2008 Round Up!

It's the end of the year again! And what a sad year for movies it was. I'm having trouble making a top 5 favorite films, cause I've seen so much crap and average movies this year. I'm almost crying. Almost really. Some movies had so much potential..

Movies I saw in the theater (in chronological order):
Cloverfield; The Mist (a 2007 movie so I won't include it any further); 27 Dresses; Untraceable; Made of Honor; Sex & The City; Forgetting Sarah Marshall; Mamma Mia!; The Dark Knight; Get Smart; The Accidental Husband; Mirrors; and Eagle Eye.

Movie I saw on DVD (in alphabetical order):
Definitely, Maybe; Meet the Spartans; My Sassy Girl; Pathology; and The Strangers.

Movies I wanted to see, but didn't get around to seeing (in alphabetical order):
The Air I Breathe; All the Boys Love Mandy Lane; Be Kind, Rewind; Choke; The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Drillbit Taylor; Four Christmases; Funny Games; The Happening; Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay; The House Bunny; How to Lose Friends & Alienate People; Leatherheads; The Life Before Her Eyes; Marley & Me; Midnight Meat Train; The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor; Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist; Over her Dead Body; Passengers; The Pineapple Express; Quarantine; Role Models; The Ruins; Saw V; The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2; Sleepwalking; Speed Racer; Tropic Thunder; Wanted; What Happens in Vegas.

My five favorite films of the year (notice how I say favorite and not best):
1) Cloverfield (All round great monster movie.)
2) Mamma Mia! (Fantastic cast in a highly enjoyable movie.)
3) My Sassy Girl (A touching story plus a relatable performance by Jesse Bradford.)
4) 27 Dresses (Katherine Heigl shines and carries this cute romantic comedy.)
5) The Strangers (A truly scary movie.)

My five least favorite movies of the year:
1) Meet the Spartans (No, just, no.. )
2) Untraceable (Wasted potential.)
3) Mirrors (More wasted potential.)
4) Pathology (Even more wasted potential.)
5) Sex & the City (This movie just angers me for ruining certain characters.)

Ten favorite performances of the year (in alphabetical order):
1) Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia!)
2) Christine Baranski (Mamma Mia!)
3) David Eigenberg (Sex & the City)
4) Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
5) Isla Fisher (Definitely, Maybe)
6) Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall)
7) Jesse Bradford (My Sassy Girl)
8) Katherine Heigl (27 Dresses)
9) Michael Stahl-David (Cloverfield)
10) Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall)

My top 5 movies I'm looking forward to in 2009:
1) Inglourious Basterds
2) Friday the 13th
3) Confessions of a Shopaholic
4) Obsessed
5) Wolverine

I had trouble picking out five movies. Besides Inglourious Basterds and Friday the 13th, I don't have a strong preference.

Other movies I'm looking forward to in 2009:
17 Again; 500 Days of Summer; 2012; Adoration; Adventureland; All About Steve; Away We Go; The Box; Bride Wars; Fanboys; Fired Up!; G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra; Ghosts of Girlfriends Past; He's Just Not That Into You; I Love You, Beth Cooper; Jennifer's Body; Knowing; Land of the Lost; The Lovely Bones; My Bloody Valentine 3-D; My Sister's Keeper; New York, I Love You; The Post Grad Surivial Guide; She's Out of My League; Star Trek; The Stepfather; Sunshine Cleaning; The Time Traveler's Wife; Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen; The Ugly Truth; When in Rome; Whiteout; The Wolfman; Zombieland.

Some of these movies were on my upcoming list last year as well. Hmmm! Anyways, I thought I was disppointed with 2007's movies, but they're all looking like friggin' masterpieces compared to what 2008 has brought us. Note that I haven't seen the big award contenders, so I can't judge properly. Bring on 2009!

Review: Pathology

When Dr. Ted Grey (Milo Ventimiglia) joins a prestigious pathology program, it doesn't take long before 'the cool kids' invite him to sit at their table. Grey learns the gang plays a deadly game: who can commit the perfect murder?

When I first heard about this movie 1,5 years ago, I thought it sounded interesting. I liked the concept and the cast (Johnny Whitworth! Johnny Whitworth!). Of course, when the release date kept being pushed back and the movie eventually saw a limited release, my interest had sorta faded. BUT! When I spotted Pathology in the videostore, I decided to give it a chance, because, you know, Johnny Whitworth!

Now, what can I say about Pathology? It's a good concept that's poorly executed. Milo Ventimiglia plays our supposed hero. He goes from a seemingly decent guy to a killer in a small amount of time, and he cheats on his fiancée as well. Why?! Alyssa Milano is hotter than Lauren Lee Smith! But, that's beside the point. How am I supposed to root for him? Plus, he's kinda lacking in the personality department. In contrast, Michael Weston is very effective as Dr. Jake Gallo, the leader of the pack. He does crazy well and is this movie's MVP. Really, Weston saved this movie for me, cause the only time it's really interesting is when he's around. Johnny Whitworth is a talented kid, but didn't have much to do here. SHAME! Thirteen years after Empire Records, he still looks good though!

About the movie itself, I find it hard to believe that the 'cool kids' are able to get away with their game. They seem to be killing a lot of people in a short period of time. While I don't doubt they know ways to kill people, and I don't think they're able to pull it off without getting noticed. Also, I kinda hate the camera work in this movie and the unnecessary nudity.

I did like the ending. Sorta. I think.

Overall, worth a look if you like the cast, I guess. A 2,5/5.

Listmania: Favorite Love Actually storylines

It's the holiday season and the need to watch Love Actually again became very strong. It's one of my favorite romantic comedies/feel good movies. It continues to impress me how the script manages to fit the characters into each other's stories. David and Karen are siblings. Natalie and Mia are neighbors. Jamie and Sarah attended Juliet's wedding. All the stories are about love, but not all about romantic love. While none of the stories bore me, I do prefer some storylines over others.

1. Jamie & Aurelia
Jamie (Colin Firth) and Aurelia (Lucia Moniz)'s storyline is classic romantic comedy stuff. They don't speak each other's language, but fall in love anyways.

Credit: Striped Wall

2. Mark & Juliet
I dare you to find a straight women who didn't fall in love with Andrew Lincoln (Mark) after witnessing his "TO ME, YOU ARE PERFECT" scene. Their storyline starts off with Juliet (Keira Knightley) marrying Mark's best friend (Chiwetel Ejiofor). While it first appears Mark dislikes her, it turns out he's in love with her. Awwww!

3. Daniel & Sam
This story starts off sad with the funeral of Sam's mom and Daniel's wife. Daniel (Liam Neeson) is Sam (Thomas Sangster)'s step dad and the two bond when Daniel tries to help Sam win the heart of his dream girl. Probably the cutest of all stories.

4. Billy Mack & Joe
A funny storyline about an aging rocker (Bill Nighy) and his manager, trying to recapture their glory days by landing the Christmas #1 with the awful 'Christmas is All Around'.

5. David & Natalie
Hugh Grant is perfect as the Prime Minister who falls in love with employee Natalie (Martine McCutcheon).

6. Sarah & Karl
Sarah (Laura Linney) has been in love with Karl (Rodrigo Santoro), her colleague, approximately forever, but never had the guts to do something about it. When something finally happens, she lets him slip away. This is probably the saddest story of the bunch as it's the only one with an unhappy ending.

7. Colin
Colin (Kris Marshall) can't get a girlfriend in Britain so he decides to go the USA as he's convinced he'll be a chick magnet there. It's a funny storyline with cameos by Ivana Milicevic, Elisha Cuthbert, January Jones, Shannon Elizabeth and Denise Richards.

8. Harry & Karen
The only thing that saves this storyline is the awesome Alan Rickman. His Harry cheats on his wife Karen (Emma Thompson). It's rather depressing really.

9. John & Judy
This is supposed to be funny, but it doesn't really work for me. It's more gross out comedy, which the other stories tend to shy away from.

Trailer Park: Friday the 13th

Oh, Marcus Nispel! I kinda love you and your collaborations with cinematographer Daniel Pearl! I mean, this, a shot from the trailer of Friday the 13th, is pretty:

After watching the F13 trailer, I don't think it will look better than the gorgeousness that is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but I do like the eerie atmosphere. What I don't like is that the trailer spoils too much! I feel like I've seen everyone die already! I like being surprised while watching a movie. Now I know how Richard Burgi will die. Grr arrgh..

I will go see Friday the 13th, because 1) Marcus Nispel directed it! 2) The guy below is all sorts of awesome and hot!

Mmmm.. Jared Padalecki!

And 3) Dick Casablancas!

Okay, yeah, I know his name is Ryan Hansen, but I really hope he will channel Dick Casablancas a bit. He was awesome and hilarious as Dick Casablancas PERIOD! (Plus, it's fun to say and type Dick Casablancas!)

Now Jason has never been a favorite of mine (sorry, Jason!). The men in my life have always been Freddy and Michael. Will this movie change that? Who knows?! I never liked Leatherface much until Nispel worked his magic! Jason, I'll be seeing you on the 13th!