After seeing upwards of 15 movies in theaters this year, I think it's time I start to rank them, somehow. Since Shutter Island isn't coming out this year (which is fucking lame), I have a feeling that the #1 movie won't be changing.
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#15- Halloween II (August 28). Span and I both saw a different movie than the general public did, apparently. I'm not saying it was great, but we both thought that it was at least as good as Zombie's first. Maybe Rob is just an acquired taste, but I really do like his style. To each their own, I guess.
Positives- Brutally, violently different.
Negatives- Brutally, violently different.
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#14- Notorious (January 16). I had almost forgotten that this came out in 09. This year has gone by slower than I remember. I think, if I had seen this list before the year started, I would have been disappointed with the Biggie movie being this low, but that's not really a bad thing. This year was/is rich with good movies.
Positives- Jamal Woolard was perfect.
Negatives- Nobody else was (least of all Anthony Mackie. Worst Pac ever).
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#13- State of Play (April 17). Didn't actually see this in theaters. Still, it was a smartly written movie featuring pure awesomeness from the dependable Russell Crowe, the surprising Ben Affleck and the gorgeous Rachel McAdams.
Positives- Tightly-woven out of awesome.
Negatives- Maybe a little dense for the average viewer (i.e., idiots)
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#12- Observe and Report (April 10). Seth Rogen was fucking mean in this movie. That will either attract you or repel you. Seriously, he's psychotic. Aziz Ansari (a favorite of mine and Span's) is great, per usual. I hate to compare it to something so shitty, but this movie is like Bizzaro Blart. It is the opposite of that travesty in every way. And it's better. A LOT better.
Positives- Some seriously funny, mean spirited humor.
Negatives- It really is fucking MEAN. Capital M-E-A-N.
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#11- Angels & Demons (May 14). Tom Hanks, despite the 20 or so pounds he put on for this role, is great. The plot, while predictably ridiculous, adheres to the book even better than the Da Vinci Code. That is a great strength and a great weakness. I've read the book. Twice. And I still was confused at times. I'd rather be confused than bored, though.
Positives- Breathtakingly intense, geniunely engaging.
Negatives- Convoluted as shit.
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#10- I Love You, Man (March 20). The biggest compliment I can pay is that this movie surprised the hell out of me. In retrospect, I shouldn't be surprised. I love Paul Rudd. I love Jason Segel. I'm starting to love Rashida Jones. I don't love this movie, though. But I did enjoy it. And that's all you can ask for in a comedy.
Positives- Intelligently funny and stupidly funny. Not many movies can do both.
Negatives- Kind of tame. Not enough Andy Samberg.
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#9- Fanboys (February 6...technically). Ok, so this movie is like two years old, but it was released in 09, so it counts damn it! First off, this movie engages one's nerd sensibilites like no movies since...since Star Wars, actually. I'm not saying being a Star Wars nerd makes this movie funnier, but it doesn't hurt. It doesn't hurt when the entire cast is awesome (except Kristen Bell. she's double awesome). Seth Rogen makes an appearance. Or two. Or three. Any self-respecting Star Wars fan would have to enjoy this film.
Positives- More Star Wars references than you can shake a Gaffi stick at.
Negatives- See above. =(
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#8- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 15). Before the year, I would have laughed if someone told me I would have this movie this high. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the books. I have since...since they first came out on this side of the pond. But I really don't like the films. I don't know why. This one was easily better than any of the previous five, with the possible exception of the third. I actually want to see the seventh/eighth now. That's the best compliment I can give this film.
Positives- Daniel Radcliffe actually acts!!! Emma Watson is also a plus, as always.
Negatives- Still kind of cheesy when it shouldn't be.
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#7- The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (August 14). Don't even start. I love Jeremy Piven (though not as much as Span does). I love this style of film (reminds me of Anchorman more than anything else). I doubt this movie will have the legs that Anchorman does, but damn it was funny. I like Will Ferrell again. And Craig Robinson remains funny as hell. Charles Napier was epic as well.
Positives- Absurdly, ridiculously, unbelievably funny at times.
Negatives- Kind of 'meh' the rest of the time.
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#6- Adventureland (April 3). Jesse Eisenberg is like a funnier version of Michael Cera. Except not annoying. Michael Cera sucks. There, that's out of the way. This movie was strange, not all that funny, and kind of long. But why did I like it so damn much? Alright, Michael Cera's ok. I prefer Eisenberg, though.
Positives- Strange AND interesting. Like Napoleon Dynamite, except interesting.
Negatives- Slow.
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#5- The Hangover (June 5). I doubt this movie will be a third as funny in three years as it was when I first saw it. You could say the same about Old School. But this movie succeeded where Old School didn't for me. It made me cry laughing in the theater. Seriously. I couldn't handle Zach Galifianakis in this movies (so fucking happy he got into the mainstream. I love Fat Jesus.)
Positives- Will make you cry when you first see it. Guaranteed.
Negatives- Will never make you cry the next time you see it.
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#4- Zombieland (October 2). Jesse Eisenberg strikes again. Except this time, he has a better cast. As much as I like Bill Hader, Martin Starr, and Ryan Reynolds, Woody Harrelson just shits on them in Zombieland. He's amazing. Emma Stone is hotter (and a better actress) than Kristen Stewart, too. And, well, let's just say that Bill Murray is...Bill Murray.
Positives- Just fun. Plain fun. A little smarter than you would have thought, too.
Negatives- Not for the squeamish. Or those of you who lack funny bones.
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#3- Watchmen (March 3). Sure, Rorschach is a walking Republican stereotype ("I smell Liberals!). Sure, Dr. Manhattan's cock has more screen time than half the characters. That's probably a plus for some of you. Sure, it doesn't quite make sense. Watchmen is an experience. I really wish I'd read the comic before I saw it. There is a reason that LOST's Damon Lindelof calls Watchmen "the greatest piece of popular fiction ever made."
Positives- Unlike anything anyone's ever seen.
Negatives- ?
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#2- District 9 (August 13). I may get some shit for putting this higher than Watchmen. Fuck that, I loved this movie. It's cheesy at times, sure. But the rest of the time it's just fantastic. I loved District 9.
Positives- Intelligent, deep, exciting and just plain interesting.
Negatives- Shows it's budget too much. Not enough from the other characters.
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#1- Inglourious Basterds (August 21). Quentin Tarantino reclaims his throne as the most interesting director in the world, and Brad Pitt finally ascends to the levels I've wanted him to be at. I'm not joking when I say that Basterds might have been as good as Pulp Fiction. If you ever get to know me at all, you'll realize how serious of a statement that is from me. I just wish, sometimes, that Brad Pitt could act without using a southern accent. Lol.
Positives- Everything.
Negatives- NOTHING (ok, a little slow at times, and probably not a great idea if you don't either read well or are a polyglot).
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Well, that concludes my "Best of 09" tour. This list is, as always, subject to change. I might do one of these for Music, TV, Sports and Video Games.
Addendum: "Up in the Air" is the official best film of 2009.
There are no facts, only interpretations- Friedrich Nietzsche.
Mint
Hello, all. Cosmis is the name, random bloging is the game.
Span is having me help get this blogging shit off the ground (pun intended), so I'll start with the one thing I know that I know better than he knows, you know? Sports.
Tim Duncan is absolutely murdering my Bulls right now. He's hitting everything. Tonight he looks like he could score on a brick wall. He's just that good. Manu "Never Heard of Rogaine" Ginobili looks like he should be coaching in my opinion. I know he's still pretty good, but the dude's bald spot is like 2 feet wide.
In NFL news, the Bears suck. Or at least their offensive line does. I, for some reason, watched them get completely blasted by Cincinnati on Sunday, and let's just say it made me sad. Still, this far into the NFL Season, I can say three things for sure.
1. Drew Brees is awesome.
Span is having me help get this blogging shit off the ground (pun intended), so I'll start with the one thing I know that I know better than he knows, you know? Sports.
Tim Duncan is absolutely murdering my Bulls right now. He's hitting everything. Tonight he looks like he could score on a brick wall. He's just that good. Manu "Never Heard of Rogaine" Ginobili looks like he should be coaching in my opinion. I know he's still pretty good, but the dude's bald spot is like 2 feet wide.
In NFL news, the Bears suck. Or at least their offensive line does. I, for some reason, watched them get completely blasted by Cincinnati on Sunday, and let's just say it made me sad. Still, this far into the NFL Season, I can say three things for sure.
1. Drew Brees is awesome.
2. JaMarcus Russell isn't. (sorry Span m8)
3. Roger Goodell has a bigger boner for having an NFL team in London than he does for suspending black players (try and tell me he doesn't go home and shoot a load all over Mike Vick's mugshot).
I know the World Series is on right now, but I hate the Yankees, and I don't particularly like the Phillies, so I'm not too interested. I'm still paying attention, but there's no way I'm watching any of those games when there's Bulls Basketball, Parks and Recreation and The Office to watch. Especially when they're playing Muse to close out the third quarter on TNT.
There are no facts, only interpretations.- Freidrich Nietzsche.
- Cosmis
Bye Hiatus
I don't know how to start this, my blogger has digital dust on it(lol). In all serious though, I apologize for the hiatus. I was going through some really serious personal issues and was on the verge of dying a couple times to say the least. My good friend and producer Hilton told me "don't worry about music for awhile, focus on your health". And I basically did exactly that for a while. Last time I blogged on here I was talking about "Growing Wings", well that was originally intended to be a EP but thats scrapped "Growing Wings" will be album like and its in pre-production. Its Still executive produced by Charlie Hilton and it will be the best work i've ever done. The thing is "Growing Wings" probably won't be out until sometime early 2010.
Don't worry I got something to hold everybody off until "Growing Wings" drops. I have this EP called "Down to Earth" that will be released within a few weeks. I'll be giving in depth details on the EP and its title. I also blog for www.hilkoo.com now so be sure to check us out. I'm also going to be hiring new a author to blog for Sky Status. I just wanted to let everybody know that Wing Span is back and my press release is coming very soon, so stay tuned.
Don't worry I got something to hold everybody off until "Growing Wings" drops. I have this EP called "Down to Earth" that will be released within a few weeks. I'll be giving in depth details on the EP and its title. I also blog for www.hilkoo.com now so be sure to check us out. I'm also going to be hiring new a author to blog for Sky Status. I just wanted to let everybody know that Wing Span is back and my press release is coming very soon, so stay tuned.