Into Eternity: A Film for the Future (2010)
This is a fascinating documentary about the development of a nuclear waste storage facility that must last 100,000 years. How do you keep future (potentially non-technological) human societies from intruding? Super interesting stuff.
March 23, 2013
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Worth watching I'd say and not nearly as over-the-top, pro-American as I was expecting. It highlights a number of aspects of the "war on terror" without moralizing (for better or worse) about any of it, leaving you to draw your own conclusions.
February 18, 2013
Cloud Atlas (2012)
Solid movie and even better than the book I think. A bit long but stayed interesting throughout.
February 18, 2013
Life of Pi (2012)
It was fine and probably really pretty in 3D. I don't really get all the critical acclaim this is receiving and I hate its ridiculously puerile argument for god's existence.
February 15, 2013
Killing Them Softly (2012)
Pretty decent mob movie with not much of a plot to speak of. Set during the financial crisis, draws a lot of heavy-handed parallels between underworld economics and the country's.
January 27, 2013
Seven Psychopaths (2012)
Good movie with a great cast by the same director as In Bruges. Funny and violent and with an interesting narrative.
January 27, 2013
Holy Motors (2012)
I don't get it. Maybe this movie is just too smart for me but I don't get it and don't want to get it. There were some interesting scenes but I just have no interest in trying to interpret this weird movie.
January 27, 2013
Rust and Bone (2012)
Violent and unexpected and totally unique, if I hadn't just seen Beasts of the Southern Wild this would have been the best movie I'd seen in some time.
January 27, 2013
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
One of the best movies I've seen in awhile, a mix of reality and fantasy set in an isolated fishing community around New Orleans during hurricane Katrina. The young actress in the lead role is incredible.
January 27, 2013
The Raid (2011)
Accidentally rented it with only Swedish subtitles so couldn't really follow the plot and it didn't matter. Fantastic action sequences and very well put-together.
September 23, 2012
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Fantastic movie with all the appropriate nods to the original Batman mythology. The story doesn't make a lot of sense but I couldn't care less.
September 16, 2012
King of Devil's Island (2010)
Great movie about life at a boarding school/prison for troubled boys in Norway in the early 1900s.
June 22, 2012
I Don't Know How She Does It (2011)
Only movie showing on a flight. I can only assume they purchased the rights because showing this was cheaper than releasing sarin gas into the cabin. Horrible, painful, predictable and empty. "Feminist" for those who consider Cosmo the pinnacle of feminist literature.
June 21, 2012
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
Maybe it was just what I was looking for at the right time but I really liked this movie. Guy Ritchie is maybe another reason. The plot isn't great but the action is fantastic and that Sherlock sure is a clever bastard.
June 21, 2012
The Ides of March (2011)
A look at the backstabbing and corrupted ideals that form the unfortunate backbone of the political process. Very good but not great.
June 21, 2012
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)
Great book and the movie version totally does it justice. Interesting plot and characters and great pacing.
June 10, 2012
Take Shelter (2011)
Michael Shannon is amazing and the atmosphere and moods are consistent and unsettling throughout.
June 3, 2012
Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005)
I was reluctant to watch this because it looked boring even though I kept hearing good things. It turned out to be totally engaging and interesting, and very funny in parts. It's a story all about characters and how weird everyone really is, in their own way.
May 16, 2012
Following (1999)
I had no idea what to expect only knowing it was Christopher Nolan's first movie but it turned out really good. Starts a bit slow but then gets interesting, there's definitely a style here that later turned up in Memento.
April 8, 2012
What Doesn't Kill You (2008)
It's a story that's been done a hundred times about growing up poor in Boston but Ethan Hawke and Mark Ruffalo are amazing and the story is totally engaging and believable the whole way through.
April 8, 2012
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
Great actors, great movie, Don Cheadle is the man. Good mystery and the characters are all unique and interesting. Well worth a watch.
March 31, 2012
Outrage (2010)
Two hours of yakuzas double-crossing and killing each other. Essentially plotless, the lead actor is a badass though and makes it fun enough to watch.
March 29, 2012
They Live (1988)
A B-movie with a political conscience. Classic B-movie cheese but its disdain for the rich and powerful appeals to my own. Definitely entertaining.
March 25, 2012
The Trap (2007)
A mild-mannered guy pushed over the edge by extraordinary circumstances. The movie is just really well put together, the pacing is fantastic and each scene feels important.
March 20, 2012
The Return (2003)
This was good but with all the acclaim it got when it came out I wasn't blown away by it. Very bleak and poses more questions than gives answers, it's at least a really well-made movie.
March 18, 2012
The Violin (2005)
This is a great movie about a small family involved in a resistance movement against an oppressive government in an undefined country. The movie and dialogue are very understated but it does an excellent job of evoking the feelings it wants to evoke.
March 18, 2012
Even the Rain (2010)
An incredible movie about a fictional film crew making a movie about Columbus in Bolivia during the water wars in 2000. Parallels early colonialist exploitation with its modern-day equivalent without ever being overbearing.
March 6, 2012
In a Better World (2010)
This movie beat both Incendies and Biutiful for the foreign language Oscar last year so it had to be good and it was.
March 6, 2012
Step Brothers (2008)
As far as stupid comedies go they get no better than this. This is still my go-to movie when I just want to be entertained. If you don't find this funny you have no sense of humor and/or are in a coma.
March 5, 2012
A Prophet (2009)
If you're into crime movies this is way up there, easily on par with The Departed or Goodfellas and with a feel that's maybe even more gritty and authentic. A fantastic movie.
March 5, 2012
Melancholia (2011)
Very good movie but depressing and heavy like most of Lars von Trier's stuff. The sci-fi touch of the mystery planet was cool. Definitely needs to be watched more than once.
March 5, 2012
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
It takes a truly special movie for me to actually turn it off without finishing it. Jingoistic, cliched, cheesy and just utterly horrible. Each new scene caused me to reevaluate my faith in mankind.
March 4, 2012
Open Your Eyes (1997)
The original that the movie Vanilla Sky was copied from. Creepy the whole way through, leaves you feeling vaguely schizophrenic and unsure of what's real and what's not.
March 4, 2012
The Names of Love (2010)
How can you not like a movie about a hot left-wing French woman who sleeps with "fascists" in order to convert them to her cause? As interesting as it sounds, a movie about family and politics and the differences in people.
March 4, 2012