2008 Marker

It just wouldn't be right to have entered 2009 this far without looking back to 2008.

28 movies in 2008. It looks like a drop, but only because it does not count the Battlestar Galactica series discs in between. Of the 2008 films, notable notes:

The Hunger - sometimes you just have to have more of em...so with Ellen Page, after Juno (and for me, after Hard Candy, really) the hunger was to see her again in The Tracey Fragments and An American Crime. Same goes for Cate Blanchett in Charlotte Gray and I'm Not There, Catalina Sandino Moreno in Maria Full of Grace and The Hottest State, and Paul Dano in Little Miss Sunshine and There Will Be Blood.

The Sparrow - Edith Piaf's life story through La Vie En Rose really brought a lot of attention to Marion Cotillard and I really admired her performance in the film. It felt rewarding to see her win the Oscar for the part.

Grace is Gone - It was a great turn for John Cusack to show he does have range.

The Jodie Factor - when Jodie Foster gets pushed in the corner, she turns into a banshee...its pretty much what surprises you when entering The Brave One with low expectations. Never underestimate someone whose good friend happens to be a guy named Hannibal.

Le Honor Roll

1. Tropic Thunder
2. My Blueberry Nights
3. Hard Eight
4. An American Crime
5. The Tracey Fragments
6. Charlotte Gray
7. Grace is Gone
8. I'm Not There
9. The Savages
10. There Will Be Blood
11. The Brave One
12. Sweeney Todd
13. Michael Clayton
14. Gone Baby Gone
15. Maria Full of Grace
16. King of California
17. La Vie En Rose
18. Waitress
    

Now back to 2009!...............

132 -133 - Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Going through the deleted scenes, it's amazing how much good stuff was cut. Like all Kevin Smith movies, it's not for everyone. If you love his films, you'll enjoy the dialogue and the familiar cast members (Mewes!). I enjoyed his casting of Katie Morgan and Traci Lords.....both of which I have to admit I recognize :).....loved Traci's bubble scene ;)

132 - Battlestar Galactica Season 3 Disc 4

131 - Melvin Goes to Dinner

131 Melvin Goes to Dinner - I really didn't see it coming but after watching so many Progressive Insurance commercials I found myself getting really fond of Flo (a.k.a. Stephanie Courtney) and so I just had to see if she's done work outside of these commercials and sure enough I found this one. It's a really good independent film that follows a group of.....well friends and acquaintances in their conversations at a restaurant. It was also a pleasant surprise to see some guest actors making appearances, like Melora Walters, Maura Tierney, and David Cross.

128,129,130 - Battlestar Galactica Discs 1,2,3

127 Burn After Reading

That punch John Malkovich inflicted on Brad Pitt was as crisp as the one Tommy Lee Jones smacked on Will Smith (in MIB 2) and was the personal highlight for me. It's quite a cast with John and Brad, plus Frances McDormand, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, and JK Simmons! And the Coens are probably one of the few who could assemble these folks and make them portray these middle-aged clowns in a story that can never be serious because there's a stupid turn at every corner and you just find yourself shaking your head in laughter.

125 - 126 Tropic Thunder

126 - Tropic Thunder

It's pretty much already the talk of the town that Robert Downey Jr.'s character was the best with this crew. It movie was probably too stocked with names (Black, Stiller, Nolte) but it still came out ok. Oh.....and Tom Cruise's Len Grossman.......nah I still have displeasure watching him.

125 - Battlestar Galactica 2.5 Disc 3

124 - My Blueberry Nights

Wong Kar Wai's movies deal a lot with introspection and My Blueberry Nights follows the same path. Have you ever turned away or displaced yourself from a situation, only to find your way back in its shadow in some other form? These things are usually meant to show us who we are, but sometimes it is simply to ask us to look again. Does it mean you should turn back? Perhaps its a question of perspective...instinct...or just simply time. Norah Jones was an unusual but great pick for the role and pairing her with Jude Law works. Natalie Portman showed a lot of confidence with dialogue (and accent), but I somehow feel this character was still amiss for her. It was a wonderful surprise to see Chan Marshall (in pic above).

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.