I tried searching for a topic like this, but couldn't come up with anything. In any case, many more movies come out and it doesn't hurt to add a new one every once and a while.
Anyhoos, I'm going on my yearly movie fix, and that will continue throughout the end of this year as all the Oscar movies get released. As anybody following the Oscars knows now, there will be 10 nominated films for Best Picture, which will allow some normally odd ducks like Star Trek and Disney Pixar's Up to contend in the race.
This thread is just about the movies you've seen this year, from this year. Which have you liked? Disliked? Throw in recommendations or ask for some. I'll give a score to each flick out in single digit increments out of five since I know how much you guys like looking at scores. Try to pay attention to the text too though.
The Hurt Locker
-This film is about the Iraq war and follows a bomb disarmament group and each mission they have to go on in their tour of duty. There are 7 major scenes with some character furthering fluff inbetween. In a nutshell, this movie is fucking brilliant. It's the most tense movie I've ever seen bar none, and quite possibly the greatest movie depicting war time combat since Apocalypse Now. This is however not Saving Private Ryan. It is a very personal, right in there experience, and you feel the tension that at any moment, the doom of an explosion can end it all. What I like the most is how it doesn't shove a message in your face like Jarhead did, and it really lacks a political or military agenda. It's taken from the same perspective that you would expect many soldiers to have, which is their personal accounts of what they feel about this place they work at. Some love it as an escape from a life they can't cope with and others just find themselves needing to get the fuck out for good. I recommend this to everyone...and yes that means you. 5/5
Zombieland
-Everyone knows Woody Harrelson can be a good actor when he wants to be. Usually it takes something a bit zany and maybe even violent. This role is categorized as both. He, along with the other three main cast members, just knock this one out of the park. Jesse Eisenberg is becomming the funny version of Michael Cera, mostly because he's not phoning in roles like Cera is. The movie is basically a road trip movie with the angle being that zombies overrun the US. It gets a bit sappy towards the end, which makes for a great movie to see with your girl, but in the end, anything wrapped around a zombie apocalypse is automatically better, and the tired road trip premise is better for having it. There's also the greatest cameo of the year in the movie, but you'll have to watch it to find out. I recommend this movie for anyone that likes the mix of zombie horror and comedy, like certain portions of the Dawn of the Dead remake and Shaun of the Dead. 4/5
Adventureland
-This movie is the product that just the right script and acting can make the some very boring premises very interesting to watch. This is the second movie starring Jesse Eisenberg this year, and if every damn movie he does has -Land stuck at the end of the name, more power to him. He's excelling in these movies. Kristen Stewart co-stars in this and thankfully brings a lot more to the table than she does in Twilight. Overall, the movie is a dramatic love story, and a bit of a comedic coming of age story, which sounds like a bore, but like I said previously, a strong script, strong dialogue and strong acting all across the board really saves this movie.
Eisenberg's character has to get a job at Adventureland for the summer before going off to grad school, and the film mainly takes him through the paces all the way until the end of the season when the park closes for the winter. It's very good, and the balance between drama and comedy is right there in the middle. The movie also has a retro look, as it takes place in the late 1980's, but unlike other movies, it never really makes that a focal point or takes advantage of it. It just feels like this happens to be the time the story takes place. I recommend this for everyone that enjoys the recent surge of subdued comedy flicks like Little Miss Sunshine and Juno. 4/5
Mini reviews coming up soon for Disney Pixar's Up, Star Trek and The Brother's Bloom. I'm going to keep adding on. I just want to get the thread out there.
Tag: Became a freaking mod and a complete douche, coincidentally, at the same time.
