Charade

Current IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
My Rating: 8.2/10

I love Audrey Hepburn. She did no wrong and was so elegant and amusing with everything. This movie only further proves that. Her back and forth dialogue with Cary Grant is amazing throughout the movie. I could watch this one many more times and still laugh.

Frenzy

Current IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
My Rating: 7.6/10

I have to say, even though this is a well made and interesting movie, I was a little disappointed. I guess this is representative of the place Hitchcock was in his career: everyone expected so much and yet gave him little to no recognition when his masterpieces would come out. This is another masterpiece, but not one of his greatest.

Wizard of Gore

Current IMDB Rating: 5.4/10
My Rating: 5.8/10

Under any normal circumstances this would have been an absolutely horrible movie that would not have deserved more than a 4 rating. I am, however, one to watch movies and see how they should have and could have turned out. It's one of the reasons why I love Showgirls. The terrible acting, editing, dialogue, and special effects make this movie nearly unbearable, but I still enjoyed myself. It's like watching something you'd make with your friends if your friends had some money. But it's fairly easy to see how this movie could have been made (with a little more money and professional actors) into a decent horror movie.

Terminator Salvation

Current IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
My Rating: 7.9/10

I have to say, if I had seen the first two Terminator movies (I've seen the third) this one may have made more sense. However, the movie did stand on its own in creating a story that needed no knowledge of the other movies, I just wish I knew how it fit in. The special effects were lacking at the beginning, but increased dramatically in quality as the movie went on. I was impressed and it was more than I had expected going in.

Star Trek

Current IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
My Rating: 8.5/10

I have to say I was very impressed by this movie. I thought it might turn out like the X-Files films where they took the TV show and made it into something very stupid, but they did a great job. I was impressed by the acting, the story, and the special effects. One of the best movies I've seen this year.

For Your Consideration

Current IMDB Rating: 6.2/10
My Rating: 7.8/10

I thought this movie was a very eye-opening satire of Hollywood. It was so much fun to watch Catherine O'Hara in the main role of an actress hoping to get nominated for an Oscar. I also liked how real life mirrored the movie where she was supposed to get nominated for this role and never did. Overall, a very well made and funny movie.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Current IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
My Rating: 9.2/10

As much as I want to hate this movie - I know it sticks to a formula, I know it has all the flashbacks, I know it's a near copy of Forrest Gump, but it's a wonderful copy of Forrest Gump! I never would have watched this movie if it hadn't been for the fact that Criterion picked it up and decided to release it. I thought, maybe it's worth a shot. And it was. The movie kept my attention and I really liked how they placed the present scenes during the hours leading up to Hurricane Katrina. Very good.

The Wrestler

Current IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
My Rating: 8.0/10

This was, overall, a very impressive effort. Nowhere near as amazing as Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, but very well done. I was not familiar with Mickey Rourke before this movie, but I can see why he was nominated for nearly everything this year. My question comes the the supporting role of the stripper by Marisa Tomei, I know she got nominated for an Oscar, but I don't know why. She was in the movie for a very short time and it wasn't all that memorable to me.

Slumdog Millionaire

Current IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
My Rating: 7.6/10

I have to say, after finishing this movie, I don't really understand what all of the fuss is about. Maybe nobody's seen a Bollywood movie before where everything in this movie seemed like something new and original. To me it was a repetitive story of boy meets girl, loses girl, gets girl, loses girl, etc. There was a little suspense to push the story forward, but it's really nothing more than an interesting movie to watch on a slow weekend afternoon.

Top 100 Movies of All Time

Seeing as it's nearly impossible to find the name of every movie I've ever seen, I'm using several different lists to help me decide on the 100. This includes a list of the 1000 greatest movies ever made, an old top 80 list I made a while back, a list of Disney movies, and some more recent movies I can remember off the top of my head... plus my own DVD collection.

As I watch more films and rate them on this site I will add them into my top 100 list.


100. Toy Story 2 (8.1)
099. Hairspray (8.1)
098. Kill Bill Volume 1 (8.1)
097. Airplane! (8.1)
096. Charade (8.2)
095. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (8.2)
094. The Evil Dead (8.2)
093. Mars Attacks! (8.2)
092. The Descent (8.2)
091. Groundhog Day (8.2)
090. Juno (8.3)
089. The Thing (8.3)
088. The Mist (8.3)
087. Rent (8.3)

086. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (8.3)
085. Finding Nemo (8.3)
084. High Tension (8.3)
083. The Rules of Attraction (8.3)
082. To Kill a Mockingbird (8.4)
081. Breakfast At Tiffany's (8.4)
080. Toy Story (8.4)
079. Showgirls (8.4)
078. Little Miss Sunshine (8.5)
077. Shock Corridor (8.5)
076. Star Trek (8.5)
075. Mommie Dearest (8.5)
074. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (8.5)
073. Labyrinth (8.5)
072. M (8.6)
071. Moulin Rouge! (8.6)
070. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (8.6)
069. United 93 (8.6)
068. Citizen Kane (8.7)
067. Full Metal Jacket (8.7)
066. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (8.7)
065. Poltergeist (8.7)
064. The Dreamers (8.7)
063. The Hours (8.7)
062. Network (8.7)
061. Young Frankenstein (8.8)
060. Fargo (8.8)
059. The Night of the Hunter (8.8)

058. Frozen River (8.9)
057. The Last House on the Left (8.9)
056. 12 Angry Men (8.9)
055. The Green Mile (8.9)
054. The Lives of Others (8.9)
053. Choke (8.9)
052. Erin Brockovitch (8.9)
051. 1984 (9.0)
050. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (9.0)
049. The Dark Knight (9.0)
048. The Nightmare Before Christmas (9.0)
047. Mean Girls (9.0)
046. The Devil Wears Prada (9.1)
045. Crash (9.1)
044. Capote (9.1)
043. Wait Until Dark (9.1)
042. Pulp Fiction (9.2)
041. Lost In Translation (9.2)
040. The Departed (9.2)
039. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (9.2)
038. Titanic (9.2)
037. Mrs. Doubtfire (9.2)
036. Philadelphia (9.2)
035. The Usual Suspects (9.3)
034. Misery (9.3)
033. Dancer in the Dark (9.3)
032. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (9.4)
031. Alien (9.4)
030. Brazil (9.4)
029. Milk (9.4)
028. Rosemary's Baby (9.4)
027. Metropolis (9.5)
026. Edward Scissorhands (9.5)
025. Carrie (9.5)
024. Eyes Wide Shut (9.5)
023. Videodrome (9.5)
022. Pan's Labyrinth (9.5)
021. A Clockwork Orange (9.5)
020. Threads (9.5)
019. Halloween (9.5)
018. Donnie Darko (9.6)
017. The Notebook (9.6)
016. Beauty and the Beast (9.6)
015. Ever After: A Cinderella Story (9.6)
014. V for Vendetta (9.6)
013. American Beauty (9.6)
012. There Will Be Blood (9.7)
011. Doubt (9.7)
010. Schindler's List (9.7)
009. Gone With The Wind (9.7)
008. WALL-E (9.7)
007. Pink Floyd: The Wall (9.7)
006. 2001: A Space Odyssey (9.7)
005. Requiem For A Dream (9.8)
004. Psycho (9.8)
003. The Exorcist (9.8)
002. The Shining (9.8)
001. The Silence of the Lambs (9.8)

Wait Until Dark

Current IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
My Rating: 9.1/10

There is absolutely nothing like the classic thrillers. I would put this one right up with Psycho. There is amazing acting, and a story that is purposely set up to keep you on the edge of your seat... and it does! The ending of the movie has gone down in film history as one of the most suspenseful endings ever and I completely agree.

Doubt

Current IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
My Rating: 9.8/10

I honestly, honestly have not felt this way about the acting in a movie since I first saw The Silence of the Lambs or watched Ellen Burstyn's performance in Requiem for a Dream. I absolutely love this movie. It's beautiful and heartbreaking to watch at the same time. Some of the greatest living actors play off each other in ways that completely blow my mind.
I also love how the movie is unresolved. Normally this would be a big problem, but in this film you are left unsure of who the good guy was and who is the bad guy. It's an amazing twist that is left up to you to figure out.
I've watched this movie twice today and if I weren't so tired I would watch it again!

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Current IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
My Rating: 7.6/10

So this year I've decided to give Woody Allen another chance. After having to sit through absolute crap like Annie Hall before, I wasn't too big on giving him another shot, but after liking Shadows and Fog earlier this year I thought I'd give his newest movie a chance.
I actually really liked this film. I thought the story could have moved a little faster, but the acting was amazing. The story really kept me interested overall and was a nice distraction from all of the homework I've had piled on me.
My only real gripe is the annoying narrator. He will pop in every so often to give you extra totally unimportant information. I think this movie would have been a lot better if the audience got to know Vicky and Cristina through their actions instead of being told what to think of them and who they are.

Obsessed

Current IMDB Rating: 3.8/10
My Rating: 6.5/10

Despite my rating for this movie, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I laughed throughout the entire movie, not as much because the movie was laughable (though there were parts that were), but because it was a fun movie. Overall, I was right by saying, before the movie, that this would be the Showgirls of this decade. Showgirls meaning totally campy, but a lot of fun to watch.

Observe and Report

(I won't be including as many pictures with my posts because they seem to keep disappearing.)

Current IMDB Rating: 6.9/10
My Rating: 6.8/10

I like my comedy quick and witty and unexpected. This isn't that. Although most of the comedy is extremely unexpected... EXTREMELY unexpected... it isn't really quick or witty. A lot of gross out humor that pushes envelopes that haven't been touched since John Waters made his last movie. There are about two full minutes at the end of the movie where a fat man runs around a mall in the nude and ends with him being shot and blood flying everywhere. By that point in the movie my mind had been so warped (as far as not knowing how to react to certain scenes) that I ended up cracking up at the man being shot. It was not pretty. So, I do think this movie was put together well, and I don't think anyone other than Rogen could have played the main role, but it is very awkward and not what I was expecting at all from the previews. Go into it with a very open mind.

The Haunting in Connecticut

Current IMDB Rating: Not Yet Rated
My Rating: 7.8/10

As I felt upon watching The Last House on the Left recently, I feel with this movie. A dramatic film with scary or horrifying moments is always better than a horror film that tries to be dramatic. This is the case with The Haunting in Connecticut. It reminded me a little of The Exorcism of Emily Rose where the story began being about something else and then turned into a scary movie. Overall, I liked it. I thought some of the logic in some parts was a little off, but the way everything was revealed toward the ending was good and not at all like a Saw movie where it keeps you in the dark the whole time and explains the entire hour and a half in about 30 seconds.

Dream Boy

Current IMDB Rating: 6.7/10
My Rating: 6.8/10

This was an okay movie with an okay cast acting out an okay story. It was enough to hold my attention and there were some interesting moments. I wish some parts had been staged differently and some parts had been re-cast, but I guess if it hadn't been done this way the movie wouldn't have been made at all. A nice movie for a night when there's not much else to do.

Change in the Blog Format

I'm changing my blog to include music I listen to and books I read. Anytime I hear a good song or album or read a good book, I'll include it on the blog. Thanks for reading!

Last House on the Left

Current IMDB Rating: 7.0/10
My Rating: 8.9/10

I couldn't believe how amazing this movie was. It sets everything up perfectly to make the viewer feel the strongest emotions possible in film. By the end of the movie you are completely at the mercy of the story. Even though it tears through you in ways you wish it wouldn't, I loved it from beginning to end.

MirrorMask

Current IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
My Rating: 7.0/10

I hesitate rating this so high, but the longer I think about the film, the more I like it, so I thought I'd nudge it up a few points. First off, I hated the music. I thought it ruined much of the drama the film could have had. Beyond that, the movie seemed to be a near-direct rip off of one of my favorite films Labyrinth. That said, it was a good rip off. I did not enjoy it as much as its source material, but it was imaginative and well done.

Rachel Getting Married

Current IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
My Rating: 8.0/10

Every once in a while a movie comes along where all you can think while watching it is "are these actors or are they filming something that's really happening?" That's how I felt with this movie. I could not believe how good everyone was and how everyone worked together like the problems they were experiencing had been building for years. I'm glad Anne Hathaway was recognized at the Oscars for her performance. It was one of the best I've seen recently alone with Melissa Leo in Frozen River.

Burn After Reading

Current IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
My Rating: 7.9/10

I have to say this movie was darkly funny and very surprising. The characters suck you in right away and keep you engrossed in the entire film. It reminded me a lot of how I felt after watching Fargo for the first time and how I wanted to tell everyone I knew about the movie. This movie also contains one of the most shocking scenes in any movie I've seen. I was truly not expecting it when it happened and I didn't know what to say afterward.

Iron Man

Current IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
My Rating: 7.8/10

After seeing near perfect examples of superhero movies in Spider-Man 2 and The Dark Knight, Iron Man seems to fall short. It's still a great superhero movie, but some of the plot is a little beyond believable and a couple of the actors (namely Terrance Howard) seem to be sleepwalking through their roles.

Milk

Current IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
My Rating: 9.4/10

I am on a roll with these wonderful movies. I absolutely LOVED this movie. All of the acting was perfect and it's one of the very few movies I've seen where a straight man playing a gay man does not even flinch when kissing another man. I thought it was one of the most amazing films I've ever seen.

Choke

Current IMDB Rating: 6.9/10
My Rating: 8.9/10

I loved this movie, it's one of those quirky comedies that just appeals to me because of how simply off the wall it is. Much like seeing Little Miss Sunshine for the first time, I laughed from beginning to end with this movie. I also love Anjelica Huston in nearly every movie I've seen her in so far, and this is another winner.

The Haunting of Molly Hartley

Current IMDB Rating: 3.4/10
My Rating: 2.1/10

If you ever want to watch a purely terrible "horror" movie that makes you think "what just happened?" but not in a good way, watch this. Not only does it push the Christian religion in your face so much that you feel suffocated by Jesus, but the end of the movie seems like it was taken from a completely different movie and pasted on the end. The only plus side is Chace Crawford who looks deliciously evil in this film.

20 Most Shocking Movie Moments

With the remake of Last House on the Left being released next week I am reminded of the trailer for the original film where the announcer told us to repeat "it's only a movie." Although the original Last House left absolutely no impression on me, there have been more than a few movies that contained moments so shocking or sickening to me that I've remembered them ever since I first watched the film. Here are the top 20 moments.

20. Return to OZ - The Rejects
- In the beginning of this twisted movie Dorothy is brought to a psychologist by her Aunt Em because she can't stop talking about the imaginary OZ. When she is brought in for her electroshock therapy another girl unstraps her and saves her. As they are running out of the building they hear moaning and screaming from the basement. When Dorothy asks what the sound is, the girl replies: "those are the rejected ones."
That line has always creeped me out. Apparently it creeped Disney out too because when they aired this on their network, they took out this scene.

19. Titanic - Breaking of the Ship
- As the ship takes on more water, the front end begins to become submerged by water which causes the back end to raise into the air. Obviously the ship was not made for this kind of stress and eventually, the boat cracks in half. The lights go out, the drama builds, and you see it fall on an ocean full of people who had jumped the rails. A classic, heart-pounding moment in movie history.
Seeing this in a movie theater was one of my favorite theater moments ever. The screen seemed 50 feet tall in front of me and the image was so completely overwhelming, I began to cry uncontrollably. (I was 12 at the time.)

18. 1984 - The Torture
- As we follow our lovable rebel Winston into his illegal relationship, we find a couple meeting up every so often to get away from all of the rules of the government. They keep their sexual relationship a secret between them because if they are found out, they face death. One day they are lounging around naked in their private room when they realize something isn't right - that's when they are caught. Winston is taken through a gauntlet of inhumane tortures that are meant to change his mind about the government, even though he is told that after they change his mind they will kill him as an example.
John Hurt's reactions are what make these scenes unbearable. He makes it seem like he is really in these extreme situations and the pain his character is feeling is real.

17. There Will Be Blood - The Bowling Alley
- In the finale of this spectacular movie, our main character Daniel Plainview finds himself a successful and angry man. When he is visited by an old friend who more than took advantage of him, Daniel finds himself in a frenzy that leads to the unexpected brutal and bloody death of the friend in a bowling alley.
With the entire movie being relatively calm and blood-free up to this point, it is definitely one of the more shocking moments in recent film history.

16. Eyes Wide Shut - Being Discovered
- The entire tone of this film is quite dark, especially the part where Dr. Hartford finds himself in a mansion where a masked orgy is taking place. While the sounds of foreign chanting fills the hallways, the all of the most powerful people in this world are standing in a circle watching several nude women perform a ritual in the center. As the group breaks up, Dr. Hartford is taken to the side by one of the women who warns him that he should not be in the mansion and that he needs to leave. When he ignores her, he is brought back into the orgy room where he faces all of the masked faces with whom he had blended in with before. The masks call him out, and make him remove his mask - for the rest of the film we are left wondering who was in the room and who knows Hartford's identity.
This scene was disturbing in many ways, but overall it was the masterful technique Kubrick had perfected over the year of using visuals, music, and pacing to make the viewer as uncomfortable as possible in the situation.

15. The Blair Witch Project - Stand in the Corner
- As we learn about the Blair Witch throughout the film we are told that while she would kill one of her child victims she would make another child face the corner in waiting. When our main characters find themselves lost in the woods, they come across the house of the Blair Witch. Heather becomes overwhelmed by what is going on and explores the upper floor of the house. As she goes searching for her companion, she finds him in the basement facing a corner. It is at this moment that we know the fate of the characters and as the camera is knocked to the floor we don't need to see anything else - we can finish the movie in our minds.
I loved this because the filmmakers knew the audience would be smart enough to remember something that was essentially said in passing earlier in the film and apply it to the ending to create a moment so shocking it cemented an entire phenomenon.

14. Bonnie and Clyde - The Finale
- This is a movie that makes us fall in love with these horrible people. They share a bond that most of us wish we could have with a parner. They believe they may be in the clear and may finally be able to get away from the law when in actuality they have been turned in and we are about to witness one of the most shockingly violent scenes in movie history.
When I first watched this movie I questioned why it was rated R for violence when it was generally tame - then I saw the ending and between the slow motion and the extreme number of bullets fired, I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

13. IT - Hi-ya Georgie!
- The perfect picture of childhood innocence. A young boy named Georgie running down the street chasing after a homemade paper boat as it glides down the side of the street. Eventually he loses the boat down the drain when he can't catch up to it, the fun's over right? Wrong. Up from the drain pops a creepy looking clown with the boat and the clown utters the famous words I've never forgotten.
The image of the clown in the drain has stayed with me forever. It goes from awkward to scary the second he talks. Needless to say the scene does not end well for Georgie.

12. Dawn of the Dead - Birth
- As zombies surround the mall, all of our characters become trapped inside. I honestly haven't seen the film in a while, but the basic scenario is that one of the girls is pregnant, her baby dies inside of her and (because all of the dead are coming back to life) the baby is born as a zombie. Normally a birth is considered a beautiful thing, but when there is a flesh-eating monster inside of you it turns into something much less beautiful.
The build-up to this scene helps with the shock factor. When you know what is about to happen to the characters, it makes the scene much scarier.

11. The Descent - Meeting the Monster
- A group of female explorers find a new, unmarked path to take through a cave. As the exit caves in behind them, they are forced to follow instinct and old clues to try to make their way to a new escape. As the movie progresses something doesn't seem right and as one of our girls gets separated, she runs into a monster hiding in the cave.
I saw this movie in a theater and I have to say this moment in the film was my favorite experience in the theater. Nobody was expecting it, the tension had brought everyone forward in their seats and when the monster is revealed the entire theater shot back in their seats with shock. One woman in the theater even began screaming as though she had run into the monster herself. It was classic.

10. Audition - The Bag
- I would say at least the first half of this film is a very cute romantic comedy. A man sets up a fake film audition to find a new girlfriend after his wife passes away. He finds a very shy and polite girl who catches his interest and sparks a new passion in him. As he calls the girl the shot switches to the girl sitting alone on the floor of her apartment. Behind her is a large bag filled with something, we don't know what. She does not answer the phone, just stares at the floor - that's when the bag lets out a growl and flies, on its own, against the wall and back to the floor. This is when we find out that the movie is far far from a romantic comedy.
There is another shocking moment in the film later on which includes vomit and missing fingers, but this is where the film takes its turn and it's a moment that has stuck in my mind ever since.

09. High Tension - The Neck Bounce
- When two college girls head out to a country home to stay with one of their families, their quiet weekend is broken by a murderous intruder who is bent on killing everyone he can find. Although there are several gruesome deaths in the film, the killing of the mother is the most disturbing and the one that has stuck with me the longest. When the intruder finds her, he slits her throat straight across - a stream of blood comes spraying out and the mother makes her way to the bedroom where one of our girls is hiding in the closet. The closet has the kind of slitted doors you can see through and when the mother gets to the door she has lost enough blood to begin passing out. Her head hits the door and begins to bounce down the door as her head hits each slit.
This is one of the most disturbing bloody deaths I've ever seen. The realism of it all is what makes it nearly unbearable.

08 - The Mist - The Added Ending
- The story follows a group of people who get trapped in a grocery store during an outbreak of monsters from another world. As a few of the people decide to leave, they make their way to a car and try to get away from the horror. They soon find that the horrors are inescapable and decide to use the few bullets they have left to kill themselves. The problem is that they are one bullet short and when one man has killed his friends and family he exits the car in hopes of being eaten by the monsters. This is where the book left off, but the filmmakers added another minute or so to the movie. Moments after the man exits the car an army tank rolls by and a truck containing many citizens follows behind it. The horror is over and everyone who was able to ride it out is now saved.
I absolutely hated this ending when I first saw it. The movie was a tense piece of wonderful filmmaking and the ending felt like a standard cop-out of any B horror movie. The more I thought about it, the more I loved it and came to recognize that I didn't hate the movie - it just shocked me so much that I didn't recognize it at the time.

07. Last Tango in Paris - It's Like Buddah
- A lonely man and woman find themselves crossing paths in and out of an apartment in Paris. The two create a relationship that they never seem to recognize as a relationship. They are simply two beings coming across each other in a busy world. One meeting went way over the top when Paul asks Jeanne to get some butter and then procedes to use it to have anal sex with her. Not exactly the kind of movie you would look to for truly shocking moments, but I was completely caught off guard with this scene.

06. Pink Flamingos - Chicken, Anyone?
- As Divine and her family try to prove they are the filthiest people in the world. Her son Crackers brings over a woman friend who is really a spy for their enemies. The two end up having sex, but it can't just be regular sex. Crackers procedes to get a live chicken and bring it into the mix.
There were so many outrageous moments in the movie, but this one stuck with me because it was so violent. The other moments are gross or sexual, but the animal actually ended up dying and that makes it hard to watch.

05. Pallindromes - A Missed Shot
- When a runway is taken in by a Christian family she discovers that the father of the family targets abortion doctors. Instead of being opposed to this idea, she wants to join in on the plan. She is taken with a friend of the family to the house of one of the doctors and they perch outside watching the man play a game of charades with his family. As the doctor is performing, they aim the gun and shoot - except just as they shoot the doctor's daughter pops up from her seat and ends up taking the bullet.
The fact that this scene changes direction in just one second shocked the hell out of me. I was expecting the doctor to get shot as planned, but when the girl jumps from her seat even the viewer doesn't have time to process the even before it is over.

04. Irreversible - The Dark Corridor
- The entirety of this movie is told in reverse and the whole thing is a little jarring, but the moment Alex decides it would be easier to take an underground corridor to cross a busy street, you know something terrible is going to happen to her. What follows is a 9 minute rape scene that does not blink and does not turn away.
It feels as though we are forced to watch this and are not allowed to move. You want to help her, but you are stuck in your chair and can do nothing until the man finally runs off and leaves Alex on the floor.

03. Threads - The Bomb
- The movie follows ordinary English citizens with their own problems to deal with. They don't have the time to pay much attention to the television and newspaper reports of problems with nuclear countries. So, when a mushroom cloud appears in the sky most people are caught off guard. What follows is one of the most gruesome and purely disturbing scenes in any film I've ever seen. As the shock wave comes through and as the fallout rains down on everyone - the brutality of war shines through.
This movie is one of the most shocking films I've ever seen, and the only one I was able to watch entirely on YouTube. To see how realistic everything is creates a fear unlike anything else.

02. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer - Meet The Family
- Henry is a serial killer, when he finds a place to stay with a man named Otis, Otis wants to become involved with his murders. Eventually they break into a house and begin to kill and rape a family - and they videotape the whole thing. The mother and father are being attacked when their son comes in the door. He is tackled and ends up being killed with the others.
It is the most brutal scene in film history and makes me feel sick even thinking about it.

01. Salo - The Circle of Shit
- When a group of government officials kidnaps several teenagers and takes them to a secluded mansion so they can live out their sexual desires, you know something's up. But when the sexual desires turn to fetishes involving bodily functions - you want to throw up. Basically the scene begins with one man taking a dump on the floor and forcing a girl to eat it, the scene ends with a buffet of feces that goes above and beyond any form of disgusting cinema ever produced.
This whole movie was more disgusting than anything I've seen, but this scene tops it all. I couldn't believe what I was watching as the images flashed across the screen.

1984

Current IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
My Rating: 9.0/10

I have to say when this movie started I wasn't too excited about it. But with each scene I felt myself becoming more and more involved with this sad world. Around every corner you are being watched, there is no way to get away unless you go to certain parts of the world that are rebelling. Even in that case you could be watched, and let's face it, you are. By the time the movie ended I found myself loving it, every frame told a story that was all too close to truth. I haven't read the book, but I'd imagine the only people who would have a problem with this movie are ones who expected something more after reading the book. I can say the movie stands on its own and is wonderful in its own right.

Frozen River

Current IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
My Rating: 8.9/10

I loved this movie. Normally the cheap indie films are not worth much of your time, but the acting in this movie tops nearly anything I've seen before. It reminded me of watching The Silence of the Lambs for the first time. The tension, the emotion, the sadness - it was all real and it was all powerful.

REPO: The Genetic Opera

Current IMDB Rating: 6.5/10
My Rating: 6.3/10

I love the idea of this movie, I absolutely love it! The movie itself - eh. I found my attention wandering and the moment it did I found the best way to watch this movie - by not watching it. To make up what's happening in your own mind is a lot better than what's happening on the screen. But, I love the soundtrack.

Shock Corridor

Current IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
My Rating: 8.5/10

This is one of those movies that I watch and think absolutely nothing will come of it, but something does. This movie kept me thinking long after it was finished. I loved how it seemed like one of those slow and quiet old movies, and the longer it went, the crazier it got - literally. I loved how the movie visually showed this downward spiral in the main character's mind. It was different from anything I'd seen before.

The House Bunny

Current IMDB Rating: 5.6/10
My Rating: 6.8/10

I think this movie would have been a lot better had they spent more time figuring out which scenes would work well on screen and which wouldn't. There were a few times in the movie where it didn't look like a lot of thought went into the scenes. Other than that, the movie was very funny and I loved Anna Faris as the house bunny.

Dead Birds

Current IMDB Rating: 5.7/10
My Rating: 6.1/10

I can't say this was the worst horror movie I've ever seen, but it didn't even really come across as much of a horror movie. There were some scary parts, but the whole thing dragged in more than one spot. Plus, the setting was kind of boring for a scary movie.

High Tension

Current IMDB Rating: 6.8/10
My Rating: 8.3/10

If you want to see a movie that embodies everything in the slasher horror genre (and you've already seen Halloween) this is the movie to watch. I anticipated this movie like no other. I first heard about it online and how it terrified European audiences, then I heard it was supposed to be released uncut with an NC-17 rating for violence in the United States - it would have been the first movie to do so had that happened. Sadly, they cut the movie down for an R rating and dubbed over the original French language... so I waited for the DVD and I was not disappointed. This is one of the greatest horror films ever made and will always have a special place in my DVD collection.

Re-Release: The Tracey Fragments

Current IMDB Rating: 6.0/10
My Rating: 7.8/10

I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into with this movie when I rented it from the video store. All I knew was that the plot sounded interesting and it starred Ellen Page. I was completely blown away. It was the first time I had ever seen this kind of movie making where the many thoughts of the character were expressed on the screen all at the same time. Many points throughout the movie there are 6 or 8 different things happening on screen at once and it takes you into the confusion of the character. The entire movie is well acted and I highly reccommend it.

Re-Release posts are movies that I haven't seen in a while but enter my train of thought during the day, so I post something about them.

Mirrors

Current IMDB Rating: 6.2/10
My Rating: 7.6/10

This is honestly one of the better horror movies I've seen in a while. My faith in the horror genre is much lower than it used to be. It seems like people are just reusing old ideas and trying to make them seem new, but this movie takes a mostly original concept and pushes it to the extreme. I have enjoyed nearly everything Alexandre Aja has done so far and cannot wait to see what he does in the future.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

Current IMDB Rating: 7.0/10
My Rating: 8.3/10

I really enjoyed this movie and I think I would enjoy watching it many more times. It just put me in a really good mood. I think it had a lot of the same humor as Juno, but it didn't come off as being in your face. This movie felt like I could relate to it instead of seeming like it was made by people who thought they were above everyone around them.

Silent Hill

Current IMDB Rating: 6.5/10
My Rating: 7.4/10

I know there is a lot about this movie that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but I pretty much loved it. It created an entire other world that made you fear everything around you. You're terrified about what the characters will find simply by looking around a corner (or in a bathroom stall.) There are so many interesting and horrible bad guys in the movie and it all makes me want to see the sequel that's in the works.

2001: A Space Odyssey

Current IMDB Rating: 8.4/10 (#85 in the top 250)
My Rating: 9.7/10

This movie is pretty much as close to perfection as movies get for me. I re-watched this for probably the sixth time because it came to a local theater near me where I got to see it for the first, and probably only time, as if it had just been released. It was an amazing experience that I wish I could have again.

My Bloody Valentine 3-D

Current IMDB Rating: 6.7/10
My Rating: 6.1/10

Initially I hated this movie and would have rated it about 2 full points lower, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it has the potential to become the new Showgirls for me. It's a terrible movie, by every single movie standard. The most impressive thing about it was the 3-D and I can only imagine how horrible this movie must have been in 2-D.

Every horror movie cliche is represented here like a textbook to making horror movies. I think that may be the reason why I ended up liking it so much, because it's exactly what you'd expect and absolutely nothing more.

Welcome to the Dollhouse

Current IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
My Rating: 7.8/10

I saw this movie a long time ago and remember thinking it was one of the worst movies I'd ever seen. Now, with each viewing, I find myself enjoying it more and more. The story of Dawn Wiener is a sad one which ends in her suicide in the movie Palindromes, but to see her school story is very entertaining. She's the outcast and relatable in some way to everyone who watches the movie.

Even though I like the movie, there is so much more I wanted from it. The story is so short and makes you feel like you're only seeing a small part of this girl's life with no concrete end to the tale. It seems like a piece of a longer movie that was never made.

Man on Wire

Current IMDB Rating: 8.2
My Rating: 7.0

The reviews for this movie lead you to believe it is one of the greatest things ever put on film. I have to say that even though I cannot point out any specific problem with the film (maybe it was a little long for the subject) there really isn't anything wrong with it. It's a straightforward story about a guy who wants to do something different. Back in the 1970's this probably seemed like an extraordinary feat, but today when people are doing all sorts of extreme things, it's not that interesting.
The documentary was filmed well with re-enactments of the events that were believable, but they took a little too long to go over everything and there were some unnecessary parts that could have been skipped.

Meet The Spartans

Current IMDB Rating: 2.4/10
My Rating: 1.8/10

The only reason why I didn't shut this movie off 2 minutes into the You Got Served dance sequence was because I was honestly too tired to get up from my chair. I cracked a smile once during this "funny" movie. The only reason it has as high a score as it does is because - as shallow as it is - there was some decent eye candy for the duration of the film (even if the muscles were mostly fake) and for the unexpected appearance of Chris Crocker, who is the source of many inside jokes between my friends and I. Overall, please don't waste your time with this one.

Wind Chill

Current IMDB Rating: 5.9/10
My Rating: 7.8/10

I love a good horror movie. I love a good Christmas horror movie. I love this movie. Nobody will ever be able to explain to me why the rating is so low online, but that just goes to show you that you can't trust what other people like as your personal preference.

The movie is a supernatural horror film about two college students who find themselves stranded on a remote stretch of road. It just so happens that they are not the first to find themselves in this situation on the same part of the road and as they learn more about the history of the road, the bleaker their future begins to appear.

I think the thing I love about this film is that it's not your typical horror film, in fact I have a hard time calling it a horror film at all. It is definitely easier to market it that way, but it is actually very touching. Even though the events in the film are that of a supernatural nature, it is really a touching love story that brings you into the brief relationship the main characters have between each other.

It is always so long between memorable horror films for me, so to unexpectedly come across this one was a very welcome breath of fresh air to the genre.

Wanted

Current IMDB Rating: 7.0/10
My Rating: 7.4/10

This movie is meant to be fun, pure fun. You are meant to take the place of the main character who is so basic that he could be you. You are meant to live this adventure with him, and you do. The camera, the actors, they take you right inside his world and everything he is experiencing. His boss is your boss because his boss is an asshole. His friends are your friends because they can be assholes. He is a loser just like you, and now you're in for the ride of your life.

When Wesley Gibson finds out - suddenly - that he is not just an ordinary loser and that his father is actually a super-assassin who was killed in an attack, he starts an adventure that takes him bouncing around and killing people with Angelina Jolie. Now doesn't that sound like fun?

Eventually he is taught the ways of The Fraternity, a secret group of assassins who is hunting the man who killed his father. As he gets further into the depths of The Fraternity this all changes and he finds out that everything he knows is a lie and he is being used for other reasons. Ones I honestly didn't see coming.

This movie is nothing more or less than a thrill-ride. It doesn't masquerade as some important movie, one that will be remembered for all eternity. It is what it is, and that's what I like about it. It's not significant by the end of it all, you will feel some significance in your life.

The 16 Movies I Watched in 2008... From 2008

So I only saw 16 movies during this year that were made this year... I'll probably see a lot more from this year next year considering most of the good ones come out at the end of the year, but this is what I saw so far.

01. Wall-E
- One of the best movies I've ever seen. I love this movie and it will be one of my favorites for as long as I live. I could watch it 100 times and never get sick of Wall-E... woah!

02. The Dark Knight
- Watching Heath Ledger as The Joker is one of the reasons why I love the movies. To see someone get so lost in a character is amazing and one of the things I will miss about him.

03. Horton Hears A Who
- This was definately one of the more unexpected pleasures of the year. From scene to scene it was hard not to love Horton and even harder to stop laughing.

04. Get Smart
- Another really unexpected surprise from the year. This is the only movie ever to keep me laughing through the entire thing and for that I put it high on my list. Plus I love Anne Hathaway.

05. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
- The first Hellboy was a decent little movie I saw a while back, but this one sparked my interest for the character again. I can't wait for Hellboy III.

06. Wanted
- I went into this one expecting nothing and it blew my mind. By the end of it I was feeling so much better about myself and when a movie can do that, I love it!

07. Eagle Eye
- I had no idea what I was getting into with Eagle Eye. From one scene to the next my heart was pounding out of my chest. This is another of my favorites of the year.

08. Smart People
- This movie was an interesting character study. So far anything with Ellen Page in it has at least kept my attention and it's interesting to watch her evolve as an actress.

09. The Strangers
- This was the best horror film I saw this year. I can't say it's all that spectacular, but as far as low budget horrors go, it was very well done.

10. Cloverfield
- The one movie everyone was looking forward to had way too much of a build up. Yay, a big monster is destroying everything, but when we don't care about the characters, why would we care if they die?

11. Shutter
- This was a decent horror movie, but was far too long to keep my attention and by the time it gets around to explaining everything in the end, you just wish everyone would get killed so the movie could stop.

12. Saw V
- The Saw series doesn't seem to get much better with this installment. Save for a few gross out moments it really just seems to be setting up the next movie more than anything.

13. The Ruins
- Oh yay... killer plants... that imitate cell phones... even though they're in the middle of the Mexican jungle... and they're horrible CGI... ugh.

14. Funny Games
- I loved the original Funny Games and even though it's a direct remake, the actors are uninspired and show very little emotion for the horrible things going on around them.

15. The X-Files: I Want to Believe
- I wasn't expecting a damn thing with this movie... and even then I got let down. They introduce characters and never tell what happens to them. You're supposed to only care about Mulder and Scully I guess.

16. The Happening
- With the Quentin Tarintino excuse of "oh, it was supposed to turn out like that," M. Night has made this the last movie of his I will ever watch. And I was one of the ones who hated The Sixth Sense.

Shadows and Fog

Current IMDB Rating: 6.4/10
My Rating: 7.2/10

I'll start out by saying that I've never seen a Woody Allen movie that I liked... until this one. I guess it had to be just watching the right movie at the right time. One of my favorite movies is the classic German film M. Allen purposely sent this movie up to look like that one, and that is exactly what drew me into it... other than that each scene has a new A-list star to look at.

I think this will be one I'll watch a few more times because it's interesting to see so many contemporary actors in a film that looks like it could have been made 70 years ago. Plus there are some genuinely funny parts.

Bonnie and Clyde

Current IMDB Rating: 8.1/10 (#212 in the Top 250)
My Rating: 7.8/10

I have to say I was really impressed by this movie. Just picking apart the different aspects of it makes me feel like I didn't enjoy it as much, but as a whole it was very entertaining. I was reading up a bit on the film before I watched it and the thing that struck me was the varying opinions about Estelle Parson's Oscar-winning performance as Blanche (the sister in law of Clyde). Some said that it was amazing and subtle at times, others called her a whiny woman who did nothing but cry through the movie. I fall somewhere in between. She was whiny, she did scream a lot, but if you were suddenly put into a position where bullets were flying your way day after day, wouldn't you scream too? I can't say it's the best performance I've ever seen, but it works well with the movie.

As far as Bonnie and Clyde themselves, it was a very interesting twist on the typical love story. It had the girl wanting to get away and the boy who was going to sweep her off her feet - almost Cinderella-like in its portrayal of Clyde as Prince Charming and Bonnie as the girl looking for something more. It also fell back on the Titanic idea of "you jump, I jump," - albeit in an unintentional kind of way for the ending. As you can see with me mentioning all of these great love stories, it's easy to tell how I view the movie.

I like this one, it's a different twist on the love story which gets me every time.