2006 - 2010: Pan's Labyrinth, Juno, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Up in the Air, and Repo Men

We're in the home stretch! Only a few days left and still 9 more movies to go! I can do it. With the help of my friends and some binges this weekend all should be good! This week's films will be shown out of order because movies have been claimed by certain friends.

2006: Pan's Labyrinth

Documented in separate post- I'll link when I have it. Watched out of order. Wont watch till March 28th.
















2007: Juno 

Movie Facts:
Directed by Jason Reitman
Rated PG-13
Genre: Drama/Romance
Tagline: A comedy about growing up...and the bumps along the way.
Ellen Page - omg she looks so young
Michael Cera - awkward as always
Jennifer Garner- playing herself?
Jason Bateman- playing himself.
Allison Janney- perfect as stepmom.
JC Simmons- perfect as father.

Movie Thoughts:
I cannot remember if I saw this with Deirdre or my mom. Either way it was a bad choice. I remember all the tears! It's such a good movie though. I remember crying so much the first time I saw it.  Watching it now it doesn't make me cry as much, the ridiculous language Diablo Cody uses seems to shticky to me now. I feel like there are things in this movie that ring really true and things that don't.  I find Juno so dumb throughout this.  She was smart enough to con some guy into having sex with her but doesn't realize her relationship with the adoptive dad is getting inappropriate?  Also she's a terrible liar why does anyone believe her? Anyways good movie, annoying characters, all the tears.

Tyler's Rating: Just a B+

2008: Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Movie Facts:
Directed by Woody Allen
Rated PG-13 (really? hard to imagine)
Genre: Drama/Comedy (again- really?
Tagline: Life is the ultimate work of art.
Scarlett Johannson as sexy- with an ulcer...
Penelope Cruz as sexy
Javier Bardem as sexy

Movie Thoughts:
I saw this movie shortly after it came out. I don't remember loving it but I remember liking it and thinking it spoke to me for lots of reasons...at the time. Who knows how I'll feel now- let's watch!
What an interesting movie. Not completely what I remembered from it but I understand why I remembered it fondly. It's about two screwed up girls in love. Neither know what they want, they don't want what they think they want and they do want what they don't think they want. Love it.

Tyler's Rating: A-

2009: Up in the Air

Movie Facts:
Directed by Jason Reitman (repeat director!)
Rated R
Genre: Romance/Drama
Tagline: The story of a man ready to make a connection.
George Clooney - as sad and lonely
Vera Farmiga - as a cold bitch, who is also so beautiful! First time I saw her and thought she was gorgeous!
Anna Kendrick - as young and sad and naive and a really bad crier.

Movie Thoughts:
Bruce got this movie for my back a hundred years ago. I don't think he watched it with me. I can't remember if I cried, but I definitely know I found it depressing, but not nearly as depressing as I now find it. OMG. Ann Kendrick get your life together. George! What's wrong with you! You know I don't hate Vera Farmiga. I think in the past I would have, but you know I kinda understand. I think that's what depressed me when I first saw it. I understood how people could get there. But you just feel so bad for George! Of course you do. Your entire relationship was a lie and fake and just one woman's escape! How depressing! But in the end I feel like he gets what he wants and helps Anna Kendrick get what she wants but Vera hopefully doesn't. She's selfish and insensitive. So is this movie about how you need a co-pilot? Or is it about how you can only rely on yourself?

Tyler's Rating: A that makes you think.

20010: Repo Men

Movie Facts:
Directed by Miguel Sapochnik
Rated R
Genre: Thriller/Drama
Tagline: For a price, any organ in your body can be replaced. But it can also be repossessed.
Jude Law - look he grew a conscience
Forest Whitaker - crazy, jerk

Movie Thoughts:
We're in my Bruce movie era...so saw this one with Bruce. We tried to watch the movie this was based off of first the Genetic Opera one? And it was so bad I didn't finish it I don't remember if he did, but it was bad, so anything was going to be better than that.  I remember when we first saw this I really liked it. I thought it was just a good fun B movie. Not the best acting in the world unless crazy jerk is what Forest Whitaker was going for...but anyways. I remember I bought the Blu Ray of it when it came out too because I enjoyed it, but now I can't find the Blu Ray so I rented it online and maybe because I had to pay $2.99 to watch it but I just didn't like it as much this time around.  The story is still fun repossessing people's organ's when they can't pay for them- good fun for all! I just found some of the violence sooooo gratuitous. Which I'm fine with it doesn't bother me, but it wasn't even good gratuitous violence! At the end when Jude Law takes out all those people, it's sooooooo not believable! Unlikes the rest of the movie, lol. I enjoy the soundtrack and like the story/plot stuff but it was just kinda weird.  Oooh there's also an awesome John Leguizamo cameo, I remember freaking out when I saw him because I hadn't seen him in anything in forever- so redeeming value? Maybe. Anyways

Tyler's Rating: B just be. Not bad, not good, just B.


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Okay sorry these were out of order, when I watch PL I'll link it above too.  But we're almost done! This project maybe has 3 - 4 more posts left in it!  I'm excited to start the last 5 movies!!!!

Overview of the Project
My thoughts on Legend
1986-1989 Movies
1990-1993 Movies

1994 Leon

1995-1999

2000 - 2005

30:30:30 1990-1993 Movies- Arachnophobia, City Slickers, Reservoir Dogs, and Falling Down

Okay it's time to start in on the 90s, I meant to start watching these on Wednesday but we'll take today March 5th to get it going.

1990: Arachnophobia:

Movie Facts:
Directed by Frank Marshall
Triller/Horror
Rated PG-13
Jeff Daniels as a spider fearing dad
John Goodman as the "yah I'm bad" exterminator
Big ass fake spiders with attitude and theme songs...
The rest of the cast made less of an impression
Tagline: Eight legs, two fangs and an attitude.

Before Thoughts: Okay so the last time I saw this movie was probably sometime in High School when it was on TV or something I can't imagine having seen this moving within the last 12 years.  I remember someone goes to South American and brings back fruit that a scary dangerous spider hitches a ride in.  This spider then comes to some small town (it's always a small town) and breeds with the biggest spider there to create super spider.  Super spider's children go out and kill people in a web like pattern away from Jeff Daniel's house.  Jeff Daniel just moved in I think and they have a wine cellar that's important in the end and a barn- nothing good ever comes from barns- and he has a hot teenage daughter who takes a shower and almost gets bit by a spider but John Goodman comes to the semi-rescue and squashes a bug on the porch. He also had like a super serum to kill spiders.  A football player dies, an old couple dies while eating popcorn...does a doctor die? Anyways the spider likes Jeff Daniel's wine cellar and there's a show down in the end with flames and a dancing spider.  Then they move?

I have pretty positive memories of this movie. I always found it very entertaining and sure it was a bit predictable but it was fun. I don't remember it being too terribly cheesy but I can't wait to see how wrong I was about that...I smell a delightfully A+ B movie!

After Thoughts: This movie made me jumpy! I'm not afraid of spiders or bugs or really any sort of creepy crawler thing, but I still found myself jumping lots and shrieking at this movie.  But it was all just fun stuff. I really enjoy this movie. It's just fun and silly and takes itself a little too seriously. But John Goodman for the win! OMG he's just the best part of it! I had the summary pretty accurate although the "hot" daughter was the Football Coach's daughter- whateves. And at the end when they move they have earthquakes to deal with.  The spiders are the end were super cheesy and poor production, but the littler spiders throughout looked really really life like- kinda like wolf-spiders.

Half way through the movie my friend Linda dropped by and she was mostly shocked about by how young Jeff Daniels as and commented on the clothing.  We both jumped and shrieked when the spiders were dropping from the ceiling.  But it was so laughable when the house was just covered in spiders, so not believable.  But it was fun.  Good Thursday night entertainment.

Tyler's Ranking: A grade B Movie. Not A+ but pretty darn good.

1991: City Slickers

Movie Facts:
Directed by Ron Underwood
Rated PG-13
Tagline: Yesterday they were businessmen, today they're cowboys, tomorrow they'll be walking funny.
Billy Crystal
That guy from When Harry Met Sally
That guy from Home Alone

Before Thoughts: Probably haven't seen this movie since the 90s. I remember it being about a group of friends having mid-life crisis-es and going on a Cattle Drive. Every year for their birthdays they do some stupid trip together and this year it's a Cattle Drive. They are all from the city so it's rough for some of them, but in the end they do it because of "friendship". I don't really remember the moral of this story actually. I remember Billy Crystal birth's a cow and on the trail ride there's like one woman.  The Ben and Jerry guys are there and they have a challenge over what ice cream goes best with what food.  They have to cross a river in a crazy storm, someone falls into some cactus and they all live happily ever after....yah that's all I got. Let's see how much I forgot :)

After Thoughts: Ehhh. This one didn't stand up to the test of time to me as much. I just wasn't too impressed. I thought parts were still funny. I remembered some but forgot a lot.  So the cattle drive guy dies! And Billy Crystal and his friends end up leading the cattle to the ranch they were headed to.  They get abandoned by the douchey cowboys and just drive them all themselves.  In the end all the guys figure out their lives and are no longer in their crisis moods and go home to better lives.  The cow Billy Crystal helps birth goes home with him too.  His name is Norman.  It was a very pretty cow.  Maybe this movie is why I've always liked cows so much.  But I also forgot that the guy from Home Alone was upset because he was stupid and had an affair with a young girl and got her pregnant.  They just kinda forgot about that part for the rest of the movie even though it was kinda a major part in the beginning.  The point of the whole movie and the cattle drive in general is you have to find that one thing that makes you happy that can sustain you...and that's the secret of life.

Tyler's Ranking: B solid, B. Good, not great.

1992: Reservoir Dogs

Movie Facts:
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Rated R
Tagline: Every "dog" has its day.
Besides Steven Buscemi and Harvey Keitel I never really recognize the actor's name unless I have my phone handy. But I recognize Tim Roth when I see him...

Before Thoughts: I own this movie so it's sad I haven't watched it in probably 10 years...I own a lot of DVDs it happens. So what I remember is there are a bunch of guys brought together by a 'boss' to hold a heist. Something in the heist goes wrong, lots of people die or are arrested, but 3 guys make it back to the hide out or the safe house thing. The guy who's name I can't remember cuts off some guys ear cause he thinks he's the undercover cop.  All the guys have color names, Mr. Pink, Mr. Orange, Mr. White. And the undercover cop is the one that gets shot and Harvey Keitel's character tries to help him.  I think Tim Roth's character lives even though he's the undercover and he was shot but I'm not too sure. I can't remember if everyone gets away in the end or if the cops raid the safe house. Who knows... so let's see!

After Thoughts: So I fell asleep...I may never know how it ends! Also Mr. Blonde is the guy I can never recognize.  I stayed awake for about 30 minutes. Just enough to notice how young Steve Buscemi looks and Harvey Keitel! So weird seeing them younger.  So since I fell asleep I guess I can talk about why I picked this movie. I probably saw this movie for the first time in High School after seeing Pulp Fiction, I did not like Pulp Fiction. Then I saw Four Rooms around the same time and really enjoyed some of it but not all. So then I watched Reservoir Dogs and have no idea why I liked it so much more. I still like it more...I think.  So sorry I fell asleep, I don't think I have time to watch it again, but that's okay. I'm ready to move onto the next phase of the 90s.  Also something I noticed in the first 30 minutes was that it doesn't matter that this movie took place in the 90s, there wasn't a lot of stuff that made you think oooh that's a 90s film...so kinda timeless. I like that.

Tyler's Ranking:

1993: Falling Down

Movie Facts:
Directed by Joel Schumacher
Rated R
Drama; Action/Suspense
Michael Douglas- playing a nerdy guy who's been pushed too far, with a predisposition towards anger...yah I buy it
Robert Duval- playing a cop retiring because his annoying wife wants him too...yah I buy it
Barbara Hershey- playing the ex-wife to Michael Douglas' nerdy guy who's been pushed too far with a predisposition towards anger...I don't buy it

Movie Thoughts: I had a friend over for dinner and let him pick the movie. Out of my list and this is what he chose. So I didn't get to do my usual before thoughts and after thoughts, but here are some of my general thoughts.  When describing the movie before we started watching it I said, "Michael Douglas was a cubicle worker who's had enough. He walks out of his car in traffic and is trying to get home for his daughter's birthday". I mentioned something about the ex-wife and then that he basically goes on a downward spree breaking shit all over LA.  He was sold!

This movie was on my list because I remember when my dad first showed it to my sister and I. He thought it was hilarious and talked about how at some point lots of people feel this way, they just don't go on a terror spree throughout town.  But my dad used to do this impression of the fed up angry guy but in a really comedic way that always made us laugh and so this movie was kinda the embodiment of that character to me. I hadn't seen this movie probably in about 5-7 years. I've watched in in my 20s at some point but can't really remember when.

Love Robert Duval in everything but in this movie I really enjoyed him.  There's also this female cop in this movie who plays "the' female cop in LA in all the movies with cops in LA in the early 90s, she's also on Lost as you guessed it a female cop!  My whole female cop issue is kinda addressed in the movie which is funny, with the neo-nazi guy who asks why female cops aren't called officer-ess like actress.  She says because they just thought police officer covered it all.

One thing I'm noticing about all these movies right now is that I'm not missing technology in them. Sometimes you'll see a movie from the past and can't get over how much easier it would be with the internet or cell phones, but this and Arachnophobia I didn't really miss it. I think while they look dated because of costumes and well history I guess they don't feel as dated as say some of todays movies will when 15 years from now we aren't all obsessed with iPhone and Social Media as we are today. I feel like some movies just stand up better.

My dinner guest really enjoyed the movie too he thought it was a dark comedy.  Which is kinda accurate as well. He was able to figure out the ending after about thirty minutes into the film.  Overall good movie. 93 was a hard year to pick from. I think I'd seen a lot of 93 movies recently.

Tyler's Ranking: A-

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Next up watching Leon with some friends for 1994. I'm super excited.

Previous 30 day movie project posts
Overview of the Project
My thoughts on Legend
1986-1989 Movies

30:30:30: 1985 Legend

February 27th - Day One!

(To hear more about this crazy project visit my first post about it here)

Fun Facts:
Directed by Ridley Scott (From Blade Runner to Legend...okay)
Released in 1985 in the UK 1986 in the US
Tom Cruise was 22-23
Mia Sara was 16
Tim Curry was fabulous

Before: 
What I remember of this movie before it starts is Tom Cruise as a weird man/boy and Tim Curry as an evil Devil like thing.  The chick from Ferris Bueller gets kidnapped or something by Tim Curry and the world almost turns evil.  There are unicorns involved and weird trolls. And that's about it.

Live thoughts:
- Oh it has those kind of special effects...I'm sorry Tim Curry
- Awww the evil ones rhyme
- Maybe I should watch Ferris Bueller next.
- Oooh I feel like these play this soundtrack in River Center Mall...or at least in the nature store
- Tom Cruise looks like Peter Pan
- Why does she have glitter all over her face?
- "Don't you trust me?" ummmm yah don't put that blindfold on
- Too bad The Last Unicorn came out before I was born...the dialogue is much better and America did the soundtrack.
- Those poor horses
- And inconsistent accent award goes to Tom Cruise...
- And a woman destroys peace...typical.
- OMG the trolls are so flamboyant it's amazing...look at that sass
- oh nevermind they're goblins apparently...my bad
- Why is the snow sparkling?
- Oh ya there's a fairy! Ummm did the Fairy just touch Tom's ass?
- Oh god this little fairy boy is going to so get on my nerves
- I feel like we're in Narnia...a weird drunk Narnia
- And Tom's crying...and there's no accent anymore just normal Cruise voice I'm cool with that
- Yah yah, there's always a Last Unicorn
- Ooh yah Oona- she's worse than Gump! And she tells Jack "I can be anything you want" you're a child stop that!
- Also why is everyone covered in stripper glitter
- Oh you're a really bad crier Lily- Do the goblins have guns?
- Lily you're useless
- Thank god this movie is only an hour and a half...
- Ewwwwww you're gross....green swamp goblin thing....so gross
- Kill it!!!!
- Oh yah I remember her annoying breathing...and eventually her voices gets weird and low and kind guttural
- Hey it's that one guy, he played a weird troll/gnome thing in some other movie too
- Ooona that is inappropriate, he loves someone else don't ask that
- Uuuhhhhh no Jack, uhhg teenagers are stupid, she's not real!
(Hey Sookie joined me! She doesn't seem to like the movie either... Bellatrix is cool with it. Although neither seems to like my commentary)
- Yah hissing will scare them Gump...good job, even Tom thinks you're exasperating
- Lily how did your clothes get so torn up so quickly, it's been a day chid
- Oh yah dangle diamond's in front of her and she'll forget she's lost her love and in some weird underworld...uhg
- oh yah the creepy dementor dancing and the weird guttural noises, I remember this
- Don't dance with it, it's creepy!
- See what happens when you dance, you turn goth! Sparkly goth!
- Oh Tim Curry you're so fabulous.
- Yah, just gasp and don't communicate that'll help your situation
- Gump you suck, like he's going to give up it's Tom Cruise he always gets his girl
- The music is definitely different now...very rock opera-esque
- No means no...so I guess never means like really no
- Really Darkness you're just as bad as Jack and Lily, you really believe her shit?
- Okay Lily your accent sucks now too, especially in that low register
- Yah that wasn't very subtle Jack
- Really you think arrows would stop Darkness?
- I'm so glad Tom can fight in a a sparkly dress.
- I really don't remember this ending...I know Jack and Lily win but still...
- How does he end up in space? I'm so confused...
- Awww Tom you cleaned up so fast.
- Loved by the Sun...no just no. Or Yes...cause you know the singer...
- So the moral was the usual right, women cause the world to almost end and a man had to save the girl and the world...
- Hey look Tim Curry lives!

After:
Okay final thoughts. Glad this was a shorter movie...it just does not stand the test of time. I remember liking it as a kid and thinking it was cool and stuff, but it's been 30 years and now it just looks sad and dated. Like old bad TV movies from the 90s with lots of glitter and fairies. Tom Cruise started off with an accent then lost it very quickly and became the Tom we all know and love today. Mia was obnoxious the whole time...seriously I have no idea what that chick's motivations were.  Tim Curry you're perfect never change. The elfs and goblins and fairies were sooooooooooo annoying. Seriously they were creepy and useless.

The story was pretty blah too.  Women touches something she shouldn't touch because a stupid guy in love "wanted to show her something". So of course she touches it and the world falls apart into evil.  Then the guy in love has to save the girl because she caused Evil to happen and the entire world almost falls apart because of it....blah blah blah, love conquers all and good triumphs over the fabulous Tim Curry.

OMG the music was like the nature store music you heard in the malls in the 90s it was hysterical.  Then the costumes were useless too. One fairy was wrapped in medical gauze, Tom was in a giant sequined dress armor and Lily's clothes kept getting more and more disheveled and torn even though she wasn't really doing anything but running and making weird gasping noises.

Overall it was a fun movie to snark watch, would have been better with friends instead of just my cats, but it's cool.  My running commentary above is what I would have said if I'd watched it with my friends...or Haley since I remember her really liking this movie too.

Tyler ranking: B+ B movie.
It was good for a B movie, but not enough to be an A+ B movie...