Brain Drippings

First, a word about the rating system, which is a scale of -4 (dreadful) to +4 (amazing, timeless, great, etc) with a score of 0 an average movie. the vast majority of movies fall in a -2 to +2 range, though there are more -4 than +4 movies as a general rule. I adopted this scale from Mark Leeper (ramr), though I recall it was not original to him.

Second, these are all movies that I have seen, or seen again, in the last month.

9 (2009) +1.5 : A surprisingly dark and somewhat scary movie, but original and certainly worth watching.

Adventureland (2009) +1.5: A lot better than I expected it to be, this is a charming movie that reminded me somewhat of Garden State, but not quite to that caliber.

Aliens in the Attic (2009) -1: A decent enough kid movie, but nothing really compelling.

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (2009) +0.5: Pretty decent remake of the classic film with Amber Tamblyn. Retreads some classic film noire elements and will not be very interesting to anyone who remembers the original film

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs +2: Surprisingly good movie, and not just for the kids. Some good moments throughout and perfectly watchable for both the kids and the adults.

Coraline (2009) +2.5: Very good 3D, very good story. Dark and brooding, too much so for some kids (and some adults).

District 9 (2009) +2.5: The best Sci-Fi movie in several years, District 9 was quality from start to finish.

Fantastic Mr. Fox +3: Somehow this seems to have slipped through the cracks, but it is a wonderful family film. Just enough dark and wry humor for the adults, an engaging Roald Dahl story, very well done stop-motion and a very understated voice performance from George Clooney. One of the ten best of the year.

Four Christmases (2008) -1.5: I so wanted to like this movie, but there’s simply nothing there to like. The main characters are shallow, self-involved, and cold. Predictable plot, sophomoric humor, and a very disappointing performance from Reese Witherspoon.

G-Force (2009) -1.0: The kids liked it. I had a bit of a nap.

Ghostbusters (1984) +2.5: Classic and still holding up rather well. Wonderfully quotable, and introduced to a new generation.

Harry Brown (2009) +2.5: Dark and gritty, and quite possibly Michael Caine’s best performance. The story line is not quite all it could have been, but a stunning portrayal of life in a UK Council Estate.

Home Alone (1990) +2: Once again I was surprised by the wit and charm of this film and its young star. Yes, some of the slapstick is a bit silly, but then it’s meant to be.

Idiocracy (2006) +1.5: A satirical social commentary this film suffers from some very odd matting special effects and a somehwat disjointed plot. It also never really sinks its teeth in where it could, remaining a light comedy where it could have been more. Still, overall a success.

Independence Day (1996) +2.5: It seems pretty common to rag on this film nowadays, but the fact of the matter is this is a top-notch popcorn movie. Lots of action, good actors, a razor thin plot that is just barely enough to hang a movie on. In short, it’s an amusment park ride of a summer movie. Nothing wrong with that, and I still enjoy it as much as the first time I saw it.

Inglourious Basterds (2009) ???: I need to see this movie again, probably twice, before I can give it a final score. It’s somewhere between a +2 and +4, I’m pretty sure. Brad Pitt is outstanding, but I can’t decide yet if the whole WWII fantasy pastiche actually works (+4.0) or falls apart (+2.0). Or somewhere in-between.

Land of the Lost (2009) -3.0: This movie is so bad even the kids hated it.

Let The Right One In (2007) +3.0: One of the best vampire movies of all time.

Memories of Murder (Salinui chueok) (2003) +3.0: I don’t want to say too much about this movie other than to say that it is completely engrossing, and not the film at the end you thought it was at the beginning.

National Lampoons Christmas Vacation (1989) +1.0: Still astonishingly stupid, and yet still quite funny.

Post Grad (2009) 0.5: Rory Wilmore^W^WAlexis Bledel vehicle that never seem to find its wheels. I’m probably overrating it a tad, but I found some parts of it quite engaging. Overall, not a successful movie.

Scrooged (1988) +2.5: Still one of the better Christmas Carol adaptations, Bill Murray is spot on as a soulless yuppie executive haunted by some holiday ghosts.

Shaun of the Dead (2004) +3: This might be my #1 zombie movie of all time. It’s funny, but it’s scary as well. It stays true to the zombie movie roots, and yet manages to go off and do its own thing, and does it well.

Sherlock Holmes (2009) +2: Updated and upgraded this is not Basil Rathebone, this is steampunk Holmes, and that’s a good thing. Robert Downey Jr is, as usual, marvelous to watch. He is perfectly matched with Jude Law as a Dr. Watson who is rather closer to the original that Nigel Bruce ever was. Rollicking good fun and I am very much looking forward to the next installment.

Spring Breakdown (2009) -2.0: You’d think a movie with Amy Poehler, Parker Posey, Amber Tamblyn, Will Arnett, Jane Lynch, and Seth Meyers would be a lot more enjoyable and funny. You’d be wrong.

Star Trek (2009) +2: Take one of the best known franchises of the last 50 years, turn it on its head, rewrite it, ‘reboot’ it, give it a whole new flavour and feel and you’re talking about a recipe for unmitigated disaster. And yet it completely works in this case.

Team America World Police (2004) +2: Still completely wrong in so many ways, and yet hysterically funny from start to finish.

Terminator Salvation (2009) -1: Nothing quite works in this fourth installment of the series, and the one somewhat interesting twist was spoilt in the previews, and is never really explored sufficiently.

The Blind Side (2009) +1.5: A charming movie with some good writing, but the real story hear is Sandra Bullock’s absolutely remarkable performance. She deserves and Oscar for this.

The Fifth Element (1997) +2: I still love this movie, and many of its ‘faults’ pointed out by others I don’t consider faults at all. Bruce Willis is spot on, Milla Jovovich is very good, Chris Tucker is outstanding, Gary Oldman is chilling, Ian Holm is a wonderful anti-Obi Wan, and the direction and effects are top-notch. A bit too warm and squishy mystical all told, but that’s just personal preference.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) 2 (2008) +0.5: A lot of people I really like in these two films, especially the stars, and while the movies aren’t bad, they aren’t really all that good either. Performances are fine, but the writing is flat, the stories aren’t that interesting, and the McGuffin of the ‘magic’ pants just doesn’t really work.

The Thirst (2009) +3: Korean. Roman Catholic Priest. Vampires. Lots of Sex. At times bordering on porn, this horror film for Korea is completely engrossing and would be in contention for best Vampire movie of all time if not for Let the Right One In. There is quite a lot of sex, so I don’t recommend watching it with your parents, or friends you don’t know really quite well.

Up (2009) +3.5: The first 11:30 of this movie is a magical journey through a lifetime story. It is heart-wrenching and heart-warming at the same time. It is very light on dialog, but so much is said in the framing of a scene, or the movement of a character’s face, or hands. This portion of the movie could easily have been released on its own as a short and it would have completely blown away every audience. WHat is remarkable is that the rest of the movie pretty much lives up to the promise of the first 11:30. Pixar is on a fantastic run, and while I think there were parts of Wall*E that were better than parts of Up, overall Up is a better movie.

Where the Wild Things Are (2009) +3: Utterly fascinating, utterly engrossing, utterly brilliant. Easily one of the best movies of the year; the only shame is that so many people missed it, or missed the point of it. This movie is worth watching over and over again. It is worth studying. It is fantastic in so many ways. There are minor aspects that don’t quite work, but overall it is deep, and subtle, and brilliant.

Whip It (2009) +1: Ellen Page is so good one can just sit back and enjoy her performance, but there are other good performances in this movie. Quite a lot of them, in fact. the story itself is a little flat, a little thin, and I think Ms. Barrymore (in her directorial debut) could have done with seeing Rollerball a few times for some ideas on how to shoot high-pace rollerskating effectively (hint, you need to get the camera in good and tight, not spend so much time hovering above the rink or coating along at medium range). This could have been a very good movie, but as it is it is still very much worth seeing and a good debut.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) +1.5: A non-Askewniverse movie from Kevin Smith that is quite funny, typically irreverent and profane, and quite engaging. I didn’t quite buy the relationship between Zack and Miri, but that might be that I’m in the wrong generation.