I am a regular reader of movie reviews by Roger Ebert and the many posters on IMDB. I used to spend a lot of time posting on IMDB but ever since I started posting on CelticsBlog... well IMDB just isn't diverse enough for me. Judging by my frequent visits to the "Movie Line Trivia" thread there are many other CelticsBlog posters who enjoy movies just as much as I do. I am an avid DVD collector. It is a hobby I started last year around
this time and I now have 93 DVDs. That number does not include Television Series Box Sets and Sports Documentaries such as "A Nation Rewarded". I am very proud of my collection considering it is so young. My dream is to make enough money in the future that I can have one of those nifty home theaters with a full wall full of DVDs (Or maybe 2).
There are many great minds on this blog and I would be very interested to hear opinions on movies that I like, don't like, or perhaps haven't even heard of. As many of you know I also enjoy making lists. So I will give a small "review" of each of my 5 favorite movies of 2008 just to begin the "Movie Review Thread". And I put review in quotation marks because I will not exactly review the plot but instead tell why I liked the movies. I don't like to give things away. Feel free to PM me for reviews that include spoilers...
MattG12's Top Movies of 2008 (From What I've Seen)
1. In Bruges - 4 Stars
Colin Farrell. When I hear the name I cringe. I feel he is one of the most overrated actors in the history of film. Luckily in the movie "In Bruges" Colin did not have to do a lot of acting. He did not have to change his accent which he never seems to be able to hide in other roles. He did not have to seem intelligent, he did not have to watch his language. This film was made for Colin Farrell. Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes played their roles tremendously as I expected them to. I believe this was the first real "dark comedy" I had ever seen and I am now in love with the genre. I don't want to go to much into the plot of the movie but the director and cinematographer accomplished an amazing feat by turning such a drab town into a circus. I believe this movie should have won the Academy Award for Best Picture of the year.
2. Slumdog Millionaire - 4 Stars
I understand why this film did end up winning Best Picture of the year. I'm sure most people who will end up reading this thread has already seen this movie. It was excellent, however, had this movie been released in 2007 I don't believe it would have even been nominated. Don't get me wrong, it was a great movie but very, very overrated.
3. Gran Torino - 3.5 Stars
Clint Eastwood is sensational in this movie and I believe he is the only actor who could pull this off, right now (There are many actors who could pull it off but are currently far too young to play the part). Some supporting characters have less than sensational acting skills (Not saying I could do any better), but Clint Eastwood is so good in this movie that they don't need to be good at all.
4. Doubt - 3.5 Stars
In my opinion Colin Farrell is to actor as Meryl Streep is to actress. I just don't see it, and I'm not saying I'm right. However, this film is a perfect fit for her as well. Amy Adams is perfect in her role, I don't know a lot about her work so I don't know if that was to be expected. Last but not least, Philip Seymour Hoffman was outstanding. This guy is one of my favorite actors, he steals movies and it is amazing to watch. The pace was very slow, but for some reason I loved it.
5. Burn After Reading - 3.5 Stars
Where was this? This movie was hiding during all of the award ceremonies. I compare it to "In Bruges", another dark comedy with naive characters. Like "In Bruges" the movie relies on excellent dialogue one minute and complete silence the next. The movie starts slow, as it must to introduce a huge cast, and suddenly it speeds up and then it's over. Things that don't make you laugh in the beginning will make you laugh at the end when everything comes together. Excellent film.
Honorable Mentions:
Revolutionary Road - 3.5 Stars
The Reader - 3 Stars
Milk - 3.5 Stars
Forgetting Sarah Marshall - 4 Stars (a 4 star comedy doesn't beat a 3.5 star drama IMO)
The Dark Knight - 3 Stars
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 3 Stars
(Recently seen)
The Wrestler - 3 Stars
Changeling - 4 Stars
Frost/Nixon - 4 Stars
Notorious - 3 Stars
Enjoy the thread everybody. Hopefully it will be a popular one!
*MattG12 is my Username on Celticsblog.com. CelticsBlog is a terrific blog that discusses my favorite basketball team, the Boston Celtics, among many, many other things, such as movies!*
*UPDATE: I now own 301 DVDs rather than 93*
No comments:
Post a Comment