#16 Drive

The Challenge - to watch 365 movies I’ve never seen before in 2011.

I’ve stopped pretending I’ll make it to 365 before December 31st. Senior year is getting in the way of that. I will say there are 24 more movies I haven’t posted about, and will do so eventually, if not by New Year’s then at some point over winter break. Then again, I said the same thing about my study abroad tumblr.

Drive is a simple tale of vengeance that’s anything but simple. Lovers of Fast and Furious honestly need not apply. If you absolutely loved that you’ll hate this, but if you can appreciate slow, character focused development that can still get your heart racing, spend a 100 minutes with this wonderful cast.

I tried to watch this while doing my homework last night. Needless to say, I’m still working on my homework tonight. You may notice I didn’t link you to the trailer. Don’t watch the trailer. Go watch the film.

See it (immediately) / Meh / Skip it

#15 Transformers: The Dark of the Moon

The Challenge: To watch 365 movies I’ve never seen before in 2011.

I won’t lie. As a hold over from the Even Stevens days, I will probably see anything that Shia LaBeouf is in, good or bad.

Transformers 3 continues the saga of Sam Witwicky’s (LaBeouf) insane relationship with the Autobots, a race of robots whose enemies are hell bent on finishing their little war while destroying our planet. Let’s just say that once again, the Decepticons are making our lives hell for the purpose of restoring their own.

The Good:

The awesomeness of the special effects cannot be doubted. If nothing else, the film is a visual spectacle. There were definitely moments when they went overboard with the CGI - if you see the movie, you’ll know what I’m talking about when I say bodies aren’t that floppy, and his shoulder would have been separated from the rest of his body long before he hit the ground. Spiderman 2 had a similar bodies through-the-air CGI issue. You’d think that’d be fixed almost a decade later.

I loved sassy-Shia whenever he appeared. But, you’ve probably realized that I’m biased, based on my opening statement. Overall, the movie was ridiculous. Then again, the premise is ridiculous, so this went along great with the overall theme. Also, they significantly toned down the blue/orange filters on this one. Watch the second one again, if you dare, keeping in mind that those are basically the only two colors in the movie. You’ll never unsee that (you’re welcome!).

The Bad:

So there’s ridiculous, then there’s ridiculous and sometimes the movie went to far, especially when it was trying to play for laughs. I get why Jerry Wang (Ken Jeong) was acting so weird, but considering the way others in the film reacted to him, it seems like he was being uncharacteristically silly.

When it comes to product placement, Michael Bay apparently didn’t get the memo that it’s supposed to be subtle. I barely notice it in most movies, but Transformers smacks you in the face with it. Sorry Bay, but no matter how much they paid you, I’m not about to run out and buy a BMW, a Chevy Impala, a Mustang, any Gillette products, or a Lenovo computer.

The Ugly:

I’m not a Megan Fox fan, but I wish she hadn’t been replaced. Carly, Sam’s new girlfriend, is useless. Her character is so underdeveloped - by the end of the movie all I know is that she’s English, she has pouty lips, and she’s good at her job. At least with Mikaela you got the feeling that she could kick some ass and take care of herself. Carly, Sam’s mom Judy, and Charlotte Mearing, the head the of NSA, are the only female characters in the film who speak. Judy is her usual somewhat flighty self, and Mearing never really comes off as a positive character. She’s either standing in Sam’s way, doubting his ability to contribute or she’s just wrong. Once again, thank you Michael Bay for the strong female characters in your films!

There’s more to go under all three of these categories, but overall, it was a nice escape if you don’t mind the 2.5 hour run time.

See it / Meh / Skip it

#14 Beastly (major spoilers)

The Challenge: To watch 365 movies I’ve never seen before in 2011.

I should warn you, I don’t care if I spoil the whole movie for you, because I hope you never see it.

Beastly is a modern day “Beauty and the Beast” - Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) runs afoul of a vindictive witch (Mary-Kate Olsen) at his high school. She sentences him to a year trapped in a hideous body, one that will turn into forever unless he finds someone to love him for who he is inside. Pretty soon Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), a scholarship kid from his elite world becomes a huge part of his life. Will she be enough to break the spell?

This was a Hollywood movie with Vanessa Hudgens. From the first frame of the trailer I knew how this would end. I just didn’t realize how bad the journey would be to the cliché.

Alex Pettyfer’s character is basically a caricature of a douche (as is his father). It’s so over the top that I’m having trouble believing he’d be that popular in an actual high school. All around, the acting is wooden or hammy, depending on the scene. Things just jump around so much that you wonder if there are portions of the movie missing, and then you realize that the filmmakers left out the character development.

Some of the scenes were just ridiculous. What kind of spoiled and pampered seventeen year old can turn around and build a working greenhouse by himself? Or become a vigilante who jumps into dangerous situations? You’re not Batman! And when you get into an altercation and there’s a death, do you really think it’s that easy to hide what happened? This is the plot tool they used to get her living in his house - her dad killed someone, and to keep it from the police, Kyle made him make her stay at his place. Stalker much?

And then the ending. Just as the flower on his body blooms to signal that the year is over, she admits she digs him and kisses his ugly mug, releasing him from his prison. But then the movie just ends! What about the guy who threatened to kill her due to her father’s deeds? A threat so real that he let Kyle bully him letting the beast hold Linny hostage in the name of safety? Is that just never going to get resolved? What did I just watch?

See it / Meh / Skip it

Neil Patrick Harris, what the fuck were you doing in this movie?

#13 Bad Teacher (spoilers)

The Challenge: to watch 365 movies I’ve never seen before in 2011.

I hate spoilers, but I have yet to fully grasp the art of reviewing a movie without giving much away. I’m pretty sure that if I came across this post on tumblr, but hadn’t seen the movie yet, I be a little peeved. So, if you’ve got my sensitivity to spoilers, you’ve been warned.

Did you know that in New York City movies at AMC theaters are only $6 for movies that start before 11:30am? You’ll wind up with a pretty lame audience (though perhaps I’m judging too harshly), but $13 is just criminal.

In Bad Teacher we meet Elizabeth Halsey, a woman looking for her ticket to the easy life of some rich guy’s wife. While she’s figuring out how to further debase herself so she can make that happen, she’s makes a living treating her 7th grade students with almost total disdain. 

I wasn’t sure how much I liked this movie when I walked out of the theater. I lay part of the blame on the audience - it wasn’t much of a laughing crowd. I’m one of those people who doesn’t really laugh too loudly if I’m the only one doing so, but I know that there were some scenes that would’ve left me cackling like a hyena had I been alone or with those who shared my enthusiasm.

The movie really was pretty funny at times and somewhat ridiculous. Our bad teacher, however, isn’t particularly redeeming. There’s a scene toward the end that’s added to convince you that she’s learned something, but I suspect that Cameron Diaz’s character came out the other end of her “ordeal” about as awful as she went in. I might be able to forgive her, though, if she gave me the shoes she’s wearing in the movie poster.

As always, I continue to be in love with Jason Segel. Sure, his options in the movie were fairly limited, but he can do better than someone with such a bad attitude.

See it / Meh / Skip it

#12 Fish Tank

The Challenge: To see 365 movies I’ve never see before in 2011.

Saltynoodles was posting gifs from this film yesterday, so I decided to start watching it this morning while I was doing my laundry.

Fish Tank is the story of Mia Williams (Katie Jarvis in her first role), a troubled girl living with her mom and her sister in a very unglamorous corner of the UK. Life doesn’t seem to be going the right way for her. One day, her mother brings home Connor (Michael Fassbender), a new boyfriend who complicates everything.

Man, oh man. Mia’s life is a mess, and Connor isn’t helping. She’s at once incredibly vulnerable and seemingly able to take care of herself. She used and she uses. She shoves people away and pulls them close. She reacts terribly to everything, but you’ll understand why, at least somewhat. Connor’s a charmer, but you can see what he’s up to from his first frame, and so can she. This really was an excellent film.

See it / Meh / Skip it

#11 Thor

The Challenge: To watch 365 movies I’ve never seen in 2011.

Like I mentioned before, I didn’t realize that Thor was what it was until the movie actually opened. I saw it on a random night a little while ago - I had to use a discounted movie ticket I had bought forever ago.

Thor is a movie adaptation of one aspect of the Marvel universe. The titular character is a powerful but headstrong warrior, the heir to his father’s throne in the far off and far more supernatural realm of Asgard. After threatening to reignite a war due to reckless behavior, he is banished to Earth where he does not quite escape the trouble he started.

This movie was delightfully predictable. I had a great time watching it, but I knew what was coming next every step of the way. Purists will cringe (and sometimes I did too), but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Make sure that you watch it until the end of the credits for an extra little surprise. But you’re seriously a n00b if you don’t stick around til then when watching big action movies. I’d say you’re rewarded with an Easter egg for your troubles at least half the time.

See it / Meh / Skip it

#10 Something Borrowed

The Challenge: See 365 movie’s I’ve never seen before in 2011. Clearly I’m behind.

I never had high hopes for it, but Something Borrowed looked kind of curious. How are they going to make the woman who sleeps with her best friend’s fiance the one we’re hoping will “win” the guy? Yep. That sounds just as lame in writing as it did in my head.

A group of thirty year olds in New York are celebrating Rachel’s birthday, a surprise party put together by her best friend Darcy. At the end of the night, Rachel finds herself alone with Dex, Darcy’s fiance, the man she’s secretly had feelings for since they met at NYU Law. One thing leads to another, and they wake up together, betraying Darcy and giving voice to the feelings they’ve been hiding from each other. A summer of confusion, deception, and guilt over the upcoming wedding ensues …

Man, every single one of these people suck. Darcy’s the bitch who went after the man that she knew her friend was going gaga over. After years of bff-ness she should be able to tell the difference between Rachel claiming she doesn’t like a guy and Rachel claiming she doesn’t like the guy while in front of him. Rachel’s the push-over who let her get away with that. Then she turned into the back-stabber who sleeps with her best friend’s soon to be life-partner. Dex is the pussy who wouldn’t admit he was into Rachel then, won’t admit he’s into Rachel now (to his future wife at least), and dicks around in a life he doesn’t want while he does a disservice to both women.

By the way, everything I said above was in the trailer. The movie reveals nothing new about any of their personalities.

The movie’s saving grace? John Krasinski. Voice of reason, some good one-liners. If I watch this again, it’ll probably be mostly for him.

See it / Meh / Skip it

#9 Bridesmaids

The Challenge: To watch 365 movies I’ve never seen before in 2011. I promise, I’m more than 9 movies deeps, I just haven’t made posts about them all.

So I went to see Bridesmaids with my sister Friday night. New York, you’re killing me here - $13 a ticket to see a movie? When did the prices go up again? 

In Bridesmaids, Annie (played by Kristen Wiig) discovers that her best friend Lillian is getting married, moving to Chicago, and getting all her ducks in a row for a nice new life. Annie’s own life is falling apart, but she instantly agrees to be the maid of honor. It seems, however, that she might not be cut out for the job, and someone who just might be is hovering in the wings …

Don’t let anyone tell you this is chick flick, if you believe in the negative connotations that go with that label. This is just a hilarious comedy that happens to star women. This is a must see for anyone who appreciates humor. Some of it is subtle, friendship-between-ladies based, some of it is in-your-face raunchy. You’ll appreciate the presence of every one of the above ladies (especially in the scene from which the still was taken). People have been talking about this movie for the last couple of weeks for a reason. Despite the fact that The Hangover 2 (which I will see and post about soon) opened on Friday, I saw groups of men, sans women, walking into the theater to see this film. If that doesn’t say everyone needs to see this, I don’t know what will.

See it / Meh / Skip it

Now There’s a Bet

A certain friend of mine doesn’t think I’ll complete the movie challenge. He’s right to be skeptical - I’ve probably only seen about 15 new movies this year, and it’s already almost May.

And I’m taking an honors seminar this fall.

And a graduate math class.

But I’m a determined motherfucker, and now that 4 months of Netflix are on the line …

Ravi, you know not what you’ve done.

#8 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow, Part I (spoilers)

The Challenge: to watch 365 movies I have never seen before in 2011.

So I actually watched this back in January, when walking on my knee was still really difficult, so God, laughing at me as always, had New York covered with ice and slush. I didn’t want to watch it while I was in Prague because I wanted the Imax experience, but it wasn’t playing there anymore by the time I got home.

It’s Harry Potter, so I’m only going to give you a synopsis to the point of saying the movie ends after the trio has been captured, escapes Bella, visits the Shell Cottage, and certain beloved character is mortally wounded.

I don’t like the Harry Potter movies. I never have, and probably never will. I’m an avid Harry Potter book fan, and I’m not proud of the fact that I can’t separate the novels from their film adaptations and just enjoy them for what they are, because they certainly have gotten better. The fact that I can’t sit through repeated viewings says something about the movies, because any media I consume - music, books, films, even magazines sometimes - I consume over and over and over again. And I will say this - I’m not universally angry at movie-versions of books I love. Holes and Little Children are fantastic adaptations of their source material, even if the latter does something pretty significantly different with the ending. Satisfying HP books lovers would not have been impossible, but harder. 

That said, this movie didn’t make me as angry as usual. I really fucking wanted to see the Erumpent horn blow the house up, and that scene when Ron comes back was really fucking weird. But I wasn’t as angry. I do think that stems from the fact that I haven’t read the 7th book since the beginning of last summer, at least, so I’m sure I’ll be furious after part II post re-reading. 

See it / Meh / Skip it (though I’m extremely biased)

#7 Source Code (spoilers)

The Challenge: to watch 365 movies I’ve never seen before in 2011. I have seen more than seven newbies this year, I just haven’t written about them all yet.

So, moments ago, I finished streaming Source Code on my computer instead of, I don’t know, working on a mountain of homework and end-of-the-year projects. I stayed into tonight to be productive. But I’m updating this, so that’s something, right?

Source Code is a movie about a Captain Colter Stevens, a soldier on a mission to save Chicago from a second attack following a commuter-train explosion. Through a dubious program that lends its name to the film’s title, he can “re-live” the last eight minutes of the life of one the doomed passengers. His goal: figure out enough information about the first attack so as to prevent the second.

Time travel-like media can always be a little sticky, and every novel, film, and television show (have there been any time travel shows worth talking about?) sets up its own rules. I think this movie follows them pretty well without over-complicating the plot, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was fan of Vera Farmiga’s conflicted but duty-bound soldier, even if it was a tad cliché. There’s a little something for everyone in this one, and I’d recommend it. It isn’t just a mindless action flick - if it’s not your cup of tea you can gloss over some of the philosophical implications of the choices that the characters make, but this film leaves some room to debate.

See it / Meh / Skip it

#6 The Runaways (spoilers)

The Challenge: To watch 365 movies I’ve never seen before in 2011

The Runaways is about an all-girl rock band from the 1970s, trying to break into the genre in a real way. Sex is easy. Drugs flow liberally. Music comes swiftly. But they find that fame and the lifestyle that comes with it might be more than they can handle. 

I must say, this was better than I was expecting it to be. No, I didn’t find it particularly weird to see Dakota Fanning in a more mature (though, let’s not pretend that Cherie Currie was mature) role. Yes, Kristen Stewart seemed kinda awkwardly wooden (but hey, maybe Joan Jett was kinda awkward, and Stewart’s actually fantastic). All in all, I don’t regret staying up to watch it, even if I had to wake up early the next day, and I’d see it again.

See it / Meh / Skip it

#5 The Town (spoilers)

Insomnia rages. Or really, a willingness to do anything other than dig through my “favorites” list on NYU’s job site. There are few things I do that are more soul crushing than writing cover letter after cover letter. 

I just finished watching The Town. Fitting, I guess, since I just got back from Boston, and spent quite a bit of time in the featured neighborhood, Charlestown, from which the movie gets its name. It’s about a group of bank robbers, a certain FBI agent who’s determined to bring them down, a woman who was kidnapped by the thieves but, unbeknownst to her, is dating one of them, and the tangled web of danger and deceit that seems to ensnare them all.

This is one of those films where there are two clear sides, but you don’t know who to route for. Life is so much more complicated than that, and I guess this movie shows it. Here is more evidence of why people shouldn’t be so quick to shit on Ben Affleck. He’s starring and he directed it, and this was one of the better movies to come out of 2010.

Word of advice? Make sure whatever you’re watching this on has good speakers. Maybe I’m going deaf, maybe I can blame my computer, but sometimes, I couldn’t tell what the fuck they were saying. Especially the trashed-out Blake Lively.

See it / Skip it

#4 Despicable Me (spoilers)

I took the bus back from Boston this morning, and may I say, the driver fucking flew us to New York. We left 10 minutes late, but still showed up over a half hour early. No complaints here, though my computer thought it’d be funny to put a blurb in my news widget about a tour-bus crash in the city over the weekend, then refuse to give me internet access so I could read the story.

I watched most of Despicable Me on the bus, fell into a half sleep, and watched the rest in my apartment. In the film, Gru, our dastardly villain is on a mission to steal the moon. To further his evil plot, he underhandedly adopts three little orphans - but will they end up disrupting his plans?

I must say, those minions are delightfully adorable. I’d heard that Despicable Me was supposed to be really cute, and it was, but it was over-hyped. Like all good animated movies today, there were touches of “jokes for the adults pretending they were dragged to see the show” coupled with just enough cuteness to make you smile without wanting to throw up at the sweetness. But sometimes, those girls were so annoying. 

See it / Skip it