Monday, September 3, 2012

August 2012 Recap

And away we go...

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die - As seen in August 2012
1) Paths of Glory (1957 - Stanley Kubrick) 7/10 - It WAS really good, but my initial '8.5' was way too high, especially considering that the Kubrick movies got a lot better.
2) Spartacus (1960 - Stanley Kubrick) 5.5/10
3) Fatal Attraction (1987 - Adrian Lyne) 7.5/10 - I could see this one nabbing a "Ten Worth Mentioning" spot in the next TOP 20.
4) Lolita (1962 - Stanley Kubrick) 7/10 - This one bored me to tears at times, but it was just so unusual (in a good way) that I can't help but bump it up a little.
5) Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964 - Stanley Kubrick) 7/10 - I went WAY overboard on this one initially. Good, but not as good as my initial rating would lead you to believe.
6) Top Gun (1986 - Tony Scott) 3.5/10 
7) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968 - Stanley Kubrick) 7.5/10 - It might take a few more viewings before I can finally shower this one with the praise that it gets from others, but my opinion of it definitely changed for the better.
8) A Clockwork Orange (1971 - Stanley Kubrick) 8.5/10 - The first true TOP 20 contender of the season.
9) Vinyl (1965 - Andy Warhol) 2/10
10) Barry Lyndon (1975 - Stanley Kubrick) 9.5/10 - The second true TOP 20 contender of the season and for my money a visual masterpiece.
11) The Shining (1980 - Stanley Kubrick) 7/10
12) Full Metal Jacket (1987 - Stanley Kubrick) 6/10
13) Drugstore Cowboy (1989 - Gus Van Sant) 10/10 - This, so far, is holding the #1 spot until something else comes along to claim it. That may or may not happen, we'll see. It's worth noting that during my 1st season, back in 2009, "La Roue" was able to grab the #1 spot after being the 17th movie watched. Could "Drugstore Cowboy" beat that record?
14) Report (1967 - Bruce Conner) -- No rating on this one, because it's not really the type of film you rate. You just watch it and call it a day, which is what I did.

So there you go. Another month in the books and fourteen movies from the sixth season are in the bag! Definitely got a few contenders in there, both for the TOP 20 and the Ten Worth Mentioning and it'll be interesting to see how they hold up against the other eighty-six movies this season.

NON-1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die - As seen in August 2012
1) My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002 - Joel Zwick) 7/10 - Chronologically, this will actually be the first review (albeit, a mini review) that I’ve written since watching and reviewing “Casablanca” back in early July. Wanting to further spark my motivation to jump back into the “1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Book”, my wife and I took to our DVD shelf and chose this film, something light and simple, before delving into the serious subject matter of “Kubrick Week”. My wife and I had a lot of fun with this one, thanks to the screenplay by Nia Vardalos and the acting talents of both Michael Constantine (whom I adored in this) and John Corbett (why this guy doesn’t get steadier work is beyond me). The film takes you inside the home of a Greek family and shows the pressures of growing up inside a household that is rich with Greek pride. I have nothing more to say other than this film is full of innocent fun, provides handfuls of genuine laughs and is a breath of fresh air in a decade where more vulgar comedies were on the rise. As I grow older, I find that I’m more amused by the comedies that are able to be genuinely funny, without getting an ‘R’ rating and dropping the ‘F’ bomb in every other sentence.

September 3, 2012  9:53pm

No comments:

Post a Comment

Sins of Omission - Entry #94: ZODIAC (2007)

Running Time: 157 minutes Directed By: David Fincher  Written By: James Vanderbilt, based on the book by Robert Graysmith Main Cast : Jake...