Monday, August 03, 2009

What They Made Me Watch in July, 2009 (Part 2 of 2)


Hello and welcome to SUPERBLOG!!. Here are micro-reviews of some stuff I watched recently, and some links to further reading. Everything is listed chronologically and graded on a scale of Keatons. Five Michael Keatons = mildly recommended. One Michael Keaton = kill yourself.

Mission: Impossible II (2000)
Oh, what a fine way to start the list. It should be criminal to make a film this stupid.


The Way of the Gun (2000)
Clever, if implausible.


Ginger Snaps (2001)
Werewolves are better than vampires. But how many good werewolf movies have there been? I can think of very few. American Werewolf in London, for sure. Maybe Dog Soldiers? And this one. But shouldn't there be more?


Ginger Snaps 2 : Unleashed (2004)
The first sequel is nearly as good as the original.


Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning (2004)
Diminishing returns.


The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: A Great Deliverance (2001)
Completely typical TV cop drama/thriller.


About a Boy (2002) (R)
Hugh Grant is me, if I were richer and more handsome. Based on Hornby book. Surprisingly heartwarming.


Gerry (2002)
Experimental Gus van Sant film about Gerry and the wilderness and Gerry. Based on (spoiler) true events.


Russkiy kovcheg / Russian Ark (2002)
One-take tour of Saint Petersburg museum. Looks fantastic. Could have used an actual story.


Old School (2003)
Check out my beer-assisted live review and despair.


Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
Documentary.


The Ice Harvest (2005)
Sometimes Harold Ramis knows what he's doing.


Wedding Crashers (2005)
Likable actors save it. Including Bradley.


All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006) (R)
Previously reviewed (sort of) here.


Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006) (R)
Very uneven, but a few segments are great. (I guess I should get around to watching Brüno one of these days.)


I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007)
About as bad as it seems.


Irene Huss: Tatuerad torso (2007)
Typical Swedish TV cop drama/thriller. Perhaps a little shittier than most.


Dreams with Sharp Teeth (2008)
I was a big fan of Harlan Ellison in my teens. And regardless, he's an entertaining character.


In Treatment (2008, 43 episodes)
Sometimes HBO knows what it's doing. (And what it's doing is remaking Israeli hit shows.)


Låt den rätte komma in / Let the Right One In (2008) (R)
Vampires are not as good as werewolves! But this was one of the great movies of 2008 anyway. Certainly the best Swedish film in several years (not that that's saying much).


Nothing But the Truth (2008)
Kate Beckinsale is reporter who outs CIA agent Vera Farmiga. Based on true events (obviously), but very loosely. Absorbing.


Fanboys (2009)
See Old Man Ebert losing it. Nerd vs nerd!


The Hangover (2009)
Funny. And it's got Bradley!


The Horsemen (2009)
Directed by Jonas Åkerlund. Dennis Quaid solves murders. Quite entertaining if you check your brains at the door. (But be warned that it really makes no sense whatsoever. The link lists the most idiotic moments.)


I Love You, Man (2009)
Unassuming bromance comedy which somehow may be my favorite 2009 movie so far. Strange. Maybe I'm just a sucker for Paul Rudd?


Kings (2009, 13 episodes)
Hugely ambitious network drama that was apparently a massive flop. Which is sad because it did have an intriguing premise, great dialogue, and Ian McShane.


Night Train (2009)
Twilight Zoneish thriller about a box. Should definitely have been titled The Box.


Terminator Salvation (2009)
I'm guessing in the long run this film will have a lesser cultural impact than Christan Bale's meltdown that hit the net in February. If you're interested in the specifics of why this film functioned so poorly, check out the link. It's quite illuminating. Oh, now I've posted two links in this review. How confusing. I mean the first one, which is also this one.

8 comments:

spidercrazy said...

You should watch Heaven's Gate. It's like Deadwood, only better. Oh, and a certain actor is in it.

KM said...

I've thought about watching HG a few times. But do I really want to spend 3 hours and 42 minutes on a film that scores 48% on Rotten Tomatoes?

Moocko said...

>Very uneven, but a few segments are great. <

And the goodest of goodiness was to be found, surprisingly, in the deleted cheese sequence. That was something.

KM said...

Don't you think that's at least partly because they were new?

Moocko said...

You mean made after the main movie? I've got no idea.

KM said...

No, I mean because we hadn't seen it before. I doubt if it's as funny on repeat viewing.

Moocko said...

You're probably right. But maybe *extensive* repeat viewing could help...

KM said...

Brilliant!