Archives 2009

Jetpack Orphan Mugging Brigade

2010-06-19T03:48:00.014-05:00

Astro Boy (2009)

Rating ... B+ (78)

UK animation vet and Flushed Away mastermind David Bowers returns to uproarious adventure and subversive social commentary by reinvigorating Tezuka's classic Astro Boy franchise; sly British double entendres and montage gags that hearken back to The Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Laboratory cleanse the palate of smug pop culture referencing under the pretense of humor employed by the procession of American animated Shrek devotees, but it's the shrewd analysis of values in future society that provides a compelling reason to stick around.

Astro Boy subtly plays its hand with a polygonal PSA / infomercial to open the film entitled Our Friends The Robots that explains how technological advance in Metro City - primary hub for the world's smartest and most successful - enabled self propulsion, a way for the city to suspend itself above the planet's surface and turn its citizens into a literal high society. Robots populate Metro City to automate service industries and routine maintenance, the latter of which amusingly includes the consideration that accompanies "call[ing] mom on her birthday." Seamless graphic match emphasizes Metro City as society fixated on convenience while the segment establishes the locale's groundwork ethos: elitism ("we don't really know what happens on the strange and mysterious surface we left behind") and seclusion. (The surface is acknowleged when robots at the end of their lifespan are thrown there as trash.)

Despite how it might sound, Metro City is more utopian than dystopian. Its standard of living is peachy. Creativity and education are at an all-time high, and they've more or less eradicated complacency. Fathers are too busy with scientific progress to have much time for their kids, but at least the shopworn conceit is depicted primarily with figuratism (Dr. Tenma is a holographic presence on Toby's ride to school) and resolved during act one. Now if only there was a solution to placate those disgruntled residents of old Earth on whose doorstep Metro City dumps its waste...

The problem is more complicated than it seems. A "one of us" reference to Freaks earmarks the pariah status of the surface dwellers, while their Robot Games are little more than a modern colosseum - evidence of the resentment and savagery of class conflict, as well as their Beowulf-ian need to witness society's vanguards reduced in status. Of course, the demeanor of the distinguished - immodest, aloof, oblivious - could hardly be called leading by example. Dr. Tenma's creation Astro Boy grafts human memory to robotic exoskeleton, providing a face for the budding problem of sentient slave robots. A play on the word "grace" implies the demise of religion in enlightened society but issues are still solved with militarism, from trigger-happy politicians, arm-wrestling military officers, and the hilariously inefficient goldfish poop gang, Robot Revolutionary Front. Supporting characters aid in blurring class distinctions, from the runaway brat Cora (Kristen Bell) to evicted robot engineer Ham Egg (Nathan Lane), but there's also subtext to be gleaned from the minutia. An early establishing shot of junked Earth covered with robot scraps features several statues and monuments haphazardly constructed out of the surface debri; it's an innocuous detail, but telling all the same. Society needs and values its best and brightest, whether they know it or not.

Evicted: A Sob Story

2010-05-26T05:12:00.013-05:00

Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)

Rating ... C- (31)

Michael Moore returns to cursory condemnation with Capitalism: A Love Story, his usual smarmy brand of shock-umentary designed to sensationalize selected facets of the recent financial crisis in order to brainwash the "exploited" masses who know jack about why the recession actually occurred but are all too willing to accept a diatribe that reassures them they weren't the ones responsible. As always, Moore deals in absolutisms. Only the greed of the wealthiest caused the downfall he argues, with their excessive CEO compensation plans, tricky logrolling business deals, and rampant fraud; unsurprisingly, no blame is levied at the equally covetous, debt-riddled American people whose foolishness and avarice prompted them to buy and sell houses on credit to make a quick buck before the bubble burst, or procure second mortgages hinged upon the temporary appreciation of their housing appraisal. So what is Moore's thesis here? Scrap capitalism and switch to a planned economy - an economic system that fails just as massively when human greed is its driving force.

Capitalism: A Love Story begins with typical Moore pathos - a family being evicted from their house in North Carolina in hysterical fashion. Moore doesn't bother to inform us about the particulars of why; given the circumstances, we're meant to assume these folks are average citizens - just like you and me! - getting the shaft from the Man. His juxtaposition is a company called Condo Vultures that purchases property on the cheap and sells to consumers at market price. From this introduction alone it's evident Moore resides in a world of black and white, us and them.

The filmmaking techniques he uses to convey his ideas haven't become any subtler either. Moronic double meanings abound; when he exalts in "peasants executing their right to vote" by shooting down the Paulson bailout the narration is accompanied by footage of sports-goers doing the Wave. He likens ordinary citizens grasping at wealth they can never hope to acquire to a dog jumping at table scraps while the rich are depicted as a larger breed who eats the whole bone themselves. And when he remarks on how society fixates religiously on money, Jesus nailed to the cross is cheaply overlaid to Wall Street.

Unfortunately, religion is not a subject Moore is afraid to broach with his single-minded obliviousness. One of his major "arguments" against capitalism is nothing more than pissing on separation of church and state as he interviews Catholic priests whose no-doubt informed opinion of capitalism is that it is sinful and "contrary to all that is good." These enlightened views are hazily substantiated by vague interpretation of the bible as quoted passages simply extol the poor and slam the rich, while nobody seems to notice that the dichotomy can exist in economic models besides capitalism. Is it any wonder Moore elides asking the clergy their opinion on the sinfulness of the "blessed" poor who out of envy for the wealthy fell prey to moronic predatory lending scams whose unreasonable hype cozily promised them the world?

When Moore isn't holy rolling he's merely busy obscuring facts. He labels bait-and-switch tactics from Countrywide as sub-prime lending when in fact the concept refers to banks lending to individuals whose credit history carries considerable risk. He takes for granted that the debt Americans willingly shoulder is for base survival needs and not to fuel illusions of grandeur, and expects his audience to be blinded by sympathy for pilots, whose noble profession appears to average about 20K per year as salary. In his eyes, they deserve a higher salary, ignoring how the laws of supply and demand dictate this type of economic planning would cause a surfeit in the amount of pilots, a shortage of piloting jobs, and a shortage of workers in positions that are economically useful and would not contribute to deadweight loss.

In a minor tribute to Sicko Moore praises the successful economies of Europe and Japan versus our own, and once again his short-sightedness and lack of understanding could not be more apparent. Japan is actually a mixed planned / capitalist economy whose success was attributable to the fact their recovery plan of the post-war era consisted of locking out foreign goods and encouraging citizens to save and invest their money in banks, meaning Japanese companies would have readily available capital to borrow and create products that would be sold to the same foreign countries whose goods they were embargoing and levying tariffs. Obviously for each unit of trade surplus, an equal unit of deficit exists elsewhere, and Moore fails to realize this model actually generates wealth for Japan at the expense of other countries, rather than promote the global / national harmony he falsely touts. (For reference, the feat is impossible with scarce resources.)

Moore ends with an endorsement of Roosevelt's unenacted second Bill of Rights, which guarantees housing, pensions, and jobs for all Americans. Characteristically, it was too much to ask for him to actually explain how our government can afford to make all this possible, and Capitalism: A Love Story is revealed as whimsical drivel, misguided in its censure of capitalism when rampant individual greed is the culprit, and every bit the swindle that contributes to our engulfing gullibility as the frauds perpetrated by the richest 1% he so hastily denounces.

Childhood Memory Demolition Team

2010-03-12T19:45:00.025-06:00

[ Half-Hearted 2009 Cleanup Project ]

World's Greatest Dad (2009) ... D+ (22) [ The first half: "I'm Robin Williams, an unappreciated genius. My son is a complete douchebag. Yes, he is entirely a complete douchebag, and no, he is nothing else besides a complete douchebag." The second half: "After my son's idiotic demise, as his only parent I accept no responsibility for his life failure or incorrigible behavior, but rather embark on a long-winded charade which bitterly reveals everyone around me to be conniving phonies - those Johnny Depp Willy Wonka folks - incapable of appreciating the talent of people like me, the Gene Wilder Willy Wonka folks. Despite how my love of old zombie films obviously separates me from the proles, I nevertheless strive for their superficial valuations of success, until my concluding change of heart." ]

The Girlfriend Experience (2009) ... B- (54) [ Stephen Soderbergh's cold, formal filmmaking can be a bitter pill to swallow, but to be fair you could describe his decidedly more upbeat Ocean's Eleven the same way. Nevertheless, his recession era parable hits the nail on the head. The Girlfriend Experience is basically a what-if where sex and relationships join the ranks of capitalism by becoming merely transactional, the feeling removed from something inherently emotional. Relationships = emotional is a no-brainer but for those who think emotion has nothing to do with business, consider the recession was made possible in part by individuals as corporate agents who didn't think twice about the folks on the receiving end. By the conclusion our hero falls from grace, demoted from her slick and self-absorbed clientele to the fat and needy. It's empathy in business regained, and we all paid the price. ]

Law Abiding Citizen (2009) ... D+ (21) [ Justice system? More like INjustice system, amirite? District attorneys don't care about their cases, they just want a high conviction rate! Hypocritical judges who subvert the laws to their own whims are in bed with city officials who deflect high profile cases to salvage their public image! Also, individual vigilante justice is taking things too far, thus completing my blanket condemnation of the legal process! There's no way out, that's why I made this movie! Attend your token kid's cello recital! GO TO SLEEP. Zzzzz... ]

Love Happens (2009) ... D (12) [ Aesop. The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes. Granola Girl. Meet Cute. It's Not You, It's Me. Inner Monologue. Flashback Echo Slow Clap, Standing Ovation. Aesop. ]

2012 (2009) ... D (10) [ When bullcrap "science" and moral high-ground presumption (the president needs to "tell the truth" about "what really happened" in this "catastrophe" that took place on our soil) collide, the disaster movie is born. Self-righteous haranguing about how humans of all nationalities should be working together because we're all one wrold (cue ending pull-back shot for emphasis) and other such critique of human progress would seem less hypocritical coming from someone who didn't also approve the preceding half hour of witless carnage and wanton loss of life via mystical circumstances foreseen by Mayan augury. (Sample back-to-basics advocacy line: "Two thousand years of technology, and they saw it coming when we didn't!") Thank you so very much, Guy Who Directed Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow. Or is that Guy Who's Best Movie is Stargate? ]

-

(Not) A Typical Rom-Com, Geddit?

2009-12-23T01:42:00.004-06:00

(500) Days of Summer (2009)

Rating ... D+ (26)

How do you create the opposite of Hollywood's recent fad of Meet the Parents-descended rom-coms and still screw up? Erase all the grotesque minor characters and pointless story digressions where conflicts predicated on miscommunication thwart protagonist interaction for half an hour from Sandra Bullock's last/next vehicle, and what remains? A blank canvas? Or maybe a film that offers up something equally uninspired but verifiably not the aforementioned, ad nauseum? For those awaiting the opposite of suck, the promise was too good to be the next Before Sun.

One thing's certain, the opposite of Hollywood is insufferable indie, and it's not for lack of trying. (500) isn't quite the year's Garden State but it has no problem shoving its too-cute brand of indiequirk in your face anyway. Personally, I have no beef with quirk persay (an example from the film - not only does 500 play on the season summer and Deschanel's character name Summer, Levitt's next meets a girl named Autumn, and the coincidence is dropped with trite a-ha! revelation, to say nothing of the obvious method of cementing functional character roles); unfortunately, the problem persists that (500)'s forced uniqueness, which permeates heavily into its romance, does not actually depict genuine human behavior with more insight or understanding than its manufactured Hollywood counterpart, but simply exists for the sake of juxtaposition, with no real identity of its own.

Hollywood rom-coms can be accused of reducing adult relationships to child's play, but (500)'s subpar replacement finds scarcely developed characters indulging in bad karaoke for nonexistent laughs and playing the penis penis Penis Penis PENIS PENIS! game. Barring a quaintly creative expectations/reality cinematographic schism, (500) fails to bring ingenuity to its depiction of diffused romance, instead opting for repetition. (Directly following moments of elation between Levitt and Deschanel, director Marc Webb fancies cutting ahead several hundred days to post-breakup to hammer home the foreshadowing.) In other news, love is still a vague, undefinable feeling of ecstasy and really, really "deep" conceits include how capital-L Life just got in the way of things that don't work out! I just realized something: the opposite of capital punishment is life in prison.

I'm Busta ... Busta Cap!

2009-12-07T01:29:00.003-06:00

Gamer (2009)

Rating ... C (42)

Crank was a difficult movie to pin down. You could conceivably view the film's churlish fervor as a twisted parable about leading an active life, while its copycat sequel defies purpose beyond a paycheck and metaphorical middle finger to audiences everywhere (figurative until the last scene, that is, where Jason Statham, on fire, offers a double gesture to the camera). Tag team directors Neveldine and Taylor's third effort, however, occupies the mundane middle ground. A half-hearted but timely serve of the dramatically overstated fantasy world of video-gaming and massively multiplayer online socializing (sorry, "RPG's"), Gamer stumbles across topical material but follows suit with the year's like-minded Surrogates and never figures out where to direct the vitriol. At least the Crank movies knew what to hate - everything.

Gamer is a tale of technologically enhanced convicts that other, more up-standing citizens can pay to inhabit remotely in Slayers, a "real life video game." Gamer seeks to capitalize on fears of living vicariously but its apprehension feels arbitrary because N/T inadequately develop the social ramification of their idea, instead choosing to drench Gamer with their usual brand of tedious visual excess. Initial scenes with Kyra Sedgewick's Oprah-esque talk show host suggest an examination of the prole's fascination with gratuitous sex and violence but rather than cleverly implement the conceit into the narrative fabric like the similar Death Race 2000 where kills amounted to points based on the victim's age, N/T merely wallow, assuming that its mere mention was commentary enough. Brief glimpses at the film's sister video game called Society lampoon the dull series of Sims games where players basically do nothing but commingle, but the joke culminates in a lame reveal where hot chicks in-game are shown to be fat rejects in real life. Gamer even features nods towards The Matrix ("free your mind!") and To Catch a Predator, but these references by their lonesome are insufficient to precisely express what N/T intend with Gamer. If we're meant to sum the subtext from both Crank and Gamer, they might be saying people should cease hiding behind substitutes and simply display their abject depravity in person. Any way you slice it however their worldview is baffling and unexplained, and to be frank I'd be surprised if Neveldine or Taylor have a clearer picture themselves.

I Get Neck When I'm Travelin'

2009-11-02T18:25:00.005-06:00

I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009)

Rating ... F (3)

Less an actual movie than a former DCOM star's wannabe-risqué coming-out party and a chance for director Chris Columbus to logroll John Hughes (and his teen angst turf) for writing the movie that made him famous, I Love You Beth Cooper begins and ends with allusions to Crowe's Say Anything without ever developing a coherent personality in between. The story can be briefly summarized as the raucous graduation-day adventures of Denis Cooverman (Paul Rust), a class valedictorian who spends his time at the podium to profess his infatuation - clumsily equated to love - with head cheerleader Beth Cooper (Hayden Panettiere). This all becomes irrelevant as I Love You Beth Cooper quickly becomes notable not for its transparent composition of 80's movie staples but rather its gratuitously offensive type-branding and endless parade of "jokes" about cow paddies, closeted gays, and tactless nerds.

Though the film flaunts its encyclopedic knowledge of teen movie territory - its shoutouts to Risky Business and Dead Poets Society are identified the moment they come out of Alan Ruck's quixotic cool dad's mouth while those to films like Heathers are mercifully implicit - Beth Cooper seems more keen on slamming both genders with spite played off as nostalgia. Denis's aforementioned speech gets the ball rolling as he prattles bitterly to his fellow students, obnoxiously classifying them as jocks, preps, and geeks while offensively asserting bullcrap Freudian psycho-profiles beneath the archetypes. The stuck-up, anorexic bitch is haughty because she is attempting to disguise her lack of self-worth, and the school's uptight principal spurns his mid-ceremony bout of radicalism because her own advances at love were scorned during her high school hey-day. Though the film repulsively reduces her presence to a derisive non-sequitur, Beth Cooper's most odious allegation occurs when it affirms its own stereotyping via Denis's encounter with the school reject, a sexually abused boy who confides in Denis at a party even as the film mocks his predicament.

If there's anything more insulting than Beth Cooper's characterization by contempt - look no further than Denis's loser protag, entirely typified as a nerd prone to high-pitched squealing, bumbling about without social grace, and wearing humiliating underwear - it would have to be the film's agenda of pandering to adolescents who are under the assumption they're grown-up. Beth Cooper's garishly immature adults - from the gym teacher who encourages a trio of late-twenties students-cum-marines to assail our hero to Denis's own parents, embarassingly encountered in the middle of roadside spooning - serve to contrast to how the teenagers somehow forge meaningful relationships in one night. The extent of this process is either the film's token gay guy in denial who gets his wish fulfillment on with two horny high school ditzes and comments "Maybe I'm bi!" or Beth Cooper's stock social butterfly who only sees development when writer Larry Doyle takes an earlier throwaway joke about her dead retarded brother and laughably attempts to fashion it into a subplot about self-confidence. Midway through the film one of Cooper's bimbos in tow offers Denis tampons for his nosebleed, making one long for She's the Man where the joke was originally purveyed. That film was humorous and sincere in its depiction of teenage relationships, with a specific understanding about how gender roles were sexual guidelines for confused youngsters but at the same time could cause people to feel trapped and must often be abandoned to salvage romance. By comparison, Beth Cooper's frivolous typecasting only feigns insight about coming-of-age and can't even be bothered to grow up as little as its big girl star Hayden Panettiere.

The Lolz of Physics

2009-11-02T01:05:00.006-06:00

Terminator: Salvation (2009)

Rating ... C- (35)

Little else is as inherently masculine as the concept of Terminator - that a futuristic cyborg equipped with advanced weaponry travels backwards along the timeline to SNAFU the present, only to be thwarted by one or more gun-toting individuals with a maximum of badass action and modicum of sentimentality - but surprisingly enough, Terminator: Salvation is the first entry in the upstanding series to genuinely pander to the young male demographic. The original Terminator dubiously adopted 80's cyberpunk sentiments but made amends for the thematic uncertainty with laudable action-movie economy and some of Cameron's finest directing, while installments two and three offered superior variations on the formula with equivalent thrift and - get this - actual dramatic conflict, with a little philosophizing thrown in for good measure. T:S pays homage to its origin with sly nonchalance (for example, to the original by recreating the scene of skulls being crushed by the machines of war), but it does not actually add to the franchise. Rather the film simply alters the blueprint to include dual male protagonists, both of whom regularly grunt and growl at the camera in slow-motion / low angle / Snorricam / generic grandeur.

In what's likely an unintended display of cinematic augury, arbitrary Java syntax ( //, ++, /* ) accompanies the names of the first-billed during the title credits, appropriately paving the way for the following eye candy. (Is this the programming language behind the T-models or the SFX?) Director McG surveys the battlefield with slick aerial cam grace but his firefights are characterized primarily by arhythmic editing and CGI explosions sloppily filed under the guise of into-the-fray realism. Helmed by Jonathan Mostow (Breakdown, U-571) T3 leaned more towards old-school stunts and a rudimentary walk-talk structure for its action-comedy approach but with McG Terminator: Salvation blows past in a blur where unremarkable action scenes and macho military bluster are equally massacred with music-video stylings - a problem that is only exacerbated when T:S strives for "epic" importance. Curiously, this desire for grandiosity never materialized during the franchise's first three films, which erred more towards B-movie sensibility, but in T:S it fires from all cylinders, even Danny Elfman's summer blockbuster score (snore) whose pervading riff is suspiciously Dark Knight-esque, composed of eighth note pairs alternating between two pitches. (You'll recognize the simplistic pattern when you get there, though in all honesty it was probably Requiem for a Dream and its moronic pap of a soundtrack that truly cemented the popularity of this callow approach to "monumental" accompaniment.)

To compound the problem further, Terminator: Salvation's need for majesty bleeds into its paltry characterizations, most of which are demonstrated to their full extent through juvenile posturing like "NOOOO!" scenes angled directly at the camera. When Connor (Bale) shouts "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" at a T-800, the film's emotional ineptitude is apparent, and this overwrought spectacle towards an obviously unfeeling machine makes one marvel that T:S was written by the same folks responsible for Terminator 3. Consider a scene from that film, where the protagonists are traveling in an RV and the Terminator (Arnold) callously divulges to a younger John Connor that he will be slain in the upcoming war, but is still needed in the present to accomplish some tasks. The implication here is that with this knowledge, Connor is now only alive in a robotic sense - to fulfill a purpose already allocated to him by higher powers. (Connor's response? "Oh... well that sucks!) Such philosophical absence reduces T:S to the sum of its reveals - notably, without spoilers, Marcus Wright and the effect of the short wave signal - as well as its ho-hum man-machine ethos, which is artlessly summarized during the dénoument as Wright clumsily narrates about the virtues of the indomitable human spirit before passing the voiceover chain to Connor for a sequel-promising encore. By this point, however, Terminator: Salvation has already proved itself a member of the venerable franchise in name only; the film's squandered wartime setting, occasional peeking-out-of-cover shots, and protagonist moniker "Marcus" all betray that T:S is instead aimed squarely at the Gear of War crowd.

I Am Soloist

2009-11-02T01:05:00.005-06:00

The Soloist (2009)

Rating ... D (14)

Joe Wright has a gift. The Soloist is practically an I Am Sam retread minus the maudlin, but that doesn't appear to deter Wright from trying to ingest coal and shit diamonds - or more specifically, what qualifies as a diamond in the eyes of the typical Academy voter. While his previous effort Atonement reeked of cinematic excess primarily off the back of a lone, unbroken take of the Dunkirk beachfront (dig this shot!), with The Soloist he's cranked up the wank-off preening, presumably in compensation for the story's slightness; like a true Academy contender, Wright's handiwork marries flimsy conceits with flamboyant filmmaking, and his fervent attempts to spit-shine the finished product into awardsy enticement could scarcely have been more pronounced.

Jamie Foxx receives the Oscar baton as the naturally meretricious Nathaniel Ayers, a schizophrenic indigent and musician (but more appropriately, eccentricity on display) with an education from Juliard and a conspicuously pitiful two-stringed violin. Like all homeless people, he's simply a down-on-his-luck savant unfairly maligned out of executing that for which he possesses a natural aptitude by circumstance and thus deserving of a financial break, which The Soloist sees fit to dole out in the sum of $50 million. (Ostensibly this actually happened, seeing that the film is based on a true story; while most movies that fall under this header enjoy touting their status, just so we're clear on how inherently important they are, Wright must have forgotten to flaunt his credentials because his hands are full flaunting his cinematography.) The Soloist lauds this grant as a humanitarian triumph to which the vagrant community was entitled and unjustly deprived, and Wright's directing takes the conceit one nauseating step further by montaging the lord's prayer - by this point the most hackneyed method of expressing religious devotion - over a soup kitchen distributing meals to the homeless ("give us this day our daily bread"), thereby likening fruitless charity to spiritual fulfillment. The notion is further verified in Foxx's only award-baiting outburst where he denounces a religious music teacher and declares Robert Downey Jr.'s journalist and friend Steve Lopez to be his God, which later parlays into the after-school special supposition that mentally unstable don't need medication ... they need love! (I Am Sam's similarly revolting take: "Just because he doesn't have the capacity to THINK doesn't mean he doesn't have the capacity to LOVE!")

When The Soloist isn't touring funny farms to provide audiences with superfluous examples of its pointlessly scrutinzed portrayal of schizophrenia, director Joe Wright allows his exuberant flourishes to take center stage. His first time at bat resorts to overblown visual metaphor where Ayers's playing induces the camera to follow a pair of birds in flight to various levels of atmospheric stratification. He later replays the exact same idea when Ayers visualizes an orchestra's rendition of Beethoven's 3rd as a colorform screensaver. (His music's inspirational and sublime and all, geddit?) Unfortunately, Wright's graphical aggrandizing is an inadequate mask for his storytelling ineptitude, as The Soloist - like so many other inelegant 2009 flicks, it seems, with Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Terminator: Salvation, He's Just Not That Into You - resorts to lazy voiceover narration to conclude, essentially Wright force-feeding the audience the point of this movie and also why I made this movie, the end. True to its title's implications of baseless cinematic grandstanding, The Soloist is like a gratuitous guitar solo that just won't end.

Toy Boat Toy Boat Toy Boat Toy Bo-

2009-11-02T00:57:00.005-06:00

Ponyo on the Cliff (2009)

Rating ... B+ (77)

Japanese animation maestro/legend/Superman Hayao Miyazaki is, among other things, living proof that target audience is an irrelevant concept. Habitually the purveyor of cinematic children's fantasy, Miyazaki has brought the midas touch to both literary adaptations and creations of his own design, even in spite of "retiring" on two distinct occasions. The chromatic haze of his latest, the G-rated Ponyo on the Cliff, suggests bedtime story in lieu of his usual forte - rousing adventure - but one would do well to ignore the accompanying temptation to dismiss the movie as kids' programming because outgrowing Miyazaki means outgrowing passion, reason, and understanding in film.

Many critics have called Ponyo a relative letdown not simply because the film is not the bombshell that was Spirited Away but rather because they feel some crucial element present in Miyazaki's earlier work is missing, be it maturity, empathy, or visual imagination. Curiously enough, if there was a movie to showcase elements common to Miyazaki's filmography like spirituality, ecology, and human duality, Ponyo might be that film - even moreso than his early Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind, which haphazardly attempted to cram most of his ideas into a single package. After testing the water with that movie, however, Miyazaki developed incredible refinement (along with his commendable cohort, Isao Takahata) while maintaining the same ardor and his newly formed Studio Ghibli began churning out cinematic gold with impeccable regularity.

Arguably the 2000's may represent the finest of Ghibli's streak - Spirited Away, The Cat Returns, Howl's Moving Castle, Nasu: Summer in Andalusia (this was written by a longstanding Ghibli animation director, but they couldn't fit it in the assembly line so he took it to Madhouse) and now Ponyo - but ideologically the film hearkens back to the 90's and Miyazaki's criminally overlooked Porco Rosso. While Ponyo on the Cliff concerns itself with the chance encounter and burgeoning relationship between landlubber Sosuke and washed-up goldfish Ponyo, the ultimate goal - as in Porco Rosso - is to study how priorities change with age.

Thank goodness the mandatory environmental hand-wringing is mostly isolated to the film's first act because we can easily forget about it and focus on the film's relationshipsw. Sosuke is an ordinary youngster but Ponyo belongs to a sea kingdom, breathlessly depicted in the film's placid opener as the caretaker (played by Liam Neeson) extracts colorful fluids from multitudes of creatures to form magic elixirs. After coming to the surface, a drop of human blood is sufficient to initiate a transformation in Ponyo - from sea animal to land dweller - and for much of the film she bears the same kind of haphazard duplicity of Sophie in Howl's Moving Castle and Porco in Porco Rosso. When Ponyo uses her powerful magic it causes her to revert back to sea foam, while her human characteristics appear as a result of sustained contact with the land environment, which creates a dynamic between inner and outer forces. For a brief period it appears Ponyo can actually maintain this best-of-both-worlds state (signified by the light she holds above her head that grants her angelic status) but she soon discovers her existence is binary - land or sea, human or magical, but not both. The sea represents nature in every way - capability and personal betterment, internal balance and external harmony - while land resembles civilization and the humans that reside on it - a mess of emotions and relationships, excitement and unpredictability, and Ponyo's climactic decision between the two is a rethinking of similar subject matter. In Porco Rosso Miyazaki skewered have-it-all masculinity; Porco half-asses both his career and his relationships but will not admit to himself that he must choose the one that makes him truly happy. Porco is old, and his romantic relationship has all but collapsed because infatuation has worn away and he isn't willing to invest the necessary effort to reinvigorate. He finally regains his humanity when he understands his indecision is holding both people back. In Ponyo, however, Miyazaki tackles the problem from a different perspective. These are youngsters who are falling for the first time, and when Ponyo chooses to love Sosuke, her decision is a deliberate assumption of maturity and all its responsibilities. This relationship is implicitly illustrated by Miyazaki's gentle characterization. In one tranquil scene, Sosuke presents origami birds to several old women busy watching a storm roll in. The director observes the young and old's fascination with their surroundings as Sosuke's mother and the other nursing home attendants ignore the beauty of the inclimate weather to instead focus on accomodating the needs of the patrons. All three generations are simultaneously present, and like only the finest filmmaking, the meaning here is affecting but subtle. We outgrow nature, but it catches up with us in the end.

I Tied My Own Shoes Once...

2009-11-02T00:52:00.008-06:00

... It was an overrated experience.

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009)

Rating ... D+ (22)

If anyone ever buckles down and actually adapts a decent video game into a decent movie, by this point you have to wonder if audiences will even notice. Cinematically speaking, video games are inextricably linked to poor quality; everything from Tomb Raider to D.O.A. to Van Damme's original Street Fighter movie have made sure of that. A Street Fighter installment in name only, Legend of Chun-Li doesn't feature any particulars from any Street Fighter game beyond character names, and it can't even get that right. (The major players are so bland and interchangeable here, in what must have been some sort of on-set, actor masculinity scuffle three characters literally traded names in the film's port to American theatres. Apparently someone balked how feminine Neal McDonough's suave, mannered Vega was as lead villain so his character became Bison; Michael Clarke Duncan's brutish henchman ran into the same problem so the name Balrog was taken from a random crony, who received the leftover Vega.)

Street Fighter begins with Chun-Li's epic voiceover narration as she clumsily summarizes her life story in about five minutes and ends with more of the same where the character's foreseeable progression merely affirms revenge as a part of the healing process. These segments bookend her battle against notorious corporate thief Bison (Vega) and his irritating, irrelevant personal bodyguards Balrog (Bison) and Vega (Balrog). Both Chun-Li and Interpol agents Maya and Charlie (played with insufferable badass swagger by Chris Klein) marvel at Bison's uncanny ability to stay under the radar, yet have no difficulty intercepting his company's shipments as a repeated and reliable way to square off against him. Chun-Li studies under a master by the name of Gen whose unexplained chi / chakra / haduken power / dragon punch + A / mystical energy somehow enables her to defeat Bison in hand-to-hand combat, even though the film deliberately states his only weakness is his daughter's livelihood, as she is the vessel for his eternal soul. Or something. The point is, shit happens, you get to witness copious amounts of lame cut-scene combat, the culmination of which is neither coherent nor meaningful filmmaking, yet Legend of of Chun-Li promises a sequel anyway. Apparently this is all very cathartic for Chun-Li, who somehow becomes emblematic of slum solidarity (Bison's only discernable faux-pas is his gentrification - booting poor people out of their subsidized housing so he can make a chunk of change by selling them) despite her background of obvious privilege. Nevertheless, the film excels in the idiotic dialogue department, nearly rivaling the likes of fellow video game adaptations The Yu-Gi-Oh Movie and House of the Dead. (My personal favorite, a menacing threat from Bison: "Your father has been the milk of my business ... but even milk has an expiration date!") Now that we've stooped this low, Legend of Chun-Li isn't just Street Fighter in name only - it's a movie in name only.

Dance Flick (2009)

Rating ... C (38)

Likely the best bad movie to emanate from a Wayans and their canon of spectacularly tacky movies since Scary Movie, Dance Flick represents a marriage between early outputs like I'm Gonna Git You Sucka that lampooned America's perception of black culture with their later, lazier efforts like 2006's scatology-centric Little Man. Chock full of cred-establishing dance movie references including Step Up, Flashdance, Save the Last Dance, Take the Lead, and Honey (as well as a healthy dose of largely irrelevant jibes worthy of the ... Movie franchise directed at Black Snake Moan, Little Miss Sunshine, Catwoman, Ray, and Twilight), director Damien Wayans and his platoon / extended family of writers cheerfully take aim at how dance battling has been impugned and conformed into a Hollywood product by studio tripe such as You Got Served. As misfortune would have it Dance Flick's best scenes are as ingenious as they are infrequent; during his class lecture Marlon Wayans as Mr. Moody spoofs black actors that accept stereotypical roles, and the scene registers because Wayans understands how cultural dignity has been exchanged for financial compensation. Likewise, in the film's occasional digs at community college, tap water, and Shawn Wayans (there's one around every corner, no kidding) as Baby Daddy who offers to "pick up" his kid for the weekend - he then proceeds to literally pick up the child before setting him back down and exiting hastily - effectively satirize the dilemma of adolescents living in black neighborhoods to succumb to peer pressure and leave school or strive for higher education, a conceit repetitively portrayed in more heavy-handed films like Menace II Society and Jungle Fever whose sensationalist agendas kept suspicious tabulation of this progress (or lack thereof) via the market equilibrium price of dick-sucking. The problem remains, however, that the Wayans have never really polished their storytelling chops, and though Dance Flick pokes fun at lame narrative templates, the fact remains it follows a lame narrative template itself. This template consists of a lukewarm mishmash of two distinct elements - corny dance movie clichés and full-blown absurdism. In all honesty there's no reason a hybrid approach wouldn't suffice but the Wayans aren't exactly putting their best foot forward; aside from their usual allotment of fratboy humor the story is often subverted by a running gag concerning an unfunny creditor-cum-gang-boss in a fat suit named Sugar Bear, a figure whose significance is never explained or elaborated. The climactic dance battle and abrupt ending directly contend the white-black amalgam of style shown in contemporary dance films, and there's undeniable energy to this fervent rebuttal against the unification of races; now if only the Wayans would provide equal measure to the notion that audiences are not similarly unified by an affinity for trivial movie shout-outs and witless vulgarity.

A Christmas Carol (2009)

Rating ... D (11)

The Many Cameras of Robert Zemeckis, I long to count thee. We have #1 Blithe, Soaring, Christmas is a Wonderful Time Cam for past and present, and the similarly active #2 Fleeing From Shadowy Demons, You're Gonna Die (If You Keep Up This Behavior!) Cam for the grim future. For connective tissue, there's crass moralizing and lesson-learning for all with #3 Errol Morris Interrotron Inspired Talk Directly to the Audience Cam and #4 Stationary, Introspective, What Really Matters Cam on hand to capture Scrooge's change of heart. Evidentally there was no cinematographic method of depicting the film's repulsive central tenet about charity as the only route to fulfillment; that particular burden was sluffed off upon the story, if that's what you wish to call ninety minutes of pure didacticism, a whirligig torture chamber where Scrooge is repeatedly chastised for his miserly behavior (even when penitent), shown again and again visions of relatives scoffing at him behind his back and wishing him ill will, or expressing apathy after his passing, offering to attend his funeral for a free meal. Of course these patronizing glimpses are all basically the same scene, reiterations intent on changing Scrooge's demeanor from Wrong to Right, but to make matters worse Zemeckis is basically preaching to the diegetic choir. Scrooge scarcely delivers his trademark speech on surplus population (his words are later used for cheap, you-got-served comeuppance by the Ghost of Christmas Present) before he's whisked away on his journey, shedding a tear for his less cynical self in the past, grinning at children playing on rooftops in the present, and welcoming reproach from the Ghost of Christmas Future before he even arrives. ("It will do me good," Scrooge opines.) Inspiration is sporadic in the story's umpteenth version, isolated almost wholly to a scene where Scrooge rids himself of the Ghost of Christmas Past by slamming the specter's elongated dunce hat over his entire body, only seconds later to find the entity inexplicably morphed into some sort of rocket which blasts him into the sky - a clever transitional scene, yet still one whose "or else!" mentality condescends to Scrooge's existence, which it considers lonely and bereft of joy. "Why do you condemn the honest pursuit of substance?" asks Scrooge's former self - the only line that acknowledges a position contrary to the film's own, which is promptly smothered with scene after scene of counterpoint. By the risible conclusion, Scrooge has been sufficiently blackmailed by emotion, not only berated in the present that Tiny Tim will die (and it's HIS fault) but also shown yet again in the future that Tiny Tim has in fact died, and finally shown his own corpse, followed by his own tombstone, followed by dangling from the brim of a sinkhole leading directly to Hell. Maybe he gets the point? If not, his fellow merrymakers - after much hemming and hawing - have found it in their hearts to "feel sorry" for his plight; according to Zemeckis's monstrosity, nothing says Christmas like celebrating the hive mind and browbeating everyone to join in.

Up in the Air (2009)

Rating ... C (37)

I see shades of two superior films at work here. The first is Lost in Translation, which had similar age groups grappling with fulfillment in and out of the workplace; whereas that film gradually abandoned curdled typecasting ("lip my stocking!") throughout the story, Up in the Air only further embraces stereotyping as though it wasn't the hack director's fallback measure. Clooney's character is a summation of cheap, fortune-cookie proverbs ("what's in your backpack?") and cheerfully owns up to (positively) stereotyping Asians early in the film; Reitman sticks to the mold by allowing the narrative to slide into clichéd drivel, yet another slam at bachelorhood and lone wolf ethos in favor of accumulating brownie points with breadbasket, nest-egg trumpeting. The second likeness is The Devil Wears Prada, more specifically the Streep-Hathaway relationship noticeable in Clooney-Kendrick, even down to the last scene with the letter of recommendation. In Devil the antagonism between the leads represented more than workplace adversity and self betterment; Hathaway calls it quits with the company because though she demonstrates the capability, she makes a deliberate decision not to allow her career success to come at the expense of others. Streep is essentially the Clooney role from Up in the Air - looking out for number one - but Devil deals her a fair hand, refraining from disparaging her choices but poignantly allowing her to realize that Hathaway was a kindred spirit along a different path. By contrast, after Up in the Air's threesome sustain interesting chit-chat after Kendrick's break-up the film sends them scuttling back to the household and strives for last-ditch tragedy when Clooney finds Farmiga with a Hestia all her own; thus the letter of recommendation is his only recourse to obtain (I reference and reuse this diction from Michael Sicinski because he perfectly hit the nail on the head) "yuppie asshole redemption." In other news, Up in the Air succumbs to Big Important Moments, not only with its simplistic "real people" inserts (think He's Just Not That Into You, and here's a quote - "without my friends and family, I wouldn't have made it!") but also the Danny McBride character's half-assed cold feet bellyaching - "what's the point [of getting married]?" - as if he was grappling with THE question of our contemporary existence. Spare me, please. Up in the Air has the same subtextual trapping as the "these walls of metal and glass" segment of Crash, and all Reitman has proved here is that he's savvier than Hammer Time Haggis. Some accomplishment.

-

Short, Tweet, and to the Point

2009-11-02T00:36:00.014-06:00

(Not even an eternity lasts forever! Neither do these blue blurbs.)

[ Rec ] (2007) ... C+ (47) [ Strictly a genre exercise, albeit a reasonably effective one until a certain point where the jump scares become predictable, which is a shame to say the least because the late climax is intended to be the most unnerving [ Rec ] has to offer. Evidently zombie movies are now so commonplace the narrative can go completely without saying, which is probably for the better given the low aspirations of [ Rec ], leaving more time to focus on perfecting the whole just-caught-on-camera approach to storytelling ... except even in light of their high concept filmmakers Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza still randomly revert back to traditional plotting during the film's latter half, pausing to drop unremarkable tidbits concerning the origin of the disease (infected pets, possessed children) that never coalesce into anything meaningful. Especially tedious is the segment prior to the haywire conclusion where Vidal and her cameraman scour newspaper clippings for clues; Vidal essentially turns into Navi the Fairy (Look! Listen!), literally pointing the camera back and forth to capture every new revelation, which breaks the form because the viewers must be manually led through the reveal. The story continuations represent pointless digressions, but the reality show premise justifies the first person far better than Cloverfield (i.e. why are these people still filming?), though [ Rec ] still succumbs to "why the heck are people loudly whispering, breathing heavily, and freaking out when it's just been declared silence is the only way to survive?" syndrome. Seems nitpicky but it's not like I can really discuss the nonexistent subtext. Hell, there's not even text. ]

He's Just Not That Into You (2009) ... C- (32) [ Romantic comedies haven't really been good since / besides Groundhog Day, and if recent genre exploits are any indication it's because their skills are instead honed in the fine art of pandering to current culture. Are audiences sick and tired of stuffing their faces with cotton candy feel-good sentimentality from prior romcoms, and in the mood for something more downbeat and down-to-Earth? Another sterling example of social divining, He's Just Not That Into You is one step ahead; it's pretty sure audiences want the same old fluff under the guise of being downbeat and down-to-Earth, and it's pretty about to give it to them.

He's Just Not That Into You feigns turning over a new leaf of realism for romantic comedies in its oft-repeated, eponymous mantra. Via several weaving storylines the film explores variations on its principal observation that many romantic forays are doomed to failure because somebody becomes disinterested. All of the stories span the film's running length, though the movie is arbitrarily subdivided in order to insert irritating "real people, real problem" segments at the beginning of each where "ordinary" folks offer grassroots commentary that conveniently reinforces the film's idea about relationships and boredom. The real bother here though is that He's Just Not Into You has no genuine intention to see through such a resolution. While Jennifer Connelly's subplot upholds America's 50% divorce rate that seems to elude many Hollywood romances, the film's other three stories profess emotional apathy or disappointment but secretly practice otherwise, none quite so blatant as Justin Long's barstool advice to Ginnifer Goodwin, which repeatedly takes the form of the film's title - if phrased differently - before his completely contradictory 11th hour decision throws everything out the window. Relationships are tough, but there's hope yet. Ladies, it would seem you're all the exception to the rule. ]

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) ... C- (28) [ While the original Night at the Museum ultimately imparted that life's obstacles were best overcome by heeding fortune cookie platitudes, Battle of the Smithsonian pulls double duty and adds two more noxious conceits to the muddle, as it suggests to U.S. children they're living in the greatest country in the world, and that there's no such thing as disappointment. If Smithsonian seems as lukewarm and scattershot as its predecessor, the cause is likely the simple fact for 95% of its running length director Shawn Levy is content merely to replay that film's rampant mediocrity, from the failed gag where Ben Stiller engages in a slapping contest with a monkey to its numerous minor characters who now have even less to do because there are now fifty gazillion new minor characters with nothing to do. Smithsonian's new characters are once again historical figures sporting stock screenwriting traits for personalities, spearheaded by Hank Azaria's fictional pharaoh Kahmunrah whose baffling Egyptian accent sounds inexplicably "gay-th." (Each 's' is pronounced 'th' ... ith tho thilly!) Amy Adams also makes an appearance as an overbearing Amelia Earhart who wallows in 60's progressivism and spouts bullcrap feminist treacle like "never send a man to do a woman's job!" and slapping Ben Stiller before forcing herself onto him romantically. This sentiment is played for laughs despite how with roles reversed, audiences would construe the situation as outdated and bigoted. Earhart aids Stiller in the quest to forestall Kahmunrah from unleashing the otherwordly demons of some ooga-booga tomb, a journey that conveniently enables Stiller to "regain his moxie" and fence-mend relations in the juvenile ethos of the original. In that film Union and Confederate forces were instructed to cease fighting because they were "brothers underneath" - despite being ideologically opposed - while in Smithsonian, we're told not to judge a "sassy cephlapod" by its cover and that Custer need not feel depressed over his inadequacies because "the past is the past!" But perhaps the final nail in the coffin for Battle of the Smithsonian is its insufferable go-America mentality, enunciated twice as the film praises American "can-do spirit" and "ingenuity," evidentally defined here as memorizing Pi and flying biplanes into clutch situations, all topped off in ludicrous fashion as an ass-kickin' Abe Lincoln sticks it to the troop of underworld bird warriors. In the spirit of the film's only chuckle-worthy joke, Battle of the Smithsonian's jejune patriotism could stand to be tempered by a little modesty, because after all, the moon landing was simply one giant step for a mannequin. ]

Zombieland (2009) ... D (18) [ No need to review this, I will just reproduce the telling, last section of the script.

Actual Transcription of Jesse Eisenberg's Concluding V/O

"After eighty minutes of witless meandering, I suddenly realize the necessity of summarizing what exactly is the point of this movie and also why this movie was made - y'know, so there's no moron left behind - despite how rookie director Ruben Fleischer sledge-hammered this so-called subtext on multiple prior occasions where the words 'Rule #32: Enjoy the Little Things' were blatantly depicted on the screen. Guys ... this movie is about doing big heroic things to impress the people you love / just met five minutes ago, and also about enjoying the little things life has to offer. Before the events of this movie I was just an apathetic, lovelorn World of WarCraft-playin' student - much like you, target audience! - but now I understand the importance of family and relationships and also how you should enjoy the little thi-- wait, did I say that already? Anyways, you could even say that up until my change of heart, I was just like a zombie ... before all the people were ACTUALLY zombies! (Geddit?) Furthermore, to all the aspiring screenwriters out there I would just like to say you too can make a hit movie if you really try - loosely equated to indulging in topical items like Facebook and movies that have just recently been released, as well as aligning your movie's subject matter with the current fads - and also if you just sit back, mellow out, and enjoy the little things. THE END." ]

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell (2009) ... F (2) [ I hope nobody rips off Roger Dodger's glimpse into the behavior of the suave alpha male, except swapping out that film's insight for indiscriminate vitriol and dumbass you-got-served similes ... Oh, too late. Hypothesis on how this project began: Tucker Max awakened and thought to himself, "I'm such an arrogant douchebag this feat should be captured on film, so I'll write a movie about myself - y'know, because people care." No big surprise that Tucker's autobiography of lurid verbal condescension and sexual conquest is just an exaggerated foundation for his eventual personality about-face, whose nadir involves a search for a toilet so shameless one can't help but laugh at the misguided absurdity of a scene actual adults decided made the perfect climax. Look no further than Jesse Bradford's supporting role as Emotionally Scarred Prick Awaiting Kindred Spirit for a primer on how characters can summarize their own personality for the sake of the morons watching the movie, implicitly earmarking the audience as a viable object of ridicule alongside the film's notion of females - a playground of bimbos mostly unable to defend themselves against reductive wordplay and "yo mama so" assaults, including but not limited to... Lines Delivered within 5 Seconds of Each Other Dept: "You're so hot ... I'd never leave your vaginal area unless I was cummin' on your face!" and "I'm gonna hit it so hard whoever pulls me out of you is gonna become king of England!" Now imagine an entire movie consisting of nothing but this. ]

Phoebe in Wonderland (2009) ... B (69) [ No secret here - I'll applaud anything competent whose subtext refutes the Rx angst ("I hate the world because the world hates me!") of Thumbsucker et al as well as the fad of Hollywood, guilt-laden, parent-child relationships where parents must sacrifice their professional careers to slather their children with attention. Where these two fallacies overlap is that children are always the victim, never with any responsibility - much less capability - to solve their own problems. Long story short Phoebe in Wonderland turns the tables. The film sympathizes with its well-intentioned adults faced with the daunting, possibly insurmountable task of funneling all sorts of childhood eccentricities into discrete entities with symptoms and solutions - represented here by the challenge of diagnosing Phoebe's psychological problems as well as Campbell Scott's character. He plays the hilarious school principal prone to continual bucking of responsibility and correcting himself, internally hemming and hawing because Phoebe is unresponsive to standard disciplinary action. The twist however is that adults are blinded by their relative maturity, and that the children hold the power to overcome their dilemmas. When the school theatre performs Alice in Wonderland, Phoebe celebrates the combination of culture and autonomy to spur children towards self-acceptance, highlighting the pinnacle of this blossoming by interspersing earlier excerpts from Swan Lake where Odette morphs from swan into princess. Adults may be fortunate enough to serve as the lynchpin of child development Phoebe argues, but from the perspective of a kid in wonderland, their helpful efforts seem like running in place twice as fast. The magic of maturity arrives when children delight in roleplaying, but ultimately choose their own. ]

A Serious Man (2009) ... B- (55) [ Post-Oscar for the Coens includes two off-the-wall, absurdist comedies in a row; why don't more recipients follow their example? The first scene is truly the film in a nutshell: a parable where two conflicting opinions about whether a rabbi (originally thought dead) is a dybbuk reveal how people make religious and ethical decisions with imperfect information. The parable doesn't really end, mind you - the rabbi simply laughs and leaves - and the film itself displays the same symptoms. Job's whirlwind materializes and crystallizes the running metaphor but it feels like laziness - the decision to forgo heft and finalize things with an ambiguous, cosmic joke. (Biblically speaking it should be a good sign, and there's nowhere to go but up for Larry after he succumbs to bribe money and receives prompt punishment in the form of his physician's bad news.) Whereas the book of Job was designed to reward blind faith and ensure readers bad things happen to good people as part of the Master Plan, A Serious Man satirizes the certainty of organized religion (viz. Larry's pleas for assistance from the rabbis, including Danny's bar mitzvah, where the head rabbi takes him into private custody and rambles gibberish about Jefferson Airplane) and shifts the ethical compass to an insular, individual position. Why do good people suffer? Both the film and Job pose the same question, using test of faith methodology to provide resolution. If nobody has all the answers, A Serious Man reasons, we can really only prove mettle to ourselves. Thus, the tragedy here is one of personal morality tarnished. ]

-

Paul Rhymes with Fart: Quality Cinema

2009-11-02T00:34:00.001-06:00

Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)

Rating ... D (15)

I like Microsoft Songsmith. When it comes to software I would never purchase because it fails to accomplish anything useful, few are funnier than Songsmith and its wondrous ability to automatically create musical accompaniment for any given vocal track. Of course, the program's notoriety stems not from canny musicians eager to have Microsoft provide beats to bolster their voice talents but rather from ordinary citizens on the lookout for lulz, best exemplified by Songsmith's hilarious rendtions of songs like Battery or Ace of Spades.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop, however, is far from hilarious, yet eerily similar to something Songsmith could have churned out. Input a vocal track, and the song writes itself; or in this case, choose a premise, and the screenplay writes itself. What does one expect about mall security? Loser who lives with his mom? Check. Police academy dropout? Check. Fat, lonely, insecure, and a perpetual object of ridicule, most of which is blanket potshots at fat people? Let's not spoil everything!

Lazy as it is, Paul Blart's dilemma is not inherently devoid of worth or incapable of genuine understanding. Blart's background is so incredibly generic it only demands a few minutes of screen time to impart, leaving well over an hour for filmmakers to introduce dramatic conflict, creative and resourceful action, or at worst satire and maybe even topple genre constraints of the throwaway January comedy. Too bad Paul Blart only manages to offer unfunny, repetitive characterization in the form of Blart flagrantly embarrassing himself playing mall video games - it's because he's a failure, geddit? - and pointless interludes that condescend to the stereotype of the Indian geek almost as fervently as Slumdog Millionaire. Worse yet, Blart's improbable victory over parkour ruffians that besiege his mall with the intent of robbing its bank and other numerous outlets conspicuously applauds idiocy and incompetency, with a particular emphasis on how to overcome life's obstacles by running away and getting lucky things work out. Unsurprisingly, the film has the same mindset as its fictional protagonist but cannot achieve the same success. This is pretty much the result of a work propelled by autopilot. Even Microsoft Songsmith should be rolling in its shallow grave.

Film Log 2009

2009-11-01T23:58:00.153-06:00

978. (31 Dec) Wild Zero (2000, Tetsuro Takeuchi) ... F (2)
977. (31 Dec) The Secret Lives of Dentists (2003, Alan Rudolph) ... B- (55)
976. (30 Dec) Time and Tide (2001, Hark Tsui) ... C (38)
975. (30 Dec) Keeping the Faith (2000, Edward Norton) ... C (36)
974. (30 Dec) Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors (2000, Sang-Soo Hong) ... B- (53)
973. (29 Dec) The Five Star Stories (1989, Kazuo Yamazaki) ... C- (34)
972. (29 Dec) Alex & Emma (2003, Rob Reiner) ... C- (35)
971. (28 Dec) Anything Else (2003, Woody Allen) ... C (38)
970. (28 Dec) Gulliver's Travels (1939, Dave Fleischer) ... D+ (20)
969. (28 Dec) Sixty Million Dollar Man (1995, Jing / Wai) ... C+ (48)
968. (27 Dec) Ai City (1986, Koichi Mashimo) ... D+ (27)
967. (27 Dec) Chain of Fools (2000, Krusenstjerna / Lowenhielm) ... D+ (24)
966. (27 Dec) My Dog Skip (2000, Jay Russell) ... F (9)
965. (26 Dec) The Story of Us (1999, Rob Reiner) ... D (15)
964. (26 Dec) Sea Prince and the Fire Child (1981, Masami Hata) ... C+ (44)
963. (25 Dec) Swan Lake (1978, Kimio Yabuki) ... C (36)
962. (25 Dec) The Contender (2000, Rod Lurie) ... C (37)
961. (25 Dec) Girlfight (2000, Karyn Kusama) ... F (7)
960. (24 Dec) The Matrix (1999, The Wachowskis) ... B+ (79)
959. (24 Dec) Animal Treasure Island (1971, Hiroshi Ikeda) ... B- (54)
958. (23 Dec) Golgo 13: The Professional (1983, Ozami Dezaku) ... F (8)
957. (23 Dec) Woman Is the Future of Man (2006, Sang-Soo Hong) ... C+ (51)
956. (22 Dec) My Kid Could Paint That (2007, Amir Bar-Lev) ... C+ (49)
955. (22 Dec) The Running Man (1987, Paul Michael Glaser) ... D (16)
954. (22 Dec) Twins (1988, Ivan Reitman) ... F (7)
953. (21 Dec) End of Days (1999, Peter Hyams) ... D (13)
952. (21 Dec) (500) Days of Summer (2009, Marc Webb) ... D+ (26)
951. (21 Dec) Eraser (1996, Chuck Russell) ... D+ (21)
950. (20 Dec) Scream 3 (2000, Wes Craven) ... C+ (49)
949. (20 Dec) Scream 2 (1997, Wes Craven) ... B- (53)
948. (20 Dec) Loser (2000, Amy Heckerling) ... D+ (26)
947. (19 Dec) Duets (2000, Bruce Paltrow) ... D (13)
946. (19 Dec) Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2006, Tetsuya Nomura) ... C+ (47)
945. (18 Dec) Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (1985, Douglas Williams) ... F (9)
944. (18 Dec) You Can Count on Me (2000, Kenneth Lonergan) ... B- (58)
943. (18 Dec) Finding Forrester (2000, Gus Van Sant) ... D+ (20)
942. (17 Dec) Urbania (2000, Jon Matthews) ... C- (34)
941. (17 Dec) The Legend of Drunken Master (1994, Chia-Liang Liu) ... B- (52)
940. (17 Dec) Supernova (2000, "Thomas Lee") ... C- (33)
939. (16 Dec) Stalag 17 (1953, Billy Wilder) ... A- (81)
938. (16 Dec) Wonder Boys (2000, Curtis Hanson) ... C+ (48)
937. (16 Dec) What Planet Are You From? (2000, Mike Nichols) ... C- (31)
936. (15 Dec) From Russia with Love (1963, Terrence Young) ... B+ (72)
935. (15 Dec) Nurse Betty (2000, Neil LaBute) ... D+ (25)
934. (15 Dec) Cherry Falls (2000, Geoffrey Wright) ... F (4)
933. (14 Dec) Center Stage (2000, Nicholas Hytner) ... B- (56)
932. (14 Dec) Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009, Lord / Miller) ... C+ (47)
931. (14 Dec) The Little Girl Who Conquered Time (1983, Nobuhiko Obayashi) ... C+ (49)
930. (14 Dec) Jennifer's Body (2009, Karyn Kusama) ... D (14)
929. (13 Dec) Tape (2001, Richard Linklater) ... C (42)
928. (13 Dec) King of New York (1990, Abel Ferrara) ... C+ (47)
927. (13 Dec) The Last Seduction (1994, John Dahl) ... D (18)
926. (13 Dec) Can't Hardly Wait (1998, Elfont / Kaplan) ... D+ (27)
925. (12 Dec) 9 (2009, Shane Acker) ... C (38)
924. (12 Dec) Thumbelina (1994, Bluth / Goldman) ... D+ (19)
923. (11 Dec) The War Room (1993, Hegedus / Pennebaker) ... C (40)
922. (11 Dec) Millennium Mambo (2003, Hsiao-Hsien Hou) ... B- (53)
921. (11 Dec) The Pebble and the Penguin (1995, Bluth / Goldman) ... D (16)
920. (10 Dec) Virtuosity (1995, Brett Leonard) ... D+ (22)
919. (10 Dec) Red Rock West (1993, John Dahl) ... C (43)
918. (10 Dec) Saving Silverman (2001, Dennis Dugan) ... F (4)
917. (10 Dec) The Truth About Charlie (2002, Jonathan Demme) ... C- (30)
916. (09 Dec) The Newton Boys (2009, Richard Linklater) ... B- (60)
915. (09 Dec) Apt Pupil (1998, Bryan Singer) ... D+ (20)
914. (08 Dec) Groundhog Day (1993, Harold Ramis) ... A- (86)
913. (08 Dec) Far from Heaven (2002, Todd Haynes) ... B (61)
912. (08 Dec) xXx (2002, Rob Cohen) ... D (13)
911. (08 Dec) Simone (2002, Andrew Niccol) ... C (37)
910. (07 Dec) No Such Thing (2002, Hal Hartley) ... C+ (47)
909. (07 Dec) The Final Destination (2009, David R. Ellis) ... F (5)
908. (06 Dec) The Way of the Gun (2000, Christopher McQuarrie) ... C- (32)
907. (06 Dec) Punch-Drunk Love (2002, PTA) ... C- (33)
906. (06 Dec) Welcome to Collinwood (2002, Russo / Russo) ... C (38)
905. (06 Dec) Missing (1982, Costas-Gavras) ... C (39)
904. (05 Dec) Law Abiding Citizen (2009, F. Gary Gray) ... D+ (21)
903. (05 Dec) Gamer (2009, Neveldine / Taylor) ... C (42)
902. (04 Dec) Dogtown and Z-Boys (2002, Stacy Peralta) ... C+ (51)
901. (04 Dec) Night of the Running Man (1994, Mark L. Lester) ... C- (30)
900. (04 Dec) The Missing (2003, Ron Howard) ... C (37)
899. (04 Dec) Angel Town (1990, Eric Karson) ... F (2)
898. (03 Dec) The Hitman (1991, Aaron Norris) ... D+ (26)
897. (03 Dec) Lady Dragon (1992, David Worth) ... F (5)
896. (03 Dec) Turk 182! (1985, Bob Clark) ... F (3)
895. (03 Dec) K-9 (1989, Rod Daniel) ... F (8)
894. (02 Dec) The Little Giants (1994, Duwayne Dunham) ... D (10)
893. (02 Dec) The Midnight Express (1978, Alan Parker) ... F (4)
892. (01 Dec) The Magnificent Seven (1960, John Sturges) ... B- (55)
891. (01 Dec) Dillinger (1973, John Milius) ... D+ (24)
890. (01 Dec) Tank Girl (1995, Rachel Talalay) ... D+ (25)
889. (30 Nov) D3: The Mighty Ducks (1996, Robert Lieberman) ... D (13)
888. (30 Nov) D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994, Sam Weisman) ... F (9)
887. (30 Nov) The Mighty Ducks (1992, Stephen Herek) ... D (18)
886. (29 Nov) Fire in the Sky (1993, Robert Lieberman) ... D (11)
885. (29 Nov) Until September (1984, Richard Marquand) ... C (43)
884. (29 Nov) Duck You Sucker! (1971, Sergio Leone) ... B+ (71)
883. (28 Nov) Mary and Max (2009, Adam Elliot) ... C (41)
882. (28 Nov) Brainscan (1994, John Flynn) ... C+ (45)
881. (28 Nov) The Ambulance (1990, Larry Cohen) ... C+ (48)
880. (27 Nov) Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1990, Anthony Hickox) ... B- (56)
879. (27 Nov) Out to Sea (1997, Martha Coolidge) ... C (41)
878. (27 Nov) The Chase (1994, Adam Rifkin) ... D (12)
877. (26 Nov) All I Want for Christmas (1991, Robert Lieberman) ... D+ (27)
876. (26 Nov) Armed and Dangerous (1986, Mark L. Lester) ... C (40)
875. (26 Nov) Thelma & Louise (1991, Ridley Scott) ... D+ (24) (Men are all chauvinist pigs out to rape and pillage women, and also confine them to the household. I'd rather spoiler than live in this messed up place! It's better to burn out than fade away ... but I could fade for a couple hours as I angst endlessly, drop unsubtle hints about how I was raped in Texas, and provide comeuppance to stupid caricatures. Goo'bye cruel world.)
874. (25 Nov) The Burning Plain (2009, Guillermo Arriaga) ... D (17)
873. (25 Nov) Another 48 Hrs. (1990, Walter Hill) ... D (16)
872. (25 Nov) The Fortune Cookie (1966, Billy Wilder) ... B- (58)
871. (25 Nov) Forced Vengeance (1982, James Fargo) ... D+ (19)
870. (24 Nov) Interview (2000, Hyuk Byun) ... C+ (46)
869. (24 Nov) Stakeout (1987, John Badham) ... D (15)
868. (24 Nov) Gunmen (1994, Deran Sarafian) ... D+ (20)
867. (24 Nov) Turbulence (1997, Robert Butler) ... D (17)
866. (23 Nov) Kill Me Again (1989, John Dahl) ... D+ (24)
865. (23 Nov) Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (2005, Stuart Samuels) ... C (41)
864. (23 Nov) Kentucky Fried Movie (1977, John Landis) ... C+ (45)
863. (23 Nov) The Duellists (1977, Ridley Scott) ... B (62)
862. (23 Nov) The War Lord (1965, Franklin J. Schaffner) ... C+ (49)
861. (22 Nov) Not of This Earth (1957, Roger Corman) ... B- (54)
860. (22 Nov) The Silent Partner (1978, Daryl Duke) ... C (36)
859. (22 Nov) Seven Men from Now (1956, Budd Boetticher) ... B- (57)
858. (22 Nov) Rhinestone (1984, Bob Clark) ... F (6)
857. (22 Nov) Bye Bye Love (1995, Sam Weisman) ... C+ (49)
856. (21 Nov) My Bodyguard (1980, Tony Bill) ... D (13)
855. (21 Nov) Beethoven (1992, Brian Levant) ... F (2) (Heads of household, protect your nuclear family! Everyone not part of it is secretly plotting to take advantage of you. Precocious kids are always right, your pets are more precious than your career, people are always black and white. I've seen this film already, it was called Marley and Me.)
854. (21 Nov) Father Hood (1993, Darrell Roodt) ... F (6)
853. (20 Nov) The Immortals (1995, Brian Grant) ... F (9)
852. (20 Nov) Spartacus (1960, Stanley Kubrick) ... C+ (48)
851. (19 Nov) Dazed and Confused (1993, Richard Linklater) ... A (98)
850. (19 Nov) Tuff Turf (1985, Fritz Kiersch) ... F (2)
849. (19 Nov) Firestarter (1984, Mark L. Lester) ... D+ (19)
848. (19 Nov) Guilty as Sin (1993, Sidney Lumet) ... F (7)
847. (18 Nov) Bingo (1991, Matthew Robbins) ... F (5)
846. (18 Nov) Chain of Command (1994, David Worth) ... D (13)
845. (18 Nov) Private Parts (1997, Betty Thomas) ... D+ (27)
vg11. (17 Nov) The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993) ... A (96)
s74. (17 Nov) Bolero [s] (1992, Ivan Maksimov) ... F (2)
844. (17 Nov) The Junkman (1982, H.B. Halicki) ... C- (30)
843. (17 Nov) Gone in 60 Seconds (1974, H.B. Halicki) ... C+ (47)
842. (17 Nov) The Challenge (1982, John Frankenheimer) ... C (40)
841. (16 Nov) The Odd Couple (1968, Gene Saks) ... C (38)
840. (16 Nov) Snowboard Academy (1996, John Shepphird) ... F (8)
839. (16 Nov) Simon Sez (1999, Kevin Elders) ... F (7)
838. (16 Nov) My Little Pony: The Movie (1986, Mike Joens) ... C (39)
837. (15 Nov) Ladybugs (1992, Sidney J. Furie) ... D (17)
836. (15 Nov) Operation Dumbo Drop (1995, Simon Wincer) ... D (12)
835. (15 Nov) Free Willy (1993, Simon Wincer) ... F (3)
834. (15 Nov) Blank Check (1994, Rupert Wainright) ... D (10)
833. (15 Nov) Red Heat (1988, Walter Hill) ... C- (28)
832. (14 Nov) The Horse Thief (1986, Zhuangzhuang Tian) ... D+ (24)
831. (14 Nov) Portrait of Jennie (1948, William Dieterle) ... D+ (27)
830. (14 Nov) Shock Corridor (1963, Samuel Fuller) ... C (41)
829. (13 Nov) Revenge (1990, Tony Scott) ... D (17)
828. (13 Nov) The Hunger (1983, Tony Scott) ... D+ (22)
827. (13 Nov) Lucky Numbers (2000, Nora Ephron) ... F (8)
826. (12 Nov) Days of Thunder (1990, Tony Scott) ... C- (32)
825. (12 Nov) Michael (1996, Nora Ephron) ... D+ (25)
824. (12 Nov) Surrogtes (2009, Jonathan Mostow) ... C (43)
823. (11 Nov) The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009, Tony Scott) ... D+ (23)
822. (11 Nov) Fallen (1998, Gregory Hoblit) ... C- (31)
821. (11 Nov) The King of Comedy (1999, Stephen Chow) ... B- (53)
820. (10 Nov) Nowhere to Hide (2000, Myung-se Lee) ... C+ (47)
819. (10 Nov) Toward the Terra (1980, Hideo Onchi) ... C+ (49)
818. (10 Nov) Crying Freeman (1995, Christophe Gans) ... F (6)
817. (09 Nov) Legal Eagles (1986, Ivan Reitman) ... C+ (44)
816. (09 Nov) Kindergarten Cop (1990, Ivan Reitman) ... D (12)
815. (09 Nov) Nick of Time (1995, John Badham) ... C (40)
814. (08 Nov) Crank 2: High Voltage (2009, Neveldine / Taylor) ... C- (31)
813. (08 Nov) Crank (2006, Neveldine / Taylor) ... C+ (51)
812. (08 Nov) Penelope (2008, Mark Palansky) ... B- (52)
811. (08 Nov) A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994, Keenen Ivory Wayans) ... D+ (24)
810. (07 Nov) That Old Feeling (1997, Carl Reiner) ... F (2)
809. (07 Nov) Chances Are (1989, Emile Ardolino) ... D+ (26)
808. (06 Nov) Oh, God! (1977, Carl Reiner) ... D (16)
807. (06 Nov) No Escape (1994, Martin Campbell) ... C (40)
806. (06 Nov) Made in America (1993, Richard Benjamin) ... F (6)
805. (05 Nov) Windaria (1986, Kunihiko Yuyama) ... C (37)
s73. (05 Nov) We Lived in Grass [s] (1995, Andreas Hykade) ... F (3)
s72. (05 Nov) Una Vita in Scatola [s] (1967, Bruno Bozzetto) ... F (6)
s71. (05 Nov) Three Blind Mice [s] (1945, George Dunning) ... F (2)
s70. (05 Nov) Hotel E [s] (1992, Priit Pärn) ... F (4)
804. (05 Nov) Under the Tuscan Sun (2004, Audrey Wells) ... C (39)
803. (05 Nov) Zombieland (2009, Ruben Fleischer) ... D (18)
802. (04 Nov) The Parent Trap (1998, Nancy Meyers) ... D+ (26)
801. (04 Nov) The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters (2006, Mamoru Oshii) ... B- (54)
800. (04 Nov) The Laws of Eternity (2006, Isamu Imakake) ... D+ (21)
s69. (04 Nov) Partly Cloudy [s] (2009, Peter Sohn) ... C+ (46)
799. (03 Nov) Cobra (1986, George P. Cosmatos) ... D (10)
s68. (03 Nov) Knick Knack [s] (1989, John Lasseter) ... C+ (47)
s67. (03 Nov) Burn-E [s] (2008, Angus MacLane) ... C- (31)
s66. (03 Nov) Your Friend the Rat [s] (2007, Jim Capobianco) ... C+ (49)
s65. (03 Nov) Lifted [s] (2007, Gary Rydstrom) ... B (66) (LOL 4:59 Wilhelm)
s64. (03 Nov) Mater and the Ghostlight [s] (2006, John Lasseter) ... D (14)
798. (03 Nov) Junior (1994, Ivan Reitman) ... F (8)
797. (03 Nov) Shanghai Knights (2003, David Dobkin) ... C- (33)
796. (02 Nov) Dagger of Kamui (1985, Rintaro) ... D+ (24)
795. (02 Nov) I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009, Chris Columbus) ... F (3)
794. (02 Nov) Commando (1985, Mark L. Lester) ... D (13)
tv09. (02 Nov) "Dallos" (1983) ... C+ (50)
793. (01 Nov) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953, Howard Hawks) ... B- (56)
792. (01 Nov) Dracula (1931, Tod Browning) ... C (41)
791. (01 Nov) My Fellow Americans (1996, Peter Segal) ... B- (53)
tv08. (01 Nov) "Venus Versus Virus" (2007) ... C (36)
790. (31 Oct) Doc Hollywood (1991, Michael Caton-Jones) ... C- (35)
789. (31 Oct) Payback (1999, Brian Helgeland) ... D+ (23)
788. (31 Oct) The Santa Clause (1994, John Pasquin) ... D+ (27)
787. (30 Oct) Up (2009, Pete Docter) ... B (67)
786. (30 Oct) Matewan (1987, John Sayles) ... C+ (46)
785. (30 Oct) Drag Me to Hell (2009, Sam Raimi) ... D (17)
784. (29 Oct) Track of the Moon Beast (1976, Richard Ashe) ... F (5)
783. (29 Oct) Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009, Carlos Saldanha) ... D+ (25)
782. (29 Oct) The Killing Fields (1984, Roland Joffé) ... D (18)
781. (28 Oct) Red Sorghum (1987, Yimou Zhang) ... C (36)
780. (28 Oct) Catnapped! (1998, Takashi Nakamura) ... B+ (73)
779. (28 Oct) Water (1985, Dick Clement) ... B- (60)
778. (27 Oct) Land of the Lost (2009, Brad Silberling) ... C+ (50)
777. (27 Oct) The Mission (1986, Roland Joffé) ... B (61)
776. (27 Oct) Once Upon a Forest (1993, Charles Grosvenor) ... D+ (24)
s63. (27 Oct) Little Nemo [s] (1911, Blackton / McCay) ... D (11)
775. (26 Oct) Trust (1990, Hal Hartley) ... B- (60)
774. (26 Oct) Trick 'r Treat (2009, Michael Dougherty) ... D (10)
773. (26 Oct) Alice (1988, Jan Svankmajer) ... C (41)
772. (25 Oct) The Tune (1992, Bill Plympton) ... C (42)
771. (25 Oct) I Married a Strange Person! (1997, Bill Plympton) ... D (17)
770. (25 Oct) A Journey Through Fairyland (1985, Masami Hata) ... B- (53)
769. (24 Oct) Pushing Hands (1992, Ang Lee) ... C (37)
768. (24 Oct) The Soloist (2009, Joe Wright) ... D (14)
767. (24 Oct) The Legacy (1978, Richard Marquand) ... D (15)
s62. (23 Oct) Phantom [s] (2001, Matthias Müller) ... F (1)
766. (23 Oct) Next Day Air (2009, Benny Boom) ... F (6)
765. (23 Oct) Stakeout (1958, Yoshitaro Namura) ... B- (54)
764. (23 Oct) Gall Force: Eternal Story (1986, Katsuhito Akiyama) ... C+ (48)
s61. (23 Oct) Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase [s] (1992, Joan Gratz) ... F (9)
s60. (22 Oct) Le Building [s] (2005, More Directors Than the Length in Minutes) ... F (5)
763. (22 Oct) The Boat That Rocked (2009, Richard Curtis) ... D+ (27)
762. (22 Oct) Ringing Bell [m] (1978, Masami Hata) ... D (18)
761. (22 Oct) Clickety-Clack (1970, Akira Kurosawa) ... B- (53)
760. (21 Oct) Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009, Mark Waters) ... D+ (26)
759. (21 Oct) The Weathering Continent [m] (1992, Kôichi Mashimo) ... C (40)
758. (20 Oct) Star Trek (2009, J.J. Abrams) ... C (43)
vg10. (20 Oct) Final Fantasy VIII (1999) ... C (41)
757. (20 Oct) Hermes: The Winds of Love (1997, Tetsuo Imazawa) ... C- (30)
756. (19 Oct) The Lusty Men (1952, Nicholas Ray) ... B- (54)
755. (19 Oct) To Sir, with Love (1967, James Clavell) ... C (38)
754. (19 Oct) The Proposal (2009, Anne Fletcher) ... D (11)
753. (18 Oct) Ong-Bak 2 (2009, Jaa / Rittikrai) ... C+ (48)
752. (18 Oct) Peaceful Warrior (2006, Victor Salva) ... F (7)
s59. (18 Oct) Paradise [s] (1984, Ishu Patel) ... B- (54)
751. (17 Oct) They Were 11 (1986, Dezaki / Tominaga) ... B- (53)
750. (17 Oct) The Ruling Class (1972, Peter Medak) ... C (39)
749. (16 Oct) Von Ryan's Express (1965, Mark Robson) ... B- (55)
748. (16 Oct) Terminator: Salvation (2009, McG) ... C- (35)
747. (16 Oct) The Road to Wellville (1994, Alan Parker) ... C+ (51)
746. (15 Oct) The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989, Steve Kloves) ... C+ (47)
745. (15 Oct) Obsessed (2009, Steve Shill) ... F (4)
744. (15 Oct) The English Patient (1996, Anthony Minghella) ... C (41)
s58. (15 Oct) The Other Side [s] (1994, Mikhail Aldashin) ... D (12)
743. (14 Oct) Tropical Malady (2005, Apichatpong Weerasethakul) ... B- (54)
742. (14 Oct) Little Caesar (1931, Mervyn LeRoy) ... C (40)
741. (14 Oct) Clean, Shaven (1993, Lodge Kerrigan) ... D (10)
s57. (13 Oct) The Grasshopper and the Ants [s] (1934) ... D+ (22)
740. (13 Oct) Kings and Queen (2005, Arnaud Desplechin) ... B- (52)
s56. (13 Oct) Goodnight Norma... Goodnight Milton... (1988, John Schnall) ... D (11)
s55. (13 Oct) L'inventaire fantôme (2004, Franck Dion) ... C+ (44)
739. (13 Oct) Crimewave (1985, Sam Raimi) ... C+ (50)
738. (13 Oct) East Is East (2000, Damien O'Donnell) ... D (13)
s54. (12 Oct) Scaredy Cat! [s] (1988, Paul Claerhout) ... F (1)
s53. (12 Oct) Loves Me... Loves Me Not [s] (1992, Jeff Newitt) ... F (4)
s52. (12 Oct) The Killing of an Egg [s] (1977, Paul Driessen) ... F (2)
737. (12 Oct) Swingers (1996, Doug Liman) ... C+ (49)
736. (12 Oct) I Love You, Man (2009, John Hamburg) ... C- (34)
735. (12 Oct) Ransom (1996, Ron Howard) ... C (42)
s51. (12 Oct) Jojo and the Stars [s] (2003, Marc Craste) ... C (43)
s50. (11 Oct) Rubicon [s] (1997, Gil Alkabetz) ... D+ (21)
734. (11 Oct) The Family Man (2000, Brett Ratner) ... D (17)
s49. (11 Oct) 9 [s] (2005, Shane Acker) ... C+ (48)
733. (11 Oct) Dark Cat (1991, Iku Suzuki) ... D+ (25)
s48. (11 Oct) The End of the World in Four Seasons (1995, Paul Driessen) ... D (16)
732. (11 Oct) Spellbound (1945, Alfred Hitchcock) ... B- (59)
731. (10 Oct) King Frat (1979, Ken Wiederhorn) ... F (3)
730. (10 Oct) Grosse Pointe Blank (1997, George Armitage) ... B- (55)
s47. (09 Oct) Anna & Bella [s] (1984, Børge Ring) ... C- (33)
s46. (09 Oct) Wunderwerk [s] (2002, Michael Sieber) ... C+ (45)
s45. (09 Oct) Chromophobia [s] (1966, Raoul Servais) ... C+ (46)
s44. (09 Oct) Annie & Boo [s] (2003, Johannes Weiland) ... C (40)
s43. (09 Oct) The God [s] (2003, Konstantin Bronzit) ... F (9)
729. (09 Oct) Marrying School Girl (2004, Duk-Hwan Oh) ... C (40)
s42. (09 Oct) Neighbours [s] (1952, Norman McLaren) ... F (6)
s41. (09 Oct) Bob's Birthday [s] (1993, Fine / Snowden) ... C (41)
s40. (09 Oct) The Tale About the Cat and the Moon [s] (1994, Pedro Serrazina) ... C- (35)
s39. (09 Oct) The Man with the Beautiful Eyes [s] (1999, Jonathan Hodgson) ... F (7)
728. (09 Oct) New York Minute (2004, Dennie Gordon) ... C- (32)
s38. (08 Oct) Strings [s] (1991, Wendy Tilby) ... D+ (23)
s37. (08 Oct) The Mysterious Geographical Explorations of Jasper Morello [s] (2005, Anthony Lucas) ... C (37)
s36. (08 Oct) A is for Autism [s] (1992, Tim Webb) ... D (10)
727. (08 Oct) There Will Be Blood (2007, Paul Thomas Anderson) ... C+ (47)
726. (08 Oct) So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993, Thomas Schlamme) ... D+ (20)
725. (08 Oct) EdTV (1999, Ron Howard) ... C (37)
s36. (07 Oct) Charade [s] (1984, John Minnis) ... C- (29)
s35. (07 Oct) The History of the World Episode 16: The Invention of Writing and Its Destruction [s] (1994, Phil Mulloy) ... F (3)
s34. (07 Oct) The History of the World Episode 10: The Discovery of Language [s] (1994, Phil Mulloy) ... F (3)
s33. (07 Oct) Syrinx [s] (1965, Ryan Larkin) ... C (40)
724. (07 Oct) Far and Away (1992, Ron Howard) ... C (36) (Zzzzzzzz... Typical Ron Howard Shot #1: "I know my father is looking down on me from above!" [cue aerial cam]. Typical Ron Howard Shot #2: "The world is spinning out of control!" [cue 360 cam] ... How many movies has this guy made about boxing anyways? I guess it's permissable if Tom Cruise continues to box HORSES.)
s32. (07 Oct) The Apprentice [s] (1991, Richard Condie) ... F (8)
s31. (07 Oct) Dog [s] (2002, Suzie Templeton) ... F (1)
723. (07 Oct) Wild Things (1998, John McNaughton) ... F (7)
722. (07 Oct) Like You Know It All (2009, Sang-Soo Hong) ... B- (57)
721. (06 Oct) Monsters vs Aliens (2009, Letterman / Vernon) ... C- (29)
s30. (06 Oct) Ryan [s] (2004, Chris Landreth) ... B- (52)
s29. (06 Oct) Badgered [s] (2005, Sharon Colman) ... D (12)
720. (06 Oct) A Tale of Cinema (2005, Sang-Soo Hong) ... B (61)
719. (06 Oct) Mystery Men (1999, Kinka Usher) ... C+ (44)
s28. (05 Oct) Karl ja Marilyn [s] (2003, Priit Pärn) ... F (6)
s27. (05 Oct) Cousin [s] (1998, Adam Elliot) ... F (2)
s26. (05 Oct) Illusion [s] (1975, Frédéric Back) ... D (15)
718. (05 Oct) Lily C.A.T. (1987, Hisayuki Toriumi) ... B- (52)
717. (05 Oct) Battle for Terra (2009, Aristomenis Tsirbas) ... C- (33)
716. (05 Oct) Homicide (1991, David Mamet) ... C+ (50)
715. (04 Oct) Dirty Ho (1979, Chia-Liang Liu) ... C+ (51)
714. (04 Oct) Bicentennial Man (1999, Chris Columbus) ... C (42)
713. (04 Oct) Mean Streets (1973, Martin Scorsese) ... C (37)
712. (03 Oct) That Darn Cat! (1965, Robert Stevenson) ... D+ (19)
711. (03 Oct) Footlight Parade (1933, Lloyd Bacon) ... C+ (47)
s25. (02 Oct) Pad [s] (1999, Aurel Klimt) ... B- (53)
s24. (02 Oct) Le Chapeau [s] (1999, Michèle Cournoyer) ... F (4)
710. (02 Oct) From Here to Eternity (1953, Fred Zinnemann) ... C (36)
709. (02 Oct) WarGames (1983, John Badham) ... C (39)
708. (02 Oct) Too Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995, Beeban Kidron) ... F (5)
707. (01 Oct) Year One (2009, Harold Ramis) ... C (37)
706. (01 Oct) Short Circuit (1986, John Badham) ... D+ (27)
705. (01 Oct) Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter (1966, William Beaudine) ... D+ (26)
tv07. (30 Sep) "Dominion Tank Police" (1988) ... C (39)
704. (30 Sep) The Hangover (2009, Todd Phillips) ... F (7)
703. (30 Sep) Stigmata (1999, Rupert Wainwright) ... F (9)
702. (30 Sep) The Majestic (2001, Frank Darabont) ... C- (32)
701. (29 Sep) One Night at McCool's (2001, Harald Zwart) ... D (14)
700. (29 Sep) The Long Goodbye (1973, Robert Altman) ... C+ (48)
699. (29 Sep) Silver City (2004, John Sayles) ... C (40)
698. (28 Sep) State of Play (2009, Kevin MacDonald) ... C+ (46)
697. (28 Sep) Backdraft (1991, Ron Howard) ... C (36)
696. (28 Sep) Ruckus (1981, Max Kleven) ... D (13)
695. (27 Sep) Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009, Shawn Levy) ... C- (28)
694. (27 Sep) Strangeland (1998, John Pipelow) ... F (2)
693. (27 Sep) Inherit the Wind (1960, Stanley Kramer) ... C (41)
692. (26 Sep) Adventureland (2009, Greg Mottola) ... C (37)
691. (26 Sep) Devil in a Blue Dress (1995, Carl Franklin) ... C+ (48)
690. (26 Sep) Arabian Adventure (1979, Kevin Connor) ... C+ (46)
689. (25 Sep) Blue Spring (2001, Toshiaki Toyoda) ... C+ (46)
688. (25 Sep) Ben and Arthur (2002, Sam Mraovich) ... F (2)
687. (25 Sep) Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974, Michael Cimino) ... C (41)
686. (24 Sep) The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery (1966, Gilliat / Launder) ... C (37)
685. (24 Sep) The Pure Hell of St. Trinian's (1960, Frank Launder) ... C- (30)
684. (24 Sep) The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954, Frank Launder) ... C+ (50)
683. (23 Sep) Blue Murder at St. Trinian's (1957, Frank Launder) ... C (42)
682. (23 Sep) The Negotiator (1998, F. Gary Gray) ... C+ (44)
681. (23 Sep) Angels and Demons (2009, Ron Howard) ... C (36)
680. (22 Sep) Dance Flick (2009, Damien Wayans) ... C (38)
679. (22 Sep) Werckmeister Harmonies (2001, Bela Tarr) ... C+ (50)
678. (22 Sep) 17 Again (2009, Burr Steers) ... D (18)
677. (21 Sep) Observe and Report (2009, Jody Hill) ... F (8)
676. (21 Sep) Road to Bali (1952, Hal Walker) ... C (42)
675. (21 Sep) The Mod Squad (1999, Scott Silver) ... F (7)
674. (20 Sep) The Beguiled (1971, Don Siegel) ... C+ (47)
673. (20 Sep) Too Late the Hero (1970, Robert Aldrich) ... C+ (47)
672. (20 Sep) City Heat (1984, Richard Benjamin) ... C (41)
671. (19 Sep) Damnation Alley (1977, Jack Smight) ... D (17)
670. (19 Sep) Disturbing Behavior (1998, David Nutter) ... F (6)
669. (19 Sep) The War of the Worlds (1953, Byron Haskin) ... F (7)
668. (18 Sep) Scent of a Woman (1992, Martin Brest) ... C- (33)
667. (18 Sep) Holy Man (1998, Stephen Herek) ... D (14)
666. (18 Sep) Midnight Run (1988, Martin Brest) ... B- (57)
665. (17 Sep) Returner (2002, Takashi Yamazaki) ... C- (29)
664. (17 Sep) Pink Cadillac (1989, Buddy Van Horn) ... D (15)
663. (17 Sep) Buster (1988, David Green) ... C (37)
662. (16 Sep) Honkytonk Man (1982, Clint Eastwood) ... C+ (44)
661. (16 Sep) Casino Royale (1967, Everybody / Nobody) ... C+ (48)
660. (16 Sep) National Security (2003, Dennis Dugan) ... F (7)
659. (15 Sep) Carry on Camping (1969, Gerald Thomas) ... D+ (23)
658. (15 Sep) Educating Rita (1983, Lewis Gilbert) ... C+ (47)
657. (15 Sep) The Jazz Singer (1980, Richard Fleischer) ... D (16)
656. (14 Sep) Beverly Hills Cop 3 (1994, John Landis) ... D+ (22)
655. (14 Sep) Beverly Hills Cop 2 (1987, Tony Scott) ... D+ (26)
654. (14 Sep) Beverly Hills Cop (1984, Martin Brest) ... D+ (26)
653. (14 Sep) White Hunter, Black Heart (1990, Clint Eastwood) ... C (40)
652. (14 Sep) Confessions of a Window Cleaner (1974, Val Guest) ... F (2)
651. (13 Sep) A Perfect World (1993, Clint Eastwood) ... D+ (24)
650. (13 Sep) Clockwise (1986, Christopher Morahan) ... C- (31)
649. (13 Sep) Hard Rain (1998, Mikael Salomon) ... C (41)
648. (12 Sep) Three Kings (1999, David O. Russell) ... C+ (51)
647. (12 Sep) The Bounty (1984, Roger Donaldson) ... C (40)
646. (11 Sep) Sudden Impact (1983, Clint Eastwood) ... C- (30)
645. (11 Sep) The Distinguished Gentleman (1992, Jonathan Lynn) ... C (41)
644. (11 Sep) The Enforcer (1976, James Fargo) ... C (42)
643. (10 Sep) Tightrope (1984, Richard Tuggle) ... C- (33)
642. (10 Sep) Magnum Force (1973, Ted Post) ... C (40)
641. (10 Sep) The Dead Pool (1988, Buddy Van Horn) ... D+ (24)
640. (09 Sep) The Golden Child (1986, Michael Ritchie) ... D+ (21)
639. (09 Sep) A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell (1990, Brett Piper) ... F (3)
s23. (09 Sep) The Do-It-Yourself Cartoon Kit [s] (1961, Bob Godfrey) ... D+ (19)
638. (09 Sep) Any Which Way You Can (1980, Buddy Van Horn) ... D (15)
637. (08 Sep) Shoot the Piano Player (1960, Francois Truffaut) ... B (61)
636. (08 Sep) The Bridges of Madison County (1995, Clint Eastwood) ... C (41)
635. (08 Sep) Heartbreak Ridge (1986, Clint Eastwood) ... D+ (25)
634. (07 Sep) Escape from Alcatraz (1979, Don Siegel) ... C (41)
633. (07 Sep) Life (1999, Ted Demme) ... F (4)
632. (07 Sep) Every Which Way But Loose (1978, James Fargo) ... C+ (45)
631. (06 Sep) True Crime (1999, Clint Eastwood) ... D (16)
630. (06 Sep) In the Line of Fire (1993, Wolfgang Petersen) ... C+ (44)
629. (06 Sep) Absolute Power (1997, Clint Eastwood) ... C (41)
628. (05 Sep) Vampire in Brooklyn (1995, Wes Craven) ... D (18)
627. (05 Sep) The Rookie (1990, Clint Eastwood) ... D+ (22)
626. (04 Sep) The Keep (1983, Michael Mann) ... D+ (27)
625. (04 Sep) Shutter (2007, Pisanthanakun/ Wongpoom) ... C (38)
624. (04 Sep) Forces of Nature (1999, Bronwen Hughes) ... C- (30)
623. (03 Sep) Fatal Attraction (1987, Adrian Lyne) ... F (8)
622. (03 Sep) Shutter (2008, Masayuki Ochiai) ... C- (31)
621. (03 Sep) Summer of Sam (1999, Spike Lee) ... F (5)
620. (02 Sep) The Puffy Chair (2006, The Duplass Brothers) ... C- (29)
619. (02 Sep) Play Misty for Me (1971, Clint Eastwood) ... D+ (24)
618. (02 Sep) Quick Change (1990, Franklin / Murray) ... C (41)
617. (01 Sep) Fear and Trembling (2004, Alain Corneau) ... B+ (71)
616. (01 Sep) The Eiger Sanction (1975, Clint Eastwood) ... C (42)
615. (01 Sep) The Thing from Another World (1951, Christian Nyby) ... C+ (44)
614. (31 Aug) The Gauntlet (1977, Clint Eastwood) ... C (37)
613. (31 Aug) Opportunity Knocks (1990, Donald Petrie) ... D+ (26)
612. (31 Aug) Mystic Pizza (1988, Donald Petrie) ... C+ (44)
611. (30 Aug) Just My Luck (2006, Donald Petrie) ... C+ (51)
610. (30 Aug) Multiplicity (1996, Harold Ramis) ... B- (53)
609. (30 Aug) Firefox (1982, Clint Eastwood) ... C (38)
608. (30 Aug) Trading Places (1983, John Landis) ... C- (29)
607. (29 Aug) Shadowboxer (2006, Lee Daniels) ... F (6)
606. (29 Aug) John Carpenter's Vampires (1998, John Carpenter) ... C- (28)
605. (28 Aug) X2: X-Men United (2003, Bryan Singer) ... A- (88)
604. (28 Aug) The Burning (1981, Tony Maylam) ... F (6)
603. (28 Aug) While She Was Out (2008, Susan Montford) ... F (3)
602. (27 Aug) RocknRolla (2008, Guy Ritchie) ... D+ (21)
601. (27 Aug) Teeth (2008, Mitchell Lichtenstein) ... F (7)
600. (27 Aug) Little Voice (1998, Mark Herman) ... F (7)
599. (26 Aug) Never Talk to Strangers (1995, Peter Hall) ... F (8)
598. (26 Aug) He Was a Quiet Man (2007, Frank A. Cappello) ... F (9)
597. (26 Aug) Along Came a Spider (2001, Lee Tamahori) ... C- (30)
596. (25 Aug) Fun and Fancy Free (1947, Kinney / Luske / Roberts) ... B+ (72)
595. (25 Aug) Bird on a Wire (1990, John Badham) ... C- (33)
vg09. (25 Aug) Final Fantasy Tactics (1997) ... A- (89)
594. (25 Aug) Breakdown (1997, Jonathan Mostow) ... B- (52)
593. (24 Aug) Fool's Gold (2008, Andy Tennant) ... C (42)
592. (24 Aug) Proof of Life (2000, Taylor Hackford) ... C- (32)
591. (24 Aug) Ricochet (1991, Russell Mulcahy) ... C- (28)
590. (23 Aug) Startup.com (2001, Hegedus / Noujaim) ... C (40)
589. (23 Aug) The Shipping News (2001, Lasse Hallstrom) ... C (41)
588. (23 Aug) Over Her Dead Body (2009, Jeff Lowell) ... D+ (25)
587. (22 Aug) Species (1995, Roger Donaldson) ... D (15)
586. (22 Aug) Romeo Must Die (2000, Andrzej Bartkowiak) ... C- (30)
585. (21 Aug) Shortbus (2006, John Cameron Mitchell) ... D (16)
584. (21 Aug) Road Trip (2000, Todd Phillips) ... D (14)
583. (21 Aug) God of Cookery (1996, Stephen Chow) ... B- (56)
582. (20 Aug) Southland Tales (2007, Richard Kelly) ... D (15)
581. (20 Aug) Eye of the Needle (1981, Richard Marquand) ... C+ (46)
580. (20 Aug) My Dinner with Andre (1981, Louis Malle) ... D (10)
579. (19 Aug) A Canterbury Tale (1944, Powell / Pressburger) ... B (65)
578. (19 Aug) The Moderns (1988, Alan Rudolph) ... C+ (49)
577. (19 Aug) Field of Dreams (1989, Phil Alden Robinson) ... C (43)
576. (18 Aug) Teen Wolf Too (1987, Christopher Leitch) ... F (9)
575. (18 Aug) The Rock (1996, Michael Bay) ... C- (32)
574. (18 Aug) Stay Alive (2006, William Brent Bell) ... D (13)
573. (17 Aug) From Dusk Till Dawn (1996, Robert Rodriguez) ... C- (29)
572. (17 Aug) Smart People (2008, Noam Murro) ... D+ (24)
571. (17 Aug) Creepshow (1982, George A. Romero) ... F (5)
570. (16 Aug) Star Trek: First Contact (1996, Jonathan Frakes) ... A- (82)
569. (16 Aug) Pocket Ninjas (1997, Dave Eddy) ... F (3)
568. (16 Aug) Weekend at Bernie's (1989, Ted Kotcheff) ... C+ (44)
567. (15 Aug) Seed (2007, Uwe Boll) ... F (2)
566. (15 Aug) Ponyo on the Cliff (2009, Hayao Miyazaki) ... B+ (77)
565. (14 Aug) The Man with the Movie Camera (1929, Dziga Vertov) ... C+ (51)
564. (14 Aug) Donnie Brasco (1997, Mike Newell) ... B (64)
563. (14 Aug) Jungle Fever (1991, Spike Lee) ... F (4)
562. (13 Aug) Angel Heart (1987, Alan Parker) ... C- (28)
561. (13 Aug) Boyz in the Hood (1991, John Singleton) ... D+ (19)
560. (13 Aug) Lost and Delirious (2001, Lea Pool) ... D+ (27)
559. (12 Aug) Goldfinger (1964, Guy Hamilton) ... B+ (72)
558. (12 Aug) Cruel Intentions (1999, Roger Kumble) ... D+ (22)
557. (12 Aug) 10 Items or Less (2006, Brad Silberling) ... C (43)
556. (11 Aug) The Rules of Attraction (2002, Roger Avary) ... C- (28)
555. (11 Aug) My Own Private Idaho (1991, Gus Van Sant) ... C (39)
vg08. (11 Aug) Final Fantasy VII (1997) ... A- (87)
554. (10 Aug) Magnolia (1999, Paul Thomas Anderson) ... C- (33)
553. (10 Aug) Sexy Beast (2001, Jonathan Glazer) ... D+ (24)
552. (10 Aug) An American Werewolf in London (1981, John Landis) ... D (15)
551. (09 Aug) Hellraiser (1987, Clive Barker) ... D (10)
550. (09 Aug) Poltergeist (1982, Tobe Hooper) ... C- (32)
549. (09 Aug) The Last Boy Scout (1991, Tony Scott) ... C (41)
548. (08 Aug) Last Man Standing (1996, Walter Hill) ... C (36)
547. (08 Aug) The Foot Fist Way (2008, Jody Hill) ... D (16)
546. (07 Aug) Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003, Troy Miller) ... F (8)
545. (07 Aug) Dumb and Dumber (1994, The Farrely Brothers) ... D+ (21)
544. (07 Aug) Vanilla Sky (2001, Cameron Crowe) ... C+ (51)
543. (06 Aug) Stir of Echoes (1999, David Koepp) ... C (39)
542. (06 Aug) Black Sheep (1996, Penelope Spheeris) ... D (18)
541. (06 Aug) Tommy Boy (1995, Peter Segal) ... D (17)
540. (05 Aug) My Blueberry Nights (2008, Kar Wai Wong) ... C+ (49)
539. (05 Aug) Secret Window (2004, David Koepp) ... D+ (25)
538. (05 Aug) The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996, Renny Harlin) ... C (38)
537. (04 Aug) The Crow (1994, Alex Proyas) ... C- (29)
536. (04 Aug) Black Sheep (2007, Jonathan King) ... D+ (25)
535. (04 Aug) Flatliners (1990, Joel Schumacher) ... C (40)
534. (03 Aug) Police Story (1985, Jackie Chan) ... B+ (76)
533. (03 Aug) The Goonies (1985, Richard Donner) ... D+ (27)
532. (03 Aug) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998, Terry Gilliam) ... C+ (45)
531. (02 Aug) The Rundown (2003, Peter Berg) ... C (42)
530. (02 Aug) Very Bad Things (1998, Peter Berg) ... D+ (24)
529. (02 Aug) Leaving Las Vegas (1995, Mike Figgis) ... C (38)
vg07. (01 Aug) Vandal Hearts (1996) ... C+ (45)
528. (01 Aug) The Lost Boys (1987, Joel Schumacher) ... D+ (25)
527. (01 Aug) Falling Down (1993, Joel Schumacher) ... F (4)
526. (31 Jul) A Bug's Life (1998, John Lasseter) ... B+ (72)
525. (31 Jul) Star Trek VII: Generations (1994, David Carson) ... C+ (49)
524. (31 Jul) The Winslow Boy (1999, David Mamet) ... C+ (50)
523. (30 Jul) Friday (1995, F. Gary Gray) ... C (39)
522. (30 Jul) Crumb (1994, Terry Zwigoff) ... C (42)
521. (30 Jul) But I'm a Cheerleader (2000, Jamie Babbit) ... F (5)
520. (29 Jul) Jury Duty (1995, John Fortenberry) ... D (10)
519. (29 Jul) In the Army Now (1994, Daniel Petrie Jr.) ... F (8)
518. (29 Jul) Encino Man (1992, Les Mayfield) ... D (13)
517. (28 Jul) The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996, Milos Forman) ... B (63)
516. (28 Jul) Who's Harry Crumb? (1989, Paul Flaherty) ... F (9)
515. (28 Jul) Howard's End (1992, James Ivory) ... C+ (48)
tv06. "Blue Submarine No. 6" (1998) ... C (38)
514. (27 Jul) The Piano (1993, Jane Campion) ... C (37)
513. (27 Jul) Riding in Cars with Boys (2001, Penny Marshall) ... C+ (45)
512. (26 Jul) An Officer and a Gentleman (1982, Taylor Hackford) ... C- (31)
511. (26 Jul) Tin Cup (1996, Ron Shelton) ... B (59)
510. (25 Jul) Coyote Ugly (2000, David McNally) ... F (6)
509. (25 Jul) Fly Me to the Moon (2008, Ben Stassen) ... D (18)
508. (24 Jul) Dark Blue (2003, Ron Shelton) ... C+ (48)
507. (24 Jul) Jeepers Creepers (2001, Victor Salva) ... D+ (26)
506. (24 Jul) Domestic Disturbance (2001, Harold Becker) ... D (16)
505. (23 Jul) Against All Odds (1984, Taylor Hackford) ... D+ (25)
504. (23 Jul) Lone Star (1996, John Sayles) ... B (61)
503. (23 Jul) Out of Sight (1998, Steven Soderbergh) ... C+ (51)
502. (22 Jul) Coming to America (1988, John Landis) ... C (40) ("I know you have been inconvenienced and I am prepared to compensate you ... shall we say one million A-HA!")
501. (22 Jul) Chopper Chicks in Zombietown (1989, Dan Hoskins) ... D+ (19)
500. (22 Jul) Snow Day (2000, Chris Koch) ... C+ (47)
499. (21 Jul) Henry Fool (1998, Hal Hartley) ... B- (57)
498. (21 Jul) Bad Company (2002, Joel Schumacher) ... D+ (20)
497. (21 Jul) Reservation Road (2007, Terry George) ... C- (29)
496. (20 Jul) Chopper (2001, Andrew Dominik) ... C+ (51)
495. (20 Jul) The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007, Andrew Dominik) ... B- (53)
494. (20 Jul) Like the Clouds, Like the Wind (1989, Hisayuki Toriumi) ... B (62)
tv05. (19 Jul) "Sailor Moon" (1992) ... B+ (77)
493. (19 Jul) Coraline (2009, Henry Selick) ... B- (53)
492. (19 Jul) Duplicity (2009, Tony Gilroy) ... B (65)
491. (19 Jul) Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009, Andrzej Bartkowiak) ... D+ (22)
490. (18 Jul) Fast and Furious (2009, Justin Lin) ... D+ (21)
489. (18 Jul) Deep Cover (1992, Bill Duke) ... D (10)
488. (18 Jul) The Pink Panther 2 (2009, Harald Zwart) ... D+ (24)
487. (17 Jul) Space Battleship Yamato Final (1983, Katsumata et al) ... C (36)
486. (17 Jul) Space Battleship Yamato Forever (1980, Masuda / Matsumoto) ... C (42)
485. (17 Jul) Space Battleship Yamato: The New Voyage (1979, Masuda / Shirado) ... C (37)
484. (16 Jul) Farewell Space Battleship Yamato (1978, Masuda / Matsumoto) ... C+ (44)
483. (16 Jul) The Big Chill (1983, Lawrence Kasdan) ... B (68)
482. (16 Jul) The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999, Anthony Minghella) ... B (65)
481. (15 Jul) Origin: Spirits of the Past (2007, Keiichi Sugiyama) ... B (65)
480. (15 Jul) Sliver (1993, Philip Noyce) ... D (13)
479. (15 Jul) Basic Instinct (1992, Paul Verhoeven) ... D (15)
478. (14 Jul) Jagged Edge (1985, Richard Marquand) ... C- (35)
477. (14 Jul) Donkey Punch (2009, Olly Blackburn) ... D+ (20)
476. (14 Jul) Cradle 2 the Grave (2003, Andrzej Bartkowiak) ... C (36)
475. (13 Jul) Exit Wounds (2001, Andrzej Bartkowiak) ... C (41)
474. (13 Jul) Prizzi's Honor (1985, John Huston) ... C+ (50)
473. (13 Jul) Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996, Judge / Kaplan) ... D (14)
472. (12 Jul) The Objective (2008, Daniel Myrick) ... D+ (26)
471. (12 Jul) The Kite Runner (2007, Marc Forster) ... C- (32)
470. (12 Jul) The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat (1974, Robert Taylor) ... D (11)
469. (11 Jul) Dead Calm (1989, Philip Noyce) ... D+ (21)
468. (11 Jul) Memphis Belle (1990, Michael Caton-Jones) ... C- (30)
467. (11 Jul) All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2008, Jonathan Levine) ... D+ (22)
466. (10 Jul) Witless Protection (2008, Charles Robert Carner) ... F (5)
465. (10 Jul) Superstar (1999, Bruce McCulloch) ... F (6)
464. (10 Jul) A Walk to Remember (2002, Adam Shankman) ... F (6)
463. (09 Jul) The Long Riders (1980, Walter Hill) ... B- (59)
462. (09 Jul) Born on the Fourth of July (1989, Oliver Stone) ... C (39)
461. (09 Jul) Broadcast News (1987, James L. Brooks) ... B (67)
460. (08 Jul) Aquamarine (2006, Elizabeth Allen) ... A (94)
459. (08 Jul) 48 Hrs. (1982, Walter Hill) ... C (42)
458. (08 Jul) Rain Man (1988, Barry Levinson) ... C- (33)
457. (08 Jul) Talk Radio (1988, Oliver Stone) ... C (36)
456. (07 Jul) The Shop Around the Corner (1940, Ernst Lubitsch) ... B (66)
455. (07 Jul) Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936, Frank Capra) ... B (65)
454. (07 Jul) Great Expectations (1946, David Lean) ... B (61)
453. (06 Jul) The Devil Doll (1936, Tod Browning) ... C+ (51)
452. (06 Jul) Revenge of the Nerds (1984, Jeff Kanew) ... F (3)
451. (05 Jul) Comedian (2002, Christian Charles) ... C+ (45)
450. (05 Jul) Kagemusha (1980, Akira Kurosawa) ... B- (53)
449. (05 Jul) The Sky Crawlers (2009, Mamoru Oshii) ... B- (59)
448. (04 Jul) How the Earth Was Made (2007, Peter Chinn) ... B+ (74)
447. (04 Jul) Masculin, Feminin (1966, Jean-Luc Godard) ... B- (58)
446. (04 Jul) The Bad Sleep Well (1960, Akira Kurosawa) ... B (62)
445. (03 Jul) Tetsuo (1989, Shinya Tsukamoto) ... C (40)
444. (03 Jul) The Remains of the Day (1993, James Ivory) ... B (61)
443. (03 Jul) Ali (2001, Michael Mann) ... C+ (46)
442. (02 Jul) Manhunter (1986, Michael Mann) ... B+ (70)
441. (02 Jul) Ali G Indahouse (2002, Mark Mylod) ... C (43)
440. (02 Jul) Touch of Evil (1958, Orson Welles) ... B+ (70)
439. (01 Jul) Knowing (2009, Alex Proyas) ... F (9)
438. (01 Jul) Love and Death (1975, Woody Allen) ... B- (59)
437. (01 Jul) Pillow Talk (1959, Michael Gordon) ... C (41)
436. (30 Jun) A Wind Named Amnesia (1990, Kazuo Yamazaki) ... B+ (77)
435. (30 Jun) Only Angels Have Wings (1939, Howard Hawks) ... B- (58)
434. (30 Jun) Witness (1985, Peter Weir) ... C+ (47)
433. (29 Jun) What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966, Woody Allen) ... C (40)
432. (29 Jun) Tampopo (1985, Juzo Itami) ... C+ (51)
431. (29 Jun) Cold Comfort Farm (1996, John Schlesinger) ... C+ (44)
430. (28 Jun) Dead Again (1991, Kenneth Branagh) ... C (38)
429. (28 Jun) Safety Last! (1923, Newmeyer / Taylor) ... B (65)
428. (28 Jun) 4D Man (1959, Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.) ... C (42)
427. (27 Jun) Seconds (1966, John Frankenheimer) ... B- (54)
426. (27 Jun) Ju Dou (1990, Zhang Yimou) ... B- (56)
425. (26 Jun) Kiss Me, Stupid (1964, Billy Wilder) ... B (61)
424. (26 Jun) Wasabi (2002, Gerard Krawczyk) ... C (43)
423. (26 Jun) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966, Mike Nichols) ... D (15)
422. (25 Jun) All Quiet on the Western Front (1930, Lewis Milestone) ... C- (33)
421. (25 Jun) My Man Godfrey (1936, Gregory La Cava) ... C+ (49)
420. (25 Jun) Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999, Michael Patrick Jann) ... F (7)
419. (24 Jun) Scarface (1983, Brian De Palma) ... C (37)
418. (24 Jun) The Battle of Algiers (1966, Gillo Pontecorvo) ... B- (53)
417. (23 Jun) The Guardian (1990, William Friedkin) ... C- (31)
416. (23 Jun) A Mighty Wind (2003, Christopher Guest) ... C+ (47)
415. (23 Jun) A Streetcar Named Desire (1951, Elia Kazan) ... B- (55)
414. (22 Jun) Shark Attack 3: Megalodon (2002, David Worth) ... F (4)
413. (22 Jun) Journey to the Center of the Earth (2009, Eric Brevig) ... D (13)
412. (22 Jun) Judgement at Nuremberg (1961, Stanley Kramer) ... C+ (46)
411. (21 Jun) Rosemary's Baby (1968, Roman Polanski) ... B- (56)
410. (21 Jun) Drillbit Taylor (2008, Steven Brill) ... C (41)
409. (21 Jun) Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949, Robert Hamer) ... B (62)
408. (20 Jun) Some Kind of Wonderful (1987, Howard Deutch) ... C+ (47)
407. (20 Jun) The Replacements (2000, Howard Deutch) ... C (36)
406. (19 Jun) In the Heat of the Night (1967, Norman Jewison) ... B- (58)
405. (19 Jun) He's Just Not That Into You (2009, Ken Kwapis) ... C (36)
404. (19 Jun) The Darjeeling Limited (2007, Wes Anderson) ... C+ (49)
403. (18 Jun) Life is Cool (2008, Ik-hwan Choe) ... B- (54)
402. (18 Jun) Four Christmases (2008, Seth Gordon) ... F (6)
401. (18 Jun) Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009, P.J. Hogan) ... C (42)
400. (17 Jun) Venus Wars (1989, Yoshikazu Yasuhiko) ... B- (57)
399. (17 Jun) Sunrise (1927, F.W. Murnau) ... B- (56)
398. (16 Jun) Ark (2004, Kenny Hwang) ... C+ (48)
tv04. (16 Jun) "Urotsukidoji: Chojin Densetsu" (1987) ... C- (33)
397. (16 Jun) Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989, Hata / Hurtz) ... C (41)
vg07. (16 Jun) Goldeneye 007 (1997) ... B+ (76)
396. (15 Jun) The BFG (1989, Brian Cosgrove) ... C (37)
395. (15 Jun) Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004, Bob Clark) ... F (3) (Sequel?)
394. (15 Jun) Heavy Metal 2000 (2000, Coldewey / Lemire) ... F (5)
393. (14 Jun) Black Magic M-66 [m] (1987, Masamune Shirow) ... B- (53)
392. (14 Jun) Felix the Cat: The Movie (1991, Tibor Hernadi) ... D (14)
391. (14 Jun) Monkeybone (2001, Henry Selick) ... C- (33)
390. (13 Jun) Flatland (2007, Ladd Ehlinger Jr.) ... C- (33)
389. (13 Jun) Kaena: The Prophecy (2004, Delaporte / Pinon) ... C (39)
388. (12 Jun) Trapped (2002, Luis Mandoki) ... C (36)
tv03. (12 Jun) "The Universe"(2007) ... C (41)
387. (12 Jun) Trapped in Paradise (1994, George Gallo) ... C- (32)
386. (11 Jun) Blood: The Last Vampire [m] (2001, Hiroyuki Kitaburo) ... D+ (25)
385. (11 Jun) Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002, Phillip Noyce) ... C+ (44)
384. (11 Jun) The Red Shoes (1948, Powell / Pressburger) ... C+ (49)
383. (10 Jun) The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938, Curtiz / Keighley) ... B- (57)
382. (10 Jun) Hoop Dreams (1994, Steve James) ... C+ (46)
381. (09 Jun) Wavelength (1983, Mike Gray) ... D (16)
380. (09 Jun) The Flight of the Red Balloon (2008, Hsiao-hsien Hou) ... B (61)
379. (08 Jun) Titicut Follies (1967, Frederick Wiseman) ... D+ (20)
378. (08 Jun) Harold and Maude (1971, Hal Ashby) ... F (8)
377. (07 Jun) Fears of the Dark (2008, Blutch et al) ... D+ (23)
s22. (07 Jun) The Bead Game [s] (1977, Ishu Patel) ... C- (28)
s21. (07 Jun) Poumse [s] (1990, Mikhail Aldashin) ... C (39)
s20. (07 Jun) The Chubbchubbs [s] (2002, Eric Armstrong) ... C (38)
376. (07 Jun) Notorious (2009, George Tillman Jr.) ... C- (29)
375. (06 Jun) CJ7 (2008, Stephen Chow) ... B (66)
374. (06 Jun) The Hunted (2003, William Friedkin) ... C+ (45)
373. (05 Jun) Under Siege (1992, Andrew Davis) ... C- (35)
372. (05 Jun) Push (2009, Paul McGuigan) ... C (40)
371. (04 Jun) Funny Games U.S. (2008, Michael Haneke) ... C- (34)
370. (04 Jun) The Secret Life of Bees (2008, Gina Prince-Bythewood) ... D+ (27)
369. (03 Jun) Hotel for Dogs (2009, Thor Freudenthal) ... C- (30)
368. (03 Jun) The International (2009, Tom Tykwer) ... C+ (51)
367. (02 Jun) Michael Clayton (2007, Tony Gilroy) ... B- (53)
366. (02 Jun) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008, David Fincher) ... C (41)
365. (01 Jun) Rendition (2007, Gavin Hood) ... D+ (19)
364. (01 Jun) Splinter (2008, Toby Wilkins) ... D (17)
363. (31 May) Charlie Bartlett (2008, Jon Poll) ... C- (30)
362. (31 May) Wristcutters: A Love Story (2007, Goran Dukic) ... D+ (25)
361. (30 May) Good Luck Chuck (2007, Mark Helfrich) ... C- (31)
360. (30 May) Sydney White (2007, Joe Nussbaum) ... B- (52)
359. (29 May) No Reservations (2007, Scott Hicks) ... D+ (22)
358. (29 May) Lars and the Real Girl (2007, Craig Gillespie) ... D+ (20)
357. (28 May) Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007, Strause / Strause) ... D+ (24)
356. (28 May) Sleuth (2007, Kenneth Branagh) ... D+ (23)
355. (28 May) The 11th Hour (2007, Conners / Petersen) ... C- (29)
354. (27 May) Destry Rides Again (1939, George Marshall) ... C+ (48)
353. (27 May) Definitely, Maybe (2008, Adam Brooks) ... C+ (46)
352. (26 May) The Broken (2009, Sean Ellis) ... D+ (19)
351. (26 May) Inkheart (2009, Iain Softley) ... C+ (44)
350. (25 May) Defiance (2008, Edward Zwick) ... D (13)
349. (25 May) The Burrowers (2008, J.T. Petty) ... D+ (21)
348. (24 May) Revolutionary Road (2008, Sam Mendes) ... C- (31)
347. (24 May) Quarantine (2008, John Erick Dowdle) ... C (42)
346. (23 May) [ Rec ] (2009, Balaguero / Plaza) ... C+ (47)
345. (23 May) A Tale of Two Sisters (2004, Ji-woon Kim) ... B (64)
344. (22 May) The Uninvited (2009, Guard / Guard) ... B- (52)
343. (22 May) Flawless (2008, Michael Radford) ... C+ (45)
342. (22 May) Enemy at the Gates (2001, Jean-Jacques Annaud) ... C- (35)
s19. (21 May) Wallace and Gromit in A Matter of Loaf and Death [s] (2008, Nick Park) ... C+ (49)
341. (21 May) Predator X (2009, Sid Bennett) ... C (39)
340. (21 May) Troll 2 (1990, Claudio Fragasso) ... C- (29)
s18. (21 May) Wallace and Gromit in A Close Shave [s] (1995, Nick Park) ... C+ (50)
s17. (21 May) Wallace and Gromit in The Wrong Trousers [s] (1993, Nick Park) ... B (61)
339. (21 May) Leatherheads (2008, George Clooney) ... C+ (44)
338. (20 May) Freedom Writers (2007, Richard LaGravenese) ... D (11)
337. (20 May) College (2008, Deb Hagan) ... F (8)
s16. (20 May) A Grand Day Out with Wallace and Gromit [s] (1989, Nick Park) ... B- (52)
336. (20 May) The Wackness (2008, Jonathan Levine) ... C (43)
335. (20 May) Killshot (2009, John Madden) ... D (16)
334. (19 May) What Just Happened? (2008, Barry Levinson) ... C+ (51)
333. (19 May) Primeval (2007, Michael Katleman) ... F (7)
332. (19 May) The Big One (1998, Michael Moore) ... C+ (49)
s15. (18 May) Hedgehog in the Fog [s] (1975, Yuri Norstein) ... C+ (51)
331. (18 May) The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007, Jay Russell) ... C (39)
330. (18 May) I Can Hear the Sea (1993, Tomomi Mochizuki) ... B+ (78)
329. (18 May) Rachel Getting Married (2008, Jonathan Demme) ... B- (60)
328. (17 May) Transsiberian (2008, Brad Anderson) ... C (40)
327. (17 May) We Own the Night (2007, James Gray) ... B- (58)
326. (16 May) Postal (2008, Uwe Boll) ... D (14)
325. (16 May) Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? (2008, Morgan Spurlock) ... F (6)
s14. (15 May) Guard Dog [s] (2004, Bill Plympton) ... D+ (19)
324. (15 May) 88 Minutes (2008, John Avnet) ... C- (33)
323. (15 May) Panda! Go Panda!: Rainy Day Circus [m] (1973, Isao Takahata) ... C+ (46)
322. (15 May) Panda! Go Panda! [m] (1972, Isao Takahata) ... C+ (47)
321. (15 May) Righteous Kill (2008, John Avnet) ... D+ (25)
320. (15 May) Meet Dave (2008, Brian Robbins) ... C (41)
319. (15 May) Made of Honor (2008, Paul Weiland) ... D (10)
318. (14 May) Bigger, Stronger, Faster (2008, Chris Bell) ... B+ (70)
317. (14 May) Never Back Down (2008, Jeff Wadlow) ... F (3)
316. (14 May) Milk (2008, Gus Van Sant) ... C- (32)
315. (13 May) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007, Julian Schnabel) ... C (37)
314. (13 May) The Unforeseen (2008, Laura Dunn) ... C+ (47)
313. (12 May) Freeway (1996, Matthew Bright) ... F (3)
312. (12 May) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990, Steve Barron) ... D+ (24)
311. (12 May) Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002, Callie Khouri) ... C (43)
310. (11 May) Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004, Brad Silberling) ... A (91)
309. (11 May) Dick (1999, Andrew Fleming) ... B- (52)
308. (11 May) Doubt (2008, John Patrick Shanley) ... C+ (45)
307. (11 May) The Strangers (2008, Bryan Bertino) ... C (36)
306. (10 May) P.S. I Love You (2007, Richard LaGravenese) ... C+ (45)
305. (10 May) Choke (2008, Clark Gregg) ... D (16)
304. (10 May) The Spirit (2008, Frank Miller) ... D (15)
303. (09 May) The Virgin Suicides (2000, Sofia Coppola) ... C+ (46)
302. (08 May) Bedtime Stories (2008, Adam Shankman) ... C (39)
301. (08 May) August Rush (2007, Kirsten Sheridan) ... D (17)
tv02. (07 May) "Read or Die" (2001) ... C+ (45)
300. (07 May) Into the Wild (2007, Sean Penn) ... D+ (24)
299. (07 May) Baby Mama (2008, Michael McCullers) ... C- (29)
298. (07 May) Mac and Me (1988, Stewart Raffill) ... F (9)
297. (06 May) Marley & Me (2008, David Frankel) ... F (7)
s13. (06 May) The Exciting Life of a Tree (1999, Bill Plympton) ... D+ (26)
296. (06 May) Valkyrie (2008, Bryan Singer) ... C+ (46)
295. (06 May) Frozen River (2008, Courtney Hunt) ... D+ (24)
294. (05 May) Bride Wars (2009, Gary Winick) ... D+ (23)
293. (05 May) The Visitor (2008, Thomas McCarthy) ... D+ (19)
292. (04 May) Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009, Steve Carr) ... D (15)
291. (04 May) Frost / Nixon (2008, Ron Howard) ... C (43)
290. (04 May) demonlover (2003, Olivier Assayas) ... C+ (48)
289. (03 May) Boarding Gate (2008, Olivier Assayas) ... C+ (49)
288. (03 May) Tootsie (1982, Sydney Pollack) ... C+ (48)
287. (02 May) Bamboozled (2000, Spike Lee) ... F (7)
286. (02 May) The Beach (2000, Danny Boyle) ... C- (30)
285. (01 May) Hollywood Homicide (2003, Ron Shelton) ... D (17)
284. (01 May) Broadway Danny Rose (1984, Woody Allen) ... B- (60)
283. (30 Apr) Hollow Man (2000, Paul Verhoeven) ... C (40)
282. (30 Apr) The Opposite of Sex (1998, Dan Roos) ... D (11)
281. (29 Apr) Wall Street (1987, Oliver Stone) ... C (41)
280. (29 Apr) The Art of War (2000, Christian Duguay) ... C- (31)
279. (29 Apr) Bounce (2000, Don Roos) ... D+ (26)
278. (28 Apr) Big Momma's House (2000, Raja Gosnell) ... D (15)
277. (28 Apr) Boiler Room (2000, Ben Younger) ... C+ (47)
276. (28 Apr) Autumn in New York (2000, Joan Chen) ... C- (29)
s12. (27 Apr) She and Her Cat [s] (1999, Makoto Shinkai) ... C (43)
275. (27 Apr) Tekkon Kinkreet (2007, Michael Arias) ... C (39)
274. (27 Apr) Paris, Texas (1984, Wim Wenders) ... B (65)
273. (27 Apr) Only Yesterday (1991, Isao Takahata) ... B+ (70)
272. (26 Apr) Cocoon (1985, Ron Howard) ... C (40)
271. (26 Apr) Woman on the Beach (2008, Sang-Soo Hong) ... B (62)
270. (26 Apr) Japanese Story (2004, Sue Brooks) ... D+ (23)
269. (25 Apr) Enemy of the State (1998, Tony Scott) ... B- (52)
268. (25 Apr) Taxi (2004, Tim Story) ... D+ (26)
267. (24 Apr) The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008, Andrew Adamson) ... C- (28)
266. (24 Apr) Sword of the Stranger (2009, Masahiro Ando) ... C+ (46)
265. (24 Apr) Burn After Reading (2008, The Coens) ... B (58)
s11. (23 Apr) The Order to Stop Construction (1987, Katsuhiro Otomo) ... C+ (44)
s10. (23 Apr) The Running Man (1987, Yoshiaki Kawajiri) ... C (42)
s09. (23 Apr) Labyrinth (1987, Rintaro) ... C (36)
264. (23 Apr) 2LDK (2004, Yukihiko Tsutsumi) ... C (41)
263. (23 Apr) Project A-Ko (1986, Katsuhiko Nishijima) ... C+ (47)
262. (22 Apr) Sky Blue (2005, Moon-saeng Kim) ... C+ (45)
261. (22 Apr) Teacher's Pet (1958, George Seaton) ... B- (53)
260. (22 Apr) Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008, Guillermo del Toro) ... B- (52)
s08. (21 Apr) Baby Blue (2007, Shinichiro Watanabe) ... B+ (75)
s07. (21 Apr) Happy Machine (2007, Masaaki Yuasa) ... B- (57)
s06. (21 Apr) Doorbell (2007, Yoji Fukuyama) ... B (62)
s05. (21 Apr) Shanghai Dragon (2007, Shoji Kawamori) ... D (14)
s04. (21 Apr) Genius Party (2007, Atsuko Fukushima) ... D (17)
259. (21 Apr) Appaloosa (2008, Ed Harris) ... C (39)
258. (20 Apr) Spriggan (2001, Hirotsugu Kawasaki) ... C+ (44)
257. (20 Apr) Princess Arete (2001, Sunao Katabuchi) ... B- (58)
256. (19 Apr) Chocolate (2008, Prachya Pinkaew) ... C+ (48)
255. (19 Apr) Mongol (2008, Sergei Bodrov) ... C (42)
254. (19 Apr) Standard Operating Procedure (2008, Errol Morris) ... B- (55)
253. (18 Apr) Redbelt (2008, David Mamet) ... C+ (49)
252. (18 Apr) Body of Lies (2008, Ridley Scott) ... C+ (46)
251. (17 Apr) Advise and Consent (1962, Otto Preminger) ... B- (58)
250. (17 Apr) Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008, Hurwitz / Schlossberg) ... D+ (19)
249. (17 Apr) Fast, Cheap and Out of Control (1997, Errol Morris) ... B (61)
248. (16 Apr) Live Free or Die Hard (2007, Len Wiseman) ... A- (82)
247. (16 Apr) JCVD (2008, Mabrouk El Mechri) ... B- (54)
246. (16 Apr) How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (2008, Robert B. Weide) ... C (41)
245. (15 Apr) What Happens in Vegas (2008, Tom Vaughan) ... D (18)
244. (15 Apr) 27 Dresses (2008, Anne Fletcher) ... C (38)
243. (14 Apr) Hamlet 2 (2008, Andrew Fleming) ... C (40)
242. (14 Apr) Speed Racer (2008, The Wachowski Brothers) ... B- (53)
241. (13 Apr) Passengers (2008, Rodrigo Garcia) ... D (17)
240. (13 Apr) Yes Man (2008, Peyton Reed) ... C (38)
239. (12 Apr) Australia (2008, Baz Luhrmann) ... C (37)
238. (12 Apr) Babes in Toyland (1961, Jack Donohue) ... D+ (24)
237. (12 Apr) Kirikou and the Sorceress (2000, Michel Ocelot) ... C (43)
236. (11 Apr) The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008, Rob Cohen) ... D+ (25)
235. (11 Apr) Ghost Town (2008, David Koepp) ... B- (51)
234. (10 Apr) Igor (2008, Anthony Leondis) ... B- (53)
233. (10 Apr) Changeling (2008, Clint Eastwood) ... D+ (23)
232. (09 Apr) The House Bunny (2008, Fred Wolf) ... C- (32)
231. (09 Apr) Lakeview Terrace (2008, Neil LaBute) ... C- (30)
230. (09 Apr) Get Smart (2008, Peter Segal) ... C (41)
229. (08 Apr) Pineapple Express (2008, David Gordon Green) ... C+ (47)
228. (08 Apr) Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008, Raja Gosnell) ... F (4)
227. (07 Apr) The Circus (1928, Charles Chaplin) ... B (68)
226. (07 Apr) Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008, Makoto Kamiya) ... C- (29)
225. (06 Apr) Babylon A.D. (2008, Mathieu Kassovitz) ... D+ (22)
224. (06 Apr) The Love Guru (2008, Marco Schnabel) ... D+ (20)
223. (05 Apr) Seven Pounds (2008, Gabriele Muccino) ... F (3)
222. (05 Apr) The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008, Scott Derrickson) ... C (41)
221. (05 Apr) Mirrors (2008, Alexandre Aja) ... D (14)
220. (04 Apr) The Flight of Dragons (1982, Bass / Rankin) ... A (92)
219. (04 Apr) Cinderfella (1960, Frank Tashlin) ... C (42)
218. (03 Apr) The Incredible Hulk (2008, Louis Leterrier) ... C- (28)
217. (03 Apr) Heavy Traffic (1973, Ralph Bakshi) ... C- (30)
216. (03 Apr) Swing Vote (2008, Joshua Michael Stern) ... D+ (21)
215. (02 Apr) Interstella 5555 (2003, Kazuhisa Takenochi) ... C (42)
214. (02 Apr) Rock-A-Doodle (1991, Bluth / Goldman / Kuenster) ... D (17)
213. (02 Apr) The Grifters (1990, Stephen Frears) ... C+ (47)
212. (01 Apr) Katy the Caterpillar (1984, Moro / Moro) ... D+ (22)
211. (01 Apr) Cat City 2 (2007, Bela Ternovszky) ... C- (28)
210. (01 Apr) Cat City (1986, Bela Ternovszky) ... C+ (47)
209. (31 Mar) You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008, Dennis Dugan) ... C (42)
208. (31 Mar) Pride and Glory (2008, Gavin O'Connor) ... C (37)
207. (31 Mar) Wild Child (2008, Nick Moore) ... C (36)
206. (30 Mar) Odyssey into the Mind's Eye [m] (1996, Churchill / Feuer) ... D+ (19)
205. (30 Mar) The Gate to the Mind's Eye [m] (1994, Michael Boydstun) ... C (38)
204. (30 Mar) Beyond the Mind's Eye [m] (1992, Michael Boydstun) ... C- (32)
203. (30 Mar) The Mind's Eye [m] (1990, Jan Nickman) ... C (36)
202. (30 Mar) Princess (2006, Anders Morgenthaler) ... F (5)
201. (29 Mar) Matinee (1993, Joe Dante) ... B (64)
200. (29 Mar) Evil Toons (1992, Fred Olen Ray) ... F (3)
199. (28 Mar) Step Brothers (2008, Adam McKay) ... C- (29)
198. (28 Mar) Transporter 3 (2008, Olivier Megaton) ... C (43)
197. (27 Mar) The Princess and the Goblin (1992, Jozsef Gemes) ... C (41)
196. (27 Mar) Twilight (2008, Catherine Hardwicke) ... C (39)
195. (26 Mar) Anastasia (1997, Bluth / Goldman) ... B- (53)
194. (26 Mar) Role Models (2008, David Wain) ... C (43)
193. (26 Mar) Bangkok Dangerous (2008, Pang Brothers) ... D (16)
192. (25 Mar) W. (2008, Oliver Stone) ... C- (33)
191. (25 Mar) Taken (2009, Pierre Morel) ... C+ (49)
190. (25 Mar) Joshua (2007, George Ratliff) ... C- (32)
189. (24 Mar) Azur and Asmar (2008, Michel Ocelot) ... D+ (26)
188. (24 Mar) Aachi and Ssipak (2006, Jo Beom-jin) ... C- (34)
187. (23 Mar) Gran Torino (2008, Clint Eastwood) ... C- (34)
186. (23 Mar) Chicago 10 (2008, Brett Morgen) ... C+ (46)
185. (23 Mar) Waltz with Bashir (2008, Ari Folman) ... C- (31)
184. (22 Mar) Tropic Thunder (2008, Ben Stiller) ... C+ (45)
183. (22 Mar) Traitor (2008, Jeffrey Nachmanoff) ... C (40)
182. (21 Mar) The Tale of Despereaux (2008, Fell / Stevenhagen) ... C- (33)
181. (21 Mar) Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008, Dave Filoni) ... C- (35)
180. (21 Mar) City of Ember (2008, Gil Kenan) ... B- (55)
179. (20 Mar) A.LI.CE (1999, Kenichi Maejima) ... C (37)
178. (20 Mar) Horton Hears a Who! (2008, Hayward / Martino) ... B- (52)
177. (20 Mar) Everyone's Hero (2006, Brady / Reeve / St. Pierre) ... D (15)
176. (20 Mar) Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008, Darnell / McGrath) ... D+ (24)
tv02. (20 Mar) "Bubblegum Crisis" (1987) ... B- (52)
175. (19 Mar) Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002, Asbury / Cook) ... D+ (22)
174. (19 Mar) Bebe's Kids (1992, Bruce W. Smith) ... F (3)
173. (19 Mar) Superhero Movie (2008, Craig Mazin) ... D+ (25)
172. (19 Mar) The Dark Knight (2008, Christopher Nolan) ... B+ (75)
171. (18 Mar) Bolt (2008, Howard / Williams) ... C+ (48)
170. (18 Mar) First Daughter (2004, Forest Whitaker) ... C (42)
169. (18 Mar) Space Chimps (2008, Kirk De Micco) ... C- (34)
168. (17 Mar) The Perfect Score (2004, Brian Robbins) ... D+ (27)
167. (17 Mar) Taking Lives (2004, D.J. Caruso) ... D (18)
166. (17 Mar) Hidalgo (2004, Joe Johnston) ... C+ (50)
165. (16 Mar) Die Hard 3: Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995, John McTiernan) ... C+ (50)
164. (16 Mar) Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990, Renny Harlin) ... C (42)
163. (16 Mar) Die Hard (1988, John McTiernan) ... B- (55)
162. (15 Mar) Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984, Leonard Nimoy) ... C+ (47)
161. (15 Mar) Quantum of Solace (2008, Marc Forster) ... C+ (50)
160. (15 Mar) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008, Steven Spielberg) ... C+ (49)
159. (15 Mar) Blindness (2008, Fernando Meirelles) ... D (11)
158. (14 Mar) Catch That Kid (2004, Bart Freundlich) ... C (37)
s03. (13 Mar) Kakurenbo (2005, Shuhei Morita) ... B- (53)
157. (13 Mar) Slumdog Millionaire (2008, Danny Boyle) ... F (9)
156. (13 Mar) Man on Wire (2008, James Marsh) ... C+ (48)
155. (13 Mar) Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008, Peter Sollett) ... C- (31)
154. (13 Mar) Religulous (2008, Larry Charles) ... D (18) (Religious folks are so arrogant, presumptuous, and condescending! If only someone would make a documentary refuting their beliefs that was arrogant, presumptuous, condescending...)
153. (12 Mar) Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004, Sara Sugarman) ... C- (33)
tv01. (12 Mar) "Karas" (2005 / 2007) ... C (39)
152. (11 Mar) The Wayward Cloud (2007, Ming-liang Tsai) ... C+ (50)
151. (11 Mar) Sherlock Jr. [m] (1924, Buster Keaton) ... A- (80)
150. (11 Mar) Fat Albert (2004, Joel Zwick) ... F (4)
149. (10 Mar) Pride (2007, Sunu Gonera) ... F (3)
148. (10 Mar) The Stepford Wives (2004, Frank Oz) ... D (15)
147. (10 Mar) Envy (2004, Barry Levinson) ... F (8)
146. (09 Mar) Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004, Kevin Allen) ... D (13)
145. (09 Mar) Agent Cody Banks (2003, Harald Zwart) ... D+ (23)
144. (08 Mar) Sky High (2005, Mike Mitchell) ... A- (84)
143. (08 Mar) Flight of the Phoenix (2004, John Moore) ... D (14)
142. (07 Mar) My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999, Isao Takahata) ... C+ (47)
141. (07 Mar) Melinda and Melinda (2005, Woody Allen) ... C+ (48)
140. (06 Mar) Dazed and Confused (1993, Richard Linklater) ... A (92)
139. (06 Mar) Medium Cool (1969, Haskell Wexler) ... B- (58)
138. (06 Mar) Once Upon a Time in China (1991, Hark Tsui) ... B- (60)
137. (05 Mar) DiG! (2004, Ondi Timoner) ... C (38)
136. (05 Mar) Corky Romano (2001, Rob Pritts) ... F (5)
135. (04 Mar) After the Sunset (2004, Brett Ratner) ... C (41)
134. (04 Mar) Around the World in 80 Days (2004, Frank Coraci) ... B- (57)
133. (04 Mar) The Dreamers (2004, Bernarndo Bertolucci) ... C (40)
132. (03 Mar) The Corporation (2004, Abbot / Achbar) ... D (12)
131. (03 Mar) Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004, Beeban Kidron) ... D (17)
130. (02 Mar) Take the Money and Run (1969, Woody Allen) ... B (67)
129. (02 Mar) Giant (1956, George Stevens) ... C (42)
128. (01 Mar) Brave Story (2006, Koichi Chigira) ... B- (60)
127. (28 Feb) Goshu the Cellist (1982, Isao Takahata) ... B- (57)
126. (28 Feb) Vexille (2008, Fumihiko Sori) ... C (36)
125. (27 Feb) Bringing Down the House (2003, Adam Shankman) ... F (2)
124. (27 Feb) Biker Boyz (2003, Reggie Rock Bythewood) ... D (18)
123. (26 Feb) The Wicker Man (2006, Neil LaBute) ... C- (30)
122. (26 Feb) Take Care of My Cat (2002, Jae-eun Jeong) ... B (64)
121. (26 Feb) The Tuxedo (2002, Kevin Donovan) ... D+ (23)
120. (25 Feb) Birdman of Alcatraz (1962, John Frankenheimer) ... C+ (44)
119. (25 Feb) Storytelling (2001, Todd Solondz) ... F (2)
118. (24 Feb) Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003, Robert Rodriguez) ... C- (28)
117. (24 Feb) Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002, Robert Rodriguez) ... C (42)
116. (23 Feb) Spy Kids (2001, Robert Rodriguez) ... C (42)
115. (23 Feb) Undercover Brother (2002, Malcolm D. Lee) ... C+ (47)
114. (23 Feb) The Company (2003, Robert Altman) ... B- (55)
113. (22 Feb) Ocean's Eleven (2001, Steven Soderbergh) ... B+ (75)
112. (22 Feb) Lady Sings the Blues (1972, Sidney J. Furie) ... D (16)
111. (21 Feb) The Rookie (2002, John Lee Hancock) ... C+ (47)
110. (21 Feb) Showtime (2002, Tom Dey) ... C (43)
109. (21 Feb) Secretary (2002, Steven Shainberg) ... D+ (21)
108. (20 Feb) Wings of Honneamise (1987, Hiroyuki Yamaga) ... B (68)
107. (20 Feb) Sansho the Bailiff (1954, Kenji Mizoguchi) ... C+ (50)
106. (19 Feb) Charade (1963, Stanley Donen) ... C+ (49)
105. (18 Feb) Aquamarine (2006, Elizabeth Allen) ... A (94)
104. (18 Feb) Innerspace (1987, Joe Dante) ... C- (34)
103. (17 Feb) Hostage (2005, Florent Emilio Siri) ... B- (57)
102. (17 Feb) Mimic (1997, Guillermo del Toro) ... C- (28)
101. (16 Feb) Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004, Robert Luketic) ... C- (31)
100. (16 Feb) Ghost (1990, Jerry Zucker) ... D (18)
99. (15 Feb) Joe Versus the Volcano (1990, John Patrick Shanley) ... B- (58)
98. (15 Feb) Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979, Robert Wise) ... B (68)
97. (14 Feb) The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1957, Roger Corman) ... C+ (44)
s02. (14 Feb) The Home Economics Story (1951) ... F (6)
96. (14 Feb) Vuk (1981, Attila Dargay) ... C- (28)
95. (13 Feb) Junkers Come Here (1995, Junichi Sato) ... C+ (51)
94. (13 Feb) Horus: Prince of the Sun (1968, Isao Takahata) ... B- (59)
93. (12 Feb) George Washington (2000, David Gordon Green) ... C+ (48)
92. (12 Feb) Black Jack (1996, Osamu Dezaki) ... D+ (26)
91. (11 Feb) When the Wind Blows (1986, Jimmy T. Murakami) ... D (10)
90. (11 Feb) Midori [m] (1992, Hiroshi Harada) ... F (4)
89. (11 Feb) The Wrong Man (1956, Alfred Hitchcock) ... C+ (47)
88. (10 Feb) Blood Tea and Red String (2006, Christiane Cegavske) ... C+ (49)
s01. (10 Feb) Voices of a Distant Star [s] (2003, Makoto Shinkai) ... C+ (48)
87. (10 Feb) Pickpocket (1959, Robert Bresson) ... B (62)
86. (09 Feb) The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004, Makoto Shinkai) ... C+ (45)
85. (09 Feb) The Lady Eve (1941, Preston Sturges) ... B (61)
84. (08 Feb) Jacob's Ladder (1990, Adrian Lyne) ... C+ (51)
83. (08 Feb) Trinity is Still My Name (1971, Enzo Barboni) ... C- (32)
82. (07 Feb) Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2006, Chan-Wook Park) ... C- (34)
81. (07 Feb) Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002, Chan-Wook Park) ... C+ (44)
80. (06 Feb) Winter Passing (2006, Adam Rapp) ... C (36)
79. (06 Feb) Fata Morgana (1971, Werner Herzog) ... C+ (44)
78. (05 Feb) Mamma Mia! (2008, Phyllida Lloyd) ... D+ (21)
77. (05 Feb) Orange County (2002, Jake Kasdan) ... C (42)
76. (05 Feb) The New Guy (2002, Ed Decter) ... D+ (22)
75. (04 Feb) Batman and Robin (1997, Joel Schumacher) ... D+ (25) (LOLOLOL--)
74. (04 Feb) Morvern Callar (2002, Lynne Ramsay) ... C (41)
73. (03 Feb) Moonlight Mile (2002, Brad Silberling) ... C (39)
72. (03 Feb) My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002, Joel Zwick) ... D+ (25)
71. (03 Feb) Men in Black II (2002, Barry Sonnenfeld) ... C+ (45)
70. (02 Feb) The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2008, Mamoru Hosoda) ... A- (85)
69. (02 Feb) Pirahna II: The Spawning (1981, James Cameron) ... D+ (22)
68. (02 Feb) Pirahna (1978, Joe Dante) ... D+ (25)
67. (01 Feb) Goldeneye (1995, Martin Campbell) ... B (64)
66. (01 Feb) Buffalo Bill and the Indians (1976, Robert Altman) ... B- (53)
65. (31 Jan) Exotica (1994, Atom Egoyan) ... B- (56)
64. (30 Jan) Nightmare Alley (1947, Edmund Goulding) ... B- (54)
63. (30 Jan) The Insatiable (2006, Konzelman / Soloman) ... F (8)
62. (29 Jan) Perfume: Story of a Murderer (2006, Tom Tykwer) ... C (39)
61. (29 Jan) A Star is Born (1937, William A. Wellman) ... B- (52)
vg06. (28 Jan) Top Gear (1992) ... D+ (20)
60. (28 Jan) Hope and Glory (1987, John Boorman) ... B (63)
59. (28 Jan) Max Payne (2008, John Moore) ... C- (30)
58. (28 Jan) Awake (2007, Joby Harold) ... D (12)
57. (27 Jan) Five Deadly Venoms (1978, Cheh Chang) ... C (39)
56. (27 Jan) World Without End (1956, Edward Bernds) ... C- (30)
55. (26 Jan) One-Armed Boxer vs. the Flying Guillotine (1975, Yu Wang) ... C- (29)
54. (26 Jan) One-Armed Boxer (1971, Yu Wang) ... C- (28)
vg05. (25 Jan) Zoop (1995) ... C- (35)
53. (25 Jan) Ella Enchanted (2004, Tommy O'Haver) ... C+ (46)
52. (24 Jan) Alfie (1966, Lewis Gilbert) ... B- (59)
51. (24 Jan) Saved! (2004, Brian Dannelly) ... D (16)
50. (23 Jan) Hollywood Ending (2002, Woody Allen) ... C+ (46)
49. (23 Jan) Alfie (2004, Charles Shyer) ... C- (34)
48. (23 Jan) A Cinderella Story (2004, Mark Rosman) ... D (13)
47. (22 Jan) The United States of Leland (2004, Matthew Ryan Hoge) ... F (1)
46. (22 Jan) Enigma (2002, Michael Apted) ... C (40)
vg04. (21 Jan) Brandish (1995) ... D (14)
45. (21 Jan) Igby Goes Down (2002, Burr Steers) ... D+ (24)
44. (21 Jan) Maid in Manhattan (2002, Wayne Wang) ... C (37)
43. (20 Jan) Police Story (1985, Jackie Chan) ... B+ (75)
42. (20 Jan) Same Time, Next Year (1978, Robert Mulligan) ... C+ (48)
41. (19 Jan) F for Fake (1974, Orson Welles) ... B+ (77)
40. (19 Jan) Mona Lisa (1986, Neil Jordan) ... C+ (45)
39. (18 Jan) Stroszek (1977, Werner Herzog) ... B- (53)
38. (18 Jan) Rescue Dawn (2007, Werner Herzog) ... C+ (51)
37. (17 Jan) Final Destination 2 (2003, David R. Ellis) ... C- (35)
36. (17 Jan) Final Destination (2000, James Wong) ... C- (28)
35. (16 Jan) Daddy Day Care (2003, Steve Carr) ... F (3)
34. (16 Jan) Herdsmen of the Sun [m] (1989, Werner Herzog) ... C- (30)
33. (15 Jan) Dagon (2002, Stuart Gordon) ... D (15)
32. (15 Jan) How the Earth Was Made (2007, Peter Chinn) ... B+ (74)
31. (15 Jan) The Count of Monte Cristo (2002, Kevin Reynolds) ... C+ (50)
30. (14 Jan) Blue Crush (2002, John Stockwell) ... C (43)
29. (14 Jan) Murder by Numbers (2002, Barbet Schroeder) ... C (38)
28. (13 Jan) Collateral Damage (2002, Andrew Davis) ... D (17)
vg03. (13 Jan) Kirby Super Star (1996) ... C (40)
27. (13 Jan) Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002, George Clooney) ... B- (54)
26. (13 Jan) Serendipity (2001, Peter Chelsom) ... C- (35)
25. (12 Jan) In the Mix (2005, Ron Underwood) ... D (10)
24. (12 Jan) 3 Women (1977, Robert Altman) ... B (66)
23. (12 Jan) Careful (1992, Guy Maddin) ... C+ (49)
22. (11 Jan) The Wild Blue Yonder (2005, Werner Herzog) ... C+ (45)
21. (11 Jan) The Dead (1987, John Huston) ... B- (53)
20. (10 Jan) L'Enfer (2005, Danis Tanovic) ... C (41)
19. (10 Jan) Semi-Pro (2008, Kent Alterman) ... D+ (24)
18. (09 Jan) The Hot Chick (2002, Tom Brady) ... C- (34)
17. (09 Jan) Disaster Movie (2008, Friedberg / Seltzer) ... F (2)
vg02. (08 Jan) Dynasty Warriors 5 (2005) ... B+ (77)
16. (08 Jan) The Good Girl (2002, Miguel Arteta) ... F (2)
15. (07 Jan) City of the Sea (2002, Michael Caton-Jones) ... C (36)
14. (07 Jan) Crossroads (2002, Tamra Davis) ... D+ (19)
13. (06 Jan) Eight-Legged Freaks (2002, Ellory Elkayem) ... F (9)
12. (06 Jan) Death to Smoochy (2002, Danny DeVito) ... D (14)
11. (05 Jan) The Barbarian Invasions (2003, Denys Arcand) ... C (39)
10. (05 Jan) Mr. Deeds (2002, Steven Brill) ... D+ (23)
9. (04 Jan) The Woods (2006, Lucky McKee) ... C (38)
8. (04 Jan) May (2003, Lucky McKee) ... C- (31)
7. (04 Jan) Bus 174 (2003, Jose Padilha) ... C+ (45)
vg01. (03 Jan) Suikoden (1995) ... C+ (49)
6. (03 Jan) Cypher (2003, Vincenzo Natali) ... D+ (25)
5. (02 Jan) Ugetsu Monogatari (1953, Kenji Mizoguchi) ... B (61)
4. (02 Jan) Lady for a Day (1933, Frank Capra) ... B- (52)
3. (01 Jan) Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003, Jonathan Mostow) ... B+ (72)
2. (01 Jan) Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991, James Cameron) ... A (89)
1. (01 Jan) Terminator (1984, James Cameron) ... B- (59)

Blue (First Viewing)
Purple (Subsequent Viewing)
Red (Subsequent Viewing, Reduction)
Green (Subsequent Viewing, Improvement)

-

I'm Gonna Do Some Serious Damage to Your Body!

2009-11-01T23:44:00.001-06:00

"You offer me 50-50
and expect me to say yes.
Well I'm a man of integrity,
60-40 no less!"

Ponyo on the Cliff
Up
Duplicity

Lather / Rinse / Obey

2009-01-01T00:28:00.197-06:00

Nuthin' in the rules say an ocelot can't play field hockey...

-

-

Astro Boy (78)
Ponyo on the Cliff (77)

Phoebe in Wonderland (69)
Up (67)
Sita Sings the Blues (66)
Duplicity (65)
The Informant! (64)
League of Legends (61)

The Sky Crawlers (59)
Like You Know It All (57)
The Princess and the Frog (56)
A Serious Man (55)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (55)
The International (54)
The Girlfriend Experience (54)
The Time Traveler's Wife (53)
Where the Wild Things Are (53)
The Uninvited (52)
Coraline (52)

The Invention of Lying (51)
Aliens in the Attic (51)
Inglourious Basterds (50)
Land of the Lost (50)
Moon (49)
Taken (49)
Ong-Bak 2 (48)
The Brothers Bloom (48)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (47)
Sunshine Cleaning (47)
Partly Cloudy [s] (46)
State of Play (46)
Sherlock Holmes (46)
Humpday (45)
The Hurt Locker (45)
Sword of the Stranger (45)
Star Trek (44)
Inkheart (44)

Surrogates (43)
Whip It (43)
The Ugly Truth (43)
Gamer (42)
Confessions of a Shopaholic (42)
Dragonball: Evolution (42)
Extract (41)
Public Enemies (41)
Mary and Max (41)
Push (40)
Julie and Julia (40)
An Education (40)
Planet 51 (39)
Black Dynamite (39)
Post Grad (38)
Dance Flick (38)
9 (38)
Up in the Air (37)
Year One (37)
Adventureland (37)
Armored (36)
Angels and Demons (36)
Coco Before Chanel (36)

The Men Who Stare at Goats (35)
Terminator: Salvation (35)
Crazy Heart (34)
I Love You, Man (34)
Battle for Terra (33)
The Box (33)
Invictus (32)
He's Just Not That Into You (32)
Crank 2: High Voltage (31)
Capitalism: A Love Story (31)
The Blind Side (31)
Amelia (30)
Hotel for Dogs (30)
Brüno (30)
Monsters vs Aliens (29)
The Road (29)
Notorious (29)
District 9 (28)
Bronson (28)
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (28)

Bright Star (27)
Race to Witch Mountain (27)
The Boat That Rocked (27)
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (26)
Fame (26)
(500) Days of Summer (26)
My Sister's Keeper (25)
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (25)
Over Her Dead Body (25)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (24)
The Pink Panther 2 (24)
The Objective (24)
All About Steve (23)
The Taking of Pelham 123 (23)
Bride Wars (23)
World's Greatest Dad (22)
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (22)
Couples Retreat (22)
Law Abiding Citizen (21)
Fast and Furious (21)
Fanboys (20)
Donkey Punch (20)
The Lovely Bones (19)
The Broken (19)
Paper Heart (19)

17 Again (18)
Zombieland (18)
A Single Man (18)
Drag Me to Hell (17)
Imagine That (17)
The Burning Plain (17)
New in Town (16)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (16)
Killshot (16)
The Informers (15)
I Hate Valentines Day (15)
Paul Blart: Mall Cop (15)
My Life in Ruins (14)
The Soloist (14)
Jennifer's Body (14)
A Perfect Getaway (13)
Funny People (13)
Journey to the Center of the Earth (13)
Sorority Row (12)
Love Happens (12)
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (12)
A Christmas Carol (11)
House of the Devil (11)
The Proposal (11)
Trick 'r Treat (10)
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (10)
2012 (10)

Knowing (9)
Ninja Assassin (9)
The Fourth Kind (8)
Observe and Report (8)
The Hangover (7)
Paranormal Activity (7)
Next Day Air (6)
Old Dogs (6)
Fired Up! (5)
The Final Destination (5)
Precious: Based on the No (5)
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (4)
G-Force (4)
Obsessed (4)
Miss March (3)
I Love You Beth Cooper (3)
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell (2)

Eagerly Awaiting
Afterschool
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
"Bakemonogatari"
The Headless Woman
Home
In the Loop
Julia
Lorna's Silence
Night and Day
Revanche
Soul Kitchen
Summer Hours
Tetro
35 Shots of Rum
Two Lovers
You, the Living

Least Anticipated
The Limits of Control

-