one. about adolescence. the outsiders. i know i should've loved this one. god knows it has an incredible cast, and the story's a school-read staple. but... meh.
two. about a character's rebirth or rite of passage. a guide to recognizing your saints. it's a rough one. it's well done. it's not one i ever want to watch again.
three. about a comic book character. deadpool. see monday's post.
four. shot or set in washington, d.c. jason bourne. MEH. i've liked every other bourne film. this one was shit.
five. set in an academic environment. clueless. meh.
six. about failure. take this waltz. my biggest issue with this film is that its ending is like the villain who can't die. there was a pretty perfect place to stop it, which would've made me like the story a hell of lot more, but no... thirty more minutes of failure. i think michelle williams is adorable. i liked that seth rogen wasn't over the top. the other guy's cute. i wanted to like their characters but couldn't.
seven. about a man vs. god or gods. the trojan women. ah, the greeks. they really knew how to wreck the human spirit. all this tragedy over a woman. all this tragedy, really, because zeus got bored with mankind and decided they should just obliterate each other. so we've katharine hepburn, genevieve bujold, vanessa redgrave and irene papas, which i love. we've LOTS of ranting and raving, lots of scenes that feel better suited for the stage than cinema, which i don't love. i think what i love most about this film is that some of that ranting and raving (and trust me, these chicks are completely justified for that), are some beautiful, poignant lines. yeah, maybe some of it's over the top. but i felt myself tearing up a number of times.
eight. about a man vs. himself. the big chill. love the cast. love the music. liked the story well enough.
nine. about an invention or an ingenuous individual. flash of genius. this one was SO hard for me to watch. i can't tell you how strong the impulse was to turn it off after having seen maybe twenty minutes of it because it made me angry for so many reasons. the last twenty minutes or so were okay. bah. the man's plight is significant, for sure, and worthy of his efforts. but five minutes of reading about it on wikipedia is enough of an education.
ten. set in a jail or prison. american history x. i've known i needed to see this film since its release but haven't wanted to watch it because of how heavy i knew it would be. and i was right about that. i cried in the end. i hate how horrible we can be to each other, and this is a damned fine depiction of that.
eleven. about a dog. red dog. it's slow at the beginning, but it gets good about halfway through. i liked it.
twelve. about loss. truly madly deeply. i love just about everything starring alan rickman, but this one not so much. it's a great idea for a story, but the performances didn't do much for me--even rickman's. i didn't like it until the last fifteen-twenty minutes.
thirteen. about man vs. man. unbroken. god, it is LONG, and i'm sure this is intentional. yes, the man's an inspiration. yes, his strength is superhuman. yes, the story is remarkable and fantastic and good... every positive adjective you can find works here. but the film itself... bleh.
fourteen. about man vs. nature. deepwater horizon. see monday's post.
fifteen. one that has a monster or monstrous individual. the hobbit: the desolation of smaug. so the first of the hobbit films bored the HELL out of me, and i didn't give a rats ass about watching the rest of'm because of that, but also because it's one book that's been broken into three movies and that trend needs to DIE. NOW. this category, though, i don't like monster movies. AT ALL. so i figured i'd watch this one, and i am SO GLAD i did because luke evans is a handsome lad. and this one's MUCH better than its predecessor.
sixteen. shot or set in pennsylvania. flashdance. let's ignore the fact that a) i'm jealous as hell that any girl could have a figure like the chicks in this flick AND be so limber; b) let's also ignore the fact that every time i saw michael nouri, i thought ZIVA'S DADDY. it's ninety-five minutes long, which part of me liked because, hey, films are never so short anymore. but this one glossed over all the things that would've made me like it (like my writing critique group likes to say i gloss over all the things that would make them like my story more, so that's probably why it's in my head). she's cute. it's predictable as shit. i liked it, but i've NO desire to see it again. (and i'm a girl who can watch a movie DOZENS of times, so that should tell you something).
seventeen. about a character's quest of some kind. the hobbit: battle of the five armies. better than the first hobbit. not as good as the second one.
nineteen. about a man. vs. society. allied. BLECH. don't bother. seriously. it's shite.
twenty. originally released in the thirties. mr. deeds goes to town. i liked it.
twenty-one. about undesirable individuals or elements. ghostbusters. entertaining. spectacular, but more because it's a spectacle than because it's superb. i actually liked melissa mccarthy, and that NEVER happens. kate mckinnon and leslie jones were good. kristen wiig is typical. also... chris hemsworth. he's pretty. :] so were the special effects.
twenty-two. about a voyage and return. the martian. it's better than i expected. i can't say i loved it, though. it's good. i liked damon's character a lot.
twenty-three. about wizards or witchcraft. fantastic beasts and where to find them. see monday's post.
twenty-four. originally released in the sixties. tom jones. holy crap. HOLY CRAP. i could NOT WAIT for this one to be over.
twenty-five. about a yearning or obsession. hugo. pretty like a child's storybook. the first half or so is SLOW. wish jude law'd had more screen time. if you can hang through the first, the finish is good.
twenty-six. big stone gap. it's cheesy as heck -- like where the heart is kind of cheesy. i don't know that i could recommend it, but i didn't mind watching it.
twenty-seven. concussion. i agree with andrea, who said, been meaning to watch this one for awhile now. it moved slowly, but interesting subject matter.
twenty-eight. eighty-four charing cross road. see monday's post.
twenty-nine. hacksaw ridge. see monday's post.
thirty. loving. see monday's post. also, watch this interview. this one, by the way, was my favorite of my selections.
thirty-one. remember the titans. see monday's post.
thirty-two. the thirty-three. it's well-done, save for the fact that after being buried for some sixty days the men are fairly clean-shaven. that's probably a petty thing. of the roles i've seen of antonio banderas', this one's probably the best. i enjoyed the performances of quite a few in the cast.
andrea: FIFTY. finished original list october second. finished BONUS list october thirty-first.
christina: FIFTY finished original list october seventh. finished BONUS list october thirty-first.
christine: FIFTY. finished original list september twenty-second. finished bonus list november twelfth.
me: thirty-two. finished original list november twenty-fifth.
alyson: twenty-five. finished original list september twenty-second.
dani: twenty-five (six titles from bonus list).
kathryn: nineteen
brianne: nine
michael: nine
sabrina: nine
lauren t.: eight
erin: seven
stephanie: seven
cassie: four
cherie: four
audrey: one
lauren h.: one
not quite like last year's in that i had more people complete the regular round, but what i love is that two of these gals knocked out both the regular and bonus rounds by halloween. that impresses me.
and in case you missed it, i finished this fucker and then some. :]
and in case you missed it, i finished this fucker and then some. :]
1. I don't think you're the first person I've seen mention The Outsiders as a school-read. Definitely not at any of the schools I attended.
ReplyDelete4. Psh. He's a wanta-be Bond.
6. I liked her more with long hair. The Station Agent's a decent film.
16. At least the song's cool. :)
21. You saw the pointless p.c. remake, didn't you?
32. Ha.