2005 Screening Log

[Prince Eric]

February 25, 2005

Elephant
I think I'll take some Prozac now. How depressing! I give props to the movie's cinematographer for promoting cinematography as storytelling, but I think the director is lost for most of the flick. None of the periphery characters are very interesting. Most startlingly was job at the popular movie role of the "Black Saint" by inventing the character of Benny, a young man played up to be the hero of the story, only to be shot down early. My thing is, why make a movie about Columbine, an American tragedy, when you don't intend to give answers? Grade: B

[RJKD23]

Prince Eric, I like your reviews!
it helps me decided whether to watch/buy the movie or not!

[Prince Eric]

Prince Eric, I like your reviews!
it helps me decided whether to watch/buy the movie or not!

Thank you so much for the kind comments! Here's three more just for you my friend!

March 3, 2005
Bambi
The BEST of Walt's original five. It's a masterpiece from a storytelling point-of-view, with less than 1,000 words of dialogue. So much is conveyed in just an hour and ten minutes: all the cycles of life are here; childhood, adolescense, young adulthood, and so forth. For the first time, I was able to appreciate the complexity of the score, which is a prime example of how the music and songs in a movie should advance the story. I won't even give it a grade, because you can't put a marking on a classic. DVD highly recommended (but you guy knew that, didn't you?)

March 4, 2005
Bride and Prejudice
I had the worse experience at the movie theater ever (and not because of the movie)! We go in and get tickets for the last showing of Be Cool, and it turns out, there's not 10:20 showing! So we get stuch with rainchecks and thirty dollars worth of snacks. We get to see any movie that's left. Hitch had just ended, so we made our way into Bride and Prejudice, which was 10 minutes into the movie, just like the first time! The movie was excellent and the best movie musical I've seen since Moulin Rouge! Great experience and worth the second viewing. Can't wait for the DVD. Grade: A

March 5, 2005
Be Cool
Time to put those rainchecks to good use! I really liked all the actors in here. Great comedic ensemble, but that was about it. The script was OK, and a lot of it was not funny. I kept waiting to laugh and some of my laughs seemed forced to me. Oh, well, the rest of the audience really enjoyed it. Grade: C+

[The Little Merman]

March 05, 2005



Title: Million Dollar Baby
Director: Clint Eastwood
With Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and Morgan Freeman

When Oscar gives, sometimes the recipient, does not deserve. In the case of Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman, and Clint Eastwood, they get their cake and eat it too. By far, the most deserving of the Best Picture nominees, Million Dollar Baby looks to be an underdog's sports flick with good actors. Walking out of the packed theater, the movie can be described as a brutal tragedy. Poor Marty. I loved Martin Scorsese's latest film- The Aviator. It had two of my favorite actors (Leonardo DiCaprio and Jude Law), it had one of my favorite singers (Gwen Stefani), it had gloss, glamour, and special effects, and it was Marty! But, in this case, Baby is not in the corner. Well...actually..

Final Grade: A

[Prince Eric]

My complete ranked order of 2004 films (that I can remember ):

THE TOP 10:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Before Sunset
The Incredibles
Maria Full of Grace
House of Flying Daggers
Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall…and Spring
Hotel Rwanda
Ray
Osama
Born Into Brothels

Edited: March 18, 2005 - Added Born Into Brothels and dumped The Aviator in retrospect.

WORTHY CONTENDERS:
The Aviator
The Clay Bird
Sideways
Mean Girls
Dogville
Hero
Spider-Man 2
Million Dollar Baby

THE REST:
Shrek 2
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Friday Night Lights
Fahrenheit 9/11
Shaolin Soccer
Super Size Me!
Friday Night Lights
Finding Neverland
De-Lovely
Meet the Fockers
50 First Dates
Ella Enchanted
13 Going on 30
Catwoman
Spanglish
The Village
In Good Company
White Chicks
The Phantom of the Opera
Barbershop 2: Back in Business
King Arthur
Vanity Fair
Zhou Yu's Train
Jhankaar Beats
Distant
Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!
Shark’s Tale
Along Came Polly
Starsky & Hutch
National Treasure
The Princess Diaries 2: A Royal Engagement
Jersey Girl
Ocean’s 12
The Alamo

[PublicEnemy#1]

Hm... I have a 2004 list, I have some things I need to see though.

A
Closer
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Garden State
House of Flying Daggers
Kill Bill Volume 2
Million Dollar Baby
The Phantom of the Opera
Sideways

A-
Before Sunset
Finding Neverland
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Hero
Hotel Rwanda
The Incredibles
Maria Full of Grace
Mean Girls
Ray
The Village

B+
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
The Butterfly Effect
Collateral
Dawn of the Dead
Dogville
Fahrenheit 9/11
Hellboy
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Mean Creek
The Motorcycle Diaries
The Notebook
Shaolin Soccer
Shrek 2
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Spider-Man 2
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
The Terminal

B
13 Going on 30
50 First Dates
The Aviator
The Bourne Supremacy
Ella Enchanted
Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle
I, Robot
King Arthur
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
The Stepford Wives
Super Size Me
Van Helsing

B-
Infernal Affairs
Saved!
Shaun of the Dead
Troy

C+
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Eurotrip
The Girl Next Door
The Grudge
Man on Fire
The Manchurian Candidate
Saw

C
Along Came Polly
The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi
The Day After Tomorrow
The Forgotten
Napoleon Dynamite
New York Minute
The Passion of the Christ
Starsky & Hutch
Taking Lives
Vanity Fair
White Chicks

C-
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
The Day After Tomorrow
Secret Window

D
Catwoman
Open Water
Shark Tale

-------------------------
Best of 2004
1. Kill Bill Volume 2
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. Million Dollar Baby
4. The Phantom of the Opera
5. Garden State
6. House of Flying Daggers
7. Closer
8. Sideways
9. Before Sunset
10. The Incredibles

[The Little Merman]

Elephant
I think I'll take some Prozac now.

Tell me about it! My emotions during Elephant- ... ... ... ... !!!

[Prince Eric]

Elephant
I think I'll take some Prozac now.

Tell me about it! My emotions during Elephant- ... ... ... ... !!!

March 11, 2005

Mulan II
This is simply the best direct-to-video sequel Disney has put out. Of course, the animation doesn't live up to the majesty of the first one, but the essense was still there. Mulan is probably the most UNDERRATED film of the 90's on this board, and I think that's pretty sad. Not only did Mulan revive feature animation, it portrayed the princess ideal in a more modern light. Anyway, back to the sequel. The score was really nice, and stayed true to the original's Oscar-nominated score. The songs were also pretty catchy. I think the story arch was really intriguing and it expanded on the original, which is something most sequel's don't. Overall, a very good addition to my collection. Grade: B+

[Prince Eric]

March 12, 2005

Robots
I think this studio is better than Dreamworks, but still lower than Pixar, but for their second effort, Robots is really polished, animation and story wise. I love stylized animation, and everything here was tailored to the metalic motif the characters and surroundings were in. Like The Incredibles, this is has political undertones, which I think is great that animated features are coming up with adult subliminal messages. The idea of promoting public health care, being yourself, and defying the "ideal" image, are all worthy topics to be discussed in an animated film, and they're all here! Good show! Grade: B+

[Prince Eric]

March 15, 2005

Nowhere in Africa
The 2002 Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film. It was better than some of the "good, but not great" reviews I've read. In fact, I don't know what those people are talking about. This is a great movie! A tad bit long, but they needed the length for the characters to have resonance. Of course, it wouldn't have won the Oscar if Talk To Her were eligible that year, but that's another story...The story of a family of Jews who flee Nazi Germany for Kenya is an original twist on the typical Holocause story, in fact, it's not a Holocaust story at all. The true underlying theme is how to cope with losing your country, while trying to find redpemption in an new one...Very touching. Grade: A-

[Prince Eric]

March 17, 2005

Atanjurat: The Fast Runner
By not nominating this movie in the Foreign Language category three years ago, the Academy continued its prejudice towards non-European films. Just the fact alone that this was the first feature film in the Enuit language should have been sole reason for a vote of confidence; not to mention its a REALLY good movie; but the nomination didn't happen. The movie from Canada is the story of an Inuit family and the curse put upon them by an evil shama. Based on myth, this gorgously photographed artic trip feels almost like a documentary, but make no mistake about it, it's a wonderfully told magical realist fiction. It's a three hour epic, but egaging on a grand scale. Grade: A

[Prince Eric]

March 17, 2005

Zhou Yu's Train

This is the first movie from Asia that I had trouble following/lost interest in. Gong Li was the star. The plot/script was confusing at times. Oh, and Gong Li was in it. There was a lot of philosophying and not enough action. By the way, Gong Li has a double role. The existentialism of the whole picture just didn't make sense at time. Gong Li's in it too. The last thirty minutes was kind've boring. Did I mention GONG LI is in it? What more matters? Grade: B

[Prince Eric]

March 18, 2005

Born Into Brothels
This year's Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Feature is an unspeakable testimony to youth and its ability to persevere in the worst conditions. It's also another conviction of the redemptive power of art, in this case, photography. Zana Briski, a photographer from London, journeys to the Red Light District of Calcutta and teacher the children of prostitutes the magic of photography. In Mrs. Briski's quest to get the children out of the brothels, she opens their eyes to a better life, but eventually her philanthropy is a hit or miss effort depending on the individual case. Truly elegiac... Grade: A

P.S. I am re-editing my 2004 rundown post above to include this. It's a worthy film.

[lucifer]

The Ring Two:
Having previously seen a screening of this, I was very surprised that they managed to pull the mess they had filmed off. Actually, very very surprised, and it was very good too. I like the fact that Nakata directed it, having seen all of his japanese movies, and i also liked the fact that it derived from the typicalness of his movies. To be honest, I liked this better than the first because it has a story and it tells it, and while still being a little obvious as to what is going to happen, it still manages to shock and entertain. Unfortunately though, it tries to blend both the american and the japanese movies together so those not familiar with the latter will think that it has no plot... Still, I give it an A-

The Aviator:
Ok, I admit, this was a well made movie, good plot, good characters, good effects. But I HATED this movie, i don't think that I have ever seen a movie that has dragged on as much as this one has (well, maybe LOTR but that was entertaining) and the pacing is slow and overall, it just keeps going on and on and on... You know how people are always like "why can't hollywood just tell the real story, how it really happens ?" well this is why! Overall, many will argue, but I give this a C, and that is being very generous coming from me.

Bride and Prejudice:
Rarely will I watch a movie in theaters twice, even rarer when i go see one three times, and rarest when I still want to go see it again! I loved this movie, alright it does seem a little rushed and the lipsynching not always on queu, but i loved it for it's comedy and the joyful feeling it brings. It's just so much fun! I would love to give it an A, but because of the rushed feeling I give it a B++ but def. one of the best of 2004.

[Prince Eric]

Bride and Prejudice:
Rarely will I watch a movie in theaters twice, even rarer when i go see one three times, and rarest when I still want to go see it again! I loved this movie, alright it does seem a little rushed and the lipsynching not always on queu, but i loved it for it's comedy and the joyful feeling it brings. It's just so much fun! I would love to give it an A, but because of the rushed feeling I give it a B++ but def. one of the best of 2004.

Great! Glad you loved it! A little sidenote though: This is a 2005 release, though it was originally slated for a December 25, 2004. I wish the year would end already so I can put this on my Top 10 list!

[BrandonH]

Movies watched this year (as of the post date):

Pooh's Heffalump Movie: 3 stars
Robots: 3 stars
Racing Stripes: 3 stars
Ice Priness: 4 stars

[Prince Eric]

March 25, 2005

Nobody Knows
The question I ask myself now is: Why does the Academy insist on prolonging their oral fixation with European films, when they consistently ignore better movies from non-Western countries? They skipped China's House of Flying Daggers, which I thought was outrageous enough. Now that I've seen Japan's entry, Nobody Knows, I KNOW for a fact that there must be some type of national prejudice going on. Anyway, brutal film, just brutal. The story of four Tokyo children abandoned by their mother and left fend for themselves is absolutely heartbreaking! It's almost shot in real time, and the cinematography really lends itself to the documentary genre. There were scenes, like the two brothers swinging on the spin wheel in the park, that are almost hallucinatory and make for stunning visuals. Beautiful film. Grade: A

March 26, 2005
Lagaan: One Upon A Time In India
Grade: A

[Prince Eric]

March 28, 2005

The Road Home
I am a Zhang Yimou devotee and always will be. His films are poetic while being dramatic, a quality that is very hard to accomplish. This is a love story, and at first, I was afraid this would he his firt movie that I didn't like, since I hate the ever-cliche love story. His directorial skills, instead of churning out lovey-dovey mush, created an epic of wide scope and narrow brilliance: the heart of two young lovers. Beautifully photographed, as usual. Grade: A

[lucifer]

Great! Glad you loved it! A little sidenote though: This is a 2005 release

actually, i saw this movie in france sometime in december 2004 so I guess it came out later in the USA.

[Prince Eric]

Thurseday, March 31, 2005

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous
I will always adore Sandra Bullock. Her brand of comedy is vastly underrated. However, I don't think this is a franchise that warranted a sequel. The whole premise revolves around the pageant, and there was no pageant in this movie. It was a nice story, though, filled chalk to the brim will girl mantra lessons. I enjoyed! Grade: B