1. The Aviator -- A+ 1/7
2. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle -- A- 1/8

1. 01-07-2005: Troy (2004). Grade: 9.6/10 (A)
2. 01-08-2005: White Noise (2005). Grade: 7.8/10 (C+)
3. 01-08-2005: Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle (2004). Grade: 8.7/10 (B+)

Harold & Kumar is the definition of a great stoner comedy. Extremely funny one liners, hilarious story, and great characters. I enjoyed the movie a lot, even the second time around.

Well, only two days in and I'm already behind:

1/8/05 -- Scream 2 - 7.5/10 (B+) Great film, but not quite as brilliant as the original. The story became a bit cliched, but it wasn't as ingenious as the original (notably in such areas as "the killer always comes back). The ending was also weaker, but the finale was well done. (for those who wondered, I graded Scream as a 9.0/10 or A)

1/07/2005 Troy(2004)B
1/08/2005 White Noise (2005) C+

01. 01.01.2005 - Open Water. (2004) d. Chris Kentis. Grade: F
02. 01.01.2005 - Sideways. (2004) d. Alexander Payne. Grade: A
03. 01.01.2005 - King Arthur. (2004) d. Antoine Fuqua. Grade: C
04. 01.02.2005 - The Manchurian Canidate. (2004) d. Jonathan Demme. Grade: B
05. 01.02.2005 - Innocence: Ghost in the Shell 2. (2004) d. Mamoru Oshii. Grade: B-
06. 01.03.2005 - De-Lovely. (2004) d. Irwin Winkler. Grade: C-
07. 01.05.2005 - Notorious C.H.O. (2002) d. Lorene Machado. Grade: D+
08. 01.08.2005 - Million Dollar Baby. (2004) d. Clint Eastwood. Grade: A+
09. 01.08.2005 - Code 46. (2003) d. Michael Winterbottom. Grade: D+

Code 46 is a movie that gets it all right visually. Great cinematography, great futuristic landscape. But the problem is that Samantha Morton seems to be carring the whole movie alone, reprising her role from Minority Report, and Tim Robbin feels like dead weight.

In the end, the film is wayyyyyyyyy to obsessed with it's style (substituting English words for Spanish/French/etc.) and futuristic settings, which it never fully delves into. In fact, the movie builds up to a climax wherein the couple break Code 46 (don't worry, this isn't a spoiler) and then nothing happens. A dreadful and painful movie to watch. A horrible ending (compounded by the insertion of, of all things, a Coldplay song).

Not to mention the freakish height difference between Robbins and Morton

I was going to rent Code 46 from Blockbuster today, but it was all rented out.

You lucked out.

Zing, you will absolutely loathe it. I almost guarantee you.

And just in case anybody is wondering about my tastes for slow moving sci-fi... Solaris (the origional Tarkovsky one) is one of my favorite films of all time... and the remake isn't too bad either #-o

It looked pretty interesting. I'll probably see it eventually, but thanks for the heads up.

Instead of renting Code 46, rent Winterbottom's other two big films In This World and 24 Hour Party People, they are miles better.

I'll need to look for them.

Over here, it's almost 12:00am, so it's technically Day 3 now for me soon. \:D/

I started Open Water a little while ago. It's almost over, so that's still for Day 2.

Hint: Rent Maria Full of Grace. \:D/

What's that about?

1. 01-07-2005: Troy (2004). Grade: 9.6/10 (A)
2. 01-08-2005: White Noise (2005). Grade: 7.8/10 (C+)
3. 01-08-2005: Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle (2004). Grade: 8.7/10 (B+)
4. 01-08-2005: Open Water (2004). Grade: 6.9/10 (D+)

Boring, stupid, and unscary. The worst combination. ](*,)

Swallowing. :-$

How the hell is 6.9 a D+?

6.9 in some school districts in the US is a D level.

10.0 - 9.0 = A range
8.9 - 8.0 = B range
7.9 - 7.0 = C range
6.9 - 6.0 = D range
anything below that is failure.

Oh yea true that.

Yeah, I was using the grading scale from school. Wasn't sure what everyone else did. What's all yours grading systems using the numbers?

I dunno. Maybe I had a lapse of thinking.

I don't really grade seriously... I was toying with numbers last night. Letter system seems fine with me, but I always change my grades anyway.

But I don't believe you can completely express everything with a digit or a number, seems a rather cold and heartless way to categorize something that is an artistic expression.

Maria Full of Grace is about a woman who swallows Heroin capsules (before they break, that is). It's heart-wrenching, emotional, and probably more horrifying than anything you'll see this year.

1. 01-07-2005: Garden State (2004, Zach Braff). Grade: 9.6/10
2. 01-07-2005: The Birdcage (1996, Mike Nichols). Grade: 9.4/10
3. 01-08-2005: I, Robot (2004, Alexander Proyas). Grade: 8.7/10
4. 01-08-05: Hotel Rwanda (2004, Terry George). Grade: 9.9/10
5. 01-08-05: Spider-Man 2 (2004, Sam Raimi). Grade: 9.0/10

Hotel Rwanda is, as of right now, the best film I've seen so far in '04. I might need to reflect a bit more on Motorcycle Diaries, Eternal Sunshine, and Garden State, but it's the most involving and effective of all the films I've seen. We can only hope that everyone sees this movie, as not only does it provide a lesson (some people say it doesn't make the audience feel guilty, which is far from the truth. The way in which the audience responded to the film, which made them aware of the situation, was filled with concern. Concern in itself forces the audience to feel guilty for not having "been concerned" in the past), but is a beautifully crafted film with an outstanding, full performance by Cheadle, and a feeling that doesn't leave the audience. This is comparable to Schindler's List, Life is Beautiful, A Beautiful Mind, and Shine. It brings up questions that never ever leave and provides even the most selfish beings with a reason to be fortunate over what they have. The one qualm with the picture is the sentamentality of it. Hotel Rwanda, in no way, deliberately blames the audience, but the scenes present have a strong impact that make it a horror to watch if you aren't in the "right" mood.

I ended up watching Spider-Man 2 when I got home after a newspaper meeting, the movie, and dinner with the fam. My aunt hadn't seen it and, she wasn't in the mood for anything real heady (she hadn't yet seen Ocean's Eleven, (don't ask me how this is heady, except that it's a heist film that relies on a couple subplots/scenarios), and she hadn't seen Memento), so we just picked up Spider-Man 2. The movie itself gets more enjoyable as a whole with each viewing, but also, the flaws become much more noticeable.

And, yeah, Sideways was sold out...for a third time in a row. I wasn't disappointed though.

Aweeeeeeesome. I cannot wait to watch Hotel Rwanda. It'd be a nice birthday present if I could see it today.

But it won't happen. I'm 16, though! \:D/

I will probably go see House of Flying Daggers, Hotel Rwanda or Ray (again, I only saw a crappy bootleg copy) today. Not sure there, I have to go into the city for Rwanda or Ray, meaning parking problems *sigh*.

The fact that you said it is a combination of Schindlers List, Life is Beautiful, Shine and A Beautiful Mind is confusing for me, because I love Shindler's List, think Shine is okay, think A Beautiful Mind is good, and think Life is Beautiful is absolutely horrible

All four are films that leave the audience (even if you hated 'em, lol) with something to think about. They're heavily emotional films (and, I'm SURE that Ray MIGHT find it's way up here, if the heroin sequences are pulled off as well as all of Shine, heh) that leave the viewer striving to "learn" and involve themselves more (knowledge via reading, studying, viewing, or listening). It's not a combination of the four films, but comparable in the impact of it . I loved Life is Beautiful and Shine. I didn't LOVE A Beautiful Mind, but found it effective and well-directed. I think Crowe should of won the Oscar (Even though he always plays the mad-man going berzerk role in every film, lol). Also, I can't deny that the film makes you want to read up on schizophrenia.

I'm not even that interested in seeing The Aviator, suprisingly. I'm sure it's good, but, bleh, it looks like A Beautiful Mind intertwined with Catch Me if You Can. Yes, andaroo, a combination. A Beautiful Mind b/c the guy gets worse and worse and worse, and, Catch Me if You Can b/c it's Leo and the guy is a wealthy playboy. Actually, the CMIYC part doesn't work well.

I thought Life is Beautiful was a really good movie. :2up:

Andy,

If you really really really loved Million Dollar Baby, don't spoil Hotel Rwanda tomorrow. You probably will walk in and expect another Million Dollar Baby considering the emotional state of the subject (which is mainly present once you leave the theater), and you won't get it. I'd go for Flying Daggers, simply because it's lighter fare.