ON THE WAY TO 2,000

OK – here are the movies I’ve seen since I determined I’m only 50 movies away from cracking the 2,000 movie milestone.

#1,951 – REIGN OF FIRE: This movie involves Dragons and Christian Bale. Good potential, mostly wasted. But Christian Bale takes his shirt off, in case you’re interested in that sort of thing (and I know you are, whoever’s reading this – it’s a given that everybody in the world wants to see that guy shirtless. Unless it’s in The Machinist).

#1,952 – THE BOONDOCK SAINTS – Marc forced me to watch this movie. Um, I mean, he suggested it. But I really did like large parts of it, and although I think a lot of it was gratuitous and overdone, it merits another viewing. There are some interesting ideas in there.

#1,953 – THE DAVINCI CODE – See 25/25/25 blog.

#1,954 – X-MEN: THE LAST STAND – See 25/25/25 blog. Yay for Ian McKellen!

#1,955 – JUST A QUESTION OF LOVE – This was Ryan’s choice, a gay film from the gay foreign film section at Blockbuster (that’s how you know you live in a big city, when Blockbuster has that section). Not bad at all – most French gay films are just better than their American counterparts. Probaby because they’re French.

#1,956 – THE RINGER – Ummm… what is this movie again? Oh yeah, it’s the one where Johnny Knoxville pretends to be retarded in order to fix the Special Olympics. Many opportunities to be offensive are wasted, but then again, who wants to see a movie that takes pot-shots at mentally challenged people? Not me, really. They gave big roles to a lot of mentally challenged people, and that’s commendable. A few laughs, a little too heart-warming for my tastes, but worth watching.

#1,957 – EYEWITNESS – An early 80s films with a truly stellar cast (Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, James Woods). William Hurt and James Woods are supposed to be janitors/maintenance men, which is absurb, considering the fact that they’re generally recognized as two of the more literate and genius-level talents working in the Hollywood system. But James Woods totally pulls it off, somehow. I didn’t buy William Hurt as a janitor though. He’s just too suave, and has those Waspy good looks… plus, the movie is completely baffling. I just watched it a couple weeks ago, and can’t really remember what it was about.

#1,958 – THE STUNT MAN – Another early 80s classic. This was a really overwhelming movie – too many themes, too many motifs, too many subplots and layers… Usually that’s my cup of tea, and it’s worth rewatching for sure. I don’t feel qualified to make a brief review of it by any means. So I won’t.

#1,959 – AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH – See 25/25/25 blog.

#1,960 – DEEP SEA 3D – See 25/25/25 blog.

#1,961 – BIRDY – How and why do I avoid classic films like this my entire life? This movie was totally brilliant (in spite of the many netflix reviews to the contrary). It was filmed in the junky backlots of Philadelphia (I think it was Philly? Don’t quote me on that). This movie really ties humans to animals better than any film I’ve ever seen. I also think it just might be the most effective anti-war film ever made. You know the old quote, about how every war film is really a pro-war film, because you can’t help but glorify the actions of soldiers when filming them – it automatically makes them seem heroic? Well, this movie only shows the gory aftermath, both physical and mental, and has some really amazing statements about animal rights (really connecting them directly to human rights). I love movies that are filmed far away from studio lots. The cinematography and mise-en-scenes alone are reason to watch this film, even ignoring all the weighty issues it brings up. This is one of the most important movies I’ve seen in recent memory. And it’s really funny too.

#1,962 – ANDREI RUBLEV – A classic by Tarkovsky. OK, this movie is about a Russian monk/painter, who apparently is quite famous to Russians and art historians, but unknown by everyone else in the universe. I have a bone to pick with Tarkovsky, which is too bad, because he’s dead. His movies are frustrating, baffling, and too long. I had to watch this film in three installments (it’s 3.5 hours long). Still, there were a handful of moments where I thought, “Wow, this image is so incredible, I can hardly believe I’m seeing it…” And then you sit through a half hour of boredom before the next amazing image comes up. I think that’s why I loved his film The Mirror so much… it was like he took out all the expository material, and plot, and time-wasting, and just filmed a bunch of disjointed, hallucinatory, timeless episodes, that somehow add up in the end to a mindblowing epiphany (if you’re me, anyway). According to the reviews, supposedly The Mirror is his least accessible film. But somehow that movie tapped directly into my mind, whereas his other films kind of float on the surface and really don’t affect me that much. I think if I were Russian I might understand his epic films more (Andrei Rublev, Solaris, etc.) – but I think The Mirror hits a nerve that’s Human more than Russian.

#1,963 – V FOR VENDETTA – See 25/25/25 blog. I stand by my original thought – which is that this movie is completely brilliant. I plan on buying the DVD and watching it numerous times. It’s great to see big-budget films that take on so many heavy issues, and do them in a pulp setting, but somehow succeed completely in making them emotionally resonant and relevant to our lives, both personal and political… it’s a good one.

#1,964 – ONE TRUE THING – Early 90s chick flick. Watched it because it’s in my William Hurt queue. Renee Zellwegger plays his daughter, and she’s less bony and stringy than she is now. Meryl Streep plays his ailing wife, and in spite of the triteness of the film, one of her speeches moved me to tears… she’s just that good, or I’m just a pussy. Anyway, William Hurt is hot, blah blah blah.

#1,965 – THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT – See 25/25/25 blog.