Thursday, July 15, 2010

The More Movies Project: The List

Thanks to all y'all who have directed my movie watching for the next few months. But before we proceed to the new list of films, Here are my own votes:

My two-point vote goes to The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, because Ann Piper said "it is effing incredible" and she has clout around here. Not that you don't, of course.

My other votes go to Jesse James (family pressure), The Hurt Locker (I heard it's good), In Bruges (I have no idea, but I like the title), Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (apparently I have a straightlaced life, and watching this movie will help), Mr. Bean's Holiday (very possibly a lapse of judgement, but I'm curious whether it is a remake of Mr. Hulot's Holiday), and The Taking of Pelham 123 (I have no idea, but once again I like the title).

So!

When we toss everything into the vote-o-matic, here are the results.

Movies I am Under No Compulsion to Watch

-3 Total points: Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (3 voters)
-1 Twilight (11 voters, no consensus)
0 Sleep Dealer (0 voters)
0 Watchmen (6)
1 Valkyrie (3)
1 Kung Fu Panda (5)
1 Tropic Thunder (7)
2 Zombieland (2)
2 The Taking of Pelham 123 (2)
2 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (4)
2 Food, Inc. (4)
2 Mr. Bean's Holiday (6)
3 Man on a Wire (3)
3 A Serious Man (3)
3 Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (3)
3 Toy Story 3 (5)
4 An Education (4)
4 Crazy Heart (4)
4 Charlie Wilson's War (6)
4 Avatar (14 -- tied for the most voted-on movie!)
5 Rachel Getting Married (5)
5 There Will Be Blood (5)
5 Precious (7)

Movies I am Under No Compulsion to Watch but, Since They are Numbers #11-13 and I Voted for All Three of Them Myself, I Will Probably Go Ahead and Watch Them Anyway

6 The Assassination of Jesse James yadda yadda yadda (5)
6 The Hurt Locker (6)
6 In Bruges (6)
The "More Movies" Movies Proper!

7 Ratatouille (7) -- I believe this is an animated feature about a rat who wants to cook. Sounds dreadful. I'm third in line for a library copy. [Roger Ebert: 4 Stars, Rotten Tomatoes 96%]

7 The Hangover (10) -- Apparently a comedy of some sort. I am 269th in line for a library copy. [Ebert: 3 1/2 Stars, RT 78%]

8 The Dark Knight (14 -- tied for the most voted-on movie!) -- This is, I think, an installment of the Batman franchise, which was all the rage when I was in college. Ho hum. Plenty of library copies available. [Ebert: 4 Stars, 93%]

8 No Country for Old Men (10) -- Some kind of grim Western deal, maybe? Fourth in line at the library. [Ebert: 4 Stars, RT 95%]

8 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (6) -- A don't have a clue what this is, or is about. It sounds like the title of an Oliver Sacks book. Plenty of library copies available. [Ebert: 4 Stars, RT 93%]

10 Up in the Air (10) -- Never heard of it. I'm exactly 500th in line at the libary, though, so it must be kind of popular. [Ebert: 4 Stars, RT 91%]

11 District 9 (13) -- Some kind of grim, dystopian science fiction quarantine drama, I think. Sounds cool. I like grim, dystopian science fiction. Speaking of which, how come nobody tried to nominate Moon, that quiet little grim, dystopian science fiction movie from 2009? I did happen to see that one, and found it awesome. Anyway, I'm 327th in line for District 9. [Ebert: 3 Stars, RT 91%]

11 Frost/Nixon (11) -- A dramatization of the Frost/Nixon interviews. I saw a trailer for it! It looked very tedious! I'm 10th in line. [Ebert: 4 Stars, RT 92%]


And Tied for First!

12 Juno (11) -- Some sort of uplifting, socially responsible teen motherhood lovefest, I think. Sounds dreadful. Plenty of library copies available. [Ebert: 4 Stars, RT 93%]

12 Milk (11) -- I might be way off on this, but I think it might be an uplifting, socially responsible biopic of the important San Francisco political figure Harvey Milk. Which sounds dreadful. Plenty of library copies available! [Ebert: 4 Stars, RT 94%]


Reviews coming atcha! Eventually!

14 comments:

UnwiseOwl said...

Oh dear...democracy at work.

UnwiseOwl said...

Hrmm. I feel bad about calling you straightlaced now, is that even a word?

Michael5000 said...

I'm pretty sure it's a word. You could probably make a case it applies to me.

Kritkrat said...

Seriously, why the hell isn't Up on list?!

Michael5000 said...

If you look at last Saturday, I listed out the nominations that I've already seen. Up is one of those. Squirrel!

eric said...

It's really upsetting that Avatar and Rachel Gets Married didn't make the cut. Perhaps you might watch those anyway, even if you are under no compulsion to do so.

Nichim said...

You didn't get my vote for Sleep Dealer? Because I voted for it.

Elaine said...

It's spelled 'strait-laced,' I think. Which sounds even tighter than 'straight-laced.'

It's not a word that would come to my mind, given your quirky, fun sense of humor. My sister, on the other hand, would give 'prude' a bad name. But you didn't hear that from me.

Thom said...

Moon is indeed awesome! I do hope you go for 11 - 13 too. You may need some of the quality material in that little list to restore your faith in hollywood cinema after some of what is about to come. Then again the list you ended up with isn't too bad. Milk's actually pretty good BTW but the documentary The Life and Times of Harvey Milk is considerably better.

Ben said...

Sounds like you're really dreading this project.

"The Dark Knight" is actually part of a NEW Batman franchise, beginning with "Batman Begins". You'll find it quite different (and much, much darker) from the series of movies in the '90s. You MIGHT want to watch "Batman Begins" first.

"No Country for Old Men" is definitely grim, but NOT a western.

Have fun!

Michael5000 said...

eric: Would I be doing so on the advice of my attorney?

Nichim: I'm a frayed not.

Elaine: I think I'm more straight/strait-laced than many, and less than many others. Keeping in mind too that I, Michael5000, am more of a "persona" than a "person."

Ben: I'm really looking forward to this project! I was honest about my preconceptions of the movies, but I am usually able to go in with an open mind. And, I trust y'all's collective judgement, and the Ebert and Rotten Tomato numbers are eye-popping. I'll either be pleasantly surprised lots of times, or confirmed in my prejudices -- either way I win!

Jenners said...

I could not bring myself to watch Frost/Nixon no matter how much I was paid. (OK ... I'll do it for $100 dollars ... but that is my bottom line.)

Glad to see some of my picks made the list!

DrSchnell said...

Just be aware that there are two videos out there of Frost/Nixon - one is the dramatization, the other consists of actual video of the real Frost/Nixon interview. We figured this out by mistake.

Aviatrix said...

I'm delighted that Avatar was beaten down. It was worth not having you filter Twilight for me to know you won't be watching it.

Ratatouille is not as bad as you fear. I suppose I have the advantage of being interested in French cooking, but it was fun, and played with the ridiculousness of its premise more than your typical talking animal movie.

I haven't seen any of the others, and I'll be watching your recommendations.