Somewhere in the past five years, my obsession for television started to outweigh my obsession for film. The growth of cable and the magic of bit torrents, Netflix, and DVRs allowed for the absorption of so much good TV that I got spoiled. Film started to seem less magical.
We just hit the midway point of 2008 and TV is still my mistress, but movies are slowly making a comeback by sucking a little less each year. The second half of 2007 was particularly good (see Z’s top five: Michael Clayton, Knocked Up, Superbad, Juno, and Ratatouille). How have the past six months stacked up?
To my surprise, it turns out I’ve seen twelve movies in theaters this year (thirteen if you count double-dipping on one). That’s an average of two a month, or every other weekend. If this is how my viewing habits break down now, how often was I going to the movies when I wasn’t a jaded film snob?
Anyway, below are the twelve movies I’ve seen, ranked from worst to first.
12. SEMI-PRO
Perhaps it’s bad taste to rag on a movie produced by the same company that represents my writing partner and me. Unfortunately, three out of five of us fell asleep during parts of Semi-Pro, and most of what we stayed awake for was awful. Had Will Ferrell just taken a cameo and let Woody Harrleson and Andre Benjamin carry the film, MAYBE it would’ve been better. All I know is the bear on the loose and the poker scene were the only memorable parts of this flick and the less said, the better.
11. INDIANA JONES & THE CRYSTAL SKULL
One of two movies on this list I saw for free, and thank God for that. I like the original trilogy, but I was never a big Indy fanboy. I mean, I love fighting Nazi’s as much as the next guy, but I wasn’t salivating over the next installment in this franchise. Good thing, or else I’d have been sorely disappointed. The plot was laughably bad and the acting wasn’t much better. Hiding in a fridge can protect you from a nuclear bomb – but what protects you from a George Lucas bomb?
10. SHINE A LIGHT
One of two documentaries on this list and a perfectly good concert film. I saw this in IMAX and it was interesting, but not something I probably would have seen without Scorsese’s involvement or wanting to see/listen to something in IMAX. The Rolling Stones are fun and all, but I merely was a bystander amongst fanatics.
9. VINCE VAUGHN’S WILD WEST COMEDY SHOW
The second doc, and again, perfectly good for what it was. The other comedians all had interesting backstories, and enough attention was paid to their struggle for you to empathize with them. The stand-up was funny, but I wish there had been more.
8. HAROLD AND KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY
And now the list just gets subjective, because everything from here to #1 was worth a second viewing. This was a highly quotable, fun movie. The plot was pretty thin and the acting was serviceable, with Rob Corddry straddling the line between awesome and hammy. It’s an absurd laugh riot and features Neil Patrick Harris’ tragic downfall. What more do you need from this kind of movie?
7. CLOVERFIELD
Other than THE DARK KNIGHT, my most anticipated movie of 2008. So sticking it at number seven means I was disappointed, right? Not entirely. The raw experience of seeing this movie at midnight on opening night in a cramped, dark theater after months of hype sold the experience. The monster was lame and inconsistent in size. I only liked half of the main characters. But the visceral shock and terror of the movie was enough for me to rate it positively. I just fear that further viewing on DVD would render its flaws more clearly. Kind of like CRASH—in theaters, I totally dug it, but the more I thought about it later, the more annoyed I became at the movie’s manipulation to the point where I now hate anything else Paul Haggis touches. I doubt I’ll ever hate anything Bad Robot, but I don’t think I’d like this movie more the second time.
6. 21
Way better than it had any right to be, especially with Kevin Spacey sleepwalking through it. Jim Sturgess is going to be a big fat success on a huge scale once he gets the right project. He’s like James McAvoy minus the Oscar bait roles right now. This was a fun flick (and this is a case where flick is totally the right term), although the best thing about it was it led me to read UGLY AMERICANS, another Ben Mezrich book being adapted by Spacey’s company. That should be an even cooler, deeper film.
5. DEFINITELY, MAYBE
Any romantic comedy that skews to the male POV and features a good cast is going to have a great shot at suckering me in. This was as close to a Cameron Crowe written or Nick Hornby adapted guy-chick flick as I’ve see in a while. Certainly no HIGH FIDELITY but on par with an ELIZABETHTOWN. Ryan Reynolds is insanely likeable and all three leading ladies were worthy of his character’s pursuit. Toss in the hint of a political subplot by making him a campaign consultant and an ending that is satisfying but not easy and you get a well-executed twist on a familiar genre.
4. FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL
I guess after the amazing 2007, anything else can only be a letdown for Apatow and the gang. WALK HARD and DRILLBIT TAYLOR took drumming, but I think FSM was still a success, just not a massive cultural hit like the one-two combo of KNOCKED UP and SUPERBAD. It was funny, sweet, helped launch another Apatow unconventional leading man (yay Segal), but also made me realize Mila Kunis can actually act and be incredibly appealing when she’s not playing a bratty princess in the 70’s. I’m looking forward to more goodness with PINNEAPPLE EXPRESS, but my expectations are being managed so as not to set myself up for disappointment. Mediocre Apatow + friends is still light years better than most comedy.
3. GET SMART
The only movie on this list I actually saw twice, once for free, and once with my dad. I had such little expectations for this, but I laughed more through this than Harold & Kumar or Sarah Marshall. Steve Carrell nailed it without doing a Don Adams impersonation. Sometimes, simple physical comedy and silliness just works. This is the perfect example.
2. IRON MAN
Maybe the best superhero movie minus BATMAN BEGINS. Certainly the best of the Marvel films, with only X2 and Spidey 1 coming close. They followed the Batman formula here – hire a cool director with indie credibility, cast a strong actor based on his chops not just his action-star credits, then surround him with the highest quality actors possible, not just “good for a comic book movie” quality. The only difference here is BATMAN went dark, IRON MAN went lighter. It worked. Robert Downey Jr. reignited his career, Marvel now has tentpole movies for the next decade as they push towards THE AVENGERS, and the line between the critically acclaimed and popcorn fare continues to blur.
1. WALL*E
The most recently viewed and the highlight thus far. Film stopped being magical to me sometime around 2004… and then a little robot named WALL*E came along. It’s stunning – and a little distressing for a writer – to see how so much can be done with so little. The first half of the film is more like a silent film than anything else, and it’s breathtaking. The social commentary borders on being a little too pushy, but the sweetness and innocence of the romance dulls any annoyance at the green agenda. You can put WALL*E and EVE up there with Harry and Sally as far as I’m concerned. It’s a testament to PIXAR – and the power of film in general – that in this cynical time, hampered by short attention spans, theaters all over, mine included, were packed with adults at 10PM on a Friday night to watch a mostly dialogue-free G rated movie about a robot desperate to hold somebody’s hand. If this movie doesn’t touch you, I am pretty confident you have no soul.
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