Lately I've been scouring the Let's Play archive for stuff to read at work. Lots of good ones on there -- I enjoyed the ones for Metal Gear Solid 2, the Silent Hill series and am currently reading through the Resident Evil series. Good times.
Winnie the Pooh (2011): A cute movie. There are lots of familiar elements, of course, and it's even more clearly made for kids than most Disney movies (though that's not to say there aren't things for the older set), but there's enough new stuff to make it fun. Plus, mostly non-CG animated movie; I am always down for that.
Bullitt (1968): Solid crime flick, but the whole time I was watching it, I couldn't help but think how different it would be if it were made today. It's quite deliberately paced for one; there's a lot more of Bullitt doing basic detective work than there is action, though the action is really good when it comes. Also, the famous car chase would have had a billion more explosions and would have lost all sense of weight. That's the thing that really stands out about the chase to me -- you can actually feel the weight of the cars as they're driving through San Francisco.
Hard Eight (1996): With this, I've now seen every Paul Thomas Anderson movie. Yay! It's a solid character study of a few people who float around in a rather seedy existence in Las Vegas. It does pick up a bit of a plot later, but it's mostly about the characters and dialogue here. Philip Baker Hall is especially good; he's got a complicated relationship with one of the characters that takes a surprising change late in the movie, and he's so good at hinting what he truly feels but not revealing all the cards.
Memories of Matsuko (2006): Basically what would happen if you took the visual style of Amelie but made it incredibly depressing instead of light and happy. It works here, though, because the visuals play up the fairy tale life Matsuko desperately hopes to lead but can never quite grasp. The movie almost crosses the line into meaningless suffering, but never quite gets there, thankfully. And despite the often depressing storyline, there are plenty of funny, lighthearted moments in this movie. The main actress, Miki Nakatani, is fantastic, too. Probably the only bad thing I can say about the movie is that a lot of the backgrounds and effects feel cheap -- it's like TV-level CGI rather than a movie production.
Double Indemnity (1944): Hadn't seen it in a few years. Always love a good film noir, especially the ones that had to bend over backwards to get around the Hays Code. Those always feel extra clever, because they have to suggest things they weren't allowed to show. Double Indemnity is definitely daring for the era, and its brand of wit and wordplay is timeless. (Much of it courtesy of Raymond Chandler, who penned the screenplay with director Billy Wilder.)
On the queue for this week: Freaks (1932)
Total Movies: 109 (Blazing Saddles, The Descent, Gundam 00 the Movie: Awakening of the Trailblazer, Village of the Damned, Children of the Damned, Trigun: Badlands Rumble, The Night of the Hunter, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha the Movie 1st, Dawn of the Dead, Black Swan, Clue, Scarface, Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned, True Grit, Perfect Blue, The Quick and the Dead, High Sierra, Shutter Island, A Serious Man, Kite, The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Broken Blade 3, Kite Liberator, Machete, The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Heathers, The Prince of Tennis: The Two Samurai, The First Game, Notes on a Scandal, The American, King of Thorn), The Expendables, Sword of the Stranger, The Hangover, Welcome to the Space Show, Broken Blade 4, The Social Network, End of Evangelion, Neo Tokyo, Red, Dreamcatcher, Jason X, Wag the Dog, The Naked Gun, Dirty Work, 8mm, The Wicker Man (2006), Blood: The Last Vampire, Winter's Bone, The Road, Heartcatch Precure! Hana no To de Fashion Show ... Desu ka?!, Broadcast News, Bulletproof, Dead Leaves, Dirty Dancing, Hot Tub Time Machine, Eureka Seven: Pocketful of Rainbows, Cloverfield, Best in Show, Play Misty for Me, Paprika, The Cat Returns, Welcome to the Dollhouse, 12 Monkeys, The Killer, Metropolis, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, The Third Man, The King's Speech, Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus, The Abyss, The Fighter, Mega Piranha, Dumb and Dumber, The Rebirth of Buddha, 127 Hours, The Kids Are All Right, The Town, Willow, Akira, Morning Glory, The Verdict, I Love You Phillip Morris, Phantasm II, American Splendor, Broken Blade 5, Tangled, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, The Rock, Wanted, Green Zone, Despicable Me, Waiting for Guffman, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, X-Men: First Class, X-Men, Hereafter, X2, Zatoichi, All About Eve, The Thing, Odin: Photon Space Sailer Starlight, City of God, Das Boot, Some Like it Hot, Downfall, X-Men: The Last Stand, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, Winnie the Pooh, Bullitt, Hard Eight, Memories of Matsuko, Double Indemnity)
