the machinist; and rocknrolla

Up today are two out of my Netflix Queue; which reminds me I need to find out how Netflix would work in the UK. Its always something, eh?

The Machinist (2004) stars Christian Bale as an insomniac factory worker who starts to lose it. I really mean lose it; sees imaginary people, distorts his own self image, and there's that pesky freezer that might actually be filled with blood. As usual Bale takes it to the extreme in the way he portrays a role. I find his dedication incredibly gripping and it always adds to the experience of his films. Its reported that he was very close to seriously hurting/possibly killing himself by how much weight he lost. I would definitely recommend this one; it was incredibly engrossing and kept you guessing. I loved it in a sick and twisted kind of way.

RocknRolla (2008) was insanely good. Gerard Butler is the big name in this one, but there are lots of other noted actors in it as well. Written and directed by Guy Ritchie it has his very classic retrospective storytelling feature and his same cinematic experience as the more well known Sherlock Holmes movies. The story focuses around numerous different groups of crooks and one lunatic son. It is set in London and just a fabulous twisted story. It literally had me on the edge of my seat till the end, and I never saw the plot twist coming. It was great. I love finding those films you didn't really hear about that end up being awesome.

Definitely add these two to your list and save them for a time kids aren't around.

Young Adult. (no, not me silly)

So I saw this movie a long time ago, and it made such a profound impact that I couldn't exactly put it into words. I sat down to write and couldn't get a thought out due to my obsession and willingness to gush the entire plot line.

Let me say this; Charlize Theron NOT being nominated is one of the biggest crimes of this award season. I thought she was incredible! I have no clue about her natural state, and how far a stretch this character was for her, but I loved it. I thought she was incredibly on point, and her portrayal of a 20 something with a dead end career was SPOT ON. Patton Oswalt also did an awesome job, and I think the writers deserve and incredible amount of credit as well.

Charlize Theron's character, Mavis, is a total whack job. She is delusional in her rationale, stuck in high school, and kind of a bitch. That being said; I strangely identified with her struggle. She made rash decisions in her youth, experienced extreme success and can't figure out that all of the things that used to be great are dead now. Her parent's still like her ex-husband more than her. She is totally crazy.

I thought this movie had a really interesting story to tell, and it reminded me that your small town shouldn't dictate what you do with the rest of your life. It takes a painfully awkward struggle for her to see this, and realize that regardless of the crap things that happen to her in the big city, its better than what would have been if she stayed in her small town. Her struggle to admit that she actually might be crazy brought tears to my eyes, and brought a subtle light on how we view ourselves. I loved this movie. Plain and simple.

Not everyone will, and those are the same people that are scared to venture out and do something.

Golden Globe Nominations

So begins award season! I have to admit that my movie savvy-ness is lacking in comparision to last year, but I also don't think there have been as many incredible movies that I believe deserve awards! I have a lot of hope for War Horse, but other than that, I'm confused.

And the nominees are:
http://www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/

I don't think I'm qualified to make my decision on winners yet, simply because some movies haven't come out yet. I can say that one for sure is Charlize Theron for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical. That post is yet to come.

So, just in case you didn't hear, stuff has been nominated for Golden Globes. Go see some of them, and educate yourself.

one of these things is NOT like the other.

again with the back log of time and updates, but have no fear, I'm back.

The next two movies I saw have nothing in common except that I saw them, ate popcorn during them, and paid matinee prices for them. Or as the brits say, "in-between" prices. How precious are they?

J.Edgar

Okay, I really appreciate the acting work that Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron/Tyler Winklevoss (real name unknown) did in this film. However, I thought it was horrendously slow, drawn out, and quite jumpy in its story telling. After the last scene, while the credits rolled, the other people in the audience seemed very impressed. I then noticed that I was the only non-retired viewer in the audience. Maybe my unfamiliarity with the story is what barred my enjoyment, however, I almost nodded off and definitely checked my watch once or twice during the whole shebang.

I thought the cinematography was really interesting, and the makeup was phenomenal. DiCaprio continues to impress me with his character choice and range, although the things he makes his hair do are also up there on the impress list. I would wait for DVD on this one, and dedicate an afternoon that you want to get some history/a nap for watching.


The Muppets Movie

ohmigoddd, I loved it. I had forgotten how much I loved the Muppets (oh hey, storyline) and was so pleased, excited, and happy to see them all together again! I love Amy Adams, and Jason Segel, so they just added to it. The cameos were great! ZACK GALIFIANAKIS WAS IN IT, and I didn't even know!! He did a stellar part as Hobo Joe, definitely a nomination-worthy performance. I would definitely recommend this one for the family, or if you are feeling nostalgic, or feeling sad, or feeling happy. It was wonderful!

I am a terrible blogger.

it's a fact.
I haven't blogged in two months. I had plans to celebrate my one year anniversary of this blog by counting how many movies I've watched in a year, but obviously I didn't do that either.

1)Lion King
Disney did a great job with this. I forgot how much I loved the movie, the graphics and visuals were fantastic, and I'm so excited that they have decided to re-release more of the classics in 3D. Don't worry, I still wept like a child at certain points, so not that much changed.

2) Drive
Okay, I have a mild obsession with Ryan Gosling. I won't even lie about it. We all know he is dead sexy and a damn good actor, so really this shouldn't come as a surprise. Drive was an incredible movie, I really enjoyed it, and I think if you watched it more than once you would pick up on a lot more of the symbolism and deeper story. I really didn't know what to expect going in, and I was really interested in the way they told a pretty plain story. There were lots of intense silences, almost so that it made me uncomfortable. I would definitely recommend it.

3) The Debt
The conspiracy theorist inside me secretly loved this, but there were only about 10-15 minutes of real action and story telling. The rest of the time was devoted to reliving the scene, details, and a quick 6 minute action wrap-up at the end. So sad for Helen Mirren, the scripts she chooses are so hit and miss. This was a very close miss, but regardless, a miss. I liked the idea, but thought maybe it should have been a short film, or just a tv movie, or something. The good news is that I got to eat popcorn for two hours.

4) Puss N Boots
ohmygosh I loved this movie! It was so stinkin' cute! AND Zack Galifianakis is the voice of Humpty! WIN!! I loved the story, it was a mix of old and new, and basically it was geared towards adults the entire time. There were so many one-liners and innuendos, I almost died. It was a kid's movie that adults will definitely enjoy! I would sincerely recommend it, if you enjoy childish humor and clever adaptions of humans to cats.

A cat, in boots. so funny.

The Good, The Bad, and The Cheesy

Okay, next up I have three movies that are still in theaters. Hooray for being current!

1. Contagion
No surprise here, this was really good. It had a complicated story and plot and was really riveting. It moved quickly and slowly at the same time, and had a good balance of mystery and thriller. I was worried that the star studded cast would throw off the story, but each of them shared the action, which allowed you to forget their stardom. This movie made me nervous. It was incredibly scary how quickly this situation could come to fruition and how quickly germs and information spread. I really liked it, even though it made me nervous. I definitely recommend it, just don't watch it when you are sick, it will play mind games with you.

2. Apollo 18
This was terrible. I didn't know going into it that it was going to be terrible. But it was. The premise wasn't that bad: there is a mission to the moon with astronauts that no one knows about, and they never return. The flaw was that there were this killing stone crab rock things (spoiler alert) that end up being the villain. The problem was that all through the movie you said to yourself....wait, what? There were numerous times during it that I said, "oh hell no!" and decided that was the point in time I would have headed straight back to earth. Don't see this. Or if you do, make up a drinking game or something for it.

3. Seven Days in Utopia
This movie was about a Texas golfer who looses his game and goes to a hillbilly town and manages to get it back. It was a really sweet story, and made me love golf even more than I already do. The ending was really cheesy. Consider yourself warned. But this one definitely leaves you with a positive message and reflecting on the path your own life is taking. I appreciated the message, and that he ends his story at the tournament I interned with. I don't want to get sappy, but it made me miss the Valero Texas Open family and experience, and the beautiful golf courses in the Texas Hill Country. I would recommend it, definitely if you need a movie for a family get together or a conservative group.

In My Netlfix Queue:

So, now that I am wonderfully unemployed, I have a lot of time on my hands. So, I will be working through my netflix queue. These movies aren't throwbacks, but aren't new releases either. They fall in that no mans land of movies we don't know what to do with.

1) Defiance
I was really pleasantly surprised by this. Its a true story about a some Jewish brothers who take to the woods in Belarus to hid from the Nazis during WWII. It features Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber as the two older brothers, Tuvia and Zus. I thought this film moved kind of slowly, and I was never really sure what was going to happen. But it was incredible to see how the brothers worked together (and apart) in order to survive. The end of the movie was absolutely incredible, I don't want to give anything away, but I was very impressed. I really like Daniel Craig, and I thought this showed a different side of him, and I really enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend adding this one to your queue!

2) Taking Woodstock
Again, I didn't know what to expect with this movie. Dimitri Martin is the main character, and turns out to be much different than what I expected. He is a failing artist and designer who has to move back home to his parents' run-down motel in the Catskills. He hears about this group, Woodstock, Inc. and offers them a permit for their festival and lodging at his parents' motel. I thought it was an interesting take on remembering Woodstock, and they did an incredible job of visually recreating it. It made me really sad that I was born in 1988, and not 1958. The story was really interesting, and allowed for a genuine look into the making of Woodstock as well as a sort of coming of age tale for Martin's character. I liked it. Be warned; there's a lot of naked people, drugs, and strange shit in this one.