top se7en movies of oh se7en

*once again, the movie didn't have to be released in oh se7en, just watched by me in oh se7en.

|seven|

gosh, all my childhood dreams came true upon the release of this movie...only g.i. joe could be better.

amazing battle scenes, flawless transformations, and a bit of humor to boot.

|six|

oh, leo.  i can't believe how far you've come.  my dislike for you was as big as the titanic (which in my opinion is the most overrated movie in cinematic history).  everything changed with the aviator and you've only continued to impress.

heartfelt and stirring.  father-son movies always bring tears to my eyes and watching the lengths Solomon goes to save his son proved it true again.

|five|

a musical in every sense of the word.  the plot is simple and really designed around the music, which is brilliant and heartfelt.  finally a love story that looks and feels like real life and where the characters don't just give in to impulse.

plus it has a czech in it, so that always raises the value of things!

|four|
as stated in my post on the top books, i love road trips and stories of travelers.  that is exactly what this one is.  the movie parallels the travel of Christopher McCandless and the people he meets with his time in the alaskan wilderness alone.

while the idea of embarking on a journey to live alone in the alaskan wilderness is sexy, it is obvious watching the movie that we are built for community, as the best parts of the movie are when he interacts with the people he meets on his travels.

the vince vaughn cameo is also entertaining!

|three|
absolutely ridiculous in every way.  rodriguez and tarantino do a brilliant job of creating the feel of old 70s style b-movies, with their poor production, over the top gore and cheesy humor.

death proof is classic tarantino with heavy dialogue and one of the most insane car accidents i've ever seen.

planet terror is the most entertaining movie i saw all year.  zombies dying in grotesque ways and a girl with a machine gun/rocket-launcher/blowtorch attached to her leg...brilliant!

|two|

entire psychology classes could be taught around the themes in this movie.  heart-wrenching and powerful.  don cheadle and adam sandler play well together and liv tyler and jada pinkett smith are great compliments.

along side of spanglish, adam sandler is proving to be more than just billy madison (which is a personal fav).

|one|
it would've been pure robbery if this movie didn't win an oscar.  it had everything: scorsese, dicaprio (two times in this top se7en!), damon, nicholson, sheen, and even marky mark (i heard that he'll beat the crap out of anyone who calls him that still...hopefully he doesn't read my blog).

i loved every part of this movie...the intrigue, the double crossing, the acting...just brilliant!

Academy Awards and Reviews

For the first time in my life I was able to see all five films nominated for Best Picture before the Academy Awards. It took me seeing Aviator on last Saturday at 11:00 AM to accomplish the feat, but I got it done. I have already posted reviews on Sideways and Million Dollar Baby and since I don't want this post to be too long, I will post "mini-reviews" (said in Dr. Evil's voice) for the other three movies.

RAY: Unbelievable acting by Jamie Foxx!! I don't think anyone was surprised by the fact that he won best actor. There was really no point in the movie where I felt like I wasn't watching Ray Charles. Foxx was commanding. For those of us who were in the dark about Ray Charles' talent and brilliance, this movie opens us up to the magic of Ray Charles. The music in the movie is wonderful and I left the movie wishing that I had been a Ray Charles fan before his death. I find myself searching itunes regularly for Ray Charles songs now!

FINDING NEVERLAND: This is actually my favorite of all the Best Picture films. I am a sucker for cool cinematography and this movie has some great scenes. The movie is about J.M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, and his relationship with the family that inspired his tale. The movie captures the magic of children and living life to its fullest. It is a movie for dreamers and for those who don't ever want to grow up (see why I liked it!). Johnny Depp captures us again with his great acting and Kate Winslet and Dustin Hoffman (yes, Captain Hook, from Hook-brilliant casting) both do excellent jobs. But stealing many scenes is the young actor Freddie Highmore, who plays Peter Llewelyn Davies, the character Barrie names Peter Pan after. It is the most uplifting of all the movies and it is difficult to leave the theatre without tears in your eyes.

THE AVIATOR: This was probably the closest thing to an epic this year had to offer. Martin Scorsese (who I think got robbed of Best Director) creates a masterful timepiece tale of Howard Hughes. The airplane scenes that he depicts are amazingly accurate and make the movie come alive. The costumes and the cast of old school actors and actresses that intercept Hughes' life helps to bring the 20s, 30s and 40s come to life. Leonardo DiCaprio (who I don't enjoy--I hated Titanic--I think its one of the most overrated movies in history) does a masterful job. I have no idea what Howard Hughes was like in real life, but DiCaprio was brilliant in what Scorsese wanted to depict. Similarly to Foxx, I rarely felt like I was watching DiCaprio. He took command of the screen throughout the entire movie.

RECAP: While there was no clearly great movie for this years' Best Picture, I think it is one of the deepest years in a while. Sideways was not good, but the rest of the movies were excellent films and highly entertaining. They all had very powerful qualities (the story of Finding Neverland, the ethical questions and acting of Million Dollar Baby, and the great lead actors for Ray and The Aviator). I would definitely recommend these four movies for anyone who wants to see a good flick.

Blue Hairs and Million Dollar Baby

A chick boxer? I wasn't too excited to see this movie, but Lisa and I didn't have another choice since the theatre was overrun by "blue hairs". We had orininally planned on seeing Aviator, but when we arrived (at 3:00 on a Wednesday I might add) the theatre was crawling with old people and Aviator was sold out. I know that I tend to exagerate, but what we saw was an unbelievable sight. First off there wasn't the usual madness in front of the ticket counter with multiple lines blending together all jockeying for the next open window. There was one long line of people each waiting for their turn to purchase a ticket. I asked Lisa to look around and tell me if she noticed anything unusual. Lisa didn't notice it at first, but it was glaringly obvious that we were the youngest people there by a good forty years! After scanning quickly for any sign of life (and finding only a seven year old boy and another teenage boy) we realized that there were hundreds of old people there. I don't know if the local retirement home was on a field trip or what, but it was very eerie. We eventually got our tickets and proceded to the theatre hoping to find some people our age. When we got into the Cine Capri it was as if they were filming a remake of Cacoon and we had stumbled into the casting call. We walked slowly up to the top where two empty seats remained next to Wilford Brimley and Jessica Tandy (notice the clever refernce to Cacoon again).

The movie was very good. I didn't expect it to be. I'm usually skeptical of female athletics (sorry girls), but this movie was about much more than that. I must say that the fight scenes were pretty sweet though. While I don't prefer female sports, it is pretty sweet to see chicks beat each other up! The movie is about relationships (broken and restored) and moral dilemmas and explores the question of euthinasia. Any movie that can get me thinking about morality and what is ethical and what isn't, is worth seeing. The movie is stirring and left me wondering what I would do if placed in the situations that the characters are placed in. Beyond that, the acting is wonderful (what do we expect with Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman starring together). Hillary Swank also does a very good job, but Eastwood and Freeman steal the show, especially in their interaction with one another. I would highly recommend this movie.

Movie Reviews: Sideways, Spanglish, Eternal Sunshine

Sideways: Probably overrated. While I love dialog movies, I also value originality and I thought that this movie lacked that. The best way I can describe it is as a darker, mid-thirties version of Swingers (one of my all-time favs. The movie is about two men who go to the SoCal wine country for a week before one of their weddings. There is some cool imagery between wine and a persons personality, but a lot of the wine references were lost on me (I'm a beer guy!). This is definitely not a date movie, with two brief sex scenes and a scene with a fully nude man running down the street (yes, they show EVERTHING). It is nominated for some Golden Globes, but I wasn't overly impressed.

Spanglish: This movie exceded my expectations and I had high expectations going in. The characters are very rich. From the lovable, mildly overweight little girl (I only comment on her weight, because it plays a role in the movie) to the alcoholic grandmother all the characters are deep and wonderfully presented. Adam Sandler does a great job playing a very successful chef and father in a disfunctional family. It is very different from any other role that I've seen him in (I never saw Punch Drunk Love) and he does a great job. Tea Leoni is also wonderful and the hyperactive mother. Her transformation in the movie as a wonderfully inviting and friendly wife to a controlling and disturbing woman is wonderfully done. Newcomer Paz Vega does a fantastic job as the Mexican Housekeeper of Sandler and Leoni's family. She is radiant and commanding as a somewhat tentative, but eventually firey and strong mother. The interactions between the family members are memorable. It isn't nominated for any Golden Globes, but I think it is more deserving than Sideways.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: This is my favorite of all three, which is saying a lot, because of how much I loved Spanglish. It gets the nod because it is so unbelievably creative and bizarre! It is about a company that erases the memories of people from their minds. It follows Jim Carrey as he finds out that Kate Winslett has erased him from her mind, so he procedes to do likewise, but during the middle of the procedure he decides he doesn't want to erase her. The majority of the film is inside of his mind (very Charlie Kaufman, the director). Jim Carrey and Kate Winslett do brilliant jobs and both are nominated for Golden Globes (as is the film). It is creatively filmed and is very bizarre! Although I figured it out early (as I often do in weird movies-I think my mind is jacked up) it keeps you guessing the entire time. It is out on video so you can rent it now. The other two movies are only in the theatres.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the reviews and I hope this helps you figure out what to see next.

Movie Reviews

I have decided to start reviewing movies. I know that I have a very unique taste for movies, but I think that I am critical enough to where I won't send anyone to a bad movie and the movies that I think are good, others will think so as well. I hope to get some of you to go to movies that you normally won't go to and uncover some hidden gems for you. I love bizarre movies, so take that into account, but I'll be sure to let you know if the movie is bizarre or not. Stay tuned for reviews!