Movies From A Hat #3
My wife & I choose 40 films (20 we've seen, 20 we haven't, 20 each), mix them up, and watch them in order. These are the 140-character reviews that result.
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40 titles
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsTippi HedrenSean ConneryMartin GabelMark marries Marnie although she is a habitual thief and has serious psychological problems, and tries to help her confront and resolve them.Marnie is repetitive and misogynistic, yet I somehow still enjoyed Hitcock's style. Connery was his usual hammy self. In short it was O.K.
- DirectorTerry JonesStarsJohn CleeseTerry GilliamEric IdleThe comedy team takes a look at life in all of its stages in their own uniquely silly way.The Meaning of Life is quintessential Monty Python's, full of irreverent skits, socio-political commentary, and fantastic Gilliam animation.
- DirectorJulian FarinoStarsLeighton MeesterHugh LaurieCatherine KeenerThe enduring friendship between the Walling and Ostroff families is tested when Nina, the prodigal Ostroff daughter, returns home for the holidays after a five-year absence and enters into an affair with David, head of the Walling family.Unavailable!
- DirectorDavid TwohyStarsBruce GreenwoodDavid CrowMatthew DavisStrange happenings occur on a WW II submarine.Most horror films include some amount of strange noises that can be attributed to crew members offscreen whispering. Below is ALL this.
- DirectorMorgan O'NeillStarsJohn CusackDallas RobertsVincent MessinaAn obsessed cop is on the trail of a serial killer prowling the streets of Buffalo, N.Y. but when his teenage daughter disappears, he drops any professional restraint to get the killer.The Factory breaks a very important rule in the last five minutes (I'd hate to spoil it) and nullifies all my good feelings prior. Skip it!
- DirectorNora EphronStarsSteve MartinMadeline KahnRobert KleinThe events focus around a crisis hotline business on one crazy night during the Christmas holidays.Mixed Nuts was BORING and Sandler's appearance using his 'Waterboy' voice took us right out of the movie. Is it a comedy? It isn't funny.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsMichael DouglasSharon StoneGeorge DzundzaA violent police detective investigates a brutal murder that might involve a manipulative and seductive novelist.Basic Instinct: a homicidal homosexual, a corrupt/idiot detective, a lack of mystery. I wish I could unsee this frustrating, oversexed mess.
- DirectorTimo VuorensolaStarsJulia DietzeChristopher KirbyGötz OttoThe Nazis set up a secret base on the dark side of the moon in 1945 where they hide out and plan to return to power in 2018.Iron Sky is one of the most mindlessly entertaining films that I've seen in 2012. It's hilarious, "innovative", and totally worth your time.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsFred MacMurrayBarbara StanwyckEdward G. RobinsonA Los Angeles insurance representative lets an alluring housewife seduce him into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, an insurance investigator.Double Indemnity is quintessential noir, more than any Bogart film, and I can't think of any flaws, though "See?" and "Baby" get repetitive.
- DirectorChris MillerStarsAntonio BanderasSalma HayekZach GalifianakisAn outlaw cat, his childhood egg-friend, and a seductive thief kitty set out in search for the eggs of the fabled Golden Goose to clear his name, restore his lost honor, and regain the trust of his mother and town.Who the Hell thinks Puss In Boots is funny? It's one recycled joke beat repeatedly until it's flat enough to stretch across an entire film.
- DirectorJoel CoenStarsBilly Bob ThorntonFrances McDormandMichael BadaluccoA laconic, chain-smoking barber blackmails his wife's boss and lover for money to invest in dry cleaning, but his plan goes terribly wrong.The Man Who Wasn't There is an exceptional film, one of the Coen Brothers's best (>Fargo), yet I never heard of it. Thank you, Netflix!
- DirectorMartin CampbellStarsDaniel CraigEva GreenJudi DenchAfter earning 00 status and a licence to kill, secret agent James Bond sets out on his first mission as 007. Bond must defeat a private banker funding terrorists in a high-stakes game of poker at Casino Royale, Montenegro.Rewatching the fantastic Casino Royale, I realized that Skyfall stuck VERY close to its formula. I hope it doesn't become a crutch.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGene HackmanMorgan FreemanRetired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid."I've come to expect a gruelling build from Eastwood films, but Unforgiven's well-rounded characters and hi-tension make it worth the wait.
- DirectorRichard BenjaminStarsSean PennElizabeth McGovernNicolas CageIn 1942 California, two young men await induction into the U.S. Marines and say goodbye to their girlfriends.Racing With the Moon feels like a lost Spielberg or Disney film from my childhood, stars Sean Penn and Nick Cage, and is very unappreciated.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsChristopher WalkenBrooke AdamsTom SkerrittA man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic ability to foresee future events.The Dead Zone is a character study I expected to be a supernatural thriller. Get over 90% of it being build-up and you'll enjoy yourself.
- DirectorBill ForsythStarsBurt LancasterPeter RiegertFulton MackayAn American oil company has plans for a new refinery and sends someone to Scotland to buy up an entire village, but things don't go as expected.If Local Hero is interesting, then I assume my Babel fish has mistranslated the word. Watch in lieu of sedatives and you need a nice nap.
- DirectorRian JohnsonStarsJoseph Gordon-LevittBruce WillisEmily BluntIn 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent into the past, where a hired gun awaits - someone like Joe - who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by sending back Joe's future self for assassination.Looper was great but no one has mentioned the most horrifying torture ever devised on film or the confounding, unnecessary death at the end.
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsIan HolmSarah PolleyCaerthan BanksA bus crash in a small town brings a lawyer to defend the families, but he discovers everything isn't what it seems.The Sweet Hereafter is a wonderfully depressing film. Watch it straight through to see not just the plot unravel but the world entire.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartGrace KellyWendell CoreyA wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.Rear Window's the greatest film (with the greatest set) Hitchcock made. I hardly have room to explain here, so I won't even try. See it.
- DirectorBarbra StreisandStarsBarbra StreisandNick NolteBlythe DannerA troubled man talks to his suicidal sister's psychiatrist about their family history and falls in love with her in the process.The Princes of Tides is a better book than film, but the acting is top-notch and the whole story IS distilled well and there's less whining!
- DirectorGil JungerStarsHeath LedgerJulia StilesJoseph Gordon-LevittA high-school boy, Cameron, cannot date Bianca until her anti-social older sister, Kat, has a boyfriend. So, Cameron pays a mysterious boy, Patrick, to charm Kat.10 Things I Hate About You is renowned for being one of the few teen rom-coms that doesn't suck eggs and that's entirely accurate.
- DirectorAndrew DavisStarsMichael DouglasGwyneth PaltrowViggo MortensenA wealthy Wall Street speculator discovers that his wife has a lover. He investigates him and uses the carrot and stick to make him murder his wife. Planned to detail, it seems like a perfect murder.
- DirectorMel BrooksStarsMel BrooksMadeline KahnCloris LeachmanA psychiatrist with intense acrophobia (fear of heights) goes to work for a mental institution run by doctors who appear to be crazier than their patients, and have secrets that they are willing to commit murder to keep.
- DirectorOlivier NakacheÉric ToledanoStarsFrançois CluzetOmar SyAnne Le NyAfter he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caregiver.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsRussell CroweJoaquin PhoenixConnie NielsenA former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.
- DirectorFrank OzStarsBill MurrayRichard DreyfussJulie HagertyA successful psychotherapist loses his mind after one of his most dependent patients, an obsessive-compulsive neurotic, tracks him down during his family vacation.
- DirectorVadim PerelmanStarsJennifer ConnellyBen KingsleyRon EldardAn abandoned wife is evicted from her house and starts a tragic conflict with her house's new owners.
- DirectorAmy RedfordStarsSaffron BurrowsIsaach De BankoléPaz de la HuertaThe life of a woman is transformed after she is diagnosed with a terminal disease, fired from her job and abandoned by her boyfriend. Given two months to live, she throws caution to the wind to pursue her dreams.
- DirectorBrett RatnerStarsNicolas CageTéa LeoniDon CheadleA fast-lane investment broker, offered the opportunity to see how the other half lives, wakes up to find that his sports car and girlfriend have become a mini-van and wife.
- DirectorJan de BontStarsKeanu ReevesDennis HopperSandra BullockA young police officer must prevent a bomb exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 mph.
- DirectorLouie PsihoyosStarsRichard O'BarryLouie PsihoyosHardy JonesUsing state-of-the-art equipment, a group of activists, led by renowned dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry, infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsEwan McGregorLiam NeesonNatalie PortmanTwo Jedi escape a hostile blockade to find allies and come across a young boy who may bring balance to the Force, but the long dormant Sith resurface to claim their original glory.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsMichael DouglasDemi MooreDonald SutherlandA computer specialist is sued for sexual harassment by a former lover turned boss who initiated the act forcefully, which threatens both his career and his personal life.
- DirectorEli CraigStarsTyler LabineAlan TudykKatrina BowdenAffable hillbillies Tucker and Dale are on vacation at their dilapidated mountain cabin when they are mistaken for murderers by a group of preppy college students.
- DirectorMary Stuart MastersonStarsElizabeth AshleyJayce BartokBruce DernTwo families are brought together by the return of one family's son -- a reunion that conjures up old ghosts and issues that must be addressed.
- DirectorBobby FarrellyPeter FarrellyStarsDrew BarrymoreJimmy FallonJason SpevackLindsay is stuck in the middle of her relationship with Ben and his passion for the Boston Red Sox.
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsBrad PittDavid ThewlisBD WongHeinrich Harrer, an Austrian climber, breaks out of prison and travels to the holy city of Lhasa. He is employed as an instructor to the 14th Dalai Lama and soon becomes his close confidante.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsGeorge ClooneyCatherine Zeta-JonesBilly Bob ThorntonMiles, a high-profile divorce lawyer, wins a case for his rich but adulterous client Rex Rexroth. But Rex's ex-wife, Marylin, who is no saint and is a gold-digger, plots to take revenge on Miles.
- DirectorDavid KoeppStarsJohnny DeppMaria BelloJohn TurturroA successful writer in the midst of a painful divorce is stalked at his remote lake house by a would-be scribe who accuses him of plagiarism.
- DirectorWalter SallesStarsSam RileyGarrett HedlundKristen StewartYoung writer Sal Paradise has his life shaken by the arrival of free-spirited Dean Moriarty and his girl, Marylou. As they travel across the country, they encounter a mix of people who each impact their journey indelibly.