MANHATTAN (1979)

Directed By: Woody Allen
Written By: Woody Allen & Marshall Brickman
Cinematography By: Gordon Willis
Editor: Susan E. Morse

Cast: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Wallace Shawn, Mariel Hemmingway, Michael Murphy, Meryl Streep, Michael O’Donoghue

2008 BEST & WORST MOVIES

THE BEST


19. Step Brothers

18. Billy The Kid

17. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

16. Wall-E

15. The Wrestler

14. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

13. The Bank Job

12. Frost/Nixon

11. Hellboy 2


10. Towelhead


9. The Promotion


8. Iron Man


7. The Signal


6. In Bruges


5. SlumDog Millionaire


4. The Dark Knight


3. 4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days....


2. Let The Right One In


1. [Rec]





Honorable Mention

Soul Men....

Vicky Christina Barcelona....

Kung Fu Panda....

Role Models....

Hatchet....

Inside....

Elite Squad....

Gran Torino....

Murder Party....

Rachel Getting Married....

Wanted
The most fun with mindless entertainment you can have in a theater

Gonzo: The Life & Times Of Hunter S. Thompson....

The Foot Fist Way

The Express

Hallem Foe

Milk
More for the performances then the actual film....


WORST

10. Lakeview Terrace

9. Midnight Meat Train

8. THE INCREDIBLE HULK

7. What Happens In Vegas

6. Get Smart

5. Eagle-Eye

4. HELL-RIDE

3. Saw V

2. Max Payne

1. Lost Boys 2: The Tribe
I Waited this long for this?!? they shouldn't have even bothered.


Acclaimed Films.... That i didn't see

Che

Happy go Lucky

Doubt

Frozen River

Ballast

Synedoche, New York.

W.

The Changeling

The Reader

Religilous

2010: THE YEAR WE MAKE CONTACT (1984)

Cast: Roy Scheider, Helen Mirren, John Lithgow, Bob Balaban, Kier Dullea, Douglas Rain, Elya baskin, Mary Jo Deschanel

Written & Directed & Cinematography By: Peter Hyams
Based On Characters & The Novel By: Arthur C. Clarke
Edited By: Mia Goldman & James Mitchell
Set Decoration By: Rick Simpson

This is a strange hybrid as a sequel it seems to try to take the mind blowing philosophy and art of the first film and try to make a more convenient audience friendly sequel to try and make the story fit more into a neat package. This seems to be more about peace between the two superpowers that was raging during the mid 80’s but it is set in 2010 so it instantly dates the film.

The film seems more like a spiritual movie about finding peace in the afterlife. As a science fiction film it works if it was just a random story this movie would be a lot more interesting but as a sequel all you can do is compare it to the original. It’s pretty compelling considering when it was made sure the special effects are dated but it holds your interest. The film has plenty of heart stopping thrills and amazing special effects shots. And who isn’t a fan of the return of HAL-9000
The coldest most innocent and misunderstood villain of all time.

Making a sequel to 2001 was a pretty brave and bold task and I can honestly say peter hyams did not fail or embarrass himself this is when he was still able to make good coherent movies (The less said about The Muskateer and A Sound Of Thunder the better)

Dr. Heywood Floyd helms a joint U.S.-Soviet mission of scientists trying to rendezvous with the abandoned Discovery spacecraft, reactivate the homicidal computer HAL-9000 and finally learn the truth. About what happened aboard the ship and what happened to the crew

The film also gets points for the interesting eclectic cast that it had that weren’t quite stars at the time but eventually went onto become popular names in the acting world. Roy schieder adds another impressive performance to his resume This film jaws, the French connection he appeared in so many classics yet never seem to get the respect of his peers. It also has elya Baskin one of the actors I like to see whenever he gets parts I still remember him from Moscow on the Hudson he has a on screen innocence usually in his films that make you believe he is a caring and decent nice guy. Then you feel sorry when his characters are usually betrayed or killed. The film also uses interesting cameos the original novel’s author Arthur C. Clarke as a man sitting on a bench feeding the pigeons on earth and Candice Bergen as the voice of SAL-9000 even though it is not credited to her but a pseudonym.

This is definitely a film you should check out and rent but only if you can be open minded but don’t expect the magic of 2001: A Space Odessey


GRADE: C+

2008 MOST DISAPPOINTING MOVIES

Now don't get me wrong these are not the worst movies of the year just movies i really looked forward to and the result was meh. not totally horrible but far from what i expected. I didn't hate any of these and would still give them a repectable grade.

Pineapple Express
How did the writers of superbad (last years #1 movie on my list) come upwith this film i liked the original ending showed on the dvd. I just like to think since this was not a original idea by them it is not totally there fault


The Wackness
It would be too easy to say it lived up to its title. while it had moments of real interest and heart ben kingsley's overcting stepped all over it.


American Teen
Not really worth all the hype it was o.k. but not great or anything i hadn't seen before in numerous other documentries on the same subjects.


Man On Wire
Critics and audiences loved it. i found it a chore to sit through and i really never got into it in fact i fell asleep on it twice.


Paranoid Park
I like gus van sant films not the biggest fan of his experimental films but this film just felt like it had no purpose. it may hae meant something to him when he was filming it but sitting in the audience i felt left out and cold.


Smart People
I thought this was finally going to be a comedy where smart characters could have normal non tortured lives but most of it was look at the misery of intellectuals while if you don't think you lead pretty good life. prejudice against the smart.


ChokeRead the book you'll thank me later. it's much better


Cloverfield
An american godzilla movie with a bad love story thrown in that makes no sense and unbelievable characters who are annoying and you can't wait to die


Burn After Reading
Another Much Ado About nothing movie, that has quirky characters and alot of major confusion. with stupid characters with way too much confidence and buffonish blowhard authority figures


Redbelt
I get the honor code and the respect but it doesn't make a interesting movie and you can see the double crosses coming. the main character can be pure but not stupid


Zack & Miri Make A Porno
Jokes just seemed to lay there and it seemed crude just to be crude not for story purposes


Be Kind Rewind
A nice experiment needed to be a little more coherent


Blindness
Too much rhetoric, too much sex. too many martyr's


Revolutionary RoadMaybe it's just i misunderstood this film but i felt this was more of a woman's film because as a man i felt no sympathy for kate winslet's character and i usually love her. it'slike a extended episode of mad men without the advertsing.

MAX PAYNE (2008)

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Donal Logue, Beau Bridges, Chris O’Donnell, Olga Kurylenko, Kate Burton, Amaury Nolasco, Nelly Furtado, Jamie Hector

Directed By: John Moore
Written By: Beau Thorne
Based On The Videogame By: Sam Lake
Cinematography By: Jonathan Sela
Edited By: Dan Zimmerman

Now even though this film is made competently no bad production values no boom mikes in any shots this film is bad and worse then that it is insulting to the audience now while this film might be awesome to a 11 year old this film is just plain stupid to a thinking person. First of all the film is set in New York yet it looks nothing like New York more like Chicago for some reason there is always bad weather in most scenes either rain or snow that never seems to stick. Every building in this movie looks dirty dingy or rundown even the parties. There are plenty of well known actors in this who are here for nothing more then cameos or they make no sense why they would take such small roles obviously the producers wanted to give this film more credence then they knew it deserved.

The visuals while good in this film are distracting and are used so much that it is obvious they are here to show off while this film is based on a videogame there is no need for this film to have so much of a ridiculous fantasy feel. While there are plenty of action scenes to pad out the running time and to distract you from the ridiculous plot. It is still not enough to wash this film completely from my brain.

Mark Wahlberg is a man who knows when and when not to use his talent I believe he saves up all his creativity for roles like the departed and “I Heart Huckabees” and when it comes to movies like this “Rock Star” and “Invincible” he realizes the type of quality film he is in so he just takes the check and runs. While this film and performance would be noteworthy in the 80’s now it just seems like a really big ridiculous cliché the cop determined to find his wife’s murderer at all cost. The take no nonsense cop. Then you throw in Mila Kunis who looks all of 12 as a Russian asassian trying to find her sister’s killer she’s very non-threatening and seems like a kid trying to impress the adults at the table. Chris “Ludacris” Bridges wasn’t born to be a natural performer and embarasses himself often. Olga Kurylenko Is also in this playing her usual role she is beautiful but so far the only real respectable role she has had is in “Quantam Of Solace” here yet again she plays a scantily clad druggie temptress who barely wears any clothing but doesn’t show any nudity. Which would have at lest made these films she was in noteworthy she plays in these type of movies so much this could have been “Hitman 2” the films are so similar and bad they are close to interchangeable. Which makes sense since they are both based on videogames. This film also strangely has two chart topping musicians in roles one in a bit one supporting.

The plot of this film building a set of super soldiers that can become mutated thanks to a drug yes that is part of the plot it is that stupid. But the really bad part is that it treats this revalation and trying to find out the truth like this was the film “Chinatown” is what is really insulting

It tries so hard to ape Successful films like "300" and "Sin City" in terms of style that it fails miserably because those were made by skilled sirectors and based on graphic novels it seems rare that there is s sucesful film based on a videogame in terms of quailty.

GRADE: F

DEATH RACE (2008)

Written & Directed By: Paul W.S. Anderson
Based on an original story by: lb Melchior & Original Screenplay By Charles Griffith & Robert Thom Cinematography By: Scott Kevan
Editor: Niven Howie

 Cast: Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Tyrese Gibson, Jacob Vargas, Natalie Martinez, Ian McShane, Frederick Koehler

Each year we are given Jason Statham in at least 2 new action films sometimes he makes up for the lackluster ones with a good movie like THE BANK JOB, but then to make the money and please the action fans we get him starring in movies like this. 

I like to think of Jason Statham as the British Bruce Willis and about every three films that he appears in he makes a good one (Crank, The Transporter) the others run from decent (This) to downright horrible (Dungeon Siege) 

 

This film while really being loosely based on the original film DEATH RACE 2000 doesn’t embarrass itself completely. It has a good cast and good action sequences. It reminds me more of THE RUNNING MAN with the falsely imprisoned man the satire of future audiences being entertained by prisoners killing each other in competitions and it being mostly about money and interestingly enough a sexy Spanish female sidekick. Both films starring foreigners. 

From this film and Paul W.S. Anderson’s career pretty much after his original films SOLDIER and EVENT HORIZON didn’t exactly light up the box office. It seems now that he prefers to either make his mark in the ongoing film series Aliens Vs. Predator or film movies that have been well established as videogames or remaking movies that he uses heavy influences from another. Now having said that, He isn’t a hack but a decent commercial director. 

 This film is good popcorn entertainment never boring but you can tell where it is going every minute. It is loud and action-filled. It’s rude and crude with nothing really original to say. It has its decadent indulgences like in the middle of the race a big bulldozer of a truck that takes out half the competition that has been presented as such a huge obstacle is taken out so fast you wonder if it was really needed in the first place. 

If you're just looking for something entertaining without thinking too much this is the film. It’s very violent but with enough eye candy to smooth that over. Even with its dank surroundings. 

The film takes place in the future where corporations run the penal colonies since the unemployment rate is at an all-time high. Which causes crime to soar and prison overcrowding. The prisons are now run death races on pay-per-view to raise revenue and take out the prison population. 

So when reigning champion Frankenstein is killed there is a replacement needed and it just so happens a new prisoner is recruited to replace him as a former race driver on the outside. He is thereafter being falsely accused of killing his wife and promised freedom if he wins the death race. He just has to survive especially against Frankenstein's rival Machine Gun Joe and a sadistic warden. 

Interesting how it almost ties into the current situation the world is finding itself in. Joan Allen is obviously slumming but unfortunately in Hollywood, as an actress gets older the harder it is to find worthwhile roles so at least if your name isn’t Meryl Streep, Glenn Close or Susan Sarandon. 

Ms. Allen relishes her role and sinks her teeth in as the main villain. This at least brings the movie up another level towards respectability. 

One must give mention to Natalie Martinez who is just so fine and who I look forward to seeing in better roles that at least really give her a part to play but at least here she is a nice part of the eye candy. 

 GRADE: C+