Day 31- Movie 31. The Town (2010)

This still feels weird to say, but Ben Affleck is a terrific director. With Gone Baby Gone, and now The Town, he has proven he is a competent, intelligent director. When I see "directed by Ben Affleck," that movie now becomes a must-see. That is crazy to me, but I've been a huge fan of his first two films.

I'm not suggesting that The Town is a perfect movie. Affleck's first cut of the film came in at 4 hours long, and he managed to cut it down to just over 2 hours. This oftentimes feels like a movie that has been cut down. The scenes that were cut were obviously character development scenes, as I often wished the movie would have given us more time with each of the characters. This is a movie that probably would have worked with an additional 15-20 minutes of time. That's rare for me to say. Affleck is a good director, but he's still relatively inexperienced behind the camera. If he continues to stay focused, I am greatly anticipating the moment when everything clicks- Affleck is capable of directing a true, lasting classic. I promise you he hasn't directed his best film yet.

While not perfect, The Town is still a great movie. It is exciting, features gritty realism, superb performances, accurate Boston area accents, and overall, is very entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed the film. Affleck is very good at filming the quick-paced action scenes and the emotionally charged arguments, but he has an equal talent at filming the quiet, small moments that allow us to really connect with the characters. That is hard to do, but with both of his films, he's managed to achieve that wonderfully.

I really believe The Town is one of the best movies I've seen in 2010. I know many "Top 10" lists will probably leave this film off. I am always updating my own personal Top 10 list, but currently, this film is definitely there. I very much enjoyed this movie, and would give it an 8/10.

On a different note, today marks the end of the first month of my challenge- 31 days done, and somehow, I managed to get back on track. I thought I'd show you visually how the last month looked:

My goal was to build up my numbers so that if I lost a week (which will happen), I won't be horribly behind schedule. Besides a very small advantage in the beginning, I've spent most of the first month trying to just stay on pace. While I didn't achieve the buffer I wanted, I am exactly on pace after the first 31 days. I'm going to take that as a win. Now, I've got 69 days to watch 69 movies. Happy 2011 everyone!

Day 31- Movie 30. Easy A (2010)

The next movie up is Easy A. I was actually looking forward to this movie. I really think Emma Stone has some real acting ability, and the movie received generally good reviews from most critics. Both accounts proved to be accurate, as this is a funny, entertaining film. The movie is about a high school student (Emma Stone) who inadvertently starts a rumor about her promiscuity, and then embraces the role in which she's cast in the school's rumor mill. It is an interesting concept for a comedy, and it works well to mine it for all the jokes you would expect.

I really think comedies are some of the hardest movies to make. There's such a fine line between a great comedy and a godawful one. So many comedies take the shotgun approach- shoot as many jokes covering a wide range of topics in the hope that at least some of them will hit. This is not a very effective means. I didn't feel like Easy A fell into that trap- it focused on the story and characters first, and was just funny on the way. The jokes never forced the story to change (a common mistake in comedies- the jokes set up the story, rather than the other way around).

One of the major reasons I liked this movie is due to Emma Stone. As I mentioned, I think this young actress is going to be a huge Hollywood star. She was terrific in Zombieland, and gives another memorable, enjoyable performance here. She is going to shoot into the next level of stardom by playing Peter Parker's love interest, Gwen Stacy in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot. While at 22, she's a big old to be playing a high school student, she pulls off the part effortlessly.

While I really liked Easy A, there were a few things that bothered me. The main one is that the film casts the people who love Jesus as the bad guys. I understand "Jesus freaks" (that's the movie's description, not mine) are an easy target for the villains, but it just felt weird to me to see people who were trying to be good Christians (however misguided and possibly hypocritical they were), to be painted as the antagonists. It just felt weird. The other issue is a common one in movies set in high school- the films are written by adult writers, so the characters talk with significantly higher vocabulary and intelligence than most 14-18 year olds. Let's be honest- most high school students are pretty stupid. I know I was at that age. While this is a common issue, it bothered me slightly more in this film.

All that being said, Easy A is a very funny comedy. I really enjoyed the movie, and I would highly recommend it. I give this film a solid 7.5/10.

On a slightly different note, I'm genuinely excited about this young batch of actors coming up in Hollywood. I was worried for a few years about the next generation of movie stars, but I feel much better about them now. Actors like Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, and Shia LeBeouf have emerged and have the potential to be big stars for decades, and I generally enjoy them in films. What young actor or actress do you think has the talent to become a real movie star?

Day 30- Movie 29. Going the Distance (2010)

While I am posting this entry today (Dec. 31st), I actually watched this movie yesterday, so I'm counting it then. I noticed that of all the movies I've watched so far here, I had not seen any romantic comedies. I decided to rectify that. Going the Distance is an interesting film- it is a romantic comedy, but it has a very deserved R rating. I haven't done any research, but I imagine (from personal experience), R-rated romantic comedies are pretty rare. What that means is you get to see Justin Long's naked butt, and people swear almost constantly.

Going the Distance is about Justin Long and Drew Barrymore, who meet in New York City and fall in love. Barrymore is returning to San Francisco, so they decide to start a long-term relationship. The trial and tribulations of that decision play out. Maybe surprisingly, I really enjoyed this movie. I think the R-rating helped.

Here's my problem with romantic comedies- far too many of them following the same, cliche-filled formula. Two people meet, fall in love, something crazy happens that separates them, and they get back together in the end. That right there describes 95% of all romantic comedies. For that reason, these films need something to differentiate them from all the others. Some of my favorite films in this genre come when there is something new or unique about them. For example, I really liked Just Like Heaven- in addition to being a good film, it gave the classic formula a different, unique twist.

In this film, the big difference is that the two people who fall in love embark on a long-distance relationship. This provides the movie with a multitude of jokes about how hard it is to do that. Many people have participated in an LDR at some point, so they can easily identify with this film. I liked that aspect of the film.

I thought this movie did a good job of balancing out the more romantic aspects of this film with some legitimately funny moments. The R-rated helped, as the script goes all out with an almost shocking amount of swear words used throughout the film. This gave the film a more realistic quality to it, because that is how many people actually talk. I enjoyed this movie, and would give it a 7.5/10.

Going the Distance made a pretty disappointing $17 million at the box office, so I'm guessing many of you didn't see it. If you don't mind the almost constant dropping of F-bombs, you'll find a funny, oftentimes realistic look at the ups and downs of a long-distance relationship. I'd definitely recommend seeing this movie.

Day 29- Movie 28. The Other Man (2009)

After Liam Neeson disappointed me yesterday with the stupid After.Life, I decided to give him a chance at redemption. Sadly, The Other Man was even worse. This is one of the most pointless, boring, banal movies I've seen in quite a while. I usually like when movie stars take a role in a small, independent movie. It allows them to take a meatier role than they usually get in the traditional mainstream Hollywood movie. However, the movie actually has to be good for that to work. It doesn't here.

The Other Man is the story of a husband (Liam Neeson) who discovers his wife (Laura Linney) was having an affair. He tracks down the man (Antonio Banderas) she was sleeping with, and gets close to him as he plans his revenge. It sounds like a decent premise. However, the film completely muddles the story up. This is a movie that tried to be too clever for its own good, and ends up disappointing in nearly all aspects. The story was silly, the characters were boring, and at no point in the film did I even remotely care about the characters or what was happening to them. I shook this movie off effortlessly.

This is a film that never gives us a reason to get engaged on any level. The film is purposely confusing- unfortunately, that didn't engage me, it made me care less about what was happening on screen. This confusion is all for a reason- but that isn't made clear until the end. I do give the film credit for trying something different, but I was disappointed it didn't work at all.

The Other Man is actually the type of film I strongly dislike. It is a small, independent film that knows it's a small independent film. It casts big name actors, relying on their fame to sell the movie. It tries to experiment with the narrative, thinking it is so clever and so different that critics will undoubtedly fall in love with it. I hate when movies try to be different solely to be different. I love when movies take chances- as long as it supports the story and the viewing experience. Because this movie took a different route, it's a mess.

I don't even know what I'm talking about any more. It's hard to write about a movie when you can't give away too much for fear of spoiling the film. Let's just say I did not enjoy this movie at all, and I'll give it a 4.5/10.

I am closing in on finishing my first month of this 100 day challenge. On the 31st, I'll make sure I take some time to give an update on where I am thus far, and what I expect over the course of the next month. While I haven't done terrible so far, I still have such a long way to go. I feel like I've been watching movies until my eyes hurt, and I still haven't even finished off the first third. This may be more difficult than I imagined.

Day 28- Movie 27. After.Life (2010)

Yup. I pulled off a 4 movie Tuesday. I know that's impressive. I needed a day like today to get back on track. To be honest, my eyes hurt. When I finish these 100 movies, I am going to need to take a serious break. Anyway, on to the fourth movie of the day. I watched a smaller movie, After.Life. I honestly don't understand why the title is written like that. I thought the movie would clear that up, but it certainty did not. Whatever, I tried not to hold that against the film.

If you haven't seen this movie, the premise is pretty simple. A girl (Christina Ricci) is in a car accident, and wakes up in a funeral home. The funeral director (Liam Neeson) tells her she is dead, and only he can talk to her, because he's always had the ability to talk to the dead. She doesn't believe him, but evidence starts piling up. The central question of the movie is this- is she dead or alive? The movie does a good job of keeping us in a state of suspension. It does not, however, do a good job of convincing us why we should care.

Everything about this movie reeked of a first time director. And, lo and behold, this is Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo's first feature length film. The movie is uneven, too often boring, and doesn't make much of an emotional impact. It suffers from many of the things you'd expect from an inexperienced director. Now, there are also some pretty cool moments, so I think Wojtowicz-Vosloo may have a future in Hollywood. Once he gets some more experience, he may be a decent director.

This film, however, has more flaws than strengths. I didn't particularly enjoy this movie, and I found the entire film rather unsatisfying. I would give this film a middling 5.5/10.

I really wondered why Liam Neeson even bothered to star in this film. Neeson is such a talented actor, but he seemed to be slumming it a bit here. This film had an interesting premise, but it couldn't deliver on any of that. I bet most people didn't see this movie, as almost no one went to see it in theaters. This is a small movie that audiences avoided, and this time, they got it right. I don't recommend After.Life at all.

Day 28- Movie 26. The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call- New Orleans (2009)

In this case, the name fits the movie. Werner Herzog's The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call- New Orleans has a bizarre, unconventional (and I have to admit, awful) title, and the movie itself embodies that- this is a completely unconventional, crazy, perplexing movie that will either delight or alienate viewers. The film is about a corrupt, gambling and drug addicted cop trying to find the murderer of a family in New Orleans.


And yet, this is where the film becomes perplexing. The plot itself almost doesn't matter. There are a few points in the middle of the film where it almost feels like everyone forgot about the story. The plot stops mattering, and all the audience can do is sit back and take in the craziness appearing on screen. This might come in the form of an imaginary lizard, a shot of an alligator's point of view, or a break-dancing soul (my God, the break-dancing soul). This is a completely unconventional movie, and for that reason, many people probably won't like it.

The film is also pretty difficult to watch. This is a gritty, realistic look at crime in New Orleans post-Katrina. It's not pleasant. There is an almost continuous visual depiction of drugs, sex scenes, and constant vulgar language. If that's what you are looking for, you will enjoy this film. If that turns you off, stay far, far away from this movie.

I also have to mention Nicolas Cage. Cage gives one of his typically bizarre, nearly indescribable performances. He is occasionally brilliant, but too often goes over-the-top. There's about a forty minute stretch of the movie where he starts doing this weird thing with his voice. I am guessing he was trying to depict his descent into drugs, but it was just so weird. Cage fully embraces his crazy side for this role. It's something you have to see to believe.

I thought that The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call- New Orleans (man that title is terrible) was a decent movie. I appreciated the realism and unflinching portrayal of crime and corruption. I didn't like that the story almost seemed secondary, and the film meanders around for two long hours before coming to a hastily put together conclusion. I'd give this film a decent 6.5/10.

If you have seen this movie, add a comment or send me a message. I'd be fascinated to hear what you think- was this movie brilliant or absurd? Is Cage a genius, or a lunatic? After watching this movie, I think I know what I think, but I honestly don't know.

Day 28- Movie 25. Salt (2010)

Salt is pretty much everything you would expect from an action movie- there are car chases, gunfights, and explosions. The good news is that if you like action movies, you will get exactly what you expect. The bad news is that you will get exactly what you expect. I wanted more. I wanted Salt to give me something- anything- I had never seen before. It sadly stays too close to the typical, cliche-filled action genre. This is always good and bad. You can't really blame a film for staying true to its roots, but it is disappointing when a film tries to be good, but never really attempts to be great.

In fact, the biggest differentiator of this film is the fact that Angelina Jolie is the lead character. Females have traditionally not had much opportunity to play action movie heroines. Jolie had the opportunity in the Tomb Raider movies, but let's be honest, that wasn't because of her acting skills. Here, though, she has a traditional action movie vehicle to prove she can carry such a film. And carry it she does. It is genuinely exciting to watch an action movie with a female in the lead role. When this film was first written, it was for a male lead, and they approached Tom Cruise. When we declined the role, they rewrote it for Jolie. I'm glad Cruise turned it down. Jolie's presence is the best part of the entire film.

Here's my biggest problem with this movie- the story is just too hard to believe. Movies always ask us to suspend our disbelief, and I am typically good at doing that. However, this film just pushes that boundary too far. The plot ultimately becomes a bit silly and far-fetched. That is what prevents this from from being great.

Still, Salt is a solid, entertaining action movie. I enjoyed the cast, the characters, and the story (outlandish as it was). I would give this film a 7/10.

I wanted to briefly talk about 2010 in movies, because I think Salt is typical of the year in movies. I've been complaining all year about the quality of films. I admit that there have been some very good movies this year. I just think the general quality has been less this year. So many films were good, but just not good enough. There were too few films that I loved. Now, I've only seen about 45 movies in 2010, so there's still lots of films I've yet to see. Besides just a few great movies, this year has been leaving me disappointed. Anyone agree? Disagree?