Director: Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz [which was pretty good, but this is only his third film)
Stars: Michael Cera (Superbad, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist)
Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Death Proof, Final Destination 3)
YesNoSoso: 2
I don't usually do this, but a blog I read, Filmdrunk, reviewed Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (here) and said everything I think of this movie much more elegantly than I ever could. I loved it. I might even give it an Emphatic 2 (I did). A movie littered with video game imagery and tongue-in-cheek video game references, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World executes its intended style with perfection. Edgar Wright's finished product is unlike any film ever made and is wildly entertaining. I know this is terse and uninformative. Just read the review at Filmdrunk or better yet, go see it.
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Showing posts with label Emphatic Two. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emphatic Two. Show all posts
6/28/10
Moon (2009)
Director: Duncan Jones (the only movie he's done so far)
Stars: Sam Rockwell (Choke, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
Kevin Spacey (The Usual Suspects, Austin Powers in Goldmember)
YesNoSoso: 2
I'm debating whether to give this movie an emphatic 2, I guess you'll know whether I did by looking at the bottom of the page. My only hesitation being that I feel I've (maybe) handed out a few too many lately, but Black Dynamite and Zombieland were firmly deserving. This is one of those movies that's amazingness lays in its conceptual idea. To give you a taste: Sam Rockwell plays a man about to end a three year contract working for the company L.U.N.A.R., harvesting power from the Moon and sending it back. Then...some stuff happens. The entire movie is pretty much just Sam Rockwell's incredible performance and Kevin Spacey's creepiest voice. See this immediately.
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Wikipedia
Stars: Sam Rockwell (Choke, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
Kevin Spacey (The Usual Suspects, Austin Powers in Goldmember)
YesNoSoso: 2
I'm debating whether to give this movie an emphatic 2, I guess you'll know whether I did by looking at the bottom of the page. My only hesitation being that I feel I've (maybe) handed out a few too many lately, but Black Dynamite and Zombieland were firmly deserving. This is one of those movies that's amazingness lays in its conceptual idea. To give you a taste: Sam Rockwell plays a man about to end a three year contract working for the company L.U.N.A.R., harvesting power from the Moon and sending it back. Then...some stuff happens. The entire movie is pretty much just Sam Rockwell's incredible performance and Kevin Spacey's creepiest voice. See this immediately.
IMDB
Wikipedia
6/25/10
Black Dynamite (2009)
Director: Scott Sanders (Thick as Thieves [I've never heard of it and he's only directed 2 movies])
Stars: Michael Jai White (The Dark Knight, Exit Wounds)
Tommy Davidson (Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls [which was aight], Booty Call)
YesNoSoso: 2
The funniest, most creative movie I've seen in years. A fake blaxploitation movie that drifts between ludicrous spoof and tongue-in-cheek "seriousness" with a few little gimmicks thrown in to complete the 70's look (at one point a boom mic falls into the shot). The supporting cast is a collection of b-list, but totally under-rated comedic actors including Arsenio Hall, Mike Starr, Nicole Sullivan, Cedric Yarbrough and Bokeem Woodbine (OK, he's not really a comedic actor, but still awesome). I could wax poetically about this movie for days, but just watch it and I guarantee you'll start quoting it incessantly. If any one wants any action on this movie becoming a cult classic I'm taking all bets...
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Wikipedia
Stars: Michael Jai White (The Dark Knight, Exit Wounds)
Tommy Davidson (Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls [which was aight], Booty Call)
YesNoSoso: 2
The funniest, most creative movie I've seen in years. A fake blaxploitation movie that drifts between ludicrous spoof and tongue-in-cheek "seriousness" with a few little gimmicks thrown in to complete the 70's look (at one point a boom mic falls into the shot). The supporting cast is a collection of b-list, but totally under-rated comedic actors including Arsenio Hall, Mike Starr, Nicole Sullivan, Cedric Yarbrough and Bokeem Woodbine (OK, he's not really a comedic actor, but still awesome). I could wax poetically about this movie for days, but just watch it and I guarantee you'll start quoting it incessantly. If any one wants any action on this movie becoming a cult classic I'm taking all bets...
IMDB
Wikipedia
Zombieland (2009)
Director: Ruben Fleischer (his first movie, has directed some very funny online shorts)
Stars: Woody Harrelson (White Men Can't Jump, EdTV)
Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale, The Village)
YesNoSoso: 2
Hell F@$#ing Yeah. This movie was amazing. I'm not gonna claim this should've won the Palm D'or or anything, but it was one of the greatest movie experiences I've ever had. It was fun, scary, heart-warming and hilarious. It also has one of the greatest cameos of all time. I'm not even gonna say anything else about it, just go see this movie immediately, you'll want to hit the menu and watch it again.
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Wikipedia
Stars: Woody Harrelson (White Men Can't Jump, EdTV)
Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale, The Village)
YesNoSoso: 2
Hell F@$#ing Yeah. This movie was amazing. I'm not gonna claim this should've won the Palm D'or or anything, but it was one of the greatest movie experiences I've ever had. It was fun, scary, heart-warming and hilarious. It also has one of the greatest cameos of all time. I'm not even gonna say anything else about it, just go see this movie immediately, you'll want to hit the menu and watch it again.
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Wikipedia
12/27/09
True Lies (1994)
Director: James Cameron (Terminator 2, Titanic)
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger (Total Recall, Batman & Robin)
Jamie Lee Curtis (Trading Places, Freaky Friday)
YesNoSoso: 2
True Lies is the movie I always forget when I'm blasting James Cameron. This movie is absolutely incredible and really one of a kind. Its almost as if Cameron tricked Schwarzenegger into doing this movie. True Lies is essentially a satire of Arnold's movies, but its also (in my opinion) his best one. It pulls off the ultra-rare feat of trying to satirize a specific genre of movie, being successful and also making a great movie WITHIN the genre it was trying to satirize. I would imagine if I told 1000 people that I believe James Cameron has only one Emphatic 2, I'd get a whole lot of Terminator 2's, some Aliens, a few Titanics and an Abyss or 2, but not a single True Lies. (BTW if your curious T2 is a begrudged 2 (I don't think its stood the test of time), Aliens and Titanic are f-ing zeros and I don't remember the Abyss enough to give it a rating [not a good sign]).
IMDB
Wikipedia
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger (Total Recall, Batman & Robin)
Jamie Lee Curtis (Trading Places, Freaky Friday)
YesNoSoso: 2
True Lies is the movie I always forget when I'm blasting James Cameron. This movie is absolutely incredible and really one of a kind. Its almost as if Cameron tricked Schwarzenegger into doing this movie. True Lies is essentially a satire of Arnold's movies, but its also (in my opinion) his best one. It pulls off the ultra-rare feat of trying to satirize a specific genre of movie, being successful and also making a great movie WITHIN the genre it was trying to satirize. I would imagine if I told 1000 people that I believe James Cameron has only one Emphatic 2, I'd get a whole lot of Terminator 2's, some Aliens, a few Titanics and an Abyss or 2, but not a single True Lies. (BTW if your curious T2 is a begrudged 2 (I don't think its stood the test of time), Aliens and Titanic are f-ing zeros and I don't remember the Abyss enough to give it a rating [not a good sign]).
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Wikipedia
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Director: Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Death Proof [which I still think is pretty f-ing awesome])
Stars: Brad Pitt (12 Monkeys, Seven Years in Tibet [which was still decent])
Christoph Waltz (some German films I've never heard of)
YesNoSoso: 2
This movie was freakin amazing. I honestly (and foolishly) thought that it was going to be Tarantino's take on the classic World War II genre, but Tarantino filmed this much more as a western set in World War II. The results are incredible (I love westerns, especially those with a Tarantino twist). I've debated putting this in here, because one of the tenements of YesNoSoso is quick descriptions of movies that give as little away as possible, but I really feel this next point is a huge part of this movies greatness. So here's you're prerequisite "spoiler alert": One of the things that I loved most about this movie was that for most of the it I was under the assumption that the events transpiring were happening during the real time line of World War II and the movie was just revealing an "unknown" storyline of World War II. Because of this assumption, I was watching under the pretense that the Basterds plan was doomed for failure. Because of this misdirection the climax was a true surprise (a rarity at this stage in my movie watching).
IMDB
Wikipedia
Stars: Brad Pitt (12 Monkeys, Seven Years in Tibet [which was still decent])
Christoph Waltz (some German films I've never heard of)
YesNoSoso: 2
This movie was freakin amazing. I honestly (and foolishly) thought that it was going to be Tarantino's take on the classic World War II genre, but Tarantino filmed this much more as a western set in World War II. The results are incredible (I love westerns, especially those with a Tarantino twist). I've debated putting this in here, because one of the tenements of YesNoSoso is quick descriptions of movies that give as little away as possible, but I really feel this next point is a huge part of this movies greatness. So here's you're prerequisite "spoiler alert": One of the things that I loved most about this movie was that for most of the it I was under the assumption that the events transpiring were happening during the real time line of World War II and the movie was just revealing an "unknown" storyline of World War II. Because of this assumption, I was watching under the pretense that the Basterds plan was doomed for failure. Because of this misdirection the climax was a true surprise (a rarity at this stage in my movie watching).
IMDB
Wikipedia
6/18/09
Brick (2005)
Director: Rian Johnson (nothing else, directed the new Brothers Bloom movie)
Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Miracle at St Anna [which was ok], 10 Things I Hate About You]
Richard Roundtree (Se7en, Shaft)
YesNoSoso: 2
I feel like I've been saying this a lot lately (Apocolypto) but this was definitely one of the best movies I've seen in years. Although this time around I admit my bias's may be a factor. I love Noir movies (Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, to a lesser extent Sin City) and this is a Noir movie set in present day high school. The plot revolves around a high school outsider solving his ex girlfriends murder. All the characters are hyper intelligent and talk with quick and extremely witty dialogue. An Emphatic 2.
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Wikipedia
Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Miracle at St Anna [which was ok], 10 Things I Hate About You]
Richard Roundtree (Se7en, Shaft)
YesNoSoso: 2
I feel like I've been saying this a lot lately (Apocolypto) but this was definitely one of the best movies I've seen in years. Although this time around I admit my bias's may be a factor. I love Noir movies (Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, to a lesser extent Sin City) and this is a Noir movie set in present day high school. The plot revolves around a high school outsider solving his ex girlfriends murder. All the characters are hyper intelligent and talk with quick and extremely witty dialogue. An Emphatic 2.
IMDB
Wikipedia
5/11/09
Apocalypto (2006)
Director: Mel Gibson (Braveheart, Last Temptation of Christ)
Stars: Rudy Youngblood (nothing else really)
nobody else really
YesNoSoso: 2
This movie blew me away. Say what you will about Mel Gibson and his antisemitism, the man understands plot development (shout out to Matt and Trey for that one). Mel Gibson basically took the "chase" genre down to its most simplistic and humanistic form and wrapped it around a period piece looking at the breakdown of the Mayan civilization. One of the best movies I've seen in a while.
IMDB
Wikipedia
Stars: Rudy Youngblood (nothing else really)
nobody else really
YesNoSoso: 2
This movie blew me away. Say what you will about Mel Gibson and his antisemitism, the man understands plot development (shout out to Matt and Trey for that one). Mel Gibson basically took the "chase" genre down to its most simplistic and humanistic form and wrapped it around a period piece looking at the breakdown of the Mayan civilization. One of the best movies I've seen in a while.
IMDB
Wikipedia
2/19/09
Afro Samurai (2007)
Director: Takashi Okazaki (He was the creator, hasn't really done anything else)
Stars: Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, xXx)
Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Looney Tunes: Back in Action)
YesNoSoso: 2
If the title alone doesn't instantly make you want to watch this movie than you should exit from this blog and go pick up a copy of Tiger Beat. Afros? Good. Samurai? Good. Awesome anime fight sequences? Good. Music by RZA? Great. Granted, it isn't really a movie (more of a TV miniseries) and the dialogue is a little anime style cheezy, but all the aforementioned "Good"'s more than make up.
IMDB
Wikipedia
Stars: Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, xXx)
Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Looney Tunes: Back in Action)
YesNoSoso: 2
If the title alone doesn't instantly make you want to watch this movie than you should exit from this blog and go pick up a copy of Tiger Beat. Afros? Good. Samurai? Good. Awesome anime fight sequences? Good. Music by RZA? Great. Granted, it isn't really a movie (more of a TV miniseries) and the dialogue is a little anime style cheezy, but all the aforementioned "Good"'s more than make up.
IMDB
Wikipedia
1/26/09
Wall E (2008)
Director: Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, A Bug's Life [I was luke warm on both of these])
Stars: Jeff Garlin ("Curb Your Enthusiasm", Daddy Day Care)
Sigourney Weaver (Alien, Galaxy Quest)
YesNoSoso: 2
As stated before, I love Pixar movies. And this movie instantly became my favorite. I'm not entirely ready to knock The Incredibles off the top spot, but Wall E is at least tied. How an animator can make a cartoon robot as cuddly and lovable as they did is beyond my realm of comprehension. There was a moment in the movie that I literally had to pause the movie I was laughing so hard. As a fun side note, the voice of Wall E, which doesn't have a whole lot of lines, was done by Ben Burtt, quite possibly the most famous Sound Technician of all time (he worked on Star Wars). And yes you did just witness another Emphatic 2...
IMDB
Wikipedia
Stars: Jeff Garlin ("Curb Your Enthusiasm", Daddy Day Care)
Sigourney Weaver (Alien, Galaxy Quest)
YesNoSoso: 2
As stated before, I love Pixar movies. And this movie instantly became my favorite. I'm not entirely ready to knock The Incredibles off the top spot, but Wall E is at least tied. How an animator can make a cartoon robot as cuddly and lovable as they did is beyond my realm of comprehension. There was a moment in the movie that I literally had to pause the movie I was laughing so hard. As a fun side note, the voice of Wall E, which doesn't have a whole lot of lines, was done by Ben Burtt, quite possibly the most famous Sound Technician of all time (he worked on Star Wars). And yes you did just witness another Emphatic 2...
IMDB
Wikipedia
1/2/09
12 Angry Men (1957)
Director: Sidney Lumet (Network, Gloria)
Stars: Henry Fonda (Once Upon a Time in the West, Midway)
Lee J Cobb (The Exorcist, The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (never seen it, but man, what a title])
YesNoSoso
I rewatched this movie on a flight back to Chicago and it was as enthralling and entertaining as it was the first time I saw it. This movie has sparked me to start an emphatic 2 tag (To compliment the already established emphatic 0). It will at some point be joined by the likes of Pulp Fiction, Requiem for a Dream and Godfather. The star studded cast spends all but 1 scene in a cramped jury room discussing and arguing the innocence of a young boy accused of murder. The viewer feels like he is stuck in that room as well. It maintains an astonishingly amount of applicability and and even greater amount of entertainment value.
IMDB
Wikipedia
Stars: Henry Fonda (Once Upon a Time in the West, Midway)
Lee J Cobb (The Exorcist, The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (never seen it, but man, what a title])
YesNoSoso
I rewatched this movie on a flight back to Chicago and it was as enthralling and entertaining as it was the first time I saw it. This movie has sparked me to start an emphatic 2 tag (To compliment the already established emphatic 0). It will at some point be joined by the likes of Pulp Fiction, Requiem for a Dream and Godfather. The star studded cast spends all but 1 scene in a cramped jury room discussing and arguing the innocence of a young boy accused of murder. The viewer feels like he is stuck in that room as well. It maintains an astonishingly amount of applicability and and even greater amount of entertainment value.
IMDB
Wikipedia
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