The Vanishing (1988): I actually wasn’t a huge fan of this. Couldn’t really bring myself to care about the guy whose wife was kidnapped or the kidnapper who meticulously planned out his operation for a year. The movie tries to go more interesting places than the usual thriller by developing the husband and the kidnapper, but ... it’s just boring, until the ending, which is actually good. But before that, man, what a slog. One of the few times my opinion is the total opposite of the majority, I guess.
Inception (2010): Don’t think this is a totally mindblowing, gamechanging flick like many seem to believe (nor is it my favorite Chris Nolan movie), but it is a very well made, thrilling movie that’s well worth seeing in theaters. Hell, I would watch it again if I had the chance. If I have any problems with it, it’s that the movie is maybe a bit too long and that it’s not really emotionally engaging in any way (and pretty much every line of dialogue is expository, haha), but the way the story builds and resolves itself is great, so whatever. And the visual tricks are legitimately imaginative and interesting. There’s one fight sequence in particular that had me on the edge of my seat because the way it is integrated with the special effects is really creative. Agh, now I want to watch it again! Haha.
Mind Game (2004): Mmm, I can appreciate what Studio 4°C is going for with this, and I definitely appreciate attempts at creative storytelling, but I found the movie kind of annoying. Couldn't get into it at all, and it has that Kemonozume style of art that's just gross to look at.
Pale Rider (1985): Thanks to Alla for recommending this to me! It's mostly your basic Clint Eastwood western, except with really super overt religious/spiritual overtones that are actually pretty interesting. There's actually some real struggle with them; Clint Eastwood's character has come to blow all the bad guys away, but not everyone wants to do that, and there are a whole lot of other things that are brought out with his arrival.
On the queue for this week: The Hurt Locker (2009), maybe The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Total Movies: 96 (The Taking of Pelham 123, The Station Agent, The Final Destination, Silent Movie, The African Queen, Departures, Moon, Bound, Solaris, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rifftrax), Wristcutters: A Love Story, In the Loop, Public Enemies, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (Rifftrax), Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Lagann-Hen, District 9, The Magnificent Seven, Night Moves, My Name is Bruce, Big Fan, Almost Famous, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, Drag Me to Hell, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Kara no Kyoukai 1-7, 9, Zombieland, Ninja Scroll, Primer, Re-Animator, Summer Wars, The Changeling, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Ponyo, Eden of the East: The King of Eden, Porco Rosso, Something Something Something Dark Side, Castle in the Sky, Robot Carnival, Halloweentown, Whisper of the Heart, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, Fiddler on the Roof, Kiki's Delivery Service, Genius Party, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, The Sky Crawlers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, My Neighbors the Yamadas, THX 1138, The Stepfather, Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks, Tremors, Horror of Dracula, The Brood, Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, Rabid, Inglourious Basterds, Them!, The Yakuza, Alphaville, Ghost in the Shell, Priceless, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance, Whip It, A Boy and His Dog, Fletch, The Blind Side, Speed, June 17, 1994, Nobel Son, Invictus, Toy Story 3, The Two Escobars, Soylent Green, Up in the Air, Tyson, This Is Spinal Tap, The Proposition, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, The Informant!, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Macross: Do You Remember Love?, Coco Before Chanel, The Vanishing, Inception, Mind Game, Pale Rider)
