence of this poster. Also, they're British.....thought you'd like to know. They do they're own thing, and you see some of them in passing in interesting situations. When the plot-line of one character reaches a certain points, the film goes back to the beginning, but then follows another person. It is very entertaining. There is an overarching action-y plot, which isn't all that impressive, but the things that happen in between is interesting. Also, all of the girls find moments when they need to be scantily clad, which is always cool. It is entertaining, and that's all I need some time.

8/10

IMDB: 5.9

RT: 36%

Repo Men- A great action movie. Jude Law's character repossesses artificial organs. Then in brutal irony he gets an artificial heart and falls behind on payments. He goes on the run! Intense fighting. And the cool thing is that there is a twist at the end. Maybe I should have seen it coming if I payed more attention, but it was still pretty awesome. Just sort of mindless action for the most part, but I had fun with it.

8/10

IMDB:

RT: 22%

Disappointment:

Date Night-  Stars Steve Carell and Tina Fey so it should have been epic. But it was just mediocre. Oh well.

6/10

IMDB: 6.4

RT: 67%

Also, I was really excited for True Grit, so, eventhough it was good, I was hoping for a lot more.

Whatcha reading there?!

Picture is not related, but I think it is hilarious.

Also, Hot Tub Time Machine (7/10). Watch it!

Also, as well include the top 3 for the last decade:

2009:

1. Watchmen 10/10 (#32 all-time)

2. World's Greatest Dad 10/10 (#38)

3. Up 10/10 (#52)

Also, Mega shark vs Giant Octopus  10/10 (#57)

Such a great year

2008:

1.  Wall-E 10/10 (#28)

2.  Moon 10/10 (#43)

3. Bender's Big Score 10/10 (#47)

2007:

1. Sügisball (Autumn Ball) 10/10 (#42)

2. Jan Uuspõld läheb Tartusse (127 Kilometers) 10/10 (#56)

3. The Bourne Ultimatum 9/10

Estonia FTW!

2006:

1. The Prestige 10/10 (#2)

2. Stranger Than Fiction 9/10

3. The Departed 9/10

2005:

1. Sin City 10/10 (#34)

2. Kohtumine tundmatuga 10/10 (#37)

3. Corpse Bride 9/10

2004:

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 10/10  (#1)

2. Anchorman 9/10

3. Der Untergang (The Downfall) 9/10

Also, Mean Girls 9/10. Guiltiest pleasure.

2003:

1. Underworld 10/10 (#30)

2. Kill Bill Vol. 1 10/10 (#41)

3. Love Actually 10/10 (#46)

2002:

1. About Schmidt 10/10 (#15)

2. Catch Me If You Can 10/10 (#20)

3. The Bourne Identity 10/10 (#48)

Also, Cheats 10/10 (# 50). Another guilty pleasure.

2001:

1.  Battle Royale 10/10 (#7)

2. Amelie 10/10 (#11)

3. Monsters, Inc. 10/10 (#31)

2000:

1. American Psycho 10/10 (#40)

2. Meet The Parents 10/10 (#59)

3. Memento 9/10

The Oscars 2011

So that happened. I didn't watch it, but I did check out the winners and I am glad that Inception got more Oscar's than The Social Network. There were plenty of no-duh's and a few surprises.

The performance awards were the same as anywhere else: 

Leading actor Colin Firth because he is really good at stammering.

Leading actress Natalie Portman (w00t!), because she danced ballet

Supporting actor Christian Bale (w00t again!) because he did a lot of crack

Supporting actress Melissa Leo, because she played Bale's mother and is even more unlikable than that crackhead

Though with the last one, not to say Leo didn't deserve it, maybe it should have gone to Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit, but that's not a big deal. 

Best Director- the dude for King's Speech. BOO! Give it to Aronofsky, damnit!

Creepy mustache or creepiest mustache?

On the topic of facial hair, Christian Bale wins

Matching hair and beard color is sooooo mainstream!

He looks like a lumberjack ax-murderer. A great role for him, considering his previous experience:

Most up-beat murder I know of

Best original screenplay- The King's Speech. BOOOOOOOOOO! That movie is all about the acting, the script is booooring. Have the lead played sub-par'ly and you have a giant piece of crap. Give the Oscar to Inception, because even with meh acting it was still a fantastic movie.

Sound editing, mixing n stuff- Inception of course. It had the most memorable score, and there for got the Oscar for best original score, owaitsocialnetworkgotitinsteadwtf!?

I mean, how can you not give original score to Inception as well?

Has the Academy forgotten the BRAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWRRRMMMMM

That should have also been nominated for best original song. Not the whole song, just that one note.

uhhh...

Best animated- Toy Story 3 obviously

hmmmmm....

Now, I am not an expert on movie editing, but even I can see that Scott Pilgrim had some amazing editing.  The best by far. And I'm not saying that because I love the movie anyway. But apparently it wasn't good enough to get nominated. Le shame.

And best picture. Glad The Social Network didn't win, but also unfortunate that The King's Speech did. Didn't really like either. 

Who should have won? 

Toy Story 3 of course. That is a silly question. But if I were to choose the most Oscar-y movie that should have won, I would have gone with The Fighter. And on that note, here is my personal order of favorites and a bit about why.

1. Toy Story 3- The plot is more complex and with more ups and downs emotionally than the first one (which is #17 on my all-time best list for those of you who don't remember). But I like the first one more, mostly due to nostalgia. Also, the fact that the other toys still don't listen to Woody is ridiculous. 

10/10

2. Black Swan- Psychological thrillers are awesome. I haven't seen too many, but I did see two last year which were both great Shutter Island and this. I've always liked Portman and she was great in this. Mila Kunis did her role of sexy free-spirit really well also. The ending, like in most thrillers is very important, and The Black Swan's was a little bit too "huh?" I understood what happened, but I was also like how! why?

Also, the whole "that would be great if I was only casting the white swan, but I am not. I am also casting the black swan," was uttered waaaaaaaaaaaaay too many times. I think it was said about....hmmm....75000 times, though I am bad with estimation.

And why I wouldn't say it is the best picture over The Fighter, is that it doesn't have substance, any deep drama. It's just one person going crazy, which is awesome.

 9/10

3. Inception- BRAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWRRRMMMMM!

Also, the plot is complex, though not as much as people suggest. DiCaprio is awesome, Joseph Gordon Lewitt is as well. And Ellen Page. Everyone has seen it by now, so I won't go into detail. BUT the plot is a bit convoluted at times (really 10 years?!, when you did it in like an hour.....wouldn't there have been a good middle ground, like a month or something?)  and the ending could have been a bit more open-ended, though I liked what he tried to do. Chrisopher Nolan is my favorite director doing original shit, yo!

9/10

4. The Fighter- Compelling drama. Getting to be a bit old boxer is in a bad situation. Brother's a dug deal, mother's also a terrible person who cares more about the older brother. Mark Wahlberg doesn't say much throughout the film, but when he does, he delivers his lines well. The supporting characters are all great, hence why they all got nominated. The ending is a very Hollywood-esque fairy tale one, but since it is based on a true story, its not something you can deduct for.

9/10

5. The Kid's Are All Right- Already posted about this. Just reference that.

8/10

6. 127 Hours- Very well done, considering it is just a dude trapped for 127 hours. James Franco does unusually well, so good for him. The hand severing was pretty gruesome. But knowing that he does cut off his arm and escape alive sorta ruins the movie. There is very little tension because of that knowledge, which is unfortunate.

7/10

7. True Grit- I love the Coen brothers' films, I really do. And this is not their greatest work. They proved they can do sirius things with Best Picture No Country For Old Men. Unfortunately, this movie left me underwhelmed. Even with it's lack of tension, 127 Hours, still left me whelmed. 

The acting is still great.  But the plot had its issues. The confrontation with the man the group is hunting is soooooo anti-climactic as is the ending. The journey there was great, but in the ended I felt a bit cheated.

7/10

8. The Social Network- I felt terrible for using facebook after watching this. If the film is accurate, then Mark Zuckerberg is the worst human being ever, besides murderers and rapists of course. But I seem to be the only one to really feel this way. Other people don't seem to have stolen the facebook idea. It is pretty straightforward that he did. And he stabbed his best friend in the back, which was terrible. The movie following this terrible person and trying at times to make him feel sympathetic just bothered me. The last line "you're not an asshole, you're just trying to hard to be one." I was just shaking my head after that- no, he is an asshole. He was really smart/witty in how he answered the lawyers, but he was still a jerk. Can't root for someone like that.

The biggest thing I got out of this movie is that Justin Timberlake is a surprisingly good actor. He's been in multiple other things, but he hasn't stood out in those. In this one he did great.

7/10

9. The King's Speech- Colin Firth is amazing. Stammers really well. Geoffrey Rush was also very good. But it is still just about a king getting over a speech impediment. At least the main character is likable and you root for him. But the stakes just don't seem all that high. I am amazed they made it as interesting to watch as they did.

7/10

10. Winter's Bone- Didn't care enough to see it.


So there you have it.

All right already!

The toy king's 3rd speech (titled "Social black swan fighter network! " on the 127th hour in this truly gritty winter was all right...... .Inception!

So I guess I hinted at it enough, I am starting the process of watching all the Oscar nominees for best picture before the show in two weeks. I have already seen Black Swan, Inception, and Toy Story 3. I don't have much interest in Winter's Bone, so I'll probably skip that one. This leaves me with 6 films.

I started with

The Kids Are All Right

It's a comedy with some drama. Probably the most light-hearted movie out of the Oscar nominees for the most part. The children of lesbian couple seek out their sperm donor aka their dad. This movie shows that even a non-traditional family still has issues, like any other.

Annette Bening and Julian Moore play the moms. Initially, their romance thing was in your face. I was like, I get it, they're lesbians. I guess maybe I'm a prude on the inside, but whatever- luckily that didn't persist. Moore's character is sort of the free-spirit, doesn't have a consistent job, etc whilst Annette Bening is the somewhat uptight, strict worker. Her performance reminded me of her role in American Beauty. She is not a very nice person or likable really, but in the end you see her more sensitive side.

The dad is played by Mark Ruffalo, who is a cool dude. And he plays a cool dude, who rides a motorcycle,  owns a restaurant and has his own organic garden.

The children didn't really seem that important in the movie. The daughter, played by Mia W-something polish-ska (who played Alice in Tim Burton's wonderland film) is decent. The son however, who is named Laser (yes, weird names and handwritten opening credits....seems sorta like indie movie design here), is odd. I don't really understand what they wanted from that character.

The way everyone interacted was realistic. Especially the scene when the kids meet their dad for the first time. It is full of awkward pauses n stuff.

All in all, the performances were good and very believable. Especially the adult characters, the kids were ...wait for it... 

....

...

..

.

alright.

I. Am. Hilarious. 

Even Hugo Weaving agrees.

I didn't really like the ending, it was blandish and nothing really happened....

It is labeled a comedy, but there aren't really that many laugh out loud moments. But it isn't too serious to be a drama, it is like in between, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It wanted to show real life, and it did it realistically.

8/10

Recap

Everybody love statistics right!?

Anyway, a recap of my top 20:

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. The Prestige
3. Léon (The Professional)
4. Fight Club
5. Full Metal Jacket
6. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
7. Batoru rowaiaru (Battle Royale)
8. The Matrix
9. The Truman Show
10. Scott Pilgrim vs The World

11. Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amelie)
12. The Fox and the Hound
13. SLC Punk!
14. The Nightmare Before Christmas
15. About Schmidt
16. The Big Lebowski
17. Toy Story
18. American Beauty
19.Groundhog Day
20. Catch Me If You Can


The average year for my top 20 films is: 1996.5
Not a lot of older movie there. But I believe we shouldn't hold on to the classics in the way that people do. Like Citizen Kane: Yes, it may have been revolutionary in technique and the changed the way movies are made, but that doesn't mean it holds up to today standards; technology has advanced since then. I can appreciate it, but it isn't that enjoyable to watch and does not belong on my favorite list.

Also, my taste isn't really that bad. Taking the average of their ratings on IMDB and RT we get:
8.115 and 85.9%

And since we all like statistics, I also took an adjusted average or w.e. It's like they do in figure skating, where they discount to the highest and lowest score, so it's more average I guess. Well instead of 6 judges I have 20 movies, so I removed the top  and bottom 3 and got: 8.18 and 87.1%
The consensus is in: I have a good taste in movies.

And finally, I would like to shout out to other movies that got a 10 from me (there is 59 movies with that rating at the moment)

I have a couple Estonian movies. I may be a bit lenient in giving them 10s, but nonetheless, they are great:
29. Viimne reliikvia (The Last Relic) (1971)
37. Kohtumine tundmatuga (2005)
42. Sügisball (Autumn Ball) (2007)
56. Jan Uuspõld läheb Tartusse (186 Kilometers) (2007)

Also some movies that aren't considered so great that I love:

30. Underworld (2003)- I think I've mentioned this movie enough as to why it is so awesome
(31% on RT)

35. Dumb and Dumber (1994)- I don't understand why this movie was critically disliked; it is hilarious. It does have some dumb humor, but so many great quotable lines:

Oh, and also Jim Carrey.
(63% on RT, which isn;t tii bad, but this movie deserves so much more)

50. Cheats (2002)- A low budget high school comedy that is wonderful. It is pretty unknown. The leads haven't accomplished much after, though I have noticed them in one or two other great movies. It doesn't have a rating on RT though it does have only 4 reviews all rotten. And only has 5.9 on IMDB.

57. Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus (2009)- Just as the title explains, this is a movie that defines the genre "so bad it's good". Not a big fan of that genre, but this movie is hilarious. The over acting, the cheesey special effects, the ludicrous plot and inconsistencies, and this:
(RT: 16%)

SO there. That's done with.

Oh, before I forget

So Jim Carrey is the king of comedy. He hasn't done too much great comedy since Yes Man which was three years ago...also not his greatest work. However, he proved that he's still got it on SNL some weeks ago:

And there was the Black Swan parody, but I prefer the last one. The Black Swan one is a better showcase of Carrey, but this sketch is funnier overall. Plus his (and the others') face is sooo hilarious, plus the robotic motions are spot on.

But, as I probably previously mentioned, Jim Carrey is actually a great drama actor, as proved as well as my favorite movie of all time

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)-

Jim Carrey plays Joel Barish, who finds out his girlfriend, Clementine (Kate Winslet) has gotten him erased from her memory, so he decides he might as well do the same to her. Then we take a journey, where Joel travels through his subconscious on a backwards sorta timeline. It also features a "present" reality timeline with Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood. (Fun fact: It seems, to me at least, that Mark Ruffalo became popular after this film. It was after this that he started being in more mainstream movies: Collateral, Zodiac (eventually The Kids Are All Right and Shutter Island) though he was in a bunch of stuff before)
So the plot is somewhat complex. If you don't pay attention at the beginning you can get a bit lost. It's not a dream within a dream within a dream type of deal, but it still has the subconscious involved. It has some warping things going on (visuals, special effects n junk)

It is a romance movie with comedic elements (not a romantic comedy; the drama dominates). This movie asks the age old qestion: is it  better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all? It also provides a sorta answer at the end.

Jim Carrey is great
He goes from this

to this

This movie really does fill out the entire range.

throughout the film. Of course Kate Winslet is also fantastic and was even nominated for an Oscar.


Why is it my favorite? Features one of my favorite actors, is a beautiful love story with a unique of presenting the plot (via sci-fi-ish elements), has parallel stories, and also has some comedy. *The funniest line/moment  actually doesn't belong to Carrey, rather a very minor character, though Carrey does have a very funny scene later in the movie, but I don't want to spoil theses two scenes. ESotSM also has some great lines like
"Constantly talking isn't necessarily communicating. Plus the ending....well sort of ending. It is actually 20 min before the end. Anyway, there is one scene which I think is the most beautifully sad thing in cinema ever.
Also, it takes place in the greatest place on Earth: New Jersey. w00t!

And for those of you wondering about where the title comes from:

IMDB: 8.5
RT: 93%

Medalists

3. Léon (The Professional) (1994) -

So in true hypocritical fashion, where I don't like war movies and mobster films in the last post, because of the despicable protagonists, this movie is aboot a hitman Leon played by Jean Reno. It also features a 11-year old Natalie Portman.

Someone's crazy happy!

*This scene isn't in the theatrical cut.


And also there is Gary Oldman as the antagonist dirty cop. He is an enigma for me, as an actor. I am unable to recognize him in any film. I don't know it's him untill I look it up or sth. He looks so different in Nolan's Bataman movies, The Fifth Element and the lots of other stuff he's been in. Maybe it's just me.....

So Mathilda's (Portman) family gets murdered (not a spoiler, happens in the first 20 min....basically the introduction). So she seeks refuge with Leon and wants to also become an assassin like Leon to get revenge. It is an interesting relationship. In some aspects Leon is more of a child than Mathilda. Also, there is some odd sexual tension between them. Initiated more by Mathilda. This is more apparent in the director's cut.



It doesn't actually go thaaaat far.


Why this is so high on the list? I guess it's just because of its interesting, compelling story, great performance by all the leads (Jean Reno is badass to the max), and moments of great humor.



Interestingly, this movie has many references to A Clockwork Orange... also Full Metal Jacket. I guess Luc Besson (writer/director) liked Kubrick, as everyone should.

Sorry for the poorer quality. Also, I wanted to edit a couple of clips together to make like a Kubrick film v Leon comparison, but windows movie maker was being a bitch.

So all I have is text

Leon drinks lots of milk like Alex and his droogs in  A Clockwork Orange
Oldman's character mentions Beethoven an important figure in A Clockwork Orange
Mickey Mouse bullshit a line both used in this film and Full Metal Jacket
IMDB: 8.6
RT: 78%

2. The Prestige (2006) - I actually had a spoilerific post about this movie, so I'll just keep it short.
Chirstian Bale and Hugh Jackman are rival magicians who sacrifice much for their art. Their porformances are superb, especially Bale, who may have a terrible batman voice, and is a jerk, but is still one of the greatest actors. Unlike the other higher movies on my list, it lacks humor. It is pure drama and suspense.

Told you I'd keep it short.

IMDB: 8.4
RT: 75%

And soon the winner will be revealed.

I don't feel like coming up with a title

you ARE the DEMON (3:24-3:56) ....just watch the whole thing

WHY?!

Because WYNAUT!!!!`

Ahem....

5. Full Metal Jacket (1987) - Kubrick was like, da best. It's hard to pick a best movie from this, A Clockwork Orange (my #22), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (my #24), The Shining, and 2001: A Space Odyssey ....for pretentious jerks.
The reason this is my favorite out of his movies, was the successful combination of sirius subject matter and great humor.
Like this:

Full Metal Jacket suffers from the opposite flaw as Scott Pilgrim: it doesn't end. It is divided into two parts: part one being boot camp, and part two the Vietnam War itself. This movie would probably be at the top of my list, in the one spot, if those parts were considered separate. The first half had great humor as shown before. As well as one of my favorite lines - the "jelly doughnut scene" that I have posted before, and shall do again:

But the first part ends dramatically and shockingly. The movie could have ended there. Of course it would have only been 45 min long, but epic nontheless.

The second half isn't bad, it's just mediocre. I am not a fan of war movies in general. Maybe similarly to my general dislike of mafia/mob movies that are so popular. I am not a fan of depicting such killers as "the good guys". There are exceptions like this.
The second half starts out strong with this scene, which has some very famous lines:

The rest is bland enough that there isn't much to talk aboot. Just showing the horrors of war 'n stuff.



All in all the epicness of the first overrides the second half, and it falls into the 5 spot.

...le sigh... so much potential

IMDB: 8.4
RT: 96%

4. Fight Club (1999) - Well unlike the previous movie, which has some serious undertones, this one.... not so much. It's just more a bunch of entertainment from beginning to end.

Features Edward Norton as an insurance guy who meets Brad Pitt and then his life gets flipturned upside down. Mahem ensues.
It has a lot of very well known lines. Especially the rules of fight club:

Also, Helena Bonham Carter is the love interest. Personally I think she's hot in a weird sorta way. In this movie atleast

Maybe I just have weird taste...

But I guess the hottest of the film has to go to Brad Pitt.

Now that's a man.

Or maybe Meatloaf instead?

BOOBIES!

This movie also has one of the greatest twist endings. The kind, unlike Usual Suspects, that you can watch the movie again to notice clues. Sadly, it was spoiled for me the first time I watched it, but it was still superb.


It tries to have some philosophical questions asked- the whole issue of people not living their life to the fullest, potential...... but I don't really care when watching this its just a fun, entertaining movie, with great actors.

IMDB: 8.8
RT: 81%

Candy & Bloodshed

Let's dive straight into the chocolate river:

More like the chocolate river of BLOOD!

7. Batoru rowaiaru (Battle Royale) (2000)- If a movie has opening credits like this, greatness is apparent:

That also saves me explaining the premise of the movie (why shit is happening). What is happening is this: a bunch of high school senior equivilent students are but on a desrted island. They are given weapons. And the last one alive wins. Japanese be crazy! It's actually somewhat similar to the new-ish book series aimed at Hunger Games [First one is solid, second one is decent, haven't read the third one]. I guess this plot is done a bunch, not sure what would be considered the first one. Anyway, let's let this lady explain the rules in more detail:

This movie is basically filled with over the top violence. It should be a sirius movie, but instead Battle Royale  is hilarious.

So even though there is this over the top violence, people dying left and right, and humor, there is also the sense of drama. A connection is formed with the main characters and you hope for them to survive. The movie also includes some side characters with their own compelling plot lines. Also, there are flashbacks and backstory 'n stuff.
The movie is goddamn entertaining. Isn't that whats important?

Some people even find time to relax on this island of death.

Battle Royale is actually based on a book of the same name by Koushun Takami. The book is actually better in sense. You don't see the over the top violence. But the collars are more relevant and more characters have personalities. Also the ending and part of the main plot is altered for the movie, and I prefer the book version. Also, the book's cover is better than the movie's.





Sadly a Hollywood remake was scratched because of the Virginia Tech shooting and the sensitivity about killing high school students. A country of prudes I say.


IMDB: 7.9
RT: 82%

6. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)-
FF (fun fact...or frivolous ferrets or w.e): The oldest movie in my top 20. Actually, it's tied with three other movies for oldest in my top 50 (the other two are A Clockwork Orange at #22 and Viimne reliikvia (The Last Relic) at #29)

A large contrast to the previous movie. 5 children, along with their guardians are locked in a crazy man's mad house and are killed off one by one off screen by painted midgets.....wait, that may give you the wrong impression....

AAAANyway, this movie is based on Roald Dahl's (one of the greatest authors of all time) book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  It is a fantastic tale full of wonders, as per usual with his books. It makes the movie transition very well. The set design is superb.

That's a goddamn chocolate waterfall (not raw sewage)

The cast is also good. Gene Wilder is Willy Wonka. And he is fantastic. I actually don't really like him so much, as he has a tendency to yell, which is annoying. But he is a good fit in this movie. And the two main scenes where he strains his vocal chords are actually awesome.

Yes....this is a movie meant for children.....
Also Phoenix Wrong remix (6:00)

The "you lose. good day, sir" line has been remixed a bunch on youtube, btw.


The boy who plays Charlie looks like an adorable kid and plays the good, perfect little boy. Quite bland and uninteresting, as these saint-like characters tend to be. The other brats however are just that. Obviously terrible children.

The movie has great singing numbers in it (I guess this film is sorta like a musical....maybe) including four excellent songs by the Oompa Loompas (which were terribly butchered in the remake). Oh ya, there was that remake by Tim Burton in 2005 in starring Johnny Depp as Wonka. Let's just ignore that movie, since it isn't nearly as good as the old one. And lets listen to the musical stylings of midget clowns.
*Also, I guess these are pretty major spoilers, but w.e. It's not such a big deal for a movie like this.*

Also that "dance" in the last one. I'm bad at editing, so I won't point out which one specifically...I'll maybe do it in the future, who knows....

IMDB: 7.8
RT: 90%

Ummm...next week....theme....uhhhh....both movies are pretty violent. Don't live up to Battle Royale....but still...

Into the single digits we go

Let's just go for it, and not have some long irrelevant paragraph at the beginning. It just seems that at the beginning of each post I need to have some sort of joke or something. And I always manage to get off topic.... Extremely off topic. But I guess it is like in books, where the first sentence/paragraph need to catch the reader, entice them to continue on.....
......
... goddamnit! I've done it again.

9. The Truman Show (1998) - Jim Carrey is obviously one of the greatest comedy actors. It has got to be between him and Will Ferrell for the all-time best. BUT Jim Carrey also has some sirius roles, like The Truman Show. And he is so great in those movies as well. It seems a shame that he hasn't done more movies like The Truman Show, Man on the Moon, and another not-yet-to-be-named movie.
But ya, Carrey's performance is great, and considering what roles get nominated, let alone win the best actor Oscar (I'm looking at you Anthony Hopkins for Silence of the Lambs), it is astounding he didn't even get nominated. He should have won damnit!
Another movie with a very unique plot. Seems to be a trend on this list, eh? Jim Carrey is unknowingly part of a television show. A giant set has been built under a dome... well it's basically one town, with some surroundings. Truman (Carrey) lives is life, but there are cameras everywhere and all the other people are just actors. He is the only true man.... get it? HAHAHAHA. To him, his world is a stage... literally
(A Shakespeare reference!? Shit just got real).

Sounds like shows like Big Brother or any MTV reality show. But notice, that this was made in 1998. The movie makes the statement that people are too entertainment/TV driven that is only becoming more relevant as time go by. Somewhat similar to Amelie, this movie is way ahead of the curve. Obviously I'm not really listening to the message being conveyed. But that doesn't matter, as the movie is thoroughly enjoying anyway.
I may have been misleading, when I said this is a serious movie. It has a lot of comedy in it, but it isn't the usual slapstick and such that is present in most pure comedies.
It's more like the previous clip, and other such oddeties i.e. commercials

Also, the movie got nominated for 3 Oscars including Ed Harris for best supporting actor.

 

He has a beret, and he lost?! Blasphemy!

IMDB: 8.0
RT: 95%

And another story of altered "reality":

8. The Matrix (1999) -  Well, if you haven't seen it, you have to know about it at least, so I'm not going to delve into it. This movie is crazy iconic with a lot of quotable n stuffs. I'll just show a bunch of clips.

Keanu Reeves is great. Not necessarily a great actor....but he is just great, weather he is in the Matrix or on a speeding bus. But the real star of the movie, and series is Agent Smith played by Hugo Weaving. That man is bad-ass. Or maybe just has great diction. One or the other. There is just something about him. Also, he is so awesome that Agent deserves to be capitalized

These are from the first movie, the one that is so tooootally awesome:

The first confrontation of protagonist and antagonist:

Screw waterboarding, just have Hugo Weaving recite the dictionary to those terrorists:
 

These clips are from the much inferior sequels (however, Hugo is still awesome x infinity):

Best entrance ever? Yes!

Also, this little diddy:

Creepy-as-hell face anyone?

BtW, The Matrix basically invented the ever parodied "bullet time," or at east made it popular. Well, mainly these two clips.

The movie combines deep philosophical discussions by the few black people in the movie (Morpheus and the Oracle) ....and Agent Smith as well.... with pure badass action among the whites ... including Agent Smith. Take what you will from that,  I was just making an observation.
And to seal this movie review, the most badass scene in the movie:

IMDB: 8.7
RT: 86%

Oh, wait. I forgot one thing: The Matrix Has You.
Props to LegendaryFrog on all of his videos.

For next time there is no similar theme...rather too very contrasting films. Very contrasting.

And then there was two

Well these are technically numbers XI and X, but i figured, with my math genius brain, that if i do it in intervals of two, then I'll have 1st place left over for a separate post.

Also, I had finals and stuff...hence the lack of updates. Now that the winter break is starting, I'll try to be more consistent.
SOOOOO.....

11. Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001) aka Amelie - Only one of two non-US films to make it into my top 20. This basically falls into the slightly over-saturated genre of indie romantic comedy, though it came out, as you may have noticed, in 2001, which is years before the genre got very popular. It features a quirky lady and some odd dude, and they fall in love. So it's like almost some Zooey Deschanel movie, except it's French. And I must say,  Audrey Tautou (Amelie) is just as adorable as Zooey.

Goddamn adorable!

The movie has a great, quirky sense of humor, via narration at times.

As I said....goddamn adorable.

A warm, happy romcom featuring a serious of odd events. The perfect film in a genre that, unfortunately, has become full of just awful movies.

IMDB: 8.6
RT: 90%

starting my top ten, I actually have a movie from 2010. How exciting:
or maybe "how fun" would be better, Hans Landa?

(Ah. He was just awesome. Oscar well deserved....we-ell de-serv-ed.)


Ahem! On to the next movie

10. Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010) - I  blogged about it, when I got the DVD....yes, I actually bought this movie. That's how great it is.
A good summery about this movie could be: The worst part of it was that it ended. I would give where credit is due, since that is not my original line. HOWever, this so called fan of the movie gave it a 9/10. How he gives any movie a 10 is beyond me.

Plot: Scott (Michael Cera) wants to date Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). To achieve his goal he has to defeat her seven evil exes. Simple.
The main criticism with this movie (other than old people, who don't understand video games/comic books) is that seven evil exes is too much; it gets repetitive. To that I say Wrong! (i think I've used that link before, but it's just too great). All the fights are different and awesome. It's complete with comic book style POWs and Street Fighter-like shots, split screen, etc. And after winning a fight Scott gets some coins.

Ready....FIGHT!

OW...My stomach lining!!

It features some cool cuts and edits accompanied with some "epic" sound effects. Similar too director Edgar Wrights other awesome movies Shaun of the Dead and  Hot Fuzz.

Also, for all you Micheal Cera haters out there, who say he plays the same character in every movie- the awkward teen. Scott is not the same. At times, yes, he is quite awkward, especially towards the beginning. But at times he gets pretty hardcore (fight scenes) and is sometimes a jerk.
The supporting cast is also great. Especially, Scott's gay roommate Wallace (Kieran Culkin). He provides some of the best lines in a movie full of epic things said. To be honest, they aren't really all that "quotable", but still in the context of the movie, there is a lot hilarity.

....all in all, everything is great. Visuals, cast, script, sound effects
oh, ya, and it has a great soundtrack. indie rock n' stuff (beck, etc).

Sadly, as I mentioned in my previous post, it wasn't a commercial success. My generation (and younger) being the target audience; people who play video games and read comic books (I don't read comic books actually, but i appreciate them). We, as a collective, don't really like paying for stuff when it's on the internet for free.

AND here... is my favorite moment:

IMDB: 7.9
RT: 80%

Next time we'll look at two movies, where what we see isn't necessarily real.
OOooo....what a tease. What could they be?! I'm excited for one.

Why is 6 afraid of 7?

Because 12 13 14!......wait, I think I messed that up...Damn it!  Well enough procrastinating with my top movie countdown. I got finals and stuff coming up, so I might actually have to do some work! fuck that shit.

Today we got the aforementioned 12, 13, 14, which features two movies that I doubt you'd find on other lists.

14. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) - Second of three animated movies in my top 20. Though this technically isn't animated, its stop-motion, but I just lump them in the same group. Deal with it! 4
It has quite a unique story. The ruler of the Halloween world, somehow gets into Christmas land, and then is like, "I want that!". Like most animated movies, there are a lot of songs (well, I guess nowadays animated flicks don't really have those anymore)...So like older animated movies, like Lion King and such, the pre-Pixar era, its sort of like a musical at times. The songs are made by the very talented Danny Elfman, who you should know if you are familiar with moving pictures. He's done the soundtrack for like a ballion different films. Anyways, Nightmare's soundtrack is just one of the best. Some would actually argue that the movies music is annoying, like this tooooootally gay on rottentomatoes....well it is only that one jerk. Send all your hate to him please. It isn't directed, but rather produced by Tim Burton. Some would say, that this means Tim Burton just gave it money and did nothing else. But I'd like to believe that he had some sort of creative control, because this film just exudes his dark style. And maybe shouldn't really be shown to easily fightened children....
An intro to Halloweentown:

As you saw, the various citizens of Halloweentown look just awesome. And the main character, Jack Skellington is just plain bad-ass:

Comes in two flavors: friendly

and not so much

What's so great aboot it, is that it's a mash-up of two (very different) holidays, so you can watch this biannually, to celebrate Christmas and Halloween.


IMDB: 8.0
RT: 97%

13. SLC Punk!  (1999) - I doubt any of you have really heard of this movie. I stumbled upon it based on its lead actor, Matthew Lilliard. Most of you might recognize him as Shaggy from the Scooby Doo movies. Well I saw him there and other places, and then I remember seeing him in a movie a whiiiiile back. That turned out to be Dead Man's Curve, which is nowhere to be found on the internet. If someone could find it for me, that would be greeeeeeat (*to be read in the voice of that guy from office space). But I checked his filmography, and this one seemed interesting, watched it, and loved it.
It's a story of two punks (punk rock enthusiast) in Salt Lake City (SLC) one of the most conservative places like evar. Stevo (Matthew Lilliard) serves as a narrator, to introduce other characters and such, a technique used in many films. The supporting characters are interesting, and the stories Stevo tells about them are quite amusing. For example, an anecdote featuring the lead from Final Destination (the first one), crazy from LSD and with green hair (though not technically narrated by Stevo):

I'll admit there isn't a strong overarching story (though there is a good underlying message), its just about the guys in SLC and their adventure. It's not all fun and games, as there are some serious notes in the film as well. But the ride was so enjoyable, that I don't really care that the overall story wasn't strong. After finding this film, I've started looking at actors/actresses filmographies, hoping to find some lesser known gems, such as this. Also, Matthew Lilliard is awesome, and it is a shame he never really became mainstream.

IMDB: 7.3
RT: 63% (but 89% fan vote)

12. The Fox and the Hound (1981) - I realize this movie isn't as good as most other animated movies. But this one just has the nostalgia factor for me. So i like it more than the average viewer. It's a simple tale of forbidden friendship, between a neighboring young fox and a young pup hunting dog. It has some unnecessary supporting characters....they maybe should have focused on the two main characters more.
But aren't they just goddamn adorable?

Like Nightmare it has a few musical numbers, but not as many, and not as memorable. There are however two extremely low points. One of them is my number two most depressing scene of all time (number one being the final scene in About Schmidt). Just like fairytale, it amazes me how horrifying events there are in children's tales. Proof of that, is the opening:

IMDB: 7.1
RT: 68%


Also, in shameless self-promotion, I have accounts on IMDB and RT (profile: Reigntall on both), where I post some of my reviews (altered slightly for obvious reasons), so if you could maybe, say my reviews were useful (IMDB), or give them a thumbs up (RT) that would be superspecialawesome.