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Ten More Movies is a series of posts to bring attention to my ten favorite movies of the year that either weren’t considered Best Picture material or weren’t big enough sellers to be in the Top Grossers. These are movies that excel at entertaining people more than they excel at having brilliant scripts, beautiful cinematography, tear-jarring performances, or the ability to put a number on the end of the title – though they may have pieces of those elements. These are the ten movies I think you should see that statistics say you might’ve missed, year by year.

2006

For my breakdown on the Top Grossers of 2006, go here.
For Doug’s breakdown on the Best Picture nominees of 2006, go here.

View counts are accurate to the date of posting.

10. Stranger than Fiction

Times I saw it in theaters: 2 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 3

I’m actually a big fan of Will Ferrell, and it was nice him to tackle something somewhat dramatic, but goofy enough to still feel in place. The concept of a man who hears his life narrated by a professional author seems like it would be nearly impossible to pass off, but everything flowed perfectly to me. The comedy that they implemented to address the ridiculousness of everything reminded me of the same attitude carried by The Truman Show. I loved it.

9. Snakes on a Plane

Times I saw it in theaters: 4 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 4

As I’m sure you can tell by the view counts, it wouldn’t be unfair to say I like this movie a little too much. It’s horrible, but it knows that it’s horrible, which allows it to go places other movies wouldn’t. The plot makes no logical sense whatsoever, but it’s so hard to care when there are snakes on an airplane. Truthfully, this movie was responsible for the best time I had in a theater in all of 2006. It knew it’s audience and used that knowledge to its full potential. “How far can they take it?” movies are right up my alley. More on Snakes on a Plane here.

8. Jackass: Number Two

Times I saw it in theaters: 1 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 4

Speaking of “How far can they take it?” movies, Jackass: Number Two answered that question with a resounding “Way further than you thought.” Schadenfreude fuels this movie for an hour and a half of non-stop stupidity.  If you thought the stunts from first one were bad, this one seriously makes them feel about as hardcore as a pillow fight. Number Two out-does the original in every way. If they make a Jackass 3, I have no idea how they’re going to be able to top this. I laughed so hard my abs were sore the rest of the day.

7. Monster House

Times I saw it in theaters: 1 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 4

For me, Monster House was the year’s Best Animated Feature by a landslide. Happy Feet was mediocre and Cars, while also mediocre, was a huge disappointment. The first hour of Monster House just by itself is better than both of those movies combined. It captures the kind of adventures you always wanted to have when you were a kid in way that had me prepared to call it the new Goonies. Sadly, it trails off a little in the last half hour, but but not enough to ruin anything. The entire movie is really good, but the first hour in particular is great.

6. Blood Diamond

Times I saw it in theaters: 0 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 4

I guess it’s about time some Oscar bait made the list, huh? The first time I saw the trailers for Blood Diamond I thought it looked really boring, and to top things off I thought DiCaprio’s fake accent sounded terrible. When I finally got around to watching it, I was surprised to find an unexpectedly moving story told through solid acting from all sides. DiCaprio’s performance is everything its Oscar nomination worked it up to be, and Djimon Hounsou’s role as the desperate father is touching. It’s also nice to see Jennifer Connelly making good movies again.

5. The Science of Sleep

Times I saw it in theaters: 2 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 2

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of my favorite movies ever; partially thanks to Charlie Kaufman’s brilliant writing and partially because of Michel Gondry incredible imagination. With The Science of Sleep, it’s all Gondy which results in things getting pretty trippy at times with iffy dialogue, but I still love every second of emotion in the movie. It’s a quirky romantic comedy, with the kind of visuals only Gondry’s mind could invent and colorful characters to match.

4. The Prestige

Times I saw it in theaters: 1 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 3

Christopher Nolan is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors. Between Memento, the new Batman series, and this, he hasn’t really had a miss yet. The Prestige has an amazing cast, primarily the rivalry between Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale. Michael Caine is just as great in yet another Alfred-esque role. The ending blew my mind the first time I saw it.

3. Hard Candy

Times I saw it in theaters: 0 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 7

Hard Candy is one of the most twisted stories I think I’ve ever watched. Ellen Page (who would later rise to fame in 2007’s Juno) plays a young teenager who gets coerced to a house by an older man (Patrick Wilson) she met on the internet. The rest is just… you have to see the movie. I’m not going to spoil any more of the plot. The main thing I love about this more than anything else is that they successfully keep things interesting with only two characters on screen for 98% of the movie’s runtime. It’s just non-stop dialogue paired with great acting.

2. Children of Men

Times I saw it in theaters: 1 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 3

Over any other movie that got snubbed at the 2006 Oscars, Children of Men deserved a Best Picture nomination more than most of the actual nominees. The pacing, acting, story, and especially the cinematography are all superb. I can’t believe it didn’t win best cinematography. The long takes are some of the most impressive film making I’ve seen in my lifetime.

1. Clerks II

Times I saw it in theaters: 1 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 5

The last time I did one of these lists, someone made mention to me that I have a tendency to lean towards comedy, which is absolutely true. Comedy is my first love and if a drama is going to tear me away from it, it better tug the living hell out of my heartstrings. Clerks II was everything I wanted it to be, and I wanted it to be an awful lot. The original Clerks is an indie classic, but the sequel pushes the limits of crudity further than most comedies would dare. Kevin Smith’s dialogue is as sharp as ever and the new characters he gives us this time are some of the best he’s written. If you like crude comedy, Clerks II is mandatory viewing.

To close things off, my Top Ten favorite films of 2006, no limitations:

1. The Departed
2. Clerks II
3. Children of Men
4. Casino Royale
5. Hard Candy
6. The Prestige
7. The Science of Sleep
8. Blood Diamond
9. Monster House
10. Little Miss Sunshine

Eagle Eye

Basic plot: A slacker and a young single mother get unwillingly bullied into helping a terrorist act gradually bloom to fruition. Everything that can blow up, does blow up.

You know that scene in The Matrix where Neo gets an unexpected phone call and has to follow the unusually accurate directions to save himself? Well, they’ve now made an entire movie based on that concept. However, since that alone couldn’t possibly sustain an entire film, they’ve borrowed elements from Live Free or Die Hard, Cellular, and a certain Will Smith movie that will remain nameless for now.

Last year we saw Shia Lebeouf and director D.J. Caruso team up for the teen thriller Disturbia. The result was a surprisingly entertaining update to Hitchcock’s classic Rear Window and one of last year’s bigger sleeper hits. This time things are much bigger: Bigger budget, bigger plot, bigger setting.

The movie starts off a bit slow, but things seldom let up after Shia’s character answers a call from a mysterious unknown number. Things are a little less comical than I was expecting given Shia’s typical roles as the sarcastic, snarky slacker. Though you still see hints of that, the tone is generally pretty serious. In retrospect, it might even be a little too serious at times, but the action does a good job of keeping your mind off it. Billy Bob Thornton and Rosario Dawson work well as government agents, and Michelle Monaghan was a surprisingly believable single mother.

The budget is well used. Stuff blows up, cars crash, more stuff blows up. Some of (most of/all of) the things that happen in the movie are absolutely, positively preposterous, but within that particular world, everything is explained so it’s easy to turn your mind off for a couple hours and have a good time. If anything, the absurdity of all these different tricks the two main characters have played on them to give them directions were wholly amusing with their creativity in regards to America’s fascination with electronics.

If you like action, give it a go. It’s not going to blow your mind, but it should keep you well entertained.

Veronica Mars: Season 3

Season 1: An amazing season, one of my favorites of any show.

Season 2: Huge letdown after the awesome surprise of the original.

Season 3…

Honestly, Season 2 lowered  my expectations so far that Season 3 ended up being another pleasant surprise to me. Most shows don’t survive the college years, and considering it’s cancellation, Veronica Mars is no exception. This time around the season focuses on two main mysteries, but they mostly take place at separate times.

The first mystery involves solving a series of on-campus rapes, which is pretty dark territory, but at the same time it was easier for me to WANT it solved than the previous season’s bus accident, which I felt pretty indifferent about. Everything is wrapped up in about 9 episodes just in time to start a new mystery involving the murder of the dean, which takes another 6 or 7 episodes. That leaves just 4 or 5 more episodes for a few mini-mysteries which were always my favorite parts of Season 1 to begin with.

I much prefer the character interactions of this season. Wallace is nowhere to be seen the majority of the time, and almost all of the screen time goes to Veronica, Keith, and Logan – all of whom are my favorite characters by a long shot. Plus, as an added bonus, Dick is back as a hilariously pompous minor character. I also appreciated the return of the episode by episode mini-mystery in addition to the clues about the main mystery. Far too often it felt like the second season was just long periods focused on nothing but the main mystery which, as I said, I had trouble caring about.

I really, really enjoyed just about everything in Season 3. My only regret is that they set up a few things they’re never going to get a chance to come back to. Sadly, even if they had been renewed for a fourth season, I have a feeling I would’ve HATED it. Watching the “Presentation” on the bonus disc for what the fourth season would’ve been, they were planning to take away just about everything I liked about the show. The only thing that would’ve stayed was the title character, except she now works for the FBI.
Eff that. If that’s the direction the movie might go in, then I really don’t care. The ten minute half-an-episode teaser just felt like an episodic version of Miss Congeniality. The thing I liked about VM was that, as private detectives, they’d have to be ultra-ultra-sneaky in how they coaxed information out of people. When you have government authorization to all this information, it kills the excitement.

It made me glad the third season was the last. Seems like they were basically planning to destroy everything the show was about in favor of a generic crime-drama.

Top Grossers is a series of posts where I’ll briefly break down the international top ten highest grossing movies year by year. My friend Doug is gradually covering the Best Picture nominees over at his blog, but generally the Best Picture nominees don’t make it anywhere near the top ten highest grossing. This is for the blockbusters. Viewing counts are accurate to the date of posting.

2006

For Doug’s thoughts on the Best Picture nominee, go here.

The Top Ten Highest Grossing Films (Worldwide):

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – $1 billion+
2. The Da Vinci Code – $758 mil+
3. Ice Age: The Meltdown – $651 mil+
4. Casino Royale – $594 mil+
5. Night at the Museum – $574 mil+
6. Cars – $461 mil+
7. X-Men: The Last Stand – $459 mil+
8. Mission: Impossible 3 – $397 mil+
9. Superman Returns – $391 mil+
10. Happy Feet – $384 mil+

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Times I saw it in theaters: 2 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 2

While still a huge step down from Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest felt like it was trying it’s hardest to capture the magic of the original. A lot of people seem to prefer the third chapter in the series rather than the cliffhanger-ending of the second chapter, but I’ll just say I was bored far less throughout the duration of Dead Man’s Chest than I was during At World’s End and leave at that.

2. The Da Vinci Code

Times I saw it in theaters: 1 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 0

I love Ron Howard; I love Tom Hanks. Why was this movie so unbelievably mediocre? The supposedly blasphemous part of the story that I received e-mail after e-mail about leading up the movie really didn’t bother me. What did bother me is that about three total things happened in a two and a half hour duration. Something interesting happened less often than every forty-five minutes. The movie looks fine, and I guess the acting is fine (though what’s up with that hair, Tom?). It’s like a version of National Treasure that’s way longer without any jokes whatsoever and really dully explained history. Pass.

3. Ice Age: The Meltdown

Times I saw it in theaters: 0 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 0

That’s right, I haven’t seen this at all. Actually, I was shocked when I realized it was in the top ten highest grossing films at all, let alone #3. Not that the rest are much more deserving, but since I know I personally contributed to their theatrical box office, I can’t be too upset with anything else for being on the list. The original Ice Age was okay, bordering on good-ish, but certainly not good enough to make me keep track of when a sequel was coming out – even on home video after it’s theatrical release.

4. Casino Royale

Times I saw it in theaters: 1 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 5

Whoever thought we’d see the day that a James Bond movie was the single best movie for a year’s ten highest grossers? Sure, they’re always entertaining movies, but with just about everything else on the list floundering between “okay” and “garbage” Casino Royale looks like a masterpiece of cinema. And it really is a damn good movie, so that’s not too much of overstatement. It’s certainly one of the best Bonds and a must-see for action enthusiasts.

5. Night at the Museum

Times I saw it in theaters: 1 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 0

Sort of like a weird hybrid of Jumanji and The Indian in the Cupboard, Night at the Museum really is a fairly good family film. If I had first seen it when I was under ten, I probably would’ve loved it and it would hold the same place in my heart that Jumanji still nostalgically holds today. If you need to entertain a young a nephew or cousin (or child, though to my knowledge that doesn’t fit many or any of my readers), this isn’t a bad way to go. However, I don’t think I’d ever feel like watching it on my own again.

6. Cars

Times I saw it in theaters: 1 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 0

In five words: Biggest disappointment of the year. Pixar was on the roll of a lifetime up until this point thanks to the escalating awesomeness of Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles, and then Cars came out and completely destroyed my buzz. It’s not that the movie is terrible when compared to other companies’ similar titles, but compared to Pixar’s winning streak, it is. I hated it. If I ever get around to forcing myself to watch it again, I’ll give you better details, but for now, I’m just glad Brad Bird got things back on track the next year with Ratatouille. Cars is Pixar’s Attack of the Clones. Yeah, I went there.

7. X-Men: The Last Stand

Times I saw it in theaters: 1 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 1

If it weren’t for Ratner, this might make me detract my comment about Cars being the year’s most disappointing film. That sounds like a weird compliment to the guy, but it’s not. You knew this had no chance of living up to X2 as soon as you knew Bryan Singer was gone, and knowing Brett Rattner was attached was a warning for the worst. If you want a super-detailed breakdown, check out my blog post about it from August when I finally rewatched it for the first time since it was in theaters. Meh.

8. Mission: Impossible 3

Times I saw it in theaters: 1 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 1

Honestly, I really enjoyed this movie. I thought Phillip Seymour Hoffman was a great villain and the super-spy stuff kept me entertained the entire time. It’s not a series I hold on a huge pedastal, so I was completely content to have a fun little action romp and leave it at that. I’d recommend it.

9. Superman Returns

Times I saw it in theaters: 1 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 1

Ugh. UGH. One of the worst movies of the year. Want to know why? Let’s just say after I watched it for the second time ever this past August, I was so infuriated with it that my blog post on the topic would’ve made for a 4-page paper if I had used MLA format. Read that if you want all my reasons. I hate this movie.

10. Happy Feet

Times I saw it in theaters: 1 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 0

This was okay. I liked it more than Cars, but I also didn’t have much in the way of expectations at all. The movie’s two main messages are obviously that being gay is something people are born with and should be accepted as they are, and secondly, that we need to be careful about how we’re using our natural resources. Truthfully, neither are messages I have a problem with at all and the first is handled quite well, but by the time they get to the environmentalism it just kind of feels like the movie is yelling at you. Altogether, it’s decent. It didn’t deserve Best Animated Feature, but if you need a way to coax your young ones into an eventual love of Queen music, the pengins rendition of “Somebody to Love” might do the trick. That’s a cause I definitely get behind.

Moulin Rouge: Top 5 Scenes

The first time I ever watched Moulin Rouge, I admit, I was a bit underwhelmed, but something about it intrigued me. The way Baz Luhrmann wove pop songs around a classic tragedy left me perplexed and slightly confused. I wasn’t quite sure what I had just seen. The style is a bit unusual; the colors are bright and the editing cuts constantly from one extreme close-up to an odd dutch angle back to another close-up. Regardless, I felt like I had to watch it again, just to try to figure out what the hell was going on (particularly for the first hour or so).

During round one, the film had caught me off guard, but during round two the film grew on me, almost instantly. Fast forward three or four years, and it’s now one of my all-time favorite films; one that I’ve seen well over twenty times. I love the bizarre humor, the colorful characters, and, more than anything, the music. This movie made me fall in love with Nicole Kidman and gain an entirely new respect for Ewan McGregor. It’s kind of a downer by the time the curtains close, but the overall message is something I can get behind:

“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”

5. Your Song

The Set-Up: Having lucked his way into Satine’s private room, Christian is given an opportunity to give her a poetry reading.

Why it’s awesome: His “original poem” just happens to be Elton John’s “Your Song.” This is the song that single-handedly turned Elton John into one of my favorite artists. I had never heard it before this and as soon as I found out who it was by, I picked up his 34 song Greatest Hits album and the rest is history. Truth be told, I actually prefer Ewan’s version of this particular track. He has a surprisingly powerful voice compared to Elton’s softer, more soothing version. The Moulin Rouge take on this tune is epic, from the backing chorus to the dancing in the clouds; the latter of which might stand as one of the film’s most memorable images.

4. Spectacular, Spectacular

The Set-Up: The Duke catches Christian in Satine’s room, but the day is saved by a spontaneous musical pitch of a play the Bohemians want to run.

Why it’s awesome: Taking a break from the barrage of pop songs that have been flooding the speakers up to this point, “Spectacular, Spectacular” takes the tune of Jacques Offenbach’s Can-Can and gives it lyrics. Considering “Can-Can” is originally an all-instrumental piece, replacing all of those notes with lyrics is quite the feat and the final result kind of feels like Moulin Rouge’s take on “La Vie Boheme”. However, instead of merely naming products and actions to an insanely catchy tune, “Spectacular, Spectacular” delivers an full-fledged story.

3. Come What May

The Set-Up: having nearly been caught by the Duke, Satine and Christian write a “lover’s song” to incorporate into the play to remind each other of their love anytime they hear it.

Why it’s awesome: This is  the film’s only completely original song, and honestly, it’s a beautiful ballad. The accompanying montage is a great way to show the escalating issues within the relationship. Another aspect of this scene I personally appreciate is that Lurhman very intentionally never bothered with any kind of sex scenes in order to avoid the idea that the relationship between these characters was purely sexual. In the commentary, he talks about how he wanted the movie to be about love itself moreso than sex, so the couple is never scene during the act; only before or after. I don’t see anything wrong with sex scenes during movies either, but I thought that was a cool take on the subject.

2. Elephant Love Medley

The Set-Up: Christian attempts to convince Satine to give him shot with the help of some of pop music’s most popular love songs.

Why it’s awesome: This medley takes fourteen songs, mixes them flawlessly, and throws in a few adjusted lyrics here and there to make sure everything flows just right. When you take over a dozen of the catchiest melodies in pop history and throw them together, the result is one of the catchiest three minutes you’ve ever heard. The visuals of this scene are just as much fun as Satine and Christian essentially battle-sing against each other the entire time.

1. El Tango de Roxanne

The Set-Up: After weeks of putting it off, it looks like Satine is finally going to have to sleep with The Duke. Christian, who seems to have forgotten he’s dating a prostitute, is extremely bothered by this.

Why it’s awesome: The Unconscious Argentinean takes it upon himself to explain the situation with an incredible tango-fied version of The Police’s song “Roxanne.” The lighting and cinematography of this are gorgeous as they properly convey the dark emotions of the situation: “Jealousy, anger, betrayal.” As the Argentinean’s scratchy voice belts out the popular tune, Christian’s haunting accompaniment drives the majority of this scene. His all-original chorus is chilling and the gradual build of the song gives me goosebumps everytime.

The good news is that the other songs/scenes in the movie that didn’t make the list are almost just as good (or completely equal depending on your preference). If you haven’t seen it, you should check it out, just try to give it a couple viewings before you write it off.

“Ten More Movies” is a series of posts to bring attention to my ten favorite movies of the year that either weren’t considered “Best Picture material” or weren’t big enough sellers to be in the Top Grossers. These are movies that excel at entertaining people more than they excel at having brilliant scripts, beautiful cinematography, tear-jarring performances, or the ability to put a number on the end of the title – though they may have pieces of those elements. These are the ten movies I think you should see that statistics say you might’ve missed, year by year.

2007

For my breakdown on the Top Grossers of 2007, go here.
For Doug’s breakdown on the Best Picture nominees of 2007, go here.

View counts are accurate to the date of posting.

10. Shoot Em Up

Times I saw it in theaters: 2 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 1

In many ways, it’s completely fair to say Shoot Em Up is the stupidest movie that came out the entire year, but just like Snakes on a Plane from 2006, it knows exactly what its purpose is. The entire movie is a ninety minute action scene with just a strand of something resembling a story to push from one scene to the next. Every scene in this movie is unrealistic enough to make you believe The Matrix might’ve been a documentary, but that’s what makes it so much fun. Clive Owen is a badass, Monica Belluci is incredibly attractive, and Paul Giamatti is insane. The absolute absurdity of trying to figure how many different ways they can find to use guns is hilarious.

9. Knocked Up

Times I saw it in theaters: 2 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 3

I loved The 40 Year-Old Virgin, and Knocked Up felt like more of the same but with a much more relatable lead character thanks to Seth Rogen’s mid-20’s age range. Just like it’s Apatow-ian predecessor, it’s a unique mix of the crudest, vilest jokes you’ve ever heard and a surprising amount of heart when you get to its core. Apatow’s entire crew consistently spews out some of the funniest, foul-mouthed garbage I’ve ever heard for two hours and it kept me laughing almost the entire time.

8. The Bourne Ultimatum

Times I saw it in theaters: 2 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 3

Now, I give you the only threequel that was good enough to be included on this list. I love the Bourne series, and in a summer filled with subpar threequels (Spider-Man, Shrek, Ocean’s, Pirates, etc.), The Bourne Ultimatum was the lone beacon of improved quality. If you don’t like the series, I doubt it will change your tone, but if you do, it’s arguable that this is the best entry by a decent margin. It looks great, it’s got a solid story, and the acting is fitting.

7. Into the Wild

Times I saw it in theaters: 0 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 2

Any movie that can make me consider selling all my possessions to simply wander the earth is a movie worth mentioning. Sure, that consideration might be immediately shot down by the realization that I love my possessions and don’t actually enjoy being outdoors that much, but it’s the thought that counts. Into the Wild looks incredible, has a genuinely amazing story, and is very, very well acted. I’m actually not sure how it didn’t get a Best Picture nod.

6. Superbad

Times I saw it in theaters: 3 — Times I’ve watched the DVD: 2

Take everything I said about the humor from Knocked Up and double it and you basically end up with Superbad. I had to see it twice opening weekend just because I felt like I missed half the jokes because everyone in the theater was laughing SO loudly (myself included) at the midnight release. As it turned out, I had missed just about half of the jokes and there were actually twice as many laughs as I needed to be laughing from beginning to end. It’s a crude comedy masterpiece.

5. Lars and the Real Girl

Times I saw it in theaters: 0 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 2

The cinematography of Lars and the Real Girl is a little too simple with a gross far too small for the Academy to acknowledge it with a Best Picture nomination, but after seeing it a second time tonight, I think I’m in love. The story about an awkward man who believes a sex-doll is his girlfriend (much cleaner than that makes it sound) is hilariously bizarre and exactly my style of humor. The writing is great and I Ryan Gosling’s performance might be the third best of the year. I’d take this over Juno in a heartbeat.

4. Grindhouse

Times I saw it in theaters: 2 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 3

Long before Oscar season, even before the Summer of the Sequels, there was Grindhouse. Trying to replicate 1970’s slasher films, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino teamed up to give us some of the year’s single most exciting moments on the big screen (provided you were one of the 14 total people that saw it in theaters). Planet Terror is nonstop action with plenty of gross-out scenes thrown in for good measure, and the last thirty minutes of Death Proof might be the greatest chase scene I’ve ever watched. If you can stomach the gore, it’s a must-see.

3. Stardust

Times I saw it in theaters: 4 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 5

The first time I saw Stardust, I went in with no expectations whatsoever, and I was blown away. Admittedly, I have a huge soft spot for fantasy movies, but this was something else. It had unique characters, a very fun plot with just the right touch of magic, and a love story that could make even Saruman wish he had a special someone. It’s one of those movies that leaves me with a feeling of elation every time I finish watching it.

2. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Times I saw it in theaters: 2 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 6

Sweeney Todd is another movie I think should’ve warranted a Best Picture nomination. The cinematography feels like classic Tim Burton, the music is hilariously twisted, and everyone fits their roles to a T. The ending is a huge downer, but everything else about it is so great, I just don’t care. For my Top 5 Scenes list, go here.

1. Once

Times I saw it in theaters: 0 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 4

Beauty in simplicity. That’s the theme of Once. For this one, I’m going to limit myself to saying that if you haven’t seen it, it needs to be the next movie you watch if at all possible. This movie has more heart than any blockbuster or Oscar nominee that came out in 2007.

To close things off, my Top Ten favorite films of the 2007, no limitations:

1. Once
2. 300
3. No Country for Old Men
4. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
5. Stardust
6. Ratatouille
7. Grindhouse
8. Lars and the Real Girl
9. Superbad
10. Into the Wild

I was going through my sister’s pictures of a family vacation we all took this past summer when I came across one particular piece of solid gold photography. Thanks to a little MS Paint sorcery (yeah, I’m THAT hardcore), I present to you the new album:

Full tracklist and lyrics coming soon!

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That’s really all I have for today… possibly for the entire weekend. My little brother Elijah (seen above; left) is in town visiting, so we’re a little too busy being awesome for me to concentrate on longwinded rants about movies.

In the meantime, Doug just started a sick new blog series. You should check it out.

Top Grossers is a series of posts where I’ll briefly break down the international top ten highest grossing movies year by year. My friend Doug is gradually covering the Best Picture nominees over at his blog, but generally the Best Picture nominees don’t make it anywhere near the top ten highest grossing. This is for the blockbusters. Viewing counts are accurate to the date of posting.

2007

For Doug’s thoughts on the Best Picture nominees, go here.

The Top Ten Highest Grossing Films (Worldwide):

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – $960 mil+
2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – $938 mil+
3. Spider-Man 3 – $890 mil+
4. Shrek the Third - $798 mil+
5. Transformers – $708 mil+
6. Ratatouille - $621 mil+
7. I Am Legend - $584 mil+
8. The Simpsons Movie – $524 mil+
9. National Treasure: Book of Secrets – $457 mil+
10. 300 - $456 mil+

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

Times I saw it in Theaters: 1 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 2

America’s love of sequels is going to make the backwards progression of these lists a little bit awkward since it’s difficult to talk about how you liked a sequel without first saying how liked the original(s). To put it simply Curse of the Black Pearl was one of my favorite movies when it came out in 2003, and I still love it. When Disney decided to pop out two sequels at once I was ecstatic…until the movies actually came out and suddenly had more plots and characters than it could handle. Pirates are cool, but the British navy is boring as balls. They just get way, way, way too much screen time this go round. It’s not a bad movie by any means, but it doesn’t have half the gusto of the original.

2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Times I saw it in Theaters: 1 — Time I’ve watched it on DVD: 0

I’m not a die-hard Harry Potter fan. I’ve never read the books and I’ve only seen each of the movies a couple times, but I do enjoy it a lot. Azkaban and Goblet are my favorites of the bunch, and I thought the first two are okay. I probably need to see it again, but from what I remember of Phoenix, it was just kind of boring. The final fight was really good and some of the touches here and there were pretty neat, but it felt like a step backwards from the two films before it.

3. Spider-Man 3

Times I saw it in theaters: 1 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 4

Spider-Man 2 was my favorite comic book movie until The Dark Knight came out and it still holds a very, very strong second place for me. Spider-Man 3 is a mess. It isn’t absolutely horrible thanks to the incredibly impressive action scenes strewn throughout, but there’s just entirely too much going on. No movie needs three villains, no superhero needs to dance to the BeeGees, and no love interest should ever be introduced when her character from the comics was already mixed with another character in order to create the current love interest. Plus, I enjoyed Topher Grace’s performance as Eddie Brock, but they totally wasted Venom.

4. Shrek the Third

Times I saw it in theaters: 1 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 2

Shrek and Shrek 2 were hilarious. Shrek the Third’s jokes miss about 75% of the time and the story is painfully dull. The series really should’ve quit while it was ahead.

5. Transformers

Times I saw it in theaters: 2 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 5

The stories about the army guys and the supergenius supermodel should’ve been completely cut out of the movie, but for the most part this movie is a blast. The Transformers look great despite Michael Bay’s completely lack of respect for the original designs, but since he’s probably one of the best action directors of our time, whether you want to admit it or not, I’ll let it slide. The movie is fire-y, explosion-y fun. Shia Lebeouf is amusing, Megan Fox is incredibly attractive. Win, win, win.

6. Ratatouille

Times I saw it in theaters: 2 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 2

This was one of the best films of the year and easily deserved the Best Animated Feature Academy Award. Brad Bird is a masterful storyteller and while the actual jokes aren’t as heavily incorporated as some of Pixar’s older work, it’s got more heart and characterization than any movie on this list. It’s just a fun story to watch unravel, and the incredible animation is the icing on the cake.

7. I Am Legend

Times I saw it in theaters: 1 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 0

This movie had a lot of potential. Will Smith is awesome, and the I’m always up for post-apocalyptic isolation stories, but it never succeeded at drawing me in. It goes for long stints where nothing interesting happens and the CGI vampire-creatures look straight out of 1999. The ending also sucks.

8. The Simpsons Movie

Time I saw it in theaters: 2 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 0

I think I can count how many full episodes of The Simpsons I’ve seen on my fingers. It was one of those shows I was always forbidden to watch as a kid and by the time I could’ve gotten away with it, I just didn’t care anymore (plus much funnier and much, much cruder shows like South Park and Family Guy had started by then). I didn’t have huge expectations for this movie, but I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. The movie kept me laughing throughout and made me a little more curious exactly what I had been missing all these years. I’m planning to pick up the DVD if I can find it cheap enough.

9. National Treasure: Book of Secrets

Times I saw it in theaters: 1 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 0

Despite what others may say, I really enjoyed the original National Treasure. It’s a little farfetched, but the fictional basis in history always kept me curious. It also had a fun sense of humor that the whole family could enjoy. Book of Secrets, on the other hand, took things a little too far in just about every direction. They lost their touch with popular American history, things got WAY too ridiculous storywise (kidnapping the President? Really?), and the jokes flopped more often than they worked.

10. 300

Times I saw it in theaters: 4 — Times I’ve watched it on DVD: 7

This movie is the most fun I had in a theater the entire year. It’s not for everybody, but it is the ultimate guy movie. They take thirty minutes to set up the story and the next ninety are all about dudes kicking the living piss out of each other. Swords swing, spears stab, and blood flies; King Leonidas introduces us to a few phrases to join the ranks of the classics. I’m not bummed it didn’t win or get nominated for any awards, but for pure entertainment value it might very well sit at the top of my list from that year.

The Year My Parents Went On Vacation (2007)

Basic plot: In Sao Paolo, Brazi, 1970, a young boy’s parents leave him on his grandfather’s doorstep while they run away from the Brazilian government (or go on “vacation”). When it turns out that the grandfather has passed away, his  neighbor takes responsibility for the boy.

I don’t get to watch foreign films as often as I like, but when I do manage to catch them, it’s always an interesting look into another culture if nothing else. The Year My Parents Went On Vacation reminds me slightly of 2004’s Japanese film Nobody Knows, except Vacation is far less depressing.

The story itself is interesting enough as you watch this kid (12 yrs. old according to the Wiki) cope with his new circumstances, ever faithful to the idea that his parents will one day return. His caretaker is an elderly Jewish man and I almost found his acceptance of this duty even more intriguing than the boy’s problem. A lot of that may be because the boy is complete brat at the beginning of the movie, and what patience the neighbor does manage to show him is astounding. Luckily, as the movie continues the boy becomes more reasonable. Just be forewarned there isn’t a hell of a lot of closure regarding a lot of the major storypoints. More or less, you know what the boy knows the entire time, which isn’t a whole lot. I’d say the character arc more closely resembles something where the lead simply deals with his problems to get through them moreso than he grows up and betters himself in order to conquer them (such as Chihiro did in Spirited Away, for example). Vacation is more about coping than overcoming, and that’s not the most powerful message a movie can give.

One noteworthy aspect of the film is its cinematography. It isn’t epic, but it’s beautiful in it’s simplicity as it slowly shows hints of this culture most of us aren’t naturally familiar with (unless you were in Brazil in the 1970’s, in which case you’d be a prick to call me out on that claim). It’s fun to see the city and the lifestyle; the way EVERYONE cares about the World Cup as if they themselves were on the competing team. It almost makes me wish soccer was popular here.

If there’s one thing that bothers me about foreign films, it’s that I can never tell how good the acting is. The words and the tones the people are using don’t mean anything to me. I’m a total slave to the subtitles for information and if there isn’t anything particularly out of place regarding the translations I just assume the performances are golden. I think this allows me a certain level of forgiveness to foreign films that I might not feel so inclined to give to American movies. Just thought I’d mention that handicap to factor into things.

In the end, it was a good movie and I’m glad I saw it. It made me smile much more than I was expecting. I’d recommend it if you happen to have an opportunity to see it, but it’s not one I’d urge you to throw on your Netflix queue as soon as possible either. Still, if I found a copy for around $5 I’d probably pick it up for my collection. Since foreign films never go for that cheap, I don’t suspect I’ll ever own it.

This guy has made more money for movie studios than most people could dream of.

I’ve spent the last two days trying to make it through the two-disc Special Edition of Independence Day, and much to my memory’s dismay, this movie is two and a half goddamned hours long. Now if you’re just watching the movie, it goes surprisingly fast (probably why I didn’t realize before now how long it was), but when you’re trying to knock out two feature length commentaries and a couple hours of featurettes you really start to feel the time crawl.

So, since the movie doesn’t really warrant an entire post dedicated to it and I don’t have anything else to talk about tonight, I’ve decided to count down my five favorite Will Smith movies. It should be a nice change of pace for my readers who don’t exactly share the Coen obsession I’ve had the past three days. I like goofy blockbusters just as much as the next guy.

This list is organized by overall entertainment value moreso than by Smith’s actual performance. He plays the same basic character in 60% of his movies, so generally the acting is all the same anyway. Yes, I still need to see the Bad Boys movies. I would imagine they would at least take the 5th place spot if I had.

5. Hitch

Basic Plot: Will Smith teaches awkward, clumsy guys how to get girls.

Why I like it: Depending on the players, I’ve been known to really dig romantic comedies if the mood hits me right. In this particular selection, Will Smith is totally believable as the super-smooth guy that knows exactly what to do to get girls – partially because it sounds like Will Smith is basically playing himself. It also helps that I think Eva Mendes is gorgeous, and that what’s-his-face from King of Queens is a pretty funny dude.

4. The Legend of Bagger Vance

Basic Plot: Will Smith teaches Matt Damon how to play golf.

Why I like it: Will Smith’s part in this movie isn’t nearly as big as Damon’s but when he is around he totally steals the show. I also have an appreciation for anything that can make watching golf entertaining. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend you check it out. It’s one of my favorite sports movies.

3. I, Robot

Basic plot: Will Smith is a rebellious cop that beats up robots.

Why I like it: I don’t hear nearly enough good things about this movie. It’s not a brilliant sci-fi, but it is everything I look for in a Will Smith movie and the plot is just good enough to keep me interested. The one thing sadly lacking is a sidekick. Shia LeBouf is around from time to time trying his best, but Will Smith has done better choosing his partners in crime(-fighting).

2. Independence Day

Basic plot: Will Smith is a rebellious pilot that beats up aliens.

Why I like it: This movie has one of the single most ridiculous endings in cinematic history, but who gives a shit when you’re having this much fun? Will Smith sucker-punches an alien in the face. How could you not have a good time during this movie? Between the explosions and everybody on the cast being different variations of badass (Goldblum the badass nerd, Pullman the badass President, Quaid the badass redneck, Smith the badass badass) it’s one of the ultimate summer blockbusters.

1. Men In Black

Basic plot: Will Smith is a rebellious cop that beats up aliens.

Why I like it: Honestly, I don’t there’s anything I don’t like about this movie. Will Smith is hilarious as the rookie, Tommy Lee Jones is hilarious as the veteran. The way the two play off each other makes for what might very well be my #1 buddy-cop type movie. The alien designs are fun and the treatment of the entire alien mythology is brilliantly written.