I haven't done a movie post in a long time, so I may have missed a couple, but if I forgot about them already they must not have been that memorable anyways. These will be added to the thread.
300 (9/10): Let's just get this out of the way right now--this movie wasn't meant to be a plot-heavy, story driven affair. It was created solely to display action, and tons of it. All of the visual mayhem was a treat for my action loving eyes. The choreography was stunning, especially when you take into account that many fight scenes used one camera instead of jump cutting back and forth all over the place. This small item made all the difference. And of course, there was all of the usual bad-assery to be expected from a movie of this pedigree. Solid, solid action film.
Zodiac (8.5/10): David Fincher turns in his most straight forward film in Zodiac. At over 2 and a half hours in length, this is most definitely a slow, building type of film, but rarely was I ever disinterested or felt that the movie was dragging. True facts were the basis for the story of this film, and you never once feel like a scene or conversation was overly embellished, which is often the problem with films loosely based on facts. There were also grade A performances from then entire cast, solidifying this movie as one that should be seen.
Blades of Glory (7.5/10): It might have been more appropriate to simply call the movie Talledega Nights on Ice, but that probably wouldn't have marketed as well. A lot of the same style of comedy from Will Ferrell's other movies permeates this film, which is rife with gay jokes, faux machismo posturing jokes, and Ferrell's ability to make odd phrases work. Some spots just don't come off as funny as the writers probably thought they would, but for the most part this is a big, dumb comedy.
Children of Men (8.5/10): I had extremely high hopes for this film and, for the most part, they were fulfilled. This is a film focused more on creating an atmosphere of utter hopelessness, emptiness, and dystopia than on story telling. Because of this, I let some of the plot holes go and allowed some of the unexplained parts of the movie stay unexplained. If you're not into watching movies bent on creating a mood instead of focusing on telling a story, then you might still want to check this out for no reason other than the final "chase" scene. It's a brutal, extremely well choreographed chase that is filmed completely with one camera.
The Manchurian Candidate (5/10): Denzel Washington, how about you try playing a character other than Denzel Washington sporting a different name in your next movie? Washington again plays himself as a military man who somehow uncovers a plot to put a puppet in the seat of the president. There are no real twists or turns in the movie. The one twist is overwhelmingly obvious and can be seen coming a mile away. The acting is all pretty subpar. There's just not a lot to make you want to watch, other than to keep hoping for something interesting to happen, and then it never does.
Waking Life (8/10): It's hard to call this a film when it is much more akin to a training video that could be utilized to sell inbound college students on picking philosophy as their major. Don't get me wrong, I love intelligent movies, and this is definitely one, but it is more so a smattering of philosophical ideas thrown at the viewer, which manages to raise a plethora of questions, but never really explores any of them. Used as a springboard for sparking conversation with your more intelligent movie-going buddies, this film is a complete success. You'll feel a little differently if you watch it on your own or with your dumb frat-house buddies.
Borat (7.5/10): I'm torn on this movie. Sure, there are some ridiculously hilarious parts, but the majority of the movie is just Borat being over-the-top annoying to screw with people. I'm definitely a fan of seeing people get screwed with, but at times it just wasn't that funny. Other times, however, it was great. One scene, which I'm sure will make most people cringe, involved about 10 minutes of a naked Borat wrestling a naked 400 pound Kazakstanian. I laughed my ass off the entire time. So if you're one to laugh at that type of humor, you'll love this. If not, avoid like the plague.
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