Date Night (2010): Pretty enjoyable movie. The story is fairly ridiculous and unbelievable, so it all starts with Steve Carell and Tina Fey being a believable couple, and they definitely pull it off. It's a lot of fun watching them stumble through a complex, dangerous mystery that is way above their heads. Bonus: William Fichtner as a ridiculously corrupt district attorney. He's hilarious. Pretty different from his usual roles, to say the least, haha.
Cool Hand Luke (1967): One of the greats, and part of Paul Newman's ridiculous run of movies from the late '50s to the early '70s. He was just too damn good and absolutely perfect for the time -- Newman had that peculiar sort of anti-hero part down. Luke plays a hero for the other prisoners, but he's not really actively trying to be a hero for them; he's just being himself, and he is suffering dearly for it. You can slowly see Luke grow more tired of everything he has to suffer in the name of defying the captain and the prison guards. Even in the scenes that audiences universally love -- such as the egg-eating scene -- Luke is very clearly suffering greatly. It's interesting how, along with everything else the movie does, scenes like that subtly implicate the audience in Luke's suffering; the other prisoners take joy in Luke's feat, and as soon as he finishes, they grow bored, leave and go on to the next distraction. Something I hadn't really noticed the first time I watched the movie.
Kiss Me Deadly (1955): One of those classic film noir flicks that is more memorable for its style and dialogue than its plot, which is one of those notoriously complex noir mysteries that doesn't quite make sense as it is unfolding, and makes even less sense upon reflection. Mike Hammer is unique among noir detectives -- they usually come cynical, but Hammer has genuine darkness to him. He clearly takes pleasure in the pain he dishes out, and he doesn't hesitate to do some questionable things (such as using his secretary to seduce men with information) to solve his cases. The movie is also shockingly sensual for 1955; I imagine this flick was shown in only the seediest of theaters way back when.
An American Werewolf in London (1981): Wow, this is a great horror movie; definitely not just a show for special effects. It really nails that tragic unfairness at the heart of real horror -- the main characters don't really deserve their fates in any way, but they have to deal with it anyway. The slow build to the eventual werewolf transformation is well done, too; it doesn't even happen until there's about a half hour left in the movie, which surprised me. And with John Landis at the helm, there's a good portion of comedy, but there's a dark tint to it that falls right in line with the tone of the horror. Really impressive movie.
On the queue for this week: Logan's Run (1976), The Naked City (1948), Teen Wolf (1985)
Total Movies: 133 (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, Black Christmas, Crazy Heart, The Man with Two Brains, Ninja Assassin, Panic Room, Mobile Suit Gundam I-III, Casablanca, Stray Dog, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva, Memories, The Gold Rush, Paprika, Martian Successor Nadesico: The Motion Picture - Prince of Darkness, An Education, Eden of the East: Paradise Lost, Dr. Strangelove, Doomsday, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Natural, Bungaku Shoujo, The Book of Eli, To Kill a Mockingbird, Aim for the Ace!, Animal House, The Princess and the Frog, Char's Counterattack, Date Night, Cool Hand Luke, Kiss Me Deadly, An American Werewolf in London)
