Black Hawk Down (R)- It was supposed to be a 1 hour mission in 1993 to capture a couple subordinates in Mogadishu, Somalia, but instead, it turns into a full on blood bath with 2 black hawk helicopters crashing, 19 Americans killed and about 1,000 Somalis killed. This is based on a true story and I highly, highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it.
Ghost World (R)- This is a great, independent film about 2 girls who are social outcasts and just graduated high school. Thora Birch, the girl from American Beauty, and Scarlett Johansson play the girls. And they become friends with a weird guy who sells old vinyl records played by Steve Buscemi.
I Am Sam (PG-13)- I didn’t see “Dead Man Walking”, so before I saw “I Am Sam”, Sean Penn was always Spicoli or the guy that married Madonna. I was really impressed with his acting here. And now, I think he is one of the best actors working today. He is amazing in
Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (R)- I am a big fan of Kevin Smith movies, with the exception of “Jersey Girl”. Jay and Silent Bob are recurring characters in his movies, and they are my favorite. This is a fun, over the top, adventure movie that makes you feel like you’re watching a Bugs Bunny cartoon. If you like Kevin Smith movies, but haven’t seen it, then what is wrong with you? If you’re not familiar with Kevin Smith, you should check out some of his earlier films like “Clerks” and “Mallrats”, so you can become familiar with Jay and Silent Bob before you watch this one.
Joe Dirt (PG-13)- I love this movie! I love David Spade, I love his mullet, I love that he pulls a wagon with what he thinks is a meteor, but it’s really human waste from an airplane, I love Christopher Walken, I love how silly this movie is. This movie cracks me up, it is one of those silly, dumb comedies, and is one that Cam and I always end up watching whenever it’s on cable.
Mulholland Drive (R)- This movie is written and directed by David Lynch, so please don’t expect me to explain what this movie is about. All I will say is that it’s about a woman who gets in a car accident on Mulholland drive, loses her memory, and sneaks into another woman’s apartment. And the two of them try to solve the mystery of who she is. Sounds like it could be a kind of straight forward story, but it is by David Lynch, so there is a lot of Lynchy stuff all through it. I like a lot of his movies, but I would have to say this is my second favorite of his, “Blue Velvet” being my very favorite.
Ocean’s Eleven (PG-13)- Seriously, how could you not love this movie? The cast is amazing, I love the story, I love Brad Pitt’s outfits and the fact that he is eating in pretty much every scene. I love Carl Reiner and Elliott Gould, I love the twin brothers who constantly bicker, I don’t love Julia Roberts, but she doesn’t bug me too much in this one.
Shrek (PG)- A fun original fairy tale with lots of cameos of characters from all sorts of familiar childhood stories. I love that Mike Myers gave Shrek a somewhat Scottish accent, and it was great to be reminded that Eddie Murphy can be funny. This is my favorite DreamWorks movie.
Zoolander (PG-13)- A movie I totally thought I would hate. Before I saw this movie I was NOT a Ben Stiller fan. “Reality Bites” made me hate Ben Stiller. I hated that movie so much, and I especially hated Ben Stiller in it. Then I saw “There’s Something about Mary”, and tolerated him, then I saw “Zoolander”, and now I will see almost anything he is in. “Zoolander” is great from beginning to end.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (PG-13)- A movie my sister, Emily, applauded at the end because it was finally over, and I gave it a standing ovation because it was brilliant. I read the trilogy for the first time in 7th grade, and then 2 more times before the movies came out. So I was quite familiar with Middle Earth and everyone who lived there. I was a little skeptical when I heard movies were being made, because I just didn’t think they could pull it off and I thought they would be kind of cheesy. I had no idea who Peter Jackson was, so I wasn’t able to think “well, he directed (insert movie title), so he should do a good job”. So, I really wasn’t that interested in seeing the movies. Boy was I wrong.
Okay, that’s the top 10! I think it is a pretty good mix of movies. But, now it is time for the shout outs, or movies I liked, but not enough to make the top 10, and they are in no particular order:
Monsters Inc (G)- I like Pixar movies and I like monsters, so this is a no brainer. I also really liked the casting of John Goodman and Billy Crystal.
Planet of the Apes (R)- I will probably get some crap for this, but I really liked this movie! In fact, it almost made my top 10, it was a toss up between this and Shrek, and Shrek won barely. I like the looks of Tim Burton movies and I thought the gorilla army was terrifying.
A Beautiful Mind (PG-13)- I didn’t see this movie until about a year ago. My brother Matt spoke so highly of it that I had to watch it. I really liked it. I totally got caught up in the story.
Hannibal (R)- I had a really hard time watching someone else play Clarice. This movie would have made my “eh” list if not for 2 things. First, watching someone eat their own brain was awesome. Second, for months after we saw this movie, my friend, Doug, and I would answer the phone “Hello Clarice” every time we called each other. And we called each other a lot and it made us both giggle every single time. It’s making me giggle right now just thinking about it.
Ali (R)- I just really like biographical movies. And I thought Will Smith did a great job.
Moulin Rouge (PG-13)- I saw this movie twice. The first time, it was the movie they played on a flight I was on. I didn’t get the headphones, so I watched it with no sound, and that was very amusing. Then I saw it with sound and enjoyed it a lot.
Gosford Park (R)- Directed by Robert Altman, whom I think is my favorite director. Wait no, Woody Allen is my favorite. I don’t know, maybe it’s a tie. This is a fun murder mystery movie that is very Robert Altmany. Like always, there is a big ensemble cast and lots of quirky characters. Not my favorite Altman movie, but it’s not the worst either.
That’s it for the shout outs. Next is the list of movies I saw and either hated or was just “eh”:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (PG)- Eh
Rush Hour 2 (PG-13)- Hated
The Mummy Returns (PG-13)- Hated- What happened to you Brendan Fraser? You had such promise in the early 90’s.
Jurassic Park III (PG-13)- Hated
American Pie 2 (R)- Hated- Please don’t think I saw this in the theater or rented this. Caught it on cable.
The Fast and the Furious (PG-13)- Hated
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (PG-13)- Hated
Training Day (R)- Eh
Shallow Hal (PG-13)- Eh
The Mexican (R)- Eh
Rat Race (PG-13)- Eh
A Knight’s Tale (PG-13)-Eh
The Royal Tenenbaums (R)- Eh- Oh how I wanted to like this movie! I loved Rushmore, and have loved every other Wes Anderson movie, but just one just didn’t do it for me.
Serendipity (PG-13)- Eh
13 Ghosts (R)- Eh
Bandits (PG-13)- Eh- Sorry Em!
Monster’s Ball (R)- Hated- I had heard really good things about this movie and I hated it! I am convinced that people liked it so much for two things:
And that’s it for the hates and eh’s. Now for the list of movies that I meant to see, forgot about, and am reminded of them from doing this list so I will definitely check them out:
Iris (R)- Based on the life of one of my favorite authors Iris Murdoch.
Life as a House (R)- I heard great things about this movie when it was in the theaters. And it has Kevin Kline, I like him a lot.
The Others (PG-13)- I heard this is actually kind of creepy. I like creepy.
Amelie (R)- I’ve heard lots of good things about this movie. I have always meant to watch it.
The Majestic (PG)- I remember this looked pretty good when it came out. I could be totally wrong.
Glitter (PG-13)- Hee hee, just kidding. I was just making sure you were still awake. And in case you’ve spent almost 10 years trying to get the image out of your head. Here is a picture of the movie poster for Glitter.
You’re welcome.
And finally, the list of movies that I have no intention of seeing, no matter how much you argue how good they are:
The Princess Diaries
Legally Blonde
Artificial Intelligence: AI
Bridget Jones’ Diary
The Wedding Planner
The Animal
Riding in Cars with Boys- The movie title alone does it for me. I don’t know or care what it’s about.
Well, that’s it for 2001! Tell me what you think, and stay tuned for 2002!
9 comments:
I am adding things to my Netflix qeueueeueee now based off of this. Black Hawk Down was pretty intense. I took my sister to see it 2 days after she'd gotten her appendix out because she was in love with Josh Hartnett and Orlando Bloom... it really wasn't what we were hoping for. I was 13, and she was 15. But I saw it again later and was able to appreciate it for what it was. I've been meaning to see Ghost World and i am sam for years. Maybe I'll check out Mulholland Drive and Gosford Park while I'm at it. Shout out to A Beautiful Mind. Matt and I stayed up and talked all night after watching this movie. It was kind of a pivotal point in our relationship. I find it interesting that 5 of the movies you didn't like were sequels. I have issues with a lot of sequels also. And you have GOT to see Life as a House and Amelie. Two of my favorite movies. Also, Shrek is one of about 5 movies that I can quote from start to finish. Legally Blonde is another one, hehe.
Don't have time for a full comment. Just a bit now and more later. Great job, Sue. Very interesting selection and comments. Can't agree with "Bandts" Super movie and lots of laughs. You gotta see Life as a House. Good film and story and K. Kline is good. Loved your "two boobs" quote. hahaha! Thanks Sue for a good time...
I need to see Black Hawk Down and Ghost World. i am sam was great even though I cried through 75 percent of it. I swear it got to where just seeing Fannings character started the water works. I've never been into Kevin Smith (perhaps because I have never seen any?). Joe Dirt- "I got the poo on me" a favorite quote in my household. As is "dang!" Need to see Mulholland Drive, Ocean's 11 I saw once (in the theater) liked it. Kind of forgot it though. I didn't like Shrek much. Maybe cause I saw it really late in the game and had heard it's praises for so long. I liked the 2nd one better and not so much the 3rd. Zoolander is epic. I didn't clap the second time I saw lotr (after reading the book. Progress?).
I liked Monsters Inc, Planet of the Apes, and A Beautiful Mind was ok. I had issues with Hannibal because they drastically changed the ending (but the eating of the own brain is in the book). I haven't seen Ali, Moulin Rouge (I even own it!) Gosford Park, Fast/Furious (nor will I ever), Lara Croft (ditto), American Pie 2 (ditto), the Mexican, A Knights Tale, and Rat Race. Love Saving Silverman for the reasons you listed. Had the movie featured anyone but Neil, I would have never seen it, or would most likely gotten an eh or hated from me. I agree with your assesments on HP, JP III, Training Day, Shallow Hal, Royal Tenenbaums (tried too hard?), 13 Ghosts, Monster's Ball, Curse of the Jade Scorpian (Allen's done some pretty reeky things in the last decade -which does not include Hollywood Ending. I LOVE that one.- The Mummy Returns (wait, I don't think I even saw that, but saw most of the Mummy. I do know that Fraser has made some very very bad movie decisions. He is capable of much more then he does or chooses to do.
I however cannot agree with Bandits! I freaking love that movie as you well know. I fact I like it more then anyone else I know. I liked Armegeddon more then anyone else I know too. Must be some strange Emilyisms I suppose. I liked Serendipity alright- the Kate whoever she is character got on my nerves a bit with all her left to fate stuff though.
See Amelie (that's all I've seen from your have not seen list).
Long comment! I like movies.
I'm back for another comment or three. Most unusual mix of top 10 films. You are very diversified, Sue and that speaks well for you. No one can wrap you up and put you in a certin corner of classifaction. Have you ever watched closely the remastered copy of Lawrence of Arabia? If you haven't, you should do yourself a favor and do. It's kinda epic but what a story, history and photography and acting. No. 1 or 2 on my all, all time best ever movies.
One thing- Gene Hackman's character really had some funny moments in The Royal Tennanbaums. Best part about that movie.
Oh I missed the last part. You need not concern yourself with any of them. Riding in cars is not as bad as you might think unless you have Drew Barrymore issues like Rob does. It's based on a novel I read once and enjoyed.
What a BAD year for movies! Wow, not much there at all that I'd consider ever owning (even though we do own about a half-dozen of them but most likely the women in my family grabbed most of those).
Of your top ten, I really only liked Lord of the Rings and Zoolander. Smiled a a couple of the others (Oceans 11 and Shrek) but none of the dramas or indies there did much for me. The only one I didn't see is Mulholland Drive, but I've caught some of it here and there while channel surfing and don't think I want to invest the time for the full thing.
Of your non-top-tens and Ehs, I would have for sure moved Beautiful Mind and Bandits into the top ten (Wow, am I to understand that Emily and I both like something?! Shocking!), and I approve of your liking Saving Silverman but probably keeping it our of the top ten (lots of fun, I agree).
I also want/need to see Iris and Amelie, so I will add them to my Netflix queue right now. Of your others on that list, I say don't bother on The Majestic. I did see The Others and was kept interested, though in the end is is still just a pretty standard ghost/spirits flick.
Of your "NEVERS" I have to say that AI was not good for me the first time, but it really grew on me to where I'm now thinking I want to see it again (probably will be fourth time when I do). Come on, Sue! Gotta see it!
Sorry for the typos above!
Also just got to say that I don't like Kevin Smith movies as they are just too vulgar EVEN FOR ME (I'm not someone who balks at language or most lewdness). I did/do kind of like Dogma though, so perhaps I'm just wishy washy for letting the interesting take on God and theology in that one overpower my aversion to the filthy stuff Jay says). Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back did have some fun moments (love all the spoofs on Hollywood), but I just can't get past the excesses (which excesses and envelope pushing are, I realize, the reason for their popularity).
I agree Dan that Kevin Smith is really quite vulgar. I just really dig his sense of humor. I love the character Jay, he is one of my favorite movie characters.
I understand not really getting into Mulholland Drive. David Lynch films are a little tough to get into. I really, really liked Mulholland Drive. I think part of the reason is the Lynch movie before that, Lost Highway, was so terrible. I was really disappointed in that one, so I was really happy that Mulholland Drive was so good.
Em, I don't really have a problem with Drew Barrymore. I don't love her, but I don't hate her, just kind of eh about her. I do totally recommend her movie Whip It about the roller derby team. I loved that movie! She did a great job directing it.
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