John's Top Movies from 2009

I know its a little late for all the top ten lists, but I wanted to go through and point out the movies that I enjoyed the most this year. I'm giving links to both imdb and mrqe for each movie so you can check the ratings there to see if they at least agree with me a little in terms of the movie being any good.

Just to be clear, I'm rating these movies based how how much I liked them and how interesting they were. There might be possible spoilers in some of these reviews, so if you really don't want to know anything about a movie don't read the text.

1 The Hurt Locker - 84

imdb - mrqe

My Philosophy of Film professor at college once said that the really good movies make you think about life. I think this is one of the few movies that came out this year that really made me think. The score from the movie is by Marco Beltrami. I would say it's understated, but in no way 'furniture music'. From a high level, I would say that the music hits right where it aught to.

The movies characters aren't necessarily people that I can identify with, but as the movie progresses I found myself really caring about them. The overall storyline is simple, but I feel like a lot happens at an emotional level which is why the movie is so heavy hitting. I certainly can't claim to know what it's like in Iraq, but this movie really feels like it brought me there.

I also noticed another cool thing about this movie. As I was watching it, the music at one point reminded me of the music from There Will Be Blood. I think I even commented to my girlfriend about it. As I was, listening to the soundtrack later, I heard the same song. So I looked at my iPod and the song was titled 'There Will Be Bombs'. To me, this is really cool because I don't know how often there are musical references to other movies like this. Especially movies that aren't that far apart in time!

2 The White Ribbon - 78

imdb - mrqe

The White Ribbon is one of those movies that I knew I had to see as soon as I finished watching the trailer. I like the movies where it might be a little hard to figure out what exactly you're watching. Even after the movie is done, you might not be sure what you just saw.

Probably everyone who sees this will walk away with a different feeling. For me, the story shows how Germany became a troubled country during World War II by showing us children who would have grown up to become adults during that time.

The story is not straight forward at all. It plays out a like a whodunit where everyone is guilty. In the end I was just left with the feeling that the town was basically cursed. If you don't mind black and white along with subtitles this is a great story to watch unfold.

3 District 9 - 77

imdb - mrqe

District 9 really was the surprise hit of the summer for me. I had no idea it was coming out. I just happened to see the preview and decided to go see it. From start to finish, the story really had me. This is along with Star Trek might be the only movies that I saw more than once in the theater this year.

The situation in this alien movie is fairly unique in that the aliens are at a disadvantage. The movie as a whole really seems to speak to how we treat our disadvantaged. I think the director does a particularly good job in this film getting the viewer to care about Wikus, Christopher, and his son as they fight for survival.

The score for this movie was actually pretty good. I enjoy listening to it and it played a big role in the movie. Most notably, when Wikus and Christopher are in MNU being shot at and Chris is so shocked by the experimentation that he doesn't react to the gun fire. Pay attention to the music at this part of the movie.

4 A Serious Man - 78

imdb - mrqe

As soon as I saw the trailer for A Serious Man, I knew I had to see it. To be honest, the poster really drew me in too. When I found out that it was directed by the Coen brothers, I really knew I had to see it.

The movie is filled with complicated and quirky characters and watching them all interact with each other is really fascinating. Throughout the whole movie there is a feeling of suspense because you're wondering what exactly is going to happen to Larry.

As in a lot of Coen movies, the ending is somewhat enigmatic... okay very enigmatic haha, but I guess it gives you something to think about rather than just feeling like the story is over.

5 Paranormal Activity - 70

imdb - mrqe

It's not often that a movie makes it hard for me to sleep, but I certainly have a tough time sleeping for a day or two after watching this one.

The director takes the time when we're most vulnerable and tries to show us that we really don't know whats going on while we sleep. There aren't really any cheap scares during the movie, but there is a lot of suspense. Every time the camera goes to the bedroom at night, the audience has to sit and wait for some weird thing to happen to the helpless couple sleeping.

I would say that as with most horror movies, the main characters are pretty dumb(just leave the house!). At the same time they seem like a genuine couple and I think that is a necessity in a movie that has to seem genuine in order to be scary.

I think the biggest weakness of this movie has to be the ending. I just felt like it was a little bit too ordinary and they could have done something more original and terrifying. I also don't think this is a movie that can really be watched many times. It scares the crap out of you once and then it's probably not all that scary to watch again.

6 Star Trek - 79

imdb - mrqe

Star Trek has a lot of good action and humor mixed together in such a way that kept me really engaged at the movie progressed. On top of that, the score is really fun and action packed as well.

7 Tyson - 75

imdb - mrqe

This might be from 2008 but I'm not really sure. I have always found Mike Tyson really interesting, so perhaps that skews my judgment, but I just found this to be a really fascinating and insightful documentary into one of the most famous, and troubled athletes of all time.

The only reservation I had was that there was a lot of weird editing effects during the movie where there would be all these frames with different shots. To me that all felt a little bit out of place and a little tacky, but I didn't think it hurt the presentation very much.

8 Inglorious Basterds - 77

imdb - mrqe

What's not to love? Blood, scalps, Brad Pitt with a sweet Tennessee accent, and glorious revenge all make for a successful movie.

9 Avatar - 76

imdb - mrqe

This is pretty obvious. The biggest movie since Titantic, possibly ever. There is a lot going on in this movie and people seem to take whatever theme they want to out of it, but that's probably a good sign.

10 Up in the Air - 82

imdb - mrqe

I thought this was a really witty movie. It definitely deserves repeat viewing. Somewhere I read a review that compared George Clooney to Cary Grant, and I think that's just about spot on. I would love to see a North by Northwest remake with George Clooney as Roger Thornhill. I'm not sure who would play Eve, maybe Scarlett Johansson.

Either way Up in the Air is certainly one of the best pics of the year and a very memorable Clooney performance.

Honorable Mentions:

Big Fan - Love Patton Oswalt in this movie. It's a crazy movie with a lot of really dark humor in the mix.

Capitalism: A Love Story - Awesome documentary. I remember that the musical selection was very interesting as well

Crank 2 - Don't laugh! hahah This movie was actually pretty cool. The sound track was surprisingly good for a movie of this genre. The movie even mixed diegetic and non diegetic music.

Drag Me to Hell - A funny kind of scary movie with a killer ending. The only downside is that Justin Long is in it.

I Love You, Man - Really funny/goofy movie. Not terribly realistic dialog or anything, but it's a good time at the theater.

The Hangover - Probably the best comedy of the year. All around funny movie and great cast

Watchmen - This didn't get great reviews, and to be honest I didn't like it that much in the theater, but I liked it a lot more when I watched the directors cut at home. I felt like the extra time really helped in terms of getting to know the characters.

Zombieland - Zomies are funny, if you haven't seen this... watch it now.

Moon - Really fun and interesting plot. I liked the music a lot as well.

Movies I still need to see:

Bad Lieutenant

Bronson

Fantastic Mr Fox

Black Dynamite

More Than a Game

Movies You Must Watch From 2009

There is a handful of great movies that came out in 2009. These are the 10 that I've seen that I think you should watch.

1. The Hangover - This is the best comedy of 2009 and one of the best comedies I've ever seen. You just wanna hang out with the main guys in the movie. The movie is fun and keeps you engaged - you wanna find out what the hell happened that night in vegas just as much as the guys in the movie. The movie is also really well done. No matter how crazy a situation the guys get themselves in,the story maintains its credibility! It kinda reminds me of the classics OLD SCHOOL and DUMB AND DUMBER. The guys in these movies get themselves in exaggerated, crazy situations, but these movies are so well done, that you actually believe these events could happen.

The Hangover is #1 because it keeps you guessing and you laugh pretty much every other minute. You'll also enjoy it just as much the second and third time!

2. The Hurt Locker - What I really liked about this movie was that it wasn't your usual "i wanna go to war and kick ass! oh wait! war sucks! i wanna go home!" story. This is a gritty tale bout a team who's job it is to disarm IEDs. The guy who actually handles the IEDs is a gung-ho cowboy who feels right at home in war-torn Iraq. The movie could've taken place anywhere that's plagued with violence. The point is that the movie is not about the war in Iraq. It's about the IED disarming virtuoso. You wanna hate him and root for him at the same time. He's unpredictable. He's reckless. The things he does puts his three-man team in incredible danger, but without him, there's no way they'd survive a day in the job.

You won't be able to take your eyes off the screen.

3. Inglourious Basterds - Mixes classic pop culture, Quentin Tarantino exuberance with the revered World War II. Imagine Butch, Vincent Vega, Jules Winnfield and Mia Wallace fighting the Nazis while saying some cool shit. You must know though, this is not an action movie. Most of the movie takes place around tables and in different languages. But when there is action, it's intense. You will replay the action scenes over and over again. This is an unconventional film. The entire movie pretty much takes place in five scenes. You kinda wonder, "how the hell does the movie last 2h 40min??"

This is a great period piece (unlike the awfully boring Public Enemies). It's got style, fun characters and a vibrant independent feel, despite it's epic, mature setting. It's the foul-mouthed teen in a room full of old, grumpy generals. With this movie, Tarantino pretty much said, "F- you, Spielberg! I don't need a hundred tanks, a million soldiers and a bajillion dollars to make a badass World War 2 movie!...I just need brad pitt."

NOTE: I'm starting to get tired. Or lazy. Probably lazy. So the rest of the movies will have a shorter, direct-to-the-point analysis.

4. Up In The Air - Vera Farmiga has a great ass.

5. District 9 - They did so much with so little money! The story is unlike any you've heard before. You'll "boo" the actions of the main character, the guy you're supposed to root for, but in the end, the movie will leave you speechless.

6. Avatar - Must watch in 3D.

7. Up - Heart wrenching. Fun. The dogs flying the small airplanes was a little too much, kinda ruined the movie fer me a little bit. Other than that, the dynamics between the grumpy old man and the kid are priceless.

8. Drag Me To Hell - Fun, classic Raimi, slapstick scary movie. It's more fun than scary. If you loved Evil Dead 2, you'll love Drag Me To Hell. If you haven't seen Evil Dead 2, watch it. You'll love it.

9. Paranormal Activity - Some of the scenes during the day drag. But when it's night, you'll claw the arms of your seat. As the movie progresses, you'll wish for more day scenes. Other than the parts that will make you scream and jump, there are parts in the movie that will make you whisper to yourself a very stretched out "wutttt theee f------" There will be a point where you'll say "i can't take another night." This movie is the only reason why i won't watch Drag Me To Hell again.

Inspirational. Amatuer filmmakers will love the effects, the build up and the camera work.

10. 2012 - I didn't wanna see this movie. I was tired. I wanted to go home and I wanted to sleep. Yet, I was still dragged to it. 2hr 40min later, I was energized and thoroughly entertained. Quite a feat.

Don't expect any deep, philosophical messages. It's mindless fun and you'll enjoy yourself!

There are still a buncha movies I haven't seen (Where the Wild Things Are, Fantastic Mr. Fox, An Education, A Serious Man, Tyson, etc.). If there are other "must see" movies of 2009 not in this list, let me know. I may watch em in 2010.

Once Upon a Time in the West

I've been wanting to write about this movie for a while. Once Upon a Time in the West is one of the very few westerns that I've seen, but it is without a doubt one of my favorite movies.

The movie takes place in the American West in the railroad expansion days. Much of the movie is centered around the railroad and its expansion to the pacific.

The stylized nature of this movie is what I find most enjoyable. Many of the shots seem to be painstakingly composed. We also get plenty of time to observe the view because everyone stands still for so long in the shot.

The other enjoyable part of this movie has to be the score by Ennio Morricone. This is one of the scores that we looked at in my film music class at MIT. There are parts that have a clearly have an old west type of feel. L'orchestraccia for example, plays when when Jill first arrives in the western town. Most of the score doesn't sound terrible westerny if you were just to hear it alone. One of the things I like most about the score is that there is an instrument for each of the main characters. Harmonica is represented by the harmonica. Jill has the harp. Cheyenne has the banjo. Frank has the electric guitar. It makes for a good clash at the end when Harmonica and Frank duel and you can hear the echoing harmonica playing as well as the electric guitar.

This is a very easy movie to like. I can understand why it's so high on the IMDB list. #23 is a very respectable spot in the list. It's preceded by Psycho and succeeded by Silence of the Lambs just to give some perspective. I like the IMDB list quite a lot because it seems to be a decent fusion of all time best movies according to critics and movie fans. I think that a lot of people haven't really heard of Once Upon a Time in the West. I know I hadn't really heard much about it a year ago. I certainly wouldn't have guessed that it was in the top 25 movies on IMDB.

I think part of what people like so much about it is that the movie is so stylized and it really lets you take everything in. Below I have some of my favorite shots of the movie.

Here we have three men against one. I like this shot a lot. It has charters at all levels of the screen. We can see the bad guys in the foreground, the rail road is right in the middle of the shot both vertically and horizontally. Then we have Harmonica out in the distance standing his ground. The three henchmen form a V shape, which makes them seem like a unit.

This is the scene where Frank and his henchmen have just killed the MacBain Family. They realized that the little boy is still alive and the walk up to him. The shot is actually very similar to the one above. The henchmen form a V shape while walking up to their enemy in the distance. It's definitely illustrative of a team going against one.

Throughout the movie there are a lot of shots that focus on the face. My film music professor and my grandpa who has seen more westerns than anyone both mentioned that. This is probably the most well known shot. Frank is sort of smiling at the little boy before he kills him. When I saw this shot for the first time (it occurs early in the movie), I knew I was going to love this movie.

This is another shot similar to the first two. Here we have Jill and Harmonica in the background and Frank is standing in the doorway in the background. This is sort of the inverse of the first two shots. This is indoors, the bad guy is in the distance, and here the good people out number the bad ones. I indicates a changing tide in the movie I think. At this point, the good guys stand a chance of winning.

Well, if you are reading this and you haven't seen this movie, I really think that you should. It's one of my favorite movies of all time. The only reservation I have is that it's a very slow paced movie. If you can't sit still for a long movie this one might not be for you. Overall, I think any movie lover would definitely like this one.

A Basterds Story

Check out this INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS one-page comic I did featuring PFC OMAR ULMER aka OMAR DOOM!

Hopefully, if the rumors are right, IB will be released on DVD before XMAS!

More to come!

Paranormal Activity... Completely Terrifying

I seldom see a movie that is actually terrifying, but this is one of them.

Clearly this is not your standard Hollywood movie. It doesn't start with a credits and a fanfare. The movie is presented as if the footage we're seeing is real. I was immediately reminded of seeing The Blair Witch Project in my home town's local indie theater ten years ago. I still get the creeps when I remember Mike standing in the corner at the end of the The Blair Witch Project. I have a bad feeling that Paranormal Activity will have the same effect on me. But that's a good thing.

Like The Blair Witch Project, the film quality is not great and that just adds to the frightening atmosphere. The thing that makes paranormal activity truly frightening is that it plays on our fear of the night. All the creepy stuff that happens to them, happens while they sleep. There is nothing they can do about it. It makes you wonder what would happen if you filmed yourself while you were asleep...Ahhh!

Anyway, I like the mood of the film. It's often very funny. As the film goes on and they get more stressed out the humor fades and the tension rises.

A lot of the movie is filmed from the first person perspective. Every time they hear some scary noise they run to the camera, pick it up and go looking for the noise. When a movie is filmed like that, it feels like it narrows your viewing angle. So it just makes you wonder whats on the left and right that you can't see. The first person perspective just creeps me out because it seems like something could jump in the way of the camera at any moment.

All of the terror in the movie is psychological. Little things like a door moving really freaked the audience out. It was all about what we didn't see. That's what was really scary.

I think this was a really good movie for the horror genre. I hadn't seen anything this good in a while. I rate movies out of 10 stars for IMDB. I would give this movie 8 stars. I think the director did exactly what he set out to do. My only critical comment would be that the very ending is pretty cheesy and it doesn't fit the rest of the movie.

My Movie Posters

Not only do I love movies, but I love movie soundtracks and movie posters.

These are the list of movie posters that proudly hang on the wall of my apartment. In no particular order.

This is the teaser poster from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Now, let me say this, I didn't think that the movie itself was all that great. I loved the original transformers movie; it was action packed and funny. It had that same kind of mixture that you would find in the Die Hard movies. The sequel just got a little too silly I think.

Anyway this poster hangs right behind my TV and it's huge 43x62 inches. It's very creepy as you can see and I like creepy things. Most of my posters are 27x40. But I felt like a poster like this needs to be big. It's so simple and ominous that it needs to be huge in order to have a real presence! The only problem with this poster is that it's so dark that if there is other lights in my room it's hard to see because of the reflections. Besides that, its a great poster and it gets a lot of comments.

This is the italian poster for Once Upon a Time in the West or C'era una volta il West in Italian. I got this poster because I love the style of this movie. It's a western that really stood out to me. It was very stylized in the same way that Hero is stylized. Everyone moves real slow and deliberately. The focus of the movies seem to be the build up to violence rather than the actual violence itself.

In my opinion, this is a very strange poster. The colors are basically pink and yellow and Charles Bronson just looks very odd. What I like is that this is just a very unique poster. It doesn't really give you any idea of what the movie is about. But I like it because it stood out from the average poster I have seen.
This is one of the most interesting posters I have seen. This is the spanish poster for M. The reason I went with the spanish poster is because I like the artwork of this poster the best. Almost all of the movie posters for M had some kind of hand with M drawn on it because it's part of the movie.

This image of the wrinkled up hand with M drawn on it conjures up a lot of different thoughts. It's hard at first to imagine why anyone would have an M on their hand. For some reason, it's also just a creepy kind of demonic looking image.

The poster for M is another example of a poster that really doesn't tell you anything at all about the movie. It just gets you interested with powerful imagery.
This is the movie poster for The Grand Illusion. This is another example of a somewhat strange poster. It has a large illustration of a man looking up and to the left. He looks a little dirty and somewhat mystified. Then in the bottom left, you have a military officer in a neck brace looking off to the right. His hat is clearly askew.

The Grand Illusion poster is seemingly simple, but I think at the same time it tells a lot. When you watch the movie, it might become clear why the officer is smaller than the other man. It also makes sense that the poster would have them on opposite sides looking in opposite directions.

This isn't a great or unique poster. It just happens to be the poster for one of my all time favorite movies. Die Hard: With A Vengeance has it all. Action, comedy, racial tension... well maybe that's not everything, but it's still fun. I just love the dialog between Sam Jackion and Bruce Willis
Here is a great movie with a great poster. The Deer Hunter is an academy award winning film with top notch performances from De Niro and Walken.

I love that this poster only has three colors, black, white and red. Even though the red in the bandanna stand out, what catches my eyes in the intensity in De Niro's eyes. He just looks completely frightening. I suppose if you had never seen the movie, it's probably a pretty disturbing poster.
This is my other huge (43x62) poster. The Dark Knight is one of my favorite movies. I saw it six times in the theater. The only other movie I have seen more than twice was Batman Begins. Hmm seeing a pattern here?

Anyway, I figured I should have a big poster to celebrate one of my favorite movies. I choose this one mostly for its creepy factor. It also has a small puzzle at the bottom which was part of The Dark Knights guerilla marketing campaign. It lead you to a website that had the preview for the movie on it. I was there refreshing the page the moment they released the preview. So this poster kind of reminds me of all that.
Anyone recognize this poster? It's the poster for Alexander Nevsky. What I like about this poster is the kind of forward lean of everything. It kind of conveys a single mindedness or a strength/unity. Clearly Nevsky is a powerful figure even though I can't read anything on the poster.

If you haven't seen the movie, you should. It's kind of cheesy in certain parts, but the music and battle scenes are great. It clearly had influence on a lot of the epic battle movies like Braveheart or Richard III.

Why the Unfilmed Inglourious Basterds Ending Is More Heroic

The ending of Inglourious Basterds (IB) is not the same ending written in the screenplay. I’m talking about the explosive ending of the fiery Theater scene. Though the ending that everybody saw is more controversial and direct, the original ending is more emotional and heroic.

I’ve been waiting for IB for a long, long, long ass time. When the script was leaked in summertime 2008, I stopped whatever lame thing I was doing and searched frantically for it until I found it.

I read the script. It felt like authentic Tarantino. I was excited. But at this point, Brad Pitt wasn’t even cast as Aldo Raine. At least I had the script, I thought. I read the script couple more times and played out the scenes in my head the way I imagined them. And every scene was EPIC. I imagined the conclusion of the movie in the forest between Aldo and Landa as if it was a scene straight out of 300, with a monstrous, fiery storm brewing behind our heroes in a sullen, hellish emptiness.

TONIGHT....WE DINE....IN...NAZI-OCCUPIED FRANCE!

But back to the Theater scene.

The Film Ending.

In the film, the bomb-strapped Basterds, the Bear Jew and Pfc. Ulmer, step out of the theater, go to the men’s restroom, load their pistols, head over to Hitler’s box seating, and riddle Hitler, and a bunch of Nazis, with burning bullets. Their ankle bombs explode, finishing off the two Basterds and whoever else was still alive.

I liked this ending. I liked the fact that Hitler was finished off at the hands of our very own Basterds. This provides us with a more cathartic conclusion. Not just a tease. If you’re gonna break the rules, you might as well go all the way and blast Hitler’s brain with a pair of machine guns. And that’s just what QT did.

But that’s not what took place in the original script.

The Script Ending.

In the script, the Bear Jew heads out to the restroom alone to activate his ankle bomb in the stall. He walks out of the stall and heads calmly towards the exit. But there’s a Nazi soldier in there washing his hands. The Nazi turns casually towards the Bear Jew, and his face begins to scream. The Bear Jew sees the Nazi’s exasperated facial expression and notices the swastika scar on his forehead. The two have crossed paths before.

Both the Bear Jew and the Nazi, who are only a couple feet away from each other, pull out their pistols and blast each other away until they empty their chambers. Both fall dead.

When I first read this, I imagined this whole scene in slow motion. It also reminded me of the close up gunfight in the gun fu movie the girl in True Romance watches in Christian Slater’s apartment.

Meanwhile, Pfc. Hirschberg, is still sitting in his theater seat. After Shosanna’s message is delivered and the theater is bursting in flames, Hirschberg tries to get out of the theater, but can’t since everybody is stampeding madly. He knows he won’t be able to get out on time and accepts his fate right before the bomb explodes.

This is what was originally in the script. The fate of both Basterds is unique and their reactions are more human. Hirschberg still tries to get out. He doesn’t wanna die. But at the end, he wrestles with his emotions and accepts his fate, unlike the rest of the Nazi theatergoers. It’s admirable. It’s human to do whatever you can to survive. It’s heroic to accept the dire circumstances with a heads up.

In the script, the emotional conflict the Bear Jew undergoes is evident when he faces the Nazi soldier. When he looks into the eyes of the Nazi, time freezes. It is the point of no return. If he doesn’t dive for cover, the Nazi will blow him away. What is he going to do? He decides to go down fighting. This ending is as QT described it in the script, “romantic.”

In the film, you completely lose this sense of urgency and human need for survival. The Basterds completely ignored the bombs strapped to their ankles. They didn’t care they were gonna die. It’s hard to sympathize with them when it doesn’t seem like they were overcoming any emotional conflict when deciding to bombard Hitler’s theater box until their bombs exploded.

The biggest obstacle heroes face is the most prevalent obstacle that people can relate to: overcoming one’s emotions. Bitchslapping your instinct for survival, and knowing that if you’re gonna go down, at least you’ll go down like a man. This scene in the film missed the first half of this equation and without it the result is a little less human and a little more robotic.

I loved the film. I watched it twice and I can’t wait to see it a dozen more times when it comes out on DVD. I just couldn’t help but feel as I walked out of the theater how much more awesome it would have been to have seen the “romantic” end I had replayed in my head so many times over the past year.