Best Movies You Have Seen This Year

#29
#29
RockyTop572 said:

And could you pitch me on Let The Right One In, Frozen River, and The Elite Squad. I've heard of them but haven't talked to anyone who has seen any of them. You don't have to say a lot but just what you liked about each and why I should see them.
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Sure. I'll refrain from giving away any information that would spoil any of them.

Let The Right One In is a slow movie but easily the best of these 3, the first thing I liked about it was from the get-go it had a somewhat of a hypnotic eerie feeling and then later lived up to that feeling(I also had no idea what this movie was about so I didn't know what to expect). The slowness is overlooked when you find yourself thinking about the characters, (and you will alot) admiring some of the very good photographic scenes (which IMO are the best of what I've seen this year), and the well spaced order of occurrence in which the more exciting scenes take place(Just enough space in-between these to keep you entertained and there are enough of them even for an action audience for a film this slow).I'll also say these scenes aren't original but they have a feel of something new for this type of movie even though it's nothing new at all. The end might be a little surprising as it happens very fast and is somewhat unexpected. You kinda develop your own sense about the character background and the events that led to this story. I'd like you tell you my outlook on it but I'll try to refrain from ruining it for you. This one truly deserves a watch, even if you hate reading sub-titles you'll still enjoy this one.(There really isn't a whole lot of talking so this works out nice for those people as this one definitely needs to be watched in it's native language). This movie is very well done. With the story it tells I don't think this movie could have been done better.

Frozen River is just a well acted flick. It's nothing ground breaking just a dramatized story of a couple of people in hard times trying to make ends meet. I typically wouldn't like a movie like this but with the lack of good movies this year I figured I throw it out there, that and an event that occurs which sticks out in my mind and is the first I think of when I see this movies title. The movie would probably appeal more to the female crowd. If you were going to pass on one of the movies from my list, this would be it. It would probably wind up at the bottom of the list, the only reason I mention it is because of the no name actors that do a good job of playing their parts and what I mentioned before. I will say it has some heart to it.

The Elite Squad is fast paced non-stop action that doesn't let up anytime during the movie. It has good cops, bad cops, dealers, drugs, guns, more guns, blood, money, life, death, right, wrong, good deals, bad deals, well...this movie has it all and alot of it. I could list a dozen other things in this movie and still wind up with a short list. The story is narrated good and gives you a sense of what's going on very well which is a really good thing as it moves fast. You always have a grasp on whats going on which is somewhat uncommon in movies that move this fast with this much to offer. Watch this one with subtitles as the voice over will take away from the acting involved. The voice over version is just awful but could probably still be enjoyable due to the amount of action. It would be nice if the narrator was voiced over and the charters were subtitled. The reason for that is because (subtitled version) when the narrator speaks it ignores a lot of the things said in the background. If you speak Portuguese, get the original!
 
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#31
#31
thehardknoxlife said:
Sure. I'll refrain from giving away any information that would spoil any of them.

Let The Right One In is a slow movie but easily the best of these 3, the first thing I liked about it was from the get-go it had a somewhat of a hypnotic eerie feeling and then later lived up to that feeling(I also had no idea what this movie was about so I didn't know what to expect). The slowness is overlooked when you find yourself thinking about the characters, (and you will alot) admiring some of the very good photographic scenes (which IMO are the best of what I've seen this year), and the well spaced order of occurrence in which the more exciting scenes take place(Just enough space in-between these to keep you entertained and there are enough of them even for an action audience for a film this slow).I'll also say these scenes aren't original but they have a feel of something new for this type of movie even though it's nothing new at all. The end might be a little surprising as it happens very fast and is somewhat unexpected. You kinda develop your own sense about the character background and the events that led to this story. I'd like you tell you my outlook on it but I'll try to refrain from ruining it for you. This one truly deserves a watch, even if you hate reading sub-titles you'll still enjoy this one.(There really isn't a whole lot of talking so this works out nice for those people as this one definitely needs to be watched in it's native language). This movie is very well done. With the story it tells I don't think this movie could have been done better.

Frozen River is just a well acted flick. It's nothing ground breaking just a dramatized story of a couple of people in hard times trying to make ends meet. I typically wouldn't like a movie like this but with the lack of good movies this year I figured I throw it out there, that and an event that occurs which sticks out in my mind and is the first I think of when I see this movies title. The movie would probably appeal more to the female crowd. If you were going to pass on one of the movies from my list, this would be it. It would probably wind up at the bottom of the list, the only reason I mention it is because of the no name actors that do a good job of playing their parts and what I mentioned before. I will say it has some heart to it.

The Elite Squad is fast paced non-stop action that doesn't let up anytime during the movie. It has good cops, bad cops, dealers, drugs, guns, more guns, blood, money, life, death, right, wrong, good deals, bad deals, well...this movie has it all and alot of it. I could list a dozen other things in this movie and still wind up with a short list. The story is narrated good and gives you a sense of what's going on very well which is a really good thing as it moves fast. You always have a grasp on whats going on which is somewhat uncommon in movies that move this fast with this much to offer. Watch this one with subtitles as the voice over will take away from the acting involved. The voice over version is just awful but could probably still be enjoyable due to the amount of action. It would be nice if the narrator was voiced over and the charters were subtitled. The reason for that is because (subtitled version) when the narrator speaks it ignores a lot of the things said in the background. If you speak Portuguese, get the original!
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Thanks for the info. I'll add them to my list.

I also just watched The Visitor today and I really enjoyed it. I don't know that it'd make my top 10 but it was a good movie.
 
#32
#32
Here is an extended and updated version of my list

1. Slum Dog Millionaire
2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
3. In Bruges
4. The Dark Knight
5. RockNRolla
6. The Fall
7. Burn After Reading
8. The Visitor
9. Pineapple Express
10. Body of Lies
Films I'm yet to see that would have a shot at the list if they are as hyped are Gran Tarino, The Wrestler, and The Reader but will be checking them out shortly

On the flip side here are the worst movies i've seen so far in no particular order
My Bloody Valentine 3D, Max Payne, and The Spirit and one alot of people will disagree with me on Synecdoche, New York
 
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#33
#33
mattvols said:
Here is an extended and updated version of my list

1. Slum Dog Millionaire
2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
3. In Bruges
4. The Dark Knight
5. RockNRolla
6. The Fall
7. Burn After Reading
8. The Visitor
9. Pineapple Express
10. Body of Lies
Films I'm yet to see that would have a shot at the list if they are as hyped are Gran Tarino, The Wrestler, and The Reader but will be checking them out shortly

On the flip side here are the worst movies i've seen so far in no particular order
My Bloody Valentine 3D, Max Payne, and The Spirit and one alot of people will disagree with me on Synecdoche, New York
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I enjoyed Body of Lies, but I actually liked Traitor a little better. I really can't explain why.

The Spirit was one of those that I was excited about initially, and it is one of the few movies that I have ever skipped because of what the critics were saying.
 
#34
#34
Lexvol said:
I keep forgetting to rent Once. I'm moving it to the top of the list based on your recommendation.
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Cool. Let me know what you think. As above, the soundtrack is great, too. I also picked up the songs from Glen Hansard and Marketa's other album (The Swell Season) that were not on the soundtrack.
 
#36
#36
I thought "My Best Friend's Girl" was pretty funny...with Dane Cook, Kate Hudson, and Jason Biggs
 
#37
#37
Lexvol said:
I enjoyed Body of Lies, but I actually liked Traitor a little better. I really can't explain why.

The Spirit was one of those that I was excited about initially, and it is one of the few movies that I have ever skipped because of what the critics were saying.
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I have traitor rented out right now but I have yet to watch it. It does worry me a bit that it says on the cover "from the writer of A Day After Tomorrow" because that movie blew in every way possible and the writing was awful, but i'm not going to judge a movie before I see it. I'll let you know what I think
 
#38
#38
Lexvol said:
In Bruges told a story about basic human nature much as the Dark Night attempted, but it did so in a much more "human" way.

The humor was some of the most intelligent that I have seen in years, but it didn't overwhelm the angst and drama of the film. In fact, it propelled it.

Finally, in the end I thought the irony in the film was completely brilliant, and it tied the movie together very well. It reminded me a lot of Fargo which I also enjoyed tremendously.

For the record I actually thought 2008 was a poor year for movies. I saw more movies out of default (broke down and saw movies that I wouldn't normally see) than I have in a long time.
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Thanks for this, Lex. I watched In Bruges last night and really enjoyed it, and there was no way I ever would have wasted the space on my Tivo without your review (Colin Ferrell + artsy-fartsy would usually = skip.) I thought the gunfight was out of place, an underbudgeted action scene forced into a movie that didn't need it, but other than that, I thought the film was excellent.
 
#40
#40
Amazing spider man 2
This had something that matched the comic books, teaser for a sequel, left me warning more and it got harder for Peter both as the web slinger and as Peter.
 
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