I have been routinely waking up at 7 a.m. lately. This is horrible.
The Town (2010): Pretty solid crime flick. I don't think there's much here that's different from other crime movies, but it's all executed well, with a lot of tension. (I think of one scene in particular at a cafe that had me squirming.) Ben Affleck's turned out to be a pretty good director, what with this and the excellent Gone Baby Gone.
Willow (1988): Fun movie, but I think I would have liked it more had I seen it first as a kid. Generally, I'm not really into this kind of fantasy; it's just one of those unfortunate biases I have, and while there's fun stuff in Willow, I don't think it's good enough to overcome that bias of mine. But at least Warwick Davis got his face on camera for this one.
Akira (1988): Hadn't seen this since high school, and honestly, it blew me away. I've seen a lot more anime since then, and I think it helped me appreciate just how amazing Akira looks. The animation is amazingly fluid, there's so much detail everywhere, and the way the movie's filmed is imaginative, creative and takes full advantage of the medium. I can't think of a single anime (movie, OVA or TV series) that is better from a pure animation standpoint than Akira. And, you know, while Akira has gained a reputation for making no sense at all, I actually followed the storyline pretty well. I think people just get thrown off by the craziness at the end; the actual plot progression is pretty logical and smartly written.
Morning Glory (2010): Simultaneously made me smile and feel like a cynical bastard. The former because Rachel McAdams is absolutely adorable in this movie, and because Harrison Ford is a hilarious grump. The latter because the movie glorifies everything I hate about morning news shows (I was nodding my head with Harrison Ford's character the whole time), the storyline is unbelievable (if anyone in the news industry could buy this shit, that person must be delusional) and because there's a romance subplot that puts me to sleep every time it's featured onscreen.
On the queue for this week: I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)
Total Movies: 77 (Blazing Saddles, The Descent, Gundam 00 the Movie: Awakening of the Trailblazer, Village of the Damned, Children of the Damned, Trigun: Badlands Rumble, The Night of the Hunter, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha the Movie 1st, Dawn of the Dead, Black Swan, Clue, Scarface, Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned, True Grit, Perfect Blue, The Quick and the Dead, High Sierra, Shutter Island, A Serious Man, Kite, The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Broken Blade 3, Kite Liberator, Machete, The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Heathers, The Prince of Tennis: The Two Samurai, The First Game, Notes on a Scandal, The American, King of Thorn), The Expendables, Sword of the Stranger, The Hangover, Welcome to the Space Show, Broken Blade 4, The Social Network, End of Evangelion, Neo Tokyo, Red, Dreamcatcher, Jason X, Wag the Dog, The Naked Gun, Dirty Work, 8mm, The Wicker Man (2006), Blood: The Last Vampire, Winter's Bone, The Road, Heartcatch Precure! Hana no To de Fashion Show ... Desu ka?!, Broadcast News, Bulletproof, Dead Leaves, Dirty Dancing, Hot Tub Time Machine, Eureka Seven: Pocketful of Rainbows, Cloverfield, Best in Show, Play Misty for Me, Paprika, The Cat Returns, Welcome to the Dollhouse, 12 Monkeys, The Killer, Metropolis, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, The Third Man, The King's Speech, Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus, The Abyss, The Fighter, Mega Piranha, Dumb and Dumber, The Rebirth of Buddha, 127 Hours, The Kids Are All Right, The Town, Willow, Akira, Morning Glory)
