The Hurt Locker (2009): Definitely lived up to the hype for me. It pulls off an interesting balance, showing the kind of action and excitement that makes war addicting for some people, without really glorifying that action. The engagements always start off potentially exciting, but they then peter out into something terrifying that leaves your blood running cold ... but with just enough there for someone like William James (Jeremy Renner), who can't get enough of the adrenaline rush that comes with defusing bombs. That's probably the scariest thing of all: Even with all the terrible crap he sees and experiences (and it's a lot), there's still enough for him to return.
Roujin Z (1991): This is a surprisingly funny anime flick about an old man who is taken out of the care of his nurse and strapped into a machine that is purported to take care of his every whim and desire ... which then promptly goes berserk and rampages through the city, as machines are wont to do in anime. The satire is still relevant today (and probably more so in Japan, taking into account its rapidly aging population), and the animation is solid, if not quite as good as the movies of this era with the highest budgets. Worth seeing.
Broken Blade (2010): Another anime movie, but I didn't enjoy this too much. It's pretty much generic fantasy (two nations are at war with each other! and the protagonist just happens to be friends with the king of one, and a soldier in the other! wow, what a coincidence!) with a sprinkling of mecha on top. And of course this serves mostly as an introduction to the world and conflict, too, so it's 90 percent exposition and 10 percent action. I do like that the mecha aren't crazy overpowered and actually seem like they take some effort to use, but otherwise ... blah.
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009): Potentially controversial opinion here: I prefer this to Up (and certainly Ponyo). Part of that is because I feel like I am just on the same wavelength as Wes Anderson's movies; I haven't seen one yet that I didn't like a lot, except maybe Bottle Rocket. His style of humor just works for me. The movie's not quite as emotionally moving as Up, but it's just as funny (in a completely different way), and the characters are all memorable and hilarious. Love the stop motion animation too. Much like traditional 2D animation, I hope stop motion never dies out completely. If I have one complaint about the movie, it's that it feels like a typical Wes Anderson movie (bizarre, somewhat neglectful father; jealous son; weird crew of friends, etc.) shoehorned a bit into this story (which I have not read). Not a bad thing for me, but for someone who isn't a fan of Wes Anderson, I doubt this will change their mind.
On the queue for this week: Crazy Heart (2009)
Total Movies: 100 (The Taking of Pelham 123, The Station Agent, The Final Destination, Silent Movie, The African Queen, Departures, Moon, Bound, Solaris, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rifftrax), Wristcutters: A Love Story, In the Loop, Public Enemies, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (Rifftrax), Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Lagann-Hen, District 9, The Magnificent Seven, Night Moves, My Name is Bruce, Big Fan, Almost Famous, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, Drag Me to Hell, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Kara no Kyoukai 1-7, 9, Zombieland, Ninja Scroll, Primer, Re-Animator, Summer Wars, The Changeling, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Ponyo, Eden of the East: The King of Eden, Porco Rosso, Something Something Something Dark Side, Castle in the Sky, Robot Carnival, Halloweentown, Whisper of the Heart, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, Fiddler on the Roof, Kiki's Delivery Service, Genius Party, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, The Sky Crawlers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, My Neighbors the Yamadas, THX 1138, The Stepfather, Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks, Tremors, Horror of Dracula, The Brood, Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, Rabid, Inglourious Basterds, Them!, The Yakuza, Alphaville, Ghost in the Shell, Priceless, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance, Whip It, A Boy and His Dog, Fletch, The Blind Side, Speed, June 17, 1994, Nobel Son, Invictus, Toy Story 3, The Two Escobars, Soylent Green, Up in the Air, Tyson, This Is Spinal Tap, The Proposition, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, The Informant!, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Macross: Do You Remember Love?, Coco Before Chanel, The Vanishing, Inception, Mind Game, Pale Rider, The Hurt Locker, Roujin Z, Broken Blade, Fantastic Mr. Fox)
