Waking Life (2001)

This was a really cool and interesting movie about dreams. It is an animated philosophical film, but only animated on top of live action. I think they did all the performances and then drew over the performances. I thought it was pretty slow at first and the animation style can make you dizzy at times. But it was a very creative and unique film and I ended up really enjoying it. If you like philosophy, you will dig this film.

Eight Below (2006)

This movie was okay. The dialogue was awful and seemed too contrived. The first half of the movie was what you'd typically expect. The second half of the movie was much more enjoyable to watch. It focused mostly on the dogs and they were well-trained and pretty rad to watch.

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

It is hard to tell what genre this movie is. After thinking about it a while, my best conclusion is that it's a children's fantasy film that is NOT for children. There are some extremely violent and bloody scenes, some creepy-looking mythological characters, and a beautiful little girl who lives out the fairy tale. The movie is all in Spanish and very nicely made. The story was very enchanting and visually stunning.

Being John Malkovich (1999)

This was my second time seeing this movie. It seemed more comical than the first time I watched it, when I just couldn't get past how weird it was. Both times I liked the movie and loved the performances done by John Cusack, Catherine Keener and Cameron Diaz. It is a very strange film and a unique, inventive idea.

The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

This was a really great film. It is a drama about a quiet man's life. The performances were awesome and the style of the film was nicely done, reminded me a bit of the Sky Captain movie. It was beautifully filmed in black and white and set in the 1940-50 time period. It is another really amazing film by the Coen brothers (who also did Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Are Thou, The Ladykillers, and many others). I was captivated the whole time.

Friends With Money (2006)

This movie was kind of disappointing. I think it was well done, but with all the characters being miserable and having miserable lives, it doesn't leave you that much to hang on to. I think the performances were good, but I didn't enjoy the script.

Family Guy presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (2005)

I think if you like Family Guy, the show, you'll probably dig this movie. I thought it had some funny parts but overall it was pretty pointless and not really entertaining. The plot could have been decent if they focused more on that and not all the gags. But as an introduction to Family Guy, I wasn't that impressed.

Lucky # Slevin (2006)

This movie is weird and twisted. It is extremely stylish and sometimes takes away from the story. The cast is pretty amazing. Although confusing at a lot of parts, the movie ties together well at the end. There is a lot of violence that is hard to watch. Overall, I thought it was a good movie, but I would not recommend it to most people.

Evolution (2001)

This comedy is totally cheesy and ridiculously stupid. Some of the movie is mildly entertaining. Not a good film, but if in the right mood, this film can be fun to watch. Don't expect much though.

Taxi Driver (1976)

Another amazing Scorsese film. I'm not sure if this was his first, but I've heard it was how he became known. It is an intense drama about a taxi driver who continues to see day after day of filth and crime until he decides to finally do something about it. Of course, as most Scorsese films, this film does get pretty gory towards the end. It features an amazing cast (including Robert Dinero and Jody Foster - it's so weird to see them so young; this film was done over 30 years ago), an interesting lounge-style jazz soundtrack.

Nanny McPhee (2006)

This was a great family movie, a modern-day Mary Poppins. Another fun movie to watch. Granted it was a bit cheesy, as most family movies are, but great cast and good story.

The Blues Brothers (1980)

This is a classic with amazing music and great comic relief. It was very fun to watch. I must have seen it when I was little, but I didn't really remember a lot of it, so it was good to refresh my memory. It is interesting to see how humor has evolved over the last 30 years. I really enjoyed this comedy; it was a landmark for its time period. And you can't beat the chase scene at the end.

The Departed (2006) // Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Here come the academy awards:

Academy Award Nominees

Best Picture Nominees include:

Babel
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Unfortunately, I have only seen 2 of the 5: Little Miss Sunshine and The Departed. These were phenomenal films.



The Departed was violent, but compelling. Scorsese worked his magic and I was glued to the screen. After the film, a little old lady sitting behind us asked us if we liked the movie. I replied with "It was pretty intense," and she replied with, "That was the worst movie I've seen in my whole life." It got a little laugh out of me because she was just so cute. But if you're not ready for a violent movie, try Little Miss Sunshine instead.



Little Miss Sunshine was unconventional and hilarious. It had some slightly controversial parts, but this little indie film did an amazing job at creating some great characters and getting the whole theater roaring with laughter. The only thing that bothered me about this film was the locations being out of place on their road trip from Albuquerque, NM to Redondo Beach, CA (which was actually shot on the Ventura pier), but it was a very minor annoyance of an exceptional film.

I would like to see Babel and The Queen, and I really haven't heard anything about Letters of Iwo Jima. I'm sure I'll end up seeing that as well.

The Last Kiss (2006)

The Last Kiss was supposed to be a movie about entering adulthood. I thought it would be a nice chick flick to relax to. I was wrong. This was one of the worst movies I've seen in a long time. It's about a 29-yr.-old guy who cheats on his pregnant girlfriend because he was afraid to grow up and have everything concrete. I guess life was just too good for him to move forward. He ends up realizing his mistake and tries to go back to her. I have liked plenty of depressing movies, but this was just awful. Please, don't waste two hours of your life by watching this movie. If you must have anything to do with this movie, just buy the soundtrack.

United 93 (2006)

United 93 is about the 4th hijacked plane that did not reach it's destination on September 11th. It seemed to be headed for the white house, but crashed in a field of crops. Although hard to watch, it was extremely well done and didn't seem to be as "Hollywood-ized" as World Trade Center. It moved pretty slow at first, but it seemed to be shot in a very real-to-life manner. I must admit, tears were uncontrollable when the passengers started making their goodbye calls till the end of the movie. No one will ever know what really happened that day in that plane, but I think this movie was a good remembrance of the events and the victims of 9/11.