100 Movies in 2007: Premonition

PremonitionPremonition is destined to become a cult classic.  I can just see myself now in 3 to 4 years kicking it back on a couch in my super-swank apartment in a yet-to-be-determined city watching Premonition on TNT on a Saturday afternoon.  I bet my dad will watch it when it’s on TV and come up with his trademark Bill Chace commentary.

I can just see him now.  “NO!  Don’t open up the trash can!!  Don’t you remember the dead bird you found in the yard yesterday, which was actually two days from now?”

Parts of Premonition were even good.  The acting wasn’t horrific like I thought it would be, though the child actors portraying their two daughters left a lot to be desired, but what do you expect?

You can also tell that a great deal of thought was put into the plot.  However, absolutely no thought was put into having them move into a house with 1.5 bathrooms.  I really like when Sandra Bullock wakes up and hears the shower running.  She has this look on her face like “who’s that?”  But honestly, it could be ANYBODY, you only have one shower, silly!

18 down, 82 to go.

100 Movies in 2007: The Lives of Others

The Lives of OthersI had a hard time going into The Lives of Others not thinking “how will this be better than Pan’s Labyrinth?” I can’t really offer a great reason why The Lives of Others is better. It very way may not be, but it’s almost like comparing apples and oranges. They’re both incredibly different movies.

The one thing I would like to say about this movie is that it was excellent. Just excellent. The acting was excellent, the ending was excellent, the styling was excellent. I also loved that the director was just ridiculously excited to win the Academy Award, as he should have been.

If you enjoyed this movie you should also read up a little on Ulrich Mühe, who’s wife did to him what he does to Dreyman in the film.

17 down, 83 to go.

100 Movies in 2007: Big Night

Big NightBig Night is great if for nothing other than Stanley Tucci’s accent, and for that fact that this movie was made before he completely lost his hair. Big Night is also great because it could totally be porn! But it’s not!

Other than that, this movie is fairly good, yet fairly harmless. A strong supporting cast saves this movie from complete obscurity, as well as the way the present food in the film, on which I had to compose a 5 page paper for my restaurant operations class.

I did have an issue with the 1950′s setting, because I didn’t really realize that it wasn’t set in present day until I noticed the cars. After that a few more things popped into my mind as being from the 1950′s. Also, the set from the restaurant looked exactly like the one from Simply Irresistible.

16 down, 84 to go.

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You really got me now

I voted for American Idol for the very first time last night.

I voted for Sanjaya.

And I voted a lot. I hope those hunger strike kids can make it through to the finale!

100 Movies in 2007: In the Company of Men

In the Company of MenIf nothing else, In the Company of Men is a great place to find mysogynistic quotables. You know, if you were actually looking for some. Although incredibly offensive, this movie was great and intriguing for a few reasons.

The first is that it was originally a play. You get the feel of a play in the movie, but not the annoyance that usually accompanies it. For one, Chad (Aaron Eckhardt) and Howard have relocated to a different office temporarily, which facilitates the complete lack of background about the office or any of its employees.

The second reason is that it is essentially a Mormon movie. Mormon director, Morman lead actor, first performed at Brigham Young University. I just think it’s interesting that a movie meant to be a satire on mysogyny has a Mormon background.

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100 Movies in 2007: Zodiac

ZodiacI’m not gonna lie. I kind of love me some Robert Downey, JR. He made this movie for me, more than Jake Gyllenhaal or Mark Ruffalo or even Dermot Mulroney (swoon!).

One review I read for Zodiac complained that the movie did not explain enough about Jake Gyllenhaal’s character, Robert Graysmith. We don’t really know where he’s coming from other than the fact that he was a boyscout and a cartoonist. So therefore we don’t particularly know what in his past would cause him to become obsessed with the Zodiac killer. I think considering that the movie was based on a book by Graysmith, it’s appropriate that they don’t delve that much into his past, and I don’t particularly see a problem with this.

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100 Movies in 2007: My Left Foot

My Left FootAlthough incredibly good and satisfying as a movie, My Left Foot has a lot of hard-to-believe’s.

For one, I have a hard time believing that director Jim Sheridan made this movie as well as In America and In The Name of the Father, but also directed Get Rich or Die Tryin’. Seriously? The 50 Cent movie?

Secondly, I have a hard time believing that the homeless woman from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York has an Oscar. That’s just nuts.

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100 Movies in 2007: Lawrence of Arabia

Lawrence of ArabiaI exceeded my own expectations while watching Lawrence of Arabia. I did not think I could get through all four hours without being completely bored or falling asleep. It’s not that I can’t appreciate good, long movies. I just don’t feel like sitting still for that long. I love it when movies are like 90-100 minutes long. That’s my optimum length. Needless to say, I made it through the entire duration of this movie unscathed!

I’m fascinated by a lot of things I read about the production of Lawrence of Arabia. For one, they originally wanted Albert Finney to play Lawrence. The role was also offered to Marlon Brando. For me, Peter O’Toole totally owned this role and I’m glad some financing fell through in the orignal conception so that he could play it. Additionally, the movie filmed on location for over a year and had a $15 million budget, both quite remarkable at the time. If only Gregory Peck had done To Kill a Mockingbird the year before or the year after, Peter O’Toole would have an Oscar. And you know, not the consolation prize honorary Oscar.

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100 Movies in 2007: Mar Adentro

Mar AdentroMar Adentro (The Sea Inside) is definitely one of the most moving films I’ve seen in a long time. I didn’t know quite how I would feel watching it given the premise—a man fighting to end his live by euthanasia.

In the end, it actually didn’t matter how you felt about euthanasia, it was more about how loving someone means respecting their wishes, whether you agree with their rationalizations for them or not. This is especially evident in his relationship with Rosa.

Javier Bardem is a big beautiful man. Even as a quadriplegic old man who sometimes wears giant glasses. Still beautiful. And a win for foreign film but no actor nomination? Shame on you, Academy. The Golden Globes outdid you on this one.

The music in Mar Adentro was familiar, but used very well. Especially in the dream sequence where Ramón runs and jumps out of his window. That scene altogether was great movie making in general.

11 down, 89 to go.

So close, yet so far away

I don’t want Hilary Clinton to be the next president of the United States. I have several reasons. And even as someone who doesn’t call herself a Democrat I don’t want her to even get the party nomination because she’ll never get elected. I like it when each party has a fighting chance.

I’ve already made up my mind who I’m voting for. I’ll probably have to change that later when he doesn’t get the nomination from his party, but I would love him to be president.

I just think it’s crazy that this whole thing is starting already. I guess the mid-term elections really jump started it back in November. But honestly, didn’t candidates lay low until winter of the year before the elections? Primaries are like a year away, this is just crazy.

So, who would you like to see get the nomination—either party?

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