I Watch Movies (2016)
For fun, I'm keeping track of all the movies I watch this year. (In order)
www.MIKEandLEEwatchMOVIES.com
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- DirectorSteve McQueenStarsMichael FassbenderLiam CunninghamStuart GrahamIrish republican Bobby Sands leads the inmates of a Northern Irish prison in a hunger strike.B+
The minimal dialogue, beautiful camerawork, a specific scene that was all dialogue with no cuts, and Michael Fassbender's raw discipline made this viewing experience a stimulating one. - DirectorSteve CollinsStarsCourtney DavisJohn MerrimanMacon BlairGretchen has bigger problems than abysmal fashion sense: She's 17, painfully awkward and stuck in the most unforgiving place on earth - high school. When her obsession with school bad boy Ricky gets out of hand, her mother sends her to an emotional treatment center to recover. She has to travel elsewhere, however, to truly begin to understand why she fixates on the wrong kind of guy.D
Nope. I wanted to see this because the main actor from Blue Ruin is in it. Gretchen just tried too hard to recapture the magical wit Napoleon Dynamite and Welcome to the Dollhouse had, but all the awkwardness failed to be humorous and the comedy was damn-near nonexistent. Might have played well as a student film project for a talented filmmaker still trying to hone his skills. - DirectorFabrice du WelzStarsLaurent LucasBrigitte LahaieGigi CoursignyMarc, a traveling entertainer, is on his way home for Christmas when his van breaks down in the middle of a jerkwater town with some strange inhabitants.C
Not sure what the director was trying to say with this one. Not very disturbing, but still pretty strange and transgressive. One really awesome scene. Rad title cards. Unfortunately, everything seemed stolen from better movies. - DirectorRobert BressonStarsAnne WiazemskyWalter GreenFrançois LafargeThe story of a mistreated donkey and the people around him. A study on saintliness and a sister piece to Bresson's Mouchette.B+
"It's so ugly here. This is a place to die in. With no regrets." - DirectorErik SkjoldbjærgStarsStellan SkarsgårdSverre Anker OusdalMaria MathiesenIn a Norwegian city with a 24-hour daylight cycle a Swedish murder investigator has been brought in on a special case. Sleep deprived, he makes a horrible mistake which is discovered by the killer he has been hunting.B-
Clearly more resourceful and unsavory than the remake, but less polished with lazy edits and silly sound mixing (punches that sound like you're putting air in your tires). I even caught the boom mic in one shot. Ultimately, still very entertaining and smart enough for Christopher Nolan to take a crack at it. - DirectorUlrich SeidlStarsMargarete TieselPeter KazunguInge MauxTeresa, a fifty-year-old Austrian mother, travels to the paradise of the beaches of Kenya, seeking out love from African boys. But she must confront the hard truth that on the beaches of Kenya, love is a business.C+
I was constantly embarrassed for these woman, but I was constantly smiling because the whole movie was genuinely, humanly, awkwardly uncomfortable. This is the kind of movie that's hard to believe it's not more of a documentary than a movie with actors reading off a script. But sadly, it was mostly just boring. An average moviegoer wouldn't have lasted 10 minutes. Points for me for enduring old boobs and black wieners! - DirectorAdam McKayStarsChristian BaleSteve CarellRyan GoslingIn 2006-2007 a group of investors bet against the United States mortgage market. In their research, they discover how flawed and corrupt the market is.A
WOW. - DirectorTodd SolondzStarsShirley HendersonAllison JanneyAlly SheedyFriends, family, and lovers struggle to find love, forgiveness, and meaning in an almost war-torn world riddled with comedy and pathos.C+
My least favorite film from Solondz thus far. It was pretty cool spending time with the "Happiness" characters again, just not sure why he felt his fans would want a sequel, or why he felt the need to express it in this way. - DirectorDamián SzifronStarsDarío GrandinettiMaría MarullMónica VillaSix short stories that explore the extremities of human behavior involving people in distress.B
Highly entertaining, dramatic and never frustrating. A seriously refreshing change of pace when it comes to features that are a compilation of shorts. - DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsSumi ShimamotoMahito TsujimuraHisako KyôdaWarrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.A
I've never been so moved by an anime in my life. - DirectorDuke JohnsonCharlie KaufmanStarsDavid ThewlisJennifer Jason LeighTom NoonanA man crippled by the mundanity of his life experiences something out of the ordinary.B
Wasn't the masterpiece I was hoping for, but short, sweet and humbly thought-provoking, regardless. - DirectorMarielle HellerStarsBel PowleyAlexander SkarsgårdKristen WiigA teen artist living in 1970s San Francisco enters into an affair with her mother's boyfriend.B
Good stuff. Not that this is a bad thing at all, but I think I probably would have liked it a lot more if I were a younger female. - DirectorAndrew HaighStarsCharlotte RamplingTom CourtenayGeraldine JamesA married couple preparing to celebrate their wedding anniversary receives shattering news that promises to forever change the course of their lives.A-
Charlotte Rampling eyes are the focal point within this entire film, which carry as much depth as almost the whole spectrum of human emotion. Even when it's not so clear that she's feeling the most intense ones, we can almost look right through them to understand that all she is doing is masking the pain. The acting in 45 Years is painfully realistic and the direction by Andrew Haigh is damn admirable to say the least. I really wanted to A+ this movie, but grading it as a whole, some of the scenes that seemed to dwell on the mundane rendered it a flawed masterpiece. - DirectorTom McCarthyStarsMark RuffaloMichael KeatonRachel McAdamsThe true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.B+
High five to Mark Ruffalo and high five to Howard Shore for his kick-ass score! - DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsEmily BluntJosh BrolinBenicio Del ToroAn idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.A
Cerebral misery. Crime/drama/thriller with splashes of Haneke, Gordon Green, Chandor, Refn. Brutal and beautiful. RESPECT. - DirectorSeth MacFarlaneStarsMark WahlbergSeth MacFarlaneAmanda SeyfriedNewlywed couple Ted and Tami-Lynn want to have a baby, but in order to qualify to be a parent, Ted will have to prove he's a person in a court of law.C+
Stupid but hilarious. - DirectorLenny AbrahamsonStarsBrie LarsonJacob TremblaySean BridgersA little boy is held captive in a room with his mother since his birth, so he has never known the world outside.B
What an amazing story! That's why I was so bummed out the director made went with so many overused choices. I got goosebumps and choked up during one scene, then I was desperately trying to recapture that feeling like a drug of choice. There should have been more love, more crying, more screaming, more tenderness, less dialogue at points, more dialogue at points, more forgiveness, more Macy..but the director made the movie his way and it was still very impressive. - DirectorJohn CrowleyStarsSaoirse RonanEmory CohenDomhnall GleesonAn Irish immigrant lands in 1950s Brooklyn, where she quickly falls into a romance with a local. When her past catches up with her, however, she must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within.B-
A pleasant and kindhearted movie :) - DirectorAlejandro G. IñárrituStarsLeonardo DiCaprioTom HardyWill PoulterA frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.A+
I haven't felt so punched in the gut while watching a movie in the theater since Requiem For A Dream. - DirectorTodd SolondzStarsJordan GelberSelma BlairChristopher WalkenRomance blooms between two tricenarians in arrested development: an avid toy collector who is the dark horse of his family and a depressed woman on the rebound.B
Similar humor, but tamed and much less taboo. However, I found myself realizing near the end that Solondz was making me think deeper than I ever have with him before, probably because I wasn't laughing and I wasn't squirming. Still, I was focused, and the last shot gave me that trippy-type-feeling relief. - DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsAnna KarinaSady RebbotAndré S. LabartheTwelve episodic tales in the life of a Parisian woman and her slow descent into prostitution.B+
Amazing to look at, amazing to listen to. I felt ten times cooler while watching it. Seriously smart compositions and editing choices. - DirectorJames PonsoldtStarsJason SegelJesse EisenbergAnna ChlumskyThe story of the five-day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky and acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace, which took place right after the 1996 publication of Wallace's groundbreaking epic novel, 'Infinite Jest.'A-
I just love the feeling this movie gave me. I liked both of the characters a lot, and knowing the end result before the fact made me really respect and want to know more of Jason Segel's character. And the last 20 minutes kept getting me chocked up. But why? Nothing sad was happening on the screen. It was probably the brilliant character development and the very beautiful score..let alone the somewhat relatable subject matter. - DirectorJason HowdenStarsMilo CawthorneJames Joshua BlakeKimberley CrossmanTwo teenage boys unwittingly summon an ancient evil entity known as The Blind One by delving into black magic while trying to escape their mundane lives.C+
I tried so hard to like this movie more. Not bad at all, pretty well made, gory, rad soundtrack, but the jokes just didn't stick. I did laugh a few times though. - DirectorDanny BoyleStarsMichael FassbenderKate WinsletSeth RogenSteve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution, to paint a portrait of the man at its epicenter. The story unfolds backstage at three iconic product launches, ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac.B+
I got completely sucked into the dialogue with this one! Super cool contrast between the beginning and end too. - DirectorRidley ScottStarsMatt DamonJessica ChastainKristen WiigAn astronaut becomes stranded on Mars after his team assume him dead, and must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive and can survive until a potential rescue.C+
If I have to watch another American Space Movie where hundreds of people are high-fiving each other in one of those dispatch control room area thingies, I'm going to strengthen my foreign movie diet. However, The Martian did have a good positive message and stuff, but to me, it's a forgettable movie. I will also say that it's made very well, technically, but so are a lot if other hackneyed movies.