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Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)

The 1957 Oscar Best Picture winner, a 2 and a half hour family film, with slapstick comedy and bad action scenes. I was a lot more disappointed with this film than I expected. The movie has an intermission around the time they make it too San Francisco and the film turns south at this point.

The first half had silly scenes but the ridiculous cowboy and Indian scenes really did it for me on this one. The only cool thing about this movie is that Buster Keaton plays the train conductor.

If you told me that Shirley MacLaine was in this movie I'd say you had the wrong movie in mind. But that is actually her as the Princess in India.

Watch the remake, it is just as bad, but not worse by any means.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048960/
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The International (2009)

A surprisingly good film. I really didn't expect ANYTHING from this one and it really delivered. Clive Owen is fantastic and the storyline is exciting, interesting, and complex.

Naomi Watts character was very unbelievable. Her decisions, actions, and role didn't make a lot of sense. This did little for or against the film though.

The director Tom Tykwer is responsible for the German hit Run Lola Run in the late 90's but has had some average [at best] films lately with Paris, je t'aime and Perfume: The Story of a Murderer.

I'm very glad that I gave this British action film a chance, it is one the best action films I've seen this year and the balance of plot and shoot'em up scenes was excellent.

Check this one out!

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0963178/
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Toy Story 2 (1999)

I'm not a big sequel fan, especially when it comes to animated films. Had Disney ever had a successful sequel before this one? All the princess film's sequels were just awful.

So how did they do it? First off the creative team at Pixar is excellent at making a script out of nothing. You can't really say it has anything to do with the voice work even if it does draw a small crowd it doesn't make the film itself better.

The film does a great job of balancing action, adventure, kids themes, and subtle adult jokes. I really just watched it again to remind myself what the storyline was going into the 3rd film that is now out in theaters.

I don't have a lot to say about this film. It was good but not great. It might be just average, but you still have to see it.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120363/
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The Informant! (2009)

I heard a lot of bad things about this movie before watching it, and it definitely delayed me getting around to watching it. I was told it was boring and long. So first off, it isn't not long. 1 hour 48 minutes means a run time minus credits and intro of about 1 hour and 40 minutes. Just right for a comedy.

Boring? Well yeah, at first it was... the movie is about a whistle blower. The first 20-30 minutes is all about him working with the FBI and building up the evidence. The comedy is dry at times, and really in just how ridiculous this individual is.

I applaud Matt Damon's performance. The film was highly driven by his acting abilities. I'm sure it is not a film for everyone, but I can agree with the Globe nominations he received. If you watch a lot of movies check this one out. It can be a risk though.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1130080/
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Brooklyn's Finest (2009)

This is a Brooklyn cop movie following three different story lines. Richard Gere is the loser cop that has never even tried to be a hero and only waits for retirement. Ethan Hawke is in the "in crowd" on the force. He gambles with his cop friends, and epitomizes what is wrong with the police force at many moments. Don Cheadle following up his role in the movie Traitor plays another undercover cop. In so deep he only has a couple contacts and basically control him.

Ironically Wesley Snipes plays a man recently released from prison [in real life Snipes was just released from prison for $20 Million in tax fraud]. A crime that has already cost him a role in The Expendables because he can't leave the States.

I do like a movie that can take several different storylines and sew them together throughout, ultimately leading to their final interaction. From the plot summary on imdb, the back of a dvd box, or just guessing you know they are going to end up in the same place at the end of the movie somehow... that much is predictable. The problem I had with this movie is that the 3 stories are completely unrelated. Having them meet in the last minute with no connection story lines was just dumb and easy for the screenwriter. Even lazy I would say.

This movie could have been better, it could have also been shorter. Hawke's story line won, it was worth watching. Gere failed me again, and Cheadle... I just saw you in this role, this one was boring. Pass on this movie.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1210042/
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Law Abiding Citizen (2009)

I definitely approached this movie as another crappy Gerard Butler action film. The movie even starts off with him witnessing his wife and daughter murdered just to see the killer get out of jail after just a couple years.

What I did not expect is what happened next. The movie was fully set up to make Butler the good guy hero and Foxx to be the heartless lawyer that learns how wrong he has been about his approach to justice.

Instead Butler turns into a monster, the complete opposite of what you would expect. This was a nice surprise. I never saw this plot coming and it was definitely exciting. Jamie Foxx came across as just as bad of a guy as Butler which really made you pick a side. I like movies that force the audience to pick who they think the good guy is. Too many now make the bad guy so bad no one could like him, and the good guy just perfect. But they both had flaws and the movie was pretty good.

Maybe some of this was unintentional, maybe even accidental. But if it was, it was done well. I liked it, but didn't love it.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1197624/
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"Baseball" (1994)

It is not easy to express what a commitment it is to watch this film. A mini-series by Ken Burns of the complete history of baseball. By complete I mean 9 films [innings] around two hours each for a total of about 19 hours of film.

As you can imagine, while watching this lengthy film I pondered how on earth I was going to write a single simple review on so very much. So let's keep focused on if and why this is worth watching, and let's break it into three parts:

The first three films:
Our Game, Something Like a War, and The Faith of Fifty Million People delve into origins of the sport, the establishment of the rules, and the development of leagues. They are easily the most difficult ones to get through. Spanning from the mid-1800's to 1919 there are few players from this period that are widely recognized. It isn't until the third part that Babe Ruth is mentioned, and he fills much more in the 4th episode. The most memorable part for me (since he has been over a month since I actually watched the first three) was about Ty Cobb. He is painted in a very negative light and as the root of all that is wrong in baseball. A man that carries around lynching rope and opening opposed African-Americans in the National League. These were just average on their own.

The middle three films:
A National Heirloom, Shadow Ball, and The National Pastime are really the meat of this documentary. They contain the most emotional stories with Lou Gerrig in Episode 4 then Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, and Jackie Robinson in Episode 6. Episode 5 lags and [in my opinion] strays from the history of the sport a little when they spend a very significant amount of time on politics and race. The Lou Gerrig portion was the most emotional for me, and Robinson's story is the most inspiring. Maybe some day I can convince my daughter to do a report on Jackie. There is also a lot about Babe Ruth spread across these three episodes, with a lot of interesting material. On its own Episodes 4 and 6 would get 9/10.

The last three films:
The Capital of Baseball, A Whole New Ball Game, and Home really go into depth on historic games. Starting in the 1950s and barely touching on the 80s and 90s this is the most East Coast bias portion of the series. You have to understand that baseball was only on the east coast for the majority of the first 5 or 6 films so this was really a chance to branch out and talk about the development of new teams, their survival, and acceptance nationally. Instead it was highly focused on New York and Boston teams. Which is fine, they did win a lot, and a lot of action was here. But it also contradicts itself when it focuses on the Mets and Dodgers in periods when they were awful rather than talk about the Cardinals, Reds, Twins, etc. at all. On its own these were just average also.

As a Rangers fan I was disappointed to hear next to nothing about my team. Sure they have only been around since the 70s and the two mentions were our owner Nolan Ryan, and the team moving from Washington, D.C. But it would have been nice to see something about a team from my area. Nothing on the Astros other than them building a dome. Nothing on Kansas City with the exception of the Black team a long long time ago.

I was also disappointed that they mentioned the minor leagues, e.g. the farm system. But they didn't spend any time on where these teams are. Which ones have been around for a long time. Which ones have tremendous support from their locals. They didn't talk about the draft or the inception of a professional draft. They didn't talk about the college game, or the College World Series. Nothing about the Little League World Series [something that might not have been around in 1994... I don't know], although they did have an "extra innings" portion at the end that talked about community leagues. Basically the scope of this film could have been wider given the run time. For 19 hours I wanted some of this stuff touched on.

If you love baseball watch this. Check your local listing for air times on PBS, MLB Network, check your library, or Netflix. I am amazed at how many people I've talked to have actually seen this mini-series. Overall I'm very glad I watched it.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108700/
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Scent of a Woman (1992)

The first 10/10 of the year [the other 3 reviewed I had already seen]. This movie was the perfect example of a single acting performance making a film unforgettable. Al Pacino is at his very best as a blind retired army lieutenant with strong opinions and a short temper.

Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a snotty nosed kid well in a very early performance. Chris O'Donnell's performance is overpowered proving feature films are out of his league. The film is 90% Pacino and O'Donnell and Pacino carries the film the whole way.

O'Donnell goes to a private school and takes a job over Thanksgiving break to pay for his trip home over Christmas break. After witnessing a prank at school he has the long weekend to contemplate admitting what he saw or denying it in front of the school. Pacino takes him on a life changing tour of New York City blowing money and really testing the kid. It is a long watch but well worth it.

Vote: 10/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105323/
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The Milk of Sorrow: La teta asustada (2009)

The potato girl movie! This has to be the strangest movie I have seen in a very very long time. It takes place in Peru, and starts with a mother lamenting on her death bed about a horrendous experience. She is singing this song about how she was forced to watch terrorists murder her husband then force her to eat his dead penis. Yes she is singing this...

So the story of the Milk of Sorrow is that she was pregnant at the time and her misery was transferred to her daughter through her breast milk. the townspeople treated this girl as tainted and her mother created such fear in her that she is afraid to walk across the street. So here is where it gets strange. She has to be rushed to the hospital because she has a potato growing in her and damaging her private parts. She apparently is so afraid of getting raped that she intentionally uses one as a contraceptive to deter a potential rapist.

There really isn't much storyline other than this. She takes a job for a wealthy women who we never really learn much about. We are subjected to a local wedding that has little to nothing to do with the storyline. I just couldn't get over the disturbing opening. There was so little going on in this movie. It was just horrible. I used the international movie poster rather than the American released one to remind myself of the strange potato girl if I happen across this review in my archive someday.

I doubt you planned on watching this one, better to have never heard about it.

Vote: 1/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1206488/
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G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)

I'm not quite sure how they got away with hiding in the cast on imdb, but the key players in the crappy movie, Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Dennis Quaid, and Sienna Miller, managed to be listed 10th, 12th, 13th, and 3rd on the cast list. I would want to be listed lower on the cast list of a film like this also.

Let's start by defending the movie. It is made by Hasbro, so what can you expect from a toy company. They did try and stay true to the unrealistic and someone absurd storyline from the cartoon and toy line. These aren't easy to do.

Now for the bad...Tatum and Miller are awful. They just can't act and should be in feature films. Wayans should have never left comedy because his acting was a joke, cheezy and over the top. Quaid... this is the best gig you could find last year?

The plot was dumb, the flashbacks for Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes were ridiculous. Why have a flashback that has nothing to do with the main characters? Marketing? Can you sell more toys with this subplot? It made no sense and brought nothing to the main storyline. The multiple action sequences at the end were horrible. Why do we need thee different unrelated storylines all climaxing at the same time? The editing on this was unbelievably bad.

I like to think this was geared for a 12 year old and not for me. But I also like to think I was more intelligent at that age and didn't need this barrage of action to keep my attention [look a squirrel!] do they think people get distracted that easily? It has the opposite affect on me and makes me hate the movie and want it to end.

Turn your mind off and stuff the popcorn in your face to enjoy this one.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1046173/
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The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

I can honestly say that I had completely forgotten this was a Coen Brothers movie until the end credits began to roll. The movie was simple, interesting, a rare modern black and white film.

The film is narrated by the main character Billy Bob Thornton as he seems to giving an account of a period of his life. Thorton plays Ed Crane, a simple barber, with an extroverted wife, Doris Crane, played by Frances McDormand. James Gandolfini plays Doris's boss that appears to be having an affair with Doris.

The plot is slow by thoughtful. You are drawn into wanting to help Ed with his next move. Ed says little to nothing when interacting with people, the opposite of Thorton's usually overspoken and crude roles. Scarlett Johansson annoys me yet again in a role as a nieve (if not stupid) young girl that Ed if friends with.

The movie actually captured a number of nominations, largely in part due to Thorton's fantastic work. The movie is wholly centered around him and he really delivers.

Definitely worth a watch. Good film if you like black-and-white movies.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243133/
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Toy Story (1995)

Hard to believe it has been almost 15 years since I have seen this film. The breakthrough film for the Pixar studio and reason for much of their success. I thought it would be nice to watch the first two again in HD before the 3rd on comes out for rental later this year.

Tom Hanks as Woody and Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear make a great pairing. The comedy is witty and does a great job using double entendre's for the children and adult audiences. One of the best animated films of all time, well edited, and with a great cast.

So why 7/10? It just isn't Pixar's best to me. There are still some very sappy jokes and Mr. Potatohead really annoys me. The animation is still in development and it shows. Their quality increases with every film and is evident when you compare this with Finding Nemo 8 years later. Maybe I'm being harsh and don't make sense with best ever and just average, sorry.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114709/
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Breathless: À bout de souffle (1960)

French new wave crap. Jean-Luc Godard made this film early in his career and the story is almost poetic... just almost. Reckless Michel kills a cop and is on the run. He hides out with an easy American girl Patricia.

She is one of the most wishy-washy characters that I have ever seen on film. He is one of the most insensitive and lazy. I didn't see much, if any, redeeming qualities from these two. I could careless what happened to them throughout and found it painful at times.

I'm not sure if this is a Romance or a Crime film. Silly to call a Thriller [as it is labeled on imdb], silly to waste your time with it.

5/10 is generous for this one, boring and pointless.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053472/
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Dawn of the Dead (1978)

So I watched this movie out of "season" to finish a movie list. A random Top 100 I found that has been setting at 99/100 watched for some time. With horror month only 2 months away I went ahead and watched this one also because I came across it in HD.

I have to say the first 10 minutes ruined this movie for me. It starts at a news station where everyone is frantically trying to decide the next actions to take because of the zombie outbreak. The acting is so horrible and the makeup and costumes are so cheap that I didn't know if I could really make it through the movie. The leading characters make their escape in a helicopter and head for a mall to hide out for a while.

The acting never improves and the plot is slow and not exciting at all for a horror film. George A. Romero has a lengthy career working with little subject matter and remaking the same thing over and over again. Night of the Living Dead still stands at the only really good film that he has made.

I don't understand why this is considered a good horror movie. Way over rated with a cast of people off the street used over and over again. Look for the nun, she is in her early 20's and gets killed at least 4 times. She is amazing at getting just about every zombie scene at the mall. Just a small example of the poor editing. Bad movie.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077402/
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Best In Show (2000)

I definitely heard about this one when it came out. I had no intention of watching it and at the time heard it had some mixed reviews. It happened to be on Peter Traver's Top 10 list from 2000, a writer for Rolling Stone, and I gave it a shot. Let me start by saying that I'm not a fan of movies that just stereotype and make fun of people they don't understand.

Many of the characters were not fun to me, especially Eugene Levy (the dad in American Pie). I find him to be very annoying and Jennifer Coolidge is just as annoying. Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock were the only really funny couple to me. The dog stressing them out and retaliating was pretty funny. The announcers banter was funny, but at the same time over the top. I really though this had something to do with the SNL Dog Show skits, but I was off base. Not very good, better off having never seen it.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0218839/
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Street Kings (2008)

When I came across this movie a year or so ago I assumed it was just another guy movie that will be on Spike or some other guy movie network television channel in a year or so. With Keanu Reeves, Cedric the Entertainer, and Common in the cast I didn't expect much. Forest Whitaker stands out as overqualified for this film, but I ended up finding that Whitaker and Reeves did really well with this one.

Reeves plays the typical cop movie role, wife is dead, and he is either avenging her or mad at the world. Life is a mess and he lives dangerously. When a fellow cop dies he has to go outside the force to right some wrongs. The movie was much more complex and entertaining that I though it would be. Good internet reviews come from those that spend a lot of time talking about movies online... guys that like action flicks. So yeah, a lot of killing, and some decent acting. 7 is a lot higher than I thought I would be giving this film when I started it. In the end I'm glad I spent the time watching this one.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421073/
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9 (2009)

In 2006 Shane Acker was nominated for the Oscar in the Short Animated film category with his film 9. The film, only 11 minutes long has no dialog. The rag doll comes to life and fights a monster which appears to be trying to steal his soul.

The graphics were fantastic and impressed Tim Burton enough to sign with Acker for a feature length film. Jennifer Connelly, Elijah Wood, Christopher Plummer, and John C. Reilly are the stars that helped lend their voices to this project.

The storyline is that a scientist created 9 of these rag doll creatures, for what? We don't know. But we enter the story at what appears to be a wartime city when "9" gains consciousness. The film is still pretty short at about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Enough time to develop the story and create and resolve conflict. Short enough to not get bored with the movie, but not long enough to really develop the background story as much as I would have liked.

The movie is very adult content, still ok for teenages, but Wood makes "9" seems like a childrens movie hero. I would have liked a deeper voice from him and a little more maturity from some of the scenes. The action was good but it was just ok in the end. The short film is almost like a really good movie trailer that doesn't reflect the film all that well. Might be worth your time, not for everyone.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472033/
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Clash of the Titans (2010)

I'm wasn't sure what to think going into this film. Six months before its release it looked to be the blockbuster of the early year. After Avatar's 3-D success they retrofitted this film for 3D as well. With so much hype and the price tag for the glasses at the box office it really crashed.

There are a lot of similarities to Avatar in this. For one it has the same leading man, Sam Worthington. For two, Sam had to conquer and tame a beast that no one has ever ridden before. On top of all of this it is a remake of the 1980's film, so it had that cult classic to live up to as well.

Now for me, I just watched Jason and the Argonauts, so I had Greek Mythology on my mind. This was necessary to understand a few simple Greek Mythology rules to understand, the same few things that seemed ridiculous about the movie to the person I watch it with. Maybe they assumed the audience would understand everything? Bad assumption if you are trying to make a blockbuster. The 3D was unnecessary, surprise, surprise, right? Some of the action even seemed like it was a cartoon rather than a movie. The Pegasus flying around near the beginning of the film just didn't fit the movie at all.

I really wanted to like this, the acting was pretty good, and the action was fun. Medusa was freaky and took that to a whole new level from the original. Overall though there were too many mistakes to be an 8 or higher. A fun watch on a big tv and a bowl of popcorn, but not memorable or worth a 2nd watch.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800320/
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The Awful Truth (1937)

The romantic comedy that made Cary Grant a star. Nominated for 5 Oscars, winner of best Director, part of the National Film Registry, in the top 50 of the AFI 100 Laughs, and also on the AFI 100 Passions [e.g. love stories].

Irene Dunne is billed at the headline here but it is considered by some to be Grant's breakthrough performance. Coming in an age where you could only allude to mistresses and cheating on wives, the premise is that a married couple, Dunne and Grant, decide to get divorced when they catch each other lying. Alluding to both of them cheating. The antics begin when they are forced to interact in the period before the divorce becomes legal. Both are courting others, Dunne a man from Oklahoma, and Grant a rich heiress. They foil each others chances, and soon fall in love all over again.

Sorry to ruin the story for you, but having seen so many romantic comedies, this one really defined a new genre and is so very popular today. Having seen so many similar it does take away from the original. I probably would have liked it more if I hadn't seen it remade or reinvented so many times over. All in all it was a really good Cary Grant film.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028597/
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Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

I managed to find this movie in blu-ray so I gave it a shot in a new HDTV. It really made me wonder if anyone that had anything to do with this movie actually saw this HD version. Parts of it seemed fantastic, and others really highlighted the flaws, like the paper mache head on the mast of the ship. Or the overlay of the statue walking on the island.

All of these elements did, however, remind me how creative a film almost 50 years old was. The story is that of the legendary greek hero, Jason, on his quest for the golden fleece. Fighting moving mountains, three headed serpents, and statues of the gods that come to life. A very fun movie, but not as good as Clash of the Titans (1981). Greek Mythology movies are a lot of fun though and it was entertaining, I just wouldn't suggest it to everyone.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057197/
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The Silence (1963)

While browsing my favorite website: listsofbests, I came across a list were I had seen all but one of the 170 or so films. This was the single film I needed to watch to finish the list.

Part 3 of Ingmar Bergman trilogy, where the other two films are not on any of my lists, I decided to read the full plot summary of the other two and just watch this one. I'm glad I did because I learned that the three are all but completely unrelated. The only connection between the films is how Bergman shot them. They are all told in 3 (what he considers) distinct parts, all corresponding to the background music.

You can imagine how exciting a foreign film called "The Silence" can be. It is slow, there is very little dialogue, and the plot is ambiguous at best. We don't even learn the relationship between the two leading women until about 40 minutes in. We don't know there names for almost the entire film.

I guess you could say it was well shot, and trying to figure out what the heck was going on was my focus throughout the film. Kind of like solving a puzzle, I wanted to figure it out myself instead of running to the computer and reading the plot. What you wanted to know didn't stop you from enjoying what was going on, so it wasn't frustrating. That was about all this film had going for it however.

Not Bergman's best work, and painfully slow at times, not going to watch this one again.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057611/
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The Dirty Dozen (1967)

Lee Marvin stars as the badass Major who's peers dislike him enough to volunteer him for a suicide mission. The mission: Take 12 convicted felons into enemy territory and kill as many as possible. The major has no intentions of failing at his mission and works out a perfect plan. Can a bunch of convicts pull it off?

We get to watch him meet the men, train the men, play war games, and execute the mission in this film that rightfully makes the AFI Top 100 Thrills list. We learn that most of these men were in the wrong place at the wrong time and deserve a second chance. We also learn from the army psychiatrist that these are a bunch of disturbed men. So the audience has to like them, disturbed yet with redeeming qualities.

Ernest Borgnine plays the general that handed the major the assignment. Charles Bronson and Donald Sutherland are several of the dozen.

Likely an inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, but then again The Inglorious Bastards (1978), an Italian movie could have been as well. Not the best edited action scenes, the grenades in the vents scene was just ok, and something I've seen on tv years ago when channel surfing. A very good film overall and well worth watching.

Vote: 9/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061578/
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Cop Out (2010)

Kevin Smith fails again, hey maybe he'll twitter how much he sucks some more. Strike after strike after strike and we keep watching and holding this director in high regard for no good reason. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl, Clerks II, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and now Cop Out for his complete list of failures since 1999. Smith once again tried to be Judd Apatow and once again makes something that isn't funny.

Bruce Willis always impresses me in comedies. His expressions and quips are great in this, and the only reason it isn't a 1/10. Tracy Morgan starts funny, but gets annoying really fast, and you can't stand him by the end. Seann William Scott brings some funny scenes, but nothing to make the film memorable. His quick exit leaves open ends that Smith decides to just not close up at the end, which was annoying.

The gangsters and other officers were just not good actors, and the other detectives played very unrealistic roles. Just not good, and barely funny a few times.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1385867/
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The Cheat (1931)

So I accidentally watched this one because I thought it was "The Cheat (1915)" which is on the Library of Congress Film Registry. This film however is not on any lists, and if it would have been bad, it would have been a complete waste of time.

Luckily it wasn't bad at all. An early talkie, and likely a remake of the 1915 film that did make the LoC List. Tallulah Bankhead stars in one of her few feature films. She plays a wealthy homemaker who likes to gamble, when she can't pay her debt and doesn't want to tell her husband she makes a deal that gets her in a lot of trouble.

It is funny to me to read Ms. Bankhead's career synopsis. At least on imdb they completely have the ending of this film all wrong, because nobody is murdered. Yes, shots are fired, and justice is served. It is a clear case of the telephone game where someone read the plot of the film and inferred their own conclusion without seeing it first.

It wasn't bad, I just never would have watched it if I would have realized my mistake. You can find it on youtube, it is what came up when I searched for the 1915 version.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021735/
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Pandora's Box: Die Büchse der Pandora (1929)

A 1930's silent film from Germany that, from the title, seems like it might need to be part of horror month. I say this because it seems to be the same basis of the Hellraiser series.

Well, it's nothing like that. Louise Brooks plays Lulu a beautiful woman who uses her charm and looks to manipulate men. With loose morals and bad intentions she finds herself a fugitive on the run which creates more and more trouble for herself, and most of all those that try and help her.

Just a boring watch, long, slow, not very interesting. I have trouble getting into silent movies that focus on the characters facial expressions and body language and not the plot. This is probably because I tend to watch these on a small computer screen and have trouble seeing that the excitement is about.

I was just happy when it was over.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018737/
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Green Zone (2010)

Starring Matt Damon and directed by Paul Greengrass, I fully expected this to be an action flick along the lines of Jason Bourne films which these two worked on together. I was wrong, this is an Iraq War film, a war film, fictional and all about the lack of WMD's (Weapons of Mass Destruction).

Movies like this do nothing but upset me. They frustrate me because there is a lot of fact behind the lack of WMD's and the administration of the time's faults. I don't like rehashing it over and over again. I can understand why this wasn't a blockbuster, people just don't want to be reminded again and again how we are to blame for something we couldn't control, stop, and didn't agree with.

It was a fairly well put together movie, and had some very exciting scenes. There was so real tension at the end, but I didn't care. I don't like to escape reality to something so realistic. Watch it if you are a big Damon fan, if not pass.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947810/
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The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Chasing list completions can get boring, so I decided to branch out from my current goals and pick a few random movies from each genre and give them a shot.

This western has always been spoken of very highly, and its absence from the AFI Top 10 Westerns made me wonder if this was an oversight or overrated.

The story goes like this. Bandits attack a farming town regularly, stealing food and women. Farmers look to retaliate and hire seven men to chase them off. Yul Brynner, Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, and Robert Vaughn are the most notable of the Seven and Eli Wallach plays the head bandit.

A simple story with some meaningful lessons and cute banter with the kids in the town. As someone who isn't a huge western fan I liked it. I don't want to watch it again, and given the caliber of the other films in the AFI Top 10 Westerns this indeed should have been in the lower half.

If you like westerns you have to watch this one, if not, don't bother; it is very predictable.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054047/
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Date Night (2010)

The big comedy movie of the spring starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey, the two most popular comedians on television right now. The duo should be a blockbuster, and I have to say I was disappointed with this movie.

Disappointed!?! And I gave it an 8/10?? How you might ask... it's this simple, if there is a comedic pair that will define our time in cinema history I expect it to be these two. Therefore they work on a completely different plain then the rest of the comedy I watch throughout the year.

With a better script and some more screen time together these two will be making movies that will be in the AFI film lists, the imdb top 250, and other various best comedy lists with the likes of Cary Grant and Irene Dunne.

So about this movie. A married couple with kids, jobs, and little time for each other decide to go into New York City for a special night together. When they are mistaken for a couple of people some gangsters are after they end up running around town Ad-Libbing a lot of good dialog as the two figure their way out of their mess.

Still very much worth watching, and with Carroll's recent announcement that he will be ending his career on the television show The Office I hope these two pair up again in the future.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1279935/
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Cape Fear (1962)

Robert Mitchum was just fantastic in The Night of the Hunter (1955), and this film feels like a sequel on his very scary performance for several reasons. Both have him hunting down children where you play the role of the child. Both have him hunting in the dark in the swamp. Both have him humming a tune that sends chills down your spine.

Another film from the AFI Top 100 Thrills, a list I have been very happy to work my way through. This story starts with Gregory Peck, who testified against Robert Mitchum which put him in jail for 7 years, approached upon Mitchum's release. Mitchum starts intimidating but never threatening Peck. He makes inappropriate comments about his family, home, and job scaring the family into action and sparking a battle.

An excellent and exciting film, Martin Scorsese remade this film in 1991. Some day I'll have to check it out also.

Vote: 9/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055824/
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Victor/Victoria (1982)

Watched this one on a whim while browsing my to-watch list with some of my family. They raved about it so we gave it a shot. Nominated for 7 Oscars and 5 Golden Globes this film even won one of each for best Musical/Comedy. Starring Julie Andrews and James Garner in a slapstick screenplay about a female singer (Andrews) that is struggling to get a break. Through the guidance of Garner she pretends to be a man in drag to appeal to a different audience. So a woman, pretending to be a man, pretending to be a woman. Get it?

There are some very funny scenes, great one liners, and some fun musical numbers in this one. The thing that made it average was Garner's performance at the end. Stepping in for Andrews on a performance was quite annoying to me. Not a good way to end a fun movie, it was just too cheesy and let me with a sour taste.

All in all it was fun, with a lot of musicals left to watch I would guess this is one of the better ones. Note: It was enough of a comedy to make the AFI 100 Laughs, so check it out if you like Musicals.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084865/
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The Killing (1956)

About a week behind on this post. With some family in town we pulled this one off the movie shelf. Probably my favorite movie from 2008, this classic Stanley Kubrick was one of the first non-sequential films. Considered to confusing for audiences in the 50's it did poorly at the box office. Kubrick was asked to re-edit sequentially, but after he hated the product he went back to the original. Winner of no awards it was overlook, and it wasn't until Kubrick's Paths of Glory and Spartacus that people started to look back at this film and realize just how good it was.

One of the few movies good enough to hold my attention enough to not pause or even look at the runtime to see how much longer was left. I was completely engrossed and still loved it after a 2nd watch.

As we are all familiar with non-sequential films now, you know just how much you can get out of it after repeat viewings. Just a great film, check this one out.

Vote: 10/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049406/
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Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

The Superman that ended the series, most comic series are like this, you need an awful one to convince the production company that another one is not worth it.

The plot is incredibly weak, it seemed like I wasted and hour and a half on a single comic that would take 5-10 minutes to read. Superman fights Nuclear Man while ridding the world of nuclear explosives... yea that's it.

There is what might have been meant as a funny skit where Clark and Superman attend the same dinner party. However, it made me feel like I was watching a bad sitcom. Completely unoriginal, just not entertaining.

Believe it or not, a 3/10 is generous because I like the series.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094074/
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