Review 2009

I ended up seeing a ton of movies in 2009 - I think at some point I just decided it was the best way to waste time.

I think the only way to review something is based on enjoyment. And so, in order, here's my lists. The following are all movies released this year.

In the theater:

The Fantastic Mr. Fox
The trailer looked annoying and overly quirky. I'd pretty much given up on Wes Anderson, but a few enthusiastic online reviews convinced me to give it a shot. As it turns out it was my favorite movie of the year, and one I wanted to see more than once. Unfortunately it didn't last long in the theater. Too bad, really, as I think it was a movie suitable for pretty much anyone, and by far the most entertaining thing I saw all year.

Watchmen
I didn't know anything about this going in other than the fact that it was based on a comic book. I just thought it was really well done, and I was tempted to go see it twice.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
I thought the dialog was clever (and sort of accurate as I remember conversations when I was that age). I've like all the Harry Potter movies, despite never reading any of the books. I thought the last 3 were particularly well done.

Up In The Air
Moon
Whip It
District 9
Where The Wild Things Are
Inglorius Basterds
Up
Zombieland
Star Trek
Objectified
The Hangover
Extract
Public Enemies
Ponyo
Beer Wars
Avatar

And on DVD:

Antichrist
Comically Disturbing. As fun as watching someone mutilate their genitals can be. CHAOS REIGNS

Tyson
Tokyo!
Food, Inc.
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Taken
Observe and Report

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra
This was like watching someone else play a really bad video game.

Bruno
Holy cow was Bruno bad.

it's not a two-for

Not much going on currently, so here's a list of things. This is not a recommendation, because I'd hate for you to spend money on something because I liked it.

Movies: The New World - I've seen the words "Tone Poem" thrown around in reviews for this movie, and I'm not sure who used it first, but it makes sense to me. It's a two and a half hour dream of a movie, one that left me with the similar sense of calm (wellbeing, warmth, happiness) I got when I read Siddhartha.

Marie Antoinette - If the ability to relate to characters is a determining factor in your enjoyment of a film, maybe this movie isn't for you. I don't know exactly what I got out of this movie. Maybe I just enjoy shopping.

Music: It's been a slow year or something. I'm still listening to The National, who have a new album coming out soon, and The Thermals, who sort of remind me of Bad Religion. I'd recommend their album The Body, The Blood, The Machine if I were recommending things. But I'm not.

I'm also listening to Strung Out on Ok Computer, for reasons I can't explain. But only at work.

Low's Drums and Guns is ok. And I listen to Sonic Youth at least twice a week.

i tend to hate everything

Last evening Gina and I sat down to take in The Sweet Hereafter, a movie which seemed to be universally loved by critics. It was not universally loved by Gina and myself.

Perhaps I have some sort of chip on my shoulder, but it seems as though any time small town life is portrayed on the big screen, it's all wrong. Small towns are painted either as quaint and charming, or humble and hopeless. And while I'll agree that small towns definitely have those elements, they don't contain them in any larger quantity than larger towns or cities.

So while the film is painted as "the way the tragedy diminishes rather than enhances the town's sense of community", it seemed to me more like another take on the wickedness of lawyers and how they can take small town rubes.

A wasted couple of hours, I guess.

I should have spent the time finishing up Season 1 of HBO's The Wire, another show loved by critics (and everyone else), and met with apathy by my critical eye. It's not that The Wire is a bad show, it's just that it's not as good as the hype (and few things are).

Given the choice, I'd rather watch Deadwood, another HBO show, where I'm drawn to the characters and actually interested in how things will turn out. Sure, I've learned a lot about criminal investigation and drug running from The Wire, but as it turns out I really don't care.

I'd be interested to hear your opinion on the shows, if you have one.

advice

Gina and I saw Children of Men friday night. If you were considering going, do.

A two hour stomach punch of a movie. But in a good way.

I'll probably have to see it again.