Movies - December 2007

December's gone in a blink. As I'm sitting back to write one last post about movies I had seen, I'm realising there's just few. No wonder. Here they are:

1. Running With Scissors (2006)
It took me almost two weeks to finish off this one. It wasn't boring, quite opposite, I found it reasonably funny, however every time I came home and decided to watch it I was too tired and I passed out within minutes.

2. Into The Wild (2007)
I have more and more respect for Sean Penn. Though knowing beforehand what was this about and how it ends, I still had a good time watching it. I guess the most difficult part of making this movie was to work out how to avoid clichés. And he managed.

3. Death At A Funeral (2007)
I wrote once — though someplace else — that I like movies that are true to their original intentions. In other words, the ones that do not pretend they're something else. This is clearly a laid-back comedy and nothing else. And as such, it's great.

4. Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007)
I was quite surprised when David Stratton noted about half a year ago that Atkinson, with this movie, is proving himself to be an accomplished disciple of silent film comedians of early 1920's. And he was right.

5. Waitress (2007)
Though lovable, I don't know exactly what to think of this. It wasn't that much of a comedy and certainly wasn't much of a romance either. Yet it was still a bit of a feel-good flick.

6. The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
Highly acclaimed dullness. Most probably, I should had seen it when I was six years old. Sorry, I missed. Yawn.

7. Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
There's no excuse for this flop by Steven Soderbergh and a bunch of his top-list friends. I believe they had fun. But what about audience? Fuck you Rusty, Danny and co. I hope there won't be Ocean's Fourteen unless you plan to make it an alternative to capital punishment.

8. Home Alone 3 (1997)
Quite funny, considering this is third installment. Mr Soderbergh, have you seen this? However, hardly teen Scarlett Johansson was strikingly lifeless in her unimportant side character.

9. Kulovy blesk (1978)
Smoljak & Svěrák classic. Hillarious. Unfortunately, if one does not understand Czech, they have no chance to enjoy this comedy par excellence.

So. For those few who used to read this monthly list, this one is the very last on DWDU. Accepting my brother's idea, it's moving to a different blog. Email me if you don't know where and you'd want to.

Movies - November 2007

I sold my 37" LCD telly. Thirtyseven is not a popular size anymore. Especially for someone who doesn't watch television at all. The plan is to buy a new one after holiday season, though haven't decided yet if it means this holiday season or maybe the following one. Or the one after.

1. Kráska v nesnázích (2006) (likeable)
2. Na krásnom modrom Dunaji (1997) (unbelievably Slovak!)
3. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (2007) (losing the grip)
4. Starship Troopers (1997) (predictable, yet enjoyable to an extent)
5. Skřítek (2005) (a movie I sadly missed in 2005, funny and smart)
6. The Jacket (2005) (nothing extraordinary)
7. Destricted (2006) (had its moments)
8. Mezi námi zloději (1963) (must have been outrageous at the time)
9. Death Proof (2007) (if this was a flop, I'd like to see more flops like this)
10. Ghost Dog: The Way Of A Samurai (1999) (I remember the poster I saw in winter Bratislava in 1999, and wonder/wonder!/wonder!!! why didn't I go see it?; stunning!)
11. Eastern Promises (2007) (one of top ten 2007 movies, Viggo is the man)
12. French Connection II (1975) (Gene Hackman's unforgettable heroin cold turkey in Marseilles)

I had to give it a bit of a thought to choose the movie of the month. While Eastern Promises may be one of the better ones released this year and Death Proof is also a great competitor, Jim Jarmusch made a classic in 1999; Ghost Dog is a hell of a movie and Forest Whitaker is touchingly convincing; I consider the hitman role his definite, standing Amin in The Last King Of Scotland at number two and Charlie Parker in Bird at number three. Hail to both Jim & Forest!