Svetlana and I are pretty obsessed with Netflix. I take the slightly more OCD route though by rating all my movies (between 1 and 5 stars) and rearranging my queue on an hourly basis. I will often berate her for giving odd ratings: “5 stars out of 5 for The Descent? Really?” She doesn’t care. I also send a lot of “notes” to friends, a Netflix feature that allows you to suggest movies to your friends via an up to 200 character mini review. Svetlana wishes I would channel all my Netflix energy into BYT. So at her request every once in a while I’ll post some of my mini-reviews from the past 4+ years, ten or so at a time. Feel free to give me shit like I give her shit:
Kurt Cobain: About a Son
Audio interviews with Kurt played over unrelated artsy documentary style footage. Sometimes insightful and entertaining but at times retarded and tedious. Would have worked better as a short film.
3 Stars
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
You’d think this ‘91 film (last with the original crew), following the dreadful part V, would be a disaster, but it may be the best in the series. Perfect balance of everything good about Star Trek.
4 Stars
Religulous
Why it works is because for much of it Maher sits back and allows people to make fools of themselves. Should be required viewing for every person in America. Some good deleted scenes too.
5 Stars
Magnolia
I love me some PTA. So underrated.
5 Stars
Hamlet 2
Came in with pretty low expectations but was pleasantly surprised with how ridiculously funny this movie is. And weird. Kinda wish the whole thing was just the actual play though.
4 Stars
Evan Almighty
Not even the genius of Steve Carell can save this disaster. Attempts to sugar coat a horrific tale of genocide and vengeance by making it about family values, green living, and people falling down.
1 Star
Wristcutters: A Love Story
So good! Shannyn Sossamon!!! <3 <3 <3
4 Stars
Galapagos: IMAX
A missed opportunity. Typical IMAX cheese and terrible acting is forgivable, but the lack of any real science or substance is not. Avoid. It’s not even that pretty.
2 Stars
Slumdog Millionaire
lives up to the hype
5 Stars
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
What a letdown that such a curious case was bestowed on such an uninteresting chap. Was compelling in concept only + a major misstep with that illogical conclusion. Add, but move to the bottom.
3 Stars
Wanna be my Netflix friend? Click here:
http://www.netflix.com/BeMyFriend/PmzrQcDhoaLYHM0oKBu0
Wanna read Part 1? Click here.
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Wanna read my thing on the Roku? Click here:
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/movies/netflix-hd/
Wanna know what’s going to be avail to steam on Netflix? Check these guys out:
http://www.streamingsoon.com/
Hated Ben Button. It has the same plot as Forrest Gump (kinda) !
Magnolia= a favorite
October 30, 2009 at 5:09 pmI kinda liked Benjamin Button.
November 1, 2009 at 11:05 amIs Forest Gump good? I mean, I remember liking it when I was 15 yrs old, but has it held up?
November 2, 2009 at 11:52 amCale,
I think Forrest Gump functions better as a Baby Boomer time capsule than as a good movie.
My ratings over the past two weeks (I’ve been renting a lot of classics):
Stander – South African bank robber goes from folk hero to thrill-seeking degenerate. More attention should have been paid to the robberies themselves. 3 stars.
Tears of the Black Tiger – Bright colors and stylized violence are the highlights of this campy, blood-soaked Thai melodrama. 3 stars.
Notorious – A new transfer of Hitchcock’s 1946 thriller. Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman are mesmerizing, though the story does not hold up as well as the director’s best. 4 stars.
Russian Ark – A single 96 shot that chronicles 300 years of Russian history. The tone is dreamlike and rapturous, though the story isn’t too engaging. 4 stars.
The Great Escape – Richard Attenborough and Steve McQueen star in this WW2 classic. This is a LONG movie, though the final act is worth your attention. 4 stars.
Replusion – Catherine Deneuve stars in Roman Polanski’s portrayal of psychological horror and sexual hysteria. This movie creeped me the fuck about. Almost as good as Psycho. 4 stars.
Ikiru – Kurosawa’s examines the life of a bureaucrat with terminal cancer. Ultimately rewarding, with a bizarre final half hour. 4 stars.
Richard III – Ian McKellen stars in this fascistic Shakespeare adaptation. It’s bloody fun, with strong acting and a reprehensible protagonist. 5 stars.
Cowards Bend the Knee – I’m not sure why I still bother with Guy Maddin. His movies are unique, yes, though regularly exacerbating. 2 stars.
Homicide – Criterion finally releases this David Mamet classic. Full of the clipped dialogue and intricate plot Mamet fans have come to love. Features Joe Mategna and William H. Macy. 4 stars.
November 3, 2009 at 11:20 am
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
What a letdown that such a curious case was bestowed on such an uninteresting chap. Was compelling in concept only + a major misstep with that illogical conclusion. Add, but move to the bottom.”
I tried three times to watch this and never made it through. It sucked. It was based on one of F. Scott’s suckiest books though so it’s not difficult to see why.
October 30, 2009 at 2:01 pm