121 - 123 Hard Eight

123 - Hard Eight
Hard Eight is a well-crafted film by Paul Thomas Anderson and had that very calculated amount of mystery and dialogue that keeps you glued to the screen. The desire to figure out Philip Baker Hall's intentions or hope to see John C. Reilly and Gwyneth Paltrow's characters redeem themselves was intoxicating. Throwing in Sam Jackson and Philip Seymour Hoffman for spice was a great touch as well.....and Philip Baker Hall's last acts remind me of Terrence Stamp's monk revenge in The Limey.

121, 122 - Battlestar Galactica 2.0 Disc 2 & 3

119 - 120 - An American Crime

It's disturbing to watch this with the awareness that it was based on actual events or a case in the 60's. Cathy Keener plays the part well, but the story I think lacks depth in exposing more of what was behind that misdirection or insanity (or maybe I just don't fully understand the misguided ways religion has been used or what struggling single mothers really go through....). For those who've always though of Ellen Page as this waifishly annoying brat, this will give you something different to look at.....

(119 - Battlestar Galactica Season 2 Disc 1)

117 - 118 - The Hottest State

118 - The Hottest State - You'd probably agree that in some lost chapter in your life you've acted foolishly to the point that you can't fathom why you had acted that way. Well, that "chapter" is what happens in this story. The dialogue does appear to be all straight up and sometimes when you think a key message is about to come out, it doesn't. Still, the movie is a really good exploration of coming to terms with one's emotions and personality.

(117 - Battlestar Galactica Disc 5)

115 - 116 The Tracey Fragments

116 - The Tracey Fragments - I could have enjoyed this film had it been edited straight-up. The split screens or "fragmentation", usually 5 or more, was really distracting and exhausting to the eyes. Still, the story and characters and delivery of Ellen Page were compelling enough that I was able to finish it.

While a lot of films in the mainstream cover the effects of sexual abuse, this film focuses on other sociological factors and shows how these can easily lead a young soul astray.

115 - Battlestar Galactica Disc 4 ;)

114 - Charlotte Gray

I wonder if this movie helped make it an easy choice to cast Cate in The Good German. I really admire her ability to elegantly portray a loving and emotional feminine character that can easily and convincingly summon courage and toughness.

112 - 113 New Rose Hotel

113 - New Rose Hotel - I was dissapointed at how this film didn't have the same punch as Abel's King of New York. It felt like one long drunken binge and hangover all at once. I think Walken, Dafoe, and Argento could have done more given the right environment.

(112 - Battlestar Galactica Disc 3) :)

111 - Battlestar Galactica Disc 2

To help feed my BG craving, I got disc 2 (after watching a used disc 1). Like the first disc, it's good stuff. And Richard Hatch returns! (well......as an exiled radicalist) I really like the haunting and drum-heavy soundtrack.

110 - Boarding Gate

There is this fearless quality that just draws me to Asia Argento. That, and the pairing with Michael Madsen was quite odd. The film is a mix of that french eroticism and bits of asian reckless scenes (and not simply because the second half was in China). I wasn't that happy with it, honestly, but wasn't bored watching Asia crawl her way in and out of trouble.

109 - Grace is Gone

I could never have watched this film at your local theater. I was just tearing-up constantly with the outstanding performances by John Cusack and young Shelan O'Keefe. I was pleased to not see any initial scenes meant to show the love the family shared before their mother's deployment. When a daughter tells you she loves her mom very much, you don't ask her to prove it. This film has put to perspective what it is to grieve for loss. It will never be the same for anyone, but the time that needs to pass will always be long, numbing, and painful.

108 - I'm Not There

Trying to decipher Bob Dylan was probably an impossible task, but this was a good effort to try and give people somewhere to start (or not). Personally, I think this made me realize that he really didn't want to represent or be represented. Dylan bounced off ideas or expressed what was there...he couldn't care less what it meant or how it could be absorbed by the listener.

I enjoyed Michelle Williams' turn as Coco and Bruce Greenwood's Keenan Jones. David Cross as Allen Ginsberg though....that felt weird.

Not much to say about Cate (just bow your head and pay your respects!)

107 - The Savages

Tamara Jenkins said it best when she explained how she preferred to allow the dark comedy be viewed by the audience as an observer and not something that had to be rammed down one's throat. And the whole film really is presented from an observer's point of view. Just watching Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney bounce lines off of each other is very satisfying. And Philip Bosco's performance (as their father) was golden. I was hoping this film would remain true and not deliver this wonderful redemptive ending (that could potentially spoil it), but I was very pleased with Tamara's approach. It's not a sugar-coated one. It was genuine and in the hands of Laura and Phil, just cannot be delivered any better.

106 - There Will Be Blood

Daniel Plainview is a cold-blooded bastard :)

Dillon Freasier, who portrayed H.W., could very well be a really great actor in the making....should he choose the profession....he clearly picked up from Daniel and presented a cold facade that can be quite scary if he ever stared at you. While he was under the shadow of his father's retched ways, I think we was merely an observer.....untainted.

Paul Dano was very good, as well, but I had to get used to him having all that dialogue, as the last time I saw him (or remember him clearly) was in Little Miss Sunshine.

105 - The Brave One

The role of Erica Bain required somebody who had a hard face and a masculine stance and I think Jodie Foster was a good choice. I was most caught by this scene where Erica returns to her radio show and after seconds of pause, transforms from this island of fear to rugged terrain. Her words of realization was a turning point in the story. Terrence Howard was another good choice. He's a tempered version of Denzel Washington (a better version, I think).

Now could someone please give Jodie her dog back.......

104 - Sweeney Todd

I rarely watch musicals and Ithink the last one I really liked was......All that Jazz? But with Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman, and Helena Bonham Carter coming together for Sweeney Todd, I guess it was worth watching.....and I did like it. I was most impressed by Ed Sanders (who portrayed Toby). And to consider that none of the actors were really singers by trade, I think the whole cast did a great job.

103 - Margot at the Wedding

Riding on high with admiration for Noah Baumbach's "The Squid and the Whale", I watched Margot at the Wedding with somewhat of an expectation, even though this was a different film. Noah used more dialog this time, which I think must have been because he had Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh running the shop. Laura Linney and Jeff Daniels had more depth in their delivery with shorter dialog and silent queues. Nicole and Jennifer used more dialog and emotional expression to reach the same level.

Still, I think this film deserves credit for exploring dysfunctional relationships between siblings and all the nearby relationships it impacts. I don't think it was that much of a stretch for Jack Black. Ciaran Hinds was actually more refreshing to watch in a role that is low key compared to his previous characters.

102 - Into the Wild

"Wild" being the location here really isn't confined to the great outdoors (or great outdoors probably doesn't necessarily mean mountains and forests), but everywhere else, including cities, towns, and middle-of-nowhere's. I couldn't help but thinking that this film is really more about life as a floater more than this strong principle of non-materialism and nature love. Emile Hirsch did give the role a good shot, but I think he was overshadowed by the cinematography and Eddie Vedder (you could probably remove all the sound and just play the movie with Eddie's soundtrack and you'd still be able to appreciate this film).

Sean got a great supporting cast with Catherine Keener, Brian Dierker, Jena Malone, and Vince Vaughn. Kristen Stewart looked familiar but I couldn't really pin down where I've seen her before 'till I looked her up in IMDB and finally found that she was Jodie Foster's daughter in Panic Room (i knew those droopy eyes looked familiar :) ).

101 - Michael Clayton

I think either Tom Wilkinson or George Clooney could have received an Oscar for their performance in this movie. Tilda Swinton's performance was also great...but I somehow couldn't justify its Oscar-worthiness. Perhaps the judges wanted to award Tilda Swinton, the actress, and not necessarily Tilda Swinton of Michael Clayton....now that I can accept.

Marker - 100 films

A hundred films in three years. That sounds like a long time to reach such a milestone...and I thought I was spending too much time watching movies....but let me remind you, this is just for my Netflix account! Anyway......after a hundred films on Netflix.....my personal favorites.......

from 2006
03 Dead Man
04 The Matador
14The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
24 Little Fish
32 Croupier
33 A Clockwork Orange

from 2007
39 Little Miss Sunshine
63 Casino Royale
56 Fast Food Nation
60 A Scanner Darkly
67 Breach
68 Black Snake Moan
69 Dr. Strangelove
73 Pan's Labyrinth
81 Red Road
84 Down By Law
88 Night on Earth
89 Mystery Train

from 2008
91 Eastern Promises
92 Waitress
93 La Vie En Rose
95 King of California
97 Maria Full of Grace
98 Gone Baby Gone

Amen.

100 - Home of the Brave

This can't be my 100th entry. It's really sad that it is...anyway...
Here's the bottom line: I couldn't finish this film and thought it best to just mail it back right away so I can get the next one (hopefully Michael Clayton). And it's not that its awful. Maybe just bad timing that my life's been so busy I have such a short patience. Maybe.

But there just wasn't enough in the beginning to provide that base for all the different stories. There are some movies that leave a certain amount of assumptions for the audience to make and this one just felt like it wanted you to fill in too much of the blanks to render it without much emotional journey to discover. I don't know. Like I said, maybe its just me right now. I guess its also sad that this movie comes under the shadow of Black Hawk Down....maybe just bad timing.

99 - Goya's Ghosts

I think Stellan Skarsgard did a great job and I enjoyed watching him portray Francisco Goya. Even more interesting was how they showed the old process of print-press (of lineart?). I'm not sure what made them choose Randy Quaid and that really felt odd. Natalie Portman I think, despite an admirable performance in the first part (as Ines), was miscast. She does not deliver the same effect Scarlett Johansson had in Girl with a Pearl Earing (funny how they finally found their way together now in The Other Boleyn Girl...wonder who will have more of an effect over the other...)

Javier Bardem, of course, was equally enjoyable to watch as a man of the cloth...though I have to admit I was waiting for him to break character and utter "friend-o" :)

The movie though, fell off after the first act, and was not the same after that....