Bigger, Stronger, Faster / 58 (C+)

Documentary - pretty good.  I was hooked and had fun watching.  Basically a story of three brothers, one decides to make a documentary about roids.  He and his brothers have all tried it in the past, and his two brothers are actually hooked to this day, but the main guy only did it a few times and never again.  Growing up, they were always watching Hogan and Rambo, these guys ended up being their idols.  They thought that eating vitamins, working out, and saying their prayers was all they needed to do to succeed...but they then realized their idols cheated, and one by one they used roids.  The two brothers seem to regret it, but won't go off them.  They ditched on Arnold a lot, Barry Bonds, etc.  There were definitely some Michael Moore moments as well.  Regarding watching again?  I'd rather watch the parking lot movie again before this one, but I'd recommend for an evening of watching and learning a little.

Escape from New York / 57 (B-)

"I'm ready to kick your ass out of the world" - awesome line!  I am actually very surprised that this movie started the way it did, with the NY scene and the president's ***** cra**ing into that ********.  Sorry, still don't think it's right to type this stuff.  This was made in 1981 and had that scene.  Wild.

The movie was fast, the end snuck up on me.  But it was action packed.  K. Russell was pretty bad ass.  There were some other good characters (see below) and supporting cast.  This guy below should have been a main focus because he was straight awesome.  He reminded me of something out of the Warriors or Return of the Living Dead.  I also liked how it was Snake and his few boys against the entire island.  The music was 80's and awesome throughout the movie.

Quick synopsis - bad guy is "hired" to go onto an island (Manhattan) filled with prison-type to get the president who was accidentally captured.  He gets him out, there is some action.

56 / Buried (B-)

I reluctantly give this movie a B-.  At first I was totally annoyed and the random items he had in his possession in the coffin/box were ridiculous to me (flashlights, glow sticks, a cell phone, etc.).  But I suppose as the movie went forward I realized why he had these things.  As Ryan Reynolds' frustration grew in his 6 foot box, my frustration grew as well.  Thus, his acting worked and I suppose he did a good job.

I also noted, that in 1 hour and 35 minutes they didn't once stray from the coffin.  The camera angles changed, but there was no sunlight, no shots of the outside, no nothing but Ryan Reynolds rolling around in a box making cell phone calls.

When he needed to turn around and face the other way, and thusly had to get himself all scrunched up in that small space to wedge his body in the other direction, I myself was squirming in my chair.

The scene with the snake I could have done without.

I couldn't picture Blake and Ryan watching this on the big screen together.  I bet it becomes quite awkward to watch yourself on film for that long, with no other person on the shot, ever.  This movie might have cost $170,000...with Ryan Reynolds making $100,000 for the acting.  Green Lantern - LOL!

Parenthood - 55 (B+)

They don't make movies like this anymore.  Seriously.  The comedies now a days are so over the top or so stupid that it's not even worth watching.  Great cast, great pace, and great topics.  This is a beautifully done hilarious movie.  Once you are a parent, it's even better to watch and relate.  

Being that this was my 2nd Steve Martin flick in a few days, I can confirm with 1,000,000 percent certainty that he was super hilarious back in the day, yet now he is under sub-par.  I need to look again, but I think his current eyebrows are grey, and that might be why he's not as funny now versus then.  

The coaching baseball scenes hit home the most with me.

The scene(s) that I could have done without was the curly haired son who had "Cool" and his gambling issues.  Remove that, and the movie is still good.  I think he and Steve Guttenburg might be brothers though.

54 - Bliss (C)

Huh?

I think I might need to watch this a 2nd and 3rd time.  Seems like it could be really really really good, but I just wasn't paying close enough attention apparently because I'm completely confused.

Only Human / 53 (C-)

I really want to rate this lower.  The movie was slow and barely held my attention.  Add sub-titles to that and it becomes a clunker.  Perhaps a handful of funny situations were mixed in, but nothing really worth a future recommendation to a friend or for me to ever want to see it again.  The two guys I saw it with seemed to like it however, not sure if they were really being true with themselves though?!  :)  But I really did not like it.  The best part of the night for me was we all then sat through the first 20 minutes of Taxadermia after Only Human was done...that was interesting for sure.  We had some good laughs and a few "WTF" moments.  

The Big Year was WAY better than this movie...laugh out loud.

If I were going to suggest a foreign comedy, I'd start with recommending East is East.  A purely funny flick worth a repeat watch.  Good day.

#52 - The Big Year (C+)

Well - I think you need to be an amateur birder to enjoy this??  I definitely appreciated this movie, as in 100% understand and love what they were trying to portray...but sadly I'm not sure anyone else in the theatre tonight enjoyed it.  For if you aren't a birder, or don't know a birder, I have a feeling you won't dig this movie.  The bird part was really close to home for me and honestly going into the flick, I didn't realize this was what it was going to be about.  

I did note a few mistakes....Jack Black's first sighting of birds, his #1 on his big year, was him looking at gulls and a few other smaller shore birds (aka, like 3 birds) and he only counted 1.  So, mistake!

Anyway, this cast was huge - Owen Wilson, Jackus Blackus, and Steve Martin (as well as Kevin Pollack, Anjelica Houston, etc.) - but the movie wasn't funny.  That is my big take home message.  So if it's not funny, and it's about birds, I have a feeling this movie is going to fail pretty badly.  Sad too...because the topic is so cool to me and close to my heart.  It wouldn't have taken much for them to make it funny to be honest.

I wish Rashida Jones was in this movie more as well.

There were times (mostly on the Auklet, which my mom told me was a play on Debbie Shearwater) where they were naming off birds so fast and so muddled that I couldn't even hear what they were saying nor understand the bird they were calling.

Non movie side note: on 10/3 of this year I went birding in Boerne, TX and saw 5 new life birds (Great Tailed Grackle, Tennessee Warbler, Lincoln's Sparrow, Black Crested Titmouse, and Olive-Sided Flycatcher).  Also this past weekend I saw 1 more life bird in my back yard - in the woods near my house (Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher).   My total is now 240.  A good couple of days.  If I play my cards right, I might be able to add two owl species as well.  My wife said she heard a Barred Owl the other day off our deck and I've heard the Eastern Screech.  Went hunting for them the other day and will continue to do so as the leaves fall....

51 / Brotherhood: Are You In or Out? (B)

well, I'll be straight honest homey - this low budget flick was damn good.  The intensity never stops and I do believe it starts within minute 2 of the movie start.  That's pretty good for a movie to start intensely and never stop.  These guys basically get themselves in a world of trouble and it keeps getting worse.  Will the golden boy stand up and do the right thing with his morals?  Of course, but honestly it doesn't matter - just watch this.  It reminds me a bit of Alpha Dog, Bully, or London to Brighton.  It's a good movie totally worth the 80 minutes that just consumed my life.

I was going to give this a B- so it's the bottom of the listing of B-rated movies on this awesome web-site, but instead I went the extra mile and gave it a B.  Good job low budget movie.  You definitely worked your magic on me!  Would I watch it again?  Probably.

#50 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (C+)

MOST OF WHAT FOLLOWS IS TRUE.  -  I like that intro

I seriously could have done without the bike scene.  That was odd.

For those that believe 100% in classics and get pissed off when I say bad stuff about "good" things that everyone loves, please close your eyes as you read this.  Here goes...frankly, this was pretty slow.  I suppose I can see where the luster is, and I get that the acting is pretty good, but some of these older movies just don't have enough action or a gripping plot that keeps you wanting more.  Call me spoiled, but I like a bit more of both, heck, I don't need the action if the plot is clutch.   But for this movie, I feel like these guys are running from 7 guys on horses for what seems like an hour and a half, then they go to Bolivia, then they die.  I think I'd rather watch Boxcar Bertha.  I definitely would rather watch The Bridge on the River Kwai, Diabolique, Papillon, or Sorcerer.  Or what was that Clint Eastwood movie with the monkey and the brother that fought people?  That movie was good.  

I will also say this, I don't know what was better - this movie or Easy Rider.  Both were pretty drawn out - and both are the best as the movie is ending (although Easy Rider's end was a bit depressing).

Again, I'm sorry.  It's normally not a crowd pleaser to thrash a classic.  I am happy I saw it though.

49 Hatchet (C-)

Not that good, BlackHoleMovies recommendation fail.  It was similar to a movie staring that big ork thing from Goonies where the plot is him attacking people on a swamp tour.  Quick cameo for Robert Englund and Tony Todd however.  Few good off'ing scenes, but otherwise this was pretty much crap.  Lots of screaming and grunting.

Arena / 48 (C+)

Pretty awesome I guess.  However, it was pretty slow.  They put a lot of effort into the uniforms and monster suits etc., but I guess overall the movie was what should be expected of a movie about a short order cook that becomes the next human intergalactic UFC (c) champion.

It's all about the handicapping for sure.

good quote: "...As long as there are Steve Armstrong's out there in the universe, there will always be contenders."

Now that this piece is over, I don't think I ever need to see it again - but I do have an itching to watch Star Crash on VHS.  I wonder if he ever gave that back to me?

Troll 2 / movie #47 (A+)

Right off the bat I get a similar feeling as the scene where Fred Savage was being told a story by Peter Falk in Princess Bride...directly followed by eating green goo like in Bad Taste!  Beauty beginning!!  So, I'm going to do a semi-play by play on this one, instead of the end of movie recap...I will try not to give away the awesome plot as I go along.

Mmmmmm....green icing!  This little kid, who looks 17, has been freaking out for the first 19 minutes of the movie so far, and he gets a warning in the form of a death threat on a softball (written in green icing no doubt) and he tosses it aside like it was nothing.

I think I just found my favorite line of the movie..."you can't piss on hospitality...I WON'T ALLOW IT".   Holy crap, that was AWESOME!

Is that the church from In the Mouth of Madness?  Also, what is up with the one Troll that doesn't have black sunken in eyes, instead, the eyes are totally sticking out and very fake looking?  I don't like that one, it's much creepier to have the eyes be dark and sunken.  I'll write the director and let him know about this.

"I can't move, why?"...."Why can't I move, there must be a logical reason"....."OH MY GOOOOOOOD!!!!!"  Totally classic!!

Immediate cut to girl doing flashdance while wearing Garfield shirt.  Huh?

Another fancy item to note, they call the beasts "Goblins" throughout the movie - yet the movie itself is called "Troll 2".  Must be on purpose.

Another good line, "There's no coffee here in Nilbog, that's the devil's drink!"

Great out of mirror, hack off hand, back through mirror scene!

Cop says, "There's sandwiches for tonight in here.  It would go easier if you eat 'em.  You'll make our work easier, otherwise we'd be forced to kill you VIOLENTLY!"

baloney sandwich, another softball...The End.  Totally worth watching if you like campy B-rated movies.  I would recommend this for that reason.

Just corrected this rating.  My bad.

46 Contagion (B-)

This movie bounced around a lot.  There were a lot of main actors and main scenes.  I did like it, and it's scary to think about an infection hitting the world that is bigger than what we've had before.  I can say I was happy that it started right off and didn't have a bunch of building characters time.  They actually pulled it off that the character building occurred after the action started, which worked.

Saw this flick with 3 others and didn't get much feedback from them afterwards.  I think we all liked it enough.  It is worth seeing, but perhaps not necessary on the big screen, just rent it with Qwickster.  LOL.

P.S. Are Jude Law's teeth always like that, or did they do this just for the movie to make him look more like an everyday person?  There are some intense zoom in scenes on those bad boys during the 2nd half of this movie.  He should get braces.  Just saying...trying not to hate, just never noticed this before.

Gamer / 45 (D)

Finally hit #45, on a long route to 200. I hope I make it.

This flick, with constant back and forth and mind effing, was straight awful.  Leguizamo (sp?) again was putrid.   I couldn't even hear him when he was speaking. Good job John. I hope you have a The Happening poster in your bedroom.

Like Death Race, this movie has the right idea for a plot of the 2010s.  However, wasn't good.  

Stone / 44 (D)

This had a good cast and I'm always impressed with Edward Norton's ability to act and transform, but this was booooooooooooring.   I just couldn't get into it - at all, at least at 74% in....I have 28 minutes left and I don't know if I can finish.  Ugh.  The plot is just so slow.

I watched the last % of the plot and this movie was no where near good.  What even happened at the end there? I don't recommend this movie to ANYONE.