Movies

I like to watch movies, make lists, and judge other people, so it was only natural that I make a list of the movies I like and dislike, so that you can compare your tastes to mine and find out just how wrong you are about your favorite movie.

Here is a quick explanation of my movie ratings:

*: Hated it. The fact that people got paid to make this garbage is all of the critique that capitalism needs.
**: Disliked it. Uninspired, formulaic, without any artistic merit, but didn’t make my eyes bleed.
***: Ambivalent about it. I wouldn’t choose to watch it if I were the one picking out a film, but would happily watch it with someone who wanted to see it.
****: Liked it. A solid, enjoyable, intelligent film.
*****: Loved it! Absolutely the epitome of film-making

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Ôdishon (1999) 4.5/5
2004-12-17 12:03

Excellent use of color, sound and set pieces to enhance the story and add additional (sometimes crucial) detail to scenes.
0.3
Últimos zapatistas, héroes... 3/5
2008-08-13 21:51

The Last Zapatistas, Forgotten Heroes is the chilling testimony of the soldiers who fought beside their General Emiliano Zapata in the 1910 Mexican Revolution. Almost one hundred years later, these survivors of the legendary Liberation Army of the South reveal a truth not to be found in any book. They speak of the failure of the Revolution and of today's neoliberal governments, of the agrarian and ecological disaster threatening their country and of imminent civil war if the Zapatista ideals they represent continue to be ignored. These men and women are chapters of unjust history, abandoned wisdom, banners for Mexico's underprivileged .... they are the Forgotten Heroes. (This documentary includes the historic encounter between members of the Zapatista National Liberation Army and the Zapatista veterans).
0.3
"Guns, Germs and Steel" (2005) 3/5
2008-03-09 19:15

This documentary offers some vital clues as to why there is such a huge economic and cultural divide in the population of the world--and the results are startling. Writer Jared Diamond set off on a globe-straddling tour to figure out this conundrum, with the answers gleaned over a 30 year period. A Pulitzer-Prize winning book followed, and now, so does this fascinating visualization of his findings. Diamond posits the theory that guns, germs, and steel are at the root of all the world's inequalities, and he presents a convincing case for his findings. Drawing on a variety of social, economic, and scientific factors to back up his claims, Diamond takes viewers on a thought-provoking ride, resulting in a refreshing perspective that provides an entirely new angle for viewers to ruminate on.
0.3
"Frontline" Storm Over Everest... 4/5
2009-06-21 14:46

This edition of "Frontline" heads to Mount Everest, where climber and filmmaker David Breashears relives the rescue effort to save climbers who were stranded in subzero extremes caused by a ferocious storm on May 10, 1996. When the storm hit during filming of the IMAX documentary Everest, Breashears and his crew risked their lives to save fellow climbers. Now, Breashears searches for answers to the disaster in which eight people lost their lives.
0.3
"Masters of Horror" Dreams in the... 3/5
2011-05-23 18:14

Not a bad adaptation of the one of the notoriously unfilmable H.P. Lovecraft short stories.
0.3
10 Questions for the Dalai Lama (2006) 4/5
2008-12-06 13:05

You don't have to be a believer or even a particularly spiritual person to be moved and inspired by this film, which provides us with a rare up-close-and-personal look at one of the key religious figures in the world today. What comes out both in the interview and in the various glimpses we are given of him in his meetings with many of the world's movers and shakers in government and religion, is just what a fun-loving, down-to-earth, and self-effacing a man he truly is, even though he is never shy about confronting injustice whenever or wherever it rears its ugly head. Much of that feistiness derives, of course, from his own experience of having to flee his native Tibet in the early 1950's when the Communist Chinese invaded that country, and then being forced to live as an exile in a foreign land ever since.
0.3
127 Hours (2010) - IMDb 4.5/5
2011-05-15 15:38

As gut-wrenching as it is inspirational, 127 Hours unites one of Danny Boyle's most beautifully exuberant directorial efforts with a terrific performance from James Franco.
0.3
16 Years of Alcohol 4/5
2007-01-18 02:54

One part Trainspotting, four parts A Clockwork Orange, a little glossing over the potentially squemish bits, and there you go: 16 Years of Alcohol.
0.3
180° South (2010) - IMDb 4.5/5
2010-12-18 13:26

This is a dirtbag love letter to nature, emotional, messy, flitting from one beautiful thing to another, trying to capture the wonder and joy that comes to some of us simply by being out in nature: climbing, hiking, surfing...
0.3
21 Grams (2003) 1.5/5
2009-01-09 11:29

Exhausting melodrama that feels twice as long as it is, not because there is too much story packed in to it, but because underneath all of the structural parlor games, there is nothing believable or sympathetic to make me care about any of the characters, or about how the movie turns out.
0.3
28 Days Later 4.5/5
2007-01-25 01:07

Danny Boyle (Trainspotting) turns his hand to the zombie flick, and comes up with one as good as George Romero's trilogy. Also notable for the excellent shots of abandoned London.
0.3
3:10 to Yuma (2007) 4.5/5
2008-01-28 21:14

The western is not dead. Straightforward and convincing, and more cynical than the original.
0.3
300 1/5
2007-02-17 21:35

I had the opportunity to screen '300' last night, one night after it debuted at the Berlin Film Festival at a screening with the director; Zack Snyder. Fanboys rejoice - this is likely to be the most faithful adaptation of a graphic novel you will ever see. Each panel became a shot in the movie, and almost all of the dialogue remained the same, with the exception of some added scenes set in Sparta - scenes added, according to Snyder, to keep Sparta from being 'an abstraction' by the end of the movie. For those who have not read the graphic novel; this is not an accurate retelling of the battle of Thermopylae. This is a campy action movie based on a campy graphic novel that uses a discredited version of the events surrounding the battle to tell a mythic story that will be very entertaining if you don't go in looking for a serious historical film. Amusing touches added by Snyder include all of the Persians having American accents and remaining faithful to the (not really accurate) Herodotus' view of Sparta, which is true to Miller's novel, complete with gratuitous mentions of "freedom" as the thing they are fighting for.
0.3
A Boy and His Dog (1975) 3.5/5
2010-03-07 21:06

"A Boy And His Dog" regularly shows up on most lists of the Top 10 Science Fiction Films Of All Time, and I certainly rank it alongside another independent S.F. marvels like "Dark Star" and "THX 1138". Produced in the days when "indie" typically meant "exploitation", "A Boy And His Dog" was a guerilla project for several Hollywood veterans who craved to do something different outside of "The System". Ellison had turned down big studio offers from Warners and Universal and instead handed over screen rights to L.Q. Jones, who had best been known as a stuntman (and still appears to this day in such fare as The Edge and Walker, Texas Ranger) to write and direct. The late Alvy Moore, of television's Green Acres, produced the film and appeared as Robard's accomplice "Dr. Moore". Tim McIntyre provided the voice of Blood and composed the music. Ellison wasn't happy with the Topeka sequences (and blamed his own story for their shortcomings) and was even less pleased with the film's final spoken line (a morbid pun penned by Jones). He offered to re-loop the dialogue out of his own pocket, but audiences loved the line. Despite Ellison's protests, the film impressed his peers enough for them to award it the 1976 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. Fourth-time director Jones displays such a gifted eye for widescreen compositions and maximizing limited resources, and propels the story forward so breezily with witty voice-overs and bouncy acoustic score that it's amazing that he's never directed another film. The assured depiction of difficult character "Blood" is a true revelation: as voiced by McIntyre, reading dialogue more or less verbatim from Ellison's prose, the shaggy Rover ranks as one of the most believable and three-dimensional non-human screen characters--ever. I never cried when Old Yeller got shot, but I still get moist-eyed when Blood and Vic part ways at the entrance to Topeka.
0.3
A Clockwork Orange 4.5/5
2006-12-22 23:00

Being the adventures of a young man ... who couldn't resist pretty girls ... or a bit of the old ultra-violence ... went to jail, was re-conditioned ... and came out a different young man ... or was he ?
0.3
A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash (2006) 4/5
2008-10-08 11:53

Supported by a powerful mix of archival footage, NASA shots of burning oil fields, and, often unintentionally hilarious, historical film excerpts, OilCrash guides us on an exotic, visual journey from Houston to Caracas, the Lake of Maracaibo, the Orinoco delta, Central Asia's secretive republic of Azerbaijan with its ancient capital Baku and the Caspian Sea, via London & Zürich. OilCrash visits cities around the world to learn of our future from such leading authorities as oil investment banker Matthew Simmons, former OPEC chairman Fadhil Chalabhi, Caltech's head of physics, Professor David Goodstein, Stanford University political scientist, Terry Lynn Karl, peak oil expert, Matthew Savinar and many more.
0.3
A fost sau n-a fost? (2006) 3/5
2008-12-05 20:26

It's the 22nd of December. Sixteen years have passed since the revolution, and in a small town Christmas is about to come. Piscoci, an old retired man is preparing for another Christmas alone. Manescu, the history teacher, tries to keep up with his debts. Jderescu, the owner of a local television post, seems not to be so interested in the upcoming holidays. For him, the time to face history has come. Along with Manescu and Piscoci, he is trying to answer for himself a question which for 16 years has not had an answer: "Was it or wasn't it a revolution in their town?"
0.3
A History of Violence 4/5
2007-02-15 23:32

From any other director, this would be a masterpiece. Coming from Cronenberg however, I came away thinking "is that all then?"
0.3
A Home at the End of the World 1.5/5
2007-02-15 02:30

A prefab, soap-opera rendition of Jules et Jim, full of bloodless sentimentality and the kind of pretentious gentility that some people will mistake for seriousness and persuade themselves that it's better than it is, which is not very good.
0.3
A Life Ascending (2010) - IMDb 4/5
2011-04-02 20:00

The life of acclaimed Ski Mountaineer and Mountain Guide, Ruedi Beglinger is explored in this documentary.
0.3
A Place Called Chiapas (1998) 4.5/5
2007-12-15 22:46

A Place Called Chiapas is a good primer for the events taking place in a country that's one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world for Americans. Nettie Wild and her crew could have disappeared in the densely forested mountains of Chiapas without a trace, as others have in the past, for the risks they took in making this film. Hopefully, their courage will move everyone who sees A Place Called Chiapas to cry out against the injustices it depicts, and against America's oppressive foreign policy in Central America. -- Maria Garcia
0.3
A Scanner Darkly 4.5/5
2006-12-31 22:30

A clever rendering of the subversive spirit of Philip K Dick's novel - full of all of the claustrophobia and malleable identities Dick imbued his writing with, but the special effects are pure gimmick.
0.3
A State of Mind (2004) - IMDb 4/5
2010-11-26 20:50

A fresh, straightforward portrayal of what the film calls 'the least visible ... least known ... least understood ... country in the world.' The biggest value of the movie is the depiction of Pyongyang life, the elaborate Mass Games choreography, a wondrous road trip to the revered Mount Paektu, and the ideological mind-set of typical North Korean citizens.
0.3
A Very Long Engagement 5/5
2006-12-20 20:00

0.3
Across the Universe (2007) 1.5/5
2008-01-29 00:16

Take the music of one of the least cliched bands of the 1960's, jam every 60's psychedelic and political cliche into them and try to tell a cliched love story. Hands-down stupidest moment: the soldiers carrying the Statue of Liberty across a tabletop Vietnam to the strains of the 'She's So Heavy' chorus from 'Abbey Road.'
0.3
Alexander 3.5/5
2006-12-18 00:15

0.3
Alien 5/5
2007-01-21 21:51

0.3
All or Nothing (2002) - IMDb 4/5
2011-03-21 18:36

Mike Leigh populates his movie with a wonderful ensemble cast of characters that bring the routine day to day struggles of the working class to life
0.3
Altered States (1980) 3/5
2009-03-05 20:38

A psycho-physiologist doing experiments with human consciousness eventually decides to test his findings on himself. He becomes obsessed with performing these auto-sensory deprivation experiments... A psycho-physiologist doing experiments with human consciousness eventually decides to test his findings on himself. He becomes obsessed with performing these auto-sensory deprivation experiments until he actually changes form physically, ending up as a gorilla at a local zoo. He returns to his normal state, at which point he also involves his wife in the experimentation.
0.3
Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) 0.5/5
2008-12-22 14:40

Filled with cheap slapstick, annoying high-pitched singing, and a variety of fart gags, all of which could have amused my inner child, except my inner child has excellent taste.
0.3
American Gangster (2007) 3.5/5
2008-01-29 20:01

Okay, so it isn't The Godfather for a new generation. It is however consistently entertaining and occasionally compelling. It's a much better film than nine-tenths of what's out there on any given Friday, and if you're a fan of steak-and-potatoes crime drama, I highly recommend it.
0.3
American Splendor (2003) 4.5/5
2009-01-08 11:26

The blend of styles results in an edgy, touching, original story about a working-class man who channels his gloom, grime and longing into comic art
0.3
Amores perros (2000) 4.5/5
2008-08-08 19:15

The critics were all amazed that a moral message could be the basis of such a raw and violent film. While too long by about 20 minutes, this triptych about the evil that people do, set in Mexico City, is one excellent piece of film making, one I am glad to have seen.
0.3
An Education (2009) - IMDb 4/5
2011-02-14 17:19

The film's greatest strength may well be how Sarsgaard's David, in concert with Hornby and Scherfig, seduces the audience along with Jenny, promising the world and leaving temptingly unlocked a Pandora's Box of social ambiguity.
0.3
An ideal Husband 3.5/5
2007-01-09 12:07

0.3
Anarchism in America (1983) 3.5/5
2009-01-22 13:43

An interesting short documentary on American anarchism and it's current state in 1983, by a pair of young filmmakers out to do it themselves.
0.3
Angel Heart (1987) 3.5/5
2009-05-18 06:31

In Alan Parker's ANGEL HEART, based on the novel FALLING ANGEL by William Hjortsberg, a New York City gumshoe is hired to find an aging blues singer. Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke) follows clues from the ominous ghettos of Harlem to the witchy backwoods of Louisiana, where he takes up with Epiphany Proudfoot (Lisa Bonet), the beautiful young daughter of a voodoo priestess, whom he believes will be able to shed light on the growing mystery surrounding the missing musician. As Angel closes in on the truth of the case, his contacts start turning up dead. He begins to suspect he might be next. Parker (MISSISSIPPI BURNING) threads a commentary on the limitations of modern Western society into his sensual, suspenseful thriller. As the story unfolds, Angel relies less and less on his failing, overwhelmed rational mind (and handgun) and more on Epiphany's ancient mojo. Rourke captures the unraveling protagonist perfectly, and Bonet adds an erotic and mysterious edge with her performance. Robert De Niro is both funny and malevolent as Angel's mysterious client, Louis Cyphre. Shimmering with a beguiling mist of the macabre, ANGEL HEART provides an unexpectedly haunting dose of gothic noir.
0.3
Antonia (1995) 3.5/5
2009-02-28 10:46

This Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film embarks on a fanciful, magical exploration of the life of a strong-minded, nonconforming Dutch woman and her descendants. As the story begins, the elderly Antonia is convinced that she is going to die that very day. With the end approaching, she reflects for the last time on her long, fruitful life. The film then flashes back to the end of World War II, when the 40-year-old Antonia returned to the small farming community where she grew up. With her teenage daughter Danielle in tow, and without a husband, Antonia intends to start a new life. Before long, she has become a successful farmer and an integral part of the village, although she challenges the strict customs so loved by many residents. In the process, she touches the lives of everyone around her.
0.3
As It Happens 4/5
2011-04-02 21:15

Renan Ozturk and Corey Richards “go rogue” and file video dispatches from their attempt at the first ascent of Nepal’s 6,000 meter Tawoche Himal. As it Happens takes these individual pieces and ties them together in one well-made story that lets a challenging trip unfold as it happens.
0.3
Atonement (2007) 2.5/5
2008-02-25 21:07

I haven't read the novel, and now probably won't. Hovering somewhere between A Very Long Engagement and a bog-standard BBC drawing-room drama. Oscar bait and not much more.
0.3
Avatar (2009) 4/5
2010-06-18 05:10

It's shiny, it's colorful, it's a Cowboys 'n' Indians movie where the Indians win. It's almost completely hokey, but it's also a major work, a first-class piece of big mainstream filmmaking.
0.3
Away We Go (2009) - IMDb 3.5/5
2011-03-11 20:05

Built on a set of quirks and charms that are as noticeable as they are interchangeable, Away We Go is a sweet but uneven road trip.
0.3
Babel 3.5/5
2007-02-20 19:07

Iñárritu built a gripping, powerful film exploring cultural assumptions and misunderstandings in the midst of tragic loss, and then wimps out and gives it a Hollywood-happy ending. Boo!
0.3
Balto (1995) - IMDb 3/5
2011-05-13 19:32

An unassuming and enjoyable animated adventure adequately based on the facts.
0.3
Batman Begins 4/5
2006-12-25 23:00

0.3
Battle Royale 3/5
2007-01-20 22:41

0.3
BBS: The Documentary (2005) (V) 4.5/5
2008-02-16 11:20

Total dork-out! Well-made documentary on the first and coolest people-powered networking technology. Years before the internet and without ever using the government owned ARPAnet, hobbyists banded together to create a 30,000+ node network open to any and all for free. Here's the story of how many of us first experienced networked computers.
0.3
Begotten (1991) 4/5
2004-01-22 12:07

Merhige has managed to do something unique in Begotten; transfer a nightmare, in all of its weirdness, abstractness and cliche, to film. However, the narrative elements drag on for an uncomfortably long time in places. In my opinion; as a student film, it is probably one of the best ever made. As a film, period, it is a masterpiece only sporadically.
0.3
Big Easy to Big Empty: The Untold Story of... 3/5
2011-05-11 16:13

Short and sweet, but an interesting look at New Orleans a year after hurricane Katrina struck.
0.3
Bijitâ Q (2001) (V) 4.5/5
2004-01-27 12:08

Though it shares its subject matter with Sogo Ishii's Crazy Family (Gyaku Funsha Kazoku, 1984), Masayuki Suo's Abnormal Family (Hentai Kazoku: Aniki No Yomesan, 1983) and French director François Ozon's Sitcom (1998) in its portrayal of a deranged family, Visitor Q differs from these in that it's not meant as a parody of its subject. Unlike those three films, the aim of Visitor Q is not to mock the family unit, but rather to use its inherent workings as the basis for a virtuoso exercise in extreme exaggeration as a storytelling device. Manga artist Shungiku Uchida makes a brilliant cameo as the mother. Visitor Q is the sixth and final part of the Love Cinema series, produced by the CineRocket company, which kicked off with Ryuichi Hiroki's Tokyo Trash Baby (Tokyo Gomi Onna, 2000), followed by Mitsuhiro Miura's Eri Ni Kubittake and Yukisada Isao's Tojiru Hi the same year. The crop for 2001 consisted of Tetsuo Shinohara's Harikomi, Akihiko Shiota's Gips and this film. All six were shot on digital video and intended for the video market, although they received a brief theatrical run in a small cinema in Tokyo's suburban Shimokitazawa district.
0.3

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List generated by WP Movie Ratings.