I wanted to see how many films I see in a year, and I am now bored with this process.

I liked Rev Rd… Kate Winslet was awesome (as per norm) and the thematic elements were kick ass. The idea was heady, yet not was perfect.

I will give it an 80… worth seeing, but could have been better.

Today, I went and saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at the Alameda Theatre.

I enjoyed the movie thoroughly. It was an excellent premise to examine the fleeting nature of time and our relation to it. It gets an 85.

I watched Slumdog Millionaire at the Edwards 22 in Fresno, CA.

I am going to wait a bit before reviewing… I am not sure what to give it and to re-rate other things.

It was awesome, BTW.

I likes me some Charlie Kaufman. His films are fascinating and fill the viewer with wonder and something to debate. I saw his his directoral debut, Synecdoche, New York, this evening at the Parkway Speakeasy in Oakland.

The film starts out in in a fairly linear, traditional indie drama manner, then careens into an abstract metaphysical view on the meaning of existence. The film employs a complex, multi-faceted symbolic language to challenge those watching the film as well as grandiose sight gags (e.g. a house that is constantly on fire, a theater that encompasses a whole city).

I will give it a 90, but it may be a much better film than that… If I knew Charlie was directing another director to make the film, it would instantly rate 100.

Last Friday, I went and saw Rachel Getting Married at the Parkway Speakeasy in Oakland.

This film is about a troubled ex-model/addict going home to see her family as she is let out of rehab for her sister’s wedding. There is all sorts of family drama that is brought up in the film.

I though the story played a backseat to the wedding, which I hated (the wedding, not that the story played a backseat, because there wasn’t much story to hate). This was the most pretentious, douchebag wedding I have seen depicted on film. If I were to attend that wedding, I would incessantly mock the people and leave early.

The film gets a 63. If you want to see an indie flick containing family drama at a wedding, watch the much better (and similarly titled) Margot at the Wedding, which was released earlier this year.

I saw Milk at the Alameda Theatre on the island.

Excellent movie. Well acted and nicely paced. I have nothing bad to say about it, just an excellent period biopic.

I will give it a 92.

I saw quite a few films over the Thanksgiving week. I started to give IMDB links, but who cares?

In the theater I saw:

• Let the Right One In: Swedish Vampire flick… Pretty good, but could have used some additional editing: I give it an 80 (Shattuck Theater in Berkeley).

• Twilight: Vampire light for the tweens. No redeeming qualities. Maybe a 55? (Alameda Theatre).

• Quantum of Solace: The second Bond movie in a row that was awesome. Good story pared down to the basics. 85 (UltraStar La Costa 6 in Carlsbad, CA)

• Zach and Miri Make a Porno: Kevin Smith directed film about roommates that decide to make a porno flick to pay their bills. Stupid concept, fun implementation. 75 (Parkway Speakeasy in Oakland).

Rented flicks:

• 4 months 3 weeks and 2 days: Romanian abortion drama. Makes you feel dirty, and I like that :) 92.

• Smart People: Movie about a writer struggling with family issues. Dennis Quaid is a guilty pleasure. 72.
  

Neither of these deserve ratings.

Kung Fu Panda was enjoyable and had cool animation.

…Zohan was ehhh…

I watched Patton on Blu Ray last weekend.

The transfer was absolutely beautiful. I can say that no other transfer of a film I have ever seen was as crisp and vibrant.

The film was epic in scale, scope and story, my favorite attributes in a film. The acting by Scott was terrific as well. Reviewing older films, already established as classics is silly… so I will go into what I thought was especially cool… (BTW 95ish review, if it were necessary).

I love films about subjects that are not explicitly presented in the film. This is a war film, but the battles are implied. Except for an initial encounter, the film focuses on the build-up before and the aftermath. This technique allows the viewer to see th epsychology of those involved instead of the special effects and carnage that is secondary to the story.

On the Monday ‘fore Armistice/Remembrance/Veteran’s Day, I saw Religulous at the Cerrito Speakeasy in Albany, CA.

I can’t really give it a review, because I am not sure if the film is intended to be a comedy, documentary or an argument against religion.

Whenever I see or hear Bill Maher, I agree with the thoughts, but I have thought them myself. His sentiments are so familiar, that they seem redundant.

I did laugh hearing the outrageous beliefs and actions of the various religions, but I already think fundamentalists to be fools.

I watched the film Tell No One last weekend. It was well-acted, interesting and suspenseful, but suffered from having a “what really happened” explanation that the viewer could never guess…

75ish? Sure, why not?

Yesterday, I went to the Parkway Speakeasy in Oakland to see the film Tropic Thunder.

The film had an interesting idea and was funny at times, but it failed in the implementation of the premise. Whenever the best actor in the film is Matthew McConaughey, you know that the movie has a problem.

Maybe a 56? Who really cares? It wasn’t my cup of tea; not altogether horrible, but it caused me to experience displeasure (not the goal of a comedy, BTW).

Last weekend, I went and saw the new Coen Bros. flick Burn After Reading. The film had a great idea, but the execution was a little clumsy overall.

Brad Pitt and John Malkovich delivered stand-out performances (although in two totally different manners) that elevated their performances over the confines of the script. JK Simmons’ CIA Director single-handedly saved the film with two short scenes that called out the absurdity of the plot and the relation of the events to the real world.

It probably deserves an 81. That is a B-Minus or so. Better than Intolerable Cruelty or the God-Awful Ladykillers.