No Reservations (2007)

[Movie 96 / Day 59]

Romcom set in a professional kitchen. Catherine Zeta Jones is fairly bland. Aaron Eckhart is as good as he is in every movie of his I've seen so far.

It's an entirely unoffensive, totally predictable story, yet it's enjoyable enough.

My rating: 6.2 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.3 / 10
Running time: 104 mins
IMDB link

Appaloosa (2008)

[Movie 95 / Day 59]


Ed Harris directs and stars in this western. It starts off brilliantly, Ed Harris's character is a total bad-ass and Viggo Mortensen sports a marvelous moustache. However, it seems to bog down in sub-plots and actually gets a bit boring in places.

Uncouth I may be, but I was left hoping for much more in the way of shoot outs.

Still, it's pretty good.

My rating: 6.2 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.9 / 10
Running time: 115 mins
IMDB link

Stargate (1994)

[Movie 94 / Day 58]


Whilst excavating a site in Egypt in the 1920s, a strange circle covered in symbols is discovered. Fast forward many years and scientists are still trying to work out what the symbols mean. Until the old lady in charge of the project recruits Dr Daniel Jackson (James Spader), who is laughed at in his lectures because of his wacky theories.

Within a few days, Jackson has worked out the meaning of all the symbols and discovered that the big circle thing is a gate to another dimension.

Obviously, the sensible thing to do is to send a bunch of hard-nosed soldiers through, led by Colonel Jack O'Neil (Kurt Russell, sporting the flattest flat top I've ever seen).

On the other side, we discover that the Egyptians were enslaved by Ra, a being that they thought was a god but turns out is an alien that was trying to find a way to live for ever.

Give it a few hours and our team of intrepid explorers has discovered a civilisation, thanks largely to a big hairy animal that looks like it has a face full of Botox. A couple of hours after that, clever Dr Jackson is conversing with them (despite declaring that they speak a language that has been 'dead' for over 1000 years). The next day, Ra rocks up, all angry that someone has dared open his precious gate up again. He comes sporting a terrific pyramid shaped space ship and some fancy guards, complete with mighty morphin' head pieces and laser guns - not to mention his personal collection of freaky kids.

Whilst Colonel Jack is looking all moody and teaching kids not to play with guns (strangely, he actively encourages them to smoke, however), that sly old dog Doc Jackson has gone and got married.

Unfortunately, they can't return to Earth because there's a symbol missing from the 2nd stargate. Thanks to an amazing stroke of luck however, Dr Jackson discovers the missing symbol - when one of the young lads draws it on a cave wall, despite us being told that they Ra banned them from learning to read or write.

Obviously, the badass Colonel attacks the flying pyramid. And gets captured. But it's OK, because the plucky kids have found the special forces secret stash of weaponry and within minutes are fully tooled up like a gang of dreadlocked mini-Rambos.

A few scuffles ensue, during which Ra's eyes have a habit of glowing white, before the good guys win by beaming a nuke on board Ra's spaceship when he does a runner.

Roland Emerich directed it and a couple of years later did the big budget Will Smith sci-fi actioner Independance Day. It seems like he reused bits of the Stargate score, as they seem very similar in places.

Anyway, it's ridiculous and makes for an average sci-fi actioner.

My rating: 6.0 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.7 / 10
Running time: 121 mins
IMDB link

Burn After Reading (2008)

[Movie -- / Day 58]

Almost as good on the second viewing as the first.

My rating: 7.8 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.4 / 10
Running time: 96 mins
IMDB link

Batman (1989)

[Movie 93 / Day 55]


With Tim Burton at the helm, Batman went from being the campy, colourful TV series full of silly dialogue ("Holy horseshoe, Batman!" etc) of the 60s to a dark, malevolant beast set in a murky Gotham - in one respect closer to the comic book Batman than ever.

Whilst this movie has it's detractors (some say Michael Keaton doesn't cut it as a millionaire playboy - they're missing the point however, he's not portrayed as a millionaire playboy, unlike the Nolan/Bale version, he's being shown as a millionaire recluse; a role Keaton is perfect for), I love this portrayal of Bats. Burton managed to simultaneously make Gotham a horrible, dank place and still inject the movie with comic book colour and style.

Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the Joker is also fantastic - both darkly comic and gloriously over the top. Again, people that compare this Joker to Heath Ledger's version (from The Dark Knight) are missing the point - they're uncomparable, coming from different eras and different visions of the Batman universe. Whilst they're both awesome, Ledger takes the win IMO.

When this movie came out, it put the comic book movie on the map, and it still holds up well today - especially considering it's now 20 years old.

I love it.

My rating: 8.0 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.6 / 10
Running time: 126 mins
IMDB link

The Wrestler (2008)

[Movie 92 / Day 54]


Mickey Rourke is fantastic in this, possibly because the story has parallels to his own life and as such it may not have been stretching his acting skills. Having said that however, The Wrestler is an interesting story of an 80s wrestling legend who is determined to hang on to his past glories rather than accept that time moves on. Thanks at least in part to Rourke's performance, the movie almost feels like a documentary - we're not watching Mickey Rourke on screen, we're watching Randy 'The Ram' Robinson.

It's good, but not as good as some critics would have you think.

My rating: 7.9 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.5 / 10
Running time: 115 mins
IMDB link

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)

[Movie 91 / Day 54]


Terry Gilliam fantasy about Baron Munchausen, who sets off on a voyage to gather his servants in order to save a town from invading Turks. Lots and lots of 'names' in it, lots and lots of crazy imagery (a trip to the moon in a hot air balloon to see the King of Everything, a fish the size of an island, a flying horse, etc)...

Even though it's pretty surreal, it's also fun to watch and I enjoyed it a fair amount. Except for the appearance of another abysmal Jonathan Pryce accent.

My rating: 7.1 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.0 / 10
Running time: 126 mins
IMDB link

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

[Movie 90 / Day 53]


Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of a boy from the slums of Mumbai who wins the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. As the programme finishes with him one question away from winning 20 million Rupees, he is arrested on suspicion of cheating. The film is made up of flashbacks of his life, showing the hardships that are indelibly printed in his memory - and also how an uneducated 'slumdog' could possibly know the answers.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this (Although I generally like Danny Boyle's films, 2007's Sunshine was terrible and had put me off a bit), however, an original plot and an excellent cast make this a wonderful movie and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

My rating: 8.4 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.7 / 10
Running time: 120 mins
IMDB link

Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix (2007)

[Movie 89 / Day 53]


This animated Ben 10 movie is much better than its live action counterpart. Ben Tennyson is your average schoolkid, except he wears a device on his wrist, called the Omnitrix, that allows him to shapeshift into 10 different aliens. He uses this device to fight evil, as you would.

During one of his crime fighting adventures, he inadvertantly puts the Omnitrix into self-destruct mode. The rest of the movie is spent tracking down the alien that made the thing so he can stop it - apparently nobody else in the galaxy knows how to use it properly.

It's OK. Wouldn't recommend it unless you're a small boy that loves watching Ben 10 anyway.

My rating: 5.5 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.3 / 10
Running time: 74 mins
IMDB link

Ben 10: Race Against Time (2007)

[Movie 88 / Day 53]


Live action version of the popular kids cartoon. It's terrible.

My rating: 3.3 / 10
IMDB rating: 4.8 / 10
Running time: 72 mins
IMDB link

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)

[Movie 87 / Day 52]


Enjoyable enough sequel. The penguins steal the show.

My rating: 6.3 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.0 / 10
Running time: 89 mins
IMDB link

Bolt (2008)

[Movie 86 / Day 52]


Bolt the superdog is a character in a TV show. Unfortunately, the dog that plays Bolt hasn't been told and thinks that he actually has super powers. When he escapes from the studio, he is on a mission to rescue Penny, the little girl in the TV show.

It's OK, but lacks humour for adults. Some bits are nicely done and Rhino the hamster is a brilliant character. The kids enjoyed it lots though.

My rating: 6.9 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.6 / 10
Running time: 103 mins
IMDB link

The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior (2008)

[Movie 85 / Day 51]


Terrible dialogue. Hideous CGI. Insipid plot. Don't bother with this unless you're being threatened with testicle-based torture. And give serious thought to taking the testicle-based torture before watching it, as it's possibly less painful.

My rating: 3.6 / 10
IMDB rating: 3.8 / 10
Running time: 109 mins
IMDB link

Gran Torino (2008)

[Movie 84 / Day 51]


Clint Eastwood stars in this unexpectedly moving story as a gruff Korean War veteran that, despite his racism, befriends a Hmong teenager that tries to steal his beloved 1972 Gran Torino.

Eastwood is brilliant, although I thought the racism went a bit too far - yes, the character refers to Asians as 'gooks' and black people as 'spades' and that is part of who Walt Kowalski is, but sometimes it felt almost like they were throwing in racist insults because they could. I have no problem with racism being depicted in movies, especially when it's integral to the story, but a couple of times it just felt wrong in this.

Still, very enjoyable, if a sad, bittersweet ending.

Apparently, Eastwood has said this will be his last film as an actor. If true, it's a real shame as he's still got it. Still, presumably he will continue to direct and hopefully he'll be tempted back at some point.

My rating: 8.0 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.4 / 10
Running time: 116 mins
IMDB link

Tropic Thunder (2008)

[Movie 83 / Day 50]


More inane fun - props to Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr though, for me, they were stand out.

My rating: 6.9 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.3 / 10
Running time: 107 mins
IMDB link

Step Brothers (2008)

[Movie 82 / Day 50]


Inane fun with a couple of genuinely funny moments.

My rating: 6.9 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.8 / 10
Running time: 98 mins
IMDB link

Mississippi Burning (1988)

[Movie 81 / Day 49]


Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe are two FBI agents with very different personalities that head the investigation into the disappearance of three voting rights activists from a small town in Mississippi.

Before long, they're fighting with the KKK and struggling to make a case in a town where nobody wants to speak out.

It's a pretty good film and well acted.

My rating: 7.4 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.7 / 10
Running time: 128 mins
IMDB link

Semi-Pro (2008)

[Movie 80 / Day 48]


Will Ferrell is Jackie Moon, the owner / player / coach of the Flint Michegan Tropics. He has to get his basketball team of misfits into 4th place in order to take advantage of a merger deal with the NBA. Comedy ensues. Mostly. Some funny bits, anyway.

My rating: 5.7 / 10
IMDB rating: 5.7 / 10
Running time: 99 mins
IMDB link

National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)

[Movie 79 / Day 47]


For pure enjoyment, the National Treasure movies are hard to beat. It's like Indiana Jones met The Da Vinci Code in a dirty bar, had a knee-trembler in the back alley by the dustbins and 9 months later, Nicolas Cage was cast as a treasure hunter extraordinaire.

Following on from the first movie, Book of Secrets deals with another hidden treasure, this time a Native American 'City of Gold'. Cage has to clear his great-great-(great?)-grandfather's name and in order to do this, has to find the fabled City to prove his ancestor was a stand up guy after all. In the course of the hunt, we visit Paris, break into Buckingham Palace and the Oval Office and kidnap the president.

All of the original cast return and we get a shiny new bad guy in the gruff form of Ed Harris.

It's nothing special, and yes there are bits that stretch the suspension of disbelief you need for a movie like this (mostly technical things in my case, like a traffic camera taking a massively high resolution picture, or the zoom on the model helicopter). Having said that, it's much, much better than Indy 4 and it's one of those movies that's just fun to watch. I hope they make a third (and they left it open for one with the mysterious 'Page 47' chat with the president).

It's a pity that George Lucas didn't sit down and watch the National Treasures before he sat down and ruined the Indiana Jones movies.

My rating: 7.1 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.6 / 10
Running time: 124 mins
IMDB link

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

[Movie 78 / Day 46]


A few really fun set pieces (car chase, motorbike chase, jumping off a big building etc). Brosnan is pretty good as Bond and it hasn't dated quite as badly as Goldeneye (yet). Michelle Yeoh is also pretty good.

The thing that annoys most is the baddies. Jonathan Pryce is a TERRIBLE super-villain, he just seems like he can't be bothered with the role - you'd think he'd never seen a keyboard in his life from watching the way he pretends to type, he literally just slaps the keyboard like a mong. Every time I see it I find it massively annoying - how much effort would it have taken to actually make it look like he was typing? The guy that plays henchman Stamper is OK, but Stamper himself looks and sounds like a member of a German Take That tribute band.

Still, it's not a bad movie, if you can put up with Pryce.

My rating: 6.0 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.4 / 10
Running time: 119 mins
IMDB link