christopher's lives (v5.3)

i have had this urge lately to blog the movies i watch and do it once a month – not to give detailed reviews or anything, just to log them… since i had this idea late, i’ll start with the movies i watched in march in reverse chronological order…

Magnolia
this may very well be my favorite movie i have ever seen… it is so much more than a film – it is an emotional experience…
i have loved it for years, but, it became even more powerful after being at my father’s side as he suffered a long, horrible death… there are quite a few little details in the film that let me know that pt anderson has lived through watching someone die… what i mean is, there are things i have only seen twice – in this movie and with my father…
i could go on for hours about this film, but i won’t here – i want this to be a concise recap of the month…

Breakfast At Tiffany’s
meh… i liked the character of holly and the performance by audrey hepburn, but, meh…

Ed Wood
probably the only tim burton film i genuinely like and i REALLY like it… not a great film – this one is more personal… what i relate to the most is the cast of weirdos around him – it reminds me of certain times in my own life… so, i wouldn’t defend it as a truly good film or try to get anyone else to watch it – it’s one i would keep on my psp and watch alone when i need to be with friends :P

The Terminal
speaking of my psp, i had never seen this one and watched it in bed one night on my psp and really really liked it… sure, there are some problems with it – it’s another i wouldn’t defend as a great film, but, i think this will be a favorite for a long time to come…

Ringu
never saw it before – wanted to for a long time… i don’t like horror films, but, this one has influenced so much popular media, it is certainly a relevant film… glad i saw it, doubt i will watch it again…
oh, but, i still want to see the american version…

Tristan+Isolde
second time seeing this one, first time for terra… so much great about it, but so much wrong… so hard to sympathize with the characters’ plight… sure, i understand how they got in this mess, but, they should have done the right thing and therefore, i wasn’t feeling too sympathetic… i think the final third or so of this movie was MUCH better than what came before… it got very emotional for me – i was feeling everything going on…
btw, i was suspecting while watching it that this was a big summer release, heavily advertised on MTV :P i just kept thinking how much teenagers must have loved this one and how it seemed to be made for teenagers…

The Night of the Comet
The Night of the Living Dead
this was a slumber party night double feature…
night of the comet is a movie i saw countless times as a kid, so, it is indelibly ingrained in my mind… i have every moment of it memorized and know it too well to hate it… a very bad movie, but, the mall scene and the villain thereof were reason enough to watch it with someone who has never seen it…
as for night of the living dead – haven’t seen it since i was a kid and feel i didn’t miss much… but, again, it is a relevant film – starting an entire genre, so, i don’t regret seeing it…
both were a perfect choice for slumber party night…

Matrix Revolutions
i think the first in the trilogy is one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made and the other two are pretty blah… but, i keep coming back to them every few months just to give them another try… i am totally in love with the universe of the film and want to love all three films…

Delicatessen
i have loved Amelie for years and had heard good things about this one… um, it didn’t deliver… it was as strange and surreal as i expected, but, it just wasn’t that good… i know i’ll watch it again someday, though…

Matrix Reloaded
see above…

bottom line:
best i saw this month i had never seen before: The Terminal
worst i saw this month i had never seen before: probably Ringu

since i didn’t do posts for february or january and i don’t feel like going back right now, i’ll give the bottom lines for those months, without comments… maybe i’ll come back and do full posts another time…

february bottom line:
best: August Rush
worst: What Lies Beneath
even better the second time: The Dark Knight
amazing performance in a blah movie: tie between Capote and Being There
also loved: Wit, Primer, Rushmore
still great after all these years: Barefoot in the Park, Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation, Rear Window

january bottom line:
best i had never seen: The Darjeeling Limited
best i saw all month: Lost In Translation
worst: The Haunting
awesome beginning, all downhill from there: The Happening
most surprising disappointment: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (i used to LOVE this one and was so sorry i chose it for our slumber party night – we were bored!)
much much much better than i remembered: The Incredibles

ok, let’s do this again next month :)