I watch movies.

39 movies seen in theaters.
80 DVDs watched.
18 books read.

I went to 21 fewer movies this year, and I can't even blame becoming a parent: by September of 2007 I'd already been to 48; I suspect being in school the first half of 2007 vs. working full-time in 2008 has more to do with it (although the fact that I've only seen three since the end of August can't be discounted).

I crunched the numbers the other day, and based on the number of DVDs I'm watching (especially the number that came in the mail vs. what was already on the shelf), I've determined that I'm spending more per movie going through Netflix than I would be renting at Blockbuster, so I'm canceling the one and getting a card for the other. Between that and watching more from my collection (which I'm likely to do without having a red envelope next to the TV creating a false sense of urgency) we should save a little money there.

I'd like to read more this year too. I have been since staying home - I'm more apt to crack a book during lunch (assuming I'm not eating one-handed with a baby in the other arm) now that I'm not eating at my desk to keep from having to take a lunch break.

Probably not going to track this stuff in 2009. Maybe that way I'll post more entries about my life rather than just what I've been watching.

Movie 38: The Wrestler
It’s a good movie, but nowhere near the level I’ve come to expect from Darren Aronofsky. There are hints of his unique style, but for the most part it looks like anyone could have directed it - there’s not enough to visually distinguish it from any other indie film out there. That said, the story and acting are both good, and I can’t recall any other film taking a serious look at the ups and downs of pro wrestling - there’s a lot there that you don’t really think about, especially what happens when the spotlight fades. But it’s just not quite enough to make the movie stand out.

DVD 66: Battle Royale
I love that the movie doesn’t take too much time to justify its premise of adults being so afraid of student protests that they start pitting teens against each other in 3-day death matches on a remote island. Instead it jumps right in, using the fight for survival as an extreme version of high school cliques and social drama. While it’s at times disturbing to see violence visited on youth, for the most part the absurdity of the situation and the fact that few of the characters are seen as helpless make it removed enough from reality to serve as an entertaining hyperbole.

DVD 67: House of Flying Daggers
The difference between the film stock and the CGI is at times distracting, but for the most part it’s a fun stylish action movie. I especially like how much the battle that will determine the future of the titular organization is built up for the whole movie, only to be overshadowed by the much more interesting love triangle.

Movie 36: Tropic Thunder
It's uneven, but the funny parts are funny enough to make up for the parts that lag. As an industry parody it works largely because of people and companies willing to break type or self-deprecate.

DVD 49: The X-Files: Fight the Future
Satisfies on a few levels: It's entertaining, intricate enough to stay interesting after multiple viewings, and a big enough story to warrant a movie. The most satisfying thing though is that it helped get the taste of I Want to Believe out of my mouth and reminded me of why I liked the show.

Book 13: The Children of Men by P. D. James
An interesting read, especially after seeing the movie. It's a great example of very different takes on the same story that both work well for their respective mediums. Characters are switched around, the emphasis is on the main character's relationships (mostly with his cousin, who runs the country) rather than the action, and the pacing and endings are completely different, but neither is really better than the other, they both work wonderfully in their respective mediums.

Movie 32: The X-Files: I Want to Believe
I really liked Fight the Future; it was entertaining, interesting, and had a big enough story to justify the transition to the big screen. I Want to Believe has none of those things. The story feels like a leftover script from an episode that never got made unnaturally expanded with repetitive scenes hashing over Mulder and Scully's involvement with the case and each other. There are brief moments of fun, but they are so rare as to actually seem out of place with the rest of the movie.

Book 12: Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
OK, I see why this is so popular. The alternate history is well-handled, the characters are interesting and well-developed, and the story is what people are talking about when they argue for the legitimacy of graphic novels.

Movie 30: The Dark Knight
A few weeks ago I named WALL-E as the best movie of 2008 so far. Now that title might have to go to The Dark Knight. Just about everything in this movie works, and the few minor quibbles I had are vastly outweighed by the rest of the movie. It’s a little more than two hours, but there’s no wasted time in there - everything that happens moves the plot along. The fact that most of it is visually impressive or has a strong emotional impact only serves to further elevate the movie. Of course everyone will talk about Heath Ledger’s Joker, and rightfully so. He steals every scene he’s in, creating an absolutely terrifying yet fascinating villain. But he doesn’t dominate to the point of detracting from the other characters. In particular Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent is very well realized, and actually has the most interesting arc of the movie.

OK, I’m rambling, and most of you were probably planning on seeing it anyway (if you haven’t already). So I’ll just say that in a year flooded with comic book movies, this one stand alone as a great film that happens to be based on a comic book.

Movie 24: Get Smart
There are a few really good laughs, and the casting is as good as any TV to movie conversion I've seen, but in the end I'll take any episode of the show over this movie. It probably would have worked better with competent editing, but there are only so many pointless cutaways you can get away with, and this movie exceeds that number early on.

M25: The Fall
I like a movie that actively tells its audience not to worry about the story and just enjoy the visuals. There's nothing exceptional about the main story of a girl befriending a stunt man in a hospital, and the story he tells her to entertain her has little to no continuity because it's being told by someone who's making it up as he goes. But the look of that story within the story is incredible, and there are enough great ideas that the stories themselves are only there to support the design, and in that they serve their purpose.

M26: Wanted
I've been a fan of Timur Bekmambetov's Russian films, and he continues to impress as a director of stylized action spectacles. There's enough plot to hold the set pieces together, and the characters are more interesting than most mindless summer action films, in particular the protagonist's transformation from doormat to skilled assassin. Yes, the chases and shootouts are ridiculous and the reasoning behind them is paper-thin, but it all works.

M27: WALL-E
I just scrolled through the other posts I've made this year, and it's official: WALL-E is the best film I've seen in 2008. It's a serious contender for best Pixar movie yet, and that's going up against a pretty impressive body of work. A lot is being made of the fact that the first act is almost entirely without dialogue, but the reason that works is what makes the entire film great: the animators are able to create fully-formed personalities and incredible emotion in these robots without relying on speech or traditional facial features. When the humans do enter the picture, we actually connect with them less than we do the robots. I cannot recommend seeing this movie enough; you'll be glad you did.


DVD 36: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
Upon repeat viewing, the middle lags a bit when the movie gets caught up in the convoluted plot and forgets to be funny for a while. By the end it still hasn't gotten back to the level of its first act, but as a whole the self-referential humor makes it a fun watch.

D37: Persepolis
I was hoping for a more unified story, but even as a series of vignettes this provides an incredibly interesting look at life in Iran during the 70s and 80s.

D38: Shoot Em Up
You know the stylized action I was praising in Wanted? That's the kind of thing this movie is going for and failing completely. The characters are uninteresting, the dialog is terrible and not self-aware enough to be funny, and the stunts that should be impressive are too heavily edited to enjoy. It would mark a low point in the careers of some very talented actors if it weren't so forgettable that no one will remember it in a few years.


Book 11: Falling Sideways by Tom Holt
The title is a good description of how it feels reading this book about clones, witches, and super-intelligent alien frogs. It seems like every chapter completely changes the rules by saying, "You may have thought you knew what was going on, but this new bit of information changes everything!" This could easily hurt the book, but Holt manages it with enough skill that everything still makes sense and enough humor that even if it didn't you'd still be laughing. This has just become an author whose other work I'll have to seek out.

DVD 27: Raiders of the Lost Ark
It goes for all three of these movies, but after probably dozens of viewings over the years this still holds up. Even when I know everything that’s coming, the action sequences are still exciting, the humor is still funny, and the characters are still interesting.

D28: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Often called the weakest of the Jones movies, and if this is the worst they have to offer that’s nothing to be ashamed of. Sure, some of the comic relief falls flat, and the story doesn’t flow as well as Raiders or Last Crusade, but the movie still works and continues to be a classic with a great villain, tons of memorable scenes, and one of the most exciting chase scenes I’ve ever seen.

D29: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Raiders is usually considered the better movie, and with good reason, but this is my favorite of the series. Aside from being the first one I saw on the big screen, it’s by far the most entertaining, largely due to the way Ford and Connery play off each other. Almost two decades after I first saw it, I still spent the entire two hours grinning because watching this is just that much fun.

Movie 20: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
It has its flaws. The look is more polished than any of its predecessors, a lot of the CG seems out of place, and the shift from religious mythology to science fiction took a little getting used to. Most of this came to mind after the fact though, because sitting in the theater, watching the old-style Paramount logo dissolve into an in-movie peak, only one thing mattered: I was watching a new Indiana Jones movie. And as an Indiana Jones movie, it works. It’s fun, the action sequences are exciting, and the movie never takes itself too seriously. Unlike the Star Wars prequels, this is a film that fits with the rest of the series, and I look forward to many repeat viewings.

Movie 16: Iron Man
Entertaining superhero movie with a strong cast. The climactic battle isn't as engaging as it could have been, but the rest of the film holds up well enough to make the whole experience worthwhile.

M17: Leatherheads
Apparently I'm part of this movie's target audience, which wasn't large enough to make it much money. It did a great job of mimicking the style of 1930s screwball comedies. There were a few weak points (i.e. the out-of-nowhere plot point thrown in to get the two main characters on opposite teams for the big game), but they are few enough to keep the movie fun.

M18: Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
Not nearly the gem that the first movie was. There are some really funny bits, but they are weighed down by the rest of the film, which trades the subversive wit of its predecessor for blunt, obvious racial humor.

DVD 15: The Darjeeling Limited
This movie starts with Bill Murray, a Wes Anderson regular, running to catch the titular train and just missing it. For the next hour and a half I found myself thinking about how much better the movie would have been if he'd been on the train. Darjeeling lacks the depth, both of story and characters, of films like Rushmore and The Royal Tannenbaums.

D16: Ninja Scroll
I'd heard good things about this, and I can't for the life of me figure out why. It's a series of cliche-ridden battles without a strong story to hold them together. Amidst the bloodshed is a strong misogynistic streak that made the film that much less watchable for me.

D17: Southland Tales
There are a lot of interesting ideas here, and most of them don't make much sense. Granted, a good deal gets explained toward the end, but not enough to make the story work. Oddly enough, the narrator only tells us things that are obvious from the action - nothing that adds to the plot.

D18: Futurama the Movie: Bender's Big Score
There's a pretty easy litmus test for this one: if you like the series, you'll like the movie.

D19: Walk Hard
The musician biopic isn't really a large enough genre to warrant this kind of parody, and the whole thing plays as a sub-par Will Farrell movie that runs too long.

D20 & 21: The Muppet Show season 1, discs 3 & 4
Other than the episode with Twiggy, the series continues to be strong and funny.

D22-25: Battlestar Galactica season 1, discs 2-5
Honestly, while the story and characters are interesting and entertaining, what I'm really getting into with this series are the technical aspects. There's very clever use of camera work, lighting, and editing to enhance the verisimilitude and ground it in reality (as much as a sci-fi series can be).

Books 7 & 8: My Boys Can Swim by Ian Davis & The Caveman's Pregnancy Companion by David Port and John Ralston
Two guides for fathers-to-be written in a humorous style. Caveman's is more in-depth, but in the end they both give a basic outline of what to expect while constantly repeating one important piece of advice to the reader: "Be nice to the pregnant woman."

Movie 10: The Spiderwick Chronicles
Quasi-interesting story, but the CG effects didn’t blend with the filmed action, and there was never really enough investment to get me excited. When I am more entertained by one of the trailers before the movie than the movie itself, there’s a problem.

M11: Doomsday
I’m starting to like Neil Marshall. Sure, his movies aren’t great works of art, but they’re consistently fun and entertaining, and he tends to use women in leading roles that would normally default to men, without turning them into sex objects or having them be motivated by motherhood. The movie itself is a retread of Mad Max, Escape from New York, and other post-apocalyptic fare, and is utterly unapologetic about it. Plus, the Scottish setting is used in a clever divergence from other films in the genre.

M12: The Bank Job
This one’s being called a heist movie, but I’m not sure that fits. Sure, there’s a bank robbery, but the focus of the movie isn’t the ingenious way they pull it off. In fact, it’s a very basic plan that works more because of luck than skill. Where the movie gets interesting is after the robbery, when it seems like half of London is after the heroes because of what was in the safety deposit boxes they raided. The reason this movie works is that the criminals aren’t smooth professionals, they’re small-time crooks in way over their heads who are just trying to bluff and improvise their way through.

M13: Stop-Loss
Kimberly Peirce doesn’t make many movies (this is her first since Boys Don’t Cry nine years ago), but there’s something to be said for quality over quantity. Stop-Loss succeeds where a lot of Iraq movies have failed by not trying to condemn the entire war, but rather focusing on how one policy affects a few specific individuals. Strong performances throughout really make this movie, especially Ryan Phillippe, who makes it easy to understand the difficulty of his situation and the decisions he has to make concerning himself, his family, and his fellow soldiers.


DVD 9: Lust, Caution
Typical Ang Lee fare, which makes it one of the best movies I’ve seen this year. This story of WWII intrigue is what Paul Verhoven’s Black Book wished it could be. The lengths that the characters go to are incredible, and the payoff is incredibly moving. Unfortunately it didn’t get a very wide release due to its NC-17 rating. It deserved the rating (although the title card before the movie said it was just for sex, no mention of the graphic violence) - this was definitely a movie for adults, but not the stigma that goes with it. And to completely change gears, on a minor note, I wish I knew more about Mahjong. I’ve played it a couple times, just enough to realize the action in the games were reflections of the how the characters related to each other, but not enough to completely grasp the subtext.

D10: American Gangster
By-the-numbers mafia movie. A couple interesting twists, but not enough to elevate the movie to anything more than a typical gangster movie.


Book 5: Above the Line: Conversations about Movies by Lawrence Grobel
Transcripts of interviews with filmmakers in the mid-90s. The interviews are interesting in how they form a picture of the producers, directors, actors, and critics profiled, but the concentration was more on personality than profession for my taste. There is a certain amusement factor in reading a decade later how big a star Van Damme knew he was going to be, and seeing the very real spite between Siskel and Ebert is interesting, but things like that are the rare gems in an otherwise dry read.

B6: I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
This would have made a good movie. Heck, if the WIll Smith film had just kept the ending of the novella it would have been exponentially better. As it is, the title story in this collection is the best in the book. The rest are hit-and-miss, often being more about the supernatural process than the characters involved - making for ideas that never really develop into stories.

Movie 6: Enchanted (Kevin Lima, 2007)
Amusing spoof of Disney animation, but it doesn’t do enough to distance itself from the cliches it’s poking fun at. Yes, it’s funny to see a Disney princess in the real world, where her lack of personality is a hindrance instead of an asset, but the joke starts to wear thin before she has any character growth (in the last 15 minutes of the film). Entertaining at times, but overall it left me disappointed.

M7: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007)
The first act takes a lot of getting used to, as it’s shot almost entirely from the point of view of Jean-Dominique Bauby, who has just had a stroke that left him paralyzed except for his left eye. Only after the audience has a good idea of how he’s forced to see the world does the camera shift to a third person perspective. The result is an ability to sympathize with him more easily than we’d be able to otherwise, and therefore the rest of the film is much more effective.

DVD 4: Away From Her (Sarah Polley, 2007)
A very honest-feeling portrait of a couple dealing with alzheimer’s. A lot has been made of Julie Christie’s performance, but while it was good I was much more impressed by Gordon Pinsent as a man who loves his wife even when she doesn’t seem to recognize him. The movie drags a little at times, but in the end it’s a very touching love story.

D5: Live Free or Die Hard (Len Wiseman, 2007)
For brain-under-the-seat action, this was the best 2007 had to offer. Fun from start to finish, and the “unrated” version gives the satisfaction of the series’ signature line uninterrupted by gunfire.

D6: Surf’s Up (Ash Brannon & Chris Buck, 2007)
This beat out The Simpsons Movie for an Animated Feature nomination? Really? Yes, there’s some impressive technical animation with the water, but there’s not much of a story behind it. The mockumentary format falls apart, unless you assume the same camera crew can be in five of six different places at the same time, and the plot is a series of sports movie cliches presented without the slightest hint of irony. Less annoying that last year’s animated penguin movie, but that’s not saying much.