Here goes the breakdown in movies for the year. I will refrain from any longwinded comments, but only make some styllistic commentary, mostly on things I have not seen before.
The Libertine (2005) (N) - Dark. Interesting as a character study, a little hard to get into, but pretty decent overall.
Down With Love (2003) (again)
Quills (2000) (N) - Also quite dark, but I actually liked it quite a bit. Provided points for conversation about ranges in good and evil.
The Number 23 (2007) (N) - A very interesting concept. It's a very different type of movie for Jim Carrey - a dark drama. Overall, though, I actually liked it quite a bit.
The Holiday (2006) (N) - A cute romantic comedy. One I could definitely sit through again.
The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) (N) - A decent adaptation, but the book (as tends to happen) is better.
(I Now Pronounce You) Chuck & Larry (2007) (T) - I wasn't originally keen on the idea, but it was actually handled a LOT better than I was thinking it would be. And to see a) Ving Rhames play a gay fireman, and b) Dave Matthews with a cameo as a clerk in a women's clothing store (also gay) were hilarious moments.
Nanny McPhee (2005) (again)
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) (again) - I have to wonder... in the fight scene near the end, was Alan Rickman mocking Costner when he asks Costner, "Reco'nize this?" (while presenting the father's sword). Through the entire movie, Rickman is very English, and for that one line, he seems to slide into Texan for that one line. Is he mocking Costner, or was it just a fluke in the moment? Hmm...
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) (again) - RH:PoT makes the humor in Cary Elwes' line that much more hilarious ("Unlike other Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent.")
History of the World, part 1 (1981) (again)
Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix (2007) (T) (again)
Hot Fuzz (2007) - I was surprised to see some of the other members of the cast. A subtle spoof that is actually very good.
Stardust (2007) (T) - Wanted to see it after starting to regularly read Neil Gaiman's blog for months. The night I went to see it was more of a whim, when it came out, and despite missing the first couple of minutes, thought it was a great film.
Little Children (2006) (N) - Very interesting film. Interesting characterizations, and I understand that there are some significant differences between the book and the film (about character traits, appearance, etc)... a bit heavy for repeated viewings, but good. Not quite sure if I'll try the book though.
Transformers (2007) (T) (again)
The Queen (2006) (N) - Good movie, and fun to watch as a type of character study. Did trigger some conversations about how the source material was gathered - was the royal family involved/consulted?
Marie Antoinette (2006) - Nice film for the costumes and the scenery. Plot left me cold. it felt more like seperate moments, with the only unifying items being the character. I think it was supposed to be a character study, and did well as that. I had more fun watching the "Cribs" style clip in the bonus material.
The Departed (2006) (N) - Bloody, but I actually thought it was a very good movie. The story twists at the end really got me. I'm almost interested to see the source material (as this was adapted from an Asian movie).
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) (T) - Always fun to watch, and seeing the battle in the Ministry of Magic helped... when I first read the part, I had a little trouble following/visualizing some of it.
Hitch (2005) (again)
Transformers (2007) (T) - A childhood favorite, and I very much like how most of this items were handled. I am concerned, though, with sequels. It's interesting to see if they try to bring Megatron back (since Starscream DID escape... hmm...), and having grown up on the cartoon (and most of the comics), I could nitpick story points if I wanted to, but the movie was great.
Ratatouille (2007) (T) - A fun movie, and I have since adopted one of the line for use at work... "Smell the nutiness!"
The Italian Job (1969) (again)
Norbit (2007) (N) - Not bad, but I'm not about to run out to see it again.
Fatastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) (T) - I thought it was pretty cool. Campy moments, sure, but still staying pretty true to the nature of the comics.
Enter the Dragon (1973) (again)
Shaun of the Dead (2004) (again)
The Prestige (2006) (N) - Dark. I liked it, but some of the elements were very dark, especially when compared to The Illusionist.
Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End (2007) (T) - Great combat sequences, and an interesting story twist led to a pretty decent movie. I missed the extra bit at the end of the credits, though, when I saw it in the theatre.
The Lake House (2006) (again) (N)
The Illusionist (2006) (N) - I liked this one, too, and while it had some dark moments, it has a twist ending. After watching it, I could not help but think of Sixth Sense, with suggestions dropped through the entire movie, but in subtle ways.
Shrek the Third (2007) (T) - Not bad... not as good as number 2, but not bad.
Eragon (2006) (N) - Not a bad movie, but it's based on a book written by someone who was 15 at the time... how good can you expect it to be? And no, I don't think anything is really going to be able to compare with LotR for quite some time.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) (again) (N)
Just Like Heaven (2005) - A pretty good movie, that hit just a little to close to home at the time I watched it.
Spiderman 3 (2007) (T) - Not bad, overall, but a little on the long side. I think they forced too much into it, and I would have liked to see Venom make it to be used in a later movie (perhaps - spawning the whole Carnage storyline... could have been interesting...)
Shaun of the Dead (2004) - I actually liked it enough to eventually get my own copy. And I'm trying to thin down my video collection.
Blades of Glory (2007) (T) - Not bad. Some bits were a bit over the top, but it was actually not bad.
TMNT (2007) (Twice) (T) - Another one I was actually looking forward to. This was also my first trip to the movies after losing Jenn (we had already planned to go, which was my first viewing, then I went the second time, taking my nephews).
Jackass II (2006) - This is one of the last movies that my wife and I watched, and we watched with some friends, and I am actually very surprised that I watched the whole thing. I'm not planning on watching it again, nor am I looking to watch the first movie. But that is just me...
Pitch Black (2000) - A good SF movie, with a suspense/horror twist. I thought it was a very interesting idea.
Red Eye (2005) - Not a mainline movie, but I actually thought it was a very interesting story idea.
As I have listed, (T) are movies that were seen in the Theatre, (N) is from Netflix, and (again) are films that I have seen before. And, as you can see by my 2008 resolutions, I'm going to have to break this down into smaller chuncks through the year. 44 movies/viewings (with 4 of them seen twice in the year) seems to be a bit much for one post. Adjust the math a bit that becomes 40 viewings, with 10 actually carrying over as being seen at some point before 2007, making the grand "original viewings" total 30 movies. For those playing the home game.
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